The gnawing pain in her stomach reminded Emma that she probably should have had breakfast that morning when Regina insisted. Her nerves, however, made her feel nauseous and jittery, and food just seemed unappealing. Today was the day: her appointment with Dr. Hale. It was supposed to be something she was excited for, and she was. But at the same time, she was intimidated by everything that would follow. The pain, swelling, the bleeding, risk of infection, and God, dilators. The thought about dilators made her cringe. Emma had watched one too many reviews of people talking about how painful they were, and it made her nervous. The whole process was overwhelming, which it shouldn't be. She thought that she had no reason to be feeling so overwhelmed when she had Regina and her family to support her through this transition. Sure, the pain and the risks could pose issues, but no matter what Emma knew she had the support to get through any obstacles.
Suddenly, her fist came down hard on the steering wheel's horn. "What the hell was that?" Emma yelled throwing up the middle finger as she passed by some asshole who cut her off on 93-S towards Boston.
Regina offered to drive; she mentioned a thing or two about Massachusetts drivers being skilled at cutting people off. No wonder the marquees said, "Use Ya Blinkah." Despite Regina's offer, Emma needed to feel in control of something. She wanted to drive; driving was therapeutic. Her mind was ticking with anxiety over the appointment; like, what if she's been obsessed with the effects of the surgery and, for whatever reason, Dr. Hale feels like she's not ready? That would be too much for Emma; she didn't know if she could cope well with that huge letdown.
Turning on her blinker, she took an off ramp into the city onto Storrow Drive. They had previously gone to Boston several times to get to Providence, but this was her first time driving through the heart of it all.
Emma figured that they could potentially take a few days before her surgery, whenever that happened, to do a little tour of the city. She had always been interested in going to the Sam Adams factory for a beer tasting. She'd also read about the North End, and the authentic Italian cuisine. That thought alone caused her stomach to rumble again.
"We have some extra time. Do you want to stop and get a bite to eat?" Regina asked from the passenger seat next to her.
Emma did want food, but she was too afraid to eat and then later just end up emptying the contents of her stomach into a trash can at the doctor's office. Her anxiety over it all was extensive.
"I'm too nervous. I'm worried, and I just can't eat. Can we just get something after? Maybe we could do some exploring before heading home?" Emma asked.
"Emma." Regina pointedly said. "Why are you nervous?"
She bit down on her lip as the car came to a rolling stop in traffic. At least the scenery was nice. Whatever river was to her right was frozen over though, and it looked freezing outside. She let out a heavy, shaky sigh and responded, "It's just that I'm worried I've got my hopes up and what if he doesn't think I'm ready? And then there's the other side of things: what if I am and I can't get the surgery for another year? If I do get the surgery, there're so many things that I've felt ready for, but what if I'm really not?" Emma admitted her fear. She was the confident sounding one when she first approached Regina, but now, when it came down to it, she was afraid.
"You're fine. You have all the paperwork from your gender therapist and endocrinologist. You have nothing to worry about; you're ready for this. Don't be afraid. You should be excited. This is something you've wanted for so long," Regina said as she grabbed Emma's right hand from the steering wheel and held it close. "You've got me, and when the surgery happens your mom will be here. Things will go well today and if they don't ...then, oh well. We will figure things out together for you to move on to the next step." Regina flashed Emma an encouraging smile that reminded her that they were in this together.
"I hope you're right." Emma said looking down at their joined hands. Her heart still ached to put that ring she had bought on Regina's ring finger. Soon, she promised herself. She knew it was only a matter of time before the time was right.
Emma looked at her phone that was directing her to the doctor's office over in Brookline. She felt confused, and her brows furrowed closer together as she squinted to see the map. "What does it mean take a left?" Emma pointed towards the cars in front of her all bound to head straight or to turn right. "There's no left." She held up her iPhone closer to her face fussing with the directions on her Apple maps. "Babe?" She asked confused, hoping Regina could help.
When the light changed, she sped forward with the lunch hour traffic. "Like, what am I supposed to do? Drive over the gated train tracks?" Emma asked, annoyed with not only the Boston traffic but also with incorrect directions. The stupid MassHoles zooming by her in the parallel parking lanes only made everything more frustrating. Not to mention, there was no logical grid pattern and a lack of signage. The whole ordeal was frightening, and she should have just let Regina drive.
"Just take the next left and turn around." Regina cooed from beside her.
When the car came to the light, Emma's eyes caught sight of her rear view mirror, and she shrieked in fear. "Shit!" She yelled trying to move the car out of the way of an incoming trolley train, the kind that are at street level. The big green trolley car's driver was honking his horn over and over. Clearly, the lane she thought was for cars were actually for the train.
"I don't know where to go!" Emma panicked. Her heart felt like it was about to burst from beneath her chest. This traffic and random trains weren't what she needed before a rather important, stressful appointment.
"Just push yourself into those two cars." Regina pointed out. "It's not like the T-driver is going to run us over." Regina, the sudden expert on Bostonian drivers, said.
Emma looked over her shoulder and pushed the car into the next lane. Why she ever thought this would be therapeutic was beyond her. "I think I've lost a year of my life driving in this damn city. You can totally drive home," Emma told her girlfriend, who appeared to be choking back laughter.
"It's not funny." Emma whined. "We could have been pancaked."
"No, we wouldn't have." The voice of reason, her girlfriend, the love of her life told her. Perhaps she was a bit melodramatic; it was clearly the nerves talking.
"I just want to get there and have the appointment and get it all over with." Emma said as traffic started moving forward again.
Regina plucked Emma's phone from her hand and zoomed in on the directions. "Take the first left over the train tracks and then drive down two blocks. We should arrive at that point and just need to find some parking." Regina told her.
And it was just that simple.
The first rule of parking in Boston is that when you see a parking spot, to assume it's the last one you'll see. Emma had to circle three different blocks until they saw someone moving their car. That took almost twenty minutes, and when they finally walked into the doctor's office, they were right on time.
Emma walked over to the front desk and signed in. The older woman behind the counter took her information and asked her to fill out the standard paperwork; emergency contact information, and standard new patient details. Another four-page document was a comprehensive pre operative and pre anesthetic patient questionnaire. A lot of it was basic stuff, and most of it she assumed would be gone over again with the nurse before being seen by the doctor. It took her about ten minutes to go through the entire thing. When she was finished, she took it back up to the receptionist, who genuinely smiled and said, "Have a seat and the doctor will be right with you."
The waiting room was one of those filled with boring, generic artwork. The wallpaper was pinstriped, and though it would normally be barely noticeable, Emma's eyes were latching on to every detail. Her eyes looked at the different magazines that littered the tables. January's issue of Reader's Digest was titled Miraculous Christmas Stories, Time magazine paid tribute to the late legend, David Bowie, and then pamphlets on different procedures and resources for patients.
It was impossible for Emma to sit still, let alone concentrate long enough to read a damn article in one of the magazines. Her fingers were tapping on the edge of her chair, and her leg bounced up and down. She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans and cracked her neck. It was the longest wait of her life. The clock ticking on the wall sounded louder than it actually was. The flip of each magazine page in Regina's hands caused her to shiver. Even the receptionist typing or talking on the phone was amplified. Her ears were itching to hear her name and nothing else. It wasn't like the office was busy. Strangely, it was Emma and one other person, besides Regina, waiting to be seen.
The door across the room opened and a woman, who appeared to be in her early twenties, called out, "Emma Swan?" Emma stood and waited for Regina to put her magazine down and held out her hand to thread her fingers fingers together.
"Right this way." The nurse instructed. A few seconds later they were heading into an exam room. Emma sat down on the examination table, her legs dangling over the edge. The white, flimsy paper scrunched under her thighs.
"I'm Sierra, and I'm going to be gathering some information from you before Dr. Hale comes in," She started off. "First, did you bring in your letters and medical history?" she asked.
"Yeah." Emma scratched her nose and looked over at her girlfriend. "Regina?"
Regina picked up her purse and shuffled around before handing over a folder that contained all that information.
The nurse grabbed the packet and sat it down on the counter next to her chart. "Great, thank you. Dr. Hale will have to go over these before he comes in." She moved and opened a door to a cupboard and handed Emma a white gown with blue diamonds. "You'll need to change into this for the exam. Do you have any questions or concerns that I can address?"
"Nope." Emma dryly responded.
"Okay. Well, then I'm just going to take your vitals." The nurse first took Emma's pulse and jotted down it down on the clipboard. She then checked her breathing. Emma jumped when the cold stethoscope touched her warm skin.
"I know, it's cold. Sorry. Take a deep breath in," the nurse assured her as she moved the round bell to a few other places and asked, "And another?"
Emma was sure her heart was hammering in her chest.
"Okay, the last thing I need is your temperature." Sierra murmured as she shoved a thermometer into Emma's mouth. After a few passing seconds, it beeped, and the nurse happily declared, "Perfect temperature 98.1." She turned and wrote down the rest of Emma's vitals on her chart.
It still amazed Emma how the nurse just recalled all the numbers. Emma could never do that. Then again, she had no interest in being a nurse, so there was also that.
The nurse pulled a roller chair up to a computer and logged in. Emma felt Regina's eyes on her, and she couldn't imagine not having Regina here with her. It was crazy to believe there had ever been a time she went to her check ups on her own.
"Alright Ms. Swan, just going to get some more information from you. Are you a smoker?"
"No." Emma licked her lips. She smoked like once ever in her life, and her mother caught her. She was fifteen and stupid, thinking she couldn't get caught, but when she was, her mother grounded her for weeks. No TV, no AOL, no friends over. It was brutal.
"Do you drink?"
"Yes." Obviously. How could she not?
"How often? A few drinks a week. A drink every two weeks?"
Emma felt her head duck down a little, did she drink too much? Would her liver be swearing at her by the time she was fifty? "Uh, two drinks a few nights a week."
Sierra didn't even flinch. She just typed the notes, and then asked, "What medicines are you currently taking?"
"Estradot and Aldactone." Estradot was her estrogen, and Aldactone was the testosterone blocker she took regularly. "I take them once a day." Emma then added.
"Do you have any known drug allergies?"
"Nope. Not that I'm aware of."
The nurse smiled, "You're easy. Some patients have a million drugs and allergies. Hence, why we give you guys that paperwork to fill out. Have you had any surgeries?"
"Does wisdom teeth count?" Emma asked. Because otherwise, no she was as healthy as an ox.
"Sometimes, depends on if they used anesthesia. Do you remember?"
Emma was eighteen at the time, which was close to ten years ago. "I believe they did."
"Alright, well regardless we need to take a few tubes of blood to run a CBC, which is a complete blood count, to clear you for surgery. Do you know your parents medical history?"
"Yeah, my parents are healthy. My grandparents are also still alive. My grandmother had a skin cancer scare when she was in her fifties. It was removed after some treatment and surgery." Emma said.
"How about blood clots, do you know if there's a history of that?"
Emma shook her head no. If there was, she wasn't aware of it.
"I think that's all." Sierra picked up the paperwork that Emma filled out in the waiting room. "So when you said you had Asthma... do you still have that and take medicine?"
"Uh… I have an inhaler that I don't use. It's albuterol. It was something I had when I was a kid really, when I played sports."
"Alright, great. I'll go over the rest of the paperwork while Dr. Hale does the exam. When I take your blood, if I have any follow up questions I will ask them then."
"Thanks."
"Go ahead and change. The doctor will be in shortly." The nurse paused and sweetly said to Emma, "Also, don't be so nervous. " She smiled, gently.
When the door shut, Emma turned and looked at Regina. "This is the sucky part," Emma said. "I hate getting exams. I don't like being touched." She stood up from the table, the paper making a crinkly noise as she stood, and started undressing.
"It will be fine. I'll be right here," Regina told her.
Emma handed her clothing to her girlfriend, who folded everything nicely into a stack.
"Turn around so that I can tie the strings together." Regina instructed Emma. "You look beautiful," she said, softly. Emma's skin prickled when she felt the comfort of her girlfriend's lips on the back of her neck. "Stop worrying so much. Just think, the next time we're here, you could be getting the surgery." She ran her hands up and down the sides of Emma's arms affectionately. "And all of this will be over. It's perspective."
"Yeah." Emma turned and stole a quick kiss. "Thanks for the support." She turned and sat down on the table again. "My stomach is hurting. I could kill for a big ol' bacon burger."
"Well, we can get something to eat after this. I'm feeling famished too." Regina said, "You can get a few drinks if you want, and I can drive us home afterward."
"Sounds perfect." Emma hummed in appreciation. It was hard to believe home had been in Orlando just months prior. Hell, it was hard to believe that it had been almost six months since they had been together. It felt more like years.
A knock on the door distracted Emma, who said, "Come in."
A man with gray hair who was maybe in his mid-fifties popped his head in. "You must be Emma!" He brought out his hand. "I'm Wynn Hale. How are you doing?"
"I'm doing good. Nervous, but otherwise good."
"Don't be nervous. I'm happy you're here." He then turned and looked at Regina. "And you look just like your parents." Emma watched as he shook Regina's hand. "Your mother speaks highly of you both. I'm sorry for your loss, Regina. Henry was a dear friend of mine." His grin fell into a slight frown. "I met him years ago, at a conference where he entertained the idea of me giving a guest lecture at Brown. After that, we became great friends. I wasn't in town when he passed, or I would have attended the funeral," he told them. "Emma, when Henry and Cora first talked to me, they spoke highly of you. Said you were practically family." Dr. Hale smiled.
Emma blushed, "Yeah, well Henry was like a father to me." The mere thought of the older man made Emma's heart drop. Without him, she wouldn't be sitting where she was currently. Her nerves subsided slightly. Boy, did she miss that old man. She missed everything; his stories and sex jokes. Not just that, but also, his wise words of encouragement.
"So tell me about yourself a little. I read your letters of recommendation and see that you've been on hormones since you were a kid," Dr. Hale encouraged Emma to begin.
"That's right. I started treatment when I was younger. I was diagnosed with gender dysphoria at a young age. When I was ten, I started taking estrogen and testosterone blockers." Emma told Wynn.
"You look remarkable. You've got a feminine face, and there's no visible Adam's Apple. You've developed beautifully." He walked up and pulled out the stirrups. "Go ahead and sit back," he instructed, "And put your feet in the stirrups. I'm just going to do a quick exam."
Emma could hear him ruffling around with a cardboard box that hung on the wall for some medium sized blue, gloves. She gulped and laid back on the table. The paper underneath her crunched again, and Emma looked over at Regina. Their eyes locked and silently they communicated back and forth. Regina stood quickly and placed Emma's clothing back in the chair. Emma held out her hand and grabbed a hold of Regina's.
"You're going to feel some pressure." Dr. Hale informed before he touched her.
She could feel the gown lift slightly. Her grip tightened in Regina's hand. This part could never end quickly enough. His gloved hands examined her genitalia.
At this point, Emma couldn't see the older man, but he spoke as he conducted his exam, "You're on the smaller side. Are you able to reach turgency?"
"It takes some effort, but eventually, I can," she said. Hell, with a girlfriend like Regina, getting an erection was possible. There just was a lot of foreplay involved.
"How about an orgasm?"
"Yes." Regina had the mouth of an angel. God did she blow, literally, Emma's mind.
Dr. Hale slid his chair back and took off his gloves and tossed them into the nearby trash can. "You can sit up," he told her after he pushed the stirrups back into the exam table.
Emma released her tight grip on Regina's hand and sat up. Her legs dangled over the edge once again. Her mind was racing. The hard part was finally over, and now they could get down to the real stuff.
"Alright," Dr. Hale clapped his hands together. "So you look like you've been ready for a while to have this surgery. I'm not sure how much research you've done, but I think what's best for you is the traditional inversion method with the removal of gonadal tissue."
"Gonadal tissue?" Emma asked shaking her head. She hadn't heard that terminology before.
"Fancy medical terminology for scrotum and contents," he casually said. "The tip of your genitalia will be utilized to fashion a clitoris, as the nerves are connected."
As casual as it sounded, it made Emma clench her thighs. "Right," she said, remembering the several informative videos that she had watched, demonstrating the very same surgery.
The doctor then crossed his arms and looked at Emma pensively. "You understand that the recovery time is different for every person? Some can recover fast with no infections, but others may experience some swelling, or infections. Sometimes there're follow-up procedures."
"How, um, bad can the swelling get? Will it put me on bed rest?"
"You will need to spend the first few days at the hospital, to be monitored until you can urinate on your own using a cap lock catheter, and show the nurse that you can dilate. Sometimes, it can be longer. There can be a lot of bleeding, and that needs to be watched for. After you're released, you'll need to take it easy. You'll likely not want to get up too much, and feel more comfortable in bed. About a week after the surgery you'll be up and walking more of your own volition, rather than us prodding you to," he told her. "Again, walking in moderation. There's going to be swelling and pain."
"Okay." Emma gulped and reached out for Regina's hand again.
"On top of all that you'll be given a kit so that you can dilate every day, multiple times per day. Now, I'm not going to lie to you. It's going to hurt like hell. You'll feel like your body is being ripped into two. The neo vagina can lose depth quickly. You'll have to dilate two to three times daily at the beginning of the recovery process. This will eventually taper off until it's once a day until you can have penetrative sex regularly and achieve an adequate depth to your liking. Otherwise, you'll need to maintain dilating daily for maintenance."
"What do you mean 'dilate'?" Regina asked.
"Dilators measure her depth and look phallic. Kind of like a vibrator. They increase in size and width throughout the healing process. She will likely have to use dilators the rest of her life, to maintain her depth, and to keep the tissue of her vagina from fusing, or collapsing. It's a commitment."
"Makes sense." Regina said.
"Alright," Dr. Hale smiled. "Are you ready for this?"
"I think so." Emma nodded. "What's the next step?"
"Next step is the blood work. I will send Sierra in, and she will get that started. Our in-house lab takes about an hour. Reception can still schedule a tentative appointment and if there's any issues we will regroup and go from there."
"Sounds good. Thank you so much for doing this." Emma said.
Regina nodded, "Yes. We both appreciate it."
"Anything for Henry and Cora Mills," the doctor oathed as he jotted down a few notes on his clipboard. "Emma you can go ahead and change back into your clothing. I'll send Sierra back in here. I will see you guys back here, and hopefully soon."
"Thanks again." Emma said. The doctor shook her hand and Regina's too. When he left, Emma felt a surge of relief. All the nerves and hype she felt that morning and the night before were unnecessary. Wynn was great: he did a quick exam, and ran through the surgery procedure like the skilled professional he was. Emma knew she was in good hands.
She closed her eyes for several seconds and wherever Henry was, she thanked him. This couldn't have been possible without him. He was someone who had touched her life deeply, even for the brief time he was in it. Not only that, he gave her Regina, the beautiful angel, love of her life, who would do anything for her.
"Here, let me get you out of this god awful thing," Regina said as she untied the back strings. "You did good, and it's almost over. Just think in an hour we will be seated in a restaurant and you can have anything you want."
"Did you just say anything?" Emma raised an eyebrow.
"Don't order the whole menu, but, yes you can have anything. Dessert, fruity cocktails, appetizers, anything for you. Being so brave and all."
Emma dropped the over-sized gown on the exam table and turned to her girlfriend. "I love you." She stepped into her underwear. "And I can't imagine my life without you. The support," she said as she started jumping into her jeans. "It's... you're impeccable. I can't wait for the day when I get to marry you, because I will." Emma leaned forward, still topless, and pulled the love of her life into her arms and passionately kissed her. She threaded her fingers through her hair and smiled, "I should get my top on before someone barges in here with us making out."
"Who cares, they've seen it all before."
"Touche." Emma pulled her girlfriend back into her arms and kissed her soft, plump lips. It was a wonder how so much had changed. A year ago, last March, she'd have laughed in her best friends face if he told her that she was in a committed relationship with someone who she would marry and have kids with someday. She'd probably snort if he even told her that she was having sexual reassignment surgery. It was funny how a year ago, all of this didn't exist. Life really did have a funny way of turning around.
A knock on the door alerted them, and it opened seconds later. Emma turned away hiding her boobs. Of course, they were caught. Her face felt on fire, full of embarrassment, and her lips still tingled from her girlfriend's kisses. "Oh, I'm sorry." The young, twenty-something, nurse, Sierra, said before ducking her head back out and the door shut in place.
Regina laughed, "It's okay. She'll be dressed in a minute."
"Oh, that's just great, Regina." Emma turned around, flushed and bothered as she hooked her bra and twisted it around to her front. She slipped her arms into the straps and pulled it up and hastily brought her shirt over her head. "They think we're horndogs."
"No, they don't. Don't be dramatic. I'm sure this isn't the first time someone has been walked in on."
"Well, this marks the second time for us." Their first time was Christmas morning when Regina's parents, dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Claus, walked in on them.
There was another knock on the door followed by a long pause. "You can come in," Emma yelled.
The nurse, who was trying not to snicker, sat back down in her roller chair. "Okay, so there's one last step. We need to get some bloodwork done." She pulled open a drawer and pulled out a few vials and needles. "It's not going to take long. After, you can schedule the surgery," she said as she prepared everything.
Then, Sierra handed Emma a squeeze ball and instructed her to squeeze it tightly. She stood beside her, and tied a stretchy tourniquet around her arm to cut off the blood supply. The dutiful nurse made sure to use an alcohol swab to sanitize the area before puncturing the skin. "Now take a deep breath in," she coached.
Just as Emma breathed in, a small needle pierced her skin.
"Perfect." Sierra said as she released the rubber tourniquet. "Also, I forgot to mention earlier, when you're scheduled for the surgery, you will need to stop taking Estradot and Aldactone, for about a week prior to the surgery date."
"What will that do? I haven't ever not taken my medicine." Of course, Emma feared the side effects of the withdraw. What if her face started growing hair, or her voice changed? She didn't want Regina to see, or hear, any of that. She'd rather lock herself up in a hotel room for a week to deal with it alone.
"Actually, nothing too severe. You'll have mood swings from the withdrawal, but that's the most you'll experience. There would normally be some limited physical reactions such as some minor hair regrowth, but you began hormones early."
Sierra removed the needle and then added labels to the two tubes of blood. "We should get the results shortly. If you don't get a call, then you are in good standing to have the surgery as scheduled." She pulled out a Band-Aid and slapped it on Emma's arm.
"That's it?" Emma asked, amazed.
"That's it. You can follow the blue line to the front desk and make an appointment for the surgery."
When they got to the counter, all that rush of excitement over having the surgery was then replaced with disappointment. "November 10th is our first available date for surgery," the receptionist chirped, as though it were good news.
Emma deflated. There was always a catch. "Okay, I guess that's fine," she whispered.
Regina leaned in closer and used that effective business tone, "Will you please put us on a list for any cancellations? We would like to have this surgery sooner rather than later."
"No problem. I will give you a call in that case. We occasionally have some cancellations."
"Thank you."
"Good evening ladies, can I start you off with something to drink?" A taller man with an accent asked.
"Yeah can I get a lemon drop martini." Emma said and then added, "And she'll have a soda water."
"Alright, I will have that right up."
Emma quickly added, "Actually, can I go ahead and place an appetizer order?"
"Yes. You can." He kindly replied.
"Can I get the chicken sandwich sliders, without coleslaw, with a side of ranch and pickles?"
He nodded and asked, "Can I get you anything else?"
"Nope, just the bread will be fine." Regina added.
Emma couldn't remember the last time she ate at the Cheesecake Factory, but sweet baby Jesus was her love spoiling her.
"I can't wait to get home tonight and take a bubble bath." Emma sighed dreamily as she sipped the water the waiter had brought to the table when they placed their order.
"Mind if I join you?"
"Are you kidding, I'd love that. Maybe I could give you a nice massage."
"That sounds…."
"...Orgasmic, I know." Emma winked. She rubbed her foot against Regina's leg affectionately from across the table. "Do you have any of those bubble things?"
Regina rolled her eyes. "Yes. I have some bath bombs."
"Good. Love those. I can't believe I didn't know they existed until I moved to Maine."
The waiter re-appeared. "Here you go, one lemon drop martini."
One of the best parts of being with Regina was that Emma never felt alone anymore. She felt complete, which sounded cliche, but she knew no matter what she'd have Regina. The other week Emma had called August and talked to him about finally proposing for real this time. It didn't take them long before she figured out when she'd ask. And when that day came, it'd be one of the best days of her life.
The whole having to wait till November for her surgery, however, sucked. She had hoped it would be sooner or at the latest, July.
Her phone started going off on the table next to her drink, and Emma went to silence it. The only person that she needed to talk to was sitting right in front of her. But when the caller ID was Dr. Hale's office, Emma's heart dropped. They'd said they wouldn't call if things were okay.
She looked up at Regina with a deep set frown and answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Emma?" She recognized the receptionist's voice from earlier.
"Yes, this is she."
"Great, well, I'm glad I could reach you. Just after you left, someone had a conflict and canceled. Are you free on April 22nd?"
"Are you serious?" Emma's mouth fell open.
Regina's eyes were enlarged, and she asked impatiently, "What? What's happening?"
Emma held her hand up for Regina to hold that thought and confirmed the new date. When she hung up she picked up her martini glass and brought it up. "Babe, let's cheers to me now getting my surgery on April 22nd."
"Oh, Emma! That's amazing. I knew it would work out." Regina picked up her water glass and clinked it against Emma's.
In one month's time, she'd finally have the surgery she had waited her whole life for. She could finally be Emma Swan, the woman she always wanted to be, the same woman who planned on marrying the love of her life, Regina Mills.