Finding You Always

Walking the Wire

Chapter 166: Walking the Wire

David looked over at her out of the corner of his eye, as Regina drove them and they sat in her backseat. He reached over and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Are you okay?" he asked, as she stared out the car window, watching the cityscape pass them by.

"No...I don't think I am," she said, choking back a sob. He hummed in agreement.

"I guess that was a dumb question...okay seems like a pipe dream right now," he agreed.

"Emma's gone...and now our son is dating a murderer. Except, he doesn't remember he's our son and that he's actually in love with someone else," she said bitterly.

"Hey...I know. I hate this too, but we're going to fix all of this," he promised.

"We can't David! Emma is dead," she stated angrily and he swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Even if we fix everything else...Emma is gone forever," she cried, as he took her in his arms.

"And Leo is in serious danger, because he doesn't remember who Nick really is and if I lose one of our little boys..." she sobbed against his chest.

"No...I won't let it happen. I'm going to be watching him like a hawk and I will lock him up in prison where he belongs," he promised.

"Leo's going to be devastated...he loves Elsa. He'd never willingly be with someone else...this is..." she said, but she couldn't even say that word out the fear that her sorrow for her little boy would swallow her.

"He would never consent to that monster," she growled.

"I know...believe me, I want to rip his throat out," he agreed.

"But... we'll help him through this, just like we always have. And Elsa will understand that it's not his fault," he assured her.

"I know...I just keep thinking about how that could have been us. They could have cursed either or both of us to be with other people," she said, shuddering at that. He shuddered too. He had never had a desire to be with anyone but her and never would. He hated how all their lives had been torn apart yet again. And this time...their family had suffered a devastating loss and he was afraid they would never be quite the same. He knew they would endure and their love would help them survive it...but nothing would ever be the same without Emma.

"This is never going to work," Regina warned.

"It has to...we can't lose Lucy too," David replied. She nodded in agreement, before getting out and going to his door. He was waiting for her and opened it with a smug smile.

"Roni...it was such a pleasant surprise hearing from you. Won't you come in?" he asked. She faked a smile and nodded, as they went inside.

The Enchanted Forest 2

Storybrooke year - 2023

The portal opened and deposited them in a forest, which was very similar to the ones they knew in the other realms.

"Huh...if I didn't know any better, I'd say we're home," Robin commented.

"I suppose we better find Rose Red's palace," Belle said, as they trekked further into the forest. As they walked through a clearing, Emma had an eerie feeling and noticed a suspicious pile of brush in the middle of the clearing. Just as Elsa was about to step through it, Emma pulled her back.

"Emma...what are you doing?" she asked. Emma responded by using a large stick to trigger what she thought to be a trap. Elsa cried out, as the snapping jaws of a bear trap sprang up before them.