A little accident
Foxy asked for a oneshot of…read and see.
Emma hadn't seen it coming. Unlike her parents, she wasn't quite an expert at dodging Hot Wheels in dangerous locations. That's how she ended up plummeting down the stairs. Neal came out when he heard the crash, and saw Emma lying in a heap at the bottom.
"Emma" The seven-year-old cried out, upset and scared. He did his best to help Emma sit up. "Are you ok?" He asked. The honest answer from Emma would be, no, she did not feel ok. She was pretty sure she'd done some severe damage, but she wasn't going to admit that. Especially not to Neal. Not when the first people he would tell would be their parents. The same parents who would then force Emma to go to hospital. The last place Emma Swan always wanted to be.
"I'm fine kid." Emma grunted. "Nobody needs to know about this." She told him. This troubled Neal.
"We need to tell mommy and daddy." He told her, not understanding why she didn't say to tell their parents. "You always have to tell mommy and daddy when you hurt yourself."
"No you always have to tell them." Emma corrected him. "I'm all grown up. They don't have to hear about this. Say…a bag of candy every day for two weeks plus two cinema trips says mom and dad don't hear about this?" Emma bargained with him. Neal thought for a moment. Well, if Emma said she was ok, then maybe mom and dad didn't have to know? He hadn't actually seen that, before he had run into the room, Emma had blacked out for a couple of seconds. If he had, Neal might have thought differently.
"Ok." He agreed. Emma smiled, reaching out and ruffling his hair, trying not to show how much the action made her shoulder ache.
Snowing arrived home as scheduled a few hours later. Emma did her best to act like everything was normal, but behind their backs, she couldn't hide the pain. All she wanted to do was go home and sleep this off, but she had agreed to stay for dinner. If she left early, they'd know something was up. Not that they weren't beginning to suspect something. Emma was doing her best to hide it from them, but they caught glimpses of her winces. They saw how she wasn't fully putting weight on her left side. They saw how she was avoiding walking any further than a few feet. Of course, Neal saw it even more than them. Emma wasn't aware he was watching her so closely.
Snow and Charming were so concerned, that they insisted that Emma stayed the night in her old room. They used the excuse of it being late and not wanting her to travel in the dark, but really, they just wanted to see what she was like in the morning. Neal, on the other hand, was more concerned with what she was like now. He snuck up behind her when she went up to her room to retire for the evening. He watched through the crack in her door as she rolled up her pantleg. He just stopped himself from gasping. Her leg was black and blue! Even Emma seemed surprised at how bad it was. She then pulled up her top to examine the damage there. Things were even worse on her torso. The area around her ribs was swollen, indicating that she had probably cracked a couple. Emma pulled the top down again. She would ride this out. She'd done things like this before. Neal, on the other hand, was going to put a stop to this. He didn't care what Emma was offering him. He only accepted that deal because he thought she was ok. She was clearly not ok! He went back downstairs to where his parents were watching TV together.
"Mom, dad." He said quietly. Charming put the TV on mute and both turned to Neal. It was clear immediately that something was wrong.
"What's up, son?" Charming asked him. Neal looked like he was about to cry.
"You know how I'm meant to tell one of you straight away if I've hurt myself?" He asked. They nodded. "Is Emma meant to as well?" Snow and Charming frowned.
"Neal, has Emma hurt herself?" They asked. Neal nodded. He explained how he found her in a heap at the bottom of the stairs. This alarmed Snow and Charming. They thought something was up, but they hadn't realised it was that bad. They both made their way up to Emma's room. She smiled when they came in.
"Hey guys." She said as normally as possible. "Sorry, I'm just bushed, I thought I'd try and get an early night…"
"Neal told us." Snow interrupted her. Emma looked at her little brother. He shrunk behind his dad. "Charming, can you two wait outside for a second?" Snow asked.
"Sure." Charming said, ushering Neal out of the room. When they were alone, Snow stood with her arms folded.
"Alright, show me the worst." Snow told her. Emma looked equally stubborn.
"I'm fine." She told her. Snow raised her eyebrows.
"Oh is that so?" Snow challenged her. "Then do a jumping jack." She ordered. Emma rolled her eyes.
"I don't have to start exercising to prove I'm fine. Neal just got a fright-"
"Emma, if you do not get out that bed this second and either show me the injuries or do a jumping jack I'm coming over there." Snow warned her. Emma rolled her eyes. She pushed back the blanket and pulled up her top.
"Happy?" She snapped. Snow came over. She winced. She was the furthest thing from happy looking at those wounds. She followed the bruises down, seeing they went beyond Emma's waist. She pulled Emma's pantleg up, and saw the bruising continued right down her leg.
"Emma." Snow sighed. "Charming, start the car. We're going to hospital!" She called.
"No." Emma whined. "This was exactly what I was trying to avoid."
"Well, unfortunately it's what you're getting. I just wish you told us earlier. Plus, Emma, poor Neal. He's been in such a state all evening. We thought you'd just given him into trouble for something. It wasn't fair dragging him into all this." Emma felt bad. She should have known better than to get Neal involved.
"You're right." Emma said quietly. "I just didn't want to end up going to hospital. I mean, once they hear you were unconscious for a little bit…"
"Unconscious?!" Snow shouted. Emma bit her lip. So they hadn't known that part. "Right, let's get moving. Whale needs to see you pronto."
A few hours later, Emma found herself bandaged up in Storybrooke General. Her parents had stuck around with Neal, waiting to hear the final verdict from the medical team. It appeared she would have to stay in overnight for observations because of the head injury. They all came in to say goodbye. Neal stayed at the end of the bed, worried Emma would be mad at him for going back on their deal.
"Guys, can you give Neal and I a second?" Emma asked.
"Sure." Charming said as he kissed her forehead. "We'll wait outside the room for you, buddy. Emma, we'll be back first thing in the morning to pick you up. Behave until then." He told her, knowing Emma's antics. He ruffled Neal's hair and the parents left the siblings to it.
"You were right all along, kid." Emma pointed out. "I should have told mom and dad I was hurt." Neal looked up at her.
"So you're not mad?" He gasped. Emma shook her head.
"No, I'm sorry, that's what I am. You were scared, and I could have stopped it. Can you forgive me?" Neal gently wrapped his arms around his sister.
"I forgive you, Emma." He promised her. Emma smiled, kissing his forehead.
"I'll see you tomorrow buddy." She said, watching him leave. Emma then settled back against the pillows. It was gonna be a long night.
