Long Lost | Once Upon a Time (REWRITING)

Chapter Sixteen: And Straight On 'Til Morning

Grace was exhausted. She felt like she hadn't slept in forever, and it didn't help that the day's not over yet. Even after all that's happened, they still have to get out there and fight, though even after a well-thought argument, her parents and Emma both agreed for Grace to stay at the apartment, leaving her in the capable hands of Dr. Whale. You know, the drunk doctor from a couple weeks ago? Yeah, that one.

He had taken a look at her shoulder wound and had begun to dig the bullet out, and for once, it got Grace to stop thinking about the pain of losing Neal and instead, the immense pain that erupted throughout her shoulder.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" She exclaimed, the doctor's tweezers embedded deep into the wound. The cold, harsh metal felt as if it had been ripping through her flesh, causing shooting pains to surge throughout her entire body.

At her painful chants, he sighed, "I need you to stay still." He said, his hand firmly grasping her arm to keep Grace from moving, "I told you, it wasn't going to be pleasant."

She groaned in pain as he dug deeper, "And I thought burning my mouth with coffee was bad..." Her eyes clenched shut as she tried to think of something other than the pain, when suddenly, she just remembered something. "You said you were just getting the bullet out of her shoulder, not putting more stuff in!"

He sighed once more as he paused what he was doing. "Well, in order to do that, I have to dig through your wound to find it." He stated logically, before resuming in his search. "It's not easy. The bullet didn't go clean through, so it could be a while. Get comfortable."

At his last statement, she chuckled humorlessly, "Was that supposed to be funny?"

"Do you see me laughing?" Touché, doc.

After what felt like hours, though was probably only a matter of minutes, Dr. Whale had finished, the bullet finally being plucked from her shoulder before he had stitched Grace up and dressed the wound. She felt relieved to finally have that torture done with, though she knew she would probably be sore for the next couple of weeks.

Whale had packed up his tools and left Grace to rest, him running into her father just after leaving the room. David had been pacing ever since Whale had begun to work on Grace. He had originally been in the room with them, though Whale claimed that David had been distracting him and so he shooed him out. For some reason, Whale seemed to be the type of guy who can't handle stress, which is ironic, seeing as how he's a doctor.

The moment David's eyes landed on Whale, he uncrossed his arms and marched up towards him in a demanding stance. "How is she? Is she okay?"

Whale sighed, already seeming stressed by the Charming who had been bombarding him with questions. He gave a weak smile to show that everything was in order. "You can go ahead and ask her yourself." He began, causing a relieved look to come from her father. "I patched her up good. Given lots of rest, I say it'll be just a few short weeks before she can get back on her feet. Luckily, it was only her shoulder, but that doesn't mean she won't be sore." Yeah, luckily.

A thankful sigh escaped her father's figure and he gave a very hesitant look towards the doctor. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank you, Whale. We really appreciate it." Clearly, the two had some past experience with each other, making it difficult for the two to get along. Whatever it was had been put aside for Grace's sake, which she was very thankful for, simply because she would've still been bleeding had they not called a doctor.

Whale only nodded. "I understand; you were out of options." He acknowledged the unwillingness David had when calling him in. "I guess I am the only doctor in this town. A good one, at that." Whale grinned smugly as he turned back towards David, only to be faced with a glare.