We May Not Have Yesterday, But At Least We Have Tomorrow

Epilogue

A soothing warmth seeps into her bones and settles her anxious heart. She's half asleep, her eyes might as well be made up of concrete at this point because she can't keep them open. Except this warmth is traveling through her blood now and when it reaches her heart, she gasps.

She lifts her sleepy head from Emma's chest so abruptly that Emma startles awake as well.

"What? What happened? Are you alright?" Emma interrogates in pure hysteria, her hands roaming to find any physical damage.

Regina's parted mouth slowly stretches into a giddy grin before she crashes her lips against Emma's and kisses her thoroughly, tongue and all to prove how ecstatic she is in this moment.

"I remember," Regina whispers against Emma's lips.

"You remember?" Emma squeals, her mouth never leaving Regina's for a second.

Regina happily nods along, her mouth refusing to ever break apart this kiss. "I remember how I asked you out, I remember our first dance in the study, a little drunk off my cider. I remember the trip to New York and how I said I love you over spiked hot chocolates. I remember exactly how you proposed, our wedding day and how each one of our babies was created," she rambles, coercing thick tears to fill her wife's eyes. "I remember spending time in the NICU because the twins were early and so tiny. I remember you being sick with Luca which forced a c-section. I remember Henry's first school dance. I remember every moment of our lives together," she gleefully declares, cupping Emma's face and kissing her even harder. "I love you, Emma Swan."

Emma's grin takes over her entire face as she kisses Regina back. "I think it's because you told me you loved me. Whatever spell this was, it's broken now because you let me into your heart again and we won with True Love's kiss."

Regina slowly reels back, her heart pounding a little heavier now because of the guilt weighing her down. "Emma, there's something I need to tell you."

"Alright, I'm listening," her wife so lovingly vows, petting the back of her head and peering so deeply into her eyes.

"So...there's a reason why the last thing I remembered was the car accident from four years ago."

"Okay..."

"Well, four years ago, Henry made a wish that I could see what our lives would be like if I stopped pushing you away and tried to get along with you," she pauses, nervously observing the way Emma swallows thickly. "I was taken to this point in time and that's why I had no recollection of our lives together."

"Regina-"

"Please, let me explain everything, then I will answer any questions." Emma nods, convincing Regina it's safe to continue. "As the days went by, I fell in love with our babies. I fell in love with you, even though I'm certain I have always harbored feelings for you, I was able to let my guard down and truly love you in the safety of our home. And when I finally said those words out loud, I was transported back to the car accident. That's why I was so frantic when I woke up, I had lost you and our children. That's why I admitted that it's always been you."

"All this time, Regina? All this time and you never once told me-" Regina silences Emma by a firm finger to her mouth. 

"I wanted you, I wanted you so desperately but I didn't want you unless I knew you wanted me back just as badly. I wanted to earn your love and trust and be worthy of our lives together. I didn't want to tell you all of this and make you ever feel like your destiny was chosen for you and you didn't have a say in how your life turned out. We have both been tortured by that and I didn't want to force your hand. I wanted you to marry me and have children with me because you love me wholeheartedly and because you chose me to spend your life with and raise babies with and grow old with. Not because fate forced your hand and I told you it would happen in the future."

Emma squeezes her eyes closed, a few tears trickling out and sliding effortlessly down her cheeks but Regina is right there to sweep them all away.

"I choose you, every time I choose you. You are my forever and I love you. I love you so damn much, even more now for knowing me so well that you allowed me to make my own decisions regarding my life," Emma declares, taking Regina's face into her hands and pulling her down for another fierce kiss.

"I love you," she murmurs again into their kiss just before Emma slowly pulls away.

"So...Henry knows, right? I mean, this was his wish and all."

"Yes, he knows."

"And that little stinker didn't tell me either? Not one slip up in four years?"

"He understood that it meant a lot for both of us to finally have a say in our lives and not be dictated."

"I named Hope and Luca," Emma suddenly gasps. "You knew what their names were going to be and you didn't have any influence."

"I truly believe Henry, Hope, Autumn, and Luca were always destined to be our babies and only ours," she admits, her eyes watering from the thought of those children always finding their way to them in any world.

Emma swallows down her emotions, her thumb stroking above Regina's jaw as she pulls her down for the softest kiss possible. "I think no matter what, they are our babies."

"I missed them so much, you have no idea," Regina confesses, resting her forehead against Emma's and thanking her lucky stars that everything aligned and she has her family and her memories back.

"You should have told me you were going to lose your memories, I could have been better prepared."

"To be honest, I wasn't sure if I was going to. I figured I would skip over this time and everything would be normal because I was originally sent back."

"You scared me," Emma softly reveals.

"You? You seemed so confident that our love would prevail," Regina muses but her wife isn't laughing.

"I know but deep down I was terrified. I thought you were going to leave. I was so scared that your memories might never return and you were just going to pack my bags and kick me to the curb like everyone else in this world."

Regina breathes out a depressing little whimper, slowly rubbing her forehead against Emma's as she clings to the side of her wife's face.

"I won't ever leave you and I won't ever kick you out of my life. You complete me in a way I never thought humanly possible," she vows, gently rubbing her nose against Emma's. "And if I ever lose my way again just love me like you always do and I will come back to you."

Emma sniffles, swallowing down her tears as she pulls Regina in for a fierce kiss that has her falling in love all over again.

Around six in the morning, Luca pads into their room and Regina just senses him, pulling him into her chest and rubbing his tiny back. She loved him, without her memories she loved all her babies but now she realizes how much she had missed them. As if on cue, the twins tiptoe into their room next and Emma wastes no time pulling them onto the bed and tucking them safely between herself and Regina. Emma manages to sling a protective arm around all of them, her hand resting on Regina's hip. That's when Henry waltzes in.

"Something felt like I needed to be here," he whispers, carefully climbing near the foot of the bed.

"I have my memories back," she confesses.

"Really? That's great, mom. Did you..." he trails off, eyes darting toward Emma.

"Yeah, she told me everything," Emma says with her eyes closed. "Come cuddle," she sleepily responds.

Henry curls into Regina's side, on the very edge of the bed and everything in Regina settles. She's home. After everything she has endured, she finally is where she was always meant to be and she wouldn't change one single second.

And she can't wait for what tomorrow brings for her and her family, it's a mystery now and it will be their greatest adventure.

A/N: Thank you all for your support and lovely comments. I know some readers wanted me to start from the beginning and show how they fell in love but you all got to see how Emma was able to make Regina fall in love all over again with simply loving her. Thanks again for all the love, I wish I had more time to write!

Ps: There is a sequel to an older story in the works, I'm not sure how long this will take me but it's delicate and needs to be done right. I have 13 chapters complete right now, so it is coming along!