Only You

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Regina stood at the counter, looking down at the package of bacon and the single pre-made burger patty, wondering what the hell to do next. She hadn't prepared food in nearly six decades, and even then, cheeseburgers were reserved for special occasions when she was out at a restaurant. This would be her very first time cooking a burger. She pulled out her phone once more, quickly searching for a different YouTube video, watching carefully as the internet chef skillfully flipped the patty over in the pan. She suddenly wished she had bought more than one burger patty, certain she was going to screw this up. She took a deep breath and turned the stove on, laying three strips of bacon into the borrowed frying pan, listening to the meat sizzle over the warm heat. A few minutes later, she flipped the strips over, watching as the meat shriveled and shrank in size as it cooked. A few more minutes after that, she pulled the strips off, placing them over the square of paper towel she had laid over a paper plate, as the internet instructed her to do, laying a second paper towel over the cooked bacon, the grease still sizzling. Her bacon looked darker than the internet chef's bacon had been, and she was sure she had burned it, already screwing up Emma's dinner.

Next came the moment of truth, cooking the burger patty. One of the videos had suggested cooking the burger in the bacon grease to increase the bacon flavor. She shrugged as she placed the patty into the hot grease, causing more sizzling. She watched the patty closely as it cooked, not wanting to burn Emma's dinner even more. She carefully flipped it over, and watched as the other side cooked slowly before adding the cheese at the exact right moment. She looked at the time on her phone just as she pulled the burger off the heat, knowing Emma would be there any moment. She attempted to assemble the burger, carefully placing each piece of slightly burnt bacon on top of the cheeseburger. She was carefully placing the top bun as the front door opened, revealing Emma had arrived.

"Oh my god, it smells delicious in here." Emma inhaled the heavenly smell of food cooking deeply. "Wait, why does it smell delicious in here?" Emma asked, dropping her duffle bag in the corner. "Did you cook?" She followed the scent to the kitchen, where she found Regina holding the plate containing the single bacon cheeseburger.

"I wanted to make you something special," Regina said, her face turning slightly red.

"It smells delicious!" Emma smiled, taking the plate and shoving her nose into the dish, smelling the burger deeply.

"I brought you something special too." Emma placed the plate on the coffee table, rushing to her duffle bag to pull out a small container of thick red blood. "It's AB+. I know it's your favorite," Emma said, offering the container to Regina.

"Emma, this isn't your blood, is it?" Regina asked seriously, looking at Emma with a concerned look.

"No! I mean, I'm not going to lie, I did think about it. But I knew you would have killed me if I gave you a container of my blood. And I know you would have been able to tell if it was my blood." Emma chuckled. "I asked Graham to try to track some down for me. This was all he could get though." Emma frowned.

"It's perfect, thank you," Regina said, kissing Emma sweetly before making her way back to the stove to heat up her meal, pouring it into her favorite purple mug when it was just right. She joined Emma on the couch and watched as Emma took a bite of her burger, holding back her face.

"It's horrible, isn't it?" Regina asked, her voice sounding disappointed.

"Not at all. It's really good." Emma smiled, taking a second bite.

"You're just saying that," Regina said.

"No, it's really good. And what makes it even better is that you made it for me! And that makes it perfect." Emma smiled, taking a third bite, swallowing a little hard.