Thanks, as always, to Irene and Tori for being my soundboards and my muses.
And thanks to everyone who has left comments, kudos, sent messages etc about this fic. I appreciate you all and I'm glad you love this fic as much as I love writing it!
Your Case or Mine
Chapter 21
The ambulance ride felt endless.
She'd coded, and Killian had never been more terrified in all his life, watching helplessly from the corner as the EMT ripped her shirt and stuck pads on her chest to try and shock her heart into beating again.
They got her back. Barely.
When they arrived at the ER, he was held back and guided away from the trauma room, and all he'd done for the following hour was pace and chew on his nails, feeling sick to his stomach and saying silent prayers like chants in his head.
By the time a doctor had come to update him on what was going on, David and Will were there too. The three of them listened in dazed silence, words like "tension hemopneumothorax" and "hypovolemic shock" going over their heads as they tried to keep up with all the information and make sense of what was happening in the other room.
"Her heart stopped in the ambulance, likely because of how much blood she'd lost - we call that a cardiac arrest caused by hypovolemic shock," the doctor broke it down into terms them could understand a little easier in their stunned state, "We've given her blood and fluids to replace what she's lost, and fortunately she hasn't coded again since arriving here. However, the gunshot on the right side collapsed her lung, and in this case, it's very serious because it's causing pressure on her heart and forcing it to be displaced in her chest. A scan showed the bullet is lodged in her right lung, and blood and air are in spaces around the lung that they aren't meant to be in. That all stops her being able to breathe properly, so she has a tube and a machine breathing for her right now. We've put a chest drain in to get rid of the blood and air in her chest, taking the pressure off her heart, but we need to get her to surgery as soon as possible. The bullet to her left shoulder didn't hit anything major, thankfully, and the exit wound tells us it isn't still floating around in her body anywhere. That one appears to be mostly soft tissue injury, and the bullet missed her major blood vessels. I can't say at this stage what the outcome is going to be, but her vitals have improved somewhat since we placed the chest drain. That's a good thing. We'll know more after surgery."
David was registered as her next of kin, so he signed all the consent forms required, and the doctor disappeared again, leaving David, Will and Killian to try and process it all. They were allowed to see Emma very briefly before she was taken to surgery but Will and David held back in the hallway, allowing Killian a moment alone with her.
She looked so small and fragile on the gurney, tubes and wires sticking out at all angles. She was hooked up to so many monitors and machines. One was breathing for her and causing her chest to rise and fall in an unnaturally mechanical rhythm, while another showed various different numbers and wavy lines and percentages, none of which Killian knew how to decipher.
He felt as though he was going to throw up, the room spinning slightly as he warily took her limp hand in his and pressed a kiss to it. The wounds on her wrists, where she'd clearly been bound, looked angry and painful, and she had a bruise blooming on her cheek. He closed his eyes.
"Please, come back to me, darling. Fight with everything you have. I-I need you to come back to me."
He whispered, heart cracking in his chest as the nurses bustled back into the room, preparing everything to send her off to surgery and gently guiding him back out to join Will and David in the hallway.
The following three hours were tense, as they sat anxiously in the waiting room, jumping anytime the door opened. When one of the surgeons finally appeared to update them, Killian tried to read her expression in an effort to brace himself for whatever news she was about to deliver.
"Hi, you're Emma Swan's family?" They nodded, immediately on edge, "My name's Dr. Lancaster; I'm one of the cardiothoracic surgeons. And I'm happy to say the surgery was a success. We had a few complications with her blood pressure and oxygen sats dropping in the OR, but she's stable now and we've transferred her to ICU for recovery. We repaired the collapsed lung and the chest drains will remain in situ for a few days while she's observed and monitored closely. You're welcome to go and see her now, if you wish. She's still sedated, but the sedation will be weaned down over the next 24 to 48 hours so we can see if we're able to remove her breathing tube. Oh...and I don't know if she'll want to keep this - cops sometimes ask us for them to go into evidence, or as souvenirs, I suppose."
Dr. Lancaster handed Killian a small plastic sample bottle with a single bullet inside and all he could do was stare at it, jaw clenched. That small piece of metal had almost taken Emma's life. He raised his gaze back to the surgeon.
"Thank you, for saving her life," he said softly, glancing at the bullet again, "Is she going to be okay? How long will it be until she's awake?"
Shaking her head, Dr. Lancaster sighed.
"I'm afraid I don't have an answer to that. Recovery from such a traumatic event is different for everyone. She's been through a lot. We hope that when the sedation is weaned down, she'll breathe on her own again, and once the tube is removed then it's just a waiting game, really. She'll be closely monitored in ICU though, and I'd hope to see her starting to come round within a few days. The body uses the sleeping state to heal, so she'll have to have plenty of rest over the next few weeks to months. She's very lucky to be alive."
She gave the three of them a sympathetic smile as they took a moment to absorb everything they'd been told. She then left them alone with a reassurance that if they had any questions, they could reach her via the ICU nurses and she'd be happy to speak with them again.
They made their way up to ICU in silence, still reeling from everything that had happened in the last 32 hours. It felt like weeks ago that they'd first discovered Emma was missing, and time had lost all meaning inside the whitewashed walls of the hospital. It was just an endless blur of fast-moving scrubs and beeps of monitors and harsh fluorescent lights.
When Killian caught sight of her in the ICU bed, a lump of emotion lodged itself in his throat, his vision blurring with tears. She had a big blue breathing tube attached to a mouthpiece, and even more wires and monitors around her than before. But they'd bandaged her wrists now, at least.
She was paler than he'd ever seen her, and looked impossibly young and fragile. The bruise on her face was more pronounced against her colorless cheeks now too. He had to turn away for a moment, as David and Will warily approached either side of the bed. Giving them a few moments with her, as well as needing some space to compose himself, he stepped back out of the room. Trying to remember how to breathe properly again, he swallowed the stubborn lump in his throat and leaned heavily against the wall.
He'd lost too many people in his life; he couldn't lose her, too. In the short time she'd been in his life, she'd come to mean more to him than he could put into words. She was fiery and stubborn and beautiful; she challenged him and made his world feel all off kilter in a way that he'd quickly become addicted to. And he'd fallen in love with her so effortlessly that he couldn't even pinpoint exactly when simple physical attraction had become something more.
But they hadn't had enough time to explore everything that they could mean to each other and to turn what had started out as a ruse and a job into something so much more real. He knew she was reluctant and wary when it came to relationships, but he also knew that she'd opened up to him in ways she'd never opened up to anyone. That had to mean something, right? Could he dare to hope that she returned his feelings? Would he even get the chance to tell her what was in his heart?
Feeling his stomach turn as grief and dread weighed heavily on him, he took a few deep breaths to center himself. Will appeared in the doorway then, David in tow, and both men clapped him on the shoulder in a show of reassurance and support as they exited Emma's room.
"We're going to speak to the nurses and see if we can be kept updated regularly, and then I have to go back to the station and deal with the mountain of paperwork from last night and the long list of phone calls I need to make. We'll all have witness statements to do, and you'll need to complete the discharge of firearms forms, too. You know the drill," David sighed, "But for now, spend as much time as you want with Emma. And then go and try to get some rest. It's…been an ordeal."
Killian nodded, numb and not really taking in what David was saying but agreeing regardless. His brain wasn't functioning well enough to consider doing anything but sitting by Emma's side and holding her hand. David and Will left to find the nurse in charge, and Killian stood in the doorway for a moment, just looking at Emma for a few moments before approaching her bed.
No matter how many steadying breaths he took, he couldn't stave off the anxiety-induced dizziness caused by seeing her current state. Dropping down heavily into the comfy chair beside her bed, he gently reached for her hand and finally allowed the tears to fall freely.
"Gods, Swan...what I wouldn't give to go back and stop this from happening. I should've been there. I should've done my job as your partner, as…as someone who loves you," his voice caught, "And I'm a bloody coward for only saying this now. But you see, darling, I was scared out of my mind that telling you how I felt would make you shut me out. I was scared of rejection, and I wanted to wait until the case was over to give you those words, so you wouldn't feel as though you were being backed into a corner. I don't know if you'll walk away, because you made your stance on relationships crystal clear from the beginning, but if you do, I'll deal with that. I can deal with anything as long as you're okay. Just...come back to me. Open those stunning eyes of yours and I promise I'll stop being such a coward, lass. Because I'm sitting here while you're in a bloody coma, telling you I love you and that I can't lose you, too. I just...I can't lose you."
He pressed a trembling kiss to her knuckles, her hand limp and cool in his. It was a waiting game now, he supposed. So he would wait. He had no intention of leaving her side, so he pulled the chair closer to her bed and got as comfortable as he could, taking solace in watching her breathing until the regular beeps and whirs of the machines lulled him into a restless sleep with her hand still resting in his.
CS
6 days, 11 hours and 27 minutes. That's how long it had been since Emma had crashed through the doors of Mass General's ER.
Killian hadn't left her side since they'd moved her to ICU. She hadn't been conscious yet, and they had no idea what kind of damage had been done, but all the scans had been clear and bloodwork had been stable, within normal limits, both much improved since her surgery.
But she hadn't woken up yet. And no one seemed to have an answer for why, despite the multiple brain scans and all sorts of other investigations they'd carried out. One nurse had softly said that perhaps Emma just wasn't ready yet. And Killian was inclined to believe her.
The nurses knew him well now, as he'd been camped out in Emma's room for a week. They'd brought him a cot down on the second night, accepting that he had no intention of moving and taking pity on his spine after seeing him curled up in the comfy chair all night. He'd been grateful, especially to the older charge nurse, Gale, who had taken it upon herself to 'mother' him, concerned that he was surviving on chips, snack bars and coffee, and brought him cafeteria food every lunch time when she was on shift. He didn't have much of an appetite, but he ate it anyway and appreciated her kindness.
She would also smile and tell Emma she was lucky to have such a handsome, devoted man to love her and stay by her side, each time she was checking her wounds, changing dressings, or recording vitals. He could hear her talking softly to Emma as he waited outside in the hallway, smiling wryly and silently correcting her that he was the lucky one...he just hoped he would get the chance to tell Emma that.
Will and David dropped by every day, at least once, and phoned regularly throughout the day. And as many times as David tried to encourage him to get out of the hospital for a little while, Killian simply smiled and nodded passively. They both knew he wouldn't take the advice. And besides, he'd had to check out of his hotel when his team had headed back to Virginia a few days earlier, so technically he didn't have anywhere to go. Extending his booking had been an option, but what was the point? While Emma remained in the hospital, that was the only place he planned to spend his time.
On the latest visit, Will saluted a greeting as he entered the room, handing Killian the slightly-crumpled bag of takeout from Granny's, the way he had done almost every day that week.
"Any change today?"
He asked. It was his usual question, as he looked over at his best friend with a forlorn expression and a soft sigh. She was free of all the tubes now, the last one - the chest drain - having been taken out that morning. She'd been breathing on her own and maintaining her oxygen saturations for three days already, but she had yet to open her eyes.
Killian shook his head.
"Nothing. Chest drain's out though, and she's as stable as she can be considering she's still not woken up," he scrubbed a hand across his face, the physical and emotional exhaustion of the week weighing heavy, "They were talking about moving her out of ICU tomorrow, after they've done a few more scans to check everything's okay since they removed the drain. She doesn't need ICU input anymore, apparently. God, I just wish she'd wake up."
Will gave him a sympathetic and weary nod of agreement, before turning back to Emma.
"Yeah, she's bein' a lazy git. Ya hear me, Swan? Naptime's over, mate. They're evictin' ya."
Killian cracked a wry smile. As hard as the past week had been, Will's reliable presence and dry wit in the face of it all had kept him sane. He'd formed a friendship with the man, for which he was very grateful. Will brought food from Granny's every day, cracked jokes and made the atmosphere lighter, despite the situation. He was on first-name terms with most of the nurses by now too, and even they seemed genuinely happy to see him each day.
As he perched on the end of Emma's bed, he fumbled in his pocket and suddenly tossed Killian a set of keys. At the confused expression he received in return, he smiled.
"Listen, I know you're just gonna try and make an excuse, like you do every time Dave says this. But you need to get outta here for a couple of hours, pal. Those are me keys. Go to my flat, have a shower, watch some TV and get a bit of air that ain't...hospital air. You need it. I'll stay here, so you don't have to fret 'bout leavin' Emma alone. And it'll make you, me and Dave feel better that you've stepped foot out this place for a bit."
Killian looked sceptical, ready to toss the keys back and politely decline the suggestion, but he paused, glancing at Emma and chewing on his bottom lip. He could go for an hour; stretch his legs, take a shower that actually heated up (unlike the shower in the hospital bathroom) and come back feeling a little more human…
"Alright," he sighed, still a little reluctant to be anything more than a few feet away, "I suppose I could use some fresh air and a proper shower."
"Yeah, ya really could."
Will joked, chuckling as he dodged a punch to the arm. After giving Killian his address for a cab driver, and sending him on his way, he took up residence in the comfy chair the other man had just vacated.
"He's a keeper, that one, Swan," he said, propping his feet up on the edge of the bed as he got comfortable and chatted conversationally to his comatose friend while opening Candy Crush on his phone, "Hasn't left ya side in a week. Head over heels in love with ya, for sure. But hibernatin' in a coma to avoid havin' that conversation is a bit extreme, even for you."
He chuckled, eyes on his phone as he concentrated on the game.
"And the office has gone to shit without ya. We need you and all those witherin' glares you give to keep us in line. And 'cause you've got the best solve rate, too. Plus, you're not pullin' your weight with the weekly donut run while you're takin' this bloody nap. And...we miss you. A lot. I miss you. But I'm not gettin' into all that sappy shit, 'cause I know you hate it. So, just...wake up soon, mate."
CS
The first thing she became aware of before she opened her eyes was the smell. Disinfectant and the faint hint of greasy food. It felt like an effort even just to open her eyes, but she did so, staring up at a white tile ceiling and harsh, fluorescent light as she tried to orientate herself. The dull ache in her head didn't help, and her throat felt dry and sore when she tried to swallow. Mild panic tightened her chest then too, as she struggled to recall where the hell she was (other than a hospital, that much she could figure out)...and why.
Turning her head, with way more effort than it would usually require, relief settled some of the initial panic when she saw Will sat beside her bed, engrossed in something on his phone. Swallowing again, she managed to force his name past her lips on a hoarse whisper.
"Will…"
He gave a start and his eyes immediately snapped to her, widening first in shock and then lighting with happiness. He jumped up, as though he didn't quite know what to do with himself.
"Emma! You're-...you...bloody hell, it's so good to see your eyes open."
He was launching himself forward and pulling her into a hug on instinct, quickly releasing her and apologizing profusely when she stiffened and yelped in pain.
"Uh, shit, sorry! How you feelin'? You gave us a proper good scare."
Emma tried to clear her throat in an effort to speak, and Will noticed her struggling, so he quickly grabbed a cup of iced water one of the nurses had brought him and raised the bed so that she was sitting up, helping her to take a sip. The relief on her face was palpable as the cold water soothed her throat. Finally, she found her voice. Strained and hoarse, but still better than before.
"Where am I? What happened?"
Will wavered, trying to figure out a way to tactfully say, 'well, you got shot a few times by your psycho ex boyfriend and almost died'.
"You had a close call. Collapsed lung and your heart stopped and stuff. Took ten years off our lives, waiting for you to get outta surgery. There were so many wires and tubes and machines in 'ere at first; hated seein' ya like that. But you pulled through, like we knew ya would. How much do you remember?"
He asked carefully, and she frowned, trying to recall details of what had landed her in the hospital in such a state. After a few moments of searching her foggy memories, a lot of it came flooding back, along with a wave of nausea and the sense of panic she'd had upon waking.
Neal. The musty basement. Texting Killian and praying for GPS signal. Zipties around her wrists (that were now bandaged). Running through snow with her son. Her son .
"Henry! Where's Henry?! Is he okay? And Neal...please tell me you've got that son of a bitch in a cell."
"Henry's fine. His parents-" he paused, "uh, his adoptive parents came down from Maine as soon as we called, and they're stayin' at a hotel nearby. They seem nice. They wanted to see you before they left, and thank you for savin' his life. Henry wanted to see you too."
Relief, coupled with awe at the fact that her son wanted to see her again, even after everything he'd been through because of her , had tears blurring her vision. They slipped down her cheeks when she nodded and tried to blink them away, and Will squeezed her hand. She needed another drink of water. Or maybe it was the lump of emotion making her feel like she couldn't quite breathe properly.
"Is...did Killian...has he gone back to Virginia? Was he okay?"
Will raised an eyebrow at her and chuckled, shaking his head as though she'd said something ridiculous.
"Swan, he hasn't left your side since you got outta surgery. He's been sittin' in this chair all day, every day, watchin' over you, and sleepin' on that cot the nurses brought in for him. I only managed to convince him today, for the first time, to go get some fresh air and a proper shower. He's prob'ly never gonna forgive me that I made him leave and he missed you wakin' up."
Emma blinked in surprise. She didn't know why she'd assumed he'd left, because when she stopped to think about it, and if she was being honest with herself, it wouldn't have made any sense. He wasn't shy about letting her know that he cared deeply about her, and he was loyal to a fault. It was simply her instinctive assumption, she supposed, that someone would walk away and leave her behind when given the opportunity.
But Killian had done the opposite. And she honestly had no idea what to say to that, even as Will gauged her reaction with a knowing smile.
"He left about 40 minutes ago, so I can't imagine he'll be much-"
At that point, as if on cue, the door slid open and Killian stopped dead in his tracks, staring at a now-very-much-awake Emma sat up in bed. It took him long moments to process the fact that she was awake and smiling at him softly, but when his brain finally managed to compute it, he rushed over to her side, pure joy lighting up his eyes.
"Swan! Emma...bloody hell, I-...you...you're awake," he gently cupped her cheeks, as though needing to touch her to to reassure himself this was all real, that she really was awake and smiling back at him, "How are you feeling? Are you in any pain? Do you need us to get you anything? Has the doctor been in to see you yet?"
Emma chuckled, wincing once more at the sharp pain in her side and down her back when she did so.
"Easy, tiger. I only woke up a couple minutes ago; still trying to make my brain work properly."
Will stood up from the chair, rubbing his hands together and clearing his throat.
"I'm gonna give you two crazy kids some privacy, to make your moon eyes and whatnot. Gotta go phone Dave and let 'im know this lazy bugger finally woke up. I'll let the doc know too. So don't be snoggin' or nowt as soon as I skiddaddle, cos the nurses'll prob'ly wanna poke and prod ya a bit, mate."
He grinned at Emma as he headed for the door, and she rolled her eyes, giving him a middle-fingered gesture that only made his grin wider. It was comforting that nothing had changed there. Once he'd left, Emma turned her attention back to Killian, who was now perched on the side of her bed, looking at her as though she was the most precious treasure he'd ever seen. It made her heart stutter and she dropped her gaze to her hands, the intensity of his gaze just a little too much for her to process on top of everything else.
"Will said...that you haven't left my side since I got here…"
She said softly, daring to meet his gaze once more. He returned the smile, reaching out again to tenderly brush his thumb over the bruise on her cheek.
"Does that surprise you, love?"
She bit her lip, shaking her head after a moment's pause, "I...I thought maybe you'd gone back to Virginia. I figured I'd been out of it for a day or two."
Killian frowned; it took him a moment to realize that Will hadn't told her how long she'd been unconscious. He swallowed, running a hand through his hair.
"Darling...you've been 'out of it' for a week," he said softly, and her eyes widened in shock, "I would've been here when you woke up, but Scarlet practically forced me out of the door earlier. I wanted to be here when you woke up, because I knew you would. Nothing could have made me go back to Virginia while you lay here in a hospital bed, Emma. Surely you know that."
Two nurses bustled into the room then, with a cursory knock on the door as they entered, breaking the moment between them. Killian couldn't be annoyed by the interruption when he knew they'd have to poke and prod her, as Will had said, now that she was finally awake.
"It's good to see your eyes open, Ms. Swan!"
The older nurse, Gale, the one who'd mothered Killian for the last week, said with a warm smile. Emma nodded, feeling just a little shaky as she tried to grasp the fact that she'd been unconscious for a whole week.
"Are you in any pain?"
The younger nurse, Victoria, asked, strapping a blood pressure cuff around Emma's arm and slipping a little rectangular monitor on her finger. Emma winced as her arm was lifted.
"Yeah...I pretty much feel like I've been run over by a truck. Then reversed over. Then run over again," she quipped and then struggled to swallow again, her voice hoarse, "My throat feels really dry and sore."
"That'll be from the intubation. It's common. Plenty sips of water, and we can give you some syrup that will soothe it, too," Gale said with a soft smile, and glanced at the numbers on the monitor Victoria had hooked her up to, "Blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen sats are all looking good. How does your chest and your breathing feel? And your shoulder? You've really been through it, darlin'."
"My chest? It feels okay…? I-I...don't really remember much that happened to me after I got shot in the shoulder…"
Gale nodded, and cast a glance at Killian.
"We'll do our checks real quick and then we'll leave hubby to fill you in on all of that while we go sort out some pain relief for you."
Emma felt her heart skip but she didn't correct the nurse, simply letting them carry on checking the rest of her vitals, run through a few neurological tests and draw some bloods before leaving her and Killian alone once more.
"So...they all think we're married then…"
She said slowly, raising an eyebrow, and Killian reached up to scratch behind his ear, looking a little sheepish.
"They assumed, because of the ring, I suppose. And I didn't correct them, because they let me stay with you then."
Emma absently rubbed her thumb against the underside of the fake wedding ring, and gave him a shaky smile.
"You really didn't leave here for a week?"
She said softly, with just a little bit of awe in both her gaze and her tone. He shook his head, perching on the bed once more.
"I couldnt bring myself to leave your side, love," he admitted quietly, "I was too scared I'd lose you. Even when they took you off the breathing tube and all the wires and such...I still didn't want to leave your side. Not until you could tell me yourself that you were okay. I...I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up."
He sighed, shaking his head as his shoulders slumped slightly. Emma frowned. He was beating himself up over not being there when she woke up, despite having kept a vigil at her bedside, unmoving, for a whole week. She'd never met a man like him before, and she sure as hell didn't know what she'd done to deserve such loyalty from him. The fact that he was in love with her was staring her in the face, and yet she still didn't see it.
"Killian...you can't seriously be beating yourself up for that. I can't believe you stayed in this hospital with me for a week , when you didn't have to."
Killian bit his lip, "I did though, Emma. I couldn't leave you. I-I was…" his voice cracked and he looked away, trying to regain his composure, "Bloody hell. I was so scared I was going to lose you, love."
Emma reached for him then, breath catching briefly at the jolt of pain in her shoulder and down her back with the movement, but she ignored it. Tenderly stroking her fingers along his jawline and holding his gaze despite the way it made her stomach swoop with butterflies, she gingerly shuffled forward in the bed, leaning closer to him.
"You haven't lost me. I'm right here."
His gaze dropped to her lips as she spoke, and she watched his pupils dilate before they flickered back up to meet hers. An unspoken question that she answered with an almost imperceptible nod. He closed the space between them slowly, ever mindful that any sudden movements could cause her pain, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. He tentatively leaned in, and she met him halfway for the most tender kiss they'd shared yet, her hand on his cheek as he let her lead.
His heart was racing, his mind screaming at him to tell her. To give her the three words that he'd been practicing saying for the last week, while he waited for her to wake up. It felt as though perhaps, maybe, just maybe, she might not go running in the opposite direction. Perhaps she might even feel it too...
"Oii, what'd I say 'bout the snoggin'."
Killian pulled back immediately, fighting the urge to throw something at Will for interrupting, and for breaking the spell on a moment that had almost seen him confessing the depth of his feelings for Emma, finally. His jaw twitched with frustration and he resolved that maybe it was a conversation he'd rather have in the privacy of her home, once they finally let her leave the hospital. No interruptions, and they'd be on her turf.
"Will," Killian sighed, running a hand through his hair as he shuffled back to put a little more space between himself and Emma, "Something we can help you with, mate?"
Will smirked, sitting down on the comfy chair and propping his feet on the edge of the bed like a slovenly teenager.
"Dave's on his way. And thought you might like to know that they're gonna let Emma go home tomorrow, if all her tests and whatnot come back okay."
Emma's face lit up then, thrilled at the prospect of finally going home after everything that had happened. One of the things that had gotten her through the ordeal of being held hostage by her unhinged ex, had been imagining herself back in that big bed, warm and safe and…
Her heart stuttered and her smile dropped when she realized what she'd done. Entirely unconsciously, she'd thought of the house she'd shared with Killian when she thought of home ...not the apartment she'd lived in for several years. Her whole body went cold for a minute, and panic rose up in her throat like bile.
Killian saw the change in her demeanour and frowned in concern.
"Swan? What's wrong?"
Swallowing despite the discomfort it caused, and trying to shake off the wave of anxiety, silently coaching herself to breathe through it, Emma gave him a tight smile that was meant to be reassuring and shook her head. Her voice was shaky, but the hoarseness masked it somewhat.
"Nothing. I just...think I need those pain meds."
N.B Anyone spot the little reference to one of JMo's other characters? (One that we, unfortunately, never got to meet!) I couldn't resist lol.
As always, comments and feedback are very much encouraged and appreciated!
