grumbles about copyrights You get the idea... Mary is mine, that's about it. And the carving thing was the first thing that I thought of to facilitate a good hobby that involved the hook.

And now, some notes to my beloved reviewers...

Rolling Thunder Rose- So glad you liked Chapter 2! And, I assure you, Mary's skill with the sword will be a good part.

sravenvampirefan- It may be mushy, but this story is under the romance category. And I wouldn't call it the "real" Hook, just the one that he lets every one see.

Mary awoke slowly, vaguely wondering where she was and why the room moved. Then, memories of the day before flooded her mind. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, wincing as pain shot through her chest. The corset! She lifted her gown, and sure enough, there were purple bruises on her ribs. Sighing, she lifted off the nightgown and put on the dress without the corset. It still fit, but she truly wouldn't have cared if it hadn't. It would have given her an excuse to wear something else.
Hook sat at his desk, studying the wooden figure in his hand closely through his spectacles. It was half painted, but anyone who had been on the island long would recognize this seemingly young boy. Sighing, he put the figure away in a drawer in his desk and took out another; the captain and a woman dancing. It was almost done, but, because he had never found a suitable model for the woman, her face was still blank. Smiling to himself, he set the figure on a metal stand to hold it up andcarefully began painting in the details of his features.

Hook worked quickly, looking up as Mary's door opened. He looked at her over the frames of the glasses, and then looked back down at his carving.

"Good morning," he said, carefully painting his mustache and beard.

"What are you doing?" Mary asked bluntly, not quite awake enough to be polite.

"Hobby of mine. After I lost my hand, I needed some kind of hobby to learn to control my hook and use my left hand. I chose carving."

Blearily, Mary rubbed her eyes and reached for the figure. Hook took it off the stand andpassed it to her, smiling as she looked at it tiredly.

"You?" she asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I've always been a bit of a narcissist," he said with a chuckle. He took it back from her and opened the drawer again. He brought out several carvings, most finished, some not.

Mary looked at the statues, recognizing Smee and several crew members among the finished ones. She looked at the boy with curiosity. He seemed to be quite young, dressed in leaves with partially painted sandy curls framing his face. Something about him, the way he stood, smiled, everything, suggested cockiness.

"Who's this?"

"That," Hook growled, taking the figure from her, "is Peter Pan. He cut off my hand and fed it to the crocodile." He held it up, looking at the image of his enemy. "That little brat... One day, I will bring him down, or die trying!" Mary looked away, now sorry that she'd asked. Then her eyes fell back to the figure of Hook and the lady dancing.

"Who is she? She doesn't have a face." Mary held the figure gently, turning it in her hands.

"I never found a model for her. I work on that one in my spare time, in the hopes that I'll find someone..." He looked up hopefully. "Would you let me use you?" That woke Mary up completely.

"Why would you want to use me?" Hook smiled for a moment.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"But I'm not even all that pretty!"

Hook sighed. "Fine. We'll leave it at that for now. But remember, my request still stands." He put all the statues away, putting the paint in the cupboard. "Now, would you like to accompany me to shore for breakfast?"

Mary's stomach gave a growl, making her decision for her. She stood, smoothing her dress. Hook noticed the look of dislike on her face as she looked at the dress.

"Would you like something else to wear? You don't have to wear a dress." Mary's face lit up with a radiant smile.

"Really? You don't mind?" she asked, becoming quite excited.

"Why should I mind? You're the one who has to wear it," Hook said, becoming rather confused. Had the society in the mainland really changed so much that Mary would have such an abstract view of herself?

"I won't be but a minute!" she said as she ran out of the room and into the hold. Hook chuckled as he put away the paint brushes. He'd never seen anyone so happy, not even Smee when Hook had first given the poor sap permission to shoot the ship's parrot, which was very fond of insulting Smee. Hook found it quite amusing, and had encouraged it, until his first mate had become quite a good shot, though by that time it was far too late to curb the bird's destructive hobby.

Mary locked the door to the hold and threw off the dress. She pulled out a pair of pants, a belt, and a shirt from the nearest chest. The pants and the shirt were a bit large, but the belt held up the pants, and a loose shirt that downplayed her feminine features suited her fine. She laced up the collar for a bit of modesty and began searching for a pair of boots. That proved to be a bit harder than the clothing, because all the boots she found were too big.

"Aha!" She held the boots triumphantly, looking them over. They were like pictures she'd seen in books about the Orient, with sheaths in them for knives, which were strangely shaped. She shrugged and put them on, tucking her pants into the top of them. She stood and unlocked the door, nearly stepping on a dilapidated parrot.

Hook was just putting ona black dresscoat as he heard the familiar sound of the parrot squawking in fear. He looked out of his cabin and saw it had crossed paths with Mary.

"What did it do this time?" he asked, taking the scruffy thing from her.

"It said... Well..." Mary turned red and looked down, obviously too embarrassed to repeat what it had said. Hook looked at the creature unsympathetically and tossed it toward the galley.

"Come. Forget the stupid bird." He offered her his arm, which she raised her eyebrow at. Hook shrugged and motioned her to follow him out of the cabin.

The sun was hidden behind clouds, and ice had formed around the ship. The island was covered in snow, an indication that Pan was off the island, thus giving Hook some peace for a time. Hook and Mary climbed down the rope ladder that the crew had left for them and walked across the ice toward the island.

The marketplace had many shops, all of which thrived when Pan and his crew of miscreants didn't steal everything. The crowd parted as Hook walked through, holding his iron claw in plain view. They feared him, as they should, all of them but Mary. She walked next to him, looking around without any particular interest until they came to a blacksmith's shop. There were several swords on display, which caught Mary's eye. She picked one up, feeling the balance of the blade.

"Know how to use that?" Hook asked. She nodded.

"Hobby of mine." He smiled and pulled out his own sword.

"Let's see how good you are." He smiled as they circled each other, swords at the ready, each waiting for the other to attack.

I love the bird... I also love cliffhangers, as you can tell! Yes, I know I stopped at a horrible place, but you need something to draw you into the next chapter, besides the promise of further seduction attempts!