A/N: I would like to thank FaerieTales4ever for getting rid of any mistakes and I would also like to thank those who have favourited, followed and reviewed.

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Snow was hyperventilating. Regina could feel her shaking and she knew she was on the verge of having a panic attack. She knew they needed to slow down and stop, but Daniel was showing no signs of doing so anytime soon.

"It's ok, Snow. This will all be behind us soon. Just breath, honey." She tried to soothe the girl, who was still clinging to her, before looking up and ahead at Daniel. "Daniel! Stop!"

"We can't, Regina! They'll be after us. The huntsman said he would catch up." he yelled over his shoulder.

"I'm not worried about him," Regina dismissed quickly. "Something's wrong with Snow."

Regina let out a sigh of relief when Daniel stopped abruptly whilst she did the same. She watched as Daniel jumped down from the horse and sprinted over to them.

Once he got to them, he held his arms out and looked between Regina and Snow. "Pass her down to me." he requested. His own breathing was choppy, and he could feel his heart racing from the adrenaline that was pumping through his body.

Regina carefully extracted Snow from her arms and held her by the waist so she could give her to Daniel, who held her comfortably on his hip. "Snow, sweethear, you have to calm down. You'll pass out if you don't breathe properly," he warned softly as he swiped her curly locks away from her sweaty forehead, only to see tears streaming down her blotchy face.

Regina gasped at the sight of the child and jumped down from the horse so that she now stood beside Daniel. She began stroking the girl's back as Snow hid her face in Daniel's neck and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Shhh. Shh. That's it. Breathe. You're safe now. We've got you," Daniel whispered as he swayed gently. Regina smiled at the sight of the two together; she knew Daniel would make a great father. She could just picture how overprotective he would be of Snow as well as any other children they might have in the future.

It took five minutes for Snow to calm down enough for Daniel to feel comfortable with putting her down. Not long after, horses hooves were heard rapidly approaching. Daniel rested his hand comfortingly on Snow's head when he felt her hiding behind him.

Of course, there was no need for her weariness. Not a minute later, they saw the huntsman racing toward them, followed by his wolf. He skidded to a stop and looked accusingly between Daniel and Regina. "What are you doing? I told you to keep going!"

Daniel suddenly turned defensive at his tone. "The child couldn't breathe. I'm sorry if that's inconvenient for you," he spat sarcastically. He didn't know what it was, but he didn't like this man.

Regina shot Daniel a warning look before stepping forward. "I apologise for my fiancé's rudeness. It's just the stress talking," she said, hoping that he wouldn't refuse to help them.

The Huntsman grunted and gestured to the idle horses. "I suggest we start to make tracks. The Kings army won't be far behind us." He warned.

Regina turned to Snow and held out her hand. "Come now, sweetheart. We'll be far away soon. They won't ever be able to find us," she promised. She frowned when the child shrunk away from her and buried her face into Daniel's back.

Daniel eyed at Regina's hurt expression before looking down at Snow. "How would you like to ride with me this time?" he suggested and the girl nodded gently. The young man smiled sympathetically at Regina before leading Snow back toward his horse.

Once the three were situated on their steeds, The Huntsman rode to the front of the convoy before calling over his shoulder, "If you do as I say, I will be able to get you out of the kingdom in two days."

Regina replied with, "We have to get my father before we leave! I promised him!"

The Huntsman sighed and rolled his eyes. Jacob owed him big time.

XXX

"Daddy! Daddy!" Regina yelled as she jumped off her horse and raced towards her father's cottage. Luckily, Henry recognised her, as she and Daniel had gone to let him know of their plan to get into the palace so he had seen the disguises Blue gave them.

"Regina?! Oh thank God! Is it done?! Did you save her?!" Henry fired off, relieved to see his daughter safe and well, but also anxious as to whether or not their plan was successful.

"We've got her, Daddy. But...but we have to leave the kingdom right away so...so gather your belongings," she explained.

At his daughter's command, Henry hurried back into his home. Within ten minutes he was back, with his belongings in tow. Whilst he was inside, Regina had tacked up his horse for him so there was no time wasted there.

"Are we ready now?" The huntsman's exasperated voice came from behind them. It would be dark by the time they got to a safe place to set up camp, a task that would no doubt be tricky with a young child and an old man getting in the way.

"Ready," Daniel confirmed before following after the huntsman with Regina and her father not far behind.

XXX

It was another two hours of riding through the rough terrain of the woods before the dysfunctional group came across a clearing the huntsman deemed suitable enough to set up camp. Snow had fallen asleep during this time and the horses were coming close to exhaustion themselves, Regina was surprised they had lasted as long as they had without them having to stop.

They all dismounted their horses with Daniel carefully holding Snow, bridal style, without waking her up. "Gina, where do I put her?" he whispered as he gestured to the child in his arms.

"Let me set up a bed for her, then you can tuck her in, huh, Papa Bear?" She teased before rummaging through their luggage to find something that could make up a comfortable enough bed for their princess.

Daniel was shocked at what Regina had just said. Was he really acting like a father? He thought he was just being a decent human being by caring for Snow. He would love to be the little girls 'Papa' but would she ever accept him as such? After all, her father hadn't exactly given her a good experience of what a real father should be like.

The young man was brought back to reality by Regina, who rested a gentle hand on his forearm. He looked down into her sparkling brown eyes and smiled. "Hi," he whispered, clearing his throat when he noted how dry his mouth had suddenly become.

"Hi back," she replied. "Where did you go?" she asked, a little concerned.

"What? Oh, uh, I was just thinking. Today has just been really, really surreal." He excused his wandering mind.

"That it has," his soon-to-be-wife agreed. "How about you put her down and give the huntsman a hand setting up?" Regina suggested.

He nodded before slowly walking over to the bed she had prepared and laying Snow down gently. He crouched down beside her as he began to 'tuck' her in with a blanket he found nearby. "Good night, my princess," he murmured before bending down and placing a tender kiss on her forehead, which he hoped would be the first of many.

He made sure the little girl was going to stay asleep for the foreseeable future before he got to work setting up a campfire so that they could keep warm throughout the remainder of the night.

Regina watched from a few metres away as Daniel settled Snow in for the night. She swore her heart melted when he kissed her good night. Her soft smile soon faded however, when she remembered how Snow had flinched away from her earlier that afternoon. Had she been too forceful with her when she tried to get her on that horse? Then it hit her...

She had used magic!

The young woman felt like kicking herself. If course Snow would be afraid of her! The first time she was conscious whilst magic wa used in her presence was when Cora had almost killed her!

How could you be so stupid, Regina?! she silently scolded herself as she began laying out beds for everyone else, She's probably terrified of you now! Just like you have been terrified of your own mother for your entire life!

Before she could torture herself anymore, she felt two strong arms wrap around her from behind as a kiss was pressed against her cheek. "Now look whose mind has gone on a walkabout," Daniel quipped in her ear.

Regina closed her eyes and rested her hands on top of his which were covering her stomach. "Like you said, it's been a long day," she returned with a tired voice but Daniel wasn't fooled.

He frowned as he turned her in his arms to face him, a frown that only deepened when she ducked her head to avoid eye contact with him - something she had never done before. He hooked his finger underneath her chin and lifted her head so he could look into her eyes. "Something's troubling you," he murmured holding her head in his protective hands.

"I just realised why Snow shrunk away from me before..." Regina trailed off.

"Oh?" her beloved questioned, not letting go of her head, knowing she would drop her gaze if he did.

"Yeah. Earlier, back at the palace...the King, he almost got Snow and... I don't know what happened but I just felt so angry at the thought of him touching her...I...I...it just sort of burst out of me!" Regina was quickly turning hysterical so Daniel shushed her and rubbed the apples of her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Shhh, Gina. Deep breaths." He soothed and Regina took in deep breaths and nodded once she had calmed down. "Now, what just 'burst' out of you?" he asked gently.

"Magic! It threw the King off his horse and Snow screamed! At first I thought she was just scared because of how close he came to getting to her, but now that I think about it, she was stiff in my arms the whole time we were riding away from the palace! She was scared." Regina sounded defeated and resigned, and the stable boy could tell she was afraid she was becoming her mother.

Daniel chuckled and Regina looked sharply up at him. "What's so funny?" she asked, appalled as he shook his head between chuckles.

"Of course she was scared, honey. She was in the middle of a battle-"

"No, Daniel. She was scared of me. Of my magic!" Regina burst out before he could continue. "She was doing well up until that point. I'm...I'm turning into my mother," she gasped.

"No. Stop this, Regina!" Daniel hissed, not liking the fact that she was torturing herself with all these negative thoughts. "You can never become that woman! I won't let you. Your father won't let you. Snow won't let you, but most importantly you won't let yourself turn into her. You're too strong for that, Gina." He promised her before pulling her firmly into his chest as the stress of the day made itself evident in the sobs she finally let out.

"Shhh. That's it. Let it out. Let it all out." Daniel soothed as he rubbed her back and ran his fingers through her hair. He looked up when he heard footsteps approach. He smiled and nodded to let Henry know that everything was under control when he saw the older man's concerned look.

After a couple of minutes, Regina began to calm down and Daniel could tell that the fight had left her completely. Said fight gave way to exhaustion and he soon found himself holding up all of her body weight. "How about we get to bed, huh?" he suggested in a soft whisper. He felt a soft nod against his front before he kissed the top of her head and lowered her and himself onto the makeshift bed she had made for them.

Once he was lying down on his back, Regina snuggled into his side with her head rested on his toned chest. "Good night, Daniel," he heard his True Love whisper before her breathing evened out, evidence that she had finally fallen asleep.

"Good night, Regina," Daniel replied as he looked around the camp. Snow was still sound asleep close by, Henry was laying down on his own 'bed' reading a book in the dim fire light and the huntsman sat on a large log next the fire - his wolf friend right beside him - and Daniel came to the conclusion that the strange man was planning on keeping watch for the whole night. The stable boy lay there thinking silently to himself until he finally fell asleep, content with the feeling of his arms full of the woman of his dreams.