Hi, so here it goes a new chapter, I know it's kind of short but I was able to post it quickly :)


Chapter 2.

Regina never expected her day to become this mess when she got up from her bed that morning. She already had to deal with Henry's mood about his prospects of that day at school and she didn't want to deal with her son's biological father on the same day, but she knew she would have to call him, he was probably waiting for a call from the firm and if she didn't do her job, everything would fall on her.

God, with millions of people in the world, why would she have to work with the father of her child? It was a rather unfortunate coincidence that would just bring her problems after problems, not to mention the poor child that already had to share Henry's father and now would be in the middle of all this... Wait. Henry has a brother. As if this wasn't a mess already, now she will be living with the knowledge that his son has a little brother that he can't meet, she isn't sure if she can hide that from him.

"Hey, beautiful," her thoughts are interrupted as her co-worker appears at the door of her office, making his way towards her desk and settling himself on the chair across from her. She can't help but notice the fold in his hands, maybe he'll give her another case, Sidney knows how she hates child custody and, if she can say so, she knows he has kind of a crush on her and is always putting her first, even before him, "I wanted to check on you, is that okay?"

Sometimes she hates to be always the bad guy, always turns him down on his attempts to win her over, but she just lost her fiancée a year ago and she has two kids to think about, she doesn't think she's ready to jump into another relationship, even if he says that she doesn't need to have a commitment with him, that he just wants, in his words, 'give it a chance and see if she feels good about it'. Not really, she likes him as a friend, a good friend, even, but she dreads the moment she'll let herself fall in love and let that someone enter her sons' life. It's too much important to be treated as an attempt to make her feel better over Daniel's death (not that she believes that would happen).

"Sure, I'm just..." she fumbles with the papers, trying to cover her real thoughts, about him, about Henry's father, as she gathers all the sheets of her case that are spread all over her desk and slides them into a folder, "I was reading my new case, but I'm done."

Her excuses are not enough to convince Sidney. He knows she doesn't like that type of cases, but that doesn't seem enough to leave her all that shaken, either. She worked with these type of things before and she always found a way to works things the best way possible, she even might not want to admit, but she was pretty good (as with everything that fell into her hands). Maybe the fact that she is a mother didn't penalize her, maybe it is an added value, putting together with her natural gift.

"Regina..."

"What about your case?" she interrupts quickly, putting a smile on her lips and hoping to beat him in his questions. The last thing she needs is a hope speech from Sidney, especially when that talk would end up digging through her past, one that she doesn't want to revisit, but that will be impossible if this Robin is her Robin. Besides, she wants to try to keep her friendship with Sidney out of this since Emma will have to know. She's not made of steel, she'll have to open up with somebody and certainly will not be with her co-worker that would punch the guy in the face if he found out what had happened between them ten years ago.

"Divorce, nothing major," he dismisses, his eyes locked on the picture she has framed over her desk, one of her and Daniel with their sons at the hospital the day after Dylan was born. It always seemed to draw Sidney's attention, and she believed it was not even because of her, it just seemed he genuinely yearned for that to happen to him someday, and it could, if he just got off his mind that it would be her to give him that. She had her family already and she didn't believe she would be capable of raising another child, even if she wanted, and Sidney deserved to have a child of his own.

It's just then that she notices what he'd said. His case was about divorce, something Sidney himself had been through at least two times if Regina remembers correctly. Maybe it was because of that that he was so adamant to keep her safe, because she'd been probably the only constant woman in his life since she'd joined the firm, and she is sure that happened because she'd never let their relationship cross over the friendship.

"God, we make quite the pair," she jokes, and she knows she has to be careful when she talks to him so she can't give him false expectations, but she also knows he understood she was referring to their cases when he genuinely chuckles at her. What were the odds? She receives a child custody that will probably end up with her every effort to keep Henry away from his biological father, at the same time her co-worker has to re-experience, even if from the outside, all the stages of a divorce. It's definitely not their lucky day.

"I told you about mine, it's your turn. How bad it is?" he asks, gesturing with his eyes towards her folder.

She wonders what she should tell him, will definitely not say that she slept with this man ten years ago and that, by the way, he's Henry's father so she will be more than a hypocrite when she has to help him to keep his son while, at the same time, she hides Henry from him. Does Sidney even know that Henry's not Daniel's son?

"I got a father and you know it's ten times more difficult to work with them," she tries the other way out, hoping this will be enough to convince Sidney.

One thing she learned by the experience: usually the mothers get the custody. It's the system they have, so she'll have to work three times more just to have a chance on this one, which just will mean, less time with her own sons, fewer hours of sleep, more headaches and, the worst part, more Robin. She's not even thinking about the possibility of him not wanting her as his lawyer, or if they are not able to work together, she's already admitting that he'll listen to her, something that probably won't be so linear.

"I don't even know where to start," she confesses, sighing as she takes the papers out of the fold once again, placing them on her desk and scanning Robin's file one more time.

This will happen, she will have to talk to him and it will be today. She will see him again after ten years, after their night together.

"I'd start by contacting him," Sidney jokes, standing up from his seat and grabbing his own fold as he places the chair back in its place, "And I should let you work. If you need anything you know where to find me."

She knows, and despite she's sure she won't use Sidney's help in this specific case, she feels a little better knowing she's not completely alone.

It feels good to have someone looking after her, she doesn't have that feeling since Daniel's death, and it's for that reason that she works so hard, so that her sons won't feel the same. She's the only one taking care of them now, and it's not that she minds, it's something she loves to do and she knows she's being successful at, but a help is a help, and she always heard that it's always welcome.

So she thanks Sidney anyway, smiles at her co-worker before he closes the door of her office behind him, and focuses her attention back on the papers when she's alone once again.

Robin Locksley, thirty years old, divorced... so he's divorced, he didn't just get the woman pregnant it seems, Regina thinks bitterly.

How is she supposed to be supportive in his case if even before she knows this woman, she feels more sympathy for her than really for a man who once claimed to be her best friend?

Right, that will be because she knows what this woman might feel if she loses this child. On the other hand, Regina almost feels bad to think Robin is incapable of getting attached to someone, but that is her impression of him after they had slept together ten years ago. She doesn't want to set aside the idea that he might have changed, but she doesn't want to cling to it either.

Damn it, what a mess. The first thing to do is to contact him and become acquainted with the situation, and then she will think on the best approach, the best for the child, and will try to do her job at the same time she tries to ignore the personal issues between them.

So... Marketing manager, she continues to scan his information, her hand automatically reaching for her phone to dial his number when she gets to his contact information.

She's nervous, afraid even, but she realizes she's kind of curious to hear his voice when she's welcomed with the beeping sound at the end of the line, telling her she's about to face that British accent after all these years.

She's sure that was one of the things that made her start to fall in love with him back then, that and the blue eyes and adorable dimples she'd described to Henry the day before, so she's worried he will be back in her good graces as had happened before, when he just had to greet her with his 'Hello, love', and that gentle voice.

"Robin Locksley," she hears on the other end of the line, causing her heart to beat ten times faster in her chest, just by hearing him on the phone. It's him, there are no doubts, it's really him, and this time he's being much more professional, it seems almost rehearsed since he doesn't know who he's talking to, Regina thinks, but thank god for that, she doesn't need him to start to be kind when he finds out who she is. She really prefers this professional side, with any type of a relationship attached, it's better, safer, "Hello?"

She realizes she hasn't greeted him back yet, just to make the situation even more uncomfortable than already is, and she curses herself for that, lets her forehead fall on her hand and lets out an inaudible sigh before she focuses one more time on the task at hand, "Yes, I'm sorry, I'm calling from the law firm."

She waits for a response, one she realizes she won't get and that just causes an awkward silence to settle between them one more time, until she speaks again in an attempt to fix the situation, "My name's Regina Mills and I will be your lawyer for the custody case."

Now she would expect a silence. But contrary to what she thought, Robin is quick to react, breathes a 'Regina?' and waits for any signal of surprise for her part. It's not like it is a total surprise, it had been when she received the case, yes, but now she was already expecting to be him... just how many British men called Robin Locksley could exist in that town?

Luckily for her, it was just him.

But Regina is a professional, and she quickly recovers from the initial shock, remembers to breathe one more time, and addresses him again, "Yes, well, I was hoping we could meet to talk about the case?"

He's still in shock, she realizes, is still figuring out if she can be the Regina he knows, his best friend from ten years ago, so he doesn't answer right away, takes his time to measure the situation and choose the right words to tell her.

He wants to talk to her, needs to clear up some things before he lets her enter in his life once again, even if it's just professionally, but he knows they can't talk by the phone, this is something they will have to discuss personally, so he forces himself to focus on what she's proposing and clears his throat before reply to her, "Of course, when do you want to meet?"

"After lunch? I know a coffee that usually it's not too crowded, I can text you the address," she offers, hoping he'll accept her suggestion. She can only think in this option, there's no way and no need that she'll lunch with him, so a coffee should do and maybe if she's lucky, she'll be ready on time to pick up the boys from school. She just has to meet his case, since she already knows the client (too well if you ask her) and then she'll be done, with a few more days to prepare herself for these next months.

"Alright, I will meet you there," he replies, and there's that warmth in his voice, the one she was hoping to never hear again, but it's already having an effect on her, even if she can't quite tell what it is.

Is it pity? Sorry for him to be in this situation? Or she feels really bad that their relationship... friendship, whatever it was, didn't work out as she hoped it would?

She never thought she'll be facing all these thoughts once again. She expected that after leaving the college ten years ago, she would be free from this part of her life, the one he clearly plays a key role, but no, she had to run into this guy once again, and it had to be a case that will take months to solve.

"Alright," she parrots, muttering a 'see you there' and hanging up the phone as quickly as she could.

5 minutes. This phone call only took 5 minutes of her time and she's already regretting them.

How is she supposed to handle a whole coffee, sitting in front of him and have a professional conversation if she can't endure a phone call? There's no way this will end without the slightest effect on her life and she just hopes this doesn't mean it will affect Henry as well, as she types the address to send to his father.

###

Robin eats his lunch quicker that day, and it's just two in the afternoon when he crosses the door to the coffee shop she'd sent the address earlier.

He knows she's probably just finishing her lunch, and maybe she'll not be ready to meet him before 3PM, but he was ready and, to be honest, he hadn't been able to really focus on work since her phone call, so he just thought that he would start looking for the place so there wasn't a chance for him to get lost and be late.

It would be an awful start if he'd keep her waiting, not to mention that she would probably think this whole issue of the custody didn't matter for him.

It matters. Very much.

Roland is his whole life since he divorced from Marian, is the only person to convince him that it's worthy to fight for the people you love, something he didn't put much effort to it when it comes to Regina ten years ago, and he knows she doesn't believe so, but he'd cared deeply for her back then, had fallen in love with her since day one, but had been foolish enough to let that escape. And now she was just about to meet with him, in professional matters, but still, he'd have to find a way to make it up to her.

It happened that he'd found the coffee quickly than he'd expected, a nice little place, with a few students doing some work at the tables in one of the corners of the room, and since Robin knows they will have to talk (a lot) through this meeting, he chooses a table near the window, it's quiet and peaceful just the same, and this way they won't be a bother to the teens currently trying to study.

So now he's here, trying to picture in his mind how this conversation may go, without any clue how she feels about him after all these years.

If he's lucky, maybe she'd already forgiven him, it had been a stupid teenage behavior, or better, it had been a behavior fit for a stupid teenager, but he changed and he's ready to apologize if that means he can have her friendship back in his life.

She was a good friend, best friend, and they had had fun together until he had let the alcohol dictate his actions and make him choose to sleep with her.

He liked her, back then, more than a friend (now Robin can understand that) and that should have been more than a reason to make him step back and choose their friendship over a one night stand, especially when he didn't know how to deal with it after it had happened. But no, that had been a reason to make him do exactly the opposite and jump into her bed, only to hurt her the very next day when she came looking for him.

But that was something he'd have to talk to her, hopefully today if she has time for him. He'd made sure to take the afternoon just for this talk.

Before he could even get settled on their table or order something to kill his time, his phone buzzes in his pocket, immediately making him wonder if it's Regina canceling their meeting (she's more than in time for that), or if he'd messed with the address and she's already waiting for him somewhere else, but then he looks at the screen, the name 'Marian' flashing together with the sign to take the call, and he considers to just mute it and shove the phone back into his pocket, but she's Roland's mother and she really doesn't choose to call him if it isn't for the boy.

"Yes?" he answers with a sigh, moving his phone from one hand to the other so he can remove his jacket and place it on the back of the chair before gets settled himself.

He reaches for the menu, has really no intention to eat anything since he just finished his lunch, but at least he's entertained, scans the options at the same time he tries to hear Marian's excuse to have him picking Roland from school on one of her days, just to leave him at her house where she will be waiting for him.

This time, her car broke down, and he wonders if it is like last week when she couldn't leave the house due to a flu, and when he arrived with Roland, she certainly looked better than him, who had been up since 5AM to make sure he'd time to do everything at work before pick up his son.

It's not like he minds, he loves to pick up Roland and spend time with him, but there are those days when he's not really expecting it, and today is one of those, not to mention how he'll have to hurry the meeting with Regina so he has time to get to school.

"Marian, I'm sorry, but I have to work-" he tries to explain, but is quickly interrupted by her voice once again, telling him she'd called to his office and had been informed that he wasn't there, that he'd taken the afternoon off to tend to some issues, and he hates to have to give her explanations of his life, but he fears she can use these things against him to get the full custody.

"Not that concerns you, but I have a meeting outside the office," he says, trying to avoid telling her that it's actually about Roland's custody. He doesn't need to have her even more decided to mess with this, especially when they haven't agreed with this plan in the first place. If he was really busy at work she would have to come up with something to pick up the boy, right? Roland won't die for having to take the bus with his mother for one day, he'd actually found it funny when Robin had taken him to try one of these days, "The day is nice, take him for a walk, Marian, he won't mind."

But then she's using the same excuse as always, arguing that Robin is always complaining that she doesn't let him see their son, and it has nothing to do with this situation. What she wants, is to have Robin being her private chauffeur, to have him driving their son home right after he picks him up from school, without any chance to really spend time with him.

"You know it's not-" and just when he needed more time to convince Marian that he won't be able to attend to her requests, she appears. A very familiar face, talking to the girl on the other side of the counter before she's looking everywhere around her, probably searching for him. Him. Will he really have a coffee with the woman he always thought wouldn't want to see him again?

She's so different, in some aspects so similar, but she's definitely not the nineteen-year-old girl anymore. Her dark hair that once used to run through her back is now cut to just above her shoulders, and the casual sweaters had been replaced by some more formal shirts, but there's one thing that remains untouchable in her outfit, and Robin fails to suppress a smile when he spots her wearing a pencil skirt.

It had always been a part of her outfit, she used to match it with sneakers instead of the high heels she's using today, but he can't say it's a bad choice, it makes her legs even more perfect than he remembers.

But he has to stop, can't think of her that way as soon as he lays his eyes on her. She's not a piece of meat, contrary to the way he'd treated her that night, to which he regrets truthfully, should have politely rejected when she invited him to her room ten years ago, should have just dropped her off after their night out with their friends.

Marian's voice is insistent on the other end of the line, telling him something about how he's showing concern about his own son for putting a meeting above him, and he can't do this right now, doesn't have time for her ironies, so, despite he knows he shouldn't accommodate Marian's every whim, he has no other choice if he wants to be done before he has to pick up Roland.

"Fine, I'll pick him up, but he gets to dine with me," he counters, almost sighing in relief when he hears his ex-wife agreeing with his choice.

One less problem. He'll deal with Marian later when he has to drop his son at her house. For now, he'll just have to get through this meeting and convince Regina that he's not leaving her hanging one more time when he has to leave within an hour.

###

Regina drives her car to the coffee shop, hoping this would be 'quick and clean' and that she'll be ready to pick Henry and Dylan from school on time.

She'd promised Henry that she would be spending the afternoon with them, after he'd promised her he would behave at school, that he would talk to his teacher if something bothered him about the work they would do about the father's day, so she can't really get late, doesn't want to disappoint her son if he makes the effort to then have her failing on her promise.

How ironic would it be? She'd be late to pick her son because she'd be in a meeting with his biological father. Henry would hit the roof if he found out about this situation.

She really hates to hide things from him, even more having to lie to him, but what choice does she have? She can't risk to lose him if Robin finds out and chooses to fight against her for Henry's custody as well.

She doesn't know Robin like she thought she knew, he's not her best friend anymore, so she has to play it safe.

So she finishes her lunch as quickly as she can (her nerves were killing her so she wasn't really feeling like eating a lot), hoping she'll be lucky enough to find Robin already waiting for her, and gets into her car to drive towards the address she'd sent to him.

It's not a long ride, jut long enough to have her rehearsing a successful conversation in her head, but she knows that it'll be far from that, given the things left unsaid between them. She just hopes they can keep it civilized and professional, that's all she needs to get her work done and be out of this quickly.

The sooner they get out of this situation, better will be for everyone.

Better will be for Robin and his son, who will be able to get back to their lives with a bit more stability, better will be for Henry, who, despite the fact he doesn't know what's happening, will stop having his mother lying to him, and definitely will be better for Regina, who will be able to continue to live her life without the constant meetings with Robin and the fear of losing one of her sons.

So she needs to get out of this successfully, which just leaves her even more nervous as she steps out of the car and walks towards the door of the coffee shop.

She sees him even before she enters, sitting at a table near the window as he talks on the phone, and he seems frustrated, mad about something or... someone.

It just comes to her mind the images of their last fight, the one it was responsible for the beginning of the end of their friendship, and when she'd accidentally told him how she really felt about him as she accused him of playing with her feelings.

He'd been speechless at her confession, had tried to reach for her and apologize countless times, but she'd keep him from getting close to her every time, so he never got the chance to tell her how he really felt about her as well.

He wasn't sure if it would make any difference, not after what she'd witnessed when she found him that morning, but he should've tried, never should've given up on her so easily.

So now when she sees him like this, she chooses to walk towards the counter instead, to order something for her and give him time so he won't make the same mistake with his own son, since she knows he doesn't do well with a hot head.

She orders a red eye, knowing she'll need something strong to get through this conversation, and looks around to see if he'd already finished his call when the waitress tells her she can have a seat that when it's ready she'll bring it to the table.

He's still on the phone, has his eyes focused on her instead of being focused on his own conversation, but she shakes her head, tells she can wait for the coffee and then will get a seat, because there's no need to make this even more awkward, she won't interrupt his talk nor doesn't want to hear anything concerned with his private life that it won't be useful for the case. She just wants to know what she really needs to know, doesn't want to dig too much and especially, doesn't want to form an emotional bond with him.

She waits for a few more minutes until her drink is placed in front of her, and she still has that sensation that she's not ready, she could use a bit more time to get used to the idea that she'll talk to Robin again, but she can't delay it any longer. He has finished his call and now is just waiting for her, glancing a couple of times in her direction in an attempt to be a gentleman and don't push her into going to immediately talk to him, and now it's her who has to take the first step, grab that coffee and make her way towards his table.

So she does just that, takes a deep breath and holds the plate underneath the tiny cup with her drink in both of her hands (she doesn't want to risk and spill the coffee everywhere over her outfit), and places it on the table in front of him, avoiding his gaze as he stands from his seat and mutters her name almost in surprise.

"I am," she replies, straightening her back and stretching her hand towards him, "I'll take care of your case."


I hope you liked and please tell me what did you think :)

Thank you for the reviews for the last chapter and don't worry, I'll write what happened between them in the next chapter.