A/N: I get this one review every time that says 'can't wait for Emma to find out she kidnapped her own son'. I've been wondering whether or not I should reply and give a lil spoiler, but I'll do it now: the way I'm planning it to go, Emma won't know about it till much later. It'll be one of those complicated revelations we get so often on the show ;-)

Chapter 4

It was around midday when Emma came up on the deck to find the captain busy at the helm. They hadn't intreracted much since their talk, as Killian had been busy sailing, and she had to remain below deck because little Henry refused to remain there alone.

"Slept well?" he asked without turning, and she laughed lightly.

"Yeah. This little guy woke me up at the crack of dawn though. If that's a habit, we won't get along well on that issue." She scrunched up her nose at the thought of waking early everyday.

Killian chuckled. "You can hand him over to me if it displeases you so much. It seems rising early is a habit we share."

"No thanks. You'll likely be busy with the ship anyway." She deflected. It was true that Killian was helping them, but it was also true that he was a criminal who had murder on his mind and an air which said that it wasn't something new. She still couldn't trust him enough to hand the baby over to him. Strangely enough, she did have some maternal instincts, and they said it would peobably be a bad idea. "How do you do it, by the way? Sail the ship all on your own?" She had been wondering that for sometime now. Sailing a ship was surely not as easy as he made it seem.

He smirked. "Is that admiration I hear, love?" Emma rolled her eyes. "No, it's curiosity. I may not be a sailor, but I know that an entire crew is needed to sail a ship."

He smirked for a moment more before answering. "The Jolly Roger is an enchanted ship. She listens to my command. I wouldn't need to steer either if not for my desire to do so. The only thing I really need to do is navigate."

"I knew it was an easy answer like that!" she said victoriously, now standing beside him. Killian laughed.

"So would you rather I spun a story of how I'm a poor man trying to take on all the roles to compensate for a lack of crew?" he asked, amused.

"No, I prefer the honest answer." She said wryly. "If you really don't have anything to do, can you teach me how to sail?" she asked after a moment's hesitation.

Killian had barely opened his mouth to answer when the ship shook, and he instinctively wrapped an arm around her to keep her steady. The shaking continued for a few seconds more before stopping as abruptly as it started.

"W-What was that?" she asked once Killian let go of her.

"A magical boundary." he said with the hint of a smile. "That's good news. We've left Misthaven - The Enchanted Forest."

"Okay," she replied, "so where are we now?"

"Well," he scratched behind his ear awkwardly, "we'll have to wait till we reach the shore to know that. I haven't frequented these areas much."

"Where have you frequented then, Neverland?" she joked.

"Aye. I have stayed in Neverland for quite some time." he said, raising a surprised eyebrow.

"Yeah. Neverland. Of course." she muttered stupidly. "Fucking dreamland I've landed myself in." he laughed hearing that.

"So... you wanted to learn sailing?" he asked, bringing her attention back to their conversation before the shaking started.

"I-I do." she said a bit shyly.

"Then it would be an honour to teach you, milady." he said, dropping into a mock bow, and she snorted.

The day passed with him showing her the basics, the parts of the ship, tying knots, steering, and holding Henry when she tried to do as he said. The latter was something she had been reluctant about, but upon his insistance ("Try something new, darling, it's called trust.") and lack of a choice, she eventually conceded, though vowing to keep an eye on him, which earned her another quip. It appeared she didn't have anything to worry about. Though he was as much a novice at handling kids as her, it was clear that his intentions were noble as noble could be.

It took two days more before Killian announced that they would be docking before dusk. While they were within the boundaries of the Enchanted Forest, the hadn't felt the need for food or water(A side effect of one of the spells, as Killian explained) but soon after crossing the boundary, stomachs started to growl. The problem was easily solved by the unfortunate fishes who managed to find themselves in the net thrown by them, which sated their stomachs, though not the tastebuds(cooking wasn't one of the things Killian could command the ship to do). Thankfully, the Jolly happened to have a few water barrels, so they didn't need to drink seawater to survive.

It was strange how much she had got acquainted with the life on Jolly, and especially how much she had got acquainted with it's captain and the child she supposedly couldn't wait to be rid of. Somewhere at the back of her mind, she wondered if it would be so bad if she couldn't get back. After all, she didn't exactly have the ideal life waiting for her back there. But then again, the sensible part of her argued, what was the guarantee that she'll find one here? Sure, Killian was helping her - them - now, but what if he doesn't want to stick around after that? Hell, why would he? And Henry, he deserved to be with his own mother, not a pathetic excuse of one like her. She gave up her own son so that he could have a better life, and now she was depriving him of that.

But all such thoughts would disappear when she looked at Henry, gazing up at her with wide eyes, or sometimes reaching out to grab her nose, making her giggle. The kid had even got the pirate captain wrapped around his pinky. Emma might pretend not to notice as Killian baby talked to him while Emma decided to take a chance at the helm, but she knew very well that he had a little soft spot for Henry. What she didn't notice was that Henry wasn't the only one he had a soft spot for. She often missed the looks of adoration and sometimes pride as she busied herself with Henry or some random work around the ship, or just stood at the rail looking at the horizon.

Once they were back on land, Killian quickly led them to what seemed to be a relatively respectable inn, going straight to the landlady with a hefty amount of gold and specific instructions to arrange a room and a bath, and buy some suitable clothes for Emma.

"So... where are we?" Emma asked once he returned from his inquisitive trip.

"We're in a village on the outskirts of a kingdom called Arendelle." he replied, "But we likely wouldn't find a remedy to your situation here, as the only person known to have any magic is their young queen, and going to find her would be useless as most of the kingdom, including the castle, has frozen over." he looked away as he said this, as if he didn't quite want to find a way.

"Oh." Emma said, not sure how she should feel about that. "So... are we-are we going to leave?"

Killian sighed. "No. I think it's a better idea for you and the lad to stay on land, and somewhere stable. I think you should stay here, in this village. I'll arrange for the accomodations."

"And... and you?" Emma asked hesitantly.

"I should go and keep an eye out for someone who can help us." he said, almost successful in hiding the resignation in his voice, but Emma noticed.

Maybe he didn't want to leave, and maybe she didn't want him to leave either. But she wasn't supposed to feel so. She should be wanting to return where she came from, to regain some semblance of normalcy, if for nothing else, then to return Henry where he belonged... but that was a cursed town after all, and his so-called mother an 'Evil Queen'; was it the best place for him?

But maybe the witch was mistaken, a part of her mind grudgingly admitted. With everyday that went by, giving Henry back seemed lesser and lesser appealing.

But she had to try, because she was being selfish. Them staying here wasn't the best for anyone; she was stealing Henry's future, and getting more and more indebted to Killian with everything that he was doing for her. It would be better if they left.

So she nodded in agreement and let him do as he proposed, and soon found herself in the cottage he had bought for them.

But when after two months he hadn't returned, Emma had already cursed her decision a million times. She missed him. She wished they were still back in his ship. She wished they had gone together. And everytime she looked out of the window in the direction of the docks, she searched for a familiar ship and a familiar face.

After two months of absence, Emma opened the door to find Killian, drenched to the bone due to the storm outside. However, his efforts had been futile, and he had come back empty handed.

"I'll leave again in a couple of days, try to go further - "

"What if..." she hesitated as Killian turned to her, urging her to continue. "What if I say I'd rather have you stay here as well, with us?"

Killian raised an eyebrow, and Emma shrugged in response. "I mean, this entire journey seems to be futile... and it's not as if I have a palace to get back to in my world, we have a more stable place here, though that's thanks to you, so it'll be better to stay here anyway... and... and..." she stopped, reluctant to admit that she missed him. Her gaze fell on Henry, who was sleeping peacefully. "Henry missed you." she blurted out.

He couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. Even Emma grinned slightly, biting her lip. "Did he, now?" he asked humorously.

"Yeah, he did." Emma replied in the same tone, not willing to back down and admit it.

He smirked. "I knew you liked me."

"Don't push it." she warned, but was smirking all the same.