Nothing But a Pirate

Chapter Two

When everyone stopped to rest again as they neared Pan's camp thanks to Tinker Bell's guidance, Hook walked passed the others in order to keep his distance from them, not caring to be around anyone as he knew what they all thought of him. He would always be pirate in their eyes and nothing more. That truth never used to bother him, or at least he pretended it didn't until Emma had walked into his life and had begun to change him, slowly turning him back into the man he liked to believe he might have been when his brother was alive, before the Dark One made him Captain Hook.

"What's gotten into him?" David asked as Hook walked by him and everyone else crossly. "Did something happen when you three went off the capture Pan's shadow?"

"You could say that," Neal answered curtly as he looked over at Emma, who simply glared back at him until she turned to her parents.

She continued to explain as she said with frustration, "It's nothing really. Neal and Hook just chose a poor time to argue over something trivial. I've put them both in their place."

Tinker Bell looked nervously between the woman she saw was the reason for the change in the pirate and her old friend from years ago, then she changed the subject as she stated, "I think we still have the element of surprise on our side, but if we're really going to attack Pan and the Lost Boys, we could use a bit more help. We could use some magical help I mean. Where is Regina?"

"That's a good question," Mary Margaret replied sternly. "She became impatient and ran off to try something on her own. I hope she hasn't gotten herself in trouble."

"I'm sure she's fine," David responded as he wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders as if to reassure her. "Regina can take care of herself. If she isn't here, that's her own fault. But we can't wait for her to come back. We're here now."

Emma looked back over at Neal again as she asked, "So we have Pan's shadow, but exactly what is the plan? How will it help us to get Henry back and stop Pan? Surely it won't do anything for us, especially with Pan there to control it."

Baelfire smiled as he stared at the coconut in his hand and answered, "His shadow's going to be our bargaining chip. It's what gave him most of his power in the first place. Without it, his power is weak. He'll do anything to get it back, including giving Henry up. So long as we have it trapped, Peter won't hurt us."

"What about the Lost Boys?" Tink questioned. "Pan might not be able to strike against us, but they can and he'll use them to do so and get his shadow back."

"Don't worry," Neal replied again. "So long as Pan knows that we'll burn his shadow if they threaten us, he will order them to stay back. Why don't we all take some time to rest before we attack. I want Henry back, but we'll be of no help to him if Pan sees how exhausted we all are. Hopefully by then, either Regina or my father will arrive in time to help us."

David looked between his daughter and the father of his grandson as he responded, "Is that really smart, so close to Pan's camp? Surely they'll find us here if we stay for too long and then we'll lose our element of surprise."

Emma shook her head as she spoke up with anger saying, "We don't have time to rest. I want to save my son and get the hell out of here."

"Which we will," Snow answered calmly as she walked over to stand in front of her daughter. "But you know that we can't just rush into this, Emma. Neal's right. We need to be smart about this rescue and if we go in there now, we'll lose again. Then saving Henry will become even harder for us. Hopefully Regina or Gold will find us soon and then we'll have even more of an advantage over them."

The Savior who felt more like a lost girl nodded sadly, then watched her mother and father walk over to a log lying nearby as they sat down, as did the Green Fairy. She then turned to Neal, who set down the pack he was carrying and began to rummage through it, carefully setting the coconut down beside him as he did so.

"So, what exactly were you talking to Hook about while we were walking earlier?" the blonde woman whom Neal still loved sternly asked. "He seemed pretty upset just now."

"It doesn't matter," he replied in frustration, without turning his head around to look at her. "It isn't important. I only told him something he needed to hear."

Emma crossed her arms as she responded, "Let me guess. You told him to stay away from me?"

Neal sighed, knowing that he couldn't hide the truth from her, then he answered, "I told him that he has no business pursuing you."

"I have no interest in Hook, but it's my decision whether or not I chose to be with anyone," she replied curtly as he finally turned around to look at her. "I don't appreciate you thinking that you have any choice in the matter."

"I was only trying to look out for you," Bae responded in frustration. "You don't know the kind of man he really is. Did he ever tell you the truth about Milah? Did he happen to mention that she was my mother?"

Emma stared at him as if in shock as she asked, "Milah was… She was your mother? She was Gold's wife?"

Neal scoffed and answered, "I thought not. That's right. At least she was both those things until Hook stole her away from us both. I'm not defending my father. After all he did kill my mother. I hate him even more for finding out that he was the reason why she couldn't come back for me. But Hook was the reason why she left me in the first place. He tore apart our family."

"We fell in love," Hook said sadly, stepping back out into the opening from deeper within the woods in order to defend himself against Neal's accusations for Emma, after he had listened to their conversation from a safe distance until he couldn't stay out of it any longer. "As I've tried to tell Bae… Neal more than once, I never wanted to break them apart. I never meant to steal her away from her son, but she was miserable with Rumpelstiltskin and at first I didn't know she even had a son. Rumpelstiltskin was a coward and Milah longed for adventure. We wanted to come back for Bae, but… but the Crocodile made that impossible. However, I still wanted to make good on those plans when Baelfire came into my life a few years later. But I was a fool and I let my hate for his father get the better of me. I tried to keep him under my protection at first despite being in Pan's services, but when Bae shunned me, I handed him over to the Lost Boys when Pan learned that a new boy abandoned by his parents had arrived here in Neverland. I don't blame Neal for not trusting me, for hating me. I hated myself for making that decision. But Emma, I'm here because I want to try to correct my past mistakes and help you both to save your son. Take that for what you will. I hope that you can at least trust me enough to allow me to help you. And if that's all you want from me, then as soon as I get you all back to Storybrooke, I'll sail out of your lives forever."

"Hook wait!" Emma called out with worry as he stormed away again, completely leaving them alone this time, not even sticking close by so that he could eavesdrop like he had done before, then she turned back to Neal. "All right, I understand why you're having a hard time with Hook being here. But whatever your issues with him are, Neal… you really need to push them aside until we save our son and get back home. We need Hook's help whether you want to believe that or not. He's gotten us this far and I trust him enough to help us, until he gives me a reason not to and so far he hasn't. Hook saved David's life after he became poisoned by dreamshade during an attack. And he saved yours too."

Neal looked at her again with confusion as he asked, "What are you talking about?"

She walked over to sit down beside her parents as she replied, "Pan came to Hook and told him that you were still alive. He wanted to see if Hook was still selfish enough to leave you to die, knowing how Hook feels about me. He didn't have to tell us, but he did. And it isn't just because he cares about me. He cares about you too. Hook also told us how to save you once we found you in Echo Cave. If you won't set aside your hate for him, do it for me and Henry. Is that understood?"

"You're right," the man who also loved her responded. "I'll go see if I can find him, to at least get him back here so we can plan our next move. I'm sorry, Emma."

"What was all that about?" Mary Margaret asked her daughter after Neal left as she and David were talking amongst themselves while Emma, Neal, and Hook were talking a few minutes ago.

David added, "What going on with them?"

She let out a sigh of frustration as she answered curtly, "It doesn't matter right now."

"Okay," David replied. "What about what happened earlier while you three were off catching Pan's shadow?"

"Nothing happened," the Savior quickly responded, though it was obvious to the others she was lying. "Hook thought that Neal had heard his secret inside Echo Cave and so naturally he brought it up and ever since then, they've been fighting over me like petty children. I told them I wasn't interested in either one of them because the only love I have room for in my life is Henry."

Mary Margaret tried to convince her daughter how wrong she was as she stated, "You don't have to put off love, Emma. Maybe now isn't a good time, but when we return home if you and Neal…"

Emma suddenly interrupted, "Me and Neal? There is no me and Neal. Not anymore there isn't. I care for him and he is the father of my son, but Neal broke my heart years ago when he left me and let me take the fall for the crimes we committed together. I don't think I can just get past that. And as for Hook and me… Well, that's just ridiculous. We shared a kiss. But Hook is a pirate and a villain. I know he's not the Captain Hook we know from the movies and that he's really trying to be a better man. But I can't ever fully trust him not to break my heart after all the terrible things he's done. Besides, after all this is over, he'll probably go back to trying to kill Gold. I want nothing to do with him if revenge is what's most important to him."

"Of course you don't," David answered crossly, hating the idea that she even considered the possibility that she and Hook could ever be something more than whatever it was they were now.

"David, that's enough," Mary Margaret replied, encouraging her husband to keep his contempt for Hook inside.

Tinker Bell spoke again saying, "I'm sure both Hook and Neal will be able to put their differences aside. They know what's at stake."

Emma responded quietly, "I know they do."