Trigger warning for description of assault/attempted rape.

Thank you to my lovely beta, Galxychld without whom I could not do this.

"You weren't kidding when you said the day starts early," she heard from behind her in a gravelly voice.

She grinned and without turning moved to the cabinet to take out a mug. "How do you take your coffee?" she asked as she was already pouring.

"A lot of cream, a little sugar," he told her.

She took a moment to add his cream and sugar before turning to him to hand him the cup and paused when she saw him sitting at the island with his head in his hands. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt and his arms were…he had really good arms. She shook herself a bit and set the coffee in front of him.

He looked at the cup, then looked up to her. "Bless you," he said fervently, before picking it up to take a sip.

She shook her head. "You could have slept in a bit. The drive from Boston isn't a short one. You must be exhausted."

"My son is up, I'm up…it's the rule of parenting." He glanced to the dining room where his son and Henry were finishing up breakfast.

"I can keep an eye on him. You should rest a bit more."

"Regina, I'm here to protect you, I can hardly ask for free babysitting."

"You didn't ask," she said with some annoyance. "And it's not as if you can be with me twenty-four hours a day."

He only stared at her.

Her eyes widened. "You are not planning to be with me twenty-four hours a day are you?"

"When you are not here in the house? Yes, I need to be with you. I don't plan on being right on your heels, but Regina, something could happen in a moment and it's my job to make sure that it doesn't."

She shook her head. "So…what…you're just going to follow me everywhere?"

"When you are here in the house you are free to all the space you need to have, as long as I am here with you, but when you're out, Regina…at the stables, the store. You shouldn't be alone." She only stared at him, looking horrified. He sighed. "I know your privacy is being intruded on and I am going to do my absolute best to not be a bother and I don't want to drive you crazy but it's…"

"For my safety" she interrupted in annoyance. She was angry…not at him, but certainly at the son of a bitch who felt so free to invade her life this way.

"I'm told I'm quite easy to get along with," he said mildly, flashing a smile to ease the tension in the room.

Rolling her eyes she muttered "I'm sure" and turned to rinse her coffee mug in the sink. "There's cereal in the cabinet, I didn't make breakfast this morning. I usually don't on Saturdays."

"I don't expect you to cook for me either."

She turned and pinned him with a look. "What exactly do you expect from me?"

He sighed. He knew she was angry at the intrusion on her life, angry and scared. "I expect you to cooperate with me, help me do my job…help me protect you and your boy. Don't go off by yourself without letting me know. Regina…this is a working relationship, but I don't see any reason we can't be friends through it. So maybe you can give me a chance to not only protect you, but to be your friend. I think our time together will go much smoother if you're not constantly annoyed with me."

"You seem to think pretty highly of your social capabilities," she scoffed, but it was said with a slight upturn to her lips.

He laughed and leaned back in his seat. "I have quite the winning personality."

She shook her head and fought back a small smile. "And so modest."

He moved his hands behind his head and watched her. "I predict you already like me."

There were those muscles again, those plus the dimples on his cheeks and the amusement in his blue eyes, a reminder that he was a very attractive man. She found herself wondering what muscles the shirt was hiding beneath it. Yes, she was looking, and why not? she mused. He would be living here for the near future. She might as well get a small bit of enjoyment from it. It had been quite a while since she'd had a gorgeous man sitting in her kitchen. "It's not as if I have much choice."

"True," he conceded. "You are stuck with me for a bit."

"I suppose your adorable son sweetens the deal a little."

He nodded. "Speaking of my adorable son, I was thinking I would like to get him enrolled in a preschool program. Do you know of anything around here?"

She nodded considering. "There are a couple. I think there are a few churches that offer preschool, but there's also a place in town that opened a couple of years ago." She pursed her lips. "I could show you around town on Monday, and we could stop and talk with some of them."

He smiled. "I would like that…thank you."

"Sure," she said softly, and then she stared at him for a moment and began to feel a bit awkward. Yes, she had decided to attempt to enjoy the fact that there was a very handsome man in her kitchen but…what the hell did she do with him? She cleared her throat. "Um…I should probably get the boys dressed so we can get out to the stables." He nodded and started to stand, but she put a hand to his arm. "I'll take care of Roland. Sit down…eat."

"Regina you don't have to…"

"I know I don't, but I'm offering. Eat, finish your coffee. I'll take care of the boys and meet you back here. We can all go to the stables together."

"Do you have chores for me too?" he teased.

"If you're out there, you will likely get put to work." She gave him a cheeky smile.

"Mucking out stalls?" he grinned.

"Probably," she retorted as she raised a brow in challenge.

"Can't wait."

She huffed at his flippant remark, but found herself fighting a small smile. She was looking forward to seeing if he was more than just a pretty face.

Working on a horse farm was more physical work then he realized, and Regina breezed through it. He was slightly embarrassed that she managed to muck out two stalls by the time he had finished his first one. He glanced back to find her holding some device and explaining it to Roland. She bent to retrieve something else and he couldn't help but watch for another moment.

She had hay on her ass, and a fine ass it was. Her jeans fit snuggly and displayed that particular…asset quite well. She had her hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and her face was makeup free today. He thought she was even more beautiful without it. She let out a laugh at something Roland said that he couldn't quite make out. It was a lovely sound, full and rich, and he found himself smiling that his son was able to pull it out of her despite the situation she currently found herself.

And perhaps it wasn't the best idea to be checking out his new employer, but he had blood in his veins, for God's sake, and she was an incredibly gorgeous woman.

He turned back to his task, feeling a bit proud that he'd managed to catch up with her in mucking out the stalls. (Granted it was only because his son had distracted her, but he would still allow himself this small sense of accomplishment.) The stable was fairly large. It housed ten stalls in all, eight of which were currently filled. They had released most of the horses into the paddock when they first arrived, a task that Roland had taken to with glee. He was already talking about lessons and wondering when he would be ready to ride one.

One of the horses belonged to Henry. Prince was his name, and Regina explained that Henry was fully responsible for his up keep. He was a beautiful black horse with a white stripe down his nose. She'd introduced them to two others, the ones he had seen the day before. Daisy, the sweet chestnut mare that had he had seen riding around one of the children. The other, the one who looked as if there were paint splattered on his back, was Pebbles. The others, Regina had explained, were rescues, who already were or would be placed for adoption once they had been rehabilitated.

"How's it going?" He looked up from his work to see her peering over the stall door.

"Just lovely." He studied her for a moment before gesturing to the stall. "Do you do all of this by yourself?"

"On the weekdays I have Anna and Belle to help me, but on the weekends it's just Henry and I," she answered.

"Seems a lot of work for just two people…one of them being ten."

She grinned. "Wanting to quit already?"

"Never." he grinned back. "Just making an observation. It's actually not bad, although I suspect there will be no need for me to visit a gym while I'm here with you. It's quite a work out."

"You will probably be sore tomorrow morning."

He looked at her in mock offense. "I'll have you know that I am in quite good shape already."

"Yes, I can see that." She said then cleared her throat as her cheeks flushed, a bit embarrassed when he raised a brow at her statement. "But doing this work you will use muscles you never knew you had."

"I'm figuring that out as well."

The smile fell from her face. "Mary Margaret is going to get the boys in an hour. I can take you on the tour of the property then. We can pack a lunch, since it will take most of the day."

Robin's eyes widened. "Most of the day?"

She nodded. "We have 108 acres."

His mouth dropped slightly. "You're kidding." He looked around despite the fact they were in the stables and he couldn't actually see the land. "Who in the hell mows the lawn?"

Her lips turned up at the corners, and to her slight surprise she felt like laughing. "Our landscaper is Leroy, but most of it's wooded. We have several trails in the woods…I assumed you would want to see them all."

He stood and scratched absently at his belly where sweat was running down. "I do," he told her. "I just had no idea the property was so large." He glanced at the horses warily. "I don't suppose we can walk all of that."

She let out a loud laugh, and the sound was surprising…and lovely. "Not if you want to finish by the end of the day." She grinned when he cast another wary glance at the horses. "You don't have to worry, I won't make your first riding lesson a full day trekking through the woods. We can take the ATV."

"Thank Christ."

She laughed again and shook her head, before turning to her next task.

No, Robin didn't find himself riding the trails with a one thousand pound beast between his legs. The predicament he currently found himself in instead found him with the very fine ass he'd been admiring earlier that morning wedged between them instead.

The perfect round ass of Regina Mills.

After they'd finished in the stables and Mary Margaret had come to pick up the boys both of them had managed a quick shower before heading to the garage that housed the farm's ATVs. He'd assumed they would take the side by side until Regina informed him some of the trails were very narrow and this one would work better. She'd strapped a rolled up blanket and a small cooler on the back rack, the rack he was halfway sitting on and holding on for dear life as she made her way up a steep incline. He tried to give her as much space as the ATV would allow, but with the cooler strapped behind him, it wasn't much, and with every bump he seemed to slide forward. Regina had again pulled her hair into a pony tail that continually blew into his face as they rode. She smelled faintly of apples, something he found quite pleasant, and also a bit distracting because as it was all of his senses were filled now with her.

Perhaps the horse would have been better. He winced as they hit another bump and her ass seemed to settle even more snuggly into his legs. Ok, not better, but certainly safer, despite the fact that he likely would have ended up flat on his back and trampled by a very large animal…yes, still safer.

He cursed himself. He would not…would not lust after his employer…the woman he was here to protect for Christ's sake! What in the hell was wrong with him? In the next few hours she would be sharing with him one of the worst days of her life and he was fighting not to get a hard on while riding behind her on a four wheeler.

Fuck! She was going to fire him. Why did she have to be so bloody gorgeous anyway?

He bit the inside of his cheek, attempting to focus on the land around them, his one saving grace the discomfort of the rack under his own ass. He tried to shift his mind to focusing on his task. What he saw was a security nightmare. There were hundreds of places a person could hide out here. It was nothing but woods for miles. The trails were fairly extensive and it would be easy to avoid detection. According to Regina, their property line backed up to more woods owned by the neighboring farms. It would be impossible to set up security to monitor everything.

"What?" he leaned in after hearing Regina attempt to say something to him.

"There's a clearing up here by the creek," she repeated over her shoulder. "We can stop there for lunch."

"Great." It would certainly be a relief to be off this thing for a while.

When they finally came to a stop he winced as he climbed off the back rack and rubbed at his aching ass and legs. He glanced up to find her removing the blanket from the rack with an amused look on her face.

"What?" he asked.

"Wishing we had taken the horses?"

"If we had you'd likely be waiting for an ambulance about now instead of sitting down to lunch," he told her, removing the cooler as she spread the blanket for them.

She stood with a hand on her hip as a grin spread across her lips. "You could drive for a bit if you would like. The front part of the seat is much more comfortable." He looked at her as if she had two heads and she laughed. "The next stretch we will be riding on follows the creek and is fairly flat. It's a good place to learn. You'll be fine."

"You would literally be putting your life in my hands," he said warily.

"Aren't I doing that anyway?" she said with some seriousness, raising one perfectly sculpted brow.

He looked her straight in the eye and nodded. "I suppose you are," he conceded. "But at least when it comes to security I know what the hell I'm doing." He gestured back to the ATV. "This monstrosity…" He trailed off and left it at that.

"I'll teach you," she told him, that amused smile back on her face. "You'll be fine. You need to learn how to get around the farm anyway, and if you have no intention of riding a horse…this will have to do."

"If you say so." He took a seat beside her on the blanket as she opened up the cooler.

"I hope you like chicken salad. I made some this morning." She pulled out a container with several croissants.

"I do." He chose one. "Thank you."

She nodded. "I packed water and soda."

"Water please," he requested. She handed him a bottle and then took one for herself.

He bit into his sandwich and made an appreciative sound in the back of his throat. "And she's good with food as well. Tell me, is there anything you can't do?"

She have him a wry smile. "I was never a very good dancer, Mary Margaret managed to win several competitions."

"Not you though?" he asked, smiling.

"I didn't have much use for it. I preferred to be outside in the air."

They ate in companionable silence for a while before he spoke again. "Can you give me some idea of where we are in relation to the closest town?"

She nodded and gestured down the creek towards the left. "That way is the road," and then pointed straight ahead. "Town is several miles this way." Her hand swung to the right. "There is a farm quite a ways this way and another on the other side of our property."

"Is there any way we could set up some type of monitor along the trails closest to town?"

"You think he's walking from town?" she asked? "It's a bit of a hike. It would take all night and half of the next day."

"I think it's more likely he has something like this thing," he said as he gestured back towards the ATV. "If what you believe is true and he's someone you met in Lexington, then he's not local. He would need someplace to park his car where it wouldn't be suspicious. He likely parks, has one of these things stashed somewhere and rides in on the trails, far enough away that the neighboring homes can't hear the engine. He would park somewhere along the trail and hike the rest of the way to your home."

She swallowed and shook her head. "Even cars parked in town would be noticed. Everything closes early around here."

"Not if he had a room at a side of the road motel, or parked at a beer joint somewhere."

And yes, just as she'd observed the night before, he was good at his job. She took a drink of water. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why did you leave the Boston Police? You're a good detective. I can see that."

He nodded and took a breath. "Back in May my partner and I were doing a sweep of a neighborhood. We were still in the asking questions phase, didn't even have a suspect yet. Turns out one of the doors we knocked on just happened to be the home of the perpetrator. He panicked when he saw us, open fired. Got me here." He pointed to his left shoulder. "A few inches lower it would have been my heart. I managed to call it in on my radio before I lost consciousness. While I laid there, the only thought in my mind was Roland, and that if I died he wouldn't have either of his parents."

Regina looked down for a moment. "Your partner?"

"Will," he told her, his voice suddenly gravelly. "Pronounced dead on the scene. Best cop I've ever had the pleasure of working with. Left behind a wife and daughter."

She felt tears prick her eyes at the pain she could hear in his voice. "I'm sorry."

He nodded. "After…I wanted to go back, but I couldn't get it out of my mind…what it would mean to Roland if he lost me. He wouldn't have been alone, my sister of course would take care of him, but…"

"It wouldn't be you."

"It wouldn't be me." He nodded. "The thing is…I'm meant to be a cop. It's who I am, and it's all I know. I worked so hard to get where I was, so now that I'm not there anymore, well, I'm still feeling my way a bit."

She understood that as well. It wasn't so long ago she'd had to pick up her own life and start over. "You mentioned you have a sister. Is she still in England?"

He looked at her in confusion for a moment before he realized…yes, his accent! Often it was hard for him to remember he wasn't a native Bostonian. It was there after all that he felt his real life began, at least the good parts of it. "Ah, no, she's actually never lived in England. She's a photographer…a very good photographer, and off in…India, I believe, photographing some archaeological dig. She's brilliant, even managed to get a spread in National Geographic."

She smiled. "You're proud of her."

"Very," he smiled with some affection at the thought of his sister. He missed her terribly, but…she was living her dream and he couldn't be happier about that.

"Have the two of you always been close?"

"Yes…well since we met anyway." She raised her brow in question. "Long story short, I didn't know her until I was nineteen. She's my half-sister through my father. I didn't know about her until my mother passed and I found some letters she had written to my father asking for help. Her mother passed away when she was twelve and she'd wound up in the foster system in this country. Needless to say my father was a real bastard. We fought, I made up my mind to move here and that's how I found myself in a community college in Boston and raising a fourteen-year old girl."

"You took in your fourteen-year-old sister when you were nineteen?" she said with some surprise.

"Well, I couldn't just leave her there with no family and alone. I worked full-time and took classes part-time…we made it work somehow. Not that she wasn't a major pain in the ass sometimes." His lips turned up at the corners. "Still is, come to think of it."

Regina studied him and was almost in awe. This man had taken in his sister and raised her when he'd still been mostly a kid himself. He'd given up the college dream of partying and fraternities in order to give his sister a better life and a chance. It was then she knew she'd chosen the right man for this job. He wasn't only a good cop and a good detective. He was a good man. She swallowed. "You said last night that you had seen a couple of cases like mine…"

"A few."

"And?" She wanted to know.

"And when it gets to the point that yours has…did…that night in your home in Lexington…" He didn't want to scare her more then she already was, but he had to be honest. "He's not likely to stop until he's caught."

She let out a breath. "I keep going over it all in my mind. I keep trying to think of everyone I met around the time the notes started. I keep racking my brain trying to figure out what in the hell I did to make this man think…" She looked up at him when he laid a hand on her arm.

"There is your first mistake," he told her. "You didn't do anything. Regina, people like this man, there is something broken in their minds. They don't think like a normal person. The smallest thing…you saying hello or smiling at him, the way you do with any average person in the course of your day, can set him on a course of delusion. He begins imagining you have an interest and before you know it he believes himself to be in a relationship with you. He begins to think of you as his. He builds up a complete fantasy in his mind and when something happens, when you don't go along with that fantasy, he snaps and becomes violent. The first thing I want you to know, and I want you to remember this, is that none of this is your fault. There is nothing you could have done to stop this from happening, and there is nothing you could have changed."

She looked down at his hand on her arm, and it was strange because essentially he was a complete stranger to her, but somehow she knew that she could trust him. He removed his hand and immediately she felt the loss of the warmth and small comfort it had offered. She let out another long breath and twisted the napkin in her hands. "The first note I received didn't seem like a big deal. It just said that I was beautiful…and there was a single red rose with it. I threw them both away. I've never been a particular fan of roses in any case, and while I did think it was harmless, it still seemed a little…creepy."

"Those messages went on for a while?"

She nodded. "Probably about eight months. The letters he wrote to me began to get longer and more…detailed. He talked about making me his forever, in some he listed things that-" She broke off and swallowed hard, and then looked down.

"Regina" he said quietly, and when she looked up at him with a storm of emotion in her dark eyes, he felt a sudden rush of anger at this bastard who had invaded her life. "You're safe now." He took a chance and laid his hand on hers. He fully expected her to pull away, but to his surprise she studied their hands for a moment, and he felt pleased when she let his hand rest where it was.

"In some of them," she continued, "he listed things he wanted to do to me." She shuddered and continued. "There were periods of time where I wouldn't receive a message from him for a few weeks and I would begin to think he'd given up, but there another one would come. Other times I would receive three of them in a week. I contacted the police when they began to get more threatening. They told me there was nothing they could do unless they knew who he was. The state has anti-stalking laws, but they have to know who the person is and it has to be proven. They suggested I set up a security camera to see if we could get footage of him." She shook her head, "I did, but he rarely left things at my home after that. Instead he began leaving things outside the office door addressed to me, or on my car, on the neighbor's driveway…once he even left something at a client's house. It was waiting on the doorstep when I arrived. He knew everything I did, every place I went, my schedule…where I would be on certain days…everything."

"When did his messages turn violent?" he asked while gently rubbing his thumb over her hand.

"A friend of mine from college…Archie…had moved to Lexington a few months before. He's a therapist and we saw each other at a team meeting for a DCS case we had in common. A little girl who I had been seeing for years and had contacted DCS several times was finally removed from the home. Archie was assigned as her therapist. He asked me to dinner, to get some history on the case and catch up…I hadn't seen him for years. We had a nice evening, and then he took me home and I had him in for coffee. We ended up talking late into the night, catching up on each other's lives, talking about our college days. The next morning I went to the office for a few minutes to get some paperwork, and when I came back out to my car there was another message waiting for me. This time the rose had been spray-painted black and the message was just one word…whore."

"You said Archie had recently moved to Lexington…was it before all of this started?"

"No, after," she answered.

"Regina, I have to ask…"

"It's not Archie." she interrupted him. "He's not interested in me in that way."

"How can you be sure of that? If he came to your house that night expecting a connection or…"

"I'm sure because Archie is gay." she interrupted, and Robin's eyebrows went up. "I was one of the first people he came out to in college and he's engaged to a doctor he met at a conference here in Lexington…hence the reason he moved here."

"I see." Well, there went his first suspect.

"After that night, though, his messages to me were violent. He was angry that I could betray him, angry that I would give someone else what belonged to him and only him. Every letter mentioned betrayal."

"Was there ever anyone in this time that didn't feel right to you? Someone you ran into a bit too often? Someone who seemed to know a bit more about your life then they should?" he asked.

"I have been over and over it my mind…I can't think of anyone I met just before this started happening that could be…I've racked my brain, Robin. I honestly have no idea."

He squeezed her hand gently. "Can you tell me about that night? Everything you saw and heard that night is important."

She shook her head while she released his hand and wrapped her arms around her knees. "But that's the problem. I didn't see his face…I have nothing to offer there."

"His build, his voice…all of it is important, Regina. His face is helpful, yes, but we can certainly narrow down the possibilities with anything else you can remember. Can you walk me through it?"

She licked her lips and took in a breath.

"Henry had gone off to camp the day before. It had been a long day. I came home like I always did, locked the door behind me and turned off the alarm."

"Where was the alarms system located?"

"The living room wall, next to the kitchen."

"What happened next?" He attempted to read her face, but found her expression too stoic to reveal anything.

"I went into the kitchen. Like I said, it had been a hard day. I wanted a glass of wine. He came up behind me while I was pouring. He grabbed me from behind…I fought, I kicked, tried to make him lose his grip on me. When he stumbled I turned and hit him with the wine bottle, then I ran. I hit the panic button on the alarm on my way to the door. I was pulling the door open when he caught up to me, and that time he got my hair with one hand and lifted me. I was screaming, fighting to get my arms free…I…it all happened so fast. I can't remember everything, how it all happened but somehow he'd managed to get me down the hall and into the bedroom."

She was trembling, and Robin found himself desperately wanting to take her in his arms and comfort her. But aside from the unaccountably strong reaction, he also knew, from the many witnesses he'd interviewed as a cop, that she would more than likely be more frightened than helped by doing that. So he stilled his impulse and continued the questions in a gentle, steady tone.

"Was he large? Did he speak?"

She shook her head. "Not yet. He was…average height, I'm pretty sure, but strong. He pinned me to the bed. He had…He had brought rope with him, and he pulled it from his pocket. He was talking, but I was screaming…it was dark and I just kept screaming…" Her eyes were wide and haunted, and Robin inwardly cursed the man that had done this to her.

"Regina," he said in a soothing voice and pulled her from the memories for a moment. "Can you focus on what he was saying? His voice?"

She shook her head and rubbed at her wrists as if to erase the marks that were no longer there. "He…told me something like…we were meant to be together and he was going to show me, and then my hands were tied to the headboard…I couldn't move and he was…it was dark, just shadows, he had a mask and it was dark and his hands were…he was touching me." Her breathing increased and she rubbed harder at her wrists. Robin dared to gently grasp one hand, his fingers under hers, and tugged slightly to bring her focus back to him.

"You're safe now, Regina…you are safe here," he said softly. "I need you to focus on his voice, only his voice."

She looked at him, searched his eyes and saw strength there…felt the strength of his fingers with hers, the gentle strength with no feeling of possession…she was safe, she told herself, she was safe in this time and with Robin. She breathed in slowly and exhaled, and did it again. She was safe. She closed her eyes and listened. "He's talking softly, saying he loves me, that I will see that I'm his, I will always be his."

"Have you heard his voice before?" Robin prodded gently.

"I…" She shook her head but kept her eyes closed and focused on her breathing. "I love you Regina…I have always loved you." And that voice…she'd…where had she heard his voice? She took in a hitching breath. "Yes, I've heard his voice before."

"Can you place where?"

She shook her head. I have always loved you, Regina. She bit the inside of her lip. "I don't know…but it's familiar. I know I've heard it before." She opened her eyes and looked at Robin again. "He said he's always loved me."

Robin nodded and that statement alone told him something. "What happened next?"

"Nothing…he stopped. I heard the sirens." She shook her head. "He said we weren't finished and then he was gone."

"Thank you for telling me Regina," he said quietly. He let go of her hand, and she nodded.

She then shook her head again, squinting in the sunlight, the bright light of the day contrasting the darkness that has continually tried to overtake her since this all began. "I don't know what good it did. I never saw his face, and can't remember where I heard his voice. I'm not sure what you know now that you didn't know from those reports."

"In the reports it was never stated that he said he has always loved you. This isn't someone you met just before this, Regina, but I will wager someone you have known for quite a while," he explained.

And somehow that was even more disconcerting…someone she has known for a while. "I know a lot of people. I'm not sure how that helps."

"It helps because we have a place to start. Eliminating strangers, bringing it down to men you know, helps a great deal. And once we can cross out those who could be accounted for at the time, we will be even closer to finding him," he said, and chanced placing his hand gently on her arm again. "We are going to get him."

She shook her head and looked back out over the creek, but again let his hand stay where it was. "We should probably be heading back. There are still a couple of trails to see."

"Ok," he agreed and stood. He offered a hand to help her up, and after a moment's hesitation she took it and he pulled her to her feet. "I will keep you and your boy safe, Regina, that is a promise," he told her again, but this time his words carried something deeper, something that felt more like a vow.

She searched his eyes and saw the honesty there…the truth of his words… and his determination that he would. "Since this all started it's felt like there is this…cloud of darkness that has followed me everywhere I go. It's always there, lurking. I just want it to be over."

"It will be…soon. We will figure it out together."

She nodded and watched as he bent to pick up the cooler. She didn't know why, but she trusted him fully. He would keep his word. He would keep her and Henry safe, and if anyone could manage to figure out who was doing this it was him. He was good at his job. That she could see, and so for the first time in over a year she felt the beginnings of hope blossom.

They both agreed to forgo his ATV lesson for today. She was no longer feeling in the teaching mood and Robin was anxious to get back and document his thoughts from the day. On the ride back to the house he didn't have the problems he'd had on the way out. Instead he found himself overwhelmed with fury for the man who had done this to her. For the man who had tried to snuff out the light of this beautiful and vibrant woman who had dedicated her life to helping children. She had a tough exterior…he suspected that there were many other things in her life that made her learn to be cautious with people aside from only this. He was thankful and honored she was allowing herself to trust him. He knew it wasn't something she did easily. What he saw when he looked at her was a kind, generous woman who simply wanted to live her life and no longer be afraid.

And that he could do, would do. He would make sure with absolute certainty that the darkness that haunted Regina Mills would be chased away. He would do whatever he had to do to get the son of a bitch who had tried to take her choice, her freedom and her spirit.

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