Sorry I haven't updated for a while, and whilst this chapter and the next was written by the original author,I just haven't had the time. I've been working myself way to hard, but I am a grown up and need to pay bills etc. Chapter 4 and 5 are written by the original author, but then after that updates will come when I have the time to sit down, breathe and form coherent sentences that are good enough to publish to you guys.

Enjoy these chapters :)

The next few days were awkward to say the least. Emma did her best to avoid her parents and they did their best to make it clear they preferred it that way. Which, in Emma's case was fine because graduation was today, and after the ceremony she would be finally leaving their house for good. They hadn't bothered to say whether they would come or not, but Emma was willing to bet the answer was a firm no. She honestly couldn't care if they were there or not, mostly because she knew Regina and Henry would be there and they were all that mattered to her.

Snow had tried these past couple of days to keep her distance, yet Emma had also seen her aunt Mal around the house more. She wasn't really Emma's aunt, but she was as close to one as she would ever get considering Mal's daughter Lily and Emma were practically sisters growing up.

Mal hadn't been around in over two years, not since her daughter had died in an accident in the woods. Though Emma knew the blonde loved her, she also knew she reminded her far too much of Lily to spend more than a few minutes with her at a time.

Still, she knew that if she ever needed anyone Mal would never turn her back on her, honestly the blonde had been more of a supportive mother than Snow had been throughout the years. So naturally, when Emma extended an invitation to graduation to the older blonde, Mal couldn't accept fast enough.

She had always been eerily supportive of her and Regina, and she had always tried to be extra kind to Emma knowing that her own parents were lacking in that department. She had spent the hours leading up to graduation, organizing her things, and with a final flourish of her hand her things appeared at Regina's house to be put away after the party.

Emma then finished up getting ready, putting on her heels and making any final touches to her makeup. She honestly just wanted this all to be done with so she could go home to her girlfriend and son, but at the same time she was immensely proud of herself. Graduating on time, despite everything, was a big deal to her and she knew Regina would agree.

Yet, even as she thought about that, her mind wandered to how worried her aunt's eyes had looked, the sadness and heartbreak hiding behind the worry when Emma mentioned she would be moving in with Regina. Something was bothering the woman about the situation, yet she wouldn't voice her concerns at least not to Emma. Which only made her more suspicious.

Did it have something to do with Lily's death, or maybe it was just the fact that Emma was rushing? She didn't feel rushed, but she knew others in the town saw what she was doing and disapproved. She also knew her parents had been sneaking around lately, and usually she wouldn't care, but they had been very careful not to let her catch them mid-conversation.

She knew no good could come from it, but she was in no place to question their motives not yet. Pushing it all to the back of her mind, she checked her phone and left the bathroom, heading downstairs she avoided her parents easily and left the house. Once she was outside, she used her magic to transport herself back to Regina's to get her cap and gown on, then the three of them left for the high school auditorium.

She helped Regina find her seat with Henry right next to Mal before rushing down to get in line with the other four hundred some odd graduates. She wedged herself carefully into her practiced spot, more towards the front, and walked out with her graduating class to their seats. Finally, she could just focus for the moment on getting across that stage in one piece.

She waited, almost on baited breath as they got through the A's, and B's of course her name should have come up somewhere in the C's being that her last name was officially still 'Charming'. Yet, she wasn't phased when her name wasn't called. She turned to look up at her little family, and smirked at the confusion on their faces. Boy would this be good.

Slowly, it seemed an eternity really while they went on through the alphabet, and finally it was her turn. She was the first in that letter so as not to spoil the surprise, and when she got up and headed toward the stage she made sure she had a perfect view of the two women as the principal called out, "Emma Mills."

Regina's eyes popped wide open and Mal teared up. Emma couldn't help but laugh as she carefully crossed the stage, and accepted her much earned diploma. Once she was safely off the stage, she found an empty seat in the back, knowing she had one more job to do here.

They filed through the rest of the alphabet slowly, and as much as Emma was looking forward to this special thing she couldn't help but wish the class was smaller so that it could be done already.

Finally, the principal called the last name on the list, and there Emma stood at the edge of the stage again as the principal held one last diploma. Honestly she just wanted it to be over with, but at the same time she knew this moment had to happen. She took a deep breath as the principal spoke quickly.

"Although all students in attendance now have officially graduated, there's someone who we owe an honorary diploma to. She cant accept her herself, so we've asked someone close to her to accept for her."

Emma glanced up again, only to see Regina smiling proudly down at her, and Mal close to tears. Surely she knew who this was for, but given it had been two years, no one could really be sure until the name rang out in the silent auditorium.

"Lillith Dragon."

Emma was undoubtedly crying as she crossed the stage to accept her best friend's diploma when she glanced up again both Regina and Maleficent had been reduced to tears. Half the auditorium was crying right along with them, everyone had loved Lily almost as much as Emma had and it was truly terrible to be doing this now without her here. Once things had calmed down, they quickly concluded the ceremony and released the now free adults out into town to begin their lives however they saw fit.

Emma quickly went to find Regina and Mal, wiping her running mascara off as best as possible. She found them waiting outside the auditorium, both still trying to clean up their faces.

Without a word, Emma passed Lily's diploma to Mal and offered a sad smile to the other blonde. Mal nodded in understanding and took it, holding it close to her chest as if she were holding Lily herself.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you beforehand, I just wasn't sure how to bring it up."

Mal just shook her head, pulling Emma into a tight hug, "Don't worry about it, just… Thank you, for being so amazing about it."

Emma could only nod along with what Mal was saying, she wasn't sure what to say, none of them were. Regina cleared her throat quietly, obviously trying not to ruin the moment but wanting to get home before anything bad could happen. Emma said her goodbye's to Mal, and followed Regina back towards her car, unfortunately they had almost made it to the car when Snow and Charming appeared in their path.

The looks on their faces made it clear they weren't here to congratulate Emma, so Regina handed off the baby and told Emma to take him to the car.

"You've got two minutes, you better speak fast."

Snow's glare only deepened at the way Regina was being so demanding and it made the brunette smirk. "Don't think we've forgotten what you did, Regina. You had better be careful with her."

Regina's temper flared her eyes growing dangerously dark as Snow of all people threatened her, especially about her own family. "Don't you dare try to act like you care about what happened. You have no right, you haven't in over eighteen years." The brunette brushed passed the two idiots, as angry as she'd ever been, yet at the same time feeling the wounds of the past reopening.

She turned back, catching Mal's eye as she was walking away. Regina hoped her eyes conveyed what she wanted to say, she was so sorry it had ever happened in the first place. Instead of saying this, like she had a thousand times since that day, Regina just nodded at Mal, who in turn gave a sad smile and nodded back. Regina took that as her cue to leave, climbing into the car and driving her small family back home after a emotionally long day.