Why in the world did my Mom leave me with him? Henry thought as he walked next to the pirate.
Hook was the last person Henry wanted to be with. His father was dead by the hands of the Wicked Witch, and he had wanted to stay and fight by his mothers' sides. He wanted another chance to be a hero…for real this time.
But Emma had insisted he go. There was no way that she was going to put him in danger like that. So she entrusted him with Hook, of all people. Why she had chosen him, Henry could not figure out. This guy was a pirate, and a selfish one. Or, so he had been told. But if Emma trusts him, maybe that's enough.
The gravel crunched underfoot as the pirate and the young boy reached the campground near the beach. It was eerily quiet there. Hook had led him as far as the outer edge of the town line, so they would be safe from the battle in town.
The wind howled with a low tenor. Tiny waves lapped up onto the pebbled shore. Henry raised the lantern Hook had given him and placed both of his palms on the glass so as to warm his shaking fingers.
Henry stood there, watching Hook. He seemed to be looking for something. He had placed his lantern on a boulder nearby and was rustling around in the woods.
"Hey, Hook?" Henry called out. "What are you doing?"
Hook answered without turning around. "Just getting some firewood. We might be here awhile, lad."
Crap, Henry thought. I really don't want to be stuck here with him all night.
Hook strolled over, arms full of wood that smelled of pine. He laid them down and then created a circular pit with stones. After a few minutes of swearing under his breath, he finally got the fire to light.
"About time," Henry said jokingly.
Hook smiled. "Forgive me, Henry. I'm more of a water man, myself. Fire isn't really my strong suit."
"It's alright," the boy answered. "As long as it's warm."
"Aye. Right you are," Hook said as he reached down to the ground and pulled up a canvas bag. Using his hook to uncoil the rope that bound the bag shut, he then reached in a pulled out a strange, golden instrument unlike anything that Henry had ever seen.
Henry's eyes lit up at the sight of it. "Woah, what is that thing?" he asked.
"I'm glad you asked!" Killian said. "This, my dear boy, is a sextant."
Henry couldn't hide his curiosity, though hard he tried. "What does it do?" he asked.
"It's a sort of navigation tool," he answered. "This particular sextant is very special, though. My brother gave it to me long ago. This sextant doesn't just navigate maps," He paused. "It navigates stars."
"Stars?" the boy questioned. "Is that how you got to Neverland?"
Hook said, "The first time, yes. But when I escorted your family back to that dreadful island, I had to chart the course by memory. I thought I had lost this forever, but when we returned to Neverland, I found it there."
Henry thought of Neverland. He thought of the musty, humid air, and the feeling of being young. He thought of his family, fighting for him to take him home. He thought of his father, Neal, who was never going to see him grow up now.
Henry had become quiet. Killian could not think of anything to say. He knew for sure that the boy was probably thinking about his father. He recognized that look in his eyes-the look of being completely and utterly alone. It was the same one he had found in the boy's mother the day he met her. That glorious day.
This is your chance, he thought. This is your chance to show Emma that you love Henry, too. She trusts you with him. Don't let her down.
After a few minutes of nothing but the sound of the crackling fire, Killian finally spoke up again.
"Would you like me to show you how to use it?" he asked.
Henry looked up quickly at him. He could feel the boy's eyes studying him, trying to figure out if he could be trusted or not. Like mother, like son.
"…Sure." Henry said.
Killian sighed with a smile. "Alright then. Come over here and I'll show you. It's quite complicated, but we can try."
Henry stood up and walked over to Killian. Killian held out the sextant and let him take it.
Killian explained, "Sextants are merely a tool which can help us find our position on the earth. When you're out to sea this is especially important. Now, by choosing any celestial being and measuring it's distance from the horizon line, we should be able to figure it out."
He held the scope up to Henry's eye and let him choose something to measure by. Henry chose the moon, as it was full tonight and the easiest object to spot in the sky.
"Now, put your finger on the trigger of the index arm," Killian said as he helped guide Henry's hand. "As you do that, you can move the index arm until you've found the angle you need. Whatever you see through that scope is being reflected off of the mirrors of the sextant."
Henry slowly moved the index arm up until the line became straight and vertical to the horizon line.
"I think I've got it!" Henry exclaimed.
Killian looked down at the boy and smiled. He looked so much like his father, when he was a young Baelfire. The thought of Bae made Killian's stomach drop. Now that Neal was dead, he was never going to be able to restore his relationship with Bae. But here was Bae's own son, right in front of him, giving him a chance.
"Well done, lad. You'd make a hell of a pirate," he said as he gave Henry a pat on the back.
Henry smiled. "Thanks! I guess…"
Continuing in a lighthearted mood, Killian said, "You learnt much quicker than Baelfire, that's for sure."
Killian knew the moment he said it that he shouldn't have. At the mention of his father's name, Henry grew quiet again. He handed the sextant to Killian and then sat nearer the fire.
The sounds of the night had grown still again. Killian added more wood to the fire, and tended to it as Henry laid down to look at the stars.
Finally Killian spoke up in a soft, apologetic voice. "Henry, please forgive me. I wasn't thinking, bringing up your father like that. It's just that…I used to know him when he was very young, around your age. I once taught him how to navigate by the stars, too."
Henry sat up and turned to look at the pirate. "Really?" he asked.
Killian smiled. "Aye. I loved him very much, as I know you do, too."
Henry shrugged. "I guess it's just hard because I'm really mad at him for leaving me. I felt like I was just getting to know him."
"I was abandoned by my father when I was even younger than you are now. He was a coward. But your father, he was a hero. He died so that your family could live on and find you," Killian admitted.
"Do you really think so?" the boy said quietly as he stood up.
"Indeed. But you must know that even though he's not here in a physical form," Killian said, "…your father is always with you. All you need to do is look up at those stars, and you'll feel him. My brother, who gave me that sextant, has been gone a long time, but when I use it, and look up at those stars, I always feel like he's still with me, in some way."
Henry stood up, and walked over to Killian. He could see that the boy had been crying, and in one swift motion, Henry embraced the pirate. "Thank you," Henry whispered.
Surprised by the boy's sudden gesture, Killian put his arms around him and held him close, as he'd seen Emma do so many times before.
Killian smiled and looked down at Henry. "No problem, mate."