For the past week, there was an unspoken tension between Marian and Robin. They didn't speak. Once back at camp, Marian complained to John the they needed to buy a real house. Robin talked to Tuck about arranging another hunting party. Everything felt structured, so tight. No one man dared to disagree for he was afraid of loosing his head.

Roland had grown bored, though. No play time or lessons this afternoon, even if they were planned. He sat on his favorite spot around the campfire for a little while, but no one came over to play with him. Hours passed and there was no sign of anyone to play with. However, Roland knew where he could find a playmate. With no one watching him in particular, he walked out of camp.

Up the road about a half a mile, they had discovered a playground that looked exactly identical to the castle of the evil queen. Daddy told him that the castle playground was built by Regina for Henry, but he was allowed to play on the equipment too with the other children of the town. See a small group of kids his age going to the brightly painted slide, he ran over to greet them.

While playing with his new friends, he noticed a boy ride by on a bike. A boy who he had not seen for a long time. "Henry!" He didn't hear her at first. Roland jumped over the rope bridge and ran to the edge of the park. "Henry!"

Henry squeezed the breaks on the handle bar of his bike, skidding to a stop. "Roland what are you doing out here?"

"I am playing with my friends. Would you like to join me?"

Henry, not wanting to play with little kids made up an excuse. "No, I have to... go to the stables and take care of my horse. I gotta feed him." Henry of course, had done this earlier, but anything to do to get out of a boring afternoon playing with little kids.

"Okay. Have fun with your horse." Roland smiled. Henry turned to get back on his bike. "Oh, Henry!" Henry turned back to look at him. "Have you went to go see your Mom yet."

"Ummmm, yeah. I live with her."

"No, not Miss. Emma. Miss. R'gina."

Henry raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about. She has been missing since my mom and Hook came back from the past."

"Daddy found her by the river and brought her to the hpstiple a little while ago."

Henry, not quiet understanding what Roland said was a little confused. "So what are you saying?"

"She is awake. You didn't know that?"

Henry's eyes grew wide and he turned around his bike. "Thanks Roland." Henry quickly started peddling his bike quickly back the way he came.

Roland looked confused. "Where are you going?" He yelled to Henry. Henry disappeared over the horizon and Roland shrugged her shoulders and ran back to the playground and playing with his friends.


At the front door of the hospital, Henry discarded his bike, letting it fly into the shrubs lining the side of the hospital. He swung open the door and ran up to the receptionist's desk. The lady looked up from her paper work slowly and lackadaisical. "What can I do for you young man?" She asked.

"I need you to get me the room number of a patient here right now. Regina Mills. Please! R, E, G, I, N, A, M, I, L, L, S." Henry quickly demanded.

"The mayor?" Henry nodded frantically. "Take the elevator to the second floor. Then go down the hallway to the left and then go seven rooms. Her room will be marked." Henry nodded. "Wait!" Henry looked back for a moment. "Be gentle. She had been though a lot."

"Trust me, I know my Mom more than any one." Henry commented before running to the elevator.

Hitting the button frantically, the elevator finally closed its door and traveled up one floor. Henry dashed out and counted out seven rooms, finding the one that contained his mother. He knocked on the door and Dr. Hopper answered the door. "Henry."

"Henry!" Regina exclaimed from her bed.

Henry pushed past Dr. Hopper to see her. "Mom!" He reached out and wrapped his arms around her neck. "What are you doing here? Where have you been."

"That is nothing you have to worry about. Oh how I have missed you. I could have sworn Emma would have taken you back to New York."

"No we are not going anywhere. Mom, this is our home. We have been living in an apartment by the ocean with Killian." Henry said, eliciting a rare smile from Regina.

"Killian? So he has finally stopped going by his silly nickname?" Regina inquired as she shifted uncomfortably in her bed to sit up straight.

"Yep. I am so glad you are back Mom. I missed you a lot."

"To be honest, I thought no one would notice my absence." Regina said turning away from her adopted son's eyes.

Henry tried to comfort her the way she would home by putting his hand on top of her's. "No we actually sent search parties out to look for you. And now you in the hospital. Why are you here?" Henry's eyes scanned around the room and remembered that Dr. Hopper was also here. "And why is he here?"

Regina tried to come up with an excuse that even Henry could believe. She didn't want to tell her son that she tried to end her life. Dr. Hopper, instead answered for her. "Dr. Whale said it would be good for her if I talked to her for a while. So she can figure out what she feels."

Henry nodded. He then felt his phone starting to vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out. Regina watched as her son started to walk away talking loudly into the speaker."Hey mom you won't believe...Yes, I understand but...Please something wonderful has happened...Fine. I love you."

"Who was that?" Regina inquired, sitting up a little straighter.

"It was Emma. I got to go home." Henry frowned. "I wish I could have seen you sooner."

"You don't need to worry for me. Enjoy yourself." Regina said softly as she pressed a kiss into his forehead. "I love you."

Henry started out the door. "I love you too."

As the door shut, this time, Regina kept her small smile. It slowly faded into a neutral expression. "Regina?" Dr. Hopper asked from his chair making Regina jolt form a daze. "You have shown, at least when I have observed great love for both of the boys that have come to visit you." He paused for a moment before continuing. "If you feel such love, why would you want to end your life?"

Regina swallowed hard, looking out the window. From her vantage point, she could see Henry climbing onto his bike and peddling down the street. "It's not them. Of course, I love Henry very much and Roland and I also share a bond, but it is the baby." Dr. Hopper lifted his clip board and quickly started jotting down notes. "I just can't get over the fact that he could leave me so easily after what we shared. No matter how brief it was, I felt a real connection with him, and he knew it. And he broke it without a second thought."

Tears started to cover her eyes in a glossy layer. Her cheeks flushed and her breathing became sporadic. "I don't know if he realizes what kind of person I am. I am not that woman who can just date a new man every few months and get over it. I don't just climb into bed with any man I feel attractive. No anymore." Dr. Hopper nodded, remembering a few secession they had about two years ago after the curse broke. He recalled she came in originally confessing to using magic on the verge of crying as she was now. She had explained the situation with Daniel and Graham and expressed a small twinge of regret for her actions.

And if there is one emotion Regina doesn't feel, its regret.

She explained it with a good reason; it got her Henry. But all the time she had forced Graham to bed with her was completely uncalled for, and what she defined as the surrendering to the emotions of a shattered heart.

"I have tried again and again to change. And when finally I start to do things that others define as good, I get hurt. All I can think about is how I could possibly bring a child into this world where they would be constantly submitted to the tortures of having me as a mother." Regina sniffed in and to a long and heavy breath.

Dr. Hopper shock his head. "You are a changed woman. I have seen the amounts of progress you have made and it is astounding. There are people who love you, Henry, Roland, and you baby."

"How can I love a child when it comes from a man I can barely look at? A man I opened my heart up to, and got burned. Like always!" Regina snapped. "I am stuck in this endless loop which can never end. I was destined to be with Robin, but destiny is cruel, and the world is wicked."

"No Regina-"

"Don't! They revile me as an evil being! If I have changed so much, then why can't it stop? Simple; We both know it will never end. I will always be the Evil Queen."

Dr. Hopper shock it head and put down his pen. "I think we have come to the center of your problem. You need to stop being haunted by your past and look to the future." He placed all of his supplies in his bag and walked over to her bed side. "I have a challenge for you. I challenge you to be who you are, a good person, and show them all wrong. Prove to all the people that have dubbed you evil in the past that you are a changed woman. And I think the first step of doing that is loving that child."

Regina's hands snaked down to her stomach, cupping it gently. "Suicide is not of your nature. It is unlike you to inflict harm unto yourself, which is why we are going to let you go." Regina suddenly brightened up, her eyes growing wide. "Under one condition. You need to spend some time with Henry, Snow, and Tinker belle. These people are your friends, and for now, the best thing for you would be to have some positiveness in you life."

Regina smiled. "Thank you Dr. Hopper."

"One last thing before I leave. If you don't want to answer it is fine."

"Go on..."

"Would you ever spend time with Robin?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "Why?"

"It appears to me that you still love him."

"I do." She replied softly. "But I can never see him again."

"And why is that?"

After shuttered breath, she formed her reply. "Because I love him." She said as a single tear dripped down onto her cheek. She violently wiped it from her faced and sniffled.

"You should tell him that."

"Why?"

"I think he still loves you as well." He picked up his bag by the chair and walked to the door. "Have a good day Miss Mills."


Freshly on her feet, Regina felt slightly week. Her body had grown tired after sitting in a hospital bed for all this time. She had walked down to the grocery store, finding every item in her refrigerator to be spoiled and her pantry to be bare.

Walking around town, however came with its consequences. She felt the eyes of the people boring though her skull as she went though aisle after aisle. She felt a little self conscious, wrapping her trench coat around her middle to hide the slight bump that it seemed only she could see. A bright red shopping basket in hand, she placed the last item she wanted, a half gallon of french vanilla cream, and walked over to the cash register.

As she went to pay for her groceries, she felt the eyes of the other customers drill though the back of her skull. As she slid her debt card though the credit card machine, she determined that she was just feeling paranoid and there was nothing to really worry about.

Brown paper bags in hand, she walked out the sliding doors and crashing into a person walking into the door. "Oh I am so sorry! I-" Regina's eyes snapped to the man who she had ran into. His shirt, clearly displaying the remnants of a bottle of ketchup, was the exact same one he had worn all that time ago.

He still wore the same scarf. Beard the same perfect length. New jacket for a change, this one a dark brown leather. Lips, perfectly kissable. Eyes, a beautiful shade of blue.

Could be no one but Robin.

She sat their for the longest time, dumbstruck, with her bag of groceries spilled all over his body just looking into his eyes. He was gorgeous.

But he wasn't hers. She closed her mouth and moved her hand to pick up a loaf of bread and tried to put it back into the paper bag. She couldn't rip her eyes away from his, completely missing the bag as the loaf of bread fell onto his lap.

Robin closed his eyes and looked away for a moment. "It appears you need some help Milady?"

"No." She put a bag of potato chips into her shopping bag. "I can take care of this my self."

"Are you sure? Because a woman in your condition-"

"Didn't you hear me thief! I said your assistance were unwanted!" She snapped, scooping up a few more things off of the floor and into her bag.

After putting the last things back into her bag Robin offered her his hand to help her get up, but she place one shaky leg down on the floor in the opposite direction. She almost immediately lost her balance and started to fall to the ground, but was luckily intercepted by Robin's arms.

She once more locked her eyes back on his. No this was enough. He is a married man! "Thank you." She said working her way out of his arms.

Quickly, she walked onto the street going back to her house. "Regina!" Robin called behind her. It made her heart ache as she just continued to walk a little faster away from him. If there was any one she wished not to see, it was him.

"Regina!"

All he would do was make her even more confused.

"Please!"

More hurt.

His feet were pounding on the concrete, drawing even more close. She finally stopped walking and turned around. "What!"

He took the bag of groceries from her hand and held them close to his chest. "I can't just leave you alone."

"Seriously? You are going to pull that one on me? You left me alone for three months!" Regina snapped.

"I didn't mean for any of that to happen! I looked for you!"

"You just wanted to be with your wife! Don't you dare lie to me!"

"Look, Regina. I was confused. If you saw some one from your past back from the dead that you once loved, what would you do. You would hug them and kiss them and tell them everything was going to be fine. But we have changed. Grown apart!"

Regina blinked at him in disbelief. "Prove it."

Robin bent down and place the bag of groceries on the sidewalk. Taking a deep breath, he moved his face quickly to Regina's surprising her with a slow kiss. Her eyes shot open instinctively with fear and she pushed him away. They made eye contact once more, both looking so lonely, empty.

Perhaps it was her hormones.

Maybe it was her heart acting on it's own accord.

But it didn't matter because she couldn't hold it back anymore.

Reaching forward, Regina pushed her lips into his. He immediately kissed her back, his hand weaving into her hair to bring them even closer.

Little did they know, the figure walking down the street with a young boy holding her hand was watching. And she was furious.