Hook volunteered to sleep on the couch, though he didn't get much sleeping done. He spent most of the night pacing, thinking about if Regina was okay or if she might need anything, whether she was scared or comfortable, sleeping peacefully or being struck by nightmares. At every sound the house made, Hook paused and investigated. He even found himself just staring at the top of the steps, waiting for Regina to wake up and come downstairs, even if it was still the middle of the night.

He also hated that he was in Regina's home, hell, his home as of late, yet he wasn't in their bed with her. He was so close but still far away. Hook seemed to have lost the ability to sleep if it wasn't by her side, with his arms wrapped around her and her face buried in his chest.

The sun had not been up for long when he finally heard the bedroom door upstairs open. She appeared downstairs looking like nothing had changed at all in the past week. When she was just barely awake, she didn't have quite as many walls up. There were no fake smiles or purposely averted eyes, just a yawn and morning grumpiness. He smiled so big it hurt his cheeks.

"What are you so happy about?" she snapped. He must have reacted because her expression immediately softened. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not much of a morning person. Well… I don't think I am. Am I?"

"No, love, you're not." She smiled, obviously proud of herself for knowing something about the new Regina.

She walked further into the living room and sat on the couch he was supposed to have slept on the previous night. He noticed that she was being careful around him once more as her night of sleep started to wear off.

"Did you sleep well, Regina?"

"I slept… better. There's a lot to get used to here. My bed is different and it's much noisier than the farm. I don't know how you managed to get used to it. I'm sure the sea is much more peaceful at night."

"Aye, my ship is a good night's sleep." He slowly sat down on a chair next to the couch. "The waves lulling you into oblivion while the moon is the only source of light. We sleep there on occasion. Perhaps it reminds you of your old life. It's simple on my ship, like your farm."

Regina seemed to be deep in thought; her eyes distant as she tapped her chin with her finger. Suddenly, she was alert. "I think in order for me to start getting my memories back, or at least start to make some progress, I need to know some things." Hook opened his mouth to interrupt but she cut him off. "I know, you don't think it's best, and I respect that, but I need to know some things."

"What sort of things?" he asked skeptically.

"Today you're going to tell me all about yourself and about us. Tomorrow and the days that follow, you're going to tell me one thing about me and my life. One thing everyday."

Hook was going to argue, but he didn't see the point. Regina had clearly given this some thought and her mind was made up. "I see some of your bossiness has returned. You have yourself an accord." He put out his good hand and watched as she thought over whether to take it or not. After what seemed like a lifetime, she grabbed his hand with hers. Just that touch, that small, innocent touch, sent familiar shivers down his spine. He wasn't sure what Regina was thinking, but she didn't pull her hand away immediately. In fact, they sat there for a few seconds, each just staring at their connected hands, before she eventually pulled her hand away.

"So, were you always a pirate?"

Hook laughed. "You're wasting no time, are you? No, I was not always a pirate. Before I became Captain Hook, I was Lieutenant Killian Jones."

"Killian Jones," Regina repeated quietly to herself. Hook waited for her to say something but when he realized she was not going to speak her thoughts, he continued.

"I sailed alongside my brother, Liam, under the rulings of a corrupt king. On one journey, we discovered that the King wasn't an honorable ruler. He tricked us into finding a deadly plant and not long after, Liam died. After that, I vowed to never sail under anyone who lacked honor ever again. I took over the ship as captain and the other sailors became my crew."

"I'm sorry about your brother," she said as soon as he was done speaking. Hook could hear the sadness in her tone and wanted nothing more than to wrap her in his arms and tell her she didn't need to feel sad for him. He didn't want her to feel sad about anything. Instead, he looked away from her face and tried to forget her expression. He nodded his gratitude. "So, that explains how you became Captain Killian Jones…."

"Ah, you're more interested in the infamous tale of my menacing hook," he winked. "I suppose that story is a tad more exciting. I lost my hand to an enemy. Is there any chance that will satiate your curiosity?"

Regina shook her head and Hook sighed. He didn't want to tell her about the Crocodile. He wanted her to think he had no enemies, that he was just a nice pirate whom was here to help her. He took a moment to plan out how he would tell this story, deciding to leave out the parts about Milah because he figured that would be a whole other question the Queen would ask about.

"This enemy was looking for something aboard my ship. I presume you have figured out that Storybrooke is very, very far away from your farm?" Regina nodded. "Well, this enemy was looking for a way to get from that land, the land you and I used to live in, to this land. He knew I had this means of transportation in my hand, so he cut it off. Luckily, I had the transportation in the other hand, otherwise that situation could have ended badly." He looked at his hook before adding, "Well, worse."

"And so was born Captain Hook."

He nodded.

She looked down at her hands, a smile on her face that wasn't quite happy. "So I went from a kind, gentle stable boy... to a pirate."

"Not so easily," Hook said quickly, desperate to get that look off her face. "This didn't happen overnight," he said as he gestured to the two of them. "A lot happened between Daniel's passing and you and I meeting."

"Like what?" she asked hesitantly.

"Well… life happened to you. You changed a little and grew a lot. Losing Daniel had a profound effect on you."

Hook could tell she had a million questions. He had seen the look on her face countless times; he had seen it when Cora had told her about the Dark One's dagger, and he had seen it when Hook had first told her of his feelings for her

"I think… in order for me to wrap my head around this, I need to hear about how we met."

"Ah, a lovely tale. I think it's best told over breakfast."

The pair walked into the kitchen. Out of habit, Hook went straight to get the cereal, while he assumed Regina would start the tea. He was reminded that this was not the same Regina as usual when he turned around and found her standing awkwardly in the kitchen's entrance, not sure what to do.

"How about an extra peak into our life together, love? I'll tell you how we do breakfast. It's my favorite part of the day. Perhaps if I tell you about it and we get back into our routine…. " What he wanted to say was that if he could just have a piece of their old life back, even a small thing that most would deem insignificant, it would help him. That would mean admitting that this whole ordeal was hard on him, though, and that he hadn't slept in days and he was worried he would never get his Regina back. He couldn't say that aloud though. He had to be strong for the both of them and admitting that would not make Regina feel strong. So instead he let his voice trail off and said, "Well, if nothing else, it would make me feel better."

Regina smiled and walked over to him, getting the closest to him she had since he had been sitting on the bed when she awoke.

"Right. Well, we start every morning together in your bedroom." Her face flushed. "I'll skip over those fun details for now, though, aye? I get the cereal, you make the tea. We then sit and eat our breakfast together and talk about, well, everything. There isn't a thing we keep from each other, which is why, more often than not, breakfast usually ends in a small argument."

"But it's still your favorite part of the day?" she laughed.

"Absolutely." He added a wink and walked over to the counter to get their food.

"Hook?" he heard a small voice behind him say. "Would you… would you teach me how to make tea?"

He felt a warm feeling envelope him. It was the same feeling he got when she had asked him to stay over last night. He also got that feeling the first time they met, when she first looked at him.

"It would be an honor, my dear."

A difficult half hour later, in which Hook broke two tea cups with his hook and Regina gave up learning 3 times, the tea was made, the cereal was poured, and Hook was ready to dive in to the story of how they met.

"Now, you met Daniel at your stables when you were much younger, correct? He offered you riding lessons, you ate lunch together everyday, and eventually, in secret, you fell in love."

Hook knew it had to be weird hearing about your past from a stranger. It would be like if you wrote a book, and someone described the plot to you before they even read it. But the fact is, Hook wasn't up for pretending he didn't know all about her and Daniel. If he did that, Regina would feel the need to tell their story. He didn't think that would help the whole "getting over him all over again" thing.

So, when Regina quickly concealed her shock and simply nodded, Hook continued.

"I must warn you, our story is not as… lovely as that. You and Daniel had a bit of a fairy tale romance." That was how Henry had described it, at least. He had told Hook all about fairy tales and how they're happy stories with happy endings. Regina was an innocent young girl when she loved Daniel so Henry was right about their fairy tale romance. That is, right up until their ending. He knew Regina didn't need to be reminded of that, though. "Our story is complicated and quite messy. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

"We met in a castle. You were already in the castle, and I broke in. I was in the cell of a prisoner when you came in. You were impressed that I had managed to break in, but you had some advice to give me about how I could be more successful in the future. So we decided to have a drink together."

"We had a drink together the first day we met?!"

"I'm a pirate, and a pretty woman offered me wine. What was I to do?"

"I was the one who offered the drinks?" she whispered to herself in disbelief, her eyes wide with shock. "I offered a stranger a drink. A man I had just met minutes before. A pirate man!"

"Okay, clearly we're still having some trouble with the pirate thing…"

"What could I have been thinking? Do I always do things like that now? How careless of me! I could have gotten hurt. I could have-"

"Regina?" Hook interrupted. "There may be more shocking twists to the story so why don't we just move right along."

"Right. Sorry."

"Now where was I? Ah, yes. The drinks. Now, I'm trying not to be too specific here, but the gist was that I offered you a favor and you offered me a favor in return. We became allies, of sorts." He decided to skip over the part where they ended up in her bedchambers just hours later, wanting to avoid Regina fainting during breakfast. "I guess it's true what they say, though, you can't trust a pirate. I didn't follow through on the favor I offered you. Instead I teamed up with someone from your past and went a different way. Be that as it may, we still ended up in the same place. Storybrooke."

"Was I angry with you? When I found you here in Storybrooke?"

"You were displeased," he laughed. "I think you understood doing what it takes to get what you want. Sometimes you have to be selfish, especially if you're only looking out for yourself. So we were able to move past it and together we worked with the person from your past that I traveled here with. That's when we went from being allies to being friends."

"What did we do as friends?"

"Well, we spent a lot of time together. We shared some more drinks and we talked a great deal. We told each other even the dark parts of ourselves and our pasts. That was when you told me about your Daniel. That was the first time I told you of how I became a pirate. We were good friends."

"But we eventually became… more than friends…"

"'Twas the best thing to ever happen to me, under dire circumstances. The person from your past died."

He felt a sad smile appear on his face as he remembered the night…

"She's dead, Hook! My mother is gone, and no one even cares. I'm sure they're all celebrating at Granny's right now, completely oblivious to how much pain they caused."

"Snow seemed to regret her actions," Hook pointed out, watching Regina pace in front of him, tears streaming continuously down her cheeks. Regina didn't even bother trying to wipe them away anymore. She deemed it pointless with Cora's casket resting right behind her.

"Regret! Regret is for people who wished they had acted differently. Given the opportunity to do it all over again, Snow would do the same thing. She killed a "villain." God, I hate that word. That's what they call us, you know. Villains. What is a villain? Someone who doesn't act the way magnificent Snow White and Prince Charming do? Anyone who dares to disagree with them?"

"A villain is one who doesn't always do the right thing. They make the wrong decisions. Much like we've been doing a lot of, as of late." Late meaning the past hundred years or so, but he kept that thought to himself.

"So the right thing is murdering? She killed my mother, Hook! Snow isn't regretting anything. She's sad that her heart is tainted now, but deep down, she is thrilled that she is finally a hero."

Hook wanted to tell Regina that she was right. He wanted to agree with her, and hatch a plan to destroy the Charming's the way that they destroyed Regina's family. Unlike Regina, he was more angry than sad. Which is why he needed to remain calm. When two people who tend to act on impulse come together, there are bound to be consequences. Hook needed to be the one thinking clearly.

"She's not a hero, love. The town may be calling her that, but she isn't. She got rid of a threat that her family faced. Anyone could do that."

"Then what's a hero, Hook?" she asked as she finally took the seat beside him.

"A hero, in my opinion, is someone who does the right thing when they are faced with a challenge; someone who is strong when they have all the rights to be weak; someone who carries on even when the town is celebrating the death of her mother."

"I can't be a hero."

"You already are one, my dear."

He placed an arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him.

"Thank you for coming."

"You're upset and your mother was my colleague for a long time. Where else would I be?"

"You're a hero, too, Hook. You're my hero."

She looked up at him with big, watery eyes and he knew that their friendship was much more than they were letting on. He could have been at Granny's with Emma, flirting and having drinks, but he chose to come to Regina. It wasn't even a question. All she had to do was call him, and he'd be there.

He didn't want to take advantage of her emotions, nor disrespect Cora's funeral, so he simply kissed her forehead and comforted her for a few hours before walking her home.

Regina was listening intently as he told her the story. He left out key terms, like "murder" and "Cora" and "Snow White" but it was still an honest telling of when their friendship essentially ended.

"I like that."

"Me too, love. It was just a few days later that we went out on our first "date" as they call it here."

"I think I'd like that story, too."

"Anyone would."

Hook and Regina sat in her office as she finished up some paperwork. That was what they'd done almost everyday lately; she worked while he watched her work, often talking mindlessly and touching random decorations around the office. It would have bored anyone to tears but he didn't mind at all. Lately he had just wanted to be in the same room as her. He assumed she didn't mind either, as it had been her whom had invited him each and every time.

"Oh, would you look at this file? It's a mess. Honestly, if I weren't around this town would fall to pieces. I take a few days off to…." Hook started to tune her out. All he could focus on was the way her eyes were scanning over the paper she was reading. They were so brown and big, seemingly endless. He could look at them all day. What he wouldn't give just to see her laugh and have those eyes light up.

"Would you like to go out to dinner with me tonight?"

He caught her off guard but he couldn't stand the thought of letting another second go by without asking her. She put the paper down and looked at him to see if he was simply joking.

"I… I would like that very much, Hook."

A few hours later, Hook was back at Regina's house, nervously fidgeting by the front door. He didn't want to knock until he was certain he could hold himself together. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous; he had courted many a woman in the past. This time was different, though. This was like nothing he had ever felt before.

He took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock. A few moments later, though it felt like an eternity, Regina opened the door. He wasn't sure what she was feeling, but she looked as calm as ever; and beautiful, she wore a red dress that made it hard for him to see anything else.

"Hello, Regina. You're beautiful."

"Hello, Hook. You're not so bad yourself."

"May I say something before we leave for dinner?" he asked.

"Of course."

"I don't want to make a mess of this. But this is me, so I reckon I will. It's inevitable. So before anything happens here, I just want you to know that there is no one else in the world I'd rather be going out with this evening. No competition. You're… it."

Regina bit her lip but a smile still managed to get threw. Before Hook could react, she grabbed him by the collar and kissed him, fiercely, as if she'd been waiting to do it for a long time and there might never be the chance to do it again.

"Sorry, I just couldn't wait all throughout dinner to do that." She pulled the door shut and started to walk.

"An apology has never been more unneeded, milady."

She reached out her hand and he took it as they walked off to dinner together.

"And how did our dinner go? Were you still nervous?" Regina asked impatiently.

"'Course I was. You were stunning and I was just a pirate. I spilled wine all over that red dress. I did warn you I'd make a mess of things, though."

"How did I handle it?"

Hook remembered how she threw her head back and laughed with the grace only a queen could possess. "You laughed. That's all you really did that night. You laughed a lot. It was the first time I had seen you happy in weeks."

Regina looked down at her hands and smiled. She was quiet for a moment. "I really hope I remember that story. I think I'm going to sit on the porch for a little while and get some fresh air."

She got up and started to leave but Hook stopped her.

"Regina?" he called. She turned to him. "You said something to me at the end of the night of our first date. You told me that you were messy, too. You were better by yourself and you liked it that way. I was the same way back then. But… you said we could figure everything out together. I know you'll be able to remember our story soon."

"Thank you, Hook."

She went outside and Hook cleaned up their meal. They had had a good morning; the best morning they had had together in a week. It was a small step, but it was in the right direction, at least.

A/N: Yay for getting this updated much, much faster than last time! I hope you like this chapter. It was a bit fluffy and light, so enjoy it while it lasts! There are bumpy seas ahead…

Also, before the next chapter I might be posting a one-shot, so be on the lookout for that!

As always, thank you for the feedback on the last chapter. It is much appreciated. Let me know what you think of this chapter!