Killian walked towards the docks with Henry at his side and tried not to let the lad see his nervousness. Thanks to Zelena challenging Regina, his plans for taking Swan out on a date and then sailing with Henry had been thrown out the window as he was now supposed to keep Henry occupied until the magic showdown was over.
True he probably knew more than anyone else in town at this point about boats in this land, and that's what they were, considering they were mere rowboats compared to the Jolly, because as a captain it was his responsibility to know about all types of vessels. But he still didn't trust everything in this land and if something went wrong with Henry on board he'd never forgive himself.
"So, what are we supposed to do? Mom just said you wanted to spend some more time together." Henry asked him, sounding bored.
"Well, my ship still isn't ready to sail but I figured it was about time we went sailing together." He told him, trying to seem casual about it and not letting on to the greater purpose behind the sudden trip.
"Is that what this is really about or is Mom just making you babysit while she's busy with the mayor, Mary Margaret, and David?"
"Your mother isn't making me do anything, Henry." He spoke and came to a stop, placing his hand on the lad's shoulder to show his sincerity. "I really do want to spend more time with you; I've got lots to make up for. And I did promise to take you sailing, did I not? And I figured you'd enjoy this more than sitting around Granny's or your room at the inn the rest of the day while Emma and the others are busy."
"Yeah, I guess. It's just Mom always pawns me off on friends that have boats when she's working. It gets kind of old and I was hoping we could do the sailing as a…a fam…just with my mom too." He shrugged as if it was no big deal but Killian found a lot more in it.
He was touched that even with semi-cursed memories Swan felt safe entrusting Henry's care to someone with a boat. He hoped it was because she always felt safe with him on his ship. And he also caught that Henry almost said 'family'. Perhaps he was more like Emma than either of them realized and being leery of accepting him was just an act to avoid getting hurt.
"Aye, I was hoping so too. But you know how your mother can be, and there will be other times. Today however is going to be about you and I getting to spend some quality time together." He told him and started up the boat. There weren't any stars out yet obviously but he wished on every single one of them that this little voyage would go off without a hitch.
CS
By the time Killian and Henry made it to a secluded strip of beach a few miles from town they were as close as any captain and first mate that every sailed the seas. It took a little while to break the ice. But after partnering up in a battle against seagulls for their food, winning said battle, telling the lad a funny story about Emma once getting attacked by one, and swearing him to silence, things between them got easier.
"You trusted your brother that much?" Henry asked after Killian told him the story of how he and his brother found the 'Eye of the Storm'. Of course he changed many of the details and made it sound like they just saved a crew from the terrible storm.
"Aye, I was willing to follow him to the ends of the earth. We were all each other had." Killian told him and was glad he could pass on Liam's memory.
"That sounds like me and my mom. It was just the two of us and we told each other everything. We never kept secrets from each other." He stated and then paused. "At least that's what I thought. You show up and I found out, she's been lying to me about you for my whole life. And now you're both lying to me about what's really going on in this town."
"Henry, she's just trying to protect you because we don't know what we're up against here exactly." He told him hesitantly since he wasn't sure what to tell him without revealing the truth. "And as for the truth about me, lad, aye, she should have told you. But it was my fault."
"How?" He questioned as he started tying another knot. "I mean yeah, I think you're the reason she's keeping things from me now but this was something she should have told me years ago."
"She had no way of knowing that I'd return to her, to you. She was trying to protect herself from the hurt she'd already experienced. And she was trying to protect you from getting your hopes up that you had a father out there that cared about you then being hurt when those hopes were let down. I'm not saying what she…what we did, was right. But no one is perfect, lad, and as your mother once told me, the past doesn't matter. What matters is that we're all here now and that we make the best of it."
This time Henry had no reply and gave all his attention to the knot he was tying from the book he'd given him. Killian decided to let him have a moment and looked up at the sky. Nightfall had come and in just a few more moments the stars would be just right and he was hoping to teach Henry about them just as his brother had taught him and he'd taught Bae.
"I think I've tied every knot in here." Henry spoke up a few minutes later.
"Well done then, lad. Even your mother didn't catch on quite that quick." Killian told him with a smile, proud of his accomplishment.
"You taught her how to do this too?" He asked out of curiosity instead of demanding an answer like earlier.
"Aye, I taught her many things about the sea, especially about the stars."
"But the stars are in the sky." The lad pointed out the obvious and in a tone that mimicked Emma's almost exactly. "What does that have to do with the sea?"
"Well, come here and I'll tell you." He stated and picked up his sextant. The lad came over to him and he began to explain what it was and how it worked.
"Thanks for showing me this, Killian. But what's the point?" Henry asked him when they'd decided to take a break some time later. "I mean it's pretty cool but if I'm ever lost or sailing at night I can just use a GPS."
"Well, lad, remember when I said no one is perfect? Well, neither are you're modern gadgets. They can break or lose power, but not the stars." He replied, not completely sure what a GPS was but figured what he said applied to it. "They're always there even when you can't see them. Just as I am always here for you, Henry. I know you still don't trust me completely and I don't blame you since I did miss over a decade of your life and will always regret that. But I'll do whatever it takes to make up for that if you'll let me. But no matter what, a father ought to protect his child, and even though this method may be outdated, as long as you know the stars you can find your way home. It's worked for me many a time. And if you can find your way home you'll always be safe."
Not for the first time during this outing, Killian watched as Henry stood in contemplative silence as he gazed at the sea and then the stars. Emma had always been an open book to him since the first time his blue eyes met her gorgeous green ones. And with Henry he could tell outward emotions but he'd give anything to know what the lad was thinking right now.
"If that's true, can I use this thing to get us home to Storybrooke?" Henry suddenly asked with an excited and hopeful face. His question surprised Killian but he was more than pleased to hear him say it.
"Aye, lad, we'll set sail as soon as we pack all this up." He told him and nodded towards the fire that needed to be put out and a few things they'd brought with them to the beach.
"Okay," Henry nodded. "Hey, I bet I can get all our stuff together before you get that fire out."
"Oh, never bet against a pirate, mate." He warned him and quickly rose to the challenge of getting the fire out as fast as he could.
CS
"Hey, how was your trip?" Emma asked when he and Henry arrived back at the inn.
"It was great, Killian let me sail most of the way home until we got closer to the marina and he sailed it back to its place at the docks." Henry told her with a great deal of excitement. "And Killian said I caught on even faster than you did to tying knots."
"Well, sounds like you had fun. I wish I could have been there with you guys." She replied and sighed a little but she still has a pleasant smile on her face.
"It's okay; I don't think Killian would have wanted you there to see him lose to a kid. Wouldn't want him to end up in the hospital or something with a bruised ego." Henry stated with a triumphant smirk and Killian sent a glare his way but couldn't hide a small grin of his own. "Night, guys. And don't forget what you owe me, Killian."
"I won't, lad, goodnight." He promised with a nod and Emma said her goodnight to him as well.
"So, what was that about? Something to do with your bruised ego?" Emma asked with an amused smirk once it was just the two of them in the hallway.
"Henry challenged me to a little bet and I lost. And no, I wasn't just letting the lad win. Now, I owe him a movie night when this is all over and I have to watch every blasted one that features Peter bloody Pan." He reluctantly admitted to him and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment when Emma began laughing enough to almost bring tears to her eyes.
"I'm sorry." She apologized for laughing, while still laughing.
"No, you're not." He called her out. "Bad form, love."
"Okay, I'm done, for now. But I can't promise anything when this movie night of yours comes." She told him when she was finally able to suppress her giggles.
"Thanks for your loving support." He stated sarcastically then decided to change the subject. "How did the queen fare against the witch?"
"She survived. But the rest is definitely more than a doorway conversation." She told him. "Got any rum in your room?"
"Do you really need to ask?" He asked her as he opened the door for her.
CS
The next day Killian and Henry were once again spending time together. And this time instead of teaching him about the stars, Killian decided to teach him about dice over fries at Granny's. Was it good parenting to steal his fries thanks to the loaded dice and teach his son how to cheat? Probably not but he had to make up for losing to him yesterday. Even though the lad's arms and legs were shorter than his, Henry could run like hell and carried much more than normal. And he wasn't the one that had to double check that the fire was completely snuffed out.
But then she walked in and the guilt he'd felt all those months ago, and had somehow managed to suppress, came back more heavily than before. And to make matters worse Dave and Mary Margaret volunteered to watch Henry so he could help Ariel look for her lost prince. Bloody hell.
Thanks to Belle they were able to put a locator spell on the prince's cloak and it led them to the docks. When it sank below the water and disappeared from sight he knew what it meant as did Ariel. Her prince was dead. And due to the curse Ariel didn't remember Blackbeard kidnapping him and might never know what happened to him.
'Unless you stop lying to her.' He thought to himself.
When she turned to him and thanked him for helping her it hurt more than when she'd slapped him after feeding Blackbeard to the sharks. He had Emma and Henry while Ariel had no one thanks to him. Yet she stood there telling him he had a true heart when all he had done today was lie.
They parted ways and Killian wanted to make his way to the Rabbit Hole and drink every last drop of rum in the place. But he knew that would only make him feel worse, especially in the morning and he didn't want to be hungover if he was to watch Henry again while Emma practiced magic with Regina. So he decided to make things right with Ariel now before his guilt drove him mad.
"Ariel! Wait!" He called out as he ran after her.
She stopped and began his tale of their encounter during the missing year. He apologized and once again she slapped him as well as called him out for being a monster and a coward.
"I would give anything to take it back, to make things right." He stated with all the sincerity he could muster.
"How am I supposed to trust a man that no longer believes in love?" She questioned when he said once again that he would do anything.
"I still do." He told both her and himself. His voice was about to break but he meant it more than anything.
"Then swear to me on it." She told him. "This woman that broke your heart, do you still love her?"
"Yes," He whispered.
"Then swear to me on her name." She stated firmly.
"I swear on Emma Swan." He vowed.
"Thank you, Captain, that's exactly what I need to hear." She said and he watched as her entire demeanor rapidly changed.
She lifted her hand and green a glow shone from between her fingers. She grabbed his hand when the glow faded and shoved something into it. She let go and he opened his palm to see Emma's ring, the one the monkey had stolen.
'How?' He wondered to himself and then it all clicked into place just as the witch revealed her true self. Walsh had given it to her just as he and Belle thought.
"Zelena," He stated and demanded where Ariel was.
"Why would you pretend to be her?" He asked once she told him that Ariel was living happily ever after with her prince, much to his relief.
"To corrupt your love." She replied then went on to gloat about how she knew his dark secret. "When you evoked the name of your love in a selfish plea for redemption I was able to curse that ring. Not only do I know about your secret, I also know about your little talk with Prince Charming. So when you take this ring, and you will, Captain, and place it on Emma's finger all of her magic will be taken."
"I won't do it. I'll tell her. Then she'll defeat you." He stated, showing no emotion, outwardly at least. He wouldn't give her the pleasure of knowing what this did to him. Sure they were married in the Enchanted Forest but he was already coming up with ways to propose to her again and have a second wedding in Storybrooke to share with her family. Now that would be ruined by the bloody witch.
"Then I'll send the Dark One to kill her before you can." She quickly shot back.
"If you could have killed her you would've." He countered her and it all came into place why she had the monkey look after Emma in New York among other things. "For some reason, you can't."
"That no longer matters because you're going to remove her powers. I may not be able to hurt Emma but I can hurt those around her, her parents, her friends, her…or should I say your child."
"Do not go near them." He threatened at the mention of his son.
"The choice is yours. Put that ring on her finger. Propose, give it just as a gift, or bloody elope with her, I don't care. Just get it on her finger and remove her power or everyone she loves dies." She threatened with anger through gritted teeth then used magic to transport herself away.
He looked down at the now cursed ring in his hand and squeezed it until he felt pain from it. This was not how he wanted to get the ring back. And now he was caught in a trap between protecting his true love and protecting those she loved, people that were growing on him as well. He knew he couldn't take her magic but he also knew Henry would be the first target.
He sighed and placed the ring around his neck, next to his brother's, just like he did when Emma was first taken from him. It stayed there for exactly a year before he placed all her things in the trunk as sort of one last memorial to put them next to his brother's things. He hoped it wouldn't remain there for another year but it would if it meant Emma kept her magic to defeat Zelena. He knew what Emma's magic could do and with Regina's help it wouldn't be long before Zelena met her end. So he would just keep an extra good eye on Henry at all costs until then.
Once again it seems our pirate is between a rock and a hard place. At least I didn't curse his lips, right? lol with the change in their relationship from the show I just couldn't not have them kiss for a couple chapters. I've been so excited to share this twist with you since I wrote it and hope you enjoyed it. And as always just thank you to everybody for reading this, especially my awesome reviewers that are as crazy about this as I am!
Speaking of being crazy about something, if you love OUAT and like trivia, I have a quiz on FunTrivia on quotes from the show. PM me or check out my profile for more info.
