Thanks for reading this story and for the suggestions! I won't make David cheat on Mary-Margaret but the situation will get more tense as the story moves forward. They both feel guilty about what happened to Regina and they'll both work through that guilt but in different ways.

I'll see how to include Tink and Mal maybe as soon as the next chapter or two!

David sighed as he parked the car in front of the loft. He had left Regina in Granny's care for the night, the first since he had arrested his father-in-law over a week ago. He had spent every single night with her since then and it was putting pressure on his marriage. Regina had been understanding of his situation and had pushed him to go home for the night, so he could spend the evening with Mary-Margaret and Emma.

David grabbed his duffel bag out of the car and locked the vehicle. He slowly climbed the stairs leading to the small apartment on the top floor. As soon as he opened the door, the delicious smell of his wife's cooking greeted him.

"Good evening!" Mary-Margaret welcomed him as he entered their home. She lowered the heat from high to medium and removed her apron before approaching her husband. She pecked him on the lips. "I made your favorite: onion soup with sourdough bread, a salad, and a chocolate cake for dessert."

David smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arms around his wife. It was good to be home but he couldn't stop the feeling of guilt. He had promised Regina he would take of her and he had left her alone in her room. "Sound divine." He replied, keeping his misgivings to himself. "Where is Emma?"

"Still napping." His wife replied.

David closed his eyes and groaned. His baby girl would be up all night. "How is she doing?"

"The teething ring is definitely helping. She's been sleeping better." Mary-Margaret helped David remove his jacket and the man took off his gun and holster while she hung his leather jacket. "How is Regina?" She asked cautiously. It was a sore subject between the two of them. She knew David blamed her for not trying to help her stepmother although he never admitted to it. He didn't have to. She could read it on his face.

"Better. She's been sleeping a lot. Her ribs are less painful and she's able to move around a little more. Most of the superficial bruises have healed." Except her right eye and thighs, he finished to himself.

"Is she going to stay at Granny's?" Mary-Margaret asked softly.

"Yes. For the time being." David confirmed. "She is scheduled for a visit with Whale tomorrow. Then I want to take her back to the mansion."

Mary-Margaret turned around in shock. "Why? It's so soon!"

"I want her to take her personal items. Your father hired Mr. Gold as his attorney. Another bond hearing has been scheduled for next Friday. I'm afraid your father will be released on bail then."

Mary-Margaret's jaw dropped open. "What's going to happen? To us? To Emma? To Regina?"

"I don't want you or Regina alone. You'll stay with me or Thomas." His deputy has already made arrangement to stay at the bed and breakfast in the room next to Regina.

Mary-Margaret nodded her understanding. "Would it be simpler if Regina would come stay with us at the loft? I can convert the upstairs studio into a bedroom." She used the studio seldomly to prepare art projects for her fourth graders.

David closed his eyes. This would be the ideal situation but he didn't want to ask Regina to move in with her stepdaughter, not after everything she had been through because of Mary-Margaret. "Regina needs lots of rest. I don't think she would get much with a 5-month old baby in the house." He lied.

Mary-Margaret didn't respond. She had seen right through the lie but decided not to confront her husband on it. "Dinner will be ready in just a minute. Do you want to open a bottle of wine?"

David walked toward the small wine collection they kept on hand. "What are you in the mood for?"

"Red would be nice." Mary-Margaret suggested.

David selected a Napa valley wine and walked back to the kitchen area, in search of the bottle opener. "Would you like to watch a movie?"

"Sure." Mary-Margaret tried to hide her disappointment. She had hoped they could spend the evening talking to each other like they used to. "How would you feel about watching the Notebook again?" It was the movie they had watched on their first date, when they were both still in high school. They had promised each other to have the same epic love story as Noah and Allie. For a while, their marriage had felt like a fairy tale. But the honeymoon had been over quickly: Leopold's overbearing presence in their marriage and her inability to conceive had strained the relationship. But their love had been stronger and they had faced these difficulties together. However, Mary-Margaret couldn't shake the feeling that this time was different.

"Sounds good." David replied in a detached tone.

Mary-Margaret dropped the saucepan on the hot plate and turned around to face her husband. "What's wrong, David? Why are you mad at me?"

"I'm not mad at you."

"At least have the decency not to lie to me." Mary-Margaret shook her head in denial.

David sighed. "I'm not mad." He reiterated. "I'm just…." He shrugged. He raised his hands up and let them fall in surrender. "I'm concerned about Regina."

Mary-Margaret closed her eyes. "You're mad at me because I haven't tried to help her."

"No! Yes! No… I don't know." David replied honestly. "I'm not just mad at you. I'm mad at myself and I'm sorry for taking it out on you. All the signs were there but I didn't see them. I just don't know if I didn't see them because I've honestly missed them or if I just didn't want to see them."

Mary-Margaret turned the heat off before approaching her husband. She took his hand and gently beckoned him to follow her on the couch. "I knew Regina wasn't happy." She laced her fingers with his. "But I swear to you I didn't know he beat her."

"She told me you walked on them once… when you were a teenager."

Mary-Margaret frowned, searching her memories. As soon as she remembered the incident, she closed her eyes. She reopened them again before telling David the truth. "I was coming back from cheerleading practice. I had just made team captain and I was excited to tell Daddy." She whispered. "I called for them but they didn't answer. I heard laughing and grunting from the study and I opened the door without knocking. Regina was bent over the desk… I knew what they were doing… I wasn't that innocent. But I thought it was consensual!" She shook her head, remembering the details of what had ensued. Her father had been surprised and embarrassed. She had apologized profusely and they had spent the rest of the evening celebrating her news. Regina had cooked a meal and made apple turnovers for dessert, Snow's favorite. She remembered the look on Regina's face: she hadn't been embarrassed then. Rather she had looked grateful for the interruption. She also remembered the slight limp that the teenager had brushed off when her stepmother had told her she had hit the corner of the desk earlier that day. She had been blind too.

David sighed. "She needs our help."

"But she won't take mine."

"Give her some time. She needs to learn to trust again."

"She trusted you. She trusts you." Mary-Margaret kept the jealousy from her tone.

David nodded. "Mary-Margaret…" He started shyly. He knew this was a large favor to ask. "About the living arrangements…"

"You want to stay at Granny's and have Thomas here?"

David shook his head. "No. Not permanently. But I also want to spend some nights at the bed and breakfast. I don't want Regina to feel alone."

Mary-Margaret nodded. "I understand." She sighed. David opened his mouth to reassure his wife but Emma started crying. "She is probably hungry." She announced as she was standing up.

David placed his hand on his wife's forearm. "Let me get her. And let's have dinner together while we watch the Notebook." He offered as a form of truce.

Mary-Margaret nodded. "I love you."

"And I love you too." He pecked her lips as he stood to get his baby girl.

EC

David groaned when his cell phone rang loudly. He reached for the damned device on his bedside table to turn it off. However, his foggy mind managed to process the fact that the ringtone wasn't the one set as his alarm clock. He opened his eyes and found himself plunged in darkness.

"David…" Mary-Margaret mumbled, half asleep.

"Shh..." He soothed while taking the call, the 2:01am shining brightly as a taunting reminder that he would not get much sleep tonight either. "Hello." David whispered in the device while slowly getting up and walking toward the living area.

"This is Dr. Whale."

The announcement had the same effect as a cold bucket of water. "Is Regina alright?" He heard a sigh on the other line.

"Mrs Lucas brought her here about half an hour ago with severe nausea."

"What's wrong with her?" David frowned, looking at Mary-Margaret sitting up on their bed and turning the light on.

"She vomited a little bit of blood and I'd like to do an endoscopy just to be safe. My best guess is gastritis. She's mentioned she's been vomiting lately after... " Whale didn't have to finish that sentence. "Her stomach lining is probably just irritated but I want to make sure it's nothing more serious."

"Is Regina consenting to it?"

"Yes. But…"

"She wants somebody with her." David finished for the doctor. "I'm on my way." After thanking the doctor for the call and assuring him he'll be at the hospital under ten minutes, David hung up and looked at his wife. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize." Mary-Margaret slid out of bed. "What's wrong?"

"Regina started vomiting. Whale thinks it's gastritis but he wants to make sure with an endoscopy." David didn't have to describe the procedure. Leopold had to undergo it a few years back for his ulcer problem. He put his jeans and shirt on quickly. "Don't wait for me. I'm probably going to stay with Regina most of the night."

"I can meet you in the morning with breakfast." She offered.

David looked at his wife. "How about we meet for breakfast with Regina in a couple of days? When she is feeling better?"

Mary-Margaret nodded her understanding. "I'll drop off some clothes for you at Granny's in the morning."

"Thank you." David hugged his wife. "Thank you for understanding."

Mary-Margaret just nodded. "Always."

EC

When David arrived to the hospital promptly eight and half minutes after hanging up with Whale, he was shown to Regina's hospital room. The brunette was lying on her left side while the doctor was preparing the instrument for the procedure. She smiled weakly when she saw him. He immediately was by her side, taking her hand and placing a soft kiss on her temple. "I'm sorry. I should have stayed with you."

Regina shook her head. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault." Regina was fighting to keep her eyes open.

"I gave her a mild sedative to help her relax." Whale provided as an explanation. "Can you stay toward the head of the bed and keep her calm?" He asked the sheriff. "It won't hurt but it will be uncomfortable."

After everything Regina had been through, neither men wanted her to be uncomfortable. David repositioned himself, still holding Regina's hand and making sure she could still see him. "Ok?" He asked her.

Regina nodded and squeezed his hand. Her eyes were closing despite her best efforts.

"Can you open your mouth?" Whale asked her. Regina executed herself immediately and the doctor applied a local anesthetic to the back of her throat. He then placed the mouthguard and started to feed the tube down slowly to minimize her discomfort. "Swallow." He gently prompted her.

Regina choked around the foreign object but did as she was asked. David kept holding her hand while gently caressing her right cheek and temple with his free hand.

The test was over under thirty minutes. Regina hadn't moved during the entire procedure, not even acknowledging her own discomfort. Years of abuse at Leopold's hands had taught her to hide her pain. That it wasn't relevant. That she wasn't relevant.

"How are you feeling?" David asked her while pivoting to face Regina directly. The brunette only nodded once. She closed her eyes, surrendering to the much needed sleep. David tucked the blanket around her. "How is she doing?" David asked the doctor.

"Some inflammation on her stomach lining. I'm going to prescribe her some antacid to help."

"What caused it?"

"Repeated vomiting. Either from stress or from being hit in the stomach. Or both." Whale looked at the woman sleeping peacefully on the bed.

"She was fine over the past week." David argued back.

"When you were with her." The doctor looked at the man directly in the eyes. "Mrs. Lucas said she was tense most of the evening after you left."

David turned his attention back to Regina. She needed him. But so did Mary-Margaret.