A/N: Well I won't keep you waiting any longer but I can't help but think that there is still something wrong with that chapter. I had it in mind for a while but I forgot all the good lines I wanted to put in it so I just improvised. I'm sure it will come back later and I'll wish I could have included it but you've waited long enough. Thanks for putting up with my really slow writing by the way.

And well done to xxxLeanniexxx for figuring out what that day was for Regina (even though it seemed pretty obvious to me, things don't always come out as evident as I thought). And let's just say that David will have a lot more to deal with.

I hope you'll like that chapter and don't forget to tell me what you think.

Oh, and there is a last thing. I know that Regina is uncharacteristically emotional with David in this story, but I feel like if she could have that one person to listen to her, she could actually be really emotional (I mean, come on, do you not remember all the crying scenes of season 2?).

But when David finally did open that door, he was not met with the view he had been expecting. Somehow in his head, he had been expecting to see Regina crying over someone's grave. She would have turned towards him upon hearing him open the door, and she probably would have gotten mad at him for invading her privacy in such a way. For stalking her and forcing her to reveal something about herself that she wasn't ready to reveal. She would have gotten mad, oh so mad, as her hormones often made her. But eventually they would have been okay. She would have shared what was on her mind and he would have comforted her.

However none of this did happen because Regina simply wasn't in the room. No, instead of the brunette, David was met by a stone coffin and a set of stairs going down. Going down to where, that was the question. He might not have been an expert in family mausoleums, but even he could tell that something was off.

And that made him hesitate a little bit about taking those stairs. He had the uneasy feeling that the things waiting for him downstairs were better left undiscovered. But he had already pushed the door to the mausoleum, he had already seen the passageway and the little seed was definitely planted in his brain. There was just no turning back now. If he did, the curiosity of what had been going on below his feet would drive him insane eventually.

So with that in mind, he took one deep breath and went down the stairs.

The queasy feeling in his stomach just increased ten-fold. This was no ordinary place. This was something that had its place in Henry's book. But no, Henry's book was not real, and this was just a creepy place. It was just his imagination running wild. It had to be.

Once he had managed to calm down his beating heart, he actually started paying more attention to his surroundings and that's when he heard it. Regina was here somewhere. And she was talking to someone, even though her sobs made it almost unintelligible.

He didn't even think twice before following her voice. He had come here for her and he wasn't just going to turn and run back home now.

After two turns, he finally saw her. And it was almost like what he had been expecting to see upstairs when he had first stepped foot into the stone building. Regina was definitely crying over a coffin. Except that it was a glass coffin and that the man in it looked as if he had died just yesterday. That, he had not been expecting.

But she hadn't seen him coming and so there was no yelling at him for intruding yet. Just her talking. Talking to that dead man.

"-I'm so sorry, Daniel. I'm- I'm pregnant. And it's not yours. Obviously. But I always told myself that if I ever had a child, it would be yours. And it's not. And I'm sorry. I miss you."

The pathetic sound she made at that point made David's heart clench. He wasn't really sure what to think though. It definitely felt as if he was intruding. But even with that knowledge, he didn't make any move. Not to go away, and not to make his presence known. He just listened, the uneasy feeling in his stomach growing by the second.

"I miss you so much. I wish you would come back. I think I'm falling in love with another man. He is kind. Sometimes he makes me think of you, and sometimes he is just him. But I can't love him. I love you. I don't know what to do, Daniel. I'm lost. And I'm pregnant. And I don't even know who the father is."

She looked at her growing belly then, carefully placing her hands over it, before looking back to the man she apparently couldn't let go of. "I want it to be David's but the only way for the baby to be his, is for us to share true love. But you're my true love, and his is Snow White."

David's head snapped at the comment. Snow White? If his head was a mess before that comment, it certainly didn't get better after that particular slip-up. He was about to make his presence known at that point, certain that he had heard enough, but she had already started talking again.

"But if we don't share true love, then it's Rumpelstiltskin's baby and things couldn't get any worse. Oh god, what have I done?" And words just wouldn't come out anymore after this so she just cried even harder, her face pressed against the casket.

Meanwhile David was just watching her totally gobsmacked. All the wind had left his lungs. The Snow White thing could have been just a slip-up, a weird one and probably something too big to be a coincidence. But then there had been the mention of Rumpelstiltskin too and David could see it as it was. He had ready Henry's book and it actually matched perfectly.

But it also meant that Regina was the evil queen. That he was standing in her lair, or whatever Henry had wanted to call it. "It's all true." He didn't even realize what he was saying before he said it, but it was out. It was said really low but the acoustics of the place didn't allow it to go unheard.

Regina startled. David couldn't be here. It was just her mind playing tricks on her. Why would he even be here? And, oh god, did he hear everything she had just said? She suddenly straightened back up and turned in his direction, but the look on his face said it all. He was truly here, and he had heard everything. How many more things could she ruin in her life?

But there was nothing wrong about denying it a little longer. "What are you talking about, David?" It was stupid really, thinking that he would let it go.

And of course, he was aware that she knew exactly what he had meant by that, and somehow it suddenly angered him. Everything about this was wrong and the only thing he could do was to snap at her. "The curse, Regina. The fucking curse! You, being the Evil Queen. Everything in Henry's book. It's all fucking true."

She flinched at his words, at the angry tone he used and the rude words he usually never uttered. The big bad Evil Queen was scared of him. Or at least it seemed that way. Tears were still running fast on her cheeks and it seemed to get worse with every minute.

And it was enough to make him deflate instantly. Because no matter what he had just found out and what his brain couldn't truly process, the woman standing in front of him was still the woman he loved. The woman carrying his daughter. She was hurting, and the last thing he wanted to do was to scare her.

The situation was just too much for him and he let himself slide down the wall, staring blankly in front of him. His eyes fixed on the form of his pregnant girlfriend. On the form of a terrible queen who had instilled fear on an entire kingdom. Who had ripped out countless hearts. Who had sent everyone to another world in her rage.

But he couldn't see it. All he could was his Regina and her red-rimmed and puffy eyes. All the heartbreak that she was carrying.

They stayed like that for a while. Her standing next to the coffin, never quite managing to dry her tears, and him sitting down against the wall, his mind unable to process the truth. They were just staring at each other, trying to figure out how to go from there.

Eventually Regina started moving towards him, her legs too weak to carry her weight for much longer. She slid down the wall as well, his eyes never leaving her, even when she had some trouble sitting down with the baby bump getting in the way and he was unable to do anything to help her. And then, they both just stared straight ahead of them.

"Yes, it's true."

The words actually came as a surprise to David. They were three little resigned words, and when he turned his head to look at her, her eyes were still staring straight ahead of them.

"So, you're the Evil Queen and I'm Prince Charming?"

Her head whipped in his direction, her expression genuinely surprised. "You mean, you don't remember?"

"That I'm a Prince from a fairy tale? No, I certainly don't remember that." And he was almost laughing. Almost. He could tell that she would take it the wrong way. But what could he do other than laugh at the absurdity of the situation? No normal person would ever accept that version of the reality even if it was presented to them by several persons. Some of them usually reasonable persons.

"I thought- I thought that if you had all the evidence in front of you, if I told you, that something would just… click." And he could tell with these few words that she had thought about telling him, even if it had just been a fleeting thought. She had actually thought about the consequences of him finding out about her past, and mostly about the consequences of him getting his memories back. And by her tone of voice, he could tell that her conclusion hadn't been good.

"Well, it certainly didn't and I can't help but think that this is all crazy talks. There is no way you could ever be the Evil Queen, Regina. I know you." He tried to cover the hand she had laying on the floor with his but she quickly pulled away, finding it hard to look at him, let alone touch him. This was supposed to be the moment where he was leaving her for all the atrocities she had done.

"But I am, David. I am the Evil Queen. I did all those awful things." And it was strange to take responsibilities, it was definitely not an habit of her. But she had nothing to lose anymore, the bubble had been popped. There was no point in lying anymore.

"Well, even if you did, I don't think you're her anymore."

She turned completely towards him after hearing this, her eyes boring fully into his. "How can you say that, David? I've killed hundreds of people, I've harmed even more of them. Something like that can't just be erased. It's here."

"Except that it's not, not really. We all know a different you here. Someone who is good to everybody, well, almost everybody. Someone who makes our lives better."

But she shook her head. Prince Charming would never say those things to her. The person she had created, David, maybe, but it wasn't real, and it wasn't going to last. As soon as he would get his memories back, as soon as he would remember how bad she actually was and stop denying it, he'll be the first to give up on her, to throw her to the angry mobs. There was no point in indulging into his sweet talks at this point, this was just setting herself up for further disappointment down the line. David wasn't real.

"It's just the curse talking. It's not really you."

"Except that it is me. From what I understood, what the curse did was give us a different set of memories. And while memories help make us in the person we are, there is also a big part of our personality that comes from our brain's chemistry. You didn't alter that. I may be different from the Prince Charming I used to be in another world, but deep down we're the same guy."

She just went back to staring ahead of her, clutching her hands in her lap. She was done with false hopes. He might not have gotten his memories yet, but it would happen someday, and no matter what he thought about the chemistry of his brain, it would definitely change everything between them.

David examined her face for a few minutes, an uncomfortable sensation in his chest. "You don't believe me." It wasn't even a question. He was starting to know her quite well, even if she was pretty insistent that he had no clue who she was.

She didn't even turn, she just shook her head, a wry smile on her lips. No, she did not believe him.

Well, there was nothing more he could do anyway. He would just have to prove it to her with his actions. He would stick to her side no matter what, and he would keep on calming all her fears and worries, and she would see that their relationship was real.

So instead of arguing further, he just stared straight ahead too. His eyes instantly fell on the coffin he had now completely forgotten. The discovery of the curse being real had completely overshadowed the other thing that he had overheard. The one who had actually hurt him a lot more.

"Who is this?"

She was surprised by the abrupt change of conversation but when she saw that David seemed rather persistent on finding out that particular answer, she decided to give in. He had probably heard what she had been saying before mentioning Snow White and Rumpelstiltskin, though she couldn't exactly know when he had started listening.

She had thought of getting angry about him suddenly appearing here, but somehow the weight of the things she had said didn't really allow her to be the angry one. Instead she just went with the flow, persuaded that their relationship would never recover from these particular secrets.

"His name was Daniel. He- he was my fiance."

"And you still love him." It wasn't really a question either. Just the sad and ugly truth, there was no point denying it.

"Yes, I still love him."

"So the whole time we've been together, he's been there? Between us? With you comparing me to him and never deciding that maybe picking the guy that is actually alive over the dead guy was the smart choice to make?"

She looked like she had been slapped, and at that point she might as well have been. The dead guy? How could he be as insensitive as to say those words to her. Suddenly, she couldn't bare their closeness anymore, and no matter how difficult it was, she quickly got to her feet and put some distance between them.

David sighed at the movement. While he thought every word of what he had just said, he could see how hurtful they were for Regina. She obviously had very strong feelings for that man, even if he had probably been dead for a very long time, and even though it wasn't the most rational thing ever. But feelings were hardly rational. She was the Evil Queen and he still loved her. She was in love with another man and he stilled loved her. She had cheated on him with Gold and he stilled loved her. If he didn't know that feelings were completely irrational, he didn't know who did.

He tried to approach her and put his hand on her arm but she flinched and walked further away. So he retracted his hand and allowed her the distance. "Regina, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

She expelled a big breath to calm her anger, before turning towards him. She didn't want to completely explode on him, this was not the time for it. But still he had upset her and there was no changing that fact. So when she did turn towards him it was with her arms crossed in front of her and a harsh glare in his direction. "Then how did you mean it, David?"

"I love you, Regina. A lot. I don't even need to prove it to you anymore, you know it. And I guess it just hurts that you won't let yourself love me because you can't let go of your past."

She just stared at him. He was right and for once she actually found herself at a loss for words. This was unfair on him. Especially since she did love him -how could she not, after everything he had done for her?- but just wouldn't admit it. She didn't want to betray the love she had lost. The one who had been killed because she had dared to go against her mother's orders. He had always been the innocent one and she had been the only one to care. What would be left of his memory if she got over him?

David could see the conflict in her eyes, and even though he didn't know the whole story, he could tell that this was not a pretty one. Having your love cut short when it was just starting was never a pretty story, and he could see all the pain in her eyes.

He wanted her to be happy. He wanted that so much. And he wanted it to be with him. She could never be happy with just the memory of her past love and he had to make her understand that. Holding back on their relationship because of that, it was just wasting something that could bring both of them so much happiness, and he couldn't stand it.

"I get that you loved him. Very much. And that you wish you had spent your entire life by his side. But it didn't happen, Regina. I'm very sorry that he is dead, but he is. You have to face the fact that you will never be able to spend your life with him. But you can spend it with me. With Clara, and with Henry. We can be happy. You just have to let go of him. It doesn't mean that you loved him any less. It just means that you're ready to be happy again. I'm sure he would want that."

"You don't know him." The tears were pooling in her eyes, again. She did want to be happy. She did want to have a family. It was just all so hard. She had never been able to let go of anything and she was afraid of never being able to.

It might have been a protest but it sounded like her last defenses, he was getting somewhere. "No, I don't. But if he loved you just as much as you loved him, then he would only want the best for you. He would want you to be happy."

She brushed away the tears threatening to fall. There had been enough crying for one day. Daniel's death anniversary was always hard on her, and having David digging up her secrets on that particular day had made it even worse. "And you think that you are what's best for me?"

"It might be a pretty big assumption, but I think you're happy when you're with me. And I think we'll be even more happy raising our daughter together. I don't care about you being the Evil Queen. It's in the past. And I think it's time to let the past rest in peace."

It was tempting. It would never last since the curse was bound to break, Gold would make sure of that, but it was still tempting. She could enjoy her last moments before the pitchforks. She could make it count.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

She nodded and he smiled, a huge smile. He didn't know what to make of everything that had happened today, but he would get to sleep in the arms of the woman he loved. She might have been a crazy murderer in another life but he wasn't ready to process it right now. Not when she was glowing with her pregnancy and when she was always so vulnerable.

Maybe he truly was Prince Charming, but the tale had gotten it wrong. He wasn't supposed to save the princess that everybody loved and wanted to help, but the queen that everybody hated and nobody was ready to listen to.

While he was lost in his thoughts of fairy tales, Regina had gotten back to staring at her former fiance. Wondering how she could make her goodbyes. When David finally noticed her pensive look and to where he was directed, he put her arm around her shoulders and squeezed, happy that the gesture wasn't rejected this time.

"Do you want me to leave you alone with him?"

She raised her eyes towards him then, looking smaller than her usual height. "You don't mind?"

"No, I get that he is important to you. But please, don't ever think any less of me because of him. That's all I'm asking."

She nodded and turned towards him with a perplexed frown, taking in his kind smile. "How can you be okay with all of this?" She gestured awkwardly with her hand, trying to envelop everything he had learned all at once. All her dirty secrets. Well, not all of them. She still had plenty to go from.

"Well, I still have a lot of questions, but in the end it comes down to the fact that I'm happy when I'm around you. It's not always easy but at least you make my life interesting."

And it was said with such a goofy smile that she couldn't help but genuinely smile in return for the first time that day. "I can't really say that you're the one making my life interesting -somehow drama always seems to follow me- but I'm happy when I'm around you too."

"Good."

"And I promise, the next time I'll be the one doing the comforting. I can't always be the one crying." She laughed, wiping the remnants of her tears, glad that she hadn't put any make-up on today. It would probably have been a mess by now.

"Well, you can always blame it on the hormones."

"Oh, believe me, I do."

They both laughed, clearing the air between them. And with one last embrace, David finally made his way out of the mausoleum, leaving Regina to commemorate the death of her first love.

He might not have liked everything he had found out today, but he had gotten to know Regina better and he was grateful for that. However, the news that the curse was real was pretty bad. He might have stayed optimistic in Regina's presence, but he was afraid. Henry would eventually find a way to break the curse and his new family would just explode.

He blanched as he realized that. The fact that it was his new family meant that he had an old one. He had a wife, Snow White. Mary-Margaret, according to Henry. But then how come he didn't feel anything for her and so strongly for Regina? Would the nice school teacher come and blame him of infidelity?

He would hurt one of them in the end. And that realization made his day a lot worse. Yes, David would have liked for the curse to not be real.