part ii – dreams come slow

He has not relinquished his hold on Wendy since they have been reunited. The same can be said of Wendy, her arms wound tightly around Hook's neck, one of her hands clutching onto his locket – her locket – as he carries her while ushering the other children out of the woods. His hold on her remains tight even after they return the children to the convent and they have gathered around the dining table at Regina's (his insistence).

"Whoever cursed us does not want us to remember that year away," Hook says to the gathering before him.

"So what happened, Captain?"

Emma lifts a brow. Regina does not snark and tell Hook that this is obvious – a front-running theory they've had for awhile – all but confirmed now. Instead, Regina is polite, even addressing Hook by his title. This night is full of surprises.

"I must confess I cannot remember everything," Hook says, shaking his head. "But when I saw Wendy, I remembered her. I remembered finding her near the docks, in the Enchanted Forest."

"In the Enchanted Forest?" Snow asks. "So we really did go back?"

"Aye. I remember you there, your Highness. Your hair…" he pauses as he tries to picture their return. "It was long."

"It was how I wore it back then," Snow nods in confirmation.

"But most of it is still unclear. Most of what I remembered is just of Wendy," he says as he turns to his girl, his look soft and fond.

"It's the same for me," Wendy offers. "I know my brothers had died – some sort of animal attack," a pained expression crosses her face until she buries the crown of her head in the crook of Hook's neck, "and I had been on my own, scraping by, when Father found me. He saved me."

"Nah, you saved me, lass."

Hook is always making grand declarations as though he is talking about the weather. Emma used to think it was at odds with the usual flourish and flamboyance which he does things – after all, the man even walks with a swagger – but she has learned that doing things by halves is not Hook's way – giving himself over entirely is the only way for him – so making an observation about the weather is the same as any remark he may make. It's in this they are not alike. Not that she spends extraordinary amounts of time thinking of Hook or comparing them (except she does maybe). But she thinks that though he says he did not remember Wendy, he really did, because if he loves her like she knows he loves, then he loves her with every fiber of his being, with every beat of his heart and no curse, no matter how powerful, no matter how evil, can ever wipe Wendy from his memory. Emma knows this to be true because, like him - and here, they are the same (it taunts and sings to her in her head and beats elsewhere too) - she remembers things too - as deep and blue as any ocean she has ever seen, as she has ever dreamed - though she had been cursed herself.

He continues on, telling them all he can remember, but it is not much. He left the group in search of the Jolly Roger, with no intent of returning, when he found Wendy – alone and half-starving – and gave her shelter. But what was meant to be temporary became permanent and though they sailed the seas together and became a family, Hook thought she should not have a broken-hearted (though healing) pirate as her only companion and returned to the Queen's castle. He did not know the details – or perhaps did not recall them – but the castle had initially been taken by another witch. Regina with the help of a bandit had taken it back before Hook's return.

"You mean, I worked with a forest thief?" Regina snorts.

"Aye, and you lived with Snow and Charming from what I recalled," he says with a lift of his brow.

Talk about six impossible things before having enough shots, Emma thinks.

"You would…" Hook goes on, tilting his head to the side as he reaches into the recesses of his mind, "walk with me sometimes when I took Wendy to the village school."

Emma just barely manages to stop herself from blurting out something along the lines of – what the hell? Not that it is any of her business what Hook did in that year away but the thought of him taking long walks with Regina in the forest unsettles her in an inexplicable way (or not so inexplicable way).

"This witch though?" Charming is asking.

Right, important stuff, Emma, she scolds herself.

"Alas, I know nothing about her and suspect I did not know much else, even back then. Only that she had taken Regina's castle whilst everyone was in this quaint town and that upon our return, Regina successfully took the castle back."

"This witch must have been the one who cursed us though!" Snow exclaimed.

"I am afraid my memories alone will not solve this mystery," Hook sighs but after a moment of reflection, his gaze becomes determined and he sits up straight as he continues to hold Wendy. "My memories do offer a path forward."

Emma meets his blue-eyed gaze and it seems that they are suddenly thinking the same thing. "People have been separated for a purpose," she states.

She can't help but smile in satisfaction when he agrees, "Aye, so they do not remember each other or remember what they mean to each other in the Enchanted Forest."

"But Charming and I were not separated," Snow points out.

"No, but everyone remembers what happened before Pan's curse returned all of you to the Enchanted Forest," Emma says as she tries to work out what this could mean.

"What appears to be key are relationships formed during our time in the Enchanted Forest," Hooks says before nodding towards the Charmings. "No point in separating you two anyway. You will always find each other."

"Maybe. But perhaps, also," Emma says, "whoever we are up against doesn't have the power to wipe your memories completely."

"Then whoever this witch is," Regina smiles, "is not as powerful as me."

Emma rolls her eyes at the gleeful look on Regina's face. "That means we need to find these missing people. And we need to reunite them with people who are important to them."

"But we don't even know who the missing people are and they don't know who is important to them," David frowns.

Hook smirks at Regina. "I think I know where to start."

Regina narrows her eyes at Hook and looks at him cautiously. "Where?"

"It will have to wait until tomorrow morning," Hook says slyly, adjusting his grip on Wendy who has fallen asleep against his shoulder. "I'm taking my girl home."

Emma finds herself following Hook back to his ship. Hook is absently stroking a sleeping Wendy's hair as he walks. Emma has never thought of Hook as a father before but now she can't help but remember each interaction the pirate has had with her son and Robin's son, of the way he reacted when children started disappearing, of the way he holds Wendy like he will never let go. And she knows, he won't.

"You remembered her, you know."

Hook looks over at her, raising his eyebrow quietly in question.

"You were always fiddling with that locket," Emma says as she points to it.

"Aye, it was hers."

"So, she was always with you. Your love for her was too powerful to be forgotten."

Hook smiles softly, in acknowledgement, in thanks, and she likes it. She has a lot to be thankful for when it comes to him - he has come back for her time and time again, saved her son, restored her memories and stood by her side while asking for close to nothing in return - but she has done very little for him that warrants his thanks. They continue their walk in companionable silence until they reach the docks. When she looks at him, she is surprised to find him looking grim, his brow furrowed in thought, the edges of his mouth turned down slightly.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, lass."

Now she is frowning. "That is a lie."

"Perhaps this is not the time. I should take Wendy to bed."

But Emma is not ready to let him go yet so she ends up blurting out the first thing she can think of. "You seem to have made friends with Regina."

"So I have." He pauses on the gangplank before continuing on. She follows him up to the deck. "I don't know if it is a residue of my relationship with the Queen back in the Enchanted Forest or not but we have been companionable here."

"Right..." she trails off as they continue to the Captain's Quarters and he sets Wendy gently down on the narrow bed there. She watches him tuck the blankets around Wendy and smooth the hair off her forehead.

"Who do you want Regina to meet?" she quietly asks.

"Pardon?" He had been intently paying attention to Wendy, not her.

"Back at Regina's. You said you knew where to start. I thought that meant you wanted her to meet someone."

"Ah, so you are right Swan. It is Robin of Locksley."

"Robin Hood?"

"Yes, it did not occur to me that the Queen and the Outlaw did not know each other in this realm but of course, I did not realize until I saw my Wendy that I had forgotten about relationships, not people I've met. While my memories are not sharp, I believe they made quite a formidable team back in the Enchanted Forest."

Emma can't help but throw Hook a questioning look. She's met Robin and he's nice, like really really nice. She can't even imagine him being in the same room as Regina. Even though Regina is no longer evil, her sarcasm would probably burn most people alive. Except her and Hook, she muses.

"How did you know Robin from before?" she asks quietly, curious. "You must have if you remember him."

"I don't want to ruin my reputation as a big, bad villain," he gives a soft chuckle.

"I hate to break it to you, Captain, but I never thought you were a villain."

Hook pauses but he does not say anything and it is too dark to make out his features.

Wendy stirs a bit and Emma takes that as a sign she should leave. Before she can turn away though, Wendy is reaching out. She seems to find the locket around Hook's neck like its a compass calling for her. "Father," she murmurs, still half-asleep, Her fingers tangle in the necklace.

"I'm here poppet, I'm here." Hook leans forward to kiss Wendy on her forehead. She settles down again and he whispers "I love you," reverently, whole-heartily. It sounds nothing like talking about the weather and Emma hadn't realized that she had been waiting for him to say it to her until he says it to someone else.