Finding You Always

Uneven Halos

Finding You Always

Chapter 42: Uneven Halos

They had been on the road about forty-five minutes. Emma slept restlessly in the backseat against Snow and he stole fond glances of them in the rear view mirror.

"She'll be fine, you know," came Regina's voice from the passenger seat.

"Hmm?" he asked.

"Emma...she's strong. She'll get through this. It won't be easy for her to ever trust anyone but family again, but that may be for the best in this realm," Regina stated. He nodded.

"It seems like a lot more people know about us than I would ever guessed," he replied. Regina snorted.

"That's what happens when you cast a curse you don't fully understand," she lamented.

"So...did you know this Kurt Flynn they were looking for?" he asked. Regina sighed.

"No judgment Regina, I'm just curious," he insisted.

"Yes...I knew who they were talking about," she confessed.

"You're not the same person you once were...we know that. We've forgiven you," he told her. She smiled slightly.

"I know Snow has...but have you? Have you really forgiven me? Or have you forgiven me for Snow's benefit?" she asked. He smirked.

"Okay...at first I did for Snow. But I've seen you with Robin and Roland. You love them fiercely. And you've helped us with this whole ordeal. Hell, you even un-cursed Snow and me...so yes, I forgive you too," he assured her. She looked down. She believed him, but still felt undeserving.

"I killed him," she confessed.

"I figured," he replied, still no judgment.

"He and his son Owen were camping in the woods...the night the curse brought us to this land," Regina explained.

"So they went to bed in the middle of the woods and woke up with a town in front of them," he deduced. She nodded. He caught on far quicker than she would have ever expected.

"That would raise some questions," he said dryly.

"When they first came into town, I told Billy at the garage to fix his truck quickly so I could get them out of town as soon as possible. But..." Regina stopped.

"They grew on you," he surmised.

"Not so much him..." Regina said.

"The boy then," he said knowingly. She looked at him, a little surprised by his intuition.

"I'm a father of three. Children change you," he explained and she found herself listening.

"When I woke up from my coma, I didn't know anything, not who I was or where I was, but I knew my child. She was ten years older than the last time I had seen her, but I knew. Children fill a void we're not even aware we have," Charming said. She nodded.

"I wanted them to stay. I told the mechanic to delay the repairs, but he was already done and they were on the way out of town," she said, pausing and he was silent, encouraging her to continue.

"I used Graham and arrested him. But he made sure his son got away. It was all he cared about...and then I killed him to keep my secrets," Regina confessed. David sighed.

"But I can hear the regret in your voice. You are atoning for your sins," he encouraged.

"I will never be able to atone for everything," she said.