A/N Review pleeeease. What do you think so far? Cheers.
Chapter Sixteen
Snow and David's Apartment
Emma and Killian walk into the apartment sharing wide grins, wet hair, fresh clothes and coffees.
Emma looks at David and he raises an eyebrow at her in question.
"I think you look more tired than you did before."
"We opted for caffeine and showers instead of sleep." She says raising her coffee cup and walking past him with a smirk at his slightly disgusted expression. Killian just shrugs and smiles openly around his coffee cup as he leans against the wall.
"Emma…" David begins with a chastising tone at Emma.
She has walked over to lean against the kitchen counter next to her mother but at his tone, she looks up with warning in her eyes.
"Really? You wanna go there, tacos?!" she says with a challenging look.
Snow bursts out in nervous giggles and blushes and David stands with his mouth open, nothing to say. Killian leans to the side to look around David at Emma and mouths 'tacos' in question and Emma just shakes her head and laughs.
"Okay, moving on, I think…" she says, saving them all from more awkwardness as Henry walks through the door and slumps his backpack to the floor.
"What'd I miss?" he asks, going straight for the fridge, in search of a snack.
"Not much" Snow says as she smothers a smile and walks away to pick a waking Neal up from his crib.
Henry, unaware of the humour lingering in the room, looks at his mother as he munches on a leftover slice of pizza.
"Okay. Well, we better get down to figuring out how to get Regina, Ruby and Maggie off that ship."
"AND get my ship back!" Killian adds quickly with a pointed look.
David looks annoyedly at him as Emma goes on.
"Any ideas? Cause the longer we wait, the more likely it is that Regina will just start blasting her way out of that ship." She says and Killian winces.
Henry pipes up.
"Well, you should probably know that the ships have moved out to sea a bit. I saw them when I was walking here from Violet's house."
Killian's gaze narrows in thought.
"He doesn't want to run the risk of anyone sneaking on or off the ships."
"That complicates things." Emma says as Snow walks back holding Neal in her arms.
"Maybe not. It actually might work in our favour." Snow says and everyone looks at her excited face, expectantly.
"Ariel. She had a bracelet that gave the wearer fins like a mermaid. I had it on once. Terribly uncomfortable but it might give us the element of surprise while their guard is down out there."
Emma sips her coffee as she turns the idea over in her mind.
"Okay, but if it's Ariel's bracelet, how do we get it? Ariel is off on some island with her prince."
Snow shakes her head.
"No, she left the bracelet with Belle when she came here from Neverland to get Pandora's box for Rumpelstiltskin."
After catching up with Snow's explanation, Emma brightens.
"So, we have a way to get to the ship. Then what?"
Killian steps forward with a look of dark satisfaction.
"Then we take the ship, darling."
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
The Beach of Storybrooke. Night.
"I can't believe I'm doing this. Do I have to take my pants off?" Emma asks as she sits on a rock beside the water.
"No."
"Yes."
Snow and Killian say at the same time and Emma rolls her eyes with a chuckle.
Snow gives a withering look at a gleefully grinning Killian and David lightly punches his arm.
"Not the time, pirate." David says.
"Ready?" Snow asks Emma.
"Wait. So, the plan is for me to swim over and try sneaking onto the Jolly Roger to find Regina and then the two of us can take back the ship with our magic? Seriously? That's the best we can come up with?"
Snow looks at her daughter thoughtfully.
"Well… yeah."
"Great. Nothing could possibly go wrong with that plan." Emma says sarcastically but holds out her wrist to her mother and Snow places the cuff on Emma's wrist.
In a swirl of smoke, a long, sapphire-coloured tail appears where Emma's legs were. Emma looks down and experimentally gives the fins a little flick.
"Well, that's a new one for me." She says nervously as she takes a resigned breath and starts shedding her leather jacket and shirt.
David looks down and Killian just stands watching with one side of his mouth curving into a grin as he runs the pad of his thumb down over his bottom lip.
"Too bad the tail doesn't come with one of those fetching clamshell… coverings…" he finishes, waving a hand at Emma's chest and earning another punch from David.
"Give it a rest, Hook." He says with irritation.
"Sorry mate, but first the pirate attire and now a mermaid?" Killian cocks his head at David and holds up his hands in a helpless what-do-you-expect motion.
Emma has stripped to her white tank top and sits waiting with Snow for the men to stop arguing.
"Shut up and come here, pirate." Emma says to Killian and he saunters over to get close.
"Mom, Dad, turn around for a minute." She says before straightening her spine and reaching up to grip the collar of his leather jacket and pull herself up closer to Killian's lips. Snow and David turn away and Snow takes David's hand, smirking at his discomfort.
Emma presses her lips to Killian's, delving her tongue deep into his mouth to battle with his. She gasps as he grips her waist and presses himself against her. Emma's new tail curls around Killian's leg as their kiss deepens and they start breathing heavily.
Emma sighs softly against his mouth and then motions for him to put her down again.
"Sorry, Mom and Dad. I just wanted to be able to say goodbye this time, before leaping into battle."
Snow and David turn back around and Killian backs up a step, keeping his obvious arousal faced away from her parents.
Emma smiles coyly and blows him a kiss, then waves at her parents and slips backwards into the water.
"Does that bracelet make her a mermaid or a bloody siren…" Killian asks quietly to the water as he watches Emma swim away.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
The Jolly Roger
Regina sleeps with her head resting on her wadded up jacket as she had refused to touch anything in the cell that she didn't have to.
Maggie lays with her head against Ruby's thigh as Ruby absently plays with a strand of her hair.
"So, how did the purple happen?" she asks softly and Maggie smirks.
"Well let's just say, it's a riveting tale involving a rather irritated unicorn and an unintentional insult. Thus…" Maggie says as she motions a hand to her hair.
"Wow. Really?" Ruby says, smiling at Maggie as she sits up, facing Ruby as she gives a quiet chuckle.
"Yes."
"I'd like to hear that tale some time." Ruby says with a smile.
Maggie smiles back and reaches out to touch the bottom of Ruby's chin.
"Anytime, pet." She says as Ruby catches her fingers and holds them for a moment, watching Maggie's eyes, before tentatively pulling her closer.
All casualness fades from the women's faces as Maggie glances down at Ruby's lips and opens her own with a small intake of breath.
They both lean in towards each other but with their lips mere centimetres away, a loud 'thunk' from the deck above, has them looking up.
Regina sits up, suddenly awake.
Maggie and Ruby drop their hands and look away from each other quickly as the door of the brig flies open and John Silver comes in holding a pistol.
"On your feet, Ladies." He hisses out as he unlocks the cell, ushering them out. Pushing the women above deck, John looks around nervously as he circles, keeping the pistol on them.
A few crew men are lying on the deck unconscious and a couple more are stepping around as nervously as John.
"Regina?" Emma yells out and Regina arches a brow and looks around.
"Emma?" she calls before John shoves the gun closer to her in warning.
"Yeah. It's time to get off the ship, your majesty." She shouts from an unseen shadow.
Regina smiles evilly, understanding Emma's hint to use her magic, she flicks her wrist and one by one, all the men except John fall to the deck in deep sleep.
John has moved to grab Maggie by the throat and is hiding behind her with his gun to her temple.
"Not so fast, witch." He says between gritted teeth backing away from Regina.
Regina steps closer and holds a fireball in the air above her hand.
"You throw that and you'll hit Maggie." John says in a nervous voice.
Regina laughs.
"Oh, I'm not going to throw it. I just needed you to look at it."
John's expression is confused until he hears a deep growl from directly behind him. His head whips around to see Ruby in werewolf form a second before she lunges and sinks her teeth into his forearm.
Regina waves her hand again and with Maggie out of the way, her magic hits its target and John falls to the deck in the deep slumber like the other crew members.
Maggie kneels next to Ruby and carefully strokes her fur as Regina steps up and hands over Ruby's cloak for Maggie to throw across the wolf.
"You can come out now, Saviour." Regina says in a very irritated voice as she looks around for Emma.
"Where are you?"
"Down here. We made a slight miscalculation with our plan and I needed to improvise." She says as Regina, Maggie and Ruby follow her voice and peer over the side of the ship.
"Your friend didn't have fins before, correct?" Maggie asks Regina and Ruby with a laugh as they stare open-mouthed at Emma, swimming around below them.
"Can you sail the Jolly Roger back to the docks by yourselves?"
"Aye, flippers. We can manage that but the 'Revenge' is going to notice our straying." Maggie warns.
Emma swishes around below them.
"Ideas?"
"A few extra crew and we may be able to plan a tactical offence on the 'Revenge'." Maggie offers.
"Done. I'll get our people here within the hour."
"Stealth is our only advantage right now. Be careful." Maggie says, walking away to go tie up John Silver and the others.
Emma swims away and Regina and Ruby turn to help Maggie with tying up the prisoners.