So here is the next instalment of this tale, a little early tonight so that I can just relax before bed.

As always please review.

Enjoy

:)

Killian woke with a groan as his body reminded him of all that he had put it through the day before. He felt sore all over, the dull headache that he often got after one of his attacks was niggling at his brain and yet he felt happy as Junior's emotions joined his own. He automatically lifted his hand to his chest as he turned his head to find only Swan still sleeping by his side.

Where was the Lad?

He should have been panicking especially when he noticed that the door to the patio area was open but he knew that the Lad was safe and happy, he could literally feel it. He found himself suddenly smiling when a strange sensation washed through him, it felt like Junior was up to mischief but the smile slid from his face when he looked at the clock to find that it was only a little after seven.

He looked back at the door and could suddenly hear the Lad chatting away outside. Who was he talking too?

Looking back to Swan he sighed heavily knowing that he would be getting himself out of the bed this morning. He didn't want to wake her so early after the previous night knowing that she would be tired, she looked so beautiful with her hair splayed out around her that he couldn't help smiling again. He threw the sheet back and shuffled towards the the edge of the bed gritting his teeth as his joints all flared but he knew once he was up it would ease a bit so he just carried on managing to grab hold of his crutch that had been leaning against the wall.

He tilted his head trying to listen to the boy as he let his body adjust and could just make out his little voice "I know Brother and I will help you but I must do this first, do not worry I have nearly finished and I will not tell, you can trust me"

Killian sighed in relief... the Lad was with Henry but now that Killian was sitting he thought that he may as well get up and use the facilities so he pulled in a breath and grit his teeth before hauling himself up to his quite wobbly legs. He just stood for a second trying to settle his pain but then Junior's head popped round the door.

"You are awake Papa" he whispered with a smile walking forward and taking hold of Killian's left arm and placing it on his head "You wish to go to the bathroom?"

"Mmmmmm" Killian hummed back in agreement still gritting his teeth against the pain.

"Come on Papa, let's go" Junior hissed with a frown obviously feeling Killian's discomfort. Had that been what had drawn him back inside?

"Sorry Lad" Killian grit out "I know that this is uncomfortable for you too"

"I am fine" he said quickly "Once you are done I can get you your meds if you like, I know where they are and I can mark up your chart, I've seen Momma do it"

"Thank you Son" Killian replied with a nod.

Ten minutes later Killian was being led through to the main living area where he found Henry stretching and yawning widely. Killian would have thought that he had just emerged from his bedroom if he hadn't heard Junior talking to him a few minutes before.

"Morning Killian" he grinned "You want breakfast?"

"Thank you Son, that would be appreciated" he replied with a smile as Junior took him over to the couch where he dropped down with a groan.

Junior was off like a shot and Killian watched as he first went to the table to retrieve a chair then pushed it across the floor to the kitchen counter where he jumped up and first took hold of Killian's meds then wrote on his chart before hopping down and rushing to the fridge to grab a protein shake then headed back over.

"Thank you Son" Killian said with a smile as he swallowed down his pills then took the bottle that Junior had just opened for him and glugged down half of the milky contents.

He lent back and watched as Junior took off again to help Henry in the kitchen and Killian chuckled as the two worked together both laughing and joking with each other. He suddenly realized that the house was a lot tidier than it had been the night before and he frowned looking around in confusion. When he looked towards the glass doors he realized that they too were open and he could just make out a broom and the trash can on the patio.

"Were you carrying out your punishment Lad?" Killian asked looking back to Junior

The boy looked a little ashamed of himself but nodded and met his eyes "Aye Sir"

"Good boy" Killian said sincerely "It looks like you have been working hard. Did you have any help?"

Killian gave a grin and raised an eyebrow looking to Henry expecting him to grin too but he held up his hands "Not guilty, he's done it all by himself"

Killian was surprised by that but made no comment as he looked back at Junior when he felt his guilt still gnawing at him.

"Come here Lad" Killian said with a sigh. The lad climbed down from his chair and made his way back over to the couch "Do not look so worried Junior, you are not in trouble. You have done a good thing here by doing this without having to be reminded and what happened yesterday is done, it is not to be dwelled upon. Do you understand?"

Junior gave a nod of his head, he still looked a little unsure but when Henry called out he was soon smiling again.

"Oi Old Man" Henry yelled "Don't be distracting my Sous Chef... he's supposed to be watching the bacon. Junior get your butt back over here"

Junior giggled and looked back to Killian for permission to leave so Killian gave him a salute "You are dismissed to return to duty"

"Aye aye Captain" Junior cried back standing up straight and saluting back before dashing his way back over to his chair and the bacon which was currently filling the house with a delicious aroma.

Killian closed his eyes and let his head fall back as he listened to the lads but when Swan's voice suddenly appeared in the room too he opened them to find her smiling at him as she walked across the floor.

"Here you are" she said with a wave towards the kitchen "I woke up and you had both gone"

"We are making breakfast Momma" Junior yelled

"I can see and smell it too... It smells so good. Thank you boys" She sat down next to Killian and snuggled into his side bringing her feet up onto the couch "You alright?"

"I will be better when I get that food in my belly" he replied before dropping a kiss on top of her head.

"Something smells amazing" David suddenly said appearing in the room holding the young Prince who he promptly handed to Emma "Here, entertain your brother while I pee"

She pulled herself up a bit and sat the boy on her knee giving him a little bounce as David disappeared again but no sooner had he left than Mary-Margaret appeared around the corner smiling widely.

"My my... everyone is up early" she grinned then ground to a halt as she looked around in awe "And someone has tidied!"

Killian felt Junior's shame again so he stepped in saving the boy from having to explain why he had done it "Aye and it will take no time at all to finish so that Grandma can relax today, right Son?"

Junior nodded "Aye Papa"

"Well, thank you very much. I was not looking forward to cleaning up that mess"

She dropped down onto the couch with a sigh but no sooner had she sat down than they were all getting back up again to head over to the table when Henry announced that breakfast was nearly ready.

David rejoined them just as the plates were being set down and he grinned like a fool as he grabbed a bit of bacon and shoved it in his mouth humming in approval.

"When you two open your first restaurant I want my own seat so that I can come in at any time to eat... this is amazing"

Henry grinned "That would be cool, I'd like that. We could call it "Grandpa's" although I'm not sure how Granny would feel about that"

Everyone laughed hard and Killian looked to Junior as a little jolt of happiness hit him to see the lad was beaming with pride "I like to cook with Henry, he makes it fun"

Henry was the one who was beaming now "I like cooking with you too Junior. Maybe we should open up a restaurant one day. We can practice different dishes... Mom, can we make dinner tonight?"

"Knock yourself out kid" Emma laughed "If it saves me or Grandma from having to do it I'm all for it"

"Right, we'll make it a man's meal" David cut in "Me and Peg Leg will help too"

"Sounds like a plan" Killian agreed around a mouthful of eggs

So it was decided and they spent a good portion of the breakfast conversation trying to come up with the perfect meal. Finally they decided to go crazy and cook a traditional British roast beef dinner complete with potatoes, carrots, peas and something called Yorkshire puddings with gravy! Henry had assured them that he would be able to find a good recipe from the internet but they would need to hit the store to get supplies.

"We'll go later kid" David said with a smile as he collected up the plates "Me and your Mom have somewhere that we need to be this morning"

Killian knew now was the time to voice his decision to join the others at the library "And I am going with them so you will need to look for those recipes with your Brother, Grandpa and I trust you to choose wisely"

He saw Emma give him a worried look but she held her tongue until the Lads had left the table to get dressed for the day's activities before leaning forward towards him.

"You sure you're up to coming with us?"

"Aye Love, I want to do this... I will be just fine with you and David by my side, I'm not saying that I plan to hunt him down myself or anything so silly but I just want to be a part of it" he knew that reminding her that they would be there to protect him if need be would help ease her worry and it seemed to work as she visibly relaxed.

"OK" she sighed out "Let's get you dressed then. I'll call Archie when we're done getting ready and see if he can come over to speak to Junior while we're gone... you sure you don't want to talk to Archie too?"

Killian shook his head, she wasn't getting rid of him that easily "No Love, Junior will be fine with your Mother and I have nothing new to say to the cricket, I am not the one that needs his help right now"

Half an hour later he was sitting in the wheeled chair out on the patio waiting for Swan and David to come out so that they could leave. Mary-Margaret sat with him as both Henry and Junior got in a few last bounces on the bounce house before it was collected later that morning. He was smiling again as he watched his boys laughing and giggling as they bounced about. In fact he was so engrossed in what they were doing that he didn't notice his hand making it's way up to his chest until Mary-Margaret spoke.

"What does it feel like?"

He looked at her with a frown of confusion and when she nodded her head down to his chest he finally understood

"When he is happy like this it is the most amazing thing I have ever felt in my life but that is not always the case. As you saw last night it can also be the worst feeling in the world and he can literally take my breath away with his emotions... and if that's how he makes me feel I can only imagine what my emotions do to him"

"He seems happy enough to me" she shrugged "I think he's coping really well"

"Maybe that's what it looks like to everyone" he sighed then pointed to his heart " but I feel him in here and believe me when I say he is not. He has seen my dreams, felt my pain and he is petrified that he is going to be sent away... that he will lose us all the same way that he lost Liam"

Mary-Margaret looked back at the boy as he bounced about, she looked like she was close to tears but then she suddenly pulled in a deep breath and spoke brightly "Well we'll just need to prove to him that he is not going anywhere. I will speak to Archie before he talks to Junior, he'll know what to say... he always does"

"Aye" Killian agreed "That he does Love"

"Right" David suddenly called out behind them causing Killian to jump in surprise and immediately grasp at his ribs.

"Gods David... would you stop doing that" Killian grit out

"Sorry" David cringed back "You OK?"

He gave a tight nod then looked up at the Prince "Have you got the quartz?"

"Emma's grabbing it. I've got the potion and we're meeting Regina up at the main house"

Emma came out through the door a couple of seconds later, she smiled at the lads then said "We good to go?"

Both David and Killian nodded and then the Prince took hold of the wheeled chair and they were moving. Killian pulled in a little breath as they headed up towards the main house, he was nervous about being in the same room as the Crocodile after Junior's dream had hit him hard. The imps sneering face had reappeared to Killian several times throughout the night and he couldn't help but think back to what Gold had done to him back in that cave. Had the gem really made him do it or had he been acting on his own free will? Swan walked by his side and he lifted his hand taking hers into his as they moved giving her a loving look when she turned to him. Twenty minutes later they were pushing their way through the library doors to find the Dark One and Belle sitting at the table with several books spread across the wooden surface.

"Killian" Belle cried out jumping up to her feet and rushing over to him, she threw her arms around him and hugged him "I didn't know you were coming too, you look so much better, are you well?"

"Aye Love, well enough" he smiled at her as she stood back

"Yes well" the Crocodile suddenly said standing too and making his way over. Killian's heart thundered in his chest but the next words were unexpected "It would seem that I owe you an apology Pirate. Although my memory of all that happened is patchy in places I understand that I may have added some more misery to your already miserable situation so... I am sorry"

Killian's eyebrows shot up in surprise but he immediately thought of Junior and how he was feeling after the previous day

"I am not entirely sure that I am buying this whole "The gem made me do it" thing and if you want to convince me otherwise and that you are truly sorry I am not the one you need to apologize to" Killian replied trying to keep his voice calm

Gold dropped his gaze and pursed his lips but nodded and whispered "The boy... I will set things right. I did say some terrible things didn't I?"

An awkward silence hung in the air after that until David suddenly spoke "Anyway...Are we going to do this or what? We can discuss the ins and outs of who's to blame later"

"Dad's right" Swan agreed rubbing her hand on Killian's shoulder while talking to the group "Let's all just sit down and discuss how this is going to work. That Lost Boy is not going to catch himself"

It was true and they all knew it so Killian for what felt like the millionth time since arriving in Storybrooke put his differences with the Crocodile aside for the greater good... Junior needed him to do this so he pulled in a breath and let it out in a long exhale as David pushed him towards the table.

Just as the Prince was settling him into place he lent forward and whispered "Don't worry, once this is all done you can smack him in the mouth for what he said to Junior and no one will stop you"

Killian chuckled as he raised his arms to rest his hand and hook on the table... he should have known David would have his back.

It was a simple plan, simple but effective. Swan, Regina, David and Gold were to douse themselves with the potion and head out into town with the quartz while Killian and Belle stayed behind in the library to coordinate things. A large map of the town lay spread out on the table and Killian clutched a red pen. They already knew that Devin was not in the library so it had a large red cross through it.

"OK, let's do this" David said lifting the potion

"I have adjusted the potion so that no matter how much you put on you will only remain invisible for two hours... in hindsight having a potion about that could have made one of us permanently invisible if it had accidentally been spilled was perhaps not a good idea"

"Yeah, especially with Captain Clumsy and Clumsy Junior about... we could have lost them for months" David laughed back just before he disappeared right before Killian's eyes.

"Very funny Mate" Killian said with a sigh, it was probably true but he didn't need to voice it.

The last person to disappear was Swan who gave him a loving smile before she simply vanished before his eyes but he could hear them all still talking... it was quite strange to say the least.

"Dad, you got the quartz?"

"Yip"

"Right, let's do this then. Someone grab the radio"

Killian jumped when there was suddenly a noise right by his side and the radio that had been sitting on the table disappeared.

"Sorry" Regina apologized "I forgot you couldn't see me"

"It's alright Love" he replied with a shaky voice before puffing out a couple of little breaths to settle himself but no sooner had he managed to settle his heart again than Emma's voice was right by his ear, she obviously never meant to startle him but when she laid a hand on him at the same time as she spoke he let out a yell of surprise bringing his hook up to protect himself.

"Would you lot just leave before one of you gives me a damned heart attack" he grit out clutching at his chest

"Sorry" Emma's voice cringed "I just wanted to kiss you goodbye"

He let out a breath "I am sorry Love, I should not have snapped, where are you?"

He held out his hand and hers slipped into his then he felt her lips on his cheek "I'll keep in contact, see you in a couple of hours"

"When hopefully I will be able to see you too" he chuckled back before whispering so only she could hear "But perhaps we could use this potion at a later date... this whole not seeing what is right in front of your eyes seems like something I could use to my advantage of a night"

He heard her sigh and could practically feel her rolling her eyes before the potion bottle was suddenly shoved into his hand "Here, you want it so badly... keep it safe"

He gave a huge grin as she stepped back and when Belle gave him a frown of confusion he just smiled wider and tucked the potion down the side of his chair... he'd keep that safe alright, he already had plans forming in his head of how much fun it could be to use with Swan.

He looked up as the library door seemed to open by itself and the sound of footsteps echoed across the tiled floor before the door swung closed and only he and Belle remained. His smile suddenly faltered as it dawned on him that all this could soon be over and Belle must have sensed his sudden change of mood because she sat down next to him and took hold of his hand.

"They will be alright, Rumple won't let them come to any harm"

She smiled so sweetly at him that he knew she really believed it to be the truth but he wasn't so sure. If something happened that would allow the Crocodile to proceed with whatever hair brain scheme he had been cooking up presented itself they all knew he would take it but Killian just smiled back at her because he knew something that Belle did not...

They had a certain vile of squid ink from Regina's vault JUST in case they had to incapacitate the Dark One before the day was out... the Crocodile was never getting his hands on that gem again, they would make sure of it.