A few days later while out and about on a shopping expedition Henry was off perusing comic books while Emma was out of her depth trying to pick a baby gift for her little sibling-to-be. In a frenzy of anxious nesting, Snow had outfitted her entire nursery in a single shopping trip so there was no need for a gift registry, they had all the necessary accouterments. The loft was full of accessories and gadgets Emma could only guess at the purpose of. Her own pregnancy in prison had been free of any frills or the finer comforts Snow enjoyed in her castle. A local OB and the prison library's ancient copy of What To Expect When You're Expecting brought Henry into being.

Emma had never before appreciated the convenience of a gift registry. It really took all the thought and decision making out of the gift giving progress. You couldn't go wrong picking something off a list the recipients had written. She wasn't sure about any of this. The baby clothes were covered in visually nauseating pastels and the thought of buying her mother a breast pump was disquieting. She was examining some Disney merchandise, trying to decide if it was funny or going too far, when Killian spotted her and walked over to her.

"Swan." his nod was a simple greeting but his smile was warm. If she'd been observant she might have noticed how wide it was, more open and contagious than the smirk he adopted when the charm came out. Observing her preoccupation, he studied the colorful items before him and recognized a symbol upon them.

"Ah. Henry spoke of this Disney storyteller. Perhaps you can show me an image of the impostor Hook with the bad perm that sullies my reputation in your-this land."

That caught her attention. She raised an eyebrow and turned to face him.

"Been talking to Henry have you?" she said.

"You needn't worry, Swan." he raised his hand in a defensive gesture. "We were discussing the entertainment of this world. You yourself had mentioned there are stories of me, can you blame me for being curious?"

"I just don't want him to get suspicious." she tried not to let herself be mollified by his grin.

"I promise you, Emma, if he starts asking questions it wont be because I talked to him about a story he thinks he grew up with." he was earnest and she believed him. She knew he disapproved of lying to Henry but she trusted that he wouldn't say anything that might cause a problem. He could see that in her face and tried for a joke to lighten the moment. "I must say its a bloody miracle either of you survived Neverland. You were entirely unprepared for the reality of Peter Pan."

Her laughter was only a huff, hardly more than an exhalation. But any chink in Emma's armor was a victory.

"Come, show me my namesake." he cajoled.

"Can't." she said with a wry smile.

"Why ever not, Swan?" he asked.

"Because they only put the heroes on stuff like this," she waved a hand at the onesies and baby blankets adorned with wide-eyed characters. "I don't know how much Henry told you about the story we have here but.. you're a villain, Hook. Villains don't get their faces on pillows."

She meant it as a factual statement, not as a reminder of his more dastardly roles in the earlier parts of his story with Emma. He knew that. Still, he dropped his gaze, self consciously scratching behind his ear. He had done evil in his life yes, chosen to be a pirate and plunder the seas. But that had been the poor choices made by a heart fueled by grief and a head fueled by rum. All he had truly desired was to sail the seas with the good wind at his back, under no man's rule, free to chase a cloud that looked like his beloved Milah. But even the pirate's life was not so easy to return to as he had learned. The one last place that offered him solace had failed him, so he'd sold it off and sought the solace of her instead.

"Emma, I-" he began. He wasn't sure what there was to say to counter the weight of all he'd done but he didn't want her to see him a a villain anymore.

Before he could form a thought, Henry arrive to join them. Emma threw an arm around the lad's shoulder.

"Ready to go, kid?" She asked him.

"Yeah, can I get these?" Henry held up a handful of comic books. His mother faked a pained expression for a moment before poking him in the side.

"Sure," she conceded. "Better than rotting your brain with video games."

"Didn't you find a gift for Mary Margaret?"

"Everything is kinda lame. I'll think of something though."

As they turned towards the checkout Henry rolled his eyes at her motherly tone. Emma smiled an apology to Killian for the interruption but truthfully she was glad for the distraction, the excuse to leave. She wasn't sure how to interact with the man without some mission for them to work together on or dangerous quest forcing them to bond by watching out for each other. Before he was a guide or partner. Now he was a man who was interested in her and all her usual strategies for dealing with men who were interested in her didn't seem like options now. They didn't apply outside a dating scene that was foreign to the pirate. Besides she wasn't all that sure she was ready for him to go away.

"Can we stop at a few places next? I need to talk to some people." Henry said

"Um, sure. Did you make some new friends here?" Emma's tone was confused and no small bit of curious.

"No... well, one. No, I want to ask some people to perform at Granny's next week. The more people the better!"

Their voices drifted back to Killian as they walked away. He sighed, jarred by how effectively he had just been dismissed by Emma. That moment of hesitation after she called him a villain; she'd seen his face fall in response, he'd bet a month's rum ration on it. But she'd said nothing. He knew it was foolish to be jarred by the lack of emotion in her treatment of him. She was a frosty one, his Swan, and despite his considerable prowess and no small amount of pride, he hadn't expected a few kisses to melt that wall of ice. Given their history together, he knew he couldn't blame her. But having lived with his own walls up for so long, and after she had torn them down he had remembered what he had shut out. Love. If anyone deserved to let that in, it was the Savior, who had walked the realm alone for so many years before called to her task to be reunited with her family.