As February was nearing its end, it was finally time for the cast to come off. Emma would be giving Regina a ride to the hospital as soon as school was out. Today was her day she got out early, but she wasn't in the mood to go home.
Unfortunately, it wasn't like she could just barge into Regina's classroom and hang out with her. So she waited outside.
It wasn't snowing, but it was still cold outside. However, as usual, Emma didn't have a problem with cold. So she was sitting in a tree, reading.
As she flipped through the pages of the book, she felt the wind blowing against her face. Luckily, it was blowing towards her so her hair didn't get in her face. If she sat with her knees up, she could block her book from the wind so it would be easier to read.
"Emma?" The voice of her girlfriend interrupted in her reading.
"Mills," she replied with a smirk.
They were still on school property, so nothing could happen between them at the moment. But that didn't stop the lingering looks they gave one another.
Emma grabbed the end of the branch below her, still holding her book in one hand, then jumped down from the tree. She landed perfectly on her feet.
"Careful, Emma," Regina said to her. "Or else you're going to have broken bones too,"
Emma shrugged in response, knowing that it was nearly impossible for her bones to break.
Her initial reaction was to grab her girlfriend's hand, but she knew they couldn't. So instead, they walked relatively close to each other and made their way to the parking lot.
Luckily, no one else was out there at the moment so it didn't look weird when Regina stepped into the passenger seat of Emma's car. As she started the car and carefully exited the school parking lot, Regina didn't take her eyes off of her.
"So," Emma said to her. "Are you ready to be able to use your arm again?"
"You have no idea," she replied, then let out a chortle. "But do you wanna know the worst part about wearing a cast?"
Emma nodded for her to answer.
"The worst part is that this cast is so damn itchy, and I haven't been able to scratch that itch in two months,"
"Huh, I would've thought that the worst part would be losing the function of your arm. Or the pain. Or the strap across your chest, that one seems like it's annoying when you sleep,"
"You sure seem eager for my cast to come off,"
"Well yeah, then I can stop feeling guilty for breaking your bones in the first place,"
"You don't need to feel guilty about that, you saved my life,"
Emma shrugged in response, but kept looking at the road. It was true that she had saved her life, but she still didn't like how she had hurt her in the process. If she had been more careful, she probably could've gotten her out on time without injuring her. But then again, she was thinking clearly when the car was that close to them.
Regina leaned across her seat to gently press her lips against Emma's cheek. She wrapped her good arm around her neck as Emma slowly started to turn her neck.
"Eyes on the road, Swan!" Regina yelled as she backed away.
While she was distracted, Emma had driven to the other side of the road where she would be going the wrong way. Luckily, there weren't any other cars near them.
"How am I supposed to focus on the road when you do that?"
Regina let out a chuckle, but made sure to stay in her own seat. As much as she wanted to kiss her girlfriend again, she knew that would be a very bad idea in the car.
As for Emma, all she wanted to do was pull over so she could make-out with her girlfriend right then and there. But she couldn't; if she did, they would be late to her appointment. And she knew that Regina Mills did not want to wait even longer to get her cast off.
So she tried as hard as she could to avoid looking at her with her peripheral vision.
It worked.
Around 20 minutes of silent driving later, they arrived at the hospital together. They walked in together hand-in-hand, then waited in the waiting room for a bit.
"Y'know," Emma said, smirking. "I'm kinda sad you didn't let anyone sign your cast."
"Did you want to write something?" She asked, suppressing a laugh.
Emma nodded in response, pulling out a pen. She was grinning, and looked exactly like a puppy wagging its tail.
Regina let out a sigh, then turned so her cast was facing Emma. Her grin grew, then she leaned over to write something.
Of course, she knew that Regina would never get the chance to see it, considering that she wrote at a spot that wasn't visible to her eyes. And she didn't think she would be looking in a mirror anytime soon.
She made a little heart with the letters E and R inside of it. Yes, it was cheesy, but she really wanted to do it.
Once she was done, she pressed their lips together in a quick kiss.
However, it didn't last long considering that Regina was called up. The two of them walked in together, following the doctor.
"Are you ready for your cast to be off, Miss Mills?" The doctor asked.
She simply nodded in response, sitting down. Emma was standing next to her, but she kept their fingers interlocked.
"Have you ever had a cast before?" The doctor asked.
She shook her head no in response.
"Alright, here's how it works; we have this little saw that cuts through the cast. It can't hurt your skin, but it's how we get the cast off. In fact, many patients find that it's ticklish,"
She nodded to show that she was ready, Emma didn't move her hand.
First, the doctor removed the strap across her chest. This allowed her shoulder to move in a side-to-side direction for the first time in months.
Then, he got the saw out. It was incredibly loud, which concerned Regina a little bit, so she squeezed Emma's fingers harder.
However, the doctor was right; it was ticklish. She wanted to laugh so bad, but she couldn't. She was Regina Mills, she couldn't just laugh in front of her doctor.
So instead of laughing, she put her tongue between her teeth. It was working at first, until the saw's vibrations reached the upper part of the cast.
She couldn't help but let out a giggle as the saw finished the last part. She tried so hard not to, holding Emma's hand even tighter, but it still came out. And now Emma was the one wearing a smile on her face.
"All done," the doctor said, disposing the cast.
Regina let out a sigh of relief, then moved her shoulder around. Oh god, it felt so good to have a range of motion for the first time in two months.
"Thank you, doctor," she said as she continued to move her arm around.
After everything was said and done, the couple walked out of the hospital.
In the parking lot, Regina wrapped both her arms around her girlfriend as she pulled her in for a kiss. She didn't realize how much she missed being able to use her arm until she felt herself snaking it up her back and around her neck.
Emma was just as thrilled as she was, pulling their bodies even closer together. As she felt her girlfriend's hand against her, she moved her own hands up to cup her face.
When they broke apart, Emma looked at her in a way she never had before. She looked at her the way she hadn't looked at anyone in over a century.
Sure, Regina had been the first person she had genuine feelings for since the annoying dragon bitch. But there was something different now.
Emma had an idea on what it was, but she wasn't ready to admit it. Not yet.
"So," she said, grinning. "Now that you can use your arm, would you like to drive us back?"
"Are you sure you want me driving your car?"
"I mean, yeah," she replied with a shrug. "I don't even like driving anyway,"
"Alright then,"
So they made their way to Emma's car, with Regina getting in the driver's seat this time.
"It is nice to be behind the wheel again," Regina pointed out.
Emma nodded, but didn't say anything; her mind was elsewhere.
As she thought more and more about the feeling, she could feel herself getting worried.
When her family had first heard that Emma had opened her heart again, they were thrilled for her. Although it did take her father some time to get past the fact that she was dating her teacher. They weren't the biggest fans of Emma sleeping around for 108 years. They loved her no matter what, but everyone thought that she would be happier if she found someone.
And now she had, but she didn't think of the consequences. Her girlfriend was already four years older than her, and she would just keep aging while Emma would be 18 forever.
She gave Regina a look, and felt her heart melt. But she could feel both happiness and sadness swelling up inside of her.
Emma had fallen in love with a human.