Anchor

Chapter 2

I drum my pen on the counter nervously. I hadn't slept well last night due to nightmares.
"My sister's down here and so's my brother." Gwen looks over at me as I start to scribble that down.
"And John's down here too." Emma adds.
I look up from the notepad, asking if anyone else had anyone else.
"Isn't your mom down here, Ash?" Gwen looks at me softly.
Nodding again, I add her name to the list. "She probably just wants closure with me."
"And Liam..."
Killian frowns, his brows furrowing. "It doesn't make any bloody sense that Liam would be down here though. He didn't do anything wrong."
Liam smiles thinly and stays quiet.
Emma and I exchange a look but don't say anything.
"How do y'all wanna tackle this?" I look at everyone in turn.
"I think we're wasting time with this little side quest, honestly. The longer we stay down here the closer we're getting to being dead." Dean grumbles.
"This is just until we can figure out a way to defeat Hades. We know nothing about him. Something tells me the Greek myths I know won't help us now."
"What about in Henry's book? If this is a carbon copy of Storybrooke, then shouldn't his storybook be a thing?"
"It's a possibility."
"But where is it?" Sam runs a hand through his hair.
"Why don't we look for it?" Regina rolls her eyes slightly, as if it was the most obvious answer.
"Maybe it's here." I offer.
"You mean you hope it's here." Dean grumbles before heading to start his search.

I start to search the upstairs loft, where Henry's "room" would be in the Charmings' place.
"Ashley, do you have a minute?" Liam asks, approaching me slowly.
I nod and straighten up. "What can I do for you?"
"I was talking to Killian to see if maybe I could jog his memories and he said the last thing he remembers is crashing a wedding, apparently your wedding. And he doesn't remember you, aside from the wedding and whatever happened after that...do you see where I'm going with this?"
"No... I don't think I do."
"Did you have intentions to marry another man while you were dating my brother?"
"No, I didn't. It was a plan, an act if you will. It didn't go the way it should've. The man who I was marrying was my abusive, dead ex-fiancé. Killian sacrificed himself for us all, he was turned into something he didn't want to be despite him pleading not to become it. The least I could do was sacrifice myself for the man I love and my family. The forgetting spell was meant for me. Killian wanted to protect me so he shielded me from it."
Liam watches me with expressionless eyes. "You're not good for him. You're setting the bar too high for him. He blames himself you know for giving into the darkness. He doesn't think he's worth saving. If you save him it'll make him feel more guilty."
I purse my lips. "And I'll stay by his side as his friend, or as whatever the hell he wants me to be. There's good in him. You of all people should know that about him."
"Watch what you say, Ashley. I think you're causing more harm than you know. If you want what's best for Killian, you'll let him go if he wants to go."

Killian's cries pull me from my state of somewhere between sleep and being awake. Instinctually, I rush out of bed and down the hall to his room. His door's cracked open slightly. I push it open a little more and move to his side.
"Killian... ba-" I stop as the word dies in my throat. "Hey, Killian... you need to wake up, sweetie..." I gently coax as I wake him up.
His eyes snap open and he squints in the darkness. "Ashley?"
"Yeah..."
"Did I wake you?"
"No, no. I've got nightmares myself..."
Frowning, Killian shifts to better look at me. "About what, Love?"
I look down. "The abuse I went through while I was with Mick."
"Why'd you go back to him, even if it was temporary or fake?"
"I wanted to save you."
"But why? And don't give me that bloody excuse about seeing the good in me."
"I love you. Okay? There. I said it, I love you and it hurts me to know that you don't remember me." I whisper.
Killian's eyes soften. "Love, I'm sorry..."
"And it's my own fault. I should've known that he'd have some trick up his fucking sleeve that would make my life hell." Tears burn my eyes. "I'm sorry. This is my fault. I should've just..."
"Just what? Come up with a more deadly plan? Sacrificed someone else? Something tells me that you don't have it in you to do something along those lines. You're smart and you care."
Defeated, I look away. He's right. "It's getting late. You should probably get some rest."
"Aye, and so should you. But we both know it won't happen." He smiles crookedly.
I laugh slightly. "I should at least head back to my room... don't want... anyone getting the wrong idea."
"Liam gave you a hard time didn't he?"
"He's just being a protective big brother..."
"Ash, can I call you that?"
I smile softly and nod.
"If he's being too hard on you, I'm sorry. You don't deserve that. Love, it's not your fault."
"It doesn't matter who's at fault." I sigh and start to head out of his room.
"Stay, Love... please... I don't want to be alone right now." Killian sounds like he's pleading.
My heart aches as I stand in the doorway. Liam's words echo in my head. If I needed to, would I really be able to let Killian go if that's what he wanted?
"Please, Ash..." Killian whispers in the darkness.
Wordlessly, I turn around and pull the chair closer to his bed.
"You're going to sleep like that?"
I nod. "I've slept in worse... if I'm able to sleep..."
"You could... sleep with me..." He smirks slightly.
My cheeks heat up and I raise an eyebrow. "I just have one question for you, Killian...."
"What's that, Lass?"
"Once we get you out of here... do you want to go back with us or do you want to move on and have peace if given the chance?"
"What kind of bloody question is that, Love? I'm going topside with you all. I want to find what I've lost... or at least rebuild it."
I smile slightly and stand. Killian watches me curiously in the dark. "Just putting the chair back..." I explain softly before laying next to him in bed.
We're a comfortable distance apart, or as comfortable as we could get with the small bed. If Killian wants me closer, he could pull me closer.
He doesn't but he smiles softly. "Don't want any scandals, now do we, Love?" He teases.
I laugh and shake my head. "Not with everyone watching like a hawk."
"Aye," he chuckles in agreement, before starting to drift off.
Smiling softly, I watch him for a few moments before I feel myself falling asleep as well.