AN: So I had a second part that was supposed to be included in this chapter, but I got so carried away with the Captain Swan hurt/comfort I broke it into two pieces. It actually worked out better, because it will give me a chance to include another flashback piece to the story. As always, reviews and comments are welcome. Oh, and..enjoy the start of villainous hijinx. :)
Fairy Tale Land: The Past, Kingdom of Thebes
As Hades sauntered along the path leading up to the palace, the sky lit with a giant crack of lightening. He had been summoned to see King Zeus and it stood to reason his brother-in-law was not happy with him about one thing or another, hence the theatrics in the sky. Once he finally arrived at the castle gates, having been in no real hurry and had kept up a fairly leisurely pace, Hades rolled his eyes as the two guards nervously stepped out of his way. If there was one thing he could say about Zeus, it was that he enjoyed the finer things in life. The entrance hall of his palace was all glitz and glam, with lush red tapestries emblazoned with his trademark lightning bolt symbol, adorning the walls. There were podiums with vases and trinkets the king had collected on his various travels, as well as portraits of Zeus himself, of course, lining the corridor. Hades reached over and grabbed a vase off one of the displays in the corridor, noticing one of Zeus's servants eying him warily. He pretended to trip, jiggling the more than likely expensive piece of artwork as if he was going to drop it, sniggering when the servant's eyes widened in horror. With an eye-roll he put the vase back and made his way to Zeus's council room, the nervous servant following a short distance behind.
"The King will be with you shortly," the servant stammered, watching as the keeper of the Underworld wandered around the room touching various objects.
Hades snatched up a few grapes from a bowl on the table, eying the servant, waiting for him to leave. The young man continued to stand at the threshold of the door fidgeting nervously. With a smirk, Hades made his way around the table breathtakingly slowly, and finally came to stand in front of the servant, who squirmed under his gaze. He reached out with long slender fingers, wiping them on the back of the nervous servant's tunic, then leaned down into his face and ever so softly, but still menacingly whispered, "Boo."
The servant's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open as he skittered backwards as fast as he could, shutting the door quickly behind him. Once the nervous man had disappeared, Hades made his way back to the large table in the center of the room. He grabbed a handful of grapes and made his way to the chair at the head of the council table, Zeus's chair of course, propped his feet up and started tossing the fruit in the air and catching it with his mouth. Just as his boredom was reaching its peak, the door to the council chamber swung open, slamming against the wall and knocking down a painting as King Zeus stormed in.
"I was beginning to wonder when you were going to grace me with your presence dear brother-in-law," Hades smirked, making no move to vacate the King's seat. "You know I abhor being kept waiting."
Another crack of lightening lit up the sky outside.
"You will do well to curb that insolent tone with me," Zeus's voice boomed, echoing off the walls.
Sighing dramatically, Hades stood from his seat, "You sound upset. Things not going well with your lovely wife? Where is my dear sister tonight by the way?"
"You know very well why I've summoned you hear tonight," Zeus replied, slamming his fists down on the table.
"Oh, wait. This is about your little girlfriend, Alcmene, isn't it?" Hades replied, feigning boredom.
"When I granted you charge of the Underworld it was as a Guardian!" Zeus roared. "It was to watch over those who had passed on, not take souls on a whim to suit your flights of fancy!"
"So this is about Alcmene?" Hades questioned again, stifling a yawn.
"I have had enough of your games Hades. You leave me no choice."
"Such theatrics dear brother," Hades sighed, ignoring the warning tone in the King's voice as he sauntered about the room. "You always did have a flare the dramatic."
"By my order, you are no longer the guardian of the Underworld," Zeus spoke, his voice low and calm. "You shall walk this earthly realm…"
"What!" Hades roared, his head snapping up. "You can't do this…you…"
"And…stripped of the powers bestowed upon a guardian," Zeus continued.
The room suddenly filled with a blinding flash of white, cracks of lightning echoing from the walls. Hades clutched his head, screaming in agony as he slumped to the floor. He could feel the power draining from his body and he writhed, nothing more than a quivering mass of flesh. Just as suddenly as the light appeared it was gone. Hades lay on the cold stone floor panting heavily. He reached for the scabbard at his side, finding it empty, his sword gone. Struggling, he managed to pull himself up against the table and leaned heavily against it. Zeus was gone, he was alone, and the magnitude of what had just been robbed from him began to sink in. He lashed out in anger, roaring at the top of his lungs and began reaching for anything he could find to smash. In his weakened state he again slumped to the floor, and vowed to himself with every fiber of his being that Zeus would pay for what he had taken.
Storybrooke: The Present
Meg paced back and forth across her room nervously chewing on her fingernails. She hadn't told anyone who she'd seen lurking on the streets that night, and it was leaving her nerves shot. Part of her felt like she needed to tell someone. Hercules had been her first choice, but the fact that he'd been working for Hades, coupled with the fact they weren't speaking had quickly nixed that plan. Another part of her wondered if she was overreacting. What if it wasn't even him? She hadn't been in this town long and it was a fair assumption she hadn't met everyone.
Emma. Maybe the sheriff would be able to shed some light on the man she'd seen. For all Meg knew he was just a sharply dressed shopkeeper out for a midnight stroll. Yes, she would go see Emma, and if nothing else maybe the walk would help clear her head.
Of course. Just my luck, Meg thought bitterly to herself after arriving at the sheriff station and finding the doors locked and one of the patrol cars missing. She hung around for a few moments, wondering if maybe the blonde had merely stepped out for a cup of coffee. When Emma didn't return after about fifteen minutes, Meg shoved her hands deep into her pockets and tried to decide what to do next. She was lost so deep in her own thoughts she didn't even realize that she'd walked toward the harbor until her feet were already on the deck. Taking a seat at one of the nearby tables, Meg took a deep breath, letting the salty air fill her lungs. She wasn't sure when she'd developed the habit, unable to recall a time or a memory from childhood where she was particularly fond of water, but at some point in recent times she found herself here when her thoughts were muddled and she needed to think. There was something about watching the waves roll in and out and the way the sun glowed as it fell below the horizon that calmed her. She looked up at the sound of a loud noise from behind her and turned toward the sound. Hesitating for a minute, she heard the sound again and decided to investigate, following the sounds to one of the nearby boat houses. By the time she reached the racket, it was now accompanied by the familiar sounds of accented curses. Meg smirked, finding Killian working on something with one of the boats.
"Bloody hell!" he grumbled.
"That's an awful lot of noise you're making there," Meg said, announcing her presence.
Killian turned around, wiping his hand on a rag. "Hello, love. What are you doing down here at this hour?"
"Just…out for a bit of a walk and heard you sounding like you were breaking the place down," she replied. "What are you working on?"
"Nothing too terribly important, just trying to decide if any of these small vessels are still seaworthy and doing a bit of light cleaning."
"Ah, I see. Need a hand?" Meg smirked and Killian rolled his eyes at her poor attempt at humor. "No Emma tonight?"
"She's been quite busy the past few days. Lots of random criminal activity and suspicious incidents I suppose," he replied, noticing his friend's somewhat distracted demeanor. "You seem a bit vexed tonight."
"Strange and suspicious incidents?" Meg questioned.
"Apparently so. It's had her working late quite a few nights." he replied, tossing Meg a rag. "You can make yourself useful while we talk."
"Well that's unfortunate," Meg swallowed thickly as she caught the towel Killian tossed at her.
Killian turned back to his work, Meg stepping next to him and mimicking his actions. She wasn't sure what happened next, and to be honest she wasn't sure Killian did either. All she knew was that he must have heard the cracking first.
"Meg, look out!" he yelled.
The next thing Meg knew she was being shoved roughly out of the way and found herself flat on her back on the deck. She lay there stunned, the wind knocked out of her and she took a few gasping breaths before she was able to push herself to sitting. It was then she noticed the gaping hole in the ceiling and her eyes drifted to where Killian was now sprawled out on his stomach, covered in what she assumed was the debris from the roof.
"Killian!" she cried, crawling towards him.
The only thing she could see was the top of his head. The rest of him was covered with planks of wood and pieces of the support beams from the ceiling. He wasn't moving and she prayed that he was only unconscious.
"Killian?" Meg called again; hear heart hammering in her chest as she gingerly started pulling pieces of wood off of his body. "Can you hear me?"
Shit! Shit, shit shit!
"Come on and talk to me," she kept prodding. "Killian, god damnit, answer me!"
Meg managed to remove most of the debris from around Killian's head and face, unburying him down to about the middle of his back. She was afraid to remove anything more without knowing how badly he may be injured. Reaching down she felt his neck and breathed a sigh of relief to find he had a pulse and was still breathing. She looked around hoping there would be someone to help her, but aside from the two of them the docks were empty. Meg dug in her pocket and pulled out her phone and dialed 911. She briefly explained what had happened, someone was injured and she needed an ambulance. Once she hung up with the dispatcher, her next thought was that she needed to call Emma. Meg didn't want to leave Killian's side for long, but she knew she needed to let Emma know what happened. She located his jacket hanging nearby and dug his phone out of the pocket. Moving back to sit near her friend, she thumbed through his contacts and hit the button to call Emma.
Hi, this is Emma Swan, leave a message.
"Damnit!" she cursed as the call went straight to voice mail. Who else could she call? She scrolled through Killian's phonebook again and found David's number, hitting the button and praying the other sheriff answered.
"Hello?" David's voice echoed back through the phone, picking up on just the second ring.
"David its Meg," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "There's been an accident, it's Killian. You need to find Emma."
"What happened? Is he alright?" David asked quickly.
"Just find Emma and meet us at the hospital," Meg replied, hearing the sirens pulling up a short distance away. David's voice was still on the line, but Killian had started to stir, and she quickly closed the phone shut and tucked it in her pocket effectively hanging up on the other man.
"Stay still, Killian," Meg said softly, trying to quell her own panic. "It's alright, help's here. Just don't move."
The paramedics made their way down the pier pushing a gurney with them. Meg tried to back out of their way, but at the same time stay close enough to Killian to be of any comfort if he needed it. They asked her questions about what had happened, and she answered as best she could. She watched as they removed the remainder of the debris, uncovering the rest of Killian's body. His fidgeting was starting to increase, despite the paramedics and Meg trying to tell him to stay still. They put a collar around his neck and slid a board under him before rolling him gently onto his back. One of the paramedics started an IV, while the other started cutting off Killian's blouse, leaving him in just an undershirt.
"Possible fractured wrist," One of the paramedics said.
"Emma," Killian mumbled.
"It's alright, I called her," Meg said softly, her hand resting on Killian's upper arm while one of the medics worked to splint his hand. "She'll meet us at the hospital."
Once the medics were satisfied that Killian was stable and ready to be moved, they loaded the backboard onto the gurney. The paramedics told Meg she could ride along so she grabbed Killian's jacked and followed. Once situated in the ambulance, Meg resumed her spot near Killian's head, again resting a reassuring hand on his shoulder as they departed for the hospital.
Killian's first thoughts as he groggily opened his eyes were what had happened, and why the hell was he in so much pain. Everything hurt. His head was throbbing, he couldn't seem to move the fingers of his right hand, and it felt like someone had stabbed him in the back. His next was being unable to move his head or neck. He realized that there was some sort of collar around his throat and he suddenly felt closed in and confined, and it immediately unnerved him. It was a quirk he thought he had long since outgrown, but in this moment all he could think about was getting rid of the device around his neck.
"Take this off," he muttered, attempting to reach up with his right hand to pull it off himself, and winced at the shooting pain in his lower arm.
"Hey, it's ok," a gentle female voice tried to reassure him. It wasn't Emma's voice though. He blinked his eyes and looked as far to the side as he could to find Meg standing over him.
"Need this off, now," he repeated, growing more agitated.
"They just want to make sure you haven't broken you neck," Meg tried to explain. "I'm sure someone will come in and remove it."
"Now!" he said again, trying to shift on the bed.
"Just stay still, deep breaths. Let me see if I can find someone…"
A moment later a face and a white coat appeared over him and he repeated his earlier demand to remove the neck brace.
"I'm going to undo this, but you need to lie extremely still," the doctor said.
There was a sound of Velcro being detached as the doctor undid the collar enough to be able to get his hands in. "Any pain in your neck or shoulders?"
"No," Killian replied, letting his eyes slip closed.
The doctor asked him a few more questions, had him move his head from side to side, and then shined a light in his eyes. "The x-rays of your neck look good," he spoke. "So I think we can leave this off for now. We're waiting on the series from your hand and the results of your CT scan to come back and then we'll see where we're at. How's the pain?"
"It bloody hurts," Killian snipped. "I feel like I've been kicked in the back. Head. Arm."
"I can bring you some Tylenol, but unfortunately right now can't prescribe anything stronger due to the concussion," the doctor replied, lifting up the ice pack to check on Killian's wrist.
"Can I at least sit up a bit?" Killian asked.
The doctor reached over and adjusted the controls on the bed to elevate his patient's head. "I'll come back and check on you in a little while."
Once the doctor left, Killian gingerly shifted a bit to look at Meg. "What happened?"
"You shoved me out of the way…and had half a roof collapse on you," Meg replied. "Scared the hell out of me."
Killian chuckled a bit and immediately winced. They sat in silence for a while, Meg lost in thought and gently rubbing Killian's upper arm in her best attempt to be comforting. She snapped out of her reverie when he began fidgeting again and she noticed he looked a bit green. "Are you alright?"
"I think…" he said breathily, struggling to sit up.
Meg managed to reach behind her for one of those tiny hospital buckets, just in time to put it in front of Killian's face before he started vomiting.
Emma practically flew through the automatic doors of the hospital. "What the hell happened? Is he ok? Where is he?" she peppered David with questions, her eyes wide.
David reached out to rest his hands on her shoulders. "He's alright. I guess he was working in one of the boat houses and the ceiling collapsed. Meg was with him, she called an ambulance."
"Is he ok? Can I see him?"
"He's going to be fine," David assured her. "He has a concussion, a sprained wrist and a severely strained lower back. But he's going to be fine. Come on, I'll take you to him."
"I am so, so sorry," Emma gushed, coming into the room and immediately taking a spot at the left side of Killian's bed. "I was investigating a suspicious fire on the other side of town and left my phone charging in the car. Are you alright?"
"They just gave him a shot of something," Meg said. "He's been nauseous and throwing up."
"I'm alright, love," Killian said quietly.
Emma could tell by the look on his face he was in a fair amount of pain. She looked him over, wanting to be comforting but was unsure of a safe place to touch him.
"I'll let you two have some privacy," Meg said. "Killian, I'll check on you later. Get some rest."
"Meg?" Emma called back and the brunette stopped at the door and looked back. "Thank you. For staying with him."
"No problem," she replied, looking down and giving the pair a small smile as she left.
Emma made her way to the other side of the bed and gently lifted up the ice pack to examine Killian's wrist, wincing at his swollen fingers and very much bruised hand.
"So, a roof collapsed on top of you?" Emma sighed, replacing the ice pack and standing back up to plant a gentle kiss on Killian's forehead.
"Apparently so," Killian sighed, rolling his head to the side. "Could you do me a favor, love?"
"Anything," Emma replied.
"Find out when they're going to let me go home?"
"I'll see what I can do, but they may want to keep you for the rest of the night."
Killian squeezed his eyes shut, frustrated.
"Let me see what I can find out," she patted his arm.
Killian's doctor was hesitant at first to consider discharging his patient. Killian of course was ready to leave, much preferring the comfort of his own bed, and threatening to walk out otherwise. They struck a compromise and it was decided that if he was compliant, and rested, and didn't vomit again within the next two hours, the doctor would consider letting him leave. With a little gentle nudging from Emma, Killian had conceded and did his best to try and take a short nap. A short time later they had come in and fitted his hand with some sort of soft brace, checked his eyes and ears and asked him a bunch of questions and with a final signature on some paperwork he was wheeled out to Emma's car with strict instructions to rest. They made a quick stop at the pharmacy and headed back to Granny's.
"You doing alright?" Emma asked.
They were halfway up the stairs, when Killian stopped and placed his hand against the wall, his breathing somewhat ragged. "Fine love, just need a minute."
Eventually they made it up the stairs and to his room. Killian eased himself down to sitting on the bed, closing his eyes and waiting for the wave of pain to dissipate.
"I know you're probably tired," Emma said, setting the bag of prescripts along with Killian's jacket and his hook on the nearby desk. "But do you feel up to showering? The warm water might help your back. They prescribed you a muscle relaxer, but I can't give it to you until tomorrow evening if you think you need it. Not with the concussion."
Killian sighed, the prospect of a shower sounding appealing. "I don't know if I have the energy to stand."
"I can draw you a bath."
Thinking for a moment, he opened his eyes. "Aye, maybe that would be a wise idea. If for nothing else but to get this…sticky glue off my chest," he said.
Emma helped him stand and make his way into the bathroom. Killian leaned gingerly against the wall while she filled up the tub. His inability to really bend much at the waist meant Emma had to help him undress. She knew he was in pain based on the fact he didn't even bother to make a smart remark or innuendo about her removing his clothes. Helping him ease into the tub, Emma sat on the closed lid of the toilet while he soaked.
"Love?" he finally spoke and Emma looked up. "I don't really have hands to do this with…do you think…" he gestured toward the soap.
Emma moved to sit on the floor in front of the tub, taking the washcloth. She squeezed out some body wash and started trying to pick the adhesive from the heart monitor tabs out of Killian's chest hair. "I don't think this is going to come out all at once," she told him. "And if I scrub at it, it's going to hurt and I really don't want to add to your misery."
Killian nodded, letting his head rest on his knees.
"I'm really sorry," she said softly.
"For what, love?" Killian replied, turning his head to look at her.
"That I wasn't there when you needed me."
"It's alright, Swan. I know you were busy."
"I should have had my phone on me…"
"You got there as soon as you found out, there's nothing else that could have been done, unless you were the one I was shoving out of peril's way," he sighed.
Emma smiled sympathetically. "You ready to get out and go lay down?"
Killian nodded slowly. Emma helped him stand and maneuver his way out of the tub. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, following him out of the bathroom with a gentle hand on his back. Somehow she managed to help him re-dress. It was quite a show, really, trying to put someone else's pants on. Killian had to lean back against the wall, gingerly raising one leg at a time as far as he could before it sent waves of pain through his back while Emma slid his feet through the holes. Once the task was accomplished he made his way back to the bed, easing himself down with the moves of an elderly man. Emma pulled the blankets over his legs and was starting to get herself ready for bed when Killian began to fidget, his face screwed up in a mixture of pain and frustration.
"What's wrong?"
"You know I bloody can't sleep on my stomach," he snapped, "and now I can't sleep on my damned back either."
With a heavy sigh, he tossed his left arm across his forehead. "I'm sorry, Emma. I shouldn't be so rude."
"You don't have anything to apologize for. I know you're in pain," she said reassuringly. "Here…kind of roll to your side a bit for a second."
Killian moved around, Emma's hand firmly on his side. She grabbed a few extra pillows, shoving them along his back and then eased him back down on the small pillow wall she'd made. "How's that? Not on your stomach, but it will take some of the pressure off your back."
"Better," he replied with a small, tired smile. "Thank you."
"Good," she said, giving him a kiss on the forehead. "Now, get some rest. I'm setting my alarm for 4 hours from now. Then I'm waking you up to make sure you haven't died in your sleep."
Emma made her way to the other side of the bed, easing down slowly so as not to jostle Killian. She didn't even remember falling asleep herself until she was jerked awake a short time later to pained thrashing and seething through teeth. Flicking the light on, she glanced over at Killian.
"Bloody hell!" he gritted, grinding his teeth.
"What's wrong?" Emma asked, concern edged in her voice.
"My back, feels like I'm being stabbed."
Emma moved over, sliding her hand under his shirt. She winced, feeling the ripple of his muscles as they tightened and relaxed. "You're having a muscle spasm," she explained.
"Well whatever it is, it bloody well hurts!"
"I'm going to try something, just tell me if it hurts more when I do it," Emma spoke, pressing her fingers into the muscles of his back.
Killian winced, flinching at her touch but gradually relaxed a little as she started trying to smooth out the muscles. It took a good fifteen minutes of Emma pushing on him, but the spasms eventually stopped and turned into a continuous ache. After a moment, Emma got up and told him she'd be right back.
Digging around in the community linen closet in the hall, Emma hoped she could find what she was looking for. "Thank you Granny," she muttered, pulling an electric heating pad off the shelf and carrying it back into the room.
Killian watched her plug in the device and turn it on. "What is that?"
Emma waited until the pad began to heat up and then eased Killian forward a bit, sliding it between his back and the pillows. His eyes fluttered a bit at the warmth. "Heating pad. Should help with the achiness."
"Mmmm," he mumbled, letting his eyes fall closed.
"Helping?" she asked, settling back into bed next to him and turning off the light. Killian only mumbled in response. Emma scooted a bit closer, still being careful not to get too close, but just close enough where she could run a hand soothingly through his hair. She lay there in the dark for a long while, just listening to Killian's breathing even out as he finally fell back asleep. Eventually sleep began to tug at her as well and it wasn't long before she was out too.
In her room next door, Meg paced. Somehow in her mind she knew what had happened at the harbor was meant for her. There was no doubt in her mind now that it was Hades she'd seen the other night. She didn't know why, or what his plans were, but she knew that it wouldn't be good. He'd injured Killian, her friend. This should have been the final straw, the point where she knew that she needed to tell someone what was going on. Something deep inside told her that if she did things would get much, much worse. So Meg paced, and agonized, stretching the tense muscles in her neck, and swore to herself that as soon as daylight broke and she made sure Killian was truly alright, she would find Emma Swan and tell her the whole story.
TBC