Chapter 1: A Captain's Anchor
Hook stood in shock after the witch had took her leave of the cursed tower and he gulped slightly as he heard the small infant begin to cry; He slowly approached the poor excuse for a cot and awkwardly took the crying baby into his arms, being careful not to harm her with his hook,
"Shhhhh... There there, Lass" he soothed, feeling awkward but soon gave a soft smile as he sat down in a chair,
"Now, you don't have to worry about a thing because you'll never be left within this tower alone... Your papa's always gonna be here, lass" he whispered soothingly before lifting her gently and pressed a soft kiss to the baby's forehead as her cries turned to soft gurgles of contentment and it was now Hook whom had a tear falling down his cheek,
"I can only think of one name that something so precious like you would be worthy of... My mother's name... Oh she would have loved you and donn't worry because I'm going to make sure you know every detail about her so that you will feel that you've always known her... The same goes for my brother, Liam... Your uncle. He would have loved you too, Little one... Little Alice" he whispered with a smile on his face as he watched Alice's tiny fingers wrap around his finger after placing it within her tiny palm.
Alice became Hook's secret as he didn't want any word getting out about his child growing up within a tower as he had many enemies whom would want to harm her. It had been his very first day with little Alice and he had just managed to get the baby asleep when a voice came from the bottom of the tower,
"Captain?!" Smee yelled in a concerned manner and this caused baby Alice to startle awake and begin to cry, causing Hook to panic,
"Shhhhh... Shhhhh... It's alright" he told the baby and she soon calmed down once more and Hook made sure she was comfortable within her blanket before going to the window and popped his head over the ledge,
"Smee, you old dog. What took you so long?!" he yelled down and fought the urge to smile when he heard his baby girl gurgle as if she where laughing at his teasing of Smee,
"When you didn't return to the ship, Captain. I came looking for you. Is everything ok?" Smee asked and Hook put on a false scowl,
"Does it look like everything's ok?! Turns out the beautiful lass I was helping was the cursed witch in disguise. She used that bloody flower to curse me in her place!" Hook yelled and Smee looked horrified,
"You're... You're trapped?!... Wh... What are we gonna do captain?!" Smee asked worryingly,
"Don't worry, Smee! There's all sorts of books of magic the witch left behind up here... It will take a while but I'll get out at some point but I need you to bring me food every day! Go now and bring me food, clothes, rope, a bow and arrow and any other provisions you think I might need!" he instructed and Smee nodded in understanding before going to leave,
"And Smee?!" Hook called after him,
"No rum!... Just milk and fruit juice. I want to keep a clear mind If I'm going to escape this bloody tower!" he yelled and watched Smee nod before rushing off.
Hook sighed as baby Alice cried within her cot,
"Come on lass, Give papa a hint about what's wrong" he begged desperately as he picked her up and rocked her gently but nothing would sooth her; He had changed her, fed her, burped her but she still continued to cry and the thought that she might be ill continued to haunt Hook's mind and he soon placed the crying baby back within her cot,
"Don't worry, Alice. Papa's not gonna leave you" he assured her before standing to full height and looked around helplessly before developing a look of realization and he closed his eyes,
"Rumplestiltskin... Rumplestiltskin... Rumplestiltskin" he whispered before turning quickly as the man with golden scales appeared behind him and gave a sinister giggle,
"Well I never would have foreseen this... Got yourself into a little bit of trouble haven't we pirate?" the imp mocked with a giggle and Hook glared at him,
"She's not trouble. She's my daughter" Hook growled and Rumplestiltskin gave another giggle before vanishing and reappearing behind him but this time with a crying baby Alice in his arms,
"And you want me to... Take care of her?" he asked in a sinister manner with a smirk upon his face as he brushed his finger across the place above the baby's heart but before Hook could react the baby vanished from the crocodile's arms,
"That won't be necessary" a voice said causing the two enemies to look towards the other side of the room to discover a human Rumplestiltskin standing their with a now peacefully sleeping Baby Alice within his arms as he rocked her gently,
"What sorcery is this?!" the cursed Rumple demanded in anger but the human Rumple was not affected,
"You are not needed here. All you need to do is take this map and leave" his human self told Rumple whom smirked,
"And why would I do that?" he demanded, looking at the map that had been offered to him in a questioning manner,
"Because... It will lead you to Belle" Rumple told his cursed self and watched the smirk vanish from his face,
"You know I'm not lying... She's alive and is still locked within the Queen's tower... Take this map and never come back here" Rumple warned his cursed self whom looked unsure for a moment before glaring at Hook and took the map in his scaled hand,
"Deal" he growled before vanishing in a puff of smoke.
Hook was relieved as the human Rumplestiltskin placed Baby Alice back into his eager arms,
"That wasn't your best tactic, calling for the beast who hates nothing more than yourself, Captain" Rumple pointed out and Hook looked confused,
"I know... But she's Ill and I... I didn't know what to do but... Who are...?" he tried,
"I'm not the Rumplestiltskin of your realm" Rumple explained as he moved towards, the baby's cot and transformed it into something more suitable,
"You're lucky that when you called for the other me, I also heard the summon. This could have ended far worse because you didn't think things through" Rumple scolded, watching as Hook rocked his daughter with an expression of concern on his face and soon sighed,
"I don't blame you... Had I been you in the same position. I too would have called upon his greatest enemy knowing that they could save my child" Rumple said,
"Lucky for you she's not ill. She's just teething" Rumple explained before waving his hand and caused a teething toy to appear and offered it to Hook whom hesitantly accepted it before offering it to baby Alice who began sucking on the toy,
"I... I don't know what I'm doing" Hook whispered sadly,
"she's only a few months old and you're still new at this" Rumple defended,
"Can... Can you vanish her blood bond to the tower?" he asked and watched hopelessly as Rumple shook his head,
"I'm afraid not. Blood magic is something that even I didn't completely master and you're daughter's bond to this tower is too strong" he explained but Hook soon looked determined,
"Then I will find a way." he said causing Rumple to smile,
"A father's love for his child knows no bounds... I wish you luck" he bid before waving his hand and caused a baskets of various clothes to appear,
"In order of age for your daughter and there are also clothes that you shall be comfortable in too." Rumple told him before offering his hand to shake but Hook looked confused,
"Why are you helping me?" he asked and Rumple gave a sad smile,
"Because I promised someone I loved that I would no longer be a beast" he answered and it was after a moment that Hook shook Rumple's hand and their relationship as enemies vanished with it.
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TheAuthor1996