Loose ｡ Henry Mills [2]

14 - THE WONDERS OF MODERN MEDICINE

While Henry Mills called his mothers to inform them of the people they found in the woods, Teresa Holmes lead Calista, Kit, and Soren through the sliding doors beneath the neon red sign that stuck out in the night's darkness.

Emergency Room. The words left Calista, Kit, and Soren pondering. Their eyebrows formed in confusion as they followed the platinum-blonde through the doors that opened like magic the moment they stepped up to them. None of them questioned what sort of sorcery had opened up the strange glass doors, far too worried over Calista's bleeding wound to care about such a thing.

Storybrooke's emergency room wasn't as busy, which Teresa supposed was a good thing. She escorted the three strangers inside and led them toward the receptionist beyond the counter, whose hair is in a messy bun.

The nurse wore purple scrubs decorated with yellow and pink stars and her lips painted a glossy shade of pink; her hair styled in a messy bun and glasses resting on the bridge of her nose as she read the computer screen. Teresa's eyes fell to her nametag, which read Sarah. The platinum-blonde assumed her birth name as something else considering this was her cursed identity, and she hadn't been an actual healer in the Enchanted Forest. Sarah looked exhausted, most likely from working a long shift, but the moment she spotted the blood dripping onto the clean floor, the sleep vanished from her expression and she grew alarmed.

"Dr. Whale!" The woman, Sarah, shouted with urgency.

Dr. Whale was speaking with another nurse near the elevator doors. Upon hearing his name, he turned on his heel, white coat swishing against his kneecaps. The man found blood dripping onto the floor and followed the droplets to the source. It was a brunette woman whose skin was milky white from blood loss. She was being held in a man's arms with another man standing by her side, and a familiar teenage girl he knew to be Teresa Holmes stood with them. Dr. Whale had heard of the dirigible through one of his nurses after waking from a short rest after a long surgery; he could only assume that these people had crossed lands aboard it. Pushing away from the thought of them allying themselves with Hyde, the doctor sprung into action, ordering for Kit to bring Calista toward a bed as he retrieved a pair of purple latex gloves.

"What happened?" Dr. Whale interrogated Teresa, for he could only assume she found these strangers. Therefore, she must have some knowledge of the woman's injury. And he needed every detail if he were to treat her.

"Henry and I found them in the woods. Her brother explained that something impaled her when the dirigible crash-landed. Don't worry; they're harmless. Besides, we took their weapons and I would sense if they had magic, which, judging by our first encounter and their reaction to my magic, they don't. They just want to make sure Calista's wound doesn't get infected," Teresa explained as she walked alongside him, watching as he pulled on his purple latex gloves.

Dr. Whale gave a nod. "I'll see what I can do."

Kit carefully placed his love upon the strange bed as Dr. Whale and several nurses came up to her side. Teresa and Soren followed behind them, watching as a nurse in blue scrubs and dirty-blonde hair pushed Kit out of the way so that Dr. Whale could do what he needed.

"No, no, please!" Calista's hand reached out toward Kit. "He is my husband, I want him at my side."

Dr. Whale glanced toward the nurse before sighing in reluctance and nodding his head, telling her to allow the man to be with his wife. Teresa already explained that they came from the Land of Untold Stories, which meant they didn't know a thing about a hospital or modern medicine, so he understood their fear.

"The wound doesn't look critical," Dr. Whale informed after a quick examination.

Soren sighed in relief and met his sister's brown stare with a small smile. Calista, despite her pain, returned his smile with one of her own as she gave her worrisome husband's hand a reassuring squeeze.