So I asked what other ships you all wanted to see on IG and I had a lot of requests for a HookQueen fic. A lot of this chapter is setting up the story, so please don't be bored with the kind of episode recap, I wanted to set the scene. I didn't particularly find the Pan arc interesting, but this episode is a good place to start a HQ fic and I promise it won't really focus on the Pan crap. It's the point where Regina sacrifices herself to save everyone and Hook begins his path to redemption, so they're kind of in the same boat, still outcasts and 'villains' but starting to turn it around. Not to mention nothing has happened between CS yet, so I don't have to write around any hard feelings there. Let me know what you think xoxo
Killian gazed down at the once feared Evil Queen, strapped to a table and glaring up at him as he caressed his hook over her body and the belt holding her against the odd looking table. She was positively helpless and it was a mesmerizing sight, like a lion in a cage. A beast that could rip you apart held back in shackles.
"Whatever they're offering you, it's not worth it," Regina looked up at the pirate who was taking her in, raking her with his gaze. He was a peculiar, demented creature, much like herself. She supposed he was finding some sort of kink in all of this, for she certainly knew he had an imagination when it came to sex.
"Considering they're offering to have me kill Rumplestiltskin, I'd say that it is," Killian raised a dark brow down at the woman, focusing on the motivation behind his actions in double crossing the Queen. She'd fed him to the dragon, for god sake, he had no guilt over turning on her.
"You actually trust them?" She glanced up at him, seeing that he was blinded by his need for revenge, making her shake her head and let out a breath, "You don't even know who you're working for."
"Good morning Regina," Her captor came in, rolling a metal machine as he made his way swiftly around the table that constricted her.
"This part of your mission?"
"No, no this," Greg stepped in front of Killian, reaching for Regina's arms as he started to stick something on them and she tried to raise her head to see what he was doing, "This is personal. This is about my father."
"I already told you, he left town," She rolled her eyes as he stuck one of the connectors to her temple. She didn't know what he was doing with this monstrosity he was attaching to her, but it didn't feel good.
"Yet he never came to find his only son? Hook, would you mind lending me a hand, preferably your good one," Greg glanced up at Killian in the corner.
He frowned, glancing at Regina before back at the man he'd made a deal with. The mayor had crossed him, had left him for dead, but he would not take part in torturing her. They had a history, he and the Queen, and as twisted as it may be, bringing her pain didn't appeal to him.
"Sorry mate, gonna have to say no. When you're interested in killing Rumple and not torturing the Queen, find me," He frowned and turned to walk out of the room, hating the niggling feeling of doubt that pulsated through him at the idea of leaving her behind with that demented bastard. Still, she had betrayed him, so he steeled his emotions, putting their past aside and leaving her behind.
The next thing Regina knew she was coming to, noticeably in more comfortable confines than the metal table she'd passed out on. A cool cloth pressed against her aching forehead, causing her to crack open her eyes to see who was bringing her such sweet relief. Her step-daughter came into view, sitting on the edge of the bed with an expression of deep concern.
Regina's lips parted in surprise, mine blurry but able to put it together that it had been the Charmings that came to her rescue, "You...you saved me?"
"Yes," Snow whispered, brows drawn as she retracted her hand.
Charming stood beside her then, maybe he had been all along, but Regina only noticed him when he spoke up, "You really think we'd let you die?" He crossed his arms, "Despite our differences, we're family."
"Where are they?" Regina grit out, fear gripping her as he last 24 hours came back to her slowly.
The Charmings looked at each other hesitantly before he responded, "They got away."
"So they still have it," Regina groaned, the adrenaline rush she experienced then making her feel weak and dizzy.
"Have what?"
"The black diamond. It's a trigger."
"A trigger?" David questioned firmly.
"That will destroy Storybrooke. I had a fail safe built into the curse," She explained, running a shaky hand through her hair.
"Why exactly were you carrying it around?" Snow demanded to know, climbing atop her moral high horse.
"She was going to destroy us, Mary Margaret."
"I was going to use the beans to take Henry back to the Enchanted Forest," Regina's eyes closed. She was tired, so tired of arguing with these fools.
"And in the process, kill all of us?!" Her stepdaughters voice rose in a telltale way that she was growing upset.
Regina only snarled at the hypocrisy, "You wanna discuss justification? You were going to abandon me. Or shall we discuss the more pressing issue that I no longer control the trigger?"
Killian watched Greg and Tamara use some new age magical device to lead them through the mines, growing more and more suspicious of them by the minute. He argued with them about who was leading and commanding their mission, frowning when they blew off his questions.
"You're going to destroy an entire town, kill everyone in it?" He eyed the black diamond she held.
"Including your enemy," Greg mentioned.
"Rumple won't be immune to this."
"Nothing will be. Once this thing gets activated, nothing can shut it off."
"This town will turn back into the forest that it was. So tell us Hook, we're willing to die for our cause. Are you willing to die for yours?"
He looked at them then, watching Greg pick up the axe, "Absolutely."
"You did this, now make it stop!" Emma demanded Regina after they felt the diamond activated. She expected a quick retort, a sassy comeback, but instead the Mayor looked back at her with wide eyes.
"I can't. There's no way."
"Well, figure it out, it's your fault!" She snapped at the brunette who averted her gaze with a guilt wracked expression.
"Stop! I already almost lost my dad, I don't want to lose anyone else," Henry yelled, glancing over to the couch where they'd laid his severely wounded father after the attack from Greg and Tamara. "We have to work together!"
"From the mouths of babes, I'd say the lad has a point," Killian waltzed into the apartment then and Regina, for once, found Charming useful as his knuckles met Hook's face with a healthy crack.
Regina watched them all spat back and forth at each other, Killian explaining why he'd come to them. As she'd suspected, Greg and Tamara had been unable to please Hook's need for revenge and he told them all how he'd rather live. He offered to help then, telling them all he knew where the two were.
Her stomach flopped, fear gripping her as she held onto Henry's shoulder. She couldn't leave him behind, her sweet boy an orphan. But what could they do?
"There is no stopping it. The best thing I can do is slow it down, but that will only delay the inevitable."
"Or give us the time we need," David spoke up with his hopeless optimism and of course, Snow latched onto the idea.
"Time For what?"
"To steal back the beans, to get everyone back into the Enchanted Forest before everyone is gone!"
They hastily scratched up a plan, Charming going with Hook, Emma and Regina going to delay the diamond, while Snow and Henry gathered the townspeople in preparation to travel realms. Regina grabbed her son as they started to disperse, "Henry..I'm sorry for what's happened," She swallowed hard, ignoring Killian who stood a few feet away, undeniably hearing them, "I tried to be the person you wanted me to be and I failed. But I won't let you be alone. Just know that I love you."
Henry looked at her with sullen eyes before responding, "I love you too."
She hugged him then, hugged her boy because it was the last time she could and then she let him go, watched him run to follow his grandmother. She stood and straightened her blazer, still a bit weak from the trauma she'd experienced under Greg's torture. Killian was watching her when she glanced up, his eyes understanding, almost guilt ridden as she steeled her expression back at him and brushed past him without a word.
"The things we do for our children," He muttered, directed at David but Regina heard him on her way out the door.
Regina had resigned herself to giving her life in order to prolong Storybrooke's destruction so that the rest of the town could leave and go to safety. Her arms shook and tears formed in her eyes at the pain, her chest burning as she forced herself to stay strong despite feeling her magic depleting.
She'd held on for as long as she could, heart hammering in her chest wildly when the Charming family appeared back in the mines, claiming they weren't going to leave her behind. Her relief was short lived, for the stark realization that Killian had escaped with the magic bean brought all of them face to face with their impending doom.
Regina cried as she apologized to her son, kept her shaking hands focused on the diamond as he cuddled into her side. She hated herself for what she witnessed, this family saying their goodbyes. Leaving her son an orphan. It shattered what was left of her heart, made her loathe what she had become. "I don't know how much longer I can hold this off," She admitted in a shaky breath, glancing up to see Emma with a knowing expression. "I'm not strong enough."
"You may not be strong enough, but maybe we are," Emma looked at her then with desperate eyes and Regina's stomach turned. It may work, or her son may witness both of his mother's exploding from the force of the diamond.
Emma's hands came up to the stone, beginning to shake with her untrained magic and Regina instantly felt relief as the diamond took on both of them. She silently willed Emma to follow her lead and she knew the sheriff understood, mimicking her posture and feeling the magic coursing through her. Regina furrowed her brow, knowing while her friend was powerful, she was not ask skilled, so she pushed for the both of them. Her trained hands knew how to combat the dark magic and Emma's power added to that gave her just enough push, and suddenly they were thrust backwards, the stone flying into the air and turning cold and black once more.
Charming's voice was heard first as they all began to rustle from where they'd fallen, "Were alive!"
"Emma!" Snow called out as she and her husband rushed to their daughter.
The Queen came into view behind them, holding the cold diamond in her hand as Emma watched in awe of what they'd done, "We did it."
"Yes we did," Regina murmured, giving a victorious glance to Emma who responded with a faint smile.
"You gotta give it to Henry; he's right about a lot of things," Charming smiled and they all began to turn to see where their boy was.
"Henry! Henry!"
It became evident as they ran around the curve of the track, seeing the backpack laying on the ground, "They took him," Emma gulped and dread filled the Mayor beside of her.
The four of them ran toward the docks, seeing Greg, Tamara and Henry just ahead near the water. Greg threw the bean then, a green portal opening. All that could be heard was shouting as they watched the kidnappers push their son into the water, the portal snapping shut.
"No!" Emma's parents held her back as she screamed, keeping her from jumping into the water. "We have to follow them."
"Not only do we not know where they went, Hook stole the last bean!" Regina replied in frustration, just as distraught herself but holding it together better than Emma was. She hadn't the energy, her body and her magic drained. Adrenaline was the only thing that kept her from passing out as her mind raced over her baby boy being taken.
"We can't let them just take Henry!"
"Look," Snow brought their attention to the water as they all turned in time to see Killian's ship docking.
"Hook," Regina recognized the ship, leading the group towards the edge of the dock as the pirate made his way down the side of his boat.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Emma demanded to know.
"Helping," He shrugged and felt the angry stares of everyone there, especially Prince Charming.
"Well you're too late. Thought you didn't care about anybody but yourself."
"Maybe I just needed reminding that I could," He frowned, handing over the magic bean to the Savior and glancing at Regina standing beside of her. She looked pale and weak but she stood tall, shoulders squared.
"Enough waiting around, lets go," She grit out and Killian actually felt relief that her spunk hadn't been shocked out of her.
"I thought we were saving the town," He glanced at them all, feeling as if he were missing a major part of whatever was going on here.
"We already did that," David piped in with a glare.
"We need to get Henry. Greg and Tamara took him through a portal," Emma nodded.
Killian looked to the Queen again, "Well I offer my ship and my services to help follow them."
"That's great Hook, but how will we track them?" Regina glanced up at him then, her usual sharp tongue a bit softer and her fiery eyes looking tired.
"Leave that to me," Gold approached them and Hook felt instant irritation flare up inside of him at the presence of the Crocodile, "I can get us where we need to go."
"Well let's do it," Snow's voice prompted them all to board the ship, the group of enemies beginning their adventure together with a common goal.
They all watched as Gold pricked his finger on the globe and their destination became Neverland. Killian had swallowed his disgust for the man in front of him and they'd all banded together to brace themselves for traveling through the portal. Once through, Hook had estimated a couple days worth of travel to reach where Henry was held captive and they'd all nodded in agreement, tired and weary.
Snow and David went to work on scrounging up something from the provisions they had for the group to eat, Emma and Gold discussing their strategy once they got there and the Queen, she was looking worse with each passing minute.
Killian was surprised he was the only one who noticed her struggling, perhaps it was because he'd seen her in vulnerable states before. The Charmings were oblivious, rifling through crates for sustenance. He thought he heard Emma and Gold discussing Neal back home in Storybrooke, the crocodile mentioning something about Belle taking care of Henry's father and Emma nodding in appreciation.
But the Queen stood alone away from everyone as he did, seemingly swaying on her heels as she turned a deathly shade of pale and her lips pressed together in a thin line. He watched her reach for the deck rail with a panicked expression, saw her eyes begin to roll back in her head and prompting him to take action before she fell overboard. He half stumbled, half darted across the deck, catching Regina as she collapsed into a heap in his arms.
"Regina!" Snow called out when the commotion got their attention, the others coming forward. Some of them were genuinely concerned, others simply wanting to see the beast they feared in such a harmless state.
"I've got her," Killian frowned, seeing her head lolling, "She can have the Captains quarters for the trip there, give her some time to rest."
"Is she gonna be okay?" Emma's lips pursed, "The diamond took a lot out of her."
"Not to mention the torture before that," David reminded them, lips pressed into a grim line and accusatory eyes locked on Hook.
He felt the pang of guilt when his eyes flicked back down the Queen, limp and deathly looking in his arms, "I'll see to it that she gets better," He grit out, glancing back at David with a determined expression before turning, carrying the lightweight royal down the narrow steps to his cabin.
Killian frowned as he stepped into his room, laying her down gently on his bed. She was dead weight, forcing him to lift her legs in order to get the covers over her. But that wouldn't do, considering she still had those blasted heels on. He hadn't been this close to her in years, and to be fair, he'd done much more intimate things to the Queen, so he shrugged and bent down to begin to remove her shoes.
Her head rolled to the side on his pillow, showcasing the bright red welt where the torture device had been attached to her temple and he grimaced. This woman had been tortured to near death, got back on her feet the same day and drained her magic in an attempt to save everyone while she sacrificed herself. While she died, so her enemies could live, happily ever after, with the one thing she loved most, her son.
The boy had this woman's whole heart and it brought out a soft side to the Queen that Killian himself had never witnessed. There had been moments, long ago, where she'd slipped up and shown a hint of vulnerability in front of him, but she'd quickly covered it with crass humor or starting an argument. Of course, she never allowed him to stay around for very long periods of time, either.
He let out a breath as he lifted her legs, bringing the covers over them and up around her to tuck her in. It was bizarre, taking care of this woman who'd fed him to maleficent just hours earlier, whom he'd handed over to be tortured after that. They'd always played a game of cat and mouse, though, taking turns each time of who would use who.
But this time around they weren't doing something for their own benefit, they were saving Henry. It wasn't about power or revenge or gaining something trivial they would've wanted in the past. This time they were working together with the heroes instead of against them.
There wasn't a reason for he and Regina to stab each other in the back anymore, not as if they ever took that personally. They understood each other and the fact that for years, looking out for themselves only had been the way they'd survived. Unlike the judgmental heroes, he knew they understood that about one another and did not take it too personally when one of them would, say, make the other dragon food.
For now, she needed rest and a safe haven and someone to look out for her and he knew that having Snow White do it would only eat Regina alive. She was too proud and she'd never want to look weak in front of the Charmings, that much he knew. The least he could do was help out a fellow underdog and save her pride from having to accept help from the very people she'd once waged war against.
