I'm working as fast as I can! Your reviews are awesome! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! I know the beginning is a little slow but I promise things will pick up and I am rather certain the rating will change. Please leave a review and tell me what you think and what you want!


He had been there too long. He didn't actually quite know how long he had been there for the days just seemed to blur together or jump from one event to the next which only enforced his belief that he was caught in a dream of some sort. He had concluded it was due to the dreamshade but he clearly wasn't dead. Which was something good he supposed. He had still been there too long.

Surely someone would have come up with a way to wake him by now? Or perhaps time was just moving faster in his mind than it truly was out in the real world. The only thing that gave him pause regarding his coma dream theory was that everything looked, sounded, and felt too real to be fake. But perhaps that all had something to do with whatever had him living through Regina's past.

He kept his head down though all the same. Regina and her father were nothing to worry about but Cora had him staying well within the lines of his work. He may be dreaming but in case he wasn't or in case his body wasn't healed enough for him to wake, he didn't want to risk dying there. So he worked. He stayed in the stables and cared for the structure and the horses within it. There were four.

There were the two black mares that pulled the family carriage and, if required, were ridden by Cora or Henry. Then there was the grey gelding that came to him with the job lest he need to go somewhere or get something from the town. Like a company car. Only the car was a horse. And the company was, well, Cora. The last horse was Regina's and he'd be damned if anyone saw how fond he was of that sweet little mare. Rocinante.

Regina absolutely adored her and was there in the stables every chance she got. Even if only for a moment to say hello to her little chestnut. David rarely had to care for the mare really for Regina tended to be there to do it herself. But in the quiet moments while Regina was in the manor, he found himself outside Rocinante's stall more often than not.

"Do you ever smile?"

David's attention snapped to the brunette at the sound of her voice and before he even laid eyes on her he knew she was smirking. He could tell by the tone of her voice. Sure enough, those soft pink lips were pulled in to a smirk and those dark eyes were lit up with the game as she lead her mare in to the stable from the opposite end he stood at. "I do," he answered shortly and kept his back leaning against the door frame and his arms folded over his chest.

Regina hummed in playful doubt with a raise of an eyebrow, sending Rocinante in to her stall but keeping her eyes on her stableboy, "I find that hard to believe," she smirked and when he scowled at her, she showed all her teeth in a grin and laughed quietly as she stepped inside the stall to remove her horse's tack.

With a slight roll of his eyes, David turned his head and looked back out at the expanse of land that belonged to the family. Hills, forest, meadow, a river. It seemed to go on and on and on.

"You do know that you are allowed to take Ben out, right?"

"Hmm?"

"Ben. The grey. You can ride him. You aren't trapped in these stables forced to stare out at the grounds with such a forlorn look in your eye," she told him simply as she pulled her saddle from Rocinante's back and then her bridle from her face.

"I am aware."

"And yet you haven't taken advantage?" She questioned curiously as she stepped out of the stall with the saddle on her arm and the bridle in her hand.

"I am waiting for something."

"And what is that?" She asked and he stared at her blankly. She stared right back at him. Patient and curious. But he didn't answer. Instead he changed the subject as he looked back outside.

"You ride very well."

Dropping the topic for now, Regina smirked a little in her amusement with him and shook her head as she turned her attention back to putting away her tack. "Thank you. Mother says I ride like a man."

"Is that an insult?"

"When it leaves her tongue, yes."

"Hmm."

"You still haven't told me where you are from," she inquired with a chirp to her voice that seemed to have caught his attention once more.

"I am from many places."

"Yes," she agreed with a smirk and nod of her head that fell in sync with the smug and intolerant dip of her voice. She had already heard that answer from him. Many times. Every time she asked as a matter of fact. She had gathered rather quickly that he wasn't truly from Neverland and had just been on a journey of some sort but she hadn't gotten any deeper than that. He just kept changing the subject.

"Storybrooke," he answered shortly, humouring the idea of keeping himself entertained in this odd world his mind had created. At the very least it would make time pass faster.

Even if it was still a one word answer, it was a different word and it was encouraging, "I've never heard of it. Where is it?"

"A portal jump away I suppose."

"Well that's interesting. What was the trip like?"

"I couldn't really say. I was asleep on the way there and was a little distracted on he way out."

"However did you manage to sleep through such a journey?" She laughed as she walked over to him and leaned back against the other side of the doorframe so she was across from him with her hands behind her back.

"Well I was stabbed and left for dead."

"Fascinating," she grinned and he looked down at her with his same stern expression, "no wonder you never smile."

"I do smile."

"Just checking," she smirked with a slight raise of her chin. He merely stared at her. It made her smirk curl higher and she nodded at him, "why so grumpy then?"

"I'm not grumpy."

"Mmmm yes you are."

"I am not."

Regina only laughed through her grin as she leaned a little more in to the doorframe, "are you married?"

David hesitated with his answer. Wherever and whenever he had found himself in, Snow was but a young girl, just a child, so he supposed, "no. Not in this world."

"Well that is an intriguing answer. Care to elaborate."

"Not particularly, no."

"Alright," she chuckled and nodded, "any other family?"

He opened his mouth to give a similar answer but then stopped mid thought and felt his heart jump in his chest, "yes...maybe..."

Regina looked up at him curiously with a smile as some sort of realization dawned on him. It was fascinating to watch his face change from the stern resting face she had grown to find amusing, "who?"

"...My mother."

"Well you will have to visit her now that you are back in the area. Unless she's anything like my mother. Then you may feel free to avoid her at all costs," she nodded her head forward with a raise of her brow but David shook his head slightly.

"No she is nothing like your mother. I haven't seen her in...years..."

"Well then we should make a trip out of it!" Regina smiled and David looked down at her with his brow furrowed.

"Excuse me?"

"We shall pick a sequence of days that my mother is out of town and set you up with what you will need and send you off. No return trip necessary if you do not wish. Ben is getting old anyway and mother has never cared for him. I doubt she'll even notice he's gone and if she does she'll assume he died," she shrugged and he studied her carefully in his confusion, "why must you always look at me as though I have seven heads?" She chuckled lightly with her gentle voice and he shook his head a couple times.

"Because...you're just..." He shook his head again in his fight to find a good enough answer, "not who I thought you to be."

"So you've said before," she nodded with a smile and left him a silent offer to explain further. One which he refused. So she asked aloud instead, "why?"

"Because it is the truth."

"But what gave you such an impression in the first place?"

"Experience."

"...What do you mean?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"You are not good at answering them," she pressed and he huffed irritably as he clenched his jaw. "Did you know that if you relax your jaw and open your lips," she nodded a little with a raise of her brow and fought a smirk as she lifted a hand to move in front of her own mouth, "it actually makes it rather simple for the words to come out."

The glare he gave her in return was so stone cold she couldn't help but laugh. He didn't seem to appreciate it. "Oh come on, lighten up," she laughed as she tipped her head back against the doorframe.

"You are a figment of my imagination, I don't need to talk to you," he stated plainly and she laughed. It was quiet and confused at first but then it grew louder and freer with her complete and utter amusement. The more she laughed the more he realized how ridiculous that truly sounded.

"What in the world makes you say that?" She laughed with a shake of her head while her cheeks started to ache with her wide grin and laughter.

"Fine," he conceded irritably and she smirked with a nod of her head and a smug twitch of her eyebrow, "I was in Neverland and while I was there I got hit with an arrow dipped in dreamshade. A lethal poison. I didn't tell anyone about it and the last thing I remember is passing out with her cussing me out. Then I woke up here. Which is impossible, I might add."

"Why is it impossible?"

"Because this has all already happened," he answered with a straightened posture and an agitated arm waving through the air between them.

"You've already met me?"

"Yes. No."

"Which one is it?"

"I haven't met you before. I've known her for years."

"So you think you have traveled back in time?"

"No."

"Good because that is impossible," she nodded but quickly kept the fascinating and confusing conversation continue before he found himself closing his mouth again, "so what is the theory then? You've been in these stables alone for quite some time now, surely you've thought of something."

With a sigh, David conceded to her once more and she listened carefully, "I think that I am laying in a coma either in Storybrooke or in Neverland. I think that her magic has reacted with the dreamshade and that this whole world is made up with our subconsciouses mingling with her memories. I know that I am not changing her memories otherwise I wouldn't be in this situation in the first place but I am rather certain that this whole thing isn't real."

"Alright," she accepted quietly with a nod as she mulled it over. She supposed, in his eyes, it could make sense. Except for the fact that she felt like a rather real and solid person. "So...you are simply waiting to be woken up then."

"Yes."

"Right. And...who is this 'her' you keep mentioning?" She asked with a slight furrow of her brow and his gaze fell to her mouth. And then he frowned in confusion and titled his head. "What are you looking at?"

"Where is your scar?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your scar. On your lip."

"I don't have a scar on my lip. Or anywhere else for that matter. You can check if you like," she added with a playful little smirk that he blatantly ignored as he took a step closer to her. She was beginning to wonder if he even had the brain capacity to tease and play. She didn't so much as bat an eye when he came near. Okay perhaps she did bat a couple times as her smirk grew but his attention stayed on her mouth. Much to her amusement. Such an odd man. "Who is she?" She asked again and his head shook slowly in confusion.

"The Evil Queen."

"And she put you in this state?"

"No. She's trying to wake me up."

"That doesn't sound particularly evil."

"She's not," he stated and then realized how close he was to her. But he couldn't seem to step back. He was caught by those dark eyes; fascinated by the way they held no pain or suffering.

Regina hummed softly in acceptance and admiration. She didn't know his past and just in general didn't know much about him at all. But the way his demeanour softened when he spoke of this queen made her heart warm. "You best not die on her then," she told him kindly and he blinked at her, "in my experience, those with dark hearts aren't particularly inclined to help those who are suffering. Not unless they truly care," she elaborated with a gentle smile and watched as his bitterness regarding his situation slowly started to give way to a humble respect and a deeper understanding of something she was unaware of.

"If this truly is all in your head, and I am but a figment of your joined subconsciouses, intentionally or not she has given you a way inside. Why wouldn't you take advantage of it? Embrace it and learn everything you can so that when you awake you can at the very least thank her properly," she continued and found herself fascinated by how much his character had softened and relaxed, "I would tell you to embrace this so that you can find new ways to love her but that would be counterproductive to what I want to do with you," she smirked and it grew to a grin when a smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.

"So you can smile," she teased with a low laugh lacing her words and lingering in her throat.

"I don't love her," he shook his head and couldn't help but smile. Very much like the Regina he knew, this one was relentless. But instead of spite and snark, it was harmless flirting and constant company. It was hard to wrap his head around but he supposed he enjoyed it.

"Good," she smirked with a rock of her head and he shook his and started walking away from her.

"No," he denied with a smile he wished he could be rid of.

"You say that now," she smirked and her eyes followed his back as he shook his head with a small laugh.

"Do you not have somewhere to be?"

"Sure," she shrugged one shoulder but stayed put, "I'd rather be here though."

"With your horse."

"Amongst other things," she smirked and he gave her a scolding but amused look over his shoulder before he tossed hay in to Rocinante's stall.

"Go. Before Cora has both our heads," he nodded out the door she still leaned back on. She was absolutely stunning. And she knew it. It seemed even in the beginning the dark queen was aware of just how beautiful she was. Long dark curls styled without so much as a single tangle, strong slim figure held tall and proud and dressed to show off her shape but not her skin, soft pink lips that were always in a smirk, dark and daring eyes filled with life and light and minimal makeup. It wasn't helping his case. He already had feelings for the Regina he knew and he hated that upfront but deep down he wanted to feel more. He was bitter to this Regina because he wanted her to keep her distance. He had been entirely agitated by this whole thing.

But...after she gave him a better insight as to what was going on...the small part of him that wanted to feel deeper for Regina wormed its way to the front and tempted his heart and mind. It calmed him and opened his heart without his permission. He wanted to know more, he wanted to know what happened to Regina right from the beginning, what he didn't want was to fall for her where he was. He was in a dream. And she was too young. Not that he knew how old she was. She was just too young. Perhaps. It was hard. She didn't act young. Besides...he was married to Snow.

"I will see you soon, stableboy," she agreed with a smile and a nod and then turned and left to go back up to the manor.

Regina

It was hard to hide what she felt. She wasn't supposed to feel anything as far as those around her were concerned. But it was hard when all she wanted to do was be Snow. All she wanted was to sit there beside him on this godforsaken pirate ship, hold his hand, and stare at him until he woke up. When he had become so important to her, she couldn't say, but he had and she was an anxious wreck.

And she couldn't show it.

"Mom?"

"Hmm? Yes?"

"Are you okay?" Henry frowned and she smiled and nodded.

"I'll be okay."

"I didn't ask if you were going to be okay," he shook his head and her smile grew strained, "I asked if you were okay. Right now," she didn't answer him with words. He knew she wouldn't dare let herself tell him she wasn't okay. He didn't think she was physically capable of it. Her pride and duty to protect him from the real world got in the way. The real world where your mother isn't always okay, the real world where your strong unbreakable mother sometimes needed to fall apart. She didn't answer him with words. She couldn't. But her answer was given in her silence and her further strained smile.

So with a frown and a slump of his shoulders he looked at her and she looked back with tears beginning to gloss her eyes. When she swallowed, his heart ached and he stepped up to the edge of the bed and carefully wrapped his arms around his mother's head and drew her in close. As he buried his nose in her hair and took a breath, she pressed her face in to his chest and wound her arms around his middle. It had been far too long since he had held or been held by her. He missed it. It felt like hot chocolate warming him from the inside out.

"I love you, mom."

"I love you too, my son," she breathed and hated that it was shaky.

"You saved me. I am okay. Because of you, I am safe, you don't need to worry about me. I don't know why you're so stressed out over David but he'll be okay too. I know he will."

"When did you get so clever?" She asked with a torn smile against his chest. He was getting older and a little wiser. He was able to read her now and that was something he had never been able to do. He was growing up. She didn't want that...

"You taught me everything I know," Henry laughed a little and then hugged her tighter when she hummed and nuzzled her face deeper in to his chest. "I'm tired...but I am scared to sleep alone..." He confessed quietly and when she moved her head, he loosened his arms so she could hold his face between her hands and look him in the eye with a sad but loving smile and tear glossed eyes. He couldn't help but wonder how a person's face could express so many things at once. And then he wondered how he had convinced himself she was heartless. How cruel he had been to her.

"I don't want to sleep without you in my sight," she shook her head and smiled when he did. Then she moved backward and he quickly kicked off his shoes and climbed on to the bed with her. The moment she laid down he had cuddled himself right in to her and with an easier smile she draped a heavy blanket over them and laid her head on the pillow with him. Sleepy but bright brown eyes looked back at her and made her smile as she tucked his hair behind his ear. He was going to need a haircut when they got back.

Then she kissed the tip of his nose and smiled when he breathed a laugh, "I'm so happy you are safe."

"I knew you'd find me," he told her quietly and got lost in the depths of her dark eyes looking back at him. He didn't think he had ever really and truly looked at her like this. Not so close with such attention to detail. She was absolutely beautiful and her eyes were so dark they challenged the night sky and won just for their warmth.

"Always," she breathed and when he laughed she rolled her eyes. She hadn't meant to use the infamous Snow and Charming tag line, "shut up."

"I won't tell."

"Good," she grumbled but couldn't help but smile as he laughed. "Go to sleep, sweetheart. It's been a long adventure," she sighed softly and he hummed before he kissed the tip of her nose and then tucked his head under her chin so he could nuzzle his nose in to her collar bone and take a deep breath. Slowly her fingers combed through his hair and eventually she found herself being lulled to sleep by his steady and even breaths against her chest. But even on the brink of sleep she found herself worried that she was going to wake up to David having died in the night on the pirate's precious ship. She didn't want to find out how well she would cope with that.