The Hardest Battles are the ones within Chapter 26, an once upon a time fanfic

Long chapter tonight...

As always please review

Enjoy

"Where the hell is Whale?" Emma grit out looking to the flap in the teepee as she clutched onto Junior who was still giving the occasional whimper in her arms "It's alright, Momma's got you, you're alright"

He gave a little groan and his hand came up to his stomach seconds before he lurched sideways and puked onto the ground just narrowly missing Liam who was still by Emma's side but instead of jumping out of the way like she expected, Liam just supported Junior and rubbed his hand on his back.

"It's alright Lad, just let it out... that's it... you are alright" Liam soothed while stopping Junior from falling from Emma's knee.

If she hadn't been so worried about the Kid and Hook Emma might have given Liam's seemingly caring nature more appreciation but her nerves were in tatters so once Junior was done and he was tucked back against her front she just concentrated on her Pirate who was clearly in pain as he lay with his face screwed up and his teeth bared while her Dad knelt next to him fussing over his blankets.

"Talk to me" Whale burst out as he came into the teepee followed by Ginny who ran off across the tent to grab the bag of medical supplies. Emma, her Dad and Liam all started talking at once until Whale screamed "STOP... God, one at a time! Emma, what happened?"

"Voodoo magic we think. We figured out their effigy was in Pandora's Box with Gold but before we had a chance to get to it Facilier sent Pan inside and he must have gotten hold of it. We presume Gold got it back 'cause he's healed Junior's injuries but I think because of whatever I did to stop the voices in Hook's head he couldn't hear the instructions... so for him it didn't work"

She held back her guilt and just watched as Whale pulled on a pair of disposable gloves then met her eyes "So what am I looking at? Apart from the usual vomiting of course" he looked down at the floor and asked "That from Junior?"

Emma nodded then looked to Hook "I think his hand is broken and he has cuts across his chest but apart from that I'm not too sure"

"OK" Whale replied with a nod before looking to Ginny "Can you give the kid some Potassium while I check Hook?"

Ginny was at Emma's side opposite Liam (who seemed determined to stay) in a second talking to Junior "Hey Kiddo, your belly feeling off again?"

"Aye" he mumbled snuggling into Emma's shirt

"OK I'm gonna make that better alright. I need to used the jaggy needle again though but if you're a good boy and let me do it, when you're feeling better I've got some lollipops in my bag that you can have OK?"

He nodded and said in a small voice "I like lollipops"

Emma gave a little smile. Even when he was feeling like crap this Kid could be bribed with food but just then Hook gave a groan and her eyes jumped to the bed to find Whale prodding at his ribs.

"Just leave me be" Hook slurred "You can do nothing anyway so why put me through this torture?"

"Hook's right" David threw in looking to Whale "Can you not just give him something for the pain?"

But suddenly Hook opened his eyes wide and shook his head "No... I will be just fine given a few hours rest"

"Don't be an idiot" Whale spat back moving to the bag "I can give you something else... and I'm gonna give you a sedative as well as some potassium, that way when you wake up you'll feel better"

But again Hook shook his head "No... I don't want to sleep. My Brother has only a limited time here... I want to spend as much of that time with him as possible"

"Don't be a fool" Liam suddenly barked out "Killian, let the man help you. I still have over twelve hours left. I do not want to see you like this... please"

Hook let out a sigh before just closing his eyes "Fine... you can give me pain relief but NO sedative."

It was a compromise that Emma probably would have agreed to knowing that he probably would have fallen asleep anyway but Liam got angry and stood up "You will take the Doctor's advise Killian Jones or I will leave right now. I will not stay here just to see you suffer."

Suddenly Hook looked quite tearful as he looked up at Liam "I just want to spend as much time as I can with you... is that so bad?"

Liam let out a huge sigh "Of course not Killian and we will still have time I promise but right now you need this. If this was one of your boys lying here what would you say to them?" Liam glanced back at Junior who had perked up a bit before looking back to Hook "Don't be the same stubborn fool I was all those years ago... listen to your Brother "

David suddenly piped up "I'll keep Liam out of trouble until you wake up then maybe we can head to the Jolly... if we're not off stopping Pan and Facilier that is but we can't do that until we know where they are and right now we've got squat to go on"

Hook let out a sigh "The pair of you are not going to give up are you?"

David looked to Liam who was suddenly grinning and laughed "Nope, we're your Brothers and we know what's best for you... you are the youngest after all."

Hook gave a slight smirk "That is nowhere near true and you know it but I concede" he looked to Whale and let out another sigh "Do as you wish. It would seem that I have no choice in the matter"

"Great" Whale replied with a grin "We'll have you up and about in no time, the sedative is only a mild one. It will just help you fall asleep but when you wake up you shouldn't have that horrible cotton stuffed head thing going on"

Emma wanted more than anything to reach over and give Hook comfort when he nodded then hissed in pain again but she couldn't so she pulled Junior back in and whispered "You wanna sleep next to Papa when Victor's done?"

He gave a little nod and looked up at her "You need to go though Momma"

She gave a frown and shook her head "I'm not going anywhere kid, I'm gonna lie down with you guys"

"But you need to help Belle" he said sincerely "She is in trouble Momma. The Crocodile said that Peter and the bokor have a Voodoo doll of her too and that they have forced him to remain silent from here on in so that they will not use it against her but how do we know that they will keep their word? Grandpa Gold wanted Papa to help her. He told Papa that he should forget about trying to free him from the box and that he trusted Papa to look after Belle but Papa is still hurt and cannot do it so you must."

Emma's heart was racing but she just gave a little smile and pulled him back in "OK Kid, you win... I'll go see what I can do, I promise"

She felt him give a sigh against her front and she found herself just rubbing her hand up and down his back as she watched Whale work on Hook and in no time at all she was carrying her boy over to lie down next to his Papa.

"Now you'll have to be gentle with Papa because he's still sore OK"

"He will be just fine Swan" Hook replied in a sleepy voice before meeting Emma's eyes "But perhaps you could remove my hook Love, I do not wish to hurt him by accident"

"Sure" was all she said as she knelt on the bed to do as he asked.

In moments his brace was free and she carefully lowered his arm back to the bed but he was being stubborn. He looked to Junior as he raised his arm back up again in invitation for the Kid to snuggle into his side.

"Come on Lad, I am not too sore to miss out on our snuggles"

Junior gave a little smile before scooting across the bed and tucking himself into Hook's side. Everyone else had moved away from the bed but Emma just stayed where she was, wanting to sit with them until they were asleep and when Junior peeked open his eye a few seconds later she just raised her finger to her lips and motioned that she would go when he was asleep, she didn't want Hook getting pissy about the whole Belle thing. To his credit Junior just gave a little smile and closed his eyes again knowing that she didn't want his Papa to worry and in minutes both her boys were sleeping soundly.

She slowly got to her feet trying not to jostle the bed too much then gave them one last look before heading towards the other side of the teepee where her Mom and Dad stood with Liam and Whale.

"Where's Belle?" she asked in a low tone

"With Tala. I think she feels bad about the whole mind meld thing" David replied

Emma immediately started heading to the entrance of the teepee "I need Archie here ASAP Dad, can you call him and see if you can pick him up or something?"

Her Mom, Dad and Liam ran to catch up as David asked "What's going on Emma?"

She stopped, spun on her heels and hissed "Facilier has a Voodoo Doll of Belle. They're using it to blackmail Gold into silence so there's no more information coming from him. I need to know where that box is so that I can get Hook and Junior's doll and get Regina to do whatever the hell she can with it so that THAT doesn't happen again" She pointed across to the bed before just turning around and marching outside.

"Emma just slow down" David called out but she was mad now.

Hook was in pain and that was her fault... she had just wanted to protect him but instead she had made things worse... the irony wasn't lost on her that now he needed to hear the voices so that he could be healed she had cut them out... this just wasn't fair.

"I can't" she burst out turning on her Dad "I need to make sure Belle is safe... I promised Junior I would"

"And we will help with that" Liam quickly cut in "But you need to slow down. You will do no one any good in this worked up state. Please Love, just take a moment so we can formulate a plan"

He sounded so like Hook in that moment that her anger fizzled and she let out a huge sigh "OK OK ... but I still need Archie here"

"I'll call him now" her Mom said "Then I need to finish feeding Neal before he has a melt down but once he's done I will be back so don't go running off anywhere without me"

"Wouldn't dream of it" her Dad said leaning across and kissing her Mom's head before turning back to Emma and Liam "Right, let's go talk to Belle but can we keep the whole Voodoo Doll thing under wraps for the minute, I don't want to freak her out"

Emma just gave a nod but Liam frowned and asked "What is this "Freaking out" of which you keep speaking of?"

"It's what I'm about to do if we don't move" Emma sighed back "Come on, I'll explain later"

Emma started heading towards the fire where she could see Lark still sitting with Tala and Belle but as she walked she heard Liam whisper to her Dad.

"I can see why Killian likes your Daughter so much. She has a certain flair about her... some may even say she is almost Pirate like... always looking for adventure"

"Nah" her Dad chuckled "She may live with a Pirate on a Pirate ship by my Daughter is a Savior through and through... oh and so is Killian by the way. Did you know that he fulfilled a prophecy a few weeks ago? With my help of course... "

Emma smirked to herself as her Dad carried on with his story... she had the feeling that Hook wasn't going to be the only one that missed Liam once he was gone.

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"Sure, I can bring Archie back with me, no problem" Regina agreed down the line while closing the shop door and waving her hand at the lock after finding nothing inside.

"Great" Mary-Margaret replied with a sigh "I told him to come to the shop, he should be there any minute. I just hope Henry's right and he'll be able to help us get some answers." she suddenly lowered her voice and whispered "We just found out that Facilier and Peter have a Voodoo doll of Belle. They've used it to blackmail Gold so he's no longer an option to help us"

Regina thought about this new information for a second then smirked "But this is good news"

"What? How can that be good news?"

"Because if they've made a Voodoo doll it means that Belle has seen Facilier"

"I don't understand. David's seen Facilier... and Victor and Jefferson too... what difference does that make?"

"All the difference in the world" Regina replied "I had a funny feeling that the good Doctor could change his appearance a while ago... something Whale said about the morning he was attacked by the shadow got me thinking even before Jefferson told us he saw Facilier do it. Whale said something about Hook not being Hook... and the more I think about it I think that just maybe Tinkerbell was not Tink. When I first realized something wasn't right I thought that maybe she was just being controlled by Facilier but the more I think about it I think it was actually him and that's how he managed to get to Hook after David was attacked by the shadow... she then disappeared only to show up at Gold's Cabin just before we stuck him in that box... bit of a coincidence don't you think? My bet is that if Facilier thought Belle wouldn't remember him he would have used his own form. We can get a description from Jefferson and if they match I have something that might help."

"That sounds promising" Mary-Margaret said cheerfully before asking "So you don't think that Tinkerbell was ever actually involved?"

Suddenly Regina had a horrible thought, Facilier wouldn't leave any loose ends that could give away his plans. She looked up when she heard a noise to see Archie hurrying towards her with Pongo in tow.

"Mary-Margaret I need to go... I'm gonna take Archie with me to check on... something. It should only take a few minutes but if I'm right I need you to get Whale on stand by... either that or I'll be calling the coroner!"

"Tinkerbell!" Mary-Margaret cried out in distress "You think Facilier has hurt Tink don't you"

"Let's just hope I'm wrong" Regina sighed

With that she hung up and looked to Archie "We need to make a quick house call."

She didn't even give the Cricket time to question her, she just grabbed his arm and raised her hand. They were appearing outside Tink's little shack in the blink of an eye and Regina didn't waste time she just hurried forward towards the door.

"TINK" she yelled but she got no reply

She tried the door and was only slightly surprised to find it unlocked. It swung open with a long creek which caused Pongo to give a whimper.

"What is it boy?" Archie asked patting the dog on the head

Pongo gave a single bark before just launching himself forward pulling Archie with him. Regina followed straight behind as the Dalmatian led his master across the wooden floor to the opposite wall. It was dark in the room, the curtains were drawn and only one small lamp on the wall was lit. Regina looked around the small room to see a book on the floor and a half eaten meal sitting on the table... something had definitely happened here.

Pongo gave another bark and Archie crouched down next to him as he whimpered at the wall "What is it Boy? Show me"

Pongo was suddenly up on his hind legs and barking at the lamp.

"Oh no" Regina gasped as the lamp light flickered "They didn't!"

She dashed forward a grabbed a chair before just kicking her shoes off and climbing up on to it to yank the little stained glass door open.

"What is it?" Archie asked craning his neck to see but Regina didn't answer she just reached inside the lamp carefully before turning around to show the cricket what she had found

"Oh my goodness...Tinkerbell!" Archie gasped as Tink's weak magic flickered again "What is wrong with her"

"Facilier's wrong with her and she's been in there for days" Regina growled before just reaching out her other hand and laying it on Archie's shoulder "Hang on, I need to get her some help."

Jefferson gave a deep frown as he woke, he could hear urgent voices whispering near by and he didn't know who it was. He opened an eye and looked to his left to find Doctor Whale and the nurse he thought was maybe called Ginny talking with Mary-Margaret.

"What's going on?" he asked quietly giving a stretch and discovering most of his pain had gone.

"Sorry" Mary-Margaret cringed in a hushed voice "Did we wake you?"

"It's fine, I don't usually sleep long anyway" he replied before nodding his head back to the Doc "Is someone else hurt?"

"We don't know" Mary-Margaret said giving a worried look "But we think that a friend might be in trouble"

"Sorry" Jefferson sighed "Due to Facilier?"

Mary-Margaret just nodded but the baby in her arms chose that moment to give a cry. She bounced him on her hip a few times then said "Sorry, I need to go finish feeing him. I'll come back and see you soon"

"Don't worry about me, you don't owe me anything... in fact, I think if anything I owe you."

But Mary-Margaret gave him a smile "Maybe but I'll still come back."

With that she turned around only briefly stopping by Doctor Whale's side before hurrying from the teepee. Jefferson looked down at himself to see a strange circular thing with feathers attached sitting on his chest. He reached up and lifted it giving it a hard stare... what was it?. In the end he decided it must have done something but as he felt much better he decided he no longer needed it and lay it down on the bed by his hip. With a wince he pulled himself up and swung his feet down to the ground as he pulled back the blanket.

He needed to find Grace and get out of there... but quite where he was supposed to go he didn't know... he certainly wasn't going home until he knew that Facilier and Peter Pan were gone. He was just contemplating pulling himself up to his feet when there was a swirl of purple smoke and the Evil Queen and the shrink, Archie appeared along with a Dalmatian!

The man and looked bewildered for a second before just saying "I'm going to go and find Belle. Good luck"

Jefferson was confused when the Queen just nodded then thrust her hand towards Victor and cried out "You have to do something... she is really weak"

"What the hell am I supposed to do when she's that size?" the Doc yelled back "Can't you make her big again?"

"My magic and Fairy magic don't really mix well... and if Facilier's had a hand in this too I'm not sure how it would turn out"

Jefferson caught a glimpse of a tiny figure in the Queen's hand and he realized that she was holding onto the Green Fairy, Tinkerbell. He was suddenly looking about for his jacket and when he saw it hanging on the end of the bed he dived for it.

"I might have something that will help" he called out

When he found the little corked bottle in his inner pocket he just grabbed it and rushed over to the Fairy. He was just about to simply drip the blue liquid out onto the Queen's outstretched hand when he had a sudden thought.

"Maybe you should lie her down before I do this"

"Right" the Queen muttered before moving to the bed.

As soon as the Queen stepped back Jefferson just stepped forward and tipped the bottle. The minute the solution hit the Fairy's skin the magic started to work and he was glad that he always carried this reminder of his homeland with him... he knew one day it would come in handy and today was apparently that day.

"I need in" Whale said laying his hand on Jefferson's shoulder "Thanks Jeff"

Jefferson held back his anger at Victor's disregard for his name, instead he jumped up to get out of the way then just stood next to the Queen to watch.

Whale got to work straight away as the nurse handed him things out of the bag and in no time at all he stood back with a sigh.

"I've done everything I can... now it's just a waiting game"

"But she'll be fine... right?" the Queen asked in a hopeful voice

Whale just let out another sigh and shrugged "Your guess is as good as mine but I'm not leaving her I promise... I'm gonna stay right here and monitor her over the next few hours"

The Queen let out a frustrated growl and dragged her hand through her hair "How could I have been so stupid? I should have got to her quicker"

"This isn't your fault Regina" Whale said stepping forward to reassure the woman.

"Oh I know that" she suddenly grit out through her teeth "I know exactly whose fault this is and believe me when I say they're going to pay"

"Need help with that?" Jefferson asked raising an eyebrow

"You?" the Queen scoffed "Why would you help me? Or is this just another trick to get something for yourself. You know I still haven't forgotten what you two did to me? I may be able to put it to one side for the sake of other but you two stopped me from bringing my first love back"

Jefferson hung his head in shame "I know... but I have changed Majesty, I am no longer the fool I used to be. I lost my love too and I nearly lost mind because of it. What I did... what we both did was wrong and I cannot change that but I want to show my Grace that I can be a better man so that she can grow up to be a woman that her Mother would be proud of"

The Queen raised a single eyebrow high on her head then just shook her head and smirked "I guess we've all changed since then. Alright I accept your offer and the first thing I want to know is if you have any other little titbits of Wonderland here in Storybrooke?"

Jefferson grinned "I have a few. For the longest time they were just a reminder of what I had lost, they held no power and literally just sat on a shelf but after your curse was broken and magic was brought here I found that they once again sang to me"

"OK" the Queen mused "And I presume from your dramatic escape that you can still warp reality"

Jefferson nodded "I can... why? What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that maybe once we figure out where Facilier and Pan are we use a little of your magic to sneak up on them. We can then hit them with your magic and mine... along with some Savior magic. I don't think they'll know what's hit them"

"Well in that case can we maybe use a bit of your magic now to go get my things? I don't really want to be hanging about very long if there's any chance they're still there."

"Sounds like a plan" the Queen agreed "Whale, I'm trusting you. Tink is a good friend... I need her to be OK"

"I'll do my best" Whale replied with an understanding nod

"No" the nurse said coming around the bed "WE will do our best."

David had watched as Archie had put Belle under then did his thing but what was coming out was not really helping.

Belle remembered a kid with curly hair being at the Library on the day that her computer had been accessed but then no matter what Archie did he couldn't get anything else out of her except the fact that she had hidden Pandora's box in her purse. Emma had gone off at that point to check if it was still there but had returned a few minutes later just shaking her head.

Great... this was getting them nowhere.

"OK Belle... I want you to go further back now. Is there anything else you remember? Any other things that have been forced from your mind?"

"I... I remember a man" she gave a deep frown and was just carrying on when Regina and Jefferson walked up "He came in to the Library... I had never seen him before. He disturbed myself and Regina while we were looking into Voodoo... to begin with he just looked at the books but after Regina left something happened... I... I can't quite remember"

"Just relax" Archie said in a low voice "Don't force the memory... let it come to you"

Belle's brow smoothed out and she let out a sigh, her head tipped slightly before her eyebrows suddenly shot up "He... he sent me into the back room... I didn't see what he did but he came back to me before he left... he cut away some of my hair but I don't think he was alone this time... he was talking to someone but I couldn't see who."

"OK that's great Belle. Now when I count to three you will awake, you will be calm and relaxed and you will be able to recollect everything that we have discussed. Let you mind remain open to the possibility that you will remember more and if there is anything it will come to you. OK... One... Two... Three"

Belle suddenly blinked and looked quite worried "I'm sorry I couldn't give you more"

Regina was the first to speak "You gave us plenty. I remember that creepy looking guy that came in... he was the one in the purple suit and that ridiculous hat right?"

Belle nodded but suddenly Jefferson was speaking too "That's him... that's what he looked like to me too"

"So we know what he looks like in his true form but what use is that when he can look like anyone?" David asked shaking his head

Regina smirked "Because I've learnt a little bit of Voodoo myself recently and believe it or not now that we know his true identity I think I may be able to create a potion that will allow those who have seen him that way before to recognize him no matter what he looks like."

David was suddenly wondering if he had seen Facilier or not so he turned to Archie "You got time to dig about in my head too? See if I'm in that club"

"Sure" Archie replied with a sideways smile

Regina took that moment to speak "Hey, I'm gonna take the Hat Man here back to his to grab a few things from his place then stop by my vault along with a few other places, for one I need to get my shoes that I left at Tink's then I'm going to speak to Blue and see if she can help. I may or may not have a few tricks up my sleeve that could just give us the jump on Facilier and Pan but the more help we can get the better and the more kinds of magic we have to throw at them gives us a better chance of defeating them"

"What you planning?" David asked wanting to know more

"I've got a few ideas" she replied with a smirk "But before we can do anything to stop them we need to find them and I think I figured out how to make a ghost locator spell... I just need a few supplies first and they're not my usual stuff either... Voodoo magic is strange is weird"

"Great 'cause being honest I'm more than a little tired of the bad guys having the upper hand" David sighed slapping his hands on his knees to get up.

He was just about to head to the other log when Emma stood up too "Well there's no point in me staying, I'm immune remember? I've never had the whole Voodoo slash Shadow thing done to me so I'm good" she glanced to Belle before looking back to David and whispering "I need to tell Belle the truth Dad... she deserves to know that Gold is helping to protect her but I'll leave it until later, she's been through enough but right now I'm gonna go and see how Tink is and check on Hook and Junior"

"I too will come with you" Liam added "A potion will not work on me either so I would rather get to know my Brother's lady while I can"

Emma gave a smirk "I ain't a lady Liam but you can still join me if you want to"

She just stared walking away when she heard her Dad say "She may not be a Lady Liam but she is a Princess"

"DAAAAAAAAD" she yelled spinning around to glare at him "You just had to tell him didn't you?"

But David just grinned wider and then he was laughing when Liam called out.

"Wait for me Princess"

"Just because you're Hook's Brother doesn't mean that I won't punch you in the face Buddy" Emma growled as Liam caught up to her

"She will too" David called over "Just ask Hook, she once knocked him clean out during a fight... before they realized that they couldn't live without each other that is"

Liam's eyebrows shot up and he looked to Emma in awe before giving a slight bow "My apologies Lass..."

Emma huffed out a sigh and looked back to David "I'm gonna kill you..." she then turned back to Liam and jabbed her finger in his chest "You call me Princess even just once more and you'll be in trouble, you hear me?"

"Understood Ma'am" Liam replied sincerely giving another bow but it was definitely the wrong thing to say as Emma let out a frustrated scream and threw her arms out.

"And don't call me Ma'am either" with that she marched off back towards the teepee

Liam turned back to David and laughed "She does realize I am dead? I can't really get in much worse trouble than I already am!"

He gave one last grin and took off after Emma leaving David shaking his head, Liam was every bit the idiot his Brother was... they were so alike yet so different at the same time and it left David with a hollow feeling inside knowing that time was running out for the elder Jones and Hook was going to be devastated when he was gone.

Killian woke to the strangest sound... what was it?

He peeked open his eye to find Socks' face in his as she purred loudly, he gave a smirk and croaked "What do you want little one?"

Socks just murred and rubbed on his chin a few times before settling down to wash herself on his chest. Killian looked to his side to find Junior gone, something that didn't surprise him, that Lad never slept very long. He had far too much energy and right now the fact that Junior was gone gave Killian comfort. The lad was obviously feeling better if he was up and about. He looked to his other side to see Swan, Liam and Whale over at the bed in which the Doctor had slept a few nights before.

What was going on?

Was somebody else hurt?

"Swan?" he called out causing her and Liam to turn towards him and Socks to jump in surprise, the kitten stuck her claws in his front making him hiss out a breath.

"What's wrong Brother?" Liam called out hurrying over

Emma moved to shoo Socks off of him but he raised his stump to stop her "She is fine Love, leave her be"

"But you're in pain" she said with concern sitting down by his hip

"Only through my own stupidity" he replied omitting the fact that his pain had been from kitten claws "I feel much better, I promise"

And that much was true... well mostly, besides his arm and hip that was.

He just changed the subject to divert them both from the whole truth "Where are the lads?"

"Henry's with Tala... those two are teaching each other so much." she paused and gave a smile "And Junior... well Junior's still working on something top secret but don't worry, he's with my Mom"

Killian suddenly remembered the other bed and nodded his head towards it "Who is that?"

Emma glanced over before letting out a sigh "Tink... Facilier got to her, transformed her into her Fairy size and locked her in a lamp. The Tink that was here was actually Facilier."

"What? I don't understand Love"

"He can change his appearance Hook... he can look like anyone he wants to"

Something in Killian's mind niggled him and he gave a thoughtful look "That may explain why Tala said that it almost looked like there was another personality shining through after the shadow attacked David" he suddenly had a thought and looked around before asking "Talking of David, where is he?"

"Talking with Archie... they've been at it for about an hour and a half now. God knows what he's talking about but Archie's earning his money today" she chuckled

Killian gave a deep sigh "And he still has more to earn Love, is Junior to join us or is his top secret mission too important?

"Nah, he wants to be here. I'll go get him in a minute but I wanted to make sure you were up to this first"

"I am fine Swan... maybe a little more stiff than usual but nothing that will not fade given time"

"You sure? How's the hip?"

He let out a sigh "Sore but that is nothing new and we both know that once Whale gets his hands on me that will no longer be a problem so please... can we talk of something else?"

Swan gave a little smile but then suddenly Liam was the one doing the talking "David informs me that Emma once bested you in a fight"

Killian gave a frown "We have never fought, what are you talking about?"

"Uhm I hate to burst your rose tinted bubble Hook but we have and I did... your memory might be a bit hazy about it due to the fact that you probably had a concussion from me knocking you out"

Killian suddenly understood and gave a chuckle "That was hardly a fight... it was more of a sparring session."

"But Emma still knocked you out with a punch?" Liam asked with a grin

"No... she knocked me out with a compass... there is a difference"

"A compass?!" Liam asked with a frown

"Aye, a bloody beauty it was too" he suddenly remembered Belle giving it to him and looked to Swan "Talking of that compass, what did you do with it Love?"

Emma just shrugged "I dunno, it kinda got lost with the second curse I think... I've not seen it since we got back"

"No Love you don't understand. I had it the night of my Birthday. Belle found it and gave it to me... I must have dropped it on deck... it must still be there somewhere."

"Your Birthday?!" Liam asked with a frown "How is that possible? Your day of Birth is not until next month"

"What?!" Killian said quickly turning to Liam "How do you know?"

Liam just laughed "Because I was there you fool... I remember quite clearly that you were born on the last day of August"

"Well we never really celebrated it did we? So how was I supposed to bloody well remember? Besides, Henry chose different days for both Junior and I so from here on in that is when it will be and don't you tell him any differently... I don't want him disappointed"

"As you wish" Liam replied with a smile "It is your life Killian"

"Aye" Killian mused as he thought about his compass again, perhaps he would have a look for it when he took Liam to the Jolly later, he then remembered something else and he gasped "Bloody hell"

"What?! Emma and Liam asked in unison

"My new telescope!" he burst out then grinned at Liam "You have to see it Brother. Henry gave it to me and it is a wonder to behold... it allows you to see in the dark"

"Is it magical?" Liam gasped in return looking every bit as excited as Killian felt

"I don't think so" Killian replied with a frown

"It's not magic it's... science I suppose" Emma threw in

"Ahhhh, you can't beat science" Whale called across "It's a thing of beauty"

"What is this science of which you speak?" Liam asked Swan

But she shook her head "You want to talk science speak to Whale. I mean don't get me wrong, I like science and all that but I am literally the product of true love's magic so I am biased. In my book magic will always win"

Liam raised an eyebrow and looked like he was about to say something but he never did instead choosing to chuckle. A few minutes later as they still sat chatting David suddenly came in to the teepee followed by Junior, Mary-Margaret and Archie. The lad was carrying a rolled up bit of paper while grinning and when he saw that Killian was awake he actually gave an excited little dance and ran towards the bed.

"Papa" he cried out "You are awake. Are you feeling better?"

"That I am Son, what have you got there?" he asked nodding his head at the paper.

Junior gave a little nervous look before hanging his head slightly and letting the paper fall "I uhm... I perhaps..."

"It's OK Kid" David soothed coming down to kneel next to Junior and Killian was really confused now, he had thought that the paper in the Lad's hand would make him happy not sad. David was suddenly pulling Junior towards himself while looking at Killian "Right. Back when the "Liam" in your head was saying some not so nice things Junior get a bit upset one night and... well lets just say that the drawing that he did for you got damaged"

"I did not know that it was not you" Junior suddenly burst out at Liam "I promise... I would not do such a thing now... you have to believe me"

"I do Lad" Liam soothed "Worry not, it must have been confusing I am sure."

"Anyway the point is that Junior regretting what he did... I tried to get Regina to fix the original drawing but she's not really had time to look at it and Junior wanted to replace it, he's been doing this ever since and it's now finished soooooooo..."

David motioned for Junior to hand over the paper and suddenly Killian was hesitant, he hadn't really been entirely honest about how much better he had been feeling and while it was true that most of him felt better his arm was still paining him quite a lot where he knew the metal plate lay beneath his skin but he hoped that given time that it would heal like the rest of him. He tried to lift his hand but as he moved Socks gave a meow and popped her head up which he used as an excuse to get out of the move.

"Can you just show me Lad? I do not want to disturb Socks, she was having a nice sleep"

Junior just nodded before unfurling the paper, he gave David one last nervous look before turning it around. Killian was dumbfounded, the lad had outdone himself. The drawing was nearly the same as the previous one but there seemed to be a bit more detail to this one and then Killian's eyes fell on a single new addition and he chuckled at the tiny kitten that had been drawn by Junior's feet.

"I love it Son but perhaps you should keep it from your Mother until I have had a chance to talk to her"

"Why?" Swan suddenly asked leaning forward to look at the drawing, he expected her to get annoyed as she had clearly indicated that she did not want the kitten but she just laughed then looked to Junior and asked with a smile "You really want her?"

"Aye" he replied seriously "If we cannot find her home... I love her Momma."

Emma let out a huge sigh and looked to Killian "And I already know how you feel about this... look at you. Who would have thought that Captain Hook was a cat lover? OK... I give in. IF we can't find her home she can come stay with us BUT I swear if she puts those claws of hers any where near any of my furniture she'll be banned from below deck and made to sleep in the crows nest."

"She won't Momma, she is a nice cat I swear" Junior cried out shoving the drawing at Swan as he ran around the bed and climbed up next to Killian so that he could talk to Socks.

"Did you hear that little one? You are to come home with us. You can have your own bunk in my room, would you like that?"

Killian smirked as the kitten got to her feet and trotted over to Junior where she happily rubbed herself up against his crossed legs as he scratched behind her ears. Killian looked back to Swan and smiled "Thank you Love."

"Hey, don't thank me just yet, she may still have a home" Emma whispered looking at the kid as he played with the kitten

Killian frowned "I hope not. Otherwise our boy is going to be heartbroken"

"You're not fooling anyone Hook" Swan smirked "I've seen how you are with that cat. You want her just as much as he does"

Killian just smiled... what could he say?

It was true... he did!