Sorry this took so long to write...this was a tough chapter to write, a lot of...really intense moments. Anyways, I really hope you enjoy it!
It had been a long night, Killian stood on the deck of his beloved ship, the smell of the ocean always cleared his head.
It had been several days since the incident in Tortuga, and Emma was healing quickly, not that he was surprised, fast recovery seemed to fit her profile.
"Couldn't sleep?" the voice from behind startled him; it was a rare occurrence for anyone to sneak up on him, especially on his ship.
"Aye, you either?" he turned to face the speaker, noting the pirate attire that she kept, despite them leaving Tortuga days ago.
"Too many thoughts to sleep." She walked towards the edge of the ship, their arms just barely touching.
"Thinking about your boy." he said, it wasn't a question, but a statement.
"I've been away from him for so long, I just hope that he's okay." He saw the pain in her eyes and hated it with everything in him.
"Rest assured lass, as dangerous as Regina is, she will do everything in her power to protect Henry." He knew the statement was true, as twisted as Regina was, she would do anything to help the boy, even if it meant killing her own mother.
"I know that, I just don't know how I'm going to get him back once I'm there. I've spent all this time determined to get back there, but I don't have a clue on how I'm going to save him."
"You'll find a way darling, you made it past a giant, you beat Cora at the lake, you'll think of something I'm sure." He wasn't lying either, if anyone could figure out a way to save Henry, it would be Emma.
"I beat you at the lake too, if I recall correctly." She nudged him lightly, a smile spread across her face.
"Yes, indeed you did." He avoided her gaze this time, hoping that she wouldn't notice his dismissive attitude towards her remark, but she was too damn perceptive for her own good.
"I did, didn't I?" she leaned over the railing to get a better look at his face, and he knew that he was caught.
"You bested me darling, I'm not sure what more you want me to say." He wasn't technically lying, she had knocked him out, but he hadn't exactly fought his hardest.
"You son of a…" her voice trailed off as she stared at him, realization hitting her like a ton of bricks. "You let me win, didn't you?"
"Well honestly love, did you think that 300 years in Neverland taught me nothing?" he wanted to change the subject, but he knew Emma too well, and she wouldn't have any of that.
"Why?" she had that look on her face, brow furrowed, eyes wide, mouth not quite forming a smile or frown.
"You're reasons were far more noble than mine." There wasn't the slightest hint of a lie, he hated to admit it, but he knew the moment he saw her at the lake, he couldn't allow her to not get home.
"So you're saying I can't fight." Her tone was challenging, her face determined. She was going to ignore him sacrificing a 300 year old revenge for her, at least for now.
"You're assuming love. You knocked me out fair and square." He winced at the memory of her fist meeting his jaw.
"But you went easy on me." He smiled, she had a tendency to get defensive over her capabilities, and him admitting that she won because he let her was infuriating to her.
"I may have, but the men in the bar most certainly didn't." he gestured to her still injured side to prove his point; this seemed to make her feel a little better.
"So…I do fight well…" her voice was still skeptical, but he heard a hint of pride in there.
"Well, you may be able to take on a few sleazy bar men, not sure how far you could get with a real pirate." His challenge hung in the air, and he saw the corners of Emma's mouth turn up slightly.
"Is that a challenge, Killian." He smiled at the use of his real name; it had been too long since he had heard it.
"It's whatever you'd like it to be, Emma." He enjoyed seeing her eyes flash, knowing full well that she would rise to the challenge he left before her.
"I think it's a challenge." She brushed past him, reaching for one of the swords lying on the deck, she turned and pointed it at him, ready to attack at the drop of a hat.
"Really love, you're just going to pick up a random sword on the deck and start fighting?" he was amused by the disgruntled expression on her face.
"What's wrong with that?" she glared at him in defiance, aiming her sword a little higher.
"How does it feel?" he asked seriously.
"What do you mean how does it feel, it's a sword, it's…I don't know. How is a sword supposed to feel?" she was staring at him intently, green eyes bright.
He took a step towards her, casually moving the blade away from him with his hook. "A man, or woman." He corrected when he caught her look, "Needs a good weapon, something that isn't just a sword, but more of an extension of themselves." He saw her questioning gaze and sighed, "Does it feel, right? Do you feel comfortable holding it?"
"Well, it's kind of heavy. Not that I'm weak, it's just not…balanced? But why does that matter, shouldn't you be good no matter what sword you hold?" there was the fire again.
"Aye, but if you want to be at your best, you have to feel comfortable. Here." He handed his sword to her and took hers, "Better?" The sword she had was not good, but he had so much experience he could manage a poorly made sword much better than she could.
"I guess. The one I used at the bar, I liked that one." She was still hesitant, but he saw her look of recognition, that was the blade she wanted.
"Right, well, go get it." He said stepping aside to allow her to pass.
"Aye aye Captain!" she mock saluted before she walked past him down to her quarters to retrieve the blade. He smiled in spite of himself, here was this woman mocking him on his ship, and all he could do was smile.
When she returned, he sauntered towards her, sword in hand, "Now, take your stance love." She obeyed, standing with one foot slightly in front, sword angled towards him.
"That's your stance?" he held back a laugh, to which she frowned, "What's wrong with my stance?" her tone was defensive, which only broadened his smile. "Nothing, your just leaving yourself rather wide open darling." "Well, I can't exactly defend all of me all at once now can I?" her tone was challenging. Without another word, he swung at an open point, she went to block, and he moved at the last second, placing his sword at her throat.
"How did I do that?" he asked her, suppressing a smirk.
"I don't know, how did you do that?" slowly inching away from the sword that was maybe a centimeter from her neck.
"By having a half decent stance." He replied in a mocking tone.
"Well, what is a half decent stance then?" she countered, trying to hide the annoyance in her voice.
"This" he took a step back from her, put his legs shoulder length apart, crossing his sword in front of him in such a way that would prevent any upper body attack.
"That's the way I was standing!" she protested.
"This, was the way you were standing love." He mocked her stance, showing how wide open she had left herself.
"I don't see a difference." She furrowed her brow, she was too stubborn.
"Liar." He pointed out; smiling at the way her brow furrowed even more when he called her out on it.
"Fine" she changed her stance, but it was still wrong, her feet were too far apart, her left arm was still open for attack.
"Emma, you have to guard your entire upper body." He walked towards her, hoping that she wouldn't hate him for what he was about to do, "Or else you'll be killed within 30 seconds" he stepped behind her, ignoring how his body pressed up against hers as he reached over and placed her hand in the correct position. He was startled by the jolt he felt when he touched her, and noticed how Emma tensed up; she must have felt it as well.
"See, you're blocking all of this now, this can buy you at least 30 seconds." He pushed past the intimacy of the moment by stepping away, Emma visibly relaxed and Killian couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
"Now, attack." He stated standing in front of her again. She smiled, as if she had been looking forward to this, and swung with all her might at him, he easily countered her, and the fighting commenced. Her movements were fluid, she was a natural sword fighter, it wasn't surprising given her family history, but she had an unexpected power behind every attack she made.
They continued on, ignoring the rising sun, attacking and dodging, all while verbally bantering back and forth, neither of them noticing when Mr. Teach came from below decks to speak to the captain. Seeing the sight in front of him, he smiled with appreciation and returned below, whatever he had to say could wait, the captain was busy.
Since that day, Emma joined Killian every morning before the sun rose and fought, she was getting better day by day, even though it had only been a week, she was probably more skilled then most of the men who were on the ship now.
"When are we going to the Enchanted Forest?" Emma asked on the second morning, she was getting too distracted by the pirate; she needed to find her son.
"Today, actually." He replied, Emma noted the disappointment in his face and briefly wondered why it was there.
"Really? So we'll find Henry soon then." She paused for a moment, we'll, no Emma, you will find Henry, not you and Killian, you alone; he has no part of this.
"It's a bit more complicated than that love, the Enchanted Forest is a huge realm, I cannot control where exactly the bean will take us, but we will get to the Enchanted Forest, and we will find your son." He said it with confidence, and Emma felt comforted by the emphasis he placed on the we.
"You think so?" Emma asked, not sure why she was letting the pirate in, allowing him to see her weaknesses.
"Emma love, I have not known you for very long, but if there is one thing that I know about you, it is this: you fight for the people that you love, no matter what the costs." Emma was stunned by the words, from anyone else, she would have shrugged it off, but coming from a man who lived for 300 years to avenge his love, it meant a lot.
"Careful, first rule of sword fighting, never get caught off guard." She swung her sword at him and he just barely deflected it. Emma ignored the tightening in her stomach when he caught her with his gaze, she tried to ignore the piercing blue eyes, or the way that her heart beat increased when he smiled, but she couldn't help it. Though Emma wouldn't admit it to herself just yet, she was falling for Killian Jones.
Now it was day five in the quest to find a passable place to land the Jolly Roger, and Emma was getting worried, a huge amount of the Enchanted Forest had been destroyed by the curse, and the more days that passed, the more Emma lost the confidence in finding Henry. The only thing that made her feel better was the stolen moments in the morning with Killian.
She had been walking towards the upper deck when she heard footsteps behind her, assuming that it was Killian, she smiled "You're up late Capt…" her voice trailed off as she turned to face the man behind her, he was most certainly not Killian.
"Expecting the Captain are we pretty?" the man sneered at her. Before Emma had time to react, one hand grabbed at her waist while the other grabbed her mouth to stifle the scream. "See, the Captain thinks he can bring this woman on board, tempt the men on his ship and get away with it, but things aren't that simple out at sea, and I get awfully lonely in my cabin." Emma struggled against him, biting, kicking, flinging her arms, but it was no use, the man was much stronger than she was, and she was fading fast from the lack of air.
He couldn't explain it, but Killian had the feeling that something was wrong, it had only been, five minutes or so since he arrived on deck, but something in his gut told him she was in trouble. On my ship, she is on my ship, what kind of trouble could she possibly get into? Nonetheless, he marched down the stairs towards the cabin that he had set aside specifically for her, the only cabin, other than his own, that had a lock. He rapped his knuckles against the enchanted wood and frowned when he didn't hear a snarky comment in return. He reached over to the door handle and twisted, it was unlocked.
"Emma" he called softly entering the cabin slowly, eyes scanning the room for her.
"Come now love, I told you, you can't hide from me on my own ship." But all the nudges wouldn't get rid of the distinct edge in his voice; Emma wasn't anywhere to be seen. Where is that woman? He made his way back to the upper deck, just to be sure that she wasn't there, but of course, she wasn't. Concern etched the normally handsome features, if she wasn't with him, and she wasn't in her cabin, then where was she?
"Captain, is there a problem?" Teach's voice echoed behind him, Killian turned to face him, anger flashing in his eyes, "Do you think that I would be calling out for someone if there wasn't a problem?"
"Who's missing?" Teach asked, not even flinching at the captain's behavior.
"Emma, have you seen her?"
"I assumed that she was with you, I saw her heading up to the deck not more than five minutes ago." the concern evident on his face.
"She isn't with me, that's why I went looking for her." The captain tried to control his anger, throwing his first mate off the ship would certainly not help the circumstances.
"Indeed sir, I'll start checking…" he would have continued the statement, but a loud crash came from below decks, not far from where they were standing.
Emma, without thinking, Killian rushed towards the sound he had heard, concern and anger overpowering his thoughts. He heard a loud thud coming from the inside of the cabin he was in front of, he kicked the door open, and there, lying on the floor, was his Swan.
"You." He said marching to the only person in the cabin, the bewildered man searched for a weapon to defend himself with, but Killian's hook was at his throat in no time.
"What exactly do you think that you are doing?" Killian hissed at the man, anger taking over completely.
"I…she…I…" the man stammered, did he truly think that he could get away with hurting her.
"Mark my words, if the next words out of your mouth don't make a complete sentence, I will gut you in this very room." Killian pressed his moniker deeper into his throat, making it nearly impossible for him to breathe.
"Killian?" the voice behind him was weak, just loud enough for him to hear, he immediately turned to see Emma standing up, looking at him with concern. She is concerned for me, she was just attacked on my ship, and she is concerned for me? He released the man he had up against the wall and turned to her, "Are you alright love?" he asked.
"I'm fine." She said, though she was still shaking.
"Did he hurt you?" he asked darkly, taking a step forward and assessing her for cuts or bruises.
"No, I'm fine." She said brushing a stray hair behind her ear. He looked at her skeptically for a moment, and then turned to face the man in the cabin, but he was gone, bloody coward.
"Teach!" he shouted, startling Emma.
"Captain." Teach returned promptly, sighing with relief at the sight of Emma.
"I need you to take Emma to my cabin, make sure she is alright." Emma opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off, "You are a terrible liar darling." When Emma opened her mouth again he shook his head, "Please." Emma frowned but followed Teach towards the captain's cabin.
"Now, back to business." The anger returning as he marched out of the cabin and back to the upper deck in search of the man who hurt Emma.
"Where is he?" The noise from the encounter had woken half of the men, who were crowded around the deck with bewildered expressions. When there was no response, the captain frowned, anger flashing in his eyes, "I will ask again, but this time, if I don't hear a response, I will personally see to it that every one of you is fed to the sharks." He may have been lying about the sharks, but the fear of dying would be enough leverage, "Where is he?
"Here" One man piped up, directing his attention towards the center of the ship where, sure enough, the man that was in the cabin with Emma was standing.
"Thank you." He said moving towards the man, everyone else scrambling out of his way. Hook pulled his sword out and held it at the man's throat, "Now tell me, what exactly were you planning to do to Emma." His tone was dark, the vengeful side of him taking over.
"She's a woman; there are only so many things a woman can do." He said with anger in his eyes. Without thinking, Killian smacked the man across the face with his hook, leaving a nasty cut that ran from the edge of his chin to the edge of his eye.
"There are many things that any woman can do, but her in particular, she is more capable than any man on this ship." He raised his sword and cut the other side of the man's face. "I expect everyone on my crew to be treated with equal respect, do I make myself clear." Everyone on the crew nodded and he looked at the man that was on his knees in front of him, "Get off my ship." He said darkly.
"What?" the man looked bewildered, he assumed that I would allow him to disgrace the Jolly Roger with his presence.
"I said, get off my ship." The captain repeated, hoisting the man to his feet and throwing him towards the edge of the ship.
"Captain Hook going soft over a pretty face." The man said smugly. Before he could contain control, Killian's sword was through the man's gut, the man let out a gasp of pain, "I hope you feel this as you sink to the bottom of the ocean, and if you somehow managed to survive this, I hope that I find you again, so that I myself can watch you die." The captain pushed the man over the edge without another word, fighting the thoughts of vengeance and anger by imagining the woman he was falling in love with in the cabin below.
"Now gentlemen, let me make one thing perfectly clear. This woman, her name is Emma, she is a member of my crew, and she is to be treated with respect, and as an equal, and if I should find out that anyone else tries to hurt her, I will personally see to it that you die in the most painful way possible." Without another word, he went below decks to find Emma, the only person that kept him from killing that man.
"Gave the Captain quite a scare there." The first mate said smiling at Emma.
"Really? I'm just grateful that he was in the right place at the right time." She said quietly, she probably could have escaped, but the fact that he had found her and defended her made her feel safe.
"Oh he wasn't in the right place, he was looking for you." Teach said with a confused expression on his face. Emma looked at the man rubbing something on her bruised shoulder, her face matching his. "What do you mean he was looking for me?"
"When you weren't on the deck, he went searching for you to make sure you were okay, when he didn't find you he panicked, like he knew something was wrong." Teach shrugged simply. Emma tensed up, he was looking for her, he panicked when he thought she wasn't okay, he knew something was wrong, her mind wandered for a moment, thinking about something David, her father, had said. It was the worst feeling in the world, I just felt this tightening in my chest out of nowhere, and I just knew that Snow was in trouble. Emma couldn't think like that, Mary Margaret and David were in love, and Killian certainly didn't love her, he loved Milah, he is going after Rumplestiltskin for Milah, he couldn't love someone else.
"Emma?" Teach's voice brought her back to reality, "What?" she asked looking at the man.
"Was that the only bruise you had?" he repeated the question.
"No, I mean, yes, that was the only place." She lifted the arm of her shirt to cover her shoulder, "It's feeling better already, thank you." She said smiling.
"Of course, just glad that you're alright, can't imagine what the captain would do without you." He said, and Emma noted the small smile creep onto his face.
"What are you talking about?" Emma asked suspiciously, sure she and the captain enjoyed each other's company, but that was it, they were…what are we exactly, she couldn't consider him a friend, their relationship was more intimate than that, she had told him things that she hadn't even told her parents, but that just meant they were close, spending time on a ship for a while brought people closer together, that was it, the same situation would have happened with anyone else.
"I just think that the captain, well, I haven't known him long, but he seems to enjoy your company is all." Emma saw through the lie, but something prevented her from pushing for the truth.
The door opened with a flourish, and the man they were discussing walked into the cabin, concern etched on his handsome features, concern, handsome, Emma, you need to get off this damn ship soon.
"Are you alright?" he said, ignoring his first mate, who he didn't seem to mind.
"I told you, I'm fine." She said as Teach closed the door behind him, leaving her alone with him.
"Yes, but you were lying." He said, walking towards her and sitting down on the bed, Emma realized how close they were and had to fight to keep her breathing steady.
"I'm fine." When she met his skeptical look she smiled, "I've been in worse situations, I'm fine, really."
"Good, I would hate to have to search for a doctor here, not quite as easy as it is in your realm, less things poking through your skin though." He wrinkled his nose and Emma laughed, remembering how much the captain seemed to hate all the IV's in him when he was at the hospital.
"What? I don't see the bloody point of attempting to blind me with that…whatever that nurse shone in my eye, when my ribs are hurt." Again Emma laughed despite the circumstances that she had just gotten away from, somehow he made her forget the worry that she felt for her son, her parents, and even for herself.
"You should do that more often princess." She didn't even wince when he said the nickname; she had grown accustomed to it.
"Do what?" she asked curiously.
"Smile like that, it's quite lovely." His look was serious and Emma found herself staring at his eyes, so much like the ocean.
"Yeah, well, it's not every day I get to hear Captain Hook complain about hospital machines." She looked away quickly; she was getting too close to him, letting her walls fall down too easily in front of him.
"Is he locked in the hold or something?" Emma asked, desperate to change the subject, even if it meant bringing back moments that could have ended very badly.
"He's not on the ship anymore love." It was his turn to look away from him, was that shame she saw?
"So you killed him." It was more of a statement than a question, he was a feared pirate after all, why wouldn't he kill someone like that.
"No." she looked up at him again, not bothering to hide the confusion.
"Well, he probably will be dead anyways, he didn't exactly leave my ship in the best of conditions." She noted the anger in his eyes and the tone of his voice.
"But you didn't kill him?" she couldn't imagine why he would have a problem killing a man.
"Oh believe me, I wanted to, and if anything worse had happened, I have no doubt in my mind that I would have, but I didn't." he was staring at her, with those eyes that read her so well.
"Why?" she let the question slip out.
"Because, that would make me no better than he is." He said, Emma felt lost, Killian had shown he was a better man than him, killing him wouldn't have made him worse.
"You spared his life because you thought you were worse than him?" she couldn't fathom why he hated himself so much.
"Trust me darling, I'm as bad as they come." He was deadly serious, Emma shook her head, "Trust me when I say that I have met far worse people than you." She leveled her gaze with him, ignoring the voice in her head saying that she wasn't going to go down this road again, that she wasn't going to open herself up to someone again, because they only hurt you in the end.
"You don't know half the things that I've done Emma, 300 years of trying to kill Rumplestiltskin leads you to do a lot of bad things." She frowned; he didn't understand that 300 years fighting for the woman that he loved was a much more noble cause than running from your magical father.
"Look, everyone has done bad things in the name of a good cause, you're no more bad than I am, and you are certainly better than a lot of people I know." She thought about all the things that Regina and Cora alone had done, they were the reason she was here right now, why she never had a family, why she had always felt alone.
"Right, well, they are certainly no hospital machines, but I suppose they aren't the best people around." He smiled at her, another genuine smile, and Emma felt herself smiling back, he didn't smile nearly as much as he should.
"Yeah, those hospital machines will really get you." She became aware of how close they were, how their faces were only a few inches apart, and how Emma felt drawn towards him, wanting to close the gap, she backed away, cursing herself for letting her walls down for him.
"Emma." He whispered her name, it was so quiet that she could barely hear it, despite the proximity. No, this is wrong Emma, you need to find Henry, Henry, your son, the son that is with Regina right now, you can't let your guard down now, not after just finding Neal again after 11 years, happy and moved on, engaged to be married emotions running rampant in her mind.
"Emma." The voice was a little louder this time, and she turned to see that he had closed the gap, every fiber of her body wanted to lean in that small bit more, wanted to believe how genuine he was, but not wanting to expose herself to hurt again.
"I can't…" he cut her off mid-sentence, "I'm not him Emma." Though she had never said anything about it, he seemed to still know exactly what was on her mind, what was stopping her from taking a leap.
"Please." Though as she said it, all her resolve had disappeared, she leaned in the short distance, and her lips brushed against his. It was so different than their last kiss, while the first one was intense and passionate, this was almost sweet, completely opposite of both of them, but so perfect at the same time. Emma leaned into him a bit more, reaching out to grab his face, letting her tongue just barely brush his lips, wanting nothing more than to deepen the kiss. She felt his hand on the back of her neck, a jolt of electricity running through her as he deepened the kiss, his hook moving down to her hip as he leaned in.
A knock at the door brought both of them back to reality, Emma cursed herself for giving in to temptation, for letting him win the game, but one look at him made her realize that he had stopped playing the game a long time ago, that this had become more than just a game for him.
"Captain, I just wanted to…" his first mate walked in and immediately noticed Emma moving as far away from the captain as possible, her cheeks a deep red.
"Wanted to?" Killian replied eyeing his first mate impatiently, Teach seemed to realize that he had intruded on a moment, and quickly finished his statement, "Wanted to tell you that we found an area that appears to be safe to set the ship."
"So, we can get off, look for Regina and Cora?" Emma's heart beat increased, she could find her son and get him home, get away from this pirate that made her want to trust again.
"Yes ma'am, just thought that you would want to know, figured the captain would want to make sure everything was safe first." He said.
"Right," he turned towards Emma, a smile on his face, "Let's go find your boy, shall we?"
So? Hope it was worth the wait, and for those who are wondering *spoiler alert* that creepy guy will get what's coming to him (Not from Emma though).
Anyways, I felt bad that our biggest shipper on the show is gone, so I figured I had to make up for it a bit with having Teach ship them too :D
So, hope you guys liked it, leave a comment and let me know, and I promise I will try not to delay the next chapter too much.
