15.

Killian dropped the old rope he'd been coiling to dig into his pocket for his phone. "Hello?" he answered, gazing up at the ropes he had yet to remove from his ship's rigging. He was replacing them with new ones and it was a long task alone.

"Oh good morning, is that Mr Jones?"

"Aye, that I am," he replied, frowning at the phone. The only people who usually called him were his wife, sometimes Henry and occasionally his in-laws. "Who is this?"

"I'm sorry, it's Ashley, at the daycare. I-"

"Is Hope all right?" he asked, cutting her off.

"Don't panic, but I don't think she's feeling too good, poor thing. She's been very quiet and not herself and, well we have noticed some spots on her arms. She's probably caught the chicken pox that has been going around."

"Pox?" Killian repeated, already marching towards the gangplank. "My daughter has the pox?" he asked.

"Chicken pox, yes. We think so. She's rather warm and unhappy. Will you be able to collect her?" she asked.

"Of course. I'm just going to grab Emma and we'll be right there!" He hung up the phone and raced towards the Sheriff's Station in a panic.

Emma was on the phone when he crashed into her office moments later. She held up her hand to him, asking him to wait a moment as she continued her conversation. "Yes, I am aware of the protocols, but if you could just fax the documents to me and…" her phone went dead as she stared at the receiver. Looking up she found Killian with his hook pressed on the switch hook. "Killian!" she yelled at him, "that was an important call, what the hell-"

"This is more important!" he snapped. "Hope is sick and we have to go get her."

"Hope's sick?" she asked with concern as she slowly replaced the phone to the cradle.

"Aye, Ashley called me and asked us to go pick her up. She said they think she has the pox."

Emma frowned as she grabbed her jacket. "I thought she felt a little warm this morning," she muttered.

Killian stopped and frowned at her. "You knew she was sick and you sent her to daycare?" he accused.

"I didn't say I knew she was sick. I noticed she was a bit warm when I woke her this morning. I thought it was because she'd been hiding under the duvet like she does when she doesn't want to get up. How was she when you dropped her off?" she asked. The pair of them chatting as they headed for Emma's car.

"Tired. A little sluggish. She wanted me to carry her most of the way," he admitted. "I suppose I didn't realise she wasn't herself either."

"Well, never mind that. We'll go get our little girl and she'll be fine." Emma smiled as she climbed into the car.

When they arrived at the nursery, Ashley showed them in to find Hope laying on a cushion in the reading nook, looking rather sorry for herself. "Hey baby," Emma whispered, kneeling down and brushing her damp curls from her face. She was burning up with a fever.

"Mommy," Hope whimpered and held her arms up for her mom.

"I'm here baby, and Daddy. Let's get you home sweet girl," she kissed her forehead and pulled her into her arms before getting to her feet with Killian's help.

"Aaw, my poor little cygnet," Killian sympathised and rubbed her back.

"Hi Daddy," she said softly and lay her head on her mom's shoulder.

"Let us know how she's doing," Ashley requested as she handed Killian Hope's things. "You feel better, okay Hope?" she spoke to the sad little girl who nodded sadly.

Half an hour later, they were walking back to the car in the hospital parking lot with a confirmed case of chicken pox and a rather weary child in her dad's arms. "I'll drop you two at home and then head to the pharmacy to get everything the doctor suggested," Emma said as Killian strapped Hope back into her car seat. "Then we'll soon have you feeling better, won't we baby?" Hope nodded rather forlornly.

"Can you not heal her?" Killian asked as he climbed into the car.

"You know my magic doesn't work with any virus. We've tried it before, and that's what chicken pox is, a virus."

"Aye, I heard the doctor. I just hate seeing her sick," he twisted around to peer into the back seat where Hope was dozing.

"I know, but she's going to be fine, babe. A few days of some TLC and she'll be back to normal," she assured him and headed for home.

By the time Emma got back from the pharmacy, Killian had turned their lounge into some kind of sick room. He had dragged Hope's comforter and pillow from her bed and got her tucked up on the couch with her favourite stuffed floppy eared bunny. She had some books, the TV remote, colouring books and a drink all within reach and was currently watching Frozen on the TV.

"You've been busy," Emma commented, removing her jacket and approaching the patient. "How are you feeling?" she asked her daughter, feeling her forehead.

"Sleepy," Hope murmured in reply.

"You take a nap, sweetheart. I'll just give you some of this medicine and it will help you feel better."

Hope took the children's tylenol like a trouper and then snuggled down on the couch as Emma lowered the volume on the TV before heading to the kitchen with her bagful of shopping. Killian followed her, watching as she removed all the items from the bag – the medicine, calamine lotion, antihistamines, Hope's favourite ice cream – Phish Food and a bag of oatmeal.

"What's that for?" he asked, picking up the bag. "Is porridge going to make her feel better?" he frowned.

"It's not for eating," she muttered, putting the ice cream in the freezer. "It's to go in her bath."

"What the hell for?" he asked, trying to keep his voice down so Hope could nap.

Emma rinsed out the little measuring cup for the medicine and turned to face him. "A mother got talking to me in the pharmacy, she noticed the items I was buying and assumed our kid had caught chicken pox. She said her kid, Ben, had it a couple of weeks back and she was told that oatmeal in the bath could help with the itching. It worked for him, so I thought we'd try it," she explained.

"Right," he nodded absently and put the bag down with a frown.

"What?" she asked, knowing that expression.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Just...this is all bloody ridiculous! I thought this realm was so advanced in medicine, yet there's nothing else they can do for her? It's bullshit!" he spat.

"Killian, babe." She stepped towards him and placed her hands on his chest. "She's going to be fine, I promise you. Chicken pox is a normal childhood illness, usually fairly mild. I had it when I was small and I came through it unscathed, save for a couple of scars from scratching the spots," she shrugged.

"Mild is it? Then why do they say that it can be fatal? What about developing bacterial infections of the skin and stuff? Or getting pneumonia and brain infections? And…"

"Where the hell did you hear all that?" she asked him, surprised. It was then that she glanced over to check on Hope that she noticed the open laptop on the coffee table and heaved a great sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I swear I sometimes wish I had never taught you about the internet! How many times have I told you not to google illness symptoms and stuff? It's always worst case scenario on the internet, Killian! All it does is scare you and give you anxiety!" she finished with a roll of her eyes.

"So it's all lies then?"

"Okay, yes. Complications can happen, but they're rare and usually in people who already have an impaired immune system or other health conditions. Hope is a strong, healthy little girl. We're going to keep a close eye on her, take care of her and she's going to get better soon. I promise you."

"You promise, huh?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Yes," she smiled and wrapped her arms around her husband. "You know I won't let anything bad happen to our little girl," she assured him. He returned her hug and exhaled deeply as he rested his chin atop of her head. They stayed that way for a few moments, listening to the soft snores of their daughter drift over to them. "Hey," she pulled back and looked up at him as something struck her, "have you ever had chicken pox?"

He snorted. "Love, if I had ever had the pox, I would not be standing here right now. People usually died back in the Enchanted Forest from the pox, unless they had magic."

She looked up at him puzzled and smoothed her hand down the front of his shirt. "I think we're talking about an entirely different pox illness, babe. But, if you've never had it, you'll have to be careful. Chicken pox is highly contagious and apparently can be worse in adults."

"Wonderful, something to look forward to," he groaned and buried his head in her shoulder as she hugged him again.

The following few days were rather stressful in the Swan-Jones household. Hope was keeping them busy and they were both exhausted trying to take care of her and keep on top of their work. She wouldn't eat much, but when she was hungry all she wanted was ice cream or mac and cheese. And not the mac and cheese in a box that Emma knew how to make, she wanted Nanna Snow's home made baked mac and cheese. Of course, Snow was only too happy to come over and make it for her as well as show Killian and Emma how to make it themselves.

Although Hope took her medicine without any problems, she didn't like the oatmeal baths, even though they seemed to be helping a bit. She claimed they felt weird and grumbled about them. She was happier when Emma decided to put the oatmeal into an old sock and let that soak in the water. And trying to put the calamine lotion on her was a nightmare – she hated it, claimed it smelled yucky and was sticky. It took the both of them to dab it on all her spots, because she was rather covered in them! And reminding her not to scratch at the spots was a never ending task – Killian tried putting mittens on her hands, but she still managed!

She had a few concerned visitors, mostly her Grandparents and big brother, coming over to cheer her up and see how she was doing. They brought her gifts of colouring books, paper pads and crayons. Stuffed toys to snuggle and new DVD's to watch so she wouldn't get bored.

Within a week, Hope was feeling much better. Her spots had all scabbed over and some had even disappeared. She was back to her normal, exuberant self and eager to get back to daycare. The same, unfortunately, couldn't be said for her father though.

Emma took the thermometer from his mouth and checked the reading. "Yep, you have a fever, mister!" she informed him. He'd not long since woken, moaning and groaning as he lay in bed complaining of feeling, in his own words, like 'Chimera shit'. "And with those spots on your chest and, well, everywhere else, it's safe to say your daughter has given you chicken pox." She patted his shoulder and gave him a sad little smile.

"Fan-bloody-tastic!" he grumbled and lay his head back on his pillow.

"Aaw, my poor baby," she murmured and brushed her fingers through his hair. "You stay in bed, I'll bring you up some hot tea. Then I'll take Hope to daycare and stop in the pharmacy on my way back to get you some things. Don't worry, I'll take care of you, babe," she promised him and left him with a kiss to his hot forehead.

Killian, as it turned out, was a much worse patient that their daughter had ever been!