20

Black Sheep

Rumple gestured and the family's gift basket was restored to its proper place on the porch steps. Then he looked at Will and shoved a silk handkerchief at him. "Here. Clean him up. I don't want blood all over my leather seats."

Will scrubbed his enemy's face, none too gently. But Jimmy was out, and did not stir. "What are we going to do with him, Uncle Rumple?" asked Will.

Rumple thought for a moment. "We need to get him into the car. I'll call Emma and let her know what's happened. We'll drop Regina off at the house and bring him to the station so she can put him in her cell for a bit."

"Sounds good to me," Will replied, then he rolled the unconscious Jimmy over his shoulder and hefted him.

As he walked over to where his sister and Regina were, Jess gaped when she saw who he was carrying. "Circe's fins! Is that—"

"Unca Rumple, who's that boy?" Regina demanded.

"He's a rotten thief who tried to steal the Christmas basket from the Farrell's," Rumple replied smoothly.

Regina gasped. "An' are you gonna tell Emma to under arrest him?"

"That's exactly what we're doing," her uncle assured her.

"Then why's he sleepin'?" she asked innocently.

"Uh . . . I hit him a bit too hard when I knocked him on the ground," Will admitted sheepishly.

Jess just snorted. She could read between the lines and knew it was probably because her brother had punched the rotten scum out. But Rumple winked at her and she knew to play it cool because of Regina. "Oh. Well, guess we better get going, huh, Uncle Rumple?"

"Yes. Will, put our . . . guest in the car," Rumple ordered, then he headed back to it.

Jess helped Will put the comatose Jimmy in the backseat, then she rode up front with Rumple and Regina, not wanting to spend any time next to even a comatose Hook.

Will slid into the seat next to Jimmy, but then moved over as far away as possible, giving the other boy a look of extreme distaste. After the things he'd heard and seen Jimmy do, Will thought of him as worse than a leper.

They arrived home and Rumple carried Regina inside and went to speak with Belle and Rhea about their surprise "guest".

Will glanced at Jess and said, scowling, "What do we do with the flotsam here, leave him on the porch?"

His sister shook her head. "While I'd not really mind so much if he almost froze like a block of ice, we need him to tell us how he got here. That's not supposed to be possible . . . unless you have a bean or something." That was how the Sparrows had gotten here, by using one of Jack's precious stash of magical traveling beans.

"Maybe he pissed off a sorcerer and got thrown over here," Will snorted, dragging Jimmy out of the car and grunting as he pulled the still stunned teen over his shoulder. "Gods, he's like a barrel of lead shot."

Jess waved her hand and Will's burden became noticeably lighter. Together, the siblings brought Jimmy into the house, and then Will tied him to one of the kitchen chairs, using several knots he'd learned how to tie to make sails fast. Now, he reflected, they'd make this bilge rat fast.

Jack came and eyed the younger Hook, saying, "This laddie's like his dad in looks, and mayhap like his ma otherwise."

"What we gonna do with him, Unca Jack?" Regina asked curiously.

"Why, little seastar, we're gonna throw him in the brig, with all the bad insubordinate seamen," Jack told her, ruffling her dark hair.

Just then Jimmy began to stir, opening his eyes a moment later to see several familiar and not familiar faces. His eyes narrowed when he saw Jack and he sneered, "Captain Sparrow! My dad sends his greetings . . . and hopes one day he'll see you in hell . . .or down in Davy Jones' locker."

Before Jack could reply, Regina did. "You said a bad word!" she shook her little finger at him. "You's not 'post to say that, else Unca Rumple's gonna wash out you mouth!"

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Jimmy demanded rudely.

"Shut up, Hook, and leave her be!" ordered Will.

"I's Regina," Regina told him, still shaking a finger at him.

"Humph! That's a high-toned name for a guttersnipe like you," Jimmy snorted. "Who's Rumple?"

"My uncle. Rumplestiltskin Gold," answered Will.

Jimmy threw back his head and laughed. "Your uncle . . . the coward, right? I've heard of him!"

Regina glared at him. "Hey! You nasty boy! Don't you call Unca Rumple names! You're under arrested by Emma for bein' bad and stealin' that basket for the Farrells. And she'll put you in jail, so there!"

Jimmy struggled a bit against his bonds, looking like he wanted to make a rude gesture at Regina, but Will had done his job well, and the pirate couldn't move. "Be quiet, kid! Before I take away your doll and gut it, then hang you up to feed the fishes!"

"You ain't doin' nothin', nasty boy!" Regina cried, giving him her Royal Awful face. "You is all tied up with no place t'go! 'Cept straight to jail!"

"Yeah, you tell him, baby girl!" Jess clapped.

"Regina, go and help Auntie Belle make sandwiches, dearie," Rumple said, having called Emma on his cell and made arrangements to meet her and Bae down at the station.

Regina ran and hugged him. "Unca Rumple, that nasty boy was callin' you names! An' he said I was gonna be fish food."

Rumple knelt and put his hands on her shoulders. "Dearie, that nasty boy's nothing but a lot of hot air. He talks because he thinks people listen. He's full of it. Besides, you know the old saying, dearie. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me . . . unless you let them."

"Typical coward saying!" Jimmy laughed.

Gold cocked his head. "Funny, I thought I just heard an ass braying. Go on, Regina. Go find your aunt."

But before Regina could scamper off, Belle appeared in the doorway. "Regina, sweetie, let's make some sandwiches." Despite her huge middle, she was still quite beautiful.

Jimmy zeroed in on her. Then he whistled loudly. "Wow! Now there's a hot babe. I bet you need a real man to show you a good time, huh?"

Belle looked at him coldly. "You're not one, just so you know. And I've got everything I need and want . . . with my husband." She placed a hand on Gold's shoulder proudly.

"Him? Lady, you could do way better!"

"Not in a million years," Belle declared frostily. Then she took Regina by the hand and led her into the other room.

Will made the motion of something crashing and burning. "Rejected!" He grinned at the other boy. "She put you in your place all right, bilge rat!"

"In your dreams, chirpy! My dad kicked your uncle's ass."

Jess rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. I wouldn't boast about how your dad beats up cripples and old women. It's not good form."

"Shut up, wench!" spat Jimmy.

"Just saying," Jess sneered at him. "We won't mention the other time when my uncle kicked your dad's ass to kingdom come."

"And his mama's too," Will added. "Matter of fact I think my family has kicked your family's ass so much you've got permanent boot prints on your backsides."

"Up yours, Sparrow!" Jimmy looked like he wanted to burst through his bonds and attack Will.

"Sorry, don't go that way, old boy," Will snickered. "Baby raping's not really my style, Hooky."

"You mother—" Jimmy began, only to find his mouth filled with soap. "Ack!" he coughed and grimaced.

"We don't use that kind of language around this house," Gold said coldly, pointing at the young pirate. "Not when there's a baby present."

Jimmy continued to sputter soap bubbles for nearly a minute before Rumple gestured and they vanished. The eighteen-year-old gasped. "You . . . how . . . dare . . ."

Rumple just gave him a sizzling glare, then said, "Time for us to leave." He gestured, and all the knots except for those binding his hands and feet undid themselves.

Jack hauled Jimmy to his feet. "Let's go, nasty boy. Time for you and the brig to get reacquainted."

"You're no true pirate, Captain Sparrow!" Jimmy growled. "Otherwise you'd offer me a duel of honor in exchange for my freedom."

Jack looked down his nose. "I could . . . but what's the sense? You have no honor to start with and I don't have time to waste dueling silly little boys. Now on your feet!" He yanked Jimmy up, propelling him out the door by the back of his tunic. "Rhea! You coming?"

"No, Jack. I'm going to do a bit of scouting. Make sure no one else is here," his wife called back. "But tell me if you find anything out that's interesting."

"Aye, love," Jack said, then shoved the reluctant Hook out the door. Rumple and Will followed. Jess opted to stay behind with Belle, Regina, and her mother.

Page~*~*~*~*~Break

Storybrooke police station:

By the time Gold and company got there, Emma and Bae were at the station, along with Henry and Alina, who had been with Bae delivering baskets. All four Golds eyed Jimmy icily.

Jack dragged the younger man into the room, saying, "Sheriff Gold, where shall I put this lubber?"

Emma came and looked him over. She'd seen kids like him before—mean, cruel, little creeps who lived to hurt and humiliate others. Take away his clothes and put him in a hoodie and a pair of ripped jeans and give him a gun or a tire iron and he could be any one of thousands of gang members on the East End of Boston, robbing, looting, and dealing.

"We can stick him in a cell, Jack, but first let me put some cuffs on him," she said, and promptly went and got a set of her maglocks. She untied Jimmy's hands and then cuffed him with the silvery bracelets.

As she did so, Bae walked up and examined the youth, thinking that there wasn't too much of a resemblance between them, except maybe around the eyes and a little bit of the mouth. "So . . . you're Milah's other son," he drawled.

Jimmy looked up at him. "Who's asking?"

"My name's Baelfire Gold," Bae answered evenly.

"The coward's son."

"Your half-brother," interjected Rumple coldly.

"Unfortunately," Bae said shortly.

"Yeah, well it's not like I want to claim you either, mate," Jimmy sneered.

"You can pretend he doesn't exist while you're sitting inside my jail cell," Emma said, going to put him inside of it.

Jimmy gave her a lascivious look and purred, "Hey, babe, you're like hotness walking and talking. I gotta get me some of that."

"In your dreams!" Emma growled, and shoved him inside, hard enough to knock him to his knees.

But Jimmy twisted like a cat and caught himself on the edge of the metal bunk, managing to turn what should have been a humiliating fall into a rather graceful sitting position. "Anytime, babe. I can do it all."

Bae gave him a disgusted look. "Like my wife said, only in your dreams, kid."

"That's your wife? What'd you do, kidnap her?" Jimmy guffawed.

"Now why would he need to do that?" Gold queried. "Only pirates need to resort to that crude behavior," he left no doubt as to who he was referring to.

"Coward! You couldn't even keep your own wife!" Jimmy taunted.

"That's because his wife was a faithless scarlet woman!" Henry shot back.

"And a lying tramp too!" Alina added.

"You calling my mama a ho?" Jimmy snarled.

"You said it," Henry snorted.

"Okay, kids. That's enough," Rumple ordered. "Go and get some soda or something." He handed them some change and herded them out of the main office and towards the vending machines. If things were going to get ugly, he didn't want his children to witness it.

Behind him, Jimmy sneered, "Yeah, coward, nursemaid the kiddies, since that's all you're good for."

Rumple shut the door behind him, locking it, and then came to stand before the young pirate. "I'm only going to say this once. Watch your mouth." He would have said more, but just then his cell began to ring.

As he turned away to get it, Emma said, "We have a few questions for you, kid. Starting with how you came here."

"I've got a question for you too, sweet wench," Jimmy leered. "What way do you like it best?"

"Please!" Emma rolled her eyes. "The only way I'd do anything like what you'd describe, kid, is if I were a corpse."

"That's only 'cause you ain't never been with a real man, sugar," Jimmy boasted. He pressed up against the bars and made some rather suggestive motions through the bars.

"Bae, you got a bucket?" Emma asked. "Because I think I need one to puke in."

"Coming right up," Bae chuckled wickedly.

Jimmy flushed. Then he spat, "I bet I can do more with a woman with one hand than you can do with your whole Jolly Roger, Baelfire! How much could you have learnt from that coward over there?" He began to describe several things he'd done with various women, becoming boastful and graphic, preening like a peacock.

Bae rolled his eyes. "You know, talk is cheap, little brother. Word to the wise. My papa was never a coward, but he is a sorcerer, and even though he's not the Dark One, that doesn't mean he can't kick your ass. So watch what you say, little brother, or else you'll regret it."

Jimmy gave him a finger. "That for your advice . . . big brother!"

Bae shrugged. "Your funeral, boy."

Emma returned to her original line of questioning. "So . . . how did you get here?"

"I'll answer any question you want, babe . . . long as I get to steal a few kisses. Among other things. I know you want me. All the girls want a Hook in their bed."

Gold hung up his cell, it had been Rhea, asking if they had found anything out yet. He turned back to where Jimmy was and heard his last comment. "Emma, is this creep bothering you?"

"Boring me, is more like it," Emma said, yawning.

"You're only bored, sugar, because you got my coward brother and his limp staff to pleasure you—"

Gold looked at him, his eyes going hard and cold. "I seem to remember telling you to watch your mouth, boy."

"I don't take orders from no pansy-ass coward!"

"And I'm through giving them, Mr. Hook," Gold replied softly, his voice laced with deadly intent. "Since reason has no impact upon your behavior, perhaps this will."

He made a single sharp gesture.

Jimmy went to open his mouth . . . only to find that he couldn't.

Because his mouth was gone. His hand groped over his face, trying to feel his lips, only to find his fingers encountering smooth skin where they had been. It was as if they had never existed. Strangled whimpering sounds came from him, barely audible. His eyes bulged and he reached out through the bars with his hands, pleading.

Gold just turned away. "Ah, silence. It's a blessing, don't you agree, Jack?"

"Aye. 'Specially when the one flapping his jaw has so little to say," agreed his brother-in-law.

Emma stared at Rumple and then at Jimmy, suppressing a shudder as she did so. It was unnerving to look at the cocky boy as he was now, even though she understood why Rumple had done what he had. She had always known Rumple was not one to cross, not when it came to his family, but it still came as a shock to see him do something so . . . coldblooded.

"Rumple . . . you're not going to . . . leave him like that?"

"Oh, it's not forever, dearie. Just long enough for him to learn a lesson," Gold replied calmly.

"Emma, that's better than what I'd have removed on him," Jack said wolfishly, then he gave Jimmy a sly smirk and caressed his long knife.

"Me too," Will added darkly. "I'd have made him and his daddy match—opposite hooks for hands."

Jimmy continued clawing at his now mouthless face and looking like he was going to have a nervous breakdown.

"You should have listened to Bae, kid. Being stupid always comes with a price," she said. She bent and whispered in Gold's ear, "How long are you going to leave him like that?"

"No more than an hour. By then he'll be quite willing to tell us what we want to know," answered her father-in-law.

"Hell, Gold, am I glad you're on our side," Emma muttered, then said, "I'm going to get something to drink and check on the kids."

"Have a ball, dearie," Gold called after her. Then he looked at Jack. "How would you like to go and get a drink? There's a bar called The Rabbit Hole a few doors down."

"They got rum?" queried Jack.

"Sparrow, they've got Johnny Walker Blue Label," Rumple told him.

"Don't know that one, mate."

"Come on, I'll buy you some," Gold offered. "Bae, you want to come?"

"Sure, Papa. I could go for a beer," his son said, then went to tell Emma where they were going.

"Rumple's drinking?" she gasped.

"Probably not. But he's buying Jack some Johnny Walker Blue Label," Bae chuckled.

Emma whistled. "Someday, Gold, I'm going to go out just him and me, and get me some of that."

"Next time, wild swan," Bae said, then he kissed her leisurely before going out the door.

"Man, that is going to be one happy Captain Jack," Emma muttered to herself, then she started laughing, realizing what she'd just said. Then she went back and sat at her desk and began to play Candy Crush on her phone while in the other room, Alina and Henry played Words With Friends on their Nook HD's.

Page~*~*~*~*~Break

An hour later:

Jack was a little tipsy after drinking five glasses of Jonny Walker Blue, and he put an arm about Rumple and another about Bae as they walked back to the station. "Y'know, mate, that stuff's better n' rum. And I never thought I'd say that!"

"It's Scotch whiskey, Jack, of course it's better than rum," Rumple purred, his voice taking on the faint tinge of his old country accent.

"I just hope you still like it after Aunt Rhea finds out what you've been up to," Bae grinned.

"Aww, now, Bae! Your aunt is . . . she'll . . . unnerstand . . ." Jack protested, walking slightly crooked.

"I doubt it, but I can sober him up a bit before we get home," Rumple said to Bae.

"You can? But you couldn't do that before when you got hammered," Bae objected, staring at his father.

"That was because I didn't have any motivation to invent something," Rumple said, smirking. "But I have a little something that will sober him up enough so Rhea won't skin him."

They reached the station and deposited Jack gently in the waiting room.

"Now, let's see our problem child," Rumple said, and went into Emma's office.

As soon as Jimmy saw Rumple, he began making gestures and holding his hands out pathetically, silently pleading for release.

"You going to behave?" Rumple queried, sounding just like a stern father.

Jimmy nodded frantically.

"If not, I'll remove it permanently." Rumple threatened. Then he waved a hand and restored Jimmy's mouth to him.

The youth fell to his knees, his hands over his mouth, sniveling. "Gods! Gods! I'll talk! I'll tell you whatever you want! I swear by all the gods! Just don't . . . don't do that again, please, Dark One!"

"Don't call me that," Rumple interjected. "I'm Mr. Gold to you." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Now . . . tell me how you got here. What did you use? A bean? A portal?"

"No. My dad hired a sorceress . . . she said she was once a queen . . . and she . . . she made a potion from some kind of ashes of a wardrobe that she said was a dimensional portal . . . and she gave me some to use, a few drops, and I threw them in the ocean and a portal opened to here."

"Storybrooke," Gold said. "Where are they now, your father and this sorceress?"

"Back in our other realm still. They were going to come through when I . . . when I . . ." he stammered, going pale.

"Go on. When you what?"

"After I . . . scouted out where you were," Jimmy blurted, his eyes wide in fear. "My dad . . . he . . . wants to . . . kill you . . ."

"Really, dearie?"

"Yeah. He says you ought to die for humiliating him and . . . and hurting my ma like you did," Jimmy babbled. "So he sent me to . . . to see what I could find out . . ."

"And once you contacted him, what then?" Rumple probed.

"Then . . . the sorceress was gonna use the rest of that potion so's she and my dad and her army could come through."

"Army?"

"Yeah. She . . . she has this cauldron or something, some magic shit, and she can use it to reanimate the dead," Jimmy told him.

"What? I thought you couldn't do that, Papa?" Bae gasped.

"You shouldn't do it. It's forbidden," Rumple replied. "But it can be done . . . if you don't care about the price it requires."

"What's that?" Emma asked.

"Your immortal soul," Rumple answered darkly. He gazed at Jimmy again. "Well, little canary . . . have you any more songs to sing?"

"I've . . . I've told you everything, Mr. Gold!"

"What's her name, this sorceress you're working with?"

"Her name's Cora. Cora Miller."

"Jesus H. Christ!" Bae snarled.

Jimmy cringed. "What'd I say? I'm sorry!"

"Her name," Emma answered, feeling her heart grow cold. Then she wondered how much time they had before Cora and Hook tried to get to Storybrooke.

A/N: Hope you liked this and thanks to cynicsquest for the idea of taking Jimmy's mouth away.