Chapter Four
"Something isn't right here, love," Killian insisted as they prowled through the densely overgrown forest surrounding Storybrooke's town limits. The forest was proving to be a hinderance to their dedicated search. "Have you seen any of the forest life since we began tracking through?"
Emma sighed as she hacked at the low lying tree branches that blocked her way, almost reminding her of their adventure in Neverland. "I know, my gut tells me something is wrong. But we'll never know what that evil bitch has up her sleeve if we sit around at the station all day."
Killian waggled his eyebrows at her as he pulled the branches back of her path. "My beautiful Swan, rest assured I would find some other, more pleasurable alternative to keep you busy."
With a grin, she spun to face him fully, grasping his jacket as she suddenly pulled him to her. Her nerve endings tingled as his hard body molded against hers. "Promise?" She asked him with a breathy moan.
His blue eyes dilated slightly at the contact of their bodies and then dropped his lips to hers, smirking the entire way. "Ah, there's my Swan. A dalliance outside today? You never cease to impress this old pirate," he whispered as he brushed his lips to hers, nibbling and tasting as she sighed contentedly. "Luckily for you, I am quite up to the challenge."
"I never thanked you, you know." She moaned quietly a few moments later, as his lips tracked down her neck sucking none too gently on her pulse point, his other hand snaked up her shirt to cup her breast. His fingers skimming over her nipple with maddening strokes.
"Hmm?" Killian hummed against her collarbone, his hook starting to roam around to cup her ass, pulling her tighter to his growing hardness.
"For finding me and not giving up on me." Emma pulled back to look him in the eyes. "Even when I sent you to jail."
"Bolonga," he said as considered her seriously, "is truly hellish, love. How people of this realm can actually eat that." He shuddered, then paused for a moment and chose his words carefully. "I would do anything for you. I would go anywhere for you. Search all the realms and back to bring you to my side, you know that?"
She couldn't help the smile that blossomed on her face as she brought her lips back down to his.
Emma sprung up in her hospital bed, shaking from her dream. That was the last thing she remembered before everything went black and she came to in Storybrooke Hospital, with her pirate boyfriend turned into sexy doctor. She blinked away the tears as she looked around at her surroundings. Still the same four walls, the same beeping monitors, the same prison until she was healed.
She chewed her lip in thought as she recalled the memory, he had pledged to find her anywhere. Being trapped in her hospital prison, without his smirks and quips, had led to the starting realization that she missed him. She missed him so much, it felt like her heart hurt. Ached. Wept.
The only other person that she could miss so much that her heart hurt was Henry.
Emma slumped back down on the bed, slamming her eyes closed and rubbing them with the heels of her hands. She could hear his voice and see his smirk in her mind.
Just admit that you love this dashing rapscallion, love.
She loved the way they instinctively understood each other. She loved the stupid way he would give her space to choose, but she loved the way he could push and prod her when she needed it. She loved that he could make her smile in the worst of situations. Holy hell, she loved him.
Emma sucked in a deep breath as the realization that she had been holding back swept over her like a tidal wave. Fucking son of a bitch. I love him.
It was now up to her to bring him back and the only way to break the curse was True Love's Kiss.
If that bastard would stop hiding from her. Emma pushed herself from her hospital bed and eyed the equipment that surrounded her warily as she got an idea. It was time to make a statement.
—-
Ten minutes later, every monitor in Emma's room was screeching as Killian came running. His eyes went wide as he took a long look at the lingering chaos. She was effectively blocking all the equipment, all unplugged, which was shoved in the back corner of the room, with a blazing look of just try to get past me in her green eyes.
The IV stand that she swung at one nurse who attempted to sneak past her didn't help matters either. The other two nurses were shouting at her, immediately turned to him with imploring looks in their eyes stop crazy lady. "Doctor Jones! She's attacking us!" One nurse yelled as she glared at Emma.
"Bloody hell, lass!" He shouted above the madness as he strode towards her, grabbing the IV stand out of her hands.
"Finally, my doctor shows up." She told him as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and smirked at him, her body still blocking the monitors.
"What, pray tell, are you doing Swan?" He asked her carefully, his bright blue eyes matching the blue scrubs he wore, but Emma pushed the stray thought away to focus on her plan.
Instead, she shrugged defiantly at him, arms still crossed and stared daggers at the nurses.
Killian sighed as he scratched the back of his head. "You're going to be the death of me Swan." He looked over his shoulder and waved off the nursing staff, who beat a hasty retreat without an extra word to him. "There. Happy? Can I reconnect the monitors now?"
Again, she locked eyes with him. "No," she said, eyes flicking to the open blinds that surrounded her hospital room.
He let out an exasperated sigh and clenched his jaw, neck muscles bunching as he slowly went to each window and turned the pole to close the blinds. Raising an eyebrow as he looked back at Emma, who smiled at him. "Now?"
"Lock the door." Her tone booked no argument.
She could have sworn that she saw the desire flash through his body at her last request, but he he wordlessly crossed the room, locking the hospital door with a loud click.
"Any other requests? Now, may I stop this god-awful caterwauling?" Killian said gesturing to the machinery behind her.
"Be my guest." She waved an arm at him as she settled back down on her bed.
Killian shot her a dark look as he dropped to the floor. He had to lay on his back to start repairing her damage. Cords were scattered about her room, machines unplugged, equipment moved. "Good lord, Swan! You certainly know how to create carnage in your wake." He complained at her mess from the ground. Her eyes tracked him as he worked. His scrubs pulled up as he moved, revealing the tanned, taunt stomach, the dark hair that started at his belly button and traveled below his pants. She had to bite back a groan when she remembered one particularly happy afternoon where she traced down that path with her tongue.
It's almost as if he was able to read her thoughts because he tilted his head and looked at her for a moment, his eyes narrowing at her for an instant before going back to sorting the wires.
Focus Swan.
A few minutes later, Emma had to hide her smile as she heard his voice cursing as his hands quickly reattached cords and plugs. "Buggering useless garbage. Exasperating woman. Incompetent staff." Finally, the screeching lessened, then stopped as all the cords were reattached, placed back into their correct slots. Killian slowly pushed himself back up to his feet as he glared at her. "What the hell, Swan?"
"I wanted to talk to you."
"And destroying hospital property seemed like a good idea?!" He gestured to the equipment angrily.
Emma smiled at him, "Then, I guess you'd better call the Sheriff to come and discuss this."
"Very funny," he replied while making a face at her. "It seems that our Sheriff has lost her mind."
She blew out an exasperated breath, "Killian, just can you sit down for a minute and talk to me? That's all I want."
He eyed her warily and sat down at the edge of her bed. "We've been through this Swan, it was a mistake, a one-time thing…"
God, he must had the patience of a saint to deal with me, Emma realized as she looked at Killian, trying vigilantly to defend the walls the curse had re-instilled in him. She scooted towards him and reached out a hand to lay it over his. "Maybe you might think so, but I know there is more to this, more to us. It's called trust, let me in. I know you want to." Her fingers slid up his forearm and traced the tattoo that remained on his arm. "Tell me about this," she asked softly, curious to hear how this part of his past remained in his new cursed life.
Milah.
His body had stiffened at the contact of her fingertips on arm. "She… was the first patient that I had lost," he whispered, his eyes finally meeting hers. "She died of cancer, I tried everything I could to save her. Researched new drugs, treatments, procedures… the whole nine yards. Milah was so vibrant and alive when she first came to the hospital with her results, but the disease destroyed her in the end, like it does to so many others." He took a deep shuddering breath before continuing, "She had a husband, he came in briefly when the first biopsies came back positive for cancer. But he was a coward and he left her, he left her when she needed him the most because he couldn't handle it. He wasn't wasting away from the disease. I had to be the one who supported her, helped her through the long days and nights of chemo."
Emma's fingers reflexively tightened around his arm as she slid closer to him on her bed, her other hand going around to rub soothing circles on his back. Damn that witch. Making him relive Milah and her horrific death in new and vicious ways.
He took a shuddering breath as he continued his story. "She fought it for so long, but in the end she died anyway. I had fallen in love with her despite it all and she still died." Killian continued, his jaw set, muscles strung tight from the memory of so much pain and loss. "I realized that it just wasn't worth loving anyone, because everyone leaves. Everyone dies in the end, there's nothing anyone can do to stop it."
"I'm not going anywhere," she whispered, moving even closer to him, almost sitting in his lap as she continued to slide her hand in circles on his back.
He huffed and looked away, staring at a spot on the wall. "Sure. Right now, maybe not. You don't think I haven't considered it, love?" Killian hissed lightly, his hand moving to capture hers in his, his eyes locking back on hers. He entwined their fingers together for a long moment before pulling away again. "After all, I keep ending up in your bed every night fall. But don't forget, you're the Sheriff of this town and you're only in the hospital in the first place because you were shot. Every day I would come to work and worry that the next ambulance would be bringing in your body. Every. Single. Day. Swan."
Emma sighed and cupped his cheek gently, enjoying the feel of his stubble under her hand. She had missed that and so many other things about him. "Trust me, Killian. I will be fine. You're just running away from how you feel." She hated having to push him, hell, having your walls up to protect your heart was something she specialized in. However, the longer they were separated from this curse, the longer everyone in town was in danger.
Besides, she missed him. The real him, with his sassy quips and easy smile when she needed it the most. The man who was by her side in the forest, not awaiting her at this hospital.
Killian had no response, he just looked at her intensely, thoughts tumbling through his mind. "How can I feel this way about you? How is it possible to feel so connected to one person, so quickly?" He whispered. "You've only been my patient for two weeks, yet I'd wager we've met before."
She patiently looked at him, giving him a small smile as she curled her hand back around his forearm. "We've known each other much longer than that, Killian."
He rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly, "Aye. Your curse. And… I'm Captain Hook? Love, you can't just go around turning all dashingly handsome one-handed men into Captain Hook. Besides, I'm missing the horrendous perm and swirly mustache."
Leaning in closer, invading his personal space like he had done to her so many times, she whispered, "Maybe I'm just in love with Captain Hook." He blinked rapidly at her admission, eyes dilating as he reigned in emotions that didn't make any sense to him before surging forward to capture her lips against his.