Chapter Twenty-Five

"I thought Captain Hook was supposed to hate you," Emma said weakly, leaning against Will.

He laughed. "He might hate me, but apparently he doesn't hate you."

The ship was getting closer, not too far away from the beach. Hook stood at the front of it, waving them over. "Come on!" He shouted.

"Will . . ." Emma's throat was dry; she could barely talk. "I can't . . ." It wasn't that far to swim, but Emma was barely in any condition to move at all. Whatever healing the pixie dust was making happen, it was happening slowly, and not all the pain from the dreamshade poison was gone.

"It's okay," Will said immediately, and helped her to her feet. He lifted her into his arms, like she weighed nothing. "I'll get you to the ship, okay? Stay with me, Em, please."

She was surprised how desperate he sounded, and it occurred to her then, as he carried her towards the water, that she was all he had. He didn't have any family, no more friends, nothing.

She didn't only have to stay alive for Charming and Snow. She had Will to consider now.

"You've got to make it to the ship," Will said. "I'll help you, okay?"

Emma nodded, and he set her down in the water, letting her lean on him heavily as they stepped into the dark, lapping waves. It was freezing; instantly she began shivering. She was more than a little shaky on her feet, and could barely stand up, but the water helped carry her weight a bit. She wrapped her arms around Will's neck, holding on tight to him as he pushed off into the water, heading for the ship. She worried she might drag him down, but he was much stronger than she'd expected, He seemed to have no trouble swimming, even with her on his back.

When they reached the ship, which was much larger than it had seemed from the beach, Hook threw down a rope ladder.

"What's wrong?" He shouted down to them.

"Dreamshade!" Will shouted back, spitting oceanwater. "One of the Boys' arrows hit Emma!"

"Get her up here now!" Hook ordered, and Will craned his neck to look at Emma.

"Can you climb it?" He asked.

"I'll . . . I'll try," she said. "You first."

"We'll pull you up," Will decided. "Hang onto the ladder, okay?"

Emma nodded. He climbed up quickly and agilely, and he said something briefly to Hook before they both began pulling the ladder up to the deck. Emma held on as tightly as she could; her palms burned from the rope digging into them, but it was nothing compared to the effects of the dreamshade poison. When she got closer to the top, Will and Hook both pulled her over the edge onto the ship, and she lay there on the deck, exhausted.

"Where are Snow and Charming?" Will asked.

"In the Enchanted Forest," he said. "Things are chaotic there right now, what with everyone suddenly back home and all. They asked me to save Emma, and you."

"Me?" Will said. "I don't think so."

"They did," Hook insisted. "I think you may no longer be one of the most hated people in the Enchanted Forest, Pan."

"Doubt it," Will said.

"Now, what happened?" Hook bent down next to Emma. "Emma, where did it hit you?"

"Here," Emma said, pointing to her shoulder. "I think the pixie dust is working."

"Pixie dust?" Hook raised an eyebrow at Will. "Where, exactly, did you acquire pixie dust?"

"Uh . . ." Will hesitated. "Never mind that."

"We have to get you back to the Enchanted Forest," Hook said. "Pan, take control of the ship. I'll take Emma below deck."

Pan nodded, and went off to turn the ship around.

"Can you walk?" Hook asked.

"Not really," Emma admitted; she could barely keep her head up. She hated this, feeling weak and helpless. This wasn't her. "I can try," she said, struggling to push herself off of the deck.

"No need," said Hook, and he lifted her up into his arms easily, again like she weighed nothing. She couldn't help but think, as Hook brought her below deck, that she wished Will was carrying her.

Hook set her down on a stiff bed attached to the wall, and as much as Emma didn't want to seem weak, so was at the moment. So all she could do was lay there, wondering when the pixie dust would really take effect.

"Thank you," she said to Hook. "We probably would never have gotten off that island if it weren't for you. I really appreciate it."

"Nonsense." He waved it off, with his hand that had the hook attached. "No need in letting you both die here, is there?"

"Are you going to stay in the Enchanted Forest?" Emma asked.

Hook looked unsure. "I . . . I don't have anyone to stay for. I don't belong there."

Emma was struck by how similar he was to Will. Neither felt that they belonged, despite the fact that they did. "Where else will you go?"

He shrugged. "Not sure, exactly. Sail around a bit, most likely."

"That sounds fun," Emma said, meaning it. She would love to go on adventures like that. Before she came to Storybrooke, she'd never even been out of Boston.

"Well, perhaps you'll have to accompany me sometime," Hook said, smirking a bit. "Can't travel alone, can I?"

Emma knew he wasn't being serious, but she wished he was.

"It shouldn't take too much longer to get to the Enchanted Forest," Hook said. "I'll bring down some water in a bit, all right?"

Emma nodded and thanked him again, and he headed back to the deck.

The pain was gradually subsiding, and she was grateful. She was still exhausted, though, and drifted off to sleep, wondering what Will and Hook were talking about above deck.

When she woke up, not knowing how much later it was, she was startled by the presence of another person beside her. The bed was big enough that there was about a foot of space between them, but still.

Will was sleeping next to her.

Heart pounding, she let herself stare at him. She could barely make out his face in the dim moonlight pouring through the window above them, but that didn't stop her. He looked so peaceful, not angry or worried or anything but just there. She wished he could be like that all the time.

She knew now what he'd done in the past, and it didn't change her opinion of him at all. She knew it should have, but it didn't. She wished she could feel the same about Baelfire, the boy she'd barely known for twenty-four hours and yet somehow completely understood. Maybe it was because they'd been in similar situations for so long, abandoned by their parents, entirely alone, with nowhere to go. She understood that. What she didn't understand was how the boy could harbor so much resentment towards everyone around him; that would drive Emma crazy, if it were her.

"Just can't keep your eyes off me, can you?" Will's sleepy voice jolted her out of her thoughts. Embarrassed, she lowered her eyes to the coarse white mattress. She hadn't stopped staring since she'd woken up.

"It's all right," he smirked. "If I were you, I'd do the same."

"Oh, shut up," Emma said. "Don't be so modest."

"Modest? Me?" He inched closer to Emma, so subtly she almost wondered if she was imaging it. But he was mere inches from her face now, close enough to kiss if she really wanted to . . .

And she did.

Luckily, he did too.

He closed the remaining distance between them and brought his lips to hers, lightly and a little cautiously at first, like he was wary that she might break if he wasn't gentle enough. She still felt sick, but more as if she'd been suffering from a bad cold for a week. At least now she could move.

He kissed her harder, and she kissed him back, not thinking about poison or dreamshade or Hook or anything but Will. Her Will, she mused. He belonged to her, she belonged to him, and it was too late to do anything about it.

He rolled over, on top of her now, his stomach pressed against her own, and she managed to prop herself up on her elbows, taking his face in her hands and continuing to kiss him, not caring that her lungs were screaming for oxygen. Nothing else mattered.

"No fooling around on my ship."

At the sound of Hook's firm, slightly bemused voice, Will practically jumped off of Emma and sat stiffly upright at the edge of the bed. "N-No fooling around here, Captain," he said, coughing a bit. "Just sleeping."

Hook raised an eyebrow at them. "We'll be at the palace in a few minutes. I suggest you learn to keep your hands to yourself, Pan. Wouldn't want to deal with the wrath of Prince Charming, would you?"

Will didn't say anything else. Hook returned to the deck, and Emma, breathing hard, turned to Will.

"What if Bae is still here?" Emma asked.

"He can't do anything anymore," Will said. "No more magic beans, remember?"

"Maybe you should hide," Emma said. "I don't want him hurting you."

Will scoffed. "I'd like to see him try."

"I mean it," Emma insisted. "He shouldn't know that you've returned to the Enchanted Forest."

"He'll know," Will said grimly. "He'll figure it out. Baelfire is no idiot."

"I wasn't suggesting that-"

"If you don't want me around, tell me," Will said. "And I'll leave you alone."

"Of course not!" Emma said. "Don't be stupid."

"Then it's settled," said Will. "We'll return to the Enchanted Forest, whether Baelfire is there or not. And we'll see what happens with us, right?"

"Right."

"Then come on." Will climbed off of the bed and extended a hand to Emma, who felt about five percent less tired than she had a few hours ago. "Let's go get you back to your family."