School sucks...that is all. LOL
P.S The word count is off and I hate that, I don't even know, it's just demeaning lol it's more like 7677
P.S.S Enjoy!
-iiwasalwaysthequeen
"Are you okay?" She glanced up at his shadowy form with a shrug. He had asked but she wasn't sure if he truly wanted the answer to that question. It seemed as though they lived from angst to angst, issue to issue and drama to drama. There was no peace, there was no moment of rest. That's why she cast the curse, to have that moment of rest, of reflection-With everyone living in ignorance, there was supposed to be no one to raise hell. But that was slowly changing, with each life that came alive part of hers was taken.
The price of magic, the price of the curse: a hole that can never be filled, that can never be mended. It was intended to leave her going from angst to angst, from issue to issue-closure was not apart of the deal. She supposed that it was a flaw of hers, never reading the fine print.
Though when she thought about it, when she signed onto this curse, it said nothing about Henry...or Charlotte or the little guy that ceased to rest within her. A soft finger traced against the curve of her stomach and she knew, she knew that this was definitely not in the fine print and she couldn't say that she'd trade it for anything.
All the pain, all the issues, all the angst-It was all worth it.
Worth the smile on Charlotte's face each morning, worth the flutter in her belly and the hope-though small-of getting Henry back. So when he asked her if she was okay, the answer was no-on the surface. The argument with Emma, the tears the welled up in Henry's eyes, it all amounted to her being near the edge of a cliff that she hadn't seen in a long time. She was exhausted and feeling the consequences of not heeding doctor's orders; physically and emotionally she was not okay.
But she'd get there.
For once in her life, she knew that the darkness wasn't all that she had; for once she had love in more than one place.
"I'm worried about you..." His whispers made it to her and she nodded gently, eyes flitting up to meet his as he sat on the bed beside her. She didn't move, too comfortable lying down to do so, which he knew, so he stayed where he was. She knew that he was concerned, concerned that she was angry with him, that she was angry with Emma-that she was angry with everyone, which was a sad and lonely place to be.
He wondered if she was there or just teetering on the edge, waiting to be pushed over or held back.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He settled down beside her, propping an elbow on a pillow as she laid on her back, and his question lingered in the air. Her eyes fell closed and for a moment she couldn't help herself, the tear that escaped her being solemn and alone, the only one of it's kind. With a shuddered breath, "...no.." was her answer and silence was all she had to offer, hands steadily feeling at the curve of her stomach.
"You're worried about me but," She exhaled, giving him a teary smile as she turned her head, "I'm worried about him." She rubbed below her navel, feeling a light kick in response that prompted her to continue, "...he's been through a lot lately."
David sighed, his hand covering hers without the hesitation that he had months before, hesitation to act as her partner, as the safety she wanted, the stability she needed. The hesitation was gone, and the tension was simmering among other things; "Well he's strong...son of a valiant Prince and...vivacious Queen.."
Her sniffles were interrupted by light chuckles as she peered at their hands before turning to meet his eyes, her own being teary yet her lips curved into a smile. "Vivacious? Is that supposed to be an adequate substitute?
He shrugged, "You know I don't do well on my toes."
"How about the son of..." Her eyes rolled up at the ceiling before gleaming with a tinge of excitement, something to take her mind of the angst that loomed outside their door; "...David...and Regina?"
"Hmmm?" With his hand still covering hers, he leaned into her space and she didn't flinch, perhaps even leaning in as well.
"That's who we are now..." The tears never left, nor did they fall-they just remained there, a constant reminder of how close she was to the edge, and how close he was to keeping her from it. "No titles...No kingdoms...Just who we are-He'll be strong because of who we are...rather than what we've done..."
He searched her eye for a reticence that usually resided, a hesitance of some sort and found there to be none; only sincerity searching for sincerity. "Is that what you want?"
She nodded softly, looking only at blue eyes that assured her of the future and of the present. She didn't want their son to be held up to the standards of their past lives; they weren't those people anymore. He'd be strong because his parents taught him to be strong, they'd lead by example-he'd seem them fall and see them get up, he'd see them struggle and see them succeed.
That's what she wanted.
The night was quiet and she had yet to succumb to any form of sleep. It would appear to have claimed her but her eyes were simply closed, adjusting to the lack of light, the lack of peace. How could she sleep when, mere feet from her, her own son couldn't look her in the eye? She wouldn't pretend it was easy, she wouldn't pretend it was comfortable, that having her son short of 'I hate you' was something that she was proud of. So sleep evaded her, the night was still and the Sheriff snored beside her.
She envied that, the peace about him. She supposed that was the good in him, the serenity to lack the burdens that weighed her down. With a glance in direction, his mouth was open and his arm was sloppily draped across a pillow he had claimed as his own.
Not her ideal form of sleep, but peaceful nonetheless.
He was "Prince Charming" after all, a fairytale and in essence, lacking the onus reality that she had given him. With the curse, when taking away their fairytale, she gave them reality. It was a gift on layaway, to be opened in twenty eight years; a boulder would fall on everyone's shoulders soon enough, their lack of happy endings, the impact of reality-it would hit them.
But for now it only hit her.
It was an unction really, almost intuition, that brought her thoughts to a hault. The gnawing feeling in her gut was immediate, something that stirred her mentally but stilled her physically. It was a blessing and a curse, to get these feelings, to anticipate the inevitable before it's fruition.
Stealthiness was a hope and a prayer in her condition, unable to sit up without shifting the bed all together. A long snore ceased and sputtered and she held her breath, wishing her sleeping bear back to his slumber. When nothing moved, she sat up with much needed effort, eliminating half the battle until a soft voice, trodden with drowsiness passed her ear.
"Regina..."
She didn't move, she didn't speak. Maybe he was talking in his sleep.
"I can see you.."
She sighed, needing no light to be snide in her response. "It's pitch black, David, you can't see anything."
David huffed under his breath, rubbing at his coaled eye as he sat up. "Regina, why are you up?"
She squinted, the white's of her eyes being barely visible as she turned to look at him. "You know, my actions aren't always irrational."
"Honey-"
"Don't..." She stopped him, "..don't call me honey, you never call me honey because you know that I hate pet names yet you only do it to placate me so don't-" Her tone was sharp, cutting even, yet it only took a moment for her to deflate with a sigh. Relenting to the ache in her back, she laid against the headboard with a defeated breath that inclined him to wipe at his other eye. He'd need to use both of them if he was going to crack this conundrum. "Is something wrong?" He wondered allowed.
She met his eyes, following their line of sight with a shake of her head. "No..." She shook her head, touching a hand to the phantom kicks that kept her awake in the first place. "I don't know...I just..." She laid down upset and sat up frustrated, knowing the cause of neither. "Something's wrong..." She stated it as thought it were a fact, as if she knew without a shadow of doubt. Drumming at her stomach, she shrugged and met his curious gaze once more, "I just don't know what..."
With a elbow propped on the pillow he drooled on moments before, he inched closer, covering her drumming his hands with his own as if to silence the cogs turning in her head, "is that why you were sneaking out of bed?"
"I was not-" Her haughty protests were futile when his glare seared hers, beating her at a game of her own invention, "I was going to check of Charlotte...and Henry..." He opened his mouth and she waved her hand, wanting to finish, "Only to check on them, I just-I couldn't shake the feeling-"
"That something was wrong?" She nodded silently and he returned the favor, flipping the covers off of himself. He understood her anxiety and he didn't doubt it. That's one thing he had learned being with her: never doubt her instincts. "I'll check..."
"Don't wake them up-" She added as he walked towards the door.
"Don't get up..." He teased, throwing a smirk over his shoulder. She scowled and he chuckled, "no point in giving me dirty looks because like you said, it's pitch black and I can't see anything anyway."
"Sometimes my tolerance for you wears thinner than I thought possible..."
"Ditto," He paused to look at her, "...honeybun."
"David-"
"I'm going," his hands flew up in surrender, "I'm going.."
And he did go, quickly closing the door behind him at the sight of what caught his attention. She looked like a panda, hair in a braid wearing thick white footie pajamas that kept her warm as she held Mr. Bear to her face. He didn't want to give Regina the chance to see her, knowing that if she knew Charlotte was up at this time of night, she'd get up regardless of any caveat.
"Charlie horse, what are you doing up?" She sniffled in response, letting her bear slip from her face to reveal tear soaked cheeks and red eyes that alarmed him in the least. Charlotte Mills didn't cry; extract the rare tantrum and occasional nightmare and the kid was tearless-So at 1 in the morning, tears were of a concern.
She was unresponsive, eyes shifting to the ground as she dropped Mr. Bear to the floor, dragging him against the carpet. Her little feet moved quickly, grazing the floor fabric for fabric until she met his legs to bury her face at his knees. "Char..." Her name was lost in translation as he lifted her, feeling her arms find his neck like a vice grip, dropping her bear in place of her father, the only cuddly bear she wanted.
"Hey Charlie...if you stop crying I'll give you the last turnover from-" The bargain being offered was paused and futile, seeing as he froze on the spot. He had a turnover on a napkin in one hand, the book in the other and a face stained with guilt.
"Henry..." It was a warning really, a knowing one in fact. It was almost as if he knew what the boy had done but was warning him nonetheless, disbelief taking over in place of logic.
"I was just getting her a snack..." A nervous grin plastered his face as he shifted his feet, stepping away from the staircase. "Right Charlie?"
Charlotte was unresponsive, her face hidden in the crook of David's neck. David peered down at her, rubbing a hand over her back in an attempt to sooth her stuttering breaths. "What did you tell her?"
Henry shrugged, "I didn't tell her anything," even though the book was right in his hand.
"Don't lie to me..." He warned, taking on a tone that he only used when Charlotte was in tantrum mode...or her mother was.
He scoffed, "You know you're not my dad, right?"
David furrowed his brows, a bit taken a back. Not about what he said but how he said it, an air of arrogance in his tone and smirk on his face. So he'd give it back-he wanted to be a grown up? If he wanted to talk like he was on the same level, then he'd treat him as such.
"Yeah, but I'm the closest thing you've got..." He held a hand to Charlotte's back as he leaned forward, shaking his head as he made himself clear, "And as that thing in your life, I'm gonna tell you right now-I don't like your attitude.." Henry's mouth clamped shut, his foot kicking at the carpet-that's all it took really, a stern talking to from someone he couldn't guilt into silence. "So I'm gonna ask you again-What did you tell her?"
Henry shrugged, eyes boring into the carpet as if it held a face and eyes, "Regina..." He mumbled.
David strained to hear, barely catching wind of the name. He reared his head back before shaking it in confusion, "You mean your mother?"
"She's not my mom!" He was a tad bit assertive with the statement, looking up from the carpet.
"Yeah but just like me...She's the closest thing you've got!" David retorted in an equal fervor, not being bested by a ten year old. His hand remained on Charlotte's back, soothing her past the constant sniffles. "Emma gave birth to you but she didn't name you...she didn't raise you-Yes, she brought you into this world, but YOUR MOTHER is the one that kept you here."
He dropped the book at David's book in frustration, meeting his eyes with teary ones, "she lied to me," he mumbled.
"People lie, Henry..." His tone was softer, "And no it's not right," His tone was calmer, "But your mother thought she was doing what was best-"
"For her curse, not for me!" He whispered harshly in defense of himself, "Even you thought I was crazy..."
"Alright..." David nodded, bending a bit at his level, "fine, you're upset that she didn't tell you about the curse-tell her that. Don't just throw people away."
"Oh like you didn't throw away Mary Margaret?" Henry sniped, sniffling back his tears just as his sister did. "We all did what we 'thought' was right...And I told Charlotte because I thought it was right...She deserved to know who braids her hair and who takes her to daycare and who 'named' her and 'raised' her..." He threw David's words right back at him, brows knitted with emotion. "No one told me..."
His last words fell on receptive ears, ears that almost understood where the frustration lied. He felt betrayed-betrayed by the person that taught him how to tie a tie, by the person that walked him to the bus stop and packed his lunch. The one that named him and raised him, the first person he trusted. She was the first bond he made and she lied to him, she broke it-she broke him.
When he was given no response, no comeback, nothing to justify what he had exposed, he turned his back leaving the book at David's feet. He had no more to say and all that Charlotte knew all that she needed to, his work was done.
So his door slammed behind him.
David looked down, noting the brown brinded book at his feet with a cursory glance before going back to the door he had closed, hoping that their harsh whispers were low enough to leave the walls un-penetrated. The door opened and Regina was sitting up but she didn't look upset, concerned, but not upset.
"Was that Henry-Why, why is he-Why are they up?" So many questions and so many answers. Charlotte peeked from against David's neck, a red eye being the only thing visible in the dimly lit room, a light having been turned on. "Has she been cry-"
"Henry read her the book..." The only way to give all the answers was to rip off the band-aid and in turn watch her features blanch, all the color draining from her face with the saying of five words.
"She..." Her words fell silent as she swallowed, trying to make sense of the thoughts in her head, "Charlotte..."
She turned her head.
The tears in her eyes didn't fall but they stuck in her throat and through broken breaths she spoke, "give-give her to me..." He didn't want to hurt her, knowing that Charlotte might not let go of his neck. When he tugged at her small frame, she held close to his neck in a refusal that was evident in Regina's eyes. The hand she held out for her little girl went untouched and unheeded for reasons she knew but didn't want to accept.
"Charlie..." He whispered in her ear, passing a hand over her head, "mommy-" She shook her head at the mention.
Regina's eyes fell from his, not wanting to witness any more rejection-she knew it when she saw it but it hurt no less. It left her with darting glances and heavy breaths, breaths that she tried to contain. "Regina-"
He called her name and she flipped back the covers. She wasn't going to take this lying up against a headboard. She was out of their bed in seconds and it took him a moment to follow her, to realize that she actually intent on leaving. "Regina, you need to be in bed..." She was faster then he would think, but she had an intent, opening their door and going down the hallway. But when she went passed Henry's room, he was really confused. Where was she going?
Cursing under his breath, he made a beeline for Charlotte's room but she wouldn't let go of his neck, "I'll be right back Charlie, I just-" He tugged and she tightened. "Just.." And tightened.. "Charlie, daddy can't breathe..." And tightened. Picking up on his distress, she lifted her head and wiped at her eyes in the same manner that he had earlier, reminding him of himself. "I'll be right back, just..." He set her down in her bed, "Just stay here, okay?" She nodded and he could have swore he heard a car engine in the background.
Wait...
He nearly ran from her room, skipping steps as he ran down them and out the front door, seeing her black Mercedes speed down the street without so much as headlights. The night began quietly but seemed intent on not staying that way.
Ruby was the only one he could trust, the only one that knew about the curse that he could trust, truly trust. So when he left her with a crying panda and angry pre-adolescent, he knew she could handle it. He needed her to handle it so he could handle tracking down where their mother went. She left no note, no indication of her whereabouts and per usual Regina style, said nothing about leaving in the first place.
There were only two places she could plausibly be and City Hall was one of them, the first place he checked. Her car wasn't even out front so he sped passed, going to the second place, the place he had hoped she hadn't gone.
And here, her car was out front.
The door was ajar and he needn't push it open to slip inside, but he did close it behind him. The steps were apparent and he needn't locate them to go down them but he was hesitant because he had only seen the casket, not the crypt beneath. Getting over his curiosity, he made quick and light steps to find his way below ground, the faintest light flickering in the darkness. She was there though, the further down he went the more he saw of her.
She was on her knees, surrounded by what he suspected to be the discarded remains of what she had already gone through. She was looking for something, that he knew; She had been crying, that he knew. What she needed? What she was looking for?
Clueless.
"I-I need to find it..." She addressed him through gasps and uneven breaths, having heard him descend the steps.
"Find what?" He walked closer, standing behind her as she trifled by shelves and boxes.
"I don't know, I just-There has to be..there has to be something.." She chased a quick tear from her face, sniffing back what blurred her vision. "There just-" She gave up, hands sweeping at the shelf until her once pried trinkets broke against the concrete and shattered at her knees. She paused, trembling as her breaths overtook her. "I feel like...such a fool..." her voice was small and hoarse, nearly unrecognizable, "I cast a curse with no way out, I- can't stop it from breaking and I can't speed up the process, I just-"
She had nothing to help herself, nothing to end the waiting and get it over with. Let the riots and the anger begin so she can stop stirring in the inevitability and start living in the fruition. She had nothing to prolong the curse, nothing to keep the ignorance, to maybe even save face with Charlotte-if the curse didn't break soon, she'd have more time to stave off the people that would try and turn her against her own mother.
"Dammit..." When the tears fell, they didn't come easily. "I feel like I...I can't-can't...breathe..." Both literally and figuratively, breath seemed to escapes her. Her lungs were heavy and so was her heart, weighing down any levity she may have had. "Dammit..." was all she could say.
"Dammit..." Palms flat on the cleared shelf, she let go...
She let it wrack her. She let it take her breath away. She let go...and just cried.
He could only kneel behind her because she needn't be coddled. She had been staving off this breakdown for the longest, crying but ignoring the urge to truly sob. She had gotten upset but ignored the urge to just let it all out. She had gotten angry but ignored the urge to rage.
She sobbed
She sobbed for the rage she felt, for the betrayal.
She sobbed because she started this. She sobbed because she was given an opportunity to ruin her life and she took it with the thought that it would do just the opposite. She sobbed because she betrayed her son, she sobbed because he betrayed her. She sobbed because her husband still didn't feel like hers even though she wouldn't admit it. She sobbed because her daughter wouldn't even look at her, knowing her past. She sobbed because no matter how hard she tried, the blood never washed from her hands and the broken pieces of her heart never seemed to fit back together.
Only when it subsided did he reach out to her. When snobs became sniffles and her fists on the shelves splayed out. Only when she was ready, another thing he had learned. Don't push her-Just wait till she's ready.
And that's what he did, waiting to place a gentle hand on her back, to let her know that he was still there, that he'd always be there. He leaned forward, seeming to hug her from behind but really making sure that she knew she wasn't alone. "You're gonna get through this...We...We are going to get through this..together..."
Only when her hand touched one that he had wrapped around her, did he know that she had heard him, really heard him. He stood, squeezing between her and the bookcase. He wouldn't let her stay down there, he wouldn't let her get pulled in by the tears she shed or the weight on her heart, "come on." He'd keep his vow.
He'd pull her up when she was down.
With a much needed breath, she took the hand that was offered to her but didn't move. She couldn't, she held on but she couldn't move-She was afraid.
Getting up meant conquering, facing, dealing, standing in the face of what went bump in the night. He bent over a bit, giving him some leverage as held to her waist and encouraged her to hold to his arm as he pulled her up-he'd do it if she couldn't do it by herself. He'd have the faith if she couldn't-He'd be what she couldn't be...He'd keep his vow.
She sniffled, looking just as Charlotte did, red eyes and all as she shrugged in his hold. "I don't know what to do..." She touched a hand to her head, inhaling suddenly, a side effect of her sobs, "Charlotte's traumatized...Henry's still angry, I don't..."
He was silent leaning forward to press a kiss to her temple, his hands still holding to her arms. It was silencing and it was calming; it was what she needed. He pulled away and met her eyes, "we can't fix everything at once," which was true, "it isn't going to be easy but we have to take it one step at a time and step one...is you..."
Before she could even protest, he was leading her to the stairs though his eyes were wandering. From vases to chests and trinkets, he seemed enamored, a hand on her back and an eye on her bookshelf. "I'll explain another time.." She answered the question that his actions vocalized, snapping his attention back to her. He nodded halfheartedly, not knowing if he truly wanted to know.
Leaving the truck at the cemetery, he drove her car back under the cover of nightfall. Arriving back was a heavy-hearted task but they did it, closing the door softly behind them. The house was quiet, sleep quiet-something it hadn't been an hour ago. He was tired, having only gotten a couple of hours and she was exhausted, having gotten none.
"They're probably asleep.." He spoke, seeing the hesitance in her eyes. "...all three of them."
She nodded with a haste as if she had no issue, "Oh sure.." no problem, "They probably are," no fear, "You can...check on them and I'll...I'll be in the room.."
She just didn't want to be the thing that went bump in the night, the boogeyman, the monster she told them wasn't real.
"Stop worrying..." He called her out on her silence, on her broken thoughts.
But how could she stop doing what she had come to thrive on?
The worry of not knowing-the worry of knowing, it seemed to always be present.
She tried to heed his advice, taking to the steps even though it practically ached to walk-but that was her fault. She consistently pushed herself passed her limits, disobeying her mind and following her heart, following what she knew to be irrational. It was who she'd grown to be.
David on the other hand didn't understand it, shaking his head as he peeked in Henry's room to find him splayed across his bed. He closed the door and found the hallway to still have the book in the floor, but he didn't move it; he left it there.
It would come to mean something.
Charlotte had fallen asleep in Ruby's side, the werewolf looking just as comfortable as one could be in a toddler bed. Shaking her shoulder to wake her, she shook her head an snuggled closer to the toddler she had grown close to, "Come back later.." she mumbled, not wanting to move from her sleep. He shook his head and left, closing the door softly behind him.
And once again, the night was quiet.
X
The morning was usually quiet but not this quiet, not pin drop quiet. Charlotte sat on one side of the counter, pushing around her soggy frosted flakes with her spoon while Henry watched on from the other side, both with red eyes, both still sniffling. David dried his hands with the striped dish towel on his shoulder, not knowing much more that he could do. He didn't cook and if he tried, he was sure they would end up with runny eggs and burnt toast so frosted flakes was what they got.
But breakfast was not the reason for tears, for the sniffles. Of course, they didn't just forget the night before, but they were painfully different. Charlotte's hair was abnormally down, unkept and undone. There was not a bow in sight and she didn't ask for one. Henry was pale and dejected, avoiding David's eyes only to breathe a sigh of relief when Ruby came stumbling sleepily into the kitchen, giving him a distraction.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" She whined, scowling in David's direction as he passed a mug to her.
He shrugged with a light chuckle, raising a brow at the bedhead that seemed to take on a mind of it's own. "You just looked...so peaceful."
Ruby feigned her laughter, "Oh haha..hahaha..HA..."
Her eyes were like slits but he didn't care, taking the towel down from his shoulder to place it back on the counter. "Enjoy your coffee and get out of here before Emma yells at you for being late."
"Oh you mean I don't get fake breakfast too?" She mocked.
He pointed to the mirror in the corner of the room, "no you don't," bringing her attention to the scary reflection.
"Shit..." She mumbled.
"Ruby..." David warned.
She shrugged, cupping her mug between her fingers as if it were her only source of heat, "Did you find her?" She questioned candidly.
"Ruby!"
David turned to her with wide eyes and she sputtered to answer, "I-I didn't know-Is she still asleep?" She rephrased her question, putting a hand on top of Charlotte's head, "Obviously she is..." She noted the notes and hairs out of place before turning around, passing a hand on Henry's shoulder, "alright I'm gonna go..."
"Guys, you wanna ride with Ruby to go to-" He didn't have to ask them twice, both of them abandoning their cereal in a second to follow after the red werewolf. She looked at David who only smirked in response. "Maybe she'll get you some 'real breakfast'"
"David I can't-"
"Too late...See ou in a little bit."
"I hate you."
After cleaning up what was not eaten in the first place, the Sheriff trekked upstairs with the hopes that she was still awake, the the reality hadn't hit her, that she was sleeping away her troubles rather than standing in the face of them. He opened to door and found her eyes wide at his presence.
"Are they gone already?"
He nodded, leaving the door open behind him. "Ruby took them..."
Her eyes found solace in the wall rather than his eyes, not wanting got look at the concern in them, the concern that reflected her own. "Did they...say anything?" A voice still hoarse with sleep and strained from turmoil of the early morning, her voice nearly matched the desperation she felt. "No, of course they didn't..." She answers her own question, "civil disobedience..."
"They're coping..."
"They're striking..." She sighed into her hand. "He's ten...she's four...
"And they're ours so I don't know why you're surprised."
She shook her head, "I'm not surprised, I just...I don't feel comfortable sending them to daycare or school when they're like this, they-"
"Can't stay here because I'm not staying..." Again, ripping the band-aid off.
"Oh..." She whispered, almost forgetting that he was the Sheriff. He had things to do, places to go-everyone did. She did too, but she didn't get to do them, she get to go anywhere.
"Hey, don't make that face..." He turned around, not being able to take the brown puppy eyes, not again. "My boss is gonna be on my case if I miss work again..."
"David, I'm your boss.."
He chuckled in embarrassment, trying to play it off, "Well then get off my back, woman." She sighed, rolling her eyes at his reproach, understanding his levity yet feeling quite beyond it. He huffed right along with her, touching a hand to the hair laid on the pillow beneath her, "Don't be upset..."
"It makes no sense to me, David." He knew she was talking about the kids, about them not being there.
"We couldn't-"
"We didn't talk to her...You sent her with Ruby like it was a normal day, like she didn't cry her eyes out last night and let me ask you this, genius: Did you try to talk to her or did you let a four year old give you the silent treatment?"
...he let a four year old give him the silent treatment.
"Regina, I'm doing the best I can under the circumstances-I know it's not ideal but can you just-Just not get upset?" She huffed in response, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at him. She had a right to be worried, to be concerned but he seemed intent on quelling that worry, that concern. "Hmm.." He opened the drawer beside her nightstand, "Magazines, cold compress and...property details that Mrs. Truman has yet to review...thought I wouldn't find out you still had your secretary reporting to you?"
The small smile that she gave him was no compensation for her pain, for their pain-but for the moment it was enough, it was all he could ask. No, it didn't reach her eyes and it was more to placate him but he took it nonetheless.
He wouldn't push her.
He'd kiss her cheek and tell her that he would check on her, that he would come to drop off lunch if she wanted, that she wasn't completely alone. No he didn't want to leave her in a large empty house for hours on end, but he had no choice.
The only choice he had was to tell her where he was a going and that wasn't option. Sheriff related? Yes, but did she need to know that he was meeting Emma at Gold's shop for reasons he would rather not trouble her for? Not necessarily-it was a judgment call, to worry her or not worry her. He did what he thought was best and hoped that he wouldn't come to regret it.
X
Her bedhead was gone. It was the first thing he noticed when she an Emma pulled up in the cruiser. Emma was avoiding his gaze and Ruby was still scowling because, of course, he was great with the ladies.
Not.
"Did you drop the kids off?
Ruby closed the door behind her, rubbing her hand at the side of her thigh, "yeah and what the hell did you do to Charlotte? The poor little thing didn't even want her special cookies..."
David's gaze trailed to Emma's, deciding that, perhaps, now was not the perfect time to talk about what Henry had done, "She'll be fine; Regina and I...we're gonna talk to her tonight."
"Good...I've seen a lot of things in this world and the last but one of the worst is seeing goodness being weighed down..." She gave him a half-smile, "just make sure you talk to her..."
"I'm her father, Ruby..." His tone was sharp and he cleared his throat, not meaning to sound defensive, "I appreciate it, but I...we, we're gonna take car of it..."
Ruby nodded, passing a look to Emma, "So should we fill him in?"
"Fill me in on what?" He was the Sheriff, not the deputy and if anything was going on, he should be the first one to know about it.
Ruby looked to Emma, who remained silent and David could only guess that she was still on edge about Henry. Sensing the tension, Ruby shook her head with an incredulous look bouncing between them. "Don't, you guys. If we're going to get anything done then we need to talk to each other-put aside any differences and talk to each other..."
"Like the way you're not talking to Mary Margaret?" David turned to look at Emma, swearing that she sounded just as Henry had earlier.
"What?" Ruby turned back to the blonde, a brow raised, "Emma, what even-"
"Let's just get this over with. " She charged forward, pass the red-streaked werewolf and the confused, blonde Sheriff.
The bell chimed above Mr. Gold's door and a cool air swept passed them. David held the door open for Ruby and Mr. Gold looked up curiously. "And what can I do for the judicial trio of Storybrooke?"
David looked to Emma, not even knowing why they were there and she sighed irritably, not wanting to explain. "Gold held an 'open house'" she spoke with air quotes, "for anyone interested in trading or buying goods..."
David's brows scrunched as if he had been handed a Calculus equation. Yes, Gold never did anything without a reason but what-
"You son of a bitch!" He had one hand on his gun, ready to move, ready to aim, ready to fire. The imp was nothing but trouble, always trying to stir the pot, always turning up the heat to see how hot it could get. The puppeteer, truly the master puppeteer.
Gold smirked, wagging his finger in the Prince's direction, "Now you sound like your wife."
"Who'd you wake up?"
"Does it truly matter?" He leaned forward on his cane, "I simply opened my doors for those who wished to come and reclaim a few of their long-lost possessions. Perhaps some left with more than what they bargained for but, alas, that's a personal problem."
"David.." Ruby placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping to calm him down, "Gold, we just want to know who you woke up..."
"After all that's happened, I don't owe you anything..."
"All that's happened?" Ruby looked to David, "Wha-What's happened?"
"Oh you don't know?" He feigned surprise.
"Oh cut the crap, Gold." Emma spoke up, not wanting to be there all day. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"You, dearie!" He exclaimed, scanning the three sets of eyes that watched him. "With the strength of those that know of the two worlds, the connection between the worlds weakens...the more that know, the weaker the curse. Perhaps if you weren't so busy muddling in your personal issues, we wouldn't have to fret in this constant state of displacement."
"Don't listen to him," Ruby warned.
"Me?" Emma pointed to herself, ignoring the werewolf's counsel, "I didn't do anything!"
"Exactly!" Gold cast his cane to the side in a fury. "You, the child born of true love was supposed to break the curse and what have you done?!" He leaned into her space, bearing his teeth as he spoke. "...Nothing..." His hand was flippant, waiving at her carelessly, "you're useless now!"
Emma was silent, eyes trained on the man that belittled her, that seemed to have a talent for making others feel smaller than himself. She didn't want this, she didn't ask for it and yet he still was able to demean her for it.
"I don't.." She breathed, calming herself, "I don't have to take this..." She shook her head and brushed off Ruby's touch, not wanting to be consoled. The bell shook violently as she left and David turned back to Gold, eyeing the pawner with more disdain than he could conjure. But he wouldn't touch him, hell he would even shoot him, he just wanted answers.
"If I were you, I'd be worrying about whoever is after the Queen's head rather than who I sold her out to." He watched the panic form in the Sheriff's eyes, "...they will be angry dearie...and I wouldn't put it past them to pay the Queen a visit..."
"Wha..." David's mouth ran dry with the worry that he had warned Regina. He just left her, no one could be there; not unless they were waiting for him to leave, not unless they were watching the whole time. He followed a similar lead to Emma's, running out the chiming door without even a thought to who was behind him. Ruby was hot on his tail, jumping in his cruiser for an expedient trip to 108 Mifflin.
Hopefully they weren't too late.
TBC