Shorter chapter tonight but I figured you'd be happier with that than nothing.
Let's carry on
As always please review
"He's passed out, right people let's get this done. We need to turn him then I want him in that neck brace and ready to go on the spinal board ASAP, be careful of his head, he's definitely got a few extra lumps than he should."
David sat back on his heels and watched as they turned Hook slowly so that he was on his back, one of the EMTs got to work readying the neck brace while the other held the Pirate's head stable and in seconds the neck brace was snapped into place. Whale worked just as quickly putting the Pirate's leg into a large splint before he pushed and prodded his way up Hook's body and when he peeled back the Pirate's shirt the bruising rising from below his waist line was hard to miss. Whale placed his hands on both Hook's hips and gave a slight push but didn't say anything, he just moved on to Hook's ribs first checking one side then the other before pulling his shirt back over his shivering form.
"OK I think we're good to go, this needs to be done slowly and be careful of his hip. It seems stable enough at the minute but I want an x-ray just to be sure."
With that the medics were moving like a well oiled machine tipping Hook onto his left hand side, Whale gave the Pirate's spine a quick check before nodding, he was lowered down and fastened onto the board by four large straps that immobilized him in seconds.
David pulled himself to his feet and tugged Emma with him, she seemed to be in shock, just staring blankly at Hook's face.
"Hey, he'll be OK you know"
She turned to him with tears in her eyes "I know Dad... I just... I thought I had lost him. I guess I should have known better than to doubt him, he keeps telling me he's good at surviving" she finished with a chuckle
David didn't have time to offer more comfort, they were suddenly ready to go when Whale stood turning to them both quickly with a look of determination on his face.
"David, if you can go through the space with Eddie and wait on the other side. Miss Swan if you can get yourself situated in the middle myself and Charlie here will lift him high, I need you to support the stretcher as it is passed over to your Father and Eddie. Once we are through we need to get him out of here as quickly as possible. Are we clear?"
They all just nodded dumbly, how the hell had Whale come to be the one in charge?
"Right let's go" the Doc called and they were all moving.
It was hard work, the space was almost impossible to work with and at one point Hook started to come too groaning quietly as he was jostled but it didn't last, he was gone again in seconds as he was passed from hand to hand and was finally freed from the cave.
Getting him out onto the beach turned out to be just as treacherous, it was dark now and walking through the narrow walkway with the Pirate held between them proved to be a difficult task. Emma ended up walking ahead shining one flashlight in front of her and another behind her onto the sand so that the others didn't fall over any of the rocks that jutted up but eventually they were making their way across the smooth sands towards the ambulance that waited on the far side of the dunes.
David could just make out the colored lights from the vehicle dancing in the distance, he wanted more than anything to run to the waiting ambulance but he couldn't so he just put one foot in front of the other gritting his teeth against the pain that carrying the Pirate was causing to his broken fingers.
Emma was still in front leading the way and David could tell she was getting impatient, she kept turning back and looking over her shoulder as they struggled along, he tried to give her a reassuring smile but she never even looked at him once, she only had eyes for her Pirate and that lump that kept forming in David's throat was back, Emma looked so broken... this had to be killing her.
David just dug in deeper... he needed to be strong for Emma, he needed to be strong for Hook too and suddenly his mind flitted to another face, Killian! How was this going to work? There were two of them now... David shoved the thought aside, like everything else in his life they would just have to deal with it because he knew one thing for sure, he had made a promise to himself and he intended to keep it.
Killian Jones Junior would never feel abandoned again.
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Regina burst through the door like a hurricane blowing through Kansas, eyes instantly searching for her Son, she found him in seconds perched on the edge of the spare bed next to a sleeping Neal.
"Henry" she called out rushing forward
"Mom" he cried out in return jumping off the bed and meeting her half way across the room.
Regina hugged him tightly for a few seconds before pushing him back to arms length and bending slightly to meet his eyes.
"Are you OK?"
"I'm fine Mom but Killian isn't doing too well" he gave her a wink, yes, she wasn't supposed to know anything!
Regina turned to find Snow sitting in the chair cradling the boy to her chest, he seemed to be sleeping but when he gave a soft sob she realized that he wasn't, not yet but he looked like he was well on his way.
"What's going on?" she asked Mary-Margaret in a hushed tone walking over but still keeping her hand on her Son's shoulder unwilling to let him go just yet
"I don't know" Mary-Margaret looked close to tears herself "David and Emma left about an hour ago saying something about Hook still being alive. I came in here to find Killian having another panic attack but it passed quickly and we managed to get him settled again. We were all just lying on his bed playing with the baby when he suddenly started screaming. Oh Regina it was awful... he was in so much pain just grasping at his chest, I thought he was going to die"
"What did the nurses say?" Regina asked settling herself on the chair next to Mary-Margaret and pulling Henry into her side at the thought of Killian being in so much pain, her Son had witnessed that, no wonder he had been scared when he had called her.
"They ran a whole load of tests but everything came back normal, they even did the ECG that they were supposed to do earlier and that came back normal too. I don't understand, he has two heartbeats but only one showed up"
Mary-Margaret looked so worried as she rocked the boy back and forth a few more times when he gave another sob.
If Hook was alive AND this boy really was Killian Jones they had to be linked somehow... that was it!
"It's because he doesn't physically have two hearts Mary-Margaret the second must be something to do with Hook, some kind of magical link. Don't you see? This is a good thing, it means that Hook really is still alive"
"Really?" Henry gushed, eyes wide in hope.
"I'm pretty sure, from what you've said the boy has been having a lot of "Hook" related issues, this would explain it"
"Can it really be true? How? I don't understand" Mary-Margaret suddenly asked looking down at the boy in her arms who seemed to have finally settled into sleep
"I don't know but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with that gem st..." Regina suddenly gasped as a searing pain streaked through her head.
"Mom? Mom?" Henry's voice was suddenly breaking through to her and she opened an eyes to find his worried face looking at her "Are you OK? I think you passed out for a second"
"I'm fine Henry" she replied with a wince as she straightened up
"Are you sure? Are your ribs still sore?"
Her ribs?!
Regina suddenly sat up straight bringing her hand straight to the spot where she had been injured only to find that it didn't hurt, not even in the slightest.
"What the hell?" she cried out suddenly standing up
"What is it Regina? What's going on?" Mary-Margaret reached out and tugged Regina's hand to get her attention.
"My ribs... they're healed!" Regina said turning to look at Mary-Margaret with wide eyes
"What? How?"
"I have no idea... literally. All I know is that they are but this isn't the only thing strange that has happened to me today. Earlier, I woke up in my office when Henry called me..." she suddenly cringed when her Son yelled
"Mom! You weren't supposed to tell"
"It's OK Henry, I kind of figured it out anyway" Mary-Margaret soothed with a smile "I'm glad you did, thank you"
Regina just carried on like she hadn't been interrupted "Anyway, this is going to sound crazy but I swear I don't remember going to my office today. I could have sworn that when I left the house earlier I went to my vault, I hadn't been feeling too well and I thought I'd skip work for the day, you know, perks of the job but I somehow ended up in my office anyway and do you know what? That's not even the strangest part. When I woke up my shoes were missing!"
"Your shoes?" Mary-Margaret asked with a frown
"I know, it sounds crazy but I swear they were just gone. I looked everywhere for them but nothing... So tell me, how did I get there with no shoes? I mean, I'm pretty sure I would have noticed walking down Main Street bare foot. I'm just lucky I had a spare pair in the car"
"So what does this mean?" Henry suddenly asked looking excited, he Son really did love a mystery
"I'm not sure Henry but I say that we find out. Something is going on and I am going to find out what it is, are you in?"
"You bet" he answered with a grin
Just then the door pushed open again and Belle slid though the gap immediate talking to Mary-Margaret
"How is he?" she asked in a quiet voice motioning towards Killian
"Sleeping now" Mary-Margaret replied with a smile "Thanks for this Belle, it means a lot"
"No problem" she replied looking about until her eyes fell on the baby on the other bed "I'll just grab Neal and head off, Rumple is making up the crib."
Regina bit her tongue, she had a sudden urge to curse the Dark One's name but she had no reason, for a change he was actually trying to help.
Belle grabbed the change bag before scooping Neal into her arms and heading back over bouncing him slightly to keep him sleeping. "Any news on Killian... the other Killian?"
"Not yet" Mary-Margaret replied with a tight smile "But I'm sure David will call soon"
"Well let me know if there is anything else I can do" Belle gave a hopeful smile before turning to Regina with a puzzled look on her face "Do you happen have any books on magical gems that I could perhaps borrow? Rumple and I have been looking into the gem and I only found one book at the library and I figure the more I have the better."
Regina tried to answer, she actually opened her mouth to speak but the minute her mind thought about the gem her world was pain again, a scream was ripped from her mouth and she slumped to the floor in an unconscious heap.