"Killian!" Robin's voice was the first to break the silence as they all rushed over. Regina laid her head on Killian's chest, listening intently.
"Call Emma!" She shouted to Belle. "Get her over here! NOW!"
"Is he -" Belle's eyes were wide and fearful.
Regina nodded. "Zeus stopped his heart."
She drew back her hand, then plunged it into Killian's chest. Then she passed her hand down his body, leaving a trail of golden light.
"If he's gone, perhaps it would be kinder -" Robin started.
"We need Emma! Trust me - get her over here, fast." Regina snapped the order as Belle dialed the phone. "I've put a preservation spell on his body - that'll preserve him until she can take over."
"I don't understand," Robin said. "If he's dead, even magic can't reverse death."
"The human brain takes several minutes to die once the heart has stopped," Regina explained. "I can lengthen that a bit, but the rest of it...I'm counting on an archaic bit of magic to help me out."
"And if it doesn't work?"
"Then she'll want to say goodbye."
Belle came back around the counter, holding the phone. "She's down at Granny's - she should be here any second."
She'd barely finished the sentence when the door flew open, and a panting, panicked Emma burst in. Her eyes fell to Killian, and she dove for him running her hands over his chest, tapping his face.
"Killian! Killian!" She turned to look at Regina. "Is...he...?" She couldn't even finish, the pain in her chest like a gaping, throbbing vortex, sucking her down.
"Emma. Emma, listen to me," Regina said calmly, taking her by the shoulders. "Zeus stopped his heart but there may be a way to reverse this."
"A defibrilator! Call the EMT squad and I'll start CPR-" Emma started barking orders as Belle reached for the phone.
Regina took Emma's hand, placing Killian's heart into it.
"There's no time for that," Regina said. "Take the heart - call him back."
"What?" Emma's panicked eyes locked on Regina. "This is his heart?"
"Yes, and it's intact, which means Zeus did nothing more than stop it. By the laws of magic, anyone who has previously held his beating heart can call him back, but the power to do so weakens with every moment we waste."
"Call him...back?"
"Emma! I need you to focus!" Regina shook her lightly. "Use your magic. Send it into the heart, and Call. Him. Back."
Emma nodded, pulling herself together. She looked once more at his beloved face, felt the weight of his heart, so still in her hand. She pulled the heart up, holding it just before her face, feeling the power gathering within her, greedy and growing as always, flowing out and down her arms, arcing from her palms and into the heart.
"Come back to me, Killian. Don't leave me." She whispered to the heart, and it suddenly jumped in her hand, flickering and glowing a deep, ruby red, pulsing with life. Killian gasped aloud, his startled eyes opening and locking on her.
"Emma -" his voice was shaky, but the color was flooding back to his face. His eyes went to the heart in Emma's hand. "May I have that back?" he quipped. "Or were you planning on turning it into a decorative centerpiece?"
Emma rammed the heart back in his chest and sagged back, pulling her knees up and rubbing her head into them. "You just took ten years off my life," she groaned.
"I'd say the same, but from the looks of all of you, it's only been minutes. What have I missed?" He sat up, reaching out to gather Emma in, holding her tightly.
"Zeus decided you were expendable," Regina said dryly.
"You were taunting him inexcusably," Belle reminded. "It wasn't terribly prudent of you."
"He had it coming," Killian growled.
"You can't go up against him and win," Regina chided. "He's too powerful. But now we know he's going to keep going after Belle. He wants the dagger and the box."
"Well who in the bloody hell told him Belle had the dagger?" Killian asked irritably.
Regina gave him a look as Robin filled him in. "Regina accidentally let it slip. He'd disguised himself as Belle to pay us a visit."
"We're going to have to keep a guard on her, around the clock," Regina said. She looked over at Belle. "I hate to say it, but there's one person who's got powerful enough magic to protect you, but he'll be damn sure to keep that dagger out of Zeus's hands."
"And once Rumplestiltskin knows she's safe," Killian said. "He makes a deal with Zeus and the rest of the world goes to hell."
Belle's face contorted a moment, then she took a deep breath. "Killian is right. Rumple won't think beyond himself. He'll make a deal." She looked at Killian questioningly. "What did you come here for, anyway?"
Killian pushed himself up to his feet, offering Emma a hand. She took it, and then didn't let it go, keeping an arm wrapped around him.
"I was looking for information. Dora said something that might be of use to us." He pointed over at the pile of books on the table. "Is there anything in your old mythology books about Zeus and the temples of other gods? Dora said certain things were sacred to him, and that he respected that."
Belle nodded. "Yes, I do remember reading that. If there were another god or goddess with a temple nearby, he would respect its sovereignty. There are stories of women fleeing from his attentions by taking shelter in the temple of another god." She reached for a heavy tome nearby, opening it and leafing through a few pages before finding a passage.
"Yes," she said, pointing a finger down onto the paper. "Here it is. A list of sacred sites and artifacts. Zeus was bound to respect them, if he held them sacred."
Killian stepped over, perusing the list. "Would it be only these sights? Or the temple of any god -a more recent god?"
"The church," Robin said, his eyes lighting with the realization. "If we put Belle in the church, along with the dagger..."
"Yes." Belle nodded. "It's a sacred site. Zeus would have to respect the boundaries. He couldn't touch me there."
"I'll take you home to pack a bag," Regina said. "We don't have any time to waste."
She'd just turned when her phone went off. "It's Henry," she said, opening it up. "Henry - is everything okay?" She listened for a moment, her eyes going over to Belle. "She's fine. Everyone's fine. Put him on the phone."
She covered the phone, speaking softly to Belle. "It's Gold. He wanted to make sure you were all right."
"She's fine," Regina said into the phone as Belle's eyes remained locked with hers. "But we're relocating her. Zeus knows she has the dagger. Nevermind how he found out, he just did," she snapped. "But he can't cross the boundary into another god's temple. The church is the safest place for her, and Blue can hold her own against Zeus if he tries anything tricky."
Regina finished the conversation, then put her phone away. "You ready to go?" she asked Belle.
"I'll just get my coat." She looked at Killian. "Do you want me to put the book back for you?"
"No," he said, staring down at it as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "No, I'd like to study it a bit longer, if you don't mind. I'll lock up when I'm done."
"That's fine," Belle reassured him. "I'm glad you're all right."
He gave her a smile and she grabbed her coat, stepping out the door with Regina and Robin, who had an arrow nocked in his bow, clearly keeping watch. The door closed behind them and Killian turned, pulling Emma into an embrace.
"Thank you," he murmured. "That's twice now you've held my heart and returned it to me."
"You can be glad it's happened before," Emma said. "That's how I was able to bring you back."
"I heard you call me," he said. "I was...well, I don't know where I was. It was nothingness. Save for your voice. I only knew I had to find you, so I...moved toward it."
"Don't do that to me ever again," she scolded, though it was muffled against his chest. "I can't do that again. I can't."
"Sure you can, love," he joked. "You're becoming quite the expert at returning hearts."
"I don't mean that and you know it," she said, lifting her face to look at him. "Don't make me see you dead. Ever."
"I was only mostly dead," he said, trying to cheer her up. It didn't work.
She held him tighter. "I can't do that again. I can't lose you."
"And I can't bear for a moment the thought of losing you," he said softly. He reached down, lifting her chin. "So where does that leave us?"
"Stuck with each other?" She attempted a smile, but the heaviness of the last few minutes was still weighing upon them both.
"There's no place I'd rather be, Swan," he said, kissing her lightly - at least, until her arms twined around his neck and pulled him in, deepening the kiss.
###
"Are you hungry?" Archie asked as he loaded the contents of the bags into the refrigerator. "It looks like we've got lunchmeat and I saw a loaf of bread in one of those bags over there," he indicated the other bags on the table. "I can make a decent bologna sandwich."
"I don't know what that is," Dora replied. "But I'm sure it will be fine."
"I don't get a lot of cooking practice, unfortunately," Archie explained. "It's usually soup and sandwiches for me. I've been a bachelor too long."
"I don't understand how it is that you haven't found a wife yet," Dora said, walking slowly around the cabin.
"I took care of my parents for a long time," he replied, his mouth turning down at the memory. "And then I was a cricket for a while...that's another story. Then we came here and, well...there just hasn't been anyone. Until recently." He reddened slightly but Dora smiled back.
"There's been no opportunity for me, either," she answered. "Until recently."
She turned away, resuming her tour, and as she approached the doorway to the bedroom area, her step faltered.
"Archie...?" her voice began uncertainly. She staggered, leaning hard on the doorframe.
"Dora!" He rushed over, grabbing her from behind and supporting her. "What's wrong?"
She looked up at him, stunned and said simply:
"It's here. The box is here."
###
"You ready to go?" Emma asked. "I only got halfway through my dinner, and I'm sure my parents would like to know everything's okay. I ran out of there like a bat out of hell."
"A bat out of hell?"
"It's a saying. And a song. A really good, old song. By Meat Loaf."
"Musical food?" He looked confused.
"No, his name is Meat Loaf. The musician."
Killian still looked confused, then he shook his head as if to clear it and returned his gaze to the book he'd been glancing at again.
"Yes..." he murmured. "Yes - that's perfect. I'd love to talk to Granny."
"Granny?"
"I'll explain when we get there. And d'you mind if we stop somewhere afterward?" he asked. "I need to pay someone a visit."
"Who?"
"Marco." At her questioning look, he closed the book with a smile. "Trust me, Swan. I think I'm onto something."