#captain cricket

He pulled out his phone and contemplated dialling Belle’s number. They hadn’t spoken lately, not since her son decided to show up in town and threaten to kill Emma. It had caused tension between the two of them and their blossoming friendship, to the point where he wasn’t entirely sure his company would exactly be welcome.

No, he couldn’t go to Belle with his problems. He decided against it and placed the phone back into his pocket and continued to burn off his anxiety with a walk around the harbor.

“Thursday? What bloody good is Thursday? I need to speak with him today.” Killian insisted to the chirpy receptionist.

“I’m sorry but Dr Hopper is completely booked today. The next available slot is Thursday afternoon.”

“That’s four days away- look, love, this is rather important. I’m sure Archie wouldn’t mind skipping a dwarf or two to see me.” He pleaded.

“I’m sorry Mr Hook-”

“It’s Jones.” He cut in rather irritably.

“Mr jones, there’s nothing I can do. If you like, I could book you in for Thursday and call you if he gets a cancellatio-”

“No, you know what? Forget it.”

Killian turned on his heel, away from the preppy brunette behind the office desk, and stormed down the stairs, out into the street once again.

The weight of his secret was pushing heavy on his shoulders, and his fight was weakening with every hour that passed by. He crossed the street and made his way into the diner, hoping that he could collect his thoughts within.

He grabbed a stool by the counter and drummed his fingers along the smooth countertop as he calculated his options.

And options were something he soon found were very few he had.

If it were any other situation, he knew that without a doubt, Emma would be the one he’d turn to. Heck, even David. But as his situation stood, the only two he knew he could count on, were the two that he would be hurting the most.

The cricket was his only hope at this point, and even he was proving difficult to get through to.

Killian once again pulled his phone from his pocket and hovered over Belle’s number.

No. He couldn’t. Even if they weren’t at opposite ends of the oncoming fight, the poor lass had enough on her plate as it was. He wouldn’t feel right piling his troubles onto the librarian. And the less people who knew about his past, the better. He sighed as he put the phone back and looked towards the back of the shelf in front of him. Rum. It wasn’t his best choice, but right now it seemed to be his only one. It was familiar, and had never done him wrong in the past. He wasn’t used to asking for help, he wasn’t used to being vulnerable, but this? This he knew well. This was how he had learned to cope. This had been his only for centuries. He’d tried everything else, everything right, but all he’d been met with was a brick wall. And God, he needed something right now.

“Rum.” He announced to the startled waitress behind the counter.

She gave Granny a hesitant look who nodded her head in approval. She placed the glass tumbler before him and began to pour.

“Leave the bottle.” He ordered.

If he was going to drown, he was going to do it in a way that felt natural.

Archie waved Simon goodbye as he left his office and turned to his receptionist.

“Uh, Patricia? Was someone here earlier?”

He’d heard the voices filter into his office but was unable to make out what was being discussed. Not wanting to interrupt Simon as he shared intimate details of his past, he decided he would wait to question the woman once the session was over.

“Oh! Yeah. Mr Hook-”

“Um, it’s actually Mr Jones.” Archie kindly corrected the receptionist, knowing the man was working to change. He deserved the respect of his real name being used rather than his previous moniker.

“Right. Mr Jones was insisting on seeing you today. I informed him that the only day available was Thursday, but he didn’t want it.” Patricia explained.

Archie grew concerned. Twice in two days? That was rather unusual for a man of Killian’s stature. Archie knew whatever it was that Killian was insistent on seeing him about, it must be important.

“I said I’d book him in anyway, should I, Dr Hopper?”

“No, no. That’s alright. Actually, could you tell Sneezy that our session will be running a little late? I just have to step out for a while.”

“Sure thing Dr Hopper.”

Archie grabbed his coat and umbrella and prepared to find Killian.

He liked to think that getting to know this man meant he could tell when he was in distress. He knew of his villainous past; he’d been victim to it before now, but he’d seen him change dramatically before his eyes, seen him atone, open up, choose a different path and redeem himself with a fight to become a hero. He also knew that although he’d come along in leaps and bounds, he was also still rather fragile when it came to falling back into old habits.

He worried for the man that had been doing so well. If Killian was seeking him out, he knew something must be troubling him deeply, and given their last conversation, the fact he feared David would not accept him as anything other than a pirate, Archie feared the man’s worries had come true.

He didn’t want to see him retreat into the darkness over this kind of set back.

Opening the door of the diner, it took mere seconds before his eyes landed on the slumped form, decked in black, surrounded by a bottle half empty.

Archie felt his stomach drop a little in empathy for this man. He could see defeat written on his face and he wanted to remove the battle clearly raging within from his conscience.

He sighed as he saw him lift the glass to his lips and take a large mouthful. Not wanting to witness him drowning any more than he was, Archie approached him wearily.