A/N: Now for some more plot! This chapter borrows heavily from episode 2x7 Child of the Moon, so I would like to re-disclaim that I do not own anything related to ABC or its affiliates, and I am in no way making money from this little endeavor of mine.
Also, in case some of you out there are worried that I've skipped including 2x5 The Doctor, I haven't. I'm merely reordering the episode sequence for my own nefarious purposes. We'll get to The Doctor in a chapter or two. Similarly, some of the CotM events have been re-arranged or omitted.
As always, reviews are appreciated!
xxxxx
"Are you calm?" Regina asked. Normally, she would feel silly asking someone if he was calm amidst all this nature with only the two of them to interrupt the tranquility of the scene, but it was apparent that her protégé was anything but tranquil.
David glared. "I was. Until you asked me that question for the tenth time."
"You don't seem calm," she replied, completely unperturbed at his irritation. "If you seemed calm, I wouldn't ask."
If she wasn't mistaken—and she rarely was—the Prince emitted a low growl in response.
"Don't get mad at me," she said. Not that I care if he's mad at me, or what he thinks of me, she attempted to convince herself. "It's not my fault you can't relax, and it's not my fault that if we try to do this, and you aren't relaxed and focused, then you could kill us both. By all means, bite my head off. That will solve our problem."
He hated that she was right. "How am I supposed to relax when I know that everything hinges on my ability to do magic?" he asked her. "Now that the dwarves found diamonds and are making some into fairy dust, Operation Boomerang—getting Emma and Snow back—relies on me."
Despite her better judgment (her inner monologue seemed to be using that phrase too frequently lately), she stepped into David's personal space and placed her hands on his shoulders.
"David," she said. His eyes are so blue. "I know you can do this." She willed her confidence to seep into his veins. "The crystal diagnostics indicated that you have all of the necessary raw materials to perform magic."
Doubt still filled his eyes. "Trust me," she told him.
He nodded. He wasn't happy about this situation, but he did trust Regina. Their alliance had developed into something resembling a friendly partnership, and, while he wasn't sure she would admit to it, he believed that she did care about his welfare.
"But," she continued. "You must relax." She quirked an eyebrow to take the edge of her authoritative tone and was rewarded with a minor chuckle from the stressed -out Acting Sheriff.
"Close your eyes," she requested and unconsciously began to rub small circles along his shoulders to work out the knots in his muscles.
"Now," she continued. "Imagine my voice belongs to the person who makes you feel the safest." She allowed him a moment to create whatever illusion he required in his mind.
"And imagine you are exactly where you want to be." She felt more tension leave his shoulders.
"And that only this moment exists." She felt him slowly exhale under her fingers, finally relaxed.
She allowed herself a small smile of relief. Maybe this reluctant sorcerer would perform a spell today after all.
"Look within yourself," she gently commanded. "When you find what you know is love, broadcast it to me."
Almost immediately, Regina felt the air pushed from her lungs as she and David were encompassed in a translucent, golden sphere.
Disconcerted, but pleased with her student's progress, Regina said, "Open your eyes."
He opened his eyes, and Regina was startled. Instead of instantly evaporating, the golden ball of magic seemed to intensify in power and began to hum. And, she could swear that David seemed to be looking straight into her soul as he grasped her arms.
The magic around them buzzed and popped, jumping like an electric current that hadn't been properly grounded.
Suddenly, David's lips closed over hers, and Regina was lost in the sensation of his kiss. Then, suddenly, the golden magic exploded around them and shot into the surrounding forest.
An intense moment later, a startled Regina pulled herself from David's arms.
David, instantly bereft of her presence, looked at her for her reaction—to the kiss or the magic, he wasn't sure.
Regina, disoriented but unwilling to admit it, said, "Well, umm, that was . . . promising." She assembled her standard armor around her heart as she forced the next words from her mouth. "You envisioned Snow and drew upon some very powerful magic." She straightened her clothes. "Once the fairy dust is complete, we should be able to get them back without a problem."
She turned and headed along the path to his truck. That was quite enough of that for one day. Enjoyable as contact with the Prince might have been, she was no one's stand in for Snow White.
It took David a few moments longer to register what Regina said and to follow her along the path to the car. He had imagined Snow. Of course. What other explanation was there?
Then why had he only heard Regina's voice?
xxxxx
On their way into town, David's phone rang. After a brief conversation, he turned to Regina. "Change of plans. We're going to the docks."
At the grim look on his face, Regina refrained from asking any questions and just nodded.
xxxxx
Regina surveyed Billy's body and the surrounding scene as David took the witnesses' statements.
When he rejoined her by the truck, she said, "You know what this is supposed to look like, right?"
"Yes," he said. "Let's go to the diner." He didn't care what it looked like.
There was no way Ruby had killed anyone.
xxxxx
"Where's Ruby?" David asked the teenager at the cash register.
"In the back with Granny," the clerk answered the acting sheriff.
Regina stood in the entryway awkwardly as David headed around the counter. Noticing the absence of her distinctive heel-clad footsteps, he turned toward her, "Coming?"
Surprise flashed across her face before she began to follow David. Maybe she could be part of the team after all.
When they made their way to the back room, they found Granny and Ruby surveying the significant damage to the freezer door.
Regina hung back as David approached his long-time friend.
"Ruby," he said.
Immediately concerned by his tone, Ruby urgently asked, "Oh God. What did I do?"
David reached out to hold her shoulder. "Nothing. You didn't do anything."
Ruby nodded but was still clearly panicked. "What's wrong then?"
"Billy was found this morning," he said gently. "He's been killed."
Ruby's featured contorted. "I killed him! Oh my god, I killed him." She began to choke on repressed sobs as Granny pulled her into her arms.
When she had calmed down somewhat, David said, "I know you, Ruby. You did not kill anyone."
"How do you know?" she replied more angrily than she intended. "I've done it before. And Granny found me in the woods this morning after I escaped from the freezer."
"I know who you really are, Ruby. Even if you've lost sight of it," David assured her with quiet confidence.
"Who else could it be?" Ruby demanded. Why wouldn't anyone take the threat of her wolf-turning seriously? She killed Peter. Clearly, she was capable of deadly violence as a wolf.
"Umm, how about anyone else?" Regina said, reminding them of her presence.
"Right," Ruby said sarcastically. "Because so many people in this town turn into vicious killers during the full moon."
Regina stepped farther into the room. "Just because it looked like a wolf attack doesn't mean that it was one," she stated with a patronizing edge to her voice.
Regina turned toward Granny. "When you found her in the woods this morning, did you see any blood?"
"No," Granny responded. "And I didn't smell any either." She nodded her head in approval of Regina's thinking. "You didn't do it," she told Ruby.
"You don't know that!" Ruby protested. She was stuck in her own nightmare. The nightmare where she killed Peter over and over and no one stopped her. Only this time, Peter's name was Billy.
Sensing that the girl was near hysteria and temporarily beyond the reach of reason, David addressed Regina. "I know why I didn't think Ruby was guilty. What made you think she didn't do it?"
"Please," Regina said. "Everything about this situation screams frame-job. And not even a very good one. Billy asked Ruby out in public yesterday, making their relationship fresh in everyone's minds."
Regina continued her explanation with clinical detachment, "Ruby's wolf transformation is, quite possibly, the most open secret in Storybrooke. This could serve two purposes for the killer. First, he or she can count on everyone assuming Ruby's guilt. Secondly, even if someone, like us, thought she was innocent, we can't use knowledge of Ruby's wolf-time as a way to narrow our suspect pool."
"Also," she concluded. "While I'm sure Ruby's impressively strong in wolf form, the freezer door broke the wrong way."
David and Granny re-examined the freezer and noticed that the hinges, rather than the latch, had broken off the frame.
"Someone loosened the screws in the hinges," Regina told Ruby. "And it looks like they motivated you by leaving out a raw steak," she indicated remnants of blood on the floor near the door.
At David's surprised look at her thorough analysis, she said, "I have, on occasion, been the one doing the framing." Her tone was matter of fact, before turning lighter, "Evil Queen, remember?" she said with a quirk of her eyebrow.
Relieved that Regina had given him some evidence of his friend's innocence, David embraced her teasing tone. "Of course," he replied. "I defer to Your Majesty's authority on all matters of a diabolical nature."
Granny watched the exchange with interest. She was grateful for the Queen's insight that helped her granddaughter, but her gratitude did not make her blind to the new dynamic between the Prince and Her Majesty. Just when had they become so friendly?
"Okay," Ruby cut into their banter impatiently. "Say you're right, and someone is framing me. Who is it?"
"I don't know," Regina said. "Who hates you?"
"Umm, I don't know," Red replied sarcastically. "You."
"I don't hate you," Regina corrected her bluntly. "Even back in our land, I never hated you. You got in my way from time to time, but I didn't hate you."
Red was startled into speechlessness by the queen's unvarnished, honest answer. She was much more accustomed to an arrogant Regina. This more human version was . . . unsettling.
"Well, we know it wasn't Regina," David said, breaking the tense silence. "Right?" He looked to her for confirmation. At Regina's nod, he continued. "So, who else could it be?"
"I don't think anyone else here has anything against me personally," Ruby replied thoughtfully. "But, it could be someone that just hates all werewolves."
"That doesn't make sense," Regina said.
"It wouldn't be the first time a werewolf has been discriminated against," Red replied defensively.
"No, no, that's not what I mean," Regina regrouped and walked through her train of thought aloud. "I don't mean that I think werewolf discrimination doesn't exist, nor do I mean that I think it is okay that it does, because it isn't. I just mean that, if someone has a problem with werewolves, that someone's problem is probably due to the fear of a werewolf attack. So, why kill someone to prevent a deadly attack? It just doesn't make sense."
"Well, how about because they are crazy?" Ruby spat, still frustrated by the entire situation.
"It's certainly possible," Regina acknowledged.
"Great," Ruby replied. "Now that we agree that it's possible that another homicidal maniac is on the loose, can we discuss what to do about me tonight? Because, I really don't want to kill anyone else."
David began to protest that she hadn't killed anyone in Storybrooke, but Ruby held her hand up to stall his comment. She looked toward Regina. "Come with me."
Regina's surprise showed on her face. "Okay," she said, confused that Ruby would solicit her company.
"Don't get any ideas," Ruby said sharply. "We are not friends. I just figure you would know the most about how to imprison people."
Regina smirked despite herself, glad to see that Ruby's spunk was back. "Fair enough," she said as she followed the young woman out of the walk-in.
xxxxx
If Regina, Granny, or David were surprised when they realized that Ruby had led them to the library, they didn't show it.
"Belle?" Ruby called as she led the others into the building. "I need those shackles you're including in your Spanish Inquisition display!"
Belle leaned over the banister from the second floor, her surprise at such a strange request from her new friend outweighed by the company she brought with her.
"Umm," Belle attempted to make sense of the situation. "She has magic. Do you really think the shackles will hold her?" she asked Ruby, indicating Regina.
"They aren't for her," Ruby stated. "They are for me. And I hope they hold," she muttered. Calling back upstairs, she asked, "May I use them or not? I'm running out of time before the sun sets."
"Sure," Belle said, still perplexed.
Moments later, she joined the group downstairs. "Here," she handed Ruby the chains. Then, quietly, she asked, "What is she doing here?" Once again referring to Regnia.
"I can hear you, you know," Regina was losing her patience with people acting like she wasn't there. She was also sick of people asking questions that didn't make sense. Why would she walk into a library of her own volition to be shackled? Really. No wonder she was able to curse these people with so little problem. Even the smart ones neglected their critical thinking.
David placed his hand on her arm to soothe her irritation, but, instead of the calm reassurance his touches had conveyed previously, a current crackled between them, humming with energy. Startled, the two jumped apart.
"What's with you guys?" Ruby asked, short-tempered. Was anyone ever going to chain her up, or what?
"Umm, nothing," David said awkwardly and not at all convincingly. He looked to Regina for answers. Just what had happened between them in the forest? And why was there an aftereffect?
She shook her head at him almost imperceptibly. Not now. They could discuss whatever the hell it was later. Much later. And without an audience.
Turning back to Belle, Ruby said, "She's on our team. For now. We still don't like her though."
Belle looked at Regina doubtfully. "Sounds like an accurate summary to me," Regina said.
Granny, who was still watching David, couldn't quite agree. She thought that at least one of the people in the library liked Regina. Interesting, indeed.
"Sheriff," Granny addressed David. "Why don't we leave the girls to their chains while you and I track down the murderous villain trying to frame my Ruby?"
"Good thinking, Granny," David agreed. "You all right here?" he asked the three women, but he looked at Regina. Are you all right, here? He knew Ruby and Belle hardly considered her an ally.
Another imperceptible nod for him from Regina. It's fine. And I can take care of myself, she quirked her eyebrow with a small smirk.
He repressed a smile. Indeed, she could take care of herself.
"Yeah, we're fine," Ruby said. "Go find the bastard who killed Billy."
After the door closed behind David and Granny, Ruby turned to Regina. "Okay, then. Go ahead and do it."
"All right," Regina said, reaching for the chains.
"No," Ruby said, keeping hold of the shackles. "I mean freeze me or whatever. Imprison me magically. Something I can't break."
Regina shook her head. "No."
"Do you want to help or not?" Ruby asked angrily.
"I'm not doing it," Regina stated.
Belle anxiously glanced between the women. She didn't understand why Ruby thought she needed to be locked up, but she was more concerned with the escalating tension. She didn't like her chances of remaining unhurt if she had to break up a physical fight between the two brunettes.
Ruby took a threatening step toward Regina. "Lock. Me. Up."
Regina didn't flinch. "No. Not with magic."
Ruby's nostrils flared. Regina was unaffected. Ruby didn't scare her . . . but she really didn't want to explain to Henry why she'd injured his friend.
"Look, Ruby," Regina said in the most conciliatory tone she could manage. "Magic is extremely unpredictable here. Binding spells are never without their risks, even in the Enchanted Forest, and, here, well, for all I know it could kill you."
"And," Regina said in a lighter tone, "as previously stated, I don't want to kill you." She gave Ruby a wry smile.
Ruby let out a sigh of desperation and ran her hand through her hair.
Before Belle and Regina knew what had happened, they were shackled together around a support beam.
"Ruby?" Belle exclaimed.
Regina was disgusted with herself for letting her guard down around someone who was obviously not thinking clearly. She looked at Ruby, her patience gone. "Stop being stupid and let us out of these chains," she said critically.
"I am not being stupid," Ruby snapped. "I am a monster. And maybe I need to do the right thing and let someone put me down."
"Ruby," Regina pleaded despite herself, "that is most decidedly not the right thing. You were framed. You haven't hurt anyone."
"Not yet," Ruby said, heading toward the door. "And, with any luck, I won't have the chance."
"Sorry, Belle," she tossed over her shoulder before leaving them alone in the library.
Belle looked at Regina, looked at the chains, and then looked back at the door. "You have got to be joking."
"I've said that to myself so many times lately that the phrase has lost its meaning," Regina muttered as she sat down on the floor and attempted to make herself comfortable.
"You're not going to magic us out of this?" Belle looked down at her incredulously.
"No," Regina replied.
"But—"
"I made a promise to Henry not to use unnecessary magic, and I intend to keep that promise," Regina was tired of justifying her decisions to these people. People, that, as usual, just wanted something from her.
"Surely, he would understand," Belle persisted.
"Maybe he would," Regina said. "And I'm sure that I am the last person you want to be chained to, but we are not in danger; we are just inconvenienced." As she said this, she pulled out her cell phone.
"Wonderful!" Belle exclaimed at the sight of the phone. She sat down beside Regina instantly restored to her natural cheerfulness. "Who are you going to call to let us out?"
Regina raised an eyebrow at Belle. Did this slip of a girl ever listen? Really, what did Rumpel see in her? I guess she has that whole bright-eyed, hopeful, innocent thing going. Like Bambi. Regina cracked a smile at the visual of Rumpel romancing a deer, before answering her fellow captive. "I'm not. Like I said, we are not in any physical danger, but Ruby is. I'm texting David to let him know that she is on the loose and being a suicidal moron and to ask him to give me a call when that situation is under control."
"Why not ask him to, oh, I don't know, come release us?"
Feisty, Regina thought. I like her better already. "Because then his hero complex wouldn't know which damsel to focus on—Ruby or you—and, given that we don't know who framed Ruby, I don't want his attention divided when he needs to protect Ruby and catch a murderer. When he calls later, I'll ask him to come by with a key."
If Belle was surprised at Regina's thoughtfulness toward her former enemies, she was wise enough not to comment.
xxxxx
After an hour sitting on the floor next to the woman who kept her imprisoned for over three decades in multiple dimensions, Belle finally broke the silence, "What did I do to make you hate me so much?"
Regina groaned. One heart-to-heart was more than enough for her for one day. "You can't really be that narcissistic? You were nothing more than a chess piece to me. Necessary, acceptable collateral damage," she looked at Belle unapologetically. "But you already knew that," Regina accused her.
Belle nodded. "I still don't understand it though."
"Well, if you're true love—" Regina spat the phrase venomously— "hasn't explained it to you, then it seems unlikely that you ever will." More calmly, she said, "So I'd get used to confusion, if I were you."
A couple moments of uneasy silence later, Belle said, "You are the reason that Ruby was asking me weird questions about Rumpelstiltskin returning magic to Storybrooke."
Regina debated the wisdom of confirming or denying Belle's statement. She could tell by the way Belle spoke his name that, whatever the current status of their relationship, Belle's allegiance was undeniably with Rumpel.
And therefore not with her.
On the other hand, what was the point of lying if Belle had already figured out that Ruby was, however temporarily, working with her?
So, Regina remained silent. After all, the beautiful bookworm hadn't actually asked her a question.
It had been a long time since Regina had wished for a man to rescue her, but she had to admit, any time David was ready to show up with a key was fine by her. Her only consolation was that Henry was spending the evening with Grumpy, and, despite her differences with the dwarf, he would guard Henry with his life. At least she knew he was safe.
"I told Ruby everything I know," Belle offered.
"Good for you," Regina said indifferently. Belle might run off and tell Rumpel about the questions they'd been asking, but at least she wouldn't know how important they considered her answers.
xxxxx
Regina was fighting back her panic. That insipid girl had proceeded to tell her everything she knew about the return of magic to Storybrooke. For the life of her, Regina couldn't figure out why. Maybe she hoped to get information by giving it. Or maybe she was just passing the time and torturing Regina with the sound of her voice.
Either way, at this point, Regina was focusing on regulating her breathing. She was still determined to show a façade of indifference to her former prisoner, even though she felt as far from indifferent as possible.
He wouldn't. It was so dangerous. Such an unstable basis on which to overlay a magical grid. Belle had to be mistaken.
Who was she kidding? Of course he would. Rumpelstiltskin had been the Dark One for centuries. He would do anything to retain that power. He hardly knew who he was without it.
But it was so reckless.
And if what Belle was saying was true . . . then that would mean that what had happened with David's magic in the forest this morning was . . . no, she had to be wrong.
But she wasn't. She knew she wasn't. And confirming it would be simple enough.
What was she going to do? She had promised Henry that she would work to get Emma and Snow back.
But that was before she knew the cost would be this high.
xxxxx
"David!" Regina exclaimed as the door to the library finally opened. "Thank God!" she said as she stood and began brushing the dust off her clothes.
Her relief was short-lived, however, as she observed David's posture—utterly defeated.
This was not a good day for Operation Boomerang.
She was hinging on the edge of panicked hysteria, and the hopeful prince appeared to be in the throes of despair.
Her panic could wait.
"David?" Regina asked tentatively.
He shook his head briefly. He could not talk about it. To say the words out loud . . . it was too much. He silently unlocked the shackles.
"Are you all right?" he asked Belle. He couldn't look at Regina yet. She would see right through him.
"Yeah," Belle replied, sensing that something was wrong. She didn't know these people well, but she could tell that something was off with the acting sheriff. She flicked her gaze between David and Regina and said, "I'm going to head to the diner. Check in on Granny and Red. Maybe get another hamburger. Lock up when you're done?"
David gave her a hollow smile and a nod of affirmation before she let herself out of the library.
He finally turned to look at Regina, who was stretching and rubbing her wrists.
Instantly concerned, he took her wrists in his hands, inspecting them. "Are you hurt?"
Affected by his demonstration of concern for her well-being—and noticing the recurrence of the crackling magic between them—she gently shook her head, "No."
"Good," he said, allowing her wrists to drop to her sides and his defeated attitude to return.
"David," she turned his face gently toward hers. "What happened?"
He reached up to grasp her hand and held it. The magic popped and crackled, but now that he knew to expect it, it wasn't uncomfortable, exactly. He might even describe it as pleasant.
"Ruby is okay," he told her. Regina let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Apparently, she'd begun to care about the young, lost, wolf-woman.
"No one else was hurt." He had to focus on that. George hadn't been able to injure or kill anyone else since he and Granny discovered Red's cloak and the murder weapon in his car.
Regina stepped closer to him and rubbed small circles on his hands with her thumbs. "Good. It sounds like you did your job, Sheriff," she tried to comfort him, still uncertain about the source of his deep unhappiness.
She realized a moment too late that she had said the exact wrong words to make David feel better. He released her hands and ran his through his hair, throwing his arms outward in complete frustration.
"But I haven't," he exclaimed. "I have failed everyone."
Regina was startled by his sudden outburst, and she suspected that he was overreacting. She also knew, however, that this poor man had been under extra-ordinary pressure since the breaking of the—her—curse and that this minor breakdown was overdue, so she stood quietly as he gave voice to his fears and self-flagellation.
"These people were counting on me," he said. "They were counting on me to keep them safe and to bring back their real leader, because, let's face it," he scoffed. "I'm just a stand-in for Snow. I'm a shepherd who never should have worn a crown or been permitted to lead anyone besides sheep."
"And I've failed them." His anger suddenly left him, and he sagged against the reading table.
His voice cracked with restrained tears, "I've failed them. I've failed my wife. And I've failed my daughter." He looked at Regina through glassy eyes. "I missed twenty-eight years. I finally had the opportunity to help my little girl, and I've failed her."
Regina couldn't take it anymore. She strode over to the Shepherd Prince, perched next to him on the table, and pulled him into her arms. She held him firmly as he cried, kissing his hair and holding him as though he was an oversized version of her own son. She ignored the magic humming between them as sobs wrecked David's body.
Here, up close and personal, was the result of her curse-casting. The kindest, most generous person she knew was devastated by the loss of his family, by time irretrievably lost.
She had never loathed herself more.
An indeterminate amount of time later, when his sobs had quieted and his breathing had evened out, he pulled himself into an upright position, sitting next to her on the library table.
Holding her hands, he said, "Thank you."
But I'm the one that did this to you, she thought. Instead, she replied, "I think you were overdue for a minor meltdown."
He gave her a weak smile, "Yeah."
She hated to press the issue, but it sounded like whatever had happened to David that night had magnified their Operation Boomerang problems—problems that had already been pushing her into near hysteria before his arrival.
"David," she said, squeezing his hands. "What happened? It sounds like you think we've lost our opportunity to get Emma and Snow back." She hoped that saying his fear for him would make it easier for him to give her the facts of the situation.
Still upset, but grateful for the chance to discuss the retrieval of his family on a strategic and intellectual level, rather than an emotional one, he said, "King George—Albert Spencer—he framed Ruby."
He met Regina's gaze. "He framed Ruby, stole the hat, and burnt it. In front of me. And I could do nothing."
Regina felt sick to her stomach as the prince's words echoed against memories carefully repressed. This story was too familiar.
"If I had only learned more magic, or killed him when I had the chance, if—"
"No," she said quietly, but with authority. "Don't think like that. Don't torture yourself with possibilities that no longer exist."
The intensity in her gaze bored straight to his soul. "Someday," she told him, "we will have a discussion about how dangerous and destructive your current thinking is." She placed a hand over his heart. His good, strong heart. "But for now, you need to take my word for it. Don't wonder about what might have been."
The religious fervor dissipated from her voice, and she continued in her more familiar, logical tone, "You did what you could. If you had known that George was that insane, you would have done things differently. But you didn't, and he's a psychopath. And that, dear, is not your fault."
David's curiosity was piqued through his despair as he once again wondered what had happened in this beautiful woman's past to wound her so deeply. Tonight, though, his curiosity could not shake off his melancholy. "What do I say when I tell the town that I've lost our chance to get back their beloved Queen and Princess?" Regina was the most gifted politician he knew. If she couldn't phrase his announcement in a way that would prevent mass panic, then it wasn't possible.
Regina ignored the twinge she felt at the phrase 'beloved Queen' and lightly teased, "Well, definitely not that."
Her lame attempt at humor was rewarded with a brief, surprised laugh from David.
This was the moment. Should she tell him that his chance to regain his family was not destroyed with the hat?
She would be risking everything with such a declaration.
But she would restore his hope.
Or, should she tell him that she is sure that Emma and Snow are fine and safe in the Enchanted Forest and that he should let go and move on with his life?
Condemning him to a life of regret and self-loathing. A life she understood far too well.
She observed the man in front of her and felt the crackling of magic beneath her fingers where she touched him—a crackling that seemed to mirror the confused whirl of feelings inside her. What should she do? Everything she ever wanted was within her grasp. Snow and Emma would be gone for good, and Henry wouldn't be able to blame her. She could have her son back in every sense.
And this broken man . . . maybe they could continue their friendship—or whatever it was—a friendship that would certainly end with the return of Snow White and Emma Swan.
But could she do that to him? Take away his family? Again? Now that she knew how little he deserved it? His despair pulled at her heart.
Heaven help her. She wasn't just doing this for Henry anymore, was she?
xxxxx
A/N: All right. We're starting to get to the crux of the matter, folks. It's probably going to be a few days before my next update—my three dimensional life requires my attention—but I would love to know what y'all think in the meantime. This chapter gave me difficulty, so feedback is welcome. I'm particularly uncomfortable with romance scenes, so encouragement from you EC shippers would be great!
I do try to incorporate requests, when I can do it well enough. Thanks again to all who have reviewed so far, including guest reviewers—I hate that I can't reply directly! Without you, at least 20,000 of these words would be abandoned on my hard drive.