Sorry about the wait, guys! Life caught up with me and I couldn't find my muse for a bit. She ducked out on me. Tsk, you would think that after 10 years of this, she would know when to leave a note.

A big thanks to Laura, as per usual! She is so awesome. I don't know what I'd do without her.

And thanks for all the amazing reviews. Y'all are so sweet and great! I've made friends because of this story. Go me!

I don't own OUAT. Done.

The wind was howling as Emma left her cabin. She quickly used a leather tie she had around her wrist to pull her hair back to stop it from tangling in her face.

"Have fun last night?"

She glanced over her shoulder at Charming and grinned. "Yes, not that it is any of your business."

The blonde man just grinned and slapped his captain on the back. "No, it isn't. But it's nice to see you happy again."

Emma grinned a little wider. "How's your sister?"

Charming nodded. "Okay," he answered. "She and Archie are down below."

"Get them up here. They can stay in my cabin with Regina and Henry. They can all get to know each other."

"During a storm?" Charming asked, raising an eyebrow.

"When is there a better time?" Emma asked with a shrug.

Charming just nodded and left to gather the doctor and his sister. Emma sighed and looked toward the horizon at the clouds coming their way.

"This is going to be one hell of a storm," she muttered.

"The wind sounds really strong," Henry said in a worried tone. He glanced over at his mother as if to confirm that she heard it as well.

She gave a small smile and put an arm around his small shoulders. "It does," she said softly. "But I trust Emma and the crew," she continued. "They will keep us safe. And if something does happen, she will get us to safety."

"I hope it doesn't come to that," Henry muttered.

"I hope the same, my dear. I have grown fond of this ship."

Henry grinned. "Me, too!" he exclaimed. "It feels like home, doesn't it?"

Regina nodded. "It does indeed. It feels more of a home than my mother's manor."

The door to the cabin opened at that point and a blonde woman and red haired man walked in, followed closely by Charming.

"Regina, Henry," the pirate said with a grin. "This is Abigail and Archie. They are going to stay in here with you two for the duration of the storm. Is that okay?"

Regina smiled and nodded. "That is quite alright, Charming. I have been wanting to meet your sister so I could find out more about the charming man my son has grown to look up to."

Charming blushed and backed out of the room, leaving the passengers to themselves.

"I don't think I've seen David blush like that since he was a little boy," the blonde woman said, sitting in the chair next to the brunette.

Regina smiled and watched as Henry pulled Archie down to sit on the floor with him, talking rapidly about the storm. "He has been very good to my son and me."

"But not as good as the captain, right?" Abigail said with a grin.

Regina blinked and felt her face grown warm.

"No need to worry," Abigail said quickly. "David and I are very open with our beliefs. Him, because Emma saved his life, and me because I have seen 'righteous' people act in very despicable ways." She grinned again and patted Regina's knee. "Besides, everyone should have love…even pirates."

"I'm not a pirate," Regina stated.

"No," Abigail said. "But you are in love with one. And from what David has told me, she needs as much love as she can get."

Regina cleared her throat, uncomfortable with the conversation. As much as she loved Emma and everything about her, the brunette didn't know very much about the pirate captain's early life. But she didn't want to admit that to someone she had just met. "Tell me more of your brother," she said quickly. "He does not seem to have the temperament of a pirate."

Abigail sighed and settled back in the chair. "He was never meant to be a pirate. He wasn't even a really good thief." She wrapped her arms around herself, as if remembering the past made her cold.

"You don't have to tell me," Regina stated. "I can understand not wanting to revisit it."

"No," the blonde answered. "It's fine. It's just that after all these years, it's still hard."

Regina gently took the blonde hand, surprising both herself and Abigail.

The blonde smiled. "When David told me you were Cora Mills' daughter, I honestly didn't expect you to be so friendly."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "I certainly don't take after my mother," she said harshly. "If things had worked out differently, I may have. But thankfully, Henry helped me keep my goodness and Emma is reminding me of my strength."

Abigail winked. "I'm sure she is."

There was that blush again.

The blonde laughed and shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said. "You are just too fun to tease. David and I used to tease each other when we were little."

"You were very close?"

"The closest two siblings could be. He's a couple years older than I am but he was my best friend growing up." Abigail sighed. "And our father didn't like that."

"Why ever not?"

"He wanted David to join the king's guard. To be a soldier and fight for our country. But David had no desire to do so. He wanted to work with horses. He would have been happy on a farm with a wife and a gaggle of children."

"Seems simple enough."

Abigail shook her head. "Our father was not happy about that. He demanded that David get in good with the king. He wanted position. And power. And gold. And none of that would come with having a son working on a farm."

"What about your mother?"

"She died of the fever when I was five. David fell to taking care of me while our father wasted his earnings on drink. And as we grew older and our father grew more greedy and angry, our savings dwindled away. David started working at the town shop to bring in a little extra money for us. And then our father met Rumple Gold."

Regina growled. "God, that man seems to pop up everywhere."

Abigail gave a small smile. "It was rather convenient. He convinced our father to sell me to slavery and David to the king's army for more money than he could even fathom."

"And your father jumped at the chance," Regina concluded.

"No hesitation," Abigail said with a sigh. "Thankfully, David heard of this before the slave traders came and managed to pack us some bags and we ran away that night." She swallowed and shook her head. "We were so close to getting away. But Gold seemed to predict what we would do. He had soldiers at the town's limits. They grabbed me and arrested David, saying that he was a thief and would rot in jail for the rest of his life while I was to be sold on the block. I managed to distract them enough for David to break away. That was eleven years ago."

"You haven't seen him in that long?"

Abigail laughed. "I saw him about six years ago at a ball one of my masters held. I was serving the wine when David walked in like he owned the place. Turns out, my master was one of the top dogs in the Navy and The Swan Queen and her crew decided to crash the ball for the riches. David almost managed to rescue me."

"What happened?"

"I was shot."

Regina gasped in horror. "What?"

Abigail nodded very calmly. "My master saw David and me running toward the ship and fired at us. I was hit in the back. I think David thought I was dead, honestly. I was close to it. I could hear him crying my name and everything before it went black. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in a cell and being primed for auction again."

"They didn't kill you?"

Abigail shook her head. "My master needed the money from my sell more than anything. And I didn't argue. I wasn't ready to die."

Regina just stared at the blonde with wide eyes.

Abigail gave a small laugh. "You are looking at me as if I am a ghost."

The brunette shook her head. "No, I'm just in awe," she answered. "You have gone through so much in your life and yet you still have a smile on your face. How?"

Abigail shrugged. "It isn't easy," she said. "My life is certainly not a bed of roses but I've learned to take the good with the bad. It could always be worse."

Regina shook her head. "I lived in the lap of privilege for so long and took it for granted. I feel so ashamed of myself."

"Why?" Abigail asked with raised eyebrows. "You could have very well just done what your mother told you to do. You could be just like her, evil and manipulative. But you aren't! You are good. And here you are, on the ship that is chased by The Royal Navy, helping pirates take your mother down! I think you have little to be ashamed of."

Brown eyes warmed at that and a smile broke out on Regina's face. "Thank you," she said. "I think I've needed to hear that for a while now."

"You're welcome," the blonde said. "What are friends for?"

Emma hated being right. Well, not really. Most of the time, she loved it. She loved being right and rubbing it in people's faces. But at this instant….she hated it. The storm had been a hell of a storm. And if she didn't know any better, she would say it was pretty close to being a hurricane. But it was finally slowing down. After two hours of their ship being pounded with wave after wave, their sails ripped by the ferocious wind, and almost losing two of her crew overboard, they were finally going to get a break.

"Cap'n," Grumpy yelled over the dying wind. "The sail is coming loose again!"

Emma wiped her face and peered through the pouring rain. Sure enough, one of their sails was flapping around the mast, having unfurled from it's rolled position. This was the second time it had come loose. And after the first time and almost losing Dopey to the sea, Emma decided to take action into her own hands.

"I'll get it this time, boys," she shouted. "Hand me a rope! Charming, help me out."

The blonde man nodded and threw one end of the rope to his captain before securing the other end to the rail. And the crew watched in awe as their captain started scaling the mast to secure the rope.

The blonde pirate captain had always felt at home on a ship. And climbing the mast was the best part of being a pirate. At least, in her honest opinion. She was able to see so far and so wide. Nothing could hold her down. She could always imagine that she could see the end of the world.

But during a storm, she always felt a small tingle of fear enter her stomach when she scaled the mast. She had done this so many times, it was almost second nature to her. But no one could predict the strength of the wind or the height of the waves. Nothing could prepare you for the mast suddenly titling in a different direction.

But that fear kept her safe. With a rope tied around her waist and Charming keeping hold of the other end, she knew she wouldn't drown. If she did fall, she would just have to pray that she would fall into the sea and not onto the deck.

She was just tying off the sail when a gust of wind as the storm's last hurrah, knocked her back from the mast. She didn't have a chance to gasp in shock. She was just suddenly toppling head over end toward the deck far below. But instinct took over.

Her right hand shot out and grabbed a loose rope, halting her flying body. With a jerk, she was brought to a stop. But the momentum kept her swinging dangerously in time with the rocking ship.

She thought she heard Snow scream her name but she didn't let herself focus on that. She just quickly used her left hand to grab another rope and pulled with all her might to allow her swinging to lessen. And without thought, she wrapped her legs around the second mast and shimmied down. And with a thud, landed on her feet on the deck of The Swan Queen.

And as the sun finally broke through the clouds and the wind died down, her crew erupted into cheers. Charming engulfed her in a hug while Snow started hitting her upper arm, scolding her for being so stupid.

She just grinned. She loved her life.

Regina wasn't prepared for the wave of arousal to hit her when Emma walked through the cabin door over two hours later. The captain was soaked from head to toe, her hair hanging down her back in a wet mass and her face was dripping with water. But the grin on her face made her eyes glow and her cheeks flush.

"Emma?" Regina asked, drawing the other occupants attention to the captain.

"Storm's over," Emma rasped, her throat sore from having to scream over the wind.

Regina bit her lip as another wave hit her.

"Thank God," Abigail said. "I think my stomach was about to rebel from all the rocking."

"Everything go alright, captain?" Archie asked.

"Just fine," Emma answered, her grin still in place. "Nothing my crew couldn't handle."

"You look happy enough," Abigail said with raised eyebrows.

Emma just grinned.

"She acted like an idiot out there!" Snow suddenly said from the doorway.

Everyone turned their attention to the first mate.

"I did not," Emma argued, her grin still in place.

"Yes, you did," Snow stated with a frown. "You put yourself in danger."

Regina felt her breath catch in her throat at that.

"I was fine!"

Snow narrowed her eyes at the blonde then turned her attention to Regina. "Tell your lover to stop taking unnecessary risk!" Snow said. "I almost had a heart attack seeing you swinging around up there like a monkey."

"Emma!" Regina suddenly exclaimed. "You were up on the mast?! During a storm?"

Emma just shrugged, her grin not even faltering. "It needed to be done."

"But-" Snow started.

"Look, Snow," Emma said softly. "You know I was fine. I'm the best at getting up the mast out of anyone on board."

"But, Emma," Regina cut in. "What if you had been hurt?"

"It's always a possibility. But I was fine."

"Emma-"

"Regina," Snow cut in with a sigh. "She's right. I just overreacted. And she loves it. Look at her face. She loves swinging around up there."

At one look at Emma's face, Regina felt her arousal came back full force. And Emma saw it. Her green eyes slowly darkened and her grin turned slightly feral.

Snow must have seen it too. She just shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Okay, everyone out. Emma needs to change into something dry."

Archie and Henry left, none the wiser. But Abigail just grinned, nudged Regina in the side and winked at the captain. "Something dry, my foot," she said as she passed them.

And the door had barely closed behind Snow before Regina and Emma were in each other's arms, lips locked in a passionate embrace.

Snow just shook her head as she met up with Red on deck. Red gave Snow a grin. "Our captain resting up?"

Snow snorted. "Resting up? Is that what they call it these days?"

Red laughed and made her way back to the helm.

"How far off course are we?" Snow asked as she followed her.

"Not much by my calculations," Red answered. "We should be at Enchanted Island within a week."

Snow felt her shoulders drop. This trip had been leisurely so far. But once they hit the island, everything was going to come down on them. She could feel it. And the one it was going to hit the hardest was Emma. It wasn't going to be pretty.

To be continued…

It will be sooner this it was this time. I promise!

Review!