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Killian was awake and moving before he even really registered that it was not him having the nightmare but the boy. He sat up panting into the dim light as the boy's heart thundered in his chest right along with his. He gulped a few times and shook his head trying to get the images from his brain but they were not leaving and after a few seconds he suddenly realized that Junior must still be sleeping as more images of the Captain bearing down on him invaded his mind.

"Swan" he gasped out clutching at his chest trying to slow his heart.

"Hmmmmm?" she mumbled in her sleep

But when the Captain in his head suddenly lashed out with his fist hitting him in the face with his ring Killian actually yelled in surprise and Emma was up and by his side in a second.

"It's OK, I've got you, it's just a nightmare, come on lie back down"

He shook his head vigorously and gasped out "Not me... Swan, the boy. Wake the boy"

She was off in an instant leaping from the bed and tearing from the room. He knew the minute she had reached him as the images instantly stopped and Junior's terror was replaced by sorrow and sure enough in seconds the sounds of the Lad's cries filled the air. Killian could hear Emma soothing Junior and he figured out quickly that she was returning with him as her hushing noises grew louder.

Killian flopped back onto his pillows with a sigh, reminding himself that the Lad was safe, it was only a nightmare but somehow his hand made it's way to his face anyway to trace the scar that still ran across his cheek but he let it fall again when Emma came back into the room with a still crying Junior cradled in her arms.

"Come on, Swan's got you, you're alright" she soothed bouncing him a little

"I want Liam" he cried out and Killian could actually feel the tears in his own eyes as a feeling of grief ripped through him.

"I know, I know" was all Emma whispered as she sat on the edge of the bed rocking him back and forth.

It seemed to take forever but eventually Junior calmed enough for her to sit him in her lap and although he still clung to her tightly giving the occasional sniff the worst of it seemed to be over.

"Are you alright now Lad?" Killian asked in a low voice

He watched as Junior gave a jerky little nod

"Do you want to go back to bed with Henry or do you want to stay with your Swan?" he asked gently, he wanted it to be the boy's decision although he already knew what the answer would be.

Junior looked up at Emma and snuggled closer to her front where she just held him close.

"It's alright Lad, the Captain is not here I promise, it was just a bad dream. Come, lie down under the covers by me" Killian threw back the blankets in invitation and watched as Junior pulled himself slowly from Emma's arms and crawled up the bed before he promptly tucked himself into Killian's side.

Emma gave him a little smile then said "I'm just going to check on Henry, make sure that he's OK. I promise I'll be back in a minute. Do you want some warm milk to help you get back to sleep?"

Killian felt the Lad give a little nod but he said nothing, the dream had really scared him.

Killian waited until Emma walked from the room before talking "You alright Lad?"

"Aye"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Junior suddenly pulled himself up and turned to face Killian with fresh tears in his eyes "I miss my Liam"

"I know Lad, I miss my Liam too" Killian reached up to wipe the tears from the lad's cheeks before giving him a smile "Do you want to know a secret?"

Junior instantly looked up at him and gave a nod, Killian chuckled then whispered "My Liam told me a long ago that he once saw the Captain dressed in Lady's clothing. Liam had gone into the Captain's cabin to borrow a book when he heard the Captain returning so he hid and what he saw made me realized that I no longer had to fear him. He wore a dress and was fanning himself with a fan made from feathers. Does that sound scary to you?"

It was a complete lie, Killian had seen it on a movie he had watched with Henry where the Captain had been discovered dressing like a woman but when Junior suddenly smiled widely at him and giggled he couldn't help embellishing the truth.

"Liam also said that the Captain liked eating the apples that had worms in them from the barrel when no one was looking"

Junior laughed hard and came up onto his knees giving a little bounce exclaiming "I knew it! What else did Liam say?"

"He told me that the Captain only pretended to drink rum but it was actually cold tea!" Killian added with a grin

"Cold tea?! Yuck" Junior stuck his tongue out in disgust

"Does he sound like someone you need to be frightened of?" Killian asked again

Junior shook his head then sat back on his heals and asked "He really cannot find me here?"

"He will never find you again Lad, I promise you"

Junior gave a little nod of his head then looked Killian right in the eye "I wish I could take away your bad dreams too"

"Thank you Lad, believe it or not you are helping already. Talking with you makes them... less scary" Killian replied with a tight smile that turned into a wide grin when Emma suddenly walked back in carrying a tray with three mugs on it.

"You look a bit better" she said to the boy as she slid the tray onto the small table near the wall.

"Aye, Killian scared the Captain away" he said as he sat back down and pulled the blankets up over his legs

"Oh he did did he? Well that's because HE'S the only Captain in town and no one messes with his family. Right Captain?"

"Aye" Killian replied with a chuckle when Junior looked up at him with hopeful eyes

"Right kid you drink this then it's back to sleep for you, it's not even nearly time to get up yet" she said handing over a mug that was half full of milk.

"Thank you Swan" Junior said looking inside the mug as she handed it to him before taking a sip and when he seemed to decide that he liked it he snuggled down into the pillows and took a larger mouthful.

"Here, I made some for you too" Emma said handing him a mug which he took thanking her then watched as she brought a mug of her own over and crawled back into the bed smiling at the boy "Henry's got some too, this stuff is good for helping with bad dreams"

They drank and chatted for a while but before too long Junior was yawning widely so Emma took the now empty mug from him and put it on the side, Killian put his on the bedside table and just happened to see the clock, Gods it was only two twenty. He settled himself down knowing that sleep would come quickly and as soon as he was lying back Junior tucked himself into his side again, he gave a slight smile into the dim light when Emma's hand suddenly slid across his front settling on his heart, he turned his head slightly to see her cuddling into the boy too... could his life get any better?

The next he knew he was blinking into the bright morning sunshine, he turned to find the bed next to him empty but in the next instant he heard the boy's laughter ringing out from the other room and it tugged a smile to his lips.

Killian gave a groan as he pulled himself up, he could tell that it must be late as he felt like he was very much over due his medication and when he looked back at the clock he was surprised to see that it was nearly lunch time. How had he slept so long? Had Swan drugged his milk?

He gave a little chuckle at the thought before throwing the blankets back and swinging himself around bringing his feet down onto the floor only to discover that his crutch was nowhere to be seen and the wheelchair was on the other side of the room... Swan!

She obviously knew him too well and didn't want him getting up by himself but he knew one thing for sure if someone didn't come in and help him soon he may have a disaster in the bed, his bladder was ready to burst.

"SWAN" he yelled out

"Hang on" her voice called from somewhere and he was left trying to ignore his growing discomfort and when the door opened a few minutes later it wasn't Emma but Regina who walked in.

"She's got her hands full shall we say" Regina laughed "I take it you need to use the bathroom, don't worry I'll just get you in the chair, Swan will be here in a minute"

"Thanks Love" Killian replied with a grimace as he worked his way forward

"Look at us" Regina said as she worked then looked up at him "Who would believe what our lives have become?"

Killian chuckled and shook his head "Three years ago I would have laughed in your face if you had told me that I would be marrying a savior and that I would be trying my best to be a father figure to two boys"

"I know what you mean" she replied then she paused while helping him to swivel over into the chair but as soon as he was down she just carried on "and to make it even more unbelievable we find that in this strange tale the Evil Queen and Captain Hook are both part of the same family, a family of heroes I may add...My Mother would hate this" she finished with a huge grin

"Aye Love, that much is true." he replied as he clutched onto his ribs

"Let's get you moving" she said with a smile then screamed "SWAN, GET YOUR BUTT IN HERE BEFORE HE MAKES ANOTHER MESS ON MY TILES"

He just shook his head with a smirk but it worked as Emma suddenly walked through the door looking quite disheveled.

"Swan?" he asked in concern

"I'm fine but your younger self is like a hurricane. Does he ever sit still for more than five minutes?"

"Get him parchment and some pencils Love" he replied with a smirk "he loves to draw"

"Of course" she exclaimed then said very sarcastically "That's the first thing I would have thought of!"

They all laughed a little then Regina left them so Emma could help Killian to take care of business and have a wash. Ten minutes later she was pushing him through to the other room where they were greeted by silence. Killian looked across at the table to find Junior kneeling up on his chair drawing intently with his little tongue sticking out the side of his mouth.

"I wish you'd told me earlier about the drawing thing, he's been running around here all morning. I only just managed to stop him from going in the pool with his cast on and believe me when I say he was not happy about it, he pouted for a good fifteen minutes!"

"He likes to swim too, what can I say Swan? He has a lot of energy" Killian replied with another laugh that had him clutching his ribs.

"Well all I can say is heaven help us when he builds his strength up, if this is what he's like when he's practically skin and bone what's he gonna be like when he's up to a healthy weight?" Emma laughed "But you know what, somehow I just can't bring myself to get mad at him, he's just enjoying life"

"Aye Lass, that he is" Killian said with a smile before looking around the room "Where is Henry?"

"He's outside, come on. Someone's here to see you" Emma grinned suddenly turning the chair towards the outside world and pushing him out into the bright sunshine.

There sitting beneath a parasol at a table near the far end of a huge pool was Henry and Belle. Killian grinned widely as she looked up, she gave him a wave and as Emma pulled his chair up to join them Belle jumped up and hugged him tightly.

"You are looking well" she said stepping back and really looking at him

"He'll look even better once he gets his meds and some food in his belly" Swan said from behind him "I'll be back in a minute"

With that she was gone and Killian looked back at Belle and Henry "What are you two doing?"

"Henry had a great idea. We are looking into Blackbeard to see if there are any clues as to how we can break this link. Henry thought that maybe you had been right when you said that it was a trap set out for you deliberately."

"I like how you think Lad. What can I do to help?" Killian had suggested this very idea about the map which he knew wasn't possible but perhaps it was more true for the gem. Suddenly Killian felt like he was remembering something important but when Henry lifted a large volume and dumped it down in front of him the thought flitted away.

"You can read that" Henry deadpanned

"Now that is something I can do" Killian replied with a smirk and as he took hold of the cover he felt that familiar happiness that he often felt when he was in the library with Belle.

Emma returned a few minutes later with his meds, a bowl of cereal and a fresh orange "Just eat this for the minute, it's nearly lunch time so I didn't want to give you anything too heavy. I thought that we could maybe take a stroll to Granny's to eat, I can push you in your chair. What do you think?"

"I think that it's a very good idea, Belle will you join us?"

"Sure" she beamed back "I better just call Rumple to let him know that I will be later than I said"

With that she pulled out her cell and dialed, Killian took his meds then started on his cereal only half listening to the conversation until Belle suddenly laid her hand on his arm to get his attention.

"Rumple says that Blue tried to visit you in the hospital this morning but you obviously weren't there. Rumple's with her now do you mind if she pops along later to see you?"

He gave a little frown, why did she want to see him? But he just found himself nodding his head and saying "It's fine Love"

"Great" she replied then listened intently before adding "Nonsense Rumple, you can drive her over. You're already with her. What other plans? So dusting the shop is more important than this? That's what I thought. Yes. We should be back by two?" she said looking at Emma for confirmation and when Emma nodded Belle carried on "OK, yes. I love you Rumple. See you soon"

With that she finished her call and tucked her cell back in her purse giving a wide smile "Rumple is going to come over too. He thinks that they might have some good news about the whole magic thing, he was going to get Blue to tell us but I convinced him to come over too"

Killian just smiled at her but he really wished she hadn't encouraged the Crocodile to come over. He didn't want the boy picking up on his feelings for the man after trying to convince him that the Dark One was not to be feared but there was nothing he could do about it so with his one last mouthful of cereal eaten he moved back to the book on the table and got lost in his research. The quicker they found their answer the quicker the boy would be freed of his extra burden.

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Rumple silently seethed as he disconnected his call, now he was going to have to visit that damned Pirate and his increasingly annoying younger self. He picked up the box containing Blue's heart opening the lid.

"You will meet me at the Library in three hours from now, you will think that we have been together all morning and that we have been working on resolving the issue of the Savior's missing magic. We will visit the Pirate and you will tell all who are there that you think that you are very close to a solution but you need a little more time. You will reassure them that you should have a solution by the end of the week but until Tinkerbell gets back to you with an ancient root that she has gone deep into the woods to find you cannot proceed any further" He snapped the lid closed and shoved the box into his safe before wandering through to the bookcase and taking the gem from it's hiding place.

"Soon" was all he said rolling it in his fingers

He could feel the imbalance of the stone trying to corrupt him but he was the Dark One and as such it had no power over him. He knew exactly what this gem would have done to both Regina and the Savior when they touched it. They would both have been instantly attracted to it, both wanting it for themselves and without the gem's "better" half the pull would have been impossible to control to anyone magical... well anyone except him.

He growled to himself, if only he could just use the one gem that he had to achieve his goal but he knew that without the stability of the other half the magic was unpredictable, it wasn't named "The Jewel of Duplicity" simply for it's ability to duplicate. Rumple gave another heavy sigh, he would just have to show patience and wait for those Lost Ones to find the other half... talking of the Lost Ones.

He pursed his lips in thought before putting his gem back into it's hiding place then with a flick of his wrist he was standing in the cave just in time to see Devin beating the living daylights out of Tootles. Devin was grunting and gasping with every punch and kick as the other boy lay curled on his side.

"Enjoying yourself?" Rumple asked casually

"Immensely" Devin replied without looking up but after another couple of hits he stood back and wiped the sweat from his brow then smirked up at Rumple "He needed reminding of who he was"

Rumple gave a little smile as he looked at the sniveling boy lying on the sand, he almost felt bad that he was sending Devin away. He would have made an excellent protege BUT Rumple knew that he now didn't need one, he would be free from the darkness soon so in the end the boy would just cause him issues...no, it was much safer that he should end up in Neverland along with the others.

"I take it you have still not found my gem stone?" Rumple asked walking forward and poking a toe into Tootles' back

"Not yet" Devin replied wiping his hands on his pants "But now that this piece of trash has been taught a lesson perhaps he would like to go and help the others look"

Tootles gave a slight nod as he scrambled to his feet, he looked up at Rumple through a very swollen eye before scurrying away towards the hole in the wall and disappearing from view.

"Glad to see you have them under control" Rumple said in an impressed voice nodding his head slightly "Now, I have another small task for you"

Devin straightened himself up and raised an eyebrow "And what's in it for me?"

"You get to torment your favorite person. I am here to inform you that he has moved, he is no longer in the hospital, he is now residing in a house within the grounds of the former Evil Queen's abode. I need you to pay him another little visit but perhaps this time you could see how this link between him and his younger self works. I had planned on getting this information from another source but now thanks to a change in plan that is not possible. I need you to coax the boy away... not too far but far enough that he cannot find his way back. I need to know if the Pirate can find him without seeing him."

Rumple gave a sigh knowing that getting Blue to find this information would have been so much easier, she could have found out using her magic but this way would just have to do, he was running out of time and he needed to make sure that the boy didn't have a telepathic connection to the Pirate, he couldn't have him giving the game away. Feelings were one thing, the ability to talk to one another through thought was something else entirely.

"You can use this to entice the boy" Rumple said holding up a sand dollar "I have conjured an image of the boy's Brother. It will appear more as a ghost figure but it should be enough to get him to follow. May I suggest you wait until after dark otherwise the house will be crawling with people"

"You can count on me Dark One" Devin replied tucking the sand dollar into his pocket

"Oh I know I can Devin because believe me when I say if you mess this up what you did to Tootles will be nothing compared to what I will do to you."

The sure smile faltered on the boy's face for a second before he gave a slight bow and said "Of course"