Consensual parent/child incest. Don't like it, don't read it. Also... we promise to fix it, don't hate us!


Regina was relaxing in the apartment alone while Henry was spending time with Emma; he'd been neglecting time with her too much. Standing in the kitchen, she waited for her water to boil for the tea she was desperately in need of.

It took a little while (a week and a half to be precise) for David to realize that Regina was avoiding him, and once he did, he wasted no time in going over to Emma's apartment to figure out why. Now, standing at the door and waiting for it to open after he pounded on the wood, he began to wonder if he'd done something wrong, offended Regina somehow.

Startled at the banging on the door, Regina moved to answer it. Opening to see David, Regina offered a small smile and politely invited him in. After he closed the door behind himself, she turned and asked, "Would you like some tea?"

"Uh, sure, I guess," David replied, a little thrown at the politeness. So apparently he hadn't done anything wrong.

Regina moved around the kitchen like she'd lived in the apartment forever, making both of them a cup of tea. "Was there a reason for your visit… or did you just want to come by?" she asked gently. Knowing avoiding him hadn't been fair, Regina felt a slight pang of sorrow, but she had figured it was necessary.

"A little of both?" David shrugged and sat at the table. "I, um, wanted to know why you've been avoiding me."

"Ah," she answered, pausing before finishing her response. "I've just… had a lot going on. I'm sorry."

David's eyes narrowed as he looked at her. After a long moment, he stated, "That's not all."

"I really don't want to talk about it, David," Regina sighed. Sipping from her tea, she looked into his eyes and shook her head slightly.

True to form, David's immediate response was to ask questions. "Is everything okay? What's going on?"

"Everything's fine. I… just some silly medical things proving my age." Shifting to walk to the living room, Regina tilted her head, motioning for him to follow. "It's nothing to be concerned about, dear."

Following her into the living room and settling on the couch, David gave her a doubtful look. "You're not old enough to have medical concerns, Regina. Seriously, what's going on?"

Regina knew he wasn't going to drop it, so after she got comfortable and set her tea on the table in front of them. "I… basically the longer I wait to have a child, the less likely I am to get pregnant," she answered hesitantly, not looking at him.

"Ohhh," David drew out the word, nodding. "So you're trying but you don't want anyone to know yet that you're trying and you knew I'd get it out of you, so you were avoiding me. That about right?"

After pinning him with a glare, Regina relented and nodded. "Yes. That's about right," she answered stiffly. "And obviously I was right to try to avoid you, because here we are, you haven't been here ten minutes and you got it."

David gave her an exasperated look. "Honestly, Regina, at this point, why even bother trying to hide it? I mean… I think I've proven my trustworthiness."

"You have. I'm sorry. It's just… incredibly personal and… I don't know. I thought I was a little while ago and Emma saw the test and freaked out and basically looked disgusted." Regina picked up her tea and sighed again, giving David an apologetic look. "You're right, though. I'm sorry."

"Forgiven," David said easily. He reached out a hand and rested it on her knee, his eyes big and blue and full of sincerity as he added, "Look, Regina, I know things like this are personal, and believe it or not, I do respect that. You've just… become a very good friend to me, especially after everything with Snow, and I cannot thank you enough for your help with that, so if there's anything I can do. As for Emma, she's hard to read sometimes. Maybe it wasn't disgust. You should talk to her, see where she's coming from."

"Well consider how hard I tried avoiding you. Emma's trying harder with me," Regina replied. Her eyes flickered to his hand on her knee and she groaned internally. She didn't know where this constant need to flirt with him came from, but she was trying very hard to push it down. She spoke again, her voice softer, saying, "The same goes for you. I should have trusted you." When her gaze rose to his wide, sky blue eyes, she quickly looked away, his eyes too intense.

"Why don't you come by the station? I'll text you on a day that she and I overlap shifts, and when you get there, I'll go out on patrol so she's stuck there." David gave her a boyish grin. "Problem solved."

"You're going to help me trap your daughter?" Regina chuckled. "She'll be furious with you."

David shrugged and squeezed her knee before withdrawing his hand. "It's for the best. She'll forgive me — eventually."

Mentally scolding herself for missing the touch, Regina shook her head slightly. "Very well. I appreciate it, David."

"Oh trust me," David chuckled. "It's as much for my benefit as for yours… she's been moping around the house for a couple weeks now. She says she just wants her apartment back, but it's more than that."

"More than that?" she asked. Regina knew Emma wouldn't have gotten over their talk already, but she also figured it wouldn't still be as bad.

"Yeah," David nodded, "I'm not sure what kind of 'more than that' but it's definitely more than just missing her own space. Speaking of, though, how are the repairs to the mansion going?"

"Not as well as I'd like, but it shouldn't be too much longer," she answered. Finishing her tea, Regina set the cup down and leaned back against the couch. "I miss having my home. I know I'll have to replace most things, but I miss the space and I really miss my kitchen."

David snickered, remembering, "At least now I know what that little smirk was about when I said you knew how to work some magic."

Smiling softly. "Well, yes. But my cooking is just that spectacular on its own, don't forget it," Regina teased. "Such a gentleman you are. You did my dishes and everything."

David snorted. "No I didn't. I had every intention of doing your dishes, but ran away with my tail between my legs," or something between his legs, anyway, "before I did more than just dump them in your sink."

"Still can't believe I couldn't even tempt you into a kiss. I looked hot that night, I made extra sure of it," Regina joked, dropping he eyes slightly and tilting her head.

"Oh trust me, I know you looked hot. You always do." David's cheeks flushed at his words. "And honestly, I was kicking myself all the way home for pulling away, but… there was everything with Kathryn and Mary Margaret and I really didn't need adding a third woman to the mix."

"Oh, I assure you… there wouldn't have been a thought in your head about any other woman," she answered huskily. Sobering, she cleared her throat and spoke again. "Do you remember that night in the diner?"

"I do," David confirmed, thinking back to when she'd found him drinking away his sorrows while Mary Margaret was in a jail cell.

"I shouldn't have tried to take advantage of your vulnerability." Looking into his gentle eyes, Regina continued, "I'm sorry for that." Her voice was soft and low, almost inaudible.

Sighing, David reached for her knee again, rubbing lightly. "Even though I know now that it was all manipulation and it didn't mean anything to you… it still did help. And," he admitted with a heavy sigh, "I have to confess that you made my heart skip a beat there. 'I don't hate you… quite the opposite, in fact.'"

Regina placed her hand on top of his, squeezing lightly, but not stopping his movements. "Just because I was trying to manipulate you, that doesn't mean that it didn't mean anything. I do see what other people see in you. I… I wanted you to kiss me, and it wasn't just because of my ulterior motives."

"Why does this happen every time we're together?" David asked quietly, finding himself tilting forward slightly.

Shifting to sit up, barely leaning toward him, Regina whispered, "I don't know. I…" Letting her sentence trail, Regina found herself mesmerized by the light blue of his eyes.

"You once called me incorruptible," David murmured, his other hand reaching up hesitantly to touch Regina's jaw. "Right now I wish that were true."

Regina leaned into his touch, her head tilting slightly. "Oh? Wh-why is that?" her voice hesitated when she asked, her eyes focusing too much on his full lips.

"Because then I wouldn't be so tempted…" David gave in with a groan, his fingers curling behind her ear, pulling her forward and catching her lips with his.

Regina accepted the kiss, not moving to respond to it. After a short moment, she held his face in her hands and pulled away. "David… I want to. You have no idea how badly I want to, and that makes me feel terrible. But I would feel worse if I let this go farther," Regina protested gently. "I'm trying to get pregnant. This is… so wrong."

David pulled back guiltily and nodded. "I know… you're right, I know. I'm sorry. I… I shouldn't have done that. Shit."

"Hey," Regina soothed. "Don't… it's as much my fault as it is yours."

"You're not the one who did the kissing," David pointed out. "Shit, how could I do that to Snow?" Guilt hit him hard and he groaned, resting his face in his hands and his elbows on his knees.

"We have been flirting too much. And while I may not have kissed you, I certainly did as much to lead up to it as you did. And until you actually kissed me, I encouraged you to. But…" Regina reasoned, "The moment your lips touched mine I thought of how much it would hurt Henry."

Nodding into his hands, David took a deep breath and stood up. "I should go. Maybe… we shouldn't see each other alone anymore."

"Perhaps you're right… at least not in private. I'd still like to get lunch with you sometimes?" she replied, standing with him.

"Yeah… that'd be nice," David agreed, nodding again. "Okay. Um… well… have a good day, I guess?"

Regina offered him a tight smile and sighed, walking him the short distance to the door. "You too, and uh… maybe don't tell Snow right now? Of course… it's your choice, but I think she still needs both of us for right now and this could jeopardize that."

David sighed, but couldn't help but agree. "You're right. But… once she's… you know, stronger, more herself… I have to tell her."

"I know. And… I have to tell Henry, and I probably shouldn't wait," she told him. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah. Bye…" David gave her a sad half-smile before he left, feeling heavy.

Regina leaned against the door after closing it and dropped her head back against the wood. "Shit," she whispered to herself. She really didn't want to discuss this with Henry.

Henry managed to convince Emma to come up to the apartment after their day hanging out, even as she complained about feeling like a guest in her own home. As they entered, he called out, "Hey, Regina, I'm back, I brought Ma with me." The last bit was necessary, lest Regina have a lingerie surprise planned for him.

Regina came out of the back bedroom and offered both a tight smile. "How was your day together?" she asked, moving to clean up the mess she'd made with tea earlier that day.

"Good, thanks for suggesting it," Emma answered, shifting uncomfortably.

"And then everyone was awkward," Henry noted with a sigh.

"I'm sorry. I had a… well, a day that I need to discuss with you when we're alone. Emma, forgive my rudeness," Regina tried. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Uh, no. I gotta get to the station… or something," she declined, mumbling the last two words.

Henry frowned in disappointment, having hoped that they could all eat together and hopefully clear the air a bit. "Okay. See you later, Ma."

Emma left quickly, mumbling a goodbye to Regina and running off.

"David said he'll help me corner her so we can talk," Regina spoke, once the door was shut.

"That's good," Henry replied, looking toward the door. Turning back to Regina, he smiled and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her gently. "What did you need to talk to me about?"

Pushing out of his embrace guiltily, Regina sighed and shook her head. "You're not going to be pleased."

Henry frowned. "What do you mean? What happened?"

"David was here, and we were talking about… things and we started flirting. He… he kissed me," she answered honestly.

"Oh geez." Henry rubbed his hand against his forehead. "Seriously? Like, legitimately? Lips on lips?"

"Yes," she replied. Regina reached out to take his hands into hers, searching his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Did you kiss him back?" Henry asked, brow furrowed. He was getting deja vu and really wished his family would stop kissing his lover.

"No," Regina told him, shaking her head slowly. "I didn't pull away as quickly as I should have, but I didn't kiss him back."

"Okay." Henry sighed deeply and sat down on the couch. "Is this like… something we need to talk about? I mean, I get that everyone wants to kiss you, obviously I understand that. But… this is the second person whose lips have touched yours when I'm not around. I don't like that."

Exhaling sharply, Regina sat down next to Henry and took his hand. "David and I discussed it. It isn't going to happen again. And… Emma and I discussed things previously. I know you don't like it. And I'm sorry that it happened."

Henry's jaw twitched as he frowned at the coffee table. "Either of them could offer you more than I can," he said quietly. "You… you said you don't want Ma… what about Gramps?"

Slumping forward slightly, Regina covered her face with her hands, pushing her hair back and sitting back up to face him. "I don't want him the same way I want you. I love you. But there's something… I don't know what it is, but it's something that is making it very difficult for me to be around him without my personality instantly changing to seductive and… I don't know how to deal with that," she admitted.

"So that's what you meant about flirting," Henry said flatly. He'd caught the comment earlier, but been distracted by the kiss.

"Yes," Regina offered, nodding slightly. "I'm sorry, Henry. I… I think maybe I should see Dr. Hopper some more."

Henry swallowed hard and nodded. "Maybe that's a good idea. What… Have you ever…" Frowning again, he tried to organize his thoughts. "Do you ever… fantasize… about him?"

Shaking her head immediately without thought, Regina promised, "No. No darling, never."

"Not even before us? During the curse, or after, or… any time?"

"No. I mean… I thought about it shortly before the curse broke, after I had tried to seduce him, but it wasn't really a fantasy," she told him softly. Resting one hand on his knee, Regina squeezed lightly. "You're the only person I need, Henry. You have to know that."

"I…'m trying to," Henry said slowly. "It just… I've never really looked at anyone else. I mean, there was Ruby, but that was more about you and her than me and her. And it just… I feel like I'm competing. And I shouldn't be, because I'm your True Love."

Choking back a sob, and trying to blink back tears, Regina nodded. "I'm sorry, Henry. I love you, and only you. I… I know it isn't an excuse, but I'm scared a little, about being… I don't know, restrained? That's not the right word. But, that's why I need to see Archie. I need to solve my issues before I can really be a good girlfriend and a good mom to our possible child."

"I love you, too," Henry said, turning to face her and running his fingers through her hair, pushing it away from her face. "So much. I… I just want to be with you. To live our lives together. I don't want to ask for anything more than you're willing to give. If you're not ready…"

"Baby, I am. I just need help proving it to myself. I'm not great with… I was basically the king's property, and while our dynamic is different, I'm exclusive to you. Or… I need to be and I need to stop putting myself in situations where I'm getting kissed. And I just need help getting comfortable with how the two are different," Regina argued. "I love you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to have your baby. I promise."

Thinking about that, Henry nodded slowly. "Okay. But… I have a request."

"Anything," she agreed.

"I want you to see Archie twice a week. Once alone and once with me. I think… I think maybe there are things we need to understand about each other that he can help with."

Smiling in relief that it was such an easy request to follow, Regina answered, "Absolutely. I… I know I've screwed up. You didn't deserve that. Not at all. But I want to make it up to you. I want to prove to you that you're everything."

"Okay." Henry gave her a small smile. "Maybe see if Archie can see you tomorrow? And then see both of us a couple days after?"

"Of course. Henry… can you forgive me?" she squeaked. She was annoyed that her voice didn't come out stronger, but it was one of her biggest fears—losing him. She couldn't fathom it.

"Of course I can," Henry replied. "If I couldn't, I wouldn't be trying to fix this. I just… I think I need a bit of time? Maybe… maybe I should sleep in Ma's room tonight. And then we can talk about it again after you see Archie?"

Regina nodded, trying to keep her face from falling, but she couldn't control the couple of tears that escaped. "I'll… I can go. I can stay at Granny's tonight… if you want."

Henry immediately shook his head. "No. I don't want you that far away."

Wiping away her tears, Regina sighed deeply and forced a smile in an attempt to compose herself. "Okay. Um… I'll get dinner going," Regina said, resigned. She stood and walked to the kitchen, moving around expertly as she prepared an easy dinner for them.

Henry continued to sit on the couch, feeling heavy. After long minutes of listening to Regina in the kitchen, he called out, "I love you."

Hearing his words, Regina collapsed in relief against the counter, choking out, "I love you, too." After a moment of letting herself be weak, she pushed herself away from the counter and finished cooking.