Sorry for the delay with this one. Our whole house has been sick over the last couple of weeks, so that's kind of set me back a bit.
"Emma? Sweetheart?" Killian rose from his seat to hit the call button behind her bed, before dropping back down to squeeze her hand tightly in his own. "If you can hear me, Emma - I love you. And I've missed you so much. Come back to me, okay? I need you here with me, Sweetheart. I can't do this without you."
Janet was the one who responded to his call, pushing into the room with a touch of worry in the corner of her eyes, as she quickly looked Emma over before asking, "What's wrong?"
"She's waking up," he explained, while the tears in his eyes began to spill down over his cheeks. "She squeezed my hand earlier. Twice. She's waking up."
Janet took a moment to assess the readings on the machines that Emma was still connected to, before she offered Killian's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "That's excellent news. I'm gonna go and let Doctor Whale know. It might take her a while to open her eyes, as the pain medication she's on will also act as a sedative. But this is good news, Killian. Keep talking to her, okay? It'll help to bring her around if she can hear someone familiar. Give her mind an anchor to cling to, as she tries to surface from underneath that fogginess pulling her down."
He nodded his agreement as she slipped back out of the room. Logically, Killian knew that Janet was trying to temper his expectations. Her words were a warning not to get his hopes up, because a small squeeze of the hand wasn't enough to say that Emma would be immediately waking from her coma. But it had been so long since he'd felt his girlfriend return any of his affections, that Killian couldn't help but feel excited about that one small development she'd made that evening.
"I'm not going anywhere, okay, Sweetheart? I'll be right here by your side all night. And for however long it takes for you to open those beautiful eyes again. Just take your time, Love. I promise, I'm not going anywhere."
He lifted her hand to his face, taking some comfort in the feel of her skin against his, and the gentle pressure of it resting against his cheek, before he lowered it back down to hold in his own once more.
With his free hand, Killian pulled out his phone to fire off quick messages to his mother, David and Ruby. Even with Janet's words still ringing in his ears, urging caution, he couldn't bring himself to keep such an important development from them. Especially when he knew how much that small sign of consciousness would mean to them all.
When he was finished, instead of sliding the device away, he decided to put Janet's advice to some use. It didn't take him long to download the Kindle app to his phone, or to search for some of Emma's favorite books. She'd been reading one in particular, on her flight to and from Chicago all those weeks earlier. So Killian opened the first novel in that series, and began to softly read it aloud to her.
Even if Emma still needed some time to recover before she could open her eyes for him, he hoped that at least hearing someone familiar speaking, would help her to feel safe, when her consciousness began to return.
The sound of his voice filling the small space, as he made his way through chapter one of the book, was oddly comforting. Killian hadn't realized until that moment just how much he'd grown to hate the silence that had lingered in Emma's room, since her pelvic surgery. It only seemed to amplify the noise of the machines that beeped out their steady rhythms. Steady rhythms that had once comforted him, and now felt like their own form of cruel torture.
So that evening, Killian made a silent promise to himself - to never let that silence linger for long, whenever they were alone again.
"Killian," Ruby whispered softly, as she shook the guy's shoulders to gently rouse him the following morning. "Hey. Has there been any change at all?"
"Uh, no," he told her, as he tried to shake off the haze of sleep that was making his mind a little slow. "Nothing more since then."
He'd kept Emma's hand held firmly in his own all night, just to make sure that he'd know if she tried squeezing it again. But there had been absolutely no change in her lax grip, and he wasn't sure when he'd lost his battle with exhaustion.
"But it's still a good sign, right? I mean, that's better than what we had before."
"Yeah," he agreed, as he reached up to brush the hair away from his girlfriend's face. "It's definitely a good thing. Janet said it will take her a while to shake off all of the medication. So hopefully what happened last night means that she's working her way back to us."
Ruby watched the actor interact with Emma for a brief moment. Killian's actions were always so soft and tender towards her friend, and it never failed to leave her a little breathless at the thought of just how much he loved Emma. There was nobody else in the world who was better suited to be her best friend's partner in life. Of that, Ruby was certain.
"Would you uh… would you like some coffee? Or maybe something to eat?" she asked, around the lump that had formed in the back of her throat. "I kinda get the feeling that you're not planning to leave this room today. So I can ask Granny to bring something over for you, when she comes by?"
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble; that would be great, thanks."
"Of course. I'll let her know and then I'll be right back up. I just want to check in with Victor quickly. He's been almost as reluctant to leave this place as you've been." Ruby bent over to brush a small kiss to her friend's forehead, and then turned to place an identical one to Killian's cheek, before she left the room to search for her boyfriend.
As soon as the door swung shut behind her, Killian turned his full attention back to the beauty sleeping peacefully in the bed. "Good morning, Sweetheart," he whispered, leaning in to brush the softest of kisses over her lips. "I hope that while you're sleeping you're having pleasant dreams. I know that some people say they don't dream at all while they're in your condition, and others say that all of their dreams are nightmares. But… you've suffered so much already, my love. You deserve to be having the sweetest of dreams while you rest and recover from this attack. I just… I wish I could make that happen for you. I feel so helpless right now, Emma. I just want you to wake up and tell me what I can do, so I can help make this easier for you. I just wanna help you."
He took a moment to dash away the tears that were building in his eyes.
"I um… I don't know if you can hear me right now, but I really hope that you can. I hope that the sound of my voice is providing you with some sort of comfort, Emma. I mean, you always did have a thing for my accent," he chuckled, before scrubbing another harsh hand over his face. "I just… I just really miss you, my love. I miss you so much."
He dropped his head back down to the bed to rest beside her own, as he waited for the others to make their return. It wasn't quite the same as being able to hold the woman he loved while she slept, like he'd done so many times in the past. But he would take whatever he could get, while she was still so fragile.
And after seeing those small signs of her waking from the night before, Killian wanted to be closer to his love than he had ever been before.
He finally pulled himself together when there was a soft knock on the door to the room, followed by Mary-Margaret's arrival.
"Is it okay to come in?" she asked, her eyes dropping down to take in Emma's prone form on the bed. Killian spotted the moment that she realized her friend hadn't moved, as the hope she wore on her face seemed to fade just a little. But she covered it quickly as she asked, "No change?"
"No," he sighed. "I really thought that last night meant she was waking up. But now… I'm starting to wonder if maybe it was just a muscle spasm? I mean, that's what tends to happen in the movies, right?"
His friend made her way slowly into the room, pausing at Emma's side to drop a kiss to her forehead, before she continued around to take the seat next to the one that Killian was sure would have an imprint of his arse on, when Emma finally left the hospital.
"She is waking up, Killian. She is. We just need to be patient and let her body recover at its own pace. But she's definitely coming back to us. I think that's why she reached out to you last night. She knew that you needed a sign from her then, more than ever before. And she gave you one. Just to let you know that she's still here, and to never stop hoping that she'll come back to you."
"Emma always did say that you were good at inspirational speeches," Killian chuckled, as he reached for Mary-Margaret's hand with his free one, to squeeze it softly. It was his own way of thanking her for reminding him never to give up, even if he could feel that hope slowly slipping out of his grasp.
"Well, I am a teacher," she explained with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "If I can inspire six year olds to clean up after themselves, I can certainly help remind you not to lose hope."
Killian smiled a little at his friend's words. He so badly wanted to believe what she was saying to him. That Emma would soon wake up, and they could finally begin to put this nightmare behind them all. But he'd been fighting back the cold dread that told him that Emma would leave him for good, ever since Ruby had explained what had happened to her. And it was exhausting. Killian could feel the grip he had on his own battle with the darkness slipping away from him, with every day that passed.
"David's on his way," Mary-Margaret added after a moment. The silence in the room seemed to amplify Emma's missing presence in it, and it had left them both feeling a little awkward over the past few days. "He uh… he's meeting with the team from Boston before he comes here. They have a couple of updates for him on how their investigation's been progressing. But nothing solid yet, unfortunately."
"They're relying on Emma to identify her attacker," he mumbled sadly. Because even though Roberts had refused to say as much, Killian knew that their lack of physical evidence left them with no other choice but to rely upon his girlfriend's recount of that night, to steer them in the right direction.
"Yeah. I think so," his friend agreed. "Ruby said she spoke with Victor about it a few days ago. He doesn't seem to think that Emma will be able to remember what happened to her."
"Good," Killian stated firmly. "She's gonna have enough to deal with when she wakes up. The last thing she needs is memories of what happened to her plague her nightmares."
"You're not worried about this guy never being caught?"
"Of course I am. But if catching him means putting her through more pain and suffering than she's already been through… I don't want that. As much as I wanna find this guy and slowly watch the life drain out of his eyes, as I strangle him with my bare hands… I just don't want her to suffer anymore. She's been through enough already."
Mary-Margaret squeezed his hand gently between her own. She knew just how much Killian wanted the person responsible for this senseless attack brought to justice, because she felt it too. The rage that was building inside of her, every time she thought about him walking around her town freely, while Emma was confined to a bed as she recovered from her injuries, terrified her a little. But seeing Killian's love for Emma, and his desire to protect her, winning out over his selfish urge to see justice served, warmed her heart.
She couldn't have asked for a better partner for her friend, than the man who was currently sat by her side.
"You're a good man, Killian."
He blushed a little at her compliment while he muttered a thanks into his lap. But he was saved from the embarrassment of the situation as Ruby and Granny made their entrance, carrying food and coffee for everyone, with his mother not far behind them.
"So, she's doing okay?" Robin asked, as Killian paced just outside of the entrance to Storybrooke General, three days later.
There had been no further signs of Emma waking since she'd squeezed his hand that night. Mary-Margaret had suggested that he should get out of the hospital for an hour to clear his head a little, when it became apparent just how frustrating he was finding the lack of developments. Killian hadn't wanted to go too far, though. He was determined to be there for the woman that he loved, when she finally woke from the horrible nightmare it felt like they'd all been trapped inside of. But he had to admit that the fresh air was doing him some good, even with Robin asking stupid questions on the other end of the line. It was at least helping to ease the headache that had formed on the flight over from Vancouver, after he'd gotten Ruby's call all those weeks before.
"As okay as someone who's been shot three times, and had numerous surgeries since then, can be," he snapped back.
Robin chose not to say anything about the tone that his friend had used, but he didn't really need to. Killian was already feeling bad about what he'd said, and the way that he'd said it.
"I'm sorry," he sighed, as he brought a hand up to run through his hair. "I just… I know they told us not to get our hopes up. And I tried not to. I really did. But… every day longer that she stays asleep makes me worry that she's never gonna wake up again. And I'm terrified of that reality, Robin. What the hell will I do if she doesn't wake up from this?"
"Hey! You can't think like that," Robin chided. "You said it yourself, she's showing signs of coming around. You just need to be patient and wait for that to happen. Her body's been through a lot. It's only natural that she's gonna need some time to have the energy to open her eyes again. I mean… just think about how you feel after a night of heavy drinking. It used to take me hours to wake you the next day, and that's like a scratch on the arm compared to everything that Emma's currently going through. Just be patient, Killian. And whatever you do, don't lose that hope. Because she's really gonna need someone she loves and trusts to turn to, when she finds out what's happened to her."
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right," he agreed, as he sagged back to lean against the wall behind him. "It's just tough somedays, you know?"
"Oh, I do." There was a moment of tense silence over the line before Robin added, "I um… I tried to imagine how I'd feel in your position, if it were Marian who had been hurt. And I just couldn't. My brain didn't even want to contemplate a hypothetical reality where something like that could happen to the person I love. So I uh… I know it's tough, Man. But you're doing the right thing being there with her. For both of you."
"Thanks." Killian let another small silence settle over the line before he eventually asked, "How have things been on set?"
"Odd," Robin chuckled. "I think we all got far too used to having you around here, that now you're not, we don't really know what to do with ourselves."
His friend chuckled a little before he offered up, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Every single one of us agrees that you're exactly where you need to be right now. And that we wouldn't have hesitated to do the same thing in your shoes. So don't apologize for that. We're focusing on shooting scenes that you weren't scheduled to be in right now, while the writers try and come up with a way to explain Hook's absence. But we're all hoping that you'll be back soon, because that will obviously mean Emma's feeling better."
"Thanks, Man. And I'm uh… I'm sure they'll come up with something soon. I mean, look at all the crazy shit they've done so far."
"That's true," his friend snorted. "Very true. Have you um… have you given any thought to putting out some kind of statement for the fans?" he wondered. "Just to explain your absence from set. Because they've definitely noticed it."
"To be honest with you Mate, I haven't really thought about doing much," Killian told him. "I um… I really don't want this to be the time where I shine a spotlight onto my relationship with Emma. She deserves a chance to recover without having people up in her business, because of her connection to me. And I'm worried that it won't take much for them to work out who she is, if I tell them the truth."
"Then maybe just issue a blanket statement saying that there's being a family emergency that's pulled you away?" Robin suggested. "It would probably work well enough to give you some privacy while you're with Emma, but it would also stop the fans from worrying that you're never coming back. You know how fandoms can get. Someone will find a way to spin this into some big feud with the network, or with one of your costars, and make you look like the bad guy in all of this."
Killian hadn't even thought about that. He'd been struggling to remember to eat and drink every day, so protecting his professional reputation had definitely been low down on his list of priorities. But now that Emma was showing signs of being in recovery, he knew that it was probably something that he should give some more thought to.
"What?" Robin asked, when his friend let slip a bitter chuckle over the line.
"I was uh… I was just thinking about what Emma would want me to do. She'd hate the thought of me being away from set because of her. And she'd hate me doing anything that could jeopardize my career too. The perk of dating a fangirl is that they really are your number one fan. She'd know what to do right now."
"Well, maybe that's your answer," Robin advised. "Think about what Emma would want you to do, and do that."
"You make it all sound so simple."
"Sometimes it is. But whatever happens, whatever you decide to say, or not to say, just know that everyone here has your back right now, Killian. We're all thinking of you guys."
"Thanks, Man. I really appreciate that."
"No worries. Now, why don't you go and get back to your girl?" Robin hinted. "I'm being called back to set, and I know you're probably already missing her. Just… call me when she wakes up, okay? I know that Emma and I didn't get off to the best start in our friendship, but that definitely doesn't mean that I don't care about her."
"I will do. Take care, Robin."
"You too."
Killian disconnected the call as soon as his friend had finished speaking, but he didn't move to head back inside immediately. While being apart from Emma hurt his heart in a way that he would never be able to explain, being around her clouded his mind, filling his head with thoughts of her, and only her. So while the conversation was still fresh in his mind, he took a moment to think through his options, and more importantly, what Emma would encourage him to do.
When he finally decided to head back inside, it was with a plan beginning to form at the back of his mind, as he tapped out a quick email to send to his agent.
Even with all of the inspirational speeches that he'd been given since he'd arrived in Storybrooke, Killian was beginning to feel his grasp on hope slipping through his fingers, as another day dragged by without so much as a flutter of Emma's eyelashes.
When he said goodnight to his friends that evening, rock bottom felt closer than it ever had before. Every day without another sign from Emma had him worrying that he'd dreamed the entire thing, in his desperation to have her back by his side once more.
But even his fading hope couldn't stop him from talking to her.
Every night, when they were alone again, Killian would tell her about everything that had happened while she'd been sleeping. When he was finished with his tales, he would read from the Storybrooke Mirror, to try and keep her up to date with what was going on in town. And when he'd exhausted that, he'd turn back to her favorite novels.
On the nights when he couldn't face the cheesy romance from some of the books he'd downloaded, he'd find himself singing to her. Sometimes it was just humming the tunes that had been playing in the café, when he'd gone down to try and clear his head a little. They'd lodge themselves inside of his mind, and humming them back to Emma felt like a way of sharing more of his day with her, even if she didn't understand why.
Other times it was songs he'd grown up listening to, or that had always made him think of her. Killian did anything he could think to make sure that when she did wake up, she'd know that she wasn't alone.
So as he made his way around her room that evening, cleaning up from the day, he hummed along to a couple of the songs that had been on his mind for a while. It was nice to keep busy, even if all he was doing was stacking magazines and papers, and pushing away chairs. It gave him a small sense of purpose, and helped him to stop dwelling upon the hopelessness that was rapidly filling him with every minute that passed.
"K… Ki… Killian?"
The magazines in his hand fell to the floor with a soft rustle, as he turned back to face the woman resting in the bed. Her eyes were still shut, but there was definitely something different about her.
"Emma?" he whispered back, before jogging the short distance over to her bedside. "Oh my God. Emma, Love? Can you hear me?"
When his hand found hers, she gave the tips of his first two fingers a gentle squeeze, and Killian wanted to weep with the relief that was busy flooding his system in that instant.
"Oh, Sweetheart. I'm here. I'm right here," he promised her, as he leaned in to brush a firm kiss to her forehead. "Can you open your eyes for me, Love?"
Killian lifted her hand to his lips to brush a series of soft kisses across her knuckles, as he watched her face closely. It took her a moment, but the gentle flutter of her lashes as she worked hard to blink her eyes open, was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
"Oh, Emma," he sobbed. "I've missed you so much, my love."
She turned her head painfully slowly until her left cheek was resting against her pillow. But all of her focus was on the man who sat beside her bed, crying soft tears while he watched her every move like a hawk.
"Are you in any pain?" he worried, as she struggled to keep her eyes open.
"T.. thr… throat," she croaked out.
Killian watched as she made to move her right arm, and then stopped suddenly when a look of agony twisted over her face.
"Hey, hey, hey," he soothed, reaching out to run a gentle hand over her hair. "It's okay. It's okay, Love. You don't have to move. I'm um… I'm gonna go and get a doctor. I don't want to give you anything that could hurt you right now. But I'll be right back, Emma. Don't go back to sleep just yet, okay?"
Emma nodded her head slowly as she allowed her eyes to slide closed once more, while Killian forced himself to let go of her hand and stand up. Even then, it took him a moment longer to get his feet to move over towards the door, and away from the woman that he loved.
Thankfully, when he poked his head out of the room, the first person he saw was nurse Janet, and she met his gaze with a small smile.
"Emma's awake," he told her softly. The tone of his voice was a complete contrast to the relief and happiness that was practically bursting from the seams of his body, looking for a way out of him. "But her throat hurts her. Can I uh… can I give her some cool water?"
"I'll call Doctor Whale for you now," she assured him. "Don't do anything until he gets here."
"I won't," Killian promised, before closing the door to make his way back over to Emma's side. She still had her head turned in the direction of his chair, but with her eyes closed he couldn't tell if she'd fallen back to sleep, or if she was just resting.
"Emma?"
Those beautiful green eyes slid open sluggishly, and he sank back down into his seat with the widest of smiles breaking over his face. Killian reached out a tender hand to run gently over the side of her face, as he pushed those last few errant strands of hair back behind her ear.
"Doctor Whale's on his way," he told her. "Can you stay awake for me until he gets here, Sweetheart?"
Emma nodded her head slowly once more, like the movement itself was difficult for her to perform. But it didn't stop her from turning her face into the hand that was resting gently against the side of her neck.
"I love you. I love you so much," he whispered, as he pressed another kiss to the back of her hand. "I love you, Emma."
Killian only pulled his eyes away from her face when Doctor Whale pushed into the room. The way his coat was billowing out behind him gave away the urgency with which he'd been moving, even as he kept a straight face.
"Hey there," he sighed, as he took in her open eyes and change of position. "It's good to see you again, Sheriff. You've had a lot of people worried for a very long time."
Emma said nothing, but she did turn her head back slowly to face the ceiling, as the doctor made his approach. Whale took a moment to check over the monitors that were still attached to various wires on her body, before he moved in a little closer to run a few simple tests.
Killian kept his gaze entirely focused on Emma while Whale worked. He didn't want to get in the doctor's way, but he couldn't seem to keep himself from her side. So he focused instead on pressing soft kisses to the back of her hand, and squeezing her fingers gently, whenever she worked up the strength to squeeze his back.
"Okay," Whale finally declared, "Everything's looking good so far, Emma. Your fiancé tells me that your throat is feeling a little tender, so I've sent one of the nurses to grab you some water to sip on. It's probably going to take a while for that feeling to pass, but it will do eventually. I promise."
Emma nodded her understanding in her own sluggish way, and the doctor relaxed a little at the sight of it.
"Do you know where you are?" he asked softly.
"H… hos… hosp..."
"That's right," Whale interrupted for her. He didn't want her to use her voice any more than she needed to, and he already knew where her answer was going. But he had a few basic questions that he would need her to answer, before he could leave the lovers to enjoy their reunion. "And do you know what year it is?"
"T.. twe… twenty… six…"
"Sixteen," he finished for her. "Well done, Emma. You're doing really well. And I'm so sorry to make you answer these right now. Last one for me tonight, and then I'll let you get some rest, okay?"
Emma nodded her head even as her eyes slid shut once more.
"Do you know why you're here?"
Both Whale and Killian seemed to hold their breath as they waited for Emma's answer. When it came, it was in the form of a gentle sway of her head, as one single tear escaped from her left eye.
"It's okay," Killian jumped in to assure her. "It's okay, Emma. Everything going to be okay, Sweetheart. I promise."
He lifted her hand back to his mouth to press more kisses to it, hoping that she would take some form of comfort from them, as he watched her struggle to come to terms with everything that she must be feeling, now that she was awake.
Whale reached out to squeeze his friend's shoulder gently in solidarity, as he cleared the lump in his throat to tell her, "It's alright, Emma. We can cover this in more detail when you're feeling up to it, okay? Right now, I just need you to focus on getting better for me. The rest can come later."
Emma nodded her head once to show that she'd heard him, before she turned it away again, likely to hide her tears.
"I'll leave you guys alone for the night. Use the call button if you need anything."
Killian hesitated for a moment, his eyes flicking between the doctor already moving towards the door, and Emma in the bed, before he stood up suddenly. "I'll be right back," he whispered to his girlfriend, before following Whale from the room.
When the door was just an inch away from being shut behind him, he reached out for Whale's arm, and turned the guy back to face him as he asked quietly, "What about her injuries? Doesn't someone need to explain them to her?"
"Yes. And I will," he promised. "She's just woken up and she knows that something's happened. But right now, her mind is probably a chaotic mess trying to take everything in, as its fights off the last of the sedation. I'm not gonna add to that tonight. Especially when there's no guarantee that she'll actually remember what we say to her right now. It can wait a little longer until she's more aware of what's going on around her."
"Okay," Killian agreed. Because now that Emma was awake, he knew that the next hurdle to cross would be explaining all that had happened to her. And deep down, Killian knew that seeing her reaction to everything that she had lost, would hurt more than anything else that had come before it. "Thanks, Victor. For everything."
"You don't need to thank me," the doctor assured him. "I'm uh… I'm just gonna go and call Ruby so she can spread the good news to everyone. But I'm on shift all night. So if you need me, have Janet call me."
As soon as Whale turned to head down the corridor, Killian span on his heels to make his way back to Emma's bedside, with Janet only a few steps behind him. Emma had her head turned and her eyes closed, but he could tell that she was still there.
He didn't know how, but Killian could feel it in his gut.
"Welcome back, Sheriff" Janet offered softly, as she placed a small plastic cup onto the table at the side of the room, along with a jug of water and a few straws. "Take small sips for me, okay? We missed having you around."
Emma nodded her head gently to show that she'd heard the nurse, but she didn't attempt to say anything else. Not that anyone had expected her to. So as Janet excused herself from the room with a relieved smile, Killian poured a small glass of water and slipped one of the straws into it, before bringing it around to Emma's side.
He debated for a moment about where to position himself, before perching precariously on the edge of her bed, just above her hips, as carefully as he could. Emma gave no sign of being in pain from his movement, so he took that as a good sign.
"Do you wanna face forward for me here, Love?" he asked, as his free hand moved to smooth her hair back once more. "I don't wanna spill this all over you."
Emma offered him her very first smile of the day as she gently rolled her head back around, before forcing her eyes open once more to look up at him.
"You're so beautiful," Killian told her, allowing his fingers to stroke tenderly along her jawline. "I've missed that smile."
She did her best to offer him another one, as he gently slipped his hand behind her head to lift it from the bed, and then raised the cup to her mouth. It took a moment for the two of them to combine their movements in order for Emma to suck the straw between her lips, but once she had, he could see the relief those first few sips brought to her.
"Does that feel a little better?" he asked, keeping his gaze firmly fixed on his love, while he gently eased her back down to the bed, before sliding the cup safely onto the table behind him.
"Yeah," Emma whispered softly, and Killian found his smile brightening once more at the sound of it.
There was a moment of silence between the two of them, as they each took some time to study the face of the person they loved most in the world. But it was shattered when Emma finally spoke again.
"Wha… what ha… happened?"
"You were hurt on duty," he told her simply. "But try not to worry about it just yet, okay? Doctor Whale will explain everything when you're feeling a little better, Sweetheart."
Emma nodded her understanding while her fingers reached out for his hand, where it was resting against the bed. Killian tangled them together without a second thought, as he brought his other hand back up to gently stroke the hair that framed her face.
"I love you."
"You… too," she mumbled back quietly.
He leaned in until her eyes met his, before he closed the distance between the two of them to brush the lightest of kisses to her lips. It had felt like so long since she'd last returned his affection, that when he felt her move under him, he couldn't hold back the tears that had been gathering at the corners of his eyes.
Killian pulled back after only a few seconds, careful to not overwhelm her. But he needn't have worried. Emma took a moment longer to open her eyes, but when she did, she asked, "Is tha… all you got… Jones?"
His sharp bark of laughter was so loud in the silence of the room, but it brought a small smile to his love's lips once more. And as far as Killian was concerned, that was the only thing that mattered.
"When you're out of this bed, I'll show you what else I have," he promised. But he did lean in to brush another kiss over her lips, before moving off the bed to sit beside it again.
Emma seemed to be fighting hard against the pull of sleep, and as much as he wasn't quite ready to let her go again, he also didn't want her to suffer any more.
"Close your eyes, Love. I'll still be here when you're ready to open them again."
"Promise?" she asked. But her voice was beginning to slur from her exhaustion, making the word hard to get out, and even harder to understand.
"I promise. I love you, Emma."
"You… too," she whispered back, as she finally let her eyes slide closed once more, and allowed the darkness to claim her again.
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