Hook felt like he got the wind knocked out of him. She had lost the memory of everything except for Daniel. Not only was she scared of Hook because she didn't know him, but now she was also still in love with another man.

"Where is he?" she pressed.

"Perhaps we could start with an easier question, love, like how you-"

"Please, please, tell me where Daniel is. I just need to know that he's okay. I don't know why I'm here or where here even is and Daniel isn't beside me. I need to know. Please."

Hook sighed and walked closer to her, moving slowly so that he had time to choose his words carefully. Although, was there a way to carefully break the heart of the woman you love?

"What's the last thing you remember?"

She hesitated. "Well, I remember I was at home. I was in the barn and Daniel was with me. We were planning on running away." A faint smile appeared on her face as she thought of the memory. "That's it. After that I can only remember waking up here."

Hook slowly sat down on the bed once more, but Regina didn't move back this time, which he was thankful for. He needed to be close to her as he told her this.

"Regina, darling, you need to understand that that memory is from a very, very long time ago. I'm so sorry to have to tell you this, but not long after that moment in the barn, Daniel died."

Regina's face became still. The ghost of her smile still lingered, but her eyes were as blank as they were the moment she awoke not long ago. "What?"

"He's dead, Regina."

The smile was gone as those words registered in her head. "No, that's not possible. We're going to get married. W-We love each other! You're wrong. You have to be wrong."

"I'm not wrong. I wish I was."

"This is a mistake. Daniel can't be… He can't be… How? How did he die?"

Hook wanted to tell her slowly. He wanted to choose the right words. Unfortunately, his instincts kicked in and told him to get it out as quickly as possible. "He was killed. It was… Murder."

Her eyes grew with surprise. He knew the tears were coming; it was only a matter of time. "Who? Who could've… Who would've…" she struggled to get the words out.

"Regina-" he started to speak but was interrupted.

"Oh, Daniel!" she cried out right before she broke down. She had previously been sitting upright in bed but now she collapsed down onto the pillows as if her body had simply given out. She was shaking. Every wretched sob that crept out of her cut him like a knife.

He didn't know what to do so he stood up and backed away to give her room. She didn't notice. She didn't seem to notice anything in the world. The only thing she noticed was that Daniel was dead. Hook needed to get away. He couldn't stand here and watch this woman, this woman that he loved that didn't know who he was. He couldn't watch her cry without being able to comfort her. Without saying a word, he quickly made for the door and ran out into the hall.

Hook could still hear her through the closed door. He heard every cry, every breath, and every ounce of pain that left her. He wanted to run as far away as he could but he couldn't. Instead he leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor.

When Regina hurt, he hurt too. That was just the way it was. Ever since they got close to each other, he was connected to her in every way possible. He didn't know how to exist, how to carry on and be happy, if Regina was crying.

And so he didn't run away. He sat on the floor and waited with her, even though she didn't know it. He waited for hours, just listening to the sound of her sobs.

Time didn't pass quickly, but pass it did. Hours went by and Regina eventually grew quiet. Hook waited a little while longer in the silence to make sure she was finished crying. Normally he wouldn't mind being with her to ease her pain as she cried; in fact, he would have preferred to be sitting right by her side rather than out in the hall. But he knew she didn't want that. The only thing she wanted was Daniel and since he couldn't give her that, the least he could do was give her the privacy to grieve.

Finally he stood up and opened the door. Regina was sitting upright in the bed again, her arms wrapped around her knees and her cheeks stained with tears. She looked catatonic; her eyes were unmoving and if he didn't know better he would've assumed she wasn't breathing. For a while he simply watched her, afraid that any sudden words or swift movements might send her back into hysterics.

"Regina, I need you to know that it will get better. You will get through this. I've seen you do it before."

She didn't say anything. He thought he saw her eyes flicker to him quickly but they were back to simply staring straight ahead before he could be sure. "Daniel would want you to be strong and he'd want you to learn how to be happy again without him."

He saw more tears escape her eyes.

"Love, I-"

"Don't."

He shut his mouth and immediately regretted his poor choice of words. To Regina, it must have seemed like a stranger was flirting with her right after her boyfriend died. "I'm sorry, dar…Regina. I shouldn't have called you that."

She didn't acknowledge that he spoke again. He wondered if she had forgotten that he was there at all. He didn't want to say anything, so he decided to offer her some rum. That always helped him handle his pain. He was surprised when she reached out and took the bottle from his hand. After a few big sips, she wiped her tears and looked at him.

"You said this all happened a long time ago. How long has it been?" she asked him, her voice hoarse.

"I don't know how to answer that," he admitted.

She looked either surprised or annoyed. Hook wasn't sure. "Who killed him?"

There was a long silence. "I… I'm not sure how to… It's not…"

Regina sighed with frustration. "How was he killed?"

"His heart was taken from him. It was ripped right out of his chest," Hook told her quickly. He wasn't surprised when Regina started crying again and he ran his hand threw his hair as he started to pace.

Regina couldn't love the man who told her all of the horrible details of her life. She wouldn't want to be near him. She wouldn't be happy to see him. And he couldn't be the one to tell her all of those details. He couldn't cause her any pain. And he wouldn't allow anyone else to do it either.

"Did you kill Daniel?" she asked quietly, nervousness evident in her tone.

Hook stopped walking, partially because he was taken aback by her shy question and partially because he needed her to know that he was very serious when he answered her. He looked her very deeply in the eyes. "No, Regina. I did not kill Daniel. I would never do that. That is not why I don't want to tell you who did."

She held his eye contact for a moment before nodding, which told him that she believed him. He felt a sense of relief watch over him. He could get over a lot of obstacles, but not that one.

"Well then why won't you tell me?"

"I don't want you to think I'm lying to you or being cruel. But Regina, I just… I can't tell you the parts of your past that are going to hurt you. I can't do that. I can't watch you cry or see you in pain. It does something to me that I'm sure you don't understand right now."

"You're not going to tell me who I am?"

"You're Regina Mills."

"That's not what I mean. You're not going to tell me the things that have happened to me that have made me who I am?"

"I can't," he said helplessly. He felt so weak. He needed to be strong though, strong enough for the both of them and he couldn't do that if he had to tell her all the things that nearly broke her before. Without her memory, without having anything in her life feel familiar and safe to her, that information would break her this time.

He expected her to yell or curse him or maybe throw something at him because she thought he was being unreasonable, and he was, but then he remembered that this was a different woman sitting in front of him. And although she looked angry, she bit her tongue and kept her mouth closed. Oh, this would take some getting used to.

A knock at the door interrupted them and Hook was relieved that it had distracted Regina from whatever terrible thoughts she was thinking about him at the moment. The feeling of relief vanished as soon as he opened the door and saw Dr. Whale standing before him.

"Good afternoon, Captain," he said in his usual pretentious tone.

"If you harm her, I'll have your heart on my sword."

"Ah, nice to see you too," Whale smiled as he walked past Hook and towards Regina.

"Hello, Regina. I'm Dr. Whale. I know you're having some memory problems so I went through the trouble of bringing over my certificate, my license, and my fancy personalized lab coat," he told her with a warm, fake smile. Hook rolled his eyes and much to his dismay, Regina returned Whale's smile with a small one of her own.

"Hi, Dr. Whale."

"Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?"

She shook her head.

"Great. Are you feeling any discomfort?"

"My head hurts. My body feels a little sore but nothing too bad."

"I'm sure all of that is due to the trauma I've been told you went through this morning. You should be feeling-"

"Dr. Whale, what exactly was the trauma I went through?" She looked at Hook as she asked it.

"No one's told you?"

"I didn't think it wise to burden her with too much information right as she woke up," Hook explained. "She's been through enough today and-"

"No. No one has told me anything."

"Well, Regina, this morning you were captured."

"Whale…" Hook warned.

"And your abductors tortured you."

"Captured? Why would someone capture me?" she asked in disbelief.

"I'm not sure. Old enemies perhaps? Maybe they were still angry about the cur-"

"That's enough, Dr. Whale. Are you here to chat or would you care to continue with the examination?"

Regina sighed and Whale apologized. He continued examining her in silence. Finally he finished and started to get his belongings together.

"Unfortunately there are limitations to conducting an exam like this in a home environment. I'm sure you can understand, however, that I would rather do it here than at the hospital. I don't think all that new technology and equipment would have been good for you to experience today." Regina looked confused but didn't argue. "I am still able to come to the diagnosis that you are suffering from amnesia."

"What does that mean?" Regina and Hook asked in unison.

"It means that there is nothing I can do for you. The only cure is time."

"Time? You mean the only thing we can do is bloody wait?" Hook asked.

"I'm afraid so."

"Is there anything I can do?" Regina asked desperately.

"Not really. I recommend getting back into your old routine. Maybe hearing some stories of the things you forget will trigger something."

Regina looked at Hook but he didn't budge. He held her eye contact as he spoke to Whale. "I'm not telling Regina anything."

Whale laughed once as he sensed the tension in the room. "I see. Well, rest up for as long as you need to and then try out some of your old activities. Can you both agree on that?"

"Fine."

"Yes, sounds divine. We appreciate you stopping by as much as we'd appreciate it if you'd be on your way now."

Whale smiled tightly to him as he turned back to Regina. "If there is anything else you need, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you, Dr. Whale."

Hook's stomach turned at the sincerity of her voice. It wasn't fair that Whale could hide that his main line of work was creating zombie dead people or that Ruby could hide the fact that she becomes a killer werewolf in her spare time. Hook couldn't hide that he was a pirate. He had a hook for a hand and a sword in his belt. Not only was he a stranger, but in Regina's eyes he was a dangerous pirate as well. The dangerous pirate who told her that the man she loved was dead. The dangerous pirate who couldn't give her answers.

"Are you holding me here hostage?" Regina asked quietly once they were alone again.

"Course not, sweetheart. I know it's hard to wrap your mind around today but I am not your enemy. I will not hurt you."

She was quiet.

"Would you like to go home? I must admit this apartment is a little chirpy for my taste."

"Home? To the farm?"

"Suppose I should've been more clear. I meant your house here in Storybrooke."

"Storybrooke," she repeated to herself, trying to see if it would ring any bells. "We're in Storybrooke."

"That's right. And you're a home owner here!" he said excitedly and hoped she would get excited too. She didn't though.

Hook avoided an awkward silence by beginning to gather Regina's things. He watched her out of the corner of his eye and saw her start to slowly sit up. She pushed the blankets off of her and swung her legs off the side so that she was sitting on the bed with her feet on the floor. She paused and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," she said with a hint of her old stubbornness. "Just a little sore. It's nothing."

He didn't believe that she was fine. He saw that face before, when she was sick, when Henry went days without calling. Regina was in pain, but he pretended not to notice to make her happy.

Regina sat on the bed for a few more minutes before she seemed to gather more strength. She took a deep breath to ready herself and she stood up.

All it took was one fraction of a flinch on Regina's face before Hook dropped everything he was holding and was at her side. He got there just in time, Regina's legs had given out and she was about to fall to the ground. She gripped his arms tightly as he helped her get back to standing position.

For a moment she seemed appreciative to have him there. He swore he saw the tiniest hint of a smile. It was gone too quickly though as she tensed up and pulled herself away from him. He put his hands up to surrender and show her he wouldn't touch her again and she didn't say anything. She slowly started walking again and Hook stayed right by her side, grateful that she was allowing him that.

If she needed him, he would be there. He would catch her even if she didn't want to be caught.

A/N: So, so, so sorry for the wait. School has been really busy this week but luckily things seem like they will be cleared for a bit now. Can you believe we're less than a week away from the premiere? I caught some Hooked Queen interaction in one of the promos released recently! I can't wait. I'll have more time to write this week so I will try to get a new chapter up before the premiere, if not it will definitely be up not long after. If I don't post again before the premiere, I hope you guys enjoy it! Here we come, season 3! As always, thanks for reading and I hope you liked it!