Topic: Hook, Hooked

Ashlyn Radcliffe · Date: 2017-07-18 07:30 EST

For a heart that loved the sea, there was nothing better than to plow the waves aboard a ship of your very own, feeling the whip of the wind on your face, the feel and taste of the salt spray against your skin, the sound of canvas billowing and wood creaking, and knowing, without a doubt, that this was where you belonged. Many sailors had that feeling, half in love with the sea, making her their mistress even if they had a husband or wife on land. And though this was only a short trip out of the harbor to dust the cobwebs off both himself and his ship, James was definitely one of those sailors. Ashlyn had insisted, despite being incredibly close to her due date, and who was he to argue with his heavily pregnant wife"

James was a man who had been born and bred for the sea. It was in his heart and his blood and part of who he was. Fortunately for him, Ashlyn shared that love and passion, but with a child due any day now, she had remained back on land, even while insisting he indulge his passion for the sea. Though the house he had built for them was right on the sea, hearing the crash of the waves and looking out at the water each day only made his heart yearn to sail. For a man who loved the sea as much as he did, it was sheer torture to be stuck too long on land without feeling the spray on his face and the wind at his back, and so, he had finally agreed, promising not to go far and to be back before sunset.

And his was not the only ship on the waves, skirting the coastline. The Star of the Ocean, Rica Granger's full-masted galleon, was bearing down on his, heaving-to to keep pace with him as the captain herself waved wildly from the poop deck. She leaned over the railing, letting loose with a voice that had been trained by long years on the sea herself. "About turn, captain! It's time!"

And why had Ashlyn not simply tried to reach him by cell phone or some other newfangled contraption inventors on Rhy'Din and elsewhere had dreamed up in these more modern times" For one, he did not like to carry one, and if he had, he'd likely have lost it in the sea by now. "Time?" he shouted back over the crash of the waves. Time for what? And then, it struck him. She could only mean one thing. Ashlyn was ready to give birth.

"Dom's waiting on the dock for you!" Rica yelled in her impressive voice, doffing her hat with a grin. "Congratulations, captain!" A cheer went up from her crew, who were already steering The Star away so that the Charlotte would not get caught in her wake.

"Bloody hell," the captain murmured, realizing with a start that he was about to be a father, but even more importantly, that Ashlyn needed him, and she needed him now. Why in bloody hell had she insisted on him sailing today, of all days. He waved back to Rica and her crew to indicate that he understood before turning the Lady Charlotte back around for the shore.

To be fair to him, and to Ash, labor did last a long time, especially the first one. She could be forgiven for not realizing she was in labor, or even if she had known, for not thinking things would come to a head while he was out on the sea. And besides, she knew he was safe on the sea. Their shared mistress would never allow him to come to harm.

It took a bit for him to bring the ship into dock and secure the rigging, but thankfully Dom was there to help. "How far along is she?" was one of the first questions James asked once the ship was secure and they were on their way to the hospital.

"About 3 centimeters when I left the hospital," his brother-in-law told him, spinning the wheel between his hands. "Should be closer to 5 by now ....that's halfway to pushing point. She's doing good. Making full use of that cursing vocabulary of hers."

Though he was a man out of place from his own time period, James had done his due diligence and endured pregnancy classes, along with his wife, so he knew what it was Dom was telling him, in theory anyway. "She learned from the best!" he said with a grin, rather proud of the vocabulary that had rubbed off on his wife. She could cuss up a storm with the best of them, just like a proper pirate. As relaxed as he seemed, he couldn't help but feel nervous and worried for both his wife and his child. Ashlyn had assured him women didn't die in childbirth the way they had in his time, but that had only made him feel a little bit better.

"Jon called the healer, Rebecca," Dom added, knowing that losing Ash in childbirth was a deep fear James held close to his chest. "She'll be there for the big event, so you're gonna have science and magic on your side. How're you feeling?"

"Nervous as a mouse in a barn full of cats," he replied, with a chuckle. So, no, not nervous at all! Little did he know, Dom had been just as nervous, if not more so, when Elle had given birth.

"Well, speaking as a man who went into his wife's pregnancy with the absolute certainty that she was going to die, I can assure you that there's no need to worry," Dom informed him confidently, pulling into the hospital parking garage easily. "It'll feel like it's taking forever, then everything happens too fast to follow, in my experience."

"That's not very bloody encouraging, my friend," James replied, though he knew Dom was only trying to help, and he had asked, after all. Then again, he knew the hospital was the best place for her to be, and there were plenty of people who'd do everything they could to bring their child safely into the world. "It's enough to make me a nervous wreck."

"James, I almost brained myself on the bedpost just getting into the room, I was that nervous," Dom reminded him with a faint grin. "Trust me. By this time tomorrow, you'll be laughing that you were ever this worried." He nodded, pushing open the door. "I'll come up with you. Someone's going to have to pry Elle away."

"It's good they've become friends," James remarked, which was his way of saying he was glad he and Dom had become friends, too, but neither man was ever going to say it in so many words.

"Well, if Elle can get Izzy to like her, she's a shoe-in with Ash," Dom commented in amusement as they made their way into the hospital. "Your wife is impossible to dislike, as far as I can tell. Even if she did catch me a tidy thump with the bread-bin when we told her it was time to go to the hospital."

"She's your sister, lad," James reminded him with a friendly slap on the back. "I only married her." The two of them drew a few strange looks when they entered, but the looks were more so directed to James, who hadn't bothered to change his clothes before coming directly to the hospital. "What's the matter" Hasn't anyone ever seen a pirate before?"

"Not one heading to the labor ward, no," Dom chuckled teasingly. "Thought you weren't a pirate, though' You always correct me when I call you one." He grinned at his friend, choosing to take the stairs - why subject James to an elevator when the stairs were likely to get them there faster, anyway"

Ashlyn Radcliffe · Date: 2017-07-18 07:31 EST

"Telling people you're a pirate tends to light a fire under their arse faster than saying you're a seaman," James reasoned aloud with a grin. He might have demonstrated further if he'd still had a hook for a hand, but he had no regrets where that was concerned.

"And you don't want to light a fire under my arse?" Dom grinned cheerfully, glad the man was capable of holding a conversation even now. Remembering what he'd been like in the same position, James was definitely in a better state than he thought he was.

To be fair, it was probably only the conversation that was holding the man together at this point. "Bah, there's no point," James said, dismissing the thought with a wave of a hand. "You know the truth." He deftly took the stairs two at a time. No, he wasn't in a hurry at all.

"Nothing to do with the fact that I could take you down with one good punch, then," his brother-in-law teased him, keeping pace with the nervous father to be easily enough. He might be living a more sedentary life these days, but Dom was not lacking when it came to his own fitness.

"Give me a blade and we'll even those odds," James replied, not even bothering to argue the man's claim. Dom might be better with his fists, but James could out swash the buckle out of Errol Flynn himself, given the chance.

Dom laughed, touching his back as they reached the right floor. "This way, Pirate Pete," he said, jerking his head toward the door. "I don't think Ash would like me very much if I delivered you with a black eye. She's got a lot to say about how much she appreciates the view."

James shrugged at the implied compliment. "A beautiful woman deserves a dashing man," he said with a sly smirk. Was the man really that egotistical or was it all an act' It was hard to tell, and he didn't bother to explain, but pushed into the room without so much as a knock.

With Dom's chuckle at his back, he walked into the private room reserved for his laboring wife to find her on her hands and knees on the bed in nothing but a long t-shirt, rocking back and forth as she keened painfully. Her fingers were clenched in the covers beneath her, blonde hair tied into a bedraggled braid that swayed with her movement. Ashlyn was not enjoying this part of the becoming parents process.

Whatever James had been expecting, it hadn't been that. Elle stood nearby, massaging Ashlyn's back, but to no avail. She sympathized with the other woman, but there wasn't much she could do to help. "It's about time you got here!" she exclaimed as the two men joined them. Stepping away from Ashlyn, she grabbed hold of the pirate's arm and dragged him over to take her place. "Your turn, before my bloody arm falls off."

"You're sounding more like a pirate everyday, lass," James teased, frowning a little as he looked to Ashlyn and her painful keening. "Ashlyn, love, why are you on your hands and knees?"

Ash's flushed face turned toward his as she winced. "Because it hurts less like this," she managed in a tight tone, breathing out a long, shaking breath as the contraction eased. She didn't, however, change her position, simply sitting back on her heels as she let her breathing regulate itself, one hand grasping his as she offered a fond, tired smile.

Dom wrapped an arm around Elle, watching the couple for a moment to be sure they had everything under control.

"She's having back labor," Elle explained, with a sympathetic frown. Thankfully, she had not experienced that during either of her children's births. "It will help if you rub her back while she's having a contraction," she instructed further, leaning into Dom. She felt like a traitor to leave her friend, but there was nothing more she could do to help.

James couldn't pretend any longer, a worried expression on his face as he wrapped his hand around his wife's. "Isn't there something they can do?" he asked, looking from one person to the other.

"I'm not having someone shoving a bloody needle in my spine," Ashlyn growled forcefully. "I can do this."

Dom raised his brows, surprised by the snarl in his sister's voice. "I wouldn't argue if I was you," he advised quietly.

James winced at the thought of that. He didn't blame her, though he hated the thought of her in pain almost as much. "Three hundred years and we're still having babies the hard way," he grumbled. Oh, sure, there had been medical and technological advances, but what good were they if he had to watch his wife suffer for hours before she gave birth in a mess of blood and pain"

"How far is she along?" Dom asked Elle, just as concerned but far less worried than the anxious father to be. With luck, Ashlyn's labor was advancing quickly enough that she wouldn't be in this much pain for too much longer.

"Eight centimeters or so, the last time the healer checked," Elle replied, knowing she and Dom would have to leave soon or risk getting in the way. "We have to go, love," she told Ashlyn with an apologetic frown and a kiss on the cheek. "You're in good hands." She then turned to James, with a stern look on her face. "You take good care of her and call as soon as you know something," she demanded, poking a finger at his chest to underscore her point. Pirate captain or no, she was giving the orders right now.

"There, now, you see" That's good," Dom assured James, squeezing the man's shoulder before Elle swept him out of the way. He chuckled, bending to kiss Ash's temple. "You can do this, baby girl," he promised his little sister.

Ash managed a faint smile, squeezing Elle's hand before her eyes focused on her brother. "Call Izzy for me?" she asked, her voice rasping after several hours of trying not to yell in pain.

Dom smiled, nodding his head. "You bet I will."

"We're only a phone call away," Elle reminded her, with a reassuring smile, before looking to Dom. She'd share her worry with him once they were out of earshot of Ashlyn and James, but so far, everything was going well, and there was no reason to think Ashlyn or her child were in any danger.

"Rebecca'll take good care of you," Dom added, catching Elle's look with only the faintest flicker in his expression betraying that he understood she was more concerned than she was letting on. "It'll all be over soon." Taking his wife's hand, he drew her out of the room, leaving the pirate and his wife to endure whatever came next in relative privacy.

"Ash, please tell me, what can I do to help?" James implored, needing to help in any way that he could. It was something to be said for his character that he was ready and willing, as in his day, men were banished from the bed chamber while women were giving birth and only allowed entry once the ordeal was over.

She pushed forward onto her hands again, a sure sign that another contraction was beginning. "There's a ....a tennis ball, on the floor somewhere," she told him, struggling to speak as the pain pressed down once again. "I need you to ....ah ....to rub it in circles on my lower back. Press down with it."

Ashlyn Radcliffe · Date: 2017-07-18 07:31 EST

A tennis ball ....a tennis ball ... he echoed in his head as he dropped down to the floor in search of it. What in bloody hell was a ... Oh, there it was! He snatched the thing up off the floor and rose to his feet, eyes searching to sort out what exactly it was she wanted him to do. "Like this?" he asked. Remembering some of his training from the classes, he pressed the ball against the small of her back, offering a bit of pressure, while he rolled it around in small circles. If nothing else, it gave him something to focus on besides the slowly-rising panic he was feeling.

She nodded, groaning in relief as he managed to counteract the pain in her back with just that simple motion. Other women went for epidurals, gas and air, anything to take the pain away; Ashlyn was not a fan of medication at the best of times, and this certainly wasn't the best of times. The contraction seemed interminable, but it did eventually ease off, and she sat back on her heels, leaning into him with a relieved sigh. "That helped."

If having a child was this much trouble, he wondered why women kept doing it, but wisely, he kept that thought to himself. He was still frowning, but he kissed the top of her head as she leaned into him, an affectionate arm going around her. "You're doing fine, lass. Almost there," he told her encouragingly, though he only knew what Elle had told them really. "Do you want me to call for the midwife?" he asked, unsure how much farther she had to go.

She nodded, still breathless, but desperately hoping that this time she would be allowed to get on with things. "Maybe the baby's ready to come out by now," she breathed with a low laugh, squeezing his hand. "If it isn't, it's grounded."

"Do you think it's a boy or a girl?" he asked, hoping to take her mind off the pain. He paused a moment to call for the midwife or healer or whatever she was. "Rebecca!" he called, never leaving Ashlyn's side or letting go of her hand for a second. "I'm right here, love. I'm not going anywhere."

"Only a girl would put me through this," Ashlyn laughed, shaking her head. She had, at least, not lost her sense of humor throughout the day. Her face nuzzled into his neck. "You smell like the sea."

The door opened to admit Rebecca, who smiled, closing the door behind her before moving to examine Ash without needing to be told.

"Aye," he replied with a soft smile for her remark about the sea, touching another soft kiss to her temple. "I love you, you know," he whispered, just as Rebecca was joining them. He said nothing about whether he'd prefer a boy or a girl, but secretly he was hoping for a daughter, as lovely as her mother.

"You'd better love me," was Ash's muttered answer, making Rebecca laugh quietly.

"Well, Professor Radcliffe, I'd say you're about ready to go," the healer announced. "Let me find a nurse to assist, and we'll get through this in no time."

"Hear that, love" It's almost over!" he declared with mingled fear and excitement. There was some love and pride mixed in there, as well, but for now, he was more concerned for the well-being of his wife and child than anything else. He touched a kiss to her hand before giving it a reassuring squeeze. "In a little while, we'll be saying hello to our wee lad or lassie."

"Whichever it is, they're still grounded," Ash informed him, but she was smiling as she said it. Young and healthy, and fitter than she gave herself credit for, it was not long before James was having his hand crushed in his wife's grasp, having to watch as she bore down under the direction of the healer and the nurse, turning the air blue with a collection of curses he'd taught her.

To his credit, he kept his promise and remained by her side the entire time. He'd endured far worse than this in his time, and he thought the least he could do was be there for her. In a strange way, he felt lucky to be able to witness all this - the so-called miracle of birth. A bloody painful miracle it seemed, but a miracle all the same.

Bloody and painful, yes, and worth every moment of it. After all, what other experience ended with a father handed his firstborn child as she squalled and wriggled in her pink blanket, protesting the world around her as her mother was settled and healed and generally allowed to be comfortable for the first time in nine months"

"Well, hello, little lassie," he greeted his daughter, whose vivid blue eyes and angel face turned the sea-toughened pirate's heart to goo, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. "You are a wee beauty, aren't you? Just like your ma," he told her, cradling her in one arm while he offered her a pinky to clutch in her tiny hand. "Such a small thing to be giving your ma such trouble."

"Just like her pa," Ashlyn objected from the hive of activity around the bed, where she was being healed and washed and settled into clean sheets and clean clothes. "He's not that small, though."

Rebecca and the nurse bit down on their laughter, used to hearing wives teasing husbands after all the spirit of the day, as in James' arms, the newborn girl began to quiet, clinging onto his finger as her expression smoothed out, soothed by the sound of his voice.

He couldn't help but chuckle a little at that. He didn't dare deny that he'd given her trouble since they'd met, but somehow she'd managed to tame his wild and troubled heart since then. "She deserves a name befitting of her parents, don't you think?" he asked. They'd discussed a few names over the last few months, but had decided to wait until they greeted their child to make the final decision.

"Not Stella Maris," was Ashlyn's immediate comment. It was a name that had been bouncing around since she'd told him she was pregnant, but both of them were vehemently against it. She lay back against the pillows - thanks to Rebecca's skill, she didn't even look as though she'd given birth just a few minutes ago. She just looked tired, herself once again, smiling over at her pirate and their daughter.

"No, something befitting her parents, but that suits the wee lass. Something like, hmm ..." He considered a moment before a name came to him, like inspiration on the wind. "What do you think of Cora?" he asked, either to Ashlyn or the newborn or both. But it needed a little more than that. Cora something. Cora Belle, maybe? Or something else?

She turned the name over in her head, mouthing it for a moment before her smile renewed itself. "Cora Leigh, perhaps?" she suggested. "It's a lovely name, James. And it's not on any of the lists!"

Leigh was as good a middle name as any, he thought - not named for anyone but herself and the sea. "What do you think, little one" Would you like us to call you Cora Leigh?" he asked, despite the fact that the child could hardly answer him.

The baby girl in his arms gurgled, pulling his finger to her mouth to suck hard on the digit, smacking her lips even as her feet kicked within the blanket. Ash's smile softened as she watched them fondly. "I knew you'd be a natural, especially with a girl."

Ashlyn Radcliffe · Date: 2017-07-18 07:32 EST

"It's not good for my reputation, you know," he pointed out with a grin. "I'm supposed to hate children." Or at least, the reviled Captain Hook was supposed to hate children, but that was just another lie perpetuated by one of Pan's boys who'd grown up to be a playwright.

"Ah, but I know you better than that," she pointed out with a low laugh, sitting up to hug her knees, not even feeling a twinge from her lower regions. Rebecca was a very good healer. "You're a man who once told me you wanted a household full of children."

"Aye, so long as none of them are named Peter," he replied with a grin. "Would you like to meet your daughter, Professor?" he asked, not so eager to give her up, but knowing she should get acquainted with her daughter sooner rather than later.

"Only if you bring her over here and sit next to me," Ash countered affectionately. She knew her husband well enough to be able to spot the possessiveness in the way he cradled the newly named Cora; he wouldn't happily give her up anytime soon, not even to his wife.

As it happened, he had a phone call to make, but first things first. Her family at Maple Grove could wait a little while longer. "I can do that," he said, moving over to take a seat beside her, close enough that she could get a better look at their daughter and reach out and touch her if she so desired.

She made room for him on the bed beside her, tucking her shoulder behind his own to rest her chin against the warm cloth of his shirt. One hand gently cupped the top of their daughter's head as Cora wriggled and settled again. "She's so beautiful," Ash whispered, stunned that this little life had actually been inside her for so long.

"She is, isn't she?" he said quietly, though he wasn't really expecting an answer to that question. Beautiful didn't even come close to describing either her or her mother, but he didn't quite have the words to describe what he was feeling. He turned quiet a moment, his vision blurring with happy tears he hoped she wouldn't notice. "The greatest treasure any man could hope for," he said of both the woman at his side and child in his arms.

"You're my greatest gift," Ash murmured, turning her head to kiss his cheek tenderly. She knew that, for all his fearsome reputation, her pirate was soft-hearted, easily moved by the things he cherished the most - his home, the sea, his family. And their family had just grown to accommodate a beautiful little girl with eyes like the sea they both loved so well. No wonder he was so quiet.

He lifted his gaze to her, letting her see the tears in his eyes. They were tears of happiness, after all. There was very little for him to be angry or sad about any longer, now that she was his. "The best thing that ever happened to me was meeting you," he told her, openly and honestly.

She touched her temple to his. "Even the gummy bears and the clumsy seduction?" she asked innocently, knowing he wasn't comfortable being so exposed, so vulnerable, anywhere that was not their home. Her fingers stroked against his cheek in a loving caress. "I love you. You know that, right?"

"I've waited three hundred years for gummy bears," he replied with a chuckle. In all honestly, he hated the bloody things, but he couldn't deny that food had improved immensely since the 1700s. "I know," he admitted in a quiet voice that betrayed his feelings, touching a kiss to her lips, soft and tender.

She sighed into him, contented, happy, despite her struggle through the day. "I wish I could have been out there with you," she murmured. She missed the sea; no one would take her out once she'd reached seven months pregnant, for fear she might slip and fall overboard, or go into labor out there.

"We'll go again - together - as soon as you both are able," he promised, knowing it would be at least a few months before they dared bring a newborn onto the ship. In a strange way, it was probably the safest place for her though, seeing how she was of his blood and, therefore, as protected by the sea as he was.

"It's more likely to be as soon as people stop panicking at the idea of us going to sea with Cora," she laughed, hugging her arm about his back, glancing down as the newborn gripped her thumb. "We may not get out of Maple Grove for a week, you know."

"It's a small price to pay," he said. Not only did Ashlyn deserve a little rest, but her loved ones needed time to get to know the newest addition to the family. "I promised to call your brother," he pointed out, though he seemed in no hurry to do it. He wasn't overly fond of phones, even if he couldn't help but admit they were handy.

"He'll live without a phone call for a little while," she pointed out. "Unless you want to get some air" It's a little close in here - you're not made to be locked up, away from natural light and air."

"There is no place I'd rather be right now than right here with you," he assured her. He was mature enough to know that not every moment could be spent out of doors, but so long as Ashlyn was near, it didn't seem to matter. Her smile was as bright as all outdoors and her love warmed his once troubled heart.

To think they had only met a little under two years before, and now they had a house, a child, a family of their own. The sea had called him to Rhy'Din, and given him everything he lacked, and Ashlyn felt no jealousy of her for it. How many sailors found wives who loved the sea as much as they did" And their children would learn to love her, too. "Then I think maybe you should get your daughter cleaned up and dressed," Ash suggested with an impish cast to her smile. "She can't spend all her time naked, you know."

"I suppose I should," he admitted. After all, he didn't want his daughter to widdle on his leathers. Surprisingly, the pirate had had practice at that, too, borrowing baby Donovan from Dom and Elle from time to time to hone his diapering skills.

"Good, because I really need a shower," Ash countered cheerfully, brushing another kiss to his cheek. "Preferably before she decides she's hungry. Which reminds me ..." She leaned away, opening up the bedside cabinet to pull out four very small bottles of milk, sealed but ready for use. "You didn't really think I was going to let you get away with sleeping all night when I can't, did you?"

He chuckled, not really surprised by this development and not upset about it either. "I doubt I will be a very good substitute for your, uh ....equipment," he said, with a glance at the bottles. He knew it was common practice to bottle feed babies these days, but he couldn't help tease her about it.

"Hey, if I have to do it, so do you," she informed him with a warm smile. "And no, that does not mean you get to sit me in your lap and milk me like a cow for your daughter's benefit."

"Must you take all the fun out of it, lass?" he countered, but with a smirk on his face that told her he was still teasing. He heaved a heavy and over-dramatic sigh. "Come along, Corabelle, and let's get you dressed while your Ma takes a shower."

The baby wriggled in his arms, not quite ready to sleep, She protested the removal of Ashlyn's thumb from her grip; she protested the removal of her blanket; she really didn't like being wiped down with baby wipes to clean her of everything she'd come out with. And, true to her parentage, she wasn't afraid to share her disgust of the world in general with an explosion of sound that pierced the ear mercilessly.

Ashlyn Radcliffe · Date: 2017-07-18 07:32 EST

Ah, well, he'd heard worse in his day than a newborn baby's protests, as ear-piercingly shrill as it might be. Some might have expected him to be a nervous wreck where babies were concerned, but somehow the pirate seemed to be a natural. "Now, lass, it's not that bad," he told the baby as he swabbed her clean and got her diapered and dressed and swaddled in a soft pink blanket. It wasn't perfect, but he was confident he'd get better with more practice. Once that was done, he settled her against his shoulder and claimed the rocking chair, rubbing her back and quietly singing an old pirate shanty.

He'd spoken to her so often when she was in the womb, and sung to her, too, that little Core knew his voice, even if his smell and the feel of being held were still new to her. It was his voice that calmed her down from her screaming rage at the world and all its indignities, one small hand gripping the collar of his shirt as he rocked her back and forth, succumbing to the comfort of being with her papa.

This was what Ash found when she emerged from the bathroom - a little stiff, but a lot cleaner - climbing up to sit cross-legged on the bed as she smiled at her little family. "Well, don't you look domesticated," she teased, lifting her phone to snap her first photo of many.

"If I start wearing a dress, then you can start worrying," he teased back, though that was hardly likely. He wasn't even likely to wear shorts or a kilt, though he had attempted a suit on occasion or a pair of blue jeans. "Ash, you don't think Pan would ever come for our children, do you?" he asked, expressing a worry that had been bothering him for a while, though he was only just mentioning it.

The furrow between her brows told him that she'd considered it a possibility, too. "I think, if he ever finds his way to Rhy'Din, our kids might be an obvious target for him," she said in a low tone. "But we're not helpless, and we have options that aren't open to people on Earth. If he ever takes our kids, we'll get them back."

"But there must be a way to protect them against him," James reasoned. Whether it be through magic or technology, he didn't much care, but anyone who dared harm a hair on his daughter's head was going to feel the wrath of the pirate once known as Hook.

"And we'll find it," she promised him. "It would help if we knew exactly what he is, though. Silver might deter him, or he might be repulsed by pure iron. Magic could be either a beacon, or a shield. We need to know more about him, baby, before we can say for certain what will keep him at bay."

"He's the Pan," James said, with a small shrug. They'd been over this time and again and had never really reached a conclusion. "I was thinking ..." he started, rocking the chair back and forth with one foot. "Mayhaps your brother would know something about this. He understands lore, aye?"

"Well, he knows kinda specific lore from hundreds of tribes and cultures," Ashlyn shrugged. "I was going to suggest maybe talking to Des and Piper. They've kind of been through the same sort of thing, although they knew what was coming for Lynnie. But what I mean is, they might know where we start on finding out exactly what we're up against."

Ashlyn had told him about what Lyneth was and what she and her family had gone through, but he'd never considered asking them about Pan, until she suggested it just now. "I suppose it's worth a try," he said, looking back at their daughter with a frown on his face. He'd never felt so fiercely protective of anyone in his life as he did about her.

"Even if they can't help, they'll know people who can," Ash assured him firmly. "No one is taking our daughter away from us, James. I promise you that. Even if he manages to steal her away, we will get her back."

"Over my dead body," he said, with a tone of voice that left little room for argument. "If he comes anywhere near her, I'll kill him myself, and that goes for that fairy of his, too."

"No, you won't," Ash told him quietly. "Whatever else he is, he's a child. You wouldn't hurt a child, not even one possessed by evil." She sighed quietly, leaning back against her pillows. "This is why we need to know what we're up against."

He scowled, knowing she was right. He'd had his chance to kill Pan more than once and had let him go, despite the fact that Pan had taken his hand and tossed it to the croc. "He's a demon in a boy's body," James grumbled. Though he was speaking figuratively, it was quite possible that was exactly what Pan was.

Against his shoulder, Cora began to fuss, disturbed by the tension in the arms holding her. "This probably isn't the right time or place to be having this conversation," Ash admitted ruefully, tucking herself onto her side, her head on the pillow as she watched him.

"Probably not," James admitted with a frown as he looked from Ashlyn to the tiny baby perched on his shoulder. "Hush, now," he cooed quietly as he gently rubbed a hand against her back. "No one is ever going to take you away from us. That I promise you."

Ash smiled, watching as he soothed their daughter as though born to it himself. "Think you can handle being Mr. Mom for a while?" she asked in a quiet tone. "I'm kinda sleepy after all that pushing and stuff."

"Why would I want to be Mr. Mom, when I am her father?" he asked, not understanding the cultural reference. "Get some rest, love. I'm not going anywhere," he assured her with a soft smile. It seemed the momentary dark mood had passed.

"If I wake up and you've decided to take her fishing or something, I will hunt you down, Captain Radcliffe," she warned with a weary smile, sliding herself beneath her sheets to settle more comfortably against the pillows.

"She's a bit too young for fishing, lass," he reminded her, belatedly realizing she was teasing. He would have gotten up and tucked her in, if he wasn't rocking their daughter to sleep.

Ash laughed fondly. "You're still taking me too seriously," she reminded him, nestling down beneath the sheets. "I love you, James. Thank you for giving me a family of my own."

"No need to thank me, lass," he told her, his smile softening at her declaration of love. "I love you, too," he replied in a soft voice. He didn't bother to thank her for giving him a daughter - they had done that together.

Her smile lingered as she let out a slow breath, drifting easily into sleep that she had certainly earned today. She would wake in a few hours, ready to feed Cora herself when the time came, but for now, Ashlyn Radcliffe needed all the rest she could get. It was up to James to be papa and mama both for the time being.

Thankfully, he was up to the task, pirate or not. Whoever said that Captain Hook hated children didn't know what they were talking about.