A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and shared this work. I really appreciate your support, you've all been so lovely about my writing and the story! I hope you enjoy this week's update, I tried to squeeze in some punishments for the men who hurt Killian, but it just didn't work in this chapter. Don't worry, they'll get what's coming to them in Chapter 5!
"So, you're the one the bitch decided to have mercy on." One of the larger men, Curtis, sneered as he cornered Killian in the laundry room.
"Please be respectful when you speak of the Captain." Killian replied quietly, looking up from his sewing. He'd been carefully repairing a rip on one of the Captain's blouses, taking his time as sewing one handed was challenging.
"Is that why she kept you around?" Curtis laughed, "So she could have you as her personal servant? What are you, a butler?"
"Mr Anderson has given me tasks to carry out aboard the ship and garment maintenance is one of them." Killian replied calmly, "If you have a problem with my tasks, you should take it up with Mr Anderson."
"It's you I have the problem with." Curtis spat, "You're one of Blackbeard's men. Your crew killed some of our crew and as the only one of Blackbeard's crew still alive, you're going to be punished for their deaths."
"May I complete my sewing before you enact my punishment?" Killian asked with a resigned sigh.
"How dare you speak to me with that attitude!" Curtis roared, grabbing Killian by the shirt and throwing him onto the floor, "You are nothing. You're not even a whole man."
"You've found him then." Peters smirked from the doorway, "I know exactly where we can put him."
"I don't want to just lock him in the hold. That's hardly good revenge for the deaths of our men." Curtis argued, kicking Killian repeatedly in the abdomen until he was curled up and whimpering.
"We're going to put him in the brig." Peters replied, "Embry has a whole barrel of rats and we're going to put him in there with them. He won't last long once the rats get ravenous. They'll start ripping the flesh from his bones long before he starves."
Curtis laughed and grabbed the front of Killian's shirt, shaking him, "You hear that, stumpy? You're not even good enough to be rat food. They'll only eat you because they'll have to."
Killian swiped at Curtis with the hook, but Peters grabbed it mid-swing.
"We'll be confiscating this." Peters laughed, "Come on Curtis, let's get him in the brig."
Killian gasped and coughed, struggling to sit up as he slammed back into dazed consciousness. His body hurt from hunger and he felt like he was burning up from the inside. He continued to cough violently, fighting against the weight that seemed to be holding him down.
"No, no…" he whimpered in confusion, trying to turn onto his side and drag himself away. The weight was the rats, he was convinced of it, and they'd finally become hungry enough to see him as food.
There was movement around him and voices, the crew encouraging the rats perhaps? He cried out, begging them to help him, but the weight remained and he could feel himself being pulled into the darkness of unconsciousness again.
"Will he survive?" Emma asked, looking down at Hook's limp body on the doctor's table. It had taken three men to transport him from the brig to the doctor's cabin, hauling him up the ladders and through the hallways.
"I can't say, Captain." Dr Johnson replied with a sigh, "He is dehydrated and needs sustenance. The effect of the damp and cold has taken hold and he is feverish with moisture in his lungs."
"Is there anything else wrong with him? Or is it just the fever?" Emma asked, turning to face the doctor properly.
"His hand appears to have been amputated sometime in the last three years but the wrist was given little time to heal. Either by choice or by force, it healed within various brace-like devices from what I can see of the scarring." Dr Johnson explained quickly, "I am worried about infection in the left arm due to the contact that the scar tissue had with the rotting wood. Only a small amount of dirt in an existing or old wound can cause rot in the whole limb."
Emma nodded a little in understanding; "Keep a close eye on him." She said, "Do what you have to do for him to survive."
Just as she turned away to leave, she heard Hook begin to cough. She turned back around to face the bench and instantly moved closer when she saw his panicked but weak movements.
"No, no…" he began to gasp.
"Hook, it's okay. Calm down." Emma soothed, trying to calm the whimpering man as he weakly tried to free himself from the thin blanket wrapped around him. His movements only increased as he tried to turn onto his side, his stuttering breaths coming between coughs that made his whole body shake.
"Hook, listen to me. You're fine, you're safe now." Emma tried to sound reassuring as she spoke.
"Help…help…" the man mewled desperately before he fell still again, being pulled back into sleep.
Emma sighed and gently mopped his brow with a rag, wiping away the tears from his face before she put the rag down. She glanced over him for a long moment before she turned away again and quickly left the cabin.
It was five long days before Emma received a visit from Dr Johnson. She'd deliberately avoided the doctor's cabin, not wanting to see Hook's feverish form or to receive bad news. She'd also been busy plotting punishment for the three pirates who'd carried out the cruel scheme. She was furious when she'd found out how long Hook had been locked in the darkness alone and what they'd said to him, especially after she'd promised him her protection, and only the most violent and painful deaths of the three involved would soothe her fury. She'd had them put into the brig temporarily, wanting to make sure that Hook survived before she enacted her fury.
"Captain Swan." The doctor greeted with a polite nod, closing the door to her cabin behind him.
"Well?" Emma asked, looking up from her charts and sitting back in her chair as she waited.
"The fever has broken." Dr Johnson said, his voice sounding relieved yet tired, "His temperature returned to relatively normal levels in the early hours of this morning and the fever has not returned today."
"That's excellent news." Emma replied with a smile, sharing his relief, "Were any procedures necessary?"
"Nothing more than remedies." The doctor assured her, "The left wrist did appear to be infected at one point, but the infection was soon banished with my herbal paste."
"And his lungs?" Emma asked, barely avoiding wincing at the memory of his grating coughs.
"They still sound a little unhealthy and he will need time on bed-rest to recover fully, but he should have no problems breathing." The doctor replied.
Emma nodded a little, "I am very pleased to hear the good news, Dr Johnson." She said, "Please don't let me keep you. I am sure you are eager to get back to your patient and then to get to your bed."
"Thank you, Captain." The doctor replied, making his way towards the door.
"Send word when Hook awakens. I would like to speak with him." Emma called as the doctor opened the cabin door.
"Yes, Captain Swan." The doctor said with a nod, closing the door behind him.