Hello there! I am back! How is everyone? I hope you are all better than me cause I am very very stressed with school.
I am sorry for not posting last week but I was between two exams and the story simply slipped from my mind. Exam period started so I shouldn't be too surprised because this semester I have eight exams (only five left now!) and some of them really want to make you hate yourselves, your life, every decision you took in the last few years and your school (wich I was already doing, anyway).
So yes, I forgot about posting last week and I would've forgot to post today as well, but I don't know, something in my mind slapped me and told me "POST IT!" I promise interesting things will start happening and alsi we are closer to finding out why Milah is alive!
Enjoy!
The next morning, Emma woke up with a soft breeze hitting her face. She opened her eyes and was surprised by the amount of light that was in the room. She turned to look towards Henry's bed to see him, but then remembered that he had wanted to sleep at Regina's house the night prior. She put her head on the pillow again and grabbed her phone. Looking at the clock, she saw that it was barely 8:30AM. Her heart told her to close her eyes again and get more sleep, but her stomach was screaming at her to wake up and feed it.
So she rose from the bed, went in the bathroom for a quick shower and then started to get dressed. While getting dressed, Emma remembered the promise she made to Hook the night before and she decided to have breakfast with him that morning. The problem was, though, that she had no way of contacting him. She had to drive all the way down to the docks and then take him with her to Granny's.
When she was ready, she took her phone, her wallet, and the keys to the car and left the room. She hoped her parents weren't awake yet because she was not in the mood to answer Mary Margaret's questions; questions that she also deflected the night before when she went back to the diner after her discussion with Killian and Milah.
Entering the diner, Emma spotted her parents at a table with Ruby, while Henry and Regina were eating at another table. Emma smiled and waved at Henry to let him know that she was back, and then moved towards her parents' table.
"Emma, you're back!" Mary Margaret smiled at her when she was in front of their table.
Emma sat beside Ruby, facing her parents, and smiled at her mother. "Yes, I am. And I am hungry," she said looking at Ruby.
"I bet you are. Grilled cheese?" Ruby asked with a knowing smile on her face.
"Yes, please. Oh, and onion rings!" Emma added with a smile.
Ruby continued to smile at her and then rose from her place and started to walk towards the kitchen.
"So, Emma," David started. "Who was that woman?"
"Ruby didn't tell you?" Emma asked with narrowed eyes, knowing very well that Ruby knew who Milah was.
"She said her name was Milah and that she was Hook's ex," Mary Margaret answered.
"Is she?" David asked Emma.
"She is," Emma confirmed. "And also Gold's ex. Ex-wife, that's it," she added.
"Gold had a wife?" Mary Margaret asked, amazed.
"Neal was his son; of course he had a wife," Emma said, rolling her eyes.
"So that woman is also Neal's mother? Henry's grandmother?" Mary Margaret asked in a whisper. It took Emma a moment to realize what exactly her mother had just said.
"Yes. That she is."
"Oh God, this family is getting more complicated with each passing day," David said, leaning back in his chair.
Emma wanted to laugh at his reaction but then she realized that what he said was very true. Their family was growing with each passing day and she started to wonder how many relatives she had in town that she didn't know about. She also realized that she would have to tell Henry that Milah was his grandmother. First, she had to know if Milah knew about Henry and if she had any wish to know him. There was no point of telling Henry about a grandmother if said grandmother didn't want to know him.
"Why did you have to stay at the docks for so long, anyway?" David asked her.
"I had to make sure that she wasn't some kind of new villain," Emma replied, hoping that David will swallow the lie.
"Ruby could have told you that. She met Milah before us and I am sure if there was something wrong with her, Ruby would have known," Mary Margaret said.
"Yeah, but as the Saviour and the sheriff of this town, I had to make sure for myself."
"Is this really about Hook?" David asked out of the blue.
"What about him?"
"We saw his reaction when he saw that woman; he needed you there," Mary Margaret said.
"No, he was just shocked."
"And the reason why you had to stay there while we left?"
"I told you."
"Yes, but you didn't tell us the whole truth," Mary Margaret pointed out. "Is there something we need to know?"
"About what?"
"I don't know," Mary Margaret said shaking her shoulders. "Perhaps something about you and Hook?"
"There is no me and Hook."
"Emma," Mary Margaret said, tilting her head and putting on the 'I know you are lying' face.
"What?"
"We know something happened in Neverland."
"You really don't," Emma said, rolling her eyes at them. "Nothing happened."
"Not even on the ship?" David asked her in a knowing tone.
"I'm not really in the mood for such questions, guys," Emma said tired. "Can't we talk about this another time?"
"So there is something to talk about!" Mary Margaret said with a smirk.
"Please!" Emma pleaded.
"Okay, fine. We will leave it for another time," Mary Margaret agreed.
As Emma started to climb down the stairs toward the kitchen, she could already hear movements in the loft. The smell of coffee, bacon, and pancakes flooded the main room of the apartment and Emma felt her stomach starting its daily war for breakfast. David was at the stove making pancakes when she entered the kitchen.
"Morning," Emma told him.
"Hi Emma," he turned to her with a smile. "You're up early."
"It's 8:30AM. I have to go to work."
"Why don't you take a few days off and let me take care of the station?" David asked, putting another pancake on a plate. Then he turned to her and asked, "Coffee?"
"I would love to, but I was actually on the way to Granny's," Emma said with regret.
"Oh, are you meeting with someone?"
Thinking about the fact that David probably wouldn't like the idea of Emma having breakfast with Hook, she decided to lie a little.
"I was going to send Henry a message and see if he wants to join me," Emma said.
"Oh, okay," David said smiling at her. "I just made all of this food hoping you would join us," he said, pointing to the table full of food.
"There is still time for a family breakfast. Why don't you give Mary Margaret a breakfast in bed? I bet she would love that."
"That is actually a very good idea," David said excitedly.
"See!" Emma said and started to move towards the door. "I'll see you later!"
"Oh, we still have to talk about those free days!" she heard David saying before the door closed.
She didn't want him to think that she was ignoring him and his request, and she would love some free days for herself but right now, she had other things to do. Like figuring out what was going to happen with Milah, now that she was in town.
On her way out of the building, Emma sent a quick message to Henry to ask him if he wanted to join her and Hook for breakfast, telling him that he could ask Hook if he still wanted to teach him how to sail. Henry's message came back almost immediately, telling her that Regina was making pie for breakfast. Emma shivered at the messsage, thinking about what happened the last time Henry ate one of Regina's pies. She quickly replaced the thought with new ones, telling herself that Regina loved Henry too much to hurt him like that ever again. Emma entered her bug and started to drive towards the docks. It was a short drive on the streets of the town and Emma was pleased to see that things were actually quiet for a change.
She was soon at the docks, staring at the Jolly Roger's sails. The plank that led onto the deck of the ship was down so Emma started to walk on it without further notice. The deck was empty so Emma started to call for Killian.
"Killian?"
Seconds later the door that led under the deck opened and revealed a surprised Killian Jones.
"Emma," he said, letting out a breath.
"Hello to you too," she said, with a smile studying him.
He was dressed in his leather pants and had a large, unbuttoned shirt that left very little to the imagination. Especially after the night they shared together. Emma's mind flew back to that night and to the way his naked chest felt under her fingers, and she felt her cheeks starting to burn.
"What is going on in that beautiful mind of yours?" Killian asked with a smirk, coming towards her.
"Nothing."
"What are you doing here, Emma?"
"I told you I would see you today," she said, coming closer and putting a hand on his chest.
"But so early?"
"I wanted to ask if you wanted to have breakfast with me."
"Really?" Killian asked, with a big smile.
"Yeah," she said, mirroring his smile. "What do you say?"
"I'd like that very much," Killian said, continuing to smile at her.
"Come on," Emma said, taking his hand in hers and pulling him towards her.
"Now?" Killian asked surprised.
"I am really hungry," Emma said, still feeling her stomach battling inside her.
"Okay, at least let me go get my coat," Killian said, letting go of her hand and taking a step back. Emma nodded and watched him go back in the direction of his cabin.
As Emma waited for Killian, she went closer to the railing to look at the ocean. It was a nice view; the water was calm, the sun was mirroring in the glass of the water, and the birds were flying around. It was a beautiful view, and a sudden thought came unbidden to Emma's mind: she wanted to see this view more on more mornings.
As she was looking towards the water, she felt two strong arms coming around her middle.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked her, putting his chin on her shoulder. Emma had a small feeling that he wasn't just talking about the view.
"Very," Emma said, still looking towards the water.
"I'm ready," Killian said, keeping his arms around her.
"And I am hungry."
"And yet no one is moving," he pointed out, turning her so she could be face to face with him.
"Okay," she said putting her hands on his shoulders and taking a step back, away from him. "I need food. Let's go."
Killian smiled at her and nodded. They started to walk back down the plank and when they were back on the ground, Emma started to walk towards the bug. Before she got too far, Killian stopped her with a hand on her elbow.
"Wait a second. Are we using your vessel?" Killian asked her.
"Yeah. Why?"
"I was wondering if perhaps you would like to walk with me there."
"Why?"
"I just… I am not really that fond of that contraption," Killian said and started to scratch behind his ear.
It hit her then that Hook hadn't had too many positive interactions with cars. He was hit by one, which left him with a few broken ribs because of it and the only other time he was in a car was when Tamara and Greg had brought him back into town. He probably hated cars. So Emma just nodded at him, understanding.
"Okay, let's walk then."
They started to walk together towards the diner, keeping a small distance between them since they didn't want anyone to suspect there was something going on between them. They walked in silence but from time to time, Emma snuck small glances at him when he wasn't looking at her. She also knew that he was doing the same thing when he believed she was not looking at him.
While things were quiet, she could tell something was going on in his mind. From time to time, his eyebrows were coming together and she could see that something was bothering him. However, Emma chose to wait until they were inside Granny's before asking him what was going on with him.
When they arrived at the diner, they entered at the same time and Emma looked for a table that wasn't really close to the other patrons. She found one in the back and pointed it out to Killian. He agreed to it and they started to walk towards the table.
"Morning Emma!" Ruby appeared in front of her before she arrived at the table.
"Hey Ruby!" Emma saluted her.
Ruby looked between Emma and Hook and smiled mischievously at Emma. "Table for two?" she asked Emma.
"Yeah. That table," Emma answered, pointing towards the table she saw minutes ago.
"Okay. I will bring you the menus in a bit," Ruby said, and then left them.
Emma and Killian sat at the table and waited for Ruby to come back. Emma didn't need a menu, though. She knew what she wanted from the moment she woke up, Hook, though, started to look at the menu like it was some kind of odd book. It was funny to watch him struggle with the list of foods Granny had, his eyebrows furrowing from time to time and his lips forming a straight line while he was reading. After five minutes of watching him, Emma decided that it was time to ask him if he needed any help.
"Are you okay?" she asked amusedly.
"I don't understand half of this," Killian admitted, putting down the menu.
"I can imagine. Granny has a lot of food on here."
"What is a burger and why are there four different kinds of it?"
"It's… bread and meat and…," Emma stopped, realising that she can't explain to him enough to make him understand.
"What do you order, Swan?"
"Grilled cheese with onion rings and a coffee."
"Onion rings?" he asked with a questioning look.
"It's basically fried onion."
"I've never been too fond of onions."
"You can have french fries instead of onion rings."
"Are they good?"
"The best!"
"Then I will have those," Killian said, smiling.
When Ruby came back, Emma told her what both of them wanted. Emma added a cup of coffee for Killian as well, and a plate of pancakes for them to share. As Ruby left with a smirk on her face, Emma and Killian were alone again and Emma remembered Killian's worried look when they were walking there, so she decided to ask him about what was on his mind.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Why would I not be okay, Swan?" Hook asked with a confused look.
"Ugh… I noticed on our way here that you were thinking, quite intensely, about something. You didn't look okay."
"Were you watching me, Swan?" he asked with a grin.
"Yes," she admitted. "Just as you were watching me when you thought I wasn't paying attention."
"Touche, Emma," he said with a big smile.
"So? What was going on in your mind?"
She watched him as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He then opened his eyes, looked at her, and started to talk.
"Milah visited me last night."
"Oh," Emma's smile fell, not being sure exactly what that meant.
"She wanted to talk," Killian added tentatively.
Emma opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by Ruby who came back with the food. She waited until Ruby was gone before she spoke again.
"And?" Emma asked, not knowing for sure what she was asking for.
"We talked about what I had been doing and how I had managed to live for so long. I also told her about my pursuit of revenge for her death."
"What did she say?" Emma asked while putting a small onion ring in her mouth.
"She didn't take it well."
Emma didn't know what to say after that. She didn't know Milah and she didn't know what 'didn't take it well' meant for Killian, but she imagined that Milah wasn't happy to hear that Killian spent 300 years not only trying to avenge her death, but also trying to find a way to kill Rumplestiltskin.
"She also asked about Neal," Killian said, stopping the train of thought that was going through her mind.
Emma made big eyes and looked at him. Killian lifted a hand and started to talk again. "She wanted to know more about him as a child, but she also knew he was here as an adult as well. Sadly, I couldn't tell her more about him as an adult."
"So what did you tell her?"
"I told her about his time in Neverland with me and the crew on the Jolly."
"Does she know about Henry?" Emma asked, thinking that if Milah knew about Neal being in town, there was a small possibility that she also knew about Henry.
"She said she knew from Ruby that Neal was Henry's father."
"Oh. Did she say anything else?"
"She said she would like to meet him. Only if you agree, of course."
Emma opened her mouth to say something but words didn't come out. Instead, she took another bite of her grilled cheese. So Milah knew about Henry and she wanted to meet him. Henry would have another relative in this town, beside the ones he already had. A grandmother this time. She was glad Milah wanted to meet him, but did Henry want to meet her? Meeting Neal and losing him after a short time was hard enough for him. Did he want to meet another relative that he had never even heard about?
"Emma?" Killian asked, looking at her concerned. "Say something, please?"
"I was thinking about Henry," Emma said, and he looked at her confused. "Don't worry about it ."
"If you don't want Henry to meet Milah, I am sure she will understand," Killian said truthfully.
"It's not about that. I don't want to keep another relative hidden from him. I am more worried about if he would like to meet her."
"I am sure Milah would understand his decision either way."
"Did she say anything else?"
"She did," Killian said, dropping his eyes.
Emma didn't like his reaction but somehow, she was afraid to ask him what was going on. Milah clearly said something to Killian that either he didn't like or it worried him and now he was afraid of telling her. Maybe he wasn't sure how she was going to react.
Emma decided that it would be better if he just told her now; hit her with whatever it was. Emma looked at him, as serious as she could, and started to talk again. "What was it? What else did she say?"
Instead of answering, Killian took her hand in his and held it tight. "I don't want you to get scared," Killian confessed.
"You're making me scared by not telling me and by behaving like this," she said, pointing with her other hand towards their joined hands.
"Yes, but I don't want you to run."
"Killian, what is it?"
"Milah knows," he stated, and then stopped to watch her reaction. Emma didn't really understand what Milah knew about, so she looked with narrowed eyes at Killian until he continued. "Milah knows about us," he finished.
"What?" Emma hissed at him. "What does she know?"
"That we kissed," he whispered. "And about the other thing," he added and she could see the regret in his eyes.
"And how exactly does she know about that?" Emma asked, half surprised and half confused. Milah was already gone when they kissed and no one knew about the True Love thing.
"Which part?"
"Both, Hook!" Emma snapped at him.
Killian shivered at the tone of her voice but didn't say anything. Instead, he let go of her hand and looked at his now empty plate. Seeing his reaction, Emma instantly regretted her words, but it didn't change the fact that she was still surprised and now was also intrigued.
"She saw us when we kissed on the Jolly," Killian said looking again at her. "And it's my fault that she knows about the other thing."
"You told her?!"
"She wanted to know what was going on between us."
"Killian, we agreed to keep it between us!" Emma replied, starting to get angry.
"I know we did, love, but-," Killian didn't get to finish his answer because Emma stopped him by raising a hand.
"No," she said, getting her wallet and putting some money on the table. "I really wanted to try Killian, but you went and told the first person that asked you about us." Emma rose from her seat.
"Where are you going, Emma?"
"I don't know," she said, and then she left without another glance at him.
She half expected him to follow her outside but she knew, deep down, that he wouldn't do it. Not right now.
Outside of the diner, Emma looked around. Her car was still at the docks, so she had to walk back there to get it. But she didn't feel like going to the docks right now, so she started to walk towards Storybrooke Park. It wasn't a big park, but it had a small lake in the middle and it was a good place for her to sit and think; to put her thoughts in order.
As she entered the park, she started to regret the way she left Killian at the diner. Yes, she was angry with him for telling Milah about them. She didn't want anyone to know about them and now, not just anyone knew, but Milah. Milah, Killian's ex, whom Killian loved very much. She knew that, she saw it in his eyes yesterday on the ship. He still loved her, maybe not in the same capacity like before. It was a love that he would always have for Milah, the same type of love that Emma would always have for Neal. But Emma was still angry that Milah knew not just about the fact that they kissed, but also knew about the True Love's Kiss they shared.
As Emma sat on a bench in front of the lake, she started to calm down and realized the fact that maybe what she felt in that moment wasn't anger. Not just anger anyway. She was also scared; scared of the fact that someone knew about them and if someone knew about them, then it was real. Milah knowing about the True Love's Kiss meant that it was real, it actually happened, and Emma and Killian were really True Loves.
"Emma?"
At the sound of her name, Emma went stiff. She had heard that voice yesterday not for too long, but the sound of the voice stayed in Emma's mind. She turned to face the woman who spoke, not bothering to put on a smile.
"Milah."
"Hi," Milah said, smiling. Emma was surprised to see that the smile on her face was genuine.
"Hello. What are you doing here?" Emma asked her.
"Since I came to town, I made a habit of coming here every morning. The fresh air makes me feel better."
"It is a beautiful park," Emma said, trying to smile.
Milah probably saw the fact that Emma's smile was a fake one, which caused concern. Worriedly, she asked "Emma, are you okay?"
"Yeah, sure."
"May I?" Milah asked, pointing to the free space that was beside Emma on the bench.
Instead of answering, Emma just nodded at her. Milah sat down, looked at Emma and opened her mouth to speak.
"I want to apologize", Milah said, surprising Emma.
"About what?"
"I was rude to you yesterday and I have realized that you did not deserve that."
"It's okay; it's not the first time that's happened," Emma tried to assure her.
"Maybe, but I hate to be rude to people who weren't with me. And you, Emma, you've been a sweetheart while I've been a bitch. So I am apologizing to you."
"You're forgiven," Emma said, this time truly smiling at the woman in front of her.
"I… um... I also wanted to talk about something with you?" Milah said, though it came out more like a question. Emma nodded at her to encourage her to talk. "I talked to Killian yesterday, after you left the ship," Milah admitted.
"I know," Emma said, not looking at the woman.
"You do?"
"I had breakfast with Killian earlier and he told me," Emma explained.
"He told you what we talked about?"
"He did."
"Emma, I want you to know that I won't tell anyone about what Killian told me," Milah said with a grave voice.
Emma didn't say anything at Milah's admission. She didn't know how to react. She expected Milah to be angry, mad, or even upset about the fact that Killian was with someone else, someone who apparently was his True Love. But she seemed.. oddly fine with it.
Emma looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Aren't you upset?" she asked Milah.
"Why would I be?"
"Killian told you about the True Love thing, right?"
"Yes."
"So?"
She watched Milah taking a deep breath and then the woman started to speak. "I am not upset Emma. You probably expect me to be, but I am not. Yesterday I was sad, yes, but not upset."
"Why?"
"It's been 300 years," Milah said with a melancholic voice, as if she had made peace with the thought. "I didn't even expect him to be alive, let alone to still love me."
"He still loves you," Emma assured Milah.
"Yes, but not the way he used to," Milah said with a small smile on her face.
"I'm sorry," Emma said, not being sure what she could say in a moment like this.
"Don't be. I have to admit that I watched you for a bit on the Jolly after I left yesterday before going back to him. He had this soft look on his face when he looked at you. He never had that look before, with me."
"What do you mean?"
"I am not an expert in True Love or magic, Emma, but I know Killian and the look he had when he was looking at you? It was pure love."
"Milah... I don't know…"
"Killian said last night that you're not sure. Of what I don't know. Do you want to talk about it?"
"Milah, look. No offense, but I don't think that's the best idea."
"Emma, I want to try and be friends with you. If you want that. And I can see that you wish to talk with someone about this and since I am the only person who knows about you…"
"Do you really want to talk about me and Killian?"
"Unbelievable, I know," Milah said, letting out a laugh.
"Yeah!" Emma said, laughing too.
"But I am serious," Milah said again, using a more serious voice this time. "If you need a friend, you can talk to me."
"Thank you, but I'm not ready right now."
"What are you not ready for?"
"To talk. To open myself up about this situation," Emma explained.
"It's okay. Just know that if you ever want to talk to someone, I am here."
"Thank you."
The two of them sat on the bench looking over the lake's water in silence for a few minutes. Emma couldn't believe how nice Milah was with her and how she seemed fine with the whole situation. Then Emma remembered something else Killian had told her earlier.
"Killian told me that you want to meet Henry," Emma said, breaking the silence between the two women.
"Yeah, I'd like that very much," Milah admitted.
"I can talk to him," Emma offered.
"Would you do that?"
"Of course. I'll ask him later when I see him," she said with a small smile.
"Thank you very much, Emma," Milah said, smiling gratefully.
"I should let you go," Emma said taking out her phone and looking at the time that passed while she had sat there with Milah. "Before I do, though, can I have your number?" Emma asked Milah. "In case I talk to Henry or anything else happens?"
"Sure! Here, give me your phone." Emma gave Milah her phone and watched as Milah programmed her number into Emma's phone.
After that, Emma rose from the bench and looked at Milah. "I will see you soon," Emma said with a smile.
"Bye, Emma!"
Starting to walk away from the bench, Emma decided to head back to the station. She didn't have her car and she was probably going to need it if she actually wanted to do her job today. At the very least, she might need it if something else came up. She realized she left her bug at the docks, so she headed towards that direction instead. On the way there, she sent Henry a message asking if he wanted to get ice cream with her after she checked the station. Henry answered her in less than a minute, telling her that ice cream sounded perfect and that he would ask Regina to bring him to the station in an hour, giving Emma plenty of time to see if she was needed around town .
Arriving at the docks, Emma looked around to see if Killian was in sight. When she didn't see him anywhere, she walked the short distance towards the bug. When she went to open the car's door to get in, she noticed that she had a piece of paper stuck in her window. Taking it, she looked at it and froze.
Emma,
I am very sorry I upset you. It wasn't my intention, especially since you invited me to have breakfast with you. I am sorry love, I hope you can forgive me.
Can you forgive me? I will be on the Jolly all day if you wish to talk.
Emma held the paper and looked towards the Jolly. It was too far for her to see if there was anyone on the deck, but she had a feeling that Killian was there. She wanted to go to him, talk to him, but she needed to see Henry first. Reluctantly, she entered the bug and started to drive towards the station, Killian's paper put carefully in her pocket.
When she got to the station, David was already there, drinking his coffee and looking at the computer like the thing would grow a pair of legs and start running away from him.
"Did the computer do something wrong so you are getting ready to arrest it?" Emma asked David with a smile on her face.
"You came!"
"Of course I did, it's my job."
"Yes, but it's quiet right now."
"And that's why I am going to leave you alone, again, in like forty minutes," Emma said, looking at the clock on her desktop.
"Oh?" David asked, seemingly confused.
"I'm meeting Henry for ice cream," Emma explained to him.
"Wasn't he with you at Granny's?"
"Regina made him breakfast so he didn't come."
"And you've been alone at Granny's?" David asked, looking even more confused.
"I was with Hook, actually," Emma said, trying to avoid his eyes, knowing full well what her words would start with David.
"Oh?" David said, raising his eyebrows in question.
"Don't," Emma warned, this time looking directly at him.
"I didn't say anything," David said, raising his hands defensively in front of him.
"You were going to," Emma said, rolling her eyes.
"What did you two do?"
"We had breakfast, Dad. And we talked."
"Talked about what?"
"Things?" Emma asked tentatively, not being sure how to answer his question.
"Things?" David repeated, raising an eyebrow at her. "Why do you look like you didn't enjoy those 'things'?"
"It didn't end well."
"Do you want to talk?" David asked, coming towards her desk.
"Not really," Emma replied. Hearing her answer, he stopped in the middle of the room.
"Okay," David said, turning back and starting to walk back to his desk. He sat down in the old chair and looked at Emma. "Is this about his ex?" he asked.
"David!" Emma snapped at him.
"Okay, okay, I'm stopping."
Emma turned her attention from David to the screen in front of her. She tried to concentrate on the file she had opened, but her mind kept flying to the discussion she and Milah had in the park; specifically to what Milah had said about the way Killian was looking at her.
However, Emma's thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of the station's door opening and then closing again. David rose from his place and went to see who had entered the station, but was quickly back with a smile on his face.
"Henry is here," David announced.
"Will you be okay?" Emma asked David, preparing to leave.
"Of course Emma," David said with a smile and then his face turned serious. "Can I give you a piece of advice?"
"What?" Emma asked, narrowing her eyes and not being sure of what to expect from him.
"After you are done with Henry, go talk with Hook?" David said, although it came out more like a question.
"David..."
"Listen, Emma. I can see you are not happy. I don't know what happened, but you are not happy and I hate to see you like this."
"I will have to come back after I am done with Henry," Emma said, trying to make him back up.
"No you don't," David contradicted her. "Go talk with Hook."
"If I wouldn't know any better, I'd say you are the one that wants him around," Emma teased David.
"Me? Emma please, I'm a married man," David said with a big smile on his face, a smile that somehow betrayed his words.
Emma rolled her eyes at David and then left him alone in the office. She started to walk towards the exit of the station where Henry was waiting for her.
"Hey kid!" Emma said when she was in front of him to get his attention away from his phone. "Ready?"
"For ice cream? Always!" Henry excitedly replied.
"Let's go," Emma said, smiling at him.
Emma put her arm around Henry's shoulders and they started to walk together towards Any Given Sundae.
"How are you, Henry?" Emma asked him on the way to the ice cream parlor.
"I'm good! It's so good to be back home and sleep in my own bed."
"Oh, I know. Are you going to stay at the loft tonight?"
"Can I stay at Regina's again?" Henry asked her, making puppy eyes at her. "I promise I will have breakfast with you tomorrow morning."
Emma wanted to say no. She wanted to spent an evening in with Henry, maybe put on a movie or tv show they missed what with all the crises they had had in the town. She could see on his face, though, that he really wanted to stay at Regina's again. Maybe she really needed another night to herself. So in the end, Emma gave up and letting out a sigh, she finally answered.
"Sure kid," she said with a very small smile on her face.
They arrived shortly after that at the ice cream parlor and entered the shop laughing. They were met by Sarah, the owner of the shop, who was very happy to see them together and told Henry that she was glad he was fine and back home. She gave them some extra ice cream on the house and made them promise they would visit her again soon.
After they left the shop, they walked in silence until they arrived at the park.
"I was thinking we could take a walk," Emma said, tentatively.
"Sure," Henry said, taking another bite of his ice cream.
"And, I wanted to talk about something with you," Emma said as they continued to walk deeper into the park.
"And what's that?" Henry asked as they sat on a bench under a big tree.
"Did you see the woman that was there yesterday at the docks?" Emma asked, not being sure how else she could open the 'Milah' subject to him.
"The one that scared Hook?" Henry asked, confused.
"Scared?" Emma asked, intrigued by Henry's choice of words.
Henry looked at her and nodded. "He looked scared."
"He wasn't scared," Emma said, trying to remember Killian's face when he saw Milah for the first time on the docks. But Emma couldn't remember him being scared. Panicked, confused or even angry, yes. But he wasn't scared. Emma looked at Henry and shook her shoulders, trying to get back to what they had to talk about. "Anyway, yes, that woman."
"Yeah, I've seen her."
"Her name is Milah," Emma started tentatively. "And she is… she was… um.." Emma said, not being able to finish; not knowing for sure how to tell Henry who Milah really was.
"She was...?" Henry asked, trying to help her continue her sentence.
"She's part of our family," Emma finally said. Looking at Henry's face, Emma realized that she was just confusing him with her own words. So Emma tried to say what she needed to in a different way. "She's your grandma."
"What?" Henry almost screamed. "You mean she was dad's mom?" he said, dumbfounded.
"Yes," Emma admited.
"Mr. Gold's wife?"
"Well, ex-wife, but yes."
"That is so cool!" Henry yelled.
"Really?" Emma asked, amazed by Henry's reaction.
"Yeah! I mean, I have another grandma, not just Mary Margaret!"
Hearing Henry's reaction made Emma let out a deep breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Henry wasn't shocked by her revelations. Instead, he was very happy.
"Would you want to meet her?" she asked, remembering Milah's wish.
"Can I?" Henry said with shining eyes.
"She asked if I would allow it, so yes."
"I want to!"
"Good!" Emma said jumping to her feet. "I will let her know."
"Do you think she could tell me more about my father?" Henry asked Emma.
"I don't know Henry," Emma said truthfully, not being sure how to answer that question.
"Oh wait," Henry said, stopping her thoughts. "I forgot! I do know her! She was Hook's girlfriend."
"How?"
"It's in the book?" Henry said, his words coming out more like a question.
"It is?" Emma said confused, not remembering seeing Killian's story or even seeing Milah in the book.
"Yes! You read that book so many times!"
"I never saw that story there."
"Anyway," Henry said, rolling his eyes. "She's his ex right?"
"Yes," Emma confirmed.
"How is she alive?"
"We don't know yet."
"Can we find out?"
"I think that's what she wants, yes."
"Awesome! We can talk with Regina, or Rumple, or-," Henry started to list everyone in the town that has magic and could help.
"Henry stop!" Emma stopped him mid sentence. "I think this is something we should talk with Milah about."
"Okay, okay," Henry said, a little disappointed.
After that, they spent another half hour in the park, with Emma telling Henry the little things she already knew about Milah and leaving out the parts that were about Hook. In fact, every time it became about Hook, Emma, more or less subtly, changed the subject, not wanting to talk about him.
When they decided that it was time to go back home, Emma took Henry on a walk along the streets of Storybrooke, back to Regina's house. After Emma dropped off Henry in front of Regina's house with a kiss on his forehead, she didn't know what else to do. It was almost 6PM, the sun was slowly starting to fade, and she didn't want to go back to the loft just yet. She wished she could be able to give David and Mary Margaret a night to themselves since they had not had one since they had come back from Neverland. She needed her own apartment for herself and for Henry, but for now she wondered if Granny had any free rooms for the night. She looked at the clock and realized that it was still too early to go to Granny's and book a room. She sent Ruby a message to ask her if there was a room free for her for tonight and another message to Mary Margaret letting her mom know not to expect her for the rest of the night.
As Emma put her phone back in her pocket, she found Hook's paper from earlier. She took it out and studied it. She should go talk to him. She had ignored him all day and right now, she felt bad for doing it. She was looking at his nice handwriting, the way he wrote her name, and she could imagine him, trying to write the small message and leave it on the window of her car, hoping that she would find it and read it.
Her heart was telling her to go and talk to him and for the first time in the last few hours, she listened. She practically ran all the way back to the station, jumped in her car and started the engine to drive towards the docks. She parked in the same spot as she did before and got out of the car. It had started to get colder as the sun continued to disappear into the ocean, so Emma tightened the jacket around herself and started to walk towards the Jolly Roger.
She couldn't see from the docks onto the deck of the ship to check if he was outside. Her intuition, though, told her that he was there for sure; maybe even waiting for her to arrive.
Emma walked up the plank and stepped on the deck slowly, stepping on an old piece of wood that creaked under her boot.
She saw him then, at the helm, his back turned to her and his face turned towards the ocean. She didn't know if he had heard her or if somehow he knew that she was there, but she decided to make her presence known anyway.
"Killian?" she said his name softly.
She knew he heard her when she saw him stiffen his shoulders at the sound of his name. He turned to look at her and Emma wanted to slap herself at how sad he looked.
"I got your message?" she said, showing him the small paper.
"Aye," was all Killian said and Emma heard the hurt behind his voice.
"Can I?" Emma pointed to the space beside him.
Killian nodded at her question and after taking a deep breath, she started to climb the few stairs that led up to him.
PS: I won't be able to post next week because one again, I have two more exams and it will also be my mom's burthday so... Yeah, next chapter should be up on 31th.