Chapter Two
The fundraiser is going very well. Killian watched as Milah gave a wonderful speech about Sydney and made the plea on his behalf. She told the audience how she met Sydney, when she first started at the Central Park Zoo in New York. They had just brought Sydney over from the Congo. Most of his family had been killed by poachers and his health was in poor condition. When he arrived at the zoo, he did not adjust to living in captivity well, and refusing to eat. Milah was assigned to work with Sydney and they developed a fast friendship. Milah helped Sydney to regain his strength and she even taught him sign language.
As Milah was talking to the audience she also showed a slideshow of photos taken over her years with Sydney. "As you can see with the proper rehabilitation and care Sydney was able to fully regain his strength." She said as she went to the next picture, one being Killian standing next to Sydney. "And here he is with my husband. My husband is the one on the right." The audience roared with laughter. Killian offered a sincere smile at his wife's attempt to make a joke. He knew how nervous she was.
"Through the availability of funding we have been able to do so much for these animals, and through the help of continued fundraising (hint, hint), I hope….we hope….that one day we will be able to expand the gorilla habitat to triple its size." She said. The audience applauded. "I want to thank you all for coming out tonight, thank you again."
The MC for the evening came up to shake Milah's hand. She then left the stage to return to her husband. "Dr. Milah Jones, let's give her a hand again. Give it up for the doctor everybody." He said as she walked away. The roars of applause told her that her speech was great and she was able to truly breathe for what seemed to be the first time in hours. "And now," he said. "I will turn it over to Mr. Joey Gian."
Joey Gian was one of the most popular remaining big band groups in Chicago. He always loved to help out with fundraisers like this. It seemed the band leader had a soft spot for animals. "Thank you," he said. "I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight. The boys and I have put some special songs together for you, so let's get this party started." The band began what was a fast tempo version of The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
Milah finally made her way back to Killian. She was sitting on his lap as the band started to play. The moment was very brief because many people came over to talk to her. Killian talked to some of them but then excused himself noting that he needed some air. Small talk was Milah's specialty. Besides, he did not know many of these people which made him uncomfortable.
Once he got air, he went to the bar to get a drink. He decided on water acknowledging how dry his throat was. Killian was on his way back to Milah when he was stopped by Leroy Grumpston. The man was very short, by nature, but his loud gruff voice made up for what he lacked in height. He made his fortune by designing and creating clothing and other household items that were designed specifically for people under five feet. The man may have obnoxious tendencies but he has always been a very generous donor to the zoo. "Killian, Killian Jones." He yelled.
Killian knew he had been caught. "Mr. Grumpston, how are you sir? I almost didn't see you."
Not one for small banter either, Leroy continued on with this thought. "I had wondered if you had heard about my sizeable donation to the monkey house. Strictly anonymous." He said.
Killian smiled, knowing that even though this man could be annoying he knew how his donation would make Milah happy. "No I had not. I will go tell Milah. I'm sure she will be thrilled." He said. Before he could escape, Leroy told Killian about how he and his wife, Nova, went on a safari. Killian was trying to be polite and listen, but he just kept staring over at Milah. He wanted to be by her side more than anything.
Just then, Robin walked by with his date. Killian had never seen her before thinking that Robin must have picked her up in a bar by the way she was dancing and by how young she was. "Hey Robin," Killian called out.
Robin has met Leroy before through other fundraisers. "Mr. Grumpston, how are you this evening?" He asked as he and his date walked over to them.
"Mr. Grumpston was just telling me about his generous donation." Killian said.
"Did you hear about it?" Leroy asked.
"The anonymous one. Yes I have." Robin said, however, no one was paying attention because they were too busy staring at how Robin's date seemed to be dancing out of sync with the music. "Well, I suppose I should let you get back to your conversation."
His date spoke up. "Oh no, stay for a minute. I'm going to put on a little bit more lipstick." She said.
"Is that even possible?" Killian asked. From what he could tell she had enough on to last for several days. She laughed at Killian, not really understanding his remark.
Robin did not want to be left alone with Mr. Grumpston so he said, "I'll come with you."
She smacked Robin's arm. "What? You can't come to the ladies room with me silly." Then she walked away.
Killian realized that this would be a great time to make his escape. "You know, Robin, I was just telling Mr. Grumpston about the photo you're going to put up in the monkey house because of his sizeable donation."
Leroy was really touched by this gesture. "Oh, Robin. I'm really touched."
Robin knew he had damage control to do. "Well, it's not official and I still have to run it by a few people." He told him.
Killian smiled. "Well, I'll let you two work out the details. If you'll excuse me. It was good to see you again." Then he made a beeline for Milah.
Milah was talking to Phillip and Aurora. She had known them for a few years through various fundraising soirees. Phillip seemed like a down-to-earth guy but Aurora had the aura of a pretentious snob. Aurora was telling Milah about the house they had just bought in Tuscany. Milah could tell that Phillip wanted a drink because he kept saying Scotch in the background.
Just then, Killian appeared by his wife's side. "Mrs. Jones." He said with a smile as he put his arm around her waist.
"Oh, hey sweetie. You remember Phillip and Aurora?" She said. He nodded.
Then Aurora spoke up. "I was just telling Milah about our summer home in Italy." She said.
"We were going to go to Italy." Milah said.
"Yeah, but we didn't think that Sydney would tolerate the flight." Killian joked, making a hint about how Milah is so dedicated to her job that she has not taken time off for a vacation in years.
"I promised you that we would go, eventually." She tells him.
"Well you'll have to come out sometime. Our villa sits right on the edge of the most magnificent vineyard." Aurora said.
Phillip rolled his eyes. "Of course, it sits on the edge of a vineyard. It's Tuscany."
Aurora ignored her husband's comment. "Where are you two planning on vacationing this year?"
"We're going to go to one of those water-themed parks." Killian said jokingly. Milah and Phillip smiled.
"Oh, that'll be nice." Aurora said, trying not to put down their choice of excursion.
Phillip leaned over and said, "It's a joke, Aurora." He told her.
Killian had enough of this conversation. He wanted to dance with his wife and he actually put in a request for the band to play a particular song. "If you don't mind I promised my wife that we would dance this evening. So, if you'll excuse us. It was nice to see you both again." He said.
"Goodnight." She said as they walked away.
They were almost to the dance floor when Killian stopped her. "It's still a little too crowded." He told her while he was waiting for their song to come on.
"So, how was it?" Milah asked, referring to her speech.
Killian grabbed her hands. "It was perfect." He told her. "And with that lighting I could almost see through your dress." He hoped the joke would help her relax.
Milah had a worried look on her face. "Joke all you want but poor Sydney is still stuck in that small space."
He cupped her left hand in his. "I'll tell you what. If you promise to take time off to go to Italy with me, then I will promise to build Sydney a new habitat….with or without funding. You have my word." He hoped she would take this offer.
"Deal." She said. They shared in a small kiss when the song changed. It was called Return to Me (originally performed by Dean Martin). Killian led his wife out onto the dance floor. They became lost in each other's eyes.
They had lost count of how many songs they had dance through, but they did not care. For Killian, he never wanted this night to end.
At the same hospital, which Emma is currently at, a dark-haired woman is wheeled in on a gurney. There is an oxygen mask on her face and blood completely covering the right side of her body. Killian is running beside his wife trying to wrap his mind around the events that occurred just within the last half hour.
He could hear the paramedic talking to the trauma doctor and nurses. "Thirty year old female, white. Injuries sustained on the right sid on impact. Lost consciousness at the scene….never regained." Killian's head was spinning. They were on their way home from the fundraiser. They were stopped at a stoplight when a green car came out of nowhere and hit them on the passenger's side of the car, Milah taking most of the impact. Killian's hand when through the windshield on impact and his left hand was tended to in the ambulance. Why did it have to Milah? He asked himself. Why couldn't have it been me?
"What's her name?" Killian heard one of the nurses ask.
"Sir. Her name?" The doctor specifically asked him.
"M-m…Milah Jones." That was all he could muster.
They had reached the surgery floor. Milah required immediate attention and the sooner they got her into surgery, the better. One of the nurses stopped Killian. "Sir you can't go in there." She told him. "We're going to do everything we can for her, but you have to stay out here." He gave her a small nod as he watched them wheel his wife into surgery. What he did not realize is that was the last time he would ever see his darling Milah alive.
Regina Mills and Mary-Margaret Nolan were busily working away in the kitchen of their restaurant. The dinner rush was in full swing and taking care of the customers was helping them to take their minds off of Emma. It broke their hearts to see her suffer like that when there was not a thing they could do about it. Mary-Margaret blamed herself. Both of her parents had suffered from heart problems and both were relatively young when they died. This genetic defect appeared to skip a generation because Mary-Margaret has possessed good health her entire life. Her daughter was not so lucky. Emma's weak heart prevented her from doing so many things and it has only gotten worse. Now Emma is stuck in a hospital bed and she may never get a new heart. Mary-Margaret tried to not let these thoughts get her down, for she was always full of hope, but that does not mean that those thoughts have not crossed her mind.
Mary-Margaret was busily working in the kitchen preparing all of the food orders as they came in, along with Regina Mills. They had grown up together, being that they were first cousins. Mary-Margaret's mother and Regina's father were siblings. Even though they different ages they had always been close. Regina and Mary-Margaret even went to cooking school together. When Mary-Margaret married David Nolan the three of them decided to open a restaurant, calling it Our Charming Little Irish Italian Place. They served both Irish and Italian cuisine that had become a success. Mary-Margaret and Regina manned the kitchen while David took care of the books and helped at the bar.
While Mary-Margaret was slicing a tomato she looked over at the phone, which they put a heart on. If Emma was to get a heart, they would call that phone if it were to happen during restaurant hours. She hated to admit that she had been staring at that phone a lot lately. Regina could tell that she was distracted. "You're going to burn a hole into it if you don't stop looking at it." She told Mary-Margaret.
"I'm sorry." Mary-Margaret replied. "I just keep hoping that it's going to ring."
"It will." She told her. "Have faith. You're the hope fairy, remember."
"I know." Mary-Margaret said with a smile.
David entered with more dinner orders. "I've got three more orders for chicken vesuvios." He said as he handed it to them. It was a specialty dish of theirs.
"Thank you." Regina replied. "Where's Belle?" Questioning why David was bringing the orders. Belle was one of their waitresses.
"Oh, she decided to try a perm. Guess she's not handling it well because her scalp is still burning. I told her she could go home to wash it out." He told them.
"Oh, okay." Mary-Margaret said as she handed the plates for a different order to David. He took them and left the kitchen.
He walked over the table and set the plates down. "I hope everything looks good for you. Enjoy." He told them. Then he walked back to the kitchen to get the next order.
Mary-Margaret was putting some kale on the plate when David said, "I can do that. Where are the three chicken vesuvios?"
Regina replied. "I already sent them out, David."
"Thank you." He said. Just then, the heart phone rang. The three of them quickly ran over to pick it up.
David was the first answer. "You got it, didn't you?" He knew it was Emma on the other end. "Oh thanks be to God and all the saints in heaven. We'll be right there." He told his daughter.
Regina took the phone. "Go, I've got it covered here." She said then she talked to Emma before a minute after they left.
David and Mary-Margaret drove with great haste. They wanted to see their daughter before she would be wheeled into surgery. They made it to see that Emma was being wheeled towards the elevator.
Elsa was by her side. "Look who's here, Emma." She said.
Emma smiled at her parents. "Hey, I'm so glad you guys made it." They each took one of her hands. "I just wanted to say thank you for being such wonderful parents." She said.
Both David and Mary-Margaret gave her a smile knowing what Emma was trying to do…saying her goodbyes. Then Emma said, "If I don't come out…."
"Oh, you've got to come out." David interrupted. "You've got to take care of those tulips you planted. If they come out and see only me, they're going to go back into the ground again." He loved Emma's passion for flowers. His mother also loved flowers and even had her own greenhouse.
"We'll be waiting for you when you wake up." Mary-Margaret said. "We love you, Emma."
"I love you guys, too." Emma replied, with a single tear rolling down her cheek.
The doctor reassured the Nolans. "We'll take good care of her. We'll have someone come out and keep you updated during the surgery."
"Thank you." They both said. They held on to each other as they watched their daughter being rolled into the elevator.
A/N: Hope you guys are still enjoying the story. I know it starts out on a sad note but it does get better from here on out. Please leave me reviews.