Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the delay in posting. I lost someone who meant a great deal to me, so I needed to step away for a few days. Thank you for your patience. I should be back to posting about once a week again.

Chapter 26: A Rescuer

Emma transported Tiana and Killian to the place in the swamp where they'd left the airboat. As soon as they appeared in the swamp, they saw a flashlight searching the grounds nearby. Tiana shushed them and pointed, whispering, "I don't know who would be out here at this hour."

Moments later they heard the squishy thud of someone falling into the mud, and a disgusted voice cursing in discontent.

"Mr. Rey? Is that you?" Tiana asked when she heard the accent.

"It is I, Naveen," the voice replied as he came through the bushes. With the smile of a victorious rescuer, he said, "I thought you might be in need of some rescuing."

"You think I needed to be rescued by you? What are you really doing out here? You searching for a bayou party or maybe one of those ladies you consort with brought you out here and left you behind when she realized she was just another notch on your belt?"

Slightly stunned by her reaction, he retorted defensively, "I was worried about my father's airboat."

"You don't give a damn about your father's boat or his business."

"You are simply trying to distract me from the fact that you signed an agreement stating that you would return the boat to its rightful owners before sunset, and you have failed to do so."

"Like you care about rules and agreements," Tiana argued.

Standing a few steps away, Emma whispered to Killian, "I think they're actually flirting."

Killian teased in response, "There's only one thing to do. Get some shackles and chain the poor bugger out here in the swamp to be slowly consumed by those blood sucking pests. If it's true love, they'll find their way back to each other."

Emma elbowed him as she watched the young couple nearby continuing their flirtatious verbal tussling.

"Let's get out of here," Tiana argued, "I'm sure some nameless floozy is waiting for you somewhere."

With bold resolve, Naveen stated, "I cancelled my plans for the evening when you didn't return. I was concerned."

"What?" she asked, waiting for the punchline that she was certain would follow.

"The bayou is no place to be at night. It is dark and treacherous. It is late," he replied, digging through his bag until he found a flashlight and handed it over to Tiana. "And, to be quite honest, your new group of friends seemed a little strange." Turning to Emma and Killian, Naveen added, "Of course I mean no offense."

"None taken," Emma replied.

Tiana turned the flashlight on and pointed it toward him, immediately covering her mouth with her hand to stifle her laughter. Naveen was a muddy, filthy mess, obviously not used to being so far out in the swamps.

"Why are you laughing at me?" Naveen asked, a little bit amused and little baffled.

"Did you fall down? Repeatedly?"

"The banks are slippery," he confessed as she practically lost her own footing with laughter.

When he seemed disappointed, she choked down her laughter and apologized, "I'm so sorry, but this is too funny. I don't think I've ever seen you dirty."

"I'm glad my attempt at chivalry has amused you," Naveen dejectedly replied.

Guiltily, Tiana admitted, "Really, Naveen, that was sweet of you."

"Shall we return to the shop?" he asked. "I left my boat near yours. I can lead the way."

They all followed the bright spotlights Naveen had affixed to his boat and returned to Mr. Rey's shop. As they were nearly ready to leave, Naveen said to Tiana, "May I take you home?"

Huffing, Tiana immediately snapped, "You think I'm going to sleep with you just because you—"

"What I meant to say was…May I take you to your home? To the door only," he clarified.

"I don't owe you anything," she warned. "And I'm not like those cheap airheads you seem so fond of."

"Of course you don't owe me anything." Naveen took a moment to flash a grin that probably worked on most women and said, "But, perhaps when it is time for us to say goodnight, a tiny token of your appreciation would be nice?"

"Don't push it," Tiana dryly said.

"Very well. But what about your friends?"

"Oh…ummm…"

"The rest of our friends left the expedition a little earlier. They are going to drive over and pick us up," Emma lied. After all, she wasn't going to try to explain who they were to anyone else, and she couldn't tell him they'd just 'poof' themselves back to the Jolly Roger.

Naveen jogged up onto the deck and unlocked the screened porch, "You can wait in here. It's not much but at least it's cover."

"Much appreciated, mate," Killian replied.

"Please lock it before you leave. That is all I ask. And do your best not to damage anything. My father would hold me personally responsible."

Tiana gave her new friends her cell phone number so they could meet the next morning. She still planned to take them to Facilier's shop. Naveen jutted out his elbow, offering his arm to Tiana. She stared for a few seconds, trying to decide what she wanted to do, but with a small nod of acceptance, she casually wound her hand around his arm and the two walked away together. When they were a good distance away, Emma and Killian heard Naveen ask, "So who are these new friends of yours?"

"Tourists I met at the tavern," Tiana answered, tiredly.

"They seem…interesting."

"Oh, you have no idea," she answered.

"Then tell me about them."

"I'm still not sure if I know," Tiana chuckled. Changing the subject, she said as they got into Naveen's car, "Was your father upset that I didn't make it back before closing?"

"A moment alone at last," Killian said after Tiana and Naveen had gone. He turned to Emma and took a moment just to look at her.

A bug zapper cast a pale blue glow in one corner of the screened porch where they pretended to wait for a ride. Two vending machines hummed at the other end of the porch, and a few tables, chairs and benches covered the deck.

"A romantic date in a swamp?" Emma replied ironically.

"Romance is not so much about location as it is the company. Although you were the one to first suggest this is a date…" Killian looked at the vending machine and searched his pocket to see if he had any coins from this world. Digging through a strange combination of doubloons and quarters, he found enough money to purchase a couple of bottles. Turning to her victoriously he said, "Might as well make the best of the situation."

"I'd love to have time for a date," she said, stepping closer and taking one of the drinks from his hand. Coquettishly tracing her finger along the opening in his shirt, she eventually sighed with resignation, "But we have to get back to the others. They'll worry."

"If only there was a way to efficiently contact them," he teased as he took out his cell phone. Calling Regina, he took a moment to check in, keeping his eyes fixed on Emma through the entire conversation. "It's high time you attempt to embrace the conveniences of this world," he joked as he ended the call.

"Right," she smiled, rolling her eyes, "well we can't all be on the cutting edge of technology like you."

It was true though, he was completely settling into her world. He wasn't perplexed by vending machines or cell phones anymore, and Emma had the distinct impression that the man could adapt and survive almost anywhere. She watched him step one leg over a bench, straddling it as he took a seat and gestured to the spot next to him. The one thing that seemed horribly out of place was the beverage in his hand. He didn't grab for his flask, he opened a bottle of cola and took a drink, and that looked far crazier than the sight of him with a cell phone.

"You out of rum already?" she asked.

"No. Why, love, you need it? Are you injured?"

"No I just…" Emma took a seat next to his knees, facing the table. "It's just weird to see you drinking anything besides rum."

"The ale at Granny's is fantastic," he answered. "I drink that."

"I know it's just...usually you tend to drink things with alcohol in them. And coffee."

"Amazing stuff, coffee. And I do love my rum. It's great to care for wounds, as you can attest to. It's wonderful in times of celebration, to share a moment of camaraderie, but most of all, it's wonderful to help ease a man's sorrow. Pirate panacea," he explained with a grin.

"All in one little flask," she replied as she happily regarded the man next to her.

"Indeed," he said, staring at the bottle of cola in his hand and raising it in a mock toast, "I just don't have any wounds to speak of at the moment. Since you can't drink, I've no one to share a drink with in the spirit of celebration or camaraderie." He turned and looked at her as he added, "And, simply put, I've very few sorrows to drown as of late."

Sometimes his words would really strike her, and they did that night. Her fingers slid over his sleeve and moved up his forearm as she slid just a little closer. She calmly shook her head though, trying to maintain some semblance of cool, and she asked, "You're a graduate of pirate charm school?"

"I founded the institution and was the finest instructor to ever walk those hallowed halls," he immediately joked. "After all, there was no pirate more adept in the subject than I," and as she smiled and laughed softly at his response, he looked quite pleased with himself. She could see in his expression just how much he loved making her smile.

"It has been too long since we've been alone. And since we've repeatedly had sex in caves and jungles and castles and pretty much everywhere else we've been since we started seeing each other, it's probably going to be hard to convince you that this place is inappropriate," she replied.

"Agreed."

"But at the same time, I don't really want to add indecent exposure charges to my rap sheet."

"I'd never allow you to be indecently exposed to anyone but me," he declared. "We're alone out here. I doubt anyone would venture into these parts so late at night."

"I don't think they would either…but they could."

"There's nothing indecent about a kiss, is there?"

Without a verbal answer, her fingers caught his chin and turned him toward her. After one quick brush of her lips against his, they were soon facing each other, kissing with all of the passion they had within them. A kiss was seldom just a kiss for them. Still seated on the bench, her legs soon draped over his thighs, their bodies coming closer without any thought at all.

She was sitting on the spot of bench right near the apex of his thighs, as close as she could be without allowing their clothed sexes to touch because that would be too much to stand without caving in to each other. His arms were around her as his tongue flicked her earlobe, his hand working down toward her ass. He changed direction just before he could feel the tops of her jeans, seemingly in an act of the utmost restraint. His fingers slipped under her shirt as their mouths met again and she felt them climbing up her ribs toward her breast.

As they made out like teenagers desperate for a moment alone in a place that was only barely secluded, he managed to push her bra up enough to free her breasts while keeping her covered with her shirt and hidden by his body. His palm grazed her pebbled nipple, and the deep, masculine groan that rumbled from his chest signaled that the avalanche of affection was already beginning. Things were still, as always, so incredibly heated between them. As pervasive as the mutual attraction was, it didn't define them. It was a symptom, a sign and a byproduct of the vast expanse of love they shared.

They were so near, separated by clothes and a sliver of distance necessitated by the one pale blue bug light that illuminated the space they occupied and made them visible should anyone come by. He thought about using his sword to sever the cord that provided power to that one nuisance. But he didn't want to do any damage after they were graciously offered this space, and there was something beautiful about the restrictions placed upon them. They were forced to accept this sampling of each other, this makeout session that stretched well beyond their typical foreplay.

Their need was as heavy as the humid summer bayou air, their lust creating a gravity that seemed to demand the destruction of that sliver of space that stubbornly kept them apart. They each knew what they'd find if one of them would just cave and wiggle that tiny bit closer. She could feel the urgency of his longing, and knew that if the space could be obliterated, she'd find him hard as steel. She could already imagine her fingers surrounding the smooth skin of his cock, and she could hear that desperate almost shaky sigh that signaled a vulnerability that seemed so opposed to the decisiveness of his physical reaction.

And he already knew what he'd find nestled between her legs. He knew she'd be all of those wonderful things he'd come to know. She'd be wet and soft and warm and tight, and every single adjective that flowed through his brain as he thought of her body sounded like bliss. But he wasn't thinking in adjectives and verbs and any sort of organized idea that could be easily converted to text. He was thinking in images, sensations, sounds and heat, and things that were always better experienced than spoken about.

The contact that was allowed, gropes beneath shirts, suggestive kisses and nips along her neck that went as far south as her collarbone but didn't dare go an inch further were delightful but also threw into light those touches and sensations that were not allowed.

When she slipped forward along the bench and purged the empty space between them, either could have pointed fingers in blame. It was true, he had tightened his arms around her again. It was also true that when his arms tightened, she moved too willingly closer toward him. For a few seconds, that extra bit of contact was enough. The actual heat between them was a fiery reminder of their desire. Those threads between them were simultaneously their scourge and their salvation. Although he was still trapped in his pants, it felt so good to press his hard length between her legs. Soon they felt their hips shifting, their sexes rubbing through their clothes.

He stood first, and she was certain that he was finally admitting that he'd had enough of this play, but he leaned down and kissed her and whispered, "Another fling out in the wild? For old times' sake?"

Her lack of answer was answer enough. Taking one more look at her in the glow of the light, he saw the desire on her face that made her seem so disheveled. He took her hand and led her back toward the vending machine. "What did you have in mind?" she coyly asked.

He stepped between the back wall and the vending machine. It was one small space where they were away from the glow cast by the light, and they had more cover there than they did almost anywhere else on that screen porch. Ironically, once they were back there, Emma flicked her hand and the bug light turned off and darkened the room. "You couldn't have done that earlier?" he smirked.

"I was a little preoccupied. Besides…I was having fun the way things were," she answered, gasping as he stepped between her legs.

The vending machine behind her hummed, creating soft vibrations at her back. He didn't waste any time, hoping she wouldn't change her mind. He finessed his way into her pants as quickly as possible until the back of his knuckle pressed at the edge of her folds and he waited.

"Don't stop now," she ordered, and she could feel his smile.

His knuckle slipped up and down, her juices liberally coating his digit. He was oddly patient after the intensity of the moment that had preceded this one. He drew his knuckle slowly up and down, only barely parting her sex and brushing her clit. Although the movement of his finger was slow, the intensity hadn't lessened. She need this, she needed him, and each time his finger touched her nub she could think of nothing else but the next time he'd touch that spot again. It was a repetitive symphony of pleasure and anticipation alternating against her.

Her fingers started to dig into him as her climax loomed, and his pace was patient yet unrelenting like the unpersuadable rhythm of perpetual motion. She could feel her body impatiently demanding the arrival of her peak as the pleasure became almost too delicious. The wait for release ended with one sharp spasm as her clit throbbed under his touch and her orgasm crashed with palpable electricity. Wanting to silence her cries, she slid her tongue into his mouth and started eagerly kissing him as she felt her whole body continue to react to his steady stroking against her sex.

She leaned her forehead against his shoulder as she started to descend, and she felt his finger continuing to softly move against her. She opened her mouth to demand that he stop, but the only noise that slipped from her lips was a sigh so drenched with arousal that it even surprised her. She couldn't possibly convince him that she was sated when she sounded like that.

The pulse inside her wanted so badly to feel him within, and she knew that particular screaming need wouldn't be satisfied by anything less. She opened his pants and wrapped both hands around his straining dick. She felt the moisture at his tip and the hardness of his member and his lust was the perfect accompaniment to her own. He removed his hand from her pants and he stroked his cock a few times, coating it with the wetness that was all over his fingers after touching her. For some reason, the thought of her wetness all over his rock hard prick made her all the more desirous. When she started taking off her jeans, he felt his heart palpitate with anticipation.

She leaned her back against the vending machine and braced one foot against the wall behind him and grabbed a handful of fabric from his shirt and pulled him close. Her tummy was bigger, but still not big enough to make such unexpected encounters in tight spaces difficult.

His hand slipped under her leg and lifted her from the ground. They found each other in the dark, without any hands to guide him into her. They knew each other's bodies so well. They knew how they fit together. The sensitive, thick tip of him pushed into her body, and this time she couldn't kiss him quickly enough to silence her cries. He pushed slowly into her, opening her inch by inch as her body clasped firmly around him. He didn't even stop once he was buried in her. He pulled out completely, feeling the lack of her tight grip for a second before he pushed his body back into the warmth of her.

But his own need wouldn't let him be as patient as he'd been with his finger. Each time he pushed into her, he moved a little more quickly, and he lacked the willpower to pull out of her completely again, but he made sure they could both feel the steady luxury of their bodies meeting. She pushed the back of his pants down enough so she could grab his ass and pull him closer. She started bucking back against the machine behind her. The whole thing just felt so fucking good. As much as it could have been a powerful aphrodisiac to imagine themselves out in the open, neither were aware enough to even think about that anymore.

He came first this time, lifting her a little higher with each jolt of his orgasm. As she felt him exploding into her, her muscles snapped tight around him and her second orgasm rose quickly and crashed and drained the last of his strength from his body.

Moments later, after sloppy, sleepy kisses of admiration and appreciation, the two weak-kneed lovers gathered themselves and left the confines of their temporary love nest together. "Do you think someday we'll be a normal, boring couple looking back at our wilder days?" she asked as he locked the door as they'd been instructed by Naveen and she flicked the light back on.

They walked behind the building to dim the bright light of her magic if anyone should come by. "I sincerely hope not," he answered. "We're so good at the wilder days…seems a shame to squander such talents."

They returned to the Jolly Roger, relieved to find Henry peacefully sleeping below deck and Regina and Robin sharing close conversation on deck. They briefly updated their allies on what had happened with Tiana and spent an uneventful night resting.

When they woke in the morning, things seemed, for them, to be remarkably lacking in drama. As peaceful as it all seemed, they all knew quite well that the serenity wouldn't last.