Happiness and Misery
In the sheriff's station, Vera huddled at the corner in her jail cell, nervously biting her fingernails. She was mouthing something but it was too inaudible. David watched the woman's strange behaviors from afar confusedly. She hadn't spoken anything to him yet. She just kept murmuring to herself. Despite his attempt at questioning her, she didn't reveal the reason why she committed such crime.
David flipped through her personal file retrieved from the town hall. "Deceased husband, two children. Admitted to the mental hospital twice. History of nervous breakdown," he whispered to himself. A mental breakdown history… that explained a lot, David thought. If she's mentally unstable, that could be why she attacked Hook. He grabbed his jacket and made his way to the hospital.
"Greetings, Prince. What brings you here today?" said Killian, with his utmost courtesy and his dashing grin. But he was puzzled, because David just visited him two days ago. Why would he come again, but without his princesses this time?
"I've got news about your attacker. I figured I should tell you first before I tell Emma."
"What is it that you found out about her?"
"She's a widowed mother of two here in Storybrooke. And she had been admitted to the mental hospital before. But then who was she in the Enchanted Forest? Do you know her?" David was growing more and more suspicious about the attack. Killian knew he couldn't hide this from his in-laws-to-be any longer. He had to come clean about his relationship with Vera. But he wasn't sure if his honesty would affect their perception of him. He hesitated before giving an answer. Now that Vera was being held in the sheriff's station, she couldn't pose any threat to anyone in town, not Emma, not their baby, not anyone. He could've just keep his mouth shut about Vera. But he was a changed man. A better man than he was as a pirate.
He told him. Right there and then. He confessed everything. About how they met, her disappearance… everything. David listened to his explanation, but didn't say anything when he finished, as he expected. He knew it would take time to digest, as did that time when he told Emma. He didn't want to pressure him into answering. "I get it if you need time to process what I've just said. I've told Emma about this and she had forgiven me." He wasn't hoping for the prince's immediate forgiveness, but the appreciation of his honesty and how he'd worked to change instead.
But David couldn't blame the man. It was something between Killian and Emma that they had to work out together. This wasn't a problem that he and Mary Margret could intervene. He understood him in a certain way, because he was acting just like himself in Neverland. You wouldn't tell your loved ones the truth if you thought the truth was hurtful. David simply nodded and exited the room, having said nothing.
David found himself back at the sheriff's station. Glancing at the woman in the jail cell, he approached her. "Are you gonna tell me why you did it?" Still she remained silent. But images of her life started flickering in her mind…
She thought she was happy, having married the man of her dreams. He's handsome, thoughtful and caring. The way he treated her made her feel like she's a princess. He would bring her flowers every day, cook her dinner and cuddle her to sleep. She always thought he's a romanticist. She thought she had found the right man in her life—but she was wrong.
One day she found out she was pregnant. She happily waited for him to home to tell him the wonderful news. But he went home drunk. And she noticed a whiff of woman perfume. She confronted him about her suspicion of him cheating, and he got furious about her accusation. Then he raised his hand against her. That was the start of her misery. Although he apologized for his drunken act, it got worse whenever he drank. His abuse never stopped. He'd apologize every time he hit her, but he just kept beating her, even throughout her pregnancy.
On the day she gave birth to their child, she though a baby would change the way he treated her. He seemed happy when he's at her bedside. But he didn't change one bit. When they're home, he accused her of not producing a son.
One night he came home, drunk again. He took her forcibly, and that night resulted in another pregnancy, much to her dismay. It was yet another girl. He was mad at her inability to produce sons, and again he hit her for it. She cried and cried, hoping to find a way out of their marriage. She was really fed up with his abuse. She decided to leave him, for good. And she would bring the girls with her. She couldn't bear the thought of her children living with a dreadful father. She's so sick of living a miserable life. She wanted her own happiness so badly. She hated people with happiness written on their faces. She envied them.
"Look, I don't know why you did it. But if you don't start talking, you'd never gonna go home to your children. I'm a father too. I know the feeling of not able to see your children. It's best for them if you confess and plead guilty in court." Hearing about how she would be kept from her daughters if she didn't confess, tears sparkled in the corner of her eyes. After finishing writing down her statement of confession, David reminded her, "They probably will put you away, but it's a matter of months until you see your children again. They will be in good hands while you're gone."
Later that evening a nurse helped with Killian's discharge procedures as per Whale's instructions. Emma was helping Killian pack his bag. "Tonight you get a good night's sleep, and tomorrow we're going nursery-shopping. That's gonna be tiring—because we haven't done any," Emma complained. She made her point—so much had happened in the past few months, they didn't have time to relax and plan for the nursery.
"Aye. Agreed. Let's get going now, because I really miss home, with you in it," he said flirtatiously, with his lips curled up into a bright grin.
After having a home-made dinner, they spent the rest of the night lying on the couch, cuddling and watching TV. And that, was their simple happiness.