Chapter 26

Another update! Life has been absolutely insane and it's only about to get crazier. Thank you for everyone who is still reading. I always love your comments and hearing what you think and what you want to see next! You guys keep this story alive!

Up next it's time to see how Emma and Henry's plan works out (or doesn't work out). We will also see how Ella is handling things and starting to open up to her parents. ENJOY!

Snow came down the stairs just as the front door closed. "Where is Emma going?"

"She's taking Henry out for the day. He apparently asked her to spend the day with him"

"And you bought that?" She said putting her hand on her hip.

"Snow..."

"David you and I both know she put Henry up to this"

"I thought the same thing but I asked him and...well he didn't flinch or even look away. I think he was telling the truth" David said trying to defend himself. Snow was still standing with her hand on her hip and giving him a look that made him feel guilty.

"Charming..."

"Snow, I know what you're thinking and I really think that Henry was being honest with me."

"And I think you just got charmed by your own charming smile plastered on your daughter and grandson's face" She said finally coming up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist "But at least you're cute when you know you've been bested" Charming sighed and wrapped his arms around Snow before placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

"So you really think she used him? to get past me"

"Oh yes, they are on their way to spend time with her pirate as we speak"

"Then as nice as this is, I'm going to have to go burst her bubble" He said looking down at his wife before placing a mother kiss on her lips.

"We can let her live in her bubble for a little bit longer" Snow said before pressing her lips to his again and deepening their kiss. She figured that they were going to catch her in the act either way and could let her think she got away with it just a little while longer while they got into some trouble of their own.

"What about Ella?" David asked breaking their kiss long enough to ask his question

"She's asleep and won't wake up for a while" Snow quickly answered before she continued their kiss. She was going to enjoy some alone time with her man.

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Emma and Henry leisurely moved toward the docs on their way to meet up with Hook. Emma was starting to think that the three of them were close to becoming a real family, it was scary and exciting all at the same time. Every man in her life excluding her father had hurt her or walked out on her. It had taken a long time for her to begin to trust Hook but slowly he had shown her that he was not going to be like other men. It had taken her father a bit longer and she still wasn't sure that he was totally convinced.

"Hello Love. I thought you said you weren't going to be able to come today?"

"I decided that I wanted to spend the day with both of you!" Henry chimed in "Just don't tell my grandparents because my mom is kind of on house arrest"

"Ah, well then lad, should we have another navigation lesson?" Hook said messing up his hair a little bit.

"Sounds great!" Henry said before running aboard the ship

"And you, are a bad influence" Hook said as he wrapped his arm around Emma's waist.

"What can I say? I'm turning into a pirate" she said in a sultry voice before placing a gentle kiss on his lips

"I can live with that" he said before returning the kiss. He wasn't going to complain about her being there, not by a long shot. "Shall we go aboard before the boy starts to question where we are?" Hook said pulling back a little.

"Do we have to" Emma said beginning to kiss him again

"Hey Mom!" Henry exclaimed causing them both to fly apart and look at the boy. "I think we better get going before grandma or grandpa decide to start looking for us"

"Good plan kid, let's go" Emma said feeling her face begin to turn a bright shade of red. She quickly started heading aboard with her pirate close behind. They were going to have to get a date in just the two of them soon where they didn't have to worry about Henry or her parents interrupting them. She didn't want to repeat the "tacos'" moment that her parents had so graciously done for both she and Henry.

In just a few minutes Henry had helped Hook get the boat untied from the doc and they were off. This was exactly what she needed.

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Ella woke up a little confused as to where she was or what was even going on. She was never one to take naps but she had lost so much sleep, her body had forced her to finally stop and rest. She turned over and grabbed her phone off the night stand to see that it says 4:00pm. She groaned and pulled herself out of bed. She knew that if she didn't she wouldn't be able to sleep that night. She found her slipped and pulled them on before grabbing a sweatshirt out of her closet and heading down stairs.

"Hey princess, how are you feeling?" David said coming over and wrapping her in a hug before kissing the top of her head.

"Tired"

"Come here" He said as he guided her over to the kitchen island "Let me make you some hot chocolate"

"Hey sweet heart, did you sleep okay" Snow said over her shoulder. She was at the stove browning the meat for the marinara sauce.

"Fine" She said groggily. She was not a morning person and, even though it wasn't morning, she still wasn't into talking after just waking up

"This should help cheer you up" David said sliding the mug over to her. She immediately wrapped her hands around the warm cylinder and hummed to herself as the smell enveloped her. "Thought so" David said with a bit of a chuckle as he watched his daughters entire demeanor changed. David then immediately went back to helping Snow with dinner and they enjoyed a comfortable silence.

Ella always liked watching her parents because they moved with a synchronization that was unmatched. Somehow they anticipated the move of the other yet never missed a beat. She hoped that one day she would find someone that she could do the same with. Eventually her head started to clear and the hot chocolate had warmed her whole body. She broke away from watching her parents and noticed that Emma and Henry were nowhere to be found.

"Mom, dad? Where is Emma and Henry?"

"Henry wanted to spend the day with Emma so they went out for lunch and ice cream just the two of them"

"Oh" Ella said a bit surprised. Her dad had been very clear that Emma wasn't leaving the house. Maybe it was just because she wanted to go be with Hook

"Oh don't worry, the'll be back soon" Snow said turning around and placing her hand on Ella's. She was a little surprised at her youngest reaction.

"No, I know. It's fine. I'm just surprised is all"

"Why are you surprised" David asked crossing his arms over his chest

"Well, you were pretty insistent that neither of us were leaving the house"

"Well, you and your mom think the same thing and she pointed out that I had been bested by both your sister and your nephew. I was just on my way to burst your sisters bubble" He said before giving her a kiss on the head and heading for the door.

"Whoops" Ella said looking at her mom

"It's not our fault honey, if your sister is manipulating us, thens he dug her own grave" Snow said sympathetically before going back to wrap thing up for dinner. "Will you grab the plates and set the table?"

"Sure" Ella said getting up off the stool. She really hoped that Emma didn't come home too upset.

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David headed straight to Grannies where the two said they would be grabbing a bite to eat "Hey Granny, have you seen Emma and Henry?"

"Not that I can remember, Red? Have you seen Emma and Henry in here today?"

"No, sorry David"

"It's okay. If you do, would you mind giving me a call?"

"Sure, is everything okay?" Red asked a bit concerned

"My daughter manipulated me into letting her spend time with that pirate" David said with disgust.

"David, when are you going to realize that she loves him?"

"When I think he's good enough" He replied defensively

"Which is never" She quickly shot back. She and David and Snow had been friends for a long time and they had asked her to be Emma's God Mother, had things worked out a bit differently.

"It doesn't matter, she lied to me and I'm not letting that slide"

"Alright, well if I see them I'll let you know"

"Thanks" He said with an eye roll before leaving. He then stopped into any given Sunday and went to the park but they were nowhere to be found and no one else had seen them either. Thankfully her car and the patrol car were still parked outside the loft so he knew they couldn't have gone far. The last place he decided to look was the docs. He arrived within a few minutes but hook's boat was nowhere in sight. He decided to finally pull out his phone and call his oldest in find out where she was because he as starting to panic a little bit.

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Emma looked down at her phone and felt her blood run cold. She decided to move below deck to try and eliminate some of the background noise before she answered. "Hey Dad"

"Emma, where are you?"

"What do you mean? I'm out with Henry like I told you"

"Don't play coy with me, I want to know where you are right now!" He said a bit more frustrated.

"Dad, is something wrong? Why does it matter? I'm a grown adult!" Emma snapped back

"Something is wrong because I"m pretty sure that you and Henry worked together to pull the wool over my eyes and use your supposed 'day out' to spend time with Hook"

"Well you can think what you want but it's not true! Henry and I are on a hike! I also don't appreciate you accusing me!" Emma yelled. She knew that she had been made but she hated that her dad was treating her like a child. She was an adult and she could choose who she spent her time with.

"Emma"

"Goodbye dad" Emma said before hanging up. She then angrily threw her phone into her bag and zipped it up before returning to the main deck of the ship. Her dad was not going to tell her what to do.

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David was fed up with his daughters attitude. Then again, he shouldn't have started the conversation off at 10 and except her to not react. He only wanted to keep her daughters and grandson safe and he was feeling like a failure. He still wasn't convinced that his daughter was hiking, being that she had no sense of direction, but he decided to go home and leave well enough alone before he caused further damage. He was going to have to have a heart to heart with his daughter when she got home and apologize for his actions. If he was honest, even though he was upset with Emma for lying, he was more upset that he had been bested by the duo.

When he walked in the door he found Ella and Snow cuddled up on the couch with a bowl of spaghetti each

"So?" Snow asked a bit confused at her husband walking in alone.

"I couldn't find her"

"David!"

"Snow, I called her and she said that she and Henry went hiking. I don't know if I believe it it, but no one had seen them around town and when I checked the docs hook's boat wasn't there so I can't say she's lying"

"Did you go to the woods?"

"No, I kinda messed up" He said plopping down next to Ella and putting his arm around her

"How so?" Ella asked

"Well, I called her in a. panic and I went from 0 to 10 in an instant. I shouldn't have been so upset but I just get worried about you guys" David said pulling Ella closer. "As your dad, it's my job to make sure that you are safe. It's harder and harder for me to do that while also letting you grow up and be your own person"

"We know" Ella said laying her head on his chest. David leaned down and kissed her head before sharing a knowing look with his wife. She loved how passionate her husband was about their daughters and she wouldn't trade it for the world, no matter how carried away he got. He was just going to have to find a better was to communicate his concern without causing conflict.

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"love? Everything okay?" Hook asked as he came down to where Emma was emerging from below deck

"Well if your dad freaking out at you is okay then I'm fantastic" She responded sarcastically.

"What?" Hook asked confused

"My dad went looking for me because he doesn't trust me and he called and accused me of lying to him"

"Well did you?"

"Yes! But that's not the point! I had to lie because if my dad had his way, Ella and I would never leave the house! I know he is only going it because he cares but sometimes I feel like I'm suffocating!" She finally said in exasperation.

"I'm sorry love" Hook said. He was at a loss for words. He knew that Emma loved her parents but that she also needed to express her frustrations without judgement. He just wanted her to know that he was there for her. "I'll leave you to your thoughts" he said before departing to go back to Henry was was currently steering.

Emma allowed the sound of the water lapping along the side of the boat to calm her thoughts and allow her to take a deep breath. She wasn't sure if she was mad that she had almost been caught or that she wasn't caught. She knew the minute that she walked out the door with Henry that it was only a matter of time before her dad came looking for her. Even Henry knew that. She would have actually been concerned if he hadn't. She was feeling torn between wanting her parents involvement and not wanting them involved and she knew that they were at the point where they had to have a discussion about where the boundary lines were.

Emma then looked up and saw her son with Hook. Maybe it was time for them to move out and create a physical separation. She knew her parents wouldn't be happy but she had to do what was best for her and Henry. Her parents had given her deep roots, and now its as time to use her wings.