"Hmmmm," Robin rumbled, tightening his hold around Regina, slowly waking up to the birds chirping in the window, a bit of sunlight streaming in. He lay curled behind her, his nose burrowed in her hair and neck and he inhaled the light scent of Regina and her perfume, a combination of vanilla and amber, so her, so incredibly sexy. "What say you that we sleep in this morning, let Roland and Henry make their own breakfast?" he murmured into her ear, his lips deliciously nibbling, a hand under the covers to caress her torso and made quick work of her slip, sliding it up over her thighs and stomach. He reached bare skin and his hot hand settled there for a moment before gently stroking her awake.

Regina awoke slowly, to first the rumble in her ear, that whisky voice, so smooth and easy, his lips and teeth scoring and nibbling, then to the feel of his callous hand circling over her abdomen first through her slip and then under it as she felt him pull it out of his way. As much as he appreciated her nightgowns and lingerie, Robin could be very impatient when he wanted her. And she thought, shivering, this morning, he wanted her. She could feel him prodding her back, long and hungry. "I haven't slept-in in ages," she murmured sleepily. "This will be a treat."

He leaned over her and kissed her, their mouths meeting and not for the first time, Regina's breath caught at the shock she felt now that her heart was back in its rightful place. It had only been fitting that he put it back, considering he owned it. "I…love you," she whispered achingly, the words sticking in her throat, bursting from her heart, but she wanted to say them anyway. He needed to know what he meant to her, a second chance at happiness, at love.

"Regina…after my wife died, for the longest time, I thought I'd never be happy. Roland was the only thing that got me through the day. And then I got entrapped by this curse and met this most amazing woman," he said with a smile, his eyes flitting over her face, taking in the curves, the softness of her eyes, the vulnerability there. A hand came over her face and he braced himself against the pillow next to her head, propping himself up and over her. A thumb began to softly stroke her brow and Regina resisted closing her eyes at the gentle touch. "She was brash and infuriating and nothing I'd ever have expected for myself, but I found myself falling….falling for her. So guarded and closed off."

"I had to be," Regina protested and he cut her off with a kiss.

"I know, love, which is why I worked so hard to get under your skin," he said with a nip to her lower lip. "And slowly I began to get to know you and the Regina beneath the hard outer shell is this incredibly beautiful, vulnerable….sexy woman," he teased and kissed her deeply for one breathless second. "That worked her way into my heart. Into my son's heart. I do love you, Regina, more than words could express."

Regina's heart leapt in her chest and began to hammer. Because here was everything she had ever wanted in one man. Gentle and sweet. Funny and infuriating, keeping her on her toes. Tender and loving with a little boy who had captured her heart. Who would have thought a woman like her could deserve such a man? She pulled herself up to kiss him, overcome by emotion, her heart so full it felt it would burst. They kissed and her tongue tangled with his languidly, no rush. Not now. She sighed into his mouth and felt his hands against her skin, urging her gown over her head. Closing her eyes, she teasingly inched it up and over her head, the black satin obscuring her vision, and dropped it haphazardly on the floor.

"Robin," she whispered, eyes still closed, her heart full to bursting with love and reached for him. Reached and found empty air.

Regina opened her eyes.

To nothing. Confused, she blinked and looked around the room. Where was Robin? He was right—

And then it sunk in. And memories of last night came rushing in and she remembered. He was with Marian. Wherever he was, she was with him. Because she was his wife. And because he had chosen her, because who wouldn't choose the love of their life?

Pain crashed over her again so swiftly, so jarringly, that for a moment, Regina forgot and reached for her heart to rip it out. But it wasn't in her chest. Her eyes alighted on the box glowing faintly on her dresser. Tears sprung to her eyes and a sob wrenched its way up and out. How could it be out of her chest and she still felt this intense, sharp ache inside? How much worse could it be if she kept her heart? She couldn't take this kind of pain. She'd not felt it so deeply since Daniel's death and she couldn't handle a repeat of that. Not if she wanted to try to be good for Henry. For her son, the only true love of her life. He'd never leave her.

Regina leaned over the bed and snatched her gown off the floor, padded to the hamper and tossed it in. A shower was what she needed. A shower. To get dressed. Go into the forest (away from Robin and his men) and find the ingredients for her potion. And then she'd drink it. And everything would go back to normal. If this was love, she thought darkly as she finished stripping and started the shower on hot, she wanted no part of it. Not ever. Again.


"Hey, mom, what happened to mom last night? I saw her for a bit and then she took off," Henry asked and then yawned, slipping into the booth at Granny's for breakfast. Red brought over glasses of orange juice for both of them and left to place their orders, which had never changed in the three years they'd been in Storybrooke. Emma and Henry had decided to eat there instead of going back to Emma's parents' home so they could have some alone time with her little brother. Which, Emma thought, it will be interesting to explain why there's a 30-year gap between my birth and Neal's.

Emma took a deep breath and let it out, guilt hitting her ferociously. She couldn't catch a break. "I brought back someone from the past into our future that I shouldn't have." She took a deep breath, glancing at the suspicious look on his face. "Maid Marian."

Unfortunately for Emma, Henry had just taken a sip of juice and sprayed it all over her in surprise, his eyes wide with shock. "You did WHAT?!"

"How was I to know?" Emma defended herself, a load of guilt heaped on her shoulders. "She was going to die. Regina was going to kill her. I couldn't let an innocent person die."

"Mom, rule one of time travel, or did you not pay attention when we watched Back to the Future, NEVER change anything! I guess you didn't think to ask her name did you?" he accused, upset and sad for his mom.

"I saw that movie a million times as a kid, so don't talk to me about it. I didn't think it would make a difference. Obviously I was wrong," she said, remorse written in her face.

"Mom, do you understand what this means? Regina was dating Robin Hood. She loves him. You just took away her happy ending," Henry blamed and scooted out of the booth.

"Where are you going, kid?" Emma asked, alarmed her son was walking away.

"I'm going to check on my mom, since no one else has thought to," he bit back and stalked out.