Henry and Mary Margret walk into the hospital as the rain is pouring outside. Both of them shake off the umbrella and shiver under their coats. They walk up to the front desk with their shoes squeaking with water.
"Killian Jones please," Mary Margret says. She has a small bouquet of flowers with her.
"Ah yes," the receptionist says. "You're just in time for visiting hours. He's on the second floor, Room 237."
"Thank you," Mary Margret says. She and Henry walk together towards the elevator. As they go down one of the halls, Henry sees the room that Gwen King was in. He saw that it was now vacant. He hoped that her children and his mom would be found very soon.
Eventually, the two come to room 237. They knock before entering.
Killian is propped up in the hospital bed, in a hospital gown with his leg in the air. His blue eyes open when the two coming into the room. He tries to smile, even though he is in pain. He has several cuts and bruises on his face, some that had medical stitches in them. His leg was in a cast that was hanging over the bed and his wrist was wrapped in gauze. He was hooked up to an IV to numb the pain he was in and a few monitors just to keep track of his progress. He turns towards his two visitors with some happiness.
"Ahoy," Killian says weakly.
"Hello, Killian," Mary Margret says. "How are you feeling?"
"Well the hangover has worn off," Killian says in good humor.
Mary Margret frowns, giving Killian the look she often gives students who misbehave.
"Don't joke about this Killian!" she says sternly. She had been waiting quite awhile to tell him off. "You could've been killed you know?!"
"Aye I do Mary, but…"
"Don't act like it's not a big deal!" Mary Margret cuts him off. "What you did was stupid and very reckless. If Regina and Henry hadn't found you…" She begins to tear up in anger. "Why would you do that? And with Emma! What would she think if she came back and found out you were dead because you were drinking and driving?"
Killian grimaces, his stomach twists in guilt. Obviously, the school teacher cared about him and his well-being… mostly because of Emma, he assumed. He knows that what he did must've been the stupidest thing he's ever done in his life and considering he used to do drugs, that's saying something.
When he had stormed out of the woman's hospital room, he was very angry and close to tears. His mind and body were a mess at the thought that this man had taken Emma to get her pregnant. Once he got outside, he punched the wall in front of the hospital and then vomited in the bushes. His head was spinning in confusion and rage. He knew he had to find Emma. He had to save her from this monster. He couldn't imagine how scared she must be, being held by this maniac.
Killian was obviously not thinking clearly and he drove off in his car to the nearest liquor store. He doesn't know why he went there, he just did. It's how he coped with Milah dying, so it was falling back into old habits. He bought the cheapest bottle of rum that he could and took off without even getting his change. He pulled into the back alleyway behind his apartment and began drinking in his car. He was crying the entire time; drinking, looking at some of the photos he had of Emma and drinking again. What happened next was a bit of a blur. He remembers starting his car and trying to find a way out of Boston, trying to find where this man might have taken Emma. He remembers seeing the country side and he remembers turning on his radio before everything went black. The next thing he remembers was waking to Regina calling his name and her shaking him. He knew that he had screwed up badly and when he looked at Henry's face, he felt a wave of guilt for what he had done. He had almost gotten himself killed and he thought of Liam and how his brother would've smacked him upside the head for doing something so incredibly stupid. When he saw Henry's concerned face, seeing those eyes that were like his mother's, he broke down. What would Emma have said if she was here? Would she have broken up with him? She would've been devastated had he died in this accident, killed by his own hand. If he hadn't, she also probably would've killed him anyway for acting so impulsively. What he had done had not benefitted anyone. It didn't bring them any closer to finding Emma and honestly just distracted and made everyone worry that much more.
"I'm sorry Love," Killian says meekly. "I just wanted to lighten the mood a bit."
"You shouldn't be joking about something so serious. What on earth were you thinking?"
"That's the thing Mary, I wasn't thinking. I was so upset about what that woman said that I couldn't stand having Emma be in that man's clutches for a minute more. I wanted to try and find her, but for some reason, I went to the liquor store instead, a force of habit perhaps, and I ended up drinking and then crashing."
"Well you should know; you've made everything ten times worse than they already are and most likely delayed David's chance of finding Emma."
"I know," Killian sighs deeply. He shuts his eyes, trying to avoid crying. It hurt every time he took in a breath, a constant reminder of what he had done.
Mary Margret sighs. She can't stay mad at him for too long, he's obviously suffered enough. She goes to find a cup or vase to put the flowers in.
Henry sits down next to Killian and watches as the docks man breathes deeply. His eyes are shut as if he is concentrating very hard on something, his face in the form of a grimace. It's so tense that Henry's worried that the wounds on his face might open again.
"Does it hurt?" Henry asks quietly.
"Quite a lot," Killian says. "Whale has put me on medication to numb it, but it's mostly emotional pain. I'm sorry I put you through this Henry."
"It's okay," Henry says quietly.
"No, it's not. I should have been trying to find your mother or working with David instead of driving off like an idiot and wrapping my car around a tree."
"It's okay," Henry repeats. It's all he can really think of to say since the entire situation is so complicated and so unbearable. He, himself, has been trying not to cry from the stress and emotion of what's been happening. No fifteen-year-old should have to go through this, and yet here he was, sitting in a hospital with his mother's boyfriend, while the police were out searching for his abducted mother, who was only being held so that the kidnapper could get her pregnant. He rubs his hand through his thick bangs, which his mother always insisting that he get cut. He'd give anything to hear her nag him about it one more time.
Suddenly, Mary Margret's phone goes off. She picks it up from her purse.
"Hello?"
"Mary, where are you?" David asks.
"We're at the hospital with Killian why?"
"Arthur King has been in touch with his wife. He says he's going to drop off the hostages somewhere in the next state."
Mary Margret nearly drops the phone in shock.
"Are you serious?" she says, tears filling her eyes. The man was going to release Emma and apparently, the two children that David had told her about earlier. She can barely contain her emotion by this news.
"Yes," David says. "We're going to put a tracker on her phone to track him down. He said he would call very soon with the location of where he was leaving them."
Mary Margret is so overwhelmed by this news that she must sit down. Both Henry and Killian are looking at each other in confusion. They're worried that it's bad news and neither of them is prepared for if they've found Emma's body.
"Do you want us to come over there?" Mary Margret asks.
"Yes," David says. The officer doesn't really know why his wife and the hostage's son should be at the station, but he probably needs the support more than anything.
"We'll be over really soon," his wife assures him.
"Okay, I love you," David says.
"I love you too."
Mary Margret hangs up and wipes a few tears from her eyes. She looks at the two men in front of her, looking very confused and very afraid.
"It's good news," she says to them.
"They found my mom?" Henry asks, his heart beginning to race.
"The man who has her is going to release his hostages out of state within the next few hours."
Killian lets out a deep sigh of relief and is close to crying himself. "So she's safe?" he asks.
"I'm not sure yet, but he's going to drop off the location within the next few hours and the police are going to trace his call. David wants us to be over at the station as soon as possible."
Henry stands up eagerly and is at the door before she can say anything else.
Killian regrets his actions from the previous night even more. He wishes that he wasn't stuck in bed and he could go with them. He clenches his unsprained hand into a fist and grinds his teeth together, wanting so badly to be leaving this bed.
Mary Margret leans over and kisses Killian's forehead.
"As soon as they bring her home, we'll come right over I promise," she says reassuringly.
Killian gives a small smile before laying back as his body is aching in pain.
"When you find her, tell her I love her."
"I will," Mary Margret says. She leaves the flowers by Killian's bedside and walks out with Henry. The two of them cannot go fast enough down the hall and into the elevator. Both of their hearts are pounding wildly in hope and anticipation for the coming release of their beloved Emma.
…
Arthur pulls up at a restaurant just along the highway. It's a restaurant with a playground, which will be perfect for leaving the kids there, as long as he knew they were safe.
The kids clamber out of the car eagerly and run towards the restaurant. Arthur stays back, leaning against the driver's side door. He stares at the trunk where Emma is still being held prisoner inside. He can hear her still struggling. She had not given up on trying to escape. Despite being gagged and blindfolded, she continued to fight every step of the way. He had tasered her a few times to subdue her resistances. This was after he'd fed her and he even covered her with a blanket for the nights in the trunk. He knew he'd have to let her out sometime, if she wasn't well fed and exercised, she wouldn't be able to carry a baby.
Maybe I should just let her go… his mind thought. Since Gwen hates you now and doesn't want another baby and you're giving the kids back…
Arthur sighs deeply and goes to check on Emma in the back.
Emma's skin rises in goose bumps as the cold winter air hits her in the back of the trunk. She'd kicked off the blanket in her many feeble attempts to escape. She'd fought in any way possible to remove the gag and or cut her bonds. She couldn't see where she was or even attempt to attack this man. Her body was battered and bruised from all her struggling and it was also stiff from being in the certain position for so long.
She feels a cold hand suddenly brush the limp blonde hair from her face and actually wipes the sweat from her brow. She attempts to head butt the hand and scream out from the gag, trying to attract the attention of someone… anyone.
Arthur stares down at his prisoner, his mind a whirlwind of confused emotions. If he let her go with kids, he will surely go to jail, but if he stuck with his original plan, he could be free for much longer.
"Sit tight Miss Swan," Arthur says. "I'll be back soon."
Emma tries to shout at him through her gag, but all that comes out is muffled sound. Arthur shuts the trunk again and locks the car before following his children inside.
He sees that they've already gone to the playground, playing in the ball pit and going down the slide. They wave at him as he goes to the counter to order some food.
Once the food is bought, he calls his children over and they happily eat, chatting about what they were doing and that they got to see Mommy again. Arthur just watched his children, tears in the corners of his eyes. He swallows a large lump in his throat and tries to memorize his children's beautiful features. From their lively eyes to their dimply smiles, he wanted to remember it all.
When the kids are finished, Arthur speaks up.
"Megan," he says.
"Yes, Daddy?"
"I'm going to have to make an important phone outside for a few minutes. It might a take a little while, but I won't be far away. I want you to be my special helper and keep an eye on Ben while this happens okay?"
Megan looks confused, but then she smiles.
"Okay, Daddy."
"That's my baby girl," Arthur murmurs. He reaches over and pulls his daughter into a long hug. Megan is confused again, but she continues to hug her daddy with much love and affection.
"Be a good girl while I'm gone," he says, kissing the top of her head. "I love you."
"I love you too Daddy," Megan says.
"Good, now go and play," he says.
Arthur then scoops up his son and hugs him tightly too. Ben is eager to get back to playing, but Arthur holds onto him. He kisses his son's cheek and is very close to crying at this point.
"Be a good boy for Megan okay?' Arthur says.
"Okay, Daddy."
"That's my boy," he says proudly. "I love you."
"Love you, Daddy," Ben says with a big smile.
Arthur then puts his son down and he watches the two of them go off to play. There is a large pain in his heart like someone is drilling a hole right through it. All the happiness and joy was leaking from this hole, leaving him with a hollow shell of nothing but sadness.
Arthur takes one last look at his happy children before forcing himself to turn around and walk out the door.
Once he's in the shadows of the restaurant, he slowly picks up his phone and dials Gwen's number.
Thank you to all the readers and a special shout out to TheAnonymousAuthor03, it really means a lot to me. Anyone catch the special reference I put in this chapter?