Chapter Seven
Emma again found herself pacing nervously, this time in front off the glass wall that separated her from the man she loved. The entire time that Whale and his team were working behind the curtain, neither David nor Regina spoke a word to her, each dealing with their own insecurity as to whether removing the ventilator would be successful. One thing was for certain – every one of them was simply hoping that the night's ordeal would soon be over.
Poised with anticipation, Emma spun at the distinct squeak of the privacy curtain being pulled back. Her heart was pounding as she stared through the window, sighing in silent relief that there was no longer a plastic tube protruding from between Killian's lips. Instead, an oxygen mask was positioned over his nose and mouth. Not waiting for an invitation to be extended by Whale, she immediately hurried to her husband's side. Behind her, David and Regina inched closer to the doorway but neither entered the room.
"As you can see, we were able to disconnect the ventilator and remove the breathing tube," Whale stated, wasting no time filling them in on Killian's present condition, "but it may only be temporary. You're probably only going to have one shot at this because his breaths are so shallow. The moment I feel that his condition is being compromised, I will put the tube right back in."
"Okay, so what do we need to do now?" Emma asked as she sat down at Killian's side, taking ahold of his hand and once again, squeezing it as tightly as she could to remind him that she was here while tenderly allowing the fingertips of her free hand to trace his cheekbone and jawline. His skin felt slightly warm to her touch as his fever was rising again.
Regina retrieved the antidote vial from her coat pocket then stepped into the room. Tapping a small amount of the bluish powder into the palm of her hand, she moved in closer to the bed, making sure she was directly in front of Killian.
"We'll need to remove the oxygen mask, then everyone take a step back," Regina instructed. "There is a chance that the antidote could be toxic to the rest of us."
Emma stood up reluctantly, placing Killian's hand atop his abdomen while Dr. Whale lifted the oxygen mask from his face and hung it from the safety rail alongside the bed where it could be quickly retrieved. Emma took two steps to her right, toward the doorway while Whale took a step backward maintaining his focus on the series of monitors before him. Pursing her lips, Regina blew the fine powder toward Killian's face, but as the pale blue particles settled against his face and neck, there was no indication that he'd been able to inhale anything, let alone that his chest and diaphragm had moved to take a breath at all.
"This isn't working," Emma said anxiously as Whale quickly replaced the oxygen mask when a shrill alarm sounded on one of the monitors.
"As I feared, his breathing is too shallow. That alarm means he isn't getting enough oxygen. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to put him back on the ventilator."
"Wait – not yet," Emma interrupted Whale as she suddenly realized that there might be a solution after all. "That oxygen mask – it's designed to deliver a constant flow of air, right?" She directed her question to Whale as he turned his back to them to begin preparations to replace the breathing tube. Emma's question caught the doctor somewhat unprepared.
"Yes," he replied, not quite sure why she would be making such an odd inquiry. "The mask isn't as effective as the ventilator, but it does serve that function." Emma hadn't actually been looking for Whale's opinion on the mask's function and effectiveness. She really just needed a basic technical description of how it worked – that it did deliver a steady flow of oxygen.
"Can the rate be adjusted? Enough to possibly force that powder into his system?"
"Potentially – yes," Whale replied, catching on to the idea she was suggesting. "I've never actually tried to use one in that way so I can't be one hundred percent certain that it will work, but I have to say, it could."
"Regina, give me the vial," Emma demanded, holding her outstretched palm open. Regina placed the tiny vial into Emma's hand with a warning.
"There isn't a whole lot left," Regina stated. "I don't know that there would be time to make another batch if this doesn't work."
"Then this had better work," Emma said as Whale again removed the mask from Killian's face while reaching for a switch on the panel on the wall behind the head of the bed.
"I just turned it off," Whale stated as he also muted the monitors, knowing another warning would sound in a few seconds. Turning the mask upside down, he placed it into Emma's hand so she could tap the remaining blue powder into it. It wasn't much, but hopefully, it was going to be enough. Whale then continued his instructions. "When I flip this switch, place the mask back over his nose and mouth as quickly as you can so as much of that antidote powder as possible stays inside."
Emma nodded as she positioned her right hand and the mask against Killian's right cheek where she could easily invert the plastic mask with a simple twist of her wrist.
"Ready?" Whale asked, his own finger poised on the ON/OFF switch and his other hand resting on the dial to increase the airflow.
"Ready," Emma replied, her eyes fixed on the switch. The moment Whale's finger toggled it back into the ON position her wrist instinctively flipped the mask over, fitting it back against his face while being careful not to spill any of the powder. She pressed the mask firmly in place and held it there while Whale gradually increased the flow of oxygen. As the particles inside the mask swirled around, the room became silent as everyone was holding their collective breath waiting to see if there would be a reaction this time. It was only when Killian suddenly inhaled deeply, then slowly exhaled that anyone dared break the silence.
"Did it work?" Emma wondered, not yet ready to release her grip on the oxygen mask.
"We should know soon," Whale replied, securing the mask by placing its elastic strap around the back of Killian's head so that Emma could relax and sink back into the chair at his bedside.
And Whale had been correct. Within about a half an hour, Killian's fever had broken; his temperature down to under 100 degrees for the first time in hours. His respiration was back to normal as well and he was able to breathe unaided. All that remained was his drug induced slumber.
"How long do you think it will be before he wakes up?" Emma wondered.
"It will be a few hours yet," Whale replied as he was leaving the room, "but there shouldn't be any lingering side effects from the poison. I'm actually amazed that your idea worked, but it wouldn't be the first unconventional use of medical equipment I've encountered."
Relieved that they were finally out of the woods, Emma took a moment to give Killian a tender kiss on his forehead while her index finger played with a stray tendril of dark hair at his temple, no longer fearful of poisoning herself. At last, their stressful night was over – at least for her. He could now just sleep it off peacefully.
"Please try to get some rest now," David suggested as he gave his daughter a hug, ready to head home after an emotionally and physically exhausting evening that had dragged into morning. "Please?"
"Yes, I will," Emma replied. "I promise."
"Okay then. I will call you later and I'll check up on our prisoner this afternoon so you don't have to worry about her."
David brushed past Regina who had lingered in the doorway, dealing with her own fatigue and emotions while she tried to come up with something to say to Emma. Nothing really sounded appropriate or sincere enough though.
"I'm going to head home myself," Regina said, going with the simplest possible statement. "I'm sure you'd like to be alone."
"Regina, wait," Emma said, standing up and meeting Regina at the doorway. "I owe you an apology."
"No, you don't. I should have been honest with you from the start about the antidote."
"Look, I understand now why you weren't. I would have spent all night worrying about you finding that flower. My head wouldn't have been in the right place to deal with Devereaux and she might still be out there running amok in Storybrooke."
"Then apology accepted. I'm just glad this all worked out for the best." And with that, Regina disappeared in a poof of purple smoke.
A relieved smile crept across Emma's face as she flopped back down into the chair at Killian's bedside. Even as he slept, he seemed to smile back at her. Oh, to know what was going on inside his mind….
"Looks like it's just you and me now, my love." She tried to hold back a yawn, but failed miserably as she lowered the railing so she could snuggle her head against the edge of the mattress, allowing herself to fully relax. It might be eight in the morning, but as far as she was concerned, it was time for sleep at last.
This time, things were very different, Killian thought to himself as he once again awakened into the inky blackness of this room or void or whatever the hell this place was. This time, he knew immediately that he wasn't alone. He'd stirred to the sound of laughter, but it wasn't from some far away location. It was originating from directly behind him.
"Hi, Daddy," Maeve spoke up to gain his attention. Turning at the sound of her voice, it quickly became apparent that she had changed as well. Her appearance was slightly altered – her golden curls had a new luminescence and her sweet face had a more ethereal glow. The grin that had once been stretched across his face slowly faded into a veil of confusion.
"What the bloody hell is this?" he demanded, fearing that all of these changes he was envisioning might be some evil premonition.
"It's okay. You don't have to be afraid," the child replied. "It's just that you're going to wake up soon so I had to come say goodbye for now."
"Goodbye? What is this? Has all of this just been some disturbed version of a dream?"
"You can call it what you want – a dream, a hallucination, a vision. I just know that they sent me to give you something to hold on to – something to give you a reason to fight off the poison because Mommy still needs you."
Hearing her refer to Emma as Mommy overwhelmed him with emotion. How could a dream affect him so deeply? Maybe, just maybe part of this was real…
"Who sent you?" he wondered.
"I don't know," she replied while skipping happily in place. "They just knew that you needed me, so I got to come play for a while." Her face seemed to glow even brighter with the luminous smile that she wore as she ran forward and threw her arms around him. Dropping to one knee so he could be at her level, Killian returned the embrace, not really wanting to let go, but she eventually wriggled herself free. "We both have to go now, but don't worry - you're going to see me again. I am your daughter after all. Please give Mommy a big hug and kiss for me!"
She started to walk backward and her silhouette slowly faded into the blackness as she shouted one last "I love you, Daddy."
Tears welled in his eyes as he replied with a whisper. "I love you too, Maeve."
But now everything was closing in on him - the blackness enveloping him from every side as if it were trying to suffocate him. Raising his left arm to instinctively shield his face, he found the familiar shiny glint of steel had returned.
And as his dreamscape surroundings faded to nothingness, he closed his eyes, allowing his other senses to take over. He gradually became aware of sounds – something beeping; voices off in the distance. There was the pungent smell of disinfectant mixed with a trace of what might have been coffee? Then he felt the pain when he tried to swallow – his throat dry, raw and extremely irritated. There were nagging spots on his chest and on his hand - which was both itching and feeling pinched at the same time. Definitely no longer in that dream world.
He allowed his eyes to open very slowly, letting them adjust to the bright florescent light directly above him. Lifting his bandaged hand, he brought it in front of his face so he could see the bloodstained gauze taped over the spot where the IV needle had once been and the new one secured to the inside of his wrist. One mystery explained, he thought, wishing he had a way to scratch the spot where the tape was irritating his skin. Instead, he used his fingertips to inspect the gauze bandage taped to his upper chest – definitely a spot that was sore to the touch, but with no obvious reason for that one, he'd have to ask about it later.
He blinked and rubbed his eyes, allowing more of his surroundings to come into focus, now quite certain of where he was. The stark alabaster walls and the one made of glass that allowed the nurses to see into the room from their desk were now familiar, comforting sights.
But the most welcome sight was just to his right – his beautiful wife sitting askew in the chair at his side with her head resting seemingly uncomfortably against the mattress. Hours ago, he wasn't certain he'd ever see her face again – a feeling he never wanted to relive. She appeared to be content with her eyes closed and a faint crooked smile on her lips making him almost afraid to disturb her, but something told him that she wasn't really asleep.
"What, no handcuffs this time, Swan?" he asked out loud as he brushed his knuckles against the curve of her cheekbone. Emma tried hard to hold back a snicker at the memory of the last time he'd awakened in this hospital. In truth, she was just so relieved to hear his voice.
"I've got a pair in my jacket pocket if you think we need them," she replied with a smirk, opening her eyes to see his baby blues smiling right back at her. "Good morning – well, afternoon I guess. How are you feeling?"
"A bit like a drunken sailor, but I'm sure that's from whatever Whale put in me. That and my throat feels like I swallowed a sea urchin."
"That would probably be from the tube they had to put down your throat to help you breathe."
"The what…?" His hand unconsciously went to his neck as he stared at her with a mixture of disbelief and amazement.
"For a few hours last night, Whale had to bring in a machine to keep you breathing. Part of it involved a plastic tube placed down your…well, let's just say it was a rather difficult thing to see."
"Bloody hell…," he sighed. "Quite glad I don't have any memories of that."
"Were you aware of anything that was happening?" she wondered.
"Apparently not - since I woke up to bandaged wounds that I don't remember getting," He gingerly touched the gauze patch on his chest, remembering that it had hurt the last time he'd disturbed it.
"We all had a rough night, I guess. Regina got the antidote made and Devereaux Sinclair is locked up safely in the holding cell where she can't hurt anyone. She won't be bothering our family again anytime soon."
"About that – I suppose I should apologize. When I saw that someone had broken into the Sheriff's station, I should have called you and waited for you to get there. But then I saw that it was Devereaux and I got a bit too carried away trying to be the hero."
"And I should apologize for losing track of time," she responded. "Yes, you should have waited for me, but if I hadn't gotten so caught up in conversation with Regina, I would have been there already. We'll call it a draw this time. I'm just happy that the current crisis is over."
"Aye. It's not like we get much time between those."
"Please, don't remind me. Let's just enjoy the peace and quiet."
"Any idea as to whether we'll get to enjoy that peace and quiet from our own home or will I be spending more time here on my back in this hospital bed?"
"You'll have to suffer a bit longer," Emma laughed. "Whale said you can go home tomorrow once all of the sedatives are out of your system."
"And I don't suppose I'll be getting my hook back before then either?" he wondered.
"Not likely."
"Then I suppose I'll just have to bore you with tales of the crazy dream I had while I was unconscious."
Emma stood up and shifted over to the side of the bed, snuggling up close to Killian and resting her head on his shoulder while he wrapped his arm tightly around hers.
"I want to hear every detail," she said contently. "We've got all night."
Staring upward at the concrete block walls and the bare ceiling of her jail cell, Devereaux lay there on the lumpy cot, replaying her run in with Hook's wife. She hadn't expected magic, a judgement error on her part. She must have had a dozen different revenge scenarios swirling around in her head, but as long as she was locked in here, she couldn't get to the sheriff. Had this been a standard brig, she would have picked the lock by now, but the magic seal on the lock made that impossible and she certainly didn't have a hacksaw available. She could only take delight in knowing that she'd taken away something precious from Sheriff Emma after she'd taken the looking glass away from her.
She knew she had been left alone in the holding cell for hours, even though she couldn't see the clock from her angle. She could only see the shadows formed as the sun shone through the broken front door and windows and assumed that it was early afternoon when someone finally showed up. This time, it wasn't the sheriff, but a rather handsome man in his mid-thirties. She recognized him as he stepped around the door to toss a white paper bag through the bars of her cell.
"Wouldn't want you thinking we were barbarians around here. Although I'd personally rather let you starve," David stated to his prisoner.
"Well, if it isn't the Prince? Still royalty in this land?" Devereaux sneered, ignoring the bag of food he'd thrown to her.
"You can call me Sheriff here," David replied.
"Two sheriffs? How droll…"
"Make yourself comfortable, pirate. You're going to be our visitor for a while."
"So what happened to Sheriff Emma?" Devereaux asked, prying for information about Hook indirectly. "Did she have other engagements or does she just work the night shift?"
"She's just fine," David told her, recognizing that she was fishing for answers about Killian. "Luckily for you, you're only going to be facing attempted murder charges. Regina found an antidote for your poison."
"What?!" Devereaux exclaimed. "That's not possible!"
"Sorry to burst your bubble, Sinclair. Hook is going to be fine and you've lost any leverage you think you had."
"You don't understand – I need to get that mirror back. You have no idea how important it is!"
"Then I guess you shouldn't have dropped it," David stated, not really caring about how important the object might have been to her after what she'd put his family through. She'd been willing to commit cold blooded murder over a mirror which left him with no respect for her. "It'll get a little noisy in here later when the dwarves come by to repair the door, but for now, enjoy the accommodations."
"Yes – such hospitality," she growled, shoving the paper bag onto the floor where a wrapped sandwich and a plastic bottle of water tumbled out. Who cared about food when your day had just been ruined? She'd been upstaged by the Evil Queen? Really?
David ignored her tantrum and went about his own business of trying to get the station back to normal. Aside from the obvious fact that the front door was laying in the middle of the floor, Devereaux had made a mess of Emma's office. Drawers had been emptied; file cabinets upended. Books and some of Emma's personal belongings had been pulled from the shelves and thrown all over the floor. Emma had had a difficult enough night so he didn't want her to have to return to this.
As he stooped to pick up the shattered lamp that once sat atop the bookshelf, he spied the cell phone Killian had dropped the night before, still resting screen side down in the hallway. When he retrieved it, he found the glass screen completely shattered, but he was still able to turn it on and realized that it was Killian's and there hadn't been any outgoing calls the night before. It suddenly dawned on him now that Emma's story about the mirror having been instrumental in helping her find him after he'd been poisoned had really been true because Killian certainly hadn't attempted to call for help. David shook his head and smiled as he slid the damaged phone into his pocket, then continued down the hall to take the destroyed lamp to the dumpster out back. Just like this family to find a way to find each other.