Find My Way Back To You

Chapter 32

~~~ HOOK'S POV ~~~

I still can't believe my luck. Not only did I just find out, that I'll have the most adorable daughter in a few years - with Emma Swan not to forget. But it was also revealed to me that Emma is my true love.

My true love.

That means that my feelings for her really aren't one-sided, which is something that I feared. 

Sure, I knew that there was always chemistry, but Emma's walls are so high, that it's sometimes impossible to tell, whether she actually does have feelings for me. Or if I'm just imagining it to make myself feel better.

But she does love me or at the very least I know that she will one day.

I'll get to love her then, without her shutting me out or running away from me at any chance she gets. I'll get to have a family with my Swan and our cute baby Hope. That's all I've ever wanted but thought I'd never have again when both Liam and Milah died.

Back then, I swore off love because I thought all it brought me were wasted years and endless torment. But all that changed when I first laid eyes on Emma Swan. She found me under several dead bodies, so our first meeting might have not been the most romantic one, but that doesn't change the hope that fled through my veins as soon as our eyes locked.

It's only fitting, that we named our daughter Hope if you think about it. She is a symbol of our love after all.

I smile to myself as the baby looks up at me with big eyes and a soft smile on her face. Then, she suddenly yawns. I can hear Emma chuckle. She runs her hand over her baby's head.

"I should probably get her back to the apartment for a little nap."

I nod, sad nonetheless because now that I know about her, I don't want to let her go again. But I know I have to. My little love needs rest.

I stand up and place Hope back into her mother's arms. "Goodbye, little love." I reach out my finger to her and she takes it in her fist, holding on tightly to me.

Emma smiles softly at her daughter, before looking to me again. "Thanks for calming her down a bit. She misses you a lot."

I'll miss her, too.

"It's not a problem, Swan. Anytime."

She gives me another smile. "Bye." She leans in and kisses my cheek. Then, she approaches the door, but before she leaves, she turns back one more time. "You could go to Granny's. Emma mentioned earlier that she'll be there."

And with that Swan is out the door. Soon, I hear her footsteps on deck fade and I know she left the ship. It's just then, that I lift my hand and touch the place on my cheek, that she kissed. I can still feel her lips burning into my skin. One thing is for certain, Swan will be the death of me.

———

A few minutes later I make my way towards the small diner. As I walk through the door, I spot Emma in her usual booth, sipping on her beloved hot cocoa with cinnamon. She's probably waiting for one of those grilled cheeses with onion rings - her favorite.

I walk over to her and sit down across from her. "Swan." I say in greeting to which she returns a 

"Hook."

She doesn't sound particularly annoyed, so I suppose I caught her at a good time.

She has been really anxious lately, but we still sort of managed to become friends - at least I hope that she considers me a friend. It would make it far easier for me to get her to fall in love with me, which I need to do for my baby's sake. She needs to go home after all. It's where she belongs and I won't stop fighting for her.

It's amazing how much I already want to protect her. I'd go to the ends of all the realms for her, despite only having been introduced to her an hour ago. It took me only a second to love my baby girl. She's a lot like her mother in that sense, I suppose.

For me, meeting Emma was like love at first sight, too.

A moment after I sat down across from my Swan, a glass of rum appears in front of me and Ruby slides Emma's beloved meal in front of her - grilled cheese with onion rings. I still don't understand how Swan can eat that stuff. It doesn't look the least bit healthy or tasty.

Maybe I should try one of those onion ring things, I think as I reach forward. But before I could even get close to Swan's plate her hand slaps mine away forcefully. Swan has quite the strong right hook, I must say. I knew she had a bit of a pirate in her - and I'm not talking about our future daughter.

"No one touches my food." Emma says angrily, but I can tell, that she won't be mad at me for long. It doesn't even take two seconds before a soft smile appears at the corners of her lips. It turns into a smirk a moment later.

Whatever is on her mind, I doubt I'll like it. I can already tell as much.

"What's going on with you today? Normally you scrunch your nose at my food choices." She says while tilting her head a little bit to the side.

"I suppose I was curious as to why you seem to love that stuff so much, Swan." In an attempt to bond with you, is what I don't tell her. I'm not sure she'd be ready to hear that just yet.

Swan then grins brightly at me and before I can say another word, she waves Ruby over to the table. "Hi, Ruby. We'd like another order of grilled cheese with onion rings and a hot cocoa with cinnamon."

Ruby glances at me with a smirk. Trying to impress Emma that hard now, are we? She'd probably say if Emma wasn't sitting right here with me. "Coming right up."

Ruby turns, but before she walks away, Emma adds "Put some rum into the hot cocoa."

I'm so going to marry that girl one day.