Disclaimer: I do not own any Once Upon A Time characters; or any other previously established fairy tale characters. However, the plot is mine.
.
VANISHED
.
.
oOoOo
.
.
Chilled
.
oOoOo
.
.
"Little John, have you seen Robin?" Tuck asked as he noticed the diner clearing out.
John looked up from where he was helping Roland out of the booth. "Not since the incident outside." He let out a frustrated sigh. "Roland's exhausted. I'm taking him upstairs and putting him to bed."
Tuck merely nodded at that. "I'll go check with the men. See if they might know where he went."
With Roland now in his burly arms, John huffed. "Yeah, you do that." And walked away.
Tuck ran a hand in his hair. "What a mess of a day." He remarked, thinking of the latest events.
.
oOoOo
.
The door to the loft burst open, with Henry leading inside leaving Emma to follow after. "Henry… Henry slow down." She told him, once he stopped she tried to pull him into her arms. He pushed her away. "I'm sorry kid." She frowned, thinking of why he was hurt. "Regina had no right to treat you that way. You have every right to be mad at her." She assured him.
"I'm not mad at her." He immediately disagreed.
Emma nodded at that. "Okay… well I'm mad at her." She admitted with a frown. "How dare she tell my kid that she didn't want to remember him?"
Henry frowned at those words. "She didn't say that." He said quietly, but Emma didn't hear him, too busy in her own little world.
"Then have the nerve to act all wounded when she's the one who hurt you by leaving in the first place!" Emma shouted, walking into the kitchen area, missing as David and Snow entered the apartment with baby Neal.
"You don't understand." Henry tried again to interrupt, but it was all for naught.
Emma slammed her fist onto the counter. "She's irresponsible, thinks only of herself; and if she doesn't want you in her life then-"
"Stop it!" The boy shouted, face flushed. "I don't… want to hear it." He finished in a hushed whisper; his eyes meeting no one.
"Henry…" Emma started, worried about his demeanor, before suddenly realizing what she had said. "I didn't mean-"
"You don't know my mom." He reminded her, shoulders stiff. "And you don't know why she did what she did." He said with finality.
Emma didn't know what to say to that. She knew she stepped over the line, but she just didn't like seeing him hurt; and she knew that what Regina had said had really hurt him.
It was quiet suddenly, no one making a sound. Emma had finally noticed her parents standing stunned in the living room. There was a soft gurgle from Neal, breaking the tense atmosphere. "Um, I'm gonna go put Neal down for bed." He informed, before making a hasty escape. "Maybe everyone should change into something dry." He calls over his shoulder, before disappearing to his and Snow's room.
"That's a great idea." Snow commented with a forced smile. "But we'll all need to take hot baths tonight. You're up first Henry."
Henry said nothing, just nodded his head and headed up the stairs. Emma immediately called out to him. "I'll be up to run your bath water." He still did not respond, and soon disappears out of sight. Emma heads towards the stairs to make good on her promise, but is stopped by the hand on her arm.
"I'll go Emma." Snow told her and heads to the stairs herself.
Emma looked as though she had been slapped, before reminding Snow, "He needs his mother."
Snow nods her head in agreement. "Yes, he does. But it's his other mother that he needs right now. And seeing you just reminds him that Regina isn't here." When Emma's face fell, Snow immediately regretted her words. "I'm sorry Emma. Give it time." She then headed up the stairs, leaving her daughter behind to ponder over her words.
oOo
"Alright, there you go Henry." Snow says after turning off the water. "Just the way you like it." She smiles down at her grandson in his fluffy green robe.
"Thanks." He says in a deadpanned voice.
Instead of leaving right away, Snow leans against the sink, looking Henry straight in the eyes. "I know you must be pretty upset, but Regina didn't mean… she's just confused right now. Readjusting you know."
Henry looked at Snow with a confused expression. "I'm not mad at her."
"You're not?" Snow asked surprised.
"My mom's been in a lot of pain and… I never really realized just how much." He admitted. "I don't have time to be mad. She needs me right now."
Snow's eyes widened. She was surprised and proud of how mature Henry was behaving; and she was pleased that her grandson wasn't willing to give up on Regina, and neither was she.
.
oOoOo
.
Ruby walked out from the kitchen with a big black bag in tow. When it became apparent as to where she was headed, Leroy intercepted her. "Hey Red, I'll take it out." He told her, grabbing the bag from her hands.
The redhead smiled in response. "Thanks Grumpy." She told him, glad that she was free from carrying the smelly burden.
Leroy only grunted in response and walked out the diner. He hadn't bothered to zip up his jacket and he regretted that decision now. "Dang! When did it snow?" He grumbled to himself, taking note of the light snow collected on the ground. He then made his way around to the side of the building. Entering the darkened alleyway, Leroy made his way over to the dumpster. Opening the lid, he quickly tossed in his full and smelly burden. The lid slammed shut as he quickly let go. Now with his hands free, he immediately began zipping up his jacket. "At times like these, I really wish I smoked." He commented to himself.
Desperate to make his way back into the warm indoors, Leroy swiftly turned around only to end up slipping and falling hard onto his back. Grunting, he stared up into the night sky. "I'm really starting to regret coming out here." He grumbled, rolling onto his side in an attempt to get back to his feet. Once he was on his stomach, he immediately noticed the thick patch of ice he was lying on. "How did I not notice this?" Climbing on his knees, he halted in movement. Just ahead of him he saw what appeared to be a… boot? "What the…" Instead of rising to his feet, Leroy crawled further into the alley, nearer to what appeared to be an abandoned boot.
Once he was close enough, he grabbed at the boot, tugging it slightly only to soon realize that it was caught on something. Later when asked what made him reach for an abandoned shoe, Leroy would have no answers. He was simply drawn to it. It was clear that it did not belong; and he was curious by nature. Upon closer inspection, Leroy saw that the boot was not caught on something but rather attached to someone.
"Hey!" He called out, hoping to get a response. Crawling up beside the body, he managed to turn the person over. Leroy's eyes widened in surprise when they fell onto the nearly frozen solid figure before him. "Robin?!"
.
oOoOo
.
Now warm and dry, David was in the living room going through Neal's diaper bag. He was searching for something, but quickly grew upset when he could not locate it. Pushing the bag aside he let out a deep groan. "I think we left Neal's favorite binkie at Granny's." He said rising to his feet. He looked over at his wife, who was at the kitchen sink. "When he wakes, there will be hell to pay." He joked with a wry grin, which quickly fell when Snow did not respond to hi. David quickly moved around the counter until he was standing directly behind her. "Snow?" He called out. Again nothing. She just continued to wash the dishes. Dishes he immediately notice were not even dirty to begin with. "Snow." He called out again, this time grabbing her shoulders. She instantly jumped and pulled away from the contact. He frowned. "Are you okay?" He asked, thoroughly concerned at this point.
"I'm fine." Snow replied stiffly.
"Is that why you're washing the clean dishes? Because you're fine?" He argued.
Suddenly she halted her ministrations. Snow looked down at what she was doing, before slowly setting the plate and dish towel down. Tears were quick to fill her eyes.
"Hey, hey." David begins softly, pulling her into his arms. "Whatever it is we'll get through it." He told her, though he already had an inkling as to what, or rather who caused her distress.
Snow just clenched onto him tighter. "I thought things were better. That we were finally getting back to that place we were before Cora ruined everything. Before I ruined everything." She finished softly.
"Snow, none of that was your fault. You were just a child." David tried to reason, but she was having none of that.
The brunette simply shook her head as she slumped further into his arms. She gazed her puffy red eyes into his dry clear ones. "She'll never see me as family David. I will always represent the reason why her happiness was shattered. She'll never love me."
David didn't like what Regina's words were doing to Snow, but he knew better than to say anything against his wife's stepmother when she was in this state. So instead he chose to hold her close and let her cry.
oOo
"Hey don't you run away from me Henry!" Emma's shout followed the dark haired boy as he rushed down the stairs.
Henry did not stop. Setting his stuffed backpack on the couch, he grabbed his jacket from the closet. Emma finally made it down the stairs and rushed up to Henry. "Hey!" Henry shouted as she ripped his jacket from his hands. "That's assault you know." He said glaring at her.
Emma glared back. She so did not feel like dealing with an angsty teen right now, but seeing as she was the teen's mom. "Yeah? Well good luck getting the sheriff to arrest herself." She quipped annoyed with his behavior.
Snow and David immediately broke apart eyes completely on the scene unfolding before them. "Emma… what's going on?" David asked in concern, but his question went unanswered and seemingly unheard.
"Give it back Emma!" Henry demanded reaching for his jacket.
The blonde would not back down. "Kid, you need to stop this right now." Emma urged, not willing to let go of the jacket, and not willing to allow Henry to speak to her this way. She was his mother after all.
"My mom needs me!" He insisted, irritated that Emma would not let go.
"Oh yeah? Well it didn't sound that way last night." Emma viciously reminded, while giving the jacket one last tug. At her words, Henry's gripped loosened and Emma found herself splayed out onto the floor.
"Emma!" Snow gasped as the apartment was soon enveloped in silence. Both Snow and David were astonished by their daughter's insensitivity.
Noting the alarm in Snow's voice, Emma glanced towards her mother. The brunette sadly shook her head in disappointment. "I…" Emma began realizing how cruel her words were. She turned to her son, whose face was suddenly very pale. "Henry… I…" She trailed off not knowing what to say as she rose to her feet. "I didn-"
"Save it." Henry quickly silenced her. "I don't want to hear it." He told her, snatching his jacket off of the ground. "You don't know her like I do. If you did, you'd know that she doesn't really want to forget me, she just wants to forget the pain; pain that I caused a lot of." He admits ashamedly. He pulled his jacket on, ignoring the pathetic look Emma had on her face. "She thinks I don't love her. I'm going to prove to her that I do." He told them, grabbing his backpack and putting it on. "I'm all she has, and she was all I had for a very long time." He then moved towards the door and opened it.
Emma was still against him going out. "Henry, you can't just-"
"I'm going to see my mom Emma, and you can't stop me." Henry told her stoically before walking out the door and shutting behind him.
The sound of the door snapped Emma out of her daze. "Now wait a minute… Henry!" She shouted after, reaching for the door.
"Emma wait!" David called out. "Let him go." He insisted, worried that she would damage her relationship further with her son.
She was surprised that David would try and stop her. "But-"
David had moved from Snow and was now placing a reassuring hand onto his daughter's shoulder. "Give him space. He needs Regina right now."
Emma did not like the sound of that. However, before she could voice her argument her phone rang. Quickly answering it, she held the device up to her ear. "What is it?" She asked annoyed.
"Emma, it's … Robin's been attacked." Came Ruby's rushed voice through the receiver.
Emma's eyes narrowed. 'Regina was the last person with him,' she thought to herself nearly missing the entire conversation. "Wait, what did you say? Ice?" She asked Ruby to repeat the last thing she stated.
"Yeah, it's all over the alley." There was a slight pause before she continued. "Robin's not waking up."
Emma slipped into savior/sheriff mode. "Where is he?"
"At the hospital."
"Okay, I'm on my way." She said before hanging up. She turned and looked at her parents. "Robin's in the hospital. Look like he was attacked."
Snow gasped. "What about Regina? Is she okay?" She asked in concern.
Emma looked surprised by her mother's show of concern for the former queen. "Yeah, as far as I know. Robin was found alone in the alley by Granny's."
David's eyes narrowed at that. "The Snow Queen?"
"Apparently there was ice everywhere, so yeah that's a safe bet." Emma answered him, putting her jacket on.
David noticed Snow reaching for her own coat. "Stay with Neal, I'll go with Emma." He told her, knowing how exhausted she's been lately.
Snow looked surprised by the suggestion. She was so used to action and adventure that at times she would forget that she was mother to a newborn babe again. "Yes, of course. Just… be careful you two." She smiled at them, giving her husband a kiss.
.
oOoOo
.
The night sure was a cold one, and it seemed to be getting colder. No one in their right mind would be out in this weather, unless of course, they had no choice. Ryan grunted reaching down to turn the heat up only to realize that it was already on its highest setting. "Dammit." He muttered to himself. "I knew it'd be a little cold this far up north, but this is ridiculous."
He was driving at a very slow pace, as the street thickened with snow. "This can't be normal." He decided. "Side effect of global warming?" He tried to rationalize. Though he would normally hold conversations with himself, he was simply trying to distract himself from the chill creeping up his spine.
After a few more minutes, Ryan finally pulled up to his first road block. "You have got to be kidding me." He groans, pulling the car to a stop.
oOo
"Stuff it Crocodile or I'll-" Growled an irate pirate.
"Or you'll what?" Gold interrupted. "Please do continue. I dare you." He finished smugly.
"Enough you two. I'll not have you causing a scene in my hospital." Whale said as he exited the patient's room.
John seeing the doctor from his place in the waiting room quickly made his way over. "How is he doc? Is Robin going to be okay?" He asked in earnest.
Whale let out a deep sigh. "It's hard to say. Physically, he will be alright. He's in no danger of frostbite." He then turned to look between Rumple and Blue Fairy. "Though, perhaps the two of you might take a look at him. I believe his apparent coma is magic related."
Blue Fairy nodded her head. "Of course Dr. Whale." They then turned to Rumple.
"I'm only here at the insistence of my bride." Rumple quickly reminded them, only to receive a stern look from Blue. "Don't worry dearies, I promised her I'd help. Show me to the thief."
Whale resisted a roll of his eyes as he motioned for them to enter. He glanced at Hook and John. "You two should wait out here." He said before going into the room and shutting the door.
Before Hook could groan about the injustice of being made to wait again, the entrance of a blonde quickly caught his eye. "Hello luv… Charming." He greeted the two new arrivals.
Emma walked up to him with her father at her side. "Killian? What are you doing here?" She asked surprised.
Hook whipped out his bandaged hand. "Yeah, slipped on ma ship. Bloody girl's getting ice all over herself." He answered dismayed. He then looked into her worried filled eyes. "Nothing to worry about luv. I take it you're here because of Robin."
"Yeah." David answered for her. "Do you guys know anything yet?"
John shook his head. "Physically he's fine but… Gold and Mother Superior just went in to check him magically."
"They think that's necessary?" Emma questioned.
Hook only shrugged his shoulders. "From what I gathered, there's a large streak of white hair that wasn't there before. Odd wouldn't you say."
Emma only frowned at that.
oOo
The crackling fire blazed softly in the dark room, casting a warm glow over the figured curled up on the couch sipping a glass of wine. Regina sat there alone in her home. She sat staring… staring at the engagement right sitting on her table. Right beside it was her phone, which was consistent on ringing throughout the night. And as if on cue, it began ringing once more. The first few times it rang it had been Henry, however, this time was different. This time it was someone she even less inclined to speak to. She looked down at the phone and watched as his name appeared. Ryan.
Regina knew that she could not speak to him right now, not with her memories. So she let it go to voicemail. There was her happy ending, and it was slipping away from her. There was no way that she could be with Ryan now. Not knowing that they were from two completely different worlds, or that she was evil and he was an innocent. He was better off without her she knew, and it hurt to acknowledge that fact. But acknowledge it she must. But perhaps it would be best to leave that pondering for another day. She raised her glass and took a nice long sip.
Knock, knock, knock…
The sound nearly shocked her into spilling her very expensive wine over her very expensive blouse.
Knock, knock, knock…
Regina frowned at the noise. No… she refused to be interrupted from her sulking.
Knock, knock, knock…
She growled at that. If they didn't go away she swore she would make them pay. A couple of minutes went by with no sound. Regina relaxed. "Good, they left."
Before she could take another sip of her glass, a soft sound grabbed her attention. It sounded like… footsteps?... She grew angry again as she set her glass down and prepared for battle. She stood up from her seat and turned towards the hall. Whoever it was would be greatly sorry they ever bother to- "Henry!"
"Hi mom."
oOo
"Dammit!" The redhead exclaims tossing his phone onto the passenger seat. "This is just not my night." He notes after getting Reina's voicemail three times. Stepping outside of his car, he looked around the road block, trying to spot any weak points that'd help him get around it. He figured it was there to keep people from leaving the town versus getting in. So if he could just get past it, hopefully the weather would be a little better. Unfortunately however, Ryan sighed in disappointment, there were no such weaknesses.
"I'm going to have to walk into town." He realized. Going to his car he shut it off, grabbed his phone and his smallest bag, preferring to come back for the rest, and locked up. He was bundled up as good as he possibly could be, considering what he had brought. Looking at this car and letting out one last sigh, Ryan headed in the direction of what he presumed, and hoped desperately, was the way into town.
oOo
Rumple walked out of the hospital room alone. He was not surprised to find that the savior and her father had arrived. What was surprising was the absence of the baby-toting princess. He chose to ignore them and walked passed them hoping to get to the exit and find his way back to his Belle.
"Uh, are you going to let us in on what went on in there?" Emma asked sarcastically.
"No, not really." Rumple admitted, still walking away.
"Gold!" David shouted at him.
Rumple stopped and turned to look at the four. "My work here is done. If you want answers, a very annoying fairy is still in the room. I suggest you wait for her to come out and pester her with your many questions. I'm going home to my wife." He told them before turning on his heel and walking down the hall towards the elevators.
Emma glared at the back of his head. "God! He can be such a…"
"Don't let him get to you luv." Hook told her with his hand on her shoulder.
Before anyone could say anything further, the door to Robin's room opened once more. Whale and Blue exited together. Not wishing to allow the suspense to build, Blue began immediately. "Robin will be fine." She said, looking at Big John. She smiled at the relief that filled the giant man's face.
"Okay, so what happened?" Emma asked.
"There was a piece of ice lodged into Robin's brain." She told them.
John frowned at that. "How is that possible? He had no visible injuries."
Blue nodded her head at that and continued. "True. Luckily for him it was no ordinary ice, otherwise he would have been killed instantly." She paused before continuing. "The ice, presumably from the Snow Queen, was slowly freezing him inside out. Rumpelstiltskin and I were able to undo its magic."
"Thank the heavens!" John proclaimed, glad that Roland would not be losing another parent. "Can I go in?" He asked.
It was Whale who answered this time. "Yes of course. But you should know that Robin has yet to awaken. This is no longer a magical issue, but a physical one again." He warned. John nodded his head solemnly before going in. The doctor looked the others. "If you'll excuse me, I have other patients to check on." He said walking away.
Blue stood there looking at the three, before her eyes fell onto Emma's. "Have any of you spoken to Regina since…" She trailed off.
"Since her meltdown earlier?" Emma finished for her.
"Emma." David reprimanded.
The fairy was surprised by Emma's indelicateness, but said nothing. "Well… yes."
"No. Henry went to check on her though." David explained.
"That's good." Blue nodded her head. "We may need her soon." She said before walking away.
"Oh my God, Henry!" Emma exclaimed. "He's not safe with that snow lunatic running around." She started to rush away, but was stopped by a pull on her arm. "Let go David!"
David immediately let go, knowing by the use of his name that she was angry. "Emma listen, I'm sure Henry's fine. But if you want to keep him safe, our best bet is to go find who did this. We promised to keep this town safe. We can't let personal feelings get in the way of that."
"I know, but Henry…" She started, feeling caught between a rock and a hard place.
"I'll go look for the lad." Hook offered.
"Great. See Emma, he'll be fine." David said and then turned to Hook. "He was headed to Regina's, so check there first. If you don't find him, call us."
Hook nodded his head. "Sure thing. But when I find him and he's safe with Regina, I'm coming to help you two."
Emma smiled at that. "Deal." She hugged him.
"Just… be careful Swan." He told her.
"Aren't I always?" She said smiling, not putting the pirate at ease in the slightest. With a shake of his head, Hook walked off down the hall, eager to get to Regina's quickly so that he can get back to Emma as soon as possible. Once he was out of sight, Emma turned to David. "Alright, let's go, we've got a popsicle to find." She said.
.
oOo
.
"Henry… wha… what are you doing here?" Regina asked, both surprised and frightened to see her child standing before her. Surprised because she thought he'd hate her; and frightened because she thought that was perhaps what he came to tell her. She moved around the couch to stand before him. "About earlier Henry, I … I'm so-"
"No mom." He interrupted her, rushing into her arms, nearly knocking her down. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I ever hurt you."
As the shock wore off of Regina, she slowly wrapped her arms around her baby boy, gripping him tightly in her hold. Not understanding how she was ever able to walk away from him in the first place; but knowing that she'd never be able let him go again.
.
oOo
.
Emma was driving around Storybrooke looking for any sign of the Snow Queen. About thirty minutes into their search, she and David had decided to split up. A little risky yeah, but they needed to cover as much ground as possible. Though they had agreed to stay within the confines of the town, Emma felt it was her job to venture out a little further. Unlike her father, she had magic to protect herself with.
She had been driving around for a while and had spotted nothing out of the ordinary. It was getting late and she still hadn't heard from Hook. Deciding to give him a call she grabbed her phone while making a sharp right. However, before she could call anybody, she dropped the phone and slammed on her brakes. "Woah!" She screamed as her vehicle came to a sudden halt. She threw it in park and jumped out of her car. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?" She asked the poor individual that she nearly ran over.
"Yeah, no thanks to you. Are you insane or just plain stupid?!" The man asked angrily, looking at her with heated green eyes.
"I said I was sorry, geez!" She remarked just as heatedly. Emma did not recognize the man. "Where are you coming from?" She asked suspiciously, knowing that there was a road block set up in the direction he was coming from.
Ryan, still upset, glared at her. "That's your business how?"
The blonde now fed up with his attitude flashed her badge, and coincidentally her holstered gun. "I'm the sheriff. Strange for you not to know that." She then unclasped her holster. "Equally strange for you to be out past curfew and coming from the direction of a road block."
"Curfew?" He asked, not at all intimidated by her. "It's like 9 o'clock."
"We have dangerous weather, a curfew was initiated." She told him point blank.
Ryan was tired and freezing, he had no time to deal with an 'out of sorts' sheriff. "Well, I didn't exactly know. I'm not from around here. In fact, I just arrived." He told her, gesturing towards his bag on the ground.
This flustered Emma a bit. "How did you get here?" She asked confused.
He let out a deep sigh. "Well, not by foot I assure you. I had to leave my car at, what I presume was, your road block." Emma had said nothing to this. She was still trying to wrap her head around how he got here past the ice wall. "I've broken no laws. And if I'm not mistaken, despite this being a literally 'in the middle of nowhere' town, we are still in America and I have my rights. My fiancé is also a kickass lawyer, so don't make this worse for yourself."
'Fiancé? So he's here for Regina. Definitely not Snow Queen related.' Emma decided to ease up a bit. Having already nearly run the poor guy over, she was not putting him at ease going on the defensive like that. 'Great. He'll probably think I'm a nut job now.' She reclosed her holster. "Sorry about that. Our curfew isn't only weather related, but there's been an attack on a citizen and the culprit has not been captured yet.
Ryan nodded his head at this, realizing the sheriff was only doing her job. "Wait attack? Was it a woman?" At Emma's questioning gaze he continued. "That was attacked… was it a woman?"
"No, just a local uh… woodsman." She told him, knowing he was worried about Regina. "Look, it's late and cold, how about I drive you into town. You're definitely not dressed for this weather."
"Um, yes, thank you." He said grabbing his bag. "I had no idea it got so cold in Maine at this time of year." He said getting in the car and closing the door.
Emma got to her door. "Yea… you have no idea." She murmured before opening it and getting inside.
.
oOo
.
"Yes luv, for the last time, your boy is safe." Hook repeated into his phone.
"Okay, thanks, I'm just really concerned about him that's all. I don't like the way we ended things." Emma said sadly over the phone.
Hook nodded his head even though he knew that she could not see him. "Your mother filled me in…. He'll come around so don't worry too much over it. He just needs time with her."
She lets out a frustrated sigh. "I know… Listen, I'm making a quick stop at Granny's and then I'm heading home. Is David there?"
"Aye, just walked in." Hook stated as he watched David giving Snow a kiss. He immediately looked away.
"Okay good. We can discuss our results and continue our search in the morning. See you soon." She told him.
"See ya soon luv." And with that, Hook could hear her end go silent.
"Was that Emma?" David asked, walking into the kitchen to meet Hook.
"Yeah, says she's on her way." He answered, staring at his phone oddly.
David noticed. "Something the matter?"
Hook then shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing, just sounded odd is all."
"I'm sure she's just stressed." Snow assured him.
"I suppose." Hook said slumping onto a stool.
.
oOoOo
.
Morning ….. ….. …..
The early rays of daylight streamed into the hotel room through the open window. The sight to the outside world was an enchanting sight, if one took a moment to notice. Unfortunately for today, the winter wonderland view would go unnoticed and unappreciated by the lone inhabitant inside. Ryan's back was turned away from the view as he rummaged through his traveling bag. With one hand, he pulled out a pair of socks whilst the other tended to the phone held up against his ear.
He had chosen to spend the night at Granny's with the hopes of finding Reina that morning. Needless to say, he was alarmed to discover that Reina was no longer staying at the inn. However, before he could continue his search for her, the sheriff reminded him of the curfew. They had told him that Reina was safe but he'd only feel better once he had spoken to her. "Come on Rei, pick up." He mumbled putting his socks on. When the ringing stopped and it was clear that it wasn't her voicemail, he got a little excited. "Rei?! Hello Rei?" He asked in a rush.
"Yeah Ryan, it's me." Came the voice over the line hesitantly. "Where are you?"
"Where am I?" He repeated in astonishment. He tried not to get upset at her question, but he couldn't help it. "Where are you? Matter-of-fact, why aren't you here?" He threw back at her.
"Don't take that tone with me?" Her voice came over the line, clearly getting upset herself.
"Don't take…" He stopped himself from repeating her again. "What tone should I take Reina? I drive into town, get trapped by a road block, stuck walking in the snow for miles, finally find my way to Granny's Diner to meet you as agreed, only to find that my fiancé is nowhere to be found." He lets out heatedly, the stress of the night before getting to him. "Oh and let's not forget your refusal to answer or return any of my calls, by the way; leaving me a worried wreck." His voice breaks a little at the end, suddenly very tired. "I just… I was so worried about you Rei. I didn't get a wink of sleep." He admits at the end.
"No Ryan, I'm sorry. I lost my phone and I should have found a way to call you. I…" There was a brief pause. "You're still at Granny's right?"
"Yeah, I'm still here." He said, falling backwards on the bed and staring up at the ceiling.
"Okay, I'll be there in an hour, and we can talk then, okay?"
"Okay Rei. See you in an hour." He said, and then a grin crept its way onto his lips. "I love you."
There was a moment of silence at his proclamation, and then, "I love you too." The line went silent.
Ryan set his phone on the comforter with his face falling into a slight frown. She hesitated and he wanted to know why. "What aren't you telling me Rei?"
.
oOoOo
.
AN: Sooooo so so so very sorry for this unbelievably late update. Plus side, next chapter already written and the one after is very nearly complete. So much has happened in my life since that last chapter and I've been super crazy busy. New job, new home, new school, bad break-up… very very bad break-up, getting back in the field (feels like the rules have changed ), getting involved in multiple activities, hitting the gym, and various vacations (new gig has an awesome benefits package = more vacay days ). My point is so much is going on, but I have not forgotten about our story here. That being said, let's move onto OUAT.
I don't know about you guys, but the allure of Outlaw Queen felt like a burning match and is finally fizzling out. I will finish this story and Far, Doth Not the Apple Fall with that pairing in mind, but I probably won't write anymore. I'm just so done with Robin at this point. Fine, your ex comes back, I can see how that would create complications, and when you choose Regina, I'm proud of you. But you have to leave with ex for even more complicated reasons. It's heroic, I get that. But it's been a few weeks, couple of months at most, and already to impregnated the 'apparent ex'. I don't even care that it was really Zelena, it didn't take long for Robin to take things to the physical level. All the while he's supposed to be missing his soulmate. … sigh Regina is constantly getting screwed. What kind of soulmate is that? David (hate calling him Charming) thought he was married to another woman and still could not stomach the thought of cheating on Mary Margaret, even though she was technically (at the time) the other woman.
I wish Jefferson could come back on the show. That is who Regina was supposed to be with anyway. No one has more chemistry with Regina than him. I wish Regina could just go dark again. Because being my fav character and all, she's getting pretty damn boring.
Okay, sorry for that rant lol. More to come, and much more sooner.
Thank you for reading, thank you for reviewing, and …
… … … … as A.L.W.A.Y.S… … …
… … … PLEASE REVIEW! ! !