I always wanted to write this story since I saw the remake when it came out. Thank you captainswanmoviemarathon for giving me an excuse to write this fic. Thank you searchingwardrobes for her beta services! I really appreciate it and of course thank you carpedzem for her STUNNING art for this story! I absolutely love it! Please please check out her post.
It's a bad idea. Absolutely terrible plan. She knows it the moment she sees him lying in that hospital bed with a large bandage on his temple and ocean blue eyes that are positively empty. The asshole has no idea who she is.
"Go hug your husband Emma!" Ruby encourages, pushing her forward. She absolutely doesn't want to do this. But Emma doesn't see another option. She puts on a smile.
"Honey!" She says as enthusiastically as she can. "I can't believe you're ok." She reaches in for a hug and he is as still as a statue as she does so, obviously confused. "They told me you had amnesia, but I didn't think..." She trails off. "Do you remember me?"
He shakes his head, eyes narrowed on her face. She can see the strain in his eyes before he closes them in obvious discomfort. She winces at that. It looks like he has a pretty serious head injury. She raises her hand and touches the bandage gently. He flinches at that but doesn't move. "Hey, it's alright." She tries to soothe. "We'll figure this out ok?"
He nods. "And who are you?" He asks. He has no idea that they had been at each other's throats only a few days ago. "Who am I?"
Emma smiles. "You're Killian Swan. My husband."
Except of course you're not.
/
Emma did not begin the week plotting to abduct a man with amnesia. No sir. All she wanted to do was clean a damn yacht. Several yachts actually. Storybrooke Marina was lucky to get quite a bit of attention this time of the year, big ships from pretty rich boys with even bigger wallets.
It was a perfect seasonal gig for Emma to have when her kids were out of school, when her teenage son Henry could watch her younger son, Leo while she made some extra cash. Usually it was simple,a quick get in, get out operation.
After all, who would still be on their boats at 10 am? Most of the time, the party animals were in some fancy hotel sleeping off their hangover. Perfect time to get them deep cleaned before the next party. So Emma thought nothing of it when she started the vacuum and went to work. And this ship was an absolute pig sty. Emma's seen some messes before, she was raising two boys after all, but this was another level.
Glasses of all sorts littered the place, some plastic, others not. It looked like they had had some sort of pirate themed soiree because there was all sorts of pirate themed junk all over the place, from eye patches, to pirate hats to what appeared to be parrot feathers.
Gross was an understatement of the century. But Emma was not one to complain. She was no stranger to some good old fashioned hard work. Unfortunately however, it wasn't long before it became apparent that she was not alone on this ship.
"Bloody hell!" Shouted a voice from the bedroom, and out came a very scarcely dressed man, hand pressed against his head in obvious discomfort. She couldn't help but notice the guy's compass tattoo on his ribs.
"Who the hell are you and why are you making all that damn racket?" He snapped impatiently.
Emma jolted in surprise when she saw him. It wasn't the first time she'd run into an unexpected guest. But it was the first time they were missing a shirt and only in a towel...
"Cleaning." She said dumbly. "Why are you here?" She asks.
"It's my damn ship where else would I be?" He said making his way over to her. He gave her a once over. "And can you do the cleaning quieter?" He asked.
"Not-Not really." She stammered out. "It looks like you got this place stained pretty good." She says gesturing to the place.
"That's what happens when you have a good time." The man mused. "Something you obviously know nothing about." He snickered. Emma rolled her eyes at the comment.
"Look, how about I come back later? Give you some time for some beauty sleep." She said, starting to pick up her stuff. The man shook his head, stopping her. His hand went to keep the vacuum from leaving the ground and his grip on his towel slipped.
Her eyes went wide at the slight of the towel slipped to reveal pirate crossbone swim trunks beneath. Emma sighed in relief. Seeing some rich guys junk was the last thing she needed today.
He looked at her flush face, a knowing grin appearing on his face. "Easy love. It's not gentleman-like to flash a lady." He said with a smirk. "Unless of course she would like it." He took a step closer to her. His eyebrows high in amusement of her discomfort.
Emma couldn't help but groan in annoyance. "First of all, not your love." She snapped, and with two hands she grabbed her cleaning equipment and turned it on. "Second. I can either clean your disgusting boat with my vacuum, or come back later. Your choice."
She looked him dead in the eye and for a moment she thought, like most rich assholes, he was going to cave and let her do her job. But of course, this guy seemed to be the captain of all the assholes.
"Well love." He practically sneered, grabbing the loud vacuum out of her arms. She lets out a shriek of surprise. "I was going to let you off with a little apology for waking me up, but after calling The Jolly a boat, it seems you're going to have to do without this bloody device."
"What the hell do you think you're-" But Emma didn't have a chance to stop the mad man before he tossed it over the side and down into the harbor.
/
It's hours later when Emma was in Granny's receiving the worst verbal lashing ever. And from Smee no less. Emma never imagined the nervous, sweet tempered man could be so brutal.
It probably didn't help that not only had she not cleaned the boat, but Smee's vacuum had been completely unsalvageable. After pushing in the owner of said ship into the harbor, security had removed her from the docks, banning her until Mr. Jones was out of port later that evening.
Emotionally: Emma was damned near pleased at the complete and utter surprise on the man's face when she tossed him in right after her stuff.
Who does he think he is destroying someone else's property without a care in the world? She hoped she taught him a lesson of respecting someone who was only there to do her job.
Financially: It was a disaster for her and probably for Smee too. She needed that money. Depended on it.
Now she either had to pick up extra hours at Granny's or Robin's construction site. Emma couldn't afford extra hours, honestly.
She was stretched thin as it was. If she did take the extra hours there was no way she'd have time to study. If she couldn't study for her nursing exam, she couldn't provide a better life for her kids. The very thing she promised herself when she first got pregnant with Henry.
She put her head down on the table in defeat.
We both promised that, but Neal and promises never did end well...
"Emma!" Ruby called from her place at the counter. Emma opened an eye to glare at her best friend. She was in no mood for whatever scheme Ruby usually got her involved in. "The boys are here." Emma's eyes opened suddenly to see her kids bursting into the diner red faced from working on her brother's farm and smiling. She lifted her head, trying not to give away the defeat in her entire being. She forced a smile on her face.
"Hey kids." She greeted, "Have a fun day?"
"Yeah!" The younger of her boys, Leo exclaimed. "Uncle David let me play with the goats!" At only 6 years old, after spending a whole day outside there was absolutely no chance at an indoor voice. "He said we can go back tomorrow."
Emma smiled at him, rubbing his head of shaggy blonde hair as he scooted into the booth with her. "What about you?" She asked looking at her older kid. Henry had a smile on his face, but he avoided looking at her, as usual. Ever since he turned 14, she had been getting the teenaged silent treatment.
"It was fine," he said. Oh how she missed her chatty story teller. But apparently it wasn't cool anymore. "Have you heard from dad?" He asked suddenly as Ruby dropped down their usual orders.
As if her day wasn't bad enough with losing her cleaning job, now she had both her gloomy teen and her bright eyed kid looking at her so hopefully...
The truth was she hadn't heard from Neal. The last time she'd heard from him had been Henry's birthday nearly 8 months ago. It hadn't even been about their kids. It had been asking for money to fly across the country to meet his girlfriend.
The absolute nerve of the man.
But after that, after she verbally let him have it, he never contacted the boys again. Not even to wish them happy birthday like he did before. Sure he left nearly two years ago, but the lack of contact had been hard on the boys. Especially Leo. He still had hope that Neal would come back to see them.
"No." Emma responded to Henry. "You know you're father, head in the clouds, would forget his head if it wasn't attached to him." She said, trying her best to make excuses for him, as she always did. Emma never wanted to speak ill of him, but he always made it terribly difficult. "You know he loves you."
Henry looks down into his food. "You don't have to lie." he says bitterly. "He doesn't."
"Henry." Leo said eyes wide. "Of course dad loves us! He said he'll be back when he can take us to the new water park." He reminds him. Leo looked over at her with uncertainty. As if doubting his own words for a moment.
She can see in Henry's eyes flash angrily, like he wants to say something but being the good big brother he is, he doesn't. He just takes an aggressive bite of his burger.
"Nevermind. Forget I even asked." He said. It breaks Emma's heart that her kids are hurting like this and there's nothing she can do about it.
"I love you kid. The three of us...we can figure it out." She said and it feels like not enough. It feels like there should be more to say but there isn't. "How about we watch a movie together? Just the three of us."
Leo's eyes sparkled. "Can it be a disney movie?"
Henry groans. "Not another disney movie." He complained.
"Hey, Disney movies are cool." Emma said. "We'll flip a coin like usual." She tells him ending an argument before it starts.
/
It's not long before they are back home to their small loft sitting on the couch in front of the TV. Peter Pan is playing on the screen and Leo is cuddled up to her side. It used to be Henry's favorite of the Disney movies so she figured it would be a good middle ground to appease her kids.
Henry was texting on his phone rather than watching the movie, although she caught him watching some of the more exciting scenes every now and then. She pretended she didn't notice.
Lighting flashes out their window, crackling thunder makes Leo jump in fright. "Hey, it's ok kid." She said with a smile. She looked out the window at the nasty storm. It doesn't matter that some prick cost her her job. She knows that she will do whatever she has to do for her kids.
Emma swears she will figure out how to give them the better life she always wanted.
That rich jerk can fall off his boat for all she cares.