OK, so we have caught up with what I have already typed up so updates may not be as regular from now on and I will warn you now there won't be one tomorrow. I have a meeting to attend to organize some fund raising events for Cancer Research so as you will appreciate it is important stuff but I should be back on Thursday so hang tight.
As always please review.
Emma sat forward on her chair slightly as Blue walked across the room with a small smile on her face.
"How is he?" Blue asked gently as she came to a stop and looked down at Killian who was still sleeping soundly.
"He's doing OK considering, this must be so much for him to take in" Emma replied with a sigh as she stood and stepped forward stroking Killian's hair from his face.
"Then let me see what I can do to help" Blue said with a kind smile.
Emma watched as Blue stepped forward and just like Gold had done before her the Fairy held her hands just above Killian's chest and a soft white light suddenly appeared but this time Killian just kept sleeping. Blue's brow furrowed and she closed her eyes with a look of total concentration on her face before the light disappeared. The Fairy stepped back but still looked confused, she looked at Emma and raised her hands again.
"May I?" she suddenly said indicating that she wanted to do the same to her.
Emma nodded, if it helped she was willing to try anything, the sensation was strange to say the least but it was over in seconds and Blue stepped back.
"Well?" Emma asked urgently when Blue didn't speak straight away.
"I am sorry, it is as the Dark One said. This boy IS Killian Jones but he is not the same Killian Jones that you once knew, this boy has no future mapped out for him already, his future is a clean slate and as for your magic, there is no trace of it, I'm sorry"
"What does all this mean for Killian, our Killian... Hook what does this mean for Hook?" David asked stepping up
"I'm sorry" Blue replied with sorrow filled eyes
"I don't understand" Emma cried out turning back to the bed with tears in her eyes "So what you're saying is that Hook is gone, we can never change this boy back into Hook"
Blue just gave a slight nod of her head but it was enough for the tears to fall, she really had lost him, he was gone and he was never coming back. She felt her Dad tug her into his arms and she fell into his embrace willingly, hiding her face in his shirt. Her heart physically ached as she gave into her grief once more, how could this be happening?
"It's OK. I've got you" David whispered into her ear but things would never be OK again, her life would never be the same... Hook was gone
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Blue just gave David a slight bow of her head before she turned away and walked from the room, the lump in David's throat was almost too much to bear and he could feel the tears building in his own eyes as Emma kept on crying He was fighting hard not to let them fall wanting to be strong for his daughter but a few minutes later when Henry and Mary-Margaret came back into the room he couldn't help it. As he tried to form words to tell them the news the tears freely fell down his cheeks as Emma's heart wrenching sobs suddenly got louder.
She suddenly pulled back and pushed him away scrubbing at her face and stammering "I can't... I just can't" before rushing out the door.
David moved to go after her but Mary-Margaret beat him too it and he was left standing with Henry who looked totally shell shocked, cheeks streaked with his own tears.
"Is he really gone?" his small voice sounded out breaking the silence
David couldn't answer he just pulled Henry into his arms and hugged him tightly. They stayed like that for a while neither one wanting to break the hug but when Killian stirred on the bed Henry suddenly pulled back and looked up at David's face with a smile
"He'll never be fully gone though will he? We still have a bit of him here"
David ruffled his hair "Right kid"
"Why are you crying?" Killian suddenly asked with a worried face.
David sighed and walked over to the his bedside sliding himself onto the edge of the mattress "It's OK, it's nothing for you to worry about, we just got some bad news about a friend of ours."
"What friend?" Killian asked pulling himself up to sit on the bed "What happened?"
How could he explain this? David just hung his head trying to think but Henry suddenly pulled himself up onto the bed and lent back on the pillows next to Killian. The boy lent into Henry's side as he spoke to him in a calm tone.
"His name was Killian too" Henry started with a sigh "He was kinda like my Dad, my Mom... Emma, was going to be marrying him"
"What happened to him?" Killian asked in a small voice
"We don't really know we just know that he is gone and he's not coming back" David supplied when Henry looked a bit lost for words
"What was he like?"
With that question Henry's face split into a smile "He was awesome, he was like the best ever. He was a Pirate, it's his ship that me and Mom stay on. Just you wait until you see it"
"Is it cool?" Killian asked with a twinkle in his eye
"It's really cool" Henry answered with a chuckle before frowning and sitting himself up slightly to rummage in his back pocket to pull out his cell. "Here, I've got some photos"
"Photos?" another confused frown
"It's easier to show you, look" Henry held up the cell so that Killian could see the photo of the Jolly Roger.
"She is beautiful" Killian cried reaching forward tentatively to touch the screen "What is this?"
"It's a cell phone, I'll explain it later but hang on, I've got a few photos from inside the Jolly too" Henry started flicking through the pictures on the phone and David gave a smile at the look of utter bemusement on the Kid's face but Killian suddenly put his hand out stopping Henry
"Who is that?" he gasped
Henry looked at Killian strangely then answered "That's Killian, our Killian... the Pirate"
"Did he die?" the kid suddenly asked and again David supplied the answer to save Henry.
"He just disappeared Kid, we don't know where he went"
"Did he not get out?" Killian asked tears pricking his eyes
"Did he not get out of where?" David asked, now it was his turn to be confused
"Of the cave" Killian sniffed
"What do you mean? You saw him in the cave?" David sat up straighter as Killian nodded.
"He tried to save me, he pulled me into his arms but then the rocks fell down on us and I got knocked to the ground. I never saw him after that, did he die trying to help me?"
The answers slammed into David like a physical blow, this boy wasn't THEIR Killian and he never had been. THAT was why he couldn't be turned back, he was never him in the first place! The whole two heartbeats, the kid having phantom pains for injuries he didn't have, the panic attack.
God...Hook was alive!
Alive and still in that cave all by himself...hurt!
David jumped up to his feet eyes wide in panic "HENRY..."
"Go Grandpa... I'll stay here with Killian. Just go and get him" Henry cried out and David was running for the door before his Grandson had even finished his sentence grabbing his cell as he went, he needed help and he knew just the Savior that fitted the bill
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"I think you've hit your head Majesty, just sit still" Killian grit out through clenched teeth as he tried to pull himself up, he still felt shaky and he could hear that damn Lost One's voice echoing in his head but Regina needed his help, she must be really hurt to just be coming round now.
"What? No... well yes but that's not the point" Regina was suddenly crawling her way over to his side "There are two of you, that's why no one has come looking for you. We all got out just after the cave collapsed...
"Everyone... you all got out?" Killian suddenly gasped grasping hold of her arm.
"They're all safe don't worry, even the other version of you... although I would say that he is maybe just a bit cuter than you are" Regina raised an eyebrow and chuckled before adding "I swear I will explain everything later but right now we need to get out of here before Gold comes back"
"Gold?" Killian frowned up at her, he was so confused, what the hell was going on? "Gold has not been here"
"I beg to differ... have you had a visit from Devin recently"
Just the mention of the Lost One's name had Killian's world narrowing again, he tipped his head back with a whine as his breathing picked up again. His hearing was dipping out in seconds causing Regina's voice to keep disappearing to be replaced with Devin's.
Killian tried to concentrate, tried to focus. He knew couldn't take another attack... not now... not so soon after the last one.
"KILLIAN" Regina screamed and something in her worried voice let him latch onto her, her face was above his, she was talking but he couldn't hear anything other than his own heartbeat anymore. He focused hard on her lips trying to figure out what she was saying and when her hand came down to the side of his face in comfort she finally got through.
"Breathe with me you infernal Pirate, don't you dare let Gold do this to you"
His chest hitched and lurched as he tried to follow her instructions and bit by bit he managed to calm himself but he was beyond exhausted now. As his senses slowly came back into focus his whole body stared shaking sending bolts of agony through him and he couldn't hold back the pained gasps that kept escaping him.
"Hook?"
"M-m-m f-f-fine" he stammered
"Oh yes, I can see that" Regina replied voice thick with sarcasm "Are we done with the whole freak show now? We still need to get out of here"
"C-c-can't, t-t-tid-de is in" he could hear the waves rapidly approaching the narrow entrance, they wouldn't be able to get out that way for a good few hours.
"Well we'll just need to find another way then won't we?" Regina barked back but her hand was stroking up and down his arm in comfort, he must look bad if the former Evil Queen was worried about him. He didn't have time to think about it as she was suddenly tugging him into a sitting position "Come on Pirate, we need to move"
He tried, he really did but in no time at all he was falling back onto the ground in a boneless heap practically hyperventilating into the sand because the pain was so bad. His legs just wouldn't work no matter how much he willed them too, his head hurt, his back hurt... everything hurt, it was just no use.
"Leave me" he gasped out closing his eyes
"Not if I can help it" Regina snarled as she tried to get him back up but his vision was fading now and he had gone completely limp "Please Love, get yourself out"
Everything went quiet as he lay there shaking still unable to do anything for himself. Had she gone? He peeked open an eye to see her still kneeing by his side with her phone clasped in her hand.
"Damn it, no signal" she grit out and jammed it back into her pocket but when she noticed him looking at her she gasped and scooted forward "You're awake"
Had he passed out?!
"You once told me" he gulped a few breaths trying to steady himself before carrying on "If I ever got fed up hobbling around like an old man that you could fix me... "
He gave her a tired smile hoping that it would be done quickly but she didn't smile back in fact she looked devastated.
"Oh Hook, I wish more than anything that I could but I can't... I lost my magic to that damned gem"
He just gave a sigh, of course she had... that was just his luck but when he looked back at Regina he could see the tortured look on her face so he just smiled at her again "No matter Love, I will be fine soon enough, you'll see to it, I know it."
He watched Regina closely as she gave him a watery smile but then she gasped and was rummaging in her pocket again pulling out what looked like a bottle of pain pills before diving into Henry's backpack and coming out with a bottle of energy drink that the Lad liked to drink while hiking.
"They're not much but maybe they'll help"
She came around behind him and hoisted him up so that he leaning back against her legs as she knelt behind him, it pulled on his ribs but he didn't say anything he just accepted the pills when she held them up to his mouth then drank deeply from the bottle washing them down but by the time he had finished he was panting again.
"You OK?" she asked him after she managed to lie him back down, he just gave a jerky nod, his voice would have given away the fact that he wasn't, they both remained silent for a while as Killian tried to sort himself out, she knew that he was struggling but she didn't push him and he was grateful.
"We need to get out of here damn it" she suddenly burst out "I need to get you help and I need to stop Gold before he does something really stupid"
"What has any of this got to do with the Crocodile?" Killian croaked out
Regina sighed once again rummaging in her pocket but this time she didn't pull out her phone she pulled out something small and round, she held it up between her fingers and when Killian's eyes focused on it he realized that it was another gem stone, slightly different to the other one but definitely similar enough for Killian to know that they were a pair.
"This has EVERYTHING to do with your Crocodile and when he realizes that I took this he is going to be pissed."
Killian craned his neck again and glanced at the pool "The other gem is..."
"DO NOT TELL ME WHERE IT IS" Regina screamed clamping her hands to her ears "Look, I now know what that gem is and believe me if I had known before we would NEVER have been using it for a treasure hunt. I don't have time to explain fully right now but I cannot know where the other gem is, it is bad enough that I know that it is in here somewhere, I can feel this one trying to join with it's other half and believe me when I say that we do NOT want that to happen."
With that she stood brushing the sand from her knees then she marched off towards the cave entrance chatting to him as she went.
"There has to be some other way out, from the direction that the cave comes inland I am pretty sure that we must be close to the mines, maybe there is a way of getting from here to the tunnels"
Killian pondered her point and realized quickly that she was right.
"There is a light somewhere on the ground, I had it earlier" he grit out trying to move so he could see better
"Got it" Regina called "Not much battery life left but it will do"
He watched as she shone the light across the walls and as it flashed across the section just above the pool Killian's heart leapt.
"Stop... back that way" he gasped trying to move himself forward again managing to claw his way back across to the pool, the pills seemed to be helping. "Shine the light back that way love, where the water comes through the rocks"
The light dipped and as it settled he could see a hole in the cave wall, it was small but big enough for someone to squeeze through. Regina didn't hesitate she just kicked off her shoes and waded into the water, Killian briefly held his breath as she went past the area where the gem lay but when she just kept walking with no reaction he sighed a sigh of relief.
"I can see the tunnels up ahead, it's a tight fit but I think I can get through" she turned quickly looking over her shoulder "I promise I will send help as soon as I can, just hang tight... "
With that she was gone, she clawed her way through the hole and disappeared from view leaving him all alone once more but at least this time he knew that help would be coming soon.