Paperkites

Evie awoke to the sound of war cries the next morning. Dawn had barely broken, but the sounds that alerted them were nothing of nature. Pan stiffened momentarily in her arms before he broke away, reaching for the sword beside his bed and practically running out the door.

"Pan," Evie said, her face concerned as she watched him go. His face was just as concerned.

"I'll protect her."

They were here for him, but still he was worried for the daughter he hadn't even met yet.

"I love you," Evie answered, giving him one last surge of power. He nodded in understanding before running out of the door and into the melee that had become their street. Evie climbed out of bed, hastily searching for any form of weapon that she could find. Eventually, it came in the form of a disused bow and quiver of arrows, hidden in the back of Pan's wardrobe.

Evie wasn't the best archer in the land, but it had been one of the skills Snow made her learn, even if she didn't force her into studies, she forced her into archery. And the princess who once would have shot the squirrel in the tree five metres from the target, could now shoot that squirrel intentionally.

Not that she would be aiming at squirrels today.

The first thing she noticed when she exited the inn, was the blood. Because it splattered her leg as a severed limb came to rest by her foot. She would have been disgusted if she wasn't so angry. This was too close. The battle was too close.

"Evie!"

Killian was battling a man who had lost his shield and helmet and was ten times worse with a sword than the pirate. He'd dispatched of him within seconds.

"What the hell is happening here?!"

She hadn't told him.

Well, fuck.

"They want Ash!" she called back to him as another man came running out of nowhere. She had her bow up in seconds, and the arrow wedge between the armour plates of his back and shoulder. He fell.

"These are Highmark's men?" Evie nodded as another wave hit the two of them and they battled on. Evie could see as she ran shooting that Felix had a firm hold over the lost boys, giving orders like he was born to be a military man. Perhaps he was; she'd never asked.

It seemed like hours but it could only have been one when they were standing in a field of bodies. Some were lost boys, but the rest, they were the Immortals. But Evie knew, where a hundred died and failed, a hundred more would follow.

Pan was finding his boys amongst the debris. And however much he showed his power to earn their respect, he respected them to. He gave the three that had fallen a warriors farewell. Two bloodied fingers on his heart and a swipe on each of the boy's cheeks. It seemed barbaric with those two lines of blood on their face, but Evie knew it was an ancient past time. One from hundreds of years before her time that still held meaning to Pan as he said goodbye to the boys who had fought for him.

Such was the relief at winning the battle, nobody noticed a shadow moving in the darkness. Even as Evie ran to hug Pan, breathing into his ear, "I'm so glad you're alive!"

"It would've been a little awkward if you weren't," he laughed pulling away. Evie caught sight of Killian over Pan's shoulder and ran to hug him too. He wrapped her in an embrace and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I was worried," he murmured.

"We're okay," Evie breathed in relief. "We're okay. She's okay."

Killian looked at her with a wide smile, but then something caught his eye over her head and in a split second, Killian had turned Evie in his arms. She almost didn't notice anything had happened until she felt him jolt forward in her arms.

"What's the matter, Killian?"

But she merely saw his eyes widening before he collapsed to the ground, his body unable to support himself even as he clung to her.

Evie saw the arrow protruding from his back and looked up instinctively, searching for where it had come from, only to find that Pan's dagger was buried in the now dead soldier's chest.

Killian was on his knees, the arrow buried deeply into his back, judging by the wheezing, probably having punctured his lung. Evie had this all running through her head logically as she tried to calm herself. That was okay; at least it wasn't his heart.

"Under," he wheezed, his eyes closing as his chest heaved. "…it's under Ash's crib."

"What are you on about?" Evie snapped before she tried to lift him up under his arms. "We need to get you healed up."

"Evie…"

The voice came from behind her, from Pan's lips, and he was staring at her with a deep seated sorrow in his eyes, and a kind of thankfulness towards Killian. That he would take an arrow for her…

"No!" she said, cutting Pan off as she stared back down at Killian. "This is nothing! Get up, Hook!"

He started laughing then, a painful sickly laugh. "I'm done for, Evie."

"No, you're not," she said, kneeling in front of him, lowering her voice to a whisper, "You can't be. Not like this. Not after everything."

"Just…Just tell Ash about me, okay? Tell her I was here."

"You will be there," Evie promised, before he crumpled further to the floor, his body falling over and convulsing as a fit of coughing wracked his body. The arrow twisted and he groaned, "Get it out." Evie was reluctant, but she did it quickly, tearing it from his body and trying to stem the bleeding, but he simply wheezed, "Leave it be."

"KILLIAN!"

Evie didn't even realise Emma had come out of the stronghold, but suddenly she was there, catching Killian as he swayed backwards on his knees, lowering him onto the ground gently. There were already tears in her eyes as she said adamantly, "If you die, so help me I will burn the Jolly Roger to ashes."

"Only if I'm on her too, love," he grinned despite his painful fatal wound, "A good captain always goes down with his ship."

"You aren't," she whispered, her green eyes shining with unshed tears. She ran her fingers along his pained face. "You aren't."

Evie realised it the same moment that Emma did. They looked up at each other and realised that just because they couldn't accept it, didn't mean that it wasn't true. When Killian coughed again and blood sprayed over his hand, everyone standing there, Pan, Emma, Evie and Felix, knew that Killian Jones, the infamous pirate Captain Hook, would be dead within moments.

"You did well, Evie," he murmured, glancing up at her. "You gave them a home."

"You did too," she whispered, taking a hold of his hand.

"And you, Princess," Killian muttered turning to Emma, "You already know how to make it on your own."

"No I don't," she whispered. "I know how to survive on my own. But that is by no means living. Don't you dare leave me, Jones."

"I'm sorry," he wheezed, "For what it's worth, I love you."

"I love you too, you stupid pirate," she breathed, before her eyes widened, and despite the blood and grime upon his lips, she pressed hers to his, hoping and believing that it would work. It had to…

But no light shone; no healing magic escaped them. Instead, Emma finally let her tears fall as Killian tried to console her with the limited amount of strength he had left in his hands.

"It's not fair," Emma breathed.

"Life rarely is, love," he answered sadly, feeling his heart slowing painfully, "It makes a cruel mockery of us all."

But before Emma could answer him, the sound of a door swinging open was heard, and they all turned their heads to the stronghold. Sarah held Ash in her arms, surveying the destruction that had occurred down the street. But whilst she did so, Ash had eyes only for one person.

"Dada!"

And Killian smiled his last smile, as he breathed with his last breath, almost inaudibly, "Ash."

Then he was still.

One Week Ago

"Okay Ash," Killian was saying as the little girl sat in the chair across from him that swamped her tiny figure. "What colour am I painting this, blue? Or maybe something sparkly like gold or silver. Preferably, I like the last two, but that's just my inner pirate coming out."

Ash was just looking at the colours he had lying on the table indifferently. Finally however, she cocked her head at the gold one. For a moment, Killian was shocked by the movement, it was like a mirror image of him, but then he realised she was looking directly at the gold one, fixated by the shine.

"Okay, little star," Killian said, picking up the gold paint. "Golden galaxies it is."

And picking up the almost finished paper kite, he set to work with his paintbrush in hand, ever thankful that he still had full use of it, and began to paint the delicate patterns of stars that he had memorised over the years.

When Ash began to drift into sleep, he settled her down in her crib, making sure she was deep in her dreams before taking a quick walk down the hall to check on Evie. After being out for at least 24 hours, she had to be exhausted. But looking at her, he simply smiled to himself, leaning against the doorway. It crossed his mind then, that he'd never seen her as at ease as when she was asleep and dreaming.

"I promise you, Evie," he swore then, whispering to her sleeping form as he stood in the doorway glancing back, "I promise you that I will die before I let anything happen to you."

He closed the door and walked down the empty hallway, waiting eagerly for the look on her face when he gave her the present of her starry paperkite. It was a gift for both her and Ash, but if possible, that would only make her love it more.

And checking that Ash was fast asleep, he placed a kiss on her forehead, sending her his love before he turned towards his bed and laid down.

He blew out the candle and went to sleep.