Remember when I said I was messing with the Jones family tree? Just checking. :)
Killian stood between the gas pump and his car, staring down at the boy sitting in the front seat with a brown leather-bound book spread open on his lap. Henry had seemed quite focused on one particular story for the past hour, complete with a large illustration of a ship with its sails unfurled. It had actually kept the kid quiet for a bit, which he found surprising after Henry yammered on for the first part of their road trip.
Between the talking and the driving, Killian had been distracted from dwelling on this whole crazy situation. But as he stared down at Henry, he couldn't really grasp how exactly he felt about all of this. The shock of having this kid who was apparently his son show up on his doorstep was still clouding his feelings, especially his feelings for Emma Swan. If - if! - she was this boy's mother, there were going to be issues that he didn't want to deal with. Killian had worked hard to finally move on from his relationship with Emma after she had just abandoned him without a word, but it hadn't been easy. And if he was being honest with himself, she was the reason he was still single and felt the need to run anytime he started to get serious with a woman.
The gas nozzle shut off with a loud snap, pulling Killian out of his thoughts. He topped off the tank and turned to replace it, then walked around and slid in to the driver's seat just in time to see Henry scratch lightly behind his ear. Killian recognized the nervous tick immediately since it was something he did himself.
"Ready to go, lad?" he asked, trying to be as casual as possible.
"Hm?" Henry answered, quickly looking up at him. "Oh, yea. Let's go."
He put the car in drive and headed back towards the interstate.
"So we're 10 miles from Maine and I'm still not sure where we're headed," he explained to the boy. For some reason, the GPS on his cell phone seemed to have really never heard of a town called Storybrooke in Maine, which didn't surprise the young boy for some reason.
"Don't worry," Henry answered. "We don't have to get off the highway until Exit 12."
Killian nodded, taking a quick glance at the leather-bound book before moving his eyes to the road in front of them. "So are you finally going to tell me what that book has to do with me?" he asked. "I mean, I don't think I've ever met Snow White before."
"Well, you have met Snow White's daughter," Henry answered matter-of-factly.
"Pardon me?"
"My mom," he said. "She's the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. That makes her the product of true love, which is why she's the savior."
Killian gave the kid a confused look. "The savior of what?"
"So everyone in Storybrooke is cursed," he explained. "They're all the people in this book, but they don't remember who they are because of it."
"Because of a curse?" he asked incredulously.
"Yea!"
This time, it was Killian's turn to nervously scratch his ear. What the bloody hell had he gotten himself in to? He really hoped he could get this kid home without any problems. In fact, he was sticking to his belief in good form even more than usual, figuring it was best to just play along for now. Because seriously, fairy tales characters who were real people in the real world? That doesn't happen. And Killian was pretty sure he would never be with a woman - much less father a child with her - if she had been raised by Snow White and Prince Charming.
And then he remembered something Henry had said back at the apartment. "Wait, lad. How did you know my brother's name?"
"Liam? Oh, he's in the book," Henry explained. "So are you actually."
Killian raised an eyebrow in the kid's direction. "Really?" he asked. "Why am I in a fairy tale book?"
Henry gave him a big smile. "Because you're Captain Hook's son!"
Killian almost ran the car off the road in shock before quickly recovering, hoping the boy hadn't noticed. "You're quite the cheeky lad, aren't you?" he asked. "I thought you were being serious by your tone."
"I am being serious."
Killian took a deep breath as silence fell over the car. The news from Henry was worrisome, not because it was possible that Captain Hook was Killian's father - obviously he wasn't - but because the boy seemed to think it was true. Maybe it was just a kid thing or maybe it was more serious than that. Killian filed it away to mention to the kid's mother - adoptive mother - when he dropped him off at home.
"I can't figure something out though," Henry said. "How old are you?"
"I'm 33, lad."
"So you were five years old when the curse hit. How did you avoid getting caught in it?"
Killian smirked at him. "You mean your book there doesn't tell you?" he asked teasingly.
"No," Henry replied earnestly.
"Well, bad news, lad," he explained. "I don't remember anything before I was five years old so I can't help you."
"Why not?"
Killian looked to see Henry innocently staring at him and shrugged. "I just don't."
He turned to focus back on the road, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. He wasn't totally lying to the kid. He was just keeping some details to himself. The full truth was that Emma was the second person to abandon him. But unlike her, his brain had been able to block out his father leaving them behind - at least that's how the therapist explained the loss of memories for both Killian and Liam around the same year.
The green interstate sign thankfully loomed before them. "This is our exit," Killian said, happy for the distraction. "Now what?"
Henry gave him directions for the next hour through the back roads of Maine, passing by small towns before they finally got to a sign that said "Welcome to Storybrooke" in large gold letters.
"Wait," Henry said, a look of apprehension on his face. "Can you see that sign?"
"Aye," Killian replied before checking his GPS once again to see nothing but a blank spot on the map.
"Just wanted to make sure."
"Make sure of what?" Killian asked skeptically.
"I didn't know if this would work exactly," Henry said. "If you're from the Enchanted Forest, you can see the town, but other people can't."
He nodded slightly towards the boy. "Sure, OK," he replied quickly. Killian and his brother were both from London, not the Enchanted Forest or whatever, so the kid obviously was missing something.
Henry directed him for about a mile until they came to a small town. Driving down Main St., there was a diner and bakery, a hardware store and a library with a clock tower. Killian looked down one street and noticed they were near the water. He thought about checking the bay out the next day - if he actually stayed until the next day.
Killian had been so wrapped up in Henry's directions that he had forgotten about the part with the mystery woman he had potentially fathered a child with. But anytime he did the math in his head during the car ride - the kid is 10 years old plus nine months - it always came back to Emma. He took a deep breath, trying to figure out what he would say - or not say to her - if he saw her again. He really hoped he could avoid the whole thing though. Forget the gym bag with the extra change of clothes in his trunk. The plan now was to just drop the lad off with his adoptive mother and get the hell out of town.
"My place is just on the right there," Henry said, pointing to a white house with pillars in the front.
Killian parked well past the front gate of the house behind some shrubs to block his car from the view of the large black front door. The fewer things Henry's adoptive mother would know about him the better. He climbed out of the car and began walking with Henry towards the house, which had a large apple tree in the front yard and a white picket fence.
"Oi, lad?" Killian asked the boy trailing behind him. "Is your mom some hot shot in town?"
"She's the mayor."
Bloody hell.
Henry led them up the walkway before pushing the door open. "Mom, I'm home!" he yelled.
Killian saw a dark-haired woman come running from the living room that opened into the foyer.
"Henry!" she yelled, wrapped her arms around the small boy. "You had me so worried!"
The woman held him tightly, her hand closing around the back of his head to snuggle him in closer. Killian tried to take in all the details of her features but quickly realized he didn't recognize her, figuring she was Henry's adoptive mother - at least that's what he hoped.
She pulled him away from her, her hands still resting on his shoulders. "Where did you go? I thought we had an understanding after you ran away the last time."
Henry just smiled back at her. "It's OK. I only left to get him."
Both the child and his mother turned to stare at Killian, who wanted to simply slink out the door to minimize the uncomfortable feeling pulsing through him at that moment.
The woman stood up straight and stared at him. "I'm sorry, who are you?" she asked coldly.
"Killian, this is my mom, Regina," Henry interjected. "Mom, this is my dad, Killian."
Regina … Regina … He was pretty sure he had never met a woman with that name so he figured she wasn't the woman he had slept with to get Henry. Still, he noticed what he thought was a flash of recognition from the woman before it quickly disappeared. "Regina Mills," she said, extending a hand for him to shake.
"Killian Jones," he replied, returning the gesture.
"Thank you for bringing Henry home so promptly," she said in a very business-like tone. "I'll be more than happy to compensate you for your trip from ..."
Killian cleared his throat. "Um, upstate New York, Ms. Mayor," he said, cringing at the salutation, which he knew sounded wrong.
"I hope he wasn't too much trouble."
"No, no, he wasn't any -"
He heard the front door burst open behind him and saw a flash of blonde hair pass by. Even after all these years, he easily recognized it as belonging to her.
"Is he here?" she asked, pushing past him to grab her son. "Henry, where were you? Regina and I were so worried about you."
"I went to get him!" Henry said, pointing a finger at Killian.
Now three sets of eyes were staring him down, but he was only paying attention to one of them. They were green and bright and still had a deep power over him even after all these years.
"Killian?" she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
He swallowed, trying hard to push down his emotions. "Emma," he said, nodding his head at her.
An uncomfortable silence fell in the foyer of the house as all of them tried to assess what was going on, most of all Killian and Emma. They hadn't seen each other in a decade and now here they were in the same space with unresolved tension almost audibly crackling between them.
"What um ... What are you doing here?" Emma finally asked.
He nervously scratched behind his ear and took a deep breath. "The lad here -"
"I brought him!" Henry interrupted with an excited tone in his voice. "He can help break the curse!"
Killian was thankful that the kid had opened his mouth because all eyes had moved from him to the boy - including his. Emma and Regina exchanged a glance as if acknowledging some sort of secret between them, but it was lost on Killian.
"I'm sorry, am I missing something here?" he asked, his eyes narrowing as he tried to assess what was going on.
Regina just waved a dismissive hand in the air. "You know how it can be with boys and their imagination."
"I'm not imagining anything!" Henry shouted.
"Henry," Emma said in a reassuring tone as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
But he just shrugged it off. "It's the truth! I had to get Killian so he can help you break the curse!"
Killian looked back at Emma, a puzzled look on his face. "I still don't understand."
Emma took a deep breath. "Henry thinks -"
"I don't think anything!" Henry yelled incredulously. "I know the truth! This town is cursed and you're our savior! The curse can only be broken when you kiss your true love, Mom. That's why I got him."
Killian felt a chill all the way to his bones. "You what?"
"You need to kiss my mom to break the curse because you're her true love."
Killian's eyes quickly snapped to Emma, who looked as shocked as he did. He could feel the blood draining from his face and his lungs tighten, barely allowing him to breathe. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself and looked back at the lad, who was staring expectantly at him with a smile on his face. The truth was going to crush Henry, but that didn't change the fact that it was still the truth.
"Henry, I'm nobody's true love," Killian said sadly. "And I'm especially not Emma Swan's."