Chapter 4 - NOT
When she finally recovered, Emma turned the keys and started her car. She waited a few second, willing her racing heart to slow down. Hook had done quite a number on her physically. Her whole body felt uncomfortable and was still coming down from the anticipation high. Her lips felt swollen where he had ravished her mouth, and she missed the feeling of his weight on top of her body.
She took her foot off the break and drove away from the docks before her body led her back to him. Working with him felt right. They understood each other, and he certainly had a knack for playing good-cop-bad-cop. Granted, he had scared the living daylights out of that girl, but doing it gave them a little more information about her.
Thinking about the girl again gave Emma an inclination. Grumpy had told her that the girl was hanging around Mr. Gold's shop, and Emma was curious to see if she would return. Emma took the long way back to the loft, driving by the Pawn Shop. Lo and behold, the girl was huddled into a ball, leaning back against the wall.
Emma pulled the car up to the curbstone and parked. The girl looked up and rolled her eyes when she noticed who it was, but she made no more to escape. Emma took the opportunity and sat down next to her.
"Hey," she said and tucked her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket, trying to come off as approachable.
"Hey," the girl responded but offered no more.
Emma did not bring up the fact that they had followed her or how she had found her. "You seemed pretty freaked out before. Why did you think there was a monster coming?"
Emma watched the girl shrug and remain silent. Although she did not say anything, there were secrets hidden behind her eyes.
"Why do you need to see Mr. Gold?" Emma continued her questioning.
"He has something that I need," the girl answered, surprising Emma. "The sooner I can get it, the sooner I can get back." Emma heard the desperation in her voice. There was something or someone that she needed to get back to. It was what was driving her.
"Is Mr. Gold the only one who has this thing?"
"Yes," the girl said.
"That's the only reason that you came to Storybrooke?" Emma asked.
"Yes," the girl repeated, annoyed.
"What about your father?" Emma threw the question out to gauge the girl's reaction, and she was not disappointed. If this mission that the girl was on had something to do with Hook, then maybe she could exploit that as a weakness.
The girl looked shocked and even a little guilty, but she blanked her face quickly. She did not confirm or deny the question, choosing not to say anything at all. She was a smart girl. That was exactly what Emma would have done in the same situation.
"What about your mother?" Emma asked curiously. She had not heard Hook talking about another woman other than Milah, and after spending 300 years in Neverland, she wondered how many opportunities he had to be with any women.
The girl let out a humorless laugh and looked at Emma for the first time. "My mother," she said smirking. "She's… around."
Emma nodded. "It doesn't sound like a good relationship."
The girl shook her head. "It is. Or, it used to be. She's been mad at me for a while now. We used to be close, but not anymore." Her eyes searched Emma's face, looking for something. Whether she found it or not, Emma had no idea.
"You should talk to her. I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is," Emma said, trying to console her. It was strange, Emma thought. She was connecting with this girl that she barely knew. She did not want to lose that, so she stopped questioning and allowed the girl time to respond.
She did not have to wait long. The girl must have seen Emma as non-threatening enough to unload and the weight that she was carrying around.
"My mom blames me for my dad's…absence." The girl let her head drop back against the wall and looked up into the night sky. She breathed out a heavy sigh. "This might sound crazy, but my parents are in love. Like, not just any kind of love, but True Love."
Emma swallowed down the painful lump forming in her throat. She could not be talking about Hook. If he had another love, then surely he would be with her and not here in Storybrooke. However, it was more than possible that this girl's mother loved him more than he cared for her.
"How long has your father been gone?" Emma asked her, dreading the girl's reply.
"Four years."
Emma let out a sigh of relief. If Hook was indeed her father, then he would have recognized her immediately. Even though this girl was a teenager, her appearance could not have changed drastically in the four years that he was gone. Unless his memories had been altered, Hook was not her father.
"You're happy about that," the girl commented. "You thought that I was here for Hook? That he was my father?" she asked, insightfully.
"How did you-"
"You're an open book," she answered, smiling. "You obviously have a thing for him."
Emma was astounded. She thought that she had been hiding her attraction for Hook, but apparently, she was not. If this girl could see it in the hours that she knew her, then she had to be more careful.
"Is it that obvious?" Emma asked nervously.
The girl shook her head. "I'm just really observant. Actually, you both remind me of my parents. They had that unresolved-sexual-tension thing going on between them before they got together, too." Her smile grew bigger, as though she had an idea. "You should tell him. He's clearly head-over-heels for you. As soon as you came on the ship, it was like his whole demeanor changed. He was trying to impress you."
Emma thought about it and supposed that the girl was right. Hook was pulling out all the stops each and every time he saw her. He was inching his way into her life, and she found herself depending on him more and more. He was so in tune with her and always knew what to say, even if it was hidden behind flirtatious advances.
"Come on. Let's get you a room at Granny's. You can't stay out here all night," Emma said, deflecting. The girl raised her eyebrow, clearly noticing Emma's avoidance but letting it go. She agreed to let Emma bring her to Granny's and thanked her when she left the car.
The next day, Emma woke up early to check on the girl. She was not at Granny's, and when Emma drove by Mr. Gold's shop, she saw her sitting outside.
"Please tell me that you didn't come back here last night after I dropped you off," Emma said to her as she got out of the car.
"I woke up early, so I could be here when the shop opened," the girl mumbled. Here eyes had dark circles beneath them, and Emma was pretty sure that she was lying.
Emma sighed exasperatedly and reached back into her car, grabbing the take out she had ordered from Granny's for this exact situation. She handed the egg sandwich to the girl, who grabbed it from her and scarfed it down in a few bites.
"It doesn't look like Mr. Gold is coming into his shop today, so why don't you tag along with me? I got a call on the way here about a missing person. I was going to check it out and try to track this person down. I could use the help," Emma offered, hoping the girl's curiosity would influence her into coming.
Luckily, it did work, and the girl took the bait, following her into the car. They drove to the outskirts of town to Forest Tours, a business that offers guided tours of the neighboring woods. It was owned and operated by Mr. Clayton, who was the missing person. His crew called in the report when he did not show up to work the previous day. A worker reported that Mr. Clayton had gone on a self-guided practice tour, searching for a new way through the woods to offer the customers. Emma had heard rumors that Mr. Clayton liked to go on hunting excursions that happened to be illegal in the area.
After receiving the location of his entrance into the woods, they drove to that spot and began trekking into the woods, looking for a clue.
It took the girl three minutes of searching to bring the topic back to a certain man.
"So, why don't you get on that? I don't understand," the girl asked.
Emma feigned ignorance. "Who are you talking about?" she said and continued searching near a damaged bush, avoiding the girl's penetrating stare. It was very odd that she could read Emma easily. The only other person who had been able to do that was Hook.
"Oh, please. Don't insult me. We both know that he has a thing for you. I let you change the topic last night, but that was last night."
Emma turned around from her crouched position. "I barely know you. Why would I talk to you about my personal life?"
The girl looked taken aback and severely unnerved. There was something else behind her eyes other than a normal reaction. It took her a moment to recover, but when she did, it was with a straighter back and a wide stance.
"I get it. You're reserved. You've probably been hurt before, more than once, but he's different. He looks at you like you're the only thing in the world. If that isn't love, then I don't know what is," she ended.
For such a young age, she was extremely insightful. With a few words, the girl pinpointed Emma's entire romantic history. Emma could not argue with her on any of those points. They were all valid. What bothered Emma was that fact that they were all valid. There was something strange about this girl, and Emma was going to get to the bottom of it, one way or another.
"Why do you care?" Emma responded with her own question. "You don't know me, and you said it yourself that you're here for your father. What does my relationship with Hook have to do with your all-important mission?" Emma asked suspiciously.
"It doesn't," she said, and Emma immediately heard the lie in her voice. "You're right. I'm here for my parents," she continued, but this time, Emma heard the truth. These two statements were contradictory, but Emma had no idea why. Maybe the girl's mission had something to do with them, but she did not want them to find out.
"You lied before. Hook is your father," Emma said, the truth daunting her. "You look like him. That's the reason why you came here. To look for him. To find him again."
She shook her head. "He's not my father."
"Really?" Emma asked skeptically, "Because everything I've seen has told me that he is."
"Trust me. He's not my father. My father wouldn't have put a sword to my neck," she said, and Emma heard clearly the hurt in her voice.
Emma looked at her face. She could not get a read on her anymore. She had not lied when she said her father would not hurt her, but there was something more behind her words. Something felt weird when she said that he was not her father. It was almost as if she wished that Hook had been her father.
The girl turned her head and looked down at her feet. She was just a teenager, but she carried the whole world on her shoulders, and Emma suddenly found herself caring for this girl. She saw a part of herself in the girl, the feeling that everyone was depending on you, on being the savior.
"He didn't mean to hurt you," Emma explained. "He just wanted to scare you a little."
"Yeah, well, it worked," the girl confessed and walked ahead.
They continued on their search but spoke no more about Hook. They actually had more in common that Emma could ever have guessed. The girl had spent time in both the Enchanted Forest as well as Storybrooke, but it was strange because Emma still could not figure out who she was. She was too old to be born when the curse was broken the first time but too young to be cast under it. While they were talking, she let it slip that she had come from the Enchanted Forest, but she would not speak of the portal she used to come to Storybrooke.
When the sun rose high in the sky, Emma led them back to the car to take a lunch break. Emma offered to make her something, and they went to the loft. The girl looked around curiously, eyes catching different things that she found interesting. Emma had just finished making them sandwiches when she heard the key turn in the lock. Henry walked through the threshold.
"Hey, mom! What are you doing home?" Henry asked her and made a beeline for the living room.
"I could say the same thing. Shouldn't you be in school?" Emma asked.
"I forgot my project here. I'll be gone in a sec," he said and stopped when he saw the girl standing, open-mouthed in front of him. "Uh, hi?" he said cautiously. "I'm Henry," he introduced himself and extended his hand.
"Henry," the girl repeated like a prayer and grabbed him in a hug.
Emma stared at them. Henry awkwardly patted her back, asking if they had met before. She pulled away, shaking her head, and looked down apologetically, lapsing into silence. Henry gave her a weird look before saying goodbye and leaving again.
"What the hell was that about?" Emma asked, confused as to why the girl showed so much familiarity around Henry.
The girl shook her head and turned around. "Let's get back to the woods," she said grabbing the sandwich and biting into it, avoiding the question and shutting down again.