Oh Rumple... what are you doing?!
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The minute he appeared to the boys they formed a loose circle around him, Devin instantly stepped forward showing no sign of fear and sneered.
"What do you want Dark One?"
"I have a proposition for you" Rumple replied as he stood wearing a relaxed smile, he was not worried in the slightest as the boy glared at him.
"Not interested" Devin barked back "You killed Peter. There is nothing that you could offer that we would want"
Rumpled smirked taking a deliberate step forward, the other boys backed off slightly but not Devin, Devin actually stepped forward... Rumple liked this boy.
"See now, you say that but you have not yet heard what I have to say"
Devin glared harder but after giving the others a quick glace he spat out "Talk Dark One"
"How would you boys like to go home?"
"We have no home, you and those heroes saw to that" one of the other boys suddenly shouted but he was silenced when Devin raised a hand all the while never taking his eyes from Rumple, there was a glint of understanding there, Rumple could see it.
"To Neverland?" he asked tilting his head like a predatory bird
"To Neverland" Rumple agreed with a knowing smile.
The boy narrowed his eyes but suddenly seemed more interested "How?"
"By using a magic bean of course" Rumple replied digging the last bean that he owned out of his vest pocket.
Rumple had been saving the bean for a rainy day and today it was pouring. He had very nearly given it up when Greg and Tamara had taken Henry through that portal but he had been saved the trouble when Hook had returned, something that Rumple laughed at now. The Pirate had returned with the bean and joined the side of good putting "an end" to their long feud, a feud that both knew would never truly be over and now Rumple would use his bean to hurt Hook in the best way possible... he would never see it coming.
Rumple held the bean up so that the boys could see it clearly, Devin stepped forward and made to take it.
"Ah ah ah" Rumple chimed putting it back in his pocket and patting it gently "It was a proposition I came with not a gift. Are you ready to make a deal Devin?"
The boy's face split into a wide Grin "Name your price Crocodile"
Rumple growled at the use of his moniker, that Pirate had a lot to answer for but Hook would suffer all too soon if this worked out how he planned.
"I need you to find something for me?" Rumple stated as he started pacing forward swinging his cane jauntily as he went.
"Find what?" Devin asked parrying Rumple's steps
"A simple gem stone and fortunately for you it shouldn't take you too long to find it because I know roughly where it is?"
"And you'll send us back to Neverland for that?! What's the catch?"
"No catch, in fact I think you may actually enjoy this" Rumple stopped and grinned at the boy "You want revenge on our dear Captain don't you?"
Devin practically growled "More than you will ever know"
"Well what if I told you that once you have found my gem that I will give you your ultimate revenge. I can give you not just one but two new members for your little crew. One will be a boy of no consequence but the other will cause the good Captain no end of pain when he leaves with you..."
Devin scoffed folding his arms "Henry?! We do NOT want that boy, HE is not a Lost Boy"
"No no no" Rumple replied shaking his head "That could never happen but a new member of the Jones family has just arrived in Storybrooke and I have a feeling that he would fit right into your little band."
Devin gave a feral grin and raised an eyebrow "Now that does sound interesting but I am not quite ready to deal just yet"
Rumple raised his own eyebrow "Alright, I am listening but do not push your luck boy, I could easily MAKE you do this and save myself a bean"
"I want my whole crew back... I want Tootles and I want Rapha too. Those boys need to remember where they came from, they need to be taught a lesson or two."
"Well I see no issue with that. I trust that I can leave the finer details to you to sort out just make sure that you are not seen by ANYONE. If you are seen and you give away my plan you will learn all too quickly what the Dark One is capable of, do you hear me?"
"We managed to stay unseen for months, another short while will be no problem" Devin finally said straightening up and holding out his hand to Rumple.
As Rumple took the boy's hand and gave it one quick shake the boy declared "Deal" and Rumple grinned.
"I also have something else for you... just for fun" Rumple said with a wicked smile
He pulled out a simple gold charm that was on a long string loop of leather and held it out to Devin, the boy reached out and took it with a cautious hand.
"What is it?"
"This is your ticket to torment a mutual friend of ours... you see boy this particular charm allows the wearer to move around totally unnoticed. You could walk straight into a packed room full of people and no one would notice you. Just pull the lace over your head and it's magic will take effect"
"It makes me invisible?" Devin exclaimed holding the charm up
"Not really but perhaps it could be perceived that way. What actually happens is that you simply just go unnoticed. You are perfectly visible but no one is interested in what you are doing or why you are there. I am sure you could use it to your advantage of an evening while you work on our little project but it only works for the wearer so I will again reiterate to you, do not let yourself be seen. I have ensured that the guards will not miss you so do not mess this up."
Devin gave a low bow and looked up at Rumple through his lashes "Whatever you say Dark One, whatever you say"
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Killian gasped in a breath as his eyes flew open, he had just enough time to register that David was standing by his side before something hit his face with a soft thwump.
"Here, I brought you these" David said as Killian pulled a pair of his own pajama pants form his face "I figured you'd need them once Whale's been in and you need to get outta bed to pee again. I also brought your iPad, figured you might want to listen to some music. You know, just in case..."
"Thanks" Killian replied as David put the iPad down on the cabinet by the bed "Where is everyone?"
"I took Mary-Margaret and the Kid home, Junior was just about ready to climb the walls so Mary-Margaret said that she would change his clothes and pack a few things before dropping him off at Regina's."
"And Emma?" Killian asked adjusting his bed a bit
"Showering" David replied flopping into the chair "I'm beat... you are hard work"
"Me? What did I do?" Killian asked in confusion
"You managed to clone yourself into a five year old... Were you always so... so..."
"Energetic?" Killian chuckled but then turned serious "Used to get me into all kinds of trouble with the Captain. He hated me but while my Father was still on board he mostly let me be but once my Father left... well you know what happened, you heard what the Lad said"
"I won't even pretend to know what you went through back then" David said leaning forward in his seat
"It was all so long ago for me but since the Lad has arrived I keep getting snippets of it in my head... I assume it is the same for the boy with what I experienced with those damned Lost Ones"
Killian felt sick to his stomach every time he thought of Junior seeing what was going on inside his head, to everyone else Killian could pull on a fake smile and they would all believe that he was OK, Junior knew better.
David looked like he was about to get into another deep and meaningful conversation but Killian was not up for that so he changed the subject quickly.
"Can you pass me a drink please Mate?"
"Yeah, no problem. Do you want water or I brought you some sports drinks?"
Something flashed through Killian's brain, someone was helping him drink from a bottle... who was it? Was it in the cave?
"Hook?"
David's worried voice made Killian realize that he'd closed his eyes, he shook his head to try and clear it before looking back at the Prince.
"Water will be fine... that other stuff is too sweet"
"What were you thinking just then? You looked lost for a minute" David asked as he held out the cup of water
"Thanks" Killian said before gulping the water down quickly, he really had been thirsty "I had a flashback I think, my head is so damned muddled I don't know what is real and what is not"
"What did you see?" David asked taking the cup back then sitting back down
Killian closed his eyes again and concentrated hard, he could see the bottle being held up and he remembered the tangy taste, why had the person given it to him? Suddenly an image of Regina popped into his head, she was holding out pills to him. She had been there, that's right, he'd remembered that earlier... why had he forgotten again?
"It was Regina" he gasped out opening his eyes
"What was?"
"Sorry, the flashback was of someone helping me in the cave. It was Regina, she gave me some pain pills and helped me drink some of Henry's sports drink"
"Right... she said she had been there." David mused but then suddenly stood quickly and gasped "Wait. Regina gave you some of her pills?"
"Aye" Killian replied "What of it?"
"I think we've just discovered how you managed to overdose... Regina gave you pills and Whale gave you more meds when you arrived, they must have interacted with each other. Well at least that explains that, I think Whale will be happy, he seemed just about ready to sack his entire team"
"I'm still a bit hazy on why Regina was there in the first place" Killian suddenly said with a frown
"Yeah but I not only want to know why I also want to know how!" David chewed his lip as he thought it over
"Do you think that maybe her magic took her there? I mean she managed to heal herself in her sleep, perhaps she materialized without thought" Killian suddenly said, it was the only thing that he could think of that made sense, how else would she get there?
"Maybe" David said then he sighed and dropped back down into the seat "I'm too tired to worry about it right now and I suppose it doesn't really anymore."
"What doesn't matter?" Emma suddenly asked coming back into the room while drying her hair on a towel.
She walked straight across to the bed and dropped a kiss onto Killian's lips then looked at him waiting for an answer but the door opened and Whale bustled in.
"You ready to try getting out of that bed?"
"Aye" Killian replied straight away.
"I see you're already prepared" Whale chuckled and Killian was confused until he remembered the pajamas that David had thrown at him but before he had a chance to speak David butted in.
"Yeah, I thought that it would be a better option than one of those gowns... you never know who's hanging around taking photos of your ass when it's hanging out the back!"
Killian laughed hard which turned out to be a mistake as he was left gasping against the pain in his ribs, Swan was quick to come to his aid and while he tried to ease the pain he could hear David explaining about the medication that Regina had given him back in that cave.
"Well that explains a lot. At least now I can stop grilling my staff... in fact I may owe a few apologies"
Killian watched as Whale lent what he suspected was some form of crutch against the bed before washing his hands and pulling on a pair of blue gloves, this part Killian was not looking forward too but if he was to get out of bed he would need ALL his lines removed.
Fifteen minutes later he found himself panting harshly on the bed once more after he had been helped into the pajama pants.
"We don't need to do this today" Whale said with a sigh "Emma told me you had another attack, why not let yourself rest? I can have a bed pan brought in for tonight"
"Not bloody likely Mate" Killian grit out through clenched teeth "That will only mean staying here longer and right now that is not an option. We need to get the boy settled into his new home as soon as possible so pass me that damned crutch and help me up"
The pain was nearly unbearable as Killian was pulled up onto his feet but he just clamped his mouth shut grinding his teeth. He could feel his jaw clicking, something that it sometimes did now after it had been broken but again he just ignored it as Whale lifted the crutch and Killian slid his hand through the circular part that ended up around his upper arm.
"I thought you'd maybe get on better with this forearm crutch. With this once you are confident on your feet you will be able to let go of the crutch and it won't fall to the floor, it will make opening doors and such things a lot easier."
Killian didn't reply, he was too busy trying not to fall on his ass but eventually he was finally stable enough to consider moving and gave a nod of consent.
"Normally I'd tell you to lead off with your bad leg but I think you should maybe lead off with your right one, that hip of yours has to hurt and I don't want to put more pressure on it than need be so with the crutch on that side too I think it might be best. Now just be careful to make sure your foot is flat on the floor before moving your other leg and lean on the crutch as you move. The cast has a rubber sole for walking on attached so it won't slip, you should be fine." Whale explained as he gripped hold of Killian's left arm tightly
David and Swan stepped back but Killian could feel them watching him and knew that they were ready to jump forward to help if he needed them so he took his first tentative step.
"Nnnnnnnngggggggg" he ground out as his hip flared, his vision went white for a split second and someone's hand came down on his lower back to support him.
"Keep breathing" Whale said casually "If you don't breathe you'll make it worse"
Killian sucked in huge lungfuls as he readied himself to take the next step which proved to be just as painful as the first but as he carried on each step got a little easier and before too long he found himself on the other side of the room. He slowly managed to maneuver himself around and headed back towards the bed. He wanted to give Swan a smile but it was just too painful and his jaw was beginning to pulse too with the pressure he was putting on it by clenching his teeth.
"Let's get you back in bed" David said in a concerned voice as he finally made his way back over but Killian shook his head knowing he wouldn't make it that far instead choosing to hobble his way towards the chair where he practically fell into it with a groan but the crutch got caught on something and he ended up sitting with his hand still caught up in the damned thing.
The pain was so bad now that Killian actually gave a couple of dry heaves as waves of nausea overtook him. His ribs were on fire but Swan was by his side, she removed the crutch and let it fall to the floor before kneeling by him soothing him through the worst of the pain. After a few minutes she held out a cup of water to him and he drank it down quickly before sitting back as his chest heaved in and out.
"That... was...fun" he chuckled grasping his hand to his ribs
"That's one word for it" Whale said quickly coming over picking up the crutch from the floor and leaning it against the wall "You ready for your meds?"
Killian just gave a nod, he was really tired and now that the nausea had passed he knew that he would be sleeping as soon as he got back into the bed. He looked at Whale as the Doc went to the bed and sorted the blankets so that it would be easier to get him back in. Killian chose this moment to inform the man of his plan, if he didn't like it Killian didn't care.
"Now that you have seen that I can manage I am informing you that I am leaving here tomorrow"
"WHAT?! Are you crazy?" Whale blurted out turning quickly to look at him.
"Not according to a good friend of mine" Killian chuckled back looking quickly to David before looking back at Whale again "I need to leave Doc, I will be just fine. Once I am below deck on the Jolly it is all on one level, it is no worse than here"
Whale just sighed and rolled his eyes "Nothing I say is going to change your mind is it?"
"I appreciate what you have done Whale but I need to do what is best for the boy and right now he needs his family all under one roof"
"Fine" Whale sighed again before mumbling "I guess I can do some house calls... I mean it's not like I've got a life outside of here or anything is it?"
"That's lucky then isn't it" David suddenly said with a laugh as he came to Killian's side "You ready to get back in bed now?"
"Aye"
It was tough and very painful but as soon as Killian was in the bed Whale swooped in on him and before he knew it his eyelids were growing heavy as his medication took hold, he gave a yawn but when Emma took up his hand he couldn't help opening his eyes and giving her a smirk.
"Hello beautiful" he muttered as sleep tried to take him
"Go to sleep Killian" she whispered stroking the hair from his forehead before dropping a kiss onto his cheek "Sweet dreams"