I know most phones divide texts by sender and not by time sent but I'm bending the capabilities of technology because I can.
Cheers to Kitsis and Horowitz for creating the characters but I think it's time to play.
The first thing Emma noticed was that it was too warm. Her skin felt clammy and her throat seemed to stick as she tried to swallow. Remembering where she was and why she was there she jerked awake in a moment of panic. A hospital blanket slid noiselessly to the floor. Someone must have covered her with it without waking her, a testament to how exhausted she truly was.
After finding a bottle of water in the mini fridge Emma drank deeply, soothing her throat. She immediately felt better, stamping down the worry that she was getting sick as well. It wouldn't have surprised her but it would have been a major inconvenience. Getting in to see Killian would be hard enough without being a walking contaminant too.
Other than the blanket there were no other signs that someone had been in the office. The clock on the wall let her know it was past five. With a shocked look out the window she saw that the sun was already descending in the sky, confirmation that she had slept for hours.
She was dismayed that in all that time nothing had changed, someone would have woken her if it had. Telling herself that no news was good news didn't help when an equally strong voice was telling her that the more time wasted, the more likely that nothing could be done. She had never mastered having a positive outlook in a situation but she knew it was time to see the people who did. Grabbing her phone from her desk she turned it back on.
As it buzzed to life she saw that she had only three missed calls and a handful of texts. Regina or Whale must have told them what was going on. Reading through the texts confirmed her thoughts.
MM: Where are you? Regina told us that you needed to be alone. Is everything okay?
MM: Do you need anything?
David: Whale explained what was going on. Call your mother she's worried.
MM: Just called and went straight to voicemail. Call me when you get this.
David: Taking Henry to get food at Granny's. Let me know if you want anything.
The Kid: Granny said that she'd make you anything so I ordered you a milkshake but it's for me. Make sure to tell Grandpa that you don't want it so I can have it.
David: Henry ordered you a milkshake I know you don't want. When we get back give it to me. Teach him to be sneaky.
David: Call your mother.
MM: I'm picking up Neal but I'll be back soon. Don't worry Emma, everything is going to be okay.
Mary Margaret's last message was time stamped only fifteen minutes prior. She quickly sent a text to all of them that she was awake and they could join her in Whale's office. After her impromptu nap a meal from Granny's was welcome. Thinking back on it, she hadn't had a full meal since breakfast the day before and that was just a quick bowl of cereal.
It wasn't long before the door of the office opened and Mary Margaret let herself in, carrying Neal in her arms. Emma quickly stood and grabbed the diaper bag threatening to slide off her mother's shoulder.
"No stroller?"
"Oh, no. I've barely held him all day," Mary Margaret cooed at Neal as she sat down.
"Sorry," Emma said quietly setting the bag on the floor by the desk.
"Emma, that's not what I meant," her mother chastised. She looked up at Emma frowning. "Your father and I will always be here for you no matter what."
Shifting Neal in her arms Mary Margaret reached out and grabbed Emma's hand, squeezing gently. The concern in her mother's eyes was almost too much to bear. Emma gave her a watery smile in return, her emotions having rocketed from one extreme to another over the course of Killian's illness.
"What did Regina tell you?" Emma asked after taking a moment to steady her voice.
"That Killian was sicker than we realized and it might have to do with Gold taking his heart. She mentioned something about a protection spell, said goodbye to Henry, and then left without any other explanation."
"And Whale?"
"He only came out to tell us you were sleeping in his office about an hour ago. We haven't seen him since."
Emma wondered if it was Whale who covered her with a blanket or one of the nurses. More importantly she thought about why he didn't tell her parents anything concerning Killian. He knew perfectly well that their family always worked as a unit, for better or for worse.
"Can you tell me what's wrong?" Mary Margaret asked gently.
"I will, but is it okay if we wait for Dad and Henry? I don't think I can explain it twice."
"Of course."
They waited quietly, listening to Neal babble at Mary Margaret. He was generally a happy baby and spoiled rotten by the people of Storybrooke. With a pang Emma realized that her life would have been the same if she hadn't been destined to be the Savior. Pushing aside regrets for a non-existent past she sat down next to Mary Margaret.
A quiet knock on the door let them know that David and Henry were there with the food. Before Emma could stand to open the door Henry burst through, launching himself into her arms. She was surprised but wrapped her arms around him none the less.
"It's alright Mom, Mom is totally going to get that protection spell here soon," her son beamed up at her, eyes full of hope.
"Did Regina call?" Emma asked looking up at David.
"Not yet, but I'm sure she will soon," he answered, letting her down gently.
David and Henry spread the food out across the desk and watched in horror as Emma handed her milkshake over to Mary Margaret. She smiled sweetly at them, showing them exactly how she felt being a pawn in their games. Her smile widened when she opened the bag David had handed her. They had ordered her what looked like the greasiest comfort food that Granny's had to offer, her favorite.
"Thanks, guys," she said through a mouthful of onion rings.
"We know what you like," Henry mumbled around his own food. "Granny wanted to send some soup too but we weren't sure if Killian could have it."
The sound of chewing and rustling napkins came to a halt as David and Mary Margaret looked carefully at Emma. Swallowing carefully she took a drink of her soda and wiped her hands on a napkin. Comfort food would have to wait.
As she explained everything that had happened since she first saw Killian the day before she felt as though a poison was being slowly drawn out of her system. She told them how much Killian's hallucinations had worried her, the way she felt unmoored when he first entered the hospital, and how scared she was that anything they did would make no difference. It all came pouring out and she seemed helpless to stop it, even with Henry there.
David and Mary Margaret remained quiet as Emma talked but shared several concerned looks with each other. Henry for his part seemed lost. Emma realized that he had never really seen her so open with her emotions, especially regarding Killian. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently to let him know that she was, essentially, okay.
"Whale made it seem that Regina's spell is our last chance at him getting better," Emma finished, downhearted.
"Are we positive that's what he meant?" David asked skeptically. "I mean, he's not actually a doctor."
"David!" Mary Margaret admonished. "He may not have a real medical degree but he has helped this town, and this family especially, more times than I can count. He's probably more qualified to deal with our unique problems than any 'real' doctor could."
"Okay, okay," Emma said, raising her hands up to stop them. "Diving into Whale's qualifications isn't going to get us anywhere. Mom's right, he's really the only one who knows anything medical in this town and he's dealt with all the magic crap too. We just have to trust him."
"Too bad his story isn't in the book, then we'd know all about him," Henry piped up.
"I think I know all I want to, Henry," David grumbled.
"Someday you're going to have to let it go," Mary Margaret said rolling her eyes. "We were cursed, you were married, we just need to move on."
"Move on from what?" Henry asked, eyes open wide in curiosity.
"Uh, nothing," Emma quickly answered.
"I just had a couple of dates with Victor when we were cursed, that's all," Mary Margaret explained, a blush staining her cheeks pink. She carefully avoided David's accusatory glare.
Henry's gaze danced between the three of them confused but shrugged and turned his attention back to his meal. Emma did the same trying, and failing, to keep a grin off her face. She had needed a distraction and her family had come through in spades.
They finished the rest of the meal talking quietly between themselves about nothing in particular. Yet, Emma couldn't help but glance up at the clock every few minutes. It was almost fully dark outside and they hadn't heard anything from Regina or Whale. Unease was starting to worm it's way back into Emma's thoughts and she started to pull away from the conversation, focusing her attention on the door instead.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Henry burst out.
"Forgot what?" Emma said turning halfway towards him.
"I downloaded a navigation app for Killian," he said excitedly, pulling out his phone.
"A what?" Emma asked confused. She exchanged puzzled glances with her parents before focusing on Henry.
"A navigation app," he repeated matter of factly. "It's supposed to be like using the stars to navigate but without having to go outside. Killian has been teaching me to use a sextant and I figured we could use it to practice while he's stuck in here."
Emma stared at Henry at a loss for words. He was smiling back at her proudly with his phone facing her in his outstretched hand. She gave the screen a cursory glance before pulling him into her arms and crushing him to her. Henry's breath huffed out of him from the impact but his arms quickly came around her shoulders, squeezing back in return.
"That's smart thinking, kid," her voice wavered slightly. "I think Killian would like that a lot."
She tightened her hold on him for a moment before releasing him. He grinned at her before turning his attention to his phone, fiddling around with his new app. Emma sniffed self consciously and started cleaning up their mess from dinner. Her parents didn't comment but she could feel their eyes on her as she worked.
"I'm just going to take this stuff out to the dumpster," she said a minute later, indicating the bags of trash in her hands.
"You don't need to do that," Mary Margaret protested.
"I'd rather not leave the office smelling like my bug after a stakeout.'
"Let your father do it then."
David moved to take the bags but stopped himself. He put a hand on Mary Margaret's arm, squeezing gently.
"Emma can do it. I'm sure she needs to stretch her legs a bit and I think we need to get Neal cleaned up, don't you?" He said pointedly. He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head towards Emma, hinting that they should let her have a moment.
Mary Margaret frowned slightly but nodded her head. David gave her an encouraging smile as he gathered Neal in his arms. She mouthed thank you at them as she stepped out into the quiet hospital corridor.
Navigating the hallways from Whale's office to the exit was far easier than the one she had taken from Killian's room. On her way out she passed a custodian's cart where she threw the remains of their meal into the attached trashcan, glad she didn't have to hunt down a dumpster when she got outside. A few minutes later she was stepping out the automatic doors into the orange glow of the street lamps lighting the parking lot.
David had been partially right about her excuse for getting out of the room. She had been cooped up for most of the day and her muscles were screaming for movement of any kind. Her other, more private reason, was to see the stars. She hadn't known that Killian was teaching Henry how to navigate by them and it had stirred something in her chest.
She kept walking through the parking lot and towards the tree lined field behind the hospital. There was a helipad, she was amused to see, but it was cracked and overgrown with weeds. The heels of her boots tapped out a staccato rhythm as she walked to the center of the concrete island and came to a stop on the crossbar of the yellow H that had faded over time. As she tipped her head back she was pleased to see that she was far enough away from the hospital lights to see the pinpricks of light scattered across the night sky.
Killian had taken her out on the water at night before but not once had he tried to teach her anything while they were out there. He had been content just getting her to relax and enjoy herself without worrying about what evils would come crashing down Main Street.
A smile ghosted across her lips as her eyes sought and found the constellation Orion. She had shared with Killian that it was her favorite constellation, even though it seemed cliche. He hadn't commented on that but had asked her why that one had earned her favor. With a sad smile she told him that it was the only constellation she had always been able to find no matter where she had been moved to in the foster system. Without comment he had pulled her into his side and used his hook to point out subtle differences between the stars in Storybrooke and the ones he had navigated by back in the Enchanted Forest.
She stood wrapped in the quiet of the night staring up at the sky for several minutes. It wasn't until a satellite streaked across the sky that she sighed and steeled herself as she returned back to Whale's office. Patting her pockets she realized that she had left her phone on the desk and picked up her pace, not knowing if Regina had returned or not.
The automatic doors whispered open quietly as she walked through them heading towards the office. It wasn't late but the hallways were quiet. Even the nursing station was silent, the one nurse on duty was idly flipping through a magazine barely sparing Emma a glance as she passed by.
As she got closer to Whale's office she could hear raised voices. Turning the final corner she saw Henry standing a few feet down from the open door holding Neal watching for her return. Upon seeing her his eyes lit up and he rushed down the hall towards her as quickly as he could.
"Good, you're back," he said pushing Neal into her arms. "Dr. Whale came back right after you left and Mom just got here. They started arguing but Grandpa brought me out here."
"What are they arguing about and why were you out here alone with Neal?" She asked, straining her ears to make sense of the din.
"Well, Grandpa was holding Neal when we came out but then Grandma started arguing too so he told me to hold him and went back in," Henry shrugged. He glanced back at the door. "I think Dr. Whale is upset that Mom took so long to get back."
"Let's find out what's going on kid," she said, adjusting Neal more securely in her arms.
Stepping into the doorway she found that all four of them were on their feet around the desk. Her parents side by side, David facing Whale across from them and Mary Margaret facing Regina beside them. Their argument ground to a halt as she entered the room but the tension remained.
"And where have you been?" Regina snapped. "Here Whale's been berating me for taking so long and apparently you've been out for an evening stroll. I thought we had a limited amount of time or I wouldn't have rushed things."
"Of course there's a time limit," Whale said exasperated. "Seeing as we've had no contact from you all day can you blame Miss Swan for needing to do something rather than sit here waiting. I thought she would have been helping you at least, being the Savior and all."
"She wields her magic like an ogre with a club. This spell is tricky at best and altering it for what we need was a delicate and intricate process. I couldn't be bothered coddling her through it."
"Now that we've got a better grasp on my magical prowess, what the hell is going on?" Emma asked annoyed at the childish behavior.
"It took me a while but I was able to manipulate the spell to work on just one person. I had to raid Gold's magic stores but Belle was happy to help," Regina pulled a small stoppered bottle from her pocket. There appeared to be a glowing blue cloud trapped inside. "Altering its properties so it could be taken instead of cast was even trickier but I finally got it right."
"Why did you need to do that? Shouldn't it work as it is?" Mary Margaret voiced Emma's thoughts.
"It would but I'm not sure how effectively or how quickly. The spell is meant to prevent illnesses not to fight them. Having Hook ingest it like a potion is the only way to be sure it works."
"We don't have much time," Whale said quietly. "I've been hoping Mr. Jones would improve but he's just getting worse. His pneumonia has progressed rapidly and we've had to put him on an oxygen supply. If this cure doesn't work then he may not have much longer, his body will start shutting down, having exhausted itself fighting the diseases. I'm sorry but we've done all we can. Ms. Mills, this spell is our last hope."
Emma felt herself sway on the spot. Strong arms wrapped around her but they felt wrong, it should be Killian holding her up, keeping her strong. Mary Margaret gently pulled Neal from her arms helping David guide her into one of the chairs. Henry hovered nearby but Emma took almost no notice of him.
"What are we waiting for?" She asked when she found her voice.
"I needed to explain exactly what we were facing," Whale answered. "We need to go into this with all cards on the table. I've already explained this to Mr. Jones and he understands as well."
The information that Killian was awake and knew his fate could go only two ways hit her like a blow to the stomach. She should have been with him when they told him, not packed away in the office blissfully unaware. Closing her eyes she steeled herself for needed to be done.
"Mom, Dad, I want you to take Henry back to the loft," she said in a tone that brooked no argument. "I'll call you when it's over."
"Emma," Mary Margaret started to plea.
"Can you do this? For me?" Her voice broke. "Please?"
"Of course," David leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "We'll be waiting for your call."
Henry protested weakly but backed down after Regina agreed that it was for the best. Her parents and Henry hugged Emma tightly before wishing the others luck as they left. Tamping down the instinct to call them back she turned to the other two and nodded her head. Without a word Whale led the way to Killian's room.
They ended up in a different wing of the hospital than Emma had visited Killian in earlier that morning. It was as quiet as the rest of the hospital but there was an eerie feeling that had Emma shivering as she walked. She saw Regina suppress a shiver herself and wondered what it could be.
Watching Whale's back as the walked she realized what it was. The few nurses they had passed all seemed to have shrunk into themselves. They spoke in hushed whispers and avoided the eyes of their small group as they passed. The ward was essentially on death watch, waiting for the unknowable but inevitable passing on of their patient. They had already resigned themselves to the worst.
Whale came to a stop in front of a room that looked no different from any other that Emma had passed in the rest of the hospital. She glanced curiously around the door and then at Whale.
"I thought you said he was in a specially treated room?"
"He was but it made no difference. We moved him here shortly after he woke from the sedative," he answered matter of factly as he opened the door.
No matter how much she had psyched herself up to remain stoic her face crumpled the moment she saw Killian. In the hours since she had last seen him he had appeared to have lost weight he couldn't afford to lose. The softness of his face was now lost, leaving behind a sharp contrast of shadows caused by the prominent structure of bones beneath his skin. The warm glow of his tanned skin had been sapped from him, leaving a grey pallor in its wake. An oxygen mask covered his nose and mouth from view. Only his eyes were how she remembered, glittering like sapphires and overjoyed to see her.
"Emma," he breathed her name like a benediction. The mask muffled his words but she could hear him well enough. "Here I thought you had forgotten all about me."
"As if that would be possible," she teased weakly. "It took a curse to make me forget you and even then you were stubborn enough to make me remember. I don't think it'll be that easy this time around."
She walked over to the bed only slightly aware of the other two following her. Not caring that they were watching or if she should or not she pulled the mask from his face and captured his lips in a kiss. He brought his hand up to cradle the back of her head and the gesture nearly broke her fragile composure. She cradled his face in her hands as she lost herself in him, trying to convince herself that everything wasn't crashing down around her.
The sound of someone clearing their throat finally brought her back to reality. Killian smiled against her lips and let his head fall back onto his pillow. She gently replaced the mask and ran her fingers through his hair before straightening up and turning to face Regina.
"Okay," she said, injecting her voice with false bravado. "Let's do this."
Regina pulled the bottle from her pocket again, the bottle casting a blue shadow on her palm.
"Whale told you the risks?" Regina questioned.
"Aye," Killian answered with only a slight nod.
"And he told you what will happen if it fails?"
"Aye," his answer was accompanied by a quick glance at Emma.
"Alright," Regina passed the bottle to Emma but kept her attention on Killian. "All you need to do is drink it. The effects should be immediate."
Emma held the bottle delicately in her hand. It was warm but not from Regina's pocket. The swirling blue clouds seemed to speed up as she gripped the bottle but it might have been a trick of the light. Killian's hand covered hers and pulled the bottle from her grasp.
He had already removed the oxygen mask and was regarding the bottle with what appeared to be disinterest. Emma could read the apprehension in his eyes and the tension in his shoulders that revealed how scared he was. She placed her hand on his arm, nodding at him when he looked at her. Her lip trembled as she opened her mouth to say one final thing to him, anything that would set his mind at ease.
"Don't worry, Swan," he murmured, beating her to it. "I'm a survivor."
Before she could answer back he thumbed the cork out of the bottle and swallowed the contents in one fell swoop. She watched his face anxiously as he lowered his arm to the bed. He gave her a puzzled look and shrugged, seemingly feeling no different. He opened his mouth to say something when his body was wracked with spasms.
Killian's back bowed off the bed as his head snapped back on the pillow. The bottle smashed in his hand as his fingers curled into a fist, pushing the glass further into his palm, drops of blood pattering down on the bed like rain. His mouth was open in a silent scream and his eyes were wide and unseeing. Emma's hands fluttered uselessly from his hand to his chest and up to his face not knowing what to do. Finally he collapsed back on the bed, as though some invisible set of strings had been cut.
"Killian?" Emma's hands were shaking badly as brought them to his neck to find his pulse.
Whale was shouting behind her. Regina was trying to pull her away. One of the machines was beeping melodiously, a sound that contrasted greatly to the chaos in the room. She couldn't think, if she could just feel his heartbeat everything would be okay. A pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and she swept her hand back, knocking over everyone in the room in a flash of light. Nothing mattered, she just needed to feel the steady thumping of his heart.
"Killian?"
Her hands sought out his chest, the spot where she had shoved his heart back. Her ears were buzzing, her vision blurry, and she couldn't feel a thing.
"Killian!"