Hidden Treasures Chapter 77, an once upon a time fanfic

Today's update for you my dears.

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Rumple found himself just walking... he had no idea how he ended up in the park but he had and now he was sitting just watching the ducks on the pond.

What was he doing?

The Dark One doesn't watch ducks!

And yet here he was and for the life of him he couldn't find it in himself to move as he thought back to what had happened in that clearing. He took a gulping breath as the image of Belle being caught up in that damned portal came into his mind, it played out for a few second as the look of horror on her face drilled into his brain. Then it faded only to be replaced by another image except this time it wasn't Belle's face that looked terrified as the portal swirled around her, this time it was Baelfire. It was the same image that had haunted him for centuries... his boy's face screaming at him just before he was sucked out of Rumple's life for what seemed like forever.

He dropped his head into his hands.

What had he done?

In trying to make his life with Belle better he had so very nearly lost her. He had made EXACTLY the same mistakes that he had made all those years ago when he had lost Bae. He had lost sight of the fact that Belle loved him... that should have been enough for him and yet it never was.

Why?

But he knew why, deep in his heart he could feel it... the darkness within... the beast.

It would never be satisfied.

"I have let you down Bae... I tried to be a better man and I nearly lost her" he whispered

"Nothing new there Papa" he imagined his boy answering but then the image in his head smiled and chuckled "So change how this ends, you don't need to carry on down this path. What are you going to do to fix this? You know what needs to be done and as Emma told you, you are the master of loopholes... so the question is. How are you going to save Hook? He saved Belle, Papa... you owe him"

Rumple snarled "Why did it have to be him Bae? It could have been anybody else but him!"

"Dramatic irony" Bae's voice laughed out as Rumble opened his eyes

"Yes, fate certainly has a very strange sense of humor" he grumbled pulling himself to his feet. He gave the ducks one last glance, pulled in a breath sighing it out in a long exhalation before heading back into town.

He had a loophole to find... along with his dagger!

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Belle had left when her Mom had arrived then Regina and Henry had left too taking Neal with them but Emma wasn't interested in anything other than the tiny little boy that was missing from her side. Whale had taken him to surgery to try and fix his leg, the kid had still been losing blood by the bucket load and the last Emma had seen of him was nearly three hours ago. Now she just sat staring at the chain that she held in her hand while she played with the small ring that was attached to it. She had held it, kept it safe once before and now she was doing it again only this time it was for a different Killian Jones but the pain was the same... the worry deep inside her felt too real... she couldn't lose him.

She glanced up when a door down the corridor opened but it was only an orderly so she went back to fiddling with the chain.

"Do you want a drink?" Mary-Margaret asked sliding her hand across Emma's back

She was about to say no but when she looked up at her Mom she could see that she had been crying and Emma realized that she was just trying to keep busy so she gave a little smile "Sure, thanks Mom"

Mary-Margaret bustled her way over to the vending machine but she never even got a chance to start feeding the coins in when Whale came around the corner surprising them. Emma jumped up to her feet to rush over but Whale raised his hand stopping her in her tracks.

"Sit down Miss Swan. You can't go to him just yet, he is being settled at the minute. Don't worry I'll take you there as soon as we are done here but they just need a few more minutes"

"How is he?" Emma asked desperately as she sat back down on the edge of her seat and her Mom dropped down into the one next to her.

"He's fine" he said with a smile "We stopped the bleeding and managed to suture the wound closed, it's not exactly neat but it should heal well. We did x-rays too and they all came back clear so once he is able to get about on some crutches which he'll probably need to use for a few weeks he can go home, he should only be here a couple of days. He's young, he'll bounce back, kids always do."

Emma let out a huge breath which caught and turned into a sob, before she knew it her Mom had thrown her arms around her and had her pulled into a hug.

"He'll be fine Emma"

"I know" she sobbed back but the tears were not just for Junior and they all knew that.

"I'm just going to check to see if they're ready for us, I'll be back in just a sec" Whale said stepping away towards the nurses station.

Emma pulled herself back from her Mom and scrubbed her hands over her face, she needed to sort herself out, Junior needed her. It was getting late and she knew Henry would be worrying but she decided to wait until she had actually seen the kid with her own eyes before she called him.

Whale came back a few minutes later and gave another smile "Let's get you to your boy then"

Emma's heart clenched... he was her boy, she loved him to her very soul, loved him exactly how she loved Henry and that would NEVER change.

She followed Whale down the corridors clutching onto her Mom's hand tightly and when she finally pushed through the side room door she had to hold back fresh tears as her eyes fell on him. He looked so small in the bed by himself. He was attached to so many machines that it made her head spin but she just went to his side anyway immediately missing his long hair as she brushed her fingers across his forehead.

Junior didn't stir, he just kept on sleeping and when she looked up at Whale he whispered "He'll probably sleep through 'til morning, I've put him in a double room so you can stay with him."

"Thanks Victor" Emma whispered back giving him a watery smile

"No problem, no kid should be without his Mom in a place like this"

In no time at all the nurses and Whale left and Mary-Margaret dropped down into one of the chairs with a sigh. Emma glanced back at her and knew exactly how she was feeling, Emma was feeling it too but when their eyes met it was suddenly Emma's turn to be the comforter as her Mom's face crumpled and she was suddenly crying in earnest.

Emma launched herself forward and pulled her Mom into her arms "It's OK, shhhhhh"

"They're gone Emma, it's not alright. They've gone to the one place that we made sure that no one could escape from every again."

Emma pulled herself back and took hold of either side of her Mom's face, she looked straight into her eyes and said "I don't believe that and neither would Snow White. We WILL find a way or they will. This is not the end, I am not giving up hope and neither are you, I won't let you."

Mary-Margaret smirked "That's my girl"

Emma let go, she stood up to go back to the bed and chuckled "Well when you need a hope speech there should always be at least one member of our family about to deliver one and I get the feeling that I'm probably not the only one doing that right now." she looked back to Junior and sighed "If Hook is feeling as lost as Junior is now that their link is broken Dad's gonna have his work cut out convincing him that they'll get back"

"Emma he won't give in."

"I hope not" she replied with a smile as she went back to her boy, he was here and right now he was the one that needed her, her Dad would look after Hook, he would keep him safe, she could count on it.

Killian kept looking back towards the cave entrance just waiting on David returning. His heart thumped in his chest with every passing minute as his worry grew.

Where was he?

How long had he actually been gone?

He had no way of knowing so with a sigh he pulled in a breath and held it trying to calm himself down. Letting out the breath he decided to look around the small cave house instead. Tink had moved here after Pan had turned nasty and destroyed her tree house, that had been truly beautiful and he found himself wondering where the fairy was now. He hadn't spoken to her in months and now he regretted it, she had helped them all return home and for that he should have given her more time. His eyes fell onto a small dresser by the wall and he could see several bits and bobs lying across the dusty surface but over one end of the cloudy makeshift mirror there hung a necklace that held a little green gem on the end. Killian recognized it at once ,Tink used to wear it when she was still full of hope and wonder for the world but after too many years of being here she too had become lost and simply stopped, now it lay forgotten like everything else in this place.

His hand made it's way up to his own necklace and he gripped it tightly without looking down as his gaze moved off onto something else, he couldn't imagine being without his for too long, it was part of who he was... his finger slid into one of the rings that still hung on it after his hospital stay. He'd not thought to put them back on but now as he felt them he looked down with a sigh. The two rings had been with him a long time too but the missing one had been with him the longest and the thought of it suddenly made his chest ache.

It was with Junior... or it was with Junior.

He felt hollow... empty.

The double heartbeat that had felt so foreign a few weeks ago was no longer there and it just felt wrong. His eyes slid closed and a tear trailed down his cheek. The boy didn't deserve any of this. If one of them should have disappeared it should have been him... he had lived, loved and been loved.

Junior SHOULD have had all that still to come but now he could just be gone... simply blinking out of existence like he was never even here.

A sob burst free and even though no one else was there he found himself pulling the blanket up over his head like he used to do as a child, he wanted to hide from the world where no one would be able too find him.

He just wanted to feel safe... that's all he had ever wanted.

He cried for the boy who had come into his life and shown him the life he could have had... he cried for the boy that had gone and left a hole that could never be filled.

He was broken... and this time he didn't know if he had the strength to fix himself.

Then the image of a smiling Swan and Henry popped into his head and he knew he had to find a way... they were his family too.

He must have fallen asleep because sometime later he awoke and he was too hot with the blanket still over his face. He brought his hand up pulling it away to breath in some cooler air and blinked a few times trying to get his brain to focus against the building pain that was making itself known once more but when he realized that David still wasn't back he started to panic.

Where was he?

How long had he been gone?

He was back to the same old questions with no way of knowing the answers but in the next second he was craning his neck when there were shuffling noises headed down the passageway.

"David?" he yelled

"Yeah" David yelled back then a few seconds later he came through the entrance. He dropped a few things onto the ground with a wet splat and Killian couldn't help noticing that David was soaked to the skin and looked beyond cold but the Prince looked straight to Killian and asked "You OK?

"I am fine for the moment Mate, sort yourself out" Killian said quickly with a frown of concern.

"It is HORRIBLE out there" David shivered just stripping himself out of the sheet and flinging it to one side before grabbing one of the blankets that lay on the chair and bringing it around his shoulders.

He headed to the fire and threw on another few logs before dropping down onto a small stool and getting as close to the flames as possible but he obviously wasn't done worrying as he looked back across the room.

"You need more tea?"

"Get warm first David, I can wait"

David shook his head and stood up grabbing the kettle "I'm not having you in pain when you don't need to be, there's plenty of the tea so just shut up and let me do this"

Killian didn't answer he just watched as David first filled the kettle then hung it over the fire. Then he dropped back down onto his stool but this time he grabbed another sheet and dried his hair on it before throwing it over the back of the chair nearest him.

"I'll hang it up later" he said with a shiver pulling the blanket further up around his shoulders.

Killian just watched him for a few minutes before his eyes fell on the stuff that David had brought in, he frowned and craned his neck but couldn't see very well.

"What did you find?" he asked nodding his head to the pile when David looked to him.

He had expected David to just reply but he didn't he gave a little frown and looked back at the flames staring intently for a few seconds before answering "I found a grave"

Killian knew whose it was before David carried on, he could now see that the material on the ground was Devin's jacket.

"He's finally gone Hook" he looked back across at Killian and his face was expressionless "I can't say I'm sorry either, he was evil that boy."

Killian sighed out a breath "I have to agree but you know that he wasn't always like that... this bloody place did that to him. Once he was just a lost boy in need of a home, in need of love until Pan's shadow found him"

"You can't seriously be defending him Hook" David said incredulously "After everything he's done!"

"I'm not... I just understand that's all but at the end of the day he chose not to change when he left here. He had a chance, the same chance as everyone else had and he chose not to take it. I mean look at Rapha, he is an example of how life could have been for them all. No, Devin got what was coming to him but the boy I do feel sorry for is Tootz. That boy died trying to do the right thing David. He wanted to change, he wanted to be a better person... I just wish I had got a chance to meet the real Tootz not the Neverland one but the last time I saw him I panicked... I didn't give him a fair chance and for that I will always be sorry"

"Hey, that wasn't your fault and he knew it. He felt so bad after that you know, he had asked Rufio to ask you if at some point in the future he could have met up with you to apologize, to try and make amends."

"I would have liked that" Killian replied with a sigh "But it is done and what is done cannot be undone. Tootz is gone and now so is Devin"

"Yip" David agreed standing up and tying the blanket around his waist then pulling the kettle from the flames using a small cloth from the table.

He poured the cup of tea then made his way over but as he got there he gave a smirk and raised an eyebrow "I found something else you know"

"Aye?" Killian grit out trying to sit himself up a bit

"Would you just lie still, if you burst open my stitch work I will slap you"

"Stitch work?" Killian asked in confusion and suddenly he was trying to see the wound in his shoulder, it was awkward and the movement pulled on his ribs but he finally managed to see what David had done to him. Killian barked out a laugh bringing his hand up to his ribs but he was suddenly smiling up at David who was laughing too.

"You just HAD to use pink didn't you?" Killian chuckled

"I thought you'd appreciate it... kinda reminded me of pink bear, thought you might be missing him"

But the laughter was soon forgotten as soon as David helped Killian to take a few gulps of the tea. He lay back gasping in a few breaths again as he willed all his aches to settle, David swigged what was left in the cup down his throat with a wince.

"That stuff is disgusting" he cried out sticking his tongue out and cringing.

"It is no worse that the stuff I have to take at home and believe me when I say that I would rather take this stuff any day of the week. It has MUCH stronger healing properties. Tink could make her fortune if she could recreate her brews back in Storybrooke although I think Whale would maybe have something to say about that"

"Yeah, could you see his face. He hates anything that's not his damned science" David laughed out going over to the sink to rinse the cup. As he stood with his back to him Killian could see the bruises that littered the Prince's skin and suddenly he felt like an ass, he hadn't even asked if David was alright.

"David" he turned with a frown, looking at Killian over his shoulder "How are you doing? Obviously something is paining you, you drank the tea"

David sighed, finished rinsing the cup then put it on the side and headed back over.

"OK, I may have a few new bruises and my fingers don't really appreciate what I have put them through today but I am fine. I promise." David paused but then he seemed to remember something and an eyebrow shot up "Oh yeah, I was gonna show you what else I found earlier"

Killian fidgeted about trying to see better as David suddenly stooped down to the pile on the floor "What is it?"

"THIS" David burst out turning quickly on the spot to hold up... The Crocodile's dagger!

"It came through the portal with us?" Killian gasped but then he frowned "Why is it glowing?"

"THAT is the million dollar question Pirate" David said plonking himself down on the chair next to the bed and shrugging "Maybe it's to do with the magic here"

"Perhaps" Killian agreed but then he was yawning and David put the blade on the table before turning back to him.

"Let's get you up, I've heated some water. We can give you a wash, I'll change the sheets then you can get settled for the night. It's getting late"

By the time they were done Killian was exhausted but he felt better for it, the bed was no longer damp and his bladder was no longer full. His stomach gave a growl but he didn't say anything, he knew that David couldn't do anything about that until morning so with a sigh he just close his eyes. A few minutes later he heard some shuffling and a waft of air hit his face, he opened his eyes to find David making himself a bed on the floor near the fire.

"There should be some furs under the bed" Killian mumbled "They should make the ground a bit softer"

"Thanks" David whispered back and within seconds he'd pulled them out.

Killian lay watching as David made himself comfortable and after a few minutes they were both lying with their eyes closed in the dancing light of the roaring fire. The wood crackled and Killian was just starting to nod off when David suddenly spoke

"Night John Boy"

Killian smirked "You cannot trick me Brother, Swan has already used that one on me... it is from a TV show that I cannot for the life of me remember the name of but I know your game."

He heard David give a chuckle and that was that... the silence remained and in no time at all Killian was sleeping, the pull of the darkness was too much with Tinkerbelle's tea flowing through him, he felt warm and comfortable and the brew helped him to settle even with the thoughts of Junior in his head... and for that he was very grateful... he needed to keep up his strength, he needed to get back to his family.

Even if that family no longer included his boy... he needed to get home.