Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Regina had heard it said that the place between dreaming and sleeping was a magical place, a place of happiness and possibilities. To her, it was exactly that. Not because it was relaxing or peaceful or whatever reason other people had deemed the state of mind enjoyable, but because she knew it meant that in a few seconds, she would see him.

Him.

Captain Hook, the man who had taken up permanent residency on the other side of her bed every evening, the man that had a protective arm around her body every morning when she woke up. Today it was holding her closely to his body; her head was pressed to his bare chest. The first thing she heard that day was his heartbeat.

Regina perched her head up to look closely at Hook. This was her favorite time to see him, when he was asleep. His face was so calm. His usual mask of arrogance was nowhere to be seen. As always, it didn't take him long to feel her gaze on him and all too soon she saw him stir.

"You know, some might find your staring a bit unsettling, Your Majesty."

She smiled as he opened his eyes. His eyes that were bluer than the sea itself.

"Some might be flattered that I find a person so beautiful that I can't help but stare."

He smiled, too. He pulled her up higher so that he could plant a warm kiss on her lips. It was quick and familiar. Regina smiled against his lips before pulling away.

"I had a dream about you."

"Hmm?" she asked lazily as she laid her head back down on his chest. "What was it about?"

"You were in danger and I couldn't help."

"That's not a dream, that's a nightmare," she told him.

"Not if I saved you in the end," he told her.

"Did you?"

"Course I did."

She lifted her hand to draw light circles on his bare skin with her finger. "What was I in danger of?"

He didn't answer right away so she lifted her head again to look at him. He appeared to be deep in thought. Finally he seemed to remember that she was waiting for an answer. "I don't know," he admitted. "I… I can't remember."

She couldn't help but smile a little at how disappointed he looked. "It was just a dream."

Hook nodded and smiled back as he picked up a piece of her hair and toyed with it.

"Time to get up," she told him. He sighed and grabbed her arm before she could get too far. By the time she could even react, he had rolled her onto her back and was on top of her.

"Can't we stay in bed a bit longer, my love?"

"Hook, I am the Queen of these people, the mayor of this town. I can not stay in bed a bit longer."

He pouted so she kissed him once more before lightly shoving him off and rising from the bed. She walked around a little, gathering some of the clothes that between the two of them had been tossed to the floor last night. As she searched her closet for something to wear, she could feel Hook staring at her from behind.

"What?" she asked him without turning around. When there was no answer, she turned to face him and found him still in bed, sitting up now, with a wide grin on his face. "What?" she repeated, unable to hold in a chuckle at his silly expression.

"I love you."

It wasn't the first time he had said it, but every time she heard those words leave his lips it felt like it was. She walked back over to the bed and kissed him, falling down onto his lap and wrapping her legs around him. Perhaps she could stay in bed a bit longer.

An hour later they were both dressed and in the kitchen. The two had come to have somewhat of a routine. Almost every morning, Regina would get them both a cup of tea. Hook had been opposed to drinking such a nonalcoholic beverage at first but he had come to love it, though he would never admit it. While Regina worked on the tea, Hook would make breakfast. Well, "make" might not be the best word, as all he really did was get out the milk and cereal, but Regina appreciated it regardless and Hook always seemed rather proud of his small contribution to their meal.

"Have you heard from the Charming's?" he asked her as they sat down at the kitchen counter next to each other.

"I spoke to Snow. Just over the phone. It wasn't a big deal I just-

"Sounds like a big deal to me. I'm proud of you, darling."

She smiled. "Gold?"

"Passed him on the street yesterday. Kept my distance. We both saw each other though and I didn't make any efforts to hurt him so…"

"So you're doing good."

"We're doing good."

In the weeks that had followed her mother's death, Hook and Regina had taken to becoming each other's support system. They talked about revenge and how difficult it was to obtain and even more difficult to let go of. Regina told him about the anger she felt every time she saw Snow White. Hook told her that he worried Milah would be disappointed that he had given up on avenging her death. That was what had brought them together in the beginning. They could talk to each other and not be judged. They could get support and an understanding smile. It hadn't taken long for their friendship to turn into love.

"So what is this work you have to attend to today?"

"Paperwork, mostly. For starters I need to get Henry's files in order for his new school year."

"What for?"

"What do you mean "what for"? Henry has to attend school." She laughed but she knew the room was about to get tense. She knew where Hook was heading.

"I mean the lad can take up his schooling at home. He can do it the way you did it."

"First of all, home is here. We are home right now." Hook put his spoon down on the table, gearing up for their usual debate. "Second of all, the way I did it was in the Enchanted Forest and you know that is out of the question."

"It's out of the question to take your son to the land where he would like to live? Your real home?"

"Oh, please don't start this again, Hook," she said as she stood up and collected both of their bowls of untouched cereal and headed over to the kitchen sink.

"Can't start something that hasn't ended, love."

"Don't "love" me when you're trying to tell me what's best for my own son."

She heard Hook rise from his seat. "The boy wants to live in a castle! He's asked me more than once about sword fighting and-"

"Sword fighting?" she asked with a laugh as she turned to face him. He stood at the opposite end of the counter. "He's eleven!"

"And unafraid to leave this cursed town you dreamt up or whatever the hell this place is."

"Afraid? You think I'm afraid?"

He smirked and Regina wanted to ring his neck. "I think you don't want to go back to the person you were and now you are hiding in bloody Storybrooke.'

"You have all the answers this morning, don't you? You've got it all figured out."

"Splendid!" he yelled, ignoring her sarcasm. "Follow my lead and I'll get us to where we need to be in no time."

"You're delusional."

"Must be all this time spent on land. Tends to go to a pirate captain's head."

"Oh, so "land" is what is making you behave like such a cretin?"

"Don't mock me, Regina."

She wanted to mock him. She wanted to scream at him and maybe through a spell in his direction. Instead, she swallowed her anger and bit her tongue until she tasted blood. She closed her eyes until her anger dissipated. She was surprised to find that it was replaced with sadness.

"Why can't this be enough for you? Storybrooke and tea and this house and…me."

He sighed. "Why can't you care enough about me to be willing to leave with me? All of these things that you have in this town are just objects."

"My life is here, Hook," she told him in an almost pleading tone in one last effort to get him to drop their argument.

Hook seemed to consider it for a moment before a tired dejection appeared on his face. "My life is there."

She didn't know what else to say and neither did he. The room grew silent as the pair merely looked at each other, both eyes filled with longing and love.

Eventually Hook simply turned and left.

Hook was conflicted. Not only did Regina infuriate him, as she always did in their arguments, but she also had managed to make him feel rather sad. The woman was maddening. One minute he was laughing with her and the next she made him see red and the next her face looked so fallen and sad that all he wanted to do was hold her until all the pain he had caused her was gone. That's why he left. He couldn't give in that quickly. He needed to think. He needed rum.

Hook was so caught up in his own thoughts that as he stormed through the house's front gate, he nearly knocked two people over.

"Woah, what's the rush?" one of them asked him. He was a young man with light hair and a smile that Hook didn't particularly trust.

"Attempting to get back to my ship, so if you'll excuse me-"

Hook made to move past the two when the woman reached her hand out to stop him. She was darker than the man, both physically and emotionally. Hook could tell just by looking in her eyes; she seemed malicious.

"Hey, one question before you make a run for it," she said with a grin that could fool anyone. "Whose house were you leaving?"

Hook looked the two up and down before asking the obvious question. "Who are you two?"

The woman was quick to answer. "We're shop owners. We live on the other side of Storybrooke; thought we'd take a walk and see what's around here. This beautiful mansion caught our eyes."

Storybrooke. Just hearing the word of this blasted town set his rage off once more.

"You live in town?" They nodded. "Well then that'd be the house of your beloved mayor," he told them through clenched teeth before storming past the two.

His anger consumed him as he walked away, not even bothering to look back; not aware at all that he had just confirmed to Tamara and Greg that the woman they hoped to capture was right inside that beautiful mansion that caught their eyes.

A/N: Hello and welcome to my newest multi-fic Hooked Queen story! I'm currently planning out the rest of the chapters for this so once I have all of that organized I will update as much as possible. The rating may change as the story goes on. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the rest!