I know! I'm starting something when I already have god knows how many fics on the go, but this is going to be short I promise, it started of as being a One Shot for my Alphabet of OQ series, but I decided to post it separately whilst it's in progress, so technically I was writing it anyway!

I hope you enjoy!


Regina never really fit in with any crowd, she had no family, nothing that tied her down, she was a free spirit, a lone wolf so to speak. Her father died when she was very young and she had left home at the tender age of eighteen to search for bigger and better things. Unfortunately, bigger and better things weren't always as they seemed, although she got away from her mother and her controlling nature, she found that maybe it was better to have someone who cared about you and was a little protective, than to not have anyone, to being alone.

When she first moved to New York, she was young and excited, the idea of discovering new things, places and people was always something that had intrigued her, she wanted to travel, see the world, but first she would actually need some money to do that. She got an internship straight out of high school with an acquaintance of her mother, she was glad that her mother had been very eager for her to succeed and was more than happy to put a good word in with Mr Gold.

That was fifteen years ago now and she was still working for him, however she had a lot of freedom, he didn't control her, as long as she did her job right, there was nothing he complained about. At first, she had wanted to become an owner of a large company, thought it was a great idea, but that soon chanced and she decided that she was just going to stay as Gold's assistant and it was safe to say he was more than happy about that.

The perks of being assistant to one of the most successful business men in all of America were vast, her salary was crazily high and Gold always invited her to go with him whenever he left the country, which meant that she had been across the globe and experienced different places and cultures. She couldn't complain really, she had literally everything, except maybe companionship, she didn't have someone who she could go home to at night, that wasn't something that was really on the cards, she didn't see it happening in her life, it was hard to find someone who she connected with. She had the odd little fling here and there, but nothing substantial, nothing that actually meant something.

Currently, she was sat on board Gold's private jet, bound towards London, England, somewhere else to add to her list which had grown rather vast over the fifteen years she had been working with Gold. Regina got on with her boss, they had the same sense of humour and tended to ricocheted off each other, sometimes however, they didn't get on at all and fought like cats and dogs, but they were okay, he was a kind of father figure in her life, so she freaked out when people asked them if they were together romantically, he did too if she were honest, he didn't like it.

She sat in her chair twisting her fingers as she looked over to him, he was typing on his mac book and she sighed, before slipping lower into her comfy leather recliner and closing her eyes. She moved a hand to her hair and twirled it, she had decided to chop it off a couple of years ago, but now it fell to her collar bone and she though it to be the perfect length, she slipped off her heels and took her phone out of her pocket, before looking back over at Gold again.

"Dearie, you really are distracting," he scoffed, his hands ceasing to type as he looked over at her, "talk."

"What? Why do you think I need to talk about anything?"

"I know you Regina and I know when your mind is preoccupied."

"It's not, I'm just… I don't know what it is okay, I just feel strange, I can't explain it, anyway, it doesn't matter," she shook her head, it didn't matter, but it was weirding her out how she couldn't place what had made her feel somewhat disjointed, maybe it was the fact that she had never been to England before, but she had never felt this way when going to the other countries she had visited, so it couldn't be that, but she didn't know what it was, not in the slightest.

"Regina, something tells me that you aren't exactly focused."

"Well, you haven't given me much to focus on," she countered, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Touché, how about I give you some paperwork to fill in, would you like that?"

"Hmm, not really," she chuckled, "but if you need it doing I might as well do it now instead of postponing."

"Okay then," he grabbed his briefcase from the ground and fished out a pile of papers, before dropping them on the table in front of her, "enjoy Miss Mills."

"Oh, I'm sure I will," she nodded, looking at the first page and seeing that they were basic forms which shouldn't be too complicated.

After landing in London, they made their way to the hotel, separate rooms of course. Her room was pretty, the coloured with a mix of light purple and white, the first thing she did was drop her travel cases by the door and run to flop down on the double bed, it was always the first thing she did, any time she was in a new country, she would try out the new bed straight away. This one was a good one and definitely had her seal of approval.

She had to attend a meeting with Gold in a couple of hours, but until then she had free rein to explore and explore she would, she wasn't going to waste a single second of her time here. She hopped up off the bed and grabbed her purse and coat, before closing the door behind her and walking out of the room, out of the hotel.


After looking in a few shops and buying a couple of items, she came up to a massive toy shop, peering through the window she smiled and shook her head before deciding she was going to go inside and look around, maybe she could bring a present back for Henry, he was her best friend's son, but she loved to spoil him as if he were hers, plus it was an excuse to look around a toy store without looking like a weird woman who was too old to be shopping in one.

Looking around she shook her head, it was massive, a ridiculous size with seven floors filled with toys and other things for children. She felt a niggling feeling deep down, a pang of want, she wanted a child of her own who she could spoil with toys, she wanted someone to call her mommy and depend on her completely.

A little girl with blonde hair that was fastened in pink ribbons walked past with her mother, she was clinging to a doll which had hair just like hers. Regina smiled and looked to the right, seeing a little boy playing with lego blocks. There was just something about children that made her feel like her life was missing something important, someone she could love unconditionally. Sighing she walked up the stairs and came to the dinosaur section, Henry loved them, he was going through a phase where he was completely obsessed with dinosaurs, so that would probably be an ideal present from his aunt Gina.

She looked at them all, there were so many different types with different colours, how on earth was she supposed to choose just one? There were too many to even take in, she picked up a Diplodocus and looked at it closely, running her fingers over its long neck and tail. She grinned and shook her head, Henry would love...

"Rawww!" Someone bumped into her legs and she turned around to see a little boy with scruffy brown hair and dark eyes looking up at her with a cheeky dimpled grin on his face.

"Well roar to you too," she chuckled, bending down to look at him closer, "what do you have there?" She asked, gesturing to the dinosaur in his hand.

"This is a T Rex! The fiercest dinosaur there is!" He laughed, before looking at the one she was holding, "that one's a Diplodocus, he only eats leaves because he is a herbivore," he nodded.

"Wow aren't you clever."

He beamed up at her proudly, "my daddy taught me all the names of the dinosaurs and we have a big book with pictures and flaps and everything!" he gushed.

"Well I am impressed," she quipped. He was the cutest child she had ever seen in her life.

"Thank you. Do you want to know what all the dinosaurs are?"

Regina was about to answer when she heard a man yelling, "Roland!"

She saw the boy's eyes widen as he looked around, she spotted a man with a worried look on his face running towards them, she guessed that this man was the child's father even though they looked nothing alike, the father had light hair and when he was close enough she realised blue eyes, blue eyes which were currently full of panic. When he reached, them he scooped up the boy in his arms, holding him tight, "what have a told you about running off and scaring daddy like that?"

His accent was clearly British and it was kind of affecting her seeing how loving he was with his son, now he was up close she could see that he was actually pretty handsome and had a generous about of stubble decorating his jaw, but she always liked a guy with stubble, not that anything was going to happen between them, who went to the toy store to pick up a date? Plus, he was probably married, they were probably a happy little family with a woman who looked just like the little boy.

"Sorry Daddy, I was just talking to the nice lady about her Diplodocus," he stated, bowing his head as he looked at his feet, "she said I was clever."

Then as if only just noticing that she was there the man looked up at her, his eyes widening slightly as they met hers, "oh, hello," he smiled and then she saw it, the resemblance between himself and his son, it was the dimples, that smile obviously ran in the family. "I apologise for my son, he is overeager sometimes, especially when it comes to Hamley's and getting a new toy."

"Oh, it's no trouble, I was quite enjoying our little conversation," she smiled, looking down at the little boy who was staring at her with a cheeky grin on his face, "I think he was about to teach me the names of all the dinosaurs."

"Was he?" the father chuckled, looking down at his son, "well then, go and tell the nice lady the names." He looked at her and cast her a smirk, before they both watched Roland.

"I will!" he squealed, grabbing one off the shelf, "this one is a Pterodactyl, it has big wings so it can fly, see," he demonstrated, making the plastic toy move through the air.

"Oh wow," she laughed as he made it fly past her and through the handle of her shopping bag. She looked at the man stood next to her and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"So, which one of these is yours?" he asked, gesturing towards the children that were playing around them.

"Oh, none," she shook her head, "I don't have a child, I'm just finding a present for my godson."

"I see," he chuckled, "it's Robin by the way," he stated, extending his hand to her.

"What is?"

"My name is Robin."

"Regina," she smiled, accepting his hand and shaking it, she shuddered as her skin met his, she stared into his eyes, slightly startled by what was going on, he seemed to have been just as affected as she was. The moment was broken though when Roland came over holding up a dinosaur in both hands, the T-rex secured under his arm.

"This one is a Stegosaurus," he stated showing her one before looking at the other, "and this one is…" he stared at it for a couple of seconds before yelling out loud, "a Triceratops!"

"Oh wow," Regina gasped, playing along and showing him how impressed she was that he had remembered all the long names, which to be honest was actually quite impressive, the boy couldn't have been all that old, maybe four or five. "Well thank you for telling me because I would have never known," she chuckled, "so, which dinosaur do you think I should buy?"

"I think you should buy that one," he pointed to the one in her hands.

She looked down at the Diplodocus and smiled, she agreed with him, Henry would definitely like it, he already had many T-Rexs, so it might be a nice change for him to have a dinosaur of another type, "I think so too," she nodded, "which one do you like?" She asked, seeing that his clear favourite was the one that he had been clinging to for the entire time she had known him.

"This T-Rex! This is the T-Rex that we came to get, because I don't have this one and daddy said that we could come and get one today!" he squealed in delight, holding it tightly, "look see, it's arms move and so does its mouth like that!" he pressed a button and the jaw closed on his finger, causing him to laugh as he shook his head, "try it!"

His happiness was infectious, she smiled at Robin before placing her finger inside the mouth of the t-rex as Roland pressed the button and its mouth closed on her finger, "it tickles."

"It does tickle, daddy, your turn, the nice lady tried it."

"Roland, the nice lady is called Regina." Robin informed him, looking at her and casting her one of his beautiful smiles, his blue eyes captivating her, before her attention was drawn back to Roland.

"Oh, Gina." He beamed, reaching out to shake her hand, she was guessing that it was because he had seen his father greet her that way, "my name is Roland and I'm five, I don't have a mommy."

The smile on her face faltered a little bit as she turned to look at Robin, apparently, he had been caught as off guard just as much as she had and was staring at his son, then his gaze turned to her, "you don't?" She asked, her voice quiet.

"No, she's an angel, she's up in heaven, that's what daddy said," Roland nodded.

Regina cast Robin a sombre look, he was a widower? He'd had to raise his son alone, being a single parent without anyone to consult with, without a mother for his son. Clearly, he had done an amazing job, but it was so sad, not just for Roland but for Robin too, "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's alright," Robin closed his eyes and shook his head, "Roland, how about we go buy that dinosaur now," his voice wasn't as confident as it had been earlier and she could tell that he was mulling it over in his head, reminiscing, "I need to drop you off at Grace's house before I go back to work."

"Why do you have to go back to work daddy?"

"Because I just do buddy, I have an important meeting with someone this afternoon and he has travelled a long way to come and see me, so I can't be late."

"Oh, okay then, but we are having our special dinner tonight, aren't we?"

"Yes," Robin nodded.

Regina was just about to inform them that she would come to the check out with them when a loud ringtone sounded and she slipped her hand in her jacket pocket, pulling out her iPhone and answering, "Gold?"

"Regina, I need you back at the hotel for briefing as soon as possible, we are meeting the client in an hour or so."

"Yes, I will be right there, I just have one thing to do and then I am on my way."

"Good, Regna please don't be late, you know how much I hate having to tell you off."

"Yes boss," she chuckled, rolling her eyes, "there I was thinking that you rather enjoyed it."

"Regina."

"I'm coming, don't get you nickers in a twist."

"Regina."

"On my way now," she laughed. Regina closed off her phone and slipped it back in her pocket.

"You have somewhere to be?" Robin asked as they all walked towards the tills.

"Yes, I have a meeting," she stated regretfully, she would have loved to spend more time with them.

"Me too," Robin nodded, "work commitments hey," he tutted.

"Hmm, my work did get me a free trip to London so I can't really complain," she chuckled, noticing that Roland was staring up at her.

"Where did you come here from Gina?" He asked finding her hand and playing with it gently.

God, how was it so easy to get attached to a child? He was just so adorable and had already made up a pet name for her, which she got called by others, but they were old friends, not people she had literally just met, she liked it when he called her that it was cute. "I am from a long way away, do you know where America is?" She asked as his hand closed around hers and he shook his head.

"I've heard about America, but I don't know where it is," he stated.

"Well it's across the sea, you have to take a plane or a boat to get there," she told him.

When they reached the front of the queue, Roland shoved his T-Rex into his father's arms before skipping with Regina to the counter. "Sweetie, I think you should probably stay with your dad," she stated, looking down at him.

"No, I don't want to, I want to learn about America!" He shouted, clinging onto her.

"Roland," Robin scooped him up and sighed, "sorry, he's usually so nervous with strangers and doesn't talk to anyone," he furrowed his eyebrows, looking at his son who was now crying against his suit jacket.

"Gina isn't a stranger," the boy cried, "she likes dinosaurs, especially the Diplodocus. I want to talk to Gina more," he whimpered, letting out a little hiccup.

Regina paid for Henry's dinosaur before waiting to walk out of the store with them. What the hell was happening? Robin had said that Roland was shy, but the little boy she had met was anything but, he seemed bold and outgoing, chatted away to his heart's content, telling her about anything and everything. She looked over at the father and son and saw that the woman on the till was trying to talk to Roland, but he simply buried himself in his father's jacket and shook his head. Robin handed him the T-Rex and he took it, tucking it under his arm, before snuggling up to his dad again.

She saw Robin sigh as he walked back to her, "look, see," he scuffed his son's hair, "she's still here."

Roland looked up at her, his big brown eyes glossy with tears, "Gina, Gina!" He wriggled and got free from his father's arms, before finding her hand again.

"Apparently, you have a new number one fan."

"I see that," she nodded.

"Daddy, I want to know about America, don't you want to know about America too?" Roland placed his hands on his hips as he cast a challenging look at his father, one which caused Regina to laugh.

"Yes, and I am sure that Regina will tell us as much as she can before she has to go."

"Why?"

"Because."

"But we'll see her again right?" Roland stared up at Robin with an animated look on his face.

"I don't know about that one," Robin sighed, running his fingers gently through his hair.

"We'll never see you again?" Roland asked, looking up at her, the tears brimming in his eyes again.

"I'm sorry," she shook her head, oh god, she was a wreck, the things this child did to her after only knowing him less than an hour was insane, she felt like a mother leaving her child, but obviously, he wasn't her child and she definitely wasn't his mother, "I don't think so."

He took a shuddery breath and looked down at the floor, "do you not like me?"

"What? Of course, I like you," she sighed.

"Then why don't you want to see me again?"

She looked up at Robin who was simply staring at his son in what she could only describe as shock, he clearly wasn't used to seeing him like this and apparently, it was creeping him out a little bit. Shaking his head, he picked him up and let out a deep breath, "Roland, Regina is probably a very busy lady okay and you can't expect her to just stop what she is doing to come and play with you."

"I know," he whispered.

Regina realised that they had come to the exit and took a deep breath, she was going to have to say goodbye to them and would probably never see either of them again, which was affecting her more than it should, she didn't know them, not really, she was a complete stranger to them. "Well, I'm heading this way," she stated pointing to their left.

"We're going this way," Robin informed, gesturing in the opposite direction, "it was nice to meet you."

"You too, both of you," she smiled, looking at Roland and moving closer, "hey little man, I hope you're not going to be upset all day, look, you've got your T-Rex." She stated, touching the toy that he was still clinging onto, "thank you for telling me all the names of the dinosaurs." She stroked his cheek gently, apparently, he wasn't talking to her now, he'd all of a sudden gone very shy and she hoped he didn't hate her because she had told him that she wouldn't ever see him again, "Roland."

He looked up at her and cast her a sad smile, "it was nice to meet you Gina," he echoed his father's sentiments as he touched her face gently, before releasing a sigh.

"Bye bye Roland," she whispered, before turning to Robin, "goodbye."

"Goodbye," he nodded. She almost thought she heard some sort of sadness in his voice, but she must have been imagining it, they had only just met, there was no way he was sad about having to part ways, but the look on his face was betraying that thought.

"Bye."

"You already said that," he chuckled, casting her a dimpled grin.

"I know," she laughed, "this time I do actually have to go," she sighed, she was procrastinating, trying to delay the inevitable, she would walk away and never see them again, never see their matching dimples or Roland's face light up when she played with him or told him new things and it was silly for her to say that she was going to miss that, but she really was. It was time to just leave them, disappear and go back to her sad lonely life. "Bye," she stated one last time, before turning her back on them and walking away, having to hold her breath.

With each step, she regretted it more, her chest tightened, what the hell was happening to her? Why did she feel so connected to them? What was she doing? She had no way of ever talking to them again, ever contacting them, she was stupid, a complete idiot, she needed to do something, anything that would mean she would just be able to have one more conversation about dinosaurs with a lonely little boy who had no mother. She stopped waking and shook her head, she couldn't go any further, couldn't continue.

She turned around and began running back towards the store, "Robin! Roland!" She called out, looking around her, trying to find them in the crowd, they'd already left the front of the shop and walked away to wherever they were going, but she still carried on, moving past Hamley's in the direction he had told her they were leaving in, scanning faces frantically, trying to find them, but it was useless, they weren't there, they'd gone and she lost any chance of finding them again. "Robin! Roland!" She shouted once more, still going, her feet not allowing her to give up just yet, despite her head telling her that they were long gone.

She stopped and slumped against a wall, trying to catch her breath, they'd gone and she had lost them forever, lost something that could have been perfect. Who was she kidding though, it would have never worked, nothing ever did for her, she was destined to be alone, without anyone. If she had meant to be with them, it would have happened, they wouldn't have just walked away from each other, not without making sure that they had some way to contact each other first.

She rubbed a hand over her face, before shaking her head and standing back up again, what was done was done, she just had to get up and get on with her life, carry on and try to forget about the little boy and his father who had somehow crept under her defences and found a place in her heart. She cast one last glance to her left, just to make sure, that was when she spotted the green coat. Her eyes went wide and she was running again, before she could even process what was happening and make to change her mind, she was running down the busy streets of London, in heels!

"Robin!" she yelled, a smile working its way onto her face as she caught up and reached out to touch his coat, "Robin," she breathed. He turned around and the smile on her face immediately fell, along with all the relief that had flooded her veins, it wasn't him, it was just some man with the same coat and her heart clenched painfully in her chest, "sorry, I thought you were someone else," she whispered, looking down at the ground and trying not to cry.

She turned around and shook her head, before deciding to walk back to the hotel, where she would arrive late and probably get a telling off from Gold, but she didn't care, she had lost them forever and there wasn't anything she could do to fix that.