Chapter Text
Ariel’s body lay limp in Regina’s arms as she appeared in a cloud of smoke. The cold white interior walls of the hospital were all that greeted Regina, Doctor Whale nowhere to be found. Perfect. Just perfect.
Oh wait. There’s a nurse, ducking her head around the corner with a nervous look on her face. Normally the fact that just the sight of her set another person on edge would have been a point of pride. Today it just made her feel more exasperated.
“Find that lazy, no good doctor and bring him here. Now.” Regina ordered. A whimper escaped the nurse's mouth before her head ducked back beyond the wall. Regina was left listening to the sound of hurriedly retreating footsteps as she held onto the still unmoving body of the mermaid.
Normally she would have just tossed the red-head to the floor and been done with it, but damn it all she actually owed the fish a favor. Repaying it by giving her a concussion on top of everything else… well, she actually wouldn’t be repaying much in that case. Instead she got to sit there, awkwardly on her knees, waiting for the town’s only doctor to arrive.
They really, really needed another doctor.
It felt like a small eternity passed while Regina had to resist the urge to just punt the mermaid down the hall, debt be damned, to go find her son before doctor Whale arrived. The man looked haggard, as if he had just broken a curse (which to be fair he had just been in one), but Regina was in no mood to be nice unless strictly necessary.
“Take her.” She said not even faking concern just allowing her annoyance to be fully on display. “She almost drowned, somehow, and now she won’t wake up. I give it another five minutes before the one handed menace arrives, and if she’s still like this it’s going to be your ass on the line. Got it?”
Doctor Whale gave her a look of pure unadulterated exasperation as he moved to take Ariel from her. Regina basically threw the fish out of water at him, only making sure her head didn’t slam into something.
As soon as Ariel was out of her arms Regina stood up and brushed off her sleeves with magic, drying them instantly. Unfortunately it didn’t erase the smell of sea water but Regina didn’t have the time to waste in going above and beyond. She had a son to find and a curse caster to kill.
“I’m serious Whale-” she starts before she is interrupted. “I know, I know” he interjects, “now can you leave? I have an actual patient to take care of.”
With a grin that for some would appear far too close to a smirk Regina left in her signature cloud of purple smoke.
“Emma! Over here!” Leah called out, not slowing her pace as she and Killian rushed through the town.
“Leah!” The savior called back, looking between her and Hook with an unreadable expression. “Where is she?”
Still not stopping, Leah continued on. “If you mean his wife slash ex-lover slash my best friend slash everything else I don’t have the effort to go into right now, Regina took her.” The other group was nearing them now and Leah could see the light in Neal’s eyes. Ah right, his dad is alive again. Good for him.
“What does Regina have to do with all this?” Emma asked. “Where did she take her?”
“I don’t have time to-” Leah started.
“Well make time!” Emma exclaimed, grabbing onto Leah’s arm none too gently and halting her progress. “You need to explain what is going on, if you know so much.”
“It’s all in this giant ass book!” Leah snarls, as she practically shoves the thing in Emma’s face. “But we don’t have time for that because Ariel almost died and that’s kind of more important. Actually, you know what, here kid.” she says thrusting the book at Henry.
Luckily Henry was actually paying attention and wasn’t whacked in the face with a book the size and weight of a baby. Even from a glance all those present could tell that it looked a little too similar to another book that had told their life stories.
“You can’t just leave that here and expect to go running off!” Emma continued, her grip only growing tighter.
Leah was really starting to lose her patience. “And why can’t I?!”
“Emma! Henry!” Called out another set of voices in near unison. Oh, here we go, thought Leah as she tried to twist her wrist out of Emma’s grasp.
“Grandma, Grandpa!” Henry called out as the other Charmings reached their group. It was at this time that Killian began to break away from the pack. Unfortunately he was spotted.
“And where are you going?” Emma questioned, her eyes now darting away from Leah. The pirate in question just kept walking.
“Look, we can have this conversation while moving.” His voice sounded blaise but his legs never stopped. Seeing as Emma didn’t have him in her grip she made the executive decision to start following him, dragging Leah behind her. Or at least Leah was behind her, until she started to speed walk like a bat out of hell and ended up pulling Emma.
“Whose in the hospital?” Snow asked, concern clear as day on her face.
“Ariel.” Henry piped in as the group began to move as a unit towards the only hospital, the only doctor, in town.
“And how did that happen?” David continued the train of thought that everyone but Leah and Killian were currently on.
Breathing through his nose Killian sounded… well odd when he spoke up. “She broke the damned curse by being a sacrificial idiot.”
“And then Regina stole her. We can’t forget Regina stole her to take to Doctor Whale. Did any of you know about her because I sure as hell didn’t!” Leah piped in.
At this Emma snarled out, “Why are all of you so convinced that she saved us? Have none of you thought that this could all be some kind of trap she set? Some sort of fake sacrificial act?”
“Emma!” Snow called out, affronted. “What in the world would make you think that?”
“Aye, lass. What in the world would make you think that?” Killian asked, shooting a glare over his shoulder but still not stopping. The man was on a mission, he had to make sure that he hadn’t just watched an idiot kill herself in front of him. Not the way he wanted his day to end.
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the fact that once the curse was cast she got a perfect life. In fact she made all of us oh so happy, so happy in fact none of us questioned it. Who cared if none of us acted or felt the same, it was a perfect little story book. You think it’s a confidence that you and her ended up back together, or that we all thought she was family? This curse was built to make her happy.”
“Miss Swan, that has to be the stupidest thing I’ve heard you say this week.” Regina chimes in from out of fucking nowhere, making most of the group jump. Regina takes a second to take them all in before spotting Henry as the boy runs towards her at speed.
“Mom!”
“Oh, Henry!”
Honestly the embrace would be really helpful if the situation wasn’t so tense.
“Really Regina? Everyone here in town knows how much he detests her, he wanted to leave her in Neverland locked in a cage, and everyone sees the moping longing eyes she’s giving him when he’s not looking. Then we all get cursed and he plays the role of the perfect husband, and no one thinks that’s just a little fishy?” Emma shouts, clearly fed up that no one can see what she sees. It’s quite obvious to her who the perpetrator is.
Killian had bloody had it. “Bloody Hell Swan. You don’t know what you’re talking about. She threw herself into the bloody sea to save you lot from the bloody curse. If she had cast it, why would pitch herself overboard to break it?” Killian yells, fully enraged.
“Well if you would talk about what happened between you two, it wouldn’t be so fishy!” Emma shots back, considering pulling her gun on the pirate. But even Emma knew that the situation was quickly spiraling out of control and getting even more aggressive would pull people from actually listening to her. She had to convince them. They had to understand.
“Fine! If you’re so sure that she didn’t do it then we’ll just have to ask her. See what great explanation she can come up with!” Emma said spitefully. There was no way that Ariel would be able to talk her way out of this one. Literally.
“Swan, you're out of your mind.” Killian snaps, before turning his back on the savior. He has a wife…an ex to check on and make sure she hadn’t died. He doesn’t think he’ll forgive himself if she dies.
Just then Mr. Gold and Belle appear in front of the pirate in a swirl of red magic. “Hello Dearies!” Rumple gives them his customary wave.
His appearance is enough to set Emma off again. “See, this proves she’s cast the curse. Somehow, she brought back the Dark One from the dead!”
“Dearie, I don’t know who you’re talking about exactly, but whoever brought me back from the dead is dead. I know how my own vault works.” Gold said, though his eyes never left Neal’s, almost as if he were afraid to look away.
“Well then who opened your vault?” Emma continued to push.
“I wouldn’t know, as they are as I said, dead. Who are we giving credit to bringing me back, though?”
“Ariel!”
“No!” Leah yelled, finally managing to get out of Emma’s steel grip. “Emma, have you lost your mind! Can you listen for a second!”
At that remark Gold’s eyes did finally leave his son, only for them to narrow when he took in Emma.
“You may be on to something there. Emma come over here for a second, let your father-in-law see what all this magic lingering on you is, dearie.” His words were playful but his face and body weren’t. He also didn’t wait for Emma to come closer. In fact he advanced on her like one would a frightened cat, as if she may lash out and attack at any moment.
“See! There’s no spell magic on me! I would know that much, so you’re clearly working with her. I’m going straight to the hospital and handcuffing that fish to her bed until she tells the truth.”
“You leave my wife alone.” Killian shouts, chasing after the retreating savior.
His wife? Leah raised an eyebrow at that. She was going to call him out on that later. She was not about to let him be wishy-washy with her bestie. But first she was going to punch the savior, once she got her hands on that woman. But before she could Emma was beyond her arms reach, so Leah had no choice but to run along after them.
When today was over Leah was going to need to ice her calves, her legs were not enjoying all this running.
Charming and Snow eventually agree that their best bet is to go around town and handle the various people freaking out about yet another curse. Gold tells Regina to bring him Emma so he can remove the Spell on her, and that he’ll be waiting in his shop. Neal decides that he and Henry will go help Charming and Snow, as Neal doesn’t want his son to see his mother in a panic.
With that, a very determined, pissed off Regina teleports back to the hospital in a puff of purple smoke. The scene Regina finds on her arrival is total chaos. Emma is shouting that she’s there to arrest Ariel, while hospital staff are trying to keep the savior away from the patient.
“You have to let me in there! She is a danger to everyone in this hospital!” Emma shouts, as a nurse stares her down with a look mother’s everywhere would be proud of.
“You’re not getting in that room until you’ve calmed down. It’s going to get everyone else here all worked up, and none of us have the patience for that. Savior or not, Ms. Swan, you have to follow the rules the same as everyone else.” The older lady, Regina never bothered to know the name of, stated.
Regina spies Killian sitting at the fish’s bedside, looking rather worried. Is that Killian holding her hand? Huh, sickening.
“Emma stop! She nearly died. I had to use the paddles five times.” Dr. Whale shouts at her. He’s clearly considering giving Emma a sedative. Leah looks as if she’s about to try and fight the savior, and Regina is just done.
“ENOUGH! MISS SWAN” Regina shouts, firing a fireball at the wall, getting everyone’s attention. “I am the Mayor, and I will be giving the orders now. Miss Swan we are going to talk, Leah stay here and keep watch. Hook do, well whatever.” With that Regina grabs the arm of Emma and teleports them to Mr. Gold’s. Someone is going to know some sense into her, whether she likes it or not.
To be perfectly honest, Ariel did not expect to wake up. Ever. After all, that was the point of self sacrifice.
Instead she blinks her eyes open to fluorescent lights. So a hospital then? How in the world did that happen? The second her body seems to catch up with her brain and realizes she is awake , everything begins to ache. From her toes to the top of her head, her entire body seems to protest the simple act of existing. Her chest feels heavy and her throat dry, despite the fact that she knew she just had buckets full of water in her lungs.
Why on earth did it feel like someone was holding her hand? Was someone holding her hand? Who in the seven seas would be holding her hand on her sickbed?
It takes literally all of the energy she possesses to turn her head to the side. The last thing she expected to see was Killian. His face was tilted down and he was staring at where his one hand and hook encased her smaller one.
Was this a dream? No wait, dreams don’t hurt. Was she dead? Also no, being dead is an end to pain.
So what in the world is happening here! Can someone please explain!
Oh no, could it be…? Did she not break the curse? Was all of her effort for nothing? Did she get it all wrong? As her thoughts began to spiral her heart began to race. At which time the heart rate monitor started to beep in a horribly loud and obnoxious manner at a frequency that was terribly alarming.
Killians eyes immediately shot up and locked onto hers and immediately Ariel knew. These weren’t the eyes of the hopelessly in love sailor she had been looking at for the past couple of weeks. No, Killian’s eyes now held clear doubt beneath the worry. Killian’s mouth, which had been locked in a frown, opened to say something, and then he stalled, remaining barely open with no sound coming out.
Had she rendered him speechless?
Before she could try and open her mouth and try to talk, just to see if this had broken the old curse too, a man in a white coat rushed into the room. Ah, Doctor Whale, with his perfect timing, as always.
“Well then, it looks like the fish didn’t drown after all. We may get gills on you yet!” Doctor Whale quipped, and Ariel fought the urge to just pass back out. Surely being unconscious would make more sense than this.