So this is really, really late, but Happy very late Valentines Day hollyethecurious, I'm sorry for disappearing, and that this is a little different from what it started as, but I'm really terrible at deadlines, and one shots. I honestly don't know how many parts this will end up being. I hope you like it!
He usually spends his mornings out by the 's his time to think every morning, his time to just relax for a few moments before Alice wakes up. He enjoys seeing the sun rise with his mug of coffee in his hands. Despite living in the middle of nowhere, they always seem to find interesting things to do to occupy his precocious daughter.
There's not a cloud in the sky, and the water looks perfect. It's going to be a perfect day.
Perhaps he should take Alice swimming today. Killian wonders, taking a sip of his drink. He knows he has to get Alice up soon to start the day, he has some leftover bread from last night, toast and tea sounds like a nice breakfast, they could make something more substantial for lunch.
Killian's in the midst of his thoughts when suddenly he notices something. It's a dark shape washed up on the edge of the beach. Slowly, he puts down his mug and makes his way closer.
It's a body. Cold dread fills his veins.
Did they find them? Is she here? Are they here? It's just like her to leave something like a body to send him on edge. When Killian is close enough, he realizes it's a woman washed up on his beach.
Her skin is pale and she's half frozen. There's an ugly gash on her head matter by mangled blonde hair. She's also bleeding from a wound to her leg.
For a moment Killian thinks she's already dead, but then she takes a shallow breath and Killian feels a weak pulse.
She's alive. He realizes, but she won't be for much longer if she doesn't get help, and there's no one else here, no one here for miles except him.
It makes him hesitate.
She'll tell them where he is. She's probably working for them. He thinks; it would be safer if he just left her there. It would be safer for Alice.
But then Killian looked at her, really looked. Her hair was mangled and her face was far too pale, but she looked stunning none the less. There was something about her that seemed familiar to him, special.
Killian doesn't think twice before getting down on his knees, trying to judge her breathing. It's weak, very weak. He sighs before starting compressions, then pressing his lips to hers, attempting to breathe air into her lungs.
It's been years since he learned CPR, so he hopes he remembers what Liam taught him.
He continues switching from compressions to breaths until he she starts to cough up sea water.
"There we go love." He urges helping her turn over to cough it up. "Just breathe." He urges. She still feels cold in his arms, but she's not shaking which is a bad sign. Shaking means she feels the cold, no shaking means she's already numb.
Once it seems like she's done and taking large gasps, he lowers her back to the sand. Her eyes are open, just barely, he sees green peak out as she blinks at him. She murmurs something, but Killian can't quite make it out.
Reaching down, Killian scoops the woman into his arms. Her eyes close. "Come on lass, let's get you inside and warmed up."
Apparently his perfect day is about to get complicated.
/
He brings the woman back as quickly as he could.
He was thankful she didn't wake during the short journey home. He was glad she didn't regain consciousness had he carried her awkwardly; Killian was struggling between a princesses carry and lugging her over his shoulder towards home.
Home was an abandoned lighthouse in the middle of nowhere. It was run down and vacant when he found it, but with a few personal touches, he'd managed to make it a home.
There was a modest living room with a fire place and a beat up old couch, a tiny kitchen with a table and a barely working gas stove. He'd taken residency in a storage room, just enough room to store a couple of his things and a bed. Alice's room was the only interesting thing about the place in his opinion.
What used to be an attic had been transformed a princess tower. Drawings covering the walls, flowers at various stages of life hanging all around, books littered the place. It was perfect for her. It even had a large window with a perfect view of the sea.
It might not be much but it was theirs, and now here he is bringing in an intruder to their lonely tower.
Unfortunately, while the woman didn't wake, Alice did. The second he came through the door, he hears a pair of feet race down the stairs.
"Morning Papa!" She exclaims jumping onto the last step, a book in her hand. He can see an idea racing through her head already. "Can we-" She stops. He sees her make eye contact with the woman as he sets her down on the couch.
"Who's she?" She asks, her eyes narrowing in her direction, then they widen. "Papa, is she..?" She asks trailing off, clutching the book to her chest with a fearful look. Killian shakes his head.
"No Starfish, she's alive, barely but alive." He insists, sitting beside the woman trying to wrap her up in the blanket lying on the sofa. It was doing little to bring the color back to her cheeks. He knows he needs to get her into something warm and dry very soon.
"But she's blue!" Alice insists, venturing closer.
"She needs our help." He tells her. "Can you be a big girl for me and help me warm her up?" He asks, he half needs her help and half wants her out of here in case they can't save this woman, in case she does freeze to death or the cold had already done the damage to the woman's brain or other horrific things he does not want Alice exposed to.
"I need you to go get some fire wood." He instructs. "As many as you can carry. We're going to have a big fire in the fireplace and warm her up." He explains. Alice's eyes dart back towards him and she nods. His daughter rushes out to do as she's told.
In the meantime Killian sets to get the woman out of some of her soaking wet layers. He pulls a red leather jacket from her shoulders with relative ease, the buttoned down is a little more difficult. It takes more maneuvering stiff limbs to get the ruined material off her body. Killian considers leaving the undershirt how it is but decides it's more important to save her life than worry about her embarrassment. Killian finds one of his old band t-shirts to replace it.
He goes to the kitchen to grab the first aid kit, knowing that the last thing a half drowned hypothermia victim needs is an infection. He makes short work of the gash on her forehead, cleaning and bandaging it with ease.
Then he has to deal with the jeans and the blood. He tries to pull the jeans down to see the injury, but the fabric sticks to her skin. With a sigh, Killian resolves to just get rid of the stained and ruined jeans. The moment that they're gone, Killian sets to work disinfecting and bandaging the wound. It's clear right away that the wound is deep and won't stop bleeding. He also realizes that it's no ordinary injury, it's a bullet wound, gone through and through.
Bullet wounds mean bad news.
Killian tries to ignore that implication, focusing instead on the fact that it needs stitches or it'll never stop bleeding, it's been a while since he's given anyone stitches.
He wonders if he should be concerned that she barely made a sound throughout the whole ordeal.
Thankfully he has the woman in a pair of too big sweats, wrapped in a thick blanket by the time Alice gets back, carrying way too many pieces of fire wood than a ten year old should carry.
"Easy there Starfish." He says rising to grab some of the larger chunks before they could be dropped. "This is more than enough." He assures her.
"Is she going to be ok?" Alice asks as he starts the fire. "Was she in the water a long time? We had a storm last night, do you think she got caught in it? Where do you think she's from?" Alice asks, thinking at light speed.
Killian doesn't know. All he knows is that the woman is still pale, she's breathing, and she'd been shot and left for dead.
"We'll have to wait and see Starfish." He tells her. Right now all that can be done is wait and hope that he found her in enough time, that the warmth from the clean blankets and fire can help her system.
(And that whoever did this believes her to be dead)
"Papa, do you think she's with the bad people?" Alice asks after a moment. "You said that we had to be careful, do you think she's one of them? Are we going to have to leave?"
Killian doesn't know, and he doesn't have the heart to tell Alice that it was a possibility. All he knows is that saving this woman is the right thing to do, but that when she wakes up they would both have to be on their guard.
They don't even know when this woman was going to wake up.
"We'll just have to ask her when she wakes up." He says to her. "But no matter what we're going to be ok." He assures. "Go get dressed, I'll start this fire and perhaps we can have a tea party for breakfast?" He inquires. Killian knows she can't resist a tea party.
Alice lights up, all worry forgotten, she nods excitedly. "Can we have cookies? And little marmalade sandwiches?" She asks, practically jumping up and down. "We haven't had them in a long time."
Killian smirks.
"It's not a tea party without little sandwiches." He says, ruffling her blonde locks. Alice smiles brightly and then rushes to her room, promising to get dressed 'superfast'.
Killian just smirks. He's glad Alice is so excitable, he's glad he can see her with so much hope and joy. It was the point of all of this, he reminds himself. He hasn't seen Alice cry once since they left the city, since they escaped the circus of their lives to live in solitude.
He can't let this woman ruin that. When he first saw her Killian thought there was something different about her, special even, but Killian also saw Eloise as special and look how all that turned out…
Eloise gave him Alice. Killian forces himself to remember.
No matter how special this woman may seem, he can't lose this home he's built for his daughter. He can't lose his Starfish.
/
She doesn't wake up during the tea party, not ever when "Hatter" and "Mr. Rabbit" start arguing over who got the last cookie.
She also doesn't wake up when he reads to Alice her favorite book, Robin Hood for the dozenth time.
Killian checks on her occasionally. He can see the color returning to her face, but her skin is still cold.
She waits until Alice is seeing to her dozen pet bunnies in the garden to wake up.
And she doesn't wake up quietly. She lets out a gasp and scrambles on the couch, as if she's fighting the blankets he'd cocooned her in earlier. It completely takes Killian by surprise, making him jump in his seat at the kitchen table.
"Wher-where-" The woman says in a series of gasp, finally getting free of the blankets she sits up. "Easy lass." He says getting closer to her. She looks frazzled and frightened, eyes wondering everywhere, settling nowhere. It takes a second before they eventually land on him. "You're safe." He assures her, hand on her shoulder.
Killian assumes that she'd be frightened, that her last memories were the fear of death.
He wanted to assure her that she was safe here.
Green eyes blinked and met his. He saw them flash dangerously seconds before she strikes.
She punched him hard in the jaw. It sent him reeling off the couch, landing on knees clutching his jaw. The blow was far stronger than he thought she or anyone would be able to after half drowning.
It bloody hell hurt.
He looked back at her and she didn't just stop at punching him, somehow she'd rolled off the couch collapsing onto her knees as tremors shook her body. She suddenly clutches her leg and squeezes her eyes shut.
"There was no need to punch me." He mutters under his breath.
Her teeth chattering are all he can hear as a response. She seems to focus suddenly with a sigh. It seems she's realized that wherever she thought she was she isn't.
The realization, however, doesn't seem to keep her from snapping back at him. "Yeah well I don't usually react well to waking up on strangers' couches without my clothes." She says. "Hell this hurts." She hisses, clutching her leg.
"Well I usually don't find strangers half drowned and frozen on my beach. Typically saving their bloody life comes before their comfort." He shoots back. They stare at each other for a moment with apprehension. She looks away first clutching her body as she shivers.
"Let's get you back on the couch." He insists, but doesn't dare move closer. Killian was a quick learner.
"Not on your life." She snaps back. Killian sighs. The bloody stubborn woman.
"Papa!" Both their heads turn. Alice is standing by the couch. He hadn't even heard her come in. "You're bleeding." She says in a whisper. He touches his jaw feeling the barest bit escaping his lip.
"There's a kid here." The woman says in a whisper, more to herself than to him. He simply nods.
"It's alright sweetie." He says getting to his feet. "I was just having a disagreement with our new friend here." He insists, going to his daughter. "See? I'm fine." She doesn't look convinced. "Why don't you go get us all tea? Tea always makes everything better right?" Alice nods slowly and does so, but she doesn't look convinced.
He takes this opportunity to go talk to their new "friend". "Let me get you back on the couch and warmed up, preferably without scaring my daughter." He says impatiently.
The woman responds with a nod. Her skin is cold to the touch as he moves her, blonde hair going everywhere. She settles with her leg extended on the couch.
"I got the tea Papa." Alice says coming into the room and carefully putting the tray on the table.
He turns to the woman, she's staring at Alice. "Tea? We only have Earl Grey." He announces. She snaps back to look at him. She nods. Killian finds her sudden silence unnerving.
But he goes about pouring her a mug and settling in her hands. She hums in gratitude. Killian imagines the warmth of the mug feeling good after being so cold for so long. "So what's your story love?"
She glares at him; he can practically see her debating what to say, picking her words. It rubs him the wrong way. He wonders why he bothered to save this stranger; he should have just pretended not to see her.
"My name's Alice." His daughter announces approaching her, hand held out, completely oblivious to the tense situation. "Papa found you on the beach. I thought you were dead, but Papa started a fire and you don't look dead anymore." Alice looked her over skeptically.
He swore he heard the woman snicker. "I was in pretty bad shape wasn't I?" She asked. Alice nodded. "My name's Emma." She shakes Alice's hand.
Emma.
"How'd you end up on the beach?" Alice asks. "And why did you punch my Papa, he was only trying to help." Emma hesitates, looking back at him, and then back at Alice.
"I got lost. I tried to swim home but I got tired." She lies badly. He knows she's running from something, he can feel it. "I got scared when I woke up somewhere I didn't know. I'm sorry for hurting your Dad."
Alice places her hands on her hips. "Papa says you're not supposed to swim by yourself or at night." She lectures. "It only leads to big trouble."
Emma nods, still looking at him. "I probably should have listened to that advice." She mutters taking a sip of tea.
"What about-" Alice starts, but then Killian shakes his head.
"I think that's enough questions for now Starfish." He interrupts, "Besides don't you have a book to finish reading?" Alice's eyes brighten up.
"I almost forgot!" She exclaims, hopping up and down. "It's called The Princess and the Pirate by Henry Mills, have you ever read it?" She asks. Emma shakes her head.
Knowing his daughter, Killian can tell this is the perfect excuse to go on and on about her favorite book to a new audience.
"Can I show Emma my book? The one from Uncle Liam?" She asks Killian, wide eyed. "Pretty please?" He sees Emma looking at him. She has a curious expression on her face. She's watching to see what he'll do.
"Not right now, she needs her rest after her long day." He reminds her. "How about you go get a head start and I'll be along in a minute? We also have a lot of school work to get through today" Alice nods.
"Have a good rest Emma." Alice says and then she takes off upstairs to get her books.
Killian lets out a sigh of relief, glad she lets the matter drop.
"Cute kid." Emma says after a moment, leaning back as well. "Lots of energy."
He glances at her. "We don't get a lot of company out here." He says softly. "She likes taking in strays." Emma rolls her eyes.
"I'll say." She says sarcastically.
"Let me get one thing clear here." He says after a moment, his voice turning stern. "You did not get lost; someone shot you and wanted to kill you." Emma doesn't respond. "I don't care who it was or why. All I care about is Alice. All I want is whatever trouble you're in not to involve her." He says sternly. "You can stay until you're healed and after that-"
She cuts him off. "You don't need to worry about me." Emma snaps bitterly. "I'll be out of here ASAP. Trust me; this is the last place I'd rather be."
"Good."
Thank you notoriouscs for beta reading!