A/N: Thanks to my beta Rapunzel215!
Chapter 4
It was the sounds of people moving around that pulled her out of the inky blackness into which she didn't remember falling. With her eyes still closed, she brought her hand to her forehead and gently rubbed it while whimpering childishly. Her entire body ached and her pounding head made her feel like she had partied too hard the night before. Actually, now that her mind was beginning to clear, she could distinctly remember waking up like this quite a few times in her younger years.
"Good morning, darling." Emma froze and her eyes snapped open to the most disappointing sight she'd seen since first waking up in this land. There, leaning comfortably against the rock wall, sat Captain Hook in all his black toned and blinged-out glory; a wicked smirk on his lips. Unable or unwilling to come to terms with what she was seeing she simply lay there, staring at him. He couldn't be there, it was impossible; no way had he caught up to them already. Hook, now trying desperately not to laugh at her wide doe eyes, seemed to understand her state of mind, reaching over to poke her in the shoulder in order to prove that no, he wasn't a delusion and that, yes, this was really happening.
Instantly, Emma's latent survival instinct kicked in and she quickly scrambled to her feet and away from him. She stood there breathing heavily with her mouth agape, her face properly horrified. How had he caught up to her? How long had she been under that he could do so? And why was she still breathing now that he had?
He was smiling at her reaction now, and his eyes positively sparkled with amusement at her confusion and fear. There was also a hint of mischievousness about him that made something heavy settle in her stomach. He looked like a child that had just found a new toy and considering how she'd left him, she knew that look meant nothing good for her. "I know I'm handsome, but must you stare so? It's embarrassing."
"Hook," said a low voice to her left and she closed her mouth as Mary Margaret walked into her peripheral vision. The dark look in her eyes and the disgruntled frown on her face told Emma that she was anything but happy with the pirate's presence. "I said I'd tolerate you for Emma's sake. But that doesn't mean you have permission to torment her."
"Considering this conversation had nothing to do with you, I rather think what I do and say to Swan is none of your concern." Hook said as he eyed her with a smile that suddenly seemed less… playful and more dangerous. The shift in his demeanor confused her, because, now that it changed, she realized he'd been teasingher since she'd woken. But why? She'd left him tied up at the top of a beanstalk, why tease her instead of killing her?
Mary Margaret placed her hands on her hips, looking like she was gearing up for a fight. Hook seemed to be bracing for one as well, and he sat up straighter; a deep frown embedding itself on his forehead. Emma, completely at a loss, looked back and forth between the two of them. Clearly something had happened, and if she was reading the not-so-subtle signals that there was no love lost between them. "Ohh-kaaay … both of you, time-out. We get it, you don't like one another, but this? This isn't going to help. So will someone please explain to me what the hell is going on and what the hellhe's doing here?"
Hook's eyes darkened as they flickered from her to Mary Margaret and with a slow, almost bored gesture, he raised his arm with the bracer on it. The move was clearly a threat and she stiffened in response, her breath catching in her throat. The three of them stood there, staring at one another for a moment more, before Mary Margaret turned away with an almost defeated sigh. "He should explain it to you, it's his grand plan."
"Gladly, love," Hook responded, throwing one last look at her friend's retreating back, before launching into a detailed explanation of what had happened to her, how he'd found her, and what it meant from here on in. When he was done, Emma simply stood there staring at him and he seemed to be taking great pleasure in her dismay.
In fact, she stood there for so long he began to wonder if he'd actually broken her, and the idea sent a thrill of excitement through him. He'd been able to leave the great Emma Swan speechless; now that was something to be proud of. Finally, due in no small part to the victorious smile on his face, she came back to herself, and with only one last comment thrown his way, stormed out of the cave.
"You're a bastard."
It was said simply, like she was commenting on the weather or a fact of life, and she nodded like she agreed with herself. He watched her go, stunned by the unexpected reaction. He'd expected yelling or crying. He'd expected her to possibly be shell shocked or despondent. Hell, he'd even expected her to try and hit him. What he hadn't been expecting was for her to essentially throw up her hands in frustration and walk away from him like he was an annoying child. He was so shocked in fact, that it took a good minute before he dissolved into a fit of delighted laughter.
It was a sound that followed her as she stormed away from the cave.
"Stupid, sarcastic, moronic, rum drinking, personal space invading, guy-liner wearing pirate!" She ranted as she stalked through the trees, kicking anything that was stupid enough to get in her path. She wanted to kill him, was goingto kill him, but couldn't because that would apparently be committing suicide.
Emma, even in her rage, still had enough presence of mind to stop at a nearby brook once she was out of the cave's line of sight. Sighing, she moved to a boulder and slumped down on it, her arms folded and a petulant frown firmly in place. Given everything she'd been through in the last week or so she felt she was due for a good sulking session. A moment to just sit and process everything that had happened to her.
First of all, she'd watched the son she'd grown to love very much, sacrifice himself and 'die' for her. Then she'd found out that every one of the fairytale characters she'd read about as a child really did exist, and that she didn't just know them but was relatedto them. Then she'd finally found the parents she'd always searched for. They were amazing people who loved her and had sacrificed so much for her. Now she was trapped in an alternate reality with ogres, giants, witches and an annoying pirate who didn't know the meaning of subtlety.
Basically, it was both the best and worst week of her life.
While hunched over, she rested her chin on her upturned palm and looked at the leather wrapped around her left wrist. It seemed so innocuous, so normal, that it was hard to believe it had the power to kill her. Sitting up she started tugging on it, trying to see if she could slip it off over her hand if she angled it just right. Nothing seemed to work so, in a fit of temper, she began tugging on it forcefully. Whatever magic the leather was imbued with almost instantly reacted to her change in temperament and it quickly glowed before becoming white hot to the touch.
"Ah, fuck!" she yelled in pain and she shook her hand rapidly trying to dispel the burning sensation. She looked at her palm and instead of the third degree burns she expected, she saw nothing but perfectly unmarred skin. After staring at her hand she looked at her arm and carefully, very carefully, she moved the bracer and found the skin under it was unmarked as well. In fact now that she thought about it, it was her hand that had felt the pain, not the arm the band was attached too.
"I already told you, you can't get it off. Did I lie?" Emma stopped her examination and pursed her lips before turning to look at him.
There he stood, leaning against a tree in the classic bad boy pose. He was like one giant pirate cliché andhe was laughing at her. Well, he wasn't actually laughing at her, but if the look in his eyes was any indication he found her greatly amusing. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry and she wanted to throw things at his head. But none of that was going to help her, and all it would do was proved to him exactly how far under her skin he'd gotten. A reaction was exactly what he wanted so a reaction was exactly what he wouldn't get.
"No, you didn't; doesn't mean I can't at least try." She stood and brushed off the back of her pants before walking to stand in front of him, annoyed frown firmly in place.
He watched her, his demeanor and expression strangely calm, too calm. There was also darkness in his eyes as he looked at her and it made him seem almost sad or disappointed; but that was crazy. No, it had to be anger, tightly controlled and terrifying anger, there was simply no reason for him to be disappointed.
"No, I suppose you wouldn't be you unless you at least gave it a go," he said. "Tell me Swan, and be honest, did you actually think you'd get away from me?"
Emma wanted to respond quickly with an affirmative, but his expression stopped her. From the first moment they'd met she'd realized there was something different about him. It was in his eyes. A shadow that wasn't always there, but when it was it dulled the bright, playful blue, and his mask slipped slightly. Like now, for instance. It was there now, shining through, and it made her admit things to him that she never would to anyone else. Things like the fact that she'd been in love before. It wasn't a mystery to her though; she knew what it was. It was the same thing she'd seen in the mirror day after day as the world beat her down for twenty-eight years.
She saw herself in those eyes, and he was just as lonely, just as heartbroken, and just as jaded as she was. The best way she could describe it was that they were kindred spirits, and it made her want to trust him. It made her want to be truthful with him because she knew he'd understand, and that scared the hell out of her. Because he was Captain Hook, a villain, and she shouldn't trust or be truthful with him. Especially considering the bracer, and everything that had happened since then. But damn it, she did trust him, no matter how hard she tried not to. Even leaving him behind hadn't helped. So with a grumble at the back of her throat, she put her hands in the pockets of her coat and reluctantly answered him.
"No, I didn't…"
"But you had to at least try," he finished, and from his tone as well as the quick quirk of his lips, she knew that for whatever reason he seemed to admire her for it.
"You would have done the same, I just beat you to it," she replied, leaning back against the tree next to his, raising her eyebrows and daring him to disagree.
"Actually, no," he countered, and her stomach dropped at the look on his face and the tone of his voice. He was telling her the truth. But that didn't make sense given everything she knew about him. "I had no desire to or intention of betraying you and yours, and I think you know that. So why did you do it? Why risk becoming my enemy? You know my reputation."
Emma bit her lip and looked away from his accusing stare. She couldn't handle what she now realized was anger but also a healthy dose of hurt and bitterness. She'd honestly hurt his feelings with her actions and that knowledge was unsettling. She didn't, as a rule, like to hurt people. Especially not those who'd helped her and thought of her as an ally. This all would be so much easier if he was the bastard she tried to make herself believe that he was. So, in an effort to delude herself, if even for a little while, she recited the same mantra she had been since she'd left him. "You did lie to me, and you wereplanning to betray us."
Hook pushed himself off his tree, and came to stand near her; not close enough to touch, but close enough to crowd her. Then, placing his good hand against the tree next to her head, he bent down and leaned over her in an effort catch her eye. She had to force herself not to react as the salty smell of the sea and the sweet aroma of rum permeated her senses and wrapped around her. The two mixed together in a way that should have been illegal, and like the last time she'd been this close to him, it drew her in. Compound that with the way his body heat seemed to radiate through her leather jacket and she had to force herself to remain stationary.
He was trying to fluster her. He wanted her so focused on him, so lost in him, that she told him something she didn't want to. Okay, maybe he was also trying to get into her pants, but she got the distinct impression that's not what this was about. He was trying to provoke a response and prove something to both himself and to her. She would never deny that he was an insanely attractive man. Everything about him called out to her, from his blue eyes to the way he smiled at her when she did something he found entertaining. He was exactly her type; the dark haired, bright-eyed, flirtatious bad boy, with a devil-may-care attitude, and the ability to keep up with her. However, it would take more than sex appeal and charm to win her over and she would notto give into him. She couldn't afford to.
Emma bit the inside of her cheek in an effort to focus her hormone-laden mind as her heart raced in her ears. She needed to calm down her libido, or this conversation was going to take an interesting and much more physical turn. That was definitely something she didn't want for several reasons; not the least of which was that his ego couldn't handle being inflated any further. It was big enough as it was, and if she ever gave in to him she had a feeling it would reach critical mass and they'd all suffer. So she stood there, stiff as a board, her eyes fixed firmly on the forest before her, trying to pretend that his presence didn't affect her.
Her efforts seemed to be in vain, and she could see his slight smile out of the corner of her eye. Then he leaned in close to whisper to her and it sent a shiver down her spine as his warm breath ghosted across the shell of her ear. "You're right, I did. At first anyway, but plans changed. You know that. You can't tell me the man you met in that ruined village was the same man you left in that treasure room."
"Really? Hook, people don't change in the span of a few hours," she managed say around the lump in her throat, and she shifted her shoulders slightly, needing to move and dispel some of the growing tension in her body. The movement, unfortunately, had the opposite effect on her when her shoulder gently brushed his chest.
"You know what I meant Swan, don't play coy and stop avoiding my question," he said, his voice commanding and every bit the Captain he was purported to be."Running away doesn't suit you."
She clenched her fists tighter in her pockets as he reached up and started to play with her hair, the backs of his fingers grazing her cheek in a barely-there caress. It was too much, and she was forced to shift away from him as the cracks in her walls began to grow. She wanted to kiss him, and that would not happen. He made a humming sound that seemed to come from deep in his chest and she could have cursed as she realized her mistake. In moving away like she had she'd effectively lost that bout in this game. She'd showed him exactly how much his touch affected her. Emma, unwilling to answer the question he was asking, or admit defeat, did what she did best: she deflected.
"If you were so damn worthy of my trust then what was with the bracers? Because that seems pretty conniving to me," she shot back as she quickly glanced at him. His sea-blue eyes clashed with hers for less than a second but it was enough and she was forced to look away from him. His expression was now an attractive mix of frustration, amusement and lust fighting for dominance and it sent her self-control into a tailspin.
"A precaution, in case you proved to be untrustworthy," he said and then chuckled quietly, though it wasn't a happy sound. His act dropped slightly and he was now markedly less flirtatious at the reminder of the fact that he'd trustedher, and she'd left him behind. "I'm glad I thought ahead."
"So, why didn't you say anything?" She asked, realizing that she might as well do so; in for a penny in for a pound. He was already upset. Maybe, if she played her cards right, this turn of the conversation could give her the advantage. "Why did you let me walk away like that?"
"You mean why I didn't stop you?" Hook shrugged, and then shifted toward her again, his act back in full force. This time he leaned his shoulder on the tree trunk next to her. Again, he wasn't touching her, but that heat was back and his eyes were firmly fixed on the profile of her face which only made it worse. "Well that was for two reasons: firstly, the magic didn't activate until you moved a certain distance from me. Had you not betrayed me and left me there I would have taken these off at the bottom and you would have been none-the-wiser."
Emma's eyes flickered to him and she could see the truth written on every line of his face. So this hadn't been the long term plan, just the backup. "Insurance policy… nice touch."
He smirked, "Not unlike telling your warrior friend to cut down the beanstalk after a set time. Dead clever that."
"I try," she responded a little breathy in the face of his praise. She was quickly reaching her breaking point.
Either she was going to grab and kiss him, or have to walk away completely. Both actions would lose her this game and prove to him that she was anything but indifferent. It was bad enough she'd moved away the first time, any other sign of weakness and he'd jump on it. She didn't want him to know he had any hold over her, because she knew his kind. He would use that power against her to get what he wanted.
Her eyes, almost involuntarily, moved back to his, and she felt her throat constrict at the intense gaze she found there. She would have drowned in those eyes if it wasn't for the pain of her nails biting into her palm. The sensation anchored her to reality and gave her the clarity she needed to continue her plan. Then, her voice still a little thread, she asked the question she already knew the answer to in an effort to change his demeanor. "You said there were two reasons. What was the second?"
"The second? Well," Hook leaned back and away from her now, and she felt the loss of his warmth acutely, although the logical part of her brain realized that this was a good thing, it was working, she was throwing him off. His tone then became what she would best describe as vindictive. "I wantedyou to find out the hard way what happens when you cross me."
"Yeah, that sounds about right," she said, then she bit her lip and nodded her head in an exaggerated motion as she fought down her violent tendencies. Most of her lust evaporated quickly in the face of his now dark and angry expression. Gone was the dangerous flirt and in his place was the equally dangerous avenger, both were bad but at least she could properly deal with the avenger. Her plan worked, and that bout had gone to her, yet her success brought no sense of victory. "So what now? You know, outside of me wanting to take a bat to the side of your head."
"Why in heaven's name would you want to hit me with one of those winged creatures?" Hook asked, his tone incredulous. It completely shattered what was left of the intimidating aura he'd worked so hard to cultivate over the last few minutes, and his genuinely appalled expression almost sent her into a fit of hysterical laughter.
She'd won.
"Winged …" Emma open and closed her mouth several times; having no words to describe the image that was floating through her mind. "I meant a baseballbat, you know the wooden kind - oh never mind."
She gave up when her answer only seemed to confuse him further. He snorted with a raised eyebrow, and she got the distinct impression that he was wondering about her sanity. A comfortable silence descended on them. Well, as comfortable as is could be with him standing not three inches from her. For a second, just one, she thought that maybe she'd gotten away without having to explain her actions. She didn't want to tell him about Henry and she certainly wasn't going to tell him about Neal.
"I want an answer, Emma." The way he said her name sent shocks of nervous energy through her and she knew he wasn't going to let it go.
Turning to look him, she realized that he wasn't down and out just yet. Not that she expected he really would be. He was simply going on a different line of attack: the straight-forward kind. Gone was the flirt trying to seduce the answers out of her and gone was the evil pirate trying to intimidate her. He was simply Killian and he wanted to know why she'd left him behind. Whether he realized it or not this was the best thing he could have done; she couldn't say no to that shadow in his gaze. So, with a quiet curse, she weighed the pros and con of what he was asking.
The answer, one of them anyway, honestly couldn't make the situation she found herself in any worse. Cora already knew about Henry and so there was nothing she could tell him that would put her son if further danger if he turned on her. In actuality, that answer, could only help her when it came to him. If for no other reason than the fact that he knew what it was to love someone else. To care about their safety more than your own. The tattoo on his arm bearing Milah's name and his thirst for revenge on her behalf was proof of that. She wasn't naïve enough to think it would make him into an ally- he wasn't the noble type, but it might inspire him to step out of her way.
"I couldn't risk it because of Henry, my son." She shifted uncomfortably; she didn't like having to tell him anything about herself or her family situation. Especially when his eyes watched her like he was trying to see into her very soul and judge her honesty. "For reasons I'm not going to get into with you, I kinda share custody of him with Regina."
"Cora's daughter?" he asked, cutting her off, his eyes wide with surprise, and she nodded.
"Yup, and he is probably the only person, the only thing, that Regina loves and cares about. So if Cora gets to Storybrooke…"
"Your lad will be the first thing on her list, and he'll be in danger." Emma nodded again and Hook whistled lowly, his expression almost pitying. "Well…I suppose that's a decent reason."
"But good reason or no, I still screwed you over, right?" Emma looked down at her feet and waited for the other shoe to drop.
Hook looked her up and down thoughtfully, like he was weighing the situation in his mind. Then he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. For a long time they merely stared at one another but eventually he seemed to find whatever it was he was searching for in her eyes. "You're forgiven Swan, though I will not forget what happened."
"What does that mean?" Emma asked carefully, because she could see the sincerity in his eyes.
"It means," he said exaggerating the word like he was speaking to young child. "That against my better judgment, I'm giving you a second chance."
The words were said simply, but she knew this was anything but simple. This was something that almost never happened and from the look of him she knew not to take this for granted. "Cross me again however, and you'll wish I'd let you die last night."
He was being truthful, everything about this moment was honest; from his forgiveness, to his threat. He was giving her a second chance to be in his good graces and work with him. Though she still had to wonder, when it came right down to it and Cora offered him the better deal, would he screw her over? Thinking about it, she came to the conclusion that he probably would. As she'd known before, he was far from noble and his revenge came first.
"Don't worry," she said after a moment, making sure to keep eye contact with him in an effort to impress her seriousness upon him. No, she couldn't trust him; but she could use him. She could use him and his skills until he proved more trouble than he was worth. In that moment she wanted to warn him not to double cross heras well, but the fact that the most dangerous man around was no longer out for her blood had her biting her tongue. It was best not to push the issue when he was being so reasonable, all things considered. "It won't happen again."
He raised his eyebrows, the hint of a smirk breaking through his stoic expression. "Excellent. Now, we should get back to your loving mother before she comes looking for us."
Emma leaned away from him and looked around the tree, back towards the cave with a little frown. She was surprised Mary Margaret had left them alone this long, actually. So she nodded and the two of them began the short walk back to camp. Once they were back in Storybrooke they could go their separate ways. Emma would go back to her job as Sheriff and spending time with her family; and Hook could go seek vengeance against Gold to his heart's content.
We made a deal sometime back Miss Swan. We established that you owed me a favor.
Emma stumbled slightly as Gold's voice rang through her mind and she felt her heart jump into her throat at the memory. She noticed Hook glance at her, a question on his face, but she ignored him.
That's right; she owed that bastard a favor. Plus, now that she really thought about it, being Sheriff in general was going to put her smack dab in the middle of this blood feud. God damn it! She was going to have to play referee between those two idiots, she just knew it. This made the likelihood that she was going to cross him again all the more probable. In fact, she was most likely going to have to pick a side in this, but whose?
It all came down to who she wantedto side with. Which wasn't a hard decision when she took more than a second to think about it: she wanted to side with Hook. Yes he was a bastard, yes he was conniving, and yes in a lot of ways he was completely unworthy of her loyalty. However, unlike Gold, he hadn't stolen a true love potion from her and effectively killed Henry. Hook also hadn't released a 'dementor' in Storybrooke, an act that had resulted in she and Mary Margaret being trapped in an alternate reality with a crazy witch that, again, put Henry's life in danger. All of that wasn't even counting the myriad of little things he'd done to her since she'd gotten to Storybrooke, and all the things she was sure he'd done but she didn't know about.
No, the worst Hook had done to her was to put the magical equivalent of a tracker on her that had made her a little sleepy, and she'd really brought that on herself. He hadn't been lying to her when he said he'd had every intention of taking it off when the job was done. If she had just trusted him and left that place as a team, none of the last half-day would have happened the way it did.
On the other hand, and she hated to admit this, Gold was not just a useful source of knowledge, but also of planning and skill. She'd figured out his game pretty quickly after the whole Sheriff election debacle. Gold was a man who loved to make himself justuseful enough. So that when he did things, horrible things, you were willing to overlook them because in the long run you knew you'd eventually need him again.
In the end, they both had their pros and cons, and when looked at objectively, they were relatively balanced as far as who was better, given the situation. So it was time to look at this less objectively, namely who was she more fearful of angering, and the answer was undoubtedly Hook. He was a man with nothing to lose and no one to hold him back. Unlike Gold, who, if Emma was reading the situation right a week ago, had Regina to at least keep him in check a bit. Certainly, Henry being Regina's son would protect him from Gold to a degree that could not be said for Hook. No, if she sided with Gold over him, there was going to be hell to pay and she'd just handed her biggest weakness over to the pirate on a silver platter not five minutes ago.
"I owe him a favor," Emma said, making her decision and stopping once they were within sight of the cave. It took a moment for her words to reach him through his own musings, and he too stopped a couple of feet ahead of her.
"What?" he asked, turning back to face her. He seemed vaguely annoyed at her interruption of whatever scheme he was planning. Emma took a slightly shuddering breath; this could go one of two ways: he wouldn't care, or he'd be pissed. Either way she had to do this now before she lost her nerve.
"Gold…Rumplestiltskin, I own him a favor." Of all the reactions she'd been expecting, him simply staring at her hadn't been one of them. Finally she got fed up with his silence and started to head back again, pushing passing him quickly. "Just thought you should know, so you can keep me out of whatever revenge plots are running through your head. I don'twant to get in the middle of that."
"Why?" He asked and it stopped her in her tracks.
Emma looked up into the sky and sighed, but didn't turn around. She really didn't want to know what he thought about all this. She didn't need to see the judgmental look she knew would be on his face. "There was a girl, Ashley; she made a deal with him. I don't know why but she said she'd give her baby to him once it was born. Only, when it came right down to it, she couldn't go through with it. She was young, stupid, and didn't deserve the situation she found herself in. So I said I'd owe him a favor if he forgot about the whole arrangement. This was before I knew who he really was, by the way."
"Noble of you," he said, though his tone suggested he was thinking of another word entirely.
"Screw you," she spat, throwing the words at him before continuing back to the cave. Let him think what he wanted, she wasn't ashamed of what she'd done. Well, at least now if it came right down to it and Gold called in his favor, (which in all honesty was likely to happen when Hook made it to Storybrooke,) she wouldn't have to deal with his vengeful fallout, because she'd given him fair warning and told him where she stood.
A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long! I work retail so… "tis the season" and all that. -_- Plus I have a huge Christmas project I'm doing for my family. In conclusion the updates for this story are going to be slow until the turn of the year. Sorry! Please Read and Review to let me know what you think!