Sorry for the slight delay with this one. When I read this chapter aloud last night the flow was off, so I've tinkered until it felt right to me.
Ruby had been busy trying to squeeze any kind of Hollywood gossip she could get out of Emma's boyfriend, when David knocked softly on the door to the hospital room, before poking his head inside.
"The um… the detective in charge of Emma's investigation is downstairs in the café, if you guys wanted to talk with her," he announced.
Killian stood up immediately, his desire for answers burning brightly in that instant, until he realized that meeting with the Boston detective would mean leaving Emma alone.
"Mary-Margret's on her way. You can wait until she arrives, if you'd like?" David offered, picking up on where Emma's fiancé's thoughts must have gone. Because he had been thinking the same thing, too. "I'd rather she not be alone right now."
"Thanks, David. I appreciate that."
"I'll stay with Killian until she gets here," Ruby added, as they both sank back down into their respective seats. Killian picked up his girlfriend's hand once more to hold tightly between his own. That small piece of physical contact was all that was keeping him going right then.
"Okay. I'll um… I'll be down in the café. I'll grab you both some coffee while I wait."
David excused himself quietly and headed back downstairs to keep the detective some company, while Ruby and Killian waited in silence for Mary-Margret's arrival. They were both far too nervous about the conversation ahead of them to start one of their own.
When Mary-Margret finally arrived, the two exchanged brief hugs and kisses with her, before they whispered their goodbyes to Emma, to head down to the café that formed part of the small hospital.
Killian's hands were shaking as he let Ruby guide them silently through the corridors. He wasn't sure if it was due to the lack of food and sleep he'd gotten since her call, or if it was a result of the fear pumping through his veins at the thought of what he was about to hear. But he stuffed his hands into his pockets just to be safe.
He was glad that David had opted to wait with the detective, because neither Killian nor Ruby would have recognized the middle-aged woman that was sat with their friend, involved in some kind of deep conversation. Thankfully, David seemed to spot them the moment they entered the room, as he stood to usher them over to a table that was already laden with coffee cups and snacks.
"I um… you looked like you could use something to eat," David explained, at Killian's perplexed look. The actor nodded his head in thanks, as the woman sat beside their friend rose to her feet. "Ruby, Killian… this is Detective Roberts of the Boston Police Department. She's in charge of Emma's case."
"It's nice to meet you both," she offered, as she held out her hand for each of them to shake, before gesturing that they should take a seat around the small table. "I understand that you're Sheriff Swan's roommate and fiancé?"
"Yes," they both replied. Because they knew that using the term fiancé would give Killian more privilege than he would be afforded as her boyfriend. And If Ruby were being completely honest, she could see her friend with a ring on her finger, not long after she woke up. Killian had certainly proved his commitment to their relationship, since the moment he'd gotten that call.
"I'm so sorry about what has happened," Detective Roberts offered. "We didn't work together often, but when we did, Sheriff Swan seemed like a lovely person."
"Can we uh… can we not use past tense here to describe the woman I love, please?" Killian asked through gritted teeth. "She's unconscious, not dead."
Ruby reached out to rest a reassuring hand over his arm. One that told him that she could understand his frustrations, but that he should probably calm down a little, if they were going to get any kind of information from the police investigation that afternoon.
"Of course. My apologies." The detective offered him a small smile as she picked up her own coffee cup to take a sip from it, before she spoke again. "I'll get straight to the point for you both, as I know that this must be tough for you. At the moment, we don't have a great deal to work with, I'm afraid. We haven't been able to find much at the scene, given the environment the attack took place in, and the length of time it took Deputy Nolan to find your Sheriff. So we're hoping that what we need will be found on the Sheriff herself. We've sent everything back to our labs for analysis. They have the swabs and physical evidence taken from the Sheriff by the medical team here, along with everything Emma was wearing that day. It's going to take some time for them to go through everything, but they'll be in touch as soon as they have some information. From what I've seen of the images your trauma team provided, it looks like she may have fought back. So there's a good chance that the attacker has left his DNA somewhere on Emma's person."
Killian had been expecting that kind of report, given where David had found Emma. The forest would make it difficult to find any kind of physical evidence, thanks to its location and environment. He'd also noticed the rain coming down when his taxi had made its way over the town line. That had likely washed away anything that could be helpful to their case.
But he couldn't help but have been hopeful that there might have been something…. anything… that could help them find the person responsible for hurting his Emma.
"There is one thing I wanted to share with you, though. Your deputy doesn't think it's a good idea to do so, but I disagree."
Killian and Ruby's eyes flew over to David, who looked a little ashamed at being outed the way he was, before they settled back on the detective.
"They don't need to know because it doesn't help with anything," David countered.
"I disagree," the detective argued, sounding like they'd covered this exact topic of conversation many times already that day. "Closure is all about having as many answers as you can get, even if they're not necessarily the ones you're looking for."
There was a loaded silence that hung in the air, and Killian and Ruby both found themselves biting down hard on their tongues, to stop themselves from snapping at someone to just spit it all out. While the information might not be important to the overall investigation, as far as Killian was concerned, Detective Roberts was right. He wanted to know anything and everything that had happened to his girlfriend, no matter how big or small that piece of information was.
"Doctor Whale has provided our team with the bullets that were removed from the sheriff during her surgery. We had those transported back to the labs in Boston this morning, along with her personal effects. The early analysis of those indicate that the shooter didn't bring his own weapon to the scene."
Killian's stomach felt like it was twisting in on itself once more, and he knew that needed to get away before he vomited everywhere.
"I don't understand," Ruby whispered quietly, as he pushed his chair back with a jarring scrape.
"The fucker shot her with her own gun," he spat down at the table, before storming his way out of the café.
He could just make out the sounds of David's whispered, "I told you that wouldn't help anyone," as he ran for the entrance.
Killian made it as far as the nearest trashcan outside of the building before he found his breakfast from that morning making a sudden reappearance.
When he finally managed to stop the retching and the shaking in his hands, he pulled out his phone once more, as he headed for the same spot he'd placed the call to his mother from. The battery was getting rather low, so he knew that he'd have to try and find a way to get some sort of charger sent out to him before the end of the day, but Killian was sure that there would be just enough power in the device to make the next call that he needed to place.
He sank down onto the same patch of grass he'd used earlier that morning to call home, while he waited for the line to connect.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Danny. It's me," he explained, unnecessarily.
"Killian," the guy on the other end of the line sighed. "How are you? I heard you ran off set like something was on fire. What the hell's going on?"
"I um… I need to know how I go about invoking the emergency clause built into my contract," he replied.
"What do you mean?" Danny asked. "Was something literally on fire?"
"I wish," Killian chuckled bitterly. Because physical belongings were easy to replace. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to find someone to fill Emma's place in his life, if he were to lose her. "My um… my fiancée, she uh… someone shot her in the line of duty. She's in the hospital, and not out of danger yet."
"Shit." The network executive on the other end of the line was silent for a moment, likely stunned by Killian's revelation, before he finally replied. "Uh, yeah. You should um… you should be with her."
"Yeah," Killian agreed. Because that was never a point up for debate.
"I'll um… I'll have a word with the production team and see what they can do to make this work for you. I think you're in luck, though. You're working on the second half of the season now, right?"
"We are," he agreed.
He thought he had vague memories of the script they'd been working on being for the second episode after the mid-season break. Which would hopefully mean that the rest of the cast could film without him until Emma was out of danger, and then he could return to shoot his own coverage when she was able to travel back with him. But if the network couldn't make that happen, Killian would gladly encourage them to write Hook out of the show completely.
He wasn't going anywhere until Emma was fit enough to travel with him.
"I don't think it will be a problem, but leave it with me," Danny offered. "I'll have a chat with the team and then get back to you. Either way, we're not going to force you to leave your fiancée while she's still recovering from this."
"Thanks, Danny. I'm sorry if this puts you into a difficult position."
"Don't be," he dismissed easily. "Family always comes first. We all know that. I hope she bounces back soon for you."
"Me too," Killian whispered quietly.
"And uh, congratulations on the engagement. I had no idea you were even seeing someone."
"We were um… we were keeping it quiet," Killian replied honestly. "It was only a recent development anyway."
"Well, I look forward to meeting her," Danny told him sincerely. "Keep us up to date on how she's doing, yeah?"
"I will do," Killian promised, before he disconnected the call.
He dropped his head back to rest against the wall behind him as he screwed his eyes shut for a moment. He really hoped that he'd get the chance to introduce his co-workers to Emma, when she woke up. He knew that she'd love every single moment of those interaction. And while he hated the idea of leaving the show at such a disadvantage, Killian also knew that if the situation had been reversed, none of his co-workers would have hesitated to do the same.
He just hoped that Emma would be deemed stable enough to be transferred to Boston soon. Because after everything he'd heard since his arrival at the hospital, the longer she stayed in Storybrooke, the more he worried about her safety within the town.
While Killian was busy placing his call, Ruby had one of her own that she wanted to make. She knew that Emma's shooting was big news in town, given her friend's status within the community. But it was unlikely that any of her friends outside of Storybrooke would know about what had happened.
Ruby knew that Emma had made a point of keeping in contact with the girls she'd met in person, at the Fairytales conventions she'd attended. She also knew that they would begin to worry, when they couldn't get in touch with their friend. Unfortunately, she didn't have all of the details she would have liked, for each of the people that had come to mean so much to her best friend. So Ruby placed calls to the only numbers that she had in her phone - the ones for Ashley, Belle and Regina.
While she hadn't been at the event that Emma and Ashley had first met at, her friend had suggested that they should all attend the first convention of the following year together in Vancouver, and had created a WhatsApp group for them to discuss their plans on. Ashley had quickly bonded with everyone else, to the point where Ruby found herself calling the girl a friend, even though they'd never met before.
However, no matter how hard she tried, getting anyone to answer her calls that afternoon proved difficult.
Belle was the first to pick up her phone on the third attempt, answering with a greeting of, "Hi Ruby. What's up?"
"Hey, Belle," she whispered back softly. "Do you have a moment free to chat?"
"I'm at work right now. Can it wait until I finish?"
Ruby so badly wanted to tell her friend that it absolutely could wait, because she didn't want to be the one to crush that bubbly tone behind Belle's voice. She'd already had to deliver the news of Emma's condition to Killian, and she really didn't want to be the one to deliver it to everyone else.
But she also didn't want them to find out through rumors published and spread online. Emma's friends deserved better than that.
"It's um… it's about Emma," she explained.
"Is everything okay?" Belle asked, her tone instantly switching to one filled with concern for their friend. "She didn't return my last message, but I just figured that she was busy with work."
"She um… she was shot on duty a couple of nights ago," Ruby replied robotically. It was the only way she could get that sentence out again, without her tears making it impossible to speak. "She's in the hospital here, but she's not in a good way right now. I thought you guys should know."
There was silence on the line for the longest moment, before the sound of Belle blowing her nose broke through it.
"Is she um… she's gonna be okay though, right?" she eventually asked.
"The doctors and nurses here are doing everything they can to make sure she will be," Ruby replied. She couldn't tell Belle that everything would be okay, when she didn't completely believe that promise herself.
"Is there anything I can do?" Belle's voice was so soft that Ruby had to strain to make out the words she was speaking.
"Could you um… would you mind telling the others?" she asked. She hated that she was palming off the responsibility onto Belle, of all people, but she really wanted to get back to Emma's side. And Ruby was starting to feel like every time she spoke those words, a little bit more of her hope died along with them.
"Of course not. Are you um… is someone with her?"
"Yeah. We don't like leaving her alone," she explained simply.
"Of course. Go be with Emma. Can I um… can I call you for updates?" Belle asked.
"I'll call you as soon as we know more," Ruby promised. "It's a bit of a waiting game right now."
"Thanks. And um… thanks for telling me. I know I haven't known her for long, but…"
"It's okay," Ruby cut her off. "I don't judge the quality of a friendship based on the length of time people have known each other for, and neither does Emma. She'd want you guys to know."
Ruby paused for a moment as she thought that statement over, before chuckling a little bitterly as she corrected herself. "Actually, she probably wouldn't. She wouldn't want to worry anyone unnecessarily. She's stubborn that way."
"Yeah, she is. But it's why we love her. She's always thinking of others."
"Hey," Killian whispered, as he pushed his way back into Emma's room in a fresh gown and a new pair of booties. "How is she?"
"No change," Mary-Margret replied sadly. She was sat in the second chair by Emma's side, while Ruby had perched herself on top of the table that had been moved to the wall opposite the bed. Even with Killian gone, they'd left his chair free for him. Neither of the women had felt comfortable taking the place that rightfully belonged to him.
"Hey, Sweetheart," he whispered, as he bent down to brush a kiss to Emma's forehead. The bruises and cuts already looked a little less angry with the hours that had passed, and seeing that progress filled him with some hope. Killian assumed that if the ones he could see were already starting to heal, then the ones that he couldn't see must be doing the same thing too.
"Sorry it took me so long to get back up here," he said a little louder, even though he kept his eyes focused on Emma's face. "I um… I had to call the network executives to enact the emergency clause in my contract."
"You're quitting?" Ruby worried, as she slid forward on the table a little.
"No. I just won't be on set until Emma wakes up again. They'll find a way to deal with the storyline to accommodate that. We have stand-ins and stuff they can use for shoots while I'm gone, and if it's necessary, they'll write Hook out for a while and then bring him back, when Emma's ready to travel."
"You'd really do that for her?" Mary-Margret wondered.
She wished she'd been able to see more of her friend's relationship with the actor while Emma had been conscious. So far, everything about Killian's actions had screamed that he was genuinely in love with her, and that he wasn't afraid to show it either. It was the complete opposite of how Neal had always treated her friend. Which made Mary-Margret wonder just how different Emma would act around someone who wasn't ashamed to show just how much they treasured her.
"Of course I would," he scoffed, finally tearing his eyes away from Emma's face, to level the other woman with a look that clearly communicated that he didn't appreciate her questioning his loyalty. "I love her. Would you want to be working twelve-hour days, on a set in another country, if it were your husband in this bed?"
Mary-Margret conceded his point with a sharp nod of her head, as she tried to fight off the images that were creeping into her mind. It was bad enough seeing her friend in that position, she couldn't even begin to imagine how she would feel if it had been David on duty that evening.
The slightly tense atmosphere that was beginning to build in the room was broken when Doctor Whale made his way into it, with his white lab coat swishing around his legs as he walked. While the guy looked just as professional and put-together as he normally did, everyone could see the dark circles that were beginning to form under his eyes, hinting at the stress and exhaustion he was suffering from.
"How is everyone?" he asked, as he stopped at the bottom of the bed to grab Emma's chart.
"We'll be better when she is," Killian answered for them, because he knew that everyone else was feeling the same way he was, right then.
Whale hummed his agreement as he read through the notes that had been made overnight, before he set the chart back down again. "Janet said that she had explained to you about the wound in Emma's shoulder?" he asked, turning his attention Killian's way, as he reached for a pair of latex gloves.
"Yeah. She said you'd probably stitch it today when you were sure it wasn't infected."
Whale gently pulled back Emma's gown just far enough to get to the bandage covering the area, and then peeled it away to check the wound over himself. "Yes. It was just a precaution, but this is looking pretty good," he pointed out, as he examined the area around the open wound, and then the dressing itself.
"Janet's bringing everything I need to do that now, but I will need to ask you guys to step out of the room for a moment for me." Whale lifted his head to meet each of their gazes, knowing that none of them would be happy to hear that. "You can come back in as soon as I'm done, but I prefer not to be distracted while I work."
"Okay," Mary-Margret agreed quickly. "We'll wait right outside." As much as she hated the idea of having to leave Emma, she would do anything that was asked of her, if it would aid her friend's recovery.
Killian felt a little better about leaving Emma alone knowing that Whale and Janet would be in the room with her, while he couldn't be. But every second that passed as he paced outside of her door, felt like an agonizing eternity. He was worried that he would annoy the others with his restlessness, but the bounce of Ruby's leg against the floor, and the way that Mary-Margret tapped her nails against the counter, told him that they were both just as anxious to get back to their friend as he was.
Finally, after what felt like hours, Nurse Janet pulled open the door once more, leaving it wide in invitation as she told them, "You can go in now."
"Thank you," he whispered, before darting straight back into the room and over to Emma's side once more. "Hey, Beautiful," he greeted, as he bent over to brush a kiss to her forehead, while he pushed the hair back from her face. "I missed you."
After he took his seat again, and had picked up Emma's hand to hold tightly between his own, Killian noticed that the doctor was still in the room with them all, and his brow creased in confusion.
"Is there something wrong?" he worried.
"No," Doctor Whale replied simply. "Everything looks as good as can be expected right now."
Ruby shifted a little closer to him on the table as she dropped her head down to rest against his shoulder, while Whale wrapped his arm around her. They were both completely exhausted, but neither one of them was willing to give in to those feelings while Emma's life was still in danger.
The atmosphere in the room felt a little heavy, and Killian assumed that it was because of the question at the front of everyone's mind. The one that they had all been thinking since they'd heard about what had happened, but had been too scared to voice.
Killian wasn't ready to hear that question put into words, let alone the answer that would go with it. So instead, he whispered quietly, "Can she be moved to Vancouver? I know you mentioned transferring her to Boston for the surgery she needs on her pelvis, but can that be done in Vancouver?"
Ruby lifted her head as her boyfriend took a moment to consider his answer, before he spoke. She didn't want to see Emma leaving the country while she was still so badly injured, but she could understand Killian's desire to have her as far away from the town, and back somewhere he deemed safe, as soon as possible.
"Technically, you can legally request that she be transferred anywhere. But I wouldn't recommend it until she's had that surgery. The slightest trauma to her pelvis could result in serve complications. The pelvis protects things like the bladder and her reproductive organs, along with a number of blood vessels, nerves, muscles and ligaments. It's also connected to the bones in her upper legs; her hips; and of course, her lower spine. We don't want to risk doing anything that could cause any more damage in those areas, and the longer the journey is, the more risk there is of something happening. I'd go with her to Boston and have the surgery there. Then, when Emma's awake and beginning to put some weight on that break, you can make the arrangements to take her home with you."
"How long will that take?" Ruby asked.
Nobody had really spoken about timeframes for Emma's recovery, and now that she was thinking about it, she was beginning to worry that it was because nobody believed her friend would ever recover from the injuries she had suffered.
"Full weight-bearing is usually advised at around the three-month mark."
"Three months?" she asked, a little hysterically. "It's gonna take her three-months to get out of that bed?"
"No. She'll be encouraged to move as soon as she can. But she'll be given crutches and walking aids to do that with, so she can keep the weight off the side of her pelvis where the break occurred," Whale explained.
Killian scrubbed a harsh hand over his face as he sank back into his chair. Three months would put them into the start of the new year. He'd need to ask the show to temporarily write him out, as there was no way he'd make it back in time to shoot for any of the episodes airing during the second half of the season. He'd also need to call his mam. He usually went home for the holidays, but there wasn't a chance in hell that he'd be leaving Emma alone in Boston, over the festive season that year.
Instead, he'd focus on finding a home close to the hospital that he could rent for the two of them to share, while she was recovering. He'd feel much better knowing that she was close to medical professionals, should she need their help. And he was certain that he would be able to find a way to make their first holiday season together special, even if they were away from their friends and family at the time.
"Killian?" Mary-Margaret called out softly.
"Yes?"
He snapped his eyes up to meet hers, and then realized that Whale was no longer in the room. His thoughts had spiraled, and had taken a good chunk of the afternoon along with them.
"I'm gonna take off and spend some time with David and Leo," she explained.
Mary-Margret felt guilty for wanting that time alone with her family, given everything her friend was going through. But she'd never wanted to be with her boys quite as much as she did right then. What had happened to Emma had taught her that life was not only short, but also unpredictable. She didn't want to miss out on precious moments with her husband and their son.
"Did you need me to bring you anything back at all? Do you have fresh clothes here?"
"Uh, yeah. I have a change in my bag," Killian mumbled, because he thought he could remember stuffing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt into his bag before he left. He just hoped that he'd grabbed clean clothes, and not whatever he'd found on the floor. "If not, I'll buy something new. I need to get a charger for my phone anyway."
"We have a spare at home. I'll bring it back for you," she promised.
Mary-Margret took a moment to pull Ruby in for a hug, whispering something softly into the other's woman's ear, before she released her to wrap her arms around Killian's shoulders. When she was finished with him, she pressed a brief kiss to Emma's cheek, before making her way out of the room and back home to her small family.
Which left Killian and Ruby alone again, with the person they both loved most in the world.
Ruby excused herself for dinner a little over an hour later, promising that she would be back soon, so that Killian could get himself something to eat. But he wasn't really sure he wanted anything.
It had been almost a day since he'd gotten her call, and so much had happened in that short space of time. He was starting to feel like he was drowning in an ocean of despair, and all he wanted was for Emma to open her eyes once more, just to provide him with some much needed relief from the darkness of his own mind.
"I miss you, Emma," he whispered quietly. "There's so much I want to talk to you about right now. I can't believe how much I miss hearing your voice. I didn't even know what it sounded like this time last year, and now… I can't imagine a future without that sound in my life."
"When you wake up, and when you're ready for it… I'm going to marry you, Emma Swan. You and me… there isn't a doubt in my mind that we were made for each other. And regardless of what your ex might believe, I think you know that too. I don't wanna waste any more of our time together. Not after this. I don't… I… I don't wanna have any regrets when it comes to you, my love."
He lifted her hand up to his face to press sweet kisses to the back of it, as he nuzzled his cheek against the coolness of her skin.
"I love you, Emma Swan."
Killian must have fallen asleep again at some point, as he woke to the sound of whispered voices in the room. When he carefully lifted his head, it was to find David and Ruby huddled together on the small bed, talking in soft voices as they attempted not to disturb him.
"Hey," Ruby called out softly, when her eyes finally met his. "Sorry. We didn't mean…"
"You didn't," he assured her, because Killian knew that it had been his own dreams, haunting him every time he closed his eyes, that had woken him. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah. We were just talking about Leo," she assured him.
"My wife sent you these," David added, as he pointed to a few plastic bags that were sat on the bed beside him. "She said you'd need them."
Killian reluctantly let go of Emma's hand and stood to see what Mary-Margret had sent with her husband. He was hoping that she had remembered the spare charger, as his phone had died not long after his call to the studio, and Killian knew that he would need to call Robin at some point, just to explain what was going on.
But as he began rooting through the bags he realized that everything inside of them was brand-new. Emma's friend had been kind enough to purchase him some jeans and shirts, that were oddly the perfect size, along with a few packs of underwear. There were some essentials like deodorant; a toothbrush and toothpaste; and a comb for his hair in the bags too, along with a brand-new phone charger, and a handful of puzzle books.
He hadn't known the woman for long, but Mary-Margret had gone out of her way to make things as easy for him as she possibly could.
"Thank her for me, please?" he asked, as he pulled out the charger to plug his phone in. "And let me know how much I owe you for all of this."
"I'm sure she'll tell you not to worry," David chuckled. "But I'll pass along your thanks. Do you need anything else at all? I know you packed in a bit of a hurry."
"This will do me for now."
The room settled into a comfortable silence for a moment, the rhythmic sounds of the machines the only noise in the space, as the three friends each drifted with their own thoughts.
Killian left his phone off to one side to charge, before turning his attention back to Emma. He picked her hand up once more, and stroked his thumb softly over the back of her knuckles, as he settled himself into his chair as comfortably as he possibly could.
They'd all become so used to the regular beeps of the machines that when the pattern began to change, all three of their heads snapped up, to turn in the direction of the monitor.
"What's happening?" Ruby asked.
"Hit the call button," David declared. When nobody made a move, he yelled a little louder, "Hit the fucking call button."
Killian dropped his grip on Emma's hand to hit the button Janet had shown to him all those hours before, and wasn't surprised when the nurse herself came running into the room a few seconds later. She took a quick look at the monitors around Emma's bed, before calling over her shoulder, "Get Doctor Whale. Now!"
David pulled the chairs away from Emma's bed as Killian's snatched up the small bear he'd placed beside her, just in time for the two of them to be ushered out of the way, as a team of medical professionals descended upon the room.
"Oh God," Ruby whispered.
The beeping sounded faster and louder than it ever had before.
Whale practically ran through the open doorway, his coat billowing out behind him as his eyes flew around the room, taking in the situation.
"Her blood pressure's down and heart rate's up," Janet explained, over the sudden rush of noise that had filled the space.
Or perhaps it was just the blood roaring through his own system, that Killian could hear.
"She's going into shock," Whale declared.
"What?" Ruby shrieked.
"Get me an OR prepped. Now," he yelled, completely ignoring his girlfriend.
The people around Emma's bed began to move as one, quickly disconnecting things and moving others around, as they unlocked the wheels on her bed, to push it out of the small room.
"Victor," Ruby yelled, her own fear making her voice sound louder and harsher than Killian had ever heard it before. "What's happening?"
"Emma needs surgery," he explained quickly. "I'll explain everything when I'm done, but right now, I need to get her back into the OR to save her life."
He disappeared from the room before anyone could say anything else, leaving the three friends looking scared and confused, as they all tried to process everything that had just happened.
The next hour that passed was one of the longest of Killian's life. Another nurse had been in and asked the three of them to move to a small room, where they could wait together.
But nobody else had stopped by since then.
He'd eventually gotten so frustrated with the waiting that he'd taken to pacing the length of the room. A quick look around it showed that each of Emma's friends were also dealing with their nerves in their own ways. Ruby was picking the polish off her finger nails, as her leg bounced against the floor, while David tapped out patterns with his fingers on his legs.
Mary-Margret arrived as the evening turned to night, telling her husband that Granny had offered to watch Leo for them, as she fell into his arms sobbing once more.
Killian kept the small bear clutched tightly to his chest, as he whispered silent prayers into the animal's fur for Emma's safety. She'd been through so much already, and he knew that she had even more ahead of her, before she would be declared fully recovered. He hated seeing how much she was suffering, and he wished with every fiber of his being that he could take that pain from her.
When the door to the room finally opened once more to reveal Whale dressed in a pair of scrubs again, all eyes turned his way, silently begging him to deny their biggest fear.
"She's okay."
The energy seemed to drain out of Killian all at once, and he found himself dropping down to his knees on the rough carpet, as he used that small bear to hide his tears.
"She was bleeding internally, which is what caused the shock. It's unfortunately a common side effect from major surgery, and in particular, from a broken pelvis. Sometimes, it can take a while to present, but that's why we keep such a close eye on patients in Emma's condition. I was able to find the source and prevent the bleed fairly quickly, so there shouldn't be any lasting damage to her organs."
The room seemed to release a collective sigh at Whale's words. While everything he'd said still scared the hell out of each and every one of them, knowing that his team were working so hard to keep Emma alive gave them hope.
"Can we see her?" Killian asked.
"Someone will come and get you as soon as we have her settled back into her room," Whale promised. "But there's something I wanted to talk with you about first."
Killian's hands began to shake once more at the thought of what the good doctor could possibly reveal next. He felt as Ruby dropped down to sit beside him, before she wrapped her arm through his to offer him some form of comfort, as Killian took her hand into his own to squeeze tightly.
While David and Mary-Margret had each other to turn to for support, the two of them were very much alone with their fear. Whale was so busy working to make sure that Emma survived each night, he barely had any time to spend with his girlfriend. And Killian had nobody else in town to draw his strength from. So they made a silent pact there and then, to stick together as they remained by Emma's side.
"I've spoken with the orthopedic team in Boston," Whale began gently, as he took one of the free seats in the space. "With their input, we've come to the decision that a team will be travelling here from the city, at the start of the week, to perform the first of the surgeries that Emma will need to stabilize her pelvis," he explained. "We can't take the risk that these episodes could end up causing any more damage, and it's unlikely that she will be fit enough to travel any time soon. She's lost far too much blood for that to happen. We want to get that first surgery done and out of the way while she's still unconscious, as it will help with both her pain management, and the timing of her recovery."
"So, she's not going to Boston?" Killian asked.
"She will need to go eventually, yes. I'm afraid Emma has a few more surgeries ahead of her, before she'll be back on the road to recovery. But for now, it's important that we get this pelvic break fixed, so it can begin to heal."
Everyone in the room nodded their understanding. While none of them knew anything about medicine, they trusted that Whale would keep Emma's best interests at the front of his mind, with every decision that he made. So if he felt this surgery was better happening sooner rather than later, they would support his choice.
"Hang in there guys," he offered, as he stood once more. "She's fighting hard."
Whale left the room without another word, looking thoroughly exhausted as he made his way through the corridors, and back to his office to spend a second night on the sofa inside of it. He knew that his words probably wouldn't offer his friends much comfort that evening.
But in that moment, they were all he had to offer them.
Thanks for reading and reviewing. Special thanks go to spicyftblplayer, Alexa, Luna and the other Guests for their wonderful reviews.
And to the one guest who reviewed every single chapter last week with the same messages, I have a small piece of advice for you. Telling someone that they, "need" to update faster, won't make that happen. Please have some patience. I refuse to publish what I'm unhappy with, and I have a life to work my fanfiction around. It's easy to say publish faster, but it's not easy to do in practice. If my update schedule is too slow for you, you may wish to wait until the story is complete to read it.