Snow walked into the hospital after leaving her son with Ruby and Dorothy. The mother had had to wait until Neal fell asleep, which wasn't easy as he had insisted on staying up until seeing that Katie was going to be ok. However, in the end, his little body hadn't been able to fight it any longer. Did Snow feel bad about leaving her son when she had basically promised that she would stay? Of course she did. But she needed to check on the rest of her family. Anyway, David had been there for a while so they could always swap and Neal would have his father for when he woke up.
The receptionist had seemed puzzled when Snow had inquired that she was there for her granddaughter, Katie. She put this down to the whole time freezing not looking old enough to have grandchildren thing; even though she was sure that everyone knew about it and who Snow White was by now. All that mattered was that she'd been instructed on where she needed to go.
Upon entering triage, Snow quickly spotted her daughter and son-in-law holding each other in a tight embrace. She would have thought of this as sweet, if it wasn't for the distraught look on Killian's face as he held his sobbing wife. Had something worse happened to Katie? Had they not gotten her here in time… No. Snow refused to entertain such a thought.
The true-love couple had moved slightly to let the doctors and nurses work, keeping their hold on one another in the corridor just outside of triage. Killian noticed the woman approaching them first. His eyes widened and he quickly whispered to Emma that her mother was here. The blonde woman lifted her head from his chest, letting out another sob upon seeing that he was correct.
"What…what's happened?" Snow had to work even harder to hold onto that bit of hope inside of her. Especially when her daughter didn't seem able to answer her, Emma's mouth opening and closing but no words being spoken. "Is Katie…?"
"The lass is…resting." Killian was going to say that Katie was fine, but sadly they were yet to know if that was the truth. "There is something you need to know…it concerns your husband."
"David? Where is he?" Snow's heart started racing. She didn't understand what could have happened to him since they'd arrived at the hospital. At that moment a machine's beeping increased both in volume and frequency, causing them all to turn their heads in the direction of the patient in distress. Snow's entire world ground to a halt. Seeing her husband there, lying seemingly lifeless, bleeding from a wound in his side…. She was taken, unbidden, to another time. Another realm. Another injury.
Snow dragged herself down the halls of her castle, clutching her stomach which was aching with the pain of childbirth. And that was nothing compared to pain in her heart at having to send her brand-new baby away for her safety and the last hope for them all. She rounded the corner into the room and her already broken heart shattered at the sight. Her husband. Her true love. Bleeding out on the floor, his white shirt being stained red. Snow fell to her knees and crawled over to him. She begged him, sobbed pleas that he would return to her. That he was ok. And that her baby girl was safe. That she made it.
"She got away." Three simple words whispered to an Evil Queen reinvigorated hope in her once more, even with her husband lying seemingly lifeless in her arms. Her baby girl would save them.
Her baby girl was here now, looking as if her world was threatening to crumble. Snow caught gaze with terrified green eyes which matched her own. She opened her arms, inviting Emma to transfer from Killian's to her's. Which the blonde did, on shaking legs.
"Mom." Emma choked out as she was wrapped up into her mother's arms.
"Sssh, sweetheart, it will be ok, sssh." Snow's maternal instinct to comfort, to protect, mirrored that of Emma's own with Katie. The former queen didn't even know what had happened to her husband yet, why he was now a patient in the hospital. However, this took president. Also it proved that this time, she had her baby girl safe in her arms.
"Shall we?" Killian gestured to a bench along the wall, which the two women sat on whilst maintaining their contact; Snow's arm around her daughter, Emma's head on her mother's shoulder, with one of each of their hands clasped together in Snow's lap. The pirate then went on to explain what he knew about David's condition, how he had ended up here. "I did offer to go with him, milady, I did. And I instructed him to contact me when needed."
"I'm sure you did, Killian. I know you. And I know my husband." Snow sighed, glancing through the glass window behind her at her Prince Charming.
"Stubborn arse." Killian grunted, wishing he had his flask on him right now. Not that he would tell his wife this, but he was angry at David. If he hadn't been so adamant to tackle that situation single-handedly, he probably wouldn't be here now. It reminded him of another pig-headed lout who didn't listen to his warnings, instead charging forward thinking he knew best and ending up dead. It wasn't the first time that Killian had drawn a parallel between Liam and David, there were many similarities between the two. However, here is one where their paths had to diverge. Killian could not face the prince coming to the same fate as his brother. Again knowing that if he'd just fought a bit harder, been a bit stronger, hell even gone in his place, then it wouldn't have happened. Also it wasn't just his heart on the line this time. It was his entire family's.
"Killian." Emma hissed at his choice of words. She knew where he was coming from, she wished her father hadn't of gone alone either. They could all be too stubborn for their own good. Especially when it came to protecting those they cared about. However, what was done was done. Also her mother was hurting, and probably didn't wish to hear those things spoken about David right now.
"Apologies, milady." Killian nervously scratched behind his ear with his hook.
"It's alright, Killian." Snow hadn't felt upset at all by Killian's words. She had been thinking the same thing. "I agree, my husband is as stubborn as they come. He's always adamant to put his family before himself, no matter the cost to himself."
"Sounds familiar." Killian muttered, his gaze burning into Emma's skull. She kept her face turned away from him, knowing he hadn't forgotten about her episodes of sickness. Emma wanted to argue that the same could be said about him, with how many times he had sacrificed himself, but that would involve opening up a topic which she was not yet ready to discuss. So Emma kept her mouth shut. The pirate gave himself a slight shake before turning back to his mother-in-law. "Nevertheless, I fear my words could have been taken to be more discerning than I intended. The prince is a great man, one of the best I have known in my long life. And there are far worse things to be, than someone who always puts those they love above everything and everyone else."
"I'll make sure to tell Dad that you said all that." Emma let out a watery chuckle, straightening up in her seat. She finally let her husband's eyes find her own and, when they did, she expressed how thankful she was for his words.
"And I will deny every word, love." Killian winked, glad to see her spirits rise somewhat. Even Snow chuckled lightly at that, letting the surety in their statements wash over her. For them it wasn't a case of if David would hear these words, it was when. And that would take her through the hard next few hours of simply waiting.
#
Emma opened her eyes to her husband gently shaking her shoulder. It took her a moment to remember where she was. When had she fallen asleep? She groggily turned her head and saw that she was lying on her mother's lap, who was sat resting against the window with closed eyes. Emma looked back to Killian as he helped her sit up.
"The doctor wants to talk to us, love. About Katie." Killian rubbed his thumb over her cheekbone. His heart was racing with the possibilities about why they needed to be spoken to privately, it can't be anything good surely. However, he fights to keep his fear from his already fragile wife.
"Oh..." Emma rubbed at her eyes to wipe away the last vestiges of sleep.
"Emma," Killian tilted Emma's chin so that he could press a soft kiss to her lips. After which, with their foreheads still connected, he whispers "Everything's going to be alright."
"I know." Emma breathed out, giving her husband one final kiss before standing from the bench. She checked on her mother, who was still softly snoring.
"If you would follow me to my office." The doctor was clearly high up in some regard, dressed sharply in a well-fitting suit. The couple each took a deep breath, before walking hand-in-hand behind the doctor.
The room which they entered further instilled the image that this doctor was well-established at the hospital. There were leather chairs around a polished wooden desk, with various pieces of art dotted around the office; both wall-hanging paintings and standalone sculptures. Emma did fleetingly wonder which realm he had come from, and who he had been in his past. She didn't ask though. It was nowhere near the most important thing right now.
"I've already introduced myself to your husband, Ms Swan, my name is Doctor Farage." He lent over to shake Emma's hand once they'd all taken a seat. She tried to smile politely at the man, but her nerves hindered this somewhat. "I shall get right to chase. The scans we took show that some of your daughter's organs – her heart, lungs and liver predominantly – are not fully developed. Well, as developed as the average for a child of her age. She is 8-years-old?" The doctor looked up from the scans in front of him.
"Yes, but her birthday wasn't that long ago." Emma grasped her husband's hook, as she scrambled for some kind of explanation.
"Yes, well, that doesn't make much of a difference here actually." Dr Farage was sympathetic to the parents, he always was in these situations. "Now, this could be because she was born premature. As we don't have any medical information on Katie from her early years, this is merely speculation, but it is founded. Looking through Katie's notes, and those of her deceased birth-mother's, I believe I may have an answer for this. I think it is possible she has, or had, foetal alcohol syndrome."
"And what is that, exactly?" Killian gritted out, frustrated that even after all this time he was still playing catch-up in this world.
"It's…it's when a mother drinks a lot, during pregnancy." Emma answered for him numbly.
"That's correct. And given that Miss Taylor's death was heavily linked to alcohol abuse, it makes sense. Also Katie's records show that she has always been below the average height and weight for her age, which is another symptom both for premature birth and FAS. Now, foetal alcohol syndrome has been known to cause many problems. These can be physical and/or behavioural."
"So Katie's social anxiety and panic attacks? That could be linked to this as well?" Emma leaned forward in her chair, intent on figuring out how best to help their little girl.
"It could be, it's impossible to know whether it contributed at all. The research into FAS is really quite limited and any conclusions remain relatively unsubstantiated." The doctor did feel bad, there wasn't much that he could say about what would happen now.
"Ok, so what do we do? What's the treatment plan?" Emma spared a glance in her husband's direction, who was unnaturally quiet. His eyes were cast downwards at his hook, and his face held a grimace.
"There is no clear treatment plan, not for premature babies or for FAS, as every case differs and neither can be cured. However, with Katie, we are now aware of it and can now treat the symptoms. I must say that her case is nowhere near the severe end of FAS, quite the opposite and therefore she will probably be one of the lucky ones where this doesn't really affect her quality of life. Now, sometimes premature children, or those with FAS, need organ transplants but this will not be necessary for Katie. Not at this time anyway. Which is a god-send in of itself, as it can be difficult to get FAS patients a donor due to them already having a reduced average life expectancy."
"She has a reduced life expectancy…?" Emma felt tears well up in her eyes. It felt like her baby girl was being given a death sentence.
"Honestly? Only time will tell." Dr Farage winced as the father's hook slammed down onto his desk, piercing the wood. Emma let out a soft cry and looked up at her husband, who hastily removed his hook from the desk and left the room.
"Killian…?" Emma whispered after him, a look of distraught confusion on her face. She knew there was something bothering him, had been able to feel it seething off of him throughout the entire conversation. And it went deeper than worry for their daughter. He was angry.
"This is a lot to process, I understand that. I apologize for not having more information, but there is a pack available to parents." The doctor picked up a see-through pack from his desk, handing it to the mother. "It has all of the studies and research that has been made into FAS. Now, I will warn you that some of the figures and statistics in there come from cases of severe FAS, and therefore may paint a bleaker picture than the actual reality of your daughter's situation. There are no tests we can do to determine whether she has FAS, or whether her symptoms are solely a result of a premature birth and traumatic upbringing. This is because, if she does have FAS, she falls into the cusp of mild cases. I know I have said this already, but I want to make it clear."
"Thank you." Emma felt the pack in her hand, it was heavier than she would have thought seeing as the doctor said there wasn't much information to be given. She found it slightly overwhelming. However, she knew of one man who was comforted by research and statistics. And he was hopefully stood just outside, waiting for her.
"You're welcome." The doctor stood as Emma did, and they shook hands with a promise from him to speak again soon once they had a plan in place for Katie.
Killian was pacing the corridor outside of the doctor's office, berating himself for leaving his wife in there alone. He had just gotten so frustrated. He didn't understand half of the things the doctor was saying, feeling at such a disadvantage due to the fact that he wasn't from this realm. It was common knowledge here that women weren't supposed to drink whilst pregnant, as alcohol affected the baby's development. He was aware of this. Hell, Emma had stopped drinking for almost a year when they were trying to conceive in the hopes it would aid their efforts. Thinking back to Emma, and how bad things had gotten back then, made Killian feel even more guilty for leaving her now. He was preparing to walk back into the doctor's office when the door opened, and Emma stepped out. She looked up and down the corridor, eyes lighting up with relief when she spotted her husband.
"Killian…" Emma jogged up to her pirate, wrapping her arms around his neck. Killian lowered his head to her neck, breathing in her scent.
"I'm so sorry." Killian mumbled around the lump in his throat.
"What?" Emma pulled back, cupping her husband's face and soothing her thumbs over his scruff. "Babe, you have nothing to apologize for."
"I shouldn't have left like that. Left you in there. It's just…" Killian trailed off on a long breath. He was meant to be the one comforting her. He knew his Swan was strong, but it wasn't long ago that she was puking her guts up whilst both her daughter and her father were in hospital.
"Hey, whatever it is you can tell me." Emma removed one hand from his face, choosing to link their fingers together. "It's just us."
"I know." Killian sighed and closed his eyes, trying to find the right words to express his feelings without making his Swan worry. Well more than she already was. Emma stood there patiently, allowing her husband the time that he always allowed her when she needed it. Eventually Killian opened his eyes once again, keeping his gaze on their joint hands. "It's just frustrating, is all. I was sat in that office, not understanding half of the words the doctor was using to describe what is wrong with our daughter. I've always promised to do everything in my power to protect her, to protect both of you, but how can I do that when I don't fully understand what I'm up against. I just feel…paralyzed." His voice broke on that last word and his eyes filled with the tears he'd been fighting off.
"Hey, look at me." Emma used her free hand to nudge his face upwards, prodding him to look her in the eye. The pain and frustration she saw there made her heart twinge. She hadn't seen him so lost in a long time. "I get it. I've been there. You know, when Henry was here all those years ago and Rumpelstiltskin and Regina were talking about magic and poison and true love, all I wanted to do was break down screaming because I had no idea what was wrong with my kid. And I was supposed to be the one saving him…. But I got through it. I learnt what I needed to to best help him." Emma gave her pirate a small smile, relived when he instinctively returned it with one of his own. "And you will to. I have never known anyone willing to fight so hard, sacrifice so much for their family as you, Killian. I believe in you."
"And I in you." Killian surged forward to kiss his beautiful amazing wonderful wife who, for being someone who thought more of actions than words, always managed to say the right thing when it meant the most to him.
"I've got something to help with that, you know." Emma kept her hand intertwined with his and walked back the way she had come. On the floor was the pack the doctor had given to her; she hadn't even noticed it slipping from her grasp when she'd run to her husband. Emma bent down to pick it up, letting go of Killian's hand so that she could offer it to him.
"What's this, lass?" Killian accepted the pack from her, popping it open to flip through some of the pages.
"It's research, into foetal alcohol syndrome as well as the lasting affects of premature birth. The doctor offered it to me and, you know I'm not really one for research, but I thought that-" Emma's ramblings were cut off by another kiss from her husband. This one lasted slightly longer than the last, with his hook entwinning in her hair.
"Thank you." Killian breathed out as their foreheads rested against each other. "What would I ever do without you?"
"Hmmm, well luckily you won't ever have to find out." Emma quickly pecked his lips. "Now seeing as Katie may be here for a while, I'm going to head back to ours and grab a few of her things. Also I should probably check on Mr O'Malley, make sure he eats something." Mr O'Malley was Katie's kitten. The young girl had agonised for a bit over the name, until Henry had suggested that they watch The Aristocrats. Katie had fallen in love with the character of Thomas O'Malley, and therefore had christened the kitten with a full name.
"Are you sure, love? I don't mind going." Killian did want to stay with their daughter, but he felt guilty. Especially with Emma's father still in an unstable condition.
"Positive. Also, I know you're just itching to bury your nose in that pack." Emma chuckled slightly, but Killian wasn't fooled. Even after all this time, his Emma still needed time alone sometimes. To think. To process. It was probably a habit which she would never truly break. "Could you do one thing for me?" Killian raised his eyebrow for her to continue. "Keep an eye on my mom? She's sometimes so busy taking care of everyone else that she forgets to take care of herself." Killian had to bite his tongue from pointing out that Emma shared that characteristic with her mother.
"As you wish." Killian pulled his wife to him for one last kiss, before letting her go. Emma knew that she hadn't fooled her husband, but she was grateful that he was allowing her this time. She knew it was hard for him, but sometimes she still could feel smothered and overwhelmed.
On her way out, Emma stopped in the bathroom. The walk home wasn't too long, she could have borrowed her mum's keys but the exercise would help her to think. Still she didn't want to be caught short. The blonde was washing her hands in the sink when a woman rushed past her, pushing open a stall door – seemingly just in time – and throwing up in the toilet. Emma turned to offer her assistance, but the splattering sound paired with the sight and smell had Emma simultaneously heaving into the sink. Christ, she needed to eat something. Her stomach ached from clenching around emptiness. She splashed water on her face and mentally instructed herself to buy a bag of pretzels on her way out. The other woman came up next to her, looking chagrined.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to trigger you." The woman washed her hands, avoiding Emma's eye contact. She was clearly embarrassed.
"It's fine. Don't worry about it." Emma reassured the woman, whilst grimacing at the taste of her own breath. She would definitely need to brush her teeth when she got home.
"Morning sickness, right?" The woman chuckled humourlessly, rubbing her hand over her stomach. She wasn't far enough along for Emma to notice a bump. The saviour froze, not sure what to say. "Even though I don't why it's called that, seeing as it hits at any time of the day or night. Gotta to be the worst part of being pregnant right?"
"I guess…" Emma shrugged weakly, not sure what to say. This woman clearly thought they were some sort of pregnant kindred spirits, she didn't want to embarrass her further. Plus, it was kind of nice.
"Well, it was nice to meet you. Even like this." The woman could clearly read that Emma wasn't looking for a conversation.
Once alone again, Emma splashed water on her face a few more times, telling herself to get a grip. And to get an energy drink with her pretzels; she needed the electrolytes. Passing out between the hospital and her house was not an option. Killian would surely not ignore her sickness any longer if that were to happen. After a stop to the in-hospital convenience store Emma made her way towards the exit, hoping the fresh air would clear her head.
#
Killian checked in on Katie upon his return to triage. She was still fast asleep, clearly exhausted by everything her body and mind had gone through. He went to sit on the bench outside, surprised to find it empty. A glance behind him showed that David was alone. The prince looked to be stable once more, but he didn't know for sure. He was far from a doctor. Remembering his promise to Emma, Killian took out his phone to send a quick message to Snow inquiring after her wellbeing. He then settled down with the information pack, hoping that this endeavour would leave him feeling more equipped to help his daughter.
After a few minutes, a reply came in from Snow informing him that she had gone to get a drink from the canteen and wondered if he or Emma would like one. Killian filled Snow in on Emma's departure and requested a black coffee for himself. That settled Killian turned back to the sea of statistics and conjecture in front of him.
"One black coffee for you." Snow's voice caused Killian to snap his head up, shaking it slightly to rid the muddle of facts in his head.
"Aye, thank you, mi'lady." Killian laid the pages in his lap in order to take his beverage. He took a sip, groaning in appreciation even though the lukewarm concoction was far from ideal. "I definitely needed that."
"You do look exhausted, Killian, have you slept at all?" Snow slipped straight into mother-hen mode; not that she ever really left it.
"I am the last person anyone needs to be worrying about." Killian mumbled, trying not to let the weight of his worry for three of those closest to him exhaust him further. "Besides, I'm used to it. As a pirate captain, or even as a sailor, sleep is rare. It is not uncommon to go the best part of a week without proper slumber."
"What was it you called my husband earlier? A stubborn arse?" Snow chuckled when her question had her son-in-law choking on his coffee. Killian stared at her with wide eyes, never having heard the royal be crass. "Just something to think about."
"Aye, I assume it is." Killian shrugged his shoulders. There was no way he would be able to sleep right now. He wasn't even going to try. Snow gave him a small smile, knowing all to well that her words had fallen on deaf ears.
They then finished their drinks in silence, Killian going back to his reading whilst Snow replied to various text messages. She had called Ruby, to let her know that no-one would be able to come for Neal just yet. The wolf had, of course, offered to take care of Neal for as long as was necessary. Next, Snow had alerted Regina to the situation and the former Evil Queen was probably already down at the Sheriff's station. It didn't sound like there was some new big bad who was a threat to Storybrooke, but they were going to take any chances. Also someone with a gun who had no problem shooting a member of law enforcement was still a threat. Magic or no magic.
After sometime, in which Snow had informed everyone who needed to know and replied to everyone's messages, she began to feel anxious. For all of her calm demeanour and speeches about hope, Snow was still a woman of action. She may be slightly better at sitting still than the rest of her family, but that wasn't saying much. Her eyes landed on Killian, who was still hunched over the documents in his lap. He hadn't said much about them, just that they were linked to Katie's condition. Snow suddenly realized that, with everything that had been thrown at her upon her arrival, she hadn't actually done what she came here to do. Check on her granddaughter. That thought propelled her into action, it gave her a purpose. Without a word to Killian, the royal walked into triage and towards the closed privacy curtain that separated Katie from the ward.
"Grandma?" A small sniffle greeted Snow on the other side of the curtain.
"Yes, sweetheart, it's me." Snow sighed, surprised that the little girl was awake. They'd all thought that she was sleeping. It was the only reason why she hadn't been moved to the children's ward yet. The nurses had thought it important to let her rest. "How are you feeling?"
"Umm…I don't really know." Katie sat up slightly against her pillows, so Snow could see more than just her eyes above the hospital blanket. "Fuzzy."
"That's understandable. Your body has been through a lot." Snow sat in the chair, holding her hand out for Katie to take. Which she did.
"Where's Mommy and Daddy?" Katie felt like she could cry again. She liked having her grandmother here, she did. But she wanted her parents as well.
"Your dad's just outside. I'll go get him for you." Snow rose from the chair, but Katie kept her hand tightly clasped in her own.
"Where's M-mommy?" Katie wasn't dumb, far from it. She had immediately caught on to her grandmother's side-step about her mother's whereabouts.
"She's not here at the moment." Snow said gently, knowing that this would probably upset Katie. And knowing Emma, she had probably been hoping to be back before Katie woke up.
"Oh…" A tear slipped down Katie's cheek. Snow squeezed her hand in comfort before going to open the curtain slightly. Luckily, the hallway seats weren't that far from where they were so Killian heard her call for him. The woman only just had time to sit back down before Killian came barrelling in.
"Princess." Killian frowned when he saw that his daughter was crying. "What is it, little love?" He sat on the bed and pulled the young girl onto his lap.
"M-Mommy's g-gone again-n?" Katie phrased it as a question, in the hopes that her grandmother was mistaken.
"Aye, but only for a little while." Killian caressed his daughter' cheek, wiping away tears with his thumb. Katie's face crumbled at the confirmation. "She's just popped home to get some of your things. Also, Mr O'Malley is bound to be in need of sustenance. A probably a cuddle or two seeing as his favourite girl isn't there."
"Oh…I didn't think about that." Katie bit her bottom lip, now upset at herself for not thinking about her kitten. She loved him so much, and he seemed to love her as well. But she'd basically forgotten about him.
"Hey, don't worry about him. You know Mummy will make sure he's ok." Killian bopped Katie gently on the nose, wanting to see her smile again. All he got was a shrug and a sniffle.
"And lucky Mr O'Malley gets a hug from your mom. Who better to get a hug from if he's feeling a bit upset?" Snow stroked her granddaughter's leg. She too wanted to see her smile again. And she did; Katie smiled softly at the thought of her mommy's hugs.
"They are the best." Katie giggled when her father looked down at her in shock.
"Oi, is that so?" Killian kept his hooked arm secured around his daughter, so that his hand was free to run along her ribs. He kept the tickling light, not wanting to hurt or over-exert her after what she'd been through. It had Katie squealing with laughter none the less.
"Ok, ok…" Katie gasped out when her dad finally relented. "You're good at hugs too." To show that she meant it, Katie threw her arms around her dad and smiled up at him.
"That's more like it." Killian grinned, laying a kiss to his daughter's forehead.
#
On return to the house, Emma was immediately greeted by a whining ball of black fluff.
"Hey, it's ok. I'm here now." Emma bent down to pick up the kitten, stalling when a pain ripped through the abdomen. "Ow." Her hand rubbed the spot until the pain lowered in severity, leaving but a dull throbbing behind. Mr O'Malley's whines became louder when he was not picked up as he been expecting. "Alright, just give me a second. Jeesh." Emma took him into her hands, straightening up with him against her chest. The kitten rubbed his face against her, looking up at her with wide eyes. She placed him on the kitchen table to enable her to get his food sorted. "I'm sorry none of us are here right now, but Katie needs us." Emma blinked away the tears in her eyes as she set a saucer of milk down. As the cat drank hungrily, Emma scratched behind his ears. "I know she'll be missing you, like I know you're missing her too. I wish I could bring you to her, but that'll definitely be against hospital rules." The blonde re-focused herself on getting his food ready. She put one bowl on the table and another on the floor next to his bed. They'd discovered that their kitten was very good at not eating too much at once, he would leave food once he was full and come back to it later. With the kitten occupied, Emma went upstairs to Katie's room. She forced herself to make quick work of packing her a bag, making sure that her teddy and Tangled blanket were on top as she was sure to want those straight away. When she bent down to pick up the bag, however, the sharp stabbing from earlier returned. Emma knelt on the floor and pressed her hand hard against her stomach, taking long deep breaths through the pain. She was starting to worry about what this was. It wasn't just stress-induced nausea anymore. Could this pain be due to stress as well? She knew that a variety of physical symptoms could be attributed to it. Maybe this was another sign from her body, as she seemed to be ignoring the nausea. Whatever it was, Emma couldn't deal with it now. It would have to wait.
The ringing of her phone broke through her thoughts. Emma answered it without looking at the caller. Her head had started to ache and looking at screens wasn't going to help.
"Emma, I've got news about what happened to your father." Typical Regina, ignoring pleasantries in favour of getting straight to the point. To be honest, Emma was thankful for it at this moment. It allowed her time to focus on steadying her breathing. "You know he went to a domestic disturbance call? Well the woman from the residence and her neighbour, who was the one who rang in the call, are in the station. They were waiting when I arrived. I've taken statements from them both. Apparently the woman's boyfriend is abusive and pulled out a gun when she said that she was leaving him. Your dad turned up, got in between them and got shot. She says her boyfriend ran as soon as it happened. I've got the Merry Men out looking for him, I'll maybe get some of the dwarves on it too. Belle is on her way over to Ruby and Dorothy's, to help with the kids whilst the wolf does some tracking. Anything else you can think of?" Emma's mind was spinning. That was a lot of information to get in 30 seconds. She made a negative sound, not feeling like she could speak right now. "Emma are you ok? I know this is a lot, especially what with David's injuries and Katie being in hospital all ready. I thought you should know is all. Is there anything you need?"
"No." Emma breathed out. As soon as her mouth opened and the word was spoken, she knew she had been right. Speaking had been a mistake. Covering her mouth against the now familiar feeling, Emma quickly pushed herself up to standing. "Gotta go, Regina. Thanks."
Once again, it seemed that Emma made to her toilet in the lick of time. She fell to her knees, groaning about more than being sick as she felt the pain in her stomach once more. It seemed that eating those pretzels had been a fruitless exercise, as they ended up in the bowl below her. The blonde laid her cheek on the cold ceramic and moaned. She'd definitely had enough of this. Whatever it was. Belatedly Emma wondered if this was her period. She tried to do the maths in her head. She'd always been pretty on track, like clockwork. Emma lifted her phone to check the date. She was a couple of days late. Back when she was trying to get pregnant, a couple of days late would have sent her immediately grabbing for a pregnancy test. Hell, she did when she had been a day late. That seemed like a lifetime ago. None of her monthly cycles had ever hit her as hard as this though. But maybe it was because she was slightly late. And that was yet another thing which could be affected by stress. Sighing Emma sat back on her haunches and rubbed a hand down her face. She opened the cupboard next to her and searched inside for her sanitary products, thinking it was better to be safe than sorry. Her hand brushed a box at the side, and she pulled it out. First Response. Emma gaped down at her hands. She thought she'd gotten rid of all of these. Or she had requested Killian to after seeing them had broken her heart. Seeing as they were useless. She couldn't get pregnant. Basically. The chance was ridiculously small, and then the chance of her having a healthy pregnancy and carrying to term was even less. She wasn't pregnant. She couldn't be pregnant. It was just stress. But she'd been stressed before. And that had never hit her like this, either. Something was different this time…
Killian's leg was bouncing under her, a motion that she usually found calming. But right now, it was making her stomach turn faster and faster. She swallowed as much as she could, looking up at the ceiling, controlling her breathing. Everything that usually worked. But it wasn't.
Hospitals had never made her throw up before. She felt nauseous yes, but it rarely came to anything.
the splattering sound paired with the sight and smell had Emma simultaneously heaving into the sink.
it hits at any time of the day or night. Gotta to be the worst part of being pregnant right?"
…Something was different. Shaking her head at herself, Emma removed the test with trembling hands. She didn't really know why she was doing this. She knew she wouldn't be. But there was still that little part of her that hoped. That little part of her wondered. And she knew she couldn't fully be there for Katie, for her mom or her dad, until she'd silenced that curious voice asking 'what if?'
She'd quickly do this, then be back at the hospital where she was needed. Without being distraction by school girl fantasy Emma.
It only took three minutes.
A/N: I know I left the story there, on a cliffhanger, even after the last one was also a sort of cliffhanger! All I can say is, sorry….?
This chapter was still angsty, even though you got some answers and it did raise more questions. Just to warn you, the next chapter will be even more angsty – maybe the most angsty in this fic, so be warned. Also remember that this whole story started off about what would happen if Emma and Killian couldn't have any biological children of their own. Just important to keep that in mind.
(We're not long till the end now, just one or two more chapters and then an epilogue. I have it all mapped out.)
As always please review, favourite, follow. Any email notifications to do with this fic warm my heart. I have cried at some reviews, and I re-read my favourites when the motivation is waning. Thanks for sticking with this, and will try not to leave it to long before continuing and saving you from this cliffhanger :) xxx