I am so sorry about how long this update has taken. Despite it being summer, I've been busier than I was during the school year. I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone who has stuck with this story despite the sporadic updates; you have no idea how much it means to me. That said, I will be wrapping this story up since the transition to college will likely leave me with little time to write.

A/N 2: As you might've guessed, I've already started college. As I'm quite sure you've guessed, I haven't had time to write. I was originally going to write one more chapter after this, but I like where this ended and I'm not sure when the next update would be, so I figured it would be best to leave it like this. I may end up having time to write some one-shots, so if anyone has any prompts I'll see what I can do (preferably Emma-centric, so CS, Charming Family, Frozen Swan (friends) etc). You guys are the best readers in the world, honestly, and I'm so sorry for how bad I've been with updating. I hope you enjoy!

"How about this," Emma said as Henry shuffled the deck to play cards, "We play a few games and then David can bring you back to school after lunch? I can call and tell the office that we wanted you here with me for the morning, and that if Mr. Rowley thought you were in class, he was mistaken."

While Henry nodded eagerly, Snow shook her head. "Sweetie, do you really think it's a good idea to lie for him? He snuck out of school, and he should have to face the same consequences as everyone else."

"He's in eighth grade," Emma shrugged. "All they'd do is call me and Regina, and since I already know what he did, I don't see the need for them to know. It's not like I'd really punish him anyway. He did it so he could be with me and this is like the first time in… God, it must be at least a year since he's snuck out. I don't have a problem with it."

"And if Regina finds out?"

"She'll yell at me," The blonde shrugged again. "Nothing I'm not used to."

"Who wants to go first?" Henry interjected. "Wait, Killian, do you remember how to play War? I think we played it once on your ship."

"I remember," the pirate smiled.

"Good. Do you wanna go first?"

"I'd be honored," he replied, and began flipping his cards over.

At 10:30, David arrived with Neal's baby carrier in one hand and a mountain of board games in the other. Killian shot out of his seat to help him while Snow threw away the paper plates that were the only thing left of the family's lunch… or breakfast. Henry's heart had been in the right place, but grilled cheese at 9:30 in the morning wasn't exactly on anyone's bucket list. Still, they'd eaten it without complaint because no one wanted to hurt his feelings. Emma seemed to brighten up the second David stepped in the room. After Snow took the baby carrier (and the baby sleeping in the baby carrier), he made his way to Emma's bed and kissed her on the forehead.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I have to pee," she said, biting back a groan as she pushed herself into a sitting position. Snow immediately panicked because her daughter hadn't even stood up yet, and there she was planning to cross the room without a nurse present. It also warmed her heart because clearly she had known for a while that she'd be needing a bathroom break, but she didn't want to ask her, Henry, and Killian to move so she could get out of bed. She hadn't wanted the closeness of them all to end, nor had she wanted the peaceful, normalness to end. The brunette watched as Killian was by Emma's side in an instant. She smiled slightly; she couldn't just drop the baby to go to her daughter's aid, and David didn't want to scare anyone by dropping the games –not that they wouldn't have been at her side if they'd just been given two more seconds to put their things down– but she was grateful that the dark-haired man was always there for her daughter.

"I can help you across the room, love, but–"

"I can go to the damn bathroom by myself," Emma snapped. For some reason, Snow's eyes drifted over to the IV pole, where the pain meds were located. She noticed the clock on it, and saw that it'd been eight hours since Emma had last pushed the button for medicine to be dispensed. She suspected there was a constant drip of a small dose of some sort of pain killer because she doubted even Emma would want to try to stand up two days post-op without any sort of pain medication in her system. Her daughter seemed to sense her mother's confusion and slight tension, and said, "After I pee –by myself– I want to go for a walk if Killian and Henry want to come."

"Yeah!" Henry nodded excitedly while he finished packing up War, assuming his mother would want to move onto board games now that they were available to her. Slowly but surely, Killian helped Emma shuffle across the room, doing his best not to smile every time she let out a string of expletives. He in no way, shape, or form found her discomfort funny. She was just acting so Emma-like that he couldn't help the happy grins that wanted to break free. He waited outside the door until she came out, and she gave him a look.

"If she'd known you were there, she wouldn't have been able to go," Snow teased, earning herself a glare from the blonde.

"I knew he was there," Emma said, and they all noted she sounded more tired than she did before her trip across the room. "He's not exactly the type that leaves." Killian knew that she probably didn't realize what she'd said, but it would hit her at some point. "I'm ready for that walk," she said, gripping the handle on her IV pole for what appeared to be dear life. She, Killian, and Henry left the room, and Snow and David could hear the grumbling of the staff because she didn't wait for their help.

Snow turned to her husband and said,

"She hasn't voluntarily taken pain meds in eight hours. She's still getting some from what Dr. Whale set up, but there's a button she's supposed to push if she's in pain, and it administers the correct dose to make her more comfortable. She hasn't pressed the button."

"Maybe she's feeling better," David suggested.

"I don't know… I don't think she's being stubborn. She's certainly not used to hospitals, and even less used to anything stronger than Advil. It could be that she doesn't like the fogginess."

"Or she's trying to get the hell out of here," David said, crossing his arms. "Dr. Whale wants her eating more before she leaves. Opiates slow digestion, which means she won't feel very hungry and if she does eat, it can make her nauseous. And if she's not pressing the button, he might agree to take her off whatever else they have her on, and if she's off all her meds, eating, and can get around alright, he'll have no choice but to let her go."

"Damn it," the brunette sighed. "And the medicine is also making her more emotional and trusting. She's probably going crazy knowing there's nothing she can do to stop that–"

"Except to stop taking the medicine," David sighed, following her train of thought. "It is her choice, though."

"David, our baby girl has a nine-inch incision running vertically down her stomach, and five broken ribs. We can't just stand by and let her suffer."

"What are we supposed to do, Snow? She's an adult and it's entirely up to her. Hell, she could sign herself out now against medical advice and there's nothing we could do to stop it. You and I both know that she won't listen to us, and it probably has more to do with the fact that we're her parents than it does with, well, anything else. At a certain point, children just defy their parents and with some kids, it doesn't stop. Considering she has more of a teenager mentality, she probably won't ever stop trying to prove us wrong and go against our advice. And that sucks. It sucks that we can't get her to listen to us, but we just have to keep trying."

"She might listen to Killian, though," Snow said with a smirk. "I have to say, he's grown on me, and in no small part due to his ability to get through to her when nobody else can."

"Maybe we should take a break," Killian suggested.

"I've been in bed for the past few days, I just want to walk," Emma replied, panting slightly. She would never again take for granted the ability to walk without the task taking all her energy.

"You wanted to give your parents privacy," he commented, causing Henry to snicker.

"Maybe a break would be a good idea," Emma said, looking down the hallway. "There's not gonna be another chair for a while." Killian smiled to himself when she let him help lower her into the chair of the small family room they'd come across. He and Henry sat in the other two.

"I brought the cards if you want to play another game," Henry said. "But if you're tired, that's okay."

Emma weighed her options; she was exhausted. Her walk down the hall certainly took a lot out of her. But if she opted not to play War, then they would be sitting in silence, which usually led to talking about things she'd rather talk about.

"I think I'm up for another game if you guys are," she finally said. Henry smiled and began shuffling the deck. "When did you get to be so good at shuffling?"

"Killian showed me a few things," the teenager replied. When she turned her gaze to Killian, he shrugged, too.

"He's a natural," the pirate said.

"So all you two do when you're out on the boat is play cards?"

"No, I teach him other useful things–"

"Do you let him drink?"

"Gods, no," Killian said. "By 'useful things', I meant how to navigate using the sky should he ever be lost. Things like that."

"Oh," Emma visibly relaxed. The sound of a fussing baby drew their attention to the end of the hall, where Snow and David were both trying –and failing– to calm their son.

"Give him to me," Henry smiled.

"Good luck," Snow said, handing Neal off to his nephew. Within moments, he stopped crying and began cooing. Little Neal wrapped his fingers around Henry's index finger and made a little sigh of contentedness.

"Wow," David breathed. "How'd you do that?"

"He likes me," Henry shrugged. Though he didn't mean anything by the statement, Emma started laughing hysterically.

"Ow ow ow ow ow," she gripped Killian's hand. "Don't make me laugh."

"Honey, do you think maybe you should press your button? I know you just want to be able to get out of here, and to do that you can't be taking any medicine, but–"

"I'm okay," the blonde replied. When Snow opened her mouth to argue, she continued, "If being stuck in here for an extra few days means being surrounded by my family, then I'll push the damn button because I'd like to be able to laugh… even at Dad's stupid dad jokes that are actually kind of funny. So yeah, I'm okay being in here now." With that, she reached over to her IV pole and pushed the medicine button. Almost instantly, she was already feeling better.

"I hope we didn't interrupt anything," Snow said apologetically.

"Actually, we were just about to get our asses kicked by Henry, so we could use all the backup we can get… if you want to play. If you don't, I–"

"Of course we want to play," David said, putting a strong, comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder. "As long as Henry's okay with his winning streak being crushed."

"I'm the King of War. Nobody can beat me," Henry declared. It was pretty much true; very rarely did anyone else win when the family played the game.

"I'm the king of an entire kingdom, Henry," David smirked.

"And I'm the Queen," Snow pointed out.

"Oh Lord…" Emma didn't like where this was going. Every time someone reminded her she was a princess, she just… didn't like it.

"Actually, in chess, there's a reason queens have the most power of any other piece," Killian piped up. "To a royal family, it would probably never seem this was simply because they're on the inside looking out –however I do believe you two in particular are an exception to that rule because you respect each other and rule as a couple– but kings would generally ask for the advice of their queens, and act on that advice. So in reality, kings were taking credit for the queens' ruling decisions. That's why chess was designed the way it was."

"Interesting…" Snow smirked at her husband.

"Snow, it was your kingdom. Do you know how many times I had to convince the dwarves I wasn't trying to steal it from you?"

"Oh, so we're having this conversation again? It's not my fault they're a little protective of me."

"Guys," Emma jumped in, "the dwarves love you now, nobody was trying to steal anybody's anything. Ok?"

"Gramps would've had his own kingdom though…" Henry pointed out. "If he'd kept pretending to be James. But he never wanted that."

"Okay, Kid," the blonde said. "The fact that you know every detail of their lives is a little… creepy. I mean, you knew what happened to me as a baby before even I knew– did you read… like… when I was born?" Emma looked mortified.

"Nope, and I don't want to know," Henry replied, turning beet red.

"It's a children's book," Snow assured mother and son. "I wouldn't have given it to him otherwise."

"Wait, did you read it?"

"Yes."

"And?" Emma quirked an eyebrow, irritated that her mother was being so vague.

"And… you're not going to like what I have to say."

"Do I ever like what anyone has to say?"

Snow sighed, then said, "Looking back now, reading the part where we had to send you away, I now know why it evoked such a strong reaction from me, even when I didn't know it was real. If anything was ever going to get me to believe, it was how much I felt when reading that part."

Emma cleared her throat and said, "you know, it's not that I don't like what you have to say, it's that I don't like how it makes me feel. It… it…"

"Makes you feel confused," Killian said, seeing she was struggling to find the right word. "That's perfectly normal. This is a situation you've never dealt with before, and you're still adjusting, and you feel out of control, which you hate. One day, I'm sure this will all feel normal to you."

"God I love you," she said, ignoring her ribs' protest as she leaned over to kiss him. This time, David turned red and grumbled. "You know what, Dad? I'm 33. In case you haven't noticed, I have a kid. Do you realize I've done much more than kiss?"

"I don't want to hear about this," David buried his face in his hands, causing Emma to light up with glee at finally being able to tease him.

"Serves you right for the taco incident."

"Emma!" Snow shrieked. For poor Henry, now that he was older, the pieces finally clicked.

"Oh God! You know what? I think I'll go back to school. By Mom, Grams, Gramps, and Killian." With that, he went to retrieve his backpack and took off.

"Well, there's one way to keep him in school…" Snow snarked.

Their heads all turned down the hall when they heard a sharp "Henry!" followed by a hurried "Sorry Dr. Whale".

"Will someone do damage control, I don't wanna move?" Emma asked, but she was looking at Killian.

"Of course, Love," just as he was about to get up, a disheveled Dr. Whale approached.

"What'd you guys do to horrify the kid?" He asked with a smile.

"You don't want to know…" Snow muttered, remembering her days as Mary Margaret.

"Alright then… I just came by to give good news. Emma, you can have whatever you want, and if all goes well, I suppose I can discharge you tomorrow."

"Finally," the blonde smiled. "Thanks."

"No need to thank me. I should be thanking you for being relatively cooperative."

"Relatively? Come on, I've been good."

"Whatever you say," Killian teased.

"I hate you all," Emma said, trying her best not to smile.

"You love us," Snow sing-songed.

"Yeah, I do. Besides, you guys have been teasing me for the past few days, and I've been too drugged up to do anything about it. Now payback starts. Speaking of which, someone owes me cocoa puffs and real, non-hospital food."

"Alright," Snow chuckled. "I suppose it's my turn to go. Grilled cheese?"

"And fries, not onion rings," Killian added with a wink.

"Yeah, and a chocolate shake."

"I'm only allowing this until you're fully recuperated, after that, you need to start-"

"'You are what you eat', yeah yeah yeah. If I eat all kinds of vegetables, I'll turn into one, and that wasn't fun so I think I'll continue doing what I'm doing."

"Don't joke about that," Snow said. "It's not funny."

"Would you believe me if I said I've been in more uh… fatal and/or deadly situations?"

"I don't want to know!" Snow exclaimed, throwing her hands up as she walked down the hall.

"Is that true, Emma?" David said seriously.

"Um… well… at least this time I was in a hospital."

"You've been in other car accidents?"

"My first night in Storybrooke I ran down the town sign… which Regina still hasn't let go of. But I mean, I've broken plenty of ribs before, internal bleeding, been hypothermic… lots of concussions." She cocked her head to the side. "I've never flatlined before, though. That was a first."

"You worry me so much, Kiddo," David said, jumping up to hug her and cupping the back of her head with his hand. "I just wish I could've kept you safe all those years… I still wish I could keep you safe from everything." She gave him a sad, watery smile, and with a shaky voice, said,

"You can't, though. And you couldn't have. The people who were supposed to, they didn't, and…" she shrugged, turning her gaze to look down the hall, lost in a memory. Killian looked down, knowing exactly what she was thinking about. He reached out a hand and took her limp one, and she squeezed back, knowing he knew exactly what she was thinking about. David sensed it, and immediately filled with rage. His heart broke for his defenseless little girl who was failed by the only people she could've trusted.

"I know, Emma," he said, taking her other hand in his. He fought to keep his anger at bay, not wanting to scare her. Her eyes snapped up to meet his, and she knew he knew.

"You too?" She asked in an uncharacteristically small voice.

"Yeah, Sweetheart, me too."

"The world is full of assholes," she proclaimed.

"All worlds are," Killian added with a sigh.

"This is getting depressing, let's do something fun. I think Henry left the cards here…"

"I don't think I can take another game of War. Or Go Fish," Killian said.

"I was thinking Blackjack…"

"I'll deal," David smiled.

"She better hurry up, I'm hungry," Emma said.

"…and everything's back to normal," Killian proclaimed.