THE PROMPT: the-lady-of-misthaven asked for 28 and Captain Charming … "Marry me?"

Hold That Thought

It was the kind of secret a father had mixed feelings about. Of course he had always assumed that an ancient pirate such as Killian Jones would do the old fashioned thing and come seeking his approval - hell, dreaming up increasingly more outrageous ways to panic his mate into thinking he would stand in their way was one of his favourite daydreams.

(Let's face it, he deserved a chance to give back some of the grief the pirate dished out on a daily basis. He was due a win.)

There was not a doubt in his mind that Killian's 300 years of life had been Fate's way of ensuring he and Emma found each other. You weren't half of the fairytale couple that was Snow White and Prince Charming without knowing a thing or two about true love, and despite some initial misgivings - no one's first choice for their only daughter was a cutthroat pirate, after all - Emma and Killian showed all the signs.

It was only a matter of time.

And circumstance.

This trip to Camelot had done many things, not least of which was to prove yet again that Captain Hook was a persona that no longer lived a life of his own. Killian Jones was here, fighting for Emma, believing in her light even when the situation seemed at its most hopeless.

Once, in another place that seemed a lifetime ago, he had watched a pirate look at his daughter with unrestrained longing and felt the itch of his sword hand, desperate to protect her - not that she needed it - from his villainous clutches. Now, he saw only a man who would, indeed, go to the end of the world to keep his daughter safe with no thought to the cost to himself. Who would fight for Emma's chance to choose the right path and would do whatever it took to help her do it. Who believed in Emma Swan without question.

A hero. Her hero.

He had finally convinced Killian to rest, to take a quiet moment to sleep while Henry sat with Emma. The man's eyes had been ringed with red, dark circles on his skin rivalling the kohl around his eyes. It had taken a promise of staying nearby, of waking him at the slightest provocation that had finally convinced him to let the exhaustion take hold. Shoulders slumped, he had crawled into the bed in his old room at Granny's, his breathing regular and even before his head had touched the pillow.

The murmuring started almost immediately, clear sign of a man with too much to consider, too many worries for one mind to process. David tried not to listen to the jumbled words, but Killian's voice became clearer as has he tossed and turned under the light blanket.

"Swan…"

"...love you."

"Marry me…"

David smiled sadly, a deep sigh escaping his lips as he hoped against hope that the pirate - his dear friend - got the chance to say those words in happier times. What did it say for the man that even in the most dire of circumstances, his dreams held the promise of a future with his love?

Settling into the armchair in the corner of the room, he looked across at Killian, still now, but with the softest of smiles playing on his lips, his dreams clearly offering a respite that Camelot would never.

"Hold that thought, mate. Hold that thought."