Emma woke up Monday morning, not feeling at all well rested.  Her leg had woken her up several times during the night.  She'd gotten up for some ice and a couple of Advil, but the pain seemed to be back full steam as the alarm clock blared.  After a great weekend with Kelsey, it was hard to face a whole week of a grueling schedule of school and ballet.  It would be a relief when the competition was over and she could back off a little bit.

Sighing, she pulled the covers off and gingerly began to get up.  She grabbed a fresh pair of undies and quickly picked out an outfit for the day.  She headed for the bathroom and hopped into the shower, hoping it would wake her up.  The hot water soothed her leg a bit, but she knew it was going to be an annoyance.

It hadn't been this bad last week, and she wasn't sure what had irritated it.  She'd actually taken most of the weekend off from practicing.  After Kelsey had left and Lin had dropped the bombshell of adoption on her, she went home and lost herself in ballet.  Even after, she had felt tense.

After getting dressed, she started heading towards the kitchen to eat a quick breakfast.  She couldn't help but limp just a tiny bit.  It was barely noticeable, she thought.  When it was time for ballet, she'd have to hide it from Mrs. Phillips and Ms. Wainwright, otherwise they'd make her rest.

Lin was up, putting together a lunch for her.  As she walked in, he couldn't help but notice her limping slightly.  "You okay, Em?"

"Yeah, why?" she said dismissively as she grabbed a breakfast bar from the pantry.

"Are you limping?" He asked.

"No," she told him, making a point to walk normally, though it was slightly painful.  She couldn't hide the wince on her face.

"Em, you look like you're in pain," he said.  "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes," she said quickly.

"Are you lying?"

Emma laughed and rolled her eyes.  "It's just a little pain.  It's nothing."

Lin finished putting together her sandwich and put it in the container.  "It didn't seem like nothing.  Come over here and walk for me."

"Lin-" she protested.

"Come on," he told her, beckoning with his hand to come to the other side of the counter.

Despite her best try, she wasn't able to pull it off.  "Hmmm," he said, running his tongue along his cheek.  "I think you better pay a visit to the doctor, Emma."

"What?  No!" she protested.  "It's nothing that I can't handle."

"But that's the same leg you broke in the accident," he pointed out.

"So?"

She could be so difficult and unreasonable.

"So, you need to be extra careful with it," he told her.  "It's probably more susceptible to breaking."

"It's completely healed," she told him, opening up her breakfast bar.

"I'm making you an appointment," he told her.  "You need an X-Ray."

"Why are you overreacting?" She asked pointedly.

Vanessa walked into the room, setting a couple items for work down on the counter.  "Overreacting about what?" She asked, working her heel into her shoes.

"Walk," Lin told her again.

Emma rolled her eyes again and proceeded to walk across the room for Vanessa.

"Emma, that's not good," Vanessa agreed.

"You guys don't understand," she said, walking back to the counter.  "Ballerinas have these kinds of pains all the time.  It's just part of the art."

"Pain is your body's way of saying something's not right," Vanessa reasoned.  "I'm making you a doctor's appointment."

"I'm already on it," Lin said, fiddling with his phone.  Their doctor had online appointments, and he was quickly able to find her one after school.

"3:45," he told her.

"But that's when I have practice after school!"

"You can miss half an hour," Lin told her.  "It's not that big of a deal."

"It is when you're preparing for the Youth Grand Prix!" she pointed out.

"Well, I don't think you'll be competing in the Youth Grand Prix if you have a real injury," Vanessa said.

"Watch me," she said defiantly, pulling her backpack onto her shoulder.

Vanessa and Lin looked at each other and shook their heads.  They'd never met such a stubborn child.  She made her way to the door.

"Don't forget!  3:45!" Lin called after her as the door shut.

___

Throughout the day, Emma thought about her leg.  There was no way in hell she was going to get an X-ray.  If they found it was a stress fracture, that would mean going in a brace for weeks.  She couldn't compete in a brace.  And then she wouldn't get into the ABT summer intensive.

Before her afternoon dance class, she popped a couple more Advil in anticipation of the pain getting worse.  It was the worst at night.  It was less than two weeks until the competition.  If she could just power through a little longer, then she'd go to the doctor and get it taken care of.

When 3:00 rolled around, Emma headed straight for the dance studio, choosing to skip her medical appointment.  She knew her body well enough and she knew the risks.  It was a chance she was willing to take.  She powered through practice, barely noticing the pain.  It wasn't until afterwards that the pain caught up to her.  She quickly iced it and put her leg up to rest before it was time to head home.

When she arrived home, dinner was already in the works.  It was Lin's night to cook, and he'd chosen to make some chicken and vegetables.  It smelled amazing.  She plopped her bag down on the floor and said a quick hello to everyone before disappearing to take a shower.  Hopefully, they wouldn't ask her about her medical appointment.

After her shower, she went straight to her bedroom to start on homework and avoid Lin and Vanessa.  Pretty soon, Alexis came in and told her dinner was ready.  Emma was starving, and gladly sat down for her meal.

"Well, Aaron Burr would be in Slytherin, obviously," Alexis said to the table.  "He was bad through and through."

Lin finished a sip of his water.  "But he did a lot of good for the country too," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but he killed Hamilton, so that throws everything else out the window," she said.

"Okay, what about Eliza?  Which house?" They'd gotten into a debate about which Hogwarts house each of the characters in Hamilton would be.

"Hufflepuff," Lexi said as she popped a piece of broccoli in her mouth.  "She's kind hearted and modest."

"Agreed," Lin said.

"Are you dorks seriously dividing the Hamilton characters into Hogwarts houses?" Emma asked as she cut into her chicken.

"I had this discussion with Emma Watson, actually," Lin told them.  "She took it very seriously."

Emma rolled her eyes but chuckled a little.  Her little sister was obsessed with Harry Potter.

"Where would you belong?" Vanessa asked.

The eleven year old pondered for a moment.  "I'd like to think Gryffindor."

"Emma?"

"Probably Slytherin," she said.  "I have a bad streak in me."

"How'd your appointment go today?" Vanessa asked her.

Emma shrugged.  "Fine," she lied.  "Everything's normal."

"Good," Vanessa said, noticing that Emma was avoiding making eye contact.  "I'm sure the X-Ray results will be up on your account soon."

"They decided not to do an X-Ray," Emma told them.  "They said it's fine."

Lin found that hard to believe.  "What exactly did they say?"

"Ummm, just that I'd probably pulled a muscle," she said and decided to change the subject.  "Hey, are we going to go to that outdoor concert in Central Park this weekend?"

"If you want to, sure," Lin said.

Fifteen minutes later, the dishes were being cleared.  Emma jumped in to help with the dishes along with Vanessa.  She began rinsing the plates and handing them off to Vanessa.

"Um, Vanessa?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Lin talked to me yesterday," she began.  "About adoption."

Vanessa stopped for a moment, knowing this was an important conversation.  "Yeah, he mentioned that.  Have you been thinking about it?"

"Yeah, a little bit," she admitted.  Actually a lot.  "I mean – there's not really a reason we have to do it right?"

"No," Vanessa admitted.  "You'll be taken care of either way.  We just thought it might be nice to make you officially part of the family."

Emma was quiet for a moment.

"What are you thinking?" Vanessa prompted her as they continued.

"I don't know," Emma said.  "It's just that, if you guys adopt me, it's kind of, like, erasing my parents in a way."

Vanessa didn't dismiss her feelings.  "Well, they'll always be your biological parents," she began.  "Nothing will change that."

"Then why mess with it?" She pointed out.

"That's a good viewpoint," Vanessa said.  "If you feel comfortable with the way things are, that's totally fine with us."

Emma nodded, considering the possibilities.  "What if Alexis decides the opposite of me?"

"It's her choice," Vanessa said.   "You both have your own choice to make.  It doesn't have to be either/or."

"It would be kind of weird for one of us to be adopted and not the other one," Emma pointed out.

"It wouldn't be a huge deal.  You'd both still be living here.  Lin and I would still be your parents.  Do you think it's okay to bring it up with Lexi yet?"

"I don't know," Emma admitted.  "I think she'd want to know what I thought first.  And I'm still not sure."

"It's a big decision," Vanessa admitted as she finished loaded up the dishwasher.  "Lexi has no clue this is even a possibility, so it's really no rush.  Take some more time."

It had only been a day since Lin had brought it up to her.  Emma knew she needed more time to think.  She had a feeling that Lexi would be all for the adoption.  She adored Lin and Vanessa, and the boys were already like brothers to her.

"Well, I've got homework to finish," she announced as she turned off the kitchen faucet.

"Surprise, surprise," Vanessa joked, wiping her hands on a towel.  "Don't work too hard."

___

Emma disappeared into her room and brought the American Ballet Theatre website.  She wanted to look more into their summer intensive program.  The cost was $3,000, but she was hoping to get a scholarship.  She knew Lin and Vanessa would pay for it if they needed to.  She could also submit a video application, but the best was to audition at the upcoming competition.  Emma was best when she was on a stage, not on a studio.  Something else came out when she was on stage.  She was at her very best.

___

Emma worked hard for two more weeks.  Her problem pass had greatly improved, and now she had it down cold.  All her hard work seemed to be paying off.  The night before the competition, a Friday night, Lin and Vanessa tried to keep her mind off of it, and have a laid-back night at home.  They ordered in pizza and got out a stack of board games to play as a family.

As they sat around the couch eating their pizza, Emma couldn't stop tapping her heal up and down.  She was a bundle of nerves already.  It would only get worse in the morning.

"Em, how are you feeling?" Lin asked her, sucking a piece of tomato sauce off his thumb.

"Really nervous," she told him, staring off into space.

"Don't be," he told her.  "You're prepared.  You've just gotta relax and believe in yourself."

She let out a breath.  "I'll be fine once I get on stage," she said.  She always was.  "It's the before part that's the worst."

Lin could definitely understand that.  He felt at home on stage.  That was the easy part.

"You're almost there," he assured her.

"Are you all coming?" She asked.

"Of course," he said.  "We can't wait."

Emma didn't like being watched practicing, when she made mistakes.  At least not by people she really cared about.  She preferred to show her final product, making it look effortless.  Lin and Vanessa had seen her dancing only a handful of times.

After the pizza was finished, they got out Monopoly, Sorry, and The Game of Life.  Emma was able to relax a little as they played.  They laughed and feigned being offended when their pawns were sent home.  The pit in her stomach never went away, but it was good for Emma to relax before the competition.

As she climbed into bed that night, there was a knock at the door.  It was Lin.  He came in and closed the door behind him.

"Hey," he said, taking a seat on her bed.  "You're gonna do fine tomorrow."

Emma furrowed her brow and examined her fingernail beds.  "I've never been this nervous before," she admitted.

"Nervous is good," he said.  "That shows how much this means to you.  You're gonna put your heart and all your effort into it.  That's all you can ask."

Emma nodded, knowing she was more than prepared and ready.  This was the hardest part.  "Mrs. Phillips and Ms. Wainwright will both be there too, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sure they'll give you some last minute pointers and reassure you," he said.  Lin knew that once the day began and she went backstage, they wouldn't see her until after the competition.  There was no way to reassure her or wish her luck.  The dancers were allowed one coach backstage.

Lin leaned forward and kissed Emma on the forehead.  "Now get some sleep," he told her as he reached for her bedside light.  "I love you."

"Love you too," she said, turning over on her side and settling in.

___

The morning of the competition, Emma was way too nervous to eat.  Vanessa made her pack a couple breakfast bars and some mixed nuts for energy.  Maybe in an hour or so, her stomach would have calmed down enough to eat a bit.  Lin drove her to the theatre and dropped her off.  They'd come back several hours later to watch the performances.

Her leg was feeling really good today.  She didn't even need to pop any pills.  Emma joined the other dancers in a holding room.  There were bars set up around the room.  Not able to just sit still, she walked over to one and began stretching.  It was going to be a long day of waiting, and then going on a moment's notice.  She needed to stay limber and ready.

About an hour before the performance, she forced herself to eat a few nuts.  The adrenaline would kick in, but she knew it was important to have at least something in her stomach.  As she chewed, she thought of the moment she would step on stage – her hair perfectly swept up in a bun, make-up on.  She would look seemingly perfect, and nothing else would matter in that moment.  Her body would do all the talking.

Very slowly, the hour passed.  One by one, or sometimes in groups, the girls would be called by a worker with a clipboard.  Her nerves were getting worse and worse, and she was beginning to feel nauseous.  Ms. Wainwright, her studio teacher, brought her over a glass of water.

"Deep breaths," she told her teenage student.  This was her first competition with Emma.  She was very solid at workouts, and she wasn't worried about her hitting.  Emma had some of the most difficult combinations of anyone.  She thought a spot at ABT's summer intensive was almost guaranteed.  "Do you want to work that pass another couple times?"

Emma nodded, anxious to do something physical.  Anything to work off these nerves.  Off in a corner, Emma started performing without music, deep in concentration.  Her muscle memory kicked in, finding the perfect form that she'd been practicing for months.  As she ran through her trouble sequence multiple times with no errors, she felt her confidence go up.

"Mary Stevens, you're up next!" The woman with the clipboard announced, then looked down.  "Emma Parker, start getting ready."

Emma's heart pounded and she shook her arms and legs a little bit, keeping them warm.  She knew Lin, Vanessa, Alexis and the boys were out in the theatre somewhere, eagerly awaiting her performance.  Ms. Wainwright gave her a last hug and a few words of encouragement before heading out to the theatre to find her seat.  Emma waited behind the curtains, listening to Mary's music.  It was her ritual not to watch a previous performance.  She turned her back to the stage, concentrating on staying limber.

Finally, the music finished and the crowd applauded.  The loud speaker came on and announced her name.  As soon as she stepped onto the stage, in the bright lights, her body was poised and controlled.  Immediately, she felt her nerves disappear as the music began.  That familiar music she'd heard probably thousands of times in the studio.

She began her performance, keeping her head high, with a smile on her face.  She was on.  Every movement of her arms, her legs, her head, were perfect.  She was vaguely aware of the line of judges, blurred by the stage lights in front of her.  They made scribbles on their paper as she performed.  Emma envisioned positive comments and focused on her form.

She came to her problem sequence, which included a grand jete.  As she propelled herself into the air, she felt herself get good height.  It was perfect, she could to tell.  As gravity brought her down, her right leg came down first to catch her fall.  When she landed, however, she felt a sharp pain in her shin unlike any other she'd ever felt.  She stumbled and fell to the stage floor.  Emma couldn't continue even if she tried.  The pain was so intense that all she could do was sit and hold her shin with her hands.  The music eerily continued, going on like all was well.

Lin was immediately on his feet, and pushed past the other people in the row.  This was not good.  Not to be able to finish a performance meant that she'd really injured herself.

Finally, the music was turned off as a couple of the organizers came on stage.  The first aid team was quickly summoned, and she was carried off the stage.  Emma cried in frustration as she was taken to a private room, away from prying eyes.  She'd screwed it all up.  She'd screwed up her chance and now she'd never get into ABT.

"Just lay back," the medic told her as she found a pair of scissors to cut away her pink tights.  A couple moments later, Lin entered the room, looking very worried.  Someone stopped him and he had to identify himself.  They allowed him to come up to Emma.

"Oh, Emma," he said, grabbing her hand.  She just cried as he squeezed her hand.  There was nothing to say.  Nothing that would fix this.

The medic working on her put some pressure on her right shin, causing her to wince in pain.  "Has your leg been bothering you at all recently?"

Emma nodded, "For a few weeks now."

"She had it looked at last week, though, and the doctor said it was fine," Lin added.  Emma didn't correct him.

"Well, I think she may have just worsened a stress fracture.  If you've been in pain for a couple weeks, that's probably what it was.  Today, I think it turned into an actual fracture.  We'll need to get you to the hospital."

Emma let her head fall back, putting her hands over her face.

"An ambulance is on its way," the medic said.

Lin looked down at Emma.  "I'll ride with you, but let me go tell V what's going on.  I'll be right back," he told her, giving her a kiss on the forehead.  He hated seeing Emma in pain.  The worst was that he knew this was a big opportunity for her.  She was going to be down for quite a while after this.

Lin darted back out to the audience and filled Vanessa in on what had happened.  She started packing the kids' stuff up so they could get to the car and go home.  There was no use in taking everyone to the hospital.  The boys were better off at home.

"I'll call my parents and see if they can come watch the boys," Vanessa said as she began to head out.

"Okay, I'll see you in a bit," Lin said, rushing off down the hallway.  They'd found a wheelchair for Emma, and she was being wheeled towards a door.  Her body language said it all.  She was slumped down in her chair, her fingers rubbing at her forehead.

When the ambulance arrived, Lin hopped in afterwards.  There wasn't a whole lot that could be done in the ambulance, but the medic did give her a shot to help with the pain, and took her vital signs.

"I can't believe this is happening," she finally said, and Lin took her hand in his.

"It's okay, sweetheart," he assured her.  "You're going to be just fine.  This is just a setback."

"But I'm never going to get into the ABT summer intensive now!" she said, clearly distressed.  The summer intensive was all she had been talking about.

"You don't know that," he told her.  "It's still a couple months away.  You'll have time to heal."

Emma had been trying to hold in the tears, but she decided to give up. She pulled her arm up and covered her eyes.  And with that, she was off in her own world, spiraling down.  Lin decided it was no use trying to say anything to her right now.  He just held her hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb.  He wished he could make her pain go away, but he knew he couldn't.  All he could do was be there for her.