Written for the last day of OQ on Holidays Week. Prompt number 52. Leopold takes Regina to his hunting lodge in the mountains, she gets lost and almost dies in a blizzard, Robin finds her, brings her back to his cabin to nurse her back to health.
Safe Haven
Feeling something warm being placed on her forehead, Regina regains her consciousness. She's confused by the strange gesture and tries to open her eyes, but the eyelids are too heavy. Her heartbeat quickens as her body shivers from the cold, and she tries to open her eyes, tries again and again until they finally flutter open.
A scream of utter shock leaves her mouth the moment she sees a teenage boy above herself, a teenage boy who most definitely is not her son.
She tries to move away from him immediately but her body is covered by something heavy and she can barely move. Her heart starts beating even faster, her breathing becoming labored from the panic that is surrounding her.
What the hell is going on?
"Calm down, please," the boy begs, pulling away from her immediately. He takes a step back and lifts his hands up in front of himself in surrender. "I don't want to hurt you."
"Who are you?" Regina asks in a scratchy voice.
Damn it.
What the hell has happened to her?
Her whole body shivers from the cold, but she fights through it, fights through the dizziness and manages to sit up. She realizes that the heavy thing on her is a few thick blankets and when she glances down at herself she notices that she's not dressed in her clothes.
She tells herself to breathe, to ignore everything and just breathe. Nothing feels right about this, and her fears only grow when she looks around the small room which is lightened up by candles, its window covered by a thick dark sheet.
"Did someone kidnap me?" Regina blurts out, turning to look back to the boy. Her hands are not tied and there's no tape over her mouth but she's read stories where the kidnappers don't torture their victims when all they want is money.
And her husband has a lot of it. He would definitely pay to get her back.
Her husband also has a lot of enemies. It wouldn't be the first threat after all.
"No, of course not!" the boy insists, his eyes turning wide at her accusation. "My dad found you frozen in the woods and brought you to our cabin!"
Regina narrows her eyes and tries to figure out if it could be the truth.
She remembers that she went out to look for Leopold who had been gone in the forest for quite a long time. Before leaving, she told Henry to make sure that all the windows are closed because the blizzard was coming their way and she needed to find her husband.
David, her future (step) son-in-law walked to one direction while Regina took another, looking for her husband. Leopold liked to hunt and sometimes he would lose the track of time, so there was no surprise that he hasn't returned home for long. Nobody would be looking for him if not that damned blizzard.
A few snowflakes fell onto her hair as she walked into the forest, shouting his name. She walked and walked and walked until the snowing got more intense, and then one moment she turned around and realized that she had no idea where she was.
Even now her whole body covers in goose-bumps at the memory of the fear that gripped at her heart in that moment.
Regina tried to find her way back to the hunting lodge where they were staying but soon it got difficult to walk, the snow and the wind making it almost impossible to stand. She remembers when she gave up and wrapped her arms around herself, tried to hold all the possible warmth within herself.
She called for Leopold one more time but her voice grew quieter, and only then did she realize that the sky was already dark. She was wandering around the woods for hours without noticing it and there was no way she would find her way back now.
Her teeth were chattering, her body shaking, and she was so damn cold, every breath was pure torture. The wind had gone stronger, the snow got heavier and before she knew it, her back was pressed against the tree as she gazed into the starless sky, knowing full well that she was going to die here from the blizzard soon.
She's alive now; alive in a room with an unknown boy who claims that his father has found her in the woods.
She decides to believe him.
"Alright," Regina finally says, snapping out of her thoughts. The boy could be telling the truth, someone could've found her. Sighing in relief that (perhaps) she's not kidnapped, Regina leans against the headboard and tugs the blankets over herself, her body shivering underneath it. "How long have I been here?"
The boy exhales, and it seems like he's relieved that she's not accusing him of kidnapping anymore.
"For three days now," he tells her and he takes a step closer to her bed. This time when he places a warm cloth over her forehead, Regina doesn't flinch away. "When dad found you, you were in a really bad state. We couldn't take you to the hospital because the blizzard had gotten really strong, so he brought you here, put you under dozens of blankets and told me to keep putting warm things on your forehead in hopes that you'll recover."
Regina's mouth drops open in shock – she's been here for three days. Her son must be losing his mind wondering where the hell she has disappeared. The thought makes Regina's heart clench and tears fill her eyes.
However, she tells herself to stay calm, and breathes in and out, then does it again and again. Once she's calmer, she turns back to the boy, asks, "Have I been unconscious all this time?"
"You were hallucinating," he says, sitting down on the chair next to her bed. "You screamed and trashed in bed most of the time, but sometimes you simply talked nonsense."
Regina swallows hard and nods her head. It seems that she wasn't in a very good state after her quick trip into the woods and hours spent in snow, thinking that her death hour has finally come.
"I'm sorry I attacked you with all of these questions and didn't even ask for your name," she says, pushing the dark thoughts away from her head. She's not dead, she's alive and there's no point to think about what could have happened now.
"Roland Locksley," he introduces himself and stretches his hand out for her.
For a moment, Regina's heart stops beating. Once upon a time she knew a Locksley, but he's moved to England when they were still in their twenty's.
It must be a coincidence, she tells her, shaking the memory out of her mind.
Unwillingly, Regina pulls her hand out from under the covers and shakes the boy's, introducing herself, "Regina Mills- Blanchard."
All of a sudden the heavy footfalls are heard from the other side of the door. It doesn't take long until the thick wooden door is pushed open and someone walks in. Regina cannot help but narrow her eyes and her whole body tenses when she sees a tall man enter the room.
She anxiously waits for him to turn around. There's still a chance that the boy was lying, there's still a chance that she's actually kidnapped and some horrible things are going to happen to her.
However, when the man finally turns around, Regina's jaw drops open in shock and she's one hundred percent sure nobody is going to torture her.
"Regina! You're awake!" the man exclaims, his deep blue eyes turning wide in surprise as their gazes meet and lock.
It is Robin.
Robin Locksley.
Her first crush.
Her first boyfriend.
Her first lover.
It is actually him.
"Robin?" Regina asks, not believing her own eyes. Perhaps she's still delirious?
He has changed a lot since the last time she's seen him. He now has stubble, his hair is longer, his face has matured now, there are small wrinkles at his temples when he smiles. However, he still has deep dimples in his cheeks, his eyes are still as blue as the ocean.
"Long time no see," He jokes as he walks to her bed and wraps his arms around her with all thick blankets between them. It is an uncomfortable hug but she's missed him so much so she doesn't squirm to make herself more comfortable.
He holds her for much longer than it is acceptable for a friendly hug, and Regina finds that she doesn't mind it at all. She's missed him so much, and it seems that the feeling is mutual and if it was up to her, they would stay like this for the rest of their lives.
However, she returns to reality and finally squirms until Robin loosens his arms around her. He kisses her forehead, his warm lips making her eyes flutter closed, and then finally pulls away, smiling at her warmly, sweetly, just like all these years ago when they were still friends.
"How are you feeling?" Robin asks then, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Regina leans against the headboard – she's still dizzy and shaking – to make herself more comfortable and tells him, "I'm fine." She has so many questions to him, and there are so many things she has to say but she has a son out there who's probably losing him mind so she states, "I really need to get back to my family."
"No, no, no," Robin quickly says, putting his hands on her shoulders to keep her from trying to get up from the bed. "It is late in the evening now, and the blizzard hasn't calmed down yet. You are still weak, Regina, and I'm sorry but you'll have to stay with us for at least one more night."
All of a sudden Regina's eyes fill with tears. It must be a post almost-dying-experience shock, and she feels overcome with emotions and before she knows it her lower lip starts to tremble for a whole different reason than a cold. She tries to keep her emotions at bay, but it's all too much, and the thought of Henry, terrified because of her, breaks her shield and the tears start rolling down her cheeks.
He'd already lost his father and now it probably thinking that he's lost his mother too.
Damn it!
Robin moves closer to her and wraps his arms around her shaking body, whispering assuring words into her hair. His warmth, his scent had always had a calming effect on Regina, and it seems this hasn't changed as well because she feels herself relaxing, breathing becoming easier.
When she's not shaking anymore and can inhale and exhale properly again, she pulls a bit away from Robin and he quickly understands what she means and releases her from his arms. However, he doesn't pull away completely, he stares at her face, swipes the pads of his thumbs over her cheeks wiping the tears away.
It makes another wave of emotions wash over Regina. She's reminded about their time together, about how Robin used to always wipe her tears in that way (her mother was a pain in the ass and Regina's spent lots of time crying during her younger days). He used to kiss her right after and hold her for hours until the world didn't seem such a dark place anymore.
"How did you find me?" Regina asks, clearing her throat. If she kept thinking about all that was lost to her the day Robin left her, she would start crying again. Even after sixteen years it still hurts her. "What are you two even doing here?
"We come here every winter during Christmas break to spend a few weeks away from the civilization," Robin tells her, moving back to his previous place, away from Regina. "I was wandering around the woods right before the blizzard and I heard someone shouting. I rushed to the place where the sound came from and found you laying in the snow with your lips already blue. You didn't even recognize me, and by the time I brought you here you were unconscious."
"Oh," is all Regina manages to say.
The memory of the snow all around her makes her shiver.
"We couldn't take you to the hospital before the blizzard got really strong. We lost electricity, phone lines are dead, even our water taps are frozen," Robin says, turning to look at his son. "So we did everything in our power to nurse you back to health here."
"I-… Thank you," Regina settles on saying, turning to look from Robin to the obviously tired teenage boy. "I will never be able to thank you enough. You saved my life."
"We're glad we could help," Roland says, trying to smile but his face turns into a grimace when he yawns.
"Go to sleep, my boy," Robin says, turning to his tired son. It seems that Roland's spent hours beside her bed, trying to make sure that she gets better. The thought makes Regina's heart clench with emotions.
Roland looks ready to fight and say that he's not tired but another yawn breaks free and he gives up without even trying. He stands up from the chair and wishes them a good night before walking out of the room, closing the thick wooden door behind himself.
For a moment, Regina and Robin sit in silence. They stare at one another, their gazes locked, and unconsciously Regina pulls her still shivering arm from under the covers and takes Robin's hand in hers. She swallows hard as her eyes fill with tears again and she's staring at the man she has never stopped loving.
Robin presses his lips into a thin line and squeezes her hand. He moves closer to her then and Regina sits up a bit as well, leans over until their faces are only inches apart. She's a married woman, and he's probably married too, but the love between them has never gone away.
With that in mind, Regina leans over and presses her lips against Robin's. He kisses her back immediately, one of his hands moving the back of her head, tangling in her hair, the other is wrapped around her waist as he pulls her closer to himself.
When Robin's tongue swipes across her lips, Regina opens her mouth without a doubt. She pulls her other arm from under the covers – surprisingly she's not cold anymore – and wraps it around Robin's neck, moaning into his mouth.
Only when the hand that's been rested on her lower back starts to move up and touches the underside of her breast Regina comes back to reality. Her body freezes as she stops kissing him, pulls away from him, both of them panting for air.
Robin starts at her surprised, so she tells him, still panting for air, "I'm married. I can't do this."
She's pretty sure that if she hasn't stopped this now, it wouldn't take long for them to be naked under the covers – they are still not in control of their bodies in each other's company. And it cannot happen, not when she is still sick and confused, not when there are still many unanswered questions.
"I'm sorry," Robin apologizes and tries to move away from Regina.
However, she catches his hand and when he looks at her, she leans over and pecks his lips, "I've missed you."
"And I, you."
This time their kiss is not hungry, it is emotional, and they both know that it cannot go further than that, so Robin pulls away before things get hot again. He holds her hand in his for a moment, his finger running over her wedding band as he starts straight into her eyes.
Robin surprises her when he lift the blankets and gets under the sheets with Regina. She looks at him confused but he assures her that he just wants to hold her, nothing more, and she sighs, moves closer to him almost immediately, cuddling into his warm side.
Robin wraps his arms around her tightly and presses a kiss on top of her head.
This is not cheating, Regina tells herself.
"So tell me, what you were doing in the woods in the middle of a blizzard."
Regina smiles inhaling his forest scent and tells him how she went to look for her husband. She also tells him that her husband is Leopold Blanchard, the man who was her father's friend, and Robin remembers him, of course, the man who Cora Mills called Regina's future husband.
Robin is surprised that she married that man of all people, and Regina tells him that when her father died, the man helped a lot to keep the business going. She learned to like him and he seemed to treat her son well – Robin smiles when he finds out that she had a boy - and when Leopold asked her on a date, she agreed. It isn't an epic love, Regina assures him, they're a family and she loves him, but not in the kind of way you love your husband, not in the kind of way she loves Robin.
It then is Robin's time to speak and he tells her that Marian is dead now, and after her death, it seemed impossible to live in the same apartment, walk down the same streets without her. Roland was devastated so Robin decided to move and came back to the States. For a while they lived with his parents until Robin got a permanent job and Roland finally snapped out of his depression.
Neither of them mentions that during all these years they kept thinking about one another. They don't mention that their hearts broke every time they let their minds wander back to the days they were together. They don't say that even now their hearts are still beating for one another.
They know that without saying.
"Do you think it would have worked out for us?" All of a sudden Robin asks in a quiet voice, kissing on top of her head again, his arms only tightening around her.
"I think we would have had to work really hard to make things right again." Regina tells him, feeling tears filling her eyes.
They got into a fight over a really stupid things – Robin was jealous that Regina was flirting with a guy in a club. She was so fed up by people controlling her life and that night it felt that Robin was trying to do it, too. She shouted on him, told him that she was done with him. He wasn't feeling right as well back then so he left the club without saying a word to her.
She got drunk that night and slept with the man she's flirted a few hours ago, as if trying to prove the point that nobody could control her life, only her.
When Robin found out about that, he broke up with her. They said nasty things to one another, shouted and screamed and Robin took all of his things and moved back to his parents' place, leaving Regina all alone.
He came back, though, two months later. He must have realized that Regina was really important to him and that he loved her because he came back to their apartment with flowers in his hands only to find Regina sitting on the floor in the living room with her eyes red from crying, a positive pregnancy test in her hands.
It was the last time they've seen one another until now.
"I still love you," Regina whispers quietly when she snaps out of her memory, tears falling down her cheeks.
"I still love you, too," Robin whispers back, his own voice full of emotions.
Regina swallows hard and closes her eyes. Robin's chest is shaking underneath her head and he's kissing on top of her head again and again whispering that he should've never let her go.
That night Regina falls asleep in the arms of the man she thought she was destined to be with.
(…)
When she wakes up in the morning, she feels much better. She's not shivering anymore and can breathe properly again, her throat is not so scratchy anymore. She doesn't look as pale as the night before, and Robin tells her that she's getting better.
"Also, the blizzard has stopped, and I think we should be able to take you back home," Robin tells her, trying to keep his voice cheerful even though his heart is breaking into pieces. He's not ready to lose her again but he knows there's no way to keep her here.
So they eat their breakfast and Regina makes her way to the bathroom to change into her own now dry clothes. Roland borrows her a hat and a scarf, and Regina hugs the boy tightly, thanks for everything he's done for her.
Watching the scene, Robin has to swallow hard, and when Regina releases Roland, Robin takes her gloved hand and leads her out into the cold.
(…)
"Are you sure you can walk?" Robin asks when the car stops in front of the huge fancy hunting lodge.
Regina rolls her eyes at him and doesn't answer. She turns to open the door of the car but Robin grabs her hand and pulls her into one last kiss. She kisses him back and when they break apart, they are both teary eyed.
"I'll always love you," Regina whispers and quickly turns around, opens the door and gets out of the car.
Robin watches as she makes her way through the gates on wobbly legs, her arms wrapped around herself to keep herself warm.
He notices when the door of the hunting lodge opens and a teenage boy runs out. He's dressed only in a Christmas sweater and jeans and socks, and he rushes straight to Regina, shouting 'Mom' and wrapping his arms tightly around her as soon as he reaches her.
It doesn't take long until the older man walks out of the house. It's Leopold, Robin realizes, and he looks different now, much older than Robin remembers him. He also rushes to Regina and wraps her in his arms, burying his face into her hair.
Robin feels a lump in his throat as he watches the woman he loves be kissed and held by another man. He curses himself under his breath that he was stupid enough to let it all go.
He could have easily fought with his pride and return to Regina, he could forgive her the mistakes she's made and love her and her child the way they deserved.
He could. But didn.t
Wiping a stray tear away from his cheek, Robin turns on the engine and drives away, feeling his heart breaking into million pieces, again.