I apologize for the long delay, but the holidays and having to get back into working mode again have added to the hiatus. My infinite thanks to those of you who are still aboard this ship.
Chapter 8:
It's Complicated
So, only about three days had passed before another crisis meeting had to be held in Storybrooke, Maine. The town had barely recovered from having to deal with the threat of the Wicked Witch of the West when Emma, Hook and Regina were sitting in the kitchen of the Mayor's mansion, discussing the newest magical peril lurking.
"So, this... thing we saw is actually... Maleficent?" Emma shook her head in a clueless way; it still felt very odd, to say the least, to pronounce that name. "What is she, some kind of dark fairy?"
"She wasn't exactly known as a dark fairy," Regina replied, "but surely as one of the most powerful and dangerous beings of the realm. The mistress of the Forbidden Forest."
"Why do I even ask," Emma growled, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Regina ignored her tone and asked a little condescendingly: "But what I'm interested in... which form did she have when you saw her?" She looked to and fro between Emma and Hook.
"Well, not human, that's for sure," Emma told her with barely veiled disgust.
The other woman leaned forward and scrutinized her closely. "A dragon?" she inquired.
Emma's eyes grew wide in horror. "Hell, no! It looked more like a... a giant locust with a dress." She shuddered involuntarily at the memory. Then she realized what Regina had just asked and narrowed her eyes. "Wait... that dragon trapped in the cave under the clock tower...?" The former Evil Queen nodded matter-of-factly, and Emma gasped: "But it's dead! I killed it!"
"You thought you did, Miss Swan," Regina corrected in that haughty way of hers.
"What do you mean, I thought?!" Emma snapped. "I freaking staked it with my father's sword, and it exploded before my eyes! It... it..." – she gesticulated wildly with both hands, looking for the right word to describe what had happened that crazy day – "...it evaporated! There were only ashes left!"
Regina shook her head with that special arrogant calmness that was so infuriating. "She just changed form. That's what she's known for. I've seen her do it many times." She fell silent and folded her hands on the table, tapping the tips of her index fingers together thoughtfully. Emma let out a frustrated sigh and looked at Hook who just raised his eyebrows and tilted his head in an I-have-no-clue-about-this-either shrug. "Obviously," Regina went on slowly, "by using your father's sword you must somehow have deprived her of reverting back to her dragon form. That's interesting."
"Yeah, I'm on the edge of my seat!" Emma remarked sarcastically, and despite the tense situation, Hook threw her an amused glance. There was his tough lass.
Regina shot her a very regal glare and, ignoring her remark, went on: "As she is no longer in command of her magic staff, she can't turn into her human form either and is thus trapped somewhere in between since then." She turned her eyes to Hook and raised a questioning eyebrow; automatically, Emma's eyes followed. She was still clueless about what had been going on between her lover and the former Evil Queen, and she wasn't sure she'd like it if she found out, but she had to know.
He tilted his head to the side. "She looked exactly like that when I last had the pleasure," he confirmed dryly.
"And when was that?" Emma snarled, and the others both looked at her. "If you two don't mind filling me in, that is," she added sarcastically.
Hook shifted a little uncomfortably on his seat, and Regina rolled her eyes. "I went down there to get the..." – she hesitated for a moment, obviously a little uncomfortable herself now – "...the trigger to destroy the town. He..." – she waved her hand a little impatiently at Hook who cocked his head again and raised an ironic eyebrow – "...distracted the creature."
"Not voluntarily, I daresay," Hook added dryly.
Emma's eyes narrowed, and she addressed Regina in an almost accusing voice: "It's true, then? You really threw him down there?"
Hook fidgeted with his earring; before the other woman could answer, he remarked: "Let's just say, we both didn't have our finest moments that day, love."
Emma waved him off with a frown; there was no need in discussing that right now. "Whatever," she growled and turned to Regina again, more matter-of-factly now. "But I remember you told me she was trapped down there. How could she escape?"
Regina nodded slowly. "There's only one reason I can imagine," she murmured thoughtfully.
Emma rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "And...?" she urged.
The other woman cleared her throat. "I trapped her with strong dark magic. Obviously, with my growing ability to perform also... light magic, that wore off." She shrugged almost apologetically, very much like Hook not yet used to siding with the good guys.
"Wait, wait..." Emma raised her hands. "Just to get this straight – does that mean we have to deal with this now because you're not... a villain anymore?" her voice had an incredulous touch now.
"Why, that's what I call an unexpected twist," Hook threw in and rubbed his scruffy chin.
"Someone once said to me irony is everywhere," Regina replied with a grin, and he snorted a little laugh.
"I'll laugh later," Emma snarled in an annoyed voice. "But what I'm interested in..." – she mimicked Regina's earlier snide tone – "That creature... Maleficent... escaped, she's mad at you, and she knows you're here." She counted the points with her fingers. "Why didn't she come for you?"
Good point, Hook thought; he'd asked himself the same question the moment he'd seen the creature disappear into the forest.
Regina shook her head. "I have no idea, Miss Swan," she replied gravely.
"What about The Dark One?" Hook suggested reluctantly and scratched behind his ear. "Maybe he can enlighten the situation? Or maybe even be of help resolving it?"
Regina smirked. "Oh dear, you two really lost touch with the rest of us over the last two days, didn't you?" When Hook raised a questioning eyebrow and Emma simultaneously frowned, she explained: "Gold and his little bookworm got married and have left town for their honeymoon, thanks to the rest of a special potion he had stored." She looked down at her folded hands on the table and added: "I'm sure they spent the last two days pretty much like you two did."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Could we cut this, Madam Mayor?" she growled. "We're all grown-ups. I'm sure you and Robin haven't been crocheting either." Hook suppressed a chuckle at his sassy Swan, and Regina just quirked a slightly amused eyebrow. "So, we're on our own with this," Emma summarized. "What do we do now?"
"Investigate," Regina replied promptly. "We have to figure out what it is that she wants. She can't leave the boundaries of Storybrooke, so she has to remain around. Obviously, we can't have her roam through the woods forever. We need to resolve this."
"What do you suggest?" Hook threw in.
Regina pointed at both of them. "You two check the library, try to find out if she has been seen. If not, there's no need yet to create panic." She leaned forward and threw them both very serious, almost severe glances, every inch the Queen. "Nobody needs to know."
Emma raised her chin. "I'll inform my parents," she told her in a no-nonsense voice.
"Of course," Regina sighed reluctantly, "yes. But apart from them – nobody. If anybody has seen anything, try to calm them down. Find excuses. I think she will hide for a bit anyway. I'll inform Robin to watch out for her but not get in her way if he should see her."
"Pardon me, Your Majesty," Hook threw in sarcastically, "what do we do if we should see her?" He waved his hand between himself and Emma.
"Miss Swan will know how to deal with it," Regina replied with an ironic smile. "She's The Savior, isn't she?"
"You gotta be kidding me!" Emma protested.
Regina rolled her eyes. "I seem to remember you told me once I had no idea what you were capable of," she reminded Emma. "Sometimes I think you have no idea about that yourself." Emma just looked at her questioningly, and the former Evil Queen added almost curtly: "It's time you believed a little more in your own abilities, Miss Swan." Hook smiled to himself at that surprising remark, and Regina put her palms on the table and rose from her chair. "So, we should go ahead without further delay."
"And what will you do?" Emma asked with a frown.
"I'll go to my vault and fetch her magic staff and a few ingredients for a spell we might need. Maybe the answer is in the staff." She didn't look very convinced, and that was when Emma really started to worry.
She and Hook got up, too, but suddenly Emma had a thought. "Wait, what about the kids? We can't leave them alone here!"
Regina clicked her tongue. "Oh damn, I forgot." She threw Emma a questioning glance. "Maybe your mother...?"
Emma nodded. "I'll call her, fill her in and tell her that you'll drop the boys off at the loft."
"Good." With no further ado, Regina went upstairs to get the boys ready, and Emma and Hook left the mansion.
When they walked towards the yellow bug, Hook noticed that his Swan was very quiet and looked like she was brooding; that worried him.
"Are you alright, love?" he inquired.
She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around to him. "Why were you in the library with Regina?" she blurted out without further preliminaries what had bothered her for the last half hour and looked at him with suspiciously narrowed eyes. "She didn't drag you down there, did she?"
He sighed and looked away from her probing green eyes for a moment, but then fixed his gaze firmly on her face again. "My sole goal then was to see The Dark One dead," he simply said. Emma pressed her lips together and averted her eyes when she remembered the old, pre-Neverland Hook who had always had his undeniable appeal, but had also been a very sinister, dangerous and unpredictable man with little to no scruples, siding with whoever was more likely to get him closer to reaching his aim; a shiver ran down her spine, and not a sexual one this time. Hook could see what was going on in her head, and he didn't like it.
He tilted his head. "Emma, look at me," he urged in that firm voice that never failed to reach her, and her eyes focused on him again. "You know who I was and who I am," he told her earnestly and waved his hand between them, "I never disguised anything from you." She kept looking at him, but her expression was unreadable. He drew a deep breath. "I've done a few things in the past I'm not taking pride in remembering, because all my mind was set on was to kill The Dark One, to fulfill my revenge." Emma nodded and looked away again for a moment. He added sincerely: "I wish I could say I regret those hundreds of years spent with only chasing after my vengeance..." Her eyes searched his, questioned him, and he went on in an almost angry voice: "But I can't. Because every decision I ever made, every step I ever took, brought me to the place where I am now and where I belong." He held her gaze with his, almost willing her not to look away again, and finally added: "Right here, with you."
Emma's expression was serious, but she didn't seem to close down, so he tentatively reached out and took one of her locks between his fingers, letting it run through them, enjoying their silky touch against his rough fingertips. She raised her left hand and grabbed his, stopping him, and for one awful moment he really feared she might push him away; the thought alone made him cringe inside. But she pulled up his hand and briefly brushed his knuckles against her jaw with a tiny smile. It reminded him of that magical moment between wake and sleep from the previous night when she'd pulled his hand to her lips and confessed into the darkness that she loved him.
"I know," she finally replied, "and I'm glad you're here."
He saw that she was open and sincere and not stepping back from him, and he returned the little smile with one of his own, one of those rare ones that were gone in a second and showed more in the crinkling skin around his amazing eyes than in the curving of his lips; almost as a reflex, triggered by his relief, his fingers closed around hers, and for a moment they just stood there with linked hands and speaking eyes.
Hook was the first to loosen his grip and gently release her fingers. "Sheriff's station?" he asked softly, and she nodded. He scratched behind his ear and sighed. "Well, then let the fun begin."
When they arrived at the sheriff's station, they almost bumped into David who was just leaving the building.
"Hi, guys," he greeted them, "any news about Zelena?"
"Zelena?" Emma echoed with a frown before she remembered that only an hour ago the still mysterious death of the Wicked Witch had been their first concern. "Oh." She shook her head. "No, the barn seems to be clean. But..."
Her father interrupted her by holding up his hands. "You can tell me all of it when I get back, but now I need to go for a moment. I had a call saying that someone obviously tried to break into the library and must check on that."
Emma and Hook exchanged a glance. David noticed that and frowned. "What?"
"We gotta talk," Emma sighed.
"Why do I have the feeling I won't like this?" David asked suspiciously.
Hook scratched behind his ear. "You're quite perceptive, mate," he commented dryly.
David's gaze shot to him, and he explained: "It's not that someone broke into the library." He tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. "Someone broke out."
"What?" David's eyes narrowed, and he looked cluelessly to and fro between his daughter and her pirate boyfriend. "What do you two know about this?"
"Someone was hidden... trapped in there," Emma told him, "or, to be more specific, in the cave under the library."
David leaned a little forward. "Who?"
Emma opened her mouth, but somehow the name wouldn't come over her lips; it still sounded too absurd to her own ears – although she really should have gotten used to stuff like that by now. A quick sideways glance was all Hook needed to see what was going through her mind.
"Maleficent," he helped out, and David's eyes darted to him and widened.
"She is here?" he gasped incredulously. "Since when?"
"You know her?" Emma asked in a surprised voice.
"Everybody knows the mistress of the Forbidden Forest," David replied in a slightly impatient voice, and Emma rolled her eyes. "I met her once," he went on, "wasn't so pleasant."
"What happened?" Hook wanted to know.
"Rumplestiltskin sent me to hide something... in return, he'd enchant my mother's ring, so it would guide me to Snow," David told them.
"Hide what?" Emma inquired. "Where?"
"A potion he wanted to be stored away safely." David snorted. "Inside the belly of a beast. Little did I know that she herself was that beast."
Emma's jaw almost dropped. "Wait a minute... you stuffed that golden egg inside of that dragon?"
Her father's head snapped around to face her. "What do you know about the golden egg?"
Emma folded her arms. "Gold sent me to retrieve it, and he said I had to use your sword."
David was totally flabbergasted. "When was that?" he wanted to know; he heard that for the first time, and so did Hook.
"Shortly before I broke the first curse," she explained. "When Henry was poisoned, Regina and I went to ask Gold for help. He said there was that potion that could help... a True Love potion." She snorted and folded her arms. "He tricked us and used me, of course. The only purpose of that potion was to bring magic back to Storybrooke; Gold knew I would save Henry and break the curse anyway."
"Aye, that sounds indeed like my old Crocodile," Hook commented with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
David waved his hand impatiently. "Anyway, to retrieve that potion, didn't you kill the dragon?" he inquired.
"I thought I did," Emma nodded. "I stabbed her with your sword, and she kinda... exploded. But obviously, she wasn't dead and transformed into something... something..." she looked at Hook. "You fought her, too. What is that, some kind of ghost?"
"You fought her?" David echoed and scrutinized the pirate closely. Hook shuffled his feet a little uncomfortably under his gaze.
"That was before we went to Neverland," Emma threw in quickly. "He and Regina went down in the cave, and she... she wasn't a dragon anymore."
"Human again?" David wanted to know, but Hook shook his head.
"Far from that, mate," he replied gravely. "She was a ghostly figure indeed, seemingly with no clear contours, but I can assure you..." – he raised his eyebrows and scratched behind his ear – "she was anything but ethereal. Her blow hurt."
"How did you get away?" David inquired.
"He had help," Emma replied almost curtly and Hook threw her an affectionate sideways glance. He wasn't particularly proud of the part he'd played in that course of events, and he knew that finding out about the details earlier that day hadn't been something his Swan had exactly enjoyed, but she'd once told him she was tired of living in the past, and that included that she wasn't blaming him for his past. And obviously, she was determined to make clear that nobody else should either.
"Who trapped her?" David asked, having similar thoughts as Emma: whatever way Hook had been involved back then, before Neverland, that had been a long time ago; important was the here and now and the person the pirate had proven to be. "Gold?"
Emma shook her head. "Regina," she replied. "And obviously, with her ability to perform light magic, some of her dark magic is starting to wear off."
"And Maleficent was no longer trapped," David commented grimly. "Oh, the irony. But where is she now? We have to..."
"We saw her," Hook interrupted, "when we were checking the barn. Luckily, she didn't see us."
"She disappeared into the forest," Emma added.
David frowned. "We can't let her stay there! What if she comes back?"
"Regina is going to retrieve her staff from her vault where she keeps it," Emma informed him. "There must be a way to find out what she wants. Regina says she's dangerous."
"Oh, she definitely is," David replied and rubbed his chin. "We have to check the library and see if we can find any hint where she's headed to."
"And then perhaps go back to the place we saw her last," Hook threw in, and David nodded.
"That's what I was going to suggest next," he agreed and locked the door to the sheriff's station.
Hook tilted his head with a grin and cocked his eyebrows. "Great minds think alike, mate," he drawled, and while David couldn't help but return the grin, Emma rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Good then, let's go!" she urged impatiently.
Their visit to the library and the cave underneath was only short; except for the broken entrance door there were no visible signs of any unusual activity. In the cave there were no traces whatsoever of any creature having lived there for almost thirty years – no hint to how she'd escaped and especially no hint to where she'd been going from there. They headed to Zelena's barn where Emma and Hook earlier that morning had spotted the creature that once had been the mistress of the Forbidden Forest.
"Nothing!" Emma huffed in frustration. Not that they'd expected to see her again, but they were not one step closer to the solution to this new magical enigma, and patience had never been one of Emma's bigger virtues.
"We should head back," David suggested. "Maybe Regina has found out something in the meantime."
"I agree," Hook nodded, "the Queen's the most likely one to solve the mystery. It was she who brought her over."
"Well, it's great that you two agree again," Emma snapped, jumping on the occasion to let out some of her frustration. David and Hook exchanged a knowing look, and she rolled her eyes. "Sorry, guys, you're probably right. I just wanna..." she clenched her hands to fists, "...do something instead of waiting, waiting, waiting. We've had enough of that with Zelena, and..."
"Swan," Hook interrupted quietly, and when she threw him a questioning glance she saw that he wasn't even looking at her, but past her.
"Don't move," David said and looked in the same direction.
Emma frowned and whirled around. "What the..." she fell silent when she saw the terrifying creature that was Maleficent maybe only twelve feet away from her. Obviously, she'd emerged from the forest without them noticing – or simply changed her appearance somehow; Hook had called her a ghostly figure, who knew what she was capable of. They didn't know how long she'd been present observing them, but now, obviously, Emma's brisk move had her come to life. She surrected herself to an imposing height and at the same time bent her head forward, making screeching sounds, obviously yelling at them.
"Your father said don't move!" Hook growled and drew his sword, and simultaneously, he and David, who had drawn his gun, took three long steps and positioned themselves in front of Emma, obviously having thought alike again.
"They never listen." David's comment was directed at Hook, not specifying whom he meant by "them", but in his mind he added: she is indeed stubborn like her mother.
Maleficent didn't seem to approve of the intrusion of the men, and she hissed at them, her head snapping forward. Hook jumped another step towards her, his sword pointing her direction, and with one swift move she simply swept him aside, and he landed on his back a few feet away on the ground, losing his sword in the process.
"Hook!" Emma called, but David grabbed her arm.
"Don't – move!" he repeated with more urgency, his eyes fixed on the creature before him.
Emma's wide, worried eyes were turned to Hook, but she saw to her immense relief that he'd already lifted himself on his elbows. Obviously, the sole focus of Maleficent's attention was Emma; she never stopped making her screeching sounds, although somehow the undertone seemed to have subtly changed. Emma frowned; she had the strangest impression that the creature was actually trying to tell her something. Other than her head that seemed to be swaying from side to side, the ghostly figure wasn't moving at all. From the corners of her eyes, Emma saw that Hook had gotten to his feet again and was scanning the floor for his sword. For a moment she allowed herself the thought Thank God, he's not hurt; then she raised her hand in his direction, and when he looked her way she slowly shook her head and said quietly: "She's not attacking."
"What does she want?" David muttered under his breath, and for a moment, the creature turned her attention to him and hissed at him angrily, twice. Then, after one last look and screech at Emma, she turned around and disappeared into the forest so quickly that it almost made Emma's head spin; that was maybe due to the absolutely not human-looking way Maleficent was moving.
Hook had found his sword and put it back into its sheath again, his gaze following the disappearing creature for the second time that day. "What in blazes was that?" he murmured.
"Are you okay?" Emma asked and went over to him, tugging at his sleeve when he didn't turn around immediately.
"I don't break that easily, love," he replied with a wink in his eye, secretly pleased with her display of affection. "What was that?" he repeated.
"I'm not sure," Emma replied, "but it looked like she wanted to tell us something?"
"Yeah," David threw in sarcastically, "I could read it from her lips: she wanted to thank you for stabbing her with my sword."
Hook chuckled and Emma whirled around to her father. "I'm serious! I had the feeling she recognized me or something."
"Well, unfortunately none of us is fluent in former-dragon tongue," Hook threw in dryly, "so that lead won't get us anywhere, love."
"Hrmph," Emma grumbled. "We have to talk to Regina. Maybe she's found out something."
"Let's go home," David agreed.
When they got back to the loft, Mary Margaret greeted them impatiently. "Hey! Any news?" She motioned with her head to the kitchen table. "Regina just got here, too."
"Traces?" the former Evil Queen asked, jumping right to the subject.
Emma shook her head. "No. But we saw her again." She slumped down on one of the chairs and wrinkled her nose a little at the tea cup her mother put in front of her; she would have preferred something stronger right now but didn't want to ask for coffee.
Regina raised her eyebrows. "You saw her? Where?"
"We went back to where Hook and I saw her first this morning, and suddenly she emerged from the forest," Emma told her.
"Did she attack you?"
"Well, she wasn't friendly," David said dryly and went over to the crib to throw a glance at his sleeping son. Mary Margaret smiled and put teacups for him and Hook on the table, too.
"She approached us," Emma explained a little vaguely.
"Approached..." Regina echoed and frowned. "All of you?"
"I stepped in her way first," Hook threw in and thanked Mary Margaret with a curt nod, "and she just tossed me aside."
Regina smirked. "For once a female you didn't make a lasting impression on."
Hook responded with a sarcastic grimace and a head tilt. "I must say, this time I'm not dispirited." He motioned his hand towards Emma, becoming more serious. "The lady was obviously more interested in the Savior."
Regina's eyes swept to Emma again. "Is that so? She focused on you?"
Emma shrugged. "Maybe she recognized me?"
Regina tapped her fingertips together and pursed her lips thoughtfully. "And yet, you're still alive... I wonder why."
"Well, I'm happy about that!" Mary Margaret threw in ironically.
"But Regina is right, mom," Emma commented. "The question is legitimate. I had the impression she wanted to tell me something."
Regina looked at David. "What about you?"
He had sat down at the table, too. "When she saw me, she seemed to get angry... I think she recognized me, too."
"Too?" Regina frowned. "Have you met her?"
David sipped from his tea. "I had the pleasure," he said grimly, not offering more of an explanation.
"Remember the potion Gold sent me to retrieve from the dragon's belly?" Emma helped out. "When Henry was... well, before I broke the first curse." Regina flinched a little at the memory, and Emma went on hastily: "Gold had David put it there. Rumpelstiltskin, I mean."
"Why am I not surprised," Regina growled. "However, the fact that she didn't kill you clearly shows she's not after revenge."
"A smart lady," Hook commented dryly.
Emma threw her hands in the air in frustration. "But how can we find out what she's after? Did you find any hints with her staff?"
Regina sighed. "No, nothing. I'm afraid we have to figure that out on our own."
Emma put down her cup with a clattering sound. "But how?!"
"This is all my fault!" David blurted out. "I shouldn't have listened to Rumpelstiltskin. I didn't really need his enchantment, I would have found Snow anyway. It was meant to be." Mary Margaret put a soothing hand on his shoulder, but he barely noticed it.
Regina waved him off impatiently. "Don't be stupid," she told him haughtily. "Maybe this all was meant to be. If it's anybody's fault, it's mine," she added soberly.
"Displays of self-loathe won't bring us anywhere," Hook remarked dryly. "We need a plan."
David nodded slowly. "I agree."
Regina rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath: "So what else is new?"
"Easier said than done, if we don't know anything about her intentions," Emma threw in. "I'm sure she was trying to communicate somehow."
"We can't just sit around here and wait to see what happens," David went on in a determined voice. "Tomorrow morning I'll go into the forest and confront her."
Hook raised his eyebrows and leaned a little forward. "That's your plan, mate?"
"Do you have a better one?" David replied snarkily and the pirate tilted his head in a shrug.
"Well," he said and and tucked his thumb into his belt, "normally, before throwing oneself into a battle it's wiser to find out as much as humanly possible about one's foe, instead of blindly..."
"I'm not going to wait until she comes back to... communicate in a more physical way," David cut him off angrily. He realized that Hook did have a point, but he was also taken aback about the pirate's lack of enthusiasm and that he hadn't offered to accompany him; secretly, David had expected exactly that.
But Hook just tilted his head and replied: "So be it."
"Fine," Regina commented a little impatiently and rose from her seat. "At least that's something. I'm going to work on a protection spell for Storybrooke, in case that you fail." She turned to Emma. "I might need your help."
Emma nodded with only a little hesitation. "Okay, if you think I can be useful." She cleared her throat. "Listen, can you take Henry home with you again? I think he's safer in your mansion, just in case."
Regina nodded curtly. "Of course."
Ten minutes later, she was on her way back with the two boys in her backseat. Mary Margaret offered to fix a few sandwiches for dinner, but no one seemed to be really hungry. Hook just finished his tea and then rose from his seat, Emma following wordlessly.
"I'm giving you a lift," she murmured, her voice sounding a little apologetic. "Tonight I should..."
Hook nodded with a smile. "Of course. Your place is here tonight." He bent a little forward to whisper in her ear: "Although I know I shall miss you in my bed."
Emma blushed and slapped him on his arm before she threw over her shoulder to her parents: "I'll be back."
On the ride to Granny's Emma was unusually quiet and broody. Hook threw her a concerned sideways glance. "Swan? What's going on in your mind?"
She snorted a little. "Well, what do you think?! How many days has it been since the last crisis? Three?"
He rolled his eyes. Here she goes again. "Swan." He used his best soothing voice. "I know you're upset, but..."
"Damn sure I am!" she cut him off angrily and brought her yellow bug to a halt at the curb in front of Granny's. "I'm sick and tired of this shit! I mean, it's like every week there's a new threat to my family and my home!" Despite the fury in his Swan's voice, Hook was relieved at her choice of words – home. For a moment he'd feared she'd revert back to her 'New York is a better place' way of thinking, but obviously that wasn't the case; despite the situation, he smiled, "What?!" she snapped when she saw his almost serene expression.
He tilted his head to the side. "Not the kind of peril that happens in New York, is it?"
Emma knew damn well what he was hinting at and couldn't help but return a little smile. She shrugged. "Well, we've been in dire straits before, right?"
There was his tough lass. Hook grinned and cocked his head again, his eyebrows quirking up. "Many a time," he confirmed.
She nodded a little grumpily and turned off the engine. "I guess it could be worse." She snorted sarfastically. "Zelena could be alive and team up with Maleficent..."
He smoothed her hair out with his hook. "Or," he replied quietly, "you could be alone."
Emma looked at him and blinked, while he returned her stare with that minute, barely perceptible smile that meant so much to her. She swallowed thickly, suddenly a lump in her throat choking her when she realized what he was actually saying. "That would be the worst," she agreed in an almost toneless voice.
For a moment, the silence filled the inside of the small car, the unspoken words – You are not alone anymore – I'm trying to get used to it, bear with me – hanging in the air between them like a fluffy cloud, together with a mutual understanding that didn't really need to be uttered aloud.
Then she plunged forward, grabbing the lapels of his leather coat, like in Neverland; they did come in handy at times. Hook seemed to have foreseen her move in her eyes, because he didn't wait for her lips to touch his before bringing his hand to the back of her head, entangling his ringed fingers in her hair. Their mouths met halfway, colliding in a feverish explosion of tension and adrenaline that had been flooding through their veins for the whole day. She huddled close into him, but the space in the little car was narrow and uncomfortable, the gear stick being in their way. The kiss went on for quite a while, leaving room for little else, but who needed air anyway.
Finally, it was Hook who broke the kiss, pulling back a little, and murmured against her lips in a raucous voice: "Swan, you really should go now... or else I swear..."
"I know I should," she panted, not loosening her grip on his collar in the least. "But I can't..."
He was breathing as heavily as she was but tried to keep what rest of his composure was left. "Your parents are waiting for you..." he barely managed.
Almost angrily, she was following his retreating mouth with her lips, trying to claim him back. "I'm going back to them," she breathed with urgency, "later..."
There was no point in arguing, and really, who was he to stop her? He heard that little voice in the back of his head, telling him that it wasn't good form to take his lady to bed when he would have to send her away later, but alas, the blood rushing in his veins was pounding so loudly in his ears that the words faded away. His own urgency was rising, and he knew it was about bloody time to take this inside. He caught her wrists with his hand and his hook and firmly pulled them away from his lapels.
Emma looked at him with a mixture of disappointment and frustration, but the green of her eyes darkened quickly when she heard him hoarsely growl: "Upstairs."
In a hurry, they left the car and entered the building by the side entrance leading directly to the stairwell of Granny's B & B. For the third evening in a row, they were heading up the stairs to Hook's bedroom. Two days ago, he'd led the way with careful, nervous steps and Emma had been following him not less nervously. The previous evening then, she'd been the one to go ahead, impatiently waiting for him to follow her. Tonight, Emma was rushing ahead again, but this time she wasn't waiting for Hook to catch up; she had unceremoniously grasped his hand and was simply pulling him with her.
He was well aware of her impatience, and it thrilled him; he couldn't believe the long way they'd come – she had come – in these mere two days. Not only did it show how much she'd opened up to him and was ready and willing to embrace their budding relationship; but it also showed her very physical desire that was in no way inferior to his. Just as he couldn't get enough of her, she couldn't get enough of him, and it took very little to fan her flames: she was burning for him, just like he'd always thought she would be – maybe also one of the reasons why she'd fought against it for so long... it was very difficult to keep your protecting walls up against someone whose presence made you want to rip your clothes off half of the time.
The thought that she felt about him that same way, that he had that power over her and that she finally allowed him to have it, elated him immensely and made his blood boil even more.
When they'd reached the landing, she stopped for a moment to let him catch up and throw him a longing glance. He looked at her and saw that her eyes were glittering with desire, her face was flushed and her lips red and a little swollen from their passionate kissing in the car. He couldn't help it, he just had to push her up against the wall and crash his lips onto hers again.
Emma gasped at his sudden sensual assault. All the air seemed to be leaving her lungs when she was pressed against the wall by his sheer weight. His left elbow rested against the wall, the hook above her head, and his hand at her chin held her face in place while his demanding tongue invaded her mouth and his lips were devouring her.
She felt like the floor was being pulled away from under her feet; her blood seemed to have been replaced by hot liquid lead pumping through her veins, the boiling heat pooling in her stomach and heading right between her legs. Instinctively, she pushed her hips forward, desperately seeking the contact with the prominent bulge in his tight leather pants. Hook noticed that, of course, and rolled his hips against hers, causing her to make a guttural sound deep in her throat. She tilted her head impatiently to the side to free her lips and gasped breathlessly: "Inside..."
He chuckled devilishly. "Yes, I know that's where you want it." Damn him and his popped 't'.
"Then let's not waste time!" she urged and pushed free from him, moving ahead again and pulling him with her at the same time.
They stumbled more than they climbed up the last stairs, because they both couldn't keep their hands and mouths off of each other, bumping into the wall, almost tripping over their own feet. This time, even though they were kissing frantically, Hook managed miraculously to unlock and open the door to his room in record time.
As soon as it had closed behind them, all hell broke loose. His heavy leather coat and Emma's red leather jacket landed on the floor immediately, and he grabbed her again and backed her against the door. Her hands entangled in the hair at the back of his neck, while his hand slid under her shirt and glided up over her side, cupping her breast while they continued to kiss like there was no tomorrow. She moaned and arched her back forward to push her breast into his hand, and she felt that he lifted the hem of her shirt with his hook – quickly, but still carefully; the sensation of the cold metal on her skin drove her crazy, like always, and she automatically lifted her arms, urging him to hurry up. The shirt was gone in an instant, and they interrupted their kissing only long enough to pull it over her head.
When she felt his hand at the buttons of her jeans, she lifted one foot from the floor and half pulled, half shook off one of her boots. As Hook was pulling her jeans down over her hips at the same time, she swayed and stumbled and tried to steady herself against him, but the rush of adrenaline and his own raging hormones had made him dizzy and unstable on his own feet, too. Holding on to each other, they lost their equilibrium and fell to the floor, with her landing on her back and him half lying across her.
For a second, they stared at each other in utter silence, then both broke into boisterous, carefree laughter. He pulled off her second boot and peeled her out of her jeans, leaving her only in her underwear now, and God help him, today her bodice and knickers were black. Never before had he seen a lass in black underwear – and he had seen a lot of bodices, and quite profligate ones, in his long life. The sight blew his fuses almost immediately, so sinful did it look. Emma noticed the mesmerized stare from his illegally blue eyes and smiled a sultry smile, very satisfied with the fact that she'd actually managed to surprise him. Never taking his eyes off hers, he slowly hooked his hook into her bodice with an almost demonic, predatory grin, and for a moment her eyes widened and her lips parted.
"Do it!" she gasped, and with one brusque move of his hook he ripped the lacy garment off, his gaze still fixed on her face. The expression on his face shot a bolt of lightning through her stomach that landed right into her core where it made her every nerve end tingle and thrum in eager anticipation.
After having exposed her torso, he bent down and started to worship her beauty and languidly kiss her breasts, one after the other. His scruff was grazing her delicate skin, while he used his mouth and his wicked tongue on her, sucking her nipples into his mouth, carefully tugging at them with his teeth. Emma moaned, entangled her hands in his hair again and arched her back, and the sensation became too much when his expert hand found its way between her legs and started to caress her there through her panties in slow, circular motions.
She simply couldn't take it anymore and pushed him away forcefully with both hands, sitting bold upright. Hook was taken a little by surprise but followed her lead when she unclasped his vest faster than a sharp Northern wind and unbuttoned his shirt with the same urgency. He shrugged both off, and now she pushed him on his back, almost jumping him right away. She lunged forward and started to kiss his throat, his collarbone, his chest... like him, she was almost rough in her impatience, showering him with little bites. He entangled his hand firmly in her hair, and now his back arched; and bloody hell, her greedy little hands were everywhere while she kissed her way down his body.
When she'd reached the waist of his pants, she didn't think twice before bringing to life the fantasy of hers when she'd first seen the black leather laces holding them up: she used her teeth to undo them, with only a little help of her fingers. While she held one of the laces between her pearly teeth, she glanced up at him with pure lewdness in her emerald eyes, and that gesture held so much wantonness that he felt goosebumps spread all over his body; something he'd experienced seldom enough.
Deep in his throat, he groaned: "Bloody hell, you're such a wicked siren, Swan..."
Emma just smiled. Almost a little smugly, while she pulled his pants down, pulling them and his boots off without any further unnecessary delay, so that he remained completely naked now. Immediately, she grasped his erection with her hot hand and aimed to go for it with her mouth, but Hook knew that wouldn't work this time, not even for one minute, as much as he'd enjoyed her mouth on his flesh the night before. But today, he was already on the verge of exploding. Abruptly, he sat up, using his arms to push himself into an upright position. Somehow, in the process he accidentally scratched her shoulder with the tip of his hook; immediately, it left a red mark on her delicate skin. He was almost shocked about it and wanted to apologize, but she just looked at the scratch, turned her eyes back to him and smiled.
With a slight shake of her head she just made: "Shhh..." and bent forward, with the unmistakable intention to go down on him again, but he stopped her and took her chin in his hand, pulling her face up to his again.
"Not now," he gasped and kissed her almost roughly, lunging his body forward and pushing her down again. His voice was a deep, breathless purr. "I need you on your back right now."
He pulled down her panties, and Emma eagerly lifted her hips, having become tired of her seduction game herself. She needed to feel him inside her. When he knelt between her legs, she opened them eagerly for him and told him: "Take me like you mean it!"
That demand fueled his fierce desire even more, and he grabbed her left ankle, positioning her leg on his right shoulder. He just had to nudge her right leg with his hook, and she lifted it, resting it on his left shoulder. Then he put both his hand and his hook to her hips and pulled her near, until she was near enough for him to enter her; and demand access he did fiercely, without further hesitation actually taking her and by that giving her what she, what they both wanted and desperately needed right now.
She responded with a barely muffled cry and grasped both his forearms, as she couldn't put her hands anywhere else on him. The moment he had taken possession of her completely, he started to move inside her relentlessly without wasting any time. His thrusts were hard and fast, and she met every one of them with a little push of her hips and a breathless gasp.
The feeling was intense, but at some point, the connection he felt didn't seem to be intense enough, and he craved, needed to hold her closer, feel her even more. Hook let go of her hips and brought both his hand and hook to her knees, gently pushing her legs down from his shoulders, bending down towards her at the same moment, but never breaking the intimate connection between their bodies. Immediately, she reached out for him with both arms, thinking he was going to lower himself on top of her. But instead, he slid his right arm underneath her arched back and lifted her up in an almost brusque move that made her head spin for one moment.
Taken by surprise, Emma held on to his shoulders. The forceful impact when she landed with her full weight on his lap pushed him so deeply inside like she'd never felt him before, and the sensation was beyond description. Her eyes widened and became a pair of green marbles, and she gasped: "Oh... my God!"
His face was mere inches apart from hers now, and his slightly parted lips curled into a truly wicked smirk. "Killian will do," he replied smoothly, even if a little breathlessly, and in his eyes danced that devilish spark when he asked in a low, hoarse voice: "Did that feel like I mean it, love?"
She couldn't reply, she could just stare at him with her eyes wide open. His almost diabolical smile turned into a tender one, the forceful thrusting of his hips became more of a soft rolling, and he wrapped his arms closely around her waist, enveloping her in all of his love and passion. Their foreheads rested against each other, and their stares connected; suddenly, the realization hit him that this was the last time they made love before they'd have to face that new crisis, that new, mysterious danger, and he tightened his embrace even more.
Something of that seriousness transpired to Emma, and the feeling of impending danger that had been lurking at the back of her mind the whole day long since the moment she had laid eyes on Maleficent that morning came fully to her awareness. A desperate anger flooded through her mind. Enjoying myself for two freaking days without crisis, more is not possible for me?! But then, Hook's words from before reverberated in her head: it could be worse... you could be alone... And he was right. She was not alone anymore. She had a family now, a home – and a man she loved. Truly, madly, deeply. Beyond any measure or reason. Two days, she thought, for two days only we've been together, and already I can't imagine my life without him. I don't want to. How did I ever live without this?
Her hands were entangled in his hair at the nape of his neck, and while they were constantly moving together, the urge of holding on to him and never again letting him go became stronger and stronger. Emma let her fingers slid down along the sides of his head until she was framing his face with her hands. His stubble was tickling the soft flesh of her palms, and she could feel his facial muscles twitch when his jaw tightened, always a sign for stronger feelings underneath a calm surface, as she knew by now. She caressed the curve of his beautiful mouth with both her thumbs and felt suddenly tears sting in the corners of her eyes.
"Killian..." she managed in an almost breaking voice.
He slightly shook his head. "Shhhh," he shushed her, "don't speak. Just kiss me."
Hook wanted so badly to tell her again that he loved her, and he knew that this time, Emma would have said it back. Not because she would've felt obliged to, but because he could read in her eyes that she was being haunted by the same dreadful feelings as he was – the impending danger that this time, this time could take something away from them they both had never had before. And maybe, just maybe, tying the knot between them as tight and secure as possible could improve their chances of not losing what they'd just found and what was so precious. And for Emma Swan, finally saying those three words to him would be the ultimate and tightest way to tie that knot. But he didn't want it that way – he did want her to confess herself to him finally, yes, but he wanted her to do it out of her own free will, and not out of desperation. He didn't need to hear her say it to know she loved him, after all, and he knew she would say it – but he wanted her to say it for the right reasons.
He brought his hand to the back of her head, gently pulling her in for a long kiss, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself so close to him that the sweat on their bodies mingled. As frantic and forceful as it had begun, as soft and tender did it end, and their shared orgasm washed over them while they were locked in their kiss.
They sat like that on the floor for a while, refusing to let go of each other, to break the connection. Hook's gaze fell again on the red mark his hook had left on her shoulder, and with a pang of guilt he felt the preoccupation that maybe he might have been too rough in the beginning, although she hadn't given him the impression that she'd minded.
He brushed his lips over the faint bruise and murmured regretfully against her damp skin: "I'm sorry if I was too..."
But she stopped him by putting both hands to his face and leaning her forehead against his. "Don't apologize," she told him firmly, "you were exactly what I needed you to be. You always are."
He scrutinized her closely and with infinite tenderness in his eyes. "How do you feel, my treasure?" he asked softly.
She just smiled at him, the unshed tears still glistening in her eyes, and answered: "So alive."
Only very reluctantly, they finally got off the floor, and Emma went to the bathroom to freshen up at least a little before getting dressed again; she had promised her parents she'd be back for the night, and she had to keep that promise. When she entered the bedroom again she found Hook had put on his pants and boots and his shirt again. She just smiled and didn't comment on that; she knew it would have been of no use to tell him he didn't have to accompany her to her car. That was just not what he would have considered to be good form.
With a sigh, she got behind the steering wheel of her beloved little bug and threw him a longing look. He nodded. "I'll be at your place tomorrow morning at 8:00 sharp."
She smiled. "I never doubted you would."
Hook tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "Your father would be lost without me."
She slightly shook her head with soft irony. "Right." Then she looked up at him again more seriously and blinked twice before she confessed in an almost embarrassed, small voice: "I'm gonna miss falling asleep in your arms." She felt the urge to look away, but in the end, she didn't and was rewarded with that sincere little smile of his that had come to mean more than sunshine and starlight to her.
He gave a barely perceptible nod before he closed the door. "Good."
Acknowledgements:
Even if this chapter hasn't been edited by my dear friend emeraldromance (updating her own fic Timeless was far more important! And all mistakes made here are my own), I still owe her gratefulness for her neverending support and her encouragement that I can do this. Thank you!
And what would I do without my muse, my good fairy Silvia? We had particular fun with this chapter, choreographing the final scene meticulously via facebook pm's. No conversation with her is ever awkward, and we can always confess our impure thoughts to each other. Grazie!