Summary: Takes place after Season 4 Episode 5 "Breaking Glass" but before/during episode 6, "Family Business". Initially, this story was going to take place before the next episode, but I had this idea about an alternate version of the episode. What if, Killian was taken by the Snow Queen in between episodes and Emma and the gang is searching for him as well as information on who she is and her connection to Emma. Since I have decided to write an alternative to this episode, I did go back and use some of the dialogue from the episode. Please remember, I do not own these characters (OBVIOUSLY).
Author's Note: Okay folks! This ride is almost over. I hope we are still enjoying it. I am loving hearing from all of you. I apologize for not responding to your kind words yet, but I've been so wrapped up in life stuff. I promise I will respond to each of you because my readers keep me motivated! So THANK YOU! Alright, Killian won't be trapped for much longer so bear with me as we get Operation Rescue Killian in motion. Henry, keep our pirate safe for now!
Chapter Eight
"Rumple, if you won't take us to her willingly, what choice do I have but to use the dagger?"
He folds his arms behind his back and waits because he knows what Belle is about to do, or what she thinks she is about to do. Unfortunately, he has no choice but to continue pretending that she has the real dagger. Belle steps closer, raising the dagger in front of Rumple.
She looks him right in the eye and says, "Take us to the Snow Queen."
[Back at the town line]
"Emma, what do you mean they aren't here? Belle said he was at the town line."
"No, she said that Killian told her he's trapped in an ice cave. We assumed he meant the town line, but…it has to be deeper in the woods somewhere. Ugh, I can't believe this!"
Emma pulls out her phone from her pocket to frantically send a text to Mary Margaret, letting her know the latest development. David reaches out for Emma's shoulder to comfort her.
"Don't worry, we'll find them."
"How?! We have no way of knowing where she could have stashed him. What kind of savior am I if I can't keep my loved ones safe. Some crazy, obsessed snow lady wants me and we don't know why?"
"Emma…" David grabs both of her shoulders, looks her in the eyes, and tries to calm her down. "Emma, I promise you, we will find both of them and bring them home."
"Well, we better find them fast. Henry says Hook is…"
"Let's go back to the office and regroup and then we can head back out and start looking in the woods."
They walk back to the truck and climb in to head back to the station. Emma's phone pings.
"Dad! Mom says that she, Regina, and Belle are with Mr. Gold. He's taking them to the Snow Queen and she'll keep us posted.
"See. I told you. We are going to get Hook back."
[Deep in the North Woods]
"This is it? This is where she's hiding?" Snow asks as they stand before an icy cavern.
"Indeed," Rumple says. "But she's not at home. I don't sense her magic in the area."
"All the more reason to go inside and take a look around," Regina says confidently.
"Alright. Everyone ready?"
"Wait," Belle says. "Rumple, you stay here as the lookout. We are going inside."
"And if she returns before you exit?"
Regina smiles wryly and says "Then we'll give her a proper welcome home and fight ice with fire. But I'm not leaving here until I know where she's keeping Henry and the pirate."
"We should also look for something we can use against her, while we are in there. Anything."
The three enter the cave and immediately feel the drastic change in temperature. Where the air is crisp outside, inside it's like they've stepped inside the arctic. Immediately they notice how visible their breath is and recognize that they need to move quickly.
"Okay, if I were an evil snow queen, where would I hide my darkest secrets?" Belle asks aloud.
The room has frozen candelabras of various sizes and heights. There are tables covered in candles and vases. One is set up to be a vanity with a mirror just beside it. Snow and Regina are looking around on the other side of the cave. Belle walks and investigates the mirror.
[On the other side of the looking glass]
Henry sits with his arms wrapped around the pirate, feeling his breaths become slower and more shallow. Suddenly, he hears a voice.
"Okay, if I were an evil snow queen, where would I hide my darkest secrets?"
Henry leaps from the floor, laying Killian down momentarily. He can't see where she is, but he hears her. He can only think of one way of catching her attention. He shouts, "Belle! Belle, we're here!"
[On Belle's side]
"Hey, Regina! Come and take a look at this mirror."
"It just looks like an old…"
Suddenly, the three hear something but it's hard to tell where the sound is coming from.
"It's probably just the wind echoing off of the walls," Snow says.
"No, listen." They are all quiet for a moment and Belle realizes. "Oh my god! That's Henry! But where…"
Regina chuckles. "Of course."
"Of course?" Snow asks.
"She has them hidden behind the mirror. It's genius, really, for an amateur."
"Can you get them out?"
"It will take a few moments, but I should be able to. Let me work on this. You keep a lookout for our icy friend."
[On Henry's side]
Henry keeps shouting, but his voice is going hoarse and this new chill in the air is ripping through him. He walks back over to Hook, checks that he's still breathing, and gets back to work keeping him as warm as he can. Hook wakes up when he feels his body shifting again.
"Henry? What's going on?"
"There's someone on the other side. I think it might be Belle, but the sounds are so quiet. It sounds like her though. You gotta hang on, Hook. We're getting out of here. Please hang on."
"Ay lad. I'm trying."
A few minutes later, the voices he heard before are louder now and there are more of them. It's his mom, grandma, and Belle. They found them!
"Mom! Mom, we're here!"
"Henry," Hook says, "Not so loud, lad, please."
"I'm sorry, Hook. I just need them to find us. I don't know if they know for sure where we are and we need to get you out of here."
Moments later, a bright white light takes hold of the room. Henry positions his body in front of Killian's to protect him from whatever it is that's causing it. The light fades and he opens his eyes and sees his mother standing there, relieved.
"Mom! Quick, we need to get Hook out of here!"
Regina, Snow, and Belle all hurry to Henry's side before Regina uses her magic to get them outside of the cave and back to Rumple. Once they are with him, she uses magic once again to deliver them to Gold's shop.
"Henry, help me get Hook to back-room for now. Gold, grab all of the blankets you can find me, and Mary Margaret, get Emma here now."
[Sheriff's Station]
"Have you heard anything from them yet?" David asks.
Emma only shakes her head to respond, tearfully.
It's at that moment that her phone pings again. It's a text from her mother.
We have him. Gold's shop. Now!
"Dad!" Emma shouts, jumping from her desk and running towards the door. "They have him!"
[Gold's Shop]
Regina piles layers of blankets onto Hook and wraps them around his body. Belle returns with a pillow and lifts Killan's head to place it underneath. She steps back and that's when she notices the blood on her hand.
"He's bleeding!"
"What?" Regina shouts.
Turning Hook's head slightly, she sees the blood matting his hair and feels the bump on the base of his skull.
"That's it, I'm taking him to the hospital. Snow, you wait for Emma to get here, but I'm taking him now. I'm not letting this pirate die on my watch."
Regina and Hook vanish and Snow sits to wait for Emma, who comes running through the door only moments later.
"Mom! Where is he?"
"Regina just took him to the hospital," she says, solemnly. "There was blood and his body is so cold. He needs more help than we can give him."
"Well, what are we still doing here then, let's go. Dad's in the car still, so he can drive us."
Emma moves to head out the door to the car, but Belle puts a hand on Emma's wrist and stops her.
"Emma, wait."
"What's up, Belle?"
"When you get to speak to Killian, tell him I'm sorry for sending you to the wrong place and not finding him sooner."
"Belle, it's not your fault. I promise. And, Killian knows that too. If you hadn't spoken to him on the phone, we never would have known where to start looking."
Emma leaves the shop and hops in the car, praying that Killian will be alright.
[At the hospital]
Emma sits next to Killian's bedside, squeezing his hand as her thumb rubs circles into the back of his. The monitor beside his bed has what looks like a dozen different wires detecting different things. The most important is the heart monitor on his finger. His pulse is slower than it should be, but it's there, and that's all that matters. They have him wrapped in a few layers of blankets and have heating pads surrounding his body – under his armpits and down by his feet, trying to raise his body temperature. It's still dangerously low.
Dr. Whale walks in the room to talk to her about his prognosis.
"Emma, is now a good time?"
"Sure." She glances back at Killian's face while Whale checks on various levels on the machine.
"Okay…as you know, Killian is listed as a critical patient, but I don't think that will be for long. His temperature is still lower than we'd like to see so we need to make sure to monitor him more closely. 80 puts him at risk for a heart attack so, and it's still climbing. We need to make sure he doesn't get too warm too quickly so we will watch him for the next day or so."
"Oh, wow. Um, my mom also said he was bleeding when Regina brought him here."
"Yes. He has a rather sizable bump on the back of his head and most likely a concussion, which is the reason for those monitor leads along his forehead. Since he's been unconscious, we want to keep tabs on his brain function. The wound itself isn't so serious, but with head wounds, you can never be too careful."
"Why didn't he show signs of bleeding earlier?"
"Emma, Hook's body was so cold that his heart was barely pumping any blood through his body. So, the wound was, in essence, frozen. Once his body started warming up, the blood started moving again."
Dr. Whale is silent for a moment and then says "All in all, he's extremely lucky and should make a full recovery. It's going to be a long road, but he'll get there. He's a young…old…old-young man."
"Speak for yourself," Emma says smiling.
"I'll leave you two alone. I've had my nurses leave a set of blankets for you to use since I assume you'll be staying here with him."
"You assumed correctly."
"Always do. Well, I'll see you and my patient in the morning, Miss Swan."
Dr. Whale flicks off the light switch to Killian's room and closes the door behind him. Emma grabs one of the blankets and climbs onto the bed next to him, careful not to jostle any of the wires.
"I'm here, Killian. I'm right here."
She kisses his lips, moves the hair that is curled over his forehead and closes her eyes.