A/N Hullo! This chapter is a little more low-key (I couldn't skip over the concern her parents would show) but don't worry, there's a lil snip of CS in there mentioned by the son of the saviour. Keep favouriting and following!

Chapter 16: Conscious

The idea of a medical centre had always seemed trivial to Killian Jones. Why not just treat yourself at home? It was how he had always gone about tending to sickness and injury – aboard his own vessel, his home. Only now, pacing awkwardly as he waited for news, did he understand the importance of professional assistance.

Hook had watched as they took her into what was labelled the 'operating theatre.' He hadn't a clue what that meant, just that they were helping her. Stopping his ministrations, he sat down on one of the foamy uncomfortable chairs lining the long hallway.

Head in his hands, the pirate heard people running down the hallway and stop.

"I knew we shouldn't have moved out – If we'd been there then maybe…"

"No, do not blame yourself for this."

The two voices broke Hook from his self-consuming thoughts and he looked up. There was a couple standing before him and he recognised them as the saviour's parents. Mary Margaret was visibly shaking with slight hysteria and David was holding her, doing his best to console the sobs that were slowly racking her slim frame.

The man was stroking the his wife's hair when his eyes landed on the pirate's hunched over form. Hook stood to greet Emma's father, extending a hand.

"You!" David's voice was enough to make the woman in his arms turn; his tone of voice was reserved for King George and people of similar distaste. Before Hook could react, Emma's father threw his fist flying at the pirate's jaw. The force of it knocked him back into the chair and it reminded him incongruously of when the blonde herself had hit him. She had her father's fighting genes.

Mary Margaret grasped David's upper arms in a bid to subdue him. Hook smirked and stood up again, this time making sure he was a bit further away from the aggravated prince.

"What are you doing here?" David asked, stepping back and relaxing a little.

"I'll attribute that display of violence to worry for your daughter. As for my presence, I brought her," he replied triumphantly and crossed his arms leisurely across his chest.

"Did you do this to her?" Mary Margaret said, flaring up like a firecracker. Emma was most definitely the combination of these two Hook thought amusedly.

"No," he said fervently, "it was the two bottom-feeders from my ship. Lass here should recall them, it turns out Cora brought them with her." Recognition flitted across Mary Margaret's face as images of Grimes and Talice flashed in her mind's eye. She looked up at her husband warily and back to Hook.

"And where are they?"

The pirate smiled darkly, "Grimes is dead," he said, but his satisfaction faltered to reveal shame and anger, "Talice escaped."

Mary Margaret shuddered and David's confused stare flickered between the two. His wife simply gave him a look that said talk later. Hook watched the exchange curiously; they could read each other well.

The blonde man turned back to him, expression slightly less infuriated and more so irritated. The pirate seemed to evoke that emotion out of a lot of people here; it was quite a contrast to the usually stumbling wenches that begged him to be bedridden.

"Well, thank you… how did you…?" David began, not sure how to question Hook about the events.

"Perhaps I should let Emma explain, all you need to know is that I arrived in time and she is, to my understanding, in good care here. I'll be leaving you now," he replied briskly.

He forced his gaze away from the door leading to Emma and walked out of the hospital. He wanted to stay, to be there and make sure she awoke fine. The two spineless bastards had gone to her for more than their own personal vendetta. But that was another matter completely.

8888

There was an incessant beeping and it was setting her teeth on edge. Her alarm clock was faster, more sporadic than this monotone sound that beeped so steadily. Consciousness reappearing, Emma began to remember the events immediately prior to this beeping. She remembered waking up late in the night and then, like a door flew open, everything came rushing back. Getting knocked out, realising it was Grimes and Talice, being beaten, being tortured, being tossed to the floor, almost escaping and having her hopes irretrievably crushed, being thrown against the brick wall, hitting her head hard, Killian saving her.

Emma felt her eyes flutter and she moaned a little at the memories. It wasn't that she was afraid, it was that she felt overcome by the images flashing through her mind; Grimes' sneer and his fallen body, Talice's murderous glare and the harshness with which he handled Emma, Killian's eyes alight with promise of redemption and soft with beginnings of care.

Eyes flying open, she moved to sit up but immediately fell back down. Her body wasn't so much lifeless as just exhausted and the pain in her chest made her gasp. Looking around, she identified her surroundings – the white wash walls, the clean, clear windows, the pale blue sheets and the bright unnatural light: hospital.

The blonde caught movement in her peripheral vision and turned. Anxious and tired, Emma sagged in veritable relief when she was who was standing in the doorway. Her parents had just entered the room and Mary Margaret quickly noticed her daughter's state of consciousness.

"Emma!" She squealed, throwing her arms around the bedraggled woman in bed. Emma's intake of breath made her mother jump back a little; her chest spiked in pain. As her mother stepped back, her father grasped her hand comfortingly and squeezed – noting the discomfort extreme physical contact had caused her.

"Guys, I'm fine." Emma's voice was croaky and she looked around for water, finding a glass and immediately bringing it to her lips. Gulping it down, she watched her parents eye her anxiously.

"What's wrong?" the saviour asked, "Is it Henry? Is he okay?" Panic began to replace the overwhelming exhaustion she felt. Mary Margaret softened and patted Emma's hand comfortingly.

"He's fine, he's with Regina. In fact, he'll be here in about fifteen minutes," her mother smiled weakly, "How are you feeling?"

"Like death warmed up," she replied humourlessly, using the handheld device next to her to put the bed in a more upright position.

"It figures, you've got three cracked ribs, a fracture in your right arm and internal bruising. You might also still be suffering from a concussion but, other than that, you're fine." Emma laughed at her mother's chipper tone and groaned at the pain it caused her chest. She'd had a cracked rib once before – when foster father #4 had gotten angry at her for 'back chatting.' Having three wouldn't be fun at all.

"Well, I can't say I was expecting any less," Emma said casually. There was a pause before Mary Margaret asked the question clearly on everyone's mind.

"What happened?"

Emma looked around the room, as if the pale walls held the answers to this problem. If she was honest with herself, she needed to talk to someone about what happened. But she wasn't honest with herself, she was abrupt. She was isolated and strong and even her parents weren't yet permitted to see her helpless; which is exactly how she felt.

As the silence wore on, Emma looked for the right words to tell her parents, to explain that she wasn't ready to let them in yet, even on something like this.

Mary Margaret looked at David, worry blatant on her soft features. Her father's appearance, for the first time she had ever seen, was murderous. The kind, compassionate man who knew only how to be a gentleman seemed gone in that moment when his daughter was lost for words. All he knew was that someone had done this, and for one reason or another she was hesitant to tell them.

Emma bit her lip and Mary Margaret broke the silence, "It's okay, you don't have to explain… we can talk about this later." The blonde nodded gratefully. Expression suddenly indifferent, she looked up at the clock impatiently. Henry should be arriving soon.

As if he had heard her mental plea, the small boy came racing into the room. At the sight of his mother awake, Henry jumped up to hug Emma.

"Mom!" he said warmly, excitedly as he clutched her. Ignorant of the pain it sent shooting through her chest; she returned the excitement and nodded at Regina as she entered the room to sit next to David on the chairs opposite her bed.

"I missed you, kid," Emma said, ruffling the boy's hair affectionately.

"Me too! I can't believe you were out for two days!" Henry said, stepping back to sit on the side of her bed, replacing Mary Margaret's earlier position.

"Two days?" Emma asked, eyes widening as she turned to her parents and Regina. They nodded sheepishly and she fell back against her bed, "Why am I still tired, then?" Exasperated, she leant into her hospital mattress. How was it even possible to be unconscious for two days, she'd only been… beaten half-to-death. Okay, so two days was actually quite reasonable.

"Yeah, you were out cold Mom. But don't worry – you almost always had someone here. Even Captain Hook visited yesterday," Henry gushed, and Emma sat straight up.

"Hook was here?" she said incredulously, looking around the room. David's expression showed disdain; obviously he hadn't liked the renowned pirate captain. When there was no sign of the man, she sat back into the bed; unnervingly disappointed.

"Yes, we had the pleasure of meeting the captain," Regina answered, smiling at Henry. He beamed back and looked back up to Emma, eyes wide.

"He's so cool. Can I see his ship some time?" the young boy said emphatically, the saviour blinked purposefully at her son. What has that blood pirate told him? She asked herself, wondering how anyone could ever be so amiable towards him. He was infuriating. He was dramatic. He was arrogant. He had saved her life.

"We'll discuss that later," Emma said vaguely, trying not to let the refusal sound as definite. Mary Margaret nodded in agreement and Henry moved off the bed.

Regina checked her watch and looked back to the young boy.

"Henry, it's nearly time for school. I'll bring you back this afternoon and you can spend as long as you want. Come on," Regina picked up her bag, nodded reverently at the woman in the hospital bed and walked from the room. The small boy kissed his birthmother's cheek and followed after his adoptive mother.

"Speaking of Hook, did you know he brought you here?" Mary Margaret asked once Henry and Regina were safely out of ear shot. With a sudden bloom of gratitude, Emma let the full force of Hook's involvement in last night wash over her, or rather his intervention. He saved her life, six times now the blonde reminded herself – she had been keeping tally also.

"Yes, he saved me," she announced, returning the scrutiny that Mary Margaret was giving her. Her mother nodded and looked at the clock, suddenly realising something.

"Oh, oh I need to get to work. Why didn't Henry remind me?" The brunette spun into action, picking up her handbag, racing to give Emma a kiss on the head and bustling out of the room. David watched his wife endearingly and looked back to his daughter. The two shared a knowing smile – her mother was what she was.

There was a minute of silence as daughter tried to think of what to say to father and vice versa. Even before the curse had broken, Emma had never really known David well, not well enough to consider him on a magnified scale. In fact, if she was being candid, she didn't particularly like the David she had known, the one who had broken Mary Margaret's heart, caused a mess of their relationship and made the compassionate woman a pariah for a period of time. The reality David was a bit of an idiot.

It was hard for her, sometimes, to establish that it wasn't really him. Just like Mary Margaret wasn't really her mother. Her parents were Snow White and Prince Charming and they were effervescently good people. Distinguishing reality from fairy tale was a bitch.

"Emma, did Hook have something to do with this?" David suddenly said, standing and motioning to Emma's bruised and broken limbs.

"No, why would you think that?" she asked defensively, slightly irritated at David's weird father complex. He tried to soften his voice as he spoke again.

"Because all we know is that he brought you in all beat up and basically said that you would explain. He is the only one to give an account of what happened so far and every time we've mentioned him you've tensed up. What's going on Emma?" His arguments were surprisingly reasonable.

"Hook didn't hurt me, he saved my life. He's done it six times now and I do not tense up when you guys talk about him!" Emma said. Why was she so defensive of Hook? He had threatened Belle, teamed up with Cora twice, unwittingly endangered Henry and her parents and she was still standing up for him. She'd even diverted attention from him when the two dipshits had been torturing her. There seemed to be no end to the length's they would go to cover each other's backs.

"Okay, I was just checking. I didn't want to think you might be protecting him," He said, resigned that she wasn't going to hear any of it. Emma nodded curtly, blonde hair escaping the messy pony tail that someone had tied up. David nodded and the awkwardness in the room was suddenly palpable.

"I have to get to the station. I'll come by with Mary Margaret later," her father said, backing towards the door. He smiled hesitantly at her.

"Yeah, I'll see you later." Emma tried to warm her words but she was still overcome with indignation that her father, who didn't actually know her that well, thought she would protect someone who beat her up. She'd never even understood why women defended their attackers back when she was a bounty hunter. Personally, if she could get her hands on the scumbags who had done this, she would inflict a great deal of pain on them. Unfortunately for her, Grimes was dead and she didn't even know where Talice was.

Next chapter is purely Captain Swan interaction. Get keen for it my lovelies!

P.S. Reviews are desires for a purely Killian-thoughts chapter (I've been pondering the idea).