Chapter 3

Broken

Rachel stumbled in through the door to Dr. Hyde's pharmacy, leaning on her crutches for support. The inside had a clean crisp smell to it. Rachel passed through the isle of neatly organized over-the-counter medicines to Dr. Hyde's vacant checkout desk. Behind that, rested more shelves all filled with prescriptions. Rachel tilted her head, her straight hair falling over her right shoulder, and peered over towards the back shelves to see if he was there but did not spot any sign of life.

The young dance instructor turned her head and gazed back to the front of the one-roomed building. Everything rested so still as she was the sole customer in the pharmacy. At the sudden sound of a crumpling bag, Rachel whirled her head back to the desk.

"Pardon me for… uh, startling you," the white-coat pharmacist said quickly. "I did not hear anyone come in."

"That's okay," Rachel replied with a smile as she reached her hand in her pocket to pull out the prescription form Dr. Whale gave her. "I'm just here to pick up my painkillers."

As Dr. Hyde took the prescription form he replied, "Ah yes, you've been here before, right? You're a dance teacher."

His second statement sounded more as though he were stating a fact.

"One other time," Rachel responded, and then chuckled. "I guess I'm not a very good dance teacher since I keep hurting myself."

"On the contrary," Dr. Hyde said as he typed in her information. "I think it means that you are not afraid to take risks, Ms. Bates."

The teacher looked up at him and beamed. "You can call me Rachel."

Rachel could not explain but something seemed oddly familiar about Dr. Hyde. She felt as though she knew him even though she had barely spoken to him during her time in Storybrooke. It was like she knew him from someplace else, but she had no idea where that could be since all her memories were from this little town.

The pharmacist took in a deep breath before saying, "Well Rachel, this might seem a bit forward, but I was wondering if maybe you would like to have dinner with me sometime?"

For a moment, Rachel stared at him, unsure of what to say. For the longest time she felt stuck in a rut, unable to move forward. But starting a new relationship with this man could very well change that. Before now, it seemed impossible but this time felt different. It was as though some wall blocking her path forward had crumbled down.

Rachel finally nodded and said with a beam, "Maybe sometime next week when I can walk a little better."

"How about next Thursday?" Dr. Hyde suggested.

"That sounds wonderful."

"Great," he said, as he walked to the back to get her painkillers. Dr. Hyde then turned his head back and added, "By the way, you can call me Daniel."

xXx

By Thursday night, Rachel still had a limp, but at least no longer needed the crutches. She slipped on her long navy blue silk dress she had bought several years ago. Now, it finally had some use.

Glancing nervously at the clock, Rachel pulled out the bottle of painkillers out of her drawer and popped a couple in her mouth. She did not necessarily need them anymore but since she didn't want to start drinking before her date she decided this was the better alternative. As she walked out of her bedroom, Rachel glanced at her liquor cabinet and sighed. Over the years, she had grown into a bad habit of drinking the hard stuff at night. In an empty apartment, that was her only comfort. Rachel hoped that would soon change.

Daniel picked her up right on time. In the car, the two only managed some small talk. Rachel always found she had difficulty opening up to people she did not know. Once they arrived, the two sat across one another at a table in Granny's Diner and had ordered a bottle of red wine to share.

As Daniel poured her glass, Rachel noticed something odd about his hand. It looked like this faint burnt ash color now. She could not recall it ever looking like this before.

"What's wrong with your hand?" Rachel asked before quickly shaking her head. "Forgive me. That was rude."

Daniel just laughed rolled up his sleeve. "No worries. I actually have no idea what this is, but it's going up my whole arm. It began a several weeks ago. First my hand started getting darker and then it began to spread to my arm."

"Have you gone to the doctor?" Rachel asked.

He nodded. "I went to see Dr. Whale about it. He says he's certain its not cancer but he also has no idea what it could be. He's never seen anything like it. I guess as long as its nothing deadly, I'll just have to get used to it."

Once their meal was brought, the two had moved on to a new topic. Rachel was surprised at how natural being with this man felt to her.

"Jekyll and Hyde?" Rachel asked after he answered her recent question. "That's your favorite book."

Daniel raised his eyebrow, surprised. "You've read it?"

Rachel took another sip of her merlot and nodded. "Yes, years ago. I do enjoy a good read every now and then. That book wasn't my favorite though. Don't you find it a bit depressing? I mean, doesn't Jekyll eventually realize he's going to become the evil Hyde permanently?"

Daniel chuckled and commented, "This is coming from the girl who described her favorite story, Swan Lake. I don't think I've ever heard any story quite as tragic as that."

Rachel giggled and said, "Yes, well, it's a ballet. If performed properly, its beautiful, despite the tragic ending."

"Doesn't it bother you that evil kind of seems to win?" Daniel asked in a more serious tone.

Rachel took a moment to consider the storyline. Princess Odette receives a curse from her enemy that forces her to transform into a swan each day. Only the prince's declaration of true love to her could break this curse. Tragically, the prince accidently declares his feelings to the princess's evil twin, Odile, also known as the black swan. This leads to the death of the fair white swan.

"Well," Rachel finally answered. "I suppose that's just one way of looking at the story. In some versions after the prince realizes what he's done, he ends his life so he can be with his true love. While Von Rothbart believes he is victorious, in the end, he failed to keep them apart."

Daniel raised his glass and winked. "Well, I believe when it comes to true love, nothing evil does can keep them apart."

xXx

A little over a month later, Daniel and Rachel have grown quite close. They would spend most nights at each other's apartments. Daniel often came to visit Rachel's dance classes and watch their rehearsals. Paige constantly questioned her teacher on when the two would get married. All Rachel could do was blush and mutter 'I don't know.'

This afternoon, Daniel took Rachel out for a picnic in the outer parts of the woods where there was more grass. They sat on the square laced quilt with the basket of sandwiches in the center and a bottle of chardonnay.

Rachel noticed that Daniel's hand had grown even darker recently. It was now almost a pure black. She decided best not say anything this time.

"So are you nervous about your school's performance next week?" Daniel asked as he poured wine in both of their glasses.

"You know, I was worried but I actually feel pretty calm about it now," Rachel replied as she took a sip of her wine.

"From what I saw, I don't see a reason to worry," Daniel commented. "Your students are amazing."

Rachel sighed, staring out into the trees. "It was never my students' ability that concerned me. It was just the dark storyline. But one day, Regina, our major, came and talked to me about and then after that, I felt inspired to do Swan Lake because it was a story I truly felt passionate about."

"Hmm," Daniel hummed, his eyes pointed towards the blanket.

Rachel looked at him and grinned. "I caught that tone. What is it?"

Daniel let out a breath and remarked, "It's just that from what I've seen and heard of Mayor Mills, most of what she does or says is for her own agenda."

"Oh come on, now," Rachel argued. "No one is that selfish. Regina may seem hard but I still feel she means well for this town. Personally, I'm more afraid of Mr. Gold."

"I don't think he's really that bad," Daniel replied in a docile tone. "I think people are just intimidated by him because of his power in this town. I'm sure Mr. Gold must be lonely."

Rachel raised her eyebrow. "And you don't think that exact thing you just said could apply to Regina? I mean think about the situation she's in now. Can you imagine if you adopted a son and put all that time into raising him and then out of nowhere his birthmother comes back and tries to take him away from you?"

"I guess I see your point," he replied with a sigh. "It just seems to me like she's taking it out on everyone around her."

"I've also heard Mr. Gold has done some pretty sketchy things to get what he wants," she muttered in response.

Daniel chuckled and pointed out, "You and I really don't agree on much, do we?"

Rachel laughed and mused, "It doesn't seem so. But that's okay. I think it makes our relationship much more interesting."

Looking into his eyes, Rachel leaned in closer to Daniel, who in return tilted his head and kissed her, gently.

After he drove her home, Daniel and Rachel kissed one final time before she slipped out of the car and walked up towards her apartment. Never in her life, could she recall feeling this kind of happiness. As she approached her door, she thought about her future. Rachel could not imagine it without this man. She had hoped he felt the same way and soon her lonely days would cease to exist.

However, as Rachel pushed the key into her front door keyhole, a gush of wind blasted against her. It was so strong, she could have sworn this air had briefly lifted her off the ground. With it, came a flood of memories from her past, a past that was not Storybrooke. She remembered the all the magic from her world, the swan curse, the prince, and how this all led to a tragic ending.

Remembering who she really was, Rachel gulped and glanced out the nearby window, spotting the pharmacy. That man that had just given her a new spur of romantic feelings was the very same man, from her world, that wanted her dead.

A/N: So I bet at the beginning of this chapter you thought you had a pretty good idea on who Dr. Hyde is from Swan Lake (Swan Princess). So who do you think he is now? I know its still not clear but I promise it will be in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and please tell me what you think. :)