She sighed as she waited for her name to be called by one of the many nurses that would pass her by. Her heart literally pounding in and out of her chest, as she took deep breaths in and out. The clock read 4:17pm. She kept her fingers locked in her lap, and her head held high. Coughs could be heard from all around her, and the noise of someone getting on and off of an elevator amplified in her ears.

"Dear, are you alright?"

She cleared her throat, looking over at the women. She had a bandana covering her head, and small amounts of thin, fine hair were revealed from under it.

"Yes, perfectly." She straightened up her posture and looked straight ahead.

"I have faith you'll do great." The women whispered, giving her an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder.

"Mrs. Brooks….the doctor will see you now." She nodded her head in the direction of the nurse, and slowly stood up.

"Good luck." She whispered over her shoulder.

The room was dark, or…at least it felt like it. Other patients roamed the hallways and their heads hung low, as doctors guided them to where they needed to be next. She did not want to become like them. Selfish? She preferred the term...Independent.

"Mrs. Mills?" Regina's ears perked up, and her eyes shot over towards the nurse waiting for her. She took her arm ready to guide her to where she needed to go. "Don't. I am perfectly capable." Regina said pointedly as she fixed her blouse, and started down the hall with the nurse trailing close behind.

"What Room?" Regina asked without even turning around to look at the nurse.

"First floor…second door on your left." Regina rolled her eyes, and huffed. "Room number?' She asked irritated, and the nurse did her best to not make eye contact. "Thirty seven." She whispered under her breath.

Regina let out an annoyed huff and sighed. "Bedside manner could use some work, dear."

"My name is Mary….nurse Mary" Regina didn't mean to snap or be nasty, but she was already having a hard day as it was. "Hmm…and when was it that I asked for your name?" she shot back turning to look at the nurse who was now cowering away. Regina held her head high and continued to walk down the hall, passing by sick patients and sympathetic doctors. She rolled her eyes and turned another corner.

Thirty four, thirty five, thirty six, thirty seven.

She bit her lip and pushed open the door, sitting herself on table, and then laying down.

How do you even get comfortable on one of these?!

"Mrs. Mills? Yes I'm Dr. Booth…August Booth." He offered Regina his hand, and she looked down at it and shook her head. "Sorry but I don't feel like getting some kind of virus from this hospital, and human contact seems to be the number one way."

"Mrs. Mills….I am required to wash my hands before and after every appointment…just how before I see my next patient I will wash them, and before I walked into this room I washed them." Regina gave a small shrug, and took in a breath of air. "Not a risk I am very willing to take."

"Understandable…let's get on with the results then shall we?" August asked and he sat down at his computer, opened her file and pulled his chair closer to Regina.

"Regina correct?"

"Yes, that is my name." she said flatly and August nodded, looking over every file and every test to make sure no mistakes were made. "Dr. Booth? What is the problem?" Her heart picked up, and her palms began to sweat in anticipation.

"Regina…have you been experiencing constipation? Change in consistency of your stool? Blood in your stool? Bloating, gas or cramps?" He asked and gave Regina a chance to answer those simple questions.

Her eyebrows knitted together at the disgusting questions and she crossed her arms across her stomach. "Blood in my stool…?" She asked making sure she heard correctly.

"Precisely."

"Yes, from time to time…I always have awful bloating and cramps…gas." She mumbled and straightened her posture up. "I don't understand…what does it mean? What are you saying?"

August flipped through the papers another two times before being ripped away from his thoughts by a loud shriek.

"Booth!" His eyes met Regina's dark orbs and he sighed, setting her folder down and crossing his legs across his lap.

"Regina. Do you have family? Someone who will be there for you?" Regina looked at him utterly confused. "What the hell are you talking about?!" she growled.

"Regina…You have colon cancer." The words hit her like a mac truck, and she physically flinched, staring straight ahead. What the hell?! Cancer? She was fine….last week she was going on her morning jog with her dog and living a happy life…and now, Cancer?

"Regina? Don't panic…we are going to do everything we can, do every treatment…."

She heard him talking, but it hit deaf ears. She was not listening.

"Henry?! Now!" Emma yelled as she packed his sleepover bag and put his tooth brush inside because she knew he wouldn't brush his teeth if she didn't. "Hen-"She turned around and was almost nose to nose with Henry himself.

"Mom! Do you have to yell…?" Henry whined setting his bag on the table and sighing.

"At little boys who will make their mother later for work…again" She raised her eyebrow at him and smirked.

"I'm not a little boy!" Henry protested, throwing his hands up in the air.

"You're seven!" Emma laughed, and grabbed his bag putting it over his shoulders. "We're going! Now." Emma scolded, taking his hand and pushing him towards the door.

"Okay! Okay!"

"Be good for aunt Ruby? Listen…behave! And I better not hear you were trying to convince her to let you stay up past your bed time." Henry rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yes ma'am." He whined and opened the door, running towards Ruby's. "Hey! Wait!" Henry sighed and turned around. "Already forgetting about your mother?" She wiggled her finger at him. Henry came back running into his mother's arms and smiling. "That's my boy…" Emma praised and kissed the top of his head over and over.

"Love you mommy…" Emma smiled brightly and let out a small giggle. Henry rarely called her 'mommy' anymore because apparently he was a big boy now, and he didn't want his friends to make fun of him.

"Love you. Okay go!" She tapped henrys backside and he groaned.

"Mom!" he whined, moving back towards Ruby's front door. Emma smiled and laughed at him, "Oh hush! I made that tush!" there was a loud groan before Ruby's door closed, and a loud groan emitted from behind it.

"Soooo sorry I'm late! Getting the kid out the front door was rather difficult this morning." Emma sighed, and got behind the bar beginning to take orders from men and women, stirring and making drinks. She sighed and stopped by one of the many regulars. "Josh! Hi how have you been?" she asked setting another beer in front of him.

"Fine. Tired." He sighed and took a gulp of his beer. He did feel like talking much tonight Emma assumed.

"Okay…enjoy your beer" she whispered walking away.

"Emma! Wait…sorry im just exhausted." Josh sighed, Emma shook her head and nodded.

"Stop working construction! No duh you're tired." Emma laughed, and patted Josh's back.

"I wish." Is all he said and took another chug of his beer.

Emma's ears perked up when she heard someone loudly clearing their throat. "Excuse me…" Emma whispered to Josh, and she made her way towards a pretty brunet in a pant suit and a scowl on her face. "Hi! Welcome to Glenn's bar…" Emma said with a small smile, she took out her note pad and smiled. "What can I get you?"

Regina looked up with red eyes, and rosy cheeks. "Martini…dry. Keep them coming." Emma sighed and nodded. "Tough night?" She asked. Regina shot her daggers and pinched the inside of her hands, "I don't go to many bars…and so I don't know when the whole noisy bartender bit began, but stay out of my business."

"Wow…yup tough night."

Regina bit the inside of her cheek and just shook her head, taking the drink once it was set in front of her, and looking up once she caught Emma staring. "Didn't I say keep them coming?" She snapped.

Emma knitted her eyebrows together and slammed another beer in front of Josh. "Lady, I'll have you know that I have other costumers. You're not the only one who comes here." Emma said looking around. She looked up and down Regina and scoffed, "first time you're hearing that? Probably…looking at your paint suit, and your high strung attitude I can count on the fact that you're probably some sort of business women who has never been spoken to this way and always get what she wants? Sorry princess life doesn't work that way." Emma growled as she made another martini for Regina and slammed it down in front of her.

"How'd you guess?" Regina said sarcastically and took a long sip from her glass, "you left one tiny thing out…." Emma sighed and rolled her eyes looking over at Regina.

"Yeah? What."

"Nothing." Regina said slamming her glass down on the counter, picking up her wallet, and pulling out a fifty. "Keep the change." Regina growled and began to walk out of the bar.

Of course…she had wanted to drown her sorrows in a strong drink, and tons of them! Of course she ended up getting a defensive, speech giving bartender.

"Ah!" she kicked her heel against a trash can and it fell over hitting the side walk.

"Damn it…" she whispered and bent over beginning to pick up the trash can. She sighed and stood up straight thinking about the conversation she and her doctor had earlier….

"Regina…I know you're probably scared! But I promise you that we will be doing everything possible to help you…we have a bunch of different treatments we can try and I can't promise every one of them will work but we are optimistic-"

"What stage…?" Regina asked numbly, letting her legs hang off the table and her hands sat in her lap.

"Stage three…advanced."

Regina let in a huge breath of air and tears ran down her cheeks silently, she bit her lip and nodded, "Survival rate?"

"Fourteen percent…" August whispered and sighed looking up at her with that same sympathetic look.

Regina let out a strangled laugh and nodded her head, sniffling away tears. "Well…I guess you could say hope is mute." She whispered. God…cancer! Really! It could have been any person…and she got cancer. Of course it had to be her.

"Regina. Don't say that!" The doctor sighed and stood up. Regina looked up at him and shrugged. "Oh? Tell me exactly how one should act when they find out they have stage three colon cancer and there is only a fourteen percent chance of living!"

Once the trash can was straight Regina began to walk down the street and got into her Benz, turning on the radio and letting her mind wander off somewhere new! Anywhere else…she didn't even want to have to think about work tomorrow! Or the annoying conversation she just had with that bartender. She huffed at the thought and put her keys in the ignition, starting the car.

Work tomorrow!

She groaned at the thought, and rubbed the sleepiness from her face. She hated working with those corporate low lives…even though I guess you could say she was one because…well she worked there, but that was different! She was nothing like them! Not one of them every had a deep thought, and she could bet her money on it.

Regina was a defense attorney, and worked at the law firm owned by her very own parents.

Regina pulled back her comforter on her bed, and crawled under the covers. She sighed and stared at the wall allowing tears to slowly fall down her cheeks.

She had a long journey ahead of her.