Sarah stood at the bulwarks, staring out at the island of Neverland. She felt herself falling into a deep depression as she thought of Max alone and unprotected on the dangerous isle. The crew was busy lowering three long boats into the water which left her alone with her thoughts. Up until now all she had been thinking about was Max and how she had to save him, but now her mind wandered to thoughts of Hook.
How did he feel about having to go after a boy he didn't know except for Tinker Bell's description and Sarah's brief words? He had seemed so reluctant to rescue Max. But that kiss Sarah had given him seemed to have lifted his spirits slightly and that puzzled Sarah. Why did he seem to soften around her? Then just as a very troubling thought came to Sarah she felt a presence behind her.
She turned to see Hook staring past her and out at the island. His face was staid and there was a wall across his features that kept his true emotions hidden from all who looked upon him. Sarah smiled; she was always happy when she was around him. But she didn't know why.
"Hello, Captain." she said, her hand resting on the railing.
Hook turned his gaze to Sarah; he seemed to not have even noticed she was there; he was completely engulfed in his thoughts.
"Hello, Miss Murdoch." he said, his face, once again, softening as he looked upon her in the late afternoon light, "Are you ready to go?"
"Yes." Sarah broke away from the side of the chip and crossed to Hook. "Thank you, Captain. This really means a lot to me." Then, to herself, "I hope Max is okay." Hook's face hardened all over again and he turned away from her so she could not see the hurt in his face. It was then that Smee called that the long boats were ready to go ashore.
"We should get on out way then." Hook said walking to a ladder leading to a long boat floating on the surface. He helped Sarah in and sat her next to himself in the middle of the boat. He would not have liked to admit that he was afraid that the crocodile would come up on one of the more vulnerable sides of the craft. After a few minutes one of the pirates pointed to something in the water. The water was bubbling and churning not three feet away. The occupants of the boat gasped as more than a dozen mermaids surfaced in front of them. They bared their jagged teeth then dove back under the water. A few seconds later they emerged again, this time fully surrounding the long boat. Sarah huddled next to Hook as one of mermaids hissed at her and gnashed its teeth. Hook never divulged the fact that he enjoyed that moment of closeness.
"What cozening is this?!" Hook exclaimed, drawing his sword and standing up to battle the she-fish. The other pirates took up the cue to battle and stood, their cutlasses and pistols aimed at the devil fish. Sarah drew her snake sword and jumped into the en guard position. The mermaids paid no heed to their menacing poses but instead leapt at the band of pirates. The group was immediately knocked into the water, the mermaids' element, where they were left to try vainly to defend themselves against the attacking she-fish. One by one the pirates were dragged down by the mermaids. Hook raised his iron claw to strike a red headed mermaid when his arm was grasped from behind by a blonde mermaid. The mermaid wrenched his threatening arm backwards causing him to grunt in pain. A few more mermaids swarmed him and held him back as he struggled to free himself. The last thing Hook saw before he disappeared underwater was Sarah being forced down by two mermaids.