Hello all! This has been a crazy two weeks for me, so I apologize for the long hiatus between chapters. But here is a chapter in Emma's POV… finally, for the first time in this story, Hook and Emma get to interact! It was really fun to write them together.

IMPORTANT….

In my story, Hook finds Emma after 8 MONTHS, NOT A YEAR. It was the only way to have Hook enter the scene before the baby was born.

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time… if I did, I would not be sharing Captain Hook with Emma. :)

CHAPTER 4- Oblivion

EMMA POV

"Look, I know this seems crazy, but you have to listen to me, you have to remember-"

I didn't hear what I had to remember, though, because I closed the door right in the stranger's desperate, but strangely familiar face. Most likely something about my "family being in great danger." I'd heard enough, and decided that the man was a lunatic- a handsome lunatic, yes, but a lunatic all the same.

"Who was it, Mom?" Henry called from somewhere in the kitchen. "Do you know him?"

"No," I replied slowly, and then froze. Because I did know this man, however crazy it seemed. He was the same dark-haired, blue-eyed stranger in my dreams. I shakily sat down as my heart started racing. I had dreamed of a man I had never even seen before, and now he had shown up at my doorstep.

"Earth to Mom!" Henry snapped, waving his hand in front of my face. "Hello?"

"What? Oh, sorry!" I started guiltily and was faced by a stern looking Henry. "Sorry, Henry, I was just thinking. About the baby. Thinking about the baby, I mean."

"Mom, stop. You're not helping yourself." Henry smiled slightly. "You're something of an open book."

I narrowed my eyes, because I'd heard that phrase before, but not from Henry. Strangely enough, it was burned into my memory in a very familiar accented voice. One I'd just heard at the door minutes ago…

Ok, that's enough, I snapped internally at myself. Stop imagining things, Emma. One strange person showed up at my door and now I'm blowing this all out of proportion. Must be the hormones.

"Ok, Henry. School."

I snapped back to myself, and tried to salvage whatever was left of my reputation. Henry didn't argue, and within minutes, he was out of the door and headed to school.

And once I heard the door slam, I leaped off the couch as quickly as an eight-month pregnant woman could leap off a couch, and raced off to my bedroom. Once there, I grabbed my computer and loaded it up, my fingers itching to start typing. Finally, the computer loaded up and I opened up Google and began typing:

What does it mean when you dream of someone you've never met before?

Apparently, you can't dream of someone you've never met. So I have to have met this man at some point, or else borrowed parts of his features from other people and formed one person in my mind. But since he had shown up at my doorstep, all in one piece, I highly doubt the second possibility.

Maybe he was an inmate from when I was in Phoenix. I might have never noticed him, but he might have noticed me. Or maybe I've forgotten all about him. That seemed unlikely- I could live a hundred years and never forget those eyes.

I raked my memory, trying to find anything associated with this strange man. Nothing. Just like my mysterious pregnancy, this man was a complete mystery.

I regretted closing the door in the man-dressed-as-a-pirate's face. I needed to know how I knew this man, and why I dreamed of him every single night. In a city as big as New York, there was no way I could possibly find him. It would take years to search the whole city, and I needed my answers now.

I admitted that I looked for him while I was out. I checked behind my shoulder at grocery stores, at the movie theater Henry and I went to a couple days ago, and the bagel place on the other side of the street. But there was no sign of the mysterious stranger- and with his strange pirate garb and piercing eyes, he would not be easy to overlook.

My prayer was answered one day while Henry and I were having dinner at an upscale Italian restaurant. Henry had gone to use the bathroom when the strange man literally melted out of the shadows and took a seat at Henry's empty chair. I narrowed my eyes at his flagrant rudeness, but the man didn't seem to care.

"You!" I cried out in an accusatory tone. But the man held up his hand and interrupted me before I could continue. "I can explain!"

"You are a stalker!" I snapped. I had been looking behind my shoulder for a week for this man, and hadn't spotted hair nor hide of him. And it turns out he had been following me the whole time, and knew exactly where I was even if I hadn't seen him. So much for being an observant bail-bondswoman.

"Don't scream," The man murmured quietly, looking around us to see if anyone had noticed my outburst. "Just hear me out."

"I don't do this very often, so treasure it, love," The man began. "I've come to apologize."

Love? Who does this man think he is?

"For trying to kiss me?" I replied, fingering the knife on the table, and not taking my eyes off of the man for a moment. "Don't think I'm keeping my eyes off of you for a second." I added warningly.

The man suddenly smiled. "I would despair if you did." He leaned closer to me over the table and grinned at me cockily. This was the kind of man I tried to stay away from- arrogantly handsome.

There was a slight pause, and the man continued. "I was just trying to jog your memory." He said softly.

"It's time for you to go- now," I said sharply. I had no idea who this creeper was, but all I knew was that I wanted him to go. Nothing was making sense.

"Emma, your parents- your family- is in great danger," The man ignored my command.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," I snapped. "My family is right here."

"You think you're an orphan." The man said without flinching, his eyes steadily held to mine.

I couldn't stop the look of surprise that flitted across my face. This man knew things about me, and I felt as if I had met him in another life. Maybe he was a bail-bondsperson too…

"That's haunted you your whole life," He continued in the soft voice. "I'm here to tell you that everything you've believed is wrong!"

"You don't know me." I replied almost desperately. There was no way that anything this man was saying was true. My head was pounding and I didn't know what was real anymore.

"Alas, I know you better than you know yourself," The man replied without missing a beat. If he was a bail-bondsperson, he was one of the best I had ever met.

"I have proof," He shifted slightly and withdrew a folded up piece of paper from his pocket. I noticed that his left hand hadn't moved an inch since we had begun talking, and he was holding it strangely.

He unfolded the paper with one hand, his left hand still stiff and immobile. "Take a gander." He said. "Here's an address." He pointed at it with a finger adorned with a large ruby-red ring.

"If you want to know who you really are, who your parents are, go there." The man said earnestly, a look of supplication on his face.

"Leave. Now." I said forcefully, but I had already made up my mind. I would go to this address tomorrow morning, and find out what this man wanted.

"You've been there before, a year ago, but you don't remember," The man continued, but I wasn't buying it. The only reason I was giving him a chance was because of the dreams.

"A year ago, I was in Boston. Until a fire destroyed my apartment and I moved to New York with my son," I replied, desperately trying to remember. But when I tried to remember, the memories were hazy and unclear. It was like looking at someone else's memories.

"Regina really did a number on you," The man said with a ghost of a smile.

Regina? Who in hell was Regina? Every time I convinced myself I could believe this creep, he went and said something crazy like this and made me doubt him all over again.

"You're a crazy person," I informed him. "Or a liar. Or both. Or I don't even know right now!"

"I prefer dashing rapscallion," The man replied arrogantly, leaning back in his seat.

I glared at him, wondering why I shouldn't just slap him senseless right now. "Scoundrel?" He tried again, trying to see if that was more accurate.

"Give me one good reason not to punch you in the face." I snapped.

"Well, it might not be beneficial to the child," The man said with a smile. When he saw my glare deepen, he quickly added, "Try using your superpower- yes, I know about that. See that I'm telling the truth."

"Just because you believe something is true doesn't make it real." I said. This man had most likely just broken out of a mental institution. Nothing he said made the slightest bit of sense.

"Maybe, maybe not," The man replied infuriatingly. I sighed in frustration, letting my hands drop to my very round belly. It had become a habit for me to rub my belly when I was nervous. The baby always seemed to know when I was nervous, and the gentle rubbing soothed both of us.

The man's eyes turned gentle at my sudden weakness. "How is the child?" He asked softly, not taking his eyes off of me.

"None of your business." I snapped, and then was taken aback by the hurt expression on his face. "She's fine." I replied, less sharply.

"She?" The man's face broke into a wide smile, and there was a hint of pride in his face.

"Ok, this is getting even weirder. Go. Now." I snapped, not caring about my rudeness anymore. "Are you stalking me to kidnap my baby? Are you some sort of pedophile?"

"No, Swan, never," The man replied instantly. "I wish for your well-being, and the child's."

"You sense that something is off," The man continued, trying to make the most of my more mellow mood. "Go to that address. Take a chance. Then you'll want to talk, and when you do I'll be in Central Park, by the entrance to the zoo. Don't do it for me, or for you. Do it for your family- they need your help."

And with that, the man suddenly got up and walked away, and within seconds, I had lost sight of him.

I was so jittery and nervous about what I would find at the address the man gave me last night that it was a wonder that I even managed to get Henry out of the house and to school without raising suspicion. I felt bad about all the secrets I'd been keeping from Henry recently, but I had no idea how to tell him I'd dreamed about a random person and then had that person show up at my door. I could hardly explain it to myself, and I'd never been good with words. Well, at least, that was the excuse I had for my actions.

The address was a small apartment, and appeared very normal at first sight. Perhaps it was the man's apartment, but that wouldn't make any sense. As I was turning around, I caught sight of the dreamcatcher hanging on the window. I gasped as I realized how familiar it looked- this was Neal's apartment!

How did this strange man know about me and Neal? What did he want from me anyway? I realized that my hands were shaking, and I tried to take a deep breath and calm down. There were a couple of letters laying haphazardly on the couch, with Neal's name on them, confirming my fears. And, creepily enough, a handkerchief splattered with blood. Was Neal in some kind of trouble, and was this "pirate" trying to help Neal by finding me? If that was his plan, it was going to backfire epically. I had no interest left in Neal anymore.

There was a camera lying forgotten on the table, and when I went to grab it, my shock increased tenfold. If I had been surprised when I'd learned this was Neal's apartment, then now I was horrified. The strap had Henry's name printed on it. Neal didn't even know that Henry even existed.

Something wasn't adding up. As my stalker had put it last night, something was off. There were too many signs to ignore now. I was pregnant with a child and couldn't remember the father or having sex with a man. Neal apparently knew about Henry. And I had a strange stalker haunting my dreams for months, and now he was flesh and blood in front of my own eyes.

My first stop after running out of Neal's deserted apartment was going to the closest drugstore and developing the pictures. And sure enough, there were pictures of me and Henry, with Neal. A banner proclaimed that the picture had been taken in a place called Storybrooke, a place I'd never heard of. I was sure I'd never been there, and now things were making even less sense, if that was possible.

I hated that I was now seeking the strange man out myself, but I had no choice. Somehow, Neal knew about me and Henry. If Henry was in any danger, I had to know before it was too late.

The pirate was sitting on a bench by the zoo entrance in Central Park, just as he had promised.

"Swan," The man sighed in relief when he saw me storming towards him.

"Why didn't you tell me that was Neal's place?" I hissed at the pirate wannabe.

"Easy, lass, I think the tone of your voice answers that quite clearly" the man replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You never would have gone if I had."

"Look, drop the shitty act," I snapped. "You dress like a pirate, with a fake hand. All you need is a hook and you can be Captain Hook, go on your merry way and leave me alone!"

The man's eyes flashed darkly. It was the first time I'd seen him angry. "Love, I'm not leaving. I need your help, your family needs your help." He swallowed before continuing. "I've never told you a lie. You have to believe me."

"I'm not going to believe any of your crap." I snapped. "Just tell me what Neal wants. How does he even know that Henry exists?"

"I'm not here because of Neal. I'm here because your parents are in great danger, their entire kingdom has been cursed, ripped back to Storybrooke." The lunatic said, obviously believing every word.

"What are you talking about?" I snapped. "My parents? Their kingdom? A curse? Do you know what you sound like?"

"Like a madman, I'm sure," The man admitted quietly, ducking his eyes in embarrassment. "But it's true. Your parents need you."

"Why did you come here if you don't believe me?" The man asked desperately. sensing that he was losing me.

"Because Neal has a camera with my son's name on it!" I snapped. "How?"

"Don't you see, that proves what I'm saying. You've been there, but you can't remember." The pirate looks at me imploringly. "Henry must have left that in the apartment when you were in New York last year."

"You're going to have to do better than that, Jack Sparrow," I said harshly.

"My name is Killian Jones," The man said thickly. "Just trust me, Swan. I would never put you in harm's way."

"Ever since you showed up, my world has been turned upside-down," I whispered. "I don't know what's real anymore. I don't even know who I am anymore. You need to leave before my reality explodes."

"Lass, trust me," Killian- that was the first time she had thought of his name when referring to him- begged her. "I know you're scared. You just happen to be an open book."

"I can't." I whispered, hating myself in that moment. "You have to go."

"If one small part of you senses that I am telling the truth, don't you owe it to yourself to find out if I'm right?" The man gazed at me with those damn eyes and I felt like he could see right through me. "Take a leap of faith. Just give me a chance, love."

"Call me love one more time and lose lose the other hand," I said, leaning closer and putting handcuffs on him. I had the element of surprise, and for a long second, all he did was stare at me.

"Swan, what are you doing?" He said, with a sigh of annoyance, as I tied him to the nearby bench. A strange sense of deja vu passed through me, but that was impossible, so I quickly dismissed it.

"I'm making sure you never bother me or my son again." I said harshly. I quickly turned around and caught the eye of the officer standing off to the side. I felt Killain's shock vibrating through the air between us, and for a second I felt bad at betraying him. "This is the guy." I said confidently. "This is the guy who assaulted me."

I backed away and watched Jones get shackled by the two officers. One of the officers said "You are under arrest for assault and criminal harassment," and began reading the man's Miranda Rights.

The pirate protested "It was just a kiss!" as the men bound his arms and began to lead him away.

"There." I said smugly. "He confessed."

"Swan! Swan, come back!" the pirate looked desperate, and for a second I almost felt bad. And then I remembered that he was mentally unstable, and I walked away and ignored his faint yells of frustration as I got further away.

I had thought that once I had effectively eliminated the Captain Hook wannabe from my life, things would go back to normal. But of course, things only got worse. I found myself standing in the nursery I had fashioned for my daughter more and more often, rubbing my belly as I thought of my mysterious fatherless baby. And I thought of that man, with the guyliner and the pirate garb, wondering why I felt such a strong emotional connection to the maniac.

After two sleepless nights, I finally decided that I had to bail the insane man out of jail. I had run away from him as if that would solve my problem. I was 29 years old, but for some reason, I hadn't learned the lesson that running away from your problems doesn't solve them.

So, on a cloudy, chilly Wednesday morning, I found myself standing outside the New York city jail, waiting for the stranger to walk out and start feeding me his crackpot story again. He strode out minutes later, his eyes taking in the outside world again, and then his face lit up like a star when he saw me.

"Hey! We need to talk!" I said with as much confidence as I could muster.

"Swan! Oh, thank the gods, I thought I'd have to rot in that place for eternity. I've been in my fair share of brigs, but none as barbaric as that!" He complained loudly.

I rolled my eyes and made a noncommittal noise in the back of my throat.

"They force fed me something called bologna!" The man spit out the word with vengeance and I almost smiled at his theatrics.

"What the hell are these?" I said, waving the pictures in his face. "Did you PhotoShop these pictures?"

"PhotoShop?" The man asked with confusion.

"Faked," I explained.

"If you think these are forgeries, why did you spring me from the brig?" the pirate asked. "Because, deep down, you know something is wrong, and you know I'm right."

"It's not possible," I said desperately. "How could I forget all of this?"

"I promise, there is an explanation," He said. He reached into one of his many pockets and drew out a small bottle of disturbingly blue liquid.

"This will restore your memories," The crazy guy said with all sincerity. "Just drink it, and everything will make sense again."

"Drink the thing the crazy guy just offered me?" I said harshly. "No, thanks! What if you want to poison me or my baby?"

The man's eyes flashed worriedly. "I don't believe it will have any adverse effect on your babe, lass."

"Still, no," I snapped. "I won't endanger my child because of you."

"Don't do it for me or for yourself." The man was begging now. "Do it for your family. They need you. You just have to believe in yourself."

I took it from the stranger with a huge amount of trepidation, but I knew, deep down that I was going to drink it. I was tired of this guessing game that I'd been playing since I found out about my baby, and the stranger was right, as much as I hated to admit it. Something was amiss right now, and I needed to find out what it was. If the man was a raving lunatic, then there would be no harm done.

"Are you sure it won't hurt the baby?" I asked quietly, hesitating for the sake of my child. I had already lost one of my babies thanks to my stupidity, I wasn't about to let anything happen to this one.

"Swan, I would never hurt ou-your- child," The stranger hurriedly caught himself, and I wondered what he was almost going to say.

"If what you're saying is true, then I'd have to give up my life here. It's real, and it's pretty good. I have Henry, a job, and a baby on the way."

"It's based on lies!" He said. "Perhaps there is a man that you loved in the life you lost also. What about your family? Do you really want to live a life of lies? Just trust your gut, you'll know what to do."

"Henry always says that." I said, warming up to the idea of drinking the potion more with every passing second.

"If you won't listen to me, listen to your boy." He said, and I wondered how he knew all the right things to say.

"I trust you." I whispered without thinking, and then my heart started racing. Where on Earth had that come from?

I uncorked the stopper on the bottle and slowly raised to my lips. Without once taking my eyes off of the stranger, I let the bottle touch my opened lips and then slowly tilted it backwards. The liquid was very cold as it went down my throat, and tasted very much like refreshingly cold water. For a second nothing happened, and then I felt as I was being swept away. There were so many memories, running past me like a movie screen.

A lone candle. It was me, blowing out my birthday candle alone on my 28th birthday.

Henry's smiling face.

A sign that reads "Welcome to Storybrooke."

The clock tower.

Regina.

A fiery dragon and me holding a sword

Henry lying cold and pale in a hospital bed.

Purple smoke, and then Mary Margaret and David, no wait Snow White and Charming… Mom and Dad.

A black figure, the dream-catcher, and Neal… Neal falling through a portal with a gunshot wound, and I remember my desperate voice before he fell through. I love you.

Hook… and how I had finally let down my guard somewhere between Neverland and Storybrooke, the soft kisses and touches, the gentle love making.

And then the curse that had carried me away from everything that I loved.

I guess my eyes had closed somewhere as the surge of memories returned to me, but I opened them with a gasp, and saw Hook standing in front of me with a concerned look.

"Hook," I gasped. How had I forgotten him? How had I forgotten the man who finally gave me a home, the man who had fathered the child growing inside of me.

"Did you miss me, love?" He murmured softly, a smile lighting up his features.

"It's yours," I said, feeling that he should know. But he probably already suspected it anyway. "The child, I mean."

"After all these centuries." He said in awe. "The fearsome Captain Hook is going to be a father."

"Oh God," I gasped. "What are Mary Margaret and David going to say?"

Hook smiled for a moment, as if imagining the response brought him immense pleasure, and then the grin fell from his face. "Swan, you have made a pirate think of running scared."

I felt the fear clench around my heart for a single moment, and I knew that my face had betrayed me because Hook was eyeing me with concern. The idea of abandonment, especially when I was about to have a child, had bad past conditioning, thanks to Neal.

Hook looked at a loss for words for a moment, but it didn't last long, because it was Captain Hook, for God's sake. He always had something to say.

He cleared his throat nervously. "Emma, if you would allow me the honor of staying with you and raising our child, I would be honored. I believe in good form, and I will not abandon like everyone else in your life has. And it helps that I love you, and Henry and our child."

I honestly didn't know what to say. I had never been good with words, emotions, and tying them together to express them out loud. Hook, however mistook my silence for disapproval.

"If you wish for me to leave, I will go. I want what's best for you, Emma." Hook said gently.

My respect for Hook grew tenfold. He obviously wanted to be a part of the baby's life, but it would be my decision in the end. And how could I say no to him? This baby was half his, I couldn't shut him out of the baby's life. Neal had run away and betrayed me, but Hook had spent a whole eight months looking for me.

"I think together is good." I whispered quietly, so he had to lean in closer to hear. "It's nice to not be abandoned."

"I will never abandon you." Hook said fiercely, icy fire burning in his eyes. I was surprised by his forcefulness, and wondered what had happened in the past eight months. "I will always fight for you."

And when he leaned in to embrace me in the crowded New York street, I didn't fight him. It felt so good to be hugged- to be wanted- and I felt myself tearing up. I blamed the pregnancy hormones, but deep down, I knew better. Captain Hook had sailed right through my walls like they were made of clouds.

His hands automatically found my belly and I couldn't stop the gasp that escaped my lips. Because our baby had just kicked Hook's hand, like she knew exactly who this man was already.

"Was that the lass?" Hook asked in wonder, his eyes lighting up like stars.

"Yes." I laughed quietly.

When he leaned in a second time, it was too slow for me. I wanted him now, and I didn't want gentle. I jerked the collar of his coat and dragged him closer to me. When his lips finally touched mine, I felt like all the puzzle pieces had finally come together and I would never be that lost little girl again.

(Hides in shame)...

I am so sorry! It's been two weeks since I updated! I never planned on it being that long of a wait… I will have another chapter this week though, so don't worry! I won't leave this story hanging forever lol. :)

Have a great week. Thank you for reading/favoriting/following/reviewing/clicking. I appreciate all of it so much! See you Sunday or earlier with another chapter. It's going to have David's reaction, and Neal's, because chronologically, he's still alive in my story. :(

Reviews make me giddy :) Have a great week!