Chapter 7

"Ow." Emma hissed as a nurse used a pad of gauze to dab at the blood seeping out from her wound. "Son of a bitch."

Mary Margaret, who had insisted on staying in the room despite the nurse's protests, shot her a look of commiseration. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Emma muttered. "It's not like it's your fault that I pulled my stitches trying to get away from some perverted stranger."

Mary Margaret winced at Emma's choice of words. If only she knew the truth. "That's a little harsh, don't you think?"

"No." Came the blunt reply. "I mean, this total stranger walks in and kisses me. Kisses me, of all things. That's just fucked up. I'd arrest him myself, but." She gestured wildly at herself. "Can't exactly do that now can I?"

"Well maybe he had a good reason for doing so?" Mary Margaret suggested, her voice rising in pitch, the same way it did when she was trying to hide something.

Luckily, Emma didn't notice. "Unless that reason is a penchant for assaulting sleeping hospital patients, I don't think so." She replied darkly. "I know people like that. Hell, I've dealt with them. They only want one thing." She shot Mary Margaret an expectant look.

Mary Margaret wanted to argue that Hook was nothing like the ogres she'd dealt with, but she knew full well that Emma wouldn't listen. And why would she anyway; her one real encounter of him had been downright terrifying.

"Ok, this is gonna sting a little." The nurse said as she held up a gauze pad soaked with disinfectant.

"Damn right." Emma flinched as the gauze hit her wound. Across the room, Mary Margaret winced at the barely disguised look of pain on her daughters face. Oh, how she wished she could be holding Emma's hand right now, instead of merely watching ten feet away. She'd had to practically fight tooth and nail to be allowed to stay in the room, as the maddeningly independant Emma no longer remembered who she truly was. Mary Margaret was all for True Love's Kiss and all (at least that's what she assumed Hook had been trying to do), but she was going to kill the pirate when she saw him next. That is, if David hadn't already done so.

"Done." Said the nurse brightly as she began to clean up. "Try to be more careful next time; every time you rip out a stitch it delays the healing process."

Emma nodded at the nurse as she left the room; at least this one was nicer than many of the ones she'd encountered during her numerous hospital stays as a kid.

"I'm just saying, you shouldn't be so quick to judge." Mary Margaret said as she sat down on the chair next to bed. "You never know who he is or what he's been through."

"Bullshit." Emma shot back. "I wouldn't call this being quick. Look, I know you like to see the good in people but trust me there's nothing good about him. You should stay away from him too; next thing you know he'll come after you." Emma said as she adjusted her top. "I swear, if I ever see him again he'll regret the day he ever stepped foot into my room." She started flipping through the blankets. "Where's that damn remote?" She muttered. As usual, she completely missed the remote sitting on the side table.

Mary Margaret forced herself to smile, despite the mounting sadness inside. "Something tells me you won't be seeing him anymore." She handed Emma the remote, feeling for a moment as though nothing had changed as her daughter's eyes lit up at the prospect of TV. Typical Emma.

"Good." Emma said firmly, flickering on the TV, mind already turned to idly surfing through the hospital's surprising number of channels.

"Yeah." Mary Margaret said quietly. "Good."

"What the hell were you thinking?" David demanded as he faced the pirate. They were in the parking lot, where the security guards had not so gently deposited Hook on the hard concrete. Although he'd greatly helped in Neverland and had been spending every moment after that proving that he was more than a pirate, not everybody in Storybrooke fully accepted him.

"I…" For once, he was at a loss for words. How could he explain what he'd been trying to do?

"Because of you, Emma ripped her stitches." David growled, grabbing Hook's collar and pulling him up in close. The two were practically nose to nose. "You are no longer allowed anywhere near her and I will see to it that you obey."

"You can't do that." Hook challenged. "She's my wife…"

David cut him off. "And I'm her father. And a cop. Don't forget that I may have forgiven you for allowing all of this to happen, but I can just as easily cart you off to rot in jail." David glared at him for a long moment before finally releasing him. "You better watch your step, pirate. One more wrong move and you'll regret the day you ever laid eyes on my daughter."

"Aye." Hook sighed. Normally he would've fought back, but what was the point? He deserved this and more. He knew without a doubt that David was being serious. He'd caused Emma enough pain already; he didn't think he'd be able to get that terrified look out of his mind.

"What were you even thinking?!" David repeated, pacing angrily around the thankfully empty parking lot. "Sneaking into her room while she was sleeping? What did you think would happen?"

"I...I thought it would work." Hook looked down, scratching awkwardly at the back of his neck.

"Thought what would work?" David spat. And then he realized. "Oh. True Love's Kiss. You thought it'd help her regain her memories."

"Aye."

Suddenly, David laughed mirthlessly, causing Hook to look up in surprise. "I guess I should've known. I tried it myself before as well." He shook his head, a few more notes of laughter escaping. "It doesn't work if they've lost their memories."

"I think I figured that out, thanks." Hook replied, a touch of his usual sarcasm in his voice. "It would've been helpful if you'd thought to inform me of this crucial detail, mate." But on the inside he was secretly relieved. At least now he knew it hadn't worked not because she didn't truly love him, but because she'd lost her memories.

"True." David responded. "Look." He said, seemingly softening. "I get that you're upset. Believe me, I do. My own daughter doesn't remember me." His voice cracked. "I'm her father, yet she thinks of me as some strange man who broke her friend's heart. Everything we've been through, all the progress we've made, all of my best efforts, they have all been erased. But I'm not going to charge into Emma's room and force her to remember. As much as it breaks my heart, I'm going to stay away because that's what's best for her right now. And if I can do it, so can you."

Hook paused outside of Emma's room later that night. Though David had made it clear that he was not to go inside, even going as far as to place around the clock security guards outside the door (a bit overkill, in Hook's perspective), the guards were noticeably absent. Probably due to the fact that it was the middle of the night.

He'd been on his way home; early the next morning he needed to go pick up Ava, who had been staying with Ruby and Granny ever since the...incident. And when Ruby had stopped by earlier to visit Emma, she'd mentioned to Mary Margaret that Ava was growing anxious to go home. Apparently she'd also sensed that something was wrong, for she was becoming more and more fussy. But part of him didn't want to pick her up, only to be faced with her inevitable questions. 2 year old Ava clearly had her mother's intuition and would immediately want to know where Emma was.

Hook knew he needed to go home, take a shower, and go to bed. He hadn't done either of those things since Emma had arrived at the hospital, as they fell far down on his list of priorities. In fact, he hadn't even left the hospital. But the last thing he wanted was to go back home. Where he would inevitably relive the horrible events until it drove him crazy or he drank himself into a stupor. Whichever came first. And most of all, he couldn't bear to leave Emma as she lay vulnerable in the hospital. He now owed it to her more than ever to protect her.

But Ava, their daughter, needed him. Hook knew that if Emma hadn't lost her memories, she'd be practically shoving him out the door with a pitchfork. Ever since Ava was born, she and Henry had always been Emma's top priorities. So it went without saying that she'd be beyond furious if she found out she stood between him comforting their daughter. Henry had Regina but all Ava had now was him. And she needed her father.

Hook couldn't bring himself to leave without checking in on her. Though his rational side told him that she was fine, that she had her parents and the doctors taking care of her, something inside was telling him to go in.

Just a little peek and then I'm going to go. He told himself as he checked both sides of the empty corridor before sliding open the door and slipping soundlessly inside the darkened room.

Just like before, she was lying flat on her back, head tilted to side as her chest rose and fell lightly with every breath. The room was filled with the soft sounds of her snoring, something that had greatly annoyed him at first but was now one of her many endearing qualities. In fact, he found that he could no longer fall asleep without her snoring in his ear. In the darkness, she appeared to be deeply asleep. Not a sign of anything wrong.

She's fine. A voice said inside. Just as expected. Satisfied, Hook turned to go, hand curling over the door.

And then he heard it: a soft, pained whimper. So soft Hook thought it might be his ears playing tricks on him. It was late and he hadn't slept properly in days. He stopped short, listening carefully. But there was it again. A tiny, unmistakable, heartbreaking whimper that was clearly coming from her.

Hook immediately stepped back to the bed and closely surveyed her. Upon closer inspection she no longer appeared to be calmly sleeping. Her brow was furrowed and he could hear short, rapid breaths as she squirmed under the thick blankets. All that coupled with increasing whimpers told him that she was having a nightmare.

This sight and the sound of her suffering hit him right in the gut. She was hurting, probably reliving the worst moments of her life. While she had the occasional nightmare, usually when sick, it was nowhere as bad as this.

"Emma." He whispered into the darkness. "Wake up."

She gave no indication of having heard him. If anything, the whimpers just grew louder.

"Wake up." He said as loud as he dared. He cast a quick glance at the door. If the security guards came back they'd inevitably see him and he'd be dragged out, unable to help. "Swan."

Tears began to leak out of the corner of her eyes as she started to mutter. "No. I can't be a mother."

A note of desperation crept into his voice as his heart broke. "Wake up." This was a particular recurring nightmare of hers, being forced to give up Henry. Clearly the birth of her second child hadn't helped to heal this wound.

It occurred to him that perhaps the painkillers were making it hard for her to wake up. But he couldn't just leave her trapped in a cloud of misery.

Security guards be damned, Hook did the only thing he could think of to do. Cautiously, he reached out a hand to cup her cheek which he noted was damp with tears. Almost instantly, Emma stopped squirming.

She was subconsciously reacting to his touch.

The room seemed to quiet as her whimpers gradually subsided. With his Hook, he lifted sweaty strands of hair out of her face as he ran his thumb over her cheek. "It's ok, love. Everything's ok." He said with a gentleness he didn't even know he possessed.

Her face began to relax as she turned her cheek, leaning even further into his touch. "Killian." She murmured as she nestled her face against his heavily calloused palm.

Hook froze. Had he heard correctly? Had she just muttered his name? Clearly, on some deep level she still remembered him. Still responded to his touch and voice. He was still able to comfort her. Hope flooded through his chest; maybe all hope was not lost.

He waited until her face grew serene and she was entirely quiet before slowly removing his hand. He leaned down and brushed his lips gently against her forehead before slipping back outside, a small smile spreading across his face despite himself.

Author's note: Next ch we'll meet Ava.