If Any Would Avenge
Chapter Ten:
"...this can't be right…." David mumbled, rubbing his chin as he peered closely at the car Killian crashed. His eyebrows furrowed and he frowned, circling the vehicle. Kneeling beside the car's back passenger seat, where Gideon had been during the crash, David touched the scratched and mangled door. Holding his breath, he glanced at the report filed by the town mechanic, reading its description of the damage. "...how did we miss this?"
"I'm right, aren't I? There's something more to this than just an accident." Henry piped up, standing a few feet from his maternal grandfather. Shortly after his encounter with the strange raven, he'd gone to check on his stepfather's car, to see if his suspicion was correct. It took only a glance for him to feel something was wrong about its state, and thus he called David.
"Well, I wouldn't necessarily say that." David traced a finger over one of the scratches, drawing it away midway with a sharp intake of breath. A tiny bead of blood formed on his fingertip, a rich red dot on the white digit. Narrowing his eyes, he took out a small pocket knife and returned to the scratch.
"Grandpa?" Henry leaned over David's kneeling form, trying to see what had caught the older man's attention. He blinked when David wrenched a tiny piece of something from the car door. "What's that?"
"It's a piece of glass from a headlight." David shook his head and clenched his jaw, a deep frown on his face. He glanced from the tiny shard back to the car door - it wasn't as noticeably from a distance, but there were paint flakes in the scratches not matching the hue of the car. "I can't believe I didn't see it before…." He grimaced and stood up, mulling over the evidence. "Henry, call Regina and tell her to come over here, asap." He headed to the first aid kit for a bandage for his finger. "Tell her Killian may not be as responsible for the crash as we thought. There was another car involved that night."
David took a few steps back, studying the impact site carefully while Henry did as told. His leery gaze shifted as he studied the indentation, growing bewildered and then livid.
"It looks like the other car rammed straight into Killian's. It wasn't that dark, the other driver had to have seen Gideon in the car seat." David muttered, within earshot of Henry who had just dialed Regina and was waiting, phone to ear, for her to pick up. "What sort of person just drives off after an accident like that?"
Henry froze in shock and horror listening to David, his memory of the rest stop gas station flashing before him: The car with its wrecked headlight, the hooded driver muttering about a 'blood price' to someone over the phone, and the strange feeling seeing both had given him.
0
"Sadie?" Killian asked softly, holding his and Emma's daughter in his arms. The tiny cherub had finally fallen back asleep, well-fed and warm and loved.
"Henry picked it out." Emma replied, sitting on the jail-cell bed next to her husband and smiling at him. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she sighed and gazed down at their daughter asleep in Killian's arms. "Said that it just jumped out at him."
"It's a beautiful name, luv." Killian whispered, savoring the moment. It was the first time in three days that he got to hold his daughter and he wanted to bask in the joy of it. "Fits her perfectly. Sadie Swan."
"Sadie Jones." Emma corrected, lifting her head from Killian's shoulder to peer into his eyes. "She's our daughter, so she gets your last name. I might even start using it, officially." She grinned, saying the second part using a lighthearted tone and chuckle in attempt to chase away the dark cloud she could see forming in her husband's eyes. "After all, we're married, so it's about time I switched…."
"...aye, we are." Killian returned the smile, but one much weaker and unsure than Emma's. He glanced at her and then back at their little girl, his gaze wistful. His eyes moistened, blurring his vision.
"Killian?"
"...Sadie should take your last name, luv." Killian insisted, clearing his throat and averting his gaze from Emma's inquisitive one. "Better she take the Savior's last name than that of drunk driving pirate who killed a two-year-old."
"Killian…." Emma's lips trembled, her eyes blurred with tears. She wanted so much to reassure her husband, to tell him the accident wasn't his fault. But every time she tried, she thought about Henry and Sadie, about what if one of them had been hurt by a drunk driver and how she'd feel if someone said to the driver it wasn't their fault.
"...I keep going over it in my head. Every night, every morning in this cell, I've wondered why. Why did I drive that night? I could've called someone to drive me or teleport me to the hospital after I got the call that you'd collapsed." He shook his head, staring through the bars of the neighboring cell towards its wall. "Hell, I could've bloody called the crocodile and said something came up and I couldn't watch Gideon…." Killian paused, a headache creeping into his temples and forehead. "Fuck. It would've been so fucking better if I'd just interrupted their bloody dinner date. They'd have picked up Gideon and I'd have been the only one in that bloody car."
"Killian." Emma touched her husband's shoulder, her voice quiet and her eyes searching her husband's. Part of her wanted to allow Killian to vent, but Sadie was sleeping so peacefully, she was loathed to let anything wake her. "Sadie…."
"I know, luv." Killian mumbled, clenching his teeth and grimacing as he realized how loud he'd gotten. Glancing down at his daughter to make sure she was still asleep, Killian sighed and continued, his voice much lower. "I just keep going over that night in my head, trying to figure out what I was thinking. I…."
"...Yeah. Me too." Muttered Emma, tired and with a bitter tinge to her voice. Her eyes narrowed as she thought about a question that had bothered her since that night. "I...Killian, why were you drinking that night? You were watching Gideon, why did you get drunk?"
"...I don't know." He replied after a few moments, gaze averted in thought.
"Killian…." Emma's voice rose slightly, a sharpness to it warning her husband not to reply with anything but the truth.
"I don't know. Honest." Killian reiterate. "I barely remember anything from that night. I remember getting the call about you, but everything else before the crash is a blur." There was a pause, lasting only seconds but it felt much longer. "...same thing with the crash."
"With the crash? You're saying you were drunk enough to black out?" Emma tensed, glowering at her husband. Despite it being no secret that Killian had been drunk the night of the accident, Emma felt shocked at the thought that he'd been drunk enough to black out.
Killian thought a moment, then shook his head. "No. If I'd been that drunk, I'd have passed out or not have remembered how to turn on the bloody car or left…." He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes, silently wishing that he had been drunker that night. If he had been, he'd likely have forgotten Gideon and left him at home alone. It would've been a smidge less responsible than driving drunk, but at least the toddler would likely still be alive. "I wish I'd been that plastered...I'd have left Gideon at the house and he wouldn't've been in the bloody car."
"...Killian…." Emma trailed off, letting the pirate's words sink in. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, the room blanketed with quiet - punctured only by their breathing and the ticking of the wall clock. Then, as the silence lulled them into its comforting grip, it was rent through by the phone on the sheriff's desk ringing. Its bleating woke Sadie, the five-day-old crying loudly and flailing in Killian's arms. "For the love of…." Emma glowered at the phone, muttering swears under her breath. Glancing briefly at her husband and daughter, she went to answer it while Killian attempted to comfort Sadie. "Sheriff's station, how may I….oh, Tigerlily, is something….what?" She paused, her eyes widening as she listened to her caller. "Did he hurt anyone? Oh. All right, well, there's not much that can...Um? Okay. I'll see what I can do."
Humming a soft lullaby to quiet Sadie, Killian rocked his daughter in his arms, while listening to his wife's conversation. Hearing the click of the phone being placed back in its cradle, he spoke. "...I take it that something's happened. What? Is it something dangerous?"
"No, well...no. Not dangerous. I'm not sure it's illegal either." She sighed and returned to her husband and child. "Gold...apparently took Gideon from the funeral hall, muttering that he'll take care of things himself or something like that - Tigerlily didn't catch everything Gold said, and the funeral director was knocked unconscious."
"Blimey." Killian muttered, his surprised accented with a heavy intake of breath followed by an equally heavy sigh. Still rocking Sadie in his arms, the five-day-old quiet once more but not yet asleep, Killian peered up at Emma - more alarmed by the expression she wore than anything she'd said. "Emma? What is it? Did someone get hurt?"
Emma shook her head, her chest tightening as she stared at Killian through the jail-cell's metal bars; her eyes focused on Sadie cradled in his arms. Their beautiful, innocent daughter gazed around with her wide, blue eyes; her arms flailing and reaching out until the movement drew Killian's attention back to her. The pirate smiled lovingly down at Sadie in his arms and gently rocked her back to sleep.
"Killian…." Emma approached, watching her husband with their daughter - the sight made her smile, her heart brimming with happiness. Until her eyes strayed to the bars of the jail cell and a thought caused her heart to twinge: how would growing up with her father in jail affect Sadie? Depending on how long he was sentenced, Sadie could be an adult before Killian was free.
"Luv? What is it?" Killian asked, catching the look on Emma's face.
"Let's run away. You, me, and Sadie." Replied Emma, standing in the cell's threshold with her arms crossed and a determined gleam in her eyes.
"What?"
"We can cross the townline, settle down somewhere out there where there's no magic. That way, if Gold does come after us, he won't have a magical advantage."
"Emma…." Killian frowned, pain and longing in his eyes. He shook his head.
"We can leave and raise our daughter together, as a family. Just like we talked about since I discovered I was pregnant." Emma insisted, starting to pace in front of her husband and daughter. "Don't say you haven't thought about it."
"I'd be lying if I said I haven't thought about absconding with you and Sadie." Killian took a deep, slow breath, his heart pounding from the idea of escape. His pirate instinct craved freedom, yearned for it from the marrow of his bones, but as he glanced down at Sadie, a much stronger instinct eclipsed his pirate one. "If we leave Storybrooke without me paying the price for my mistake, the Crocodile will stop at nothing to hunt me down. Not just to kill me but to hurt me like he's currently hurting." Killian paused and grabbed Emma's hand with his own, pulling her closer while he cradled Sadie carefully using his hook-side arm. "I cannot - will not - risk putting our daughter in danger, just to avoid a stint in jail. Would you?"
"Of course not!" Emma snapped, neither her answer nor tone surprising Killian.
"Then why bring up the idea to abscond from Storybrooke? What's bothering you, luv? Because it doesn't matter how many bloody years I'm locked up, I'll always love you and once I'm out, we'll be together again, as a family."
"I know, I…." Emma swallowed, gazing down at Sadie sleeping cradled in Killian's arm. "I'm...I'm terrified at the thought of raising Sadie while you are in jail. I'm terrified how knowing her father is in jail and can't be around will affect Sadie. I…." Emma's lip trembled and her eyes teared up, while her chest tightened as did her throat. Killian simply squeezed her hand comfortingly and listened. "Growing up, I met other kids whose parents were in prison. A few had even visited their parents in prison, and…." She wiped her eyes and steadied herself, painful memories of her childhood resurfacing. Memories of the kids who were in the system because their parents got arrested and no relatives would take them in - as a child she'd thought they were lucky since they knew their parents and only had to wait until their parents were released from prison. "I think about Sadie growing up while you're in jail and I remember how devastated those kids were. I….I can't…."
Killian squeezed Emma's hand more firmly and then kissed her fingers. "Emma, you, your parents, and Henry will make sure Sadie grows up loved and happy. And whenever she misses me, I'm sure no one will begrudge her a visit." He smiled up at his wife, only to falter when she averted her gaze. His breath caught in his throat. "...Unless what you're actually worried about is how seeing me behind bars will affect Sadie."
"Killian, I…."
"...And that you're considering no longer bringing her to visit me." The pirate scowled and let go of his wife's hand, his eyes narrowed and downcast. He shook his head and refused to allow Emma to grab hold of his hand. Instead he focused on the slumbering cherub in his arms.
Emma sat next to her husband, only briefly considering following up on Tigerlily's call about Gold. She couldn't care less what the grieving man did as long as no one was hurt and he kept his promise to not hurt her or her family. "Killian, I'm not going to stop bringing Sadie on visits. I just don't think I should bring her on every visit."
"...right." Killian mumbled, but otherwise ignored his wife and her efforts to explain. Until she reached over to take Sadie away. He bristled and scowled, his eyes narrowed and moist. Before either of them could say anything, Emma's cell phone buzzed, having been placed into vibration mode much earlier, after Sadie had fallen asleep the first time, upon getting her fill of formula.
Emma frowned at the interruption but answered the phone, the display showing David's number.
"Dad, hi. If you're calling to ask if I'm still coming over today, I am, I just…." There was a long pause as David interrupted her and she listened, annoyed at first. It swiftly shifted to confusion, then surprise. "...what? What are you talking about? What other…." Her eyes widened, shifting towards Killian briefly as her father's words sunk in. Her heart racing. "I'm still at the station, I….yeah." She nodded, listening to her father, the conversation continuing only a few moments longer.
"What is it, luv? What did your father say?" Asked Killian after Emma put her phone away, a curious expression on her face. "Emma?"
"...there was another car. The accident…." Emma took a deep breath, her brain reeling from what David had discovered. Her eyes met Killian's. "It wasn't a single car collision - there was another car involved. One that crashed into yours."