It never got easier. No matter how many times Regina thought about the man with the lion tattoo, she still felt a surge of happiness immediately bittered by embarrassment, anger, and despair. It was beyond her why she continued to keep her heart after all the pain it was causing her, but as usual, Henry was a powerful motivation to push on with life. How ironic was it that the formerly Evil Queen would do anything for a son who was related to all the people who had ruined her life? It wasn't fair that Hook seemed to have flipped the scales but she couldn't. Where was her villain-turned-hero happy ending?
Robin, ever the surprising mix of gentleman and thief had tried to give a fair chance to his marriage with Marion, but the way he looked at Regina could not be denied. No, loving two people at once was not the way things were supposed to be. But the Queen was used to living her life in spite of pain, or rather being fueled by it. She wasn't going to stop now.
"Madame Mayor?" Archie's tentative voice startled Regina out of her unfortunately frequent daydreams, or rather torturous revisiting of her predicaments.
"Archie, yes… I apologize. You were saying?"
"I'd like to propose that we have a community center where everyone can come and enjoy activities, both from our old way of life and new."
Regina hadn't found a trace of anything near the portal hub that would suggest Zelina was anything more than a memory, but light magic or not, she didn't want to take any chances. Destroying any trace of the home and portal her step sister had used during her time terrorizing the people of Storybrooke seemed like a good place to start. The mayor had asked the townspeople for suggestions of things to build in their place.
Still, Regina had a nagging feeling at the back of her mind- why would Zelina simply "off herself"? If there was anything the mayor knew about motivation, it was that villains have an incredible sense of self preservation. Something didn't add up.
"That sounds like a very strong idea, thank you."
"Mayor? …Regina? Are you ok?" Archie's eyes took on a genuine soft concern as he looked back at the obviously distracted woman.
Regina nodded curtly, her protective wall back in place, her expression formal, "Yes, Archie. Again, thank you for your time. I'll add your proposal to the file and we'll have a vote at the next town hall. Good day." She ushered him out of her office and shut the door before taking a deep breath. God help the next person who asked if she was OK.
"So you just put the Pegasus sail on the Jewel of the Realm and voila, you were off to Neverland?!"
Henry's enthusiasm never ceased to bring a smile to Hook's face and today's storytelling session at the park near the docks was no exception. It was a rare sunny Saturday morning in Storybrooke and Henry had decided to begin his latest project with the one man who wasn't already in his book- he was recording the townspeople's most defining "modern" and "fairytale moments" from their own point of view. He called it Hometown Heroes and was hoping he could get it published in the Storybrooke newspaper or maybe even his own book someday. Too bad any normal publisher would consider it "fiction", but Henry was no quitter.
"Aye. Magic was still a rare and frightening thing for those not well-acquainted with it. But I trusted my brother and captain completely and thought the adventure once-in-a-lifetime."
"Your brother…" Henry feverishly scribbled down notes, "Liam, right? What was he like?"
Normally Killian would balk at having to reveal his most personal memories of the brother that had been lost to him, but he loved Henry like a son and wanted Liam's character to be preserved for all time.
He nodded as he looked over the distance horizon, "He was… stubborn… protective… loyal… and followed rules and decorum to a fault. He had to grow up quickly when our father abandoned us to the life of sailors. He took care of me and taught me everything he knew." Killian laughed, "I'm certain he did a much better job, even from a young age, of teaching me to be a man than our father ever could have."
Henry had stopped writing to listen eagerly. There was no denying the pirate had a way of saying things that people just didn't have anymore.
"It was quite difficult for me to come to terms with his death. I felt responsible for it because my doubt goaded him into taking Dreamshade. But when I was finally honest with myself, I knew even Liam would have told me it was his damned loyalty to the crown that killed him –excuse my French–," Killian winked, "but it doesn't stop me from wishing I had somehow stopped him from leaving Neverland."
"Okkkkkk," Henry looked back at his scribbles regarding Killian's life as a brother, sailor, and pirate, but he wanted to turn to the newer parts of the story. "Let's fast forward a little bit, why were you working with Cora? And even more recently and more importantly, how did you not get killed walking around New York City looking like that?!"
"Now those, lad, are parts of my life I don't care to revisit, but it does let me boast about wooing your mother, so if I must…"
Henry smirked, "C'mon, Killian. This is your chance to write history the way you saw it. Let's hear it, Prince Charles!"
"As you wish, m'boy." His eyebrow raised mischievously, "Let's start with getting tied to a tree by a bunch of maidens…"
The morning wore on and an hour or two later Henry claimed he had a case of "writer's cramp" which required that they take a break with a milkshake at Granny's. When the two walked in, they spotted a very familiar sheriff and deputy also enjoying a slow day. The pair took turns working since it was technically a 24/7 job, but many shifts ended up being "Father/Daughter 101" courses. Emma appeared to be laughing at a joke, but she stopped suddenly when she spotted the pair.
"Kid! Killian!"
"Hello, love," Hook strode over to the counter and kissed Emma soundly on the lips. David groaned playfully before turning to give his grandson a hug.
"So, what lies did this scalawag tell you about everyone?" David's eyes crinkled as Killian stepped back from the counter in mock offense.
"You wound me greatly, prince! I merely told the boy of my dashing adventures saving your lives over and over," he waved his hook around dramatically, "…and how I wore down Emma's defenses…"
"Hey! That's not fair," Emma spun around on the stool to look at her son, "Are you doing any fact checking, Henry? What about my side of the story?"
"Mommmmmm," Henry whined, "you really think I wouldn't put the Savior in it? I just started with Killian since you were busy and he's really cool."
"See, David, this is what you have to look forward to," Emma grimaced at her father, "Eventually, you get to that age where your own kid doesn't think you're cool anymore."
Before David could make a witty retort, Mary Margaret's voice interrupted, "I hate to break up the party but someone would like to say 'hi'." A smiling Neil reached for Emma who gently took him in her arms.
"He's getting so big!" Neil was fascinated by his big sister's long shiny hair and the small gold necklace strand peeking out of her jacket. Before Emma could react, he had the mysterious flower pendant in his mouth. She could almost swear there was no way for Neil's chubby baby hands to grasp the chain, but how else could he have grabbed it? She quickly coaxed it away from him and tried to slip the item back in her pocket without drawing any attention. Killian was the only one who noticed, an unreadable expression in his eyes. They hadn't talked much about Gold's gift, but Emma had been doing research during spare moments in the office. There were so many things she didn't understand or trust about it. And what did Gold want her to restore? How could she control what was being restored?
Of course her first thought was of her pirate. Could she return his beloved Jolly Rodger? But what of the consequences, what of the ones he had traded it to for the magic bean? Or could she restore his hand? But what if he felt violated, what if the hook had truly become a part of him he wouldn't want to lose? And finally, could the pendant restore lost life? If she meant to bring back Liam, would it work? Would it bring back Milah instead? Neil? So many questions, so many unknowns.
Why would Gold do this to her? Give her a powerful tool with no instruction manual or warning of the price?
It was so Rumpelstiltskin.
She'd have to explain to Killian tonight, but she wasn't ready to get his hopes up. There were always ways to distract him. Some things never changed, and Emma was perfectly ok with that.