"This way, love." He leads her gently by her arm to a secluded area near the back of his woods. She can still hear the men back at camp laughing and talking and clinking their cups together. He stops at the entrance of a small cave and turns to her, smiling "This is it."

She nods nervously as he turns back and continues walking. Suddenly all of the noise stops, there is silence. He stops walking again and places his hands on her arm "Ok, we're here." He says as he begins to remove the mask shielding her eyes.

She giggles as the felt falls from her face and looks at him, his face bright in the dimly lit grotto. That's when she notices the candles.

They're everywhere, on every surface that isn't covered by colorful blankets and handcrafted pillows. She'd never know it was a cave if it weren't for the obvious dampness of the walls. She moves past him and towards a particularly bright throw pillow leaning against a mess of others.

"I know this isn't a palace or anything that you're used to but we – I wanted you to be comfortable." She turns to him, pillow in hand, stunned. She shakes her head "This." Spinning around the room, admiring the detail that he and his men had obviously put a lot of work into "This is amazing. Magnificent!"
and he can see the gleam in her eyes and wants to stop her but knows that it's impossible. Knows how she feels about everyone accepting her into their family of squatters without even knowing her well.

So this has to be the icing on the cake that has made her cry countless times before.

And besides, even if she fought it hard enough, they both know that her hormones have a mind of their own now.

She sighs in utter disbelief "Robin." She whispers as she practically runs to him and he is there to embrace her as soon as she reaches his outstretched arms. She pulls away and places her hand to his face, mouth open but unable to muster up any words. He just smiles, takes her hand and kisses it gently "I know you never got your chance to really be Queen and you say it doesn't matter to you.." she shakes her head "It doesn't!" he nods "I know but that doesn't mean that you weren't destined to be one. And this is no grand kingdom, my merrymen aren't the humblest of servants, but as long as I love you and as long as I live you will be royalty; my queen." And then their lips are meeting in a warm kiss. They pull away and she places her head against his chest, inhaling his scent and falling in love with the smell of forest all over again. It isn't the same musky scent that Lil John or Will Scarlet give off when they embrace her but different. It reminds her of the natural smell of pine and the cool mist that falls over the camp early in the morning when everyone else is sleeping.

E It reminds her of Daddy before Mother began forcing him to use a more "fitting cologne for a royal" when she was a child. And she smirks to herself then, thinking about everything that she'd had to do up to that point to have this. Look at me now, mother she thinks. Fleeing the kingdom and breaking her vows to Leopold to follow her soul mate, letting go of her first love Daniel, leaving her vengeance for the young girl that'd sentenced him to death behind, she'd done it without the power her mother swore she'd need to survive and it had all been worth it. She still can't get used to bathing in the river and would definitely prefer her bed back home to the tent that she and Robin stay in but waking up every morning to see the sun rising above her and feeling his arms wrapped around her, holding her tight even in his sleep as if she were as light as a feather and would blow away if he let her go, it's worth every sacrifice.

She lifts her head from his chest and looks up at him just as she feels two tiny kicks. She giggles and places both hands on her swollen belly, two more reasons that everything had been worth it.

"I think they love it too." she says with a smile. Robin places his larger hands over hers "I think that my boys would both rather stay out in the woods with their papa, wrestling bears and what not."

She shakes her head "You still think its two boys, huh?" Robin nods "And you a boy and a girl?" "A mother's instinct is never wrong." Robin raises an eyebrow at her and shrugs "Well a fathers intuition seldom waivers." She rolls her eyes playfully "I'd beg to differ but it doesn't matter because I've already figured out a name for her."

"Really and what might that name be?" she smiles to herself; it'd been so easy to choose a name for their little boy, Roland. It went well and she and Robin had agreed on it almost immediately. But the argument came when she began discussing names for a little girl and of course Robin went on a rant about how they'd never have a girl, it just wasn't written in the stars. But she could tell, so she let him believe what he wanted and in due time she'd be able to prove him wrong. There was still the problem of the name. She knew Robin could never agree with any name she'd picked out so she brainstormed on her own and after going over all of the "R" names she could think of, to keep up with the tradition, she'd finally come up with it.

"Rosalie." She whispers up to him "Rose for short." Robin's smile spreads across his face as he repeats the name to himself "Robin, Regina, Roland, and Rosalie." He looks down at her "If we were having a girl I'd love that name for her." He jokes "Good thing we are." And then their laughing and then kissing and soon their testing out just how soft the pillows and throws make the cave floor and Robin thinks Regina really likes them because they spend the rest of the day christening each piece of fabric and for once he doesn't hear one complaint from her, just the soft cries of his name bouncing off of the walls; music to his ears.

They finish up, both of them too tired from rolling around to move. Robin grabs a purple quilt and drapes it over the both of them before placing his hand on her bare belly. Pretty soon she'd be too far along for them to fool around like this but he decides that he can care less. There will be plenty of time for that after the babies are born. He pulls her into him and kisses her forehead gently "My love." He whispers the same way he had their first night together. She can feel his warm, strong hand positioned on her stomach, his thumb circling the same spot over and over "Roland." He says and then he pauses, smiles into her hair "Rose." He whispers finally before falling asleep.

Regina has never felt happier, more protected, more loved in her life. Knows that soon there will be two little Hood's squished in between them and she has never been more ready for anything.

Soon she will be able to see Robin hold their two children the same way he holds her. See just how much he loves her through the two of them, because they are a product of it. Soon she will have a little boy with deep set dimples and a little girl with eyes as blue as the sea, just like their father; her love. And everything she loves about him and their moments together, the moment that they're sharing then, will be amplified times two.

She has never loved like she loves her Robin, like she loves her unborn children. Everything has been worth it, will always be worth it and she feels like the luckiest person in all of the realms. Who ever said you needed magic and a crown to be loved, in control, powerful?

Look at me now, mother she thinks before drifting off and joining Robin in slumber.

Regina doesn't know why she finds herself in the forest, in the spot where she and Robin had shared their first kiss of all places. She'd been back there a couple of times after he'd left and she'd promised herself that she wouldn't go back again. Wouldn't put herself through that again but she has some free time for once and the tug of war that the villains and heroes are playing with her has got her so tired and fed up and missing him.

She knows what he would say if he were there, "follow your heart, love" but for some reason she can hear him louder when she's in the forest. So she convinces herself that she needs some fresh air, grabs page 23 out of the draw in her office and heads to their spot.

She has some of his things; a vest, a shirt, the gold tipped arrow he'd received from her as a reward during the missing year, but that one area brings back memories and smells and sounds that not even being in her vault can dig up. She stands in the center and puts her head up to the sky, holds their fate to her heart, and breathes in and out. Tries to feel him out among the trees and the birds and rustling of woodland creatures. He is always present in the forest.

She smiles when she hears him say "Regina." As if her name is an omen, a prayer and he is suddenly so close to her. Not just in the trees anymore but actually there with her, physically. She lets her head down slowly and opens her eyes and there he is standing in front of her, as real as the ground beneath her feet.

She's stunned at first, snaps her eyes shut just to make sure she isn't hallucinating. She opens her eyes again and he is still standing there, smiling at her in disbelief too "Regina." He whispers again and she can see his lips moving to form her name, can see that he is actually speaking to her.

"No." she whispers "You can't be real. This isn't real." Robin smiles and walks towards her "It is! I'm here. I'm real." Regina stops him with the fireball that now sits in the palm of her hand because she believes him, he is actually there but that doesn't mean he's real. It's all too good to be true "Who are you!?" she demands. Whoever is doing this is sick; to play with her emotions like this is so sick.

"It's me, Regina. It's Robin." He says gently as he stalks closer to her cautiously.

"No." she shakes her head frantically and Robin can see just how broken she is. How afraid she is and he knows that if he can just get close enough to her, if he can just touch her then she'll know it really is him. But her fireballs are deadly and to chance it when her emotions are all over the place would be stupid so he stops walking. "Robin, he's in New York with Roland and Marian. He's in New York with his family." She says it to herself, to remind herself that no matter how much she wants it to be him, it can't be. There's no way that Robin could be in Storybrooke, unless something has gone horribly wrong.

"Regina." He begs "Listen, it is me. I promise it is me. I'm here. Please."

She stares at him, or it, or whatever is standing in her midst and fights desperately to keep from crying. To keep from wanting and letting her guard down because the odds of it being him and the odds of it being a trap are 20/80. He moves like Robin, he sounds like Robin, obviously looks like Robin and the only two people that can actually successfully shape shift besides herself are Rumple and Maleficent. It can't be Mal because she's been trapped underneath the library for 30 years and doesn't know who the hell Robin is and she can't think of any reason Rumple would want to hurt her like this. Unless they've figured out that she's tricked them, that she's playing for the heroes. She shakes her head, it's all too much.

Robin can see her worry, see the little gears grinding in her head as she tries to make sense of it all, to decide whether to incinerate him or trust him "Gold brought me here." He says and Regina looks up at him, finally some answers "Well rather I rode over in Cruella's trunk. They kidnapped me from Neal's home and brought me here. I promise." And with that Regina is putting out her fire and running towards him. He could still very well be lying but she'd rather take her chances with the 20 and be wrapped in his arms then the 80 which would no doubt leave him as a pile of ash on the forest floor.

It is the moment that he touches her that she knows it's him. Every worry, every ounce of pain that his absence left melt away as he wraps his arms around her and for the first time in 6 weeks she is breathing. It's a mixture of the smell of forest and oxygen and her lungs love it so much. She doesn't ever want to let him go because if she does he could leave again but she has to, needs answers. She looks up at him, runs her hands over his face. He looks different, hasn't shaved much since he left but he is still her Robin. He smiles and kisses her fingertips as they lightly touch his lips. She wants to be wrapped in him, around him but she needs answers "Where are Roland and Marian? Are they here too?"

Robin shakes his head "No, they just took me. They've been keeping me underneath the library."

"How did you escape?" "I've been trying to escape since I got down there but today they made it all too easy so I'm guessing this is what they want." Regina steps back "Then this is a trap." Robin shrugs his shoulders "I don't care. Regina, when I crossed the town line I remembered." Now she's looking at him like he's crazy, maybe they've got him under a spell "What are you talking about?" he reaches for the photo in her hand and holds it up to her face "Page 23 happened and I remembered when I crossed the town line. Or an hour or two after I crossed the town line, otherwise I'd have tried to find some way back. Roland remembers too." Regina is shaking her head now "Robin you're being crazy, page 23 could've happened but it didn't. That's why I'm after the author. It's just something that could've been." Robin is closing the gap that she's created between them, his hands finding their place on her hips "Yes and the author is important. He made our story but it's more than just something that could've been, it really happened!"

"What are you talking about?" "Us. I remember us, we met in the Enchanted Forest, fell in love, before you became the evil queen. It really happened!" She scoffs "So then how do you explain me actually becoming the evil queen? Who took away our memories?" Robin shrugs "I don't know. All I remember is you and me fighting off King Leopold's men and then everything with Marian." He can tell that she isn't following and can also tell that if he doesn't make his point soon they're both going to get caught "Look, I know you don't understand. And there's a lot to figure out. I know you don't remember but I do. And you will too if you just come across the town line with me, we'll get Roland and go from there." Now she's angry, pushing him away "Why would I leave Storybrooke and my son to go and get Roland? He's with his mother, and as much as I want us to be a family Marian is who he belongs with."

Robin shakes his head "That's the part you aren't understanding. He doesn't belong with Marian because Marian isn't his mother." "Then who is!?" Robin steps up to her again, pulling her face up by her chin so that he is staring into her eyes and she's trying desperately to focus on the matter at hand and not at how blue they are "You are, Regina."