Short chapter tonight... I figured it was better than nothing.

Enjoy

And please review

Words failed him... he wanted to talk, he had so many questions but all that kept happening was that his mouth opened and no sound came out, his jaw just worked uselessly opening and closing his mouth for no reason.

"Spit it how Pirate" David chuckled as he lowered the boy down on to the end of the bed by Killian's feet where the Lad just sat not quite letting go of David's arm. The boy stared hard with wide eyes before frowning, tipping his head slightly and turning back to David.

"What's wrong with him Grandpa?"

"GRANDPA?!" suddenly the words burst from Killian's mouth "How long was I in that cave? Grandpa? What the bloody hell?"

"Hey it's only one step away from "Dad" and if I remember rightly you're quite good at throwing that one around" David laughed before turning back to the boy "He'll talk to you soon enough Kid, just give it time, you knew about him but he didn't really know about you until just now."

Killian's mind was reeling... How had this happened?

"You OK?" Emma suddenly caught his attention when she rubbed her hand down his arm

"Aye Love... I just don't... I'm just trying to... what is going on Swan? How is this possible?" he looked at her and he could see that the laughter had left her face and she sighed.

"I don't know, honestly I don't but it's real and he's here"

Killian's eyes moved back to the boy, he didn't look frightened just curious. That sounded about right, Killian had always been inquisitive about anything new and to this version of himself everything here was a wonder he had never seen before.

The boy had obviously broken his arm as he was wearing a cast and Killian could see that he had a few scrapes and bumps across his face too, he briefly wondered what other injuries lay beneath the lad's pajamas that he could not see but then his mind was furiously trying to figure out how old this young Killian was but it was hard to tell. He wondered if he should just ask but he was apprehensive to do so, he wasn't sure how comfortable he felt about the others knowing how he had lived as a child... the horrors that this Lad had already seen didn't bear thinking about.

Life had been hard and from what Killian could see the boy was showing signs of that, this boy must surely be from before the time he was enlisted in the Navy, the Lad was practically skin and bone... before the Navy but after his Father had left... those were difficult times and meals were few and far between. That would make the boy five years old, Gods had he really been that thin back then?

The boy was looking around the room, eyes taking in everything around him when he again spoke to David with another frown.

"Does he have two heartbeats too?" he asked pointing at the monitor by Killian's bedside.

"Ask him yourself Kid, he'll not bite" The minute the words were out of David's mouth the boy's head swiveled and his gaze locked on to Killian.

"Do you? I have and I have strange double arms and legs too. Sometimes I even have double dreams..."

Killian just blinked, the boy felt it too?!

Over the last few days he had felt like he had extra limbs and as for the dreams was this other version of himself the reason that he had been dreaming of Liam so much?

"Why doesn't he speak to me Grandpa?"

Killian suddenly realized that he had failed to answer the boy, he nervously looked at the others to see them all watching him in concern.

"I... I am sorry Lad... this is just a lot to take in. Aye, I have two heartbeats and I too have strange arms and legs" he finally answered with an unsure smile

"Coooool" the boy replied in awe

"Cool?" Killian chuckled "I do believe that you must have been spending time with Henry, you are already picking up the words of this realm"

"I like Henry... he is going to be my new Liam" the boy replied matter of factly but Killian felt like he'd been punched in the gut.

His new Liam?!

No one could every replace Liam in Killian's eyes and just the thought of it caught him off guard but the boy carried on without missing a beat.

"He will be my new Liam like you will be Henry's new Father." he said quickly then bowed his head and looked very sad "I left my Liam behind, he still has his Killian but I no longer have a Liam. I miss him, do you have a Liam?"

Killian's mind was practically screaming at him to get out of there... this was all too much at once but he was trapped in the bed and everyone was watching him, he didn't know what to say, he didn't know what to do, what to think.

Swan must have seen the panic in his face as she suddenly stepped forward and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Hook doesn't have a Liam either Kid" she bent down in front of him "Why don't you go back to your room with Grandpa and Henry. Maybe Grandpa will let you play in the tub with that boat of yours?"

"Can I?" The boy's whole face lit up and he looked so happy that Killian couldn't help the smile that came to his lips but when the Lad practically jumped from the bed to the floor David seemed to panic reaching out quickly to grab him but his fingers skimmed through thin air as he missed. The boy landed on the tiles and stumbled but stayed upright looking to the Prince when he grabbed hold of him.

"Woah... calm down Junior" David gasped out going down into a crouch to check the Lad was alright

Killian's heart was thumping in his chest, did the Lad have an injury he couldn't see? Is that why the Prince was worried about him? He found himself suddenly trying to sit up and blurting out "Are you alright Lad?"

"Aye" the boy grinned "My other leg doesn't hurt anymore, I can walk just fine now"

David sighed out in relief "You could have told me kid, I thought you'd hurt yourself"

"Sorry, I did not think" he suddenly looked ashamed of himself and let his head drop "Am I to be punished?"

"What? No!" David suddenly said glancing up at Emma with a worried face "What makes you think that?"

The boy just shrugged without looking up but Killian knew exactly why the boy had thought it. That was how his life had been lived back then. He had received many beatings by this age and taken them all without compliant knowing that it was a useless task, complaining would only have made the beating worse... well he had taken most of the beatings, sometimes Liam had taken the punishment in his place trying to keep him safe.

Liam always tried to protect him.

Killian suddenly felt protective towards the Lad, he didn't want the others to know what they had both been through so he spoke out taking the attention from the boy.

"Lad" the boy's head popped up to look at him "How about Henry goes back and retrieves this boat of yours and you play here instead. Once you are done we can talk of Liam, both yours and mine. I just need to talk to Emma for a while"

"Can I?" he replied, eyes suddenly pleading as he looked back at David

"Sure Kid" David laughed "Why don't you come and help me fill the tub while Henry grabs your boat"

With that David pulled the boy up into his arms and started towards the bathroom but he talked over his shoulder to Henry as he went.

"Henry, can you bring back his new clothes too. Whale was going to be discharging him soon anyway so we might as well get him dressed when we're done, oh and don't forget his cast protector"

"Sure Grandpa" but Henry wasn't leaving just yet, he walked across to Killian's bedside and gave him a smile "I missed you"

"And I you" Killian replied with a smile of his own then continued in a sincere tone "You know you have a tough job ahead of you to be his "Liam", I know exactly how that lad's mind works and believe me being his Brother is not going to be easy"

"I don't care... I want to do it, he must feel so lost Killian. I know what I felt like when I lost Dad and while I know that you will never replace him you are the next best thing. I want to be Killian's next best thing and I promise you I will be the best "Liam" I can be for him"

"I know you will Lad" he swallowed thickly trying to hide his emotion then chuckled "Now if I were you I would go and fetch that boat before young Master Jones gets impatient"

As if on cue there was a cry from the bathroom "Henry, I need my boat, the water is getting deeper"

"I'm going, I'm going" Henry yelled back then grinned widely as he headed to the door

Killian lent back on his pillows as Henry left and he looked at Swan by his side. She lent in and kissed his cheek sweetly and whispered

"Thank you"

"What for?" he asked with a lazy smile

"For being you..." she answered with a smile

"Well that is something I cannot help, Love" he chuckled but he looked down at his blankets for a second before looking back up at her through watery eyes "He has had it tough you know. Raising that boy is not going to be an easy task Swan."

"I know" was all she said cupping his face and rubbing her thumb across the scar on his cheek, he could see the love she felt for the boy and if she wanted him to stay how could he refuse her but their quiet moment was broken and the two of them were laughing when the boy's cries carried from the bathroom once more.

"Grandpa! Not so many bubbles... you will make me smell like a girl"