A/N: I've been wanting to write a fanfiction like this for forever, so I'm excited to say I've finally worked out a plot! Now, let me explain the timeline.
This story takes place, say, a year after season 3, but it takes a bit of an alternate turn. Robin and Regina never got together, Zelena was completely defeated and never went back in time, therefore, Marian never came back. Robin and Regina simply became very close friends after everything settled down and everything fell into a... Normal state.
Now that that's clarified, here we go! I hope you enjoy. And a penny for your thoughts would be great! :)
Also, don't worry. I'm still working on "Kidnap My Heart". Updates for this fic may be a little slower because of that, but I'll try to alternate. If it becomes too much, I'll put this on hold until I finish "Kidnap My Heart".
"Hello?" Regina inquired as she picked up the phone, quickly tucking it against her shoulder and ear. She shifted Liam's weight in her arms as the two-month-old baby fussed, begging for the bottle she was warming up for him.
"Regina," a familiar voice said over the phone. "It's Robin. You were supposed to meet me at Granny's for dinner at seven."
Regina's eyes widened and she looked over at the clock above the refrigerator. It was seven-thirty on the dot. She heaved a sigh, letting her shoulders sag. "Robin, I'm so, so sorry," she apologized. "Emma and Killian wanted to go out tonight and so I offered to watch the twins and Henry. I completely forgot about our plans."
"It's alright," Robin said on the other line. "Three kids. That sounds like a handful. Do you want me to come over and help?"
"No, I'm alright," Regina said, but little Liam chose that precise moment to start screaming for his bottle, his voice going straight through the phone.
She could practically feel that smirk on Robin's face and she sighed a little. "Are you sure?" Robin asked. "Or are you just being stubborn as usual?"
Regina frowned a little. "Fine. You can come over and help out," she complied. "If you bring me dinner."
"You got it. What do you want?" Robin asked.
"Are you still at Granny's?" Regina inquired and once Robin informed that he was, she said, "Grab me a grilled cheese and fries? Henry will want a cheeseburger."
"Of course," Robin replied. "However, I do recall you telling Emma that she ate like a child the last time she had grilled cheese in front of you."
Regina rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just bring the food and get your ass over here before the twins drive me insane."
"See? You do need me," Robin said smugly.
"If these were normal twins, no, I'd be just fine, but you're forgetting that these are the children of Killian and Emma Jones, two of the most annoying people in Storybrooke," Regina replied, huffing in annoyance as she grabbed Liam's bottle and went to sit on the couch. "And when you get over here, Leia will be up from her nap and in need of a bottle, so you can feed her."
"What about Luke?" Robin inquired.
Regina rolled her eyes. "For the last time, his name is Liam, not Luke. And he's the one screaming at the top of his lungs right now."
"Right. Liam, Liam, Liam," Robin mumbled to get it stuck in his head. Ever since Henry and Roland had gotten Robin to watch Star Wars just a few days after Liam and Leia were born so that he would understand Leia's namesake, he'd gotten into calling Liam, Luke and it had always annoyed Regina. "Okay. I'll be over in a few. See you then."
"Bye," Regina replied and hung up the phone. She set it down and moved to cradle a screaming Liam in her arms, moving to brush the nipple of the bottle over his lips.
After a few moments, the baby's cries had settled and he latched on to the bottle, beginning to suckle, his little hands kneading the collar of Regina's blouse. Regina sighed in relief as the house went quiet again, besides the muffled sound of Henry's video game upstairs.
Regina hummed a soft lullaby and gently rocked back and forth to soothe the infant in her arms. Liam closed his brilliant blue eyes, a peaceful expression on his face. Regina didn't know how Emma and Killian dealt with twins. Just taking care of Henry alone when he was a baby was stressful enough. She could only imagine taking care of two babies at once as a single mother.
However, as she stared down into Liam's precious face, she couldn't help but think how nice it would be to take care of a baby again. However hard, Henry had been such a blessing. But, he was getting older and more independent, no longer reliable on his mother's care and affection. Regina also had to share. Every week he would alternate between mothers, spending a week with Emma and Killian, and the next with Regina.
As soon as the thought came to mind, Regina pushed it away. There wasn't any chance of her having a child of her own. Regina had taken that away from herself many years ago, because nobody would love her enough to give her that, and she couldn't let her mother get her hands on any child Regina had. But Regina had been right about a man never loving her. There wasn't any man in her life that would want to give her a child of her own. Besides, the adoption process was grueling and Regina didn't want to go through that again. She'd just have to settle with babysitting Liam, Leia, and the Charmings' one-year-old, Neal. But, as much as she tried to convince herself of that, she still thought that it would be nice to finally have a child of her own.
No, Regina. Don't think that way or you'll be emotional before Robin gets here, she warned herself.
Luckily, it was then that there was a knocking on the door, breaking Regina from her thoughts. Regina was getting up to answer when a loud barking erupted from Henry's room and the eight-month-old, ninety-pound bloodhound that Henry had convinced Regina to get him came bounding down the stairs.
"Copper! Copper, no, you're going to wake–" Regina was cut off by Liam and Leia, who was napping in the other room, crying in unison. Wonderful. That blasted dog. Now they had two babies to calm down because of him. "Henry, come get your dog!" Regina called.
With no regards for his squalling half-siblings, Henry came bounding down the stairs after Copper and grabbed the dog by the collar as the animal lunged at the door.
Regina sighed and went to answer the door, already looked frazzled. Robin stepped inside, immediately making the trade, a bag of Granny's to-go for the fussy baby in Regina's arms.
"Henry, take Copper outside," Regina said as the dog danced around Robin's feet, jumping up with excitement. Copper had always adored Robin and gave him a very excited greeting each time he visited. "Hurry, before he knocks Robin over!" Regina said as the hound nearly made Robin trip.
Henry dragged the dog away, who whimpered and yipped to be let free to greet Robin.
"Regina, you go take that food and sit down. I've got the babies," Robin said.
"But now that Leia's awake, both of them need–"
"Go. I've got it," Robin interrupted.
Regina sighed and nodded, handing Robin Liam's bottle. "Alright. Her bottle's in the fridge. Just turn the tap on warm and heat it when you're done with Liam."
"I've got a better method," Robin said, and disappeared in the direction of Leia's crying.
Regina smiled a little and took the bag of food into the kitchen, setting it down on the counter. Henry came in through the back door and followed his nose to where Regina was. Now that he was twelve, at that stage where he would soon go from boyhood to manhood, Henry was always eating and he had the cheeseburger Robin had gotten him to his mouth before he reached the table to sit down.
Regina took her grilled cheese and fries and took them to sit beside Henry. The two of them shared the fries as they ate their food and Regina asked Henry about how he's doing and how he's coping with the babies. He seemed to be doing alright and shared that he enjoyed helping his mother care for his siblings especially now that they'd hit the two month mark and were a little more interesting.
After they'd eaten, Henry let Copper back inside for his dinner before heading back upstairs to continue whatever video game he was playing on his X-Box 360. Regina cleaned up the kitchen before heading in to find Robin with two slumbering babies in his arms, one curled up on one shoulder and the second twin snuggled against the other. As she joined Robin on the couch, she held her hands out and Robin helped transfer little, sweet Leia into her arms.
Regina settled Leia against her shoulder, the baby's head falling into the crook of her neck. She took to cradling Leia's head there, running her fingers through the downy blond hair on the baby's head and also rubbed soothing circles on her back. The baby continued to doze as Regina grabbed the remote off the coffee table to turn the TV on.
"What do you want to watch?" Regina asked Robin as she turned the volume down low so the babies could sleep and began flipping through channels. She felt eyes on her and turned to find Robin staring at her intently so she waved the remote in front of his face. "Robin," she said, her voice a little sharper.
It seemed to snap him out of his thoughts. Robin smiled sheepishly as if he were a toddler caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Sorry, just thinking," he said with a shrug. "We can watch whatever," he replied.
Regina nodded and settled for a rerun of I Love Lucy after looking through the list of shows. She got settled in, her shoulder leaning against Robin's as the two of them cuddled the babies and occupied themselves with the movie. Well, at least Regina was. More so than she usually would have been but she could blame that on the fact that Robin kept glancing over at her with an expression in his eyes that Regina found startling – not in a bad way, in a good sort of way.
"What are you thinking about?" Regina asked after a moment of feeling his soft gaze on her.
Robin shrugged his shoulders. "Just seeing you sitting there with a baby..." he began and Regina's breath hitched, not wanting to tell him the story if he said anything about how it might be nice if she had a baby now that Henry was older. "Makes me think of how good a mother you are."
Regina felt herself relax a little and she turned to shrug at Robin. "I'm not that great. I just like children, that's all."
"Like?" Robin scoffed. "You love children, even if they're the children of two of the most annoying people in Storybrooke, as you put it. And you're great with them too," he said, his voice softening. "If you recall, you're the one Emma and Mary Margaret turn to if they have a question about babies. They know you've raised one and raised one well."
Regina smiled a little, feeling a blush creeping into her cheeks if the warmth that began to sneak in was any indication. "Thanks, Robin."
The former thief grinned cheekily. "No thanks needed, milady," he said. "When do Emma and Killian return?"
Regina looked down at her watch to find it was now eight-fifteen. "They'll be here at nine, so we've got less than an hour."
Robin nodded and patted Liam's back. "Let's just hope these little guys can manage a forty-five minute nap."
Regina rolled her eyes playfully. "You aren't the one who's spent time with them since six. Liam and Leia are very fussy babies. As whiny as their mother," she said.
"Oh stop," Robin said with a soft chuckle. "We both know you love these little ones and that Emma's one of your closest friends."
Regina laughed a little, looking down at the sleeping infant in her arms. "Yes, I do adore the twins. And their mother is alright, sometimes."
"I guess that's as good as I'm going to get out of you," Robin said and Regina nodded, earning a chuckle from him.
At about this time, ole' Copper sauntered his way into the living room. The bloodhound was big and bulky for being just eight months old, and quite a good dog, even if he did have an issue with failing to realize how big and powerful he was. He'd knocked Regina down on more occasions than one when greeting her when she got home from work, and even though she tried not to act very fond of the hound, when her house was empty save her and Copper, she found him to be good company.
"You know, I never thought you'd let Henry get a dog," Robin commented as Copper made his way towards the couple, sniffing at the hardwood floor.
"Well, he kept begging and he's always wanted one and as big and ugly as Copper is now, he was cute as a puppy, and had a face even I couldn't resist," Regina said.
"Oh come on, Copper isn't ugly. He's certainly a large dog but that big, wrinkly, downcast face is cute. Even if he looks like a kicked puppy all the time," Robin said and clicked his tongue to call the dog over.
Copper loved Regina but if there was one person he was just as fond of, it was Robin. The dog bounded over excitedly, tail wagging, tongue hanging dumbly out of his mouth, and he nudged Robin's free hand with his big nose, begging to be petted, in which the former thief complied.
"Why that dog loves you, I have no idea," Regina commented.
Robin looked up, feigning offense. "Oh, now come on, Regina, I'm a lovable guy," he said, rubbing Copper's head. "Besides, I pay more attention to him than you do."
"I happen to not like animals," Regina said, deciding to leave the fact alone that she did pay attention to Copper when nobody was around and they were both missing Henry's company.
Robin rolled his eyes and scratched behind Copper's long, velvety ears. "Whatever you say," he replied.
Henry bounded down the steps then and made his way over to his mother, sitting down beside her. "Hi, Robin," he greeted, chuckling when the thief made a face as Copper abandoned him for Henry. The bloodhound hopped up on the couch and plopped down in Henry's lap as the boy let out an oof!
"Henry, you know how I feel about the dog on the couch," Regina warned.
"Mom, I've seen you cuddling with Copper on the couch before," Henry whined, making a face.
Regina frowned a little and gave her son a look. "I have never done that," she said.
"Yes, you have," Henry replied, wrapping his arms around Copper's thick neck as the dog turned his head up to lick Henry's chin.
Regina heaved a sigh. "Alright, he can sit here just this once," she said.
The three of them, plus the dog, and the sleeping twins, curled up together on the couch to watch TV. Before they knew it, it was nine o'clock and the doorbell rang. Luckily, the babies were still asleep and now their parents would get to deal with the twins once they woke up.
Regina went to answer the door, Leia still asleep on her shoulder and she smiled at the couple returning home. "Good evening. How was it?" Regina asked.
"It went well. And it was a much needed break from the twins," Emma said with a small smile. "Thank you for watching them for us."
"No problem," Regina replied. "They weren't too much of a problem, except for when they got hungry," she reported with a soft chuckle.
Killian smiled a little. "Aye. The little lad and lass have bellies always as hungry as their cries are loud," he said.
"Come on in. I'll grab their things and you all can be on your way," Regina said as she stepped aside for the Jones's to enter the house.
Emma took Leia from Regina's arms as the brunette went around to grab their blankets, bottles, and diaper bag. She returned to find Emma, Killian, and Henry all talking with Robin, who still held a sleeping Liam.
"You two really wore these babies out," Emma said as Regina returned, smiling at the twins. "Maybe I'll send them to you more often," she joked.
"I'd sure love it," Regina said as she got the bottles put into the diaper bag and made sure everything would be easy for the parents to leave with two babies and all their belongings.
As the couple got ready to leave, Emma tossed Regina a small smile. "You love taking care of the twins and Neal. Have you ever considered having a child?" Emma asked.
Regina's breath hitched in her throat, but she tried not to let her discomfort show. She shrugged her shoulders and managed a small smile. "I have Henry," she said.
"I know," Emma replied. "But another baby. Maybe one of your own?"
Regina wanted nothing more than to crawl away and hide, to dig herself deeper into the void of guilt she lived with for her past actions. I can't! That's what she wanted to scream, but instead settled with, "I'm not with a man. I've been single for years. And I doubt many guys would want to father the Evil Queen's child."
"Regina..." came Robin's stern warning voice. He'd been a stickler for not letting Regina talk down about herself, especially in his presence.
Emma smiled a little, her eyes flitting between the two as if wordlessly trying to state the obvious, but neither seemed to catch on. "Very well. But I think you'd be surprised. I know for certain that there's a good father for your child right under your nose."
Henry got a disgusted look on his face as he made his way to the door, followed by Emma and Killian. His cheeks flushed red. He'd obviously gotten the picture of just who his mother was talking about, just at the precise moment that it dawned on Regina.
Robin. Emma meant Robin.
And with one glance, the look on her best friend's face confirmed that he had gotten the sheriff's meaning, too. Regina clenched her fists and glared as the Jones family made their retreat, cursing Emma for, once again, meddling in business that was not hers.
With the door shut behind them, Regina realized that she was now alone with Robin, the man Emma had just suggested father her child (and the dog, of course).
Why was Regina even saying it like that in her head? There would never be her child. She had taken that away from herself years ago.
"I'm assuming you have Roland to get back to?" Regina asked Robin, deciding to shake these thoughts from her mind.
"Not for a while yet. John should have put him to bed for me," Robin said. "I didn't know what time we would be getting back after dinner."
Regina cringed. "I'm so sorry about that. Truly."
"It's alright, milady," Robin assured with a soft smile. "Now, I do believe we have a little time together so if you'd like to watch a movie or something, I'm free."
Regina nodded and led the way to the couch. They plopped down again and before Copper could beat Regina by putting his head in Robin's lap, she stuck her feet there. Robin smirked at her and began to massage her feet, because he always knew that that's what she wanted when she propped her feet up like that. The two of them got settled in and Regina pulled up Netflix to search for a movie.
"So, if you don't mind me being nosey, what's the real reason you don't want a baby?" Robin asked in that quiet voice he always used when he wasn't sure if Regina would answer his question and also to let her know she didn't have to.
Regina shrugged. "It's true what I said," she replied. Well, that was half of it anyways.
"We both know that you aren't concerned with your relationship to whoever the father would be, as long as he is someone you trusted," Robin said, giving the bottom of Regina's foot a light tickle, causing her to squirm and suppress a giggle. "Besides, who could resist Regina Mills?"
Regina felt her cheeks grow warm at Robin's words and she knew she was blushing. She let her hair fall in her face to hide it. "I don't let men crawl into my bed so easily, Locksley, so he would be disappointed. I'd be taking him to the clinic so he could donate a sperm."
"This world and its crazy modern technology," Robin mumbled. "So are you gonna do it?" he asked.
Regina shook her head. "Of course not. I can't."
"Why can't you?" Robin inquired, that soft tone taking over again and that's when Regina realized what she said.
Maybe she should tell him. After all, Robin was her best friend and she trusted him with every other secret about herself that nobody else knew. What harm was one more? Maybe then he would leave her alone after this.
With a sigh, Regina set the remote down and pulled her feet away from Robin, tucking her knees up. "I can't have children, Robin," she said seriously.
It didn't take him long to develop that thought in his mind, whether by Regina's tone or expression or both, he figured it out: she was infertile.
Robin swallowed and reached out, lacing his fingers with Regina's as her eyes grew teary. "I'm so sorry," he said gently. "That's why you adopted Henry, isn't it?" he asked.
Regina nodded. "If I could've had my own child, I would have. But I can't. So, I adopted. But I'm glad I did. It's just... A child of my own would be nice."
"There's nothing quite like it," Robin confirmed with a nod of his head. "So you've always been like this, then?"
Regina shook her head. "No. It happened shortly after the king died. My mother... She tricked me and tried to get me pregnant by a vile man so that she could reign behind a child-sized throne once she got rid of me. Luckily, I found out before anything happened but I cursed myself with an infertility potion so that I'd never bear a child so that it might never be turned into the kind of person I was. But I also did it because... because I knew nobody would ever love me enough to give me a child. And I was right."
"That's not true," Robin said, scooting closer to Regina, close enough so that he could wrap an arm around her and hug her close to him. "You know I hate it when you talk about yourself that way," he murmured, his breath against her ear.
Regina's eyes fluttered closed and she leaned her head against Robin's shoulder, willing herself not to cry. "Now that my mother's gone and I'm changing... sometimes I think it would be nice but then I remember, I can't."
"I may not be as knowledgable about magic as you are, but I do know one thing," Robin said, his other arm drawing her closer now. "All curses can be broken."
Regina smiled a little and buried her head into Robin's shoulder, inhaling the smell of forest she'd become so familiar with.
"And if you want a child, I'll help you break the curse. In fact, I'll make you a deal," Robin continued.
Regina pulled back long enough to look him in the face and Robin gave a soft smile. "You schedule a visit with the doctor. Have yourself looked over," Robin said. He then poked Regina's belly, brushing his fingers against the thin material of her shirt in a way that tickled and made her laugh a little. "Something's working right in there because I know that about once every month you begin complaining about your case of the monthlies, so get yourself evaluated."
Regina nodded a little. "And...?"
"And I'll pay Gold and Belle a visit to see if I can find anything on reversing an infertility potion," Robin went on. "Sound good?"
Regina smiled a little and nodded, so grateful that her best friend was agreeing to help her try and reverse the curse she had cast upon herself.
Maybe there was a little hope for a child of her own after all.