Sorry to have been away for so long! Life has been busy and my muse is not what it used to be. Anyway, I'll finish this story, I promise.

The kiss

When Regina awoke, she found herself in near complete darkness. The faint beeping of the monitors and precipitated steps in the corridor reminded her of where she was. She tried to move her fingers, clenching her teeth in anticipation for the pain. She let a small whimper escape her throat when she didn't feel any.

"Regina?" David was by her side in a fraction of a second. "Are you ok? Are you in pain?" The brunette shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. David wiped them with his thumb. "What's wrong?" Regina sobbed at the question. David sat down on the edge of the bed, taking her good hand in his. Regina was in shock. And all he could do was to keep her calm. "You're ok." He soothingly whispered. "Everything is fine. Whale was able to set the bone properly. It's over. All you need to do is rest."

"I can't do this anymore." She cried out. "I can't."

David swallowed hard. "Regina, it's all over. You need to relax." He ran his fingers through her hair, gently massaging her scalp. "Close your eyes."

Regina shook her head one more time. "I can't."

David placed his forehead on hers. "Just breathe slowly." He insisted. "Everything is ok. You're doing great." After a few minutes, Regina's sobbing diminished, leaving dry tears on her skin. David smiled at her, never breaking contact. "It's going to be fine." He promised.

Regina freed her hand to place it on his cheek. She rubbed the light stubble, wondering what time it was. Had David stayed with her the entire night? She moved her thumb over his lips, marveling at the softness. "Regina?" David called out. They shouldn't be doing this.

Regina leaned up and captured his lips into a tentative kiss. David pulled away from her immediately. "Regina…"

Regina gasped, her cheeks growing hot from the rejection.

"Regina, I'm sorry."

She closed her eyes tightly, fighting the tears. "Leave." Her tone was cold. "Leave!" She said more forcefully. "Leave me alone!"

"Regina, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have… It's my fault."

"Leave! Get out! Leave!"

Her screams had alerted the night nurse. "What's going on?"

Regina squinted against the light. "Leave!" She was becoming more agitated, prompting the nurse into action. "Leave me alone and never come back!"

"You need to go." She instructed David. "Please." Returning her attention toward her patient, she filled a syringe with what David assumed to be a sedative. With one last look at the woman squirming on the bed, David exited the room. He ran toward the parking lot, in search of the air that had suddenly gone missing from his lungs.

Once outside, David took a few deep breaths, the events of the last ten minutes playing over and over in his mind. How did they get here? Why had Regina kiss him? Was Mary-Margaret right after all? David climbed into his truck and drove to the station. He finally had to make the choice he never wanted to.

EC

Regina groaned as she was more fully waking. Her head was pounding and her mind felt like fog. David. Her cheeks grew hot as she remembered the kiss. She had kissed him. She didn't know why. Or rather she did but refused to admit it. David was the only person who cared about her. At first, she had just felt grateful for him but progressively, this feeling was replaced by something more. She often longed to be in his arms, feeling his warmth enveloping her. She has found herself daydreaming about going on dates with him. She had tried to suppress the feelings, chiefly because she knew David didn't return her affection. He was in love with Mary-Margaret and nothing could change that.

But she had kissed him and as she had predicted, he had rejected her. She had lost her only friend. She cried out at the loss of her most precious relationship.

"Easy, child." Regina felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You're ok."

Regina looked up at Granny and shook her head. No, she wasn't fine. She could never be fine again. How was she supposed to confront the people in this town? Surely, they would mock her to think that she was good enough for their beloved sheriff, that she was better than Mary-Margaret.

Granny wiped Regina's tears away. David hadn't been specific on the details but the old woman knew that Regina had finally acted upon her feelings. She had seen the change in her protegee over the past few months, from a battered wife to a beautiful woman in love. Granny had just wished that Regina would have fallen in love with someone else. "I know, child." Granny was soothingly running her fingers through Regina's hair. "And I wish he would have turned differently."

"What did David tell you?" Regina's cheeks turned bright red.

"Nothing, honey. Just that you needed someone else with you for now."

Regina nodded, remembering the scene she had made after David's rejection. "I kissed him." Granny closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She didn't need to be told what had happened next. Although she suspected that David returned Regina's feelings, she knew that he would never leave Mary-Margaret. David had made a commitment to her and David would never renounce it, no matter how much he may desire to do so. "And I told him to leave me alone."

"And I think you need some space right now. And so does David. But it doesn't mean that you two have to be apart forever."

"I've lost him." Regina's lower lip was quivering. "And it's all my fault."

"Regina, you didn't do anything wrong."

"I'm the one who kissed him." She argued back.

"Regina, you two do need to talk and find your boundaries. But you haven't lost him. Trust me, he won't abandon you."

Regina nodded, not believing a single word from Granny.

ECECEC

"I think that's the last of it!" Tink announced proudly as she placed the box on top of the others in the middle of Regina's living room. The studio apartment was mostly empty, save for a bed and a small table with two chairs. Although Regina had allowed her father to pay the deposit, she had refused to take any more money from him. But she needed some independence, especially considering that the sheriff had avoided Granny's diner ever since her surgery.

"Have you talked to him?" Granny whispered in Regina's ear. She was heartbroken for the both of them. She knew that Regina needed him more than she would ever admit it, even to herself. The old woman had known David her whole life and she understood better than most that he had not much say into the marriage after Mary-Margaret had told her father that David was the one. She couldn't help but wonder whether the young man would have asked her in marriage or whether they would have gone their separate ways, like most high school sweethearts.

Regina shook her head no. "There is not much point into it, is there? David made his choice."

Granny rubbed Regina's back gently. "I don't think he has, sweetheart. But I think you two need to be honest with each other."

Regina looked up at Granny expectantly. "Do you really think he wants to see me again? After what I've done?"

The old woman nodded, giving the young brunette an encouraging smile. "I think that you should text him."

Regina hesitated. "After the trial." She announced firmly. Regina's heart beat faster: her trial was set to start on Monday and she wasn't ready to face Leopold ready. She wasn't ready to face David either. All she wanted was to run away. But the fear of the unknown prevented her from doing so.

"After the trial." Granny repeated. Regina wasn't ready despite D.A. Balaur's best efforts. Then, there was the subject of Graham. Regina had remained tight-lipped about the subject but she would have to testify if Mr. Gold chose this particular line of questioning. And no one doubted that he would exploit every opportunity to portray Regina as a gold digger who had played her husband.

Tink opened the top box containing Regina's school books. Their GED exam was coming up quickly and she knew Regina was far from ready. Between her shifts at Granny's, trial preparation, and recovery from her surgery, Regina probably hadn't opened a single book in the past month. Tink closed the box quickly and moved on to the next one, giving Granny and Regina some privacy. She smiled when she saw the pictures sitting on top in the next box. They all had been taken in the past few months at Granny's, in the park, and at the Christmas party. They all depicted a smiling Regina, surrounded by her friends. "Where do you want these?" She asked cheerfully, showing Regina the first two.

The brunette looked around the empty apartment and sighed. She couldn't even afford furniture.

"I brought some nails." Granny pointed to the toolbox she had grabbed from the diner as they were leaving. Truth be told, she hated the idea of Regina alone in this place but she understood her need for privacy. She never had any. And she wasn't exactly going to be alone. Thomas would be staying two doors down for the reminder of the trial.

"I'll get more furniture soon." Regina didn't believe her own lie. She was drowning in debt. She didn't know how she going to afford her physical therapist in the next two weeks.

"I kinda like it this way, actually." Tink jumped up on the bare mattress. "Look at that dance floor!" Regina and Granny laughed with the younger blonde.