Lindsey landed heavily on what felt like planks of wood, the air rushing from her lungs on impact with the hard surface. She blinked against the bright light of the sun directly over her head and coughed, desperate to get air back into her stinging lungs. She caught the smell of the ocean and furrowed her brow in confusion. What just happened? Where was she?

Cries of surprise made her twist around on her back, squinting as she tried to make out the figures that quickly surrounded her. She felt a jolt of panic when she noticed the swords and daggers in their hands. They looked exactly like the man who had killed Simon.

"Aye! Who be you?" growled a burly-looking, shirtless man as he jabbed the point of his sword toward her.

Lindsey scrambled deftly to the side and glared up at the large man, "How is that any of your business?"

"What's it to us she says," laughed a scrawny man with a long, jagged blade, "You're on our ship, woman! It's every bit our business who you be."

"Someone tie her up!" ordered a squat man with a red knit cap on his head, "Cap'n will be wanting to have words with this little stowaway."

Lindsey twisted violently, getting back to her feet in less than two seconds with an old, practiced move Simon had taught her years ago. She gave the squat man a challenging stare as she slipped into her fighting stance, her light-green eyes flashing in defiance.

"Like hell are you tying me up," she snarled, "I'm no stowaway…that damned light brought me to…wherever the hell this is," she added, glancing around at what she realized was some kind of ship.

"Welcome aboard the Jolly Roger, lass," boomed the burly pirate as he took a step toward her, manacles dangling from his hands, "You're in the middle of the sea near Neverland now, deary."

Lindsey's eyebrows went up in disbelief as the strange men closed in on her. Neverland? The Jolly Roger? Exactly how hard did she hit her head when she landed on this thing?

"Now, make this easier on yourself girl and don't fight," said a man to her left with a massive earring dangling down to his collar.

The scrawnier man giggled, "Aye, there's no where else to go but in the sea anyway. No use struggling, dear."

Lindsey whirled around and felt her heart sink. She was completely surrounded by about a dozen well-armed men, and her personal weapon had been lost when the beam of light flung her to the ground back in D.C. She gritted her teeth and sighed in resignation as she forced back her fighting instincts and relaxed her stance. These bizarre men were right. Everywhere she looked there was endless sea and sky…not a single piece of land in sight. She was trapped, unarmed, and completely alone.

With a final glare she held out her hands, allowing the men to place her in the large metal cuffs. She swallowed back the embarrassment as they laughed at her predicament and shoved her along the deck of the large ship, leading her toward a door that led below deck.

Shame made the blood rush to her cheeks as she stumbled forward. Simon must be rolling in his grave to see her like this.

Killian was staring down at the map spread out on his massive wooden desk in the heart of the Jolly Roger. He frowned in frustration as he measured the distance between himself and his target. It would be many more days until they finally reached his desired destination. He stifled the rising impatience that rose up in his chest as he studied the map. His revenge would come soon enough. He had to learn to relax.

Killian glanced up and reached for his flask, knowing what it contained was the only thing that ever relaxed him or provided any sort of comfort these days, when he heard a knock on the door. He curled up his lip irritably and shot a hateful look at the door.

"What?" he snapped, taking a long swig of the rum.

"Sorry Cap'n," said Smee as he opened the door and removed his red cap respectfully, "But we've discovered a stowaway lurking about the ship."

"Lurking?!" sneered a woman's voice from behind Smee, "I fell onto this barge, I wasn't lurking and I'm not a stowaway! Trust me I don't want to be here…"

"Shut up lass," growled the burly pirate as he shoved her into Killian's quarters, nearly causing her to topple over Smee in the process.

Killian raised an eyebrow as the woman stumbled into the room. Her long brown hair had come loose from her ponytail and cascaded down her shoulders in soft ringlets and her green eyes flashed in defiance as she glared at him. The challenge in her stare made Killian's breath catch in his throat. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"Uh, Cap'n," said Smee hesitantly after a long moment, "What do you want us to do with the stowaway?"

The woman cut an icy glare in Smee's direction, agitation coming off her in waves, "I am not a stowaway," she seethed through clenched teeth.

Killian cleared his throat and stood, attempting to hide his initial flustered reaction, "Toss her in the hold," he ordered as he gestured to the small cell on the far side of his quarters, "I'll, uh, question her…and see who she, uh, is."

Smee and the other pirates exchanged bewildered looks, eyebrows raised in confusion at Killian's reaction.

"Cap'n we could just throw her overboard and be done with it," suggested another pirate as he crossed his heavily-tattooed arms, "It would spare you the trouble."

The fierce woman cut her gaze to the tattooed pirate and then glanced back over at Killian, gauging his reaction. For a brief moment, a glimmer of fear crossed her face, just long enough for him to notice, before she corrected herself and stared back at him, all piss and vinegar. But the moment had been enough for Killian to realize this seemingly-fearless woman was actually terrified beneath her hard exterior. She was brave, and clearly a fighter, but she was also trembling ever so slightly…and that made something in Killian's chest clench with an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time…and it infuriated him to feel it once more.

Snarling, he stepped out from behind his desk and stalked toward the woman. She stepped back reflexively as he reached out and snatched her arm in his good hand.

"On second thought, I'll take it from here," he growled, his face a mere two inches from the stowaway.

The woman hissed in pain as Killian's fingers dug into her arm and the reaction gave Killian a glimmer of satisfaction. He had no room for empathy, or any other emotion for that matter, aside from the boiling rage and familiar grief he'd felt for nearly a year now. Those emotions were safe. They kept the worst of his pain at bay and he had learned how to cope with them. But the feelings this woman had just elicited brought back the particular emotions that he so desperately avoided at all cost.

Killian flung the woman into the hold with a snarl and slammed the door shut behind her. She gave a sharp cry of pain as her head struck the metal bars on the other side and turned to give the pirate captain a glare full of fury. The light in her eyes screamed of violence and it unnerved Killian. He curled his lip at her, masking his unease as he turned away.

"Like I said…I'll take it from here," he rumbled in a low, threatening tone as he stormed back over toward where his crew was standing, eyes wide as they watched their captain, "Leave us."

Smee nodded quickly and began to usher the other pirates out of their captain's quarters. Killian closed the door behind them and bolted it, then turned back to face his new prisoner. He licked his lips and smiled cruelly as he stepped toward the hold.

"Aye, love…shall we begin?"