A/N: In this chapter we're going to explore what turned Killian into a believer, get some insight into the stranger found with Emma and perhaps some CS angst/fluff and OQ meeting. Have fun!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
Chapter 13: The Weight of the World
"I want you to tell me everything about this Enchanted Forest, about this curse, about who we're meant to be. Do it quickly and quietly but spare as few details as you can. Start at the beginning."
There was a silence following Killian's words, no one quite knowing what to say, until Henry piped up, emerging from where he was tucked into the man's leather jacket.
"It started when Snow White, or as you may know her, Mary-Margaret Nolan, told a secret."
"Mary-Margaret being Snow White I can kind of see," Killian mused, "The bird thing for sure, singing and keeping things neat, also."
"She's actually a bandit," Henry supplied.
"And you lost me again lad. I guess you should just continue without my interruptions. You were saying Snow White is a badass who told a secret?"
Henry then went on to give Killian, and the Merry Men, who didn't know the whole story, an overview of the Enchanted Forest's history that lead to Regina (As Killian knew her, Mayor Regina Mills, with a sharp tongue but who made a mean apple pie) cursing their entire kingdom meaning Emma...
"Wait," Killian called out, "You're telling me your mother is Dave and Mary-Margaret's daughter?"
"Precisely, the Savior, destined to break the curse twenty-eight years in the future."
Killian took a moment to absorb this, to think of his friends faces mashed together and how that could possible make Emma Swan.
"Bloody hell, she has her chin."
Henry giggled loudly and then continued with Emma being sent through the wardrobe with Pinocchio of all people,to live in the Land Without Magic, but not Storybrooke like the cursed people.
"When Mom was seventeen she met a guy called Neal Cassidy, although I'm pretty sure he's called Neal Gold here."
"Please no," Killian muttered. It was no secret to anyone in town that Deputy Jones and the Gold's didn't exactly see eye to eye; and Killian dreaded now Neal was going to fit into this story.
"She really loved him, he was the first person to really notice her, and I think that he loved her too, but not enough. Pinocchio found him and told Neal that Emma had a destiny and needed to break the curse to bring back the happy endings. Neal was in the way and unless he left, Storybrooke could be cursed forever. He was stupid listening to August. He set my Mom up to go to prison for eleven months for possessing a case of watches that he had stolen. He didn't fight for her, and Emma never trusted anyone again for a long time."
"Bastard," spat the Deputy, a sentiment echoed by the rest of the men, who seemed hugely unimpressed by such bad form.
"When she was on the inside, Emma found out she was pregnant with me, but had to give me up once I was born so that I could have my best chance."
The lad's eyes had become a bit glossy Killian noticed, but he bravely surged on with his story.
"I was put up for adoption when Mr Gold found me and gave me to Regina."
"The Evil Queen is your adoptive mother?" asked Robin Hood in shock. Receiving a nod in response as the tale went on.
Henry told them about fetching Emma from Boston on her birthday, then trying to make believe once she got to town, to see the truth about the strange things that happened and how he had to eventually eat a poisoned turn-over to get her to wake him from the sleeping curse with true loves kiss.
"I can't help but notice I haven't come up yet lad," Killian said, "Where exactly was I for all this?"
"Oh this is the good bit," beamed Henry, wiggling around on the man's numb thighs to get more comfortable.
"Emma and Snow fell through a portal to the Enchanted Forest after being attacked by a Wraith. They encountered Knights, Ogres, Princesses, Warriors and, eventually, a Pirate pretending to be a blacksmith. He wasn't the best guy to start with, aligned with Regina's wicked mother Cora to try and get his revenge on Rumplestiltskin who had taken his love and his hand three centuries ago. My Mom pulled him out from under a pile of bodies, didn't believe a word he said, tied him to a tree with a knife to his throat and threatened to feed him to the ogres unless he told the truth. The man revealed he was Killian Jones, although he also went by his more colourful moniker, Captain Hook. He agreed to ally with the heroes if they promised to take him with them when they returned.
They somewhat reluctantly agreed and so he took them to a beanstalk where a magical compass was hidden. The heroes argued until the Savior said she climb it with him and so they went to the castle in the sky together. I never found out exactly what they talked about, but my Mom told me a story about how he saw through her walls like she was an open book and it terrified the crap out of her. This is why I'm guessing she chained him up at the top of the beanstalk, she knew she could trust him, but was too afraid to try. It wasn't the end of them though. They fought on the shores of Lake Nostos and Captain Hook threw the fight so that the Savior could get home to her son, he had another way to Storybrooke anyway. They weren't on great terms for ages; the mantles of hero and villain kept them apart and a thirst for revenge that he tried to quench but ended up getting hit by a car instead. The princess said she didn't care, but she left town with Rumplestiltskin to go to New York, because if not Hook would have died. The pirate followed them there for one last attempt to take out the man who ruined his life, but was left behind again. It seems reasonable enough in that case to ally with the wrong guys again, but it was temporary. Minions of Peter Pan came to destroy the town and kidnap the Savior's son. They failed at the former and succeeded in the latter. The heroes were without hope, the magic bean had been stolen by Captain Hook and there was no way to follow...or so they thought.
White sails appeared on the horizon, the pirate, willing to try his hand at redemption, gave up his revenge and the magic bean; promising to help in any way that he could to rescue the stolen boy. He sailed them through a portal to Neverland, saved them from a Bandersnatch, from Lost Boys, from Shadows and, in the end, sacrificed his life in exchange for their son so that they could escape. Everyone was really glad that he survived, even if his dramatics earned him a slap in the face from the princess. Throughout their misadventures, the pirate was surprised to discover something; he had fallen in love. It had always been there, you would have to be blind not to see it, but both he and his princess were too scared of letting go. What he didn't know, was that the princess was falling in love as well. She didn't say it in words as he had once done in an act of desperation, but it was there in her actions. Fate was cruel though and she was to be torn away from him and their family by a terrible curse; only, her crappy car wouldn't start and the Queen had to change the spell, leaving the citizens without memories of anything. The next day they drove to town, got a room at the inn and asked after the pirate. They found each other again when he collided with her in a hallway, and their stories not over yet."
There was a sort of stunned silence once Henry had finished speaking. The Merry Men seemed to accept everything that the young boy had said and were reliving some of the better moments and discussing how they themselves would attempt to steal from a Giant or take on a Bandersnatch.
Killian didn't know what to think, the details were so elaborate, each story interwoven with the others to such an extent that an eleven year old couldn't possibly have made it up off the top of his head.
"I'm a villain," he muttered, to himself, however, the lad (who was yawning and seemed on the verge of sleep) overheard him and was quick to interrupt that particular train of thought.
"You were a villain. Not anymore. It's why you're so happy now. In Neverland you became good friends with David and Snow, plus Regina secretly likes that you can sass off with her. If you weren't a hero Killian, me and my Mom wouldn't have gone to you first. We knew that you would help."
"Fat lot of good I was. Only got your Mom kidnapped and hospitalised; I don't see how that can be called helping."
"No hero believes at first," Henry sighed through another yawn, "You believe us now and that's enough."
"How do you know I believe?" inquired the deputy.
"You're listening to me right now. Plus; I can see in your eyes that you feel something that you can't explain for my Mom. When we break this curse, you'll understand."
With that the boy passed out against his shoulder, snoring softly and clenching his hands in Killian's shirt. The deputy looked down at him fondly. If this is real, he could be mine someday, he thought smiling to himself, before a steely resolve settled over him.
He looked at the Merry Men who were looking back at him;
"It's all true?"
"Every word," replied Robin determinedly.
There was another long pause in which Killian decided Henry was right.
What he felt for Emma Swan was way beyond his own comprehension, something that he knows a walled up person like himself can't feel in an instant. Attraction, sure, love, definitely not. Just to state for the record, he knew he wasn't in love with her; but whenever he thought of that sentence, the word 'yet' was always tagged on to the end.
He wasn't in love with her yet.
A past such as the one Henry described, no matter how fantastical, would explain the deep-rooted emotions he had. Surely not even a curse could remove something as powerful as that.
"You need a covers story," he announced quietly, aware of the nursing staff who were eyeing them all up, "Robin Hood and his Merry Men from the Enchanted Forest just isn't going to cut it here."
"By all means," said Robin with a happy grin on his face, "Do make one up for us, if we're to be trapped here, might as well try and fit in."
"Your names are the same, your parents had an odd sense of humour considering in this world you're all stories. Robin Hood and the Merry Men is the name of your performance group, you reenact fight scenes and archery sequences for crowds on the open road. You have to practice on your far-flung camping trips seeing as it's not easy to shoot a bow in the middle of town."
Fortunately, Killian finished his statement just as the familiar sound of police sirens arrived outside of the hospital. It gave them all time to school themselves back into their previous states and positions, just as David came striding through the doors.
~E&K~
Killian thought back to the explanation Henry had given him and the world he'd just willingly thrown himself into for no good reason.
Actually, there is a very good reason; his conscience reminded him, with a pointed caress of his thumb across the delicate skin of Emma Swan's hand, which he was still holding, hours after she'd fallen asleep.
Henry too was now passed out, curled up on the couch, allowing Killian the quiet time he needed to process his new situation.
"Curses and princes and Captain fucking Hook," he chuckled to himself.
Him, Killian Jones, who'd helped run Mary-Margaret's fundraising bake sales for ten years, who'd volunteered with the orphan boys at the nunnery, who was adored around town for helping old people, young children and stray animals cross the road; he was the scourge of the seven seas, with a reputation more fierce than Blackbeard's and the finest ship in all the realms. Of course his Jolly Roger was a marvel, but she had been an impulse buy years ago that he took out for show or rented for kids birthday parties. Could he truly have lived for three hundred years, fighting, drinking, seeking revenge only to fall in love and become a man of honour?
One glance at Emma's face and he knew she could corrupt a priest to sin, but also maybe cure a pirate of his darkness.
"What are you doing to me Swan?" he said in a breathy exhale, using their joint hands to push her hair off of her forehead, before trailing them down her cheek and then bringing them up to rest against his lips.
It was one of those quiet moments that you wish would just go on and on...not accounting for your loud, and frankly quite rude, friends/employers.
In other words, Regina Mills had just come bursting in.
"What is this I hear about a vicious animal attack and somebody being in lo-"
The Mayor froze when she realised she'd startled Henry and Emma from their sleep, and clearly interrupted some private moment Killian was having, based on the red tinge to his cheeks and ears.
"I...uh-" she began, "Sorry, I didn't think. Nolan called me about half an hour ago as I was getting out of a meeting, and I thought, as Mayor, I should have known what was going on and-sorry."
No one was really listening to her, Henry was watching with a kind of drowsy longing, mingled with shock from being woken so abruptly; Emma was staring intently at Killian who seemed to be trying to look everywhere but at her.
Things really couldn't be more awkward until,
"I heard a bang and a shout and got down here as fast as I-" Robin said panting heavily, but cutting himself off the moment he took a breath and noticed the brunette woman in front of him. The Mayor and the Thief gazed at each other in a lingering once over that seemed to last forever until,
"Dr Whale said there's been a huge amount of noise and that if I can't shut you all up he'll-" David began, before realising everyone was silent and he couldn't actually get into the room because Robin and Regina were still blocking the doorway with their continued assessment of each other.
The room, it seemed, could not get more crowded until,
"I brought jell-o" Mary-Margaret sang out, bustling past the three people in the entry way and plopping down her stack of plastic puddings and spoons onto the movable table.
It was an effective way as any to remove the lingering discomfort in the room as everyone pulled up chairs around Emma's bed, which they raised using the button so she too could be sitting up, and dug into the snacks. Robin looked cautious at first, but with a quick glance from Henry, he set about eating his green coloured jelly and seemingly enjoying it very much.
"So what happened?" asked Regina eventually, when they were all scraping the bottom of their bowls.
"Some manner of wild animal in the woods attacked Emma, Robin here was lost out there with his friends and heard some noises."
"I rushed into town and stumbled across Deputy Jones by chance," supplied Robin, "Myself and my men lead him back the way we'd came until we found Miss Swan."
"And Henry was there because?" Regina queried.
"I was in Granny's at the same time as Killian was. He'd had a fight with my Mom when they were investigating the freak storm and I was arguing with him when Robin showed up."
"You two were fighting? But Killian said-Oh I'm so sorry, you don't even know who I am Deputy Swan. Mary-Margaret Nolan, David's wife."
"Nice to meet you," said Emma softly, wincing slightly as she reached out to shake her mother's hand, "It wasn't really a fight."
"He wanted to throw you out of town."
"Dave," Killian hissed in warning.
"Throw them out," Mary-Margaret said in shock, "Why would you do that Killian? You were literally saying the day before-"
"Why don't I get some water?" Killian interrupted, standing abruptly from his chair, "Everyone must be very thirsty."
"But there's water in the jug," said Henry, but the leather-favouring deputy was already out the door, leaving a stunned group in his wake.
"Did we say something wrong?" asked Mary-Margaret, looking between her husband and Emma.
"He probably still feels guilty," David replied, staring sadly at the door his best mate had just practically sprinted out of.
"Why?" his wife prodded, and, glancing around at the others, he could tell they were all intrigued as well.
"He said that he over reacted to the fight with Emma, that he had acted rashly and hurt her which is why she was still in the woods rather than with him...but for that reason why were the two of you together?"
"I think I can explain," Regina spoke, with an edge of regret, "I'm often...suspicious of people, especially those who come to Storybrooke, basically for the reason that no one ever does. I asked Jones to look into your past Miss Swan which is presumably why he went to talk to you."
"He was upset because I lied," Emma whispered, ignoring the shock on all their faces and the panicked look on Henry's, "We're not from Boston, or at least I haven't been for a while. I left there two years ago because I found my son after giving him up for adoption ten years ago."
"If you're not from Boston, where are you from?" this came from David, who had a similar look to Killian when he found out she hadn't told them the whole truth.
"All over really. I've been looking for my birth parents since I found Henry and it lead us here. I only lied because I didn't think you'd hire someone without a stable life; but I am a Bail-bonds person if that's any help."
The room was silent, but it was more understanding than hostile.
"You don't have to worry about us accepting you Emma," said Mary-Margaret, taking up her hand, "We won't judge you for having a difficult life and wanting to settle down. Killian just doesn't react well to being lied to. He's such a sweet man, but he's suffered a lot; it was a lie that made him lose his brother a long time ago. Although that wouldn't explain why he felt guilty David."
Emma watched as her father heaved a sigh, before fixing his gaze on her, "He said that if Emma was badly hurt or worse, it would be his fault that she was in such a condition."
Again, everyone didn't know how to respond.
Emma had angry tears in her eyes. Her stupid pirate was always to goddamn noble for his own good, always trying to shoulder the weight of the world, forgetting in the process that he wasn't Atlas, just a simple man. She swiped furiously at the traitorous tears, refusing to let the others see her cry, but it was too late.
"You really care about him," said David, looking at her with curiosity.
"I-" she stammered, "I just-Killian is...this is going to sound strange but, I know him, or I know what kind of man he truly is."
"And what's that?" David pushed, trying to figure out whatever truth Emma was choosing to omit in their presence.
"The kind of man who cares so deeply about the people that he's taken into his heart, even though the world has constantly tried to push him down and break his spirit. He's a survivor, and he deserves far better than to believe himself at fault for things that are out of his control. He deserves far better than me."
The last part was whispered, so that nobody could quite catch it, although if Henry's sad smile was of any indication; he'd got the gist of what his mother was implying. He leaned back in his chair to reach for Emma's leather jacket that was lying on the table by the couch. Rifling through the pockets, his fingers connected with cool metal and he grasped the object before turning back to place it in his mother's trembling hand.
Emma glanced down into her palm, letting out a soft, watery laugh at the sight of the Giant's gold join that Killian had sent to her in Neverland. Regina, Mary-Margaret and David looked confused as she brought the piece up to hold against her heart, but they chose not to say anything as it seemed to be soothing the bed-ridden blonde, easing her tears, so that she could enter into the conversation they started about Henry joining her mother's class at school.
~E&K~
Killian stood outside the door of Room 47, peering surreptitiously through the crack to see and hear what was going on inside. After he'd fled from the others, he'd locked himself in the men's bathroom to take a few cleansing breaths and remind himself that Emma was in fact alive, and on the road to making a recovery. More so than that, she seemed willing to forgive him for his earlier outburst, and appeared beyond over-joyed that he was finally starting to believe in her. His entire frame had trembled as he clenched the sides of the sink repeating the mantra;
She's okay, she's alive, she's going to be fine. She's okay, she's alive, she's going to be fine. She's okay, she's alive, she's going to be fine.
The fear in his eyes was almost foreign, something he hadn't seen since he'd waited to hear if Liam was going to pull through from being poisoned. This was almost worse than that, whereas there was nothing he could do to stop Liam from eating the wild berries that the man they'd worked for at the time said were perfectly safe; he had been responsible for Emma's life hanging in the balance. Old demons he thought had been long since buried, were clawing their way to the forefront of his mind, screaming their abuse and opening up decade old wounds.
She's okay, she's alive, she's going to be fine. She's okay, she's alive, she's going to be fine. She's okay, she's alive, she's going to be fine.
He repeated this again and again, each time getting louder, if only to block out the noise of the voices in his own head.
Killian realised he must have been shouting, when Dr Whale burst in, took one look at his position, spun him around and slapped him hard across the face.
In an instant, the noises began to fade, the background sounds of the hospital becoming clearer, and the realisation that he'd been having some sort of panic attack began to sink in. His knees started to go weak, and if not for Victor he probably would have collapsed.
"Steady on there Jones," his sort of friend said, keeping a steady grip on his elbow, "It's going to be okay, just take deep breaths with me now."
The two men, inhaled and exhaled slowly for around two minutes, until Killian was no longer shaking and on the verge of collapse. He straightened himself up and cast an apologetic look to Victor;
"I'm sorry," he muttered, scratching self-consciously at the spot behind his ear.
"There's nothing to apologise for," replied the doctor quickly, "As a professional, might I recommend that you return to Miss Swan's room, seeing as the distance, however short, apparently is not doing you any favours."
Killian nodded slowly and turned to exit the rest room, hoping that no one else was lurking outside to see what had been happening.
"And Jones," called Victor, as he pushed the door open, "Tell Nolan that the man we found with her has just woken up if he wants to question him."
Once again, the deputy shook his head in agreement, before moving steadily down the corridor in time to catch the end of what Emma was saying to his friends about him.
He could see the truth in her eyes when she spoke about knowing him, and the pain that his pain seemed to be causing her.
When they struck up a conversation about Henry's education, he stepped carefully back into the room and sunk into his chair, ignoring how all eyes turned to him when his fingers unconsciously began to hunt across the bed-sheets until they were entwined with Emma's.
She returned his hold with a gentle squeeze, not even pausing in her sentence about extra curricular activities, as if she held hands with Killian every day after she'd been violently attacked and he'd run away. Everyone followed her lead until they reached a natural lull, and Killian finally spoke up.
"Whale said the man we found with Emma is awake David, if you wanted to head to his room and ask some questions."
The Sheriff nodded and rose from his seat to approach the door before looking back to his deputy.
"Are you-?"
"I'm going to stay here if that's okay mate," was Killian's quick response, fixing his friend with a pleading gaze, begging for him to understand that he couldn't leave; not now, not ever.
David gave him a knowing smile before exiting, leaving the others to pick up their conversation about Storybrooke.
As Regina explained the concept of Miner's day to Robin, Emma tugged softly at Killian's hand to get his attention.
He looked at her and saw the silent question in her eyes; 'Are you okay?'
With a gentle smile, Killian ran his thumb across her knuckles in response; 'I am now love.'
~E&K~
Just down the hall, David stepped into room 34, to see the unidentified stranger hooked up to machine's giving him fluids and monitoring his heart rate. The man was sat up, looking around as if he'd never been inside a hospital before, until his somewhat cold and calculating gaze fixed on the new-comer at his door.
"Good afternoon," said David politely, "May I come in?"
The man nodded, but appeared wary as he made his way to stand at the the foot of the bed.
"My name is Sheriff Nolan of Storybrooke. I can see that you're not from around here, I'd recognise you if you were. Do you know who you are and how you got here?"
The man sat up straighter, although his arms seemed to shake with exertion, giving him the perfect appearance of a victimised individual.
"Good afternoon Sheriff," he said, "I appear to have gotten lost while hiking. If you could do anything at all to help me I'd be oh so grateful."
"Of course," replied David, smiling kindly, "But that doesn't answer the question of what I should call you."
With a tremor, the stranger continued;
"Walsh," he said, "You can call me Walsh."
A/N: Dun, dun, dunnnn! Walsh is the stranger, which begs the question, what happened to the other guy, make sure you stay tuned to find out. I'm very grateful to have been able to get this chapter out as quickly as I have because, as I said, I'm not sure how long it will be between my next update. Please continue to review this story, it gives me so much joy to hear your thoughts.
Stay beautiful lovelies :)