#captaincobra

Halloween is coming to Storybrooke.

Henry sits Killian down a few weeks before for a ‘crash course’, as he called it, on everything related with the holiday. There were moving pictures on a small screen with bright images and even a laser pointer - a ‘powerpoint presentation’, the Swans call it. 

He is told that there are pumpkins cut into scary faces or detailed artworks; spiders, bats, skeletons and all sorts of spooky beings litter front yards, roofs, porches and windows. There’s a dangerous amount of pumpkin and cinnamon flavoured treats flowing throughout the town; and, the boy’s favourite, everyone dresses up in costumes for trick or treat.

Trick or treat, he is told, is the best part of the celebrations. Killian agrees. 

It’s a brilliant practice - adults must fill children’s buckets with candies or they get punished. Henry corrects him between giggles that the punishments are small acts of vandalism - and he wonders if vandalism is allowed only on that specific day, he had been told it was a crime. Emma tells him that it mostly involves eggs and toilet tissues thrown at someone’s house. 

Killian still thinks it’s a delightful tradition. Unfortunately, he is informed that he is too old to participate in trick or treating - he could just purchase the candy, as Emma informs him, but he and the lad both agree that earning the candy is the satisfying part.

Henry is clearly excited for the celebrations - it’s his favourite holiday, he says - especially since this year he’ll be able to go out with his friends without adult supervision. “New York was way too dangerous to go trick or treating without chaperones,” he explains. “But Storybrooke is different and both my Moms said I could go with my friends.”

He also tells him that he’s thinking of reusing his costume from last year since this is the town’s first time celebrating the holiday and he wants to show off his lonely man costume. Killian smiles and nods his way through Henry’s babbling, genuinely delighted by the boy’s excitement, before he asks Swan for clarification.

“I-It’s Han Solo,” Emma corrects him between wheezing laughter, that leaves him concerned for her wellbeing. Especially since he’s still confused. “He’s a-a- oh, god.” Emma stops trying to talk until she can get herself under control, tears welling at the corners of her eyes. “He’s like a pirate but in space.” She points to the ceiling as if to explain it but Killian thinks he remembers Henry mentioning the Stellar Battles moving pictures and how they took place among the stars.

“Oh,” Killian breathes out in understanding and there’s a fond look on Emma’s face even as she looks seconds away from bursting into laughter again. “I did think it was strange.”

“I’m kinda wishing you had asked Henry about it just to see his reaction.” She giggles and his smile widens at the sound, she really does have a beautiful laughter. “He was so excited last year, I even joined him. He tried to convince me to go as Chewey but I told him it was Princess Leia or nothing.”

Killian puts away the strange name as visions of her in red flood his mind. “Oh?”

She seems to read his mind and her cheeks turn red. “Not like that,” Emma waves him away and pulls her talking device from her jeans pocket, thumbs flying over the screen. “She’s a princess, yes, but she’s also the leader of the rebellion. Here!” 

Emma turns the screen towards him. Her hair is twisted on either side of her head, a long white flowing dress cinched at the waist with a metal belt and what looks like a pretend gun on one of her hands. Henry stands at her side also carrying the same type of weapon in his hand while wearing jeans with a loose criss cross belt, a shirt and a black vest. 

Both mother and son grin at the camera and there’s an ache in his chest that feels a lot like longing.

When he looks back at Emma, her eyes have that soft look again like she understands him and all he can do is pull her for a kiss. Her talking device ends up on the floor with a thunk, her hands grabbing onto his arms. “You like the costume, then?” She asks when they pull away to take a breath.

“Are you wearing it again this year?” He asks in lieu of a response.

She shrugs coyly and he follows the path of her tongue over her bottom lip. “Maybe.”

“Come on, guys.” The boy’s whine from the middle of the stairs causes them to jump apart. “We said no making out in public areas.”

“We were just talking about Halloween costumes, kid.” Emma innocently counters, despite Henry clearly not believing her but choosing to accept it.

“What are you wearing, Killian?”

“Um,” He moves his hand in a circular motion, still slightly overwhelmed at the idea of disguises. “Perhaps my Captain’s coat? Show everyone what the real Captain Hook is supposed to look like?”

They had watched the animated moving picture that depicted his tale and Pan’s a week ago when the subject of his change of style came up. The night had ended with Emma’s head buried in her hands and Henry muffling his laughter with a pillow as Killian ranted and complained about the plot of the story. And even though Emma's head still finds her hands now, Henry doesn’t look ready to laugh.

“No, you can’t!” Killian startles at the strength of Henry’s refusal and even Emma looks up at it. “You have to be someone different, you can go as yourself, that’s cheating.” 

“He doesn’t really know a lot about our culture, kid.” Emma reminds the boy, laying a comforting hand on Killian’s arm.

“Right, sorry,” Henry takes a deep breath, descending the stairs. “Halloween is important business,” Both adults smile at the statement and the way the boy puts his hands on his hips. There’s a sudden look of inspiration across the boys’ face. “I have an idea!”

Killian’s smile widens. “I’m all ears, my boy.” 

“If there’s one good thing that comes from you two being a couple,” Henry grins at the matching blushes on their cheeks before continuing, “is that you can complete my vision.”

“Your vision?” There’s trepidation in Emma’s voice and it reaches Killian when they both look at the way Henry’s grin turns almost wicked.

The boy had gathered his whole family in the loft’s living room and began speaking a whole different language that Emma had to translate later. Killian would take Henry’s Han Solo outfit since he and Leia are a couple - his nose had wrinkled adorably and Emma had blushed in a fetching way. 

Henry would wear a Chewbacca (and he still doesn’t understand who comes up with these names) outfit claiming it’s his favourite character and blushes when Emma points out how he and Han Solo are best friends, partners, waving away the way Killian beams at the realisation. 

The boy quickly moves on to explain that Lucas will be Luke Skywalker, Leia’s brother, making Emma smile and tickle the baby’s belly in a way that makes Killian’s heart stutter. The prince and Snow White will dress up as Anakin and Amidala. He is told Anakin is the bad guy in the movies and that confuses him. 

“Why is your grandfather a villain? Surely, there’s another character he can disguise himself as.”

Emma smirks knowingly next to him but presses her lips together, he turns to find Henry with the same expression. “Well, it’s because Anakin is L-” 

“No!”

“Don’t!”

Emma and Henry’s cries startle David into silence and the baby into spooked crying. Snow White soothes her child even as she’s trying not to laugh at everyone’s expressions.

“What?” Killian asks confusedly looking around.

“He was going to ruin the movies for you.” Henry whines and David seems to understand.

“Right, sorry, kid.”

Killian turns to Emma, still confused. She takes his hand and that is almost an incentive to be confused more often. “It’s a plot from the movies, it was a big revelation when it came out and Henry wants you to have the full experience.”

“Exactly,” Henry says, pointing at his mom. “And that’s why Grandad is going as Anakin and not Darth Vader.” He looks pointedly at David who looks chastised before turning to Snow. “And grandma is Queen Amidala.”

“This would have been the perfect time to have my long hair again.”

Killian’s frown is giving me a headache. “This is very confusing.”

“All you have to know,” Emma leans her shoulder against his, “is that you are a smuggler with an awesome spaceship, a self-centred pirate with a superiority complex that ends up joining the good guys.” He raises his eyebrow at her and she grins before a blush creeps up onto her cheeks as she continues. “And you are enamoured with a rebellious princess who pretends to not feel the same.”

“So, you don’t really have to pretend too much.” Henry grins at the two of them with his comment, making his grandparent’s laugh. Emma’s blush deepens and Killian’s smile widens as he leans closer to her. 

“Lad’s right, it should be easy.”

And that’s how Killian ends up walking down the streets of Storybrooke dressed in a more well-fitted version of Henry’s Han Solo costume. And he has to admit, it suits him extremely well.

Orange, purple and black decorations fill the street in the short walk from Granny’s to Snow and Charming’s loft. Children laugh and cheer at their buckets and many wave and smile at him. He sees familiar characters from Henry’s storybook and others from the moving pictures and books that Emma and the lad have been slowly introducing to him. It’s all strange and fantastic and he is in a good mood - and it doesn’t let up even when a snivelling teenager dressed up as the colourful version of Peter Pan tries to spook him.

The buzzing of the talking device hidden in one of the pockets in his belt has him shoving the plastic gun under his arm and pulling it up, laughing at the message from Emma - please hurry, my mom is already tipsy.

He’d gotten better at typing with one hand as he responded - 5 minutes love and henry? And maybe he got faster because he wrote smaller messages and was more lenient over grammar but who was going to blame him?

trick or treating, you might find him on the way

As if she had the gift of clairvoyance, a bright light flashes in his face signalling Henry’s friend Hansel dressed as another character from the Star Battles. The boy is dressed in a golden sparkly fabric and moves as if his body was made of metal, giggling every time he stumbles and glistening under the streetlights. Gretel shuffles around in a blue and white cardboard box with clothes to match the colour. Henry completes the group in his fursuit, head encased in a hood made of the same fur, a belt just like Killian’s from his shoulder to his hip. 

Maybe he can check in with the lad, perhaps relieve him of one of his candies. He looks to be arguing with Gretel now who takes the lead of the group, Hansel forgets his enjoyment of the character when his sister says something because he too looks like he’s trying to stop her. Frowning, he watches as they knock on a door - the sound reaching him as he approaches - of a house without decorations but naturally suited for the holiday. Henry pulls her by the hand and they all take a step back.

A shriek reaches him even before the door opens. He sees a mess of lavender hair surrounding a short older woman’s head and a menacing voice rises up. Henry manages to pull Gretel behind him and he only sees a green spark of magic from the witch’s hand before he starts running, his plastic gun lost on the ground. 

Next thing he knows, the children are screaming, his body hurts and the world turns dark.

---

Half an Hour Earlier

“Look at how much candy we have!” Nic- Hansel’s grin is wide as he lifts his arm in a robotic move making all the candy inside rattle.

“We’re going to rot our teeth with our haul tonight.” Gretel matches his grin, struggling to look inside her bucket over her disguise.

“I told you that our costumes were going to be a hit.” Henry gushes, fixing the strap over his chest.

“Yeah, yeah,” Hansel says as he stumbles over his steps letting out a giggle. “You’re just lucky you changed your mind in time. Dad was about to order my Darth Vader helmet.” 

Hansel, from the fable, was talking about Star Wars while his sister, Gretel, recites how much she loves R2D2 in front of his very eyes. He loves his life.

“-just cool. You never told us why you wanted to change the group costumes, Henry?” Gretel asks and Henry hopes that the hoodie in his fursuit covers his blushed cheeks.

“I wanted to match my families’ costumes.” Henry shrugs. The twins look at him with narrowed eyes and he wants to laugh at the way the gold spray is flaking off Hansel’s eyebrows but is too busy hiding his face.

“Right,” Hansel draws out. “It’s not like you were super excited to be Han Solo or anything,” he says sarcastically.

“I prefer Chewbacca,” Henry says defensively.

“And it has nothing to do with Captain Hook being Han Solo instead?” Gretel bumps him and manages not to stumble against the cardboard edges.

“You guys don’t know what you’re talking about.” He crosses his arms, huffing. “And it’s Killian.”

The twins laugh and he quickens his pace, annoyed. “You know Henry, it’s okay to like him.” Gretel edges, rushing to meet up with him. Hansel, true to his character, tries to catch up to them in his robotic walk. “I mean, your mom does and he’s not a villain anymore.”

“I know that,” he mutters, relaxing his arms. “I just don’t want to force it on him.”

“I really don’t think-”

“Oh, what’s that?” Hansel interrupts them, stopping in front of a house on the other side of the street.

They all turn to it and Henry holds back a shiver. It looks more like a cottage than a house, even if it is in the middle of the suburban street. The roof is missing tiles, the paint on the outside is peeling off, the front lawn is either dry or missing and the front gate creeks in the wind. For some reason, this doesn’t look like someone who’s just a big fan of Halloween.

“They went all out.” Gretel grins. “Look at those.” 

The trio follows her finger towards the signs written in dripping paint - “Stay away!” “Get out!” and “No children!” scattered across the lawn. He remembered Regina talking about how she made a deal with the other more unruly citizens to keep their shenanigans to themselves, or else. The open ended threat was something he chose to ignore. Adult stuff.

“Let’s go!” Gretel urges them, taking a step forward only to be stopped by Henry’s grip on her wrist.

“I really don’t think this is a good idea,” he warns, hearing Hansel whimper out an agreement. “It could be dangerous. It could be a witch.”

Unfortunately that looks to embolden the girl, puffing out her chest and pulling her wrist from Henry’s grip. “We aren’t afraid of witches.”

He chases after her when she strides up to the door, Hansel forgetting his portrayal of the character as he mutters. “Talk for yourself.”

“Gretel, don’t-” But she knocks and he finally manages to pull her back a few steps. 

A delighted shriek-like laughter sounds out, startling them into taking another step back. Light purple hair is the first they see when the door opens, before they raise their head so they can see an older woman with almost glowing green eyes. Despite the fear, Henry is almost amused that she looks almost exactly like the movie, if not for the menacing look in her face. 

Madam Mim.

“You’re supposed to keep away.” The witch glowers at them, fingernails gripping the doorframe. “How dare you invade my home!?”

Henry manages to pull Gretel behind him just as he sees Mim’s hand glow with green magic. He hears the twins’ stomps as they run away and inhales a sharp breath when she hurtles the ball of magic towards him, out of time to get away. 

They all scream until, suddenly, he’s being pushed to the ground as the green magic finds another target. Henry looks up, eyes wide.

“Killian!” He calls out as the man is enveloped in a green cloud of magic, Madam Mim laughing hysterically from her porch.

When the cloud dissipates, a large, skinny dog sits where Killian stood before. The animal shakes its head and stumbles as it stands, due to its missing paw. That causes Mim more amusement as her laughter grows louder. Henry looks between the dog, who is observing himself and whining, the witch cackling away and the twins outside of the front gate, shuffling in pace as if considering going back in to help but too scared to do so.

“Bring him back.” Henry finds himself recklessly standing between Dog-Killian and the witch, his tone demanding. “Now!”

“I believe you are aware of a fantastic concept from this land’s law.” Mim speaks calmly as she approaches, her eyes wide with glee. “Private property.” She touches his forehead and he hears growling from behind him. “Which allows me to do anything I want with you.” She giggles and claps her hands before shrugging. “Under the guise of self-defence, of course. Now, what do you prefer? Cat or toad?”

“No, you-”

“Dealer’s choice it is!”

Her hand raises and there are the green sparks again but before it can fully form, the witch lets out a yelp. Killian’s canines are sinking into the witch’s arm and he manages to let go before she sends a blast of magic, throwing the two of them at Hansel and Gretel’s feet. 

“I’m done playing with the lot of you,” Madam Mim yells, a storm cloud generating above her property. “Get out!”

Lightning strikes far too close to them and they set off running, a loud barking sounds as the children scream. They only stop when the loft is in sight, catching their breath on the sidewalk. 

“That was crazy!”

“It’s your fault, Gretel!”

“What?!”

“Witches! You-”

Henry lets the twin’s bickering float around him as he pushes the fur hood from his head. He can only look at the large slim dog in front of him, who looks back at him with blue eyes. The animal’s black fur shines in the street lights and its height reaches close to Henry’s chest. Despite the missing front left paw, it’s holding itself up casually.

“K-Killian?” He mutters quietly and the dog takes a hopping step towards him before letting out a soft woof, like a reply, like the ‘aye’ he would have said if he could.

Because Killian was a dog now.

Killian was a dog.

Henry sinks his fingers into his hair. “My Mom is going to kill me!”

That effectively shuts the twins up, Gretel’s cardboard costume dented on the front from where he’s sure their argument started to turn into a brawl. They look at Henry confused before their eyes settle on the animal nudging his nose into Henry’s chest and huffing at the fur tickling its nose and they gasp.

“Captain Hook is a dog!” Gretel shrieks, bringing her hands to cover her mouth.

“An Irish wolfhound, to be exact,” Hansel mumbles, eyes wide as the dog huffs once more. “What do we do?”

“What can we do?! We don’t have magic and we are not going back to that lunatic!” Gretel keeps her tone, a much different attitude than before.

The d-Killian carefully latches his teeth to the belt across his body and pulls once before taking a few steps to the left and barking. Henry frowns in confusion and Killian barks twice more, the sound as deep as his voice usually is, and taking a few more hopping steps. Henry looks up and sees that they are standing in front of the loft.

“No,” Henry shakes his head and Killian approaches him again, tilting his head. “We need to figure this out before we go see Mom! She can’t see you like this.” Killian huffs and opens his mouth as if to speak whining when he remembers he can’t. 

“Your Mom has magic,” Hansel explains and Killian barks, his tail wagging before huffing at his reaction. “I think he is saying that your Mom can turn him back.” Killian barks once more and the boy grins patting the animal’s head. Henry wants to laugh at the way the pirate was clearly enjoying the pats before taking a step back in indignation at himself.

Henry looks between his companions. Gretel seems to have calmed down from her panic now that there’s a plan, Hansel is looking at the animal like he wants to cuddle up with him and Killian is looking at him with human-like eyes and with that trust he craves so much. He pulls on his hair once more before Killian’s quiet woof stops him.

“My Mom is going to kill me…”

---

The music that they could hear from the lobby is louder as they climb up the stairs. Hansel and Gretel bring up the rear as brother helps sister with her cardboard costume and Henry walks next to Killian worried about stairs and the dog’s lack of paw. 

But for all that it was a crazy situation, Killian had acclimated quite easily to the new body.

The loft door was open and he could see Archie, dressed as a peacock looking bird, colourful fabrics covering his tall body, running after a khaki wearing Pinocchio who was carrying a handful of candy. Pongo zooms by in a simple collar with a large red ball glued on it, strangely not even seeming to notice Killian’s new form. Marco walks briskly after them, carrying a cane with tennis balls glued to the end and wearing a suit. 

Right, Pinocchio had been really into “Up” recently. They looked cute.

Henry stops right at the door when he sees his mom right by the door, phone in hand, white dress flowing down to her feet and her hair in buns on either side of her head. Gretel is barely able not to crash against him, being stabilised by her brother. Killian whines next to him and that catches Emma’s attention.

“Henry,” she sighs relieved, sparing the dog a confused glance. “You weren’t answering my texts.” Her tone is admonishing but the relief is louder.

“Hmm, sorry,” he mumbles and she frowns, probably at the look on their faces. 

“Is everything okay?” She crosses her arms and looks at them searching. “Did you find Killian on the way? He’s also not answering his texts.”

Killian whines next to him again, clearly not able to control his animalistic reactions, and sits on the floor looking up at Emma. That catches her eye and her frown deepens.

“Who-” She starts, pointing towards the dog, glancing between all of them and their loud silence before her eyes widen as she locks eyes with the animal, inching his nose closer to her index finger. He can feel the tension the five of them create.

“Henry!” Mary Margaret greets, draping an arm around Emma’s shoulder. Her tone is loud and her cheeks are red. If he had to guess, his grandmother is drunk. “You guys look so good!” Her white outfit matches Emma’s but instead of a dress is a body suit, a belt on her waist and tall white boots. He doesn’t know how she did it but her wig looks almost natural. “But I don’t think there are dogs in space, Henry,” She wags a finger and it’s clear that she would have fallen if not for her daughter’s presence. “Even if it is very realistic,” She muses. “Who’s that?”

“Killian.”

His grandmother giggles and he thinks his mom has gone paler. “Killian?” She bends over the dog and pets his head. “That’s funny,” Her nails scratch under Killian’s muzzle and he begins to stretch his neck and his tail begins to wag. “Hi, Killian.” Snow coos and it’s that that makes Killian rear back and bark, causing his grandma to straighten up.

Emma shakes herself out of her stupor at the sound. “Killian is a dog?!”

Someone stops the music behind them and the party quiets, everyone looking at the group huddled by the door. His grandfather approaches them with stumbling steps and a lazy smile - are both his grandparents drunk? - and holds his wife’s hand, while securely holding baby Luke - dressed as Luke, ha - in his arms. The black outfit looks great on him, the layering perfectly arranged and even the little braid doesn’t look ridiculous on him. If Henry wasn’t so busy freaking out, he would have been proud of the group costumes they arranged. 

“Come on, Emma, it’s Halloween, don’t ju- oh, shit!” 

The revelation seems to sober the two of them up as his family looks with wide eyes at the large dog beside him. Killian whines quietly and shuffles closer to Henry. All he can think to do is put a hand on the animal’s head. 

“Right, okay,” Emma rubs her mouth as she looks around. “You two,” she points at the twins who squeak in surprise, “get in, sit down, have a hot cocoa. I’ll let your dad know that you got here safe.” Emma takes a step to the side.

Gretel pats his back and they both send him apologetic looks as they walk in, letting Granny - dressed as Mrs. Hudson - fuss over them. Emma sends a glancing look behind her shoulder and a Mario-looking Leroy resumes the music, gesturing for everyone to resume the party.

“You,” Emma points at Henry and Killian and both of them startle. “Upstairs, now.” Underneath the anger, he could hear the worry loud and clear.

Henry spares a quick glance towards Killian before they rush upstairs. He hears Emma tell his grandparents to stay downstairs and keep the party going. Henry sits on the bed, hands tucked between his knees while Killian sits next to him on the floor, body slightly shaking.

Emma’s head appears at the stairs as she joins them, and she sighs as if she had forgotten the situation. She then stands in front of them with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.

“You really do look like Leia, Mom…” Henry mutters.

“Thanks, kid.” Her lips curve up into a small smile, aware of how worried her son is, before she takes a deep breath and forces herself to relax her shoulders. “But I really need you to tell me what happened.”

Killian bumps his body against his leg, his eyes looking so encouraging, and he can almost imagine the reassuring smile that he would send him if he could. Henry sighs.

“We were trick or treating, the three of us, and there was this house that looked like someone was really into Halloween, you know? But I know that Mom said there were still people around from the Enchanted Forest that didn’t want to integrate,” His mom’s shoulders tense again. “Anyway, we knocked on the door-” Killian huffs next to him but Henry shakes his head and Emma frowns. “We knocked on the door. Madam Mim lived in the house.”

Emma’s frown deepens. “The one from the ‘Sword in the Stone’? That Madam Mim?” 

“Yup.”

“Right, of course,” Emma sighs, rubbing her temples. “Carry on.”

“Well, she didn’t like the fact that we were on her property and tried to curse me.” Henry cleared his throat and rubbed his knees against his hands, looking at the railing of the loft. “Killian pushed me out of the way of the spell and…you know.” Henry gestures towards the animal next to him and then looks up to find his mom looking at the dog with a different look, a soft look.

“Killian-” She starts, her arms falling to her sides, her tone almost a whisper, but Killian barks to stop her. Barking a couple more times as if he’s explaining something but huffs and whines when he realises no words are coming out.

Emma sighs and kneels in front of Killian, his head reaching her from where he sits on the floor. Her hands frame his face and her thumbs rub under his eyes and Killian’s eyes flutter shut and a rumbling noise surrounds his frame. His mom kisses between his eyes before whispering a soft gratitude, causing Killian to huff as if to deny it. She sits back on her heels as they look at each other. It made for an intimate moment, one that he should feel weird witnessing but it just made his chest feel warm. 

“His eyes are the same,” Emma muses as if she hadn’t meant for the thought to come out. “I mean-”

“Yeah, it’s like you can see the expressions he makes,” Henry agrees, blushing when his mom looks up at him. 

“I know what you mean.” She pats his knee and Killian licks her cheek causing her to laugh. Emma looks at the dog pretending not to be amused before she sighs and stands up. “What are we going to do?”

The weight of guilt on his chest hits him suddenly and he sucks in a breath. “I-I’m sorry, Mom.” His voice wavers and he looks away to keep his eyes from watering. “I didn’t mean to-”

“Henry,” she sighs, tucking a finger under his chin to make him look up at her, her expression understanding and soft. He feels Killian’s weight against his leg. “We’re going to figure this out.”

“H-How?” he whispers.

Emma presses her lips together and glances between the two of them. “I’m gonna call Regina, I don’t know if just waving my hand is gonna be enough.” He nods and she rubs her thumb over his cheek. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

His mom pats Killian’s head who tries to lick her wrist, she sighs out a laugh before taking her phone from one of her belt pockets. With a last look back at the two of them, she steps out the window to sit on the fire escape. 

Henry sighs as soon as they’re alone, hiding his face in his hands. What did he do? How could such a fun night end so terribly? Why couldn’t he have been better at stopping Gretel? Henry groans in frustration and sorrow. What if Killian can never change back? What if he is stuck as a dog forever? 

A weight on his tight and a low whine brings him out of his panic. He looks down to see Killian’s big blue eyes looking up at him with concern and he can almost see the furrowed brow he would have if he was human - but that look just makes him feel worse. Killian should be mad, disappointed, not concerned over him.

“I’m so sorry, Killian,” Henry whispers, his eyes watering as he slips down the bed until he sits on the floor. “This is all my fault, I-”

As carefully as he can, Killian slips his head under Henry’s chin to lay on his shoulder. Henry doesn’t want to wait, to be careful - his arms wrap around the dog’s body and pull him into his hold, even if Killian is just as big as him like this. He doesn’t seem to mind much, there’s only a huff of surprise before he surrenders to the hug, that low rumbling noise from before louder now that they were so close.

Warmth spreads over his chest and he feels his tears slipping down his cheeks but he feels comforted, even if there aren’t arms wrapped around him or a hand caressing his head like Emma likes to do. Killian lets himself be hugged and the way his head digs into his shoulder tells him that he would hug him back if he could.

“Thank you,” Henry whispers and Killian whines as if trying to refuse the gratitude but he just holds the dog closer to him. “If it wasn’t for you, I would be the one barking around.” Killian huffs and Henry lets a soft smile stretch his lips and pulls away enough that Killian manages to sit between his legs. “You bit her too,” Henry giggles at Killian’s low growl and a soft bark and he can see the fierceness in the dog’s face, the protectiveness and his face softens into a look of wonder. “You protected me, you care about me.” Killian licks his cheek almost shyly and Henry grins before pulling him back into a hug.

“Regina, I’m really gonna need you to stop laughing,” Emma huffs as she climbs back into the room and both of them look at her sigh exasperatedly. “And I am not taking a picture, I’m n- goodbye.” She punches the phone screen before looking at Henry and Killian, her expression turning soft at the sight in front of her.

“Did she know how to break the curse?”

“Uhm, yeah, yeah,” Emma shakes her head, putting her phone back into her belt. “She says I should be able to just turn him back.”

Henry releases the tension he didn’t know he was carrying in his shoulders and his arms fall to his legs with a relieved sigh. Killian’s tail wags and he barks and twirls excitedly. “That’s great.”

“I know, kid.” Emma chuckles and waves her hand. 

A cloud of white smoke surrounds Killian and when it dissipates, Killian - human Killian - is sprawled back on the floor, elbows supporting his upper body, and dressed like Han Solo.

“Bloody hell.” Killian sighs and it’s such a relief to hear his voice that Henry can’t keep himself from jumping to hug him properly.

“I’m so glad you’re back,” Henry murmurs against his shoulder.

“It’s good to be back, my boy.”

“I agree,” Emma chuckles and when they look up, she has that soft look on her face again. 

“Swan,” she holds out her hands for the two of them to get up and Killian pulls her into a hug once they have their feet under them, “Thank you so much.”

“I’m just happy it’s over.” Their lips meet each other in a chaste kiss, aware of the child in the room. “Do you think you feel well enough to join the others?”

“Aye,” He chuckles, holding her hand. “I’m eager to use my two legs and show off my beautiful space princess.”

Emma blushes and pushes his shoulder even as she smiles. “You’re not so bad yourself.” She turns towards a grinning Henry holding out her arms. “Did we complete your vision, kid?”

He is ready to say yes, just happy to be with them without any more curses over them, before he frowns. “You’re missing your gun.” Henry almost accuses, pointing at Killian before his eyes widen. “Our candy!”

Emma frowns, confused. “What?”

“We must have dropped it by the witch’s house!” Henry covers his head with his hands in annoyance.

Killian’s hand covers the boy’s shoulder. “We can always retrieve it l-”

“You guys will never believe this!”

A familiar voice calls out from downstairs and the trio looks over the railing towards the door. Ruby, dressed in a dark suit, with a short skirt instead of pants, holds up three very familiar buckets of candy. “We just found these things full of candy outside!”

“Our candy!” Gretel calls out, rushing from her spot on the couch followed by her brother.

Belle giggles at Ruby’s pout as she is relieved of her treasure - she is also dressed in a short skirt dark suit but there is a familiar hat on top of her curls and he remembers her gushing about The Greatest Detective and how she and Ruby would be dressing up as Sherlock and Watson for Halloween. Everyone was being so good at this holiday.

“There was also this strange weapon,” Belle muses, holding up Henry’s old blaster pistol that he had lent Killian. “Is it yours too?”

“Actually, it’s mine,” Killian calls out and everyone downstairs cheers when they see him in his human form. Henry swears he sees the man’s cheeks blush at it when he looks down at him. “I was committed to your vision, my boy.”

Henry blushes now as he grins. “Then it’s perfect, you guys did amazing.” Emma leans against Killian with a happy smile before reaching to ruffle Henry’s hair.

“You know, I actually enjoyed this Halloween,” Killian comments with a smirk. “But I much prefer the treats rather than the tricks.” 

Emma Swan is dating. Henry is sure of it.

There’s a significant increase of flowers in their home - significant because there hadn’t been any before. Anything from red roses to buttercups fills every available surface in improvised vases. They are running out of space.

“Who’s giving you all of these?” Henry asks as his mom fills an empty can of soup with water to put half a dozen forget-me-nots in. 

“Just a friend.” But there is a decidedly smitten smile on her face as she tries to push the other occupants of the kitchen windowsill aside to make space for their new friend.

“Maybe your friend should relax on the flowers before our apartment is filled with bees.” So maybe Henry is brooding. He’s 13, he’s allowed to brood; it’s part of the job requirement even.

“Don’t be a grump, kid.” Emma taps his nose with her index finger and stands next to him to look at the flowers surrounding their living space. “Aren’t they beautiful?”

Henry only groans in response.

During her days off, Aunt Ruby babysits - it mostly involves eating snacks and watching movies or playing video games together - while Emma obsesses over her looks. She never did that before. Ruby has to give her a hushed pep talk to get her out of the house. 

Ruby knows. But he doesn’t. He learned long ago that his aunt is impossible to interrogate.

When she comes back, Ruby leaves after securing a promise to hear all about it the day after. Henry doesn’t get those promises, he only gets evasive answers. And when she kisses his forehead in greeting, she smells differently. A spicy scent that he knows is not hers. She’s been smiling into her phone and talking late into the night - either texting or calling. 

She looks…happy.

---

“The usual, Swans?” 

It was tradition. Every Sunday night, they would go to Granny’s for dinner and talk about the week before.

They had had a “monkey problem” three years ago - Walsh Ozman had appeared to be a great attentive guy, helping Henry with homework and playing video games. But only when his mom was watching. When she was gone, he was dismissive and rude, always making him feel like an obstacle in his mom’s life. In his gullibility, he had kept it from his mother until she caught him crying in his room. He told her everything.

While Walsh Ozman got berated in his place of work as well as a broken nose, Henry got closer to his mother. Emma had felt guilty for not having seen the signs before, especially considering he had also been cheating on her. And while Henry didn’t blame his mother for having been in love, he wasn’t complaining about getting more of her time - especially without monkeys around.

So Sunday nights became their time to talk - about nothing, about everything, about their week, about the upcoming week, or about Henry’s unrequited crush on Violet or when his crush became requited. It was their time for honesty.

But his mom is keeping a secret.

When she jumps at Ruby’s customary greeting, Henry frowns. Emma’s quick to pretend as if nothing happened. “Uhm, not yet, Ruby. We’re, uh,” she glances towards Henry, “we’re waiting for someone.”

They must share a sign that Henry wasn’t made aware of because Ruby seems to know who that someone is. His frown only deepens when his aunt Ruby leaves without further questions.

“We’re waiting for someone?”

“Well,” his mom wrings her hands nervously and takes a deep breath. “I met someone.” 

“A boyfriend?” He raises his eyebrow.

Emma tucks her hair behind her ear and a blush crosses over her cheeks. “Yeah, a boyfriend.” There’s a quick smile on her lips at the label. “We started dating a month ago. I, uhm, thought it was time that you two met.”

There’s a hopeful expression on Emma’s face and Henry is finding it hard to breathe. His mother hasn’t dated since the monkey disaster, at least nothing serious enough to reach the “meet the son” stage. He should have expected this - considering the flowers, the dates, the smiles, all the evidence - yet all he can see is Walsh’s cruel smile and hear his hurtful words.

“Henry?”

Maybe it’s just the unexpectedness of it all. It’s sudden, right? Why is it so hot?

“Henry.” His mom takes hold of his hand and his wide eyes focus on hers. The hope is gone and there’s only nerves there. “Are you ok, kid?”

“I, uh, I need to go to the bathroom.” Henry jumps out of his seat.

“Henry, a-”

“I’m fine.”

He rushes through the arch at the back of the diner before he sees his mom’s concerned expression again, passing through the bathrooms towards the back door. The night air is cold but he takes a deep breath in and it releases the weight on his chest. He focuses on breathing, on feeling and loosens his fists when it doesn’t feel like he’s going to suffocate anymore.

The night sky is littered with stars and he’s happy to live in a small town instead of the city. A colony of bats flies through the sky and Henry frowns - he’s never seen bats before. They disappear over the next building - an ice cream shop - and he looks up at the sky again.

“You can see Cassiopeia from here.” Henry startles at the voice of a man crossing the alley behind “Any Given Sundae” towards the diner. “Apologies, lad, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Oh, uh,” the strange accent has him blinking repeatedly. “You didn’t.”

As the man approaches him with a friendly smile, he picks up a familiar cologne. He seems to recognise Henry as he gets a closer look at his face.

“You’re Henry.”

Bats, a strange man, and a scent he recognises. It’s all too much for him. “You’re British.” The man has a nice laugh. Henry regains his focus. “You know me?”

“Well,” the man scratches the back of his neck in a nervous move, “I know of you.” Henry frowns. “Emma’s told me a lot about you. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

Mom’s new boyfriend. Of course.

“Henry!” His mom’s panicked voice echoes from the other side of the door and the man - her boyfriend - frowns, stretching an arm around him to open the door.

“Swan?”

Emma appears at the door and spares only a surprised look towards the stranger before crouching in front of him. “What are you doing out here? I thought you were in the bathroom.”

He notices, out the corner of his eye, how the man takes a step back, an attempt at privacy. He remembers Walsh’s overbearing presence everytime his mom tried to talk to him, or if they wanted a moment together. “I just needed some air.” He shrugs.

His mom glances towards her boyfriend again before she turns to him again with a serious look. “Do you want to go home? We can order in and watch a movie, just the two of us.”

He had seen the hope on her face when she had talked about the man now standing a couple of steps away, had seen that hope fall when he rushed out. Henry shakes his head.

She cups his face and looks into his eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I want Granny’s fries.” His smile is soft but genuine. He trusts his mom. 

And when she smiles brightly at him and kisses his forehead, he knows he made the right decision. She stands up straight and they turn towards the man who looks at them with a fond and patient expression, hands stuffed in his jacket.

“This isn’t exactly what I envisioned your meeting would be but,” Emma chuckles before gesturing for the man to approach them. “Henry, this is Killian Jones. Killian, this is my son, Henry.”

He has a nice smile too, it reaches his eyes, makes his face softer and younger. “It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Henry.”

He takes his outstretched hand. It’s cold. “Same.”

“Now that that’s out of the way,” Emma claps her hands and the delighted smile on her face is infectious. “Let’s go back inside, it’s freezing out here.”

Right, it’s cold. Cold hands. 

Henry follows them back to their table and watches as Killian keeps a respectful distance from his mother. Ruby struts her way to their table with a wide grin on her face and his mom sighs in defeat.

“I guess you don’t need to see the menu, girl, you already have such a fine dish here.” Killian blushes up to his ears and Emma hides her face in her hands. “I’m Ruby Lucas, you?” 

“Uhm, Killian, Killian Jones.” He nods in greeting.

“I’ve heard a lot about you.” 

His mother groans from her hideout and he smirks, he’s never seen his mother acting so childishly. “Didn’t Granny warn you about being professional once before?” Henry sasses towards his aunt.

Ruby leans towards him as she keeps her eyes on the bashful couple on the opposite side. “She makes an exception for you guys, especially when it makes your mother act like a teenager.”

“Alright, alright,” Emma gestures with her hands as she glares at the other woman whose grin only widens in response. “We’ll have the usual. Killian?”

“I’ll take whatever you recommend, lass,” he answers towards Ruby. “Just nothing with garlic.”

“Hope you like surprises,” Ruby sweeps up all the menus in a fluid move. “Be right back.”

“That was my best friend,” Emma explains. “I’m sorry, she can be a bit much.” 

Walsh hadn’t liked Ruby, and went so far as to manufacture an argument between the two in order to pull them apart, as they learned later. He remembered the string of muffled curses - that he had not meant to hear, of course - coming from the living room the day Emma told Ruby everything. He imagined that his aunt had wanted to rip Walsh apart limb from limb. But, just like with his mom, it brought them all closer.

“Nonsense,” Killian waves away Emma’s excuse with an amused smile. “She’s delightful.”

His mom’s shoulders deflate and he wonders if she had the same thought as him. The movement has Henry noticing the scars on Killian’s left hand. 

“Wow, what happened to your hand?” 

“Henry!” his mom scolds but Killian just keeps smiling.

“It’s alright, Swan.” She bites her lip and Killian’s smile softens. “It’s natural for the boy to be curious.” He turns to Henry, pulling up his sleeve so that Henry can see how the scars continue up to his forearm. “It was an accident in the navy.”

“You were in the navy?”

“Aye.” His grin is proud and Henry finds himself smiling back. “We were attacked and I got caught in an explosion.”

“Cool,” Henry breathes out and the man chuckles. “I mean, it’s not cool that you got into trouble but cool that you survived an explosion.”

There’s a shadow that crosses Killian’s face and Henry’s chest tightens at the thought of having put that expression on his face. “I didn’t lose my arm but,” he clenches his fist, a slow movement that has his hand shaking until it finally closes and Killian winces in pain, “it’s little consolation.” 

“Okay,” Emma takes hold of his mangled hand and Killian’s face clears as he looks at her. The pain seems to leave his body at her touch. Interesting. “I can’t believe we’re starting with tragic backstories.”

Henry and Killian share a laugh. He does have a nice laugh. “What? Did you plan the whole dinner, Mom? Did we go off script?”

Emma covers his face with her hand and pushes on it until his back hits the back of the chair and his laughter intensifies. “No,” she scoffs in faux indignation. “I just thought we’d start with the basics.”

“Apologies, Swan.” Huh, they have nicknames. “We’ll follow the rules.” He winks and she rolls her eyes and it looks like he’s used to it.

And that’s how, with some delicious food in front of them, he learns that Killian is 32 to his mother’s 30, has been in Storybrooke for a year after travelling the world all his life, loves the sea and has a boat. 

“Ship, my boy,” he corrects.

“I’m sorry, Captain,” Henry mockingly salutes and Killian narrows his eyes at him even as he is fighting a smile. “Maybe we can go out on your ship together sometime?” He looks hopeful between his mom and Killian. “It’s your birthday soon, Mom, we could celebrate on Killian’s ship!”

Emma bites her lip and Killian smiles. 

“You’re always welcome aboard my ship, love.”

She nudges his shoulder with a smile. “It’s still two weeks away, we’ll see.”

“I’m counting that as a ‘yes’,” Henry grins victoriously. “What about your birthday, Killian?”

“Oh.” The man frowns and scratches behind his ear. “Well, I don’t know the exact day but it’s sometime in Summer. Late July?”

Henry frowns. “What do you mean, you don’t know?”

He chuckles nervously. “I lost my birth certificate when my house burned up when I was young. The foster family I was with for years after that didn’t care much for birthdays so all I have to go with is a vague memory of a hot day, a picnic in a garden and a delicious strawberry cake.”

“Wow,” Henry breathes out. “That’s crazy. Why haven’t you tried to get another copy?”

“He says he forgot,” Emma answers instead. “Can you believe it?”

Killian shrugs, even as his cheeks turn crimson. “I kept putting it off and I haven’t needed it yet.” He puts on a charming smile that doesn’t affect his mom the way he intended.

“If someone comes along to arrest you over that, I’m not bailing you out.” She crosses her arms and raises her eyebrow at him.

Killian winks surreptitiously at Henry before draping an arm over the back of the booth inching closer to Emma. “If my punishment is being parted from you, I shall fix it.”

His mom rolls her eyes but he can see how charmed she is by his words and the way he plays with a strand of her hair. Henry had never seen her act this way with anyone. “Yeah, yeah, you think you’re so charming with your blue eyes, your smile and your antiquated vocabulary.”

“I mean, it’s working.” Henry smirks and it grows into a grin when Killian turns to him with a conspiratorial smile. And there’s something to the fact that he’s not restricted from their moments, to how he doesn’t feel like he’s intruding.

They laugh together when Emma huffs. “If I knew the two of you would get along so well, I would have thought twice about introducing you.”

Killian raises his left hand to high-five Henry which he does gladly. And he gets some satisfaction from the fact that the man isn’t hiding his injury from him. Even more when Emma rolls her eyes once more.

“Any desserts, Swans?”

Ruby stands next to their table with a self-satisfied smile and he thinks she likes to see them together. Henry doesn’t hate it.

“What do you say, kid?”

“We could go for ice cream…” Henry puts his best puppy-dog eyes and isn’t distracted by the way Killian chuckles at it.

Emma fumbles. “It’s October…”

“And we could take a walk to the docks,” Killian supplies.

“It’s October.”

“You can always huddle for warmth,” Ruby smirks.

“Guess we’re eating ice cream and walking close to the cold sea air,” Emma sighs in defeat and Henry shares a grin with his partners in crime. “How much do we owe you, Rubes?”

“My treat, Swan.” Killian hands over his credit card to Ruby before she can reply. His aunt winks at Emma and struts back behind the counter.

“Killian, y-”

“No use arguing, Swan.” He leans back with a self-satisfied smirk. “This is a special occasion and I want to treat my girlfriend and her son to dinner.”

Emma blushes even if she tries to hide it, crossing her arms and looking into his eyes. “I’m paying for ice cream then.”

Killian shares a wink with Henry. “We’ll see.”

Emma huffs but there is a smile on her face.

Henry remembers when they went to the zoo 3 years ago. He had missed the class trip because of the flu and had cried for a whole day. His mom then planned a zoo trip for the weekend, just the two of them. Walsh had weaselled his way into coming with them, claiming that it was supposed to be their weekend together. So it became the three of them.

He had refused to pay for his ticket since it wasn’t his initial plan and Henry still remembered the way Walsh had accused him of ruining their weekend on purpose, of being spoiled, when his mom wasn’t around. Henry didn’t let his mother see him cry when they got home. He felt a little vindicated when, at the monkey exhibit, one of the monkeys threw their poop at the exhibit glass, aiming towards Walsh’s head - and caused a teenager to throw up in his shoes. 

And if he paid for anything, there was an expectation of retribution. 

Unlike Walsh, Killian looks genuine with his offer. No ulterior motives in sight.

It is in fact cold when they leave the diner. Emma tightens the scarf around his neck to protect him and digs into her coat for their gloves. She fusses over Killian’s unseasonal outfit choice - from the couple of buttons he left open on his shirt, to his flimsy leather jacket, to his exposed ears - over the few steps it takes to reach “Any Given Sundae”.

Killian’s smile is wide as she argues with him over his choices. He enjoys the way she expresses her care for him, her concern, and allows her to button his shirt and hold his hands in order to warm them with her own. And Henry knows that, for all that Emma has been happier and free with her feelings, she still hides it through her fussing. He thinks Killian knows too.

Emma abandons all concern when they reach the door to the ice cream shop. She all but locks the business’ door in both their faces to keep him from paying for them. It’s a good thing they know the owner and that his mom is the Sheriff.

“Get me some red berries ice cream?” Killian pouts as he speaks through the glass and laughs when his mother blows him a kiss from the other side. He chuckles when she turns to the counter. “She’s stubborn.”

“You say that like you’re surprised,” Henry chuckles.

“I’m just always amazed by your mother,” Killian shrugs with a smile as he leans against the wall. “And very thankful to have met her.”

“She looks happy.”

“She makes me happy too. And I’m very happy to have met you too.”

Henry blushes and can’t help but wonder if he’s just putting up a front for him, despite the fact that Killian hasn’t shown to be prone to that sort of behaviour. Then again, neither did Walsh. “I didn’t thank you for paying for dinner, you didn’t have to-”

“Nonsense,” Killian interrupts with a disarming smile. “I already said that I wanted to do it.”

“Yeah, but-”

“No buts.” Killian smiles as he places a hand on Henry’s shoulder and it feels less heavy and more comforting than it felt before from a man who had claimed to want to join their family. “You deserve to be cared for, my boy, and I’ll aim to remind you of that. You and your mother.” 

The door to the ice cream shop opens and Henry is glad for the distraction. He feels tears prickling the corners of his eyes and he knows that these are happy tears. That his coat isn’t responsible for the warmth in his chest and that he doesn’t have to look into the face of a man who looks and feels too good to be true.

A bird flies overhead as Killian helps Emma balance the small cups. Henry is reminded of the bats. Of the cold hands. Of the unknown date of birth. 

“Here you go, kid, rocky road.” His mom hands him the small cup, distracting him.

They walk in a line, thankful that there aren’t many people around to be annoyed by them taking over the whole sidewalk. Henry walks between Killian and Emma as they all chat about their weeks. He learns Killian works as a bartender at the Rabbit Hole and that Sundays and Mondays are his nights off.

“That means you can join our weekly dinners.” Henry exclaims.

Emma whips her head towards him and her mouth is parted in surprise. Killian is suspiciously quiet on the other side. “A-are you sure, kid? I mean, these dinners-”

“I mean, you don’t have to,” Henry backtracks as he glances between the two adults before focusing on his half-eaten ice cream and shrugs. “I-I just thought that you might like to join our traditions or something.”

There’s his hand again. And when it goes from his shoulder to his back and back up in a revering and comforting move, Henry has to swallow through the lump in his throat before looking up at Killian, who waits until he does to nod. “I would be honoured, my boy.”

Is it too early to have a favourite word from a man you just met?

His mother sniffs from his other side and clears her throat. “That damn sea air,” she grumbles when they turn to look at her. 

The tension vanishes as they share a conspiratorial smirk before they change subjects. Henry tries not to mourn the loss of that damn hand on his shoulder as they return to their ice creams. 

He learns that Killian doesn’t have any family left alive, the fire taking his brother and mother from him, and they tell him that they only had each other for years until they moved to town 4 years ago. Henry thinks that maybe they can be a family together before quickly pushing down the thought. Too soon.

They walk slowly along the docks, the sea at their left dropping the temperature around them but Henry can barely feel the cold as he walks between the two adults. He tells Killian about how Star Wars is his favourite movie franchise and clutches his imaginary pearls when the man tells him he hasn’t watched any of the movies. Emma joins the teasing over him not having watched “Princess Bride” either - Henry guesses her lie detector doesn’t work on omissions because there’s a glint in Killian’s face that reveals the truth. But it’s not his secret to tell.

“It’s definitely time for a movie night.”

And if the adults share a hopeful look over his head, Henry is distracted by thoughts of a movie night where they share popcorn and hot cocoa in the warmth of their living room. Where the Swans share a part of themselves through the movies they love and hope to be accepted.

They stop at the end of the docks, the presence of the enormous ship looking straight out of a pirate movie effectively putting all thoughts and fantasies to the back of his mind. 

“Wow…” Henry breathes out, looking from one side to the other, inspecting every inch.

“Behold,” Killian holds out his arm in a grand gesture as he takes a couple of steps to stand in front of the gangplank. “The Jolly Roger.”

Henry looks back towards the man, mouth parted. “This is your ship?”

“Aye, since we were here, I thought you might like to see it.” Killian reaches up to scratch the back of his ear.

Emma leans towards Henry and pretends to whisper in his ear. “I think he is trying to win you over, kid.”

Despite it being dark, he can see the way Killian’s cheeks darken at being caught. The man stammers a response and Emma exchanges a conspiratorial look with Henry.

“Is that why you named your ship that?” Henry looks at him with a searching look, the one that Uncle David called his “detective look”. He watches as Killian fumbles before sending a mock glare towards Emma who is trying very hard not to laugh.

“It’s a pirate ship,” Killian holds out his arms as if it made his point. “It should have a pirate name.”

“There it is,” Emma nudges his side and Henry presses his lips together to avoid laughing. “We found the reason for the old-timey speech, kid. Killian is actually a time travelling pirate.”

They both lose their battle against laughter when Killian huffs and crosses his arms at them. “I’m revoking your rights to board my ship, both of you. And I was even going to let you have a try at the wheel.” He raises his eyebrow and Henry sees it as a challenge. 

If Killian wants to be dramatic, so can he.

“Please, Killian,” Henry grabs onto his crossed arms and looks up with an exaggerated pout. “We were just kidding.” There’s an uptick at the corner of his lips and Henry is ready to admit victory. “Your ship is so cool and the name is so original and you should let us aboard.” He is really laying it on thick and both adults know it by the looks on their faces.

“Come on, how can you say no to that face?” Emma points out, her voice wobbly from laughter.

“Fine, fine,” Killian sighs and uncrosses his arms. “That is a dangerous face.” Henry is ready to whoop in excitement when Killian touches the tip of his nose. “Stay close to me.”

Henry shares a grin with his mother who holds his hand before he takes Killian’s left hand. There’s a stumbling pause in the man’s steps before he starts walking. They are ordered to wait at the centre of the deck while Killian’s boots echo across the deck while he lights up lanterns around them. The faint light makes the ship look even more out of this world and Henry feels like they are about to set sail on an adventure to fantastical realms.

Henry looks around with a parted mouth and when he finally finds his mother’s eyes, he sees her smile at him, a soft smile that he knows is a reflection of her love for him. “It is very cool, huh, kid?” 

He nods and her arm wraps around his shoulders as they watch the deck light up in the warm colour of the lanterns. “This would be a good spot to do some star gazing.” 

“With a picnic,” his mom supplies.

“I could teach you about the stars,” Killian finishes, standing to his mom’s side as they look around. Henry sighs. 

He can imagine cosy nights learning all about the position of the stars and their stories while they lie in comfy blankets and drink hot cocoa. And in the warm months, after a day of swimming, they could see how different the sky looks in summer. He realises he’s expecting Killian to stay until the coming year and it brings him out of his fantasies. 

Despite the man’s promises and assurances, Henry can’t help but feel like there’s something more. Something about Killian Jones that feels…wrong. That’s not the right word…

“Would you like a tour below deck?”

Killian’s offer startles him out of his spiralling thoughts. He pushes them away - let’s himself believe that he’s not as deeply screwed as he actually is. Henry nods quickly, what is he gonna say? No? It’s a pirate ship!

They follow Killian as he lights the way below deck. They see the galley - retrofitted to look modern and with a large table in the middle of the room - the storage room with shelves full of food and other non-perishables, and the officers’ and crew’s quarters.

“Or it would have been had I any crew or officers,” Killian chuckles, gesturing towards the doors. “Maybe you can choose one of them for yourself?” There was a hopeful look on his face and Henry felt his mother’s hand tighten its hold on his shoulder. 

The fast beating of his heart is dangerously fast and he wonders if she can feel it in her palm. 

So much for putting away those thoughts. 

“Maybe we can talk about that another time,” his mother suggests, sparing him an answer.

“Of course, of course,” Killian is quick to dismiss his idea. 

Henry is glad for it and even more glad when the adults act as if the question was never posed in the first place. They all ignore the hint of tension below the decks of the ship as Killian shows them where the pirates used to store their guns and where the crew would row the ship if the sails didn’t work. 

“And last but certainly, not least,” Killian’s bright grin is back and Henry tries to ignore the warmth in his chest at seeing it. “The Captain’s quarters.”

He opens the door to a large room, helping them down the few steps before hooking the lantern on an overhead hook. A large bed takes up the back wall, perfectly placed under the rectangular window. There are trinkets strewn about in a precise way in the window sill. A book shelf takes over the left side of the room while a table and a high-winged chair take over the right side. It’s all meticulously clean and tidy, so much like its Captain.

“Do you live here?”

“Aye,” Killian leans on his desk with a proud smile. ”A home fit for a pirate Captain.”

Emma chuckles before she crosses her arms to look at him. “Don’t know how well you’ll do when winter comes along, Captain.”

“Yeah, but at least he’ll be sleeping on a pirate ship,” Henry points out and beams when Killian smiles proudly at him as well as pointing a finger in his direction. He takes another look around. “Why is it so dark in here?”

Henry notes the drawn curtains just like he’d noticed it in the other rooms. Despite the bright full moon outside, none of its natural light made its way inside the ship. 

“Oh,” Killian immediately stands upright to open the curtains, letting the moonlight filter in.

“Our Captain is a bit of a nocturnal creature,” Emma teases and Killian scratches behind his ear.

“I sleep during the day,” he explains. “I can’t have that pesky sun ruin my plans.”

Henry chuckles with them even as a thought tries to worm its way into his mind. The moonlight reflects on a globe with a strange town inside it and he takes a closer look at it.

“Are these from all the places you’ve been?”

“Aye.” Killian stands at his side as he carefully straightens a ceramic bowl. “Some of my prized possessions.”

A small frame stands between a colourful seashell and a cross made of a soft light brown grass. There’s a young boy with curly hair next to what he thinks is a person. The being is blurry and burned, the only thing visible is an arm wrapped around the man’s shoulders.

“Who’s this?”

Killian clears his throat next to him and when he looks, a muscle is popping on his cheek due to the clenching of his jaw. “That was my brother, Liam.”  

“Oh.” Henry looks back at the picture, giving Killian some privacy with his emotions. Emma’s presence is silent behind them but, from the corner of his eye, he sees her place her hand on Killian’s shoulder. “You have the same eyes. Who’s next to him?”

“That’s me.” Henry frowns and leans forward to look at the picture better. Killian chuckles at the movement and the weight on Henry’s chest lightens at the sound. “Well, it was me. Water damage.”

“You don’t have any more pictures?”

“None that depict my devilishly handsome looks.” The smirk on his lips is softer than it had been before but it still brings a lightness to his bearing. 

“Not that this one does you much justice.” Emma grins and there’s a heat to Killian’s eyes when he looks back at her.

“I’ve never gotten complaints before.”

“You never forget your first.” She winks and Henry marvels at how light she looks. No matter how happy his mother has always looked when it’s just the two of them, this is a side of her he hasn’t seen before. It’s good.

They stay for another hour. They talk about music - he discovers Killian knows how to waltz and watches while his mother is being led around the cabin to the sounds of “A Thousand Years” from his phone - about sweets and how Killian has never tried a Pop-Tart much to Emma’s shock. Henry even secures some sword fighting lessons for himself, under the assurance that no actual blades will be used. 

“Not for now, at least,” Killian adds with a wink that is covered by a cough when he notices Emma’s narrowed eyes and hands on her hips. “No actual blades, Swan, deal.”

Henry giggles at his mother’s exasperated huff. “I made a big mistake,” she mumbles with no real heat behind it.

They say goodbye to Killian after they descend the gangplank. His mom shares a quick kiss with him - in a way that shows their affection but without making him feel like he wants to disappear. Killian ruffles his hair and promises that they’ll start their lessons soon. Before they leave, Emma invites him for dinner at their place the next day. The other two try to hide their surprise, Killian’s morphs into delight whereas Henry tries to simply express his approval.

His mother wraps an arm around his shoulders as they walk away from the ship, feeling Killian’s eyes on them as they do. She smiles down at him when he looks up at her.

“So, kid,” She starts, trying to hide the concern he can see in her green eyes. “What did you think of Killian?”

“He’s cool,” Henry shrugs even as he smiles at Emma’s beaming grin. “He’s good.” 

Too good.

---

Henry enters the bus to school after a kiss to his head from his mother and a wave. Just like every morning he has to go to school, Emma will head to the station for her shift while he goes to school and then takes himself home at the end of the day and waits for Emma to get back.

Despite the opinions of most 13-year-olds, Henry likes school. He likes learning, likes the friends he’s made since they’ve moved to town and he especially loves to have Violet around. 

But he is, for the lack of better word, distracted. 

His teachers call his attention more times than they ever had to - which is significant when they have never had to - and his notebooks are littered with nonsensical scribbles or doodles as opposed to his usual meticulous notes. Violet’s exasperated huff in the middle of her retelling of her weekend of horse riding with her father finally brings everything to a halt.

“I think my mom’s new boyfriend is a vampire.”

Henry tells Violet his Sunday activities - promising to listen to hers afterwards - and he begs for her to use her all-knowing vampire knowledge to prove him right or wrong. He doesn’t tell her that he hopes he’s wrong, he really wants to be wrong.

But Violet presses her lips together when he’s done and his heart feels like it’s going to burst out of his chest, like that alien from that movie he promised his mom he didn’t watch during a sleepover at Ava and Nicholas’ for their birthday - their dad is new at this but after Nicholas almost puked from fear, he got better at it. But that’s not the fear that’s making him almost puke all over the lunch table.

“What?”

“You need to be careful,” Violet bites her lip and he sucks in a breath. “Your mom must already be in his thrall, did you know vampires can hypnotise people? But you are not.”

“She needs my help.” Henry’s eyes are wide and panicked and Violet takes hold of his hands. “What do I do?”

“Take a deep breath, you can’t panic.” Henry does as she says and she rubs her thumbs over his knuckles. “If he hasn’t done anything until now, you’re probably in luck, he’s taking his time.” Violet’s shoulders set in determination and he sees the awesome girl that impressed him when they first met. “I have a plan.”

---

After school, safely at home, Henry is prepared and waiting.

He didn’t dare distract himself with video games or books, simply rehearsing what he wanted to tell his mother as soon as she arrived. There was probably a dip in the carpet due to his pacing route back and forth in the living room. 

The door opens and he startles despite the fact that it’s exactly the time his mom usually gets home. Come on, Henry, get your head in the game.

“Okay, I-Shit!” his mom huffs from the door as she stumbles. There are two thumps against the hall before the door closes from taking her boots off. “I got us food from Bella Notte for dinner, it’s too late to cook anything and you know how I love their-”

Emma startles when she sees him standing in the middle of the living room, hair probably a mess from how much he ran his fingers through it and pulled. His mouth is parted and his eyes are wide and he must look like he’s seen a ghost.

“H-hey,” she says carefully, putting the bags down on the kitchen counter without taking her eyes off him. “Are you okay?”

Henry takes a deep breath and she looks even more worried. “No.” He shakes his head when she tries to put her hands on his shoulders and points to the couch in front of him. “You need to sit down.”

She does so in a worried daze, putting her hands on her knees and he sees the panic in her eyes that he saw the day she caught him crying in his room. “Okay, I’m sitting. What’s going on?”

He takes another deep breath, letting it fill his chest before letting it out. “Killian is a vampire.”

That wasn’t what Emma was expecting, clearly, and she shakes her head with her brow pulled low in a frown. “What?”

“Killian is a vampire,” Henry repeats and resumes his pacing back and forth on the living room floor. “You probably don’t realise it because he has you in his thrall, probably because you kissed,” His nose scrunches up in displeasure now. “But he is dangerous and I need to keep you safe.”

“Henry,” Emma sighs and starts to stand from the couch. “Kid-”

“No.” Henry carefully pushes her back down to sitting, his eyes wider as they look into hers and she is taken aback by the resolve in his eyes. “I need you to come out of it, Mom.” He sighs and takes a step back putting his hands on his hips. “You’re a cop so you care about proof; I’m going to give you proof.”

“Henry-”

“First, he doesn’t eat garlic.” Henry ignores her and starts ticking off fingers. “Vampires don’t eat garlic either. Second, he doesn’t know his birthday. Yeah, he has an answer for it but it’s still suspicious.” Emma frowns and opens her mouth but he carries on. “Because now he can’t prove he’s not from, like, the 18th century! You even noticed the way he talks, he was clearly turned like centuries ago.

“Then we have the dark room. He didn’t even notice until I pointed it out because he’s so used to avoiding the sun!”

“He has a tan.”

Henry continues, not noticing her mumble, focusing only on her concerned eyes and parted mouth. “And then, and then his hands! They were cold when we shook them, and yeah, it was cold, but they were really, really cold. There was also the picture, Mom,” His voice grows desperate without him noticing, high pitched and he isn’t sure when he took a proper breath. “How is it possible that only his part of the picture got ruined? And he doesn’t have more? He clearly can’t be photographed, Mom!”

“Henry!” He sucks in a breath, effectively shutting up, when Emma stands in front of him, hands heavy on his shoulder and frightened eyes on his. “Do you hear what you’re saying, kid?”

“I’m right, Mom, I promise.” His voice is quiet, the desperation in his making his mother’s eyes grow more panicked. “There were bats!”

“What?”

“Before he showed up at Granny’s, I saw bats! They flew behind the ice cream shop and not a second later, Killian appeared!” Her hands cup his cheeks and he grabs her wrists tightly. “It’s true, you need to get out of his spell.”

Emma sighs and he clenches his fists over her wrists. “Henry-”

A knock on the door startles the two of them and they both look towards the door.

“That’s him, Mom,” Henry whisper-yells, tightening his grip when her hands slacken. “You didn’t invite him in already, right?”

“He’s been here before, kid.” She sighs and cups his cheeks again before turning to the door. “It’s open!” The door opens.

“No, no!” Careful shuffling at the entrance masks his quiet begging he feels for his back pocket.

“Shh, kid, it’s okay,” she soothes, thumbs caressing his cheeks.

“I hope I’m not too early, I got-” Killian quiets himself as he finds the two of them in the living room. “Is everything alright?” His eyes go from Emma to Henry and his frown grows.

“Yeah,” Emma nods, glancing back at Killian before returning to Henry. “I just need to talk to my son. Think you can go to my room and-” 

But Henry doesn’t let her finish and pulls out the wooden stake Violet helped him make after school. He couldn’t let Killian get out of his sight. He ignores Emma’s calls of his name and focuses only on Killian’s wide eyes. He needs to stop this!

He takes a few steps towards the vampire before a crash and a curse behind him diverts both his and Killian’s attention to Emma. There are flowers on the floor and his mom’s hand is quickly pulled back from the broken glass of a tall cup she’d used as a vase - she ran into the table in her efforts to get to him. Emma is holding her wrist and he sees the red blood in her palm.

“Mom! A-Are you bleeding?” His eyes are wide in panic and he holds up the stake even higher when Killian takes a step towards them, eyes on her hand.

“Yeah, kid,” she sighs. “But it’s going to be okay, I promise.”

Killian starts walking around Henry. “Swan, let me-” 

“No!” His frightened yell causes them both to stop and look at him. “You’re not getting close to my mom. If you hurt her, I’ll-I’ll stake you!” His hand shakes as it grips the wooden stake. 

“Henry, please.” Emma takes a couple of steps towards him and Henry sees how Killian can’t keep his eyes on him, looking instead at Emma’s wound. “Killian is not a vampire.” There’s a startled expression on the man’s face, looking between Emma and Henry now. “He is just trying to help me.”

“A-aye, lad, I have a first aid certification,” he explains in a dazed tone, surprised at being caught, he’s sure. “That’s all.” He raises his hands in defence.

“No.” His voice wobbles and his vision gets blurry. He feels a tear run down his cheek. “There’s something wrong with him, Mom, there has to be!”

Emma sucks in a breath and Killian’s eyes widen impossibly more. He can’t look away from the understanding in the eyes of the man in front of him, the way his shoulders tense in a different way and Henry feels something loosen inside him. As his mom moves in front of him, Killian takes a couple of steps back, almost like a coordinated move. She easily takes the stake from his trembling hand with her uninjured one and drops it to the ground.

“Henry,” she breathes out and that’s all it takes for him to bury his face in her chest, sobbing as his arms wrap around her waist.

They move to the couch between his loud hiccuping sobs and when they calm down into sniffles. Emma’s hand moves slowly, reassuringly, up and down his back and she speaks low in his ear, comforting, patient words. His arms tighten around her and he hides his face on her neck when his breathing calms but none of them move beside that.

“Henry,” Emma tries again, speaking calmly, and when he doesn’t interrupt, she pulls away so she can look into his eyes. “Do you think we can have a conversation now?”

He nods and feels his chest tighten in shame when he notices how Killian sits patiently in a chair parallel to the couch, his right hand slowly caressing through his short beard. He is giving them a sense of privacy, not reacting to Emma’s voice and not looking at them, lost in thought. He needs to apologise.

His mom’s hand on his cheek brings his attention back to her and he notices how there’s a bandage around her previously injured hand. He guesses Killian must have taken care of it during his tantrum and he feels the weight in his chest grow heavier. 

“Kid,” Emma’s voice is quiet as she urges him to look back at her, her eyes are understanding and calm despite the pain beneath them. “We could not have known that Walsh was such a horrible guy. You could not have known and it wasn’t your job to protect me.” Her words are final, without a chance for debate, and he can only nod. “He hurt us, he was a horrible guy but he is gone. Not everyone is going to hurt us like he did.” Henry nods again, he remembers his mother saying how she was going to be more careful with the people she brought around them.

“I-I’m sorry,” he whispers and closes his eyes in shame.

“You’re forgiven, kid,” Her fingers rub against his cheek and he leans into it unconsciously. “I thought we could just leave all the shit he did to us in the past but I forgot to talk to you about it. To make sure you were ready.”

“I kept comparing them,” he confesses and his mother’s brow furrows in sorrow even as she nods. “I think I liked the time we spent together so much that I remembered when we first met him. How it was all too good to be true, how Killian was too good to be true.”

Emma glances towards the man in the chair and Henry feels his eyes on him but he can’t look back. Can’t bring himself to face how much he screwed up their relationship. 

“Actually, kid?” His mom lets out a small, ironic chuckle and Henry looks up at her in surprise. “I know exactly how you feel. I actually put my gun to Killian’s head when we first met.” There’s a soft chuckle from the couch and Emma’s cheeks turn pink. “That’s why it took me so long to introduce you two, because he was too good to be true. Even if I knew by, like, the third day, that I was in love with him.”

A sharp intake of breath comes from the couch this time and his mom’s cheeks turn a deep shade of red. But mother and son keep looking at each other. “You did? Weren’t you scared?”

“Terrified,” Emma confesses, a soft smile on her face. “But sometimes we have to put fear behind us and let people in. We have to allow ourselves the chance to love and be loved.”

Henry’s nose scrunches up. “That sounds like something Aunt Mary Margaret would say.”

Emma laughs and his chest doesn’t feel as tight or heavy. “Yeah, I might have asked for her help on this.”

Henry sighs. “I’m really sorry, Mom, I didn’t mean-”

“I think you’ve apologised enough to me, kid.” She stops him gently with an encouraging smile before gesturing with her head towards the man still quietly sitting on the chair.

He takes a deep breath before turning on the couch, wringing his hands on his lap. Killian looks at him with a patient look on his face. “I’m sorry, Killian.” He is looking so kindly at him that he feels his eyes watering, how can he deserve this? His mom resumes her caresses on his back. “This didn’t have anything to do with you but I hurt you and that was wrong of me, I’m really sorry.”

Killian stands from the chair and crouches in front of him. His hands are holding each other with his elbows on his knees. “A long time ago,” Killian starts in a calm tone before chuckling and correcting. “20 years ago, not centuries.” Emma snorts next to him and Henry feels his cheeks burning. “My father abandoned both me and my brother in the middle of the night. There was a short circuit in the fuse and it caused our house to burn down.”

“I lost my brother and my father on the same day.” His tone is quiet, mournful and he can’t look away from the pain reflected in the blue of his eyes. “I had the chance to reunite with my father a few years ago and I let my hurt stop me from trying. I know how it is to sabotage your relationships because of your wounds.

“But,” Killian’s lips curve up in a small smile and he takes hold of Henry’s hands. His hands are so warm. That remaining weight on his chest vanishes. “I can promise you that it’s going to take a lot more to push me away.”

“I’m sorry that I tried,” Henry whispers and Killian nods. 

“You’re forgiven, my boy.” Henry feels his eyes water and his shoulders relax at his words. “I know what that man did to the two of you and, while I never thought to be compared to a vampire, I knew I had to take that into account when I met you.” Killian’s cheeks turn red and he scratches at the back of his ear. “I just think I got too ahead of myself yesterday. Truth is, I’ve always wanted a family,” he confesses, his eyes glancing between his and Emma’s. “Meeting you two made it all too real and I think I got too desperate so if I-”

Henry doesn’t let him finish what he thinks is going to be an apology to his own apology and lunges at him for a hug. Killian stumbles and ends up falling on his butt. But he doesn’t care, he simply tightens his arms around his neck and relaxes when he feels Killian’s arms just as tight around him. “I want you to be part of our family too,” he confesses and hears a sniffle from behind him. “Especially now that I know you’re not a vampire.”

His words make them all chuckle, like he hoped they would, even as there are tears gathering at their eyes. “It’s an honour to be a part of this family, my boy.” His hand running up and down his back feels just as good as his mother’s and he grins.

“Okay,” His mother’s voice is watery and they separate to watch as she wipes under her eyes with the back of her hand. “Now that it’s all solved, we should eat.”

“Aye, I’m starving,” Killian grins. “There’s not that many people in Storybrooke who let me drink their blood.”

Emma rolls her eyes with a smirk while Henry laughs embarrassedly. “I’m never leaving this down, am I?”

“Not likely, lad.” Killian ruffles his hair and even though he huffs and puffs, Henry thinks he might like the idea of being teased by the man, especially if it means he’ll stick around for a long time.

“Come on,” Emma helps them both up from the floor and while Henry lets go of her hand as soon as he’s standing, Killian doesn’t. “Let’s eat.”

“Actually,” Killian glances towards Henry asking for permission and for some reason, Henry thinks he just might know what he wants. He nods. “There’s something I need to do first.”

Emma frowns confused. “Huh?”

Before she can get an answer, Killian pulls her to him for a kiss. He keeps it soft but it’s clearly full of love and his mom lets out a hum. Henry thinks he should look away but he basks in the sight of their love.

“What was that for?” she mumbles when they separate.

“I love you too,” Killian confesses in a quiet tone, eyes on hers, and Henry feels that last piece of the puzzle slot into place.

Her smile is wide and she kisses him again, a press of lips due to how wide both of them smile. His phone buzzes on the table, no longer full of glass shards, and it catches all of their attention.

“Your phone keeps buzzing, kid, what’s that about?”

Henry frowns in confusion before a metaphorical lightbulb flashes above his head and his eyes widen. “Oh crap!” He dives for his phone and starts tapping at it frantically. 

“What is it?”

“That was Violet,” he answers, pressing his lips together to stop from saying more. His mother raises an eyebrow to incentivize him. “She was my second line of defence.” 

Killian seems to understand before his mother and he can see how he is seconds away from bursting into laughter. “What do you mean?” his mother asks. 

“Well, she was going to bring holy water…”

There’s a moment of silence before they all succumb to hysterical laughter. 

Killian Jones always got his bounty. 

Since he began his solo career as a bounty hunter, he could count on one hand the ones that had escaped him. His successes had helped his reputation soar and had given him a name of his own. Hook.

And with a name of his own, he gained some competition, and some enemies.

One of them was Blackbeard - a ruthless man without a shred of honour.

Killian tried to make his coin in a way his former Captain would be proud of, honorably. He would accept bounties to capture criminals, to help people. There were times he would slip - innocent people were sometimes worth a lot of gold - but those were few and far between. 

He wasn't sure where his most recent bounty fit. His employer had been vague - a large sum of gold to capture a wizard. No indication as to why or what they intended to do with him. Killian's history with wizards made him uninterested in asking those questions. As far as he was concerned, he would be quite happy to rid the world of another one. 

His heart stuttered as he thought of what he lost, the hook on his left hand feeling heavier than before, the weight on his chest suffocating. He heard her pleas, his own cries of pain. Magic served only to destroy. 

He shook his head, wanting out of the memory, returning his focus to the present. He urged Roger forward, matching his heart rate to the horse's foot falls. Seemingly understanding his mood, Roger's path veered towards the beach, keeping close to the water.

Luckily, Glowerhaven was a coastal kingdom. It was also where Killian knew Blackbeard’s lair was located.

According to his employer, Blackbeard had been hired to bring in the bounty but was now refusing to deliver, making the wizard's retrieval much more difficult for his employer than necessary. That had earned Killian a far bigger reward.

He wasn't surprised to find out that the old pirate was the one that had his bounty. Nor was he surprised that he was giving their employer trouble. Blackbeard was as greedy as he was despicable, and he undoubtedly thought there was more gold to be had by spreading  the story of his exploits in capturing the bounty and then handing it off to the one with the deepest pockets rather than delivering it to their employer. But Blackbeard’s stories, Killian had learned, should always be taken with a grain of salt. He may have heard the bounty was dangerous, but… well, he’d see when he got there. Right now though, those stories weren’t even close to Killian’s greatest concern. 

Killian's only worry as he stood hidden near the entrance of the cave where Blackbeard had his hideout was the fact that, for once, it wasn't a fair fight - there seemed to be at least 5 other pirates huddled inside. He counted his bullets, confirmed that his sword and daggers were still in place, employed his signature swagger and bravado, and made his way to the entrance.

Two pirates standing guard held him at sword and gun point while Killian pretended to simply be there to talk to their boss. They seemed confident; that was good. Confident meant sloppy. They obviously believed that the close proximity of their sword and gun to his neck and gut, respectively, would keep him in line.

Blackbeard sat with his smug, golden-toothed smile welcoming him like an old friend. Anyone could see the glint of murder in his eye, however, and Killian knew that one wrong move could send him to an early grave.

Thankfully for him, his past encounters with Blackbeard had given him a tried and true technique to victory. The old pirate may be ruthless, but he was defeatable.

"I thought I smelled you in town," Killian said jovially with a wide grin, holding out his arms as far as he could with the other two henchmen at his side.

"And I should have known that you wouldn't miss out on the gold." Blackbeard seemed to be playing the same game as he - fake pleasantries over an underlying tone of menace.

"The stories I’ve been hearing,” Killian shrugged before he continued, “I thought you'd be willing to share if I helped you bring it in." He wasn't even trying to hide the lie. It didn't matter.

He wasn't surprised when the captain and his crew burst out laughing at his words. He was counting on it, in fact - an over the top suggestion to distract them enough for him to grab hold of the dagger literally hidden up his sleeve.

"Thank you, Hook, I needed a laugh," Blackbeard said breathlessly as he wiped an imaginary tear. "As if I would ever need your help… or another pocket to share my gold."

"It was worth a try, don't you think? I heard the job was dangerous. And let's be honest, mate, the members of your crew are not exactly the sharpest." Killian grinned as he clicked his hook against the sword against his neck. He also took this moment to take a closer look at the crew and assess his situation. 

There was only one gun among the 5 crew members and none on Blackbeard. The bastard wasn't exactly reserved in his use of arms, shooting his guns at anyone who crossed his path. He seemed to forget that acquiring bullets was expensive and Killian could only conclude he didn’t have the gold to spend on acquiring more.

He could see a cutlass on each pirate. Which of course did not include the numerous - he was sure - daggers hidden on their collective persons. They were pirates after all.

"Dangerous…" Blackbeard chuckled. "Well, that’s not exactly true…” he shrugged. “Had to make the story a little more interesting, you know.” Blackbeard pulled on a chain as the pirates holding their weapons against him turned Killian towards the person at the end of said chains.

It was a boy.  

"What is this?!" His surprised shout echoed in the cave.

"This, my friend," Blackbeard began, pulling the chains so that the boy awoke from his slumber. "is the bounty. As you can see, it wasn't as difficult to acquire as you heard."

It had to be a trick. Powerful mages were known to hide their true appearance, trick their attackers - that had to be what was happening here.

The bounty, now fully awake, sat up with effort, his wrists chained up. He was pale, as if his life had been sucked from him. The child's eyes landed on him - such despair, such fear contained within. Killian caught his breath, and for a moment, it was as if he was looking in the mirror.

Blackbeard seemed unaware of Killian's inner turmoil, however. With another tug, he sent the boy sprawling on the floor and Killian took an instinctive step towards them only to stop when he felt the cold metal still held at his throat. The boy whined, clearly weak.

"It was like taking candy from a babe,” Blackbeard gloated. “He was so scared, he didn't even put up a fight."

Similar statements echoed in his head, a hint of the panic he had felt - what seemed like centuries ago - constricting his chest. Where that sentence gave Blackbeard an obvious and deep satisfaction, it caused sympathy to rise up in Killian. With a heave, Blackbeard held the chains up, forcing the boy to his feet. With his other hand, he grabbed the boy's face in his. "Isn't that right, brat? You even begged."

The boy's fear was like a physical thing, a weight in Killian's gut. Had he, so long ago, been that different from this child?

Making a split second decision, Killian used his hook to push the sword away from his neck while with his other hand holding the dagger, he slashed the gun-wielding pirate in his stomach. At the same time, knowing he would pull the trigger, Killian took a step back - the expected shot hitting the other pirate instead of him. 

Two down, four to go. 

"Get him!" Blackbeard shouted, once he realized what was happening. The boy, no longer being held, fell in a heap on the floor. 

The dagger still in his hand was thrown at another pirate’s chest. Moving quickly, Killian removed a dagger from his right boot. Ducking to avoid an opposing dagger, he sunk his into the approaching pirate’s side.

Four down, two to go. 

The last pirate approached him fast. Killian kicked him away, giving himself time to unsheathe his sword. Blackbeard wasn’t known to employ the smartest of men - you didn’t need smart, you needed a body able to follow orders and withstand the rough life at sea. Killian had training and his wits, his adversary didn’t. Brute force was nothing without accuracy. Killian’s sword slashing his enemy's thigh as his hook sank into his shoulder was enough to bring the man down.

“Useless rats!” Blackbeard raged, wielding his sword. “It won’t be so easy to get through me, boy!”

He was right. Killian had had enough run-ins with Blackbeard to know that he was indeed a much more formidable swordsman than his crew. Not enough to worry him, however. 

It might be extremely arrogant of him to think that way with a very real enemy eager to end his life standing in front of him, but Killian knew his own strengths and he knew how to win.

Movement to the side drew his attention. As he stopped Blackbeard’s strike to his head with his sword and hook, he could see the boy shuffle to a sitting position. Blackbeard’s hold on the boy’s face had left a mark. There were two deep red marks on his cheeks, a stark contrast against the paleness of his face.

A grunt from his rival drew his concentration back, he ought to be paying attention to the danger in front of him. The fight was taking too long. Killian needed to end it before any other pirates showed up. 

Summoning his strength, Killian pushed the sword away from his face, forcing it to the side. Dropping his own sword, Killian threw a mighty punch to the pirate’s face. With a quick glance towards the boy, he kicked Blackbeard away. With the boy pulling the chains taught, Blackbeard tripped, sending him falling back and hitting his head on the wall.

Only waiting a second to guarantee the unconsciousness of his rival and to grab his dropped sword, Killian made his way to the boy.

How could a boy so small be considered such a threat? A threat worth such a high bounty? Perhaps he was more dangerous than they all thought.

As he reconsidered his decision to free him, the child looked at him.

He had heard of spells cast with only a look. But what he felt wasn’t magic, it was recognition. He saw himself in the boy. He looked at him with fear but with an underlying feeling of hope. There was stubborn determination hidden in his thinned lips. The mirror staring back at him.

He hadn't asked what they wanted to do with him. He hadn't cared. Was he just as bad a man as his own father willing to lead a child to an uncertain future? No child deserved such a fate. 

In an impulsive move, Killian brought his hook down on the chains. He heard the child’s breath catch as he surely expected a mortal strike. Luckily, the chains broke immediately. They locked eyes once more. Surprise took the place of fear and Killian couldn’t help but notice how the child’s face slowly gained color, seeming more alive.

Magic chains, no doubt.

With a centering breath, Killian held out his hand to the child.

“What do you say we get out of here, lad?”

The child seemed to look for something in his gaze. Killian expected to feel the invasive nature of magic searching his soul, his intentions. But there was nothing.

But when the boy - having found whatever he was looking for - took his hand, he felt warmth. Magic or not, it felt good. Magic had never felt good before. 

He wasn’t aware of his held breath until he released it. Giving his head a slight shake, - he needed to focus - he looked around. The room they were in was still full of dead pirates and one unconscious captain, but he could hear others farther back in the cave. 

The boy's hand was limp in his grasp and he noticed his difficulty in standing up, his body weak. The cuffs that had been on his wrists had obviously drained him, exhausted him.

“Let’s go,” Killian tugged the boy's hand, his left shoulder carefully placed on his midsection. Standing up, the boy rested comfortably on Killian's shoulder. "Try to hold on, lad. It's going to be a bumpy ride."

He felt the boy's grip on his vest, strong enough to urge him into a run. It wasn’t long, unfortunately, until he heard thundering steps behind them. The other pirates were gaining on them, fast.

The child’s weight on his shoulder slowed Killian's rushed steps. Killian could hear the horse outside the cave guiding them in the right direction, the night’s full moon thankfully lighting their way. 

"Look out!" The boy's croaky warning rang out as Killian heard the whizzing of a dagger thrown at them, cutting his cheek but sinking into a nearby tree just outside the mouth of the cave. 

Daggers. Of course, he should have expected it. 

With a groan, Killian pulled the child to his arms. The horse was close, he needed to get the boy on it as fast as possible if they were going to escape.

He felt the boy's eyes on him, more specifically on the cut on his cheek.

"We're almost out of here, lad," Killian reassured, thinking the boy's gaze was of apprehension.

It seemed Killian Jones was in for a few more surprises.

It was as if time slowed down as the child wriggled out of his hold, landing on his hands and knees on the ground. Not wasting another moment, he watched as the child closed his eyes and held out his hands. A wave of energy, like a summer wind, burst from the child. When he looked at the previously-approaching pirates, they were all sprawled on the ground, unconscious.

Killian stared at the boy. He had known - had been told and feared - that he was a powerful mage, but seeing such a small child produce such impressive magic was both astounding and terrifying. 

“My name is Henry, by the way,” he said as he sat back on his heels and turned to Killian with a genial smile.

Before Killian could respond, they were interrupted by a whooshing sound and an orange light in front of them. That old bastard had been hiding a magic bean. It had likely been dislodged in the blast of Henry’s magic and activated. It was their best chance of escape.

"We have to go."

Rushing to the horse and untangling its leash from the tree, Killian mounted the animal. He and Roger moved quickly towards Henry, Killian reaching out a hand for the boy who seemed more interested in looking into the horse’s eyes. He raised his eyebrow at the boy, apprehensively glancing at the portal.

"What's his name?" Henry asked, keeping his gaze on the beast.

Safe to say, the question caught him off guard. "What?"

"The horse, what's his name?"

"You are seriously asking me this now?" Killian balked, pointing at the portal in front of them. "We have to go!" "It's rude not to ask for his name if I'm going to ride on him." Henry looked at him with clear and innocent eyes.

Killian sighed, looking up at the sky for a moment. "It's Roger. Happy?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

Henry smiled brightly, holding up his hand. Killian pulled him up and deposited him behind him on Roger’s back. He rushed him forward as fast as he could, not wanting to let the portal go to waste.

“I’m Killian, by the way. Killian Jones,” he said as the boy wrapped his arms around his torso, his hold stronger than before.

He thought he could feel the boy's bright smile once again at his back. “Thank you, Killian Jones.” Henry’s words were the last thing he heard before the deafening sound of the portal took over as they approached and crossed.

"Killian, Killian, look!" 

Henry's enthusiastic whisper, and subsequent shaking, woke Killian up in the gray light of dawn. He had fallen asleep! However, when his eyes fell on Emma, he felt a smirk grow on his face. She seemed to be waking up as well.

Her eyes went through the same surprise-to-chagrined expression he had. When her gaze caught on his, he flashed her a victorious grin. She rolled her eyes and he couldn't help the widening of his smile.

"Killian!" Henry's repeated whisper brought Killian's attention back to him.

The boy hadn't witnessed the interaction between them as he seemed to be focused on something else. Something worthy of waking everyone up.

A deer. 

Since all of them had been asleep, the animal obviously hadn't considered them a threat and felt comfortable enough to pasture a scant few feet across from them. Even Henry's light steps didn't seem to startle the animal.

"I see, lad. It seems we'll have a feast today." He grinned. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Emma quietly nocking an arrow in the small bow on her wrist.

Henry's eyes moved between the two of them before they widened in alarm. 

"No!" 

His shout alerted the deer who took off running as Emma's arrow embedded itself in the tree trunk near where his head would have been. They both turned to the boy.

"Henry!" Emma sounded indignant.

"We couldn't eat her!" Henry's tone matched hers.

"Well, we certainly can't now!" Emma replied.

He sent a glare to the new addition to their crew before turning back to the boy.

"At some point, we might have to, Henry." Killian chastised lightly. His tone was calmer, confident in the fact that they still had rations in the satchel, even with the extra mouth to feed, but that wouldn’t last forever.

Henry's eyes seemed to shine and he could see the innocence and wonder behind them. That had been ripped from his eyes decades ago. It would be a tragedy to see that happen to the boy as well. From the corner of his eye, he watched as Emma's indignation deflated - perhaps thinking the same thing he was.

"We should keep going." Emma's voice was softer than it had been before and Henry seemed to take a deep breath.

"We need water. Do you want to go fill the canteens, lad?"

Henry nodded, filling his arms with the three canteens and making his way to the river.

"Don't start with your self-righteous bullshit, you were thinking the same." Emma had barely waited for the boy to make it past the treeline before she turned to him with crossed arms.

"I'm not starting anything," Killian started, matching her posture. "We know how the world works, Henry doesn't." He watched as her arms softened their hold. "We need to be gentle with him."

"You're not the boy's father, you know? You are just the navigator, he's going to leave." She paused for a moment. "They always do." Her voice was soft at the end, and Killian didn’t know how he knew, but he knew that while her words were harsh, there was something else she was holding back.

He took a deep breath, hoping his eyes reflected his feelings. He didn't know why it mattered to him that she knew but it felt like the same reason he wanted to protect Henry.

"I am aware. I simply don't want him to go through the same things I have." Killian watched as Emma's eyes widened a fraction proving him right. "If there's anything I can do to protect him, I will. I won't let some prophecy get in the way of that."

Her arms lowered to her sides as he spoke. Her eyes were shuttered, even if he had already seen the recognition, the sameness he expected to see.

"I've got them!" Henry's voice calling through the treeline broke through the tension between them. Killian helped the boy store the waterskins in their satchels.

"Let's keep going," Emma finally said, preparing her own things for the journey.

---

It was interesting. It should have been an awkward journey - two people who, just the day before, had been about to kill each other and a child who was very much not theirs. It should have been a silent journey full of tension.

Yet, Henry had all this charm, all this kindness and so much of his childish, innocent energy. And, despite their previous tension, he seemed to have already put it behind them.

"I thought I would fly, you know? All of the fairies flew, it made sense that I could, too." It was lucky that they were keeping such a calm pace or else Henry's animated gestures would have caused him to fall from atop Roger. 

"I'm assuming you were unable to fly?" Emma's amused tone was a sight to see.  For someone who appeared to be so single-minded - mostly toward killing him - it was clear that Henry brought out this new side to her.

"Oh, not at all! I tried jumping from a tree and if it wasn't for Silvermist, I would have gotten really hurt." Henry frowned. "She kept me under close eye for a whole moon. She was really angry."

"She was only trying to keep you safe, lad," Killian explained from the other side of the horse, where he held the reins.

"I know, I know." The boy sighed. "That whole time, there was fog and rain and-"

Killian paused, pausing Henry's story as well, Roger stopping along with him as he still held the reins. It took a moment before Emma noticed that they were stopped. 

"Why did we stop?" Henry asked, leaning down to the horse's head to pet it.

He could feel Emma's questioning glance as well, but he wanted to be sure. Removing his map and compass from the satchel, he checked them. And checked them again. Confusedly satisfied, he looked at his companions. 

"It seems we've reached Oz," Killian announced with a frown that the others matched.

Killian put away his tools before he urged them forward. He explained - he had heard stories of Oz's gleaming fields, grass like gemstones and a constant shining rainbow in the sky. What they were seeing, however, was not anywhere near that description. The skies were dark, clouds overshadowing the land. The fields were dulled, no life able to survive in it. 

The only source of color in the overwhelming gray landscape came from the large castle far in the distance. It looked as he had heard from the stories he had been told, the ones he recounted to his companions, a castle made of the purest green stones. A beacon of light and hope. Now, it looked ominous in the oppressive foreground. 

But Oz wasn't deserted, as they soon found out. Instead of the animated, singing Munchkins however, the people were quiet, functioning mechanically.

"Hi!" Henry called to the closest worker, Killian and Emma standing protectively on both sides of the horse.

Together, they watched as the Munchkin raised his head to look at them, alarm clear in his expression. He looked up to the sky as the other workers alternated between doing the same and looking at each other, whispering at the same time, making the trio uneasy.

The Munchkins contemplated them. Before Killian could make the decision to leave this uneasy situation, a screech a few miles away caught all their attention. Some of the Munchkins yelped in fear, all of them but the closest one resuming their work automatically as if they had never stopped. 

"Follow the yellow brick road!" The words fell from his lips in a rushed whisper as he pointed with his head towards the beginning of a once golden brick road, but was now only a sickly, pale yellow with many bricks broken or missing completely. "Hurry!"

They watched as the worker focused back on the land. The screeches grew louder and, in the distance, they saw a large winged beast flying fast towards them. 

"Come on, let's go." Killian pulled the reins towards the beginning of the road, Emma following.

As they made their way toward the road, they heard the workers begin singing. Their voices were far from the happy working song Killian expected from the tales he’d heard. It sounded more like a plea to anyone who would listen than anything else. Henry kept his eyes on the workers for a while until they were no longer visible. The creature didn't follow them but that didn't erase the eerie feeling Oz gave them. They made sure to keep a steady but rushed pace.

"Is it safe to assume that this road leads directly to that castle?" Emma asked from the other side of the horse, voicing Killian's thoughts. "I don't expect the royalty of a place like that to be particularly benevolent…" she added, pointing towards the castle in the distance.

"Cygnus directed us this way," Killian answered as if that was enough and not just a way to justify that they were headed towards danger.

"And these people need help," Henry voiced from atop the horse. "You saw how scared that Munchkin was."

Killian and Emma's eyes caught each other. A moment of understanding passed between them regardless of their animosity. It was unavoidable and they knew it. All they could do was make sure that they would leave victorious.

The landscape didn't improve the longer they followed the road. Houses began appearing - some abandoned, others trying to create some semblance of home in the depressing countryside. Most were a reflection of the fall of Oz.

As they continued walking, more Munchkins appeared in the fields and homes. All told them the same thing, to follow the yellow brick road. There was fear, worry, and yet, an overwhelming hope in their eyes. That seemed to make Henry more determined to save them all. Killian felt the weight of the responsibility for so many people's fates and he could feel Emma's discomfort as well.

The closer they got to the castle, the clearer he was able to see that what he thought had been birds flying around the castle's high towers were in fact the same winged beasts that had gone after the Munchkins in the field. 

Halfway up the road's path, they heard a much closer screech. Instinctively, Killian grabbed Henry off Roger, holding him close to his chest. He heard a swish and a closer screech. Looking up, he saw the beast retreat.

"Are you alright, lad?" Killian asked after setting Henry down.

The child nodded, seemingly even more determined now.

"The welcoming party wasn't too welcoming," Emma huffed, closing the crossbow for a more comfortable fit on her wrist.

"What were they?" Henry asked, Killian's hand on his shoulder keeping him close.

"They had the bodies of monkeys but with wings," Emma answered.

"Bloody fantastic," Killian mumbled, handing the reins to Henry, hoping to keep both the boy close and his hand free in case of any more attacks. "Let's carry on before more of them decide to welcome us as well."

Out of some eerie luck, no more flying monkeys crossed their path even if their screeches could be heard close by. It seemed that whoever reigned in Oz now, had them under surveillance. A look towards Emma told him that she agreed with him - they were most likely heading towards a trap.

The shiny emerald castle rose ahead of them, making it clear to them that it was untouched by the destruction around it. As expected, the yellow brick road continued through ominous and suspiciously opened large emerald gates. 

It was enough to have Killian and Emma slow their steps but Henry, unaware, pulled Roger forward. Killian placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, and noticed Emma do the same, before following the boy.

Killian looked around them. The courtyard seemed deserted but that wasn't any relief. He could still see the beasts flying around the tallest tower clearly waiting for the signal to attack. There was an itch at the back of his neck. He felt watched.

"What is that?" Henry's question brought his attention back to the ground.

Someone had removed the bricks from the ground of the courtyard, a wide circle made of dirt instead of bricks in the center. They had carved a symbol on that circle, what looked like a strange compass. 

Following Henry's pointed finger, he saw a large metal bowl sitting on one of the symbol’s points. There was a baby's rattle inside it, looking much too small for the big bowl. 

"Another one, there." Emma pointed this time.

They noticed, then, that in three other points, the same type of bowls were placed. In one, there was a book - leather-bound, cracked and clearly aging. In the other, a broken bow and a bloodied arrow. And the last one, completely empty.

“That doesn’t bode well,” Emma murmured.

“Aye,” Killian agreed. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

"I see you're admiring my masterpiece." A voice sounded from the gemstone pillars startling them into action.

Emma unsheathed her sword at the same time as Killian, both turning to the voice and standing closer to Henry. A woman stood against the pillar, her nonchalant posture belied by the wicked grin on her face. She had vibrant red hair and her skin matched the green surrounding her.

"Who are you?" Emma asks.

"I should be asking you that, since you're the ones invading my castle." The woman was casual in her accusation, strutting a few steps forward.

"Your gates were wide open, I assumed it was an invitation." Killian hoped his unconcerned tone disguised the disconcerting feeling her unexpected presence gave him.

"As you can see, I'm not particularly welcoming." Her arm gestured towards the empty courtyard with a wide grin. "You don't become the Great Witch of the West by letting just anyone in."

"More like ‘Wicked Witch of the West’," Henry mumbled from behind the two adults.

But with the empty courtyard and the screeching flying beasts so high in the sky, his words were easily heard by the witch who cackled amusedly. Her eyes sparked as they settled on Henry. There was something about the predatory glint in them that disturbed Emma and Killian and they moved closer together, attempting to shield him.

"Don't hide now, dear." Zelena's grin widened as she took a few steps closer to the three of them. "I have been waiting for you."

It shouldn't have surprised any of them. Killian had been preparing for the possibility that they were heading towards a trap, regardless of the desperation in the Munchkin’s face and bolstered by the confidence that they would be victorious. But to stand face-to-face with it, knowing that he would have to fight against a self-proclaimed witch to protect the young child, unsure whether he could trust Emma in this situation, was an all-together different trouble.

"You'll find that getting to him won't be as easy as you think," Killian threatened, keeping his hooked arm in front of Henry.

"And here I was, worried that it would be." For a moment, Killian thought the witch's face would split in half from the wideness of her grin. "Let's spice things up, shall we?"

The witch raised her arms towards the sky and the circling beasts suddenly descended towards them. Their screeches quickly became deafening as they approached. 

Focusing on the flying monkeys for only an instant, Killian saw the witch's hand twist and before they knew it, Henry had disappeared from their side in a cloud of green smoke.

"Henry!" Emma shouted, the worry in her voice matching the fear blooming in his chest. A moment later, her cry was overwhelmed by the noise from the beasts as they reached them. 

Killian's focus was split - he was desperately worried for Henry but the onslaught of the flying monsters stopped them from making any sort of offensive move.

With a sword swipe at the beast closest to him, Killian stopped its charge at Emma. As soon as there was a break in the attacks, he focused on Henry, the witch holding his face in her hand, speaking close. Before he could make a move in his defense, a ball of white light struck close enough to the witch that she released Henry. 

Killian turned towards Emma, her eyes ablaze with her hands held out. The air sparked around her, and he could see the same desperation to protect Henry in her eyes that he felt within himself. Perhaps he really could trust her.

The moment he was free, Henry ran towards Emma and Killian, dodging the attacks from the flying monkeys the entire way. Killian tried to make his way towards the child only to find his way blocked by more of the beasts. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Emma finally reach Henry. He was too occupied trying to protect himself from the monster’s aggression to help her, but he could just see her holding him close as she used her magic to defend him from the witch's magic.

A loud groan from his two companions distracted him from a flying monkey rushing at him. Before he could defend himself, the beast turned to dust in front of him. Once the dust settled, he saw a dark-haired woman where the creature had been with a sword in her hand. Not in attack, however, and he quickly realized that she had just saved him.

With a nod at his rescuer - that she returned - Killian focused his attention on Henry and Emma. They were both wielding their magic defensively against the witch. As much as he wanted to rush towards them, there was no respite from the flying beasts.

"Zelena!" The newcomer called out to the witch.

A wide wicked grin bloomed on Zelena's face, even as her attacks stopped, when her gaze landed on the young woman. "Miss Dorothy Gale has decided to join the party!" she cackled.

Clearly, they were at a disadvantage. The witch was easily blocking the bursts of magic from Henry and Emma - who had now abandoned her own in favor of her weapons - and there were still about a dozen flying monkeys hovering around the courtyard. Henry's eyes were tired, but Dorothy's unexpected presence brought an air of confidence to Killian and his companions that might just give them the drive they needed to win.

An arrow swished through the air, seemingly out of nowhere, turning a flying monkey to dust. "I'm not the only one wanting to end your reign of terror, Zelena." Dorothy grinned as another arrow found its target.

Before they could even take a breath, Zelena let out a shout of rage. A green blast from the witch threw everyone out of balance, the screeches of the flying monkeys becoming deafening. 

"Oz is mine!" Zelena's scream rose over the cacophony.

Killian rushed towards Emma and Henry to protect them from the flying beasts, his sword cutting a path through his adversaries. Dorothy stood beside them, all their efforts in sync to defeat the witch and protect their little party. 

He heard it before he saw it, one of the flying creatures dodging the arrows from Dorothy's archers was flying directly towards their new ally. He felt Emma at his back, her sword focused on the flying monkey hovering over Henry, who was using his magic to protect them against Zelena. Killian’s hand quickly reached for her free wrist, where she carried a crossbow. As if he knew exactly how to use it, he activated the mechanism, shooting an arrow right between the eyes of the flying monkey attacking Dorothy.

The screech behind him told him that Emma, despite the distraction, disposed of her own attacker. She shot him a glare at his action and he grinned right back at her.

"It seems we make quite the team."

"Watch out!" Emma's eyes widened as she pushed him away.

It all happened too fast. A green blast of energy flew inches away from his head, and from the corner of his eye, he saw Emma's arm in the talons of one of the beasts.

"Emma!" Henry cried, panic in his voice.

Emma's sword swiped back and forth, hoping to catch the animal. Killian moved toward where the beast was trying to fly away with her still in its clutches only to have to move back and protect Henry when another blast of energy nearly caught the both of them.

Both Killian and Henry let out a sigh of relief when Emma's sword finally caught its target and the creature dropped her to the ground. 

"You all will regret this!"

Dorothy ran toward the witch, but his attention moved quickly to Henry when Zelena's attack was aimed directly at him. Without a second thought, Killian grabbed the boy in his arms and pulled him away, the blast catching his leg and making them both fall to the ground. Henry looked up at him, fear hidden behind determination, and nodded, silently telling him that he was okay.

A screeching yell called all their attention to the witch. For a moment, Killian expected to see her dead body on the ground, a feeling of regret in his chest at the thought that he wouldn't be the one to kill her. But instead, Dorothy stood over Zelena's kneeled form with what looked to be a necklace in her hand. Without hesitation, she punched the witch's face, toppling her to the floor.

With a victorious smile, Dorothy turned to the rest of the courtyard, fist raised high over her head. "The witch is gone!"

They might not have been able to see their hidden allies, but they could certainly hear the cheers from the castle's walls. With the witch defeated, what was left of her flying army fell one by one to the ground.

Killian helped Henry to his feet as he called out to Emma, rushing towards her as soon as he could. Killian followed, telling himself that he didn’t want to let the boy out of his sight, but the image of her being dragged away still replayed in his mind.

His leg was tender, making him limp to where Henry helped Emma to her knees. She held the boy's hands for a moment before running her own over his face.

"Are you alright, Henry? Did she get you?" Desperation colored her words and fear filled her eyes. 

He couldn’t help but relate.

"I'm alright. I'm not hurt, just tired." Henry seemed to think that wrapping his arms around Emma's neck in a comforting hug would help. And, despite her initial shock and stillness, it did, her arms wrapping around him, too. "You both kept me safe."

Killian placed his hand on the boy's head when the hug ended. "It's as I said, we seem to make quite the team." He smiled at Henry before his eyes settled on Emma's.

They may not have known each other for long, but he thought he was beginning to understand her. Perhaps even understand each other. Relief, joy, and fear filled her eyes. He didn’t know what Emma had gone through in her past, but it seemed that whatever it was made her wary, afraid to trust. He knew it because he felt it, too. He never thought he would trust her, but as he watched her fight against this common enemy with the same determination that filled his chest, he now knew that he could.

"Thank you so much for your help." Dorothy's voice broke through their moment, Emma rising to her feet even as she kept close to Henry.

"We should probably be thanking you," Emma said, sincerely. Killian nodded in agreement.

"We've been waiting for the right moment to get to her and you guys provided it for us,” Dorothy explained. “Zelena's tyrannical reign is finally over."

"What will happen to her?" Henry asked with a concerned look towards the still unconscious witch.

Dorothy seemed to finally take notice of Henry, her eyes widening slightly.

"Oh, well, Glinda, the Good Witch, told us we needed to take Zelena's necklace since it was the source of her power," she explained as she held out the now-dull emerald gem for them to see. "Now that she's powerless, we'll keep her in the dungeons."

"And her magic?" Emma asked, nodding towards the necklace.

"I'm going to take this back to Glinda. She'll keep it safe." 

The wariness Killian felt was obviously shared by his companions as they looked at each other. Dorothy noticed.

"This magic, for better or worse, is Zelena's alone. No one else can use it. Glinda and the other witches will keep it safe," their new friend and ally assured them.

It didn't exactly satisfy Killian to know that it wasn't going to be destroyed. Henry reached for the necklace as Dorothy pulled her hand away slightly. He didn’t take it, or even try to, his hand hovering over it. His nose wrinkled in disgust. "She's right, the magic can't get out without Zelena taking it." Killian's hand squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. "Her magic feels funny." 

"Who is he?" Dorothy asked, looking at Killian and Emma as if they were insane for bringing a child to a battle, as if they had had the choice.

"I'm Henry," the child answered with a bright grin towards Dorothy, pushing past the unpleasant experience of the necklace's magic.

Dorothy frowned, her eyes drifting to the adults perhaps hoping for a better answer. Killian and Emma shrugged with a grin.

"He's Henry," Killian confirmed, ruffling the boy's hair who grinned up at him. "I'm Killian," he continued, extending his hand to her.

Dorothy took his hand and gave it a firm shake. Killian worried that their insistence on mystery might cause them to lose an ally but they needed to keep Henry safe. Dorothy seemed to understand that. She turned to Emma expectantly.

"Emma," she answered, extending her hand to shake the other woman's but the movement made her wince. Pushing back her torn sleeve, they saw the deep scratches from the beast's talons.

"You guys are hurt, let us help." The young woman looked around, where Munchkins had begun to spread around the courtyard in celebration. She pointed towards two Munchkins who were disinfecting another one's wound by the gates. "Boq and Jinjur can help you guys." She paused for a moment as she turned her attention back to them. "We'll be having a celebration tonight. We want to thank you for your help."

"I think we should carry on our journey as soon as possible," Emma explained, looking around at the surprising amount of Munchkins warily.

"There will be food and drinks, you'll have fun. It's the least we could do." 

"Food?" Henry's ears perked up from where he had been looking at all the newcomers. He turned towards the two adults with a wide grin and pleading eyes. "Please, can we stay? Please?"

Killian tried to hide his smirk as he turned to Emma who sighed in defeat. She turned to him as if asking for help, but he could only shrug. 

"I would enjoy food that hasn't been in my horse's satchel for days," Killian answered, gesturing towards where Roger was being petted by Munchkin children.

"Alright, we'll stay," Emma acquiesced, turning to Henry.

Henry's cheers were echoed by the rest of the Munchkins and Killian could see that Emma smiled by the shape of her eyes, her care for the boy clear among the green.

---

"There seems to be some sort of disturbance in Oz, Your Majesty."

The voice from the circular mirror was enough to break the silence. The tall dark haired woman's attention stayed on the view from the balcony, the empty and destroyed landscape more interesting than the mirror's news.

"The whole place is disturbed, what's new?" 

"It seems Zelena has been defeated."

That finally got the Queen's attention.

"Interesting… By who?"

The face in the mirror disappeared only to be replaced by an enraged Zelena sending a blast towards her adversaries. The green ball of magic was aimed at a dark-haired boy who escaped it with the help of an adult all in black. Regina watched as a brunette used Zelena's distraction to remove the glowing green pendant from her neck. Without her power, the screeches of the flying monkeys ceased and she fell to her knees, defeated.

"The peasant girl finally defeated the witch, I see."

The masculine face in the mirror nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"And who was the boy? And the man?"

There was a swirling motion on the mirror's surface. It finally settled on a better view of the man's face with a wide grin as he drug a handcuffed and ragged man into a building.

"Killian Jones, as I live and breathe."

"You need to give me more interesting bounties, Smee."

With that exchange, the mirror returned to its original state.

"I see. But why would a bounty hunter have such an interest in a boy's life?"

The situation was getting more and more intriguing.

"Zelena seemed to have an interest in the boy as well, Your Majesty."

"Oh?"

The mirror's surface focused on Zelena's deranged face inches from the frightened face of the child. The screeches of the flying monkeys almost impeded Regina from hearing what Zelena said to the boy. Almost.

"Finally, my spell will be complete."

"Let go of me!"

"The Heart of the Truest Believer… so close, within my grasp."

"You'll never win, villains never do." 

Regina watched as the boy faked bravery in the face of such malice.

"The boy certainly has spunk," Regina said with an amused chuckle. "So that filthy pirate was speaking the truth, I almost feel bad about throwing him in the dungeons." Her faux-guilty pout was short-lived as she laughed.

The mirror laughed with her until a look from her silenced him.

"Just as well that she is gone, it would be a waste to have her hold that much power."

"The power should be yours, Your Majesty."

"You're damn right! But why worry about a one-handed bounty hunter when I can just be rid of him?" She shrugged as a mischievous grin widened her lips. 

"Excellent idea, my Queen," the mirror bolstered.

With a twirl of her wrist, a puff of purple smoke revealed a glowing red heart in her hand. "Huntsman!" she called, her lips close to the organ.

It wasn’t long before a rugged-looking man appeared in the room with a reluctant bow towards the Queen. 

"Yes, Your Majesty?" His voice was monotone, defeated, tired. 

"I'm going to need you to get rid of someone for me." Regina pointed towards the mirror which showed a static image of the bounty hunter.

"How do you wish for me to do that?"

"A little gift from Wonderland." A jar appeared in her hand at her words. "Aim for the heart. It's a slow and painful poison and we want results, right?" 

The Huntsman was silent as he tried to rebel against his captor. He was, however, brought to his knees when Regina tightened her grip around his heart. "Right, Huntsman?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." He spoke through clenched teeth before he grabbed the jar from the Queen's hands.

"Very good." She grinned at him, grabbing his chin to force his gaze upon her. "Make me proud. And bring me the boy."

The Huntsman averted his eyes as he stood up and left the room, Regina's sadistic laughter following him through the door.

---

Killian and Emma settled down on the edge of the courtyard with the Munchkins tasked with seeing to their wounds from the battle. 

He noticed while they were being treated that Emma’s shoulders didn’t relax, despite their victory. Boq tapped at the scratches on her hand and arm with a soft cloth, both uncovered before him for the first time since he'd known her. Her sharp intake of breath brought his attention to her face.

She was in pain, unsurprisingly, but behind the pain, he saw apprehension. She was exposed - however limited - defenseless, a position she was clearly not used to. Her eyes found his when he too winced with pain at the treatment the other Munchkin applied on him.

"It seems gratitude is in order, Swan," he said, hoping to distract them both from the situation.

"For what?"

"For helping me protect Henry." The frown disappeared from her face.

"I told you that my job is to protect him. So that's what I was going to do." Her eyebrow rose as amusement filled her eyes.

"My apologies for not promptly trusting the person who had had her blade at my neck," he replied sarcastically, no accusation in it.

"I hope now we can learn to trust each other," she said, her eyes pensive and clearly wanting to follow her own advice. He couldn't help but agree with it.

Once the healers were done with them, they turned their attention back out to the courtyard. For all that Zelena's reign of tyranny had drained the life of many of the Munchkins, they put together their celebration quickly. There was no trace of the witch's hand on the courtyard. Or even the witch herself, for that matter.

There was a large fire where the strange carvings had been, warming up the clear and cool night. A few Munchkins were gathered between two emerald pillars, strange musical instruments spouting a tune of merriment and revelry. A large table was filled to the brim with sweet and savory food and drinks of all kinds - every Munchkin donating their efforts to their celebration.

The Munchkins called Dorothy to the fire and expressed their desire to make her their leader since she had saved them and also considered Oz her home. Her discomfort with all the attention was clear when she accepted to the loud cheers of the Munchkins, even as she looked upon all of them with affection.

Dorothy then extended her gratitude towards the trio who received their own round of cheers. Henry seemed to take it all in stride, smiling and waving at the surrounding Munchkins - his exhaustion after the strenuous magic use far from his mind after the short nap he had been able to take. Killian had simply nodded in recognition while Emma seemed to want to hide.

They got separated afterwards, Killian moving to Henry's side to make sure he was okay, while Emma was pulled into conversation with Dorothy. Conversation that both women seemed to enjoy. He watched as Dorothy spoke animatedly with her hands and Emma’s shoulders finally relaxed enough that she appeared to be enjoying the evening. Dorothy seemed to be a tenacious woman, hardened by her past. He had felt the same kinship with her as he had with Emma and Henry - it seemed orphans stuck together.

Killian couldn't help but feel this warm feeling in his chest at seeing Emma acclimating to their surroundings, at seeing her finding friendship with someone else. He tried to ignore the voice in his head that wanted her attention, that wanted to discover more about her.

His thoughts were interrupted by Henry sitting by his side.

"Nimmie gave me this for you." Henry held a warm beverage out to him, noticing how he had another, half-full, in his hand. "She says she made this one specially for you."

With a confused frown, Killian set down the cup he held and grabbed Henry’s, bringing it to his nose. A chuckle escaped him as he noticed the stinging smell of alcohol - not enough to overwhelm the taste of the chocolate drink but enough to warm his bones. 

"Thank you, Henry." Killian smiled at the boy before catching Nimmie's eyes and raising the drink towards her. The Munchkin blushed with a smile towards him. "Cheers, lad." Turning back to Henry, they clinked their drinks together.

Taking a sip, the warmth filled him completely, fortifying him for the cooling weather. A sigh of satisfaction escaped him and then a chuckle as he saw Henry copying his action. When their eyes met, they both laughed.

A flash around Henry's neck from the firelight caught his eye at their shared mirth. 

"What's that, lad?" he asked, pointing toward it with the hand still holding the cup.

Henry grasped the chain and blushed. "Oh," he said, a note of trepidation in his voice. "I, umm, I found it in your satchel…" Putting his drink down, Henry removed the chain from around his neck.

Killian put down his own drink and looked at the chain, now curled around Henry's small hand, the ring at the end almost glowing in the light from the fire. His breath hitched in his throat as he held out his hand for Henry to pass the ring to him.

"I'm sorry…" Henry said as Killian silently inspected the ring. "I just thought… it was so beautiful and it felt so warm and-"

"This was my mother's," Killian interrupted him quietly. He didn’t need the boy's apologies. He wasn’t angry. "I thought I'd lost it."

It had been missing since they started their journey to Oz. He thought he had lost it on the way. 

"I'm sorry…" he repeated.

Killian couldn't handle Henry's guilt, not when he didn’t need to feel guilty in the first place. So he flashed the boy a weak reassuring smile, his emotions raging under the surface, hopefully not showing on his face. The boy quieted, hands fidgeting as he tried to still them between his knees.

"My brother gave it to me before he died,” he murmured. “It was the only thing we had of our mother… of our family." Killian could feel the emotions rolling off of the boy, if only because the air felt like it sparked. "He used to say that it would protect us… Our good luck charm." 

The image of Henry in Zelena's grasp flooded his brain. He remembered how he had felt such crippling fear and the urge overtaking him to just hold the boy, making sure he was safe, once the witch was defeated. 

He couldn't help but remember the storm. The one that took his only family away from him, and freed him from his owners. The one that ended up giving him his last shot at a family. 

"Kil-" Henry interrupted himself as Killian held the chain in his hand and hook and threaded it over Henry's head.

"Keep it. It's yours." 

Killian placed his hand on top of the ring where it lay on Henry's chest, looking at it with a longing smile. Henry's hand joined his.

"I'll protect it with my life." 

A watery chuckle rose up in Killian's throat as he looked at the boy. He shook his head, the smile still on his lips.

"No, my boy. It's the other way around."

Killian moved away, intending to break the heavy moment, when Henry stopped him by wrapping his arms around his waist, his head buried in his chest. Killian's heart clenched as he wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulders.

"Thank you, Killian." 

"You're quite welcome, Henry," he whispered.

Killian turned his head away from the boy, trying to get a hold of his overwhelming emotions. As he did, he noticed Emma turn her head back towards Dorothy. Had she been looking at them? Dorothy looked at him then and he certainly hoped that they wouldn't be able to see the wreck of emotions he tried to control. She seemed to say something to Emma causing her to look away. What were they saying?

Henry straightened up, effectively bringing his attention back to the boy, sitting back on his side.

He mimicked the boy by grabbing his drink again. Henry held out his drink this time and they clinked their cups together with an amused smile. It was a time for celebration, not heavy emotions. Regardless, his heart stuttered in his chest every time he noticed Henry's reverent hand on the ring.

The celebration continued long into the night, the moon rising higher and higher in the sky. After the years of Zelena’s dominance over the land, he could hardly begrudge the citizens their revelry, and he determined to enjoy himself as well.

---

"Where is the Swan taking us now?"

The map was familiar in his hands, the parchment folded and unfolded dozens of times already. Killian had checked and double-checked their route last night. He barely needed a proper look to know their newest trajectory.

"It's taking us Northeast."

Once more, he folded the map to store it in his satchel at Roger's side.

"Why is it always changing?" Henry asked as he patted the horse's muzzle, receiving a nicker in response.

"Nemo said that Cygnus would take anyone to where they need to be. I have to believe that it's all for a reason."

Henry seemed thoughtful as Killian stashed all their belongings back in the satchel. Rustling from the forest leaves caught Killian's attention. Assuming it was Emma, he turned towards it, unable to stop himself from searching for her presence.

There was nothing there. Not a shadow. No dark green hood emerging from the trees. Killian frowned.

"I believe, too." Henry's statement called his attention back and he smiled.

He would say afterwards that it all happened too fast, but in truth, it felt as if time slowed down, almost dragging its feet. Rushed footsteps echoed through the clearing at the same time the release of a bow string twanged.

A panicked call for his name had him turn his head in time to see a small arrow whizzing through the air towards him. A green figure flashed across his line of sight. There was a thud on the ground and a gasp. 

"Emma!" Henry's cry drew his attention and allowed time to resume. 

Emma lay on the ground, Henry’s hand on her shoulder. 

"Swan!" Killian's tone matched Henry's as he knelt beside them.

The arrow stuck out from her back, a small thing. His eyes flew to the dense forest surrounding them. He could just see a figure, their armor reflecting the morning sun, before they ran away. He wanted to follow them, make them pay, but Emma's groan of pain pierced the fog of vengeance clouding his mind.

"It's gonna be okay, Swan, we’ve got you."

Looking towards Henry, the boy nodded and held onto her arms, keeping her still. The arrow came out easily. It was more stick than arrow - a hastily fashioned weapon. But it wasn't the craftsmanship behind the weapon that worried him, it was the yellow liquid that had stained the tip. 

Emma seemed to take stabilizing breaths on the ground now that the arrow had been removed. 

"Are you okay?" Henry's small voice caused Emma to smile reassuringly, a poor attempt regardless.

"It's going to take more than a little arrow to bring me down." 

Her eyes found his and he could easily read her questioning look. He raised the arrow to her eyesight and her eyes closed in resignation. Yes, yellow viscous liquids weren't ever good news.

"We need to keep going," she said, trying to stand up with difficulty. 

He dropped the arrow and held on to her arm, receiving a grateful look in response.

"Swan, we need to get you some help."

"Yeah! The quest can wait!" Henry's voice was worried, matching Killian's, his hands quickly latching onto Emma's free hand and arm.

"No, it can't." Her voice was breathless, determination sparking in her eyes.

Stubbornness, of course. Perhaps some resignation to her fate and lack of hope. They might not have known Emma for long but they certainly already knew that about her. Luckily for her, Henry and Killian were brimming with determination. And as for hope, Henry had more than enough to go around. Safe to say, Killian was receptive to it.

Killian and Henry’s eyes met, a stealthy nod shared between them.

"Alright," Killian said. That seemed to surprise Emma. She probably expected more of a fight. "We'll carry on, but you're taking Roger."

Killian could tell she wanted to argue but he could see the tiredness in her eyes, this poison, whatever it was, already taking effect. With a nod, she moved towards the horse.

"Henry, help me put our things away."

If the boy noticed that Killian clearly didn't need help with the one blanket that was still on the ground, he didn’t mention it. They huddled around it, keeping their voices low.

"I've heard tales of magical beings, healers that reside in a valley," Killian whispered.

"Where is it?"

"North. Cygnus is taking us close by." Henry seemed to frown at that, looking up at the blue sky. "What do you think, lad?"

"We need to keep it a secret, Emma's not going to like it."

"Aye." With another discreet nod and a determined look, they rose and made their way back to Roger and to an oblivious Emma.

---

"Swan!"

"What?!" Regina's grip on the Huntsman's heart was deadly, almost enough to crush it. "Get back here, now!" 

She watched as the forest began to move quickly in the mirror - thanks to the reflective surface on the Huntsman's armor - before it returned to its natural state. 

"Who was that?!"

The man in the mirror was baffled as he stuttered. "I-I…"

"Figure it out, now!"

"Th-They were wearing the Lost Ones armor, Your Majesty."

The mirror's surface rippled to reflect a dark sky with a verdant jungle below. Just on the bottom half of it, Regina could see a blonde figure standing on alert and a hooded figure desperately packing their belongings.

"Hurry, we need to leave." A feminine frantic whisper broke the natural silence.

"Yes, yes, I know," the hooded figure whispered back, a feminine voice as well. 

The standing figure handed over a knitted blanket. "Don't forget this."

"Stop!" Regina's command was swiftly obeyed as the mirror's surface froze on the blanket's embroidered section. The name "Emma" was knitted in purple yarn.

"Emma…Where have I seen that before?"

"Your Majesty," The man in the mirror's face suddenly returned. "I believe I know."

"Then what are you waiting for?!"

Wanting to escape the Queen's wrath, the mirror once again swirled to reveal the backs of two familiar figures. Much to the Queen's distaste.

"Thank you for joining us in welcoming our daughter, Princess Emma!"

The crowd gathered below the castle window erupted into a loud cheer. Regina watched as the two rulers waved at their subjects. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before they turned and approached the middle of the room, the bundle in Snow White's arms more visible as her Prince Charming adjusted the blanket surrounding her. Regina could finally see that the blanket surrounding the newborn princess and the blanket the hooded figure packed away were the same.

The daughter of Snow White and her Prince Charming was, as her parents were before her, a thorn in Regina’s side.