Killian was pleased to see the crew with newly lifted morale. They had not gone on a raid since returning from Neverland, and he had sensed that the crew was growing restless. The life of a pirate was usually one of adventure, and for the men that had been with him while in Neverland, they had grown accustomed to the ever-present rush of adrenaline after three centuries of it.

They had enough gold and treasure to last them for several months, and Killian had not wanted to risk a raid if it might leave The Jolly Roger even infinitesimally weaker; now that he finally knew the location of the dagger capable of killing The Dark One he refused to behave rashly and jeopardize the mission he had spent centuries building.

As pleased as he was with the crew, he was not calm by any means. As Emma had stalked by him to resume her position in the crow's nest after they had set sail, she had hissed three words at him that had made him dread seeing her later that night – a first since she had revealed her identity to him.

"We'll. Talk. Later."

He had never heard of a situation in which those words led to a positive outcome. When the lunch break had come and gone he had retreated into his cabin, feigning a sudden influx of work in order to avoid the glare that rivaled that of the Gorgons.

He was such a coward.

Now that her shift had ended, he glanced toward the door of his cabin. He had not seen her enter, but seeing as she was not on deck he knew she must be waiting for him.

He felt someone bump against his shoulder and turned to see Starkey wearing an enormous smile.

"Jones, never seen you look so pale, don't blame you though, that lass may be one of the very few who could take you on with a chance at winning."

Starkey let out a barking laugh as Killian visibly swallowed before bracing his shoulders and stiffly making his way into the lion's den.

He slowly opened the door and peering into the dim room. He sighed with relief when he found that she was not there yet and that he must have looked over her whilst up above.

He'd barely let out his sigh of relief when he suddenly felt a boot land squarely on the center of his back and he found himself sprawled on the bed. Turning around, he saw Emma looking at him darkly from where she had been standing behind the door. Not straying her eyes from his, her hand shot out and closed the door with a loud bang.

Any hope he had held onto of charming his way out of this talk was immediately extinguished and he would have sworn he could see his own petrified gaze in the reflection of her infinite eyes.

"Was it dark magic?"

Killian knew that a look of confusion had to be on his face, but he tried to alter his expression when he saw Emma's eyes narrow, becoming even deadlier.

"Don't fucking pretend, Hook. Have you been using dark magic to keep yourself alive for however many hundreds of years?"

He felt as though she had driven a sword through his chest at the word "Hook". It was a hiss on her breath, and she said it as if she were uttering a swear.

His mouth fell open and he saw Emma's gaze waver for a second as she realized how harsh she was being, how she was tearing him apart. Her rage faded to frustration, at him, at the fact that she didn't know what was going on, and most of all at his betrayal of her trust.

"Just – just tell me. I can't not know for another minute. And I swear to the Gods if you lie, even just an exclusion of a detail, I will throw you off the side of this damn ship."

Killian did not doubt for a minute that she would carry out her threat. He had neglected to mention what he now realized was a fairly major detail.

"I spent three hundred years in a realm where nobody ages."

She scoffed and began to speak in an annoyed tone, "You don't mean to tell me-"

"Yes, lass, I have been in Neverland."

She froze, then stepped forward until she was only a foot in front of him. Leaning forward, she placed her hands on either side of his face and he couldn't help but shiver at the contact, although her touch was not one of affection.

Her expression was guarded but he could hear the edge of a whisper in her voice as she commanded, "Look me in the eyes and say that again."

"I was in Neverland for three hundred years."

He stared back into her eyes just as intently as she was searching his. He could see the moment that she realized he was telling the truth. She drew back and released him as a look of wonder began to surface across her face.

"It's real?"

"Yes, Emma."

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. When they opened again the darkness had faded. Only mild anger remained. When he saw this he felt a wide smile cover his face and she responded with an annoyed snort and an eye roll.

"I'm still angry with you."

He stepped forward and pushed a stray curl that had sprung forward from her bun behind her ear.

"I know, love."

A small smile ghosted her face before she returned it to one of reservation.

She stepped around him and sat on the center of the bed, crossing her legs before motioning for him to join her.

Killian set himself on the edge of the bed but turned his head to meet her eyes.

"After Milah's death I used a portal to enter Neverland. My desire for revenge would have consumed me and any plan I would have made immediately following her murder would have resulted in my death. So I entered a land where I could plan my revenge for however many years I needed. My men needed the adventure, and seeing as I knew I would have to bide my time, we were swept up in its magic. Neverland has a way of making things from your old life fade away. That is why the lost boys never leave. They don't remember having anything to return to."

Emma's eyes had remained impassive until that detail, and he saw an old sadness take them over. She herself was an orphan with nothing of her family left, and she could sympathize with them.

"It was only when I had a dream of her, centuries into our time there, that I remembered everything. My need to avenge her. We took our leave and arrived back in this realm a few months ago."

So it has been a very, very long time. My computer crashed a few years ago and I lost this story, but I decided to post what I had, so here is what was recovered. I'll get back to writing this when I have the time.

Cheers, and sorry for the wait darlings! xx