twenty chapters, who would've thought? and so much love to go with it :) glad you all aren't too mad at me for the last chapter. i want them to have some bumpy times so their relationship gets stronger. you know you love the rollercoaster! and lol at one of you reading my mind ;) please review! xxxx
"Dad, can we talk?" Emma's voice brought him from his wary state, causing him to lift his top half from where it had been slumped over the side of the bed. It had been two long days that Regina remained unconscious and he hadn't slept other than brief moments when he'd drift of at her bedside. His stubble had grown out, in need of a good shave, and his eyes were rimmed red from lack of sleep. Granny had harped at him to eat and sleep, but it was a an impossible feat. How could he do anything but will his wife to wake up?
"What is it?" He asked quietly, straightening himself back into the chair, away from Regina's sleeping form on the bed. Her color was a little better and the bruises on her ribs had turned a deep purple before slowly starting to lighten. Everything appeared to be healing, but he was worried for her mind. Blows to the head were unpredictable and the longer she remained in the comatose state the more frantic he became.
"I..how is she?" Emma swallowed hard as she approached the bed, gazing down at her young step-mother who looked smaller than usual, alone in the large bed. The cut near her hairline was covered by a bandage that Granny had put on her head and she was dressed in only a thin nightslip, the covers tucked in around her shoulders. It was a stark contrast from the usual vibrant energy that radiated from the woman that had been so happy only days before.
"I don't know, she hasn't woken up," He felt morose as he looked to his wife, the suffocating feeling of grief creeping up within him. He'd been through this before, he'd lost one love. Somehow this felt worse, more raw. He didn't know if it was simply because she was so young or if it was because of how deeply he felt for her. Regina had been a breath of fresh air, the joy brought back to his life, the one whose own bravery in taking a chance at love again gave him the strength to open his own heart.
"I'm so sorry, Dad. I had no idea that you all would...that she would do-" Emma's eyes filled with tears as she gently sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to take her step-father's hand into her own, "If something happens to her I'll never forgive myself."
"Hey," His voice was strangled and came out a near whisper when he witnessed his daughter struggle with her own feelings, recognizing the connection she'd made with the Queen as well, "Everyone makes mistakes. I should've listened to you..I shouldn't have lost my temper with Regina...if anyone is to blame for this, it's me," David reached out, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder as they silently stared at the woman they'd grown to love so much.
"She wouldn't want you to blame yourself. She saved me willingly, Dad. You know Regina, she's the first to put her neck out for someone else."
"I know. I just can't help thinking that I pushed her to do it," His chest was tight with emotion and he had to stop to collect himself, "I was so scared at the thought of losing you that I snapped at her. I let her think that she wasn't important to me. I know how she thinks so little of herself, I know how she takes things the wrong way and I..I still let it come out like a fool."
"You all quit pawing on the poor girl and let her rest," Granny chided gently as she came in the room with a fresh nightgown to put on Regina, "I'll need your help, Your Majesty," She nodded and lifted the gown in her hand briefly before setting it down and going over to stoke the fire.
"If you need anything, let me know," Emma took it as her cue to leave, looking weakly to her father before standing from the bed, quietly exiting the room.
"The Queen's mother was alerted of her condition by Henry," The wolf told David when she straightened from the fire and brushed her hands, a disgruntled expression on her face as she bustled over to the bed, "She'll be here by morning, god knows."
"Great," He muttered, standing from his chair to assist Granny in putting a clean gown on the Queen. A visit from Cora was exactly what he didn't need at this point and time.
"Lift her gently," Granny instructed as David slipped his arms under Regina's back, lifting her from the bed just enough to pull her slip over her head. The older woman stood beside him, gingerly putting the new nightgown over the Queen's head, careful not to disturb the bandage on her hairline, "There, you pull it down," She said, saving Regina's modesty at least a bit as she patted David's arm and busied herself with getting fresh water for the wash basin.
He smiled weakly, still holding Regina up towards his chest as he pressed his lips to her forehead, "I love you," He murmured before letting her back down onto the bed, pulling the covers down just enough to gently tug the nightgown down over her hips and tuck her back in. His heart ached, yearning for her to open those beautiful brown eyes and tell him that she was okay.
David swallowed hard at the knot forming in his throat, pulling the neck loose of the shirt he wore that suddenly felt suffocating. His stomach rumbled but he had no appetite, he was exhausted but he wasn't tired. He wasn't leaving Regina, not until she woke up, not until he knew she was going to be okay. He stripped down to his shorts before climbing into the bed beside his wife gently, pulling the covers over them. He scooted as close he could get to her without actually touching her, scared he would hurt her sore body and she'd be unable to tell him.
It was torture, being this close to her while she as hurting and not being able to comfort her without the fear of causing her more harm. If only she'd wake up, if only he knew what to do to help. The words he'd coarsely spoken to her repeated in his head, making his stomach turn and his heart pound. The last thing she'd heard him say before slipping away had been misleading. He'd been upset and frantic and had spoken without thinking. It ate away at him while he watched her chest rise and fall with shallow breaths until he succumbed to his own exhaustion.
A scream jump-started David's heart, making his eyes pop open as he blinked rapidly and tried to get them to adjust to the morning light. A pained groan sounded next and he scrambled to sit up in the bed, eyes focusing in on Regina staring at him with wide eyes, blanket clutched against her chest as she struggled to sit up, grimacing at the ribs she was putting pressure on that were undoubtedly sore.
"Regina, oh my god, you're awake," He stumbled for words, reaching out for her hand but her eyes only widened and she tried to scoot back from him, groaning again in pain. "Don't, darling, you're hurt, don't move."
"Who are you?!" She snapped back at him, breathing heavily as she glanced around the room like a caged animal, "What happened to me? Where in the hell am I?"
David's own eyes widened as he sat paralyzed in the bed, the realization hitting him like a ton of bricks. She didn't even know who he was. "Regina I-...I'm your husband, you-" He began to explain, searching for the right words, praying that with the more he said that her memory would slowly come back to her. Instead she shrank away from him, eyes locked on his frame to make sure he wasn't attempting to come any closer.
"I don't believe you. My mother will not be happy about this," She declared in a warning tone with a trembling voice, shaking her head quickly as she wrapped a death grip around the blankets covering her, "You'll answer for this, you just wait until she finds me, she-"
He watched as she threatened him with Cora and his heart sank, watching her revert to the timid young woman he'd first met. The one who didn't yet have the courage to stand up to her oppressive mother, "Regina...I'm the King...we're married...we married last year..."
"I would never marry you," She gasped and her disdain would have been comical if it hadn't stung him so much, "You're-you're too old for me!"
"I thought that, too," He grimaced, pulling the cover up over his shorts to try to seem less threatening, "But your mother and the former King, they arranged our marriage and...if you don't believe me, look at your left hand," He nodded towards her ring finger.
Regina lifted her hand quickly, eyes bulging as she stared at the ring she wore, "You mean..we've...we've been intimate?" She whispered as her eyes snapped back at him and her neck flushed a furious shade of red. The woman who had trembled with pleasure under his touch just three days ago now considered herself a virgin again.
"Uh..." He gulped and looked at her almost sheepishly, for the frown marring her face made him feel like he was talking to a stranger, "Very much so."
"This can't be right," Regina shook her head and turned her gaze from him quickly as her cheeks burned and her eyes searched for the door, "I have to go, I have to find my parents, I-"
"They're here," David stood from the bed warily and she glanced back at him then, eyes quickly averting when she noticed he was practically bare himself. "I'll go get them for you...Don't move, you'll injure yourself more," He swallowed hard, needed to leave before he broke down in front of her. Was this permanent? Would the woman he loved never know what they shared? Would the love he have for her never be reciprocated again?
"Regina, my dear, dear Regina," Cora burst into her bed chamber and Regina let out a muffled cry at the sight of at least one familiar person. "Oh darling, are you all right?" Her mother came to her bedside, sitting down quickly and running a hand over her hair.
"Mother, what's happening?" She whispered, swallowing the thick lump in her throat as tears threatened to spill. She was frightened, waking up to a strange man nearly naked beside of her. A man who claimed to be her husband, one she'd apparently been intimate with but had no recollection of whatsoever.
"You've had a terrible accident, dear. They've told me you were saving someone, but to be truthful, I don't know," Cora eyed her with a sympathetic look before glancing towards the door as if she were making sure they were alone, "I've been so worried about you, my child."
"Why?" Regina searched her mother's expression for the truth. She was the only person here she recognized here, the only person she could trust. The man who had darted out earlier seemed shaken and strange, and there were countless servants slipping through the room and staring at her like she was some sort of freakshow. "Where am I?"
"You're at the royal palace, my dear. You were married to the King...you're the Queen," Cora held her hands gently, "Oh my darling, I haven't seen you in months..." She stared at her with an awestruck expression that made Regina want to believe her. Her mother was never usually so warm and caring and Regina craved that affection and approval. The throbbing in her head made it hard to think clearly and all she wanted to do was collapse into the arms of the woman in front of her.
"Why haven't you seen me?" Regina asked her almost hesitantly, troubling her bottom lip. What had happened to her over the past year that she couldn't remember? It felt like just yesterday she was enjoying a riding lesson with Daniel and fussing with Cora over dinner, per her usual routine. Yet she'd woken up injured, in a life she didn't recognize. Married. To a man who wasn't her fiance.
"The King forbade me coming here," Cora gulped, her expression the picture of innocence, "He's a bit..."
"He's what?" She whispered, heart beating wildly in her chest. Who was the man she was married to? Was he a monster? She'd never seen Cora hold back words before and her mother looked truly troubled. Cora had always pushed her to elevate her status in life, to marry into money and power. For her not to be pleased by her marriage to the King, something had to be seriously wrong.
"A bit..controlling," Cora hesitated, as if she didn't want to say it out loud, "He keeps you here...he won't let me visit...Everyone here keeps up his facade, after all, he's the King. On the outside everything seems perfect, everyone believes you're very happy, but I'm afraid you've suffered so, in ways I don't even know," She smiled weakly and touched Regina's cheek with the back of her hand, brushing away a tear, causing a shiver of fear to run through her.
"How did you get here now?" She asked her mother, her stomach rolling with anxiety.
"I was sent word you were injured saving the King's daughter after she fell from a horse," Cora's hand hovered over Regina's midsection and she felt the warm tingle of relief as her mother's magic healed her, making her exhale loudly as the ache ceased. Her mother rarely did something so kind for her, had always told her it was better she learn to deal with pain. The gesture brought more tears spilling over the apple's of her cheeks and emotion bubbling in her chest. It was so gentle and maternal the way Cora was treating her, coming to her like a light in the darkness of confusion and healing her wounds, making sense of it all, "I came at once and threatened anyone that got in my path. I won't let you suffer anymore, my dear girl. I'll protect you."
Regina's wet lashes lifted when the man who claimed to be her husband appeared at the bed chamber door, accompanied by an older, gray haired woman. They stared at her, making her shift uncomfortably and bringing Cora's attention to their audience that she coolly addressed upon seeing for herself, "Regina is fine, I'm taking care of her."
"Come, boy," Granny, wrapped an arm around the King's, seeing the way the Queen avoided his gaze. She could practically hear his heart breaking into pieces and she knew that Cora would insist on caring for her daughter, given the distraught state Regina was in. The poor Queen had only calmed when she saw her mother, as ironic as it seemed to Granny and David. But Regina recognized her mother, despite the cold hearted monster she was, and it made sense that she'd want to be near her.
David looked longingly at his Queen in the bed, her mother hovering over her. Cora seemed to be genuinely caring, wiping her tears and seeing to her wounds. Regina was alive, she may not remember him, but she was alive, and that was better than what he had feared. He felt Granny tugging on his arm, pulling him from the doorway to his bedchamber and away from the four poster bed where his entire heart remained.
"Come now, let's get some food in you," Mrs. Lucas rubbed his arm with her free hand, glancing at him with worried eyes over her the rim of her glasses, "She'll come back to you. Just be patient, don't lose hope."
"I just.." He swallowed hard when his voice threatened to break and he stared ahead, jaw clenched in an attempt not to lose control of his emotions, "I miss her so much, Granny. If she doesn't...if she can't...I don't think I-"
"She will. She's strong and she's smart," She reassured the troubled King, seeing he was on the verge of breaking down as she decided to lead him down one of the scarcely used halls for extra privacy, "You have to stay strong for her. And you stay patient. Give her some space right now, I know it hurts, but you have to. She's scared and she doesn't know where she is, doesn't know who we are," The old wolf swallowed hard, reigning in her own emotions.
"What am I meant to do in the meantime? I'm going to lose my mind," His voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper, his brows furrowed and his jaw clenched so tight it nearly trembled. He stared at his boots as he ran a hand through his hair, gripping the back of his tense neck.
"Remind her why she loves you," Granny placed a hand against his chest, "You're in her heart, son. She may not be able to remember who you are, but you can show her what made her fall in love with you. The little reminders like that, they've been known to help bring people around."
"And if it doesn't work? If she never loves me again?" David looked at Granny with eyes full of unshed tears, glistening with deep pain.
"We can't let that happen."