Regina bolted upright in bed, like she did often. Right after that day in her office when her mother died, Regina began having nightmares. At first they were a nightly ordeal, but lately they had become less predictable. Some nights she slept soundly. Other nights she was awoken with fear. Tonight was one of those nights.

She sat up straight in bed and could feel her body drenched with sweat. She couldn't tell if she was shaking or if she was just breathing too fast. With a sigh, she bent her knees up and buried her face in her arms.

In an instant, she felt a reassuring hand rubbing comforting circles on her back. He always woke up when she did. He was always there to calm her down and chase the nightmare away.

"Same nightmare, love?"

She simply nodded for fear that if she opened her mouth to speak she would either scream or sob.

"Alright, alright. 'Twas just a dream. Come back to bed," Hook told her, his tone soft.

She hesitated a little, apprehensive about lying back down and risking falling back into the world of her nightmare. Finally she sighed and fell back onto the bed, nestling as close to Hook as she possibly could. Her head rested on his bare chest and he wrapped a protective arm around her, somehow pulling her even closer than she had managed to get on her own.

"Tell me all about it, my dear."

"It was horrible, just like the others. I was… I was trapped again; the invisible ropes were getting tighter and tighter. And she was... just standing there, laughing while I was dying."

Regina always tried to avoid saying her mother's name. Whenever she said it a cold shiver shot down her spine, even though it had been months since the incident. Archie told her that it would get better with time, but luckily Hook never pushed her to say it. He always understood whom she meant.

"What about me? Did I show up this time?"

She shook her head. He never did in her nightmares.

"Ah, bloody coward," Hook joked. "That's how you'll always be able to realize when you're dreaming something terrible, I suppose. In real life, I'll always show up; like the sun every morning over the horizon." He squeezed her tightly. This was always where she felt safest, in Hook's arms at night.

"What kind of monster has nightmares about her own mother?" she wondered aloud.

"Hey, hey," he said as he sat up abruptly, pulling her up with him so that they both were in a seated position. "I will not allow that kind of talk about the woman I love, especially by the woman I love. You are no monster."

"But I've done-"

"What you've done does not matter, Regina. You've moved on. You're free now, she can't hurt you anymore."

He looked at her deeply in the eyes; his hands gripped her arms firmly, willing her to listen intently to him. He said something similar to her every time she awoke from her nightmares. She wondered if it ever got bothersome. He didn't seem like it did. She kissed him quickly before they positioned themselves back down on the bed once more.

"Do you ever have nightmares, Hook?"

"No one is immune to their demons."

There was a silence that Regina was afraid to break at first. Unsure of whether or not Hook wanted to discuss the things that scared him and unsure of if she wanted to hear those things at all. The thought of something scaring this man made her scared as well.

"What about dreams?" she asked after a while. Her face cuddled deeper into his chest and she breathed in his scent of rum and the sea.

"Yes I have dreams, dreams of staying in this bed with you forever while you wear that black thing that I like."

Regina laughed and hit him playfully. "I'm serious, Hook. What are your dreams of?"

He took a deep breath and thought for a moment. "I dream about us; our future together, the sea, you meeting my crew and sailing with me to wherever we please."

She smiled and closed her eyes, picturing them on his ship with the sun shining down on them. "And Henry?"

"The little lad is right there with us, of course. I talked to him just the other day about his room on the ship. He asked if there was anyway he could bring one of those television things onboard. I told him you don't need television when you have rum." She lifted her head to glare at him. "Just kidding about that last bit."

She laughed and a yawn escaped her mouth. "What else?"

"I dream about settling down in your castle. I haven't had a real home away from the Jolly Roger in ages. We'll have to remodel a tad, though. I reckon I'd like to paint the walls blue to remind me of the ocean."

"Absolutely not," she told him sleepily.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," he laughed before continuing in a quiet voice. "I dream about being with you forever. Whether we are on my ship or in your castle… if the walls are painted blue or something wretched like pink… if Henry decides he hates the sea and we have to live on a snowy mountain somewhere… we will never part…"

And with that, Regina drifted off to sleep with a peaceful smile on her face and in Hook's arms, the man that she had fallen in love with when she wasn't paying attention. She wasn't scared here; she was free. It wasn't perfect. It wasn't what she was expecting. But she was happy.

And it would only get better with time.

She would heal. Hook would too.

They would no longer be broken.

The End

A/N: So that is the story of how two broken pieces became one whole, perfectly imperfect piece. This was my first ever Hooked Queen story and I adored writing it! My fellow shippers are the best and everyone who read, reviewed or favorited this story is a beautiful angel for supporting me and helping me to get this story finished. I hope you all continue to love this pairing as much as I do. I have such high hopes for what's to come for them. Thank you again for reading!

Also to anyone interested: I do have plans for another multi-chaptered story as well as a few one shots in mind. The multi-chaptered one is being organized right now and I hope to have it posted as soon as possible. Hope to hear from you all in the future!

See you in Storybrooke!