New fic: the circle, OUAT, PG, Swan Queen, Part I
Title: the circle
Author: chilly_flame
Rating: PG
Length: 5500k, give or take
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Disney/ABC’s Once Upon a Time. And if I did Regina would get hugged more often.
Summary: a sequel to “ the line.” Regina wants to bring Snow and Emma home.
Notes: I’m meant to be working on three Hurricane Sandy stories right now, but this one needed to be completed before I could get started on those. Thanks to Lola, Tiff and Kristen for the cheers!
---
It takes Regina more than two months to make the hat work.
Those two months consist mostly of David acting as sheriff, and tending to Henry. He sees Regina rarely for the first few weeks. She locks herself away in the mansion, and emerges only to buy groceries. The first time, she doesn’t greet him or even look in his direction when he spots her carrying two bags to her car. She doesn’t speak to anyone, in fact. Her skin is sallow, punctuated by dark circles under her eyes. Her hair is limp, and her typically pristine clothing is wrinkled. She doesn’t wear heels, and he realizes just how small she really is.
The second time he sees her, she’s leaving Archie’s office, and she’s startled when they bump into one another. The dark circles beneath her eyes are worse, emphasized by the fact that she’s obviously been crying.
“David,” she says, as a way of acknowledging his presence before skirting around him in a rush.
“Are you okay?” he asks, but she doesn’t answer, slipping into her car and closing the door with what looks like relief. She doesn’t even glance over at him before putting the car into gear and roaring off.
A few days after that, Henry is quieter than usual for a Friday night. He asks if he can go to the stables the next day to tend to his horse. He doesn’t have school, and David agrees. Henry’s been riding a little, mostly walking the horse around in the paddock. It’s a pleasant enough way to spend a weekend, and David has little else to do.
Except Henry wakes him at 7am, and insists that they go right away. David is stunned that Henry’s fully dressed and has apparently already made them both breakfast of toast and eggs, plus coffee, so they don’t need to stop anywhere on the way.
David showers after he scarfs down the food (far better than his own eggs; Regina taught her boy well). They are out the door by 7:30 and to the stables not long after. David fishes a book out of the back of the truck as Henry runs toward the barn, not pausing to wait as he usually does.
Minutes later, David understands why. As he watches Henry brush his pony from a stool in the corner, he hears a rush of hoofbeats outside. Henry hears it too and pats his horse before going out to meet the visitor.
David follows him, leaning against the doorway and crossing his arms comfortably when he recognizes the rider.
It’s Regina.
“Hi, Mom,” Henry says, waving his arm eagerly. And Regina looks just as happy to see him, despite those ever-present dark circles. She is too thin, but she glows as she slides from her steed and leads him toward Henry.
“Henry, what are you doing here so early? I didn’t know you were coming!” Her free hand waves toward him in an awkward gesture, and Henry takes the opportunity to hurl himself into her arms.
“I’m taking care of my horse. I do it every day.”
Regina looks up at David then with approval. “How wonderful. That’s very good, dear. What’s your horse’s name?”
“Carlo. He’s kind of old, but nice. Except for that one time--” Henry freezes, surely recalling the terrible trauma of that day with Daniel, but recovers quickly. “Anyway, he’s good, and I’ve been able to ride him. Do you want to see me?”
“Of course. But I have to tend to my own horse for a few minutes. We had a very long ride today and he needs a good rub down and a brushing.” She glances at David for a split second before asking, hesitantly, “Would you like to help me?”
“Yeah!” he says with far more enthusiasm than any boy should when agreeing to do chores for his mother. Except from the looks on both their faces, this isn’t about chores. It’s about being together, and not caring what they do.
David wonders how Henry found out Regina would be here. Or if he’s suddenly an unwelcome third wheel. Enough time has passed for David to know that the Evil Queen is no threat to her child, or anyone in town except Gold, really. Because of that, he says, “Regina, are you busy for the next few hours?”
Her eyes are filled with hope when she looks over at him. “Well, I did have plans, but nothing that can’t be moved. Why?”
David attempts his most serious expression. “Would you be willing to stay here with Henry as he tends to Carlo? I have some paperwork to catch up on at the station, and Red and I need to discuss a few things as well…”
“I’d be glad to. Henry,” Regina says, peering down at her son, “would that be all right with you?”
He turns to David, just to make sure, and David nods, winking at him.
“Okay, I guess. That’d be okay.” His words aren’t exactly enthusiastic, but his face says otherwise. “I mean, if you aren’t too busy.”
“Never too busy for you, dear,” Regina tells him, her fingers tracing his face, cupping his cheek gently. “Should I just drop him off--”
“Come by the station. If I’m not there, Red will be, and she’ll find me. Or you know, text me.”
“Certainly. I-I’m glad to run into you. Both of you,” she adds, and David’s sure it’s taking everything in her power not to smother Henry with hugs and affection.
“Bye, kiddo,” David says, and when Henry comes to him for a hug, his face is bright with hope. “Have fun, okay?”
“’Kay. See ya.”
David picks up the book he left on his stool, and heads back to the truck. As he goes, he hears Henry chattering on about Regina’s enormous black horse. He smiles, and wishes that if his grandson wanted to see his mother so much that he could have just asked.
---
David has to break up a scuffle between a few citizens who argue over tree branches growing over a property line, so he isn’t at the station at 11. He’s on his way back, passing the diner when he decides to stop in, just in case. He’s glad he did when he spots Regina and Henry at their old usual table. Henry’s drinking a milkshake, and so is his mother. He’s never seen that before, and certainly not before lunch on a Saturday.
That kid is a schemer, that’s for sure, but he looks happy.
“How was the ride?” David asks, sliding into the seat next to Henry.
“Really good!” Henry says, sucking down some milkshake. “Did you know my mom could jump?”
“Jump?” David asks.
“You know, those barriers or whatever, like in the Olympics.”
David eyes Regina, who might still be too thin, and too tired looking, but there’s a light in her that’s been missing for a while. “That’s pretty cool. I’d like to see that next time.”
“Can we do it again next Saturday?” Henry asks eagerly.
“Anytime, dear. My schedule is very… open.”
David knows that; she’s not the Mayor of Storybrooke anymore; she doesn’t socialize or see anyone, and she’s not working. He wonders what she’s been up to all this time. Mourning, perhaps.
“How about tomorrow?” Henry offers. “Gramps, is that okay?”
David’s first instinct is to say no, because he doesn’t want Regina to be able to get everything she wants all at once. But when he sees both their faces, trying not to look interested or excited to simply be in each other’s company, and says, “Okay.”
Regina nods, her cheeks flushing with pleasure. Her milkshake glass is almost full, but she takes a sip now, smiling around her straw.
David orders from Red, and the three of them have a strangely civil brunch together. They all get real meals to go along with the ice cream, and at noon, Regina begs off for an “appointment.” He’s not sure what she’d be up to, until Henry tells him, “She’s going to see Archie.”
David’s eyebrows feel like they’re going to crawl off his forehead. “For what?”
“Therapy.”
David has no idea how to respond to that. “How do you know?”
“Red. I guess Mom was in here last week after an appointment and she ‘fessed up. She said she’s not using dark magic anymore, either. Don’t you think that’s a big deal?”
Stunned, David leans back in his seat. If Regina’s not practicing magic, they’re never going to get Snow and Emma back unless they can open the portal on their own from the other world. “Yeah. How--” he swallows, the hole in his gut opening up into an abyss. He closes his eyes and pictures Snow, the smile that stretches across her mouth every time she sees him. The softness of her hair, the touch of her fingers, so small and delicate against his cheek. And Emma, his child borne of true love who needs a family so badly… He is trying not to cry when he asks, “Has she said why?”
Henry has gotten the whole story. “Some of the magic she did is bad. She took it from a book. But there’s other magic that comes from nature, and she can do that too, but she has to be patient and let it happen on its own. This morning she told me she’s trying to be calmer. She’s meditating in the forest. That’s why she goes out every day on her horse, to be away from people.” He leans forward and says quietly, “That’s why she’s seeing Archie, too. He’s helping her.” Henry’s eyes blink slowly at David, and he adds, “I heard all that stuff she said that day. At the line, about the man who died. Daniel.”
David nods in understanding.
“She never told me about him. I didn’t know how sad she was.”
“I know, Henry.”
He leans his head on one hand. “I never heard about any of the stuff she said. It wasn’t in my book. Why do you think that is?”
David has his own ideas about that, and they are all about Rumpelstiltskin. “That’s a good question, but right now, I don’t have any answers.”
Henry zeroes in on what David doesn’t say. “But I bet you have some idea. Miss Blanch--, I mean, Grandma,” Henry says, and they both grin at the word, “She said she got my book at the pawn shop. From Mr. Gold. Rumpelstiltskin.”
He sighs. “That’s true.”
Henry’s mouth hardens, because David can’t add much more than that. “That’s what I thought.”
---
After that, Henry spends Saturdays and Sundays with Regina at the stables. They ride, and from what David can tell, Regina starts telling Henry stories about her childhood in the Enchanted Forest. Nothing too detailed, because David knows about how terrible Regina’s mother Cora was, and he doesn’t hear Cora’s name mentioned. But apparently Regina opens up to her son about a world beyond anything his imagination could muster up.
“Is she doing all right with the good magic?” David asks when Henry returns home to the apartment on a cold fall evening.
“Yeah! Today she did a spell and threw like, a thousand butterflies at me!”
David stares in surprise. “Butterflies?”
“Uh huh. She doesn’t do much with fire anymore. But she can make plants grow, and she’s levitating a lot of stuff.”
David frowns, uncertain that a witch who can levitate stuff and throw butterflies is going to be able to open a portal to another world.
As if hearing David’s thoughts, Henry adds, “She said it’s for training. She’s learning to center herself more, whatever that means. I have homework for tomorrow, can I go do it?”
“Sure, kid,” he says, ruffling his hair as he disappears in a blur to his makeshift bedroom. All Snow’s things are still there, but now Henry’s comics and socks are scattered across the floor and the dresser.
---
When David goes to the mansion a few days later to have a chat, Regina is not alone. Jefferson is there, with the hat.
Apparently even a handful of weeks reunited with Grace have mellowed him.
“Come in, Charming,” Jefferson says, waving an arm with panache. “We’re just performing a little experiment.”
“What are you doing here?” David asks.
“I uh, have had just the tiniest change of heart.”
He opens his mouth to ask why, but Jefferson just shakes his head minutely, so David follows him inside.
“I don’t know that I’ll be able to do anything with the two of you watching so intensely,” Regina says as she stares at the hat. It looks like new, but none of them know if it’s maintained its magical properties. “Even I could be affected by performance anxiety, you know.”
Jefferson rolls his eyes and counters, “You, your majesty? I don’t believe it.”
Regina takes a deep breath and closes her eyes before spinning the hat. Nothing much happens-there’s a spark of energy, but the hat falls over after only a few seconds.
“What made it work last time?” David asks.
Regina’s eyes are still closed, but she smiles a little sadly. “I had help,” she murmurs, and spins the hat again. This time, it’s more than just a spark; the hat makes almost three revolutions before it loses steam again.
“Help?” Jefferson asks. “From who?”
And there, in that moment, Regina’s faint smile and the softness of her features tells David everything he needs to know. Emma is undoubtedly who Regina is thinking of. They need her again, or at least the memory of her, to get it to work a second time.
“Emma,” David says aloud, so there is no beating around the bush. “She made the hat work. She made your magic work.”
Regina’s smile disappears, and Jefferson reels backward in laughter. “Oh, no, that is rich,” he crows, clutching his stomach. “Emma Swan, savior of not only Storybrooke but the Evil Queen herself?” He cackles then, and Regina stands in fury. “Oh my, I just can’t help--”
Regina slaps him across the face and storms out of the room.
David is on his feet in moments, grasping Jefferson’s collar and getting in his face. “This is my wife and daughter we’re talking about, Hatter. Pull yourself together and leave her alone. She’s my only hope.”
But Jefferson’s mad laughter continues to echo through the high ceilings and empty rooms. “It’s just too good, Charming,” he manages, “too deliciously good.”
At that, David grabs Jefferson by the lapels and starts to drag him toward the doorway. Regina made the hat work without him once; she can do it again.
Jefferson is still hysterical even when David tosses him down the front steps.
He finds Regina in her study a minute later. She’s clutching a glass of cider to her chest; it’s half empty already. He doesn’t ask permission as he pours his own glass, and neither of them comment on the fact that it’s not even 3 in the afternoon.
“I don’t care, you know,” David tells her. “I mean, I do, but right now, I don’t care what it takes to bring them home. And if you want them home even half as much as I do, then we have enough love to make that hat work. Understand?”
Regina doesn’t look at him, but she nods. He can’t say he’s surprised when he sees her dash away a tear before it falls down her cheek.
“Maybe if we both think of her, it will work.”
Regina winces, pressing a closed fist to her forehead. “It won’t. I don’t have enough magic. I need more time, but-I-I’m afraid. To fail.”
David drains his glass, closing his eyes at the heat that burns in his throat. It’s probably delicious, but he can’t even taste it. “Me too, your majesty.”
“Don’t call me that,” she sneers before swallowing everything left in her glass in a single gulp.
They don’t speak for a while after that, and David pours them both fresh drinks. He takes small sips then, because the cider is as potent as any liquor he’s had at the diner, or elsewhere. His head starts to swim not long after that, and he sets his glass down and leans back against the couch cushion.
He’s half asleep when he says, “You have to bring them home.”
Regina sets the crystal on a side table with such force that liquid splashes up at the wall and across the carpet. “See yourself out, David.”
He stays longer than he intends, because he can’t drive the truck after drinking in the middle of the day. When he finally emerges from the study, he peeks into the kitchen, which is empty, then the living room, which isn’t. Regina is kneeling in the middle of the floor, the hat unmoving on the hard wood floor. Her eyes are shut.
Other than the rise and fall of her chest from the even breaths she takes, she doesn’t move during the entire two minutes he watches her. He keeps an eye on the second hand moving around the face of the wall clock. He says nothing when he departs.
---
In a week or so, Regina forgives Jefferson for laughing, and they meet for drinks in the diner. Henry is with Red at the station, undoubtedly playing one of their marathon sessions of Jenga, so Granny serves them, eyeing the trio with suspicion.
“What’re you three scheming about?” she asks, pouring them each two fingers of scotch.
“Nothing much, Granny,” David says, not wanting to get anyone’s hopes up.
“Sure,” she replies, narrowing her gaze at Regina. “Keep it friendly or you’ll see the business end of my crossbow, that clear?” she barks.
Regina bristles, but nods curtly. David supposes all that meditation is actually doing her some good.
They don’t chat socially. Instead Regina starts their short discussion with instructions. “Come to my home Sunday after 3. You’ll need someone to watch Henry, because I don’t want him there.”
“What’s going to be different this time?” Jefferson asks, not quite taunting her.
“Perhaps nothing. But I plan on making the hat work, and there’s a chance that I could end up inadvertently bringing something, or someone, other than Emma and Snow back. He’ll need protection.”
David feels goosebumps rise on his skin. Many things exist in his homeland at that are as bad as the wraith they sent through the portal, and they could certainly return through it. “Fine. What else do you need?”
“Nothing.”
Jefferson slugs his drink back in one gulp. “Is your magic under control?” he asks, wincing only slightly at the burn of the whiskey.
“Yes,” Regina replies, and for a moment, David actually believes her. But when Regina reaches out for her tumbler, there’s a little shake to her fingers that’s a dead giveaway.
He doesn’t really care. She has to try. And whatever she needs, David will give it, even if it means everything.
---
Part II.