Killian looks down at the closed book in his lap, filled with indecision. He knows he should just let it be, it already caused Emma to flee the premises. No good can come of looking at it any further. The image of him holding the small infant is burned into his memory anyway, he doesn't think he'll be able to forget it any time soon. For the life of him, he cannot think back to a time when he was as happy as the man in that image. If he ever was, the memory is lost to him.
His hand hovers over the small book, itching to open it again, to see more of these memories that never were and never can be. His struggle is interrupted by the sudden onslaught of music coming from upstairs. He jolts, then quickly puts the book aside and goes to investigate. The noise is coming from his coat. He finds one of the talking phones in one of his breast pockets. He definitely did not put it there. He likes the melody it produces, though he cannot identify it.
He looks at the device to see if it will let him know who is attempting to talk to him. The name written on it is 'David', accompanied by a smiling image of Emma's father. He puts his index finger on the little green thing, like Emma had shown him.
"Hello?"
"Hey Killian. How you doin' ?"
Just like in the restaurant, he is surprised once more by the familiarity in David's tone, as if they are best mates in this strange new world.
"Fine."
"Listen, I was thinking we could meet around six?"
"Sorry?"
"You know, to watch the games? I've been staying away from all the sports channels, avoiding spoilers. The things I do for you, man."
And there it is again. A deep affection shining through his words. Killian wonders what they are to each other in this world. Have they been friends for a long time?
"Ah, yeah, about that. I'm afraid I cannot make it tonight."
He feels weird standing alone in an empty house, talking to the air. He would much prefer to actually see the person he's talking to.
"C'mon, don't leave me hanging, bro. The anticipation is killing me here."
Bro? What in the world does that even mean? The way David emphasizes the word makes him suspect that it's part of some inside joke he's no longer privy to.
"I'm sorry. When I agreed to meet yesterday I neglected to take into consideration that today is my wedding anniversary."
There is a pause and Killian wonders if maybe the strange device has stopped working.
"How much trouble are you in?"
"Sorry?"
Killian is having trouble following this conversation with a man who appears to know him very well, whereas he knows short to nothing about him.
"Did Emma take your head off?"
"I - what? - no."
"You're saying she was fine with you forgetting the date of your wedding? I highly doubt that."
Ah.
"I didn't forget. I temporarily misplaced the memory."
David laughs and Killian is again taken aback by the open and friendly, almost brotherly way, he talks to him.
"Whatever you say, man. How about we reschedule to Friday?"
Killian doesn't have the faintest idea what day of the week it is, but there must be a way to find out such a trivial piece of information before Friday.
"Sure."
There is another long pause.
"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"
David's tone is carefully neutral and Killian realizes that he must have noticed something off about his behaviour.
"Yeah, sure."
"Okay, see you Friday then."
"Bye."
He stares at the device for a long moment. He reminds himself that this is not the same David. This man knows him very well. He'll have to be very careful around him in order not to slip up. It might be best not to meet him at all, but that would probably raise suspicion on David's part.
He resolves to find a way to break this curse as soon as possible. It's way too easy, slipping into this act, enjoying his relationship with Henry, his easy friendship with David, getting to be close to Emma. He knows it can't last and he's only setting himself up for heartache. Better to make a quick end of it.
Emma sits down behind the steering wheel and takes a deep breath. That was unsettling, to say the least. Seeing Hook so uncharacteristically normal. It's easy to see him as a swashbuckling pirate, a fairy tale character. But the man she'd just left behind at the house (she is most definitely not starting to think of it as their house) is nothing like that. He is too real. An actual human being. With feelings. Of course, he'd always been that, but she'd never before been confronted with the fact so directly. And the reaction he'd shown to that picture- no, better not dwell on that. She needs to focus on breaking this curse, everything else is a distraction.
She realizes that she left her red jacket in the car when they arrived the day before. She was probably too distracted by everything else that was happening. She picks it up and searches the pockets. She finds the badge she was looking for, but is surprised to see that it's a deputy's badge. Interesting. This just leaves her with the not so small question of where the hell her gun is. She opens the glove box, not really expecting to find anything, as she is sure that she would never leave a firearm lying around like that.
She is surprised to find a small black box with a number lock which definitely wasn't there before. It's about the right size to contain her standard-issue weapon. Well, this is at least a secure way of storing it. So secure, in fact, that she has no idea how to get to it. She tries some of the obvious combinations, her birthday, Henry's birthday, the pin of her bank card. No luck. She sighs and puts the box back.
She arrives at the station without incident. When she enters, she is relieved to see David there. He turns around to face her and is just hanging up the phone. He gives her a strange look, she assumes because she's late. She's about to apologize, but he's quicker.
"How you doin'?"
It sounds like a casual question, but if she's anything, Emma is an expert at reading people and David is definitely doing more than just greeting his deputy. Shit. Is he already suspecting something?
"Great. Sorry I'm late. Henry made us breakfast for our wedding anniversary and I forgot the time." Also, I had to figure out what I do for a living.
David nods, but continues to regard her suspiciously. Damn this town full of suspicious people.
"Big plans?"
"Nah, just going out for dinner." With Captain Hook. How did this even happen? She left New York to help break another curse, but she never envisioned that that could entail going on a date with Captain Hook. Her treacherous mind takes her back to that memorable moment in Neverland, when her control had slipped away from her for an instant- she shuts that train of thought down with force. They are simply keeping up appearances until they get to the bottom of this. That's all there is to it.
She sighs. She's not looking forward to a day with David, pretending to be somebody else. She wishes she could talk to the real David, get his opinion and advice, but alas that is not going to happen in the near future. When it comes to breaking this curse, she's on her own. Well, she and Hook are on their own.