A/N: Thank you all for your comments and reviews. I'm sorry if some of you did not feel it was worth the wait, but I won't apologize for building up the plot of this fic in the way I feel it's the best for the rhythm of the story. And I won't beef up scenes unnecessarily either, if I don't feel the need of adding more narrative into it. While I appreciate your comments and reviews, and even constructive criticism, this is my piece and I'll write its narrrative in the way I feel it's the best for the fiction.

Chapter 23 – The Wait

Take a look at me now
'Cause that's just an empty space
But to wait for you is all I can do
And that's what I've got to face
Against All Odds, Phil Collins

"Killian! Killian wake up! Get an ambulance in here right NOW!"

Killian could hear bits and pieces of screams around him… it sounded like Mac, but he couldn't be sure. He tried to assess the situation through his foggy mind and then all his thoughts and fears came back rushing back to him. He quickly tried to stand. "Emma!" He screamed in horror as he tried to see what had happened to her. His head started spinning the moment he tried to get up and Mac had to catch him before he fell.

"Killian, don't move, you might have a concussion." Mac urged but Killian would have none of it, he'd seen Emma lying on the floor, unconscious and her arm bleeding.

"Swan!" He threw himself at her, raw desperation invading his body as his hand reached her face. "Emma…" He cried in a broken whisper, his eyes searching frantically over her.

"Killian, the ambulance is coming, she'll be ok. The bullet only pierced her arm, the wound is mostly superficial." Mac tried to reach Killian, but he knew it was pointless. His look of desperation was telling Mac that Killian was far beyond reasoning, his worst fears taking the best of him. At this point, he also knew that any attempt at trying to separate him from Emma to see how he was doing was pointless. It would have to wait until they got into the hospital.

When the ambulance finally came, it took Mac and two more officers to remove Killian far enough for the paramedics to assess Emma's condition. She was stable and breathing, but unconscious. Killian refused to be attended and he demanded to ride in the ambulance with her, never leaving her side as he held her hand in his.

Mac found him in the hospital waiting room, a complete wreck, as expected. His hair was spiked in all directions, as he probably had run his hand through it constantly. His eyes were swollen, his stare lost in the horizon.

"Killian…" Mac started softly, carefully approaching him. "She'll be fine. It was a superficial wound."

"It's all my fault." Killian said. "I shouldn't have let her come. I should have locked her in that room and left without her."

"You know she wouldn't have let you… this is not your fault, Killian." Mac sighed. He clasped Killian's shoulder. "Do you need me to call her family?"

"I already did." Killian replied. "They'll be here shortly."

/-/

About an hour later, David and Mary Margaret entered the waiting room frantically.

"Killian, what happened!?" Mary Margaret cried, her face etched with worry.

"She was hit by a bullet in her arm. She was bleeding and lost consciousness." Killian explained. "The wound seemed superficial when the paramedics took care of her at the site."

"How is she?" David asked.

"The doctors are still with her…" Killian finished and he gave them an apologetic look. "I'm sorry…" He murmured in despair.

"Oh, Killian…" Mary Margaret said in tears as she held his hand. "It's going to be ok." She smiled at him amidst her tears.

David nodded at him as he helped Mary Margaret sit.

As the minutes passed, Killian kept getting more and more restless and Mac was getting even more worried. Killian might not remember it, but Mac had a clear view on how he stood up to shield Emma and took two direct bullets as a result.

He approached Killian and spoke directly to him.

"Killian, you need to see a doctor…" He said.

"Not until I know that Emma is safe…" Killian replied stubbornly.

Mac lost his patience, "God damn it, Killian, you took two bullets in the chest!"

"I had my vest. I'm fine."

"And you crashed down on the floor. You might have a concussion; you have to let the doctors examine you. I'll fucking drag you there by force if I have to." Mac threatened him.

Killian's ruthless stare made him back down, "I will not bloody leave, Mac. Do not push it or I swear to all the gods in every realm, I will punch you, mate. LEAVE ME THE BLOODY HELL ALONE." He finished before exiting the waiting room into the hall.

David approached Mac. "Is that true? He was shot?"

Mac nodded. "He shielded Emma from the gunshots. He was impacted twice in the chest before collapsing. He had his vest, but still…" He trailed off, sighing.

"How is he even awake and pacing around?" David wondered, though he had an idea why.

"I don't know… he's probably running on adrenaline and shock. But when that wears off, I don't know what will happen to him. He needs to see a doctor." Mac finished.

"Let me try." David asked and Mac nodded.

/-/

David found Killian in the hallway, next to a vending machine. He was pacing around and David could feel Killian's raw desperation.

"Hook…" He called. "Look at me." David spoke confidently. "She's fine, Killian." He told him holding Killian's stare.

Killian's eyes filled with tears and David could see how he was breaking apart. "I tried to get her to stay away. I tried, mate." He looked at David with a devastating stare.

"You kept your promise." David reassured him. "As I knew you would. She'll be fine, Killian. She's safe." David stressed the last sentence, forcing Killian to understand him. "Let go, mate."

And then Killian's sight went blank as he collapsed. David was able to quickly catch him as he called for Mac.

"Get a stretcher and a doctor in here, NOW!"

/-/

Emma drifted to consciousness slowly. Her throat ached and she could feel a wincing pain in her arm. She opened her eyes slowly.

"Hey…" Mary Margaret said. "You are awake."

"What happened?" She asked confused.

"You were wounded." David offered. "Someone tried to shoot you. Hook was able to pull you away but the bullet reached your arm…"

Emma vaguely remembered bits and pieces of the scene..."Killian! Is he ok?" She asked worryingly.

Mary Margaret looked at her with a reassuring smile in her eyes. Emma turned to look at David, who sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "He's ok, we think. He collapsed in the hospital corridor and they took him for examination." David looked at her directly. "He shielded you from the open fire, Emma. From what his partner told us, he took two bullets on the chest before crashing on the floor and shielding your body with his."

Emma's heart stopped for a second. "What do you mean he collapsed in the hospital? Didn't the paramedics assist him on the site?"

Mary Margaret smiled softly at her, "He refused attention, Emma. He stayed with you the entire time."

"We were trying to convince him to get examined when he collapsed." David continued. "He's resting now… they think he might have a concussion."

"He mainly needs to rest, Emma. His body went through a lot of stress" Mary Margaret said reassuringly. "Mac told us that he asked the doctors to give him some powerful tranquilizers to knock him down for several hours so his body could actually rest. He's afraid he'd walk out of his bed if he's awake."

"And go where?" Emma asked confused. David looked at her with a disbelieving smile and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh…" Realization dawned on Emma. "Can Mac do that? Force them to drug him to sleep?"

"He's Killian's emergency contact." Mary Margaret explained. "He has the power to make medical decisions for him."

It made sense. Killian had no direct family, no one other than Mac that could make those decisions for him. And it broke Emma's heart.

It should have been me. It could have been me.

"I want to see him." Emma said. "Do I have to stay here?" She asked trying to get up slowly.

"No, you've actually been cleared." David said. "You have to stay at home and rest, but you are allowed to leave."

"Let's go then…" She said as she tried to stand up while Mary Margaret helped her.

/-/

Emma stood outside Killian's room, David and Mary Margaret by her side, taking in on the scene. Killian was peacefully asleep in the hospital bed. Mac was sitting in a chair next to his bed and a brunette was sitting next to him, holding Mac's hand. Two police officers that Emma recognized from the station were guarding the room and several other officers were in the waiting room, drinking coffee and talking.

She recalled the other time Killian was asleep in a hospital bed: broken ribs, bruised face, handcuffed to a bed. All alone, with no one to care for him. Not even her. Because she didn't allow herself to care. Because she couldn't take a chance on him.

And here he was now: his partner guarding his sleep, his partner's wife next to him. His colleagues scattered around the waiting room. All of them there for one reason and one reason only: Killian Jones. Their partner, their colleague, their future captain. Their friend. They all cared for him. They all took a chance on him.

They did what you couldn't do.

"We should go home." Emma said to her parents.

"Don't you want to see him?" Mary Margaret asked gently.

Emma's eyes filled with tears. "No, let him rest." She said before she walked towards the door.

/-/

Killian opened his eyes slowly, trying to adjust to the light in the room.

"Welcome back, sunshine. You scared us there for a minute." Mac welcomed him with a small grin. He had dark bags under his eyes and was sporting a bit of a scruff.

"What happened?" Killian asked hoarsely and he felt his throat ache.

"You collapsed in the hallway. As I predicted." Mac smirked sadly at him. "You took two bullets to the chest and crashed on the hard pavement. Then you refused to be assisted by paramedics and paraded like a caged animal for hours in here. Your body couldn't take any more stress and shut down, Killian." Mac finished sighing.

Killian felt the silent reproach in Mac's tone. "I'm sorry, mate…" He said. "How long have I been out?" He asked.

"Over sixteen hours. I had them knock you down with medication so your body had a chance to recover." Mac answered earnestly. "And I'm not going to apologize for it. I'm your emergency contact. I make the decisions for your health when you clearly cannot make the right one on your own."

"How is Emma?" Killian asked directly. It was the first question he wanted to ask, but he knew Mac needed to say his peace.

"She's fine. It was a superficial wound and she was cleared hours ago. Her family took her home." Mac replied.

Killian sighed deeply, all the fears he'd felt before coming back to haunt him again. Mac decided to leave him to his thoughts.

"You still need to rest, Killian, so you'll be cleared later this afternoon. Just try to take it easy." He said before patting his shoulder and leaving the room. "I'm going home to my family. Call me if you need anything."

"Aye, Mac. Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Killian stared at the ceiling, his mind racing with thoughts. Everything he knew, everything he had tried so hard to believe in, was collapsing right in front of him. Nothing was certain anymore.

But he knew only one thing. He had to see her.