Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who is enjoying the story! Thank you to my reviewers! I really appreciate
the love you guys have given the story. We are a little past the halfway point, with the story having 16 chapters total.
You can also find the story on Tumblr under my blog, Goldengirlschildhood or on the Captain Swan Big Bang page.
Chapter Ten: Because of a Storm
Emma watched as Mary Margaret frantically ran around their apartment getting ready.
"I can't believe I overslept." She panickly muttered repeatedly with a toothbrush in her mouth.
"It's only seven, Mary Margaret. Besides, I doubt he'd leave without seeing you."
"I know, but I feel like if I miss 7:15 then we'll slide back. It's like everyday we get to see each other I'm a little bit more of who I'm supposed to be." Looking down at her watch, "Oh! I have to go! Bye Emma!" And she ran out the door, giving Emma a surprise kiss on the cheek, then leaving her alone in the apartment.
Emma stared at the emptiness left in Mary Margaret's wake and thought about her parents. They had been sneaking around for months, having quiet meetings and cups of coffee. But is hiding their relationship breaking the curse? Or feeding into it?
Emma suspected that Mary Margaret's insistence that her and David were together was another facet of the curse, a twisting of her character to make her accepting of David's fear of leaving his wife.
And she didn't know which one to needle into the right path.
Both?
She'll try both.
Emma met David on his way out of Granny's. "Hey, David. What are you doing here so early?"
He held up the two to-go cups he held in his hands, "Oh, Kathryn wanted some of Granny's coffee."
Emma smiled at the lie, "That's nice of you to come get it for her. How are you doing though?"
David shrugged, "I'm alright. James and I are meeting Henry after school for LARPing, which is pretty exciting. He's not a bad swordsman."
Her lips quirked at that, the unaware master swordsman compliments his own grandson's ability. It was good to hear, but also heartbreaking. These should be times that both David and Henry cherished as grandfather and grandson. Not nice man and child.
"Good to hear, maybe he'll need to know how to swordfight one day." Emma half joked.
David laughed, "Yeah, maybe he'll need to fight a dragon. See you later, Emma."
"Bye David." Emma watched him walk towards a car where Kathryn was waiting, where he gives her a kiss and her coffee.
Walking into the diner Emma asked Mary Margaret how she was doing.
"I was late and he was ready to go." She reported despondently.
"He was ready to leave so he could take coffee to his wife." Emma felt cruel as she watched Mary Margaret flinch at her comment. "Mary Margaret… do you really think that being the mistress is going to change anything? Don't think that maybe you're just playing into the curse? Making yourself and David more miserable?"
"What would you have me do instead? Not see him? You said that we need to bring the people who have been separated together. Well, that's what I'm doing." Mary Margaret insisted, her frustration and anger building up before Emma.
"Is this being together? Flirty and carrying-on behind Kathryn's back?" Emma shook her head. "No, it isn't. This isn't being together. This isn't right. You can't beat wrong with more wrong or you'll just create more problems."
"Just because you don't know what being together with someone is like doesn't mean that you can judge me."
Emma slowly leaned back in her seat, "Wow."
Mary Margaret reached out, "Emma, I'm–"
"Have a good day and go fuck yourself." Emma dismissed her attempts at apology. It was too early for her to take this shit, so she walked out the door and went to the station.
Mary Margaret sat in her seat, ashamed and sorry.
When she arrived it was only for James to inform her that a storm was imminent and they had to prepare. Classes had been cancelled and citizens close to the shore were removed to the school for their safety. James and Emma went to work stacking sandbags to try to hold off flooding in some areas, sailors from around the docks pitched in.
In a powerful gust of wind a small fishing ship got torn from its moorings. The sheriffs and sailors fought the rain and the wind to try to save the ship. James began to yell orders over the storm and the sailors followed as if on instinct. Emma would reflect on the event later only to realize that it was instinct for James to take charge and fall into the well oiled machine that is ship life.
In the moment however, she was lost.
Emma knew how to sail. She knew the name for every part of a ship and how to work on them. She had learned how to sail on the East African coast, the Persian Gulf, and the Arabian Sea.
The problem was, she didn't learn how to do any of it English.
So Emma attached herself to a thick, burly man and did whatever he snapped at her to do as the Captain Hook came out of James Jones.
Emma and James collapsed into the patrol car, soaking wet, after they were done at the docks. Several calls had come in requesting various services from citizens pertaining to the storm. They didn't eat or sit down until dusk. The wind had picked up speed and the power across town had gone out. Advisories were sent out across town for people to hunker down and stay put. Waiting out the storm was the best option for now, but Emma and James had to stay on call in case an emergency came up. It was dusk when they made it back to the station, but it was pitch black outside.
When Emma walked into the dimly lit station from the generator she immediately made to strip off her wet clothing and brace, keeping only her underwear on.
James followed suit.
They laid out their drenched clothing on chairs and dragged out space heaters to put in front of them. When they were finished they made for a cot in a jail cell.
It was the first time either of them had worn anything other than long sleeve shirts and pants in front of the other.
Well, the first time that James could remember.
In the soft light Emma could see that the cut where his hand should be was smooth, but that his various braces over time had worn scars into his skin. On his torso she could make out cut marks, presumably from swords he undoubtedly got into. Emma didn't need him to lean forward to know that lash marks had carved a landscape onto his back. She could see his three tattoos. One on his ribcage with an insignia that read his brother's name. A second on his right forearm that bore Milah's name with the Dark One dagger running through it. And a third one, much smaller than the rest just underneath his clavicle of a swan spreading its wings.
James could make out long surgery scars and deep cuts on her left leg. He could see her surgery patched knee and the cut marks that ran up her arms. He could make out scars on her torso that mirrored the ones on his own. He could see her three tattoos. One on her ribcage that read "Study war so that others may study peace." A second on her wrist of a flower in bloom. And a third one just beneath her clavicle of a ship setting sail.
Their eyes trailed the other, but neither spoke. Too caught up in their day and what was before them.
Emma gave a wry smile, "Kind of a shit day, huh?"
"Yes, yes it was." James breathlessly laughed out.
A moment of silence passed between them, but neither were content with that.
"Wanna play cards and eat some shitty emergency food?"
"God yes." James replied. Emma threw a deck at him and went into the backroom to grab some food and space blankets for warmth.
They spent some time poking fun at each other's abilities and hands.
"You're a real shit liar, Jones."
"I can read you like an open book, Swan."
"Are you cursed with bad luck or did you ask for your bad hand?"
"You play cards like a child who can't draw in the lines: wild and irregular."
"Bite me, Jones."
"Gladly, Swan."
Back and forth they went with their banter until slowly it died out to give way for a different kind of discussion. The clock ticked its way past midnight.
Tick tock.
"How did you know what to do earlier? At the docks?"
"What do you mean?"
"You took over, Jones. Completely. You were giving orders left and right like you were born into the role of captain." Emma knew that his sailing instincts came to the surface then, but what did his cursed persona make of it?
James was quiet and contemplative. "I… I don't rightly know to be honest. I didn't have to think. I knew what to do." Laughter began to bubble behind his eyes, "But you– you were clearly lost. Fumbling around, doing whatever the guy next to you told you to do."
He was trying to deflect attention from himself. It was a tactic Emma recognized, almost every person she had tried to point out holes to inevitably attempted to get out of the conversation. It made them uncomfortable, she thought, to not know why they knew how to do some of things that they did.
She wasn't falling for it. "Do you think that maybe, just maybe, before the curse that you were a sailor? A captain even?"
"This is assuming that I believe the curse theory."
"Do you?" She has never directly discussed it with James, always trying to around it with him. Emma was afraid that he'd reject her if she tried, terrified of losing even this cursed closeness after so many years apart.
But in her exhaustion she's grown brave. Or maybe just impatient.
"Why do you?" Deflection again, but this time it might be beneficial to answer.
"I don't have to believe. I know it is."
"You know?"
"Either I know or I'm delusional." She told him. "And I'm pretty sure I'm not delusional."
James watched Emma skeptically, "How do you know?"
Emma stared at James, taking him in. The years had added lines around his eyes and a scar on his cheek. They filled out his beard and placed gravity in his blue eyes. Before, she recognized the same hunger pained face and starvation for education in him that she had in her. Now, whoever he had become, was buried under the curse and it broke her heart. Emma was dying to know if she could still find her fellow kindred spirit, if the man she loved could still be found.
There were too many variables that could change a person in two hundred years.
And it scared the shit out of her.
But now wasn't the time for fear. "Do you remember the guy I told you about? Killian?"
"Aye."
"He's here."
"He's what?"
"Here. He's in Storybrooke, Jones."
"Who is he? Have you talked to him?"
Emma watched him closely, looking for any sign of hope or recognition. The only thing she saw was the slightest of flickers in his eyes, which gave her enough courage to say, "I think you already know the answer that."
He pulled away from her and began to fidget on the cot, "It's been ten years Emma, how can you be sure that it's even him?"
She laughed, "What? You think ten years will make a person completely unrecognizable? Or maybe you think it's just a doppelganger?"
"I'm just saying that it's possible."
"This? Him? Isn't possible. No one could…" No one could replace him. No one could light her up the way that he did. No one could be a balm in times of hardship like him. No one else could be him. And damn, did she fucking try. "It isn't possible." She took the space blanket that pooled around her waist and pulled it up to her shoulders in a gesture of comfort. The conversation hadn't gone as she had hoped. Emma was tired, it was almost two in the morning and James was staring at her with a mixture of concern, alienation and something else that she could not place.
He didn't believe her, and if the curse doesn't break maybe he never would.
"I'm going to bed. Good night, Jones."
Quietly he cleaned up their abandoned cards, set up the second emergency radio for himself, and left the cot for the other cell.
"Good night, Swan."
They woke up a few hours later, put on their still damp clothing, and went out to survey the town. Again they had to focus most of their attention on the docks area, handing out supplies and offering assistance. Mary Margaret joined them and regaled them with the tale of how David Nolan had saved her life during the storm when she went to reunite a dove with her flock.
"I had to do it. I couldn't let her lose the love of her life because of a storm, Emma."
"Mary Margaret, it was a bird."
She shook her head, "Love is always worth fighting for." Mary Margaret bit her lower lip and contemplating what she was about to say next, "And you were right. What David and I are doing… it isn't right. It isn't solving anything. Nothing is getting better. Things are just broken in a different way. But Emma, I don't know what to do."
Emma wasn't sure either after her failure with Killian last night, but she guessed she could try again. "Let me do something."
Her roommate shook her head but her mind had gone off to something else, "And Emma… what I said yesterday. It was unacceptable and cruel. We haven't even discussed that topic. I'm sorry. I am truly sorry."
Emma nodded her head. Mary Margaret was right, it was unacceptable and needlessly cruel. "I know."
It was 7:15 AM during the first week of February and Emma sat, parked in a booth across from David Nolan who was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with her silent stare. Normally, Emma did not have to leave the loft until 7:50. But today she made an exception. Today, she woke up early to turn off Mary Margaret's alarm clock in order to surprise David at Granny's.
"Love is always worth fighting for." And boy was Emma ready to fight. She was tired. Mary Margaret was tired. Henry was tired. They all wanted their family. In their emotional exhaustion they found their strength in hope. Hope for a brighter future. Hope for husband and wife to be reunited. Hope for a daughter to finally find her parents and her true love. Hope for a little boy to have the life he always dreamed of.
Emma wanted to have a talk with her father.
He had tried several times to start the conversation, but each time Emma held up a hand to stop him.
This wasn't his TEDtalk.
"You have lost so many years of your life, David." More than you know. "Do you really want to lose more to a woman who you don't really know and who you have no connection with? Or do you want to spend it with someone who makes you feel everything?"
David didn't response to her, he couldn't even meet her eyes.
"Hey, look at me. David, look. At. Me." And when he finally did, Emma continued, "Aside from your own misery in this marriage, it isn't fair to Kathryn. She deserves to find someone who would really love her, not be stuck, married to a person who is only staying out of obligation. It is cowardly, David, to stay with someone because you think you should. Kathryn deserves more than that. You deserve more than that. If you don't love her, David, you should leave her. Staying is just being a coward."
Throughout her speech David kept eye contact and when she finished he slowly blinked at her and leaned back in his chair, away from her, attempting to distance himself. He looked like he wanted to speak, wanted to say something to her, but was uncertain if it should be a rebuke or an acknowledgement.
Either way, Emma was not going to give him a chance to speak.
"David," He was looking at her again and Emma could see guilt trying to make its way to the surface. "Be someone your daughter can be proud of."
Ruby arrived then with their hot chocolate. Two cups with whipped cream and cinnamon on top.
David was looking rather confused, "how… how did you know I like hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon?"
Must be a family thing.
"Just a guess." Still, he didn't look up from his mug.
[The Enchanted Forest Prince Charming]
Snow had given birth to their beautiful baby girl, and with one look at her, at Emma, David knew he would die for her.
And that he was about to.
Eyes like her mother's.
With Emma in one arm and his sword in another, David fought his way through the guards of the Evil Queen, taking injuries along the way.
But he made it.
He made it to her nursery.
He placed Emma into the wardrobe, and the last thing he saw was a guard opening its door, only to find it empty.
She's safe.
Emma.
Her name was the last word he breathed.
Slowly, Emma watched as David looked up from his cup and at her.
His was quavering and uncertain, "I don't have a daughter."
"You sure? You don't sound very confident."
"I uh… I… I have to go. I'm sorry, I'm suddenly not feeling well."
"Sure thing, David. Feel better." Emma watched as her father all but ran out of Granny's diner, almost running Ruby over in the process.
"Whoa, what got into him?"
Emma waved her hand in dismissal, "Aach, I think he's got that thing going around."
You know, a curse.
David wasn't sure exactly what it was that he experienced in the diner. His head was pounding, his stomach was churning, but most importantly his heart was exploding.
He could not understand why.
Whatever it was that David Nolan was experiencing, it invigorated him, and silenced his cowardice. He walked into his house without fear and without hesitation.
She was right.
Kathryn was sitting on the couch in the living room when he walked in, looking for all the world confused and concerned that David was home so soon.
"David, are you alright? You look unwell."
"Are you happy?"
"What? David–"
"No, Kathryn, are you happy? In our marriage, are you happy?"
"I… David…"
"You're not, are you?" She wouldn't look at him, and he took that as confirmation.
"Are you in love with me?"
"David, I do love you."
"That isn't the same thing."
"I know."
"Then why are we doing this? Kathryn, I am not the same David Nolan who fell into a coma. That David Nolan was a coward who could never tell you how unhappy he was. That was a David Nolan who would have let you live the rest of your life in mediocrity. A David Nolan who could never love you the way you deserve, but would have stayed with you anyway. And today, Kathryn, it is time to say goodbye to that David Nolan. And our marriage. We both deserve more, Kathryn."
She was crying, but knew he was right. Ending a marriage is never easy.
With tears in her eyes, Kathryn shook her head and said, "Yeah, yeah. You're right, David, and I'm glad one of us finally said it."
"I uh… I think I better go pack up some clothing and book a room at Granny's."
"She told me I would ruin multiple lives, Emma!"
"Hello to you too, Mary Margaret." Emma stood up from her desk and stepped into the hallway in an attempt at a more private conversation. Her roommate was so loud that it was guaranteed that Jones could hear her.
"Regina! She came up to me at the diner, told me David left Kathryn, and that it was my fault! She called me a homewrecker! Ruin multiple lives? She cursed an entire country!"
"Mary Margaret, I know you're angry but can you stop and appreciate the fact that David left his fake wife and that the curse is definitely cracking?"
She paused in her tirade, a smile coming through her voice. "I'll tell Henry."
"Love is always worth fighting for."
Emma returned to the office to find James watching her, he had definitely heard their exchange. Since the storm he had danced around her, as if afraid that she would bring it up again. Looking into those brilliant blue eyes that morning Emma saw nothing familiar. Nothing that told her Killian lay beneath the surface.
"I'm sorry, Emma." Unexpectedly broke the tense silence, to both of their surprises.
But Emma didn't want James' condolences.
She just wanted Killian.