Chapter 12: Transferred

When Emma and Hook were introduced to Odalee in this world, there was a certain element about the woman that seemed the same. She had the same unseeing eyes that somehow seemed to see, and an aura of power about her, but she looked different. Here Odalee was shorter and chubbier, with a more lively and jovial appearance. Her home was quite similar, with vials, herbs and bottles of questionable objects, and the walls and doors were covered with various symbols and runes, and in the center of the room, there was the same large, bubbling cauldron.

"Welcome, welcome!" Odalee cheerily said, inviting her guests into her home.

One of the trusted palace guards introduced Odalee to her visitors, and Hook said, "Apparently there is an imposter in the place we just came from who is pretending to be you."

The old woman dismissed the guards with one flick of her wrist.

"She's no imposter," Odalee replied, more interested in tossing ingredients into her cauldron than she was in her guests.

"She is claiming to be you," he explained. "Or perhaps you are claiming to be her. She sent us on this voyage."

Odalee was bustling about, stirring and staring into the cauldron each time she returned to it.

"Who the hell sent us here? Which one of you is Odalee?" Emma asked heatedly.

"Both of us are," Odalee replied calmly as she took a seat in a worn old rocker. "She is me, or a projection of me into another world. I am the original vessel, so to speak."

"A projection that could lift up solid objects?" Emma skeptically countered.

"If you have a willing host, magic can do many things."

"Why would someone allow you to control them?"

Odalee didn't seem affected by Emma's doubt or suspicion. The old woman patiently answered, "Because the people need me. I have been a leader for a long time. When our world was divided, the people were terrified. Many became angry or depressed. When I was finally able to make contact, a dear friend, my sister, offered to allow me to be with my people in her world through her. She trusts me."

"You're using her like a puppet?" Hook asked.

Odalee started to become more annoyed and replied, "She allows me to be there when I need to be so I can take care of my people, reassure them they are not alone. I don't control her unless I'm needed in their world. She calls for me."

Emma's suspicion eased and she said, "We don't mean to accuse you of anything. I'm just trying to figure out exactly what is going on here. The last few days have been…strange. It's hard to know what to believe anymore."

The old woman explained, "Well, without revealing too much of your future, when you went through a time portal, you changed your future. You caused a rift between the two of you that would ultimately change your fates. Emma, you just kept pushing him away. You told him you needed time to sort out some things, you weren't able to consider a relationship yet. You asked him to give you space. He chose to try to track down his ship while you sorted things out. He never returned."

"That can't be true," Hook interrupted. "I wouldn't simply leave and never return. Nothing would stop me from coming back."

"You can't come back if you're dead," Odalee answered directly.

"Did you bring us back in time?" he asked.

"I can see the future. When you returned to your world after traveling through time, I gazed into my cauldron and saw your new future, and my people's new futures as well," the old woman replied.

"You simply picked us up and moved us to a new world? What manner of portal did you create?" Hook questioned.

"I have my tricks," Odalee replied.

Emma remembered having a vision of Hook's death. Less concerned about how they'd gotten there and more concerned about Hook's potential demise, Emma asked with wavering voice, "How do we save him?"

"I already did," Odalee said, leaning back in her chair with a satisfied grin. "When I realized he was going to die, it was clear things had gotten too far off course, so I brought you here."

"You couldn't just tell us? Send a messenger? You dragged us through all of this?" Hook asked.

Odalee rocked for a few moments and said, "You didn't need me to tell you what to do or give you insight into the future. What you needed…was time to find each other. Time to fall in love somewhere away from the pressures of family and heroics. Time away from excuses you could use to put a wall around yourself. Your trip has given you that, no?"

"So it was what…a setup? A date? This was your idea of a romantic getaway for two?" Emma scoffed.

"No, but apparently it was yours, 'cause it worked, didn't it?" Odalee replied with a knowing grin.

Emma looked away awkwardly, but answered, "Odalee…the other…you…she said we'd have to atone. Something cursed Hook and he lost his memory. Who did that to him? Who required atonement? Was that this shadow?"

"Who did that to him?" Odalee chuckled. "That wasn't his atonement, sugar. That was yours."

"Mine?" Emma gawked.

"It wasn't so much about atonement as…a little life lesson."

"What sort of lesson?"

Odalee quoted, "'Too often we don't realize what we have until it's gone… ' That ring a bell? I knew I didn't have to force the two of you to fall in love. I knew love would come if it had the chance. But I thought a little nudge might not hurt. If I wouldn't have brought you two here, and he would have died, you would have been devastated for the rest of your existence. I simply showed you that you didn't want to lose him. A little adventure seemed the perfect thing to bring you together."

"The potion…the one to prevent pregnancy…it wasn't real, was it?" Emma accused. "Did you try to trick me into having a baby so she could break the curse you're all under?"

"Watch your tongue, child," Odalee warned, suddenly seeming much more intimidating. "I wouldn't do that to anyone. Whether or not the two of you fall in love, whether you have a child or not…that's all up to you. No one is forcing you into anything. I may facilitate, but I don't take away your free will."

"Sorry," Emma quietly answered. "So there is a counter potion? This isn't permanent?"

"There's almost always a counter potion," Odalee answered.

"Can I have it? Just in case, one day, I change my mind? Forever is a really long time."

"I don't know why you'd need it," Odalee answered. When Hook and Emma looked confused, the old woman added, "If you're going to deal with old women like me, you need to learn to pay attention to the details."

"What details?" Emma asked.

"Do you remember what you asked for when you asked for that potion? Your exact words?"

"I don't know…birth control?"

"That's not what you said. Us conjuring types…we can be quite literal. Think back on exactly what you asked for and exactly what I said I was giving you. When you remember, you'll know what to do about that potion."

"So what do we do now?" Hook asked.

"I'm gonna prepare to send you both home," Odalee said.

"I can't go home yet. I vowed to help these people get their lives back," he argued.

"And you will. They trust in you. But it's best if we allow things to progress in their own good time. The purpose of this was to put you back on track. You are instrumental in breaking the curse, but you can't break it alone. There are some things that cannot be forced. I'll help the two of you to get home where you belong. Believe me, Captain, you don't have to hunt for the shadow, it will come find you. Your opportunity to help them will come soon, but you must be patient," Odalee said.

"What if I…what if we decide we don't want to have a baby? I've kinda got my hands full with Henry and dealing with whatever shows up in Storybrooke. I'm not exactly in a good position to take care of an infant. There has to be another way to break your curse," Emma said.

"That is your right. You still control your actions. Although destiny can be very hard to ignore," Odalee replied calmly.

"We'll defeat the shadow now," Hook said resolutely. "Break the curse ourselves and then Emma doesn't feel obliged to have a child to save these people, and I can make good on my vow to restore what they've lost."

"The shadow will need to be defeated," Odalee answered, "but that alone won't break the curse. And we've toyed with the future enough. Summon your patience. The right time will come. Go home and live your lives. You'll know what to do when the time comes. As I've said, destiny can be hard to ignore."

Hook was ruminating, and there was no disguising the fact that he wasn't happy with the old woman's plan.

"How do we get home?" Emma asked.

"Leave that to me," Odalee replied. "Head on back to the castle. I'll call for you when everything is ready."

As they walked to the castle, they spoke little. Pulling away from the guards a little so she wouldn't be overheard, Emma asked, "You want to try to break the curse anyway, don't you?"

"Aye," he answered firmly but quietly. "These people deserve to be returned to their families. And you shouldn't feel obligated to bear a child to break a curse."

"Couldn't hurt to ask around. Maybe we can find another way."

He smiled as he agreed.

Unfortunately, once they'd returned to town something had changed. Both Hook and Emma tried to talk to different people in the town. Hook tried a few of the guards and Emma talked to Raina and the servants that had been offered to her, but no one gave any of the needed answers. Even as Hook tried to convince the soldiers they could defeat the shadow and reunite what had been destroyed, they all replied with eerily similar answers, essentially saying they would patiently wait for the curse to be broken and it was best not to tinker with destiny.

When the pair rejoined in their room later that night and compared notes, the answers seemed so consistent that they were certain the entire town was following a script. The town still seemed to revere their heroes, but they'd obviously been told not to divulge any more information. Hook was furious that they seemed so close to finding enough information when everyone decided to start withholding information. He looked at Emma, the frustration obvious in his eyes as he said, "How are we sure we can trust any of them?"

"They're trying to protect their future. They don't want to risk the possibility that we might do something to ruin their chances," she replied, but she couldn't hide her frustration either.

"That doesn't really answer my question, love."

"I know," she answered somberly, taking his hand and pulling him closer. "Odalee seems decent enough, but she clearly has one goal: break the curse. So I'm pretty sure she's behind everyone's sudden silence. We can trust each other," Emma assured, "and, for now, that's all we really need to know."

They bolted the doors to their room, feeling very isolated in this world, but grateful for each other as they took solace in the tiny piece of this new place that seemed like theirs. It almost reminded Emma of the days when she would be moved to a new foster home, uncertain of her new surroundings. But now she had someone with her. It was so much less lonely, having just one person in her world she could count on.

They shared sleepy sex as they found comfort in the only person in this world that they fully trusted and then fell asleep in each other's arms. Emma woke again a short while later. The very first thing she noticed was the way his hand tenderly covered her lower belly. He was asleep, so she was certain that it was unintentional, but Hook was gently rubbing her tummy with his thumb. She wasn't sure why, but that tiny gesture sent a flood of emotions cascading over her.

There was just a momentary flash in her mind where she could see herself with a full pregnant belly with his hand protectively over her. She could almost feel the tiny feet that would kick against his hand. And she knew perfectly well what she felt next…a tremendous sense of loss at something she had never even had.

Emma defied the thoughts in her head, reminding herself that she was practical and cautious in relationships, that she had just started seeing Killian and they had so many things to work out, but she couldn't deny it, she was saddened by the loss of a baby who never really existed in the first place. The child was nothing more than a vision and a story. Cautioning herself that she shouldn't even be thinking about such permanent changes couldn't stop her from thinking about it. It also didn't take away the sense of loss that tugged at her heart.

She felt tears welling in her eyes as she remembered being pregnant with Henry. As much as she loved the boy now, when she was young and incarcerated, her growing belly was a constant reminder that Neal had set her up, sold her out and left her. No matter what the truth was, she had believed that was the truth at the time. She felt like a failure of monumental proportions, alone and heartbroken, like she'd been duped and used and tossed aside. She knew she was absolutely incapable of giving her firstborn child his or her best chance. It had been hard parting from him after those months when he was with her always. She'd been with that growing baby for longer than she'd been in most of her homes. She'd felt him grow, kick and hiccup, but had been unable to enjoy any of the things soon-to-be mothers often experienced.

Emma wondered what it would be like to experience motherhood without the feeling of being betrayed and abandoned. Even though she had known it was best to give Henry to another family, it had been terribly painful to part with the infant. And now she was separated from Henry yet again, and she missed him so much she couldn't even describe it. She hoped he was safe. For all of her issues with Regina in the past, at least she knew the woman was just as determined to protect Henry, and that gave Emma some comfort.

The cacophony of feelings and worries and memories and hopes truly hurt to say the least. It was like Hook could sense something wasn't quite right with her even as he slept. The hand that had been on her tummy moved around her waist as he tightened his hold on her. His nose traced her spine to her neck as he pressed his lips against her softly, sleepily offering support.

As good as he felt, she started to wonder if she was going to lose him, too. What sort of enemy was the black shadow that they wanted to face? She started to wonder if they really would have this baby one day. Emma wondered if Hook felt a sense of loss about the little girl. Still she knew to ask him directly would seem insane. Conversations about children and family seemed drastically premature.

Hook's body lined hers, his legs curved and perfectly against her legs, his chest pressed flat against her back, his hand splayed to cover as much of her as he could. She breathed in, just a little staggered from her tears. She definitely wasn't sobbing, but he woke enough to realize something was wrong. His grip loosened a little and he asked, "Am I squashing you?"

"No," she said immediately, pulling his arm tighter around her.

She thought he had gone back to sleep, but then he lifted his head and looked over her shoulder. He asked, "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing," she answered, feeling like she'd die if she had to actually articulate her feelings at that moment.

Knowing she was hiding something, he guessed, "We'll figure out this curse here, make things right and be home soon. We've been in worse situations."

"I know."

Her answers didn't ease his concern, so he asked, "You won't tell me what's troubling you?"

"Just hold me," she simply replied. "Please."

He complied, resting his scruffy cheek against her shoulder. He waited patiently until her breath evened and he knew she was sleeping. He decided that promises of success wouldn't be enough to ease her mind. He had to deliver. He wanted nothing as much as he wanted to love her and to be loved by her in return. His love fueled his desire to ease her worries and bring her every form of happiness. All of the energy and passion that he had focused on revenge for so long had been transferred into love and passion for the woman with tear-stained cheeks who was sleeping in her arms.