A/N: Hello all! We know it's been a very looooong wait and we do apologize for that. So, this is it. This is our final chapter with our ladies in this adventure. We tried to make it extra long and we hope you enjoy.
6 Months Later
"Time flies when I'm with you." Emma smiled as she relaxed back against the couch cushions in her apartment, her eyes straying to the Boston skyline highlighted outside the window before returning to the brunette before her.
"It always will, but I know what you mean. it feels like I blinked and suddenly it was April. Everything is moving so fast." Regina replied softly,staring up at her ceiling and toying with a strand of her hair.
"Well baby, it's June" Emma chuckled "You graduate soon. Are you excited? Are you scared? What are the feelings?"
"I'm so excited. Being in high school is great and all because I love cheer and my friends and my teachers, but I want to settle down. I want a family and a house and maybe a book" she shrugged, rolling onto her side to look at the Graduation announcement displayed on her bedside table. "I don't know, I just want my life to start."
"Those are a lot of feelings for such a tiny person, but I know what you mean. We've been dating for almost a year now and I couldn't think of a better person to spend my life with." Emma smiled and placed her hand on the screen to her computer watching Regina do the same.
"Six more days and then I'm in Boston." Regina sighed, excitement and apprehension swirling within the words. Brown eyes moved to take in the boxes neatly piled in the corner of her bedroom, now empty of photographs or art work.
"Just six more. We can do it. Then we can start our forever."
Regina smiled and looked away as Zelena opened her door. "Hey Swan" she said knowing the blonde was on the other side of the computer screen, as per usual. While the redhead had been less than supportive of the relationship when it first took root, she had come to accept that Emma was more likely to make her little sister happy than any of the boys in her high school. They may not last forever, but she wouldn't be the one to pop that bubble.
"Hi" Emma smiled and waved replying to emails on her phone while the sisters talked.
"So, kid, we've got graduation shopping to do for you."
"Now? Why?" Regina whined
"We need to get the stuff for the party and you need shoes to walk in. There's still a lot to do before you cross the stage and jet off to Boston." Her older sister reminded, crossing her arms as she took in the sight of the youngest Mills. A year had changed them both so much, her sister's smile having returned to full brilliance for the first time since their parents' death.
The brunette turned back to her computer and smiled softly at her girlfriend. "Sorry, Em. I have to go with Z. She's right, we still have a lot to do before Friday." She blew a kiss to the blonde who returned it with a wave before they disconnected the video call.
"Give me like three minutes to grab some shoes and do my hair." She advised her older sister who nodded, closing the door behind her as she stepped out of the room.
Regina rose slowly from her bed and ran her fingers through her silky raven locks, gently removing the few tangles which had formed after her shower. She ran a brush through her hair before tying it back from her face and making her way towards her closet to locate suitable shoes to wear for the day.
Zelena looked up from her phone as her sister appeared at the top of the stairs a few minutes later, her own phone in hand and her car keys dangling from her pinky.
"Ready to go? Grab an apple or something for the drive. We're going a town over for lunch after we finish."
The brunette nodded in agreement and slipped her phone into her back pocket, stepping into the kitchen for a moment and snagged a shiny red apple from the fruit bowl. She made her way out to the waiting car, locking the house behind her.
"Where are we even going?" Regina sighed slightly frustrated at her interrupted time with Emma.
"To get you something to wear for graduation along with shorts and things for your trip to Boston with Swan."
"Why? I own a million and one dresses and my closet is endless. I'm sure I can gather a few outfits for my trip and even if I can't I can live in Emma's old clothes." She chuckled and wrapped her own tan arms around her body, mocking a hug.
"You two are so in love it's disgusting." Zelena rolled her eyes and unlocked her car getting in with Regina following shortly after her.
Both Mills settled into their respective seats, pulling their seatbelts into place before Zelena put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway, steering the car towards Main Street.
"So where to?" Zelena looked over to Regina who practically had her phone pressed against her face.
"Regina we just left. I'm sure she hasn't done anything drastic since we walked out of the door." The redhead looked a little disappointed.
"I know I know I just miss her it's been months since I last saw her. It's killing me." Regina wasn't completely wrong. Emma has offered to come and spend senior week and spring break with Regina, which in total was two weeks, but Regina had made the decision to spend it with her friends at the beach in Florida instead. Emma, being who she was, was fully supportive of her decision and didn't make her feel bad, but with that trip gone it had been about 3 months since they had last been together.
"You saw her 3 months ago. I think you'll be okay." She chuckled as she turned the car towards the Interstate.
"Zel, it's not my fault that you don't have a boyfriend or girlfriend. I guess I never asked, come to think of it, why aren't you dating anyone?"
"I'm a Doctor. I don't really have time to juggle people." The redhead shrugged casually, casting a glance at the younger Mills.
"People?" Regina smirked and looked at her sister defiantly. "That's it. I've decided your senior gift to me is you going on a date."
"You ready?" Zelena smiled at Regina as she fixed the black cap on her head.
"Of course I am. Where's Emma? Is she ready?" The brunette asked as she reached up to adjust the cap herself for good measure.
"She's downstairs, waiting on us." Zelena had on a green dress and a cream colored scarf draped around her shoulders, the emerald earrings which had been gifted to her by the blonde in question at Christmas time.
"Is Daniel coming?" Regina walked over to her mirror putting on a little more makeup despite already looking impeccable, her eyes watching color rise in her sister's cheeks.
"Yes, he is, actually." Zelena flushed a little. After Regina set out to get Zelena someone to fall smitten with she had been on about three or four dates. The first guy she went out with had been Daniel. They exchanged numbers and went on a second date. The tall man, being a doctor himself at a different hospital, fully understood all the things Zelena was doing which was a plus in her book. He understood the difficult hours, the on-call schedules and the fluctuating sleep schedules, but he also enjoyed having someone he was able to speak to about medical sciences without having to explain the majority of procedures and practices.
"Aw" Regina kissed Zelena on the cheek before going downstairs, beaming widely at the blonde, clad in black slacks and a red button up shirt, as she paced at the foot of the stairs.
"Hello beautiful." Emma smiled and held her arms out to catch the brunette as she flung herself into the waiting embrace. She wrapped her arms tightly around her love's petite waist and pressed a kiss to her hair.
"You're here!" Regina squealed as she hugged the older woman tightly, resting her neck in the crook of her neck and inhaling the scent that was uniquely Emma: vanilla and cinnamon.
"You thought I would actually miss your graduation? Yes, I'm here. I wouldn't have missed this for anything in the world" Emma chuckled and rubbed her back, looking at Zelena who was wrapped in the arms of a man she had never seen before.
"And who's this, Zel?" Emma asked, a mischievous smile blooming on her lips as she looked between the pair.
"This is Daniel. Daniel, this is my sister's annoying little pet, Emma" The two shook hands and exchanged smiles with one another.
"Nice to meet you, man. You're a lucky man. Be careful, though, she's a biter." Emma whispered loudly, causing the man to chuckle and nod in acknowledgment.
"Oh believe me, I know how fiery she can be."
"Alright alright that's enough." Zelena pulled Daniel back to her, a blush forming on her cheeks. "Now, we're going to make our little appleseed late. Everyone in the car, go on."
"Is that everything?" Emma asked, closing the trunk of her car and wiping the sweat off her forehead. The heat of the day beating down on her full force and causing sweat to bead at the base of her neck.
"Yep. That's the last of it." Regina smiled and shoved her hands into her pockets, the left one clad in a ring. Not an engagement ring, as the blonde had explained, just a promise ring that would one day be an engagement ring.
The day had finally come.
Regina was really leaving was excited and ready to start a new journey in her life. She loved highschool and it was everything she had wanted, but Emma had opened so many doors for her that she had yet to explore.
All she wanted was to live a life that she hoped would make her parents proud and she felt like she had so far. Being with Emma was something she knew that her parents would have had to get used to, but she knew that they would have opened up in the end. Emma just had that kind of effect on people. She made them like her and luckily for Regina she had fell in love with the blonde.
"To new adventures and us finally selling this house." Zelena came out with some water for the three of them. Not only was Regina leaving but so was Zelena. She had decided that since Regina was leaving then she could go live with Daniel and start a life of her own. It was a new beginning for the both of the sisters and to say they were excited was an understatement. The Mills mansion had become worth more and more as time went by so when Zelena sold it she put all of the money she had gotten into an account for Regina to have in Boston.
"Thank you" Emma smiled and took a water bottle sitting on the hood of her car. "So Zel are you all set up at Daniel's? Need any help while we're still here?" Emma asked, unscrewing the cap and taking a deep drink to parch her thirst.
Regina walked towards her, standing between the blondes legs and looking at her sister as she took a sip from her own bottle. Emma wrapped her arms around Regina's shoulders,letting the shorter woman lean against her.
"Yeah, actually. We finished everything up yesterday night." Zelena nodded resting against the warm brick of the mailbox, watching the pair as they interacted. She found it hard to believe that just under a year ago she had been wholeheartedly against Regina's relationship with the older woman and now found herself happily anticipating what was to come for the young pair.
"I can't believe I actually don't live here anymore." Regina mused, pushing away from the car before she walked up to the steps of the house. "I almost don't want to go." Red painted nails trailed over the frame of the door thoughtfully as she recalled memories from years long gone.
"Baby, you have to. It's time to start new things. There's a whole wide world out there for us beyond the Storybrooke sign. We can always visit if you need to, Boston isn't that far." Emma joined her lover on the steps, taking her hand in her own and bringing it to her lips.
"I know, but Mom and Dad built this from the ground up. They're gone now. Don't you feel like we're selling them?" Regina squeezed Emma's hand before moving to stand in front of her sister. "Are we making the right choice?"
"No, Gina, Mom and Dad would have been so excited to finally see us leave home. We can't stay in Storybrooke forever." Zelena stepped towards her sister and put her hand under her chin, letting the younger Mills lean into the touch. "It's okay that you love this house because I love it too but we have to move on and do more. We have our own legacies to build outside these walls."
"You have so much to offer, baby. The world deserves to know your name, not just the small part of it that you call home." She pressed a kiss to the top of the younger woman's head before moving to hug Zelena tightly. "I'll be in the car when you're ready to go, okay? Take your time." The blonde made her way to the car, half empty water bottle in hand, slipping into the driver's seat and starting the car.
"I can't go. I can't do this!" The brunette ran to the door of the house, ignoring the way it slammed against the wall as she continued further into the empty building, running upstairs to one of the vacant rooms and slamming the door. Zelena put her hand on the hood of the car when Emma made to get out."
"I got her. Just give us a few minutes. Go down to Granny's and grab some drinks for the trip home, maybe some food. She'll be ready when you get back."
Emma frowned a bit and looked up at the house before nodding in agreement and resuming her position within the car. She carefully backed out of the driveway and made her way down Mifflin Street, turning onto Main street and heading for the diner.
"Regina." Zelena called as she closed the front door behind her, listening for an indication of where the younger Mills had gone. Her shoes echoed against the hardwood floors as she made her way up the staircase, pausing to check Regina's old room and her own before continuing towards the double doors at the end of the hallway. She stopped outside of the doors, resting her hand on the knob as she listened to the shuttered sobs emanating from within the room. She waited a moment more before turning the handle and stepping into her parent's bedroom, blue eyes saddened at the sight of her baby sister sitting in the middle of the room, knees pulled to her chest.
"Gina,we have to go. The new people who bought the house start moving in tomorrow." The redhead spoke softly as she took a seat beside the younger woman.
"They can't do that it's my house." Came the defiant response through the tears rolling down olive cheeks.
"Technically, it's my house, but I know what you mean. Leaving this place isn't going to be easy for us. It's going to be incredibly hard letting go." Zelena reached over and ran a hand over chocolate locks, tucking them away from Regina's face.
"This is our home. We can't go, Z. There's too much here." She scrubbed at her face ro wipe away some of the tears blurring her vision before looking at her sister. "The doorframe in the dining room has our measurements from when we were kids."
"Mom used to measure us and dad would always tell her to stop feeding us so we couldn't grow up." Zelena mused, smiling a little at the memories.
"The garden shed has our handprints on it from when we painted our playhouse, Do you remember?" Regina rose to her feet and pulled her sister up by her hands, leading her to the large window overlooking the yard.
The older Mills chuckled softly and shook her head "How could I forget? We snuck into the shed and got the paints from when Mom remodeled the house. We got it everywhere. On the grass, our hair, we barely got any on the playhouse! Dad found us covered in it and we were so sure we were going to be in trouble for getting it on the shed."
"He picked up the paintbrush and he painted our names and our ages under the prints. He said it was true art to have someone to laugh with." The brunette spoke softly as she gazed out at the shed. It had seen better days and the once fresh looking paint was now faded and weather worn, but the sisters could just make out the bright green and red splotches on the right door the declared to the world where two little girls had made a lasting impression.
"My tree is here…." Regina said quietly after a moment, her voice cracking at the though of leaving the most potent reminder of her father behind. "I can't leave it here. I can't…."
"Give me a second. I have some things for you," Zelena squeezed her arm softly before leaving the room.
The redhead ran down the stairs and out to where Emma's car was once again waiting. "Do you remember the little wrapped package I gave you at Regina's graduation? The one I told you to keep safe until it was time to give it to her?"
"Yeah, of course. What about it?" Emma asked curiously.
"Give it to me." She held her hand out. Emma rummaged around in her glove compartment.
"Here." It was a small box wrapped in brown paper which had clearly been wrapped and unwrapped several times.
Zelena didn't hesitate to take the box from the blonde before making her way back into the house after retrieving something from her own car.
"You weren't supposed to open this until your wedding day, but I think you should have it now. I think it's important." She sat next to the brunette who was pushed up against an empty corner of the bedroom, having migrated from her spot in front of the window.
Regina tore through the paper and revealed a little tiffany blue box. Her eyebrows scrunched together and she opened it. Out she pulled a beautiful gold locket, when she opened it there were pictures of both Henry and Cora perfectly placed inside it.
"It was supposed to be for when you walk down the aisle since I know they can't be there, but I think you need it a little bit more now." Zelena smiled at her, patting her knee gently as she watched her sister marvel at the gift.
"I love it, Zelena, thank you." Regina hugged her sister tightly, burying her face against her shoulder.
"You are very very welcome darling." Zelena kissed her head "I have one more gift for you. I almost forgot to give it to you until you mentioned your tree." She reached behind her and handed Regina a small vial which housed deveral brown seeds.
"Seeds?"
"Those are seeds from your tree. Active ones, at that. Think of them as offspring, if you would. You can take them to Boston or anywhere else that you go and when you settle down and start a family, you can plant one and help your kids grow a tree just like yours."
"You did this for me?" Regina looked at her sister in awe, holding the locket and the vial close to her chest. "Thank you…..This is everything I could have needed."
"You're welcome. These and Emma are all you need to start your life." Zelena smiled and pressed a kiss to her sister's forehead. "Now Boston is calling you, best not to keep it waiting any longer."
Regina stood up and kissed the wall closest to the door. "Goodbye mommy and daddy. I love you." She smiled sadly before following her sister downstairs, running her hand over the banister one last time before she stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind her. She hugged Zelena and promised to call once they reached Boston before getting into the car, holding the locket in her hand tightly, the seeds tucked safely in her pocket. "Let's do this" She said with finality, looking over at the blonde with complete love.
She was ready to start her life, she thought as the wheels of the car slid over the town line.
Six Years Later
"Henry, put your shoes on please." Twenty-three year old Regina Mills called from the kitchen as she finished packing the lunch she had prepared into the Spider-Man lunchbox. She smiled as she spotted a mess of brown hair scurry in from the living room before disappearing into the foyer. She followed closely behind and watched the four year old plop himself onto the tiled floor, tongue poking out as he pulled on his shoes.
"Ready to go?" She asked as she helped him to his feet, his sneakers lighting up blue and red to his delight. "We have to go say bye to your mama and then we have to get you to school." She took him by the hand and walked with him to find his other mother.
The blonde in question looked up at the sound of heels approaching, grabbing a towel and wiping the sweat from her neck and face. A wide smile appeared on her lips as Henry raced towards her, immediately lifting the small boy high in the air which elicited peals of laughter from him. "Higher Mama! Higher!" He encouraged, stretching his little body like Superman.
"There's my little Superhero!" Emma ran around the room, holding the boy in the air so he could fly, her wife lingering in the door to watch with a mixture of amusement and adoration.
Shortly after moving to Boston Regina had begun college at Boston University with the intention of pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Journalism. The first year had been rough on the brunette as she tried to balance school work, a social life and her relationship with a certain blonde whose work often took her out of state for days at a time.
There had been more than a few times that the distance and the stress had caused fights that ran late into the night though the couple was conscientious to never go to bed angry with one another.
Things slowly got better once Emma decided to open up a personal training center in Boston to lower the amount that she had to travel for clients. It was this decision that allowed the couple to sit down and discuss a change of scenery. Since moving the pair had resided in Emma's apartment which, while spacious enough for the two, wasn't the ideal home for their future.
Months of researching viewing houses paid off as Regina neared the end of her first year at University when Emma took her to view a house which captivated her from the moment she stepped out of the car. An offer was immediately placed and before long the blonde received a call that the house was theirs.
She broke the news to her lover over dinner at their favorite restaurant in Boston, Sorellina, while they enjoyed their dinner. Emma offered the brunette a box with a soft smile, nestled within was two keys to their new home and a small note that read "Look Up". Upon doing so, the younger woman found the blonde on one knee, a ring box clasped in her hand and a stunning white sapphire ring glinting in the candlelight.
The engagement had sparked a trip back to Storybrooke to celebrate their happiness as well as bask in Zelena's as she walked down the aisle and said "I do" to Daniel on the eve of their third anniversary.
It would be nearly two years before the young couple would take the same steps though fate had other plans for them. Shortly after the trip to Storybrooke the pair was shocked and elated to learn that Regina was pregnant after a rush to the hospital when she fainted in class.
Nothing in Regina's life or in Emma's for that matter, had made either of them as happy as watching her stomach grow and her body change to accommodate the life they had created together. The house was baby proofed and the nursery was painted in soft reds, blues and yellows with pictured of various animals adorning the walls.
Regina continued her studies at the University until her last trimester which she took off at her doctor's, and Emma's, insistence. She completed her final exams from the comfort of her own bed just in time for little Henry to make his entrance into the world.
Regina smiled as she watched her wife spin their child around before setting him on his feet, her hand coming up to stifle a laugh as he staggered and giggled from the sudden stop motion. "Again, mama!"
"Sorry, kid, you have to get to school! It's mac and cheese day, remember?" Emma ruffled his hair and crossed the room to the brunette. Strong arms slipped over a narrow waist and pulled her closer, pressing their lips together for the first time that day.
"Good morning, gorgeous."
"Good morning, darling."
A/N: There we are! Our girls got their happy ending. We hope that you have all enjoyed this story as much as we have enjoyed writing it. Don't forget to stick around on our subscription list because we have new adventures coming in the future!
Thanks for hanging out with us! Drop a comment or review and let us know how you feel!
-Stephie & Angel