A/N: Hey guys! I know the last chapter was a tad depressing on Henry's part, so I lightened this chapter up a bit... enjoy!
Even apart from being stuck with Snow White of all people, Rumplestiltskin was having a bad day. As he regained consciousness on the thin beach shore, he wondered if everything that had happened in the past few days were real- his Belle had come to him.
It had been such a surreal joy seeing her, the real Belle, come back in his shop that day. He could see it in her eyes that she had returned.
Seeing Mary Margret and David together... Happy... Well it secretly pained him inside. But now, he thought, I'd rather like to see Mary Margret happy with her husband than stuck with me.
He missed Belle. So much that even thinking about her in any way made him want to smash something with his cane.
"Well," said Mary Margret curtly, brushing the sand off her clothes as standing up, "I guess we can start looking for Eric now huh?"
Rumple sighed, resisting impaling her with the cane. He got up, not even wanting to look at her.
"How... Why... Did you make a deal with her?" He asked tersely. This was probably the worst situation the man could think of- he was stuck, on an island... With Mary Margret of all people. Why couldn't it have been Emma? Even Regina wouldn't be as annoying as this woman was. If he knew one thing about Mary Margret Blanchard... It was that she could not shut up.
"You weren't saying anything, so I... Did what I thought was best," she reasoned, giving him an irritated look.
"Well you have fun fulfilling your deal," Gold said, elegantly turning around and beginning to walk the other way. Her eyes widened.
"Wait- Gold! You can't just leave me here!"
He stopped, but didn't turn around to face her. "Oh yes I can."
"I can't find a man on this island by myself!" Mary Margret clenched her fists together down at her sides, feeling anger bubble inside of her.
"That's your problem. For once, I didn't make the deal. You did."
She stood there with a placid frown upon her face. There was only one thing left to do.
"Please Gold... You can't just... Leave me here in this scary place alone!" Tears formed in her eyes, making the Dark One roll his eyes.
"Mary Margret you can't be serious-"
"I'll be all alone!" She sobbed, "and I'll have no way to get back to my family..."
He let out a laugh, continuing to walk forward without a second of moral ambiguity.
Snow stopped when she saw him walking away; she was so done with him it wasn't even funny. But she knew it was true. Without him she would be in serious trouble.
"If you don't stay with me, David will find out Gold!" She yelled towards him, wiping the hot tears from her face. "And he sure as hell won't let you back on that ship! Then you'll never get back to Belle!"
Rumple stopped abruptly when he heard that name, quickly browsing through his options. He swore when he realized there was no other way off the island. It would be easier to be on everyone's good side... For now, anyways.
His mind resisted, but Rumple slowly turned around and faced the woman. She smiled when she saw him begin to walk back towards her. Walking towards her was like walking towards the edge of a cliff with raging hellfire to greet him in the end. Actually, that idea didn't seem that bad.
Mary Margret smiled, somewhat loving the murderous expression on his face.
"This'll be fun," she added with her usual sweet tone as they entered the woods.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, Regina and David were deep inside the middle of the woods.
"Are you sure we're going north?" David asked for the fifth time, feeling nothing but stressed and tired.
Regina sighed. "Of course we're going the right way." She said irritably, "there's just nothing here. Just trees, and grass, and more trees."
"Calm down. I was just asking." He grumbled, keeping his eyes forward. He didn't know what Hook was talking about. There really was nothing here.
They soon entered a wide clearing without any trees, where the blue sky was visible without the shade of the leaves.
Regina glared up at the sun, and began taking off the red jacket from her shoulders, leaving her with a black tank top.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I liked it better on the boat. I don't think I've walked for this long in my life," she said, stopping to wipe her face with her hands.
"You do realize you've been complaining the entire time we've been together, right?" David said with a biting aggravation, earning a surprised glare from the woman.
"Excuse me for worrying about my son's life," she folded her arms, still glaring at him.
"No, you're used to having your life handed to you on a silver plate, that's what. You can't do anything without help. It's just pathetic."
"You don't know anything about me, David!"
"I know you're nothing like you pretend to be."
"And what about you? You think I was happy knowing I was paired with you?" She had half a mind to walk off and leave him, but she knew he was right about her needing him. Her hands were clenched together tightly; not being able to use magic was going to make her insane.
"It's just hard with this whole giving you a second chance thing Regina. Not after the horrible things you did-"
Regina had tuned him out to keep herself from murdering him. She simply stared past him into the trees, giving him the same look she gave had learned well how to make when she passed people she didn't want to talk to on the streets of Storybrooke.
But then, she blinked her eyes as she saw something strange far back in the woods. It was something small, with wings.
"Regina what are you looking at?" He barked, snapping her attention back to him.
"There's something out there," she said in a confused voice, looking back at the trees.
"Oh common, I'm not buying that."
She pointed behind him. "See? David I think those are Nymphs-"
He rolled his eyes. "You can't be serious..."
"Shh!" She gave a whack at his arm, "nymphs tend to attack when they hear loud noises,"
David gave her a crazed look, moving back from her.
"That's stupid if you think I'm buying this!"
Then, the both of them heard a loud buzzing noise and the crushing of branches.
"You idiot!" Regina rolled her eyes and grabbed David's hand, taking off across the clearing. Behind them, thousands of small creatures with razor sharp teeth raced out from the woods.
"Did you hear that?" Emma asked Hook, hearing a faint, odd noise off in the distance.
"Seems like someone's already set off a trap," Hook replied without much thought to it.
"Do you think it could've been the Lost Boys?" Emma said nervously, pulling back branches with her hands and ducking every five seconds.
"I don't think so; the Lost Boys tend to stay in an area that's cloaked from everyone outside of it."
Emma gave him a look. "And you didn't think that was an important detail to share with me?"
"What do you mean?" He asked, true curiosity showing through his voice.
Emma stopped walking to face him. "If they have Henry, how are we supposed to find him if he's hidden?"
"Well, I figured... That we could eventually find something that could lead him to us-"
"What was the whole point of helping us if you're not even being honest? I thought we were on the same page for once."
He could detect in her tone of voice that she was disappointed in him.
"If we don't find him soon imagine what they'll do to him-"
"Emma." He stopped her in her sentence, looking at her with determined eyes.
"I'll help you find your son. I know how important he is to you."
And for the first time, the captain saw her give him a genuine smile.
It was fair enough to say David Nolan was officially having the worst day ever. His wife was gone. He was tired. He royally pissed off a former evil queen. And now, Prince Charming was running for his life, being chased by creatures that were less than a foot tall.
He and Regina raced through the trees, trying to avoid hitting them as they madly swerved around the trunks. She had let go of his hand once they entered the forest.
Looking over at her, David could tell she was already strained. He kept looking back towards the swarm of nymphs, and every time he looked they seemed to be getting closer to them.
When he glanced towards Regina again, she was nowhere to be found. David didn't have time look for her, wherever she was. Then, the breath from his lungs was suddenly smacked out of him as he crashed to the leaf covered ground.
Regina didn't know how she got separated from David. He was right beside her a few seconds ago, then... He vanished. She kept running and running until she came to another clearing. The queen fell to her knees, gasping and sputtering, feeling the adrenaline leave her like rising smoke. Regina found herself lying on the plush, uncut grass, her chest heaving as the world around her seemed to spin around like a marry go round.
Then she heard David shout her name.
She sat up quickly, trying to tell where the shout was coming from. Then she sighed, forcing her aching body up and taking off into the dismal woods once again.
They were everywhere- nipping at his clothes, his hair, and his skin. They were quite annoying, as they wouldn't leave him alone. After a minute or so of running around blindly, Regina caught sight of him. And even though it was a dire situation, she couldn't help but find the scene in front of her slightly funny.
Nevertheless, she took no time to waste. She quickly picked up a large stick that was lying on the ground and swung it against one of the nymphs like swinging a baseball bat.
Seeing one of their own blown several feet from them, the other nymphs quickly darted away deeper into the forest.
David gave her a weak nod, resting his head up against the tree behind him.
"I- I need to start listening to you."
Regina smirked with a hint of pride. "You catch on fast Charming,"
She dropped the stick and went over to him, seeing he was cut in many places.
"I found another clearing that I think is safe." She said, taking his arm and putting it around her shoulders. He didn't seem to object.
When they got to the clearing, the both of them practically fell down on the grass. David let out a sigh, turning his head towards Regina.
"Thank you."
He even caught her smiling a bit.
"How did you know those were nymphs?"
"They used to cause havoc in the land around my castle," she smirked, "pesky little things."
She heard David let out a small laugh.
"Hey, look... I'm sorry for what I said to you before." He said, as remorsefully as he could. "I'm just a little... On edge, I guess."
She turned to face him. "I know. And... I know Mary Margret and I have our differences, but I really am sorry that happened."
David knew she was being truthful; somehow he could see it in her eyes. "Do you think she's safe?"
"She's Snow White David, I know she's doing fine."
He mused in how hard she was trying.
"You know, all those things I said before- I don't think that really applies to the real Regina... I think, deep down inside... You're just scared." A few seconds went by in silence. David finally gave a turn of his head, but the mayor was already in a deep sleep.
A/N: I really want more David/Regina moments together, they have the chance to be pretty good friends! (when she's not inviting him over for lasagna ;) Anyways, I love reading your reviews! If you have ideas or suggestions for me just let me know!