Killian couldn't think straight. After his latest conversation with Whale, not even the presence of his perfect baby girl could calm his anguish. His left leg had begun to judder nervously again once Snow had been informed that David had taken Henry home with him. Although he was glad that the boy had been persuaded to get his much needed rest, he knew that that meant that Emma was all alone. He had promised to protect his daughter and never leave her side again, a promise that he intended to keep. However he had made similar promises to Emma and, unlike their daughter, her life was still under threat. He tasted the metallic flavour of blood and realised that he had been subconsciously chewing his lip for god knows how long. He swallowed to rid himself of the tang of his own blood.
As if reading his mind, Snow lifted her eyes from her granddaughter and whispered, "Go to her." Her voice, though quiet and soft, startled Killian and he too lifted his head to meet her gaze.
"Pardon?" His voice matched her tone and volume, as it was instinct around the sleeping child.
"Emma. Go to Emma." Snow smiled softly and her eyes filled with sincerity. Killian opened his mouth to object, but she raised her hand regally to silence him. "She needs you now. I know how important it is for you to protect your daughter and I admire that greatly. However you have done all you can for Hope, and now she needs you to see to it that her mom is looked after to. I know that you need to see Emma for yourself as well."
"I…but…" Killian tripped over his words as he tried to form an objection to a point which he didn't really want to argue. Snow gave him a knowing look and he knew that any attempt at argument was futile, she could see that his heart was longing for Emma. He scratched behind his ear nervously and looked back to his daughter. "Very well. I trust you will watch over Hope for me… for us."
"I will. As I trust you to do the same with my daughter." Snow reached over and gave Killian's hand a reassuring squeeze. "If anything happens I will come find you."
"Likewise." Killian stood and managed to tear his eyes away from his daughter; he was fairly certain that the image of her was seared into his brain. Just to make sure, he turned back around and pulled his phone from his pocket. Leaning over his daughter he took pictures, more than necessary, from every angle of his sleeping princess. Straightening up he saw that Snow was looking at him with slight amusement. "I doubt that my description alone would do her sheer beauty justice." He smiled sheepishly and then turned to leave the room. To go to his Emma. And, as he started towards the stairs, he couldn't get to her fast enough.
Killian stopped when he got to her door, suddenly hit with the weight of what lay before him. There were two ways he would be leaving the room once he entered – with Emma, or without her. Upstairs with his daughter he had been able to block out the outside world, if only for a little while. Now it was standing right in front of him, and he knows that he has to face the future. With one more deep steadying breath, Killian turned the handle and quietly entered Emma's hospital room. His eyes fell on her still form immediately and he had to hold back a sob. He had forgotten just how pale she looked, how vulnerable she was. Keeping his gaze fixed on Emma, he walked towards her and sank down into the nearest chair. Killian reached out to grasp her hand, trying not to dwell on how limp it felt in his. Fighting past the lump in his throat, he brought her hand to his lips so that his breath lightly grazed her skin. "Hi, sweetheart… I… I've just been with our daughter." He laughed softly as tears began to fall down his cheeks. "I need to thank you, love, cause you have given me the most amazing gift… one which I… I will never be able to repay. All I can say is that she is absolutely perfect. And even that does not give her another justice. You'll see what I mean when you meet her. Cause you will…" He leans forward with his elbows on the bed, resting his chin on their joint hands. "You have to, Emma. You have to meet our little Hope. She has all of your beauty and clearly your strength, therefore I know that she will have your kind heart as well." Killian leaves a soft kiss on Emma's hand before he lays it gently on the bed. Getting out his phone he scrolls through the pictures that he took of his daughter. He finds a full body one where the lighting is just right, and he turns the screen to face Emma. "See, love, she's one hell of a pirate princess." He looks at the picture for a few moments before setting it as his lock screen; something Henry had shown him how to do a few months previously. Putting his phone back into his pocket, Killian once again picks up Emma's hand in his own. Stroking her hair with his hook he lets a genuine smile spread across his face. "Oh and your parents are besotted with her. Just like we knew they would be. Henry wants to wait until you see her, but I know he will love his little sister so much. Don't worry your father took him home to get some rest, on a promise that I let him know when there's any news. When you wake up for instance..." He finally lets the sob free, dropping his head onto their hands. "Please, Emma, just wake up. Please…" Killian trails off into silence, listening to the dull hum of Emma's ventilator along with the beeps from various machine. After a while his eyelids start to close and he's lulled into a restless sleep.
Killian opens the door to their house and steps inside to find the downstairs area empty. He frowns slightly as he kicks off his shoes and sheds his jacket. He heads towards the kitchen to pour himself a drink, but comes up short when a loud shout comes from the backyard. Turning on his heel he notices that the patio doors are wide open, letting in a cool summer breeze. He decides to take a drink outside with him – a plan that goes out of his head as soon as he hears a little girl's scream. His heart is in his throat as he runs out of the doors with his hook held out in front, searching for the danger. He breathes a shaking sigh of relief as his eyes fall on the cause of the scream. Henry is standing with a wooden sword pointing up at the treehouse, or 'tree-ship', that they had built in the spring.
"Too late Princess, you are mine now. There is no escape. You're trapped." Henry snarls dramatically as he starts towards the ladder.
"It's never too late!" The determination in the little voice that comes from the structure makes Killian's heart melt.
"No-one is coming to save you. No-one knows you're here." Henry lets out a wicked cackle that could have come from his Aunt, the wicked witch, herself.
"I don't need anyone! I can save myself." At those words Killian steps forward, not satisfied with being just an audience member any longer.
"I don't doubt that's true, Your Highness. But it won't be necessary." Killian puts on his over-the-top gallant prince impression, basically a mockery of David, as he approaches the scene. Henry jumps slightly as he spins to face him, breaking character momentarily, before raising his sword towards Killian.
"What do you want, Pirate?" Henry spits out the last word with such venom that Killian can't help but feel a tiny bit offended.
"I've come to rescue the princess of course." Killian bends down to pick up a tree branch, as he doesn't think bringing his hook to a pretend-wooden-sword-fight would be seen as good form.
"And what business is she of yours?" They've started circling each other now, both weapons held high and pointed across at the other.
"I simply can't resist helping a maiden in distress." Killian takes a step towards Henry, attempting to close the gap between them. Alas the boy reads him all too well, stepping back before Killian can take advantage of the position. "Now are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?" He's barely finished speaking before Henry lunges forward with his sword, causing Killian to raise his 'sword' to catch the blow. "Good, cause I love the hard way." Killian growls as he pushes Henry backwards and brings his sword around to attack, a move that is parried by his opponent. They continue on like this for some time, both of them getting increasingly frustrated as their competitive streaks come out in full force.
"Ready to give up, Captain?" Henry pants as he once again foils an advance from Killian.
"Never." Killian grits out as lunges towards the boy for what seems like the millionth time. Unfortunately fatigue has made him sloppy, making it easy for Henry to both step out of the way and push him to ground. Killian grunts as he turns over and sees Henry standing above him with his sword pointing at his throat.
"How about now?" Henry laughs out, not the evil cackle from before but a genuine laugh at Killian's expense. Killian sees this as his opportunity to gain the advantage, deciding to sweep Henry's legs right from under him. Before he can carry out the move, however, a voice comes from behind his attacker.
"Let him go now!" The small strong voice makes Henry freeze and he can't help but grin when he makes eye contact with Killian, who winks up at him from the ground. "Drop the sword and turn around slowly." Henry growls in frustration as he drops the sword, next to Killian's head, before turning around to face his defeater. "You are a bad man and will be locked away forever."
"Nooooo!" Henry shouts as he falls to floor in anguish. It's then that Killian's eyes finally fall on his little girl, who wears a triumphant grin as she runs over to him. He laughs as she joins him on the ground, lying on top of him with her head propped up on his chest.
"Well done, princess." Killian smiles warmly as he strokes her hair out of her face with his hook.
"See, daddy, I said I could save myself." Hope's eyes gleam with pride and Killian feels his heart swell with that same emotion.
"I never doubted you for a second. You also saved me so please accept my thanks." Killian bopps his little girl on the nose with his hook, beaming at the giggle he gets in response. Leaning forward to sit up, he lifts Hope up with him and puts her down on the grass beside him. Hope stares at him for a few seconds before tapping him on his head.
"You're it!" She exclaims with delight as she takes off down the garden. Killian chuckles softly as he goes to stand up, accepting Henry's offered hand for assistance.
"Henry, do you mind…?" Killian breaths out as he gestures with his head towards the little girl running around the garden.
"Ah is the great notorious Captain Hook getting tired in his old age?" Henry smirks, already walking in the direction of his little sister.
"Oi careful lad. I may have much life experience, but I have still retained my youthful glow." Killian mockingly scolds Henry as he watches him walk away. "I'm sure your mother would vouch for that." The boy turns round at his last words, as he had expected him to, however the expression on his face is unreadable. An uneasy feeling washes over Killian and he shakes his head to rid himself to it. "Speaking of, where is she? Still at the station?" Killian frowns as Henry's eyes fill with sadness.
"Hook… she… mom…" Henry walks slowly towards him, tears welling in his eyes.
"Henry what's wrong? What's happened? Where is she?" Killian stepped forward and took the boys shoulders in his hands, shaking him slightly when he doesn't get a reply.
"She's… dead." Henry chokes out as tears start down his face. Killian stepped back at his words, not able to process what he has just heard. Emma couldn't be dead. She wasn't dead. This must be some sick twisted joke.
"Why the hell would you say that?" His eyes flashed with anger as he once again closed the gap between himself and Henry.
"It's true. Don't you remember? She died when Hope was born." Henry whispered the last part, not wanting to upset the little girl who was thankfully unaware of their conversation. "You must remember." He stared at Killian with concern flooding his features.
"No. No. It can't be… She can't be…" Killian whispered brokenly, trying to remember the last time he'd seen Emma. He felt tears burn behind his eyes but he refused to allow himself to cry, to mourn the love of his life as he refused to believe that she was gone. A scream ripped through his thoughts and he looked up to see a black figure grabbing his daughter. Killian went to run towards her but found that he couldn't move.
"Daddy, help me! Please!" The girl's cry broke Killian's heart as he struggled with all of his might to save his princess. His efforts were in vain and he watched as the darkness began to engulf his daughter. Suddenly he saw Henry run forth to attack the creature, only to get thrown against the tree by another figure of darkness. Killian tried to scream for his children but no sound came out. He continued to will his body to move to protect his family, not prepared to let them be hurt by this new villain. His mouth opened in a silent scream as he watched both of their hearts being ripped from their chests. The pain he felt was unbearable as the dark figures slowly crushed the life out of their bodies. He saw the light go out of their eyes before they dropped to the ground. Killian felt whatever bound him to the spot vanish and he fell to his knees with a heart wrenching scream. He couldn't bring himself to look at his children who had just been taken from this world. He continued to scream as he felt the darkness surround him, and he willed them to take him. He wanted to die. For the pain to stop because he knew that he couldn't survive losing everyone he loved again. The darkness didn't kill him, choosing to let him suffer instead.
"You couldn't save them." The darkness mocked him with a vicious tone which made his stomach twist. "They're all gone now. Because of you. What kind of man can't protect his own family?"
"She would've saved them. The saviour never failed like you do."
"Stop please." Killian croaks out, unable to take any more of the cruelty. Even though he's knows they're right.
"You promised you'd protect them." The voice that appears in his head now is even worse than the former. This voice hurts him more than he can comprehend. This is Emma's voice. "I trusted you and now they're gone."
"I'm so sorry Emma. I've failed all of you. I'm so sorry."
The first thing she registers is the pain in her head, mixed with the fogginess of her brain. The feeling of extreme tiredness as well as restlessness confuses Emma to no end. After a while she realises that she hasn't opened her eyes yet, and it worries her how hard it is to do so. When she finally opens them, she closes them immediately against the onslaught of light. Who the hell thinks it's ok to have light that bright? She moans internally as her headache shoots up in protest. Trying to assess her situation with the constant throbbing of her head is near on impossible. Going to raise her hand to her face in frustration, she finds that her arm feels extremely heavy and that movement is not going to happen. Placing her arm back down the couple of inches she managed to get it in the air, she realises that her whole body feels incredibly heavy. And she feels incredibly weak. It might be one or the other, but honestly she doesn't care. Get a grip, Emma. She chastises herself mentally. You're the freaking Saviour, you can do this. Deciding on a different approach, she tries to remember what last happened to her. What landed her in the state that she's in now. Her memories are all fuzzy like the rest of her brain and it takes her a few moments to sort through the jumble. She remembers being at the Sheriff's station with her dad. But she's done that pretty much every day for years, how does she know that this is even recent? She hasn't worked at the station properly for weeks anyway, because of being pregnant. The thought of her child seems to shock her into action as she feels a searing pain in her stomach. At the same time she's hit with the memory, clear as day, as if she's drunk another memory potion.
Emma waddles into the Sheriff's station to find David sitting comfortably in her chair, staring at the computer screen in front of him. "Don't get too comfortable, you're only acting Sheriff." She smirks as her father jumps out of the chair quickly and helps her to sit in it.
"Emma. What are you doing here?" David breathes out as he continues to hold onto her hand, until Emma removes it with a pointed look.
"Just came to see how things are." Emma looks away sheepishly as David put his hands on his hips. She sighs as she turns back to face her father. "Ok honestly? I'm bored out of my mind." David chuckled as his daughter exhaled in frustration. "I'm stuck in the house all day while everyone else gets to go live their lives."
"You need the rest though Emma." David leans against the desk next to his daughter and tries not to laugh when she rolls her eyes. "You need to get ready for the baby."
"We are ready. Dad everything's been done. There's nothing to now but just wait until I have it." Emma tries to swing on her chair, an action which she quickly discovers cannot be carried out by a heavily pregnant woman.
"Well, then. Take this time for yourself. Lord knows you deserve it." David reaches forward to squeeze her shoulder affectionately, trying not to be insulted when she shrugs him off.
"You sound just like Killian." Emma huffs as she grabs the side of the desk, using it as leverage to pull herself up off the chair. David's arm immediately reaches out to help her up, which only annoys her hormone clogged brain more. She walks round to the other side of the desk, standing glaring at him with her hands on her hips. "He keeps saying that I need to take it easy. Put my feet up and chill out with some Netflix."
"Don't tell him I said this, but Killian's right. You're growing another human being, it's ok to take time to yourself. Healthy even." David spoke softly as he met Emma's gaze, gulping slightly at the anger he saw there. Having had two children he was well aware of the wrath an annoyed hormonal pregnant woman could bestow. Emma opened her mouth to respond but ended up leaning with her hands on the desk instead. She felt extremely lightheaded all of a sudden and she couldn't get her vision in focus. David rushed over to his daughter and held her as he sat her down in the chair on that side of the desk. "Emma, what is it? Are you ok?" Emma cringed at the concern in her father's voice.
"Yeh…I'm…I'm fine. Can I just have some…um…some water?" Emma breathed out as she tried to dissipate the waves of nausea that were overwhelming her. She felt her dad kiss her on the forehead before leaving the room to go grab her some water. Once her vision came back into focus she went to stand up, as walking usually helped her when she was feeling sick. Instead she felt a pain in her stomach which sent her keeling over. Her hand instantly went to protect her child and she ran soothing circles over her belly as the pain grew worse. "Ssh baby its ok. It's going to be ok." She whispered gently under her breath as she felt panic overtake her. Tears started to run down her face as her heart started beating at an alarming rate. "You're going to ok. I promise." Emma felt her eyes start to close and the familiar thrum in her head that came before passing out. She saw a blurry figure run towards her before it all went black.
Emma's breath caught in her throat as she relived what had happened. Her hand went to her stomach and she sobbed when she realised how much flatter it was. Forcing herself to open her eyes, she blinked and squinted against the bright light until she grew more accustomed to its harshness. She confirmed that she was in a hospital room as she took a deep breath and looked down at her belly. Sure enough her bulge had decreased considerably. Tears flowed down her cheeks as reality washed over her. Her baby was gone. She felt an overwhelming emptiness. A pain that was much worse than her physical symptoms took hold of her. Her baby was gone, again. She'd once again had her baby taken away without meeting them properly. But this time was worse than with Henry. This time she didn't even know if her baby was alive. She felt like screaming at the thought that her baby could have been taken from the world. She could feel the tiredness trying to pull her under but she resisted. Against every aching, weak muscle of her body she sat herself up and looked for her baby. Praying that they were in the room. Praying that they were safe. Her eyes fell on Killian and her heart stopped. She wasn't alone this time. He was here as he'd promised that he would be. The moment of relief was fleeting as Emma took in how tired he looked. There was a brokenness to his features even as he slept which stabbed at her heart. She went to say his name but was stopped by the tube in her mouth. Turning she saw that she was connected to a ventilator as well as various other machines registering her. She attempted to lift her arm to nudge Killian awake. She needed him to tell her that everything was ok. That their baby was ok.
Emma stopped herself. What if the baby wasn't ok? He was here with her and not with their child. And he looked so devastated. She wasn't ready for him to tell her that their baby was gone. She couldn't listen to him have to say those words. Have him tell her it wasn't her fault when they both know otherwise. Whatever had happened, whatever the outcome, something had gone wrong. And it was her fault. She was the mom. She had been charged with protecting this precious life for 9 months and she'd failed. 9 sodding months and she couldn't even do that. More tears fell as she leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. She should never be a mom. She can't be one. Her heart shattered as she hoped with everything she had that her baby was ok. The baby that, even if by some miracle is ok, she can't let herself be a mother to. She can't put any child in danger of her failure ever again.
