A/N: I'd like to give a HUGE shoutout to Lisa and Hannah for steering me to write this! Thank you so much for being fantastic soundboards and helping me out with this chapter!

Chapter 18:

(Hook)

I was pretty sure I hadn't stopped grinning all day. It hadn't gone unnoticed. This morning, I'd picked up the coffee and headed into the office. Hook eyed me the second I walked in, one brow raised in question. A twinkle in Emma's eye told me she guessed—correctly—what happened between Liv and I. With a clap on my shoulder, David had said, "Someone's awfully chipper this morning."

What more could a man ask for than to wake with the woman he loves in his arms? There was no better feeling, really. It was the greatest treasure a pirate like me could ever hope for, aside from my children.

Hell, I wasn't even mad that Emma had saddled me with checking in on Blackbeard and Wish Blackbeard's joint venture, which was what their disagreement had been about the week before. I'd had a few things to handle at the office this morning, and then Brantley and Liv had come bearing lunch. So, after lunch, I went to check on both Blackbeards. All had been well, of course, and they, too, had commented on the smile that I couldn't wash away. Much as David had done, my friend (Wish) Blackbeard had clapped my shoulder and said, "She looks good on you."

How he even knew it was a smile brought on by a woman, I didn't know. I didn't ask, either. After waving them off, I headed back out to my Chevelle and pointed her back towards town. I'd barely made it out of the parking lot when my phone shrilled in the passenger seat. Grabbing for it, I clicked on, "Jones."

"Are you done with the Blackbeards?" Emma asked in my ear.

"Aye," I answered, but there was something in her voice that made the hair on my arms stand. Just like that, the smile was gone. "What is it? Has something happened?"

She paused for a moment, then added lowly, "Get back as quick as you can."

The engine rumbled as I accelerated.

Ten minutes later, I pulled in front of the Sherriff's Office. Hook and Emma were talking with Liv near the front of her SUV, while David was occupying Brantley in a wooden-sword fight on the sidewalk. Liv's eyes flashed to mine as I climbed from the car. She stopped talking mid-sentence and practically flew into my arms. I wrapped my arms around her, glancing at Emma and Hook as they walked up. Emma nodded towards Liv's car where a letter, envelope, and picture were sitting atop the hood.

"What is this? What's going on?" I asked.

Liv stepped back. "He's here, Killian. Nick found his way into Storybrooke."

A curse left my lips. "How is that possible?! The town and the realms are protected."

"Mate," Hook started. "We know it wasn't when you all arrived. There's been only one other instance where a scroll was required."

I thought back and realized when that was. Dopey had crossed the town line and Emma had asked that I go and let him back in. My heart faltered and shock overpowered me. Here I was, charged with keeping the woman I loved safe and I'd let in the one she feared the most.

Finding the stormy grey eyes, I murmured, "I'm sorry, love."

Confusion stole over her. "For what?"

"Jones," Emma said on a sigh, a frown turning her lips down.

"It's not your fault, mate," Hook said.

"How can you say that? None of you are the ones who tossed the scroll out. I did."

Liv took my face in her hands, forcing me to meet her eyes. "It's ok," she murmured. "I'm ok. Brantley's ok. We're ok."

I nodded and she released my face. Though I still felt as if it were my fault, I knew that even if Emma or Hook or David had gone to let Dopey back in, they would have been the ones to let him in. It was just ironic that it was me.

She tucked herself beneath my arm and I led the way to where the letter was sitting atop her SUV. It was the same tidy scrawl as all the other letters he'd sent her.

My Dearest,

Neither you, nor the pig, heeded my warnings.

Now it's time to pay.

Your one, your ONLY,

Nick

I sneered down at the letter. Glancing to the left, I saw myself in the accompanying picture. It was earlier in the day, because I was wearing the same clothes I was now. I was standing in the open door of my car and talking to Liv as she walked away. Nick obviously had no idea who he was dealing with. He may be able to scare Liv, but I sure as hell wasn't scared of him at all.

Fucking coward—that's what he was.

I turned just slightly to tell Liv exactly that when an explosion sounded in the air. Fire ripped through my shoulder as something dark red spattered the side of her face. Those grey eyes met mine, fear running rampant in the stormy depths, as a grunt escaped me.

"Get down!" Emma shouted, then turned to where David and my boy were playing on the sidewalk, "Get him inside, now!"

I toppled to the pavement, taking Liv down with me. A long, shrill sound reverberated in my ear before Liv's panicked voice sounded. "Emma! Hook!"

"Where did it come from?" Hook asked as he and Emma inched closer, staying low.

"Clocktower," she murmured. Her face came into vision. "Jones, I'm going to need you to keep those eyes open."

Confusion stole over me. I couldn't focus with the fire raging in my shoulder, pain echoing down the length of my arm. Liv's face swam into view, one half of her face splattered by something dark. I lifted the arm that wasn't on fire and touched the spots. They smeared blood-red. I tried to sit up, but Hook pushed me firmly back to the pavement.

"Liv, are you ok?" I demanded, struggling against Hook's stronghold.

Her face softened from worry. "It's not mine, Killian."

Oh. Oh! I glanced down where the excruciating pain throbbed and saw the wound pulsing blood out with every beat of my heart. Emma's fingers were pushing and prodding, causing the pain to become even more delirious, so I just gritted my teeth and grunted.

A crowd had gathered, familiar faces with worried expressions looking down on the scene. Alice shoved her way through and stared down at me. "Papa!?"

"I'm fine, Starfish," I assured her, though I wasn't sure, yet.

"Why don't you go into the station with the lad?" Hook asked of her.

She nodded and went inside.

A minute later, David came out and looked over at Hook, "Clocktower?"

The latter nodded and they headed in that direction.

"Well, it's in there." Emma declared, then met my eyes. "This is going to hurt."

"Bloody hell!"

When I'd steeled myself, I sent her a short nod. In the palm of her hand grew a white light. I grunted as I felt the bullet move in my shoulder, trying to find its way out of the same hole it had entered. Through gritted teeth, I growled as she worked the metal out.

A reprieve was given when she had the spent bullet in her palm.

"Jesus!" Liv exclaimed, slipping her hand into mine and glancing at Emma, "Can you heal it?"

I gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Of course," Emma told her, raising her hand over my shoulder. Then, she smirked down at me, humor written in her green eyes. "Is this going to become a habit, Jones?"

The chuckle barely escaped before I ground my teeth together and grunted from the pain of the healing magic. After a minute, the fire began to fade and I relaxed against the pavement as she finished it out. When Emma sat back, Liv leaned over me and pressed her lips against mine.

"I'm so—" she started, but I reached up and tangled my fingers in her hair, bringing her mouth back to mine.

A soft hum collided with my lips and I pulled back slightly. "Don't you dare apologize for that coward, Liv. He couldn't face me like a man, so he tried to take me out. Tried being the operative word." Darkness flowed through me. "He will die for it."

Once Emma started to disperse the crowd, Liv helped me into a sitting position. We sat for a few minutes, and then she and Emma helped me inside after Emma had grabbed the letter and picture from the hood of Liv's SUV. Healing took a lot out of someone. As I assured my children that I was, in fact, fine, Liv helped me out of my jacket. I stared at the leather, now-marred by a bullet hole.

Glancing up at her, I said, "That's another reason, too. That was my favorite jacket."

The laugh I was rewarded with filled me with a warmth I didn't think was possible. It was quickly doused, though, when Emma entered from her office with a tablet in her hand. "There's a whole new slew of pictures on the image-sharing site."

She handed it to me and stood behind one shoulder while Liv moved to stand behind the other. Together, we flipped through picture after picture of the images he'd captured since coming to Storybrooke. He'd asked his fans for help in deciding how to handle me. The very last one was the same picture he'd sent Liv with a crosshairs image superimposed over my heart. It was captioned, 'Today, he dies.' (https/app./u/JessWolford/p/062608aa-e95b-44a7-82e2-510a1e7f20f5 copy and paste the link!)

"Ha!" I barked out, startling both the women standing behind me and my children. "I guess he doesn't know how the Jones' always survive."

Emma shook her head with a smirk as Hook and David returned. Her father took the lead, "He was gone by the time we got there, but he didn't police his brass and we snagged a few fingerprints." Hook held up two evidence baggies, one with a single shell-casing, and the other with lifted fingerprints.

We shared with them about the image-sharing site, and they both had a look at the pictures. Then, Emma decided I was done working for the day much to my protests. "Dad, can you follow them back to the cabin? I'm going to get in touch with Regina and see what we can do about adding a layer of protection when one of us can't be there."

David followed behind Liv's SUV, and helped me up the stairs at the cabin. He clapped my back as I sat on the edge of the bed. Brantley hugged me ferociously, and Liv made me lay back before she'd kiss me again. The last thing I remembered before sleep took me was her soft whisper to rest and the door clicking shut softly behind her.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter!! I wanted to share a few songs that go with the story, so please let me know what you think!

Rogers: Brantley Gilbert's Man of Steel

Liv: Shania Twain's Forever and for Always

Both (from before the story started! A big thank you to Hannah for this one!): Beth Crowley's Living Without You