"I don't suppose we can put this off 'till morning," Emma grumbled as they all walked toward Charming's shop.
"Do we really need more time to plan?" Killian asked.
"I need more time to drink," Emma said. "Aaugh. I so don't want to do this."
Killian reached out, grasping her arm. "Then don't. Let me deal with him. I can manage."
Emma shook her head. "No, I have to. He'll just find Robin and kill him if I don't. And then once he figures out you're with me, he'll go after you, too."
"Well, the sooner the better, then," Robin said. "Then it's back to the Enchanted Forest to find our children and Regina."
Emma's face paled. "Here's hoping," she mumbled. Robin looked over at Killian in confusion.
"There's a chance Henry may not be there," Killian explained. "He was at the docks for some reason, and the docks are where George's magical line was drawn."
Robin's face showed his alarm. "Where would he be if he's not here and he's not there?"
"We don't know," Emma answered.
"I'm afraid it's my fault that Henry was at the docks," Robin said, with a grimace. "I sent him there. He came looking for Roland - he said he had a gift for him. Roland was at the docks fishing with the Merry Men, so I sent Henry down that way."
"So Roland was with Henry?" Emma's eyes widened.
"No. I didn't realized they'd finished already. Roland had made his way back to me when everything got turned around."
"Which means he wasn't there for Henry to find, love," Killian pointed out. "Henry may well have been on his way home, too."
Emma nodded. "We'll find him."
"We'll find them all," Robin said. "But first, we need your father back, and we need Rumplestiltskin to get his powers back as well."
"I'm wondering if it might not be better just to win your father over and leave Rumplestiltskin as he is," Killian mused. She gave him a look.
"I want my father back," she said flatly.
He held up his hands. "I was only joking, love."
She raised a brow as if to say "No you weren't" but decided to keep her comment to herself. "All right. I'm heading inside. You two get down to the library with Rumple and get ready to go. I'll bring my father back with me, if I'm successful."
"And if you're not?" Robin asked what Killian was afraid to ask.
"We just have to hope I can get away," Emma said. "Last time he imprisoned me for nearly a month before I managed to get free."
Killian's face darkened. "He imprisoned you?"
"Daddy Dearest," she smirked without any real mirth. "He was determined to keep an eye on his little girl."
Killian raised a brow. "The Dark One empowered with the paranoia that only fathers of daughters can feel. I'm not sure I like this scenarios, Swan."
"I've handled him before." She gave Killian a nudge. "Now go - before he sees you."
He stepped closer, planting a light kiss on her lips.
"Be careful," he said. "I mean it."
She smiled. "I know you do. And I will."
He picked up her hand, holding it between them and gripping it tightly. "Trust this. This is real. Bring him back to who he is."
Emma nodded shakily, then watched them walk away as she reached for the door. She stepped inside quickly, and heard his voice before her eyes even had time to adjust to the dim interior.
"Emma." He inclined his head with a smile. "Good of you to stop by."
She stood stock-still, everything inside her swirling and warring as she tried to reconcile two very different sets of memories. This was the bastard who - no, this was David. Her father. He loved her.
She latched onto that. He loved her. There, and here. No matter how noble in one world or twisted in the other, this was a constant. It was like no magic could erase that. It could only try to distort it. He loved her. Her eyes pricked with tears, and she let herself feel it, feel that love and her love for him.
"You asked to talk. And I want to. I want to talk."
"You know you're not going to get far if you try to leave, don't you?"
He came around the counter and leaned a hip against the glass cases, smiling a sunny smile. A trickle of unease went down her spine, but she refused to give into it. This was David. Her David. And he loved her.
"If I was going to run, I wouldn't have come here in the first place," she pointed out. "And maybe I'm tired of running."
He shook his head good-naturedly. "You were tired of running before. Are you back to try for the dagger again?"
She walked over toward him, trailing her hand over the cases. "As if you'd let me," she said.
"What brought you and your...companion to Storybrooke?" The smile didn't reach Charming's eyes this time.
"Coincidence," she shrugged. "I had no idea you were here when I came up that beanstalk."
"Beanstalk? You came up the beanstalk, too?"
Emma's eyes widened. "Too?"
"I met a man two days ago with the same story," Charming said, folding his arms across his chest. "Am I correct in assuming you're acquainted with him, as well?"
"We...uh...only met once," Emma improvised. "But I'm glad to hear that he made it. He was following me and the other guy."
"Your companion?"
"Yeah. Him. Except, he's not what you think - "
"Emma, Emma, Emma..." Charming said, putting a fatherly arm around her shoulders. "I'm not going to be thrown off that easily. You were seen having breakfast with a man, and then the same man was seen exiting a room that adjoined yours just a short while later."
"That doesn't mean - "
He turned her around to face him. "I'm going to kill him, Emma. But I can do it quickly, if it's easier for you. I can't have you wasting yourself on the likes of him."
"But...he's a prince," she said incredulously.
Charming chuckled. "Is that what he told you? Oh, Emma. I thought you were smarter than that. His every action and nuance shows him to be a common thief." He put a finger to his chin, thinking. "You know, I think I'll boil him slowly, in oil." He reached down, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. "Just for lying to my daughter."
Emma's mind was spinning and her breath accelerating with the need to pull free and run. He was targeting Robin and already had a suspicion about Killian. They had to get out of here, and fast. She looked down at their joined hands, and suddenly, Killian's voice came to her - so clearly she could almost hear him in her head.
Trust this. Bring him back to who he is.
Emma looked up into her father's blue eyes, and before she could stop herself, she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him fiercely.
"Dad," she whispered. "I need you."
She could feel his surprise, but his arms came around her a heartbeat later, and he hugged her back just as tightly, rocking a little as he held her.
"What's happened?" he asked, and Emma had no problem getting tears to form in her eyes, he sounded so familiar. She forced herself to pull back, her mind searching frantically for a believable story.
"The man - my...uh...companion...he betrayed me and he...doesn't know that I know. I hired the other man to kill him because..." Emma wished she had Henry with her - he was good at this stuff. Think, Emma...what would Henry say? "He's under an enchantment. He can only be killed by the sword of a prince. I hired the other guy because he said he knew where to get one."
"Ah..." Charming said, nodding. "That explains why he was nosing around in here. I have just the thing he's looking for." He walked back behind the cases, producing a key from a chain around his neck and crouching down to unlock a lower cupboard along the wall. He reached inside, pulling out a sword case.
"Will this do?" He put it down on the counter, releasing the latch and pulling the top back.
Emma's eyes went wide. "I - I think it would be perfect," she said.
"Then why don't you just stay here, and have a cup of tea while I chop off a few limbs for you?" Charming gave her a warm and endearing smile, and then he reached for the handle of the sword.
###
"What do you mean, it didn't work?" Killian shut the library door behind Emma in disbelief.
"No time to talk. We need to get Robin out of here." Emma tossed him the sword. "My father will be right behind me and soon. I told him I wanted to kill Robin myself, so he sent me with his blessing."
"Lovely," Killian said. "I gather he thinks Robin is your latest flame?"
"And you're the mercenary I hired to help me kill him," Emma supplied. "But I'm not sure he bought that, so it's best if we all just get out of here. Now."
"Was that not his sword, then?" Robin asked as Emma started cranking the elevator doors.
"It was his sword, all right."
"You're sure?" Killiam asked.
She paused to look at him in exasperation. "I slayed a dragon with the damn thing. I'd know my father's sword anywhere. It wasn't his talisman."
"Now that is curious," Rumple said. "Perhaps the power of the dagger is such that it overrides any talisman he could use."
Emma stepped forward. "What?"
'The power of the dagger transcends a lot of magical interference, Miss Swan. It is a magical absolute, without equal."
"So you're saying he may never be back? Never be anything but...this?" She realized she was raising her voice, and made an effort to reign herself in.
"That I cannot say," Rumple went on. "Perhaps it's something more of his earlier life and times. A shepherd's crook, perhaps. Or something from his mother."
"She had a pendant," Emma said. "My mother told me about it. A gypsy pendant. I didn't see anything like that in the jewelry case, but I did manage to swipe this."
She held out her hand, and on her finger was the ring her father had given her mother. "This was his mother's, too - you'd think it would have jogged a memory."
"Talismen don't work that way," Killian said. "But it's a good bet that your mother will know it."
"And I have Regina's talisman," Robin said, reaching into his bag. "I hope so, anyway." He pulled out a red apple. "It's from the tree in her yard. Rumplestiltskin said it had meaning to her."
Emma nodded. "That's brilliant. Now all we have to do is find them. If anyone would know how to reach my father, it's my mother."
Killian pulled the elevator doors open, and Robin stepped inside, followed by Rumpletstiltskin - causing Killian to raise an alarmed brow.
Robin looked at him warily. "You're coming along?"
"Once we reach the Enchanted Forest, I'll be traveling on to my castle," Rumple said. "I may not have my powers yet, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve, if I can get to where I've hidden them. I'll rendezvous with all of you after I do."
"How will we know where to find you?" Emma asked.
"I'll find you." Rumple looked toward the library door. "Now, may I suggest we get moving? No one else knows where the elevator goes, and I'd like to keep it that way."
"We'll get to the beanstalk, and then to the Jolly Roger," Killian said, with a nod to Robin. "I'll send word when we've reached the Enchanted Kingdom."
Emma pulled the doors shut as Killian lowered the elevator car down.
"Now what?" he asked.
"Now we get out of town without my father seeing us," Emma said, glancing nervously at the door. "You should head straight for the beanstalk. I'm going to have some stalling to do first."
"No."
"Killian - "
"No, Swan. I'm not leaving you. What's to keep him from imprisoning you again?"
"He's already suspicious of you," she countered. "He may just decide that you're my next conquest."
Killian stepped in, resting his hand on her waist. "I like the sound of that."
She rolled her eyes. "We don't have time for that now."
He gave her a devilish grin. "There's always time for that, love." He stepped back reluctantly. "But I do see your point. How do we get to the beanstalk when he's most assuredly watching the town line?"
"I've got an idea," Emma said, narrowing her eyes as she looked at him. "Come with me."
###
"Clutch! You need to push the clutch!" Emma screamed from the floor, looking up at Killian.
"I'm clutching! I'm clutching!" Killian shouted back, shoving the brightly-colored scarf out of his eyes. "Damn this thing!" He swerved sharply.
"Hey! Watch the road!"
"I can't watch anything with these bloody glasses," he snapped, yanking off the wire-framed sunglasses Emma had shoved on his nose and the tie-dyed scarf she'd tied around his head.
"What are you doing?" she screeched. "You're supposed to look like Rufus!"
"I look nothing like him!"
"You just need to pass from a distance! We need to - clutch! Hit the clutch!" she shouted, grinding the gears on the gearshift.
"I'm clutching, dammit!"
"How much further?"
"We're nearly there," he answered, flooring the gas pedal as the car flew across the town line. He began to slow as they approached the top of the beanstalk.
"Pull in toward the trees," Emma said, peeking up through the window. "We need to hide the car."
"Hide a bright yellow car in the woods?"
"Just do it."
Killian pulled the car off the road, slowing to a stop. Emma jumped out, and together, they pushed it deeper into the cover of the trees, breaking off a few boughs to cover it over. Emma gave one last, nervous glance over her shoulder before they started down the beanstalk.
She needn't have worried. Her father was at that moment standing in the town library.
And he was looking at the elevator door.