#46: Family

"You have nothing. You have no one. You are nothing," he sneered, breath rank and puffing hotly against his face."You killed your mother and your brother. And what's her name? Malia? Mala? That tavern wench you fancied yourself in love with. You killed her, too. Everything you touch dies, Killian." He spit at the ground, as if cursing it. "You are nothing."

Killian stood stock-still, good hand at the helm in a death grip, glaring with hatred at the man in front of him. It was like looking in a mirror: clear blue irises that seemed to penetrate to the soul, dark hair and muscular build, imposing stature that commanded presence wherever it saw fit. Even the crinkling around the eyes was the same… Yet, the eyes—though identical in color—were the marked difference: one pair were cold and without depth, and the other full of passion and rage.

"Get… off… my… ship," Killian gritted through clenched teeth. "Or I will throw you off it."

The man grinned widely, and Killian was shocked at how familiar the expression was. Beside him he heard a shocked gasp.

"Hook," Emma said gently, tugging at his bad arm and grasping his hook fiercely. "You know that's not true."

The man cocked his head, letting his eyes roam over her form in appreciation. "Quite the treasure you found there, son."

"I am not your son!" Killian snapped back, now seething with unconstrained fury. He unsheathed his sword and raised it at the man's throat. "Now get the hell off my ship!"

"Are you going to kill me, son? The way you killed your mother? Barely out of the womb and you murder the woman who gave you life, the woman that I loved! My life! And now you seek to kill me, too, because that is what you are, Killian! You are nothing but a killer!"

He didn't see at first (because by then he had been blinded by rage, and his vision had turned nearly black) but suddenly his sword was by his side as he stumbled slightly backward into a broad, sturdy chest, and then an arm came from behind and steadied him.

"Relax, Hook," a deep voice said near his ear. "Just breathe."

He was so stunned that he failed to notice how Emma had placed herself in front of him, blocking him from the man… his father.

"Ah, so she has claws," his father said, eyeing the gun pointed at his face. "I can see why you like her." He licked his lips lasciviously. "Very good form, my son."

Killian tried to move forward but David's hand on his shoulder held him firmly in place. "You shut your filthy mouth!"

"No," Emma said, cocking her gun more securely. "It's okay. Let him finish. I would like to see how far he gets before my bullet make it through his head."

The man tilted his head back and laughed uproariously. "Oh, this is precious!" He gazed back at Killian, eyes glittering with cruel mirth. "Letting your whore fight your battles, now, son? How pathetic."

"Shut the fu—"

"He's just goading you, Hook," Emma interrupted, voice clear and calm. "He's trying to get a rise out of you. He thinks he's being clever and that by pushing all your buttons he can get you to attack him first. It's really quite juvenile. And…pathetic."

His father's entire demeanor changed, and for the first time, Killian felt afraid as the man who he had spent centuries hating for abandoning him stepped forward to stand face-to-face with the woman that Killian loved.

"You would defend him, that miserable excuse of a man? Do not let his angelic face deceive you, love," the man said, spittle flying at her face. "Behind the nicefaçade lies the demon. A black soul full of wrath that it taints the very air it breathes until it suffocates you and then you die, too." He turned glaring eyes at Killian. "If you knew of his sins, you would not be so keen to—"

"I know what he's done," Emma replied, tone bored and impatient. "Please skip the stupid 'I'm a villain' monologue and get to your damn point because my finger is getting slippery."

His father gazed back at her, surprised, appraising her. "Now that is interesting," he said, and Killian thought he heard genuine fear in his voice. "You really would defend him, wouldn't you?"

"I would."

"Fight for him? Die, perhaps?"

Killian bristled. David's hand tightened, still attached to his shoulder.

"Yes," Emma replied without hesitation. "That's what friends do." She looked back at Killian and then at her father with a tight smile. "That's what family does." She looked back at his father and he heard the sound of the safety click off. "Now get the fuck off his ship."