I genuinely thought I updated on Saturday. The past two days, I've been convincing myself i did for some reason, I don't know why. Anyway, here's another chapter!

This is based during season 3B before Henry gets his memories back.

I do not own OUAT.

Demons

Emma hurried into the diner. Henry wanted breakfast and she needed to be at the loft in ten minutes. She had to be quick.

"Hey, Emma."

She glanced to the side and smiled. "Hey, Tink." Still weird to say. "How are you adjusting to Storybrooke?"

Tink shrugged, taking a sip of the mug in her hands. She wore a dark green shirt that still had the tag on it. "Very well. It's been good. John and Michael have been introducing Wendy and I to some of your technology."

"What can I get for you, Emma?" Ruby asked, approaching them.

"A chocolate frosted doughnut and a bear claw. Plus, two hot cocoas."

Ruby nodded and entered the kitchen.

"Are they going to stick around Storybrooke or go back to London?"

"I'm not sure," Tink admitted.

Emma nodded. "Well, keep me posted and let me know if I can help with anything."

"Fulfilling your Savior duties, eh, Swan?"

She closed her eyes. She didn't have time to talk to him despite wanting to.

"You all right there, love?"

Emma looked to her other side. Hook leaned against the counter, smirking at her. She resisted the urge to smile back. "I'm just being friendly. What are you doing here anyway? Aren't you supposed to be with Smee or something?"

"Just thought I'd stop by and see what Granny is cooking up."

She raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

"Aye." He turned his head to Granny as she approached them across the counter. "My usual, please."

Granny grabbed a bag from the back counter and dropped it in front of him. "There you are."

Hook placed two gold coins on the counter. "Thank you, milady." He aimed his smile at Emma and winked. "Until next time, Swan."

"See ya." Forcing herself to not watch his back as he left, she faced Tink again, who was grinning at her. "What?"

"Oh, nothing." She sipped her coffee. "Hook seems to be adjusting well, too."

"Yeah, I guess." Emma glanced at the clock on the wall. Crap. She needed to hurry. Where was Ruby?

"I remember when he first came to Neverland. I knew him for a very long time."

Emma didn't know where this was going, but she listened nonetheless. She knew hardly anything about Hook's time in Neverland.

"He was so full of vengeance." She looked at the wall. "He hardly ever smiled genuinely." Tink glanced back at Emma. "But, he seems like he's always smiling here, especially when he's with certain people."

Emma averted her gaze, praying her cheeks didn't flush like she thought they were. She had no part in Hook's decisions.

Tink smirked. "I was surprised that he came back, you know. When he left and didn't return, I thought I'd never see him again."

Emma tried not to think too much about the tone of Tink's voice. "That a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Well, he was always annoying, but he was still a friend. I felt betrayed that he didn't take me with him, but I don't even know if he knew that he wasn't coming back."

"I can't imagine being stuck on that island for two hundred years, especially with all those Lost Boys and Pan."

Tink chuckled. "It wasn't always pleasant. Killian hated it."

Emma's eyebrows raised at the sound of Hook's first name.

"That's why I was so surprised he came back, especially when I found out it was to save your son."

"What do you mean?"

"He doesn't have any pleasant memories of his time in Neverland, I assure you. All he ever talked about was escaping and getting his revenge. Neverland is the reason his brother is dead."

"His brother?" Her eyebrows furrowed. She didn't know how he died, just that he had and Hook didn't like to talk about it. She couldn't blame him. She wouldn't either.

"Yes. Anyway, I couldn't figure out for the life of me what would make him return to that nightmarish place. When I saw him with you, I knew." She met Emma's eyes. "He told me long ago that he would risk his life for only two things: revenge and love."

Quickly, Emma looked back at the wall. "Well, I don't know what saving Henry had to do with his revenge." As she said it, all Emma could think of was Hook's words back in Neverland.

"When I win your heart, Emma—and I will win it—it won't be because of any trickery. It will be because you want me."

"Here you go, Emma. Sorry it took so long." Ruby pushed a paper bag in front of Emma with two togo cups.

"Thanks, Ruby." Emma placed money on the counter and grabbed the food. She looked at Tink. "Nice talking to you."

She grinned at her. "You, too."

Emma didn't like the knowing smile on her face and left as fast as she could.

Hook was at the loft when Emma finally got there. He sent a smile her way when she entered the apartment, but Regina spoke before he could.

"Nice for you to finally join us."

Emma rolled her eyes and yanked her jacket off, hanging it up by the door. "Henry was talkative this morning." Immediately, she regretted the words as a flash of pain flashed across Regina's face.

"You're here now and that's all that matters," Mary Margaret assured from her place on the couch. Her hands rested over her stomach. "Any leads on Zelena, yet?"

"Nope." Emma took a seat at the bar next to where Hook was leaning. "Hook?"

He shook his head. "Smee and I have searched the docks many times. No sign of her."

Mary Margaret's face fell for a split second. David, who sat next to her, squeezed her hand before launching into a plan to search the woods again.

Emma had a hard time focusing with Tink's words swirling in her head. She'd never thought a ton about how Hook going to Neverland must have been incredibly difficult for him. He never made it seem like it had been. She hated that she hadn't thought of it before.

He spent two hundred years there with nothing but hatred in his heart, just like Tink said. During the weeks they'd been there together, he'd never complained once. He'd always had ideas on how to get to Henry, how to find the safest places to rest. She had been glad of his knowledge of the island, never thinking of the price he paid for it.

She needed to say something to him. Thank him? It seemed ridiculous. Neverland was over a year behind them, though with her memories back, it felt like it was just yesterday.

"Swan." His voice cut through her thoughts, shocking her.

She whipped her head around. "What?"

He gestured forward with his hook.

She glanced back at her parents, who stared at her with equal expressions of worry.

"You okay?" David asked.

"Yeah, of course." She nodded. "Just zoned out."

"Well," Regina started, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't zone out. It is your unborn sibling we're trying to save."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I know. Sorry. Just a lot on my mind."

Regina looked back at David and Mary Margaret and started rehashing the day's plan.

They trekked through the woods for what felt like the millionth time that week. Storybrooke wasn't that big, but there sure were a lot of trees to get through.

Hook whacked any branch that got in his way with his hook. Emma had to keep her smile in check every time he did so.

"Something amusing, Swan?" he asked when she failed.

She shook her head, keeping her eyes forward. "Like I said the other day, you use any excuse to use that thing."

He chuckled. It sent warmth through her and she didn't know how to feel about it. "It's useful."

"So's a gun."

"I do not understand how you choose that weapon over a sword. They're much quieter."

"If I used a sword in battle, I'd be dead in a minute. At least with a gun I stand a fighting chance."

"You used a sword just fine in Neverland."

"That's because I had to. Plus, you and my parents did a lot of the weapon fighting there."

She felt his eyes flicker to her. "Don't sell yourself short, love."

"I'm not. Just stating facts."

"Belittling your skills is not stating facts."

She smiled softly. "I had an interesting conversation with Tinkerbell this morning."

"Aye? How so?"

Emma bit her lip, debating whether or not this was really a smart idea. "How long did you spend in Neverland?"

He didn't answer right away. When he did, his voice was slightly quieter. "About two hundred years. Why?"

"You didn't enjoy your time there much, did you?" She risked a glance to his face, which was carefully crafted into a mask that she saw right through. We understand each other, remember?

"No, I didn't," he finally replied. "It was not very pleasant, as you saw during your time there. Pan didn't let it be."

He hid his pain well, but Emma could hear it seeping into his tone. She wished she could take it all away.

"I don't think I ever really thanked you." She swallowed. "For, you know, everything."

He quirked his eyebrows. "Oh?"

Of course he was going to make her spell it out. When did he ever make anything easy?

Emma planted her feet and turned to face him fully. He stopped walking immediately, his attention fully on her. It didn't make her squirm like it should.

"Going back there couldn't have been easy," she said, looking in his eyes so he would know how sincere she was. "And you did it just to help Henry, who you didn't even know."

He stared right back at her. Her heart pounded.

"I didn't do it for Henry, at least, not at first."

She didn't want to breathe. It would break the bubble around them, keeping them from the world and its problems. But she didn't want to ask what the other reason he stayed was. She had a feeling she knew what it was and she wanted to be right and wrong at the same time.

"Yeah?"

He nodded. "Aye." After another moment's silence, he took a small step closer to her. "Being in Neverland to aid you in your quest to save your boy was worth every minute of the torment it wrought."

But how? How could that possibly be true? She couldn't mean that much to anyone, especially someone who wasn't obligated to love her by blood.

"Why?" she whispered.

"Because of what I knew hung in the balance."

He wasn't just talking about Henry and she knew that he knew that she knew that.

She cleared her throat softly and glanced away, breaking their delicate eye contact, and stepped back. "Well, thank you. No matter the reason you helped us, it made saving Henry possible."

"Of course. I'd do it over again."

Emma started walking again, knowing he would follow suit. "Let's hope that doesn't have to happen.

His laugh was soft. "Aye, Swan."

This time she didn't try to hide her smile and made sure he saw it.

I hope you enjoyed that!