Hey y'all. It's been a while since I've put up a new chapter; sorry it took so long! But yeah this is the new chapter and I really hope y'all like it. :D

Disclaimer: I own none of this.

Chapter 6 Freedom

Regina snuck as quietly as she could up to the wooden door on the deck of the ship. She looked around a made sure no one was around.

Once she was sure that Hook wasn't around, or at the very least wasn't watching her, she began to try to use magic to open the door to the room Snow was in.

She tried a few times, but to no avail.

"Damn it," she muttered, disappointed that her magic couldn't work. "It has to be Emma," she said, realizing Hook's true plan.

With that, she left the boat.

-OUAT-

"You're recovering nicely," the doctor said to Belle. It had been a few days since she woke up and the doctors had been monitoring her closely. "Your brain is functioning normally now and it appears there won't be any lasting effects from the accident. You still had surgery to stop your internal bleeding and the incisions are still healing, so be careful."

"I will be," Belle promised, grinning. "I can leave the hospital soon, right?"

The doctor nodded. "I predict tomorrow or the next day we can release you."

Belle smiled wider. "Good."

Rumple squeezed Belle's hand and looked to the doctor. "Thank you," he said.

With that, the doctor left, leaving Belle and Rumple alone in the room.

Looking into Rumple's shining eyes, a memory struck Belle.

"You're awake," Rumple said in shock and joy, even though Belle had been awake for nearly an hour by then. Once he alerted the doctors that Belle woke up, they spent a lot of time running tests and making sure she was healthy. "You're awake and you're alright."

Belle smiled. "I am."

"I missed you," Rumple said. "I was so scared, Belle."

"I'm not going anywhere," Belle replied. "I'm staying, remember?"

Rumple smiled and kissed his fiancée.

"How are you, Rumple?" Belle asked.

Rumple looked at her and laughed. Of course Belle is concerned with others more than herself even though she just came out of a coma.

"I'm fine, dear," Rumple said. "Don't worry about me. Let's just focus on getting you out of here, okay? I know you hate hospitals."

Belle nodded. "I do," she admitted. "But it is okay because you're here. I know I'm safe with you, Rumple."

Rumple smiled, still overjoyed that Belle is okay and awake.

"So Bae is here," Belle said.

"He is."

"Is he staying with us?" Belle asked.

Rumple looked surprised. "I…Right now he is staying at Granny's. Would you like him to stay with us?"

"Of course," Belle said. "He's your son! If he would like to stay with us, I would like to have him with us."

Rumple grinned. "Okay, I'll let him know."

"How old is he now?" Belle asked. "And where was he all this time?"

"He is still the age he was when he left," Rumple replied. "He was in a place called Neverland, where he never aged."

"How did he get to this world?"

"I don't know," Rumple said.

"What if the storm was magic?" Belle asked. "He came the night of the storm, right? It seems ludicrous, but what if the storm was the magic that brought Bae here?"

Rumple contemplated this. "I don't know, dear. It could be possible."

"Who would have cast such a spell, though?" Belle asked. "You and Regina aren't practicing magic."

"Someone might have used it as a portal…" Rumple began, getting lost in thought. "And Bae may not have come alone." He got up. "I must speak with Emma."

"Okay," Belle said.

"I'll call her and set up a time when I can meet her," Rumple said. "And I can call Ruby, too, and let her know you're okay and she can come stay with you while I'm out."

"Rumple, I don't need a babysitter," Belle said.

"Belle, you just woke up from a coma," Rumple said. "You're in a hospital, which I know you hate even though you'll try to not be afraid of it. I'd feel better if you weren't alone right now, but I have to go talk to Emma. She can help figure this out."

"Okay," Belle replied, accepting this. "Good luck.

-OUAT-

"You still have not been rescued, eh?" Hook mocked Snow as he came into the room that held her captive. He took off her blindfold and dropped a plate of food on her lap, then unbound her hands. "Here."

"You've been disappearing for days now," Snow said. "I can tell by how quiet it is when you aren't on the boat, and you aren't on the ship often. Where have you been going?"

"That's the thing about pirates," Hook said. "We don't share, not even secrets. But don't worry, you'll know soon enough." He turned to leave.

"Why haven't you killed me?" Snow asked. "If you want to hurt Emma, that'd be the way to do it." She was absolutely willing to sacrifice herself to keep Emma safe.

Hook turned. "This isn't about you," he began. "This is between me and Emma, you're only an unintended casualty." He turned to walk out the door but stopped. "Besides, I have my own plan for how to deal with Swan."

With that he left, leaving Snow alone in the room with only her growing panic.

Please be safe, Emma, Snow thought to herself. She was very rarely scared when her own life was on the line, but the very mention of hurting her family would send fear straight into Snow's heart.

-OUAT-

Emma was in Regina's home, facing the basement with intense concentration.

"Come on Emma, open the loc," Regina encouraged her. "I thought you were good at breaking into places you shouldn't be in."

"Break in is easy," Emma said. "Magic-ing in…not so much."

"This is easy, though," Regina countered. Over the past few days Emma had learned a lot about magic. She could move small things like books and could open unlocked doors, but could not get the lock open.

"I thought this would be simple," Emma said. "Just, like, point and poof."

Regina rolled her eyes. "Magic is an art, a craft. It takes years of training."

"And we only have days," Emma said.

Regina sighed. "Magic is always harder when doing something that shouldn't be done. Books can be magically moved because books are meant to be picked up and transported. Locks are only meant to be opened with keys, so it is harder to use magic on them."

"So, what, should I pretend my magic is a key?"

"If it helps," Regina said. "Whatever works for you."

Emma sighed. "Why can't you free her? Your magic is so much greater than mine. You can free her and we can take on Hook together."

"I can't," Regina replied. "I've done some research; Hook cast a very specific spell. He made it so that only you can free her."

Emma groaned. "Of course he did." She turned back to the door and tried a few more times to unlock the door, but it was not working.

"Let's take a break," Regina said, earning a look from Emma. "You've been here every waking moment that you aren't at work or the apartment. Don't overwork yourself."

Emma begrudgingly agreed and followed Regina into the kitchen for lunch.

While they were in the kitchen, Emma's phone rang. "Hello?" she said. "Gold, hi. How's Belle? …Really? That's great. …Yeah, I can meet you. Seven o' clock at your store? …Yeah that sounds fine, I'll see you then. Bye."

Regina looked up at Emma quizzically. "Gold wants to meet with you again?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah. He wants me to talk to Bae about how he got here. He could help us figure everything out."

"Then let's hurry this up and get back to work so you can get there on time," Regina said.

-OUAT-

"Knock, knock," came a voice from the doorway to Belle's hospital room.

Belle and Rumple looked up.

"Hi, Ruby!" Belle said.

"Ruby," Rumple greeted her with a nod.

"Hey," Ruby said. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Belle said.

"I have to go stop by the store and pick up some paperwork," Rumple said. He looked to Belle. "I'll be back soon, love."

"Take your time," Ruby answered for Belle. "I'll keep an eye on her."

"Thank you," Rumple said, then walked past Ruby and left.

Ruby sat down next to Belle's bed and extended her arm out to her, giving her a brown paper bag. "Here," she said. "I've heard bad things about hospital food, so I brought you some food from the diner."

Belle smiled. "Thank you." They sat quietly for a few moments. "What's bothering you?"

Ruby made a face. "Who said something is bothering me?"

Belle responded with a no-nonsense look. "Ruby, I know you. You being quiet means there is something bothering you. When you were here the other day, you were bouncing off the floors."

"Bouncing off the walls," Ruby corrected, grinning.

Belle rolled her eyes. "So what's wrong?"

"You're okay?" Ruby asked tentatively as she walked into Belle's hospital room the night she woke up.

"Yes, I'm doing well," Belle said, smiling.

Ruby sat next to Belle. "Did Gold leave already?"

Belle nodded. "Yeah, actually just a few moments before you came in. I don't know how you missed him."

"Weird," Ruby replied. "But how do you feel?"

Belle laughed a little. "A bit like I was in a car accident and a coma."

Ruby exhaled loudly. "Not funny. That was actually terrifying."

"Sorry," Belle said. "But you guys had to have known I wasn't going anywhere. I told Rumple long ago that I'm staying, so there is no way a measly car accident would make me leave."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Okay." She laughed nervously. "So I've never done this before, I've never seen someone after they came out of a coma. So I'm not totally sure how to do this."

"Me neither," Belle said. She laughed too.

"How about we just talk?" Ruby suggested. "Just have a normal conversation and try to put this all behind us."

"That sounds wonderful," Belle said. "Speaking of wonderful, how are you and Archie?"

Ruby smiled. "We're good. We're excited about everything, the baby and the wedding."

"Wedding?"

"Archie proposed," Ruby said excitedly.

"Ruby!" Belle exclaimed. "Congratulations!"

With that, they continued in merry chatter, as they always had done so easily. Belle was grateful for the distraction from the monotony of the hospital and Ruby was glad to see Belle awake and smiling.

Ruby pulled herself out of the memory and answered Belle's question.

"Granny heard a theory that if I don't turn during wolfstime, the wolf gene will skip the baby or be dormant," Ruby said. "And tonight is the full moon."

"Oh," Belle said. "What are you going to do?"

"Archie and I spoke and decided that I'll use the hood and not turn," Ruby said.

"You know you don't have to be ashamed of what you are," Belle said. "You aren't a monster, and your baby won't be one."

"I know," Ruby replied. "But being a wolf is a curse more often than it is a gift. So we want to avoid it as much as possible."

"But you're scared anyway?"

Ruby nodded. "Yes. I'm the first wolf we know of who has the hood and who has the option to not turn, so we don't know what will happen. It is just a hypothesis, an educated guess that the hood will have an effect."

"But clearly you think that guess has some merit to it," Belle said. "Otherwise you wouldn't consider it."

Ruby nodded in agreement. "I know. I'm comfortable with the decision we made, but it is still scary."

"Don't worry so much, Ruby," Belle said. "It'll be okay. You made the decision after weighing all the options, so you've done all you can."

"I know," Ruby said. She sighed. "Sorry, I think the hormones are getting the best of me, I'm not making too much sense."

"It's fine," Belle laughed assuredly.

Ruby looked at her watch. "I actually have to leave soon," she said. "I have a doctor's appointment but I wanted to drop off food for you before I went."

"Okay," Belle said. "Well, I should be out of here tomorrow or the next day so I'll see you after then."

"Alrighty," Ruby said, gathering her things and leaving. "Bye!"

"Bye!" Belle responded.

-OUAT-

"Peter Pan!"

Bae turned angrily and walked briskly towards Hook, keeping his voice low but still angry. "Don't call me that here. Here my name is Baelfire."

"What are you doing at the hospital?" Hook asked. They were standing outside the hospital, Bae was about to walk in when Hook called him.

"Not that it is any of your business," Bae replied. "But I am visiting my…" he didn't know what exactly to call Belle, but decided on something quickly. "Step-mother."

"Step-mother?" Hook asked. "Your father is married again?"

"Not quite," Bae said. "But soon."

"Interesting," Hook said.

"Hook, what do you want?" Bae asked, growing impatient.

"Oh, right," Hook said. "Remember I said I was here for the Swan girl, the one who left me with the giant?"

"Yes…" Bae said cautiously.

"She is taking too long in this game of cat and mouse, so I've changed my mind," Hook said. "It is the honorable thing to do to give you fair warning, so here it is: I'm coming after your father and you can't stop me. He is the real reason why I came."

"You can't do that!" Bae yelled.

"Hey," Hook said sternly, poking his hook out of his sleeve and placing it menacingly on Bae's chest. "If you scream, I will kill you."

Bae lowered his voice, but was still absolutely furious. He spoke quickly and tensely. "You can't hurt him, you said you wouldn't. You said you weren't here from him. I thought you let go of this stupid grudge!"

"This stupid grudge?!" Hook asked. "Do you even know why I hate your father so much?"

Bae just looked at him, lacking a sufficient answer. He honestly didn't know.

"Your father killed the woman I loved," Hook said. "He took her heart and crushed it right in front of me."

"He's different now," Bae said. "This world is different. He won't do that here, he isn't a coward anymore."

"Oh, I'm counting on it," Hook said. "I want a fight, and I'm going to get one. I want to see him fight for what he wants; it'll make it so much more rewarding to kill him that way."

"You can't kill him!" Bae said. "He is my father!"

"He killed your mother," Hook said. "She got sick of his cowardice and the life he made her live, so she came with me when my ship docked near your village. Rumplestiltskin found out and took her heart out of her chest and crushed it right in front of us."

"You're lying," Bae said, shocked.

"I am not," Hook said. "And you know I'm not! You know there is a reason why your mother isn't here and you know that whatever story your father told you about how she died was a lie!"

Bae stood there, near tears and unsure of what to say. When the conversation began he was so determined to protect his father, but now he wasn't so sure.

Hook took his hook off of Bae and took a step back. "You've been warned," Hook said. He hid his hook in his sleeve again and turned to leave, leaving Bae behind looking scared and confused.

-OUAT-

"There," the doctor said to Ruby and Archie, pointing at the sonogram screen. "That's your baby."

Ruby let out a surprised and happy little laugh while Archie said "Wow," in a low, astounded voice. He leaned in and kissed Ruby's forehead.

"This is your first appointment, right?" the doctor asked. Doctor Whale had died after the curse was broken, and now Doc had stepped up as town doctor. When the curse broke he didn't want to go back to the mines with the other dwarves, so Snow and Charming helped him get a job in the hospital..

"Yes," Ruby replied, nodding.

"So I can tell you that you are very early in this," Doc replied. "Only about five weeks or so."

"Oh, wow," Ruby said. "I thought it was further along." She looked up at Archie. "We told people already."

"It should be okay, though," the doctor assured them. "People usually wait to tell people until the first trimester is over, which is still two months or so away. But it doesn't look like there is anything to worry about, both mom and baby look healthy. But Ruby, I know you are a wolf, and tonight is a full moon."

"Yes," Ruby said. "We've researched and learned a theory that if I don't turn, the wolf gene will skip the baby."

"Okay," Doc said. "Unfortunately, I do not know much more about this than you do. I've done research but this seems to be a rarely written about topic. So, you should make the choices on this. If something seems good, do it. If anything feels wrong, call me."

"Thank you," Ruby said.

Doc smiled, accepting the thanks. "Do either of you have any questions?"

"I don't," Ruby said. She looked up at Archie expectantly, who shook his head.

"Okay," Doc said. "So you two are all set. Ruby, you can get dressed and then make an appointment with reception out front for next month, when we can hear the heartbeat."

Doc turned to leave, but Archie stopped him.

"Doc," Archie called. "Sorry, but could we see the baby again?"

"Sure," Doc conceded, smiling knowingly.

Doc went back and turned the machine back on, putting a picture of the baby back on the screen.

Ruby and Archie again smiled in joyous wonderment.

Archie leaned in to kiss Ruby's forehead again. "I love you, Ruby," he said against her temple.

Ruby smiled and kissed Archie's hand, which she had been holding through the appointment. "I love you, too."

-OUAT-

Bae walked into the police station, nearly shaking from all the emotions he was feeling.

"Sheriff Swan!" he called, walking through the station.

Emma popped up from behind her desk. "Hey, Bae," she said. She got a good look at him. "Are you alright?"

"Hook," Bae said. "He's going to hurt Rumplestiltskin."

"So Rumplestiltskin is your dad," Emma asked Bae as they sat in Regina's kitchen.

"Yes," Bae replied.

"Hmmm," Emma said, thinking this over.

Regina, however, carried on with the questioning. "So how did you get here, Bae?"

"I was in Neverland," he said. "I saw that Hook was preparing to leave, so I snuck onto his ship. He left everyone behind; he was the only one on the ship. I thought he would have brought Smee, but he didn't."

"Smee…" Emma said. Suddenly she remembered. "He's here. Charming told me about him, he kidnapped Belle right after the curse broke and tried to get her to cross the line."

"What'd Charming do to him?" Regina asked.

"He arrested him, but he got out," Emma said. "He laid low and I don't think anyone has heard from him since."

"He must have been in our land when we cast the curse," Regina said. "He must have been looking for Rumplestiltskin."

"Hook didn't say he was looking for Papa, though," Bae added. "Once we got here and saw each other, he said he was coming for someone who was here who left him in a bad way with a giant."

"Right," Emma said. "That would be me."

"Do you remember anything about the ship before it came here?" Regina asked. "Was there purple smoke?"

"Yes," Bae said. "And he was the only one there, aside from me, so he must have made the magic himself."

Regina turned to Emma. "Why did he go to Neverland, though? He was here when we last saw him, why did he go back to Neverland?"

"After Cora died, maybe he knew he didn't have a chance here," Emma said. Regina had killed Cora when she and Hook came to Storybrooke. Cora threatened Henry and Regina did not hesitate to kill her. That was the last time Henry saw Regina use magic.

"Perhaps," Regina said. "But how did he get back to Neverland?"

"He has magic," Emma said. "He knows how to use it. He must have found a way. It must take a lot of magic to overcome the curse, though, so he probably messed up somehow and got trapped in Neverland. He probably only recently figured out how to get back in despite the curse."

Regina turned to Bae. "Why did you go on the ship?"

"He hates me because he hates my father," Bae said. "I guessed that he might be after my father, so I thought going with him would be my only chance to see him again."

Regina and Emma exchanged a look.

"Don't worry about Hook," Emma said. "If he is here for me, I can handle him. Thank you for the information, but we can handle him from here."

"You should go get back to your father," Regina said. "I know he missed you."

"Thank you," Bae said.

"I thought he was here for me," Emma said.

"He changed his mind," Bae said. "He said you were taking too long, so he's decided to go after Rumplestiltskin."

"Do you know where he went?" Emma asked.

Bae shook his head.

"Do you know where Rumplestiltskin is?"

"At the hospital still," Bae said.

"I'll send Charming over to warn him and protect him," Emma said. "I'll go take care of Hook. This has gone on for too long."

Bae stood there, accepting this but still clearly in shock.

"Hey," Emma said softly, coming out from behind her desk and giving Bae a comforting hug. "It'll be okay. I won't let him hurt your father."

I don't know for sure that I don't want him to, Bae thought to himself, but said nothing.

"How about I drop you off at my apartment," Emma said. "My son is there and he is about your age. He can keep you company."

"Okay," Bae said.

-OUAT-

"Gold," Charming called to Rumplestiltskin as he walked into the hospital. Rumple was sitting in the lobby, clearly waiting.

"Prince Charming," Rumple replied. "I wasn't expecting to see you here. I'm just down here waiting for my son, he said he'd meet me down here."

"He isn't coming," Charming replied.

"What?" Rumple asked. "Is he alright?"

"Hook is here," Charming said. "He told Bae he is coming after you, so we put Bae somewhere safe and now we are trying to protect you."

"Hook is here," Rumple said to himself, then spoke up. "Bring me to Bae. Let me see him!"

"I can't," Charming replied. Seeing that Rumple was about to get very angry, he spoke quickly before Rumple could yell. "He didn't want to see you!"

Rumple was taken aback. He spoke shakily. "How can we stop Hook?"

"Emma is working on it," Charming replied. "He has Snow, so Emma is going to free her then get Hook."

"What can I do?" Rumple asked.

"Lay low," Charming said. "I'm going to pull some strings and see if we can get Belle released tomorrow morning, you two will be much safer at your house than here."

"So that's it?" Rumple asked. "We just let Hook do this?"

"No," Charming replied. "Emma and I will take care of this, but you have to lay low. If Hook can find you, he can hurt you and he can hurt Belle. Prioritize; what is more important to you: Belle or your hatred?"

Rumple was silent.

"Go home," Charming said. "You are safer there. I'll talk to Belle."

Rumple begrudgingly agreed.

-OUAT-

Emma dropped Bae off at her apartment and immediately dialed Regina's phone number.

"Regina, meet me at the ship," Emma said. "We're ending this tonight."

"Emma, you aren't ready yet," Regina tried to reason.

"If we let this go any further, Hook will hurt more people!" Emma said. "This ends tonight. I'm going to the ship, even if you won't."

She hung up and went to the ship.

-OUAT-

"Hello David," Belle said as Charming walked in.

"Belle, please, you can call me James or Charming. Everyone else does."

"Okay," Belle said. "Are you here as friend or former sheriff?"

Charming sighed. "A bit of both. There is a man here who is an enemy of Rumplestiltskin. He wants to hurt him, but we won't let him. To be safe, you are going to be released tomorrow morning and you two are going to stay in your house. I'm going to put a protective detail on your house. Emma and Regina are tracking this man, Hook, down now."

"Why are they fighting for Rumple?" She wasn't stupid, she knew that, even though people had warmed up to Rumple a lot, it would be understandable if they didn't want to risk their lives for him.

"Because they care," Charming said. "And they know Hook needs to be stopped. He kidnapped Snow."

"I'm sorry," Belle said. "What can I do?"

"Just stay healthy and stay safe," Charming replied. "I told Rumplstiltskin to go home, so he won't be back until tomorrow to take you home."

"Okay," Belle replied.

"If you need anything, here is my phone number," he said, handing Belle a slip of paper.

"Thank you," Belle said. "For all of this."

Charming nodded, then turned to leave.

-OUAT-

Emma kicked down the door to Snow's room on the ship, not caring how much noise she made. She wanted Hook to show up so that she could finally end this.

"Emma, calm down," Regina said. "Be smart about this."

"Emma?" came Snow's voice from inside the room.

"I'm going to get you out, Mary Margaret," Emma said. "Stand back."

Emma looked at the door with intense concentration. After a few tense moments, there was a puff of purple smoke.

In the room, Snow could feel her ties loosening. She freed her hands and took off her blindfold. Cautiously, she walked out of the room and toward Emma.

"Emma!" she said. "You got me out! You saved me."

Emma accepted the hug from her mother, but quickly backed out of it.

"Regina, take her home please," Emma said. "I'm going to wait here for Hook."

"Emma, don't be ridiculous," Regina said.

"Emma," Snow chastised. "You're coming home. You freed me, Hook hasn't hurt anyone, you can handle him tomorrow. We can put together a proper plan and go about this smartly."

"Regina," Emma repeated.

"I'm not leaving here without you," Regina said. "Your mother is right, we need a plan."

"Thank you," Snow said to Regina. She turned back to Emma. "Emma, listen to us. You can't stay here for Hook, we need a plan."

Emma's intensity lessened a bit. "I just want to stop him, so he can't hurt anyone again."

"I know," Snow said. "Let's go home and talk about it."

With that, they got off the boat and went home.

Hey guys. So that is this chapter. The ending is kind of weak, so I apologize, but I have a lot! planned for the next chapter, so look forward to that!

Also, please leave a review if you can! Please let me know what you like and don't like so that I can make this story the best it can be.