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They had traveled all through the night, putting as much distance between themselves and the stalk as possible. It wasn't so much that they didn't trust Hook, didn't like him, but they couldn't take their chances on him either. Emma knew that. That's why she had him chained for ten hours. Who knew when his allegiances would change, when he would return to Cora's team? So they put as much distance as possible.
The sun was peeking over the horizon when they stopped to rest. They had paused only twice in their trek, mostly for Aurora's sake, and Snow was beginning to debate making the girl's dress into pants just to give her some relief. Mulan made a small fire to roast some rabbits she and Emma had captured as they came out to greet the morning. Emma only felt a little guilty for that. They smelled delicious though.
That was when Mulan's hand went to her sword.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Snow asked, straining her ears to hear past the crackling fire.
"You sure it isn't some poor animal waking up?" Aurora asked, still sore about the way they caught the rabbits.
They fell into a hushed silence, listening. Something definitely cracked. Emma stood, her own weapon drawn, and stepped toward the dense forest where the sound had come from. She thought she could just make out a form, a human or else large and extremely dangerous. It moved closer when she took another step, and she narrowed her eyes. It looked like... but no...
And then Hook leapt from trees, grabbing her armed hand with his hand and spinning her around. She ended up backed up and held against him, his hook hovering nearby but not being used against her. Even with only one arm, he was strong enough to detain her. Snow was there, her sword ready, and Mulan jumped to block Hook from the other side. Aurora, weaponless, just stood horrified.
"Hook!" Snow shouted, sounding large and threatening despite her size. Hook's arm tightened, his hand clenching around Emma's wrist where it was pinned to her chest.
Emma's pounding heart skipped a beat and started to settle though when she realized that Hook was laughing. He was chuckling, low and soft in her ear, and it was only growing louder. Even Mulan took a surprised step back.
"You're laughing?" Emma asked. She threw her body forward, and Hook let her go. "What's so funny?"
"This whole chase thing, Darling. It was cunning and devious and fun. I've said it before - you'd make a good pirate," he said, pointing at her and winking.
"Funny." Emma dusted herself off, as though she'd been covered in dirt. While Hook was a bit sweaty, he wasn't dirty. "How did you even find us?"
"Oh that was the easy part," Hook said, his mouth twitching up into a genuine smile. "I'll always find you."
Snow raised an eyebrow and watched how Emma and Hook stared at each other, the intensity and the concentration. And she knew. Her mouth dropped open a bit, and she couldn't help the way her heart fluttered as she looked them over. Her eyes locked with Mulan's for a moment, neither missing the fact that Emma and Hook had forgotten the rest of them were there.
"So Captain," the ex-queen began, lowering her weapon and stepping forward. Both Emma and Hook looked at her with curiosity and surprise. "Are you with us or against us?"
"I told you," the pirate began. His eyes drifted back to Emma, who glared at him uneasily. "You're the safer bet."