Please read carefully, there are a lot of flashbacks explaining everything. Reviews are always welcome, enjoy.
One early December morning, Emma Swan stood outside her apartment, the one that had been home in Tallahassee, Florida since she was 21 years old, and she said goodbye. She said goodbye to all the noisy and nosy neighbors, she said goodbye to the memories - good and bad - but most of all she was saying goodbye to all her past relationships because without them she would have never be the woman she was today, without them she would never have met the love of her life.
It was refreshing to be moving out of the lonely apartment, too many nights had been spent wallowing in self-pity and warm beer with the TV on in the background. Her life hadn't been much other than her work as a bail-bonds woman for the past 7 years, but as a nearly 30 year old she had finally found something, or rather say someone, to be happy about.
Her name was Regina Mills.
The blonde took one last glance at the high rise building before sighing and turning to her yellow Volkswagen Beetle. Emma had wanted to take the nearly 16 hour drive to her new home, she found long drives very relaxing, but having a very persuasive girlfriend who knew the right things to say caused her plans to change.
The drive had been replaced by a quick airplane flight which was not as pleasant as the blonde would like it to have been; a fear of flying would do that to you. Now all her possessions had been boxed up, all that was left to do was make it to the airport on time.
Emma would love to say that it was love at first sight with Regina, that they met and it was like a fairy-tale, but real life doesn't happen like that.
Emma pulled off yet another dress, she couldn't find the perfect one and she would be damned if she was turning up in her normal attire which consisted of jeans and a tank top. No. Tonight was going to be different. Tonight she was going to knock the socks off her blind date with a dress.
The last dress that was left in her wardrobe was one she hadn't worn before, it was dark pink and stopped just above her knee. She had bought it when her best friend, Ruby, had dragged her shopping in the hopes of finding something to wear for a wedding. The purchase was made because Ruby had insisted that she would look 'hot as fuck' wearing it; maybe this was the dress for the night.
Ruby was the reason she was so stressed out about tonight. Apparently her friend had found her the perfect woman and the way Ruby described the mystery girl made her seem perfect; brunette, pretty and down to Earth. But it wasn't just looks that Emma was looking for, she wanted a girl who didn't have the personality of a brick wall, someone she could talk to in the small hours of the morning but most importantly she wanted someone who wanted something more than a fling; she was too old for that shit.
A few hours later and Emma was sitting at the end of the bar by herself. The date was nice, it was different, but it was nice. It made a change from picking up a chick in a club, taking her home and sleeping with her - too many nights had been spent that way.
The woman who Ruby had set her up with was called Annabelle, or Belle as she was asked to call her. She was a nice girl, she was brunette, liked books and seemed really down to Earth; she just seemed too innocent for Emma, she was too safe. Even though the blonde was ready to try and settle down, she struggled to see a future with Belle in it.
She pushed her empty glass towards the bartender signalling she wanted another drink. She was down. How could she not be? Ruby had basically made Belle seem like an angel sent down from heaven and she would be for some other girl, just not her.
"Bad day?" the bartender asked as he refilled her glass.
"Something like that," she said with a weak smile.
Emma sat in the same spot for a few hours, she couldn't bare to go back to her lonely apartment. She thought about getting a pet, a dog would be ideal but the idea was soon thrown out the window when she thought about how it would be cooped up inside all day. She couldn't bring herself to think about leaving it on it's own for hours on end, especially if the little fucker was adorable and she wouldn't be turning into one of those woman who took their dog around in a bag.
No. A pet was out the question.
A bell rang throughout the bar signalling last call so Emma decided to get one more for the road, but before she could hand over the money for her last drink someone sat next to her.
"I'll have whatever she is having," she said as she handed over the money for both drinks.
Emma tried so hard not to look at the woman sitting next to her, she had sworn off one night stands and knowing her stupid ass luck this woman would be gorgeous.
Just one look Swan, one tiny fucking glance.
So she did. Out the corner of her eye she looked at the lady next to her and she regretted it immediately. From what Emma could see her royal blue dress ended just above her knee but it had a zip on the far side which showed an inch or two extra of the tan thigh, and oh how Emma wished she could unzip it further. Between the form-fitting dress and the brunette shoulder length hair, Emma was practically drooling.
The woman pushed one glass towards Emma. "Drink up, dear. I believe the bell signaled last call."
And that voice, it was like pure sex. Emma didn't even know her name yet she found herself thinking about what a future with this woman would be like; she could already see herself on dates or snuggled under a blanket with the TV on in the background. Something felt different about her, she didn't feel safe unlike Belle, Emma knew that a relationship at all with this woman would have problems but in this moment Emma didn't give a flying fuck.
You're so desperate, Swan. Get a grip.
Emma picked her glass up and tilted it a little at her new seat mate. "You're buying me drinks and I don't even know your name," she said.
"Regina."
Emma checked all her mirrors before she pulled out onto the main road, and shifted her Bug into first gear. She maneuvered the small car out of the parking space and began driving towards the airport, the idea of a new start in a new place was becoming more enticing by the minute.
She stopped behind a white Fiat 500 at traffic lights, and when thy turned green she put her car back int gear and pressed the accelerator. As she traveled through the intersection a car sped through the red light and smashed into the drivers side of her car. The yellow car was sent barreling down the road, only just missing a few other cars and pedestrians.
A pain shot through the blondes shoulder where her seat belt had stopped her from being thrown through the window screen and her forehead hurt when it smashed against the hard steering wheel. Somewhere between the other car hitting her and falling in and out of consciousness, the paramedics arrived at the scene and she was being put onto a stretcher.
"Regina," Emma said, her voice cracking. Her whole head hurt when she spoke, it felt like someone was sawing her head in half.
Panic set in when she realized that Regina didn't know what had happened, she was supposed to be meeting her at the airport to fly back to New York; why Regina insisted on taking a flight to meet her and fly back home with her she had no idea.
"Who's Regina?" the paramedic said as he strapped Emma down ready to go in the back of the ambulance.
Girlfriend wasn't the right word, Regina was so much more than that, Emma loved her more than she had ever loved anyone before. Everything about the stubborn, yet alluringly beautiful woman made sense but Emma still sometimes struggled to understand what Regina saw in her. She was a woman who got by paycheck to paycheck whereas Regina was the vice president of her family's company, a job that had been passed down for generations.
"Regina Mills, love of my life," Emma managed to reply, she was glad for the careful movements of the paramedic. "She's flying in to meet me, I'm supposed to be moving to New York today."
The middle aged man pressed a few buttons on a machine before turning back to Emma. "How are you feeling?" he asked.
"I hurt."
"Where?"
For a moment, Emma forgot that the stretcher strapped her down and she tried to move her arms to show the man where it hurt the most, but even attempting to move her arm was the biggest mistake she could make. "Fuck!" she cried out when a pain hit her shoulder and traveled down her side.
"Try not to move, you have a dislocated shoulder and a few cracked ribs. We're nearly at the hospital so we can give you a full exam there. Okay?"
Instead of replying, Emma just closed her eyes and began to think about her new life, the one that she would be ultimately be sharing with Regina once this ordeal is all over.
Tonight was their three month anniversary and whilst Regina refused to think it as an important anniversary for them both to celebrate, Emma had other ideas. For Emma, being with Regina for three months was the second longest relationship she had been in during her 28 years of living and much to Regina's annoyance, the younger woman had convinced her to fly in for the weekend. Deep down she didn't mind, she missed Emma as much as Emma missed her, being on Skype was never the same as seeing someone in person; especially if you loved them.
Being in a long distance relationship was hard for Emma, she craved the physical touch and warmth of Regina all the time and it took every ounce of her willpower not to go and find it else where; she just had to remind herself of how heartbroken Regina would be, how heartbroken she would be.
Emma made the decision to take Regina out for the night, and what had started of as a nice meal in a classy restaurant had turned into drinks at the bar they had first met. For the blonde it seemed like only yesterday when she had first laid eyes on Regina, but knowing it was three months ago reminded the blonde of how much she had changed for her girlfriend. After a few drinks and one too many shots, they had headed back to Emma's apartment.
Being by each others side was all the other woman wanted and that's why Emma was surprised when Regina was acting distant. Emma knew that Regina could be distant at times, it was who she was; her own mother had made her like that. In the three months she had been with Regina, she had seen the woman open up a little but the brunette was still heavily guarded when it came to her feelings and Emma struggled to understand that.
"Are you okay?" Emma said as she kicked her shoes off. "And don't lie to me."
Regina ignored Emma's question and instead took herself to the kitchen where she got herself a glass of water. She drank half it's contents before realizing she had been followed. She looked into the green eyes that belonged to Emma and her heart skipped a beat like it did every time. She had no idea she could feel the way she did with Emma, and quite honestly it scared her. She had been raised to guard herself but able to read others like a book; she knew how Emma felt about her, the blonde was the easiest book she had ever read.
"Regina," Emma said as she moved towards the brunette tentatively. "Talk to me."
Regina smiled, "I'm fine. Just tired." She moved to leave the kitchen, all she really wanted was sleep but Emma stood in front of her, blocking her exit. "Really, Emma?"
"Yeah, really."
"You are so childish," Regina scoffed.
"Well, you're hiding something and as your girlfriend-"
Regina's arms crossed over her chest. "If you are going to imply you have a right to know what I am thinking and feeling just because I am in a relationship with you, Ms. Swan, then you are sorely mistaken." She moved around Emma and headed for the bedroom, she had no idea if Emma was going to follow her but she had no interest with fighting with her, not today.
Emma groaned in frustration as she rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. "That's it. Right there," she said.
Regina spun around to face Emma, nearly losing her balance in the process. "What is 'right there', Ms. Swan?"
"When ever I try get you to open up, you run the fuck away. You're so scared of getting hurt, you put your stupid frickin' walls up without thinking about how anyone else feels - how I feel."
Regina didn't know how to respond. Emma was right, the infuriating, irritating, beautiful blonde always was right.
"My walls, as you put it, are there for a reason, Ms. Swan. A reason that you are not inclined to know," Regina retorted.
"But why? I don't get it. What's so scary about telling me how you feel?" Emma just stared at Regina while the brunette tried to think of a response that wasn't the truth, but not really a lie either. But before Regina could speak, Emma spoke for her. "Are you that afraid of someone wanting you? Or someone leaving you? Because I have breaking news for you, Regina. I'm in this for the long haul, the only way you're getting rid of me is if you tell me to go."
"I do it because I love you!" Regina said, her voice raised. The brunette's hand went to cover her mouth, somehow hoping that she could stop anything else from spilling from her mouth. She had sworn to herself not to say those three words before Emma, but her goddamned mouth had gone and betrayed her.
Emma's green eyes softened at the words, "I love you, too."
When she opened her eyes, the bright light around her caused the blonde to squint. When she finally saw through the white light, she saw all the medical equipment and the nurse writing something on a clipboard. Memories came flooding back of the accident, and how Regina was waiting for her.
The nurse placed the clipboard at the foot of Emma's bed when she noticed the patient was awake, instead of walking out the room she walked to the side of Emma's bed. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
Emma looked up to the nurse and smiled, "Better than before. When can I go? I'm supposed to be catching a plane."
"We're keeping you in for observation for a few days, you had a very nasty bang to the head along with a dislocated shoulder and a few cracked ribs. Is there anyone we can contact for you?"
"Regina," Emma said, her voice cracking. "Has anyone been in touch with Regina?" she asked. "She was supposed to be meeting me at the airport."
The nurses facial expression softened, "We contacted the airports in the area and there is no Regina Mills checked onto any inbound flights today."
"She- but-" Emma couldn't speak, she sunk into the hospital bed and stared up at the ceiling. She was sure the doctor had apologized or something, but it didn't matter.
If Regina hadn't turned up, did she even love her? Emma felt like her world had come crashing down, it hurt more than her stupid shoulder did.
The blonde tried not to cry, but a single tear rolled down her face. If Regina didn't love her, who would?
Emma was sitting in her VW Bug on a stakeout, something she had become used to over the years as a bail-bonds woman. She had stocked up on snacks before leaving her apartment, and had her trusty flask of coffee. Nothing much had happened so far, but shady businessmen were usually shady when the sun had set.
The sound of her phone ringing was unusual, but she deemed it a nice distraction when she saw the caller ID - her girlfriend. "Hey, baby," she said cheerfully.
"Hello, dear. How are you?"
"Bored, stakeout. Not much happening. How are you?"
"I'm fine, I'm done for the day, so I'm about to head home to get dinner ready for Henry and I."
Henry was Regina's adopted son. She adopted him when he was three weeks old, when she was a mere 28 years old. Now Henry was nearing 6 years old and was demanding more of Regina's time, not that she really minded. He was the apple of her eye, and she understood the situation when Regina had told her a few weeks after they had started seeing each other.
It broke Regina's heart when she had to travel to Tallahassee for business, but it broke her heart when she had to leave Emma behind to go back to her son. Emma hadn't officially met Henry yet, but from what Regina had told her about him, he was a smart kid who was trying far too hard to be at the top of kindergarten class.
"How is he?"
"He's good. He has been working on a giant Lego sculpture that requires him standing on furniture and more Lego which he needs me to buy."
"Your kid is awesome, I totally want in on this project."
"I told him about you this morning, he eavesdropped on our Skype session last night. He wanted to know who was making his mom happy."
"He didn't freak out, right? You told me he bit the last person you dated."
"Robin? Well he had that coming, I guess Henry had a sixth sense about him cheating on his wife. But he seemed fine, I showed him a picture of you and he said you were pretty before running upstairs to get dressed for school."
"The kid likes school way too much, babe, seriously. But I guess I'm in his good books."
"You'll be in mine if you have can take time out of your oh-so-busy schedule of shitting on your ass to spend a week or two with your girlfriend."
"A week? You never spend more than two days away from Henry."
"He finishes school for the summer today, I was going to bring him. You can meet him, if that's okay with you."
"Tell him to bring his Lego," Emma said.
Regina didn't have to be in front of Emma to know that her girlfriend had a grin spreading across her face. "You're such a child, Swan."
"But you love me."
"Unfortunately, I do."
Dr. Nolan checked Emma for her half-hourly observations. She took the chart from the end of the bed and wrote down the information she needed. She looked at the sleeping blonde, she hated that she had to wake her up but she needed to ask her questions to see whether her condition was improving.
"Emma," she said softly as she shook the patients shoulder gently.
Emma's nose wrinkled as one eye popped open, she let out a yawn before waking up fully. "'Sup?"
"I need to ask you a few questions then you can go back to sleep."
Emma grunted in reply as she used her good arm to sit up. "Shoot"
Kathryn asked all the questions she needed to and Emma answered all of them the best she could. She was honestly feeling a lot better than when the crash had initially happened. Sure, her shoulder still hurt like a bitch and it hurt when she breathed from her ribs, but apart from that the blonde was feeling peachy.
"I'll let you get some rest," the doctor said.
Emma shuffled down the bed and winced. When the doctor turned round to face her, the blonde spoke. "I'm good, I promise."
Dr. Nolan walked back over to the hospital bed. "Where does it hurt."
When Emma pointed to her abdomen, she asked permission before moving to gown out of the way to check it out. When she did, Emma's usually pale skin was now a different shades of purple and blue. Kathryn knew it wasn't a bruise otherwise it would have present on the first physical exam, after pressing the skin softly the young doctor concluded that Emma had internal bleeding from her crash.
"I'm going to schedule an OR so we can stop the bleeding, it's not a complicated surgery. Someone will be here so you can sign the consent form and to prep you for surgery soon."
"Am I going to die?" Emma asked.
To say she was nervous was an understatement. Standing in baggage claim, Emma's nerves were beginning to get the better of her, one half of her was excited to meet Henry, but the other half was ready to run away and avoid Regina for the whole weeks she was in town - she could easily make an excuse that she had to leave on an emergency for work.
She checked her phone for the time, the plane would have landed by now and they would be heading towards the baggage claim. She ran her fingers through her blonde hair with a sigh when her eyes caught a couple across the room. There was a woman and little girl around Henry's age, maybe younger. She could see how the little girls eyes lit up when she saw someone come through the departure doors, when Emma traced her line of sight, her green eyes landed on a soldier. She watched as the little girl ran towards who Emma assumed was her father, the man dropped his bags and knelt down to take the girl into his arms.
If he can defend our country and be away from her, then you can meet the son of the woman you love, Swan.
"Emma!" a voice shouted, a voice she instantly recognized as Regina's.
Emma looked over to where the voice shouted her, and sure enough there was Regina with Henry in tow. She gave the older woman a chaste kiss before looking down to the most adorable kid she had ever seen. He had floppy brown hair and brown eyes and he was wearing an Avengers top.
Yeah, this kid is definitely awesome, Emma thought.
Regina knelt down to Henry's height before she spoke. "Remember when you asked me who was making mom happy?" Henry nodded silently. "Well my little prince, this is Emma."
Emma followed suit with Regina's actions, she didn't know the kid but she could tell that he was shy around strangers. "Hello, Henry," she said with a smile. "It's nice to meet you. I like your top."
The boy looked down to his shirt before locking his eyes with Emma's and grinning. "You like the Avengers?"
"Totally, kid. I live for the Avengers."
"Mom thinks they're silly," Henry said as he glanced up to Regina who was now standing.
"Well I think your mom is silly for thinking that," Emma said with a smirk. "Maybe we can go and see the new movie this week?"
"Mom, can we?"
Emma stood up and locked eyes with Regina and pulled a similar puppy-dog face to Henry's. "Yeah, mom. Can we?" she asked.
"You haven't even known each other for five minutes and I'm already being blindsided," Regina said. She looked to the two people she loved most in the world and wondered how her life could be so perfect. She had never believed in happy endings, but in this moment it seemed pretty damn close to one.
The blonde's surgery had gone well with no complications, the surgeon had managed to stop the bleeding and Emma was now in recovery still knocked out from the anesthesia.
Dr. Nolan was talking to another doctor about a different case when she heard a flat-lining tone coming from Emma's recovery room. She ran towards the room and took one look at the sat monitor before sprinting into action.
"Get a crash cart in here!" she shouted shouted.
A nurse in blue scrubs brought the cart at speed, and Dr. Nolan started the defibrillator, charging it to 80 as the nurse opened up the blondes hospital gown and placed two pink jelly pads on her chest.
"Stand back," Dr. Nolan instructed, she waited a second before placing the paddles to Emma's chest and shocking her. She looked over to the heart-rate monitor and the nurse confirmed that there was still no pulse.
The nurse started compression's once again whilst the doctor charged the defibrillator up to 150. She told the nurse to move away before she shocked the blonde once again, but still there was no pulse.
Unlike the paramedic who had called all the airports in the area trying to place some sense into Emma's head, Kathryn actually believed that maybe Regina was real. On her initial assessment of Emma, there had been no signs of mental illness or psychiatric issues, on paper this woman was perfectly sane - so why would she create a whole new person?
"Do you love my mom?" the now six-year old Henry asked.
Emma didn't need a single moment to think, but she looked over to Henry with a smile. "Yeah, I love your mom. Why?"
"She's happy with you, she smiles a lot."
"Yeah, I guess she does."
Henry carried on playing his video game that Emma had gotten him for his 6th birthday, and for a while the only sounds in the small apartment was the fighting sounds in the game and the shower running.
The blonde had been in many homes with many families, and always wondered what a real family felt like , what a real home felt like it. Emma would move worlds to make sure that Regina and Henry were safe and loved, even if it wasn't by her.
Emma had known for a long time that wherever Regina was felt like home to her, but to sit here with her son whilst she was showering felt like it was meant to be.
Being deep in her own thoughts, she didn't hear the sound of the shower turning off and was surprised when Regina was standing in front of her with one of her own tank tops on and silk pajama shorts with her damp hair sticking to the side of her face; God, she had never seen someone looks so beautiful before.
"You should stop thinking, dear. You might hurt yourself," Regina said with a smirk.
Emma leaned forward a little and grabbed the hem of the top, pulling Regina onto her. The smaller woman straddled Emma's lap and tucked stray hairs around the blondes ear.
"You're beautiful," Emma whispered.
"It's rude to talk about yourself -"
"I mean it, Regina. I love everything about you. I love your eyes which are so dark, but they always seem to be lighter than anything else, and the scar on your lip is just plain sexy. But do you know the thing I love the most?"
"That I cook you food?"
Emma lent in her breath on Regina's ear sending ripples down the older womans spine. "I love the way you're going to moan my name tonight," she said, her voice an octave lower than usual.
Emma's voice alone sent a wave of arousal to Regina's core, and if it wasn't for the fact Henry was sitting in the room with them, she would have had her wicked way with her incorrigible girlfriend.
Regina met Emma's lips in a searing kiss, a kiss that showed the other woman how much they loved the one another. For a single moment, it was just them. The moment quickly ended when the sound of an explosion blasted through the apartment.
"YES!" Henry shouted, he turned round to face his mother and Emma when he was met with a sight of them kissing. "Ew, Mom!" he groaned.
Kathryn looked to the clock, it was now 8:14 PM, she had been trying to re-start Emma's heart for 20 minutes with no success. She looked to the other nurses in the room, and without needing to say any words they nodded. The blonde doctor stopped her last round of compression's before stepping away from the hospital bed.
"Are we in agreement?" she asked. When they nodded in agreement, Kathryn looked to the wall clock. "Time of death, 8:15 PM," she said sadly.
One of the nurses took the bed sheet and pulled it over Emma's body as a sign of respect. None of them knew Emma, but losing a patient always struck a cord with them, they knew all too well that life was short and could be taken away in an instant.
"Does she have any family?" a nurse asked.
"No," Kathryn said.
It was now that she was hoping that Regina wasn't real, no one should have to go through losing someone that they loved and not having the chance to say a real goodbye. She wanted to throttle the paramedic that had called the airports, she should have let Emma die with hope that her partner was coming for her.
Emma sat on her sofa with snacks on one side of her and a six-pack of beer on the other. She was ready for her regular Skype session with Regina, and Henry if he was around. Like every other time, she missed them as soon as they had stepped onto the plane, her heart dropping not knowing when she would see them in person again.
When the app had powered up, she instantly called Regina who answered straight away. "Hi," Emma said after taking a sip of her beer.
"Hello, dear. How are you? I see you have the good stuff."
Emma glanced down at her beer and smiled. "Yeah, I caught the perp today and got paid big time. Thought I'd treat myself."
"Was this the man who -"
"Yeah. Big time business man, embezzling from three different companies. What a douche."
Their conversation covered the basics; how their days had gone, plans for the weekend and Henry was always a given mention knowing that Emma had been getting attached to her son.
There had been one topic of conversation that Regina had been hinting at for weeks, but she couldn't bring herself to ask her girlfriend. She had been thinking about asking Emma if she wanted to move in, but that meant moving across States and she didn't know if Emma would want to leave her life in Tallahassee behind.
"Babe?" Emma said.
Regina set her coffee cup down, "Yes, dear."
"I was thinking of making a visit up to you guys soon," she said.
"When are you thinking? How long are you staying? I could try and get some time away from -"
"I was thinking of next weekend and forever- but only if you want me to."
All Regina could do was smile. Somehow Emma had managed to read her mind and she wondered what she did to deserve such a woman like the blonde on her computer screen.
"I'm guessing by the smile on your face, it's a yes?"
"Of course it's yes, you idiot."
Kathryn sat in her office catching up on discharge papers like she did at the end of everyday. Today had hit her harder than usual, and she still couldn't get her head round the Emma Swan case. Yes, the patient had internal bleeding, but they had managed to stop that and she hadn't presented with any other life-threatening injuries that could cause cardiac arrest.
"I'll get I'll find out when they've completed the autopsy," she said out loud to herself.
Around an had passed when one of her nurses, and close friend, knocked on her office door. Letting herself in, Ashley hung to the door whilst she spoke.
"Someone's looking for you, Kat," she said.
"If it's Mr. Gold, tell him I'll -"
"No, it's someone asking about an..." the blonde nurse looked at the writing on the back of her hand before speaking again. "Emma Swan. I don't know the case, but they said you were on the head on the case."
"Bring her to my office please," Kathryn said sadly.
The nurse closed the door behind her and went to find the lady, who Kathryn assumed was the mysterious Regina Mills. The doctor pulled the case file out from the pile of other files, she read quickly refreshing what had happened. She didn't know what to tell her, but she could only tell her the truth.
She looked up when her office door opened again and stood to welcome Regina. "I'm Dr. Kathryn Nolan, please take a seat, Ms. Mills."
"Why won't anyone let me see, Emma?" she asked as she sat down.
Kathryn sat in her seat as she began explaining what had happened to Emma, all of her injuries and her surgery. Before she could tell her about the cardiac arrest, Regina spoke and the doctor wished she hadn't.
"Is she okay?" Regina asked.
The young woman, who she thought must be no older than 35, spoke with so much hope. She remembered how Emma had told the paramedic about Regina, and now with said woman sitting in front of her, Kathryn could see why she had spoke with so much passion.
"Unfortunately, after her surgery Emma suffered from a cardiac arrest. We tried our best to restart her heart, but we couldn't. She was pronounced dead at 8:15 pm tonight."
A strangled sob left Regina's mouth, her hand covering her mouth to stop more from leaving. "No- you- you got the wrong Emma. She can't-"
"Ms. Mills, I'm sorry for you loss, I really am. Emma spoke very fondly of you."
After finding out about Emma's accident, Regina had flown back to New York only to fly back to Emma's hometown to plan the funeral. They had both stayed in a hotel, despite Ruby telling them they could both stay with her.
Planning the funeral had been hell for everyone involved, they all adamant they knew what was best for Emma, what Emma would have wanted, but deep down they all knew that all Emma would have wanted was to live. The only thing they could all agree on was that only the people closest to Emma would be in attendance.
When they day finally came, Regina had struggled to get out of bed. She knew that she'd probably attend Emma's funeral one day, the woman ate way too much junk food for her liking, but she had wanted it to be 50 years from now when they had a chance to be a family.
As she slipped her heels on, Henry came into her room wearing a blazer and an untied tie. "Can you tie it for me, mom?" he asked sadly.
"Of course," she said softly as she knelt on the floor so she was at his height.
"I thought you guys would get married," he said.
"Me too, Henry, me too."
When she had finished tying the tie, she smoothed down Henry's wild mess of hair that he refused to get cut. With a sigh, she pulled her son in for a hug, it was more for her benefit that his, she needed to feel close to someone.
"I love you, mom," he said into her hair.
"I love you too, my little prince."
Ruby had asked Regina to speak at the funeral knowing Emma would have wanted it, and whilst the older woman had be adamant at first, she had agreed knowing this would be the last time she would, in effect, be able to speak to Emma.
Her, Henry and Ruby sat on the front pew in the Church, the closed casket in front of them to their right. Regina couldn't keep her eyes of the wooden box, knowing that Emma was in there and she couldn't touch her. She had lost another person she loved with her entire being, and she still couldn't get her head around the fact that maybe if she had moved here, Emma would still be alive.
"And now, Emma's friend, Regina is going to speak."
Regina stood up clutching her speech and rose, as she passed the casket she placed the rose on top before turning to speak to the few people who had attended. Her eyes caught Henry's, her son gave her a reassuring smile.
"For what it's worth, I was her girlfriend" Regina started, a few chuckles rippled through the Church. "I didn't know Emma very long before we started dating. I assumed she'd be another woman who would break my heart, and in a way she did, but th-" Regina's voice broke and tears flowed down her cheeks.
Ruby walked over to Regina and gave her a hug before taking the speech from her. "I assumed she'd be another woman who would break my heart, and in a way she did, but that wasn't her fault. We'd spend weekends together, but they were scarce because I had the other love of my life back in New York, my son. I remember being nervous about telling Emma about Henry, thinking she'd run for the hills. I never expected for her to love him as much as she did.
"We'd been dating for six months before she met him - my son, and boy was I ganged up on. Henry has a way of getting around new people to get what he wants, and Emma couldn't resist the power of the Henry-Mills-Puppy-Eyes. She'd always be sneaking him sweets before dinner and letting him stay up way past his bedtime. But she did more than that, she loved him.
"The day she died was supposed to be a happy day, she was moving to New York so we could be a together. Instead there was a drunk driver stopping her from her one goal in life; being part of a family. She told me once that she had finally found a home, and my heart sunk when I thought she'd been talking about Tallahassee, but instead she told me her home was where ever I was.
"A quote from Emma's favorite book reads, 'You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world... but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices.' And it's true, I do like my choices, I would rather be hurt by her than anyone else.
"I loved, no, I love her with my entire being, but with your help and the help of my wonderful son, we will be able to keep Emma alive in our memories. You all had your unique story like we did, some of you, like Ruby, have known her for longer than me, but we all loved her in our own way. Where ever you are, Emma, I love you, Henry does too. I hope you find peace, Emma. I'll see you again one day."
And whilst Ruby spoke for her, Regina couldn't help but feel a familiar pair of eyes on her, but as she searched the room she couldn't find them.
One day, Emma. One day I will see you again, she thought. I love you, idiot.
"I love you too, baby. I'm sorry," a ghostly voice whispered in Regina's ear, audible to only her.