"Welcome back on board," Hook was greeted by Captain Redhat the next morning as he boarded his ship with the rest of the crew.
"Thank you, Captain." He bowed his head briefly in greeting and then made his way directly below deck to stow his things there and then get back to the work at hand.
Scrubbing the floor was a mindless task, but at that moment it was exactly what he needed. No one was talking to him and he didn't have to think about what he was doing. His thoughts still lingered on the dead woman who had given her life in an attempt to help him. No, he told himself. After all, she had wanted something in return. She hadn't died because of him. But even if that was perhaps true, he couldn't get her dead eyes out of his mind. If she hadn't met him, she would still be alive. Hook gritted his teeth and scrubbed so hard his knuckles bled from the scouring sand.
"You don't have to overdo it, we won't make you walk the plank just because we find dirt somewhere," came Redhat's amused voice, who had stepped behind him unnoticed and had been watching him for a while.
Hook looked up at him and straightened up to his full height. Even though he showed humility towards the captain, he wanted to keep his pride and not kneel to meet him. "Aye, I just want to do my part," he said when they were at eye level.
"Did you find what you were looking for?"
Hook eyed the captain, wondering if he could be trusted enough to give out even that little bit of information. "Let's just say there were a few bumps in the road."
"There's been talk all over the harbor about the man looking for a magic bean," he said abruptly.
Hook's face remained expressionless, his surprise well hidden behind the mask he had painstakingly trained himself to wear during his years as a buccaneer and which had saved his ass more than once. "Is that so? Not easy to find, those things," he nodded.
"But you managed it?"
"What makes you think people were talking about me?"
Redhat smiled slyly, baring two rows of yellow teeth. "A stranger who comes up there and conceals his intentions is suspicious enough. A pirate who comes crawling up and wants to travel on a competitor's ship is even more so. So where is it?"
Hook hadn't thought this voyage could get any worse than it already was up to this moment, but now he stood unarmed except for his hooked hand in front of the captain of a pirate ship, who had his saber pressed to his throat and would no doubt make use of it if he didn't like the answers he gave him.
"I didn't get any. You are of course free to search me and my belongings," he said outwardly calmly, while inwardly he could only think that he would never meet his child if he died this senseless death now.
Redhat spat at his feet. "You expect me to take it from you that you just give up? Your reputation precedes you, Hook. You are not a man who is content with failure."
"And yet I can't avoid failing from time to time." He secretly prayed that he would live a little longer if only he used the right words. "I assume you're looking for a bean yourself? Or are you just tempted by the amount you can get for one?"
"I don't care about the bean. But what would please a pirate more than a sack full of gold?"
Hook nodded, feeling the blade on his neck all the more keenly. "Listen to me, I may know the place where one of the rare beans could still be. However, it's been many years and there's no guarantee. Let me live and it's yours."
"Why should I believe you?" The low rumbling voice at Hook's ear was more menacing than if he had openly shouted at him.
Hook shrugged his shoulders. "You don't have to. But I don't have a magic bean on me, and if you kill me, you'll gain absolutely nothing. If you don't, at least you have a chance of getting your gold." He swallowed and simply waited. There was nothing more he could do or say; now it just depended on whether his words were convincing enough or not.
The saber at his neck pressed deeper into Hook's flesh before disappearing. "All right, Captain," Redhat spat the title back at him. "Where is this ominous bean supposed to be?"
It was the most beautiful sight in a long time to see Emma holding her little daughter in her arms and smiling as she stroked her sleeping face, which was sticking out of the blanket. "She's perfect," she whispered radiantly, lifting her gaze to Regina for just a moment before darting back to her daughter so as not to miss a single movement from her.
"That she is," Regina agreed wistfully. She could still remember the first weeks and months with Henry. They hadn't seemed real to her and the fear that he might be taken away from her again was nagging at her and dampening her happiness, if only a little. She would have loved to have had the experience of feeling a child growing in her womb before it was born, but her own actions had denied her this opportunity and she realized that there was no point in mourning it. "How are you?" she wanted to know from Emma after a while, even though she didn't expect an honest answer.
"I've never been better. I'm so glad she's okay," she replied as expected, even though her pale face said something completely different.
"We can come back later," Regina tried again and hesitantly put a hand on Emma's shoulder.
"Regina, I'm fine. We're both in these comfortable wheelchairs here now, so what's going to happen?"
"Well, I don't know. You could pass out and drop Hope. Just an idea," Regina said ironically, who only meant well but was familiar with Emma's stubbornness.
"Do you always have to conjure up the worst horror scenario? Everything could just be fine," Emma said with a sigh.
"Life experience."
Emma tilted her head and looked at her. "You do know that you can tell yourself that the worst will always happen and then that's exactly what happens, don't you?"
"Maybe so. I still prefer to be cautious rather than lenient."
"That's why you used magic," Emma grinned, nodding.
"That was a completely different matter," Regina replied gruffly, and the steep crease in her forehead deepened. "And by the way, if you remember, we didn't want to bring it up again."
Emma looked at her with a brief grin before turning her gaze back to Hope. "Regina's right, I'm afraid, little girl. Mom would never admit it, but I want you to be okay. I'll visit you again soon," she promised and pressed a kiss to her little girl's forehead before passing her on to Regina.
She also stroked Hope briefly and then put her back in her crib, as Emma didn't yet feel confident enough to lift her arms that far with the weight of the child. When she had realized how weak she was that morning, Regina had gotten the scolding about it, but she hadn't minded. At least she knew that Emma was back to her old self.
xxx
A nurse pushed Emma back to her room, where Regina followed them more slowly on her own.
When Emma was back in her bed and the two women were alone again, the blonde allowed herself to close her eyes and take a deep breath.
"You're not exhausted, are you?" came Regina's mock surprise.
"Shut up."
Regina grinned and moved her wheelchair to Emma's side, where she then simply sat in silence to give Emma the break she so desperately needed.
Emma opened one eye a crack and scrutinized her. "Are you going to sit there the whole time and watch me sleep?"
"I can leave if you prefer."
"I still have room in here," Emma said hesitantly and very quietly, but she didn't break eye contact.
Regina returned it and knew how much effort it must have taken for her to say something like that. For a brief moment, she felt hopeful that Emma might actually mean it this time. But the very next moment she denied herself this feeling again. The disappointment would be too great, she wouldn't be able to bear it. But it was certain that she would not reject Emma's advances, because otherwise it would really be her fault alone if they didn't find each other. "In that case," she finally said and sat down on the edge of the bed with difficulty before slipping her shoes off her feet and lying down.
Emma immediately pulled the blanket aside so that they could both easily fit underneath it and then put her arm around Regina's middle. "May I?" she asked when she noticed the tension that followed this gesture.
Regina nodded and looked her in the eye. "I'm just..." She shook her head and looked away from her. "Give me a little time to get used to it, all right?"
Now it was Emma's turn to nod. "I need that too, so don't worry."
Regina's tense muscles relaxed at least a little and she leaned a little more into Emma's embrace. Her hand automatically slipped into her friend's and held her tightly. "Do you think they'll kick us out if they catch us?" she asked dryly.
Emma laughed briefly and put her head in the crook between Regina's head and shoulder. "Let them. Then we'll get Hope and get out of here."
"I wish we could do that so easily," Regina sighed and swallowed hard. Emma would be fine in a few days and Hope had fed at her breast that morning with almost no problems, so she too would reach her discharge weight in no time. And then it would be her again, who was just a drag on everyone.
"We'll get it all sorted out," Emma said, as if she had read her mind. "And we'll find a way to get in touch with the others. Maybe the crystal will still be there when we look for it. It's not particularly big and isn't immediately obvious unless you're specifically looking for it. Maybe no one has discovered it yet."
"Do you really believe that?" Regina asked with raised eyebrows.
"No. But I didn't name my daughter Hope for no reason. Somehow I have to start thinking more positively."
Regina couldn't help but laugh a little in response. "Get some sleep now, Emma," she then said calmly and squeezed her hand.
As the Savior's eyes had already been incredibly heavy before, she didn't need to be told twice and sank into a deep sleep almost immediately.