Author's Notes: In case anyone is worried, yes this is still a SwanQueen fic, it's just slow-burn, so I ask for a little bit of patience (and tolerance when it comes to Lily/Emma for the time being) because I have a story to tell and it's not going to be an easy one...

Fate was playing such a cruel trick on her life, that she was certain of, and yet she had no control over the events that had happened and the ones that would inevitably follow.

It had been three days since the fatal accident that had rattled the entire town of Storybrooke and the first of the funerals for the victims would take place that very morning. Regina carefully oversaw the orderlies who helped Henry get dressed in a pair of dress pants and a crisp white shirt that had the arm cut off due to the large cast on his arm. Once he was dressed, they informed him he would need to be in a wheelchair to minimize his movement and even Regina knew how much it bothered him.

"When we get to the cemetery, you can walk," Regina whispered to him once the orderlies and the lone nurse in the room were out of earshot. "Okay?"

"Okay," Henry smiled up at her and she fixed his hair a little, biting back her comment about him needing a trim as his hair fell slightly over his eyes. "Is Mom meeting us there?"

"She is as far as I know," Regina replied with a slight nod. "I spoke with her earlier and she informed me that after the funeral you will be going home."

"I am?"

"Yes," Regina smiled at him. "I know you miss your own bed and your own space."

"I can stay there for a few days and maybe come home with you for a few days too?"

"Anything that you want, my little prince."

Regina kissed the top of his head before moving behind the wheelchair to push him out of the room. She gave a curt nod to one of the orderlies who had been instructed earlier to gather Henry's things for her to pick up from the hospital later.

They were quiet once they were in the car and on their way to the small cemetery near the edge of town. Regina parked her car near the others and helped her son get out without jostling his broken arm too much and he linked his good arm into hers, smiling with a small lopsided grin that quickly disappeared. They walked over the soft grass to where the others had gathered and Regina's heart fell at the sight of Michael Tillerman sobbing softly as his daughter hugged him tightly, she too crying over Nicholas' untimely, tragic death.

Regina could not imagine the pain of being a parent and losing their child in such a tragic and sudden way. She herself could never imagine the pain she'd feel dare she ever have to bury her own son long before his time. It would simply destroy her to lose him and she feared of what a loss like that would do to her very fragile soul. Thinking of it only caused for her to hold on to the arm Henry had linked through her own just a little tighter.

The funeral itself was not what was considered traditional. There was no viewing beforehand, nor a service for Michael and his children, like many others that had come from the Enchanted Forest were not believers of religion and the traditions that stemmed from majority of them. There would be a small service before the casket would be lowered into the ground and those who knew the boy would speak a few sentiments on his behalf.

Regina caught sight of a flash of blonde hair just to her left, walking over in the warm morning sunlight with a pair of dark sunglasses on to hide her eyes. She, like everyone else, wore black, but she had skipped a black dress in favor of an outfit similar to their son's. She caught the smile that dared curl over her lips, knowing how inappropriate such gesture was on a day like today, but her lips didn't fail to curl into a frown when she saw that other woman walking behind Emma.

"Hey," Emma said softly as she approached them. "How are you holding up, kid?"

"Okay, I guess," Henry replied quietly. "This doesn't really feel real."

"Never does," Emma replied and she moved to kiss him on the cheek. "Do you know what you're going to say?"

"Yeah, I wrote it down last night," he said and he unlinked his uninjured arm from Regina's and pulled the carefully folded piece of notebook paper out of his pocket. "Hi, Lily," Henry said when Lily joined them seconds later. "I didn't think you were coming today."

"I thought I'd come and pay my respects," she said in a way that made Regina scowl. "I'm here to support you and your mom today."

Regina narrowed her eyes at the none too subtle way that the other woman slipped her hand into Emma's and intertwined their fingers with ease. Regina swallowed thickly, trying to stay in control of her own emotions. Now was not the time to allow her jealousy to sink in, nor was it the time to be furious at the small, open display of affection.

Instead, Regina focused on the familiar faces that gathered around them, watching as a few of them who knew the family well approached Michael and Ava, passing on their condolences in a quiet manner. It was quite some time before Michael stepped forward and shakily used a crisp white handkerchief to wipe away at the steady stream of tears that fell from his eyes.

No words were spoken as he placed a hand on the casket the hovered over the open grave. One by one, all but just a few that weren't too familiar with the family, passed the casket before it was lowered slowly and the sound of Michael sobbing was the only sound that could be heard. Henry reached for Regina's hand and gripped on to it tightly. He was struggling to keep himself together and all she wanted to do was tell him it was okay to let his emotions show openly.

Once the casket had settled deep inside the open grave, Michael was the first to pick up the shovel and toss the first of the earth inside. Ava stepped forward, taking the shovel gently from her father's shaking hands and one by one, everyone took a turn, each one silently pausing to remember Nicholas in their own way before passing the shovel on to the next.

Regina watched Ava approach Henry and she whispered something into his ear quickly before pulling back. Henry just nodded and cleared his throat as he moved to stand in front of the gathered crowd. He cleared his throat again, struggling to open that carefully folded piece of notebook paper with one hand. With a sharp inhale he suddenly looked nervous as all eyes were now on him.

"Nick was my best friend," he began, "and I want to tell you that we'd always been friends, but that's not the case. We didn't become friends until after the second curse broke, but I'm not here to talk about a time where we weren't friends or the curses we've all lived through in this town. I'm here to talk about Nick."

Regina turned to look at Emma and the other woman standing to her left, not missing the perplexed look on the brunette's face as she tugged on Emma's hand and leaned to whisper into her ear.

"Curse? What is he talking about?"

"I'll tell you later, Lily."

Regina didn't catch the other few words they exchanged ever so quietly and she turned to look back at her son who was still struggling to keep himself together. Michael was still crying, but not audibly so any longer, his attention on Henry as he, like the others, waited for Henry to continue.

"I couldn't have asked for a better friend than Nick," Henry continued, his voice taking on a bit of a strain as he spoke. "He could always make me laugh and he always had my back. He loved to spend hours on any given day playing video games and reading comic books with me. He didn't like a lot of things, but he loved his sister Ava and his father more than anything else. Nick wasn't just my best friend," he paused and looked over at both of his mothers with watery eyes before looking over at Michael and Ava. "Nick was like a brother to me and I loved him for that. I'm going to miss him a lot and I know, wherever he is now, he'd tell me to shut up because he always hated when he was the center of attention, didn't he?"

Henry shifted as a soft, dry laugh escaped past his lips and he shook his head. "I don't want to talk about what happened that day, because it's hard to think about it, but I want everyone to know that Nick saved me and I don't know whether to feel forever grateful that my best friend pushed me out of the way or to feel guilty because he sacrificed his life to save me. I do know and I want everyone to know, that in the minutes before he was taken from all of us, he was happy, in the middle of telling a joke I know our parents would ground us for and making the rest of us laugh right along with him."

The breeze picked up as Henry glanced down at the paper in his hand and he frowned. "I wasn't sure what to talk about today and when I started thinking about the things I wanted to say, I realized that today isn't just a day of mourning, it is of celebrating a life, Nick's life, despite how short it truly was. I never had a real friend before him and I will be forever grateful to have known him, for all the laughter between us, and for all the times he stood up for me and all the times I stood up for him. I'm going to miss you, Nick. We all are. We love you."

Regina closed her eyes as the tears burned in them. Her son had amazed her in the way he'd spoken of his friend in a calm and composed manner she had not expected at all. Despite him still being so very young with a long and fruitful future ahead of him, he was wise and mature beyond his years and she felt so very proud of him.

Michael walked over to Henry and carefully hugged him before he whispered his gratitude for him speaking on behalf of his deceased son. Regina watched as Ava stepped forward, mirroring her father's actions before kissing Henry softly on his cheek. He, with Ava's help, folded the paper in his hand and he let it fall into the partially filled open grave before Ava took his hand in hers and they stepped back away as the groundskeeper approached the grave from the other side.

"We're uh, gathering at the diner in honor of Nicholas for brunch," Michael announced to the crowd. "Everyone is more than welcome to join us there, as Henry had so eloquently expressed, to celebrate Nicholas' life."

Regina stood where she was, watching as Emma approached their son and spoke quietly with him and Ava, Lily hovering just a few feet behind them and looking completely out of place. While the others began to head for their vehicles, Regina approached her son and placed a hand on his left shoulder.

"Henry, would you like to ride with me to the diner or have you made other arrangements?"

"I was going to go with Mom," he said quietly. "If that's okay?"

"That's fine, dear," Regina smiled warmly. "I shall meet you there?"

"Yeah," he nodded and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. "I'll see you there."

[X]

The diner was filled with everyone who had attended Nicholas' funeral. Granny had respectfully closed the diner for the private gathering. Regina sat at a table alone, sipping from a cup of hot coffee while letting her eyes linger on the blonde in the booth just a few feet away. She wanted to join her son and his other mother, just as they normally would have on any other given day, but she refused to be anywhere near that other woman who had taken it upon herself to not only attend the funeral of a boy she never knew, but to sit next to the woman that Regina was in love with and share small, intimate gestures she was certain that neither realized were exchanging between one another.

"Regina," Snow said as she sat down across from her, thankfully without her infuriating toddler attached to her hip as he normally was. "How is Henry holding up?"

"Perhaps you should ask him yourself," Regina replied tightly.

"He says he's okay," she said and she frowned. "He's not, is he?"

"He's terribly upset, Snow, as one would be with a loss of a dear friend."

"Of course," Snow nodded and she stared at Regina with a concerned look on her face. "What about you, Regina?"

"What about me?"

"Is there something bothering you?"

"And why on earth would you think that?"

Snow shrugged and fidgeted with the napkin on the table in front of her. "Is it Lily?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's weird, isn't it?" Snow continued. "Seeing Emma with another woman. I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I was just wondering if it bothered you as well."

"Why would the fact that Emma is with another woman bother me?" Regina asked carefully, knowing full well that Snow was fishing and she didn't like it. "What Emma does on her own time is entirely her business, Snow. She assured me that she and that woman are just friends."

"Lily is staying with her."

"I'm well aware."

"Regina," Snow frowned as she leaned forward a little. "I don't know if I should be saying anything, but I went over there this morning and I…walked in on them while they were engaged in a very intimate position. Did you know that Emma was sexually attracted to women, Regina?"

Regina carefully placed her mug down on the table. "No," she said and it was true because Emma had not expressed the sentiment with words at all. "If you'll excuse me, I need to—"

Regina stood, ignoring the sound of Emma calling out her name as she pushed past a few people to reach the door. She stormed out of the diner and barely made it down to the sidewalk when Emma called out her name once again. She had to hold back a bitter laugh at the familiarity of this very same scenario that had played out just a few times before in the time that Emma had been in Storybrooke.

"Regina?" Emma tried again and Regina came to a stop, keeping her back to her. "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving, as if that weren't obvious."

"Why?"

"I've paid my respects," she replied and she turned slowly to face the blonde that was now just a foot away. "I find no other reason to stay for any longer."

"Oh," Emma frowned. "I kind of wanted to talk to you though."

"About what?"

"Maybe it might be better if Henry goes home with you today."

"Why? Because of that woman who is staying with you?" Regina asked bitterly. "What you do on your own time is your own business and quite frankly, who you invite into your bed is no concern of mine."

"Regina, I'm not—"

"Don't bother," Regina cut her off. "I realize you and that woman have a history together and it is inevitable that you two would reconcile now that she is in town. Just do us both a favor and spare our son from any intimacy that evolves between you two."

"Regina—"

"Don't," Regina said as she glared down at Emma's hand that had reached out for her own and Emma pulled back quickly, as if she'd just been burned. "I can handle your rejection, Emma, but I cannot stand the sight of seeing you with her. Perhaps it'll be best if we spend some time apart."

"Regina, will you just stop and let me talk for a minute here please?" Emma pleaded and Regina shook her head before turning to walk away. "Regina, come on! I need to talk to you!"

"You may need to talk to me, but I do not wish to hear what you have to say."

"Regina," Emma sighed as she jogged in front of her and grabbed both of her arms, halting her in the middle of the sidewalk. "I'm not with Lily," she said firmly. "We're not together. We're…I'm not even really sure what we are right now, but—"

"You're having sex with her," Regina said tightly. "That is why you would rather Henry not be there, isn't it not?"

Emma frowned as she dropped her hands away from Regina and stepped back. The look on her face said it all and Regina inhaled sharply, keeping her emotions in check but she wasn't sure if she could for much longer. She knew that there had been something more and something special happening between the two of them before the tragic accident had happened, but that had come to a halt the very moment that the other woman had made her presence known.

Regina shook her head and with a small, sad smile, she walked away from Emma and to where she parked her car just down the street. She couldn't stand there and have that conversation with Emma in the middle of the street, not without losing control over her own emotions. She was strong, but she wasn't strong enough for something like that. It hurt being in love with Emma and it hurt because they had reached a standstill and all because of that infuriating woman who was staying at Emma's apartment and sleeping in her bed.

Regina should've known that it would be impossible for the two of them to ever be together, she should've known that it would be impossible for Emma to want anything more than friendship with her, and she should've known that it would be impossible for Emma to ever fall in love with someone like her.

Willing herself not to cry where anyone could see her, she slipped into her car and gripped on to the steering wheel tight. She was uncertain of how long she'd been sitting there, but a sudden tap on her window startled her from the trance she'd fallen into.

She reached over to unlock the passenger door and Ruby Lucas climbed into the passenger seat a moment later. She placed a hand over Regina's and offered her a small, friendly smile.

"You look like you could use a friend right now," Ruby said, letting her hand fall away as Regina turned to look at her. "A friend and a very strong drink."