Chapter One: Take Me Far From This Less Then Perfect Design

It has been months since Emma had seen Hook and her life had fallen into a rhythmic routine since they got back from Neverland. Henry lived with her now, in a comfortable 2 bedroom apartment and Regina got to see him anytime she wanted, which was often. The two older woman were getting along humanely, bonding over the relief of their sons rescue.

But unfortunately, Emma had also returned to an old part of her life in a small way. Something that brought destruction to an otherwise content situation. She had started seeing Neal again; accepting his apologies that he never meant any of the things that hurt her during the journey to Neverland and their return. She was nothing if not understanding of how Neverland could change a person. Make them act unlike themselves. And when her first love came back to her a few days later, she accepted his apology in the hopes that she could make a happy family for Henry. A family that her son deserved. But Neal wasn't the man she remembered when she was a reckless teenager. He was dangerous.

"Emma." he called, pushing her bedroom door open hard enough to slam against the wall behind it. Her body reacted in surprise, sitting straight up against her headboard on her bed, setting her magazine down on the nightstand.

"Neal. I didn't think you were coming over until tomorrow morning. It's almost midnight." she said, glancing over at her alarm clock. She stayed calm, keeping her voice steady as not to wake Henry who was just a wall away.

"I'm your true love, Emma. I didn't think I needed to announce when I was coming to see you." he smirked, climbing into bed with her. He hovered over her body, pressing her wrists against the mattress before slamming his mouth down on hers.

"Neal, come on. I'm exhausted, let's just get some sleep." she urged, bucking against him, yanking her wrists to no avail.

He moved his lips to her neck, biting on her pulse point causing her to bite the inside of her mouth to keep from screaming at the pain.

"Neal, stop." she said firmly, kicking her legs as he pressed his body harder against her, his hand moving to the waistband of her sweatpants.

The second he released her wrist, Emma swung her hand back and smacked him across the face. She pulled her leg up quickly, smashing her knee between his legs. He rolled over to his side in pain while she immediately scrambled out from beneath him. She crossed her arms over her chest and continued to keep her voice at a lower register, as shaky and uncertain as it had started to sound.

"Get out of here. I am done waiting around for you to become the man I fell in love with. It's been over ten years and that man is gone. I want you to stay away from me and my son." she seethed, opening her bedroom door and swinging her arm towards the exit.

"You think you can do better then me?" he laughed, slamming the door closed and pushing her hard against the wall she shared with Henrys room. Emma closed her eyes at the noise she knew would wake him. Her wrists were turning black and blue from the pressure he was putting on them as he held her against the wall, his face inches from her.

"You should be grateful that I am forgiving you for everything you've done in the past. You should be begging on your knees for me to stay." he spat. A loud clap rang out through the room as he slammed the back of his hand across her cheek, whipping her head to the side.

"Or maybe you only get on your knees for pirates." he said with malice, digging his nails into her flesh as he tightened his grip on her wrists. She bit back a cry.

"Let go of me." she hissed, narrowing her eyes and glaring at him with more confidence then she knew was real.

They both looked towards the closed door as a banging sound came from out in the living room.

The front door Emma knew the sound. And she knew it was Henry running from the apartment like she had told him to do if it ever sounded like his father was there.

"Do you get a lot of late night visitors or something?" Neal asked, even angrier as he threw her on the bed and peeked out into the living room, seeing that it was empty.

"That's just my neighbors. The walls are thin." she lied simply, standing up from the bed defensively.

"I'll be back in the morning. And I am going to see Henry whether you like it or not because I am his father." he sneered, slamming the door behind him as he left. Emma slid down her bedroom wall until she was on the ground, her face in her hands as her body wrenched with silent tears.

When did I let this happen? Why did I take him back? I knew what he was capable of.

Meanwhile...

"Captain Jones?" Henry called out across the crowded bar. He had spent the last hour walking across town to the docks. The waters were lined with ships and the streets filled with bars and shabby apartments, deserted parks sprinkled in between.

"What's a young boy like you doing looking for Hook in the middle of the night?" the bartender asked, waving for Henry to come to the counter. Henry climbed up on the bar stool, taking the glass of soda the old man had poured with a thank you.

"I'm a friend of his. Is he here?" He inquired again, looking around the bar once more.

"It's been a long time, lad." a voice called from down the bar. Captain Hook was sitting a few stools away, a tumbler of run in his hand no doubt. "Why don't we talk somewhere less illegal for you to be in, aye?" he smirked, leading Henry outside and across the street to the docks.

"I figured you left town after we got back. I was just taking a shot in the dark looking for you there." Henry explained, following the pirate up onto the Jolly Roger. Hook was silent as he walked down to his quarters, tossing a blanket at the young boy.

"It's good to see you, kid but I m pretty certain it's past your bedtime. Unless your mother lets you wander the streets alone on the shady side of town." Hook said, sitting down at the small dining table and removing his boots.

"Why have you been avoiding her?" he asked, ignoring his question and wrapping the blanket around his shoulders.

"Your father turned out to be alive when she believed him to be dead. I may be a pirate, boy, but I am not so selfish that I would stand between true love." Hook replied, tipping back in his chair casually.

"You think she loves him?" he asked, a disgusted grimace on his face. "I mean, she did once. I've heard the stories and he is my dad. But didn't she tell you her secret on the island to free him from the cage?"

"No, I figured it was something I wouldn't want to hear. How would you know anyways? You weren't there." Hook inquired.

"She told me when we got back everything that happened. Her secret wasn't what you seem to think it was. She said she wished he really was dead." Henry explained, sitting across from Hook in the shabby wooden chair.

"That is a tad different then I imagined." he admitted.

"You should at least go see her." Henry suggested simply, tracing the carved lines in the wooden table.

"You stumbled into a bar past midnight and sought me out to tell me to talk to your mother? She wants nothing to do with me, lad. You're wasting your time." Hook exclaimed, standing up and walking to the door in annoyance.

"So you're just going to let my dad win?"

"Are you bloody mad, boy?" Hook rubbed his hand over his face in confusion. "First you say she doesn't love him and now you are saying they are back together since our return from the island?"

"Did she never tell you about how persuasive he can be when it comes to her?" Henry asked, surprised Emma never told Hook of the violence she use to endure. The violence she was once again stuck within.

"Aye, I'm sure he's right charming." Hook rolled his eyes, swinging the door opened. "Come on, lad I'll walk you home. It's too late for you to chance the trip back."

"So you two kiss but you know nothing of her past." Henry mumbled, draping the blanket on the back of the chair as Hook laced his boots back up. Henry followed the pirate back onto the streets, heading on the path back to his home.

"I don't understand adults." he added, walking beside the pirate.

"She told you everything you missed, eh?"

"Yep." he popped. "And when I asked why she was giving my dad another chance, she said something that I can only assume related to you."

"Which was?" Hook drawled, turning the corner to the boys apartment building.

"She said everyone else leaves." Henry said in a hushed tone, locking eyes with the pirate.

"Bloody hell." Hook exclaimed with frustration.

"Henry!" a voice called out from down the street. The boy rushed towards the woman as she ran towards him, throwing her arms around him as she skidded to her knees to meet his level. Henry hugged her back.

Hook stepped back a pace when he saw the shining blonde hair in front of him, enveloping her son. It was Emma Swan and he hadn't seen her in many months. But it seemed much had changed.

"Where have you been? I told you when you think it's dangerous, go upstairs to your grandparents apartment." she rushed out the words, holding him at arms length, her hands on his shoulders.

"Mom, your face." Henry muttered with no surprise when he saw a dark black and blue mark forming on face. It started on her temple and looked to be appearing down to her jawbone.

"It's nothing, kid. Don't worry about me." she said with a forced smile, standing on her feet now.

"I should probably be going. Pirate things to attend to and what not." Hook said, making his presence known.

"Hook." Emma whispered, surprised to see him for the first time since they arrived back in Storybrooke. "I'm sorry if he was bothering you. He knows not to be out this late." she said, keeping her face turned away from him.

"Mom, don't. Let him help you." Henry urged, pulling her arm forward, forcing her to take a step towards Hook.

"Henry, enough." she said firmly. "Thank you for taking him home. I'm really sorry." she directed at the pirate, pulling her hair over her shoulder to hide the side of her face where the mark was becoming more clear with every minute.

"He's no trouble. I'll see ya later, lad. Gnight Swan." he said, turning on his heels and heading back down the street.

"Come on, Henry. Let's go inside. We should both get some sleep. Everything is fine now. He's gone." She said, putting her arms around his shoulders and turning him around to their apartment.

"No, mom. He'll be back. You have to tell someone. Tell Captain Jones." he pressed, pointing down the street at the pirates back, only a few paces away.

"It's not his problem, kid. It's mine. And I will find a way to fix this." she promised.

"He loves you. And so do I. And whether you want to accept it or not, you need help. And this is me helping you."

"Henry, don't -" but he cut her off, his voice louder then she had ever heard from him.

"HE HITS HER!" he yelled down the street that Captain Jones was retreating down. He stopped in his tracks as the boys words rang clear as day through the silent night air. He turned around slowly.

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid I must have heard you wrong. One more time for me, boy." Hook's voice dripping with suppressed rage as he walked back towards the small family. In only a few long strides, he was standing in front of the boy again, Emma just a pace behind him running her hand over her hair in frustration.

"My dad. Baefire. He hurts her. That's why she wont look at you. You'd see it on her face." Henry exclaimed, feeling his mothers disapproval behind him as he locked eyes with the pirate.

"Henry, stop. This has nothing to do with-" She was only able to get a few words out before Hook cut her off.

"Alright, lad. I have a bloody brilliant plan. How about you go up to your royal grandparents flat and let them know your mother will be up shortly. Her and I need to have a little chat. Savy?" he asked, leading the boy inside while Emma turned her back to them, rubbing her forehead anxiously.

"Yea." he replied simply. "Mom, I'm sorry." he called out. Emma shot him a small smile before waving him inside. The moment he disappeared from site, Hook stomped back over to her spot on the lawn.

"It seems we have some catching up to do, Swan." he said with narrowed eyes, his stare an icy blue she rarely saw from him.

"Now how about you look at me and we can start there. It's been a long time since I've seen that pretty face of yours. Let's see if it looks as I remember." he demanded, stepping up toe to toe with her now as she looked out to her side across the lawn and into the forest.

"This is ridiculous. You have no right to demand anything from me. You left. The second we got back from Neverland, you were gone" she sneered, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Look at me, Swan." he said again, his voice tighter then before.

Emma sigh before whipping her head back, her hair falling down her shoulders as she stared directly into his eyes, the mark clearly visible. "Now that we are all caught up, you can go now." she hissed, rolling her eyes.

"What the hell happened?" he asked loudly, reaching out towards her face. Before his fingers could graze the surface, she countered his movements, stepping away from him.

"It's none of your concern. Henry must have gotten scared and sought you out but everything is fine now so you should leave." she assured him, turning back towards her home.

"Of course he's bloody scared. He's just a boy living in a violent home!" Hook exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"Shut up! You don't know anything about Henry! Neal would never hurt him. I wouldn't let that happen to my son!" Emma shouted, offended at his jabs at her parenting skills.

"Oh, I see." he mocked. "So it's alright for you to get smacked around but if it were the boy, that's when you would start to care?" his tone outraged by her lack of self preservation.

"Exactly. Now that we are on the same page-" he stopped her.

"You don't care that you're getting hurt? You don't care that you have a bruise on your beautiful face the size of a bloody fist? HIS fist?" Hook enunciated.

"Who the hell cares! As long as Henry is ok, then what does it matter if Neal takes his anger out on me. Better me then him." she yelled.

Hook stomped over to her, pushing her back against the railing of the front apartment steps as a clap of thunder sounded overhead in the night sky.

"He shouldn't be taking his anger out on anyone. Much less a lady." he seethed.

Emma's eyes filled with tears as she tore her eyes away from his, looking down at his chest and shutting her eyes tightly, holding the water back. She shook her head slowly before looking up at him again, his features softening the moment he saw her face.

"Where were you?" she whispered, a single tear falling down her cheek silently, her hand on his chest.

"You didn't need me. Baefire was alive. You rescued your son. You could have your happily ever after." he sighed, running his fingers over her bruised cheekbone.

She laughed dryly. "Is that what this looks like?" she whispered.

No. This certainly wasn't what he had wanted for her. And after 6 months of letting her go, he was standing in front of her now, ready to bring her will to fight back from where ever Neal had hidden it.

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