Lindsey watched from behind the bars of her cell as the pirate captain thrashed and cried out in his sleep. She grimaced as it went on, knowing all too well the familiar symptoms of a night terror. She'd been a victim of those dreadful things as well…ever since Simon had been taken from her. She winced as the captain cried in fear and desperation, his blanket tangled in his legs as he fought the demons in his mind.

Killian knew he was dreaming, but he couldn't claw his way out of it. The nightmare held him in its vice-like grip and refused to let go. Flashes of the worst parts of his life went through Killian's mind at a blinding pace: murdering his father in cold blood, losing his older brother to poison, watching Milah die in his arms, and then standing by as Emma chose another man and walked out of his life forever.

The pain was suffocating. Suddenly, his eyes flew open and he sat up, gasping for air and looking around the room with wild eyes, panicked and sweaty as he tried to regain his grip on the waking world. The realization that everything he'd just dreamed about had actually happened was always worse than the nightmare itself. His life was an actual nightmare.

Killian looked across the large open space and locked eyes with the stowaway, his face hardening in anger as he realized that the woman had seen him in such an embarrassingly vulnerable state.

Lindsey held the captain's glare steadily as she watched him try to regain his composure. As utterly furious as she was with him for literally ripping her heart from her chest and locking her in this hold, she felt a small surge of empathy for the tormented man. Despite her best judgement, she cleared her throat and began to speak.

"So…the demons haunt you too?"

Killian narrowed his eyes at her as he ran a hand through his tousled black hair, "Demons?" he grunted.

"The night terrors," she replied, standing up slowly and walking toward the bars on the front of the holding cell.

Killian stood from his bed and sauntered toward her, reaching for his flask that sat on the small table near his bed as he approached.

"Aye. Why do you care?" he snarled, eyes dark and foreboding.

Lindsey glanced away and shrugged off his question, "Curious, I guess. What could possibly rattle a pirate captain so terribly that he cries out in his sleep like that?"

Killian's face grew cold as he stared her down, "Pirates see a great deal of horrible things, love. There are many things that can keep a man awake at night."

So do assassins," she retorted, leaning forward on the bars, "But not all of us have nightmares quite like that. I didn't…not for the first few years anyway."

Killian took another step toward the hold, eyes glittering with sudden interest, "What happened to change that?"

A myriad of emotions flickered through Lindsey's eyes before she replied, "I lost someone I loved. They were taken from me…unexpectedly. And you?"

Killian turned away, his shoulders tensing as he gritted his teeth. With a sigh, he threw back his head and took a long drink of rum from his flask before he slowly turned back around to face her.

"I had something like that happen as well…more than once. I've lost everyone I ever loved, come to think of it. And most were my fault," he paused to drink again, "And I've done some horrible things to quite a few people as well."

"As have I," replied Lindsey, her voice barely above a whisper, "The things I've done to people don't haunt me quite the same way as the one who was taken from me, though. I suppose that makes me a terrible person…to not mourn the deaths of those I've killed," she said as she paused to study the captain before speaking again, "So…who have you lost?"

Killian felt the invisible walls go up with a fury, despite the now-large-amount of rum coursing through his veins. He wasn't quite drunk enough to begin telling his entire, terrible tale to a complete stranger.

"Another time, perhaps, stowaway," he growled quietly, his eyes glinting dangerously as he glared at her.

"I have a name," snapped Lindsey, irritably, "And, for the final time, I am not a stowaway."

"Fine then, what shall I call you?" said Killian, rolling his eyes.

"Lindsey," she said tartly, quickly losing whatever moment of empathy she'd had for him, "And you? Because there's no way in hell that Captain Hook is your actual name."

Killian gave her a cold smile as he took another swig of the rum, "Aye, that was given to me later in life," he said, waving the hook at her, "My real name is Killian…but you'll be calling me Captain, otherwise I'll squeeze that heart of yours until it turns to dust in my hand."

Lindsey just managed to avoid rolling her eyes as she glared defiantly back at the smiling captain, "Right, Captain," she sneered, "And who is this enemy of yours you can't seem to kill on your own? Curious as to why you need my help since you're such a fearsome pirate captain with an entire crew at your disposal."

Lindsey felt a rush of satisfaction as she watched Killian's lip curl up in anger as he stepped toward her.

"I could kill him just fine on my own," he snarled as he glared at her through his dark lashes, "The problem is that his crew is easily twice the size of my own…and I've never been able to get close enough to him to finish the job without them getting in my way."

Lindsey's brow furrowed, "And why is it so important that this man dies?" she asked, studying Killian intensely, "What'd he do to deserve it?"

Killian growled low in his throat and walked up to the bars of the hold, "He raided my ship when we were in port…stole nearly every possession I have while we were away, like the coward he is. He's been a thorn in my side for decades and I desire that thorn to be plucked out. He has gotten in the way of my raiding and pillaging for far too long. This last act of his…that was the final straw."

Lindsey leaned forward until her face was only a couple of inches from Killian's and gripped the bars, "Wanna know what I think the real reason you want him dead is?" she murmured as she read the boiling rage and grief in his eyes.

"Not particularly, but I have a feeling you'll tell me anyway," said Killian, his nose wrinkling in annoyance as he felt his heart beat a bit faster at how close Lindsey was to him.

"I think…I think that you're masking your pain by diving into something more comfortable: rage and revenge," she said as she took a step back, gauging Killian's reaction, "Killing people doesn't make it go away. Trust me, I would know."

Killian pushed away from the bars of the hold with a loud sneer of disgust, "I'm well aware love," he said as he chugged the flask, "But there are things that make it easier," he said, his voice fading into nothing more than a whisper, "If even just for a moment."

Lindsey looked away as his words hit home for her as well. Captain Hook wasn't wrong. She knew all too well how slipping into her cold-killer-mode made the pain go away for a time. But the problem was, it always came roaring back after the kill was over with a crushing force that would keep her holed up in her apartment for days on end.

"So murder and rum," she said after a long moment of silence, "That's your recipe of choice for forgetting the past?"

A small, sad smile crossed the captain's face as he turned and raised his flask in a mock toast to Lindsey, "Aye, love. A pirate's life for me, eh?"

Killian tipped the flask back and finished off the rest of the rum before he tossed it across the room. He stumbled back toward his bed, no longer able to keep standing.

Lindsey watched the drunk, angry captain collapse onto the bed and frowned. He was a self-righteous, cocky, murderous asshole…but the pain he was suffering from was very familiar to her. She sank down onto the ground and leaned against the bars, making herself as comfortable as possible, and closed her eyes. The conflicting feelings about her captor kept her awake for awhile longer. She wondered what would happen once she fulfilled Killian's revenge mission. Would he find a way to send her back to her world? Doubtful. He didn't seem to care much about what happened to anyone since he was drowning himself in his own sorrows. Perhaps he would force her to stay aboard the Jolly Roger and work as his slave-assassin, doing the things he couldn't do or that were too risky for a regular pirate. Or…would he just simply dispose of her?

As her thoughts drifted back to the familiar hollow in her heart left by Simon, Lindsey wondered if that fate would really be such a terrible thing.