"You're beautiful, you know that?" Killian Jones, master of seduction, told a beautiful blonde woman he happened to be lying in bed with.
"You aren't too bad yourself," the woman, Jessica, responded. "I'm really glad you decided to stay."
Hook brushed a soft kiss against the back of her hand. "I am too. It's been so...incredible, to be here, with you. If I may be so bold, I think I may even be falling in love with you."
Jessica's blue eyes widened with delight. "You love me?" Killian nodded with sincerity. "Baby, I love you too."
Their lips crashed together passionately and Killian had to stop himself from laughing out loud. Women were so easily played. A smile here, a compliment there and they were basically putty in your hands. He couldn't blame them, he was hard to resist with his dark hair, blue eyes, stubble, and accent. American women were especially easy to charm. He was about to pull his favorite con and was almost gleeful for the kissing to end so they could get to it.
"Aren't you going to be late?" Jessica asked him once there was a lull in their kissing. His eyes widened in mock remembrance.
"You are totally right! I have one quick meeting and then I'll be back to you," he winked as he jumped out of bed and began putting his clothing on. He reached for his brief case and watched as it fell open and money began spilling out. Jessica immediately took noticed of the thousands of dollars that fell to the floor.
"Baby..." she said hesitantly, looking up at him, "What's going on?"
Killian swallowed a smile, this was all too easy. "You weren't supposed to see that."
Jessica scooted onto the edge of the bed as Killian scooped the money back into the brief case. A wave of self-loathing and guilt crashed over him but he squashed it. "I thought you had a business meeting?" Jessica pressed.
Killian sighed. "Okay, the truth is I am about to meet with an investor who will triple this cash in two weeks."
Jessica's eyes narrowed for a moment as she did quick mental math. "Triple all that?"
"Don't worry about it baby," Killian said smoothly.
"Wait, no Killian, come here," Jessica said, getting out of bed. "Do you think I'm stupid?"
Killian froze. Jessica looked insulted. "What do you mean?"
"Why wouldn't you ask me for the money?" She asked seductively, walking towards him wearing just his shirt and nothing else. "I could get the money from my husband and we could split the money."
"Baby you are perfect," Killian smiled into a kiss, pushing her back onto the bed.
Putty.
Belle woke in her hut to the sound of loud, Scottish swearing. She jumped up and immediately went over to Gold's hut, to see what was the matter.
"What happened?" She asked, looking around for the source of his rage.
"I've been robbed," he answered, making wild gestures around his pristine hut. Belle couldn't see any sign of theft.
"None of this is really yours," she reminded him.
"If this is your attempt at calming me down, it is failing."
"I don't see why you're so worked up over things that aren't even yours. It's just stuff. It's not going to do you any good out here," she said practically.
He turned to face her fully. "It's Killain, I know it," he spat, still furious. "He's a damn pirate and I will not stand for it!"
She put a hand over his and brought it down. "Nick, who cares?" She asked softly. "It's just stuff, it doesn't mean anything. If he's stealing things you stole, does it really matter? Killian is alone out here and all he has to distract him from it is causing trouble."
"Alone?!" Gold spluttered. He looked like he was about to explode. "He is always surrounded by people, the brunette and Emma Swan and-"
"Because he forces them to react to him. At night he goes to his spot on the beach and he is alone."
"Belle," Gold said in frustration, "If you have a point I would really appreciate it if you would get to it."
She smiled, her hand still on his. "You're missing the bigger picture. He's stealing to fill a void. You are not alone, you don't need those things."
Gold froze, looking at the petite brunette and noticing for the first time her warm hand covering his. "I'm not?"
"No, you're not," she smiled, blinding him a little. "Don't worry about your things."
She walked out, leaving Gold staring after her a little dazed.
Killian staggered into the jungle with the help of Ana, looking for Whale. "Oh my God, what happened to him?!" Emma asked the moment she saw him.
"He was beaten!" Ana said hysterically. David and Whale both rushed to Killian, who was sporting a badly bleeding head, black eye, and busted lip.
"Who did this to you?" David asked Killian with horror.
"Gold," Killian snarled. "He caught me going through his things."
"He was looking for my inhaler!" Ana told him. Mary Margaret was at her side, rubbing her back as Ana began to work herself up.
"No, honey, just breathe," Mary Margaret said as Ana began to wheeze. She managed to calm Ana down as David stood up.
"I'm going to talk to Gold," he said but stopped when Jefferson wandered in with a cut on his head. David ran to meet him.
"Did you-"
"No. I failed," Jefferson said, ignoring his head. "I was attacked."
"By who?" David whispered, looking around to make sure no one over-heard. Jefferson contained an eye roll.
"I don't know, I didn't see them."
David sighed. "Whale will fix you up. I need to have a conversation with the monster of the island."
Jefferson raised an eyebrow as David stalked off but didn't ask any questions. He saw Killian smirking but ignored it as he sat down and waited for Whale to attend to his wound.
"GOLD!" David shouted once he reached Gold's corner of the beach. He was a little surprised to see Gold sitting on a blanket next to Belle French who appeared to be reading to him. "We need to talk!"
Gold stood, looking at David with irritation. "Do we?"
"Did you beat Killian for trying to get Ana's inhalers?" David demanded. Belle snapped her book shut and stood next to Gold.
"As appealing as that would be, I have been here the entire time listening to Ms. French read," he said with supreme calmness. Belle was staring David down defiantly as she dared him to call them liars.
"Well he didn't beat himself up," David responded, feeling a little foolish.
"I can assure you, if I had touched the man you would know it," Gold said with an air of indifference. "He has been stealing from me."
Belle rolled her eyes noticeably. The whole thing confused Gold. Belle seemed like a sweet, grounded girl and she chose to spend her time with Gold. He supposed she found something appealing about him. Still, if it hadn't been for Belle, he would have imagined Gold would have been the last person anyone would want to be stranded on an island with.
"Someone stole Ana's inhalers. Do you have them?" David asked him. Gold opened his mouth but stopped when Belle put her hands on her hips and looked at him sternly. He sighed and walked into his hut, much to David's amazement. Was Gold smitten with the little brunette?
There was a lot of rustling but Gold came back empty handed. "I do not have them, but I did."
"What happened to them?" David demanded.
"Are you dense? They were stolen. I suggest you ask the thief himself, Mr. Jones. I'm sure he'll enjoy the attention." Gold sat back down on the blanket, effectively ending the conversation. Belle looked sympathetically at David.
"It's really important we get those inhalers," he told her. "If..."
"If I find them, I will let you know," she told him. David nodded, confident that Gold would have given them to him if Belle instructed him to.
"You don't have them, do you?" She asked once David was gone. Gold turned to her, his eyes dark but surprisingly honest.
"No."
She smiled as she opened her book back up. "Now...where were we?"
Killian was being slammed against a wall. "Where's my money?" Kilo demanded, baring his ugly teeth.
"I'll get you your money if you'll just let go of me," Killian said, wrenching himself out of Kilo's grasp.
"Tomorrow, Killian."
"Fine. Done," Killian said angrily. He would have to speed things up with Jessica, but he had her eating out of the palm of his hands so it shouldn't be too difficult (is this the right tense?). He could feel the familiar feeling of revulsion starting to well up inside him but he pushed it firmly back down. This was who he was and there was no point in getting sentimental over it now. If he disgusted himself, it was no one's fault but his.
Kilo got in Killian's face. "My money ...plus fifty percent."
"Are you insane?" Killian asked, mentally panicking. That was nearly all the money he was about to make off of Jessica.
"You'll do it if you want to keep that pretty face of yours," Kilo said before leaving Killian's apartment. Killian waited for Kilo to be completely gone before he punched the wall in frustration. He should have known better than to get involved with a loan shark. Now he was in way over his head and would be lucky to break even. Hell, he'd be lucky to walk away unscathed.
He straightened his tie and took a deep breath in. He could do this.
"Why did you lie?" David demanded. Killian was smiling like he found the entire situation funny.
"I was hoping you'd knock Gold around a bit, to be honest," he finally answered. David had him tied to a tree on the edge of the jungle while Emma and Jefferson looked on.
"This is serious," Emma said to him. "Ana could die."
Killian shrugged.
"I could get it from him," Jefferson told David, pulling him aside so Emma couldn't over hear.
"How?" David asked warily.
"I can get information out of anyone," Jefferson told him, an eyebrow raised.
"Are you talking about torture?!" David whispered back. "Absolutely not."
"The life of a young girl is at stake here and Killian is joking around. Sometimes we have to take necessary measures..."
"I'll make you a deal," Killian said loudly, drawing Jefferson and David back to the conversation. "I'll give you the inhalers if Emma here gives me a kiss."
Emma looked at him with revulsion. "No you won't."
"Scouts honor," Killian said mockingly.
Emma got on her knees so she was at eye level with him. "There isn't a lot I'm good at, but I have one skill. Let's call it a super power. I can tell when anyone is lying and you are."
Hook grinned but said nothing. People from the beach were becoming aware of what was going on. Gold and Belle had come to see what was going on along with Ashley and Sean. Mary Margaret had come down with Ana, who was in bad shape, hoping they had gotten the inhalers. David watched as Mary Margaret struggled to calm Ashley down. David was struggling with himself. They were on an island with no hope of rescue and very limited resources. Killian had something that could save a girl's life but was refusing to tell them where it was. Jefferson had offered to torture it out of Killian and David had said no because in the moment it felt so very wrong. Seeing Ana desperate for air was starting to change his mind. He hated how smug Killian was acting, clearly enjoying the commotion he was causing.
"Try me," Killian breathed back at Emma. Emma leaned down even further, as if to kiss him, and pulled something out of his pocket.
"What's with this letter you're always reading?" She asked, an eyebrow raised. She was baiting him and it worked. His femme fatal personality evaporated into anger.
"Give that back," Killian snarled. Emma held it between her middle and pointer finger.
"Why?" She taunted. "How about, you tell me where the inhalers are and I'll give you back the letter?"
Killian relaxed back against the tree. "Read it."
Everyone paused. "What?" Emma asked, surprised.
"Read it. Read the letter." He turned his head from her and stared at David, a mocking smile teasing his lips. David had had enough. Emma stepped back, still holding Killian's letter, while David moved to the center.
"Tell us where they are!" David ordered. Killian just smirked. "I'm not playing around."
"I'm sure you don't-" David cut Killian off with a blow to the mouth. Everyone gasped at his action. Belle was stunned to see David react such a way.
"Tell me where the inhalers are," David repeated.
"Why don't you just hit me again?" Killian responded, his lip bleeding from David's first blow. David obliged, punching him again. Behind him Ana was having difficulty breathing again, gasping loudly for breath while a stunned Mary Margaret attempted to calm her down. David punched Killian again, and again, and again. He was caught up in his anger, all of the anger and frustration he had felt since landing on the island and was taking it out on Killian's face.
"He's going to kill him!" Belle told Gold, horrified. Gold was rather impressed by David's show here, unaware that David had that kind of darkness lurking within him. Belle moved forward to force him to stop, but Mary Margaret beat her to it.
"David, stop!" She said quietly, grabbing his arm. "Not like this."
David looked to Jefferson. "Do it." He then turned to everyone watching. "Get them out of here!"
"Come on," Gold said to Belle, ushering her away from the spectacle. "Let's go look for sea shells." Other dispersed, leaving David, Jefferson, and Emma, standing around a tied up Killian.
"What are you going to do?" Emma asked, her eyes wide.
"Something I've done many, many times," Jefferson told her, grimacing a little. He walked to Killian with a piece of bamboo in his hands. "Do you know what this is?" He asked.
"A plant," Killian spat back, his face bruised and bloodied.
Jefferson chuckled. "It's bamboo."
"Fascinating."
Jefferson grabbed one of Killian's hands and shoved the bamboo under his nail, hard. Killian shouted loudly, causing Emma to protest. "David, this is wrong!"
"Someone has to do something," David responded, trying not to show how much he agreed with her. They heard Killian cry out again, and then again, and then Emma intervened.
"You'll give us the inhalers if I kiss you?"
Killian grinned up at her. "All you have to do is kiss me."
Jefferson, frustrated, moved out of the way so Emma could lean down and pressed a kiss against Killian's lips. Killian leaned up and made the kiss much more intimate, invaded her space and touched her a little. Emma broke away, clearly rattled.
"Where are they?" She asked. He grinned broadly.
"I don't have them, love. Never did."
"What?" Emma asked, furious. David was in a rage and Jefferson was just as angry. Killian just grinned up at them, still managing to look charming even through the bruises and blood. Emma retaliated, elbowing him hard in the face before storming away, leaving Jefferson and David alone with Killian.
"You're lying," Jefferson accused him softly. Killian continued on grinning, unconcerned with the angry man in the hat. "Tell me where they are!"
"Or what?" Killian called his bluff. "You'll kill me? I don't think so."
Jefferson pulled a knife out of his boot, a small pocket blade. "You don't know me very well. I've killed better men than you."
"Be my guest. I don't have the girl's inhalers and you know what? If I did, I wouldn't tell you where they were."
Jefferson, enraged, stabbed Killian in the arm. Killian gasped in shock as blood began to gush from the wound. Jefferson had struck a major artery which would cause Killian to bleed out and die in a matter of minutes.
"Get Whale," Jefferson said to David, who went running into the jungle. Jefferson was overwhelmed with guilt at what he had just done. Torturing, killing, those were things he had sworn he had put behind him after he had his daughter. He didn't want to be that man anymore, and yet here he was, offering to torture a man, stabbing him in a rage. Jefferson was filled with loathing. He waited for Whale to arrive and tell him, "You could have killed him!" before taking off towards the beach.
Killian was standing in Jessica's living room, holding a check for her part of their investment. She was looking supremely confident and incredibly sexy, standing there with all the confidence in the world that he would not betray her.
"Two weeks?" She asked him just to be sure she understood the terms.
"Two weeks, love," he responded, flashing her a dazzling smile.
"Mommy?" A voice called from a hallway. Jessica and Killian both turned around to see a young brunette boy no older than five, walk around the corner. Killian froze.
"Who is this?" He asked, his eyes fixed on the young boy.
"This is my son, Colin," she told him.
"Son? You never told me you had a son."
"Does it matter?" She asked, smiling. "Killian, what's wrong?"
Killian dropped his brief case filled with money and let the check fall to the ground. He turned on his heel and fled the house, no longer caring about his money or making sure Kilo got paid. He couldn't do to that young boy what had been done to him. At some point he had become the man he was trying to destroy and all the disgust he felt for himself became too overwhelming. He had to get out; he had to stop it before he hurt someday. Before somebody who didn't deserve to die was killed.
Killian was in his hut, bandaged up, when Emma came in. "I knew you couldn't stay away," he tried to tease but it came out as a grimace.
"I read your letter," she said, sitting down next to him. "Dear Mr. Jones. You don't know who I am but I know who you are and I know what you done. You had sex with my mother and then you stole my Dad's money all away. So he got angry and he killed my mother and then he killed himself, too. All I know is your name. But one of these days I'm going to find you and I'm going to give you this letter so you'll remember what you done to me. You killed my parents, Mr. Jones."
Killian closed his eyes. "I'm not a good person, love."
"You're not," Emma agreed, "But I know something you don't. I know you're the one who wrote this."
Killian narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about? Some kid wrote this letter to me and gave it to me. I killed his parents, I am a bad man."
Emma shook her head and turned the envelope the letter had been in over. "See this, this bicentennial sticker? They don't make these anymore, but they did twenty years ago. You're what, in your thirties? That would have made you ten? Eleven? You wrote this letter to Mr. Jones."
Killian snatched the letter back from Emma. "Well aren't you a regular Nancy Drew?"
"Why is it so important that people hate you?"
"I don't care what people think about me. So I wrote the letter, so what? Why do you care?"
"I do care, Killian," Emma told him. "Why did you take the man who ruined your family's name?"
"Because I became him. I'm a con man and I ruin families, and I am Mr. Jones. I am him now."
"I don't think that's true, and I don't think you do either." She told him before getting up and walking out.
Killian held the letter closely in his hand but found himself unable to answer her. She had figured him out, the first person in his entire life that had tried hard enough to decipher the mystery of Killian Jones. He hated it because it was inevitable that he would disappoint her, let her down, and she would return to hating him just like everyone else. He stayed in that position long after Emma had left, thinking about the man who had destroyed his family and Emma Swan, the girl who had figured it out. He reached for a lighter, intending to burn the letter, but couldn't bring himself to do it. He wasn't ready for it. Not yet.
"Ana?" Magnolia approached Anastasia, who was still having trouble breathing. "Ana, I have something for you."
Ana, who had been having a rough day, looked up at the pretty Asian woman. "Yeah?"
"It's eucalyptus. It will help you with your breathing. Here, inhale it," Magnolia urged, putting the leaf holding the salve underneath Ana's nose. She rubbed some of the paste on Ana's throat and watched as Ana took in a deep breath.
"Thank you," she said after several more deep breaths."
"I know you've been camping with Killian but after what happened today...if you want to share with me until you can move...you can," Magnolia offered awkwardly. Ana nodded her head fervently.
"No, I would like that," she said. "I would like that a lot.
"Hey!" Belle ran after Jefferson as fast as she could in sand, which as it was not very fast at all. Jefferson heard her and stopped, waiting for her to catch up. "Where are you going?"
"I broke a promise to myself today. I need to go," he said, not making eye contact.
"Go? Go where?" She pressed. "Don't leave."
"I have to, but it is my hope that we will meet again." He took her hand a pressed a kiss into the palm. "Take care of yourself."
Belle watched as he walked away, leaving her alone on her part of the beach. He was heading for the unknown for reasons she didn't understand and she hoped that he would take care of himself.
She hoped that he would come back.