The Road to Forever ~ The Sequel to Modern Fairytale

Tick. Tick. Boom.

"Congratulations, Regina," Katherine said as she removed the needle from her hand for the last time, "How do you feel?"

"Exhausted," she replied, struggling to sit up.

Chemotherapy was officially something of the past; she'd survived it. Now she had two weeks to rebuild her strength before her surgery. Two weeks went by so slowly for her when she spent her time vomiting in the toilet of their master bathroom. She wondered if it would feel even longer when she returned to her normal self as she anticipated the hysterectomy.

The first week was still a struggle, but she found herself in the bathroom less frequently and was able to finish the meals that Robin prepared for her. She was still thin, but her body was beginning to fill out again as each day passed. She continued to work from home, but managed to find the energy to call clients and publishers; she even worked from the balcony for a bit of fresh air during the day. She was able to drink more than half the gallon of water to replenish her body of its lack of hydration from the previous month of torture she'd endured.

She'd attended her follow up visit with Doctor Whale and he performed another ultrasound, noticing that the mass located in her uterus had significantly decreased. It was still present, but the chemo had done its job and killed the majority of the cancer cells in her body. He might have suggested another round to eliminate the tumor completely without surgery, but she'd already lost her ovaries; removing the uterus was a simpler fix for someone who was already infertile.

One evening while the children were already in bed, Robin was starting to doze off himself before Regina was through with her shower. She noticed his eyes closed as he lay peacefully in bed and smiled as she stood in her towel, staring at the way he slept so still; like he hadn't spent the last month taking care of the three very needy people in his life.

Suddenly, she remembered! She walked to the guest bedroom, still wrapped in her towel, as quietly as she could. She opened the closet doors and pulled Robin's anniversary present from the top shelf where she'd moved it after what happened to it. She'd been so preoccupied with being sick that she'd completely forgotten to get it fixed.

"It's rather chilly without you next to me."

Regina jumped upon hearing his tired voice from behind her. She turned to face him, holding the gift close to her chest, "I'm sorry. I never got it fixed."

"I'd actually like it if you didn't," he stepped forward and put his hand out for her to give him the present. She did and he escorted her to sit on the edge of the guest bed as he opened it.

Inside the gift wrapping was a wooden clock in the shape of an apple with a crack on the face of the glass, but the hands still moved to tell the correct time. He smiled as he said, "Regina, I absolutely love it."

"I wasn't sure what to get you," she admitted, "But I found out that the tradition of paper on the first anniversary is long gone and has been replaced with wood. So I thought a hand carved clock for your office might help you keep track of when you should be home for supper."

Robin laughed at the gesture and her explanation of its significance, "Trust me, love. I'll never come home late again."

"I'll get it fixed before you go back to school."

"I rather like it with the crack in it," he said, resting it in his lap as he placed his free hand on the side of her face, "It reminds me of you."