Disclaimer: As much as I wish that I did, I do not own any characters from Once Upon a Time. This fic is the product of observing select scenes from the show, writing down the dialogue, and twisting some of the events to include the romance of Captain Swan. I do not claim that all of this writing is mine. If pieces of dialogue sound familiar, then that is most likely because it is from one of the original episodes. The writers are as much a part of this fic as I am.

This fic follows directly along the first season; many scenes have been skipped, and in some cases entire episode plots will be skipped. Thanks for reading, and hopefully enjoy :)

(Please read notes at the end as well)

Morning light streamed in through the window of the small room, coloring the back of Emma's eyelids orange. She kept her eyes closed for a few seconds, forgetting where she was and why in the haze of sleep. Finally, the faint scent of moth balls and a clock chiming in the distance reminded her that she was not back home in Boston, and that these were not her familiar satin sheets. Slowly, she opened her eyes and was immediately assaulted by gaudy floral wallpaper. Sighing, Emma got up and looked out into the town square. For such a small town, there was quite a bit of activity already taking place in the streets as everyone hurried to work. The clock tower showed that it was 8:00. Weird. She could have sworn the kid had said that the old clock didn't work.

Emma looked down at herself and sighed again. She had slept in her tank top and underwear, and the rest of her ensemble lay messily on the chair across from the bed. She would have to wear the same outfit again since she had just made the decision to stay the night before. Maybe she could ask the old lady whether there were any shops in town she could buy clothes. Then again, it might be better to ask her granddaughter where to shop after seeing her taste in style last night. Emma had just laced her boots over her jeans when there was a knock on the door. Wondering if the older woman made morning visits to her guests, she opened the door with a wary expression. The mayor greeted her with a smile and a basket of red apples.

"Did you know the Honey Crisp tree is the most vigorous and hardy of all apple trees?"

Emma made her way down to the diner, still annoyed by the mayor's previous threats. All the mayor had done was make her want to stay more. She held the apple in her hand and sat down next to a grumpy man reading a newspaper at the counter. It was the drunk from the sheriff's station- Leroy? He looked up from reading and snorted when she sat down next to him; he laid the paper down in front of her and walked to the diner's exit. Emma picked it up and was surprised and annoyed to see her own face. The picture did not flatter her, nor did the headline. Stranger Destroys Historic Sign: Alcohol Involved. She just knew the mayor had something to do with this. The young woman in red shorts set a cup of hot chocolate in front of her. The smell of cinnamon was easily distinguished. Emma frowned.

"I did not order this." The woman gave her a mischievous smile.

"I know. You have an admirer." Emma looked around and her eyes fell instantly on the sheriff. He shook his head and nodded to the booth behind him. Henry smiled at her.

"Don't you have school?" she said, getting up with mug and apple in hand.

"Duh, I'm a kid. Walk me?" Henry put on his back pack and waited for her with a smug look.

"So everyone here is a fairytale character. They just don't know it?" Emma asked as they walked to the school.

"That's the curse. Time's been frozen until you got here." She tried to take a bite of the apple. "Hey! Where'd you get that? Don't eat that!" Henry grabbed the apple and threw it over his shoulder. Emma gave him a disbelieving look.

"So for decades, people have been walking around in a haze, not aging, with screwed-up memories, stuck in a cursed town that kept them oblivious," she continued, hoping to keep the kid amused. He smiled at her.

"I knew you'd get it! That's why we need you," He gave her an adoring look that Emma wasn't sure if she was comfortable with or not. She decided to direct the subject away from her again. She pointed to the red-haired man with glasses walking his Dalmatian.

"So that's Jiminy Cricket," she asked, knowing his answer.

"Yep! Dr. Hopper here." She looked at the other people passing around them. She pointed behind them at the curvy woman that worked in the diner.

"And that? Who is she?" Henry looked behind them.

"That's Ruby. Also known as Red Riding Hood," he told her, waiting for her response. Emma smirked.

"If she's Red Riding Hood, then how is her Grandma still around. Didn't a wolf eat her?"

"Not all stories are what they seem," Henry told her mysteriously. She looked at him for a moment before returning to their game.

"And them?" She pointed to the drunk and the man talking animatedly to him in front of a store. The other man had to stop as he was overcome with a bout of sneezes.

"That's Leroy and Mr. Clark. A.K.A., Grumpy and Sneezy. And yes," he interrupted her before she could say anything, "-they are dwarves in the other land." Emma rolled her eyes. "Let's see here. There's Geppetto. The Blue Fairy. Happy. Dr. Whale," Henry continued. They were only a couple of feet away from the school now. Emma was about to change the subject again when she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

A group of men across the street were struggling to lift a crate onto the flatbed of a truck. From the look of the truck's other contents, Emma guessed they were heading to the harbor. The men shouted at each other, trying to readjust whatever they were carrying. Her eyes focused on a man that manifested from behind the truck, yelling orders to the others. She felt her breath catch for second.

He had a muscular build and strode with confidence and poise; his walk told her that he was in charge. The man ran a hand through his dark hair-making it even more disheveled-as if he were thinking; his other hand lay stiff at his side. She heard his accented voice ring with authority as he commanded the men to set down the crate, and felt something stir in her stomach when he briefly glanced over.

"Henry. Who's that?" Emma interrupted the kid just as they reached the edge of the campus. Henry looked to where she was pointing now. He smirked.

"Oh him? That's Mr. Jones. But he's really Captain Hook." Emma scoffed.

"Captain Hook? As in the one-handed pirate with a bad perm? That guy is supposed to be Peter Pan's enemy?" she said, finally breaking down and smiling at the ridiculousness of their conversation. Henry just gave her a serious look.

"Yes. Everything I'm saying is true. You're the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. See?" He gave her some pages from the storybook. Emma gave him a sad look and tried to deny it.

"Listen. I know the hero doesn't believe at first. If they did, it wouldn't be a very good story. If you need the proof, take them. Read them. Just don't let my mom see. She doesn't know who you are. If she did. It would be bad." His tone had turned very serious.

"I gotta go. But I'll find you later and we can get started," he started to run to the school. "I knew you'd believe me!"

"I never said I did!" she protested.

"Why else would you be here?" he shouted over his shoulder. Emma pursed her lips, not sure whether she should smile or not. She looked behind her at the man again- Mr. Jones. She wasn't sure why, but he looked oddly familiar to her. She turned away to face Mary Margaret, just as he looked over again, his eyes lingering for a moment.

Emma walked into the diner feeling proud of herself. She would never forget the look on the mayor's face as she cut down her stupid apple tree. Of course, there would be consequences, but right now she didn't care. In fact, she was feeling so good, Emma decided to have a drink to celebrate. She turned around to order and smacked face first into someone's chest.

"Sorry," she began to stutter, just as she heard an accented voice say, "Pardon me, love." Emma looked up and found herself staring into eyes so blue, she thought she might drown in them. It was the man from her walk. Mr. Jones.

Up close, she found it even harder to believe that he was supposed to be Captain Hook. There was definitely no signs of the man ever having a perm, and his handsome features definitely outdid the cartoon villain's disproportioned ones. She let her eyes roam his face up and down. Strong jawline, straight nose, full lips. His eyebrows seemed to be permanently turned up, giving him a mischievous expression. A scar ran across one of his cheeks, and she had the urge to trace her finger along it and ask him about it. The corner of his lips quirked up and Emma finally realized how close she was still standing and clumsily stepped back. What was wrong with her?

"You'll have to forgive me. I was on my way out and did not notice you there. Though looking now, I don't see how I could have missed you," he continued, his voice slowing down to a flirtatious tone. Emma's head cleared fairly quickly when he said that. She wasn't going to fall for that crap. Ignoring his comment, she shook her head and offered half a smile.

"No. It was my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going." He raised an eyebrow at her lame apology, the corner of his lips still turned up into a smirk. His eyes focused in on something to the right of her face, and she stilled as he reached up and touched her hair. Her eyes widened as he seemingly played with a strand for a moment, then pulled away, a twig between his fingers.

"Been having some fun in the woods?" he asked casually, still displaying the twig. Emma let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"Woods? No. Fun? Definitely," she said, grinning at the memory. He mimicked her, flicking the bit of apple tree away.

"I don't think I've seen you around here before. Are you new to town?" he asked casually, leaning in slightly. She took another step back.

"Just visiting…for a week," Emma said, her grin fading a little and her eyes searching his again. For a color that was normally associated with being cold, his eyes were quite warm at the moment.

"Then allow me to introduce me self. Killian Jones, at your service." He gently took her hand and bent down to kiss her knuckles, never averting his gaze. She swallowed, her smile gone.

"I'm-" she began, but was interrupted.

"Ms. Swan? Oh dear, I was just about to go upstairs to find you," the old lady, or Granny, said as she hurried over. Her eyes looked back and forth between the two, noticing how close they were standing. Emma took another few steps back and Killian leaned away.

"Maybe we should talk in private?" Granny suggested, looking at Killian worriedly.

"No it's fine. What's wrong?" Emma said, deciding to ignore the overconfident man. Maybe he would leave her alone if she did.

"Well, Ms. Swan. Oh my, this is terribly awkward. But I need to ask you to leave. I'm afraid we have a no-felons rule. It turns out it's a city ordinance," the older woman said with an apologetic tone. Emma saw from the corner of her eye that Killian had perked up at the word "felon." She smiled bitterly and turned her full attention to the other woman.

"Let me guess. The mayor's office just called to remind you," she said, not surprised when Granny looked down guiltily and nodded her head slightly.

"You can gather your things, but I need your room key back." Emma waited a moment, the forced smile still in place, then sighed.

"I guess I'll just grab my clothes and return the key," she said. Granny gave her an apologetic look and turned and walked away. Emma stood there, fuming over the injustice of it. Mayor Mills had just played another move.

"No-felons rule?" She turned back towards Killian, hoping her expression would make him back off. He raised both eyebrows at her, not daring to smile.

"Why would you care?" she retorted. He swallowed and looked away for a second before looking back with a sympathetic expression.

"It appears you are having quite the day today, Swan. Perhaps me buying you a drink is in order?" he asked, but there was no sign of flirting in his voice now. Before she could reject him, a sharp laugh came from over his shoulder. They both looked at the other man. Leroy again.

"I don't know if you should be offering that one a drink, brother. Haven't you seen the paper?" he said, sneering at the two. Killian's eyes lit up with recognition, before his face grew hard.

"I wouldn't be the one talking, mate," he told the man frostily, indicating the beer in his hand. Leroy scowled and slowly set his drink down. Emma interrupted before the two men could properly start whatever was happening. She laid her hand on Killian's shoulder and he jumped slightly, as if she had shocked him. Their eyes met again.

"Thanks but no thanks. I'm not really in the drinking mood right now." She began to walk away. He cleared his throat and she turned back.

"If you be needing a place to stay, there is always room-" he began, but she cut him off.

"Again, thanks, but no. No offense but I literally just met you. You know what they say about strangers and all that," she told him. Before he could say anything else, she walked away, heading upstairs to get her few belongings, her resolve to stay growing with every step she took.

A/N: Credit for this story idea, the summary, and the cover picture go to lovescaptainswan on Tumblr. She is amazing, and definitely loves Captain Swan. Original post for this prompt: post/139976108003/a-captain-swan-au-what-if-killian-jones-was-in