Okay! Sorry for the delay guys I'm starting all of my finals and I'm soooo behind! It may be a week or more till the next chapter. I just have too much school to review everything. But I'll try and get pieces done so I can post a couple chapters after the long wait.

We are taking a break from Emma and Regina and focusing on Daniel in this chapter. You'll get to see how Daniel and Regina met! :)

Tips on how to read... the italic is what was said in the past between Regina and Daniel. The regular type is Daniel talking in the present. Clear as mud? Okay. Hopefully it's easy enough to figure out.

Enjoy!

Interrogation

Graham waited patiently outside of his friend's room while the nurses helped their patient change his robes. For the last few days Graham had prepared himself for this day. It had been over two weeks since the accident and Regina still hadn't woken up. Daniel had woken up only a few short days ago, and despite the multiple cuts over his body he seemed like he was going to walk away in one piece.

But despite all of that, the man behind the door hooked up to all the machines was still a suspect in this whole situation, and Graham needed to find out what happened. If not for his own sanity, but for the sanity of those most greatly affected by all this. For Emma and her family.

When he heard the door open he stood up from the wall he was leaning on and patiently waited for the nurses to collect what they needed and head off down the hallway. Just before the door shut he stuck his hand out, catching it before it latched and pushed it open slowly.

Graham entered the room as Daniel was sliding back into bed and situating all of his IV's around him so he didn't pull them out. The room was dark, except for the small light above Daniel's bed that was so dim it didn't even hardly reach past the bed.

"Ugh. These IV's are a bitch." Daniel mumbled to himself. Through his struggle he hadn't noticed the sheriff standing in the door way. When he finally did notice him his features fell a little, realizing no doubt why Graham must have been there..

"So I've heard." Graham walked further inside the room, keeping a delicate distance from the bed. "How's the face?"

"Oh you know. I'm probably going to be scary as shit for a while. But the scars will be cool." He sounded like he was in a way better mood than he should have been and it gave Graham a bad feeling.

"Daniel, I'm just going to get right to it. I'm not really hear to pass the time with you." Graham wiped the exhaustion from his eyes. Daniel adjusted himself nervously again in the sheets, and Graham could tell this was going to be the toughest conversation he had ever had. Daniel was one of his closest friends in town. They had known each other for many years and had shared many of life's trials together. Graham spoke at both of Daniel's parents funerals and was his best man when he married Regina. There wasn't much that they didn't do together. And now, Graham may have to charge Daniel with murder.

After a few minutes of thought and silence Graham pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down.

"It's time for you to tell me what happened. I got 2 women and a little boy that deserve to know why all of this happening to them. You've got a lot of shit coming your way, and I want to help you as much as possible but I got to know what happened."

Daniel sat in silence for a while, his head down, Graham hopeful that he was gathering his thoughts before he spoke. Daniel knew what he did. But was he ready to admit it?

"Did I ever tell you about the first time I met Regina?" Daniel started.

Graham sat back in his chair in a huff. "Look, Daniel this is not…"

"I know, but you want me to tell you what happened… this is me telling you."

Graham crossed his arms and remained silent.

"The first time I met her I was on leave from the base. I had gotten in mid-afternoon I guess and I decided to just go for a jog and see the town since I hadn't been home in so long. I made it around to the docks and I saw a woman standing out on the edge of one of them. I figured I would head down to see if she was okay because she was alone and it was starting to get dark." Daniel looked up at the ceiling as if he was picturing the very moment.

"So anyway, when I made it over to her I sat down on one of the benches to take a breath. I think I scared her a little because she gave me this horrific look." He laughed at the thought. "But she just seemed to keep her attention on the water and not me, so I figured she didn't see me as a threat.

"You, uh, you like the water?"

"I just wanted to start some kind of conversation you know. She was kind of the first person I had really stopped to talk to since I got home, and she turned out to be a very beautiful woman, so why wouldn't I? Of course she didn't answer me."

"My name is Daniel. I work on the base just outside of town."

"She gave me such a strange look that it was hard for me not to smile. But she reluctantly nodded her head and told me her name."

"Regina."

"Do you come out here a lot?"

"Sometimes when I get off work."

"I tried to keep it cool you know. Just striking up some conversation. I could tell she was starting to warm up to me. She would actually look at me when I spoke."

"I used to come up here all the time as a kid. I used to jump off that dock over there and try to swim to the other side there. But I could never make it."

"Sounds dangerous."

"Sure. But when your buddies dare you, you kind of have to at least try."

"She was so gorgeous you know, and she could see right through me. She had a power-esque about her that I couldn't shake. It was refreshing."

"You come here when you get off work then? What kind of job drives a beautiful woman all the way to the docks?"

"I knew I had to be on my A game by the look she gave me when I asked her that question. I mean I could imagine the thoughts going through her mind like, who the hell is this strange handsome man asking me about my life right? Clearly I would have been put off too, but I couldn't let this one go."

"I'm actually the principal at the high school."

"Oh. I can see why this place would be appealing. You know my father used to have a boat and he would take my mother and me out on it some weekends and we would just enjoy the fresh air. Nothing beats the air on the water you know. It changes you."

"So I've heard."

"She sort of turned to me after she said that, and I could tell that my charm was working. She was getting more comfortable for sure. And she started to ask me questions. I was so close."

"I'm sorry, where did you say you were from again?"

"I'm from here, but I live at the base now. Long history of military in my family, so I figured I would join the cause. All my buddies joined when I did. It's kind of a waiting game now on when we will could be sent away. My mother doesn't like it, but you know, someone has to do it."

"I'm sure she doesn't. Or your wife for that matter."

"Oh, I'm not married."

"She thought I was married. HA!"

"Oh."

"Look, it's getting kind of dark. I'd hate for you to walk home by yourself."

"I have my car here, just on the other side of the marina. But thank you."

"She smiled. Oh man. That smile. It was overwhelming me.

"Then I shall be no less than a gentlemen and walk you to your car."

"I had to. There was no way I was going to leave her on that dock alone. I was hooked for sure."

"That would be very kind of you."

"She drove a pretty nice car for a principal. And I tried to keep her there as long as I could without making her uncomfortable of course. I didn't want her to think I was stalking her or something. She was just so beautiful. That was the first time I asked her to dinner. And she put me down easy that's for sure, but it still hurt a little. She told me that she doesn't like to give out her number to strangers, which I could totally agree, I mean who would give their number out to a random soldier? But she did say that if we ever happened to run into each other again then she would consider it. That was all I needed to hear really." Daniel's head fell back in his shoulders as he took a deep breath.

"I can still remember what perfume she was wearing. It was a sweet apple smell and it lingered on me till the next time I spotted her in town. It had been days at that point since we met at the dock. I was going out for some building supplies for my parent's house. They were redoing part of it and when my dad got sick he didn't have the energy to do any of it. So it turned into my special project. But I remember walking out of the hardware store down on 5th and I saw her on the other side of the street. I tossed my bags in the back of the truck and headed straight to her. God, she was like a drug."

"Regina!"

"She didn't stop the first time I called her name, probably because she didn't recognize my voice. But once I got to the other side of the street she finally stopped."

"Regina, hey!"

"Hello."

"You remember me? Daniel, from the dock?"

"Yes, Daniel-from-the-dock. I remember you."

"She had a sense of humor. It was great."

"How are you?"

"I'm fine, how are you?"

"Better now."

"I learned then that I loved to make her blush. That was the first time, which led to many more. We walked for a while and caught up on the last few days. We ended up at Granny's after a while and so naturally I asked her in for coffee."

"It's still pretty early and it's kind of chilly. Do you want to go inside?"

"I guess shaking off the chill wouldn't hurt anything. I'll have to head out soon though, I have to drive to the city for a conference."

"I'll take whatever time I can get."

"We ended up talking for over an hour. I told her all about life at the base and she told me about her job at the high school, which she loved. The coffee was sweet and she was sweeter. Hands down the most amazing woman I'd ever met."

"Well, I better get going. I have a long drive ahead of me."

"Can I see you again?"

"Her smile sent shivers down my spine."

"Tell you what, Daniel-from-the-dock, here is my card. Call me."

"I had done it. Seriously, I was like a child that had just been given the biggest chocolate bar. I couldn't hardly even say thank you.

"Absolutely!"

"She left without another word. But she didn't have to say anything else. I held onto that card like it was a lifeline."

The room fell silent for longer than Graham was comfortable with. He had no idea why Daniel was telling him this, and he really just wanted to know what happened at the accident. He loved Daniel to death but this was no time for stories. He needed answers. He needed something to tell Emma.

"Daniel, I understand your past with Regina, but what does this have to do with now? You are facing attempted murder charges on top of DUI's and all that. I need to know what happened."

"What happened was I fell in love with the woman of my dreams. And I married the woman of my dreams, and then I had to leave the woman I loved to go fight a war to protect that woman. Did I know I was going to get captured and stuck in a jail cell for over a year? No. Did I know that every day I was stuck in that cell I would have thought about Regina and what she could be thinking? No. Did I know that my commanding officers would tell my wife that I was dead? No. And yet it all happened. And then when I came back, it was like everything had changed. I was not one of the lucky ones that came home to a wife happy to see you." Daniel was almost in tears but he held them back.

"If you had of seen the look on her face when she opened that door. It looked like a mixture between horror and utter disbelief. I was like a walking, talking, and breathing ghost. Neither of us knew what to do with ourselves. There was something different about her. When she got home from work it was like I had to pull teeth just to get her to talk to me. Yeah she seemed like she was trying and in our fits of anger she promised she would keep trying, and I always gave her space. What else was I supposed to do? She thought I was dead."

"Daniel, I know this has been a rough year. But none of this is relevant to what happened. Please work with me." Graham rubbed his eyes of the sleepiness and frustration that was overwhelming him.

"I would never hurt her." Daniel forced the whisper, this time losing control of his tears. "I swear to you, I would never hurt her." His head fell into his hands and his body rocked with the tears. He quickly regained himself though, taking a deep breath and wiping his face.

"You have to believe me, Graham. That woman has been my whole life. The divorce drove me insane. I just couldn't take how we were living. I knew something was wrong." He laid his hands open in his lap. "You know… the night I showed up at the house, and I saw Emma in the yard when they brought me out, I knew. I knew in that moment that it was over. Why would she have been there? I knew there had to be something between them. But I just didn't want to believe it. Then when we were at the station, she told me everything. And though it was the hardest thing I'd ever had to endure in my entire life, worse than even that fucking jail cell in Iraq, I sat there and took it. Because whether it was with me or not, I just wanted her to be happy. And I knew that she wasn't happy with me."

Graham got up and walked to the door. He had heard enough. There was no way this man was capable of doing any of this on purpose. He was just hurt. And fell into an unfortunate circumstance. Graham was sure he would do all he could to see that Daniel didn't suffer any more than he had too.

"Wait, Graham. You believe me right? I would never want to hurt her." Daniel sat up straight in his bed, his words reaching for Graham for answers.

"I know, Daniel." Graham opened the door and stepped out. He didn't look back. He had heard enough.

He knew that it would take a few days for Emma to calm down after getting the news about Daniel. So he decided to call this one a night and head back to the station. There was a lot of paper work to be done before this whole mess got even bigger with the charges and court and everything else. Graham was not looking forward to any of it. These were the days that he hated being sheriff. The days when someone else's fate was decided by what he wrote down on a useless piece of paper and handed to the judge. He didn't like having that kind of power. But nevertheless the people of this town put their lives in his hands and it was his duty to ensure that they were safe and accounted for. He had failed Regina, and Emma, and Henry, and even Daniel. He felt almost responsible for all of this, but he knew he couldn't let it eat at him. The last thing he needed was more guilt on his plate.