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It was the best night sleep Killian had in a year, but also arguably the worst. Emma was just mere yards from him. He knew both she and Henry were safe. With that knowledge, he slept contentedly. However, he woke up often, almost every hour, going out into the hall and pressing his ear to the door to make sure he could still hear them. He would be damned if they were taken on his watch! He had just gotten her back- gotten both of them back.
Although he didn't know much about the lad, Henry had become extremely important to him. If the simple explanation was that he was Emma's son wasn't explanation enough, he admired the boy. He had the guts to survive Neverland, held his own against Peter Pan, and was willing to sacrifice himself for his family (or at least, he was lead to believe he was). Henry reminded him of Milah in that way. And he was also Bae's son. He still cared about Bae very much, even if they were vying for the same woman now. But the time he spent with Bae in Neverland was a shimmer of hope in his darkest years, and for that, Killian would always be grateful.
Killian stirred from his last round of sleep with a light tapping at the door. He promptly bolted out of bed, clicking his hook into place as he went to answer it, opening the door only a crack very slowly. "Oh, good morning, lass," Killian said, opening the door all the way. "Did you sleep well?"
"Obviously better than you," Emma said with a chuckle as she looked down at the floor. It was then that he realized he neglected to put on a shirt, and she was obviously refraining from looking at him. Although, she couldn't hide her blush, and a wide smile grew across his face.
"What do you mean," he said as he slipped on a shirt quickly. Once she saw that he was a little more decent, she resumed eye contact with him. She still had a smirk on her face as she stepped into his room and closed the door.
"Other than knowing you kept checking on us," Emma replied, shooting him a look and he could feel a warmth fill his cheeks. "You have bed head."
"I have what," he asked concerned, running his fingers through his hair. Emma chuckled softly and, without even thinking, reached out to smooth his hair down. It felt incredibly soft beneath her fingers, and her originally mothering gesture turned into gentle caresses, letting the black charcoal strands weave through her fingers. Killian locked eyes with hers and they both grew still. He slowly brought a hand up and took her wrist, pulling it down so he could kiss the tip of her fingers. Emma immediately pulled her hand away and stuffed it back into the pocket of her jeans. "Why did you come here, lass," Killian asked, keeping his voice soft as to let her know the moment was not broken for him.
"Henry. He wanted you to have breakfast with us," she said quickly.
"I'd be honored," he said as he reached out to grab his vest off the end of the bed. "I'll be out immediately."
"You two go ahead. I need to take care of something first," Emma said. Hook quickly leapt in front of her, still buttoning his vest as he stopped her.
"And what, pretell, is that?"
"I have to talk to Neal." Killian didn't know how to feel about that. Surely, with Neal being on the floor above, he must be warned about Henry's state. However, that wouldn't stop him from trying to get back into both Emma and Henry's life. Honestly and selfishly, he did like having both of them to himself for a bit.
"I'll go with you after I get Henry settled," Killian offered.
"No," Emma said as she started to reach around him for the door knob. "I have to do this on my own." Killian reached out and put his hand on hers to stop her.
"Well, that takes care of one parent, love. What about Regina? Have you thought about how she's going to react when you tell her about Henry," he asked. Emma froze. This one she definitely hadn't thought all the way through. It was easy enough to get Neal to understand that she wanted to keep Henry in the dark so she could get him away from all of the magic, but Regina was another story. "I'm not sure the Queen is going to be all too keen that you plan on keeping her son from her indefinitely, and that she can't even acknowledge him."
"I'll deal with that later," Emma said, brushing him off. "The fewer people interacts with in this town the better. I don't want him getting too attached." Killian threw his whole weight against the door to keep her from opening it.
"When are you going to stop running, love? Your whole life you've dreamt of family, and this past year it's been you and Henry against the world. Well now you're surrounded by family and people who love both of you, and you just can't wait to tell us to just let you get your job done so you can run again."
"I didn't ask to be the Savior or for you to wake me up. Henry doesn't need all this crap in his life."
"None of us asked for what life has handed to us, love," Killian boomed. "We deal with the cards we're dealt, it makes us who we are. But if life hands you that winning hand, you don't just toss it away because you're afraid to be happy." Emma tried to push past him, but he held his ground. "At least ask Regina to make a memory potion for Henry. Then you can make that decision with your boy instead of for him."
"Because I'm his mother and I know what's best for him! And I know why you're doing this, Hook," Emma snapped. "Don't use my son as a way to try to keep me here just because you have feelings for me."
"And don't use doing the right thing as a mother as an excuse for keeping Henry's family from him so you can go back to your false life," Hook replied. "Because out of the two of us, you're the one who is being selfish, darling." Emma's blood burned through her body. He was so infuriating, so…. Emma gave him a swift punch to his ribs, using his temporary shock to push him out of the way. She went back to her room, finding Henry listening to her ipod with headphones on. He sat up quickly in his bed when she entered the room.
"Killian will be out in a minute to take you to breakfast," Emma said as she pulled her hair back over her shoulders, trying to calm herself down. "You almost ready?"
"Yeah, I'm starved," Henry said, putting the headphones down. "Is everything okay?"
"What? Yeah, sure," Emma said, still a bit distracted about what Hook said. "I just need to take care of something really quick. I'll join you two when I'm done."
"If you say so," Henry said, not really believing her. He heard the two of them fight, sort of. It was hard to make out what they were saying through the door, but he could tell it was more than a business fight. In all the months his Mom was with Walsh, they never fought. Walsh was always very compliant, let his Mom always have her way. It was actually kind of...unrealistic. Whoever this Killian guy was, he wasn't afraid to challenge his Mom. As Killian inched into the room holding his side, Henry knew exactly what put him in his place. Killian smiled at Henry and gestured for them to go downstairs, currently using his prosthetic hand instead of his hook. Emma gave Killian a triumphant grin as she walked past him.
"That was the side that my ribs were broken, Swan," Killian said lowly, arresting her wrist.
"I know," she said triumphantly. "Going to apologize for your ungentleman-like behavior, Mr. Jones?"
"Only if you kiss my ribs better first," he said leaning into her.
"In your dreams, Jones," Emma said, pulling her arm away.
"Hey," Henry said. "Are you two done? I'm starving!" Emma felt her face redden as she quickly headed towards the stairs for the third floor.
"So, what can I get you," Ruby asked as Killian and Henry poured over their menus. Killian looked to Henry to go first, not know what he wanted to order for himself. He was still discovering the food of this world, and he found it easier to 'just order the same.' Henry stared hard at his menu as he tried to decide. "Eggs and pancakes?"
"No, my Mom makes me that every morning," Henry remarked. Ruby raised her eyes in surprise. First, the Emma she knew didn't cook. Second, that was what she and Henry ordered all the time at the diner. It was interesting that pancakes and eggs were their constant breakfast staple. "I think, for a change, I'll have waffles."
"And I'll have the same," Killian said, trying to find a description of what he just ordered. What in blazes were waffles?! As he looked down over the menu, he noticed the different varieties of waffles, one in particular catching his eye. "Hold on, lass. What is this?" Ruby peered over his shoulder to see what he was referring to.
"It's waffle. And it's like it says- waffles with ice cream."
"You can have ice cream for breakfast," Killian asked in disbelief. One thing this world appealed to was his sweet tooth, and one of his first discoveries was ice cream. He quickly discovered it was one of those final course items, but he loved it all the same.
"Well, it's usually a dessert, but it is on our breakfast menu if you want it," Ruby said.
"Care to join me, lad," Killian asked Henry, who nodded eagerly. "Alright! Two waffles with ice cream. And be generous on the topping, lass," he said with a wink. Ruby nodded and went to put in the order.
"My mom never lets me order that for breakfast, except for maybe once on my birthday," Henry said, taking a sip of his milk.
"Well, it's your first day in Storybrooke. Let's use that as an excuse to celebrate," Killian said. In a way, today was a celebration for him. He had successfully gotten Henry and Emma to Storybrooke, and it could only go well from here. Well, in his mind it could. He was sure in Emma's mind, things could only get worse.
Emma put her arm up several times before she actually knocked on the door. Even with her memories restored, there was still the overwhelming hurt that Neal had left her. It wasn't something she had fully put behind in her old life, and it was something that still felt raw in her new life. Every time she or Henry mentioned Neal, or when Walsh talked about the future, Neal's betrayal was a fresh wound. Her stomach clenched as the doorknob turned and the door swung open.
"Emma!" She was immediately knocked back by the force of his hug, pinning her to him tightly and swinging her a bit. "I knew we'd be reunited! I knew it!" He set her down and pulled her at arms length so he could look at her, keeping his hands on her shoulders. "You look amazing."
"Thanks...Neal, we need to…" "
Where's Henry? Is he getting us a table? I can't wait to see him," he said, releasing her and running his fingers through his hair. It was like she was talking to a big kid- he was just too excited to listen to anything. "Em, I know we have some things to deal with, but I can't wait to get another chance with you two. This is amazing!"
"Neal, stop," Emma said, putting out her hands. The smile faded slightly from his face, but only slightly.
"What? What's wrong?"
"Neal, I came here to figure out this curse, but that's it. Henry and I aren't staying in Storybrooke," Emma explained.
"Oh, that's cool. I probably can get my apartment back in New York. I'll have some explaining to do to my super, but if I pay him for the lost rent, he would care less," Neal said. "Or, I can get a bigger place, or someplace closer to your apartment or…"
"Neal!" He promptly stopped his ramblings and looked at her with concern. "Henry and I are going back to New York- ALONE. After all this is over, I want our old lives back. And in that life, all he knows is what you did to me." Neal leaned against the doorframe in defeat, pressing his forehead into his arm before pulling back and scrubbing his face hard.
"You told him about that? Why would you tell him that?"
"In our lives I'm 100% honest with him. And if that means telling him what his father did to me, so be it," Emma said, her face stone cold. "We have lives back in New York, good ones. And you're the one who spent his life trying to escape magic. Don't you think your son deserves to have his life away from all that?" Neal sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Look, Em, I get what you're trying to do. I didn't expect you to feel this way, but I told you from the start. He's my kid too and you don't get to make those decisions by yourself anymore. I want to see my son," Neal said. He reached out and tried to hold her hand, and unlike with Killian, it felt like an old weight pulling her down. "Come on, Emma. Fate keeps putting us together. We owe it to ourselves to try and be a family. I thought it's what you wanted."
"Neal," Emma said with a sigh. "Henry and I have spent the past year on our own, without anyone taking care of us. We can do that, we're good at it. He thinks you don't even know about him and he's fine with that. Can't you just accept that we can be just fine?"
"No," Neal said quickly. "You're not just fine. When you've been left alone like we have, nothing is ever just fine. We deserve the best after all we've been through and the best is being a family."
"I'm sorry," Emma said. "I don't have time for all that. I need to figure out what happened to everyone, and then that's it. I don't have time for...anything else. That's just how my role is."
"I refuse to accept that."
"Well, you're not the only one," Emma grumbled. "I'm going down to join my son for breakfast. If you care about either of us at all, just let us be this morning. At least until we figure all this out." Neal nodded and let Emma go, waiting a few beats before trying to follow her around the corner. He was met with something sharp at his eye level.
"Don't even think about it," Granny said, aiming her crossbow. "I'll be bringing your breakfast to your room this morning, Mr. Cassidy." Neal smiled politely before slipping back into his room.
A/N: So, from what I gathered from the Spring premiere is that Emma kinda has tunnel vision when it comes to what she's going to do in Storybrooke- save the day then get out of there before something else happens. Killian isn't holding anything back this time- his feelings, calling Emma out, nothing. He's going to be nothing but real with her and see what happens. That's why things kinda escalated so quickly between them in this chapter. I think Neal always wants to jump at another chance of being a family if it's in front of him, whatever jumping might mean. That's how I've read things so far.
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