Sorry for the long wait for this update. I got busy with EvilCharming Week and I also wanted to make a proper outline for this story since I never intended to go past the first two OS. Anyhow, we're about halfway. Let me know what you think.
Evidence
"Thanks for coming, Regina." Mal smiled warmly at the brunette entering the DA's office conference room. With Leopold's trial set to start in January, she wanted to prepare Regina for what was to come and address some of the evidence Mr. Gold has shared in discovery.
David pulled out a chair for her and Regina sat down hesitantly. She didn't want to be here. She wanted nothing to do with Leopold. She had told that much to David in the morning but the sheriff had insisted on having her meet with Mal. If Regina no longer wanted to testify after talking with the district attorney, he had promised her to never broach the subject again. "I don't want to go to trial." She looked at Mal directly. "My father has offered me to come to New York. I'm considering his offer." She added as David sat down next to her.
Mal nodded, having heard the same story over and over again. "I can't tell you what to do, Regina, and I certainly can't force you to do anything but I can tell you that you may regret your decision."
"Why? Because otherwise he won't go to jail? You and I both know the power he has over this town. No jury will convict him."
Mal placed her hands on the file in front of her and intertwined her fingers. She swallowed before answering Regina. "I married my husband when I was nineteen. We were high school sweetheart and neither of us could conceive a world without the other, despite warnings from our parents. We eloped and settled in Jersey. The first few months felt like heaven until reality settled in. We had no jobs, no money, and really no prospects. He started to drink." Mal swallowed. "And I became his punching bag. After a particular bad night, I moved out. He found me… and let's just say that the results weren't pretty. I bided my time and contacted the sheriff's office. They arrested my husband and he was trialed. I refused to testify."
"What happened?" Regina frowned.
"Without my testimony, he was released. The DA didn't have a case."
"But you were free! You went to law school and got your new life!" Regina argued back. "This is all I want." The brunette pleaded. "I know I won't get the years he took from me… but I don't want him to take more than he already has!"
"I understand, Regina. But he will. Everytime a door opens, you'll jump. You won't be able to let anyone approach from behind." She swallowed hard, looking at David. She had never talked to anyone about lingering trauma. "You'll never be able to establish a meaningful relationship until you get closure."
Regina's tears fell down her cheeks. "How would testifying help me?"
"I can only tell you that when I lay down at night, I keep asking myself if my testimony would have made a difference. And maybe it won't have an impact on the jury. But you'll get to tell your story. And I wish I had all these years ago."
Regina nodded. "What will happen if he doesn't get convicted?"
Mal looked at David. The sheriff took the brunette's hand and caressed the back of it with his thumb. "You don't have to go back. You're not his property. You never were." He assured the frightened woman. "I won't let anything happen to you."
"Have you talked to a divorce attorney?" Mal asked.
Regina shook her head. "I can't afford one."
Mal sighed. "Let me make a few phone calls. I'm owned a few favors."
"I don't want to be a charity case." Regina protested vehemently.
"Then, you'll work out a payment plan. But for the criminal case to go forward, it would help to show your intent to divorce the man."
Regina nodded. "What else do I need to do?"
Mal smiled encouragingly. "I'm going to prepare you to testify. First, we'll work on your answers to my questions. It will mostly concerned your life with Leopold, what he forbade you to do… and the violence he subjected you too. I know that some of the answers are going to be hard for you. And you'll have all the time you need to answer them in court. If you need a recess, you just let me know." Regina nodded, tightening her grip on David's hand. "Then another A.D.A. will pretend to be Mr. Gold. We're going to try to prepare you for the cross. He will try to slander your character and it's very important that you remain calm and only answer yes or no. I'll have a chance to redirect to clarify your answers. Don't clarify yourself, no matter how bad you think the answer will look to the jury, ok?"
"Yes."
"Good. Regina, do you know what discovery is?" Regina shook her head. "It's like a pre-trial where the defense could ask us to turn over all the information we had in the case. In your trial, Mr. Gold was after Whale's medical evaluation. But since they asked us for that information, we were allowed to ask them for their information as long as it didn't violate your husband's Fifth Amendment right." Mal paused, looking at the file in front of her. "We obtained this photographs from Mr. Gold." She opened the file and handed the first one to Regina.
The brunette cried out, placing her free hand over her mouth, as she looked at the picture of herself with Storybrooke's former sheriff, Graham Humbert. "Regina, I need at ask you whether these pictures are real." Mal already knew the answer, having their authenticity tested but she needed to see Regina's reaction. The brunette slowly nodded as she looked at the way Graham's hand cupped her cheek. "Where were they taken?"
"The stables." Regina answered quickly. "During the country club annual picnic. Leopold was giving a speech."
Mal nodded before placing a second photograph on top of the first. Graham was standing closer to Regina, his lips ghosting over hers. "Did you have an affair with Mr. Humbert?"
Regina shook her head. "He… he was trying to help me. He told me he could get me out of Storybrooke, that I needed to trust him."
"Did you? Trust him?"
Regina shook her head. "I was too scared. I was afraid that this was one of Leopold's tests. I thought that as soon as I agreed to his help, Graham would turn me over to Leopold so he could punish me for even considering leaving him."
"Regina, Graham was trying to help you. Your father hired a private detective to find you. Graham was working for him."
Regina was shaking at the revelation. "But he left! He left me behind! Leopold told me he left town!"
David and Mal exchanged a confused look. "Regina, Graham Humbert died in a car accident shortly after these pictures were taken."
Regina gasped in horror. "No…" She shook her head, trying to deny the truth. Her husband had had the sheriff killed.
Mal looked up toward David. She had hoped to shed some light on Graham's untimely death but Regina didn't know anything. She didn't even know the man had died, would it be to prevent her escape or jealousy, they may never know.
"It wasn't your fault." David cupped Regina's cheek but the brunette jerked herself free.
"It was. And you need to stop helping me. You, Granny… everyone! You need to stay as far away from me as possible!"
"I'm not going anywhere." David pulled Regina into his embrace. She resisted at first but soon sank into the comfort he was offering.
ECECEC
When David walked into his apartment later that night, he was greeted by a fuming brunette who was packing the dinner she had spent most of the afternoon preparing for her date with her husband. David braced himself for the well-deserved castigation he was sure would soon follow. "Mary-Margaret, I'm sorry." He started as he walked toward the bar separating the living area from the small kitchen.
Mary-Margaret slammed the fridge's door close before turning abruptly to face David. "What is it this time, David? Regina is vomiting? She can't sleep by herself? She needs a ride to school? She has a party to which she invites my husband but not me?"
"Snow…"
"No!" Mary-Margaret shot back. "You don't get to call me honey or sweetheart or anything right now, David. I've had enough! I've tried to be understanding but this is the last straw. She's coming between us! She wants her revenge and this is how she's gonna get it. She wants me miserable."
"Mary-Margaret!" David interrupted more forcefully. "Regina isn't separating us! She's trying to put her life back together. Don't you think she deserves our support?"
"That's the problem, David. It's not our support she wants. It's yours. And I'm sorry if I don't want to share my husband any longer. You made a commitment to our family too."
"She is our family." He argued back.
"Is she?" Mary-Margaret put the lid on the last tupperware before throwing it in the fridge. "We can't do this any longer. I know it's not fair but you need to make a choice: your family or Regina."
"Mary-Margaret…"
"That's what I thought." She cut. "I've tried to help Regina. I got her my father's confession on tape. She has everything she needs."
David rolled his eyes. "That tape is inadmissible in court. You know it. But that's beyond the point. Regina needs help while she learns to take care of herself. She's been abused for years… and she's still suffering the consequences."
"She seemed perfectly fine when she was shopping earlier this week with her new friend. She doesn't need you, David. The question is: do you need her?" She looked at her husband in the eyes. When he remained silent, she sighed before turning away and exiting the small kitchen area. "That's what I thought." She whispered, defeated.
David waited for Mary-Margaret to reach the stairs before speaking again. Somehow, the words came easier when he had his back to his wife. "I need to know she's ok. Our happiness came at a great cost. Regina paid the price. And helping her makes me feel less guilty. I know it's selfish." He paused. "And I care about her."
Mary-Margaret tightened her grip on the railing. "Only care?" David didn't reply. Instead, he walked to the fridge in silence and looked for something her could reheat quickly. Mary-Margaret turned around. "I think you should sleep upstairs tonight." She finished as she made her way to their daughter's room.