Glad that you guys are hanging in through the angst and the drama. Next update might not be until tomorrow night. I have some work projects that have me out of the office most of tomorrow and a daughter who has extra skating practice. That means not much computer time.
Henry Mills was in his English class when he got the text from his mom to come by the hospital on his way home to his other mom's house. He wondered how many other 12 year olds had two moms, even outside Storybrooke. When he slid the phone under his desk to text her back, she didn't respond right away and if he didn't have the eagle eyes of his teacher on him he might have sent another to her.
At his age, he was used to the demands of his mothers, tuning them in and out with the practiced hand of any pre-teen. It was different to be needed and wanted though, something he wasn't used to feeling. While he would never admit it, he enjoyed the texts from either woman asking him to pick up some item on his way home or when they asked for his opinion or advice. So being summoned to the hospital was right up there with those situations.
Also up there with things he wouldn't readily admit was the presence of family in his life now. For the first decade of his existence, he had only Regina. She had raised him and molded him into a respectful although resentful son. Emma was different. She was more relaxed in some areas, but dogged in others. She rarely punished or yelled, probably because she still in some ways doubted her place in his life. But with her she brought him grandparents who doted on him like he was the only child in their lives.
So between the new family he had, and the fact that both of his mothers were dating quite seriously, Henry was starting to feel a bit better about his situation. Regina's dating life meant that he had Roland to mentor and play with when there was family time in that household. Emma's dating life meant Killian, who unlike Robin was not yet immune to the persistence of someone like Henry. And both situations meant that he was able to have his mothers wanting to give him extra attention in the fear that they were somehow scarring him for life.
As his class inched forward in line toward the cafeteria, Henry looked at the door leading outside. It would be easy enough to slip out for a little while. His moms might not even make him come back if he really was needed by one of them. He didn't have his jacket on, but he could run the few blocks to the hospital and from there someone was bound to give him a ride if he needed it. Slyly bending down to tie his shoe, he let the other students pass him. He waited until they had entered the cavernous room where lunch was served and then darted out the door and past the teachers' cars toward the hospital.
***AAA***
"I don't think I understand what you're saying," Mary Margaret said for what felt like the tenth time. "You did surgery on him. You said there was extensive damage."
"Yes," the doctor said again, tapping his finger on the clipboard as though they could decipher his writing. "I don't have an explanation for it either."
Emma's frown deepened as she ran through the update they had just received. Killian's doctors had run the CT scans that morning, wanting to confirm pin placement and angles before moving on to other treatment. She had sunk back into the shadows of the room as they wheeled the bed back in, watching helplessly as they rearranged monitors and spoke in hushed tones about who was going to call which doctor.
"I've never seen…We'll have to run more tests," he said hurriedly. "Who all has been in to see him?"
"Just me…" Emma said, her voice trailing off. "Why? What do you suspect?"
The man shook his head. "Nothing. I just thought that…it's nothing." He grunted as his pager sounded, reading it quickly and nodding to the two women. "I'll be back."
Emma glanced at her mother's confused expression. "What is going on? Did he mean that the injuries are better? Is this good news?"
Her mother bit her lip, glancing at her watch. "I am going to call your father and see if he can figure this out with us. I just don't know." She gripped her daughter's upper arms. "I'm sure it is great news." The sleeves of Mary Margaret's thick wool sweater were stretched past her wrists from her nervous habit, one that her daughter had inherited.
"Then why is everyone freaking out?" Emma asked, her voice tight but seeping with questions. "He said there was no sign of them."
Mary Margaret's short hair bobbed as she nodded. "I heard him, Emma," she said. "I think we should wait for him to come back and see what he says."
Emma glanced over her shoulder at the room where Killian still slept. The door was partially open, allowing her to see his face from the hallway. Holding her breath, she watched the monitor next to him beep, its sound echoing in her head though she knew it was not actually that loud. "We don't really have much of a choice in that," she said.
***AAA***
Elsa tapped her foot impatiently as the elevator ascended to the next floor. Regina had insisted on avoiding the stairs, making some comment about her shoes and the fresh wax not being a good combination. It seemed to be taking an enormously long time as she watched the gauge climb and Regina inspected her nails.
As the doors finally slid open, Elsa passed Regina and threw herself into a full-fledged sprint down the hall. "Emma," she said, throwing her arms around her friend and feeling her stiffen at the touch. She forgot sometimes how much Emma hated such contact. "What's going on?"
Emma's eyes narrowed suspiciously at Regina's slow march toward them. When the brunette stopped before them, Emma finally spoke. "What you told Henry last night," she said, her hands balling into fists. "What you said about healing magic not working…"
"Miss Swan," Regina said, tilting her head to the side carefully. "You need to complete your sentences for me to understand."
"Was that a guess or common knowledge?" Emma finally said, her face reddening a bit from the exertion.
"It is knowledge from my experience," Regina answered. "I have seen it happen many times. When I'm involved an injury caused by magic can be healed by magic. However, I've never had any luck healing anyone who was struck by a car or in some other way injured. Our dark friend on the other hand has a more extensive ability. He is able to heal any injury. Why do you suddenly find this information so necessary?"
Emma didn't answer her, turning to Elsa instead. "And your experience?" she asked.
Elsa's features contracted as she considered the question. "I don't have much experience in either area, but…" She trailed off. "I've repaired things before. Things that were broken and I was able to fuse them back together."
Emma nodded again, taking a step back from the two women. "Something happened this morning," she said. "The doctors wanted to look at Killian's progress and it seems that there are no more signs of his injuries."
"He's already recovering?" Elsa asked, unsure what that information could possibly mean.
"No," Emma corrected, shooting a glance to Regina's shocked expression. "They don't exist. It is like he was never injured at all."
None of the women spoke as Regina leaned back against the railing on the wall.
"Mom!" Henry's voice cried out, running down the hallway. His cheeks were red from the wind and hands icy as he hugged both Regina and Emma at the same time. "What's going on?"
"Shouldn't you be at school?" Regina asked, grasping him by both shoulders to face her. "Why are you here?"
Emma ducked her head a bit. "I texted you to come by after school," she said quickly. "Not now."
"Mom, you know I want to know what's going on," he said, not specifying which woman he was talking to at the time. "And I need to help. Let me help."
Regina eyed him, slipping his backpack off his shoulder and placing it next to her. "Where is your coat?" she asked. "And do your teachers know where you are right now?"
He looked guiltily at both women. "I skipped out of lunch. That's all."
In typical Emma style, she rolled her eyes at her son. "You're going back," she said. "I just wanted to tell you that Killian's doing much better. I thought you would want to know that."
Henry smiled. "You could have texted me back."
"Sorry, kid," she said with a shrug. "I was kind of distracted. Why don't you sit down and we'll get something from the cafeteria before you head back to school?"
"Is he awake?" Henry asked, noting the worried expression on Emma's face. "He's not, is he?"
She shook her head, casting another glance toward the room. "Not yet."
Regina shrugged out of her jacket and placed it around her son's shoulders. "There," she said a bit triumphantly. "Let's get you warmed up."
Henry saw Emma's glance in the direction of the room and followed it. "Why isn't he awake?" he asked. "Did you try to kiss him?"
Emma frowned a bit, pulling her gaze back to her son. "Yes, but that's not working in this case. He's not under a sleeping curse." Reaching out, she gently touched his forehead where she had kissed him in the same hospital.
"Really?" Regina asked incredulously. "Did you say you kissed him? And it didn't occur to you that might be significant." She flashed a look at Elsa whose mouth gaped for a moment.
Emma almost provided a smart remark back to the other woman, but bit her tongue instead. "Yes," she said softly. "I guess I was hoping, but there was no bright lights and no puff of air. There was no sign of magic at all. It was just a kiss."
"Let me get this straight," the woman said. "You, a woman who has magic, kisses the injured man you love. He miraculously recovers from his injuries to the point that doctors can't tell what if anything is wrong with him. And you think that the kiss didn't have a thing to do with it?"
"But you said yourself…" Emma stated, her gaze wide and unsure.
"I said what has been my experience," Regina corrected. "I don't know if that is true of your abilities or not."
Emma crossed her arms over her chest. "Well that's great," she said with her trademark shake of the head. "I manage to heal him but not wake him up. What does that mean?"
Regina crossed her legs elegantly. "I'm sure we'll figure it out, but for now we need to concentrate on what we know."
You didn't think I'd hurt him to the point of it being permanent? Did you? It just about killed me to have to write about him being hurt in the first place. Though I think a few of us might have lined up to be nurses.
Countdown is on for him to wake up. What do you think Killian's first words should be when he wakes up?
