Chapter 2: Shocked

Emma opened her eyes. She had no idea where she was, all she could see was the blinding light over her head. She blinked and looked around, on her left. Regina was behind a glass, looking at her, a sad and embarrassed smile on her lips. She wrapped her coat more tightly and turned around, going away. Emma was confused. Why had she left like this? She looked again and noticed the familiar place; apparently, she was at the hospital.

"Mum!"

Emma turned instantly, to face Henry who was surrounded by Charming and Hook. Not feeling like she was able to talk, she simply smiled; she felt lost, and seeing familiar faces was reassuring. She had some difficulties to think. Doctor Whale entered the room and went to check on the medical equipment beside her. She turned back again towards her son, the pirate and her dad. Someone was missing.

"Where is mum?" Her voice sounded really weak.

"She will come later, she couldn't come right now, she was busy with your brother," Charming explained. Emma opened her eyes widely.

"My brother? But…" She paused for a moment. "How long have I been there? When was he born?"

They all seemed disconcerted by this question.

"Mum, you were there, don't you remember?"

Emma stared at the three of them, confused. Whale looked away from the medical equipment and came closer to her. He talked slowly, to make sure she would understand him well.

"Emma, don't panic, let me explain. You had a car accident. You stayed there for three days. You may be confused right now, but it's nothing to worry about, everything will get back to normal. You just need to relax for now. Hold on, I come back in a few minutes."

Emma stared at him as he left the room. She had been confused a minute ago, now she was completely lost.

"That's okay, love, you will be fine." The pirate carefully sat on the bed, softly grabbed her hand and, with his hook, slightly brushed aside a strand of hair.

"What are you doing, Hook?" She took her hand back from his, and pushed away his hook. Killian stood on his feet and stepped back, not taking his eyes off her, shocked. Not only had she rejected him. She also did something she hadn't done for a long time, since they had come back from New York; calling him Hook. Both Charming and Henry looked at Killian, at Emma, and at Killian again. Charming caught his eye, he seemed distraught. And hurt. He looked at his daughter again.

"Emma, what is the last thing you remember of?"

Emma tried to think. Zelena. She was the Wicked Witch, she had cast a curse. That's why Hook had brought her back from New York. She remembered that quite clearly. But everything else was blurry. She had no idea how she had ended up here. There had been something about Regina. And about Neal. Neal… It was unclear, but her eyes filled up with tears. She looked at Charming.

"Neal…" She choked. There was no need for words, the expression on her father's face said it all. She couldn't remember what had happened exactly, she couldn't remember how she had landed there or what had happened before the accident, but she knew Neal wasn't there anymore. Tears were now silently rolling down her cheeks.

"Emma, you will be fine again, remember what Whale said? He said it was normal to be confused," said her father.

"He's right, Mum, you will remember!"

Emma looked at the three of them, all staring at her, Henry standing close to her bed, his face brightened with hope. Charming was just behind him, while Hook was as away from her as the room allowed him to be, obviously not over the fact she had rejected him this way. This situation was confusing, she was tired. Being the centre of attention was too much.

"I want to be alone. Leave! Just leave me for now, I want to be alone for a while."

They all stared at each other, Charming shrugged and moved towards the door.

"We'll be back soon. Don't worry, Mum, it'll be okay." Henry kissed her on the cheek and followed Charming. Hook was the last one to leave, he looked back at her before disappearing. Emma saw the pain in his eyes, and wondered what was wrong. She didn't understand why he seemed so much affected, much more than all the other times she had rejected him. The door opened again, and the doctor came in.

"Emma, I prefer to keep you here for a few days, the shock has been quite violent, you hit your head really hard, I have to keep an eye on you. I gave you something against the pain, but now you have to relax and sleep. This," he said, showing a syringe, "will help you." Emma wanted to fight against it, she didn't want to sleep, she needed to think about everything that happened. But she was too weak to do so, and resigned herself, letting Whale grab her arm.

"You will fall asleep very easily, in about a minute." She watched him injecting the product. It was indeed really fast; after a few seconds, her eyelids started to fall and she felt falling into a deep sleep.