Hello, here I am with another chapter of this story. I was planning on updating it weekly, but then I discovered a mistake in the previous chapter I uploaded. The first paragraph was missing! I've fixed it, and decided to just post this chapter that I already had written so I could tell the people who read the first chapter already: sorry if the story seemed to begin at a weird place, it was not supposed to, lol. Anyway, thank you to the people who have commented on, favorited and followed this story, it really inspired me to continue it!
Two days passed since Regina had found Prince Charming near the riverbank in the forest and woke him up with a splash of cold water. She hadn't seen him since. She'd sent her assistant over to help David find his way to Granny's yesterday, and heard he settled in well. Or, as well as to be expected.
Right now, Regina sat at her desk trying to get some work done. The result of the restarting of time had brought her a lot of extra work. All of a sudden, propositions that needed to be checked within a couple weeks, needed to be checked within a couple weeks. She used to just push ahead a lot of the work that needed to be done, because people would forget what they'd asked for the day after they'd asked for it. None of that anymore, though. Grumpy —or rather, Leroy— had come by three times this week to see if she had gotten to his proposal on another liquor store in town, already. As if she was ever approving that.
Just as she was starting to get her focus, and actually get something done today, she heard the intercom creaking. Alerting her of the fact that her assistant would soon be screeching something through it. She lifted her head to look toward the device, and soon enough she heard Ms. Robertson, loud and clear. "Madam Mayor, a Mr. Nolan is here to see you. Should I let him in? He doesn't have an appointment."
Regina rolled her eyes. She knew David didn't have an appointment, they'd gone over her meetings of the day together, this morning. "That's okay, let him in." She wondered why he was visiting her. Did he not agree with the amount of benefit she'd set for him? The only reason people ever visited her at her office was to yammer to her about something they didn't agree with.
Before long, she heard her office door open and looked up to see David approaching her. He smiled at her and removed his hand from where it'd been hiding behind his back to reveal an arrangement of flowers. Roses, to be exact. So he managed to find his way around town enough to stumble upon Game of Thorns.
Regina stood up and rounded her desk, so she was leaning back against it while he stilled in front of her. "Why, hello David. To what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked in a polite tone, her eyes looking him over.
He looked at her with shining eyes. What he had to be happy about, she didn't know, but Regina noticed that he did look it. "Well, I wanted to come see you. To say thank you… for saving me. Again," he added while putting his free hand in his neck in a nervous gesture. Then he thrust the bouquet of roses, colored in a mix of pink, red and white, at her with the other. So, he wasn't here to complain about money. Interesting.
Regina smiled coyly and asked: "for me?" David nodded and she took the bouquet from him. "Thank you. You really didn't have to get me anything, and you already thanked me. There was no need." She appreciated the thought, anyways. When was the last time someone had brought her flowers? Regina couldn't remember.
"Well, I feel like you saving my life deserves a lot more than a few roses and a 'thank you,' but that's all I got," David chuckled. He put his hands in his jeans pockets and added: "and maybe I just wanted to pay you a visit."
Regina pursed her lips as she saw David avert his eyes. Maybe the answer to keeping him and Snow apart, was right here in front of her. She didn't know if she wanted to go down that path, though. "Well, I appreciate it, David. I love the roses." She brought them up to her nose to smell them but didn't smell anything. She always read that in books and saw it in movies, it was even a proverb; to smell like the roses. But Regina had never actually smelled a rose, no matter how deep she tried to put her nose in one.
"I'm glad," he said as he looked around her office for a bit. Regina took that time to lay the roses on her desk to be put in a vase later and sat down in her chair again.
"How have you been?" She asked him and he sat down in front of her. Apparently, this was not a short visit, just dropping off his gift and leaving. No, he was seating himself. Not that Regina really minded the company.
"I've been walking around town, kind of finding my way around. I saw there's a vacancy at the shelter, so maybe I'll apply for a job there," he answered while settling his gaze back on her. His eyes flitted down for a moment and Regina smirked when she remembered what she'd chosen to wear this morning. A black and blue dress with quite the plunging neckline. There was a piece of fabric fastened right at the front of her neck, though, almost like a collar.
"I'm glad you're settling in okay." She commented and shifted forward in her seat. "I was afraid you wouldn't be able to find your way around town, but clearly I shouldn't have worried. It's a small town after all." Total lie. To say she hadn't had a second thought about the man since she left him at the hospital two days ago, would be untrue, but she hadn't been worriedabout him either.
David nodded and shifted in his seat. "So, how are you, Regina?"
A little surprised by this inquiry, Regina's eyes flitted between his. Then she licked her lips before answering. "I'm fine. Just the usual business, for me. Remember, I'm not the one just out of the hospital," she joked. Since when did Regina joke?
The Prince chuckled and agreed, "no, you're not." He locked eyes with her for a moment and started: "it's just…" Then, the happy aura she'd seen around David when he first entered the room seemed to disappear. "You're the only person I know in this town. In the whole world, really."
Regina opened her mouth to respond but before she could, he was already adding: "well, I don't even really know you, either. But, you woke me up and you were so nice to come see me at the hospital. And for some reason, I feel like we've known each other for a long time. Like I didn't just meet you yesterday."
He wasn't wrong there. They had known each other for years. Although, if he actually remembered those years, he wouldn't be bringing her flowers and asking her how she's doing. She considered her reply and eventually said: "maybe, in another life, we did know each other."
David smiled a little and looked down at his hands. "Maybe. I just feel so unsettled. So… alone."
Damn this man for making her feel sorry for him. He was Snow White's prince for god's sake, he deserved all the misery he got. All the loneliness he had to deal with, he earned. But this man in front of her reminded her nothing of the man she'd encountered a few times in the Enchanted Forest. No, this was David Nolan. Not Prince Charming.
"I'm sorry, David. I wish I could do more to help you," she told him sympathetically. She didn't quite know if this was the truth. Did she really wish to help this man?
"Thanks, Regina." There he went with her first name again. He probably hadn't even realized the townspeople always called her 'Madame Mayor,' and she wasn't going to point it out to him. She kind of liked hearing someone use her given name again. On top of that, she'd strayed from her usual formalities, too, and called him by his first name also.
David stood up and took a step backwards, toward the door. "Well, I guess I'll leave you to it," he said motioning to the mess of paperwork on her desk.
Seeing him turn towards the exit, Regina hesitated before calling him. "David! Wait," she grabbed a post-it, a sticky piece of paper that she'd found to be very convenient when she'd first arrived in this world. On it, she wrote her cell phone number. "Here," she stood up and held the piece of paper out in front her for him to take. "I'm sure Granny will let you use the Diner's phone. Call me, if you need… anything."
David stepped back up to the desk and extended his hand to take the note from hers. Their hands brushed and Regina couldn't help but to think of the cliché in all this. A man who came to her office to bring her flowers, now the brushing of hands while they exchange phone numbers. It's sickening, really. Or it should be. All that Regina felt in that moment, though, was not disgust but rather a warmerbfeeling toward David.
When David thanked her again and turned to leave, this time Regina let him. She watched him walk away for a few moments, then went back to work.
That evening Regina got a call. She was in the kitchen, busy doing dishes after dinner with her son. Henry had been spending so much time with Ms. Swan lately, and the only times she actually saw him was during meals. Breakfast and dinner were the times where Henry seemingly really couldn't escape her company. The boy was apparently smart enough not to starve to death. But after dinner was over, he had hightailed it back to his room for the night, leaving Regina alone downstairs again.
So, when her phone rang, Regina was startled. Really, the only times she was called on her personal phone was for a town emergency outside of office hours. Normally people just called her at town hall.
She wiped her hands on a dish towel to dry them and picked her phone up from where it laid on the kitchen counter. She didn't recognize the number. Not that that meant much, though. She never made it a point to add all the Storybrooke idiots to her contact list and less of all, learn their numbers from memory.
"This is Mayor Mills," she barked into the device when she picked it up. She was in no mood. After another failed attempt to get her son to actually talk to her again this evening, she didn't feel like dealing with some petty crisis someone needed her help with. If it was the Sheriff calling, she might even tell him to leave whatever he was up to and come to the mansion for a little rendez-vous.
"Regina? Hi, it's David. Am I bothering you? Sorry to call so late. I shouldn't have…"
Regina closed her eyes when she heard who was on the phone and sighed. When she gave him her phone number, she actually didn't expect him to call her that same night. At least, there was probably no emergency and she didn't have to go back to work. "Oh, David. I was just doing the dishes. What can I help you with?"
"You were busy. Of course… It's nothing important, really. I should just let you get back to it."
If there was one thing that annoyed Regina, it was this backtracking. He'd already called her, why not just say what he wanted to say? Handsome as he may be, he didn't have much wits about him. "It's okay. What is it?" Regina asked in a tone as polite as she could manage.
"Well, I went by the shelter earlier today to see about that job, but they don't want to hire someone who just came home from such a long visit to the hospital. Something about getting sick again and then them having to cover my pay even though I'm not at work." He said. "So, I thought, maybe if the mayor could kindly attest to the owner of the shelter that I'm perfectly alright to go to work, they might give me a chance."
Ah, so that's what this was about. Why didn't he just go to Dr. Whale for a declaration of good health? He was the professional, after all. Even if he got his doctor's degree from a curse. She didn't mention this when she answered him, though. "Sure, David. I'll talk to Mr. Clarke tomorrow. I'm sure that a, kind, nudge in the right direction will have him hiring you in no time." Truth be told she would simply call that dwarf and threaten to shut down his business if he didn't hire Mr. Nolan.
She heard David release a breath from his side of the call and remembered that this must have been a little scary for him. Sure, he didn't seem intimidated at all of her persona the few times she's seen him, but this was kind of a big favor to ask someone you just met. She respected him for doing it, anyways. Nobody got anywhere in this world, or any other world, without looking out for themselves. Boy, had she learned that lesson.
"Thank you, Regina. I really appreciate it. Sitting in my room at the diner by myself all day isn't the best way to adapt and get involved in this town."
Regina hummed, agreeing with him. She was curious about one thing, though. Had that idiot of a stepdaughter of hers sought contact with him, yet? She'd probably found out that he was missing from the hospital when she went to read to the coma patient last night, like she did every other day. So, she decided to fish around a little, asking: "so, have you met some new people yet? Starting to make friends, maybe?"
David told her that he'd spoken to a few people in the streets, mostly curious townspeople who didn't recognize him like they did every other person in this town. He'd also had friendly conversation with the Diner waitress, Ruby, but that was about it.
Relieved to hear no mention of a short haired schoolteacher harassing him, Regina assured him that he would be making friends in no time. "You're a very likeable person David, I'm sure you'll make some friends when you get to know more people."
David chuckled and thanked her, wishing her a good rest of the evening and letting her go.
Everything was going perfectly up until now. The Prince had awoken without his Enchanted Forest memories, there was no mention of Snow White anywhere near him, and to top it all off; he seemed rather taken with Regina herself. It would be the ultimate revenge to take the Princess's true love for herself. Even if Regina's weakening curse did break, she would have torn the perfect family apart. The question remained: does she go through with it?
Over the next few days, Regina hadn't made a decision on her David predicament yet. The thing was, David Nolan seemed such a different person from Prince Charming, she felt bad deceiving him. When she felt the apprehension inside herself the first time, she almost couldn't believe it. Why had she gone so soft? Maybe all these years without killing people and loving her son had changed her a little. She didn't know if she wanted that change to stand in the way of her revenge on Snow, though.
The other thing that was happening, was a lingering David Nolan. He seemed to be everywhere Regina went. When she went shopping, David was at the supermarket. When she decided to walk to work instead of driving, David was right there walking to the shelter on his way to his own job. These were mere coincidences.
Other times, though, were not so coincidental. David would call her, with a random question about his partial benefit now that he was working part time, or he would ask her if she's like to adopt one of the pets he looked after at the shelter; the answer was obviously no. Then there was the time where he had been waiting by the entrance of Town Hall when she finished work and walked with her on her way home. She hadn't asked why he'd waited for her, and he didn't say anything, either. He was easy to talk to, though, and there were no awkward silences to ruin the mood.
He reminded Regina of a duckling. When ducklings hatch, they imprint on the first living creature they see. They follow that creature around, assuming it's their mother. And most times, it is. The first thing David ever remembered seeing, was Regina. Now he followed her around and talked to her on every opportunity he got. He was like a duckling. And exactly like a duckling, Regina thought the only reason he must take such an interest in her, was because she was the first thing he remembered. She probably seemed safe to him. If only he knew how much the opposite was true.
One thing was different, though. Regina was quite sure that David didn't think of her as a mother figure. He hadn't made any moves or made any comments, but she's seen his eyes wander her figure once in a while. Silently appreciating it. She wasn't sure he even knew he was doing it, but she was. If she decided to seduce him to break apart him and Snow for good, Regina was certain it would not be a difficult task.
There were quite some things to think about for Regina, and in the meantime she would just accept David's calls, humor him when they walked home together, and try not to feel the warmth inside of her at having a person wanting to spend so much time with her. That would all be over, should her curse ever fail her. Of that she was certain.