Swan Song

Chapter 9

"Did I ever mention that I had a son?"

What?!

"Umm... n-no." I stutter. Pan laughs.

"Are you surprised?"

Am I? Not really. I mean with Pan, nothing is impossible. But really? A son?

"Well it's just... aren't you a little young?" I ask, now wondering how on earth this is even possible, even for Peter Pan. He looks 19, but in Neverland time doesn't really exist - he could've been 19 for the past 100 years for all I know.

"The truth is that I'm actually turning 80 soon... I think."

That's not as bad as I had thought.

"You're looking good for 79." I say, smirking. Pan raises an eyebrow.

"But of course." He says, mirroring my smirk.

Such a typical Pan thing to say.

"So who is your son, mate?" I question.

"Haven't you guessed, Hook? Rumplestiltskin is my son. I abandoned him years ago when we came to Neverland for the first time together. You see, Captain, love is a weakness - I realised that you can't have power and love. You have to make a choice."

Wow. I did not see that coming.

"The Crocodile... is your son?" I say in disbelief, ignoring Pan's speech on love being a weakness.

"There's not much resemblance between us, I know. But yes, and I want to see him again. Despite all I did to him as a child, he has become quite powerful and you know that I don't like people who threaten my own power." I listen numbly to Pan's explanation. "So when I heard that dear little Rumple was the Dark One, I knew it was time for us to have a catch up. I was just contemplating how I would do this, when Blackbeard showed up right on cue with the Dark One's dagger." He said, emphasising the last few words.

"So you made a deal with him - me for the dagger. But why help me? Why not just kill me?" I demand.

"Because you could come in quite handy to me, Hook. From now on consider me your Captain."

Great. I've gone from the potentially most prosperous pirate to Pan's pawn.

"And then what happens to Milah?"

"She meets Rumplestiltskin, falls in love with him again, they get married and live happily ever after."

"So she doesn't have to die?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. She's not our problem after that." He says nonchalantly. "Okay, Hook. This is your cabin. Get some sleep, we've a busy day ahead of us." I nod at him and duck into the small wooden cabin.

I look around. Peering into a drawer I notice that Pan has provided everything I could possibly need. There was a tiny white porcelain sink in the corner of the room and a rickety looking bed beside it. The unnecessarily large wardrobe contained a few thin long sleeved tops, tight fitting trousers, and a pair of shorts.

Okay, I guess I'm going to have to loose the leather coats then, I think to myself. I strip off my heavy clothes and hang them in the wardrobe, then collapse onto the bed in exhaustion.