A/N: Hi everyone and welcome to my first ever OUAT fic. I am almost sorry to say that this one has been inspired by Lana's most recent injury during her time here in the UK. Can I just say that she was fantastic last weekend, despite the fact that she was evidently in a lot of pain she was so great with her fans. I was in absolute awe of her, such a beautiful person inside and out.

Anyways, I have a few fic ideas swimming around in my head but I thought I would test the waters with this one shot. I am a multi shipper but this fic is OQ based. The majority of my ideas will either be one shots or short stories but I do have a larger one I am working on which will hopefully make it on here if you guys like my work.

I currently do not have a beta so any and all mistakes are my own. I can only apologise for these if I have missed any.

This fic is just a sweet short dabble and I hope you like it. Please review and tell me your thoughts!

Enjoy!

Splinter

Shoes were something Regina Mills had always viewed as essential whilst outside. Perhaps it was her strict upbringing and her mothers constant lessons on how to be a lady that caused her to view things in such a way. A lady always dressed appropriately. A lady was never caught off guard. A lady always fixed her hair before leaving the house for you never knew who you may bump into. A lady never ran around the grounds bare foot. A lady never ran period.

Whilst most of this Regina would deem as sound advice, the casual modern day living of her cursed creation has softened those niggling voices over time. Especially on days like today when the April sun is hanging high in a cloudless sky and a five year old boy is charging across the pristine lawn of her back yard.

Regina stopped in her tracks for a moment, her toes sinking between the neatly trimmed blades of grass, she straightened and reached her arms behind her to pull her hair off of her sweaty shoulders. A breathy laugh escaped her lips and her mouth hung open slightly allowing as much oxygen into her lungs as possible. Roland's infectious laughter brought out another chuckle as she watched the small child bound and throw himself behind her apple tree in a vein attempt to hide himself from her.

Games of stuck in the mud hadn't happened since Henry was small and they would spend hours running around the yard, burning energy and laughing until Regina could literally drop down to the floor. Henry always seemed like a limitless ball of energy, never stopping and always wanting to play more and Roland was exactly the same. Regina stood for a handful of moments catching her breath, her dark eyes never leaving the thick trunk of the apple tree. She could hear Roland's boyish laughter from his hiding place and smirked when his head would not to subtly appear from behind the bark.

"Run Roland!"

Regina whipped her head around to look towards her teenage son. Henry was stood several feet away from her and the tree, his arms stretched out either side of his body. He had been 'stuck in the mud' for a handful of minutes and was waiting for Roland to free him. Regina flashed her son a toothy smile, her eyes crawling across to where Roland was leaning out from behind the tree. Upon seeing her spy him, he shrieked and hid himself from her sight again. With a chuckle Regina took off in an animated jog towards the five year olds hiding place, bending her knees with every step in an attempt to soften her footfalls and make her approach as quiet as possible.

"She's coming Roland!" Henry yelled from behind her and she couldn't help the laugh that fell from her mouth when Roland peeked out at her again. He squeaked, backing away from the tree a handful of steps but keeping it between him and Regina. Regina paused, knees bent and ready to run, unsure of which way Roland was going to dash for. He lent to the right and she mirrored him and he shrieked her name in laughter. He leant to the left and she mirrored him and again he coudnt contain the laughter that erupted from him, his small hands held out in front of him as a sign for her to stay where she was. For a handful of moments the pair stared each other down. Regina using this time to catch her breath and Roland to back away from her as much as he could without her noticing. Regina let out an amused hum before she broke out in a run towards the five year old and his delighted squeals filled the back yard once again.

"Regina no!" he shrieked, his words barely audible through his laughter. He turned his body and bolted around the tree with Regina hot on his tail, the laughter he could not contain slowing him down and allowing Regina to catch up to him easily despite her purposely slow running.

The material of Roland's yellow t shirt was almost in her grasp when she started falling, falling so fast that she barely managed to get her hands underneath to catch herself in time before she went face first into the grass. The pain hit her seconds after, a searing burning sensation in her right foot which had her yelping in shocked surprise before she could stop herself.

"Mom!" Henry's concerned yell of her name hit her ears and she looked up with watery eyes as she pushed herself onto her side to sit on the grass.

"Regina, are you OK?" Roland's small voice was beside her when she looked up, his big dark eyes wide with fear and despite the eye watering sensations shooting up her right leg she forced a smile onto her face, bringing a hand up to sooth the child's face.

"Yes honey I just tripped." she assured trying to steady her quivering voice.

"But you're bleeding." He said quietly and Regina winced following his small finger when he pointed towards her injury. Regina had always classed herself as someone with a high tolerance of pain but there where two types she could not cope with, scolding water burns and the stubbing of any toe. Give her stab wounds and broken bones any day over either of those. Casting her dark eyes down she could see that yes she was indeed bleeding. From the amount there she knew it wasn't exceptionally serious but there was still enough to have her wincing and hissing through clenched teeth.

"Roland, go get your dad."

Henry's hands were suddenly on her shoulder, his brown eyes examining the wet, red liquid covering her big toe and the top of her foot.

"Are you alright?" he was asking her, his hands holding onto her shoulders and it wasn't until his hold on her tightened slightly that she realised she was shaking slightly. Roland took off back towards the house where his father was napping in the living room.

"I'm fine." she hissed out through clenched teeth, meeting her teenage sons gaze. The expression on his face told her that she was not fooling anyone and she let out a defeated breath.

"What happened?" he asked settling himself on his knees on the grass beside her and crawling down towards her bleeding foot.

"Please don't touch it." she whimpered when Henry's hands reach forward slowly. He paused his actions the moment she asked him to, concern laced in his young features when he turned to look at her again.

"Do you think its broken?" he asks her turning back to the injury in question. It really is quite unsightly he thinks as he leans in a tiny bit closer to examine it more. There is dark blood covering the entirety of her big toe, so thick in some places it makes it difficult to tell where she is actually bleeding from. Suddenly her toes flex slightly and she is groaning. Henry winces for her, his eyes turning back to her face to find hers fixed on her foot. She is sat on her butt, leaning back against her arms, her head turned slightly into her shoulder and she winces again, the watery wall of tears building up in her eyes again.

"Its not broken" she hisses before leaning forward and looking round the area around them. The tree root sticking out of the grass settles in her sight and she curses herself silently for not dealing with the rogue root when she had first noticed it several months before. When she first made a mental note to get rid of the tripping hazard it was more for the benefit of the children and not for her own.

"Well that's good at least.." Henry mumbles turning his eyes to look back at the toe. "I think there's something sticking out of it." he grimaces looking back at his mother who seemed to have turned a slight shade of green at his words.

Regina blew out a breath, leaning forward awkwardly to get a closer look at what Henry was talking about. The blood made it difficult to see anything at all but maybe she could see an alien bump which could either have been a bone or a monster size splinter, she wasn't sure what she would have preferred.

Suddenly her name is being called from behind them and Robin is falling to his knees in the grass on her other side. From the look on his face Roland must have run inside and yelled that she was dying or something because he's touching her, his blue eyes laced with worry scanning her face and body before he spies her foot. Roland appears back into view then, tears staining his dirt dusted cheeks and he's clutching his stuffed monkey to his chest. Regina's heart aches for the child in that moment and she reaches out an arm to him. He doesn't need to be asked, silently he falls into her, pressing his face into her shoulder with a force that almost has her falling backward with a grimace.

"Roland!" Robin scolds gently not missing the pain laced in Regina's expression.

"Sorry." Roland's watery voice sounds muffled from behind the stuffed monkey and his pulling away from her then, worry set heavy on his small shoulders and Regina doesn't want him to feel that way. Her left hand comes to rest between his shoulder blades whilst her right holds herself up on the grass.

"It's OK Roland." she whispers to him, his big eyes averted to the ground between them, huge tears tracking down his cheeks and falling into the worn fur of his stuffed toy.

"Roland." she calls him softly, her hand coming around to touch his cheeks, wiping away the wetness. "I'm OK honey." she smiles softly despite the extreme burning pain happening in her foot. She tries to hide her grimace when she feels Robin's hands come to the skin of her ankle and she prays silently that he doest make any attempt to touch the wound in front of the boys because she will most likely cry and she doesn't want to scare Roland more.

"Henry." she sniffs turning her gaze toward the teenager who had been watching Robin's movements closely. "I made cookies earlier which will be cool enough to eat by now." She's turning her gaze back to the five year old who's attention was now on her at the mention of sweets. She smiles at him, turning her thumb slowly over his soft cheek before addressing them both. "Why don't the pair of you run inside and grab some and put on a movie?" she asks turning back to Henry. His brow sinks slightly and Regina knows what she's really asking him and for a moment she thinks he's going to say no.

"Come on Roland, lets get the biggest cookies before these guys try to get them." Henry smiles and Regina thinks she could cry with pride at her beautiful boy. Roland is moving away from her with that, a smile replacing the trembling bottom lip and a glint of mischief back in his eyes. With a few more words, the two boys are running back toward the kitchen and Regina smiles after them for a moment, watching them disappear through the big bay window doors before turning her gaze back to the man knelt at her feet. He's looking at her with concern set on his handsome features and she blows out a bracing breath, looking down at her blood covered foot with a grimace.

"There are first aid supplies in the upstairs bathroom." she says with a wobbling chin. Now with the children gone she has lost her distraction and the throbbing pain seems to have gotten worse. Robin nods silently, his eyes turning back to the wound, gentle hands coming down to hold the heel of her foot and raising it slightly.

"I think you've lost the nail." he says grimly and Regina shudders because that's just nasty. He chuckles slightly when she scrunches her nose and shakes her head, his thumbs rotating softly against her heel. He's on his feet then asking if she wants him to carry her and she scoffs, tells him that that would be rather over dramatic and she can attempt to walk but can he please help her anyway. Robin grips her hand in his and pulls her up and towards him, steadying her with hands around her waist when she wobbles. She sucks in a breath, feeling the wound begin to pulsate with the sudden change in position. She squeezes Robin's biceps, squeezing her eyes shut trying to keep the hot onset of tears at bay. She feels Robin kiss her forehead before moving her to stand beside him, pulling an arm across his shoulders and holding her around the waist ready to help her into the house. He doesn't miss the sniffle that escapes her, his ears having always been in tune to the tiny sounds she makes no matter how hard she tries to hide them. He looks down at her foot which has started bleeding again, gravity not doing it any favours what so ever. Regina notices this too and tries to raise her foot in front of her as much as her position will allow. He doesn't miss the tremble of her bottom lip or the tear which falls from her cheek and on to the grass.

"It hurts a little bit." she says in a broken whisper, trying to steady her voice. Robin smiles sadly at her and this time when he makes an attempt to pick her up off of the ground she doesn't protest, instead when he snakes an arm under her knees, she weaves her arms around his neck and pulls herself close. She doesn't stop the next few tears that slide down her face, instead opting to tuck her head into the crook of his neck, pressing her nose into his skin and inhaling the smell that she has come to love so much.

"My hero" she dead pans into his chest when he begins carrying her into the house. He chuckles into her hair and she smiles when she feels his lips press tender kisses onto the top of her head. Regina tries to ignore the itching sensation caused by the slow trickle of her blood as it slides down the top of her foot towards her ankle. She's lifting her foot as high as she can in an attempt to stop the bleeding. She closes her eyes and surrounds her senses with his smell, holding tightly around his neck when he adjusts his hold on her. If he struggles to carry her up the stairs he makes no indication and before Regina knows it she is being lowered gently to sit onto the seat of the toilet, Robin pulling Roland's training step in front of her and resting her foot onto the top of the white plastic. She directs him to the location of the first aid kit she keeps underneath the sink which he retrieves with no problem, placing it on the tiled floor in front of her and then she is alone with the promise that he would be right back. She's on her own for a few minutes before Robin returns with her foot spa and a bar of her favourite chocolate gripped between his teeth. She raises an amused eyebrow watching him place the foot spa down, water sloshing against the plastic sides as he does so, gently lift her foot off of the plastic stool and sit there, placing her foot against his bent knees.

"You found my stash." she observes indicating to the wrapped bar of chocolate still gripped in between his teeth. Robin raises his eyebrows in amusement and once he has everything he needs in place he lets go of her foot which is securely in his lap before taking the chocolate from his mouth and handing it to her.

"I know all your dirty secrets" he flirts handing the chocolate to Regina who quirks an eyebrow, unable to hide her smirk.

"I hardly think that a foot spa and a bar of chocolate are going to help here, I'm not trying to get over a break up." she mocks lightly and Robin laughs as he leans forward, pulling the foot spa into the floor space between them.

"You're quite right there but we do need to rinse this foot." and there is a hint of seriousness in his response and Regina swallows because she knows this is going to hurt. She suddenly understands why he had brought her the chocolate but she hardly thinks its going to help much.

Robin watches her face when he lowers her foot into the luke warm water he filled it with from Regina's en suit and winces when the woman in front lets out a groan, her teeth gritting together as she watched her foot submerge.

"I'm sorry." Robin whispers a few times, his fingers caressing the skin around her ankle in an attempt to make the situation better. Regina breaths out a shaky breath, relaxing slightly once her foot was fully soaking in the pleasantly warm water.

"Its OK" she assures leaning forward and placing her hand over his on her ankle. They smile at each other for a moment before Robin brings up the wash cloth and Regina is grimacing again. Though his strokes are gentle, she still winces as the cloth is dragged gently over her skin , the water turning a light pink as the blood comes away.

"You're being very brave." Robin jokes lightly, not looking up from what he's doing and Regina blows out a laugh. "I shall give you a sticker when we are finished." and Regina lets out a soft laugh at that.

"I didn't realise that doctor sat beside your title of thief." she joked, wincing when the cloth got a bit too close to the wound. Robin stilled his fingers breathing out an I'm sorry before continuing.

"Well back in Sherwood Forest I was quite the respected practitioner of medicine." he jokes again and Regina knows he's trying to draw her attention to him and not to what he's doing. She hums a response and winces when he gently lifts her foot out of the water and the stinging is back again.

"You have something under your nail." he murmurs looking closely and now that the blood is gone they can both see the extent of her injury and Regina swallows feeling suddenly sick. The nail of her big toe is almost completely separated from her toe, as well as it being split almost completely down the middle there is quite a sizeable chunk of tree bark sat underneath it.

Robin doesn't miss the tint of green washing over her face and reaches for the chocolate in her lap, being mindful of her foot as he does so. He urges her to lean forward and Regina purses her lips saying she's not sure if chocolate is going to help her but he insists that yes it will and please can she take a bite and she's never been able to resist those pleading eyes or his charming smile and so she does. Chewing silently she ignores the wave of sickness and thinks that actually some sugar is probably a good idea at this moment in time. She spends a moment concentrating on the velvety feel of the milk chocolate coating her tongue before she notices Robin looking at her with an expression she cant quite work out, a mixture between guilt and determination and she knows what he's about to say before he's says it.

"Just do it." she says inhaling deeply through her nose before swallowing her mouthful. Robin sets his lips into a thin line, his eyes falling onto the tree bark poking out from underneath her split and severed toe nail. He hesitates, blue eyes casting up at her face again and Regina feels annoyance mix in with her dread. Don't drag this out she silently begs him and for a second she thinks he hears her plea because suddenly he has a large hand wrapped around her small ankle and he's silently telling her to brace herself. Regina grips either side of the toilet seat with a hold so tight her arms begin to shake. She closes her eyes and turns her face away, heavy, shaky breaths coming out of her nose. Robin doesn't count out loud and she's both grateful and irked by this. Would it be possible to brace herself any more then she already was or would a count down just make the moment worse but either way she is not ready for the searing pain that claws at her foot and climbs up her leg like angry flames scolding her skin. She threw her head back and cried out before she could stop herself, tears instantly building up in the corners of her eyes which she refused to open, trying desperately to keep some composure but failing miserably. She could feel heat rising up her neck and into her face, her breathing escaping her mouth in ragged breaths and before she knew it she was full blown crying and unable to stop herself. She swore under her breath and dipped her head, chin touching her chest and hid behind the tresses of dark hair which fell passed her ears and concealing her face from view. Robin's constant apologies reached her throbbing ears after a moment, she hadn't registered that he had moved from his seat until she could feel his hands on either side of her face, his lips pressing desperately against her temple.

"I'm sorry." he whispered into her ear but once she started, Regina couldn't stop. Her tears flowed fat and heavy from her red rimmed eyes, her shoulders shaking from a mixture of her silent sobs and the pain which had once again started to bleed and pulsate. Robin kissed her face again and pulled her against him, her chin resting against his shoulder and she could hear him apologising over again. She opened her eyes for the first time, trying and failing to steady the hiccups wracking her shoulders. She could see the offending tree bark thrown to the floor beside the plastic stool, glistening with her blood and she frowned thinking that it looked a lot smaller now that it was not lodged in her toe.

"Are you OK?" he was moving her again, his hands pushing her hair out of her face and back behind her ears, his breath warm on her cheeks as he held her face in hot hands.

"Peachy." she hiccuped and he smiled pressing a kiss to her lips which she returned.

"that's my girl." he whispered running his thumb over the apple of her cheek before moving back to sit opposite her on the stool.

"I'm such a baby." Regina breathed with a sniff and winced when Robin brought her foot back to his lap and began cleaning away the fresh blood from her skin.

"You are not..."

"I used to take arrow and sword wounds like they were nothing." she interrupted, her eyes staring off to some part of the room whilst her memory took her back to her days as the evil queen. Robin stiffened at the thought of anyone raising a sword in her general direction and suppressed the protective growl that threatened to rumble in his throat.

"And now look at me." she mocked, swiping a hand across her wet cheeks, her brow furrowing and Robin thought for a second he saw anger there. "Crying like a baby over a splinter."

"Well.." Robin began pulling her foot closer to him so he could clean the more delicate areas. "I think we can both agree that this is a little more then a splinter. Crying doesn't make you weak Regina" and his voice was so sincere that Regina pulled up short. Her eyes met his and he held her gaze with such an honest expression that she didn't know what to say.

"Something like this would reduce men as large as little John to tears." and Regina let out something between a sob and a laugh at the image and Robin chuckled with her.

"Now, I don't know if there is much we can do to save the nail but I'm going to bandage it up so you don't catch it on anything."

Regina shuddered at his words, just something about detached nails made her cringe. The bandaging process was not as painful as the removing of the splinter and after a while the pain seemed to dull down into a casual ache which she got used to. Robin sat and told her a story of a time he had managed to penetrate his hand with the branch of a tree and though some parts caused her to pull a face, for the majority of his story she was somewhere else. Sat staring at him while he handled her with so much care like she was the most precious thing in the world to him caused a different kind of ache to spread through her chest. A good ache which is was so strong some times it brings her body to a stand still. The grip this man has on her heart thrills and terrifies her for she knows the he holds all the power to destroy her. If anything was to happen to him or to them she didn't think she would ever recover yet she trusted him anyway. With her heart and her soul she trusted this thief who despite his title has stolen nothing from her, she had given it all freely.

Regina didn't even realise when Robin was done, too consumed in her loving thoughts of him to realise he had stopped talking, her toe wrapped neatly and her foot resting in his lap.

"What is it?" It was his question that finally caused her to blink out of her thoughts. Shaking her head a few times she smiled, reaching forward and gripping his hands. She tugged him gently and he moved, placing her foot gently on the stool before coming to his knees in front of her. A watery smile sat on her face which she had no hope of hiding from him. She wove her hands across his cheeks and into the short hair behind his ears. She held him there for a handful of heavy seconds, large dark eyes crawling over his features before pulling him gently toward her and pressing her lips to his.

"Thank you." she whispered when they pulled away and Robin just smiled. She smiled when light kisses were pressed against her forehead and before she knew it she was being pulled up to stand, strong arms coming around her waist and shoulders to help her keep her balance. With awkward hops they made it back down the stairs were their boys were face deep in cookies, 'Ice Age' playing on the large TV in front of them. There was a plate of treats set waiting for them when Regina settled against the plush cushions of the sofa and not for the first time today she thanked what ever superior force that seemed to be looking after her of late for this unbelievable second chance at a family she was getting. Robin was beside her in a moment, his arm reaching across her back and gently pulling her towards him and she was only too willing to melt against his warm body. She felt his lips find the top of her head, his fingers ghosting up and down her bicep. She knew she did not deserve this, knew the terrible things she had done in her life meant that this was all too good for her but for a moment, the happiness she felt was too much not to grip onto with both hands.

FIN

A/N: Well that's that folks. Let me know what you think.