How Deep Is Your Love

Chapter Nine

"Belle, I'm glad that you're here," David said quietly as he cautiously entered the pawnshop, finding the young beauty reading a book while she sat on the counter upon which the cash register sat. "I don't suppose Gold's around, is he?"

"No, he's not here," she responded suspiciously as she stared at the Sheriff in confusion while he walked towards her. "Can I help you?"

He chortled upon seeing her skepticism and then replied, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to act so wary around you. It's just that I'm here because I was hoping maybe you've seen Hook around, and since he and Gold aren't exactly…"

She immediately understood as she interrupted, "Friends? Believe me, I understand. And no, I'm afraid I haven't seen him. Is something wrong? Do you believe something's happened to him?"

"No," David answered rather quickly, then ran his hand over his face in frustration. "I mean I don't think so. Although, it's possible he could be. Apparently Emma received a strange from him tonight. It's just… It's out of character, even for him. If he is as he says he is, surely someone would have seen him by now and yet I can't seem to find him anywhere."

"Okay, why don't you just start at the beginning," Belle finally responded, not really understanding what the Prince was trying to say as his words were kind of jumbled. "What's going on with Killian?"

He smiled and nodded, then he continued, "Emma asked Hook out on a date this morning. She was worried about doing so because of Neal, not to mention the other men in her life, but… against my better judgement I think Mary Margaret and I did a good job convincing her to take the next step with him. And now tonight they were supposed to go out, but instead Hook stood her up. He's wanted to be with Emma ever since Neverland and yet he went out this afternoon and got himself so drunk that he's become too sick to show up."

She looked at David worryingly as she replied, "No, that doesn't make any sense. I may not know Killian all that well, though I know he likes his rum. But he's in love with Emma and he would never hurt her like this. He would never just not show up."

"That's what I thought," Charming answered in frustration. "And it's like I said, I've searched the docks and the beach where I know he still goes for solace even if he doesn't have his ship any longer, I've looked all over town and now I'm here, hoping that maybe you might have seen him. If he was drunk, someone ought to have seen him."

"I'm guessing you would be talking about Hook?" Gold sneered as he came walking in from the back room, having poofed himself back to his shop after taking care of some personal business that included talking to the Snow Queen. "I only ask because our resident pirate is really the only person in this town who has a penchant for drinking, enough to make himself a drunk."

Belle looked over at him as she retorted, "Killian is far from being a drunk, Rumple. But if he has gotten himself drunk tonight, then something must be bothering him. David is worried he might be missing."

The Dark One glared at the Prince and responded callously, "It seems you have come to change your own feelings of disapproval towards him if you're willing to believe something has happened to him, rather than that he's gone off to drink until he's no longer sober. Have you come to see him as more than what he really is too, Your Majesty? As your foolish daughter has?"

"Watch it, Gold!" David replied brusquely as he started toward him and grabbed his shirt collar to shove him back against the counter until he stopped himself when Belle cried out while he looked at her, then breathed in and out to calm himself down before turning back to the villain standing in front of him. "Hook has worked hard to try to prove himself to all of us. He isn't exactly the man I would have chosen for Emma, but I know that he tries to make her happy. We all make mistakes. If he really has gotten himself drunk, I doubt Emma will give him another chance and you'll be happy to know that he's defeated himself. But if something's wrong and he's in trouble, I need to know it. Now, if you've seen him perhaps you could point me in the right direction?"

"I haven't seen him," Rumple answered coldly. "But perhaps the dwarfs who are about to come running in here with some sort of news have."

Just then, Grumpy, Happy, Doc, and Dopey all ran in through the door as Happy called out, "Your Highness! Sorry to interrupt, Sir. But you really ought to come see this."

The Sheriff looked between the smaller men as he stated, "See what? What's wrong now?"

"It's the woods," Leroy responded sternly. "Starting out where the ice wall stands over the town line, the woods have now become frozen over too for as far as our eyes can see. This Snow Queen is expanding her power. What if her plan is to freeze all of Storybrooke?"

"Just like Elsa accidently did to her own Kingdom," David replied, though more to himself as he thought back to one of his conversations with Elsa after she first arrived.

Doc looked at their leader worryingly as he spoke up saying, "Yes of course, but I doubt what the Snow Queen is doing here is accidental."

The Prince nodded and then answered, "All right, let's go take a look. Thank you for our help, Belle. If you see or hear from Hook…"

"I'll let you know," she quickly responded, then the dwarfs walked out as David followed after them. "Be careful out there."

"We always are," he replied and then left.

Almost an hour later…

David and the dwarfs were walking cautiously among the outskirts of the woods, not really caring to walk too deeply in while it was now dark outside. The Sheriff merely wanted to see the trouble for himself. However, just as he told his friends it was time to head back into town for the night after mentioning that they would discuss it more in the morning with everyone else, David froze for a moment upon seeing Hook walk up from within the snow surrounding them.

Because the pirate was standing ahead of him in the distance, Charming had to shout as he cried, "What the hell are you doing out here at this hour and all alone?"

Killian took a sip from his flask and then answered, "Well, I would ask… the same as you, but… it would appear… you've brought… back up with you, short back up."

"So it's true," the Sheriff said coldly as he glared at the man he had slowly begun to consider a friend until now upon noticing he was slurring his words. "You really are drunk. And you're out here patrolling instead of being back in town, on your date with my daughter."

"Yes, it appears that I am," Hook responded, leaning up against the tree behind him. "But isn't for the reasons… you might think, Dave."

David walked towards him as he replied crossly, "What the hell are you doing? I thought you cared about Emma. You could have at the very least cancelled on her before she sat around waiting for you. I was finally beginning to believe you might have changed."

The Pirate Captain stepped back as the Savior's father started getting nearer, then he looked him and replied, "It appears we were both… wrong. I was reminded this afternoon that I don't belong here. I may care… for Emma, but I was fooling myself thinking I could be anything more than… Captain Hook. I belong on the open seas with the Jolly Roger, yet I gave her up to be with a woman I doubt will ever let me in fully. We're both ly… lying to ourselves. Go home and get yourself… warmed up, Dave. We'll see each other tomorrow and you can… kill me then if you still want to. For tonight, I'm going to continue to enjoy my rum."

"You selfish bastard," David answered angrily, while Hook only chuckled as he looked away from the other man, then Charming turned around and walked away, followed by the dwarfs after they simply listened to their conversation.

"That's exactly what I was hoping you'd say," Killian whispered to himself as he smiled until he suddenly faded from the woods and the Snow Queen's mirror while Ingrid stepped back smiling, as she had conjured an image of Hook before Emma's father. "Sorry, Captain. But any good you've done is worthless now."