Just a quick one-shot that popped in my head.

Hope you like it, tell me what you think.

The hand of the town clock moved a minute as she stared at it, her mind on a time in the past. Where she'd been young and naive and full of hope.

That hope had been taken from her, which had ended in her curse being casted. She still felt the burning rage when she thought of her first love – Daniel – being taken from her in such a violent way that she'd closed her heart to even the possibility of another love.

When she heard the hurried footsteps behind her, Regina Mills turned and watched as David Nolan – Prince Charming – stalked toward her with anger on his face.

"What the hell happened?" He asked as he grabbed her upper arms in a vice like grip. She would bruise – she bruised easily – but he didn't seem to care.

"You'll have to ask him," Regina sneered as she made sure she didn't move too much, lest he tightened his grip. "When he wakes up."

"I'm asking you."

"I don't know what happened," she replied when she saw the determination on his face, and felt the ever so slight tightening of his fingers, his nails pushing into her skin even through her clothes. "I found him like this."

"Did he say anything?" David shook her, but then let her go as he seemed to realize he was hurting her. Regina wondered if she'd shown him when she winced, but he hadn't seemed to be paying much attention to her.

"He said...he had found a way to bring back the dead."

"The dead?" David glanced from Regina to the man laying in the hospital bed, and then back again. "Who is he? I don't recognize him from home."

"He's not from the Enchanted Forest." Regina simply said as she licked her lips and kept her hands at her side, even though she wanted to rub her arms. Where David had held her she could feel the bruises forming. She would use her magic if she hadn't promised Henry that she wouldn't.

"Who is he?" The urgency in his voice made her step back. Against the window that separated the beds from the waiting area.

"I'm sure you're aware that...once...I loved someone," Regina said as she tried to change the subject. David narrowed his eyes but inclined his head. "Today I saw him. He...he looked so real. And then I came here to see how...how that was possible and I found Doctor Whale in his office…" she closed her eyes as the images of earlier assaulted her. "You'll have to talk to him, to find out what he did. But he brought my love back from the dead."

"And what are you still doing here?" David snarled.

Regina looked at him then, locking eyes with him. "I promised Henry I wouldn't use magic. And I won't. I just wanted you to know that this wasn't me." She gestured behind her.

"That's to be seen. Where's this love of yours now?" David looked around before glaring at her. "Is he anywhere here? Or is he terrorizing the town?"

"I don't know, David." Regina swallowed against the lump. "I saw him earlier today but he looked...he didn't look himself and Whale told me that...he's a monster. I just want to find him."

David arched an eyebrow. "What is he if he can bring back the dead? Not even the Dark One can."

"David, you'll have to ask him." Regina shook her head. "I don't want to get into this. Whale did this and you'll have to talk to him to find out why and how. I never actually saw...just, I knew he needed a heart."

"And where would he get that heart?" David narrowed his eyes at her again.

"From my vault," she replied as if it was the most normal thing in the world and then she saw the shock on his face. "I haven't taken any hearts since the curse – these are from before!"

"And which heart did he take Regina?" David asked, urgency coloring his voice.

"I don't know…" she thought a moment about transporting herself to her vault to check but the look on David's face stopped her, along with the promise she made Henry. "I'd have to go and check."

"No. What's more important, is where he's going." David ran a hand through his hair. "If he's a monster we have to put him down."

"No!"

"Yes!" David grabbed her upper arm again but this time pushed her in front of him as he moved away from the window. "You're going to find him, and put him down."

"I wouldn't know where to start."

David growled. "Think!"

And she did. Regina thought of the last time they were going to meet. At the stables. And she had brought them over in the curse, her own stables. Even if she hadn't been able to go there without thinking about him and his death.

"The stables." She looked at him as he opened the car door for her and she could see the panic in his face as she said it.

"Henry!"

The panic settled in her just as strong as it had in David and Regina gasped. "He's at the stables?" She asked as she climbed into the pickup.

David rushed around to the drivers side and bulked in before he answered.

"Yes."

While her body turned cold as she thought about her son being in danger, David drove them to the stables. He didn't seem to care about speed limits and, she realized, he wouldn't have to worry about a ticket because he was the sheriff.

While she knew her Daniel would never hurt Henry, she also didn't know if this was her Daniel.

The drive over seemed long even if it was just a couple of minutes and Regina felt like her heart was going to stop beating when she saw one of the horses running free. "Why did you even bring him here?" She asked as she hurried out of the car.

"I thought it would be good for him to learn how to ride," David countered when he followed her into the stables.

The horses were panicked and there was one stable open. The one Henry was in, David knew and Regina knew it too. And Daniel.

Regina ran toward the open stable and widened her eyes when she saw her son in the air, Daniel holding him in a choke hold. "Daniel!" She called out and she hadn't expected him to let Henry go, but he did.

Henry fell to the ground, but he was okay because he stood up right away, and David rushed to his side and pulled the little boy out of the stables and out of danger.

Regina could hear David asking Henry if he was okay and then tell him to run, but she couldn't turn and look at them no matter how much she wanted to. Because Daniel was standing in front of her, his eyes dark and full of danger but she still wanted to talk.

If there was a possibility.

So she did what she had promised Henry not to do and she stepped into the stall, and used her magic to close the door, so that David couldn't get in and Daniel couldn't get out.

Regina hadn't seen the movements he made, his hands outstretched and then suddenly he had her in the same choke hold as he'd had Henry just a moment earlier.

With her air supply cut off, all Regina could do was grunt for a moment and he looked so so angry as he pushed her into the door she had just closed and locked with magic. "Daniel." It was a throaty whisper but he seemed to notice. "Please...it's me."

When his grip loosened she could push against him as she inhaled and then coughed, her throat raw and painful. She held a hand against her throat and looked up at him, seeing he was fighting something within him.

"Regina?" He suddenly murmured and when he looked at her, Regina saw her Daniel. She smiled at him then, vulnerable even though she knew what that could mean for her.

"Daniel," she called his name low and throaty, her throat still hurting and she knew it would for a while. "How...I can't believe you're really here." A year rolled down her cheek and then another. He held open his arms and pulled her into an embrace like he used to do.

But something was different. "Regina. It hurts." He forced out as he tightened his grip and she could feel his nails biting into her skin through her clothes. She winced but didn't want to move too much because she didn't know what hurt.

"What?" She asked as she tried to be as still as possible in case he had a wound of some sort. "What hurts Daniel?"

"Everything!" He pushed her against the door again with a vicious glare in his eyes and she grunted out against the pain. "It's your fault." He pulled her toward him only to slam her back into the door.

"Daniel. Stop," Regina said as her back muscles cramped up. "You're hurting me."

"You're hurting me!" He growled as he turned away from her. Regina doubled over as her chest constricted. He wasn't her Daniel now, and it hurt beyond what she had thought because she had really set her hopes on being able to start a new life with him.

She looked up at him as he paced in front of her, his face contorted in pain but she couldn't find an injury on him. "Where are you hurt?"

He turned toward her then, his eyes dark and his lips tight. "Everywhere, Regina. Your hold on me hurts."

She blinked at him and wondered what he was talking about. But then after a moment she realized what he meant and she widened her eyes.

Her hold. She wasn't able to let go of him and that was hurting him more than anything – more than having the heart of someone else.

"I don't know how to let go," she whispered as tears now freely streamed down her cheeks and onto her clothes. "I can't...I love you."

"And I love you," he forced out as he grabbed on to his head. "But I can't…you have to let go!" The pain was laced in his voice and she felt it again, the constricting of her chest as the situation sunk in.

"I have to let you go for you to stop feeling pain?"

"You have to let me go, for me to be able to move on," he said as he stood straight and became her Daniel again. "Please, Regina I need you to let me go. I know you love me. I really do, but this isn't healthy."

"I don't know how!" She exclaimed as she moved closer. At the last moment she thought the better of it because he'd hurt her twice already and she knew she'd already made the mistake of locking herself in the stable with someone who was volatile. "Daniel, I miss you so much and I don't know how to let you go."

"We've had to...you have had to live with me not being there and you did, didn't you?" He asked as he pushed his hands through his hair, again showing signs of turning back to the monster. "You have to realize that you did alright."

"But I didn't! Losing you turned me into someone everyone fears." She cried out as she wiped at her tears angrily. "They call me the Evil Queen and I am just that."

"You can change." He gritted out as his eyes turned darker. "You can show them the person that I know. Please. Let me go." He shook his head. "I can't live like this."

Regina felt her knees buckle when she saw the change, his head lowered but his eyes on her. He looked so unlike himself that she felt the panic rise as a chill raised the hairs on the back of her neck.

"I love you."

"Enough to let me go?" He stepped closer and she quickly inclined her head but he didn't stop. "Say the words, do you love me enough to let me go?"

"I love you enough to try and let you go."

He growled and moved so quickly that she was sure he would get to her. She lifted her hand just as he raised his to do something, and she quickly cast the spell to immobilize him.

"I do love you enough."

The pain she felt when she held his hand in hers, the look in his eyes thankful and relieved, was almost too much as she felt tears roll down her cheeks. She could see his love for her as she waved her free hand down and he disintegrated into dust.

She sank into the hay as the door slammed against the wall just beside her. She knew she should pull herself together but the pain of loss was just too much at that moment to do anything but breathe.

"Regina?" David sounded like he was unsure if he should even see to her while there was a little boy that needed his attention.

"I'm fine." She stood to shaky feet and wiped at her eyes. She was angry at herself for letting her heart take control for even a moment. She looked up at David and could see the pity in his eyes and she growled.

"Right."

"Where's Henry?" She asked as she pushed past him and out of the stable. "I need to see if he's alright."

"He's fine," David said as he fell into step beside her. "You, on the other hand...you look rough." He held out his hand and effectively stopped her without even touching her. "What happened in there?"

"That's none of your business." She didn't feel like telling David anything. She just wanted to go home and take a shower and feel what she wanted to feel.

She wanted to do what Daniel had asked her to, and let him go.

"Where's Daniel then?"

She glared up at David and scoffed. "You wanted him put down right? Well, you have what you wanted now. He's gone."

"Why did you lock me out?" David asked softly as Regina stepped around him. "I would've been able to help."

"You would not have been able to help." Regina grunted out as she rubbed her throat, suddenly aware of the pain there and the bruises that were probably showing themselves. "Unless you have magic."

He shook his head and she wondered if he felt bad for her. He looked like he did and she looked away when she realized she needed comfort more than she was willing to admit.

"Let's get you home," he said instead as he opened the car door for her. Henry was in the back and smiled at her when she stepped in. She was careful not to show him any of her bruises. "I think we still need to talk so why don't we all go to your place?"

Regina narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you being so nice?"

Henry groaned but David simple grinned at her as he started the car. "Because believe it or not, you're family and both Emma and Snow would want me to be at least nice to you."

"I'd rather…" she looked back at Henry before she made up her mind. "I'd rather be alone right now." She glanced at David who simple shrugged and drove her home.

"Maybe I'll drop Henry off tonight for dinner. I think despite you wanting to be alone you wouldn't mind having Henry for the night," David said while he was walking her to her door. As if they'd been on a date and he was being a gentleman.

"I'd like that." She turned and smiled at Henry, who smiled back and then she turned back to David. "Thank you."

David inclined his head and then walked back to the car while Regina turned and opened her front door.

The place felt cold and she knew it wasn't the house but her mind and body that were messing with her. She figured she should get ready for Henry's presence but what she wanted was to talk to someone. Even if that meant having to open up to hurt.

It didn't take her long to get to Archie, and when she knocked on the door of his office she could feel her throat close up again as tears burned her eyes.

"Regina," the psychiatrist opened the door further and stepped aside when he saw how close she was to tears. He didn't mention anything about them though as he followed her into his office after closing his door.

"I used magic." Regina felt a lone tear slide down her cheek and before she turned around, she wiped it away with the back of her hand. "I told you…about Daniel and how I've been seeing him around?"

"Yes." Archie sat down. "You said it was impossible."

"It was...but now that magic is here…" she shrugged. "Daniel wasn't himself."

"He hurt you." Archie glanced at the bruises around her throat and Regina held her hand against them.

"Yes." She inhaled. "He hurt me. Because he was hurting and he needed me to let him go." She exhaled and another tear ran down her cheek. This time she ignored it. "He wasn't himself."

"So what did you do?" Archie asked. There was no judgement in his voice, no pity either.

"I let him go. A spell to let him go." She cleared her throat and sighed. "He can rest in peace now."

Archie was silent for a while as Regina tried to pull herself together. The pain in her chest seemed to lessen now that she was actually talking about it instead of bottling it up.

"You're going to get better, Regina." He looked like he didn't know how to help her. And maybe he didn't because she used to deal with the pain in a different way. "It'll take some time, but you will be better."

"Thanks." She didn't know what else to say and so when she moved toward the door, he didn't say anything. Because he didn't have anything to say and neither did she. "I should get home. Henry is coming over for dinner."

Archie smiled at that. "That's progress."

"David suggested it. I'm not sure if it's a choice he can make. I do hope he wants it." She shrugged and then left Archie again.

When she got home an hour later with her arms full of groceries for dinner, she felt calmer and the pain had dulled a lot compared to earlier. She felt like she had killed Daniel, though of course that wasn't even possible considering he'd already been dead for way too long even before the curse.

She put the groceries on the counter and washed her hands before she got to work on making her famous lasagna, the one that Henry loved so much.

She figured after she'd put it in the oven she had time to take that shower she so craved, so she worked fast but precisely. It needed to be perfect even though she knew Henry loved it no matter how she made it.

She was happy with the result as she put it in the oven and then she sighed and made her way to her room, up the stairs. It felt like ages since she last set foot in there and she gritted her teeth. Between Henry hating her and Emma and Mary Margaret falling through a portal, she'd spent so much time trying to figure out how to make everything better, that if she ever took the time to sleep it would be in her vault.

She turned on the shower and quickly undressed as her mind went back to the feeling of the spell in her hand, as she let Daniel go. It was one of the easiest spells but had been the hardest at the same time.

She stepped under the hot stream of water and shivered when the heat made her cold body finally warm up. It was like having to let go of Daniel had taken her heat, and it was one of the things that she'd lost after losing her love.

But, as she stood under that heat, and her body slowly warmed, she realized she didn't lose anything. At least not permanently. She just needed to find it again. The goodness in her heart, the love and the happiness. She knew it was there because when she'd been with Daniel she'd felt it.

And he knew it was there too.

All she needed to do was let go and open up again. However hard it was, because Henry needed her to and she wanted him in her life.

At the thought of Henry, Regina took a deep breath and finished her shower. She wished she had more time but she thought it was a good thing that she didn't. She'd have stayed in the shower for as long as she could and she'd break down. But she didn't want that to happen and she didn't want it to happen before her son would come for dinner.

When she got downstairs, freshly showered and a layer of makeup over her bruises, Henry was already in the kitchen with David. They both looked up and David stepped away from Henry as Regina moved closer.

"Henry."

"Mom." Henry stood and ran toward her, slamming his body into hers and wrapping his arms around her. "Are you okay?" He asked and she frowned at David who shook his head.

"I'm fine Henry." She pressed her lips against his hair and wrapped her arms around him. "Are you?" She remembered how Daniel had held him like a ragdoll and she felt panic bubble up at the image.

"Yea I'm okay," Henry mumbled against her stomach and Regina breathed in relief. He pulled back a little and looked up at her. "Who was that?"

Regina briefly thought to lie but then she remembered her promise to herself and to Henry. "That was Daniel. He...he was someone from my past."

"Wasn't he...your true love?" Henry frowned at her and she nodded her head. "But he was dead."

"There's a lot about magic that you don't know. Magic, and other things. And while I promised I'd be honest with you…" she shook her head. "I just don't want you to know these kinds of things Henry."

"She's right, Henry. You don't need to know everything." David said and Henry turned around in Regina's arms. "Your mom had to find a way to...save him."

"And did you? Where'd he go?" Henry asked her and she shook her head as tears once again burned in her eyes.

"He wasn't supposed to be here," she said as she pulled away from him. Even though she didn't mean to.

He frowned and opened his mouth but David stopped him. "Regina sent him back to where he came from. She let him go. Which, even if it sounds hard, is the best thing she could've done for him."

"So she saved him?" Henry sounded so hopeful, it almost broke Regina's heart.

"She did." David said with a nod. And then he seemed to shift the conversation because his whole demeanor changed. "Do you want me to pick you up after dinner or do you want to stay here for the night?"

Henry glanced at Regina who tried her best not to look too hopeful, to feel too hopeful.

"I'd like to stay the night. I've missed Mom." He hugged David after saying this and David looked up at Regina for a moment before he turned and walked out of the kitchen.

Regina watched as Henry glanced around before his eyes settled on the oven where his favorite dish was getting ready and then he turned toward her again.

"What is it?" She asked when he didn't say anything for the longest time.

"I'm sorry for everything Mom."

It was all he said but there was so much behind those words that Regina couldn't stop the tear from rolling down her cheek before she could stop it. "It's okay."

And it was. Because even though she'd just lost Daniel again, she had found her way back to her son in a way that she hadn't thought possible and well, the good seemed to outweigh the bad.

And for a moment there, Regina was happy.