Smooth Criminal

Chapter Eight

When Emma and David rematerialized upon the Jolly Roger, the first thing they saw was Hook, who was bound tightly by the ropes from the sails to the large mast and Emma as well as David immediately rushed forward to try to free him until Killian weakly lifted his head as he suddenly cried out, "No don't! Don't come any closer. The Evil Queen enchanted the riggings to capture anyone who tries to cut me free."

Emma glanced up at the ropes surrounding them, then turned her eyes back to the man she loved as she saw Killian looked worse for wear and responded worryingly, "All right, but we're here and we're going to help you."

"Emma, you can use your magic to…" David started to say until Hook swiftly interrupted him.

"Believe me… she thought of your magic, Swan," he said curtly. "This is a trap. And she knew you'd fall for it."

Emma looked at the ropes surrounding Killian as she replied in frustration, "When did that ever stop me from going against the Queen's wishes? You know better than to try to convince me to just leave you here."

Hook struggled against the bindings while he answered, "Her wishes are that you fall into her trap. But I think… you can avoid it if you give her magic something else to focus on."

"He's right," David responded quickly. "What if… You can use your powers to distract the riggings while I free Hook. Just, just be careful."

"Don't worry, I've got this under control," she replied smugly as she ignited fireworks from the palms of her hands and fired them into the air surrounding the masts and sails, aiming her magic carefully so as to not set the ship on fire, while David swiftly raced forward to cut through the ropes holding Killian. "Hurry!"

Once the ropes were loosened enough by his efforts, Hook was able to use his hook to help David cut him the rest of the way free. But when one of the ropes attacked the Savior's father, the pirate swiftly caught it as it wrapped around his hook and arm instead until Emma blasted it away with her magic, then she raced to them and immediately poofed them all off of the Jolly Roger, back onto the docks where they would be safe.

David glance over at his friend as he stated, "Thanks. For helping me out there."

Hook nodded and answered, "It was the least… least I could do since you were… helping me."

"Are you alright?" Emma asked fearfully when Hook suddenly began to collapse until she and David grabbed him and lowered him down gently, then looked him over for any wounds other than the bruises and cuts that were already visible on his face. "Oh God, Killian. What did she want? Why did she do this?"

"Why else?" Hook responded as he really looked at Emma since she arrived to rescue him. "To lure you into a trap. It would have worked if you had come alone."

Her father nodded and replied, "She almost did."

When Emma pulled up his shirt to his chest and found a dark ugly bruise covering most of his left side, her hand shot up to her mouth to try to stifle the sob that escaped her lips, then Hook placed his hand over hers as her tremors began and whispered, "I assure you, love… it's really not as bad as it looks. I've been far worse if you recall."

"Yeah I do," she answered curtly as she struggled to get the shaking under control and then slowly roamed her hand over his chest to heal him. "Did the Evil Queen want something more, information maybe? If she only wanted to use you to trap me…"

"She just wanted to make an example out of me to make you worry," he interrupted so she would stop with her suspicions. "Besides, the Evil Queen always seems to know all we do before we do it. She wouldn't need me for information that she can't get without her magic."

Emma leaned in to kiss him and then responded, "I suppose you're right. Come on, we should get back to Granny's. Everyone's pretty worried about you. I'll ask Regina if she can't undo the Queen's magic on your ship and bring it back to its place at the docks. Then we can go home and try to get some sleep. I'm exhausted."

After she and David helped him stand back on his feet, Hook replied coolly, "I couldn't agree with you more, love. But what do you say, we skip Granny's and just head home to… you know."

"I think I'm going to walk back to the diner," Charming then said upon understanding exactly what it was his daughter's boyfriend meant. "Actually, Emma maybe you could just send me back there? I'm glad you're alright, Hook. But from now on, don't run off on your own anymore until we can finally defeat the Evil Queen. She's got an agenda and you're a target right now because Emma's a target."

"I hear you, mate," he answered smugly. "It's nice to know you care about me. And David, thank you."

David nodded and Emma transported her father back to Granny's so that he wouldn't have to walk back on his own, then she poofed herself and Killian back home. Almost right away, he began to advance on her as he kissed her passionately and began to pull her coat from off of her shoulders, but it was then Emma got the sense that something didn't feel right about Killian, like something was wrong with him during the whole time Gold had possession of his heart.

She pulled her head back so that she could look him in his eyes while she spoke quietly saying, "Easy, tiger. We have plenty of time. But something's wrong. You're not acting like yourself. Are you sure you're okay?"

Hook smiled at her, though not because he was grateful for her concern, but because he knew that she already suspected something was wrong with him and it didn't surprise him, so he nodded and responded gently, "It's just been a rough afternoon, love. But if you're worried the Evil Queen has stolen my heart…"

"Mm… Mm… Easy, tiger, we've got company," Emma heard herself say between Killian's passionate kisses as her mind wandered to that night months ago. "I didn't know you were such a fan of my magic."

"Why would you say that, Swan?" he asked painfully. "I'm a fan of every part of you."

She could sense something was wrong as she looked into his eyes and questioned worryingly, "Are you all right?"

"Of course, love," Killian replied quickly. "Why?"

"If you look at me any harder, you're gonna drill a hole in my head," she answered strangely.

"I'm just relieved," he responded nervously, despite masking his fear for her sake. "You should go outside. I have a feeling there are a lot of worried people who will be glad to see you."

Emma replied again with worry, "When Gold had possession over you, you acted the same way as you are now. You couldn't feel any emotions and so you overcompensated whenever you knew that you should feel something. You were overly compassionate, more passionate…"

"I assure you, my heart is here in my chest where it belongs," he whispered before she could finish, lifting her hand up to his chest so she could feel his heartbeat while he continued to hold her close. "I apologize for coming on so strongly. I was just afraid… I know that in your vision, you die because you're fighting to protect us from the villain under the hood. But when the Queen used me tonight to set a trap for you, a part of me feared that this was the night your vision might have come to pass, hooded figure or not. She knows your weaknesses and she isn't afraid to harm those you love to see your end."

She leaned forward and kissed him gently on his lips once more and asked, "What did I ever do to deserve someone as loving as you?"

Hook watched Emma as she turned her back to him and began to get undressed for what he knew would be a night of passion, then thought of how deeply this would hurt his weaker half and smiled cruelly as he answered, "Believe me, I often wonder the same about you."