A/N: First off let me say, I love your guy's reviews! XD Seriously some of them crack me up. By those I mean the slightly more threatening ones. Those really helped motivate me to write. Thanks. :D Your reviews remind me that people actually enjoy this story and I should keep writing. Do no fear to remind me, A LOT. XD Note me if you want to. ;p

Now, this WOULD have been updated sooner but real life has been super crazy. It's been even MORE crazy last week and then tragedy stuck on the weekend. Though I now have lots of free time since I won't be working for the rest of the week and some of next week. Well enough about that and on with the story!

Before I forget, many of you DID guess correctly who Captain Hook's mystery guest was. Good job!

Now I told the people of DA that the first two to guess correctly would get a big cameo and a short cameo, and the person who guessed it correctly first was KPchan on DeviantART. But as fate would have it, she is now in the navy and I needed her input and help for her character. So now she will still have a cameo but it's been changed to a smaller part. Which means I get to choose someone else to have that part. ;p NOW I will choose the first person who guessed correctly HERE for the part! So Hittichowa gets a part in the story! Send me a PM if you are interested and for more details. ^_^

One more thing, sorry it's so short. I wanted to make it longer but this chapter has been giving a lot of trouble too. Thankfully the next chapter is one I've been planning and wanting to write for a while. That and a few others that are coming. ;D (Wow this is a long A/N)

Enjoy!

Chapter 5

The Early Bird Is Not A Morning Bird

I was home and it was as if I never left. None of the insanity of that night ever happened. Hook and his pirates never chased me around the parking lot, through the school, and kidnapped me after work. The trash was thrown out like any other night. The drive home lasted hours and moments until I was standing at the door in my pajamas. With a bright smile on my face I opened the door somehow knowing my family would be standing there waiting for me on the other side. They all smiled welcoming me home, even the pets smiled back with their paws outstretched for a hug. I hadn't moved but somehow I was in a group hug. There was more to this dream but my mind pushed it all aside, focusing solely on this moment, making it come back again and again as the dream went on. In one moment, only my mom was hugging me while the others watched smiling.

My mouth opened to speak but nothing came out. I tried again but the same thing happened. This did not bother me because my mom nodded understandingly before holding me by my shoulders. 'I love you too sweetie' she cooed. 'We all love you very much' everyone replied with her.

Suddenly I was drifting away. Farther and farther even though, I tried running back. 'Have fun, we will miss you' they all waved good-bye slowly disappearing into the darkness. I cried out with no sound emerging. Tears refused to fall even though I wanted to cry. I continued to run in the darkness for what felt like hours. The dark had consumed me completely. I attempted to wake up but to no avail and stood alone. A hand rested on my shoulder and I turned without actually moving.

Standing there was Hook. 'Fear not' His lips did not move, though it was his voice. 'Home' His arms opened wide urging me to come to him, to be comforted. Another moment or hour passed and he wrapped me tightly in his comforting embrace.

I woke up on my back and hands above my head. The bed I was in was not mine. There was a fleeting thought of that I was at a friends house, but I knew the truth. It did not take long to know that yesterday was not a dream. The real dream I had lingered in my mind. It was very bittersweet. Seeing they were ok, not sick with worry, and returning home, but then bidding me goodbye, and leaving me with Hook in the end forever. A part of me wanted to groan loudly but my loathing for mornings kept me silent. From the light streaming into the cabin, it was clear the sun was up but could not say what time it was.

Rolling over and going back to sleep did not seem ideal. Even more so since I woke up with all my memories intact but a knock at the door halted my thoughts. I wondered if the pirate came to wake me or forgot this was currently my cabin. There was another knock after about a minute. I did not want to talk so I looked around for something within reach to throw at the door and hopefully drive the pirate away. The pirate knocked again. I took a pillow and threw it. It hit the door with a quiet thump. Silence... then a knock.

That did not work. So I tried to say something, or groan something in my case. "Mrharhrr." The pirate knocked again. "Mrhuh rahuh hurhm!" I take the second pillow and throw it even harder at the door. It made the same quiet thud as the other. After two minutes pass I fall back onto the bed planning to fall back to sleep. Only I threw the pillows at the door so it might be a little more difficult. Yet I can feel myself drifting to sleep once my eyes have closed.

"Miss Regina, are you awake?" Smee knocked on the door a few times.

"YES!" I yelled into the mattress.

"It's seven o'clock miss-"

I sat up and stared down the door, wishing I could light the cubby pirate on fire. "For what stupid reason do I need to be awake at seven! If Hook sent you here to wake me up I swear I will kill you and him!" The silence that followed felt like it filled the whole ship. I would not be too surprised if the other pirates did hear me. I waited for Smee to knock again and thought of what else to throw at the door. However, he did not knock. He did not even speak. Therefore, he must have finally left. With a long tired groan, I fell back onto the bed, determined to go back sleep.

About five minutes later, I was almost asleep when the door opened. Now if I were smart I would have opened my eyes to see who it was. Unfortunately, I am horribly lazy in the morning and exceptionally slow. It did not occur to me that I was not dreaming. That is until a familiar aroma filled the room. It was bacon. Someone brought freshly cooked bacon and it was right in front of my nose. The bacon started drifting away, upwards and I immediately sat up to follow it. Finally, I opened my eyes to gaze upon a plate with not only bacon, but also eggs, a slice of bread with butter, and an already peeled banana. When I reached for the plate, I noticed the hands holding it. Following the hand up the arm to the head, I saw Silver looking very amused. I thought about denying the plate of food but then my stomach growled very loudly. Silver broke out laughing.

I took the plate from him and started eating. "Hook sent you didn't he? Told you to wave the food in my face?" It was getting rather annoying how well Hook seemed to know me. My parents would do the same thing to get me up in the morning too. The cook nodded, his laughter dying down.

"Aye lass." Silver offered me a fork, which I took. "Said ye would wake without any hassle." He grinned as he watched me nearly inhale the food. I wake up starving in the morning and today was no exception. "After hearing ye yell at Smee, I though ye would 'ave bit me head off. Suppose all one needs to get on ye good side is to bring food as a peace offering." He teased with a chuckle.

"Thank you for breakfast, it was... good." Actually, it was ok. The bacon is burnt, the eggs undercooked, the bread was a bit stale yet soggy from too much butter, and half the banana was too bruised to be edible. It was a little disappointing after such a good dinner last night. You would think I would complain seeing how I have been doing that a lot to and about Hook; but I am not. I think today I just will not complain and take it all in stride. It is not like complain would help anyway.

Silver smirked with a raised eyebrow as he looked down at the plate. "Really now lass?" I nodded, a little confused. "Aye, ye be very different than the last lass. I gave her the same thing and she got upset."

"Did Hook tell you to serve that?" The cook shook his head. "Then why?"

"To see what kind of lass ye both were." That was the end of it. He got up for the door but turned back to me. "Oh, an' the Captain wants to see you once ye be ready."

I frowned. "He had better have a good reason for waking me up this early." He laughed and closed the door behind him. "Well... Suppose there's no point in going back to sleep now." Unless I wanted to incur Hook's wrath. Now I needed to figure out what to wear. There were plenty of clothes in the chest to choose from. Inside were three dresses, including the one I was supposed to wear last night, and a very piratey looking outfit. In the end, I decided to wear the outfit from last night I had tossed beside the chest. My best friend would have scolded me for wearing the same clothes twice in a row. "Hmm, I wonder what Hook'll say about that." I took my time since Hook had me wake up this early. Mornings are evil. Nothing would persuade me otherwise.

The ship was bustling with activity; pirates everywhere had some job keeping them busy. Though apparently not busy enough to keep from passing a quick glance at me. "Ah, Regina!" Hook called from wheel. I walked up the stairs slowly and stood next to him with a frown and arms crossed.

"You better have a good reason for waking me up this early Hook."

"Did I not tell you to call me James?" He twirled his moustache with a grin.

"Yes, but I'm sure you know very well I hate getting up this early, so I'm going call you what ever I want." I really need to start thinking before I open my mouth to talk. One of these days, I will make a big mistake. If not in the next five minutes.

Hook wrapped his only hand around my shoulder and led me down to the deck. "Well Regina." He took his time saying my name, enjoying it far too much. If I were not so cranky, I probably would have been blushing "I am taking you ashore."

My eyes widened and mouth fell open. "Ashore? Neverland?" He had led me to the edge of the ship, where one of the long boats was already waiting. I clenched my fists in an attempt to focus on being angry at him instead of excited.

Hook nodded. "We're right outside mermaid lagoon."

Suddenly my resolve broke and I was jumping up and down with a big smile. "I'm going to see real mermaids!" At that moment, I did not care if the crew was looking at me or the satisfied grin Hook wore. I was finally going to see Neverland and its inhabitants. Though probably not as closely as Wendy was able to see them. That was fine though since the mermaids would probably want to drown me if given the chance. With a spin, I turned to Hook and hugged him without thinking. "Thank y-!" I jumped back as quickly as I could. However, the deed was done; it was too late to take it back. As for Hook, well he was happily surprised. There was no way he would going to let me forget this. Well I am not going to let him enjoy it for long. I straightened up and tried to appear as indifferent as possible. "Thanks... Hook."

Hook lifted his hat from his head and bowed low. "You are most certainly welcome Regina." In one swift movement, Hook put his hat back on and turned around to shout orders at his crew.

The next few minutes I spent unmoving where Hook left me. Lost in thought and waiting to leave. Hook gathered a few of his crew, one of which was Starkey and the rest I did not know by name. The pirates spoke softly enough that I could not make out what they were saying. Usually Hook was talking and the pirates listening very intently and a little nervously. At one point Hook looked ready to start shouting at them but I did not catch what he was angry about. Once he calmed down, with the pirates looking rather frightened, he glanced at me. Was I the subject of their conversation? Why was it so secretive? Before I had a chance to try eavesdropping, Hook dismissed them with a yell, "Get on with it you pathetic bilge rats!"

Off they ran to the long boat. All except Starkey, who although hurried away from Hook, came to stand next to me? Hook continued yelling insults and orders at his crew, waving his hook at any that came close enough, and nearly hit Smee more than once. I noticed that while I watched everyone run around trying to follow Hook's orders, Starkey had made no sign of moving. In fact, he looked rather disgruntled with a large frown whenever Hook was not looking.

The silence between us was getting awkward. "So..." His frown softened a little when he turned to me. "Can you tell me what you were all talking about?"

Starkey's gaze flashed quickly to the Captain, shouting at his crew to quicken their pace. "We'll be leaving for mermaid lagoon once the crew has everything ready." That would be a no. All right then, let us try a different question.

"So, are you my body guard or babysitter?" He nearly answered before quickly stopping himself by clearing his throat instead. My guess is he felt like a babysitter. "What is he afraid to leave me alone?" I said half joking.

"Somethin' like that." He gave me a quick sinister smile. It made me wonder how safe I really was on this ship. "I'd best get you to the long boat 'fore the Captain comes." We both watched Hook swing his hook at a pirate's head who did not have time to duck. Luckily, he happened to be shortest of the pirates and the hook caught his hat instead. What ever Hook had discussed, it had put him in a foul mood.

"Good idea."

Without hesitation, I followed him where a second long boat was being hoisted. Just how many pirates are coming? Hook, Starkey, and very likely Smee are going, but how many more does he need? The five pirates hoisting the long boat practically dived into the thing when Hook neared us. They were the pirates he was talking to before. Seeing this reminded me of what he was, a ruthless and clever pirate captain. I was now grateful for Starkey's company, though that comfort soon vanished as well.

Starkey was also a pirate. It occurred to me that I had not taken them as pirates seriously, but thought of them as relatively harmless Disney cartoon characters. This really was a ridiculous assumption since even in the movie Hook shot one of his own men. Mr. Wiles had also paid his respects to Davy Jones just yesterday by the Captain's hand. All this time I have been taking for granted that the Captain Hook I am with is Disney version when he is just as dangerous as any pirate is. Well, he maybe a little less dangerous... hopefully?

Hook stood next to me and smiled. This time I tried looking past the suave gesture that was oh too charming for it to be without some ill intent or hidden purpose. I looked. I searched. And found nothing. His practiced guise of the gentlemanly pirate was far too good for me to expose the hidden truth. That or he was genuinely debonair in more that his almost foppish appearance. As if he could read my thoughts, Hook offered his hand to help me into the long boat. "Ladies first." A part of me wanted to make some silly retort, but I could not think of any. So instead, I allowed him to help me in, making myself comfortable at the end leaving little to no room for anyone to sit next to me.

Starkey entered the boat next, and then Hook, followed by Smee and another short pirate with a large hat. As the longboat lowered, I found excitement building again. I had to remain calm. Keep my mind clear and alert. This proved to be very difficult when Hook ordered the men to row to shore. It would not be long now before I finally stepped foot on the island of Neverland. Surrounded by pirates off to see mermaids. If I was not still holding a grudge about being kidnapped, this would hopefully been the start of an amazing day.