CHAPTER 6: Thy Brother's Wife
SETTING: Ursula's Lair Under the Sea
"LIAM?!" Emma exclaimed. "LIAM JONES?! ... As in CAPTAIN LIAM JONES of the Jewel of the Realm?!"
"Yes!" Ursula's son frowned and scratched his head. "You've heard of me? How?"
"Killian!"
"Killian? My brother?"
"Yes!" Emma cried. "He said the dream shade killed you and he buried you at sea! How can you even be alive?!"
"Oh, dream shade is harmless to mermen...So my mer body functions continued to keep me alive after my human functions ceased. Only...Only my ship's surgeon didn't know I was part mer."
"So, you didn't have a pulse, you weren't breathing and your heart stopped which, by human standards, means you are dead. But, I take it, none of those things indicate a merman is dead."
"Correct... My mer half was in a kind of ...coma from the shock of losing the human half but I was still alive...The Jewel's crew...Killian... just didn't have any way of knowing."
"I take it that Ursula rescued you from the sea bottom and has been keeping you alive with the squid ink transfusions?"
"Also correct."
"Oh, Liam, Killian will be so happy to see you ... But, he'll beat himself up for ordering the burial."
"You're right. You seem to know my brother fairly well ...Do you think he fits into mother's mad plan to take your baby ... or is it just a coincidence that-"
"It's NO coincidence!" Emma grabbed his hands. "Don't you see? Killian's why your mother needs MY baby to restore you! My baby's stem cells would be a genetic match! They could rebuild the human cells in you that the dream shade killed!"
Liam rubbed his forehead. What was she talking about? Magic? He suddenly looked like he had swallowed something distasteful.
"Only the strongest black magic could do THAT!" he croaked."I would not submit ANY child to such a thing even to save my own life!" (Gasp-huff-huff-gasp).
Liam could barely catch his breath. Emma feared he might pass out. She had to slow down and explain carefully.
"Okay," Emma sighed. "First of all, understand that this is science not magic. Science is highly regarded in the world without magic. Are you with me so far?"
He nodded.
"Okay," Emma continued. "The scientists of my world have proved the human body is made of millions of these tiny cells."
"I have heard of this...cell theory but I did not know there was proof...what are these stem things that can rebuild me?"
"Stem cells are the basic building blocks of life," Emma replied. "They are found in the body's organs, tissues, blood, and immune system and have the ability to regenerate into additional stem cells or differentiate into specialized cells, such as nerve or blood cells. When transplanted into a patient's body, stem cells can repair or replace the patient's damaged or diseased cells."
Liam nodded again. "I see...so a newborn baby would have a lot of these stem -uh- blocks because...the baby has just been formed in its mother's body."
"Something like that...But you can't just randomly transplant cells from one human body to another. They have to be compatible or the receiving body will reject the donor cells and potentially kill the patient. They try to match the patient's DNA to that of the donor."
"D and - what?"
"The thing that codes your body to have the same traits as other members of your family. It's why I have my mother's green eyes but my father's blonde hair."
"Ah, I think see," said Liam. "But...if that is the case, wouldn't Killian be a better choice for donor than your baby?"
Oh, that's right! Emma realized she forgot to mention the key component which prompted this mini science lesson in the first place. No wonder he was confused.
"Liam," Emma said slowly. "I am Killian's wife."
Liam's eyes lifted to hers. His mouth fell open and then snapped shut. Did he understand what she was saying? She patted her swollen midsection with both hands to emphasize her point.
"This is Killian's child."
Liam said nothing for a few moments. Then laughter slowly erupted from his mouth.
"Killy-" he choked out. "Killy is going to be...a father!"
Emma nodded.
"I-I am going to be...an uncle!"
"Yes-Yes!" she saw the tears forming at the corners of his eyes as his laugh grew more boisterous.
"We even plan to name the baby after you... UNCLE Liam!"
Liam stopped laughing abruptly.
"Damn her!"
"What?" Now it was Emma's turn to be confused.
"Damn that witch! She plans to use HER OWN GRANDCHILD in this mad...transplant experiment!"
"Liam," Emma said, "I don't think Ursula plans to harvest the stem cells in any way that will hurt the baby. They can easily be extracted from the blood of the umbilical cord after the baby is born. What I don't know is how she plans to integrate the human cells back into your mer physiology. That has to be an extremely complex procedure. I suspect she can only do it through magic."
"Well," replied Liam. "She may have that information...locked in her bedroom with that blasted mirror...Let's find out, shall we?"
Emma prepared to pick the lock but the bedroom door swung open of its own accord. In her haste, Ursula forgot to lock it. Emma and Liam searched the room for any spells mentioning human-mer body parts. They didn't have to look long. Ursula's spellbook was perched on a bookstand conveniently opened to the page they sought.
"Crap!" Emma held the page up to the light to read. "It's written in freaking Elvin! I can't read it...if only there was a way to get us out of here! Rumplestiltzkin or Regina could read it-"
"Emma, there is a way to get us out of here," said Liam a he pulled a shiny object from his pocket and dangled it on its chain.
A smile slowly spread across Emma's face. He was holding the nautilus shell necklace. He must have slipped it from his mother's neck during the course of their unexpected hug.
"My magic! Liam, you're bloody brilliant!"
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SETTING: The Deck of the Storybrooke Sheriff Dept.'s Cutter
Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine
Killian knew that one day his past would catch up with him. From the moment he hoisted the Skull and Crossbones above his ship, he became a marked man. As the cutthroat Captain Hook, he committed a whole host of crimes, any one of which could justly earn him the death penalty. But, none of these crimes involved the mer king or his people. Why does Triton want him dead?
"Wait!" Killian cried from his kneeling position. The mer guards held his shoulders parallel to the deck. Why were these fish guards able to remain so stable on deck? It had to be some sort of magic. They should be flopping around like trout. Instead, they were rooted upright, solidly planted to the deck and holding him in an unbreakable grip. He struggled painfully to raise his head and make eye contact with Triton.
"Wait! Majesty, please, if I am about to die, at least tell me which of my crimes compelled this execution!"
Triton paused. He looked into the captain's desperate blue eyes and felt a pang of sympathy. The boy was genuinely perplexed. He clearly didn't know he had committed a grave offense against the mer world just by being born.
"The crime wasn't yours, Killian. It was your seawitch mother's transgression. I am sorry, boy, but I can't let her use you to take my throne. I warned Ursula you would die if she contacted you."
"Wait! I'm not after any throne! I have never met the sea goddess or witch or whatever she is! I don't know why she wants to hurt my family! I just want my wife and unborn child back!"
Triton's eyes went wide.
"You have a CHILD on the way?"
"Yes, Your Highness. My wife, Emma, expects to give birth any day now."
The mer king raised his eyes to the sky.
"Stink fish! Now I'll have another of my sister's line to worry about! ... But first I must carry out your sentence, boy."
Behind the invisible wall that separated Team Storybrooke from Killian, Regina and Rumplestiltzkin combined their magic into one beam, aimed at shattering the wall. This powerful beam was concentrated on the barrier. The beam was strong enough to level cities in the human world. But, it couldn't even dent the mer wall.
The only friend remaining on Killian's side of the wall was Ariel, the sea king's youngest daughter. She swam close to her father.
"Daddy, please don't do this! This isn't the type of thing YOU do! It's what SHE does!"
She reached for his arm to pull down the trident but Triton remained fixed.
"I'm sorry, Ariel. If he lives, the merdom as we know it will vanish and millions will suffer. I can't allow that!"
Suddenly, Ursula's head broke the surface behind Ariel.
"Wait Triton!" Ursula shouted. "I followed your edict to the letter! I NEVER contacted him! He doesn't even know who I am. PLEASE! I only wanted to be there for my grandchild's birth! ... That's why I took his wife! And your edict never said ANYTHING about not contacting my children's spouses, did it? I was only to keep away from the boys and their father!"
Leave it to Ursula to find a loophole in the wording! Triton lowered the trident and motioned for the guards to allow Killian to stand. As soon as Killian was upright, the guards cuffed him and held him on each side by his upper arms.
For the first time in centuries, Ursula looked into the face of her youngest son. He was standing ramrod straight between the two guards. His chiseled features, clenched in stern determination, emphasized his dark good looks. His eyes flashed the brightest and purest shade of blue she had ever seen.
"Boy," she said in awe, "I haven't seen you close up since you were a babe... I thought your father was the most beautiful man I had ever laid eyes upon...but you.. You are STUNNING!"
Pulling the guards with him, Killian lunged forward to peer into Ursula's face. Regarding her with utter disdain, he thundered four simple words to his long lost mother.
"WHERE. IS. MY. WIFE?!"
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-
SETTING: Ursula's Lair under the Sea
"Liam, no more arguments! You are coming with me!"
"I'm not arguing, Emma...I'd love to see Killian again!...But, I'll slow you down!"
Emma now understood what Killian meant by "his brother could be a stubborn arse at times." After she clasped Ursula's nautilus shell necklace around her neck, Emma's magic immediately returned. She then pulled Rumple's bubble spell from it's hiding place in her bra. For a dry run to see how the spell worked, she encased Liam's sleeping apparatus and all the cases of squid ink in a single bubble. Using her mind to set the bubble's course, she pushed the bubble out the window and watched it gracefully ascend to the surface. Perfect!
But, when she went to form a bubble around her brother-in-law and herself, Liam protested. She didn't want to force him to go with her but she had a plan. With assistance from Dr. Whales and Rumplestiltzkin, she knew she could make Ursula's idea work. She had Ursula's human-mer integration spell in her pocket. The supply of squid ink she just sent to the surface should keep Liam alive until the details could be worked out. But, Liam still feared something.
"I don't have time for this! Liam, what are you afraid of?"
"Afraid?" He shook his head. "Not afraid just ... not sure what I'll do up there. I can't be a captain anymore! Not like this!"
He gestured down to his withered limbs.
"If we are successful, you could regain use of your legs."
"And if success eludes us?"
Emma looked down at her feet as she tapped the floor with her toe. She needed to get to the surface with him and save Killian. She did not have time to discuss how he could live a fullfilling life in Storybrooke even without being able to walk.
"Okay, Liam. You have two choices. One, you come with me and see your brother and get cured. Two, you stay here and explain to Ursula how I got my magic back and escaped."
"I-I-I guess I'm going with you."
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Author's Note:
Thanks for reading! Reviews Welcome!