It was extremely confusing for Regina to realize she was dead. She didn't feel any different, everything was the same except for the fact she was apparently invisible. None of the common death clichés happened. There was no blinding white lights, no life flashing before her eyes, no judge of all creation to send her through pearly gates or a pit of fiery despair. It was simply as if when she stood up, she shed her skin or duplicated herself, like having a twin that was literally the opposite of her, dead and visible while she was very much alive and invisible. She wasn't a ghost, she couldn't float through walls, and her touch was solid. She had felt Emma after all, held her, even though the blonde herself couldn't feel it. She wasn't transparent, she was very much solid. If someone tried to walk through her they wouldn't be able to, they'd simply be flush against her without realizing it. Just as Emma had been.

Emma. She needed to find her. Even if it was clear she wouldn't be able to comfort her, she could make sure she was safe and wouldn't do anything stupid. She was probably long gone from the cannery given how fast she ran, but Regina would catch up. She knew where she'd be going.

She wasn't prepared for the heartbreaking scene that greeted her.

"Did you find her?" It was Henry, all bright eyed and hopeful.

"Yes." It was a singular word, but Emma's voice broke all the same.

"What's wrong?" His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion and concern.

Regina watched as Emma turned her gaze to the ground and wished more than anything she could stop this from happening. Emma had fallen apart as a grown woman, how was an eleven year old boy going to handle it? Not well, Regina imagined.

"I'm sorry, Henry," Emma whispered.

"Why? What happened?"

Emma took in a deep breath and straightened up, squaring her shoulders and schooling her face into perfect composure in a way that reminded Regina of herself. She stepped closer to where Henry sat in his seat with currently abandoned cereal sitting in front of him, despite it being in the middle of the day. Henry never did care for the proper timing to have his cereal. Emma crouched down so she was looking up at him and took his hands gently in her own, as if that would provide comfort for what she was about to say. "We were too late." Regina could see the tears swimming in her eyes but she kept them at bay.

"What do you mean?" Henry asked nervously.

"When we got there she was…she was already gone."

"Gone? Where'd she go?"

Regina's heart broke at his childish ignorance. Emma was trying to break it to him as gently as possible and he wasn't picking up on it. Or maybe it was denial. It pained her to see Emma close her eyes for a long moment, then open them with tears close to spilling over.

"Someplace where we can never bring her back."

A light bulb seemed to go off in Henry's head. "What are you saying?" he demanded in a panic. "That – That she's dead?"

Emma's resolve fell then, she could no longer keep her tears at bay when she heard Regina's fate spoken aloud. It made it real, permanent. There was no going back.

Seeing his mother, his birth mother, cry was confirmation enough. Soon Henry's eyes filled with tears as well. "But she's my mom," it was said with such conviction as if it meant death couldn't claim her because it didn't have the right.

A single tear rolled down Regina's cheek. It wasn't fair to Henry at all. He'd had faith that she would be brought home to him. Swallowing a sob, she walked over to the chair and placed a lingering kiss to the top of his head, even though she knew he couldn't feel it. "I'm so sorry. I never wanted to leave you." She looked towards the blonde. "But you have Emma now." She knew that didn't make anything better. The only thing that would make it better was if she were truly, one hundred percent alive, so that they would be able to see and hear her, feel her and know she was with them.

"I know," Emma replied to Henry in a broken, choked voice as she curled in on herself.

Regina bit her lip, wanting to help Emma up and tuck her into bed, but she couldn't do that. She turned away. She couldn't watch this anymore, hear it anymore, but she couldn't leave. This was her fault, all of it. She hadn't meant to, but she'd left them all the same. The two most important people in her world wouldn't be broken and in tears if not for her.

She only got as far as the living room couch when she walked away. This was still her home and if this was the afterlife's form of punishment, she'd gladly accept it. Because being able to still see and hold them was better than being able to do nothing at all. They were her family, and even though they couldn't recognize the efforts anymore, Regina would still do her best to hold them together.

As the day went on, the atmosphere of the house became dark and sorrowful. Regina watched as Henry read the stories in his book over and over again, the ones that mentioned her. It told her he was going everything he could to hold onto her memory, and that he finally accepted her as a whole. He accepted her past as well as the person she'd become. If only he could see how proud she was of him in that moment.

When night fell, Emma curled up on Regina's side of the bed, all snuggled up to the satin nightgown Regina had worn the most because it still smelled like her. It was absolutely heartbreaking. Emma, too, was doing everything to hold onto her memory. Regina stayed in the room, watching over her like a guardian angel. She guessed in a way that's what she was. She was grateful that when the blonde finally fell asleep, she looked completely at peace.

The sleep didn't seem to last. After a few minutes, Emma was awake again. But this time when her eyes fell on Regina, she was looking right at her.

"Regina?"

Regina was cautious, just in case Emma was actually hallucinating. She took a step forward, only one. "You can see me?"

"You're…You're not really here." A pained look took over Emma's face. "Of course my brain would fuck me over and make me dream about you." She squeezed her eyes shut tight but snapped them open again when she felt a gentle hand on her arm. Her eyes widened as she looked at the contact and raised them to look into Regina's face. "I can't feel you," she stated in awe.

"Oh Emma…" All day Regina had been tortured with seeing everything and not being seen, but now it suddenly seemed Emma could see her.

Emma sat up and threw her arms around her, desperate to have her close again, even if it wasn't real. "I lost you," she choked out.

"I know." She stroked Emma's hair. "I know. But I'm here, I've been here, you just couldn't see me until now."

"Did it hurt?" Emma lifted her head and searched her eyes.

"I didn't know it even happened," Regina answered honestly. "Not until I saw myself. I feel exactly the same; I can do everything I could do before, only…no one notices."

Emma cupped her cheeks, stroking her cheeks with her thumbs. "Why didn't you wake up when I kissed you?" she asked mournfully.

"It wasn't a spell," Regina's voice cracked when she answered. "It wasn't magic."

"I still need you. Henry still needs you."

"I know, I do. And I'm here."

"Why couldn't I see you before?"

"I watched you fall asleep…maybe you have to be sleeping."

"That's stupid."

"I didn't make the rules," Regina replied with a chuckle. "All that crap about the dead being all knowledgeable is just that. Crap. I have no idea what I'm doing. I've yet to meet the apparent God or Devil and I wasn't surrounded by those close to me that died before me. Everything all the movies and books say is pure fiction."

Emma cracked a smile that warmed Regina's heart. "Good to know."

Regina couldn't contain herself any longer and pressed as close to her as possible, kissing her with all the passion she still felt, apologizing silently for everything going horribly wrong.

Emma melted into the kiss, making it last as long as possible. "I love you," she breathed when it broke.

"I love you, too." She looked into those beautiful eyes, loving the recognition she saw in them.

Soon fear flashed through them. "What if this is the only time I get to see you?" Emma panicked. "What if we're only allowed this one time because we have to say goodbye?"

Regina shook her head, wrapping her arms tightly around her. "I'm never saying goodbye to you, Emma Swan."

"Promise?"

Regina pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "Promise."