I know this chapter is super short, but it's a bridge to the next, which I've almost finished. Thanks to my new beta, Michebellaxo for making my life a little easier, and thank you to all of you wonderful people who continue to read, follow and review my story! I've been on a writing kick lately because of you, so expect to see several new chapters for all of my stories soon. :)

Holiday Spirit

Chapter 14

Four days. Four days, and Storybrooke was still living a future that no one remembered. At least in that amount of time, people had begun re-establishing routines and the town had largely stopped blaming Regina for their current circumstances. They'd all quickly grown fond of the new children scattered through the town, and though home situations for almost everyone were uncomfortable and strange, some people had begun adjusting.

Emma and Neal seemed to have worked out many of their issues and were now able to bear sharing an apartment. After his initial shock, Neal had taken immediately to Olivia, and the two were now very nearly inseparable.

David and Regina had seemed to work out a decent schedule as well. He'd be there in the morning not too long after the children had awoken to share breakfast with them and spend the majority of the day with them. Even when he wasn't, he made sure he was there to tuck them into bed before he headed to Granny's for the night.

It was he and Snow who hadn't been able to find a groove. The first night had mostly been spent on conversation. They'd talked about Regina, the children, her stranger husband and the apparent father of her unborn child. He'd explained what he knew about what had happened; Henry's wish and the woman he and Regina had encountered outside the diner. The news hadn't seemed to put her mind at ease.

After that, there wasn't much more they had to say. They'd lain awkwardly next to each other, not touching and not sleeping. Snow still felt the traces of anger that David seemed to have taken to his new family so quickly, and David felt uncomfortable around her knowing that she was carrying another man's child. They both knew it wasn't the others fault, but something between them had shifted.

No one knew how long it would last. Days, weeks, months… As awkward as Snow had felt about it, she'd started meeting her new husband for meals. David spent his meals at the Mill's mansion, and she needed a distraction. More than that, she thought as long as they were all stuck in this future, she might as well get to know the father of her child. There was no point in making herself more miserable by isolating herself, and in case this curse or whatever the woman claimed it was lasted years, or – god forbid, indefinitely – she wasn't going to raise a child alone and without its father. The least they could do was become friends.

David found himself not minding as much as he would have thought. He expected pangs of jealousy and anger to fill him when Snow told him she'd been spending time with another man, but instead, he felt relief. Instead of nights with his wife, David found himself looking forward to the morning when he could see his family again.

His family.

He'd now completely embraced the children as his own, and he'd continued to watch Regina with amazement, his ideas and opinions of her changing dramatically through the days as he watched her be a mother to his children; to their children.

These were the thoughts currently plaguing him on the fifth night as he lay staring up at the ceiling. Nights with Snow had become an obligation and nothing more. They hardly spoke. They'd take turns readying for bed and then lie underneath the covers on opposite sides of the bed.

He couldn't tell if Snow was asleep yet or not. They'd been in bed for a few hours now and hadn't said anything. She'd shifted a few times in an attempt to get comfortable, but it was something she could be doing in her sleep. He used to know when she was awake; could sense her thinking even when she was silent, but not now. They'd been out of sync since waking up in this new world. If he allowed himself to be honest, they hadn't been in sync since Neverland, and he was beginning to wonder if they ever would be again. They'd been fighting before the magic had separated them, and they seemed to be slipping further and further away even as they slept next to one another.

His cell phone rang shrilly and he and Snow both jolted. She rolled over to look at him, and he knew she hadn't been sleeping either. She wore a curious expression, eyes narrowed at the late night phone call. Concern bubbled in him when he glanced at the clock and noticed midnight had passed and they were now in the early morning hours. Calls at this time never meant anything good.

Concern turned to paralyzing fear as he lifted his phone to see it was Regina calling. Heart racing, he hit the answer button and lifted it to his ear.

"What's wrong?"

Snow watched as David shot up off the bed, reaching for the jacket he'd thrown over the back of the desk chair. Even as he listened to a frantic Regina on the other end, he pulled his boots on and awkwardly slid his jacket right over the top of his pajamas.

"I'll be right there. No. Yes. I'm on my way."

He slid his phone into his coat pocket and pulled out his keys.

"David?" Snow sat up a bit more and leaned against the headboard. "Where are you going? It's the middle of the night. Is everything okay?"

"No," David said simply. "Isabella's in the hospital. I…" he paused in the doorway and looked back at her. "I've gotta go. I'm sorry." Without waiting for a response, he was pulling the door shut behind him and she heard his hurried steps fade down the hallway.