Sorry for the long wait! I had a lot going on! Oh and please don't hate me for this chapter! Also, reviews are ALWAYS appreciate! please please please?

Emma and Snow were pissed that they still hadn't managed to find a way to get David back… and Emma had to admit she wanted to get Regina back for Henry's sake. It had been only two full days, but she was searching hard, especially since Gold had told her that it would have meant at least a week had already passed there. Snow stopped into the station, where Emma was swamped with trying to convince people not to leave town yet, and walked into her office. Looking up, Emma greeted her newfound mother with a weak smile.

"So… I need to get David back, but I'm not as concerned about it as I was yesterday."

"Why is that?"

"I remembered why Regina cast the curse. She couldn't kill David or me in the Enchanted Forest anymore, Rumple put a spell on a blade that she tried to stab me with so that she would never be able to harm us there again."

Emma's eyes lit up with relief. "Oh, thank god. I'm trying, but without magic… I just feel like it's going to be hard and Gold isn't going to help us."

"We can always get Blue."

"Um… remind me who that is again?"

"Mother Superior."

"Oh, right. The fairies are nuns or the nuns are fairies… whatever. I really need to go back to Boston."

"Emma! We… I just found you."

"I know… I do. This is… this isn't my life. This isn't what I wanted. I mean, yeah it's great that I found my parents. But I didn't expect you to be my age… you know?"

"I understand, but it doesn't mean that I don't love you so very much."

"I know. Alright, let's go talk to your friend."

Two more days passed and they were completely out of food, and that was considering they had only been eating two meals a day at half portions. Regina couldn't put off someone hunting for much longer, but she knew it was very likely that her mother would still be watching for someone to leave the castle. She knew it would have to be her; otherwise her mother would kill anyone else she sent. Sighing, she got out of bed, heading to her wardrobe. Picking out a pair of black riding pants and a white loose-sleeve blouse, she put them on and pulled on a chocolate colored leather vest over her shirt. She used magic to pin her hair out of her face and grabbed Graham's satchel, conjuring a bowl from the kitchen to put in it. The last thing she did was sling her quiver and bow over her shoulder before she left her room.

Walking quietly past David's room and the other women's room, she made her way just feet away from the castle doors before she heard footsteps behind her. She knew who she would find following her, fate never seemed to help her. Turning, she closed her eyes, reopening them only after taking a deep breath.

"David, go back to bed," she ordered.

"Not if you're intending to go hunting."

Rolling her eyes, Regina sighed. "Go. You aren't coming with me."

"You know… you look an awful lot like your eleven year old son when you do that." Regina tried to avoid a smirk, but she couldn't help it.

"I'm serious. Stay here and watch after Mulan and Aurora… I'll be back before you know it."

"And if you're not?"

"Then… I'm sorry I failed you and I wish you the best in your journey back home."

"Right. Like I damn well wouldn't come after you?" David shouted, grabbing her by the bicep and pulling her toward him. Lowering his voice, he hissed, "Regina, don't be stupid. I'm coming with you. I can't let you face your mother on your own."

"And I can't let you come with me. David, she will not hesitate to kill you."

"You'll keep me safe."

"What makes you think I can? Damn you, David! I told you I couldn't beat her and now you want me to put your life on the line?"

"It's no different than you wanting me to be ok with you just walking out there alone! You're putting your life on the line!"

"You have family waiting for you! Nobody wants me! Nobody will miss me! And we have to eat."

"I am! Goddammit Regina, I do! I will. "

"What?" she asked incredulously.

"I am waiting right here… waiting for you to realize that you aren't nothing. I want you here, I want you around, you are important. I will miss you if you're gone. And not just because I need your help getting back to my family. You became my friend and you're a good person, one who doesn't deserve to die."

"David, stop. Please, just… stop," Regina said, nearly whining. Tears were filling her eyes.

"No. I have faith that you can keep us safe. I believe in you, Regina. Just… please let me come with you. At the very least so I'm not sitting on edge wondering what happened to you until you get back."

Crossing her arms over her chest and growling, Regina nodded. "Fine, go change. I'll wait here."

With a chuckle and a doubtful smile, David grabbed her hand and pulled her toward his room. "Sorry, but I'm not going to trust that you're not going to leave without me. You're going to wait while I change. Where I can see you."

Rolling her eyes at him again, Regina smirked at his comment about Henry from earlier. She knew she wouldn't be able to roll her eyes ever again without thinking about David. Once they were in his room, David pushed Regina toward his bed, where she sat after tossing her quiver, bow and satchel down on the far side of it. The shuffle of her weight against his unmade bed sent an aroma into the air that was entirely David; it smelled like fresh air, like the wind blowing through tall grass and it was just… crisp— clean. Regina breathed in the scent, not realizing the extra deep breath she took until she nearly hummed in satisfaction. Snapping out of it, she let her eyes shift across the room, looking around for David.

She regretted that immediately. Or maybe she didn't, but she felt like she should. David was standing in front of his wardrobe with only his boxer briefs on. When he turned around, holding a black shirt and tan riding pants, Regina let her eyes flicker to his face, making sure he wasn't looking at her. Letting her eyes drop to his abdomen, she glanced at his toned stomach in appreciation. His muscles were… obvious, not the soft kind that so many men have. His chest was... she had to shake her head from thinking of how nice it would be to touch him. Checking his eye line again and noticing he still wasn't watching her, she let her curiosity get the best of her and dropped her eyes to look at him in his boxer briefs. She couldn't fully make out his size, but she could definitely tell from the bulge in his underwear that he was much larger than average. Letting out an involuntary moan at the same moment she heard David clear his throat, she shot her eyes up to meet his.

David smirked at her, his eyes dancing with mischief and amusement. "I wondered why you picked boxer briefs when you conjured underwear for me. I guess now I know."

"David…"

"Don't worry about it. We're even now. Although… I have to say that you checking me out is incredibly sexy," he teased, pulling the shirt over his shoulders and buttoning it slowly, standing in just his underwear and the shirt.

"Shut up."

"If you insist. Or… we could…" David started, walking toward Regina where she was sitting on the bed. David lowered his face to hers, his shirt only half buttoned, causing Regina's eyes to drop to his toned chest. Touching his nose to hers, he inhaled her scent, leaning into her as she put her hands on the bed beside her and shifted backward. David crawled onto the bed, hovering over her and causing her to shift farther as his lips came nearly to hers, so close she could almost taste him. She laid down, causing her things to fall to the floor and the quiver to empty, the arrows clattering against the stone and snapping them out of the moment. Jerking up, Regina smashed her forehead against his, then she slid out from underneath him, clutching her head and gathering her things from the floor. Running out of his room, she shut the door behind her and leaned back against the wall, dropping her head to the stone as she breathed deeply, trying to ignore the uncomfortable wetness between her legs.

Quickly pulling on his pants, David grabbed his boots and ran out of the room with his own quiver and bow in his hand. He found Regina right outside the door and though she appeared slightly disheveled, she looked much more composed than he did. Settling against the wall next to her, he tied his pants and pulled on his boots, lacing them tightly.

"Let's go get some food," he said, trying to sound like he was recovered from the moment they'd had. He knew it wasn't going to be a good time for him to go hunting with her, alone, but he wasn't going to let her go by herself, so he pushed the sexual thoughts of her from his mind and led the way, slinging his quiver and bow over one shoulder.

They spent several moments keeping close to the castle, watching for anything dangerous. When nothing happened, Regina moved to take David's hand, needing to keep him safe, needing to keep him close to her. She realized halfway through the motion that if she took his hand, if she touched his skin, she wouldn't be able to stop at just holding his hand. The feeling of his body hovering over hers had done too much to her, she would have slept with him if he had kissed her, she was certain of that. She considered just doing it, just sleeping with him so all the tension would go away and they could concentrate on the task at hand, but she doubted it would work that way. Feelings that she had never intended on having were consuming her more by the day and sex would, more than likely, just make it worse. So instead of taking his hand, she grasped the loose fabric of his shirt that hung around his wrist, pulling him along behind her. Once they had made it to a clearing, Regina and David set themselves up next to each other, bows and arrows in their hands and ready to aim.

David spotted a deer and released his arrow, catching it right through the heart. Regina smiled as he went to retrieve it after she handed him the rope. As David tied the deer, Regina collected berries from the bushes on the edge of the clearing. Distracted by her thoughts, it wasn't until she heard a loud thud that she realized David was behind her. She looked at the deer that he had dropped on the ground.

"That's a pretty large… uh, a big… uh," she stuttered, distracted by the widening smile on his full lips. "Deer. It's a good-sized deer. Good job. And shut up, please." That only made him smile more, and he helped her continue picking berries until the bowl was full. Placing it into her bag, Regina looked up to see David holding a berry to her mouth. "I'm so not falling for that again, David."

He raised one hand to her face, letting his thumb graze over the small bump on her forehead. "You did quite a number on your head earlier."

"If I recall, it was your head that caused the bump."

"But… you head butted me… so, your fault."

"You are such a child."

"Here… eat the berry. It's delicious," he insisted, dropping his hand from her head.

"I can see that you think so, since your lips are blue."

"Looking at my lips, then?"

"David—"

"That's ok. I'll just look at yours."

"Please," she whispered weakly.

"Please, what? Because Regina," he started, stepping closer to her and pushing the berry past her lips, watching her suck on it. He took her face in his hands and shifted his eyes between hers, looking for denial. Not seeing any, he lowered his mouth to hers, desperately near a kiss and spoke against her lips. "All I want to do is kiss you. Just let me kiss you."

Nodding, Regina inhaled sharply, and closed her eyes.

"Well, well, well. What have I told you about going after peasants, my dear Regina?" David and Regina pushed apart, turning toward the voice.

"Mother," Regina stated coldly.

"A foolish mistake you made the other day… using magic. A good sorceress would never make that mistake. That's why you need me, Regina."

"Mother, I don't want you. I thought you were dead!"

"Yes, I know you did. It was so easy turning the pirate against you."

"And letting me weep over your body!"

"You wanted to have me killed, you didn't mourn me."

"I did too! I loved you, mother, and that was exactly why I couldn't have you in my new life."

"Regina, all I want is to be your mother."

"No! You want to destroy me." Stepping in front of David, Regina made a move with her hand that, to her mother, would look protective, but if David was watching properly, it signaled for him to grab the deer. He took her hand and she knew that he had the game in his grasp. "Goodbye, mother," she cried, poofing them back to the castle. They were in the kitchen, where David lifted the deer and set it on the table as Regina slumped to the floor in tears.

Crouching beside her, David pulled her into his arms and held her, soothing her. Stroking her spine and running his fingers through her hair, he hushed her gently as she sobbed. He whispered reassuring and sometimes sweet platitudes as he rocked her. David let himself sink all the way down to the floor, folding his legs in front of him and pulling Regina to sit in the basket they made. She was facing him, her bottom cradled by his legs and her legs wrapped around his waist. Her arms were bent between their chests, and he held her. Hushing her softly, continuously, David waited. Knowing he would hold her for as long as she needed it, he didn't care that his legs were getting numb even though she hardly weighed anything against him, and he certainly didn't care that it wasn't even half an hour before that he had almost kissed her and they hadn't even been as physically close as they were in that moment as he comforted her.

David pressed a light kiss to her temple, and he noticed that her wracking sobs were softening and her body was relaxing against him. Caressing her hair more, he brushed it back away from her face, tucking it behind her ears on either side of her head. He moved his hands to her face, pulling her away so he could look at her. Wiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs, David looked into her eyes, shining with their sadness and his heart broke for her. He lowered her head so his lips met her forehead in a gentle kiss.

"Are you ok?" he asked, knowing the answer was no, but that Regina would very likely nod and say she was fine.

"I'm… yeah… I'm ok," she answered, her voice shaky and husky.

"Regina… you don't have to tell me you're fine if you're not. I'm here. We're… friends, you can talk to me."

Brown eyes shifted between sky blue and she gave him a tight smile, the kind that is still half a frown, the corners twisted down in pain, but the center upturned in an attempt to look happy.

"Thank you. It's nice to have a friend."

"It is. And I'm never going to stop being your friend, and you can trust me with anything that you need to say, anything that you feel."

Nodding, Regina dropped her forehead to his shoulder. "David… she hurt me so much. All my life… all I ever wanted was to be loved and to be happy. She couldn't love me, didn't love me. And she made sure I didn't have love. And Rumplestiltskin… he just made it worse, he fed the darkness in my heart at the loss of Daniel. He fed on my desperation and my pain. I'm so broken, David."

"Hey, hey," he soothed, cupping the back of her head with one hand as the other moved up and down her back in calming lines. "You aren't broken, you just need to be reminded of who you are, of who you once were, and who you can be."

"And who is going to do that?"

"I will. I'll be here and hold you accountable for your actions. I'll pick you up when you fall, and I'll hold you when you're sad. That's what friends are for, right?"

"I wouldn't know. I've never had any."

"You do now."

Days passed and neither Regina nor David spoke about what had happened between them that day. Not about what almost happened on his bed, not about what had almost happened in the forest, and certainly not about what happened in the kitchen. All he had done was hold her until she was ready to get up. And then she prepared dinner, though David offered to, Regina had wanted something to busy her hands and almost busy her mind.

They were at breakfast when Regina brought up the next part of their journey.

"I think… it should be safe for us to walk to your castle now. We could leave this afternoon, or perhaps in the morning should you all prefer waiting. My goal is to get in, get the wardrobe and get back here, without having to set any protection wards on the castle."

"Why don't you want to set protection wards?" David asked.

"If we don't, then I can use magic to get us all back here. If I have to set protection wards, we'll need to stay a few days so I don't crash like I did before. Do you have a preference for when we leave?"

"Well, what do you think? Do you want to leave today or in the morning?" David asked.

"I brought it up figuring you would have an opinion."

"My opinion is that we leave when you're ready to. You are our leader, you know what we need better than we do, so you decide."

"We'll leave this afternoon, after lunch. We will walk until dusk without resting, so if you need to sleep, please rest before we leave. Is that agreeable?" she said, looking to the other three in the group. Everyone nodded their agreement and finished their breakfasts.

Regina filled the sinks with soapy water and rinsing water, and the women made their way up to their rooms to prepare for the journey. David hung back in the kitchen and cleaned up all of the dishes. Certain that everything in the kitchen was cleaned and would be safe from spoiling while they were gone, David made his way up to Regina's room. Knocking lightly on the door, he waited for an answer. When he didn't get one, he pushed the door open as quietly as he could, assuming he would find Regina sleeping. Instead, she was bathing. All he could see of her was the top of her chest, above her breasts, and up.

"Regina?" he said, clearing his throat. Her head snapped up in response.

"David! What are you doing?" she growled, teeth clenched and her arms jerked up immediately, covering anything that she didn't want seen.

"Sorry, I… I knocked and you didn't answer. Um… when you're done, if you wouldn't mind getting me some water for a bath? I uh… would like to wash up before we go."

Her facial features softened at his gentle hesitancy and she nodded. "Very well, just give me a few moments?"

"Thanks." Backing out, he offered her a weak smile and turned to head to his room.

Regina knew she was being cruel, practically ignoring David for days after he comforted her. She couldn't talk to him about it. She couldn't let him see how much of an effect he'd had on her, nearly kissing her twice, holding her while she cried, keeping her safe from herself. She was falling too hard for him and he didn't belong to her—would never belong to her. Knowing she would do her best to deny her feelings for him until the day she died, Regina stepped out of her bath and dressed herself in black riding pants, a white shirt and a black and plum colored riding jacket. Pulling on brown boots, Regina sighed and made her way to David's room to fill a bath for him.

She knocked at the door, and almost immediately David was standing in front of her, having pulled it open. Motioning for her to enter, he stepped aside to give her space. She quickly filled his bath with hot water, smiling to him and heading back for the door.

"Regina, wait," he spoke before she left. "Please?"

Turning around, Regina looked at him—really looked at him, for the first time since the day he'd held her. "What do you need, David?" she asked in the most pleasant tone she could muster.

"What happened? What did I do? We were becoming friends… good friends, I thought."

"I don't need any friends, David."

"Everybody needs friends."

"Not me. Kindly leave it alone."

"Fine. Uh… do I need to pack anything like bowls or silverware?"

"No, I have it all."

"Uh, ok, yeah… good. Thanks a lot, for everything, you know?"

"I'm not doing it for you!" she snapped. "I'm doing it for Henry. I'm doing it because I'm sure he wants his grandfather back, just like Emma wants her father and Snow wants her husband.

"Ok," David said, showing his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry."

"Just… stop. Please… stop."

"Stop what?"

"Being you! Be… be Prince Charming who hates my life and wants me dead. I can't handle David right now… you need to stop being you. Please."

"Ok. I'll try," he gave in.

"Thank you."