"I can't believe you talked me into this," Regina huffed, tapping a single finger against the steering wheel in obvious impatience.

"I seem to remember you insisting on coming along," Emma reminded, remaining focused on looking out the window.

"That's because you said you had to borrow my car!"

"Regina, the whole point of being on a stakeout is to keep the perp from knowing you're there. My car is yellow. It may not be as big of a deal in town, but along an open stretch of road like this, a yellow car tends to stand out more. We'll have a much easier time blending in to the shadows and avoiding detection in a darker car.

"Besides, I might end up needing your help. For all we know, the person who's been stealing Anton's beans has magic. As you pointed out yesterday, I still have a lot to learn."

"Is this your way of saying you still want to learn?" Regina challenged. Emma opened her mouth to reply, but found herself hesitating, remembering exactly who it was who encouraged her to continue learning magic. Did she really want to continue considering his advice, now that she knew he was exactly like everyone else? As she mentally weighed her options, the image of Hook's face and the expression he'd worn as he praised her magic, floated to the surface of her memories.

"Yes," Emma spoke automatically. "Yes, I still want to learn." Even as she said those words, Emma was left wondering why she was agreeing to continue her lessons. Why did she even care about what Hook said anymore? It wasn't as if he had made any further attempt to apologize for what he did. Since leaving the hospital, the closest she'd come to hearing from him was when she overheard David talking to Mary Margret when he returned to the loft apartment. According to him, Hook hadn't even tried to defend himself while David had chewed him out. He'd just stood there, staring down at the ground until the tongue-lashing was complete. Then he'd simply turned and walked off without a word. Since then, no one had even mentioned his name in front of her, nor had he made any effort to reach out to her. And when she and Regina had driven through town to reach the bean field, Emma hadn't even so much as gotten a glimpse of his familiar black leather-clad figure. Not as if she had been looking for it, of course.

You miss him, a small voice in the back of her mind pointed out.

No, Emma mentally denied. I don't miss him. Why would I?

Because you…

No, I don't! Forcing back the mental argument, Emma concentrated even harder on scanning the bean field for any sign of movement. For a brief moment, she felt a wave of gratitude towards Tinkerbell for convincing Blue to remove the cloaking spell that had once kept the bean field from being seen from the road. After all, the reason why the cloaking spell had been put up in the first place was to try and keep Cora and Regina from finding out about it. Since Cora was gone and Regina was not their enemy anymore, it really made no sense to keep the bean field hidden.

Emma's thoughts were once again interrupted by Regina.

"So, just to get things straight," she began. "We're out here because this…. Robin Hood was found passed out here."

"That's right. And his story suggests that someone may have been stealing the beans from right under our noses to create portals to and from the Enchanted Forest at will. So why not just wait here and see if we can catch our bean thief in the act?"

"Yes, you've explained all that before. What you haven't explained is why we're trusting the word of a person we know nothing about. How can we be sure that he's not the one behind this? He did say he was featured on wanted posters. Maybe there's a reason for it."

"He wasn't behind it," Emma insisted with conviction. "I heard him explain his story myself, and he wasn't lying."

"Ah, of course. Your internal lie…."

"Shhhh, they're here!" Emma interrupted in a loud whisper, suddenly freezing in place, staring at the bean field. Following her gaze, Regina spotted what Emma was looking at almost instantly. There was indeed something moving about in the bean field.

"Well, it looks like your plan actually worked," Regina commented in a low voice as the two women opened the car doors in unison as carefully as possible. Being mindful to not make any noise, they crept towards the bean field, with Emma slowly drawing her gun and Regina preparing to produce a fireball at a moment's notice. It was only when they were a few feet away that Emma trained her gun on the figure lurking around.

"Don't move!" she demanded. Instead of complying, the figure spun around and let out an unearthly shriek. Without hesitation, the figure lunged at Emma, but before Emma could react, Regina threw a fireball at the creature, who was forced to dodge out of the way. However, the fireball provided enough light to briefly illumine the area, giving them a moment to get a good look at their attacker. The creature responded to being seen by baring its jagged teeth at them before spreading a pair of large feathery wings and launching itself into the air. In an attempt to stop the creature from getting away, Regina aimed a second fireball at its retreating form and Emma fired off two shots into the air, aiming in the general direction of where she last saw the creature in the light of Regina's fireballs. Unfortunately, they quickly lost sight of the creature, who seemingly vanished into the night.

With a loud sigh, Regina started to walk away, lighting her way with another fireball.

"I don't suppose there's a spell that gives you night vision," Emma said, bracing herself for a retort from Regina for the flying creature escaping.

"Of course not," Regina retorted, the eye-roll evident in her tone. "It's not as if I fared any better than you did in bringing that thing down. And… it looks like you actually did manage to get at least one good shot in." Raising her eyebrows in surprise, Emma stepped over to Regina, who was carefully studying the leaf on one of the bean plants. Upon inspecting the bean plant herself, Emma saw there was an unmistakable splatter of fresh blood staining the surface of the leaf.

"Besides," Regina continued. "While our bean thief did manage to get away, tonight wasn't a total loss. We managed to get a good look at that creature. I trust you saw what it was?"

"Well… it looked like a flying monkey," Emma mused. "So…what, we're dealing with the Wicked Witch of the West?" Emma's sarcastic smile faded instantly when she noticed the expression on Regina's face. "Seriously? She's real, too?"

The first thing Hook was aware of as the grip of sleep began to wear off was the dull throbbing in his skull. Biting back a groan, he pressed his hand against his still-closed eyes in a vain effort of easing the pressure and blocking out the light of the morning sun, mentally berating himself for reaching this state and wondering exactly how much drink he'd consumed last night. It had been centuries since he'd experienced this level of aftereffect, as he'd long-since developed the ability to hold his rum. In fact, the last time he'd let things get this far was….

With a mournful groan, Hook gave himself a mental shake, trying to beat back the memory of that morning, and the mental image of Liam tearing up his naval commission. Looking for something to get his mind away from that particular memory and the guilt associated with it, he forced himself to open his eyes and take stock of his surroundings. The sight waiting for him immediately brought him to full attention. He was in a well-furnished room he had no conscious memory of, lying on an off-white couch sitting in front of a fireplace. Quickly sitting upright and trying to ignore the sudden wave of dizziness, Hook's eyes scanned the room, instantly on the alert for any danger. In doing so, he noticed his hook had been removed from its brace and had been left sitting on the marble-top coffee table in front of him. Without hesitation, his hand shot out to reclaim it, snapping it back in place. That was when he heard someone speaking behind him.

"Sorry for taking that off while you were out," the voice said. "I didn't want to risk the upholstery." Turning his head, he saw a man entering the room with a loaded tea tray, complete with a silver tea pot, plain white china teacups, and pieces of dry toast arranged in a toast rack. Wordlessly, the man placed the tea tray on the table in front of Hook and gestured for him to help himself, an offer he gratefully complied to. However, he paused upon seeing two small pills in the bottom of an empty water glass. The man, upon noticing the expression on Hook's face as he eyed the pills, gave a dry chuckle.

"It's medicine," he explained. "Just swallow them whole; it should help with your headache." Letting out a slight noise of understanding, Hook finally took a moment to really look at the man in front of him. After a few seconds, he realized that the man looked familiar.

"I've seen you before," Hook observed, studying the man closely. "You were in Wonderland. In Cora's palace." In response to this, a grimace appeared on the man's face.

"I prefer not to think about those days, as I wasn't there by choice, but yes; you and I did see each other briefly back then. Name's Jefferson. At last we officially meet, Captain Hook. Yes, I know who you are. Your choice of prosthetic is a dead giveaway."

"I suppose this is the part where you fill me in on how I got here?" Hook asked, now nursing his cup of hot tea.

"You really were in a state last night, weren't you?" Jefferson stated with a chuckle. "I came across you when I was heading back home after dropping my daughter off at her cursed parents' place."

"Cursed parents?" Hook looked up at Jefferson, clearly wondering what he meant by that.

"Let's just say I can relate to the sheriff in regards to how she has to share custody of her son," Jefferson explained with a forced smile. "Anyway, you were slumped against a tree along the side of the road as I drove past. From the looks of it, you had been making your way to the town line, but either changed your mind halfway there or were just taking a moment to regain your bearings." With a low groan, Hook leaned back until his head slumped over the back of the couch. Jefferson's explanation had lifted some of the fog from his mind, helping him remember enough. He had wound up at the Rabbit Hole when it opened, looking for something to distract himself from the pain of watching Emma walking away without giving him a chance to explain his side of the story, all but directly saying she wanted nothing more to do with him, as well as the memory of her father's reprimands. At some point, the bartender had cut him off and sent him on his way. He remembered wandering around for a bit, but he couldn't think of where he could go. There was no way he could go back to Granny's. Not after what had happened there the night before. And if he went back to the Jolly Roger, he knew he'd just find himself remembering the time he'd spent with Emma on the ship, and his misery would get worse. Eventually, he'd found himself walking towards the town line, thinking that perhaps it would be best if he just left Storybrooke altogether. After all, it wasn't as if anyone would actually miss him. But the nearer he'd gotten to the town line, the worse the feeling in his gut became. It was if an invisible rope was tied around his waist, tethering him to the town, and the closer he got to the town line, the tighter the rope became. In the end, he realized he couldn't go through with his initial plan. No matter how much Emma hated him, he just couldn't bring himself to leave. He couldn't abandon her like everyone else had. But as to what happened after he'd realized that, he could only draw a blank.

"So, you decided to bring me here, to your house?" Hook asked, seeking clarification to fill in the remaining gaps in his memory.

"I was going to bring you back into town, but you kept muttering that you didn't want to go back yet. That you didn't want 'her' seeing you in that state." Jefferson explained. Allowing a momentary silence to fall, he fixed the pirate with a calculating glance. "I take it this has something to do with our blonde sheriff?" At this observation, Hook gave a sudden start, snapping his eyes over at his host. "Don't look so surprised. My daughter, Grace, goes to school with Henry, so I've been able to learn enough of your story through thirdhand report. If the rumors and legends surrounding the name Captain Hook have even some manner of truth to them, you're not one to stay in one place for too long. The fact that you've shown no obvious intention of leaving Storybrooke suggests you have a personal reason to remain. Since Mr. Gold is no longer around, it's safe to rule out your vendetta against him. Which means you have another incentive to stick around. While this house is a bit off the beaten path, it still offers a prime vantage point of the town. And I've seen how you look at her."

"It matters not how I might feel," Hook said, averting his eyes. "After what happened last night… I don't think she'll ever forgive me."

"I get the feeling you're not going to explain what it is you've done to warrant her not forgiving you," Jefferson observed. In response, Hook only tightened his jaw, continuing to avoid eye contact. Not deterred by his silence, Jefferson went on. "There was a time I thought my daughter, Grace, wouldn't forgive me. Back in the Enchanted Forest, we were poor. Our only income came from selling mushrooms at the market, so we only had just enough money to get by. But I wanted better for her. I wanted her to have everything she could ever wish for. Because of that, I let myself get tricked by Regina, and wound up getting trapped in Wonderland, with no way to return home to Grace. I wasn't able to reunite with her until after the curse was broken and everyone's memories were restored. But I was afraid to approach her immediately after the curse broke. I was afraid she wouldn't forgive me. The last promise I made her before I left on that fateful day was that I'd be back in time for our tea party. But instead? I kept her waiting for years, with her never knowing what happened to me. But, when I finally worked up the courage to face her, she didn't hesitate to accept me back into her life. She never even brought up how I broke my promise to her."

"Somehow, I doubt forgiveness for me will be quite so easily won," Hook mused, taking another sip of tea. "Especially since she won't even give me the chance to explain."

"Yes, that does complicate matters, doesn't it?" Jefferson agreed. "So what do you plan to do?"

"Well, I'm not going to force her to listen," Hook retorted. "It has to be her choice."

"You'll get no argument from me. I learned the hard way that you can't convince her of anything if she isn't willing to listen. Not even the truth."

Hook smiled wiry at Jefferson's words. While he would have to ask for the story behind that statement sometime, he couldn't deny its veracity. Emma Swan was indeed a stubborn one. All the same, he knew he couldn't walk away from her. His inability to cross the town line in his drunken state had proven that. And he knew that it wasn't just because she had a new unseen enemy lucking around town. Even so, he couldn't just sit back and do nothing while Emma and her family dealt with whoever was behind the disappearances. But how could he help when Emma had made it clear she didn't want to see him?

As he became lost in thought, Hook's gaze scanned the room almost absentmindedly. In doing so, his eyes happened to fall on the sizable number of books stacked haphazardly on the table in front of the bay window. The sight of the disorderly arrangement was instantly at war with his ingrained regimented instincts, and he had to mentally remind himself to not try to go over and organize the books.

Without warning, Hook suddenly leapt to his feet, so quickly that Jefferson started.

"Books! Of course!"

"Did I miss something?" Jefferson asked, looking bemused.

"I know what I have to do," Hook explained, starting to walk out of the room.

"You know how to get Sheriff Swan to listen to your side?"

"No, we can both agree that only she can convince herself to do that. But that doesn't mean I can't still do my part in figuring out how to help with the latest crisis."

"In that case, allow me to give you a lift back into town," Jefferson offered. "Just tell me where you plan to go."

On the outskirts of town, the flying monkey concluded his labored flight, only just avoiding a crash landing in front of a seemingly deserted farmhouse. Upon landing, the monkey's right wing immediately flopped to the ground, revealing its damaged state. The two bullets Emma had fired off had both managed to hit their intended target, as the first one had grazed the monkey's neck, leaving a sizable gash. The other had gone right through the monkey's right wing, which had made the flight back to the farmhouse long and painful. Many times, the monkey had to take quick breaks to rest, as the pain from the wound made it hard to continue flying. As a result, it had taken all night for the monkey to complete its journey back.

As the monkey began to cradle his injured wing, he sensed rather than saw the figure that materialized in front of him in a cloud of green smoke. Tearing his eyes away from his injury, the monkey looked up into the face of Zelena.

"Well, I suppose that explains why it took you so long to get back," Zelena commented, gazing down at the monkey's injured wing. "Did you at least manage to get any beans?" In response to the inquiry, the monkey let out a quick series of screeches, which Zelena seemed to understand. "Ah, so it seems my dear sister has decided to make her first move. About time, too. It was getting tiring keeping to the shadows. Now that she knows we're here, we can advance to the next stage." The Monkey replied to this with another loud shriek, cocking his head.

"Of course I'm not mad," Zelena assured. "We're simply one step closer at getting my revenge. After all, the Queen may be evil, but I'm wicked. And wicked always wins."

AN: In my personal headcannon, I think Killian and Jefferson could be really good friends if they ever got to meet. So I'm looking foward to having them interact. Also, as you've probably seen, this story will contain some elements of the Wizard of Oz arc. Except there's no Lost Year, and therefore none of Emma's 'I'm going to go back to New York' plotline.

In a related story, I appologize to the readers who actually like Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin, since I'm not changing the part where he died to stop Pan at the end of the Neverland arc. After the events of S5, I just don't think I can bring myself to write him into this story in an unbiased manner. If he's your favorite character, I'm sorry, but just consider me leaving him out as my way of showing respect to the Rumple fanbase.