Killian had been a little hurt by yet another of Emma's jabs. First it was the "leather conditioner and eyeliner" remark and now the insinuation that he only thought of himself. He tried to let it go and not let it affect him but her words were slowly eating into him. However, he knew she trusted him with Henry and that she needed his help. So he swallowed down his retorts and agreed to watch the boy. As Emma finished her goodbyes to Henry, she gave him a glance and then walked off.

"So lad, it seems you are stuck with me yet again. Any activities in which you would like to partake during our time together?" Killian asked with an arch of his brow.

Henry glanced up from his device, "Well the batteries are almost dead and I don't have the charger. How about we check out the beach?"

"Great idea lad, lead the way." Killian gave a slight bow and Henry chuckled.

As they stepped onto the beach, Henry found a log and sat down on it. "So, Killian, since you dress like a pirate for your job, do you know any good pirate stories?"

Killian thought for a moment, "Aye, I do. Though I'm not certain that your mother would approve of most of them."

"She's not here. Aren't there any you can tell me?" Henry pleaded with his best puppy eyes impression.

Killian grinned at him. He supposed there was one story he could tell that would seem like a fantasy to the boy. "Alright. How about I tell you about Captain Hook's lost year?"

"That sounds interesting, let's go with that" Henry patted the log next to him.

Killian sat down and chewed his lip for a minute. This story was not an easy one for him to tell but he knew it might be good to get it off his chest. He took a deep breath and began.

"Peter Pan's vile curse was almost upon them when Reg…the Evil Queen…blocked it with her own new curse. It returned her, Snow White, Charming and Captain Hook, along with the other residents of the previously cursed town back to the Enchanted Forest."

"Wait, wait, wait" Henry interrupted, "The Evil Queen does not like Snow White and Captain Hook is a villain. Peter Pan is a good guy and does not curse people. Plus they aren't all in the same story."

"Peter Pan is the most vile creature I…I mean Hook has ever encountered. Look lad, do you want to hear the story or not?" Hook tried not to get flustered with the boy.

"Sure, go ahead it is just a story anyway." Henry nodded.

"Very well then, as I was saying, "The group had landed back in the Enchanted Forest. The Evil Queen had informed Hook that his ship, the Jolly Roger, had also been returned and that he would just need to find it. So Hook said goodbye to the Charmings and set off to look for her. He wanted to get back to his life as a pirate as soon as possible in order to forget what he had lost."

"See I told you he was a villain" Henry stated proudly.

Killian sighed, "He was a villain but then he changed."

Henry looked puzzled, "Why?"

"Because he fell in love" Killian responded.

"Oh, well then why did he want to go back to being a pirate?"

"The woman he loved did not return to the Enchanted Forest." Killian fought the sadness in his voice.

"Did she know he loved her? Did she not love him?"

Killian pondered the question. Did she? "Aye she knew but I don't know if she loved him. She may have started to fall for him but there was not enough time. She had to stay behind because her child wasn't born in the Enchanted Forest. As part of the Evil Queen's new curse to save everyone from Pan, her memories replaced so she no longer remembered him."

Henry jumped up "But if he loved her couldn't he go back and find her?"

"It's not that simple. Now do you want me to continue or do you want to keep asking questions?" Killian was getting impatient.

Henry just motioned for him to continue and sat down again.

"So Hook searched port after port for the Jolly. He was beginning to lose hope that he would ever find her. Nothing was helping his mood as he could neither forget his love nor return to his previous life. She had given him a taste of what it meant to be good and it had awakened a part of him that would not let him rest. At first he tried to ignore it. He tried to look the other way when he saw a wrong being perpetrated. Finally though, he could take no more. He started helping where he could as he continued his search. A young orphan would get a coin or some bread, he would help a lady cross a stream, he would carry an old man to his home if he had fallen by the wayside. The great Captain Hook was reduced to a mere good Samaritan."

"That doesn't sound so bad but this is getting boring" Henry huffed.

Killian chuckled, "All in good time lad, I am getting to the exciting parts. Finally word reached him that the Jolly Roger was in the next port town. Hook made haste to the town and his heart soared when he spied his prized possession in the harbor. It's about bloody time, he thought. He hastily made his way down to the docks and stepped onto the deck of his girl. That's when he felt a sword in his back. He turned around to see Blackbeard standing on his ship and threatening him.

'Hook, I wondered when you would show up' Blackbeard sneered. ' What are you doing on my ship?'

'Your ship, the Jolly Roger is mine and has been for over 300 years' Hook pulled his sword.

'Finders keepers. You were nowhere in sight when I happened upon this lovely girl. I claimed her as mine. If you want to win her back, you will have to get through me first.' Blackbeard pulled out an extra dagger.

'Very well, have it your way' Hook attacked.

Hook and Blackbeard dueled around the ship. Hook was able to divest the devil of his dagger but then Blackbeard jammed his foot into Hook's knee, causing him to falter. His sword clattered to the ground.

Blackbeard stepped up to Hook 'Look's like you lost you worthless excuse of a pirate.'

Hook noticed the opening and jabbed his hook into Blackbeard's arm, causing him to drop the cutlass. Hook quickly grabbed the sword and pinned Blackbeard to the railing.

'No, I won and there is more to me than just a pirate. Now get the bloody hell of my ship before I gut you' Hook snarled.

Blackbeard left the ship and Hook sighed in relief. Aside from his throbbing knee, he had no other injuries. He ran an inventory over his ship and found it to be in great shape. Perhaps the sea would give him the calm he sought. Just as he was about to prepare to set sail, his attention was caught by someone clearing his throat.

'Captain' Mr. Smee said.

Hook grinned, 'Mr. Smee, it's good to see you. Have you the whereabouts of the rest of the crew?'

Smee nodded, 'Aye Captain, most of them. But they won't be back until tomorrow. Would you care for a pint after your journey?'

'Aye Smee' Hook said as he followed Smee back onto the dock."

"HENRY" Emma was yelling for him as she could not see them where they sat on the log.

Killian glanced up, "Your mom's back lad."

Henry waffled, "But the story is not finished? Can we finish it now? Maybe mom would like to hear it too."

Killian shook his head, "Tis not something that would interest your mom. Perhaps another time?"

"Sure Killian. Thanks, I'll see you later" and with that Henry ran off to his mom, leaving Killian to watch as they disappeared.

"So kid, what did you guys to today?" Emma asked at dinner.

Henry looked up from his fries, "Killian was telling me a pirate story. It was getting good just as you came back."

"I don't know if those stories are appropriate for you" Emma was making a mental note to talk to Hook about his choice of entertainment.

Henry huffed with a dramatic sigh, "Mom, I'm 13 and the video games I play are worse than this story. So far there was only one sword fight. Pretty tame."

Emma raised her eyebrow, "Really? What was it about?" she asked, wondering what Killian was filling his head with.

"He called it Captain Hook's Lost Year and it is about how Captain Hook lost his love because of a curse and wanted to be a pirate again but he couldn't because he knew what it was like to be a good guy. Killian had just gotten to the part where Hook won his ship back from Blackbeard." Henry turned back to his burger.

Emma thought for a moment, her throat was constricted for some reason so she cleared it before saying, "Why don't you tell me the story?"

"Killian said you wouldn't want to hear it"

"Well, I do want to hear it if you will tell me, it can be our little secret" She winked at him.

"Okay mom" Henry told her the story as he had heard it so far.