Robin couldn't sleep the whole night, his mind swimming with dreams of the Enchanted Forest. What they were about exactly evaded him, always slightly out of reach, but one theme united them: the Queen.
Laughing, looking at him, riding a horse.
Just her.
And he'd be damned if he knew why. The night before was the first time he remembered meeting her. Why should he be dreaming about her?
"Daddy! Daddy Daddy Daddy Daddyyyyyy!"
A series of shrieks announced his son before he leapt onto the bed in which Robin was currently sprawled, landing squarely on Robin's chest.
"Ugh," he groaned. "You're getting too big for that. Better lay off the ice cream, little man."
"Are you calling me fat, Daddy?" Roland said exuberantly, quoting a line from a TV show he'd seen the other day.
Robin rolled his eyes at his son, who snuggled in next to him. His mop of hair tickled his father's shoulder. Robin sighed contentedly.
Everything was quiet for a moment.
Roland leaned over and whispered, quite loudly, "Can we get hot chocolate please Daddy?"
Robin smiled.
"That sounds like a good idea, buddy."
The pair rose from bed, the older dressed in a white t-shirt and boxers (a new part of his wardrobe: odd, but nice), the younger in footie pajamas with horses on them. Robin yawned widely, pulling on a pair of jeans and a button-up shirt while Roland sprinted back to his room to get ready.
"Don't forget to brush!" Robin called.
Roland replied with a raspberry.
After they were all brushed and bundled and ready, Robin took Roland's hand and they headed for Granny's.
...
After picking up their hot chocolate, and seeing practically half the town, they headed to the park to see the ducks and drink their cocoa.
"I heard that ducks can breathe underwater, is that true, Daddy?"
"I don't think so," Robin replied.
"Do they turn into swans when they get old?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because they're ducks. You can't just change everything you are."
"Why not?"
"Because."
"Because why?"
Taking a sip of his cocoa, Robin thought.
"Because it's very difficult," he sighed finally.
"That doesn't mean you can't, Daddy," Roland dismissed him.
As they approached the park, Robin saw a lone figure on a bench.
Regina, looking sartorially perfect in a black wool coat, black tights, and high-heeled black boots, red lipstick on, grey hat and scarf completing her outfit, was sitting with perfect posture on a bench in the distance. She was staring into space, her gaze reaching beyond the pond in front of her to a place Robin couldn't see. She looked so terribly alone, on a gloomy cold day, withstanding the elements without a companion of any sort. Robin squinted.
As if on cue, her head whipped around to see the pair. Robin could practically see her arguing with herself over what to do: stay, and risk a conversation, or go, and risk seeming rude? Ultimately, she just turned her head back to the water, uncrossing and re-crossing her legs.
Suddenly, Robin didn't feel so well. Seeing her face had sparked something in him that made him extremely uncomfortable, although it was not entirely unpleasant. The sun suddenly seemed horribly bright and everything spun around him.
"I think I need to sit, bud…I think…"
It all came rushing back: the monkeys and the battle and the bruises and the horses running so fast he thought he would fly backwards and the firelight and her smiling face and her gentle touch and her tears in the middle of the forest and the look she had before she ran away from him.
Two hot chocolates, one after the other, sloshed to the wet grass.
"Daddy!" Roland shrieked.
Regina's head whipped around at the sound of his voice. It reminded her of Henry so much that it felt like a cold knife in her heart. She felt glued to the spot.
"Daddy!"
There it was again. Something in it, the pure animal panic, spurred Regina's cold feet into moving. Robin Hood's seemingly invulnerable body was lying on the ground in all its mass.
She ran to the little boy and his inert father, even though her legs felt like lead.
"Help me, please, lady," he pled, tears flowing freely down his face, snot trailing from his nose.
"It'll be okay, sweetheart, don't worry," she assured him. She went to touch his hand, but then thought the better of it; her heart couldn't survive getting involved with this beautiful little boy.
Her pulse hammering in her ears, she touched Robin's neck and checked for breathing. All seemed in order on that account.
"He just collapsed, honey? Out of nowhere?"
Roland nodded miserably.
"Okay. I think he fainted, do you know what that means?" she asked kindly.
He nodded once more.
"All we have to do is call him back and he'll return, okay?"
This did nothing to assure the little boy; he furrowed his brow at Regina.
"Robin? Robin, wake up. Can you hear me? It's Regina," she said, tapping one broad shoulder.
She took the opportunity to study his face, its sharp angles and slight stubble, its strong lines and assuredness. His dirty blonde hair seemed to sparkle a bit in the just-risen sun. The eyes, though, were closed.
"Robin," she said a bit more forcefully.
"Daddy!" Roland chimed in, hitting him hard on the shoulder.
"Robin, can you hear us?"
A low groan was heard as Robin stirred. Roland squealed with delight.
Two blue eyes, slowly, blinking in the sun, opened.
"Rol?" he murmured. "R'gina?"
Roland leapt over his father to tackle Regina, squirming around and covering her face with kisses.
"Thanksthanksthanksthanks! You got my daddy back!"
Regina, completely awkward and unsure and overwhelmed, could do nothing but stay completely still, afraid if she moved or breathed it would all be torn from her.
Robin sat up suddenly, and Regina tried to stop him with a "Wai—," but it was no good. He groaned and clutched his head.
"Good lord, " he moaned. "What the hell just happened?"
Tearing himself from Regina, Roland leapt to his father, clutching him as if for dear life. Robin returned the sentiment, grasping him tight.
"You okay, buddy?"
Roland nodded happily.
"Regina saved us," he said simply.
Robin smiled at the mention of her name.
"Regina did?" Robin asked, looking her in the eye, in a way that was different than he'd ever looked at her before. She squirmed under the weight, unable to move while his gaze pinned her down.
They had become best friends, confidantes while in the Enchanted Forest.
They had kissed, only once.
She had left shortly after, right when he thought they were getting somewhere.
But he knew her game, better than she thought he did. The Evil Queen was running scared from him, and he knew it now as surely as he knew his son's name.
The only issue was: she didn't even remember any of it. Didn't remember him, didn't remember anything they'd shared.
Robin briefly considered telling her what he now recalled, then quickly rejected that idea. She would shut herself down so quickly he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. But, the alternative? Getting her to trust him all over again? Getting her to open up to him when it'd been such a struggle the first time?
That would be, if possible, even harder.
"I love her," Roland said.
Regina laughed, more out of nervousness than anything else, and Robin did as well.
"Ok, buddy, chill out. You gotta play hard to get with the ladies, or else they get scared off."
Roland smiled, recognizing his father's jokey tone.
"She's not scared of anything," he said proudly, before walking off to occupy himself with the ducks.
"I don't know about that," Regina replied softly, looking anywhere but at the man on the ground next to her.
Unfortunately for her, he had other ideas.
Robin put his hand on her shoulder, and said, sincerely, "Thank you. You know, for me and my son. Really."
She very nearly closed her eyes at his warm and reassuring touch, but fought the impulse. Good lord, was she losing her grip.
"Anybody would have done it," she dismissed, flush from the attention and his face and his accent and that little boy. "Besides, all I did was poke your shoulder, really."
God, what was the matter with her lately? She couldn't get through a conversation with this man before she started going crazy.
Robin just looked at her for a second.
"I wanted to apologize…for the other night."
She narrowed her eyes.
"What?" she asked, a dead weight that dropped to the ground once it left her mouth.
"I should have stood up to Grumpy; what he did wasn't right. I hope you know that most people in Storybrooke disagree with him."
Surely, he thought, this would earn him some trust.
Her pride felt bruised at what he said. He thought she needed to be comforted? By him, a random stranger? Please.
"Listen, thief, I know you all think I've gone soft, but I assure you, that's not the case. I don't need someone like you to make me feel better if I get a boo-boo, and I certainly don't need you to protect me. I've always been on my own, and I'll stay that way, thank you," she replied haughtily.
Leaving Robin stunned, she primly rose and walked off.
This was going to be harder than he thought.
A/N: Hope you guys liked this chapter, I know it was a little short, but I wanted to get through this set-up stuff quickly so we could get to the drama and all that good stuff hehe. Next time, we're back to the Enchanted Forest to see how it all began :) :) :)
