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.Climb a damn beanstalk.He wasn't built for this.He was.He just didn't want to.Which should be a valid reason not to do it.Really, though, as long as he could get to Storybook-brooke-whatever the fuck it was and make the Crocodile tell him where his girls were, then he'd climb it - no complaints.Actually, there would be a lot of complaints.But the point is that he would do it.In all fairness to the Crocodile, maybe - just maybe - Killian shouldn't have taken his wife. Although, in all fairness to Killian, Milah did beg him to take her with. And it wasn't as though he took her with the intention of a romantic relationship - two weeks as a father with a two-month-old didn't leave him much time to consider a romance. He took her with the intention of freeing her from a life she felt trapped in.Looking back, he does regret it a little bit. Because leaving Rumpelstiltskin meant leaving Baelfire. And, as a parent and a child who had been abandoned himself, no child deserved that.At the time, Liv had been little. Barely two months old. And he loved her - he did. But it had only been a couple weeks at that point and the whole father thing hadn't really set in. It would take several more months of figuring out how babies worked and how fatherhood worked before he would fall in love with his daughter to the point where he would kill anyone who looked cross in her direction.But even with his undying love for Livvy, it didn't really hit him how fucked-up it was that Milah had left her son until almost five years later when Hallie was born.His and Milah's relationship had been slow - and it hadn't really started until Liv was a year and a half old. It built slowly after that and he fell in love with her and she him. Her and Liv loved each other, too. But Liv never really saw Milah as her mother. She always called Milah by her first name. If that had bothered her, Milah never showed it. She always seemed content to be what Liv felt comfortable with her being. But she also never seemed to make much effort to try and become a mother figure to Liv. He wondered if it was because Liv wasn't, technically, hers.But when Hallie was born, he saw the same thing. She was slightly stunted and perhaps out of place in her role as a mother.Killian remembered his own mother to be caring and loving and always soft toward him and Liam. Which wasn't to say that one had to be soft to be a mother. It was more to say that most mothers had a tendency to save their softest moments for their children. And Milah...didn't. She loved Hallie, but she always seemed slightly removed.Hallie had been an accidental pregnancy - which had put him at two for two (the only difference being that he knew about Hallie from the beginning and her mother hadn't completely abandoned her to him). But he remembered looking at her for the very first time when she was born and feeling the overwhelming sense of love wash over him. He remembered looking over into the next room where Liv was sleeping and feeling his love for his eldest maximize. He remembered, later, when holding his newest for the first time, wondering how Milah - despite how much he loved her - could ever leave her son.Ren was planned. Mostly, anyway. Milah had wanted another. He had been hesitant - not because he didn't love his girls and not even because he was against having another - but because of how he had watched her mother Hallie and even Liv.But she begged and begged and, eventually, he gave in. A small part of him had wondered, and it still wondered, if the reason she was so desperate to have another was because she was trying to, somehow, make up for leaving Baelfire.Ren was born five and a half years after Hallie. By that point, he had to pick a name that fit with the set.Liv's name - Deliverance Patience Alice Jones - was kind of a mouthful. He had known that, though, when he picked it. Her name that her birth mother had chosen when she left her for him was Patience. She said she hadn't cared if he kept the name - it was simply what she had bene calling her because it had been her late mother's name.Out of respect, he had kept the name in. To honor his mother, he had chosen Alice. And, while trying to pick a first name, the name Deliverance came, unbidden, to him one night. He hadn't known why it sounded so fitting or even why it popped into his head in the first place.But he did know that, no matter what other name he tried out, Deliverance was the only one that fit.To be set free. Deliverance. He wanted his daughter to be free. Growing up a slave, he wanted to make sure she was free to have anything she chose.Deliverance stuck, no matter how much of a mouthful it was.Milah had picked Hallelujah. He thought it sounded silly when she suggested it.“It makes them kind of a set. Two similar kind-of virtue names.” That was what she had told him. She had found the definition.Rejoicing.He loved his middle daughter from the moment he saw her. He would definitely say he was rejoicing. He had taken the dictionary from Milah's hands to read the definitions for himself and he had found another.God be praised.He hadn't been religious in years. Not since he was a child. But his mother always was and he would be lying if he said that it didn't bring him a little bit of comfort.He agreed to the name without telling Milah that was why.Hallie's middle name, Eve, was also suggested by Milah. Hallie had been born just as evening approached. It was pretty. It was simple. It was perfect.Hallelujah Eve Jones was a pretty name, and he agreed that Eve fit perfectly. It wasn't quite as much a mouthful as her sister's, and he loved it all the same.When Ren was born, Milah had asked him to pick the name.Serenity was the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled. And, staring at the angel in his arms, he hadn't been able to imagine a name more fitting - especially because it fit in with Liv and Hallie's names.Joy was a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. And his joy was unmatched in that moment - holding his youngest and surrounded by his middle and eldest and the woman he loved.And since he liked the name and he already had a thing for mouthfuls of names, he threw Charlotte on there.Serenity Joy Charlotte Jones was his smallest baby of the three - she had been born early. And the name felt abnormally large on her.But so had Liv's and even Hallie's. He had trusted she would grow into it in time.What he hadn't trusted was the fact that he would be separated.Their peace was torn a year later.Milah was killed. He lost his hand. And for whatever reason, the Crocodile didn't hurt Killian's girls. They fell into a sleep - a sleeping curse - right before his eyes.With a laugh, Killian determined that he was sure he could wake them.And with a sweep of his hand, the Dark One had vanished them.He had, with a laugh, wished Killian luck on finding them first.So here he was now, climbing a stupid beanstalk to find a stupid compass.Climb the beanstalk. Knock out the giant. Get trapped under rubble. Get handcuffed to a pole??The blonde was pretty but she was kind of rude.Well now he was going to die. Which is rather unfortunate. Liv always did tell him he was kind if a cynic. Well, he'd like to know what Liv would think if she were here now. Checkmate, baby girl.He didn't die. No checkmate. Liv wasn't even here and she was right again. The giant let him go. Which was nice of the giant, he supposed, but he still didn't like giants.Now he had to climb down the stupid beanstalk. Basically, he climbed the damn thing for nothing.Reaching the bottom, he was greeted - or, rather, bombarded - by Cora.Who, upon realizing that he didn't have the compass, declared that their partnership was over. Which was just as well, really. She was annoying as hell.Though...he did need to get to Storybrooke. With an exhausted sigh, he headed after her.He took the princess's heart - gently. She was a lady and he wasn't evil - only trying to get his daughters back. Handed it over to Cora. He'd get to Storybrooke. He'd just have to listen to Cora the whole time. The girls were worth it.That was literally the only thing from not killing Cora where she stood. Because he kind of hated her. She was really annoying. And bitchy.And then they trapped the ladies in the Crocodile's cell. Which was unfortunate - given he's not too approving of treating ladies that way. Emma's still rude, though.They opened a portal at Lake Nostos. He handed the princess's heart back to the other woman, who leaves.Emma was rude - again. And knocked him unconscious.And then he had the idea to open a portal using the water and the petrified bean from the giant.And he's still stuck with Cora.But he got to Storybrooke. And then Cora insisted that they stay together since he wouldn't be able to defeat Rumpelstiltskin now that there was magic.At first, he was not exactly approving of Cora's kidnapping the bloody town shrink. Until she said that he could give them information on the Dark One.And he was starting to hate Cora just a little bit less.Scratch that. The shrink knew nothing. And he was no closer to finding his daughters.So he found the library. The Dark One's love was a lady, but truthfully, it was kind of her fault for being with the asshole in the first place. And he didn't want to kil her. Only hurt her enough to piss the Crocodile off. Which wouldn't take much if he truly loved her.But he failed.And he headed back to his ship. To his great fortune, Belle was there. Lucky for him.And she led the Dark One right to him.But Belle persuaded the Crocodile to leave him. And as they left, he demanded to know where his daughters were.That caught Belle's attention and she stopped, facing him."Your daughters?" she asked."You mean he didn't tell you? How, right after crushing Milah's heart, he set them under a sleeping curse and sent them to be lost - forever? How convenient.""Rumple, where are they?" The Dark One turned and faced him, with a hint of a smile."Dead.""What?" asked Belle with a gasp. She looked at Killian."You're lying. You may be dark, Crocodile. But I know you wouldn't kill little girls. Where. Are. My. Daughters?""I don't like you, Captain." "The feeling is much reciprocated.""But I do admire how much you love your children.""Where are they?" The Dark One looked him up and down for a moment."Your daughters are waiting to be awakened in the clock tower," he said."Thank you. If you'll excuse me, then."He could kill the monster another day. His girls didn't deserve to wait a second longer.He shoved past the two of them, off the ship, and headed for the library.At the very top, the Dark One was not lying. All three girls laid there, asleep.Truly, they looked like he had just laid them down for bed. They were laying atop mattresses, pillows beneath their heads, and covered by thick blankets.He knelt down beside Hallie.He hadn't prayed since he was a child. He wasn't even sure there was a God. But he prayed, nonetheless, to whatever god was listening."Please wake up." He pressed a kiss to Hallie's hairline.Her eyes opened."Daddy?"Tears filled his eyes and he smiled."Hi, baby girl." She sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled away and saw her sisters."Daddy, what's the matter with Livvy and Ren?" she asked."They're okay, love. I just have to wake them up." He let Hallie go and moved over to Liv. He brushed her dark curls from her forehead and leaned down - kissing it. She woke up with a small smile."Hey, Daddy," she said. He wrapped her in a hug."What about Ren, Daddy?" asked Hallie."I've got it, darling." He moved to his youngest and lifted her into his arms. He smoothed her hair from her forehead and gave her a kiss. Ren woke up and looked around the clock tower. Tears began and she burrowed into his chest."Shh. It's alright. Daddy's here. You're alright." He pressed a kiss to the top of her hair as Liv and Hallie joined the hug. For a long time, the four of them sat there like that. Just hugging each other."Daddy, what happened to your hand?" asked Liv, noticing the hook. Killian remembered she hadn't seen him lose his hand that day."Oh. It got cut off. It's not bad, though, love. It doesn't even hurt anymore.""Daddy, where's Mama?" asked Hallie. Liv looked at him, wondering eyes. Not because she was wondering the same thing - she had been there when Milah had been killed and he was sure that that single moment had made her grow up far more than any eleven-year-old should have. She looked at him, wondering, because she wanted to know what he planned to tell Hallie.He was going to tell her the truth.He brushed her dark hair behind her ear. It was dark, dark brown. Like his and Milah's. While Liv's hair was a more medium brown - like her birth mother's - and Ren's was a dark blonde - like Liam's and his mother's - Hallie, alone, had gotten his and Milah's dark hair. He looked at his six-year-old and, bearing in mind that the news he was about to give her would likely be one of the most memorable moments of her entire life, he told her."Mama died, baby," he said. Hallie's eyes widened."Mama died?""Yeah. I'm sorry, sweetheart.""But Mama can't die, Daddy. She said she would tuck me into bed tonight." Tonight, for Hallie, was two hundred years ago for him. Oh, her sweet innocence.Never grow up, Hal, he thought."I'm sorry, baby," he said, because he didn't know what else to say. With little response, Hallie leaned forward and laid her head against his chest where Ren had been.He wondered what to do next.Two centuries of searching for his daughters. And now that he had them, he wasn't sure what to do.For starters, maybe he should call a truce.True, the Crocodile had killed Milah. But he hadn't killed his girls. And, from the looks of it, he had even protected them all those years, albeit via a sleeping curse.But also, as much as he had loved Milah, he couldn't spend forever chasing justice for her. Especially now that he had his girls back. He had to put them first. And that meant steering clear of death matches with Rumpelstiltskin.He needed to set things straight. If he steered clear, Rumpelstiltskin should too. They stay out of each other's way, Belle, Liv, Hallie, Ren, and everyone else don't get hurt.“Come on. We have to go,” he said.“Where are we going, Daddy?” asked Liv.“I have to find the Dark One.” Liv pulled away.“Why?”“I won't let him hurt you.”“But are you going to do something to him?”“No.”“Not even after what happened to…Milah?”“I just need to talk to him, Livvy. Promise. I should probably take precautions. Just in case, though.”They headed down into the library and he began to tear it apart looking for something to protect themselves.He found a gun. Belle had likely stashed it away in one of the drawers as a backup.He didn't really know how to use it. But it didn't seem too hard. He just needed it for a precaution.He lifted Ren onto his left hip and grabbed Hallie's hand with his right. He jerked his head to Liv and she attached herself to his left arm. The four of them headed for the town line.He really didn't know how to use the gun.In retrospect, he should have thought ahead.He shot Belle.He swore it was an accident.And now the Dark One wanted to kill him. Which wasn't exactly new. But Hallie and Ren were screaming and crying and Liv had the gun in her small hands.And then he was hit a metal driving contraption.And then it was back to getting killed. And Liv had the gun aimed again.“Let him go!” she shrieked.“Livvy, don't!” he cried, because, immortal or not, he did not need his daughter aiming for a kill. She was too young. Emma grabbed the gun from her hands.“Give it back!” Liv screamed.“I am not giving you a gun,” said Emma. Liv glared at her defiantly and ran for Rumpelstiltskin, pummeling him with her fists and kicks.“Liv, stop!” he cried. If she didn't stop, he wasn't sure if the Crocodile would hurt her.Emma pulled Liv away and convinced the Crocodile to step away, and Liv wrenched from Emma's grasp and ran to him.“Daddy!” she cried. She knelt down.“Are you okay?” she asked.“Never better, love. Maybe just a little shaken up.”“Daddy, you can't walk!” said Hallie with a broken sob. Ren was sobbing.“Liv, your sisters,” he said. He'd rather she take care of them right now than him.“You have kids?” asked Emma.“Aye. Surprised, love?”“You have got to be kidding me,” she said.“I'm not. I'll be fine. Go check on them.” Emma rolled her eyes but headed for his daughters anyway.When the ambulance came, Liv convinced Emma to let them on the ambulance. She did and she climbed in after them.“What are your names?” asked Emma.“None of your business,” Liv snapped.“Livvy,” he reprimanded softly. She huffed.“I'm Liv. This is Hallie. This is Ren.”“How old are they?” asked Emma. She looked at Liv. “How old are you?”Liv looked at him and he nodded.“I'm eleven. Hallie's six. Ren is one.”He didn't remember what happened after that. Only that he blacked out on the ride to the hospital.