The Jolly Swan Surprise.

[itsapirateslife]

Ever since he'd started putting the finishing touches on his boat, Hook had been planning this party. When he realized it would line up perfectly with a certain someone's birthday, the plan was immediately modified.

The food he'd arranged from a local cafe was fairly simple, cut up fruit and vegetables with a variety of different sandwiches and meat pies, as well as some modern snacks like potato chips and the curly fries from the boardwalk. To drink, there was a juice and sodas as well as a fully stocked bar, all courtesy of funds from Hook's new job...not that he'd told anyone he'd gotten a job. It wasn't like there was any piracy to be had in Darrow and he would rather not have to put Emma in the position of having to arrest him.

He'd conspired with Henry, Charming and the others from their realm to make this a surprise for Emma. Some of the food was sitting on the table on deck but must of it was in the galley by the bar. In the center of the table under the deck was a cake made by Henry surrounded by cupcakes (There were some apple tarts, donated by Regina, but that had mysteries disappeared. Overboard. It's what the queen got for trying to clean his boat. It was perfectly clean thank you very much).

Hook had made sure to invite has many of both of their friends as possible and had them all gather on deck at the time Henry was supposed to bring Emma to the docks. There was a drape covering the name on the back of the boat. He was dressed in his pirate best, with his red waist coat and hook polished to a shine as he stood on the dock, two glasses of champagne perched next to him on a post.

[backdated to October 23rd. The boat looks like this yacht though the furnishings inside are much more rustic and only half the cabins have beds, the others are storage. The plumbing and electricity do work, but there are no TVs or anything by way of modern convenience outside of the galley.]

Comments

[wanttobeahero]

Henry was sort of getting interested in cooking and baking. Not because he wanted to do it all the time - he was a teenage boy, after all - but sometimes if his moms were working and he was tired of burgers or just a peanut butter sandwich, he wanted a few of the basics down. And everyone should be able to whip up a cake. Truthfully, he'd just grabbed a box mix, added two eggs and some oil and popped it in the oven, it wasn't a big deal, and it was only a little lopsided since he'd had the idea to try and make it two-layered.

This morning had been really nice, just him and his mom, and he'd given her a coffee mug he'd made just for her. The pottery thing was fun, not lame or dull at all, especially when he could make stuff for people. Easy gift ideas.

Getting her out of the apartment wasn't too hard, he'd just told her he wanted to hang out with her at the boardwalk, which naturally led them in the general area of the docks. The look on her face when everyone surprised her was what he'd been looking forward to the most, and he grinned at her, hugging her. "Happy Birthday, mom."

In addition to the coffee mug, he had another wrapped present for her, a photo book he'd made, with pictures of just the two of them. He'd been taking as many selfies as possible in Darrow, lots of pictures with the two of them, and he whipped up a scrapbook of sorts, with a cover photo that was his favorite. Moms liked that kind of thing, right?

He would mingle with everyone else once they were actually on the boat, and keep a very close eye on things with his mom and Hook since...he did this for his mom? Wow.

[storybrooke_savior]

Emma had loved the coffee mug. Not just because it was adorable and her son had made it, but because he knew her too well and it was huge and could quite possibly hold most of a pot of coffee. But the pictures, documenting all their little adventures so far, was possibly even better. As soon as she'd unwrapped it, Emma had found a place to sit and go through it page by page. It made her chuckle, made her a little misty-eyed in places, and when Henry's mingling brought him nearby she reached for his hand and tugged him into the seat with her so she could hug him again.

"I still can't believe you pulled this one over on me," she laughed, kissing the top of his head. "I'm oddly proud. And slightly scared."

[wanttobeahero]

He'd wanted her to have some space when she looked through all the pictures, knowing there was a chance it might make her emotional. But he couldn't stay away forever, and when she snagged him, he went easily into the seat, leaning against her and hugging her.

"Well, I sort of learned from you." He was teasing her with a smirk, leaning his head on her shoulder. "I wanted to make sure you had a good birthday. And so did a lot of other people."

[storybrooke_savior]

"That's the part that scares me," Emma quipped without missing a beat, though she was grinning. She kept her arm around his shoulder and leaned her head down to rest her cheek against the top of his head. "So what do you think of the boat? I helped restore it a little, you know. On the weekends, before you got here."

Basically, bereft of her son and a good chunk of her family, she'd had a lot of time on her hands and not enough to do to fill it.

[wanttobeahero]

"It's pretty cool," Henry nodded with a smile, leaning into her. "I love boats." Something he was only just realizing, because it wasn't like he had much opportunity to be on boats in Storybrooke when he was growing up with Regina; no reason to. "And you did a good job fixing it. Well, mostly."

He had to tease just a little.

But then, of course, "So...he named it after you. That's kind of a big deal..."

[storybrooke_savior]

"Mock me all you want, but I'm proud of the point-oh-one percent of work I did," Emma grinned. "See that board over there? I sanded that. And painted that railing."

It occurred to her that she might have made this whole thing with Hook a bigger deal than it needed to be by avoiding the subject. She just hadn't known what to tell Henry. She hadn't known what it was, herself. She still wasn't entirely sure (or told herself that to keep from panicking, maybe). "So Regina told me," she admitted, trying to keep her tone light. "It was...definitely a surprise. A good one?"

She paused, pressed her lips together and lifted her head to look down at Henry. "Is that okay? That it's a nice surprise?"

[wanttobeahero]

"No, you did a really good job, mom," he offered, far more sincerely this time. And he meant it. It was kind of nice seeing something she was a part of like this.

But now they were really talking about Hook, at last, so Henry was paying close attention to her reaction.

"It's okay if it makes you happy," Henry smiled. "And...it looks like it makes you happy."

[storybrooke_savior]

Letting herself be happy--when it came to relationships, anyway--was hard for Emma, but she couldn't fight the smile. The smiling and the blushing and the head-ducking made it a little harder to deny that she was, indeed, happy. "Well, it...definitely does not suck," she quipped to lighten the moment a little. "So I think...maybe I might see how it goes?"

[wanttobeahero]

He would have felt protective no matter what, but he was older now, and at an age - he believed - where he could potentially step in and do something if anyone upset or hurt his mom in any way. But, he didn't actually think he had anything to worry about when it came to Hook.

And he would be supportive unless something made him change his mind.

"You should," he nodded with a smile, bumping her shoulder gently. "You could...have him over for dinner sometimes. I mean, I guess you'd want dates alone with him, too, but, you know, I would be cool with that."

[storybrooke_savior]

"I think we can manage both," Emma replied, tilting her head and studying Henry for a moment. She'd expected this to be harder, somehow. More awkward or...something. After the Walsh disaster, and then they'd lost Neal...apparently this was another example of Emma worrying more than was necessary, but that was her job as a mother.

"And, hey, maybe if you wanted to learn how to sail, that'd be okay," she added with a warmer smile. "So long as you wear your lifejacket. And do not engage in active piracy." That was a joke. Mostly. The stolen boat aside, it wasn't as though there was booming trade in piracy here in the city, unless illegally software and music counted.

[wanttobeahero]

He didn't talk about it much, but his dad was, of course, always on his mind. But he was also 13, and old enough to realize that sometimes, even if you wanted something to work out between two people, it wasn't a guarantee. If his dad was still alive, he wasn't sure they'd even be together now. Because she liked Hook a lot, and he knew Hook liked her, too.

But his feelings about his dad were very much a personal thing. Missing him and grieving him were things he did on his own terms, and he could separate that from what was happening in their lives now. His mom deserved to be happy, and he knew it took a lot for her to let someone get close, so he didn't want her to lose that with Hook. The only thing he really worried about was her getting hurt. He liked Hook, and the uncertainty about things that might happen in the future shouldn't stop his mom from taking this chance, but he could still just...be watchful.

"I can promise to wear a life jacket, but no promises on the piracy thing."

[storybrooke_savior]

Emma laughed and trapped him in a playful headlock, mussing his hair. "Brat," she teased, kissing the top of his messy hair. "Just remember that if you end up in jail, I'm calling Regina to make your bail."

[wanttobeahero]

"Mom," he pouted playfully. "She'd probably make me stay there overnight so I'd learn my lesson." Well, probably not really, though there was a slim chance of that.

"I'll be good," he promised.

[itsapirateslife]

"Well, Master Henry, I thank you for supporting me in my little plan. I think we surprised your dear mother very well." Hook said as he came over and put his arm around Henry's shoulders. "I don't thinks she suspected a thing. For that, you will always be the second in command of the Jolly Swan." He truly was grateful, as he wouldn't have been able to pull this off without Henry's help. Plus, he wanted to be in the lad's good graces seeing as he was courting his mother.

[wanttobeahero]

Whatever his mom might try to tell him now, there was no way she could deny that something was going on between them. Hook named his ship after her, and he understood how important that was. He wasn't going to talk to her about it today, though, he wanted her to just be happy. And, well, at least Hook was treating her right, as far as he could tell.

"Second in command? Does that mean I can steer the ship sometimes?" he smiled.