To say that Emma was not happy as she and Hook trudged up the path towards the Witch's farmhouse would be the understatement of the year. She was furious to a point of bursting and she felt like slapping the man she had trusted wholeheartedly up until this morning every time he made a move to speak. He had put Henry in danger, her Henry, her responsibility.
"I never should have brought Henry back to Storybrooke", she muttered to herself as the farm came within view.
"You did what you thought was right", Hook replied. Emma glared in his direction; she had not wanted his opinion on this.
"I did what you manipulated me into", she spat out. Hook did not meet her gaze.
"Your parents needed you, Swan", he said. "The town needed you."
"Henry also needed me", Emma replied. "We were happy in New York. Once I'm done melting this witch I'd like us to be happy again."
"You know, as content as you were in that city, it wasn't real", Hook sharply pointed out and turned to look at her, his blue eyes glowing. She met his gaze with equal ferocity.
"It was real for me", she replied, "and for him. Everything that happened actually happened and wasn't pulled out of a storybook."
"Minus all the things you'd forgotten", Hook argued. "Part of you is not the real you and, like it or not, a big part of you and Henry belongs in this town."
"Yeah, the part of us that's always in danger", Emma argued back. "We're leaving."
"What does the boy think?" Hook asked. Emma frowned at him.
"He's a kid; he wants chocolate milk in his cereal. I'm his mother; I know what's best for him."
Hook huffed in mock amusement.
"What's best for him", he begun and grabbed her arm with his one functioning hand, turning her around to face him, "or for you?"
"Excuse me?" she said and pulled free of his grasp, continuing the walk towards the farm. She passed the fence and stood in the empty yard.
"You've taken care of the boy quite well here", Hook said as he caught up with her again. "You can talk about danger all you like, but it isn't that."
He turned towards her, his blue eyes studying her intently.
"So tell me, what is it?" he asked. "Why are you so scared of staying?"
Emma tried to shake off his words, but found that they still slipped into her mind and made her doubt her decision to leave. But this was not her home. She was never meant to stay in a town inhabited by fairytale characters; she had been sent away and did not belong with them. She belonged in the real world and so did Henry, because that would be where he was safe.
"I think it's because you can see a future here", Hook continued, "a happy one."
She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Let me guess; with you?"
Hook opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by another sound.
"Aww."
They both spun around. Zelena had appeared in front of the main house. Gold stood slightly behind her, looking ragged and tired. Emma could not help but notice that some of the usual spark in his eyes seemed to be gone, as if he was not quite the man he was supposed to be.
"You two are so adorable", the Witch continued as she approached them, smiling. "But instead of looking at each other, maybe you should be focused on me."
"Although", she added, her smile widening, "without magic, that could prove to be a challenge."
"Next time you try to take my power, why don't you try enchanting the lips of someone I'll actually kiss?" Emma replied, glaring at the woman. Zelena pouted, before glancing in Hook's direction.
"Emma", she said, sounding as if she was explaining something difficult to a child, "you've got a decision to make. You can keep your magic, which makes you oh so sad, or you can save the man you can't wait to run away from."
Emma felt a frown forming on her forehead the same moment that Zelena turned towards her prisoner with a smile.
"Rumple."
Gold flung his left arm up above his head and, with it, Hook soared through the air and landed head first in the well beside the road leading to the main house. His hands grasped the concrete side of the object and his feet, still planted on the ground, tried to brace themselves against the well's outside, but however hard he tried he did not seem to be able to pull himself back out.
"Hook!" Emma shouted and ran towards him, grabbing him by the shoulders and yanking. Nothing happened; Hook's head was still submerged beneath the water.
"Choose wisely", Zelena said behind her back. Emma gritted her teeth and tried harder. Hook's hands slacked and slipped on the concrete, landing in the water as well.
"Try all you like", the Witch continued. "You can't free him."
Emma turned to face her. Zelena stood straight and tall, a triumphant gleam in her eyes and a regal posture in her shoulders. This was the Wicked Witch and if Emma had once feared the powers of the Evil Queen, the Queen of Hearts or Peter Pan, the fear she felt now made them feel like nothing.
Then, in a cloud of green smoke, Zelena whisked herself and Gold away from the farm while Hook's movements slowly stilled.
The thud caused by the main stairs caused Catriona to spin around.
"Wolf!" she screamed and rushed over to him where he now lay on the ground. Her scream caused Rachel to come out from the delivery room.
"What happened?" she asked as she hurried over.
"I don't know, he just fell over", Catriona responded and turned him over onto his back. "Rachel, he's not breathing! What do we do?"
"CPR, can you do it?" Rachel asked.
"I'm not..."
Rachel pulled the phone out of Wolfgang's pocket and tossed it to her.
"Tell the others", she ordered, before she placed her left hand on Wolfgang's forehead and two fingers of her right hand beneath his chin, bending his head backwards and opening up the airways. She then cursed in Swedish as water poured out of his mouth.
"He's got water in his mouth?" Catriona asked at the same time that she pressed Send on the phone.
"You didn't see him drink anything, did you?" Rachel asked. Catriona quickly shook her head.
"Remember what Ollivander told us, back at Hog's Castle?" the older girl continued.
"That we might be affected if our connections are hurt by magic", Catriona replied. "So... the one who's really drowning..."
"Is Hook", Rachel filled in. She then placed her hands on the centre of Wolfgang's chest and started a series of compressions. The phone in Catriona's hand vibrated and she looked down at the message.
"Toby's figured it out as well; he's suggesting that we go after Hook and Emma", she alerted Rachel. She nodded and pulled out a set of keys from her pocket while moving over to Wolfgang's head again.
"David's truck", she said, before she started blowing air into the boy's mouth. Catriona grabbed the keys and dropped the phone next to Rachel, before running down the stairs.
Toby, Clarissa and Indira met her at the foot of the stairs.
"Truck-keys", Catriona said and tossed them to Toby.
"Don't mind the speed-limits, Toby", Clarissa filled in as they moved towards the doors. "I don't think either the Mayor or the Sheriff would mind if we went as fast as possible."
I'm heading back to uni tomorrow but I have a couple of days before I start, so I'll try to finish writing this episode and getting started on the finale (21+22) sometime this weekend, maybe, hopefully X)
