I waited for her to return from the hospital. Certainly she was making sure her little brother was safe with their parents. I heard Henry's laugh mingle with Regina's. They were still making up for lost time and seeing their joy… well it hurt. I was happy for them, but as I watched Hood and Regina smile with Roland and Henry all huddled into a booth as Ruby refilled their cups of hot chocolate, one simple phrase ran through my mind.

"Next time curse someone I'd actually kiss."

The words still burned into my ears. As much as I dreamed of being part of this crazy family, those words effectively let me know where my place was.

I was a tool to be used when needed, but I was never to part of the family. Never in the inner circle. Always on the outside.

I shouldn't have been fooled by Emma's unorthodox upbringing. She was a royal and I would forever be a commoner to her. Of course she saved me from drowning. Just as any lord or lady would have fought to save their favorite hunting dog.

How had I allowed myself to fall so low?

There was a time when kings and queens quaked in fear at the mere mention of my name. Now, I was but the laughing stock of Storybrooke, Neverland, and now OZ.

As I sat there, in her darkened room, my thoughts continued on their dark course distributed only by the sound of the timing clock above the nightstand and the exclamations of joy waiving through the cracks as those below toasted the birth of a force for good and the defeat of evil.

Eventually, I heard a key being placed in the door. Useless, as I had left it unlocked, I could sense Emma's wariness as she cautiously opened the door with her foot, her gun held ready in one hand and other reached for the light.

Years at sea had conditioned me to be prepared for sudden changes in light, something I was thankful for as it allowed me to see Emma's hard look, meant to instill fear, fall into an annoyed tired look as she lowered the gun.

"Hook, what are you doing here? Your room is across the hall or did that waterlogged brain get you confused."

"My mind is quite clear, lady Emma." Her eyes shot open in surprise at my formal tone. Her defenses, which had lowered slightly, firmly in place moments later.

"Please sit." I indicted to the chair opposite me. I had placed it there with that purpose. It was close enough that we would be able to speak without trouble, but far enough away that I would not be able to touch her, regardless of how tempted I still was to do so.

She did so without protest, allowing me the time to walk through my plans before she recklessly reacted to them.

"Thank you." I began. "In all my years, I've never met anyone like you, so it seems fitting that I've never had to have a conversation like this before." My throat was suddenly dry, but I knew I couldn't reach for the flask at my side.

"I need to ask you a question." I began.

"Okay" she hesitantly prompted me to continue.

"Over a year ago, you made me an offer. Do you remember?"

"Not really." She admitted, having the grace to so remorse in her forgetfulness. God I loved that woman even as she drove me away.

"It's alright. I realize now, it was more important to me." She hung her head in shame as I continued. "You offered me a 'chance to be a part of something' to do something great for someone else. Although I may have been reluctant to take you up on this offer, once committed, I committed fully to the cause of bringing peace to the residence of this town and to keeping Henry safe."

"It was downstairs in the diner, when I was asking you for the bean. Before we went to Neverland."

"Aye, I'm glad it wasn't that forgettable for you." My words harsher that I wanted them to be, but I took a moment of silence to grab control of my emotions before I continued in a calmer tone.

"I now have come to understand that I may have misinterpreted that grand speech of yours. You see, I saw it as an offer to be part of a team and possibly even an adopted family." I search her eyes now to make sure she was understanding. She looked like she was going to interrupt, but I held up my hook in a silent petition to let me continue.

"Then in Neverland, as we searched for Henry, I was also finding myself again. The man I was before I had let revenge poison my heart. The friendship I started to build with David has been one of the first new friendships I've had in centuries. As Captain, I had underlings, not friends. Cora was an ally with non-conflicting goals, but I knew that should I cause a conflict, I would be tossed aside without a second thought.

"As we continued on our journey, finding Baelfire and later, Henry, so many of my old wounds were reopened. They had never truly healed, but under the insufferable heat of the jungle, they began finally to do so. For you I laid down my revenge, which had been my only driving motivation since Milah's death, save for a brief period when I had considered putting it aside for Bae.

"You intrigued me from the moment we met and I grew to love you soon thereafter. I thought for sure I would never be capable of loving anyone again, but here I am." I opened my arms out, let out a slightly bitter laugh, then allowed them to fall again to my side.

"So this brings me to the question, I need to ask. Am I someone you would ever want to kiss again?"