Killian
It took four days before they finally returned to Storybrooke, and Killian was amazed that they even managed it. It had taken all their willpower and his centuries of expertise to keep the ship afloat. The storm had done its best to sink them, and Killian now knew with certainty that it had not been natural.
After the injured have been taken to the hospital and the ship is secured and set up for the upcoming repairs, he turns to Little John feeling slightly guilty.
"I am sure you want to go home and rest, mate, but I need you to join me in reporting to Robin and David about the last few days' events."
"That's no problem, Captain; they need to hear it immediately. Will you not let a healer look at that wound, though?"
At his words, Killian glances down to where he knows a long thin cut from his ribs to his hipbone is slowly bleeding. It is an odd wound that refuses to close despite how shallow it is, and he briefly wonders if it was poisoned but disregards it; he would have felt it by now.
"I arranged for Tink to meet us at the station; it might be good practice for her magic. Tell Smee he is in charge for now, and let us go."
With that said, he strides towards the police cruiser parked at the dock, where David is leaning with a frown on his face.
Robin is already waiting for them at the station with two cheeseburgers and fries from Granny's as they pull up.
"Ruby just delivered these; Granny thought you two would need it, and looking at you now, I see her werewolf sense never fails." He said, handing them the brown paper bags with a concerned frown.
"Aye, mate. This is indeed very much needed. I'd advise you and Dave to take a seat as this is quite a tale."
Killian and John then take turns retelling how they had been watched from the moment they had arrived in Portland to six days later when they finally managed to leave after the necessary emergency repairs to the Aquilion. The storm had lasted the better part of two days, and besides the damage, it had also left many of them exhausted, unnerved, or even injured.
Halfway to retelling the worst part of it, Little John eyes Killian uneasily and hesitates before continuing.
"Would you like me to tell them, Captain? Or would you rather explain it?"
David and Robin exchange uneasy glances as Killian runs a hand through his hair and sighs.
"I'll do the honors, John, I doubt I'll have much luck explaining what exactly happened, but it happened to me after all."
At his words, Robin and David sit up straighter and throw him concerned looks.
"At the height of the storm, late at night on Friday, I went on deck to assess the existing damage. The moment I came on deck, the storm halted. I have never seen something like it."
He glances at Tink, who has arrived and is leaning on the doorframe, watching him with wide eyes.
"I do not know how to explain it, but I felt a strange pull to the sea and fell into a trance, much like a siren song, and if it hadn't been for Leroy, I believe I would have jumped into it."
He hesitates before telling the next part, and David uses the opportunity to interrupt.
"Wait, like the mermaids in Neverland? I thought there weren't any in this realm."
"No, there shouldn't be any in this realm. The type of mermaid you encounter there is native to Neverland only; you won't even find their kind in the Enchanted Forest. Besides, their lure works differently to what Killian describes, and he has always been quite immune to them if I remember correctly."
Tink steps forward as she answers David, but her eyes never leave Killian's face, and he wonders if she can see on his face how shaken the ordeal has left him. Out of everyone here, she knows him the longest, and while he might not always have been on the best of terms with her, they'd always had a way of understanding each other. Neverland had made sure of that.
"Aye, Tink is right; this was something completely different. And that wasn't the worst of it."
He runs a hand through his beard and absentmindedly notes how long his beard has gotten; paired with his long hair and the darkness under his eyes, he imagines that he looks quite like he feels, completely rundown. It had been a while since he felt this way, not since Emma left months ago, and he had tried to drown his sorrows with rum until Robin intervened.
He hesitates to share the next part and looks to Little John, who nods at him and turns to address the others.
"He was the only one affected; we didn't hear or feel anything. We had to lock him in the control room, but it didn't last long. We have found no explanation as to why it happened."
Killian tries his hardest not to look away as Charming locks eyes with him as he considers Little John's words. He had no explanation for what had happened to him. He had never felt anything like it in all his years navigating the seas. It had started like a whisper, and soon it had been like the song was being screamed in his ear. He had never been as terrified as he had been in that bloody moment, and hiding it from his crew had been nearly impossible. He didn't need to worry about possible mutiny with this crew, it's not like they were pirates, but he still felt uneasy showing weakness. Old habits died hard, after all.
David stands up and starts pacing the bullpen distractedly; after a couple of minutes of contemplative silence, he turns to Robin and nods to him.
It is then that Killian remembers that brief moment on Friday before all hell had broken loose for him when he hadn't been able to reach Robin. He had yet to find out what the situation had been on their end.
"Your report is concerning on its own, Killian, but paired with what I have to share, it is enough to put us on high alert. Something or someone is coming."
With a frown, Robin shares how he, another two deputies, and the park rangers had found a clearing in the forest where they thought a sinister meeting had occurred.
"It was the strangest thing ever; I got the distinct feeling that the sea itself had been brought to that part of the forest which sounds insane, I know. Pair that with strange complaints from the docks of fishermen and sailors who felt like they were being watched the last couple of days, and I think we have a crisis coming."
David sets out to organize regular patrols in the forest and the docks, and Robin calls Regina to set in motion a town warning as Killian remains seated, mulling Robin's words.
Later he is sitting in David's office as Tink assesses his wound with critical eyes. He shifts once again, and she rolls his eyes at him. She'd reminded him that seeing him without a shirt on was not new to her, but for Killian, it was more about David, who was leaning on the doorframe and watching him with a calculated look.
His relationship with David was a complicated affair, he wouldn't doubt calling him a friend, and he trusted the Prince. But that was new for them. And Emma threw everything in disarray when it came to the both of them. And he couldn't say with certainty that he and David's new friendship didn't hinge on him and Emma not being together. Not that was about to happen anytime soon ( or ever).
They never really talked about her, she would be mentioned in passing, but they never outright talked about her. He knew exactly how painful it was for David and Snow and avoided the topic as they did. But that was before Emma returned to Storybrooke, and now he was struggling not to ask David about her. She had been long gone by the time he made it back.
"Well, I think I can heal it. It's an odd wound, though; how did you say you got it?" said Tink as she straightened up from where she was peering at the wound.
"I didn't. I'm not sure how I got it. Happened during the whole ordeal on deck. I believe my hook must have scratched me in the tussle."
Tink shares a look with David and raises one eyebrow at Killian. "Do you honestly believe that? You and I know a wound from your hook would not look like this."
Killian sighs and throws his head back. He simply wants to go home and sleep, escape his thoughts, worries, and fear. And Tink is just making everything worse. Before he can say anything, she hovers her palm over his wound and slowly heals it. After a minute, a thin pink line is the only thing left, and he sighs at the new addition to his collection of scars. Tink frowns at the wound, and David steps into the room to look closer.
"It is not supposed to leave a scar. But, if it were poisoned, I wouldn't have been able to heal it so easily."
"And you are sure that you feel completely fine? Maybe we should let Whale check you up" said David as he walked to the other side of the desk and sat down with a concerned look.
"There is no need for that, mate; I feel fine. Besides, I got the wound days ago; if something had needed to happen, I'd believe it already did."
David nods at his words and throws Tink an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Tink, but I need to discuss something with Killian briefly."
Tink smiles and reassures David it's not a problem; she gives him a look as she leaves that tells him she is probably planning a chat of her own with him, making Killian sigh as he turns to close his shirt.
"I know there is something else you aren't saying."
David goes straight to the point, and Killian grimaces. The more time Emma was away the more he recognized some traces of her in David. Their ability to see right through the bullshit and call him out on it without any doubt or reservation was one of them. Snow and Henry had the same, and he wondered how that could be genetic.
"Aye, mate. Though you don't need to look so smug for figuring it out. I hadn't planned on keeping it a secret. It is just that - "
David gazes quite calmly at him as Killian struggles to finish his sentence. It does not happen often, and he has noticed that the Prince has often been present for those rare moments. Just his luck, it seems.
"I know the song. The one I heard on the deck of the Aquilion that night. I thought I would never hear it again, at least not from a different source than my lips."
David straightens up in his seat and throws Killian an alarmed look.
"What do you mean? I thought you'd never encountered something like this before?"
"I hadn't. But that song - it is a sea shanty. My mother used to sing it to my brother and me. The thing is, in all these years, I have never heard it from any other source. Or even heard or encountered the language it is in. "
His heart stumbles at the memory; it had been such a long time since he thought of his time as a child. He had few memories of his mother, and most, if not all, included Liam. When he lost Liam, he turned away from all of that.
"I must confess, Killian; you have not shared much of your mother. Could this be her?"
"My mother passed when I was a young child, more than two centuries ago. It is not her, mate. But I must confess that I feel a certain level of unease at the situation." said Killian, shaking his head.
David hums in acknowledgment and rests his face in his hands. He looks tired, Killian notes, and he can't be sure if it is from Prince Leo's aversion to sleep or something else.
"This whole situation is enough to create unease. We will reconvene tomorrow to brainstorm and strategize. I want to be as prepared as we can be."
Killians nods and gathers his courage; David will not bring this up on his own. And he needs to know.
"Will you tell Emma of the situation? As the Saviour?"
David grimaces and shakes his head; Killian knows how much he hates the burden and responsibility that being the Saviour puts on Emma. Killian does too.
"Snow and I decided it is best not to say anything until we have more information. If we're being honest, I don't want her to come back because she is the Saviour. I want her to return because she wants to and because she is my daughter."
Killian considers David's words carefully as he ponders his next question; he can't quite read his mood to gauge if it's too big of a risk to ask but he's here already so he might as well.
"And do you think she would? Return, that is?" asked Killian, holding his breath.
He had never asked before, afraid of the answer and what it might reveal. He braces for the answer, and his heart stutters at the thought. Hope was such a bloody fickle thing.
"I don't know. With Emma, I am never completely sure of her plans," sighed David.
Aye, Emma Swan was a mystery sometimes, even for him. For all that she was an open book to him, it was not always enough. Killian could often tell what she was thinking or feeling, but predicting how she would act was nearly impossible. She could be unpredictable sometimes, and her fight-and-flight response would be triggered easily. When he thought he had figured her out, she would turn around and tilt his world with a sassy quote or a brave and reckless act. It made her infuriatingly irresistible.
Killian sighs as he stands up and bids David good night. Robin is sitting at his desk filing paperwork so Killian waves at him as he leaves the station and starts walking home.
A warm shower, his bed, and some rum were all he needed right now.
Two days later, he is running past the docks, incorporating a patrol into his early morning runs. He had never been a sound sleeper, years of being a pirate captain had cemented in him a vigilant awareness and restless energy that often had him waking up at the slightest of noises and unable to stay in bed after waking up.
In Storybrooke, he had taken up the custom of running early in the morning to alleviate this, and it had become his routine. Sometimes David or even Tink would join him, but he was often alone, which he didn't mind. He always ended up at the docks, allowing him to sit and ruminate on his thoughts. And maybe even talk to Liam. More often than not, his thoughts would end up with Emma, no matter how much he fought against it.
Today he is wondering about something David had mentioned at their evening practice with the recruits the previous night. The way he'd phrased it implied that he expected Emma to visit soon and wanted to resolve the situation by then. Which meant he would have to face Emma soon. He knew he probably would have to face her at some point, and he'd seen glimpses of her the days before she left when he was avoiding her. But that was before he had missed her as he did now.
Missing Emma Swan in the Enchanted Forest when she'd been in this realm without her memories had been much easier than missing Emma Swan when she was a couple of hours away and knew exactly who and where he was. It was a crueler sort of heartbreak for him.
The truth is, he has no bloody idea where he stands with her; it felt like he was always on shaky ground around her. And even as a seafaring man, it sometimes was too much for him to handle. Or his heart.
Sometimes, he wondered if she even considered him a friend, as she certainly didn't seem to consider him anything else.
He always knew she found him attractive, she was an open book to him, after all, and it was confirmed after the kiss in Neverland. However, she had sky-high walls around her heart and was often unable ( or unwilling ) to separate the fairytale from the fact. He was always Hook to her, never Killian. It was quite clever. If you tell yourself that Snow White and Prince Charming are your parents, keeping them at arm's length becomes easier.
He doesn't need to imagine the value of fairytales for an orphan; he knows it too well. Before his mother was struck by illness, she would tell him and Liam stories at bedtime. When their father was home and joined her on good days, she would sing them old sea shanty's. Years later, when it was just him and Liam they would continue the tradition, clinging to whatever was left of their family after their father abandoned them.
So he did his best to understand her and her struggles as the Savior; he just wished he was shown the same understanding from her. Because it was the same persona she clung to, the one of a villain set on revenge that he fought with on any given day. It had taken some time for himself and others in town to see him as more than just Captain Hook. He knew that some still distrusted him, and he even had clients who preferred to work with Robin or Belle as they only saw the pirate in him, but he tried his best not to let it bother him.
Having to count Emma in that group made his heart throb painfully. Especially because he knew that, unlike many others, she saw Killian Jones with absolute clarity; he never was anything but himself with her. Could never even try or want to lie to her.
And yet, she'd still left.