Author's Note: Hey guys! Just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate the support I've gotten so far for this story. You guys are so sweet. Also, a lot of this is exact lines from the episodes, but that will change after the third chapter. Don't worry, the story is just starting out. And, Hook will NOT have his lips cursed by Zelena. I didn't like that plot line and so, it won't happen here. Thus, the AU-ness of the fic. Besides, I have other more enjoyable activities planned for him that wouldn't really do if he had cursed lips. *evil cackling*

Disclaimer: Still own nothing. If I did, this would be on HBO. And, I'd probably have Eric Northman show up. Hell, if I owned Eric Northman, well...I'd at least know where he is right now. If you know what I'm saying? *suggestively raises eyebrows and cackles again*

Emma awoke to the near-deafening blare of her phone, and the annoying ringtone Henry had set as its default months ago. She rubbed at her eyes and reached for the phone on her nightstand. Considering it was David-her FATHER, for god's sake-calling, the ringtone was HIGHLY inappropriate. However, she couldn't help but think of the face she'd get to see if her father had heard it. She snickered at the thought. Sighing, she opened the phone and held it to her ear. "Yes?" She answered.

"Emma? Oh, thank god." Was the screechy reply of her mother on the other end.

"Mary Margaret? Why are you calling me? On David's phone?" Emma questioned, slightly befuddled.

"Hi, sweetie." Replied Mary Margaret, much less screechy and a whole lot more relaxed than when she first spoke, Emma noticed. "Um, I'm calling on your father's cellphone because mine is dead. I'm sorry if I frightened you, honey, but what with Zelena out and about-with a personal vendetta against Regina and most likely us, by association-I was afraid you were hurt. You see, I called three times already, and you didn't answer." Her mother babbled.

Oh.

She didn't answer.

Well, hell. Now she felt pretty guilty.

"Sorry, I guess I just...had a rough night." She stated weakly. She did, in fact, have a rough night. After her all-in-all disappointing conversation with Hook out in front of her room at Granny's, she slipped inside the door and tucked Henry into his bed. She'd gotten an adjoining room (the only one in the small B&B in Storybrooke), and walked into her bedroom afterwards. She laid down on her bed and contemplated her conversation and-oh god, did she really have to admit it?-developing feelings for the pirate. She tossed and turned all night. She knew he loved her. That she KNEW. But, somewhere in the back of her mind, she just couldn't believe the truth in it. She was broken, had been her whole life. No one ever truly loved her, and, even if they had, they died. Killed by vile, vengeance-filled villains. It was safer for his life if he didn't love her. So, she didn't believe it. She couldn't. She had to leave. Leaving was good, because then she'd keep Henry safe. She'd keep her parents safe (from her inevitable coldness toward them). She'd keep him safe (given the fact that he did love her and all that would solve if he dared go near her would be his ultimate demise). But, most importantly, she'd keep her heart safe. And that needed to be protected at all costs.

"Oh, are you alright?" Mary Margaret asked worriedly.

Geez, twenty eight years without parents. Only to find them-being the EXACT same age as her-totally and completely overprotective.

"I'm fine-just...tired, I guess?"

"Good," her mother said. "Would you care to come to the apartment? Your father is trying-and failing, miserably-to build the baby's crib." Emma heard David's voice yell in the background, "HEY! SNOW, I HEARD THAT!" Mary Margaret chuckled. "Emma, please come." She pleaded.

"Okay, I'll be there in about an hour. Let me just wake Henry."

"Thank you." Mary Margaret said. "Oh, and Emma?"

The very distinct sound of banging and David cursing loudly could be heard on the other end of the line.

"Yeah?"

"Please hurry."

"I've seen enemy battle plans that were easier to decode than this." David charmingly quipped.

"Let me see." Emma said, and reached for the instructions on how to build a baby crib that her father was holding. He handed it to her silently, then stood up and knelt behind her. "Alright," Emma said. "It says take screws E with washers D..." She says as she and David scout the floor for the correct items. "Through bar C-using wrench F, which is..." she stares at the instructions with a look of disdain gracing her features. "...not provided."

Treachery.

These baby crib instructions have betrayed her.

"Do you want me to just call Marco? He's really good at this sort of thin-" Mary Margaret begins, until she is interrupted by her husband and daughter, each with matching shocked expressions on their faces.

"NO!" Emma and David yell. "We're fine!" David adds, indignantly.

"Should we even be doing this?" Mary Margaret asks. "Ever since the showdown between Regina and the Wicked Witch, we haven't seen Zelena-or Gold-AT ALL-shouldn't we be focusing on her next move?"

"We are," Emma says softly. "We just can't stop living." 'Yeah, especially after Neal died.' A little voice in her head adds.

Whoa.

Too soon, mind. Too soon.

'Go find Tallahassee..'

Seriously?

"Nah, this crib is a...statement." David says. Mary Margaret and Emma look at him with confused-or in Mary Margaret's case indignant-expressions. "We're not gonna lose another baby."

"And, thanks to me...you won't." Regina supplies, walking through the front door. "I'm finished."

"So? Did it work?" David asks, getting up to meet Regina, who is currently standing at the table by the door, putting bottles of potions back in her case. "Were you able to put up a new protection spell?" Emma and Mary Margaret turned their heads expectantly towards Regina.

"One that can't be undone by blood magic. Which means, Zelena won't be able to put her hands on that baby." Regina said, sitting down at the table.

Mary Margaret sighed relieved and somewhat contentedly from her position on the chair in the corner of the room. "Any idea why she would want to?" She asked.

"The number of spells involving baby parts would surprise you." Regina snarked. Mary Margaret looked shocked, disgusted, and frightened and moved her hands to circle her baby bump, quite protectively. "That Greenie is clearly one twisted witch," Regina said. "But as long as we're in here, we're safe." She smiled at Mary Margaret.

"That's useless!" Emma remarked. "I think we need to stop playing defense and start taking the fight to her." She was sick and tired of the nonsensical madness that was her friends and family carefully running circles around the Wicked Bitch, while she took what she wanted and killed whomever she pleased with no regrets nor remorse.

She'd had enough.

Mary Margaret looked over at her daughter, seemingly surprised by her sudden outburst. She rolled her eyes over to her once-upon-a-time-stepmother when Regina incredulously replied, "Did you not see how I barely outwitted her yesterday? She has magic. Powerful magic."

Emma held her ground. "I have magic, too. You've seen me use it, I just can't always CONTROL IT!" She said as she pounded her fist down on her crossed knee. David came back over to sit on a chair across from his wife. "But of we teamed up...if you-taught me-"

"Now why does this feel so familiar" Regina interrupted.

"I'm ready this time."

Regina chuckled. "Okay," She looked over at Emma. "But if we do this, we do this my way."

"This isn't...drinking stale coffee at a stakeout or...whatever it is you did as a bail-bonds-person." She said as she stood up from the chair she had been occupying. "This," she slapped her hand down on the case containing her potions. "Is a way of life. You have to fully commit to it."

"Not a problem."

David and Mary Margaret exchanged a look.

"Meet me in my vault in one hour." Regina said as she took her leave.

Emma looked at her parents. "And no complaining, I'm DOING this. It's the only way! And YES, I will be careful!" She said as she stood up.

"We know." Her mother said. "Don't worry, we'll watch Henry when he gets back from the store." Her father added, somewhat forced.

Emma looked down somewhat embarrassed. "Actually...I'm not sure that's the best idea." Her parents looked at her surprised.

"Wha-what? What is it?" Mary Margaret asks while David looks inquisitively at Emma. Emma looks at them, mouth agape and eyes wide. "Well, you guys are t-tired." She stutters. "You need to-rest." She says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. David sits up, suspicion crossing his features.

"I'm pregnant, I'm not...sick with the flu." Mary Margaret says.

"Yeah, I know." Emma says. "It's just...um..." She hesitates, trying to find the right words. David stares at her and makes a motion with his hands for her to continue. "Well, it's...cradle cap!" She exclaims, throwing her hands up. "Last time you guys had him you overwhelmed him with baby tips. He's twelve! He doesn't want to talk about pregnancies! It's not fun!" She says quickly, her voice cracking in the middle of her words from the embarrassment of having to tell her parents that her son doesn't think they are fun.

"Oh, we're fun." Mary Margaret says stubbornly, disbelief clouding her eyes.

"I'm just saying maybe...Henry disagrees." Emma says, speaking with her hands.

"No," her mother breathes disbelieving. She shares a look with David who is equally just as shocked and hurt.

"He'll get there. You gotta remember he doesn't know who you are!" Emmarovides awkwardly.

"Well, if we're not fun, who is?" David asks. Emma looks put on the spot and reverts her attention to the floor.

"Ah...well," she starts.

"Hook!?" David nearly screeches. "Captain Hook is more fun than Prince Charming and Snow White?"

"Well, when you put it like that..." Emma begins.

"Emma!" Her mother admonishes. Emma sends her an apologetic smile.

"I sword fought with a baby in my arms! I slayed a dragon! I took back not one, but TWO kingdoms! How am I NOT fun?!" Her father indignantly exclaims.

"David, please remember," Emma stresses. "Henry doesn't remember who you are, and he...has a lot of fun with Hook."

"Doing what?"

"Umm...procuring seafaring vessels to sail about in for short periods of time."

"In other words, stealing boats?!"

"Maybe?" She shrugs.

"Emma, this is ridiculous! We're his grandparents, and we are COOL grandparents."

"I know that. And Henry will soon, too, just...trust me on this one?" She asks, eyes hopeful.

David sighs heavily. "Fine." He says.

"Okay, good." Emma says, walking towards the door. "Oh, and Emma?" He father calls. She turns and looks at him.

"We'll show Henry just how fun we can really be. In time." He smirks.

Wonderful.

Emma and Henry walked towards Killian, who was currently on a heated conversation with Smee on the docks.

When Emma had told Henry that he was going to stay with Killian again today, her son had been more than excited. He really liked him.

Huh.

Was this-nope, NO. Don't even go there, mind.

No way.

They had nearly reached him when Smee began to walk away. Emma stopped and told Henry, "Wait here, okay?" He nodded and she walked over to the pirate.

"Didn't he used to be a rat?" She asked as she approached him, staring after the departing Mr. Smee.

"Aye. In many ways, he still is." He said, seemingly pissed off.

Huh, again.

He turned towards her with a smirk, all former anger towards Smee gone, the very flirtatious demeanor that he always seemed to have when around her was left in its place. He angled his body toward her. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Swan?" He asked.

"I, um," Emma started, turning back briefly to look at her son, then back again to face Killian. "Was wondering if you could take care of Henry, again." She said.

He moved in closer to her. She could feel his breath hot on her face. "If you want to get close to me, you just have to ask. There's no need to use the lad as an excuse." He grinned crookedly at her.

Seriously?

What was WITH this guy?

Oh my lord.

"Why am I not surprised you're making this about you?" She said, although she was smiling. He grinned back at her. "I need your help, 'cause Regina needs to train me in magic. We think, together, we might be able to defeat the Wicked Witch."

He sobered his expression, suddenly quite serious. "Well, that's the first reasonable plan I've heard since this all began." He stated. "Magic is a part of you, Swan. Don't forget, I was there when Cora tried to steal your heart. I saw the power inside you. It's about time you embraced it. It's what makes you the Savior." He said, smiling softly at her.

"I'm not embracing anything," she said, suddenly self-concious. His cheery expression fell. "I need to learn magic to defeat Zelena and make sure everyone here is safe. After that, I'm done." She'd made her decision. She couldn't stay, it wasn't even an option. Of that she was certain.

She was.

Damn, dirty, mind tricks.

Killian tilted his head. "Done with what, exactly?"

She turned her head towards Henry, who was currently playing games on a cell phone. Turning back towards Killian, she said, "He doesn't belong here, not anymore. He belongs in the real world, in New York, in the life that he remembers. It was good. And it didn't involve vile villains."

"What about the life you remember?" He asked. She noticed that sometime during their conversation he had moved away from her, something very surprising when it came to world class personal-space-invader Killian Jones. He moved closer to her again. "You can't just pretend like this never happened." He pleaded, and she couldn't help but think that he meant something else entirely. "Trust me, I spent the last year trying to do just that. Return to the person that I used to be, and it didn't work."

"Why?" She inquired. "What happened over the last year that you're not telling me?"

"It matters not. Just take it from me, just this once...no matter how much you wish you could go back to your old life..." He shook his head and swallowed, hard. "You can't."

They stared each other down momentarily and then Emma dipped her head to the ground. "I-I don't," she began, raising her head to meet his decisive gaze. She could just get lost in his eyes. Those freaking blue eyes.

Whoa.

Stop.

Now.

"I have to meet Regina in twenty minutes." She finished lamely.

He stared at her a moment longer, some emotions flickering across his face that she couldn't identify. "Go." He said finally. "Go meet Regina. Learn magic, you have to save the town, don't you?" He joked, though his words weren't laced with the spark and carefree exuberance she'd come to know. He looked at her intently. "I'll take care of Henry. You needn't worry."

"Thank you." She said. This time it was heartfelt, it meant something. And it wasn't just because she wanted to kiss him. Even though she did. But she didn't. But she did.

Oh my freaking God.

He was literally so close, yet so far.

He was untouchable.

She couldn't touch him. No.

If she did, she knew for a fact that she would have crossed the line to the point of no return.

But didn't she want to cross that line?

Stop. Now.

She turned away from him to get Henry and bring him over to Killian. Henry chatted excitedly with the swashbuckling pirate, who answered back with just as much excitement, though his eyes never left hers.

And, as she took her leave, she felt his gaze burning a hole in her back.

Goddammit, she was so fucked. Completely and utterly fucked.

She met Regina outside of Madame Mayor's lovely, spooky vault. The vault that held so many memories for Emma. All of them were not so good. At all.

But she didn't want to go there.

"Hi," she said as she approached the former Evil Queen.

"You're late." Regina scoffed. "Now, I told you you would have to fully commit to this, Miss Swan." She turned to look Emma directly in the eyes. "Can you do that?"

"Yes." Emma said.

"Good. Now let's get started." She turned towards the door to the vault. "Follow me."

Emma followed Regina into the tomb and down the narrow stairwell that led to her super-secret magic vault.

It was kinda like the bat cave.

Hmm.

"Don't touch anything." Regina warned as she flipped her hair back with her hands. Emma was confused. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, she questioned, "how am I supposed to learn magic if I can't touch anything?"

"The same way I did with Rumple." Regina said simply. She continued moving forward while Emma stayed behind and picked up a creepy trinket that looked like some type of lizard hand (definitely an appendage, that was for sure) and turned it back and forth in her hand as she studied it. Regina continued speaking, as Emma's lack of rule-following skills were currently lost to her. "We're going to create a solid foundation first and then build your skills from the ground up-" She stopped speaking abruptly when she noticed that Emma had touched something.

Seriously, she should have known better. Rule Number One when dealing with the Evil Queen, Don't Piss Off The Evil Queen.

Regina glared at Emma and marched toward her. "I said,"She spat as she grabbed the strange object from Emma's grasp. "Don't. Touch." She put the object back and Emma couldn't help but stand there and look guilty. After all, she had just been chastised like a child, after acting like a child, so why not give an expression that usually only children use.

She was literally an actual five-year-old.

Regina sighed and walked away from Emma again, moving to unlock a chest that contained her spell books. "So," she said conversationally. "While we're here, who's looking after Henry? The UnCharmings'?" She quipped.

Emma looked over at Regina, who was turned away from her at the moment, nervously. "Actually, Hook is." She said quickly, then tore her gaze away. Regina turned back toward a disapproving look on her face. "Well, those two have been spending a lot of time together lately." She observed.

"Hook's good with Henry, and Henry likes him." Emma defended.

"He's prone to violence, impulsive, and has a hook for a hand, what about him would a twelve-year-old boy not like?" Regina asked sarcastically, as she turned back to her chest of spell books.

"I trust him," Emma sighed. "He brought me back to Storybrooke and he didn't have to."

"Oh, of course he brought you back." Regina snarked. Emma looked at her surprised. "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"Seriously?" Regina asked incredulously, as she once again turned to face Emma. Emma looked at her with a blank expression. "You're going to pretend everyone doesn't see the-yearning looks and doey eyes?"

"I don't yearn." Emma replied quickly.

"Well, maybe." Regina said, sarcasm and disbelief dripping from her words. "But HE does." She said with a knowing look, and turned to get the book she had been looking for.

Whoa. Was everything between them THAT obvious? So obvious that everybody in the town and REGINA knew that she was-he was-they were...

UGH.

She didn't know what to think anymore.

"Let's start with roots for incantations." Regina said, opening the spell book and holding it towards Emma.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Emma asked, taking the book in her hands with a frown on her face. "What language is this? Spanish?"

"We're not making tapas, we're making magic." Regina dead panned. "It's elvish. Well, half-elvish."

Really? Lord Of The Rings shit? That was real, too?

"I'm never gonna get this. Is this how Rumple taught you?" Emma questioned. "Just think about your training, what other methods did he use?"

Regina was pissed now. "Rumple was a bully. He didn't suffer fools and he certainly didn't coddle his students." Regina slammed the book shut and put it away. "And if he tried to teach you how to swim and you couldn't learn? You drowned."

"Drowned?"

Regina gasped. "That's it." She had that evil glint in her eyes. The one that made Emma especially uneasy.

"That's what?"

Regina engulfed the both of them in a puff of purple smoke and the next thing Emma knew she was alone on a rickety, wooden bridge over a seemingly endless forest. "Whoa!" She exclaimed, trying to keep her balance. "What the hell are you doing?" She breathlessly asked Regina, who stood at the other end, perfectly fine. With no wind-tousled hair, like Emma's certainly was.

Bitch.

"Teaching you to swim." Regina replied simply. Emma looked over the edge and down below.

Holy shit.

NOW she was fucked. Completely and utterly fucked.

Hiya! So, did you like it? Suspense-filled, huh? Lots of drama, too. These poor babies. So close and yet so far. But you know, I'm gonna make you wait. All August Booth dramatic-like and force you guys to wait for their love to come to a head. Or for someone to get...okay, let's not go there. ...Yet. *evil cackling*

Musical inspiration for this chapter: "Untouchable" cover by Taylor Swift, obviously, and "Young And Beautiful" by Lana Del Rey. Good shit, guys.

Well, until next time, friends!