A/N: Here's the next chapter. It's not the last, or even second to last, one. I'll let you know when we get to the second to last chapter.

I hope you enjoy!

xxxxx

Grumpy exchanged an uncomfortable look with Henry. The two stood, stunned, in the living room of the Evil Queen. Who was asleep in the arms of Prince Charming.

Grumpy cleared his throat and clapped Henry on the shoulder. "Good luck with this, kid," he said and headed to the door.

"You're leaving?" Henry cried in disbelief.

Grumpy laughed, "Oh yeah," he replied. "No way am I going to deal with this," he gestured to the pair on the couch. Astrid is going to have a field day when I tell her about this. "See ya," he said and closed the door behind him.

"No fair," Henry grumbled under his breath. Might as well wake them up, he thought. He was hungry.

Just as he was about to shake his mom awake, he looked over them again. It was actually kind of nice. His mom's face wasn't so . . . stiff. It was peaceful. Kind of sad, but still peaceful. And his grandfather's face looked relaxed, but determined, even in sleep. And with their arms and legs intertwined like that, it was like they were competing to see who would protect the other.

Impulsively, Henry pulled out his phone and took their picture. He wasn't sure why he did it, but it seemed like something he should do. Then, he put his phone away and gently shook his mother's shoulder. "Mom," he said softly, and then louder, "Mom."

Regina stirred with her eyes closed, "Henry?"

"Wake up, Mom," Henry ordered.

Regina started to stretch and became confused as her awareness returned. Something heavy was limiting her movements. Something heavy . . and something warm . . . and something that was causing a magical buzz at their points of contact? Oh dear.

Her eyes snapped open, and she tried to extract herself from David's embrace as quickly and gracefully as possible. Which, as it turned out, was not possible. Somehow, they had effectively tied themselves together with the afghan through whatever series of turns they had made in their sleep. Wonderful. Regina would have smacked herself in the head if she could move either of her arms.

She looked disbelievingly at her son before turning to David. "David," she said. When he just hummed in response and held her tighter, her eyes went wide and she snapped at him, "David! Wake up."

"Regina," his sleepy voice was nearly a whine. Couldn't she let him have five more minutes? He was so tired.

"David," she stated firmly. "You have to wake up. Henry is here, and he's ready for breakfast." And I refuse to deal with this compromising situation alone.

The edge in her voice, more than the content of her words, penetrated the dream-induced fog of his mind, and David forced himself awake.

"Henry," David said, attempting to sound normal. "Hi," he cleared his throat and, like Regina, attempted to subtly remove himself from their cozy position. Also like Regina, however, he quickly discovered that the warm and comfortable afghan was their new nemesis.

He then looked down at the woman in his arms. She looked simultaneously amused and exasperated. Adorable. He had the sudden impulse to kiss her, but he fought back the urge. Even without Henry present, his overtures might not be appreciated. With Henry present, well, he'd be taking his life into his hands. He settled for matching her wry grin with one of his own and said, "Maybe if we sit up together?"

Regina nodded, "Good idea."

They awkwardly leveraged themselves into a seated position and began scrambling out of the afghan and away from each other, all under the keenly critical gaze of Henry. He'd seen his mother use this look when she wanted answers from people or to make them feel ashamed. This seemed like an entertaining moment to imitate her. It was fun making grown-ups feel uncomfortable. Especially his mom. Because she was never uncomfortable.

"Mom!" Henry exclaimed, as he saw the bruises on her neck, which had begun to turn purple.

"It's all right, Henry," she told him, reaching for his hand. "Unfortunately, they are going to look a lot worse before they start to look better. So, don't get worried when they turn completely purple and then green. That's just how bruises heal." She squeezed his hand and gave him a comforting smile to try to convince him. "I'll be fine," she assured him. "He just had a rather tight grip for a minute there," she tried to make light of the situation.

"I know. I saw," Henry said, still not sure if he really thought his mom was okay.

"You saw?" Regina replied, shocked and appalled. "How much did you see?" she shook his hand when he refused to meet her eyes. "Henry?"

Henry resolutely stared at his shoes. "All of it."

Horrified, Regina looked at David, who also looked concerned, but curious. What had happened that Regina was so concerned about Henry witnessing it?

Regina recovered from her shock. She shouldn't have been surprised that Henry had been eavesdropping; she just didn't think he would have been able to do it that successfully. "Henry?" she asked quietly. "Are you okay?"

When she heard a small sniffle from her son, she pulled him onto her lap and gently rocked him. "It's okay, Henry," she murmured. "We're okay."

"I thought you were going to let him strangle you," Henry said.

"Oh, Henry," Regina replied. "I know it looked scary, but I would never let anyone take me away from you," she told him with conviction. "I think my performance at the town hall kind of proves that, don't you?" she gave him a teasing, yet reassuring, grin, which widened when he smiled and nodded back.

"Okay," she said. "How about I make us all some breakfast, and then I'll try to answer the questions you must have about yesterday?"

Henry's nod was more enthusiastic this time, and David's stomach chose that moment to grumble, conveniently breaking the tension with their laughter.

xxxxx

"Regina," David said, "this hollandaise is amazing."

"Thank you," Regina replied, pleased. She knew that Henry loved her eggs benedict, so she always kept the ingredients stocked.

"May I have another one, Mom? Please," Henry whined a little. He wasn't usually allowed seconds of something so rich, but he hadn't eaten much the day before—he had been too worried.

"Okay, Henry," Regina said, taking a quick bite of fruit before returning to the kitchen with Henry's plate.

When she returned, she had to repress a smile. David was looking at her with puppy-dog eyes over a clean plate. "I suppose you want another one too?" she asked with the attitude of someone being imposed upon.

David jutted out his lower lip in a pout and nodded.

She held her hand out for his plate, still feigning irritation, though her lips were twitching from the effort of suppressing a grin.

At this, David's pout turned into a broad smile that remained on his face after Regina disappeared into the kitchen.

"Hey," Henry quietly, but forcefully demanded David's attention.

"Hey," David whispered back.

Henry carefully observed the look on his grandfather's face. "Do you like my mom?" he asked seriously.

"Of course," David replied. "She's been really helpful the past couple weeks—"

"No," Henry interrupted. "Do you like like her?"

David looked down at his plate, unsure of what to do. David found Henry's penetrating expression to be strangely unnerving, given that his interrogator was only ten.

"You look at her like you do," Henry said, still watching David closely.

David was torn. He didn't want to hide his feelings for Regina, especially from Henry, but he was still married. Also, Regina had said that Henry's emotional stability was paramount to his safety and magical performance . . . but he didn't know which answer would upset the boy the least.

Regina spared him the necessity of answering, however, by returning with his additional serving. David did his best to conceal his relief, but mother and son both noticed and filed the observation away for future reference, though the son had more context for the expression.

Henry tried a different approach. "Mom?" he asked after she sat down. "Why were you sleeping with David?"

Regina sputtered, nearly choking on her coffee. She was fairly confident that her son did not know the alternative meaning for the phrase "sleeping with," but hearing it still conjured some highly inappropriate thoughts and images.

Quickly regaining her composure, though not as quickly regaining the ability to breathe properly or speak, Regina finally responded. "Well, Henry," she said, "I was really upset yesterday, so David gave me a hug. And I guess he was still hugging me when we fell asleep." There, she thought. I told the truth. It may be an oversimplification, but it's the truth.

Henry supposed her explanation made sense, but he didn't think that was the whole story. He'd never seen anyone else hold him mom like that. Well, except for the man from yesterday.

"Who was the man in the stables?" Henry asked.

Regina carefully set down her coffee and took a fortifying breath. She was trying to win back her son. How could she expect him to love her if she didn't let him know her, even a little bit?

"His name was Daniel," she said. "He was my fiancé."

She looked up to see twin expressions of shock on David and Henry's faces. Surprised, she asked David, "You don't know this?"

David shook his head. Fiancé? This must have something to do with Snow saying she ruined Regina's life.

"I thought Snow would have told you," Regina commented.

"She didn't," he replied.

"Fiancé?" Henry asked. "Why didn't you get married?"

"He died," Regina said, detached.

"But yesterday . . ." Henry was confused. If he had died, why was he in the stables yesterday?

"Dr. Whale brought him back to life," Regina stated. But that was the end of the story. She supposed they deserved to hear the beginning. Or the middle. Or the first end, depending on your perspective.

Clinically, she summarized this episode of her particular tragedy. "Daniel worked in our stables, when I was young. We fell in love, but we hid our relationship, knowing that my mother would never approve." She examined her fingernails, avoiding both Henry and David's expressions. "Then, my mother arranged for me to marry the king." She decided to leave Snow out of the story. She couldn't bear it if Henry took the side of his biological family over her. Not today.

She took a sip of coffee. Caffeine was hardly a nerve steadier, but picking up the cup gave her something to do with her hands.

"Daniel and I decided to run away together, but, before we could, my mother uncovered our plans." Regina's matter-of-fact tone chilled both David and Henry as they awaited the horrid end of her tale.

"She came to see us in the stables," Regina said blandly. "She pretended to give us her blessing." It was as if she had completely disassociated. "And then she ripped Daniel's heart out of his chest and crushed it."

She cleared her throat and glanced at her listeners. Henry looked shocked. David looked like he was going to be ill. She decided to share some of the more mundane details while they recovered. "I used magic for the first time that night. I performed a preservation spell on his body and hid it."

She turned her attention to David, "I think Whale, in a twisted way, was actually trying to do me a favor—probably hoping I'd do something for him in return, I'm sure. He stole Daniel's body, one of my hearts, and resurrected him."

"But," she said, her detached façade cracking, "it wasn't really him." She stopped speaking. She didn't want to cry in front of her son, and if she said another word, she was going to choke on her own tears.

"It was for a little while," Henry said. "He said that he loved you, and that you had the most ability to love of anyone he'd ever met. And he told you to love again." While he was talking, Henry had walked around the table to stand next to his mother. "He loves you, and he wants you to be happy," he told her seriously and then gave her a hug.

Moments later, when Regina was once again in complete control of her responses, she murmured, "Thank you, Henry," and stood up to clear the plates. Before she could grab a dish, however, David had sprung from his seated position and enveloped her in a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry, Regina," he whispered intensely into her hair.

Conscious of her son's presence and uncomfortable receiving so much compassion in one month, let alone one morning, Regina awkwardly returned his hug and then extricated herself, returning to her intention of clearing the plates.

"Well, you knew it wasn't going to be pleasant," she said. "Only damaged people cast dark curses."

"Henry," David said without removing his eyes from Regina. "Make yourself scarce."

Regina sighed and took the dishes into the kitchen while Henry huffed in aggravation and left the room as well.

A moment later, David followed Henry around to the other entrance to the kitchen, where he was settled in to eavesdrop. "Your room, Henry. Now."

Seeing the stubborn set of his grandfather's chin, Henry sulked. "Fine," he said and stalked up the stairs.

David smiled at his grandson's frustration. During moments like these, he could tell they were related. He then schooled his features into a slightly stern expression. He was about to scold an Evil Queen. He must be insane.

"Regina," he said, as she continued to wash dishes. "I wish you wouldn't talk about yourself like that."

"Like what?" she asked, more concerned with scrubbing the pot in which she'd made the hollandaise than with the prince's irritation.

"Like you don't matter," David replied, invading her personal space and turning off the sink.

Regina looked at the remaining dirty dishes, including the one in her head, and turned a critical eye to David. "Are you volunteering to finish washing these?" The question was simple, but her tone was threatening.

"You are not some 'damaged person,' Regina," David said earnestly, taking the dishtowel from her hands to hold them. "You are you. And you've been hurt, but don't include yourself in some clichéd group. You're so much more than that."

"What I am, David," she snapped and yanked her hands away, "is a woman that can't press charges against the man that caused me to kill my true love, because he broke into and entered a vault that contains an uncountable number of dark magical objects that I don't want this town to know about, including, but not limited to, so many hearts that I don't know who all the owners are."

Her rage at this man's presumption to know her was fading into desperation. How could she ever have hoped to redeem herself? Her crimes were far too heavy; her choices unconscionable. There were some paths that you just couldn't come back from.

"I am irredeemable," she looked at him sadly. "I know you think you love me," she said, placing a hand on his cheek. "And maybe you do—but you shouldn't."

"Regina," David protested.

"I know why the magic knew I'd fall in love with you," she interrupted.

Surprise lit David's features. She spoke like she was certain that she did or would love him. This was the first time she'd admitted as much.

She looked at him compassionately. "You are a good man, David," she said. "In some ways, you are so like Daniel that it scares me . . . " Her voice trailed off, and then she recollected herself. "But you are definitely your own man. And you deserve a good woman. You deserve someone like—" her breath hitched—"like, Snow."

As he shook his head, she replied to his unstated rebuttal, "I know this true love magic we have between us is quite the complicating factor, but it will go away as soon as the feelings do." She gazed at him intently. "You fell in love with her once. When she's back, and we're spending less time together, you can do it again. As is the natural order of things." This man deserved so much more than her.

David shook his head at her and stepped even closer to her, their bodies now brushing together. "Oh, Regina," he sighed. He wrapped one arm around her waist, and used his other hand to caress the side of her face and brush his thumb gently across her cheekbone. "I disagree with so much of that, I don't even know where to start."

"You are redeemable," he said. At her disbelieving look, he continued, "You're right that I don't know the extent of your crimes. And you're right that you've done things that you can never take back. But, Regina, you are not the same woman you were two weeks ago. You've already come so far from the angry woman that kidnapped her son in the middle of a town meeting. I know it must be hard, and I know that there is no way for me to know how hard it is. But you're doing so well. Don't give up." He looked at her intently. "You are worth fighting for."

Regina had gone very still during David's impassioned speech. She was ashamed of how desperately she wanted to believe him.

When he felt that his words had been absorbed by the statue-like queen, David said, "To your other points. First of all, I'm honored that you compared me to Daniel. I'd like to hear more about him sometime, if you'd like to tell me."

Regina gave him a tight smile, once again reigning in tears. "I'd like that," she whispered to him, finally mirroring his embrace by placing her hands on his shoulders. She'd never told anyone, except Snow White, anything about Daniel or her love for him. It would be nice to share his memory with someone who knew how much it meant to her.

"Good," he said, placing a kiss to her forehead. "Secondly, I can understand why you wouldn't believe in the steadfastness of my feelings for you, what with Prince Charming's history with Snow White and David Nolan's history with Kathryn and Mary Margaret and—almost—you." He gave her a smirk as he alluded to the night, not too long ago, when she tried to seduce him.

"But," he continued, "My feelings aren't as changeable as you think. The situation with Kathryn, as you know, was induced by the curse. And, when it comes to my relationship with Snow, you are just as ill-informed as Henry—thinking that the beginning and the end of our story is true love's kiss." He gave her a reprimanding look. "You should know better than anyone that relationships and people are never as simple as they seem."

"I'm sure that, if Snow and I had stayed in the Enchanted Forest and raised Emma, we would have been a happy family," David said. "But, I'm also sure that Emma wouldn't have spoken her first full sentence before Snow and I agreed to a more . . . pragmatic view of our marriage."

Regina's arched an eyebrow at this. The poster couple for Happily Ever After would have headed for separate bedrooms? How could that be possible?

"Regina," David sighed. "All I ever wanted growing up was a family. I've never been an ambitious man. I just wanted to work the farm to support and love my wife and my children. That's all."

Regina was enthralled. She never would have suspected that she'd have so much in common with Snow White's husband.

"I never wanted the crown, and I certainly never wanted authority. And when I met Snow, I thought, well, I thought that maybe I could marry for love and still fulfill my responsibility to my people."

"But Snow," David paused, unsure how to proceed. "It's not that she didn't want a family or that she didn't love me or that she doesn't love Emma, but she didn't want a partner." He looked at Regina. Was he making any sense? "We rarely made decisions together. We didn't discuss what to do or how to do it. She might let me say my piece, but she would always do what she thought best, regardless of my opinion or my feelings. She sought Rumpelstiltskin's advice—told him Emma's name—against my express wishes. And I didn't even know we were having a girl! She just never treated me as her equal. At best, I was her favorite sidekick. Though, that title might actually belong to Ruby," he admitted with a mirthless chuckle.

"With you," he said intently, savoring the feel of her within his arms, "You treat me like I can contribute, like you value my opinion and my abilities. And, goodness, Regina, when you confide in me, when you let me support you, I feel honored that you trust me in that way."

Regina was spellbound and frozen in place. If not for the magical hum buzzing between them, David would have thought she was a sculpture.

Too many thoughts warred for prominence in Regina's mind. Snow White and Prince Charming would have stopped working even without her interference? Not that anyone in town—or Henry—would ever believe that. David just wanted a family. Like her. And they work so well together. But she loved Daniel. Who had told her to love again. But what if her mother rose from the dead, came to Storybrooke, and ripped out David's heart? Ludicrous—Cora was dead—but could she trust herself not to unleash her grief in torrents of pain on everyone in Storybrooke? Could she be Henry's mom and risk this kind of loss again?

Regina's eyes went wide with fear, and she wretched herself from his grasp. In a disinterested, patronizing tone he recognized from Mayor Mills, she said, "Well, it sounds like you and Snow will have a lot to work out when she comes back."

"Regina," David bit back his irritation. He didn't need Archie's curse-induced medical knowledge to recognize her fear of getting hurt. Recognizing that fear, however, didn't make it any less frustrating to deal with. Seeing her mayorial mask firmly in place, he sighed. "Fine," he said. If she wanted to close off, he couldn't stop her. It didn't mean that he was going to stop demonstrating his sincerity, though. He took two long strides forward and kissed her solidly on the lips. Then, just as abruptly, he turned to face the sink.

"I'll finish the dishes," he stated. "You might want to go check on Henry, who, hopefully, is still in his room angry at me for banishing him there."

Unaccustomed to taking orders, but eager to remove herself from David's confusing presence, Regina mutely left the kitchen.

xxxxx

Henry was so excited. His mom said he could help with Operation Boomerang! He was going to help get his mom and Snow back. And she was going to teach him some magic! And not evil magic, but good magic. Like a beacon, she said. So that Snow and Emma could find their way back to Storybrooke.

He was the Boomerang Beacon!

He knew he could do it. Just like he knew he could find Emma in Boston. He always knew he was a hero. After all, he was the grandson of Snow White and Prince Charming, and the son of the Savior. That couldn't be for nothing, right?

xxxxx

Regina came back downstairs. She had left Henry scouring his Book for details about magic before their first lesson later.

She sighed. He was so excited. And he hadn't even used magic yet. What would happen once he felt that power? Would he be able to leave it behind?

She tried to shake off the sense of foreboding. She couldn't go back now, not now that she'd told him.

Which, if she was being honest with herself, was why she hadn't waited any longer to do it. The 'wrong thing' was always so tempting.

She heard David putting the remaining dishes away in the kitchen.

At least Henry performing the spell meant she wouldn't have to see David as much, and hopefully never alone. No good could come from their continued association. He may think the true love magic meant they should try to be together, but she knew the truth; it meant that they needed to stop whatever it was immediately.

There was no happy ending for them. He was just confused and letting the magic go to his head.

Luckily for the both of them, she'd been subjected to magic much longer. All this magic meant was that, when Prince Charming woke up from this shared dream of theirs—probably by Snow White's kiss upon her return home—she would be devastated, rather than merely hurt.

That was, of course, assuming she would even be around to see it.

xxxxx

A/N: I know I'm not the first, and I'm sure I won't be the last to use the "they wake up in each other's arms" plot device, but can you really blame me? It's just so much fun.

Reviews, as always, are appreciated and helpful. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far—it means a lot to me.

I'll try to have the next chapter up within a week, but I can't promise. Life is getting hectic . . . .