A/N: Okay, first of all, so sorry for this taking so long. I have the end written, but the chapters in between need work. I've written and rewritten this a few times, and had to do research on the layout of the docks and the Jolly to make sense (finding the freeboard measurements of the real life Lady Washington who plays the Jolly Roger on the show is a pain in the stern if you know what I mean.) Anyway, I hope that y'all still enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of its characters. It remains the property of Ed Kitsis, Adam Horowitz, and the ABC Network.

Conspiracy Theories

She's got her game face on as she slams through the double doors, but the game face slips as she sees that the waiting room is utterly packed. Granny and Ruby have set up a table with some sandwiches and a carafe for coffee. They handed a few snacks and beverages to those who were awaiting news of Killian's condition, including the dwarves, who seemed to be in a deep discussion, waving their arms around and pointing frantically. Her parents were chatting with Archie, Neal, Tink, Blue and the other fairies, concern written over their faces.

"How's he doing Emma?" asked Blue, with an understanding look on her face.

"They're taking him to the OR," she replied, irritated at how shaky her voice sounded.

"He, um…" She cleared her throat before continuing. "He's got 3 gunshot wounds to the back, one of them just missing his spine. Whale is working on him. Said that he's concerned about internal bleeding and they had to get him into surgery immediately. They were working on his collapsed lung before they made me…before I had to leave. "

Emma swallowed back her sobs, closing her eyes as the room was filled with the shocked gasps of those in the room with her. Apparently closing her eyes did nothing to stop the tears welling behind her lids, and she frantically blinked them back.

"What are all of you doing here?" she couldn't help but blurt, everyones gazes falling upon her.

"We're waiting to see how Jones is doing," Ruby replied sympathetically. "We heard that he got hurt at the docks."

"You're all here for Killian?" she asked in awe.

"Course we are." shrugged Leroy nonchalantly.

"We take care of our own." Granny said in her usual matter of fact tone as she pressed a paper cup into Emma's hands. "It's hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon. I have a thermos set aside for you, and if you want more whipped cream, there's a can of it in the cooler under the table. And there's a shaker for the cinnamon beside the ham and cheese sandwiches."

Before she could do more than give Granny a watery smile, Astrid handed her a grilled cheese sandwich.

"Here, have one," said Astrid, the fairy that Grumpy seemed to have a crush on, as she handed Emma a pastrami sandwich. "They're really good."

In that moment, she felt an odd sort of warmth at the proof that Killian had truly become a part of something, and Storybrooke had claimed him as one of their own, just like it had with her. She felt tears stinging from the corners of her eyes, and she took a sip of her hot chocolate to keep her lip from quivering.

"We're gonna go guard the exits," Doc informed her as the dwarves split up into smaller groups. "Make sure that George and his minions don't try anything stupid while we're all here."

Emma nods, giving them a small smile, not bothering to mention that the hospital has its own security staff. She knows that they're just looking out for Killian, and it probably makes them feel like they're doing something instead of just eating and waiting for news.

"Can I talk to you for a minute Mary Margaret?" she asked, though the way she grabbed her mother's arm and pulled her off to the side left no doubt that she wasn't taking no for an answer.

"Emma, how are you doing?" Snow asked, concern etched into her face.

"I'm not the one who got shot," Emma retorted a little too loudly. Before she could even register her embarrassment at sounding so crass, she noticed something.

It happened in a mere heartbeat, so fast that if she hadn't been paying attention she wouldn't have noticed it at all. The furtive looks that connected with one another in the crowd that happened to quickly to even be considered a glance, followed by the gazes dropping like a stone to the floor, or to the wall, or to their shoes. So long as their eyes didn't venture anywhere near Emma. It started with a look exchanged between Ruby and Snow, the gazes of guilt then rippling quickly through the flock of people, until it reached Granny and Blue at the end where it faded out, leaving a thick silence in its wake.

"Alright, I saw that," declared Emma, the feelings of warmth and community quickly being consumed by the fiery anger that was building within her.

"You all are keeping a secret from me," Emma growled, tossing aside her sandwich and slamming her hot chocolate against a nearby side table. "I want to know what it is, and I want to know right now. I have a right to know what it is, especially if it has to do with Killian!"

It happened again, that wave of conspiratorial flickering glances, the dropped gazes, and her superpower pinging off the charts. She seared each of them with her narrowed gaze while she tried to figure out how best to unearth the truth from this bunch. Rather than questioning them separately and allowing the rest of the group to get their stories straight, she chose to do a group interrogation.

"I'm glad that I don't have to chase all of you down or cross examine you individually," she declared, her fists balled at her side. "So, to save time and aggravation I'll just give you guys the opportunity to tell me what the hell is going on, rather than get really, really pissed off that all of you know what's going on with Killian and are keeping it from me.

"I want to know how the hell he ended up with three bullets in his back, when the gunman was shooting a semi automatic pistol, out of the driver's side window, from a car on the dock," Emma ground out. "And when we got to Killian he was facing where the shots were coming from. Not to mention he was like a hundred and fifty feet away, at the back…uh, stern of the ship, which is about five or six feet higher than where Mary Margaret and I were. Even if the gunman's shots went totally crazy, I don't see how the hell Killian got shot the way he did…"

She looked at the faces of those she called friends, the ones who were currently keeping secrets from her and she was hit with the sudden realization that should have been all too apparent in this town.

"Magic was somehow involved, wasn't it," she rasped, this sudden knowledge plummeting through her and hitting the pit of her stomach with a knee shaking thud.

"Gold…Killian's been acting weird since he had that private meeting with Gold…fuck…he did something to Killian didn't he?" She asked to no one in particular. Emma didn't have to ask, she already knew.

"Emma," Snow began tentatively. "Maybe you should calm down a little before you go and do something rash."

"I'm not going to do anything rash," Emma argued, the fire back in her eyes burning hotter than before. "I'm just going to encourage him to lift whatever spell he cast on Killian. And in return, I will cease whatever encouragement I used on his scrawny, reptilian ass, despite how much he deserves it."

"How's the pirate?" Asked Regina curtly, making her entry as she breezed through the emergency room doors with Henry in tow.

"What are you doing here?" Emma barked back, severely lacking in enough patience to deal with her son's other mother. "And why would you bring Henry?"

"Because when we found out what happened, he became as concerned for the pirate as you are." Regina said pointedly, her glare forcing her to look at Henry. His hazel eyes were filled with fear and worry.

"God Henry, I'm so sorry," she gulped, taking the boy into her arms, shame filling her as she remembered how close they had gotten. Of course he would be worried for Killian too, and she wasn't even the one to call him and tell him Killian had been shot.

"I'll fill you in on everything," Emma promised. "I just have to talk to Gold and-"

"It's all my fault…" he mumbled against her stomach, his arms wound around her tightly. "I'm so sorry mom."

"What are you talking about kid?" Emma asked, taken aback as she pulled away just enough to look him in the eyes.

"I should have talked him out of it," he whispered. "But he just wanted to protect you, and-"

"Whoa, slow down and start from the beginning." she advised him, pulling him over to the bank of seats so that he could sit down.

"We called it Operation Penguin." Henry said. He took a deep breath, and did as Emma asked.