Chapter 21

Gently so as not to wake her, Killian brushed a few stray strands of Emma's golden hair off of her heavenly face. It was beginning to grow out again. It was noticeably longer now than the first time she'd set foot on his ship, although it wouldn't be reaching the lengths he'd first seen on her in the tavern anytime soon. He had a fleeting wish that he'd acquiesced to her request the first night she'd asked him to give her passage, so that her flowing locks would not have been lost and rather were currently spilling out over his chest and shoulder and gleaming in the morning rays of sun that now streamed through the windows. It had been before he knew the extent of her stubbornness.

Carefully, he pulled at the edge of her bandages, taking a peek at her wounds. They were less of an angry red than they had been the previous night, which he took as a very good sign. He'd let her rest as long as she liked this morning. She needed to recover from her injuries and the after effects of all the rum she'd consumed. While he was anxious to converse with her about what her reactions to the new revelations may be and how she planned to proceed, it would be dreadfully bad form to assault her with such questions while she was in the state she was sure to be in upon waking. So, reluctantly, he rolled her off his chest and extricated his arm from beneath her before retrieving his hook from the place he'd stashed it beneath the mattress.

Once it was securely in place, he dressed and reapplied the kohl around his eyes before making his way up to the deck. Upstairs, he was surprised to find Baelfire at the helm rather than Smee, whose bright red cap was easily spotted up near the bow. With some hesitance, he approached, recalling how this scene had appeared many years before, when the man before him was only a boy. So much had changed since then, for better or worse. Or both.

"Morning, Cap." The man greeted him with that familiar self-assured and impish smile. "Hope you don't mind. Smee let me borrow the wheel."

"By all means," Hook nodded. "How does it feel getting your hands on the spokes once again?"

"Well, to be honest I was a bit rusty at first, but thankfully there was this handy-dandy chart here to help me out." He tapped the spot of wood in front of him where Hook had once carved him a reference guide for the port and starboard sides of the ship. "Figured you would have long since patched that over. I didn't know you were so sentimental."

"Oh, that." Hook brushed off the jibe. "I've been meaning to get around to it, but I think it helps Smee from time to time."

Baelfire gave him a knowing side eye, seeing through the excuse as easily as he was meant to. He chuckled. "I forgot how good this feels, getting that sea wind blowing through your hair, waves rolling under you."

"True paradise is found on a ship at sail." Hook agreed, his mind briefly wandering down to Emma still asleep in his bed, but meaning much more than her alone. "No authority to answer to but the ocean and skies, and no destination but the horizon." It was the closest thing he'd ever found to peace.

"You've got a destination now, though," he pointed out, his brow furrowing.

"Vaguely, yes." The captain conceded. "We're only trying to get her beyond the reach of the Evil Queen, so our plan is to sail southward and then see where the wind takes us. Likely west from there, I presume, but who's to say?"

Baelfire's head shook slowly. "Are you serious right now? We're not going south. We have to go north if we want to find where my dad is hiding the baby. If you're not going to help us, then fine. You can drop us off and we'll figure it out, but we're not going south."

"Don't be daft. Firstly, you must be overcome with some delirium if you think I'd allow you to steal Emma off this ship again, but more importantly, she's not safe in the north. If bills advertising her bounty are posted in a remote and insignificant harbor town such as the one we've just left, I'd wager they are simply plastered over the entirety of the Queen's kingdom."

"Oh, they are," Baelfire confirmed. "Made it a hell of a lot harder for me to find her. I actually found out where she'd been working right as they started going up, but the guy who owned the place wouldn't say a word to me about her. He thought I was going to turn her in and I couldn't convince him otherwise. Can't really blame him, I guess. I would have done the same thing." He shrugged one of his shoulders nonchalantly. "I don't think the posters will make much of a difference to her at this point, though. I know Emma. She's going to want answers, and to get those, we have to go north. Bounty or no bounty."

"That's a recklessness that even I don't aspire to." Hook outright sneered at the suggestion. "At the very least, she should allow time for the Evil Queen's ire to cool before plunging head first into the place where she faces the greatest risk of capture."

"And how long do you think that's going to take?" Baelfire scoffs in response. "Queen Regina's not exactly known for setting aside her grudges." Before Hook can respond, Baelfire gives himself a shake and his stance eases. "You know what? It's pointless for the two of us to argue about this. We should just ask her what she wants to do, because that's what we're going to end up doing no matter what you and I might decide between ourselves. And you know I'm right about that."

"Aye," the captain sighed, turning his hook and dropping his gaze to watch the way the light glinted off the polished metal. "That you are. I'll grant you that. Though I'll warn you it will doubtless be some time before she arises. She imbibed quite a bit last night after the shock of your news. She'll be sleeping that off for a good while yet."

Nodding, Baelfire stared off toward the open water ahead of them, his eyes narrowed against the glare reflecting back toward the newly-risen sun at their stern. Moments passed in silence, both men taking in the scene of the expanse before them, breathing in the salt-laden air, tasting that corrosive curative essential to life.

Baelfire was the one to eventually resume the conversation. He spoke softly, projecting only enough for his words to reach Hook before the wind whisked them off into the distance. "So," he was attempting to sound casual, but his words clearly were measured. "You and Emma."

It wasn't a question, but Killian answered it regardless. "Aye," he repeated. "She's quite a woman."

He chuckled, tapping his forefinger on the spoke he held. "That's an understatement," he admonished before a heavy pause. Then he asked. "You love her?"

"What's it to you?" Hook responded too quickly, failing to hide the defensive note in his words.

Baelfire's eyes glared and his tone grew cold. "How about my mom, Killian? You loved my mom, right?"

The rhetorical inquiry hit like a punch in the gut and a faint taste of bile touched his throat. Perhaps there were certain answers that he did owe to Baelfire, whether he cared to share his vulnerability or not. He dropped his tone low as he made the admission. "Of course I loved your mother. I wouldn't have spirited Milah away as I did if I didn't truly love her, and I've told you that, just as I've told you that I will always be remorseful of the effect her absence had upon you. I loved her with everything that I am, and her death nearly killed me. I've spent all my years since seeking revenge for it."

"And Emma?" Baelfire pressed. Killian had a feeling that he already knew the answer, and that he wanted to hear it aloud only for formality's sake.

"And I have now grown to love Emma, aye. Though I haven't yet told her. I missed an opportune moment when I returned to my chambers last night to find that she'd been abducted." His sarcasm received no response, so he continued. "You have to know that I was entirely unaware of the prior connection between the two of you, and I believe she was equally oblivious to the history that you and I share."

With a loaded exhale, Baelfire scrubbed a weary hand over his face. "No, I know. It's just a crazy fucking coincidence." He locked eyes with Killian to emphasize his sincerity. "Just promise me that you're gonna be good to her, alright?"

Killian's jaw set tight, and he swallowed hard. "Aye," he vowed. "You have my word."