The rum was a comforting warmth as he swallowed. Before capping his flask, he tilted it toward David, who took him up on the offer. The other man no longer winced when he drank the strong brew, and Killian marked that down to pain being a relative thing. He himself didn't cower from much of anything these days.

The Jolly Roger had often been his sanctuary during these dark times, and Emma's father had come round today. The deck was a solid resting place for them, as the tide softly splashed against the hull of the ship.

"She loves you, you know," David said.

"Aye." That was good for another draught.

"The course of true love never runs straight," the other man continued.

"Seemed to do all right for you, mate."

David emitted a soft chuckle. "You mean after the trolls and curses and my father and her step-mother, and losing our child…"

Killian waved his hook. "Enough said." He took another swig, and then handed off to David again. "So when did you know she was the one?"

David drank. "Apart from the thing with my mother's ring?"

Killian nodded. "That's when you knew you loved her. When did she capture your mind?"

"I think it was when she clobbered me in the head with that jewelry box. Nothing like getting hit in the head to get a man's attention."

"Emma used that bloody compass on me." He absently ran his hand along the site of that blow, long past but never forgotten. "She has fire, and grit."

"Like her mother."

Killian turned, and fixed a look at the man who had become part family and part friend. "You realize she's not the only member of the Charming clan to thump me in the head."

David frowned, considering this. Killian knew he remembered when his face cleared. "I hit you when you came to our loft."

"Aye."

"Because you knocked me out in the sheriff's station."

"I was owed the blow."

A companionable silence followed. Killian spun the stopper back onto his flask and pocketed it, his mood somehow lifting in spite of the fact that Emma was still the bloody Dark One and nothing had really been resolved. Beside him, he felt a stirring as David began to laugh.

"What?"

"It's just…" David reached over and slapped Killian on the back. "I guess I have to say that you got my attention back then."

The grin spread across Killian's face. "And you, mine."

"God, I thought I hated you."

"It's hard to hate me, Dave. I'm captivating."

"That you are." He stood, and proffered a hand. "Now let's go get Emma back before you turn mushy on me."

Killian took the hand and stood. "I prefer the term brooding."

"Brood all you want," David said. "But I'm glad to have you on my team."

Team. It wasn't a crew, but it was something solid, and he accepted that it was even better.

"Let's go save Emma, mate."