David inched along the wall outside of the room, he could hear Mendel 's voice saying;"now you're never going to hurt anyone, ever again."

David barged into the room and fired at the machine Mendel was moving towards, rendering it useless. "Don't move!" He shouted. Mendel momentarily froze in shock before gaining some sense and trying to make a run for it. David was not about to let him get away after what he'd done and began to chase the other man until he heard Snow call out to him from behind.

"David!" He regretfully stopped, forcing himself not to continue going after that swine. Snow began to undo the straps that were restraining Regina; "we can't leave her. She'll die if we don't get her help."

David finally looked down at Regina whom he had yet to take a good look at. She looked awful. When he had first entered the room he was certain she had been at least semi-conscious, but now she was completely out. He had never seen her look so fragile. "We've got to get her to mother superior." He said, before speaking into the walkie-talkie to his daughter. "Emma you gotta block the exits,"

"Already on it," Emma responded. "You guys alright?"

"Ya we're fine, we found Regina. But Mendel, he's coming your way." David warned as he hurried to help Snow free Regina.

Once they had removed all of the clips and straps Snow checked Regina's pulse. "It's very weak, we have to hurry." She said.

"David reached down and lifted her off of the table, cradling her carefully. Instantly, he felt something he had never in a thousand years thought he would. Having her in his arms seemed to feel so right, as if he wanted to protect her. He looked down at her somewhat bewilderedly. Her skin was clammy and the rims of her closed eyes were red, probably from crying. He felt a pang in his heart at the sight, wishing they had been able to get to her sooner, to have saved her from at least some of this pain.

"Are you good?" Snow asked, breaking him out of his daze.

"Ya, I've got her. Let's go."

When they reached his truck he paused outside of it. "Maybe we should have taken your car." He said to Snow as he realised how little room there was inside. Regina gave a soft moan from his arms. "Is she waking up?" He asked Snow because he could no longer see Regina's face at the angle she was at.

"It doesn't look like it." Snow checked, pushing Regina hair back from her face. Regina's eyes remained closed but her hand slowly moved onto David's arm, holding it weakly. Although her fingers felt like ice, he felt a warmth spread through him. It was if her touch was something he had been longing for all his life and he certainly didn't want it to end so soon.

"Maybe you should drive." He said to Snow. She nodded, thinking nothing of David's not wanting to let go of the Queen.

Snow held the passenger door open for David and he cautiously climbed into the truck. The awkward motions caused Regina to regain some awareness and her arm slowly slid around David's neck, subconsciously knowing that he was there to help her. Her head was resting against his shoulder and her cheek rubbed ever so slightly against his shirt. The gesture was tiny but it caused David to hold onto her more securely, wanting her to know that she was safe. Wanting her to know that he wouldn't let anyone else hurt her. Without thinking of who would see, David raised a hand to the side of her head and gently stroked her hair.

The other door slammed shut as Snow got into the drivers' seat. She stared with slightly narrowed eyes at the pair beside her, but under the circumstances decided not to comment. Regina had been through a lot and David was only trying to help. He was just being kind, he would act this way towards anyone in the same condition that Regina was in right now. It was who he was.

"Let's take her back to the apartment. I can ask Mother Superior to meet us there." Snow said as she started the truck.

"Good idea, that way we'll be able to look after her. Mendel is still on the loose and we shouldn't leave Regina alone until he's locked up. I don't want to risk him coming after her again." David looked back down at Regina who had lost all consciousness again. Why did he feel so protective of this woman all of a sudden? After all the things she had done over the years... He couldn't explain it to himself, but maybe it was because she was still family despite everything. Something inside him said that this was not the case and his feelings were more than that.

"Of course not." Snow said, "We need to keep her safe for Henry. He'd be devastated if we let her die."

Right. He was protecting Regina for Henry's sake, David assured himself. Henry was his grandson and he would hate to see him suffer. However, David realised that he was now resisting the urge to kiss the top of Regina's head and whisper consoling words to her. To tell her that he wouldn't leave her. But he couldn't do either of those things in front of his wife. He shouldn't even be thinking of doing them at all. So he urged himself to remain content merely holding Regina close. He was worrying that she might not make it back to the apartment. How much strength did she have left? He could feel her starting to warm up again and that put his mind at ease because that had to be a good sign, she just needed to hang on for a few more minutes and then she could be healed. But sometimes a few minutes could make all the difference in the world and that is what bothered him the most. They had to save her.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

By the time they reached the apartment David was getting particularly anxious. Regina had not made any more sounds or movements since they had gotten into the truck and David was afraid that she might not wake up. Snow opened the door for him and he stepped carefully down from the truck. Mother Superior was already waiting for them outside the building and they went up as a group. When they entered their apartment David sadly realised that he was going to have to let go of Regina, and that was something he really didn't want to do. Unfortunately if he refused to put her down then Snow would become suspicious as to his reasoning. He himself had no idea where these new feelings for the Queen had come from, he just knew they were real and they were becoming stronger by the second.

"Quickly, put her over here." Mother Superior requested, gesturing towards his and Snow's bed.

David slowly placed her onto the bed and ignored the butterflies that formed in his stomach as he noted how beautiful she looked with her hair fanning out around her. Remembering how cold she had been before he had held her, he pulled a blanket up to her waist. He had to resist the impulse to place a kiss on her forehead; this felt instinctual, but he had to remind himself that it was an extremely bad idea, especially in present company. Instead he regretfully backed away to make room for Mother Superior. He watched nervously as she passed her wand over Regina. When he saw a warm glow spread throughout Regina's body and watched as the cuff that had been draining her of her magic disappeared, he inwardly sighed in relief but made sure to keep his face unreadable, the last thing he needed was to give himself away. Although he couldn't ignore what his emotions were telling him, he had a family with Snow to think about. Maybe sooner or later he would be able to put Regina off of his mind. In the meantime he would simply look after her as he would any other person who needed his help. At least, this was the reason he gave himself anyways.

When Regina woke up all he wanted to do was to take her into his arms once more and hold her tight. He couldn't bear seeing the pain in her eyes, and he wanted more than anything to tell her he was there for her, that he would take care of her, but he knew he could never let her know the way he felt about her.

A/N: I'm not sure if this is any good, but I needed to write something after this week's episode. It's not exactly what I wanted but maybe I will write that too. This was mainly a means for me to de-stress today. :)