Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for Catalina.

A/N: As always, thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read, favorite or review. I really appreciate that! I'll be posting a one shot about Clara in the same vein as the one about Catalina, but wanted to get this one up first. I got to thinking about Killian's hook and what he would do about it if/when he ever had kids. My first thought was that a hook and a baby sounds like a really dangerous combination and in most cases it obviously would be. Then I thought about how long he would've been wearing it by this point and really believe he'd be lost without it. I actually think he'd somehow figure it out, but I think he'd struggle with it and well, that led to this oneshot. That and my wish that we'd gotten more scenes between Killian and Snow on the show. This is basically just some son-in-law/mother-in-law fluff. Hope you like it!

Rating: K

"Can you believe he still wears that awful thing?" A woman said, a sound of derision coming from her throat.

"I know," another woman scoffed. "The man's a father, for heaven's sake!"

"That hook was bad enough before, but I thought he'd stop wearing it once he had kids," the first one said.

"He does have that prosthetic hand," the second woman commented. "I've seen him with it."

"If he was any kind of father, he would wear that prosthetic all the time," the first one said.

Mary Margaret could feel the anger emanating from her daughter at the conversation taking place beside them. Truth be told, the women were making her angry as well. There was only one person they could have been talking about, after all. The only man in Storybrooke who had a hook for a hand.

Killian Jones was standing near the edge of the playground with David as they watched their children playing. Emma and Mary Margaret had opted to sit instead and had been chatting about this and that while not paying much attention to the pair of women seated on the bench next to theirs. That had changed when they started talking about the hook. Or more specifically, Killian.

Most of Storybrooke had accepted Killian as one of theirs, but not everyone had. For some of them it was because they refused to see him as anything other than a villain, no matter how many heroic things he did. Then there were those who simply couldn't get past the hook.

It was funny. Mary Margaret hardly gave the hook much thought anymore. The family had long since gotten over any issue they might have had with it initially. And while it was true that both Mary Margaret and David had had some reservations about Killian in the beginning, it'd never been about the hook itself. Shoot, David had been more worried when Killian had briefly had two hands again.

Most people didn't realize it because they didn't realize just how long Killian had been alive, but by this point in his life he'd had the hook longer than he'd had his hand. It was truly a part of him in a way that people who didn't know him couldn't even begin to understand.

Here's what those women didn't know: Killian actually had stopped wearing his hook during the first several months of Catalina's life. Emma had been surprised when Killian had told her his decision a handful of weeks before her due date. So surprised that her initial reaction had been why?

He'd responded by saying that one of the nurses at the hospital had asked him how he planned to safely take care of a baby with it during one of Emma's checkups. It had planted a seed of doubt in his head. One that had apparently taken root.

Emma had tried to reassure him, but his mind was made up. "It's a weapon, Emma," he'd said firmly. "I can't have this," he'd lifted his hook up, "around our baby. I couldn't live with myself if I hurt our child."

It had sufficiently thrown Emma for a loop at first, but then it had slowly started to make sense. Killian had always struggled with not feeling good enough. He hadn't felt good enough for her and he hadn't felt good enough for his then unborn child. She'd decided to let it go, figuring that this was something that he'd need time to sort through.

And so once Catalina was born, he'd put the hook away and had managed without it. At first. The trouble was he'd seemed lost without it. So much so that Emma had eventually dug it out of the box he'd put it in and handed it to him. "You're not you without it," she'd said. "Besides, I like the hook. I miss the hook."

Killian's solution had been to go back to wearing his hook - just not around his daughter. It wouldn't have been such a big deal to her if not for the fact that Killian could do so much more with his hook than he could without it. The fact that he hadn't trusted himself not to hurt their daughter bothered her more than she could say. She had faith in her husband, but he'd lost it in himself.

Ultimately, it had been Mary Margaret who had changed his mind. Emma and Killian had invited Mary Margaret, David and Neal over for dinner. Emma and David had been in the kitchen chopping up some vegetables for dinner while Henry had been keeping Neal entertained. Mary Margaret, meanwhile, had been cooing over her granddaughter when Killian had returned home after taking care of some things on the Jolly Roger...

Catalina let out a happy gurgling sound as she heard her father's voice. Mary Margaret went over to hand her over to Killian, but he stopped her. "Better let me take this off first," he said as he started to remove the hook.

"No." Emma looked up, startled by her mother's response.

"What?" Killian asked, surprised.

"You need to learn how to take care of your daughter while wearing your hook," she answered. She set Catalina down in the bassinet the family kept in the living room. "I know my daughter has pointed this out to you, but you're not you without it."

"But I never wore it all the time," Killian started, but Mary Margaret lifted a hand to stop him.

"No, you didn't," she acknowledged. "But you wore it a lot. It's a part of you. You tried going without it completely and that didn't work for you. That's why you started wearing it again. That was the right decision for you, Killian. Like I said, it's a part of you."

"It's easy enough to remove," he tried again.

"I know that. I wouldn't push if you were happy without it, but you aren't. You didn't give it up because you didn't want to wear it anymore. You stopped wearing it because you stopped trusting yourself. You stopped believing in yourself, Killian, and that's not okay," she said.

"I don't want to hurt her," he said quietly. Mary Margaret's face softened.

"I know that," she smiled at him then. "Which is exactly why I don't believe you will. I think. No," she stopped herself. "I know that you can do this. You don't have to be afraid of hurting her."

"I didn't realize everyone was so attached to the hook," he said it as a joke, but she didn't laugh.

"We're your family, Killian. We love you. Your hook is a part of you, so yes, we love your hook." She surprised him by reaching for it. Emma was pretty much been the only other person who ever touched his hook. "You have to think, Killian. There's going to be times when it's just you and Catalina. What happens if you need to pick her up? What happens if you need to pick her up right away for some reason?"

"That's why I started wearing the prosthetic all the time," he began, but again she cut him off.

"And that didn't work for you," she pointed out. "Which is why you have to think about this. Here." Emma and David watched as Mary Margaret pulled Killian's hook right over Catalina, the pointed side facing the ceiling. Killian tensed up as she let go. "Let's just see what she does. Okay?"

"Okay." Killian sounded uncertain, though he kept his arm still. He opened his mouth to ask just what Mary Margaret thought Catalina would do, but then his daughter did it. She reached up and grabbed the curved part of the hook.

"There you see?" Mary Margaret looked delighted. "She trusts you."

"I...I don't know about that," he was still unsure, still not convinced. His daughter made another happy gurgling sound as she held on.

"Stop doubting yourself," Mary Margaret urged him. "Look at her. She's not afraid. She knows you won't hurt her." She watched the smile spread across her son-in-law's face and her own widened. "Now pick her up." His smile faltered.

Mary Margaret placed an encouraging hand on his shoulder. "Killian. Your daughter trusts you. Your wife trusts you. I trust you. Everyone here trusts you. You can do this."

"Come on, Killian," Emma and David whispered at the same time. They glanced at each other, laughing a little at themselves before turning their attention back to Killian and Mary Margaret.

"Think it through," Mary Margaret was saying. "How do you pick her up with your prosthetic?"

"Well, I kind of have to scoop her up a little first," Killian explained.

"So you can slide your left arm underneath her, right?" She asked.

"Right," he nodded. "I have to support her weight with my left arm so that I'm still able to use my hand."

"Show me." Killian glanced at her, bolstered by the smile she gave him. He angled his arm so his hook was pointed away from Catalina and took a deep breath.

"No sudden movements, okay, lass?" This question was directed to his daughter, who seemed to somehow sense the importance of this moment and stayed still for him. It took some maneuvering; Mary Margaret watched him closely as he worked it out. And cheered when he finally held his daughter securely in his arms.

"I did it." He sounded so stunned that it made Mary Margaret laugh.

"I never doubted you for a second." She beamed at him. "I knew you could do it and you did." She reached up to put both her hands on his face. "I am so proud of you." She watched as a look of wonder and something else she couldn't quite identify washed over her son-in-law's face. "What?"

"No, it's just..." he trailed off.

"Just what?" Her brow furrowed in confusion. "What's the matter?"

"It's just that I was so young when my mother passed away. I...I don't remember her very well. And I just." He shook his head, feeling foolish. "Forgive me. It's not important."

"Are you sure about that?" She asked, tilting her head.

"I don't remember my mother very well," he repeated. "And I was just a boy when my father abandoned my brother and I, and well, I grew accustomed to not having any parents." He flushed slightly.

"I've never known what it's like to have a parent be proud of me and you..." Killian shook his head. He'd sufficiently embarrassed himself and probably Mary Margaret as well, but he'd already gone this far. Might as well say the rest. "I've never known what it meant to have a mother. Not...not until you. And to hear you say that you're proud of me, well." He forced himself to look into her eyes, which were shining. "I love you, Mary Margaret."

"Oh," she said breathlessly. The tears slid down her cheeks as she smiled at him. "I love you too, Killian. And of course, I am proud of you. So proud. Not just for overcoming your fear of holding your daughter while wearing your hook, but of the man you've become. I'm so glad that you're my son-in-law."

"Oh," Emma sniffled from her spot in the kitchen, overcome by what she'd just witnessed. "Well, that was something, huh?" She directed the question to David. When he didn't answer, she looked over in time to see him wipe at his eyes. "Dad," she said, incredulous. "Are you crying?"

"Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed, though his voice was thick. "It's the onions, that's all."

"Oh right. The onions," Emma smirked, glancing down at his cutting board. "You, um, do know that you're cutting carrots, right?"

That had been the turning point. It had taken some time and effort, but Killian had figured it out. He could, in fact, take care of his daughters. Even while wearing his hook.

"It's only a matter of time before he stabs ones of his daughters with that thing," the first woman was saying. Emma opened her mouth to respond, but Mary Margaret beat her to it.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Mary Margaret asked.

"What?" The woman responded, stupidly.

"I was just wondering what you said. Because it sounded like you said that you think that it's only a matter of time before that man," Mary Margaret gestured to Killian, "stabbed one of his daughters. Did I hear you correctly?"

"Well, yes, but what do you care?" The woman asked.

"I care because that man is my son-in-law," Mary Margaret said simply. "And he happens to be a wonderful father. One who would never even think of hurting either of his girls. So you can kindly take your opinion and keep it to yourself."

An awkward silence followed before the woman and her friend gathered their things and hurried off.

"Thanks Mom," Emma said after another moment had passed. She gave Mary Margaret a hug. "Thank you for loving him too."