I'm having a lot of fun writing this! It's unedited, so hopefully it's not too terrible. And as for the doctor scene, not really sure of the protocol for that. xo Mads
"Henry, I'm-" Emma stops in the doorway with groceries in her hand when she sees both Henry and Hook playing video games, shouting and laughing.
Never would she have thought her son would be laughing with Captain Hook. Then again, she also never would have imagined him being her houseguest either. Weirder things have happened. Like Peter Pan being evil and not the innocent little boy the movie made him out to be. That had to have been the biggest disappointment about learning about magic. Just like that, her childhood was tainted with the real deal of fairy tales and magic.
"Hey, Mom!" Henry quickly glances over to her, not even budging to help her with the bags in her hands.
Thankfully, Hook gets up to take them from her now aching arms. "How was work, Swan?"
"Stressful," she leans against the counter. "Have you had any luck with the job search?"
Last night they polished a resume for him. It may not be one hundred percent truthful, and she may have put her home and cell phone number down as references, but it was something. She had him look into the Coast Guard since she knows how much he loves the water. It may not be the sea, but it's something. Whatever helps pay the bills. They came to an understanding that he would live here rent free for three weeks. After that, he would need to start chipping in or find a place to live himself. Regina, for whatever purpose, gave Emma and Henry an apartment with three rooms and two bathrooms. The place is large enough for the three of them to live with privacy. She also made it clear that he's not allowed to bring any women around when Henry was around. He gave her a glance, as if he couldn't believe his ears.
Emma is well-aware of how he feels about her. They kissed in Neverland, but she labeled that as a one-time thing, and she has held onto her word since then. She knows that he still feels something for her, but she needs to focus on building a new life now that Storybrooke is gone. Diving into a relationship would not help with that. Especially when she doesn't even know her feelings for him. There's something, but it isn't strong enough to act on it.
"Aye, love," he says as he watches her unpack the contents of the grocery bags. "I have an interview on Thursday at noon."
She gives him a smile. "That's awesome, Hook. I can help you prep for the interview since you've probably never gone through one. They're not so bad, and you're a…"
"A what, Swan?" he wags his eyebrows at her, a smirk on his face.
"A man who has a way with words," she finishes, not giving him the answer he was baiting her for.
His smirk disappears. "I prefer dashing rapscallion."
Ignoring his comments, she puts all the groceries away. Henry comes running into the kitchen, sitting at the counter. "How was school?" she asks him.
Henry tells her all about his first day of sixth grade at his new school. It may be the middle of the school year, but from the sounds of it, Henry fits in just well. He probably gets that from Neal. Emma was never good at fitting in. She was never in a place long enough to try to fit in. It would have been pointless for her to do so. But she's glad that Henry didn't pick up that trait from her. She smiles as he tells her about the boy next to his locker, Gabe.
"Seems like you like school, lad," Hook comments.
Emma moves to sit down beside her son, and Hook takes that as his cue to leave. She turns to her son. "Are you okay with him living her with us? He doesn't have anywhere to go, and without knowing how to operate in this world, I thought it would be best for now. But if you don't like it, I can think of something."
Henry shakes his head at his mom. "I like having him here. He may have been a villain, but I think he's really changed. And it'd be bad form to let him loose in a strange world. Who knows what someone would do if they saw a man with a hook walking around the streets."
"This is New York City, kid. Weirder things have probably happened," she tells him. Lord knows she saw some questionable characters while she lived in Boston. But NYC is a whole new pond.
"Hook!" Emma calls down the hallway where their bedrooms are. "It's time to teach you a modern day skill."
He comes out of his room. "What's that?"
"Cooking," she hands him the cookbook that was in the kitchen. Regina made it clear from that that she wants Emma to feed Henry homecooked meals. That was never really a thing for Emma when she was living by herself. However, with two guys in the house, the book might come in handy.
"Uh…" he takes the book she has pressed against his chest. Giggling, she walks back into the kitchen with him a tow.
She knows there will be days when she has to work at night, so having Hook know how to cook will ensure that Henry doesn't go hungry. Leaving an eleven-and-a-half-year-old to rummage for food would probably end badly. "Tonight we're going to start easy. Macaroni and cheese."
Henry looks at his mom with a curious look on his face. "Doesn't that come in a box?"
"Not the homemade kind. This is a bit more extravagant that a boxed meal."
Hook glances over at Henry. "Seems like the boxed meal would require less action from me."
"Uh-uh, buddy. My schedule is going to start to pick up next week, and I need to be sure Henry is eating well. And not just fast food and frozen meals like I ate when I lived alone."
Henry laughs as he looks at Hook's reaction. Apparently the pirate isn't too keen on learning how to cook. She isn't either, but it comes with mother territory. The meal takes nearly an hour to prepare since Hook only has one hand and keeps spilling the ingredients. By the time it's in the oven, the kitchen is a disaster. She puts her hand to her forehead, taking in the scene. It's as if a murder happened in her kitchen and the suspect was noodles.
She sends Henry to his room to work on his homework while she cleans and waits for the meal to be done. Hopefully it doesn't taste like rubbish like Hook told her it smelled like. Hook offers a hand in helping her clean, and she assigns him to washing the dishes. She dries puts them away to avoid him dropping any of the glassware. His doctor appointment for his prosthetic hand is tomorrow, so maybe that'll help him.
Until then, he walks around in public with just his stub. From his face, she knows he doesn't like to do so. He's not comfortable without his hook and people staring at his lack of hand.
Thirty minutes later, the oven goes off. She gestures for Hook to take it out of the oven for her. Just as he bends over to do so, she scolds him and throws an oven mitt. "It's hot!"
"I am not wearing this girly glove, love."
Emma crosses her arms across her chest, a stern look on her face. "Killian Jones, it is an oven mitt used to take hot things out of the oven to avoid your hand being burned off. Unless you don't want any hands at all."
Reluctantly, he slips the monstrosity over his good hand, taking the pan of macaronic from the oven. As he does so, Emma calls for Henry to come eat. They sit down to eat, silence evading the dining room. Henry picks at his noodles, wincing as he puts it in his mouth. Hook does the same, and she becomes to afraid to try it herself. Mustering up the courage, she nearly spits it out. How does someone ruin mac and cheese so terribly?
"So, take out?" she asks the boys.
They both nod their heads, and Emma orders a cheese pizza with half with mushrooms. By the time the pizza arrives, it's after eight. She has to be up early tomorrow so she can get off early to go to the doctor's office with Hook.
"Alright, you boys can clean up," she kisses Henry atop her head before retreating to her bedroom. The only thing she can think of is drawing a bath and drinking a glass of wine. Laying back in the tub, she brings the glass to her lips when she hears a crash from the distance. Then a "bloody hell!". Rolling her eyes, she continues to read her book in the bath until there's a knock at her bathroom door.
"Swan?" It's Hook.
"What the hell are you doing in my room, Hook!?" she yells from her place in the bath tub.
"I was putting away some of the glasses from the dishwasher, and one slipped from my hand."
Resisting the urge to scream, she gets out of the bath. So much for quiet time for herself. She tells him she'll be out in a minute. Putting on sweat pants and a hoodie, she bounds out into the kitchen to see Henry and Hook standing around the broken glass. It's as if both of them are helpless and can't clean the mess themselves. Grabbing the brook, she thrusts it against Hook's chest roughly. Her mood has changed since she first got home.
She then gives the dustpan to Henry, gesturing for him to kneel on the ground when Hook sweeps the remnants of the glass into the dustpan. After that's settled, she starts to go back to her room to read and then go to bed. But a hook wraps around her upper arm.
"What is it now, Hook?" she huffs with annoyance.
"Did I do something wrong, love?"
Pulling away from him, she slumps against the wall behind her. Pouting her bottom lip, she resists the urge to sink into him and sob. Taking care of other people is a lot harder than she thought. All her life she only had herself to take care of. Even when she came to Storybrooke for Henry, she had Regina and her parents to help her with this mother thing. Now she's all alone. And she's not just taking care of her pre-teen son, but a two hundred something year old pirate who has no idea of living in the city. It's all too much for her to handle.
"Swan," Hook reaches out to her, but she shakes him off.
"I'm fine. Just tired. Night Hook," she turns away from him, closing her door before sobbing into her hands.
The next morning, she's up and out the door at seven. She's entrusted Hook to help Henry with going to school if he needs help. Sitting at her desk in the office, she presses her hands against both sides of her head. Her boss comes over to her desk, throwing a file down, making her jump.
"Morning, Emma," Walsh says. "There's a new case for you."
She thanks him, studying up on the perp until lunch time. She has to be back at her apartment at two to pick Hook up for his doctor's appointment. Throwing her banana peel away, she sips on her second cup of coffee. Tomorrow night will be a late night. Her newest case is a fan of boating late at night. Seems pretty suspicious if you ask her.
When two rolls around, she waves good bye to Kristen, her cubicle neighbor. Unlocking the door, she's met with the smell of burning. Groaning, she runs into the kitchen to see the coffee pot steaming. She thought he had this mastered. "HOOK!"
"Hey, Emma," he smiles at her, rinsing his dark hair with a towel. She looks at him to see he's only wearing a towel around his waist. Trying to ignore how her heart flutters a little at the sight, she points to the coffee pot.
"It's um…" she starts to say before he cuts her off.
"Speechless?" he quirks an eyebrow at her. "Well, I do have that effect on people, love. Sorry about the coffee pot. Let me get dressed so we can go to this doctor. Unless, of course, you like me in just this towel?"
She throws the dish rag at him as he walks down the hall laughing to himself. Killian Jones will be the death of her.
They walk down the street to the doctor. Waiting in the waiting room, she watches as Hook bounces in his seat nervously. Never would she have seen the day where Captain Hook was afraid of the doctor's office. Grinning, she continues flipping through the magazine she picked up from the side table.
"Captain Hook nervous of a doctor?" she whispers to him. "Priceless."
"I am not nervous," he bites out. She knows he's nervous by the way he snaps at her. He would never snap at her like that unless he was afraid. A nurse comes out, calling his name. He regards Emma, and she gestures for him to get up. She follows after him.
The nurse orders for him to sit on the covered bed. He does so, looking at Emma as if for reassurance. She sits in the chair beside the table as he reaches out his hand. Looking at it, she hesitates before lacing her fingers through his. His hand is warm and she almost flushes. The nurse takes his heart rate and weighs him before telling them the doctor will be in shortly.
"See," Emma goes to stand in front of him. "That wasn't so bad."
He fidgets with one of his rings. "I supposed not, Swan."
The door opens, revealing an older woman with graying hair. She smiles warmly at the two of them, and Emma goes back to the chair. The doctor makes small talk with the two of them while she fills out her chart. She hands Hook what she assumes is the prosthetic hand. The doctor instructs him on how to put it on, and he listens intently.
"I assumed if you have any problems, your beautiful wife will help you out," the doctor smiles down at Emma.
Before Emma can correct her, Hook interjects. "She is a beauty isn't she?"
The woman laughs, nodding her head. As much as Emma wants to scold Hook for that, she doesn't have it in her to. The words warm her. Maybe because she hasn't been told that by someone in a while. Well, besides her parents. But that's not the same as having a man say that to her. Even if it's Hook.
The doctor dismisses them. Walking side by side, the walk back to the apartment is quiet. Hook keeps looking down at his hand. She knows how different it must be for him. He's had the hook for hundreds of years. It became a part of him. Just like her red leather jacket is part of her.
Without a word, Hook goes into his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him. Emma can't help but feel a little disappointed with that. Not thinking too much of it, she turns to the sound of the door opening. Henry comes barreling in, his backpack nearly the size of him. He shrugs it off along with his jacket. Despite it being February, it's not as cold as an eastern winter usually is.
"School okay, kid?" Emma tries to ask him, but he's busy rummaging through his bookbag.
"Was good," he says distractedly.
"What are you looking for?" she asks him, curious as to what has her son in such a tizzy.
Henry glances up long enough to see the tears in his eyes. "My story book; I can't find it anywhere. I swear I had it this morning."
"Hey," she kneels beside him. This whole situation has been rough on all of them. She never even thought about how it would be for Henry. He grew up in Storybrooke for ten years. To have his whole life ripped away, she can't imagine how he must be feeling. She was to focused on how she was feeling. "We'll find it. Look through your room. I'm sure you just misplaced it."
"I hate it here!" he screams, running to his room and slamming it shut in his wake.
Emma stands alone in the foyer, wrapping her arms around herself. It seems it wasn't a good day for either of the boys. Heading into the kitchen, she looks out the window to see the sun going down. Hands on the counter, she stares into the distance for a minute to collect her thoughts. She pulls out ground beef to make tacos. If anything will make Henry feel better, it's his favorite meal. However, tacos feel tainted after walking in on her parents that day after they got home from the Enchanted Forest. She hasn't made tacos since, but for her son, she will.