It felt like someone had ripped out her soul. It felt like someone had crushed her heart, but she didn't die. She was left alive to forever feel this aching, this emptiness in her chest. The world seemed so much darker. The sun didn't shine as bright.

"Emma?" Jacob peeked into the bedroom. He found her sitting on the bed in her black dress, staring at a family photo. The last one they'd taken. It was at the lake house, with everyone in the family present for once. A dream come true ripped away in seconds. She didn't know why the heart didn't work. It worked almost instantly for Snow and Charming. They had waited 2 days just in case. Just in case Regina needed to adjust to the new heart, but nothing happened. Was it because she and Regina didn't love each other enough? Was it because Regina still had her soulmate? "Emma!" Jacob snapped. She slowly looked up at him, revealing the running mascara hardening on her cheeks. "Hey," He went to get her towel so she could wipe her face. "What are you doing, Em?"

"This wasn't supposed to happen." She said, wiping her face. "I was so close. Everything was so perfect. Now, she's gone."

"Look, I'm not even going to pretend like I know what you're going through." Jacob said, taking a seat on the bed next to her. "Or that I know Regina as well as you, but...she wouldn't want this."

"What?"

"She wouldn't want you to just...stop. You can't, Emma. I know you really want to. She didn't, and you can't either. You have Henry to think about."

"It hurts, Jake. I can't just switch it off." Emma sighed.

"I know. No one expects you to. You are allowed to mourn and grieve as long as you want to, Emma."

"I just-" She looked back down at the family photo. "She was my world. Now, I don't have one anymore. She was one of the best things to ever happen to me."

"Doesn't mean other good things won't come. It's tough to see now, but things will get better." Jacob said. Emma scoffed. She didn't want to go to a funeral for Regina. She didn't want to see her being lowered into the ground. She didn't want to say good bye. Her brother touched her arm, bringing her back to the bedroom. "Hey, you were one of the best things to ever happen to me." She looked up at him, eyebrows narrowing suspiciously. "You are. You're one of my best friends, Emma. Do you remember in the 10th grade when me and Jackson got jumped outside the school?"

'"Because you had to be an idiot and antagonize half the football team. Not to mention dragging Jackson in with you and you know he's not a fighter." Emma said.

"Well, what did you do? You, Dianah, Lily and Evie came back the next day with baseball bats and evened the score. You dragged Evie into that and you know she's not a fighter."

"She was the one who suggested we use the bats."

"Yeah, well, we lost the football championship thanks to you guys." He smiled. "Remember Mom making us eat meatloaf and green beans for two weeks straight after that?"

"Yep. I fucking hate meatloaf. Clearly it was invented by satan."

Jacob smirked. "And I hate green beans. But you saved my ass. And do you know why?"

"Because we couldn't have you messing up the Swan family name by being an ass?"

"Nope!" He moved to her side and wrapped his arms around her. "Because you are the best big sister in the whole world. And you are going to get through this. See, you're smirking. Regina is probably smiling right now just to see that smirk."

Emma rolled her eyes and pushed him off. "I'll be down in a sec." He nodded and stood up, taking the picture from her and hanging it back up on the wall. "Thanks, Jake."

"Anytime, Sis." He went out the door and Emma checked her appearance again. She took a deep breath and made her way downstairs.

In 3 days, she was supposed to be the happiest woman who ever lived. In 3 days, they were supposed to be married. Just 3 days. And now, Emma was leading the coffin of her lover to her final resting place. Her fathers and brothers carried it for her while the rest of the family followed, their heads down and tears raining. She missed Regina so much. It stung just to say her name. She couldn't even walk into the mansion anymore without happy memories assaulting her, happy memories she would never get to experience again. Henry had all but shut out the world, preferring to spend the last couple days in his room. No one had been able to coax him out except for today. Even Maleficent mourned the loss of her old friend, destroying half the forest in her anguish. Emma herself, didn't even feel like living anymore honestly. She missed her other half.

Emma watched the coffin being lowered into the earth, just beneath Regina's apple tree that had been moved to this hill. It sat like a crown, overlooking Storybrooke. The very place they were supposed to get married. She felt sick just being here, just looking at a wooden box with her lover inside.

Maleficent stepped forward, breathing colorful fire over the box, turning the wood into diamond before their very eyes. "I hope you're finally at peace, old friend. We fought, we hated, we loved each other. I never stopped loving you." Emma watched the dragon cry, revealing a weakness in her dragonscale armor for the first time. "You gave me my fire, brought back my daughter, taught me how to love the world again, and myself. For that, I cannot thank you enough."

Belle gasped and Emma looked at her. "What is it?"

"The diamond casket. It's right reserved for the greatest of dragon kings and queens. The highest honor for dragons." She explained softly.

Ruby came forward this time to drape her cloak over the diamond casket. "I miss you already, Gina. I hope you have a happy ending now. You deserve it more than anyone. Say hello to the family for me."

Zelena was next. She and Regina had never had the best relationship, but it was no secret the sisters actually did care about each other, even though neither would willingly admit it. She placed a green rose on the casket. "It was an honor, for you and for me, to be your sister." She laughed sadly and stepped back. Elias moved next to her, taking her hand and offering a small smile so she wouldn't cry.

Little Roland almost broke her heart even further as he came to put a black arrow that he had made onto the casket. One by one they each came to pay their respects to the fallen queen.

Rose touched Emma's shoulder. "You know, Em, some people were just made to fight. And it's not that they were born strong or born brave. This woman was born with fire and steel in her veins, overcoming odds that I wouldn't wish on my own worst enemy. It's not the life she chose, anyone would almost certainly have laid down their arms and given up, but she did not." She looked down at Henry and smiled sadly when he looked at her. "Your mother was a great warrior, a great woman. Remember her for that. Not for the Evil Queen, not for the Mayor, but for what she was to you."

"I wish she was here." Henry whispered.

"I know, but she is here. Always, even if you can't see her." Rose assured him.

"She died a hero." Snow said.

"Fuck being a hero." Emma scowled. "She deserved to die from old age, from having lived a good life. That's the way she should've died. Surrounded by family and love, not trying to stop a bomb from some maniacal bastard trying to destroy an entire kingdom." Giselle glanced up at her words, but wisely said nothing. Emma knew she shouldn't have been angry with Giselle, but anything associated with Vortigern just made her so angry. She could barely look at Ivar. He was so much like Regina, too much like her actually.

"She saved your life." David added. "All of our lives."

"What life?" Emma scoffed. "There is no life without her." Her thoughts went back to the all the words they'd shared, the kisses, the fights, the stolen moments. Even the dream she had the night she got back to Storybrooke that only made her loss feel worse.

/

When Emma opened her eyes, Regina was already in her arms, holding on to the blonde like she never wanted to let go. Emma crushed her to her chest and listened to her cry, listened to her breathe, listened to her heart beat. It was the most wonderful sound she'd ever heard, one of the many she would miss. "I miss you." She whispered.

"I miss you too."

"Why'd you do it, Regina?" Emma asked, leaning back to wipe at her tears.

"It was my life or all of ours. I didn't even think. I just reacted. Anyways, it's better this way."

Emma scoffed. "Better for who? Henry's...broken. I-I-I feel like-like dying! It hurts, Regina."

"You don't think I know that?" Regina snapped.

"But we could've done it together. Like we did with the failsafe. It could've worked."

"You hit your head and you were already disoriented. Not to mention that you didn't know the correct spell."

Emma leaned her forehead against Regina's. "I wish I knew more magic."

"Don't you dare blame yourself for this."

"I can save an entire town of idiots, half of which I want to kill, but I can't save the woman I love? What kind of savior is that?"

"My savior." Regina kissed her lips again and again. Emma didn't want to let her go. She didn't want to stop kissing her, stop holding her. If she did, then she never would again. "I love you, Emma. So much."

"I love you too."

"Tell Henry that I'll miss him too."

"He knows."

/

"Let's go, kid." Emma said, putting an arm around her son. They'd stood here long enough. Everyone turned to leave with them. As soon as they turned their backs, the earth shook and a cracking sound split the air. Emma spun around to find the great apple tree split in half and Regina's casket laying open, shattered pieces of diamond littering the ground. "What the-" Regina appeared, in all her queenly glory, just in front of her casket, looking down at it. The clothes she had been buried in were ripped and torn, hardly covering anything. Her hair now spun down to the middle of her back, silky and glossy despite having been in the ground only seconds before. The burns were gone, her skin was flawless once again and her eyes burned like never before. "Regina?" Regina turned around, one eyebrow arching perfectly. "Regina!"

"Emma, wait." Mal yelled, but she was ignored.

Emma ran to Regina and before she knew it, she was being slammed on the ground. "Regina, what are you doing? It's me, Emma." There was no recognition in her eyes. In fact, hearing Emma's name almost seemed to piss her off even further.

"Killing you, Daughter of Snow White." Regina answered with a sadistic grin. Her grin transformed into a scowl as she pressed down harder on Emma's throat. "You didn't want me to live, now you won't let me die. You took my son, imprisoned me, threatened me. Now you dare to stop me from finally achieving peace?! I was finally happy. I was with Daniel, and my parents and my son. You would dare take that away from me and consign me to this miserable existence again?! I will destroy you, if it is the last thing I do, Savior!"

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