Summary: Soulmates don't mean anything to Emma Swan. She's actively ignoring the timer ticking down on her wrist. When she wakes up in the hospital to find the timer gone, she swears it doesn't bother her. Not as much as her busted leg, anyway, or her annoying doctor.
I don't own these characters; Disney/ABC does.
A/N: this is my first time trying a soulmates story. I love reading them, not too sure I did the best job at writing one. Anyway, this idea was given to me by SourLeeberry and I have to give thanks to her for it because I had zero ideas for SQ Supernova. So, thank you so much, SourLeeberry. I hope you like the story. I also would like to apologize in advance for any mistakes because I don't have a beta.
Trigger warning for depression and suicidal thoughts.
Running Out of Time
1: Time's Up
Emma pulled her sleeve down to her wrist as she reached across the table for her drink and took her shot. Her friends, Ruby and Belle, drummed their hands on the table of their booth and whooped as she downed the whole thing in a gulp. She blew out a breath as she slammed the small glass down and blinked really hard. The Rabbit Hole was not playing around with their tequila. They did not water a damn thing down. Somebody might need to walk me home later.
"Okay, Emma, this is all fun and everything, but you should probably slow down," Belle said, as she was always the responsible one, which was the main reason she came out with Ruby and Emma. Someone had to make sure they did not drink themselves into a coma.
Emma snorted. "I might want to speed up. This is my only day off." Tomorrow she would be elbow deep in the town's problems. Granted they were small problems, but Storybrooke did its best to keep the sheriff busy.
"You're the one working yourself to death, Sheriff," Ruby said the title with a scoff.
Emma curled her lip. "Not in one day. I've tried." There were times when the busyness of the town came in handy. It kept her from thinking. And now, the drinking kept her from thinking. Thank you, alcohol!
"Is this because of Neal? Are you worried about your…" Ruby tapped her bare wrist.
"I'm not worried about that and I'm not drunk enough to talk about Neal." Emma had little desire to remember Neal existed or to look at the countdown on her wrist. The world being shades of gray was enough of a reminder of those things. "Soulmates are bullshit anyway." That was what she had been telling herself since Neal. Hell, maybe since Lily.
Ruby and Belle looked at each other. They did not think soulmates were bullshit because they had soulmates. But, they also helped prove soulmates were bullshit because Belle had been in a whole committed relationship when she met Ruby and even stuck with her husband after he was arrested and went to prison on some serious charges. It was not until the guy was trying to get Belle involved to help get himself out of trouble that Belle had to admit to herself that he was not a good guy. She was devastated when she filed for divorce and when she was granted it. Ruby had always had a bit of a crush on Belle and helped her get herself together. It was only then that Belle admitted she saw color when she met Ruby and the counter on her wrist had vanished, yet Ruby did not see color when she met Belle and her timer continued counting down. Still, she loved Belle with her entire heart.
No, Ruby did not see color until she met Emma's deputy, Dorothy Gale. This should have made things complicated, but nope. Ruby just dated Belle and Dorothy, with Belle's permission. Belle said over and over again that she "didn't want to stand in the way of true love." Of course, Belle had been hurt at first, but she did her best to hide it from Ruby, especially since Ruby was quite happy with the arrangement. Belle poured her heart out to Emma about how it was unfair. First, her husband, who she had so much faith in turned out to be a bastard, and, now, her soulmate ended up with a different soulmate. Emma had been pissed on Belle's behalf and cursed Ruby out on several occasions over it. Also, cursed fate and soulmates over it. Belle did not deserve this kind of pain.
And then, even that changed and still proved soulmates were bullshit. Ruby started inviting Belle out with her when she went out with Dorothy. Belle and Dorothy also fell in love. Soulmates were not necessary for love. Ruby, Belle, and Dorothy were the healthiest relationship Emma had ever seen in her entire life, soulmates or not. Love could come, color or not, countdown or not. Love just would not come for her, color or not, countdown or not.
"So, if it's not Neal and not your timer, why are you drinking like it's the last time you'll ever do it?" Ruby asked.
"Beyond the fact that you just dared me to have those last two shots?" Emma countered. She got very immature around Ruby, who also got very immature around her.
Ruby nodded sagely. "I did do that, but I only dared you because you were already drinking hard. Something bothering you?"
"Is it the upcoming election? You think the new mayor will bother you?" Belle asked.
Emma blew out a breath. "I just know they're going to elect that asshole." That was just a headache waiting to happen. Not that she had a good relationship with the current mayor either. There was always something, but she preferred the devil she knew to the one she did not.
"You don't know that. Stop worrying about things out of your power." Ruby threw an arm around her and pulled Emma close.
"And please stop stressing your body with more alcohol. Dorothy can't cover your shift tomorrow," Belle said with a smile.
Emma groaned, even though they were both right. She was stressing over something that did not even happen yet. It was just that her life was fairly decent lately and she was not in the mood for life to squat on her again. Had she not paid her dues with her shitty childhood in foster care, meeting Lily and being deceived by Lily, meeting Neal and being deceived by Neal, and then ending up in prison, all before she was even legally an adult? The universe should be done taking shots at her.
"Let us take you home, Emma," Belle said.
"We'll eat tacos and ice cream. That's a step up from alcohol, right?" Ruby looked at Belle, who shook her head.
Emma smiled. "I actually like those both more than alcohol, so I'll take you up on that. But, my apartment looks like a hurricane went through it."
Ruby laughed. "Oh, so it looks like your apartment."
Emma rolled her eyes, but she certainly felt better. They cleared their tab and made their way to Emma's place. Thankfully, talk of soulmates and timers did not come up again. Nor did the election, even though Emma was still certain this election was not going to work out well for her. She did not trust the townspeople. After all, they elected her sheriff of Storybrooke after her boss, Graham, died of a heart attack at the age of thirty. She did not know what she was doing, had barely been a deputy for a couple of months at that time, and they elected her to protect this town. What the hell was wrong with them? Now, she would have to watch them elect someone else who had no idea what they were doing as mayor and mess things up yet again.
-8-8-8-8-
Emma was hard at work, as she always was, as cold air howled around her outside of the Sheriff's station. She tried to ignore the tingle in her bare hand as she moved wood to cover the windows. It was easier to do this without gloves, but her fingers suffered for it.
Emma's wrist itched like mad for some reason, right on the stupid numbers on her right arm. She had not looked down at them in a long time, not since it did not drop down to zero and vanish when she met Neal. At the time, she thought her timer was broken or stupid. Obviously Neal was made for her. Then, he framed her for his stupid crime and she realized she was the one who was broken and stupid.
She shook those thoughts away. She needed to focus on making sure the station was boarded up while she had the sun to work with. There was a huge Nor'easter on the way and dark clouds crept toward the town, promising mayhem. The wind seemed to pick up each minute and Emma could only hope the rest of the town was fortifying itself for the storm. I'll do rounds when I'm done with this, just to be sure.
The weather was one of her least favorite parts of living in Storybrooke, Maine, but this was home. The town had been kind to her, even if annoying at certain points. They had allowed her to pick up the pieces of her torn life after prison, gave her a fresh start, and believed in her even when she did not believe in herself. So, no storm would ever chase her away, even if it meant having to spend her time-off making sure the station was ready for heavy winds, rain, and snow.
Dorothy and Mulan helped with preparing the station, so it went fast and Emma had faith they did a good job because they always did a good job when they worked together. So, she was surprised when she was snuggled in her apartment as the storm raged that night and she got a call that something blew through the station's front window, right through the board they put up to protect the damn window. Such was her luck.
Emma would have ignored it, but then she got the call that someone was poking around the station. With a groan, she dressed for the crappy weather and hopped in the Bug. She had allowed Mulan and Dorothy to have the patrol cars because they did not have cars and they might need the vehicles in case something else happened during this mess.
The second she hit the streets, the freezing air sliced through her. The wind screamed, piercing the night. The short walk to her car was torment with the draft biting through her coat and scarf. Her hat was lost halfway to the car. Her boots, usually so good at keeping her feet warm, already seemed defeated by the traitorous weather as the snow was high enough to fall in from the top. She was lucky the car started without problems, but it took the heat way too long to kick in.
The Bug rocked as the wind howled around her as she crept down the snow-covered, dark street. She dared not push the Bug too much on the slushy pavement. Her caution meant nothing as she hit a hill and a particularly bad gust of wind. She lost control of the car, could barely see between the snow and rain, and did her best to avoid crashing. Her heart hammered in her chest, louder than the gales outside of the car.
Then, a stray dog limped into the street and Emma jerked the wheel, not wanting to hit it. Instead, she slammed head first into a pole. Pain erupted through her skull and flashed through her body. Everything went black after that.
-8-8-8-8-
"I can't believe that moron is my soulmate," was the first thing Emma remembered hearing when she came to. It was low, just beat out by a throbbing in her skull and the whistling of the wind outside.
She ignored that in favor of trying to figure out what the hell happened. She groaned and made an attempt to look around. Her vision was blurry, but she could make out the white walls. There was a pinch in her arm. Everything hurt. She saw there was a tube in her elbow.
"What the hell?" Emma's voice was in shambles and her throat was so dry it hurt. With a grunt, she tried to get out of the bed, but found it was impossible. Her body refused to do what she wanted it to do.
Before Emma could do anything else, a woman in white rushed into the room. "Try not to move, Sheriff." Her voice was like honey, annoyed honey, but honey nonetheless. It somehow sounded familiar, but Emma could not place it.
"Don't worry, I can't," Emma replied as she turned to face the woman. Not only was her voice like honey, but so were her deep, brown eyes. Wait, how do I know that's brown? I can see colors. Since when? What the hell happened?
The woman plucked a chart from the foot of the bed. "You were in a car accident."
Emma squirmed. "That explains the headache."
"That's the least of your problems. Your head is fine. It's your leg you need to worry about." The woman motioned down to Emma's leg.
Emma looked down and gasped. Her left leg was wrapped in a cast. "What happened?"
"Several bruised ribs, so it might hurt to breathe for a while." And it did now that she mentioned it. "Your leg was broken, in several places. Your car hit a pole and then the wind slammed a bench into your door, pinning you inside. Crunched on two sides, your leg is a mess."
Emma scowled. None of that sounded good. Also, her leg did not look good, did not feel good. She could hardly imagine what "broken in several places" actually meant beyond "leg is useless." This was a nightmare. She hissed as her breath hitched in her chest, her aching ribs the only thing keeping her from hyperventilating.
"But… it'll get better, right?" Emma did not even care that her voice cracked as she asked the question. She was the sheriff. She had a job to do. A job she actually loved. What was she if not the sheriff?
The woman — hopefully a doctor or nurse — gave a little nod. Emma's vision was too blurry to make out any name tag. "With time and physical therapy."
A jolt went through Emma and she winced. "Physical therapy?" That usually meant people were never the same again, right? Would she be able to do her job? "I'll be able to keep being sheriff, right?"
"Of course. It's mostly a desk job, yes?"
Emma's eyes went wide. "Wow, no. Not enough deputies for it to be a desk job."
The woman gave another short nod. "Well, you'll probably need knee replacement surgery—"
Fuck, that means the leg is shit now and won't ever be the same. Emma groaned, loudly, not caring about how her ribs throbbed at the noise. This was way too much. How could the universe take this one good thing from her? With a growl, she rolled over, forcing her body to fucking move.
"Whoa, Sheriff! What are you doing? Where do you think you're going?" The woman rushed to the side of the bed, blocking Emma's escape.
"To just fucking die!" That was all she really needed to do. She was just sick of life always dunking on her. Now, she could not do her job and apparently she met her soulmate, but had no memory of it because, of course, she would meet someone after having a head injury. Fuck this!
"Can I get some help in here?" The woman called as Emma attempted to push by her.
A nurse rushed in — dressed in blush pink scrubs, Emma absently noted — and went right to Emma's IV. Emma barely had time to register what happened before she felt worn out just from this little bit of movement. Then, she felt drowsy. The woman in the lab coat eased her back to the center of the bed. Emma could hardly keep her eyes open, so she had no way to fight back. Next thing she knew, she was asleep.
"I guess I can see now how this idiot was out in that storm," the woman's voice somehow got through Emma's sleep. The insult seemed a little warm. Or maybe that was the drugs.
-8-8-8-8-
The next time Emma woke up, she registered pain once more, but it reminded her immediately that she was in the hospital. She looked around, trying to take in the room, but it just seemed dreary to her. Color was dull, pointless. She had lived this long without color. She did not need it now. She needed her damn leg. Her stomach growled, letting her know what she really needed.
Turning her head, Emma saw a little table next to her bed. A tray rested on the table with what she guessed passed as food. Something that might be a burger or meatloaf with a vegetable mix, probably hard a slice of bread, and dry potatoes. It reminded her of school lunch, which just reminded her of her shitty childhood and thus reminded her how the universe hated her. She managed to lift her hand enough to tip the tray onto the floor. Fuck this place.
Her eyes fell onto her cast and she shook her head, which still throbbed. None of this was fair. She could not stop the tears that came and she sobbed. This whole situation sucked.
"Sheriff Swan, are you all right?" The woman from before — again, hopefully her doctor — hurried into the room. If she was not a doctor, she was a pretty good stalker.
Emma cried on. No, she was not all right. Her life was ruined. She had nothing to live for. She hated this so much! The woman stood by her and just let her cry. Then, the woman's hand ended up on her shoulder and somehow that helped calm her down. Sniffling, Emma managed to raise her hand and wipe her face.
"Who are you?" Emma asked.
"Doctor Regina Mills. You caught me on my rotation in the ER, which was good for you. You got to keep your leg," the woman replied with a proud smile.
Emma frowned. "For now. I'm sure eventually the universe will figure out how to snatch that shit right from under me." That would be the icing on the shit cake that was her life.
"You'll be fine with the knee replacement surgery and physical therapy. I am a very good surgeon."
"You say that like I agreed to surgery."
"Well, it would be best if you got it."
Emma tried to arch an eyebrow, but her face was too exhausted for that little bit of movement. "You would do the surgery?"
Doctor Mills nodded. "I would." She put her hands in her pocket and glanced to the side where the food tray had been. Her eyes drifted to the floor and then focused back on Emma.
Emma sighed. "You good?"
"The best in my field if anyone asked me. Feel free to ask the nurses as they come in and out. They hate me, but I'm sure they'll praise my work."
Emma did not understand that. There did not seem to be anything wrong with Doctor Mills. She was beautiful if nothing else. She also seemed to be caring, checking in on Emma at least twice as far as Emma knew. "They hate you?"
Doctor Mills shrugged. "I'm a bitch. Whatever. Now, I have a question for you, why is your emergency contact a dead man?"
Emma blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Your emergency contact. When you came into the emergency room, lots of people tried to figure out who to call for you. Your emergency contact was former Sheriff Graham Humbert. Not very helpful in letting people know what happened to our current sheriff."
Emma hunched her shoulders, feeling properly scolded, but not quite embarrassed. "I never changed it from when he gave me a chance as a deputy. Never thought I'd need to. I mean, how often do people use their emergency contacts?"
Doctor Mills pursed her lips. "More often than you think. Is there someone you would like us to call for you?"
"Not if my phone survived the crash…"
Doctor Mills moved further into the room and pushed a chair closer to the bed. There were a few of her belongings, a jacket she kept in her backseat, her wallet, badge, and phone. Doctor Mills put the phone on an empty part of her bed.
"You should probably call someone. If only to help decide on the surgery," Doctor Mills said.
Emma nodded and the doctor was gone. Emma sighed as she looked at her phone. Several calls from her friends stared back at her. She decided to call Ruby first because Ruby could get in contact with most other people she knew.
"Oh, thank god, Emma! We thought you were dead!" Ruby cried.
Emma sucked her teeth. "I've never been so lucky." Fate probably wouldn't know what to do with itself if it doesn't have me to kick around anymore.
Ruby did not take it the way she meant it. "You are so lucky! We've seen your car. Well, what's left of your car. What hospital are you at?"
"Uh… I actually don't know. I didn't think to ask." It did not matter to her.
Ruby laughed. "Of course you didn't, but I guess you're just happy to be alive. And so are the rest of us. Your car looks like a giant crushed it in its hands."
"No saving it?"
"No, I think that was definitely the Bug's last ride. Look, ask someone where you are and text it while I let everyone know you're all right."
Emma sighed. "Yeah, I'll do that and then call Mulan to let her know she's gonna be in charge for a while."
"All right. See you soon."
Emma ended the call and planned to call Mulan, but she fell asleep. She only knew she fell asleep because she woke up to the sound of Ruby, but it was not a phone call. It sounded like she was right outside of the room. Then, Ruby stepped in with Belle, Dorothy, and Mulan. Just from the way all of their faces dropped let Emma know how bad she looked. Guess it's a good thing I haven't looked at a mirror.
"How you feeling, Emma?" Ruby asked. Emma focused on her and blinked. There was a section of Ruby's hair that used to be a lighter gray than the rest. It turned out, it was dyed a bright red and Ruby was a brunette.
"We were so worried!" Belle rounded the bed and put a hand on Emma's shoulder.
Emma smiled at Belle. Oh, wow. Her hair and eyes are brown. Somehow, the color of Belle's eyes made the concern and retreating terror that much more obvious. Belle had been scared for her.
Emma turned her attention to everyone else. "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. The doctor told me I crashed my car. I can't even remember why I went outside."
"Probably on a call. The front window to the station was broken when we went to find you," Mulan stated.
Emma nodded, even though she did not recall any of that. "I was supposed to call you." She held up her phone.
Mulan shook her head. "It's all right. Dorothy called me. I'm just glad you're all right." She folded her arms across her chest, fluffing up her coat, as her eyes roamed Emma's body. She frowned at the cast.
"Well, I'm being told I might need knee replacement surgery. Although, the 'might' part of it seemed like it was to ease me into a 'yeah, you need this' thing. That's one of the things I needed to tell you when I was supposed to call you. I need you to be the interim sheriff while I'm here. I don't know how long it might be if I get the surgery. The doctor was saying something about physical therapy, which blah." Emma stuck her tongue out.
Mulan cocked an eyebrow, but Dorothy was the one who spoke up. "What do you mean if?" She squared her shoulders, like she was ready to physically fight Emma on this.
Ruby grabbed onto the foot of the bed, careful of Emma's broken leg. "You have to get the surgery, Emma. You'll never walk right again if you don't."
Emma narrowed her gaze on Ruby. "Did you talk to my doctor? Short, hot tyrant practically ordering me to get surgery?"
Ruby shook her head. "I think I would remember talking to a hot tyrant. I just think walking normally again would be something that's important to you." She did an exaggerated shrug.
"Your leg is pretty beat up," Dorothy added.
Emma frowned and then she turned to Mulan. "I don't know how long you'd be in charge if I do this."
Mulan sucked her teeth. "Do you honestly think I care about how long I'd have to do your job? I just want you to get better. We want you back whole and healthy. That's the important thing."
"Yeah, we can keep David in line." Dorothy chuckled, pointing to herself and Mulan.
Emma snickered. "I need Mulan to keep you both in line."
"I'm not new to this, Emma. I am the den mother for all of you even when you are at work," Mulan said.
Emma managed a weak laugh. "You've got me there. So, should I have the surgery?"
"Yes, Emma, have the surgery. As soon as you possibly can if you actually need it," Dorothy said.
Belle tilted her head as she studied Emma with calm, almost cute intensity. "Are you worried over the surgery?"
Emma swallowed. "Maybe. I mean, I might not walk right again."
"You also won't walk right without the surgery. Look, I'll look up this surgery and tell you everything I find, all right?" Belle offered.
"Will you?" Emma did not mean to sound as hopeful as she did, but that would certainly put her mind at ease. Belle would research the hell out of it and let her know what it was about a lot better than the doctor. Belle smiled and nodded.
"Do you need us to do anything?" Ruby asked.
Emma shook her head. "Nothing I can think of right now. I'm just happy you're here." She rubbed her forehead, finger skimming across a bandage. "It's hard not remembering what happened, being trapped, and not really knowing what's going to happen."
Ruby smiled. "We're here for you."
They visited for a while and Emma felt better. They did not talk about anything too heavy. Ruby let her know that she let herself into Emma's apartment with her spare care, hoping to find a clue into what happened to Emma. She would go back and turn off several electronics Emma left on. Belle would probably tag along, if only to clean Emma's apartment as she always did that when she came over.
The second her friends left, Emma's stomach growled, reminding her that she had not eaten. She turned around, searching her bed for her phone, but lost it somewhere during the visit. She checked the bedside table and found a takeout, aluminum bowl she failed to notice before. Oh, Ruby is a lifesaver! Granny's was way better than hospital food.
Emma popped open the lid and was pretty sure this was not Granny's. Some kind of marinated chicken breasts, rice and beans, and broccoli covered in sauce. She was not sure what it was, but she was too hungry to try to figure it out. Instead, she grabbed the plastic fork from the end table left for her hospital food and she got to work. Doctor Mills walked in when she was about halfway through the meal.
"So, I heard you've begun to reconsider the surgery, if it's necessary," Doctor Mills said.
Emma glanced away. "I'm thinking about it."
"Try not to take too long."
"But, you just said 'if it's necessary.' Like it might not even be necessary."
Doctor Mills, hands in her white coat pockets, shrugged slightly. "We'll take more x-rays and go from there."
A scowl sliced across Emma's face and she was not sure why she was so pissy with the doctor beyond the near-lies she was being told. She understood the surgery was being soft-balled at her to spare her feelings, but she did not want her feelings spared. Life did not give a fuck about her feelings and she did not need some stranger coddling her like she could not take bad news. Her life was nothing but bad news. She was so goddamn upset with the situation and even though Doctor Mills saved her life, she also represented the possible end of Emma's life as she knew it. Whatever it was, Doctor Mills just left a bad taste in her mouth. Good thing she had food to take her mind off it.
"I just want my friend to tell me about it before I make a decision. She's smart and good at researching stuff," Emma said.
Doctor Mills frowned. "You could ask me whatever you want to know about the procedure."
"Yeah, but you'll just make it sound like I should have it. She'll tell me both the pros and cons."
Doctor Mills' expression deepened. "I would not lie to you."
"Maybe you don't think lying by omission is a lie."
"What makes you think I would lie by omission?"
Emma shrugged. "You want me to get the surgery."
"It's your best chance at walking properly again."
"See?" Emma pointed at the doctor with her fork. "And that's why I want my friend, Belle, to tell me about it. You're just going to present a case for me to get the surgery."
Doctor Mills' eyes seemed ready to explode and a vein popped up in the center of her forehead. Her red painted lips trembled for a moment, like she had to chew her tongue to keep from exploding on Emma. She's hot when she's pissed. Emma shook that thought away and focused back on her food. Doctor Mills sniffed.
"I'll be back later to check on you and find out if you've made up your mind." And with that, Doctor Mills was gone.
An emptiness drained Emma for a moment, but she managed to shake it off. She finished off her food and water. She was ready to go to sleep again, but shot Ruby a quick text thanking her for the food. She put the phone down and closed her eyes, but opened them as her phone buzzed. Ruby texted her back. I didn't bring you food. Emma shrugged it off. It was probably Mulan then. Mulan was thoughtful like that.
-8-8-8-8-
Emma woke up to a breakfast of fluffy pancakes, wrapped in a container that did not look like something from Granny's, but were too good to be hospital food. She still assumed one of her friends was looking out for her and that was only bolstered by Belle sending her several texts about what she already learned about knee replacement surgery. She would stop by later with further details. Emma looked forward to that.
Emma made it through the morning without having to see Doctor Mills, so she counted that as a win. Belle came in about lunch time with a burger, so things were definitely looking up. Belle walked her through everything that had to do with the surgery while she ate. Emma nodded, just to show she was paying attention as she shoved huge bites of the bacon burger into her mouth.
"So, what do you think I should do?" Emma asked when it was all said and done. She sipped the end of her vanilla shake, also provided by Belle.
Belle smiled softly at her. "I think you should make the decision without my influence. It's why you asked me to do this for you, after all."
Emma groaned, but it was true. Her other friends would have weighed in immediately, but Belle was always unbiased, unless she was trying to save one of them from themselves. She would not make this easy, but that was good. This needed to be Emma's decision, and hers alone because if it did not work out, she did not want to blame anyone else for it.
Emma sighed. "I should get the surgery. I'm worrying about being able to do my job, but if my knee is jacked up, I won't be able to do it anyway."
Belle gave her another soft smile, like she was proud of Emma. "You're right about that. Mulan and Dorothy think you do too much as it is."
Emma shook her head. She could only be sheriff the way she was taught and the way she knew how, which was doing things she asked of her deputies to do as well as handling paperwork. She did not have the staff to not do things right alongside them.
"Thank you for doing this all for me. I appreciate it," Emma said.
Belle chuckled. "For the research or for lunch?"
Emma could not help laughing. Her cheeks even burned a little. "Both. I'm actually eating pretty good in here. Maybe now my doctor will be a little less of an asshole since I'm going to go through with the surgery."
Belle arched an eyebrow. "Is she really an asshole or are you just giving her a hard time because you're upset with your circumstances?"
Emma scoffed. "I promise you she's an asshole." And, I'm upset with my circumstances, but Doctor Mills is definitely an asshole.
Belle shrugged. "Whatever you say. I've got to get back to the library, but we'll all be back later."
"With another burger?" Emma grinned.
"One burger per day, you know that. I swear, you and Dorothy would probably eat a whole cow if I let you."
"With a side of a whole pig." Emma winked.
Belle chuckled and stood up. She kissed Emma's forehead and hugged her tight. "I'm so happy you're okay. You're very important to both Ruby and Dorothy, but also me. I know you don't see me as often, but you've been such a great friend to me, especially through dark times. I was more than a little scared when I saw your car. Please, don't leave us."
"I'll do my best." Emma managed a hug with one arm. She sniffled. It was hard to believe she was important to people, even harder to believe she was important to people beyond Ruby. And, I don't want to cause them any undue worry, so maybe be a little more careful.
Belle left after that and Emma was left alone with her thoughts. She was happy with her decision. She could not wait to rub it in Doctor Mills' face. Yes, Doctor Mills wanted her to get the surgery and everything, but she wanted to force Emma to get it. This was a decision that Emma made based on trusted information. So, ha!
But, Doctor Mills did not come in. Nurses checked on her and eventually her friends came in. They let her know how the town cleanup was going from the storm and Mulan had questions about running the department. In the middle of this, Doctor Mills came in.
"Don't mind me. Just checking her charts," Doctor Mills said. She did not even bother to glance at Emma.
Ruby moved, standing behind Doctor Mills. She locked eyes with Emma and pointed down at Doctor Mills. She mouthed, "Oh, my god! She's fucking hot." She fanned herself.
Emma frowned. She did not like Ruby checking out Doctor Mills and it had nothing to do with Ruby having two girlfriends already. No, it was more like Ruby was checking out someone who was hers. Her eyes drifted to her bare wrist, but she shook that away. She did not have time for that nonsense.
"So, I'm going to get the surgery," Emma blurted out, needing to do something to stop her thoughts.
Doctor Mills made a noise, like a grunt, but somehow classier. "I had assumed as much." She put Emma's chart down. "We can discuss scheduling later. When it's less crowded." She glanced around the room and then left.
"Oh, my god, she's so freaking hot!" Ruby waved her hands, fanning herself again.
"Dude, she's barely out of the door," Emma pointed out, glaring at Ruby.
Ruby scoffed. "I'm sure I'm not the first person to call her hot. In fact, would you like to take a survey of the room?" She motioned to the other three women, who all glanced away.
"Just stop." Emma held up a hand. All eyes went to the hand, then the blank wrist, and they had to notice her timer was gone. She quickly put her hand down, easing it under her blanket. The room was silent enough to hear a pin drop, silent enough where Emma was sure her friends could hear her heart pounding in her chest. It was so tense Emma thought it might shatter her.
Mulan spoke up, cutting through the tension. "I'm glad you decided on the surgery."
Emma blinked. That was what she wanted to talk about? "Uh… yeah. Belle told me about it and it just made sense, you know?"
Dorothy nodded. "Yeah, Belle always makes sense."
Belle scoffed. "Yet you and Ruby almost never listen to me."
"That's not true," Ruby replied. "We only don't listen when we know we're doing something fun."
Belle shook her head. "The worst time for you to not listen."
"Anyway," Dorothy said and turned her attention back to Emma. "Good job on deciding on the surgery. Take your time getting better. You know Mulan will run a tight ship while you're gone." She nudged Mulan with her elbow.
Mulan grunted and stepped away from Dorothy before the taller woman knocked her over, as she tended to do to mess with Mulan. Then, her friends were gone. They had stuff to do and she had nothing. She played a game on her phone and tried to chat up a nurse who checked on her. The nurse was not in the mood and just did her job before leaving. Her eyes stayed glued to her phone, playing a game and putting on some music to help her ignore the activity right out of the door that she was in no shape to take part in. So many people came and went by her door. Were hospitals always such beehives? Emma could not take it, so focused on her phone as hard she could, in as many different ways she could to avoid looking outward… or inward for that matter.
"Would it be all right to discuss your surgery now?" Doctor Mills asked, in the doorway and her dark shadow looming into the room.
Emma yelped and her eyes darted up to the foot of her bed. "Damn, you're like a cat! How long have you been here?"
Doctor Mills rolled her eyes. "Long enough to discover you have terrible taste in music and a horrible singing voice."
Emma scowled. "Oh, and I'm sure you sound like an angel if your bedside manner is anything to go by."
"I would never pretend to be an angel. Devils do it with more flare anyway." Doctor Mills smirked and made a weird hand gesture, flicking her fingers out.
"Do what with more flare?" Emma stared at her fingers.
Doctor Mills smirked. "Everything."
Emma was not sure what to say to that, but did not get a chance to retort anyway. Doctor Mills went into telling her about the procedure. For all of her terrible bedside manner, Doctor Mills managed to make everything sound safe and easy. No surgery was safe or easy, but still it seemed like everything would be fine with Doctor Mills explaining it. But, then Doctor Mills did something surprising. She walked Emma through what she would do during the procedure.
"Any questions?" Doctor Mills asked once she was done.
Emma shook her head, finding herself at ease for the first time in a long time. Not just with the situation, the hospital, the surgery, but in general. Did her voice do that? Or just talking to me like I'm a person she respects? Wait, I have to answer her question! "No, that covers everything. Um… thank you." It felt like the right thing to say. Doctor Mills did not have to do any of this, after all.
Doctor Mills curled her lip. "It's my job. Nothing more." And then she was gone.
Emma snorted. Such a rude bitch. Emma glanced at her phone and slammed it down on the pillow, sick of it. She glanced to the side of her and happened to notice a food container. She was starving and it was dinnertime. Guess I'll have to deal with hospital food. She was tempted to text a friend to bring her something, but she did not want to be a bother.
Popping open the top, she blinked. She could not be seeing this right. Sliced steak, roasted potatoes, seasoned vegetables, and very clearly homemade mac'n'cheese. This was very much not hospital food. Where the hell did this come from? Someone probably left it for her while she was buried in her phone. Weird they wouldn't say anything, though.
Upon first bite, she did not think too long on it. It was delicious! She enjoyed the meal and her night nurse came in. Astrid was much nicer than the day nurse, which was surprising since they were already familiar with each other. Emma spent a lot of time locking up Astrid's longtime boyfriend, Leroy. He had the poor distinction of being the town drunk. At least, he was also a very competent handyman.
"How are you doing, Emma?" Astrid asked.
"Good. I've decided to get the knee thing. Doctor Mills just walked me through it," Emma replied.
Astrid paused. "Did she? That's odd."
"Why? She doesn't usually do that."
Astrid laughed. "No. She doesn't have the patience for that. You know how surgeons tend to have God complexes? Well, her more so. We call her the Evil Queen around here."
Emma chuckled. "I can totally see it!"
"I'm sure you can. She's not known for her bedside manner." Astrid leaned over to poke her nose in Emma's food. "Where'd you get that?"
"It was waiting here. I thought it was hospital food."
"And you didn't throw it on the floor again?"
Emma frowned. "I told you that was an accident!"
"Sure." Astrid snickered. "It's funny, but I think the Evil Queen was eating something similar during mealtime, but I try not to pay too much attention to her. I've seen her make many nurses and doctors cry. I'm not in the mood to be added to that list."
"Damn, she's like that? But, I'll be okay with the surgery, right? She's not going to give me an ugly scar or something as payback, right?"
"No, she's not like that. She takes pride in her work. She'll do your surgery to the best of her ability, which is incredible. You'll be fine."
Hmm… guess she wasn't lying about that. Emma glanced down at the food and then thought about how it appeared at the same time as Doctor Mills. Nah, there's no way in Hell she'd do something that cool. She was lucky Doctor Mills even bothered to explain the surgery.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: the end.
