20. MAGIC AND SCIENCE.

Darkness was everything Killian could see when he opened his eyes. It took a couple of seconds to feel something more: pain, from his head to his feet. At least he could feel something. He tried to move an arm but it was trapped, 'rocks' he thought. Slowly, as if a film was being played on his mind, he started to recall the memories of the fight. 'I'm alive' he articulated, but he was not sure if his mouth had produced any sound. Emptiness...silence...too much silence... he couldn't think clearly but it wasn't necessary to understand the point of no return which he had come to: he was alone and trapped under who knew how many heavy rocks, weak and unable to move. The crew had surely thought he was dead, something he understood perfectly, who would think he had survived such a collapse? He remembered the men who were next to him who had to be dead by that moment. But he was certainly going to join them soon. It was such an irony... in the previous years he'd survived every danger when he hadn't minded dying, and then, when he wanted to live, when he had reasons to do it, he was going to die. He'd thought he would be able to make it alive, after all, he was (or had been) captain Hook. How could he had been so irresponsible, knowing that he always ended up knocked out? How could he have risked his life like that when there was someone who was waiting for him to return, because he wasn't the pirate he used to be anymore, the one who chased a crocodile with nothing to lose... or nobody to lose him?

His only possibility was to try to move some smaller rocks, but he was sure it wouldn't work. For the moment, the pain stopped him from moving, so all he could do was to lie on the floor, waiting for some strength to come (he doubted it would happen). In the darkness, he thought about her: Aurora smiling at him under the stars the first time they kissed, her failed first attempt to drink rum like a pirate, the pure and true love which she looked at him with, her funny faces when they met the mermaids and the pixies in Neverland, the last time he saw her... by the time he remembered that conversation he realized he had a lump in his throat, he felt really sorry for leaving her alone, for having failed, how would she deal with his death? He knew she would come through it eventually, in the end, she had always been stronger than him and she'd fight because the baby needed her, he knew that too. Then, the only image he had of their unborn child, from the moment he'd touched Aurora's belly in the dungeons, hit his mind. Now it was true and unavoidable: he would never know him (or her). How many times during his imprisonment and the quest he had dreamt of being able to return to them, to finally have his happy ending with his new family... but destiny was cruel to him, it had always been. He didn't know how much time he had spent thinking about his memories of them together, he just knew that suddenly the image of their last kiss faded away and his mind sank in the darkness again.

.

Spending time with Henry was always a pleasure for Belle. The kid was so nice and curious that they always had really good conversations about anything that came into their minds. They also had in common that they dreamt about living great adventures which included magical places and creatures. So, when, while the boy was spending some days of his holidays with his grandfather, they heard about a dragon's den which was only one day away from Rumplestiltskin's castle, they immediately started to plan a trip there, just to see if they could watch the beast from a safe distance. Anyway, it would be funny just because of camping in the night or exploring the places they would find on their way. It wasn't like Belle had to ask Rumple for his permission, but, since he was quite overprotective over his wife and grandson and would't be able to join them because of his bad leg, he'd insisted in that he would be more calm if they brought someone with them who could help them if something went wrong. Belle told him that she was strong enough to defend herself and the boy and that they wouldn't expose themselves to any danger, but she eventually gave up and, taking into account that it was almost full moon, she suggested that Ruby joined them. Moreover, it was an opportunity to spend some time with her good friend. She also had the idea of inviting Andrew as well so Henry could have someone of his age to spend time with too. Andrew was one of the Lost Boys who had been rescued from Peter Pan and sent to Storybrooke, where he had been fostered by Granny.

The group of four started their little adventure and, many hours later than expected, they reached a spot which they could observe the dragon's den from, they saw that somebody had been there too because the dragon was there, but dead, its blood covering the area around it.

"The army must have done it" Belle said. "Maybe yesterday or two days ago."

The two boys couldn't avoid saying 'whoah!'.

"Can we come close?" Henry asked, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"I think so, kid" his grandfather's wife answered.

When they approached the dragon, Ruby suddenly froze.

"Are you fine?" Belle asked while the two kids were having a close look to the dead beast. The werewolf girl looked around her and headed to the amount of rocks that were near the dragon. She touched the surface of a big one, as if she could see through it.

"There's someone alive here" she said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I am... It's a man... I've smelled him before."

"Who?"

"I don't know."

"We have to save him" said Henry, who, without having been noticed by the two women had approached them and listened to their conversation "He must be a survivor from the battle. A hero."

"I know, Henry, but what can we do?" Ruby asked and pointed to the rocks. "We can't move that."

"With magic" was Henry's answer. "Call grandpa" he said to Belle. The boy, who had spent so much time reading about bravery, heroism and all that stuff, would be devastated if they let that unknown man die. "What if he's someone we know from Storybrooke?"

"Let's see what we can do" she said "But I can't promise you anything. Your grandfather's not the sorcerer he used to be, his magic's quite rusted." she sighed "Rumplestiltskin!" nothing. She tried again "Rumplestiltskin!"

"What's happened here?" a male voice on their backs asked. Mr Gold was standing next to the dragon and looked at them wondering what they needed from him.

"There's a man trapped" his wife said "He's still alive but not for much longer." the former pawnbreaker approached the rocks. "If you could vanish them or something like that..."

"Why wasn't he smashed by the rocks?" Andrew asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

"The way in which they fell must have created some kind of chamber" Belle answered. "Can you do anything?" she asked her husband.

"I can try" he answered.

With a move, Rumple cast a cloud of purple smoke and, when it disappeared, they finally saw who the misterious man was and, when it happened, the sorcerer thought he was dreaming.

"What the...!" he shouted when he saw an unconscious Hook lying on the floor and covered with blood. Destiny was surely laughing at him. He was frozen on the spot while the other people approached the captain.

"My god... he's lost a lot of blood but he still breathes" Ruby said and turned to Rumple "Can you heal him?"

"I'm afraid I don't have enough power to do it" Belle looked at him suspiciously "It's true, dearie."

"But we're not letting him die here, are we?" a worried Henry asked. Belle and Ruby answered with an 'of course not' at the same time that Mr Gold said 'Well...' and his wife glared at him.

"Andrew, can you take the first aid kit from your bag?" Ruby asked. "That's my boy" she said, winking at the kid when he gave it to her.

"Can you at least bring us home?" Belle asked with an idea forming inside her mind.

"I can try" Rumple answered.

He told everyone to hold each other's hand and, taking Belle by her arm, he made another purple cloud appear. Once they'd arrived the castle, they took Killian to one of the bedrooms.

"Ruby, could you...?" Belle started. The werewolf, knowing what she wanted her to do, nodded and started to run towards the exit, her red cloak waving on her back.

.

Victor had found himself surprisingly comfortable with his new life in the Enchanted Forest. Which he didn't found himself so comfortable with was spending two whole days alone with Granny. It wasn't like he didn't like his girlfriend's grandmother, of course he did, but he still felt a high respect upon her. Speaking about the devil, he heard her voice while he was in the kitchen, taking care of the dinner:

"So you're planning to propose to my granddaughter..." she said. For him, it was as if someone had said he was going to die. He turned to face the old woman who, at least (and fortunately), hadn't brought her crossbow with her. Good sign.

"Yes, I've been thinking about it" he admitted "How have you...?"

"I'm old but not stupid, my dear" she simply answered with a proud smile. "And let me tell you..."

The doctor couldn't hear what Granny wanted him to know because she suddenly stopped. Her wolfish earing had heard something that Victor's one was unable to. She walked to the house's entrance and opened the door, followed by the scientist. Ruby appeared in front of them, running at the same speed she'd run when she'd saved his life that night in the docks.

"Victor..." she called him and, after kissing him, she continued "You have to come with me."

"Why? What's happened?" the doctor asked, rubbing her arms.

"It's Hook, there's no time to explain. If you don't do something, he's going to die." Red answered. Victor's face brightened with excitement.

"I'll look for my bag" he said with a smile.

When he'd found it and fetched the horse they had, he reunited with Ruby who, after hugging her grandmother, started to run again, guiding Victor to Rumplestiltskin's castle.

.

Mr. Gold was waiting for them when they arrived the castle, as an excuse to avoid being in the same room as his old enemy. He immediately guided them to the bedroom where Killian was. Belle had taken care of him as best as she'd been able, with the knowledge she had acquired by reading some books, but she hadn't dared to try difficult things such as sewing his wounds just in case she spoiled it. At least he was still alive. They left Victor alone to do his job and waited in one of the living rooms. The doctor appeared minutes later.

"He'll need a blood transfusion" he said. "Luckily, I've brought all I need to do it from the World Without Magic. But I'll need some help."

"What do you want us to do?" Ruby asked.

"I've checked his blood and mine and, fortunately again, we're compatible." he made a pause "But, obviously, I can't extract my blood myself."

"I'll do" Belle said bravely.

"Then we don't have time to lose" Frankenstein agreed.

Belle's hands were trembling when the needle approached Victor's arm. "You can do it" said Ruby. The instrument crossed his skin, but he didn't complain, so she had to be doing it well. "Now the piston" the doctor ordered. His blood started to enter the big syringe. When it was filled, Victor said 'enough' and the pale Belle extracted the needle from his arm.

"Well done" Ruby said. Victor supported her with a smile and a nod.

Without any sign of weakness, the doctor continued with his work. Ruby stayed with him just in case he felt dizzy or something, but, when he finally separated from the bed and looked at her with a face she knew well, also known as the expression of happiness he had when he knew he'd saved someone's life in extremis, she knew everything had been a success. She hugged him and, with a 'let's tell everyone', took his hand and guided him out of the bedroom.

.

"He'll live" Victor said "You don't know how lucky this man has been. He's badly damaged but nothing that can't be repaired with a long rest and the appropiate care. But I want to have him under observation, just in case there's any complication or an internal damage I haven't noticed."

"And he has to stay in my house, hasn't he?" Mr Gold said with an annoyed tone.

"Well, he's too weak to be moved from where he is. If we tried, something could go wrong" the doctor explained.

"What a tragedy" Rumple said ironically.

"Rumple!" Belle told him off "You know his circumstances. Do you want to leave a child without its father?" her husband sighed.

"You always win me with that" he said.

"Should we tell Aurora or someone?" Henry asked. He and Andrew had been fighting against their sleep to see how their little rescue ended.

"I wouldn't do it for the moment" Victor answered "If something gets wrong, I don't want that woman to have hope just to lose him again. Let's wait a couple of days."

"Alright" Belle said. "Is anyone as hungry as me?"

Everyone nodded.

"I have to go and check on him" Frankenstein announced.

"No way. We can do it for you" replied Ruby. After what he'd done with his blood, he needed to eat and rest. He'd done enough for one night.

Her glance made Victor surrender. She was right after all. What would he do without her?

.

Light. It couldn't be real. Killian still hadn't opened his eyes but he could feel it. Was he dead? He finally opened his eyes and when they'd got used to that light, he found himself lying in an unknown bed. The landscape he could see through the (unknown) bedroom windows wasn't familiar to him. He still felt the pain all over his body, but it wasn't as intense as before. He couldn't help repeating 'I'm alive', this time hearing his voice perfectly.

"Yes, you are" a known male voice confirmed it from a corner of the room. Killian didn't look at him since he needed some time to assume it. He had no idea about how it was possible, but he was alive. He'd done it, he'd accomplished his mission and had survived, which meant that (he smiled as his eyes got wet) Aurora and him would be finally together again, and completely free. Where, during the moments he'd thought he'd die, there was just a full stop and then darkness, now there was light, and the perspective of a life together with the love of his life, and their son... or their daughter, his little Rose, the one he'd seen in his dream, who would always have him with her. The nightmare was over.

The mysterious man approached him and he recognized the same doctor who'd taken care of him when he had been hit by Owen's car in Storybrooke.

"Do you know your name? Do you remember what happened to you?" the doctor asked, checking his eyes with a little light.

"My name's Killian Jones and I had an accident right after killing a dragon with a group of soldiers sent by King William who, by the way, is a son of a b..."

"Enough" the doctor interrupted him.

Killian agreed with him. What was he doing there speaking with the doctor as if nothing happened? he had to go with Aurora, she'd been alone during enough time. He tried to get up but he had to lie on the bed again, his entire body hurt terribly.

"When can I get out of here?" he asked. Suddenly there were a lot of questions on his mind "Where am I by the way? Hod did I end up here? What day is today? Do you know anything about Aurora?"

"You'll get out of here when you are totally recovered" he answered "Today is 24th of August and you are..." he hesitated and continued in a lower voice, as if he were afraid of Hook's reaction "in Rumplestiltskin's castle."

"What?!" he yelled.

Frankenstein explained him how Ruby had smelled him and everything that had happened until that moment.

"Great" he didn't know what to think. Having been saved by the crocodile among others, what an irony. But he'd think about it later, there were more important people to him than his dear Rumple "What about Aurora?"

"I promise she'll soon receive the news" the doctor answered. Killian stared through the window.

"Thank you" he said without looking at the doctor. His voice didn't sound as he'd expected.

"Are you crying?"

"Me? of course not, who do you think I am?" Whale decided to leave him alone, just in case.