Here is the next installment of my tale, will everyone be OK?

Let's find out

Reviews have really dropped off so if you like what I am doing please please please let me know.

Adhuc Opus Facere, Still Work To Do

Too much to do... too much needing done, what should he going to do first?

Victor glanced over to the other bed as the ruckus on the other side of the room took his attention away from the Pirate in front of him. He could see the sheriff being forced back onto the bed by one of his nurses, that woman was going to be then death of him, her and her band of hero types!

He moved his attention back to his own patient who for the time being was being compliant, well as compliant as any half conscious man in extreme pain could be and at that very thought the heart rate monitor by Hook's side gave a warning sound and the Pirate started gasping and choking as he tried to take in air without too much success.

"Hook, calm your breathing down, take deep breaths, I know it hurts but you still need to do it. I'll get you something for the pain soon but you need to keep breathing"

But Hook shook him head as he screwed up his eyes and he continued writhing around on the bed.

"Can't" he gasped "Can't... breathe... too much... pain"

Victor grabbed his stethoscope and was immediately listening to Hook's chest, the noises he could hear worried him but he didn't want to let the Pirate know so he walked to the nearest nurse and turned his back to the Pirate to whisper to her.

"I've got reduced respiration in the right upper quadrant, can you arrange a chest x-ray? I'm going to have to open him up again, I want to see what's going on as soon as possible but I'm pretty sure the tear in his diaphragm has opened again and there is a real possibility of damage from a rib too. He has a lot of fresh bruising down that side that I'm not happy with. Keep things calm, we don't need anyone panicking so just leave quietly with no fuss but hurry"

The nurse nodded and immediately left the room walking with a broad smile on her face so the others would not be suspicious while Victor went back to the still struggling Pirate to check the rest of him over but Hook seemed really unsettled now and he kept trying to raise his left arm off the bed but every time he tried he groaned loudly letting it fall back onto the blankets only to try again a few seconds later... Strange.

"Does your arm hurt?" he asked while trying to see any obvious signs of damage but he was coming up with nothing and Hook wasn't answering anymore as he still struggled with his breathing. Victor looked closely at the limb but there were no obvious breaks that he could see, maybe the pain was still coming from his shoulder? He made a mental note to check it out once the Pirate was sedated and his hook had been removed again but in he mean time he had other things to check over.

Victor was vaguely aware that one the nurses that had been attending Miss Swan had walked across the room and was watching him as he worked obviously not wanting to interrupt but when he looked up and met her gaze she finally spoke.

"How's he doing?"

"Not good, there is no news here that will soothe Miss Swan so if I were you I would just make up some flowery crap to keep her happy" he snapped then regretted it straight away when he looked at her shocked face, he sighed "Sorry but as you can tell it's been a tough day"

The nurse gave him a smile and looked like she was about to ask something else but right then Hook gave another long groan, Victor looked away from her and if she spoke again he never heard it being more interested in saving the Pirate than relaying information to his girlfriend!

"Hook, what's going on? What hurts?" He asked urgently coming further up the bed so he could see the Pirate's face more easily.

"Every... thing... He is... gone... put... me... to...sleep" Hook gasped in reply as the Pirate managed to lock eyes with him and the pleading look he gave almost had Victor doing as he asked but he knew he couldn't, not just yet, he needed as much information as possible first.

"In a minute I promise but I need to know what hurts, come on the sooner you tell me the sooner you can sleep"

"Nnnnnnnnnnnnggggggghhhhhhh... please" was the only reply that the Pirate gave as he tried again to curl in on himself but this time the move seemed to cause more pain than before as Hook suddenly froze with his eyes wide and his mouth fell open in a silent scream.

"Hook... Hook! What's wrong?" Whale didn't like the look of this as the Pirate lay rigid on the bed and when he finally pulled in a rasping breath the room turned into chaos as all the machines started sounding at once.

"Hook, look at me... Hook, open your damn eyes" Whale grit out tapping the Pirate's cheek to try and draw his attention but that wasn't working now either, damn it.

"I'm going to put an oxygen mask on you OK? Just try and take some deep breaths and I promise I will let you sleep soon but you need to talk to me, tell me what hurts"

Hook clamped his eyes shut again as his head tipped back on his pillows and his back arched slightly from the bed. Victor thought for a second that he was going to have to just go on guess work and finally put the Pirate out of his misery but Hook came through as he suddenly started reeling off his ailments.

"Head... really bad... headache."

"Arm... feels like fire."

"Chest... can't breathe... Gods... it's too... much... too painful... to breathe" He gave a rasping cough and this seemed to be the end of his ability to speak as he lay gasping again.

Victor brought the oxygen mask over Hook's head and settled it over his mouth but it seemed to make little difference, there was definitely something else going on inside the Pirate's chest. He turned back to the nurse that had come over from helping Emma, he needed her help so he lowered his voice but spoke urgently

"I need a free theater NOW, I don't care how you do it just make it happen, I want his x-ray done in the next ten minutes then the theater needs to be ready to go and I hope you didn't plan on going home anytime soon because this is going to take a while"

"Wouldn't miss this for the world, I'll go and let Emma know that he will be going soon and don't worry, I'll make it flowery" she gave him a kind smile and squeezed his arm "You can do this Doctor Whale, I know you can"

He watched as she walked away again towards Emma who was currently being hugged by the Evil Queen! OK, that was new... He just hoped that the nurse was right, everyone was counting on him yet again... God, he needed a drink!

"Swan?" Hook's voice cut into his thoughts and he was back by the Pirate's side in a second.

"She's fine Hook, she's just over there with Regina. We are about to take you to theater now, you will probably be asleep for a good few days so do you want to see her? I can bring her over so you can say goodnight"

Hook nodded his head but never opened his eyes, he seemed to be loosing steam fast but Whale knew that he needed to let them do this for both of them not just Hook, if he couldn't save the Pirate he wanted to make sure they had a chance to say goodbye.

"OK, hang on, I'll go get her"

Whale moved quickly over to the other bed just as the nurse was leaving to follow out his previous instructions giving him a meaningful look as she went.

"Miss Swan, we are about to take Hook for his x-ray now then we will go straight down to theater but he would like to see you before he goes"

He hadn't even finished speaking before she was hauling herself from the bed but he stepped in her way with his hands up, he needed to speak to her first.

"Stop, hang on just a second." she seemed to sense that it was important that she listen to him when she stopped to sit on the side of the bed without argument "He is very weak Miss Swan, he is having problems breathing and is in a lot of pain. Make this short and sweet we don't have a lot of time to waste but you need to do this, make sure he knows you are here for him"

He didn't emphasize his reasoning but she seemed to understand why he wanted her to speak to him as she gave a short nod then hopped off the bed. He stood back and let her go by herself, this was a private moment after all, he didn't want to get in the way of what could be their last conversation.

"What's his chances?" The Mayor's voice beside him didn't surprise him nor did it bring the fear that it used to, not anymore, neither of them were the same people they used to be.

"Honestly, I wouldn't even like to put odds on it" he said with a sigh before he turned to meet her gaze "He's got a lot going on, he was already weak from his previous injuries and I just don't know how much more his body can take, I'm not even sure how he is still conscious after what he's been through."

"He's a Pirate, for more years than all of us put together he has sailed the seas with only his pig headed determination to get him through, don't give up on him yet. If he managed to survive all that time for a lost love just imagine what he can do for one that is still here"

The Queen was right, by normal standards this man should be dead already but he wasn't, he was still here beating the odds, still fighting. Victor turned to the Queen with a frown.

"Since when did you become so sentimental?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Since I realized that revenge doesn't bring you happiness, love does and he has found that with Emma" she raised an eyebrow at him then added "BUT if you let him die I will reconsider my new stance, we need him alive so get to work, my magic may not work on him but it will work on you, be warned!"

He wasn't sure if she was joking or not as she raised her eyebrow even higher at his nervous laugh so he just walked quickly back to the other bed, it would appear that the formal Evil Queen could still scare him with just one look. Emma was leaning over her Pirate soothing him and Victor could just about make out what she was saying as she whispered in his ear.

"You're going to be just fine, you hear me? And I will be waiting for you when you come back. Morpheus is gone Killian so no more bad dreams, you can relax and no one is going to hurt you anymore. Take your time and sleep for as long as you need, I'm not going anywhere."

Hook looked incapable of answering her now, he had broken out into a sweat with the effort of just trying to draw in air as his chest heaved in and out, breathing shouldn't be this hard, they needed to move. Victor came up quickly to Hook's side as Emma bent forward to kiss the Pirate's forehead.

"Excuse me Miss Swan but we need to go now, I'm really sorry but it's time" he tried to stay calm, he didn't want to worry her anymore than necessary but the monitor by Hook's side sending out another alarm defied his intentions.

"What's going on? Why is that making that noise?" she asked frantically looking at the monitor.

"That is why we need to go now, he is struggling to breathe Miss Swan I need you to step aside so we can get him the help he needs" it was all he was willing to say, he was not about to yell at her to get out of the way because if she didn't the man she loved may very well die, that would only cause more panic so instead he just disengaged the brakes on the bed and started to move.

This damned Pirate better not die, the last thing he needed was the Evil Queen and the two town sheriffs thinking he hadn't done enough to help their friend. He gave one last look back over his shoulder as he pushed the bed through the doors to see both women watching him.

"Thanks Whale" Emma called and she gave a small smile as he left.

It was just what he needed, she believed in him and if Emma had confidence in him that was enough, he was part of the team and he was not going to let her down. With renewed vigor he started off down the corridor toward x-ray shouting loudly at the group of people in his way.

"Out of the way people, hero Pirate coming through"

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The waiting was torture as Mary-Margaret sat outside the room that they had wheeled David into about an hour before, what was taking so long? She didn't have a clue what was going on with anyone and she was so worried, heck, she didn't even know what was happening with David and he was just on the other side of the door that she was still staring at.

She missed their link, they had only had it a few days but it had become so normal in that time that now Regina had taken David's heart and the link was gone Mary-Margaret felt it like an open wound. She was just considering calling Regina to find out what was happening with the rest of her family when the doors to the CT room opened and David was pushed back out.

Mary-Margaret practically ran over to the moving bed but one of the nurses stepped in her way.

"Woah, just hang on a second."

"What? Why? What's wrong?" Her heart thumped in her chest, this was bad news she just knew it.

"Nothing too bad I promise, his scan came back clear BUT we still need to stitch the wound so just be careful and also be aware that he has a burnt hand so don't hold that one. We are just going to take him to a treatment room now and you can sit with him while we work but he is still unconscious so I'm afraid you'll only have us for conversation" the nurse gave her a sympathetic smile as she stepped to the side to reveal David on the bed.

There was a large dressing taped across the right hand side of his head which covered a lot of his face and she tried hard to hold back the tears at the sight of him, he just looked so fragile and pale against the white sheets that her heart clenched in sympathy. Before she knew it they had moved from the corridor and she was settling onto a chair next to David's bed in one of the treatment rooms as the two nurses got to work but all she wanted was her husband to wake up and tell her he was alright.

They were done in no time at all and as the nurse stepped back Mary-Margaret was happy to see that there was a much smaller dressing over the wound now and she could see David's face much better. He was still very pale still but at least now she would be able see if he opened his eyes.

"You OK?" one of the nurses asked surprising her, she hadn't been paying attention to what they were doing so hadn't expected them to speak to her.

"I'm fine" she replied automatically

"Well that's a lie" the nurse said with a smirk "If I were you I'd be going crazy right now. Do you want me to find out how your Daughter is doing?"

"Yes please" Mary-Margaret blurted out quickly "and Hook too if you can"

"I'll see what I can do but no promises, I'll be back in a few minutes. Talk to him, it might help bring him round" the nurse smiled sweetly at her

"Thank you" she smiled back then she was left by herself as the two nurses walked from the room.

Mary-Margaret looked back at David and scooted forward on her seat so that she could reach his uninjured hand taking it gently into hers.

"I need you to wake up David, I can't do this all by myself. Emma is going to need us both and that Pirate of hers is going to need us all to get him through. What happened David? Please, I just need you to be alright"

The tears were flowing now as she sobbed by his bedside, why had this happened? Was it not bad enough what they had already gone through in that cave? She had been so worried when he had been missing then he had been back and he had been OK but now he was worse than ever, how had it come to this?

"David, please wake up" she finally whispered but he didn't move a muscle and she was left sitting in silence again until she composed herself.

Mary-Margaret sighed "You're going to make me wait aren't you? Is this amusing you, me sitting here looking like a blotchy ogre? I must be a sight"

"A sight worth seeing" David mumbled quietly but he didn't move, had she just imagined it?

Mary-Margaret's heart leapt into her throat and she was on her feet in seconds taking his hand in hers again as David slowly opened his eyes to look up at her.

"David?!"

"I'm OK" he breathed out shutting his eyes again furrowing his brow in obvious discomfort.

"David don't go back to sleep, please don't go back to sleep. I need you" she whispered

"I'm not going anywhere" he opened his eyes again and squeezed her hand "Not until I know that my family is alright, now where is Emma and what is happening with Hook?"

And with that she knew he was going to be alright, he was still David, he was still her Prince Charming always putting his family first, yes, they were going to be just fine.