Once Upon a Time 1. Chapter 1

Title: The Mysterious Case of the Missing Pirate (1/?)

Note: I started this right after the finale and it's just been sitting around ruminating with me working on it occasionally. I'm mostly done, it will be probably be 7 or 8 chapters total and I WILL have it posted and finished by the season premiere. Really, this is my take on a lot of conversations I'd like to see between Emma and… well… everyone!

xXx

For the second time that day, Emma found herself in the hall outside her parent's loft. But this time instead of calmly knocking before entering, she barged through the door without ceremony. Once standing in the living room her eyes darted around erratically, looking for one or both of her parents.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret gasped and brought her hand to her chest as she saw her daughter enter the loft. "You startled me."

"Where's David?" Emma demanded through slightly labored breath, her very being the opposite of calm. She could feel her heart thumping uneasily, there was a light sheen of perspiration on her forehead even though a fluke cold snap had descended on the town and she was so anxious she could feel tension dance along the fissures of her skin.

"He went to the store. With the unexpected storm that came in this morning, we decided extra groceries were a must in case we have to hole up for a few days. Emma, what's wrong?" Mary Margaret asked, her eyes shining with concern.

"He's gone."

"Who's gone? Emma, what are you talking about?"

"Killian. He's missing."

xXx

THE NIGHT PRIOR

"That was…"

Emma let his words hang in the air a moment as she caught her breath. Her forehead was resting against his as her left hand gripped his knee and her right cupped the back of his neck. For the first time in a very long time, she allowed herself to just feel. The heightened pulse of her racing heartbeat, how deliciously warm his skin felt the few places where they touched and the delightful prickle that danced across her cheeks where his scruff had been moments ago. Most surprising was an unfamiliar feeling that rushed over her in waves leaving tingles in the most delightful of places. Happy, she was pretty sure that rush was happiness. Or desire. Or euphoria. Or all of the above.

Neither of them noticed the slight chill in the air that had crept in with the fall of night, it felt like they were enveloped in a private cocoon of their very own outside of Granny's. She knew what he was asking when he left his statement open ended. Just like it was yesterday, she remembered their first kiss… raw, passionate, needy… and then over- a one-time thing by her dictate. She tilted her head back in order to meet his eyes.

When he felt her pull away from him, he slowly opened his eyes and blinked once in order to focus on her. Studying her intently, he looked for anything, for any sign of what she was going to say, how she was going to finish his sentence this time. His heart lifted in anticipation as he watched a grin slowly spread across her face.

"Good," she finally finished for him. His lips quirked upwards, but before he could say anything she added, "Amazing, actually."

"Really?" His voice was slightly hoarse from disuse, but the hope and wonder he felt at her response rang clear.

"Yeah. You didn't think so?" Emma asked with a teasing tone; delight etched on her features. At that, he felt emotion start to well from deep in his soul. He'd been pushing the feelings down, a protective mechanism built from every time she'd walked away or said something designed to injure him and push him away. But with her words and her smile the gates opened and the full force of his feelings washed over him and, because he could, he leaned forward and captured her mouth in another languid kiss.

Emma marveled at the feeling of his lips on hers. Warm and wet and she shivered when his tongue met hers, their movements remained soft and deliberate, both of them savoring each individual kiss. When they slowly pulled apart several moments later he mumbled against her lips, "Of course that's what I thought, but that's also what I thought the first time."

She smiled against his mouth and then leaned back slightly, once again so she could meet his gaze. "Me, too."

At that, he raised his eyebrows at her. "Come again, love?"

She swallowed roughly and her voice took on a sincere note. "I thought the first kiss was amazing, too. I just… I wasn't there yet."

He paused a moment before he cleared his throat. "And now? Where are you at present?"

"A much better place."

"Home?" he asked with a curiously raised eyebrow.

Instead of answering, she smiled and in one fluid movement, she turned and shifted herself from her seat onto his lap so she was sitting crossways over his legs, facing away from the walkway to Granny's. Her left arm came around his neck and her right hand found its way to the back of his head, her fingers sliding into his hair as she brought her lips into contact with his in answer one more time.

xXx

"That was…" Blue began to speak, a censorious note in her voice.

"Hot," Ruby finished for her, making a show of fanning herself with a menu.

"I was going to say inappropriate." Blue glanced over at Ruby reproachfully.

"We shouldn't be watching this." Aurora spoke softly so that only the other two women could hear over the din of the party. "This is a private moment and none of our business."

"Speak for yourself. This is juicy. Or as juicy as it gets in Storybrooke," Ruby replied.

Blue chuckled, but as she usually did, without any trace of humor. "Someone should put a stop to it. Remind them they're behaving indecently in public."

"We could," Ruby replied pragmatically, "or we could leave them be. They've been through a lot lately protecting the town, protecting all of us, who are we to put a stop to something they seem to be enjoying quite a bit?"

"What's so interesting out there?" A voice rang out behind them.

At the sound of the very recognizable voice, the three of them jumped guiltily and quickly turned around.

Mary Margaret had been returning from the ladies' room when she noticed Ruby, Blue and Aurora all peering through the blinds of the front window of Granny's. A quick glance over at her booth revealed David coaching Henry on how to hold his uncle, all appeared to be well so she continued towards her friends. When none of them answered Mary Margaret prodded, "What's going on outside?"

"Nothing." Ruby shook her head. "We were looking at absolutely nothing."

"Clearly there is something out there that has all three of you captivated." Mary Margaret asked curiously, a slight frown creasing her brow.

"Nope." Ruby said as she reached behind her and with a yank of a cord closed the blinds on the window they'd been peering out of moments earlier.

Mary Margaret tilted her head quizzically at Ruby and then stepped over so she could peer through the blinds on the door. However, Ruby, with Aurora in tow, moved in front of her so they were standing between her and the door, effectively blocking her view. However, their quick maneuvering was for naught because at that moment Granny walked by and hooked her thumb towards the door. "Your daughter's out there attacking the pirate."

"Attacking?" Mary Margaret voice carried alarm as adrenalin shot through her, before they could stop her she turned back and yelled, "David!" and then stepped around them to the door. She yanked it open and was about to storm through it ready to jump to her daughter's defense, or the pirate's, whichever one needed it really because she wouldn't want Emma to invite trouble for her part in any altercation, when her eyes fell on the two in question.

Granny hadn't lied- Emma was attacking him. But the action was passionate, not violent. She watched her daughter, perched on the lap of a pirate, engaged in a very intimate moment. Momentarily stunned, she didn't move, or she couldn't move. A split-second later Ruby reached by her and pulled the door closed.

"Mary Margaret, what's the matter?" David asked as he reached her, his hand raking through his hair anxiously.

Mary Margaret was still too shocked to speak. She looked at him with wide-eyes trying to focus, but unable to do so. Thinking quickly, Ruby spoke for her. "Nothing's the matter, silly, she just wanted to know if you were okay with the baby for a few minutes so she could have a quick chat with the girls?"

"Oh," David sighed with relief. "Sure, of course, we're fine. Go ahead." He began to step back, but as his eyes searched Mary Margaret's he knew she didn't look fine. He stopped and studied her with concern. "But are you sure you're okay? You look like you've seen an ogre. Was there something outside I should check out first?"

Finally, Mary Margaret snapped out of it. She plastered on a smile and moved so she more fully covered the door. "No. No, I'm fine." With one hand, she gestured down her body. "Just had a baby, woman… issues. Need to talk to… some other… females. "

"Oh…" David replied and then his eyes went wide. "Oh. Are you in pain?" Once again, he moved towards the door. "Should I go get Whale?"

"No!" Mary Margaret, Ruby, Aurora and Blue all replied in unison. Granny took David by the arm and started leading him back to the booth where his son and grandson were still situated. "She's fine. We've got this. Leroy! This man's mug is empty!" She called over to the dwarf who was covering the bar.

"I'm on it!" he called back.

When Granny returned she found Ruby steering Mary Margaret to a seat- a seat, it's worth noting, that was facing away from the window- and Aurora pouring her a glass of water. Mary Margaret was looking dazed. "What did I just see?"

"Your daughter making a public spectacle of herself with a notorious pirate," Blue said both matter-of-factly and with a fair amount of judgment.

Ruby glared at her. "Not helping." She sat down next to her old friend and put her arm around her. "Snow… come on, they're just kissing. This can't be that big of a surprise to you."

"A surprise? Of course it's a surprise. Emma's kissing Hook! He's … he's … well, to quote Blue, he's a notorious pirate! In fact he's the most notorious pirate!"

"Yes," Ruby replied slowly, "That's true. But they're together all of the time-"

"Sure, because they've been working together to defeat Zelena," interrupted Mary Margaret. "But notorious pirates can't be trusted; actually, no pirate can be trusted. My daughter can't be with a pirate!"

Ruby looked at her quizzically. "But you're with him all of the time, too."

"What's your point?" Mary Margaret asked, a note of hysteria threatening to overtake her.

"Why's he a part of your inner circle if he can't be trusted and you don't want him around Emma?"

"Because… I don't know. Yes, it's true we were all working together. That doesn't mean he's good enough to… to be doing that…" Mary Margaret pointed to the window, "with her."

"Okay, but if he was helping you, you must not think he's all bad…" Ruby began again slowly.

"I don't know. I don't know what he is. I'm still not sure he wasn't working with Zelena. We still don't know who sent the note he claims he got telling him to bring Emma back here. He can't explain it. For all we know, maybe he's the one who opened the portal!"

"To what end?"

"To that end!" Mary Margaret once again pointed to the window, even though the blinds were still shut.

Ruby shook her head and tried not to laugh. Her friend was obviously upset, but her ranting sounded so ludicrous. Aurora and Blue exchanged a glance, but wisely kept their peace as Ruby gently reasoned, "Mary Margaret, you're not making sense, first you were working with him to defeat Zelena, but now you suspect him of working for her. Didn't he help David, Emma and Regina defeat Zelena and rescue your son?"

Mary Margaret looked frazzled. "Supposedly."

"What's this really about?" Ruby's voice was gentle as was the hand she placed on Mary Margaret's shoulder.

"Neal just died." Mary Margaret's voice was imploring as she finally admitted what was foremost on her mind.

"She was about as interested in Neal as she was in my pot pie, which is to say not at all." Granny interjected unceremoniously.

Ruby glared at her grandmother and then directed a pointed look at the other women, which they picked up on immediately. Aurora suddenly rose and said, "Who needs cake, we'll go get some cake." She nudged Blue and they followed Granny, retreating to the counter, leaving Ruby alone with Mary Margaret.

"It's true that Neal just died, but they hadn't been together since before Henry was born… right?"

"Right, but I was hoping…"

"_You _were hoping." Ruby cut her off quietly. "What was_ she_ hoping?"

Mary Margaret stopped short as the realization hit her. She had no idea what Emma was hoping. "I… I don't know. But-"

"Mary Margaret," Ruby began gently, "Do you remember that day right before Pan's curse? We were right here in the diner. You stayed here while David left to find Emma because she decided not to meet Neal."

"So...?"

"So… she stood him up. That's not something you do if you want to be with someone. You might be mourning Neal as the loss of a…" Ruby waved her hand in the air as she searched for the right description, "romantic partner more than she is. In fact, in light of what's happening outside, I'm fairly certain you are."

Mary Margaret didn't look convinced, but conceded, "Maybe you're right… but of all people, Hook?"

Ruby grinned shrewdly at her. "The heart wants what it wants, even if what it wants has a fiancé with a palace made of gold…"

"That was different!"

Ruby smirked at her. "Yes, it was. Emma's not outside with an engaged man. As far as we know, they're both single."

Mary Margaret glared at her and was about to reply when Blue and Aurora appeared with plates full of cake and another round of drinks for everyone. Aurora smiled apologetically at Mary Margaret as she handed her a refill on her glass of milk rather than the wine and beer the others were enjoying.

Everyone was silent for a beat, until Granny raised her mug to the other ladies, "To Emma, snagging herself a notorious, but charming, pirate!"

"Charming?" Mary Margaret looked as if she'd eaten something sour as she repeated the word. The expression on her face communicated revulsion and incredulity all at once. Her obvious aversion to the idea diverted her companions; Aurora let out a soft giggle, Granny smirked and Blue hid behind her wine glass. As Mary Margaret looked around at them, she started shaking her head in disbelief. "No… "

Ruby outright grinned at her. "Yes. Mary Margaret, even you have to admit that he's pretty charming."

Mary Margret's now horrified look amused her companions even further. "I will admit no such thing. He says the most outrageous things! You heard him earlier, wondering why David would choose me over a fortune! It's insulting. You should have heard what he said when he found out I was pregnant, he compared me to a crop that had been planted and needed harvesting! There's no charm there at all. And I know charming. My David is charming." She said with a ring of finality as if to close the topic.

"If I remember the story correctly, you didn't think so at first. That's not why you gave him that nickname."

"You," Mary Margaret's eyes flashed in Ruby's direction, "are being too literal."

Ruby laughed out loud. "Okay, then you at least have to admit that he's hot."

"Hot?" Mary Margaret's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Yes, 'hot.' You know handsome, attractive, easy on the eyes… in this realm we say 'hot.'" Ruby's eyes danced with humor as she teased her friend.

Mary Margaret sighed exasperatedly, "I know what you meant, but-"

However, Granny interrupted her by raising her glass once again. "To Emma, getting herself one hot piece of pirate!"

As everyone raised their glass in salute, Mary Margaret looked around the table "You're kidding, right? All of you think he's… hot?"

"Don't tell Phillip, but he's very, very hot." Aurora agreed solemnly before demurely taking a sip of her ale.

Blue looked at Mary Margaret sympathetically but said, "I'm a nun… and even I think he's hot."

Mary Margaret just shook her head in defeat as the women of Storybrooke finished toasting Emma and her conquest of the very, very hot pirate.

xXx

"So…" Hook murmured as their lips once again parted.

"So…" Emma returned as she sat back in his lap, her arms still wrapped around his neck.

"What happens next?" His voice was tentative and the uncertainly she heard there made her heart clench. Part of her wanted to allay his fear, tell him she was in this now, but years of emotional walls didn't completely disintegrate overnight. And expressing her feelings was definitely something she was out of practice with… if she was ever in practice, so she turned her attention to the practical.

"We should probably go inside," she replied as she reluctantly shifted back off his lap and onto the chair. The loss of his body heat immediately made her wince and she shivered in the night air. "Hey, that reminds me, what did you do with our stowaway?"

Killian stood, he took a moment to shift his weight and work out the kinks in his legs brought on by sitting in one position, Emma's weight pinning him down. From the stiffness he felt, they must have been in that position for quite a while. However, to him, lost in her kiss, it had passed like no time at all. He reached down to offer her a hand. "That's not really what I meant.'" When Emma just smirked at him, he continued, "I put her in Granny's capable hands. She was going to provide lodging for the night and then offer her sustenance."

"Good thinking," Emma smiled brightly at him and he sighed. He would never get tired of seeing that smile, a smile that he'd seen more in the last 48 hours than in the entirety of their acquaintance. Emma continued, "We should check on her."

"We should, but when I said 'what happens next' I was thinking more in terms of-"

"This?" Emma finished for him as she motioned between the two of them.

"Aye," he replied studying her closely.

"Are you hungry? We didn't eat much in the Enchanted Forest," Emma asked seemingly evading his question. The truth was she didn't know how to answer him. She wasn't sure what would happen next or even what she wanted to happen next, she just knew she was very much enjoying the present and wanted that to continue.

"Indeed, I am."

"Me, too. We should go in there, check on our stowaway, get something to eat and take it from there."

"Take it from there?" Killian asked carefully.

"Yes. Henry is staying with Regina tonight, so once the party breaks up we can… talk some more."

"Talk?" Killian raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sure," she agreed with a seductive little smirk.

"Your room or mine?" he asked, his hand coming up to brush an errant lock of hair from her cheek.

"Yours, definitely, yours. I still live in mine with my almost teenage son so in case he comes home early-"

"Oh…" His eyebrows shot up and a look of unadulterated anticipation crossed his features. "Do you anticipate our talk could… span the night?"

Emma shrugged, but there was a flirtatious twinkle in her eye. "It could be a long conversation."

"Indeed?"

"You never know." With a smile she reached down, linked their fingers together, and started pulling him towards the front door of Granny's, however when they reached the entrance she appeared to have thought better of it and dropped his hand. "Maybe we don't need to flaunt it just yet. You know, while we're figuring it out, there's no need to feed the gossips. What they don't know, they can't talk about."

"Ashamed of me, love?" He asked with a rueful chuckle, but he opened the door and stepped back in a sign of acquiescence.

She rolled her eyes in answer as she passed by him and crossed the threshold of the diner.

The women at the front table stopped talking when Emma entered with Hook, but Emma didn't notice. She was going to say something to them when she spotted their stowaway sitting at the far end of the counter. She and Killian exchanged a look and without words, they agreed on a course of action. Killian made his way around the bar and to their guest, while Emma stopped at the front table.

Emma leaned down and spoke softly. "So you've all heard about our situation?"

"Your… situation?" Questioned Blue, her tone every bit that of the Mother Superior.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what to do about it. Killian and I didn't mean for it to happen."

"You didn't?" Ruby questioned with a smirk. "It seems to me you're embracing… your situation."

Emma knit her brow in slight confusion, before turning her attention to the fairy, "Do you think what we've done will upset the balance of the universe or anything like that? I would hate to think our actions might create a seismic shift in Storybrooke."

"A seismic shift? You think you and he could create a seismic shift?" The unimpressed look on the fairy's face spoke volumes. "I'm not sure even the savior and the pirate can make the earth quake."

Emma crinkled her brow and looked slightly taken aback. "Well if it's no big deal that's great. We just didn't want to rip a hole in the space-time continuum."

"I suspect we won't know if there will be seismic movement until after you retire for the night," Granny interjected. "At least those of us here at the bed and breakfast should be within range to… feel it. " At that, Mary Margaret gasped and brought a hand up to cover her mouth in horror.

Emma was glancing behind her at Killian and the stowaway. Thus, she was too distracted to see her mother's reaction. "It's true, we're tired, for all of you no time passed, but we were in the Enchanted Forest for several days. I can't wait to eat and then get right to bed. "

"I'm sure you can't." Ruby replied kindly, but with a twinkle.

"Okay… well thank you, Granny, for getting our stowaway settled. I'm glad none of you thinks it's a big deal we brought her back with us. I'm going to check on her and get some dinner."

"Stowaway?" Mary Margaret questioned as Emma walked away.

"Yes, that daughter of yours brought back a stray from the past." Granny replied knowingly. "I knew what she was talking about; I just liked seeing you turn red, my dear Snow."

xXx

Emma watched Regina stalk away, their confrontation ringing in her ears. She glanced to the back of the diner where Robin and Roland were reuniting with their stowaway. Their stowaway was Marian. Robin Hood's Marian. Maid Marian. She knew enough of fiction to know that their love was supposedly epic; however, she didn't think she'd be sharing that tidbit with anyone who wasn't familiar with her world's fictional recounting of the tale.

She was shaking when she finally moved to sit back down next to Hook. Her meal sat in front of her, only half eaten, but she couldn't even contemplate taking another bite. A pit had taken up residence in the bottom of her stomach. What had she done?

"Swan, are you okay?" he asked in a low voice, concern writ clear across his face. As soon as she'd sat down he'd turned on his stool to face her and his hand came to rest on her back in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

Emma looked up and tried to concentrate on him. "I… uh…" She was at a loss for words.

"Don't listen to Regina, love, she's just upset."

Finally, she focused on his eyes. "And she has reason to be."

"Aye, but not at you. She has only herself to blame. It's not your fault the Evil Queen was going to put the lass to death. You stopped her and then dealt with the situation the best way you knew how."

"I messed with the timeline! Why aren't you saying, 'I told you so?' You knew something like this was going to happen, you warned me about it over and over again in the Enchanted Forest. You were against me saving her."

"I know I was, but I was wrong. You saved her life, Emma. I can't and won't condemn you for that. You did the right thing."

"And I ruined Regina's life in the bargain." Emma looked so dejected that all he wanted was to sweep her into his arms and soothe away the guilt that Regina had managed to instill in mere minutes. That woman certainly had a knack for knowing what buttons to push on a person.

"Her life's not ruined, Swan. It's just been… complicated."

"She said I was just like my mother."

"Is that really such an affront? Your mother's not my favorite person, but you're fond of her, right?" Killian tried to inject some humor into the moment, but Emma either didn't notice or ignored it.

"Right. But she spent years trying to kill my mother." Emma sat up as she saw Regina leaving the diner. "I am not okay with our relationship being like theirs, complete with curses and all sorts of fairy tale horrors. I'll be right back."

Before Killian realized what she was about, Emma slid off her stool and headed out of the door after the woman formerly known as the Evil Queen.

xXx

"Regina… wait!"

Regina stopped but she didn't turn around. "What do you want, Miss Swan?"

"You're leaving?"

"Yes," Regina replied sternly without turning around. 

"What about Henry? He's supposed to stay with you tonight."

"I told him you preferred he stay here with you tonight."

"Okay… but why?"

Finally, Regina whirled around. Her eyes were glassy and red, filled with tears she was clearly struggling to keep from shedding. "Because I don't want him to see me like this!" One fat tear escaped down her cheek and she swiped at it fiercely. However, she never lost her composure or her scowl.

Emma took in a startled breath. "Okay. Whatever you need. Regina, look, I'm really sorry that this has hurt you. That was not my intention. I didn't even know who she was until Robin said her name in there."

"I find that hard to believe."

Now Emma felt a bit of fire start to take hold. "Well, she wouldn't tell me her name while we were being held in your dungeon for fear you would kill her family if she told anyone her identity! Ironically, it turns out she was protecting your boyfriend, from you."

Regina narrowed her eyes at that and Emma realized belatedly that antagonizing Regina at this juncture was not conducive to smoothing the situation. She looked dangerous- evil, really- and her voice was as cold as ice when she spoke. "And after that? Once you'd freed her and were doing whatever it is you did on your little adventure, you didn't learn her name then?"

"No. Killian and I knew we couldn't let her loose in the past when she was already supposed to be dead. We were trying to figure out what to do with her; Killian and I ended up knocking her out when it was clear she wasn't going to come with us willingly. She was unconscious most of the time and he ended up carrying her through the porthole."

"Oh, so you're here to gloat?" Regina raised one eyebrow at her, her seething anger evident just beneath the surface.

"Gloat?" Emma was stunned. "What do I have to gloat about?"

"That you're starting a new love affair on the very day you ended mine."

"What?" Emma's eyes were as wide as saucers at the other woman's accusation.

"'Killian and I this, Killian and I that.' Plus you've got the doe-y eyes. Nauseating," she grunted. "Clearly something has shifted between you and Hook. Otherwise you'd probably still be calling him 'Hook.'"

"I'm… I'm not… we're not… we haven't even… I'm not here to gloat… I would never…" The words tumbled out of Emma's mouth in inelegant succession.

Regina rolled her eyes in derision and waited for Emma to stop fumbling for words. When she did speak, it was with deceptive calm. "Go back in there to your family and your son and your pirate and have the time of your life. Don't give a thought to the misery you've brought me through your ill-advised actions." She started to turn and then paused. She looked back and once again sneered at Emma, looking every bit the Evil Queen Emma had met in the Enchanted Forest. "But do enjoy it now, Miss Swan; you never know when it's all going to be ripped away from you. Just as you've ripped my happiness away from me."

Finished, she turned and continued down the street. Emma watched her go in stunned silence. It was a threat; Emma could feel the very real menace behind her words. Regina was out of sight by the time Emma was composed enough to turn and walk back towards the diner. A twinge of fear struck her. That was the thing about finding home and accepting family and happiness; suddenly she had a lot more to lose. And she had the uncomfortable realization that she'd just faced someone who wanted to take it.

xXx

After Regina departed, it didn't take long for the rest of the party to break up. Emma plastered on a fake smile as she helped David and Mary Margaret bundle up her little brother and gather all the gear he required. She sent Henry up to start getting ready for bed and offered to help Granny and Ruby clean up, but between the dwarfs and the fairies, everything was under control. She turned and was both slightly startled and completely unsurprised to see that Killian was waiting for her by the door that led to the Bed and Breakfast.

Even though he'd been doing it for a while, being someone's top priority would take some getting used to. She gave him a small, genuine smile, and she felt a sense of comfort come over her. Just setting eyes on him had that effect on her. But reflecting on that sense of… happiness- for there was no better word to describe it- only served to remind her of what Regina had said and a tidal wave of apprehension hit her. Involuntarily, her face fell as she thought about Regina's words, her threat. She was starting a love affair on the very day she ended Regina's and the guilt and anxiety gnawed in her gut.

He saw it happen. For a moment, when their eyes met, they connected, she was there, she was happy and then it all slipped away. He'd seen it, or rather felt it, happen many times in the past. Many moments when she'd been on the verge of letting him in, but then once again her armor would reappear and the progress they'd made, the connection they'd forged, would vanish. Well he wasn't going to let it happen again. Not this time. "Swan…"

She shook her head, pushed past him, and started for the stairs to the rooms they were renting.

"Swan, wait," he sighed as he quickly followed her up the stairs.

Once she reached her room, she turned to face him, her back to her door. However, she didn't meet his eye. "Hey."

"Hey," he replied carefully. "Swan, what's the matter?"

When she didn't answer he stepped in front of her and gently gripped her, putting hand and hook on either shoulder. "Emma, are you alright? Your second tête-à-tête with Regina has obviously distressed you even more than the first. What did she say?"

Emma swallowed roughly and merely shook her head.

"Swan, please. Tell me how I can help."

Her expression was sad, her gaze fixed on his chest. "Look, I'm fine. I'm tired; I just need to get some sleep."

He nodded once before replying. "I presume that means we won't be… talking tonight?"

For some reason his reference to their previous plan irritated her. "Of course we won't be talking tonight," she snapped and shook herself out of his grasp. He immediately stepped backwards at her change in demeanor. She then pointed behind her with her thumb. "Regina needed me to take Henry. He's inside getting ready for bed. What… do you expect me to abandon my son for you?"

"I…" Her accusation shocked him and he felt an immediate need to defend himself. To illustrate he took several steps back so he was standing in front of the door to his rented room. "My room is just across the hall, it's not as if I was implying you should leave the premises."

"No, you were implying that I sneak out of my room in order to have sex with you while my son is just across the hall."

He sputtered for a moment, shocked that she'd abandoned their code. Of course, he had been hoping for just that, but he also hoped she would have viewed it in a more romantic light. He desired her desperately, but only if she wanted it as much as he did. He brought his hand up and ran it through his hair, causing it to stick up in a mess of different directions. "Emma, I… I want to spend time with you. I'm amenable to actually talking. If I didn't make that plain to you, let me do so now." He studied her a moment before he continued. She still radiated anger and he searched for a way to diffuse it, to diffuse this bizarre situation. Just an hour or so ago she couldn't keep her hands off him, and now this? He knew why of course. Regina. She had a bloody knack for taking her problems and making them other people's. "I don't want to pressure you; moreover it seems as if you are in need of unburdening yourself. Some actual talking might do you good."

They stood there for a tense moment, the air between them buzzing with her anger and his confusion as they stared at one another. Finally, Emma relented. What was she doing? Why was she mad at him? He'd done absolutely nothing to deserve it. Besides it was impossible to be angry with him when he looked at her with such tenderness and concern, it was also impossible to be angry with him when his hair was sticking up like that, rendering him ridiculously boyish. He watched her visibly deflate. She took one deep breath and then muttered, "I'm sorry."

"I don't want your apology, love, I want you to tell me what's troubling you. This can't be because you saved a life?"

"Listen, I'm not in the mood to talk… literally or metaphorically." She shot him a weak smile. "I'm exhausted, I need to sleep."

"That's understandable. We didn't get much chance for rest on our little adventure."

His use of the same words Regina had used to describe their trek through the past, unfortunately, put her back on edge and reminded her of what she'd done and what Regina had threatened. Never mind that she herself had used the same description mere hours ago. How could she revel in her own happiness when her actions had made others miserable?

Killian continued speaking, unaware of her rekindled turmoil. "Perhaps we can talk tomorrow? Over breakfast downstairs?"

Emma shook her head, keeping her eyes away from his. "Henry and I are going over to fix breakfast for my parents."

They were both silent. It was the natural place for her to invite him to join them, but she didn't and they both felt the awkward breach left by the lack of invitation.

"Listen, I'll be at my parents, but maybe I'll call over here when we're done and we can... oh, wait, damn… I don't have my phone." Her hands roamed over her figure, patting down every pocket in both her jacket and jeans. She looked towards the window at the end of the hall, her eyes wide in horror. "I must have lost it in the Enchanted Forest. What do we do? What if someone finds it? Talk about the potential to change the past. If someone from the past saw that technology there's no telling what might happen. I knew this trip would continue to haunt us, I wish we'd never gone back!"

Killian cringed inwardly at her admission. While they'd been on their trip through the past he'd experienced many harrowing and exasperating and even heartbreaking moments, but now the trip contained some very good memories for him and it pained him to hear her wish that it had never happened. "Not to worry. You had the device and you were listening to a message from your father when we were racing towards the barn. You surely dropped it as the doors opened. I'd wager it's still there."

She sighed with relief. "Right… I'll go look for it after breakfast tomorrow."

"I'd be happy to accompany you."

"That's not necessary." Her reply was quick and she spoke in discouraging accents.

"Emma…" He said no more, but the question in his tone was clear.

She yielded and met his eye. She'd been avoiding it, knowing her resolve would break if she allowed herself to get lost in them. They were so damn blue, even in the dimly lit hall. "Look, I'll come back here by lunch. Maybe you can come with me to the station? I should make some rounds; check on things post-Zelena. David would normally help, but he needs some time at home with Mary Margaret and the baby."

"Sure. Sounds wonderful. I'll be here… waiting." He gave her a tight smile. He'd gone from anticipating a long-awaited romantic rendezvous that evening to acting as her deputy in an occupational capacity the following day. It was disappointing to say the least and he felt himself slump in dejection. However, at this point, he would cling to whatever she offered. Even if this sounded suspiciously like it was going to entail trekking through some manner of woods and in all honesty, he'd gotten his fill of that during their little adventure. However, he would follow her anywhere, even back into the forest. "Get some sleep, love. I'm sure things will look different after a good night's rest."

She didn't say anything, hoping he was right, but knowing from experience he wasn't. Tomorrow Regina would still be miserable and it would still be her fault and she was still going to enact goodness knew what kind of revenge.

"'Night, Hook." She refused to meet his gaze. With an awkward wave, she opened the door to her room and disappeared into it.

Once she was gone. Killian leaned against the door to his room and knocked the back of his head against the wood several times, his eyes closed tight in frustration.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Huge thanks to Shelley for being an amazing friend and always being willing to read through something I've written and tell me exactly where I've driven it off the tracks. And thanks to all for the kind reviews and notes I got on the first chapter. It is appreciated!

**CHAPTER 2**

As exhausted as she was, it took some time for Emma to get to sleep that night. Her mind raced as if it was on a circular track, constantly replaying the events of the last 48 hours.

At first Regina dominated those recollections. Regina menacing… Regina threatening… Regina hurt. There was no doubt about it; her actions had caused the other woman's pain. Even if the Evil Queen was to blame in the first place, Regina was trying to leave that side of her behind, trying to change and Emma had just brought her past full circle and right to her doorstep. Regina's charge haunted her, because she was right. How could she, in all good conscience, enjoy a new beginning on the very day she may have caused such a heartbreaking end?

Images from the trip to the Enchanted Forest began to loop repeatedly in her mind. She saw herself in Regina's dungeon, that thought did assuage her guilt somewhat. Because when she considered Marian, thought of her as a person, she couldn't work out in her mind how she could have done anything differently. She felt terrible for what Marian's arrival meant for Regina, but she couldn't figure out an alternative course of action. How could she work up remorse for not letting an innocent woman die?

From there her mind raced to the moments after they'd escaped. These were the most nightmarish of all. Because, honestly, any troubling thoughts of Regina and Marian didn't hold a candle to what she'd seen in the castle after leaving the dungeon. She'd experienced much heartache and pain in her life, but few of those moments compared to the gut-wrenching anguish of watching her mother burn at the stake. This time, though, there was one big difference; she hadn't gone through it alone. Growing up, she'd never had someone to hold her, wipe away her tears and whisper that things would be okay. To just be there. This time she had and it hit her suddenly and painfully and wonderfully that she didn't want to go back to facing things alone. That terrified her. It gave her something very real and very precious to lose.

As thoughts of their time in the Enchanted Forest cycled to the forefront, she couldn't imagine being there without him. What would she have done if the time portal hadn't also sucked him in? She couldn't help the small smile that curled her lips as images of him, of them on their adventure, rushed by. She saw him, every bit the picture of a dashing prince, dancing with her, clashing swords for her and standing by her as they watched her parents fall in love and she realized their adventure actually had more good moments than bad.

Her mind flitted to the good and, unbidden, images of her seducing the past version of Hook came into sharp focus and her face split into an unconscious grin. In the moment, it had felt delicious, dangerous, and appealing for its seeming lack of emotional repercussions, in retrospect the glimpse into what Hook had been like before he met her was priceless and her Hook's jealous reaction to it all, made her smile even wider. She knew he hadn't wanted her to see him like that, a drunk, care-for-nobody pirate driven by revenge, but the truth was she'd still liked the guy. Maybe someday she'd tell him that.

Her thoughts came full circle and brought flashes of the long blissful moments she'd spent with him outside the diner. The way they'd seemingly melted together and everything else had ceased to matter and she'd stopped thinking and just felt. Remembering those moments and his lips on hers and his sweet, but solid embrace sent flutters dancing across her stomach. That must be what people meant when they talked about having butterflies. Emma hadn't had many occasions to feel that in her life, at least not since she was 17-years-old. And any memories of falling in love during that time of her life were irrevocably tainted, so this feeling was new and different and wonderful.

That flood of happiness reminded her of Regina and her suggestion to enjoy it while she could. Memories of Regina's past treachery and way of dealing with disappointment roared to the forefront of her mind and Emma once again felt her stomach churn. However, there was nothing Emma could do to change her actions in the Enchanted Forest, Marian was back and back she would remain and Emma would have to live with the guilt. Regina would also have to get used to it, the question was how would Regina make Emma pay for the role she had played in her return? It made her nervous, but she was certain that however Regina might act out in her misery she would leave Henry out of it. However, these days Henry wasn't the only way to hurt Emma and Regina well knew it.

Her heart ached when she thought of the look on Killian's face as they'd parted earlier in the night. The moment played again and again in her mind, even though she knew she couldn't change the outcome. Both the guilt of what she'd done to Regina along with the fear of how she might choose to retaliate had definitely conspired to ruin her mood. Rationally she knew she didn't want her first time with him tempered by such negative emotions anyway, so it was best that things between them had cooled. He knew her change of heart had just been about last night. Hadn't he? She couldn't remember if she'd made that clear or not. Probably because it hadn't been clear in her own mind at the time.

But he was Killian. He'd been the very definition of patience when it came to his pursuit of her. The man gave up his ship for her and then didn't even tell her he'd done it. He would certainly understand her need to wait until she could sort through things. Right?

On that unresolved thought, Emma drifted off to sleep. Her jumbled and racing mind finally silenced by sheer exhaustion.

xXx

"Mom! Mom, get up. It's snowing!" Henry called excitedly from where he'd just pulled open the curtains to expose the window.

"No," Emma replied groggily as she began to wake. She half-mumbled, "It's supposed to be clear and in the 60s today."

"They were wrong. Look!" He replied as he pointed out the window.

"What time is it?" Emma pushed herself up and gave her eyes a moment to adjust to the light before turning to the window.

"Just before 8 o'clock," Henry answered as she assessed the situation outside. Sure enough, the skies were gray and a few flurries were beginning to fall.

As she frowned over the puzzling view from the window, what he said registered and she pulled her attention away from the weather. "Oh, kid, we've got to get up. We're due at your grandparents in half an hour, give or take. We're making breakfast."

"I'm ready. You're the one who's still in bed," Henry pointed out rationally.

Emma focused on him and saw that he was indeed ready for the day. She smiled at him in silent acknowledgement that he was right, before grabbing jeans, a sweater and underwear from a drawer and disappearing into the bathroom.

When she emerged 25 minutes later, showered and dressed, she found Henry perched on a chair by the window playing his video game.

"Ready?" Emma surveyed the stack of their cold weather gear that he'd gathered and piled on the bed. "You must think this is gonna turn into a blizzard. I'm telling you, it's supposed to be 60 today. It'll clear up."

"Your faith in your weather app is misplaced, Mom," Henry joked as he shoved his game in his pocket and started pulling on his boots. Moments later, they were leaving the room. As she pulled the door closed behind her and shrugged into her coat, Emma couldn't help but let her eyes wander to the door of the room across the hall. She paused and let her gaze linger on it and Henry noticed.

"He's not there."

"What?" Startled, Emma whirled to face her son.

"I knocked on the door while you were in the shower, he didn't answer."

"Oh." Emma crinkled her brow together as she looked down so she could zip up her coat. "Why'd you do that?"

"I assumed he was coming with us to Grandma and Grandpa's for breakfast."

"You assumed he was coming?" she asked carefully. Suddenly, visions of her son witnessing her and Hook in front of Granny's the night before raced through her head. Why hadn't it occurred to her before this that someone might have seen them? No one had said anything, but Emma suddenly felt sick to her stomach at the idea of her son seeing any of it.

"Well, you were hanging out with him at the party, pretty much you hang out with him all the time, except when you're asking him to hang out with me. I thought you'd invited him to breakfast. And if you hadn't, I was going to invite him. What's the big deal?" Henry shrugged and tried to sound nonchalant, but it wasn't quite convincing.

For a moment, Emma was too relieved to process what he'd said and the way he'd said. She was too thankful that it appeared he had not witnessed anything outside of Granny's the night before. But as relief ebbed and she took note of his slightly defensive speech it became plain to her. She frowned suspiciously at him. "Henry, are you trying to set me up with Killian?"

Henry dropped his gaze to the floor and Emma saw his change in demeanor. A blush rose on his cheeks and he looked guilty.

She shook her head in mild annoyance. "Henry, you know, in New York I kinda let you get away with some inappropriate behavior when it came to my relationship with Walsh. When it comes to my love life, kid, you're going to have to let me handle it."

He mumbled, "I was just going to invite him to breakfast…"

"Henry…"

"He's my friend, too." Henry defended as he shoved his hands into his gloves.

"Yes, but you should ask me before inviting him to family breakfast."

At her obvious reticence to include Killian in their plans, Henry looked up at her and with wide, imploring eyes and said, "You do like him, though, don't you? You guys are in my book now. Together. Dancing. Princess Leia and Prince Charles looked very happy in my book."

Emma smiled involuntarily at his interpretation of the book, but instantly regained her composure and studied him quizzically. "Killian is my… friend, Henry, actually, you're right, he's our friend, and I do… like him. But I'm not sure what that means and he and I are the ones who have to figure it out."

"He's in Storybrooke. If you like him, and I know you like him… I can tell… it means you have another reason to stay in Storybrooke." The words tumbled out of Henry's mouth with urgency; he was clearly desperate to convince her of the advantages of their current location.

Finally, realization hit and it made her heart clench painfully in her chest. She really had done a number on her son. She pressed her eyes closed as hard as she could and then with a deep breath she opened them again and focused on Henry. "I'm so sorry, Henry. I'm sorry that you've been pushed and pulled around. I'm sorry that I wanted to leave. I'm sorry that in order to feel stability you think you need to… to find me a boyfriend. It's not fair to you, but I promise that I meant what I said last night. I want us to stay in Storybrooke."

Emma watched as his eyes lit up and a happy grin took over his expression. "I'm glad. I liked New York. But this is our home, Mom."

"I know." She pulled him into a tight hug. "Now should we go feed your grandparents?"

"Sure."

Emma released her son, but her eyes once again found Killian's door as they started walking towards the stairs that led to the front entrance of the bed and breakfast. "So he's not there, huh?"

"Nope." Henry nodded his head. "I just checked a few minutes ago."

"He's probably down in the diner. I'm sure he's already had breakfast."

"Probably," Henry agreed. They descended the stairs and were soon at the front entrance of the building. After a momentary pause to evaluate the weather, Henry pushed through the door. The snow was just starting to stick, and was falling at a rate that promised to soon become a fluffy white blanket covering everything.

The cold air hit them with stinging briskness and Emma shivered and pulled her hat down over her ears. "Brrr, it is cold out here. Can the weather people ever get anything right? 60 degrees my…" Emma stopped before saying something unnecessarily crass in front of her son.

"I told you so," Henry replied smugly.

Emma harrumphed, but instead of belaboring her beef with the weather forecasters, she returned to their prior conversation. "We'll see him later."

Henry was confused for a second, but then a knowing smile spread across his face. "Yeah…"

"What?" Emma side-eyed him suspiciously as they started down the sidewalk for the short walk to the loft.

"You do like him."

The comment made her laugh self-consciously and shake her head, but it wasn't convincing.

"You know, he really likes you, too. Like really likes you. I can tell that. Actually, everyone can tell that."

She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face, but she swallowed hard and then took a light but serious tone. "You'd be okay with it? I assume after the conversation we've just had, that you would, but you don't need to worry about us staying in Storybrooke. So with that set aside, would you be okay if Killian and I…"

"Killian and you… what?" Henry prompted in a teasing tone when she didn't continue.

Emma shuddered, not believing she was having this conversation with her son. "Dated. I guess is the best word. Would you be okay with it, if Killian and I dated?"

In answer, Henry just smirked and proclaimed, "My mom's boyfriend is Captain Hook. That's so cool."

"He's not my boyfriend," Emma replied as she stopped in front of the corner store and turned to look at him, but she couldn't stop the corners of her lips from tugging upwards.

"You're in the book together; he's totally your boyfriend."

By now, they were in view of her parents' building and she realized she didn't want to continue this conversation in front of them. At least not now. If ever. Trying not to sound like it was a big deal, she held the door to the store open and said, "You know Grandma and Grandpa aren't as... predisposed to accepting Hook as you are, so maybe we don't mention the possibility of me dating him during breakfast? I have a feeling I'm going to have to ease them into that idea."

"Sure, Mom," Henry replied happily as he walked through the entrance. "Whatever you say."

xXx

A few minutes later, they were standing in front of the door to the loft, Henry holding a grocery bag that contained eggs, bacon, bread for toast and some fruit and Emma carrying a jug of orange juice. She knocked softly on the door to the loft, it was more of a warning that they were there than a request for someone to open the door. She was already pulling out her keys so they could let themselves in, when David opened the door. He was still in his pajamas, his short hair mussed and his eyes blood shot. He looked beyond tired.

Emma surveyed him as they entered. In a low voice she asked, "Tough night?"

David nodded wearily. "Neal's been up to eat every three hours. It takes 45 minutes to feed him, so by the time he's done and we change him and get him back down and finally get back to sleep ourselves, he's awake again, wanting to eat."

Emma smiled warmly at him. "Well sit down and rest a minute and I'll start some coffee. Henry and I are going to do everything for breakfast so you can relax. Are they still asleep?"

David gratefully slumped down on a stool, but shook his head. "Neal woke up about 15 minutes ago; your mother is feeding him."

"Perfect timing then, we'll have breakfast ready just as Mary…" Emma stopped herself and paused for a moment. "I mean Mom, we'll have breakfast ready just as Mom is finished feeding him."

David didn't say anything to that, but he beamed at his daughter, his delight at her making an effort to call Mary Margaret 'mom' evident. Emma looked over to Henry as she pulled out a frying pan. "How about you set the table and take on toast duty and I'll start the eggs and bacon?"

Henry nodded in agreement and they got to work.

About 15 minutes later, David was sipping coffee as Emma checked on the bacon in the oven. She glanced over to Henry. "Why don't you take Grandma some juice and let her know that breakfast will be ready when she is." As Henry complied, she turned back to her father. "Just a few more minutes and everything will be ready."

"Great," David smiled at her appreciatively. "It's really great that you're here, Emma."

"Sure," Emma returned the smile as she finished cutting up the melon and putting it in a bowl. "Henry and I are happy to come over and help anytime."

"No," David replied as he sat down the mug and looked at her intently. "I didn't mean today, for breakfast, although that's great as well, I mean it's really great that you're _here_. That you're staying. You've made your mother and me so happy."

The sincerity in his voice hit Emma in the gut and, unbidden, tears sprung to her eyes. She turned away from him and pretended to check on the bacon once again. She attempted to swallow the lump that had taken up residence in her throat, but was unsuccessful. All the times she'd talked about leaving, she'd been so busy protecting her own heart, that she hadn't realized how much she was hurting her parents. But she had. Every single time she'd talked about leaving or shut them out of her plans, she'd hurt them. She felt her face twist as she attempted to control the emotion that was suddenly overwhelming her.

David watched her in profile and when he noticed the troubled expression come across her face, he jumped to his feet and immediately rounded the counter. "Emma, what is it?"

Her back was to him and unable to trust her voice, she just quickly shook her head.

"Emma…" His voice was soft, but imploring and he put one strong hand on her shoulder and gently attempted to turn her around. That was all it took. Emma turned and threw herself into her father's embrace.

Immediately, his arms came around her, one hand cradling her head and the other soothing her back. "Are you okay, what's the matter?"

"I'm so sorry, Dad." His shoulder muffled her voice, but he understood every word.

"For what? You have nothing to be sorry for," he replied softly, but continued to hold her tight.

"For wanting to run away," she sniffed. "For not considering your or Mom's feelings."

"Oh, Emma, I'm the one who's sorry." David grimaced, excruciatingly aware of his own culpability in the situation. "I should have been there for you so many times. The life you've had is not what I ever wanted for you, or what your mother wanted for you. You have no idea the things we dreamed of giving you." At that, he released her and leaned back so he could see her now tear stained face. He brought one hand up to cradle her cheek as he leaned forward and kissed the other one. "But now we're all here and we're a family and we're going to stay that way. Okay?" he asked her, his own eyes slightly glassy.

She nodded in agreement and he released her. Grabbing a tissue from a box on the counter, she wiped her eyes. With a bit of a laugh she said, "I don't know when I started getting so emotional. This never used to happen to me."

"You get it from your mother," David said dryly and Emma quirked an eyebrow at him.

"It's true," he replied earnestly. "Actually… I wanted to talk to you about something; I'm a little concerned about her. "

"Why?" Emma asked, giving him her full attention, grateful for the change of topic.

"She's been acting… I don't know… weird since last night, like she's hiding something."

"Like what?" Concern knit Emma's brows together as she studied her father.

"I'm not sure, but she said it had something to do with her body or her health after the baby and she wanted to talk to her friends about it last night. That's just not like her. And she wouldn't let me get the doctor, so I'm not sure what to think. Maybe she'll talk to you about whatever it is that's bothering her."

Emma hadn't the foggiest what it might be. With a shrug she agreed, "I can try."

David sighed with relief. "Thank you. I would appreciate that. I'm sure it's not-"

But he didn't get a chance to finish his thought, as just then Mary Margaret appeared with the baby, Henry close at her heels and the family sat down to breakfast.

xXx

"It's the oddest thing," David was talking and spearing a piece of melon with his fork at the same time, "I was up about 6:30 this morning and there was absolutely no sign of a storm… and now look at it."

"It is strange," agreed Mary Margaret. "But that's Maine, the weather can be unpredictable."

Emma was about to speak when Henry cut her off. "Don't say it, Mom." He turned to his grandparents, "She's annoyed her weather app got it wrong again."

"I was looking forward to 60s today is all," Emma shot a playful glare at her son. "I need to patrol and was hoping for good weather."

"What does your app say now?" David asked curiously.

"I don't know I dropped my phone last night-"

"There can't be any need for you to be out in this, can there?" Mary Margaret interrupted. Her voice was full of concern as she sat her fork on the edge of her plate. Just then, the baby started to fuss. Mary Margaret started to rise, but Emma waved her off, motioning for her to continue eating, and instead jumped out of her seat and claimed her little brother from the bassinet.

With impressive grace, she nudged her chair back with her foot in order to give herself more room at the table and sat back down. "I'll play it by ear; in any case I'll go by the station this afternoon."

"I'm sorry to leave you in the lurch-" David started to apologize.

Emma cut him off, but didn't look up from the bundle in her arms. "You're not. Don't worry about anything. I've got it handled. Besides I've got Hook, he can help me."

At the mention of Hook's name, Mary Margaret gave a strangled sound between a cough and a choke. Everyone looked at her with concern but she waved them off and composed herself by taking a sip of her juice.

"So, Mom, speaking of Hook, what other fairy tale adventures did you experience in the Enchanted Forest? Besides pretending to be Princess Leia and dancing at the ball and helping Grandma and Grandpa get their story back on track," Henry asked, changing the subject as he took a bite of toast.

A glance around the table confirmed for Emma that Henry wasn't the only one interested in the topic. Both David and Mary Margaret were looking at her with unbridled curiosity.

"Well, let's see," she began as she bounced in her seat, trying to find a soothing rhythm for Neal. "Seeing your other grandfather as full on Rumpelstiltskin was quite something."

"Oh, yeah, was he scary?" Henry asked eagerly.

"Not like I imagined. Although, when we first met up with him he immediately tried to kill Hook so there were a few hairy moments to begin with."

"How'd you stop him?"

Emma smiled at him, "I mentioned your dad; that seemed to do the trick and he was willing to hear me out."

Mary Margaret's eyes darted between Emma and Henry as they smiled at each other. Neither of them seemed agitated by the mention of Neal. Perhaps they had come to terms with his passing.

"Being in his castle was surreal, my favorite part of that was seeing Belle. She really had his number, even back then."

"What else?" Henry prodded as he stirred his hot cocoa.

"Well… I must admit I enjoyed meeting Captain Hook."

David knit his brows together. "What do you mean; I thought you were with Hook the entire time."

Emma shook her head. "I was with Killian, our Killian. But we needed to get him on the Jolly Roger so he could talk to you," she nodded at her mother, "and make a deal for the ring. So I was keeping Captain Hook busy in a nearby tavern." She smiled inwardly at the memory. "That's not something I'll soon forget.

"You were in a tavern? By yourself? With Captain Hook?" David asked, suddenly everything about him was so tight with tension it would require his sword to cut through it.

Emma fought the urge to roll her eyes at his agitation. "It was fine."

"Emma, you have no idea what those port cities are like. A daughter of mine, there, in a tavern? And a tavern frequented by pirates? It's not safe. I'm going to have a word with Hook, he should have known better," he finished a menacing note in his voice.

Emma was a little annoyed that he didn't think she could take care of herself. However, truth be told she had been a bit out of her depth in the Enchanted Forest plus it was nice to have a dad who was concerned about her, so she tried to reassure him. "I was with Captain Hook, so no one else bothered me. And, trust me; I know how to handle Hook. Past or present."

Mary Margaret crinkled her brow. "But last night you said that while you were in the Enchanted Forest you were keeping a low profile so that no one would remember you. Does Hook remember you?"

"No. To keep him busy I was feeding him rum. A lot of rum. We think that effectively washed away the memories. Well that and being knocked out cold."

"You hit him?" David asked, the angry scowl finally disappearing from his brow.

"No!" Emma held up the hand that wasn't holding the baby in a gesture of innocence. "He got a little frisky, which…" she once again held up her hand, but this time it was because she saw the vein jump in her father's forehead and she could tell he was about to interject. "He was actually a perfect gentleman, or as perfect a gentleman as a pirate captain can be. And, trust me, I had him handled, but our Hook stepped in and knocked him out."

"What do you mean knocked him out?" David questioned, wanting to get the details right.

"He punched him right in the face." Involuntarily, a self-satisfied grin spread wide across her face as she said it. It never ceased to amaze her the lengths Killian was willing to go for her, even willfully inflicting pain on himself.

"He punched himself?" Mary Margaret asked incredulously.

"Essentially, yes."

"Awesome," Henry smiled brightly, enjoying the tale much more than either of his grandparents. "What about Mom? You saw the Evil Queen, right?"

"I did." At the mention of Regina a wave of guilt hit her, looking down she realized that she'd succeeded in lulling baby Neal to sleep so she gently rose from her seat and took him over to the bassinette. As she moved, she thought about how she wanted to respond. In all honesty, she hadn't thought much about Regina and the situation with Marian this morning, what with how occupied she'd been since she woke up to a freak storm and having relationship conversations with her son and breaking down in her dad's arms while fixing breakfast. It had been a busy day so far and it wasn't even 9:30. Killian had been right about the good night's sleep. Things did seem less bleak this morning, but there was still much to deal with.

"Obviously, seeing Regina as the full on Evil Queen was quite… interesting." Emma replied as she sat back down in her seat at the table and took a sip of cocoa.

"Interesting? Come on. I know the stories; I know what the Evil Queen was like."

Emma smiled indulgently at him. "I thought I knew too, but I really had no idea until I was standing in front of her. To be honest, she was pretty scary. Killian stopped me from almost tangling with her a couple of times; I guess part of me thought I could reason with her as I would with Regina. I soon saw he was right and reason wasn't going to work… she eventually caught me anyway." Emma took a deep breath before continuing, she knew she needed to broach this topic for everyone's sake, especially Henry's. "We should talk about that. About Regina and what happened last night."

Her family gave her their full attention and waited for her to continue. She looked at her son, "As you know, Henry, Regina and Robin have been seeing each other."

"He's her boyfriend, just like-"

"Yes," Emma quickly cut him off, afraid he might have been about to make a comparison she didn't want made in front of her parents. At least not yet. "But I'm afraid things on that front have been..." She searched for a word and then settled on the one Killian had used the night prior, "Complicated, by my bringing back his wife from the past."

"Wow," Mary Margaret replied slowly. "I should say so. 'Complicated' is a bit of an understatement. I knew something was going on last night, but I didn't realize it was this… complicated." She replied realizing that, understatement or not, it was the only word that really fit. "Poor Regina."

"Yeah," Emma sighed. "Look, I didn't know who she was. She wouldn't give me her name. Our cells were right next to one another in the Evil Queen's dungeon and we were scheduled for execution the next day, so when I escaped I couldn't just leave her there. Especially when she was imprisoned for not informing on you."

"Me?" Mary Margaret asked in surprise, before grimacing with guilt and revulsion. "I guess it makes sense. Back then, having anything to do with me was punishable by death. I should meet her; see if there is anything I can do for her as she adjusts to Storybrooke."

"So the woman who was with us in the Queen's castle… the woman who escaped with Princess Leia was Robin's wife?" David said putting the pieces together from his new memories.

"Yes. And once I'd saved her I couldn't leave her in the Enchanted Forest to wreak havoc on the timeline, so regardless of what she wanted to do, we brought her back."

The picture became clear for David and he wagged a finger at his daughter. "I knew there was something shady about you! Prince Charles… now he was a stand-up fellow, but his princess, I definitely was suspicious of her. So when this Marian was splayed out on the forest floor and you said she was sleeping…"

"Knocked out. I hit her with a stick," Emma answered matter-of-factly. "We essentially kidnapped her."

"Emma!" Mary Margaret's hand went to her mouth in horror.

David chuckled, but stiffened slightly. "You've been hanging around Hook too long. You're turning into a pirate."

"You just said the pirate was a standup guy," she reminded him, a blush starting to creep up her neck. "And maybe I've always had a little pirate in me."

That caused Mary Margaret to gasp. Emma noticed her scandalized expression and quickly defended her actions, "You were a bandit and gave dad that scar. So maybe it's that I have a little bandit in me, too."

That seemed to satisfy Mary Margaret; at Emma's comparison to herself, she actually looked quite pleased.

Emma turned her gaze on her son and spoke gently. "I'm afraid Regina is pretty upset about the whole thing. Understandably so… but she blames me, so things could be a little… tense for a while. I wanted you to know, but that doesn't mean you're in the middle. We'll figure this out."

Henry nodded quickly. "Maybe I should go see how she'd doing?"

"Maybe," Emma's heart lifted at her son's sympathetic soul. "We'll see. She may just need some time." The last thing Emma wanted was for her son to take on the burden of a grown woman's mental health, whether she was his mother or not.

"Wait, she blames you?" David set his fork down in emphasis as if he'd just worked through the story. "She was going to put her boyfriend's wife to death, you stopped it, and she blames you?"

"David!" Mary Margaret admonished, trying to remind him, with a surreptitiously nod towards Henry that the woman was his mother.

"It's okay, Grandma," Henry replied. "I know better than anyone how she can get. We just have to help her remember that she can be good."

"She does blame me," Emma replied as she reached over and pulled Henry towards her so she could plant a kiss on his head. As she released him, she turned her attention to her mother. "She compared me to you, never thinking of the consequences of my actions." Emma purposely left out the part where Regina made subtle yet ominous threats to her family and happiness. For now.

Mary Margaret swallowed hard as memories flooded her. With a forced smile she said, "That sounds like Regina."

xXx

"So far my milk hasn't come in all the way, so we have to supplement some of his feedings. Or maybe the son of Charming just eats more than normal." Mary Margaret laughed lightly at her own joke as she brought her dishes to the sink. "Neal's next feeding will be from the bottle, so if you wouldn't mind staying…"

"Of course I wouldn't mind. That's why I offered and don't bother about the dishes, I'm going to do those, too. You two go and try to get a couple hours of sleep. Henry and I will handle things down here for the rest of the morning," Emma responded emphatically, pleased that she could do something for her parents even if it was just letting them get a much needed morning nap.

Mary Margaret succumbed to a yawn. "Thank you, Emma. That is really lovely of you."

"Is that what you needed to talk to your friends about last night? Your milk not coming in all the way?" Emma asked, trying to keep her tone neutral.

"What?" Mary Margaret looked and sounded confused. "What are you talking about?"

Emma sighed; she was not good at stealthy conversations when it came to her mother. She glanced and saw that Henry and David were over at the window; they were once again looking at the storm, which put them out of earshot. "David talked to me this morning, he's concerned. He said there was something… maybe related to the pregnancy that you needed to talk to your friends about, he's worried that you won't talk to him about it. He thought you might talk to me."

Mary Margaret's eyes continued to grow wider as Emma spoke. She knew exactly what Emma was referencing. It had been her cover story last night when she hadn't wanted David to witness… what she'd witnessed. "Oh my goodness."

"What?" Emma asked with concern.

Mary Margaret brought her hand to her forehead and shook her head. "This isn't happening."

"What? What isn't happening? Ma… Mom, please talk to me." Emma wasn't sure why it was harder to call Mary Margaret 'mom' than it was to call David 'dad.' But it was. It just meant she had to try that much harder.

Mary Margaret screwed her eyes shut and then popped them open to look at her daughter. "What I'm hiding from your father is the fact that I saw you and Hook… last night… outside of Granny's."

Emma stopped breathing. She could feel her face turning red. And her neck. And her chest. Probably her entire body. She put her face in her hands. "Oh my god."

"Yes." Mary Margaret took a deep breath, actually relieved that her daughter was at least as embarrassed about it as she was.

"What did you see?" Emma asked with a cringe, she'd lifted her head from her hands, but now her left hand shielded her eyes as she gripped her temples.

"I'm not going to describe it, Emma!" Then to Emma's chagrin, she proceeded to do just that. "You were on his lap… and, in the words of the Mother Superior herself, making a public spectacle of yourself."

"Blue saw too?" Emma once again flushed crimson.

"You were right outside the diner, in full view of a party attended by almost everyone you know in this town. Yes, Blue saw."

"Who else?" Emma asked as she pushed her hand against her forehead and then raked her fingers back through her hair. However, when she met her mother's stern expression some mental switch flipped and she went from being embarrassed to suddenly finding the humor in the situation. She'd been caught making out with the town bad boy and now her mother was confronting her after finding out about it from a nun. It was something that should have happened when she was a teenager, not as a 30-year-old woman. The thought struck her as so funny that she started to laugh.

"Emma, this is not funny! You were necking with a pirate in front of the whole town."

"Are you going to ground me?" Even though she was currently succumbing to belly laughs, it occurred to her that the situation was also kind of endearing. She'd thought the ship had sailed on experiencing the whole over-protective parent thing. It was sort of sweet that it hadn't.

"What?" Mary Margaret crinkled her brow at the question.

"Never mind," Emma tried to catch her breath. Once again, she grabbed a tissue from the counter and wiped her eyes, but this time it was because of mirth. "So would it be easier to ask who didn't see?"

"You're really not going to take this seriously are you?" Mary Margaret huffed with slight indignation. "I'm sure there are any number of people who could have seen you two, but they would not bring it up to me if, in fact, they had. However, I'm pretty sure neither your son nor your father saw, so at least there's that. As far as I know only Blue, Aurora, Ruby and Granny saw you."

Emma blew out a breath of air. "Blue, Aurora, Ruby and Granny… I guess that's not too terribly embarrassing. It could be worse."

"Speak for yourself!" Mary Margaret charged with a fierce whisper. "I had to sit there while they talked about how… 'hot' he is and they actually toasted your conquest. I was mortified!"

Emma's jaw dropped open and she took a moment and just gaped at her mother in disbelief. However, after a short pause, she started to laugh again.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret chastised as her daughter dissolve into giggles right in front of her. However as she watched her it suddenly struck her that Emma never laughed. Ever. And suddenly she felt a smile begin to grace her own lips.

"Oh, I can't wait to tell Hook about this. Blue actually toasted how hot he is?" Emma asked through gasping breaths.

At that Mary Margaret couldn't help herself, she nodded and began to laugh too.

It took another minute for their now joint merriment to subside, but then Emma adopted a look of contrition as she met her mother's eye. "I'm sorry you had to find out like that."

"Right. Find out." Mary Margaret repeated slowly, trying to sound non-judgmental. "What did I find out exactly?"

"Uh…" Emma stumbled searching for the words to describe the situation. She may not have wanted to bring it up to her mother, and she was certainly embarrassed over the way she found out, but she was surprised to find that she was actually pleased that she knew. There was part of her that really wanted to talk to her friend Mary Margaret about the new developments in her love life. "I guess what you found out was that Killian and I are on… uh… kissing… terms… now."

"Kissing terms?" Mary Margaret asked, not bothering to hide her confusion. "What exactly does that mean?"

"To be honest, I don't know." Emma may have been unsure of exactly what they were doing, but she couldn't stop the huge smile that graced her face and lit her eyes involuntarily.

"You don't know…" Mary Margaret was about to question her further, question her choices when she saw how happy Emma looked. One might almost say she glowed. With great restraint, she stopped herself and let her prompt stand as it was.

When Mary Margaret didn't continue, Emma shook her head. "I really don't."

"How do you not know?"

Emma sighed, there was a hint of exasperation in it, but it was mostly at herself, for her own inability to define what she was doing with him. "Because it just happened last night. I kissed him. It was really good. I mean _really_ good. And the kiss lasted a long, long time." She noticed her mother's cheeks grow even pinker. "I guess you know that part. Look… apparently, it's no secret that he has feelings for me."

"No, no it's not." Her mother agreed without reservation.

"But what may be a secret is that I… might have feelings for him." At the declaration, Emma casually picked up a dishrag and started to swipe at the counter. The false nonchalance masked how monumental the confession was for her.

"You _might_ have feelings for him?" Mary Margaret whispered, trying to keep her voice non-confrontational.

"No, I mean… I have feelings for him." Now that it was out there, Emma found it easier to talk about, easier to own, which surprised her a little. Divulging to Henry that she might want to date Killian was different. That was about admitting she liked him enough to go to dinner with him, a foregone conclusion. This was much more and it surprised her a little how natural it was to utter the words. "I do. In fact, I've had feelings for him for quite some time, but I've been running away from them, and ignoring them and pretending they don't exist. Right now, all I know is that I can't do that anymore. I don't want to do that anymore."

"But what about when he lied to you and tried to kidnap Henry? I thought you couldn't trust him anymore. You said you couldn't trust him." Mary Margaret leveled the charge against him, unable to help herself. She was a mother and she would never forgive herself if she didn't voice her concerns.

Emma frowned, but she knew this was coming. She dropped the dishrag she was holding and turned to face her mother. Part of her wished she had more time to formulate an answer, but the other part was anxious to address the issue and move on. "I trust him. I promise he's given me plenty of reasons to trust him. In that instance his judgment was off, but his intentions were good."

At the unconvinced look her mother was giving her, she decided now was not the time to delve into the details that might reassure her. It was much too long of a conversation. She was clearly exhausted and Emma had not come over to add to her burden. "Look, I'm not sure where we go from here, we're friends, nothing is being decided and I promise we can talk about this later. But right now, you have an opportunity to get some sleep and the clock is ticking."

Mary Margaret tried to disclaim, but couldn't suppress a giant yawn. When it subsided she said, "Emma, I want to talk to you more than I want to sleep. I want to continue this conversation."

Emma shot her a genuine smile. "I appreciate that, but we can talk anytime. Right now you need sleep, so go, because…" She gestured to the kitchen and the basinet that held baby Neal, "Henry and I've got all this."

"Okay," Mary Margaret wanted to protest, but she was honestly exhausted. "But we're not finished here."

Emma gave her a nod of agreement and it was apparently enough, because Mary Margaret started towards David and Henry.

She was only a few steps away when Emma called back her attention. "Mom…"

Mary Margaret looked back at her in inquiry.

"I wasn't going to tell you until I was sure of what we were doing, but… I'm glad you know."

Even though Mary Margaret still had serious reservations about Hook as a romantic partner for her daughter, a genuine smile spread across her face as she replied, "Me, too."

xXx

Time flew for Emma and Henry as they cleaned up after breakfast and then did as much around the loft as they could without creating unnecessary noise; this was limited to straightening and dusting. Emma enjoyed the opportunity to feed her brother, the diapers were less enjoyable but she took that as part and parcel of her duty. She was just getting him back down for his nap after a prolonged play period- that pretty much consisted of the newborn grabbing onto Henry's finger— when David came down the stairs of the loft.

Emma turned when she heard him. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you. A couple of uninterrupted hours. I feel like a new man." He smiled brightly at her and then came over to get a look at his son. "And the best part is your mother is still asleep."

After checking on Neal, he immediately headed to the window. The weather had gotten much worse in the intervening hours. "I'm sure you want to get out of here," he said before looking at her imploringly, "But promise me you'll take Hook with you if you patrol."

The old Emma would have bristled at the suggestion, but her reaction was tempered by the fact that she didn't particularly want to patrol by herself in this weather and it was her idea in the first place that Killian go with her.

"Yeah, maybe I'll give him a call so he knows we're still on for patrolling." She'd become increasingly anxious to speak to him as the morning wore on, feeling apprehensive over the way they'd left things the night before. She was eager to tell him how much better she felt about things this morning. "Damn, I forgot I lost my phone. May I-" Before she could finish, David tossed her his.

"I'm sure with this freak storm there are plenty of complaints for you to check out. Funny thing is I haven't gotten any calls." He said anecdotally as she began to dial. "That's strange in and of itself."

After a minute, she looked at her father and shrugged. "He's not answering the phone in his room at Granny's. He's probably downstairs." She was about to let it go when she decided against it. "You know, I'll just call the diner and see if he's there."

A blush graced her cheeks at the smirk she heard in Ruby's voice as she asked if he was there. However, she forgot about any embarrassment when she got her answer. He wasn't. Ruby hadn't seen him all morning.

"Hmmm… he's not there." Emma couldn't help the puzzled crease that formed between her eyes.

"Maybe he went to the Rabbit Hole or the bakery." Henry supplied helpfully. "It can get old eating every meal at Granny's." Emma forced an agreeing smile to that. The trouble was that they'd had lunch plans. The night before, Killian had promised that he'd be there waiting for her. Could he have been upset at the way they'd parted? Or was he tired of waiting?

Emma was about to shrug into her coat when her eyes fell on her son. She'd intended for him to spend the afternoon at Granny's, but suddenly that didn't seem like a good idea. Her eyes met David and a silent understanding passed between them.

"Hey Henry, how would you feel about staying here with your old grandpa and helping me finish the crib? We can't make due with bassinettes forever."

"Sure!" Henry agreed enthusiastically.

Emma exhaled and mouthed a 'thank you' at her father as she quickly continued to pile on her warm weather gear.

As she was about to leave, David threw her a set of keys. "Take a cruiser; I have one parked in the garage." Emma caught them and consented with a nod.

She didn't show it, but a knot of worry had started to form in her belly. Something was wrong, she could feel it.

TBC.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Huge thanks to Shelley who is always willing to wade through my writing and keep me in line. Also thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed, favorited and set me nice messages. It is greatly appreciated.

**Chapter 3**

When Emma arrived back at the Bed and Breakfast, she pulled right in front and haphazardly parked the cruiser. Charging through the gathering snow, she entered the building and rushed up the stairs taking them two at a time. The trepidation that had started to gather in her stomach at the loft had grown on the short drive to the Inn. She tried to tell herself that it was not a sign of anything sinister that he hadn't picked up when she called the phone in his room. While he was as adaptable as anyone could expect to be in his unique situation, he did not often seek out technology that only existed in this realm.

It would not be out of character for him to have unplugged the phone for some reason or the other—a late night wrong number for instance, and to have forgotten to plug it back in. What really troubled her was that Ruby hadn't seen him in the diner. In this weather, it seemed unlikely to her that he would have ventured out willingly for breakfast.

As she reached his door, she wasted no time. Several loud knocks failed to bring the desired result of him standing in front of her, warm, well and happy to see her, so she called through the door. "Hook? Are you in there? It's me."

The door remained closed and Emma could detect no sign of life on the other side. With long strides, she took off down the hall in search of someone who might be able to shed some light on his whereabouts. She made quick work of the steps to Granny's sitting room and her heart fell when she found it deserted. Part of her hoped to find him there, perhaps reading, which she knew he enjoyed, and waiting for her.

She crossed over to the diner without slowing her pace. With every failure to find him, she felt her anxiety build. Upon entrance to the diner, she quickly scanned the room and found it virtually empty. Apparently, few denizens of Storybrooke were willing to brave the unexpected storm. She immediately found Ruby behind the counter and without preamble made a request that sounded more like a demand. "I need you to let me into Hook's room."

A knowing smile stole over the brunette beauty's face. "You want to surprise him, do you?"

Emma emitted something between a huff and a sigh. However, her worry temporarily subsided as her thoughts fluttered to what the other woman was referencing and a slight blush graced her cheeks. "Yes, I know you saw us last night-"

Ruby raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow and interrupted her with a continuation of her prior thought. "Maybe greet him at the door in a trench coat and nothing-"

"Ruby!" Emma reclaimed her attention while pulling her badge from her bag. She did not have time for this. "Official business. Please let me into his room."

Ruby raised her hands in acquiescence and started to walk around the counter. "Sorry, I didn't realize it was official business. Things must have gone badly since the last time I saw you two."

"No," Emma's reaction was more confident than she actually felt. She knew she was the one to dump a bucket of ice on their evening the night prior, part of her worried that he was more upset than he let on, more upset with her. How many times could you push someone away, before he stayed away? "He was supposed to meet me here. When I spoke to you on the phone you said you hadn't seen him?" Emma's eyes drilled though Ruby, calling on her super power in order to read the other woman.

Ruby squinted at her, suddenly realizing how serious Emma was. "Yes, I told you. I haven't seen him."

Satisfied, Emma gestured for Ruby to go up the stairs in front of her. "What time were you up and around this morning?"

"Granny and I were down about seven, we decided to open a bit later today because of the party last night."

"Was anyone else here, it was pretty empty just now. Because of the storm, I assume."

"Yeah, but when we opened it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day," Ruby replied as they stopped in front of his door. Abruptly, she turned to face Emma. "Shouldn't you have a warrant or something?"

"You watch too much TV." Emma rolled her eyes and dug deep for the serenity not to just pull her gun and fire the lock clean off the door. "Would you let me in if I was going in there to surprise him in a trench coat and nothing else?"

"Yeah, maybe." Ruby shrugged noncommittally, and then grinned. "Probably. For sure."

Emma's return smile was a tight quirk of her lips; her patience was wearing thin. With an effort towards geniality, she gestured to the door. "Please, Ruby, I'm worried."

At Emma's tone, Ruby nodded and took out her set of keys and looked for the master. Just as she found it, she turned to Emma. "Do you think he could be in there… sick or something?"

"Maybe. I don't know. I hope not." Emma shivered and it wasn't at the cold that was currently assailing her town; the possibility that Killian was in his room and injured or sick hadn't occurred to her. She had assumed the room was empty; she wanted to gain entry in order to see if there was any clue to where he might have gone. Now the possibility hit her like a tons of bricks. What if he'd been in there and needed help? He could have caught some enchanted malady from their trip through the past. Moreover, the man was technically older than he looked, who knew what Neverland might do to a person, she supposed a heart attack or aneurism certainly wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Now she felt panic grip her heart, she had to get in the room. Without a word, she snatched the keys from Ruby and slipped the master in the door.

As soon as she entered, her eyes scanned everything within sight. Not seeing him, she strode purposely to check the rest of the room. Ruby watched her anxiously from the door as Emma exited the bathroom and poked her head in the closet. "He's not here."

Emma brought her hand up to her chest as if to still her heart, she hadn't realized it in the moment but it had begun to race as she considered the possibility that he'd fallen ill.

She walked back and handed the keys to Ruby as her keen eyes took in everything. Aside from the art and bric-a-brac that Granny filled all the rooms with, it was almost empty. The bed was made, very neatly; in fact, you could say the entire room was in ship shape. Emma crossed over to it. Once there she glanced back at Ruby, "It looks like it hasn't been slept in, I wonder if he's been gone all night… or have you already made up his room?" Emma knew all too well from experience that the daily housekeeping at the Bed and Breakfast for long-term guests was indifferent.

Ruby shook her head quickly. "We haven't, but that's what his bed always looks like, he's very neat."

"He makes his bed every day?" For a moment, Emma forgot her pressing concerns in the face of this tidbit. Knowing him, it wasn't shocking, but it was still new information. She'd spent time with Killian under almost every kind of condition, on his ship, making camp in Neverland and the Enchanted Forest, but never in a domestic one. "I'm not great at making my bed…"

"I know," Ruby supplied with a knowing look. "He's quite a bit neater than you are, Emma." She then added with a twinkle, "But I hear that can work for a couple, being opposites."

"We're not opposites." Emma replied without thinking as she leaned over and inspected the books on the nightstand, all borrowed from the Storybrooke library and ranging from _The Great Gatsby_ to _The Grapes of Wrath_. During his time spent protecting Belle he must have made enough amends for her to grant him access to the library. Next to the stack of books sat his spyglass. The sparse room and his clear lack of possessions startled her. She felt her heart lodge firmly in her throat. He'd given them all up for her.

"Interesting that you object to the opposites part but not the other part of that sentence… so is it official?"

"Is what official?" Emma asked pulling herself from her thoughts and looking to Ruby with confusion.

"You and Hook? Are you officially a thing?"

"A thing?" Emma crinkled her brow, but she felt her pulse quicken. The last thing she had time for while Killian was missing was to try to define the relationship for herself or anyone else. She still wasn't sure he hadn't just taken off for the Rabbit Hole to have a few drinks, perhaps to try to forget her and last night. She shook her head as if to fling the thought from her mind, yet she knew where her next stop would be. "As I said I'm here on official business."

"You looked like an official thing last night and not official business… official." Ruby's eyebrows knit as she confused herself, but her sharp eyes never left Emma and the savior felt heat rise in her cheeks under the scrutiny. "You know, Emma, it's not exactly a shocking development to most people in this town."

"It was shocking to my mother." Emma murmured as she started opening the drawers in the dresser.

Ruby chuckled lightly. "It certainly was a shock to her last night. You know… I did what I could to help her accept the idea."

"Well… I… uh… am sure I appreciate it," Emma replied as she tried without luck to pull open a lower drawer on the dresser.

"The reason that won't open is that it's locked," Ruby supplied before adding, "and before you ask I don't have the key."

Emma felt curiosity wash over and acknowledged to herself that under different circumstances this would be a horrid invasion of his privacy. She soothed her conscious by noting that, circumstances or not, there was very little to see, that was unlocked, and thus little to invade. She continued her search in the other drawers, but glanced up at Ruby. "Do you think that she did… accept it?"

Ruby shrugged, "She will. I think she's still letting go of Neal, even if you aren't."

At that, Emma stopped, straightened and stared at the other woman. "What?"

"She may think it's too soon after Neal's death for you to move on with someone else."

"Move on from what? I wasn't with Neal." Emma said matter-of-factly as she resumed her search by falling to her hands and knees and looking under the bed. Unsurprisingly, there was nothing there.

"I know, but she pretty clearly was hoping that you would be."

Emma felt frustration well in her breast as she pushed herself back up and moved over to the lone chair by the window. She looked out trying to see if there was anything outside that might have drawn his attention, something that might have caused him to leave. All she saw was a sea of white, snow falling from the sky and snow covering the ground. As her eyes continued searching the landscape, she let herself think about what Ruby said. Mary Margaret's continued cheerleading of Neal had been disconcerting in Neverland and downright exasperating when they'd arrived back in Storybrooke. However, Emma had ignored it; she really hadn't had time to do anything else. Satisfied there was nothing to glean from the view from the window she turned to Ruby. "I knew she felt that way, but I was never getting back with Neal."

"You should tell her that. I've known your mother a long time; she tends to see things in black and white. Her first love was her true love; perhaps she thought it would be the same for you, but at the end of the day she just wants you to be happy, so I'm sure she'll come around."

"Thanks, but I'm not sure there's anything for her to come around to and there certainly won't be anything to come around to if I can't find him," Emma replied once again feeling the agitating rush of concern over where he was. "This place almost looks like no one is staying here." She picked up the phone that was on a stand near the chair. There was a dial tone. She hit *69 to see if it would tell her the last number dialed. It did. She listened to her own voice through the handset; the last number dialed was her cell.

It hit her how much easier this would be if he just had a cell phone. Of course, her phone was currently lying buried under several inches of snow out at the barn so the technology was only a helpful as the user allowed it to be. Still she was going to get him one… when she found him.

"By the way you and Hook really are opposites in your ability to make your own bed and pick up your own clothes…" Ruby said as she poked her head in the closet. "Not that he has many extra clothes to pick up, why doesn't he have more clothes?" she wondered aloud.

Emma ignored the question as she moved to the desk, her last chance of finding something helpful. She opened the top drawer and found several gold coins. "He leaves these just lying around?" Emma asked incredulously.

Ruby stepped away from the closet. "He's Captain Hook, who's going to steal from him?"

"Touché," Emma shrugged, but she did not dismiss the idea of the gold coins as quickly as Ruby had. He was a pirate and he'd spent a long time seeking treasure, had he bring something back from the Enchanted Forest that someone else wanted?

As her eyes continued to sweep the desk, her heart fell as the last chance to discover anything meaningful evaporated. There was no note, nothing jotted down to provide a starting place. The desktop was mostly empty except for a few more library books; however, there was one object that made Emma gasp when her eyes fell on it. Sitting on the corner was a little blue vile. She recognized it at a glance; it had once contained the memory potion that he'd convinced her to take in New York. It was a reminder that he'd gone through extraordinary lengths to find her and now it was starting to look like it might be her turn to do the same.

Emma took her sheriff's badge and clipped it to her jeans. She was now officially on the job.

xXx

For the second time that day, Emma found herself in the hall outside her parent's loft. But this time instead of calmly knocking before entering, she barged through the door without ceremony. Once standing in the living room her eyes darted around erratically, looking for one or both of her parents.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret gasped and brought her hand to her chest as she saw her daughter enter the loft. "You startled me."

"Where's David?" Emma demanded through slightly labored breath, her very being the opposite of calm.

"He went to the store. With the storm that came in this morning, we decided extra groceries were a must in case we have to hole up for a few days. Emma, what's wrong?" Mary Margaret asked, her eyes shining with concern.

"He's gone."

"Who's gone? Emma, what are you talking about?"

"Killian. He's missing."

"Slow down," Mary Margaret rose from the sofa, glanced in the bassinet to make sure that Emma's entrance hadn't woken the baby and then crossed to her daughter. "What do you mean 'missing'?"

Emma took a deep-breath, feeling the knot of anxiety coiled tight in her chest. She would have thought by now, experienced as she was at dealing with one crisis after the next, that her calm wouldn't be ruffled by anything. Apparently, that was not true when the crisis had to do with her pirate. "Killian was supposed to meet me around lunch time at Granny's, we were going to patrol. He's not there, no one has seen him."

"Oh," Mary Margaret replied her forehead wrinkling. "Well, I'm sure he just had to… run an errand or something."

Emma shook her head. "I wish that was it, but I have a bad feeling. And having a bad feeling in this town usually translates to disaster right around the corner."

"True," Mary Margaret agreed, looking resigned to their perpetual state of danger. "Have you looked anywhere else?"

Just then, the door opened and David and Henry entered with several bags of groceries. "It's really coming down out there. I-"

David stopped mid-sentence and looked surprised when he saw Emma. Henry pushed past his grandfather. "Mom, what are you doing back so soon?"

Emma forced a calm smile. "Killian and I got our wires crossed so I'm trying to figure out where we're… uh… supposed to meet. What time did you say you knocked on his door this morning?"

Henry looked thoughtful for a moment, "Must have been about 8:15. Anything wrong?"

"I'm sure everything's fine, why don't you go put away the groceries and then you can play your game."

David watched Henry head for the kitchen before moving over to the two women, in a low voice he asked, "Emma, what's wrong?"

"Killian's missing." The words once again came out in a rush.

"What do you mean 'missing'?" David echoed the exact words his wife had spoken only moments earlier.

"I mean I don't know where he is. He was supposed to meet me around noon at Granny's so we could patrol."

David shrugged and waved his hand dismissively. "Is that all? He probably just got a better offer than having to work at a job he's not being paid for."

"I don't think he got a better offer." Emma replied pointedly, trying to conceal the huff of indignation she felt at the idea that Killian might find an offer that was more appealing than patrolling with her. The 'with her' being the appealing part. At least she hoped it was still the appealing part after their conversation last night.

"You never know…" David continued obliviously, "Maybe he went to the Rabbit Hole with a few of the dwarfs or some of the merry men."

"David." Mary Margaret's voice was full of meaning and she lifted her brows at her husband.

"What?" he asked in growing confusion.

"What offer do you think Hook could have gotten that would be more appealing to him than spending time with our daughter?"

David was still shaking his head. "Well, sure, I know he's… drawn… to Emma. But it's a bad day to have to patrol and a good day to stay in and have a few drinks, he does like to indulge."

"Last night he was certainly indulging in something," Mary Margaret's quick reply was almost under her breath. Almost.

"Oh my god," Emma hissed and buried her head in her hands, once again feeling the heat rise in her cheeks.

"What's going on?" David looked between his wife and his daughter and back again.

Emma just shook her head, her face still covered.

"Emma?" Mary Margaret prompted, obviously preferring her daughter clarify the situation for her father. When Emma didn't immediately raise her head, Mary Margaret looked to her husband. "Last night when I was… acting strangely… it was because I had just seen Emma kissing Hook outside of Granny's and I didn't want you to see it. There. That's the secret I'm keeping from you." Mary Margaret wiped her forehead. "It feels good to get it out. I don't like it when we keep secrets."

"WHAT!?" David almost shrieked.

The noise managed to capture Henry's attention in the kitchen he came forward. "What's wrong?"

David's eyes were bugging out of his head, Mary Margaret cheeks were pink, and she looked like explaining to her husband what she'd seen was the limit of her ability to discuss the topic at hand and had no intention of saying anything further on the subject.

Emma took a deep breath. She really didn't have time for this; she needed to be out looking for him. "They're finding out that Killian and I might start… dating."

A huge grin spread over Henry's face. "Isn't it great?"

"Great!?" David demanded his tone both incredulous and perhaps jealous. "What's great about it?"

"You don't like Killian?" Henry turned to his Grandpa with unconcealed curiosity.

"I… uh… I didn't say that. But just because I like him doesn't mean I like him… dating your mom."

"I'm right here." Emma raised her hand. "And Killian is still missing and it's snowing out and cold. We can discuss the pros and cons of my relationship with him-"

"It's a relationship now?" Mary Margaret Interrupted. "Isn't that soon?"

Emma flashed back to Ruby's comments and made a mental note to have a conversation sooner rather than later with her mother about Neal, but not while Killian was missing and not in front of her son. So instead, she started shrugging back into the coat that she'd draped over her arm shortly after she'd entered.

"What're you doing?"

"I need to be out looking for him, I can't waste any more time talking about eventualities that aren't going to matter if something's happened to him."

"What's happened to him?" Henry asked with alarm.

"Nothing," Emma replied quickly. "Hopefully, I don't know. He's missing and in Storybrooke…"

"That can't mean anything good." Henry supplied. Emma smiled at her son, thankful that at least one person understood where her dread was coming from.

David looked between Emma and Henry and saw their very real concern. "Okay, don't go yet. I don't think we should jump to conclusions until we've checked around town. I can call the Rab-"

"I checked the Rabbit Hole on my way here," Emma interrupted quickly. "I saw some of his old... buddies... no one has seen him."

"By buddies, you mean pirates?" Mary Margaret clarified softly, trying to keep the judgment out of her tone and failing.

"Yes... no... former pirates. The point is they haven't seen him." Emma looked at her son and picked up his headphones from where they dangled from his fingers and handed them to him. "I'm sure he's fine, kid. Why do you go play your game? I'll keep you posted."

"Are you sure? I could help." Henry looked anxious.

"I'm sure." Emma tugged him towards her, placed a kiss on his head and then waved at the game. "Now go beat your top score."

Henry didn't look entirely convinced, but he seemed to sense that it was best to retreat. As soon as was out of earshot, David looked back to Emma. "Have you checked the docks? What about his ship?"

Emma felt her heart begin to thump at the mention of his ship, but she tried not to betray it. She wasn't ready to discuss the current unknown whereabouts of his ship. "I drove by the docks, it might be worth going back, but I didn't see anything."

"Emma, in the Enchanted Forest he told us that he'd always be a pirate," Mary Margaret added her tone decidedly neutral. "So maybe it all just got too much for him. Maybe he got what he wanted here and he sailed away on his ship this morning."

"No." Emma shook her head with aggravation, they were wasting precious time, the storm grew worse by the minute and he might be out there in it. When she spoke, she could barely suppress her annoyance. "He did not get what he… wanted… and he did not sail away on his ship this morning."

"Emma…" Mary Margaret said her name with such pity that Emma clenched her fists.

"That is not what's happened." Emma ground out, "Can we please focus on scenarios that are plausible?"

Both of them were looking at her in such sympathy that she charged, "What!? You think one kiss from me drove him out of Storybrooke?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it like that," said Mary Margaret, her eyes wide with kindness. "But he is a pirate-"

"He gave it up for me!" Emma blurted, finally fed up with the sad looks the two were shooting her. They clearly thought it was possible that he would abandon her. He wouldn't. Despite the fears she'd harbored since she determined he was missing, In her heart, she knew he would not do that.

"What?" David asked giving voice to the confusion that was evident on both of her parent's faces.

"The Jolly Roger. Haven't you noticed it's not here? In order to get to New York to find me, he needed a magic bean. He traded the Jolly Roger for that bean. He did not sail away on his ship this morning, because he no longer has it…" Emma felt her heart somersault in her chest and took a deep breath before finishing the sentence, "because of me."

Both of her parents looked at her in utter shock. Like a fish gasping for air, David opened his mouth as if to speak and then shut it again. Finally, he found his voice, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't know until last night." Emma replied honestly. Why hadn't she asked him earlier where his ship was? She knew it wasn't in Storybrooke, but he'd been so adamant about not answering questions about the lost year in the Enchanted Forest that it had seemed fruitless to persist.

"Why didn't he tell us?"

Emma shrugged, "You'd have to ask him." However, as she spoke the words, it dawned on her that prior to the trip to the past; she wasn't sure how she would have reacted to the news. It was such a monumental thing for him to have done for her and every time she thought of it, her heart contracted in her chest and she felt breathless. She was certain she would not have been ready to deal with the epic nature of his sacrifice. It would have scared the hell out of her. It still scared the hell out of her.

"I don't know what to say." Mary Margaret finally muttered, not meeting Emma's eye.

"Don't say anything. Just help me find him."

They both nodded, but it still took them a moment to get their bearings after that announcement. Finally, David wrinkled his brow and got down to business. "Okay, let's work this like a case. What do we know?"

The knot of tension in her chest loosened slightly as she kicked into sheriff mode. She saw David grab a notepad from the table. "As of now I'm the last person to have seen him. It was last night in the hall outside our rooms shortly after the party broke up. We made plans to meet around lunchtime and then patrol. This morning Henry knocked on his door around 8:15 and he didn't answer. Ruby and Granny opened the diner around 7:00 and neither of them saw him. Ruby let me into his room; I found nothing that might tell us where he might be. The last number dialed from the phone in the room was my cell phone. On the way here, I stopped by the Rabbit Hole, the bakery, the ice cream shop and the coffee shop no one has seen him. I drove by the docks and they appeared deserted."

David looked up from where he was taking notes. "Not a lot to go on. So let's start with who in town might have a beef with him."

"Gold," Mary Margaret supplied, trying to be helpful.

David nodded, "I'd put him at the top of the list. Who else?"

When no one immediately spoke up, David answered his own question. "A few days ago Leroy told me that some of his old crew was getting pretty restless here in Storybrooke. Suggested I might want to keep my eye on them. Apparently, they'd approached Hook about leaving and he refused. If they were getting out of line here in Storybrooke, he might have felt it was his duty to deal with the situation."

"Maybe."Emma nodded in agreement but she was only half listening. Her mind was elsewhere.

Mary Margaret looked at her quizzically. "What is it Emma?"

Emma shook herself from her thoughts and met her mother's eye. "Last night, there was only one person who made direct threats to my happiness and equated that to Killian in the same breath."

"Who?" Mary Margaret asked with trepidation, but she already knew the answer. "Regina," she said with sad resignation.

"Yes. Damn! Why didn't I think of her earlier, last night I was fixated on what she might do. She was mocking me; she told me that she hoped my happiness wouldn't be ripped away from me as I'd ripped hers away from her."

"She was that upset?"

"Yes," Emma nodded resolutely. This time she really did start shrugging back into her coat. "It's quite a coincidence that he's missing not twelve hours later. I've got to go over there."

"Okay, that's as good a place to start as any." David replied as he put down the notepad. "I'll come with you."

Emma shook her head, "No, I don't want you to go out in this. Stay here, if you could make some phone calls." By rote, she once again patted her pockets and remembered her phone situation. "What a day for me to have lost my phone. We'll have to use radios. "You could start by talking to Ruby. I forgot to get the list of people who were at the diner early this morning. Someone might have seen him leave."

David stood up. "If Regina has Hook, I don't want you going over there alone. If she's gone…" he hesitated clearly reluctant to use the word 'evil,' "…dark again, there's no telling what she might be capable of doing." He turned to Mary Margaret, "Will you and Henry be okay alone here for a bit?"

Emma immediately began to protest. "I'll be fine. I can handle Regina."

"Emma," David started to implore, but an unlikely source interrupted him.

"You will be fine, because I'm going with you." The three adults slowly turned to find Henry standing a few feet behind them his game and headphones apparently abandoned in the other room.

"Henry!" Mary Margaret said slowly, forcing a smile. "We didn't see you there."

"I'm going with Mom," he said resolutely and started to shrug back into his coat.

Emma immediately shook her head. "No, kid, I need you to stay here. You don't want Grandma and Grandpa and Neal to be all alone in this storm, do you?"

"Emma, I'm coming with you-"

"I'm coming too-"

"Nobody's coming with-"

"Quiet!" Mary Margaret hissed as they all started talking on top of one another and Neal started crying. The realization that they'd woken the baby silenced each of them. Mary Margaret walked over, picked up the baby and started bouncing softly on her toes to soothe him. "Okay, this is what's going to happen. Emma you will go to Regina's. I have faith you can handle her no matter her emotional state. David, you're going to check with the Merry Men, they might know something and we won't be able to get in touch with them via phone. You should check on their camp anyway in this storm. Henry, you're going to stay here with me and make some phone calls, starting with Ruby to find out who was in the diner this morning. Then we'll have a list of people for the two of you to talk to next." She looked between the three of them until her gaze fell on Henry and spoke directly to him, "We'll call it Operation Find Hook. Sound good?" Her eyes darted back to Emma, "Oh, and Emma, you're taking my phone. We have the landline here so we'll use that, plus you'll leave a radio here just in case. "

There seemed to be nothing left to say after Mary Margaret's definitive speech. David grabbed the keys to his truck and Emma finished shrugging into her jacket. She'd arrived at the loft only 15 minutes prior, but it felt longer and she was now anxious to do something proactive.

"Mom," Henry drew her attention. She noticed that he looked uneasy, but resigned to his fate. When their eyes met, he said, "Please be careful."

"You don't need to worry, kid. We're just going to have a conversation."

"Okay, but please don't hurt her. If she's done something it's just because she's upset."

"Me? Hurt her? Why would you be worried about that?" Emma crinkled her brow as she tugged her beanie into place.

"Because your magic is stronger than hers, she might still be better, but if you're protecting someone you care about, I don't think she'd stand a chance."

Emma stared back at him with wide eyes and then gulped, somehow managing to feel better about the coming confrontation and worse at the same time. "I'm not going to hurt anybody. I'm just going to find out if she knows anything about Killian."

xXx

The distance from the loft to Regina's was short, but the slick roads caused the drive to take twice as long as usual. It gave her a few extra minutes to think about the upcoming confrontation. Part of her didn't want to believe that Regina would reclaim old habits so quickly after everything that had passed since they headed to Neverland, but the other part of her couldn't stop thinking about how she felt after their conflict the evening before.

It looked as if there was about six inches of accumulation already, which meant the snow was coming down at a furious pace of almost an inch an hour. She was grateful to be driving the cruiser that belonged to the Sheriff's station rather than her little bug.

When she pulled up in front of Regina's mansion, Emma felt her heart beating wildly in her chest, but by all outward appearances, she was deadly calm. She wasted no time in making her way to the front door, but as she moved, she found her eyes checking the snow for tracks and the windows for signs of life. She found nothing out of the ordinary. Once on the porch, she immediately pounded on the door. It felt like minutes to Emma, but in reality, it was probably only about 15 seconds before she heard movement on the other side.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, or should I say displeasure, Miss Swan?" Regina's voice was curt as she opened the door. She was not dressed in her usual stylish, yet severe mode of dress. Instead, she was wearing black leggings, an oversized sweater and no makeup.

Emma took only a second to survey the other woman, before pushing past her without an invitation. Once in the sterile entryway, she found herself staring down the former Evil Queen. "Is he here?"

"Who?" Regina eyes narrowed down to slits, her expression suddenly a mix of concern and condemnation. "Are you talking about Henry? Did you manage to lose my son in the last 12 hours?"

"No," Emma let down her defensive posture slightly in order to reassure the other woman. "Henry's fine. He's with my parents. I'm talking about Hook."

"You're looking for Hook? Here?" Regina let out an unbridled laugh as she shut the door to her home. She did not appreciate the intrusion, and had no intention of inviting said intruder to stay, but it was damn cold outside. With a sarcastic sneer she said, "Do come in by the way."

Emma showed no sign of perturbation at the other woman's dismissive attitude. With laser focus, she looked around Regina's place, her eyes flashing with suspicion and anger. "Yes, I'm looking for Hook. Here."

Regina relaxed and emitted a chuckle. "Let me get this straight. One night with you and the pirate has already made his escape. Wow… that must be a record, even for you."

"You don't want to mess with me today, Regina. Now, where is he?" Emma stood at the ready. Her posture was aggressively straight, her feet were planted shoulder-width apart and her hands hovered near her waist, ready to draw her gun, or her magic, at a moment's notice.

"I can see why, if you couldn't satisfy him, you might think he would seek me out, but he didn't. So if there's nothing further..." Regina turned back to the door as if to show Emma out of the house.

"Cut it out and tell me what you did to him!" Emma had tried to keep her voice measured and business like, but her outburst came out breathy and betrayed the worry that Emma felt seeping into her core.

Regina huffed in annoyance. "Why would I do anything to him? I can assure you I don't share your affinity for pirates."

"For revenge." Emma said simply, the tension she felt radiating from her body.

The sting of Emma's words caused Regina to momentarily freeze, but it took only a second for her to recover. She lifted a questioning eyebrow. "Revenge?"

"Yes." Emma asked with clear and abundant impatience.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well... let me see... last night you were upset, angry with me. You threatened me; you threatened my family, my happiness and this morning..."

"Hook is gone?" Regina asked curiously.

Something in Regina's manner gave her pause. She realized, suddenly, that the heightened emotions surrounding Hook's disappearance might have clouded her usually flawless ability to detect lies. She tried to calm herself and replied with a simple, "Yes."

"So Hook is your happiness now? Good to know."

"Tell me what you know." Emma forced herself to take even breaths and focused her eyes on Regina, looking for any sign of a lie.

"Seriously, Miss Swan, why would you think I had anything to do with it, when the far more likely scenario is that he pined and yearned after you for more than a year, only to find you wanting once you'd succumbed to his... charms?"

Since this played on every fear that Emma ever had, a by-product of her relationship with Neal, she felt her eye twitch and her stomach churn, however, she couldn't or wouldn't let it show. With much bravado, she tilted her head, put her hands on her hips and spoke in a low, controlled tone. "Let me make myself clear, Regina. I wasn't scared of you when I didn't believe I was the Savior. So now... not at all. Now, let me remind you of something Henry reminded me not ten minutes ago, my magic is back. We both know that I may be less skillful than you, but I'm much more powerful. So if you go after me, my family, or anyone I care about I will do everything in my power to end you. So I suggest you tell me what you've done with him, before I lose my temper."

"Henry, knows you're here? Accusing me of this?" Regina looked horrified at the prospect of her son being aware of the circumstances.

Emma gulped. She had not wanted Henry to be involved in any part of the issues Regina was facing and felt a pang of guilt at how much he knew of the situation. However, it couldn't be helped. He was growing up and knew better than anyone how Regina struggled between dark and light. "Yes, he overheard and he wanted to come. He's with Mary Margaret."

Emma saw the other woman's jaw twitch, but she betrayed no other emotion besides cold fury. "I don't know anything about where your pirate is or why he would leave your bed before it was cold. So if it's all the same to you... get the hell out of my house."

Regina moved to the door and opened it, but Emma did not move. Her gut was telling her that Regina was not lying, but she would not give up this easily. She had to get some information.

Emma softened her expression and said in an almost imploring voice, "If you know something, please tell me."

Regina sighed heavily and once again shut the door; however, she didn't move her hand from the knob. "If I knew something, why would I help you? First you poison my son against me and then you come to my home and hurl ridiculous accusations at me."

Emma felt her heart thump as she gritted her teeth. "You should help me because a man... a man who has done a lot for us, all of us, including you and our son is missing. In that!" Emma almost shouted as she pointed to the front window and the view it provided of the newly frigid landscape.

"Well, that's the material point, isn't it?" Regina looked at her smugly.

"What is?" Emma crossed her arms over her chest as if to keep it from leaping out.

"That." Regina replied with a sneer as she pointed to the window. "Has it occurred to you that 'that' is a little out of the ordinary?"

Emma stood back and swallowed hard. It was the thought that had been playing at the back of her mind all morning, just out of reach as she focused on other things. "Of course it's occurred to me."

"So what do you ascribe it to?" Regina lifted a condescending eyebrow at her.

Emma just stared back at her. Besides the niggling feeling that something wasn't right and her continued insistence that the conditions were unseasonable and contrary to the weather reports, she'd been too consumed by other things. Like her son and her parents and her undefined relationship with Hook and their finding out about said undefined relationship and Regina's complicated love life. Not to mention a missing pirate, so she hadn't allowed herself to focus on the out of character conditions.

"Have you been to the town line to see what the weather is on the other side? You're the one who can cross... well, besides your pirate. Perhaps that's what he did. Made his escape, something I'd like to do."

Emma ignored that and continued to glare at the other woman. "What're you getting at?"

"Can you think of anything out of the ordinary that has occurred in the last 24 hours?" Regina taunted as she started circling the room restlessly. "Any trips you might have made? Judging from that face you're making, I'll make it clear, I'm referencing your little adventure through the past."

"You think..." Emma trailed off as she thought of the possibilities. They'd left the Enchanted Forest from Rumpelstiltskin's locked vault, God, or Gold himself only knew what was in there and what could have followed them.

"I think you did something careless, well I know you did something careless, now I think you did two careless things and right now the entire town is paying for your arrogance. Whatever this is, I'm certain it's your fault."

"Well you would know about the entire town paying for things that are your fault." Emma felt a surge of adrenalin and satisfaction at the blow she'd clearly leveled, at least judging from Regina's face.

"It's time for you to go." Regina's eyes were hard, but Emma saw a flicker of something. It was pain. She took a deep breath and once again softened toward the other woman.

"You know, Regina, I'm honestly sorry, about what you're going through, but I'm not sorry that I prevented you from killing Robin's wife and once you think about it, I think you'll realize that it was in your best interest as well."

"How's that?" Regina sneered, but Emma could detect a thread of genuine curiosity.

"How would Robin have reacted? If he found out you're the one who took her from him? That you killed her? I think it would have been very hard for him to separate the Evil Queen from you when it hit that close to home. "

"Maybe he never would have found out." Regina replied tersely, but the words lacked fire.

"We both know that's unlikely… and a messy foundation on which to base a relationship."

"Oh, so now you're an expert on relationships? One night with the pirate and you're giving advice?" Regina shot back. Emma read defensiveness in everything from her tone to her posture.

"Well at least I care that Hook might be out there in that." Emma once again pointed to the snowy landscape.

"What are you getting at?" Regina crossed her arms over her chest defiantly.

"You claim to care about Robin… and Roland. Meanwhile, have you thought about him today? What his camp in the woods might be like in weather like this?"

"What do you expect me to do about it?" Regina scowled, but it was clear that she was honesty asking the question.

"You want people to think you've changed, Regina? Show it! Offer them shelter. By this time, he'll have had a chance to talk to Marion; he will know that you were the one who was responsible for her death. But here's the thing, you weren't! She's still alive. And you are still the woman he was falling for yesterday! Remind him of that; remind him of the person you are now. You have a second chance. Show him your heart, Regina, I know you have one."

"You want me to invite that woman to stay here?" Regina said each word as if she was speaking a foreign language. However, she looked at Emma shrewdly as if she was sizing up whether or not she was honestly trying to help or not.

Emma shrugged. "I grant you it's awkward, but you'd be the bigger person. Can you think of a better way to demonstrate that you've changed, that you're not the Evil Queen anymore? That you're thinking of something other than your own happiness? David is on his way to check on them right now. Give him a call. On the other hand, if you lose your temper and do something… evil, for lack of a better word, then you're sealing your fate."

Regina looked out the window, but she didn't appear to focus on anything. Just as Emma was about to speak, Regina turned back to her. "I was happy yesterday," There was a bit of accusation in her voice, but enough pain that it tempered it.

Emma winced and took a deep-breath. "I know. I'm sorry. But you're a fighter and as a fighter I see two paths in front of you. You can fight dirty or you can fight fair. You fight dirty and you have no chance at being with Robin."

"So you think if I 'fight fair' I've got a shot?" Regina lifted her fingers disdainfully and made air quotes around the words 'fight fair.'

"I've gone up against you enough times to know never to count you out."

"Who says I want a shot?"

Emma brought one hand up to her temple and rubbed in frustration. "Then stay here, alone. I need to be out looking for Killian." Emma tugged her hat back on and pulled her gloves out of her pocket. As she reached the door, she looked back and found Regina once again staring out the window. "If you're thinking that if you fight fair… you might lose, that he might not pick you, it's true. It's a very real risk. But if you fight dirty, you will lose him forever. Now if you think of anything that might help I'd appreciate if it you call me, I'm using Mary Margaret's cell phone."

Regina refocused her gaze on Emma and her glare softened almost imperceptibly. "I have no idea where your missing pirate has mysteriously gone or what might have caused this storm, but my guess is Gold will. Now close my door behind you, you're letting in all the cold air."

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and followed. I appreciate it so much! I love all the guesses being sent to me as to the mystery. Special thanks to the fabulous, amazing Shelley. She makes everything better (especially this story.)

When I planned this story I really didn't intend to do much with Regina, but I find I love writing her so much that this chapter delves a bit into her story. There's a smidge of Outlaw Queen herein.

**Chapter 4**

As she maneuvered the cruiser through the snow–covered streets, fat snowflakes falling unabated, she tried to imagine what could be causing the weather. She felt torn between several courses of action; heading directly for the town line to confirm whether the storm was only a Storybrooke phenomenon, going directly to Gold for answers, or heading to the barn to see if whatever might have followed them out of the portal was still there or left any clues behind.

Her gut told her that if the storm was magical in nature, Hook's disappearance was related to it. After all he would have been there while the portal was open, perhaps whatever allegedly came back with them, came back on him. She decided to head to the town line first to confirm what she was quickly coming to think of as a foregone conclusion. Magic was causing the storm.

Emma shivered, not from the cold, but from picturing Hook out in it. Cold never seemed to bother him, but as far as she knew, all he had was that damn leather coat which would not offer enough protection in this kind of weather.

On a whim, she took a turn that directed her away from the town line and towards the Sheriff's department. Once there she ran in and a few minutes later, exited, her arms full of old, wool blankets and several heavy down duster-style coats that each had a Storybrooke Sheriff's department patch on the arm. She had also grabbed a duffle bag off David's desk—it was half full of goodness knew what- and stuffed some bottled water, a box of granola bars and the pop tarts from her desk into it. She intended to eat one as soon as she was back on the road; she had missed lunch after all.

However, she didn't head back to the Sherriff's cruiser; instead, she turned towards the department's old Suburban parked on the side of the building. If she was headed to the town line and the barn, she preferred something that wouldn't get stuck.

While the four-wheel drive was heating up, Emma, bouncing in her seat to get warm, pulled out Mary Margaret's cell phone and dialed the loft. She quickly told her mother of what had happened at Regina's. She asked her to make sure and tell Henry that Regina was not to blame for Hook's disappearance, it was the least she could do after mentioning the possibility in front of him. Mary Margaret agreed and then let Emma know that she had the full list of morning customers from Ruby and had started calling them. No luck yet.

Before they said goodbye, Mary Margaret admonished Emma to stay warm and safe. Emma smiled at the motherly words and agreed as she put the giant vehicle into drive and headed for the town line.

xXx

Regina stared at the phone in her hands for long minutes. With a huff, she finally set it down and headed towards the kitchen. She would bake, that always calmed her down. She would forget everything the Swan woman had said about Robin and Roland and the storm. However, if Marian wanted one of her very special turnovers—the kind that she hadn't made in a very long time- she'd be happy to oblige.

Several minutes later Regina emerged from the kitchen. Slowly she made her way over to the entry table that held her phone. She couldn't remember ever feeling so indecisive. She always knew what she wanted and decided on a course of action, consequences be damned. After the conversation with Emma, she felt the fight in her return, something that had been missing last night. However, the concept of fighting fair was completely foreign to her; she was used to doing anything and everything within her considerable power to stack the deck. How did one even do such a thing? Finally, frowning, she picked up the phone and found David's number. As she pressed send, she steeled herself, adopted a cool, confident expression- even though no one else could see her- and put the phone to her ear.

A moment later, David answered. "Regina?"

"Yes." She tried to sound as business like as possible. "Emma told me you were out checking-"

"Is Emma there?" David interrupted her, the worry evident in his tone.

Regina could hear the wind of the storm whistling through the phone. "No, she was here and she's left to investigate other avenues. As I was saying she told me-"

"And everything was all right?" David once again interrupted.

Regina sighed. "Yes, I realize you must know the business she wanted to discuss with me. I assured her I had nothing to do with her pirate's disappearing act. I think she believed me. Now, if you don't mind. Are you checking on… our forest dwellers?"

"I am. Conditions are bad. We're going to have to move them. Perhaps set up a shelter at the school or the church, I understand there isn't much room left at Granny's."

Regina took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Is Robin there?"

David paused a moment, remembering all that Emma had related to them regarding the situation with Marian. "He is."

"Would you put him on the phone?"

David murmured his agreement and she heard rustling and then a faint, "What do I do?" followed by a tentative, "Hello?"

Sounding much more calm and confident than she felt, she said coolly, "Robin, it's Regina."

"Hi, yes, David said as much…" he paused not knowing exactly what to say. Nothing seemed adequate to the situation, the silence seemed like it went on for some time before he finally asked, "How are you?"

"Me? Spectacular," she lied. "Listen, by now I'm sure you've heard some terrible things about me. Most of them probably true and I realize things are quite… complicated at the moment, but this is a terrible storm and I think it's magical in nature and Roland shouldn't be at your camp." She took a deep breath and steeled herself before continuing. "So I wanted to offer my… hospitality to your family. I realize it's awkward, but right now that little boy and his comfort and safety are all that matter."

"Regina… I don't understand what you're saying." Robin's response was tentative.

"I'm offering," Regina took a deep breath and wondered for the tenth time during the short conversation if she was crazy for listening to the savior. "I'm offering you shelter from the storm. As you know, I have a rather large house… it would be no imposition. You can stay here while your camp is uninhabitable."

Once again, he was silent and it took every bit of Regina's resolve not to just hang up the phone and pretend she'd never called.

"Regina, we need to talk, but I can't abandon Marian right now. She's a bit traumatized and I'm afraid to leave her alone besides she won't let Roland out of her sight-"

"That's why I'm inviting your entire family, including your wife." Regina nearly doubled over with the effort it took to extend the invitation. She felt slightly light headed.

"That's… that's very kind, Regina."

"Yes, well." Regina replied carefully, before continuing in a low, but steady voice, "I care about… your son."

"I know," Robin replied softly. "You say this storm is magical?"

"I believe so. Our pertinacious savior is on the case. I'm sure she'll have the situation under control in no time." The edge of sarcasm in Regina's voice was not lost on Robin, but he didn't comment on it.

"I understand from David that Hook is missing?"

"Yes, well, I'm sure he'll turn up. He's not easily gotten rid of."

"My men and I have volunteered for any search that might be necessary. However, if this is indeed a magical storm I would like Roland and Marian out of harm's way."

"No harm will come to your family in my home." Regina replied flatly.

"I… I didn't mean to imply-"

"It's fine. I understand." Regina's voice was rife with tension, but then out of nowhere she added, "Henry, Mary Margaret and her new offspring will be here as well." Mary Margaret would have been surprised indeed to hear about this development.

"Oh… in that case, I'll talk to Marian. This is very kind of you, your majesty."

Regina cringed at her former glorification, a reminder of the tale he would have heard last night. "Yes, well, these are extraordinary circumstances. Goodbye, Robin."

Once she hung up, Regina sank to the second stair in her entryway and hung her head between her knees trying to catch her breath. Why, oh why, had she listened to Emma? This was going to be horrifying and humiliating. And Regina Mills did not do horrifying or humiliating. She took several deep breaths and then sat up. She felt a sudden and overwhelming urge to take the easy way out, to find a way to make Marian just disappear, to reverse her sudden appearance with a just as sudden disappearance. It was so appealing and well within her powers.

Instead, she shook her head as if to clear it, opened her eyes and pushed herself to her feet. Unfortunately, the savior was right; if she reverted and took care of the 'problem' with magic, she would lose Robin forever… and potentially everything else for that matter. Also, she hadn't lied to Robin, Roland had come to mean a great deal to her in their short time together and she was honestly concerned for his welfare. Still, it took everything she had to tamp down the desire to defrost one of her special pastries.

xXx

The vehicle was silent. So silent, Emma could all but hear her heart as it pounded in her chest as she drove towards the town line. She watched the snow fall outside and kept her eyes on the road, the last thing she needed was to get in an accident. Adrenalin pumped through her veins causing her to feel like she could sprint up Mount Everest or rip someone apart with her bare hands… if it meant getting him back. The last time she'd felt this anxious was when Henry had been missing in Neverland. That thought shook her. It was a stark example of exactly how important Killian had become to her and what place he currently occupied in her life. It had happened both so quickly and so painfully slowly that she hadn't even realized what was happening until it was here.

She thought of the moments they'd shared in the Enchanted Forrest. Some of them had been very good moments indeed, a fact she hadn't focused on at the time. The exact kind her father had once told her to be on the lookout for; moments like dancing with him, reveling in his jealousy over his past-self's advances, working together as a seamless team as they always did.

That thought gave her a pang. What if this was it? What if last night had been their last adventure together? What if something had happened to him and she'd lost her chance? She'd only just opened her heart to the possibility of something with him and it could be over before it started.

She didn't stop the Suburban when the town line was within sight. Instead, she blew right past it and at once found herself out of the falling snow and into the mild weather she had expected to find when she woke up that morning. She skidded to a stop, and looked out of the windshield in wonder at the partially cloudy skies and complete lack of precipitation.

She would probably never get used to the fact that she was living in a bubble of magic and fairy tales hidden amidst the non-magical world where she had grown up. It was unfathomable, but it was true.

Something magical was causing a blizzard in Storybrooke and Regina was right, it had to be linked to their trip to the past. She had done this. The storm was her fault.

With a deep breath, Emma turned the Suburban around, snow sliding off the hood onto the dry pavement and sped back into town. She knew her next destination without even thinking about it.

xXx

"Hello?" Henry answered the phone in his best business like tone, he had just been looking down the list of morning diners at Granny's and had been about to call Dr. Hopper.

"Henry," Regina's voice was as bright as she could make it.

"Mom?" Henry smiled widely when he heard Regina's voice. "This is some storm isn't it?" Then in a softer voice he asked, "How are you?"

"I'm fine, but I've done a whole lot of baking this morning and no one's here to eat it. I was thinking you might come by for a visit," she suggested, the phone caught between her ear and her shoulder as she put a couple of pies in the oven. She hadn't done any baking, but she always had something in the freezer, ready to go in the oven. These items were untainted, of course, fit for her son.

"I'd like to, but I'm not sure I should leave Grandma and the baby alone in this storm. Plus I'm helping search for Hook by making phone calls."

"Well you can do that here. Let me talk to Mary Margaret."

The word 'hello' was barely out of Mary Margaret's mouth before Regina said, "I need you."

"What?" Mary Margaret asked with confusion as she shifted the newborn in her lap.

"I need you and Henry and your son over here pronto."

"I don't understand," Mary Margaret said with confusion. "Why? We can't walk over in the storm and both David and Emma are both out looking for Hook. I don't have a car-"

"I know," Regina interrupted her. "I'll come get you. I believe this storm is magical, a product of something your daughter and the pirate brought back from the past… so the safest place in town is here with me. Besides my house has better heat than your drafty loft, I still have Henry's baby things so Neal will be very comfortable and I've been baking all morning."

"Regina, what's going on?" Mary Margaret knit her eyebrows as she looked towards the window as if checking to see if it was even possible to leave.

"I assume your daughter told you what happened last night."

Regina paused waiting for Mary Margaret's response. She didn't have to wait long and when Mary Margaret spoke, her voice held contrition. "She did. Regina, I'm sorr-"

"Nevermind that," Regina's impulse was to immediately stop the flow of sympathy. At the moment, kind words from Mary Margaret were one thing she couldn't handle. She took a beat and swallowed roughly at the lump in her throat, however when she continued speaking it was with her usual briskness. "When Emma showed up here to accuse me of crimes against her pirate, she also managed to convince me to call Robin, via your husband, and offer my house as shelter to his family. Which includes his back-from-the-dead wife who simultaneously probably wants to kill me and is scared to death of me and of whom I have no desire even to look at let alone house. So I need the three of you here so it's less awkward."

Mary Margaret sat on the phone in surprised silence. This was the last phone call she had expected to get. When she didn't speak, Regina sighed and said, "I will do what I can to help Emma and David deal with whatever situation we're confronting here if you do this for me."

"Regina…" Mary Margaret began slowly.

"Please… Snow, I'm asking for a favor."

Mary Margaret nodded her head even though the other woman couldn't see her. "Okay. It is a bit drafty here and if something is on the loose and causing this storm I would feel better being with someone who can combat magic."

"Good. I'll be there in 15 minutes," Regina sighed with relief and hung up the phone.

xXx

Ten minutes after Emma had left the town line she was pulling up in front of Gold's pawnshop. On the way back in to town she had pushed all morose thoughts of what might have happened to Killian aside and instead concentrated on looking for any clues along the way. Unfortunately, that hadn't yielded any results, but it did make her feel more on task and less pessimistic.

When Emma tried the door to the shop, she found it locked even though it was during normal business hours. Perhaps they had closed for the storm, but otherwise someone should be there. She pounded on the door and was about to retreat and go around to the back when she saw Belle appear through the glass.

A moment later Belle opened the door and bestowed her with a glowing smile that was even bigger and lovelier than usual. "Emma, what are you doing out in this weather?"

"The weather has brought me out, I'm checking on things." Emma watched the other woman's reaction very carefully, looking for any signs that she might know something.

"Oh, everything's fine here, we're actually closed."

"Did you close because of the weather?" Emma asked, trying to keep any traces of apprehension or suspicion out of her voice.

"Come in," Belle said with a shiver and quickly ushered Emma inside and closed the door behind her. "Actually the only reason I'm here, like you, is the weather, Rumpel and I were going to take some time off…"

"Time off, really?" Emma asked quizzically as she tried, furtively, to glance about the room for clues. "Is he here? I need to talk to him."

"No. I'm afraid you missed him. We weren't going to be in at all today or tomorrow for that matter."

"Why?" Emma quickly interjected, and then smiled widely at the other woman in order to cover her sharp inquisition.

Belle's bright smile grew tenfold; she looked as if she was bursting with news. "Rumpel and I got married last night."

Emma's jaw dropped and for a moment, she forgot the storm, the mystery and even Hook. "You what!?"

"Married. Rumpel and I are married. I'm Mrs. Gold."

"Uh…" Emma was shocked, but she tried not to show it. What was the proper reaction when someone so pure and good pledged herself to the Dark One? "Well… uh… congratulations."

"Thank you. You know, when he was under Zelena's power I thought this day might never happen. It just goes to show you can never give up hope."

"Right…" Emma nodded at her, once again pasting on a smile. "So you got married last night… after the celebration at Granny's and you didn't tell anyone?"

Belle nodded dreamily before explaining, "It was perfect. We didn't want to make a fuss, just the two of us plus my father and Archie officiating in the woods."

"Oh…" Emma processed that; in truth if she ever got married, she would probably like something—well less depressing sounding- but similarly intimate. Emma shook herself at the thought, since when did that sort of thought ever cross her mind? "Sounds lovely. Truly, Belle, I'm happy for you." Emma smiled genuinely at her, even though she didn't think being married to the Dark One was a recipe for happiness. "So where is the happy bridegroom this morning?" Emma made the question as casual as possible.

"With this unexpected storm he needed to check on some of the properties he owns," she paused for a moment, blushed, then corrected herself, "we own. So I thought I'd wait here for him, get some work done before we take some time off." Belle was looking down at the rings on her left hand and therefore didn't see the glint of suspicion that crossed Emma's eyes.

"I see. What time did he leave you?"

"Oh… " Belle paused to think. "About noon," Suddenly, she looked at Emma shrewdly. "Why do you ask?"

"You were with him all night and all morning up until noon?"

"Why? What's going on?" Belle's dreamy demeanor had faded away and now she was full of concern.

"Belle, please just answer the question," Emma asked imploringly.

"Yes, I was with him all night and this morning. What is this about? Please, Emma, is Rumpel in trouble?"

Emma sighed and turned back to the door and gestured, "Regina thinks this storm is magical in nature and I've confirmed it. It's not storming outside the town line."

"And you think that has something to do with Rumpel?"

Emma turned back and raised her eyebrow at the other woman. "Doesn't it always?"

The other woman looked taken aback. "Rumpel has changed, he-"

Emma put up her hands in acquiescence to the other woman's protests. "I'm not necessarily accusing him of doing this, but he knows more about the way these things work than anyone else."

Belle nodded reluctantly at that. "True, but I was with him when it started snowing, he was as surprised as I was. He didn't do this."

"I believe that, but that's not all…"

"What do you mean?"

"Hook is missing." Emma said flatly, the temporary reprieve that she'd had from her worry, a reprieve brought on by Belle's surprise announcement, now gone. She continued bluntly, "He hasn't been seen since last night."

"Oh…" Belle's face softened. "I'm sorry, Emma, but what does that have to do with us?"

"When we made a list of people in Storybrooke who might like to see him gone…"

"Rumpel was at the top of the list?" Belle asked her tone resigned.

Emma shrugged in answer, but narrowed her keen eyes as she studied the other woman.

"Why would he choose to go after Hook the day after we got married?"

Emma sighed. Belle was right, Gold going after Hook at this juncture made no sense. "Okay, if Gold gets back will you have him call me? I have Mary Margaret's cell phone."

Belle smiled and nodded her agreement.

Emma turned to go, but then something hit her, a curiosity from earlier. "One last thing..."

"Anything," Belle smiled warmly at her.

"Earlier today I was searching Killian's room looking for clues and I found a stack of library books."

Belle smiled at her and merely waited for the question.

"How did he get them? Did you let him into the library?" Emma asked with confusion. It's not that she thought it was a big deal, but she was madly curious about how it had come about. There was part of her that thought he spend every waking minute with her, even though she knew that wasn't true, she hadn't really pictured what he might do when they weren't together. Visiting Belle in the library seemed like such a routine activity, something a regular person did, not Captain Hook.

"Well, he didn't have a library card, but I thought I could make an exception." Belle misread her confusion as disapproval. "Is there anything wrong with that?"

"No, no, of course not." Emma replied quickly, but then looked at her quizzically. "But you helped him? Even after everything that's passed between you two?"

"We talked about it that day you had him here guarding me. As we were doing research, he mentioned that he wanted to read about your world so I told him I'd help and recommend some titles."

"My world?" Emma crinkled her brow thinking back to the titles she'd seen_, The Great Gatsby, Grapes of Wrath, To Kill a Mocking Bird_ among others.

"Yes, I think he wanted to know more about the realm where you grew up."

Emma suppressed a smile. "So you gave him a book about the roaring twenties and the great depression and…" she trailed off, realizing she couldn't remember what _To Kill a Mocking Bird_ was about, she hadn't been in a good situation at the time she was supposed to be reading that in school.

Belle looked at her innocently, not seeming to get the disconnect between the setting of those novels and how she grew up, of course there was no way for Belle to know how she'd grown up or, even, what it was like outside the town. "I gave him examples of literature from this realm, specifically great American novels. Would you preferred I hadn't?"

"Ahh." Emma smiled inwardly as her heart squeezed almost painfully at the thought of him wanting to get to know her world better. It was achingly sweet and so very like him. However, she suppressed a chuckle at the thought of him reading those books and thinking they depicted a world she was in any way familiar. "No, of course, he loves to read, the books are safe with him, thank you for… uh… helping him."

"Of course. I hope you find him."

Emma moved towards the door, but paused once her hand was on the handle. She turned back to the other woman. "Please don't forget to have… your husband, call me when he gets back."

Belle nodded in agreement as Emma pushed through the door and back into the blinding storm.

xXx

"Oh, Regina, you have been baking," Snow commented as they entered the house by the back door and the aroma from the pies in the oven surrounded her.

"Are you hungry?" Regina asked as Mary Margaret sat the car seat on the kitchen table.

"Actually, yes. We didn't have lunch."

"Perfect. The pie should be done in…" Regina opened the oven door and peeked inside, "about ten minutes." Regina looked over to her son who had just finished shrugging out of his coat. "Henry, why don't you go upstairs, I have your old pack-n-play in the guest room closet. Can you bring it down and set it up in the living room?" Henry nodded and headed towards the stairs.

Mary Margaret narrowed her eyes at the other woman. "The pies. Are they apple?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "Relax, I went with cherry." She shook her head, but muttered, "Not that I wasn't tempted."

Mary Margaret pulled off her hat and gloves and deposited them by her coat on the rack by the door. When she turned to face Regina she said, "Are you okay?"

Regina's lips formed a tight line and for some reason she was honest. "No."

"Do you want to call this off?" Mary Margaret asked as she peered down at her son, watching him sleep contentedly in his carrier. "I'm sure we can find room for Robin and his family somewhere else. You don't need to do this."

"I do." Regina leveled her gaze at her. "Your nosy daughter was right. I'm not ready to give up without a fight, so I need to prove that I've changed."

"That's very mature, Regina. I'm impressed."

"Maybe you're rubbing off on me." Regina said with a note of sincerity, but the effect was muted by the way she smirked when she said. Mary Margaret paid no heed to that and was about to say something in return when the doorbell rang.

Regina's guests had apparently arrived.

xXx

Emma hit the gas as she sped back out of town. The roads were bad, but there was no traffic and the Suburban rolled along without issue. She had one last place to check before she ran out of options. The conditions worsened the closer she got to the god-forsaken barn she'd hoped never to set foot in; that realization gave her chills.

When she pulled up to the barn the first thing she noticed was that the door was partially open. She had no idea how Killian had left it the night before, since she'd left the scene of their return before him, but leaving the portal exposed and vulnerable didn't seem like something the captain in him would do. Emma felt a shiver run the length of her spine. Something told her there'd been activity in the barn.

She picked up the phone and called David. When he picked up, she began without a greeting. "Have you found anything?"

"On Hook? No, unfortunately, I haven't found one lead."

Emma heard voices in the background. "Where are you then?"

"Just arriving at Regina's."

"Regina's?" Emma asked in surprise.

Suddenly, David lowered his voice to just above a whisper. "She took your advice and invited Robin to stay. Now Merry Men are taking over her house. They've volunteered to help search, Regina's house will be our temporary base of operation. Your mother and Henry are here now. Where are you?"

"Zelena's barn. I'm afraid we have bigger problems than Hook's disappearance. I've been across the town line; the storm is definitely magical. We're going to need to track down Gold."

"Okay. We'll get on it."

As Emma spoke she put the Suburban back in drive and pulled it a bit closer to the barn. "I've already been to his shop. Belle was there and said he was out checking on properties. Hey, get this, they got married last night."

"Married? Last night? When?"

"Apparently, after they left Granny's… so that gives him a pretty good alibi for whatever is going on. I don't think he has anything to do with Hook's disappearance or this storm. But if anyone knows what could cause a storm like this it's him. Besides Hook and I left the Enchanted Forest from his vault. Whatever it is that we must have brought back, was most likely something he had locked away."

"We'll find him. What are you going to do?"

"Check out this barn. I have a feeling that this is it."

"Be careful!" David said quickly. "Can you wait until I can get there?"

"Hook's been missing in this cold too long. I can't sit here if there might be answers inside. I'll be careful. I've got my gun and my magic."

"Okay, but call me as soon as you can and we'll come to you when we have Gold."

On that note, they said their goodbyes and disconnected.

Emma shrugged into the Sheriff's department duster coat, not her style, but it was cold and who knew what she was going to find inside the barn. With thumping heart, she approached the open door of the barn and pulled her gun. Despite the foreboding she felt at what might be on the other side, she held the weapon with rock steady hands as she nudged the door open with her boot.

However, nothing in her almost thirty years could have prepared her for what she found inside the barn.

xXx

Regina held the door to her home open and watched as merry man after merry man tromped through the doors. She bit her tongue to keep from commenting on their bathing habits, or apparent lack thereof, she cringed at the thought of them soiling her perfectly kept home; however, she decided to view it as a price she had to pay for past misdeeds.

She saw Roland trudging up the walkway, just ahead of his mother, and her heart jumped. She'd legitimately come to care for the boy in the last few weeks. When he saw Regina, it was clear the feeling was mutual. He called her name and broke into a run. He hit her midsection with a hug and the impact almost knocked her over. Once he had released her, she knelt down in front of him.

"Well now, Roland, I'm so glad to see you."

"You should have seen our camp; the snow covered everything, including my traps."

"Really? How exciting-"

"Roland, Roland, come here right now!" A terrified looking Marian interrupted the reunion. Marian was hurrying the best she could through the snow and when she arrived, she gripped Roland's arm and tugged him to her and out of Regina's reach.

Regina felt her lip twitch in annoyance and it took everything she had not to squash the woman like a bug. Instead, she rose to her feet and called on all the dignity she had from years of being in a position of authority. She waved her hand and simply said. "Welcome to my home."

Marian didn't speak; she just gripped her son to her as her eyes darted around trying to take in the newness of her surroundings.

After a few seconds of silence, Regina looked at Roland who seemed confused. "Why don't you go find Henry, he should be in the living room."

"No!" Marian said forcefully, bringing Roland to her even more tightly.

Thankfully, Mary Margaret stepped into the breach. "Marian, my name is Mary Margaret, but you might know me as Snow White."

"Snow White?" Marian asked her voice suddenly filled with wonder.

"Yes, my daughter Emma tells me I owe you a debt of gratitude."

"Emma is your daughter?" Marian asked with confusion. "How is that even possible?"

"It's a long story. Now-"

However, Marian interrupted her and pointed at Regina. "But… if you're Snow White, why are you in her home?"

Mary Margaret smiled kindly at the other woman as she ushered her further into the house. "Things are very different here in Storybrooke. Now how about you let Roland go play with my grandson, Henry, Robin and my husband, David, are right here. You look frozen through, why don't I take you upstairs and introduce you to one of the marvels of this land, a hot shower."

"I… Uh…"

Robin looked at her. "Go ahead. Everything is fine down here. I'll keep my eye on Roland."

Finally, Marian nodded once and let Mary Margaret lead her up the stairs.

Regina, standing with a fake smile plastered on her face and clenched hands finally looked at the gaggle of men standing around her foyer. Trying to hide her perturbation, she pointed down the hall, "There's coffee and pie in the kitchen, please help yourselves."

The men needed no more invitation than that; they all immediately went off in the direction of the delicious aromas that were coming down the hall.

That left Robin, Regina and David in the foyer. David looked between the two of them and then slipped to the back, "I'll just check on Neal. We'll give everyone a few minutes to warm up and then plot our next move. I just got off the phone with Emma, she confirmed the storm is magical and she wants us to find Gold."

Regina just nodded to him. When he followed the others to the kitchen, it left Robin and Regina alone, a tense silence fell over them for several long moments. Finally, Robin broke it.

"Thank you, Regina, for offering your hospitality."

She took a deep breath, "It was the right thing to do." Then she eyed him quizzically. "She doesn't know, does she?" Marian had been wary of her, but she had looked at her the same she had the night before in the diner. It had been a look of fear; not the look a woman might give when confronted with someone sleeping with her husband.

Robin quirked an eyebrow at her as if he was unsure of her meaning. However, Regina suspected he knew what she was asking, but was afraid to reply.

Finally, Regina prompted, "About us?"

He shook his head, before continuing, "We had so much to talk about, it… it didn't come up."

She sighed heavily. "Probably for the best."

"Regina, we need to talk."

"Obviously, but not now while your… wife," she almost choked on the word, and felt a pang deep in her chest. She resisted the urge to rip out her own heart to stop the pain. "Is upstairs using my bathroom and your men are eating me out of house and home and David and I need to go find Gold."

He nodded in agreement. "Then we'll table our discussion for the time being, but I'm coming with you to find Gold. My men and I want to be of use."

She acquiesced with a slight bow of her head. "As soon as they've had their refreshment, we'll go. You should leave a few of your men here with Mary Margaret, Henry and… your family." When he nodded in agreement, she turned to walk down the hall. She hadn't imagined how painful this was going to be. However, she wasn't sorry she had done it, not that she'd admit that to Emma or her mother. The way he was looking at her, it was with sadness and regret, but not with revulsion, which had been her biggest fear.

"I'm really sorry." Robin blurted before she got very far down the hall.

She paused for a moment, but didn't turn. "It's not your fault. It's my fault."

Before he could respond, she walked briskly down the hall and out of his sight.

xXx

The barn had been frozen. Literally. The markings from Zelena's portal were obscured and in their place was ice. There was ice everywhere. Ice walls, ice floors, ice cycles... some sort of ice structure. It was hard to see through the dim light.

Emma tried to register and process everything she was seeing as she yelled, "Sheriff, anybody here?" There was no answer; she only heard her own voice echo off the sheer wall of ice in front of her. She turned completely around once and realized the only part of the barn not covered in ice was the door through which she'd entered. She didn't detect movement of any kind. As she holstered her gun, the structure right over the portal captured her attention; it seemed to be a box or a room of some kind.

What in the hell kind of magic had they brought back from Rumpel's vault? She knew she needed to get out her phone and tell David to redouble his efforts to find Gold and get him out here.

The ice structure was indeed a room, a cell to be more precise. As she walked closer, her heart stopped. Trapped inside was a blurry figure, lying prone on the ground, dressed all in black. She ran the last few feet and slammed her hands against the ice. The icy crystallization of the water distorted her view, but there was no doubt. It was him.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Shelley's thoughts and insight were invaluable on this chapter, so mountains of appreciation to her as always. Thank you to everyone who's reviewed or followed etc. I so enjoy reading your thoughts and absolutely appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment, it means a lot.

**Chapter 5**

"HOOK!" she screamed as she pounded on the ice wall in front of her, but it was immovable. Cringing, she shook her hands; the sting of multiple blunt impacts meant that she was probably going to bruise. She didn't care. She only cared that he was there, that she could see him in the dim light of the barn, but she couldn't reach him. The ice wall must have been at least six inches thick. She moved several feet over and found a spot in the ice that gave her a slightly clearer view of him. He was still and try as she might she couldn't detect any movement at all. His shock of black hair was clearly discernible, but she couldn't really see his face.

Panic seized her as she looked around wildly for something, anything to remove the ice barrier between them. However, anything that might have been helpful in the barn was now frozen and covered in a thick layer of ice. For a brief moment, she considered running back to the Suburban and ramming the ice structure with the thirty-year-old tank of an SUV. However, she quickly dismissed that idea knowing it would accomplish little more than putting him in even more danger.

Terrified, and seemingly out of immediate options, she turned back to the ice wall, a feeling of desperation overwhelming her. Her gloved palms came to rest on the ice as she peered into the frozen cell, trying to get a better look at him, trying to find a way to get to him. How could he be so close, yet completely beyond her touch? Her heart pounded and, despite the cold, she felt a slight prickle of perspiration on her upper lip, probably due to the adrenalin pouring through her body

The second her eyes focused on his lifeless form, it happened. She felt the warmth from her palms and a white glow formed around her gloved hands, and before she knew it, hand-shaped holes had melted in the ice. With wonder, she watched her hands clench into fists on the other side of the ice. Her magic. Of course! Why did she never think of it in moments of crisis?

In fast, fluid motions, she pulled back her hands, yanked off her gloves and held her palms wide in front of her. She put everything she had into melting the sheer block of ice that separated her from Killian. She concentrated as if her life depended on it. In some ways, it did. What would she do if she couldn't get to him? What would she do if he were not okay?

It only took seconds to thaw an opening large enough for her to get through. She jumped back as the water from the melted ice hurled towards her, washing over her boots. But that only delayed her a second and the next moment she was rushing over the slippery ice, through the hole, and stumbling to his side.

"Killian!" His name rolled fluidly and desperately off her tongue despite the cold temperature. It was warmer inside the barn than out- she vaguely registered that the ice must be insulating the structure somewhat. Once on her knees, her hands found the lapels of his coat and she yanked forward, but he didn't budge. His skin was ashen white, paler than she'd ever seen it, even paler than after he'd almost drowned. She brought her hand to his chest and slipped it under his vest, frantically feeling for a heartbeat. She felt bile rise in her throat and roil in her stomach when she couldn't find one. However, she was fumbling and slightly shaky so she couldn't even be sure she'd felt in the right spot.

"Killian, come on, wake up!" Swallowing roughly, she felt a tear escape the corner of her eye and trail down her cheek. She wiped at it fiercely and whispered, "Don't do this. Don't leave me."

Magic. This had to be because of magic. Magic had built this maze of ice inside the barn, had created the blizzard that was raging outside, so it was likely that magic had erased the life from him as well. She exhaled harshly and closed her eyes. She needed to do something. She was the savior, if she couldn't save him, what was the point? She wracked her brain trying to think of a magical solution, a spell or enchantment that would give him life, but her mind was blank. Why hadn't she paid better attention when Regina had tried to teach her!?

She'd faced dire situations before; she just needed to concentrate. She thought of her parents, she thought of Henry, if this was a curse, maybe it could be broken. Her magic might be useless in this, but maybe her heart wasn't. She had no idea if it would work, if her heart was true, but she knew that if it wasn't, if it didn't work, she had no idea how she was going to go on.

Her heart pounded in her chest and her breathing was erratic. She looked at his face, his beautiful face and then let her eyes trail down to his lips. Her stomach fluttered involuntarily and it prompted her to try to think about how she felt. How she felt about him. However, that was confusing, and she couldn't focus through the sheer terror that shrouded her at the thought of losing him. Anxiety clawed at her, but she pushed it aside. With a shake she decided she couldn't waste another second and leaned over and brought her lips to his in what she hoped would be a life-giving, curse-breaking kiss.

The first thing that surprised her was the fact that his lips weren't as cold as she expected. They felt dry and slightly chapped, but not bitter cold. Not frozen. The second thing that surprised her was when they twitched.

The relief washed over her like a tidal wave, it was working! She pulled back, expecting to see him dazed but awake wondering what had happened.

That didn't happen. Nothing happened. He didn't move. She brought her hand to his cheek; again, it was slightly warmer than she expected, but when she smacked it ever so lightly, trying to rouse him, he didn't flinch. She murmured his name repeatedly, but there was no miraculous wake up. However, she knew she'd felt something and she wasn't ready to give up. She needed a second chance; she needed to try again. So, with one hand smoothing a lock of hair off his forehead, she redoubled her efforts by whispering his name, leaning back down and more firmly pressing her lips to his.

This time she slanted her lips over his and tried to pour everything she was feeling into the kiss; tried to pour life itself into the kiss. After several long seconds, she heard rather than felt something that made her draw back and break contact. It was a soft gasp or maybe a swallow. However, once again when she leaned back there was no sign of movement or of life. But there had been something! Now two somethings. She would swear to it. And she would not throw in the towel. Of course, she was so focused on his face, looking for signs of life, that that she missed the fingers on his right hand flinch around the object they were clutching.

Willing the third time to be the charm, she leaned down and once more brought her lips to his. This time she tried to focus on how she'd felt the night before. How she'd felt when he confessed that he'd given up his ship for her. On what it had felt like to kiss him and wrap herself around him outside of Granny's. Once their lips met again, she held her breath, waiting, wishing, wanting for some sign of life. It felt long, too long, but really, only seconds passed before she once again sensed something from the figure beneath her. This time it was a groan, followed by a moan. She quickly leaned back, her hands coming to cup his face, his scruff prickling her palms. She saw his eyelids begin to flutter and then after what felt like an eternity, but was probably only seconds, he opened his eyes and she was peering into his baby blues.

"Hook? You're okay!" She whispered gratefully, before asking, "Are you okay?"

He grunted, and then winced before pressing his eyes closed. "Maybe. Are you trying to suffocate an injured man?" His voice was barely above a whisper and the cold had compromised his usually flawless diction, but she heard every word and relief once again flooded over her. He struggled to bring his hand up to his head, but his arm was stiff and his fingers were clumsy with cold and he gave up. He groaned once again, clearly feeling pain of some sort.

"Injured?" Emma asked as she let her eyes scan his body. He seemed intact with no visible wounds. "What's wrong? Can you move?"

"My head," he murmured. Concern flooded through her and she immediately scrambled around so she was on her knees behind him. With tender fingers, she moved his head to the side slightly and then very gently combed through his hair. "Yup, you definitely were bleeding, but not anymore. There's not too much blood, it seems like the cold stopped it. But you've got quite a bump."

"Aye," he mumbled with a wince. "Love… help me up?"

Emma slid across the ice on her knees so she was once again beside him. But before helping him she quickly shrugged out of the giant, down coat she'd put over he own outerwear and laid it over him. She looked down at him with what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Killian, I'm not sure you should move until we know you haven't injured your neck or back. I need to call David and we need to get you to the hospital.

"Non… no, it's just… a bump on the head that knocked me out." He answered her, his ability to speak still compromised by the cold. Emma noticed that as he moved more into consciousness, he'd begun to shake slightly.

As if to prove his point, he tried to raise his arms and move them to help him sit up. However, his attempt was feeble and he dropped the object in his hand. Emma saw it clatter to the ice from his stiff fingers.

"My phone!" She exclaimed as she grabbed it from where it had come to rest. "Where did you find it?" She tried turning it on, but nothing. It was dead; she quickly shoved it in her pocket.

"Just outside," he replied drowsily.

"That's what brought you out here this morning? You came looking for my phone? You shouldn't have come out in this storm."

"What storm?" He spoke through gritted teeth and once again started to struggle up without her assistance, and it was clear he wasn't going to make it, so she reached over and put her hand behind his back to help steady him as he rose to a sitting position.

"What do you mean what storm? It's snowing like crazy out there." She grabbed the large sheriff's coat that had pooled in his lap and draped it over his shoulders.

"When I entered this… place… it was a fine day. What're you doin'?" he asked with a gasp, as she pulled the large garment around him as much as she could.

"Trying to get you warm."

"I can think of methods that would be more fun," he tried to sound randy, but it came out in a low mumble. He also tried to raise one eyebrow suggestively at her, but he found the cold inhibited this particular ability.

At one time, she would have pretended to be unamused at such a comment, but right now, the fact that he was attempting a joke was music to her ears. She couldn't have stopped the smile that graced her lips if she'd tried. "If you're coming on to me, you must be okay." Still, she took off her knit beanie and very carefully slid it over his injured head and then quickly unwound her scarf so she could wrap it carefully around his neck, looping and pulling the ends through in order to cover as much of his chest as possible.

He cringed at her action, but he was powerless to stop it, so he mumbled, "Swan… don't… it's cold, you need it."

His comment made her stop what she was doing and look at him. He was fully sitting up now, leaning on his hook, his legs straight in front of him. In all of her ministrations, she had somehow come to rest directly in front of him, straddling him, actually; a knee planted in the ice on either side of his legs. She sat back on her heels and found his eyes. He was still pale, but the animation had improved the color of his skin a bit. A very little bit.

Without warning, she wound her arms around his shoulders and pulled him as tightly against her as their heavy coats would allow.

If he could have managed the expression, his eyebrows would have hit the ceiling in abject surprise. However, not being capable of that display of emotion at the current moment, he just sighed into her clumsy embrace. After several long moments, he murmured with a slightly vibrating voice. "You okay?"

"I was scared." She pulled back so she could look him in the eye. "I couldn't find you and I was scared." She saw something grow soft in his eyes and she realized she couldn't go down this conversational path, at least not here, so she changed the subject to the more urgent matter at hand. "Who did this to you?"

"Can I enlighten you on the way to the hospital?" he asked with a grunt and Emma's internal panic shot through the roof at his words. He would never want to go to the hospital unless it was absolutely necessary. She quickly moved from her perch over his legs, back to his side.

"Is there something more that's wrong with you? Were you cursed?"

Killian grimaced, but shook his head, his speech improving slightly. "I don't think so, must've hit my head and then, I'm cold. I'd like to get warm. Do you have a way to get us out of here?"

"Yes." She abandoned all notions of David coming to get them and quickly scrambled to her feet. Bracing herself, she leaned down to lend him a hand. His limbs were stiff and ungainly, but she eventually got him to a standing position. However, it was clear he was unsteady so she immediately molded herself to his side, one arm around his back to try to take some of his weight as she propped his left arm around her shoulder. His left arm seemed stronger than his right, probably because his brace had somewhat protected it, and its circulation, from the cold.

She looked up at him. "You ready?

He nodded and they slowly made their way through the hole in the ice wall, which was awkward because in her haste, Emma had only made it large enough to slip through herself. The water from the hole she melted was starting to refreeze, but was still wet enough to make it extremely slippery. After a bit of angling and careful shuffling, they made it and were soon heading towards the barn door.

When they arrived at the exit, Emma leaned him against the rough wood of the barn wall and shifted away from him. Her fingers roamed over the scarf, tugging on it, trying to cover as much of his skin as possible. Next, she straightened her beanie on his head making sure it was covering his ears and then brought the hood from the Sheriff's duster up and over it. She draped as much of the down coat around him as she could. The wind-chill made it significantly colder outside and she wanted to protect him as much as possible.

He didn't complain about her ministrations, which was surprising, but then she noticed that he was dazedly staring back at the ice cell where he'd been imprisoned. She wanted to know what he was thinking, but even more than that, she wanted to get him out of there. So instead of asking, she brought up the hood on her own jacket and then pulled the zipper as high as it would go. She then slid under his arm, once again taking as much of his weight as she could. She warned, "It's colder outside than it is in here."

"Wonderful," he murmured shakily.

"We don't have to go far, I parked close." With those words, she pushed open the barn door.

Immediately, Emma was relieved to see the Suburban still sitting there. With a new and angry practitioner of magic roaming around, she'd been a bit nervous about what she'd find outside the barn. After all, they had no idea where the ice villain had gone; they could still be there. However, nothing looked disturbed, except of course by the weather.

They both winced when the wind and icy snow hit them the second they stepped out, but the Suburban was only a few feet away and soon enough Emma was helping him into the passenger side and then rounding the vehicle to take her place behind the wheel. She immediately started the engine, turned the heat up full blast and grabbed a wool blanket from the stack on the seat behind her.

She leaned over and started to spread it over his legs when he protested, "You don't have to… I'm okay."

Emma smiled at him, in spite of the pit in her stomach. He was not okay; he truly did look awful. Pale, shaking and bleary eyed. "Okay, but while we wait for the car to warm up, tell me who did this to you, I need to let David and Regina know."

"Beautiful, angry blonde… which I know something about…" This time, he was able to raise his eyebrow at her; however, his teeth chattered alarmingly after he said it.

"So a woman?" she watched him carefully, on one hand, pleased he made another joke, on the other hand worried about the fact that he'd started to shake even more violently than before.

"Aye, I think…" he brought his hand to his head as if it was straining him to think. He continued in a raspy, but more confused voice, "That urn I picked up in the vault… must've come back with us. I saw it before…"

"Before?" Emma uttered as her eyes narrowed in concentration, a prick of apprehension hitting her at his slight change in mental state.

"She started with the ice." He made a weak gesture back towards the barn. "I know… you told me not to touch it."

"After bringing Marian back, I'm hardly one to pass judgment. What else?"

"She must've sensed I'd handled it… she thought I was the one who'd trapped her in it. Very angry and the angrier she got the more ice there was. I tried to reason with her."

"Did she hurt you?" Emma looked over at him and grabbed another blanket from the backseat, throwing it over his lap. She was growing more anxious about him by the minute; she needed to get him to the hospital, but the car could use another minute to warm up and with this crazy woman on the loose she knew she should call David before they set out.

"Besides throwing me against a block of ice and knocking me out?" He tried for humor but was starting to slur his words through his chattering teeth, and was barely understandable.

"Anything else, anything tangible that will help us find her?" Emma reached over and felt his forehead. She didn't know what she was looking for, but that's what you did to sick people, right? Now that they were in the car, in the daylight, she didn't like his skin temperature or color at all.

"Blue dress… blonde… young… pretty… angry… scared." She saw his eyes dropping as he tried to concentrate and give her the details. Emma felt her blood-pressure rise as it became clear that her normally articulate-to-a-fault pirate wasn't forming full sentences. He hadn't sounded like himself since he woke up, but it was getting even worse. As if now that they'd made it to the car, any adrenalin he'd been running on since he woke up was no longer helping. In an almost unintelligible mumble, he added, "Felt bad for her."

"You felt bad for her? She hurt you!" Emma was both indignant and worried-out-of-her-mind as she got out her mother's phone and pressed the speed dial selection for her father.

xXx

Mary Margaret had successfully gotten Marian into the shower in Regina's guest room, told her to take her time and laid out some dated, but warm sweats for her to wear while her clothes were in the washing machine.

David had sent several of the Merry Men to meet Leroy; they were to begin plowing the streets. If the roads in town became impassible, they might never find Hook or the source of the storm. Several others gathered in Regina's dining room, indulging in more pie as they awaited their instructions. The baby slept comfortably in the pack–n-play as Henry entertained Roland with a board game nearby.

David, Robin and Regina had been about to leave when David's cell phone rang. Robin and Regina, as well as Mary Margaret, watched him with baited breath as he uttered a string of 'Uh huhs', 'okays' and 'will dos' before he hung up.

"That was Emma? What did she say?" Mary Margaret asked urgently.

He smiled at her. "She found him."

"Oh thank goodness." Mary Margaret sighed with relief and sank down in a chair. "Is he okay?"

"She says he's been better, he was knocked out and he's been in the cold for a while, she doesn't think its life-threatening, but she's anxious to get him to the hospital to get him checked out. They're at the barn now."

Mary Margaret closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. When she opened them again, there were tears of relief gathering in her eyes and threatening to spill over onto her cheeks.

Regina studied her curiously for a moment before saying, "Since when do you have so much invested in Hook's well-being?"

Mary Margaret grabbed a tissue from the counter and unashamedly dabbed at the corners of her eyes. She looked up at Regina, "Ever since I realized my daughter's falling in love with him. What causes her pain, causes me pain."

Regina rolled her eyes; mostly to cover how unexpectedly touched she was by Mary Margaret's heartfelt statement. She looked to David. "Where was he? What does he know about the storm?"

David quickly relayed everything Emma had told him in their short conversation.

"An angry blonde in a blue dress who can freeze things, doesn't ring a bell for me." Robin spoke softly as he pushed himself off the counter he'd been leaning against for support. "What about you, Regina?"

She felt her stomach jump at him saying her name, but she showed no reaction, when she met his eye. "I've heard of a queen who could create what this woman has created, however, I wouldn't describe her as young necessarily. Neither can I imagine her scared."

David leaned down and kissed Mary Margaret before standing back up and saying, "Let's go. We need to find Gold and figure out why this young woman was locked in his vault."

xXx

Emma gripped the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles were white with tension. She glanced at the man beside her. He was looking sleepy, any color that she thought had returned, now seemed to be gone, and he was as white as, well, as he would put it, a fresh sail. She wasn't sure if she should be more worried about his head injury and probable concussion or his prolonged exposure to the cold.

The conditions were near white out and they'd only gone a short distance when the giant lumbering vehicle hit something very large. It jolted both of them forward in their seats. Emma yelped, "What in the hell was that?"

Killian just shook his head in response and Emma reached to unbuckle her seat belt. "I'll check."

"Be careful," he charged weakly.

She shot him her most reassuring smile, even though she was feeling anything but calm or reassured. "I'll be right back." Emma slid out of the driver's seat into the blizzard conditions. As she rounded to the front of vehicle, the driving snow felt like icy pin pricks on her face. Sure enough, the storm had brought down—well probably the storm, who knew with a new sorceress wandering the streets- a giant tree over the middle of the road. "Damn it!" She muttered to herself. At a loss, she kicked at a branch through the gathered snow, but that only succeeded in sending a stinging sensation through her foot.

Magic. She could try magic. She concentrated all her powers and said aloud, "Move tree!" Nothing happened and she felt stupid for how childish her command sounded. What good was her magic if it wasn't useful in dire moments? She scrunched her eyes closed and thought about how desperately she needed to get Killian to the hospital.

Emma heard rustling and her eyes popped open to see the great timber beast rising into the air, with a wave of her right hand, she flung it away and heard it crash to the ground a good 40 feet away. For a second she stood rooted to the spot, shocked and awed by her own mysterious power. She tore her gaze from where it landed and refocused; she still had a job to do. Her first order of business was to check the vehicle for damage.

It happened as she was rounding the front of the Suburban. One minute she was walking, her eyes trained on the snow covered bumper, the next her legs were out from under her.

Her heart plummeted as she felt herself slipping downward, her feet searching, trying to gain purchase on anything, but there was nothing. The ground was gone! She reached wildly towards the vehicle and managed to grab the end of the bumper, which was indeed loose from the impact of the tree. That stopped her momentum as her knees came in sharp contact with something uneven and sharp. She took several seconds to catch her breath and then slowly pulled herself forward to solid ground. Carefully she looked behind her and saw that they had been about to cross one of the small aqueducts that carried ditch water to the farms in the area. The trunk or one of the limbs of the tree must have hit the road just right, because it had damaged the bridge—if you could even call it that- creating a large, crumbling hole just in front of the vehicle. In fact, she could see the mostly frozen water, just a few feet below where the road was supposed to be.

Keeping hold of the Suburban, she carefully pulled herself back up. Her knees stung from the impact and she was fairly certain that she'd skinned at least one of them. However, she ignored that and assessed the situation. The bridge which was only about twelve feet across to begin with, was now uncrossable. For a brief moment, she thought she might be able to fix it with magic. She even closed her eyes and concentrated, but something that specific was beyond her capabilities. Next, she considered four-wheeling around the aqueduct, but she knew from their searches of the area that the ditch was deep in places and with the snowfall, you couldn't get any lay of the land. She knew any attempt at going around would probably land them in a worse situation than they were already in.

Emma climbed back into the vehicle. Hook's head was facing down, his chin resting against his chest. "Hook! You awake?" She shook him gently and he looked up, his eyes dazed but focusing on her. She was oddly disappointed that he hadn't seen her move the tree; he was always so impressed when she succeeded with her magic. Of course that meant he had also missed her almost plunge into the icy ditch; she was fine with him not seeing that harrowing and clumsy moment. "It was a fallen tree and it damaged the bridge over the ditch. Our options now seem to be to stay here in the car or go back to the barn."

He shook his head lightly, which was hard to detect through his shaking, and then with his hook, tapped his passenger-side window. "W-witch's farmhouse. Just there."

"Are you sure?" Emma crinkled her brow curiously at him. She couldn't see five feet beyond the car.

"S-s-sailor." He mumbled as explanation through chattering teeth.

She paused for a second. He wasn't exactly in a state where she trusted his sense of direction, but he was an excellent captain. It was their best option. Besides if he was wrong, then they'd just be stuck in the car someplace else instead of right here. "Okay, as much as I have no desire to spend time in Zelena's farmhouse… that does seem the most appealing option." Emma put the Suburban in reverse and looked over at him. "Any idea where the lane is?"

"50 paces back." He mumbled and she couldn't even tell if his eyes were open or not.

"Stay with me, Killian." Emma spoke loudly trying to keep him conscious as she backed up the car what she judged to be 50 paces. "Here, ya' think?"

"Aye," he managed and despite the dire circumstances, Emma felt her lips quirk upward at his skill, even barely lucid. The smile only lasted a second, as reality immediately crept back in.

Worried sick by his shaking and tenuous grasp on consciousness, she turned the vehicle on what she hoped, more than believed, was the lane and gunned it. Deciding if they weren't on the lane she was going to mow over anything that stood in her way of getting him to shelter. Snow flew through the air as the Suburban's tires aggressively spun and created a white powder spray behind the vehicle.

Emma's gamble paid off; just a minute or so later, she saw the farmhouse right in front of her and had to slam on the brakes. The vehicle slid, but stopped just in time, and conveniently just a few feet from Zelena's porch.

She took a deep breath and sighed with relief. They'd made it. They had arrived at the witch's lair.

Emma got out first, and easily opened the door to the farmhouse with a wave of her hand. The Suburban's 30–year-old heater wasn't great, but Emma assumed it was still currently warmer in the vehicle than in the house. So she left the motor running and Hook inside it while she investigated the place Zelena lived. For one moment, she flashed back to the day not too long ago when she and Hook had first stumbled upon the house while searching for the witch. That thought had her drawing her weapon.

Gun held in front of her, she did a quick check of the premises to make sure they were alone. After all, there was an angry, magic-toting blonde roaming the area capable of creating ice and snow, so she wasn't going to take any chances. However, the house was still and for all intents and purposes appeared to be empty.

Next, she quickly went to the wood stove, and with a nod of her head lit the wood that already sat in its belly. On the table next to the window sat a copper kettle, she filled it with water—thankfully it hadn't been storming long enough for any pipes to freeze- and sat it on top of the stove to heat. Next, she tried the lights and the thermostat and quickly came to the realization that if the house had power currently running to it, it was out. Thankfully, there was also a fireplace and a store of firewood next to it. She would build that as soon as she had him inside.

Emma was on her way out the door when she saw candles on the mantle and table. With a flick of her hand, they all lit, creating a soft glow in the room. She would take any heat and light source she could get. She ran back outside, paying no attention to the storm and grabbed everything she'd brought from the Sheriff's office, the blankets, the other coat, the bag containing snacks, water and goodness knew what else. She deposited the load on the kitchen table near the stove so the items would warm.

Finally, she was ready to bring him in from the cold. It had only taken her a couple of minutes to ready the place, but she was so anxious to get him inside that it felt like longer. However, before leaving the house she took out her mother's phone. The battery was dangerously low. She would need to conserve, but she also desperately needed to call her father and tell him of the latest developments, for her own sake and Hook's.

xXx

David, Regina and Robin were all crowded into the cab of David's truck. The conditions seemed to be worsening not getting better and he was glad some of the Merry Men were helping the Dwarfs with the plowing. If the storm continued at the current rate, there would be several feet of snowfall by the next morning. That much snow would paralyze the town, potentially for days. They had to stop it.

So far, they had struck out at finding Gold. Since they had Emma's information that he was supposedly out checking his properties, Regina had suggested several on the far side of town. When that didn't pan out, they'd decided to patrol the streets. Looking either for Gold or the mysterious blonde in the blue dress. They'd had no luck as of yet, which wasn't surprising because visibility deteriorated by the minute.

David felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and immediate brought the truck to a stop.

"What are you doing? Why are we stopping?" questioned Regina as she looked out the window, expecting to see something worth halting their progress.

David held out his phone in answer.

She sighed and sat back before murmuring, "We're in the middle of the road."

David ignored her, as he flipped open his phone and answered it.

Robin cleared his throat, "I believe we're the only ones on the road, Regina. I haven't seen another…" he paused as if he was searching for the words.

"Automobile," Regina supplied.

"Ahhh… and here I thought this was a truck. This realm has so many words for the same thing."

Regina actually chuckled lightly. "That is does."

Robin was pleased at having made the ghost of a smile appear on her lips and he was anxious not to lose that momentum. "Have you thought of anything additional about the Queen you mentioned earlier that might aide us in our search?

"No, but if we get close enough, I'll sense her magic. If she's creating a storm as powerful as this, she's also creating quite a magical footprint around her. However, to get to the bottom of things we really need Gold."

"We'll find him," Robin smiled over at her and awkwardly patted her knee.

She looked at him oddly, but he was looking past her, at David. When he saw David was engrossed in his phone conversation and not paying attention to his passengers, Robin began in a low voice "So…"

Regina finally met his eye and lifted one eyebrow at him in question, then realization dawned. "You know."

He nodded solemnly. "Did you know?"

She shook her head slightly and gulped as fresh anxiety gnawed at her insides. She tried to shake it off, she was Regina Mills, the former Evil Queen, she didn't suffer from anxiety. But the truth was, at the moment, she did. She'd dreaded this conversation or confrontation or whatever it was going to be since the moment Marian had appeared last night and she realized his wife had escaped from her own dungeons.

She steeled herself and answered as frankly as she could. "I didn't know the identity of every… person, in my dungeons. And you seemed to know… how it happened, so it never crossed my mind that it was… me. I assumed it wouldn't… be... it couldn't be…" Robin looked out the window as if he was processing that information. Regina looked at him and then said softly, "You must hate me."

"I should," he agreed equally as softly, still not able to look at her. "But I don't. Is that crazy?"

"You're asking me?" Regina asked with a bit of incredulity in her voice, but no venom.

"I…" Robin looked over at her and was going to say something more, but David snapped his phone shut and interrupted the moment.

"That was Emma."

"What did she say? Has she found the woman?" Regina asked quickly, both sorry and relieved David had interrupted Robin.

"No," David huffed, concern etched across his face. "In fact she and Hook have taken shelter at the Witch's…" he paused for a moment and nodded at Regina, "your sister's farmhouse. There's a bridge out over the ditch. Emma says it's impassible. They're stuck out there."

"At least they got to shelter. Will they be all right?" Robin asked with genuine sympathy.

David sighed loudly. "I hope so. She said Hook is getting worse, but she's hoping once the farmhouse warms up he'll begin to recover. For now they're okay, her phone's dying so we won't be able to reach her. She had a radio, but left it in the cruiser so that phone is their only way to communicate. She's conserving it in case he gets any worse and she needs to call for help."

"Are you going to leave it at that? Your daughter stranded with her sick pirate," Regina narrowed her eyes as she glanced over at him, "that doesn't seem like the Charming thing to do."

"Of course not. She was adamant that in current conditions, no one is going to able to get out there and repair the bridge, but I'm going to ask Leroy to concentrate snow removal efforts that direction so we can get to them as soon as possible. In the meantime the best thing the three of us can do is find the source of the storm and stop it."

Regina narrowed her eyes. "You know… I'm tired of looking for Gold and this woman. Let's bring them to us. David, drive to the center of town."

David looked over at her and felt a bit of the tension that had been coiling in his chest, ease. Something had shifted in his old nemesis, changed in the scant minute he had been on the phone. Regina hadn't been herself since they'd embarked on this mission, but right now she looked every bit the commanding leader he knew she could be. He started the truck once again and pulled forward, "Let's do it."

xXx

"Killian!" Her sharp voice did the trick and he opened his eyes, but he was shivering violently. She had the passenger door to the Suburban wide open and the snow fluttered into the interior, the white flakes standing out starkly against the black leather of his pants. "I need you to dig deep, so we can get inside. She helped him out of the car and he was still able to walk as he leaned on her, but she could tell he was deteriorating and it scared the hell out of her.

As soon as she got him inside, she deposited him on a kitchen chair right by the wood stove; it was currently the warmest place in the room. The walk in from the car had seemed to perk him up a bit. "Stay here a minute and we'll get you out of some of those clothes."

"Like s-s-sound of that," Killian said though even worsening chattering teeth.

She pretended to ignore his suggestive comment, but was once again relieved that he attempted to make one and immediate took the wool blankets from the car and spread them on the remaining chairs near the stove, hoping to warm them even faster. Next, she set to work building the fire. When she turned around, pleased with the blaze she had created, her heart plummeted at what she saw.

Killian's head had dropped to the table and he was about to slump onto the floor.

"Hook!" She cried as she lunged across the room to catch him. "Killian, wake up, are you still with me?"

Once she righted him, she pulled his shoulders back and saw that his eyes were open, but droopy and vacant. He was shaking almost uncontrollably. She slid her hand under his vest and shirt and quickly pulled it back in fear. His body was cold, much colder than it should be. First things first, she had to get him prone before he fell on the floor and hit his head again. That was the last thing he needed. She glanced around the room and saw an old, but sturdy couch against the far wall. That would never do, it was too far from either of the heat sources. The same with any beds found in the rest of the house.

Propping him up on the table, she quickly crossed the room to the couch, moved the table from in front of it and then pulled one end of the surprisingly heavy piece of furniture out from the wall. She slipped behind it and with a grunt started pushing it across the room. She had to change her position several times to get it to move straight, but it only took a minute to place it directly in front of the fire.

Next, she ran down the hall looking for more bedding. She found a closet that had sheets, a comforter and several pillows. She grabbed them all and drug them to the fireplace, placing them in front of the couch to warm. She shook out one large white sheet- vaguely noting that the ancient farmhouse was stocked with decent linens, it paid to crash the pad of a fastidious witch- and placed it over the couch, tucking it in so it covered the worn upholstery.

She quickly shrugged out of her own coat, which had become cumbersome and warm after her exertion, as she walked back to Killian. Once again, she felt his chest and was stunned by how low his core body temperature had fallen. First things first, she needed to get him out of the nearly frozen leather he was wearing.

"Killian, stay with me buddy, I'm going to need your help for this."

She heard him try to speak, but she failed to make any sense of the words through his chattering teeth, other than the word, "Swan."

The duster slid easily from his shoulder and she flipped it over the back of his chair, she then quickly removed her hat and scarf. She would have left them on for the time being, but they were a bit damp and anything wet had to come off.

Next was the leather coat, but she soon realized it would be impossible to remove it while he was seated and without his cooperation. Foreseeing the hook as a problem, she unscrewed it and sat it on the kitchen table.

"Killian, I need you to stand up." As she spoke, she tried to lift him by his arms, but all she felt was dead weight.

She knelt in front of him and gripped his cheeks with both of her hands. "Killian, listen to me, I'm gonna undress you now, you don't want to miss that do you?" She felt part of him tense and he emitted a grunt, which pleased her, that meant he was processing her words. "Okay, good, now stand up." This time when she lifted him by his arms, he helped her by pushing himself off the table. With one arm around his back steadying him as he leaned on her, she used the other hand to push the leather coat down his arm and off his brace.

She celebrated her success, by switching his weight to her other arm and pushing the jacket the rest of the way off. While she had him standing she wanted to get him to the couch. "Okay, good job, now we're gonna walk." She saw him nod slightly; it surprised her that she was able to detect it through his shaking.

It was only a few steps to the couch and they made it without incident. "We're here." She eased him into a sitting position in the middle and then quickly set to work on his vest. The metal clips were frozen so it took a minute to work them all lose. She was just shoving the vest off his arms when the kettle whistled. She took the vest with her and raced to the stove, taking the water off, tea would have to wait until she got his core body temperature up enough for him to regain some lucidity; she didn't think she could get him to take a drink in his current state, even though she was also worried about dehydration.

When she came back, she grabbed the wool blankets off the chairs; they'd warmed some, and brought them over to the fireplace. She could see he was still shaking and close to unconscious. She quickly untucked his shirt and pulled it over his head.

Under other circumstances, she might have enjoyed her first glimpse of a bare-chested Killian, with his taut muscles and pale smooth skin, but currently she was too worried and too busy to even notice. She just quickly removed the harness from his left arm and revealed his stump. She grabbed one of the blankets that had been warming by the fire and draped it across his shoulders and down over his chest to help him to start warming while she worked.

Next off were his boots, they were the hardest to remove and the fear of frostbite crept in on her. She didn't want him to lose any other appendages, not toes, not anything. She finally worked them off and pancaked his toes between her hands trying to warm them up. They were cold, but the color of the skin looked the same as he did everywhere else, she took that as a good sign.

Finally, there was just one garment left, his pants. She knew she had no time to reconcile with herself what she needed to do, so she gingerly, but hurriedly began to unlace them. This is not how she had pictured this happening. And she had pictured herself unlacing his pants on multiple occasions if she was being honest. However, she quickly pushed that aside and assumed a professional Sheriff-like demeanor.

The pants were tight and she wasn't going to get them off him if he was sitting. She grabbed one of the pillows she'd found in the closet from where it had been warming in front of the fire and laid it near the armrest. Then she put her arm behind his back and eased him down onto the white sheet so he was lying on the couch.

She thought she heard him murmur something about, 'Swan', and 'buying him dinner first.' Even though she couldn't really make it out, the corner of her lips tugged upwards and she continued with her mission to remove his pants. Once he was prone, she was able to undo all the laces and slip them down his hips and over his bum.

At that moment, Emma got the answer to one of the burning questions she'd had pretty much since the day she'd met him. What did he wear under the leather pants?

The answer was nothing. He was completely naked. Utterly and entirely naked. Naked as the day he was born, naked. She jumped slightly but just grabbed the other sheet from behind her and laid it over his family jewels. The least she could do was give him some privacy. She went down to his feet and yanked the pants the rest of the way off him.

Once she completed her mission of removing his freezing clothing, she was out of breath from the exertion and worry, but she knew she had to keep going. She quickly took the sheet that had been offering him privacy and she spread it over him, covering him entirely. Next she grabbed the wool blanket that had been around his shoulders and smoothed it over the sheet. She took another wool blanket and with it still mostly folded, tucked around his feet, giving them extra warmth. With a rapid arm motion, she shook out the comforter, hoping it had had time to warm, and spread that over him as well, tucking it around back of him for maximum warmth.

As soon as she had him covered, she sunk to her knees near his head. She placed one hand on his forehead and the other on his cheek. He was still shaking like a blender put on high. She reached under the comforter and placed her hand on his bare chest. Once again she was shocked by how cold his chest and stomach were.

She didn't have a thermometer, but she was almost positive his core temperature was still dangerously low. She stood and franticly looked around the room. The hot water! Maybe she could find a hot water bottle in Zelena's things. She got up to search, but then stopped in her tracks. A hot water bottle would be nice, but it wouldn't be enough to bring up his core temperature. He needed a very large, very warm heat source.

Then, as if lightning struck her, she realized something. She was a very large, very warm heat source.

Emma turned back to look at him, could she do this? Could she be his heat source? It was impossibly intimate. Body-to-body warming would require her to remove all of her clothes as well. She took several steps so that she could peer down at him on the couch. He was so pale and just looking at him brought on a wave of fear that crashed into her and almost knocked her down.

That decided it. She started stripping down.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **I'm so appreciate of all the lovely notes on the last chapter! Thank you so much, it always means a lot when people make the effort to reach out either here or on tumblr. And, of course, thank you to the amazing Shelley for taking time out of a VERY busy week to give this chapter some love and attention.

**CHAPTER 6**

In a whirl of motion, she kicked off her boots and then, almost falling over in her haste, stripped off her socks. Grabbing fistfuls of fabric, she yanked her sweater- and the tank top she wore under it— up and over her head and deposited them by the fire. The still-cold air of the room rushed her skin and she shivered, but that didn't slow her progress. Her fingers felt clumsy in her hurry to unbutton her jeans, but soon she was shimmying out of them and discarding them next to the fireplace as well.

In the glow of the firelight, Emma's pale, lightly freckled skin stood out in stark relief against the dainty triangles of black cotton that remained. Glancing down at her cleavage, she hesitated, but only for a second. She remembered hearing that skin-to-skin was best when it came to using body heat to treat hypothermia, so skin it would be. Bracing herself, she closed her eyes, undid the clasp of her bra and let it fall next to her sweater. However, she made the decision to leave her underwear on.

With a fortifying and courage-seeking deep breath, she lifted the mountain of blankets and slipped in beside him. She felt him groan and was careful not to hit him in any spots that might be sore. She thought she heard him murmur her name; but it was so soft she couldn't be sure.

The couch was of decent size, but it was still a couch, and it made for extremely close quarters when shared by two adults. Which was fine, it was what was needed under the current circumstances. She managed to nudge him so he was laying almost cattycorner against the back of the couch, on his left side. Gingerly, she inched his direction until she was very close and angled her body towards him. She trembled as her skin first came into contact with the chill of his body; Emma was careful not to put all her weight on him. She wanted to provide warmth in the still cold room, but not completely inhibit his shivering which would also help bring his body temperature back up to normal.

She rested her feet on his; they felt like blocks of ice against her much warmer skin. She pressed her thighs forward, her smooth skin gently caressing his, but tried to maneuver so that a couple of inches separated their hips. In the back of her mind, she was cognizant of the fact that he was completely naked and while she was fairly certain he wouldn't care, she was mindful of not crossing some invisible line while he wasn't exactly in his right mind.

As she maneuvered under the blankets, his hand fell against her hip and the frigid sting of his frozen metal rings made her jump. They had to go. She took his hand, slipping the rings off his fingers and setting them on the floor behind her. Once uncovered, she brought his fingers up to eye level so she could examine them. They were white and cold, almost colorless and it concerned her greatly, however she did not think it was frostbite. She pinned his icy hand in the warmth between her bicep and the side of her body and cringed against the cold intrusion on such a sensitive area. She rested her top arm over his, spreading her hand lightly over his bicep. Trying to touch as much of him as possible, willing her warmth into him. She felt, rather than saw, goose bumps rise along her own arms. However, she wasn't sure if it was from the intimate contact or her new proximity to his dangerously low body temperature.

Finally, Emma slipped her right hand under him and around his back. She knew his core was the most important area of the body when it came to raising his temperature. Taking a deep breath and holding it, she moved forward, gingerly nestling her chest and stomach against his. His skin chilled her to the bone and she fought against the desire to shiver.

Once she found a position that she felt would be most beneficial to bringing his temperature up, she finally relaxed. Or tried to. She had been operating at crisis level for the last several hours and at emergency-drill level since she'd found him in the barn almost half an hour ago. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths trying to slow her rapidly beating heart, she felt queasy, probably from worry, an overdose of adrenalin and lack of food.

A minute later when she felt more collected, she opened her eyes only to confront the sight of a pirate at close range. His scruffy chin and neck not two inches from her face, to be exact. She felt his breath on her forehead and his heart beating against her chest, and those two things were more comforting than she ever could have imagined. He was still shaking and he wasn't out of the woods, but for the first time in hours, pressed up against his chilled, but still breathing, body, she really felt like he was going to be all right.

That relieving thought allowed her to turn her mind from the crisis at hand and assess her situation. Really, truly assess it. The room was silent except for the crackle of the fire behind her and their mingled breaths. For the first time she became acutely aware of her nudity. And his. Suddenly, his sheer maleness bore down on her. This was Hook. Naked. They were naked.

The intimacy of the situation overwhelmed her and she felt an unexpected swell of nervousness begin in her belly and spread through her entire body in fluttering waves. She shifted slightly which caused her thighs to slide enticingly against his and her breath caught. Emma froze, trying to gain control of her reactions. However, as she stilled she felt their stomachs expanding and contracting against one another. With each breath, the cool skin of his taut belly rippled slowly against hers. Then there was her chest, or her breasts to be more exact. They were tight against him and suddenly she was newly aware of his chest hair rubbing against her nipples when she so much as took a breath.

For a moment she lay still, all she could think about was the fact that he was completely bare and she was all-but-bare and pressed against him. Her heart beat in a furious rhythm at their unprecedented closeness. Her plan to keep her hips slightly back from his, hadn't worked. Really, the only parts of them not touching were those areas separated by the delicate fabric of her bikini underwear and those weren't preventing much contact.

She couldn't think. She had to be able to think! Trying not to move too much or jostle him, she slowly twisted and looked behind her to the floor. Her eyes fell on a pillowcase that had been on top of the sheets she'd found in the closet. She stretched back and snatched it and then with only a peak under the blankets, she reached between them and placed it over his groin. That should help with her ability to think, it was only a scrap of fabric but it made her feel much less invasive. She wasn't prude and at some point she knew, if they got through this, she was very much looking forward to that sort of… intimate contact, but with him sick and unconscious that wasn't how she wanted to start.

That thought, though, brought something into clear focus for her. There was one thing she knew for certain; she wanted it. She wanted it to start. She wanted him. Not that wanting him was a revelation, necessarily. She'd recognized, if only to herself, the attraction and desire and chemistry that existed between them, but for so long she'd deceived herself into thinking it was a physical thing. Just a sexual attraction, a scratch to itch, so she'd ignored it, thinking it would go away. After the adventure last night and the abject terror and worry she'd experienced today, she now knew how foolish she'd been. This was so much more than that.

However, 'more' would have to wait. The current situation was created by an emergency, it was survival, it was not a speeding freight train towards a sexual and emotional relationship. They still had things they needed to deal with, to talk about, before she was ready to jump in feet first.

That thought didn't help with the awakening of desire, though. Perhaps if she was going to suffer through inappropriate-for-the-situation reactions and tingles and flutters with a person then he needed to be here for it. Should she wake him? She was still worried about the bump on his head. His shivering had lessened and even though she was too close to him to really see, the light in the room dim, and the comforter and blankets covering everything from her nose down, from her vantage point it looked as if the color on his neck and cheeks had improved some. She thought she could detect some pink in his flesh.

Part of her didn't want to wake him, she knew if his fingers and toes had been numb, then they were likely going to be painful as the blood flow returned to normal. She'd slowly felt his frigid fingers warm under her arm, the heat from her body bringing the circulation back. However, they still felt chilled, he still felt chilled.

She would let him sleep for a bit and then wake him. Seconds passed… and then minutes. Her whirring thoughts slowed as her body continued to come down from her former frantic state. Eyes drifted closed, breathing became regular and the feel of his heartbeat against her chest shortly lulled her into sleep.

xXx

The late afternoon daylight was fading fast as David brought the truck to a stop in front of Granny's. He guessed the snow was about ten or so inches deep and still falling furiously, but Leroy and crew had plowed the main street "Here, good?" he turned to glance at Regina.

Regina nodded her answer. "Let's get out."

"What are you going to do?" Robin asked tentatively as he exited the cab and then turned back to hold his hand out to her.

Regina glanced at it before hesitantly putting her gloved hand in his. Regina was not used to being tentative about anything, but this was unchartered territory. "I'm going to send up a signal. David, would you walk over to Gold's shop and see if his… wife, I guess, is still there?

David looked at her quizzically. "And if she is?"

"Bring her to me."

"By force?" David asked, looking completely aghast.

Regina shot him an incredulous glare that made it clear she thought she was working with idiots. "Or you could use that charm you're so famous for and start by asking her to join us. That's why you're going and not me."

David looked relieved that he wasn't being ordered to kidnap someone—with Regina you never knew- and then headed towards the pawnshop. As he left, Regina walked in front of his old truck in the middle of the street and raised her arms high. Robin watched her with wonder, giving her a wide berth. She was silent, eyes closed, paying no attention to the falling snowflakes as they landed on her face and melted.

There was no need to pay attention to them because a moment later they were gone. Robin held out his palm and then spun around in wonder as if he couldn't believe his eyes. "Did you stop the storm?"

Regina quickly shook her head as she looked around surveying her work. "No, I can't counteract the storm, but I can create a more pleasant environment for a conversation, or a confrontation whatever this becomes."

Her words had Robin walking forward, to a spot where he could now see the snow still fell, but he almost tripped as he went to take a large step over a drift, but it vanished before his foot came down. He caught himself and then whirled back to Regina. Light rushed from her hand and covered the ground where the snow no longer fell. There was now a clear area maybe twenty by twenty foot, in the middle of the street.

Regina smiled tightly at him. "Just giving us some room to work, the storm is still going; we're just in a protective bubble of sorts. It, I hope, will also offer us some protection, or at least a warning, when we meet the woman who is creating this with her magic."

"Do you know? Who's doing this, I mean," asked a wavering voice from behind. Regina turned to find that Belle, escorted by David, had arrived.

Regina took a moment to look Belle up and down; she was wearing a long wool coat and a concerned expression. It was clear she'd spent an anxious afternoon in the pawnshop wondering where her husband was. She began pulling off her gloves now that she had entered the protected area in the middle of the street. It wasn't balmy, but without the howling wind and driving snow of the storm, it was habitable.

Regina answered her. "I don't. But I do know we need to find… your husband." She then murmured to herself, "That's going to be hard to get used to."

Robin walked towards Belle with a wide smile. Once in front of her, he reached out gallantly with his hand. When she offered hers in return, he bowed and kissed the back of it. "Belle, congratulations on your nuptials, I'm very happy for you."

"Thank you," Belle smiled sweetly at him, before she once again furrowed her brow. "I'd just like to know where Rumple is, I'm worried."

"That's why you're here."

"What do you want me to do?" Belle asked in her slow drawl.

Regina reached out and grabbed her arm, bringing the other woman nearer to her. "You're going to send him a signal," she replied enigmatically.

xXx

Consciousness came to him in a warm, slow wave. Before he was really, truly awake, he had the vague sense of being thirsty. Then there was the sense of heat. He was warm. Too warm. Hot even. His head hurt, as it had before, but now it was more of a dull ache. Then there was the stinging. His feet. His hands. He became cognizant of the soft scent of lemon and vanilla. It wafted over him creating a pleasant feeling. He knew that scent. Emma.

He tried to move, but realized he couldn't. Something tantalizingly soft was pinning his body down. It took him a moment to open his eyes and when he succeeded, all he could see was a mass of blonde hair. Emma's hair? As he came into awareness, he was able to focus his gaze. Just a few feet in front of him was a fireplace, a small flame and a low ember crackling. Once again, his eyes focused on the blonde hair. "Emma?" His voice came out strange to his own ears, weak, dry, barely audible.

The owner of the blonde hair didn't move, but he felt and heard a soft sigh against his neck. He took a moment to try to calibrate his position. Leaning up a tad to glance over her head, he took note of the numerous blankets that were draped over him, or, more accurately, over them. No wonder he was feeling overheated. It would require more investigation but at first blush, it seemed as if he had not only blankets wrapped around him, but a sleeping Emma as well. He no longer cared about feeling overheated.

He needed to see, to get his bearings. He attempted to move his hand and then realized he couldn't, it was trapped. Trapped by what felt like, to his tingling fingers, warm flesh. Emma's warm flesh, to be more exact. Gently, he pulled his arm back, extracting his hand, realizing, with wonder that he had been touching her, really touching _her_, touching her bare skin.

With a light, exploring stroke, he moved his hand lower along her back, along the impossibly soft skin of her very bare back. He was stunned to realize that she appeared to be entirely without clothes and pressed intimately against him. He needed more information. There were so many layers of textiles on them it took him a second to navigate his still-stinging hand out from under the mass of fabric. When he reached upwards, her hand—the one that had been covering his arm—dropped and landed on his side. That was enough to make him gasp, but then he felt her stir and his eyes went wide as she curled her arm around his back and snuggled even tighter against him.

As she shifted even closer and he felt her leg slip between his own, his heart began pounding in his chest. He realized that the alluring friction he felt meant neither one of them was wearing anything from the waist down. When she nestled her face into his neck and her warm lips were just a hairsbreadth from his skin, he stopped breathing. What was happening? Was this a dream? It wouldn't be the first time he'd dreamt about a naked Emma in his arms, in his bed. But none had been as realistic as this and he doubted very much he'd have a dream that included so many elementary aches and pains.

He remained frozen until she stilled. He took a stabilizing breath and then brushed aside her hair so he could see her face. Sure enough, it was Emma, naked and curled enticingly around him—not that he really doubted it, but it was such a surreal thing to wake to that he had to be sure, had to see her face to believe that this was actually happening.

Slowly, he lifted the covers and peered over her shoulder and down her length. It was dark, the only light in the room was the glimmer from the fire and several scattered candles, but he could see enough. He could see the milky expanse of her back glow in the firelight. As his eyes traveled downward, he saw, to both his relief and disappointment, that she wasn't entirely nude. The black line of her bikini briefs across her lower back indicated she was indeed wearing an undergarment. Such as it was.

He dropped the blanket and let his head tilt back against the pillow. As much as he was enjoying their current position, he knew he needed to wake her. He flexed his hand several times, his fingers felt clumsy, but they were working. Gently, he brought them to caress her left cheek. "Emma," he said again his voice still low. He tried again, but this time, using his body, he shook her gently.

That did the trick. She woke with a start and then looked up at him, eyes blinking, trying to focus. They stared at each other in the dim light for several long seconds. Finally, it a low, gravelly voice, he simply said, "Hi."

She swallowed roughly, and then leaning up on her elbow, glanced around the room. In a flash, everything came rushing back to her, Hook missing, the storm, the barn, the tree, the farmhouse, head injury, hypothermia. Quickly, her eyes found his again. He appeared to be awake and lucid, much better than the last time she'd looked into his face. She felt relief wash over her. Trying to move, she realized her arm was trapped between his back and the couch; hastily she flattened her hand against his spine, pressing into his now-warm flesh. He was warm. Thank god, he was warm. "How do you feel?"

"Thirsty," he mumbled, looking up at her with an expression of wonder, infinitely curious about how they found themselves in their current situation.

"Right. I have water. I was worried you might be dehydrated." Happy to have a task, she extracted her hand from the blankets that covered them and hastily turned back towards the fire. First, she grabbed a bottle of water from the duffle bag and then she snatched a pillow off the stack she'd brought from the closet earlier. Once she'd turned back to him, with one hand she urged him forward so she could put the second pillow under his head, propping him up slightly.

"How's your head?" she asked as she wrapped her hand around the bottle of water, making sure the liquid was not too cold. Thankfully, the warmth of the fire had brought it to room temperature. She was about to open it, but her hands stilled on the cap, concern overpowering her when she realized he had not answer her. Her eyes found his and she once again sighed with relief. It appeared he hadn't answered because he was blatantly staring at her chest with a wholly enthralled and distracted expression on his face. Glancing down, she realized her breasts—all shimmering white skin and pink rosy nipples in the firelight- were naked to his gaze.

Hastily, she grabbed the sheet and then tucked it under her arms so it covered her breasts. "Seriously? You've been life-threateningly ill and that's what you're thinking about." She shook her head as if annoyed, but she couldn't stop the small smile that played across her lips as she handed him the open water bottle.

He took several long sips, his eyes never leaving hers.

"The view was making me feel better," he explained trying to sound pitiful, but his lips quirked upwards mischievously.

She rolled her eyes and put one hand on his forehead. "Seriously, how do you feel? Your temperature feels good… I think."

"My head hurts, but nothing of consequence."

She nodded and then peered into his eyes. "Follow my finger," she commanded as she sat slightly back from him.

"Why?" However, he complied before she could answer.

"Seems like you took a pretty good knock to the head, I just want to make sure you're tracking." After a moment of her studying his eyes, mollified, she exhaled the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "You are." Emma slid her fingers into his hair and gingerly felt the area where she knew his injury to be. "That's a nasty bump. I think I have some painkiller in my purse, but hydrating might help too. Keep drinking." She nudged his bottle of water with her arm.

He was just taking a sip when she slipped her hand under the covers and pressed it flat against the smooth skin of his belly. The action caused him to spit out his water. Almost. Swallowing roughly, he wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. With more of a squeak to his voice than he'd ever admit to in any recounting of the moment, he asked, "What're you doing?"

"Just making sure," she sighed and sagged back down on the couch. "You were so cold earlier."

He nodded a couple of times and then looked at her intently. With the bottle of water, he gestured down the length of the couch, towards the narrow bed of sorts that she'd fashioned and then shared with him. "Do you mind apprising me of what happened while I was… indisposed? We're both less… formally attired than when I last recollect."

She blushed hotly and tucked the sheet around her chest more firmly. Propping herself back on her elbow, she shifted her lower body from his, and made as if she was going to get up from the couch. However, he slid his foot up her calf and then hooked his knee around her upper thigh, effectively keeping her in place. "I wasn't suggesting you depart or that I'm not enjoying our present circumstances. I may not know what has occasioned the position we find ourselves in, but I know I'm not ready for it to conclude." For emphasis, he squeezed the back her thigh lightly with his calf.

This time she felt her blush rush down her neck and spread to the sensitive skin of her chest. Involuntarily, she trembled at the feel of his leg wrapped sensually around her own. "I think it would be best if I got up now."

Killian sighed disappointedly, but slowly unhooked his leg from hers. However, he moved deliberately and savored the feel of the inside of his leg running down her smooth skin, keeping the contact for as long as possible. "As you wish."

Emma didn't leave. She knew she should, but the truth was she didn't want to. Instead, she shifted away from him slightly, propped her head on the pillows, and met his gaze at close range. "I found you in the barn half frozen, apparently having been knocked out by a blow to the head. A fallen tree damaged the bridge and I couldn't get us to town so we took shelter. We're at Zelena's"

He handed her the empty water bottle and she dropped it absent-mindedly behind her. "Aye. I… remember… most of that… but why are we, why are you…"

"Naked?" She felt heat rush through her once again. She was thankful for the candlelight; she hoped it masked her persistent, embarrassed flush.

"Aye," he replied his hand now idly caressing her exposed shoulder. She didn't move away from him, so he continued his movement, lightly tracing along her bicep, down to her elbow and back up again.

"Your core body temperature was dangerously low and there's no heat in this cabin so I thought the best thing to do was to warm you up with my body heat."

At that, his eyebrows shot up and his hand stilled, lightly resting on her upper arm.

"Body-to-body warming, it's a thing, a real thing, a wilderness survival thing…" Emma's voice was higher than normal and she spoke quickly, trying to find the words to explain the situation. "And it seems like it worked, you're much better now."

Once she finished speaking, silence reigned for several charged moments, blue eyes studying her intently. She started to fidget under his gaze when he finally asked, "So you did it to save me?"

"Aye," she replied, mimicking his accent, trying to make light of the situation.

However he didn't laugh. Instead, he brought his hand up to cradle the side of her face, making soft, wide strokes with his thumb over the apple of her cheek. Her breath caught in her throat at his sudden intensity and before she knew what was happening his lips were on hers.

The kiss was tender, barely there. Emma felt her stomach flutter pleasantly at the sweet, intimate contact. There had been a time earlier today when she wondered if this would ever happen again, if she'd ever even see him again. And now here he was, right next to her, warm and solid and kissing her.

Pulling her nearer to him, he changed the angle of the kiss and his mouth pressed more solidly over hers, their mouths opening slightly. His tongue slid languidly over hers and she moaned. Loudly. She heard him chuckle, which caused her to nip at his lip playfully with her teeth. He growled and was about to deepen the kiss when they both heard a loud growl of another sort. Emma could not suppress the smile that stole over her lips. She whispered, "Was that your stomach?"

"Traitorous organ," He mumbled against the side of her mouth.

With disappointment she would never admit to, she pulled back. "You must be starving. I'm starving. When is the last time you ate anything?"

He thought for a minute. "Yesterday, last night at Granny's when we got back."

Their trip to the past, it had happened just 24 hours ago, but it felt much longer than that. Concern once again spread across her face and she pushed herself off him. "Then we really need to get you fed. You won't recover if we starve you. Cover your eyes."

"What?" he asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Cover your eyes."

"Why?"

"I'm going to get up and put my tank top on."

He shook his head incredulously. "But I've already… appreciated the view and you've been… in here," he waved the blankets covering him for emphasis, "for some time now…"

"I don't care. This is not the way we're starting this… thing, we're not starting in the middle where you're already watching me get dressed. If we're going to do this, we're going to do it properly."

He closed his eyes but smirked just the same. "Does 'properly' mean that I get to watch you undress?"

"Maybe," she sighed with mock exasperation, but she was just so happy he was awake and coherent and okay that she couldn't even feign annoyance. Now that he was no longer looking, she reached down, untangled her tank top from her sweater and stretched it over her head. "But 'properly' also means we have some talking to do. For instance that talk that we didn't get to have last night."

"Last night, I thought talking was a euphemism for…"

"Sex, I know" she finished for him. "And if I'm honest it was, but so much has happened in such a short amount of time that I think we need to take a breath," she replied as she pulled on her jeans, but she didn't bother buttoning them.

He leaned up on one elbow, eyes closed, but facing her. "Emma, I am at your disposal. I will devote all day every day of the foreseeable future doing naught but talking to you if that's what you desire."

Emma stared at him. His eyes were still closed, but nonetheless she could read him and his expression and voice were sincere. She took a moment and marveled at his patience with her. "You can open your eyes." When he did, she was holding out a pop-tart to him that she'd retrieved from the duffle bag.

"What's this?"

"It's a pop-tart."

"A pop what?"

"A pop-tart, delicious processed food. Eat it while I see if Zelena had anything edible and untainted in her kitchen."

"It does not look delicious," he stated emphatically as he eyed it suspiciously. However, he took a big bite anyway. His eyes lit up immediately. "I was wrong, it's delicious."

"Told you so," she wagged her eyebrows at him.

Emma was about to head for the kitchen, when she noticed the fireplace. The flames had diminished during their unplanned nap. She grabbed several logs and threw them onto the fire, stoking the embers. When she turned back to him, she saw him struggling to sit up. She was back at the couch in a flash. "What are you doing? You haven't eaten, you're probably dehydrated, suffering from hypothermia and may have a concussion, you should not be trying to get up."

"I need to use the facilities."

"Oh…"

He swung his legs to the floor and went to push aside the covers, when he found the pillowcase that had been covering his genitals. He chuckled and shot a wide grin at her, "Protecting my modesty, Swan?" He folded it neatly and sat it on the ledge of the fireplace.

"Protecting mine," she replied with a mock glare that was softened considerably by the pink rising in her cheeks. "Wait!" she cried as she realized he was about to stand up, stark naked. "You're naked."

"I know, but I don't particularly want to put on fifty pounds of leather to go to the head."

"Right, still, hang on; there's gotta be something in this house for you to wear."

That's when her gaze landed on the duffle bag she'd grabbed at the Sherriff's office. She removed the pop-tarts, bottled water and granola bars and then started rummaging. It only took her a few seconds to hit pay dirt. "Aha!" she exclaimed triumphantly as she pulled a blue and yellow folded garment from the bag. She looked through the remaining contents. "Oh this is lucky."

"What?" Killian asked.

"I was in a hurry and grabbed this bag at the station to put the water and other things in. This is David's bag. The overnight bag he kept packed to take to the hospital for when the baby was born. The bag he never had a chance to pick up because of everything that happened with Zelena." She tossed the garment, which ended up being David's button up pajama top and bottoms, at him.

Killian looked at them disdainfully. "You want me to wear these?"

"Warm, clean pajamas? Yes, I do want you to wear them."

"But they're your father's and they're… hideous. What are these even?" he asked as he examined the garment more closely. "Crowns?"

"Huh," Emma took it from his hands and looked at the pajamas in the dim light. "You know, I remember Mary Margaret… I mean Mom," Emma corrected herself quickly, "mentioned that she bought him some funny pajamas. These must be them. There you go, I bet she packed this bag and he's probably never seen them, let alone worn them." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Besides, I have a feeling it's either this or one of Zelena's nightgowns. Which would you prefer?"

He huffed almost grumpily, but then made a whirling motion with his hand indicating she should turn around. "Turnabout's fair play, love, cover your eyes."

xXx

Belle shivered as she stretched her gloves back over her hands. "Well, Regina, we've been standing her for some time. He hasn't come yet, I thought you said you could draw him to us."

Regina sighed, the insipid woman was right; it should have worked by now. She had attempted a simple conjuring spell using Belle. But perhaps the magic of the storm was inhibiting things. They had been standing out here too long. It was dark now, save for the streetlights and that gave her an idea. "Maybe I just need to attach a calling card."

"A calling card? How does that work."

"Think of it as a magical beacon."

"A what?" Robin asked as he approached the women. He and David had decided to canvas Main Street and make sure all the shops were secure and those still inside didn't need anything. They also wanted to find out if anyone had seen anything out of the ordinary. He handed both women coffee to-go cups from Granny's.

"Thank you," Regina replied looking at the coffee in her hand. It was a minor gesture but it was thoughtful and under the circumstances, it made her heart lift.

"You're welcome, Regina," he replied as he dusted the snow off his sleeves now that he was back in the protected area.

"But could I ask you to hold if for a minute?" She took a sip and then held the cup back out to him.

"Of course." He replied, watching her curiously.

"What are you going to do?" David asked as he approached. "There's been no sign of Gold or this mystery woman anywhere along this stretch."

"I can't stop this storm, but I can… add my own flare to it." With that, Regina closed her eyes and lifted her hands once more to the heavens. Suddenly, purple smoke engulfed her companions.

The three of them began coughing. David stammered, "What are you doing, Regina, trying to kill us?"

She rolled her eyes, "Magic always demands a price." But she pointed towards a streetlight just over from them where it was still snowing. "Look."

"What the heck…" David said his voice trailing off.

Belle ran over to an area on the street where the snow fell. "Wow."

Robin looked over at her in wonder. "Did you… did you turn the snow…"

"Purple? Yes, yes I did. Now, let's finish this. Belle, I need you again."

"I don't… what do you want me to do?" Belle asked reluctantly as she walked back to the group, purple snowflakes stuck to her hat and coat.

Regina took off her own gloves and held out her hand to Belle "Take my hand."

Belle grimaced at her as if she was crazy, but complied.

xXx

"What in the hell is that?" Emma's voice fused both awe and bewilderment.

"What?" Killian asked as he slowly pushed himself up from his position on the couch. Emma had retreated to the kitchen so he had some privacy to don, reluctantly, her father's be-crowned pajamas. Feeling weaker than he had anticipated, he shuffled towards Emma, his feet covered by white athletic socks also found in David's bag, the other man's pajama pants slightly oversized on his frame.

Emma was at the kitchen window and she didn't turnaround, unable to tear her eyes from the sight in front of her. The sky was luminescent, bright flashes of white light against a brilliant purple sky. Emma had never seen anything like it. She pointed out the window. "That."

TBC…


End file.

Once Upon a Time, Adventure, Romance