Henry ran in minutes later, Dr. Whale hot on his heels. Killian had spent those few minutes trying to keep his Emma awake and holding her as close as he could, running his sore arm almost abrasively up and down her own, trying to warm her up.
"What happened?" Dr. Whale questioned as Willow and Adella followed him into the room, carrying trays of instruments and blankets.
" 'm c-cold," Emma said shakily. Dr. Whale looked at Killian for elaboration.
"She w-was a little chilled w-when she and Henry helped m-me get dressed. W-when w-we finally got done, her legs buckled and she couldn't stop shaking. Henry caught her and led her over to the chair. She's been lethargic and trembling ever since." Emma's eyes were currently slightly out of focus.
"Emma," Dr. Whale called, and she lifted her head to look at him. "I need to take your temperature, okay? Can you open your mouth for me?" Head trembling, she opened her mouth and Dr. Whale slipped the thermometer inside. "Adella?" Dr. Whale asked calmly as the young nurse stepped forward. "I need you to go to the storage room, grab some of the heating pads, and bring them back." She nodded wordlessly, and left the room. Soon, the thermometer beeped and Dr. Whale pulled it out. For the briefest of seconds his eyes widened, but were quickly masked once more. Unfortunately, Killian saw everything.
"W-what is it, Dr. W-whale? W-what's wrong?" Dr. Whale pulled out his stethoscope and listened to Emma's heart and breathing. After a few silent moments, he took the stethoscope out of his ears and sighed.
"Emma's body temperature is low, 95.9 degrees. That's too cold. Her heartbeat has slowed slightly as well. We need to try to warm her up. But, if she was really hit in the heart, there might not be much we can do." Emma's eyes drifted closed and Killian shook her awake as best he could. Her eyelids fluttered but did not open.
"There needs to be something we can do!" Killian argued, wanting nothing more than to go to sleep himself.
"Until we know what and who we are dealing with, there really isn't anything. We can move her to the bed, and you can join her, make sure the heating pads we wrap around her work. I'll check her temperature every 10 minutes for a half hour or so, see if I can judge how much time we have." Killian tried not to let his fear and panic show.
"Should I try to keep her awake?" Killian asked, glancing at the semi-conscious woman beside him.
"I don't really think that's necessary. It might be better for her if she sleeps, her heartbeat will slow down more, it might prolong the inevitable. But, I've never seen this before, so it's hard to tell. We need to get her to the bed. Henry?" Henry walked over to aid Dr. Whale.
"Emma?" Dr. Whale called out. Emma's eyes opened slowly. "Emma, you need to wake up for me. We're going to move you to the bed, okay?" She nodded weakly as Henry and Dr. Whale each took a side and lifted her to her feet. Killian felt helpless watching the scene, wishing more than anything that he could carry her in his arms. The trip to the bed was slow, Emma shaking all over. Eventually, they got her in place, moving her as close to the metal bar on the side as possible. The duo then turned their attention to Killian. Henry went to get the crutches as Dr. Whale helped Killian to his feet. Killian reached out and grabbed hold of the crutches, Henry following him again to steady him should he falter. After his brief nap earlier, and filled with adrenalin, Killian slowly, but successfully made it over to the bed on his own. Dr. Whale and Henry helped him get settled in, very tightly, next to Emma, before wrapping the heating blankets around them both. Dr. Whale smiled apologetically, seeing the thin layer of sweat already appearing on Killian. But Killian just wrapped his arm around Emma, pulling her close, and he was instantly cooled down.
After a half hour, Dr. Whale noted that her temperature was still falling but at a much slower rate than he had initially feared. He disappeared for a few moments as he tracked the progress and attempted to formulate how rapid a decline Emma may be facing. He came back in to find Henry wringing his hands and Killian whispering softly in Emma's ear.
"Well, it looks like we may have a bit more time," Dr. Whale began. "At the rate her temperature is falling, we have about six hours, though less if she exerts herself." Killian's face grew red.
"That's it?! That's all she has? W-what can w-we do w-with that little time, to save her?" Dr. Whale frowned.
"We'll just have to work quickly to find the answers. Unfortunately, I don't have any other information. I'm sorry, Killian, Henry. But, unless we figure out how to fix this, she won't make it through the night." Dr. Whale left, defeated. Killian pulled Emma even closer to him, ignoring the searing pain in his right arm. If these were to be their last hours, he could live through the pain. Henry brought his chair nearer to the bed and held her hand, feeling the coolness in his own.
Every 20 minutes or so, nurses came in to replace the heating pads and hot water bottles surrounding Emma with newly heated ones. It was in those moments, when the newly reheated items were placed around her, that Emma re-awoke and had a few brief, weak, but lucid minutes before drifting back to sleep. She never said much, but expressed her love for Henry, and asked Killian to hold her tight. Killian wanted to kiss her, and he felt that she would have requested it, but just as he felt those words were coming, her eyes would close once more and into a shivering sleep she would fall.
Two hours after her collapse, just as the heating packs were switched, her eyes opened on cue.
"K-killian?" she whispered. He smiled at her, silently begging his eyes not to betray his fear in losing her. Her voice was so weak, and she shook even harder than before.
"Yes, Emma?" He answered.
"I'm c-cold," she said, as she stated each time she was alert.
"I know, Love," he responded, just like he did each time. "W-we're w-working on how to fix that. Henry called your parents a w-while ago and they're trying to figure everything out. Just hold on, okay?" he said, his voice breaking at the end. He knew that Dr. Whale's prediction was not going to be correct. This time felt different. He could sense her truly slipping away now.
"Henry?" Emma called. Henry looked up, blinking tears from his eyes. His hand squeezed his mother's.
"Yeah, Mom."
"I l-love you. You k-know that, right?" Henry could not stop the tears flowing now.
"I know, Mom. I love you too."
"K-killian?" she turned her head back over towards her pirate. "I'm n-not g-going t-to m-make it, am I?" Emma's teeth were chattering together so hard, it was difficult to make out her words. Killian didn't know how best to answer her. Luckily, she could read him almost as easily as he could read her. "K-killian, t-tell m-me the t-truth," she pleaded weakly, her hand gripping his with just the slightest whisper of pressure. Killian's resolve broke and tears fell from his eyes in earnest, his breathing hitching with quiet sobs.
"It doesn't look like it, Emma," he began shakily, holding her as tightly as he could, wishing more than ever that he had a real left hand instead of a hook. "Unless w-we can figure out a w-way to save you really soon, you're going to freeze to death." He could no longer keep his sobs quiet and Henry looked away, unable to witness the strong Captain Hook weep over his mother.
"Shhh," Emma whispered, her trembling hand letting go of Killian's to reach up and brush the tears from his eyes. Killian felt a chill where her hand graced his face, shocked at the coldness radiating from her. "It's g-going t-to be ok-kay. You're g-going t-to be ok-kay. D-don't g-give up once I'm g-gone. Henry n-needs a f-father in his life. Be there f-for him. P-promise m-me that you'll w-watch out f-for him," she requested. Henry's heart broke as Killian let out an uneven breath.
"I promise. The lad w-won't go through this alone."
"One m-more thing?" she asked, her voice getting weaker still.
"Anything," Killian prompted.
"K-kiss m-me goodbye?" Killian swallowed down a large lump in his throat as he let go of Emma's hand and tilted her head towards his. Just as his lips were about to touch hers, Mary Margaret, Regina, and Belle rushed into the room in a fury, shock and panic in all of their faces.
"Stop! We have news!"
A/N: Alright, friends. We are almost there. And I actually already have ideas for two more one-shot stories based on some spoilers for Season 4. So, once this story is over, I will begin writing those. Always, thank you for the reviews, they are like moments joy, knowing that people actually enjoy this story!