KILLIAN (STORYBROOKE)
Killian sat at the stool in the Charmings kitchen as Snow buzzed around him, heaping a homemade breakfast on his plate. She had made a smiling face out of blueberries in his pancakes, and cut the fruit into cheesy little hearts in an attempt to cheer him up and Killian couldn't help but smile THEN rolling his eyes at her. He rubbed his hands, both hands on his face, exhausted at the lack of sleep the absence of his wife was causing.
He stared at the left hand. Not because it was there, he had had it back for sometime now and thought nothing of that, but rather at the plain but elegant wedding ring on it. Emma had until noon to find her way back here, otherwise he was going to start moving heaven and earth (or in this case harass Regina and Rumple) into finding a way to go after her.
He was so worried that the smell of the food made him feel nauseated not hungry but he appreciated the effort Snow was making on his behalf. She had restrained herself at least from giving any speeches this morning on hope or if you just believe enough or love conquers all, and he commended her on the restraint as he could see her ideals dancing about in that brain of hers just trying to escape.
He did not need the speech. He already believed in Emma. That was never the issue. She would find a way back. He just worried about her being alone, facing whatever she was facing by herself, and wished at least there was a way that he could have at least been there with her. A strange repressed memory, an image of them flashed through his brain, but he could not grasp it and just as suddenly it was gone.
He sighed heavily and Snow patted his hand in comfort and started cutting up his pancakes for him, like she would a child, as that would somehow seduce him into eating them.
HOOK
The first thing that Hook noticed was himself, the dashing rapscallion himself in the centre of the image. Except not so dashing, rather a little haggard, as if he had not slept or eaten and shockingly not so rapscallion either. Gone was his pirate clothes, replaced with clothing that was foreign to him, but carried a look of authority and respectability. The bulk of his jewellery was gone, other than the earring, his wedding band and a large brooch of some kind, a big silver star that he was shocked to barely read had the words Sherriff emblazoned on it. He was wearing some type of holster and had a weapon at his hip as well as handcuffs. The clothes might have been different but he knew what a Sheriff was.
"Bloody Hell, I am a Sheriff"
"No, deputy sheriff"
Hook shook his head, he wasn't even in charge? What the hell about his ship? Had he gone daft?
"Who is the Sheriff?
"Me"
He shook his at least understanding the connection now to his new employment. He stared back at the image, noticing next that he had two hands again, even the hook that was such a part of his identity and history was gone. He was almost offended at the change. The hook was part of him, and its absence made him feel disconnected to this other version of himself in front of him.
He looked away from the offending hand and watched the dark headed woman with the other version of himself. He knew instinctively it must be her mother, the Snow White from her story earlier. She clucked about the future version of himself, heaping food on the plate, and horrifyingly actually cutting his food for him. The woman was trying to mother him, for crying out loud. The whole thing seemed a little ridiculous to the motherless pirate that Hook was until he was undone and moved by an insignificant gesture. Snow had reached out with a warmth and familiarity, without awkwardness and simply patted his hand reassuringly. Such a small thing but it spoke of so much more.
As if they were family.
KILLIAN (STORYBROOKE)
David plopped down in the stool beside Killian, invading his space with various maps he had brought with him to breakfast. The text Killian had received from Emma before she disappeared was frustratingly short and to the point
"Gone with rabbit to Wonderland to try to find the mushroom. Be back as soon as I can X0X0, Swan."
While his imagination ran wild with every type of worse case scenario situation as possible, David had excitedly started planning the portal, just expecting Emma to return with the mushroom and the rebuilding of the kingdom that Snow and he had lost with the curses. He was far more interested in getting Killian to help him with the maps then worrying overly about his daughter.
"Bloody hell Dave, can we get Emma back first AND then focus on the maps? He grumbled. "How are your guys not freaking out?"
"Well compared to sending your newborn infant daughter through a wardrobe to a strange new world alone, hoping that she will grow up, somehow find you and break a curse... " Charming joked but stopped when Killian shot him a look that was anything other than amused.
"Come on it's Emma. Compared to everything we have faced in the last few years a quick trip into Wonderland with her magic as protection, I predict she is back for lunch"
David patted Killian on the shoulders in support.
"Help me with my maps and if she is not back by noon, I will go to Rumple and you can go to Regina"
Killian grumbled, but nodded his consent, starting to amend the Enchanted Forest maps from his previously memory when Henry came into the room. Killian stood up to greet him in a mutual hug.
"What do we know about Wonderland? Henry asked sharing Killian's concern a bit more than her parents.
"I was there once, with Cora but to be honest I don't remember much.."
Hook
Hook watched the exchanges between the parties, focusing less on the words and more at the interaction.
"It is not just you and me" Emma said softly from behind him.
"Snow is the mother figure you never had. David is the brother you lost with Liam. Henry is the son to you that you looked for in his father Bae."
"This is the future we need to protect. It is so much more than US. It is all of us. My family is your family as well."
"That's my home. That will one day be your home..."
She pulled the memory potion out of her pockets and handed them to him for safe keeping. Hook could not talk his emotions were so overwhelming.
"Can I trust you to drink the memory potion Hook and get it into Cora as well? She asked.
"Yes". And finally this time, it was the truth, and Hook knew that she could tell. It still occurred to him that this could all be a trick, her magic with a fake image, but it didn't even matter. Hook had been single minded in his pursuit for revenge and never did he want to kill Rumple a fraction that he wanted the home for himself that the people in the mirror, combined with this woman could create. It could be a 1% chance only and he would still now risk everything for it. For her. For all of them. For a happy ending.
" I don't want to say goodbye, I would rather let you watch me say hello" Emma said exiting the rabbits home. Hook understood what she meant and continued to watch the screen before him as she left with the rabbit from this time and appeared in the mirror with the rabbit in the room with the others.
He watched as the other version of himself growled at her, but half ran, stumbled to embrace her, a stream of banter flowing between the parties. He watched as Killian literally handcuffed his wife to himself and threatened to lose the key, watched as Emma, half starved by the journey and Killian suddenly with an appetite begin competing for the bacon on his breakfast plate.
Emma turned suddenly and blew a kiss to him in the direction she knew he was watching and he saw Killian's eyes widen when she whispered who it was to him.
And the mirror was just like that a mirror again. Tears where in Hook eyes, but not unhappy ones. He had expected when she left to feel a deep sense of loss, but instead he felt content at the knowledge what awaited.
Hook was now far closer to the Killian he would be in the future to the version of himself of only yesterday.
Because now he believed in love again. Family.
The darkness in him faded as Hook embraced the hope.
Now all he had to do was get an angry powerful sorceress who would want to rip his heart out to drink a magic potion at the same time he did. The idea of his potential death really suddenly bothered him a hell of a lot more now he had something to lose.
Hook scratched his head, desperate for an idea...