10 | Heart

Half of the lights in the police station were already turned off later that night. Emma and Graham have gone home, leaving Ruby and Mary Margaret under David's watchful eye. After Mary Margaret had finished telling her story, Graham had proposed letting them go, but Emma had the final say and decided that they spend a night for their breaking and entering. Plus, Mary Margaret's own breaking and entering in the mayor's office. It seemed like a fair deal for Mary Margaret, not really wanting to go back to her own room and deal with her nightmares alone.

Ruby had already fallen into a restless sleep on her futon while Mary Margaret continued to lie down on hers, listening to David typing in his computer. He hasn't spoken all day, and she pinned it on the excuse that he was overwhelmed with everything. But at that point, she was so close to voicing out her displeasure, especially since they were finally alone. She needs him to say something. He can shout at her, be angry with her, anything but his silence.

A loud sound snapped her out of her thoughts and made her sit up. The computer was finally turned off, and David was pushing the couch towards her cell. Mary Margaret could only watch him until the side of the couch touched the steel bars of her cell. Then he went over and settled down on the end nearest her.

"Dear God, if you two are having sex, can you at least keep it down?" Ruby complained, turning to face the wall. Mary Margaret stiffened, internally cursing Ruby. The air was awkward enough already. Out of all things, what she didn't expect was to find David chuckling.

"Remind me to give her something special after all this is over," David told her with an indulgent smile.

"I can give her a piece of my mind when she wakes up tomorrow," Mary Margaret answered, glaring at the brunette's back.

"I can hear you," Ruby's muffled voice replied.

"You were meant to."

"And your mother's chocolate chip cookies will be much appreciated, David."

"Duly noted."

Mary Margaret then huffed, "Now please leave us alone so we can talk."

"Can't. I physically cannot go anywhere."

David chuckled again, clearly very amused, before standing up. Mary Margaret kept her displeasure to herself, not wanting to appear clingy. He went over to his desk and pulled out an old iPod. Ruby gasped in delight when he handed it over to her after tapping her on the foot. "I could kiss you right now!" she exclaimed.

"Ahem."

Ruby grinned before lying back down. "But I won't."

David had a satisfied smile on his face when he settled back down on the couch. With Ruby's ears filled with music, he and Mary Margaret were finally left alone after a long day. She sat on the edge of her futon with her arm leaning against the cold steel bars. They sat in silence for a couple of seconds before he broke it with, "So you broke into the mayor's office."

She flashed him a sheepish smile. "I didn't realize you were the guard."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "You'd make a hell of a criminal, you know that?"

She bit her lower lip, playing with the frayed edges of the futon. "You're not mad at me, are you?"

He looked surprised. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"I don't know," she said quietly. "With everything you've discovered today, I wouldn't blame you."

"If anything, I feel more protective of you than I have before."

She felt shy and amazed at the same time. "Really?"

"I met you in the pouring rain in the middle of the night with you having nothing but the clothes on your back, and then you refused to give me your name," he reminded her. "I'd have to be an idiot to not know you're hiding something. I was just waiting for you to say it."

She smiled at him fondly. "They really don't make men like you anymore, David Nolan."

David laughed. There were a few seconds of silence before he broke it, "What I didn't expect is your father being the Leo Blanchard."

Mary Margaret began to feel uncomfortable. "I try not to tell people that. They start treating me differently."

"It's not that," he quickly said, making her look at him. "It's that you're Mary Margaret Blanchard. You have the whole world at your disposal, and I'm just…"

Mary Margaret caught his drift. "Don't say it."

"There are guys out there who can give you everything you could possibly want," he continued to say. "I can't. I can't even leave Storybrooke."

"I'm not asking you to." Mary Margaret couldn't help but reach out and take his hand. "Listen to me. You're the first man who saw me as me, who liked me as me, not as the daughter of some billionaire. You saw me, David."

The smoldering in his eyes had returned, and Mary Margaret wished nothing more than for the bars separating them to disappear. "And when you look at me," she continued in a soft tone. "You make me feel things that I've never felt before."

"And that makes me so scared," she let out a sigh when David kissed the back of her hand. "Because I've already lost so many people I love."

David shook his head. "Mary Margaret."

"I can't lose you, too."

"You won't," he promised her, clutching her hand in his tightly. "I'm not going to let that happen. And I'm not going to let her hurt you. Not now, not ever. Do you understand me?"

Her lower lip trembled as she nodded. He watched her for a moment before heaving out a sigh, "Screw it."

He released her hand and went back to his desk, searching the drawers for something. At the sound of keys, Mary Margaret immediately stood up, clutching the steel bars, as he unlocked her door. Once the cell was open, she threw herself into his embrace with a sigh of relief, marveling at how weightless she felt in his arms.

"I'll keep you safe. I promise," he murmured. "Nobody's ever going to take you away from me."

The following night, the group of five made their way back to the mausoleum as they have planned, armed with flashlights and the set of keys Mary Margaret had. Her stomach was churning. What was hidden under the tomb was a secret, meaning whatever was locked down there couldn't possibly be a pleasant surprise.

Graham and David pushed the tomb together, and Emma went down first to check if everything was clear. Ruby and Graham were tasked to keep watch outside while the other three would check out the locked drawers. David took her hand as they followed Emma down to the underground level.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

"No."

When they reached the wall behind the red curtain, Mary Margaret proceeded to try each one of the keys. "It takes someone really twisted to have keys with skulls on them," Emma commented.

A few more tries, and one of the drawers popped open, making all three of them stop breathing. Mary Margaret opened it fully and pulled out an old, worn notebook from the inside. She flipped through the pages and found it empty.

"Well, that's just wonderful," Emma huffed, walking away.

"It doesn't make any sense," Mary Margaret told David. "Why lock something that isn't valuable?"

David took a closer look before running a hand through the pages.

Mary Margaret saw him grin. "What?"

"Invisible ink," he told her. "Clever. We can have this examined tomorrow."

She felt renewed excitement at the discovery and went back to work with the keys. It was taking a long time, making her anxious. She didn't want to keep them there longer than they have to be.

"What's taking so long?" Emma asked.

"How about you try testing each one of these bloody keys?" Mary Margaret snapped at her.

Emma muttered to David. "Damn, I haven't heard bloody in a long time. Is she English?"

David shrugged. "I don't know."

A satisfying click finally sounded, making her sigh in relief. "Finally."

The moment she opened it, a foul smell greeted her, making her jump away. "Oh, gross. Do you guys smell that?"

"It smells like garbage," Emma complained. "My eyes are tearing up."

"I think I'm going to be sick," David said, covering his nose and mouth. "What the hell is in there?"

Mary Margaret held her breath and looked in. And what she saw made her scream.

She stumbled to get away, making David catch her from falling onto the ground. "Hey, hey, what is it?"

Her voice failed her as the sobs started to bubble up from her chest. She pushed herself into his arms, shaking as she started to cry. She heard David asking Emma, "What the hell is inside that – Emma?"

Mary Margaret didn't need to hear her answer.

The nightmare was real. It wasn't just a dream.

The content of the drawer was a fully formed human heart.

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