Chapter four! When things start unraveling... Please enjoy, and leave a review. I love all of your responses!


Regina stares agape at this man's mini speech. She shakes her head incredulously, that all too familiar fear building up within the depths of her chest. "No," she whispers, "No. No, no, no you can't. We just met a few days ago. This is insane!"

"Regina," Robin says calmly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Well congratulations, you did," Regina bites, quickly standing. She grabs her bag and slings it over her shoulder.

"Regina, wait," Robin says, standing with her. Regina merely shakes her head, starting towards the exit of the coffee shop. "Please don't run," the man pleads from behind her. The two make it out of the shop, moving swiftly down the street towards the direction of the studios.

"Stop following me," Regina commands bitterly.

"Do you really think I'd let you off this unhappy?"

"You should. It's my life. Why do you care anyway?"

"I care because I understand. I can relate."

Regina halts, swiveling on her heel to face him. "And how exactly do you understand how I feel?", she hisses.

"Because when I lost my wife,-" All of a sudden her demeanor slips, Regina's eyes widening, her breath catching. "-I was left in that same darkness, that same struggle, as you are in right now; cold, hurt, closed off to everything and everyone around me. I know that I've only known you for four days, and your situation may not be the same, but we are much alike."

"Possibly even more so than you think," Regina mumbles, gazing at him with eyes shining with held tears before looking downward.

Robin frowns, tentatively reaching towards her to lift her chin with a gentle touch of his forefinger. A small tear rolls down Regina's cheek as her body trembles in front of him. The coldness of fear lances through her heart. And it is in this moment that she, knowingly or not, reveals to the man, wordlessly, that she truly is a broken woman. "What happened?", Robin asks gently, moving to swipe his thumb to and fro over the apple of her cheek.

Regina closes her eyes, causing more tears to trickle down onto pale cheeks. She shakes her head continuously, refusing to tell.

"Okay," Robin whispers, letting go of her. If she hadn't known any better, she'd say the look he gives her is forlorn, one of dejection. But she can't bring herself to think in that way right now. "I won't force you," he adds, "But just know that should you need anything, I'm always here."

With a soft sigh, he shoves his hand into the pocket of his trousers, pulling out a pen and a small piece of crinkled paper. After scribbling fiercely onto that little piece of parchment, he presses it into the palm of Regina's hand. He smiles gently at her, lifting his hand one last time to grasp hers in a tight, reassuring squeeze. "You don't have to use it. In fact, I don't expect you to. Just know that I'm always there if you need me. But for now, I'll let you go," he says softly before backing up and turning around, heading in the opposite direction down the street.

Regina gazes silent and speechless at the man's back as he disappears, melting into the bustling mob of passerby on the street. After a few moments of standing quietly in the middle of the sidewalk she sighs deeply, wipes her cheek, and turns back to head down the other direction towards the studios.


"Regina, you look awful today."

"Why thank you, Tink," Regina snaps, rolling her eyes, as the two make their way back towards their apartment that very same evening.

"I'm sorry, but you do. You could hardly pay attention in any of these rehearsals today. The instructors are whispering. Seriously, what is up with you? All day, you looked as if you've been crying."

"Tink, please, I'm not in the mood for your interrogations," Regina says, scowling at her friend.

"I don't even know why I bother."

"Well you shouldn't then! Leave me alone."

Tink sighs deeply. "Okay fine," she huffs, "If that's how you want to be. But don't come to me when you're sick and depressed, and unable to focus to the point that you ultimately lose your one chance to finally dance this lead part."

"Tink, come on," Regina relents slightly, after witnessing the blonde's deflated, beyond irritated look, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Regina! This is not about me. It's about you. I'm trying to help you. And I can't do that if you are constantly trying to push me away should a topic like this arise."

"All right, all right!", Regina yells, throwing her hands in the air. "Fine! I pushed Robin away. Is that what you want to hear? I pushed him away." She sighs, gazing down at the ground. "So much for your help…," she murmurs miserably.

Tink halts walking and stares at Regina, mouth gaping in such a dismayed expression. "What?", she breathes, "How could you?!"

"What do you mean, how could I?", Regina hisses, "It's my decision. It's my life. Ever since this man has come into my life, I've felt nothing but worse and worse. It's over."

"It's over because you don't believe in it, Regina," Tink retorts, "It's over because you won't even give it a chance to work."

"Tink…"

"Just take my advice for once, Regina," Tink states firmly, "Take him back."

"You make it sound like we were together. We weren't even together."

"That's what you think. What do you believe he thinks?"

Regina sags her shoulders. "I don't know."

"How do you think he sees you?"

Regina shrugs, her heart constricting from having to bring up such a painful and hopelessly fresh memory. "He sees me as someone he understands."

"Someone he relates to," Tink coaxes.

"Yes," Regina says, nodding. She gazes into the bright hazel eyes of her best friend.

"So if he feels the same way you do, then perhaps he has had a similar experience."

"He did lose his wife, or whatever that means."

Tink smiles gently, shaking her head as she steps towards Regina. "Then I think he sees you as someone with whom to take comfort, someone who will give him that second chance; the same exact chance that subconsciously, you may even be looking for."

Regina frowns, eyes glistening with held tears. "He thinks I'm his second chance?" Tink shrugs, but nods fervently. It does make sense, now that the brunette does consider. Why else would he be so desperate to reach out to her, to help her? Perhaps helping her is a way of helping himself. Perhaps he too is still in a lot of pain.

"Don't you as well?", the blonde says.

"Don't I what?"

"Don't you see him as a second chance?", Tink asks gently.

And Regina closes her eyes, sighing softly once more in defeat.


She sits on her bed, anxiously looking at that crushed piece of paper, which now lies damp between her sweaty fingers. Her heart thumps double time, brain fuzzy. Regina can hardly think straight as she stares fixedly at these seemingly daunting numbers, scrawled in front of her. She chews her lip in upset so hard she can taste the blood. After running her hand through her hair for the hundredth time this night, she clears her throat, forcing the warring parts of herself to unite and come to a consensus, make an executive decision. She will call him. After mulling over her conversation with Tink from earlier this evening, she has made a decision. She definitely will call him. Glancing at her bedside clock, Regina chomps on the inside of her cheek. Ten o'clock pm. Will he still even be awake? The brunette heaves a deep sigh, shaking her head. It's either now or never. So upon dialing the number and lifting her cellphone to her ear, she clears her throat once more, and makes the call.

"Hello?", Robin's gentle voice carries through the line, instantly melting the brunette at the other end without warning.

"Um, hi," Regina replies unsteadily, "It's me. Regina. Regina Mills." Immediately, the brunette rolls her eyes at her own response, willing herself to pull it together.

"Regina," Robin repeats, his voice a hushed and gentle whisper, "How may I help you? Are you all right?"

"Yes. I'm fine, er, more or less," Regina stutters, biting once more her bottom lip. A short silence ensues.

"I'm sorry I upset you this afternoon," Robin says after a time.

Regina closes her eyes, shaking her head although the man cannot see it. "Don't worry about it. Like the many other people in my life, you were only trying to help. I guess, the problem is—my problem is—I am not a very good listener."

"I see…"

"And I was thinking—thinking a lot tonight—that, maybe opening up might not be such a bad idea."

"What do you mean?", Robin asks rather cautiously, "What are you implying?"

Regina sighs. "I'm implying that I'm up for a second chance, as I'm sure you do as well. That is, if you'll still have me back in."

"Of course, Regina," comes the whispered answer, "You wouldn't think I'd give up on you that easily."

"It seemed quite apparent this afternoon."

"It was. But I also just wanted to give you your space, and ensure that you knew that I absolutely would completely leave you alone should you choose."

"I pushed you away…," Regina murmurs, "All you were was so kind and understanding and I pushed you away…as I do most."

"It's all right."

"No it's not. It's rude, and it's selfish, and-"

"No, Regina. It's understandable," Robin says gently, "I was the same way."

"Well what made you change?", Regina asks, frowning.

"After a long while I realized that all this distancing of myself would only make matters worse. Not to mention it only made me feel worse about myself. It got to the point that I was literally pushing away all the people I cared about and loved, including my son."

"I fear that is what's beginning to happen with Tink," Regina sighs hopelessly.

"Then perhaps you should start with her," Robin suggests.

"Um…"

"Mend whatever happened between you and her, Regina. And then after that, meet me at the small Chinese restaurant down the road to your studio. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Say, eight o'clock. This Friday night."

Regina's eyes widen. "What? Y-you mean like a date?", she breathes incredulously.

"That's exactly what I mean," is the firm answer. The brunette can practically sense the smile at the other end of the line.

"You seem quite pleased with yourself," Regina says, the corner of her lips twitching in meager attempts to hold back a smirk.

"I am. But I'm also rather excited."

Regina laughs softly. "You are excited?", she scoffs slightly.

"Perhaps yes…"

"Why?"

"Because, Regina, you are one interesting woman."


The next morning, Regina trudges downstairs in her normal dance wear; black, knitted leggings over a black leotard and pink tights, black motorcycle jacket over top for fashion. Her hair is done neatly up in its usual flawless bun, all loose strands of hair pinned away from her face.

"Morning, Regina," Tink says, barely gazing upward from her bowl of fruit salad and yoghurt.

"Morning, Tink," Regina returns, moving to sit opposite her friend at the kitchen table with a glass of milk and some jam on toast and a granola.

"How did the call go last night?"

"So you were spying on me?"

"Believe it or not, Regina, you talk very loudly. And very late. You were on until practically midnight."

"I know, I'm sorry if I disturbed you," Regina apologizes genuinely.

Tink nods. "So what happened? From what I heard, you took my advice to heart for once in your life."

Regina smirks at her friend, rolling her eyes. "Yes, Tink, I did. Thank you for that, actually."

Tink sighs, shaking her head as she returns her friend's smirk with a small one of her own. "I was waiting for you to say that."

"I know," Regina admits, gazing down towards her milk, "I'm seeing him again."

"Really?"

"Yes. Friday night at the Chinese place. Eight o'clock."

"A date."

"Yes."

"Wow," Tink breathes, shaking her head, "See what happens when you listen to me for once, and not push me away?"

"I know, I'm sorry about that," Regina sighs contritely, "I really am."

"Glad to hear it," Tink replies, grinning, "Now go set things straight with your man."

"My man?", Regina laughs.

"Yes. Your man."

"You realize that I still have only known Robin all of three seconds. This date is just to clear the air between us-"

"-And possibly move forward," Tink finishes, "Don't even deny it. You want him."

"No I-"

"-Do."

"Don't." Regina snorts, feeling her cheeks begin to heat.

"Do." Tink laughs, "Just look at you. You're turning beet red again."

"No I'm not. And I don't turn 'beet red'."

"Yes you are. And okay, I might be exaggerating. But truly, your heart says something different, but I can completely tell. And not just me, anyone can. Your heart wants something, but your mind is what gets in the way of it. You think too much, Regina."

"You think?"

"I know."

"Well what you should know is to not get too excited about this. I'm not looking for anything crazy. It's just a casual thing where I'm going to try and at least strike up a calm conversation for once."

"That's a good place to start. It doesn't seem too hard," Tink says, shrugging.

"For you it isn't," Regina corrects, "But me…"

"You just need to relax, and let things happen naturally."

"I'm awful at that."

"You're only awful if you think too much. Which is why I'm saying that you think way too much. It's like dance. You think before, but then once the music is on, you have to stop thinking about it and let it happen naturally, let yourself dance."

"Now look at you, all fancy with your metaphors."

"Yes, well God knows that you'll connect with dance way better than you'd ever would with a human."

"Okay, okay fine," Regina laughs, "I'll try." She glances up at the clock and sighs. "I have to get to rehearsal," she announces after shoving in her last bite of toast and granola before standing. "I'll see you later."

"Stop thinking!", Tink calls after her friend.

"Okay, shut up!"


Wednesday and Thursday are a drag as the brunette finds herself thrown into a whirlwind of rehearsals that seem to take place nonstop, rarely allowing her to stop and catch her breath. However, the work is fully welcomed, as it allows Regina to escape from those difficult emotions that have been eating her alive, and fully immerse herself into the precious art form she has come to know and love. Tink is always there, of course, making her usual smart, cutsy comments every now and then that make Regina smile, therefore making the days at least a bit bearable. It's not that the dancer hates the whole process of rehearsing, preparing for a show. It's just that it is indeed a process, one that eats both time and effort, both physically as well as emotionally.

Not to mention that Graham is always a constant presence in and outside the studio, whether she likes it or not. Yet, Regina has found ways to avoid him, ways in which she would leave immediately after a pas de deux rehearsal to avoid conversation or just simply ignore him should he want to converse. It is most definitely controversial behavior. However, the brunette doesn't seem to care, as she repeatedly tells herself that the man is none but a dance partner. That's it.

So it is after two full days of enduring rehearsals and evading Graham, that Regina finally finds herself heading once more down that familiar road, not to the ballet studio for once, but to that quaint little Chinese restaurant down on the corner, that very Friday night. Her heart beats wildly as heels click-clack on the pavement. Dressed in a simple, form-fitted black dress with a V-neck and closed back that reaches just above her knees, Regina hastens down the sidewalk, crossing the road towards the eatery just across the way. She comes to a halt just before the door in order to compose herself. Sighing softly whilst running a shaking hand through her raven locks, now let loose and shimmering under the overhead light in front of the restaurant door, Regina clears her throat and grabs the handle, pulling firmly.

She sees him across the room, seated at a booth, one that is furthest from the regular crowd of customers. Her heart lurches within her chest. Although the man sports a clean regular green cotton T-shirt and a pair of plain khakis, he looks divine. Wavy dirty blonde locks parted just askew to the side fall beautifully to the side, some spilling onto the very top of his forehead.

"Regina," he greets, "You look…" The brunette watches him eye her form up and down with an genuine, adoring smile.

"I know," Regina replies with a slight rosy blush to her cheeks as she takes her seat opposite him. She flips her hair over her shoulder before placing her forearms on the table, smirking sweetly at him.

"Oh you are a character," Robin chuckles.

Regina laughs. "You don't even know the half of it."

"Really? Try me," the man states, sitting back with an amused smirk upon his lips.

"Well, Tink calls me the Evil Queen sometimes."

Robin's eyes widen as he crosses his arms, feigning shock. "I would never have thought you to be so, Your Majesty," he gasps.

"Yes," Regina declares, tilting her chin upward, "So beware." She chuckles lowly.

Robin rolls his eyes. "You really are one interesting woman."

"That I am," Regina sighs, shaking her head. She takes a moment to fully observe the man in this light, fully and truly observe him. He's cute, no doubt. His features are so gentle. Just by looking at this man, one can tell he is none but a soft-hearted, kind, and caring person. And in seeing this, it is hard for Regina not to wonder how people such as him exist. He just seems too…perfect.

"What are you thinking about?", Robin asks gently, gazing back into the chocolate brown of her eyes with the same level of intensity.

"You," Regina murmurs.

Robin's lips tilt upward into another gentle smile. "What about me?"

"Everything," Regina replies before shaking her head softly, breaking her gaze to pick an imaginary strand of hair caught on her arm before peeking back up at him, as he still continues to regard her in his own, quiet and respectful, yet fascinated way. The brunette clears her throat, tucking a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. She shakes her head again. "When you said that you understood me, understood where I was coming from, you mentioned your wife and how you lost her." Regina closes her eyes and breathes softly outwardly. "What happened?", she asks.

Immediately, Robin's face falls slightly as a sorrow suddenly clouds over those bright blue eyes, a sadness that bothers Regina to the point of wanting to do everything in her power to erase it permanently. It just looks so wrong on him. "I'll tell you," Robin breathes gently, "But only if you tell me what had happened to you."

Now, it is the brunette's turn for her demeanor to fall as she finds herself biting her lip nervously. She had never admitted anything of the like to anyone other than Tink. Is she ready to disclose such sensitive information to this man? But the look he gives her is one of sincerity, one of promise; promise of her confidentiality, her security. And he doesn't even have to say a word. Closing her eyes again, Regina sighs, nodding softly.

"I lost my wife, Marian, when Roland was just two years old," Robin begins, "We both were in a very rough spot financially, just barely getting by, scraping together all we had in order to provide food for our baby boy, never mind ourselves." He closes his eyes as if something painful has suddenly struck right through him, something unbearable. "We were arguing so badly. About money, about everything we could possibly think of. It all just spilled out in tidal wave after tidal wave of frustration and fury. Just everything that had been pent up inside suddenly bubbled over, bursting forth in a tsunami of twisted emotion. I remember the tears in her eyes as she fought to hold on to the little bit of love she had in her heart for both Roland and I. And I as well. God, I must have fought so hard to convince her to stay. But she didn't. In a mess of tears, she left the house, slamming the door behind her. I followed." Robin shakes his head, wincing as if the memory lances through him like a knife. "It all happened so fast. The screeching tires, the pale white headlights of the car. She had run straight into the street without even thinking. I held her in my arms that one last time, blood soaking my shirt, the sound of breaking glass and screaming tires still ringing fresh in my ears." He opens his eyes once more, sighing softly, eyes shining with held tears. "When I go back now and reflect back on that night, that night that she was taken from me, I realized just how stupid that fight was. We were just both far too headstrong, far too much in despair with our lasting predicament. But I would give anything, anything, just to go back to that night and hold her in my arms instead of letting her go. I would comfort her, kiss her hair, tell her that everything would be all right, everything would work out."

Regina listens with wide eyes, her own eyes glistening with tears. It is in this moment when for the first time, her heart reaches out to him, and she wants nothing more than to envelop him in her arms, and tell him just that; that everything would be all right. For more than ever now, she can relate. For the first time in a long time, Regina has finally found someone to whom she finds she can establish a profound connection. The brunette watches on sadly as the man opposite her fights to keep himself composed. He sighs loudly before shaking his head, almost as if to shake away the emotion. It is then that Regina watches him quietly as he turns his gaze back towards her, quietly anticipating her response, her story.

So it is with a heavy heart that she takes a breath, a deep, deep breath. And begins.

"His name was Daniel…"


Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Next up, we will explore just what has happened to Regina in the past, what exactly has made her so afraid of love. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!