A/N: I know I usually do these at the end of the chapter but one thing you need to know before reading this is that Whale and Ruby aren't together in this story. They may or may not get together by the end. I don't want to spoil it though! Happy reading!
The silence that filled the room reminded Hook of all the times in the morning when he awoke before Regina, and he would simply lie beside her and watch her sleep. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she had done that very same thing to him, yet it was only a few hours ago. The only different between the silences was that this one was sinister. There was no peacefulness, no calm, not beauty. Only horror.
"Regina, are you all right?" Charming asked. Hook still sat on the bed by her but he couldn't speak.
"How do you know my name? Who are you?" she asked as she pulled the covers closer to her. She was so scared. Hook didn't know what to do so he stood up and backed away to try to calm her down.
"We're your… friends," Snow said. "Well, sort of. We're family. You don't remember us?"
"No. No, I don't know any of you. Where am I? I shouldn't be here. This isn't right." Regina was panicking. Hook had never seen her like this. All he could do was watch her. He wasn't able to form words. His Regina was gone.
"Regina, are you hurt?" Charming asked.
"I'm not hurt. I'm fine. Please don't come near me. Just let me go. I just want to go home. Please."
"Hook, she isn't hurt and she's safe here. We need to get to Emma and Neal and hopefully Henry," he heard Snow say.
"You guys go, I'll stay here with her. She'll be okay," Ruby told them.
Someone told Hook they could deal with Regina and her missing memory later. He felt someone tug at his arm and he finally turned and ran out with Snow and Charming. The next thing he knew they were at the docks. Emma and Neal were there. Emma was yelling.
"Where have you been? They took Henry!" she screamed.
"We have a problem with Regina. Whatever Tamara and Greg did to her this morning… it wiped away her memory," Charming explained.
"Is she okay?" Neal asked.
"She'll be fine," Snow said as she looked at Hook while answering Neal's question. "We need to focus on Henry."
"We got here as they threw a bean. It was only just before you guys got here, they can't be too far," Emma said.
"I'm afraid that's not how portals work, dearie," Hook heard from somewhere behind him. He turned around to see Rumplestiltskin walking up to them with his cane in one hand and Belle's hand in the other.
"Well then what are we going to do, Neal? He's our son! He's in another realm without us!" Emma said as she turned to Neal. She was yelling again.
"We need something to transport us, something that can travel between worlds."
"My ship," Hook whispered, speaking for the first time since Regina awoke. "Take my ship."
"Take it?"
"I have to stay behind with Regina. I can't leave her. Bael- er, Neal, you remember how to steer, I presume?"
"I can do it."
"I can do my best to track Tamara and Greg and the boy," Rumple told them.
Emma didn't wait another second. She was running towards Hook's ship with Neal following closely behind. Rumple and Belle walked away from the group and started talking to each other quietly. Snow and Charming looked at each other and seemed to silently agree upon something before Charming chased after Emma and Neal. That left only Hook and Snow.
"Hook, you need to find the Blue Fairy. Bring her to Regina and see if she can do anything."
Hook nodded.
"I know it seems like this horrible thing has happened and there is no hope-"
She was interrupted by a scoff from Hook.
"But, " she continued. "There is hope. Charming and I lost our memories when Regina- er, when we were cursed," she stumbled out, trying to avoid saying anything bad about Regina in front of him. "And we found our way back to each other. Regina will come back. It just may take some time."
"Yes, and then everything will be all sunshine and daisies and we'll all live happily ever after, I'm sure," Hook said sarcastically. He was only still standing here listening to her babble because he was trying to postpone returning to Regina.
Snow smiled sadly for a moment at his sarcasm. "Just remember that she's still in there, Hook. Don't lose hope."
And with that, she ran to catch up with the rest of the group as they set sail on his ship. His home was gone. His love's memory, the thing that made her who she was, was gone. The only people in town who dared to give Hook a second chance were gone.
Hook felt utterly alone.
And then he saw Belle standing a few feet away. She had the same look on her face that he probably did. He realized she too had just said goodbye to a large part of her life.
She seemed to sense that he was watching her. "He asked me to look after the town while he is gone and while Regina is…"
"Gone," he finished for her.
She nodded. Hook didn't want her to offer him any advice or try to cheer him up. Thankfully, she didn't. He wondered if maybe she needed some advice or cheering up herself, though he surely wasn't going to give her any of that.
"You can go to Regina's house and get any papers you may need from her office. The door is open."
"The Blue Fairy is probably at Granny's Diner. She usually has lunch there around this time."
Hook had never considered Belle a friend. Actually, he had never considered her at all. He had almost killed her multiple times. She was the girl that had forgiven the Dark One for all of his wrongdoings though, so maybe she would be able to see past his as well.
Before he could dwell on it any longer, they parted ways.
Hook arrived back at the Charming's apartment soon after with the Blue Fairy by his side. She was weary of assisting Regina and him at first, but after he told her that Snow had requested her help and also quietly threatening to burn down Granny's Diner if she didn't go with him, she begrudgingly stood up and followed him to where Regina was.
When they got there, Regina was still in bed. She was sitting up now and seemed to have gotten some of her strength back. She no longer seemed like she was on the verge of passing out at any given moment. Ruby was standing awkwardly in the kitchen.
Out of instinct, Hook headed straight for Regina. "Hello, love. I'm sorry it took so log. I got back here as soon as I could." For a moment he forgot all about her memory and he took a seat on the bed and reached for her hand. He had never seen someone move away so quickly. She didn't stand up, probably because she was still tired from whatever torture she went through that morning, but she was as close to the edge of the bed that she could possibly get. She didn't say anything; honestly she looked too scared to speak. Hook thought she may have even been shaking a little but he stood up before he could know for sure.
"I'm sorry, darling, I didn't mean to-"
"Why are you calling me that? I don't know you. Please let me leave. Please," she pleaded. Her eyes were filled with tears that made Hook's heart hurt. He looked back at Ruby, who could only look back at him.
"Hi, Regina. My name is Mother Superior," the Blue Fairy said calmly as she slowly walked over to the bed as Hook walked away from it. "I just want to help you, is that okay?"
Regina wiped her eyes and shrugged. "Do I have a choice?"
"Of course you have a choice. You are not here against your will, Regina. May I try to explain your situation to you?"
She didn't look like she wanted to hear anything that anyone in the room had to tell her but she nodded once anyway.
The Blue Fairy stopped walking when she was just a few feet away from her. "From what I understand, your memory has been affected by some trauma that you went through this morning. I think that cuff on your wrist may be causing you some… setbacks. It might be the reason that your memory is gone so we need to get it off. Would it be okay if I removed it for you?" She spoke softly and it seemed to calm Regina down a little because she gave her permission to remove the cuff.
The fairy pulled out her wand and started to do some sort of magic that Hook didn't understand. He kept an eye on her while he stood next to Ruby in the kitchen.
"Did she say anything while I was gone?" Hook asked.
"She just kept asking if she could leave. She wasn't as scared once everyone left, though once you walked in she almost went running," she said with a laugh.
"Maybe things would have been different if she had known she was in the room with a killer werewolf," Hook shot back at her.
Ruby didn't say anything else and neither did Hook. Things had always been tense between the two of them. Emma said it was because neither of them had the ability to pretend to like someone out of politeness.
The Blue Fairy finished the magic and the cuff slipped off of Regina's wrist with ease.
"Regina, do you know who that man over there is?"
Regina looked at him, but he knew immediately that she didn't know him. It was like looking at a wall. She had no emotion. Their eyes connected but there was no connection.
"No."
Everyone in the room sighed as the Blue Fairy walked over to Hook and Ruby.
"I'm sorry, that is all I can do. The cuff is gone but Tamara and Greg caused her body damage without using magic which means there is no spell that can reverse it."
"What the bloody hell does that mean?" Hook asked.
"It means that there is nothing more my wand can do for her. My best instructions would be to get Dr. Whale over here to look at her and see what his medicine can do. I'm sorry, I have to go now."
"Dr. Whale? He isn't getting anywhere near her. He'd probably use her lost memory to his benefit and try to get her out on a date. Besides, Regina doesn't like him. She wouldn't want his help."
"Yes, Whale is a bit of a… well, quite frankly, he's an ass. But you need his help. And if you recall, the Regina that doesn't like him isn't here right now. This Regina just needs to see a doctor and he's the only one we've got," Ruby told him sharply.
Hook looked at Regina, who was still sitting in bed and looking around the apartment like a scared child. He sighed and nodded.
"I should go too," Ruby said. "I'll find Whale and send him over."
"Wait," Hook said to them quietly so that Regina couldn't hear them. "Ruby, Regina was comfortable when it was just the two of you here. I know you don't like me, and believe me, my dear, the feeling is mutual, but I need your help. I need you to tell Regina who I am. She won't believe me if I say it."
Ruby seemed like she was going to reject him but then she groaned. "You're right, I don't like you," she said and walked over to Regina.
"Regina, Mother Superior and I have to go now. We're leaving you with him," she told her as she pointed to Hook.
"You're leaving me with him? Alone?" Regina asked in disbelief. "He could be… He could be dangerous for all I know."
"Aw, my feelings are hurt, love," Hook joked. Regina didn't crack a smile and Ruby glared at him.
"He isn't dangerous. This is Captain Hook. I know you don't recognize him and he feels like a stranger to you, but you're actually very close with him. He's sort of your… boyfriend. I have to admit that he is a good man to you. He will keep you safe, I promise."
Regina still didn't seem convinced. "How can you be sure? I don't know him. I know I don't. Please just let me stay here alone. I'm fine!"
"Regina, you don't even know who you are. And you've been through quite the ordeal. We simply cannot let you stay here by yourself," Mother Superior said.
Regina looked like she was going to start crying again but suddenly Ruby seemed to have a good idea.
"I think I know something that could make you feel more comfortable with this," she told Regina. "Have you ever heard of True Love's Kiss?"
Regina sighed. "Yes of course. It's the most powerful thing in the world. It can break through almost anything."
"Yes, exactly! Now after you went through your… accident this morning, you weren't conscious. The only way we could get you to wake up was if Hook kissed you. True Love's Kiss."
"That can't be true," she said quietly to herself before looking up at Hook, who smiled happily at her.
Regina's shoulder's slumped as she accepted that there was no way out this. Ruby gave her one final reassuring smile, and one final glare to Hook, before her and Mother Superior left.
And then the apartment was quiet. Regina in the bed, Hook in the kitchen, neither daring to speak.
They simply stared at each other, until Regina broke the silence.
"Where's Daniel?"