TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter features an attempted rape, and is pretty violent. If for any reason at all anyone does not wish to read it, the worst will be over at the first page break, or if you don't even wish to read that, I will have a very brief little summary at the bottom.

I own nothing except my delusions.

Emma sat with Killian as they ate their supper in his cabin.

"So how long will it be to reach our new destination?" she asked him.

Killian swallowed his food. "Well, if conditions are favorable, maybe a month."

She nodded. "Just curious. I know you hadn't done any business at Port Read."

"Aye," he replied. "That little stop was, I guess you could say a hold-over, for the men. Purely for pleasure, seeing as this voyage will be so long."

"Do you often stop at ports before continuing on long journeys?" she asked him.

"Not always," he replied. "Depends on how long we're out at sea. There have been times we have been out for months at a time."

She nodded.

"I actually need to check the navigation again soon," he told her. "Just to make sure we're on the right course."

"Okay," she responded. "It sounds like its going to be a late night for you."

He grinned. "The work of a captain is never done. But I need to check over everything."

"Doesn't Lewis usually man the helm at night?" Emma asked.

"He does," he answered. "The man is a hell of a sailor. I honestly wish I had more of him."

Emma smiled before looking over to the window, seeing their reflections sitting at the small table. She knew it was getting late. She sighed, turning to look back at him.

"It's getting pretty late," she told him. "I should probably turn in and leave you to do what you need to do."

Killian gave her a small smile. "That would probably be a good idea."

They rose up, and went to her cabin. She looked up at him. "Goodnight, Hook."

"Goodnight, Swan," he responded.

She entered the cabin, Lir running in just before she shut the door behind her. She smiled at the cat, who had nestled himself on her bed. Ignoring his protest, Emma moved him over.

"Do you mind?" she asked the cat, who just flicked his tail in response.

Rolling her eyes, she stretched across the bunk, relaxing her body. She was tired, and quickly began falling asleep, only to be jerked away by Lir, who was omitting a low growl.

She sat up, carefully touching the cats head, who was staring intently at the door. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Lir ignored her, jerking up to a standing position, ready to spring. A feeling of apprehension took over Emma as she looked at the door, straining her ears for any sounds outside. She shifted, her weapons on the shelves laying forgotten.

The door flew open, hands grabbing her from the cabin and hauling her out into the dim corridor. In the low lantern light, Emma identified Foley as he threw her up against the wall. She took one look in his pale eyes and knew what his intent was. Before she could do anything, Lir sprang, claws out, slashing out at Foley's face. Foley grabbed the cat by the neck, pulling him off while causing Lir's claws to tear into his skin, blood instantly pooling in the wounds. He threw the cat aside, where he disappeared in the darkness. Foley turned his attention back to her.

"The captain and your body guards aren't here to protect you now," he sneered at her as he pinned her to the wall as she writhed to get free.

Emma thought quickly, refusing to let her body freeze up. She aimed a punch at his face, landing the hit over his eye, making him wince back, as she brought her leg up and landed her knee right in his gut. He doubled over, wheezing in pain. She moved to run, knowing she just had to get to Killian's cabin, before he jerked back up, grabbing her arms back into his iron grip.

"You're gonna pay for that, you little whore," he growled, his hot breath fanning across her face as he threw her back against the wall, hard. Emma cried out, feeling the pain radiating from her back and head. Foley tightly gripped her neck, stiffling her cry and effectively cutting off her air supply. Gasping for breath, she threw up her hand, hitting him in his mouth, splitting open his lip as her other hand clawed at his grip on her throat in a last attemp for freedom.

Foley chuckled darkly as he kept his hold on her. "You're a feisty little bitch, aren't you?" he said as he drew his hand back, backhanding her hard enough that her head hit the wall. Black spots instantaneously swam across her vision as she tasted blood in her mouth. She fought to remain conscious as nausea wracked through her, making her want to be sick. She knew she wouldn't be able to get away, not when she was struggling to remain conscious. She felt the fight begin to leave her as she struggled for breath, her lungs burning.

Foley pulled out a dagger, using it to slash her dress away. The tip of the blade cut into her skin, the worst over her stomach, leaving sharp pains in it's wake. Emma's body instantly froze, anticipating what was to come next. She could no longer fight, feeling the last little bit of strength she had left leave her. All of her hope left her, cold fear replacing it. With one last effort, she locked her legs together, trying to stop him.

An evil grin spread across Foley's face, blood dipping down from his split lip as the bruising around his eye grew darker. Moving the tip of his dagger to her upper thigh, he cut deeply into her, the wound deeper than all the others. Emma couldn't even feel the pain of it, it was just more pain to add on to what she was already feeling, but she could feel the muscle in her leg spasm, unlocking them.

He sneered at her, she was just barely able to make out his muddled words as the blood pounded in her ears. He reached down, trying to unlace his pants. "Well, Princess," he said like a curse, "I'm going to enjoy this."

The pain and shock were overtaking Emma, along with her mind wanting to shut down to protect itself, causing her to black out. As Foley began moving even closer to her, ready to violate her, the last thing Emma saw was a gleaming metal hook burying itself into Foley's collarbone as a low voice growled, one of the most beautiful sounds she had ever heard.

"I don't think so, mate."

Killian stood up at the helm with Curry and Lewis, Murphy sitting just below the quarterdeck. A map layed before them as Killian charted out the course they were to take when he stopped mid sentence, dread and anxiety coursing through him.

The three men looked up at him in concern.

"Captain?" Curry asked, worried. "Is everything alright?"

Killian shook his head. Something was telling him to get to Emma immediately. "Something's wrong," he said quickly as he began to move down onto the deck toward the hatch to his cabin. "Lewis, man the helm."

Curry and Murphy moved to follow him, casting a surprised glance at Lewis, who just shrugged from his station.

Killian didn't hesitate as he threw open the hatch, seeing Lir frantically scratching at the door, who turned to lead him through his cabin. He descended the steep staircase at a brisk pace, Curry and Murphy close behind. Killian quickened his stride as they exited his cabin and into the dark corridor, finally breaking into a run. Down a little ways past Emma's cabin, he could make out two figures. It only took his a second to identify Emma and Foley, Emma pressed exposed against the wall as Foley cut a large gash into her thigh. Pure rage overtook Killian, only growing when he heard Foley as the man struggled with his pants. "Well, Princess, I'm going to enjoy this."

He saw Emma, frozen, and with a look that looked like fear and acceptance, like she knew exactly what was going to happen. He quickly lashed out with his left arm, burying his steel claw into Foley's clavicle. Foley cried out in pain as Killian growled out, "I don't think so, mate."

Ignoring his cry of pain, Killian pulled the deckhand away from Emma, who had slumped down along the wall unconscious, the remains of her tattered dress hanging off her, making sure that as Foley was released, the hook tore into him. As Foley stumbled away, he hit his head against the wall, stunning him. Murphy quickly caught him, restraining him.

Killian kept his eyes on Emma the entire time, seeing the small cuts on her face, which was developing a large bruise along her cheek and jaw with similar bruising in the shape of a hand around her throat, along with the larger lacerations marking her body, her stomach and thigh being the worst as she layed on the wooden floor, her dress doing nothing to cover her. He quickly shed his coat, gently covering her with it, hoping its heavy weight wouldn't hurt her, before carefully lifting her up, leaving bits of silk and blood behind.

He didn't look away from her as he ordered his men, his tone deadly. "Lock that son of a bitch in the brig. Alert Smith to come to my cabin immediately. And get someone to clean this up."

As Curry and Murphy, who was dragging Foley, departed, Killian carried Emma into his cabin, gently laying her down on his bed. He carefully removed the coat and what remained of her dress before covering her with one of the blankets. He then moved over to the lantern, igniting it, bathing the cabin in a soft yellow glow.

He felt sick, the image of Emma as she was pinned by Foley stuck in his head. The look of acceptance she wore when Foley had been about to violate her was all he saw. He felt his stomach role.

She had always had walls, and though he didn't know what caused her to built them, he knew they would go up even higher. Anger coursed through him, furious that she had been hurt before, and that now at what Foley had almost done. He wanted to go after Foley on the spot, to make him suffer, along with whoever had hurt Emma the first time, no matter what had happened.

Gently, he brushed his hand against her face, moving the blonde hair away as he tried to calm himself. He looked down her body, seeing that her bruising on her face and neck was deepening in color while some of her blood had soaked through the blanket.

Just as he began debating bandaging her himself, there was a knock on the cabin door.

"Enter," he said, just loud enough to be heard outside.

Smith walked in, carrying some of his supplies in a basket. "Captain? Curry said the princess was attacked-"

He broke off as Killian have him a dark look. "Yes. Foley attacked her."

Smith swallowed. "Did he touch her?"

"We got there before the bloody bastard could," he told him. "He hurt her pretty badly. He may have hurt her back, throat, and head."

Smith nodded, setting his supplies down to begin his examination. He peeled back the blanket, quickly looking at her thigh, then stomach. He glanced over at Killian. "Can you carefully sit her up so I can see her back?"

Killian nodded before carefully snaking his arm under her shoulders before lifting her, exposing her bare back. They immediately saw the bruising where she was slammed against the wall. Smith carefully prodded it, finding nothing but bruising. "Thankfully, nothing's broken. Just some bad bruising. She's going to hurt for a while."

Killian nodded. "What about her head?"

Smith quickly found the small lump. "Likely a small concussion. She's most likely unconscious from the pain her body is in, lack of air, her mind trying to protect itself. It's hard to tell. You can lay her back down."

Killian gently laid her back down, careful not to hurt her. He drew slightly away, intending to keep close to her lest she need help, but just far enough to let Smith finish his work.

Smith looked at her throat, carefully examining it before determining she would have no permanent damage, just that it would be sore for a while. He then began to assess her cuts.

"The abrasions on her face will heal up just fine without any scaring," Smith told the captain. "Her stomach and thigh, however, I'm going to have to suture."

Killian didn't look away from Emma's face. "Just do what you have to do."

Smith went to his supplies, pulling some linen bandages, threat, and a needle. He quickly cleaned the cut on her thigh before sterilizing the needle and stitching the deep cut, then repeating the process on her stomach.

He sighed as he finished, depositing the supplies and withdrawing a bottle. "I'll leave her a draught for the pain. She can take it whenever she wakes up. She will be in pain for a while."

Killian just nodded, still not looking away from Emma. "How long will she be out?"

Smith sighed again. "It's hard to say. She's suffered a traumatic experience. She could wake in minutes or even days. When she's ready to wake up, she will. I can't tell you how she'll be when she wakes."

"Will she recover?" Killian asked, his voice tight.

"Physically, she'll make a full recovery," Smith told him carefully. "Mentally and emotionally, there's no way to know."

Killian nodded, his voice stiff as he dismissed him. "Thank you, Smith. That will be all. But can you send Curry in?"

Smith left the cabin, the door shutting behind him, leaving them alone. Though the two cuts Smith had worked on were cleaned, the small cuts on her face and body had been left unattended. Killian shifted away to retrieve some of the alcohol Smith left behind, clean cloth, and water, moving back to wipe away the blood from her face, cautious of the developing purple bruise, before moving to the others. Once the blood was removed, Killian moved away from the bed toward the trunk where he kept his cloths, where he withdrew a clean black linen shirt. He went back over to Emma and carefully put it on her, covering her up before pulling a clean blanket over her.

He looked up as Curry knocked on the door, calling for him to enter. Curry entered the dim cabin, his eyes immediately going to Emma. His voice held nothing but concern. "How is she?"

Killian sighed, his tone frusterated. "She had to have some stitches. According to Smith, her back is badly bruised, and she may have a slight concussion. Nothing is broken, but she will be in pain for a while. As for how she'll be when she wakes, we don't know."

Curry breathed out, running his hand over his face. "Foley woke up right after Murphy threw him in the brig. You got the bastard pretty good, he's been yelling about the pain."

Killian's face remained impassive, though he did take some satisfaction in causing the bastard some pain.

Curry took a breath, his face turning grim. "Captain, what do you plan to do?"

Killian looked back over to Emma. "We will hold a trial at noon tomorrow. We are to keep to the code, which demands a trial. The entire crew is to be present." He quickly thought over his options. "Inform McCullen he is to report here after his morning duty to keep watch over Emma while the trial is going. I don't want her to be left alone, and I especially don't want her to wake up alone."

Curry nodded, understanding more than Killian was saying. "Sir?" he asked. "Are we to inform the crew of what has happened tonight?"

"Yes," Killian responded. "The crew needs to know what the trial is for ahead of time. And tell them not to go down to see the bloody bastard, or give him anything."

"Aye, sir," Curry responded as he left to inform the crew, leaving Killian alone with his thoughts.

Killian deposited of the waste from cleaning Emma's cuts before moving over to the armchair, hulling it closer to the bed before he settled in it.

Resting his head back, he closed his eyes and released a deep breath, finally letting his emotions break free from the dam he had pushed them behind. He would have time to quench his anger the next day, so for the time being he could allow himself to feel his grief and guilt.

He found himself wondering what had happened before to her to cause her walls, if anyone was there for her, if she had anyone to help her, and finally what had happened to the man that had hurt her.

Opening his eyes, he looked back over to the sleeping form of the woman he loved. His voice was weak, breaking on some of the syllables as his guilt choked him. "I'm so sorry, Emma. I'm so sorry I didn't keep you safe."

Killian took in her deep, steady breathing, ignoring the burning in his eyes. He silently promised her he would remain by her side, to help her through this. All of his previous duties forgotten, Killian sat awake the whole night, never leaving her side.

Summary: Foley tries to rape Emma, but she fights him. Killian stops him, and Emma is badly injured. He takes care of her, and promises to be there for her and offer her any support she needs. He also tells Curry to announce that Foley's trial will be held the following day.

Author's note: I know, I know. I only put out one one-shot during the holidays. But in my defense, the holidays are not fun around my place to put it lightly. And to the guest that left the rather rude review asking about if Emma will ever contact her parents, I would have been more than happy to tell you that that will be adressed in a future chapter that is coming up soon, had it not been through guest review.

I hope you all had a good holiday, and the next chapter will be posted this Wednsday.

Teaser: Killian shook his head. "Save it for if Emma wakes. She'll need it."