Yay! You made it, I made it, we made it! We survived the no posting over the weekend! It was a killer for me as well! But I had some amazing feedback to welcome me home and I want to thank you all for that!

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The Thief and the Pirate

Chapter Nine

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The first thing Henry sees as he slides down into the Lost Boy's home is his mother looking at the entrance expectantly, tears gleaming in her eyes. He doesn't even take in the rest of the scene before he is crashing into her, wrapping his arms around her waist, "Mom! You found me."

She envelops him in the hug, pressing her lips to the top of his head, "That seems to be what our family does. It's so good to see you."

Neal steps forward, clapping Henry on the shoulder. It's then that the young boy pulls away and realises who else is in the room. He reaches out, wrapping an arm around Neal and pulling him in as well, "I'm so happy to see you both."

Emma allows Neal to put an arm around her, returning the gesture, forgetting for a moment that she is mad at him, just glad to have her son safe and back with her.

From behind them, the sounds of the returning Lost Boys pulls them out of the moment, Tigs coming up to Henry to tug his sleeve, "Will you finish our story?"

"Oh, I-um…" he looks up at his parents, "I was telling our stories."

Even though they are on a time limit, Emma can't bring herself to disappoint the boys. Kneeling down in front of Henry, she places her hands on his shoulders, "Okay, kid. But we've gotta move as well. So how about you bring the Lost Boys with us?"

Tigs looks absolutely beside himself with the idea of another adventure on the same day and nods enthusiastically, "Where are we to go?"

Emma smiles at the Lost Boy, "We're going to find a pirate ship."

"A pirate ship?" They all look up as the body belonging to the sweet voice flutters down the entrance chute to the underground house, "We've seen enough pirate ships for today, I-"

She stops as she comes into the open, her wings barely keeping her afloat as she takes in the people standing before her. She hovers in front of one of the men, inspecting him closely before a tear slides down her cheek. "Neal!" Flying forward she wraps her tiny arms around his neck, "Oh I can't believe it's you! You grew up." She pulls back, touching his face, "And you found your father. I can just feel it; you found him."

Before anyone has a chance to process anything, Tinkerbell notices who else is in the room. Rounding on Hook, her demeanour changes in an instant, with her petite form only capable of one emotion at a time, "And you! I heard you ended up back in the Enchanted Forest with no hope of exacting your revenge." She's almost sing-songy about it, teasing him in her pent up anger.

He looks ashamed for his past behaviour, "I offer my deepest apologies, Tink."

She watches him for a long moment, eyes darting all over his face, checking for honesty. Finally she flies up to his cheek, kissing him softly, "I missed you, Killian."

His old grin is back in place as he holds out his hand for the fairy to sit on, "I told you; it's Hook."

Smiling back up at him, she corrects him, "No, I can only see Killian in you now."

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They've been walking for a while, Tinkerbell leading the way with her golden glow, when Emma catches up with Hook. She had been bringing up the back of their motley crew, captured by the way Henry told his stories with such promise and hope, but had found herself overcome with curiosity on a different matter.

Her footsteps alert Hook to her presence and he turns his head to greet her, "While your concern warms me, I am capable of walking alone if you would prefer to be with your boy."

She bumps against his shoulder, checking behind her to see Henry still captivating Tigs and now Neal with his story telling, "Nah, I wanted to ask you something."

He seems chuffed to have gained her attention, "Anything, my dear."

She nods, taking a moment to gather her thoughts, before gesturing ahead at the fairy, "You know Tinkerbell, huh?"

"Of course."

He doesn't offer her anything other than that and she's finding it hard to ask what she wants to ask. Taking her silence as a cue, however, he reaches down to hold one of her tightly balled fists, "I came here when I was very young, love. I was from your land, long ago and my family, well they weren't very good people."

She swallows, looking up at him, "Did they ever know where you went?"

He shakes his head, "I did not wish them to follow. They would have only wanted me to grow up, become boring and unadventurous."

"And Tink…"

He smiles, "She helps the Lost Boys find a home here. And when I decided that sailing the seven seas was the life for me, she helped me…obtain the Jolly Roger."

There's a laugh buried somewhere in his tone that suggests to her that his acquisition of the ship may not have been entirely legal in her land, "She helped you steal your boat?"

"Ship, love. And aye. That fairy has always been more at home on the high seas than in her hollow." He looks at Tink with a sort of glow in his eyes; she's his best friend, "But when I wished to sail further than Neverland, she could not join me; as much as she wished to, her responsibility here was too great. So she sent me with a crew of the Lost Boys and we left for other realms."

"It sounds like you parted on good terms. Why was she so mad at you earlier today?"

His eyes darken, "I was selfish, Emma. I tried to stop Neal from finding his father so that I could take the portal to the Crocodile. You must understand that I was blinded by Milah's passing. But alas, the boy outran me and I was sent back to your parent's home to attempt to avenge Milah's death there."

She's still trying to wrap her head around it all, when Neal pipes up behind them, "Milah? My mother, Milah?"

Neither of them had realised he'd gotten so close to them on the trail, "Your mother?" Emma asked, adding that piece of knowledge to the ever growing confusion in her mind.

He nods, "Yeah, my mother's name was Milah."

They both look at Hook expectantly and when he nods Emma finds herself having to pull Neal back from hitting the pirate, "You're the reason she's dead, aren't you? You're responsible!" He's shouting, trying to break free of Emma's grasp.

Hook is sure to make eye contact with Neal, "Aye boy, but I did not kill her."

"And why should I believe you?"

Hook raises his wrist, baring his tattoo, "Because I loved her."

Neal stops fighting, instead staring longingly at the tattoo, "But she…"

Hook takes a step forward, patting Neal on the arm, "She was a wonderful woman who married a coward of a man."

Emma releases Neal from her hold as the pieces snap together for her, "He didn't…"

Neal's eyes dart from Emma to Hook, trying to believe what he knows to be true, "He couldn't have."

Hook takes a tentative step forwards, "I'm sorry, boy."

They've kind of stopped in the middle of the track, Neal finding that his legs won't carry him any further, "No. No it can't have been him. He loved her." But he lacks conviction in his voice as everything falls into place for him as well. Because he knows that his father was never really his father after he had become the Dark One. As the realisation dawns on him, he sinks to his knees, unable to hold himself up anymore. He looks up at the pirate, "He killed her."

And Hook nods.

Neal bows his head again, allowing this new information to wash over him. He can vaguely process a conversation between Emma and Hook about needing to keep moving, but it's not until Tinkerbell comes to land on his shoulder that he pays attention, "Come now, Neal. Let's get you home."

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Gold's shop has the closed sign up, but Regina forces her way past it without thought, charging through to the back room to where she knows Rumple will be hiding. Mary Margaret and David follow her in and find Regina with her hand around Rumplestiltskin's throat.

Mary Margaret pulls at her, trying to get her to stop, "Regina! You don't want to do this!"

The Queen turns to face her step-daughter, "He sent Henry away. Of course I want to do this."

Snow reaches up, grasping Regina's hand and bringing it down as Rumple coughs and draws in breath, "He might be the only way to get them back as well."

"Oh, I'm not going to help you, if that's what you think," the Dark One leers. David pulls him backwards by his arms. He has nothing to bind them with, but allows a satisfied smirk to adorn his face at the grunt of displeasure coming from Rumple.

"How do we get them back?" he grits out.

"You don't," he says simply, clearly enjoying this all too much.

"Why did you send Henry away?" Regina tries.

"He is a threat. You're lucky I didn't kill him."

"He's just a boy!" Mary Margaret cuts in. She pushes past Regina suddenly understanding why the Queen had been so desperate to kill Rumple, "How is he a threat to you?"

But Regina snaps her fingers, freezing everyone in place, "You listen to me, you selfish imp, have you not learnt the ways of your seer powers yet? You think Henry is a danger? What caveat have you missed?"

They hear Rumplestiltskin almost growl in answer and Regina clicks her fingers again, allowing him to speak. But before he can say anything, he casts a spell around himself, pushing everyone back and away from him, "I am not wrong about this one, dearie. And I will not help you."

Regina tries to break down his protection, but only succeeds in exhausting herself while Mary Margaret and David are little but helpless to watch.

..:::..

The ship is in their sights. The rest of the journey has been travelled in silence as Neal had processed everything he had been told, but now that they're back here and they can see the portal in the distance, still swirling, each of their demeanours picks up a little.

Henry runs ahead, in awe of the Jolly Roger, "Can I steer again?" He asks his father.

Neal turns towards Hook, their interactions still strained, but not laced with as much tension as before, "You'll have to ask the Captain."

Hook nods, "Go ahead," and gives Neal a pleading look, silently begging him to not destroy his ship.

The father and son run ahead as Tinkerbell asks the Lost Boys to stay on shore as she'll be back in just a moment, "Where are you going?" Tigs asks.

"Just saying goodbye to an old friend, young one."

She flies to catch up to Emma and Hook, who are just raising the gangplank before they set sail, "Tink, what are you doing?"

The fairy takes up her favourite position, on the shoulder of her pirate, "I just want to see you for as long as possible. It has been such a long time between visits."

He nods, "It's getting harder and harder to travel across realms, but I promise to return as soon as I am able."

She leans against his cheek, "Bring Emma with you again."

He smiles, "I might."

"You will."

Neal and Henry begin to set sail, rocking the Jolly Roger into the rhythm of the ocean, "Steady as she goes," the pirate calls out, climbing the stairs to help with the steering.

Tinkerbell stays down on the main deck with Emma, watching the three boys as they each turn the wheel, sailing them ever closer to home, "You'll take care of him, won't you?"

Emma turns her head to the fairy, a frown on her face, "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Sure you do," she takes a seat on Emma's shoulder now, "He's only Killian again because of you."

"I didn't have that much of an influence, I'm sure…"

The fairy smiles an all knowing smile, "Just trust me. It's my last wish."

It takes Emma a moment to catch up to what has just been said and by the time she can manage a, "Wait. What?", Tinkerbell has taken off again.

"That portal we're approaching, it's closing. I'm going to go make sure it stays open for you," she shouts back.

Emma runs up the stairs, grabbing Killian and shakily turning his attention to the fairy, "I don't know what she's going to do, but she gave me a last wish and said something about keeping the portal open and I…"

She stops abruptly as the pirate calls out a strangled, "No!" looking up as Tinkerbell begins to spin in that way he knows will be her last, her quiet aura reaching out as she tumbles through the air out over the portal.

As she turns to face the ship, she smiles a sad smile, kissing her hand and blowing it to the occupants of the Jolly Roger. With a final wave, she rolls the fairy dust into a golden ball and whispers her goodbye as she sends the life force into the portal.

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*Runs and hides*