Killian's Inferno

Chapter Twenty-Six

Still inside the clinic's room…

"So, how is he?" Mary Margaret asked the doctor, who finally finished hooking up his newly revived patient to the machines and IV drips that would help to keep him alive like he expected the man to need if the heroes had actually succeeded, which they did much to his surprise. "Is he going to be alright?"

"I don't know," Whale replied coldly as he glared over at the Princess from their old land, then looked back at the machines to observe the readings. "If you're asking me if he's actually alive, then I would tell you yes. But if you're asking me if he's mentally alright, or going to stay alive, the truth is… I have no idea. Hook's vital signs are weak, alarmingly so. I'm amazed that you accomplished this to be honest."

While Emma kept her eyes on Killian as she sat in a chair as close to his bedside as she could be and held his one hand within her own, using her other hand to gently caress his face and run her fingers through his hair, being careful not to disturb the tube now running beneath his nose to help keep him breathing properly, she finally spoke again asking worryingly, "How much pain is he in? Is it why he passed out?"

The man looked down at her, then between her family and friends still with them in the room as if he couldn't believe their ignorance and responded, "He didn't just pass out, Miss. Swan. Your pirate Captain is comatose. You stabbed him through his chest with a sword, not to mention all of the rest of his wounds and the emotional torment he suffered through while in Hell. As for how much pain he's in, I can't even begin to imagine. I warned you of the consequences."

"Can't you do anything for him?" Robin asked nervously, concerned for his friend's welfare. "Anything at all?"

"I've already done all I can," Dr. Whale answered coldly as he started to leave the room again. "I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker."

Regina immediately called out to him, "Yeah, you're right about that! What a jerk. If we had any other doctor in town, I would fire his ass. Unfortunately, he's all we've got. Emma, you can try to heal him with your magic. I don't know how much can be healed, but…"

Emma closed her eyes and concentrated on only him as she ran her hands across his chest to try to heal the deep wound through his chest from when she stabbed him with Excalibur, and like she expected, she couldn't make it work. The sword had done its job as Regina had said when he died, but it still wouldn't be healed. The laceration along the left side of his neck was the same. They would both heal on their own over time, but the scars that will left behind would be a terrible reminder to him of his torture, something the Savior wished she could spare him from.

The brand upon his arm didn't vanish either so she finally moved on to the lash marks across his back as she gently lifted the upper half of his body up off the bed and held him against her with her father's help, being careful not to disturb the machines. The lesser of the gashes healed fairly easily, but the worst of them, did not. These were inflictions forced upon him by an immortal God. They weren't meant to be healed.

After everyone became silent and it remained that way for several minutes as they observed Emma with the man she loved, August finally turned to his friend's parents and the others as he said quietly, "I'm afraid that that's not the only bad news. Two nights ago, Hook's first mate, Smee, nearly succeeded in destroying his body."

"What!" the Queen asked in anger. "How is that even possible? My vault was protected by powerful magic and Hook's body was preserved."

"Yes, but before you guys left, Rumpelstiltskin threatened him into helping him to do this," the once puppet turned into a real boy replied in frustration. "He gave him some magic to help him. Thankfully, Leroy and Tinker Bell were able to catch him in time. The reason I'm bringing this up now, is that after we arrested him and put him in the cell next to Arthur, they both plotted an escape, which no one overheard. They're both gone now, somehow. We've been searching for them everywhere, but so far neither of them have turned up. We've got townsfolk posted down at the docks in case they try to steal a ship to get out. We've even got extra men near the Jolly Roger to keep it safe too. We won't give up. I promise."

After carefully laying Killian back down, Emma finally turned her head toward everyone's direction, though she still didn't look up at anyone as she responded sullenly, "Thank you, August."

Henry walked over and put his hand down on her shoulder as she turned back to Hook, then he stated, "Don't worry, Mom. They'll find them. There's only so many places they can hide and eventually they'll have to come out, for food and things. I'm going to go. I have something I need to do, but I'll check in with you soon. All right, Mom?"

"That's fine," she answered again as she finally looked up into her son's eyes, tears still within her own, and pulled his face close to kiss his cheek. "And thank you too, Henry. For everything, for being so brave and amazing down there."

"It's as I told you," he replied sincerely. "You both have done so much for me, for this town. It's about time we've all done something for the two of you for a change. Bye."

Regina watched him leave, then looked over at Robin and kissed him, after which she turned to look between Emma and her parents and spoke up saying, "If you don't mind, we're going to leave ourselves. The three of you ought to be the only ones with him for awhile."

Robin nodded in agreement, then added quickly, "But let us know if there are any changes, or if there's anything you need, even if it's food from Granny's. That's where we'll be headed I think. I'm starving. Exactly how long has it been since we've gone, anyway?"

"Only two days," Mother Superior responded as she and Tinker Bell started to leave as well.

"Two days?" David asked in surprise. "I suppose that makes since, but I swear there were times it felt like we down there much longer."

Mary Margaret shrugged and answered, "I suppose that's one of the tricks of the Underworld. Milah did say that Hook will have believed that he was trapped down there for years."

When the fairies and the dwarfs who had come with them down to the clinic all left the room as well, Regina looked back over at Emma and Killian remorsefully once again and then said softly, "We'll see you later then."

"Emma, would you like us to stay with you?" Mary Margaret asked sadly as she gently reached out to place her hand down on top of her daughter's. "Because, we will. There's no place we would rather be right now than with you and Killian. If there's anything you need…"

"I'm fine," the Savior replied curtly, though she didn't mean to sound ungrateful. "I'm sorry. I just mean that I don't need anything else right now except to be with him. But I would be grateful if you both stayed too. Not to talk. I just really could use your support."

David pulled her into a hug, while Mary Margaret put her arms around the both of them as Emma finally allowed herself to break down and cry as she had done the night that Killian died. Together, her parents held their daughter close for a long time. As it did every parent, it broke their hearts to see Emma in so much pain, so they didn't let her go, until she was ready for them to let her go.

Three days later…

Belle was busy cleaning things up within Gold's pawnshop late one afternoon when she heard the bell over the door ring and looked up from behind the counter to see Emma standing in the doorway, then slowly move toward her. Neither woman said a word for several moments, both being unsure of what to say.

Finally, Emma spoke first as she said, "I wanted to come by and say thank you, for what you did the other day. I can't even imagine how difficult it had to be for you, but…"

Belle cut her off as she responded, "It was the right thing to do. I'm just glad that I was able to get there in time to help. How is Killian doing?"

"There hasn't been any changes," Emma answered sadly. "But he's hanging on. That's what's important right now. How are you holding up?"

"I'm alright," the older woman replied sincerely. "Actually, I'm doing better than I thought I would be. Truthfully, I'm used to his lies and though it still hurts that he would willingly take the darkness back within himself after I gave my heart to him once again, after he was finally freed of it… It just goes to show that he is a wicked man whether he is the Dark One or just Rumpelstiltskin. I feel worse for his son, Baelfire. He did give his life to save his father after all."

Emma nodded and then asked, "How is it that you knew that Rumpelstiltskin was the Dark One again anyway. I threatened him that I would tell you, but I never got the chance to before we left for the Underworld."

Belle continued moving some things from beneath the counter onto the top as she responded, "I overheard people talking about what he had done at Granny's. They didn't know I was there. I didn't want to believe it then, but I went to Mother Superior to ask for her help to know the truth within my heart. I saw a vision of yours and Rumple's conversation the morning after Killian died, when he admitted to you the truth about him becoming that monster again. I knew that I had to do something to help you when you returned."

"So you searched this shop and found the box… Pandora's Box," Emma stated.

"Yes," she answered, then sneezed as dust entered her nose. "I knew it was here, but I didn't know where, so I enlisted Archie's and the Blue Fairy's help to help me find it. Now it's in your charge, to hold onto him until we can get another prison built to contain him. I've asked the dwarfs to build a cell much like the one Rumple told me about in the Enchanted Forest, the enchanted one your parents had him imprisoned in. The dwarfs will build it, and the fairies will enchant it so that he cannot escape. It's perhaps better than he deserves, but it is more humane than to leave him inside that cursed box for the rest of his life."

Emma smiled as she replied, "You're an amazing woman, Belle. I owe you a lot. Let me know if there's anything you need."

She nodded, then responded, "Just tell Killian when he wakes up that I am sorry for the pain I helped cause him. He's a good man, who didn't deserve anything my husband ever did to him."

"I will," the Savior answered with a nod and then turned to leave the shop. "And thank you again."

When Emma returned to the clinic within an hour after she left after going to see Belle, she found her son sitting at Hook's bedside while he read to him from his book of fairytales like she had seen him do for her father back when he had been in his own coma before the first curse over their town had been broken. She smiled and made his way over to them as she set down a bag of food from Granny's on the table beside them, then took her own seat, patted Henry's knee in gratitude, and took Killian's hand again as she continued to listen while he read some more.

"Wait a minute, that's not your book," she spoke up as she looked at Henry in confusion after a few minutes. "What book is that?"

"It is mine," he replied smugly. "I mean, it's one that I wrote."

Emma smiled as she understood and responded, "So, you decided to record the rest of our stories after all. But I thought you broke the quill, and this book looks just like the other ones."

Henry looked over at Hook sadly, then back at his mother as he answered, "I knew that I had to. I am the Author after all. So, I went to the Blue Fairy and the others to ask them if they could forge me a new quill, one that doesn't require light or dark blood to work, but that does basically the same thing Isaac's did. It writes in these fancy letters and illustrates the stories for me, which is good because I can't draw worth a damn."

"Henry, this is wonderful," his mother replied as she hugged him, then took the book from him to see what story it was that he was reading to the man she loved while he was still lying unconscious.

"It's from when Killian took me out on his ship for the first time and taught me how to sail," the young man responded, smiling at the memory. "He told me about my dad and the good times they had together a long time ago. He even told me of the rough times that came between them as well. It was back when I didn't have my memories of this place, but after the second curse was broken, I still remembered everything we did together. Hook's going to get better soon, Mom. I know it."

She smiled, then patted his cheek as she answered, "Thanks, kid."

Six weeks later…

Emma and David were sitting together inside a booth at Granny's diner eating lunch like they usually did, while Mary Margaret was at home putting baby Neal down for a nap and Henry was off somewhere with Regina. As they were getting ready to leave, August walked inside and took a seat beside Emma, waiting for his food order to be ready.

He was the first to start talking as he said, "It looks like we all had the same idea. I was on my way to my father's and thought it'd be nice to bring him something to eat while we work together on a few art projects, ones that are bit more advanced than the ones I made with him when I was a child."

"That sounds nice," David replied with a smile. "Tell Geppetto I said hello, and that we should all get together for dinner sometime soon."

"I'm sure he would like that," the younger man stated, then he looked over at Emma and saw the weariness in her face, knowing full well why. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"Yeah, well my dad encouraged me that it would be good to get out for a bit," she responded in frustration. "I know that he's right, but I hate leaving Killian down at the clinic alone."

August nodded and then asked, "So, how is he doing today? Have there been any signs of him getting better at all?"

Emma shook her head and was about to answer, when all of a sudden, Leroy came barging into the diner as he quickly looked around for Emma and called out to her saying, "You have to come now, sister. I just saw Hook awake and stumbling around outside, too far off in the distance for me to try to catch up to him, but he was heading down toward the pond. I sent the other dwarfs off to look for you wherever we thought you could be. Emma, he looked… confused and scared. I tried calling out to him…"

"Killian!" Emma simply cried as she ran from the table after August let her out of the booth, then he and David quickly ran after her.

"Hold the food, Granny!" August shouted to the old woman as she came out of the kitchen to see what was with the commotion. "I'll be back!"

By the time they found Hook, they saw that he was standing in the shallow water of the pond that was really the portal down to the Underworld and without thinking, Emma rushed down to him as she called out again, "Killian, stop!"

The pirate stood motionless, though he didn't make any more of an effort to leave the water as he slowly turned to look at the woman running toward him, but just as she reached him, Hook immediately pulled away from her in fear and stuttered weakly, "N… no, get back. You're not real… not Emma."

"You're wrong, Killian," she whispered sadly, tears falling down her face upon seeing the terror on his face upon realizing that he believed he was still trapped and being tormented down in the Underworld. "You're back home, and safe. It's really me. I'm real, and so are my father and August. We came down to that hell to save you."

"That's only what you want me to believe!" he shouted angrily as he suddenly gasped and fell back against the tree behind him in pain while clutching his chest, then Emma and David immediately took to his side and helped him all the way down to the ground. "I don't know… what's real!"

He still struggled to fight them off until he couldn't any longer as Emma continued, "I don't know what to say… How do I convince you that I'm really me?"

David had a thought, then he looked over at his daughter and answered, "Prove to him how much you love him. Share with him the precious moments that made you fall in love with him."

"You're right," she said sadly as she turned back to the man she truly did love, while Granny, Leroy and his brothers, and soon Mary Margaret with Neal in her arms, as well as Henry, Regina, and Robin, all appeared from not too far away as they watched the tragic scene happening before them. "Killian, back when we were in Neverland and I was just starting to get to know the real you, you told me that you would one day win my heart. Not through any trickery, but because I would want you. You encouraged me to not lose hope that I would save Henry, because you had yet to see me fail, at anything. You have no idea how much that meant to me, even though I didn't necessarily allow myself to believe it then."

"Please stop," Killian pleaded hopelessly as he weakly turned his head away from her so that he wouldn't have to look into her eyes any longer until Emma gently placed both of her hands on the sides of his face, seeing his own tears fall. "She wouldn't come… come for me. Not after… all I've done. I gave into the darkness… Killed her family and destroy… destroyed the… town, the people she… loved. I murdered…"

Emma shook her head and cried softly as she replied, "Shush… Please believe me, you didn't. Whatever Hades and the other souls down in the Underworld told you or showed you, Killian, they were all lies. You destroyed only the darkness. You defeated the Dark Ones and sacrificed your life to save us all. When you followed me to the past after I fell through Zelena's time portal, you made sure that I never gave up on myself or on my family. And it was that night, after we made it back home, that you told me you gave up your ship for me, that I first realized you were the kind of man I could be with. When I felt like my parents betrayed me, you refused to let me give up on them and made me realize that I didn't want to live without them in my life."

She paused as she turned to her father, then back to her mother, both of whom nodded and encouraged her to keep going, then finally she looked at Killian again and continued, "You revealed to me your fear of falling back into the darkness and of losing your own happy ending, because you were once a villain. And when you told me that your happy ending was me, it was in that moment that I knew I was in love with you too, like you were with me. You gave your life to save me and Henry when you didn't know me at all while we were trapped in the Author's book, trusted me wholeheartedly when there was no reason for you to, other than because I asked you to. You once told me, all sins can be forgiven, when someone loves you. And I do love you, Killian! I forgive you. Please, I don't know what more I can say to convince you I'm really me, except…"

"Come back to me," she whispered as she puts her lips to his and began to kiss him with as much love as she had within her, revealing true love's kiss as a burst of magic shot out from within them as if some sort of spell or curse on them had been broken.

"Emma?" Killian murmured in disbelief upon waking from his haze and finding that she truly was sitting there right in front of him, that he had really been saved from the Underworld as she promised him he had been. "You really came… for me?"

Through her tears, she laughed and leaned in to kiss him again, then David softly put his hand down on his shoulder as he responded, "We all did. You gave your life to save us all despite the darkness inside of you, Hook… Killian Jones. You may be a pirate, but I have never been happier to have been proven wrong about a person in my life. You really do deserve to love our daughter and she you."

Together, David, Emma, and August all helped him to stand as they gently started walking with him toward the others nearby, then August asked, "Exactly what were you thinking when you came here by the way?"

"I'm not really sure… sure, mate," Hook answered faintly, stumbling until the strong hands lifted him back up, then he suddenly realized where it was they were. "I suppose I was going ba… back to where I thought I destroyed… everything I worked so hard to fight for."

"Rest easy, my friend," Robin replied happily. "You're safe again, and alive. We truly will have a reason to celebrate tonight."

Regina smiled coolly at him as she responded, "Yes, welcome back, Guyliner; Killian. It was an incredibly brave thing you did, for all of us. I'm sorry for the terrible things I said to you that night."

Mary Margaret reached out to hug him with one arm as she quickly added, "Welcome back! We're so glad you're home. And thank you, so much for everything you did for us, to save us."

"Aye, but if it weren't for my weakness…" he responded, suddenly looking ashamed again. "None of you… would have been placed in dang… danger in the first place."

"You need to stop beating yourself up about all of that," Emma answered. "If anyone is to blame for the things that happened to us all since I became the Dark One, it's me. I was the one who made you the very monster you hated for so long and were afraid of. The monster you begged me not to turn you into. It may have been for love, but it was still selfish, and wrong. I will never forgive myself for that."

Hook looked over at the woman he loved again while she continued to walk alongside of him and then replied, "If I am to forgive… myself, love, you first must for… forgive yourself as well. How is it I am alive, other than you coming down… to free my soul?"

Emma smiled as she reached over to touch her hand to his chest as she responded, "I gave you half of my heart, as my mother did for my father."

"You really should have seen Mom down there," Henry spoke up saying excitedly. "She was amazing and she totally kicked Hades' butt. Don't worry though, I'm currently working on writing it all down. I'll show you my book when it's all finished."

"You, wrote a book?" Killian asked as he looked at the boy in front of him as they finally arrived back in town where they could find a place to set him down to rest.

The young man smiled and answered, "Of course! And it's about all of our adventures."

Four nights later…

Both Killian and Emma were lying in their bed together asleep inside the home he had chosen for them, though the truth was that he barely slept, while nightmares constantly plagued his dreams, some worse than others as he would wake up in cold sweats or even screaming from his torture, believing that he was never rescued after all.

This night was no different and the moment that Emma wrapped her arms around him from behind, after he stood from the bed and walked down into the living room where the telescope she had set up for him to see the ocean was, he reached up to touch her hand that was over his chest and whispered, "Forgive me, love. I didn't mean to wake you, again."

"You have no need to apologize, Killian," she replied sadly. "I thought I told you that? I really wish you would let me take you back to the clinic, not that I don't love having you lying beside me every night. It's just that you're still in so much pain and surely Archie can give you something to help you sleep."

"No, as much as I would like to sleep again, as much pain as I might feel, I feel safer here, with you at my side," Killian responded as he turned around to look at her. "Anyway, I don't know what kind of patient I would be for your good doctor, the cricket."

Emma smiled and answered, "His name is Archie Hopper and yes, he used to be Jiminy Cricket, but I promise you he is a good therapist. I know that you're a survivor. However, talking to him would do you some good."

He looked into her eyes and saw her plea, then he replied, "All right, Swan. If that is what you wish of me."

"Good," she stated happily and kissed him. "Now, seeing as there will be no more sleep for either of us tonight, we can get back to discussing our wedding."

"I don't understand," the pirate responded as he looked at her again in confusion. "I don't recall…"

Emma held up her left hand that had his ring over her finger as she interrupted, "I know that you didn't exactly propose to me that day in Camelot when you gave me your brother's ring, but… I knew then that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, Killian. And I could feel that you felt the same way. Now that we share a heart, I can feel it even more so."

He looked at the woman he loved more than life itself for a moment out of fear, that this was no more than another nightmare as he asked, "Emma, are you certain you really want to spend the rest of your life, with me?"

"You know me better than anyone," she answered sincerely. "You know that I would never even consider this, if I wasn't one hundred percent certain that this is what I want. And I do want it. Besides, how many people do you think I would chase after into the Underworld for?"

"Then, I happily accept your grand proposal and wish to marry whenever your heart desires," Killian said as he leaned down to kiss her once again and continued doing so as they passionately made their way back upstairs to their bed so that they could make love for their first time since that day in Camelot after he had taken her horseback riding to help her dismiss the demons in her head. "I will love you for my whole life and well into the next, no matter where that may be, Emma Swan."

After a few weeks, the dwarfs completed the prison and once the enchantment took hold, Emma, Hook, and Belle were there to release Rumpelstiltskin from Pandora's Box while standing with the cell so he wouldn't be able to escape, no matter how he tried. The heroes had won out over the villain at last, though he vowed he would one day escape. They didn't doubt him, but they didn't allow his words ruin their happiness either. Everything was as it should be in Storybrooke at last.

The Savior and her pirate married a month later at the toll bridge within the woods, where with some help from Regina and the fairies, dozens of middlemist flowers surrounded them, grown from the very blossom Killian had given Emma in Camelot. Most of the town turned out for the occasion, a ball at Emma's request. And they all lived happily ever after… for now.

The End