Maybe only two or three chapters left now... this makes me sad!
"Are you OK Killian?" Henry asked giving him a sideways glance as the walked towards the docks.
"Aye Lad, I will be fine. I'm just not used to these new shoes that your Mum bought me, they are a might slippier than the ones I lost at sea. I am sure once they are worn in they will be just fine."
Killian lied easily, a little too easily if he was being honest. His tumble down the last few steps had had little to do with his shoes and a lot to do with one of his damned dizzy spells. They had improved much over the last few weeks but always seemed to catch him unawares when they did hit and right now he felt fine so there was no need to worry the boy. Killian just hoped that one of those head aches did not follow, he had now suffered from two and both times they were after a dizzy spell. He gave Henry a reassuring smile as the lad still eyed him suspiciously then clapped his hand on the boy's back.
"I promise you Henry, I am quite well. There is no need to worry about me, today is all about fishing so let us go and get some bait and be on our way"
Killian waited outside the bait shop on purpose, he told Henry to ask the seller for the best bait for out on the open water then headed to sit on one of the benches. He sat heavily, automatically gripping his ribs as he settled himself down then glanced over his shoulder to make sure that Henry was out of sight before turning back around and gingerly pulling his left sleeve up to reveal the metal work beneath. He hissed through his teeth as his open shirt sleeve got caught and tugged painfully on his arm. He carefully unhooked the caught bit of fabric and sighed loudly when he pulled it back to reveal quite a large new bruise on his forearm and a few little trickles of blood that had leaked out from some of the entry points. When he had toppled on the stairs he had landed awkwardly but had covered it quickly by jumping to his feet and thankfully Henry had not noticed.
He pulled the sleeve back into place and hoped that he could find a quiet moment to inspect it further when he got on to the Jolly Roger, with a bit of luck Whale and Henry would be too distracted in their activities to notice if he headed below deck for a few minutes. Henry ran back into view a few seconds later and Killian stood up to meet him with his biggest smile plastered across his face.
"Did you get what you needed Lad?"
"Aye" Henry replied with a grin.
"I'll make a Pirate of you yet Lad" Killian chuckled as they walked towards the Jolly.
Killian's eyes rose up as he took in her glory, she really was the most beautiful ship he had ever laid his eyes on.
"Hello Beautiful" he breathed out as he gazed in wonder at his very heart and soul
"Hello yourself" Whale's voice carried from the deck snapping him out of his dwam.
"What are you doing?" Killian moved quickly up the gangplank and pushed the Doctor towards the door to the lower decks "You will be seen, then where would we be?"
"Hook, there is no one here. I am dead and quite frankly if we don't get underway soon so I can actually do something I may just consider yelling that I am alive from the rooftops just so that I can get on with my life or end it as the case may be"
"You will do no such thing MATE" Killian growled "That would put Emma in danger and I will not allow it"
Whale shirked out of Killian's grasp and looked him straight in the eye, had the man been drinking? "Well I suggest you get underway then" he said defiantly.
Killian's fist clenched at his side and the Jolly gave a low groan but Henry saved Whale hearing exactly what Killian thought of him as he ran up.
"Can I raise the anchor Killian? She is impatient to get under way" he grinned from ear to ear
"Aye Lad, that is the idea. Go, you know what you are doing, do you not?" he turned giving the lad an encouraging look.
Henry was moving in seconds and Killian turned back towards Whale.
"You do ANYTHING to put him in danger and you will have to answer to me. Now I suggest you go below deck and get yourself sorted out and that does not mean having a drink, not unless that drink is coffee" Killian jabbed a finger into Whale's shoulder just daring him to retaliate but it seemed that the Doctor realized that he was out of line.
"Sorry... I've just been a bit... you know... I feel like a dead man walking"
Killian's anger dissipated, the man was going through hell and he could relate to that, he'd been there himself many times before.
"Just sort yourself out. Henry has been looking forward to this, I don't want it ruined for him."
"I will." Whale assured him then headed through the door behind him disappearing from view.
Killian sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as a pulse of pain shot through him, great, just what he didn't need. He dug in his pocket to find his pain medication that Swan had made sure that he had with him just in case he needed it, he took out two pills and palmed them down his throat grimacing at the bitter taste before jamming the bottle back into his jacket and heading towards the helm.
"Come on then Lad, let us get underway. Do you want to steer her out of the harbor"
"Can I?" Henry replied in surprise
"Well that still remains to be seen" Killian added with a chuckle as Henry's eyes danced with excitement.
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Henry gripped the wheel tightly in his hands as they flew through the waves, the salt water spray clung to his clothing and dripped from his face but he couldn't be happier as the Jolly adjusted her bearings beneath his fingers.
"How does she know where to go?" he yelled out against the wind
"That is still a mystery to me Lad, all I know is that she seems to be able to sense it. Can you feel her, it's like she seeps into your very soul"
He could, he could feel her from the minute he had stepped on board. It was strange but very familiar, like being in the company of a very good friend and knowing what they were going to say before they said it. Henry just grinned wider as he looked out over the ocean in front of him but his grin turned into a frown of concern when her turned to look at Killian and saw his grimace as if he were in pain.
"What's wrong?" he immediately asked
Killian schooled his features and seemed to be annoyed that he'd let Henry see his inner thoughts but he gave a heavy sigh and looked Henry in the eye.
"I am fine Lad"
"I don't believe you Killian. Please don't lie to me" he begged, his voice full of concern.
"I am not lying Lad" Killian reassured him "I just have a bit of a headache is all"
"KILLIAN... why did you not say something? We could have done this another day" Henry's worry grew as he looked at Killian's face.
"I have taken something for the pain Lad, I will be fine."
Henry eyed Killian carefully, he looked a bit pale but apart from that he seemed to be fine as he suddenly came up to the wheel and took hold of it then pointed out to sea.
"See that island out there?" he asked quirking an eyebrow
"Yeah"
"We will anchor on the far side, Mr Smee once told me that it is a good place to find fish and if there is one thing Mr Smee excelled at it was finding a good food supply" he gave a hearty laugh
"Where is Dr Whale?" Henry asked as he suddenly realized that he was missing
"He didn't sleep well last night, I will wake him now. You just steer us in Lad"
"You're leaving me to do it by myself?!"
"No Lad, you have the Jolly. On this ship you will never be by yourself." Killian grinned at him then clapped him on the back and stalked off towards the lower decks.
Henry watched until Killian disappeared from view then spoke in a quiet voice.
"Don't make me look like an idiot" he whispered and as if to answer him he felt her tug the wheel and shift direction causing him to break out into another wide smile as he patted her center column gently "That's my girl"
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Killian headed towards his cabin knowing full well that Whale would not be there and hoping beyond hope that some of the medical supplies that had been brought over a few weeks before were still there. He hadn't really lied to Henry, his headache was mostly gone now and only the dull thud that quite often settled itself behind his eyes remained but what he hadn't told the Lad was that his arm was getting beyond painful now.
He lent back on the door as he stood looking into his cabin, someone had cleaned up since he was last there but the bag with the supplies in it was at the bottom of the bed. He rushed forward and picked it up before tipping the contents across the table quickly finding the wet wipes he was looking for.
He shucked his jacket quickly and sat himself down on one of the chairs before cautiously tugging back his shirt sleeve to expose his damaged arm beneath. How was he going to hide this from Swan? He looked down at the mess that used to be a neat piece of metal that ran the length of his forearm but now one end had come loose but the pins that pierced his skin were still stuck solid into the bone beneath. He tried to shove the metal bar back into place but hissed loudly when all it did was send waves of pain an nausea through him. Gods, he was in so much trouble when he got home.
He pulled open a wet wipe using his teeth and started to clean the dried blood from his arm but he got so lost in what he was doing that he failed to notice when the door opened until Whale spoke.
"What are you doing you idiot?" he yelled out causing Killian to jump in surprise
"Nothing" he said quickly pulling his sleeve back down and getting to his feet.
"Too late, I already saw it. Sit back down and let me see what damage you have done, I worked too long and hard to save that arm for you to ruin it now"
Killian sighed but did as he was told but before he let Whale loose on his arm he held up his hand to stop him in his tracks.
"Have you sobered up? The last thing I need is you making it worse"
"I wasn't drunk... maybe I had a few too many last night but I wasn't drunk" Whale exclaimed "Now let me see"
Killian pulled his sleeve back and watched as Whale moved in closely to look at his arm. He took his time scrutinizing the metal work but didn't touch it.
"How did you manage this?" he looked appalled at what he was seeing
"Does it matter? Can you fix it or not?"
"Not here, I would need surgical equipment. Being honest the bone is probably healed enough to remove the scaffold but the best I can do now is pack this out with gauze and wrap it but you will need to attend the hospital tomorrow to get the loose piece of metal and the pins removed."
Great, Swan was definitely going to be pissed. Whale moved quickly first cleaning his own hands with the sanitizer that David had used then using many wipes he cleaned the rest of the blood away. He then grabbed some dressings and carefully taped them over the loose metal work before binding the whole thing with a large bandage.
"That will have to do for now" he finally said standing up.
"Thanks Doc" Killian replied as he pulled his shirt sleeve back down to cover the bandage, Henry would be none the wiser.
"Can I fish now?" Whale asked with a smirk
"Be my guest, I think that we are just about there"
"You left the kid in charge of the boat"
"Ship and aye, I did. He is more than capable of guiding us to our destination." he replied as he grabbed his jacket and slung it back on.
The bandaging was doing it's job and the pain was finally one that he could deal with, he followed Whale out onto deck where three fishing rods were lying near the hold doors. Did Whale expect him to fish too, how was that supposed to happen with only one hand? Killian didn't mind really, he was happy just to watch as after Henry had successfully dropped the anchor the other two finally threw their lines into the water.
Henry chattered away and Killian smiled to himself as Whale tried to look interested but failed, clearly he wanted nothing more than some peace and quiet. Killian eventually took pity on the man and encouraged Henry to move with him to the other side of the ship to see if the fish were biting in a different part of the bay.
"He doesn't like Kids does he?" Henry asked him with a smirk
"I don't think it's a case of not liking them Lad, I think it's just that he doesn't know what to say. He is a complicated man to say the least, I mean who keeps their dead brother's body so that they can bring them back to life?"
Killian paused to think of Liam, would he have done the same if he had known that there was a chance to bring Liam back but he knew that he couldn't... wouldn't do that, Liam would not have wanted it. His eyes fell on the side of the Jolly where all those years ago he had dropped Liam's body over the side of the ship and into the waves below, sending him down into Davy Jones' locker, the only place that a sailor would want to be in death.
"Killian?"
"Aye Lad" he looked up at the boy who had a puzzled look on his face.
"The next time we come out, do we have to do the fishing part? I mean it's cool and everything but I much prefer the sailing part"
Killian kicked his legs up onto the rail and lent back into the rigging where he had managed to sit quite comfortably and smiled.
"I think that can be arranged Lad."
"Cool" Henry replied.
Killian closed his eyes and let the sunshine seem through to his bones, it was a cool day but sitting in their spot with the sun reflecting back off the water it felt nice, he felt at home... he had missed this.