How Deep Is Your Love

Chapter Thirty-Two

"I should have forced him to talk," Emma said angrily while she paced back and forth in the waiting room of the clinic, once again waiting for Dr. Whale to come out with word on Killian's condition, having been there for a couple of hours now. "This never would have happened if I had. I just never would have thought Killian was the kind of man capable of doing something so stupid."

"That isn't fair, Emma," Mary Margaret retorted worryingly as she turned herself around to face her daughter. "You have no idea what could have possibly brought Hook to resort to doing something so drastic. Besides, you saw better than all of us just how sick he is."

Emma pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration as she answered, "Of course I did. I mean… That isn't what I meant. I know Killian would never attempt to commit suicide no matter how serious things are. Whatever's wrong with him, isn't because of anything he had a choice in. Ingrid did this to him. I just seem to figure out what that is. It's got to be staring me right in the face."

David walked in just then with Bo Peep beside him, her arms locked in cuffs behind her back, and she spoke up callously saying, "Perhaps even more than you might realize. What the hell am I doing here? I thought I made it clear that I wasn't in the mood to play friendly."

"You're here because we've decided to give you one more chance to cooperate," the second sheriff curtly responded as he pulled out a set of keys from his pocket, then reluctantly unlocked the cuffs to release her, but held onto her arm tightly to keep her from just leaving right away.

"Well, you must really be desperate," she replied smugly while looking between her old enemy and his daughter. "What's the matter? Did something tragic happen to your pirate boyfriend, sweetheart?"

Emma glared at the warlord, then suddenly grabbed Peep by the front of her coat and shoved her back hard against the wall behind her as she bellowed angrily, "I don't care what your hate towards my father is and I don't care about your past crimes, but I damn well care about right now. Hook is paying for something that the Snow Queen believes I did to her and I know that you know something about what it is she did to him. I suggest you tell me everything we want to know because if you don't, I'll see to it that you're locked up tightly in this town's psych ward with the real crazies for the rest of your miserable life. And don't try quoting the law to me. The law doesn't work the same way here in Storybrooke. If that's not enough of a threat for you, then perhaps Regina here has a few ideas in mind. Regina?"

While the Savior kept her eyes trained on Bo, the Mayor smiled and said coolly, "I think I can definitely come up with a few suitable punishments for a mediocre nuisance like Bo Beep here."

"For the last time, tell us what she did to Hook," Emma demanded again.

"You're the Savior," the villain stated curtly while she stared coldly into the blonde woman's eyes. "You won't let the former Evil Queen hurt me and if I tell you anything, I'm as good as dead. I'd say siding with the Snow Queen is the better choice. Forgive me if I decline your most intriguing offer, again."

Elsa glared at the evil woman who had a past connection to her sister as she answered with frustration, "Even though she's the one who set you up to be taken prisoner when we found you running away from her in the woods the other night?"

Peep finally managed to break free of the Savior's hold on her and straightened out her shirt and coat, then replied, "She has a bloody magic mirror, all right? She has a way to spy on us just like the rest of you witches living here. If you can ensure my survival, I'll tell you whatever the hell you want to know."

"We can hardly ensure our own survival, but if it makes you feel any better…" Regina began to answer until she paused while she raised her hand to sense for any kind of magic cast over the warlord, then continued. "…I can attempt to remove any freezing spell she might have cast on you and we might just be able to keep you protected. By the way, you're all clear. It appears her threats were nothing, but empty words meant to scare you into keeping silent. So spill it, Little Bo Peep. What do you know?"

"I don't know what the ice witch did to your pirate, but I can tell you that she somehow enchanted his hook using magic from her bloody mirror," the shepherdess responded and then laughed. "It appears the moment you put that pointed piece of metal back in its place, it was the moment the troubles that brought him here for a second time began."

Emma struggled to process the warlord's information while she spoke her thoughts out loud saying, "That's why we found you in the woods with it in your hands, after the Snow Queen set you up to take the fall for her and to deliver her curse, knowing that we wouldn't think to inspect Killian's hook with all the chaos going on."

Bo shrugged carelessly and replied, "Right. So what?"

"I'm going to find Whale to…" Emma started to answer as she turned towards the room where she knew he was still working to save Killian until the doctor surprised her when he came out to find her.

"I'm sorry it took so long for me to come talk to you, Miss. Swan," he responded calmly as he pulled out Killian's hook and brace from the pocket inside the white coat he was wearing and handed them to her for safekeeping, the hook still being stained with Killian's blood. "But it took me longer to stabilize Hook this time around."

Before Whale could continue, Emma stopped him for a moment as she turned to her parents and said coldly, "I don't want Peep here for this. Just let her go. She did her part."

The cruel woman glared at the Savior, then turned to David when he let go of her arm and asked, "And what about my crook? You still have what belongs to me."

"You'll only get your crook back when we know that you're not going to be of any threat to the rest of us any longer," David replied with frustration. "If you ask me, you got off pretty darn lucky. Get out of here. Regina will go with you back to your shop in order to put the protection spell in place if you…"

"Don't bother," Peep interrupted. "I just want to go home where I won't have to look at any of you heroes a moment longer. Thanks."

When she was gone, Emma looked back down at Killian's hook again, then up at the doctor and stated, "Please continue. How is he?"

He looked down at the blood on the metal as well while he answered, "Well, he's… I won't lie to you. He's in a bad way and I don't just mean because of what he did, to his wrist I mean. He's very ill. He should have never left here, which I know you know that and I'm not saying this to bring up your mistakes. I'm just, I'm just trying to tell you the truth. I've made him as comfortable as I can. Right now he's awake despite his condition, but he isn't talking. At least not to me he isn't. Hopefully you can convince him too. However, I suggest putting him into an induced coma while he recovers if just to actually keep him here in the clinic, so that he can't do any more harm to himself. And because he doesn't have any family, I guess that means the decision is yours, Miss. Swan."

"No," she immediately retorted. "No, I can't make that kind of decision for him. I already tried to help him by invading his mind. I don't want to make another mistake. I'll talk to him and he'll stay here until he's well again. Besides, Killian didn't do this because he was just depressed or angry. A curse forced him to this. Once we figure out how to break it, it hasn't broken already now that his hook is no longer attached to his wrist… I'll talk to him. Thank you, Whale. If you'll excuse me."

"Emma and Hook are both going to be alright," Elsa spoke again quietly, turning to Mary Margaret and David as they watched their daughter walk away. "They have each other for support and everyone here."

Snow smiled at their new friend and squeezed her hand while she responded, "You're right. Everything's going to be just fine."

A short time later…

Bo Peep finally returned to her shop after being released and when she walked into the back room, she found her crook leaning up against one of the walls with a note attached to it that read, "I stole this back for you while each of the heroes were too distracted. I told you I would keep up my end of our deal even if you did tell. Don't worry, I knew you would eventually and in truth it works out better that way for what's coming. Plans change. Thanks for your help."

The warlord smiled smugly as she picked up her crook and said to herself, "She was certainly right about one thing. Plans change. I'll just have to find another way to make farm boy pay."

Meanwhile…

Emma nervously walked took a seat in the chair beside Killian's hospital bed while she kept her eyes on his slackened face. His head was slumped to its side and his dark eyes were closed while he rested, but upon seeing him shift his body sensing her presence, she knew he wasn't asleep even if he didn't acknowledge her. Before she spoke or touched him, Emma used the magic inside of her to sense for any residual dark magic that might have transferred into him from his hook, then did the same with his hook and ripped out the darkness that haunted him.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered in remorse while she gently laid her hand on his face and caressed his cheek, feeling the heat from his fever still coursing through him. "I never meant to hurt you. I told you that I trusted you and then I didn't the very next night…"

"Plea… please stop," Killian replied weakly without looking at her, as a tear slipped out from the corner of his eye. "You've done no… nothing wrong, love. I should have talked… talked to you. Instead I… let this happen. I was weak."

Emma's heart broke upon hearing him sound so broken and then leaned down to kiss him tenderly before she answered, "You're not weak, Killian. You didn't do any of this, at least not without influence because you had no control. The Snow Queen cast some kind of curse or spell over your hook. So when I attached it back to your arm, I think it made you see the worst in yourself. And on top of her lies and taunts, I can only imagine how much pain she put you through."

He finally opened his eyes to look into hers while he stated in confusion, "I don't understand?"

"When you were in the hospital and asleep before, Ingrid broke in here and stole your hook," she continued. "As for what drove you to hurting yourself…"

"I wasn't… I didn't slash my wrist… to die," Killian responded sadly. "I needed to… rid myself of the demons… the demons in my head. It was the only way… I could stop them."

He looked away as if in shame of his actions until Emma took his face in her hands again to try to get him to keep looking at her, then she asked, "Do you mean delusions of the man you used to be? Of Captain Hook?"

Killian closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again as he replied, "Aye. And the boy I was… long ago. Before… before I was that monster. Their apparitions forced memories into my head. Reminded me of my many, many misdeeds to… torment me. They wanted me to leave Storybrooke. Or at least the villain I am did. The boy, I'm not so sure. The Snow Queen believes I will only destroy you, Emma. I didn't believe her at first, but…"

"Hey!" she immediately cut him off. "She's wrong. I'm stronger now than I used to be and that has a lot to do with you being here in my life."

"I'm no good for you," he answered with despair as he attempted to reach out to touch her face until he stopped himself, though not because of his hand and wrist being wrapped in bandages, but because he suddenly became afraid to touch her. "They were right, Ingrid and… myself."

The Savior laid her forehead against his as she whispered, "No they weren't. Listen to me. Please believe me. You are not Captain Hook, except in the best sense. Being a pirate isn't bad because it's who you are and you've proven you will always be here for me pretty much ever since we've met, even when I refused to accept it. That isn't something the villain you used to be would do if you were still that man. I want to be with you and I need you here in my life. I made a mistake to believe that you could hurt me like Ingrid made me think you did. I didn't trust my instincts because a part of me was afraid to finally be happy. Because in the moment you didn't show up for our date, I was reminded that maybe I didn't deserve to be happy."

He smiled at her sadly as he responded, "You do. You do so much… for everyone else with… without a thought for yourself. I want… to be a man deserving of your love whenever you're ready to accept me. However…"

"However nothing," Emma interrupted again. "I accept who you are and I want to go on that first date with you, Hook. Because I care about you too."

"You're an amazing woman," Killian replied as he moved to take her hand in his despite the doubt still in the back of his mind. "Perhaps… if Ingrid was right about anything, it was definitely that. Thank you, Emma."

Nearly two weeks passed and the day of the second attempt at their first date finally came around again and Killian walked into Gold's shop to make a deal for his left hand stolen from him centuries ago foolishly believing that it would make him feel better about himself, still being unable to shake off some of the Snow Queen's words spoken to him and especially not his own during his torment.

When he walked out of the pawnshop, Killian entered another shop and bought himself a new wardrobe as he planned to do before, then walked down to the beach to spend some time on his own before he went to pick Emma up, needing time alone to make sure that going forward with a relationship with the woman he was already madly in love with was truly the right decision for her and her family no matter how much he wanted it for himself.

However, the Snow Queen suddenly appeared behind him as she spoke up saying, "I thought I might find you here, Captain. And with two hands instead of one. Isn't that something."

Hook turned around to face her, but didn't make a move to draw his sword, knowing it wouldn't do him any good if she attacked him and then answered, "I had a feeling you would return at some point to continue to convince me I'm making a mistake for staying here in Storybrooke, with Emma."

"Actually, it seems you were right after all," Ingrid responded coolly. "About beating my attempts to convince you of just how weak you are. I failed. And now I understand why."

"Because of the words you whispered into my ear while I was in the clinic?" Killian asked as he turned away from her to stare out at the ocean. "I may have pretended not to remember them for Emma's sake, but I do. I just don't care or believe you. If I can survive all of your tests of torment, then I can survive some false premonition from your magic mirror saying my death won't be at your hand and that I'll be the only one to blame for it happening. I won't allow you to get into my head again. And I won't leave Emma. I will protect her from you."

Ingrid smiled cruelly and then replied, "Emma doesn't need protection from me. And it appears I was wrong to think she needs protection from you as well. Your number's up, Killian. I suggest you say your goodbyes while you have the time. You don't have much. Oh, and take care of that heart of yours."

Killian watched her walk away as he clenched his jaw and turned back to the waters before him in attempt to get the Snow Queen out of his head, then finally left to purchase a single rose before picking Emma up for their date at a restaurant he found that wasn't Granny's. When she opened the door after he knocked, he suddenly became speechless, having never seen her looking as beautiful as she stood before him now. And in that moment, all of his troubles were forgotten.

The End