Hello, angst lovers. You still out there? :) x
"So are we just going back to the way things were before?" Henry frowned when David came into his room and sat next to him on the edge of the bed. The ride home had been a silent one after Regina and David picked Henry up from school. They'd made a quick stop so that David could speak to the town council and put out a warning for people to stay off the streets and then they came back to their old home. Regina remained eerily quiet and had been elusive ever since they'd walked through the front door as they had so many times before as a family.
"No, Henry," David shook his head and sighed, not knowing how to even explain it to him. The simple answer was yes, he still cared about Regina's well-being, but what did that mean? What did it say that he knew his true love was out there but he was concerned about keeping the Evil Queen safe? "Someone from Regina's past is back...and they're dangerous. We're going to stay put under one roof until your mom and I find them."
"I told you she's not my mom," Henry said defiantly and David ran a hand over his face in exhaustion.
"I'm sorry, kid. I know this is a lot to process," He put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "But we can't give up. Regina's upset right now, we need to keep an eye on her and I don't trust that this guy won't come looking for her or hurt someone else trying to find her. This is just temporary."
"Why is he looking for my mo-" Henry glanced up at him before catching himself, "-the Evil Queen? Does he want to hurt her?"
David frowned and knew that his son deserved the truth, especially to keep himself safe if anything else, "Your mom's first love - Daniel," He frowned and took a deep breath, "Dr. Whale-"
"You mean Frankenstein?" Henry corrected with a raised brow, "It's pretty obvious."
"Yeah, him," He shook his head with a sigh, "He brought Daniel back from the dead, but he isn't the man your mother knew...he's violent. This sort of thing is why you never tamper with magic Henry. Playing with life and death, like that...it will always end poorly."
Henry nodded, absorbing David's words, "You really think he'd hurt her?" He asked and David wanted to tell the boy to go down and hug his mother like he wanted to. But with everything Regina had done, how could he dismiss the boy's feeling of betrayal when he knew it all too well? He couldn't, so he didn't push Henry to make amends with her.
"I think he's just not in control of himself anymore, he would probably hurt anyone," David nodded and let out a breath, running a hand over Henry's hair. "So I want you to get some sleep. And if you hear anything out of the ordinary you come to us, okay? Your Mom put up a protection spell around the house, but we don't know what we're dealing with just yet."
"Okay," Henry nodded tiredly, allowing David to pull the covers up over him as he laid back in bed. He blinked slowly as David leaned over to tuck him in and kiss his head, "G'night dad."
David swallowed hard at the familiar name and mumble to Henry's voice. It was a painful reminder of his life here before the curse had broken and how content he'd been. His heart ached over missing their routine and his head throbbed at the fact that he did. He shut Henry's door on the way out and took a deep breath, leaning back against the hall wall.
He looked up, eyes focusing in on the arrangement of pictures Regina had put up of Henry over the years. Most of them were candid photos of their family holidays and special moments. He noticed she'd added a larger picture that Henry took last Christmas with his new camera of she and David curled on the couch after watching him bask in his gifts.
How long had it been up there and he hadn't noticed? The house was always so filled with love and contentment that he took for granted the detailed touches she added to their life. Would a woman who didn't care about her family go to the trouble of something as mundane as hanging photos? Of making their house feel like home? Being there now that he knew what he did only served to tighten the tug of war in his heart.
This was where they had made so many memories. Memories that he couldn't seem to release even though they were manufactured by the woman he thought he loved. But the years they spent living together as a family were real and the way they came to be did not make them any less so. At least not in his heart.
He saw the faint kitchen light from the top of the stairs and continued down the hall, taking in the feeling of being there once again. Regina had secluded herself somewhere downstairs and he wanted to see if she'd changed anything since they'd been gone. But everything appeared the same, just the way it had been when they were blissfully happy and he wasn't tortured by carrying two lives worth of memories.
He let the ache in his heart lead him to the end of the hall where their bedroom was. The door was open and he noticed Regina had left the bedside lamp on. He knew she was unnerved by the dark and that is likely why she'd left it on for tonight when she thought she was coming home to an empty house. He hated the fact that he cared if she felt lonely or scared living here alone for the first time. She was the Evil Queen, the one responsible for this entire mess. She didn't deserve his consideration.
But she had also been his Regina. The thoughtful wife who turned down the bed and always asked how his day was as they climbed into it. The always freezing heat seeker who stole covers and tucked her cold feet under his legs and cuddled into his back while they slept. The temptress that kept him up at night with mischievous kisses and wandering hands that got him in the mood no matter how tired he was. The insufferably cheerful morning person who woke him on Saturday mornings chatting his ear off about what she had planned for them.
He walked into their bedroom and noticed her side of the bed was made up but that his side had been slept in. Her glass of water and her alarm clock were on his nightstand and he wondered why she'd choose to change her side of the bed now. In the past he'd come home to find her wearing his flannels because she said she'd missed him and he wondered briefly if that could be the reason behind it. Then again, was she even capable of feeling sentimental? Those soft little things she would do that he always found endearing were likely just a part of her act, after all.
His gaze flickered from her new sleeping arrangement to her silky pajama set lying folded on the bed and his thoughts quickly shifted to how intimate they'd been in this very room. Their sex varied from playful and passionate to something deep and meaningful just as their conversations had. He remembered the way she'd told him things about herself and how vulnerable she seemed gripped him now. In this very bed and under these very covers they had shared hopes and fears and future plans. Was anything real?
He remembered a night that had always stuck out to him, especially now, when Regina had become emotional seemingly out of nowhere. She wasn't one to vocalize her feelings often but she had blurted out her love for him in an unexpected moment and when he looked into her her eyes they were filled with tears. He realized now that it would've probably been a few years into the curse, long before they'd adopted Henry. It had probably stuck in his mind because recalling it now, it had been the first time she'd told him. Had she meant it at all?
Regina's body curled up from the bed, hips pushing against his as he took her, sinking deeper and stretching her with his size. She reached up to grip the headboard with one hand, choking on a moan as their bodies slid together with ease and he filled her to the hilt. They'd been at it for hours now after getting worked up from an argument, both of them slick with sweat and Regina's first two orgasms.
Her insecurities had gotten the best of her at their date night at Granny's when Ruby, being her usual over-friendly self, had been too attentive to David for Regina's liking. Regina had seemed not only irritated but unnerved by it, as if she were expecting him to leave her at any moment and that Ruby's flirty nature would be the thing to take him.
They'd argued the entire way home, David trying endlessly to prove his loyalty to her and arguing that he hadn't been flirting back with Ruby. It had seemed like Regina was more angry at herself for expecting him to want to be faithful to her and that she was looking for ways to prove he wouldn't be. Like she wanted him to admit that he was going to abandon her after one exchange with another woman and that he actually didn't love her at all.
He'd chased her up the stairs when they got home and she stormed down the hall, still spatting when they reached their bedroom door. She spun around to face him once in their room and they continued to push each other's buttons, knowing just what to say to piss the other off. He accused her of being irrationally jealous and she accused him of having a wandering eye. It was stupid and immature but he saw a hint of fear in her eyes when she accused him and knew that picking a fight was how she was dealing with her own anxiety.
David had finally grabbed her and shut her up with a firm kiss and they instantly began removing clothing and moving towards the bed, both knowing they were idiots to let the foolish argument go this far. Now they were here, three rounds later, panting and sweating and coming on ruined sheets. They would both feel it tomorrow with how rough they were being but they didn't care. They took each other in a demanding and possessive manner, as if to prove the honesty of their feelings.
He braced himself with one arm under her lower back and the other above her head, pressed into the mattress to keep himself up as he drove himself into her. She moaned with each thrust as he pushed deeper and harder. His cock slid out of her half way before driving into her wetness again, creating a rhythm that had her breasts brushing his chest and her nipples grazing his skin deliciously.
David knew she had needed reassuring, that for some reason she was insecure about his love for her and that it was his job to convince her it was real. Her past had made it difficult for her to put her complete trust in anyone and he knew he was earning it. She would push him away every so often but he'd reel her back in. He kept his eyes locked with hers he took her, seeing her mouth fall open as he coaxed a sling of incoherent words and moans from her.
"I'm-" She gasped, lips parting as her brown eyes darkened and he felt her walls begin to tighten around his cock. He pushed into her to his root, hearing her cry out in appreciation of his girth as he kept himself deep inside. Without pause he began grinding and pushing his hips into hers, knowing she was more than wet and stretched enough to take it. Her arousal seeped from her and onto the sheets below, the erotic wet sound of it spurning him on as he moved his arm from her lower back down to her hips, keeping them tightly against his own.
"David!" She yelped before sucking in a sharp breath, back arching and her heels pushing into his lower back. Her muscles clenched around his cock with force as the rest of her body squirmed and writhed in his hold. He groaned as he watched the pleasure play out in her expression and continued to jut into her until the gripping of her tight walls sent him over the edge, milking him of his own orgasm when he finished inside of her.He groaned breathlessly into her neck as his hips slowly stopped undulating, drawing out the pleasure for them as long as he could. He remained lying between her legs, feeling her thighs trembling against his sides, weak from the pleasure that radiated from her core throughout her limbs. When he heard sniffles he lifted his head from her neck, searching her expression with a concerned look of his own.
"Sweetheart?" He frowned worriedly and studied her eyes, "Oh god, did I hurt you?" He saw the tear fall from the corner of her eye into her hairline as she looked up at him and his blood ran cold at the thought he'd been too rough.
She shook her head quickly, swallowing at the knot in her throat. "No...No, I'm fine. I just...I love you, David."
"Did you need something...?" He heard Regina ask, ripping him from his memory of the heated night between them. His mouth gaped momentarily, scrambling for a something to explain himself before he nodded and turned to her.
"I was just grabbing some pajamas," He schooled his features and pointed towards the closet, making his way over to open the door on his side. "Sorry-" He muttered without looking back in her direction and instead stared at all of his clothing and shoes just how he'd left him. He glanced to the wall of the closet and spotted one of his flannels hanging on her hook, hitting his gut with a melancholy blow. She had been wearing it.
"It's fine. Take whatever you need, it's all still there," Regina replied in her all-business tone accompanied by a curt nod and clasped hands. "Towels are in the bathroom if you need to shower. The guest room is made up and waiting for you."
"Thank you for the hospitality," David said dryly, something about the way she'd dismissed him from his own bedroom rubbing him the wrong way. He'd been in the middle of such an intimate memory with her that her aloofness now felt like a slap in the face even though he knew reality was different. Bitterness and frustration bubbled within that he even allowed the memory to bother him and he found himself needing to lash out. Arguing and being angry with her was easier than whatever this was. "I'll be sure not to take too long. Wouldn't want to inconvenience you."
"Excuse me?" Regina frowned, sitting down on the edge of the bed and rubbing her temples. "Actually. Never mind, I don't want to know what your problem is. I can't do this with you right now, David."
"You can't do this-" He muttered her words before he let out a bitter laugh, turning to her after grabbing a pair of his pajama pants. "I'm in the Evil Queen's bedroom getting a pair of my pajamas out of a closet I used to share with her while my true love is in another realm facing god knows what. And the worst part is that I can't do anything about it because I'm stuck here with the evil bitch behind it all!"
Regina's mouth gaped and her eyes blew wide with anger. She stood abruptly, going from seeming defeated to ready to fight in a mere second which oddly satisfied him, "I never asked you to come here! You insisted! I never asked for your help or your protection. I can take care of myself! You can leave my house any time you see fit!"
"Oh so I'm supposed to leave you here alone to face this man from your past? Some man that you turned into a violent monster because you couldn't let go of him?" She flinched at the statement and David almost felt bad about it. Almost. "Hell, Regina, if he can do that to Whale what's stopping him from taking you out? If something happened I know you'd refuse to use your magic on him and he'd end up killing you."
"He wouldn't hurt me," She insisted defiantly with a stubborn shake of her head. "I told you I can take care of myself and if you want to leave then no one is stopping you!"
"I bet you'd love that, wouldn't you?" He grit his teeth, his aggravation pushing him to react further. "You've wrecked my life but now that Daniel is back you can't wait for me to get out of the picture, can you?"
"You don't even want to be in the picture!" She yelled back at him with wild eyes, her confusion showing through. "So why are you still here?!"
"Because you were my wife! If any of it was real-" He stopped quickly before he exposed himself, face flushed with anger at their situation and how poorly he was controlling his feelings over it. "Regardless of how I feel, we share a son. For his sake, I can't let anything happen to you-" he corrected so that she would not catch on that it was about so much more than just Henry.
"If what was real-" Her eyes filled with tears and she sucked in a breath, seeming caught on his initial statement.
"We were married for decades, Regina-" His tone was hard and he became angrier that she was prodding his slip up. "Years of waking up to you, of raising a kid with you, of talking to you and fucking you! I can't just dispose of you knowing what this guy could do. I'm not heartless like you-"
Her glistening eyes hardened at the term he used, "We both know that when Snow gets back you're going to do the right thing. Let's not make this harder than it has to be. You'll go back to her and Henry will go with you and the four of you will forget me. Do not stick around now because you feel you need to be the hero for Henry's sake. Get out of my house and leave me be. I am fine on my own."
"Of course you are," David glared, feeling hurt that he admitted to wanting to protect her and she only ordered him gone without hesitation. "I forgot, I'm dealing with the Evil Queen. Not whoever you pretended to be before the truth came out. Don't worry, come morning we will be out of your hair for good."
Regina felt the familiar sense of dread settle in her gut as she dressed for the day, knowing her house was empty from the moment she'd woken up. David and Henry had left that morning just as he'd promised. Just as she'd instructed him to. She didn't know why she had expected something different but a small part of her had hoped he wouldn't leave. That it wasn't just about his promise to Henry but that David secretly cared about her well-being.
It was foolish but it didn't hurt any less as she walked down the hall, looking into the guest bedroom and seeing the bed made as if he'd never been there. Henry's bedroom door was open as well and she noticed his disheveled covers and empty bed, her chest aching that he wouldn't even tell her goodbye. She didn't know when she would see him again but she knew he did not believe she really intended to redeem herself. She didn't know if it would matter if she did at this point, but she would keep her promise to him.
She leaned into the door-frame of Henry's bedroom as her vision blurred with tears. Even if she never used magic again her son might never forgive her. She knew all too well how the scars inflicted by a parent's manipulation could last a lifetime. He had barely spoken to her when she and David picked him up from school the day before, immediately eyeing her suspiciously when he spotted her in the vehicle. Seeing his distrust towards her and knowing she deserved it nearly crippled her with pain and self-loathing every time no matter how often she'd seen it lately.
Finding David in their room the night before looking as if he was reliving a memory had not helped her feel any more reassured in her fragile emotional state. Just the image of him standing near the bed they shared had her yearning for reality to be a dream. She had wished he'd simply been changing into his pajamas in preparation of getting into that bed and cuddling her until she felt safe again. Until she didn't feel so alone.
Instead he had hurled a string of painful insults at her, calling her heartless and evil. The man who she'd let know her true self more intimately than anyone ever had, calling her out for what she really was. Confirming that he had only been there because he had promised Henry he wouldn't let her die. He was a hero and heroes kept their word. He didn't have any love for her keeping him there because it had been manufactured by a curse that no longer existed. His anger was merely due to the fact his promise to Henry kept him bound to a woman he hated.
So she had released him from his duty and ordered him gone, allowing for his return to Snow's loft and working to get his real family back. She knew she had to let David and Henry go and let them reunite with Snow and Emma without her interference. They were lost to her, especially David. Henry may forgive her someday but only if she kept her promise to him and proved herself worthy of redemption. The sliver of hope that he might someday speak to her again kept her on her path despite the Evil Queen wanting to take over and protect her from the heartbreak she felt.
Daniel had given her reason to get up and dressed for the day, determined to find him and salvage whatever he had become. The possibility of having him back had been too much for her to absorb and keeping up a front around David had not allowed her to fully delve into what Daniel's return may mean. After her argument with David she had closed her bedroom door and sat in shock, finally allowing her brain to try to process that her first love may be alive. She spent most of the night shakily holding the ring he'd given her and attempting a locating spell with no luck. The rest was spent in bouts of fitful sleep, her dreams haunted by past trauma that her current reality had stirred within her.
Another chance with Daniel was all she had left and she forced herself out of her own head and into action, turning to make her way down the hall to start her mission. Her hand skimmed the railing as she made her way down the steps, pausing midway when a knock on the door startled her. Her heart immediately began thumping faster and anxiety knotted her stomach at the uncertainty of who would be on the other side.
There were so many people that still wanted to see her dead. She would have to watch her back during every waking moment, just like she had as the Evil Queen in the Enchanted Forest. Maybe David and Henry had returned and this would be nothing. Perhaps they'd just gone to Granny's for breakfast like they used to and would be on the other side of the door with a bag of takeout.
She scolded herself for the foolish notion as she stepped down into the foyer and walked across it to reach the door. Things were not as they once were and David would not be bringing her back breakfast and a kiss. Helplessness and fear gripped her as it had in her youth before the Evil Queen began to protect her. Her promise to Henry left her with no form of defense should this be someone who wanted to cause her harm. Still, she would not give the town the satisfaction of watching her hole up in her mansion and waste away from fear of what they might do to her.
Regina took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, channeling her best Evil Queen persona that crumbled as soon as she swung the door open. "Daniel..."
David glanced at Henry to make sure he was still sleeping when he heard the knock on his apartment door. It had been days since he'd spoken to or heard from Regina but he had text her asking if she could watch Henry and she had responded almost immediately. He hated to ask her for help but he was at his wits end with the town unraveling faster than he could fix it. He braced himself and crossed the apartment in a few strides, opening the door to see her looking up at him with an indecipherable expression.
"Hey, thanks for coming-" He frowned and stepped to the side to motion for her to come in. The smell of her perfume caused an uncomfortable twinge in his heart as she passed but he forced the sense of longing from his mind and closed the door behind her. "I just need you to watch Henry-"
"So you said," She replied in the same cool tone he used, her eyes softening when her gaze flickered over to the bed and saw their son's sleeping form. "What's going on? Is he ill?" She frowned and looked back to David then, concern creasing her brow.
"He's been having nightmares," He admitted, remaining on the opposite side of the apartment so that their conversation wouldn't wake the boy.
"Nightmares? What kind of nightmares-" Her tone became fiercely protective and she looked at him accusingly, like this was somehow a result of neglect.
"I've been a little busy-" David clenched his jaw, keeping his voice low despite her attitude making him want to get loud with her. Seeing her even after a week of no communication had immediately stirred something within him and only proved that time and distance didn't seem to ease her effect on his psyche. "He's dreaming about being in a burning room. I don't know. It just sounds like a kid's nightmare, but I can't exactly leave him here alone either way."
"Oh, I see. You need a babysitter for our son that you took from me so that you can go find a way to get your family back?" Regina smiled sarcastically at him and his eyes narrowed in response.
"Actually, I got a call from Granny about Ruby, some trouble with her transforming again-" David ran a hand through his hair and over the tense muscles of his neck, "Not to mention I'm dealing with the hysteria of the town over your curse and Albert Spencer coming for me to take control of the people. Oh and lets not forget, the threat of the man who attacked Whale still being on the loose-"
"Actually-" Her expression faltered and he saw a hint of vulnerability at the mention of her stable boy, "Daniel...he, he's with me. At the mansion..."
"He what-?!" David whispered fiercely and took a step towards her, staring her down for answers. "And you didn't think to call me?! Jesus, Regina!" His eyes searched her over for any sign of harm before he could stop himself.
"Why would I? I told you I would handle it!" She snapped, instantly defensive at the way he spoke to her and mask slipping back into place. "He is perfectly fine. I've got everything under control-"
"Under control? Well forgive me if I don't trust you when you say that when you're behind all of this-" He glared, "How could you not tell me you found him?!"
"I didn't find him!" Regina snapped as much as their current whispered volume would allow, "He found me-" She added and diverted her gaze, causing him to become even more suspicious. There were many years of reading her body language under his belt and he knew how she acted when she wished to avoid delving deeper into a topic.
"He needs to be locked up-" David replied firmly, putting his hands on his hips. "And I should lock you up for harboring a criminal!"
"He's not a criminal, David," She shook her head adamantly, "He just doesn't have his own heart. When Whale woke him up he thought he was under attack and retaliated. He didn't mean to cause him harm-"
"Oh don't give me that shit-" He snorted in disbelief at how casual she was being about her former lover-turned-monster being in their home. "You saw what he did to Whale! That was intentional and we both know it. There's something wrong with him, he's not who he used to be-"
"Only at first! Waking up with someone else's heart was having an adverse reaction on him. Your instinct would be to fight too if you woke up in an entirely different realm surrounded by Whale's medical instruments and bright lights. He was scared!"
"Scared?! Regina you know as well as I do that messing with life and death has serious consequences. You're telling me he's just back to normal now? That he's gotten used to this new heart and won't hurt anyone else again?" His own heart screamed at the idea of her in danger and it made him feel utterly overwhelmed with stress of everything else.
"I've found magic that helps him, potions-" Regina explained carefully, holding her hands up in front of him as if to plead for him to keep calm at the mention of her magic. "I'm not using magic again, I swear - only mixing potions. They help his body stop rejecting the heart and prevent the adverse reactions to occur. I think with time and these potions, that we can-" She paused and he saw her eyes gloss over with emotion as her expression softened and she swallowed thickly, "-that he could live a normal life."
David felt his stomach churn at the hope and vulnerability and love in her expression. She intended to keep Daniel here and try to make it work with him. Her first love was back and she doing everything in her power to keep it so. He pushed the feelings down that the news stirred in him, forcing himself to remain hardened to their current reality. "Well, isn't that good news for you-" He replied tersely, not being able to help how it came out or to stop his next remark, "After everything you've done. The lives you've destroyed. You get another chance with the man you love."
"I know that it doesn't seem fair-" Regina admitted, her voice small and her gaze downcast. "I didn't plan-"
"Fair? It is the furthest thing from fair," David let out a quiet, humorless chuckle. "It is no wonder you haven't been after me to see your son. Is it a little easier to forget about Henry now that you have Daniel back? Don't need him anymore to fill the void? Or me to play your husband? You've got the real deal now-"
"David-" She whispered his name in an almost pleading tone and looked up at him, tears threatening to spill over her lashes. He didn't know where her emotion was coming from and he didn't care. Reading her body language was one thing that hadn't changed but reading her eyes was a skill he lost when the curse broke. He had witnessed every emotion flicker through those dark depths when they were married but it had been a lie. Trying to decipher what meaning they held and the authenticity of it now only served to further confuse his heart and torment his mind.
"I'm happy for you, Regina, truly-" He nodded and gave a wide smile then in a vain attempt to cover his resentment. She was getting the man she loved back after tearing he and Snow apart. After haunting him with feelings from their cursed marriage that he couldn't shake. The irony of it all made him insane. "I guess things are starting to look up around here after all. We were just celebrating at Granny's last night. It was a shame you missed it, though I'm not sure the town would've welcomed you."
"Celebrating?" She questioned at his sudden change in behavior, her tone uncertain.
"Didn't you hear? We found fairy dust down in the mines. Enough to soon make Jefferson's hat work again," David explained, forcing himself to seem giddy at the idea. The way he should be feeling instead of so goddamn conflicted over Regina. "We will be able to open the portal to get Snow and Emma back."
"Oh," Regina visibly swallowed, face expressionless but her eyes swimming with emotions he still couldn't track. "Well, congratulations, Charming. It looks like you're getting your happy little family back after all."
"Just like I said I would," David gave an arrogant shrug to spite her, "Now if you'll keep an eye on Henry, I should be back in a few hours. I'm sure you're anxious to get home to Daniel."
David watched her give a single nod, her lips pressed together as if she had nothing else to say and didn't plan to rise to his bait. He watched her for a moment before turning and grabbing his jacket from the hook and making his way out of the apartment. His head felt like it could explode after trying to keep a shred of his composure in front of her. He didn't have time to face what his reaction to all of this meant. Not when he had a town depending on him and a family to reunite.
Regina swiped at her tears in annoyance that they would not cease as she attempted to focus on measuring her latest batch of potion. Daniel would be waking soon and she needed to be prepared for whatever mood it would bring. She felt as if she'd been in a trance since the night she'd first seen him standing in the road and the events following had only served to shake her until she was grasping at straws to keep an ounce of sanity. Part of her had even begun to wonder if she was dreaming or under a spell that impaired her reality. Anything to explain just how wildly her life was spinning out of control.
She had just returned from spending hours at Henry's bedside, watching him sleep and rehearing what she would say when he woke up angry over her being there. Torturing herself had only proved wasted when David returned before their son even woke up. Conversation and eye contact between them was sparse as she she gathered her things to leave. David asked if Henry had any nightmares and Regina confirmed he had not. He merely nodded in response and muttered thanks before glancing at the door dismissively. She had been too tired to call him out on his callous behavior and left the apartment without another word. There was no time for another hurtful argument with him when she had a rather urgent matter at home.
Her first love - the man she had grieved for decades, the man she cursed and ruined lives for - he was back, lying sleeping in her downstairs guest room. He appeared alive and breathing when she opened her front door just days ago, dressed in the same clothes she'd buried him in. They were tattered and blood-stained, his hair disheveled and his once kind expression wild with distress. His eyes changed the moment he recognized her and she had nearly fainted at seeing the familiarity reflected in his gaze.
She had dreamt of his return for years following his death. Dreamt that one day he would appear and they would have a second chance at the life together that was stolen from them years ago. Except in her dreams he had been entirely himself, full of warmth and confidence and radiating love for her. They would embrace and she would know in her heart that everything would work out.
This wasn't her dream. Daniel was confused, seeming to come in and out of coherent thought as the misplaced heart in his chest reacted toxically with his mind. He knew who he was part of the time, his brain still healthy enough from her enchantment to give him moments of lucidity, but the stranger's heart battled for control of his psyche. It caused him bouts of agonizing pain that crippled him mentally and physically with headaches and mood-swings that she hadn't been prepared for.
He had allowed her to hug him when he stumbled in her front door, uttering her name desperately as they embraced and she cried into his chest. Her presence had seemed to bring him out of his haze enough to calm him, allowing her to explain how he'd ended up in this land and the short version of what had happened while he was gone. He explained in broken sentences what had happened when Whale brought him back to life, the fear and confusion and excruciating pain of the experience prompting the heart in his chest take over.
From what she gathered he had blacked out when the heart took control and did not remember becoming violent. He couldn't explain how he had tracked her down or come to be on her doorstep or if he had hurt anyone else in the process. Dread filled her stomach when he seemed to realize the severity of his own situation and his panic began to take over. He had doubled over on her sofa in pain, holding his head with his hands and rocking as he became more agitated. She had tried to console him through her own tears but his hand came up and grabbed her wrist, painfully twisting it until she cried out.
Her cry seemed to bring him back for a mere second, giving her time to stand and stumble back from his grip. He groaned in agony and looked at her with pleading eyes, like he knew what he'd done but couldn't verbalize an apology, which only served to upset him more. Within seconds he had spiraled into a rage and his face turned unrecognizably dark, eyes glinting with malice as he started to make his way towards her. The pain made him uncoordinated, giving her an advantage in getting away from him as she rounded the living room and tried to talk to him, hoping her voice would trigger his brain and bring him back to lucidity.
It hadn't worked and she ended up cornered, unable to calm his growing rage. Instinct took over during her panic and she used magic to render him unconscious before she even made the conscious decision to do so. When she realized what had happened she simply crumpled over him where he fell, sobbing for a solid hour as the trauma worked it's way through her. When she was able to stop crying long enough to catch her breath she lifted her head and allowed herself to soak in being near him again. His face had been so peaceful as he slept and she had traced his features with her finger as she had so many times when they were only kids, realizing she couldn't bring herself to give up on him.
Despite her gut instinct she had removed Cora's spell-book from the locked cabinet and found a potion similar to a sleeping curse but more temporary. She had decided that having something to give him to keep him from falling into another one of these episodes would allow her enough time to find a more permanent fix. In the days since she had barely slept, researching constantly for a remedy. The only answers she found involved dark magic that would erase even more of the real Daniel or switching out the heart for another, which likely kill him in his already compromised health.
So she found herself yet again at her kitchen counter, making more of the potion that helped sedate him and sleep when the pain became unbearable. She hoped the potion would keep him calm long enough for his body to stop violently rejecting the heart. If she could only manage to get him physically healthy then the rest would fall in place. It had to.
"You're awake," Regina smiled weakly when she opened the guest room door and saw him stirring in the bed, eyes opening and blinking at her sleepily.
"Regina..." He murmured, seeming to remember where he was and what had happened to bring him here. Retaining his memories of the past few days encouraged her and she continued into the room with his tea, placing it slowly on the nightstand.
"How are you feeling?" She asked and studied him, sitting down on the edge of the bed once she was sure it was her gentle Daniel in control for the time being.
"Well enough for now," He managed a meek smile and grasped her hand when she slipped it under his. His body was still cooler to the touch than it should be but she willed the thought away when he spoke again. "Have you found anything?"
"Not yet, but I'm not giving up-" Regina searched his expression, fearful that he would begin to give up himself and ask her to quit trying. She couldn't face having to say goodbye to him again, fearing that if she lost one more person she may break in a way that would never allow her to find her strength again. He was all she had and she found herself reverting to the heartbroken twenty year old who begged Frankenstein to bring him back. "We're going to fix this."
"If you say so, Regina," Daniel looked up at her with his familiar, warm gaze that made her heart ache with desperation to help him. She had changed so much since she'd last seen that look of tenderness from him but she would not fail him now. "Tell me about your life here..."
She smiled timidly at his request, shame coloring her features. "I told you - I cursed this land...I have no life here...not anymore, not since the curse was broken."
"And before? You had a family?" He asked with no trace of resentment, only gentle curiosity of her life since they parted. She envied the peace he seemed to have over their past during his lucid moments but the resigned sadness she sometimes caught in his gaze felt like a knife twisting in her gut.
"I have a son," Her throat burned with emotion, wishing things were different so that she could introduce them instead of merely tell him. "Henry Daniel..." She smiled through tears when his expression warmed at the knowledge she'd named her son after him. "I adopted him ten years ago."
"Where is he now?"
"With...with his father," Regina bit her bottom lip anxiously and glanced down to their hands. She knew neither of them had the energy to get into the specifics of who Henry's father was or the twisted way she made Snow's husband her own in the curse. Her stomach rolled at the thought of having to explain just how far she'd fallen from soft-hearted girl he once knew.
"You loved him?" Daniel inquired gently and she met his knowing gaze with a sharp inhale. She'd forgotten he could read her like a book and was surprised he still could after decades of hiding behind the dark thing she had become. "You may think that I don't know you now, but your eyes always did give you away, my love."
Regina gave a shaky exhale, tears trailing down her cheeks now as she nodded slowly, "I do...I wasn't supposed to. I didn't intend to. My heart was always with you, but...It felt so good to have someone care for me again and I couldn't stop myself. I am sorry."
"There's nothing to apologize for, Regina-" He said as firmly as he could, squeezing her hand so that she'd continue to look at him, "I always wanted you to be happy. Even if it was not with me."
"He's gone now...gone to me at least," Regina shook her head and swiped at tears, the feeling of talking to Daniel about David making her control crumble. "It's over and I have you back now-" She added and attempted a smile through her blurred vision.
Daniel watched her with a knowing expression that made her stomach sink and dread fill her. Like he knew they did not need to voice the doubts they both carried about how this would end. Like he knew she needed him to live with her in denial a little longer while she regained her strength. "I will always be with you, Regina. No matter what happens."
"You promise?" She swallowed at the knot in her throat and she watched him nod. Anxiety filled her when the physical pain he felt flickered across his face. She knew he was growing uncomfortable once more when he glanced at the tray on the nightstand he knew held his potion.
"I think I'll have that tea now, my love."