A/N: Sooooo if you grew up watching PBS like me, chances are your understanding of western literature was fundamentally influenced by an inexplicably literate Jack Russell Terrier named Wishbone. (And if you didn't, Wishbone was an educational program for kids about a dog that dressed up and acted out great works of literature, including Robin Hood, Treasure Island, and Frankenstein). Just google it. It's some 90's TV gold.


Chapter 2: Wishbone

The deadbolt popped with a thunk and Killian shouldered open the door to the library, a cup of coffee balanced in his hook. Henry followed behind, carrying their bagged breakfast from Granny's and bemoaning the looming end of his vacation. The lad immediately went to set the bag down on the circulation counter, when Killian motioned Henry to freeze. Killian stilled too and, the two glanced at each other as a rough scratching sound floated through the otherwise quiet library.

"Stay here," he whispered, set the cup down, and slowly stalked the sound through the portico toward the stacks. At the edge of one of the massive bookshelves, he sidled up next to the end of it, and peered around the corner.

A dog—a Jack Russell terrier with a brown ear and a black patch along his back—pawed at a nearby bookshelf. Several books littered the aisle around him, tugged from their places on the lower shelves.

Killian cursed quietly (he was, after all, still in a library), then hissed a disciplinary, "Oi!"

Henry came running at that, only to break into a smile at the sight of the dog, while Killian could only frown at the mess. "Hey boy!" Henry cooed and pulled the pup into his arms. "At least, I think it's a boy."

Killian knelt and picked up the nearest volume to check it for damage. The beast squirmed in the lad's arms. It barked at Killian, a soft, gruff sort of thing, and patted its snout twice. Killian ignored it and went to slip the book back in place. The dog barked again, more urgently this time, and patted its snout again, twice. The captain hushed him with a command, but when he looked at the empty spot the book had been drawn from, he noticed the label didn't quite fit where it had been shelved. The book belonged two spaces over.

Two spaces.

He looked at the dog as he slid the book into its proper place. It wagged its tail in delirious happiness.

Killian pulled another book from the floor, and again noticed this one didn't quite go where it had been, but he intentionally slipped it back three slots out of place. The dog wrestled out of Henry's arm, barked at Killian, scraped its nose three times, and whimpered until Killian set it right. A third book he tried to place on a completely wrong shelf, which earned him a nip at the ankle.

Henry bent to pick up the dog again when its ears perked, its nose sniffed the air, and it took off running toward the entrance just as the door pushed open and Ruby stepped in carrying a grocery bag in one arm.

"Hook? Henry?" She called before catching sight of them in the stacks. The pup stood on his hindquarters and pawed her leg. "Oh, good, you've met Wishbone."

"Is he yours?" Henry asked.

The pup licked at Ruby's face as she kneeled to pet him. "Granny says one dog constantly running around the diner is enough." She stood and shoved the bags into Killian's arms and the pup—Wishbone—switched legs, now pawing Killian's and sniffing at the bag. "He takes his walks at 6 a.m., a scoop of kibble at 7 am and pm-"

Killian frowned into the paper bag stuffed with dog treats and dry food and leashes. "What's all this to do with me?"

"Belle said you're assisting the substitute librarian," replied Ruby.

"By taking care of his dog?"

"By taking care of him."

Killian nearly dropped the bag on the curious canine. "This is Belle's substitute!?"

She nodded. "He came over with the last curse. He's sort of been Belle's assistant for a while now. Reads almost as many languages as she does."

"The library is to be run by a literate canine?"

The werewolf him an eyebrow.

"Right. Sorry."

Wishbone notched an ear at that, turned his head back to Ruby, barked a few low barks and Ruby laughed her understanding.

"What'd he say?" asked Henry.

Ruby smiled wide. "Killian's first assignment."

-0-

Though the dog couldn't speak directly to Killian or Henry, through Ruby they developed their own sort of code where a bark meant so many shelves up and a tap of the nose meant so many books over. By the time Emma showed up for lunch, Killian had been all over the library with the little ankle biter, pulling many of the books he and Henry had worked well into the night to put away.

Wishbone watched over Henry's shoulder as Henry checked the large stack of books at the circulation desk. Emma lifted a brow at the subjects: personal development, anger management, negative emotions, and so on.

"Starting a support group, kid?"

"Apparently," sighed Killian, leaning on the edge of the counter and looking particularly bored. "These are my homework."

Henry beeped the last title through the system and slid the whole lot into a canvas bag. "All done."

"Good," replied Emma. "You two ready for burgers?"

"Ecstatic," moaned Killian as he sauntered for the door.

Wishbone let out a series of sharp barks and Killian stopped in his tracks, rolled his eyes, and marched back to the counter. He took the bag from Henry and slung it over his shoulder in defeat.

Wishbone's tail wagged in approval.

-0-

Shelving books and shoving carts around wasn't quite as demanding as working the rigging of a ship, but it was a workout none-the-less and Killian was rather sore by the time he nestled into bed at Granny's. He tossed the worn copy of the Hero Within onto his nightstand and turned his hook to remove it, when a whimper sounded at his door.

He pulled himself out of bed, crossed the room and, with slumped shoulders, opened the door.

Wishbone sat in the hall, the faintest whimper in his throat as he stared up at Killian.

"You've had your supper, plenty of water, and Henry took you for a walk," huffed the pirate. "What more could you want?"

The pup's ears drooped and his eyes deepened to something sad, something Killian recognized.

"The curse brought you here, but it didn't give you a home, did it?"

Wishbone's eyes trailed to the floor.

Killian sighed and stepped aside. "Alright. Just for the night, mind."

The dog's claws clattered against the wood floor as he scrambled into the room.

"But not on the—" Killian started, but too late. Wishbone leaped onto the mattress, turned a few quick circles, and tucked himself into a ball at the foot of the bed.

Killian only pushed the door shut gently, slid back into bed, slipped off his hook, and turned out the light, too tired to care.

-0-

Just before six the next morning, Hook stumbled down the stairs as the unfamiliar pull of a leash in his hand constantly tugged him off balance. (The little terrier might have been small, but brimmed with energy.)

Ruby was already at the counter prepping for the day, and, taking pity on the bleary eyed captain, slid a cup of coffee at him.

"On the house," she nodded.

Killian paused and slipped the leash into the crook of his arm so he could settle the drink into his hook.

"I suppose I should speak to the prince about finding the pup a permanent home. Surely someone's willing to adopt him."

The brunette snickered at him and went back to wiping the counter. "You don't adopt a dog, Hook. They adopt you."

"What? No, I'm not going to-" Killian started, but Leroy walked in just then. Wishbone saw his opportunity and dashed for the door, dragging the captain with him.

"I'll have David draw up the papers," Ruby called after them. "I don't think the shelter charges to adopt pirates!"