Debt of Honor

"Any idea what this thing is that we're following?" Killian asked as David abruptly pulled his old Ford pickup truck off the side of the road, veering onto the muddy berm and splashing through one of the deep puddles formed by the morning's rainstorm.

"Not really sure," David replied as he slammed the gearshift into park, "but it headed off that way." He pointed at a narrow footpath through a thicket of old growth oak and pine forest. "This is as far as we can follow it on the road. We'll have to take it on foot from here."

Wonderful, Killian thought. Trudging through the woods at the edge of town chasing god knows what. Just another typical Tuesday morning is Storybrooke… A giant creature with fangs that were probably sharper than his hook comes barreling through the center of town terrorizing the citizens and he's daft enough to volunteer to drive it out of town.

As they both climbed out of the truck, David drew his weapon from his holster.

"No one has ever seen this beast before?" Killian wondered, feeling a bit unprepared as he hadn't had the foresight to bring a cutlass with him to breakfast.

"Nope," David stated. "This is a new one. To me, it looked kind of like a really big mountain lion."

"Mountain lion? Do they grow to the size of small horses around here because the creature I saw was a lot bigger than a mountain lion?"

"I just said it looked like a mountain lion. All I know is it seemed to be some sort of really big cat."

"Big cat….Wonderful…," Killian sighed. "Don't suppose you have a spare weapon on you? I seem to have been caught slightly unarmed. Don't think my hook will serve as much of a deterrent to a giant cat."

"Yeah – I keep a sword stashed behind the seat. You know, just in case."

Killian raised an eyebrow in amusement as the prince grinned. Leaning into the truck, he found the sword and scabbard wrapped in a slightly threadbare striped towel on the floorboard behind the bench seat. He quickly unwrapped it and flung the towel onto the seat as he tucked the scabbard under his left arm to hold it securely while he pulled the blade free.

"Always good to be prepared," Killian smiled as he tossed the scabbard onto the seat with the towel and pushed the door closed.

"Okay – let's go find this thing," David said as he closed the driver's side door and walked around the front of the truck, eyeing the muddy path ahead of them that led deep into the dark forest. Thankfully, the earlier heavy rain had tapered off to a drizzle which, while still annoying, at least meant that the creature's footprints weren't being washed away, leaving them a trail of distinct impressions to follow. Both men had an uneasy feeling as they tracked the beast but each knew that the animal clearly needed to be subdued before it harmed someone and they'd tasked themselves with that responsibility.

Nearly twenty minutes later and about a mile off of the road, they realized the trail had abruptly ended in a grassy clearing. Without a word spoken between them, they exchanged looks that communicated exactly what each was thinking – where the hell did it go? Surrounded by low brush and towering trees, there were a multitude of places where the beast could be lying in wait so they knew choosing wrong could be fatal. Killian was to the right of David and he turned slowly away from the prince, scanning the foliage before him for any sign of movement. David, on the left flank, gave the bushes on his side the same scrutiny – that is until a low, guttural growl froze them both in their tracks and drew their attention toward a cluster of oak trees to their north.

And to a pair of glowing fiery orbs stating back at them.

"Bloody hell…," Killian muttered, raising the sword as the creature ventured out of the cover of the trees and padded toward them. The huge feline with a coat the deepest shade of obsidian glared at them and as it snarled, bared its fangs – each four or five inches in length and dripping saliva. As he finally got a good view of the animal, David thought it reminded him of a panther – but where had a panther come from in the woods of Maine? "Any ideas, mate?" Killian asked as his own mind was drawing comparisons to a very different fearsome creature he had unfortunately stared down. He just hoped that this one didn't sprout additional heads.

"How do you say 'stop or I'll shoot' to an animal?" David asked as he raised the gun and lined up his sights as the creature continued its aggressive motion toward them. "Nice kitty…"

"Nice kitty?" Killian couldn't believe that David had just said that, but he was less concerned about the prince's poor choice of words than he was of the fact that the feline was still coming toward them, seemingly ready to devour one or both of them for its breakfast. "I don't think we're going to be able to reason with it," he stated, unable to divert his eyes from the beast which was now less than a hundred feet in front of them and not the least deterred by their weapons.

"I really don't want to do this but…," David pulled back on the trigger, firing a single shot toward the creature. He didn't know if a lone bullet would bring it down, but he sure hoped it would at least slow it down or stop its advances before those razor sharp fangs tore them both apart.

Only what happened next was something that neither of them could have imagined, nor would they have believed if someone had tried to tell them this tale.

The bullet David fired never reached its intended target. Instead of striking the menacing animal, the projectile suddenly halted in mid-air, hovering in front of them for what seemed like an eternity before it regained its velocity – and a new trajectory.

One aimed directly at Killian.

By the time either could mentally register what was happening, there was no time to shout a warning. No time to try to dive out of the way. Killian's only recourse was to twist his torso just enough to his right so that the bullet tore into his left shoulder instead of striking him mid-chest. The searing hot bullet ripped into his flesh, radiating pain across his chest and down the length of his arm. His brain seemed to react in slow motion as the reality that he'd just been shot sunk in and he staggered back a step. He let the sword fall to the earth as his hand instinctively covered the wound.

"Hook!" David shouted as he watched his friend and soon to be son in law drop to his knees and then tumble to the wet grass while clutching tightly to his injured left shoulder. He still couldn't fathom what he'd just witnessed: the bullet stopping in mid-flight then changing direction. Only magic could have done that, but as he shook his head to try to clear the fog of confusion and disbelief, the stark reality of their situation set in. His eyes darted around the clearing searching for any sign of the beast, certain that it was ready to pounce during this moment of vulnerability, but it was nowhere to be found. David fully expected it to attack as Killian lay bleeding on the rain soaked ground, but the assault never came, as though the creature had simply vanished.

Quite sure that his gun would be useless if the beast returned, David re-holstered it as he rushed across the clearing to check on the severity of Killian's wound. Crouching down next to him, David could clearly see that the pirate's fingers were already slick and stained with blood.

"What the hell just happened?" Killian wondered as he rolled onto his back, blades of damp grass and dirt clinging to the side of his face, his right sleeve and down his right side of his dark denim jeans. He instantly regretted changing position as a blinding, burning spasm hit.

"I honestly don't know," David replied.

"Where did that thing go?"

"No idea. It just vanished, but right now, let's see how much damage that bullet did." Reluctantly, Killian withdrew his blood drenched hand so David would have a clearer view of the wound.

"How bad does it appear to be?" Killian wondered as the prince peeled back layers of leather and cloth to locate the entrance wound.

"All I'm seeing is a lot of blood," David told him. "I need to see if there is an exit wound. Think you can sit up?"

"Aye," Killian nodded as David extended his hand to help him into a seated position. The answer was quickly evident as he noted the concerned look on the prince's face. "By your expression, I'm surmising that the bullet is still somewhere in my shoulder?"

"Unfortunately," David sighed. "A through and through would have been cleaner, but there's no exit wound and no way to know the bullet's position. We'll have to worry about it shifting."

"Then let's get back to town so Emma can heal it."

"It's a long walk back to the truck," David reminded him. "Think you'll be able to make it?"

"Unless you know of a better way, I don't think I have much of a choice, mate," Killian stated as David helped him to his feet, his stance already shaky. David stooped to retrieve the sword once he was sure the pirate was steady enough. He drew the flat of the blade across his thigh to wipe the debris and moisture from it, then had a thought to fish his cell phone from his jacket pocket only to be disappointed that there was no available signal this far from town.

"No signal to call for help," David said as he tucked the phone back into his pocket. "Look's like we're on our own. Let's get going before that thing comes back."

"Agreed," Killian stated as he took his first uneasy step toward the road and David's waiting truck. The prince followed warily behind, keeping his eyes peeled for a potential ambush that thankfully never came.

He honestly had no idea how far they'd walked or any inkling of how much time had passed. They could have been traveling in circles and he'd never know. Nothing along this narrow forest trail looked even the least bit familiar except the back of David's head so that was what Killian had chosen to focus on. He no longer felt the raindrops against his skin but he could see the rivulets streaming down his sleeve, gently washing away some of the blood that stained the steel of his hook. He couldn't even remember when David had taken the lead, but he certainly knew that he was falling further behind as his pace slowed considerably.

"We still have about half a mile to go," David spoke up having taken notice that Killian was moving quite a bit slower. "How are you holding up?"

"Do you mean aside from the rather painful hole in my shoulder?" Killian replied with his typical blend of snark and sarcasm. "I'll be fine. Just need to slow down…"

It wasn't hard to see through his façade though. As much as he wanted to pretend that everything was alright, David recognized that there was a slight slur to his words.

"If we move any slower, we might reach the road by sundown," David had snapped back mostly out of reflex and frustration, but when he realized how harsh his words sounded, he backpedaled a bit. "Why don't we take a break?" He had spotted a fallen tree just off the path that they could use as a makeshift bench.

"Can we afford to waste time taking a break? The sooner we get back to the road, the sooner I can get back to Emma…" Killian's voice trailed off as he staggered, suddenly light headed, but David quickly caught his arm and tried to steady him.

"You're about to pass out," David stated, trying his best to lead his injured friend toward the downed tree. "Has the bleeding slowed at all?"

"…Don't know…," Killian mumbled, followed by something unintelligible.

"Stay with me, Hook," David pleaded. "You're going to hear me say something I wouldn't normally say, but I want you to keep talking…" But even as the words fell out of his mouth, he knew Killian had already succumbed to unconsciousness, gravity pulling him downward as he blacked out. " Aw, damn…," he sighed as he all but dragged the passed out pirate the few feet over to the tree trunk and leaned his limp body against it.

Thrusting the point of the sword into the soil, David wearily sat down atop the log and retrieved his phone. The fact that there was still no signal was confirmed by a glance at the screen. They were just too far from the road yet and it was beginning to dawn on him that he might have to make a tough decision soon. He was well aware that there was no way he could carry or drag Killian the rest of the way to the truck. If he didn't regain consciousness – and enough strength to walk the remaining distance – David knew he'd have to choose whether to wait here or leave the injured pirate alone and make the trip back to the truck himself. He knew he could make it there and back quickly, but the thought of a pissed off, very dangerous feline out there probably watching their every move made that the last thing he wanted to do.

For the moment, he wasn't going anywhere. There was little doubt that Killian was losing a lot of blood. The coppery stench of it hung heavy in the air and it would have been impossible not to notice the droplets left behind on the trail, but David also knew that the layers of black leather that Killian was wearing were likely concealing the full extent of the bleeding. There were dark sticky patches of blood visible both on the outside and on the lining of his jacket, but it was Killian's form fitting leather vest that David suspected was hiding the majority of the carnage and there was only one way to know for sure. Kneeling down next to his unconscious friend, David carefully unbuttoned the vest so he could get a better look at the wound beneath it, only to have his worst fears confirmed when he spied the fabric of Killian's dark grey oxford shirt. No longer camouflaged by the black leather of the vest, the expanse of blood stains were now visible – extending across his chest and down to his waist. The cotton shirt was seeping with blood and only the edges farthest from the actual wound had dried.

"Oh, this is not good," David sighed, wishing he had something to bandage the open wound. He thought of the navy and white striped towel that they'd left in the truck as well as a plethora of other things he had stashed back there, but none of those things were the least bit useful out here. He pressed his fingertips against Killian's neck to check his pulse, finding it a little weak, but steady. More concerning though was the coldness and pallid appearance of his skin. The weather wasn't doing either of them any favors, that was a certainty. Standing back up, the prince's eyes were drawn to a huge raven watching them greedily from the lowest branch of a nearby pine tree. The scavenger bird cawed loudly at him but David wasn't about to be intimidated by this avian garbage disposal. "You can just shoo!" he shouted. "There's nothing here for you, bird."

The raven cawed again, then flapped its impressive nearly three foot wingspan before taking flight. David figured it wouldn't go far though. The predator could sense the weakness of its prey and its presence finally resolved his decision – there was no way that he was going to leave Killian here defenseless. They were going to get back to the road together – or hope that someone sent out a search party to look for them.

David stared down that pesky raven again as it returned twice in the half an hour before Killian regained consciousness, but even though it was clearly stalking them, it never came closer than about fifty feet from their position. It was persistent, but not overly aggressive – at least not yet. Biding it's time waiting for his guard to drop.

Not today, bird. Not today.

The raven flew away when Killian woke with a slight jolt. He was not yet fully aware of his surroundings, but quite aware of the sudden overwhelming influx of sensation – the damp chill in the air, sopping wet clothing against his skin and a dull painful ache from his left shoulder across his rib cage.

"Its okay," David assured him, recognizing that moment of involuntary apprehension. "You passed out. We're still in the woods outside of town."

"How long was I unconscious?" Killian dared to ask as the morning's events replayed in his head, gradually bringing him back to the reality of having been shot and slowly bleeding out.

"About half an hour," David replied. "Think you're up to the rest of the trip?"

"I don't honestly know," Killian sighed as he pressed his hand to his wounded shoulder, the warm stickiness of his own blood oozing between his fingers. He was well aware that his clothing was soaked with far too much of it. The wound wasn't clotting properly and they had nothing with them to cauterize it until it could be healed. "I'm surprised you didn't just leave me here."

"With that big cat still out there somewhere? Not a chance. I'm already going to have a difficult enough time explaining this mess to my daughter."

"You have a valid point there, mate," Killian smiled despite the pain. He pressed his back against the fallen tree trunk, using it for support as he pushed himself to his feet. Wavering for a moment, he had to use his hand to brace against the log so that he didn't lose his balance. His wounded left arm hung limply at his side and as he stood there waiting for his equilibrium to settle, he was faced with a new awareness - he wasn't feeling the same searing, blinding pain as before and suddenly realized that he also couldn't voluntarily move his left arm or shoulder. Combined with the unrelenting bleeding, the partial paralysis gave him a pretty good idea where the bullet was lodged. Oh, how he regretted not having his rum flask with him this morning. "Let's get moving before I black out again," he stated, determined he was not going to let the gunshot wound win this battle.

"Hang on," David said, noticing the visibly painful way that Killian's left arm was dangling at his side. "We don't really have anything we can use to make a sling, but we need to take some if the strain off of your shoulder. Let me try something…," Without any indication of what he was thinking, he lifted the pirate's left arm and carefully pulled it across his chest.

"What are you doing?" a confused Killian wondered as David tucked the point of his hook into a tiny pocket in the lining of his leather jacket.

"Improvising," the prince replied. "It's the best I could think of to create a makeshift sling. If the pocket doesn't tear out of your jacket, it should work temporarily."

While not the most comfortable position and certainly not the most practical, it was preferable to having the entire dead weight of his useless arm just hanging at his side. He wasn't about to let on, but he was actually impressed with his future father in law's ingenuity. Of course, nothing made the thought of the remaining half mile or so trail ahead of them any more appealing. It was going to be a struggle to remain conscious as his body fought against shock and blood loss, but if he could reach the safety of David's truck, he'd be one step closer to his love and her healing powers.

A beat up old pickup truck had never been a more welcome sight than it was today. It had taken them nearly forty five minutes to cover that last half a mile, but with their destination now in sight, David was finally breathing a little easier, although somewhat dumbfounded as to how Killian was still on his feet. Twice he'd caught him wavering and it appeared the pirate would lose consciousness again, yet somehow, Killian managed to force himself to continue.

And every step of the way to the road that pesky raven followed them.

Exhausted and fighting back bouts of vertigo by the time they reached the vehicle, Killian leaned his weary body against the slightly dented front fender while David pulled open the passenger side door, tossing the sword and scabbard back behind the seat. Retrieving the towel, he passed it over to Killian who shoved it against the still oozing wound as he flopped painfully onto the seat and watched as the fluffy fabric quickly soaked up the deep red blood. He let go of the towel only long enough to tug the seat belt across his chest, knowing full well that he'd likely pass out again long before they drove into town. At least the safety belt would prevent him from cracking his skull against the dashboard.

David couldn't help but notice that Killian was shivering, watching his hand trembling as he fought to fasten the seat belt. Hours of incessant drizzle on an already chilly morning had taken as much of a toll as the blood loss. David wished he'd kept a blanket or something similar in the truck as he gave the passenger side door a shove to close it, then hurried around to the driver's side while fishing for his cell phone - eternally grateful that he now had a decent service signal. He quickly located Emma's name on his speed dial list and pressed the speaker button. While the call connected, he clambered behind the steering wheel, dropping the phone onto the seat next to him as he fired up the engine and turned the heater up as high as it would go. He tried hard not to let his sight drift to the smeared bloodstains on the upholstery while waiting for Emma to answer – which she did on the third ring.

"Dad! I've been trying to reach you for over an hour. Where have you been?" Her voice sounded slightly irritated coming through the speaker.

"Sorry – been out in the woods. Hook and I chased that creature out of town this morning and followed it out to an area that didn't have any cell signal."

"So did you find it?" she wondered, remembering how many calls she'd received at the station and on her cell phone about a giant cat-like beast with huge fangs terrorizing the town. As far as she knew, no one had been hurt, but a lot of people were frightened and there had been a lot of property damage reports – mostly caused by freaked out citizens rather than the creature itself.

"You could say that," David replied somewhat sheepishly as he made a wide U-turn across the roadway. "It was more like the thing found us and now we've got a bit if a problem…"

"Problem?" Emma didn't like the sound of this already since her ever-optimistic father had a tendency to downplay things at times. "What kind if problem are we talking about?"

"Well, we tracked the beast to a clearing where it threatened us, so, I fired at it…and in the process…I accidentally shot Hook."

"You did what?!" Emma exclaimed, for a moment wondering if she'd just heard his confession correctly.

"Your father's telling the truth, Swan," Killian spoke up, his voice sounding weak and fatigued. "Despite our history, it wasn't intentional, but nonetheless, resulted in a rather agonizing hole in my shoulder."

"How bad is it?" she asked, her mind suddenly conjuring all sorts of unpleasant images.

"Pretty bad," her father replied as he stomped down harder on the accelerator wanting to get back to town as rapidly as possible – even if it meant breaking a few traffic laws. Who was going to cite him anyway? he thought as he continued to describe their predicament. "There's no exit wound and it's bleeding heavily. We're about ten minutes outside of town right now. Where's a good place to meet you so you can heal this?"

"I'm over at the loft with Mom right now. It's closer than our place so I'll just wait for you here."

"Will do," David replied, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Killian's head was slumped against his chest. "Damnit…" he sighed.

"What's wrong?" Even over the wireless phone connection, she could hear the concern in her father's tone and she found herself becoming increasingly worried.

"He passed out again," he explained, reaching over to make sure Killian still had a pulse then breathing a faint sigh of relief that he found one. It was slow and weak, but it was there.

"Again? Be honest with me, Dad – how severe is this gunshot wound?"

"Really bad," David stated, albeit reluctantly. "Its been bleeding nonstop. He's really pale and his pulse is pretty weak. I don't think he can move his left arm at all either. He tried to hide it, but it just didn't look right."

"Really trying to test the limits of what I can and can't heal, aren't you?" she said, echoes of frustration and fear very evident in the timbre of her voice. "Just get him here as quickly as possible and hopefully we won't have to rush him for emergency surgery afterward."

"Would you rather I take him directly to the Emergency room instead?" he asked as he reached the outskirts of town and made a left turn onto the main road.

"Let me try healing it first – unless you really want to try and explain what happened for an official report. You know that all firearms related incidents have to be documented."

"Good point… I just made the turn into town. Be there in about five minutes," he said, turning his head just enough to glance over at his unconscious passenger. We're almost there, he wanted to say aloud as he was reminded of a time about two years back when he was dragged to the top of a mountain in Neverland by this same often irritating pirate who was determined to make him reach the water that saved him from the toxic dreamshade. As much as he'd hated to admit it back then, Hook had saved his life and David was damned sure that he was going to return the favor – especially since this was sort of his fault.

David spotted the top of Emma's cornsilk blonde head peeking over the roof of her pale yellow Volkswagen Beetle as he made the last turn toward the loft. She'd been anxiously awaiting them outside wearing just jeans and a powder blue chambray shirt and was beginning to regret not grabbing her jacket as she spied her father's battered old truck turning down the street. Without a second of hesitation, she rushed to the passenger side of the vehicle as David pulled up to the curb behind her car. He threw open the driver's side door, momentarily forgetting to put the gearshift into park as he started to climb out to assist his daughter. The truck lurched forward a couple of inches before he realized his oversight, quickly slamming it into park and turning off the engine.

Before he had even exited the vehicle, Emma had already yanked the passenger door open and was fumbling to release the seat belt, the only thing keeping the unconscious Killian sitting upright. As she freed him from the safety belt, she gently pulled his torso toward her so she would have a better angle to inspect the wound but all she could really see was a once blue and white striped towel that was now stained with a shocking amount of blood. Delicately removing the towel from beneath layers of clothing, she could see the slightly scorched holes in the leather and cloth where the white hot bullet had pierced them. When she finally uncovered the actual entry wound, she found it raw and seemingly angled in the direction of the shoulder joint – likely the reason Killian was bleeding so severely and why he might not have been able to move his arm if he'd been struck close enough to the nerves and blood vessels that led down his left arm.

"This is a lot worse than I thought," Emma admitted, drawing Killian's limp body close to her own chest. "Hang on..." With a wave of her hand, she poofed all three of them from the side of the street to the upper loft bedroom, quickly realizing as they rematerialized that she had Killian's full weight falling into her so she shouted to her father for a little help. "Dad, help me get him up on the bed."

David's reflexes kicked in as he swiftly lunged to help his daughter shoulder Hook's unconscious weight as the pirate tumbled forward into Emma's arms. Together, they lifted Killian up onto the bed and in the process, his hook detached from the inner pocket of his jacket, his arm dropping to his side and exposing his blood drenched shirt beneath the unbuttoned vest. Her eyes widened at the startling sight, having only gotten a glimpse of the carnage earlier when his arm had been in the way. She hadn't even noticed how much blood now stained her own shirt as her focus narrowed to the task at hand – heal this.

"I don't even know how he was able to walk all the way back to the truck," David stated.

"With this much blood lost, I don't know how he did it either," she admitted. "He shouldn't have been able to stand, let alone walk. Sometimes his willpower absolutely amazes me, but now, let's see if we can fix this…"

As she hovered her right hand above Killian's injured shoulder, a soft, warm glow emanated from her palm and radiated out to her fingertips. Gentle waves and magical pulsations instantly mended flesh and bone and gradually removed all traces of the injury from his clothing as though it had never been there. Two jagged fragments of the bullet were drawn into her palm as if magnetized and as she closed her fist around those ragged bits of metal, the glow faded away.

Confident that the wound was fully healed, Emma unfurled her fingers and extended her open palm toward her father so that he could see the remnants of the bullet he'd fired.

"The bullet broke apart," David was slightly surprised. "Do you think that had something to do with why he was bleeding so much?"

"Could be," she replied, pressing the fragments into David's hand. "Depending on where the fragments were lodged, it might also explain why he couldn't move his arm, but since I don't have x-ray vision, it's just a guess." It didn't really matter now anyway, she thought. It's healed and her father was absolved of any guilt he might be clinging to for accidentally shooting her fiance, but after a few moments, father and daughter found themselves with the same confused visage.

The bullet wound was healed and both had fully expected Killian to open his eyes and have some sarcastic remarks rolling off his tongue, but even a few minutes after she'd healed him, he hadn't stirred at all. Emma tenderly placed a hand atop his chest, feeling his heart beating steadily. This wasn't right…

"Killian?" she called out to him, not really sure why he wasn't waking.

"Shouldn't he have come to by now?" David wondered, his own concern renewed as it appeared Emma's magic might not have been enough. "Why isn't he waking up?"

"I don't know," Emma confessed. "Maybe there are limits to what magic can heal. He had to have been in shock from the trauma and all that blood loss. Maybe that's something I can't take away."

"So what should we do now? Take him to the hospital?" David asked.

"For now, we'll let him rest and see if he finishes healing on his own," she said as she tugged a pastel patchwork quilt from the back of the mauve wingback chair that sat in a corner of the loft by the bed. She draped the quilt over her incapacitated pirate, then decided he might be more comfortable if she took off his leather jacket so she gently pulled at the right sleeve to free that arm, then found herself in a battle to get the left sleeve over his hook and its leather sheath or brace or whatever the hell Killian called the contraption he wore in place of his missing hand. It became a sobering moment for her when she suddenly dawned on her how difficult this must be for him everyday, yet he never complained about it and she realized how little thought she actually gave to his disability.

When she finally managed to get the jacket completely off, she half expected to look down and spot a devilish smirk on his lips as he reveled in amusement at her fighting with an article of his attire, but when she glanced over at him, his expression was still blank and unchanged as he slept. She tried to keep her disappointment in check, but David couldn't miss her barely audible sigh of frustration before she planted a tender quick kiss on Killian's lips and another on his forehead as her fingertips caressed the scruffy, slightly prickly whiskers along his jawline.

Having done all she could to aid Killian at the moment, it was now time to get some answers out of her father. While not quite the expert marksman that her mother was, she knew for a fact that David wasn't that bad of a shot. He would never have pulled the trigger knowing Killian could be in the crossfire so something out if the ordinary had to be at play here.

"Okay," she spoke up, giving her father a playful shove toward the staircase as she tossed Killian's jacket onto the chair she'd taken the quilt from. "I think it's time you told me the whole story about how this happened."

The prince simply shrugged as he descended the steps with Emma following close behind. When they reached the lower level, she dragged a chair out from the table and pointed to it, indicating to her father that the interrogation was about to begin. He settled down onto the chair and took a deep breath, trying hard to find a way to make this all sound believable.

"So just what the hell happened out there this morning?" Emma's first question was every bit as straightforward as he'd expected it to be. At least she wasn't looking directly at him while she filled two mugs with coffee at the kitchen counter. And thankfully Snow was busy feeding their son in the alcove because he wasn't sure he could look her in the eye and sound convincing right now.

"Honestly, damned if I know," he confessed as she placed a steaming mug of coffee on the table before him, then sat down in the chair right across from him. " I was right there and I still can't comprehend what happened."

"You and Killian followed the creature out if town – out to the woods?" She repeated what he had told her over the phone, figuring it best to get him to start at the beginning.

"We did. We followed it on the road as far as we could, then we were forced to track it on foot. Thankfully the rain had let up so we could see its trail of footprints in the mud before they got washed away, but we lost the tracks about a mile off the road in a clearing. That's when we encountered it – whatever 'it' was. Some kind of huge feline. Black as night and built like some sort of huge mountain lion or panther."

"It attacked you and you fired at it?" she prodded, trying to figure out where the accidentally shooting Killian part was going to come in to this tale.

"It lunged toward us so, yes – I fired, but that's where everything got weird…"

Up until then, Snow had been sitting quietly on the sofa, listening in as she cuddled her infant son to sleep. She had heard the panic in Emma's voice when the phone call came in and watched her daughter dart out the door to meet her father downstairs. Having only heard one side of the conversation, she had no real idea what had transpired except that someone was hurt and Emma hadn't divulged any more information to let her know what was going on. Now that baby Neal was sound asleep, the tenderly placed him in his bassinet for his nap and decided to interrupt the conversation.

"Pardon me for being completely lost here, but what is going on?" Snow wondered as she sat down at the table next to her husband. "I remember you heading off earlier this morning after reports of a wild animal running through the streets. That wasn't the weird part?"

"Apparently not, Mom," Emma said, "because Dad is about to get to the part where he explains how he accidentally shot Killian."

"You shot Killian?!" Snow exclaimed, giving her husband an open handed smack on the arm.

"Ow!" David griped, feigning insult and injury until Snow's glare called him out on his act. "Look - I didn't do it on purpose and Emma already healed it."

"Where is he then? Is he okay?" Snow wondered, putting some of the pieces together as Emma explained.

"Upstairs. I healed the wound, but he hasn't regained consciousness yet," Emma didn't dwell too much on that fact and instead, turned back to her father. "Now, let's get back to the 'how'. You missed the animal and hit Killian instead?"

"Not exactly," David began, pausing as he searched for words that wouldn't make him sound crazy since he didn't have Hook sitting here to confirm the truth. "My aim certainly isn't that bad and Hook wasn't in the line of fire. He was actually a few feet to my right – nowhere near my line of fire – at least not until the bullet changed direction…"

Emma leaned forward, suddenly both intrigued and befuddled by this development, but her mother beat her to the punch…

"Bullets don't just change direction," Snow stated with a scowl.

"You think I don't know that?" David replied snidely, worried that he wasn't going to be believed no matter what he said.

"Could the creature you were tracking have been magical?" Emma asked. "Maybe it was some sort of defense mechanism?"

"Around here, you never know anymore," David stated honestly, "but at the time, we didn't think that. I didn't even think about magic until I watched that bullet stop in mid-air and change direction. There was barely time to react…" It was clear that he felt completely responsible for Killian's injury, even if there had been some magical interference.

"I guess it's a good thing that he only got struck in the shoulder. A few inches to his right and he wouldn't have made it back to the truck." Emma realized only after she'd said the words how haunting they actually sounded, taking a deep breath before continuing with her next question. "What did the creature do after Killian was shot? It didn't attack again?"

"No," David responded, "it disappeared. Maybe it was scared off, but we weren't sticking around to find out. We headed straight for the truck and got about halfway before he blacked out. For a moment, I thought about leaving him so I could reach the road quicker and call for help, but when this annoying raven started stalking us, I changed my mind. It was just too dangerous to leave him alone – no matter how much he slowed us down."

"Thank you for not leaving him behind. Who knows what might have happened if you'd left him alone – even if only for a few minutes…" Emma certainly had a vivid enough imagination and more than enough experience to picture the potential outcome. "I'm just worried about that thing still being out there somewhere with possibly some powerful defenses."

"That would be an understatement," David sighed.

"We'll have to figure out what to do about that thing, but right now, my more immediate concern is Killian and why he's not waking up," Emma stated, visibly baffled, but still determined to figure this mystery out.

"Go check on him," Snow encouraged her. "Your father and I will work on drawing up a battle plan."

Emma gave her mother the best "Thanks, Mom" smile she could muster as she pushed her chair away from the table and scurried up the stairs to the loft. Even before she reached the top step, she could already see that his position hadn't changed, fostering her disappointment as she ascended the last two stairs. Making her way over to the bed, she stood above Killian for a few moments staring at his face which didn't look quite as pale as earlier, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd done something wrong. Why wasn't he staring back at her with those azure eyes? Had her magic missed something when she healed the bullet wound? Maybe another fragment? This was just so damned frustrating she thought as she sat down on the edge of the bed beside him.

"Ugh…," she sighed. "What did I do wrong? Why won't you wake up?" She didn't really expect an answer but found it so much easier to deal with her self-annoyance when she asked the questions out loud.

As she abandoned herself to her thoughts, she'd also lost track of time, only wanting to run her fingers through his still slightly damp dark hair and squeeze his hand so tightly that she worried she might bruise him. But then a sudden spasm snapped her back to this reality, feeling Killian coiling into defensive mode as his conscious mind returned and instinctively reacted with the same involuntary fear and apprehension as he had earlier in the forest. The overwhelming feeling of dread at not knowing where he was or what might be waiting for him took hold as his eyelids popped open, absorbing his surroundings,

"Killian," she smiled as she spoke his name softly, not wanting to startle him further, but so relieved that he was awake at last. "I'm right here." She placed a reassuring hand atop his chest to help calm his temporary anxiety. "You're okay…"

It took a few seconds for his still recovering brain to process her words and for his vision to focus, but it soon became clear that he was in David and Snow White's home – more specifically the upper loft that had once been Emma's bedroom. There was a certain awkwardness to the situation, but he tried to push that out of his mind as the realization swept over him that his shoulder wasn't aching any longer and he was no longer soaked in his own blood.

"Swan, I see your father managed to get my sorry arse back to you," he grinned as his fingertips drifted over the once raw and torn up site of the wound just to make certain that it was really completely healed. "Thank you. I owe your father a debt of gratitude as well."

"He's downstairs with my mom so you can thank him in person in a few minutes, but first – we need to talk."

"If you're worried that I'm going to hold a grudge against your father for trying to kill me again, I assure you…" Killian had hoped to lighten her mood with a joke, certain her broodiness was related to this morning's less than enjoyable accident, but she cut him off abruptly.

"Killian, I didn't just heal your wound," she told him, noting his immediate, quite confused reaction.

"But you did heal me, Swan," he replied, not really sure what her statement was supposed to mean.

"Nearly forty five minutes ago," she stated, the implications striking him hard as he now knew why she was so upset. He'd interpreted the meaning of the word just differently than she'd intended. "You should have been completely healed and I fully expected you to wake up right away, but you didn't and I can't for the life of me figure out why!"

"You needn't burden yourself with this," he assured her as he pressed his hand against the mattress to help push himself up into a seated position, but he felt strangely off-balance as he did. Emma had intuitively recognized his unusually unsteady motion and wasn't about to let him deny what they both knew.

"Can you move your left arm?" she asked bluntly. Such a simple question, yet he was going to have to choose his answer cautiously. They had both fought so many battles against doubt and there was no way he ever wanted her to doubt her abilities with magic, but at the same time, there wasn't a way to physically hide the affliction from her. She'd know he was lying and that would only hurt her more.

"Sadly, right now, I cannot move it," he responded without making eye contact. It was a rare action for him, but that tiny bit of body language said it all – he didn't want to disappoint her. "I'm sure this is just a temporary inconvenience. Perhaps nerves take longer to heal?"

"You're an expert on nerve damage now?"

"When you spend weeks at sea, sometimes leagues away from the closest landfall, you had best have a decent working knowledge of human anatomy. I've tended my fair share of lacerations, stab wounds and even removed a few musket balls. We won't even mention cannon shrapnel and of course – severed limbs…"

"Killian...," she sighed in disbelief that he was trying to make light of all of this.

"Swan, may I remind you that I've spent centuries living with one hand. I can bloody well adapt to life with one arm should it come to that."

"But you shouldn't have to," she argued, sliding closer to him and gently caressing his numb left shoulder. He wanted so much to be able to feel the sensation, the warmth of her touch, but it wasn't there. He could see her hand there and closed his eyes as he imagined what it was supposed to feel like, but it was as if his left arm had ceased to exist. "Anyway," Emma continued, refocusing his thoughts, "if you're up to it, we should probably head downstairs and see what ideas my parents have come up with to deal with that creature."

"I'm fine," he assured her as he tossed the quilt to the side and swung his legs over the side of the bed, planting his feet on the floor – somewhat surprised and embarrassed that Emma had left his boots on – mud and all. Emma saw the slightly guilty expression on his face and couldn't help but laugh. "My apologies for the soil and bloodstains I left behind."

"It's okay. I'll deal with the bedspread later."

"Your shirt too, Love," he said with a meek smile. She let her eyes drift downward to see the dried brownish red splotches on the pale blue chambray that she'd been oblivious to.

"Its nothing I can't fix," she stated, but didn't appear to be in any hurry to remedy. A few stains on a bedspread or a shirt just weren't that important at the moment.

"My jacket then?" he asked, gesturing toward the chair behind her. She retrieved it as she stood up, handing it to him as she took a few steps toward the staircase. As she took one step down, she made the mistake of turning her head to see him struggling to pull the jacket over his hook and up his immobile left arm, but couldn't manage to get the jacket into a position where he could get his right arm aligned with the sleeve. After just having argued this point with him, she couldn't believe she'd not given a thought to how difficult this small task would be for him.

"Here – let me help," she said, returning to his side and pulling the leather jacket taut across his back and shoulders so he could reach the right sleeve. He tried to avoid eye contact with her, clearly angry and frustrated with himself, but as their eyes met, they didn't need to exchange any words. Sometimes his gaze spoke so much more than his words ever could. "Why don't we see if my parents have something to use as a sling?"

"I'd rather not draw attention to it," he stated as he shook his head. He stared off into the distance for a moment, then gave her a sheepish little smile. "I assure you, I will manage.". As far as he was concerned, any conversation regarding the injury and it's side effects was over and now it was time for strategy. There was still a menacing wild beast out there somewhere and he needed to make sure Emma was focused on dispatching it, not worrying herself about his inability to move an arm.

As they came down the stairs to the main level, Killian could see David's slightly guilty but relieved face. He had to suppress an urge to foster the prince's guilt further knowing that Emma wouldn't approve of even a bit of good natured ribbing right now.

"Glad to see you back in your feet," David spoke up. "You had us all worried for a while there."

"No need to worry over me," Killian grinned for a moment, then allowed his expression to harden. "We have far bigger concerns to deal with."

"Yes, we do," Snow stated. "David and I thought of a few ways to trap the creature, but first we have to figure out a way to draw it out into the open."

"I'm guessing that my magic is going to play a huge part in trapping it?" Emma wondered, sitting back down in the chair across from her father while Killian chose to remain standing behind her.

"We're going to have to use magic to combat magic," David said. "Conventional weapons certainly seem to be useless."

"So, do we attempt to find that clearing again or do we wait for the beast to find its way into town?" Killian asked.

"Honestly, I'd prefer to face it here. " David admitted. "I think we'd have more of an advantage here in our element than out there in the woods."

"I have to agree," Emma stated. "Question is – how do we get it to come to us?"

"Good question," David replied. "We don't even know where it disappeared to after it attacked us out there. Anyone have any ideas of how to attract a wild giant cat?" The blank stares from his family answered that question, leading him to switch gears to a different plan of action. "I'll make a quick patrol around town to see if there are any recent sightings of it damage from the creature."

"Sounds like a good idea," Emma said. "Maybe someone has seen it."

"I'll go with your father," Killian stated. "Two sets of eyes searching for the beast would be more advantageous."

"You're not afraid I might shoot you again?" David teased.

"If you wound me twice in a single day, I don't believe you'll be able to say it's accidental any longer," the pirate smirked.

"Killian, are you sure that's a good idea?" Emma wondered, hoping that he would reconsider. "You're still not exactly completely healed." She tilted her head backward in order to look up at him and try to appeal to his sensible side, but all he did was lean over and plant a kiss on her forehead.

"It only takes one hand to wield a sword," he stated before heading to the door with David. Emma glared at the back of his head, stifling a cry of frustration by pulling her fist to her mouth and biting into her thumb. Snow tried hard to conceal a tiny smile curling on her lips having been married long enough to recognize her daughter's body language.

"What's wrong?" she asked her daughter, her voice gentle and unassuming.

"Okay…," Emma sighed as she took a deep breath. "I'm obviously still new to this whole serious, committed relationship thing so I've got to know – are there times when Dad drives you so absolutely crazy that you want to strangle him, but you can't because as much as you disagree, you know you love him and part of his argument might actually be right?"

Snow wasn't quite sure all of what she had taken on with her simple question, but she still had to chuckle.

"With your father, I probably get that feeling at least a couple of times a week. It's normal. Are you and Killian having a disagreement over something?"

"His shoulder isn't completely healed. My magic didn't repair the nerve damage apparently so he can't move his arm or his shoulder at all. I didn't want him going back out there looking for that creature with just one usable arm."

"I gather the thought of it doesn't bother him?"

"He insists he can adjust to manage with one arm."

"And if all of the people I know, he's definitely the one who could do it. He's already had to make up for his missing hand. It's not that much of a stretch if he doesn't regain use of his arm."

"And I know that, Mom," Emma sighed. "That's what's so aggravating about this. I know he can adapt. I don't want him to have to."

"So, you're feeling guilty about having failed him?" Snow realized that Emma's doubt of her own magical abilities was the root of the problem. "Emma, if the bullet wound was as serious as your father described it, you probably saved Killian's life. If the price of remaining alive is losing the use of his arm, I'm sure it's one he's willing to pay."

" I know. The old 'magic always comes with a price' clause. And I know he's right, but I wish he wouldn't throw himself right back out there."

"Its part of who he is. Killian's never going to be one to back down from a fight, and why should he? You're not going to change that instinct."

"Yes- I know, but I'm allowed to be irritated by it from time to time," Emma smiled, knowing her mother – and yes, even Killian – were right. He would manage perfectly fine no matter what the outcome but it was turning into a valuable lesson that her magic wasn't perfect and there could be serious ramifications she might not see coming. But of course since this was Storybrooke, she didn't have to worry about having too much time to dwell on any of it. Her phone started buzzing away on the table and with a quick dip of her head, she saw that it was her father calling. He and Killian hadn't even been out of the loft for fifteen minutes. Had they actually found something already?

"Did you find it?" she asked, not wasting any time on greetings as she answered the call.

"Wow – no hello, Dad or anything?"

"Seriously?" she really didn't want to get into another petty argument and David immediately picked up from his daughter's inflection that she was growing quite impatient.

"No, we haven't found the creature, but it seems like the whole town is looking for it. I made the mistake of stopping at the station first. It's a bit of a catastrophe over here and I'm stuck. Think you can get over here?"

"I'll be there as quickly as I can," Emma groaned, knowing that she was about to walk into a fiasco. "For now, try to keep things under control. Deputize Killian if you have to."

"Already done that – at least unofficially. See you in a few."

Emma disconnected the call and glanced wearily over to her mother who simply grinned and said "Go". Time to tug on her signature jacket and get back to life as Sheriff.

When she pushed open the front door to the Sheriff's Station a few minutes later, she almost wanted to do an immediate 180 and retreat to the relative safety of her little yellow Bug. The small station was crowded with townsfolk pointing fingers and rambling to David and she could already overhear Regina ranting about something. As if they all hadn't had a difficult enough day…

"You know, I'd really prefer to take this up with our actual Sheriff," Regina shouted in David's direction, making sure her voice was heard over all others, "not the prince and the pirate…"

"Well then, it's a good thing I'm here," Emma interrupted her in an attempt to rescue her frazzled father from the onslaught as it didn't take much time to realize that everyone had the same complaint – the creature from that morning. She looked around for Killian and found that he'd wisely retreated to her office. Without any official capacity, it probably was best that he didn't get involved with the present confrontations. "For all of those who are here to file official complaints about the wild animal who attacked our town this morning, we're working on a plan to deal with it. Unless there were any physical injuries or property damage caused by the creature itself, you don't need to file additional reports. I'll take care of it."

With her announcement, the room hushed and gradually, all but one citizen filed out the door. Without so many voices screeching at him, David could now approach that remaining man and direct him toward a desk to take a statement.

"Is that true?" Regina demanded as Emma walked up to her. "You have a plan to deal with that thing? I've been fielding calls all day that should have been coming to you."

"I've been getting them too," Emma reminded her as she casually pointed toward her office and led the mayor to where they could speak with a little more privacy. Killian didn't wait to be asked to move as he stood up and stepped out of the side door, but Emma stopped him before he cleared the door frame. "No, you can stay."

"Do we need an audience?" Regina asked, somewhat annoyed that she hadn't allowed Killian to leave.

"We need his perspective," Emma stated. "Killian and David already faced this thing earlier today."

"And they didn't capture it?" Regina questioned with an air of utter disgust.

"We drove it out of town," Killian replied to her question, somewhat irate that Regina had directed the question to Emma when he was standing right there. "But we may be dealing with a magical creature."

"What do you mean magical?" Regina wondered.

"When we confronted the beast, the prince fired his weapon at it, but something changed the path of that bullet." Even as the words tumbled from his lips, he knew they didn't sound believable. He'd lived it, and even he would be skeptical.

"I beg your pardon?" Regina stared at him with exactly the skepticism he'd expected.

"Something made the bullet stop in mid-air, then altered it's direction to send it straight toward me. Certainly looked like magic at the time and it still sounds like magic as I'm relaying the story to you now."

"You don't look any worse for wear for someone who got in front of a bullet," Regina clearly still didn't believe him. "Where did the creature go after it attacked?"

"Regretfully, I didn't see where the beast went. I was rather preoccupied with an extremely painful wound to my shoulder – one that thankfully Emma was able to heal." He didn't go into any further detail. As long as Regina didn't pick up on the paralysis, there was no need to elaborate. "All I know is that we didn't see the beast again as we made our way back to town, but since I was delirious from blood loss, my recollection might not be the best." He had related as much of the tale as he could and found himself visibly relieved when David poked his head into the office because now the prince could return to getting the third degree grilling from Regina.

"The pirate says neither of you saw where the creature went after it attacked you," Regina pounced on David before he could even get out whatever words he'd come here planning to say.

"No – we didn't. I'm sorry. It was rather distracting to see a bullet stop and change direction. After that, my first priority was to make sure he was okay," he made a nod toward Killian. "The only animal we saw after that was an annoying raven that seemed to be stalking us."

"A raven?" Regina asked, suddenly showing a greater interest in David's story.

"Yeah – a big, mangy black raven," David repeated. "It followed us all the way back to the truck. Pretty sure it was waiting for me to let down my guard and leave Hook alone for a second so it could strike."

"There may be more to it than you think. In folklore, the raven is often thought of as foretelling death and the birds are definitely carrion loving creatures, but some believe that ravens themselves are magical or that they identify the presence of a nearby magical being." Regina paused for a moment as she thought about the information she'd just shared, then a wide smile crossed her face as she realized what they might have encountered. "I think I might know what we're dealing with and it would explain how the beast disappeared so quickly. I'll bet we're dealing with a sprite."

"A sprite?" Emma wondered. "Is that like a fairy?"

"Similar. Both are magical beings, but sprites are a bit more mischievous – some even malevolent," Regina replied.

"How so?" Emma asked.

"Sprites get bored easily so they'll often play tricks to entertain themselves. They're also shapeshifters so they can appear in any form they choose," Regina stated.

"So the big, menacing cat we chased out of town this morning could have been a bored sprite?" David wondered.

"It could have been – and you might have interrupted it's game." Regina tried to decide for herself if the thought of a sprite being behind everything was a better possibility than just having a wild animal on the loose. She wasn't really certain either way.

"So how do we get it to show itself?" Emma asked. "I don't suppose there's a way to summon a sprite?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Regina stated snidely

"Looks like we're going to need a change in tactics," Emma sighed, leaning against her desk while she tried to think.

"Well, since it still can't hurt to make the rounds of town, I'll see if I can spot an out of place animal," David suggested.

"Go," Emma told him. "Just be careful. If Regina's correct, this thing could take any form and we don't know yet if it's really dangerous or just toying with us." David nodded and headed out the front door of the station, but as quickly as he'd departed, he came flying back through the door.

"I'm pretty sure that same raven is sitting out on the hood of my truck right now," David stated. "I doubt this would be a coincidence…"

"Probably not," Emma stated, following her father out to the street. "Let's find out what it wants." She stomped out the door, determined to get some answers and Regina and Killian were only a step behind her. The scruffy raven ruffled it's feathers and fanned out its wings in defiance as they approached it, making its voice heard with a loud, throaty call. Emma stood ready to blast the scavenger should it get aggressive, but first, she wanted to see if it would show its true self. "Okay, bird," she shouted, feeling rather silly addressing the raven as though it were human. "We know what you really are, so why don't you just show yourself."

Letting out a cry that could only be described as somewhere between a screech and a squawk, the raven hopped down from the truck onto the street and then, in a swirl of dust and dark feathers, transformed into a timid looking petite brunette in an ankle length ivory shift dress. Her mousy pin straight chestnut hair fell past her shoulders and as she looked up at Emma, the mysterious woman had eyes that were the deepest shade of coffee brown that Emma had ever seen and they were flecked with angry glints of gold and topaz, but there was no readable emotion on the sprite's face.

"What do you want here, sprite?" Regina called out to the woman who stared past both the mayor and the sheriff – her deep brown eyes drawn toward Killian whom she studied with a somewhat confused, yet pleased expression forming on her face. In a flash, the sprite vanished from her position next to David's truck and suddenly reappeared on the sidewalk in front of the Sheriff station, behind where the pirate stood. Before Killian even realized the sprite was behind him, she reached out and tapped the back of his neck which instantly rendered him unconscious. Only he didn't fall all of the way to the concrete - the sprite snapped her fingers and both she and Killian vanished.

"Killian!" Emma cried out as she watched him disappear before she could even react. She stood unmoving in the middle of the street for a few seconds, her mind clouded with too many thoughts. Why did she take him? What could this sprite possibly want from him? She didn't know much about sprites but she was already quite certain she didn't like this one. It took a moment, but as her senses cleared, she realized she had a way to find him! Darting across the street and into the station, she peeled off her leather jacket and tossed it onto the nearest desk as she ducked into the back room where, after many an overnight stakeout, she'd learned to keep a change of clothing handy.

"Emma? What are you doing?" David asked as he followed his daughter inside, stopping outside of her office while she went rummaging through the small storage slash break room off the hallway leading to the alley.

"We're going to need a tracking spell," Emma replied, emerging newly clad in a honey colored thermal pullover while clutching her chambray shirt in her left hand.

"Just how do you plan to track a sprite?" Regina asked as she sauntered back through the doorway behind David. "And what's with the sudden change of clothing? Nothing better to do with your time?"

"I'm not planning to track the sprite. I'm tracking Killian," Emma stated.

"Okay – conjuring up a tracking spell is simple enough but you need something of his…" Regina reminded her as Emma held up the shirt she'd just taken off. "How exactly do you plan to track your boyfriend with your shirt?"

"It may be my shirt," Emma began as she opened up the crumpled shirt enough to let Regina see the bloodstains that had been obscured by her jacket earlier, "but it's Killian's blood."

"You mean the pirate was actually telling the truth about being shot with your errant bullet?" Regina glanced over at David, slightly taken aback as she had been overly skeptical of Killian's story. "I thought he might have hit the rum a little too hard…"

"It was a redirected bullet, not an errant one," David defended. "And yes – he was telling the truth! He nearly bled to death trying to get back here to Emma to have the wound healed."

"Then you can bet she was the one who caused it," Regina stated. "This sprite – she changed the bullet's path. You can bet she followed you into town because she needs something from you. She took Hook because she wants us to go after her."

"What is this – a sick version of hide and seek?". Emma wondered as Regina produced a glass vial containing the bright blue liquid potion.

"In a way – yes," Regina responded. "She wants something and she's using Hook as bait."

"Then let's get on with finding where she took him," Emma stated as she poured the potion over her stained shirt. In a few moments, she'd know where to locate him and she'd have a whole lot of questions for a sprite and she was determined to get answers.

Dirt.

It was all he could smell, all he could taste as he slowly came to. Spitting out a mouthful of dust, Killian found himself face down on the earthen floor of what appeared to be a cavern. He raised his head slightly to get a better view of his surroundings, finding nothing but walls of rock and packed sediment, interspersed with tangles of gnarled tree roots. He could make out the flicker of a flame off in the distance and as his vision adjusted to the dim lighting, he noticed that part of the floor was covered in colorful woven rugs and further into the cavern, a shadow cast on a wall let him know he wasn't alone.

He pushed himself up off of the floor, struggling a bit with just one usable arm, his left arm still numb and positioned awkwardly beneath him from an apparent fall. The last thing he could recall was standing on the sidewalk outside of the Sheriff station having just watched a raven transform into a maiden, but then something cold touched the back of his neck and he must have blacked out. Where the hell was he now? And better yet – how the hell did he get here?

"I see you're awake," he heard a woman's voice say as a figure stepped out of the shadow. He recognized her has the maiden from the street, knowing now that she must be the sprite they sought. "Are you able to speak?" she asked him as though she were uncertain what effect her magic may have had on him by knocking him unconscious.

"Aye, I can speak," Killian replied, trying to get a read on her as he sat up, leaning his back against the cool rough rock wall. Her face was expressionless, yet at the same time, rather intimidating. "But it would appear that you have me at a bit of a disadvantage as to why you've abducted me."

"I must apologize for my tactics," she began, her voice as emotionless as her face, "but I don't intend to hurt you again."

"Again?" he wondered, then realized what she meant. "It was you who changed the trajectory of the bullet this morning."

"Yes, that was me," she confessed. "I am sorry that my defenses caused your injury, but it was necessary at the time."

"You found it necessary to alter the path of a bullet so that it would strike me?" he didn't understand her logic. She could have simply sent the bullet off into the trees or have it fall harmlessly to the forest floor, but she didn't . She'd intentionally directed it at him.

"Need I remind you that I could have sent the projectile straight into your heart?" she stated with an icy detachment that thoroughly disturbed him. "I needed the distraction so my brother could escape."

"Your brother?"

"The being that you and your friend were pursuing – that was my brother trapped in animal form," her voice softened a bit as she spoke of her family.

"We were only trying to protect our town. David's actions were in self-defense."

"Which is why I didn't kill you. The distraction of your injury provided me time to get my brother away, but I underestimated how serious your wound was. You'll have to forgive me as my knowledge of human physiology is limited – which is why I followed you and your friend, making sure you made it back to your town and to the healer I heard you speak of."

"You do realize that my family and friends will come looking for me?"

"I'm counting on it," she stated. "Its obvious you have a very strong connection with the one you called Emma. I want her to find you. As I said, I have no intent to harm you. I just need her assistance."

"Why?" he wondered, not certain why a magical sprite would need anything from Emma.

"I need use of her magic and I'm certain she'll come for you."

"So, I'm merely a pawn to force her hand?" he demanded.

"If you choose to see it that way. The truth is, when I saw you on the street, it appeared that your wound was fully healed, so I brought you with me, knowing that she'd track you. Only as I watch you now, I'm concerned that her healing magic might not be as powerful as I'd hoped as you don't appear to have use of your left arm."

Killian found himself somewhat surprised and perhaps a bit concerned that she was aware of his present challenge which led him to shift uncomfortably while still sitting on the cavern floor. What if this sprite didn't believe that Emma would be able to help if she hadn't been able to properly heal his wounds?

"All magic tends to have limitations," he stated, taking a bit of a defensive posture, "but I'll take this to the alternative."

"So you knew there might be unintended consequences and yet you still trusted her to heal you?"

"Always," he stated. "I've never not trusted her." The statement wasn't a complete truth. There had been one time she'd betrayed his trust, but he tended not to count things done and said while under the Dark One curse. They'd long since forgiven each other those transgressions even though forgiving themselves was taking far longer.

"I was hoping you felt that way," she said, her attention suddenly diverted to an echo in the distance – the sound of voices. "I believe we have company."

Not wanting to waste time arguing with her father, Emma allowed him to accompany her as they magically transported to the location identified by the tracking potion and the traces of Killian's blood on her shirt. Still clutching the shirt in her hand, they materialized deep in the forest outside of Storybrooke – a spot that David recognized as the cloudy grey smoke cleared.

"This looks like the same place where Hook and I faced off against that creature this morning," he said, curious as to why the sprite would have brought Killian back here.

"Well, we know he's around here somewhere," she stated as the faint glow of the tracking potion faded from her shirt. Having served its purpose, Emma used a little flash of magic to dispatch it away, not needing to be reminded of how it had become useful to them even as her eyes were drawn to a smear of blood on a patch of grass nearby. Can't think about that now, she told herself. Just find him.. "When we find him, I want the two of you to get out of the area and let me deal with the sprite. No arguments. There must be someplace close to this clearing where the sprite could be hiding."

Only before they could even orient themselves to start a search of the tree lined thicket, a woman's voice called out from behind them. "I've no intention of hiding."

Emma spun to her left to see the same petite brunette they'd seen transformed from a scraggly raven step out from behind a massive oak tree trunk. It was so deceptive that nothing about this meek looking woman seemed intimidating, but having watched her take Killian out with just a touch, Emma wasn't going to let her guard down.

"Where's Killian?" Emma demanded. "What have you done with him?"

"Your pirate friend is unharmed," the sprite assured her while making a sweeping gesture toward the foliage she'd just emerged from. "He's in a cavern just beyond these trees. We've been awaiting your arrival."

David glanced over at Emma who, with a simple nod of her head, told him to go.

"What do you mean you were expecting me?" she asked the sprite while her father rushed off through the trees in search of a cavern.

"I knew you would come in search of the pirate. He means a great deal to you, doesn't he?"

"That isn't any of your concern. It doesn't answer why you kidnapped him or how you know that he was a pirate. What do you want from us?"

"I need your assistance with magic to heal someone important to me," the sprite seemed sincere, but Emma wasn't yet convinced. "I heard your friends talking about how you could heal the pirate's wounds so I followed them to see if that were true. Witnessing that it was, I had to find a way to bring you here. In my haste, my first thought was to abduct your friend - and to answer the second part of your question, I've encountered many a pirate in my lifetime. I'm quite familiar with their methods. Yours is a unique one, but I still know a pirate when I see one. It's in the way he carries himself – the way he brandishes a sword. It's part of his soul."

"I suppose it is, but you could have just asked me for my help," Emma stated, hoping that by now, her father had located the cave and that he and Killian were on their way out of the area. "You didn't need to coerce me by taking Killian."

"I'll concede that it wasn't my wisest decision and for that, I apologize, but if you will help me, my family will be in your debt."

"Who do you want me to heal?" Emma asked, still skeptical, but beginning to understand the woman's intentions.

"My brother. As shapeshifters, we run the risk of becoming trapped in an unnatural form if we get injured or try to maintain a form too long. The feline who menaced your town this morning – whom your friends tracked back here to the forest – that was my brother. I can tell that he is hurting, but the magic we possess doesn't include healing powers so I cannot help him myself. While I do regret for redirecting the projectile that caused your friend's injury, if I hadn't done so, I wouldn't have known that a healer with light magic existed in this land. My kind keep to ourselves for the most part. Most of your kind view us as troublemakers."

"Where is your brother now?" Emma wondered.

"In the same cavern. I rendered him unconscious as he's too unpredictable and dangerous in his current state."

"Then let's go. I'll see what I can do to help, but I'm not promising anything."

"I understand. The pirate reminded me of the limits of magic." This little female sprite clearly didn't show emotions openly, but Emma could swear she saw the faintest smile form on her lips when she thought no one was looking. They'd clearly misjudged each other and while Emma didn't especially agree with the sprite's choices, they just might have more in common than they might expect.

The cavern wasn't far from the cleaning, but the entrance was well concealed behind a tangled patch of brambles and wild berry vines. Seeing no sign of Killian or her father, Emma could only hope that they were already well clear of the area.

"Here," the sprite instructed, directing Emma toward an opening in the thorn covered bushes. "This is my cavern." She could see that the interior was partially lit by the flicker of candles or lanterns and rugs adorned portions of the packed earth floor. There was no visible furniture so perhaps sprites lived a very patrician life. "My brother is back here." Down the darkest corridor, Emma thought. Of course.

As they made their way deeper into the cave though, it seemed to illuminate by itself. Either that or her eyes were adjusting to the dim light quicker than humanly possible. Whatever it might have been, it was quite a bit creepy and Emma wanted nothing more than to heal this thing and get the hell out of there.

And then she saw the beast – her eyes widening and darkening to a deeper shade of green as they fell on the huge feline creature lying on its side just a few feet in front of her. It was definitely the biggest cat she'd ever seen and she couldn't imagine the thoughts that surely crossed both Killian and her father's minds as they stared down this massive beast alone.

"That is one big cat…," Emma stated as she moved tentatively closer to the beast.

"Can you help him?" the young woman asked. "Can you get him out of that feline form?"

"I'll try." Emma replied as she crouched beside the slumbering creature, extending her open hands toward it but not close enough to make contact with it. The magical glow from her palms barely reflected from the beast's inky black fur, but she could sense the physical changes before the figure before her changed form, first shrinking to a less imposing size, then gradually taking on human traits as a young man was revealed. He looked much like his sister – very similar slight build with the same chestnut hair. His attire was as simple as his sister's – an ivory linen tunic with pale khaki colored breeches. He wasn't wearing any shoes, but then neither was his sister so maybe sprites didn't own them. Regardless, Emma didn't really care. She'd done her part. He wasn't a cat anymore.

The sprite lowered herself to her knees next to her brother and tapped him on the forehead, similar to the way she'd touched Killian's neck earlier. "Wake now, brother," she stated as Emma stood and backed away. The young man stirred and opened his eyes which not surprisingly were the same haunting shade of deep chocolate brown, but he shrank back in fear when he spied Emma. "Its okay," his sister assured him. "She's a healer. She helped you." Turning to Emma, the young woman's eyes seemed warmer this time – less angry. "Thank you for your help. Your magic is a special gift. Embrace it and be confident. It may not be infallible, but it will serve you well."

Emma gave the sprites a sincere "you're welcome" before they said their farewells. They didn't seem to be troublemakers, but nothing was ever as it seemed around here so she was going to have to reserve judgement for another day. Right now, she just wanted to get the hell out of this cave and find her family. This had been enough for one day!

After finding Killian wandering out of the cavern the sprite had directed him to, David decided their best course of action was to get as far away from the clearing as they could and head toward the road as they'd done earlier that day. Since they wouldn't be slowed by an injury this time, they knew they could get back to the highway in less than fifteen minutes, hoping that Emma would assume they'd venture that direction. Neither of them had been expecting to find her waiting on the side if the road though as they reached the end of the trail.

"I thought you might come back this way," she smiled as Killian quickened his pace to reach her side and pull her into a tight embrace, relieved that the sprite hadn't harmed her. David turned away from the couple with an almost embarrassed grin taking over his face, obviously happy that both his daughter and Killian were okay, but not really wanting to watch their affectionate snuggling on the side of the highway.

"She told me that she needed your magic," Killian said in a near whisper, his lips grazing her cheek as he hugged her.

"She did," Emma replied, understanding his concern as she continued to hold tight to him. "She asked me to heal her brother so he could return to his own form."

"The beast from this morning," Killian stated, indicating that he knew at least a portion of the story. "She said her actions had been to protect him."

"By making a bullet hit you instead?" David wondered. "Rather extreme way of defending him, don't you think?"

"We all do what we have to do to protect our loved ones," Emma reminded him. "I believe you told me that – or at least something along those lines."

"Yeah, that does sound like something I would say," David conceded. "And it's pretty true."

"So, do you think this is the last we'll see of these sprite beings?" Killian asked.

"For a while, at least. They promised me that if they decide to come into town again, they'll do so in human form," she explained. "Now, how about we get back home? And how about we head to Granny's? I'm starving."

"Not going to argue with you, love," Killian smiled as Emma pulled away from him, then reached back to caress his left shoulder. While he didn't say anything to her before she transported the three of them back to town, materializing in the courtyard outside of Granny's diner, he was certain he had felt her touch. It had been ever so faint, but he had felt the gentle pressure of her fingers. He wasn't yet able to will the limb to move, but with the return of sensation, he was convinced all would be fine.

No sooner had the smoke cleared, Emma's phone was already buzzing. She pulled it out of her jacket pocket to see that it was her son calling so she had to take this one.

"It's Henry," she said. "Give me a moment to let him know everything's good." She wandered out to the trellis while chatting with her son, leaving David and Killian waiting outside the diner's front entrance.

"You know," David smirked as they stood there awaiting Emma's return, "I'd say we're even."

"Even?" Killian wondered. "Afraid I don't follow, mate."

"For dragging each other's sorry ass through the wilderness," David replied and now Killian knew exactly what he was referring to.

"I was never keeping score," he assured his future father in law. "It was the honorable thing to do."

"Well, I guess I have been," David replied. "I've felt for a long time that I owed you a huge debt for what you did in Neverland and since I'm an honorable man, I felt I should repay my debts."

"Then consider us even," Killian grinned with the awkward little smile he reserved only for those moments when he didn't feel worthy. Emma recognized the expression immediately as she rejoined them, but knew better than to ask. She knew Killian would fill her in later, and if he didn't, she wasn't concerned about secrets between these two men she loved so dearly.

"If you two are done, can we go eat?" Emma asked. "There's a grilled cheese sandwich in there calling my name…"

"You two go ahead," David said. "I'm not playing the third wheel here. Besides, your mother would be all over me for spoiling my dinner."

"Thanks for everything today, Dad," Emma said, giving him a hug before he headed home.

"Everything?" he wondered, knowing what she meant, yet teasingly reminding her that he was partially responsible for some of the day's events.

"Maybe not everything," Emma smiled, understanding him completely but not dispensing any blame. "I'll come by to get my car later – and take care of the bedspread upstairs." David wasn't sure what she meant by that, but he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as he gave Killian a friendly pat on the arm, then headed out to the sidewalk for the walk home.

Emma intertwined her fingers with Killian's as they strolled hand in hand into Granny's just as they would on any normal day.

Any normal day? Emma laughed to herself. Not around here…