In Chapter 1 you learned that Emma had lived in a beach house for several months before moving to Miami where she was going to start a new job at Bayside General. She left a note for the new tenant, Killian, who was left scratching his head over several things she mentioned.

Emma

Emma arrived at Bayside General bright and early for her first day of work. She reported to Human Resources and was given a pile of paperwork to complete, some forms in duplicate and triplicate, and once she had finished those she gave them, as well as copies of her medical school diplomas, medical license and malpractice insurance to Chip the human resources director. He had several other individuals who were also starting that day and a new group of medical students arriving, so he appeared a bit frazzled. Looking over the forms carefully, he asked her to sign in a couple of places she missed and then passed her along to Ariel.

Ariel led her to the doctor's lounge where she changed into scrubs, and then taking her lab coat and stethoscope with her she left her bag and street clothes behind. They then entered another office where she had her hospital ID made and instructions were quickly given of how and where she would be required to use it.

By the time she had finished, her head was spinning and she had no idea where she was and so when Ariel asked, "Did you get all of that?" What else could she say but, "I think so?" knowing that there was really no way she was going to remember all or even half of what she was told.

Seeing the alarm on Emma's face, Ariel took pity on her, "Hey don't worry about it. You'll be fine. It's a huge hospital with a lot of nice people working here so if you aren't sure, just ask. And my office is always open. Ok?"

Emma smiled at her, "Ok. It's just the places where I did my residencies were much smaller so all of this is a little overwhelming. Is there a road map?"

Ariel laughed, " You'd think so wouldn't you? But no, nothing really specific, just this," and she pulled out two pieces of paper, one that had all the floors labeled, such as ICU, maternity, surgery, etc and a second that showed the exit route in case of emergencies. "You've got your phone, right?" Emma nodded her head and pulled it out of her lab coat pocket. "Here's my number, if you have any questions, just send me a text. "Anything else?"

Emma thought about it for a few minutes, "I think I'm good. Just direct me to where I can find Dr Hopper and I'll be on my way." As Ariel was giving Emma instructions on how to find the ER, they walked past a sitting area that had a sofa and several large oversized chairs all looking out at a set of large windows that overlooked the Bay. She could see boats of all sizes and because it was a clear day, she could see up and down the shoreline.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" asked Ariel.

Emma looked at her new friend and grinned, "It is. How did you get so lucky to have such a great view?"

Ariel laughed, "Oh, believe me, those of us who work in human resources ask ourselves that every day. Normally the HR is set in the depths of the hospital, many times in the basements but since Florida is too close to sea level to have basements, we got lucky."

Emma hummed in agreement, "So if it's an extra crazy day and I need some peace and quiet, you'll find me here," she quipped.

As they arrived at the elevators, Ariel patted her on the back. "That's why they're there. We want our doctors to have a place to center themselves should they need it. Let me know if you need anything."

Only feeling a slight bit of trepidation, Emma rode the elevator down to the bottom floor, destination Emergency Room, and when the doors opened to chaos, after taking a deep breath she stepped off of the elevator and walked up to the nurses' station. Sitting behind the desk with several clipboards of paperwork in front of her sat her old friend Ruby Lucas. When Ruby looked up and saw who was standing there, she quickly dropped what she was doing, hopped up, ran around the desk and hugged her, after squealing, "Emma Swan, as I live and breathe.

Emma had never gotten used to Ruby's demonstrative behavior so it took her a few seconds before she started hugging her back. "Ruby Lucas. I almost didn't recognize you looking so respectable in your nurse's uniform."

Ruby smirked at her as she walked back around to take her seat again, "I know," she said in a petulant voice. "I did so enjoy hanging out in my bikini and short shorts." Then she flipped her hair back over her shoulder, looked up at Emma and they started giggling like they were still in high school.

"Ok, Rubs, enough acting like kids for a little while at least. I'm to meet Dr. Hopper down here." and she looked around to see several patients sitting in chairs, others on stretchers, and staff running in all directions.

Ruby's eyes got big. "Emma does that mean you're going to be working here? For real?"

Emma rolled her eyes, "For real. Dr. Hopper?"

Ruby looked past Emma just then, "Looks like you're in luck. There he is now."

Emma turned just as her mentor, Dr. Hopper walked up carrying an armful of files.

"Oh, Dr. Swan. Just in time." He handed her the files, "Follow me. You'll be handling these eight patients today plus anyone new who comes in." He said as they walked by an older gentleman laying on a gurney in the hallway. "Oh dear, this man is supposed to be down having a CT scan. I suspect intracranial hemorrhage so he needs to be seen right away. I've already ordered complete blood work on him, and those results were to be sent to radiology" he caught someone by the arm as they were walking by." Why is this man not down having his test?"

The nurse made brief eye contact with Emma and then lifted her shoulder toward Dr. Hopper, "Sorry Doctor, transport said it could be a couple hours."

"That's too long. Dr. Swan, please take Mr. French here to radiology and then give Neuro a call to consult. Ask for Dr. August Booth. I've got new medical students arriving any minute now" and with those instructions, he took off. Emma was left standing there with an armful of charts, a sick man who needed radiology and no clue where she could find either.

Thankfully the nurse took pity on her, "Sorry about that. I'm Ashley. First day?"

Emma wrinkled her nose, "How did you know?"

"I'm pretty sure it was the deer in headlights look," she giggled. "Here, let me help. I'll take these charts down and leave them with Ruby until you get back from taking Mr. French down to radiology." Pointing down the hall where there were a set of double doors, she said, "Go straight through the doors, hang a right then a left and a left, got that?"

"Got it, straight, right and two lefts, thanks" and placing Mr. French's chart under the gurney mattress, she started pushing him down the hall, stopping to use her ID on the set of doors, then taking a right, and a couple of lefts, she made it to radiology in no time. Leaving the patient with them she went back to find Ruby and ask her how to locate Dr. Booth.

Ruby was just hanging up the phone when Emma got back and when she heard whom Emma was supposed to contact, she whistled, " Well, look at you girly, you get to meet Bayside G's Dr. McDreamy" and she fluttered her eyelashes.

"Oh you, give me," and she held out her hand palm up and wiggled her fingers.

"Oh poo, you're no fun," picking up the phone, Ruby punched in the extension and handed it to Emma.

Emma waited for an answer on the Neuro Floor and then gave the nurse all the details she had on the patient and that he was currently in radiology. Once that was completed she picked up the charts that she had been given earlier, looked through the first few and started working her way through them.

After eight hours of watching her stack of files continuously replenish, she was shocked when she came out of the last room and discovered her pile of files had disappeared and it was quiet. Looking around for a place to sit so she could take off her shoes for a minute or two, she noticed that Ruby was no longer at the desk. "Change of shift?" she asked the woman standing with her back to Emma.

The new shift supervisor turned and smiled at her, "Look at you, doc, all grown up!"

Emma felt her eyes get really big and her mouth drop open, "Granny? Wow, keeping it all in the family?" Ruby's grandmother, the Widow Lucas, as she was known by some, but most called her Granny, smiled really big, stood up and walked over to Emma, gave her a quick hug hello and then guided her into a charting room, "Here sit down and rest your feet a minute. Chances are this lull won't last and I'm sure you've been here a long time."

Emma glanced at her watch, "15 hours or so, I think" and she plopped down on a chair and pulled off her shoes and groaned in ecstasy, " Oh that feels good. I need food. I've only had some stale crackers I found in my lab coat pocket since early this morning. Any bear-claws around?"

Granny just shook her head, "You need something healthier than that. I'll be back." And she bustled out of the room and disappeared around a corner.

While she was gone, Emma pulled her phone out of her pocket and saw that she had gotten a few texts, one from Mary Margaret and one from Ruby. She then scanned emails and her Facebook but saw nothing pressing. She sent a quick response to M&M that she was fine, just tired and after reading Ruby's text slipped the phone back in her pocket, saying a silent "Oh no"

Granny walked in just as she had put away her phone and based on the look on her face inquired about the message, "Bad news?" then handed her a turkey and cheese sandwich and a container of yogurt.

Emma thanked her and started eating. Between bites, she looked at Granny and said, " I'm not sure if you remember Belle French from high school? Well, earlier today I wheeled a gentleman down to radiology for a CT for a possible brain bleed and it turns out that's her dad."

Granny clucked sympathetically and looked out the door, "It's still quiet, why don't you run up and see if you can find Belle. She might need a shoulder. I'll text you if we need you."

"Thanks, that would be great." She quickly slipped back into her shoes, tossed the trash and went to find Belle.

It turned out that Belle was in the OR waiting room pacing back and forth, and when she saw Emma, she flew across the waiting room, "Anything?"

"Sorry Belle, no. I just checked and was told that things are going as expected. How long has he been in there?'

Belle glanced at the clock on the wall, "Only about an hour," she said and then grabbed hold of Emma's arm as her knees gave out.

Emma caught her and guided her over to sit down, "Have you eaten anything?"

Belle shook her head, "No I was too nervous to eat." She squeezed Emma's arm, "I was so sorry to hear about your dad."

Emma smiled at her, "Yea it's been a tough few months. I actually just got back into town. I've been renting a house on the beach in Key Largo but decided that a place closer to the hospital made more sense." As she said that her phone buzzed and glancing at the screen, she looked up at Belle, "Duty calls. I'll check on you later if I can." Squeezing Belle's fingers, she got up to see what awaited her in ER.

Hurrying back, Emma wondered what was in store for her. She had treated the flu, coughs, sprains, sent a couple of broken bones to orthopedics, several car accident victims to surgery and she still had another ten or so hours to go. With any luck, this next case would be a simple but interesting one. Once inside the department, after reading the chart, she looked at Granny and raised her eyebrows, "Really?"

Granny's blue eyes twinkled as she looked up at Emma, "Nurse Blue will assist you. "He's in room 3"

Emma looked at the woman that Granny had indicated was Nurse Blue, a rather austere looking lady who was standing there in her straight white dress, support stockings, and sensible shoes, "Lead the way." Following her down the hall, they entered room 3 to the smell of booze to see a portly man lying on a table on his stomach, bum in the air, the only thing preserving his dignity, a sheet covering his lower half. "Mr. Smee, I'm Dr. Swan. I understand you had a bit of an accident."

Mr. Smee giggled, "Igottahookinmyass," he said in slurred voice.

Emma looked at Nurse Blue as she slid on her latex gloves, and then slowly lifted the side of the sheet to reveal Mr. Smee's hairy behind with a wicked looking fishing hook embedded into his left cheek. Picking up a small syringe filled with lidocaine, she injected a small amount in several places around the wound. Then using some forceps, she carefully extracted the hook and dropped it into a shallow bowl. Blue applied gauze squares covered in betadine with a bit of pressure. Now that the hook had been removed she needed to get a better look, as she was sure a few stitches would be needed.

Through all of this Mr. Smee had lain quietly but once the gauze was pressed on the wound he started moving around. Emma put her hand on his arm, "Sir, you have to lay still. We aren't done back here. " While he calmed a bit, he was still pretty anxious but with all the alcohol in his system, she didn't want to give him any sedation. She was hoping the alcohol would cause him to relax, so far she hadn't been so lucky. "Mr. Smee, what's your friend's name? Maybe he can help me out."

"Names ugh Grumpy" he hiccupped.

Quietly so as not to get him excited, she asked Blue to go get Grumpy. As Blue slipped out, Emma shook her head at what she was thinking, but then asked anyway, "So Mr. Smee, how exactly did this happen?"

Feeling pretty good, he giggled again and then took a deep breath and began his tale. "Well," he started, "it was a beautiful day and me and Grumpy wanted to catch some fish. So we got our poles and some bait and some By Hook or By Crook beer," and he giggled again.

By this time Emma wanted him to get to the part where he told her how he hooked his ass but let him talk.

"Lots of By Hook or By Crook beer, and we headed to the pier. We'd been fishin and drinkin and well, the last time I went to cast my line it got stuck, so I pulled and that's when I knew, it was stuck in my ass," and then he giggled again.

As he was finishing his story, the door opened and Blue and Mr. Smee's friend Grumpy came in the room bringing with him the scent of outdoors as well as the scent of beer. Emma wished for better ventilation but since that wasn't possible, her plan was to get done and move them out as quickly as possible. "Mr. Uh Grumpy," she began and was then interrupted by said man.

"No Mr., doc, just Grumpy."

"Ok, Grumpy, I need you to help us keep Mr. Smee here," was all she could manage to get out this time before he interrupted her yet again.

"Just Smee doc, ain't no Mr. for him either."

Taking a deep breath, she looked at Grumpy with raised eyebrows silently asking if he had more to say, "Smee here," she continued, "as still as possible while we work on his wound. Can you do that?"

Grumpy looked at her like she had two heads, "You want me in here, while you're working on his ass?" he replied in a rather loud voice. "Are you nuts sister?"

"I might be but right now, you're needed." She moved a chair over close to Smee's head so Grumpy could sit down, pulled out a new set of gloves, moved the sheet aside and looked over at Blue, "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be doctor," she dead panned a hint of mischief in her tone. Blue picked up a razor but the minute she placed it next to the wound Smee started laughing again. "Sir, you need, to be still."

Smee glanced over his shoulder giving her a sheepish look, "it tickles."

Keeping a straight face was getting to be more difficult but somehow she managed, "Be still," she yelled feeling as though she was dealing with a little child and not a grown man.

He looked at Grumpy, "She's tickling my ass and we haven't even been on a date," and both cracked up until Grumpy saw the look on Emma's face and quickly sobered up.

Thankfully after that, they were both relatively cooperative and Blue was able to shave the area so Emma could take a few stitches and then bandage it. And because it was prepared, she picked up another syringe and gave him a tetanus shot. "You will need to keep this area clean, and take an antibiotic, but the stitches are dissolvable and should start dissolving after a week or ten days. Any questions?" He shook his head to indicate none. "Good, I'll have your prescription as well as a copy of care instructions waiting for you once you're dressed, just in case your memory isn't too clear in the morning."

Leaving Blue in the room to help him if needed, she opened the door and stepped into the hall taking a deep breath of clean air. After scribbling a note in the chart and writing a script, she handed the chart off to Granny, who handed her one for a new patient, and seeing the look on Emma's face, said, "Relax, this one isn't nearly as exciting.

Days turned into weeks and before she knew it February started and she had been employed for over a month. Daily she met more of the staff, including Victor Whale, who worked in the ER opposite her and was dating her friend Ruby. She rediscovered a closeness with her female friends that had been missing the past few years while in med school and completing her residencies and was happy to be back home.

After long shifts at the hospital, and wanting nothing more than to go home and crash she was glad she had moved into an apartment next door to her sister as M&M was able to walk and spend time with, Rumple. Interestingly enough one of the people she spent quality time with at the hospital was David Nolan, head of security, who just happened to be dating her sister. They had started dating while she was away and not knowing him well, she was happy to learn that he seemed to be a good guy. Emma was happy. She had her family close, a job she liked, good friends and her dog, Rumple. Life was safe, just like she liked.

Killian

Killian rolled over and glanced at the clock. He then bunched his pillow up, propped his chin on his hands and stared out the window waiting for the sun to rise over the horizon. That sight had been something he missed when his mum had taken him back to the UK. They had always been the early risers, often waking at the same time to walk down to the beach in the early light and then stand and stare out at the water as the sun slowly painted their world. When they came back up to the house they would make breakfast together and slowly Liam and father would trickle into the kitchen as the odor of bacon, sausage, eggs and fried bread filled the cottage. Father he thought, so formal. But that's what he was, Brennan Jones was father. Not papa or dad, but father. Very formal as he held himself aloof, a true reserved Englishman, whereas his mum, had been very soft, caring and loving. Sometimes at night he would step outside and he would smell jasmine. Oh, how she loved that smell.

Killian was happy being at the house on the beach and being close to his brother and father but he couldn't help but wish he could find someone to love. He knew what kind of woman he wanted, someone who had some of the traits that he so admired in his mum. He wanted a woman who was strong, but also able to ask for help if it was needed. One who was able to take care of herself but let him take care of her sometimes. One who challenged him mentally but also wasn't afraid to admit if she didn't know. He could picture her spirit but her looks remained elusive. He hoped she was here in the states as he had been a bit of a player while at the university and then more so after his mother passed. But he had reached an age where he was tired of meaningless sex. He knew what he wanted, the difficulty came with finding her. He hoped the fates would be kind to him.

Rolling out of bed he showered, dressed in old clothes and had a light breakfast. He had an idea of what he wanted to accomplish around the cottage before going into the office for a few hours. Basic repairs were mindless and letting his thoughts go, they bobbed all over. He was able to take care of the leaky faucet down by the beach and wash off the side of the house where mold had gathered after the rainy season. He carted in some wood for the fireplace that, while was needed infrequently in South Florida, did prove useful during the winter months along the shore.

The last job he planned on taking care of before he left was painting the spindles and the railing along the walk leading from the drive area to the front door. Time had not been kind to them and they had rusted completely. Thankfully before he moved back in, the caretaker had had the walk refinished a light peach color to match the house, so he was painting the railings Cobalt Blue, according to the label on the paint can, but his mum would say it perfectly matched his eyes. He wasn't sure about that but he did like the idea of thinking she would be happy with a color he picked out.

He had already sanded and primed so he just needed to place a tarp on the ground, pour the paint and he was ready to start. Deciding he needed a bit of music he went in, turned on his stereo and leaving the door open, set the speaker by it. Enjoying the warm day and the music, Killian had completed one side and was half way through the other when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking towards the drive, he saw a black and white dog just sitting there, looking at him. Killian looked around to see if the dog came with an owner, but seeing no one, looked back at the dog, "Well, hello there. Are you lost?"

The dog tilted his head as if to contemplate his answer, stood up and headed down the walk. Killian assumed the dog was coming closer to be pet so was totally surprised when the dog walked right past him, but not before stepping in and out of the paint tray, tracking footsteps up the walk to the door. After recovering from the shock, Killian jumped up and tried to stop the dog, yelling, "Stop! Stop!" but as the dog reached the front door, he didn't stop. He just looked over his shoulder and then trotted right into the house.

Killian started to follow the dog into the house and realized he was still holding a paintbrush so dropping it back into the paint tray he went looking for his new friend. His friend was making himself comfortable on the sofa when Killian found him, tongue hanging out and what looked like a smile on his face. "Come on, off the sofa," he patted his thigh, to try to get the dog to obey. The dog just ignored him and laid his head on the cushion as if to settle in for a nap. "Come on, you bloody critter, I need to leave." Killian walked toward the dog with the intention of removing him from the sofa but the dog had other ideas and the closer Killian got to him, the louder the dogs' growl became. "Bloody hell. You just stay there then."

Having never had a dog before, Killian wasn't sure what the next step should be so he went back out to finish painting. He cleaned his mess, showered and got ready to leave to meet Tink on the Schwan as she wanted his help on something, he wasn't sure what, but was willing to pitch in if needed. After showering he was surprised the dog hadn't been waiting outside the bath door and when he checked on him the little thing was curled up, fast asleep. Shaking his head, mostly at himself, Killian, pointed at that dog, "You win, this time." As he was picking up his keys to leave, he saw the letter and thought about the coincidence of her mentioning the paw prints, only to have a dog walk right through his paint today. "Coincidence, right?"

Tink and several others were already in the middle of tying ribbons, laying out assorted flower arrangements and setting up chairs when Killian arrived. "Ok, I'm here. What exactly are we doing?"

Tink sighed loudly, "Killian, I've explained this a couple of times, don't you ever listen?"

He reached up and scratched behind his ear, "Well," he started.

"Oh never mind. It's a wedding. This is February and a lot of people get married in February, so we are decorating."

Frowning slightly, he looked up at her, "But we are not booked to sail tonight or did I forget that too?"

"No, you didn't forget. The ship will stay anchored. They just want to get married here, as they met at a party on the ship a couple of years ago. Now get busy."

Killian gave her a long suffering sigh and started working the helium tank blowing up balloons for the women to work into several different decorations around the deck. He finished with the balloons and as he was turning to put the tank back in place, he knocked a cutting tool off of a shelf. As it hit the deck, a piece of wood flew, hitting him in his right cheek. Assuming that it was nothing, he reached up to brush off his cheek and realized, not only was it nothing but it had embedded itself in the fleshy part of his cheek. He opened his mouth, "Oh, sh... sugar."

Tink was walking by and heard him, and laughed, "Sugar? That the best you can do?"

Killian nodded his head toward the dock where a family was standing admiring the ship, and then moved his hand away from his face, "Little problem here, can you help?"

She saw the cute little kids looking up at the ship and smiled but then noticed the blood on Killian's hand and face. "What happened? Let me grab the first aid kit." Opening the kit, she quickly took the tweezers out and opened a package of gauze pads. Pulling the small piece out and covering the wound with the pad, "It looks like there are some splinters in there. Let's run to the Emergency room and get them to clean it out."

She drove them to Bayside General located just up the street from where the Schwan was docked and dropped Killian off at the Emergency Room door. Holding the pad in place, Killian could feel the blood seeping through and hurriedly walked up to the nurse's station to check in. A woman with long red hair and a flirtatious smile on her face took one look at him and summoned someone to take him into a room. Sitting there waiting for the doctor to arrive, Killian tapped his fingers impatiently. As the door opened and the doctor walked in, he smiled.

Thanks for reading. I'm sorry I left you with the 'what if' from the ER, but I couldn't resist. And the paw prints? Interesting, yes? I hope you enjoyed it.