A/N: Another chapter! Hope you like! Thank you for the reviews! Love hearing that you are liking my story, makes me want to keep it up for you! Enjoy this chapter!

Emma and Ella

Chapter 26: Surgery Part 1

Monday 5:30am

"I better get Ella up and ready. You need to leave soon with her." Snow said as she got up from the bed. "Emma and I will come a little later, but keep me updated."

"I will, but she will be fine." David reassured her as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I know." Snow said, but she couldn't help but be worried since her daughter would be going into surgery in a little over two hours.

"I'm worried too, but she will be okay." David said softly before kissing his wife.

As they pulled apart, David smiled. "I'm glad you are waking her up. I assume she is hard to wake up like Emma is."

Snow smiled. "Come on. See for yourself."

David chuckled, but came with her to wake Ella.

They went into the girls' room. Snow pushed David in front of her to wake Ella. David smirked.

David shook Ella's shoulder gently. "Ella." David said softly.

He was amazed when she didn't even stir. He tried again, but she was still dead asleep.

He turned to Snow with a bewildered look.

"It takes a little while." Snow whispered quietly with a smile.

"Come on, Ella. Wake up, honey." David tried again as he shook her shoulder again.

Ella groaned, but didn't open her eyes.

"Ella, you need to wake up." David continued.

Ella opened her eyes, but then closed them to try to go back to sleep.

"No, honey. You have to wake up." David said with a quiet chuckle.

She shook her head no.

"Yes." David said as he started to pull her blankets off of her.

"No." Ella said grumpily as she pulled them back to her.

"Ella." David scolded as she pulled them off of her again and she whined. "Come on, sleepyhead, you have to get up." David said as he picked her up.

"No." Ella grumbled again as David carried her to the bathroom to get ready. Snow was following with the clothes she had picked out for Ella to wear to and from the hospital.

"Yes. Remember, your surgery is today." David reminded her.

"It's too early." Ella whined, but she was scared about the surgery.

"I know it is." David said before setting her down carefully. "Your mom is going to help get you dressed."

"I can do it myself." Ella mumbled with a frown.

"I'm still going to help you." Snow said as David shut the door after leaving.

Ella frowned and then yawned. She was too tired for all this.

"Come on, Ella. Let's get you dressed." Snow said softly as she started to help her daughter.

When Ella was ready, Snow opened the door and David came over to pick Ella up again. Instead of complaining, Ella just laid her head against him and closed her eyes again.

David and Snow just smiled softly at her before David carried her downstairs as Snow followed. Snow got her coat and helped her into it even though she kept her eyes closed.

Snow kissed Ella's cheek when David was holding her about to leave. "I love you, sweetie. I'll see you soon. Be good for your Daddy." Snow said.

Ella looked sadly at her mom. "I don't want to have surgery."

Snow frowned. "I know, honey, but you won't even realize it's happening so before you know it will be all over."

"What if something happens to me?" Ella asked.

"We aren't going to let anything happened to you, baby. You are going to be just fine." Snow told her softly before kissing her head again. "I love you, baby."

"I love you too, Mommy." Ella whispered back.

Snow smiled softly. She loved hearing her say "mommy." She wasn't sure exactly how both girls would react after the curse broke, but she wasn't necessarily surprised that Ella took very well to them being her parents, especially her. It was Emma that she worried about.

"Bye Snow." David said before leaning down to kiss her. "I'll take care of her until you get there."

"I know. I'll see you soon." Snow told her before David left the house with her.

*****OUAT*****

5:55 am

David set Ella down in the waiting room and kissed her cheek quickly. "I'm going to go sign you in and be right back, okay?"

Ella looked over at the desk and back at her Dad to say, "okay" in a quiet voice.

David smiled softly before heading to the desk to sign her in.

"I'm here to sign my daughter in for surgery." David said feeling pride in calling Ella his daughter. He was overjoyed that he not only had one daughter, but two!

"What's her name?"

"Ella Blanchard." David said realizing that their family had three different last names.

"Ok. I just need you to sign this form and then they will come get her in a little bit."

"Thank you." David said as looked at the form and then signed it before handing it back to the secretary.

David then walked back to Ella and sat down beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Everything is going to be fine." David told her softly before kissing the top of her head.

Ella was still worried, but didn't say anything.

"Close your eyes, sweetie. It might be a few minutes." David told her softly as he gently pushed her head to his chest so she was leaving against him.

Ella didn't mind. She was exhausted and being close to her Dad was helping to calm her nerves. She closed her eyes and just listened to her Dad's heart beating steadily. Her dad started to rub her back and knew she would be asleep if he kept doing it.

20 minutes later…

"Ella?" A nurse called with a clipboard in her hands.

David started to get up, but Ella grabbed on to his arm before he stood all the way up.

"Daddy I don't want to go." Ella pleaded.

David sat back down and gently moved a strand of Ella's brunette hair out of her face. "Everything is going to be fine. I promise you."

"Okay." Ella said, she trusted him.

"Ready?" David asked her softly and she nodded.

David picked her up and took her over to the nurse.

"She's right here." David said to the nurse.

"Good Morning Ella." The nurse greeted Ella kindly.

"Morning." Ella responding respectfully, but quietly. She was taught by her mother to be respectful and most of the time she was.

The nurse took them to bed in a cubicle with three walls and a curtain for a fourth wall. David set Ella down on the bed. "She'll first need to change into this gown." The nurse told David before leaving and closing the curtain behind her.

"Ok, sweetie. Do you think you can get started on your own?" David asked softly, knowing she might need some help.

"Yeah." Ella said with a bit of embarrassment. Her mom being there for this part might have been better.

David smiled softly at her before saying, "I'll just step out for a few minutes and be back to help you."

Ella nodded.

David left and Ella was able to get changed into the gown. Snow had planned ahead and made sure Ella could easily get in and out of the clothes she picked for her to wear.

"Ready kiddo?" David asked from the door.

"Uh huh." Ella mumbled as she messed with blankets on her bed.

David walked over and made easy work of covering her with the blankets.

David noticed she seemed anxious as she laid in the bed looking around her at the room. "Hey." David said as he gently moved her head to look at him. "It's going to be fine. You will sleep through it and it will be done."

Ella nodded and relaxed a little.

"Why don't you close your eyes for a little bit? It might be a few minutes until they come back." David told her softly as he took her hand and gently squeezed it. He knew she was tired and worried.

*****OUAT*****

6:50 am

"Emma." Snow called as she shook Emma's shoulder gently.

Emma groaned before opening her eyes to look sleepily at her mom.

"Come on, sweetie, if we want to see Ella before she goes into surgery we need to get ready." Snow told her softly as she patted Emma's arm.

Emma popped up suddenly. "Are we late?!" Emma asked in fear that they would get there too late.

"No, but you need to start getting ready so we can get there in time to see her before she goes in for surgery." Snow told her.

"Ok, I can be ready in 5 minutes!" Emma said as she jumped out of bed.

"Whoa, honey. You don't have to rush, we just have to leave in 25 minutes." Snow said with a chuckle.

"Oh I'll be ready before that!" Emma said as she ran to the bathroom.

*****OUAT*****

Ella tried to sleep, but her nerves were getting the best of her and she couldn't fall asleep. Before she knew it, the nurse was coming in to do her vitals.

"Now we just need to put in a IV." The nurse said softly and Ella cringed. She had an IV before, but she hadn't been awake when they put it in. She had ripped it out though.

Ella tried to hide her arms without even realizing what she was doing.

David noticed her tense up right away at the mention of an IV and knew she was scared. He ran a hand down her hair before settling it on her shoulder. He gave her shoulder a little squeeze before leaning down to whisper, "it will be over before you know it, honey."

Ella looked up at him with a scared look. "But I don't want it…"

"I know, but it's necessary." David said sympathetically.

Ella frowned as the nurse pull her arm out from the blankets to start to look for a good vein to use. She fought the urge to yank her arm back.

"Hey, kiddo," David said softly to get Ella's attention. She turned to look at him again. "What kind of ice cream do you like?"

Ella scrunched up her face in confusion, but answered him. "Mint chocolate chip…"

"Maybe we can get some after all this done. Would you like that?" David asked softly as the nurse put the tourniquet around her arm.

Ella nodded her head with a little smile.

"Ok this may sting a little." The nurse said as she cleaned the area with an alcohol swab.

Ella started to look at her arm before she felt her Dad's hand bringing her face to look at him.

"Don't look, sweetie." David said softly. "Have you had an IV before?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't awake when they put it in. I just pulled it out after." Ella said with a little smile before she felt the prick and winced.

"Please don't pull this one out." The nurse said with a smile.

David smiled, "she won't, I promise."

Ella just smirked, she wasn't promising anything.

David frowned at her mischievous smirk. "Right, young lady?"

Ella looked up at him with a sheepish look. "I guess."

David frown deepened as he kept looking at her.

Ella got a little nervous at his stern, expectant look. She quickly realized he was waiting for her to amend her answer. "I won't take it out." She said softly.

"You better not or else you will be in trouble." David said seriously.

Ella looked away with a frown for getting scolded in front of the nurse.

"All done." The nurse said to Ella before turning to David. "The doctor will be in to talk with you and get her boot off her leg."

"Thank you." David said with a smile as he stroked Ella's hair with his hand without thinking about it.

When David looked back down at Ella, she was looking at the IV in her arm with worry.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" David asked her softly as he kept playing with her hair.

She shrugged her shoulders before looking up at him. "I don't want to have surgery."

David tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "I know, sweetie." He said sympathetically.

Whale came in and talked about the surgery before taking off the boot.

"Now, I don't want you moving or trying to walk on your leg while it's out of the boot." Whale told her.

"I won't." Ella said knowing that her Dad wasn't about to let her.

"Good." Dr. Whale said. "When it is time for the surgery, a transport team will come to take her."

"How long will the surgery take?" David asked.

"It normally takes about three to four hours. When she's in recovery, one of you can sit with her until she wakes up."

Ella was freaking out as they talked about her surgery. She hated the idea of them going into her leg to fix it! She didn't like the idea of getting put to sleep or not being with her parents. She definitely didn't want them to come and take her away for surgery. That was just getting too real!

"Thank you, Dr. Whale." David said interrupting Ella's thoughts.

Dr. Whale left and David's phone began to ring. Ella watched him answer it and knew her mom and Emma were there. That made her feel a little better, but also nervous at the same time because that meant it was closer to the time of her surgery.

"Ella." David called for the third time.

Ella looked at him with confused look. "Huh?"

David smiled at her softly. "You were miles away…."

"I was just thinking." Ella responded.

"Oh. Your mother and sister are here. They are finding their way here." David told her kindly, seeing her nervousness.

Ella smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes because of her stress over her surgery.

David leaned down and kissed her head. "They will be here soon." David said softly.

***I'll try to put the next one out tomorrow :)