The sailing plan

Hi everyone! I was given this prompt on tumblr: "Can you write a fluffy fic of Hook teaching his daughter how to sail. with some hooked queen feels included?" and so here it is my story, even if I twisted it a bit, because I had this idea of "seasickness" in mind LoL. If some of you already knows me, yes, Cora Jones, the OC, is the same girl from the collection "Villains can get happy ending together" and the one-shot "Reasons behind a name". Hope you like it:)

"So, you are really going to sail together, then…"

That's the only thing Regina said, but the tone she used and the way she raised both her eyebrows, clearly showed her skepticism. Father and daughter just glanced quickly at each other and then turned again to the woman with a nod and a grin on the face that was only telling one thing: "yes, indeed we are".

Truth be told, Killian had his reserves too: in thirteen years of her life, Cora Jones had never showed any interest in sailing or in any form of sea activity at all; quite the contrary, if she enjoyed spending her time on the Jolly Roger, she had always refused to go aboard when it was about to move. However the dislike for the sea life was only one of the things that made the difference between the two: from the physical point of view to the character she was a carbon copy of her mother. Just the nose and the smile was like his, but it was very little thing indeed. So when she expressed her will to learn how to sail, he didn't hesitate a moment before cancelling any duties for the next Saturday – not that he had many of them anyway – and agreed to that project.

"We will have fun, love… Don't worry!" he replied eventually, trying to give a reassuring smile to his wife.

And despite the fact Regina wasn't convinced at all, ten minutes later Killian and Cora were out of the house, heading to the port. In the empty kitchen she just looked up to the clock, while turning the little spoon into the tea.

07:30.

"It's going to be a very long day" she murmured to herself and somehow the amusement started to form inside of her, beside the worry.

A few hours later, it turned out to be a warm sunny day in May; in the meantime they had cleaned a bit the ship and Killian had already given some teaching: how to lift the sails, how to steer the helm, basically how to make the Jolly Roger move. He was taking his task seriously, showing every detail, telling her some stories from his countless experiences and trying to involve her the more he could; he was clearly excited and Cora had to admit that she was interested too. Well, that was at least until some words rang a bell inside her mind.

"… It's important to control the sails, and take perfectly advantages of the winds, especially in case of a tempest…"

"A tempest?" she interrupted him, starting immediately to feel unsure at the only idea.

"Yes, that's what it happened to me, your mother and the Charming when we went to Neverland for example… A terrible one, I have to say, and the sirens didn't help"

The last part was added almost absent-mindedly while he was passing to turn his attention from the sails to the helm, but it didn't go unnoticed by the girl, whose eyes were now widened.

"Sirens?"

"Oh, yes sirens" he nodded, looking up at her and making her hint to approach him "The helm is important not only because that's how you can steer the ship in the direction you want, but because if you're good and quick enough, you may be able to avoid an iceberg or a cliff…"

"Icebergs… and cliffs?"

Ok, every single word was now making her shiver, talking about sunny day!

Killian nodded again and simply took one of her hands to put it on the helm. Then, with a proud grin and a quick kiss on her head, he briefly informed her of he plan: he would have controlled the sails, she would have been in charge of steering. It was the easiest part, he assured her, and it was for only a little time because he would be back to the helm very soon. He sounded really excited, like probably she had never seen him before, and since it had been her idea in the first place, she tried to suppress any second thoughts and silently agreed to his plan. So, when, in his way to the stern, his father stopped in his track, he found her already with both of her hand on the helm and a concentrated expression on her face.

"You will be fine, little princess, don't worry!" he just said still smiling and raising his only thumb up to her.

And despite the fear, the helplessness and the seasickness she was already feeling, Cora smiled, faking confidence, making pride won over the rest. She wouldn't have ruined their "father-daughter bonding" day.

"Okay, Cora, you just have to calm down. It's just a ship" she repeated to herself like a mantra.

But as soon as the anchor was raised, she grabbed the ends of the helm as if that was her only anchor left.

She was Captain Hook's only daughter and she was about to die of heavy seasickness. It was probably the most ironic thing she could have thought of, but yet the last thing she wanted to do in that moment was laughing. In fact as soon as the ship distanced itself from the port and Storybrooke started to appear far and far away, she begun to feel the dizziness along with strange contractions in her stomach. She would have fainted at any moment, she just knew that; how Henry managed to learn how to sail at her same age was still a mystery for her.

Stubborn and proud as she was, Cora refused to call for her father though, and opt for the only solution she could think of at that moment: waving her hand and make the helm move with magic. That done, she just slowly walked toward the border of the ship and leaned on it, closing her eyes and trying to focus on her breathe. Nevertheless, unluckily for her, Hook choose that exact moment to walk in.

"You were doing great, princess, rea-… Wait, what's up?"

She immediately opened her eyes again and instinctively tried to leave the border and approach the helm, only to be stopped in the act by a new wave of nausea. So, she sighed half in annoyance, half in mortification and finally dared to look up. If she had expected to find disappointment or hurt in her father's eyes, she had thought wrong, because he was only showing concern and fear, fear for her.

"I'm about to throw up" she admitted frankly "…Of joy maybe?" she added then trying to lighten up the situation.

But Killian didn't smile back, just gave her a last look before quickly taking control of the helm and steering back to port. The whole operation took only a few minutes, even if he tried to beware for the girl's sake.

"Okay, Cora… We're here… How are you?" he asked clearly worried, when the ship finally stopped.

Something in her stirred at those words and almost immediately she started to cry. He wasn't disappointed by her, but she was by herself; she had just wanted to spend a day in her father's world, but in the end the day almost turned into a tragedy and it only was her fault. The most ironic part was that now she was already feeling better… Why on earth she disliked the sea that much? Two strong arms quickly embraced her and she soon returned the hug, leaning her head on the man's chest.

"I'm sorry…" she just murmured.

"What for? Cora, you had done nothing wrong…" he tried to calm her down, caressing her long dark curls.

But hearing those words, she interrupted the embrace and shook her head with conviction.

"I just wanted to try get to know your world better…"

The reaction to that admission wasn't once again the one expected, as a sincere smile appeared now on his lips. Gently, he put two fingers of his only left under her chin to make their eyes meet. Blue sea against dark brown. They were just like Regina's, and just like Regina, little Cora was strong and yet fragile.

"You are my world" he finally said in a soft voice "You and your mother are my world now, never doubt it and never forget that"

The girl nodded and a sincere smile was also on her face now.

"So, daddy… You are not upset because I have taken nothing from you?" she asked while the smile became now amused.

"No, of course not…" he replied quickly but as soon as soon as the words left his mouth, he assumed a thoughtful expression, as a second thought formed into his mind "Well.. At least not until you'll go literally crushing people's hearts"

Father and daughter looked at each other at that joke and smirked.

And it was exactly the same smirk.

It wasn't much after midday when Killian and Cora made their way home. The table was already prepared for three and a knowing smile was the only way Regina welcomed them back. Neither the daughter nor the father argued about the little trust she had in them, partly because her prediction was right, partly because homemade lasagna were better than sandwiches, after all. They ate in silence though, or better, they talked about everything but never touched the subject of the "sailing plan" that it had been clearly a failure. It was the woman in the end to break the taboo, but only when she saw the girl leaving the table in a hurry after receiving a phone call from one of her closest friend, Alice Cassidy, speaking about plans for the afternoon.

"I guess there won't be any other sailing day, or am I wrong?" she said faking nonchalance, while starting to clear the table.

Hook looked up at her and then sighed a bit annoyed. He could see her effort to hide a triumphant smirk.

"There will be other weekends together… But we won't sail, definitely not" he had to admit, just shrugging.

What he said to Cora before was true: he didn't mind. Of course, it would have been great to pass on her only daughter his love for the sea, his teachings, some of his previous life, but even thought that lack of interest from her made him a bit sad, it wasn't important. What was really important was Cora and Regina. Just the two of them.

"You don't have to be upset, you know?" Regina started again, after other moments of silence.

She had stopped in her way to the kitchen with two plates in the hands and turned to him with still a smile on the lips. It was different though; it was no more amused nor mocking, but curios, sweet, eloquent.

"Maybe the next one will be a little pirate" she continued then almost casually.

She was gone the next moment, missing completely the shocked expression that immediately formed on his face. As the true meaning of that sentence became clear in his mind, he frowned in confusion, then blinked a few times in surprise and then finally smiled, happily when a coherent thought crossed finally his mind.

"I will teach him or her how to sail at two months, I swear"