Disclaimer: I do not own the Once Upon a Time franchise.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Emma smiled as she walked hand-in-hand with Killian down the streets of Cape Charles, Virginia with Henry darting in front of them leading them in and out of the little shops in the small downtown area. Even though their world had blown up, Emma found peace in the little vacation she, Henry, and Killian had taken. They'd left Storybrooke and charted their course for Cape Charles. They'd stopped in Boston the evening before, which made Emma nervous, so they'd stayed on the ship and just eaten chicken salad sandwiches for dinner. Then early that morning they shoved off from Boston to go down to Virginia. The weather was beautiful, it was warm, but there was a nice cool breeze coming from the Atlantic, keeping the temperatures at the perfect level. The sun was shining and Emma even noticed the birds chirping. All felt right in the world at that moment. Emma was trying to hold onto it, to burn it in her memory.

Henry was enthusiastic about sailing around on The Jolly Roger and exploring new towns. Emma had been nervous about the trip. The 48-foot ship that Killian owned had three bedrooms, one which also housed the washer/dryer combination. They decided to use that room for storage and let Henry sleep alone in the smaller of the two big rooms. That mean that she and Killian were sharing a bed for the first time. The night before, sensing her nerves, Killian had told her there was no pressure, they were just sleeping. And they had, with a few kisses in between as they snuggled together under the soft comforter. It felt nice being that close to him, being a bit more intimate with him. Killian was different from any man she'd ever met before. In some ways he was similar to August, but not in all ways. Looking up at Killian's profile, she knew that she wanted to build a life with this man who'd given up the stability and normalcy of his own life to be with them. She wanted her and Henry to have a future with Killian.

She felt like they were a real family as they wandered together in the small port town. Killian tugged her closer and pressed a kiss to her temple as they smiled at Henry's child-like enthusiasm. "You seem happy, love." He commented.

Emma wrapped her arm around his waist to give him a hug. "I know that we are running and panicking, but this is nice." She admitted.

Killian hummed his agreement, "Maybe when this is over we can make this an annual thing in the summer." He suggested. Killian wanted a future with Henry and Emma. And was becoming more and more certain that Emma wanted that same future with him. It warmed Killian's heart to think of that future. His heart had been so cold for so long, but it felt like now his heart was fully alive. Like he was fully alive.

Looking up at him, Emma smiled softly, "I think that sounds nice. And Henry would like that."

"Mom! Killian!" Henry came to a skidding halt in front of them, "There's a candy store! Can we go in?" He was bouncing around like he'd already had a bunch sugar even though they hadn't even gone into the store.

Chuckling, Emma nodded, "Yeah, Kid, let's see what they've got." She agreed as they moved to the door of the store.

Walsh and Conrad West both stared around disdainfully as they drove into Storybrooke, Maine. It was even smaller than they'd imagined it would be. Most would find the town quaint. Walsh thought it looked dull and boring. They'd had to take a plane to Portland and then drive hours to get to the small town. Robert Gold looked across from the limo at the two men from Arizona, "Welcome to Storybrooke." He gave them a grin that neither could match. The limo wound through town to the outskirts of town where Gold's home was.

When the car pulled into the large driveway, the front door flew open and Belle ran down the front porch steps. Conrad and Walsh were both surprised when the young woman ran into the arms of Robert Gold instead of Neal Gold. She was clearly closer in age to the younger Gold. "You're home!" She pressed a few quick kisses to his lips. She looked around him and noted Conrad and Walsh, "And you have company?" She questioned, looking between the four men.

"Darling, this is Conrad West and his son, Walsh West." Robert Gold motioned to the men, "Gentlemen, this is my wife, Belle Gold."

Conrad stepped forward and pressed a kiss to the back of Belle's extended hand. "It's lovely to meet you, Belle." He gave her a charming smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and left Belle skeptical of his intentions. "Robert and I worked on a few deals many years ago and we ran into each other in Boston while he and Neal were down there." Conrad fed Belle the lie they'd come up with on the way from Arizona to Maine.

Belle nodded in understanding. Graham had told her to pretend to believe whatever Robert and Neal told her to keep her safe. And she now had August's number on speed dial in case there was a problem.

Giving the men a bright smile, she gestured to the home behind her, "Well, welcome to our home. I'm so thrilled to have you all here!" She bounced a bit, "Please come in so I can get you all settled, then I'll run to the store to get all of the fixings for a big dinner." She looked at her husband, "I wasn't expecting you and Neal back for a couple of days, so I haven't been to the store yet."

Gold grinned down at his small wife, love clearly in his eyes, "That sounds wonderful, darling." He agreed. "And I missed you so much," he told her softly, "I hate being away from your for long."

"I feel the same, Robert." She hooked her arm through his and they led the rest of the men into the large home.

On her way to the grocery store, Belle took a quick detour to the Sheriff's Station where she knew Graham and David were on duty. Dashing in, Belle opened the door quickly, "Hey, I only have a minute," she panted out, "Robert and Neal are back."

"Take a breath, Belle." Graham put his hands on his sister-in-law's shoulders. "They're back already?" He asked once Belle had taken a few deep breaths.

Belle nodded, "And they brought two men with them."

David stood up and slowly moved toward Belle and Graham, "Who did he bring?" David asked warily.

"Their names are Conrad and Walsh West." Belle confirmed David's suspicions that the Golds had gone to Arizona in search of Emma's husband.

"Okay," Graham looked at David who moved to pick up his cell phone to shoot a text off to everyone, "go to the store and just do your best to act like everything is fine."

Sensing the tension in the room had heightened, Belle asked, "What's going on? Who are these men?" Graham and David were silent, so Belle asked again, "Who are they?" Her accent thickened considerably and her voice rose as she spoke.

Graham and David silently agreed to tell Belle the truth, so Graham led Belle over to a chair. "You can't indicate that you know anything, but Emma took Henry and ran from an abusive husband. That's Walsh West."

Sitting back, Belle let out a long breath and tugged gently on the ends of her hair as she took in the news Graham gave her, "That poor woman." Belle finally said, "Okay, I'll keep you all updated on what I hear at the house and I'll keep my eyes and ears open." She promised before standing, "I've got to go, I told Robert I wouldn't be long." With an absent wave, she left the two men in the station.

Emma stepped out of the candy shop when her phone rang, "David?" She questioned.

"Hey, Emma, so Gold is back." David's voice rang through the phone with a bit of a shake to it.

Emma swallowed hard, "And?"

"Walsh and his father are with them." David confirmed.

It felt like a punch to the gut to hear the confirmation that Walsh had actually found where they'd run to, likely due to the help of his father. The thought of Conrad West being there made her more nervous than Walsh being in town. Walsh's ruthlessness didn't hold a candle to Conrad's. Of course she hadn't realized all of that until after she was married to Walsh. "Well, we know that was going to happen." She reminded David.

"I just wanted to let you know what was happening. Don't change your plans." He told her.

Emma looked through the front window of the candy shop where Killian and Henry were sampling some freshly made candies, "I won't. It's wonderful to watch Henry with Killian. They're already thick as thieves. They bought wooden swords at a toy store and they have planned a pretend take-over of The Jolly." She told David absently.

She could almost hear David's smile, "That's good, Emma. Killian is a wonderful man. And he really cares about both you and Henry. Graham and I have been teasing him about it for weeks now."

Emma smiles softly, "Yeah, I really care about him too. So does Henry."

"Go, be with your boys." David instructed her. "And stay safe."

"We will." She hung up, not telling him where they were. They'd decided not to share where Killian was leading them to as they moved down the coast. That way there wasn't a way for anyone in Storybrooke to find out where they were going.

Shoving her phone back into the back pocket of her shorts, Emma went back into the candy store, pasting a smile on her face. She could tell by the look on Killian's face that he wasn't buying it.

An hour later, when they were back The Jolly Roger and Henry was taking a nap after crashing from his sugar high, Killian pulled out two beers and led Emma out to two chairs on the stern of the ship. Handing her one, he asked, "So, what's the update?"

Emma took a long pull before she answered his question, "Walsh and his father, Conrad, are in Storybrooke. They came back into town with Gold and Neal."

Reaching over, Killian cupped her cheek, "Hey, it's going to be okay. You and Henry aren't in Storybrooke. We're in Virginia. And we're going to head down to Wilmington next. And I've got our passports so if we need to, we can head all the way down to the Bahamas."

Emma hummed, "That could be fun. I've never been there. Henry's never been out of the country."

Brushing his lips over Emma's, Killian replied, "Let's plan for it then. Besides, I'm looking forward to seeing you in a swimsuit, love."

Emma tugged on the hem of Killian's t-shirt. "I am too." She gave him a wink. Killian groaned as Emma set her beer on the ground next to her chair before rising and swinging her legs over his so she was settled on his lap. "Hi, Killian." She murmured.

Killian ran his hands up and down Emma's back, tangling in the tips of her hair, "Hi, Emma." Leaning down, Emma pressed a firm kiss to his lips, letting out a little gasp as he nibbled on her lip to deepen the kiss. Rocking forward, Emma elicited a groan from Killian. "Emma," he warned, his lips burning a trail of kisses down her neck, "you're playing with fire, love."

"Killian," Emma let out a moan when he bit down gently where her shoulder and collarbone met.

"Mhm, love the way you say my name." He admitted, rocking up to give them just a bit of friction.

A whistle calling out behind them caused them to break apart. They both flushed as a group of clearly inebriated college-aged men stumbled down the dock, laughing and pointing at the two of them.

Emma laughed as she dug her head in Killian's neck in a bit of embarrassment. When she looked up, she ran her fingers through his hair, "I guess we got a bit carried away."

Killian ran his hands up and down his back, "That's easy to do with you, love." He admitted.

Leaning forward, Emma pressed one last kiss to his lips before sliding over to her own chair and picking her beer back up, "Maybe next time we'll save it for a more private setting."

Killian gave her a salacious wink, "I'll hold you to that, love."