Why hello there! Thanks so much for the comments on the first chapter! There were so many expressing interest that I decided to continue. I was supposed to work on an EC week prompt tonight, but I was too inspired for this one, so I hope this will do. Just to warn you this story will be filled with angst galore, but I know you're all here for that anyways ;) let me know what you think!
David walked into the main part of Snow's loft, spotting his grandson sitting at the counter, staring at a photo of Emma and his wife. He bit down on his bottom lip in hesitation of what to say or how to act now that he was technically no longer the boy's father. It was a strange feeling that tore at his heart and made him even angrier at Regina for how twisted she had made everything. He felt like Henry's father, hell, he was the only one the kid had ever known. Did he continue to act the same? Did Henry feel differently about him now?
He shook his head at his own insecurities as he set his gun belt down on the counter and decided to approach the subject, "Henry, don't worry...Emma and Mary Margaret are alive."
"How do you know?" The boy seemed so small as he sat with his arms crossed and slouched over the counter, his body language nothing but shear defeat. He had walked into the Town Hall after his and Regina's argument and while David had pulled himself together quickly, he knew the boy could still tell he had been upset. He hated that he had let him see him that way, always wanting to be strong for him, especially at a time like this.
"Because I have faith," He said seriously, coming over to crouch down to Henry's level and running his hands up his arms comfortingly as he'd done so many times before, "I will find them. I will always find them," He looked at him for a long moment and hoped that he sounded more convincing than he felt.
"So are you..." Henry hesitated for a moment before looking at him directly, "Are you and Mary Margaret together now or are you still married to my mom...?"
David's lips pressed into a line as he tried to determine how to respond. He hadn't even had time to consider it or even have a private conversation with Snow about what had happened during the curse. His familiar way of life and feelings from the curse still lingered inside of him and he hadn't had a moment to even think about what was real and what wasn't. Logically and morally he knew he should be with Snow, but how did that work when he'd just spent the last how many years living, loving and raising a child with their enemy?
"It's complicated, Henry..." He frowned hesitantly, "Snow is my one true love, so no...your mom and I aren't together anymore. Our marriage was part of the curse and it wasn't real."
Henry nodded slowly and he could tell the boy was struggling to process the new dynamic, "Okay..."
"How does that make you feel?" David took a breath, bracing himself.
"It's..it's the right thing to do. You and Snow are meant to be together and my mom - er, Regina - she's the Evil Queen. She tried to tear our family apart and she cursed all of us," Henry said and while there was conviction in his voice, David could also see the little part of his son that loved Regina deep down in the boy's eyes. No matter how messed up or on what grounds it started, they had been a family and what Henry was going through was like his parents divorcing but even more complicated.
"Once we get Mary Margaret and Emma back then things will work out like they should," He says seriously, running a hand over his hair as he straightened up. "Why don't you go get a bath before bed, ok?"
He watched Henry contemplate whether or not to believe him as he hopped down from his stool and he couldn't blame the boy. In less than a year, life as Henry had known it was flipped upside down. At first David hadn't known why Regina became so erratic about their son having notions in his head about fairy-tale characters. Every kid went through phases of not liking their parents and likening them to fictional characters seemed like something a child would do.
David shook his head and made his way over to grab a beer from the fridge once Henry had disappeared into the bathroom, sitting down at the counter himself. He frowned irritably as the sequence of the curse unraveling played back in his mind like a broken movie reel. He had been so foolish, believing the best of her always and Regina hadn't even respected him enough to tell him the truth before it all came out.
When Henry brought Emma to town and they found out she was Henry's birth mom, Regina had held it together while warning the blonde away. He had watched his wife give a cool welcome to the woman with a glass of apple cider before kindly telling her to back off. David had been worried of course about their son's biological mother being in the picture but he knew it wasn't even half of the panic Regina felt. She was his mother and she loved him fiercely, her life was dedicated to the boy, and he knew that the threat of his birth mother taking her place was too much for her.
He downed some of his beer in frustration as he remembered the way he held her that night after tucking Henry in. The boy had been bratty with her after she had warned Emma away, refusing to talk to Regina or let her put him to bed. David had done so and came back to their room to find her crying. She never cried openly, only in the privacy of her room when it was dark and he was the only one allowed in her company when it happened. He held her all night, wiping her tears and kissing her forehead. He reassured her that she was Henry's mother and no one could replace her.
David scoffed and shook his head in disgust at what a fool he had been, playing into her charade like the puppet he was. Were those even real emotions or was she putting on a show so that he'd be blinded from any suspicion? He hadn't believed any of the storybook nonsense and he had never doubted Regina when her curse began to unravel. It wasn't until the battle for Henry began between Emma and Regina that he started to think there was more to this than what his wife had told him.
Regina had grown increasingly anxious and tense, but unlike before she wouldn't speak to him about what she was thinking. She worked around the clock to find ways to get rid of Emma so that their lives could go back to normal. She had far less patience with their son than ever before and their entire family dynamic was tense because of it. Emma had even planned to leave town but that wasn't enough for Regina, she was still threatened that she would come back for him at any point. He later found out that his wife had gone so far as to poison the woman he now knew was his daughter, which resulted in Henry's near death.
Anger burned inside of him over the betrayal by the brunette he once thought he'd never be able to live without. How could she put their son in danger? How could she of even done any of this to him? To think that her need for vengeance on a young girl had gone so far that she had created an entire curse, had forced them to part with their daughter and had manipulated him into her own husband. The worst part was that she had pretended to be so happy with him. She had pretended to truly love him and it was what sickened him the most. None of it had been real - their marriage, the memories they created, raising a son together. It had all just been a sick and twisted part of her end game.
Regina sat in the den of her mansion, thumbing through the photo album that usually rested on the coffee table. It was the first time she had looked at it in months, for the people on the pages were typically under this roof for her to see and touch and love. She smiled weakly at the picture of the three of them last Christmas, before Snow had given Henry the book and her world came crashing down around her. She had been more happy and content than ever before in her life, even if it had been a lie.
She had barely slept since Mary Margaret and Emma disappeared and David had broken down in front of her in the town hall. Henry and Red came in shortly after and her son had rejected her once he found out what happened. She'd never seen David look at her with such malevolence or speak so firmly than when he said that Henry would go home with him, and she hadn't seen them since. The house was so quiet she heard every creak of loneliness and it did not help her paranoia that people would be coming after her now.
The most sickening part of it was that despite everything that had happened, the only person she wanted comfort from was probably the one who hated her most. She had gotten too used to being able to crawl into David's arms at the end of the night that she didn't know how to console herself anymore. He had been the only one she'd allowed to see the softer side of her since Daniel - the only one who she let see her weakness. He had a way of saying the right things and holding her so tightly that she felt safe in a way she never had before.
But now that was lost to her forever. She knew for certain that she would never feel that strongly for someone again. Despite the circumstances in which it began, her love for David was so real that her chest physically ached at the thought of never being intimate with him again. Not just sexual intimacy, but merely having a confidant and a best friend. He was the first person she told good news to, the only person she cried over bad news to, and her partner in everything. She had let him be her husband in every sense of the word and the pain she felt at the disintegration of her marriage and family was more crushing than anything she had felt before.
She couldn't shake the image of him in the hospital room beside of her when Emma kissed Henry's head and the rainbow of light swept the town, breaking the curse. The way he looked at her changed instantly. His expression was of shock and then hurt and then anger. His blue eyes turned cold as they gazed at her, just like they had been before the curse when he was still Prince Charming. The hospital room had remained silent while everyone processed Henry being revived by Emma's kiss but Regina's head spun and her stomach churned. She had looked back and forth between David and Henry for a few moments as the reality set in that her baby boy would live but she had to flee. The look on David's face told her that he was already lost to her so she wasted no time and ran to Henry, reassuring him that no matter what she loved him. And then she ran.
On top of the soul-crushing pain, she was angry. Angry at Snow for telling her secret. Angry at her mother for killing Daniel. Angry at the King for taking her innocence and holding her captive. Angry at Rumple for manipulating her for his own purpose. Angry that she had failed yet again at avenging Daniel's death. Angry that she had let herself get too comfortable during the curse and that she let Emma stay long enough to break it. Angry at David for walking away so easily. Angry at her heart for expecting him to do anything different.
Loud pounding on the door made her jump and sent a rush of adrenaline through her, intensifying her already jumpy disposition. Her heart thumped wildly when the knocking didn't stop and she sat the photo album down on the couch before getting up to walk to the foyer. She ran her hands over her pants suit to smooth out the wrinkles and took a deep breath before opening the door to find the man whose comfort she had been craving.
He looked at her in contempt before pushing past her abruptly, carrying the stupid Mad Hatter's hat in his hand as he stormed through their foyer. She turned and watched him as she shut the door, a mixture of hurt and anger flowing through her veins as she glared at his cockiness. He had all but told her he hated her yet he arrogantly claimed the right to invade her home as if he thought it was still his.
"Tell me about this-" He held up the hat after taking a few steps up into the house, looking down at her with a glare.
"I'm surprised you don't have armed guards around the clock," She gave a fake smile, not helping but to goad him to hide her emotions. If she didn't channel her Evil Queen persona to deal with him then she was going to break down and that was not an option.
"Don't need 'em," He gave her a fake smile and spun the hat in his hand, "We both know if you leave this house that there is a line a mile long for your head.."
The casual way he talked about her death felt like a knife twisting in her gut. How was that the same man who she shared a life with? Who comforted her? Who talked to her? Who made love to her? She grit her teeth and slammed the door, "Who is going to risk coming at me?" She asked defiantly and stepped toward him.
"Take your chances then, but I think that if you had your magic back by now this whole town would be charcoal," He looked at her knowingly and for the first time she recognized that he still knew her. He may look at her like she's a monster now but years of being married to someone doesn't go away. He still knew how to read her - he knew when she was bluffing and when she was anxious and everything in between. "The only thing keeping you alive is that Henry wishes it. Now, back to the hat."
She swallowed hard and steeled her emotions at the venom dripping from his tone and expression. The realization hit her that he truly would not care if she died. He would let the town rip her apart if Henry would allow it. The man she had let into her mind, body and soul more intimately than anyone in her entire life would relish in her death if it were to happen. Hurt hit her like an icy dagger to the heart, the pressure building in her chest and throat becoming too unbearable.
Regina walked past him silently, needing to be in a room without him in it so that she could catch her breath and refrain from bursting into tears. She heard his footsteps behind her - a sound that used to bring her comfort or even excitement at the anticipation of an embrace or a kiss. Now it only brought dread to the pit of her stomach but she turned around to face him all the same, refusing to tuck her tail in front of him.
"You know what? Maybe you should be worried less about this stupid hat and worry more about taking care of our son," She glared at him, rounding the dining table just slightly to put some distance between them. He had her hurt and angry and anxious and she needed space so that she could pull herself together.
"You mean my grandson?" David asked sarcastically with a raise of his brow, "The boy you manipulated into thinking he was yours and then made him feel crazy when he started catching onto the truth. Take care of him like that, you mean?"
"I'm sorry but I'm not going to take a lecture from the man who put his daughter and shipped her to Maine," She grit out angrily and stepped to the side, attempting to get around him. His large frame stepped with her, effectively blocking her from evading him at all.
"Ok listen," He looked at her intently and acted as if he were going to touch her shoulders but withdrew his hands quickly, "I need my family and there's clearly magic back in this town. There has to be a way that I can get to them-"
Regina recoiled at the way he called Snow and Emma his family even though she knew her reaction was ridiculous. They were his family and she was not. "Follow them where? Into a void? Good luck getting magic to work, David. Because as you said, you'd be charcoal," She glared up at him and he merely smirked back, causing hot anger to sliver up her spine.
"Frustrated are we?" He taunted her now and she felt like she was going to explode. If he had any idea the amount of anguish she was in he would know she was suffering sufficiently and that his antagonizing was not needed. "Serves you right. You deserve every bit of this, Regina. You pulled Snow and I apart. You separated us from our daughter. You destroyed our family. You kept me prisoner in this sham of a marriage for years and for what? All of this was for nothing because I am going to get my family back and you will be alone!"
She stared up at him in shock as her heart beat in her ears and a knot in the her throat too large to swallow. The viciousness of his words and the way he glowered at her now might almost be mistaken for confusion and heartbreak if she weren't aware of just how much he hated her. Her fists clenched, hoping to draw emotional strength from her physical stature before she spoke, "Keep baiting me, Charming. I don't have Henry and I don't have my magic but when I get one, I get the other. You don't want to be around when that happens."
He looked at her with disgust and she only realized then that they were merely inches apart. The only other time she'd seen his eyes this fiercely blue was during intense sex they'd have more often than any real married couple would. She found her gaze fall down to his lips before he began speaking again, "It makes sense now. All of those stories you used to tell me about how controlling your mother was and how she'd manipulate you to keep you in place. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it Regina? If you have to use magic to keep Henry then you don't really have him."
The comparison to Cora felt like a punch to the gut and she snapped, her hands coming up as she shoved him and cried out, "Get out!" She screamed and his large frame barely budged, "I said get out of my house, David!"
"I thought this was our house!" He taunted and she could see the way his jaw clenched in anger. He was baiting her but she didn't know why. Hadn't he said enough? Was she not miserable enough for his liking?
"I said leave!" She yelled as loudly and firmly as she could but her voice broke on her and her body began to betray her. Her hands were shaking now and she shoved him again in an attempt to keep him from noticing. A tear escaped her eye and ran down her cheek, making her angrier at the fact she was losing control of her emotions. Being vulnerable in front of him now was more humiliating than anything so far and he seemed to know it as he remained standing in front of her.
"You did this," He grit out and his own voice seemed gravelly as he watched her begin to crumble. Her eyes were glossy and her vision became blurry but she could still see that there was no smugness in his expression now, just his own anger and what might be mistaken as hurt. "You did this," He frowned deeply again and quickly shook his head and she swore that she heard his voice crack slightly. Her own tears were coming freely and her shoulders began to shake as she watched him turn and storm for the door. She held her breath to contain a sob until she heard him slam the front door and then crumpled to the floor.