Disclaimer: As usual, I own nothing.

Chapter Two

Peter Pan: The Corrected Version

Going from the idea that all prison inmates wore orange jumpsuits to real life was surprisingly odd. Then again, I suppose it made sense that the prison in an Earth city created for fairytale characters would be different. If I could get beyond the town line and see for myself, maybe just maybe they were orange or maybe they were all different.

Hook did not wear an orange prison jumpsuit. He wore a pair of jeans, black sneakers (without the shoelaces), and a blue sweater. Sherriff Swan gave me an hour with him to visit but I gathered that she didn't really care. She could see the cells and his was protected by magic, placed there by the Queen. The Evil Queen had been absolved her "crime" now that we knew Archie was actually alive and with Henry's permission, she enchanted the cell to keep Rumpelstiltskin from harming him. It was the safest place for him in all of Storybrooke.

By the time I reached his cell, he stood. "Well, Penny-love, you actually came."

"I told you I would," I adjusted the strap of my purse on my shoulder. "It's my day off." Sherriff Swan handed me the bag I'd brought in and nodded. "I brought you some things," I said and opened the bag. "Two books," I handed them to him through the bars. "Moby Dick is a classic – it's about whale hunting, well…a man looking for revenge against a whale. It was…nautical, so I thought you might like it." He looked at the tome and placed the other book on his bed. With his good hand he held it up in the air and weighed it. "I know, it's big, but…I didn't know what to get you."

"Why does the man want revenge on a whale?" he asked.

"Well…the whale bit his leg –"

"So it reminded you of me and my crocodile?"

I grinned, "No, actually…that's the next book. See we're fairytale characters here, so they have badly written histories. You're featured in that one – Peter Pan."

"Oh, I remember him." He turned his attention to that book. "Cheeky little fellow. Leader of the Lost Boys – orphans, abandoned." He stroked the spine and then looked at the cover, where the titular character was surrounded by the stars.

I leaned towards the bars, "I have to ask…did Peter Pan really beat you in a sword fight?"

"Love, you ever play with children?" he asked me. I nodded. I had many siblings, many younger than me. I also had patients who were children on occasion. "You never, ever beat them. Don't discourage them and besides, wouldn't have been a fair fight. Experience and knowledge over youth and play. So I'm in this one, am I? And how do I end?" I looked away. "Thought so. They all seem so keen to cast me as a villain, justly so in many ways. But I've never harmed anyone who didn't warrant it." He looked past me, towards Emma when he spoke. I didn't turn around, I didn't want to see the reaction.

I reached into my bag and took out a small book of puzzles. "And here are some time killers, mostly word searches and little things like that, no crosswords since I didn't think you'd get the references."

"I'm starting to," Hook nodded. "Swan lets me watch TV sometimes. Though from what I understand, I can't leave this room. I'm beginning to feel a bit…trapped. Perhaps once she could open a window?" He raised his voice towards the end so Emma could hear it. "But I doubt it would smell like the sea. And this bed is so…flat. So…hard. I'm used to one that's rocked by the sea. Have you ever been sailing?"

"No," I confessed. "I want to explore the world, have adventures – everyone does – but…never had the opportunity."

He leaned forward, the top of his hair brushed the bars between us. "You should. Get out while you can, love, there's nothing more beautiful than the sun on the waves."

I unlocked my door and stepped inside. My cat lifted her head from her paws and then went back to sleep. "Hi to you too, Wendy," I stroked her forehead and then headed to the kitchen counter where I deposited my shopping bags. First, I put away the frozen goods and then I began to stock my cupboards. There was a newspaper, but I purposefully avoided that at the moment. Wendy followed me into the kitchen and sat next to her food dish. I glanced at her. She had plenty of dry cat food, but as always, she anticipated her can of wet cat food. I didn't know how she could eat it, it smelled so gross. "Not yet," I told her and then turned my attention to the paper.

So many stories, so many little bits of truth and accusation to get through. I skimmed the articles that warned about Cora – the Evil Queen's mother – and how best to protect yourself: don't get involved.

I had no plans to get involved but honestly that seemed a bit rude. We weren't the ones at fault, we shouldn't have to protect ourselves. We shouldn't have had to protect ourselves from anything! Regina's problem had been with Snow White. And Rumpelstiltskin was…the Dark One, he had a problem with everything. I was tired of being afraid of these people.

The problem was…I was afraid of them. They'd made my life difficult and they didn't seem to be reasonable people. They ruined my life by taking us all away and removing our memories. We were all unhappy, now we had a chance to be happy again.

Or some of us did. Some of our "happy endings" involved others not getting a happy ending. So would we compromise and be content or would some of us not get our happy endings?

Wendy jumped up on the table near the bags.

"No, down," I picked her up and set her on the floor. She mewed at me and I sighed. "No, I'm going to finish my book and then you'll get to eat." I only had two chapters left of the latest installment of A Game of Thrones, which Moe French/Belle's father had recommended to me. It inspired the name of his flower shop. I set the newspaper aside and went to my couch. I picked up my book and settled in to finish reading.

I only got to finish one chapter, Wendy purring at my side, and then the doorbell rang. I looked up from the page and sighed. I was so close to the end!

Nevertheless, I put the bookmark in between the pages and went to answer the door.

Wendy followed for a ways, until she realized I had no intention of going to her food dish. Then she climbed the stairs and sat down on an arbitrarily selected step to watch over me and my actions. I opened the door to find Sheriff Swan, Prince Charming, and Snow White on my porch.

"Your highnesses….this is an honor," I stepped back and gestured for them to come inside. They did and I offered them tea and took their coats. Mary Margaret graciously accepted my offer of tea and I went to boil some water. Delighted at the prospect of my entry into the kitchen, Wendy bolted down the steps, squeezed through David's legs, and shot to her bowl. "Not now," I told her, "we have company."

I brought four cups and my assortment of tea bags to the living room where they had assembled themselves. Quickly, I invited them to sit. They did so and I went back to get the tea pot of hot water and a package of cookies. I took a seat and poured water for all of them and myself. After refreshment had been distributed I asked, "What can I do for you?"

"It's come to our attention," David said, "that you're close to Hook."

I shook my head, "I wouldn't say close. We're…somewhat friends. He was my patient when he was in the hospital and I visit him at the jail. I didn't know visiting hours, so I went today, it's my day off. I figured he needs a friend right now."

"I'm not so sure about that," Emma took a sip of her tea. "I think he needs to get away from Gold and fast – but we've got to do something about what he did to Belle."

I nodded. "I agree with that too. I read in the paper that Hook's been charged with assault." Second Degree Assault, according to the Maine laws. It was a felony. I had no idea how long he could stay behind bars, but I imagined it might be a long time.

"And he'll go to trial," Mary Margaret told me. "We're going to do this fairly. And the trial is why we're here."

"Oh, ok," I put my tea down. I knew how this would work. They would probably ask me a few questions about Hook's injuries, about what he'd been like to treat. I'd have to sit in the witness chair, explain things to the jury members, and -

"And you're our best character witness," David interrupted my thoughts.

"Wait, character witness?" I asked. "But Sheriff Swan – you were with him in our world, same as you, your highness," I addressed Mary Margaret. "Surely you know him better –"

"Snow and I'll be the judges," David took Mary Margaret's hand and she nodded. "So Snow doesn't count. Emma has her own role as sheriff. But other than that, you're the only one who's neutral. You're not making a judgment, you have nothing to gain or lose by testifying."

I wanted to argue with that, I wasn't sure why. I would lose something if I testified – but I wasn't sure just what. There was nothing I could say that would send Hook to a harsh punishment. His actions alone would condemn him. My vision swam and I controlled myself. "What do you want out of this?" I asked them. "For him to be imprisoned or worse?"

"Hook teamed up with Cora," Emma said flatly. "He brought her here on his ship. He's dangerous."

"But you spent time with him – surely you can see that he's…he's only dangerous to himself because he's angry, afraid, and alone."

I said it with such resolve that I realized just how much I truly believed that. And it made sense, I'd dealt with patients who bore through the hardest pain with a smile only to cry out in agony when they thought no one could hear or see. He's a pirate, I reasoned with myself, a captain – he had to control himself. And it's ok for pirates to be angry –

"I'll be a character witness," I told the Charmings. "But if you're hoping for me to say he needs to be locked away forever, I won't do it. I don't think it's true."

I went back to the prison a few days after, this time armed with games. I had selected Scrabble, a chess set, and Battleship. I also brought homemade cookies and a thermos of hot chocolate. I'd picked a new book too. This one nothing like what he was used to, no ships, no retellings of his life, nothing at all like that. I brought a copy of Sherlock Holmes. I couldn't recall there being any ships in it, anyway.

"Hello, Hook!" I said cheerfully, while Emma rummaged through what I'd brought. She opened Hook's cell and allowed him to come out so that we could use a table for the games.

"Penny-love," he leaned over and kissed my cheek. "What have you brought?"

"Games, hot chocolate, cookies, and a new book, just in case you didn't like the others –"

"I'm quite enjoying Moby Dick," Hook said with a smile. "A man I can understand. And I enjoyed reading about myself, which reminds me…Ms. Swan, might I return to my cell for a moment?"

Emma gestured at the open door and said, "Help yourself. Might just lock you in there."

"Oh you wouldn't," Hook laughed it off. "You adore me and our witty banter."

He picked up the copy of Peter Pan that I had given him and walked over to the table where I set out cups of hot chocolate. "Here you are." I took it from him and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Well…it was for you."

"Quite so, and I appreciate it. But I think you'll enjoy reading this version." I started to open it but he stopped me. "Let's play one of your games, I get so few visitors."

We set up chess because he was familiar with it. He did pick up the Battleship box and ask me, "Do you think I don't know anything other than the sea?"

So I had to confess to him that I didn't know what he liked and was guessing. Since he'd chosen the occupation of a pirate, I figured he liked the sea and it would be a safe standby.

We played one game of chess and surprisingly, I won. It was a surprise because the game took forever. He made clever moves, took his time, was extremely patient and didn't try to goad me into making little mistakes. It was an even match. He seemed so much more intelligent than anyone seemed to give him credit for.

Except for wanting to hurt Rumpelstiltskin – that was still the epitome of stupid.

We talked for a while until Emma said he needed to go back into his cell. She and her deputy (Prince Charming/David) were going away and he couldn't be out. "I can stay here," I offered, "make sure he doesn't leave."

Hook grinned; I think he was pleased that with all the magic on his door, I still thought he could get out.

"Just for a little while, let me call down someone and then you have to leave. Visiting hours are almost over anyway," Emma looked truly sorry. I accepted the terms though.

Hook went back into his cage and Emma shut him in.

I pulled up a chair and we continued our talk. He told me about his adventures, the travels and I listened attentively and with wide eyes. He spoke of mermaids (and when asked to describe them said: half fish, half human), of monstrous sized fish that threatened to capsize his vessel, and of the camaraderie of the crew he'd once had. In return I told him about the herbs I had learned, why green was my favorite color (because of all the plants), about games with my siblings, and that I had a cat named Wendy.

The door opened and I imagined Emma had come but Hook's face darkened and I turned around. "Crocodile," Hook said with disgust. "How's your girl?"

"Killian, please, don't upset him," I whispered, using Hook's real name. I wanted him to get the severity of it. He might be safe behind that wall of magic, but I wasn't…

"I won't answer any questions about Belle to you. I've only come to tell you that I shall enjoy every second of your trial – which starts in a week."

"I'll enjoy it too, Crocodile, because then everyone will know what you did."

I felt trapped between two incredibly dangerous men. On one side was Hook, who knew how to fight. On the other side was Mr. Gold, with more magic than I had air in my lungs.

Though the relative levels of oxygen in my lungs at the moment were probably really low.

"Please don't fight," I begged them both. "Please. Let it be settled like adults."

Hook put his hand on my shoulder, "You're trembling, love, don't tell me this coward frightens you."

I said nothing. I couldn't say anything. Every time I looked at Mr. Gold since I got my memories back I remembered my mother's and father's cries, the sound of my father begging and the Dark One's dismissals – the sounds of my baby sister as Rumpelstiltskin took her away. I never knew what he did with her. I never saw her again. My mother went mad with grief and my father regretted ever making the deal. The deal that saved our home from a dragon. "Better," he said, "to have died together than have one stolen from us."

"SWAN!" Hook yelled. "SWAN! HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO PROTECT AN INNOCENT FROM BEHIND BARS?! COME CAST THIS DEMON BACK TO HELL!"

"I won't harm the girl," Mr. Gold sneered. "She's nothing to me."

"You're a devil, crocodile, and your time of frightening people is nearly at an end. TICK TOCK!" Hook's fingers curled into a fist, gripping my shirt.

Mr. Gold looked around the room and saw the remains of our game, the cookies, the hot chocolate. Slowly he turned to me. "You'd befriend this petty thief?"

My voice locked inside my throat as I recalled my sister's cries. I recalled my family's tears. "Leave him alone!" I burst out. "He's behind bars and you're free! Just leave him alone! Haven't you done enough to everyone already?"

"What did you do to her? SWAN! Leave, beast, or come back prepared for a fair fight. SWAN!"

"What is the –" Emma stopped and looked at Mr. Gold. "You need to leave. Now. Both of you," she addressed me in this.

I broke away from Hook's grasp and went to the table. With a great haste, I gathered the items I had brought, except for the cookies. I nearly forgot the copy of Peter Pan, but I grabbed that before I rushed out. "Goodbye, Hook!" I called out.

"Be safe, Penny-love," he called to me. I heard him start to say something to Emma, but I ran to my car and drove away. I wanted to get as far away from Mr. Gold and my memories.

I wanted to know what he'd done to my sister. Why he'd taken her. What had he needed so badly that he'd destroyed my family for?

Inside my house, I sat with Wendy, her purrs soothing me. She knocked over my bag and the board games spilled out with the book. Pieces of the games cluttered to the floor and I began to pick the little Battleship pegs up. An odd out of bounds piece of paper caught my eye. Poor binding on the book? I wondered as I picked it up. Then I opened it and found several drawings done in pen.

One was a map of an island labeled NEVERLAND. It featured a key, notations about where the "Lost Boys" lived, the mermaids, and the like.

The second was a drawing of a fairy, the third of a boy, and the fourth of a ship named the JOLLY ROGER.

Peter Pan is a short book, I thought, and opened the book to begin to read. The title page caught my eye.

Peter Pan

J. M. Barrie

And Captain Killian Jones, also known as Captain Hook

To correct Mr. Barrie's errors.

The last lines were written in pen, in Hook's hand, I guessed. I flipped through the book and noticed notes in the margins. Hook's corrections.