Broken

Emma couldn't stand waiting. She had done it her whole life; waiting for her parents, waiting to be adopted, waiting for Neal - it was always torture.

But this kind of waiting, oh, she despised it.

Emma had been at home all day. Liam had come down with a fever so Emma stayed home while Killian went to work. Not twenty minutes after Emma had attempted to get Liam to eat something, she got a call from Storybrooke Elementary.

They told her that while Hope was outside during recess, she had fallen off the monkey bars and landed on her arm funny. It was broken.

So now, Emma had been waiting in the hospital for thirty minutes, alone. Hope was in surgery, Killian was rushing to find someone to cover his shift at the station, and Liam was with Granny.

Of course, if her parents were in town this week, Killian would already be here, but they decided to go on a road trip.

Emma had her hands clasped together tightly while her leg bounced anxiously.

"Emma!"

Emma looked up and relief flooded through her. She quickly stood up just as her husband rushed over and wrapped her in a hug. Emma buried her face in his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner. With your parents out of town it was almost impossible to find someone to cover for me at the station."

Emma pulled back. "It's fine." She sat back down, Killian doing the same. They sat on a couch so they could sit as close together as they wanted.

Killian held onto Emma's hand tightly. "How long has she been in surgery?"

Emma shook her head. "I don't know. I saw her briefly when I first got here, but they rushed her straight into surgery."

Killian nodded. "Where's Li?"

Emma rested her head against Killian's shoulder. "Granny said she would watch him."

"Granny? Did she have someone cover her shift?"

Emma shook her head. "Believe it or not, she actually closed the diner so she could watch Liam."

Killian smiled. "We owe her one."

"Yeah."

Killian knew that Emma was worried sick, he was too, but he knew Hope would be fine. He had had many crew members, himself included, that had broken a bone. Emma, on the other hand, had never dealt with that. She had never broken a bone and neither had Henry.

Killian pulled away from Emma enough to look at her. "Hey, look at me."

Emma slowly lifted her head up. Killian saw the unshed tears in her eyes.

The pirate captain put his hand on his wife's cheek, using his thumb to brush away the one tear that had sprung loose. "Hope is going to be okay. It's just a broken arm, it will heal."

"She's only six, Killian," Emma said. "She can't handle that type of pain."

"She's a strong lass, just like her mother." Killian smiled softly.

Emma sighed. "I hope you're right."

"Mr. and Mrs. Jones?"

Emma and Killian looked up to see a nurse standing at the end of the hall with a clipboard in hand. They immediately stood up and walked over to the nurse.

"You can see your daughter now," she said with a smile.

Emma gripped Killian's hand tightly as they followed the nurse through the halls.

"She is still asleep, but should wake up shortly. When she wakes up, she'll be a bit out of it due to the amount of medicine we gave her to help with the pain," the nurse explained. When they reached the room, the nurse pointed to a button on the side of the bed. "If you need anything, push that button and a nurse will come."

"Thank you," Killian said. The nurse nodded and walked out.

Emma and Killian went on either side of the bed. Hope's eyes were shut and she had a peaceful look on her face, as though nothing had happened.

Emma smiled softly at her and wiped some hair from her daughter's forehead. Her eyes then noticed the bright pink cast on Hope's left arm. Tears suddenly filled her eyes again as she realized how uncomfortable and confused Hope was going to be the next couple months.

"Hey," Killian said softly. He had noticed Emma's expression from where he was standing. "Everything is going to be okay."

Emma nodded. She walked over to Killian and wrapped an arm around his waist as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Hope's eyes fluttered opened. She squinted when she saw the bright light above her. She turned her head to the side and opened her eyes again. "Mommy? Daddy?"

Emma and Killian looked up from where they were sitting. They both stood up and walked over to the side of Hope's bed.

"Hey, baby," Emma said.

Hope's eyes were unfocused. "What happened?" She tried to lift up her arm, but stopped when she realized her arm was heavier than usual. She look at her arm and her eyes went wide. She looked back at her parents. "Why is my arm pink?"

Emma laughed. "Do you remember what happened at school?"

Hope nodded. "I fell and hurt my arm."

"Yeah. How do you feel?"

She thought about that for a moment. "Weird."

The parents laughed, glad that Hope was still herself.

Hope touched her cast. "When will my arm stop being pink?"

"That's a cast, sweetheart," Killian said. "You broke your arm. It will be one for about 12 weeks."

Emma looked at Killian, surprised. "12 weeks?"

Killian shrugged. "Many people in my crew broke bones. I know the timeline to how long almost every bone takes to heal."

Emma laughed. "Of course you do."

"Daddy, I'm thirsty," Hope said.

Killian went to the bedside table and poured a glass of water for Hope while Emma helped her sit up.

Emma and Killian woke up to the sound of Hope crying. Tonight was Hope's first night back home after three days in the hospital, Doctor Whale wanting to make sure Hope's arm didn't hurt when she went home.

Panicked and worried, the parents rushed into Hope's room.

Hope was laying in bed, her arms on her stomach.

Emma knelt down next to her. "Hey, hey. What's wrong, baby?"

Hope opened her eyes and looked at her mother. "I-I can't s-sleep. M-My arm is not c-comfy. It hurts."

Emma frowned. Hope was always able to go to sleep while they were at the hospital.

"Hope, what happened to your cast?" Killian asked.

That's when Emma noticed that her cast wasn't on her arm any more.

"My magic make it g-go away," Hope said. "Cast was mean."

"Oh, Hope. You need to wear that cast so your arm can heal," Emma said.

"No!" Hope pushed herself up, but cried in pain because of her broken arm.

Emma quickly waved her hand and a cast reappeared on Hope's arm. "Sweetheart, please keep the cast on. Your arm won't feel better if you don't wear it."

Hope started crying. "But I d-don't w-want to."

Killian picked Hope up and set her on his lap. "Hey, love. It's okay. Mommy and Daddy will help you with your arm. You'll be okay."

Hope shook her head. "But, Daddy-"

"Shhh," Killian hushed. "We've got you."

Hope finally gave in. "Okay, Daddy."

12 weeks later, Hope was ecstatic when her cast was taken off.

I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long! My Saturdays just haven't been free, but I hope that I will be able to update next week. Hope you enjoyed that chapter! :)