Roland ran through the dark streets of Storybrooke as fast as his little legs would carry him. Being the son of Robin Hood, Roland had an exceptional nack for direction so locating the Mayoral Manor in the dark streets of this strange land shouldn't be too hard.
Roland Hood just followed his heart.
It wasn't long before he found himself at the doorstep of the place he had dared to call home. Before it was so cruelly ripped away from him.
He frantically knocked on the giant, painted black wooden door, ignoring the shooting pains of protest emanating from his tiny knuckles. His fist banged against the door in the perfect, erratic and frantic synch his heart pounded against his chest.
His cheeks were stained with tears and his vision was a blurred mess. His little heart ached and his lungs burnt. But he did not care.
He continued to pound at the wooden door, his balled up fists punching and flying everywhere.
The front door opened before Roland realised and his fists continued to fly and his thin air until they came into contact with the firm, taughtness of Regina's thighs.
"Roland?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper.
The four year old continued to kick and punch at her legs, locked in some sort of trance. He sobbed harder than she had ever seen a child sob before... Not even Henry had cried with such a heartbroken and terrified passion in all his life.
Regina's already bruised and broken heart ached at the sight. His fists and feet, as manic as they were, didn't hurt her. Well, they probably did, but she couldn't feel any pain other than the swirling pool of abyss pressing down on her heart.
She bent down so she was eye level with the young boy, but he didn't even seem to register. Tears sprung from his eyes and escaped down his chubby, red cheeks faster than she knew how to catch them.
Roland was in such a state Regina seriously worried that he would have a panic attack. If he wasn't having one already. His chest was already heaving as he sobbed, struggling to breathe properly.
"Roland" Regina spoke, her voice firm, yet loving. She placed her hands on his shoulders, both comforting the hysterical boy but also acting as an anchor for the both of them. Grounding Roland when he finally snapped out of... whatever it was that was plaguing his body right now. "Roland, dear. Its me. Its Regina"
All of a sudden, Roland stopped fighting. He stood dead still, bar his chest rising and falling as his lungs battled for any and every breath they could. He blinked a few times, releasing unshed tears down his already tear stained cheeks.
It was as though Regina's voice had cut through whatever demon was controlling him and brought him back to reality. Was the hand that reached into the water and pulled him up from the emotions that were pulling him under, further and deeper until they drowned him. The loving and comforting embrace that he so desperately craved.
"Gina?" He croaked, his voice hoarse and dry from screaming and crying with all his might.
Regina widened her dark, sad eyes as she nodded. Without any warning, Roland threw himself at Regina, almost knocking her to the floor as he did so. He wrapped his arms around her neck and clung to her as though she were his only lifeline, sobbing with every ounce of energy he had left onto her shoulder.
Instinctively, Regina wrapped her arms around the small child's body and held him as his body shook and his tears stained through her shirt. Her embrace engulfed him, slowly but surely soothing him and comforting him in the way only a mother could. Roland needed this, needed her. And it was in that moment that Regina realised how much she needed him too.
She sunk down to the floor, Roland not moving from her embrace as she did. She leant against the door, silently grateful for the support it offered. She felt herself loosing it, but she willed herself to stay strong. To keep herself together. As much as she wanted to cry and breakdown like the boy in her arms, she couldn't. He needed her to be strong right now. He needed her comfort. And she loved him more than enough to at least try to keep it together for him.
A solitary tear slid down her cheek and dripped onto Roland's back. Her heart felt like stone in her chest it was that heavy. She wanted to rip it out and crush it. She was surprised she hadn't done so already. That was probably thanks to the 24 hour protection she had had the past couple of months in the form of the Charmings, Henry, Tinker Bell, Gold or Belle.
This was the first night she had been alone since that idiot brought Marian back. She was suddenly thankful that Roland had turned up at her doorstep...
It took a while, but eventually Roland calmed down. He had climbed into Regina's lap completely, curled up with his knees pulled into his chest as tightly as possible as Regina held him to her as closely and tightly as physically possible. They sat in silent, listening to the other breathe, taking comfort in the scent of one another. It was only when Roland started shivering that Regina realised that they were both sitting on the stone cold marble floor, leaning against the wide open door as the bitter, icy winds nipped at their bodies. Both of them wearing nothing but their thin pyjamas.
"C'mon, my love" Regina said quietly, pushing herself into a standing position as Roland wrapped his legs around her middle.
She shut the door behind her as she padded deeper into her home, the warmth welcoming them with open arms.
She tried to place Roland down on her counter top, but the boy clung to her tighter than ever. Roland's fingernails dug into her skin when she asked if Robin knew where he was.
Stupid and pointless question, given the way Roland had just turned up at her door.
"You want some cocoa?" Regina asked, smirking as Roland's face seemed to light up.
The curly haired boy nodded enthusiastically, the faint outline of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Okay, well you're going to have to let me go" Regina said, causing Roland to clamp his arms and legs around her tighter. "Roland" Regina chuckled slightly. "Its only whilst I make you some cocoa. You'll stay right next to me the whole time, okay?"
Roland looked up at the older woman through big, weary eyes. He was hesitant and reluctant to let go of her, but Regina promised he could be right next to her so he eventually slid down and sat atop the counter. His tiny legs dangling over the edge.
He watched Regina's every move like a hawk. Every couple of minutes, she'd turn to face him and flash him a smile or squeeze his knee. Each time she did, Roland began to feel more and more comfortable.
Once the cocoa was made, Regina helped Roland off the counter and placed him on the floor. He followed her into the living room and sat down next to her on the sofa as she laid the cups on the table.
He snuggled in close to her side as Regina wrapped her arm around him, holding him to her as tightly as possible. His head rested upon her stomach and his chubby little fingers ghosted invisible patterns against the material of her pyjama shirt. Regina's fingers worked their way into the little boys curls as they sat together in a comfortable silence.
"Your Papa needs to know you're here" Regina sighed, feeling Roland physically tense in her arms.
"No!" He whimpered, once again clinging to Regina with every fibre of his being.
"Roland he is probably worried about you. He needs to know you're safe"
"No! I want to stay here! I don't want to go home! Please, Gina! I wanna stay with you!" Roland cried, pleading with Regina.
"Okay, okay" Regina cooed, kissing his thick curls. "Shhhhh, its okay"
She knew she had to tell Robin, that she'd actually have to see him and speak to him. She didn't know if she was mentally prepared for it, but there was no way around it. What mattered here was Roland, not her. She licked her lips and swallowed thickly, hoping she had just enough strength to get through this. Or at least could put up a good enough front so it looked as though she did.
Snow White hadn't known just how deeply she felt things.
Roland's deep and heavy breathing, along with his soft snores and dead weight against her stomach, brought Regina back to reality. She sat and listened for a few moments before she was certain Roland was asleep.
Many years of practice meant Regina had perfected the art of picking up a sleeping child and carrying them to their bed without so much as a stir from them. Roland slept peacefully in her arms as she carried him up the stairs and into her bedroom, placing him in her bed.
He looked so tiny, curled up in her giant bed. Even in his dreams he looked troubled, his face was much more relaxed and peaceful in comparison to when he was awake, but still. She watched him sleep for a few moments, the rising and falling of his chest soothing her, reminding her of Henry when he was that small.
Oh how he loved to climb into her bed with her and just snuggle. She was his whole world back then, before he grew up and everything seemed to spiral out of control. She leaned down and gingerly kissed the sleeping boys forehead before exiting the room.
She headed back down the stairs and poured herself a large class of scotch, downing it in one large gulp before she picked up the phone. With trembling fingers she dialled the number of the Inn, knowing Robin and Roland had been staying there since they came back to Storybrooke.
She tried to keep her voice level and strong as she spoke to Ruby, asking to be put through to Robin's room. She knew that despite her best efforts not to, she sounded like a terrified and insecure woman, but thankfully Ruby had the tact not to point it out. She politely asked Regina to hold as she connected her to Robin's room.
The few moments Regina waited for him to answer the phone felt like a lifetime of torture. Her heart pounded so hard against her chest she swore it was going to break through her chest.
Her already trembling palms started sweating profusely and her tongue felt too fat and too dry for her mouth.
The world seemed to stop and her heart almost exploded when she heard the line click on the other end.
"Hello?" A tired and somewhat frustrated voice asked.
Regina found herself unable to speak but no words, not even any breaths, seemed to pass her lips.
"Hello? Who's there?" She heard the deep, horse voice ask again.
Just hearing his voice felt like a thousand tiny needle pics, stabbing her in the heart over and over again. She felt her eyes fill with tears once again. She had to do it. Rip the band aid off.
"R-Robin, its me" Regina stumbled, mentally kicking herself for sounding so weak.
"Regina?" Robin asked. The way he said her name felt like a knife to the stomach. "Regina? Is that you?"
The more he spoke, the more he repeated her name, the knife in her gut stabbed her deeper and deeper, twisting viciously and ripping her insides to shreds as it did so.
"What's happened? Is everything okay? Are you hurt?"
"No, no. I am fine" Regina lied, hoping Robin would buy it. Of course, he saw right through the lie. Hearing the hurt in her tone made him want to die there and then in his bed... Or rather the sofa. "You are aware Roland is missing, aren't you?" She heard some shuffling from the other side of the phone line as Robin obviously checked around the room for his son. She heard the muffled sounds of Marian waking up and Robin telling her to go back to sleep. "He is fine, he came to my house in a bit of a state" Regina said as she heard Robin begin to get worried. "He's sleeping now, so you can either come and collect him right away or wait until the morning. He's your son, so its your call"
Robin told Regina that since Roland was already sleeping, he would come first thing in the morning to collect his son. He didn't want to disturb the boy from his sleep, especially since sleep had been a rare occurrence for the four year old as of late.
Thankful that she didn't have to face Robin until the morning, Regina made her way back up the stairs. She debated on whether she should sleep in one of the spare bedrooms but a part of her yearned for Roland and the great deal of comfort she felt from just his mere presence.
Silently she climbed into bed and lay next to Roland's sleeping form as gently as she could. Despite the fact he now lived in an Inn, there was still the faintest smell of forest to him. The scent of pine needles and mud both mending and tearing apart her soul at the same time.
She closed her eyes and simply listen to the slow, sleep induced breathing from the boy beside her. Listening to him sleep lulled her into the much needed slumber she'd gone without for so long.
However, it wasn't long until Regina was ripped from her dreams from a frantic pounding on the front door for the second time that night.
Wondering who it could be and what the hell they could want, Regina made her way back down the stairs. She hoped Roland was a heavy sleeper and could sleep through the ruckus that was currently occurring.
With an irritated sigh, Regina opened the front door.
"Where the hell is he?!" A very angry Marian snapped, pushing her way into Regina's home. "Roland!" She called, eyeing the stair case. "Roland, my son. Its okay, I'm here now!"
Regina was still frozen in shock when Robin jogged up her driveway, his face torn into an apologetic face.
"I'm so sorry about this!" He panted breathlessly.
Regina seemed to snap out of it as she heard Roland scream from her bedroom. Both Robin and herself darted into the room to find Roland cowering in the corner, clutching at Regina's duvet as Marian tried, and failed, to coax him into her arms.
"No, go away! Leave me alone!" Roland screamed, his voice nothing but pure terror.
"Marian!" Robin growled through gritted teeth, causing said woman to snap her head.
"You!" She snapped, venom dripping from her words as she pointed a finger in Regina's direction. "What the hell did you do to my son?!"
"Me?" Regina scoffed, her blood boiling. How dare she accuse her of hurting Roland?! "I think the question here is what the hell did YOU do to him?!" Regina took a dangerous step toward Marian, squaring up to the woman.
"Papa!" Roland cried, running into his fathers arms. "Tell her to leave Gina alone!"
"Marian!"
"No, Robin. No!" Marian spat. "I've had enough of this! I've had enough of you moping around. Of you drinking yourself to sleep every night. You don't even look at me anymore, let alone touch me... You're not YOU anymore. And Roland... The boy hates me. I want this evil woman to release whatever spell she cast upon the two of you!"
"I've told you before, Marian" Robin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Regina did not case a curse upon either of us! The love we felt towards her, FEEL, towards her is true and pure. I think Roland had been through enough tonight, so let's just leave-"
"-you're defending her?!" Marian laughed bitterly. "Why am I not surprised?! When will you see that she is evil? That she cannot possibly love you, or anybody?!"
Regina swallowed hard as her heart sunk. She didn't ask for this. She had stayed away from both Robin and Roland since Marian's return. She had let them be the family they should be.
She certainly did not need Marian to come into her home and scream these false things about her.
"Shut up!" Roland screamed, his words cutting through all three adults.
"Roland, leave the room, please!" Marian groaned.
"Why don't YOU leave?!" Regina suggested, narrowing her eyes. How could a woman be so cruel and cold to a child? More so, how could a mother be so cold and heartless to their own child.
The boy was obviously terrified and upset, and instead of comforting him and trying to make him feel better, she just told him to leave the room.
"No! Not until you release whatever curse you have over my family!"
"There is no curse or spell. If there was, what use would I have for it now anyway?!"
"Of course there is! How else would you explain my husband falling for you, of all people?! The Evil Queen!"
"Marian, I've already warned you!" Robin growled, his voice dangerously low and annoyed. "Do not make me have this conversation again! Especially here, of all places!"
"Look, you've already woken your son up and worked him up, AGAIN, so can you both please leave?!" Regina asked, rolling her eyes and biting her bottom lip. Clamping down as hard as she could to keep herself from breaking down there and then.
Something seemed to snap in Marian as she took a step toward Regina before pushing her and pinning her against the wall. Her arm pushed up against Regina's throat, pushing against her windpipe and cutting her oxygen supply off.
"Either you remove your stupid spell, or I kill you. Either way, I get my husband and son back!" Marian snarled. "The question is, do you want YOUR son back?!"
Robin grabbed Marian and pulled her off Regina as Roland screamed and cried from the corner of the room.
Marian fought against her husbands tight, strong grip and pushed him to the ground, pulling out Robin's gun (he had taken over as deputy whilst David was on Paternity leave) from her pocket, pointing it square at Regina.
"Papa!" Roland screamed, his already wide eyes widening in horror.
"I'm not a bad person" Marian cried, her hands trembling as she continued to point the weapon at Regina's chest. "Not like you are. I just want my family back. You're a mother, surely you can understand that? Just give me my boys back!"
"You keep calling me a bad person, and y'know what?" Regina asked. "I am. But I changed, for my son. I did not put a curse or spell on Robin or Roland. I didn't take them from you, if anything, they came willingly!"
At this, Marian's eyes flashed with something that Regina knew only too well. Her finger squeezed at the trigger a little harder, making Regina gulp.
"Have I don't anything to try to take them away from you? I've not left the house for months! I've had 24 hour watch so I don't do anything stupid, because I cannot be trusted not to hurt myself! I love those boys more than I even thought possible, but have I spilt up your family? No! You're doing that all by yourself, Marian! Did you know Roland turned up at my door in a hysterical state tonight? He cried hysterically in my arms for almost an hour before he calmed down. He clung to me... Wouldn't even let me go so I could make cocoa! I don't know what happened to him... Look, you're making me out to be the bad guy, but you're the one who burst into MY home and are pointing a gun towards me in MY bedroom in front of YOUR son. I was going to end it all myself tonight anyway before Roland... So go ahead. Pull the trigger-"
"-Regina" Robin gasped, his heart shattering at the thought of her dying. He never meant to cause her pain. He loved her so deeply that he couldn't breathe most of the time.
"-i've already lost everything I care about. So go ahead, kill me!"
Suddenly, there was a loud bang as Marian pulled the trigger.
"NO!" Robin screamed, his heart breaking as Regina gasped and grabbed her chest.
"GINA!" Roland cried, not really understanding what had happened but knowing it was bad.
Robin pushed Marian out of the way, grabbing Regina and catching her before she fell to the floor. A sticky, red patch stained her pyjama shirt, growing larger and larger by the second.
"Hold on, my love" Robin cried, his tears rolling off his cheeks and onto Regina's forehead. "Regina, please!" He begged, putting his hand on the wound in her chest, pressing down. Regina's warm blood covered Robin's hand. "Don't leave me! Please. I love you, Regina. I'm sorry, SO sorry!"
Marian trembled as she took a step toward her son. She reached out to touch him, to hug him and hold him, but Roland screamed. He told her to get away from him. But Marian seemed non-pulsed by her sons rejection as she simply smiled and tried to pull him into a hug.
"No!" Roland screamed in both anger and fear, pushing her with every single shred of energy and strength he had.
Marian toppled backwards, tripping over the gun she had dropped and fell backwards. She crashed into Regina's mirror, but instead of the glass shattering, it seemed to suck her in. She clung to the frame, her knuckles turning white as she felt herself being sucked into another world. Just as she let go of the frame, Emma and Gold came running into the bedroom.
"What happened?!" Emma asked, her emerald eyes wide.
"Marian... She shot Regina" Robin sobbed.
Regina was suddenly heavy and limp in his arms. She was scarily pale and lifeless.
"Hold her tight" Gold ordered, before he flashed them to the hospital.
The second the three of them magically appeared in the middle of the hall, a lifeless Regina laying in a terrified Robin's arms, the surrounding doctors in the hall all snapped to life.
Regina was quickly moved onto a gurney and whisked away into the OR.
Robin stood, watching as his soul mate was rushed away from him.
How had this happened?
He couldn't think properly, let alone breathe. But somehow, he made his way to the waiting room. He was sat in a chair, with his head bowed between his legs when Emma found him.
He looked up as he heard footfalls.
"Where's my boy?" Robin asked as Emma sat down next to him.
"He's fine, he's with Mary Margaret and David right now" Emma said.
"How-how is he?"
"Honestly? He's not so good. He doesn't understand what happened to Regina. He said he ran to Regina's after Marian had shouted at him earlier in the evening?"
"Aye" Robin nodded. "Although I had no idea he had ran until Regina phoned. Marian had thrown away Roland's favourite stuffed toy, his monkey, because Regina gave it to him back in the Enchanted Forest. I guess he had picked up on the... awkwardness between his mother and I" Robin groaned and swallowed thickly. "They didn't bond once she came back, and I... Let's just say my heart belongs to Regina and Marian knew it"
"When you're up to it, I'm going to need to take your statement"
Robin nodded.
"She's going to be okay, y'know?" Emma said hopefully, placing her hand over Robin's and squeezing it. "She's already been through so much, this is just another bump in the road for her"
"I dont-I don't know" Robin shook his head, his tears spilling down his cheeks. "She was going to end her life tonight until Roland... She was shot through the heart because of me. Regina is a lot of things, but immortal isn't one of them"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know" Emma licked her lips, trying to keep her emotions inside. She knew that everybody was keeping an eye on Regina, but she didn't expect Regina would do something like that.
And it was all her fault.
"Robin, im-"
"-dont" he said. "Don't apologise. Its not going to fix things... Its not your fault. If anything, its mine. I shouldn't have let her think I didn't love her. I shouldn't have been with Marian. It wasn't fair to anybody; Marian, Regina, Roland... Myself" Robin stood and began to pace the floor. "I don't mean to be rude but could you... I just want to be alone"
Emma nodded, understanding him. She took his hand and squeezed it once again before she left the room, hoping to get an update on Regina.
How was she going to break this to Henry?
It was another few hours before Whale came out of the OR to find Robin. His face gave it all away before he even opened his mouth.
"She's stable, for now. But she lost a lot of blood" Whale started. "I managed to stop the bleeding but I don't know how long it will last. Her heart just doesn't seem strong enough to withstand the trauma"
"Can't you just... Take it out?" Robin asked hopefully. "She's taken it out before, can't you just remove it?"
"No, not whilst there's damage to it" Whale sighed. "I'm sorry, Robin. But there's really not much more we can do at this stage..."
"What about my heart?" Robin asked. He'd already had a taster of what life without Regina was like, and he was going to fight till the death not to loose her again. "What if you took it out of me and put it in her? It already belongs to her-"
"-Robin, you're grasping at straws here"
"Of course I am! Regina is the love of my life! I'm not going to let her go. Not again!"
It was in that moment when he remembered. How they got back to Storybrooke. It worked for Snow and Charming, so why couldn't it work for them? He was sure of his love for Regina, that what they had was true love. They'd already loved with just his heart before, so why not again?
He would go to the ends of the Earth for Regina Mills, nothing and nobody could stand in his way.
Snow had had faith, had known their love was strong enough to sustain such an act. It was crazy, but it had worked.
What use was his heart to him without Regina anyway? She was the reason it beat. She and Roland were the ones that gave him a reason to go on and get up in the mornings.
Without Regina, he would have no use for his heart anyway.
"Yes! That's it!" Robin exclaimed. "My heart, that's it! You have to split it!"
"Excuse me?"
"It worked for Snow and Charming, and I believe it'll work for Regina and I too!"
"That's a great idea, dearie" Rumple spoke from the door frame, leaning against his cane. "But you've got to be absolutely sure that Regina is the one you love"
"Yes!" Robin almost shouted. "I love Regina, with my whole soul. She's everything to me!"
"Very well then" Gold motioned for Robin and whale to follow him.
The three men walked to Regina's hospital room. She lay on the bed, looking tinier and more fragile than ever. There were so many different tubes and wires sticking out of her it was hard to see which one went where. But even there, lying half dead in a hospital bed, she still looked beautiful. Incredibly so.
"Are you sure this will work?" Whale asked.
"You'll have to ask the thief to answer that one" Gold replied.
"I've never been more certain about anything in my life than I have about my love for Regina Mills" Robin stated firmly, reassuring those in the room.
"Good" Gold smiled. "This is going to hurt, sorry" he said before he plunged his hand inside Robin's chest and pulled the glowing object right out of his chest cavity. "You might want to sit down for this bit" he warned.
Once Robin had moved to sit in the chair, gold began to twist his heart between his hands. A searing pain pulsated throughout Robin's body and he was now grateful the older man had advised he sat down for this.
Robin watched as Gold plunged his hand into Regina's chest before once again plunging his other fist back into Robin's. He immediately felt his body go back to normal but Regina just lay deathly still in her hospital bed.
"No" Robin cried softly.
He was so sure it would work. That he loved her enough for the both of them. How did it not work?
Before another thought could pass through Robin's mind, Regina coughed violently from the bed.
"Regina" Robin laughed, moving to her side in two strides. "Regina, my love. You're okay!"
"What-what happened?" Regina asked groggily as Robin's rough, calloused hands came to cup her face.
"Marian, she shot you in the heart" Robin spoke, looking down into the eyes he loved so much. "But I saved you. I'm so sorry, Regina. I love you so much... I never intended to hurt you. Can you ever forgive me?"
"There's nothing to forgive... But what about Marian? Robin, I love you but I won't rip a family apart. Not again"
"Roland pushed her into a mirror" Robin sighed. "I don't know where she went or what happened to her, and frankly, I don't care. Not after what she did tonight... Not just to you, but to Roland too. And for the record, YOU are my family"
Regina brought her hand to her chest as she felt the unfamiliar, yet so very familiar, heart beating beneath her chest.
"Your heart" she spoke softly and Robin nodded.
"Its beats for you, for the both of us. It always has, Regina"
"Robin... You shouldn't have"
"But I did. And I have. I lost you once already, and I wasn't prepared to lose you again. I love you so much"
Without even thinking about it, Robin knelt down on one knee, taking Regina's hand in his own.
"Robin... What are you...?" Regina trailed off, her eyes wide with shock.
"Regina, I love you so much its suffocating sometimes. But you're my soul mate and I know that you're the only one I want to share the rest of my life with. There are many ways for a person to be happy in life, but all I need is you. To wake up to you every morning, to hear your laugh or see that beautiful smile. Whenever I think about you, I know that nobody will ever hold my heart the way you do -literally. I've spent far too long without you, Regina. If you'll allow me, I'd like to spend the rest of my days with you. To call you my wife.
"I once told you I saw a second chance in you, and I believed you saw one in me too. If you still see that chance, Regina, I'll spend every single day making it up to you. I love you with my whole soul. Please make me the most honourable thief on this sorry Earth and become my wife?"
Regina licked her bottom lip as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"Yes" she nodded, smiling as Robin cupped her face once again, pulling her lips to his and kissing her, his fiancé, as though it were the last time he would ever taste her lips.
Nothing could be heard bar the beeping of various medical machines in the room, and the less than manly whimper that escaped Gold's lips as he turned away and left the room before anybody saw he was crying tears of joy.
I don't know, this kind of got a bit out of control. I don't know if I will keep it up or not, if you guys like it I will, of not I won't. Please let me know what you think! Thanks, Gina x