Chapter 2

Crossing Lines

Tinkerbell's hollow was roughly the size of a large living room and could be crossed in seven strides or about fifteen small steps. I knew, because I'd counted it a dozen times in the hour or so since the rest of our group had left. There were three large rocks, one good sized tree – currently sheltering a pirate – and a ladder leading up into her home. It was also very quiet. Unlike the Dark Hollow and its ominous caws and other creaks and moans, her little slice of Neverland was dampened by thick vegetation on all sides, providing a natural sort of soundproofing.

I pulled out the mirror and glanced at it – again – but the scene still clearly showed the group on the march just as it had five minutes ago, and five minutes before that, not that I'd really expected them to be there yet. We'd been in Neverland long enough for me to appreciate its size, and while I had no idea where the Lost Boys were, Tinkerbell's home away from home was deep in the jungle and seemingly far from everywhere else.

I pocketed the mirror and turned back to the other distraction in the clearing. One that was living and breathing, but offered no further sound to the entirely too cozy setting. I hadn't allowed myself to dwell on him in the time we'd been alone. I still couldn't figure out why I reacted the way I did or why every step I took away from him made me slightly anxious. I wanted to chalk it up to my sense of justice – he was in my protection so of course I worried for his safety – but here, alone, with only my annoying thoughts for company, I knew it was more than that.

I approached him cautiously like one would a wild animal and knelt beside him. With his eyes closed and his face completely at rest, I supposed he did look like he was sleeping, but even in sleep Captain Hook did not look entirely peaceful. I wondered if he was dreaming, and if so, who he dreamt about? He'd told me about his lost love, his Milah...did they reunite upon the high seas in his nightly wandering? What was a pirate's life really like, anyways?

I shook my head and scoffed, chastising myself. What a ridiculous thing to be thinking about with everything else that was going on. I spared him one more glance, intending to return to my perimeter pacing, but stopped short at the slight change in his expression. A furrow had appeared between his eyes, almost in a grimace. "Hook?" I breathed. I reached out to trace the line of distress, but it softened before our skin connected. I started to drop my hand, but instead, I gently rubbed a spot of dirt off of his cheek before sitting cross-legged in front of him and pondering this mystery of a man a bit further.

He was beautiful, almost too handsome. He knew it, too, which surprisingly didn't lessen my appreciation for his features at all. Somehow, cockiness enhanced his appeal. And I hated cocky guys. I also swore to never get wrapped up with anyone outside the law again, not that I was planning to get involved with him. But he did fascinate me. From the moment he grinned and revealed his more colorful moniker in the Enchanted Forest he'd frequently touched on my thoughts. I figured it was due to how very different he was from his Disney counterpart, but there was something else, too. He'd been a villain...could still turn out to be one...but part of me wanted to trust him, revenge-fueled pirate and all. Leaving him behind with the giant had not been as easy as it should've been. That it bothered me was the main reason I'd been able to do it. He was dangerous, yes; but some part of me inherently realized the danger he presented to me was not simply the physical kind.

"My how you've caused me to contradict all my hard won resolutions," I whispered. "There'd be no living with you if you knew the thoughts I've been thinking."

My tiny smile fell as I considered what I was doing...what I had already done. He was never supposed to get this close. He had somehow found a chink in my wall that he was enlarging day by day. He challenged me like no one ever had. He also terrified me because the closer he got, the more I knew he could hurt me. Was it really only a few weeks ago that I bashed him over the head in New York then left him behind again? And now here I was saving him. Protecting him.

I reached out and shoved his shoulder, testing the strength of his coma, or whatever he was in. Much like my incessant mirror gazing, I didn't really expect any change, but I was still disappointed when he remained as he was. "We'll figure this out, Hook…Killian, I promise." Safe in the knowledge that we were alone and he was unconscious, I let my fingertips trace his perfect mouth. "I won't let you be stranded here in Neverland."

With a soft sigh, I stood and pulled out the mirror once more. Expecting to see jungle vines and plants like usual, I was shocked to see about fifteen or so boys standing in a line with various weapons aimed toward me, or rather, the group possessing the other half of the mirror. "Regina…can you hear me? Regina!" I tried shouting. The boys parted just enough to showcase a view of a smaller boy tied to a spit. An enormous camp fire raged just beyond him.

"Henry!" I cried, my heart leaping with terror. The edges of the compact cut into my hand as my grip tightened, but I scarcely noticed.

"Miss Swan!" Regina's voice, accompanied by her stern face, growled in warning. "Do be quiet! You're just watching, remember? We've got this." To my utter frustration, she put the mirror in her satchel instead of turning it back to the action, giving me a completely unhelpful view of Pandora's Box and nothing else.

"Regina!" I yelled again. My pacing turned manic. "Dammit!" I screamed at no one before gazing intently at the mirror again, willing it to move out of Regina's bag.

Amidst the blood rushing through my ears, I heard what sounded like the hoots and hollering of a native war tribe. I pressed my ear closer to the mirror and made out voices – Gold, then Regina, Gold again – before a single harrowing cry pierced straight through my heart: "Mom!"

The mirror slipped from my fingers as I rushed out of the clearing in the direction the four had taken. I made it about five yards from the hollow before something reached out and grabbed my shoulders, yanking me back the way I came so violently that I fell backwards and then there was only blackness.

E&K&E&K&E&K

"Emma? Emma, honey, you've got to wake up." A gentle, musical voice drifted through my conscience, followed by the touch of petal-soft fingers caressing my brow. "I think she hit her head."

"I've got her," a much deeper voice responded before I felt the sensation of flying up into the air. "Emma, sweetheart, you're going to be fine."

My eyes peeled open to meet the calm blue gaze of Prince Charming. "David…" I tried to speak, but my throat felt raw. His answering smile, meant to soothe, only increased my anxiety. With painful clarity, my last thoughts came back. "Henry! He was screaming; we've got to get to him!" I struggled to free myself from David's arms, landing somewhat unceremoniously on my backside.

The beautiful, but slightly worried face of Mary Margaret appeared. "I just spoke with Regina through the mirror. They've got Henry and are on their way to the ship." She offered me a hand and pulled me up. "Emma, what happened? Why did we find you passed out beyond the clearing?"

Looking around, I realized we were close to the mouth of the pathway I'd taken when I charged off after the cry of Henry. Not one of my smartest ideas, clearly, but I'd reacted on pure instinct. Seeing the clearing brought back my other concerns, though. "Hook," I exhaled before pushing past my parents and rushing to his side. The grimace I'd noticed earlier was etched across his face. "He's in pain," I noted.

Mary Margaret knelt beside us and reached a hand up to his forehead. "He's burning up. No wonder really, it's like an inferno in this clearing. Help me get his coat off."

Together, we shucked the pirate captain of his chosen armor. I draped the heavy coat over a nearby rock, trying to ignore the intoxicating scent of leather and the sea before returning to where Mary Margaret was now patting his face with a wet cloth. "You didn't answer me; what happened while we were gone?"

"How long have you been gone?" I asked seriously, almost afraid of the answer. Hook's pallor was slightly paler than I'd remembered, and the rising of his chest was much shallower than before.

"About three hours. We came back to find Hook alone, so naturally we were concerned. I found you just a few feet down the path, but it looked like you'd been dragged backwards?" David's statement, or rather question, brought forth yet another thought.

I stood and paced around the small clearing, peering into the dense surroundings. "Did you see any signs of anyone else when you got here?"

"No, no one. Emma? What's going on?" Mary Margaret tried again, her patience obviously wearing thing.

I continued my search while explaining, "I heard Henry scream through the mirror. I saw him tied up and surrounded by the Lost Boys before Regina shoved the mirror in her bag. I didn't know what was going on, and I wasn't even thinking. Next thing I knew I was running after them. I was just leaving the clearing when I felt something grab me and drag me back. That's all I remember. There must have been someone else here, but then why did they leave Hook unharmed?" I rubbed at the back of my head, now aware of the sizeable bump.

"Huh," Mary Margaret looked thoughtful. "And Pan's shadow? Is it still safe?"

A stab of fear stopped my steps. Where was Pan's shadow? Is that what my attacker was after?

"It's here," David called, picking up the coconut I'd set just below Tinkerbell's ladder. He smiled before handing the makeshift cage to me.

"Well, that's a relief," I exclaimed, though my mind was already dissecting the fact that everything seemed to be fine, yet an unsettling feeling still clung to me.

"Have you got everything?" Mary Margaret asked. "We should probably get to the ship. The others will be there soon and we don't want to stay here any longer than necessary."

"Right," I responded. "A little help, David?" The two of us hefted Hook to his feet before David resumed the fireman's carry that Neal had used to get him to the clearing. I silently mused that Hook would not be pleased to discover my ex and my father had both manhandled him without his knowing.

I reached over and reclaimed his coat as well as my own bag then took one last look around Tinkerbell's hollow before the three of us set off to reunite with the rest of our group aboard the Jolly Roger. This was it; we were finally going home. I waited for a sense of relief to calm my nerves, but something was still wrong; I could feel it nagging at me. Mary Margaret and David were entirely distracted by the prospect of leaving otherwise I was fairly sure they would've been more suspicious about my apparent attack, too. How strange that there were no other footprints, only the impression of me being dragged. As if someone had not wanted me to leave that clearing.

It was then that Gold's warning flitted through my thoughts. "Don't be racing off without your charge," he'd said. My stare settled once more on Hook, in the same position he'd been in hours before, just a different shoulder. The grimace remained as did the shallow breathing I'd observed when Mary Margaret had washed his face. Whatever I'd done to him in the Dark Hallow seemed to be wearing off. We were running out of time, and I knew a particular 'Dark One' who owed me some answers.

A/N: A little shorter this time, but it served its purpose. Next up, the group reunites aboard the Jolly Roger and Emma gets her answers. Our darling Hook will be with us soon! Please Review :)