Second order of business - Research
"Well, no, a cake's not quite what I meant - though if you're baking, love, I'd be glad to lick the spoon for you."
He cleared his bristly throat, good hand running over the scruff of his jaw. "I simply mean that they've been working quite hard on things in their lab, devices that will keep us safe and keep the ghosts at bay so we can actually traverse the town without being slapped by spirits, but they're also both human and it's not always about showing support in the form of objects, is it?"
People could likely figure it out from there. Hook was the wrong person to be giving the 'we've all got to band together!!" talk; that was more suited for Snow White. And if there was still confusion, well, that type of emotionally stunted behavior was not his problem to fix.
"Though if anyone wanted to talk science with them, I'm sure they'd be delighted. Me personally, I'm more on the magic side of things."