Tuesday morning finally arrived. Neither Emma nor Clay ate anything before leaving for the hospital. Emma avoided food in case the doctor decided to use general anesthesia during the procedure, but she doubted she would have been able to swallow anything anyway. She longed for a cup of coffee though.
When they arrived at the hospital, Jason waited for them in the lobby, meeting them as they walked through the automatic doors. "Emma, Clay."
"Daddy."
Jason hugged his daughter and kissed the top of her head. "Hey, kiddo." Continuing to hold her to his side, he reached out and gave Clay a one-armed hug as well.
"Jason, thanks for meeting us." Clay appreciated his former team leader being there, and Emma obviously needed her father present for support as well. Clay knew she rarely called Jason "Daddy." Only when her emotions were running high.
"No problem. I wanted to be here for Emma." Jason gave her another squeeze against his side. "And I thought you might want some company in the waiting room."
"Yeah, I would. Naima said she'll try to stop by, but I doubt she can leave the ER for long."
Together the three of them headed to the outpatient surgery area to check Emma in. Once the receptionist took Emma's name and health insurance information, they settled into chairs to wait. Not long after they sat down, Emma's name was called.
The nurse approached their group as Emma stood. "Hi, I'm Sydney. I'll take you back to the pre- and post-op area. You can have one of your family members come back with you while we get you ready."
Emma glanced at her father. He had always been the one she turned to in the past when she needed support, but now Clay filled that role in her life. She held her hand out for her fiancé to take and sent her father an apologetic smile.
Both Clay and Jason stood. Jason gave Emma another kiss on the forehead. "It's going to be fine."
Nodding, Emma grasped Clay's hand.
Jason made a shooing motion. "Go. I'll wait here for Clay."
Following the nurse down the hall, Emma looked back over her shoulder at her father. He smiled reassuringly at her and winked. Turning forward again, she entered the outpatient surgical area with Clay by her side.
Sydney led them to a bed with a variety of medical equipment behind it in a three-walled area. "There's a gown for you to change into on the bed, and here's a bag to put your things in." She placed a clear plastic bag on the rolling table at the end of the bed. "I'll give you a moment to change." Pulling the curtain closed along the open end of the room, she left Emma and Clay on their own.
Emma dropped her purse on the bed and began to unbutton her shirt. Her doctor had recommended wearing a top that buttoned in the front to make it easier to put on after the procedure. The shirt belonged to Clay, and for a moment she considered keeping it with her for comfort during the biopsy.
Once she put the hospital gown on, she folded her clothes and placed them in the bag along with her purse. Putting the bag back on the table, she sat down on the side of the bed.
Clay came and settled beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Everything's going to be okay." He pressed a gentle kiss to her temple.
"All set?" Sydney called from outside the curtain.
"Yeah," Emma replied.
The nurse entered pushing a cart with a laptop on it. "I'll check you in here, and then we'll get you comfortable in bed and I'll measure your vitals." Sydney tapped on the keyboard for a few seconds. "Okay can you confirm your name and date of birth?"
"Emma Hayes, June 10th, 2000."
"And what are you here for today, Emma?"
"To have a lump in my breast biopsied."
Clay briefly hugged Emma closer to his side.
"Right or left?"
"Right."
"Perfect." Sydney smiled at Emma at Clay. "We do that as a safety protocol. Now, I'm assuming this gentleman is your emergency contact."
Emma couldn't help but return the friendly nurse's smile. "Yes, this is my fiancé, Clay Spenser."
Typing the information into the computer, Sydney glanced back at Clay. "Will you be waiting for Emma or coming back to pick her up?"
"I'll wait."
"Great. Could you still give me your cell number just in case you've stepped out of the waiting room when she's ready?"
"Sure." Clay recited the number, and Sydney added it into the laptop.
"Okay, Emma, into bed and I'll take your vitals."
Clay stood, and Emma laid down. Sydney bustled around fluffing the pillows and spreading a blanket across Emma's legs. "Is this height okay for the back, or do you want to sit up more?"
"I'm good."
She pulled over a machine on a stand and clipped a sensor to the end of Emma's right index finger. Then she wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Emma's upper arm. The cuff inflated, squeezing Emma's arm enough to make her fingers tingle, and numbers flashed on the screen. Finally, the machine beeped, and the numbers froze.
"That's all fine." Sydney scanned the readings on the machine and entered the info into Emma's record.
As the nurse finished typing, Dr. Bradley entered. "Hello, Emma. How are you feeling today?"
"I'm alright."
Dr. Bradley nodded. "And who do you have with you?"
"This is my fiancé, Clay."
The doctor stepped forward and shook Clay's hand. "Nice to meet you."
While Emma introduced Clay to the doctor, the nurse removed the blood pressure cuff and wheeled away the machine.
Dr. Bradley checked the info in Emma's chart. "Everything here looks good, Emma. I'm going to have Nurse Chan here set you up with an IV port. Then she can give you a sedative to relax you for the biopsy. Or if you'd rather, we can put you under, if you haven't had anything to eat or drink since midnight."
Emma smoothed her hands over the blankets. "I haven't, but I prefer the sedative. The nurse from your office said it would take longer if I used anesthesia."
"That's true." The doctor studied Emma. "I know you're nervous about this, but I think the sedative will be fine. And I'll be there with you, although I won't do the procedure. We have a surgeon for that."
Nodding, Emma slipped her hand into Clay's again as he had come to stand by the bed.
"Okay, I'll leave you in Nurse Chan's capable hands, and I'll see you in a little while."
Dr. Bradley stepped out, and Sydney rolled a table with the supplies for the IV over to the bed. "We'll put this in your left arm as the biopsy is on your right."
Clay stepped out of the way to let the nurse work. She quickly had the port in Emma's arm and hooked up a bag of saline to it, hanging it on the pole attached to the bed. Picking up a pre-filled syringe of sedative, she shot it in as well. "That will take effect in a few minutes. You relax while I check if they're ready for you."
Sitting down by Emma's legs, Clay squeezed her hand. "You okay?"
"Mostly. I'm scared, but not about them doing the biopsy itself, just the results after." She bit her lip.
"Em, no matter what happens, it's going to be okay. We'll get through it."
She gave him a halfhearted smile. "I know."
Leaning forward, he kissed her forehead.
Sydney returned followed by an orderly. "Time to go. Sam here is going to push your bed to the procedure room. I'll see you back here after."
Clay stood after kissing Emma one more time. "Your Dad and I will be waiting for you."
"Bye." Emma looked at Clay for as long as she could as she was rolled away.
As the orderly pushed her bed down the hall, the sedative began to take effect. Emma found herself mesmerized by the ceiling panels rolling by above her. Her thoughts drifted from her fears about today's results to Clay and how supportive he had been throughout this ordeal.
People often found reading Clay's emotions difficult, his early life with Ash and his mother had taught him to hide his feelings and being a SEAL had strengthened that ability. But over the course of their relationship, Emma had learned how to read the small tells that hinted at his inner workings.
Before she was taken away from the pre-op area, Clay's eyebrows were furrowed the tiniest bit, giving away to her his anxiety. With his fellow team members, he often hid that apprehension with bravado, but with Emma he did the opposite, becoming quieter. The last time she saw that worry on his face had been on the evening he proposed to her. Although she didn't know at the time the reason for his nervousness.
They had gone to dinner at Stanton House, which had become a tradition for them around the anniversary of their first date. During dinner Emma glanced up from her meal and caught Clay with his eyebrows wrinkled. His face smoothed when he caught her gaze, but she knew what she had seen. She wondered what might be causing his concern and hoped he wouldn't be telling her about an upcoming deployment.
Following dinner, they took a walk on the same beach they had sat on during their first date. Clay held her hand as they ambled down to the water. "This always feels like the start of summer for me."
Emma stopped with him at the water's edge, the tide lapping at their feet. "It does, but it's strange to think that when summer ends, I'll stay here with you instead of going back to school."
Clay smiled. "Strange but good." He leaned down to give her a soft kiss.
"Very good," she said once their lips parted.
He caught her other hand in his. "Em, I want you to know how happy I am you agreed to live with me now that you've graduated."
"There isn't any place I'd rather be."
"Not even in New York, going on auditions?"
Studying their intertwined hands, she considered his question. Then looking him in the eye, she answered decisively. "No. There was a time when I thought that's what I'd do, but things changed. I fell in love with you." She paused, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "And I watched people I know graduate ahead of me and live that life. Some of them have made it into choruses but no one's gotten a lead, and most of them work low paying jobs while they continually get rejected. I realized that even if we weren't together, that's not the life I want." Twining her arms around his neck, she pulled him close. "The life I want is here with you. I'm lucky. I get to have that, and with my publishing contract, I can make music too. Not everyone can say that."
A smile grew on Clay's face, and he tightened his arms around her. "I'm the lucky one."
Their lips met in a passionate kiss. Emma threaded her fingers in Clay's hair, enjoying the feel of his lips on hers. Aware of their somewhat public location, she broke off their embrace, ready to suggest they head home to continue in private.
Before she could voice her plan, Clay stroked her cheek gently with his thumb. "Emma Hayes, will you marry me?"
His words stunned her. The question wasn't a complete surprise as they had spoken about their future, including getting married, but she wasn't expecting him to ask tonight.
At her lack of response, he began fumbling in his pockets. "Wait, I have a ring. Really, I do."
His agitation broke through her shock. "Clay." Emma cupped his face with her hands. "You don't need a ring to convince me. Of course, I'll marry you."
His hands stopped their search as her words registered. "Yes?"
"Yes!"
Grinning, he caught her in his arms and swung her around. She laughed, clinging to his shoulders as he turned. Coming to a stop, he let her body slide down his until her feet landed back in the surf. He continued to hold her close, as they shared a tender kiss.
The kiss ended, and they shared joyful smiles. Emma lifted an eyebrow at Clay. "So… can I see this ring?"
"Shit! Of course." He began patting his pockets again. "I am completely screwing this up."
She found his flustered search for the ring adorable. "No, you're not. This is just right."
He pulled out a worn black velvet box. "It was my grandmother's, so maybe it's too old-fashioned for you. If you don't like it, we can go look for something new."
"I'm sure I'll love it." Knowing his grandmother wore the ring already made it special to her.
"If you don't, I won't be insulted." Finally, he opened the box and held it out for her to see.
Inside was a platinum ring with a squarish cut diamond in the center with smaller diamonds on each side. From what Emma could see in the moonlight, the band had some detail around the stones' settings. "Clay, it's beautiful."
"You're sure? I know it's not like what you can buy now."
"That's a good thing. They sell the same five rings, and practically the only difference is how big the diamond is. Besides, I like that your grandmother wore it." She held out her left hand and wiggled her fingers at Clay.
Carefully removing the ring from its velvet bed, he slipped the box back in his pocket. "She kept it locked up most of the time in Liberia. It wasn't safe to wear it there." He took Emma's hand in his and held the ring to the end of her third finger. "My great grandmother owned it first. She gave it to my grandfather when he wanted to propose to my grandmother."
The ring slid easily on Emma's finger, needing a slight push to move past her knuckle. Emma lifted her hand for them to admire the ring gracing her finger. "That makes it even more special." She beamed at Clay. "Someday we can give it to our son when he wants to propose to someone."
"I'd like that." Pulling Emma in close again, Clay kissed her. This time she was oblivious to everything but him.
Lost in her memories of their kiss, Emma didn't realize her bed had come to a stop in the procedure room.
"Emma, are you with us?" A woman's voice interrupted Emma's memories.
Blinking, Emma studied the woman in green scrubs. Her thoughts felt sluggish, and she didn't recognize this person.
"I'm Sarah, one of the surgical nurses. How are you doing?"
"Um, okay. I was…" Emma paused, not sure what she had been doing. Then she remembered. "Thinking, I was thinking."
The nurse grinned. "The sedative is working, I think."
"Yeah." Emma let her eyes slowly close again.
"Alright, Emma, the team is going to move you to the table and get you set for your procedure."
"Hmm, sure…" Emma felt weightless for a moment as she was lifted to the table. Her thoughts drifted, and she became lost again in her memories of Clay's kiss.