AN: So, this was supposed to have been finished by the end of December. I'm a little late. Shit happened, I got a new job, had to move, but now I've finished it! It's long, at least for me, at over 8000 words. I hope you enjoy this final chapter:
Three. You Recover
When this world comes crashing you don't have to look away
Don't have to give up no don't let the angels play
A sad song to carry you home it won't be long you discover
You recover
When Killian finally awoke, the sun had rose and was high in the sky. He felt groggy, as if he had slept too long, and had difficulty focusing on his surroundings. His forest surrounding… what was he doing in a forest -?
The past day came flooding back to him and he shot to a sitting position as recalled the events of the previous night. Pan had Emma, was going to use her against the boy she couldn't remember, but that Killian was sure she had loved. He had to find her, had to save her…
Dizziness hit him at his sudden movements, and he had to clutch at his head as nausea rose in his stomach.
"Easy there, Jones," Charming murmured, and Killian felt the warm pressure of the other man's hand on his arm steadying him.
"Have you found Emma?" He asked, shrugging Charming's grip away and struggling to his feet. He was naked from the waist up, but when he looked to his side, there was no knife wound. It was as if the confrontation with Pan hadn't occurred. "How did you-?"
"It's from a spring," Charming replied. "You showed it to me, actually. I got hit with an arrow laced with dreamshade, and you tricked me into going to the spring, so I could be healed." The prince paused after that, looking hesitant, before sighing an continuing to speak. "It keeps us here, Hook. The water… once you drink it, you can't leave the island again." He glanced to where Snow was speaking with Regina. "They don't know. We, I, never told them. But you need to know, since we're apparently destined to be roommates here."
"Killian…" Killian murmured in automatic correction of Charming's use of the pirate moniker, but his thoughts were already focused on the rest of the prince's explanation, and he remembered Pan's earlier words, of poison and Liam leaving the Island when he was told not to. "This dreamshade… it's what killed Liam, isn't it? Pan mentioned it, that he left the island when he shouldn't. He was poisoned."
"You never actually came right out and told me," Charming admitted. "But yes, I assumed as much. I just… I don't want Snow to know. Not until Henry and Emma are safe."
"The secret is safe with me," Killian swore, and he imagined that he should be angry at the prince, for sentencing him to a life on this island. But the only other option was death, and he would be useless to Emma in death.
And exactly when, Killian had to wonder, had Emma Swan become so important to him, that her needs came before his own? He hadn't known the girl for twenty-four hours, yet he was willing to lay down his life for her, almost had laid down his life for her.
She was a Queen to die for, he found himself thinking. A royal of honor.
Only, they weren't thoughts Lieutenant Jones would normally think. Killian had never contemplated whether or not the royals were worthy of his loyalty; he was a member of the navy, they simply received it on principle, because Liam was loyal to them, and Killian was loyal to Liam. But that thought?
It hadn't come from the Lieutenant, but rather the jaded Pirate Captain.
And perhaps that was Killian's answer. That somewhere, beneath the curse, Captain Hook still lurked, and that man had decided to pledge himself to Emma Swan, and so Lieutenant Jones couldn't do anything but pledge himself as well. Emma was worth dying for.
His fingers trailing over the healed skin of his side as he caught a shirt Charming threw at him, Killian found himself thinking she was worth living for, as well. Even if that living was done in Neverland.
RECOVER
Emma was caged in the trees, and she wasn't sure how to get herself out of this mess. It frustrated her, because she was a pro at escaping messes. But this one?
How do you escape a magical psycho on an island he single-handedly ruled?
The answer? You didn't.
"And there you are, saviour. I don't suppose you've reconsidered your stance on assisting me."
Speak of the devil, and he will appear. Emma glared at Pan through the "bars" of her cage, and wished more than anything that looks could kill.
"You killed Killian," she growled, hitting at the bars with frustration. "Why would I help you?"
Why would she help the boy who had taken that beautiful sailor out of the world? The lovely blue eyes that looked into Emma and saw straight to her soul? The first boy in Emma`s memory that she thought she could maybe fall in love with? And now he was gone, because he had tried to save her, and he had died for his act of honor.
"Still pining for the pirate?" Pan drawled. "Really, Emma, you should be thanking me. I'll admit, you met Killian Jones at his best and most honorable. Really, it was just downhill from there. Now, he can live on in your memory as that valiant young soldier rather than the pathetic mess he was destined to become. Not the type you'd want around your son."
"Where is Henry?" Emma demanded, thinking of the brown eyed boy who had smiled at her, and in that smile Emma had felt the warmth of the sun. She didn't know the boy, had never seen him before in her life, but something in her had recognized him, and that something was screaming at her to protect him, to get that boy to safety.
"He's safe. I'll admit, your presence didn't work as I had hoped. I underestimated you, Emma, and how much you love him. I won't do it again."
"So what happens now?" Emma demanded.
"You stay here and rot," Pan replied. "And I go back to my original plan, only now your little group is down a pirate and a saviour, and that leaves them no way of stopping me. I'll restore magic, and in return that magic will answer to me, and all the other realms will fall under the domain of Neverland. Imgaine it, Emma… world upon world where time stands still and Lost Boys roam free. It will be spectacular. And you'll get to see it, from right where you are. The best seats in the house, really."
"Why me?" she demanded as Pan turned his back to walk away. "You can tell me that, can't you? Why Killian and I? You targeted us very specifically, so tell me why."
"Actually, I targeted the pirate. I wanted you to meet my old friend, Hook, you see. Not the imitation he's become since meeting you, but the real Hook, the one who thirsted for revenge and nothing more. That man was of use to me, would work for me, and in turn it would have destroyed you. You survived abandonment from your parents, from Baelfire… but his? That would have broken you. With a broken saviour and Hook on my side I would have easily finished this already. Sadly, I underestimated your hold over him. It's a pity really, that he had to die because of you. Something else for you to think of, as you sit there and rot. Good-bye, Emma."
Emma wanted to scream after him, to rant that it wasn't her fault. Killian had made his own choices, and they had been good and brave and honorable, just like he was. But Pan's words hit right at the heart of her, and it didn't matter that Killian had been all those things, because now he was dead, and it was because Emma had been too afraid to face her parents, and instead had run.
Emma wanted to yell at the ageless little demon, but all she could do was cry and mourn. Mourn for Killian and his beautiful eyes, mourn for the relationship she would never have with her son, and mourn for herself, the scared little lost girl who had screwed everything up.
RECOVER
Henry was forgetting something. He knew he was. There was something he should remember, but he couldn't for the life of him say what it was.
The stories all said that Neverland made you forget. Was that magic already working on him?
Only… it wasn't a memory he was forgetting. It wasn't something from Storybrooke, but something that involved this island and stupid Peter Pan, who was such a letdown that Henry didn't really want to contemplate it.
"You look unhappy, Henry," Pan sang as he came back from wherever it was Pan went when he disappeared. The older boy looked far too happy for Henry's peace of mind.
"You made me forget something," he said unhappily, and it was a tone that Regina had scolded him for using in the past, one she said made him sound petulant. But his mom wasn't there to scold him now, so Henry thought he could be as petulant as he wanted. "I know you did."
"Now, what would I possibly want you to forget?" Pan responded far too innocently, and Henry knew his guess was on the mark.
"I'll figure it out," he replied. Pan laughed and shrugged, and Henry glared at his back as he joined his lost boys, before turning a contemplative gaze to the forest where the other boy had returned from.
Perhaps it was time for Henry to explore the island.
RECOVER
Everyone was making plans to find Emma, and Killian wanted to join in, but something in him, that part of him that spoke in a pirate's slang, told him that was wrong. Emma wouldn't want to be saved, not unless her boy was safe too.
"We need to find Henry," Regina was arguing, as if in echo of Killian's thoughts. "Emma is a big girl, and it's what she would want."
"We can't just leave Emma with Pan," Charming responded. "Who knows what he'll do to her?"
"Regina is right." It took Killian several seconds to realize everyone was staring at him because he had spoken the words aloud. All of them, from Neal to Regina herself, were staring at him as if he had grown a second head. "I mean, Emma would want her lad to be safe. That's what was most important to her, before this spell took her memories, wasn't it?"
"Didn't you spend the better part of your little experiment with dreamshade telling us how important it was to save Emma?" Neal asked with a furrowed brow. "What changed suddenly?"
"I…" Killian looked around helplessly, trying to explain his inner turmoil. "I hear him sometimes… Hook, I mean. Or, the me you all know. He… he knew her, and he's saying it's what she would want. For the boy to be safe."
"You see," Regina pointed out. "The pirate agrees."
"Yes, because the pirate who is listening to the voices in his head is who you want on your side," Neal drawled out, his voice thick with sarcasm. "The guy was just poisoned. He doesn't know what he's talking about."
"Then we split up," Killian interrupted before Neal could continue with his sarcasm. "Some of us go after Henry, the others find Emma, and we meet up afterward."
"With all due respect, Killian, you don't know Pan. You're new to this island… sort of," Charming said, his tone soft, as if trying not to offend. "Splitting up? It's a bad idea."
Killian thought of the boy who had so calmly stabbed him, and as he did so, a new memory arose. He and Liam arriving on a beach to which Killian had never been before, being greeted by a smirking Pan and there's no Kings here… just me. The boy who had led Killian to a cure that would only end up dooming Liam anyway.
The boy who never did anything without a reason.
"The potion," Killian said suddenly, changing the topic completely and obviously throwing the whole group for a loop. "It was meant for me, correct?"
"Uh… yeah," Neal replied, looking around the group, as if to find an explanation for Killian's sudden shift in demeanor, from off kilter Lieutenant to calculating Pirate Captain.
"Pan never does anything without a purpose," Killian murmured softly. "Is there anyone else on this island who can be of help to us? Who can assist Regina in hunting down Henry?"
"Rumplestiltskin," Snow replied, and the look she gave Killian was hesitant, almost nervous, as if the name should mean something, but it didn't.
"No," Neal interjected emphatically. "Absolutely not."
"I get that you have Daddy issues," Regina growled acidly, "but your father is the most powerful practitioner of dark magic I know. He can be of help."
"Only he won't, because there's a prophecy that says Henry will be his undoing. My father is here to kill my son, not save him."
That statement made everyone pause and look around at a loss, but Killian contemplated the circumstances.
"How powerful are you?" he asked the Regina, who looked startled at being addressed.
"Powerful. Why?"
"Powerful enough to turn the tables on this Rumplestiltskin should he actually try to kill the boy?"
"Perhaps," Regina's look grew calculating as she caught onto what Killian was getting at. "Lieutenant, I do believe you're more like Hook than you give yourself credit for. I'll find the imp and use him to get Henry. We'll still need a way off the island, though."
"Pan never does anything without a reason," Killian replied, once again echoing his earlier words. "He wanted Emma and I separated. That makes me believe that, together, we pose some threat to him. Get your son. Go with her, if you feel your father is truly dangerous to the boy, Neal. We'll find Emma and then we'll do whatever the hell it is that Pan was trying to prevent in the first place."
"This has to be the worst plan I've ever heard," Neal muttered, running a hand through his hair.
"Do you have a better one?" Killian replied.
"I did, but I kind of screwed it up by screwing you and Emma up, so this will have to do."
"Then let's go."
And so, the five separated, only a vague plan in hand and absolutely no idea what the end result would be.
RECOVER
Killian was dead, Henry, who was actually her son, was in Pan's hands, and Emma really wished she had her mother.
At first, she had cried. Grief and frustration had welled in her, and she had let it all out. But Emma Swan wasn't the type to wallow; she was an action girl. So once the tears had dried, she had begun to investigate her prison. It was a simple wooden cage, held together by thick ropes. But there was magic there, as well. Emma had magic fingers, but even her smooth moves and experience had been unable to untangle the knots, though she had tried.
That was an hour ago.
Now she was getting mad.
Pan was such a little shit, and if he thought for even one second that he was going to win this… whatever this was, then he could go fuck himself. Emma wasn't going to lose to a fictional character, no matter how powerful he may claim to be.
That's when she smelled the smoke.
She stared up at the knot holding the cage shut, and watched as flames began to burn around it. The rope began to spark gold, and Emma narrowed her eyes at it. She thought about Killian, stabbed by Pan's knife, and as her anger grew, so did the fire. The gold sparks became shakier, and began to flicker. So Emma thought about Henry, and how Pan had knocked him out and dragged her away from him – the son she had abandoned, but whose eyes she had looked into and simply… recognized.
I know why you gave me up. You wanted me to have my best chance.
The words, an echo of a memory that wasn't hers (only it was, she knew it was), almost caused her fire to disappear as shock broke through the anger, but on the heels of the shock came a different emotion, one brought on by the memory of Henry's face as he had told her he understood, that he didn't hate her for what she had done.
Love.
The love made the fire burn stronger, even more powerful than the anger had been, and the spell that held the ropes in place was sparking at threatening rate, Pan's spell breaking under the power of the fire. So, Emma tried to summon up more, to think of someone that could inspire the emotion like Henry had.
Hook.
The name whispered through her mind, and with it came flashes of memory. A beanstalk and a compass and have you ever been in love? Leaving him there, because she didn't know what to do, how to handle the things he made her feel.
She remembered a kiss that she felt to her toes; tongues and teeth and heat, and once again that emotion she was too scared to name, but so desperately wanted to hold onto. She remembered you couldn't handle it and as you wish and smirking, because he didn't know the movie, but she did, and the thought of it made her smile, even as it terrified her.
And as Emma let the not-her-memories flow through her, the fire burned and burned until, with one last flashing spark, Pan's magic gave out and the cage fell open. Emma smiled and pushed herself to the edge. She looked down briefly, then closed her eyes and said a prayer and let herself fall to the ground. The landing jarred slightly, but it wasn't nothing compared to the shock that overcame her when she was safely on the ground, away from Pan's cage.
Because holy shit, had she just done magic?
Emma fell to her back and stared up at the cage, breathing deeply, and she felt a smile suffuse her face as she realized that she could make her get away, because Emma Swan – abandoned lost girl with a million trust issues – had just made magic. Awesome magic.
She let out a breathless gasp of laughter, because she wasn't that woman yet, the one who was so scared and jaded that she had given up her belief in love when she had given up her son. No, Emma might have abandonment issues, but she knew what the other her had felt, what she had been so scared of.
It was no wonder she had been mourning Killian so strongly, that thoughts of him had inspired such power. She was falling in love with him after all.
Then her joy disappeared, and the smile went with it, because it didn't matter that she could have had a wonderful future with Killian Jones – whether it be the pirate or the lieutenant – because both of them were dead. Pan had killed them.
And for that? Pan would pay.
RECOVER
Peter had told Henry that all he had to do was believe.
The original Lost Boy had made a mistake when he did that, but he had never suspected Henry would turn the ability back around and use it on him. After all, Henry believed in his family, so that meant they couldn't lose.
His mom was the most powerful dark sorceress ever.
His other mom was the saviour of all that was good.
They simply couldn't be defeated.
And Henry, because he believed in them, and he believed in himself, would help them. Because Peter couldn't find him. Henry was unfindable by the original Lost Boy, because Henry believed that to be so, and whatever Henry believed, happened. In theory.
Henry picked up his pace a bit, as he pushed his way through the greenery of Neverland. His belief was strong, but it didn't hurt to put space between himself and Pan. After all, magic wasn't exact. That's what his storybook told him. And as walked, he began to tell himself that he would meet Emma again. That he wouldn't be separated from his Moms or his grandparents for much longer. He would find them, because they always found each other, and Henry believed that with everything he was.
He was so determined to believe in finding his family, that he almost missed the frantic call of his name.
"Henry! Henry! Geez, kid, will you stop moving for five seconds and look at me?"
"Emma?" Henry asked, spinning around as Emma stumbled out of the trees. Her tanktop was dark with sweat, her hair was a mess, and red rimmed her eyes, as if she had been crying, but there was no mistaking that this was Emma. "Mom!"
"Hey," Emma said as Henry rushed her, wrapping his arms around her waist. There was a brief moment where Emma stiffened, but then she ran her fingers through his hair, and Henry allowed himself to hold his mom and just be a scared boy for a moment.
"I knew you'd come for me. I knew Peter was lying," he whispered, not willing to admit to the tiny, tiny part of him that had wondered what-if?
"Of course kid," Emma agreed, hugging Henry tightly, and wishing for all the world that she could really remember him, beyond the brief flashes of memory she had managed when breaking out of the cage. "We're family. That means no one gets left behind."
"Did you just quote Lilo and Stitch?" Henry asked somewhat incredulously.
"What?" Emma replied defensively. "It's true, isn't it? Unless… wait… there isn't, like, a real Lilo and Stitch out there that I'm going to meet, is there?"
Henry pulled back from Emma with raised brows.
"Uh… not that I know of. You're acting a little weird. Are you okay?" Henry eyed her closely, as if he could determine the cause of her odd behaviour just by looking hard enough.
"It's a long story," Emma replied, placing her hand on Henry's shoulder and steering him around to head back into the trees. "I'll tell you all about it while we look for the others. We need to be together. I refuse to lose anyone else to that little shit."
Henry's brows raised even further at Emma's language, but he allowed her to steer her around, and then he listened to her spin a tale about turning back time and a pirate who was a Lieutenant, and how he had died saving her. At first, Henry thought to break away, hurt at the thought of Emma not recognizing him, but the way she squeezed his shoulders and called him kid was so like the Emma he knew, that he was positive that memories didn't matter. She loved him, because they were family and nothing could break that bond. And when she mentioned Neal, and how he was still alive, Henry swore he would never stop smiling.
When she spoke of Captain Hook, Killian, as she called him, Henry swore there were tears in her eyes, and that her voice almost broke as she spoke her name.
And Henry Mills, who had read enough Fairytales to be somewhat of an expert, looked at him mom for the first time as just a person – not his mom, not the saviour, not the daughter of two fairytale icons, but just a girl who had suffered far too much heartbreak in her life, and came to a very surprising conclusion.
"Huh… so you're in love with Captain Hook?"
RECOVER
"I told you, I don't mean any harm to the boy. I came here, planning to die for him!"
"I would believe you, really I would," Regina told Rumple dryly. "If it weren't for all those times you screwed me over."
"Oh, dearie, don't pretend that you never tried to do the same to me. Is it really my fault I'm simply better at it than you?"
"Will both of you stop?" Neal demanded, glaring at his companions. "Look, we have one goal and one goal only – get Henry away from Pan. If you're telling the truth, then prove it. Save Henry. Get him off this Island… and then maybe we'll talk."
Regina thought that, perhaps, she had underestimated Neal Cassidy. She had written him off as yet another do-gooder who would hesitate when action was most important, but his ability to blatantly manipulate his father, who also happened to be the Dark One, told her that, perhaps, he would be of some use after all.
"Yes, Rumple, listen to your boy," she said with just enough sweetness to make her voice poisonous. "If you want to prove yourself to be redeemed, or whatever it is your end goal is, then save my son."
"I will, but it will take planning, Dearie. I told you I came here to die, and that's what defeating Pan will take."
"Oh please," Regina scoffed. "Stop being so dramatic, Rumple. We both know that you won't die until you're good and ready, and you're not ready. Not yet. If dying is your plan, then come up with a new one. Together, we're the most powerful dark magic practitioners they are. Surely we can come up with something better than Rumplestiltskin dies."
"Careful, majesty," Rumple drawled out, but a spark of interest shone in his eyes, showing that he had listened to Regina's words and was considering them. "One might think you actually cared."
"And one might think the two of you actually believe that you can defeat me. That one is rich. Ridiculous, of course, but amusing."
"Pan," Regina hissed, spinning with Rumple and Neal to face the Original Lost Boy. Several of his little minions were gathered with him, all of them armed for a fight. Regina concentrated on her magic, pulling fire into her palms and Neal held up a sword, ready for whatever attack they might throw. Rumple simply stood a little straighter and glared down his nose at Pan, though he didn't do anything more to prepare.
"Always the smart one, Rumple. You know better than to try and fight me on my turf. So why allow yourself even a moment of hope like that? I thought I taught you better."
"You taught me little more than how not to cheat at cards," Rumple replied, somewhat stiffly. "But if you wish to pretend otherwise, go ahead. I would rather not be here for your lectures, however, so why don't you tell me where you put Henry and we'll be on our way."
"Now, why would I do that?" Pan replied with an easy smirk and a raised brow, but there was something in his expression, in the way he held himself, that just wasn't quite right. Regina didn't know why, but there was something about his demeanor than raised alarms in her head.
Apparently Rumple felt the same, because he frowned and narrowed his eyes at the young boy. Pan stared defiantly back, and after a long moment, Rumple grinned and gave a chuckle, causing both Regina and Neal to frown at him, wondering what could be so funny.
"Well, well, well," he murmured. "So you lost the boy then, did you? Apparently your usual methods don't work on him. I always knew Henry was a smart boy."
"You don't know what you're talking about," Pan muttered in return. "Henry is back at camp, safe and sound and out of your reach. All I need is his heart, and magic will be mine."
"Do you think I know you so little?" Rumple shot back. "You abandoned me when I needed you most, but I remember you well Peter Pan, and I know you better than anyone else. If you had the boy, you wouldn't be here, hoping that we would lead you to him."
"Perhaps you're right," Pan agreed, and his frustration melted back into arrogance as quickly as that frustration had risen. "Perhaps I have lost the boy. But I can take comfort from one very important fact that you're not paying attention to."
"And what is that?" Regina asked, wanting nothing more than to hit the arrogant little shit in the face with a fire ball.
"You don't have him either. Which means it's a race to find Henry – and in this realm, o' Evil Queen? I am Master. Happy hunting."
And, having gotten the last word, Pan and his Lost Boys left the trio behind.
RECOVER
Killian led the way through the bush, determined to find Emma, and unite with the others and (hopefully) her boy, and return them safely home.
Then, he would work with Charming to somehow cut himself a home on this island.
"Where are we going H – Killian?" Snow asked, having to almost job to keep up with Killian's long legged, fast paced stride.
"I don't know," Killian replied almost shortly.
"You don't know?" Charming repeated, the words coming out slowly. "What do you mean, you don't know?"
"Exactly what it sounds like, Mate. I don't know where we're going. I have no idea where Emma could be. I am making this up as I go. If you think you have some plan, by all means, take the lead."
"Regina's right," Charming muttered. "You are more like Hook than you give yourself credit for. Slow down, pirate… Lieutenant… whatever. Walking around the Island without a plan is foolish. Pan and his Lost Boys could be anywhere. So could Emma. We don't want to run into the former and completely miss the latter, so let's stop and think about this for a moment."
"Every moment we're stopped is one more moment Emma is alone with that little beast."
"We don't like it either, Hook," Charming replied, and Hook considered correcting him, but decided that would just waste more precious seconds and kept silent. "Emma is our daughter, for Christ's sake. We love her. But this isn't going to accomplish – get your weapons out" – Charming pulled out his sword and braced his feet as they heard rustling amongst the trees – "it could be Lost Boys."
Killian pulled out his sword as well, and Snow notched an arrow, holding her bow at the ready. Some bushes rustled, and then two figures stumbled out, one small and male, the other taller and slender with long blonde hair.
Emma and Henry.
"Gramps! Grandma!" Henry exclaimed, diving at his grandparents who immediately dropped their weapons to envelope their grandson, expressions of joy on their faces. Killian took vague note of their activities, but his attention was caught and held by the blonde who was staring at him with a mixed expression of shock and undiluted joy.
God, but she looked beautiful.
"Killian," she whispered, her voice almost too quiet to hear and strangled. Killian gave her a lop-sided grin, and the expression made her smile in return and she threw herself into his arms, making him stumble back several feet. "Killian! I thought Pan had killed you."
"I imagine he did as well," Killian replied, one arm wrapping around her waist and the other coming up to tangle in her blonde hair. "But I'm not easy to kill, as it turns ou – mmmph!"
His final word was cut off as Emma tangled her fingers into his hair and pulled him down to kiss him full out on the mouth, not caring that their reunion was being observed by her son and her parents. She was too relieved to be able to touch him again, too relieved that he was alive. For his part, Killian didn't appear to want to put up much of an argument over her actions, as his response was to simply pull her closely and kiss her back.
And as they kissed, it was as if their minds exploded.
Emma remembered Portland. She remembered Neal and plans for Tallahassee and how he had let Pinocchio dictate their lives. She remembered prison and giving up Henry so he had his best chance. She remembered years of loneliness culminating in a knock on her door and are you Emma Swan? And how that had changed her whole life, how Henry had given her hope and purpose and a home. She remembered Graham and mourning him. She remembered breaking the curse and being swept back to the enchanted forest. Her previous regained memories joined with you bested me and hello beautiful to form a picture of her and Killian that wasn't always pretty, but that was uniquely them. Because it suited Emma, to be the hero, the saviour, who fell in love with the villain.
Hook remembered Liam. He remembered Milah and Rumplestiltskin and Regin and Cora and three hundred years seeking revenge until the day he pretended to be a black smith. He remembered the beautiful green eyes that shocked him to the core that were so hurt and guarded. He remembered maybe I was, once and I can't risk it. He remembered the pain of being left behind by the first woman to make him feel again. He remembered the bitterness of that, then he remembered getting his revenge and feeling nothing but empty. He remembered you could be a part of something and running away, only to return because she reminded him that he was more than a one handed pirate with a drinking problem and a thirst for vengeance that spanned centuries. He remembered kissing her and being shocked, because she felt like home and it had been so long since he'd had a home that he'd forgotten what it felt like.
They broke apart, looking at each other in bewilderment. Time had caught up with them once more, and they were no longer Lieutenant and Lost Girl, but once again Pirate and Saviour. His restored hand was no longer restored, and he hoped someone had grabbed his hook because he'd need it, but he didn't let him think on that for too long, because Emma had just kissed him and broken the spell Pan had placed on them.
And so this time he kissed her.
And Emma let him.
RECOVER
Henry could appreciate true love. He was a big proponent of it, in fact.
Still, he was an eleven year old boy. And his Mom was kind of making out with a pirate in front of him.
Even Henry Mills had limits. This was getting precariously close to crossing them.
Luckily, his gramps was awesome, or at least as uncomfortable as Henry was going, and so he did what Henry didn't quite know how to.
"Look, I'm glad you two found each other," Charming said in an overly loud voice. "And it's cool that you're true loves and all which, by the way pirate, we will be talking about. But we have to meet up with Regina, Neal and Rumplestiltskin so that we can get Henry home. So… break it up?"
The two broke apart, and a faint blush rose on Emma's cheeks. For his part, Hook was looking at Emma as though she hung the moon, and that made Henry feel rather generous-spirited towards the pirate, because if anyone deserved to be looked at like that it was his mom.
"Of course," Emma agreed. "So… you guys found Rumplestiltskin then?"
"Not exactly," Snow replied, exchanging looks with Charming. "Neal and Regina were going to find him. They were planning on saving Henry while we saved you, Emma, but now that we have both of you, we should retrieve them before-"
"Peter Pan finds you?" drawled out an annoyingly familiar voice. "Too late for that."
"Pan," Hook growled, wishing he had his hook so he could skewer the boy. Charming seemed to read his mind and reached into his satchel, pulling out the metal piece and pressing it into Hook's hand. He looked at the prince gratefully and attached it back to the stump on his arm.
"Hook," Pan returned neutrally. "I thought I'd killed you."
"You didn't," Hook returned, his voice equally as toneless.
"Hmmm," Pan surveyed him through narrowed eyes. They glanced once, briefly, at Charming, before a malicious smirk lit his youthful features. "Ah, I see. So, both of you are stuck here then. How wonderful for us."
"Stuck here?" Snow repeated, and Emma reached out, her hand gripping Hook's arm as she shot him a sharp look that mirrored her mother's look to Charming. "What does he mean?"
"Didn't you tell them?" Pan asked with a laugh full of wicked glee. "Oh, that's precious. Your men were poisoned, princess, by nightshade. And there's only one cure for that, and it has such a wonderful side effect. The Captain is quite familiar with it. Tell them, Hook. Go ahead and tell them what the cost is to keep your life."
Hook glared at pan with helpless fury. When he had drunk the water, it had seemed like the right choice. He would live to see Emma and her boy safely off the island. But now? Now he knew they were true loves, and if it had taken him three hundred years to get over Milah, then he would never get over Emma. Not in all the eternal time Neverland could, theoretically, offer.
"I will never stop trying to get back to you, Emma," Hook said to her, looking into her eyes and pleading with his own for her to understand. "I'll fight to get back, and to get your father back with me. I swear it."
"What do you mean, Killian?" Emma asked softly, and it made Hook's heart skip a beat to hear her, the Emma he had met and been so challenged by in the Enchanted Forest rather than the girl who had met the young idealistic version of him, say his name like that.
"We had to drink from a spring, Emma. It cures the poison. But if you leave Neverland, the magic stops working. It's… that's what killed my brother. Liam. He was poisoned, Pan gave him the cure, and we left. And he didn't last ten minutes before he died in my arms. Again."
"No," Emma whispered, her eyes widening in horror as the meaning of his words hit her. "No. That's not fair. I finally let myself admit how I felt. I finally let myself care… Hell, we shared true loves freaking kiss, and you're telling me that that's it? Now you're stuck here forever and we don't get our happy ending, or whatever it is that's supposed to happen now? That's bullshit, Hook!"
"I told you, I won't stop searching for a way," Hook replied, trying to make her understand, but Emma shook her head and spun towards Pan, marching angrily at him.
"Listen here, you annoying little shit, that's not how this is going to work. You're going to let him, let both of them, come home with us. We've won, and now it's time for you to give up gracefully and let us – all of us—go home."
"No, you haven't won," Pan replied easily, leaning back against a tree with a smirk as his Lost Boys tensed at Emma's approach. "Because I always win. You have Henry back, but you're still on my island, and even if you were to figure out a way to leave, I would keep your true love. I believe this is a check mate, Emma. No matter how you look at the situation, you lose."
"There you are you annoying little – Henry!" Regina chose that moment to appear, Neal and Rumple in tow, and upon seeing her son she stopped her angry charge at Pan and instead moved swiftly to embrace Henry. "You're okay."
"Yeah, I'm fine Mom," Henry replied, smiling at her. "I found Emma, and we ran into gramp and grandma and Hook."
"I see that you broke the spell," Regina observed over Henry's head as she ran her hand over his hair. "Or did it just wear off?"
"It was true love's kiss," Henry replied enthusiastically. "And it was so cool! I didn't get to see it last time because of, you know, reasons. But this time? So cool."
"Well, Pan, it looks like you're outnumbered," Rumple observed looking at the boy. "Two true love couples and all of us reunited."
"I don't think it's that simple, Papa," Neal replied quietly, noticing the looks of anguish on Emma and snow. He didn't think he'd ever seen mother and daughter look quite so much alike.
"He's right," Emma said to Pan, her voice taking on an almost desperate note. "You're outnumbered. Even with your Lost Boys, those two are supposedly the most powerful practitioners alive, and everyone keeps telling me I have all this magical potential because I'm the baby of true love or whatever, so just give it up, Pan. Let us go."
"No," Pan replied, leaning forward to speak the word softly. "Go back if you want, Emma. Get Rumple there to work his magic and return you home with your boy, but if you take Henry from here, from me, then I take Hook from you, Charming from your mother. It's simple, really."
"What is the brat talking about?" Regina demanded.
"Long story," Henry replied. "They were poisoned, the cure means they can't leave. We're kind of stuck at an impasse."
Henry spoke the words quickly, and Regina accepted them and turned back to the burgeoning stand-off. Henry was almost relieved to have the adults attention elsewhere, even as his dad came to hug him, something that brought a huge grin to Henry's face because it meant Neal was alive and there, their attention was distracted from Henry.
And so was Pan's and his Lost Boys.
That gave Henry time to think, and to consider the scenario that faced him.
His was the Heart of the Truest Believer. If Pan was to be believed, then he could restore magic, strengthen, just with the force of his belief. But if that was the case, then it made no sense why Pan would feel that he had to torment Henry's family like this.
Henry would be much more agreeable if his family was safe and happy.
That meant then, that Pan didn't want Henry happy. He didn't want him content and with his family, restoring magic to its wonderful bright self. Because Pan was dark and twisted… so then didn't that mean he'd want magic to be dark and twisted too?
Henry was taking a gamble. As he carefully backed away from the group into the trees and slowly, careful not to draw attention to himself, moved around the group so that he was at Pan's back, Henry knew this was a gamble. A dangerous gamble that may be way off.
But he had to try.
Henry had studied his book closely enough that he knew how to take a heart. How many pictures were there of Cora and Regina doing just that?
Countless.
So Henry knew how to take a heart. He knew the expression that came to a person's face when a hand entered their chest, shocking them that such a thing could occur.
When Henry whirled Pan around and stuck his hand into his chest, that expression that appeared so often in his book came to the Lost Boy's face. It was shock and surprise, and, to Henry's surprise, the tiniest bit of respect.
"Henry!" he heard both his mother's call, but Henry's attention was all on Pan.
"So what do you do now, Henry?" Pan asked looking into his brown eyes. "Do you rip it out? Go ahead. It makes you feel powerful."
"I'm sure it does," Henry agreed, holding still. It was a unique feeling, his hand in another person's body. "But that's not what I want to do. You want me dark and twisted, just like you, but that's not what I want. And the thing about being the Truest Believer, Peter? If I want something bad enough, it will happen. And I don't want to be dark and twisted. In fact, I don't want you to be dark and twisted either."
Pan's eyes widened in horror as he realized Henry's plan.
"Don't do this, Henry. It will destroy Neverland. Everything I worked so hard to build… it will all be gone."
"Maybe that's a good thing, Peter," Henry replied. "Maybe this place should have never been to begin with. Maybe that's why magic is weakening, because you created a blight, and every year that it's existed, it's poisoned all the rest with it. So it's time to end. Let's go back to the beginning."
And Henry thought every happy thought he could think of. He believed that his mom and Hook and his grandparents would get their happy ending. He believed that they would all make it home safely and that magic would be restored to what it should be. Henry had never believed in happily ever after as much as he did in that moment, and when his belief became a wish that magic reached out to answer, it was explosive. Henry believed with all his eleven year old heart, and because he had witnessed true love, and he knew that he was loved, the magic that answered to his belief was light and pure and everything Pan had hoped it wouldn't be. The magic surrounded them, enveloping them in warmth, and Henry smiled up into Pan's panicked eyes, letting the magic wash them both away.
And then he floated away into darkness.
RECOVER
It was 8:15 and they had returned to Storybrooke.
Emma blinked, spinning around in confusion. They had been in Neverland just a few seconds ago, watching Henry and Pan face off, Henry's hand in Pan's chest and look of determination on his young face, and now they were back where they had started, standing on the docks of Storybrooke.
"My ship is fixed," Hook said staring wide eyed at the ship that was tied before them. "How the hell is my ship fixed?"
"Henry," Emma replied softly, and her eyes darted around wildly, looking for her son who had apparently returned them, and Hook's ship, home. She saw two prone bodies lying on the very edge of the docks, one small and familiar, the other larger, a grown man Emma had never seen before.
Nor did she care.
She landed next to her son on her knees, lifting him up and resting his head on her lap, running her fingers through his hair. Neal and Regina joined her while Hook and her parents watched on with concern. The Lost Boys were gathered further back, watching the group with weary, confused eyes and looking more lost than ever, but Emma didn't have time for them. Not yet, not with Henry unconscious. She leaned down and was relieved to feel his breath on her cheek, but it still wasn't enough. It wouldn't be enough until he woke up.
Rumplestiltskin walked over to the strange man, using his foot to roll him over onto his back.
"Impressive," the pawn broker/imp mused, glancing at Henry with some level of interest that made Emma bare her teeth at him in a silent snarl. He held up his hands in a sign of peace. "I won't harm him, Miss Swan. He is my grandson. I just noted that he showed quite an impressive bit of magic there. He's completely undone the magic that created Neverland."
"Who is that?" Charming asked curiously, eyeing the strange man with distrust.
"This, your majesty, is the originator. My father. Although you would call him Peter Pan."
"Bloody hell," muttered Hook as they all stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at Rumple. "You mean to tell me that the brat bred at one point in his life?" the pirate gave Rumple a side eye as if considering the situation before giving his head a shake. "Then again, everything makes more sense all of the sudden."
"Funny, pirate," Rumple sneered in return. "I see the that you're not dead yet. I suppose that means that Henry believed the two of you back to good health. The boy will be find, Miss Swan. He's simply used so much magic that he's completely drained. Get him home, let him sleep it off. You can celebrate his victory over Pan tomorrow."
"And what will you do with Pan?" Emma asked as Rumple nudged him again with his foot, a look of slight distaste on his face.
"I don't suppose you'd want to lock him in one of your jail cells and deal with him yourself?" Rumple replied hopefully.
"Nope," Charming replied before Emma could. "Neverland is outside our jurisdiction. Besides" – he shot a dark look at the Lost Boys, some of who appeared to be regaining their spines and were moving towards the group, whether to do good or ill, none of them could be sure – "it's possible we might be filling our cell up with a few Lost Boys."
Emma hugged Henry a little tighter to her chest and allowed herself a laugh. Charming looked back at her with pleased surprise, and she smiled at him and her mother, before turning that smile on Hook and reaching her hand out to him. Hook grasped it tightly with her own and smiled back. Emma knew they had a lot left to do – Lost Boys, Pan, and explaining to Henry what were and weren't proper risks for an eleven year old to take among them – but for now, she would allow herself to be happy.
They were safe and home. Her son was a hero, something he'd always wished to be, and Emma was finally allowing herself to remember the girl she'd once been and let herself fall in love.
It was a good way to end a day.
One might even say it was a happy ending.
AN: So, we got a TL from Emma and Killian and Henry got to be a hero. That's one of the things I wanted to see in the show that we didn't get, was Henry being the one to beat Pan. So that's what happened. And because it fit in so nice, I stuck with Pan being Rumple's father.
I hope you enjoyed this short foray into CS, and I will hopefully be writing more for this fandom (and couple) in the future. I have some CS one shots you can check out if you haven't already, but otherwise let me know what you thought.
Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this story. The support I get from readers is greatly appreciated and one of the things that keeps me writing. I love all feedback, as I feel that everything – good and bad – will make me a better writer in the long term.
