-Chapter 3-
She felt like she was floating; that was the first sensation Emma became conscious of. Not floating, exactly, more like….drifting slowly, like being on a boat. Or a ship. Ship. Pirate…Hook. She frowned inwardly; NO….Killian, not Hook.
Emma gasped and sat up quickly, or rather tried to sit up, only to find she had been restrained, unable to lift her arms or legs from the bed. "WHAT THE HELL?!" She screamed, eyes frantically searching to gain her bearings as to where she was. The door of the room she was in was pushed open and a nurse flew in, with Emma's parents right behind her, the concern clear on their faces. "Shh…. Shh, Emma…" her mother began, as the nurse quickly went round the side of the bed to check the IV attached to Emma's arm.
"NO! Don't SHUSH me; somebody needs to explain what the HELL is going on here!" Tears of frustration began building up and threatened to spill over. Emma strained against the straps on her arms. "Are these NECESSARY? REALLY?" She dropped back onto the pillow, momentarily defeated. "You were hysterical and almost uncontrollable the first time you awoke," the nurse informed her. "So, yes, for your own safety, they were necessary. If you think you can calm down this time, I'm sure the doctor will let us take them off."
"The first time I awoke? Wait," Emma frowned, "what do you mean? What time is it? How long have I been- Killian! Oh GOD!" Without warning, the memories came flooding back. The gun shot, the look of surprise turned to horror on Killian's face, the screaming. Emma gasped, the tears now flowing freely. David, who had up to this point been standing behind his wife with his hand fisted nervously in front of his mouth, spoke up. "Emma, honey, you need to calm down, first, and then we can fill you in on everything." Emma turned a tear streaked face up to her father. "Please, please tell me he's alive. That he's not…." She broke off, unable to finish speaking. "Oh he's still alive, the surgery went well." He reassured her. But Emma didn't miss the quick glance that passed between her parents before David spoke.
Before Emma could question them any further, the nurse interjected, "Ms. Swan, I do need to check your vitals, but would you like a few minutes with your…your parents first?" she glanced at the young couple standing by the bed, clearly confused. "Yeah, that'd be nice," Emma barely acknowledged the nurse, her eyes never leaving her father's face. "Alright, I'll check back in a few minutes. In the meantime, if you need anything, just pull the call button." The nurse turned and left quickly, wisely not uttering a word about the peculiar family relations.
"Emma, how much do you remember?" Mary Margaret asked softly. "Do you know how long you've been here?" She gingerly sat at the edge of the bed and took her daughter's hand carefully in hers, testing Emma's reaction.
Emma stared helplessly at the concerned brunette. "I don't know, a couple of hours, maybe? Can you please explain this to me?" She jerked her arm impatiently.
"Emma, just listen for a minute, okay?" David tried again. "Actually, you've been here for almost two whole days now,"
"WHAT?" Emma tried to sit up again, forgetting her restraints. "WAIT," David commanded in a firm, no-nonsense voice. "If you want to be able to get up and see Hook-"
"KILLIAN" Emma and Mary Margaret corrected in unison.
"Killian", he amended. "-you need to co-operate, Emma." David continued. "You fainted. The doctors say it was brought on by stress. The only thing is that when you first came to-" "You pretty much LOST it," Mary Margaret finished. "Hence, the restraints."
"Wow. Okay…" Emma looked down self-consciously. She drew in a shaky breath. "Look, I'm sorry, just please tell me what's going on. I saw that look between you two," she said accusingly. "I know you're not telling me something. What is it?"
Mary Margaret glanced at her husband, clearly troubled. He nodded slightly in understanding, and then said, "Emma, he did make it through the surgery, but he's not waking up. He's in a coma, and the doctors don't know why."
Emma's face drained of all color and she seemed to freeze before turning her face to the wall, away from her parents.
"Emma," her mother began. "Don't worry. We think that we know what the problem is." She waited for a response from her daughter, and when none was forthcoming, she continued, glancing worriedly at David. "We, that is your father and I, are very confident that all it will take to wake Killian is True Love's Kiss." She smiled, sure that this news would have Emma leaping from the bed. When yet again there was no response from Emma, she frowned slightly, and repeated "Emma? Emma, honey? Did you hear me? All you need to do is KISS him. We're SURE that's all it will take!"
Emma turned slightly to glare coldly at her mother and said one word. "No."