How Deep Is Your Love
Chapter Twenty-Four
After she left the Snow Queen's ice cavern, Bo Peep trudged through what little that remained of the villainess' freezing magic that had covered a majority of the woods until she lifted her spell. To say that she was angry that the fools she hired long before she was ripped away from the Enchanted Forest into a menial life as a butcher within Storybrooke had failed her was an understatement. She was pissed and because Ingrid had turned the tables back on her only made her anger deepen. Peep didn't know what the other woman's real plans were, but the warlord was smart enough to know that simply returning the pirate's hook to him wasn't going to be such an easy feat. Nor did she realize she was about to be apprehended by the heroes she despised so much.
"Turn around and raise your hands above your head!" the Savior suddenly cried out from behind the warlord, who begrudgingly froze and did as the sheriff told her to as she slowly turned around, then tossed the hook and its brace down on the ground in front of her.
"Who the hell are you?" Emma asked with confusion on her face as she stared coldly at the woman she didn't know yet, or that she had a history with David. "And why do you have…?"
Bo finished for her curtly, "Your boyfriend's hook? That doesn't really matter now, does it? I've returned it to you. I came out here for walk and ran into that ice witch. As for who I am, ask your father. He knows me better than he'd like to."
David let go of the hammer on his service weapon and lowered it while he responded in frustration, "Everyone, meet Bo Peep. No, she may not sound threatening, but trust me. There's more to her than meets the eye. At least there was. Answer my daughter, Peep. How did you manage to steal the hook away from a woman with magic, especially without your crook to help you be the warlord you used to be?"
"This woman used to be a warlord?" Regina stated as she looked at the second sheriff with disbelief. "You've got to be joking."
"I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Bo Beep is a villain," Emma retorted as she raised her gun higher, keeping it aimed at her while she slowly walked towards her, then bent down to pick up Killian's hook knowing that the others had the woman in their sights as well.
Peep glared at the man who bested her years before as she finally answered, "Call it luck. The Snow Queen didn't see me coming. I happened to be out here as she came strolling through and completely surprised her. And well, I may not have my weapon of choice, but I am not defenseless."
Charming scoffed, "What do you have, the same meat cleaver you tried to threaten me with when Hook and I came to you the other day?"
"That and a gun of my own," the shepherdess replied. "Check behind my back beneath my coat. Don't worry, lambkins. I'm not going to attack you again so long as the bloody Savior and Evil Queen are here. You, the midget with his pointy little ax, and the handsome archer over there are hardly a threat."
"Hey!" Leroy cried gruffly. "First of all, I'm not a midget. I'm a dwarf. And second, I can knock you out and throw you in jail without any of their help, sister. Just give me a reason."
Regina quickly added, "And I'm no longer the Evil Queen, but in your case, I might be willing to make an exception."
All of a sudden Emma shouted, "Enough! There's no time for a pissing contest right now. I got Killian's hook and its brace back. I was hoping to take down the Snow Queen, but it appears that's going to have to wait. Bo Peep is lying about something or maybe all of it, but seeing as she's not in the mood to be forthcoming, we'll talk to her later at the station. I want to get back to Hook."
"You'll try, but I won't say be saying another word," Bo said coldly as David cuffed her hands behind her back, then pushed her forward and began to walk back towards town. "Except for this… Tell me, Savior. How is your pirate holding up?"
Later back at Whale's clinic…
While the others were out trying to find the Snow Queen, Snow, Elsa, and Henry remained inside Hook's room to watch over him as he continued to sleep restlessly. When Killian began to struggle against what only he could see, Snow knew that he had fallen under the throws of a nightmare and immediately leaned forward as both Henry and Elsa stood over him, all to try to calm him. It didn't take much before one of the machines showing his vitals began to spike indicating that his fever had spiked, then Whale rushed inside and quickly injected some drug into one of the tubes running into his good arm. Whatever it was the doctor had just given him seemed to do the trick as their friend calmed down and fell back into a deep sleep, then Whale injected a second drug.
"What did you give him?" Snow asked worryingly as she glared at the man with bleached blond hair. "What just happened?"
The doctor looked over at the pirate's friends as he responded, "The drugs I've already given him wore off and his fever begun to get worse again. Hypothermia is hell to treat and on top of his injuries and whatever nightmares he's trapped in… Let's just say the drugs I gave him now should help him, but you need to keep him calm or that's going to happen again. By the way, I also need to give him another blood transfusion like I said I would need to earlier. The only problem is, I've run out of his blood type. It's not the rarest of blood types, but it's not real easy to come by either."
It was then that Emma and the others came into the room as she answered firmly, "Yeah… well luckily for you, I'm type O. You can use my blood to give Hook whatever he needs."
"You've got it," Whale replied as he moved towards the door. "I'll be right back with the proper supplies I need."
"You made it back!" Snow exclaimed happily as David moved in front of her to kiss her, then pulled away to look down at their son within his wife's arms while Emma stood over Killian and ran her fingers through his hair. "You got his hook back. Did you stop her?"
Regina responded, "We never actually saw her. Instead we ran into one of Prince Charming's old friends, who somehow managed to steal the hook from that ice witch for us."
When Mary Margaret looked quizzically at her husband, David immediately spoke up saying, "Regina means Bo Peep. How she got ahold of Hook's hook, I don't know. She refused to talk about anything important. But Robin and Grumpy are at the station placing her behind bars right now as we speak. I would have gone myself, but…"
"How is he doing?" Emma asked fearfully while she kept her eyes on Killian and took his hand in hers.
"He's holding on," Elsa answered with sincerity. "He seemed to have gotten caught up in a nightmare, but the doctor just gave him something to help him sleep more peacefully."
The Savior turned away from Hook as she replied sadly, "I just wish there was something more I can do to help him. You don't know what it's like inside his mind. He won't ever admit it to anyone, especially not to me, but he's afraid. The Snow Queen's doing this because she sees him as a threat to her plans for me and Elsa too. She won't ever stop unless we stop her."
Mary Margaret sighed and then responded, "Then we'll stop her. Hook is going to be fine just as we keep telling you."
"And we'll keep telling you for as long as we have to," David continued firmly while Emma looked down at Killian's hook still within her hand, then gently pulled up a part of the sling that his left arm was wrapped in order to attach his brace, then clicked the sharp piece of metal into place, unaware by the dark magic cast upon it by the Snow Queen. "We'll all see to it that he gets taken care of and protected this time."
"I hope so," Emma answered worryingly, then she bent over the man she loved even if she didn't already know it and kissed his lips as well as his forehead.
When Dr. Whale entered the room again while he pushed a cart in front of him containing the medical supplies he needed to perform the second transfusion, Emma took a seat in the chair which Henry had just vacated so she could do so and immediately began to roll up the sleeve over her right arm in order for him to be able to take her blood for Hook. While her parents decided to stay with their daughter, Henry and Elsa started to leave the room until the Queen from Arendelle stood still for a moment and turned back to her friends.
Snow looked at her as she asked, "Are you alright?"
"No… yes of course," Elsa responded quickly. "I mean, yes I'm fine. I just wanted to apologize again. I realize that you don't believe this is my fault and I'm grateful, but I can't help feeling like it is the same as you. After all, this woman come from Arendelle. I fear that she may be doing all of this because of something I did. Something I can't remember because of the rock trolls. She did say that some memories are too painful to remember. And from my experiences, bad memories usually come with a lot of guilt."
"Try not to blame yourself either," Charming answered assuredly. "Anna would be the first to tell you that you're wrong. But seeing as your sister can't be here to, we will. Whatever happened to Ingrid, if that's even her name like we think it is, it's no excuse for the pain she's causing all of us."
The Queen smiled as she quietly replied, "Thank you, David. Each of you. Henry and I will be back at your loft if you need us."
When Elsa was gone, Whale looked between his patient and his blood donor as he said to Emma, "I'm going to inject the needle into your arm now. It's going to pinch and you're going to feel pretty lightheaded afterward. I suggest you remain as still as possible, even after we're finished for as long as you can."
"I've given blood before," Emma retorted while she watched as the doctor did as he said he was going to do, then did the same to Killian while the procedure started, her blood flowing through the tube from her own body and into his. "Thank you, Whale. We may not say it often enough, if ever. But I am grateful for your help around here, especially for helping him."
"It's what I do," he responded quietly. "I know I'm a jerk, who no one likes. Perhaps one day we'll all be friends. Who knows?"
Inside Killian's mind…
Killian found himself within Neverland as a memory forced its way into his head once more when Pan suddenly appeared before him while the boy cleared his throat to get his enemy's attention from the log upon which he sat drinking rum from his flask, then started walking towards him until he stopped a few feet away and stated coldly, "You really should've taken my deal."
Hook looked between his flask and Peter as he answered smugly, "It doesn't look like I need your help with Emma after all, mate."
"What, you think that kiss actually meant something?" the man who appeared as a child asked with disbelief."
"I do," Killian replied. "I think it means she's finally starting to see me for the man I am."
Pan scoffed as he asked cruelly, "What? A one-handed pirate with a drinking problem? I'm no grown-up, but I'm pretty sure that's less than appealing."
The Pirate Captain finally put his flask away while he responded in frustration, "A man of honor."
"So tell me… What would 'a man of honor' like yourself do with a big, fat secret?" Peter asked again as he knelt down even closer beside him.
"Um… Well, that depends what the secret is," Hook retorted mockingly.
Killian immediately became somber as he turned his full attention on Pan while he spoke again saying smugly, "Baelfire. Neal. Whatever name he goes by these days. The guy Emma loves. Henry's father."
Hook quickly stood after they boy as he asked curtly, "What of him? He's dead."
"No," Peter answered as he moved away from the pirate again, but turned back to him after doing so and continued. "I'm afraid not. He's alive. And that's not even the best part. He's in Neverland."
"Is he?" the man in black questioned once again to make sure it was the truth.
Pan smiled and replied smugly in order to taunt him, "Oh yes. Can you believe it? I'm sure Emma would love to know that Henry's father is still alive. But I'd hate for that to get in the way of budding romance. So I'll leave it up to you... to tell her or not. Let's see what kind of man you really are."
From his memory, Killian remembered that this was when Pan left him alone once again in order to contemplate on the information the boy had just given him in hope of reminding the pirate of who he believed he really was. However this time, Pan strangely remained standing before him while the shadow of his enemy stared at him cruelly for several moments until what Killian believed was nothing more than a figment of his imagination suddenly morphed into another form he feared and hated more than anyone else including Rumpelstiltskin, the scaly green and brown skinned crocodile; Captain Hook himself.
