Thank you for all of the lovely reviews, favorites and follows! Wow! :) Busy, busy weekend, but FUN! I have time for a few more chapters before I head off on another adventure this weekend. Keep those reviews coming and I'll keep my head down to get as many chapters finished as possible. The more chapters, the closer we get to the good stuff! ;)

A few days had passed since the return of David's memory and things were strange. The dinner with Regina had gone surprisingly well. David supposed he shouldn't have been that surprised – she was pretending to be civil after all. Things had been tense between him and Kathryn. It was as if they were right back where they'd started in their relationship back in their world – except this time, Kathryn really did believe she was in love with him.

While it upset him that he was going to hurt her when he left, he also knew that he couldn't stay. It wouldn't be fair to Kathryn to trap her in a relationship with a man who didn't return her love, and it most certainly wouldn't be fair to Abigail once people remembered who they truly were. He hadn't talked with her yet, but she'd sensed something was wrong and had been on edge.

Meanwhile, his relationship with Snow, or Mary Margaret as it were, was even worse off; which is how he'd ended up back at the mayor's mansion – to update Henry on the latest news for Operation Cobra.

A well-dressed Regina answered the door. "David. I wasn't expecting you."

"No – I know. I'm sorry."

"Come in," she said, waving him inside with a faint expression of concern. "I talked to Kathryn earlier."

Oh. So that's why he was being invited in. Actually, this could be an opportunity to solve a few problems at once.

"That's actually why I came here," he lied. "I wanted to talk to you about it, if it's alright with you. I need to talk to a friend." The word tasted bitter, but he managed not to show it.

Regina put a hand to her chest. "David, I'm touched that you consider me a friend. Of course you can talk to me. I want to help in any way I can."

Her voice was sickly sweet, but he had to admit, had he not known she was pretending, he would have thought her genuine. So he smiled and followed her back to the living room. Deciding to just jump in immediately, David waited only for them to sit down before speaking. "I don't think I can do this anymore, Regina."

She frowned. "What are you talking about, David?"

"My marriage. I just don't think I can keep pretending. It's not fair to anyone."

"Pretending?"

"Don't get me wrong. I care about Kathryn. I care about her very much." He had to concentrate so that he didn't slip and call her Abigail. He was strangely grateful that the curse had been so thorough in giving him new memories. Without them being so solid, it would be too easy to slip up. There were so many differences to remember. "I just don't love her the way she deserves. Not anymore."

"I'm sure it's just lingering effects of the coma. If you give it a little time—"

"No, I don't think so. You have to understand – our marriage was falling apart before my coma. I was leaving her."

"But David – Kathryn sees this as a second chance for the two of you. Surely you can't have decided it won't work after only a few days?"

"I can. I just don't…feel anything with her. I don't want to hurt her, and I…I think she could be much happier with someone else. She deserves a chance at true love."

Regina sat back in her chair frowning. She took a deep breath. "Are you in love with someone else?"

That, David knew, would have been an odd question even if he didn't know her true motives for asking it. She was thinking about Snow White. Mary Margaret.

"No," he lied. Then, with a bit of honesty, he added, "I may have had feelings for someone else, but she's not interested."

Regina looked genuinely surprised. She hadn't expected him to tell the truth. "Mary Margaret?"

David feigned a look of shock at her guess and she said, "It was a little obvious with the way the two of you were acting."

"Yes, I suppose it was."

"But you're sure she's not interested?" Regina asked curiously. "That's surprising."

"Yes. We talked today. There won't ever be a relationship between us." He didn't add that he only meant between David and Mary Margaret. They would break the curse and David would once again be reunited with his wife.

Regina leaned over and placed a hand over his. "I'm sorry, David. I know you really liked her."

Managing not to rip his hand out from under hers, David nodded. "It's alright. The important thing is that it's not the reason I'm leaving Kathryn. I'm doing it because I feel it's what's best for us both, even if it doesn't seem like it at the start."

Regina rubbed her hand over his a few times before giving it a gentle squeeze and pulling it away. "If that's how you feel, I think you should do it." It seemed, with the threat of a reunion with Snow removed, Regina didn't mind his relationship status.

"Really?" he asked.

"Mmmhmm. It's too bad that you and Kathryn aren't going to work out, but you should absolutely do what makes you happy. You deserve it."

"Thank you," David told her. "You have no idea what a relief it is to hear you say that. You really are a good friend."

"Glad I could help," she smiled.

They were silent a moment. "Is Henry home?"

"Yes," she answered slowly, tilting her head in question. "Why?"

"Oh, I was just thinking I might pop up and say hi, if it's okay with you?"

"Of course," she smiled. "He's just upstairs finishing up some homework." As they both stood from the couch, she added, "Make sure to say goodbye on your way out."

"I will." He headed straight for the stairs. Knocking lightly on the door, he opened it a crack and poked his head around.

"David!" Henry cried happily, turning around in his chair. As soon as the door was closed, he asked, "How did it go?"

"Not good," David said sadly and Henry's face fell. "We're not going to be able to convince her. It looks like we're alone on this one, buddy."

"Okay, so she doesn't believe you about the curse." Henry tapped his fingers thoughtfully against his chin, reminding David of someone much older. "But you two can still be together. Just because she doesn't believe in the curse doesn't mean you have to stay apart."

David shook his head. "I'm sorry, Henry, but it's just not going to work like that. I tried to convince her, but now she's afraid of me. She thinks—"

"She thinks you're crazy," Henry finished flatly. "Like me."

David watched his grandson, heart aching that this was something Henry had been subjected to. He placed a hand on Henry's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You and I both know that's not true."

Henry looked up at him, face brightening. "I guess this means you won't have to worry about my mom hurting Snow. If you two were together, she'd probably do something to break you up again."

David nodded in agreement. That much was true. For now, Snow would be safe. As long as Regina continued to believe her curse was safe. "Don't worry, Henry. We'll find a way to break the curse."

Henry stood up from his chair and wrapped his arms around David's waist, hugging him tightly. "I'm so glad you know about all of it," he said, voice muffled by their hug.

David realized just how much Henry had taken on by himself when he set out to break the curse. He'd found Emma, brought her back to Storybrooke, fought to keep her there and to convince her the curse was real and that it was her role to break it – all the while being labeled as crazy by his schoolmates and people of the town, and trying desperately to hide as much of it as he could from Regina. It was an enormous burden for anyone and Henry was only ten years old. David pulled him in closer. "Me, too, Henry. Me, too."

When they finally pulled away from each other, David said, "I should get going. Your mom won't be happy if I keep you from finishing your homework."

Henry scrunched his nose at the thought of returning to homework, but nodded anyway. "I'll walk you downstairs," he said, slipping his hand into David's.

They talked happily about animals at the shelter – a safe topic now that they were out from behind closed doors – and Regina appeared at the base of the stairs, smiling as they joined her in the entryway.

"What are you two talking about?"

"Dogs!" Henry explained. "David gets to work with them every day! Can we get one, mom? Please?!" He clasped his hands in front of him pleadingly.

"We've talked about this, Henry," she said gently.

Head dropping, Henry nodded. "I know. I was just hoping maybe you'd change your mind."

Regina ran a hand through his hair and winced when he took a step back to pull away from her touch. Clearing her throat, Regina said, "How about you say goodbye to Mr. Nolan and go finish your homework?" At Henry's frown, she added, "Maybe he can come later this week for dinner."

"Really?" Henry chirped.

She nodded.

Smile back in place, Henry hugged David. "Bye, David."

"Bye, Henry." David patted his back as the boy turned and then watched as he bounded back up the stairs.

"It's good to see him smile again," Regina said as she watched after Henry. "It's been a while. Thank you for bringing it back."

Again surprised by her sincerity, David clasped his hands together awkwardly. "It was no problem. Thank you for listening to me. It helped a lot."

They smiled politely at each other and David turned toward the door. "I guess I'll see you later." He stopped when he felt a hand on his forearm.

As he turned back to face her, Regina said, "I'm always here, David. Whenever you need to talk."

"Thanks." He finally patted her hand and gave her a warm smile. "See you soon."

She nodded and watched him leave. It seemed that keeping tabs on Prince Charming was going to be much easier than she'd thought.