A/N: This is a fanfic idea that I've had for a few years now, but because it covers what OutlawQueen would have been like if Robin had been present through seasons 1-3 as a whole, I knew it would be a hard feat and I was reluctant to write it. I decided to finally do so in honor of the show ending because it gives me an excuse to rewatch theand relive the best first three seasons of Once Upon a Time.
This is dedicated to my best friend, Katelyn, as this is a very late Christmas gift/graduation gift/birthday gift. And I would like to thank lanparrilla on Instagram for requesting an idea similar to this one, which really pushed me to making this also.
This fanfic starts off during 1x08.
Ever since Emma Swan had come to town, Regina Mills's life had fallen into shambles. Her son was pulling away from her, gravitating towards a mother who abandoned him at birth while Regina had cared for and loved him for ten years. Emma had stolen Graham from her, turned him against her, and had made him realize things about Storybrooke and himself that he should not remember. She hadn't loved him, she hadn't felt anything with him, but he had been there to listen to her problems and offer her a distraction when she needed it. It had pained her to kill him, and she still felt that wound. To add to the hurt, the town hall was burning to the ground. While not directly Emma's fault, as it had been turned into a construction site, Regina still blamed her. None of this would have happened if the savior wasn't weakening her curse. She would still be living a peaceful life with her son, working on healing their relationship.
As she sat on the ground in front of the burning building, her ankle throbbing and swollen, Regina turned to look behind her as the flames licked at the building's wooden frame. She frowned, felt tears burning at her eyes, which were already irritated by the smoke. To her right, Emma was being comforted by her newfound friends and Regina's son. On the other hand, she was sitting on the ground. No one bothered to see if she was alright. Emma had saved her life, she was the hero, the one who received everyone's flattering compliments and sorrowful condolences.
Sirens blared as another fire truck joined the first that had arrived on scene earlier. This one was flanked by an ambulance and two police cars. Emma was checked on first, of course, and when everyone was assured that she was alright, she was hugged by Henry, who smiled up at her with such love and adoration that it made Regina feel sick.
Her son hadn't even come to check on her, and that hurt most of all. More than the fire burning down her workplace, more than her ankle or her aching lungs. She choked back a sob and winced at the pain it brought to her chest. Regina felt lightheaded and put her hands on the ground to stabilize herself before she toppled over. It took her a moment to realize she was being lifted into a stretcher.
Her vision was blurry, her mind fighting between consciousness and unconsciousness. An oxygen mask was being placed over her mouth and nose. Was she not breathing? Her body tried to fight the strange object until her lungs accepted the purified air and she calmed down, working on breathing in tandem with the machine. Her chest burned and her throat was scratchy. She swallowed down her coughs and focused on getting the next much needed gulp of air.
Breathe, she told herself. It took her another moment to realize that the voice in her head was being spoken out loud.
She looked up in search for the voice and found a blue-eyed man hovering over her. His mouth was moving to the words "breathe" that echoed in her mind. Her ears began to adjust beyond the roaring flames as the firemen worked on putting them out and she could hear his voice. It was soft, gentle, soothing and could be described as possessing, in this world, a British accent.
As her blurred vision became more and more clear, the man's presence became more known. He wore a dark uniform and the golden badge on his chest indicated that he was a policeman. Her eyes focused in closer and realized that the badge he donned was a deputy's badge. Emma had already appointed a deputy when she had not yet been elected sheriff? Regina felt anger burn inside of her as intensely as the fire behind her.
"She's coming to," the man above her spoke to someone behind him. Regina realized that there were paramedics moving around her. "Miss Mills, I'm Robin Locksley. I'm with the police. Are you alright?"
He looked down at her with concern in his gentle blue eyes. The first person to express their worry over her was a complete stranger, not even her son.
"Fine," she mumbled behind the oxygen mask.
"They're going to take you to the hospital for the night just to keep an eye on you," Officer - or was it Deputy? - Robin Locksley reported.
"You've inhaled a lot of smoke and your ankle is sprained," said one of the paramedics as he stepped up beside Robin.
"What about my son?" Regina asked as she pulled her mask off. She couldn't stay in the hospital. She had to take her son home. It was nearly past his bedtime.
"We'll find someone to take care of him," Robin assured.
Her mind instantly flashed to Emma, knowing she would be more than eager to watch Henry for the night. The last thing her son needed was to think he could frequently sleep over at Mary Margaret's loft. If he did, then Regina would never see him again.
"Send him with Granny Lucas," Regina instructed, coughing a little. It hurt her throat to talk. "She's babysat him before."
Robin nodded. "I will talk with her immediately," he said.
Robin placed his hand over Regina's. She gave him a confused look until she realized that he was helping her put the oxygen mask back in place. He removed his hand and gave her a soft smile that made her heart melt, especially when she saw those charming dimples on either cheek. He was handsome. How had she never seen him before in the twenty-eight years they'd been cursed?
Handsome he may be, but you don't have time for that now. You have a son and a curse to protect, and you just lost Graham, she told herself. There was nothing wrong with admiring though, right?
"Keep your mask on. Your lungs need a chance to recover," he said. "I'll go take care of your son. You get some rest, Miss Mills."
With that, the deputy disappeared into the crowd of people and Regina was surrounded by paramedics again. Her gaze shifted to Robin crouched down beside Henry, who clung to Emma's leg, shaking his head at him. Eventually, he took the man's hand and was led over to Granny. Emma crossed her arms and scowled.
Regina pulled her oxygen mask off again and thrust it into the hand of a passing paramedic. "Enough, I'm fine," she insisted. She just wanted to go home. She could feel the soot on her face. She just wanted to retreat into the comforts of her mayoral mansion, shower, tuck her son in, and curl up in bed herself with a good book.
"Regina!" a voice called. "Nice shot of the victim?" Before she even got to turn her head in that direction, a camera light flashed in her face.
"Sidney," Regina snapped, turning towards the man who stood holding his camera with a stupid smile of relief and adoration on his face. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him closer, her grip unforgiving. "What the hell are you doing? You're handing this election to her."
"What? It's good news," he said, a look of confusion on his face.
"She's the competition, you fool," Regina snapped, pushing him away. She knew Sidney would make a poor sheriff, but the sooner she could run Emma out of town, the faster her life could return to normal. "Idiot," she mumbled under her breath as he sauntered off in defeat.
She was then loaded into the back of the ambulance after that and escorted to the hospital. There, she was treated only because it was the nurses' job to do so. She was cleaned and helped into a hospital gown. Her small burns were bandaged and her ankle was wrapped. She was given painkillers and told to sleep, which she tried to do to the best of her ability.
When Regina woke up the next morning, Henry was staring down at her. There was not even a hint of emotion in his eyes when her gaze met his. He wasn't relieved to see that his mother was alright. In fact, he looked almost disappointed. Regina's heart broke.
"She's awake," Henry said to someone behind him.
Hearing movement on the other side of the room, Regina turned her head slowly to see the deputy from the night before. He was folding the newest addition of The Daily Mirror newspaper with her face plastered on the front, eyes half-closed, face covered with soot, headlined with 'SWAN SAVES THE MAYOR FROM FIRE'. Annoyance built up inside of her.
"Miss Mills," Robin said as he set the paper down on the chair and walked over. "It's good to see that you're alright. Did you sleep well?"
"No," Regina said, surprised at how hoarse her voice sounded. The hospital bed was uncomfortable and surprisingly cold, so no, she hadn't slept well at all.
Robin frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that. The good news is that you can go home today. The sort of good news is that I get to escort you home," he flashed her one of those charming smiles to accompany his teasing comment, "and the bad news is that the fire has damaged a good part of the town hall, and we are still investigating whether or not it was on purpose."
On purpose? Regina's eyes widened. Who would burn the town hall down on purpose? Her mind conjured an image of Emma.
"Anyways, Henry generously picked up some clothes for you when Granny took him home to get ready for school today," Robin continued.
Henry took his book bag off and dug around inside of it. He produced one of her pantsuits, a little wrinkled from being in his bag, but Regina appreciated the gesture.
"Thank you, Henry," she said gently as she took the clothes and set them in her lap. She pulled her boy into a hug and gently ran her fingers through his hair. He didn't hug her back, but he didn't try to escape her maternal display of affection either. "I love you," she told him.
She received no answer.
Frowning, Regina pulled away and found her son staring at her as if she had murdered someone in front of his very eyes. He feared her ever since Mary Margaret had given him that book and he had started to think that she was the Evil Queen. He doesn't think, he knows, she reminded herself. Everything in that story was true, even if no one believed him. Regina still retained her memories of the Enchanted Forest, all of those years of abuse from people she had done no wrong to that had turned her into the monster she was now.
"Henry," she said. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he replied with a frown. He shuffled his feet on the ground.
"Henry," Regina said again. She pushed herself up into a sit and patted the side of her bed. Her son reluctantly sat down. "Tell me, please."
Tears filled his eyes almost immediately. "I-I don't want to go to school today," he said, wiping his eyes furiously on the sleeves of his school sweater.
"Why not?" Regina asked, gently raising an arm to rub his back.
Her son was quiet, other than the occasional sniffle.
"Henry, I can't decide whether you should go or not if you don't give me a reason. If you don't want to go just because you don't want to, then you're going to school today. But if you feel sick or something else is wrong, then I will let you stay home," Regina said.
He was quiet a little longer, as if deciding whether or not to tell his mother what was the matter. "Yesterday," he began timidly, "Luke took my book away at recess. He hid it in a tree. I tried to climb up after it but he pulled me down and… and he hit me. He called me mean names… like… like psycho and crazy."
Regina felt tears fall down her cheeks, unaware that she had started crying in the first place. She didn't know this was going on or that children were calling her son such awful names. "Let me see where he hit you," she said.
Frowning, Henry began pulling his sweater off. He unbuttoned his white uniform shirt and shed it as well. Regina was horrified with what she saw next — ten-year-old fist-sized bruises on Henry's chest and ribs.
"Henry!" she gasped. "Why didn't you tell me yesterday?" she asked.
"I thought you'd think I had fought someone," he admitted. "I didn't want to get in trouble."
"I would have believed you," Regina assured, feeling rather hurt that her son would think she wouldn't act like his mother even in this situation. "Come here."
Henry moved closer to her and laid his head against her shoulder as she cuddled him against her side. There was a time when he'd been so small, she could wrap both her arms around him. He would laugh and smile as she tickled his sides and turned his tears of sadness into tears of laughter. But no more. Instead, he just sat beside her, half-hugging her and crying into her shoulder.
"This should be reported," a voice said. Regina jumped and looked up, realizing Robin was still in the room. "They're kids, I get it. But that is a sort of cruelty I've not seen in children. Not fourth graders especially."
Regina nodded. "Do what you have to do," she told him. "No one hurts my son," she added, her voice growing dark.
"Don't hurt him, Mom," Henry said as he looked up at her, big hazel eyes full of tears. "Please."
"Henry, I'm not going to hurt him," Regina said. "I know that you think I'm some evil queen, but I'm above hurting children. I'll make sure he gets in trouble at school for this, that's all, and we'll get your book back." As much as she hated that book, she knew it was the only thing keeping her son happy. Well, besides Emma Swan. She would rather him have the book than his birth mother.
"Can we go now?" Henry asked.
"Of course. I can have our escort take us there before we go home," she said and looked up at Robin, who smiled.
"I would be honored," he said.
"So I don't have to go to school?" Henry asked for reassurance.
"No, you don't. We'll go home and we can watch all the movies you want," she said.
"Even Thor and Captain America?" Henry inquired. Movies that would rot his brain, Regina had called them, as there were no superhumans with magical powers in this world. In this world.
"Even those movies," Regina sighed. Henry smiled and climbed off of the bed. This was the happiest he had been around her for a long time.
Once Regina was changed and checked out of the hospital, Robin helped her and her son into the back of his police car. Henry thought that it was the coolest thing ever, as Emma only drove her yellow bug around Storybrooke instead of the real deal. Robin even let him flash the lights.
The three of them drove over to Storybrooke Elementary. When they parked, Henry ran from the car towards the playground, Robin and Regina following in tow, though not nearly as quickly, something Henry complained about when he had reached the base of the tree and they had not. Once they arrived, the boy pointed upwards.
"It's there, tucked in those branches," he said. Sure enough, there was his book, cleverly balancing between two branches that were close together. It was low enough that a young kid could have climbed up there if they were tall enough, but too high for Henry with his short stature.
"I'll get it," Robin said, probably upon realizing this. With expert skill, probably something he had developed in the Enchanted Forest, he scaled the tree and grabbed the book from its resting place between two branches. Tucking it beneath his arm, he climbed back down.
When the book was safely returned to Henry's arms, the boy smiled and tipped his head at Robin. "Where did you learn to climb like that?" he asked as he hugged his beloved book to his chest.
Robin simply shrugged. "They teach you a lot at the police academy," he said. "Come on, let's get you and your mother home."
Henry, quite taken with Robin and his expert climbing skills, walked next to the man as they returned to Robin's car. Regina strolled along silently behind them, surprised that her son had taken a liking to a stranger so quickly. Usually Henry was shy with strangers, but he was quite enjoying listening to some tale Robin was telling about the police academy.
Once they were settled in the car and on their way to Regina's home, Robin decided to interrogate Henry about his book.
"So, this book of yours. What's it about?" Robin inquired. "I see it's called Once Upon a Time. Is it about fairytales?"
"Well, it isn't just a book," Henry began before glancing at his mother. Emma had informed Regina that Henry thought the characters in his book were living, breathing people in Storybrooke, Maine, and that she had cursed them all to live here. What Emma didn't know is that he was entirely correct. "Everyone in the town is a character from it. They were all swept up in a curse that brought them here."
Regina frowned when Henry mentioned that last part, but Robin did not seemed phased in the slightest with such news. Fairytales were known for their dark nature. Her son did not elaborate anymore on the topic of the curse and shot Regina another wary look before staring down at the worn, leather-bound book, almost as if he were afraid of revealing more about the story.
"That's quite intriguing. So we're all fairytale characters, then?" Robin asked. He was good with kids, Regina observed. He played along with Henry's 'game' quite well. "Who am I? Am I in it?"
Her son's eyes brightened when Robin asked that question. Immediately, he flipped the book open and began sifting through the pages. "Well… I don't know fur sure but I'm sure you are somewhere…" he trailed off, a look of concentration on his face. Suddenly, he looked up at Robin with eyes full of wonder. "You're… You're Robin Hood! I should've known… your name."
"Robin Hood, hm? Don't tell me I'm a fox!" Robin exclaimed.
"No, no. Robin Hood is only a fox in the Disney movie. He's a man in the Enchanted Forest," Henry said as he read through Robin's story. "I guess this explains how you can climb trees so well. You were awesome when you got my book down!"
"I'd like to think an honorable thief who is gifted at archery makes a finer tale for learning to be agile than going through the police academy," Robin said with a pleasant smile. He glanced over at Regina and asked a question that made her stomach drop. "And who is your mother in the book?"
Henry's face went white. "Sh-She's the Queen," he replied quietly.
"The Queen, hm?" Robin asked. "Your son must think rather highly of you if he thinks you're the Queen in his story," he added, addressing Regina now.
She offered him a fake smile. Her son thought quite the opposite of her and the worst part was, he was right about all of this. She really was the Queen - the Evil Queen - and she had cast the curse that had brought everyone to this town. Well, everyone but the Savior. That was her son's doing and she could feel the curse weakening with each passing day.
"I guess so," she told Robin as if everything was right with the world.
The rest of the ride was spent with Henry telling Robin rather animatedly about his adventures as Robin Hood. He talked about the Merry Men, Maid Marian, and apparently, Robin even had a son. The cursed Robin made no mention of a family of his own and Regina figured that they had either died long ago or he was cursed to forget his family. Henry told Robin the many escapades he shared with his band of thieves. Regina had to admit, whoever the mysterious author of this book was had made racing, daring stories about all of these "characters". As they pulled onto Mifflin Street, Henry flipped to one last story.
"This starts into my mom's stories again," he said, sounding a little disappointed, but he continued flipping the pages anyways. Regina watched him in the rear view mirror. His face went as pale as a sheet. He slammed the book shut and set it down beside him. What had he seen?
"Robin, do you mind if we have breakfast together someday? I can tell you more about my book," he said after a moment, once the car had pulled up to the large, mayoral mansion Regina and Henry lived in.
"I'd love to hear more stories, Henry," Robin said from beside Regina. "If it's alright with your mum, I'd love to have breakfast with you both."
"No! Just the two of us," Henry said desperately.
Regina shot him a look. "Henry, don't be rude."
"No, it's fine. Maybe he just wants a bit of man to man time," Robin said, placing a gentle hand on Regina's shoulder. "That's alright, Henry. We can have breakfast, just the two of us. We'll make it a guy's day. How about Saturday?" he suggested.
Henry's face lit up. "That's perfect," he said before climbing out of the car. Regina handed him the keys and he raced up the stairs to the front porch, book in hand. What was he up to?
Regina turned to Robin and offered him a smile. "Thanks for humoring him," she said. "I know he's taking things a little too far, but-"
"Don't worry about it. The kid will get over it," Robin said and shrugged. "They all go through phases where they believe things that aren't real. It's best to just let them outgrow it on their own. Besides, I'd give anything to have my son here with me. Henry reminds me a lot of him."
So he does have a son, Regina thought to herself. "Wh-What happened? If you don't mind me asking."
"My wife had a difficult pregnancy. There wasn't anything Doctor Whale could do for her when she died shortly after his birth. Roland was with me for four years after that. He was very sickly, but we tried to make the most of it. He liked fairytales and superheroes like Henry and we'd read about them all the time. Eventually, his body just couldn't handle things anymore…" he trailed off and swallowed thickly, his eyes getting a little misty. "Never take your boy for granted. Children are a wonderful gift. I'd do anything to have Roland back."
Regina frowned a little. "I'm sorry…" she trailed off. "Well, I'm glad Henry has taken a liking to you. He doesn't have any men in his life. He's only ever had me. I think breakfast with you might be good for him." And it would be a distraction from Emma, too.
Robin smiled. "I suppose I'll see you Saturday then when you drop him off. Have a good day with your son, Miss Mills."
Regina climbed out of his car and waved. "Goodbye," she said before making her way up to the porch. She still couldn't help but wonder what was so important that Henry had to talk to Robin about.
Thanks for reading guys! I hope to update again soon. What do you think Henry saw in the book that he wishes to discuss with Robin alone? ;) See ya next time!