His throat hurt.
His lungs hurt.
Everything hurt, but it was not the place or time to complain. This was the moment of the newborn baby and the proud parents, their moment to shine, their spotlight. After all the troubles they were together again. Hook wouldn't interrupt. He felt that in the whole meltdown and fight with Zelena he'd been nothing but a nuisance. He made Emma lose her magic and had put everyone in even more danger. If he hadn't insisted on helping...
Hook knew that it was probably best to leave, give the family some space. It was quite clear that no one needed (or wanted) him there.
He took a deep breath. Somehow it was getting more and more difficult just to draw breath. Hook didn't give it much thought. After all that had happened, all the magic, all the curses his boo-boos seemed a bit ridiculous.
Emma and Henry were looking at the baby in the hospital room. Killian smiled. He would really miss them if the finally left for New York. But if that was what Emma wanted... Gosh, he was so exhausted he could hardly think right now. Was it because of the near drowning or because of the action that followed he didn't know, and didn't care.
He just wanted to rest for a bit. Unfortunately, the chairs from the waiting room were suddenly way too far, so he simply sat on the floor of the corridor, in front of the room. He was so exhausted. Back against the wall - forgetting the world. Just take a deep breath. He was strangely dizzy and sleepy. Maybe if he closed his eyes for a bit...
The nurse was going to the changing room after her shift finished when she noticed him. Tall guy sprawled in the floor, apparently asleep, in front of one of the rooms. Well, it was not her concern - she had finished. He did look kinda pale... No! Her shift was over, she was going to change and go home. Well, maybe she could check that this guy was okay before going. It seemed a strange place to fall asleep.
She approached the man and softly spoke.
"You all right? This is not a good place to sleep, dear."
No answer. But there was a noise... The man was trying to breathe, but couldn't. She knew respiratory distress when she heard it.
"I need a doctor here, now!"
The nurses call startled all th people in the room opposite. That was when Emma noticed Hook slumped in the hallway across them. Oh god...
Doctor Whale and some nurses put him in a gurney and took him away in no time.
Henry look at his mother, worried, and voiced the question of all the occupants of the room.
"What's going on?"
"I'll go and try to find out." Emma said.
She left the room, giving a small smile to the rest. No need to concern them too. But Emma had to admit she was worried. What if the drowning incident had had more consequences than she thought? What if there was some dark magic involved, something she didn't know about? What if he was dying and she hadn't noticed?
Time went by and she didn't know a thing. She tried to get in the room where Killian was, but they told her no one was alloed and that the Doctor would talk to her when he finished working.
The wait felt eternal. She thought of going back to his parents for a bit, but what if while she was out there something happened? No, they were safe, for now. Hook... she wasn't so sure. She heard machines beeping and orders being shouted - she didn't like how this looked.
Emma's anxiety levels were sky high by the time the Doctor came out and talked to her.
"Hey, what's happening? What's wrong with him?"
"ARDS. Strange, right? He was ok when the..." But Emma interrupted him. She was in no mood for technicalities.
"What's that?"
"Acute respiratory distress syndrome. It's an inflammation of the lungs, a problem to breathe. Do you know what might be the cause? Any recent traumas, injuries, illnesses...?"
Yes, she knew.
"He... he nearly drowned a few hours ago, I had to revive him." The Doctor nodded.
"Well, there's you're cause right there, near drowning is one of the main causes if ARDS. Even if the case is still relatively mild his oxygen levels are very low, so... I was hoping to avoid the ventilator, but if the levels don't go up the mask won't be enough. "
Emma sighed and looked at the pirate behind the glass of the room. These were bad news, very bad news. She was almost afraid to ask the next question.
"Will he recover?"
"I can't tell you for certain, but his chances are good, like I said it's a mild case. But I don't want to lie, this is a life-threatening condition and things could go badly very condition can be fatal. Let's just hope it doesn't get to that."
Just when things were looking up... Something bad happened again. Just her luck.
"Can I see him?"
"Go ahead, but he probably won't be very responsive."
Emma went into the room.
This was not the man she knew. The Killian she knew was stubborn and cheeky and talked too much. Now he was so quiet. The oxygen covered his mouth and nose and only sound in the room was the beeping of the machines. So strangely disheartening.
Emma sat on the bed. Took one those big hands on her own. No reaction.
Silence.
The hospital was full of sounds, full of people, staff and patients but she heard none of it. No, there was only the silence, the silence of the hospital room - and it was deafening. Hook was so pale and unmoving - why hadn't she seen it before? Why hadn't she seen how damaged he was? Why...?
She closed her eyes, trying to get those intrusive thoughts out of her head.
Silence.
Oh, how she wished for a joke now. But nothing.
Well, if he wasn't going to break the silence, she would.
"You have to hang on, you hear me? I still need you. I know we've had our highs and lows and I know that I have been a bit... cold sometimes, but, still... I... just..."
Emma simply didn't know how to express herself. The was a lump of emotions forming a great ball that prevented her from finding the right word. Why did everything had to be so diffucult? But there he was, still in silence, half-hidden under that mask, unaware of her.
"Come back to me. Please. Get better."
Two tears fell down her cheeks as the machines started screaming, beeping uncontrollably.
A/N: Sorry for any mistakes related to the show, in medical aspects or in english. Hope you enjoyed! All feedback very welcome. ;)