Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Chapter 9: Snow

April 30th 2013

David groaned when he heard the beep signaling a new text message. Regina had woken several times during the night to shift positions. She had also asked for her pain medication, which had David worried. She had finally gone back to sleep not long ago judging by the soft light flowing through the crack in the curtains.

Regina groaned and stirred when she felt David shift against her. David rubbed her back and kissed her temple. "Go back to sleep." She repositioned herself against the pillow and relaxed. She wasn't ready to wake just yet; she was comfortable and warm and intended on staying in that position for a few more moments.

Once Regina fell back to sleep, David carefully climbed out of bed. He searched through his jeans' pocket for the damned cell phone. The message was from Emma. 'Problem at the Peskin's. Won't be able to pick Henry up for school.' David grunted. He hated to have to leave Regina alone but she would never forgive him if he let her son get to school on his own. With one last look at her, he slipped into his jeans and made his way toward Henry's room.

After making sure his grandson would stay awake and get ready for school, he walked downstairs to cook breakfast and prepare Henry's lunch. He paused wondering if he should get breakfast to Regina before he left. He finally decided against it. She needed the rest. Besides, he wouldn't be gone long.

When Henry finally came down for breakfast showered and ready to go, David had just finished the scramble eggs and hashed browns. "Can I say good bye to mom?"

"She is still sleeping Henry."

His grandson looked disappointed but didn't argue further. He had seen how tired she was yesterday. "Can I… can I come back here tonight?"

David smiled. "I'm sure she'll love that."

Henry dug into his plate happily. He hadn't felt so light in a long time. He was finally home and with his mom. He couldn't believe it had been so easy. He had been afraid of her reaction and, therefore, had never asked to come home. But now that he was here, he wanted to spend as much time with his mom as possible. But he also wanted to see Emma, and judging by their family dinner last night, he may get his wish. David stood and ruffled his grandson's hair. "Let me write your mom a note and I'll drive you to school."

The woman watched as the man and the boy left the house. Regina was finally alone. It was time for her to put her plan into motion. She hated to admit it, but her plan would never succeed without Regina's help.

EC

Archie readjusted his glasses. He didn't have any appointments until late in the morning and he wanted to use the time to go over the notes he had taken during his sessions with Regina. After the curse broke, everyone had been in need of a psychiatrist. The curse had created different personalities, separated entire families, and reconstituted others. Mortal enemies had woken in bed side by side. They remembered their hate for each other in the Enchanted Forest as well as the love the curse had created. The first few weeks had been chaotic but eventually the people of Storybrooke had adjusted to their new reality. He only had a handful of patients that still consulted with him on a regular basis.

But Regina had been the hardest case. It had taken a few sessions for her to trust him. But once she did, he got a glimpse of what Regina's life had been like. He had been surprised then that she hadn't become the Evil Queen sooner. Yes, her crimes were inexcusable; she had massacred thousands and essentially ruined everyone's lives with her curse. But Archie couldn't help but understand her reasons. He was shaken out of his thoughts by a soft knock on the door.

He couldn't suppress the surprised gasp at the sight of the small brunette on the other side of the door. Her eyes were red from crying and she was clutching a book of some sort against her chest. "Snow? I.. I'm sorry. I… wasn't expecting you…" Archie had tried to talk to her over the past week but she had denied that anything was wrong between her and David. The fact that the Prince went home with Regina last night finally made the split real.

Snow was at a loss for words. She had come here for a compassionate ear, someone who would not judge her for her past. If Archie had been able to see past Regina's sins, surely he could forgive those of a sixteen-year old girl. "May… May I come in?"

Archie motioned for her to enter. "Of course… please have a seat." Snow collapsed on the couch, placing the mysterious book delicately on her knees. Upon closer inspection, Archie realized the book was actually a journal, the type that existed in the Enchanted Forest. He frowned but didn't probe Snow. He would let her start. She had brought the book for a reason and he would give her the time she needed to bring the subject up. Patience was one of his virtues, apparently a constant in both realms.

Snow took a shaky breath. "Charming… Charming is not coming back."

It wasn't a question and Archie was glad to see she didn't deny the reality of their situation any longer. "No. He and Regina are moving on."

She shook her head. "I just… I just don't know why. Why did he fall in love with her? She had tried to kill us so many times… how … how could he have forgiven her?"

Archie had witnessed the evolution of their friendship over the past few months. To him, the question hadn't been how but rather how long would it take them both to admit their feelings for each other. They both had reasons to hold back. The Prince was married and had remained faithful to his wife. And Regina was scared to be happy. She had been taught that happiness could not last for her. He kept his thoughts to himself and instead answered Snow's question with one of his own. "Can you?"

She looked at him confused. "Can I what?"

"Forgive her?"

Snow hesitated but finally shook her head no. "There are… there is too much bad blood between the two of us.." Archie simply nodded, assuming she was talking about Charming. Snow caught his reaction. "But you already know, don't you?"

"Only what Regina has been willing to tell me."

Snow finally broached the subject that brought her to Archie's office in the first place. "About my father..."

Archie didn't move. He hadn't expected Snow bringing up the subject of her father. As a psychiatrist, he didn't have the right to breach patient confidentiality. Besides, he had worked so hard to earn Regina's trust so he could finally help her. He wasn't about to break that trust by talking to her arch-nemesis about her most private thoughts. He nodded for his patient to continue.

His heart almost stopped when Snow continued her train of thoughts. "I didn't know…. I didn't know at first."

Her story was broken by the sobs shaking her body. Archie was trying to make sense of what he had just heard. She had admitted to knowing that her father had raped her stepmother for the better part of their marriage. He couldn't look at her. He wasn't angry at her for not trying to stop what was happening under the Palace's roof. She had been but a girl and her father had doted on her in every possible way. No, he was mad at her for holding herself on a pedestal of virtue, a persecuted princess, a martyr for as long as he could remember. She never once offered a word of explanation as to why Regina had persecuted her. They had all assumed that Regina was jealous of the princess. But after his sessions with Regina, Archie had realized there was more to the story. And apparently, so did Snow.

He swallowed hard, trying to put his own feelings on the subject aside. "Does David know?" The wails that came out of Snow's tight throat gave him his answer. He stood up and started pacing the length of the small office. Snow had resumed clutching the journal, tears spilling onto the cover. "You need to give it back to her." Snow didn't move. Archie sat besides her on the couch and laid a supporting hand on her shoulder. "She deserves to get this back."

"May… may I have some tea?"

Archie was flabbergasted. After everything that had just been said, the woman just asked for tea. He took a deep breath. "I'm afraid I'm out of tea…but I can get some at Granny's."

"Please."

Archie prepared to leave. "Do you mind watching Pongo for me?"

The woman just nodded. Maybe getting tea wasn't such a bad idea after all, they both needed to clear their heads.

As soon as Archie left, Snow opened the journal and read the last entry once more. She must have read it a thousand times before. She sobbed. She had deluded herself into thinking that her unfortunate involvement in Daniel's death had created the Evil Queen, that Regina had hated her from the first night she had spent in the castle before her wedding. But the journal had taught her otherwise. Whoever had left it for her to find had wanted her to know she was solely responsible. She… and her father.

She jumped when the door opened abruptly. She scrambled to her feet when she saw the woman advancing toward her. "Regina?" Shock was written all over her features. Emma had told her Regina could barely walked by herself but the woman standing in front of her didn't seem to be in any pain. Pongo barked at the intruder but Snow ignored the dog's warning, too shocked to see the woman she had loved and hated the most stand right in front of her. She swallowed. "Are you… are you feeling better?" Despite her fallout with Charming, she had tried to keep her promise and be sensible to her stepmother's needs. But it had been difficult and after the first two days, Snow had all but given up.

Regina seized Snow up. She didn't say a word, just walked around the younger woman the way a wild animal stalks the prey it is about to devour. Her eyes settled on the journal Snow was still holding.

Snow followed Regina's glance and tried to come up with an explanation. "I …. I didn't take it. I… found it … in my bedchambers… after my sixteenth birthday party."

Regina just snatched the journal out of Snow's hands. She flipped through it, her expression void of any emotions. "Have you read it?" Snow swallowed hard. She shouldn't have but she had. Many times. She nodded. She wasn't prepared for the hard slap across her face. She brought her hand to her burning cheek and looked at her stepmother through teary eyes. Regina had never slapped her before. Her stepmother's eyes hardened as she walked toward the cowering woman. She placed her hand on top of Snow and caressed it softly. "Now, dear. It's not befitting of a Queen to cry."

Snow's eyes widened in surprise, a look of recognition passing across her features. But before she could voice her concern, 'Regina' plunged her fist into her chest and removed her heart. "Love is weakness, dear. And despite everything, you still love your stepmother." With a smile, 'Regina' crushed the girl's heart into dust. 'Regina' kneeled next to the crumbled body and picked the journal up before disappearing into a cloud of purple smoke.

ECECEC

April 16th 2013

David's eyes were filled with tears, tears of joy but also sorrow. He wanted his family back. But he also didn't want anything to change between him and Regina. And he knew that these two wishes were incompatible with each other. "So they ARE alive."

Regina pinched her nose. "If the book is right. But thirty years have passed there. Who knows what happened in that time frame."

David ignored her. "You didn't know what the curse would do?"

Regina shrugged her shoulders. "As I said before, I don't know much about this curse…David, this changes nothing. I still don't know how to bring them back to Storybrooke. Rumple had me cast the Dark Curse to get to this world. I'm sure the Dark One would have exhausted all the other possible means of travel before getting to this point."

"How are you so sure? I mean… Using a bean wouldn't have made anyone suffer. As you said, he is the Dark One."

"No. But Rumple doesn't like to rely on anyone but himself. He was taking a huge risk with me. After all, I could have turned out differently and never cast his curse."

"A calculated risk, Regina. He can see the future. He knew you would turn dark eventually."

Regina's eyes also filled with tears. So that's what David truly believed. The Evil Queen was in her nature. If her circumstances had been different, she would have still turned out to be the monster every child was told to be afraid of. Her voice was weak when she finally answered him. "He made sure of that."

The sorrow in her voice made him face her. His heart broke as he silently replayed their conversation. He reached out to her and hugged her tight against his chest. Regina resisted at first but eventually let herself be held. Why was she so weak every time he showed her any signs of affection? David spoke to her softly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that he didn't have a hand in turning you. He did. And he knew exactly how to get you there."

Regina finally returned the hug, her head resting on David's chest. "I could have said no."

"Sometimes it's too hard to say no. He knew how to play on your pain. And that's what makes him truly evil."

Regina laughed. "Don't you think I know how to play on people's pain?"

David shook his head. "You wanted revenge. And you were willing to do anything to get it. But if you had managed to kill Snow, I truly believe that you'd have stopped massacring entire villages."

Regina closed her eyes. "I don't know, David. I've killed so many. You've seen my heart. The darkness… it protects me… from feeling the pain that comes with killing."

David cupped her head. "I think that you're not giving yourself enough credit."

"And I think you only want to see the good in people."

"Maybe. But if Snow was standing right in front of you right now, would you kill her?" When Regina didn't respond, he continued. "I don't think so. Because you may hate her but you love Henry more and you know it would destroy him if you killed her…. That's the difference between you and evil."

Regina didn't respond. No, she wouldn't kill Snow. But she wasn't sure her reasons were as noble as the Prince wanted them to be. She had cast the curse to take everyone's happy endings away. She had wanted to watch them suffer. But would Snow suffer if she returned to Storybrooke? She would be reunited with her family and they would have their happily ever after. For once, Regina didn't feel the anger and jealousy that had always come with the knowledge of her stepdaughter's happiness. Regina had once thought that her happiness was Snow's head on a silver platter and that day, she had let a possible happy ending slip away in her need for revenge. Years later, she had come to realize that Snow's misery would not bring her happiness either. It could never fill the void inside. But Henry had. And if she had been truthful with him from the beginning, maybe things would have turned out differently. He had given her a second chance and she wasn't about to throw it away. David was right, she wouldn't kill Snow because it would mean losing Henry. And then there was her third chance growing in her womb. She smiled fondly at the thought.

David released her from his embrace and cupped her cheek, turning her tear-stained face toward him. "I also saw that bright red spot, remember?"

Regina let out a forced laugh. "If you tell anyone that you've seen my heart, I WILL kill you."

David smiled and kissed her forehead. "Here is the Regina I know and…" He stopped himself just in time but Regina tensed nonetheless. Their relationship had evolved to something beyond friendship but they couldn't admit it to each other. He belonged to Snow and once she would be back, David would choose his white Princess and she would be left heartbroken and a second choice to Snow once more. She had been willing to sleep with him to punish her enemy because only her body had suffered that night. But starting a relationship with David, one based on real feelings, would destroy what was left of her heart. Besides, once he would discover she was pregnant with his child, he would leave her in his anger and take her child away from her. She pulled away from him.

David released her. His feelings for the woman had grown to a point where he could no longer ignore them. At the beginning, he had thought that this was just a response to missing Snow. Once his wife would be back, the lust - because, surely, it could only be lust - would stop and he could go back to his life. But as time passed, he had realized he had genuine feelings for the former Evil Queen. The only thing that prevented him from acting upon those feelings now was the fact that Snow had been gone. He couldn't cheat on her while she was in the Enchanted Forest. But if she could make it back - he wasn't so sure anymore - he would have to make a decision. David walked toward the kitchen area, trying to break the awkward moment. "How about a cup of tea?"

Regina gave him a temptative smile. "Chamomile?"

"I think I have some."

Regina moved toward the couch. She needed to sit down. Her heart was still racing in her chest at what had almost been said between them. She had wanted to hear the word. But in the end, it was better this way. Henry would never forgive her of she came between Snow White and her Prince Charming.

David interrupted her thoughts with a mug of tea. She accepted it gratefully and placed it on her knees, her hands cupped around the mug. The warm feeling was strangely soothing. David sat down besides her. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Regina looked up from her mug and gave the Prince a soft smile. "Snow, actually." David frowned. "Don't worry. No murderous thoughts."

The Prince didn't relax. He wasn't worried that Regina would kill Snow. He hadn't lied to her; he didn't think she was capable of it anymore. But he had one burning question and he was glad she brought the subject up. "What happened… between the two of you?"

She recoiled in surprise. "You… you know what happened… she was the one responsible for … for Daniel's death."

David placed his hand on top of Regina's. "But there is more, isn't there?"

Regina took a deep breath. She had never told anyone before. She was ashamed of admitting the real reason for the feud that had cost so many lives. "Yes." David didn't press her further, she laced her fingers with his before continuing. "My last… miscarriage. Snow was about to turn sixteen. Leopold was more … determined than ever to produce an heir." She squeezed his hand. "He would… summon me multiple times a day until he … got what he wanted." She tried to swallow the bile rising from her stomach. She was disgusted with herself for having been so weak. She had allowed this man to take everything from her. "I must have been seven or eight weeks along when the cramping started… I… I lost a lot of blood and I was moved to the furthest wing so Snow wouldn't… know what was happening." She griped David's hand harder. "My nursemaid stayed with me through it. In the end, the doctor told Leopold that I was barren and another miscarriage would kill me." Instinctively, Regina moved her free hand to her abdomen. David didn't think anything of the gesture and concentrated on Regina, trying to stop himself from punching the nearest object. "The following day, I was moved to the furthest tower, outside the main living area. Only maids were allowed to have contact with me and I was allowed only short periods of time in the garden." Regina let out a choked sob. "Snow had destroyed my life… and… and… she never came to visit. She didn't… didn't even try. She had been told not to see me… and she didn't… she didn't care enough. The only times I saw her was… was for mandatory court functions… and the few times we had guests and Leopold needed to keep a straight face. I… I wanted her life. I just wanted for someone to love me…" The sobs were now shaking her entire body.

David took the mug away from her and placed it on the coffee table. He repositioned himself on the couch to take the weeping woman into a tender embrace. He was also angry at Snow. How could she have let this happen? She had told him multiple times how much she had loved her stepmother. Why treat her this way? He traced soothing patterns on Regina's back until she quieted against his chest. "I'm sorry, Regina. I didn't know."

She just nodded against his chest. Her hand still resting on her abdomen. She had revealed her darkest secret to him. She had been afraid that he would laugh at her. Jealousy wasn't exactly the best reason to launch a murderous crusade that had lasted for over forty years. But here in David's embrace, she felt safe for the first time… safe enough to spill her second secret. "David?" The Prince hummed softly. "I need to tell you something… about that night at my house… I'm…"

She never got the chance to finish that sentence. As soon as they heard Henry come up the staircase, they parted from each other. Regina tried her best to hid her face from her son when he came barging into the loft.

Not exactly the most joyful chapter for V-Day, sorry. I'm going to start working on book 2 of this series pretty soon. If there is any scene that you're dying to see, leave a note in the reviews or on Twitter and I'll try to work it in.