Chapter 4: The Book

"Have you slept here?"

Again, Emma woke up with Hook by her side, sitting down in the chair next to her bed. The man chuckled.

"Not all the night! I did leave, but I couldn't sleep. So I came back to you." He shrugged, a lopsided smile on his lips, as if coming back was the obvious choice to be made. Emma just stared at him, she didn't know how to feel about it, half amused and half embarrassed he had watched her sleep.

When Doctor Whale came and checked on her in the morning, he finally brought good news.

"Everything looks good, you're free to go, Emma! You're free to go, but don't forget, recovering from broken ribs requires some rest, try not to move too much during the next days. If you're in pain, you can take some of these," he said, handing her a small box of pills. "And if you feel dizzy, or if you have any trouble or questions, you can just come back here."

"Actually, I'm not even sure where to go now," Emma said to Killian after Whale had gone.

"Why wouldn't you go back at your parents?"

"They're already busy enough with Neal, I don't want to bother them."

"You're not bothering anyone, love. But surely sharing a house with a baby is not ideal to get some rest. Where do you want to go, then? The gentleman I am would offer you to come at my place, but I already know the answer to that."

He gave her another lopsided smile and she laughed.

"Indeed you know the answer. I was rather considering taking a room at Granny's, like I did when I arrived for the first time in Storybrooke. Do you think my parents could be annoyed with it?"

"Of course not, they will understand."

"Shall we go now?"

"We can go whenever you wish, love. Do you need a hand to get up?"

"Thanks, I think I can manage this on my own."

Emma sat on the side of the bed and stood on her feet. Maybe she moved too fast, her head started spinning and she lost her balance. The second later, Killian's arms were tightly wrapped around her.

"Seems like you thought wrong. Not that I'm bothered by you being there." He looked down at her, still holding her against him. She stayed there, breathing deeply and clearing her mind, before gently stepping back.

"Thanks. I think I'm fine now."

"You also said that a minute ago, forgive me for being uncertain." He put his arm behind her back and guided her out of the room. Shortly afterwards, they were in the street, which was bathed in sunlight.

"Are you sure you can walk towards Granny's hotel? Or do you want to give me your keys, I can pick you up here with your car?"

"With my car? Have you ever driven one?"

"Actually, no. But I'm a Captain." He teased her. "After the Jolly Roger, a car shouldn't be that difficult to drive."

"Maybe you're right. But no need, I can walk. And I want to see my parents before going at Granny's, it's on the way."

They were walking in the street, Hook still supporting Emma with his arm behind her back.

"Emma!" Someone hailed. It was Snow, approaching hand in hand with Charming, who was carrying a bundle of blankets.

"Hey! We were about to come to you."

"You look great today, that's good to see you smiling like this!" Snow was beaming. "Anything new about your memories?"

"No, nothing for now. But I wanted to talk to you, both of you, about something; I'm not sure that's a good idea for me to go back home, you already have enough to do. With Neal, I mean. And I need some rest, so I was thinking…" She stopped talking, noticing how both Snow and Charming were glancing at Hook.

"Sorry, you were thinking?" Charming asked.

"Yeah, I was thinking I could get a room at Granny's hotel, I think it's better for all of us. If that doesn't annoy you."

"Of course it doesn't! We were actually discussing that with your father, we also think you should get a room for yourself."

"And maybe you should go now, don't stand too long on your feet. Do you need any help to go there?"

"No, thanks, I will walk."

"Alright, we let you go then, see you later." Charming looked at her daughter, at the arm supporting her, and at Killian. "Take care of my daughter."

"Always."

Emma was staring at both of them, trying to decide if Charming had actually winked at Hook or if she had imagined it.

"Emma! Nice to see you're finally out! Is there anything I can do for you?" Granny asked.

"Yes, I'd like a room."

"Oh, great! You can have this room with square view, unless you prefer forest view?"

"Square view is fine."

"Here's the key! Enjoy."

The room was familiar; similar to the room where she had spent her first nights in Storybrooke. She slowly got away from Hook, who was still supporting her, and went to look through the window. The first time she came here, she couldn't have imagined what awaited her; so much had happened since the day Henry had found her in Boston. And yet she couldn't remember all of it, and still had no idea how to recover the missing memories.

"Is everything alright, love?" Killian got closer to her while she turned around.

"I just want my memories back." Her eyes were shining with tears. Without any hesitations, placing one arm behind her back and the other around her shoulders, Hook hugged her. He didn't know how she would react, but to his great surprise, Emma didn't reject him. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head on his shoulder; it was so good to be comforted, feeling his steady breathing. Tears were silently rolling down her cheeks. It's only after a few minutes that Hook broke the embrace to look at her.

"We will find a way to get your memories back, don't stop believing." Slowly, he passed his fingers on her cheeks to wipe her tears away.

"You sound like my parents," she said with a faint smile.

Hook chuckled. "I definitely spend too much time with them, surely I let myself be influenced." He looked over Emma's shoulder, through the window. "Your son is coming. He had an idea to try to get your memories back, brilliant idea I must say."

Emma also looked through the window, just in time to see her son coming to Granny's hotel. A minute later, he was knocking on the door.

"I leave you with him for now, I'll come back later. Hello kid."

"Hi Killian!" Henry closed the door behind him and threw himself at his mother. "Hi mum!" He glanced at the door and smiled. "It seems to go well with Killian, you're spending a lot of time together, that's good." Seeing the look on her face, he quickly changed the subject. "I've brought something for you, it could help you remember."

Emma looked curiously as Henry grabbed his bag and sat on the bed. He brought out a book from it, his fairy tales book. "It wouldn't be the first time it helps, right? There's one of the stories I want to tell you. Do you remember that day when we were at Granny's, Snow and Charming telling Neal the story of how they met and how they fell in love?"

"No, I don't remember that. What does it have to do with your book?"

"This is how the story starts. You left Granny's diner, Killian followed you, taking this book with him. I actually gave it to him. And a part of the story has been rewritten. Look." Henry opened the book and flipped the pages until he stopped on one page. On this page was a picture of a vertical golden ray of light. "This is a time portal. It has been opened by Zelena when she disappeared, and I don't know how it happened, but you fell through it, and Killian came with you."

"Hold on, Henry. You're saying there was a time portal here in Storybrooke just a few days ago, that Hook and I fell through it, and stories in the book have been rewritten?"

"Yes, Killian didn't want to leave you alone, he followed you through the portal. Some details about Snow and Charming have changed, and now there is this new chapter about you and Killian. After everything we've been through, why does that seem unbelievable to you?"

"I don't know, I don't remember any of this, that's a lot to take in. But let's consider that's true, what happened next? We just travelled in time?"

"Yes, back in time, when Snow was a fugitive and Charming was about to marry Princess Abigail. Listen to this."

And Henry started to read the story, Emma sitting next to him and looking down at the book. He read about how Killian and Emma landed in the forest, how they wondered where, and especially when, they were and figured that out thanks to a poster about Snow-White being hunted by the Evil Queen. Emma was startled as Henry went on about how she met the Evil Queen.

"I saw Regina as the Evil Queen? And she didn't see us?"

"That could have been really annoying if she had noticed you. Though that wouldn't have been worse than what you did next. But yes, you hid, and Killian made you change your clothes. Look, this is him and you, there."

Henry pointed at the pic on the page. Emma could see Hook facing a blonde girl in a brownish hood. She laughed.

"He made me change my clothes?"

"Yes. Admit your red leather vest wasn't really appropriate there."

"I know. It's just… Changing clothes… I wouldn't have thought he would be the one thinking of it. But anyway, what have we done next?"

Henry snorted, and focused again, reading aloud. Everything was told in the book: Killian and Emma interrupting Snow and Charming first encounter, Rumplestitskin leading them in his castle, Emma distracting past-Hook, while present-Hook was trying to fix their mistakes by convincing Snow to steal a wedding ring, Rumplestitskin providing them an invitation for the ball, Snow escaping and Emma getting caught by the Evil Queen. Emma was carefully listening, making comments from time to time, "I ruined my parents' first meeting because I broke a branch?" or, "and you want to make me believe this is me in that red dress, that I danced at a royal ball?" She didn't say anything about the part when she seduced the past version of the pirate; the fact Hook had been jealous of himself was hilarious, but she felt a bit uncomfortable that Henry was aware about that part of the adventure. Henry carried on, and Emma bit her lips to prevent the tears from coming when he read about Snow burning on the stake. She was speechless and went on listening to her son, learning how Snow had survived and came back to life.

"I almost killed my mum," she breathed, still struggling against the tears.

"You didn't, Snow is a tough cookie. And the fact you and Killian fixed everything… you are heroes."

Henry finished to read the story, telling about the Troll bridge, about how Emma had seen her parents falling in love, and finally about how Emma managed to open the portal that allowed her, Killian and the woman she had saved from the Evil Queen to come back to Storybrooke.

"All this story is unbelievable," Emma said as Henry closed the book, staring at her.

"And you don't remember anything?"

Completely in the story, Emma had forgotten the primary purpose of all of this; recovering her memories. Nothing had resurfaced, she felt like the story she had been told was just a fiction. Emma shook her head, Henry looked down at the book on his knees and sighed, before looking up at Emma.

"You don't remember coming back at Granny's, showing us the book, just before Snow and Charming announced Neal's name?"

Emma shook her head again.

"Maybe you need to hold the book," Henry suggested, grabbing her hand and giving her the book. He waited for something to happen. Nothing. Emma felt sorrier for him than for herself; of course she had wanted this to work, but he had hoped so much this would work, and now his hope had faded away.

"I'm sorry, kid. But this was a great idea, it could have worked."

"But it didn't." Henry couldn't hide his disappointment. He sighed again. "I have to go," he said, cracking a smile. "I told Charming I would come to see Neal."

He put away the book in his bag and, after a hug, left the room. Less than a minute later, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Emma called, looking through the window. "You forgot something?" She asked, thinking it was Henry. She looked away from the window and turned around. It wasn't Henry. "Killian!" A smile appeared on her face, immediately reflected on Hook's features. He couldn't help smiling; it had been the first time since the accident she had called him Killian.

"How did you arrive so fast? Henry just left, were you waiting behind the door?"

"Not exactly," he replied, repressing a laugh. Emma was staring at him curiously. "I heard your door closing. I actually have the room opposite yours."

"Oh!"

Hook chuckled, and brought the subject back to her. "So, did it work? Do you remember, now?" He came closer to her. His voice was full of hope; she had called him Killian after all.

"No," Emma shook her head again.

"Oh," Hook was surprised in his turn. "I thought…"

"But Henry read me the whole story, now I know what happened, what's the difference if I remember or not? Now I know the truth, what else matters? While I was told the whole story, I realised how much I owe to you, this story sounded like fiction, and surely everything would have been an even bigger mess without you. Killian, I am sorry if I hurt you in the last few days, and I wish you could know how thankful I am that you didn't let me go through that portal alone."

Emma stopped talking, wondering why she hadn't kept that for her, like she usually did. Killian was staring at her with a broad smile. He took another step and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I couldn't have let you go through this portal alone, I would never let such a thing happen. Is what I said to your father written in the book?" He broke the embrace to look her in the eye. "I would go to the end of the world for you."

"The book might have forgotten that detail." Emma replied, biting her lips because of what he had just said, trying not to get lost in his blue eyes as he was placing his hand under her chin. Guessing what he was about to do, she buried her face into his collar.

"Sorry, I can't do this."

"That's alright." And he wasn't lying, he didn't look like he was feeling rejected or disappointed, he was still smiling and teased her, "If the book didn't tell you anything about my amazing words, what did you learn from it?"

Emma laughed and lifted her head to look at him. "The whole story was quite entertaining. I didn't think you could be jealous of yourself! And I also learned about Prince Charles having a dance with Princess Leia."

"You were really good at this. Dancing. You're a true princess, Emma. My princess."

"I can't believe that. And in the book, there was also something about a girl I've saved and we brought back here. Is it true? Have we really brought someone back?" Killian grimaced. "What?" She asked.

"We indeed brought a woman back with us… Robin's wife."

"Robin's wife?" Emma thought about it for a moment. "Oh! No… Regina…" That explained everything; why she had been at Regina's before the accident, and why it had felt awkward since then.

"The whole story couldn't have been all perfect, don't you think? We had to screw up somewhere." He tried to comfort her, humour lingering his words.

"I wish I could remember."

"And one day, you will remember all of this," Hook said, softly grabbing her hand.

"I've been hopeful for days, but memories didn't come back, I don't know why they would come back now. The book couldn't help, Killian, nothing will. All I can do is pretending to remember, whereas all I know comes from the book, not my memory."

Hook was still staring at her. Slowly, he moved a strand of hair aside and looked her in the eye, his face just a few inches from hers.

"You know, if you can't remember, maybe we should let go of these memories. Maybe we could just create new ones."