David's POV
After me and Emma's conversation I knew I had to speak to Blue as soon as I left the station. Doing anything to break this curse is not worth losing my daughter and the years we have spent improving our relationship. It took a long time for Emma to see me as her father, to be able to lean on me whenever she felt she needed to. Now it seems all of that progress has gone down the drain in a few months. She hasn't called me her dad in so long, I don't know if I'll ever hear those words come out of her mouth again. Every time she calls me David I feel my heart break. I shouldn't have let this go on for so long, I should have known that my baby girl thought we didn't accept her for who she was. That her parents didn't want her anymore because we thought she was a monster to be feared. I would be lying If I said me or Snow didn't think this curse turned Emma into a monster. We didn't understand the curse, hell, we still don't. But I've seen what mine and Snow's ignorant views have done to our baby girl and I don't plan to let it continue.
If I knew going to Blue would only make the situation worse by making Emma think we see her as a disappointment, I would have never gone to her. As much as I don't want it to be true, I know Emma has grown up feeling unloved and unwanted. I know that even though at the time I thought sending Emma into the tree trunk was the best choice, I now see it wasn't. If anything, sending her away was selfish. It wasn't to give her her best chance, but everybody else's. It was to ensure the curse got broken. Yes, Henry came from putting her in that tree, but who is to say Henry wouldn't have been born anyway?
The way me and Snow have dealt with this situation has caused us to barely see our daughter. Neal never sees his sister anymore; family dinners are none existent, we never see Regina, which I know upsets Snow more than she cares to admit. We're lucky we still see Henry, but I know Emma nor Regina would stop Henry from seeing those he loves unless it was for his protection. With the way mine and Emma's relationship has deteriorated over the months, one would think the curse has just broken. She's been ignoring and avoiding us the way she did when the curse broke. In fact it's worse now.
"David are you sure we should do this? That we're doing the right thing?"
"I have to believe we're doing the right thing."
"We can't just sit back and do nothing."
"And look where us trying to help has gotten us! We barely see our daughter, and when we do, she avoids us at every cost. Do you even remember the last conversation you've had with her, a real one where she laughs and smiles?"
"I… I don't know," Snow murmured out defeated.
"I'm not trying to make you feel guilty Snow, I'm just as responsible as you are. It's just… You didn't see the hurt and sadness in her eyes today, I have never seen our daughter look so heartbroken. She feels unwanted Snow, something we promised ourselves she would never feel again."
"I know that David, do you think I'm happy she feels the way she does? That I am the main reason she feels the way she does? I called her a monster David!"
"And at the time I agreed with you. We didn't understand what was going on, all we saw was Emma attacking Regina, biting into her neck. We have a chance to understand what is going on with Emma, to be there for her and support her through this curse. She made it very clear there will be no relationship left if we don't stop seeing Blue. Plus, Blue hasn't given us any solutions or even told us what she plans to do. We just have to trust that Regina and Emma will figure this curse out."
"You're right."
I pull Snow into a much-needed hug, trying to show her I support her change of mind with as much comfort possible.
I don't know how long we stand in the middle of our small apartment, but our hug is brought to an end by a knock on the door. Slowly retracting from the tight hug, I answer the door.
"Hello David, you said you wanted to speak about the saviour."
"Yes, please come in."
"I'm assuming it is important by the tone of your voice over the phone."
She walks further into the apartment, looking around as if she expects Emma to come down the stairs.
"Hello Snow."
"Hello Blue, please take a seat."
"I'd rather stand, thank you. So, is the saviour here?"
"No, she isn't."
"Not to be rude, but if the saviour is not here why are we having this meeting?"
"Well, David and I think we should leave Regina and Emma to figure out this curse on their own."
"I don't understand what you're saying."
"What Snow is saying is, even though we appreciate everything you've done to help our daughter, we no longer need your help."
"So, you have found a cure," Blue intones.
"Well, no we haven't."
"Ok. I just want to make sure I understand what you're saying… What you and Snow are saying is you've not found a cure, but you no longer need my help. Correct?"
"Yes."
She lets out a small laugh, illustrating her disbelief.
"Did the Evil Queen tell you to do this? You know she doesn't want to help the saviour, I'm sure she is happy keeping the saviour this way. I think she is planning to do something, I wouldn't be surprised if she had something to do with this curse."
"I never thought I would say this, but I trust Regina. She has shown me, Snow, and the rest of this town that she is trustworthy. I know sometimes this town likes to forget that, including myself, but throughout these months have you seen Emma do anything evil? Plus, you haven't even told us how you plan to help our daughter, it's been months Blue."
"You can't just find a cure for a curse like this quickly, it takes time."
"We understand that. We just think it's best if Regina deals with it like she has been."
"You're making a big mistake."
"I have to disagree," I say confidently.
"I have spoken to Dr. Whale-"
"You spoke to Whale?!" Snow shrieks.
"He has experience dealing with monsters, experimenting on people-"
"You will not experiment on our daughter Blue, Emma is not a science project. Whale will not come close to our daughter, everyone knows what he did to his brother, and I know what he did to Daniel."
"Who is Daniel?"
"It doesn't matter. All that matters is we no longer require your services, and tell Whale that if he goes near my daughter he will have more problems to deal with than what colour he should dye his hair next."
I walk towards the door opening it, and wait for the Blue fairy to take her leave.
"You're both going to regret this. I will still try to save the saviour from this thing she has become whether you want me to or not. Just know that you have forced my hand," Blue threatens solemnly.
"What does that mean?"
Not responding she makes her way down the steps of the apartment.
"David, should we be worried?"
"I don't know."
Regina's POV
Should I be happy right now? Robin is back, and he wants to be with me. We can finally be together, I don't have to worry about my sister trying to kill me, or his wife. But why do I feel the complete opposite? Why do I feel like ever since he has come back, I have been fighting off tears? Why does it feel like I am about to lose the one person who has become the second most important person in my life? Why does it feel like I have already lost Emma? I'm seeing Robin and Roland tomorrow for breakfast but, why am I more excited to see Roland than I am Robin?
A part of me wishes Robin never crossed the town line, that he stayed in New York with his wife who is nowhere to found. I know I should be more concerned with what happened between Robin and his wife and why he has chosen to come back to me. I know I should be concerned with Gold, the Dark One, and why he decided to have a change in heart. I should be concerned that Gold decided to bring Robin back. After all, he is the one who cursed Emma. So why am I able to ignore these things when it comes to Robin? Do I really turn a blind eye to everything when it comes to him? Do I become that scared naïve little girl who wants to be loved by anyone and will do anything to get it? I don't even know if I want to be with Robin because he is my soulmate or because I truly love him. It's all just become one big blur. All I know is I have wanted to be with him since I told him he was my soulmate, since I told him about the lion tattoo, when Tinkerbell told me to give love a second chance.
I have wanted him for so long and now he is finally here, but how do I know he won't just hurt me again? How do I know he won't just leave me for some other reason because it is the honourable thing to do? He didn't care about his honour when he fucked me in my vault with his dying wife a few feet away. No, I can't think like that. He didn't know what to do, he wanted to be with me but he wanted to be with his wife because it was the honourable thing to do. He was confused. At least that is what I tell myself every time I think of the whole situation. Plus, he would probably still be with his wife if I hadn't killed her in the first place. Or he would have been with me if I just went into the tavern. God, this is confusing.
All I know is that before all this drama happened, before Emma went back to the past, we were happy. We were building our relationship, Henry liked Robin and Roland, and we would have built a family. Well I'd like to think we would have built a family. I have to believe that if Emma didn't go into the past we would still be together. Because if not then all of this is for nothing, hurting Emma is for nothing, potentially losing Emma is for nothing. I don't even know if I am willing to choose Robin over Emma. Emma is my best friend. But haven't I already done that? Haven't I chosen Robin over Emma?... No. I will figure this out, I will find a way to have both Emma and Robin in my life. I have come to care for Emma in a way that terrifies me, not because of this curse, and not because of our blood bond. Once this curse is broken, Emma will realise any feelings she felt for me were fabricated. Her life is dependent on me, of course she feels the way she does.
But what are we going to do about this stupid blood bond? I know we should have never made such a strong link. I know it was either I drank from Emma or I died. I know that, but even still a part of me now wishes we never created this bond. It is something we have been able to ignore because we haven't been apart from each other for more than a few hours. Only when we go to work do we part, and even then, she would pop over to my office and vice versa. We have always been drawn to each other, this blood bond has only intensified that. Emma moving back into her apartment will only cause pain for both of us. How am I going to explain this bond to Robin? Most importantly, how am I going to tell Henry that Emma won't be coming home today? That I don't know when she will be coming home.
I've tried to call Emma several times, but she won't pick up, I've texted her asking her to come over so we can have this conversation with Henry together. I told her to be here at 4 pm just before Henry gets home. Whether she will come or not I don't know. I want to have this conversation together, I'm scared to tell Henry because I don't know how he will react. Whether he will blame me and assume the worst.
I look at the clock and it reads 4:20 and I can't help but feel disappointed that she didn't want to come. That I messed everything up to the point she doesn't want to be in the same room as me even if it is to talk to our son.
I hear the front door open and close then I hear footsteps coming closer to the kitchen.
"Henry, you're home early."
"Hey."
"Emma." I turn around so quick I am surprised I don't have whiplash. I'm sure my shock is clear on my face but at the moment I don't care. I'm just so relieved she is here.
"You're here."
"Yeah. Sorry I'm late."
"I didn't think you were going to come."
"Believe me, I didn't want to, but I wasn't going to let you talk to Henry on your own. Especially when you asked me to be here."
Hearing that I had hurt her so much that she didn't want to be here was hard to hear.
"Thank you."
"So, what are we going to tell the kid? I know we're not going to tell him that you chose Robin over me. That I can't stand his scent on you, that I almost killed him, and that's why I can't be here."
"Emma."
"You don't want to talk about that? Yeah me neither. We're both better at pushing things to the side and ignoring them."
"Emma-"
"Does Henry even know he's back?"
"No, I haven't told him yet. I haven't had the chance to."
"I'm surprised."
"Why?"
"I thought you would be spending time with your newfound family, I mean your soulmate has just come back after being gone for months."
"Emma, you are my family too."
I know she was just saying these things because she is angry and hurt, and a part of me knows she has every right to be. But another, smaller part doesn't understand why she's so angry, and why she's being petty. Throughout the five years we have known each other, she has not shown any interest in me. Yes, we may have had moments where the sexual tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife, but we have never gone beyond that. So why now? She started dating the filthy pirate, she has not expressed having any feelings towards me before this curse.
"Once you start spending time with Robin, I won't see you anymore. You won't need me anymore. We both know this, I barely saw you when you were with him and I'm talking about before I went back in time,"
"And you were with Hook. You wanted to move back to New York."
"Have you ever considered why? I came back to Snow pregnant with another baby, you shacked up with Robin and so in love with his son. Was there room for me? Plus, Storybrooke was dangerous, it's dangerous now. I know wanting to take Henry with me was wrong, but at that the time I thought it was the right thing to do. I know now that Storybrooke is my home and his, that you are his mother, and this mansion is his home. I would never try to take him away from you or here, at least not without you, and I apologise for trying to. I'm sorry Regina, it was selfish of me. I know I would have never left, you can see I am still here. I couldn't leave this place, not without both of you. If I could go back in time I would slap the shit out of myself, but I don't think you want me playing with time travel anymore."
"It's Ok."
"It's not."
She's right. It's not Ok, but I have been waiting for that apology for years.
"Thank you. I really needed to hear that. I didn't mean to make you feel like there was no room for you, and I don't want you to think there is no room for you now."
"I know you want to believe that, but with Robin being here I don't see where I'll fit in"
"Emma-"
"I'm here for Henry, I don't want to talk about this anymore."
"Ok."
"How long until he's home?"
"Not long, he should be here any minute now."
"We can just tell him I'm moving because I need to learn to live out on my own. Something along those lines, he doesn't need to know more than that."
"He won't believe anything we say, he always knows when someone is lying. Something he annoyingly inherited from you."
"Sometimes that lie detector comes in handy."
Before I can question her on what she meant by that, I hear the front door open and close.
"Mom?"
"In the kitchen."
My heart races as I hear him get closer to the kitchen. I'm not ready to have this conversation at all.
"Hey"
"Hey mom, ma, what's for dinner?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"Ok, well I'm just going to get a snack then start on my English assignment."
"Before you start on that assignment, your mother and I would like to talk to you."
"Am I in trouble?"
"Why would you be in trouble?"
"Have you done something we should know about kid?"
"What? Of course not."
"Yeah that sounded real convincing kid."
"So, I am in trouble?"
"No, you're not, ignore your mother."
"Oh. Ok good."
"The way you say that almost has me worried."
"Er. You said you had something you and Ma wanted to tell me?" Henry says, trying to take his mothers' ire off himself.
"Yes, come let us take a seat in the living room."
"This sounds serious, is there another villain in town?"
"No."
"Mom, are you sick?" I can hear the panic in his voice.
"No Henry, calm down."
"Can you just tell me here?"
"As you wish," I sigh, I would rather be doing anything else right now other than having this conversation that I know will lead to more heartache.
"Well, your mother has been staying with us for a while now and we both think it would be best if she stayed at her apartment for a while."
"Why?"
"Well, I need to learn how to be on my own Henry, I can't rely on your mom forever."
"This doesn't make sense, you've just finished having your first wolves' time. Why would now be the best time to move out? I'm not stupid you know."
"We never said you were Henry, Emma just wants to try being on her own for a while."
"It's because of Robin isn't?"
"What do you mean?"
"The fact that he's back in Storybrooke."
"How do you know Robin is back?"
I know Emma wouldn't have told him so who did? How does he know?
"This is a small town mom, people talk. Plus I saw him on the way to school."
Damn him and this town, couldn't he have been discrete about his return until I at least told Henry?
"So, it is Robin. He's the reason Emma is moving out. Emma finally told you how she feels, and you chose him, that's why she's leaving."
"I. Henry… Why would you even think that?"
"How do you even know?" I whisper but it was loud enough for him to hear. The sheer shock on Emma's face tells me that she too did not know how he found this information out.
"Anyone can see that you two like each other, you act like a married couple. If someone didn't know, they would think you were married to each other. It's not hard to put the pieces together, Robin comes back and now Emma leaves. Clearly something happened. It's just, it's not fair, I thought we were finally a family and then he comes back. I feel like I'm dealing with divorced parents right now. Are we going to go back to alternating weeks again? Am I barely going to see one of my parents throughout the week again?"
"Henry, I am with Hook and your mother now has Robin again, why would you think we were getting together?"
"I said you act like a married couple."
I thought Emma broke up with Hook? She must be saying this to take the heat off me, so Henry won't just blame me for ruining our little family we have created over the past few months. Even though I have done just that.
"Me and your mother are best friends and we always will be, we will always act like a married couple because that what we do, you know that kid."
"Yeah well sometimes it's confusing."
"I'm sorry Henry, Emma and I will keep that in mind from now on."
"And here I thought you both finally had the balls to tell each other how you feel. No one is buying that you're just best friends."
"Henry language. You need to be happy for your mom Henry, you saw how heartbroken she was when Robin left."
"I know I should be happy for her, he's her soul mate, I understand. I am happy for you mom, that you found the happiness you've been looking for. I just need some time to adjust to this change, I like the way things are now."
"Henry-"
"I'm going to go to my room now."
He walks out of the kitchen leaving his snack behind.
"Fuck."
"I haven't heard you curse in a while."
"Emma, this isn't funny."
"He's upset Regina, he'll get over it. He likes Robin, he's just upset that he won't be able to see his parents be together. What child doesn't want that?"
"What if he doesn't get over it?"
"Then we will deal with that situation when it comes."
"Why did you say you were still with Hook? You didn't have to do that, you could have just let Henry blame me, hate me."
"Henry doesn't hate you."
"You don't even like Robin so why would you defend him?"
"I wasn't, I did that for you not him. Just give him some space, talk to him again tomorrow, I'm sure he will see things differently and be happy his mother has been reunited with her soulmate."
"Thank you Emma."
"Well, I'm going to go now," Emma heaves out a sigh heading towards the door.
"Emma," I call out to her.
"Yes, Regina?"
"Don't ignore my calls anymore please? Better yet, stop ignoring me."
"I can't make any promises."
Author's Note:
Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Beta Reader: kelojelo61
