A/N: I took a while with this one – sorry about that! But here it is now… I hope you enjoy! Thank you for all the reading, reviews, follows etc. – and please tell me what you think!

DISCLAIMER: Not mine.

Chapter 14

David awoke with a jerk, his breath racing. It was a dream… just a dream and yet he felt inexplicably guilty and aroused at the same time. He could still vividly taste her, he could feel her body trembling beneath hers and then… she just ran from him, calling for another man. Daniel.

He stood and wiped his hands over his face. In that second everything came tumbling down on him once again:

Snow was gone forever – she had died for their daughter!

Emma was miserable and barely able to stand on her own and he had no way of comforting her.

Henry was distraught – it was as though he had lost both of his mothers and Regina… Regina was still under the sleeping curse and there was doubt that she would ever wake from it. Rumple had started hinting that it would be merciful to kill her as no one deserved to be stuck in the Netherworld, but David and Henry blatantly refused. They'd find a way to wake her.

It struck David as odd how he seemed to be more worried about Regina than Snow at this point and yet… a part of him could understand why. He had spent a lot of time with Regina as his only ally and despite himself, he could not help but notice her obvious beauty and sex appeal. He would go so far as to say he had a crush on her. Yet… even if she wasn't under the sleeping curse that made any chances of pursuing her impossible, his wife had just died. Yes, they had spent twenty eight years apart and perhaps their marriage wasn't exactly top notch when the curse struck, but still… she was his wife and he loved her. She was his true love. David stood slowly and reached for his clothes. Dressing was mechanical – it was as though he was on auto pilot. He knew for a fact that he had to find Emma and talk to her – he had waited too long already. It was time to be a father.

For Henry, life had gone from good – growing up with Regina as the only mother he knew, the kind and loving mom who would do anything for him – to bad when he found out about the curse. It went back to good when he found Emma and now it was worse than it had ever been before.

Snow White was dead.

Emma was a wreck – she could hardly speak, she barely even looked at him.

Prince Charming was quiet, reserved and barely noticed anything or anyone around him and his mom…

Well, his mom who had been the only constant he had known throughout his life was under a sleeping curse and could not wake up – even true love's kiss didn't work because she didn't believe in that love.

Life sucked – there was no other way of describing it. For the first time in his life, he was all alone. Sure, Ruby and Granny were there and they tried – but Ruby had just lost her best friend and Granny was worried about her. They couldn't truly devote themselves to making sure that Henry was all right and he did not blame them.

"You here again, dearie? Shouldn't you be at school?"

Henry looked up at the sound of Rumpelstiltskin's voice and shrugged, his eyes downcast.

"I don't have a teacher anymore. And I don't want to be at school. I want to be with my mom."

Rumple moved to sit next to Henry and for a while, both of them just sat staring at Regina's still form.

"Why doesn't she believe that I love her, Mr Gold?"

Still uncomfortable with his true identity, Henry preferred Rumple's Storybrooke identity. Rumple pursed his lips and his eyes moved from Regina to Henry.

"I think she finds it hard to believe that anyone could love her, dearie. I believe that the second she doubts it, it is easier to convince herself that it never truly existed."

"I do love her though."

Rumple smiled gently.

"I'm not the one you need to convince, dearie."

Tears welled up in Henry's eyes and he shook his head miserably.

"She's asleep. How am I going to convince her that I love her if she doesn't wake up?"

Rumpelstiltskin smiled gently – he knew that Regina would murder him if he gave Henry the advice that he was about to, but he quite missed the queen. It was rather boring to have no one around to challenge and he had to admit, he was rather interested in seeing her reaction upon finding out that Snow White was dead.

"Well, dearie… you know where to find her."

To say that Emma wasn't excited to find David on her doorstep, would be an understatement. Here was the man who was supposedly her father and she held nothing but disdain for him – for the way he had treated Mary Margaret before the curse was broken, for the way he had ignored her after her return and Mary Margaret's death… she did not want to play happy families – she had lost all chances of that when they sent her through a blasted wardrobe.

"What do you want?"

David was taken aback by her hostility, but took his time to observe her. Her hair was unwashed, her face unusually pale and her eyes seemed dead – empty.

"Emma, I want to talk to you. You… you're my daughter."

"That's the thing, David. I'm not. It's too late to be a father to me. Mary Margaret… she was my friend, but you… we have nothing in common and I have no desire to get to know you."

"You don't mean that! You can't… Emma, you are all I have left. I lost Snow, I lost R… everything. I lost everything."

Tears formed in Emma's eyes, but she bit them back stubbornly. She still refused to believe that her mother was a fairytale princess who died right in front of her and her father was Prince Charming – not to mention the Evil Queen and Rumpelstiltskin. It was just too odd and she found herself longing for her lonely life in New York. Yet, she could recognize the pain in David's eyes and against her will she felt sympathy stirring in her.

"Look, I just… I need some time. Mary Margaret died right in front of me. She… she sacrificed herself for me and that's something that I can barely deal with as it is. Add to that the fact that she was my mother and a princess… I need time. And probably a lot of alcohol."

David nodded slowly – he understood. He didn't like it, but he understood.

"Do you want to come in?"

He nodded and entered the house carefully. Emma did not hesitate before reaching for the bottle of Scotch and held it out to him.

"Look, I know you're supposed to be my dad and whatever… but I am about to get really drunk. You wanna join me?"

He hesitated. Surely it was vastly inappropriate, but at that point he did not care. He needed something – anything – to numb the pain. It was a start.

Daniel was gone and David had disappeared too. Once again, Regina was all alone with only her thoughts to keep her company. She had betrayed Daniel in the worst way possible and the pain in his eyes wasn't something she would ever forget.

"I'm sorry, Daniel…"

A sound behind her caught her attention and she turned, her entire body freezing when she noticed her son, shielding himself from the flames.

"Henry…"

Regina closed her eyes and shook her head, her breath racing. This wasn't real, it couldn't be real, he wasn't here. It was just another form of torture, he would disappear or hate her or…

"Mom! Mom, look at me."

Or call her mom. She opened her eyes just as his body flew towards hers, crashing into her stomach in a violent hug.

"Mom! Are you okay?"

"Henry? You're really here?"

Regina hated how vulnerable her voice sounded, but she could not help it. Henry nodded, wiping stray tears from his eyes.

"Mr Gold gave me the idea… he said that I knew where to find you and I just had to come. I had to see you."

Regina shook her head desperately, her eyes laced with fear.

"Henry, no… you can't be here. It's dangerous, I can't let you get hurt…"

Henry grabbed onto her hands firmly, his eyes pleading with her.

"No, you need to listen to me. I need you, mom… Snow is dead, Emma is a wreck, Gramps isn't really here and the only person I talk to – ever – is Mr. Gold. I need you to come back."

Regina sunk to her knees and wrapped her arms around him, wishing with her entire being that there was a way to abide his request.

"Henry… I can't. You know that."

"But you can mom… you see, you have someone who truly loves you. Someone who can wake you up."

She looked at him, confused, and hurt flashed in his eyes. Apparently Mr. Gold was right – his mother did not believe that he really loved her.

"Me, mom! I love you. And I know you love me… It has to work. Please… please believe it."

Regina nodded dazedly, her eyes still wide.

"I believe you."

A smile formed on Henry's lips and he hugged her again.

"I'll wake you, mom. I love you!"

Tears formed in Regina's eyes when he faded away and she sunk to her knees, trying to control her desperate sobs. It was just too much to take in, a part of her still couldn't believe that it had truly happened. A strange sensation suddenly alerted her to the fact that it had to be true, it had to be real. It was as though a thousand hands were pulling at her, dragging her away from the flames while a whisper of wind travelled over her cheek gently.

Henry.

His grateful face was the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes with a sharp breath and he moved forward, hugging her happily.

"I knew it. I knew you could come back."

"Henry… You did it… you woke me up."

Her voice was raspy and soft, and Henry nodded through his tears.

"I love you, mom! Welcome back."

Regina smiled. He was the only one present – there was no sign of Gold or David, but right now she didn't care. She had everything she needed with her.

"I love you too."