A/N: Sorry it's been awhile I haven't had much motivation for writing lately! Hopefully you like this chapter and thanks for the reviews. I am hoping to add in some of your suggestions later on. If you have any ideas, let me know! Enjoy!

Emma and Ella

Chapter 19: Hospital Visit

"Have you been you using your crutches, Ella?" Dr. Whale asked as he started to examine Ella's leg.

Ella cringed. She was between a hard place and rock right now so to speak. If she lied and said yes, her parents would question her. If she told the truth and said no, her parents would find out about her not getting cleared to stop using her crutches.

"She hasn't been using her crutches. She said that you cleared her to stop using them." David said and Ella cringed slightly.

"I did not clear her the last time I saw her. She should have been still using them. I'm going to have to do an x-ray to see how her tibia is healing, but I am worried that she might have re-injured it by bearing weight on it too soon." Dr. Whale said with a sigh.

David and Snow both looked down at Ella with disappointed looks and Ella looked down at the blanket covering her.

"I'll also get an x-ray of her ribs. When we tried to resuscitate her, it looks like we might have broken or fractured one of her ribs. She might be a little sore from the resuscitation attempts." Dr. Whale told them.

Snow nodded, but was looking like she could cry from how close they came to losing Ella. That she had to be resuscitated was just horrible.

David was frowning as well as he thought of how close he had come to losing his daughter that he hadn't even know about until the curse broke.

"A nurse will be in to take her to get the x-rays in a few minutes. I'll be back after she has them with the results." Dr. Whale told them.

"Okay, thanks Dr. Whale." Snow said with a kind smile.

"No problem." Whale answered before leaving the room.

Emma sat in the chair at the side of the room and watched as her parents had another silent conversation over Ella's head. Ella was glancing over at her with a worried look.

Emma gave her a sympathetic look and then looked at their parents before rolling her eyes at Ella. Ella smiled and nodded.

"Ella." Snow said firmly and waited for Ella to look up at her. "Why did you lie to us about your crutches?"

Ella shrugged her shoulders.

"Ella, that's not an answer." David called her out and Ella looked up at him briefly before looking back down.

"I just didn't want to get in trouble for lying before or for not using my crutches." Ella told them quietly.

"Well that didn't work very well, did it?" Snow said with a disappointed look.

"I guess not." Ella mumbled.

Snow lifted Ella's chin so that she was looking her in the eyes. "From now on, we expect you to tell us the truth. No more lying, okay?" Snow said firmly.

"Okay." Ella responded feeling embarrassment about getting in trouble already and that she was getting in trouble with both her parents in front of Emma.

A moment later, a nurse came in and got Ella in a wheelchair to go get her x-rays.

"We'll be waiting here for you. Be good for the nurse." Snow said as she leaned down and kissed her daughter's head. She really didn't like her being out of her sight after everything that happened.

"Mom…" Ella whined in embarrassment and David chuckled.

David kissed the top of her head as well. "We'll see you soon, kiddo."

Ella smiled shyly at him before she was wheeled out of the room.

David then sat down next to Emma and put an arm around her as Snow sat down on the other side her. "So how exactly did you break the curse?"

"I started to believe in it and then when I thought Ella was...dead... I kissed her head and told her I loved her. That's when the curse broke and she woke up." Emma said softly.

David and Snow smiled at her.

"That couldn't have been easy." David said softly.

Emma started to tear up. It hadn't. She thought Ella had died and it had broke her heart. "She died." Emma said in a shaky voice.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. But I'm proud of you." David said before kissing her head.

"I am too, sweetie." Snow said softly as she tucked Emma's hair behind her ear.

"Really?" Emma asked looking between them.

"Yes, sweetie." David answered her softly.

"Of course." Snow put an arm around Emma and Emma leaned her head on her mom.

Emma yawned tiredly as she did.

David smiled at Snow above Emma's head. She had a long day and she was exhausted. They both knew it.

David and Snow stayed quiet to let Emma drift off to sleep for a little nap as they waited for Ella to return. When they knew she was asleep, they started to talk again.

"We are going to have to keep these two close…" Snow said thinking of Regina and King George.

"I know and we will." David said quietly.

"Do you think Regina will try to get Ella again?" Snow asked.

"She better not." David said with frustration. He wasn't too happy about Ella having lived with her for 3 weeks.

"You don't think she hurt her at all while she was there?" Snow asked in worry.

"I hope not." David said quietly after a few moments of silence.

"We should try getting her to open up to us about it." Snow said.

"I knew she was lying to me about her crutches while she was with Regina. I should have talked to Regina or done something." David said in frustration.

"Maybe, but it might not have made a difference anyway." Snow replied.

David nodded, but Snow knew he felt guilty.

"She'll be okay and hopefully learn from this." Snow said with smirk.

David smiled. "Yes, hopefully."

"Do you think they will keep her overnight?" Snow asked.

"I don't think so." David said, hopefully. It would be nice to get his family home.

David and Snow continued to talk quietly as Emma slept leaning on Snow. They figured out where they were going to leave since they had two places. They figured David's place would be a better option seeing as their family was now bigger.

About 30 minutes later, the nurse rolled Ella into the room. Emma was still asleep against Snow so David got up to help get Ella back in the bed.

"Dr. Whale should be in soon with the results of the x-ray." The nurse said quietly to David.

"Thank you." David said sincerely before looking down at Ella. She looked sleepy, but she was trying to stay awake. "It shouldn't be long now."

Ella nodded, but then yawned.

David sat down on the edge of her bed and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Long day, huh?"

Ella nodded.

"Hopefully we will be able to go home soon."

"But what about all my stuff?" Ella asked in worry. All of her things were at Regina's house.

David hadn't thought of that. "Are your crutches there too?"

Ella nodded sheepishly.

"Your mother and I will take care of that. And if you still need crutches, which I guessing you will," David paused with a disappointed look at Ella, "then we will see if Whale can loan you some until we get yours back."

"Ok." Ella said quietly. "I'm sorry I lied to you." She added even quieter as she looked down at the bed.

David smiled softly before lifting her chin to look at him. "You're forgiven, just don't make a habit of it, okay?"

"Okay." Ella said with a smile.

10 minutes later, Whale comes in with the x-rays. Snow carefully sets Emma down so she is laying on the small couch before going over to join her husband and daughter.

"The good news is that she didn't rebreak any of her ribs, but they are bruised and will be sore for the next week or two. The bad news is that she reinjured her tibia and will need surgery to repair it. We can schedule for sometime this week as an outpatient surgery, but until her surgery I want her to be resting her leg or using crutches."

Ella rolled her eyes as she realized that the doctor wasn't even talking to her, but her parents. She didn't like the idea of having surgery. It was scary and would set her back from having the freedom to walk on her own without crutches or someone carrying her.

"We will make sure that she does just that." David replied in a determined voice.

"Good. We don't want to aggravated it anymore than she has already." Dr. Whale said with a look at Ella.

"Should we keep her in bed to rest it?" Snow asked.

"For at least a day and then she can use her crutches, but I would limit that as well. Her leg should be elevated as much as possible. I am going to leave her in the boot for now, but after the surgery I will put her back in a cast." Dr. Whale told them.

Ella frowned. Her mom and probably her dad with the way he was looking, would be keeping her off her leg until the surgery. She doubted she would even use her crutches with her overprotective parents.

"We will keep her off of it. When is the soonest she can have the surgery?" David asked.

"We will have to check the schedule, but I am guessing Monday would be the soonest. You can schedule it with the nurse when she brings Ella's discharge papers."

"Ok, thanks." David said sincerely.

After Whale left, Snow looked down at Ella. "Did you hear what he said? You are to stay off your leg and I think, and I'm sure your father will agree, that you don't even need to be using your crutches."

"I do agree. I'll carry you if you need to go somewhere." David agreed.

"But he said that I could use my crutches some." Ella complained.

"You're right he did, but since it will only probably be a day or two there will be no need to use them until after the surgery." David responded.

"But…" Ella started.

"No more buts, young lady." David said firmly, but not unkindly.

Ella frowned. She didn't like him being firm with her. She wasn't use to it coming from him. If it had come from her mother, she wouldn't feel as funny about it. She wasn't used to having a father scolding her. She hadn't liked it much when David tried to scold her and she didn't like it now either.

"We are only doing this for your own good." Snow said softly just as the nurse came in to give them the discharge instructions and set up her surgery.

Charming and Snow talked to the nurse as she went over the discharge instructions and asked questions about them.

"Alright so the surgery is set up for 8 am on Monday, but she will need to be here by 6 am to get checked it and prep for surgery. She shouldn't eat or drink anything after 7pm the day before the surgery." The nurse instructed them before handing them the pre-operation instructions paper.

"Here is a prescription for pain medicine if she needs it for her ribs, chest, or leg. It isn't a strong pain medication, but it should help." The nurse added as she handed them the prescription slip.

The nurse finished up answering their questions and giving them the papers to take home. She then had them sign the discharge papers. Snow helped Ella get changed into her regular clothes as David woke up Emma. The nurse brought a wheelchair for Ella to ride in to the truck.

Snow smiled at Emma as she walked over looking sleepy. "Oh sweetie. We are going home soon and you can sleep." Snow said as she put an arm around Emma and Emma once again leaned her head against her feeling comfortable and safe. It was nice having a mom now.

"I know." Emma mumbled.

"Alright, Ella. Let's get you in the wheelchair." David said as he picked up a sleepy Ella. She was getting so tired that she didn't even argue about the wheelchair.

"Wait do you have a coat?" David asked as he looked around the room for her coat.

"I didn't wear one." Ella answered tiredly.

"Ella." Snow said with a smirk.

"I was in too big of a hurry to grab one."

"Yeah because you were running to stop me from eating the apple turnover." Emma said with a smirk.

"I didn't run…" Ella said with a sheepish look.

"What do you mean? You totally ran from Regina's." Emma said with a tired chuckle.

"Emma.." Ella whined.

"What?" Emma asked.

"Ella, stop trying to get your sister to take it back. I can't believe you ran on the leg while it was in the boot. No wonder you reinjured it." Snow scolded with a sigh.

Emma grimaced and mouthed to Ella that she was sorry. She hadn't meant to get her in trouble more. Ella shrugged her shoulders as she smiled back, letting her know that she wasn't holding it against her.

"Alright, let's get home." David said with a smile at the exchanged he saw go on between his girls.

David left his wife and girls at the front door to go drive the truck up to the front. He would have asked Emma if she wanted to come with him, but she was still leaning against her mom. He was surprised how open she was being with her and didn't want to interrupt the moment for Snow. He loved seeing how close they already were and he was so excited to start their new life as the family they should have been.