Disclaimer: Reluctantly I have to admit that I don't own these characters. They are property of others far luckier than myself.

"Should we be doing this?" Emma thought out loud while she, Henry and Killian spent their Saturday morning looking at vacant apartments in Storybrooke.

"Why wouldn't we?" Henry asked, "You still want to stay in Storybrooke, don't you?"

"Of course," Emma ruffled his hair, "What I meant is, should we be doing this with everything that is hanging over us? There is yet another villain setting a course for Storybrooke with the intention of doing us harm, and we're going about our lives as if it's a regular day."

"We have to live our lives, Love," Killian gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, "We have to plan for the future even if there is danger in our present, or we're never going to live our lives."

"You have a point," Emma conceded, "But this feels wrong."

"Do you want to continue living with your parents?" Killian inquired.

"No," Emma shook her head vigorously, "I definitely need my own place."

"Then let's get looking," Henry yanked on her hand as they met with the town's real estate agent who was showing them several options.

Emma dutifully followed along. The first few apartments were cramped with little natural light. Emma felt like she was living in a cage or worse, a prison cell. They were quickly rejected. The agent quickly crossed a few of the other properties off her list that she'd intended to show them before her eyes lit up in excitement. She was sure the next property would suit them perfectly.

The two bedroom, two bath apartment with large bay windows that overlooked the marina was the perfect fit. Henry was sold the minute the door opened. Emma withheld her opinion until she saw the master bedroom. There was a rather large walk in closet and spacious bathroom with a soaker tub that Emma couldn't pass up on. They filled out the application and put down a deposit before walking out the door.

They dutifully looked at a few more apartments, but nothing else could compare. Emma and Henry had their fingers crossed that their application would be accepted. Henry was already decorating his bedroom in his mind.

Sitting down to lunch at Granny's, Henry's mind was clearly on his new bedroom. It was going to be nautically themed with touches of his storybook roots mixed in. Killian felt a bit of pride that he'd inspired Emma's son to enjoy the seas as his brother had done for him centuries earlier.

"You okay, Love?" Killian's arm went around her shoulder while they waited for their meal to arrive. Henry was sketching out the floor plan and thinking up things he'd need Geppetto to build for his room. Emma had been quiet since they'd walked through the diner's door.

"Just thinking about everything we'll need to do if we get the apartment," Emma tapped at the table with her thumbs, "I really should take Henry back to New York to pack up our belongings."

"Did you want some company?" he nudged his nose into her neck, "Perhaps we can revisit that bench that you handcuffed me to."

"I apologized for that, didn't I?" she winced in reply.

Killian chuckled at the recollection. "It told me that the Swan that I've always known was still in there. You do have an affinity for cuffing me to things."

"Did you think I'd change?" she asked.

"Your memories were different then," Killian replied, "You still had the turbulent childhood, but you'd had twelve relatively happy years with your son. Perhaps you didn't have handcuffs in your possession."

"I was a bail bondsman," Emma replied, "Handcuffs are a necessary tool of the trade."

"I still haven't forgiven you for having been force fed that bologna," he stated, "What is that supposed to be anyways? Is it a meat product?"

"No one knows," Emma shrugged, "It could have been worse. It could have been Spam."

"What is Spam?" he frowned.

"No one knows that either," she laughed.

"We can go back to New York after everything is resolved," Killian suggested.

"Yeah," Emma nodded, "We can make a weekend of it, the three of us."

"We can go next weekend," Henry added.

"Probably not next weekend," Emma shook off Henry's suggestion, "We might not be in Storybrooke next weekend."

"What? Where are we going?" Henry gave her an eager grin.

"Sorry, Kid, but you're staying with your grandmother this time," Emma told him.

"What!" Henry exclaimed, "Why can't I come along? I've always been involved in all the fairytale adventures."

"Yeah, when you've already been in the middle of them, but not this one. This one is dangerous," she insisted.

"They're all dangerous," Henry replied.

"This one is more so," Emma stated, "And I cannot…will not put you in harm's way. I know you want adventure, but not this one."

"What's so different about this one?" Henry pressed.

"We're going against a force that we don't know, that we can't predict," Emma explained, "This newest evil isn't in your storybooks, Henry."

"But I can help," Henry insisted, "If you take Killian's ship, I can help him sail it."

"If this was about just sailing the seas, I'd let you go," Emma replied, "But this is sure to be more than that, and I can't in good conscience put you in danger."

"What about you?" Henry pressed, "What about you and Killian? You can't put me in danger, but you can put yourselves in danger."

"We're adults, Henry," Emma responded calmly, "We've earned the right to make our own decisions. Some day sooner than I'll be ready for, you'll be able to make that decision for yourself, but that time isn't now."

"This isn't fair," Henry moaned until their food arrived.

"Life isn't fair," Emma sighed. She'd known Henry would be upset with her refusal to allow him to join her, but she knew she had to hold firm. Being a parent wasn't about being friends with her son, it was about making the smart decisions and sometimes the unpopular one. "I know all about the unfairness in life. It is my job to see to it that you don't know that life as I did."

"But what if something happens to you or Killian," Henry choked out and pushed his meal aside.

"If something happens to us, you'll still have your grandmother and your uncle and your mother to protect you," Emma replied.

"Grandma isn't going with?" Henry was taken aback by the knowledge, "Does she know that?"

"That's something that David has to discuss with her," Emma responded, "But I'm confident she will see things the same way Dad and I do. Neal needs at least one parent to watch him grow. If something happens to us, he'll have that."

"Stop saying things like that," Henry banged on the table, "Stop saying things like you might not come back and if something happens…"

"Henry," Emma caught his hand when he slid from the booth and turned him towards her, "We are going to do everything that we can to come home to you safe and sound, but…"

"Then don't go," Henry demanded, "Stay. Let someone else be the savior for a change."

"We can't," Emma replied, "Someone is in danger, Killian is in danger. We have to confront this danger head on. We're never going to be safe any other way, and this person that is in danger could die. We cannot allow that to happen, not if we can prevent it."

Henry swallowed hard.

"I don't want to leave you, Henry," Emma continued, "These false memories that I have with you, I wish more than anything that they were real because it was always you and me against the world…"

"It's not just you and me anymore," Henry spoke finally with tears welling in his eyes, "We have a family now."

"And a place where we belong," Emma added, "It's what we've always wanted."

"How long will you be gone?" he came to terms with Emma's decision.

"Hopefully not long at all," Emma replied.

"When will you leave?"

"When we can find our adversary," Emma stated, "We don't know yet when or where he is. We're hoping that Jefferson can open a portal to take us to him."

"You'll tell me before you leave," he requested.

"Of course," Emma hugged him tight, "I need you to promise me that you'll stay here, that you won't try to stow away or anything."

"Mom," he whined.

"Promise me, Henry," Emma demanded.

"I promise," he responded with a heavy sigh, "But come home as quick as you can."

"We will," Emma vowed.

"And in one piece," he added.

"As best we can," Emma nodded, "Let's not let the food go to waste."

"I'm not hungry," Henry shook his head.

"You're always hungry," Emma prodded him.

Sure enough, with a little encouragement, Henry devoured his meal with his usual vigor.

Mary Margaret was charging in with a full head of steam just as their meal had disappeared.

"What are you thinking!" Mary Margaret's rage was evident.

"David told you the plan," Emma concluded.

"About how you're leaving your mother behind, yes, he told me," Mary Margaret hissed, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking about my baby brother and my son," Emma replied, "I'm thinking about the twenty eight years that we didn't have together, and how I don't want my baby brother to go through what I did. I'm thinking about the twelve years that I should have had with Henry that I didn't, and how I could not live with myself if there wasn't someone in his life that I can trust to take care of him. Mom, I know you think we're leaving you behind…"

"Because you are," Mary Margaret replied, "I can't let my daughter go off on some wild adventure, putting herself in danger at every turn. I'll go in your place. You can stay behind with Henry and Neal."

"Neal needs his mom," Emma replied, "Not his older sister."

"Henry needs his mom, not his grandmother," Mary Margaret countered.

"Mom, please," Emma felt tears forming, "I don't want to go anymore than you do. I'm torn, you have no idea how much. I want to stay with you and Henry, but I have to go with Killian. If it was Dad, you'd do the same…you have done the same."

David came into the diner, having caught up to his wife finally. Neal was in his arms. The little boy reached immediately towards his mother. Mary Margaret accepted him, cradling him in her arms protectively. The diner was quiet for many moments until Mary Margaret nodded reluctantly. "Don't take any unnecessary chances, and keep an eye on your father. Bring him back in one piece."

"I will," Emma nodded.

Mary Margaret threw one arm around her daughter and hugged both her children tight.

"You should stay in Storybrooke," Killian told Emma while they gazed out at the moon on the crystal clear evening.

Mary Margaret and Henry had agreed to stay behind, but it was clear neither one fully agreed with Emma's decision. The guilt had been gnawing at Killian since lunch.

"What!" Emma lurched in surprise.

"You should stay," Killian repeated, "Henry needs you. He's lost his father already."

"But he understands why I have to leave," Emma replied.

"I'm being selfish," Killian entwined his fingers with hers, "Henry should be your first priority. He needs his mum...both of them."

"How can you say this?" Emma felt herself on the verge of tears.

"I'm saying it because I love you, and I want what is best for you," Killian replied, "I should have done this with Milah. I should have insisted that she stayed. A pirate's ship is too dangerous. If I hadn't been selfish about wanting her with me, she would have lived a long, healthy life."

"You don't know that," Emma replied, "Maybe going with you prolonged her life."

"I'm never going to know for sure," Killian replied, "I've always rationalized it in my mind because I was taking her away from an unhappy situation. I can't say that with you. Storybrooke is your home. Your mom and Henry and Baby Neal are your home."

"So are you, so is my dad," Emma countered, "I can't just sit back when someone that I love is in danger. You know me better than that."

"Emm..."

"No," Emma interrupted defiantly, "I'm going. I'm capable of making my own decisions just like Milah did. She chose to join a pirate crew to escape an awful life. I choose to join a pirate crew to protect the ones that I love. I know the risks."

"But..."

"Don't even," Emma cut him off again, "Don't you dare challenge me or claim that you're doing what is best for me. I control my life and my decisions, not you."

"But Henry…" Killian was insistent on getting his arguments in.

"Will understand," Emma stated, "I'm…"

"Captain," Smee came running on the deck.

"Now isn't the time, Mister Smee," Killian growled.

"Captain, Sheriff, this is important," Smee insisted.

"It had better be," Killian hissed, "Out with it."

"Sheriff asked me to ask around about what happened in Portsmouth," Smee began to ramble on, "Every ship that's come into port, I've asked if any of them have been to Portsmouth recently and if they knew of any trouble on the docks."

"And you found something?" Emma asked.

"No one knew anything about anyone getting roughed up, but there had been a man asking around for someone that was willing to get their hands dirty," Smee stated.

"Dirty how?" Emma pressed.

"They didn't have a lot to go on, but there was something about a sailor with only one hand," Smee replied, "One handed sailors were fairly common where we came from, but not around here."

"Smee's right," Killian agreed, "I haven't seen any around Storybrooke in all my time here."

"Did you get a name of who was doing the asking?" Emma asked.

"Just a vague description, but they did say he had an accent, a thick British, maybe Scottish accent," Smee explained, "And he spoke words not common of sailors of this time."

"Could Teach already be in our realm?" Emma thought out loud.

"Anything is possible if Will's story is to be believed. You jump realms enough, eventually you'll end up in the right one," Killian nodded.

"But why Portsmouth?" Emma asked, "You've never been anywhere near Portsmouth until a few weeks ago. You only went there for a ship."

"He might not know where I am," Killian replied, "He's poking around just like we planned to when we jumped realms."

"Yet he's skipped Storybrooke?" Emma replied.

"It's not on any maps, Love," Killian reminded her, "Only those looking for it are going to find it."

"Then we have the element of surprise on our side," Emma replied.

"If he's here," Killian amended, "We still don't know that to be true."

"Then we plan out a trap," Emma stated, "We draw them to us where we have the advantage."

"Any ideas, Love?" Killian inquired.

"Not yet," Emma shook her head, "But we'd best make sure that we're ready for whatever they can bring."

"Aye," Killian nodded, "Smee, keep your ears and eyes open. Alert us immediately if you learn anything else."

"Aye, Captain," Smee scurried off the ship.

Emma turned towards Killian to pick up the fight they'd been having before Smee arrived.

Killian's hand and hook went to her shoulders, "Deep breath, Love."

"You won't stop me from protecting this town," Emma insisted.

"I will not," he assured her.

"Teach me," she finger slipped into the chain of his necklace, "Teach me how to fight properly. I want to learn from the best."

"Your father might want some say in that title," Killian chuckled slightly.

"I stand by my assessment," Emma yanked sharply on the charm, "Teach me."

"At first light," Killian agreed.

TBC…

Season Five is officially on the horizon. Yay!