A/N: Finally I found some time to write! I honestly re-wrote this chapter so many times over, it was becoming frustrating. It's a painful one I'm afraid. But, I hope you all like it and stick around for what's to come. Because Regina does have to grow up and Emma does have to come back into her life. ;) Happy reading, and happy long weekend to all!

"Hi, Regina. I'm Dr. Hopper. But you may call me Archie." A not so old, quite young but wise, red-headed curly man, sporting a bow tie smiled at the little girl. He wore glasses that were not to small but not too big. He had a kindness to him. Emma liked him, and she already hated that she liked him. Especially after what Jefferson had told her just outside his office.

The blonde stood by the man's red leather couch, right by Regina and her mother, leaning with her back against the wall. She had been silent, and observant.

Regina was hesitant but she found herself moving towards the man and shaking his hand. She watched as he sat back and adjusted his glasses to line up perfectly against the bridge of his nose.

"I wonder… could I have a moment with Regina alone?" Archie's eyes looked over at Cora.

"Does Emma have to leave, too?" Regina was quick to ask him, panic already setting in her stomach.

Archie exchanged a look with the girl's mother, his lips slightly parted. Because he didn't see anyone else in the room but them. But, as a trained professional, he smiled down at the girl and shook his head. "No, Regina. She may stay."

Emma pushed herself off the wall using her foot and moved to sit next to Regina as soon as Cora was out of the room, but not before assuring her daughter that she would be just outside and would be back. Regina didn't mind her mother's absence. Not while Emma was around.

Archie shut the door behind him after Cora walked out, to give them some privacy. He exhaled sharply as he took his place in his red leather chair. His pen scratched against the paper on his pad for a minute before his eyes looked up at the little girl, noticing she was whispering words that he could not quite hear to someone that wasn't even there.

"So, Regina…" He placed his pen down, giving the girl another kind smile. "Tell me about Emma." He welcomed her. "Your mother tells me she's your best friend?"

The small girl looked over at Emma who smiled at her, before turning back to Archie and saying, "She's my girlfriend."

The man's brows lifted up in surprise. "Girlfriend? Really?" He adjusted in his seat at her nod. "And she's here? With us?" He watched the small girl nod. "Is she with you all the time?"

Another nod. Emma shifted on her side of the couch, wanting to see what Archie was writing down on his notepad. He was silent for a moment before adding, "And, can I ask… why is she your girlfriend? Why not a friend?"

Regina shrugged. "I wanted a girlfriend."

"And why's that?" He wanted to smile at the girl's innocence, but held back.

"Because girlfriend's don't leave. Emma's told me that." She looked over at Emma with a smile. "And when I'm older, I'm going to marry her."

Once again, the man's brows hit his hairline. "My… She must be quite a special girl. But, why wait until you're older?"

Regina chuckled, finding the man's question a little ignorant. "Well, kids can't marry adults. That's silly!" To this notion, Archie felt free to laugh at himself and with the little girl. Emma rested her head against her hand, two of her fingers were placed against her temple as she smiled proudly at Regina. "Emma is…" She looked over at the blonde in question, regarding her age. She could never remember.

"Twenty-seven." Said Emma.

"Twenty-seven." Regina repeated, looking back at an observant Archie. "I'm only nine. So I have to wait until I am a grown adult like her."

Archie scribbled something else on his notepad. "Don't you think… you would be happier with friends your age?"

Emma shook her head, as well as Regina. "I have Emma. She takes care of me when my mom works."

He smiled. "But with friends your age, you could interact more. Others could see them."

To this the little girl's brows knitted. "Emma is real." She stated. "Just because you can't see someone, it doesn't mean they don't exist."

It amazed Emma how smart Regina was sometimes, she remained in her seat the entire time through their conversation, she would make remarks every now and again, but the little girl was the little genius in that room.

"I understand your father passed away." Archie pointed out.

"Now, why do you have to go there, doc?" Emma asked him, her forearms resting against her thighs.

Regina nodded, a sadness taking over her.

"And that's when Emma came into your life?" Another nod. "I'm sorry you lost him. But, you're right. Just because you can't see him, doesn't mean he isn't with you. Maybe he brought Emma to you to guide you through this lost time in your life."

Emma rolled her eyes at that. "No one brought me here. I was created." She stood up from her seat, causing Regina to look up at her.

Archie looked over to the girl's line of sight, seeing no one.

"No. I wished for her." Regina snapped. "My daddy told me that if I wished for something hard enough, it would come true. Well, I wished for Emma."

Archie could see the passion and determination in this small child as she talked about her friend. Certainly something he had never seen a child do. He rested back against his seat, watching the little girl.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"Or Emma." She snapped again.

"Or Emma." He nodded. "She must be very nice to you."

"She is," Regina smiled over at the blonde again.

"Can you tell me about that?"

"Emma sings me to sleep every night. She's a great singer. And she tells me stories, like the lost princess. That's our favorite one. And she plays with me."

"What kind of games do you play with Emma?"

"All kinds of games. She will play with me during recess in school. We play house sometimes. We have a fancy tea party, and hide and seek." Regina shifted in her seat. "But, I think she cheats because sometimes she disappears."

"Hey!" Emma glared at the girl, playfully smacking her arm. "I do not cheat. I'm just that good."

Regina giggled.

"And what about your dad? Did he used to do all that with you?" Archie asked.

Regina's giggle soon turned into a frown as she nodded in confirmation. "Sometimes."

"Does your mom do those things with you?"

"She's not very good at it."

"Well, I'm sure if you give her a chance, she will be more than happy to do them with you. I'm sure Emma wouldn't mind if you allowed your mom to read you a story, sing to you, play with you."

Regina turned to Emma, who shrugged and told her that in fact, no, she wouldn't mind.

"Through my observation. Regina is just making this imaginary friend up to replace what she's lost. Which in this case is her father. It seems to me that she is having this Emma do all the activities her father used to do with her."

Cora sighed, resting against the red leather couch. "So, what do you suggest I do, doctor?"

"Regina is a very clever girl." He chuckled, "In fact, I even witnessed a few conversations she had with Emma right before me."

"Will she be needing medication?" The woman worried about that. She wouldn't want to put Regina on any type of medication.

"Oh, no," Archie shook his head. "Not at all. In fact, I wouldn't worry about how much longer this imaginary world with Emma will last."

"So… what are you suggesting?"

"I suggest that you go along with this move to New York. The change will do you and Regina good. She will grow out of this fantasy and Emma will be nothing but a memory." He smiled. "Maybe not even that."

Emma stood by the door. She had told Regina to wait out in the waiting room, that she wanted to hear what this doctor and Cora would speak about. Nothing but a memory. She didn't want to be just a memory. She didn't want to be nothing to Regina. But something inside of her told her that was exactly what was bound to happen.

That night as Regina slept peacefully, tucked in her bed, Emma watched her. Normally she would be sleeping right beside her, but tonight she was restless. Archie's words rang in her head like a high alarm. Regina wouldn't just forget her. Would she? Emma didn't understand why she worried so much about being forgotten by the little girl, but it did. It scared her. Where would she go? Where would she be? What would happen with Regina if she just went away? She sighed as she stood up from the chair in the room, deciding that maybe a nice walk around the house would clear her mind and stop all of these endless questions from popping into her head.

The blonde stopped as she heard distant crying coming from downstairs. As quietly as possible Emma moved down each step, seeing Cora's silhouette in the dim lit living room. The woman was crying as she did every night since her husband passed away. She held onto a photo album of when they married and Regina was born.

This family still needed her. She couldn't just go away. Regina still needed her.

Emma didn't know why, but in that moment as she moved further into the living room and stood before the weeping mother, she decided to say something.

"I'm sorry you have to be going through this," she spoke loud and clear, knowing perfectly well she couldn't be heard by her. "But you can't allow Regina to forget about me. That kid needs me." She took a seat right next to Cora as she wiped her nose with a tissue. "Do you hear what I'm telling you? Regina needs me!" She spoke in a higher tone of voice, growing frustrated for the first time in her life that she could not be seen or heard by anyone other than the little girl sleeping upstairs.

"It's never easy saying goodbye."

Emma's head snapped up and whipped around to the sound of a female voice. A lean, tall, blonde woman stood by the end of the stairs as Emma slowly walked over to her. Her green eyes wide.

"Who are you?" She asked her.

"I'm Ingrid." Ingrid. Emma remembered Jefferson telling her about her. "You seem conflicted tonight, Emma. You've been asking yourself a lot of questions."

"Are you… are you God or an angel? Is that it? Am I dead?" Emma asked her, earning a chuckle from the tall blonde.

"No. I'm neither. And don't waste your breath trying to talk to Regina's mother- she can't hear you."

"How-?"

"I know everything about you, Emma. Just like I know everything about the others that are just like us." Ingrid's head turned towards the stairs, her eyes looking up to the second floor. "It's a shame she had to lose her father. No child deserves that."

"I'm sorry, but," Emma's brows knitted together. "If I'm not dead, then what am I?"

"You are anything Regina wants you to be. You came from her. She created you to give her a sense of happiness."

"And I'm doing that." Emma nodded.

The corner of Ingrid's lip tilted into a tiny smile. "Yes, you are. To be honest, you are either too good at doing that… or this little girl has confused her reality with her imagination."

"What does that mean?"

Both women turned to glance over at Cora as she stood up from the couch and slowly headed up the stairs. Once they heard the door shut, Ingrid gave her attention back to Emma.

"It means that at this point in Regina's life, you were supposed to be gone by now. But Regina has this attachment to you. Something different that quite frankly even we don't understand."

"Who's we?" Emma shouted, growing increasingly irritated. "And why do I have to go away?"

Ingrid held a hand before Emma, trying to calm her down. "That's just the way things are. You aren't real-"

"But, I am to her." Emma spat, her eyes began to sting with unshed tears. "If she created me it's because she needs me, right? Well, I'm not going away until that little girl tells me to herself. Besides, I can't leave her now. She will be moving soon, she'll be scared and… her birthday is coming up. Not to mention her father's anniversary."

"I know. I'm sorry." Ingrid said plainly.

"You're sorry?" Emma hissed, growing angry. So angry that a single tear rolled down her cheek. "Well, if you're truly sorry, then please, don't do this. There has to be a way, there has to be something that I can do-"

"Emma. There is an order to things. By now Regina should have been good enough to be on her own again, but I'm afraid she sees you as… more." Ingrid explained.

"What?" Emma breathed out, her green eyes wide.

"Regina isn't like any other child we've encountered. Most kids, they don't even worry about losing their friends. But, Regina sees you as more than that, and frankly that is unhealthy for a child. It's dangerous-"

"Dangerous?" Emma scoffed. "Come on. Why are you, or whoever is behind this allowing this to happen to them if it is so unhealthy?" She asked. "Why- if it's so dangerous am I here? Why take me away now?!"

"Emma." Ingrid's voice was calm. "Don't you see it? To Regina you are as real as anyone else's. Too real. She's set it in her mind that she will grow up and marry you."

Emma chuckled at this, because Regina has repeated the same thing to her many times before. "So, she's a kid! You can't punish her for loving someone other than a parent, it'll go away."

The woman's eyes momentarily closed. "I'm sorry. But the only way she will forget you is if you leave now."

"Leave now?" Thin lips parted, her head shook. "No. No, I can't leave now. She will be moving from here soon. I can't. I have to be here. I promised Regina I would."

"She's gotten to you too, hasn't she?" The woman asked, seeing all the clear signs she needed to see before her. And seeing Emma's eyes widen once again, she knew she was right. "But, you know it can't happen, Emma."

"And why not?" Emma's voice trembled. "Look, I know she created me, okay? I know I'm only real to her. Now, exactly why or how I came to be- I have no idea. But that kid… she's…" Her voice caught in her throat. "She's given me a reason to feel real. Who the hell says I can't watch her grow up and-"

"Listen to yourself." Ingrid held up her hand to stop the younger blonde from speaking. "It can't happen-"

"If she was an adult, we wouldn't be having this conversation." Emma interrupted. "Look, it's…" She sighed, running her hands through her hair. "I don't know why this kid makes me feel like I do sometimes, okay? Regina… she's a kid who has a crush. That's all."

"Which you hope will fuel into something more once she becomes an adult."

It was crazy. Of course, Emma knew she was Regina's friend. But what Regina asked for was a girlfriend. And as crazy as Emma thought it was, in almost a year's time, she began to wonder if their bond- their friendship was so strong to become something more as Regina grew older. She tried not to get too attached, but whatever this curse, or magic was, it made her feel everything that was happening with the little girl, too. She wasn't in love with the child Regina was. But the woman she knew she would become.

"Regina is destined to grow up. She will get married, and find happiness. But not with you." Ingrid's voice cut through Emma like a knife.

"And she'll forget me. Right?" Asked Emma.

"It's the way it's supposed to be. We aren't real. None of us are meant to fall in love. Much less stick around for as long as you have. For a child to be able to befriend us is one thing, but her growing up with it will cause chaos for her. And it will only confuse you. Just like it is now."

Emma remained silent. Whatever she was, whatever this fate was, it sucked. Her head turned at the feel of Ingrid's hand wrap around her forearm.

"You have to say goodbye. It's best if you do it now." She nodded toward the stairs, nudging her to go on.

Her heart ached. She threw a glare at Ingrid as she headed up each step, dreading to reach the outside Regina's room. And once she did, she stopped right outside the kid's door, her forehead lightly pressed against the door. What would she say? How would she start? One thing was for sure. Regina was going to hate her.

Emma entered the bedroom with a heavy sigh, her eyes falling on the little girl's sleeping form. She moved gently over to the bed, sitting right on the edge. "Hey, kid," she whispered. "Gina. Wake up." This time she nudged her, seeing her little body shift awake.

"What is it?" Regina's tired eyes blinked for a moment, bringing Emma into focus. "Is it morning already?"

Emma chuckled. "No. It's still night time."

"Then, why did you wake me up?"

How to start? The blonde sighed, "Gina, listen to me, okay?" She spoke softly, looking into her sleepy eyes. "Now, you know I love you. You know that, right?"

The little girl yawned, but nodded, "I love you, too, Emma." Her little arms stretched out, wrapping around the blonde's neck and pulling her into a hug. A hug that would forever be engraved in Emma's heart.

As hard as she tried to fight them, tears sprung free, rolling down her cheeks. "Okay," she whispered, pulling away from their hug. "Listen to me, alright?" She mentally counted down from three. "I have to go."

"Where are you going?" Regina asked, her head tilting.

Where was she going? "I just have to go." Emma said, shrugging.

"I want to come with you." Regina's little body was ready and willing to jump out of her bed and start packing. Emma had to hold her back down onto the bed.

"Whoa, kid, no, no," She sat her down. "No, I mean… I have to go. Without you."

"What?!" Regina's little chest began to heave, her eyes quickly watered and began to drown in falling tears. "But, why?"

A knot formed in the blonde's throat. "I just have to. It's the way it has to be."

"But, I belong with you, Emma!" Regina cried.

Tears sprung from Emma's eyes as she quickly wiped away Regina's own. "No, kid. You can't come with me. I can't take you with me, even if I wanted to."

"No!" The little girl threw herself right into Emma's body, her arms wrapping around her neck like anaconda's.

Emma's arms wrapped around the little girl's form tighter than ever. "Believe me, kid, I don't want to go."

"Then, don't go!" She cried. "Please! You have to stay!"

"Gina…" Emma pulled away, locking her teary green eyes onto her own. "I just can't. I know it's hard to understand right now, but we can't be together anymore. You will grow up, and you'll forget all about me." She sniffed, her nose as red as Regina's.

"I will never forget you." The little brunette shook her head, tears continuously falling from her eyes.

Emma's thumb skimmed through the girl's cheek as softly as possible. "And I'll never forget you. That's a promise." She stood up from the bed, looking down at the weeping little girl. "Whoever you marry better treat you right, or I will come back and kick their ass." She attempted a joke to lighten the mood, but it wasn't working. It only hurt more.

"Emma, no!" Regina jumped out of bed, clinging to the blonde's long legs, weeping harder. "I want you to stay! You have to stay! You said you would never leave me! Girlfriend's don't leave! I want to marry you!"

Green eyes closed, shedding down more tears. She kneeled before the girl. "I'm not real, kid. It can't happen-"

"You are to me!" Regina cried, burying herself into Emma's body once again. "Don't go. You promised. Don't go."

Emma toughed it out, she pulled away before it became even harder to say goodbye. Quick like a band-aid. She watched as Regina cried, because that's all she could do as she took a few steps back. "You take care of your mom." She paused. "Thank you for making me as real as you wanted me to be. I love you, Gina."

Through rough tears stinging in her eyes, Regina caught sight of the blonde's blurry silhouette slowly disappearing before her. "Emma!" She cried out, looking around her empty room. "Come back. Don't go." She cried harder into the night. She was alone again. All she had now was her mother, and while that was okay. She wished she understood why Emma broke her promise.