Night on Dead Man's Peak

CS Genre: Canon Divergence—3x5

Muscles screaming, Emma began the final ascent.

"Need a hand, love?" Hook asked from his perch at the top of the mountain. He didn't even look winded, damn him.

Emma glared up at the pirate as he leaned over, hand extended. "I've got this," she wheezed as she propelled herself forward, finally landing on the top of Dead Man's Peak.

Dead Man's Peak

Of course it would be Dead Man's Peak. Couldn't be Rainbow Valley or Sunshine Cove. Nope, Dead Man's Peak.

Getting to her feet, Emma brushed the dirt and debris from her tank top and then looked up at the smirking pirate in front of her. If he didn't stop looking at her like that this stupid mountain was going to earn its name.

"Okay so where's this all important sextant we trekked all the way up here to find?" she asked, looking around as though she expect the archaic piece of nautical equipment to be hanging from a nearby tree.

Hook looked down and then began scratching behind one ear. She knew that gesture. Something was up. Something was definitely up.

"As it happens," Hook said, looking up again and pasting on what Emma could tell was entirely false swagger, "there is no sextant. At least not on this island, and even if there was, it wouldn't help us decipher Bae's map."

Emma felt the frustration and anger that had been boiling just below the surface erupt, and before she could think, she had Neal's cutlass out of its scabbard and pointed at Killian's chest. "What do you mean there's no sextant? Hook, my son is out there enduing God knows what at the hands of an absolute psychopath and you that it was a good idea to take a side trip up a mountain so you could what? Seduce me?"

Hook rolled his eyes and batted the cutlass away with his hook. "I brought you up here because of your father, love."

Emma crossed her arms. "What about my father?"

To Emma's surprise (and concern) Hook dropped the cocky swagger and a look of concern came over his face. "That battle with the Lost Boys on our first night here? Your father was grazed with one of their arrows."

Emma stared at him. "Okay…well, if it was just a graze, what's the big deal?"

Hook blew out a long breath. "Remember what I told you just before we went into battle? The Lost Ones lace their arrows with dreamshade. I'm afraid your father was poisoned that night."

"What?!"

"Aye," Hook grimaced. "And the bloody fool refused to tell you or his lovely wife. Doesn't wish to take the focus off the mission to save your lad."

Emma felt her heart drop. Her dad was about to… "But…but what will happen to him?"

Hook looked at the ground once again. "The poison spreads rapidly producing pain and debilitating weakness. When it reaches his heart…I'm sorry Swan, as things stand he's only got a matter of days left."

Emma felt the tears in the back of her throat, choking her. Her dad! She'd just found him, just learned who he was, just accepted him in her life. She couldn't lose him now! She just couldn't!

"And you brought me up to the top of a freaking mountain on one of the last nights I'll ever have with my dad?"

"Swan," he said, stepping forward and extending a hand. She pulled away. "There is a hidden spring just ahead there. The waters of Neverland have curative properties. If your father drinks that water he will be healed. I tried to convince him to accompany me here, but he's too bloody stubborn for his own good."

Emma took a deep breath and let it out, feeling a sudden and intense stab of gratitude to the pirate before her. He may have double crossed them in the past, but this time, this trip, he'd been nothing but selfless, generous, helpful.

"Thank you," she said simply.

He shrugged, looking anything but comfortable. "Let's get the water back to your father and save his stubborn arse, and then I've got a few ideas about how you can thank me that I promise would be quite pleasant for the both of us."

Emma rolled her eyes, a fond smile draping her face in spite of herself. (And if a secret thrill at the very thought of the ideas he was referring to rushed up her spine, that wasn't anything he needed to know.)

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

Hook replaced the stopper on his canteen, pulled up his scarf and then carefully made his way past the dreamshade plants. Now that he had the water, he simply needed to find a way to convince the prince to drink it. David Nolan was entirely too much like Liam for his own good.

At the thought of his brother, the familiar ache flared up in his chest. If only they'd asked Pan the price before they'd left the island. If only he hadn't goaded Liam into scratching himself with the accursed plant in the first place. If only they'd never set foot on this bloody island…

The "if onlys" could go on ad infinitum, but they wouldn't change the past. All Hook could do was move forward into the future, and he knew one thing for damn sure. He was not going to allow Swan to undergo the intense pain of losing a loved one to dreamshade. Not while he could help it.

"Did you get it?" she asked, looking carefully at the canteen he was stowing back into his pack.

"Aye," he said, smiling. "I've plenty to save the life of your father, and enough to spare should someone else in our group be similarly unfortunate."

"Thank you."

There it was again, that simple, heartfelt thanks. It made Hook uncomfortable. When was the last time he'd deserved thanks? When was the last time a simple "thank you" had made his heart race, had made him feel like he could scale cliffs and fight off the entire Lost One army single-handedly?

He little knew what this connection was with Swan, but perhaps it was best not to over-analyze. Perhaps it was best to simply enjoy.

Still, it would be quite bad form not to let her know the strings attached to this cure.

"Swan, before you thank me, there's something you need to know."

The wary look was back in her eyes, and Hook sighed. He'd little cared what anyone thought of him for centuries, but suddenly the thought of this woman looking at him with suspicion filled him with dread.

"Yeah? What's that?"

"This water," Hook said, taking the canteen once more from his pack, "It will save your father, but there is a price."

"Of course there is," she muttered under her breath.

"This spring's magic is extant to the island," he explained, "should your father take a sip, he will be cured on this island for the remainder of his natural life, but should he ever leave, the curative properties will wear off and he will die."

Emma sucked in a deep breath, and then finally nodded. "So he'll be stuck on the island, but at least he'll be alive. We can find another way as long as he's alive."

Hook nodded, replacing the canteen and pulling out his bedroll. Emma side-eyed him suspiciously.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked as he unrolled the blankets and spread them along the flattest surface he could find on the peak. "We need to go! Get this water back to dad and get back to finding Henry!"

"Swan it must be nearing midnight now," he said, "and it will take us a good three hours to return to camp. I've no doubt your muscles are screaming after the hike through the humid jungle and the strenuous climb of this peak. It's far more reasonable to bed down for the night here and return to your family in the morning."

"But my father's life is at stake and my son's in the hands of a little demon!" Emma said through gritted teeth, the tears swimming in her lovely eyes. "I can't just sleep at the top of a stupid mountain! I can't!"

"Swan," he said soothingly, stepping forward and taking the chance of putting his hand and hook comfortingly on her upper arms, "we'll save them both. I swear on my life we'll save them both, but you'll do neither of them any favors if you die of exhaustion. Just how much have you slept over the past few days?"

She looked to the side and then sighed. "I don't know. Not much. Almost none. Between my worry for Henry, the, I don't know, oppressive feel of this island and the crying of the Lost Boys….sleep seems impossible."

"You need to try," he said, pulling down the top cover of his bed roll. "Our battle with Pan is imminent. You need to be fresh and rested for that."

"Fine," Emma said a bit petulantly, "but I didn't bring my bedroll. Didn't know we were going on a camp out."

Hook grinned wickedly, sensing a little flirtation was in order. "No matter, Swan," he said, voice deliberately pitched low and suggestive. "I've plenty of room in my bed. You're more than welcome to join me."

"You wish!" she scoffed. "I'll just, I don't know, go sleep on the grass over there."

Hook sighed. "Swan, despite the stifling heat during the day, this jungle is positively frigid at night. You're not going to do yourself any favors shivering through the night."

She crossed her arms raising one eyebrow. "You sure this isn't just some elaborate plan to get me into bed with you?"

Hook pasted on a wicked grin. "Getting you in my bed is certainly a pleasant prospect, darling, but I've no lecherous intentions tonight. I swore I would help you rescue your son, and right now seeing to your well-being is of paramount importance."

She looked skeptical for another moment, but then she nodded. "Fine. Just don't try anything or you might lose the other hand."

"I shall be as chivalrous as a knight."

She tutted, taking off her shoes and then stiffly getting into the bedroll and turning on her side to face away from him. "Believe that when I see it."

Hook chuckled, draping his arm over her middle and pulling her back to rest against the warmth of his chest. For a moment she remained stiff, back straight, but finally she relaxed against him. A moment later he heard her breathing relax and even out in sleep, and that strange tenderness welled up once more inside of him. Lying here like this, holding her, warming her, protecting her…it just felt right.

"Good night love," he whispered gently before joining her in dreamland.

Notes:

-So I know I planned to write the au about Emma and Killian being stuck in traffic, but this morning I got bitten by the bed-sharing bug. Combine that with the fact that I'm always up for a Neverland fic, and voila! Sometimes you just have to go where the muse is leading you.

-Why did Hook need Emma to accompany him to Dead Man's Peak in this canon divergence, you ask. Um….plot I guess? Lol. I just needed a way to get the two of them off by themselves and far enough away that they'd need to share a bed roll. Just…don't overthink it. ;-)

-Up next: I'll make another attempt on that traffic jam au.