HAPPY NEW YEAR MY LOVELIES! Here's a new chapter especially for you =] I wish you all the best for 2014. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter and please remember to review!

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT

Chapter 9: Dreams

Still shaken up over her encounter with Hook, Emma distractedly chewed her dinner. She was sitting with her parents and Henry at the small kitchen tabel in the loft, and she didn't even notice that her entire family was staring at her. She hadn't said a word all through supper, and they were starting to get worried. It seemed like she wasn't even taking an interest in Henry's day, which was unusual.

"Emma, honey, are you all right? You seem a bit distracted."

Emma, snapping out of her daydream, quickly tried to regain focus. But it was hard; Hook's eyes kept swimming in front of her line of vision and she couldn't seem to tear her own train of thought away from him. In the very beginning, when she'd met him, she had never truly noticed how handsome he was. This was mainly because she'd been extremely irritated at his presence and at his betrayal. But now that she knew his character and personality better because of what had happened in Neverland, she kept noticing his good looks more and more each time she saw him. This actually irritated her as well, but in a completely different way. It irritated her because he had such an effect on her. And he seemed to be quite aware of the way he could tease her.

Once again she tried to focus her attention on Henry,with a lot of effort needed. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I was just thinking about what happened this morning. With Granny."

Mary Margaret gave her daughter a sympathetic smile. "We were all worried, Emma. But she's fine, I went to see her in the hospital. She's just in shock, that's all."

"Right, yes. I know. I called Ruby this afternoon. I think I'll go see Granny tomorrow."

David put a hand on Emma's shoulder. "I think that's a great idea. Maybe you should take Henry."

Emma smiled at her son, who was enjoying his spaghetti with such fervor Emma had to laugh.

"You up for that Henry? I think Granny'd really appreciate it."

Henry turned towards his mother, beamed a great big smile, and replied that he would love to go with her to the hospital tomorrow. Emma smiled at her son again, so glad to have him back in her life. It made sense, all of it, and she couldn't remember why she had given him up in the first place.

After a quiet evening in with her family which consisted of cleaning up the kitchen and watching a movie, Emma decided to go to bed early. The tension and anxiety she had been feeling about the two men in her life had finally caught up to her. She sighed, told her parents and Henry good night and headed up to bed.

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Emma felt lighter than she had in weeks. It was as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Her head was clear, the fog had lifted. It was a fantastic sensation, one she hadn't felt since…well since she had literally run into Neal that weekend in Manhattan. Since all her emotions had come rushing back; the betrayal, the relief, the love, the astonishment, the disbelief and the sense of familiarity that had all come back on seeing Neal again. Also, she hadn't felt this light since Hook had taken them to save Henry on his pirate ship. However, feeling this…this free of burden was a luxury she wouldn't have for long. She knew that better than anyone.

As she sat looking at the dust floating about the room which was lit only by the moonlight, she finally realized how tired she was. It had been a fun, but long day with Henry, and after she had dropped him off at Regina's she'd vowed to herself that she would go to bed early, and sleep off the last of the mess in her brain and try to remember why it was that she felt so much lighter.

When she trudged up the stairs to her bedroom and the bottom of her bed came into view, she noticed the shadow of a man standing by the window. As she came further upstairs, she noticed the flutter of long eyelashes, the sharp line of an incredible jaw, and the outline of lean and well-defined arms that she could already feel herself being wrapped up in. Without knowing, she smiled at the figure standing in the window, and as she came closer she could see the tug of a smile playing at the corner of his own lips at the same time.

"Sorry to barge in like this Swan, but I knew it was just a matter of time. Are you willing to admit the truth yet or are you still wanting to play games?"

He turned towards her then, and she sucked in a small breath as she saw the way his eyes lit up as bright as the medditerranean ocean in the moonlight. He smiled at her again, and she could feel herself taking in every detail of his face. The way his eyelashes fluttered as he lowered his eyelids at her in that seductive way of his, the way his stubble made him seem rougher than she knew he actually was on the inside, the way his dark hair only made his eyes seem even more blue than she had ever thought possible.

She finally remembered why it was that her head had felt so light. She had finally made her choice. She had chosen between the two.

"I think I might be done playing games. Although I'm never really sure I was in the first place."

"Oh I think you know you were Swan. And I think a little apology might be in order."

He smirked a little, and she blinked. "Oh yeah? What kind of apology did you have in mind?"

Apparently surprised by her forward retort, it took him a few seconds to regain his composure. When he finally did, he crossed the room towards her and grabbed her arms forcefully yet gently at the same time. She swallowed, thinking she knew and hoping she knew what was about to happen. She had made her choice, she wanted him, and all she needed was for him to prove that he wanted her too. He inched ever closer, yet much too slowly, and before she could stop herself, she tried to close the seemingly mile long gap between them. But before she could do anything to finalize her decision, he pulled away from her, and chuckled to himself.

Emma, breathing heavily, tried to understand why he was expanding the space between them.

"What – what are you doing? What's wrong?"

Hook looked her right in the eye, leaned in towards her – and for a moment she thought he might kiss her – but then he directed his mouth towards her right ear instead and whispered:

"Are you sure you want this, Emma, love? Because once this happens, there's no turning back for me. Not again."

At the feeling of his breath tickling the skin behind her ear her whole body shivered. Neal had never made her feel like this, never made every hair on her body stand up straight, never made her shiver with just the touch of his breath on her skin, never made stomach feel so tied up in knots, never her made her heart beat so fast it made it hard to breathe –

"Yes. God yes, I'm sure."

He smiled at her again, and this time it was a smile that reached his eyes and lit a spark in them. They both leaned in towards each other, neither wanting to make the first move so as to ruin the moment but neither of them wanting to wait any longer either. And then his lips brushed soflty against hers, and she wanted more, she craved more, and she replied to his kiss with a light yet feverish kiss of her own. She could feel his lips curling up into a smile against hers, and she couldn't handle it anymore. Apparently, neither could he. She grabbed onto his thick leather jacket so tight it was like she was holding on for her life. Their lips crashed against each other, in perfect sync, and then he was cupping her neck, just like he had the last time; and the memory made her smile, and left her wanting more, and as they pressed their bodies together even closer than before, Emma heard a loud crash somewhere in the distance. But she decided not to take notice of it because this was the perfect moment and there was no reason –

Emma woke up gasping, covered in cold sweat, breathing heavily. This had been the most vivid dream she had had so far of her and Hook. She knew it was a dream, and yet she couldn't shake the tingling feeling that he had left behind on her skin the last time he had touched her. She sighed, ran her fingers through her hair, and practically jumped out of bed as she heard another loud crash coming from downstairs. Realizing that she had heard that same noise in the dream and that that was what had woken her up, she made a mental note not to get mad at her parents for waking her up by dropping a set of pans again. She figured that would be a bit too obvious. Sighing, she got out of bed and headed downstairs, but not before she brushed her finger against the spot on her neck where she had felt his fingertips send a spark through her entire body without even really being there.