A/N: Thanks for all the positive feedback! I really appreciate the reviews =).

The Snow/Charming scene in this chapter was inspired by Hollarious969. I hope it went as you wanted because I enjoyed adding it in (and I'll add in at least one more in a later chapter too).

Enjoy!

The Jolly Roger rose up in front of him in all her glory, her burnished wooden planks almost glowing in the sunlight. The sight brought both satisfaction and relief to Hook - he hadn't liked being a captain without a ship, even though it was only for a short time.

The blonde woman was standing on his right, and he shot a quick glance at her, his eyes curious. Who was she? Some kind of nobility, he assumed, because she had had enough gold on her to buy back his ship at fair price plus a sizeable 'bonus' to speed up the sale.

"So," her voice interrupted his thoughts, "can we go now?"

He shot her an exasperated look. "There's no hurry, love. The crew should have the ship ready any moment."

There was a flurry of shouting on the deck following his words and a couple loud thumps. Hook winced, hoping that no one had dropped their cargo and hurt his ship.

Smee poked his head over the side, his trade-mark red cap bright against the blue sky. "Ready, Captain."

Hook nodded his acknowledgement. "Told you." That comment was directed to the woman at his side.

She flashed him a heated glare, her bright eyes fierce in a way he found strangely attractive despite the obvious dislike behind the expression.

"After you, my lady," he gestured for her to precede him up the ramp to the ship.

She gave him a thinly-veiled look of panic. "I'm no lady." She didn't explain any further, but her response confused him even more.

She didn't know who she was, or so she said. But she seemed pretty sure that she wasn't a lady and he was pretty sure that she wasn't a commoner, so what other options were there? On top of it all, the only thing that she clearly remembered was that she needed to get to Thuill and get that flower. It was an awfully strange thing for someone claiming amnesia to remember. And that particular flower was…

"Captain, you coming?" Smee's voice interrupted his thoughts and he quickly realized that the whole crew was lined up at the railing, staring at him. Including the woman.

Pushing his doubts aside and schooling his features into a stern mask, Hook bellowed, "Stations! I want us sailing by the time my foot hits the deck."

The crew scattered, all except for the woman. She kept her curious eyes on him as he boarded, making him feel self-conscious. A woman's gaze hadn't had that effect on him since...while, since Milah.

His voice was rougher than he intended as he placed his booted feet on the deck next to the woman and tried to banish thoughts of Milah from his mind. "What do I call you?"

She started at his abrupt question, her full lips parting slightly as she thought. He had to close his eyes and take a deep breath to stop himself from doing something that he would later regret. Like kissing her. But her lips were so inviting and looked soft and definitely kissable.

"Call me Emma," she finally said. Her eyes flickered to his, trying to gauge his reaction to her response.

He smiled at her, his most charming grin, calculated to take her breath away. "Welcome aboard the Jolly Roger, Lady Emma."

Unbeknownst to Hook, if he had stayed in Alenfey just one more night, he would have seen the posters offering a reward for any information on the disappearance of Princess Emma, complete with pictures.

The ship pulled smoothly away from the dock.

...

Charming paced back and forth in front of the window, like he had done every night since their daughter's disappearance days earlier.

Snow sat more sedately on the window seat, watching the sun set on yet another day where their daughter didn't return home.

A messenger appeared in the doorway, like he did every night. Snow felt a faint stirring of hope that immediately vanished as she saw the look on the messenger's face. It was becoming a regular routine - every day she hoped for a miracle, and every day she was disappointed.

"Any news?" Charming demanded, pausing in his impatient habit.

The messenger shook his head. "Nothing, Your Majesties."

Charming put his hand up to his forehead, massaging his temples and squeezing his eyes shut. To any casual observer, it would appear that the King had a headache. However, to her, her husband was easy to read. That movement was designed to hide the tears in his eyes, to hide his emotion from her. He believed that he had to be strong for the sake of his family.

"You can go," Charming choked out, his voice thick. He didn't open his eyes.

"Wait," Snow ordered just as the man turned to go. "Are the posters up?"

"In every city in the kingdom, Your Majesty."

Snow nodded. "Thank you. You may go."

The messenger left with a deep bow, shutting the door quietly behind him.

"We'll find her." Snow imbued her voice with hope.

Charming sighed and opened his eyes. They were still watery, but he seemed to be in better control of himself. He sat next to her and put his strong arm around her shoulders, offering her what comfort he could give. "I know."

"And she's smart. She won't leave the kingdom." She knew that Charming would understand what she didn't say, that leaving the kingdom meant leaving the magical protection and becoming vulnerable to the Evil Queen's power.

Charming's arms tightened around her. "This is all my fault."

Surprised at his admission, Snow twisted in his grasp to meet his eyes. "No. Don't even say that."

"It's true, though." Charming's tone was bleak. "She left because of what I arranged with Jonneth's father." His muscles tensed up. "And I should have known better - my arranged marriage obviously didn't work out."

"Shush." Snow soothed him, brushing her fingertips against his face. "Yes, we made a mistake." She placed a subtle emphasis on the 'we.' "But so did Emma by not talking to us and telling us how she felt."

Charming had no answer to that.

They sat there in silence for a while, just taking what solace they could in each other's company before leaving to comfort their two younger sons, Neal and Graham. Both were upset at the loss of their sister. Now was the time to put weakness and grief aside and to be strong. For their family.

...

"...and this is the galley, where you'll be spending a fair amount of your time, I'd imagine."

Emma made a face that the infuriating captain behind her couldn't see, then stepped into the tiny galley. It didn't take her long to figure out that it was the ship's equivalent of a kitchen and was only marginally larger than her room on the ship (which fit a cot and a shelf, but barely).

There was no good answer to the question, but she asked it anyway. "Why would I spend time here?"

From behind her, Hook chuckled. "Cook quit."

Emma spun around, her irritation painted across her face. "And because I'm a woman…" she trailed off, suddenly realized that Hook's chest was only inches from her face. "A...a...woman…" she stuttered, trying to regain her ability to speak.

The galley suddenly seemed even smaller with Hook there - his commanding presence filled the room and his scent assaulted her nose.

"You are certainly a woman," he muttered, brushing a strand of hair back from her face. She knew that she should move away from his touch, but she couldn't seem to force his traitorous legs to obey. "But that's not the reason," he continued, still staring at her with his clear blue eyes. "I need the rest of the crew where they are, and unless you know how to sail a ship, you're the only person I can spare."

"Oh. Right." Any and all arguments flew out of Emma's mind. Later, she would berate herself for not telling him off because she practically owns his ship and was paying him for passage and thus shouldn't have to work, but for now, conscious thought seemed beyond her.

The intensity of the moment was shattered at the sound of yelling above deck.

"I think I'm needed above deck and should probably go before they start killing each other." Hook winced at the thought. "I'll leave you to settle in."

"Thanks," she said slowly, still reeling.

He left the galley, his footsteps hurried. Running to them, or away from her?

With a sigh, Emma leaned against the wall and caught her breath. The pirate captain had an unsettling effect on her and she was determined to stay away from him. She didn't listen to that niggling doubt in the back of her mind asking her if that was going to be possible.

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