He had seen that damn dart a mile away. He was no stranger to the maneuvering ways of the lost boys' weaponry. Those blasted kids were demons, at best, but he had to hand it to Pan: he was one hell of a leader and had trained them well. This was one motley crew of adept, skilled, naughty little boys who packed a serious punch.
He, Captain Hook, knew a thing or two about training a crew of men. And for a few evenings since arriving in Neverland, he had actually worked with Emma to get her to improve her fencing. But darts were bad form, the worst form, the most villainous and lowest form. There was no honor in dipping a dart in poison and killing your adversary without a decent and fair fight. And while the evening when they had found Pan's lair had been the perfect opportunity to allow Emma to put her newly acquired skill to use, the cheating lost boys had poisoned darts. Dirty bleeders… And the moment he saw that blasted infant take the hollowed pipe to his lips and aim at Emma, Killian hadn't even thought twice of it: He jumped and took the dart for her. Right on his good shoulder.
He was dying. He knew that well enough.
There was another thing he knew well: He was madly in love with the blonde Savior, the princess and heir to the throne of the Enchanted Forest. Madly, head over heels, swear on her name and hope die for her, in love.
Mah. Just as well that he'd be dead soon: He didn't stand a chance with her, anyway, not with her overprotective father who kept reminding him what a lowlife he was; not with Snow White, that while not outwardly rude, stared at him like he was a dung beetle. And, not with Emma herself, who in spite of being such a kindred spirit always kept him at arm's length. He had tried to bond with her; his reward had been her blunt words stating that she was not interested in bonding with him at all. She couldn't have been clearer if she had drawn it for him on a piece of paper.
Princesses don't cohort with filthy pirates.
No matter; he'd gladly take a million darts for her, all the same. Blast this bloody, horrid thing called love.
Oddly enough, the thought that worried him most was not so much the idea of dying an agonizingly slow and painful death, but rather the notion that he was hindering them from their quest for Emma's young boy. The longer they took, the quicker the lad would finish the spiritual transition to being a lost boy.
But Emma had seen him take the dart for her and would not simply leave him to die alone. He had given his life for her and no one she knew of (aside from her parents) had ever done such a thing; She hadn't thought she'd be worth saving to anyone.
Damn stupid pirate, why did you have to be so goddamned brave? So gallant? So friggin' cute, to boot?
They, she knew, were far more connected than she had wanted to admit, and seeing him die, seeing that that connection would soon be severed, hurt her far deeper than she cared to acknowledge.
"Bloody hell, it hurts…" he shivered as she placed the wet rag over his forehead. Fever had set in and his whole left arm looked like a blackened road map, with every vein darkening under the effect of the poisonous sap. She and her father had managed to remove his perennial leather trench coat and vest, and he lay wearing only his shirt and trousers, now unable to walk.
"Shh, it's ok…" she whispered, trying to clean away the sweat droplets over his eyebrows.
Killian opened his eyes. "Hook, there must be something we can…"
"I already t…told you, lass." He spoke with a sad grin, still shivering. "There is no plausible salvation; Regina was right."
"About what?" she replied softly.
"V… villains. We don't get happy endings."
Emma closed her eyes and shook her head. "There has to be a way, I can't just…" she stood up and ran a hand through her hair, pacing in circles. "You won't be another friggin' martyr in my book of self-sacrificing idiots, Killian Jones." She snarled. "I really don't care to carry the weight of your death as well as Neal's. He pushed me out of the way of that vortex and took a bullet. I don't need you to die on me as well, not for me, not because… I…" she kicked a rock and it ricocheted like a pinball score between three trees.
Killian giggled. "I believe you'd not be able to d… do that again if you tried to do it intentionally, Swan…"
That got the desired effect of a grin.
"There…" He smiled fully. Wow. Emma had never seen him smile like that. "That smile of yours… pure sunshine, your h…highness. T… try to smile more often." He grinned and blinked hard at her. "You d… deserve your h… happiness."
She kneeled beside him and pulled his shirt down from the neck. She was horrified to see the lines of his veins now tracing beneath the hair of his chest and creeping upward to his neck. That damn thing would reach his heart within the hour.
In spite of seriously believing she had no interest in him, the sudden realization that she'd soon be minus her trusty, leather-clad shadow with his constant sword suddenly filled her with what she instantly recognized as terror.
And even more terrifying was the realization that she felt that terror at all.
Killian instantly perceived the shift in Emma's stare. She had always been, as he had said, a bit of an open book to him. He grinned and reached to grab her arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. "It's ok, Swan." He smiled, looking into her flustered eyes. "It's g…good to lay your life down for your mates. I've no regrets; I'd take another dart for you any day. B… besides, I have a bit of a bad slate to c…clean up. Many red numbers." He winked. "I like to th…think that this w… will make your beloved father hate me a little less…" He licked his lips and sighed. "Worry not, love. They got your back, you'll not be a…alone, ever. I'll be gone, b…but you never really needed me anyway. You're strong and b…brave, Emma. You can d…do it. I have faith in you."
Emma's hand took life of its own and before she could say anything, she was holding his hand.
Seconds after he had said that, the towering figure of prince Charming stepped behind Emma, shadowing the light of the fire that crackled behind her. "How is he?"
Emma turned up and looked at her father. She stood up and turned her back to Killian, her arms folded and avoiding all eye contact in fear of crying. "He's…. he's got a bad fever, he's in pain, I can't see how this could be any worse." She finally looked into her father's eyes. "He's dying because he took a poisoned dart for me. He can't feel too good."
Charming nodded. "Not to mention that this is the way his brother died."
Emma furrowed her brow. "What? He… had a brother that died like this?"
"Told me recently, when we went looking for rope." David sighed. "His brother was poisoned. Died in his arms." He shook his head. "It was his death that prompted him to turn to piracy…"
Double the pain, Emma thought. Not fair for the funny-spirited, loyal pirate. Really NOT fair.
"I refuse to believe that this is it for him; there's gotta be a way." She heaved. "He's… kind of part of the team now, I can't…. he came back for me, for all of us. He could have used the bean, but he came back. God knows he didn't have to."
David nodded and pressed his lips together. "I'm sure there has to be a way. He was here for three hundred years, he's got to know about some form of antidote." He looked at the shivering pirate; he was looking worse every passing minute. "Look, I'll talk to Regina, maybe she can give him some sort of magical remedy for the pain, at least. You try to get it out of him, ok?"
He paced away and Emma once again joined Killian's side.
"Hey." She grinned. "We're going to save you, Hook."
He chuckled. "I'm nothing but a p… pirate, darling. Your father m… made that really quite clear. And he is completely right. I am a p…pirate. I've walked in the darkness far l… longer than I wish to remember. Not worth the effort, love, focus on Henry." He then winced and hissed, grunting in pain as Emma pressed her lips together tight, feeling his agony in her heart. It worsened when he turned and smiled, wide and beautiful. "Look, L… Liam. This is Emma… Emma Swan. The savior… MY savior. Sh… she's the one you have to th… thank brother."
Emma looked over her shoulder and saw nothing aside from the figures of Mary Margaret talking to Regina in their tent. So this meant Hook was maybe starting to see the dead.
"No… no, Killian?" Placed her hand under his neck and made him look at her. "Keep your eyes on mine, ok? I have to ask you…"
"You're … beautiful, Swan." He reached out and touched her face… and she let him, finally unable to contain the tears that had so precariously clung to the commissures of her eyes. "Like the bloody sunrise o… over the horizon of the sea. Only more beautiful. Brighter, perhaps."
Emma swallowed heard. "Killian, listen to me: You lived here a long, long time. I'm sure you know of a way to stop this poison. You HAVE to tell me, please!" She pleaded. "Whatever it is… We'll see it done. You won't die, you can't!"
"No, Emma." He shook his head. "You see, there is one way I c…can live, but you see, I'm sure of this as I'm sure that my name is Jones: I do not… w…wish to spend an eternity of perfect health in this accursed island…" He gasped in pain before continuing. "For that is the price, my love… Should I… take the only antidote, the o…only way I can live is if I… remain here, forever." He swallowed hard. "And that means I… I'd never see you again, Swan. I'd spend an eternity, yearning for the s…sunrise." He chuckled sadly. "A… and as I told you, love, you are my sunrise… and my dusk, and my evening and morning star. I'm… cursed to follow you to the ends of the earth. My sword and my soul are at your s… service, Swan. So, I'd sooner die; it's better this way." When Emma sniffed back and tears spilled down her cheeks, his smile shone like the full moon over their heads. "It's a worthy sacrifice, Emma. Y…you get to t…take Henry home. He knows how to stir the Jolly's helm, does he n…not? Tis his, Swan. The Jolly Roger. It's for him."
"Stop talking like that! We'll find a way, Killian, don't you dare give up on me. Not you!" she leaned in and caressed the hair away from his forehead. "Please… Tell me what needs to be done. Whatever it is we have to do, we will do it, but you WILL live and you WILL come home with us!"
"Oh he's as stubborn as they come." Came the wretched voice of the evil Pan boy.
Emma turned and pinned him to a tree, dagger to his throat. "You tell me… what I have to do! You tell me what I need to save him and get my son, or I swear I'll slice you like a sushi roll."
Charming drew his sword, Snow pulled back an arrow in her bow and a seemly fireball glowed in Regina's hand.
Pan cackled. "What a sorry, desperate lot you must be… trying to find the remedy to the Pirate's ailment. Alas…" He gently pushed the knife away from his neck. "He is telling you the truth. There is a way, to save his life. Up there…" he pointed up to a notoriously tall cliff. "In Dead Man's Peak, is a spring, the very soul of the Island. Get him to drink from its water. But, he will tell you, as soon as he leaves Neverland, he… will… die." He turned his smirking face to the agonizing man on the floor, who returned the glare with equal intensity. "We know a thing or two about that, don't we Captain? This was pretty much how you obtained your rank, is it not? Was not your brother the true captain of that vessel? He passed, so you inherited the title." He looked back at Emma. "He's a rather pathetic figure now, isn't he? Fairly dramatic: The pirate gone hero to save the life of the woman he loves, because, Emma…." He winked at her and she cringed. "…you may have noticed he has more than just a bit of a crush, right? Fever has weakened the restraints of his tongue quite a bit."
He started walking away. "I'll play another game with you lot: let me keep Henry, and I will give you the antidote that WILL allow you to fully heal the Captain."
Hook's head rose up and he propped himself weakly on his elbows. "What?"
"Yes, Killian." Pan hissed at him. "I have an antidote. Have had for more than a couple hundred years. I had it when your… darling brother decided to challenge my knowledge of this island's botanical properties. Had he drunk this… he would have lived his full life, away from Neverland."
Killian swallowed and spoke through gritted teeth. "My… b…brother died… and he didn't have to…"
"Indeed."
Hook was too weak to pierce Pan's heart with his blade, but he truly felt the desire for revenge once again stir his liver and bring the taste of bile to his lips.
"So Emma…" pan smiled once again. "Your son… or the man who gave his life for you? And whom we both know… is much more to you than just a snarky one-handed Pirate?"
And whoosh, he was gone.
Regina stood and walked to the Savior. "Well that's an easy choice to make."
"I… agree with the Queen." Killian nodded from his deathbed.
Snow stepped between them. "NO ONE is dying today. We're still to find Rumple. Six of us arrived in Neverland and six of us plus Henry will return back home to Storybrooke."
Regina shook her head. "Are you seriously saying we consider taking Pan's offer?"
Emma huffed hard. "We're taking Henry… and we're saving Hook."
David stepped in the circle. "What do you suggest?"
"Going up there." Emma nodded determinedly. "Getting the water from the spring and healing him. That will buy us the time to fight back and get the antidote, whether it's according to Pan's rules or not. And we also get Henry."
"Take no prisoners." Regina grinned. "Finally some backbone, Miss Swan."
Emma shook her head. "We're taking all the children, Regina. That's not up for discussion."
"And Pan?" Snow sneered.
"We'll do whatever it takes." Emma shrugged. She turned her face to Snow. "Take care of him, Mary Margaret. Regina? Try to use some magic to delay the effect of the poison and relieve his pain and…"
"wait one second!" regina laughed. "You're saying I get to stay here and play Florence Nightingale for Mr. One-Hand?" She chuckled. "Why the hell should I?"
Emma paced forward and stood an inch away from Regina's nose. "Because, Regina, unlike what you said to him… he WILL get a second chance. You're sure as hell getting yours right now, why should we deprive him of his?" He sighed and pressed her lips together. "He saved my life. If it had been you, you'd be in debt as well. Besides, he's the only one among us who knows this island like the back of his hand. We need him to guide us. Five heads are better than four and we need all the help we can get to find our son."
Regina closed her eyes and huffed. "Fine. I'll try to delay the effects as much as possible."
Snow smiled at Regina. "That is the right thing to do."
David turned to Emma and silently agreed with a nod before turning around to collect rope for the climb up the hill. Emma returned to the pirate. "So there." She smiled. "You see? You get to… Hook?"
The man's face was half black… and he lay there, eyes closed, and not moving.
"Oh, no… no, no, no, NO!" Emma went down on her knees and took his head on her lap. "Killian, you DON'T get to slip away just like that, you hear me? You don't!" She leaned her ear to his nose and managed to catch a rugged breath. David turned to her. "Is he..?"
"He's barely breathing! Regina!" Emma shouted.
The Queen went down on her knees and nodded. "I can only delay this for as little as maybe a couple of hours. He's on his very last legs. If you two don't come back before then, there's nothing else for me to do…" she ran an open hand over the blackened skin of the captain and the dark marks receded. His breathing improved slightly and his eyes fluttered halfway open. "Swan…" he whispered weakly before closing them again and falling unconscious.
"It's better if he's asleep." Regina nodded, standing up and dusting her hands. "The effect of the poison will be a little slower." She turned to Emma. "Now go, retrieve the water and get back here." She smirked. "We're going to kick some lost boy ass."
Emma nodded and turned to Killian, who now seemed to be sleeping a feverish but peaceful slumber. Not caring about the people around her, she leaned in slowly and pressed her lips to his sweaty forehead. "Please don't leave me…" She whispered barely loud enough for it to sound almost like a prayer.
She stood and turned a stern look at a stunned and shocked looking David. "Let's go, Emma. Looks like a long climb."
As they walked through the thick, brushy jungle, David sighed and cleared his throat repeatedly.
"Come on, spit it out…" Emma smirked.
"Spit what out?"
"Whatever it is you have lodged on the tip of your tongue, come on."
David huffed and hesitated before talking. "Ok… so… do you and Hook have something going, there?"
Emma grinned. "You were just dying to get that out of your system, weren't you?"
"Do you?"
"No. Not that I know of…" Emma gulped. "Or maybe, eventually, or maybe not, I don't know. Why?"
He chuckled as he batted away a stubborn leaf larger than his head. "You seemed a little too touchy-feely back there." He shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, I mean, the guy did take a poisoned dart for you, and for that I'll forever be in his debt, but…"
"Hmm…" Emma grinned, swatting away a random bug that flew into her face. "It's the pirate thing…"
"Neal just passed away." David blurted out. He felt Emma stop cold and he turned, blushing insanely. "Oh my god, Emma, I'm so sorry…. I wasn't thinking…"
Emma sighed and looked up. "You know…" She swallowed with a grin. "The last thing I ever said to Neal before he fell, was 'I love you'… but…" She bit her lip. "You want to know the truth?"
"If you wish to share…"
She shook her head and hesitated before talking. "I honest to god have no idea if I really meant it. I mean, yeah, I care for Neal, he did take accountability for Henry and Henry adores him, but… I couldn't trust him. How can I?" She signaled with her eyes for David to keep walking.
The Prince chuckled and continued to open the path before him. . "And I'm guessing that a man who takes a poisoned dart for you deserves your trust…" He sighed. "I can see how that works. It's just that… well, he's kind of… rough around the edges, a bit."
Emma grunted. "Am I any different? I'm really not as princessy as you and Mary Margaret would wish."
"You defend him an awful lot."
"Well, somebody has to! You keep begrudging him all the time… Whatever happened to second chances?"
David stopped again and sighed, turning to nod at Emma. "Fine. As far as I'm concerned, I won't do that again. I was just… just…"
"Being a jealous father…"
"Protecting you, Emma."
She grinned at her father and blinked sadly. "So was he. And he's about to pay for it with his life, so let's just talk about this later, like, way, later, and get that water for him."
"I agree, let's go."
It was a tortuous climb. Emma and David decided it would be faster if only one person did the climbing, filled the canteen and then threw it over for whomever was at the bottom to catch it and run like hell to get the water back to Killian. Emma was a hell of a sprinter and Charming had far more experience living in mountains, so it was agreed that he'd be the one to rappel up the cliff. Steep and dangerous as it was, he reached the top and instantly heard the soft murmur of a spring behind a bushy landscape. "Ah, dammit…" he huffed, seeing he'd have to cut past a massive bush of the same venomous plant that was sucking away the life of his friend. Yes, his friend. Anyone who was brave enough to take a poisoned dart for Emma was an instant yes in his book. As he precariously sliced and slashed through the bush with his sword, avoiding the spluttering of the deadly sap, he pondered on all the things he had said to him before: Cruel, unnecessary things. He suddenly hated himself for all that.
Finally, he cleared enough space to walk through the cave and into the spring. There was indeed something special about that natural fountain: The smell of it was delicate and fresh and he smiled, thinking how this was the solution to Hook's ailment. He filled the canteen and rushed back to the Cliffside, where Emma was pacing anxiously. "Emma!"
"You got it?" She shouted.
"Don't try to catch it! I'll throw it into that bush over there, hang on!" Emma stepped back and allowed her father to throw it into the bush. She leaned into it and felt a sudden thorny prick on her wrist as she collected it. "Argh dammit!"
By the time realization caught up with her, little black lines had started to stem prom the tiny cut.
"Oh… no…" She bit her lip.
Seemed the pirate might have some company in Neverland after all.
"You're ok?" David shouted.
"Ehh… yeah." She shouted back. "I'm off! See you back at the camp." She ran as she pulled the shoelace tied around her wrist to cover the tiny, blackened cut, knowing that within a few hours she too would start feeling the effects of the deadly poison.
"Bit of a rush, are we, Emma?"
Emma stopped cold, closed her eyes and sighed an angry sigh. "If you don't mind, I have things to do."
Pan paced in front of her. "You do realize that even if he drinks from that canteen, he'll never leave, don't you?" He chuckled. "And from what I saw, neither will you…"
She snapped her eyes open at him. "And what's it to you?"
He shrugged. "It's not in my best interest to have you both stick around, Emma. Henry would never grant me his heart that way."
Emma frowned. "His heart? You want his heart?"
"The heart of the truest believer… You see, Emma…" He paced around her. "For every second that passes here, my life, my… youth, so to speak, is waning. But there is one way for me to become, well… immortal."
"Not gonna happen." She snapped back in all seriousness.
"Are you quite sure?" He raised his eyebrows. "Oh, Emma, you are a complicated little lady, you are…" He chuckled. "You have dreamshade in your bloodstream and the man that you seem to desperately try to deny into your heart is… well, minutes from drawing his final breath." He looked as his fingernails smugly as he spoke. "But you could go home… you could all go home, happy, healthy… in one piece."
"Yeah, and die as soon as we reach Storybrooke, nice try, junior."
"Do you think I'd be able to live here without an effective antidote?"
"You're bluffing."
"Am I?" He smiled and suddenly produced a tiny little bottle. "Just to show you I mean business, I'll give you a show." He turned around and reached for a small vine of Dreamshade that peeked from behind a tree. He intentionally pricked his finger and gasped as he turned to Emma, showing her how his finger was slowly blackening. "There, see? I even use my own flesh to show you." He opened the bottle, pulling the cork with his teeth, and dropped a single drop into the cut. Immediately, all the blackness receded. Emma frowned. "And there's a bonus to this antidote, Emma." He smiled. "It never wears off. You'll be immune to dreamshade, forever. You can travel back home safely. Unlike the water." He stood mere inches away from Emma's face. "And I'll throw a bonus treat in it for you: You get to leave aboard the Jolly Roger with your captain, your parents and even the bitter old queen… and, as soon as you all agree, I can do a forgetting spell… you won't remember Henry. You won't miss him. You'll have your captain and he can have you because, well…" He chuckled. "The only one who doesn't seem to admit how bad a crush you have for the chap is … you."
Emma smiled. "And you think I'd willingly leave my son… to you?"
He shrugged. "wouldn't be the first time you give him up…"
Emma chuckled. "Screw you. We're doing this MY way." She shoved him back. "No get the hell out of my way…"
She heard Pan's voice as she picked up the pace and ran to Killian's side. "You should have bargained with me, Savior!"
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Emma reached Killian and practically slid to home, holding his head in her hand and pouring the contents of the canteen into his mouth…. Saving just a little sip for herself. Killian was barely even alive, but Emma felt the weight of the world leave her shoulders when the blackness invading his body quickly receded. He gasped for a sudden large gush of breath, eyes wide and alert. He panted, feeling his body regained strength quicker then ever, and he turned his blue eyes to his savior once more. Only that, instead of a smile, a tragic frown befell on his brow. "Swan, what did you do?" He nearly wept.
"Don't worry…" She grinned, relieved to see he would still be around to pester her for… well, since this was Neverland…. "We get another chance."
"Love, you don't understand, now I'll have to remain in Neverland forever!" He exclaimed, alarmed, as he sat up.
Emma swallowed. "Yeah, well…" She shook her head. "You won't be alone."
He frowned. Regina and Snow frowned. David frowned.
Emma sighed and pulled the lacey shoelaces on her wrist down. The tiny prick now looked the size of a coin.
"Ah, bloody hell, Swan, NO!" Killian stood like bolt lightning. Mary Margaret nearly fell and David held her, aghast at how he could have missed his little girl getting cut with the deadly shrub. Even Regina was stunned into silence.
She shrugged. "Meh… what's a lifetime of listening to your cheap innuendos in exchange for a chance to save my son?" She grinned.
Killian ran his hand through his hair. "The whole point of me taking that dart was precisely so you wouldn't have to! Bleedin' hell, Emma, now we're both stuck here!"
"Emma…" Mary Margaret began to weep.
"Look, we have one more shot." Emma stood up and turned to all of them. "After I cut myself, Pan taunted me with some strange antidote…"
"And you're ready to believe anything that bloody demon tells you?" Killian moaned.
"Look, he cut himself with a shrub and placed a drop of the stuff on his finger… I saw the dreamshade spread and then it cured him, though and through. I think it's legit." She looked at all of them. "I think it's worth a shot. Killian, you and I could take a few canteens of this water with us, keep sipping it until we get home and then share that antidote."
David nodded. "If we can get it."
"What happens if you don't, Emma?" Mary Margaret asked, concerned.
The blonde Savior shrugged. "Then I get to play roommates with Captain Hook for the rest of my life. My eternal life." She grimaced. "That's… encouraging."
Hook grinned and tilted his head sideways, tongue in cheek. "Come now, love, I'd make it worth your eternal while…"
She snapped her face at him. "Wow, you're really back, aren't you?"
"And Henry?" Regina huffed. "We're talking about rearranging your living accommodations to Never-Neverland and my son is still missing."
Emma nodded. "We'll get Henry… and the antidote. And then, we'll… we'll…" she felt herself swoon and lost balance, falling backwards as Killian caught her. He looked up to David, who held the canteen in his hand, and gave him a knowing nod. David nodded back and proceeded to open it.
Emma opened her eyes and saw infinite blue gazing into hers. She grinned. "Those flirty comments don't cut it, pirate." She grinned, speaking softly, as Killian took the canteen with his good hand while cradling Emma's head over his severed limb.
"You know you love them, Swan." He winked and tipped the canteen over her lips. "Go on, love, just one sip, is all it takes…" The water dripped into her mouth and soon enough, she was sitting up before an extremely relieved Killian.
She turned to look at him and grinned. "Wow… that really does hurt…"
Hook returned the glare. "Not as much as it does on this side, when the ones you care for lay dying before your eyes…"
Emma grinned. "I agree…"
Killian pondered on the meaning behind Emma's words and a wry smile was traced on his lips. Flirting didn't last long; Regina started nagging soon enough.
But this time, Emma's grin seemed to encourage the pirate every single time he flirted. Seems that nearly losing him had made her think… it had made them all think.
The Captain was certainly quite a different man now.
They'd get Henry back, for sure…
And, they'd find a way to get back home, alive and free of the toxin.
And, they'd quite possibly share a kiss.
Maybe they'd even find Neal.
And they'd, perhaps, capture Pan's shadow to hoist the merry crew back home onboard the Jolly Roger.
And just maybe… They'd eventually fall in love for one another.
B
