She hated him.
She still loved him.
She called the doctors, the nurses, any hospital staff that wasn't asleep and snoring. They asked her to step outside the room for a moment.
The moment the doctors came out to give her a report and tell her that David could go home within a week, she was gone.

She didn't want anything to do with him. Not anymore, not ever.

It was ten in the morning.

"Emma?"
"Mhm, good morning, this is Sheriff Swan." Emma mumbled sleepily.
"Emma, focus!" Emma almost dropped her phone at the hard tone of her friend.
"Regina! Oh shit, it's 10:00, I'll bring Henry over as soon as I-" Emma rushed, putting on her slippers and rushing to the bathroom.
"Emma, it's fine really," Regina started
"No Regina, I-"
"Emma, I don't care what time Henry gets here!" Emma stopped. Regina sighed.
"Emma, it's David, he's awake." Emma literally dropped her phone.
"Emma, are you alright?" A calm, sweet voice was heard from the kitchen.

o0o0o0o0o0o

She was waiting at Granny's. She uncharacteristically ordered a chocolate milkshake - something that Henry rubbed off on her. She was nervously tapping her fingers on the surface of the table as she tried to compose herself.
She took the first sip of her milkshake and tasted something different in it. She looked at Ruby, Ruby made her way to Regina with crossed arms.
"Look, lady, I've known you for who knows how long and I know when you need and when you don't need alcohol in your milkshake. Okay?" Regina let out a laugh.
"No, Ruby, I meant to say thank you."
"Yeah, right, you did."

The door chimes of the diner sounded. Ruby looked to see who entered the diner. Her eyebrows shot up.

"Regina! You didn't tell me that he was..." Ruby stopped. "No wonder you needed the alcohol."
Regina tried to stay composed.
It's been a month since she last saw him and it's the first time he's been to Granny's. He was supposed to stay only a week in the hospital before he went home but it took a month for him to be discharged. Even he didn't know why.

"Regina, sorry I'm late. Oh, hey, Ruby." He flashed that signature smile - that same smile that captured Regina's heart more than a decade ago. He kissed Regina's cheek. She stayed still, she bit her lip afterwards.
"David, any order?" Ruby asked cheerfully.
"My usual, Ruby. I mean, if you still remember my usual." He smiled sheepishly
"Of course I do! I'll just bring it over. I'll leave you guys first. You know, customers." Ruby slowly walked back to the counter.

"So, Reg, you left early that day." David smiled.
"I had stuff to attend to. I received a message from my secretary, you know, mayor duties." She answered, as if she practiced this so many times. (To be honest, she did practice this moment more than a few times in front of her mirror.) She swatted her hand around just to show him that it wasn't anything that serious.
"Anyways, David, why did you call me here?" She gently folded her hands on the table, taking another sip of her milkshake.
"I-I just want to catch up. Regina," he gently touched her hands, his large hands completely covering hers. She drew in a breath. "You know how much you still mean to me. I don't want to lose you."
"You should have thought about that before you did... " She paused to find a suitable word, but not finding any, she continued "what you did."
"Regina, I already told you, I don't love her."
"And you think that's enough? Stop being so charming, David. You and I both know that it's deeper than what I've seen." She tried so hard to stay composed. She took another sip. This one longer than the other.
"Regina-"
"David, I've been holding it for eight years. I've been trying to move on from you for eight years. Just, please, David, leave me be."
"I want to fix this. I created this mess. I love you and I love Henry. I know that deep down, you still know that."
The both stilled as they saw Ruby approaching, David's coffee in her hand.
"Here's your coffee, David." Ruby pursed her lips and looked at Regina apologetically. She placed the coffee on the table and left for the counter.

o0o0o0o0o0o

The ride to the house was silent. Regina was on the driver's seat while David sat beside her. She let out a sigh as they passed by their old house in Mifflin Street. She was just plain exhausted, she didn't even want to see that house right now. It crushed her. David opened his mouth to ask her about the house, but she spoke.
"Right before you got into an accident, Henry and I moved into an apartment. There was no use for an extravagant house, after all. It was just me and Henry."
"Thank you, Regina." He smiled at her. She wasn't looking, technically, she didn't want to.
"For what?" She rolled her eyes a bit.
"For raising Henry, for letting me back in."
"What?" Her brows knitted together. Her confusion overtaking her. She parked the car nearby, more annoyed at him than ever.
"Let me get this straight, Charming. I am not letting you in, you asked nicely and I know how much you've been dying to see my son. Is that clear?" David just nodded his head slowly. He was going to find a way to bring them back together. They will find a way.
"Good."
The continuation of the ride was even more awkward than before they stopped.
He remained silent, watching her bite her lip and fidget with her fingers when she had the chance.
He knew her, this was not the Regina he knew, and that change was because of him.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Regina searched for the house keys in the bag. Just as she got hold of the key, the door opened and a figure bumped into Regina.

"Oh, Regina. You're here. I was just going to- oh my." Emma looked to Regina's left, only to see David. She was stunned, more than stunned, really, to see David with Regina. Regina cleared her throat.
"Uh, Regina, right. Henry's doing his homework right now. I'll just, you know, get something from the station. David, it's nice to see you again." She offered David a tight-lipped smile and headed down the stairs immediately.

"Henry, honey, I'm home."
David was immediately enveloped by the homey scent of cinnamon, he remembered, just the way Henry loved it.
He could hear running from upstairs, Henry, he presumed. He had a giant smirk on his face, he was going to see his son.

"Hey, mom!" Henry hugged Regina. He remembered the last time he saw Henry - Star Wars pajamas, the lightsaber pillow and kiddie comic books. Henry was only three the last time he saw his son, but now, Henry was catching up to Regina's height. He couldn't believe it! Henry was growing up so fast.
"Henry, you probably don't-"
"No, I remember you, dad." Henry wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning either.

Regina tried her best not to tell Henry of what David has done. Her stories of David were always about how god and kind he was, how charitable David was to those who needed his help. Henry was a more-than-capable kid, by the time he was eight, he already cracked the code. Regina and Emma had to tell him everything from the beginning.

"I missed you, Henry." Tears started to pour from David's eyes. There was his son, all grown up.
Henry started to cry too. He suddenly threw himself forward and hugged his father at the waist.
"Dad, I missed you so much."

Regina smiled fondly at the pair, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She bit her lip and tightened her grip on her hand.
She was glad that Henry was accepting David again, but her heart still ached from what David had done.
She hated that she goes soft when it came to him.

A/N

Okay, so shout out to all the reviewers, followers, and uh how'd you call them - favorite-rs? Anyways, you probably get the idea.
You guys are getting me through this story, to be honest.
School started a month ago and I've been stuck in this chapter for the past month. But, here it is!

I hope you enjoyed this... thing!

-Hope-