Emma nodded and left toward a room she assumed was Hook's by how many nurses were in and out of there an hour ago.
-)(-
The first things Emma really noticed when she stepped into the room was that his hook was gone. It was odd to see him without it again. The next was how pale he looked compared to the prominent dark circles under his eyes and the blue hospital gown. There was both an IV and yellow bag, she guessed it was the banana bag, in his right, and only remaining, hand. Hook's eyes were open to half-mast and his head was lolled to the right side, like it took too much energy to keep it in place. "Things looked much more physical the last time we were here," Emma said softly when she sat in an uncomfortable, grey plastic chair beside the bed.
"You don't say, lass," he whispered, but was then overtaken by a coughing fit that racked his, seemingly, frail form. When he had finished, he didn't meet her eyes. "I don't know what happened; I didn't know you or anyone," he mumbled this so it was hard to hear. His hair was still wet from his water jump.
"Dr. Whale will figure it out." They were silent for a while, one of those awkward silences that makes you want to jump out the nearest window just to escape the tension. Hook fiddled with the edges of the white blanket that covered him to about mid-chest and kept his eyes downcast, while Emma glanced to the clock and then back to the floor many times in a row.
"I didn't mean the things I said to you," he murmured finally, "it was wrong. Baelfire was a better man than that. I am sorry."
Emma nodded, "I'm sorry for what I said, too." At this point Dr. Whale and a nurse came in so they gave up talking.
"Alright, so if I can just have you lay on your right side," the nurse asked and Hook complied so that he was facing Emma. He looked into her eyes so deeply that she blushed and ended up staring at the floor again.
The hospital gown was unbuttoned in the back and sterile drapes were placed over his back. There was an area in the back area of his hip that was open--they disinfected it and set out their tools on a tray. Hook looked uncomfortable so Emma stood up, but the nurse shook her head in a sort of sad way. "Don't worry, Emma, you can be in here for this," Dr. Whale said and offered a small smile which she returned and then sat down. He then pulled a syringe from the small, metal tray and scooted closer to the pirate. "Okay, now, I'm just going to inject you with a general anesthetic, it will numb the area. You may feel a burning sensation, but that should be over with quick." Dr. Whale positioned the needle and began guiding it through. He pushed the plunger down and Emma saw Hook scrunch his eyes together in what she assumed was pain.
"You okay there?" Whale asked. Hook gave a small nod in way of an answer and opened his eyes soon after. They waited about five minutes for the anesthetic to take effect.
"Now, I'm going to insert a hollow needle into the bone and then use a syringe to collect what I need. You may feel a deep, throbbing pain. It would be helpful to hold onto a hand or pillow." Dr. Whale looked straight to Emma and she finally understood why they didn't want her to leave; this was going to hurt a lot.
Emma stood up and slid an arm under his neck so that his head was resting on it, her hand on his back, and then offered her other hand to him. When he didn't take it, she suspected out of pride, she took his right hand herself and looked into his eyes. Dr. Whale took this as a sign that he was ready and began twisting the hollow, long needle into Hook's bone where anesthetic couldn't reach.
She could tell that he tried not to show pain, but it only took a matter of about three seconds for Killian to begin squeezing the life out of her hand while she tried to squeeze back. "It's okay, you're okay, it's almost over," Emma murmured these things as he whimpered in pain.
The twisting seemed to take forever, when in reality it was only about three minutes before a nurse handed Dr. Whale a syringe. "Okay, you're going to experience a sharp pain for about three seconds, try not to move," the female nurse indicated.
He put the syringe on the hollow needle and just as he began to extract red fluid, Killian cried out and tears started to flow down his beautiful face. Pulling the syringe off, he handed it to a nurse who started to spread the blood. "Doctor, we have spicules."
"Okay, I have to do that one more time. Try to hold still for me." It took longer that time and all the while tears came down Hook's face and he held on to Emma's hand like it was his only lifeline. The pain was excruciating.
The syringe was pulled out, as was the hollow needle, "That's the first part of the procedure, just relax and we'll preform the second part in a moment." He busied himself with various medical instruments.
Emma let go of Killian's death grip for a moment to wipe his cheeks. "You're doing great," she told him as she gently rubbed his back, any anger she may have had about their fight was gone.
"This is humiliating," he whispered in a broken voice.
Dr. Whale turned back to them so she didn't reply, the needle he held was longer than the previous one. "I'm going to insert a biopsy needle into a different area to collect this sample." Emma removed her hand from Killian's cheek and offered it to him, and this time he took it without hesitation.
The drilling took longer this time, about six minutes. As she held his hand, she could tell he way trying to be gentle, but that it was taking much effort. "I'm tough," she said at one point, "you can squeeze." He had nodded with unfocused eyes and added more pressure to her hand.
"You still with us, Hook?" Dr. Whale asked as he continued to twist the long biopsy needle into bone. He nodded, but seemed unable to form coherent sentences.
"Okay, I'm going to twist and take a small section of your marrow. You may feel some pain," the needle was in place and then he started twisting. Emma looked to Killian only to see his eyes roll back in his head as he blacked out. "Shit," Whale murmured and finished up collecting the sample before pulling the needle out and bandaging the area. "Emma, help me turn him on his back." She did as instructed and carefully helped turn his limp body back over.
"Doctor," the nurse said nervously after he was turned, "that wasn't an anesthetic you gave him, it was a saline solution."
"What?! DO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT A PATIENT UNDERWENT A BONE MARROW BIOPSY AND ASPIRATION WITHOUT ANESTHETIC?" His face turned red and then he looked to Emma, "I am so sorry, I should've known by the amount of pain he was in. He should wake back up in a few minutes and needs to lie flat for thirty minutes. We'll have the results as soon as possible, and I am so sorry." The nurse who had messed up exited the room quickly, followed by Dr. Whale who looked on a murder rampage.
Emma turned to Hook after they had left and brushed tears off his cheeks, and pulled the thin blanket up to his chest. Leaning in against her better judgment, she gently kissed his forehead for a moment. Upon pulling back, she noticed that his eyes were lazily opening.
So, yeah, I apologize for changing those 2 chapter on 5/2/2014, but I like this version much better. What about you?
YOU ARE READING
A Piece Of My Life (Captain Swan)
Fanfiction"Smack". Hook looked at her, stunned, before again assuming his cocky smile. "What, love? Can't handle the truth?" "You bastard," she spat, "I thought you'd changed, that you were better, but you're still just a filthy *pirate*."
