She was relieved and a little proud to find the boys hiding in the trees. Apparently, they had spied the approaching ship as well. "Mother!" "Where have you been!" "Tink, it's Hook!" "Hook is back to play with us!" "Let's hide up here and drop down on him and his men!"

A dark haired boy, quieter than the others, and much more serious looked down into her fearful eyes and quickly climbed down from his tree. He moved towards her, pushing her backwards just out of earshot of the boys and whispered, "Who is this Hook that everyone is talking about?" She hesitated, biting her lip, until Tink nudged her hard in her side and she regained her composure. She put her hand on the boy's shoulder and planted her feet as she scanned the trees, looking up at the boys.

"Listen boys! Hook must not know that I am here. He is...he will be, very cross with me. He sent me away from Neverland years ago, and forbade me from returning. But I just couldn't leave you all here on your own. Please, promise me!" The boys all looked confused at her request, they were whispering to each other through the branches. She then looked directly at the oldest of the Lost boys, and stared in his eyes until he nodded back at her grimly. He wore round glasses on the edge of his nose, and a top hat, but the sword in his hand was no child's toy. "You all heard the mother, it's a secret secret...now, shoosh! They will be here any minute." She mouthed the words , thank you, and he grandly tipped his oversized hat to her.

"Play your games, have fun, and don't let those dirty pirates know our secret!" She said with false brightness.

"Hop, come here for a moment..." She called out to the boy with dark eyes, tugging him lightly by his shirt as he started to climb up a tree.
"I have another secret for just you and me." She whispered, as she helped him to the first branch of the tree. His ears were at her eye level now. He stilled and looked at her, biting his bottom lip and waiting.
"No matter what happens, you cannot let Captain Hook know your name."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Hop is a secret secret?"
"No, I mean your other name."
"Oh, I almost forgot that I had another name!" He exclaimed, placing his hand over his mouth when he realized how loud his own voice was.
"From now on, you are Hop, only"
"Hop-only..."
"Yep, you take that other name, the one that only I call you, and you lock it up in your heart, where no one can find it."
"You mean like you did with your other name"
She looked him in his eyes then, shocked.
"I didn't know that you remembered my other name. I thought that you had forgotten."
"I haven't forgotten...but I know it makes you sad when I talk about our old life, so I pretend to forget." He squeezed her hand then, and finished his climb, up 3 more branches and out of reach. And his face just out of her sight.

"Tink, fly ahead and warn all that you can"
"Where are you going to go?"
"The only place I can go where I am sure he won't find me."
"But they hate you...!"
"Yes, but they hate him more..."

Tink looked at her then, recognizing her resolve, and knew that it was pointless to argue. She was going to the mermaids, and there was no way to sway her. She watched her friend disappear into the forest.

Killian Jones swung down into the awaiting rowboat, hook and hand hissing against the rope as he let it wind through. "Toss down my bag Smee! And then yourself."

"The men are wondering if they can have some shore leave, Captain."
"After they have gathered the supplies we need, yes. They are restricted to the beach and the edge of the forest, tell them to go no further than the lower falls. Remind everyone to drink some water while we are here, but we aren't staying long."

A few short moments later the Captain jumped out of the rowboat and his boots landed with a squish in the soft, wet sand. He paid no attention to the scurrying men, the activity on the beach. The sounds of laughter and delight left behind as he stalked past the beach, into the forest, seeking the pools of water in the lower part of an enormous tiered waterfall that reached up to the highest peaks of the purple mountains above. He dipped a flask in a clear pool, filling it and placing it back in his inner coat pocket. He cupped his hand and raised the precious water to his mouth, drinking the healing tonic. He felt the aches and pains of the trip melt away. He looked at his hand and watched as the lines smoothed and he took another sip. He used to be amazed by the wonder of this place. Now, it was simply a place to stop for supplies. The act of drinking the water from Neverland, water that extended his life and rejuvenated his youth, was simply another routine. It held no magic or mystery for him any more. Neverland held too many memories for him now, memories and regrets.

He suddenly became aware of his dusty clothes, the grime on his skin. He walked to where the pools feed down to the river and began to strip off his clothes, laying them in a pile on the shore line. He stood naked in the breeze for a moment and looked down at his body, checking for evidence of some recent wounds. His hands smoothed an area near his hip that should have sported a nasty bruise and a long deep cut. One that had required stitching in order to heal, and found the skin smooth and unmarked. He smile was light, a thin line of appreciation, that didn't reach his eyes. He dug his hand through his bag until his hand found a bar of soap and waded into the water to bathe.

The woman had watched from her perch in the tree, her looking glass prepped on a higher branch as he made his way to the river, allowing herself only the slightest intake of breath when she realized that he was about to do. He suddenly stood naked in the sunlight, the glint of his hook making her wince slightly. She knew she should leave, that she should have already been on the other side of the island by now. She was ashamed at her own weakness, her overwhelming need to see him. She certainly hadn't expected to see this much of them she mused to herself. The light thought suddenly turned heavy in her heart and she began to shut down, steeling herself. " You are a sad, pathetic creature." She said aloud, to herself before she began the slow, silent climb back down the tree.

He knew he was being watched. He could feel it, the hairs on the back if his neck stirring in the cool breeze. "Damn pixies..." He cursed, without much heat. He reached over to the pile of clothes on the shore and began to wash them as well, laying them out to dry on the rocks, and then ducking the rest of his body under the water to relax as the hot sun did its work.

His plan was to simply resupply the ship and then be on their way that next day, after stopping by the hollow for a helping of pixie dust. He did not relish the idea of having interact with the pixies at all, and was hoping that this trip would go much like the rest. The pixies would clear out for a few hours, allowing him to grab what he required, as long as he didn't take more than a small bagful. Once, he had sent some men to take a few sacks full of dust, hoping to avoid any future need of this place. They never returned to the ship, but their screams were heard resounding down the mountain. Tink was the one that came down and told him the new rules, and brokered the truce between the pixies and the pirates. She was ever the practical little brat.

As if on cue, and as though she had read his mind, she suddenly appeared...a small yellow glow just out of his eyesight. She sprang up to her human-like form and nodded her head.

"Hello Captain, it's been years since we saw you last. You have begun to age again."
"Yes, Tinkerbell...I try not to impose myself upon you and your hospitable sisters, nor this magical and heavenly place unless I really have to." The sarcasm in his voice was bitter and biting.

"Staying long?" Her tone the very model of nonchalance.
"Fear not, we shall be gone in the morning...like a dream."
"More like a nightmare."
"You didn't always think so, Tink..."
"That's before I knew you better, before you grew up and became...this." She sneered as she motioned her small hands towards him, contempt in her eyes."The boy you were would hate the man that you have become".

"Oh good, a lecture. It's one of the many reasons I love coming here you know"
"You can make your dark plans, and you may sail through all the realms for a thousand years, my dear Captain, but you can never escape yourself." And with that, she suddenly disappeared, like a puff of smoke, leaving him in a foul mood. He angrily left the water began getting dressed, though his clothes were still damp.

The next morning, Tink and the woman watched from the top of the mountain as the Jolly Roger receded into the sea. It wasn't until she could no longer see the ship that he heartbeat returned to normal, and she relaxed her grip of of her sword. Tink saw her visibly relax her stance, and smiled.

"See, he's gone. And he had no idea you were here. And better yet, his pirates and the lost boys never even saw each other. Except for himself and Smee, none of the pirates even ventured past the beach. They only came for supplies. You worry too much."

"Hmmm, yes...maybe I do worry too much."
"He will likely be back again, from time to time. So, we should come up with, um, standing orders for the pixies and the boys. How were the mermaids by the way?" Tink asked her slyly, knowing full well she had stayed in the forest instead.
"Yeah, well...I didn't have a chance to get all the way to the lagoon. So I hid in the tall trees."
"Hmmm, if you are trying to hide, you probably shouldn't also try to spy at the same time...risky" and her eyes were bright smiling as the woman turned and looked at her surprised and a little chagrined at being caught.

"Hey, I'm human."
"Ugh, don't remind me."

Storybrooke, present day

Hook could barely register the words coming out of the Swan girl's mouth as he stared openly at the woman standing at the helm of one of the motorized boats that made its way through the lanes of the marina to the slip a few yards away from his own ship. Swan and Prince Charming had released him and were escorting him back to his ship. All the way back to his ship. Emma was laying down the law, while her father stood by, backing her up. She was giving him the conditions that he must adhere too in order to avoid being placed back in the jail cell at the sheriff station.

"Are you listening Hook!"
"Yes, yes...no thieving, no killing, leaving Belle and that monster alone until we have dealt with Cora...I get it, I am not a child. And I already agreed, our deal stands." He spat out at her, his eyes averted while he watching the woman in the boat tie off the boat and power down. She had noticed his eyes on her, and had not seemed at all surprised to see him here on the docks, worlds away from when she had last seen him. Any doubts he had about whether it was really her disappeared when she gave him a quick smile as she hopped from her boat to the dock with ease. She was wearing a mix of modern and fairy tale clothes, as well as weapons from both places. She had a delicate white blouse peeking out from a leather waist corset, with knee length boots over blue jeans. She folded a dark green cloak over her arm and threw a satchel over her shoulders. Her dark hair was pulled back with pins in several places from her face, but flowed behind her, long and thick, messy from the wind.

He was in shock, his mind reeling, his breath held. He literally didn't trust his eyes or what he would say. He felt the overwhelming need to grab her and crush her body to his. He was overwhelmed by the sudden and unexpected emotions that surged through his unpracticed heart...joy and no small degree of guilt mixed together and made his stomach flip.

She walked over calmly, spared the Jolly Roger a fond glance, and stopped right beside him, while the Sheriff kept talking and David kept glaring. Emma suddenly stopped talking when she realized their conversation was no longer private.

"Oh hi!" Emma said, as she reached over to give the woman a side hug, smiling...knowing that she could trust the person that was interrupting them to be discreet.

"Hello Emma, it's so nice to see you back at you post, as it were, these are crazy times! We missed you. Though the Prince performed admirably in your absence..." She said quickly, not wanting to give offense to either. He nodded at her with a proud smile as he looked back at his daughter.

"And if rumor proves correct, you must be the infamous Captain Hook?" She turned so that only he could see her face, and while her voice was light and casual, her eyes held a warning. The fear he saw there woke him up from the trance he was in, and he pasted on a smile of his own, playing along with her subterfuge.

"Good news travels fast, I see." He said, his tone light but his face was stern as he looked at her, questions forming in his eyes. She looked relieved as she turned away and looked at Emma expectantly.
Emma started, "Oh, how rude of me...Captain Hook, this is Lily. She is a very nice lady, despite being a lawyer, but her real love is the water..she teaches scuba, and snorkeling, and also does boat charters out in the bay here. She has promised to teach Henry how to sail when things, uh, calm down a bit." Then she added, "She won't tell anyone who she used to be...kind of mysterious actually. She claims she was just a commoner, a normal woman who traveled and lived her life on the sea." She said, her face showing her doubt at this woman being either normal or common.

"Well, it is always great pleasure to meet a fellow sailor... Lily" his mouth quirked involuntarily at her choice of alias.
"The pleasure is all mine, Captain. Well, I must be off. Just wanted to say hello to my new "neighbor". I will leave you to your very serious business. Captain, I am sure I will see you again soon. " She couldn't help herself then, teasing him a bit with the laughter in her eyes, then she smiled at the royals, and spared the Captain one last nod as she walked away.

"Yes, of that I am sure...good day." He was quickly moving from shocked to angry and was frustrated that she was walking away and leaving him without the explanation that she owed him. He sighed heavily as the Sheriff began with, "Now, where were we...".

"Reckless, Wendy...very reckless, " She quietly cursed herself as she reached the end of the docks. She fought the urge to run into the parking lot and then got in her truck and drove away quickly. Knowing that he was still watching her, she didn't look back.