As with before, I've tried to research as much as I can here to make this as accurate as possible, but I am in no way a medical expert.
WARNING - There are brief mentions of the loos of a child in this update.
Happy birthday WriterchickRuby
Killian woke the next morning to the sound of whispered voices. It took him a moment to shake off the haze of sleep and remember where he was, but when he did, he groaned a little as he reached for his phone. The numbers at the top of the screen seemed to be taunting him, as they told him it was only a little past six. Doctor Smith had made it clear that nobody would be allowed into the ICU until eight, and Killian knew that the next two hours would seem like a lifetime while he waited to see Emma once more.
After throwing off the sheets he quietly padded his way through to the bathroom. The light inside of the small room was harsh with its brightness, and showed just how much the past few days had taken their toll on him. His skin was pale and unhealthy looking, thanks to his utter exhaustion. Even after the solid night of sleep he'd managed to get, the bags under his eyes looked in danger of taking over his face. And his hair was going to take more than just a comb to tame.
He looked awful, and there was absolutely no amount of cover-up that would hide that.
Killian quickly brushed his teeth to remove that awful cotton-mouth that he'd woken up with, before stripping off his boxers and under-shirt to step into the shower. He hadn't bathed since he'd arrived in Storybrooke, and the scalding hot water in the Nolans' home helped to wash away not only the grime and dirt from the days since his flight had landed, but also some of the fears he'd carried with him since taking Ruby's call.
Emma was stable, and her pelvic breaks had been set.
It wasn't much, but it was the best news they could have hoped for right then.
After pulling on a new pair of jeans and one of the black t-shirts that Mary-Margret had purchased for him, Killian quietly made his way downstairs to greet his friends.
He was a little surprised to find David alone in the kitchen, bouncing gently in front of the stove. But his confusion was quickly cleared up when the other man turned to reveal the little boy in his arms, sucking on a plastic toy.
"Sorry. We didn't wake you, did we?" he asked quietly.
"No," Killian lied. Because the last thing he wanted to do was make the guy feel bad for comforting his son, in his own home. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah. He's just full of energy this time of the morning," David chuckled. "And we didn't wanna wake mommy, did we?" He turned back to mess with the coffee machine, but didn't look to be making much progress, thanks to the little boy that was wiggling away in his arms.
"Do you want some help with that?" Killian asked, moving around the counter to stand beside the struggling father.
"Sure." David shifted Leo in his arms until he was pushing the child into his friend's chest, and waited until a startled looking Killian finally wrapped a hand around his son's back, before he let go. "Thanks, Mate. Coffee?"
"Uh… yeah… sure," Killian managed to squeeze out, while staring down in shock at the small boy who was now peering up at him with wide eyes.
Little Leo Nolan appeared to be the perfect combination of his parents. He had a shock of dark hair on top of his head, that looked a lot like his mother's in both its color, and the way it fell over his forehead. The boy had the same soft blue eyes as his father, and wore that same confused look that David had worn, when Killian had first been introduced to the guy.
"Hey, little fella," he greeted softly. "What's this?"
Killian tugged gently on the toy the little boy held in his fist, and Leo let it go with a small cry of, "train."
"Emma bought it for him," David supplied helpfully. "He hasn't let it go since then. It goes everywhere with us, doesn't it, Leo?"
Leo threw in another excited cheer of, "train," again, and both men chuckled a little at the sound of it.
Killian adjusted his hold on his charge until the boy felt a little more secure in his arms, before he began running the train over his chest until it bumped Leo softly on the tip of his nose. The little lad squealed in delight at the move, so Killian took that as his sign to keep going, adjusting the path the train took every now and then, to keep him guessing.
"Well, this is definitely a wonderful sight to wake up to in the mornings," Mary-Margaret chuckled, drawing the attention of all three men her way. She had her phone in her hand, and was busy snapping pictures of Killian with her son.
"Let me guess, 'Leo's first celebrity encounter?'" David teased.
"No," she protested weakly. "Well… yes. But I thought that Emma might like to see these when she woke up. I mean… that's like the textbook definition of an ovary explosion going on right there."
Killian's face fell immediately at his friend's words.
He knew that Mary-Margaret had meant nothing by her comments, but he couldn't help the cold shiver that ran down his spine when he thought about delivering the new about their own child to Emma, when she woke.
"Can you uh… can you take Leo?" he asked David, handing the baby over before his friend could say a word in protest. "I need some fresh air."
"Is something wrong?" David asked.
"I just… I really need to clear my head right now."
Killian didn't even bother grabbing a jacket before he took off, closing the apartment door softly behind himself. He felt a little bad for running out on his friends the way he had. The Nolans had been nothing but gracious to him since his arrival in town. But he knew that if he'd stayed any longer, he'd have ended up spilling his news to them before Emma had a chance to hear it herself.
And that was the last thing he wanted to do.
"What the hell just happened?" David asked his wife, as they watched the door swing shut behind their friend.
"I don't… oh no," she whispered, as a sudden understanding began dawning over her.
God how she hoped that she was wrong.
Killian wasn't surprised that his feet had carried him over to Granny's Diner that morning. He knew that he wouldn't be able to face the station without Emma by his side, and Granny's was the only other place in town that he knew how to get to.
But the moment he pushed through the front door, he found himself wishing he'd carried on towards the docks.
"Still here?" Neal drawled from his place at the back of the room.
Killian tried his hardest to ignore the guy as he made his way over to one of the free seats at the counter, where Granny was already waiting for him.
"Coffee?" she asked quietly.
"Please."
"Don't you have a job to get back to?"
"Ignore him," Granny soothed, as she placed a large mug in front of Killian and reached out to gently rub his hand. "He's just jealous."
"He's an arse," Killian replied, as he tried his best to block out the man sat in the corner of the room, while he sipped at his coffee. "Is my Mam here?"
"She's just popped out with Ruby to get a few essentials for her stay. I'm sure she'll be back soon."
"Thanks, Granny." He offered the older woman a tight smile as she went back to busying herself with her breakfast preparations, and Killian tried his hardest not to dwell on what had happened at the Nolan home that morning.
"Really, Jones? You just gonna sit there and pretend like you hold some sort of moral high ground right now, when you're the one who stole my girlfriend?" Neal taunted.
Killian balled his free hand into a fist as he gritted his teeth together to keep his temper in check. Being away from Emma for so long, while she was still in such a fragile condition, had already frayed his nerves more than enough. He didn't need some jumped-up little prick looking for a fight getting in his face.
"Seriously? Nobody has anything to say about that?"
"What the hell is your problem?" Killian demanded, as he jumped up from his chair to turn and face the source of his problems that morning. "Emma's in the hospital, you insensitive prick. She was shot three times by some arsehole who tried to kill her. And he came pretty damned close to doing that. Do you think I give a damn right now about your hurt feelings and knocked pride? Do you honestly think I give a flying fuck about anything other than the health and safety of the woman I love, at this moment in time? You wanna know why Emma left you for me? It's because I care about her more than I care about myself. And the same clearly can't be said for you. So why don't you just do everyone here a favor and fuck the hell off?"
"Is everything okay?" Ruby asked loudly, shattering the tense silence that had fallen over the diner.
"It's fine," Killian spat back, regretting his tone the moment the words had left his mouth. "I'm just… I need to get back to the hospital."
"We'll come with you," she told him softly, wrapping her arm through his to offer it a gentle squeeze of reassurance.
Killian continued to glare in Neal's direction for a moment longer, before he allowed Ruby to tug him out towards the car that his mother was already waiting inside of.
When Sinéad Jones pulled into a space at the hospital, Ruby seemed to sense that mother and son might need a moment alone together to talk.
"I'm gonna go check and see if Mary-Margaret's here yet," she told them. "Why don't you guys join us in the café in a little bit?"
"Thanks, Ruby," Sinéad offered, as she watched the young girl slip from the vehicle and close the door softly behind herself. For a moment, there was silence in the vehicle as mother and son watched her head into the building, before Sinéad finally turned to Killian to ask, "What happened?"
"It's nothing. It's completely stupid," he told his mother, trying to wave away her concerns. "Mary-Margaret said something this morning and it kinda hit a nerve. I just… I had to get out of the loft before I ended up blabbing everything. And then, because the universe seems to hate me right now, Neal fucking Gold had to be inside of Granny's when I got there."
"Neal Gold? Who's Neal Gold?"
"He's Emma's ex," Killian sighed. "I uh… I might have stolen her from him."
"You did what now?" his mother snapped, unbuckling her belt to turn in her seat and face her son.
"It's not like that," Killian rushed to assure her. Because the last thing he wanted was for his mother to hold that against Emma when she woke up. "We didn't mean to fall in love, and Emma broke things off with Neal before anything between the two of us happened. He… Neal wasn't good for her, Mam. You should have seen him when I showed up here after getting that call. He was only here because he thought she'd wake up with amnesia and have forgotten all about me, so that he could worm his way back into her life. He called her a fucking whore for Christ's sake."
Killian took a moment to calm himself down as he realized that his tone had grown with his anger until he was practically yelling the words at his mother. And she definitely didn't deserve to be on the receiving end of his fury.
"Emma's a good person, Mam. She chose to see the best in him and he not only cheated on her repeatedly, but he also used her too. I promise, I'm not proud of stealing another man's woman, but I don't regret what happened between us. I care for her more than he ever has done, or ever would."
"He really called her a whore?" his mother asked. She might have spoken quietly in the small space of the car, but Sinéad Jones's anger was clearly evident in her tone.
"Yeah. I uh… I broke his nose for it."
Killian cringed a little as he waited to hear his mother's final thoughts on the issue. When she finally reached out to him it was to squeeze his shoulder gently as she told him, "Good lad." He chuckled in relief at her words before sliding out of the car and making his way around to the driver's side to wait for her to join him.
Mother and son walked into the hospital in complete silence that morning, both lost in thoughts about everything that had been revealed to them already that day.
While Killian wasn't proud that he'd essentially made a move on a woman while she'd been in a relationship with another man, he couldn't bring himself to regret his past with Emma. Meeting her had been one of the best moments of his life, and he wouldn't change any part of that.
He was just relieved that his mother wasn't judging him too hard for what had happened, and that she didn't seem to be holding it against Emma either. After all, if she ever had a chance to meet Neal, he was pretty sure she'd understand why Emma had chosen him over her ex.
It didn't take the two of them long to find the girls inside the small hospital café, and as Ruby waved them over, Sinéad detoured to the counter to grab everyone a fresh mug of coffee.
"I'm sorry for running out on you this morning," Killian whispered to Mary-Margaret, as he slipped into the seat beside hers.
"It's okay," she soothed. "I understand."
His eyes flew up from the tabletop to meet hers, and behind her gaze he could see the understanding that was hidden there. Mary-Margaret must have worked out what had happened after he'd left the loft that morning.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna say anything to anyone," she assured him. "I haven't even told David. I'm just… I'm sorry for your loss, Killian."
"Thank you." There were so many more words that he wanted to say to her, but none of them would come to him in that instant.
As Mary-Margaret reached for his hand under the table to offer it a gentle squeeze, Killian began to understand that he wasn't quite as alone as he had first thought himself to be, when he had arrived in Storybrooke.
The rest of the week seemed to crawl by at a snail's pace, as the people that loved Emma most adjusted to the new visiting regulations that had been imposed upon them.
With only two people allowed at Emma's side at any one time, it took a while for them to work out a pattern that would suit everyone best, and still allow her friends to continue going about their daily life in the small town.
While Killian's mother spent less time by her future daughter-in-law's side than everyone else did, Sinéad Jones had proven to be a valuable asset to their small group, especially with the way little Leo Nolan had taken to the woman. She had been more than happy to watch the small boy while his parents were busy trying to juggle work with visiting their friend.
Sinéad and Granny had also taken it upon themselves to make sure that everyone ate at least one decent meal a day. So the small group had gotten used to returning from the hospital to find one of the two women's signature dishes waiting for them at the Nolan's home.
The impromptu dinner parties had also given Killian the time to bond a little more with his love's friends. He hadn't realized just how much he needed that until it became a regular feature in his days, because with every shared meal that passed, he felt a little less like an outsider in their presence.
Whenever Killian found himself away from Emma's side, he tried his hardest to keep his mind occupied and make himself useful. So he started looking at places to rent in Boston. He'd found a number of properties that were located close enough to the hospital to be a short drive away, that would be perfect for the two of them to share when Emma was eventually moved. While he'd have preferred to pick a place with her input, Killian knew that might not be possible, so he focused on compiling a shortlist of some of his favorites, and made some enquiries about the ones that showed the most potential.
He'd also spent some time researching funerals for babies that had been miscarried at around the gestation Whale had estimated his child to have been. There were a few places in the state that offered specialized services for such an occasion, but Killian couldn't ever imagine Emma wanting to hold a large service for their child. So he continued to search until he stumbled over a small crematorium in New Hampshire, that had been incredibly helpful when he'd emailed them about his situation.
The director of services there had assured him that she would be able to help himself and Emma make a decision about what was best for them, when Emma was finally awake. And she had sent over some material for the two of them to browse when they were ready.
It wasn't the kind of thing that Killian had ever imagined needing to do in his life, but he wanted to take care of as much as he could, while Emma was still recovering.
Things changed once more the Friday after Emma's pelvic surgery.
Doctor Whale had ordered a new set of x-rays on her lungs, and when he returned to the small waiting room the group had gathered inside of, it was with a wide smile on his face.
"I have some good news for you," he declared, as he took a seat opposite his friends. "As you know, we've been keeping a close eye on Emma's lung to make sure that no further intervention was needed, and that the chest tube was doing its job. The new films that we took today have shown that the lung tissue has almost fully expanded once again, which means that we're going to go ahead and remove her chest tube this afternoon."
Killian breathed a heavy sigh of relief as Ruby reached over to squeeze his arm gently. They all knew that Emma was still far from being fully recovered, but one less tube in her body would feel like another huge milestone accomplished on her journey.
"What uh… what about the ventilator?" he asked.
"I'm going to order another set of films to be taken forty-eight-hours after the tube is removed. As long as they show no signs of a collapse, we'll go ahead and remove that this weekend too."
"Oh, that's fantastic news," Mary-Margaret sighed, as she clutched her husband's hand tightly.
"Does that mean you'll be waking her soon?" Killian whispered. His mind chose that moment to remind him of the words Doctor Smith had spoken after the surgery earlier that week, and he allowed himself to dare to hope.
"That all depends," Whale replied tactfully. "We'll get her pelvis x-rayed while we're there too, and see how those breaks are healing. I don't want to attempt to wake her until we see some progress there. But I don't think it will be much longer now. I know how desperate you guys are to see that smile again, and prolonged sedation isn't ideal in any situation."
"I'll settle for just seeing those beautiful green eyes of hers once more," Killian chuckled, as he relaxed back into his seat. Because even though he knew that he'd be waiting a while longer for that moment, he was now more sure than he had ever been before, that he would get to see them again.
"Okay. I'm gonna head back up so we can get that tube out and see how Emma does without it, and then I'll send someone back down for you guys when she's ready for visitors again," Whale promised.
"Thank you, Victor," Mary-Margaret called after him, as for the first time since the incident had occurred, a feeling of hopeful anticipation settled over the small waiting room at Storybrooke general.
When one of the nurses finally came down to inform them that Emma was ready for visitors once more, Killian was the first out of the door. Being away from her for so long every evening was already hard enough, but being kept away longer during visiting hours seemed like a cruel form of torture.
"Hey, Beautiful," he whispered, as he entered Emma's room once more that afternoon. While the missing chest tube wasn't terribly obvious, just the knowledge that it was gone, and that Emma seemed to be coping well without it, had filled him with a kind of lightness that he hadn't expected.
"Doctor Whale says you're doing amazingly well, Sweetheart. I'm so proud of how hard you're fighting right now." He took a moment to douse his hands with the sanitizer at the end of her bed, before he made his way over to her side. After brushing back the hair from Emma's face, he bent down to press a sweet kiss to her forehead.
In the short space of time since she'd first been admitted to the hospital, the cuts and bruises on Emma's face had faded greatly. The deep purples and angry blacks were now light greys and dull yellows, and were slowly shrinking in size. The angry red cuts had faded pink lines, some of which you really needed to be looking for to spot.
Just seeing that part of her body heal itself so quickly was giving them all a much needed boost, when it came to Emma's recovery.
"He also said that if your x-rays look good on Sunday, they're going to attempt to remove the ventilator. Which means that I might finally be able to kiss you properly again," he chuckled. "I've missed being able to do that."
Killian reached out to take her hand into his own once more, and brushed a soft kiss over the back of her knuckles.
"I've been looking into homes for us to share for when you're transferred to Boston. I haven't put a deposit down anywhere yet, because I'm still hoping that you'll wake up soon and help me make this choice. But I've made some enquiries to help us out. I just… I just wanna do whatever it takes to make this easier for you, Sweetheart. I love you."
On Sunday morning, the entire gang gathered together in the small café as they eagerly awaited the results of Emma's next set of x-rays.
Killian's leg bounced restlessly against the floor as he sipped cold coffee and attempted to listen to the conversation his mother was having with David, about the current police investigation. But his mind was already in that room with Emma, desperately hoping that the amount of wishful thinking coming from him that day would help her in some way.
"Are you okay?" Ruby whispered quietly.
"Yeah. Just… ready for that tube to be out now, you know?"
"I do," she assured him. Because they all knew that this was the final step needed before Emma could be brought out of her coma. And they were all more than ready to see their friend again.
"She's got this."
"Yeah," Killian agreed, but he couldn't stop that nervous bounce of his leg even as Ruby's words reassured him a little more.
When visiting hours began again, the group finished up their coffees and snacks to make their way back to the waiting room. Whale had promised to deliver the news in person as soon as he could, but none of them really knew how long it would take for the staff to get Emma x-rayed, and then for those images to be examined by her team.
So when he entered the room a little under an hour later, they weren't sure if they should be happy to see him so soon, or worried that Emma wasn't yet ready for that next stage in her recovery.
"Is everything okay?" Killian asked, leaning forward a little as he did.
"Yes. The chest x-ray showed that Emma's lung tissue hasn't collapsed without the tube, so we're going to go ahead and remove the ventilator as soon as we get her settled back into her room," he explained.
"And her pelvis?"
"I've forwarded the x-rays over to the specialists in Boston, so that they can have the final say on the matter. But as far as I'm concerned, Emma's doing remarkably well. I think the guys there will want to look at waking her before the end of next week, so that we can start work on getting her mobile again."
"Oh, thank god," he sighed, as he dropped his head back against the wall of the room.
Ruby squeezed one of his hands reassuringly as his mother gently rubbed his forearm.
It was possibly the best news they'd heard all month.
"Watching the removal of a ventilator is never fun," Whale explained, "So I'm gonna leave you guys down here for a moment longer while we get that out. I'm also gonna have Janet sit and monitor Emma for the next hour while she's off it, so we can check her vitals and make sure that her body can handle what it's being asked to do. If all that goes well, then you guys can come back up and see her," he promised.
"Thank you so much, Victor. We really appreciate all that you're doing for Emma," Mary-Margaret told the man.
It was strange to think about Ruby's boyfriend as being the guy who had probably saved Emma's life. But she would definitely need to think of a way to show him just how much they all appreciated everything that he'd done for their friend.
"There's no need to thank me. I'm just doing my job." The doctor brushed aside the compliment easily, but Killian could see the way his cheeks had pinked a little from it. It clearly meant a lot to Whale to have that thanks, and Killian made a silent promise to himself to acknowledge what the man had done for them every chance he got.
The wait while Whale and his team removed the ventilator, and then carefully monitored Emma's vitals for any signs of trouble, was excruciating. Even with a limited understanding of medical knowledge, they all knew that if Emma struggled to breath for herself without that mechanical help, it would set back her recovery time drastically.
And nobody wanted that for her. She'd already come so far in the few weeks since the incident had occurred.
Killian was too nervous to make conversation, so he paced at the back of the room, trying to expel as much of that energy as he possibly could, while they waited on some news.
By the time that Janet made her way into the room with a soft smile on her face, he was almost at his breaking point.
"You can come up and see her now."
Killian knew that her words were for the benefit of everyone in the room, but the way the nurse fixed her gaze on him as she spoke told him that she understood his frustrations and unease.
"You go," Ruby called out from behind him. "We can come up and see her soon. Go and kiss your girl," she encouraged gently.
Killian turned back to press a kiss to the top of his friend's head as he whispered his thanks to her, before he turned and practically ran from the room.
The corridors had become easy to navigate thanks to the amount of time he'd spent inside of the hospital, so he made it up to the ICU not long after Janet. When he'd pulled on a fresh gown and a new pair of booties she swiped him into the space, and then watched with a soft smile as he marched straight down to the end of the hall, and the private room at the back of it.
This time, Killian didn't bother to steel his nerves before he pushed on the handle to let himself in. He knew that whatever sight greeted him when he walked through that door would be a million times better than it had been, when he'd first entered that room when Emma had been admitted.
And he was right.
While she still looked so small and frail resting in that bed in the middle of the space, Killian thought she'd never looked better than she did in that moment.
"Sweetheart," he whispered, as he made his way over to her side to get a good look at her. "Oh, Emma. I've missed you so much."
He leaned over to brush his lips lightly against her forehead before trailing soft, feather-light kisses down over her closed eyes; the tip of her nose; the apples of her cheeks and finally, to her lips.
When he pulled back he could see the wetness from his tears shining on her face, so he reached out to gently wipe them away, before pressing one more kiss to her lips.
"It's so good to see your beautiful face again," he told her, as he pulled the chair beside the bed in closer. "There was a time not so long ago, where I wasn't sure I ever would. I love you so much, Emma. And I can't wait to start the rest of my life with you when you wake up."
He leaned in to press another kiss to her cheek before pulling back to settle into the chair. Now that he had more access to the woman that he loved, he couldn't seem to keep his hands off her.
A soft knock on the door caught his attention, and Killian looked up just in time to see his mother poking her head into the room. "Is it okay to come in?" she asked. "I wanted to see just how beautiful my future daughter-in-law is, without all of those pesky tubes."
"She's so beautiful," Killian chuckled. "Inside and out."
Sinéad moved to stand on the opposite side of Emma's bed before she looked down at the young woman resting in it. Emma had fought so hard against the odds to be there with them that afternoon, and even thought she didn't know the girl well, Sinéad found herself feeling oddly emotional about the progress she'd made.
"She truly looks it," she told her son. "I'm so happy you've found someone, Honey. Even if it this part does hurt."
"Well… they say the best things in life are worth fighting for. And our future… together… that's definitely something worth fighting for."
Sinéad reached over the bed to squeeze her son's hand, before she turned her attention back to the young woman once more, to whisper, "Welcome to the family, Emma."
"Morning," Killian called out quietly, as he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen at the Nolan's home. "Good morning, Leo," he added, as he stopped to ruffle the little guy's hair on his way around the counter.
David had set his son up at the small table in the room, and Leo was busy playing with his trains. He looked up at the sound of his name to offer Killian a big smile and excited wave, before going back to making one long train out of the magnetic smaller ones he owned.
"Can I do anything to help?" Killian had been making the same offer every morning since the Nolans had taken him in, and every morning, David had the same reply waiting for him.
"Nah, I've got this."
So he poured himself a mug of coffee before taking a seat next to the youngest member of the family at the dining table.
"Okay, Leo. What are we doing here?" Killian asked, as the small boy immediately began pushing a handful of trains his way.
"Train," Leo declared excitedly.
Killian took that as his cue to begin running the vehicles around the table as he did his best impersonation of a steam train, while Leo laughed and tried to copy him.
By the time that Mary-Margaret had joined her family, breakfast had been served and the two men were busy making small talk about the weather. So when Killian's phone began to ring, cutting through the atmosphere in the small space, everyone stopped what they were doing to turn in his direction.
The number wasn't one he recognized, but he answered the call anyway with a tentative, "Hello?"
"Killian? It's Janet from the hospital."
His heart began to race as soon as she'd finished speaking. "What's happened?" he demanded. "Is Emma okay?"
David and Mary-Margaret's eyes widened with their alarm, as they both tried to make out what was being said on the other end of the line.
"She's fine," Janet reassured him. "I was just calling to let you know that we're moving Emma out of the ICU and down to a private room right now. Doctor Whale has spoken with the specialists in Boston and with their agreement, we're now preparing to start the process of waking Emma from her coma."
"Oh, thank god," he whispered. His relief in that moment was drowning out the rest of the feelings rushing around his body, as Killian slumped back into his seat. "Should uh… should we be there for that?"
"You can be, yes. We find having a patient wake with a loved one by their side is better for them than waking alone. But Killian, it's not an instant process," she warned. "So take your time, because it could take Emma days to wake up. She's been under strong sedation for a while now and she's still on a lot of medication to help manage her pain. Please don't worry if it takes her a few days to open her eyes again."
"I won't," he assured her. "I won't. I just… I just wanna be there when she wakes up."
David and Mary-Margaret both visibly relaxed at Killian's words as they realized what the call must have been about.
"I'm sure Doctor Whale will make an exception and allow you to stay with Emma while's she's going through this process, so pack a small bag to be safe. See you soon, Killian."
"Thank you, Janet. See you soon." He disconnected the call as soon as the line clicked off on her end, and a wave of calming relief washed over him. "They're waking her up," he told his friends. "It uh… it might take a few days for the medication to wear off, but they're finally waking her up."
Mary-Margaret stood from her place at the table to make her way around to the other side. She wrapped Killian up in a warm hug just as the relief that he felt in that moment turned to tears.
After placing a few calls that morning, everyone gathered once more inside the small waiting room at the hospital.
Ruby had sent messages to all of Emma's friends to let them know that the doctors would be starting the process of waking her that day, and that she would call when she had some more information for them.
Sinéad had phoned her husband to inform him of the latest developments taking place, and to make sure that he was surviving well enough without her being at home to take care of him. She suspected that he'd been living off takeaway food since he'd dropped her at the airport, so she also sent a quick message to her eldest son, begging him to invite his father around for at least one home cooked meal a week.
And then the two of them took their places on either side of Killian, as the wait began.
Whale allowed them all in to briefly visit Emma so that they could familiarize themselves with her new room, but after a few hours without any signs of change, the group began splitting once more so that they could go about their days as best as possible.
Ruby and Killian remained vigilant by Emma's side, watching closely for any signs of change in her behavior. But by the end of the first night, they were both feeling a little disappointed in the lack of progress that had been made.
While the logical sides of their brains told them that expecting Emma to wake immediately was unreasonable, they couldn't help but want it. They needed her to take that last step away from the darkness that she'd been under for so long, just to reassure themselves that she was actually going to recover from what had happened.
And the longer she made them wait, the more they began to worry that something might have gone wrong.
"This is all perfectly natural," Whale explained, as he made his way into Emma's room on day two, to check on her progress. "We used a medication called Midazolam to keep Emma sedated, as it has longer lasting effects than the alternatives. Midazolam is also a part of the Benzodiazepine family, which means that we need to wean Emma off the drug gently so that we don't end up sending her into withdrawal, as that could be fatal. Once we get her fully off the medication it will start to gradually wear off, allowing her to wake when she's ready. I know it's long, and I know it's a worrying process, but I promise you that as of right now, everything is going according to plan."
Killian tried to allow Whale's words to keep his spirits up. He tried to keep them at the very front of his mind, ready to ward off any of the worries that kept creeping in whenever he was alone.
But by the time day four rolled around without so much as a twitch from the woman that he loved, he was finding it harder and harder to stay positive. He really needed some kind of sign, any sign that Emma was still in there, and working her way back to him.
As the darkness slowly began to clear, the first thing she became aware of was the harshness of the lights in the room. She blinked once… twice… three times to try and clear the fog at the edges of her vision, as she tried desperately to recall where she was.
The last thing she could remember was a phone call. She had been talking to someone… a man! A man with a smooth and familiar accent… Irish! A man that she knew she loved greatly.
Killian!
She rolled her head around to check the room. It was cold and sterile looking. Nothing at all like the one she'd fallen asleep in. But as her head rolled back the other way, her eyes finally landed on a shock of unruly dark hair, resting by her arm on the bed.
Killian!
The name wouldn't come. Or it was spoken too softly for her to hear.
She tried swallowing around the dryness in her throat, but that only seemed to make the dull ache there more noticeable.
As the darkness began to close in once more, she did the only thing she could think to do.
With every fiber of her being, she focused hard on flexing her fingers around the ones holding on to her left hand tightly.
The darkness had just managed to pull her under when Killian bolted awake beside her, eyes wide with shock as he turned to look at the face of the woman he loved.
"Emma?" he asked.
The small twitch of her fingers in his hand was her silent reply, as the darkness swallowed her again.
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