Chapter 12

Regina went to ranch early in the morning to clear her head. Last night rattled her. She had no idea how she ended up attracted to two men. She was in a committed relationship and she was happy. "Leave it me to get myself in this situation," she thought.

She took her horse out of the stables and rode him bareback. She felt freer this way. She rode for another hour when she saw a car pull up. She was hoping it was Sheila. Regina's wish was granted when she saw her friend walk up to the fence.

Sheila waved and Regina waved back. However, she was still a little ticked that she ditched her leaving her alone with David. She got off the horse and walked to the gate. Regina tied the reins to a post.

"Hi Regina," she said.

"Hello," she deadpanned. "Did you have a great time last night?" she asked narrowing her eyes.

Sheila nodded yes. "I'm sorry I left you though. I waited around for a minute before I told David I was leaving. I figured you were in good hands."

"You ditched me for what?" Regina asked.

"I met a guy," Sheila said. "What happened to your relationship?" she shot back.

"Over. It ended weeks ago," Sheila said.

Regina's eyes softened. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"There was nothing to tell," Sheila said. "What did you and David do after I left?" she asked.

"Nothing," she said keeping her voice neutral.

"You probably talked about Derrick all night anyway," Sheila said.

Regina rolled her eyes. "Nothing happened," she said sneering.

Sheila held up her hands in surrender. "Alright, nothing happened. Why are you out here so early?"

"I wanted to ride. Is that a crime?" she asked.

Sheila narrowed her eyes. "What's going on with you?" she asked.

Regina huffed. "I didn't like being ditched last night for some random person," she answered.

"I'm sorry. I know it was inconsiderate. Like I said you had David to keep you company."

Regina scratched the side of her head. She didn't want to talk about David. She might let something slip if she continued this conversation. She untied the reins and got on her horse.

"I'm going back to the stables," she said and trotted off.

As Sheila watched Regina go, she heard another car pull up. She turned around to see Derrick drive up. He got out and spotted Regina going back to the stables. He walked up to Sheila.

"Hey. What's Regina doing here so early?"

"She said she wanted to ride," she answered. Derrick nodded. "Where's Brittany?" Sheila asked.

"She spent the night at my sister's house. She was too tired to come out here today. I better go and see how my girl is doing."

When he arrived at the stables, he saw Regina taking off her gloves. He quietly slipped behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened because she thought it might have been David being flirtatious. She relaxed in Derrick's arms when she heard his voice.

"Thought I was someone else," he joked.

She inhaled and put on her best smile before facing him. "Of course not. You just surprised me."

He smiled at her. "I hope me being here is a good surprise." She kissed him passionately.

"Of course it is," she responded. Then she looked behind. "Where's Brittany?"

"At my sister's. She was too tired to come," he replied.

"Oh. Well, I'm going to miss seeing her today. She'd probably be dragging me to her horse right about now," she said laughing.

He laughed right along with her. "Probably. My daughter can get a little impatient sometimes."

Regina snorted. "I learned that firsthand. She gets that from you." Derrick rolled his eyes playfully.

"How did the dinner go last night?" he asked. She inwardly groaned. Why did he have to ask that question? It was bad enough she was going to have to see David later on today.

"Boring without you," she said.

He chuckled. "I'm sure you forgot all about me with Sheila there." Regina averted her eyes and looked down at her feet. Derrick was confused about her sudden change in behavior.

"Regina," he called out bending his head so he could look into her eyes once more.

When she did look up, her eyes were filled with regret. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She sighed. "There was a change in plans. You see, Sheila invited David unbeknownst to me. You know we can bring anybody we want after the dinner portion. I guess she figured he'd want to tag along."

He didn't like that piece of information but he would hold his opinion until she finished.

"Sheila left me. I was left alone with David. He took me home." Derrick didn't say anything which made her nervous. She wasn't sure what to expect.

"Did something happen?" he asked.

"No," she said firmly.

"Good. However, did he try anything with you?" he questioned.

She clenched her first as she thought about how he almost kissed her. The guilt was setting back in as she remembered how much she wanted him to kiss her senseless. Before she could respond, Sheila came in announcing the arrival of the other students.

Regina nodded thankful for the interruption. "I need to go," she whispered. She started to walk past him when he grabbed her hand. He pulled her against him.

"I love you and I trust you."

Regina inhaled sharply to push down the pain in her heart. "I love you too." She kissed him quickly before greeting her other students.

Two hours later, David arrived at the ranch. He noticed Regina riding behind a young child and couldn't help but smile. He shook his head and headed to his office. He went in to see Derrick waiting for him.

"Derrick," he called out.

"David," he deadpanned. David put down his work supplies. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes. It's Regina. What are you doing?" he questioned.

David folded his arms across his chest. "I'm not sure what you mean."

He saw Derrick's green eyes darken. "You took her home last night. You could have called a cab. I have a suspicion that you are trying to undermine my relationship with her."

"All I did was take her home. Regina is safe with me. I wouldn't do anything to harm her," he said.

Derrick narrowed his eyes not convinced. "Ever since you got here I knew you were trouble. I've seen the way you look at Regina and I'm not thrilled about it. I've kept my mouth shut because I didn't want to cause trouble. Now, I want to know what you're up to."

"I'm trying to get Regina to remember who she is," he thought. "Derrick, there's nothing to worry about. I admire Regina. She's a friend. She's an excellent instructor."

He walked up to David. "If you try anything I will come after you. You have no business taking something that doesn't belong to you."

"You make her sound as if she's your property," he argued his eyes darkening as well.

"She's my girlfriend and has been for months. You can't waltz into town and suddenly disrupt everything. Stay away from her."

"That's kind of hard to do when she's my instructor and co-worker. I doubt persuading Regina to go somewhere else will work. Look, whatever jealousy you got going on is your problem," David shot back.

"You are no good for her. She needs somebody she can depend on. She needs somebody she can trust with her heart," Derrick said.

"And I take it you fit the bill," David said.

"I'm warning you," Derrick said threateningly.

David's voice deepened. "You can't come into my office and threaten me. If I want to have anything with Regina, it's none of your concern. Now get out."

Derrick decided to deliver the blow. "I'm proposing to Regina. Just to give you a heads up. So whatever chance you think you may have, forget about it."

David inhaled sharply. He can't marry Regina. His time in California would be for nothing.

"You've only been together for less than a year. How does Regina feel about marriage?" David questioned knowing she would be shocked to hear his proposal.

"I know but I want Regina a part of my family. I plan on being her husband and making her happy. There's nothing you can do about it," he said feeling pretty triumphant. "Have a good day Mr. Nolan." He left David's office.

David let out a breath. His head was swimming with thoughts. If he let Regina go through with this, there was no way she'd come back to Storybrooke. Henry wouldn't have a mother. He wouldn't have Regina anymore. He'd go back home a failure. No, he would keep his promise.

David walked to the front of the office and stood in the doorway. He watched as Derrick and Regina kissed and said goodbye to each other.

"No, Mr. Matthews. There is something I can about this," he muttered.

After checking on some injured horses, David waited for Regina by the fence.

She saw him and her heart pounded in her chest. She was doing a fairly decent job of keeping her distance. As long as he was in his office or keeping busy in the stables, she felt somewhat relaxed. Now, he was staring her in the face. Why couldn't she escape this man?

"Mr. Nolan, don't you have some animals to attend to?" she asked. He chuckled at her condescending tone.

"Actually, Ms. Mills, I need to speak with you."

"I'm busy," she said.

He looked around. "The students have gone home."

Regina glanced toward the entrance. "Crap," she thought.

She remained emotionally detached. "What do you want?"

"We need to talk about last night," he said. Regina rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"There's nothing to talk about."

She closed the gate behind her. He stepped in front of her nearly trapping her. She berated herself for being in this position again.

"I beg to differ," he argued.

"I don't care," she huffed getting angry. "I have nothing to say to you." She stepped around him but he grabbed her arm. She sent him a death glare.

"Regina, please. This is important."

She jerked her arm away. "Save it. I'm not in the mood for mind games. Leave me alone." She walked away as fast as she could to her car. She got in and took another look at David before driving away.

Regina got home and slammed her apartment door. She threw her purse on the couch and sat down. She rested her head in her hand. She was having a pretty good day. She fought to keep David out of her mind and it worked for a while.

She groaned. How? That question rang in her mind over and over again. She couldn't understand the pull. She had a good thing with Derrick. Her doorbell rang and she opened it. "David," she sneered. "Go away."

"We need to talk," he said firmly. He was not going to go anywhere until she heard him.

She slammed the door in his face but he caught it and pushed his way in. She backed up for a bit. "This is breaking and entering. I'm calling the police."

She grabbed her phone but David snatched it from her. "Give me my phone," she demanded.

"Not until you hear what I have to say."

"One evening and you've turned into a stalker," she shot back.

"I'm not a stalker. I'm…look, I'm here to warn you. It's Derrick. He's going to propose to you."

Regina narrowed her eyes and he saw the anger flash. "You're lying. We're not ready for marriage."

David snorted. "He is and he told me himself. Regina, he is going to propose and he expects you to say yes."

One look in his eyes and she knew he was telling the truth. "So what? How does him proposing affect you?"

"You can't accept," he said.

She crossed her arms. "Why not?" she asked. He walked up to her before she had time to react. He placed a hand on her cheek.

"I love you," he said.

Her eyes widened as she took a step back. "We just met four months ago."

David shook his head. "No. We've known each other longer than that. Regina, I'm David otherwise known as Prince Charming in the Enchanted Forest."

"Prince Charming is a fairytale character David. You're out of your mind," she said her voice rising.

"No, I'm not. We're both from the Enchanted Forest. You are the Evil Queen and Snow White was your stepdaughter. You adopted my grandson Henry. Regina, you crossed the town line and it affected your memories. You left because of me."

She slapped his arm away. "You need therapy. Lots of therapy. You expect me to believe one single thing you just said. David, you're crazy. Now leave my apartment."

"You have to believe me. Before you left, you wrote to me and said how much you loved me. I developed feelings for you too. Can't you feel it? Our deep connection. Every time I'm near you, my heart races. I can't think straight. You've gotten underneath my skin Regina."

He stepped closer to her. Their noses almost touching. She couldn't move and she tried to force her legs to do something. "Walk Regina. Walk away now," she chided herself.

He placed his hand back on her cheek. "You feel it too. Last night confirmed it. Tell me, did you even think about Derrick when we were together?"

"No," she whispered. She shook her head. "That doesn't mean we have some unmistakably deep connection," she said adamantly.

He kissed her cheek. "Yes we do," he whispered huskily.

She shivered. "David, please go," she pleaded. Her eyes were growing heavy again.

"I need you," he whispered as he hovered over her lips. Regina's mind went blank. She couldn't think. She couldn't move. Her throat went dry. This was all surreal to her.

David took a step back and looked at Regina. He leaned in and kissed her. She immediately responded and he pulled her closer.

Regina was hit with a wave of emotions. Love, regret, sadness, anger, happiness, joy…her knees nearly gave out but David held her up. Then it happened. Her mind opened the floodgates and everything came back. Her time as child, Daniel, Snow, marrying Leopold, her time as queen, Rumplestilskin, killing her father, casting the curse, Storybrooke, Henry and David.

Her eyes flew open and she pulled back. David still held onto her. The look of recognition told him it worked.

"Regina, you're back," he said. She breathed in and out sharply.

"David," she said. He caressed her cheek. The tears started to come but also the anger. She pushed him back.

"What did you just do?"