A/N: Thank you for all the reviews and follows, i don't know how to reply to a review so i'll answer them here, yes, the rating will change as the story develops. Thank you for all you kind comments and Addison Montgomery from Greys Anatomy/PP makes a little appearance in this chapter. I hope you like this and please leave a little review so I know what you think! Xo
CHAPTER TWO
The next morning, Regina got up slightly earlier than usual; she spent a little more extra time on her hair and make-up, gently and carefully applying it so it was immaculate. She spent an extra ten minutes coifing her hair, it was curly but not too curly, perfect curls; her hair sat perfectly on her shoulders not a hair out of place. She had chosen a royal blue dress and heels to match, the dress went just below her knee caps showing off her altogether toned calves, from being a horse rider her calves were perfect. Her dress hugged her figure to perfection. Regina looked a million dollars.
On the other side of town in the hospital where Regina was heading for a full day's work, Emma Swan was waking up in her hospital bed. She woke up and began to sit up, she began to look in the mirror at the side of her bed just as Kathryn walked in. "Hey, how are you doing?" Kathryn asked as she walked over to grab Emma's folder, Kathryn had taken over the case until Regina got back from her day off.
"I'm good but I look like I was hit by a bus!" Emma said attempting to laugh before realizing it hurt like hell. "Ouch." She simply said causing Kathryn to laugh a little.
"You were shot yet all you can say is ouch?" Kathryn said, she admired the bravery of Emma to walk past her in the street you would think she wasn't tough, but she was more tough than half the men in L.A.
"Yes." Emma simply said.
"You're doing well, which is good!" Kathryn said as she began scribbling numbers down in Emma's folder. "Dr Mills- Regina is in in about," Kathryn began before looking at her watch which read 5:55am, "in about five minutes." Kathryn said followed by a playful wink.
"Five minutes?" Emma asked, her voice laced with nerves and almost fear which didn't get past Kathryn.
"Why are you nervous?" Kathryn asked as she put the folder back at the end of Emma's bed.
"I'm not nervous!" Emma said, defensively which confirmed exactly what Kathryn already knew, she WAS nervous to see Regina. "I just- I look horrible." Emma continued with a sad voice, she almost whispered the words.
"Give me two minutes, okay?" Kathryn said before running out of Emma's room and heading straight for her office.
Once, Kathryn reached her office, she heard the clicking of familiar heels walking towards her. "Hey!" Kathryn said without even turning around.
"Hi, dear." Regina said as she walked up to Kathryn normally she would go to her office first but she needed to speak to her best friend before she started the day. "I need to talk to you!" Regina said almost with a panic in her voice.
Kathryn looked up when she heard the worry in her friend's voice, she knew Regina inside out and she knew she was driving herself crazy. As soon as Kathryn's eyes landed on Regina her mouth fell open. "WOAH," Kathryn said.
"What?" Regina asked, pretending not to know what Kathryn was talking about but at the same time Regina couldn't help but smile and feel a confidence boost spread across her body.
"You look HOT," Kathryn said, emphasizing the word hot. "If only I was gay, huh?" Kathryn said.
Regina scoffed before speaking, "You're not my type." Regina said bluntly which caused both women to laugh.
"No, you're trying to impress a certain cop!" Kathryn said in a sing-song kind of voice.
"Oh shut up." Regina said as she blushed bright red. "Why do you have your make-up bag?" The brunette asked in confusion as she pointed to the purple bag in Kathryn's hand.
"A certain cop is trying to impress a certain surgeon." Kathryn said with a wink.
"What?" Regina said with a huge smile creeping across her face before it was quickly washed away. "It doesn't matter."
Kathryn stopped in her tracks and turned around to face Regina. "What doesn't matter?" She asked as she moved closer to Regina.
"No matter how much I like her I can't do anything; you know the rules about patient/doctor dating." Regina said with a sad face, Kathryn could tell how much Regina liked Emma already and vice-versa, it broke her heart to see her best friend so upset over something she couldn't control.
"Regina, babe, it's not illegal, just frowned upon. You're not her surgeon anymore either, she's my patient." Kathryn said as she put her hand on the top of Regina's arm.
"She's not your-" Regina began before Kathryn interrupted.
"Regina, she's… my… patient…" Kathryn said sternly, so Regina would catch on. "Whose patient is Emma Swan?" Kathryn asked to double check Regina had taken the hint.
"Emma Swan is your patient." Regina smiled and surprisingly pulled her best friend in for a giant hug. Regina normally hated hugs but tolerated them from Kathryn every day, so the fact Regina was the one hugging Kathryn it took her by surprise.
"You're welcome, but I can't breathe!" Kathryn said as Regina pulled back, Kathryn began laughing slightly.
"I'm sorry, but if I squeezed you too hard and you couldn't breathe, I could operate on you and save your life." Regina said proudly.
"That's why I keep you in my life." Kathryn said with a smile, she loved the relationship she had with her best friend, neither of them had many friends but they knew no matter what they had each other. "I'm away to make a cop look hot." Kathryn winked as she left the office. "See ya!"
Regina headed to her office where she locked her expensive designer handbag in her desk drawer. Once she had done that she picked up her iPhone and pager, she began flicking through her messages and began reading the ones she had missed from yesterday and that morning. There was nothing exciting at all, she sighed as she picked up her schedule for the day. She had a coronary artery bypass graft to do. A coronary artery bypass graft usually lasts three to six hours. However, it may take slightly longer depending on how many blood vessels need to be grafted. So Regina could be in theater for a long time, it excited her surgery and the heart and the way it worked. She was looking forward to performing it, she had to go and check on her patient soon but she thought she'd pop in on Emma first.
She checked her hair and make-up in the mirror once more before heading out of her office and making her way down to Emma's room.
Kathryn had done Emma's foundation to perfection, it covered up the bags beneath her eyes, she didn't want much make-up as it wasn't her style. Emma had brushed her hair and put it in a ponytail, it felt like a first date yet she didn't even know if Regina liked her, Kathryn wouldn't give anything away, all she said was Regina was in the building and that was it.
Regina stood at the window of Emma's room and watched the two blondes interact and talk, she was in such awe of Emma and desperately wanted to go and talk to her but she was nervous, she was never nervous. She was a top Cardiothoracic double board certified surgeon with a specialty in pediatrics, she shouldn't be nervous about talking to a woman.
Kathryn headed towards the door when she spotted Regina standing there. She opened the door and closed it behind her causing Regina to turn and face her. "Hey." Regina said.
"Hey, she's alright you know, you should go and talk to her." Kathryn said as she walked past Regina, Kathryn had surgery so she couldn't stop and talk to Regina any longer, she was in a rush.
Regina took a deep breath and opened the door to Emma's room and closed it behind her. She paused as she closed the door and took another breath and finally turned to face Emma. "Wow." Emma said causing Regina to blush uncontrollably. "You look… wow." Emma continued. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry." Emma began rambling.
Regina was still blushing as she wiped her forehead trying to hide the blushing that was quickly swamping her face. "Don't be sorry. Thank you, you don't look so bad yourself. So how're you feeling?" Regina asked trying to compose herself.
"I'm good thank you, all thanks to you." Emma said, "You saved my life from what I've been told, you also didn't leave my bedside the whole time when I was sleeping, didn't you?" Emma asked; she was bold and always straight to the point. Growing up in Foster care Emma learned from a young age that beating around the bush didn't get you very far.
"I did save your life, I also did sit by your bedside in case anything happened during the night, and I wanted to be there." Regina said as proudly as she possibly could.
"Thank you." Emma said with a smile on her face, she couldn't look Regina in the eye, she was too beautiful, her beauty overwhelmed Emma, she had never seen someone so beautiful, so successful and so brainy before.
"I'd do it for all my patient's if they needed me too." Regina lied in a panic, before she continued when she seen Emma's facial expression take a complete U-turn. "My pleasure, I'm glad you're feeling better." Regina smiled as she picked up Emma's folder and began flicking through it. "You'll be out of here soon." Regina said, pretending on the outside to be happy for Emma but inside she didn't want her to go anywhere.
"Oh," Emma said with a little disappointment when she heard the happiness in Regina's voice. "That's good." She smiled.
"Yeah, I guess. Anyways, I'm glad you're feeling better, I've got to run, I have surgery but I'll see you soon." Regina said before turning around and heading straight for the door, she didn't give Emma a chance to say anything. She simply closed the door and stood against it. She took another deep breath and headed back to her office.
Regina reached her office and closed the door behind her; she shut her blinds and began pacing back and forward. "Stupid, idiot. Screwed that up! Why couldn't I just talk to her like a normal person? You're successful and a damn fine surgeon! What's not to like? You're an idiot, honestly Regina. You just blew it! Now, she'll think you're an idiot. Shit, I'm talking to myself." Regina said out loud as she paced back and forward. She looked at the time and headed down to meet her patient.
Before she knew it Regina was in surgery performing her coronary artery bypass graft. It was going perfectly, Regina had done hundreds of these, and she could do them in her sleep. She might not be able to speak to a woman but at least she could save a guy's life. The surgery took four hours, a good few less than Regina expected. There were no complications, it was all plain sailing. She scrubbed out and kept her scrub-cap on as she headed up to recovery to check her patient's post-ops. It was all so good so far. She had one more surgery to do and she was done for the day but she was on call tonight so she could be called in at any point during the night. She had a Heart Valve Replacement which would take two-three hours depending on complications it could take longer, she could never pin point how long she would be in surgery for.
Regina had done her second surgery of the day but this time there were a few complications and she had to be in surgery for five hours rather than the two hours she was aiming for. It was seven pm, which meant she had missed Henry's dinner time but at least she was going to make it home in time for his bed time.
Once, she had gotten back to her office, she was tired, so tired, she could sleep for a week. She grabbed her bag and paper work and headed out of the hospital. She desperately needed one of Kathryn's hugs but Kathryn had gone home six hours ago. She wouldn't see her until the morning. Normally, she resented Kathryn's hugs but tonight she needed one, really needed one. She sighed as she made her way to her Mercedes.
She reached her mom's house where she almost sprinted up the drive way, she didn't want to miss Henry's bed time for the world, she missed it too often, she didn't want to miss it tonight because she wouldn't know when she'd next get the opportunity to tuck him in again.
Cora was waiting in the kitchen with Henry who was sitting in his high chair waiting patiently on his supper until he saw his mom; he started bobbing up and down on the chair shouting "mama" which Regina found completely adorable. She loved him more than anything in the world; she would give up her job for him in a heartbeat but for now she didn't have a reason too, if the work load got crazier she probably would give it all up to be with him. She headed straight over to him, she kicked off her heels and picked him up, and he gave her the biggest cuddle which she happily returned. Regina never wanted to let him go. Her phone began to ring. She put him back into his chair and headed over to grab her phone from her bag at the other side of the table.
"Hello, Dr Regina Mills speaking." Regina said, professionally and confidently.
"Hey Regina, it's Addison Montgomery." She hadn't spoken to Addison since medical school, all those years ago.
"Hey, how are you?" Regina asked, changing her tone from professionalism to friendly.
"Not so good, I have a patient, I could really use your help on, I've spoken to your chief of staff and she says it's fine if you come out and help me, it's a child with a rare heart condition and you're the best cardiothoracic surgeon I know, please. We can have a drink after it." Addison said as she pleaded down the phone to Regina, she knew she was busy but she desperately needed her help with her patient.
"Sure Addie, I'll head over in about an hour, I'll see you soon." Regina said as she put down the phone and went over to her mother.
Cora gave Regina a kiss on the cheek like she did every time she came home from work. "Hey dear, how was your day?" Cora asked when she seen how drained Regina looked she started to get slightly concerned for her welfare.
"It was good; I done a coronary artery bypass graft and a valve replacement." Regina replied, proudly. "Do you remember Addison Montgomery?" Regina asked curiously.
"Is that the girl from medical school you were best friends with?" Cora asked sceptically, she was never sure if there was anything more between the two women, but she never bothered to ask, if Regina wanted her to know she would have told her.
"Yes, I'm going to visit her for a few days, are you okay to look after Henry?" Regina asked her mother, she knew Cora would say yes, but it was polite to ask anyhow.
"Sure, why are you going to visit her?" Cora asked as she raised an eyebrow.
"Mother, we are just friends." Regina replied knowing exactly what her mother was thinking. "She needs help with a patient."
"Okay, dear. So?" Cora asked.
"So, what?" Regina replied, confused she had no idea what her mother was talking about.
"Your police officer patient? You haven't mentioned her today."
Regina made her way to the table where she sat across from Henry. "There's nothing to say."
Cora knew when Regina was lying, she could see right through her. She could tell by her face and the way she played with her fingers when she was hiding something from her mother, she was the world's worst liar, to Cora it was a blessing but to Regina it was an absolute nightmare. "Tell me." Cora replied.
Regina sighed. "She put make-up on for me," Regina said as she looked across at Henry who was sitting happily playing with his dinosaur figures. "Then I went to see her." Regina said, stopping mid-sentence almost.
"And?" Cora asked she was fishing for more information; she wanted to know every little detail.
"She said I looked hot, and then I sort of ruined it. I went all doctor on her, and then I ran straight out the door." Regina looked up at her mother who was shocked at the vulnerability shining through her daughter.
"She clearly likes you if she put make-up on for you then said you look hot, Regina." Cora said stating the obvious.
"Yeah, that's what Kathryn said too but now I'm going to the other side of L.A, I probably won't see her again so," Regina said sadly.
Cora couldn't understand how Regina had gotten so attached to this woman so quickly. "You really like her, huh?" Cora asked; attempting to look Regina in the eye but the brunette wouldn't look at her mother.
She nodded slightly whilst whispering "yeah," and sighed once more. "But it's done, I'll get over it. Is supper nearly ready?" Regina said changing the subject.
"Yes, dear. I'll go get it now." Cora said as she stood up her mind going in to over drive, it was her goal in life to make her daughter happy and if this was what it took she would make it happen.
Regina had tucked Henry in and freshened herself up, she grabbed her phone and began to text Kathryn, she would have preferred to have called her but she had done a 20 hour shift almost, she didn't want to wake her up if she was asleep.
'Hey, I have to go away for a few days which means I probably won't see Emma again as she'll be getting discharged soon. Tell her I'm sorry for screwing up today and I hope she gets better soon. X'
And with the text message sent, Regina hit the road, she had a long drive ahead of her, Addison texted Regina her address so she was just going to Addison's house that night and she would start on their patient in the morning.
As she drove, she was consumed by her thoughts; her thoughts mainly consisted of her son and a certain blonde. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't get Emma off her mind, it was like she was super glued there with no way to get her off. Regina's vulnerable side didn't want to complain but her sensible side was telling her to stop thinking about her before she drove herself crazy. Maybe these few days away would do her good, she hoped.
Her phoned beeped and as she pulled up to a red light she picked it up to check it, it was from Kathryn.
'What happened today? Why are you going to the other side of L.A? I could give her your number, if you wanted, just let me know. X"
Came the reply, Regina began thinking about the last sentence. She didn't know what do to for the best. Her heart was telling her yes, but her head was telling her no, her sensible side was right; this was going to drive her crazy.
She didn't reply until she reached Addison's. Regina got out the car to be greeted by the redhead who already had a glass of red wine poured and waiting on her. "Hey, you look good!" Addison said as she pulled Regina in for a hug, which Regina gently returned.
"Hi! Thanks, you look great yourself," Regina replied. "My little Addie turned into a double board certified neo-natal surgeon huh? One of the best in the world so I hear, I have no idea how that happened!" Regina teased as she walked into Addison's kitchen.
"I have no idea how it happened, if I'm honest," Addison replied laughing. "But look at you, little miss double board certified cardiothoracic surgeon and I also hear you have a specialty in peads," the redhead exclaimed.
"I know; we made it, Addie!" Regina said high fiving Addison.
"That we did," Addison replied returning the high five.
Regina picked up the wine glass and began elegantly sipping on it, it tasted so good. She definitely needed a drink.
"So, I want to know everything! Start with your love life!" Addison said, over excitedly. They had so much to catch up on. Regina grabbed her drink and followed Addison out to the garden where they both sat on deck chairs as they looked out on to the ocean.
"Wow, this is beautiful." Regina said as she began to take in the view.
"Isn't it? I love it so much." Addison said as she breathed in the ocean air, she would never get used to the view from her house; it was truly breath-taking.
"Yes." Regina replied as she turned to face Addison, she quickly took another sip of her wine before placing it on the table between them; she pulled the blanket up to her shoulders before she began to speak. "So my love life? It's complicated."
Addison done the same as Regina, now she was fully facing Regina, they were going to start their decade worth of catch-up. "Complicated how? Do you still like girls?" Addison replied as she smiled at the memories of the two of them during medical school.
"Stop thinking about medical school!" Regina exclaimed as she began to laugh. "There's this cop," Regina began.
"Oh a cop? I was dating a cop too; well SWAT but still a cop." Addison butted in.
"Yes, a cop, but…" Regina trailed off.
"But, what?" Addison asked confused.
"She's my patient. She likes me too and I really like her but she's my patient. Well, she was my patient until Kathryn took her, so we could maybe go on a date but when I spoke to her I freaked out." Regina said, she could tell Addison anything, and it was like they had rewinded time and gone straight back to ten years ago.
"It doesn't matter Regina, if you like her and she likes you go for it. If it feels right, go for it. Life is too short not to go for it." Addison said.
"Yeah, you're right." Regina said as she reached for her phone.
"Give her my number, please. X"
She hit send and sent the message to Kathryn now all she had to do was wait on the reply.