THE STORY OF THE BOYS WHO LOVE YOU: PART 2


"So Killian, I couldn't help but notice the doe eyes that Ruby was flashing ya. You two an item?" Emma forced herself to make small talk to the fisherman.

"Why? You interested, deputy?" Killian jabbed at her with a smirk.

"Hah. You'd be so lucky. Let's split up so we can cover more ground. You go to her apartment and the docks. I'm gonna go look around in the forest. If you find anything, call me immediately," Emma finished and wrote her number on a piece of paper for him.

"Here's my number, as well. Just in case you find yourself in need of a big, strong man," Killian winked at Emma and headed towards Sarah's apartment.


Killian arrived at Sarah's apartment and rang the buzzer. After a minute, he tried knocking on her door, only to have it swing wide open.

"Sarah? Are you here, lovely? People 're worried about ya, darling-" Killian called out as he walked inside. Looking around, he noticed that her apartment was in complete disarray. Either she was a very messy woman (which he had a hard time believing) or someone had broken in.

"Sarah! Last chance to come out, love!"

The eerie silence was answer enough. He quickly pulled out Emma's phone number from his jacket pocket and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Emma, it's Killian. Sarah isn't at her apartment and the place is a right disaster. I have a bad feeling, love. Have you found anything?"

"Not yet, I found two sets of footprints in a clearing but they go a bunch of different directions. I'm going to try to find a pattern and follow it. I'll let you know if I get any hard evidence."

Emma quickly hung up the phone and Killian sighed. Taking one last glance around her apartment, he noticed a photograph on the ground in front of the fireplace. It was a candid photo of Sarah smiling into the camera. She looked so carefree and beautiful; her smile was infectious and cause Killian's lips to turn into a slight grin. It quickly diminished when he noticed red writing on the bottom of the picture; "Little bird" he read aloud.

He shoved the photo into his pocket and slowly walked out of her apartment.


Emma saw several sets of footprints meet at the clearing and tried to identify the most feminine set.

Talking out-loud, Emma tried to form a pattern, "She stepped into the center of the clearing. Then moved to the right by this tree. And here the other footprints join her. But it's hard to tell where they go because they're muddled together."

Emma grunted in frustration. It almost looked like Sarah (well, she presumed it was Sarah) struggled with someone. But where did they go? Just as she bent down to get a better look at the footprints, she heard something move on the other end of the clearing.

"Hello? Sarah? It's Emma. Are you okay?"

Another movement in the same direction gave Emma enough reason to run towards the sound and as she did, she noticed two sets of footprints going in that direction.

"Gotcha," Emma whispered as she followed the trail onto a small dirt path. She followed the path until she came upon a large white house hidden in the middle of the forest.

"Interesting-" Emma started but was interrupted by a blow to the back of her head. When she came to, she was seated on a large sofa with her hands and legs bound together.

"Ahh, you're awake! So sorry about that back in the forest. Precautionary measures, I'm sure you understand. No hard feelings?"

"Who- Who are you? What are you trying to pull here?" Emma drowsily spoke.

"Me? I'm Jefferson and I need your help. Do as I ask and everything will be just fine. You, Emma Swan, are the key to getting my daughter back."

"What the hell are you talking about? You're insane. Let me go now and I won't arrest you for this."

Laughing, Jefferson responded, "You're going to arrest me? Part of me would like to see you try but there's a bigger part of me that wants to make you understand. Listen carefully, Emma Swan. You are the savior. You possess magic beyond your wildest dreams. I need you to use that magic to make me a hat."

"A hat? I don't even know how to make a hat, dammit. Let alone use my [i]magic[/i]. Let. Me. Go. Now. I have a good feeling that you may have another kidnapping charge under your belt, too. Where's Sarah Beckham?"

"She's fiiiiine, I promise. A bump here and bruise there, but in all fairness, she didn't listen to me when I told her to sit tight. Feisty women; pretty, too. That can change very quickly if you don't help me. I know that you're aware of our situation in Storybrooke and you are the only person that can do this. Now, I'm going to untie your legs and you're going to follow me. Got it, deputy?"

Emma's gut told her not to trust him but she knew that it was the only way to find Sarah.

"Got it," she spat as Jefferson began to untie the rope. Once her legs were free, she kicked Jefferson in the face as hard as she could, knocking him to the floor. He writhed around in pain, blood pouring from his nose.

"You bitch!" he yelled after her as she took off up the winding staircase.

"Sarah?! Sarah, it's Emma! I'm here to help you! Make a noise!"

Emma could hear muffled screams coming from one of the many bedrooms. She ran to the nearest one and tried the knob. Locked. She ran to the next one and found that it was locked, too. A commotion downstairs grabbed her attention and she ran back towards the railing.

"Where are they, you swine?! Tell me [b]now![/b]"

Emma breathed a sigh of relief; Killian and one of his shipmates had found the house. She'd have to compliment his intuition when this was all over.

"Killian! Up here! Sarah's in one of these rooms but they're all locked!"

Killian looked at his friend, "Occupy him for me, mate?" and ran up the stairs.

"Sarah?! Where are ya, love?!" Killian yelled and held his arm in front of Emma, stopping her movements to gain a better idea of Sarah's whereabouts.

"This way, c'mon Swan," Killian said hurriedly as he took off towards the end of the hallway. Turning to his right, he used his shoulder to ram the door off of it's hinges. Inside sat a bloodied and bruised Sarah tied to a tipped over chair. Killian ran to her and ripped off her gag.

"Killian. Thank god. Untie me quick before I loose all use of my extremities," Sarah breathed heavily.

Killian and Emma nimbly set Sarah's arms and legs free and Killian reached down to help her up.

Pins and needles painfully stabbed Sarah's entire body but she was too focused on vengeance to pay them any mind.

"Where is he?! That piece of shit better say his prayers now before I wring his bloody neck!" Sarah yelled as she clumsily strode towards the stairs.

"Whoa there, lass. You're in no condition for this. He won't be going anywhere soon, love. Let's clean you up a bit first and then we'll get some answers," Killian laughed at their likeness.

Killian and Emma helped Sarah down the stairs and into the kitchen to dress some of her wounds. Killian lifted her up and sat her on the edge of the counter to get a better look at her head. She had several contusions and a black eye but nothing that looked overly serious. He took the opportunity to hold her hand as Emma poured alcohol on her more serious injuries.

"Ouch! That smarts, dammit!" Sarah chided Emma and earned a chuckle in return.

"Oh, that reminds me- Does this photograph hold any meaning to you, love?" Killian said, pulling the picture out of his pocket.

Sarah stared at it for a moment before speaking, "I haven't seen this photo in years. Where did you find it?"

"On the floor of your apartment. Which is trashed, by the way. What is [i]little bird[/i]?"

"I haven't heard that nickname is a long, long time. I can't even remember who used to call me that."

Sarah sat and stared at the photo in confusion. Who would have this and why would someone have stolen it in the first place?

"All done. Now, let's address some unanswered questions." Emma said and she helped Sarah off of the counter.

Just as they walked into the main room, the house shook with the intensity of an earthquake.

"What's going on?!" Emma and Sarah yelled in unison.

"I dunno but I don't think it's something good. C'mere, get down!" Killian yelled as windows and doors began to shatter around them. Pulling Sarah into his chest, he used his body as a shield against the shards of glass. Sarah looked up at him as a gust of wind roared throughout the kitchen and into the rest of the house.

"Killian! Thank you! For ... Everything! I wish we could have gone on that date!" Sarah smiled half-heartedly as she yelled.

Killian's eyes found hers and softened, "We still can, lovely! Didn't peg ya for a quitter!"

Sarah lifted her head to meet his and kissed him hard on the lips, rendering Killian motionless. His eyes went wide in surprise but soon he regained his composure. He wrapped his fingers in the tangles of her hair and put every ounce of passion he could muster into the kiss.

Suddenly, everything went black.