This chapter is for Lanafan7151977 with the prompt: "Lola gets tonsillitis and has to have her tonsils taken out." It's also for bstix since a Lola chapter is required for a long day :)

Regina paced back and forth in the waiting room. "How long has it been?"

"10 minutes," Emma said, chuckling. She reached out and grabbed Regina's hand, pulling her down into the seat next to her. "Relax. I'm sure that she's fine."

"You don't know that," Regina said. "She's having surgery. And she's only 6!"

Emma squeezed her hand gently. "It's a normal procedure, I promise. She'll be fine. Her throat will just be sore for a little bit afterwards."

A while ago, Lola had gotten strep throat. After the antibiotics and sore throat, Regina and Emma were both thankful when it went away. But then it had come back, again and again. Finally, they had taken her in to see a doctor; who had informed them that Lola had tonsillitis and required surgery to have them removed.

"Now how long has it been?" Regina asked.

"Regina," Emma said gently. "The surgery is supposed to take 30-45 minutes. Asking me every 5 minutes how long it has been isn't going to make it go any faster."

Regina sighed. "I know. I just don't like sitting here and not being able to do anything. I hate feeling out of control."

Emma let go of her hand before putting an arm around her and pulling her close. "I know. But she'll be fine. Everyone in that operating room is going to take good care of her."

"Everyone in that room operating on her got their medical degrees from a curse," Regina argued. "I hardly see how I'm supposed to feel better about that."

"Everyone got the jobs they did for a reason, didn't they?" Emma asked. "If the curse placed them as doctors, they had to have at least a little medical experience."

"I guess," Regina said. "That still doesn't make me feel any better."

"Well the good thing is, she's out of surgery and in recovery," Whale said, walking into the waiting room.

Regina went to jump up from her seat, but Emma held tightly to her. "We aren't going to be able to see her," Emma whispered into Regina's ear. "She has to wake up first."

Regina sighed. "She's fine," Whale said. "I promise that you can see her as soon as she wakes up."

4 hours later, Regina and Emma walked into the house with Lola. After she had woken up, Whale had still required her to stay until they knew for sure that there weren't going to be any complications.

Regina held Lola tightly to her. Poor Lola was still drowsy, and her throat definitely hurt. Whale had recommended soft foods, and lots of rest. He had warned them that Lola would probably refuse to eat with the pain in her throat, but that the sooner she ate, the faster she would recover.

"How're you feeling Lo?" Emma asked, running her fingers gently through Lola's hair.

"Tired," Lola said. "And my throat hurts."

"I know," Emma said. "Are you hungry? It's almost dinnertime."

Lola shook her head. "I don't wanna eat. My throat hurts."

"You need to eat," Regina said, squeezing her gently. "You'll get better faster if you eat. At least a little bit."

"Then can I take a nap?" Lola asked.

"Sure," Regina said, carrying her into the kitchen.

After Lola had eaten a bowl of soup, Regina had carried her upstairs for a nap. Emma waited downstairs; making a list of all of the foods that Lola could probably eat.

"I think that's the fastest she's ever fallen asleep," Regina said, sitting next to Emma.

"I would be tired too if I had just had a surgery," Emma said. "Do you think that a smoothie counts as a meal?"

"If you put it with something else," Regina said. "Why?"

"I'm making a list of things that we could give Lola while her throat still hurts. That way when she eats, it won't hurt as much."

Regina smiled. "What?" Emma asked, looking at her. "Why are you smiling at a list of food?"

"Because when we first had Lola, you were so worried about not being a good mother," Regina said. "I'd say that you're doing a pretty good job."

"All I did was write down a list," Emma argued. "I highly doubt that I earned the parent of the year award."

"No, but a major part of being a good parent is caring," Regina said. "And you're proving that you care an awful lot."

"Of course I do, she's my daughter," Emma said.

Regina smiled before kissing her on the cheek. "Exactly."