A/N: hello my dear chimichungas! Thank you for all the support in the last chapter. Hopefully my chapters will begin to get longer now and also my plot for this story starts this chapter! YAY!
Disclaimer: If I owned OUAT, the only thing you'd see is a sexy Captain Hook running around Storybrooke wreaking havoc and flashing people in order to get Emma's attention.
"Word vomit." –Mean Girls
Emma groaned and rolled onto her side, only to cry out in pain when her bruised ribs screamed in protest. Immediately, Killian shot up, blade drawn, crouching protectively in front of her.
"What is it?" he whispered cautiously. "Did you hear anything?"
"No… wait, Killian? Where are we?" Emma forced herself to sit up, nearly bucking over in pain when she did so. "Did we stop Cora? Are we in Storybrooke? Where's Henry?"
When Killian didn't immediately reply, she bit her lip. What was going on? The last thing she could remember was Killian fighting for her and her companion's lives, Cora's hand in her chest, and-.
"Oh my god," she breathed.
"Emma…" Killian mumbled. "We… we aren't in Storybrooke…," After pausing for a second, he bitterly muttered, "Not anymore, at least."
"Not anymore?! What are you talking about… oh god… Killian? Where is everyone? Where are we?"
Killian sighed heavily before looking down at her in shame. "We're in Neverland, love. I- I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. We got to Storybrooke, only you were still unconscious, and… Rumplestiltskin… he…"
Emma almost blacked out again in shock. Surely he wasn't serious? How could they be in Neverland, of all places?
"Rumplestiltskin… what? What did he do?" Emma prodded gently.
"It's my fault, Emma. He was there, at the portal. Snow and Regina ran off to get your son and father and a doctor so I stayed to watch over you… but I didn't know he was there," Killian's voice wavered slightly. No one would have noticed with how well he hid it, but if there was anything Emma had learned in her past, it was to notice specific details in the way people talked. Mostly, she used it during her days as a bounty hunter to detect whether a person was feeling guilty or not, and how she could use this to her advantage. And right now, Killian was practically radiating waves of guilt and self-loathing.
"I swear to you Emma. I had no idea he was right there. The damn crocodile snuck up while I was fixing your bandage and… I tried- I tried so hard to ignore him, but maybe I shouldn't have, because the next thing I know, he's realized I may… care… for you, so he sent you through the well to Neverland."
Killian fidgeted with his hook before looking at her and sliding down to heavily thump onto the ground with a sigh of defeat. "It's my fault, because he wanted me gone and he knew that the only way you would get back to Storybrooke was if I led you through Neverland. So I jumped in after you… I'm sorry love. You just got back to your son… and I took it all away from you."
Emma was still as she processed this. Her first thought was to scream in anger, her second was that she would skin Rumplestiltskin alive before Killian even got near him, and the third was that all of this thinking fucking hurt.
Her silence was unnerving him. Tentatively, he scooted closer and whispered, "Swan?"
"Do you have any Aspirin in this Neverland of yours, Captain?"
Killian was baffled. Completely convinced Emma had hit her head a lot harder than everyone thought and was off her rocker. Or maybe, she was just buttering his biscuit to lure him into a false sense of security, only to maul him to death when she healed. He just told her that it was his fault she was sent to Neverland away from her son, and she simply responded by asking for this supposed "aspirin" object and ignoring his confession completely.
"Er… Swan? Are you feeling alright, lass? What the bloody hell is Aspirin?"
Emma sighed, and Killian interrupted the verbal beating he was sure she was about to launch herself into.
"I'll get you back, Emma. I promise. If there's one thing I do right in this wretched world, it's this. I'm getting you back to your son Emma. Trust me." The sincerity in his voice was resolute. Emma couldn't detect a single note of falsity in his voice.
"I… I do. I do trust you. At least, with this." She would have said more, only her head chose to pound suddenly and again she was on the floor, clutching her head in pain.
Killian reached out to hold her and leaned her gently against the base of a lone boulder that was planted firmly in the sand. Placing her head precariously on his folded lap, he unwrapped the strip of cloth he had ripped off his shirt and tucked it away in case they needed it later. After gently inspecting her head again, he let out a sigh of relief.
"The scrapes closed up- it's just a bruise now, shouldn't be as dangerous. It'll definitely still hurt, but you won't be needing the bandage anymore."
Carefully, making sure he didn't drop her head, Killian slipped out of the shirt he wore under his vest and folded it as a pillow for Emma. Moving down, he un-wrapped her ankle and was relieved to find that though it was still slightly swollen, it was bent regularly and the swelling had receded a lot.
"Well Doctor Jones, how does it look?" Emma whispered teasingly.
Killian grinned despite the situation they were in. He knew why Rumplestiltskin had sent them specifically here. He was banned from Neverland- but if the Queen didn't know he was here, then there was a good chance he could get the both of them out alive and not just Emma.
"According to my thorough observations," he quipped, playing along. "Your wounds are healing nicely, and with some extra sleep and nourishment, you should be good to go in a few days. Of course, you'll need a bit of help walking, but… that's why you've got this sexy pirate here with you," he said while winking.
She snorted. "Right. Okay… so what's the plan? How do we get out of here?"
Killian paused to answer. "Well, love. We have two options. One is to get the pixies to send us back, and the other is that we somehow get our hands, or rather, hands and hook," He grinned smugly. "Onto some nice pixie dust and fly back, as ridiculous as it sounds. The first would be easier, and far less dangerous… except that the damn crocodile knows what he's doing. As I told you earlier, I was banished from this land for some… past misgivings. We're going to have to go undercover for a lot of our time here if you want to avoid the Queen."
Emma hesitated. Getting back to Storybrooke was starting to sound a lot harder than she originally thought. Shaking her thoughts, she looked him square in the eye and said, "I trust you. So where do we start?"
For the first time since they defeated Cora, Killian let out a genuine laugh. She trusted him with this. Maybe not in her heart yet, but she trusted him enough to give him responsibility over her life. And that was a huge leap of faith for her, he knew that.
"Right now, love, we sleep. It's nearly nightfall and tomorrow we have a lot of traveling to do… tell me you don't get seasick?"
Emma raised a suspicious eyebrow before replying. "No… are we- oh my god, are we going to go on your ship?"
Killian grinned. "That's the plan. Are you excited to finally ride my ship, Swan?" Both his cheeky voice and suggestive grin were laced with innuendo.
Rolling her eyes in response, Emma couldn't help but chuckle just a little. He really was growing on her. "Shut up," she laughed, only half serious.
Naturally, he took notice and pulled her closer. "My, my, Emma dearest. It appears you've accepted your fate of having to deal with a sexy pirate like me for the rest of your life!"
Pulling away slightly from his embrace, Emma felt herself tense up slightly at the mentioning of him being with her for the rest of her life. It was a surprisingly happy thought and Emma almost let herself agree- until she remembered Neal and everyone else who had left her. Her previously unguarded walls shot back up, but there were cracks in it, cracks made by the hard force of a sharp hook belonging to the one and only Killian Jones. And no matter what she did, Emma couldn't repair those cracks.
Noticing her tense up a bit, Killian brought his hand to her chin and gently lifted her face so she was looking at him. "Emma," he whispered.
"Don't." Emma's voice wavered. She wanted, without a doubt, to close the tiny gap between them and kiss him. But she couldn't, because she had a son she needed to get back to, because there wasn't any time to waste—because he would end up leaving her, and she didn't think she could pick up the pieces of herself again if he did.
"Darling, I'm not him. I'm not Neal."
A lone tear slipped down Emma's cheek. "I know. I just…"
"Love, you told me, back in the Enchanted Forest. You said maybe if we were in another world, we could have been. And now we are in another world, so I'll be damned if I don't take your word for it."
What the hell, she thought. When they got out of here, she would find a way to fix this… thing, happening between them. Until then, she might as well pretend to be her kid self again, wishing Peter Pan would come whisk her off to Neverland so she could be happy.
"You know, it's funny. I used to wish Peter Pan would come and fly me to Neverland when I was younger. He'd take me aboard the Jolly Roger- which he stole from you in the stories, by the way- and he'd let me sail for a while too." Emma smiled before continuing. "Henry would love to hear about how I got to sail around Neverland on the Jolly Roger with Captain Hook, no less."
If possible, Killian's grin got even bigger. "Well, what a coincidence! It must be fate… well darling, I've no idea how that story goes, but as a matter of a fact- it is funny. Because once upon a time, three centuries ago, I was Peter Pan."
"No way- is that even- but- you're- what?"
"Is that lovely blush for me Swan?"
"Shut up."
"Only if you kiss me."
"You're disgusting."
"You know you want- mmph!"
Pressing her lips to his, Emma silenced him with a kiss. It started out slow and gentle, but they broke apart gasping as it got deeper when Killian accidentally pressed against her ribs.
"Oh gods Emma, I'm so sorry!" He frantically slid up her shirt, not even bothering to make his classic innuendo and checked to see if her ribs were still functioning.
Emma gently pushed him back and pulled down her shirt. "I'm fine, stop panicking!" she said, hand cradling his cheek. Relief washed over his face as he pulled her in for another chaste kiss.
"Love, we'd best get some rest now. It'll be cold during the night here- take my coat."
Settling behind the boulder, he shrugged off his long black coat and refolded his shirt into a pillow for Emma.
Emma drank in the sight of him only in his low cut leather vest and pants. Was he crazy? Surely he would freeze to death if he didn't wear something. Not that she was complaining, but he was her way back to Storybrooke- and he wouldn't be very helpful if he got hypothermia and died on her.
"Come here, Killian. Put on your shirt. It's already getting cold, you'll freeze to death!"
He winked. "Are you not enjoying the view, love? Oh well. But no, not happening- you have a huge bruise on the back of your head. You're using the pillow."
Frustrated by his stubbornness, Emma again patted the ground next to her. "Come here. No arguing."
Killian only hesitated for a second before sauntering over and sitting next to her.
"Happy, love?"
"Lie down."
Shifting slightly and easing his button-up shirt over his chest as he did as he was told, Emma wrapped her arms around his muscular torso and rested her head on his chest before pulling his coat over the both of them.
"See? I have a pillow, and you won't freeze!"
Chuckling, Killian gently shifted to an angle to make it more comfortable for Emma to lean against him and wrapped his arms around her slim waist. They spoke of his adventures as both Peter and Captain Hook and shared chaste kisses until they fell into the first peaceful sleep they had had in a long time.
A/N: awww so cute. I hope you all liked it and please review! For anyone affected by the snow storm- I hope you and your family and friends are safe and warm! Be careful out there!