Chapter 3
They had driven to the police station in complete silence. Robin held Regina's hand and gently rubbed circles with his thumb. It was still unbelievable to Regina that something like this could have happened. How could she have let something like this happen to her child? He deserved more from her. She should have protected him from something like this. If they didn't find him, what would they do?
She knew Robin would tear apart the world to find him. That was something she was sure of in the depths of her soul. Sometimes that isn't enough though. You see it all the time, stories of children missing for years and their parents still trying to find them. The news doing a story on them once in a while to try to find new leads. How as a parent do you continue to breathe for all that time, not knowing what happened to your child?
Regina still was not feeling well, but she was doing everything she could to push down the nausea she was experiencing. All of the emotions running through her body were not helping and made the headache that came with her nausea that much worse. She just tried to take a deep breath to stay calm and maybe feel just a bit better. It was killing her being in a confined space, but she had no other ideas about where to go or what to do.
Once they arrived at the police station, Robin grabbed Roland from his booster seat in the back and carried him to the front door. Regina held his free hand as they walked and they could both feel the emotions radiating from the other.
The police station had extremely bright lights and it made Regina's pounding headache and nausea that much worse. Robin took one look at her and watched the color drain out of her face. "Regina, are you okay?" he asked as he put his hand on her lower back trying to provide what little comfort he could. She shook her head and found the nearest garbage can.
Regina felt her stomach churn violently before she began to vomit. She felt a presence behind her and knew it was Robin. He held her hair back for her and rubbed her back. When she felt like her stomach had nothing left, she straightened up and felt the world spin. Despite being incredibly dizzy, she managed to maintain her balance and not collapse to the floor. She also vaguely heard Robin asking for some water.
She took the water from Robin after an officer brought some over to them and he helped her over to a chair. "Regina, are you alright?" Robin asked as she took a sip of the water.
"I'll be okay. I still think I just have the stomach bug the boys both had last week. We need to focus on finding Henry." she told him.
Robin gave her a look. He knew she was feeling a lot worse than she was letting on. Her skin was extremely pale and she was shaky on her feet. He wanted to tell her to go home and rest until she was feeling better. After being together for so long though, Robin knew she would not rest until they found Henry. No matter how sick she was. He kissed the side of her head as she leaned on him to try to prevent the world from spinning.
A few minutes passed before a man in a grey suit approached them. He looked to be about their age with dark hair and light eyes that appeared to be haunted by the things they have seen. The man also bared an uncanny resemblance to their nanny's new boyfriend.
"Mr and Mrs Locksley, I'm Detective Rogers. I am one of the detectives in charge of finding your son. My partner Detective Weaver should be here momentarily." he said as he held out his hand to Robin and then to Regina.
"We wanted to interview you both to see if it can help us come up with a few leads and maybe a few suspects to go on. With everything going on at your home right now, we figured it would be easier to bring you both here and away from the chaos while officers continue searching your home and neighborhood for evidence. If you don't mind we wanted to talk to you separately. Regina, I can interview you and Detective Weaver can interview Robin. Speaking of which here he is now."
Weaver was much shorter and older than his partner. He had light brown hair and walked with a very subtle limp. He introduced himself to the couple and then led Robin away to his office as Rogers led Regina to his. Roland stayed with Regina. Robin may not be able to put both of their children in her arms right now, but he knew having Roland with her and knowing he was safe would provide her with some comfort.
"So, Mr. Locksley can you think of anyone who might want to hurt you or your family? An angry client or coworker, a neighbor who you've had a conflict with, or maybe even a mistress who is angry that you won't leave your family behind?" Weaver questioned.
"No, not that I'm aware of. I get along with everyone at work and always work diligently to reconcile any issues with clients. We get along with all of our neighbors and frequently have play dates with some of their kids. As for your thoughts about a mistress, you can wipe that theory from your mind. I am deeply and completely in love with my wife. She is the only woman I have been with since we started dating more than a decade ago and is the only one I have any desire to be with." Robin replied, getting a little defensive about what the detective was trying to insinuate.
"Oh come on, a successful and attractive man such as yourself, also has the fairytale family. I'm not sure I buy that. You wouldn't be the first man to declare his love for his wife and then we look into phone records or emails and find out about some other woman you've been seeing." Weaver was trying to get under his skin. Make sure there was nothing he was hiding.
"Feel free to look into my phone and email if it will help you find my son. I promise you that my wife is the only woman I am with. Regina is my soulmate and best friend. Don't get me wrong, we are not perfect by any means. We have our disagreements like any other couple, but we love and respect each other and our opinions. We are both willing to put in the work everyday to make our relationship stronger. She is an amazing wife and mother. Her and those 2 boys are my world. Please do not waste your time on useless theories that I am unfaithful to my wife as it only puts you further away from finding my son and wastes time we don't have to find him." Robin glared at him as he raised his voice a bit to try to make his point.
"Okay, okay. I have to push like this, everyone has things to hide and sometimes that is the key to finding someone. Why don't you tell me about your son." Weaver explained trying to get the interview back on track.
"He is amazing. Henry is smart and very resourceful for his age. He loves to adventure and learn about new things. He is the best big brother, watching him play with Roland and teach him things makes me incredibly proud. He is a bit introverted, but opens up quickly once he's comfortable. I could go on for hours, but I don't want to leave you here talking to me instead of trying to find my son." Robin replied.
"That is understandable. So I know Henry is adopted, but Roland is your biological son?" Robin nodded his in agreement with the statement. "Does a part of you think Roland is more your son than Henry?" Weaver pressed Robin.
"Absolutely not! It doesn't matter how they came to be my sons, they are both my children. I love them equally. Henry has brought so much joy to our world. Blood doesn't make a family, love does." Robin snapped back.
"Okay, I understand. I think that's all the questions I have for now, but I'll be in contact if we have more as the investigation continues. I want you to know that even though my questions may seem cruel, I will do everything I can to find your son and that may sometimes means asking uncomfortable questions." Weaver said.
Meanwhile in detective Roger's office..."Mrs. Locksley, I can't even begin to imagine how difficult all of this must be for you. I just want to ask you a few questions to see if we can uncover any other details that may help us find your son. So let's just start out with you telling me a little bit about your son." Rogers explained.
"Well, we adopted Henry when he was only a few days old. His biological mother wanted a closed adoption, so we know nothing about her. She requested absolutely no contact, which means we never met her and she doesn't get pictures or updates. He was a normal baby, hit all of his milestones, was always very content, and was super curious. Roland was a surprise. We didn't think we could get pregnant, which is why we adopted Henry. He was a fantastic big brother from the second he met Roland. He loved to teach him things and help me take care of him. It's been amazing to see the bond they have developed. Henry is doing great in school. He is an incredibly smart kid and loves to learn about the world around him. I swear sometimes he's smarter than Robin and I combined. I don't know if any of that helped." Regina felt like she was rambling and could feel the fresh tears rolling down her cheeks.
"So if it was a closed adoption, how did the mother chose you guys to be the parents?" Rogers questioned further.
"We submitted a profile. It had enough personal details for her to get to know us a bit, but nothing identifiable. The agency liked to maintain anonymity in case of a closed adoption to protect both the family and birth mother. It also helped to prevent people doing their own research and trying to figure out who we were by using the information in our profile to search for us online." Regina explained.
Roland was beginning to get antsy, so she gave him the truck she brought with her so he had something to play with.
"How is your relationship with your husband? Have you guys been having any problems recently?" Rogers hesitated with this question as it usually was a pretty sensitive topic.
"We are doing great. Robin is a better husband and father than I could have ever imagined. Of course we have arguments like any other married couple, but we work through it together. I hear some of the women at work talking about some of the things their significant others say and do and it just makes me that much more grateful for Robin." Regina replied.
"Okay, is there anything you can think of that was out of the ordinary in your lives recently? Something as simple as a car you don't recognize hanging around or someone who seemed a bit too interested in you or Henry while you were out and about?" Rogers questioned.
"No, not that I can think of. I've been racking my brain for anything to help you and there's nothing." Regina replied, she looked over to Roland and ran a hand through his hair.
"It's okay. Things may come to you in time, right now you're still in shock and that can make it hard to think straight. That's all the questions I have for now. If I have more, we'll be in contact. I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to find your son. If you have any questions or think of something that might help us feel free to contact me anytime. Here is my card in case something comes up." Rogers led Regina out of his office and found Robin waiting in a chair outside.
"I'm sorry this is happening to your family. I promise we are doing everything we can to find your son. They are done at your home so you can go back when you are ready. We will let you know the second we know anything useful so try to go home and get some rest." Rogers told the couple before leading them and Roland to the front doors.
Robin shook the detectives hand and picked Roland up. He led Regina back to the car and situated Roland in his seat. They drove in silence for a few moments before Regina turned to him.
"Did they ask you questions about us?" Regina asked him.
"Yeah, to the point where I kind of snapped at him. He kept pushing it and wouldn't believe that we were happily married." Robin responded, taking hold of her hand. "Sweetheart, we are going to find him. I promise you, he will be back in your arms." he tried to soothe her rubbing his thumb along her hand.
"You can't promise that. As much as I wish you could, the reality is so much of this is out of our control." Regina said dejectedly.
Robin pulled the car into the next driveway, which thankfully was a fairly deserted parking lot. He wanted to be able to look her in the eyes for what he said next. He gently placed his finger under her chin, tilting her head up to look into her eyes.
"Regina, my love I don't care about the odds or precedents in cases like this, I just have a feeling. We will find him. Even if the police give up, I will tear this world apart until I bring him home to you." his voice shook as he spoke and tears we're streaming down both of their cheeks. Robin wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs.
Regina took a deep breath and leaned across the center counsel in order to give Robin a tender kiss. Neither moved to deepen it, but their lips moved in a well rehearsed dance just trying to ground themselves in each other. "Okay." she whispered against his lips before pulling away.
Robin turned his attention back to driving and began the rest of the journey home. When they got home, they tried to fall back into their routine as best as possible. Regina made dinner and they ate as a family. Roland needed a bath so Robin offered to clean up dinner while Regina gave him a bath. When his bath was done, Robin took Roland to bed and read him a story. The boy quickly fell asleep after such a busy and out of ordinary day.
Once Robin got Roland to sleep for the night, he headed to his and Regina's bedroom. He found her curled up on their bed. It was clear she was crying and not sleeping. Robin stripped down to his boxers and crawled into bed behind her, pulling her into his arms the second he was situated. Neither of them slept that night, they just held each other as they both cried whispering comforting words to each other. They had to find him, they just had to.
Author's Note:
Sorry it took so long to update. I'm working on updates for all stories. The next chapter is partially written so it should be up a lot more quickly. Please let me know what you think in the comments.
