CHAPTER TWENTY
Hook found he rather enjoyed this world, maybe not it's ridiculously unsafe methods of transport, but mostly what being in it once more clearly did to Emma as she strode confidently down the sidewalk of New York, giving him and others plenty to admire in her long black boots and that figure hugging coat of hers. Regina, the Boy and Rumple followed behind them, completely lost and trying to project the air of confidence the two former Evil rulers were used to exuding and coming up short. Both powerless here and reliant on the Saviour to protect and guide them.
That little fact hadn't escaped him and he turned back, giving Rumple a soft smile that promised much, his hooked appendage firmly in place once more and itching to carve the heart from his Crocodile's newly mortal chest.
Emma's arm slid into his and she drew her attention back to him. "Stop imagining it." She chastised him lightly, too quiet for the others to hear above Henry's excited babbling about the things he wanted to visit in New York.
"Imagining what Love?" he quirked an eyebrow at her innocently, knowing full well that she was as attuned to the inner workings of his twisted little mind as he was to hers.
"We have a deal with Gold. We don't break it and we all get to keep our hearts in our chests."
"He's powerless Love. Mortal. Seems like a hell of shame to waste such an opportunity." Her grip around his arm tightened and he saw her purse her lips in distaste for his vengeance and apparently his logic.
"I will not murder Henry's new found grandfather Killian." She hissed beneath her breath. "Besides, this deal was about keeping us all safe. Remember." She pointed out and he caught sight of the pendent resting against her heart. Emma was right of course, without Rumple's magic there was the very real possibility that he might still lose her to her own magic. Emma dropped his arm stalking ahead, apparently disgusted with his short sightedness and apparent lack of honor. From her, it rankled. He shot Rumple one last look, before shaking his head thoroughly trying to rid himself of the thoughts that fogged his mind, this had been his deal… his arrangement, he had to stick to it, it was the only way to keep Emma safe, to give her the things she claimed she wanted.
Emma stopped abruptly outside an apartment, staring back at him. "Is this the place?"
Hook eyed it, glancing at the surrounding landmarks and comparing it to the Pixie's description. "Aye Love, this is it."
No sooner were the words out of his mouth was a figure leaping from the metal ladders surrounding the building, his face concealed with a hood as he landed heavily and took off on foot.
"I think he remembers you Love." Hook quipped, seeing Emma's stunned look, before she took off after him, Hook hot on her heels.
"Emma!" Rumple roared behind them, "You bring him back to me… bring him back!"
Hook snorted in derision at the desperation in the pathetic Crocodile's voice as his only flesh and blood fled from the very thought of him. It was poetic.
The little bastard Lost Boy was fast, but he was clearly out of shape, and Emma, the lass was in her prime, she was gaining ground. But Hook was no slouch either, and unfamiliar though he might have been with terrain, he'd had always had a knack for geography, for maps, he saw the city as the crow flies, his sharp eyes taking in the curve of the streets, the movement of the people. He veered down a side alley trusting his well honed instincts as he emerged just ahead of Emma. But they were beginning to draw attention as they flew after the hooded figure ahead of them; they had to end this, now. Hook indicated to Emma with the short hand they had developed out of necessity, that they needed to flank him.
Emma nodded and he felt a swell of pride as they split up, before converging down a blind alley just in time for him to see her flying tackle, which was truly a thing of beauty, as she send the bastard thudding to the floor face first as she rolled to her feet. But Hook was right there with her delivering a blow to Neal's midsection that kept him down as Hook dropped to his knees, placing one firmly at Neal's throat and applying his weight to the struggling fool.
Neal's eyes went wide as he registered the face of his assailant.
"Hook?" he all but hissed, renewing his struggle as Hook sneered back at him.
"It's Captain Hook actually." He raised his glinting blade in threat. "Baelfire I presume."
"You bastard, you killed my mother!" the idiot bucked, which only succeeded in cutting off his air supply beneath Hook's knee further.
"Your dear sweet Papa tell you that?" Hook mocked, "Because he was just a picture of honesty wasn't he?" he taunted, trying to ignore the pain the memories stirred. "I loved your mother." Hook leant in close the curved blade in front of Baelfire's face. "Your Papa killed her, ripped her heart from her chest in a fit of jealous rage and crushed it into dust, giving me this fetching stump as a reminder. Your hate is misplaced boy."
Baelfire blinked and Hook felt a swell of satisfaction, Rumple would not sway him so easily now with that little secret laid bare finally. But Baelfire's attention was already diverted as Hook felt Emma sidle up beside him, her hand going to his shoulder, it looked like a gesture of support, but Hook could sense her warning in it.
"Emma?" and suddenly he was Neal again and Hook eased up on the throttling, hating the way this sap was looking at her, the honest to god surprise matched with the forlorn look of a man seeing an apparition before him . "Hey." He managed weakly.
"Hey?" Emma snarled, all but shoving Hook out of the way as she went to grab Neal and Hook found himself blocking her halfheartedly from doing something he was unfortunately certain she would regret. "That's all you have to say to me… hey!" she all but shrieked, making to lunge at him again, but Hook grasped her arms tightly, releasing his grip on Neal, trusting his shock to keep him in place.
"Easy Love." Hook warned, they might have been in a blind back alley but that didn't mean they were alone, anyone might come across them.
"You son of a bitch!" Emma swore at Neal, the full force of her years of fury and heartbreak landing solidly on him, the bastard at least had the good sense to flinch at it. "You set me up." She pointed violently at him, "I went to prison because of you!" the pain in those words threatened to force Hook into action, his Love was in pain and he so longed to put an end to it.
"Emma, please," Neal was sitting up on his elbows, looking like he wanted to back away from the clearly seething woman that Hook was only half restraining from tearing him to shreds. "You don't understand; I had no choice…" he all but spluttered, having the nerve to look angry at her.
"Oh I understand it perfectly." Emma raged and Neal swallowed, looking to Hook for a brief moment of support and finding nothing but blankness from him.
But Neal wasn't apparently taking it entirely lying down as he struggled to his feet, his hands out, trying to placate her, as if that stood a hope in hell of calming her. "Your Guardian, Pinocchio confronted me, told me point blank he knew who and what I was, and who you were, that I had to leave you, give you up to give you your best chance. That I couldn't be selfish with you, that you had a destiny that I was standing in the way of." He looked up at her through big soulful eyes and Hook snorted in derision, what sort of a fool gave up the woman he loved because it was 'difficult' on the word of a man he'd just met. 'Pathetic'.
"That's it… that's your excuse?" Emma snarled, sounding as impressed with that pathetic excuse as Hook felt.
"And when you sent me to prison… pregnant, did you think you were giving our son his best chance?" The words were like a bomb and Hook tried not to revel in the devastation on the other man's face, on the satisfaction Emma was drawing in this cathartic release far too long in the waiting.
"I have a son?" Neal asked weakly, his legs looking shaky as he made a hesitant step towards Emma, who shrugged Hook loose, grasping the front of Neal's shirt with intent and drawing their faces inches from one another.
"No. I have a son!" Emma all but screamed at him, "Or I should say had." Neal blinked dismay breaking through the shock to spread across his features, "I was forced to give him up; prison is no place to raise a child." Emma's voice had grown low and cold with her fury now after her sudden outburst, her knuckles grew white with the grip she had on his shirt front. "Funny how things work out though isn't it… he ended up in Storybrooke anyway, adopted by the Evil Queen, who by the way is back at your apartment right now, with his Grandfather, the Dark One. That's a hell of a family you inflicted on him."
"Emma please…" Neal pleaded, but clearly Emma's patience had snapped, because her fist snapped out, backhanding Neal, he stumbled bringing his finger up to his lip, surprised to see blood. Emma's second punch was a solid right hook that sent him to the ground, out cold.
Emma stood over his sprawled form breathing heavily and looking pale. "I'm going to be sick." She muttered, before staggering to the side of the alley and throwing up violently against the side of the dumpster. Hook turned away, giving her privacy under the pretence of checking Neal's pulse, he half hoped she'd killed the bastard, just so he could see the look on Rumple's face and spare Emma any further hurt this buffoon's words caused.
But as Emma returned he forgot such thoughts, wrapping his arms around her and offering her the meagre comfort he imagined his arms to be, she sunk it his embrace, the shake from her rage slowly abating as he pressed a kiss to her hair, trying not to see the flecks of starlight that remained, tauntingly.
"That bad burrito still giving you some bother Love?" she let out a half choked sob, half laugh as she pulled back to look at his face, finding it nothing but serious.
"Not now." She whispered, stroking his cheek and wincing as it flexed her clearly sore knuckles, he reached out for them, seeing the signs of the bruise starting as he kissed them tenderly. Emma turned back to Neal's unconscious form, giving him a withering look, her anger clearly still present, if albeit leashed whilst he was out and not able to speak.
"So this was the love of your life I was competing for your heart against?" Hook quirked a disbelieving eyebrow his lips twisting into a derisive sneer at her exasperated look. "I'm prettier." He shrugged seeing her roll her eyes, but not disagreeing.
"Shut up Pirate. Help me with him." Emma sighed, sounding weary now as she extracted her shiny silver manacles and rolled Neal over, slapping them around his wrists and locking them together tightly. He really needed to get her to bring those home more often Hook noted.
Together they frog marched his slowly coming back to consciousness form back to his apartment where the others were waiting. Henry and Gold both started speaking at once and Emma held her hand up, cutting them both off with a look.
"Not now." She muttered, holding out the keys she'd retrieved from Neal's pocket and handing them to Henry. "Go let us into his apartment." She instructed. Gold clearly didn't think this instruction applied to him because he was right in her face.
"What the hell did you do to him Miss Swan." He snarled, his lips curled up into a truly unpleasant sneer, his cane raised. But Hook had no need to interfere. Emma leant forward, her eyes almost incandescent as she got right in the Dark One's face.
"I bought him back." She hissed. "So I suggest you thank me and get inside before someone questions our intentions with the partially conscious handcuffed man we've just dragged through downtown New York." Gold paused, seeming to give their surroundings a once over and swallowing whatever threat he was clearly desperate to issue as he followed Regina and Henry inside.
Hook and Emma simultaneously seemed to make the decision to toss him through the open apartment door, letting him sprawl, groaning on his own floor as Regina hastily closed it, looking down at the man at her feet like she was uncertain what all the fuss was about.
Emma caught the look and smiled thinly. "I was young." She snapped in clear embarrassment, stalking around his muttering form to his kitchen like she owned the place and retrieving a bag of frozen veg she'd found in his freezer and wrapping it around her hand.
"Bae." Rumple was down on one knee, trying to rouse his son.
"Papa?" Neal looked up a little groggily, the fog clearing almost instantly as he tried to scoot away from the Dark One, before realising his hands were bound and his legs were still too shaky to be trying it. "What the hell?" he managed, clearly still unclear as to how he ended up here. His eyes fell on Henry who was stood, Regina's hand tightly around his shoulder and staring at him with big wide eyes.
"So you're my dad." The kid managed, looking supremely disappointed and gripping onto Regina's hand like a lifeline.
Hook actually felt a small amount of pity for the poor sap as he knelt there looking like he'd been clubbed around the head by a bat, rather than Emma's fist. "I..." he opened his mouth but words seemed to fail him.
Emma stalked forward. "Neal, Baelfire, whatever the hell your name is, this is Henry and this charming woman is Regina Mills, The Evil Queen, she's raised him in our absence for the past ten years and was mostly against this meeting." Emma smiled thinly at Rumple. "Introductions made, your son delivered. That's two of my debts paid Gold, we're done." Her expression was heavy with warning as she stared down the shorter man who inclined his head, looking as shocked as his son that this was actually happening.
"Agreed Miss Swan." Rumple managed, his voice thick, Hook felt his arm twitch... now would be the moment, his moment, all he had to do was take it. But Emma was beside him, her hand ghosting up his spine to the base of his skull, her fingers sliding into his short hair with gentle insistence to draw his attention back to her.
"How about we leave father and son to this charming little reunion." She held his gaze for a second, her eyes held a promise, that she would make it up to him, if he just abandoned his revenge, let the sleeping crocodile lie. Hook nodded once, imperceptibly, his eyes fell to Baelfire... to the idiot that had failed to put Emma first, the one who'd let her go, he wouldn't make that same pitiful mistake. It was his Crocodile or Emma. It was the easiest decision he'd ever made.
Emma turned to Henry, "How about I take you to this great little pizza place I know Kiddo." She wasn't asking and even the Boy had the sense to nod, his eyes still lingering on his newly discovered father, who was trying to avoid his gaze.
"I want to talk to him." Henry protested mildly as Regina led him to the door, clearly deciding that maybe Emma wasn't the mother to approach in this instance.
"Later." Regina insisted, guiding him out and not giving the disaster behind her a second glance. "One father son reunion at a time Henry."