A Thief and a Queen

Rain

She knew he had a point and nodded. "I'll ask them," she said, just as softly.

"Thank you," he replied. "You have the best relationship with them though I know it must bring up memories."

"It does but thankfully good ones," she tried to reassure David. And probably herself. But she felt tears building behind her eyes as David reached out and gave her arm a gentle squeeze. She took a deep breath and fought back the tears, not wanting to breakdown yet again.

Storybrooke needed her to be focused on solving their problem and so she needed to put hers aside.

David tilted his head, studying her. "It's okay to miss him."

"I know," she replied, "But Storybrooke needs me to be focused right now. And so that's what I'm going to do."

"Okay. But if you need any help, you know you can call," he reminded her before walking away.

She took a deep breath before reaching for her coat, deciding to get it done sooner rather than later. After all, it would take time for her and Belle to figure out what was going on with the weather. Until they did, they had to make sure the town was ready for flooding and evacuations so she had to get all the resources ready now.

Once again, her own pain was just going to have to wait.

*****

Regina slowed her pace as she approached the Merry Men's camp. Gone, though, was the smoke that usually rose from the fire they always kept burning in the middle of their circle of tents before realizing the tents were down. The men hurried about the camp, packing everything they could in the bags they had acquired since arriving Storybrooke – most of which she assumed had not been obtained legally.

"Regina!" Much greeted her, straightening up after tightening the ties on his pack. "What brings you here?"

"I was hoping to speak to John," she replied. "What's going on here?"

"We need to move. The rain has made the ground too soft and our tents were starting to collapse. We also couldn't keep our things and food dry and couldn't keep the fire going," John answered, approaching her with a concerned look.

She nodded, moving toward him. "There's a lodge nearby you can all go to. I think it'll be for the best until we get the weather situation sorted."

"And the owner won't mind?" John asked.

"He's no longer around," she replied, "so it's been sitting empty since we returned to Storybrooke. I will feel better knowing you all are safe there."

He nodded before tilting his head. "You said you were going to sort out the weather. You can control the weather?"

"When it may be magical, yes," she said. "Until we figure out what's going on, we're going to start evacuate people who may be threatened by flooding. I was hoping your men would help man the centers."

"We would be honored," he replied.

Relief flooded through her and she nodded. "Thank you. I'll show you where the lodge is and then we can discuss what you'll need to do at the centers."

He grinned as he thanked her. It then fell as he lowered his voice to ask: "Have you heard from him?"

"No," she replied. "I was just about to ask you the same thing."

"I can barely operate that thing. I figured if he contacted anyone it would be you," John said.

She shook her head, once again fighting tears. "We both agreed that he needed to fall back in love with Marian and be a family with her and Roland as it's very likely he will never return to Storybrooke. And talking with me won't help either of us move on."