My Once Upon A Time fanfic, You Had Me At Malfeasance, is a series of one-off’s set between and around series episodes. This chapter is set after Emma’s memory loss in season three. Killian convinces Emma to return to Storybrooke with Henry, and this is a bit of the road trip from NYC to Maine.

“I’ll never get used to these horseless carriages,” Hook complained. “Everyone drives like a madman and there’s no way to stretch out your legs or lie down, if you’ve a mind to.”

Emma gave him a warning look, sending a half-nod over her shoulder in Henry’s direction.

“The lad’s asleep,” Hook informed her. “Has been for some time now.”

“Well, you can get out and stretch your legs a minute – I’m stopping for gas.”

“Gas?”

“Fuel. It’s what the car runs on.” She put her blinker on, merging over to the right and pulled into a gas station. “This won’t take long. There are restrooms inside, if you need them.”

He gave her a nod, heading toward the dingy looking mini-market attached to the gas station. He came out a few moments later with a key attached to a large block of wood. He held it up, walking over to her.

“What the devil is this? Do I use the block to prop open the door?”

She smirked. “They do that so no one steals the key.”

He raised his brows, clearly not understanding, and made his way around the side of the gas station to the restrooms. Emma finished pumping, looking through the window at sleeping Henry. What the hell was she going to tell him? She still hadn’t worked that one out. He’d been peppering Hook with questions the whole way here, and Hook, to his credit, had answered them all with a clever, deliberate vagueness that made her head spin. Henry seemed to be buying it, though. He was having a blast with his new friend, Killian.

And it felt strange calling him Killian. Too…personal.

She replaced the pump and put her gas cap back on just as Hook was walking back out of the mini-market, having returned the key. She got in, and a moment later, his door opened and he slid into the seat next to her.

“Good God. I’ve been on prison barges that smelled better than that.”

She gave him an apologetic look. “Gas station bathrooms are rarely a nice experience.”

“I may have to burn these clothes,” He muttered. “Or the boots, at the very least.” He tilted his head back on the seat rest. “How much longer until we get there?”

“About two more hours,” She speculated. “As long as there’s no major road construction to slow us down. You can get some sleep if you want. I don’t mind.”

“I can manage,” He replied. “Wouldn’t want to leave you without conversation.”

She rolled her eyes. “It might be nice to be alone with my thoughts for awhile.”

He stared ahead out the window, and she looked at his profile, just as she’d done so many damn times in that jungle when she thought he wasn’t looking. He quirked a brow, casting his eyes sideways, catching her in the act.

“That’s the problem with you, Swan,” He surmised. “You’ve been alone too long.”

You Had Me At Malfeasance is available on Fanfiction.net or at Archive of Our Own (AO3).