A/N: I'm sorry. I know some of you will hate me after this.

Mason and Dani (Danielle) are Emma and Regina's True Lobe children, and Sophie is Henry's fiancée.

….

Emma waited patiently for Whale to give them the answers they were dying to know. They were sitting down on those uncomfortable chairs, chatting with the other patients' families, trying to ease the agonizing feeling in the pit of their stomach. It was quite a risk really, and more so when they had kids. Mason had just turned ten and Dani was about to turn eight. They had thought of every possibility and they had visited various experts outside Storybrooke. They weren't ready to have the devastating and terrifying positive answer to their suspicions. They had a future ahead of them, and they couldn't deny their children a very important part of their lives. So while they waited, Regina weighed all of her options, if they were indeed sick, they would start the treatment right away, they would get their kids tested, even Henry's girlfriend. She would calmly explain the situation to her in-laws, she couldn't trust Emma with that. Her wife had the bad habit of stating the truth without any preambles or warnings whatsoever. So, after they would tell Snow and Charming, they would decide if they still wanted to live in Storybrooke, where everyone would know of their condition. But then again, it all depended on the results.

"Emma, before Whale gives us the results I want you to know that I don't care if we are both sick. I don't care if we die sooner than what we expected. Yes, I would love to see my three children grow up and have a family of their own, but if this means that we won't be doing that, then I want you to know that I don't regret any moment I've spent with you." She felt the tears welled up in her eyes and when she looked at the green eyes that were looking at her with so much love, she couldn't help but letting them fall.

Emma smiled warmly at her wife, took both her hands in hers and kneeled in front of her. "Regina, I know that and please, know that I feel the same way about you and about this situation. But, If I ever have to choose between you and me, I will always choose you Gina. You are the only one I want to endure this with." She drew a shaky breath and continued on. "So, don't be scared, I know everything will be alright, and if it turns out that we don't have much time, I'll gladly spend that time with you, our kids and the rest of our family. I will thank Henry for bringing me to you, I'll thank Dani for lighting up my days, I'll make sure Mason knows how special and unique he is, I will probably write some letter to my parents to give them hope, and end them with an "I will always find you". And I will renew my vows to you, I will say I love you before I even say good morning, I will stay by your side just as I know you will do for me. I will cherish every single moment I will be given with you and marvel at how I got so lucky." She was crying by now, silently expressing all the fear and insecurities that she felt at that very moment.

"I'll probably answer all of my sister's questions about Mother, I will admit to love Snow White out loud, I'll even give your father a diploma of some kind so he can have an academic achievement, I will respect whatever decision Henry makes concerning his life and support him like we've done during these years. I will show my handsome and kind son that it is okay to let people help you, that even when you hate that specific person, there's no shame in asking for help. I will see to it that my daughter doesn't experience that dreadful feeling of worthlessness I have when I think about my mother." She looked at the blonde and wondered how did she get to that point in life when the last person she thought of, was herself. The same woman who had been born to destroy her, had been the one who had showed her how to love and live and enjoy. So, she managed all the courage in her body and said all the words she had been dying to tell her since the very moment they got the results that evening in Massachusetts. "I'll repeat my vows to you until they're all I can say, I will share with you all my deepest secrets and I will never leave your side, even when I'll draw the last breath, I will make do everything in my power to do it in your arms, looking into those green eyes I love."

There were no more words, all had been said. And so, when Whale sat down in his office and explained to them the procedure of the treatment, they held each other's hands and accepted their new future. They didn't show any signs of fear, there weren't tears to shed because they knew they would need them for later. Whale didn't make any comments when they booked a whole day of his schedule to carry out their children's tests. After they exited the room, they didn't judge the famous Dr. Frankenstein, who was struggling to keep his tears at bay, they did however smile in gratitude at him. The drive back home was silent, the only sound they could here was the motor of the old Benz. Still, Regina took Emma's right hand and brought it to her lips, kissing the knuckled softly.

….

"So, you have AIDS?" Henry asked, already hating the word.

"Not exactly, HIV. AIDS is used when the virus has developed into a Syndrome." Regina explained to her son.

Henry got up from her seat and started pacing. "How long do you have? Is there a treatment? How could I have not known about this earlier?" He was frantic, always getting to the point.

Regina looked at her wife, and Emma took it upon herself to answer the young man. "Henry, do you remember that time you took care of Mase and Dani so we could go on a road trip?" He nodded and placed his hands on the back of the chair. "Well, it wasn't really a road trip per say. We went to three clinics, one in Los Angeles, another one in Colorado and the last one in Massachusetts. We had our suspicions, but when we got them confirmed, we couldn't tell you. You were so invested in proposing to Sophie that we decided to hold onto it and let you have your moment. Apparently we had the symptoms from when you finished college, we didn't think any of it, just a cold or a bug. But the virus kept growing, and even if we don't have a full grown syndrome, we don't have as much time as we could have, should we had known earlier." She looked at her son, her patient son, so kind and humble that he couldn't think about accepting the truth and she wished she could keep him in the dark.

"How long do you have? Will you make it to the wedding, we could postpone it." Sophie offered.

"That won't be necessary, dear. There's nothing that could keep me from seeing my Little Prince getting married. And besides, we have enough time to meet our grandchildren." She smiled at the girl, it had been over three years that they met and she couldn't think of a better suitor for her child.

"How much is enough?" He asked.

"If we are lucky, ten years. Otherwise it would be around five or six according to the doctors. But this is based on statistics, you know? And sometimes they're wrong." Emma tried so hard at lightning up his face.

"That's not enough. You are going to die before seeing Mason and Dani graduate high school, you won't be here when they bring their first boyfriend or girlfriend, there won't ever be a meet the parents. I won't be able to tell my kids that we're going to see Granny and Grandma. You won't see Neal make it to the NFL. Grandma will never forget the fact that you left this world before them, and Grandpa will blame himself for your death. It's just not fair. It fucking sucks!" Sophie flinched at his tone.

"Henry! Enough! You don't have to remember us all the things that will likely miss. We know that there is nothing we can do to make this right. I have cried myself to sleep because I won't be there to help your sister pick a dress for prom, because I won't be there when Mason decides which college he wants to enroll in. Henry, I'm well aware that I will probably be long gone by the time your first born takes their first steps. So please don't remind us. You're not the only one who loses someone here. You lose your parents. Your mother loses the parents she has spent all her life looking for, a brother and we lose our children. We lose everything." The Mayor stood up. It was hard on him, but is was especially hard for them.

"Gina" Emma warned her, grabbing her arm and dragging her down to her lap. She wrapped her arms around her middle and leaned her head on her shoulder.

"I…Uh, I'm going to my room. I can't talk about this anymore." He retreated to his room and they sat in silence. They knew he needed time to process everything.

…

When it happened, they all reacted differently.

Snow swept it aside and focused on other things. She would excel at her job because of all the extra hours she put in. She would build the bird houses at home, where she didn't want to think. It hurt, it hurt like they had ripped the half a heart she possessed. It hurt more than what she thought was capable of suffering. And the worst of all was when she repaired on the picture frames hanging around her home. There had been a time when she took all of them down and hid them in her old room. When she swore she would never open that door, when it all became too much for her that she chose to forget her daughter hadn't existed, when she wished she had never been rescued by the brunette girl who would later become her daughter-in-law. When she decided that they hadn't existed. But it all shattered to pieces when Henry knocked on her door, looking at her as if she was the last beacon of hope. He didn't say much, just handed her a letter. It was Regina's handwriting and in that moment, she knew she had to step in and take care of her grandchildren. When she got into bed that night she wondered if Emma had felt the same when a ten-year-old Henry knocked on her door.

David, on the other hand, kept it to himself. He had known from the moment that they revealed the devastating news, that it wouldn't be too long before he had to bury his own daughter. He had been the only one who hadn't cried when Henry, sweet, sweet Henry read his eulogy. It had been full of compliments, fun anecdotes and intimate moments, he had proudly announced to the crowd he had been too lucky to witness. But he cried himself to sleep that night, as he had done since they had covered Emma with the hospital sheet. When he woke up, Snow was too busy with her work to realize he had been awake almost all night. In reality, he did sleep, but his dreams were plagued with blonde locks and snarky remarks. And so, he found the day much more bearable, being able to think freely without having to think about his deceased daughter. But, much like his wife, he came to his senses when he entered the loft and found the eyes of his daughter and daughter-in-law staring back at him. He smiled warmly and made a promise to the former Mayor and Sheriff. He wouldn't live a day without smiling at his family.

Mason and Dani had been 16 and 14 when their parents died. They left peacefully, Dr. Whale had said. But the sibling knew better than that. For example, they knew that it had taken their blonde mother two weeks to convince the old man who had taken a like to sharing the room with the Mayor, to change rooms. They had seen their brunette mother had a breakdown because she had been trying to heal herself with magic with no luck. At the age of 15 and 13, they learnt what AIDS meant, and that is would haunt them all their lives. They knew that their mothers had renewed their vows three times during their stay at the hospital. Dani knew that she was as stubborn as both of them, that she was as beautiful as her brunette mother and that she had the right to every single leather jacket she found in their parents' closet. Mason however, found out that he took after his brunette mother after having answered sarcastically to her Grandma, and that it was okay to be the one who took risks just as the Savior would have done. Still, they were too young to know what death entailed.

Sophie considered herself to be a smart and independent woman. And after the funeral didn't hesitate to take her husband to a psychologist, who so happened to be Archie. Henry had been Archie's last patient. There were rumors that it had been him who made the former cricket retire, but they both knew that it had been because of him. Henry had been present when the last words slipped out of his mothers' mouths. He had been the only witness of the long stares, of the struggle to hold hands, and of the warm and loving caress of his mothers to each other's cheeks. He would later remember his mother's words. "You know kid? You are by far, the best accident I've had. I wish I had more time, I wish I could tell you how proud I am, but I would need a life, something I don't have. But you do, and if I have to ask you one thing it would be to enjoy life as it comes, the good and the bad. Live the life we were lucky enough to give you and please don't dwell on the past. And love Sophie, because if you love her half as much as I love your mother, then you don't have to worry about a thing but her." She had told him that night in front of the vending machines, where they had escaped to have a snack. He didn't know then, but he would cherish those words like if they were written in the Bible. The Mayor didn't say anything, apparently she had spoken her last words to her wife, the three words she would have never get tired of hearing. Instead, she wrote him a letter:

My dear Prince:

There are so many things left to say, that if I had to say them all at once, I would need three lifetimes just to make sure you know how much you mean to me. I have no other words but thank you, I love you and I'm sorry. Thank you for showing me love after a life full of darkness, thank you for being that beacon of hope of a better future, thank you for being the only reason behind my smile. For all of those things, I will always owe you.

I love you my Little Prince. I love you and the way you have of fixing thing. I love you because for ten years, you were the only reason I woke up. I love you because you brought me happiness when I was accustomed to the darkness, I love you because you were a hero before you even knew the word. You were the first one to believe in me, and for that I will always love you.

I'm sorry, I'm so deeply sorry that I won't get to tease you at Christmas, showing off those pictures of you as a baby. I'm sorry that you will have to shake hands of people when all you will want to do will be to cease to exist. I'm sorry that your mother and I won't be there to help you solve your problems in your marriage. But most of all, I'm sorry we won't get to love you as much as you deserve.

I'll will always love you, no matter the time and space.

Love

Mom.

He would keep it, and later on, he would read it out loud. He would remember the two brave women who taught him what love meant, who kept on fighting till the end and who made sure he knew he deserved to have a place in Earth.