AN: Hi all! Haven't posted a story since...last summer...yeah. Anyway, this just came to me last night when trying to fall asleep so, it may actually be a terrible idea, but I'll let you all be the judge of it. Hoping to have the next chapter up within the week. No beta, so all mistakes are mine. Not entirely sure when this is set, but will have SnowQueen friendship, so take that as you will.
I own nothing but a replica of Snow's ring, a circle necklace and red leather jacket like Emma, and a season 2 cast poster.
They'd done this a thousand times. It rarely changed, and if it ever did, it was always for the better.
Snow would meet him at the station, they would walk over to Granny's, and then depending on their mood either grab a bite to eat or just get a hot chocolate to go. Nothing special, but it was special to them. On days when Emma would join them from the station, they would eat together and enjoy each other's company.
Today should have been no different.
When she and David left the station it was only drizzling. Instead of chancing it with the weather, they decided to drive the short distance to Granny's. Snow was messing around with the radio, trying to find something through the static, when David abruptly grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a kiss.
"Charming," Snow chastised, pushing herself away from him and slapping him on the arm, "you're driving, eyes on the road!" He only smiled in response before quickly placing another kiss on her cheek. She rolled her eyes and turned to look out the window.
As the light ahead turned green, David pressed on the gas the same time Snow could hear tires squealing in the distance.
Glancing down at her ringing phone, Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes upon noticing the caller.
"I'm almost done! I 'll be there in-"
"Emma! Something's happened. You need to get to the hospital now." David's voice was rushed and she could hear people yelling being him.
"What? What happened?" She was already rising to her feet, hands fumbling around her desk trying to find the keys. "What's going on?"
"We got in an accident. I'm fine but your mother is being rushed into surgery. I'll tell you everything when you get here, but I have to go."
"Wait, David, I-" The line went dead. Staring at her phone dumbly, Emma shook herself and sprinted out the door.
Rushing through the ER doors, Emma whipped around trying to find her father. The room was a flurry of nurses and patients, but she still couldn't find him anywhere.
"Emma!" She turned around and was immediately pulled into a hug. Instinctively, she hugged him back before pushing him away, gripping his arms.
"What happened? Where's Mary Margaret? What's going on?!" David pulled her over to a pair of secluded chairs, gently pushing her in one before taking the seat next to it.
"We got into a car accident. It seemed that the other driver couldn't see the lights because of the rain and ran right through the red, slamming into the side of the truck. The bed took most of the force, but the back of the other car swung back around and hit the cab, right where Snow was sitting. When I looked over, she was slumped over and…and…there was blood…and I just-" Emma gripped his hands tighter while he worked to steady his breathing. "Emma, I didn't know what to do. We were only a block away from the hospital so I just drove here, but something else could have happened or-"
"No, no, David you did good. Yes, you probably should have called for an ambulance, but it's ok. It's going to be ok. Have you been checked over? Has a doctor or nurse told you what's happening?" Emma was trying to keep her voice light and comforting knowing that she couldn't panic in front of David, but all she wanted was to find someone and demand they tell her what was happening to her mother, hospital rules be damned.
David shook his head, running a hand through his hair. Biting out a hiss of pain, he pulled his hand away to find the palm bleeding. Glancing back at Emma, he gave her a smile that even he could tell was more of a grimace. "I'm fine, probably just glass from the windows stuck in my hair. I'll have a nurse check me over if it makes you feel better." Emma only nodded, distracted by the blood shining on his hand.
"You go get checked up," she said, nodding towards the nurses' station while reaching into her pocket. "I'm gonna call Henry and let him know what's happening." David gave her an actual, albeit small, smile before nodding his head and patting her knee with his other hand. After he finally walked away, Emma lets her head fall in her hands and just breathes.
After being checked over and a few scrapes and cuts taken care of, David sat back down next to his daughter, whose head was still buried in her hands. He rests his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently.
"Hey, did you call Henry?" He removes his hand as she sits up and has to restrain himself from pulling her into a hug when seeing her puffy eyes.
" Oh, right," she mumbles while trying to scrub away evidence of her crying, "Henry. No…no…right, I'll call him now." She stands up and walks away, and David leans his head back against he wall and shuts his eyes.
His mind is a rush of everything and it takes him a few moments to realize someone is talking to him. Snapping his eyes open, he sees Dr. Whale standing a few feet away.
"What's happened? How's my wife?"
"She's doing alright," the doctor answers, wringing his hands together, "the surgery went well and she should make a full recovery. Of course she'll have to stay here a few days just to make sure, but other than that, she'll be fine."
David let out a breath and couldn't stop the small smile when he spotted Emma walking towards them. "She's going to be ok. Snow's going to be ok." Again, he automatically pulls Emma into a hug and is relieved to feel her hugging back just as tightly.
Pulling apart, Emma wipes at the few stray tears on her face and laughs with relief. "I got a hold of Henry; he's going to be here soon." Turning towards to the doctor, she asks, "Can we see her?"
"Not just yet, but soon. I'll have one of the nurses come get you when she is put in a room."
David and Emma give him their thanks, and then re-take their seats, waiting for Henry to arrive.
Not even ten minutes later, the young boy runs into the room, drenched to the bone, his face a mixture of fear and worry.
"Emma! Gramps!" He runs towards them, shoes squeaking to a stop in front of them. "How's Grams? Is she going to be ok?"
"She's going to be just fine, Henry," David says pulling up a chair for Henry to sit in. "The doctor came and told us the surgery went well and we will be able to see her soon." Henry breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back in the chair.
"Good, good."
Emma smiled, the love her son had for his grandparents always filling her with a sense of warmth. "How about I get us all something to drink? It could be a while, and, kid, you look like you jumped into the ocean."
It was about an hour later before a nurse finally approached them, leading them to where Snow was placed. Not entirely knowing what to expect, David was relieved to see only a splint around his wife's right leg and a small bandage taped to the side of her face. As they had walked to the room, the nurse had informed him and Emma that the surgery was to remove a piece of metal that had been lodged into her side. Because of the anesthesia, it would be a time before she woke up, but they shouldn't worry; all the worst was behind them.
Taking a seat beside the bed, David carefully wrapped his hand around Snow's, lifted it to his lips, and placed a gentle kiss to the knuckles. Carefully laying her hand back to the bed, he keeps his hand on hers and lets his thumb gently caress her skin. He looked over to the other side of the bed to see Henry leaning into Emma's side, and Emma gently holding her mother's hand. Perhaps feeling his gaze on her, she looked up and smiled back before looking back towards Snow, slight pain evident in her eyes. David himself gazed back at his wife, allowing the emotion of the day to finally was over him.
His wife was alive.
Later that night, Mary Margaret began to feel….something. She tried to move but everything felt stiff. She could feel something holding her hand and something else slowly making its way up and down her arm. She tried to speak out but found her throat to be extremely dry. Somehow finding the energy, she cracked her eyes open and could see someone sitting beside her.
"Emma?" she croaked quietly, testing her voice and opening her eyes further. "Henry? What-? Where am I?"
"Mary Margaret," Emma gasped, a smile lighting her face," you're in the hospital. Do you remember what happened?"
"I remember being in a car…" she said, wracking her brain for anything that seemed familiar.
"That's right, you were in a car accident with David," Emma agreed angling her head to the other side of the bed. Mary Margaret gently turned her head till she saw the other occupant in the room. Her eyes lit up, and she pulled her arm away from the caress that she now knew came from him.
"You?" Her voice a blend of confusion and worry.
"Of course me," the fair-haired man said, amusement covering his face. "Who else would it be?"
"But how? How are you awake?"
"Awake?" He asks, now genuinely confused. "Snow, I was never unconscious," His voice dipping into a question.
"Yes! You're….you're…you've…you've been in a coma. You're supposed to be in a coma."