Hook's eyes widened and the sight of Rose being held on to by his men immediately sobered him up. His brows furrowed in confusion but after gaining a bit more composure he straightened his stance and crossed his arms. "And what exactly do you plan to do with your little dove?" he sneered at his first mate.

"Oh just some harmless fun cap'n" Smee slurred, missing the way Hook spat out his words "We wanted to know if the lady knew some fun games we could all play." Hook's men laughed, cheered and shouted their agreements at this. They tightened their hold on to Rose as she struggled harder against them.

Hook's expression darkened as he began to walk towards his men and the lady that they were holding on to. He stood right in front of the frightened girl and took her chin in between his fingers so that he could make her look at him. His heart beat faster but kept on a cold expression as he saw Rose's eyes widen in recognition. She began to speak but her attempts failed as the cloth the men gagged her with rendered all of her words unintelligible. Hook tightened his hold on her chin, "Hush now, love, everything is going to be fine" he said with a hint of sarcasm that made his men snicker. Rose's eyes widened at his voice, confusion masking her features as she tried to connect the sweet and gentle man with whom she spent the last few days and this formidable man with the cold, hard expression looking down at her.

Hook released his hold on her chin and began trailing his forefinger on her face. He tilted his head this way and that slowly, as if he were inspecting her. Then he stepped back and crossed his arms on his chest and just stared at her. A nervous energy buzzed around the Jolly Roger as the men seemed to realize that they might have displeased their captain in some way and Rose never took her eyes from his face, looking at him with a pleading expression. Hook stood that way, with his eyes as cold and as hard as his expression until, finally, he dropped his arms and let out as sigh as he said, "I'm sorry gentlemen, but you won't be having fun tonight." Murmurs of discontent and indignation went through the small crowd and Rose closed her eyes in relief. Some of the crewmen tried to plead with their captain as Hook just closed his eyes and raised his hand, asking for silence.

He stepped closer to Rose and once again took her face into his hand. "Sorry boys, but this little dove is mine." He said, whispering the last part of the sentence. "Take her into my quarters" he ordered the two who were still holding on to Rose's arms. His crew decided to disperse at that but some still murmured their discontent but one harsh glare from their captain was enough to send them scrambling off the deck.

"In you go, sweetheart" sneered one of the men as he pushed Rose into a dark room which was the captain's quarters. Rose fell to the ground as she entered and she heard the men's laugh as they closed the door behind her.

She struggled to stand but found it impossible to do with her hands still tied behind her back. She was lying on her side and moved her head in every possible way to gauge her surroundings. Moonlight was streaming in through the wide window. Rose could see the silhouette of a wooden desk and chair by the window; and that the desk was piled with papers and other knick-knacks. Beyond the desk, she couldn't see anything but darkness.

Her heart was still hammering inside her chest as she crawled towards the nearest wall and pushed herself into a sitting position. Her eyes, having adjusted to the darkness, could just make out the faint outline of a bed on the farthest end of the room.

Rose jumps at the sound of the door slamming open. She shrinks back into the wall as Hook purposely walks into the room. He stops in the middle and looks around. Rose holds her breath and feels her heart pound faster. This was the man she was searching for, but he held little resemblance to the man she had spent those afternoons in the glade with.

Hook finally spots Rose by the wall and he immediately goes to her, drops down to his knees and begins working at the knots that bound her wrists together. He sees her watching him with nervous eyes and he feels a cold grip take hold around his heart. "Sssshhh" he whispers as he tries to soothe her "You're going to be fine, love, no one's going to hurt you" Not if I can help it. He stops untying the bind on her wrist to remove the gag that his men had tied. Rose takes a breath but stays silent, not knowing how to start; her mind was going a mile a minute with everything that happened.

Rose's hands were finally freed and Hook stepped back to give her some room to breathe. He waited for her breaths to even and just waited for her to say something.

The silence dragged on in the room until it became deafening and Hook wanted Rose to clear her throat or sigh or slap him, even just as long as she ended this moment that was becoming more and more awkward as the time passed.

Finally Rose took a deep breath and mumbled softly "I came to find you" she cleared her throat and continued "I was late and when I got to the glade you weren't there anymore. You said you had a ship so I thought to find you here." She glanced at his face but she found his expression unreadable.

Hook's gaze softened and he rubbed the back of his neck with his good hand. "Well, you found me alright." He replied sheepishly.

Rose huffed at his answer. "I feel as if I'm missing something" she retorted, her nerves quickly turning to anger and confusion "those men who captured me, they don't seem like the regular sailors that you meet. Even you don't seem . . . different"

"I-" he stammered, finding himself unable to continue. How do I begin? Hook asked himself. He steeled himself and began "I really am a sailor, seeing as you're well, here." He gestured towards the cabin that they were in "I'm just not the kind of sailor that I may have led you to believe"

He let that sentence hang for a moment and he watched as a small frown began to appear on her face. "I don't understand" she whispered so softly, he had to strain to hear it.

No other way to say it, I suppose. Hook released a sigh and looked straight into her eyes "I'm a pirate, love."

His sentence hung in the air for some time as he allowed his words to sink in. The frown on Rose's face became deeper and her face donned a darker expression.

"Pirates?" she asked timidly "You mean-"

"Aye" he answered "Those men out there are all pirates; and I'm their captain."

Thoughts were running wild around Rose's head and she couldn't somehow piece a sentence together. All that she knew about pirates were her aunts' stories about evil men who terrorized coastal towns and other seafarers that they ran into on their travels. Her head ached in trying to reconcile the image of a nasty pirate along with the gentle sailor she'd met. She looked at his face again and saw that his eyes were filled with worry.

Her expression softened and she turned her gaze away from him. "So what happens now?" She asks quietly.

Hook straightens his back at her question. "You go home" He answers simply.

She jerks her head to look back at him "What?"

His gaze is grim as he explains "There's no question to it. You're going home. This is a pirate's ship, love. No place for any person other than pirates."

"But" she argued "I don't want to go home. I just. I can't"

"I'm so sorry" He replies sympathetically "but you've seen what my men can be like. I can't protect you from them forever. And I won't allow you to hide out here in my quarters forever" he added when she opened her mouth to continue arguing.

Silence reverberates around the room once more. Now that her hands were freed, Rose begins to pick herself up from the floor. Hook follows suit and watches her carefully. He can't quite read her expression as she moves towards the window and looks through.

"Please let me stay" Rose begs in a voice so small. Her plea squeezes Hook's heart and there's this little voice at the back of his mind that is begging him to agree with her. He moves towards her by the window and places his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry love," he answers voice just as small "But I can't let you stay." No matter how much I want you to.

She turns to face him and Hook could feel his heart breaking with the look in her eyes. Suddenly, she comes closer to him and wraps her arms around him. Rose places her head on his chest and closes her eyes, unwillingly letting a few tears roll down her face. Hook, though surprised at first, also puts his arms around her. He moves his good hand through her hair and places a kiss on the top of her head.

They stay that way for a few moments, by then Rose's tears had stopped falling and her face had donned a serious expression. She pulls herself away from Hook and moves towards his desk. She lightly traces the outlines of the things piled on the table then faces Hook once more. Hook takes a tentative step towards her.

"So this is it then?" She whispers with a sad smile on her face

"Aye" Hook agrees, moving closer "And I'm sorry for it, believe me."

She takes a step forward and looks up at him. Her right hand cups his face and he leans towards her touch. Hook closes his eyes and doesn't see Rose raise her left hand, holding a small statue that he'd kept for himself from one of his ship's escapades. Rose takes a deep breath at swings the statue on to the side of Hook's head. Hook slumps and falls on to his desk before slipping and falling onto the floor.

Rose drops the statue onto the floor and moves towards Hook. She rolls him onto his back, kneels beside him and moves his head to the side to see where she hit him.

"I'm sorry" she whispers as she leans back and pushes his hair out of his face.

Sunlight streams in from the window, and Hook wakes up to find himself in his bed. He moves into a sitting position and is greeted by a massive headache blooming from the side of his head. He reaches out to touch the source of the pain and winces to find a still-healing wound. He closes his eyes as he tries to remember what had happened the night before.

Rose. Hook remembers telling her that she couldn't stay aboard the Jolly Roger. He remembers her crying, and he remembers holding her in his arms as she did. Bloody hell, did she hit me? Was she that angry?

Hook rubs his hands over his face as he silently begs for the throbbing in his head to go away.

"You're awake" An all too familiar voice says from across the room.

No way. Hook opens his eyes to find Rose standing by the windows, facing away from him. I must be dreaming. Hook blinks once, twice, then a third time just to make sure that he wasn't dreaming and that she was really still here. When I specifically told her to leave, Hook didn't know whether to laugh or to cry at how everything turned out.

When she didn't receive an answer, Rose turned away from the window to face Hook. She could visibly see his emotions warring on his face. She took a deep breath thought to explain what she'd done.

"We've set sail." She started and Hook's eyes widened at that "A couple of hours ago actually. I didn't think you'd be asleep for that long, it's almost noon." She gave him a sheepish smile.

"We've set sail?" Hook asked; shock evident in his voice "We've left the port?"

"I think that's what 'setting sail' means" Rose answered carefully.

"And you're still here." Hook spat, feeling his irritation rise. He began to move towards the edge of his bed.

Rose instinctively took a step back. "Yes." She explained cautiously "I told you that I can't go home. And I'm sorry, but this was the only solution that I thought of."

"Are you insane?" Hook boomed at her. He was fully on his feet now and was quickly moving towards her. "Didn't I tell you that it wasn't safe for you here?" He grabbed her by the shoulders and began to shake her, trying to make her see reason.

She broke free from his grasp and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I know what you told me." Rose hissed at him. Hook winced slightly at her tone. "And I'm sorry but I chose not to listen to you."

Hook took a breath to try and calm himself down. He carefully took a step towards her "Rose" he spoke softly "Please look at me" Rose lifted her gaze and focused on his eyes.

"If I'm going to be perfectly honest, part of me is glad that you're still here." Hook explained and Rose's expression softened at that "But, a pirate's ship is no place for a girl like you."

Rose takes a step back, wounded by his words. "What's that supposed to mean?" she sneered.

"I'm just saying, that you've seen how my men are." Hook added, trying to reason with her "We're pirates. You've heard all the stories, you know what could happen."

"Maybe I can take care of myself" Rose snapped at him, still stubborn.

"I believe that seeing as you had me knocked out for the night and most of the morning." He answered, "But nevertheless, I don't want to have to worry about you being on the ship."

"I don't need you to worry about me" Rose said "I know, that I don't look particularly strong or that I may not know how to handle a sword like you, but you can teach me. And I can learn."

"Why can't you go home?" Hook asks her. She closes her eyes and Hook thinks that she's going to cry again.

Instead she opens them and stares fiercely into his eyes. "I just can't" she insisted "it's a bit too complicated to explain."

Hook releases a sigh and crosses his arms "Well, there's really nothing we can do about it now."

"You're letting me stay?" She asked, seemingly shocked at his acceptance.

"I can't very well drop you off in the middle of the ocean." Hook replies with a shrug Oh hell, what have I gotten myself into.

But just when Rose breaks out into a smile, Hook continues "You can stay, for now. But we're stopping at the next port and I will make sure that you board a ship going back home."

Hook turns and moves back towards his bed. The pounding in his head seems to have gotten worse after the conversation they just had. "And I'm not just letting you hide away in here either." He calls out to her.

"Fine" Rose whispers to herself "But I'm not going home."