Just a little Christmas special.

7. Do You Believe in Miracles?

Uma didn't hate Christmas, but she didn't necessarily like it, either. Even so, she muddled through it for Gil's sake – and to a small extent, Harry's. Gil loved Christmas and how he was able to drag Harry into the merriment without the pirate complaining or cursing (in his weird pirate version that no one but he and Gil – and possibly Harry's own family – understood) was beyond her. She knew he remembered that day; that Christmas Day, now two years ago, when he almost died because of her. They never spoke of that Christmas, not even to each other; at least, not with words. Gil often acted as if nothing had ever happened, but she knew her actions had cut him deeply. He had told her not long after the "incident" that he forgiven her. They were villains after all; getting what they wanted was their priority, not caring about who they hurt to get it. She didn't say anything in return to the "villains" comment, although the thought, "if you're going to use that reasoning then you shouldn't forgive me" had entered her mind. Harry knew what she was thinking; but like her, he knew it was best not to say anything to Gil. Besides, the blond will forgive her, anyway.

The boys, all the boys, were entertaining themselves by tossing popcorn in the air and attempting to catch it in their mouths – often failing. The girls were mildly amused, and the remaining customers ignored them. A small smile crossed her lips as she watched them for a moment; a smile aimed mostly at Gil. Despite Beastie Boy's bringing more kids to Auradon, they were still stuck on the Isle. But they were not kids anymore. Things had gotten better on the island, however. The Lost Revenge even received an overhaul, making her seaworthy once again. It was something, at least.

Soon after she had made it back to the Isle following the botched attempt to bring down the barrier, the three of them and the rest of the crew made a pact that if – by some miracle – any of them received an invitation to Auradon, they wouldn't accept. It was all or none. A few months after the "incident," Gil received an invitation; but keeping with the pact, he refused. Even without their pact, he still would have refused. She and Harry knew that. The youngest son of Gaston was as loyal as they could possibly come. He put those of Bore-a-don fools to shame. Gil was a burning flame of life and loyalty nearly extinguished because of her own desperate desires.

Where they had come from the trio could not figure out. Their ship had mysteriously appeared in Isle waters just days earlier; the pirate – Harry used the term loosely – ship and crew seemingly materializing out of thin air. It had to be magic. It was the only explanation. But what kind of magic?

Gil knew there was something off about them, but like so much of the time, no one listened to him. Regardless, he decided to do a little research before Harry or Uma did something incredibly stupid. There was also something awfully familiar about those pirates and their ship; mainly, the captain. By the time he realized who it was, however, it was too late.

Uma had been made an offer she couldn't refuse, one too good to be true. She should have realized that before everything had escalated to where they were now. When Gil had spoken there "guest's" name, she should have backed down, turned away. The man was worse than Davy Jones, the cursed, tentacle-faced pirate that made her skin crawl. It was the "Flying Dutchman" himself: Captain Hendrick van der Decken, who had challenged God Almighty with a blasphemous oath and was cursed to sail the seven seas for eternity.

Now he and a few of his men were aboard the Lost Revenge. And Decken was now offering her the one thing she desired most. She accepted without thinking, without considering that it could come at a great price. It was made worse when Decken finished his proposal. There were choices to be made, tests to undergo. Or so the Dutchman said. When he had first said it none of the three knew what he had meant. But now….

A malicious grin crossed his lips as he watched Uma's expression change from one of indifference to one of horror. Her "boys," as Decken chose to call them, were at the mercy of his men.

"So, Sea-witch," he said smoothly. "What will it be?" He motioned for two of his men to bring Harry closer to them. "I think he'd look better with the hook attached to his wrist. What do you think?"

Uma screamed "no" in her head as she watched Decken's men drag her first mate to the portside, slamming his arm onto the railing, but not a word was uttered. Harry's fear-filled eyes darted between his own pinned arm, a struggling Gil… And Uma.

"If you don't think so," Decken continued, "I'll tell him to back off. But of course, if you do, you'll lose part of the deal. How far are you willing to go to get what you want?"

Come on, Uma, Gil pleaded with his eyes. Tell him to stop.

Harry began a violent, yet futile, struggle with the two burly men holding him. The one holding a cutlass turned to Decken. "Captain?"

The Dutchman looked at Uma. "It's your choice, Sea-witch." He gave her a disgustingly pleasant grin. "Or perhaps," he glanced at Gil, "someone else will."

Uma set the tray down in front of a customer and quickly turned back to the boys. Gil was being as goofy as ever. She couldn't help smiling, until her eye caught sight of Gil's left-hand. He wore a permanent reminder of what he had done for Harry, and what she had failed to do.

"Stop," Gil shouted, causing the man with the cutlass to pause and Decken to grin at Uma. "Let him go. Take me." I'm not valuable enough.

Cutlass man looked over at the Dutchman. "Captain?"

Decken gave Uma a more sinister smile. "Well, now. Sacrificing oneself for another. Breathes loyalty. Or stupidity." He turned back to Cutlass man. "Switch them."

Cutlass man hauled Harry to his feet and pushed him into the other man that had been holding him down. "Ruup! Bring the blond one over here," Cutlass man shouted.

Gil glanced at Uma as Ruup pushed him over to Cutlass man. The blond glared at him as Ruup shoved him to his knees and held his arm down on the railing.

"The same, Captain?" Cutlass man asked.

"No," Decken replied shortly. "I have something better in mind." He looked at Uma with the most vicious expression she'd ever seen.

Gil's eyes widened in horror. He knew exactly what the Dutchman had in mind. 'Please, don't make her decide.'

The same expression appeared on Harry's face. "Don't make her decide. She'll never forgive herself." As soft as his voice was, somehow Decken still heard him.

"That would be the point, boy," the Dutch captain retorted, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He leaned down until his face was in Uma's. "Now, Sea=witch. What will it be? The whole hand? A few fingers?"

Uma was frozen. "Now either you decide and make it easier on him or I decide and make a hard on you both." She mumbled under her breath, not wanting Gil or Harry to hear. "A trifle louder, please." She repeated her words, just loud enough for Decken to hear. "Very well, then." He turned to face Cutlass man. "Mister Aling."

"Aye, Captain?"

"Remove Mister LeGume's smallest finger to the first joint and ring finger to the second joint."

"Aye, Captain." Aling turned to Gil, cutlass raised just above the blond's hand, a deadpan expression on his face.

Gil was equally as stone=faced. He took a deep breath, and watched as the cutlass came down on his fingers. Blood pooled onto the railing, the amputated pieces of fingers falling off into the water; but Gil didn't make a sound. Yanked onto his feet, he was quickly thrust back into Ruup, blood continuing to pour from his injured hand. He didn't notice the tears beginning to fall down his captain's cheeks, until Ruup hauled him back into his original spot. When he looked into her eyes, he mouthed the words, "it's okay."

"For the last part of our deal." Decken circled her. He could feel the fear emanating from her. How sweet it was. "It's my choice this time. I think…" He leaned down once again, his face next to hers, "if you truly desire to gain what your mother lost," he looked towards Gil, "you will make the sacrifice."

Harry struggled for release, but his captor's grip was too strong. His gaze drifted between his captain and second mate, his friends. There was fear in their eyes. It was Gil's life or power. They had known each other too long for that to be a difficult decision, but Uma wasn't saying a word, not making a move. Decken had to have some kind of power over her. There was no way she would let their family member die; not Gil. He couldn't understand why she was just standing there.

As Ruup wrapped his arm around Gil's throat, Harry shouted, "Uma."

He would do anything for, anything to make her happy. Even give his own life. But Gil wasn't so sure he was willing to die like this. Would Uma really sacrifice his life for her own gain? His eyes locked with hers. Did she really care about him? He felt Ruup's arm tighten around his throat.

Struggling for air, tears beginning to form in his eyes, he breathed, "Uma…?"

She could see the hurt and betrayal in his eyes. There shouldn't be any hesitation. Regaining her mother's powers wasn't worth Gil's life. But why was it so difficult to refuse? She couldn't take her eyes off him. As Ruup tightened his grip around Gil's throat, the blond reached up, futilely grabbing at the man's arm, his bloody hand unable to keep a grasp. She could barely hear him – if he actually did say anything – she swore she heard him call to her again, pained, "Uma…. Please…."

A clatter broke through the silence that engulfed the deck of the Lost Revenge. The shell necklace, resembling her mother's, lay next to her feet. The Flying Dutchman's offer, willingly turned down. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Decken cackled, retrieving the necklace. "Let him go," he said to Ruup.

As the burly man released Gil; he dropped to the ship's deck like a sack of potatoes. There was no movement from the blond. She ran to him as Harry was released. The son of Hook watched in anger as Decken and his men made their ghastly retreat, shouting obscenities at them.

"Gil," Uma cried out, kneeling beside him and rolling him onto his back. Harry was quickly by her side.

"Gil? Gilly?" He began shaking him. "Come on, Gil."

Uma leaned her ear to his mouth. Nothing. His chest was terribly still. There was no rise and fall. Harry laid his head on Gil's chest. His heart was just as still.

"No, no, no…" He cried, beginning chest compressions. Tears streamed down his and Uma's cheeks. "Dinnae ye die on me!"

"Come on, Gil. Don't you dare leave us," Uma sobbed.

Getting no response from his friend, his brother, Harry began pounding on the blond's chest, screaming at him. Uma's tears fell harder. Neither noticed the gathering of their crewmates.

Time escaped them. Harry had no idea how long he had been pounding on Gil; he was tiring quickly. Finally, he stopped. There was still no response from their second mate.

"No…" The junior Hook whispered, laying his head down on Gil stomach.

Uma's forehead now lay on Gil's, her tears splashing onto his pale, lifeless face. "I'm sorry, Gil. I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "This is all my fault."

Harry lifted his head, noticing Gil's bloody had. He set up, pulling the red sash from his waist and as gently as he could, wrapped it around the blond's hand. It was pointless, but he did it, anyway. As he pulled the cloth taut, he swore he saw and felt Gil's hand move. But that was impossible. Gil was dead. He looked at Uma. His eyes widened; the blond's lips were moving.

A soft, gentle, "Uma," reached their ears.

"Gil?" She lifted her head, staring down at him.

His eyes slowly opened. "Did I miss Christmas?"

Uma smiled, tears still falling. "No. You didn't miss it."

"Hey, Harry." A small smile crossed his lips as the pirate wiped away his tears.

"Hey, Golden boy."

Gil took a sharp breath. "My hand really hurts."

Uma was shaken out of her thoughts, rather rudely, by someone picking her up and swinging her around. She was about to give the fool a nasty piece of her mind when she saw Harry laughing and realized it was Gil twirling in circles with her in his arms.

"Okay, okay," she shouted. "You can put me down."

"Sorry," he said cheekily, putting her down.

She looked up at him. He was grinning like an idiot.

"Come on, Uma," Harry said, draping his arm around her shoulders. "Join the festivities."

"Yeah… There's plenty of people to take care of the serving," Gil added. "Besides, your shift's up."

Uma furrowed her brow and looked up at the clock. Sure enough, her shift was in fact up. "Fine. I'll join the 'festivities.'"

"Good," the junior Hook reply shortly, yet gleefully, and returned to the crew.

Gil put his arms around her again, this time simply giving her a hug. "Thanks, shrimpy," he whispered, kissing her gently on the cheek.

She lightly jabbed him in the side, making him grin. "Go. I'll be over there in a minute." She couldn't help smiling. Although she tried hard not to, she had to admit that Gil was a walking miracle. He shouldn't be with them now. But he was.

Watching him walk back to the others, one more memory of that Christmas snaked its way into her consciousness. Shortly after his near-death experience, out of curiosity, she and Harry asked if he remembered anything about it. All he could remember, he told them, was hearing someone say the words, "fear not." He had no idea what that meant and let it go at that. Harry did as well, likely for Gil's sake; but she couldn't shake it off so quickly or easily. Eventually, as the days passed, she did let it go and all but forgot about it. Still…there was something odd about those words.

"Uma. Stop bein' slow," she heard Harry shout.

She shook her head and joined her crew. Gil was leading them, at least, trying to, in a Christmas carol – in French.

Harry grimaced. "Ah cannae un'erstan' a word yer sayin'!"

Uma laughed. Seeing her crew, especially Gil, happy, made her, well… happy. Maybe Christmas wasn't so bad after all.

Fin

Thanks for reading.

Merry Christmas

And remember

Be lovely to each other.

Love you, guys.

(I have another Christmas special coming up, but I probably won't get it up until after Christmas.)