Killian Jones never had many friends before Storybrooke. Pirates normally don't. They have to keep their reputation so they are feared and respected. But the moment he met Emma Swan, all of that seemed to change. He loved her the moment he laid eyes upon her. And as he helped her save her son, he had gained friendships that he wouldn't trade for anything in the world. The people of Storybrooke, Maine, have become his family. And now, his family's blood stained his skin.

Bright flashes of blue and red reflected in his eyes as he sat in the back of an ambulance, his clothes and skin covered in blood. The paramedic was asking him questions, but his shock drowned everything out, her voice sounding far away. He tried to grasp it, to hold on to her voice and keep himself aware, but Killian Jones was in shock. He couldn't speak, couldn't move. All he could do was stare at her blood that stained a majority of his skin. Blood that belonged to someone he has always felt responsible for since saving her alongside Emma.

He could still see it; her laying there, unmoving, bathed in sunlight and surround by a heavy pool of blood.

In the full twenty minutes since Teresa Holmes stepped outside Granny's Diner, she had yet to return. With the Evil Queen's promise for the coming end of their happy endings still fresh in memory, their concern had grown tenfold. Not to mention the unexplainable pain Henry was feeling in his stomach.

While searching for the missing archer, Killian became sidetracked by Belle, who texted to remind him it was lunch and she needed food, especially now that she was eating for two. Though he was concerned for Teresa, he could not deny Belle and her child's need for food. So, the former pirate was left with no choice but to respond with an on my way as he made haste toward the Jolly Roger with a bag of takeout food from Granny's. The quicker he delivered Belle her food, the quicker he could return to his search for Teresa.

As he rounded the corner of a boathouse, the sight before him left Killian Jones paralyzed. Right before him, sprawled on the ground in a heavy puddle of blood and bathed in sunlight was none other than the very person he had been searching for. He suspected that Teresa Holmes had been harmed given the pain Henry felt, but as he peered down at her body that lay as still as the dead and white as the clouds on a clear day, he never expected to see so much of her blood. It encased her like a thick crimson blanket.

The bag of food clattered to his feet, the contents within spilling out from their wrappings, the sandwich likely ruined, and the milkshake splattered against his black leather boots, causing a mess. The lunch he spent wasted minutes retrieving had been ruined, and yet he did not care. Killian threw himself onto the ground and searched for a pulse. He placed his fingers to her neck and sucked in a sharp breath, listening with his ears while waiting to feel the thump of pulse against his fingers that would reassure him Teresa Holmes was alive.

One, two, three ─ seven long seconds passed by before Killian Jones felt the faintest of thumps against his fingertips, a sign that she was still alive. A breath of relief fell from his lips and he darted for his phone in a hurry, dialing the only number he could think of whenever trouble seemed to occur.

"Come on, Swan," he mumbled, biting his lip. Killian shoved his hand against what appeared to be a stab wound in an attempt to stop the seemingly endless flow of blood.

"Killian, hey. Did ─ "

Killian cut her off, his voice wavering. He was panicking. "Swan, get to the docks now! I've found the lass, but I think she's been stabbed."

"What? Killian just ─ don't move, okay? I'll call an ambulance. Just try to stop the bleeding. I'll be there soon." Emma hung up.

He threw his phone to the side and sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before reopening them and springing into action. Killian removed his jacket, rolled it up, and pressed it against Teresa's abdomen. With one hand, he applied pressure and with the other, he reached up to her face and brushed her hair away. Her skin was feverish, slick with sweat and deathly pale. He began slapping her cheek in an attempt to wake her. "Stay with me, lass. Open your eyes. Just... open your eyes. Please."

Killian wasn't sure how long he sat there in her blood with his hands applying pressure to her stomach, but before he knew it, an ambulance was pulling up. It stopped hundreds of feet away and out from the truck came a man and a woman. They removed a stretcher from the back of the truck and began rolling it towards them along with a large duffle bag stocked with the necessary supplies.

Once they reached his side, Killian moved out of their way and they dove into working on the teenage girl. Though red was quick to seep through, in minutes they had her wound covered with thick bandages and an IV in her arm. The paramedics moved fast, hauling her onto the stretcher and rushing her down the docks toward the truck while calling for Killian to follow them. He was covered in blood and neither the man nor woman knew if he was injured too. It was better they check him over for injuries as well rather than leave him in the puddle of blood.

Killian Jones was numb, blue eyes staring down at his hands trembling. Teresa's blood covered most, if not all, of the skin on his hands and smears on his forehead from when he pushed back his hair from being so panicked. The man's voice sounded far away, but loud enough to break through his shocked state and keep the pirate alert. Killian shakily rose to his feet and rushed after them, climbing into the back of the ambulance as its doors shut and it drove away.

Killian blinked those memories away, a singular tear falling from his eye. After saving Teresa alongside Emma over a year ago, he has since felt responsible for the orphaned girl. To see her in such a state ─ it felt as though he was losing a sister. A daughter. A friend.

"Sir!" Finally, the woman's voice broke through the barrier of his shocked state.

The former pirate blinked and his eyes snapped up to meet her own. The woman was keeping pressure on Teresa's wound, lips puffing out tired breathes.

"How long was she there for? Do you know?" she asked.

Killian swallowed. "Twenty minutes. Maybe more."

The woman nodded and glanced toward the monitor on her left. The pulse was weak and thready. It didn't look good. "Do you know what happened?"

"I think she was stabbed," he answered. His blurred vision bore into the side of Teresa's pale face, unshed tears threatening to spill over. "I don't know who or why. Teresa, she's..."

The woman offered the man a comforting smile, or at least something that resembled a smile. "I know."

In no time, the ambulance had arrived at the hospital. The doors opened up from the outside, and Dr. Whale came into view. With him were two nurses; one blonde and one with auburn hair. They jumped into action, removing the stretcher from the back of the ambulance and wheeling her inside as the female paramedic began listing off her vitals.

The one nurse stayed behind, glancing toward Killian, who still sat in the back of the ambulance, too numb to move. He feared his legs would give out.

The woman noticed all the blood that covered his body and asked, "Are you hurt?"

Killian shook his head. "No."

She nodded and held her hand out for him to take. "Why don't you come with me? I'll take you to where your daughter is being treated... and we'll find you something to wear. Okay?"

He didn't have the strength to tell her that Teresa wasn't his daughter as he stepped down out of the ambulance. The woman wrapped an arm around his back and led him instead, where almost instantly he was greeted by a worried-looking Emma.

She stopped short, soaking in the apperance of the man she loved with wide eyes. His face was void of emotion, eyes gleaming with tears, blood all over his clothes and skin ─ it her heart broke. Emma frowned. "Killian..."

Killian broke free from the nurse and wrapped Emma in his arms. He closed his eyes and dug his face into her hair ─ and Emma Swan just held him. But the comfort didn't last very long when they heard an alarm going off.

"She's flatlined!" someone shouted.

Emma and Killian pulled away from each, and with their hands latched, they walked over to where Teresa was being treated. They found Dr. Whale with two defibrillator paddles in his hands. The nursed charged them before placing them against Teresa's torso and shocking her. Her body jolted, but there was still no rhythm on the heart monitor. A straight line stared at them, bringing tears to their eyes. Teresa Holmes was dying, this they knew for certain. The pair clung onto each as if their lives depended on it.

"Mom!" It was Henry. "Mom, is she okay?"

"Henry, don't. Stay back," Emma warned, but it was too late. He had already seen her.

Tears sprung to Henry's eyes. He knew it. Back at the Granny's when he had felt that unexplainable pain blossom in his abdomen, he knew something bad had happened to her. Killian and David didn't believe him at first, but with one look at Killian's appearance told him how much they regretted not believing him sooner.

He could hear his mom and David gasp from behind him, but Henry couldn't take his eyes off of Teresa. She looked terrible. Her skin was so pale and grey that she looked like one of those zombies in his comic books, and her platinum hair was matted down and stained with blood. Droplets of blood fell to the floor each time the nurse did CPR on her weakened body. This moment, he knew, would haunt him forever.

After several seconds, Henry snapped out of his shocked state and went to move forward. He wanted to hold her hand and scream at her to wake up, but before he could reach her, someone had restrained. He tried to pull away, but his strength was wearing thin the longer he stared toward Teresa.

Sobs racked his body and blonde hair clung to his wet cheeks. It was as he fell to the floor with her, that he knew it was his mom holding him in her arms, rocking him back and forth on the floor as if in her were an infant. In that moment, he didn't care whether people stared. Henry Mills clung to his mother, feeling as though his heart had been ripped from his chest. He could feel it each time Doctor Whale used the defibrillator paddles ─ his soulmate was dying.

And there was nothing he could do save the girl he loves.

　
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The sky was bright. Clear. Void of a dark storm. Tufts of white drifted peacefully in the sky and rays of sun enveloped her in warmth. She could hear birds singings in the distance and the gentle movement of the water beneath the docks. The girl wasn't sure how or why after what happened to her, but Teresa Holmes knew that she was awake. Awake, but confused. She wondered why she was lying on the docks when she had been at Granny's with Henry, David and Killian, but after a moment, the memories came flooding back.

Inman.

The arrow.

The pain.

Falling.

She remembered it all.

But how was she awake when she was supposed to be dead?

Her fingertips moved against the fabric of her stomach, wondering if she was still bleeding out, but her shirt didn't feel as sticky as before. In fact, as she moved her hand around, she didn't feel any pain at all. Teresa sat up and lifted her shirt to find herself unscathed. There wasn't even a dot of blood on her clothing. It was like she hadn't been stabbed at all.

"What the hell?"

Teresa wasn't sure how this was even possible. She can remember being stabbed by Inman. The pain had been unbearable; numb and cold. She had been dying, and yet, now she was unscathed. None of it made any sense.

As her thoughts remained scattered, Teresa rose to her feet. Her steps were shaky at first as she was still too shocked to believe her condition, but after a moment she regained her bearings. Observing her surroundings, she found the docks were the same, and yet also different. She didn't remember there being as many empty barrels in this one place before or rope hung along the side of the boathouse ─ but that wasn't important. The most important thing now was to make sure that Inman hadn't targeted Snow White or Henry next.

As fast as her legs could carry her, Teresa flew down the docks toward Granny's. The street was packed with bystanders; men, women and children. And no matter how hard she searched for Snow White in the crowd, she never found her friend. She burst through the doors of Granny's and stopped short. People she didn't recognize occupied the booth she once sat at with Henry, David and Killian. Her brows furrowed as she further searched the restaurant. None of the faces looked familiar. Not one.

"Well, well, would you look at what the cat dragged in," said a familiar voice.

Teresa froze, her body growing stiff. She turned, lips parting and eyes growing. "No," she whispered.

"Yes," the Blind Witch grinned, her clouded eyes staring straight into Teresa's cerulean-blue eyes. It was like she was staring right into her soul. A shiver crawled down the teenager's spine. "And here I thought I wouldn't sense the famous Teresa Holmes in my presence for years to come."

The platinum-blonde swallowed, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. "I'm..."

"Dead?" the Blind Witch finished. She nodded, an amused grin spreading on her face. "I'm afraid so."

"But I..." Her throat closed up on her. Teresa felt like she couldn't breathe; like she was drowning. She was dead. And, apparently, the Underworld has claimed her soul for its taking. After Hades death, she thought it was destroyed, but alas, the Underworld still seemed to thrive without its leader.

The Blind Witch offered her a plate. "Hungry? I make the best pie in town."

Teresa felt uneasy as she stared at the pie. She knew all too well about the secret ingredient the Blind Witch uses in her cooking. It made her stomach churn just thinking about it. "No thanks," she murmured. "I'm not in the child-eating mood."

"What have I told you about baking people?" said another voice. It sounded familiar. "If I have to tell you one more time, you'll come to regret it."

Teresa's eyes widened. No, she thought. It can't be. Killian said she fell into the river of lost souls. She turned around and her eyes grew even more. The blonde woman smiled at her, but all Teresa could do was stare at her in shock.

"Even despite the circumstances, it's good to see you again, Teresa."

"Alice?"

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a/n: Well, Teresa is dead. On another note........ YAY ALICE IS BACK!!! Any thoughts about how or why Alice is okay after falling into the river of souls? Remember, Milah didn't survive and now she's lost forever. But Alice? Hmm... curious, don't you think?