A/N: ***Trigger warning: this chapter contains a major character death, but I'm sure you already saw this coming.***
Chapter 16
"How long?" Emma asked, pressing her forehead against Regina's, her arms trembling as she continued to hold Regina.
"I…I don't know…" Regina said, holding back the pain. The Wolves circled around their friends, Omega snuggling her head against Regina's leg, letting her know they were there for her.
"Why did you stand in front of me?" Emma cried, pressing her lips against the side of Regina's head.
"Because…I couldn't lose you…I didn't know…it was poisoned," Regina cried.
"But now I'm going to lose you," Emma cried, kissing Regina again. Alpha circled around to Omega, nuzzling her as well, feeling the pain Emma was feeling at the realization that she was losing her Mate.
"I'm sorry…" Regina cried, raising her hands to hold Emma the best she could.
"My blood! My blood is supposed to heal you, right?" Regina nodded. "Drink, Regina. Drink, please." she begged, offering Regina her wrist. Regina didn't resist, biting Emma's wrist, drinking her Mate's blood quickly before the wound healed itself. "How do you feel?" Emma asked once Regina pulled away from Emma's wrist, making sure not to take too much blood.
"A little better. The pain…is better. Manageable," Regina said, her body relaxing in Emma's arms. A familiar feeling ran through all their bodies. Sunrise is upon them.
"You guys better get going. Sunrise is coming," Emma said to the Wolves. "I can't thank you enough for all your help. We would both be dead right now if it wasn't for you," Emma added to Alpha and Beta. "Will you come back the first night of Wolf's Time next month to check on us?"
The three Wolves nodded frantically. They nuzzled Regina once more, licking her arm as a final goodbye, knowing they would likely never see their friend again, before taking off into the forest, racing to get back home before sunrise.
"We need to get you inside too," Emma said as soon as the Wolves were gone.
Emma carefully scooped Regina into her arms, carrying her slowly into the cabin and directly to the bed, laying her down gently. Emma rushed around to make sure the door was locked tight before she carefully helped Regina change clothes, putting on a clean shirt and a comfortable pair of yoga pants before crawling into bed next to her, pulling her into her arms.
"This night started out with us staring at the stars, and now you're dying," Emma cried, thick red tears falling onto her pillow. "And it's all my fault."
"It's not your fault," Regina said, shifting to lay comfortably in Emma's arms.
"Cassidy was after me," Emma answered, running her fingers through Regina's hair, trying to memorize the feeling of it in between her fingers.
"It was my choice to step in front of you," Regina reminded her, reaching a shaky hand to gently cup Emma's face.
"I just got you back, and now I'm going to lose you all over again," Emma cried, her sobbing caused Regina's body to shake slightly.
They cried together in each other's arms until they began to feel sick from the sun that had risen outside.
"You need to sleep. We both need to sleep," Regina whispered as the nausea began to develop in her stomach.
"I'm afraid to go to sleep. I'm afraid that if I fall asleep I'll wake up and you'll be gone," Emma cried, ignoring the similar feeling of nausea.
"I promise that won't happen," Regina said softly.
"How can you be sure?" Emma asked, not accepting Regina's words.
"I'll wake you up if that happens," Regina said, trying to smile.
"Promise?" Emma asked, her voice sounding so sad she could hardly speak.
"I promise," Regina answered, not missing a beat, reaching up to kiss Emma lightly.
A few minutes later they were both in a light sleep, Emma remaining vigilant to Regina every move, waking when she felt even the slightest movement from the woman held tightly in her arms.
The following night they woke up just before sunset, their minds no longer allowing them to sleep even though their bodies demanded more. Regina's pain had returned, waking her from a deep sleep. Emma offered her more of her blood, immediately relieving her pain enough for Regina to drink more blood. After they ate, Emma inspected Regina's wound, both shuddering when they realized that the infection had begun to spread, the black veins expanding farther from the unhealing wound.
They spent the entire night in bed, except for the brief moments when Emma heated them some blood and when she went outside to assess Cassidy's remains, only to find the body missing completely, assuming the Wolves had returned during the day in their Human forms and took care of it.
The infection continued to spread as the weeks passed, and Regina grew weaker and weaker as the pain intensified each day. Emma attended to her every need, giving Regina her own blood whenever the pain became unbearable, cutting her own wrist when Regina grew too weak to break her skin. Eventually, she began spoon feeding Regina animal blood when she grew too weak to drink herself. Emma left Regina's side only when she needed to hunt a deer, racing back to Regina as soon as she could to make sure she was alright.
On the night before the next full moon, Regina woke up in excruciating pain and struggled to breathe, her lungs no longer able to take a deep breath. Emma rushed to open her own vein, urging the blood into Regina's mouth. The moment the blood reached Regina's stomach, she immediately threw it back up. They tried a second time, only to have the blood come back up once more. Emma rushed to the kitchen to heat up chicken blood to feed to Regina, only to have the chicken blood come back up as well.
This was not a good sign, and they both knew it. They both feared the inevitable.
Tonight was Regina's final night.
"Emma…" Regina struggled to say as she fought to breathe. "Can we…have…one last…bath…together…" she managed to say.
"Of course, my love," Emma whispered, struggling to hold back her tears. She needed to remain strong for Regina tonight. She needed to be her rock during her final moments. She couldn't break down until it was over.
She detangled herself from Regina and rushed to the bathroom, filling the antique tub with lukewarm water, almost forgetting the bubble bath. She lit the candles that lived in the bathroom, setting the mood even more, as the scent of vanilla and lavender filled the room. After undressing herself and the extremely weak Regina, she carefully carried her to the bathroom and gently lowered her into the bubbles, climbing in behind her and allowing Regina to rest against her. Regina laid against her chest, a sense of peace washing over both of them as Emma held Regina under the bubbly water.
"Regina?" Emma asked after a long silence. Regina murmured something, showing Emma she had her attention even though her eyes had fallen closed. "What's going to happen…when… it happens…" Emma asked, struggling to hold back her tears.
"Once the infection…reaches my heart…the end begins," Regina started to say, tears of blood falling from her eyes and dripping into the water. "First…blood will start…to drip from my mouth…nose…and ears…then…my body will…begin to shake…uncontrollably…and eventually…my heart will stop…and my body…will turn to ash."
"Will you be in pain?" Emma asked, tightening her grip on Regina's frail body.
"I don't know…I hope not," Regina answered truthfully.
They cried together for the remainder of their bath, Emma losing her fight to remain strong until the bubbles were long since gone and the water was tinted red from their tears.
"It's supposed to be a clear night. Do you want to look at the stars…one…one more time?" Emma asked as she dried them both off and redressed Regina. "I can't get you up the ladder and onto the roof though, so we have to lay on the ground," Emma added, a sense of sadness that never left her voice.
"I'd like that," Regina whispered, somehow managing a small smile.
Emma carried Regina outside, laying her down on the same blanket they used to lay on the roof, curling up next to her, pulling Regina so she laid against her chest, allowing Regina to hear their shared heartbeat. They looked up, only to discover clouds partially covering the sky, blocking half the stars above them.
"Shit. I thought it was supposed to be a clear night," Emma shouted, angry that the clouds were ruining Regina's last night.
"It's…alright. Clouds aren't…your fault. This is…perfect," Regina whispered.
Emma held her tight as they stared at the cloudy sky, a rapidly weakening Regina held tightly in Emma's arms. A sudden sniffle from Regina caused Emma's gaze to fall on Regina's face, just in time to catch a small trickle of blood to drip from Regina's nose.
"Emma…" Regina said suddenly, her hand wiping the blood from her nose, looking up at Emma with fear in her eyes.
"It's ok, my love," Emma said calmly, as tears began to stream from her eyes. "Where…where would you like to be?" she asked, trying to stay calm and composed.
"In bed…in your…arms…" Regina cried.
"As you wish, my love," Emma said, kissing Regina softly, tasting the bit of blood that began to ooze out of the corner of Regina's mouth.
Emma carried Regina inside and gently laid her on their bed, the bed they spent many nights making love, and pulled a light blanket over Regina's fragile body. She grabbed a small towel to wipe the blood from Regina's nose and mouth and quickly joined her under the covers, pulling Regina into her arms as she caught sight of the blood that began to drip from Regina's ears.
"Emma…I'm scared…" Regina cried as her body began to shake in Emma's arms.
"Me too, my love," Emma whispered, trying to remain strong for Regina.
"Don't…leave me…okay?…stay…with me," Regina pleaded, her fear taking over as her body continued to convulse.
"I'm right here, my love. I'm not going anywhere," Emma whispered as she wiped more blood off Regina's face.
"I…love…you…" Regina whispered, her eyes full of fear as she looked up at Emma.
"I love you too!" Emma whispered, pressing her forehead against Regina's as she felt their shared heartbeat begin to slow.
Emma pressed her lips against Regina's, kissing her for the last time.
"All I needed was the love you gave…" Emma whispered as Regina's face changed. It was clear the pain Regina had been feeling was finally gone.
"All I needed for another day…" Emma whispered as the convulsing began to slow, Regina's body eventually becoming still in her arms.
"And all I ever knew…" Emma continued, a small smile reaching across Regina's face as brown eyes met green for the last time.
"Only you…" Emma whispered as their shared heartbeat stopped beating completely.
A second later, Emma's heart started beating again, this time without Regina's.
The light disappeared from Regina's eyes as she laid dead in Emma's arms, a slight smile forever frozen on her face, indicating Regina was at peace when she passed.
Time stopped as Emma looked into Regina's dead eyes, knowing that in the end, she wasn't in pain.
A moment later, Regina's body slowly turned to ash, crumbling in Emma's arms until all that was left of Regina Mills was a pile of ash under the blankets.
Regina Mills was dead.
A/N: This was, by far, the HARDEST chapter for me to write. In all the stories I have written so far, in all the scenes and all the words I've typed featuring our favorite ladies, this was by far the hardest. I cried so hard when I wrote the words for the first time, and I continued to cry each time I edited it. During one edit, I cried so hard I had to stop for the night and watch something happy on TV because my heart was so shattered, even though I knew it was coming. I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry. Please don't hate me. Remember, I do not write un-happy endings, so I promise, there will be a happy ending. I PROMISE a happy ending. It's my money-back guarantee. Please keep reading. Although, things are going to get a little rough before it gets better. Please keep reading, and please don't hate me!