The Way

Chapter One

It was Regina, striding in the general direction of Gold's shop.

At 3 in the morning.

What the hell did that mean?

Emma and Snow had returned from the Enchanted Forest only one week before—thanks to Regina—but Emma was still on the fence about whether the woman could actually change for the better. She wanted to believe she could—that she would—for Henry, of course. Still, the sight of her at such an odd hour tipped the scales against her in Emma Swan's rational mind...although the night robes beneath her rather fashionable outerwear suggested this had not been a planned outing. Thankfully, shrouded in the darkness of the alley in which she had parked, the fallen queen did not appear to notice the Sheriff's presence.

"Mr. Gold?" Regina called into the dimly lit shop as she moved through the unlocked door, and the man appeared in an instant behind the counter.

"Regina," he greeted, his eyebrows raised and his cane clacking onto the wooden floor. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company at this hour of the night?" He ran his eyes down her form. "And in this...state of dress?"

She closed the door behind her and stood with her back to it, her hand not yet releasing the knob.

"You have something I need." Her response was simple enough, and Gold smiled.

"My dear," he began, beginning to pace behind the counter as she released the door and came to the center of the aisle. "There are only three items you could possibly need which you cannot produce yourself, and two of them you know I no longer possess." He came around the counter now, brushing past the woman to reach for a nearby cabinet door. "I am not a simple man, Regina. Tell me, dearie, how long have you been having these nightmares?"

Regina barricaded herself behind her arms, seeming to hug herself for a moment. It was never just easy to deal with Gold. Rumplestiltskin. Whatever the hell he went by these days. But he had stopped rummaging through the cabinet, his head was turned slightly toward her over his shoulder, waiting for her answer before he moved again.

"Since...since Snow and Emma went through the portal."

"Ah!" he exclaimed, turning 'round with a small bottle held between his index finger and his thumb. "I would have assumed they would have arisen after our friends' return, not before. Most interesting. Hm."

Growing tired of his unpleasant way of doing business, Regina rolled her eyes and shoved her hands in her jacket pockets.

"What do you want Mr. Gold? If you don't mind, I would like to hurry this along so that I might get to sleep again tonight. Free of...dreams."

"You do seem rather upset about these dreams," the slithering man observed, moving to stand just outside Regina's personal space bubble. The bottle was still in his hand. She snatched for it, but he held it out of reach.

Resigned, she crossed her arms and huffed, "It's Daniel."

"In your nightmares? That seems a bit odd, considering the recent circumstances. What, with your killing him again...and all that. Your heart let him go some time ago." Regina realized Gold was no longer speaking with trickery in his tone. No, now he seemed genuine in his interest. His eyes met hers and she rubbed her arms, looking down at the floor again. He read it for what it was.

"Ah," he murmured. "Not Daniel."

The woman shook her head.

"And not Henry."

Again, Regina shook her head. Gold smiled at her, tugged one of her hands away from her upper arm and folded the bottle into her palm.

"It always starts out as Daniel," she whispered, uncertain as to why she felt the need to elaborate. "But then...it...changes. Into someone else. Someone who shouldn't be there." She snarled the words, her teeth clenched and her lips quivering in anger and frustration. Gold only bows his head and limps back behind the counter.