"Swan? What are you doing?" He squinted at her in the darkness.
She shot like a bullet across the hallway, stopping right in front of him. "Did you forget," she hissed quietly, "that I have those lovely enchanted objects planted all over Storybrooke?"
Shit. He had forgotten. He had just been so wrapped up in his determination to make David understand how things were that everything else had just been pushed to the back of his mind.
"And?"
"And you're running to tell my daddy on me?" Her voice was sharp, but it didn't raise above a whisper.
"Know what, Swan? Yeah, I am. Because I've still got no idea what to do, but I think your family at least deserves to know that you aren't coming back. They love you and they love Henry, and they don't hate me. So I feel that they should know that there's a chance that their whole world is going to change. Now, either come inside with me or get out of my way!" He pushed past her, his shoulder knocking against hers. Without looking back, he raised his fist to the door and banged on it loudly, three times.
He heard a small whooshing sound and knew that she was gone. From inside the apartment, he heard thudding footsteps moving across the floor. David yanked open the door with a glare that could turn anyone to stone. Killian heard Neal crying and Mary Margaret shushing him.
"Pirate. Seriously? It couldn't wait until morning?"
"No, sorry." He swept into the apartment. Mary Margaret started down the steps, Neal tucked into the crook of her arm. "Sorry, Mary Margaret. I didn't mean to wake the baby, it's just that I absolutely had to talk to David. Please." She frowned but nodded and went back upstairs.
David shut the door and led the man to the island. "Speak quickly, Hook. I am exhausted and now so are Mary Margaret and Neal."
"Emma wants Henry and I to join her. She says we'd make some kind of team, and that's what she wants. A team. It's like what the Ice Bitch tried." His shaking fingers reached for his flask, and after a few tries was able to take a sip.
"Why are you so worked up?" David asked. "You just have to tell her no."
"David, that's just it. I'm terrified to see what happens if we say no. Henry wouldn't even speak to me on the way home, so I've got no idea where his thoughts are. But, tonight she was different than any other time we've interacted with her as the Dark One. Henry said he wasn't sure, and I swear I thought she was going to explode."
"What stopped her?" The prince's brow furrowed.
"I bought us some time by saying we needed to think. I'm supposed to have a decision to her by tonight."
"That doesn't give you much time." He pulled his phone out of his bathrobe and tapped the screen a few times before laying it on the counter. "With any luck, Henry is still awake."
"No, it doesn't, and thank you for checking. David, there's something else you should know." He pulled one of the barstools over and straddled it.
"Okay?" The other man did the same, eyeing Killian suspiciously from the opposite side of the bar.
"Emma was here when I arrived. She was waiting at the door, furiously angry. Told me I was running to tell on her. Which, I guess in some odd way I am." He planted his face on the granite and groaned. "What the bloody hell am I supposed to do?"
He felt a small hand rub slow circles on his back. "You'll figure it out, Killian." Mary Margaret said. "But it seems that Henry isn't answering, which means that he's gone to bed, and I think you should too. You're staying here. Emma's made it very clear that she won't step foot in this house, so you'll have a few hours of uninterrupted sleep."
"Oh, that's very kind of you, but I'm sure I'll be fine on the Jolly." He looked to David for backup but received the opposite.
"Actually, Hook, I think she's right. You said yourself you've been dealing with a lot and maybe the best way for you to deal with it is to get a good night's sleep. I'll keep my phone on and make sure Henry comes here in the morning to talk."
Mary Margaret pointed to the twin bed in the corner of the big room. "Go. Sleep. We are going to bed, and you'd better be here in the morning." She patted his shoulder and took her husband by the hand, leading him upstairs.
As much as he wanted to go back to the Jolly, he couldn't make himself. He absolutely hated it when people took care of him, and this situation was making him a bit itchy. Not unlike the bed in his cabin. He loved his ship more than anything, but the bed was not comfortable. Just looking over at the soft bed in the corner made his body ache and eyes grow heavy. The additional bonus of a few stress-free hours was attractive as well.
Why the hell not?
He walked over to the bed and sank down onto the side. After pulling his jacket, boots, and socks off, he glanced up to see David coming down the stairs. He tossed a wad of flannel at Killian.
"Pajamas. Don't sleep in your jeans. It's weird. And I will not have a half naked pirate under my roof. Goodnight."
Once the prince was out of sight, Killian changed into the pajamas and crawled under the covers.
Holy shit, it felt like heaven.
He rolled over onto his side and faced the brick wall. What the hell was he going to do about Emma? Or Henry? Obviously he couldn't control the boy, being of no relation. But, after all this time he'd grown fond of the lad and didn't want to see him go down a dark path. And what about him? He knew that if he just gave into her, he could have everything he'd ever wanted. Emma, his to love and have. But, he'd worked so damned hard to be good. Could he really just throw it away like that?
As he drifted off, his last coherent thought was of Emma, and how the room suddenly smelled like her perfume.
A/N: You guys have been so sweet! I'd like to specially thank Victoria Darlin for her kind reviews and messages that kept me going through tonight, as well as Wertman25. Thank you guys! As always, reviews get another chapter tonight!