The next awareness Emma Swan had was waking up in the hospital. Her right shoulder and arm hurt like a bitch and had been immobilized. "Where am I?" she tried to ask, though the words stuck in a dry throat. A nurse came to her side adjusting tubes and wetting her lips with a swab. "I'm glad you're awake." She smiled as if that was a part of what she was paid to do. "We'll need some information from you. What is your name?" "Emma Swan." She whispered, her throat and mouth sticking from dryness. "Water." She said and was given a small sip, enough to get her saliva working again. A doctor came to her bedside and smiled down at her. "You are a very lucky girl." He winked. "The bullet went clean through the shoulder. There does not appear to be any permanent damage and your baby is fine." A wave of relief washed over Emma as she nodded and drifted back to sleep.
She wasn't sure how long she had been sleeping when she woke again, but she was hungry and stiff from immobility. She attempted to get up when a nurse ran over and held her in place. "You can't get up, Miss Swan. Let me know what you need." Emma growled with frustration. If she found the man who did this, she was going to inflict serious injury on him. Of that she was positive. Suddenly that became her goal in life. Track down the asshole and hurt him… bad. Suddenly she heard her cell phone ringing in her bag. Where was her bag? "Get me my bag." She demanded. The nurse opened a locker and brought the bag over. Reaching in and grabbing her phone she answered and heard Mr. Gold's voice.
"Miss Swan? I'm sorry to say that there will be a delay in arranging this meeting with the adoptive mother." He hesitated almost as if he were holding back a laugh. "It seems that she had to go away on a business trip. But I will be back in touch as soon as she returns. Have a nice day Em-ma." He smacked his lips as he said her name and it gave the injured woman a chill. Emma sighed with relief, the last thing she needed now was a meeting with those two. She looked over and caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror. Blood was still caked in her hair and she looked as if she had been run over by a bus. She shoved her phone back in her bag and leaned back. At least this delay was certainly in her favor. One look at her now and any perspective mother would be immediately scared off.
Seriously, could this situation get any worse? Emma attempted to shift in the bed and yelped out in pain. "Damn." She cursed under her breath. She wanted pain meds. Lots of them. She buzzed the nurse who came in with a sweet, condescending smile on her face and asked how she could help. "Drugs, damn it" the blonde growled in a threatening voice. "Morphine, codeine, something that will make me not want to chew my arm off because of pain." The nurse poured a cup of water and handed Emma four Tylenol tablets. "Tylenol? Are you freaking kidding me? Did you put a band-aide on the bullet hole?" "Now Miss Swan, the doctor discussed this with you. Unfortunately, because of your baby, we can't give you narcotics. That could be very detrimental. You don't want to hurt your baby now do you?" Emma glared at the nurse. Did she really have to answer that question? She swallowed the pills and leaned back in the bed. Within a few minutes the Tylenol managed to take the edge off of the pain, but a dull, deep throbbing ache pulsed on the right side of her body.
She hated her life at this moment… well most of the time. Hell, who was she kidding, she hated her life all the time. Some moments just sucked a little less than others. But this experience was definitely going to the top of her 'suckiest moments' list. She had been seriously injured once; she had been hitchhiking and took a ride with the wrong guy. When he tried to get familiar with her, she had leapt out of a moving vehicle. Not the smartest thing she'd ever done. Cracked a rib, broke three fingers and given herself a concussion. The jackass had just kept driving. Fortunately she'd made it to an emergency room that fixed her up and she was able to sneak out before begin confronted about the bill. She groaned out loud. The Bill! How the hell was she going to pay for this hospital stay?
Her head hurt. The baby kicked her rib and she rubbed her stomach in an effort to sooth him. It was the first moment she'd had to really feel grateful that he was ok. He liked to curl up high in her stomach; she suspected he liked the comfort of her beating heart. She imagined that she would have liked that experience with her mother, if she had ever known who her mother was. She didn't let her self think about it much, but being pregnant had brought about so many random thoughts. She wondered if her mother had been in the same position that Emma herself was in? Pregnant and abandoned, no money and no way to care for her child. If things were different, if she wasn't broke, alone, eighteen and stupid with a history of falling for the wrong guys, she knew that she might just be tempted to keep him. But she wasn't about to put an innocent kid through the hell that was her life these days. Getting shot was proof of that.
Suddenly, she wanted to run. Just slip out of bed, grab her things and run. She didn't know where or even how she'd get there. She had exactly one hundred and fourteen dollars in her bank account, one hundred of which was owed for rent this week. She had delayed paying it and knew that she risked being evicted, but choosing between food and shelter sometimes was not an easy call. Besides, she didn't want to go back to that roach trap anyway. Her probation forbid her leave the state, but screw that. She could be long gone before they even knew she was missing. As the nurse finished her care of Emma she smiled and chirped, "You're healing remarkably well Miss Swan. Very impressive. Oh and I almost forgot. You have a visitor."