X Marks the Spot

Chapter Twenty-Three

Meanwhile…

Like she promised her daughter, Snow remained in the hospital with Killian to watch over him for her. With it being late into night… early morning really, the hospital was eerily quiet as most of the staff had gone home. Only Dr. Whale and the two fairies working as nurses under him stayed on duty. However, they kept themselves busy with their other patients and additional work. Snow occupied her time by talking and playing with Neal after having been asleep all day and by talking to the unconscious man whom she knew would one day become her son-in-law as Emma had done for him earlier, like she had done for her husband during the days of the dark curse.

Snow picked up her son again after Emma left to confront the man responsible for hurting Killian, holding Neal in her arms for awhile as he played with his mother's fingers and laughed when she tickled him and made funny faces and noises. Eventually his attention was drawn to Hook and his mother sat him up in her lap, then turned Neal around to face outward so that he could better see the man lying in the bed before them.

Neal reached out and patted Killian's hand before he began to play with the rings he wore, then Snow spoke to him saying quietly, "You know Killian very well, don't you? You love playing with him whenever we go over to visit with your sister because he makes you laugh sometimes even better than your father and I can."

Neal looked up at his mother for a moment as he smiled and laughed, then he turned back to playing with his hand while Snow continued, "Killian enjoys telling you stories about his many adventures, minus the scary parts of course. And I'm sure that you'll have a lot of fun with him when you grow a little older as he takes you out on the Jolly Roger to teach you all about sailing and navigating the stars just like he did for Henry too."

"He's going to be just fine as soon as your sister takes care of the bad men who hurt him," she said again when Neal began to reach out to try to touch Killian's face, then patted his cheek and arm as if he was trying to wake him up.

"I really hope that you prove me right, Killian," the Princess whispered when she turned her eyes to his face. "Emma needs you. In fact, we all need you. You're a part of our family and you have been for a long time now. You don't really think we would all travel to the Underworld for just anyone, do you? My husband might not be so quick to admit it, but even he thinks of you as a brother too. I'm certain of it. Though when you someday marry our daughter, which I don't doubt that you will, you'll actually become our son. That just seem strange to me, but… I guess it is what it is. Keep fighting, Killian. Please…"

Before she could finish, the machines surrounding them began to wail as Snow immediately grabbed Neal to pull her son away from Killian and took a few steps back in fear when his body suddenly seized. His face then scrunched up in pain as drops of blood began to trickle down from his nose, while more blood seeped out from a deep wound in his shoulder, a wound that mysteriously appeared because of the curse.

After she snapped out of her shock upon seeing the man her daughter loved when his condition took a dangerous turn for the worst, Snow screamed for help while Whale rushed into the room and over to Hook, then the doctor began to work on him as he momentarily glanced back at her asking, "What exactly happened? The blood… How was he stabbed?"

The Princess looked at him with surprise as she stated, "Stabbed? I don't… Killian wasn't stabbed. He's just been lying here still unconscious while I was talking to him and my son. No one has been in here, but us except for Emma who left a short time ago. How could he have been stabbed, not to mention everything else unless…"

"Unless it was Gold's curse that caused this," she added when it donned on her that it was likely he was being attacked in one of Black Beard's memories somehow. "How bad is it? Can you stop it?"

"I told you all before, I've done the best that I can," Whale replied curtly as he finished cutting away the cloth of the hospital gown the nurses had changed him into when he was first brought in that was covering the wound, clamping his other hand over the wound in order to stifle the blood flow until he struggled to get a better look at it. "As far as I can tell, the wound is deep. I think I can patch it up, or I will the best that I can. But Snow, I don't know how much longer he can hold on. I may still be able to place him into an induced coma to try to help him a little more, but Emma was already afraid of him not coming back out of it and his chances now have definitely diminished."

All of a sudden, Emma rushed into the room upon seeing the doctor standing over Killian and raced to his side, then she saw the blood that was now covering his chest and shoulder as she fearfully cried out, "What the hell happened? Killian!"

Snow held Neal in one arm, while she reached out with the other to try to pull her daughter back and then answered worryingly, "He's getting worse. The curse has done this somehow… whatever's happening to him. It's like he's being injured by what he's seeing in the memories. But of course I don't really know. Did you find out what you needed to know to save him from Gold?"

The nurses then rushed into the room to assist the doctor with helping Killian and Snow once again pulled Emma back until they were both out of the room altogether so that the medical staff could work without them being in the way. The Savior didn't really fight her, but she refused to turn away as she kept her eyes on Killian's still form the best she could despite those helping him blocking her view.

"Emma, did you hear me?" Snow tried asking her daughter again even though she could tell that she was in greater shock than she had been moments ago. "Hey… hey… Look at me. It's going to be all right. Emma, just focus on me."

"What did you find out from Gold?" her mother asked once more when Emma finally turned away and looked into her eyes.

Emma breathed in heavily and let it out, then she finally responded angrily, "He told me we need to talk to Black Beard. Gold gave Killian's hand to him so that we wouldn't be able to find it. Is he any closer to waking?"

Snow shook her head, but Whale walked out from the room after he managed to stabilize Hook once again and allowed the fairies to take over for him as they worked to bandage the wound, then having heard Emma ask about the other pirate, he spoke up saying, "The pirate's fever broke about forty minutes ago, but he's still unconscious. And just before I ran in here to help save Hook, something very similar happened to him. The strange thing is that there was no wound in his shoulder where his blood was seeping from. He's only lost a lot of blood. Hook and Black Beard are definitely being effected by what they're seeing, but the affects to their bodies are different, for some reason that I still don't understand. Black Beard's getting stronger, while Hook is only worsening. But Black Beard needs time to…"

"Killian doesn't have time!" Emma shouted as she brusquely cut the doctor off. "Not if all this is happening to him. And I won't let him continue to suffer if there's something more I can do to save him. You said Black Beard's going to be fine. Surely there's something you can give him… a drug that will wake him so he can tell us where he's hidden Killian's hand."

"His hand?" the man stated strangely as he looked between the two women still standing in front of him. "Oh, you mean his missing hand? I wondered how Rumpelstiltskin was doing this. Look, normally I wouldn't agree with waking anyone before their bodies and minds were ready to wake on their own. However, because these are extenuating circumstances and he's Hook's only chance to survive, I'll do it. I do have something. He'll be pretty out of it at first and maybe for a little while afterwards, but eventually you should be able to wake him enough to answer your questions. I'll go get what I need."

After Whale walked away from them, Emma turned back to Killian and made a move towards the room again so she could be with him, but Snow put her hand gently on her daughter's shoulder to try to hold her back as she whispered, "The fairies need room to work so they can finish helping him. We're going to save him, Emma. I know you've been told this, God knows how many times since this all began, but… Killian is strong and the love the two of you share is even stronger. Have hope. Believe in him."

Emma nodded as another tear spilled down her cheek again and then she said despondently, "I do believe in him. I always will."