Ships in the Night 6/?
Title: Ships in the Night
Summary: Killian Jones and Wendy Darling met in Neverland, and formed a close alliance and friendship. Little did they know that that would lead to spending twenty-eight years living as father and daughter in a town called Storybrooke, Maine
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Read it here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10269456/6/Ships-in-the-Night
http://archiveofourown.org/works/2603012/chapters/6939347
“Hey,” Wendy greeted, smiling when she caught up to Henry outside the school. “Are we still going to Dark Star?”
Henry nodded. “I wanna check out the comic books.”
“Do you wanna come with me to Granny’s after? I’m meeting Killian; you might get a milkshake out of it.”
His mouth twisted into some sort of a grimace. “Mom’s expecting me home. Doesn’t want me to see Emma, I guess.”
“She can’t keep you separated,” said Wendy reasonably. “Not forever, at least.”
“I know.”
“Whatcha reading?”
Wendy looked up to see that Henry had been approached by Ava Zimmer. She frowned, unsure if she could trust the girl. She was a kind person, but could turn hostile if too many questions were asked about her and her brother. A defence mechanism, Wendy supposed.
“The Hulk Vs Wolverine,” Henry replied.
“I’m Ava,” she said, as Wendy approached. “I think I’ve seen you around school. You’re in Miss Blanchard’s class, right? Oh, hey, Wendy.”
“Hi,” Wendy smiled.
“You two know each other?” Henry frowned.
“Yeah. How are you? Where’s Nicholas?”
He answered her question himself by appearing beside his sister. “Almost ready, Ava?”
“This is my brother, Nicholas,” Ava explained to Henry.
“Hi. Come on – let’s go.”
“You want to come hang out?” Ava suggested, glancing between Henry and Wendy.
Henry was quick to agree. “Sure!”
Wendy shrugged. “Okay. We need to go to the diner first, though …”
They made for the exit, but were cut off abruptly by a hand on the door.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Mr. Clark sneezed, and pointed at Henry with the handkerchief he fished from his pocket. “Open up your bag.”
“What?”
“Don’t think I didn’t see you rob me. Open your bag. You too.”
“I didn’t take anything,” Henry insisted. Wendy begrudgingly took her own bag from her back and gave it to Mr. Clark.
He found nothing in her bag, but pulled a fistful of candy bars from Henry’s. “And a liar, too.”
He turned to Ava, stare accusatory. “That’s why you were talking to me. So your brother could put that stuff in there.”
“Wendy …” he sniffed, begrudging adding, “I don’t have any proof. But Henry … I’m shocked. And you two – just who do you think you are?”
“Ava Zimmer,” said Ava, glancing down. “And my brother, Nicholas.”
“I’m ringing all of your parents.” Mr. Clark ushered them over to the counter. “Numbers.”
They all gave them, and waited while Mr. Clark rang the numbers they’d provided.
“Why’d you do it?” Wendy asked quietly, trying to keep her voice non-judgemental. Ava ignored her, holding her head high. Nicholas, however, stared at his shoes.
“This is disconnected,” said Mr. Clark, holding the phone as if it were a weapon. “That’s it; I’m calling the Sheriff.”
Regina entered the shop not long after, immediately asking, “What is this nonsense?”
“Well, I’m sorry, Madam Mayor, but your son was shoplifting.”
“Were you?”
Henry shook his head.
“He wasn’t, Madam Mayor,” Wendy added.
“Look for yourself.”
She surveyed the goods laid out on the counter. “My son doesn’t eat candy. And he knows better than to steal. It was obviously those three. We’re going.”
They made to leave, but Emma entered. She frowned at the sight that greeted her, eyes flickering from Henry to Wendy, Ava and Nicholas.
“Henry. What happened?”
“Miss Swan, must I remind you that genetics mean nothing? You’re not his mother and it’s all taken care of.”
Emma stood with one hand on a hip, staring Regina down. “I’m here because I’m the Sheriff.”
“Oh, that’s right. Go on – do your job. Take care of those miscreants.”
“Wendy?” asked Emma, confusion evident on her face. “You weren’t stealing, were you?”
“No,” said Wendy, immediately. “Mr. Clark, you know I wasn’t.”
He sneezed, and nodded, though it looked as though he was reluctant to do so. “Her bag was empty.”
“Okay. Did you call their parents?”
“Uh, I didn’t get a chance to call Mr. Jones, but the number these two gave me was disconnected.”
“Did you guys give Mr. Clark a fake number?”
The twins shook their heads.
“Then why’s it disconnected?”
“‘Cause our parents couldn’t pay the bill,” said Ava.
Emma picked up the toothpaste, staring from it to the twins. “And you guys are just trying to help out, huh?”
Ava nodded. “Please – please don’t arrest us. It will just make things worse for our parents.”
Emma nodded. “All right. I’ll take care of this, Mr. Clark. How much is this stuff?”
“Uh …” he scanned all of the items. “$20.49.”
Emma paid, and handed the goods to Ava and Nicholas. “C’mon. I’ll take you guys home.”
“Can you ring my papa?” asked Wendy, as they exited the shop. “I was supposed to meet him at the diner.”
“Sure thing,” said Emma, opening the door of her cruiser and allowing the twins to climb into the backseat. “What’s the number?”
Once they were all settled into the car – Ava and Nicholas in the back, Wendy in the passenger seat – Emma rang the number Wendy had given her.
“Hey – Killian. Yeah, she’s right here. She’s fine. There was just a bit of a mix-up at the Dark Star. I’ll drop her home to you, all right? Great.”
She pocketed her phone, shot a reassuring smile to Wendy, and started the engine. She looked back to Ava and Nicholas. “You guys got an address, or is that disconnected too? Oh, c’mon, that was funny! Back me up here, Wendy.”
Ava offered a weak smile, before citing the address.
“This it?” asked Emma, when they pulled up at their apparent destination. Ava nodded, and Emma took off her seatbelt. She opened the door, but paused when the girl spoke, looking back at her.
“Please, no. If our parents see you, they’ll be so embarrassed.”
She shut the door again, leaning back to talk to them. Wendy glanced over her shoulder, too. “Did Henry tell you about my superpower?”
Ava exchanged a look with her brother, and then shook her head. “We … just met him.”
“I have the ability to tell when anyone is lying. Tell me the truth – money problems aside, is everything okay at home?”
“Yeah, we’re great. Can we go?”
“All right.”
“Bye, Wendy,” said Nicholas. “Tell Henry we’re sorry.”
Emma waited a beat after they had left, before she said. “They were lying. Do you know anything about them?”
“Ava gets tetchy if anyone asks too many questions,” Wendy offered. “Nicholas stays quiet most of the time – like he’s scared he’ll say something he shouldn’t.”
“Hmm …” Emma drove down the street a little, before parking again. “Wait here, okay? I’ll be back in a minute. I’ve just got to make sure they’re all right.”
When Emma returned, Ava and Nicholas were with her. They climbed into the back again, sitting in stony silence. Emma rang Killian once again.
“Change of plans,” she declared to him. “Can you come to the loft? Okay, see you then.”
The silence of the car ride was contrasted by Mary Margaret when they reached the apartment. She asked cheerful questions, and gave them a bowl of pasta each before moving away to discuss with Emma. Nicholas seemed content to just sit and eat, but Ava slid carefully from her chair.
“I don’t think they want you to hear what they’re saying,” said Wendy quietly.
“All the more reason to know what it is.”
“I’ll get it,” said Wendy, in response to a knock at the door. Ava had turned at the sound, with tears in her eyes. “It’s probably my dad anyway.”
“Hey,” Killian said, smiling as he saw her, though there was worry in his eyes. He stepped into the apartment. “What happened?”
“I’ll let Emma tell you, I think.”
“Hi,” said Emma, approaching him. “I hope you weren’t worried about Wendy.”
He glanced at his adoptive daughter, talking with the other two at the table. “She’s spent longer in the library in her time. Likes the books.”
“Good.”
“Have you ever seen those two before?” asked Mary Margaret, with the minutest of nods toward the twins.
“A couple of times, yeah. Why?”
“They’re on their own,” said Emma, with a sigh, showing him their file. “Mother died a few years ago. No sign of the father. They’ve been stealing to get by.”
Killian clucked his tongue sympathetically. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to look for their father,” said Emma, closing the file on the twins, determination in her green eyes.
-x-
“Everything all right?” asked Killian, as Mary Margaret hung up the phone.
She smiled, thought he could see that it didn’t reach her eyes. It was for the benefit of the children, he supposed. “Yeah. Could you go outside and talk to Emma, though? I’ll stay here and make sure nobody sets fire to my apartment.”
Four voices of dissent made Killian smile, and he nodded, slipping from the loft.
“Let me guess,” he said, approaching Emma, who looked a little disheartened. “He doesn’t want to take responsibility?”
“Nope,” she sighed.
“And you don’t want to tell them?”
“I can’t. Because all I’ll be telling them is that the false hope I gave them is exactly that.”
“The truth can be painful, we all know that. But it can also be cathartic.”
“I agree with the painful part,” she muttered.
“You told Henry about his father, and he’s handling it well.”
“I didn’t tell him the truth,” she admitted.
“You didn’t.”
She shook her head, expression hardening at the mention of the man. Perhaps it was for the best. “Henry’s father was no hero and trust me – he does not need to know the real story. Maybe we can hide the kids. Just until we can find a family for them. Someone to take care of them.”
“I’m sure Mary Margaret would be delighted with the idea of hiding two twelve-year-old kids in her loft.”
Emma huffed. “You have a better idea?”
“Maybe—”
He trailed off. Emma turned to follow his gaze, and saw Regina approaching them. “Sheriff. Shouldn’t you be on the interstate?”
Emma frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“Seeing to it that you do your job.”
“You know, you don’t have to check up on me. I know what I have to do.”
“Really? Because those kids are supposed to be in Boston tonight.”
She nodded, defeated. “I’ll go get them.”
“Send Henry down,” Regina added.
She stood with Henry, and Killian with Wendy, as Emma opened the back door of her squad car, gesturing for the twins to climb in.
“Come on,” she said, dejected. “It’s going to be … here,” she held out the compass to a teary-eyed Ava, who took it, avoiding her gaze. “I’m sorry, but we got to go.”
“Let’s go, Henry,” said Regina, placing a hand on her son’s shoulder. He shrugged it off and ran to the squad car.
“No, you can’t take them!” he exclaimed to Emma. “They can’t leave Storybrooke, Emma! They can’t. Something bad will happen.”
The Sheriff mumbled something intelligible in return, and drove off. Regina took Henry’s arm and left.
With the squad car out of sight, Wendy turned to throw her arms around Killian’s neck. He hugged her back, confused though he was.
“What was that for?”
“I’m glad I have you. That … that didn’t happen to me.”
He smiled into her hair. “Me too.”