Here we are. This is the last chapter. An epilogue will follow.

Enjoy.

Archie frowned at the woman sat across from him and his eyes drifted down to Pongo who was also staring up at the brunette from the ground.

Regina herself had her lips tightly kept together as she kept her eyes cast down to her lap as she had been doing for the last ten minutes.

She looked far paler than she ever had before and it looked as though her eyes hadn't been given the chance to recover from the last time that she had cried. Archie was surprised that she had shown up for every appointment since Emma had been admitted to the hospital, though it did make sense when he thought more about it. The Dark One had asked her to go to therapy, so this was obviously one of the only ways that Regina felt that she could try to start making things up to the woman who she spent almost every waking hour of the day watching unconscious on a hospital bed.

The Dark One had asked her to go to therapy, so this was obviously one of the only ways that Regina felt that she could try to start making things up to the woman who she spent almost every waking hour of the day watching in a hospital bed.

She didn't say much during these sessions since there wasn't much to say anymore, but Archie knew that he needed to start laying the groundwork now for the event of the savior dying. If the mayor was this distraught now, he didn't think that she would be able to continue to act as mayor and mother without her wife, which would mean that Tamsin and Henry would essentially lose both their mothers at the same time. Emma would roll over in her grave if her children became orphans.

"Have you heard any news from Doctor Whale?" Archie asked, deciding that he could no longer sit in this silence for another session.

The woman obviously wanted to talk to someone about how she was feeling. She couldn't talk to her children. Her only friends were her parents-in-law and Ruby but it was safe to assume Ruby was still too ashamed to talk to Regina since she was so instrumental in Arthur's plans.

Regina looked up from her lap and Archie couldn't help but swallow at the defeat on her face. He wasn't sure that he could help her if her True Love died. It was undeniable that things could have ended differently if they had found a way to better communicate. Since they had stopped trying to defeat each other, they made the perfect team and it was now painfully clear what happened when they were at odds.

"Nothing," she replied in a rather hoarse voice as if she was no longer used to talking – or people talking to her for that matter.

Archie nodded and stopped himself from looking at the clock to see how long was left of this session. He truly wanted to help Regina, but as the woman liked to point out, he did get his PhD from a curse.

Regina tilted her head, under other circumstances she would have smirked at the fact that she seemed to have rendered the cricket speechless, but it didn't exactly bode well that not even the therapist could think of something to say that would make her feel better. That meant there was nothing that could make her situation any better. Well, there was one thing but she didn't really like to think of getting her wife back when it seemed impossible.

The man nodded again and opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out and Regina sighed audibly as she inspected the cautious expression on his face.

"Were you about to ask me how I feel?" She asked with a quirked eyebrow. It didn't look the same in her disheveled state.

"I…" Archie began, but he trailed off and bit the inside of his cheek.

"My wife is in a coma and you're asking me how I feel about it?" She asked incredulously, "I feel like my world is ending and it's all my goddamn fault."

Archie's eyes widened at the words. She hadn't said more than a few words at a time lately.

"Your fault?" He repeated, deciding that her outburst had just given him the perfect way to start the conversation that they needed to have about her wife, "Did you stab Emma with the dagger?"

Regina fell back against the couch and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked back down at her legs and tried to blink away the tears at the corner of her eyes, "I might as well have," she muttered.

"Why is that?"

The brunette rolled her eyes and looked back up to the therapist who she hadn't expected to say anything in this session and took a deep breath. If she was paying for this, then she might as well use the opportunity to voice the thoughts that had been lingering in her mind.

"I treated her like a villain for so long that she actually began to believe that it was true. She would have never had to…sacrifice herself if she didn't believe that she was capable of hurting Tamsin," the brunette replied, "I treated her…"

"Like she was the Dark One?" Archie supplied.

Regina blew out a breath and nodded, "Emma could have never been anything like Rumple, but I somehow convinced her that she could be."

"Rumpelstiltskin was instrumental in many bad things that happened to you, the association alone-"

Regina held up her hand and shook her head, "That may be true, but Emma is responsible for every perfect thing. There is no excuse for the way that I treated her."

Archie opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. He could think of many ways that he could justify what happened from a psychological point-of-view, but the fact was that none of the explanations that he could think of would help the woman. Telling her that the kind of association she made between Emma and Rumple was completely understandable, but pointing it out didn't mean that Emma would wake up. There was something, however, that he thought could be rather pertinent.

"Emma proved to you that she isn't the Dark One through her sacrifice, Regina. She was strong enough to fight against the most powerful energy that has ever existed to save you and Tamsin. Emma loves you but she also loves Henry and Tamsin. They need you to be strong…"

The man trailed off when he realized that Regina's expression had morphed into one that he couldn't decipher. She didn't look angry, but she didn't look like she was about to cry either. It was obvious that she agreed with what he was saying, but she was still working through what he meant.

She knew that she hadn't been a particularly good mother since that night, but she hadn't considered that she could be diminishing Emma's sacrifice. She swallowed hard when she realized that Snow and Charming had also lost Emma, but they were keeping themselves together for the sake of the children in their lives.

The last time that she had thought she had lost the love of her life, it had created the Evil Queen, but this time, she had two people in her life who were completely reliant upon her. She couldn't regress into a state of depression whilst they needed her.

Silence reigned on for about thirty seconds and Archie shifted in his seat as he considered whether what he had said was too much, but Regina finally said something in a very small voice, "Emma isn't dead…"

She didn't say 'yet' but the implication hung in the air and Archie smiled sadly at the woman. He was sure that she was thinking about the fact that the Charmings seemed to be in the habit of surviving at the last moment, but she didn't want to voice this thought since that would mean that she was admitting that she had some hope. He couldn't tell her to have hope since he had absolutely no knowledge of anything magic-related and Regina didn't seem to believe.

Silence fell between them again, Archie was about to say something else but he was cut short by the sound of Regina's phone making a small 'ding' sound.

Regina pulled out the device and frowned when she saw that she had a message from Charming.

"Have to go," she announced quickly as she stood up from the couch. She looked concerned as she escaped out of the door leaving Archie looking a bit fearful of why she had to leave so abruptly.

Tamsin colored in a little book as she sat on the bed next to Emma. David had been reluctant to let her onto the bed but it was hard to deny her time with her mother. Even if it wasn't ideal, if Emma were to never wake up, her body couldn't be kept here forever. So, though this wasn't great, it was still time. She was insistent upon it after he and Snow had told her that maybe Emma could still hear everything she said to reassure her.

Henry sat in a chair closest to the hospital bed with his headphones in, doing homework in his notebook. According to the teen doing his homework here helped him focus. David was just afraid it was because of how things were at home.

Regina was getting a little better. From what Henry was willing to relay she tried to follow a routine. Although it was hard to say if she was actually getting a decent sleep at night. Tamsin, however, didn't seem to notice their mother's distress.

"Papa?" Tamsin looked up from her coloring, giving him expectant green eyes. She looked just like Emma.

"What's wrong, Rollie Pollie?" David asked, standing up from his seat and walking over to the bed.

"Candy, please?"

"Candy? That's going to spoil your dinner." He teased poking her nose. Tamsin grinned. "Mama won't be too happy about that will she?"

"Please?" She asked again with an even bigger toothy smile.

David relented and kissed her forehead, pressing a finger to his lips. He always told Regina if Tamsin had any candy but she liked it if she thought they were having innocent little secrets.

He let his eyes drift over to Emma and leaned down to kiss her forehead as well. "I'll be right back." He patted Henry on the shoulder and the teen nodded.

With a short glance back in the room, he closed the door and started to move towards the vending machines. He slipped a dollar into the slot and picked out Tamsin's favorite chocolate bar. Once it was in his hand, David turned to go back but was stopped by the sound of Regina's heels nearly rushing down the hallway.

She was practically out of breath and still, unfortunately, very pale. It was safer to say she was getting a little better at hiding things. Physically, she wasn't doing well. It was noticeable in her eyes when she'd recently cried and her frame was thinning.

"What happened?" Regina questioned with a brow furrowed in fear and concern. "Is Emma…did she…?"

"No." David said, shaking his head and putting his hands on her arms to assure her. "No. She's the same."

"You said-"

"I probably should've worded it differently. I'm sorry. I just wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" She frowned.

"This whole situation. Things are hard for you, I understand that-"

"Do you really understand?"

"You built a family with Emma. I can understand that." He wiped his hand across his face and turned his eyes in the direction of the room he'd left Henry and Tamsin in. "I need you to do something for our family. Have faith...hope."

"Hope?" Regina asked, with a disbelieving laugh. "You can't be serious. She's-"

"Not dead. Emma isn't dead but she won't wake up if you don't have hope that she will. It's up to you. We all are holding on to our hope but you're her True Love."

"I've kissed her every day. Nothing ever happens."

"Regina, true love is a powerful thing even without the kiss, it counts for something."

"I don't know anymore." Regina said in a quiet voice. "I did this to her. I did this to us. That's not love."

"Her sacrifice was. She did it for you and your daughter, who is the result of your love. If you want to make it up to Emma, you'll have hope. Believe that she'll come back. You owe her that."

Regina didn't respond for a long minute but eventually, she nodded.

"Good." David held out the candy bar to her and she took it. "For Tamsin."

Regina's closed her eyes in frustration as tried to make her hands stop shaking. This was the last locator spell that she was capable of casting and if it didn't work then she had a feeling that she would never see her wife again.

For the past three days, she had all but locked herself in her vault as she desperately tried to formulate a method to locate the newest Dark One, but she could only assume that there was something blocking her power. Every time she had those thoughts, she tried to simply push them aside and force herself to focus on the task at hand.

Finally, she opened her eyes and tried to focus her attention back down to one of the last books in her library. However, before she could start the incantation, she heard the distinct sound of boots hitting the marble and she sighed. All of this solitude had finally driven her mad.

"You know that trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity," a voice said behind her.

Regina's hands paused from their attempt to readjust the book in front of her and she felt all of her muscles tighten at the familiar - and yet so different - voice that she had longed to hear for days.

She finally turned around and took in a sharp breath at the sight of the woman leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. That wasn't an altogether strange sight considering the number of times that her wife had stood petulantly behind her as she tried to work, it was just everything else about the woman that gave Regina pause. She was clothed head to toe in black, which she normally would've found seriously attractive, and then there was the hair. Regina had only ever seen Emma with her hair down or in a loose ponytail, so the slicked back, bleached white look didn't suit the woman she had fallen in love with all those years ago. If Regina didn't know any better, she would swear that this wasn't even the same woman.

"I..." Regina began before she realized that she had absolutely nothing to say and she clamped her mouth shut as her eyes continued to inspect all of the differences between the former savior.

"You're usually more articulate than this?" Emma asked with a smirk that certainly didn't belong on her face. The brunette frown deepened as it began increasingly clear that Emma's voice was also slightly different. She wasn't sure that she liked this version of her wife.

"Where have you been?" Regina asked when her mind finally caught up with the situation and she felt anger flooding through her system.

Emma just tilted her head at the woman, as if she was genuinely surprised that the woman would be pissed at her for disappearing. Regina frowned as dozens of emotions passed over the Dark One's face until she settled on indifference.

"I've been…processing everything," Emma replied with a furrowed brow, "Everything is so different now and I just need some time, Regina."

Regina wanted to shout and say that she didn't get to have time when she had two children and a wife, but none of those thoughts actually left her mouth. The fact was that she was elated. Part of her had been so worried that her tracking spells hadn't been working because there was no one to track. The thought that she would spend the rest of her life trying to find someone who died was heartbreaking and she was so relieved that she now knew for sure that the darkness hadn't destroyed her wife completely, even if she did look different.

"It doesn't have to be different," Regina argued.

Emma uncrossed her arms and then looked down at herself as if she were making a statement, "You know that isn't true, Gina. I'm just asking that you give me some time and believe that I'll come back…"

Regina turned her eyes to the ground. They had never spent more than a few days away from each other, but she supposed that the woman who had thrown herself into the darkness for her deserved some space.

"Is that all you came here to tell me?" Regina asked in disappointment since she had hoped that this meant her wife was back.

The blonde's eyes darted to an empty space in the vault and she narrowed her eyes at the thin air as if it had said something taunting to her.

Regina frowned, but she was cut off from questioning the action when the blonde said, "I…really need to go…but can you trust me when I say that I'll come back? You don't need to force me…"

The brunette nodded before pausing at the last part. If she could have forced her then they would have had this conversation a lot sooner. However, she couldn't question it as a black smoke engulfed the Dark One. The moment that the woman disappeared, Regina got the answer to the question.

A jagged dagger lay on surface beside the wall inscribed with 'Emma Swan-Mills'.

Belle shifted her eyes up and then back down to the book on the table in front of her when she heard the door in the background. She looked up to the doorway when she heard the sound of boots and knew it was Ruby.

Blush painted her cheeks as she stood up with the book in her hands, ready to exchange it for another. They hadn't gotten much chance to talk after they had been intimate for the first time. Ruby had felt guilty afterward, having forgotten about the chaos going on for only an hour or so.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" Belle asked.

"I needed to see you." Ruby answered. The shorter woman turned around with a furrowed brow to see eyes looking at her intensely. Belle quickly surprised when the wolf backed her into a table.

"Ruby…" She chuckled uncertainly, wondering how many people were in the library. Ruby took the book from her hands and tossed it on the table. Belle attempted to push the woman away as she started to kiss her neck. "We can't. There are people here."

"They're occupied." Ruby mumbled.

"What happened to focusing on helping Regina?" Belle questioned, swallowing down a moan.

"I need a distraction." Ruby sighed against her neck. Then she took Belle by surprise, lifting her up onto the surface. As a result, a stack of books fell off the table, in the way of the wolf's advances. The loud thud was surely going to be ignored by them both but Ruby caught something in the corner of her eye. She pulled away from Belle's lips and tilted her head.

"Belle..."

She followed Ruby's eyes to the floor where the fallen books had landed. There was a book opened up on the floor and Belle gently pushed Ruby away to get to it. She picked up the book and read over the words on the page. Her frown deepened with every line.

"What is it?"

"It's an excerpt on hearts."

"Hearts?" Ruby questioned with a skeptical expression as she wiped the smeared lipstick from her mouth. "What is that going to do?"

Belle folded a few pages and closed the book. "Wake up Emma."

"Breath." Regina hissed.

The hand in hers had been slowly growing cold. It hadn't been enough to convince her that Emma was eventually going to die but now her skin was steadily turning to ice and becoming paler. She swallowed her tears, roughly wiping away the tears on her face.

"No, Emma. Not yet, please. I need more time, honey."

"Regina, we need you leave the room." Whale said as the nurses scrambled around them. "Please?"

She looked down to her wife and kissed her hand. "Breath, Emma." She backed away from the bed and walked towards the door. The angry beeping of the machines started to get louder in her ears, watching as they attempted to resuscitate her dying wife.

All her doubts were coming back. They wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for what she did. Emma didn't deserve the treatment she received when she became the Dark One. It had been all her fault. If she had never found so many reasons to fight with her, Arthur wouldn't have been able to take advantage of their broken relationship.

She blinked long and hard, hoping that it would stop the beeping. But though it had nothing to do with hoping for it, the beeping did stop. Regina opened her eyes to Whale sighing in relief and requesting an oxygen mask for Emma.

Regina stay there in the doorway, protectively watching over her wife. She stayed there until it seemed they were done and Whale approached her with a solemn expression.

"Regina, I think we should start talking about what happens when she doesn't wake up."

"Not right now."

"But-"

"Not now." She repeated. Whale nodded and left the room, leaving Regina alone with Emma's still form.

She walked back inside and sat down on the edge of the bed, taking Emma's hand into both of hers. She rubbed her hands together in an attempt to warm the cold skin and kissed her knuckles before she held her hand against her cheek. Emma was getting paler and it was getting harder to ignore.

"Please, Emma. Tell me what to do." Regina pleaded. "I'll do anything to wake you up. Tell me how to help you. Just tell me."

Feet shuffled into the room after she had a couple of minutes of silence. She looked over her shoulder to Henry who had his eyes glued to Emma. Snow and David were off to the side with Tamsin in her grandfather's arms. She looked curiously over to her blonde mother and her face scrunched up instantly.

"Mommy?" Tamsin reached out for Emma and Regina averted her eyes to Belle and Ruby behind her. She let out a shaky breath and Ruby put her hands over her shoulders and squeezed lightly.

"It's okay." Ruby whispered into her ear before she leaned down and slipped her arms around Regina, hugging her from behind.

"She just needs that so she can get better." David explained to the child quietly.

"Don't-" Regina started but stopped herself from shouting at him. She let out a quiet sob and Ruby hugged her tighter shushing her and telling her it was okay.

Belle shared a look with the Charmings who nodded to her. David stepped out of the room with Tamsin still in his arms, distracting her with the bribe of some candy from the machine. As soon as they were out of earshot, Snow closed the door as Belle stepped closer and laid the opened book on the edge of the bed next to Regina.

"Mom." Henry walked over to the other side of the bed across from her, startling her with his deep voice that she didn't recall he had yet. But she'd almost been out of her body since that night in the woods. Her little prince was becoming a man and Tamsin was just turning into a little Emma in every way and their mother was missing it.

"Mom." He repeated. "You're going to wake her up."

"I don't know how." Regina shook her head.

"Belle found something, Mom. Look at it."

Regina looked up from the bed and over to the book that had a picture of a heart on it. She looked up to Belle and the younger woman smiled sadly at her.

"When a Dark One is stabbed by the dagger their heart turns to ash but considering Emma was born of true love and she's the savior, I believe her magic is what's trying to keep her in this state of…living."

"What are you saying?" Regina questioned.

"We need to split your heart like Snow and David and give half to Emma."

"I can't."

"What?" Snow frowned. "Regina, she's your wife."

"It won't work." Regina argued, standing up from the bed and shrugging Ruby off. "That method only works with True Love and this is not True Love!"

"Mom!" Henry shouted.

"I did this to her, Henry. I did this to everyone..." Regina paused looking down to Emma. "I can't…"

"No. You can't give up. That's not what we do. We have hope. I know you think you messed up but you're human. You made a mistake but you can fix that. You didn't do this to her, Arthur did. I believe in you, Mom."

"I believe in you, too, Regina." Snow said.

"You don't even have to ask." Ruby smiled.

"I don't know you as well as they do but I see Tamsin every day and she is magic." Belle said sounding amazed as she picked up the book. "That's True Love. The only reason she exists is because of how much you love your wife. And I know you don't love her any less."

"You can do it, Mom." Henry encouraged as his mother stared down at Emma. "We all believe in you. I know Ma does, too."

Regina closed her eyes tiredly. She wanted to be done feeling so miserable…so incomplete. No one could understand that she would never be whole without this woman. She was tired of being without her in their bed. Tired of leaving for work in the morning and not sharing that overly domestic kiss goodbye with her. She missed being consumed with the feeling of being completely and endlessly in love.

She inhaled deeply and nodded. "Okay…Do it."

Taking out her heart wasn't difficult but it did sting. Ruby carefully split it and placed half in her hand and the other back in her chest before she convinced everyone to give her some time.

Regina leaned down over Emma's face, brushing her fingers through blonde hair.

"I need you to wake up, my love." Regina stroked her hand over her cheek. "It's hard without you and I can't spend the rest of my life feeling this way."

She looked down to the half heart in her hand and pressed her forehead against her wife's. "I swear if you don't come back to me, Emma…Just come back."

Regina took a deep breath and carefully pushed the organ into her chest. It was reassuring that it slipped in with ease and she hadn't felt any kind of pain erupt in her chest. Her heart had been accepted. She hoped her love was enough to wake her wife.

She stepped back slowly and waited already feeling some heartbreak that Emma hadn't moved an inch. She bit her lip in restraint, shaking her head.

"I don't want to let you go. I'm not ready. If anything, I expected you to outlive me." Regina wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm so sorry for everything I said to you. You never did anything wrong and yet all I saw was the Dark One I knew…you were still just my wife."

"Dreaming about your life will not bring it back to you."

Emma let out a deep sigh and she cracked open her eyes to see what was left of the fading Dark One. From what she could tell, all that remained of her was a torso and head and it already appeared as though part of her face was quickly disappearing.

At this point, she had no idea how long she had actually been wherever this was, but she could tell that she was reaching the end of her time in limbo. The sound of constant beeping was making her wish that she could tell Regina to just let her go. She could only imagine what it must have been like to have to watch Dr. Whale constantly bringing her wife back to life. She knew that Regina would probably never be ready to let her go, but Emma couldn't help but think that at this point, hope could only breed eternal misery.

"Just shut up," Emma scowled at the remains of the Dark One before she shifted in her position and tried to make herself more comfortable. There was far more of her body remaining than Nimue's but that didn't give Emma much hope. It would be safer for everyone involved if she was just allowed to die so that they could be sure that the Dark One would be gone forever.

"Thinking about past happiness whilst waiting to die seems like a rather pathetic end for the great and powerful savior."

Emma sighed and rolled her eyes for what was probably the millionth time since she had arrived in this place. She didn't think that it was possible that a spirit of the Dark One would piss her off more than Rumple had, but Nimue just seemed to be that much more irritating.

"It's better than talking to you," the blonde replied, as she closed her eyes and proceeded to try to think about spending time with her wife and children instead of being in this place.

The blonde smirked at the familiar frustrated sigh that filled the clearing. There was just something so satisfying about pissing off the woman who had ruined her perfect life, even if it didn't bring her back to her family at least she knew that Nimue was just as afraid of dying as she was.

However, before she could allow herself to become lost in another memory, words that she had never heard before echoed around them.

"I swear if you don't come back to me, Emma…Just come back."

The blonde's eyes flew open and she looked around the clearing as a heavy feeling burst through her was staring at her with wide eyes, clearly also aware of the sudden shift, in fact, there was a distinct image of terror within the Dark One's eyes.

A blinding light filled the clearing and engulfed them. Emma closed her eyes against the light and felt a pulling sensation across her whole body accompanied by the sound of Nimue screaming in pain as the last remnants of her being were eradicated.

It felt as if she was at peace.

The alarm clock beeped loudly on the night stand.

Regina reached out and shut it off with her face still pushed into her pillow. She turned over on her side, preparing herself to get up.

A grin appeared on her face, remembering the reason she was still tired. Emma got home late and it was a habit to stay up and wait for confirmation that her wife was in bed next to her. Instead of sleeping, however, they were caught up in a heated love making session until very late.

Something about Emma last night had just made it impossible to not indulge. The way her hair fell down her right shoulder as she undressed to get into pajama pants and her usual t-shirt. The blonde had been glowing in the moonlight for some reason and though she always looked sexy to her, Regina found her to be too desirable to resist. Her cheeks turned pink as she thought about it.

As if on cue, Emma turned over under the covers, draping her arm over her waist. The warmth of her body increased as she snuggled into Regina's back and pressed her cheek to the back of her neck. Emma's other arm slipped under her body and Regina was sure the woman was awake enough to know it was time to get up.

"Good morning." Emma mumbled, kissing her shoulder.

"Good morning, beautiful." Regina replied locking her fingers in Emma's against her stomach.

"That's my line."

"I never get to say it."

"You can call me beautiful whenever you like, baby."

"I don't get to say that either."

"Are you pouting?" Emma questioned with a chuckle.

"No. I'm just now realizing."

"Gina, you can call me whatever you want. We're married, why are you just now noticing?" Emma felt her wife shrug and rolled her eyes. "Does it have anything to do with last night? That was unexpected and very…sexy. What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you were horny as hell last night. I was barely under the sheets before your hand was in my pants."

"Maybe that's what it was…" Regina said more to herself than Emma.

"What was that?"

"I was wondering why you looked a million times sexier than you usually do."

"I don't know what I did when I walked in but I'm going to do that again. I've never enjoyed being sore from the waist down since I met you." Emma teased, leaning even closer to plant a kiss right behind her ear. "You can be on top again."

"No." Regina shook her head adamantly, sitting up. Emma groaned as her arms fell to the empty spot on the bed. "We need to get ready for work."

"Please?"

"No. We can't."

Emma reached out as she sat up and pulled the brunette back into bed. "Please, Regina. Play hooky with me."

"Emma, I can't-"

"It's Friday. Let's do it. You, me, and the kids." She heard the silent protest almost immediately. "We've been too busy. Just take the day. For me?"

"I would love to but-"

"Mommy!"

Both she and Emma turned to the door to see Tamsin smiling widely. She looked proud of herself for barging into the room. Regina grinned as the little girl tried to climb her way onto the bed. The mayor elbowed her wife as the blonde chuckle watching their daughter try to get up to them.

"Help her, Emma." Regina scolded lightly.

Emma picked Tamsin up and sat her in the space separating them. The child leaned against Regina and Emma kissed the top of her head before looking up to her.

"Are you convinced?" Emma asked looking hopeful. Before Regina could even answer Henry walked in and laid himself out on the opposite end of the bed.

"Hi, moms." He greeted. Tamsin crawled over to him and smacked his chest playfully. He looked up at her, feigning outrage. Regina and Emma chuckled at them as Tamsin started to mess with him even more after he asked her why she was always hitting him with something.

Emma slid closer to her wife and wrapped her arms around Regina. The brunette didn't hesitate to get comfortable in her embrace, sharing a kiss with Emma without a thought.

"I love you." Emma whispered.

"I love you, too." Regina sighed with a grin. "I suppose we can stay."

"You're the best."

"I would assume you think so. You married me, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did." Emma smiled. "Best decision I ever made."

The silence continued on and Regina closed her eyes in devastation, seeing that giving part of her heart had no effect. She wanted to blame herself for not believing enough. Maybe even for not loving her wife enough.

"I love you, Emma. I hope you know that."

The monitor beeped and caught Regina's attention. It had been beeping and clicking constantly but it spiked. She walked to the other side of the bed watching the monitor for another unusual beep. She watched in anticipation to see if it was working but the room went silent and her face fell.

To her surprise, the body in the hospital bed behind her suddenly shot up. Regina jumped but quickly recovered seeing that her wife was awake and alert.

"Emma?" She questioned in disbelief.

The blonde was disoriented and a bit confused as she looked around the room. Regina engulfed the younger woman in a hug that Emma vaguely felt in her confusion. She didn't much react to Regina kissing her cheek and her temple and touching her face.

"Emma, you're back." Regina said with her voice mixed between a laugh and a cry. She leaned her forehead against Emma's temple, still holding her close. But she finally registered that her wife seemed out of it. "Emma?"

Green eyes that she had missed terribly turned to her. It seemed there was no recognition there. "Emma?" Regina questioned worriedly. "Are you alright? You do remember me, don't you?"

"Of course, I do." Emma said in return. Her voice was hoarse but it was still soothing to hear. "But where am I?"

"The hospital."

"I'm alive?" She asked with a frown. "I thought I-"

"Yes, but you're alive. I woke you up."

"What about the Darkness?"

"It's gone, Emma. You destroyed it when you…" Regina averted her eyes. Emma was instantly distraught to find her wife crying, attempting to stay silent. She reached up, causing the electrodes on her hand and arm to fall off, and cupped Regina's face. The brunette put her hand over hers and savored the touch. "I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve the way I treated you."

"Don't cry." Emma said, pulling Regina into a hug. "We talked about this, baby. It's okay. I understand."

"No, it's not okay."

"Hey, look at me." Emma lifted her chin so their eyes could meet. "Are you still my wife?"

"Yes."

Emma took her hand entwined their fingers, kissing the set of rings on her hand. One was hers and she smiled at her wife. "Well, it's a start."

We hope you enjoyed reading this as much as we loved to write it. It's been quite a journey one we really loved. Withgirl and I are grateful that so many of you have followed this story over nearly two years. Thank you all so much for your patience and reviews and favorites.

Maybe we'll see you again for another story but for now, maybe check out our other individual stories.

Thanks so much for reading!