A Captain Swan Adventure

The Journey Intensifies

The man, who asked to be called 'Captain', kept his word and left promptly at sundown. Emma watched the sunset from the front of the boat as they sailed into the open sea. She wondered if time had kept moving in Storybrooke, and if her family was watching the same sunset. She wondered if they were looking for her like she was looking for them. The thought of them worried about her only made her feel guilty and more restless to get home.
Hook watched Emma from a safe distance. The Captain was steering the ship and seemed lost in a sort of daze, so he hadn't noticed when Hook came up next to him to watch Emma. The sunset outlined her body perfectly, and it made her glow radiantly. He stared at her for a few moments, imagining she was on the deck of the Jolly Roger, not on this dingy fishing ship. He found himself imagining her on the Jolly Roger more often than usual. Maybe it was his happily ever after...except pirates don't get a happily ever after.
He decided to break the moment and approach Emma. He stood next to her, watching the sunset. "If this world is good for anything, it's for the magical sunsets. And dashing pirates."
"I wouldn't say that." Emma said, turning to look at the Captain, who was drawing something in the air with his finger. She turned back to Hook and smiled.
"Well, of course there are some exceptions." Hook explained, leaning back against the railing. Emma looked back at the sunset and asked,
"Do you think they're looking for us?" Her question didn't need an explanation.
"I bet they're going out of their minds looking for you, Swan." Hook said, thinking to himself, I know I would.
"What about you?" Emma asked again. "You don't think that they're out looking for you?"
Hook laughed. "I'd imagine your parents are glad I'm gone. Not a good influence on Henry. And now they can be the fun grandparents." Emma laughed, but grew serious again.
"But seriously. You don't think anyone would look for you?" She turned to look at Hook.
Hook's eyes were suddenly filled with sadness. He looked straight at Emma. "I could only hope."
Emma didn't respond. Neither did Hook. They stood there, momentarily paralyzed. They watched the sea pass by. Emma finally broke the silence.
"So what's your plan of action, Hook?" Emma asked. "How are we going to defeat Ursula?"
Hook bit his lips, and replied. "You know, I have a name."
Emma was taken aback for a moment, and responded, genuinely confused. "I'm sorry, I thought we were talking about Ursula."
"Just wanted to let you know. Thought you'd forgotten."
"Let me guess...Captain?" Emma said sarcastically. Hook smiled.
"Not quite, but a good guess."
Emma stood up straight. "Ok, I know your real name, but why bring it up now? Isn't it kind of random?"
"I've heard Rumplestilskin say this before, but names are powerful. They define a person and leave you completely vulnerable, which is why he never reveals his to strangers." He paused. "Hook is what Cora called me. It's what Regina calls me, and it's what your parents call me. As you can tell, none of those people particularly like me."
"My parents don't hate you." Emma said defensively.
"But they don't like me either." He added, "Every pirate on the high seas knows that I am Captain Hook. But I don't want to be defined by that anymore."
"I don't understand..."
"I'm not the same man I was before this curse, Emma. And I don't want to keep living in the past. And I don't want you calling me Hook anymore."
"But why me?"
"I think you know why." Emma was silent.
"Why don't you get some rest, love?" Hook proposed. "We have a big fish to catch tomorrow. You'll need your strength."
"No thanks, I'm fine." Emma said, looking back at him. "Besides...I don't trust ol' Captain over there."
Hook watched the Captain continue to stare into the distance, drawing something with his finger. He looked harmless, but Emma was right. Who knew what went on behind those crazy eyes at night. "I'll keep the Captain in line." Hook said. "Now you go and get some rest."
"Aren't you going to sleep?" Emma asked, voicing a hint of concern. Hook grinned. "What?"
"As you recall, there's only one bed, Swan." Hook smiled. "Unless you were suggesting..." Emma hit his arm, and then rolled her eyes.
"Don't get too many ideas, 'mate'." Emma said, following with, "Goodnight...Killian."
"Goodnight, Swan." Emma disappeared into the cabin.
Hook walked over to the Captain and tried making conversation, but he wasn't 'there'. His mind was in a different place, one hand on the wheel, and one hand drawing things in the air. He muttered something incomprehensible, and then continued his drawing. Hook had promised Emma that he'd keep an eye on this guy, but it wasn't looking like he was going anywhere. Hook wandered around the deck of the ship, watching the black night sky pass by.
He felt a sense of joy being back on the open seas. He loved breathing the salty air and hearing the waves crash against the boat. It reminded him of sailing the high seas on the Jolly Roger. The thought of his ship brought back awful memories of the sinking. He tried to push the thoughts away, but they kept coming back.
He and Emma had commandeered the Jolly Roger from himself-his past self, that is-and luckily no one saw them. A few men possibly saw him commanding his ship overseas, but they would have thought nothing of it...until his past self came along. Knowing himself, his past self would blame everything on the alcohol and assume his ship was hijacked. But I will leave it someplace you'll find it again; Hook thought to himself, you won't miss it for long, past self.
It was hard getting everyone off the ship, but Emma took care of that. It appeared that her 'feminine charms' were enough to seduce everyone off the boat while Hook got it ready to sail. She was less obvious then, still wearing the Enchanted Forest clothes Rumplestilskin had given her. But that was about it. Rumplestilskin saw Hook and immediately decided not to help them. And after a few attempts of killing them, he did succumb and tell them what they would have to do to get back to Storybrooke.
"If you want to return home, dearie, you'll have to use a portal. And seeing as how you don't have a magic bean or a mermaid's tail, you're out of luck." He laughed, but looked over Emma a couple of times. "You look...familiar. Any chance you know Snow White?" Emma had tried to hide a look of dangerous surprise. Rumplestilskin saw it and knew...exactly what, Hook didn't know. Perhaps he saw that Emma was important somehow, which continently changed his mind. "You know what, dearie. Maybe I'll help you after all." And then he went on to explain how to fix their little problem. He poofed Emma into a new wardrobe, but after that he vanished.
So, as usual, the crocodile used his hate for Hook to ruin something of great importance. But Hook knew of someone who could help them-himself.
That's how they came to the shipyard, and so on and so forth. When they had finally sailed off, Emma's clothes had mysteriously appeared on the deck, and Emma changed her outfits. She thought they'd be back in Storybrooke soon, but they are seldom so lucky.
Before the storm came, Hook was desperately thinking of a plan. He had hoped the crocodile would help them, because he needed the Jolly Roger to stay with his past self. He was interfering too much with the story. He knew that after Pan's curse sent them all back to the Enchanted Forest, he would need the Jolly Roger to get back to Emma. If he didn't have it...he wouldn't have anything to trade the magic bean for. So, Hook thought to himself: "Where can I put you?"
His thoughts were shaken by the first shot of thunder. He had looked up to see dark storm clouds above. Emma, who was sitting nearby, also looked up with a dreadful look on her face.
"Do you think it's just passing by?" she asked.
"Let's pray, love." Hook replied, sailing on.
When the storm clouds kept rolling in, Hook began to get worried. The last thing they needed was a storm to slow them down or even worse-put them off course. Bloody storm, Hook thought to himself. What's Neptune got against him this time?
Knowing what he does now, Hook became angry when he remembered it was not Neptune, but that bloody awful Triton that sunk his ship.
Hook kept his hands on the wheel and tried to focus, until the rain came down. It beaded down on his head, and he looked over to find Emma also trying to desperately avoid it. The thunder and lightning suddenly accompanied the rain into the perfect storm-leaving Emma and Hook in the middle of it. But Hook kept trying to sail on...until the waves came.
Waves bigger than the mast started forming in the distance, right where the Jolly Roger was headed. Hook didn't look away, but yelled "Hold onto something, love!" to wherever Emma was. He couldn't see her anymore, until she grabbed onto the steering wheel with him.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Swan?" he yelled through the storm.
"Helping you maneuver through this." She said, as though it were obvious.
"I don't need your..." A wave crashed onto them, forcing Emma off the steering wheel. Hook opened his eyes and saw her thrown against the side of the ship, coughing out water. "Swan!" he reached out his hand to grab her, leaving only his hook on the wheel. But he couldn't keep his grip when another massive wave came pummeling down on them.
He had hardly grabbed Emma's hand when they were washed apart again. The top of the deck was now flooded, turned into a wading pool. Hook got up and saw Emma on the deck below, washed up like a fish out of water. She stood up, and upon seeing Hook, called for him and tried to reconnect. Just as she had come to the stairs, there was a loud crunch, and the Jolly Roger split in two.
Hook stood dumbfounded at the wreck. Split evenly down the middle was his entire livelihood. He was distracted for a while, until a voice brought him back to reality. "Hook! Hook!"Emma was clinging onto the railing of the stairs. Their half of the ship was going under, and she was about to get sucked in.
Hook jumped into action and ran down the stairs. But by the third step, the boards gave out, causing his leg to get caught in between the boards. Hook tried getting his leg out, but then looked back at Emma. She was slowly pulling herself up the ladder, reaching for his hand. He reached back out and grabbed it. With their combined strength, Emma managed to get beside Hook, just as the two got ready to sink into the sea.
Hook finally yanked his leg out from between the boards, with minimal damage. He and Emma sat, watching the two halves of the Jolly Roger sink into the sea.
"We have to jump in!" Hook yelled.
"Are you crazy?" Emma yelled back.
"If we don't do it now, this ship will collapse in on us! We need to get as far away as possible!"Emma looked at him unsure, then into the black ocean, and nodded. "Okay. Tell me when."
Hook grabbed Emma's hand unconsciously, but she didn't move. "On the count of three. One...two...three!" And they leapt into the sea. They managed to make it in without hitting anything. Hook never let go of Emma, to ensure they didn't stray. When they came above for air, Hook was still clutching Emma's hand, and looking for an escape route. Far in the distance, he could see an island and he made it their destination. He pointed it out to Emma, and they both started swimming.
They managed to get out from the shipwreck before if collapsed in. They swam a good couple of miles before finally reaching the shore and watching the rest of the Jolly Roger sink beneath the waves.
Hook couldn't let that memory escape. He had lost his ship...and now he had to get it back. It was imperative to the success of the future that he did. Although his head was spinning with memories and strategy and the upcoming battle, he was able to clear his mind with one statement: "Goodnight, Killian"
His train of thought was interrupted by the Captain, who politely tapped him on the shoulder. "I was wondering if you could go get something for me...I keep it in the right hand drawer of my desk downstairs. I would go myself...but I don't want to wake the lady." Without even knowing what he was supposed to be getting, Hook nodded and headed downstairs.
There was only a couple of lanterns lighting the cabin now, making the dark hard to see through. Hook fumbled towards the desk, pulling open the drawer and removing its' contents: a piece of blank paper and an ink pad. He was ready to head back up when he caught a glimpse of blonde.
He turned around and saw Emma sleeping peacefully. Well, as peacefully as Emma could. Her face was distraught looking and full of fear. Perhaps she was having a nightmare. Hook secretly wished he could wake her up and ask her if she was ok, but he knew she needed her sleep. He decided to let her be, but couldn't help pulling a blanket over her with his hook before heading back up to deliver the contents of the drawer to the Captain.
The Captain was very happy to see Hook bring him his paper and ink. He thanked him and then sat down and got to work on...who knows what. Hook, feeling fatigue creeping up on him, decided to get some rest as well. He walked next to the door of the cabin on deck and sat down next to it. He leaned his head back and tried to fall asleep, but to no avail. Whenever he closed his eyes, he could only hear the Captain softly mumbling "We start with three and head out to sea...the witch will see...no longer three...the witch will see...no longer three...!"