Regina was fidgeting in place, shifting her weight from one foot to the other in an attempt to look at the face of each of the passengers that were coming through the gate. She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"I think this is the flight from New York." David pointed at the stream of people coming from the gate.
Regina pulled herself off on tiptoes, trying to get a glimpse of her father, who had come to visit for Thanksgiving. Her heart stopped when she saw him: he was shorter than she remembered and his dark brown hair has turned silver. Or at least, what was left of it. "Daddy!" She exclaimed as she tried to make her way toward him.
As soon as he saw his daughter, Henry dropped his duffel bag and opened his arms just in time for Regina to jump into his embrace. "My little princess!" Henry cried, holding Regina close to him. He hadn't seen her in years. He blamed himself for what Regina had to endure. If he had been stronger, he would have been able to protect her.
"Daddy." Regina whispered, unwilling to let her father go.
David stood at a respectable distance, giving Regina the time she needed. They had an hour drive to Storybrooke and David wasn't looking forward to it. Although he had never said so again overtly to Regina, he blamed her father for what had happened to her. All of this could have been avoided if Henry had had the spine to say no to his wife.
But Regina loved her father and for her sake, David held his tongue even when she had admitted to him that the reason she hadn't tried to contact her father before Thanksgiving was because she wanted to have her life in order and make him proud. It had taken all of David's self-control not to remark on the fact that he had literally sold her to save his business.
"Daddy, this is David." Regina introduced.
Regina's voice brought David back to the present. He plastered a small on his face and shook Henry's hand. "Please to meet you." He lied.
"Same. Thank you for helping my daughter."
David fought not to roll his eyes at the comment. "You're welcome." He forced himself to say.
EC
The ride to Storybrooke had been excruciating. Regina and her father had kept up most of the conversation. He had been surprised to hear that Henry had divorced Cora about three years ago. The surprise had soon be replaced by anger when David realized that Henry could have come to Regina's rescue then. David had simply gripped the steering wheel tighter and had greeted his teeth.
As he nursed his bourbon away from the festivities at the diner, David couldn't help but loathe the man in front of him. For Regina, he would make an effort to be courteous but all he wanted to do was to punch Henry in the face. Instead, the man was being greeted by the friends Regina had made over the past few months. The crowd was small, consisting of Dr. Whale, Archie, Mal, Tink, and two other women David hadn't met yet.
"You know you're not fooling anyone."
David jumped at Granny's voice. "About what?"
The old woman rolled her eyes. "Your feelings towards Henry."
David sighed. "That obvious?"
Granny snorted. "I don't think you could be more antagonistic to the man if you punched him in the face."
"I considered it." David grumbled. "He is responsible for what happened to Regina."
"And Regina loves her father. If she doesn't blame him, neither should you. She needs all the people she can in her corner right now." David shook his head and crossed his arms across his chest. He knew Granny was right. The trial was set to start in January and Mal hadn't hid her concern about having Regina testify. The sooner they would get her prepared, the better but Regina has been reticent to talk to either of them about the details of her marriage.
"I know." He finally let out. He pushed himself from the bar and joined the small gathering.
Regina smiled up at him as he came to stand beside her. "Here you are!" She greeted. She could feel his animosity towards her father but she was happy he was trying. David and Henry were the most important people in her life and she wanted them to get along.
"Here I am." David wrapped his arm around her waist.
"I was telling Daddy about taking the GED early in the spring so I could apply for community colleges."
David smiled. "I'm sure you'll do great." They were interrupted by his cell phone. He looked at the caller ID before excusing himself. "Hi, baby!" He greets his wife.
"When are you coming back?"
David looked at the time and cursed under his breath. He hadn't realized it was running that late. "Sorry, the drive took longer than expected. Let me say goodbye to Regina and I'll be home in ten minutes."
"How is she doing?"
"Good. Happy." His wife stayed silent. "Want me to bring something back?"
"No. I'm making spaghetti and getting Emma ready for bed."
"I'll be here soon. I love you."
"I love you too."
He turned around as he hung up with his wife and jumped when he saw Henry standing just outside the diner. "I know you blame for what happened to Regina. But I don't think you hate me as much as I hate myself for it."
David was taken aback from the confession. "I…" He didn't know how to respond. Yes, her blamed Henry. But David was also blaming himself. He had been in Regina's life for years and had ignored the obvious signs of abuse.
"I love my daughter. She is the only light that came from my marriage to Cora."
"So why did you let marry Leopold?"
"Because I didn't have a choice, David." The man walked slowly toward the sheriff. "I was on business when Regina got married. When I got back home, she was gone." David's jaw dropped open at the revelation. "Cora never told me where Regina was. When I finally managed to figure out what happened to my little girl, I tried to have the marriage annulled since she wasn't eighteen yet but I lost the case since her mother had signed consent. It only requires one parent. I drove to Storybrooke on her eighteenth birthday but Regina was too afraid to leave her husband. Before I could do anything, Leopold had me escorted out of town. He told me that if I ever tried to get in touch with Regina again, he would kill her. I believed him."
David didn't have to ask Henry for details. He had witnessed some of Leopold's methods first hand. "After my divorce from Cora, I formed a shell company from which I hired a private detective to locate Regina. His last phone call to me was that he had located her in Maine and had someone on the case. After three months without any news, I assumed that Leopold got rid of both of them."
David closed his eyes. "What was the name of the contact?" He already knew the answer.
"Graham Humbert." David cursed loudly and kicked the ground hard. Henry ignored the outburst. "For my little girl's sake, I stayed away. But never doubt that I love her. She is too proud to ask for my help now. But I intend to do right by her. And that means taking her out of this godforsaken town!"
David shook his head. "Have you asked her what she wants to do?" The old man didn't answer. They both knew that Regina needed closure and that closure could only be found in Storybrooke.