A/N Hey guys, sorry there was a delay – I've been super busy with school starting up again and I reached a writer's block about halfway through. I hope you all saw the spoiler, if not then you'll have no idea what's going to happen in this chapter. Hint: It's something we've been waiting for. ALSO! This chapter is a little shorter, but don't worry because the next one is… well… let's just say my heart was racing as I wrote it. Enjoy this little in-between reprieve before things heat up again.

Chapter 14: Answers

Emma stared pointedly at the space in front of her. She was standing at the end of the docks and desperately trying to work out where Hook's ship was. She was so sure that she had retraced her steps perfectly; she had run from this exact spot after getting off the ship. How was it gone?

It had been two days since Cora's defeat and Emma needed to talk with the infamous pirate. His involvement in the plan was a hot topic of discussion and was plaguing her mind incessantly. It was time they had it out.

The saviour searched the marina again and retraced her steps a second time. Angry at her inability to locate the damned ship, she kicked a keg of bird feed. It fell on its side, the grainy substance spilling everywhere. She was about to turn back and go home when she noticed something peculiar about the bird seed. It had landed on the docks but it was also floating in a slopping angle about a foot from where she stood. Emma moved towards the slope and nearly tripped over the edge of a hard object. Hands splayed out just in case, she took a high step forward and landed on something with a thud. Her foot appeared to be in mid-air, there was an invisible walkway here.

The blonde smiled, sneaky bastard she thought, warily walking up the slope. Four feet into the slope, she felt herself hit some kind of bubble and was suddenly pulled forward; it felt like she was being sucked in. Looking around, Emma adjusted her eyes to the view. Hook's ship was rocking slightly with the waves and appeared untouched. It was only when she looked to the helm of the ship that she noticed the dark pirate smirking at her, clearly amused.

"It took you long enough to figure out," Hook said, leaning over the wheel of the ship. He had been watching her attempts to mount the ship.

Emma scowled and ignored his jibe, "We need to talk." He raised an eyebrow and started walking towards the angry blonde. When he was a metre from her he stopped and drank in her image. She was standing defiantly, her jaw set in that way she did when she was determined about something.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Hook drawled, crossing his arms.

"You helped Cora. After everything that happened in the enchanted forest! She made you kill your own crew, Hook! She killed Leigh and who knows what happened to Hugo!" Emma's voice, without warning, suddenly rose. She was irrevocably furious.

"I helped her because I had no other options. She was going to give me what I wanted and in return I would do as she wanted," he replied, swallowing the bile that rose in his throat at the mention of his crew men.

"You were willing to give her anything she wanted just so you could get your hands on Gold?" she asked, staring accusingly at him.

"It isn't horrific, Emma. I was only planning to restrain you for nine hours, and if I recall correctly I saved your arse in the end, love!" Hook said, as if him saving her would rectify his involvement in Cora's plans.

"Yeah! And if I hadn't gotten out of here, while you were holding me she was going to kill Henry! You put my son in danger!" Emma screamed, the rage more intense at the mention of her son. With every word she stalked forward and the pirate actually had the indecency to look shocked at her statement.

"I didn't actually know her plans, Emma –"

"And then, after she would have killed him without me even being allowed to try and save him, you were going to hand me over in exchange for the fucking crocodile! She would have killed me and you were going to just give me to her!" Her used of expletives seemed to blow Hook away. It wasn't like he hadn't heard it before – in fact he'd heard ten times worse – but he'd never heard the saviour use such language. Either way, he would be damned if he was about to be reprimanded by this woman.

"I didn't know her plans, Emma! She didn't tell me! The fact that you think I would have any knowledge about killing a small boy and then handing you over means you don't know anything about me." Emma hated to admit it but he was telling the truth. She would have been able to tell otherwise. Rather than acknowledge his honesty, she chose a different path of assault. Walking around the pirate so her back was to the mast, the blonde spoke.

"Why in the hell would you make a deal with Cora, of all people, without knowing her plans? Are you that mentally challenged?" Hook stared indignantly at her in response to the insult, "What kind of a pirate just makes a deal without knowing the full extent of the agreement?"

It was his turn to stalk forward now and she was soon backed into the mast, their bodies separated by a mere inch.

"Because her deal was all I had left! My revenge, which I waited three centuries years for, failed! Because of you! So when she arbitrarily appeared and informed me she would assist me in my quest for vengeance I agreed to it! You weren't going to help! All she asked of me was that I restrain you! I never would have knowingly put you and your son in danger!" Hook yelled, every word – to Emma's disappointment – was the truth. Silence followed and she stared angrily into his serene blue eyes, unrepentant about her accusations.

"What did you think she was going to do, Hook? Any plan she had was going to involve hurting me." Her words were quieter but still acidic and she thought she saw a fleeting wince upon Hook's features. However, as soon as it appeared it was once again gone.

"I don't know, darling. My comprehension skills were slightly worn after our little argument," he replied tartly. Some deep dark part of her fluttered at the notion that he was affected by her words, but her anger washed it away like lava over a mountainside.

"Well then you're an idiot!" It wasn't the best retort she'd ever come up with but his presence was starting to wane the clarity she had previously felt. Previously, this whole issue had been black and white but now, there were uncomfortable grey areas threatening to swallow her heated resolve.

"An idiot who has saved your life on four separate occasions!" Hook countered and she mentally tallied this just to make sure he wasn't lying. And it was true; he had saved her life after the first battle with Cora's puppets when he'd pulled her flush against him to skewer the attacker behind her. He'd saved her when Grimes had tried to take her from the battle, knocking him down when he'd caught her. He'd saved her when Cora had clasped Emma's heart at the lake, running headlong into the witch to dislodge her hand. He'd actually saved her twice while in Storybrooke – during the fight with Cora there had been two separate occasions on which he'd protected her life. If anything he'd saved her life five times but she wasn't willing to remind him.

"And has also put me and my only son and my parents in danger!" Emma refuted instead, reverting back to the original root of her fury.

"Are you being genuine? I endanger you once and I'm no less than a scoundrel. That's a bit prejudicial, love!" Hook said, upset with her dismissal of his chivalry.

"You also endangered Belle for the sake of your revenge!" she reminded the pirate and he bit his lip angrily, trying to hold back the slew of words he wanted to throw at her.

"You're bringing this back to my revenge now?" he asked incredulously but still irritated. The tension aboard the ship was tangible.

"Yes! It's what started it all! I didn't bring you back so you could stir up shit in my town!" Emma yelled and watched as her words took effect. Hook's face peaked with emotion, although she wasn't quite sure if it was just anger. There seemed to be some undertones of awe and admiration although she couldn't fathom why he might feel like that. Hadn't a woman ever scolded him before? Or had they all been too busy moaning?

"You are insufferable!" he replied angrily and their closeness echoed in the saviour's mind. There was a moment of silence when all that could be heard was their breathing, deep and ragged from the adrenaline coursing through them. His crystalline eyes delved into hers, searching them for some response. His self-control completely disappeared as his eyes passed over hers and down to her lips.

Suddenly, Hook's mouth was crashing down on hers with all the rage and passion of a furious man. Without thinking, Emma returned the kiss with equal fervour as he pushed her up against the mast roughly, hand and hook pressed against her hips. Each battled for dominance over the kiss, pushing back in a searing exchange.

It was like relieving built up tension in the way they moulded to each other. This had been building up since the moment they began the back-and-forth banter.

What are you doing? An inner voice screamed and Emma's mind snapped back to reality like a rubber band. Balling up her fist, she pulled back and knocked the pirate in the jaw. Hook cursed as she jumped away from him.

"What the hell was that?" Emma asked, trying to ignore the way her bruised lips felt tingly. Hook turned to her, still angry but a hint of humour in his pale blue eyes. It was difficult to disregard the regret she felt, the longing that replaced his lips. His expression eventually lost all of its irritation and became a mask of amusement.

"You wouldn't shut up," he said innocently and Emma groaned.

"Don't touch me again!" she growled, pointing an accusing finger at him. He stared at it harmlessly and raised an eyebrow.

"As I recall, you didn't exactly try to fend me off, darling," Hook said, his smirk turning into a full-fledged grin as her cheeks tinged scarlet. She had kissed him back; there was no denying it. No suitable responses forming in her head, Emma stomped angrily from the boat, she could feel Hook's gaze on her back as she walked up the pier and back towards town.

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Two sets of eyes watched the exchange curiously from a vantage point in the distance. The blonde woman stormed away from the sordid pirate hastily, and the vultures watched their prey intently. As she vanished down the road in a yellow vehicle, the two individuals turned their attention to the man still on the ship. The enchanted telescopes which they had received could bypass the charm currently placed on the ship.

His previously amused expression faded, revealing deep thought and furrowed brows. He paced slowly; it looked like he was trying to comprehend what had just occurred. Before long, he moved back up to the helm and leaned on it for support. The duo spying on him decided that nothing more of interest was going to happen and started to head back towards town. As they located and settled into another vantage point, the two people resumed their reconnaissance on the woman. She was pacing in her apartment and it bore an awful resemblance to the pirate's earlier nervous actions. She too seemed to be considering their exchange.

One of the individuals turned to the other, eyes no longer on the blonde, and smiled.

"I think we found a weakness in both of them."

"Two birds with one stone, if you will," the other replied, also smirking. Their plan was already forming before they even spoke.

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