THE FOLLOWING YEAR

"So… You all packed?" Ruby asked her friend, forcing a smile.

"Yeah, pretty much," Emma replied, pushing a hand through her hair. "Was up all night packing Regina's shit. I have like one suitcase. She's bringing everything in the house but the kitchen sink."

"Wow," Ruby chuckled. "You sure did pick a high maintenance lady, huh?"

Emma laughed lightly.

"She's not high maintenance. She just has a lot of crap."

"You must be exhausted then."

"Yeah, I am. But it'll be alright."

"Who's driving?"

"Me. I'm gonna let her sleep."

"When are you leaving?"

Emma paused and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"Around two this afternoon."

"Shit…"

"What?"

"I just thought… I thought we'd have some time. I wanted to take you out to dinner."

"Oh… Fuck, Ruby… I'm sorry. I should've thought of that. I didn't think… I…"

"No, it's okay. I just thought I'd do a nice little send-off for you is all. No big deal." With a shrug, Ruby added, "I'll send you a post card and an envelope with some porn to put on your new fridge."

Emma almost laughed at this, but when she saw the disappointment as her friend averted her eyes, she sighed and reached out to grab Ruby's hand.

"Rubes. You can visit us anytime. You don't have to send a post card. Or porn," the blonde told her. "Actually, please don't send porn."

Ruby forced a laugh and pulled her hand away.

"Anyway, you should probably go get ready."

"Hey. Come on. Don't be like that. Let's do lunch, okay?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Ruby. You're avoiding."

"I'm not avoiding! I just don't want-"

"I thought you wanted a send-off?"

"I did! I do. I'm just. I'm in shock a little bit, okay? I thought I'd have a few hours to hang out, and-"

"Ruby," Emma sighed. "It's going to be okay."

"I know that," the brunette quickly snapped. "I'm fine."

"You're about to cry, aren't you?"

"Shut the fuck up, okay? I'm not crying. Jesus Christ."

Without waiting for Ruby's demeanor to soften, Emma pulled her roughly in a tight hug and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"I love you, Ruby."

"You're going to forget all about me. You'll have a whole new life, and-"

"Ruby. You're my best friend. I'm not going to forget about you."

"I'm… What?"

"You're my best friend."

"Emma… Don't say that. I'm a shitty person, and I've been horrible to you. You should-"

"You've changed. I didn't believe you when you first came back into my life. I doubted it. But I believe that you're a different person now. And I still love you. I always will."

"So do you know how you're popping the question yet?"

"Ruby Lucas. Stop avoiding!"

"I'm not avoiding! I'm making conversation! Fuck, Emma. Why are you so Hell bent on making this a huge, emotional shit-show?"

"Because you are making it a huge emotional shit-show. And I want you to know that that's okay."

"It's not okay!" Ruby screamed, turning away and slamming her fists against the wall. Then, voice weak and quiet, she muttered, "It's pathetic."

Wrapping her arms around Ruby from behind and holding her tightly, Emma told her, "It's not pathetic at all, okay? You've always been special to me, and nothing is going to change that. Not even moving hours and hours away. Not even getting married. Not anything."

Unable to reinforce the dam of her emotions, Ruby began to sob.

"Oh, Ruby. Ruby. You can come visit me whenever you want. You are always welcome, wherever I am."

"Regina hates me!"

"Ruby, she doesn't hate you! She's really grown to like you. You're not the person you used to be. And you're certainly not the person she thought you were at first. It's been a year. She knows you better now. And she knows how much I care for you, and how much you've done for me. She knows you're my family."

"F-Family…?"

"Yes. Family."

Whimpering through her tears, Ruby turned and quickly embraced her friend, resting her head on the girl's shoulder.

"I can't believe you're going to be getting married."

Emma laughed and replied, "I don't even know if she'll say yes."

"She'll say yes."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I'm sure," Ruby said, finally smiling. "So, how are you going to do it? Tell me everything!"

"There's this park near the apartment that's really, really nice. Tomorrow night, after we've spent out first night together, I'm going to take her out for breakfast, then bring her to the park. I figure I'll say something sappy and then… you know. Do the whole get-down-on-one-knee thing."

"Oh, Emma…" Ruby sighed, hugging the girl tightly. "That's beautiful. I'm so happy for you."

"She might not even say yes!"

"She will! Calm down. It's gonna be fine."

Emma nodded reluctantly and sat down on the couch.

"Promise you'll visit," Emma said softly, later that afternoon, holding Ruby in her arms.

"Yeah, I'll visit. Besides, somebody's gotta graffiti your building, right?"

"Oh, my God, Ruby," the blonde laughed. "Stop it."

"I'm just playing. I'm too old for that shit. Besides, you've been a good influence on me."

Ruby was smiling as she looked into Emma's eyes.

"I love you, Rubes. Be good, okay? I'll call you when I get there."

"Alright. Drive safe," the girl answered. Then, she added, "I love you too."

"Jesus fucking Christ, girl. You've got a lot of shit," Emma chuckled, looking around their new apartment at all the boxes that surrounded them.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Regina yawned before adding, "Let's crash. I'm exhausted."

With a nod, Emma took Regina's hand and led her to the bedroom.

Emma woke her lover the next morning with a whispered, "Good morning, angel."

Regina mumbled something under her breath and rolled into Emma's arms, tucking her head against her lover's breast. Only after she was shaken slightly did she open her eyes.

"Wakey wakey, princess. I'm taking you out for breakfast."

"Now?" Regina groaned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Yes, dear. Now, go get in the shower."

Grumbling, Regina slipped out of the bed and into the bathroom.

"God. It's beautiful here," the brunette said softly, squeezing Emma's hand.

"It is. I like the campus, too."

"Yeah. It's a beautiful place to go to school."

"And you're a beautiful girl to spend the rest of my life with."

Regina paused, stopped walking, then looked over at Emma. Her breath hitched when she saw the girl look around the park once, then back at her, slowly crouching until she was on one knee. As Emma reached into her pocket, Regina felt a wave of dizziness crash through her, and she swayed slightly on her feet when the girl opened her mouth.

"Regina…" Emma started. "You're everything I've ever dreamed of and more. You've made me a better person. You've brought a light to my life that I never thought I'd have. And all I want in the whole world is to spend this life with you." After another pause where she sucked in a shaky breath, she added, "Regina Mills… Would you do the honor of becoming my wife?"

"Oh, my God, Emma," Regina breathed, her knees weakening. "Of course I will. Of course."

Emma rose to her feet as a broad smile spread over her lips, and when she put her arms around her bride-to-be, Regina squeezed her tightly and began to cry.

As the two lay in bed that night, Regina rested her head on Emma's chest, lulled by the rise and fall of every one of her steady breaths.

"Emma," she said softly, starting the girl from her pre-sleep haze.

"Hmm?" Emma replied sleepily, stroking her lover's hair.

"I can't believe I'm going to be your wife."

In response to this, Emma confessed, "I can't believe you said yes."

"What? Why?"

"You're too good for me. I mean, you're gonna be a lawyer, making all this money, and I…"

"Oh, Em. Please, don't say that. Honey, you're wonderful. You're so, so wonderful. I'm so lucky to have you in my life."

"And I'm so lucky to be able to call you my wife someday," Emma said.

When Emma smiled, Regina could hear it in her voice.

On their honeymoon, Emma and Regina found themselves in a hotel room in the tropics.

"I can't believe we're here right now," Regina mused happily.

"I can't believe your parents paid for this!"

"It was an anniversary present. Plus, I refused to let them give me anything for my graduation."

"God, Mrs. Mills. I'm so fucking proud of you."

With a bright smile, Emma embraced her wife and held her tightly against her chest.

"I'm so in love with you, Mrs. Mills," Regina replied.

"And I, with you."

There was a small pause as Emma leaned back on the bed against the pillows, pulling her wife down with her.

After some time, Emma asked, "Babe?"

"Yeah, honey."

"Do you, um… Do you think you'd still want kids someday?"

Regina's heart stopped, but she managed to reply, "Yes."

"With me?"

Bursting out laughing, the brunette answered, "Of course with you, silly. Who else?"

"I… I don't know. I just-"

"Do you?"

"Oh. Um. I…"

"Emma," Regina started, sitting up slowly. "If you don't want to have kids, we don't have to. It doesn't matter if I want them or not. I want what you want. I want you to be happy."

"Oh, Regina. It's not my decision to make. It's ours."

"Alright. So… do you?"

After another pause, Emma replied, "I do."

Regina couldn't stop the smile from spreading over her lips as she told her bride, "I love you."

IN THE DISTANT FUTURE

Emma walked in the front door of their home to find Regina sitting at the dining room table sobbing.

"Regina!" she cried, rushing to her wife's side and kneeling in front of her as she took the woman's hands in her own. "What happened? What's the matter?" When Regina said nothing and began to sob more violently, Emma added, "Regina, talk to me, baby."

"She's… I just…"

"Gina. Breathe. Slow, deep breaths. Just tell me what happened. What is it? Is it Amelia?"

Their fourteen-year-old daughter, Amelia Mills, was their pride and joy. But unfortunately, things were complicated in their family, and clearly, something was very, very wrong.

Finally, after being held for several minutes, Regina managed to cry, "Sherrif Graham picked her up on Main St. by Granny's diner. She was spray painting the side of the building with graffiti. They're bringing her home now."

"Oh, my God," Emma breathed. "Fuck."

"Emma. I don't know what to do."

They were quickly interrupted by a knock at the door, and both women jumped to their feet. Emma flung the door open as soon as she reached it.

"Thank you, Sherrif Graham. Thank you so much."

"Of course, Emma. It's no problem," the sheriff replied. Then, turning to the young girl, he said, "You need to start staying out of trouble, Amelia. Your parents raised you better than this. I don't want to see you in juvie, alright? Don't make me do that to you. Don't do that to your mothers."

"Yeah, yeah," Amelia grumbled. "Whatever."

"Get inside. Now," Emma growled, grabbing the girl's arm and pulling her gently into the house. "Thank you, Sheriff Graham. Have a good night."

As soon as the door was shut, Emma turned on her daughter and shouted, "What the hell were you thinking? Don't you know he could've-"

"Let go of me!" the girl cried, jerking away from her mother.

"You're grounded. If you think you're doing anything but homework for the next six months, you'd better think again. If you think you're going out with your friends, ever, you are very, very wrong. If you ever-"

"Emma," Regina said sternly, pulling back gently on Emma's shoulder. "That's enough."

"Amelia Mills," the blonde ground out. "We will continue this conversation in the morning. Go to your room. Now."

As soon as the girl bolted up the stairs and slammed the door to her room, Regina looked at her wife sadly and said, "Emma."

"I can't fucking believe her! I can't believe she'd-"

"Emma Mills. You need to take a deep breath."

"I am taking deep breaths!" the woman yelled, stomping into the kitchen and slamming a chair into the table. "I just can't fucking believe she'd-"

"Emma! Enough!"

"How can you possibly be so calm? She's going to ruin her fucking life!"

"She's fourteen, Emma! Don't you remember when you were fourteen?"

"What are you trying to say? You think this is my fault?"

"No! Emma, no. That's not what I meant. I just meant… I meant… There's a rush, right? Isn't that what you told me once?"

Blinking several times and staring blankly at her wife, Emma went silent, her chest heaving from the labored breaths she was taking.

"Emma," Regina said, more softly. "She's young. Her brain isn't even fully formed yet. Executive functions are limited, and she has very little judgment regarding her own behavior. She's just going through a phase. She'll learn and grow as she gets older."

"Why would you say that? You didn't act this way when you were young! She's going to get herself hurt!"

"Not every kid develops at the same pace, Emma."

"Why is our son like you, but our daughter is like me? Have I set a bad example for her? What did I do wrong to make her-"

"Henry is more like me. You're right. But Amelia is just growing, okay? She struggles emotionally."

"But she wasn't abused or neglected like I was. We love her, don't we? We care for her. We take care of her. We give her everything she wants and we set limits. Why can't she just-"

"Why are you getting so upset about this?"

"Because I don't want her to turn out like me! I don't want her to get hurt! I don't want her working as a secretary at some stupid office just answering phones all day like me because all she has is a high school diploma! I want her to be like you and Henry. I want her to succeed. I don't want her to end up feeling worthless like I do. I want her to have everything she's ever dreamed of. And she's going to throw it all away if she keeps going this way. Fights at school, stealing, defacing public property… It's all the same shit I did. And I ruined my life."

"Emma. That's not true! And there's nothing wrong with being a secretary! And… wait. You feel worthless…?"

Sighing as she sat down and hanging her head in her hands, Emma's eyes began to fill with tears.

"Yes."

"I'm… I never realized…"

"Mom?" a voice cracked, coming from behind them.

"Shit," Emma cursed, standing up quickly. "Amelia, what are you-"

"You think I'm worthless?"

"No, honey! No!" the blonde gasped, starting to cry. "Of course not. Oh, God, baby girl… I didn't mean it like that. I just meant… Oh, fuck. Amelia, I'm so sorry."

"You think I'm worthless."

"Sweetheart, your mother and I are just worried about you. We don't want you to give away all the wonderful opportunities you have. We want you to take full advantage of every one of the choices you have. And they're your choices to make, but we want you to make those choices wisely. We want you to take care of yourself. You're getting older, and we can't control everything you do anymore. And that's scary. For both of us. We just don't want to see you regret the choices you make now."

"You think I'm throwing my life away."

"Baby," Emma sighed, advancing toward the girl with her arms out.

"No!" Amelia screamed. "Don't touch me!"

"Amelia," Regina cut in, voice suddenly stern, but still calm. "We love you. We just want what's-"

"Don't fucking tell me you want what's best for me! You just want me to be perfect like Henry!"

"That is not true," Emma told her. "We do love you. And we do want what's best for you. But more than that, we want you to have even more choices than you do now. We want to see you make good decisions now so you have more doors opened for you later in life. So you can do what you want to do, when it's time. I'm terrified, Amelia. I'm terrified that you'll live my life and-"

"What's so bad about your life? You turned out fine."

"I have a shit job, Amelia. I make no money, and-"

"Mom makes plenty of money. It doesn't matter. Isn't your family enough?"

Shocked and shaken by her daughter's words, Emma answered, "Oh, honey. Of course it is… I didn't mean it like that. I just wish… I wish I could be better for all of you. That I could have achieved more in my life, to make you all proud of me. I wish I could just… take back all the stupid things I made."

"But you're fine now. You have Mom. You have Henry."

"I have you."

Then, it was their daughter's turn to cry. As soon as she saw this, Emma wrapped her arms around the girl and held her tightly. This time, Amelia did not resist. Instead, she simply cried into her mother's shoulder and allowed Emma to hold her.

"I'm a failure," Amelia sobbed. "I'm a fuck up."

"You are not a fuck up, baby girl. You are so smart, and so kind. So caring. So talented. I am so, so proud of you. That's why I want to see you stop these behaviors. I want to see you make good choices. I want to see you reach your full potential."

"I'm trying, Mom. I'm trying. I just… It's so hard. I feel like the only way I can feel anything is to… to do bad stuff."

With another sigh, Emma squeezed the girl tighter and kissed the top of her head, saying, "We'll work on that, okay? We'll work on it together. Please. Please, just try to stay out of trouble. For your sake, not mine."

"I'm sorry, Mama."

"I love you, Amelia."

"I love you too, sweetheart," Regina added. "So much. And I'm proud of you too."

After they had all calmed down and the women had walked their daughter to her bedroom and said goodnight, Regina and Emma sat beside each other on their own bed.

"Are you sure this isn't my fault?" Emma blurted out, after some tense silence.

"I'm sure. She's stressed. She's struggling. And that's okay."

"Are you sure she'll-"

"She'll be fine, Em. It'll be alright."

"I'm sorry, Gina."

"Don't, Emma. None of this is your fault. She's going to be fine. And we'll be with her the whole way down her path, whatever struggles it brings. She'll be okay."

Starting to cry again, Emma hugged her wife tightly and finally began to forgive herself for the life she had led in her adolescence. More importantly, she found herself feeling more grateful than ever to have the love and support of her family.