Chapter Text
Chapter 1
He knew what was happening. One afternoon she was smiling and laughing, drinking a beer with him and David out on the balcony joking about their crazy neighbors, and the next she was wincing every time anyone got within a foot of her. Not a week after that she was wearing long sleeve shirts, long pants, and scarves in the middle of July with the occasional bruise above her eye or on her chin.
It didn't take much imagination to figure out was going on.
Every time he tried to tell her to leave, to get as far away from Neal as possible she would throw up the emotional wall he had worked so hard to distinguish. She wouldn't talk to David either. That worried him. Why would she feel afraid to talk to her own brother, her family?
Every time he was with her, he saw the pain in her eyes... and his heart hurt for her. He could tell she wanted to leave, who wouldn't? But something was holding her back.
They were in the kitchen making lunch when Killian decided it was a fine time to talk to David, "Did you see Emma last night?"
David's content face faded to sadness and deep regret. "Yeah, she looked awful."
"David we need to do something about this, mate, she doesn't look like she's slept in weeks. She hardly eats anything and she's too scared look anyone in the eye. She needs help."
"I know, I've told her that a hundred times, so have you. She just won't listen."
"Why did you let her go back to him?" he tried not to let his anger and worry show but knew he was failing.
"That's not fair Killian, you know as much as I do that she's not ten anymore, she has to make her own decisions. I told her that she should stay here, that we'll figure something out so that she doesn't have to see Neal ever again... but she wouldn't." David saw Killian's questioning expression, "Look Killian as much as I want to get her away from that situation we're doing everything we can. We can't force her to do anything."
"As much I support and trust you, I'm not sure that's the best course of action. It is her decision to make...I just don't think she sees it that way."
"What do you suggest?"
"Well it's almost been a year and she won't do anything about it... I think it's past time we get the police involved."
David was staring blankly at the counter considering the idea when his phone started ringing. He looked at the screen questioningly before picking it off the counter. "Probably just a wrong number." David excused. Killian could hear broken pieces of the conversation and he could tell just by David's facial expression what it was about... Something happened to Emma, something that they couldn't fix.
They were led to a waiting room in emergency care. The nurse told them that Emma was still being operated on, and that it would probably be at least another hour and a half. Killian was in a daze, not fully aware of anything that was happening around him, too wrapped up in his thoughts. Operation? What the bloody hell happened!? How bad was it? What if they couldn't save her? First Liam, not Emma too. Why did she let Neal do this to her!? Why did HE let Neal do this to her?
"Killian." David said firmly (not for the first time) ripping him away from his worry. He raised his head showing David that he had his attention.
"She's out of operation and just got placed in a room," he paused. "She's okay, she's not awake, but she's gonna be okay."
Killian sighed semi relieved, knowing that there would still be damage both physically and mentally, but at least she was alive. "When can we see her?"
"Now."
"Go to her, I'll meet you there in a few minutes. What room number is it?"
"It's 108."
David disappeared behind the doorframe and Killian let out a sigh. It was time to face the inevitable, the brokenness Neal had left behind.
He was right outside room number 108. He had been so anxious about the operation that now that the time to see her was finally here, he didn't think he was ready. Killian took a deep breath, bracing himself for what he was about to see. He stepped inside the room, the first thing he saw was David, sitting in a chair beside the bed, he was whiter than a ghost, he just stared at her, his face covered in tears. He had a hold of one of Emma's hands
Then Killian looked at her. What he saw rendered him speechless, tears threatened to spill over, she didn't even look like the same person. What did that monster do to you Emma? Her face was no longer covered in the smooth, cream colored skin he remembered, instead in it's place was a mix of bruises and blood. He could tell that the left side of her face had received quite the beating. Even though the doctors had tried to clean her up there was still fresh blood running from the cracked skin. The roots of her hair were soaked in blood and her soft, pink lips she once had were replaced by dry, cracked, bloody ones.
Her arms were completely covered in bandages and she had a cast on one of her arms. He couldn't see the damage done to her legs due to the sheets now covering them, but he guessed they weren't in any better condition.
He took the chair on the opposite side David had, tears openly flowing down his own face. He cursed himself for not doing something about it sooner.
"Why did I let you go through this?" he said to himself, "Why didn't I do something... anything."
He had gotten there three and a half hours ago, relieving David of night duty. He had tried reading, sleeping, even watching T.V., but he inevitably always ended up watching her. He was scared that if he left her for even a second Neal would come back and he'd lose her forever.
Despite the marks covering her face, she looked more peaceful now than she had for the past year. That look of pain and regret was gone... for now. He knew that the moment she woke up it would return. He took a moment to remember what she used to be like... Before Neal. When they were younger the way she would defend any kid who was getting picked on would make you proud. When they were teenagers the way she ogled over anything chocolate could make everyone laugh out loud. But her smile... her smile could make you forget your problems and just dwell in the sheer joy radiating off of her... He missed that smile.
He saw her eye twitch, pulling him out of his thoughts, anxious to see if she would wake up. He kept watching her... it happened again.
"Emma?" he asked quietly.
That seemed to get her attention because the moment he uttered the words her eyes snapped opened and she started struggling to free herself from the sheets.
He could see the uncontrolled fear in her eyes, it hurt him that she was this insecure. "Emma, it's okay it's me, Killian," he stammered. As soon as what he said registered she stopped fighting and actually looked at him. He saw the understanding wash over her and the fear in her eyes dulled, but it was still there.
Why is she scared of me?
"K-Killian?"
"Yes love, it's me."
She was still groggy from waking up and slow to take in her surroundings. He sat there and let her work everything out in her head, when everything finally clicked she looked up and asked him "How long have I been here?"
"You were admitted to the hospital two nights ago" he rasped quietly staring into oblivion while recalling the memory.
She kept silent and looked around the room again before her gaze fell on her own person. He watched as the panic flared in her eyes as she saw her arms covered in bandages accompanied by the cast on her left arm. She tried to lift her good arm to feel her face but winced at the pain and quickly put it back down. He saw her squirm on the hospital bed a little before she went rigid.
"What is it love?"
She didn't answer. she just sat there in frozen with shock.
"Emma?"
"Killian," she whispered," I can't move my legs."
He was still in shock that this could happen. His mind wandered to the first time they had met. He was twelve and Liam was fifteen, they had been placed in a home just outside Boston. They shared a room with David and a little red-headed kid named August.
Liam and David were roughly the same age and had quickly struck up a friendship, Killian was the third wheel and inevitably found out that David had a little sister. She was a little bit younger than him, maybe a year? He also found out that she was a very rough lass (which is not an uncommon thing when you get shipped off into the foster system) and usually kept his distance.
It wasn't until he and Emma met up again at another group home when they were teenagers that he really got to know her. Liam had just died in a car accident and David was fresh out of foster care, trying to make everything work so that he could become Emma's legal guardian. So it was just the two of them.
Emma was still as tough as ever, not taking crap from anyone, but there was a softer side to her than there was four years ago that he had never seen. Honestly, it intrigued him, he decided to get to know her a little more. It took time to gain her trust but in time the two of them were inseparable. She helped him get over Liam's death in a way that no one else could. Now he was going to do that for Emma. She had always been there for him, he wasn't going to let her go through any more without letting her know that he was there for her this time. The next few months were going to be a challenge but he wasn't taking the easy way out, and he knew David felt the same way.
They had just talked to the doctor and had found out why Emma's legs were currently stationary, and he knew that this was not going to be sunrise and roses for any of them. He sighed as he, David, and the doctor entered her room. He watched Emma's face as Doctor Mallard told her that she was going to have to go through months of therapy in order to get her legs to work properly, and that she was going to have to learn how to walk all over again. He watched as she put on a good face, but he could see through the charade, he could see the pain and the sheer terror in her eyes.
As soon as he was done explaining gibberish to Emma, Doctor Mallard asked David to come speak to him in the hall, leaving Emma and Killian alone in the dim room. He moved from the wall he was leaning against to one of the chairs closest to Emma's side. He didn't speak, he just sat there as they both stared into oblivion, knowing that any words would just seem like mumblings in a fuzzy blur.
As soon as David came back through the door her head shot up. "When can I leave?"
David sighed before answering. "Well, it's complicated. As far as physically," he explained, "you need to be rehydrated first and your body needs time to heal before they'll let you out. You have at the very least two weeks."
"Physically?" she asked, "What else?"
"You need a place to live, Emma, because I'm not letting you go back to that house. You're moving back in with me and Killian, I know you don't like it but you'll learn to. The only problem with that is there's only two bedrooms and it's not wheelchair accessible. We're going to have to upgrade a little, which means it's a little more expensive, but they won't let you leave until we have that set up."
"So it's very possible it could be longer." she concluded.
"I'm going to start looking around, but yeah, it could take a while." He waited for a reaction that he didn't get. "Something that I do know, is that you're not going being left alone, whether it's me, or Killian, or Mary Margaret, it doesn't matter, but I promise that someone will always be here.