Epilogue

some months in the future…

Regina's footsteps were accompanied by murmuring voices as she took the stage. The black pencil skirt and blazer she wore flattered her slender figure, and she felt several hundred pairs of eyes resting on her as she finally reached the center of the podium and with it the microphone stand. A light breeze tousled her hair a little, but just as warm as September had been, October had now begun. Regina couldn't remember it ever being this mild during the annual town festival. Melancholically, she let her gaze wander over the many people who gradually stopped their conversations and instead gave her their full attention.

She took a few more moments before wrapping a hand around the microphone and leaning forward slightly. "Citizens of Storybrooke," she began her speech as usual, swallowing hard past the thick lump in her throat. Piles of emotion rushed at her and she didn't know if she would get through her prepared text to the end, or have to rush off the stage prematurely. "Citizens of Storybrooke," she repeated, feeling a little more satisfied this time when she realized that the trembling in her voice had at least eased a bit. "It has been our tradition for many years now to hold this festival once a year, and it is my honor and pleasure to stand in front of you and address these words to you." She paused, and in the silence that had fallen, you could have heard a pin drop. "After the first few years were a bit... well, bumpy... I am happy to now hold office as your elected and wanted mayor."

Occasional laughs erupted from the audience, making it clear that everyone, or at least most of Storybrooke's residents, had long since forgiven Regina for her reign of terror during the curse.

"For all of you, a year has passed that has had its ups and downs, and I'm glad we can all stand here again and celebrate together." She was silent for a while, chewing on her lip before noticing the nervous tic and forcing herself to stop. For the first time in years, she would now deviate from her usual text about the community in her speech and instead get a little more personal, and that was exactly what made her so nervous. "The year had ups and downs for me as well. More downs, to be honest. I never thought it possible that I would be granted the joy of falling in love again. And I would never have thought it possible that I, who could otherwise solve every problem with magic, would be left completely helpless by an illness. By now, each of you should know that Emma, the Savior for you, the love of my life for me, contracted cancer a little over a year ago." Regina could not hold back a bitter laugh and lowered her eyes for a moment. Tears threatened to overwhelm her, but before they could, she closed her eyes briefly and took several deep breaths in and out. When she was sure she could continue speaking, she lifted her gaze again and let it sweep over the crowd before leaning toward the microphone again. "We have wondered more than once how it is that the Savior, of all people, gets such a disease. She, who has only ever saved and helped. We feared that possibly some magical being would eventually hunt her down, but we couldn't even begin to imagine that such a normal, human disorder could be the reason for a too early death."

To the side of the stage, Zelena stood holding her daughter's hand, looking up at her sister. She had made her promise to stay close to the stairs and intervene if necessary in case Regina was overcome by her own thoughts and collapsed on the stage. Preferably, she should get her down from there before that very thing could happen. But for the moment, she was merely proud of her little sister, and although she was open about her emotions, Zelena saw no danger that she would be unable to withstand the pressure.

Regina cleared her throat slightly and finally reached for the waiting glass of water, from which she took a few large sips. "Sorry," she almost whispered and took another deep breath. "But," she then continued in a firm voice, a smile settling on her lips, "we got through that dark time too. I couldn't have done it neither without Henry, Zelena, Snow and David nor without Archie. I want to thank you for always being by our side and fighting for Emma. I know I've said this many times, but I want to make it official and make sure everyone hears it. Thank you!"

A brief round of applause erupted and even a few cheers could be heard between the hand claps.

"I would also like to give a very special thank you to Dr. Heart. Without her, none of this would have been possible and she has always fought like a lioness for Emma's life. Any other doctor probably would have given up long ago when she kept coming through the door with new ideas. Thank you so much!"

Once again, the citizens applauded and turned to the doctor, who was obviously more than embarrassed by the sudden attention and only nodded a little, smiling helplessly.

Again, Regina cleared her throat. "Unfortunately, one person cannot be here with us today and celebrate with us," she finally continued calmly, and instantly an embarrassed silence fell on the fairground, where just a moment ago boisterous laughter and applause had been heard. "I owe her my deepest gratitude, for had it not been for her, Emma would not be here today." Her eyes fell on her girlfriend, who stood leaning on Henry in one of the front rows, beaming up at her with teary eyes. "So when you toast tonight, please toast to Loraine Baker, who hardly anyone in town knew, but who changed our lives in the best way imaginable. She is my hero. If this year has taught me anything, it is to enjoy every day as if it were your last. Tell your loved ones how you feel about them more often and don't fight over unimportant things. You only have this one life. And now I won't keep you from celebrating any further, have fun tonight!" Exhaling with relief, Regina finished her speech and listened to the conversations start again. She herself had eyes only for Emma, whose short blond hair peeked out from under her gray beanie.

Beaming all over, Emma returned Regina's gaze. She had not known that she had prepared such a personal speech and was deeply touched by the fact that she had shared her feelings with all those people.

"Mom was great, wasn't she?" Henry asked grinning at her.

"Oh yeah, she was. But did you expect anything different from her?", Emma wanted to know, brushing her hand through his hair.

"Hey!" Henry outraged, trying to straighten out the mess on his head before putting his arm back tighter around Emma.

The leukemia had been beaten, and according to Dr. Heart, they hardly had to worry about it coming back, even if she couldn't tell for sure. After the acute phase, when Henry's cells had attacked Emma's and it had looked as if Emma would lose the battle, something had happened that none of the doctors, nurses or lab technicians could explain. The cells had started communicating with each other and had resumed their normal function as if nothing had ever happened. The only explanation that seemed to make sense was that magic flowed in both Emma's and Henry's veins. In hers, since she was the Savior, in his, since he was the Author. Nevertheless, Emma was still very weakened, and it was only thanks to her vigorous refusal that she had entered the fairground leaning on her son, instead of in a wheelchair, as Regina had demanded. She still had to go to the clinic three times a week for several hours for dialysis until she would eventually receive a kidney donation, but she didn't want to think about that at the moment. It was a small price to pay for her life.

When Regina finally left the stage, she followed her with her eyes and searchingly slipped her fingers into the pocket of her red leather jacket, which immediately enclosed the small box inside. In a few minutes, when the fireworks would start and every pair of Storybrooke's eyes would be staring at the sky, her eyes would be on her beautiful girlfriend and she would finally ask her to be her wife. Despite her doctor's optimistic opinion, Emma was dreading every checkup and that was not likely to change anytime soon. But she didn't want to let that keep her from her domestic bliss any longer. After experiencing firsthand how quickly everything could be over, she didn't want to waste another second. Because she was alive right now.

A/N: Well, that's it. The ending. I hope we'll meet again in the next story! Take care!