Another long chapter tonight because this story is now just writing itself... I have actually already typed up the next chapter and it made me VERY emotional.

If you all review like Facilier will turn you into a mindless fool if you don't I will give you an early update when I get up in the morning... it will be worth it, I promise. #TotesEmosh

Let's find out how the rescue party get on shall we?

Enjoy peeps :)

Victor was getting desperate now as he hid on the library roof peering down onto Main Street. He had spent far too much time trying to avoid the former Evil Queen and the following search parties then too long trying to get to Belle without the Dark One being there but Gold had barely left her side for the last couple of hours and now they were climbing into their car to head home!

This was impossible.

He was just going to have to wait until she showed up to open the library in the morning, Gold never left as early as Belle did so Victor could try and talk to her without the fear of being incinerated in the blink of an eye. Hook should be safe until then... hopefully. Then all he would have to do was convince Belle that he was a good guy and that he needed her help.

Yeah, 'cause it was gonna be that easy!

He was just about to try and find a way inside so that he would be hidden for the night when he noticed David, Emma and Robin Hood emerging from the Jolly Roger... where were they going so late?

He was curious as he watched them rushing down the gangplank so he found himself floating across the street and down towards the dock where he hid behind one of the benches that were near by and listened intently as David spoke.

"Right, we don't stop for anything. I know where his room is. We're in and out before Facilier knows what's happening... not that he can do anything anyway, I mean who's he gonna call?"

Emma shot back "If you say Ghostbusters I'm gonna give you another black eye I swear"

"I feel that I am missing something" Robin chuckled

"Only one of the best classic movies ever" David cried out as he tugged the truck door open

"Yeah if you're into really bad visual effects and giant marshmallows. Can we just go? I want to get Hook outta there before it gets too late." Emma grumbled as she got in the other side and slammed the door.

They were going to get Hook!

This was good... but wait... if Hook was in that attic room they wouldn't know where he was and if Facilier got to the Pirate first, well Victor wasn't convinced that would end well if the Doc was being controlled by the Shadow.

He would have to try and find a way to help them if he needed to. So with that thought in mind Victor rose up into the sky and headed back up towards the clinic straight over the roof tops. It was much quicker than by road so he had plenty of time to find out where Hook was and he had been right to worry when he found him in the attic room looking much worse than the last time he had seen him. Victor's Doctors instincts kicked in, he wanted more than anything to help the Pirate as he looked through the window to see him looking beyond awful as he shivered on his mattress but he couldn't, Damn it!

Right, enough was enough... he had to make sure that the other found Hook and got him some help.

Victor took off again but this time he headed round to the front of the clinic to wait on the truck arriving and within minutes they pulled into view. David flipped off the headlamps before he hit the drive so as not to be seen but Victor had no issue with that, in his shadow form he could see very well in the dark.

The truck's engine cut off too and it trundled to a stop before the occupants climbed out and tiptoed their way to the main doors which as you would expect were locked but Emma just raised her hand, there was a loud click and the door creaked open.

Victor was careful to stay back a bit until they were inside then he snuck in behind them without being seen before taking off in the opposite direction trying to figure out a way to get to Hook. He would need the others to give chase so he had to know where to lead them so that he didn't get trapped in a corridor somewhere before he led them to that attic room.

It took him much longer than he had wanted and by the time he had located Hook he could hear shouting and yelling from below as the others obviously found the other room empty room. Victor raced his way down the narrow corridors and quickly rounded a corner to come to an abrupt halt when he found the Shadow Man with a very firm grip on Robin Hood's shadow. He reacted without thought just flying forward and thumping into the Shadow Man sending Robin tumbling to the floor in a heap.

"YOU" the Shadow Man growled turning around to face Victor "I warned you Doctor... I told you to stay away but you chose to ignore me and now you will become the one to finish this now that I have got a better understanding of my magic here in this land."

Victor suddenly found himself trying to back away as the Shadow skulked forward but just as it was about to make it's move it let out a shriek of agony, turned sharply to look behind it then took off at high speed up one of the staircases to the left. Victor sagged in relief but it was short lived as he looked back to Emma to see her raising her arm again to send another fireball his way.

"STOP" Robin cried out from the floor making Emma freeze.

"What? Why? It attacked you... I say we burn it" Emma growled raising her hand again

Robin was pulled to his feet by David who held onto him tightly but the former thief seemed to have realized what was going on as he took a step forward and spoke to Victor.

"Whale? Is that you?"

Victor was shocked for a second before nodding his head vigorously

"What the hell?" Emma whispered dropping her hand and letting the fireball go out, she looked to Robin "How did you know it was him?"

"I heard the other Shadow speak, he called him Doctor so it was either Facilier or Whale but Whale died earlier today so I just put two and two together"

David was the one to speak next "Whale, do you know where Hook is? He's not in his room and Facilier seems to have disappeared"

Again Victor nodded but this time he motioned with his arm for them to follow him and in no time at all they were standing outside the attic room. Robin Hood looked really ill now and David sat him on the top step to rest. Victor deliberately stayed back not wanting to add to his already poor state instead choosing to hover by the door and point like they hadn't already figured out where Hook was.

"KILLIAN" Emma yelled

There was a grumbled reply from inside and David took that as his cue to start kicking at the door. It took two decent kicks to the wood before it came clean off it's hinges and the two of them ran into the room. Victor followed them inside to find the Pirate half way off the mattress with his face pressing into the hard floorboards. David and Emma dropped down next to him and pulled him back up then started removing the straight jacket but within seconds once the Pirate managed to open a bleary eye he was fighting them off, he kicked out wildly and screamed into the room.

"GET OFF OF ME YOU BLOODY DEMONS... EMMA... WHERE ARE YOU? I THOUGHT YOU WERE HERE...I WANT TO GO HOME LOVE... PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME HERE ANYMORE... I WANT TO LEAVE... I AM SORRY... PLEASE JUST MAKE THEM STOP"

"I'm here" she soothed shoving her Father's hands off and pulling Hook into her arms where he seemed to just collapse in exhaustion "We're going, I promise but I want you out of this thing first OK."

He nodded his head slightly but kept his eyes clamped shut. The pair of them moved quickly after that and in no time at all the Pirate was free but Victor was shocked to see the damage that had lain beneath the tough fabric. Obviously Hook had struggled against going into the straight jacket as Victor looked at the finger shaped bruises up and down his arms but he was suddenly aware of something else too. Hook was suffering badly from his withdrawal symptoms, he looked pale and clammy and Victor would lay money on the fact that his heart was probably pounding in his chest and from his dry cracked lips Victor also guessed that Facilier had failed to keep the Pirate hydrated properly... Hook needed to be back on a drip ASAP. He wanted to tell them what he was seeing and how to help but with no voice it was impossible so when David made a move to stand he just moved out of the way.

"Come on Apenimon, let me carry your ass one last time... I swear one of these days I'm gonna make you carry me just for fun" David said with fake cheer obviously trying to lighten the mood as he started getting up from the floor.

"David?" Hook mumbled looking up but again the minute he opened his eyes he was trying to back away and shaking his head. "You cannot be here. You are dead" he cried out then looked to Emma who was still clinging on to him but when he looked at her he was suddenly fighting her off too.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO SWAN?" he screamed throwing out his fist and hitting her clear in the mouth "GET OFF OF ME"

David jumped forward and grabbed Hook from behind, clamping him in his arms before yelling in his ear "CLOSE YOUR EYES HOOK... Devin's not here, I promise. Just close your eyes... trust me Brother. It's just us trying to help you. "

Victor watched as the Pirate fought him for a few seconds but then he clamped his eyes closed and sagged into David's arms seeming to realize that he was not seeing reality.

"That's it" David soothed pulling him back and looking to Emma "You OK?"

"I've had worse" she threw back as she struggled to her knees "He's only seeing Devin isn't he? What's going on Dad?"

"I have no idea but we need to move, I'm not hanging about here anymore."

Suddenly Robin Hood spoke from the doorway and he held up his scarf "Here, tie this around his eyes"

Emma jumped up and took it quickly then secured it around Hook's head.

"Swan?" the Pirate mumbled trying to bring his hand up to her "I am sorry Love."

"Hey, we'll talk later OK. Let's just get you out of here"

Hook gave another single nod but then David was pulling him up into his arms and they were moving. They were all half way down to the main doors when they heard a woman's voice calling out from one of the rooms and suddenly Hook's head popped up and he gave a gasp.

"Tink?"

"That's Tinkerbell?" Emma asked her Pirate in surprise

"I... I think so" he grumbled back before he just let his head fall back onto David's chest and whispered "But I don't think I can be trusted to be sure of anything right now"

But Emma seemed to disagree as she suddenly yelled at the door "TINK, IS THAT YOU?"

"EMMA?" the voice called back "GET ME OUT OF HERE... PLEASE... GET ME OUT"

"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY OF THE DOOR"

Emma raised her hands and blasted the door with her magic, it flew off it's hinges tumbling it's way across the floor and before anyone had a chance to do anything the green Fairy ran from the room.

"The Shadow Man is here Emma..." she trailed off and her eyes went wide in fear when she looked up and saw Victor. She suddenly brought up her hands as if to attack but Emma jumped in the way.

"It's OK, this is Dr Whale...minus his body that is. Look it's a long story but he's one of the good guys I promise and it's alright, we know about the other Shadow, we'll deal with him later but for now let's just get out of here."

But Tinkerbell shook her head and carried on while still eyeing Victor suspiciously "I didn't finish... he's here and he's working with the Dark One. The Shadow and Gold took over this place about a week ago, I'd been working here with the Doctor for only a few days. We had been trying to combine his natural remedies with a few things I've picked up over the years but then one day out of nowhere Facilier started acting weird. I got suspicious and one night after dark I crept down to his office only to find the Dark One and the Shadow Man in there too. I think they were using hypnotism or some other kind of magic. I tried to help Facilier, I thought that my magic would maybe be enough to at least distract them long enough for us to get free but the Shadow Man was unaffected and he attacked me. He tried to remove my shadow but the Blue Fairy had taught me a trick or two after she lost her's and I was able to fight him off with a blast of light magic. I thought I had escaped, I thought that the least I could do was get back to town and warn everyone but the next thing I knew I was waking up in that room and I've been kept in there ever since."

"So Facilier wasn't in on any of it?" David asked narrowing his eyes

"I don't think so" Tinkerbell replied shaking her head

Suddenly Emma turned to Victor "Have you got any idea? Was Facilier working with them?"

Victor gave a shrug, he really didn't know if the Doctor had been under the Dark One's influence or not but it made sense. Why else would he harm Hook of all people?

Just then the Pirate in question gave a groan and his hand clutched onto his gut, David gave a worried look before just starting to move towards the next staircase.

"We can come back later with more people to see if we can find the Doc but right now we need to get Hook to Lark"

They were moving swiftly after that. David, Emma and Hook went in the cab of the truck and Robin and Tinkerbell climbed in the back. Victor just hovered there not knowing what to do when David suddenly rolled down the window and yelled.

"Can you fly above us? Bang on the cab roof if you see any sign of that other Shadow, I'm sure Emma will be only too happy to ignite it's ass."

Victor gave a thumbs up before floating up into the air... if he'd had a mouth he would have been grinning from ear to ear as they started off down the drive.

He was helping the heroes... and it felt damned good.

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Killian was so confused as he woke. What was that noise? And why couldn't he see anything? He tried to lift his hand to pull whatever was over his eyes away but suddenly someone grabbed his hand making him physically jump.

"Hey, it's OK. It's only me"

"Swan?" he asked with a frown as a niggling memory tried to make it's way out of his brain "What happened? Why can't I see Love?"

"We put Robin's scarf over your eyes remember? You kept seeing us as... someone else"

She refrained from saying the Lost One's name but Killian's brain supplied it anyway. His heart rate instantly picked up and he shook his head as the panic began to build causing him to wheeze out a breath.

He felt Emma squeeze his hand "It's OK, take a few deep breaths, we're nearly there"

"Where?" he managed to mumble as she pulled him into her side and hugged him closer

"We're taking you to see Lark... he'll sort you out, come on breathe with me"

His hand lifted and settled against something warm which he assumed was Swan's chest and when she started pulling in deep breaths he couldn't help following her instructions. The truck took a few more turns then they were coming to a stop and Killian felt Swan trying to sit him up but he was too tired to help her. His head lolled and without her being able to see his face she obviously assumed that he had passed out again because she spoke to David in a low voice.

"He's out….. Can you carry him again?"

"Yeah, just hang on. I'm gonna let the tribe know why we're here first... it's late and they're probably wondering what the hell is going on"

The truck door opened and David climbed out obviously just leaving it standing open because Killian could hear the chatter from outside but he wasn't interested in what was going on out there... he needed to let Emma know that he was sorry.

"Swan" he whispered trying to turn his head so face her

"I'm here" she whispered back "I'm right here"

"I am sorry Love... I am so sorry"

"Shhhhhhh...It's OK" she soothed pulling him back into her side and for the first time in days he actually believed it. Now that he was away from that place he could feel his hope returning. He could feel the tension leaving him and he wondered why he had ever left her side in the first place but JUST as he was beginning to drift off into sleep again Liam's voice was back.

"Look at you lying there in her arms like everything is alright. You have still let everyone down Killian"

"Noooooo" he groaned "Stop... please just stop"

"Stop what?" Emma asked brushing her fingers down the side of his face

"You will only hurt her Killian, is that what you want? Do you want to hurt your Swan?"

"No" Killian cried out

"Well then Brother... do the right thing. Leave her. Leave the boy... you will only hurt them all if you stay"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO" Killian screamed trying to cover his ears "GET OUT OF MY HEAD"

He could hear Swan talking by his side but Liam was not leaving and now his Brother was laughing "I'll always be in your head Killian... You are my Brother, it is my job to make sure you do the right thing so until you man up and take responsibility for your own actions I am not going anywhere and neither are they"

Killian frowned, they? They who?

And as if to supply the answer the duet of Devins chimed in his head too "Surprise Captain... did you think you could escape us that easily?"

Killian was suddenly scrabbling towards the door of the truck, he practically threw himself out and landed with a thump on the damp ground... the smell was undeniable... he was in that clearing. His breathing was instantly erratic and without thought he tore the blindfold from his eyes only to be confronted by his worst nightmare.

Everywhere he looked all he saw was the Lost One. He frantically tried to get away but his chest felt like it was on fire... he was too tired... it was all just too much... he couldn't fight it anymore so he just let it take him.

"Jensen grab the rope"

He was back in his mind but this time the reality that he always fought so hard to get back to was even worse than what he was dealing with inside his head so he let it take him... it mattered not where he was... this hell was his life now... there was no escape... and it was nobody's fault but his own.

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"You dare to show up here... at my house." Rumple grit out through clenched teeth as he descended on the Shadow Man

"My other half thought that it would be prudent to inform you that there has been a change of position"

"What the hell does that mean? Change of position! What position?"

The Shadow Man glided forward to hover near the end of the bed and it was one step too far for Rumple who suddenly marched forward and walked from the room so that the Shadow would follow leaving Belle blissfully unaware and still sleeping soundly.

He stopped in the hallway and hissed "You better start talking Shadow Man... I am losing my patience."

"Things have changed but worry not, we are still in control of the situation."

"Enough with the riddles, get on with it... what happened?" Rumple practically growled, he was beyond annoyed that this thing had shown up at his home... in HIS bedroom!

"It would seem that myself and the Doctor's magic is not all it used to be, it is much less... stable shall we say, in this realm. While the person the Doctor is influencing is in close proximity there is no issue but it appears that the magic wears off when they are no longer near by. The Sheriff and a couple of others including the Savior broke into our facility this very night and have removed the Pirate"

"WHAT?!" Rumple roared before remembering Belle just behind the bedroom door. He narrowed his eyes as he suddenly thought he understood why the Shadow was there "And your other half needs me to save his behind after they caught him... well I've got news for you Shadow Man, I refuse. I warned him not to..."

But the Shadow Man laughed making Rumple stop his rant "I can assure you that he is EXACTLY where he needs to be and he wants you to know that he still has the situation under control... would you like to see for yourself?"

Rumple sighed out "You are pushing my patience Shadow Man, where is Hook?"

"You will find him at the clearing in the woods where the Piccaninny have set up camp" the Shadow chuckled again "See you there Dark One"

With that the Shadow Man took off soaring towards the door where he simply pushed himself through the keyhole and disappeared.

"The Piccaninny camp! I might have known" Rumple grumbled before lifting his hand and disappearing into his cloud to reappear out in the woods seconds later.

He tucked himself in behind a large bush to watch as the Pirate seemed to be settling in Miss Swan's comforting arms in the front of David's truck. Rumple's anger surged forward in his brain once more as he watched the Savior comfort that damned idiot. This was not how things were supposed to be... this was NOT what he had ordered but in the next second something changed as he heard voices and his attention was drawn to the two figures extracting themselves from the back of the Sheriff's truck.

"Tinkerbell?!" he whispered to himself in surprise and as if she heard him her head swung round and her eyes locked onto his.

He froze expecting her to cry out that he was there, in fact he was just about to raise his hand to disappear again when the Fairy gave a smirk and looked away. He narrowed his eyes in thought then smirked himself

"Facilier you sneaky devil..."

"He had to think on his feet shall we say" the Shadow Man said as he slithered through the trees to settle next to Rumple "I dealt with her many times in Neverland so it seemed logical that we use her as a disguise and now that I have incapacitate the real Fairy... we will not have an issue"

"So Facilier is free to be as close as he needs to be to keep control and no one will suspect anything" Rumple chuckled but then his eyes fell back on the Pirate who was looking entirely too comfortable for his own good.

Rumple was suddenly digging in his jacket when the whispers in his head reminded him of the voodoo doll that lay within... yes, the Pirate needed to be reminded that he was not safe, he was far from being safe and he still needed to end his days upon this earth sooner rather than later. Rumple raised the doll up and whispered in it's ear using the voice of Liam Jones, the one person he could count on to get through to that stubborn sea dog that had blighted his life for more years than he cared to count.

He watched as suddenly Hook was clutching at his head... he let out a howl of despair and in no time at all he was practically throwing himself from the truck to land in a heap in the dirt. The crowd of people all rushed forward to help and to Rumple's utter delight Hook pulled off the scarf that had been tied around his eyes and he got to watch as the Pirate completely lost it. Facilier's little trick of only allowing Hook to see Devin's face on anyone he looked at was going to be the thing that finally tipped the Pirate over the edge and as he watched his oldest enemy crumble Rumple grinned wider as Hook's hand made it's way to his throat... that was the sign he had been hoping for... the Pirate was gone from this reality to be tormented by his own mind and Rumple was loving every minute of it.

"I suggest you leave now Dark One before you are discovered" the Shadow Man said and the voices in Rumple's head agreed, he had to get back to Belle after all

He hummed in consent before looking back to the Shadow "Tell your other half that for now I am satisfied"

The Shadow gave a slight bow before it's eyes travelled across the clearing again and when Rumple's gaze followed he could see the Fairy looking his way

The Shadow Man seemed to be listening intently before he finally spoke to Rumple "Facilier wants to meet at your shop at sunrise... before the town has a chance to awaken."

"Very well" Rumple agreed "I will be there"

"He is looking forward to it" the Shadow chuckled and something in the way he had said it had Rumple wondering what was going on but he didn't have time to dwell, he had to get back before Belle awoke and found him missing.

He raised his hand and disappeared into his cloud to the sound of the Shadow Man laughing heartily... something inside Rumple suddenly had him wondering what was so funny but as he looked at Belle lying in their bed his worry disappeared. All too soon he would not need to worry about her being stolen.

Hook would be dead and Rumple would finally be free... Milah would be avenged and Belle would be safe.

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David just barged everyone out of the way when he realized what was going on but by the time he had fought his way through the small crowd of people that were trying to help Hook the Pirate had already zoned out and was clearly caught up in a full blown panic attack.

He just grabbed his Brother and hauled him up off the ground turning around to find Emma clearing a path through the crowd with the help of Bear. David just ran following the huge man that was hard to miss realizing quickly that they were headed for the Chief's teepee when he saw Tala standing with a look of concern on her face holding open the door flap. He just ducked through and headed straight for the bed dropping Hook down and stepping back to allow both Emma and Lark to reach the Pirate. He moved around the other side to watch as Lark immediately placed a dream catcher in the center of Hook's chest to try and bring him round.

"What has happened?" Tala asked in concern dropping down to kneel by Hook's head. She brought her hand up to his forehead and frowning deeply "He is... not himself!"

"That's an understatement" Emma mumbled then looked to David "You explain, I want to be able to talk to Hook when he comes too"

David sighed before just going over everything that he knew including why there was currently a Shadow floating near the doorway and as much as he wanted Whale to stay he wasn't surprised when Lark insisted that he should at least go to another tent as his presence was adding to Hook's condition. To Whale's credit he simply nodded and followed Bear and the Chief out of the teepee leaving Lark to work quickly and after another few minutes Hook started blinking and gave a deep frown. David suddenly realized what was about to happen and dived forward clamping his hands over Hook's eyes

"Where did the scarf go?"

Tinkerbell stepped forward and raised it up "Let me help"

Hook had started to get a bit more agitated again but when Emma took his hand and whispered to him he seemed to settle. The Pirate was exhausted but Lark would not let him sleep just yet. He insisted on making him drink two full glasses of apple juice before finally stepping back and motioning for David to follow him.

They walked to the far side of the teepee where Robin was currently lying sleeping after Tala had made him drink some apple juice too and insisted that he stay the night to give himself time to recover.

"Something is not right Shilah" Lark whispered with a frown

"What do you mean?" David asked looking back across to the bed where Emma was still sitting next to her Pirate but now she was humming their song to him as she brushed the hair from his forehead

"This is more than it seems... yes he has become somewhat dependant on his pills but that is only a small fraction of what is troubling him. There is dark magic at play... the likes of which I have not witnessed for a long time"

"Gold" David growled, that imp was going to pay

But Lark surprised him by shaking his head "What I am sensing is not Dark One magic... I am familiar with that particular strain... this is different... this is more like Shadow Magic but it's different. A long time ago when I came of age... before our tribe ended up in Neverland I was sent out on a scouting mission that took me to a far off land, a land that had strange rituals and a brand of magic known as Voodoo. I witnessed things that seemed impossible. I saw dead men walk as if they were alive and I saw others commit crimes while they had no control over their bodies. I was scared and I ran, I ran and never looked back but I will never forget the feeling of that magic on my soul... and right now I can feel it again... coming from Apenimon."

"What?!" David gasped out grabbing Lark's arm and spinning him round so Emma couldn't see what was going on "What are you saying?"

"I am saying that there is a every possibility that we are dealing with more than just the Dark One... Perhaps the Shadow Man has more powers here and Gold knew that. The Dark One told us that the Shadow Man was dead yet clearly he is not. Just be careful Shilah. If I may make a suggestion I would advise sending some scouts out to observe the Dark One's movements to see if he is indeed working with the Shadow and if he is we will have to find a way to incapacitate both of them... if he is not we may need to ask for his assistance. In the mean time I can work with Tinkerbell to try and figure out how to stop the magic that is currently affecting your Brother and send out word to Rufio and Tiger Lily that they should be careful too... They are deep in the woods but I could use them here to assist with our venture."

"Sounds like a plan I can work with. I'm sure Robin will want in on the scouting missions when he wakes up" he pulled in a deep breath and sighed "I better get back to Mary-Margaret and Regina to let them know what's going on. I have a feeling that Emma's not going anywhere anytime soon and I don't want Junior waking up to find both of us gone, he's unsettled enough as it is."

"Perhaps in a few days once Apenimon is feeling a bit better the boy would like to join us, you all could. It would be nice to see everyone again"

"That..." David grinned and clapped his hand on Lark's upper arm "I like the sound of, Junior loves it out here."

"Then it is settled. With some hard work on my behalf and perhaps a dash of good fortune your Brother should be up and on his feet in as little as two or three days... But I do wish that you had trusted me with this sooner, we could have saved Apenimon so much pain"

"It wasn't about not trusting you Lark. Don't ever think that but this was Hook's decision and as you can probably tell he wasn't exactly thinking straight."

Lark just gave a slight smile then looked back to the bed "I better talk with Tinkerbell, I need to know exactly what was in her tea if I am to help Apenimon break his addiction."

"I'll just say goodnight to Emma then I'll head off. I'll come back first thing with a few helpers and we can talk tactics"

"I will inform the Chief of our plans when he gets back from conversing with your shadow friend"

"The chief is talking with Whale?" David asked in surprise

Lark chuckled and started walking back towards the bed "More like talking at Whale... it would seem that your friend no longer has a voice"

"Yeah... kinda figured that out already" David mused then chuckled "Of all the times I wished that man would shut up now is not one of them. He's a shrewd guy, if he's got something to say he'll figure out a way to let us know."

"I am sure that you are right Shilah, I will let you say your farewells" with that he gave a nod of his head and walked away leaving David to speak to Emma

"I'm gonna head back to the Jolly and let your Mom and Regina know what's going on." she looked up at him and he could see the worry for her Pirate in her eyes "Lie down with him Emma, there is plenty of room in that bed. Lark will sort him out just you wait and see."

She sighed heavily "Don't tell Junior anything in the morning, just tell him I got a call out. I don't want him stressing over this."

"I'm sure we can distract him with something" David replied with a smile "You just concentrate on Hook and I'll make sure your boys are safe"

"Thanks Dad" she replied kicking off her boots and shirking off her jacket.

She got up, walked around to the empty side of the bed and climbed under the single blanket immediately tucking herself under Hook's left arm. The Pirate stirred briefly mumbling her name but she slid her hand up over his heart and shushed him back to sleep. David smiled to himself as he headed back out into the night.

Hook was going to be just fine... he had Emma by his side now and she would not give up until he was back to his normal annoying, make up wearing self.