First of all I would like to say a quick thank you to everyone's who's followed, favorited or reviewed this story. It really means a lot to me! Secondly, I'd like to apologize for the fact that this chapter took longer to upload than usual but I've pretty much been crying over the newest Sherlock episode for the past two days and marathon watching Harry Potter. Anyways, I hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT

Chapter 10: Jealousy

Emma felt jittery and yet strangely alive the entire day. That dream had made her feel extremely vulnerable, mostly because she didn't want to admit that the minute she had woken up she wished that the dream had been real. There was no point in denying it anymore. But she was worried that if she finally admitted it to herself out loud, that somehow, in some way, it would be ruined. She wanted to figure out her next course of action on her own, so she decided not to tell anyone about what she was feeling. Not even her closest friend that hadn't turned out to be a family member, Anna.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Anna asked, eager to spend time with her friend.

"I was thinking we'd grab lunch at the diner. The fridge here is empty anyway and the food's better there too. Plus, I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

As the pair made their way over to Granny's, they talked about the usual things that friends talk about. Work, family, irritations, annoyances, food, clothes. Once they got to the diner, and had already ordered their food and had been there for over an hour, Anna got suspicious. Even though she knew Emma wasn't the type to usually indulge in venting over the man-problems she was having, she also knew that Emma was in a tough situation. She had expected her friend to tell her more about it, so she figured the best course of action was to ask her straight out.

"So, Emma. How's the love triangle situation going?"

Emma nearly choked on her food. "What are you talking about? There's no love triangle."

Anna smirked. "Right, yeah, you keep telling yourself that."

Emma looked indignant. "What, I'm being serious! There is no love triangle…there…you know, never was."

Registering what Emma was saying, Anna slapped her hand on the table in excitement, making a few of the other customers at the tables around them jump.

"Great! So you made your decision. See, I told you it wouldn't be that hard –"

Before Anna could finish her sentence however, the bell over the door jingled and both women looked to see who had just walked in. It was Hook, in all his leather clad glory, and simultaneously, Emma swallowed noticeably, and Anna smiled and winked at him. The wink, of course, Emma didn't notice, because she was to busy trying to force the blush that was creeping into her cheeks to leave her face. Hook, noticing the two, smoothly pulled a chair from another table, placed it at theirs and sat down with his chest against the back of the chair. Emma swallowed again, trying to use her sheer will power to stop her heart from beating so fast, as Hook smirked at her in that annoyingly attractive way of his. As Emma was trying to figure out the best way to start the conversation, Anna had already beaten her to the punch.

"Well, hello there, Hook. Didn't realize we were going to have another person for company."

"Please, love, call me Killian. The fact that Emma and her entire family here seem to find it only appropriate to call me Hook doesn't mean that everyone else needs to as well."

They smiled at each other then, and Emma recognized the smile on Anna's face all too well. It was a smile that she had seen on her friend too many times as they had gone through high school together. That was Anna's 'interested in this man' smile. Feeling a strange surge of jealousy (although she shouldn't really be too surprised at it anymore) she quickly intervened in the conversation.

"The reason I call you Hook is because that's how you introduced yourself to me when we found you in a pile of bodies in the Enchanted Forest."

Finally turning his attention away from Anna, although too slowly for Emma's liking, he smiled at her and traced his silver hook up and down her arm once before answering.

"I'd say our relationship has reached the point where introductions don't play a key role in the way we perceive each other. Wouldn't you agree, Anna?"

Anna smiled at him again in that same way and Emma could have sworn that she saw her friend even bat her eye lashes in his general direction. She knew Anna was prone to flirting, and of course she couldn't deny the fact anymore that Hook, Killian, whatever, was extremely attractive, but it annoyed her to no end that it seemed her closest friend hadn't realized she'd made her decision about Hook. Sure, she hadn't let on as much as she probably should have that she, as he would say, fancied him, but still. Anna should have known better.

"Well, I wouldn't say I know your relationship well enough, but if you say so, Killian –"

Again, Anna didn't have time to finish her sentence. Hook cut her off again, but this time with his own words.

"Because if you recall, Swan, I do remember telling you that I quite fancied you."

Slightly shocked at his forward retort and yet strangely satisfied at the way Anna's face fell when he said this, Emma blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"But if I recall, Hook, I remember you saying you thought about me as more than just your latest 'fancy'".

"And yet I seem to remember telling you that in the echo cave after you made the move to kiss me. Now correct me if I'm wrong here, darling, but to me usually when a woman kisses a man like that it means there's something more going on."

Emma was at a loss for words. On the one hand, she wanted to assure him, Anna, and herself that that kiss had been nothing but a one time thing, as she had said to him back then. But she knew better now. She knew that it hadn't been just a one time thing. If she was honest with herself she knew it hadn't been the moment she'd walked away from him and could still feel the heat from his lips on hers. But she couldn't let him know that. Not yet. Not after he told Neal that he would back off for Henry's sake. She already knew she didn't want to be with Neal. But Hook didn't know that, and for that matter, Neal didn't either. It was easier that way until she knew for sure that everyone would be okay with whatever decision she made. Although she already knew what decision that was going to be.

Hook smiled the same sad smile he had given her back in the echo cave, back when he had first confessed how she really made her feel. The memory made her stomach flip, and she smiled back at him. For the moment, she forgot that Anna was still sitting there. Hook was the first to break the silence, clearing his throat and getting up from his chair.

"Never mind, I guess I'm not as hungry as I thought I was. Swan…Anna, always a pleasure to see you."

Emma vaguely registered Anna nodding a curt goodbye at him and her eyes followed him all the way out the door. When the bell over the exit jingled again as it had when he had come in, Emma felt dissapointed that he had left. She unkowingly rubbed the spot on her arm where he had grazed her with his hook, and she saw Anna's eyes landing on her hand on her arm. Quickly she put her hands in her lap, not wanting to draw more suspicion to herself. In an attempt to divert the attention away from her action, Emma asked Anna a simple question.

"So, Hook, huh? Never pegged him as your type."

Anna gave her friend a sad smile. "Emma, we haven't seen each other in over 10 years. Type's change."

A silence fell between the two and Emma didn't know how to break it. After a few minutes, Anna was the first to speak.

"You know you never told me that you kissed him."

"I didn't. Well, I did, but it was just a one time thing. It was just a thank-you because he saved my dad..you know, David, when we were back in Neverland."

"And yet?"

Emma nodded. "And yet."

"So earlier when you made that remark about there never really having been a love triangle, you meant that you already realized who your feelings were for."

"Pretty much, yeah."

"And it's not Neal."

"Well spotted."

They both chuckled then, and Emma was thankful she hadn't let her jealousy get the best of her. But there was something that was still bothering her.

"Why did you think I would choose Neal?"

Anna looked at her friend, and sighed.

"Well, honestly, it was that letter that you sent me all that time ago. The one where you talked about how you had met Neal and how he was going to whisk you away from your old life. And it sounded…it sounded so much like something I would have wanted for myself. And of course, I know now that he left you and made you feel betrayed. But I always felt like the thing that you guys had, what you had described to me, I always felt like that was something to hold on too. Maybe that's just my idea of a perfect romance, I don't know. And to be perfectly honest, I was kind of hoping it'd be Neal just so that I could take a crack at that pirate myself."

Emma laughed at this last remark. "Sorry to dissapoint."

"I'll survive." Anna smiled shyly at Emma.

"You always do."

A second, but more comfortable silence fell over the pair as they drank the last sips of their coffee.

"Can I ask you one more thing?"

Emma was pretty sure what the thing would be, but she nodded her head anyway, bracing herself.

"Why don't you just tell Hook how you feel instead of trying to hide it all the time?"

Emma sighed, pondering the best way to answer the question. Finally, she formulated her answer the best way she could.

"What happened between Hook and I on Neverland…it was… pretty incredible. And at first I tried to tell myself it was just a one time thing, that I was just saying thank you. But as it made it's way further into the past I knew I had been lying to myself that whole time. But after the kiss happened, and I found out Neal was alive, I just, I guess I just felt guilty about what I'd done. Because I still loved Neal, and I still do, even now. But it felt wrong, being with Hook somehow. Like I betrayed the memory I had of Neal when I thought he was dead and that it shouldn't have been so easy for me to move on. I guess I just told myself that it would be easier for me to stay away from both of them than have to choose one of them in the end because I'd always feel bad about the choice that I made. No matter which way it went."

Anna put a comforting hand on her friend's arm and Emma smiled at her. It actually felt good to tell someone about this. And it was better than telling Mary Margaret, who would have mentioned how proud she was of her daughter for finally embracing her feelings and having hope. She loved Mary Margaret, but recognition was not what she needed right now.

"And besides,' Emma continued, 'Neal told me that Hook said he would back off. For Henry's sake. So that we could try to be a real family. What's the point of realizing what you want when the guy you want isn't even going to try and make a move?"

Anna chuckled to herself and Emma looked at her curiously. "Emma, honey, did that look or sound like he was backing off?"

"How should I know? It's not like I'm an expert in the way Killian Jones flirts with women."

"But you would like to be."

"No I wouldn't!" Emma cried indignantly, making the rest of the diner's occupants look at her with startled expressions.

"Right. And I wouldn't like to be in your shoes right now where two good-looking guys are fighting over me."

Emma rolled her eyes at the last remark, muttering to herself that she didn't even want to be in her own shoes right now. Life had been so much easier when she had shut herself off from affection after Neal had left her. It's all these damn fairy-tale men that were doing this to her. First Graham, then Neal again, now Hook. Why did her life have to be so complicated?

"Emma? Lunch is on me. I'll go pay at the counter and then I'll walk you to the station.

Emma put on her red leather jacket and hooked arms with Anna as they set off onto the sidewalk. A few minutes of walking later, Anna asked the ultimate question that made Emma blush like she'd never blushed before.

"So, Hook… was he any good at kissing?"

"Oh, shut up. You know I'm not going to answer that."

"You know that only means he was."

Emma smiled at the memory, touched her fingers to her lips and whipsered quietely: "Yeah, he was."