A/N- Sorry it's been a while, but things have been a little stressful as of late, and I have been spending quite a bit of time on my novel. I have big plans for the next few chapters, so hopefully, they will be worth the wait. Please check out the poll if you are so inclined.

-S.

Muted moonlight bounced off of the water as the couple strolled down the docks, arm in arm. The setting had both surprised Emma, and been a comfort to her. Maybe her pirate was missing, but Colin, this new version of him, wasn't quite as different as she'd originally thought. He was still the perfect gentleman. He still treated her like the princess he didn't know she was.

And, somewhere deep down, she had to believe that he still knew her, still loved her.

"There's something about the sea that just… calls to me. Still, even after living here for, well, forever, really, living in the same apartment, working at the library every day, I never bothered to do anything about it," he said, breaking the silence as they approached a lone bench overlooking the water. She ginned at the darkened horizon as another little piece of him fell into place. Of course, the damn Crocodile could not erase him completely. Her Killian was still there, somewhere, buried beneath a lifetime of new memories and experiences.

"It is wonderful, isn't it?" she agreed, recognizing the opportunity she was presented with. She had to believe that the memories would come, if she only nudged him in the right direction. "Did you know I once lived on a ship? It was the most amazing time of my life. I quite miss it."

"Oh? And what exactly does a woman such as yourself do onboard a ship?" he questioned. Even as he asked the question, he couldn't really see her in some stereotypically feminine setting, either. She was no business woman, no teacher. She was more.

"Don't let my looks fool you. I know my way around."

He chuckled as they took their places beside each other on the bench. Ever the gentleman, Killian removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. A fleeting thought gave Emma pause. How would he react if she told him he'd done this before?

Misthaven, fifteen years ago

Princess Emma knew that she was being stupid, but she just couldn't help herself. She'd spent the last three years of her life hiding away, under heavy cloaks and false names. Being here now, just a day's journey from the castle was a foolish thing to do. But that was precisely why she was here.

She was so sick and tired of hiding away. She knew, logically, that the only way she'd every truly have the freedom to live as she wanted was to get her hands on a magic bean. For, as long as she stayed in the Enchanted Forrest, she was a princess, she was obvious and recognizable. Even worse, she was findable. All her parents or anyone else for that matter, needed was a locating potion.

Still, being stuck in the forest, in little lean-tos and huts, or seedy inns run by rather questionable landlords, was beginning to suffocate her. She hated the fact that, at any moment, she could be discovered and carted back to the castle, but she would not spend her time cowering in fear of being caught. She had run away for the sake of being free, and having her own life. That was exactly what she was going to do.

Her fingers closed around her tankard of ale, and she downed the last of it greedily. She raised her hand, gesturing to the nearest barmaid for another. The night was still young, and she was not interested in the idea of wasting any of it. If she was going to run the risk of getting caught, she was going to do it right. By the time another tankard had been set in front of her, a boisterous group of men had stumbled into the establishment, and proceeded to make as much noise as possible.

She watched them for a moment, taking another sip of her drink. They raised their glasses with a deafening cheer before throwing back whatever hadn't been sloshed onto muscular arms or wide open shirts. She heard something about treasure, or conquests, maybe, but it was altogether too loud to hear them properly over the din of the room.

Pirates, then.

The thought of them had her realizing something unexpected about herself. She envied them. Pirates did things for themselves. If they wanted to go somewhere, they went. If they wanted to do something, they did it. They answered to absolutely no one, and Emma found that to be quite the novel idea.

She tried very hard to mind her own business, to treat this night for what it was, a much needed break from the hiding and paranoia, but her mind kept going back to the pirates. She wasn't sure if it was because of how obnoxiously loud they were being, or if it was because she was subconsciously thinking over her chances of going over there and convincing them to take her with them.

It was a fools dream, though, and so every time she caught herself staring, she pulled her eyes back down towards her drink, and tried to ignore them.

That notion became completely impossible though, when one of them suddenly found himself sitting across from her. He wasn't exactly sure why he was there, why this lass was enough to distract him from his original task of locating some more rum, but he was there nonetheless.

Of course, then he gave himself a moment to really look over the woman across from him, and while she was beautiful, that was not what anchored him to his spot across from her. Actually, he wasn't really sure what was so enticing about her, but if he was being honest, he didn't really care. He suddenly felt as if, sitting there, across from her in the middle of the crowded tavern, he was exactly where he was supposed to be.

"I hope you don't find it rude of me to enquire about the reason such a lovely lass is sitting alone this night?" The man said, his tone low and rough and questioning. His black hair and electrifying blue eyes made him incredibly handsome, much more so than any of the princes her parents had tried to pair her with.

She blushed. Emma, the same woman who had run from relationships her whole life, who was here hiding from some horrendous arranged marriage, blushed as if she was not completely content on her own.

"I haven't many friends," was all she said in response.

He grinned back at her. "A mighty shame that is. Let's change that, shall we? I'm Killian, though most people prefer my more colorful moniker, Hook." Again, he had no idea what had possessed him to tell her his given name, but for some reason, for her, he did.

"Emma," she replied, nervously tangling her fingers in the necklace she wore. It was a gift from her parents when she was young, a perfectly crafted silver swan. Her eyes shot down to where his arms disappeared below the table, a quick stab of fear lancing through her. Everyone recognized that name, Captain Hook, the most dastardly pirate to ever sail the seas.

Killian reeled back at the sight of her apprehension. "I don't mean you any harm, lass."

Emma had always had a gift for uncovering falsehoods, and so, she knew that he wasn't belaying one onto her. She was safe with him. She pulled her hands away from her neck in favor of running her fingers through her hair, and pulling it over one shoulder. "I know."

"I meant what I said," he continued, his eyes searching her face. "You are quite beautiful, like that swan you seem so fond of." At this, he pointed to where the silver pendant rested in the middle of her collar bone. After a moment of silence, he continued thoughtfully, "Swan. I believe that is the perfect thing to call you, so beautiful, majestic, and graceful."

Storybrooke, present day

The moon was high above their heads by the time their conversation had wound down. Emma figured that it was approaching midnight, but still, she did not want this date of theirs to end. She feared going back to the Bed and Breakfast alone, sleeping by herself in that too big bed. Now that she'd had a taste of this new life with Killian she was loathed to let it end.

Just throughout the course of one night, she'd learned so much about this new version of Killian, that he was rather shy and reserved until you got to know him, that he'd always dreamed of sailing away, just liked she'd pictured in her head, that, at least according to his skewed memories, he'd come to this town to escape the heartbreak of losing his brother, and his girlfriend all within the span a of a few months.

She hated that even in this new reality, he'd still suffered just as much as before.

XxxXxxX

On the other side of town, completely oblivious to Emma's attempts at salvaging her marriage and breaking the curse, Mary Margaret snuck into the private room of one, John Doe. Though she wasn't breaking any rules, (visiting hours weren't over for another thirty minutes) she felt oddly like she was doing something she wasn't supposed to.

Still, she'd promised Henry when she'd asked to borrow his book, that she would do what she could to wake the man up. At first, it was awkward, reading to an empty room, and a man who, most likely, could not hear a word she said, but after a while, she felt the story of Snow White and her Prince Charming calm her, and she became invested. She'd had no idea that this version was so different from the classic Disney one.

She also had no idea just what effect the simple story would have on the sleeping man.

XxxXxxX

The next morning, when news of the missing coma patient reached Regina's ears, she realized that if she truly wanted her revenge, she was going to have to come up with a new plan, and she knew just where to start: the Savior and her pirate.