Hey guys! I know it's been forever and for that I apologize. I actually moved from MI to NYC this summer for an internship. I've been super busy working and exploring the city and such. But don't worry, I'm moving back home in three weeks and then updates will be coming on a weekly basis. I was going to post this tomorrow but since it's my birthday, I decided to finish today! I will not just give up on the story, I promise!

Hope you're all having a great summer! I would love some reviews! Consider it a birthday present? :)

"Dr. Miller to the third floor. Dr. Miller to the third floor."

Years could have passed as they all sat there in the waiting room, waiting for news.

Pagers beeped. Gurney's rolled in and out. Doctors ran around as patient came in, their families lashing out in a panic, just as their group had been hours earlier. The worn down coffee machine made sputtering sounds, the tv produced static noise about the weather, and families around them were crying or on the phone giving updates.

Everything in the place was bustling and moving.

Except for them.

With as many of them as there were, they took up a good portion of one of the many waiting areas. They sat in silence, not talking or crying. The silence filled the space with so much tension it threatened to suffocate them all. It was like a balloon, surrounding them, waiting for the one word, one movement, or one sob that would pop the balloon and break the tension wide open, throwing them all into a mass panic.

Everyone was worried of course, but for many, their worry was showing through in other forms, David noticed.

Mary Margaret was leaning into David, her head on his shoulder, rubbing his back.

Regina was in the hallway, and had been short and tempered with the doctors who passed by, demanding more information on their friend's condition while Robin stood to her side attempting to calm her.

Victor and Ruby had been curled together for hours, gaining comfort from one another.

August and Jefferson were quiet and calm, ready to be the put-together adults should the situation call for it.

Killian was in his own world of a clusterfuck of emotions, one that David was really not in the mood to try to interpret right now.

Killian could have his miserable bubble, David had his own to deal with.

Everything had happened so quickly earlier that David hadn't had the time to freak out or really be scared. But now, sitting in this eerily silent room, waiting to find out if his best friend was going to live, he could say he had never been so afraid in his life.

He couldn't even think of the possibility of her not making it. He couldn't consider that Emma Swan wouldn't be a part of his life anymore, that she would no longer exist. He couldn't imagine going to school and going home and living this life as he had everyday with the void Emma's absence would create.

He couldn't -

"Would you kindly fuck off, Humbert?"

Everyone turned to look at Killian and then to Graham, startled by the sudden outburst.

The two men were across the room from one another, both seething and glaring as though the other had personally attacked them.

No one said anything for another moment and then -

The balloon popped.

Rising from their seats, Graham and Killian began yelling.

"You're telling me to fuck off when it's your fault -"

"- You've been glaring at me since the moment I got here -"

Mary Margaret moved to step in, "Killian! Graham! Just calm down -"

"- act like you're a bloody fucking gift to humanity-"

"- if you hadn't been a two timing piece of shit then - "

Regina shrugged, "Humbert's got a point…"

"Regina!" Mary Margaret again.

"What? I'm just saying…"

"We all had a hand in - "

"We were doing just fine until you rode your fucking white horse back into town and fucked everything up!"

Graham and Killian were in each other's faces now, Jefferson, Robin, and August on the sides trying to get them to calm down.

"Or maybe you're just bitter because after all your 'hard work' it was still me Emma wanted and not you!"

"Stop acting like children!" Ruby shouted, joining in the fray.

David didn't have the energy to worry about them, let them kick each other's asses for all he cared.

Emma was dying.

"But clearly Emma wasn't enough for you if you needed a side piece! Or I guess Emma was the sidepiece - "

"You fucker, you think you can just -"

"Nothing is ever good enough for Killian Jones!

"Seriously! Enough you two!"

"- She was right? Just a nice little toy for you to fuck over break until you - "

Faster than David could even processes, Killian had shoved the guys aside and punched Graham in the face.

A sickening crack echoed through the room, causing everyone to flinch.

Oh yeah, Graham's nose is broken for sure, David thought.

He still didn't get out of his seat.

Graham recovered from the shock before anyone else did and, ignoring his bleeding and very injured nose, threw a responding fist right back at Killian, though only getting him in the jaw.

Everyone snapped out of the shock and the guys were immediately restraining the two, as David noticed security come running over.

He began yelling and Mary Margaret stepped in, trying to explain and calm the officer before they were all thrown out.

The final decision seemed to be that Jefferson and August would take Killian outside to cool down while Graham got his nose looked at.

"A nurse should be here any second," The secretary called to the group and August and Jefferson began lugging Killian away, each having a hold on one of his arms.

Just then the nurse came in and suddenly they were all face to face with Ruth, who was clearly not at all please with the sight before her.

Fuck.

"I can't even believe you two would pull a stunt like this!"

Graham and Killian both looked properly ashamed as they hung their heads muttering apologies.

"It's not about either of you! Your friend is in surgery right now! Risky surgery she needs to save her life because she was beaten half to death by her foster father and you two are out here having a pissing contest!"

It was rare that David ever saw his mother this angry. In fact, he wasn't sure he had ever seen her quite this upset.

She was usually a calm woman who was very rational, even when angry. When either Killian or David did something bad growing up, they were calmly scolded and punished to a time out or a grounding. No voices raised, no fits thrown, nothing.

But now she was yelling and her arms were flailing and she looked at though she were about to grab Graham and Killian by their ears and drag them outside. But David knew his mother, and he knew that no matter how angry she was, she didn't act like this.

He knew that while she was upset by what they had done, she was using the situation as an outlet for her fear. Just like Regina nagging the nurses or Graham and Killian fighting. Everyone was worried and everyone was showing it in different ways.

Frankly, David thought Killian and Graham deserved every bit of the chewing out they were getting right now, even though he knew his mother would feel bad about it later.

"Killian, get outside right now and pull yourself together! And Graham - ugh look at you, you're a mess! Get over here and let me patch that up so you can stop bleeding all over this clean floor."

Both did as they were told and David settled himself in for another few hours of waiting.

And praying.

"David?"

Mary Margaret's voice called to him and a moment later, he felt a hand on his shoulder shaking him, pulling him back into consciousness.

He opened his eyes groggily, trying to remember when it was exactly that he closed them.

He glanced at the clock on the wall at noted a few hours had passed since the last time he checked.

Mary Margaret called his name again and he turned to look at her.

"The doctors here, he's talking to your mom." She nodded her head towards the ER doors where his mother was listening to an older man whom he presumed was Emma's surgeon.

He was at attention immediately, all the grogginess from his unexpected nap gone in an instant.

He sat up straight in his chair and considered going over there to hear for himself how his best friend was doing, but the calming hand Mary Margaret placed on his told him to stay where was.

Too far away to hear what they were saying, he studied their faces intently, trying to pull any information he could out of their expressions.

Ruth's face wasn't betraying anything. Her features showed no emotion save for how intently she was listening to the surgeon. Surely if Emma had died, Ruth would be in a much worse condition, right?

Did that mean she was okay?

David tore his eyes away from his mother to take a brief glance at the rest of the room.

Everyone was incredibly alert now, any tension from the earlier fighting was gone, replaced with the anticipation of finally knowing how Emma was doing.

Graham's nose, he noted, was cleaned up with bandages on it, but the spots of skin peeking out from under the wrap were bruised and splotchy. He liked Graham, but he couldn't help but feel proud of his brother's work, especially when he recalled some of the things Graham had said about him and Emma.

Killian was back in the room now but David couldn't say he was much calmer. He had risen out of his chair and was studying the scene in front of him with a concentration that if applied to his schoolwork, could have gotten him into Harvard. His features were stoic, unaware yet if he should be relieved or distraught.

The conversation seemed to go on forever as they waited to hear the news.

What were they talking about that could go on this long?

Either she was alive or she wasn't.

Every few moments either he or Killian would twitch as though they were going to move forward and interrupt the conversation, demanding answers, but neither did.

Regina was the first to snap.

She threw her hands up. "This is ridiculous! They can't keep us waiting like this!"

She began stomping forward but Robin grabbed her from behind and pulled her back, attempting to calm her.

She shot a look at David and Killian. "Either one of you goes up there or I will."

Mary Margaret decided it was time to intercede, "No one is going up there. She's obviously alive if they are taking this long."

"How are you always so infuriatingly optimistic!?" Regina cried.

David noted the two adults break off from their conversation and look towards them, obviously distracted by the ruckus they were making.

They shared a look, probably realizing how their long conversation was irritating the worried teens. Ruth shook the doctor's hand and delivered some parting words before making her way towards the group.

Everyone settled down in an instant, waiting on baited breath.

Ruth looked at them all, her face still impassive for a few moments until it was replaced by a small smile.

"She's alive."

That was all they needed, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. David wrapped his arms around his mom gratitude and relief filling the embrace.

But Ruth did not share his relief. She pulled him off of her lightly, keeping her hands on his arms.

"She's alive… but she suffered a lot of damage. She's still in the woods."

The cheering stopped. The tension was palpable in the air again.

"They opened her up to repair the internal bleeding but there was a complication. Her ribs were fractured, some broken, and one of the ribs punctured her lung and it collapsed. It was touch and go for a bit. Not to mention that she was pretty much hypothermic when you brought her in. They are still working on warming her up."

"But…" David paused looking for the right words, "She's going to stay alive, right?"

"We hope so. Right now we don't have any reason to think she could be critical but with the damage she suffered, anything is possible."

"How bad was it?" Killian spoke softly.

"Well, aside from the large injuries they fixed during surgery and the broken ribs, she has a head wound that had to be stitched up, a split lip, and a nice black eye. Plus we're pretty sure she developed pneumonia in her lungs. She's going to have a long recovery and she'll need you guys there with her."

There was a chorus of agreements and promises to help Emma but Ruth cut them off.

"Look, I know today was stressful, but if you're going to help Emma, you need to be there for her completely. It's going to be a long and painful recovery, and she doesn't need all of you at each other's throats. Whatever drama you guys have needs to be put aside."

They're heads dropped and they had the decency to look ashamed.

"You're all best friends, hell, you're family, and one of you almost died today. Surely that should make you realize that whatever petty arguments or disagreements you have aren't worth it."

They all looked at each other, knowing Ruth was right. David noticed Killian and Graham make eye contact and knew that they would find their way back to being best friends too.

The tension, anger, and panic that had filled their lives not only today, but for the past few days, faded away.

They were family no matter what.

"Good." Ruth said sensing the change in the atmosphere.

"Now," she continued as she turned towards David and Killian, but David couldn't tell which one of them she was looking directly at.

"She asked for you."

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