A/N Hello Shippers! Your feedback on the last chapter was kindly appreciated and I'm very happy to inform you that I've actually written the next three chapters so the updates will definitely be daily (unless unforeseen forces cause me to not post). This chapter is a lot more mellow than the last one but Chapter 9 will definitely make up for that. Welcome back to Storybrooke!

Chapter 8: Conflict of Interest

Emma drifted awake; she was still in the chair she had been in last night.

As Henry bounded into the room, Emma put her finger to her lips motioning for the small boy to be quiet. He nodded, smile never fading as he walked quietly towards her and gave her a hug.

"Hey kid," Emma whispered, "don't you need to get ready for school?"

She looked at the clock hanging in her room and back at the beaming boy. He shrugged, "Yeah, but Mary Margaret said she'd take me to school and she doesn't leave for another twenty minutes so I have extra time."

Emma nodded. Since their celebrated arrival in Storybrooke the day before, she had not moved from her position in the room. Only leaving to go to the bathroom and eat, changing positions in the wicker chair sporadically. Granted, she had given herself time to greet her family and friends, but now her job was to watch over him; to wait until he woke up.

On the bed in front of her lay Hook. His face was peaceful in sleep and it made him look so much younger. Emma had caught herself staring at him multiple times over the past hours and every single time scolded herself for it. When he woke up it was her job to introduce him to their world, to remind him of the rules and make sure he didn't do anything stupid.

"What's he like?" Henry suddenly asked, noticing the way Emma had been staring at the sleeping pirate. She looked down at the boy and searched for the right words to describe Killian Jones, the infamous Captain Hook.

"He's surly… very surly. And, um… he likes to make a lot of jokes but mostly he's arrogant," Emma said, trying not to include the fact that he was the king of sexual innuendos. From the kitchen, she could hear the sounds of breakfast being cleaned away.

"Go get ready for school, I'd say Mary Margaret is nearly finished cleaning up and will be getting ready to go soon." Emma squeezed her son affectionately and pushed him lightly off her lap. Henry nodded in agreement and, with one last glance at Hook, left the room.

"Why didn't you tell him how stunningly charming and witty I am?"

Emma turned suddenly as Hook began to raise himself up. He was sitting up in bed now and a grin was plastered across his angular face. She stood from the chair and moved over to the side of the bed.

"How are you feeling?" She asked without warmth.

"I'm fine, just a bit dizzy. Are you going to nurse me back to health, love?" Hook fluttered his eyes endearingly at Emma. Just then, Mary Margaret entered the room with Henry in tow.

"I'm just going to take Henry to school now – wait, he's up. When did that happen?" Mary Margaret said. Henry tried to push into the room, eager to get a close-up look at a real pirate. Mary Margaret held him back, looking at Emma accusingly.

"He just woke up," she replied, trying to ignore the overwhelming annoyance she felt at the fact that her mother was treating her like a sixteen year-old with hormonal tendencies.

"O-kay… um, well I'll leave you to it. Call me if you need anything." Mary Margaret threw an unrestrained glare at Hook before pushing Henry out of the room and closing the door. In a matter of seconds, Emma heard the front door open and shut.

"I do believe we were discussing how you are going to nurse me back to health with sponge baths and other activities of the like," Hook said, drawing Emma's eyes back to him. She smiled superficially in return.

"The only sponge bath you'll ever get is from David," Emma said, laughing at the way Hook's nose crinkled in disgust at the thought of another man sponging him down with soap.

"I thought you said you didn't have a man in your life?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"David's my father. Mary Margaret's husband," she answered matter-of-factly.

"That's a relief, I was starting to think I may have been seducing someone's wife and my honour dictates that as a sin." Hook said sarcastically, raising his namesake to rest it over his heart. Emma rolled her eyes in response. David was at the precinct at the moment, already on the job he had unofficially taken over during her absence. If he was here, she thought amusedly, he would punch the pirate making advances on his newfound daughter.

"You are not seducing me. I don't even like you," she retorted, watching as Hook's face turned to one of mock sadness.

"But we worked so well together in the forest and at the Lake! And may I remind you that I am here and something about your precious mother's attitude tells me she wasn't the one who decided to drag me along with you two." Hook watched Emma's facial expression as he said the last sentence. His voice wasn't mocking in those last few words; it was as if he was thanking the blonde without actually saying the words. It was probably as close as he would come to being grateful.

"Well you're welcome," Emma said curtly.

Shoving off the quilt that was covering him, Hook, still wearing his pirate garb, rose from the bed and stood up in front of her.

"Since you're not going to play nurse with me, I think I'll get to doing what I came here to do, best regards love," Hook said, walking past Emma to the doorway. She ran quickly to block his way, putting her arms on either side of the arch.

"No, no, no. What are you going to do? I can't just unleash Captain Hook on this unknowing town."

Hook looked down at her incredulously, pushing a blonde lock of hair behind her shoulder with ease.

"I told you back on the ship. I'm here to skin me a crocodile, lass," Hook's facial expression changed at the mention of his 'crocodile' and Emma remembered her deal. At the time she had simply planned to use his help and leave him there, taking him with her had been a last minute decision to save him from Cora.

"Okay, I know I never asked but… who is the freaking crocodile? I really don't know what you're talking about because it's not like we have any actual crocodiles in Maine." Emma stared into Hook's face, willing him to unravel the threads of thought that tangled in her mind.

"Rumplestiltskin," he replied, hissing the name through his teeth. Her face abruptly morphed into one of astonishment and dismay.

"You can't go after him."

Hook's expression became arrogant, "And what makes you think you can stop me, lass?"

Emma stood taller, raising herself to her full height as she said "Because I'm the sheriff and it's my job."

"You would align yourself with a murderer?" he queried, eyes narrowing in heated speculation.

"No, it's my job to protect the town. Do you really think that the thing you two have won't lead to collateral damage?" She defended her actions wearily, knowing that she too wanted secretly to punish Gold for everything he had done to her family.

"I'm not interested in collateral damage; I only seek revenge for the crimes he committed."

It was Emma's turn to stare at Hook incredulously, "So you're saying you won't use whatever leverage you can?"

The pirate hesitated and it was all she needed to launch into a tirade.

"Hook, you can't just take the law into your own hands! I am the law here and I say you can't just go out and kill a person and until Gold commits a crime I can't lay a finger on him. I get that you want to punish him for what he took from you but you need to let it go, move on!" Emma's fists were clenched at her sides.

Striding up to the saviour, Hook spoke.

"Are you really going to stand here and deliver that bullshit? I can't believe you Emma. For a woman who's meant to believe in justice, you do an awful lot of sitting around waiting for depraved creatures to act. And besides, we made a deal! You have to help me skin my crocodile, remember?"

Emma was taken aback, but only for a moment because it was soon washed away by anger.

"I wasn't even intending to keep that deal! The second I made it I was making plans to leave you behind when I had the chance!" Her voice was hoarse and she was gesturing wildly.

"Oh darling, you think you're really devious but I knew from the second we made that deal that you would never trust me. I've said it before; you're an open book." His voice was quiet and menacing, a sharp contrast to Emma's volatile tone.

"Well, did I mention back there that I also owe Gold a favour? Yeah, so not only did I promise to help you kill him but I still have one open ended favour with your freaking crocodile. And what if he asks me to betray you? What then?" she asked intensely, moving closer again to Hook.

The two of them were only an inch from each other and the tension was palpable.

"Emma, I need to kill him. I can't just let him live with what he's done." Hook's voice was still low, but the menace was less tangible.

"Hook, he has magic. He brought magic here and now he can use it. You told me once that you like a fair fight. It isn't a fair fight." Emma's voice was pleading, her eyes burning into his as he realised what she said.

"You told me there wasn't any magic in this godforsaken realm!" Hook yelled, backing her into the wall.

"Our realm isn't supposed to have magic but he brought it here!" Emma replied furiously as her back hit the unmasked brick.

"You lied to me!" His voice was like a tornado, whipping through the room with such fury and force that she had to remind herself that this was her element.

"If you go near him, I won't hesitate to –"

"To what?" Hook asked, "Kill me? Arrest me? Hand me over to him with a little red bow on my head? What makes you think I care anymore, Swan?" Without warning, he strode from the apartment, slamming the door hard on the way out. It took Emma a moment to realise what was very wrong with him leaving the apartment.

Wasting no time, she grabbed her holster and staple leather jacket and headed out the door after Hook. She pulled out her phone and dialled David's cell number.

"Emma?" David answered on the first ring.

"Yeah, David it's me. Hook just left the apartment and I need you to go and keep an eye on Gold's shop – I'll be at the precinct in a minute," she said, taking the steps down to the street two at a time.

"Sure thing, I'll call you if anything happens." David said, reassurance etched in his tone as he hung up. Emma placed her phone back into her jean pocket and opened the apartment's front door. Exiting the building, she looked both ways in an effort to locate the pirate. The street was empty.

8888

It had been three days since Hook left the apartment and her nerves were starting to itch in anticipation. For three days, Emma and David had taken turns watching Gold's store to make sure Hook didn't cause trouble and he was yet to be seen. After moving out and into a Victorian house a block away from their old apartment, David and Mary Margaret hadn't spent much time with Emma. While Emma was glad not to be forced to deal with her parent's lusty habits and public displays of affection, she kind of needed to bond with them.

David didn't yet understand Emma's instincts or disposition and his immense trust for her despite this lack of knowledge was sometimes astounding. Despite that, he still had his doubts.

"Why don't you just tell Gold?" David asked one morning as the two shared a bagel from Granny's diner while watching from across the street.

"Because then Gold will search for Hook, most likely find him and kill him. The whole point of us staking out is to make sure nobody dies," Emma explained, not wanting to reveal the emptiness she felt at the idea of Hook being dead. It was what had made her drag him through the portal with Mary Margaret and herself.

David nodded in understanding, resuming the stake out.

At the end of the third day, she was bristling with nervous energy. What's he waiting for? Emma thought, irritated at the pirate's lack of appearance. Suddenly, the station's phone rang and the blonde jumped in surprise.

"Emma, it's David. Gold just left the pawn shop and he looks pissed," David's voice came through the receiver, loud and clear. She tried not to sag in relief – finally some action.

"Where's he headed?" Emma asked nervously, standing up and reaching for her car keys.

"South," David answered, making his daughter feel suddenly nauseous, "Emma? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, yeah… um, I'll follow him – where's he now?"

"Just passing the library, he just got into his car – you might want to hurry."

"I'm leaving now. David, can you keep an eye on the pawn shop just in case the whole point of this is to draw Gold out?" Emma said, trying not to sound like she was purposefully keeping her father away.

"Okay, call me if you need anything." David sounded wary but didn't press his daughter on the matter. Hanging up the phone, Emma practically ran from the office. From across the street, she could see Gold through his car window as he sped down the road. Emma practically jumped into her car and sped after him.

He seemed to be going toward the town's boundary.

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