In which Tink makes an appearance.

I feel embarrassed to even say sorry, it's been so long, but I've been struggling with some rl issues. I'll keep writing until I complete this though, no matter how long it takes.

This chapter features flashbacks. They are written in italic and marked by break lines.

Again, any mistakes are mine. No beta.


Having just tidied up the place, making sure to leave the latest editions of his favorite comic books on his nightstand, Regina needed only await his arrival - something she had been doing for a while now.

Regina took one look at his room and smiled. Lately she had been fearing it would no longer be used, that all she could take out of it now were the memories of putting him to sleep every night for ten years, tucking him in and telling him stories.

The last time she thought Henry wanted to be with her and needed her to take care of him, she had been slapped on the face: it turned out to be Pan in his body, and he only wanted a sleep over to come across her magic. Now, her son really wanted to spend time with her. Contemplating the idea caused her eyes to sting.

A few minutes had gone by and still no sign of Henry - she kept drawing her eyes back and forth from the door. Growing restless, Regina tapped her fingers on the hardwood table and realized checking her watch every other second wouldn't make him get there faster. She stood up and started pacing about anxiously.

That's when it happened.

Apart from the faint tick of the clock in the distance, it was quiet and still inside the house. Except for this new-coming disturbance.

Something had changed in the atmosphere. It was so quiet she could hear her ears ringing, and it felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed the sparkly green smoke twirl about, and what it brought with it. Something that had happened to her before, a long time ago. The bodily form emerged from what had just been mere smoke: Tinkerbell.

Unlike the last time, though, she didn't have a smile on her face; rather, an inconsolable pained expression.

"What do you think you are doing?" Regina said angrily. "Breaking into my castle back in the Enchanted Forest wasn't enough?"

The fairy didn't have time for technicalities, and she deliberately ignored what Regina had just said. Regina looked displeased and Tinkerbell knew immediately it wasn't because she was there; it was because she hadn't been.

"I came as soon as I learned," she tried to explain, to no apparent avail.

Regina sighed. "Am I supposed to know what you're babbling about?" needing to talk about it didn't mean she wanted to.

"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about," Tink countered.

She did. But dwelling on it was the last thing she wanted. It hurt enough already as it was.

"What happened?" the fairy approached her.

"I don't know what to tell you," said Regina sincerely.

"Regina, come on. You need to talk about this. Or else it will eat you alive," Tink was truly concerned for her.

Why had she let her walls down? She was stupid. A stupid little child with foolish hopes and dreams. Perhaps preventing light to get into her heart was her best option, at least it wouldn't hurt as much as it did now. The years should have taught her that, she thought bitterly. If she had been stronger this wouldn't be happening to her in the first place.

"It's OK, Regina. You can be honest with me. I hope you know that," Tink said.

Regina's lips twitched. She couldn't articulate what she was feeling. Where would she even begin?

"You have nothing to be ashamed of. It's OK to be sad, or even mad, that this happened to you."

"I never should have pursued this. I should have learned by now." Villains don't get happy endings.

"Tell me," Tink's eyes searched hers.

"What did I do wrong this time, Tink? I know I haven't always chosen the best approach to get the things I wanted. But I thought-," she paused. She had lost Daniel, pledged revenge on the girl that had caused her that loss, and killed her own father in her attempt for success. She had terrorized and killed a lot of innocent people, and tried to trick children into loving her by separating them from their own parents. "-I thought I had paid the price for that already." She laughed at the absurdity. There was no making up for the things she had done. Freeing the others of the burden of her existence would, possibly.

Tinkerbell was taken by empathy. "You didn't do anything wrong," the defeat visible in the woman standing next to her. "Some things are just too complicated, but-,"

"Or maybe they're not supposed to be," Regina interrupted.

"Regina, no!" Tink said exasperated.

Inside here lies the beginning of your happy ending. All the pain in your past will be just that, the past. This is your chance at love and happiness. A fresh start, no baggage. You can let go of all the anger that weighs you down. Go get him. Tink had not just said that. She had meant every word and she knew, for a fact, the prophecy would come to pass. She felt miserable, however. It wasn't fair. No heart was built to withstand so much pain without breaking.

"I'm so weak," Regina whispered, unable to prevent Tink from listening.

"No, Regina. You are not. Contrary to what you've been told your whole life, love is not weakness. Don't give up."

"Is it your personal goal to see me miserable? I did what you told me to. I was naive enough to believe I actually had a chance at-," Regina stopped mid-sentence.

"I want nothing but to see you happy, Regina. That is all I have always wanted. But you've got to help yourself. I understand what you're going through but, please, believe me when I say this, he is your destiny. He is your-,"

"Don't say soulmate."

"But he is."

Regina scoffed. "There is no such thing."

"You know there is and you know he is it. You felt it. There is nothing more powerful than that."

"Well, it seems there is. Fate, destiny, bad luck, call it what you want. He's back with his family. Back with his wife. I know how much he loves her."

"But he also got over her."

Regina shook her head.

"You don't have to be so brave all the time, you know?"

"Yes, because the alternative is so much better," she said.

Tink took Regina's hands in hers and squeezed it. "I'm really, really sorry, Regina. But, please, all I ask is for you to give yourself a chance. This setback is not the end."

"Tink, let this one go."

She would't insist for now, but there was no way she was giving up.


The New York talk had made Regina really edgy. Emma's reaction only confirmed what she suspected: she wanted to take Henry back to that place. She withdrew herself, standing by the counter as far as she could from the tables. The glass she held almost broke beneath the angered grip of her fingers.

She didn't have to turn to notice his invariable comforting presence.

"Hey," his voice was calm. He leaned in close to her. "How are you doing? You OK?"

"No," he knew the anger in her voice wasn't directed at him.

Robin knew how sensitive Regina was when it came to the subject Henry. He had been a constant in their relationship ever since they met, and Robin knew nothing would break her more than to be torn from her son again. That year had already been enough. He put his hand on the back of her tensed neck. "You wanna go for a walk?"

She merely put her glass down and walked towards the door, Robin following close.

She rushed past him as if she were in a hurry to get somewhere. He couldn't help but smirk. He picked up his pace to catch up with her. "I suggested going for a walk, not a marathon."

She didn't seem very amused by it.

He blocked her passage by putting himself in front of her. She threw him a death glare which he found rather endearing. "Hey, come on. Talk to me."

She just looked at him, anger metamorphosing into insecurity.

"What is bothering you?"

"You know," she stammered.

"Yes, but I want you to tell me," he grasped her hand in his.

It wasn't easy for Regina, opening up. Her past had played an important part in doing so. Robin understood. Back when she did want to share her thoughts it was likely no one wanted to listen to what she had to say. But that had changed now. He wanted to make sure she knew that.

"Henry is not going anywhere. You know that." His thumb brushed at her jawline.

"What makes her think she has the right to take him away from me?" she leaned into his touch, ever so slightly.

"That's not gonna happen," his tone was comforting.

"Her mind seemed pretty set," she scoffed.

Robin gently nudged her from the the main passage into a small, secluded street. She appreciated the gesture as she too was uninterested in prying eyes.

"Emma might want to move to New York, but that doesn't mean it is going to happen," Robin reassured, his firm grip never faltering. "Henry is finally home. Why would he want to leave?"

"I'm not so sure he feels that way," her worries clouded her judgment.

"What? That this is home? Sure he does. You know he does," he said with a caring demeanor.

"Robin," she searched his face, lost. "What if that's what makes him happy?"

"It's not."

"But what if it is?"

He exhaled slowly. "If it were, you would make your decision based in what was best for him, because that is what you do. Having said that, that is not the case, Regina. Trust me, the boy loves you. He would never want to stay away from his mother."

She was starting to give in. It was something she could no longer hide, what she was feeling. Not only the fear of losing her son, but gratitude towards this newfound source of light and solace in her life. It felt good. To have someone to count on and even lean on.

"Emma said he really liked New York, that he had friends there," her voice betrayed her. "Maybe he'll have a better life there."

"Hey," he kissed the palm of her hand. "Take a deep breath. The best place for Henry is right here with you."

She exhaled deeply while he held her, letting the cool air wash over her.

Robin took her chin in one hand and brought her closer to him, allowing her face to rest in the crook of his neck. He couldn't help but play with her hair, it was like a drug.

"Do you want to go back to the diner and talk to him?" he offered.

"I don't know," she hesitated.

"OK. But if you want to, just say the word whenever you are ready."

"Do you really think he'll want to stay?"

"I'm sure of it."

She looked up, unshed tears in her eyes. He kissed her temple and caressed her face.

"It's going to be OK." he said.

"Later, then," she said. "I'll give him some space."

Robin nodded. "How about one of those beautiful smiles of yours, what do you say?"

She looked at him, serious but not riled. His sweet, pleading smile looking right back at her.

"Come on," he said.

The corners of her lips lifted despite herself in what she identified as an annoyed smile at his silliness.

"There it is," he closed in and locked lips with her. When he pulled back her smile was still there. He went in for another kiss.

"I was going to pick up Roland, you wanna come with me? I'm sure he'll be very happy to see you."

"I'd love to."


Something unintelligible in the background was struggling for his attention. It sounded like someone had been calling after him for a while, and he was sure that was his Merry Man's voice.

"Are you OK, man?" Little John asked, finally bringing him back to reality.

"Huh?" Robin retorted, confused.

"Where'd you go there, friend? You all right? You you keep staring at your arm."

In reality he wasn't staring at his arm but what was in it. He was contemplating what he had said about timing and how important it was for him to believe in his own words.

"Uh, yes. Everything is fine," Robin dismissed it.

"If you say so," Little John wasn't convinced.

In the far distance stood a very unhappy Marian, hatred pouring through her eyes. He wasn't in the best of moods, either. Neither Roland nor Regina deserved what they had gone through earlier. Robin was trying, he really was. But appeasing this situation was laborious. He talked a bit with Little John about nothing in particular before making his way.

"I suppose we should address this quandary," he extended.

"I suppose," Marian crossed her arms.

"Can we please call a truce?"

"I can't promise you that."

"Fair enough," Robin exhaled. Where could they even begin trying to make sense out of this mess?

Their realities were in complete disarray. Marian, this Marian, was no longer a part of their history. All she remembered was almost dying in the hands of the woman her husband and child were now so fond of. And that was that. She didn't remember the life Robin claimed they had had. But he did. He had lived it.

Through Robin she learned about what the Enchanted Forest inhabitants had gone through after her death.

The curse. The strange somber that had befallen them. What seemed to be just another ordinary day changed their lives forever. That day Snow White and her subjects simply vanished - even though they weren't aware of it back then. Curiously, a fraction of people had stayed behind in the Enchanted Forest, "Including Roland and I," Robin told her. But it was like they had been struck by the curse themselves. Time passed, years passed, but it was like it didn't. Until one day it did.

Then there was that day. The day when the folk who had been condemned to the Land Without Magic emerged back in the Enchanted Forest. What was remarkable, though, was the fact that the so-called Evil Queen and Snow White seemed to be at peace with each other - a complete disparate of what once had been. Worse: they actually appeared to be friends. It was quite puzzling.

He confessed he had seen something in Regina. She had had a reputation in the Enchanted Forest, everyone had heard of it - or experienced it. For Robin and his family there were only the stories; he had never encountered with the famed wrath in his lifetime (remove the fact that now Marian had). But that was all he had on Regina: her reputation. He was intrigued because the so feared woman sent him an entirely different impression. She seemed fragile, broken. And while helping her he realized he had been right. That woman was in pain, deep pain. She had lost a son and that was something he could relate to. The pain of loss.

He couldn't bring himself to condemn her. She was, after all, human, which meant she was flawed much like all of them. And then he heard whispers, whispers of what had happened to her to make her that way.

"I'm not saying she's made the right choices, but-," he stopped to consider. "She became darkness because she couldn't see a way out. She felt that was the only thing she had going on for her."

"A loveless life will do that to you," Marian almost felt for her. "And that gives her the right to try and kill Snow White? And people who got in her way for that matter?"

"Of course not," Robin countered. "Her judgment was clouded by darkness and she-, she had no one, Marian. No one to help her out of it," the thought pained him.

"I can't imagine how horrible it must be to have no family," Marian said.

Robin risked and let her know about Regina's relationship with Roland. They cared about each other; she would never hurt him. "You should see her with her son, Henry," Robin couldn't help but smile. "She has a lot of love to offer. She just didn't always have anyone to offer it to-", he paused. "No one would allow her," his ghost of a smile turned into a sad expression.

The woman who had brought her into this strange realm known as Storybrooke did say the Evil Queen had changed. Plus, no one in that place that resembled a tavern seemed to be bothered by her presence; they probably wouldn't remain so calm if she was still the person they knew back in the Enchanted Forest.

Still, Marian wasn't taking the situation lightly. She hated it. It felt like she was sharing her family now, something that had been sacred not long ago - hers and only hers. Now, she had to deal with the fact that years had passed, the woman who terrorized their lives was a completely different person, and if that wasn't enough, both her son and husband had developed feelings for her; strong feelings, she could tell.

"You don't have to agree with any of this. You don't have to feel sympathetic towards her, much less like her. But at least let Roland see her? It would be good for the both of them. Roland really likes her. You should see the look in their faces when they're together," he smiled in wander.

Marian contemplated the possibility. Robin would never put their son in danger. That much she knew. As hard as it was for her to believe this woman had changed - despite what everyone in town was saying - she still trusted Robin.

"I wish I could remember all that you've told me, our life together, but I don't. It's like I'm not a part of our own story," that really bothered her.

Robin wished there was something he could do or say to comfort her.

"Did I really leave the both of you?" she asked.

"It was my fault," Robin said, the memories threatened coming back full throttle.

"No, it wasn't. It's just life. You couldn't possibly predict what was going to happen."

It didn't make him feel any better.

"Were we at least happy before it happened?"

"Very," he smiled.

She believed him. She could almost feel herself there, living their life together; however short it had been.

"I'm so sorry you had to learn about this, Marian. Knowing you died, that's just horrible, and unfair."

"It's not your fault," she said. "It would be unfair if you hadn't told me. I had the right to know," she completed.

She shared with Robin what she perceived as her life. They were beat, defeated. They were starting to accept the fact that they would never fit the pieces together. Marian was sure she had been captured by Regina and suspected that, had it not been for Emma, she would have been killed by her. Robin, on the other hand, was sure neither of those were true. At this point, they could only wish they wouldn't spend the rest of their lives questioning, not knowing.

The question they were both asking themselves now, however, was where to go from there.

"So, can we call a truce?"

"I reckon we can."


Marian approached him warily. She knew he wasn't mad or resentful towards her; Robin had raised Roland to be an astounding kid, but his face displayed nothing but hurt after what she had done.

"Hey, Roland," she sat beside him. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Playing," little stones were spread across the ground.

"May I join you?"

To Marian's relief he didn't turn her down but smiled cozily at her.

She tried focusing on the rocks and their formation but there was something else on her mind, and she couldn't focus until she dealt with it.

"I'm sorry about what I did earlier. You know, holding you back?" she paused. "Can you forgive me?"

He moved his rocks back and forth, a triumphant smile when he managed to draw a star with them.

"Regina didn't want to see me?" he asked sadly. The sight anguished her.

"No, that was not it," Marian guaranteed. The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt her son.

"Then what?" he asked innocently. A question that didn't have an innocent answer.

"I don't know," she lied.

"What did she do?" Again with the complicated questions.

"She-," but Marian stopped talking. There was no way she was bringing the Evil Queen thing up. Not to Roland. "It wasn't her, Roland. It was me," she sighed. "I'm sorry."

"You don't like her?"

"I don't even know her," she said, realizing she was being honest for the first time. She didn't know Regina.

"She saved me," Roland stated after an instant of silence.

That caught her attention. "What do you mean?"

"When the bad monkey came after me," he said. "She protected me." Roland told the tale of how the lady in black transformed the flying monkey into a stuffed animal enthusiastically. His eyes shined, that had been his favorite toy ever since. Roland ran into the tents and disappeared for a second, leaving Marian to her thoughts. He reemerged shortly thereafter hugging a pale animal plaything. "See?" he handed it to Marian.

She took it and contemplated it. Was it possible that Robin had been telling her the truth? Who was this woman? "That's a beautiful toy," she said.

They resumed moving rocks, Marian not doing anything in particular with them. "You like her, don't you?"

"Yeah," Roland smiled widely.

"What do you do when you're together?" Marian asked.

Roland shrugged. "We play," he considered what to say next. "Oh," his eyes lit up. "She makes me melting sweet clouds in a cone," that was one of his favorite parts. Despite not having the slightest idea what he was talking about, Marian observed the joy in his semblance when he talked about them.

"Remember when your father told you we could go into town? Maybe you could see her then," Marian suggested.

"Really?" Roland squeaked.

"Yeah, I'm sure she'd like to see you," she ruffed his hair.

It hadn't been easy on her, making such offer. But his tiny smile made everything worthwhile. Still, if this were to happen it would be by her terms.

She startled Robin when she came out of nowhere. "Fine, he can see her. But only if we are close by."

She didn't give him the chance to answer.

"I'm doing this for Roland, not for her."


So I realize s4 is already here and some things might end up being similar to canon, but I promise I'm not plagiarizing anything. The entire fic has already been planned, I just need to find the time to sit down and type.