Disclaimer in Chapter One

AN: This is the end of this tragedy, so I must warn you that there's a major character death. If anything don't read this chapter and pretend all is well. That's what I would do. I just want to thank you guys who have reviewed, alerted and favourited this story even though it tugged furiously on the heart strings. You guys are brave, and I appreciate each and every one of you.

Sound

The heart monitor beeped rhythmically in the pristine hospital room. Emma slept in the bed, tubes and wires strapped all around her, a machine breathing for her and a tube feeding her.

Her sight had given out over a week ago when Regina heard Emma crash down the stairs, knocked unconscious from the fall. Ever since then Emma had been admitted into the hospital.

It was now a waiting game.

Regina never left her side. She stayed huddled beside Emma, whispering softly into the blonde's ear as they talked quietly for however long Emma could manage.

Her skin took on a greyish tint from the constricted blood flow meandering weakly through her veins, her hair now devoid of all its golden bounce lay limp and flat about her shoulders, her figure seemed to be simply skin-covered bones.

The doctors estimated any day now, but they had been saying that for the past week and a half, and Regina was conflicted, wanting Emma to stay with her for as long as possible but not wanting to see Emma suffer any longer.

So she waited.

After school, Emma would sit up long enough for Henry to read to her a part of his storybook that had begun her greatest adventure of her life. Her head would loll to the side, dark glasses placed over her face or her eyes permanently shut as she strained to hear Henry's words hoping that she was at least facing him correctly.

Regina would sit off in the corner, letting their son have his time with his mother before his grandparents or Ruby would come pick him up for the night leaving Regina to climb into bed with Emma, her fingers clutching Emma's tightly while Emma's lay loosely intertwined with the older woman's. She would press her mouth gently against Emma's ear, placing soft kisses, whispering endearments to remind the blonde that she was still there.

Whenever Regina needed to cry, which was far too often than she would like Emma to know, she'd do her best to keep the sound to a minimum, letting the tears flow freely but keeping the whimpers at bay.

It was the same waiting game every day, and not once did it get easier. Regina once believed that not having anyone was the worst curse imaginable, but she soon realized that losing a love, a True Love, was worse than death. A part of her believed that maybe this time around it would be easier, but after everything she and Emma had gone through, after all the fighting had turned to understanding, she realized this time would hurt a thousand times more.

She lay beside Emma, her head nestled against the blonde's temple just so Emma could hear her breathe. It was late into the evening, so late it was morning. Sleep meant nothing to Regina even though that was most of what Emma was doing. Despite the blonde's lack of energy, Regina was proud of her efforts to give enough time as she could whenever she or Henry were in the room. Emma was truly the Saviour even to her last moments.

The slight stir under Regina's palm was the only indication that Emma had awoken.

"Hey," Emma whispered softly, her voice cracking from strain but relaxing when Regina tilted her chin towards her and kissed her ear.

"Hi," the brunette replied softly.

They were quiet for a moment, the couple enjoying the other's presence until Emma chuckled softly to herself, hacking out a harsh cough when the action became too overwhelming.

"What is it?"

Emma exhaled sharply before responding. "When I was small...the dark scared me."

"And now?" Regina asked worriedly.

"There's scarier things than the dark," the blonde rasped out.

Regina bit her lip, moulding her body to fit into Emma's side as the younger woman lay stock still in the hospital bed.

"I'm sorry," Emma breathed out.

Regina whipped her head up to gawk at the woman underneath her. "For what?"

Despite Emma facing the opposite wall and her limbs laying flat, Regina could feel the struggle Emma was exhibiting in the hopes that she was looking at Regina. Gently, the brunette turned Emma's head towards her, pressing their cheeks together so Emma could hear Regina's breath in her ear.

"Hurting you," Emma answered sadly.

"You didn't," Regina replied confused.

"I'm dying," the blonde said so quietly Regina could barely catch.

The brunette held back a sob and let out a sniffle in its place, clutching desperately at the neck of Emma's hospital gown. She held on tightly, burying her face into Emma's neck and breathing in as much of the younger woman as she could. She held on for all the days she wasn't with Emma, for the months they spent fighting and ignoring their feelings. She held on for every fight they had, for every time she pushed Emma to the edge and forced her out her door. But most of all she held on for all the days she wouldn't have her again, for the days to come when the space beside her bed would be empty once more, her scent forever lingering in the sheets, her memory ingrained in her mind.

She sobbed into Emma's neck, pressing watery lips against the blonde's ear and shuddered. "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

The blonde shook her head in the most minuscule of ways. "No."

The brunette just nodded her head profusely. "He wouldn't have hurt you if it wasn't for me."

"Love me?" The question left Emma's lips traveling to Regina's ear causing her to break in her cries.

"I love you," she whispered confidently, fighting through the break in her voice to make sure Emma understood.

"I'd do it again," Emma croaked simply. "And again. And again. For you."

Regina leaned up on her elbows, her eyes red and her face make up free, but the watery smile she gave the unknowing blonde made her recall the Saviour's words that day of the fire in Town Hall.

Never before had she met someone so willing to give up everything for her.

"How'd I get so lucky?" Regina asked hoarsely, her tone doing its best to sound lighter for the blonde's sake.

She grinned when she saw the slightest smirk on Emma's face, a precious reminder that Emma was still fighting with every brittle bone in her body.

"I love you too," Emma said more confident than she ever had in all of her hospital stay.

Regina gave a watery smile before placing a soft kiss against Emma's ear and settling back down into the crook of the blonde's neck. The heart monitor continued its rhythmic pulse again before Emma whispered out softly.

"Would you marry me?"

The brunette shut her eyes but remained clutched into Emma's side. "Yes."

"What-" Emma stopped to gather her breath. "What would it...be like?"

"A train wreck," Regina admitted with a watery chuckle as she traced the ring finger of the younger woman's left hand. "Your mother would want to help, and I would devise ways to undermine her, and you would be caught in the middle."

Emma released a breath that constituted as a laugh before speaking hoarsely. "Big wedding?"

"We'd try," Regina said after a beat imagining it all in her head. "We'd fight over the flowers, and the food, and the seating arrangement. I'd want roses, salmon, and your mother to sit in the kitchen. You wouldn't care less about the flowers, want steak, and we'd fight about your mother in the kitchen. I think you would wear a dress."

"Mmhmm," Emma mumbled.

The image of the wedding came together in Regina's mind. In the past she had always been the one to walk down the aisle towards Emma, but now, all she could see was the beautiful blonde encased in white with a beaming face as she took careful steps down the aisle towards Regina.

"Your mother would want to put you in a princess ball gown, but I think mermaid style suits you. You'd be clutching your bouquet of roses, Charming on your arm, your eyes on me as you walked down the aisle, not once tripping over," Regina said as she leaned up ever so slightly watching the way Emma's brow furrowed hoping she too was picturing the image. "Henry would be in his little tuxedo, itching to get out of."

"Bow tie?" Emma added.

"Yes," the brunette grinned. "I used to dream about my wedding day, but I don't think I would remember a thing with you staring at me throughout the ceremony and the reception."

"You started it," the blonde let out a soft chuckle.

Regina's eyes misted over as she sniffled, tracing her fingernails down the side of Emma's face. "And then we'd be married. We'd go home with our son, and we'd be together and happy."

"Kids?" Emma asked. "Like you."

The brunette swallowed thickly at the image of a little baby girl with dark brown curls and eyes to match. Her voice caught in her throat. "Yes. A little girl."

Regina sniffled again, a tear drop falling on Emma's cheek. By the time it hit pale flesh, Regina released an anguished sob.

"Don't cry," Emma pleaded.

"You can't ask me that." The brunette shook her head clutching at Emma's hospital gown even more tightly.

"Not going anywhere," the blonde whispered.

Regina shook her head more fiercely as another sob overtook her.

"You love me." Emma's words held no question, only fact. "I love you."

The brunette nodded despite herself.

"Then I'll always be here."

It happened under the cover of darkness three nights later. By some internal force, Regina was ripped awake from her restless sleep when she noticed how cold Emma had felt. She sat up abruptly, sliding out of bed and clutching the younger woman's hand as if by mere contact alone all would be well.

The game was over and Emma had lost.

Nurses let her mourn over the blonde's body as they made phone calls to her parents. It was hours later, when the sun had peaked over the horizon signalling a new day, did Regina finally remove herself from the room, locking herself in the bathroom before Kathryn was finally able to calm her down enough to leave.

She knew it was coming, and it was still the worst pain imaginable.

Regina was no stranger to loss. Too many people had been ripped away from her life, some by her own hand, all because she had loved them. As her fingers trailed down Emma's lifeless face, her face that looked relaxed and carefree, she felt that pain from old loss resurface. But Emma's voice rang out in her head. Not going anywhere. It'd be too easy to revert back to her ways as an Evil Queen, to wreak havoc on the world that caused her love's death, but she couldn't. She didn't want to.

Emma was still with her.

She shut her eyes and placed the softest of kisses on Emma's lips, a tiny part of her hoping beyond all hope that green eyes would flutter open once more, but they never did. She pulled the sheet over her young lover's face, lingering just a moment longer in the hospital room before exiting into the waiting room where the Charmings and Henry sat in inconsolable tears.

The boy ran up to her, hugging her tightly around the middle as he sobbed into her stomach. She removed his vice-like grip before bending down onto her knees and pulling him into a fierce hug as he reclaimed his grip around her neck instead.

It had been a week since Emma's funeral. More than once Regina drove herself into organizing a perfect memorial service, an ironic task in and of itself, only to suddenly break down from the realization of who she was planning it for. The day came and went with nearly everyone in Storybrooke coming out to bury her. To most, she was the Sheriff, protecting the streets from petty crimes and a friendly face to say 'hi' to in the mornings at Granny's. To others, she was the Saviour, responsible for setting them free from their cursed lives and reuniting them with their families. To Snow and Charming, she was their daughter, an intelligent young girl who grew up to be everything they had hoped even if time wasn't on their side. To Henry, she was his mother, doing her best by him even when she had nothing to offer. To Regina, she was Emma, the holder of her heart and the one person who ever understood her - all of her - and loved her for it despite every flaw and carefully masked imperfection.

Regina told Emma as much when speaking at her funeral. To say many had feared Regina's wrath in the past would have been an understatement, but watching the broken woman break down again at the podium made them wonder what would happen this time. They were surprised to see her kneel by her grave, tears openly streaming down her face as she whispered words meant only for Emma's ears.

She hoped that with time life would become easier. Sitting by her vanity, staring at a picture of herself and Emma during simpler times, hearing the blonde's voice whisper in her head, she took a deep breath to release the anger she felt from her loss.

Not going anywhere.

It was true. Emma invaded her thoughts and lingered within the walls of everywhere she went. Her scent remained in her pillows. A mixture of cinnamon and vanilla and something entirely Emma. She could hear her laughter every time she walked into Granny's, the blonde and the brunette waitress constantly getting reprimanded by the owner herself. The memory of Emma's lips on hers for the first time was permanently engraved in her mind she could swear she could feel her lips bruising from the memory alone, could taste the blonde's chapstick.

Emma wasn't hurting anymore, and that was the most important part. Regina couldn't damage her memory by being angry at the world. She had done that already, and it had taken too much to mend her back together. It had taken too long. Regina pushed the thought of wasted months away from her mind and caressed a finger down the photograph - a silly thing of Emma forcing Regina to stay in the shot and tickling her sides to get her to smile.

No, she could never be the Evil Queen anymore. Not when Emma died for her. Not when Emma stared up at her through Henry's eyes. Not when Emma still lived and loved happily in her heart.