Thank you so much for the reviews... I was very hesitant to post this, as there are a lot of brilliant things based on this premise! It is not my intention to rip anyone off, and like I said I will do my best to be original!

Still own nothing.

Chapter 2

Upon returning from the stables, David had taken Regina to her home where he followed Henry to her bedroom. He had lain her down on the bed carefully before walking to the kitchen, where Henry sat with his hands in his hair.

Despite David's best efforts, Regina remained catatonic. She did not even respond to Henry's attempts to wake her from her daze and it was starting to seem like she would not get out of her troubling state soon. David had to admit that seeing Regina, a shell of the queen she used to be, was troubling – if only for the effect it had on Henry. He sat down next to Henry, his heart dropping when he noticed the tears in the boy's eyes.

"Gramps, who was that man?"

David hesitated. A part of him wanted to allow Regina to tell her son the story, but Henry needed to understand why her mother was in the state she was in.

"His name was Daniel…"

"Did my mom love him?"

David sighed and ruffled Henry's hair distractedly.

"She did, buddy. I think she loved him a lot… They were going to get married a long time ago, but her mother killed him and she married Snow's father instead. Dr Whale managed to bring him back to life, but… it didn't turn out as it was supposed to. You saw what he had become…"

Henry nodded and looked at David curiously.

"Was he her true love?"

"Yeah… I think he might have been."

Fresh tears formed in Henry's eyes and he shook his head desperately.

"No! No, then she's not going to be okay, Gramps! She lost her true love twice, she had to kill him today… She's not going to be okay."

David pulled Henry closer, trying his best to reassure him.

"Henry, your mom is one of the strongest people I have ever met. She's going to be fine."

Henry looked up, his eyes still teary.

"Would you have been?"

It was an impossible thought to entertain – the thought of losing Snow forever and getting her back, only to lose her again through his own doing. He could not even bear the thought and yet the woman upstairs had lived through it.

"Well… we're just going to help her be okay then."

Henry looked at David curiously, still sniffing.

"You hate her. Why would you want to help her?"

David knelt down to look Henry in the eyes.

"Because you care about her, Henry. And I want you to be happy."

The decision to sleep at Regina's house did not take much thought. Henry and David had – unsuccessfully – attempted to convince Regina to eat something before going downstairs to have dinner themselves. David had a hard time convincing Henry that life had to go on as normal as possible for the two guys. If they were to carry Regina, they had to be strong. Still, Henry only picked at his food – clearly still troubled. He pushed the plate away after long minutes of pretending to eat and looked at David earnestly.

"I want to go and say goodnight to my mom."

David merely nodded and Henry ran up the stairs, throwing his mother's bedroom door open. It broke his heart to see her lying in the same position she had been in ever since they brought her home. She was curled up on her side, her eyes staring out in front of her blankly.

"Mom?"

He crawled onto the bed and moved to hug her uncomfortably.

"I'm staying here tonight… I won't leave you alone again mom. I… I love you."

She stirred at the words and his eyes widened. Henry grabbed onto her hands, looking at her hopefully.

"Mom, can you hear me?"

"Henry?"

Her voice was hoarse, cracked and more broken than he ever thought a voice could be, but the happiness to hear her speak overruled his concern and he threw himself into her embrace, allowing his own tears to fall. Regina patted his back dazedly, still unable to gather her wits.

"I love you, mom. I love you so much and I'm sorry for being awful to you. And I'm sorry about Daniel… I love you."

She moved to sit and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed softly and Henry held her tighter, wanting nothing more than to ease her pain.

"I love you too, Henry."

David found them like that – sobbing in each other's arms and for a minute he stood still, taking in the picture with a tender smile. He moved forward after a while and put a soft hand on Henry's back.

"Come on, buddy. You need to sleep."

The fear on Regina's face was evident and without her having to say it, David knew what she was thinking. He took one of her cold hands in his impulsively and shook his head.

"Regina, no. I won't take him away from you again. He's staying here, we… we both are. We're going to take care of you."

"Why?"

David sighed. He could not blame her for her distrust – it seemed as though she had never had anyone who wanted to take care of her and for the first time he wondered if their observations of the Evil Queen had been wrong all along.

"Because Henry loves you and seeing you like this… it's tough for him. Let us help you."

She nodded faintly and ran her fingers through Henry's hair. Her lips brushed against her son's forehead and she forced a smile to her face.

"I think it's past your bedtime, sweetheart… Thank you for taking care of me."

Henry nodded and hugged her tightly again.

"I love you, mom."

Regina's smile did not reach her eyes and David watched her sadly.

"I love you too."

Henry left wordlessly, still wiping tears from his face and David turned to the broken woman on the bed. He suddenly felt awkward for seeing her in such a vulnerable state.

"Regina, if you need anything…"

The dark eyes that looked up at him seemed to be able to see right through him and he took a step back. For a second it looked like she wanted to say something, but she just nodded and he reached for the light switch, engulfing the room in darkness before tiredly walking to the guest room.

Both Henry and David were awoken from their deep slumbers when an anguished scream tore through the silent house. The tortured shrieks were unlike anything either of them had ever heard and within seconds they were in Regina's room. The woman was thrusting around on the bed, her body glistening from sweat and terrifying screams left her lips endlessly. David was frozen and Henry looked at him desperately.

"Gramps! Do something, please!"

The tears in Henry's voice shocked David to action and he moved to the bed, grabbing Regina's wrists in his hands.

"Regina… Wake up. Regina!"

He pulled her up into a seated position, his hand tapping against her cheek lightly. A raw sob tore through her throat when she opened her eyes and she looked at him, terrified and confused. Her chest heaved with deep breaths and David sat down next to her, stroking over her back in a comforting gesture.

"Just keep breathing, Regina…"

She let her breath out shakily and looked at him forlornly.

"David?"

He nodded and kept his hand on her back lightly.

"I'm here… Henry too. You're not alone."

He suspected that she would have pushed him away if she had the strength, but as it was he knew for a fact that she did not. Henry approached the pair hesitantly and climbed onto the bed, moving into his mother's embrace without a word. Regina closed her eyes and let out another breath.

"It wasn't a dream, was it?"

Without her having to share any details, both David and Henry knew at once what she was talking about and it was Henry who answered gently.

"No, mom… It wasn't."

"Daniel…"

The cry that left her lips was soft and David shifted to sit behind her. His hands travelled to her shoulders, stroking over them in an attempt to relax her.

"I'm sorry, Regina."

She had never heard his voice as gentle as it was in that instant and she turned her head to look at him blankly. Henry had not left her embrace and he looked up at her pleadingly.

"Mom, can I stay with you tonight?"

Regina nodded, thankful for her son's sensitive offer. She moved away from David's grip and moved to lie down, gathering Henry in her arms. He relaxed in her embrace and she let out a deep breath, inadvertently relaxing as she listened to her son's steady breathing. She was asleep within minutes and David made a move to leave. He was stopped by Henry's small voice before he even reached the door.

"Gramps… will you stay too? Please?"

After the day they had gone through, David found it impossible to deny Henry's request and he nodded. He approached the bed hesitantly before lying down on the edge of it – careful not to touch the woman next to him. For some reason, his grandfather's presence managed to give Henry the peace of mind to close his eyes and he fell asleep too, still wrapped up in Regina's embrace. The light of the moon shone through the window, illuminating the tear-stained faces of the two people next to him. After observing them quietly for a few minutes, David turned away from Regina and closed his own eyes, wishing the night over silently.