Title: Finding Home With You

Warning: Contains spoilers from Season 4.

Author's Note: This is the longest chapter I've ever written so I hope you guys enjoy! I don't have much to say, except that I love to hear your guys' feedback so please keep commenting and messaging me!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Once Upon A Time characters.

Summary: (Lieutenant Duckling!AU) What would have happened if Emma and Henry couldn't help Regina get her happily ever after? Now stuck in the story the Author wrote them into, Emma and Henry will have to start a new life in the Enchanted Forrest. With a little help from a timid sailor, Killian Jones. But plagued by the new Evil Queen, the three will have to continuously dodge Snow's efforts to hunt them down and end them.

Word Count: 4,211

Chapter 11

A pulsing ache in her left shoulder was the first thing that Emma registered as she woke up. The next was the blinding sun turning her eyelids a bright pink color and making the blankets that she was under feel stifling hot.

Groaning, she squeezed her eyes shut tighter, kicked the blankets off her and rolled onto her right side to alleviate some of the pain. In this new position, she tried to force herself back into peaceful unconsciousness, not wanting to face the day just yet. The ache in her shoulder and the throbbing of an oncoming headache kept her from falling back asleep, though. Sighing loudly, Emma rolled onto her back and looked around her at the room she was in.

She assumed it was another inn by the lack of personalization in the room. The walls, which were off-white, held years of dents and dirt smudges on them without any décor to hide or distract from the flaws. There was a nightstand on Killian's side of the bed that held a silver tray with mostly empty bowls and plates- probably from breakfast that she had slept through. Killian's side of the bed was empty and it looked as though he had done his best to straighten the covers with her still in the bed, which she had then kicked down. Henry's bed was empty, too, but the kid hadn't even tried to make the bed. She wasn't surprised. As a kid, she hadn't been one to make a bed either- actually, she still wasn't.

Emma had no idea where Killian and Henry might be, so she grabbed the knapsack with that horrible dress Henry had nabbed her and took off to find the owner of the inn to ask about taking a bath. It had been years since she had taken a nice hot bath in either reality. Although she knew she would miss running water and the massage features on shower heads, she was overjoyed to finally be taking a bath after all that time locked up in the tower.

The lady on the first floor who seemed to be somewhat in charge, gave her a key for the washroom and her own bar of soap, towel and comb. A comb would be a little harder to work with than a brush, but it would have to do. At least she could finally get all those tangles out.

Emma didn't know how long she spent in the washroom- she struggled for at least 10 minutes just trying to figure out how she was supposed to get hot water in the metal contraption that barely passed for a bath tub and even then, she ended up just using magic to fill it in the end- but it was long enough for her to have to refill the tub with clean, hot water twice. She had never scrubbed herself so hard or so thoroughly in her life.

Her feet and hands had dirt caked in the cracks of her skin and there was grime beneath her nails. She had blood stained on her from both Hook and Regina, the latter of which she tried her best not to think about. She washed her face a few times, trying to erase the pain with the tear stains she cleaned off. Her hair she saved for last and it ended up taking the longest. She had to repeatedly dunk her hair in the water to help ease the comb through the tangles and when she was finally through with untangling the mangy locks, her arms ached too badly to reach up and wash her hair, so she had to take a break. When she finally could reach her hands up to her hair, she washed it so many times that she ran out of soap.

Feeling like a brand new person, she stepped out of the bath and into the slightly scratchy towel, missing her soft, plush towels and matching bath robe that she had bought when her and Henry were living in New York. She looked in the aged mirror hanging on the wall and barely recognized the woman who starred back at her.

Her hair was cleaner and smoother than she had seen it in years. Her skin no longer had a permanent film of dirt. But it was the emptiness in her gaze, the bags under her eyes, the hollowness of her too-pale cheeks, the deep set lines of a frown that seemed to add years onto her that really shocked her.

Part of her brain connected the image it was seeing now to another she had seen almost 14 years ago. It was right after she had first been arrested in Arizona. During one of the rare times when she let herself feel the pain of Neal abandoning her, a guard had walked by with a tray of food and Emma had happened to look up at just the right moment from where she lay on her cot to be able to see her own reflection on the underside of the silver tray.

She supposed she felt now much of the same emotions she had felt then, only amplified more. When Neal let her take the fall for the stolen watches, she had lost the only family she knew and been torn from her way of life.

If she thought about it that way, that she was only going through a similar situation that she had been in when she was just a young, stupid kid, then it was a lot easier for her to deal with. She got through it once, so she could do it again. This time was better, because now she had Henry and Killian. She would focus on them- the best and greatest things that had ever happened to her- and they would help her move on to a better life.

She could do this.

She would do this.

Emma hadn't consciously meant to change her facial expression, but she now saw that her lips were pressed together in determination and her eyes had gained a bit of their normal fire. Even her eyebrows seemed to be slightly raised, as if challenging the world to try to stop her from fighting her way back to the top.

Moving her gaze from her reflection to the dreaded gown that Henry had snagged for her, sent her into a different kind of agony. She did not want to smash her ribs into another one of those death contraptions. It had taken her quite a while to get used to the way the corset crushed her lungs and discover the easiest way to breathe the first time around, when her and Hook had time traveled. But she couldn't deny the glee she had felt when he had told her how good she looked.

A small smile graced her lips at the memory.

In a sudden swirl of gray smoke, Emma was completely dressed with her hair dried and in loose curls down her back. Glancing around she saw her hands glowing with magic. A blush heated her cheeks. Somehow, just the thought of how Killian would look at her in this dress had made her unconsciously dress herself in it.

It took her a while of uncomfortably short breaths to decide whether or not to keep the dress on. It was huge and tight and she wasn't really one for dresses and she would rather just wear jeans and her leather jacket. But, she had to fit in here and it was cleaner than her one other outfit and, well, Killian. She was excited- and a little anxious, even if she wouldn't admit it- to see what this Killian thought of her in this dress.

He had surprised her more than a few times with his forwardness after seeming so shy in the beginning. She wondered if he would just blush and look flustered like the Killian who had rescued her from the tower, or issue an intimately sweet compliment like it was common knowledge like he did after her encounter with Rumplestiltskin- like her Killian in the real world always did, long before she had admitted her feelings about him to even herself. Maybe he might even act like the rapscallion Hook she had first met when her and Mary Margaret had gotten sucked in the Hatter's portal or when she time traveled and had to distract Hook so Killian could get Snow White on the right track to meeting Prince James.

She honestly wasn't sure which one she preferred. She loved all sides of him and loved the affect she had on all versions of him.

Sure, he had seen her in a dress when he rescued her from a tower, but she had been chained up for years and the dress was ratty and old and dirty. This dress was more like the one she had stolen off a villager's laundry line when her and Hook had first landed in the Enchanted Forest, but slightly nicer. The bodice was the same leather material which worked to squish all her insides into a much smaller area than their used to, but did wonders for her figure. It was dyed a strange rustic blue color that matched the blue and green skirts- which were huge thanks to the god forsaken hoop skirt underneath.

On the chair that the dress had been laying on, was a pair of dark forest green gloves and a folded up piece of blue fabric. Emma assumed it was another one of those weird cape-hood combos that everyone seemed to wear in the Enchanted Forest. She remembered that the dark green one she had worn when she time traveled had been surprisingly light for all the warmth it offered. She pulled this one around herself- watching as the deep blue fabric fanned out, then came swishing to a stop around her skirts- and fastened the gold clasp across her collarbones.

Fully dressed, she faced herself in the small, dingy mirror once more. Her face had some color back to it and her eyes shone a brighter green than before, accentuated by the dress. She nodded once at herself, approving of the changes- inside and out- that had occurred since she'd woken up. Then she grabbed the gray tunic and pants that she had been wearing since she found them in the Jolly Roger and headed out the door. She returned the washroom key to the lady at the front desk, who gushed about how lovely she looked. Her compliments caused Emma to walk back to the room with a smile on her face.

The second she opened the door, Henry and Killian's head snapped towards her. They both looked worried at first, but their faces soon changed as they took in her appearance. Henry glanced at her outfit for a brief moment but then settled his eyes back on her face, looking bewildered by her small smile.

Killian, however, took a much longer time taking in her attire.

His eyes did a general glance over her whole ensemble, but then started darting rapidly from her face to the gloves to the skirts to the bodice and back to her face, as if he was trying to drink in her entire look. Despite herself, Emma felt herself blush and her smile widen.

"Mom? Are you okay? Where have you been?" Henry asked. She looked at him more directly, trying to ignore the feeling of Killian's eyes on her, and felt ashamed that she hadn't yet noticed the swelling around his eyes from crying.

"I feel like I should be asking you that," she responded, walking further in the room to place the folded clothes in her hands onto the bed. She felt Killian's eyes move with her, but continued to address Henry. "I woke up all alone."

"Oh, yeah. Well, you didn't wake up when we had breakfast- and believe me, we were not quiet about it- so we figured you needed the sleep," Henry shrugged. Emma noticed that he didn't answer the question, so she tilted her head to the side and raised one eyebrow- the Mom Look. He sighed, "We went out to get some supplies and listen for any news about the Queen being on our trail. That's why we were so worried when we came back. We heard there were some Black Knights in the village and we thought they had gotten you while we were out."

That explained their worried looks.

"Sorry, kid. I was in the bath. First time I've had a bath in, well, too long. I finally feel like myself again," Emma admitted, letting a lopsided smile pull up one side of her mouth. Then she rolled her eyes and batted at her poofy skirts, "Well, as close to me as I can get in this horrid thing."

She heard Killian scoff from the other side of the room.

Emma turned her head slightly to look at him. "Can I help you with something?" She challenged, raising her eyebrows.

He had a goofy looking grin on his face as he said, "What you call horrid, I would call magnificent."

"That's because your internal organ aren't being rearranged by it," she retorted, but was unable to wipe that grin off his face.

He looked her up and down, before cheekily replying, "Your discomfort is a cross I'm willing to bear."

Emma's heart almost stopped. She remembered Hook saying those exact same words to her when he saw her in almost the same outfit during the time travel adventure. Could it be possible that her Hook was somewhere inside this Killian? Either way, she had loved the butterflies his words had given her them and she loved them even more now.

If nothing else, this direct connection from the real reality was a confirmation that in any time, place or world, Emma Swan and Killian Jones were meant to be together.

"Gross," Henry muttered.

Emma giggled, winking at Killian before turning back towards Henry.

"So what you're saying is we need to get moving before we get found," she said, acting as if Killian's interruption had never happened.

"That would probably be best," Henry shrugged. "We have some food and clothes and stuff packed up. Just in case we have to go hide in the woods for a while or something."

"Smart thinking, kid," Emma smiled proudly at him. "We should look for some small little cottage or something out of the way in the country. We'll travel mostly through the woods, so no one can say they saw us. I can use my magic to cover our trail and build us shelter if we ever get stuck out in the woods. I don't know much about this world, but maybe we could make it to a port and sail away somewhere Mom and Dad can't find us. Is there anywhere you can think of where we'd be safe, Killian?"

Her and Henry turned to see Killian looking anxiously back at them. "Oh, um, let's see. Somewhere safe. Right, well, I've been to quite a few ports on distant shores, but I'm not quite sure of how the people live beyond each port, you see. I know of a place called Arendelle, where the Evil Queen's hold does not reach, but I haven't heard very many positive things about the Queen there. They say she keeps mostly to herself and never allows her sister, the princess, to go beyond the walls of the castle. Her people do not know her, but she is not cruel, like the Queen of the Enchanted Forest."

"Arendelle, alright. I don't remember that in any fairy tales, but it could be worth a shot," Emma allowed. "So, then, that's our plan. We'll make our way in secret to the closest port and then buy passage on ship headed towards Arendelle. How much of Black Beard's money do we have left?" She asked Henry.

"Black Beard's money? By the gods! What do you mean, 'Black Beard's money?'" Killian practically shouted, his face turning ghostly white.

Emma approached him, laying her hand over the place where her father had stabbed him. "Killian, it's fine. He doesn't have any control over you anymore. I knew we would need some money, so while we were on the ship, I grabbed his bag of money or whatever you guys call a wallet here."

"You stole Black Beard's purse?" He wondered, his eyebrows raising.

Emma couldn't help laughing. "It's called a purse? Oh, man, if you only knew how hilarious that sounded. A big tough guy like Black Beard having a purse," she chuckled out.

Killian did not seem soothed by her antics, but they didn't have time for explanations. Emma placed the outfit that was folded on the bed into one of the three knapsacks that were against the wall. She was slightly curious whether Henry was buying or stealing these bags, but didn't really care enough to ask.

Picking up the one she just added her clothes to, Emma did a last look around the room to make sure there was no evidence that it had been them in particular who had slept there, before heading out the door, knowing her boys would follow.

When she got downstairs, she asked the woman at the front desk which road she should take to head farther inland.

"My husband gets awfully seasick, you see. Even the distant smell of salt water and fish carried on an odd gust of wind can throw him off for days," she lied right through her teeth, slipping her arm around Killian's glancing sympathetically at him.

"Oh, you poor dear!" Gushed the woman. "Just head north on this road the inn is on and at the fork, head east. East, mind you, not west. West will take you straight into port, and we wouldn't want that."

"No, no we wouldn't! I can't thank you enough," Emma gushed back, silently complimenting her acting skills.

"You have a good day now, dears," the woman said, waving at them.

They all waved back at her, before heading out of the door.

They walked for a few moments in silence, Emma's hand still curled around Killian's bicep.

"You're bloody brilliant, Swan," Killian blurted out randomly.

"I know," was Emma's immediate, teasing response. After a second she added, "But why, exactly?"

He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, pointing back towards the inn, "That, back there. Asking how to head inland to trick her into telling you how to get to port."

"That way, if anyone finds out we were there and asks her about it, she'll lead them in the wrong direction," Emma finished, smiling brightly at her own plan.

"Mom is really good at finding people who don't want to be found, so she knows what not to do to not get found," Henry explained, looking proudly at Emma.

Killian quirked an eyebrow questioningly.

Emma shrugged one shoulder, modestly accepting Henry's compliment. "Back home I was a bail bondsperson. In our reality, when you break the law and get put in jail, you can pay a certain amount of money depending on what you did to get out. But usually, people can't afford that, so bondsman or a bond agency pay the money for them, under the agreement that they'll go to court hearings to try to get proven innocent and then pay them back. Some people run away from their responsibilities, so a bondsperson chases them down and brings them back to court, that way the court will give them the money back."

Killian was openly gaping at Emma now. "You mean to say that you hunted down criminals? For your job?"

"I guess that's one way to put it," Emma said. "It wasn't ever dangerous, though. I usually would track them down on the internet, catfish them on social media and then arrange a date, where I would wait until they walked in and then put a boot on their car so they couldn't drive away and then as soon as I sat down I would tell them why I was really there and then force them to drive back to court with me."

Henry looked amazed, finally understanding what it was Emma had been doing, as she had never explained it to him. Killian just looked more confused.

"Let me try it a different way," Emma suggested. "If I was a bail bondsperson here, I would ask around until someone told me the last place they saw them. Then I would write letters to them under another pen name- fake love letter. Then I asked them to dinner at, what do you call it, like a tavern? And I would wait outside the tavern until they tied up their horse and then I'd let the horse loose so they couldn't use it to escape me. Then I'd walk into the tavern, tell them I was there to take them to court and ask them to come quietly. Usually they don't, so when they run outside and see there horse is gone, I'd walk up and tell them to get into my carriage, or whatever those horse and buggy things are called. Does that make more sense?"

Killian still looked a little confused, but he nodded his head. It was then that they came to the fork in the road. Emma stopped, but didn't even have time to start thinking about which way east and west might be, because Killian was already headed down the road to the right.

"Woah, are you sure this is the right way?" Emma asked, stumbling to catch up with him after her slight hesitation, since her hand was still looped through his arm.

Killian chuckled, glancing down at her, "Of course!"

"But you didn't even check the sky," Henry pointed out.

Killian laughed harder. "What a strange thing to say, little lad. Of course I didn't check the sky. A sailor always has his wits about him when it comes to directions. It's like there's a compass in here," he pointed to his chest, "that's always guiding my way."

Emma shook her head incredulously. "Whatever you say."

"You don't believe me!" Accused Killian.

Emma shrugged, half-heartedly.

"I could be led in cirlces through the deepest forest whilst blindfolded and still have my bearings," he declared, pulling Emma to a stop to face her head on.

"Okay then," Emma said mischievously. "Prove it."

"You wish me to wander in circles in a forest whilst blindfolded to prove to you that I know my cardinal directions?" He summarized, one eyebrow cocked.

"What, are you scared?" Emma challenged.

"Oh, boy," Henry sighed out, knowing how competitive both his mother and the pirate were.

"Of a little princess who can't distinguish north from south?" Killian teased.

Emma glared at him playfully, before magically conjuring a blindfold in her hand. She tied it around Killian's eyes and then proceeded to walk him around in circles and zigzags and loops until Henry finally reminded her that they were trying to get out of the country before her parents tracked her down and killed her.

Realizing she was being silly and that Henry was right about them needing to get moving, she stopped walking. Facing Killian she asked him to point out the different directions to her. He got them all right of course, even though it took her a few minutes of thinking to verify the directions.

Partially annoyed by his cocky grin, but mostly impressed by his talents, she stalked off in front of the boys, smiling softly to herself.

So, maybe she still hadn't really faced reality and finished grieving over the loss of her home and the death of her friend, but at least she did have the two greatest guys in the world to keep her entertained and focused on the future. Arendelle, here they come.