Chapter Six

Granny's exploded with people trying to talk over each other about how Rumpelstiltskin must be wrong, and about what they should do if he was right. Regina stayed silent, unsure of what she was feeling about the situation and even more unsure about how her voice would sound if she tried to speak. Of course she didn't want anything to happen to Marian – for Robin and Roland's sake obviously, but also because the other woman had done nothing to deserve Regina feeling that way about her. She knew in the past she would have easily found a way to justify hating Marian and working toward her destruction, but that just wasn't who she was any more. On the other hand, if something did happen to Marian that was entirely not Regina's fault…then…

She abruptly shut down that line of thinking. Glancing around to confirm that her silence meant that no one was paying any attention to her, Regina backed away from the clump of townspeople and slipped out the door. Even the bell over the door was drowned out by the buzz of worried voices. A couple of days ago she would never have even imagined this, but right now, the person she wanted to talk to was Dr. Whale. Due to their night of conversation and the fact that he was the only one who knew her secret, he had suddenly become the one person that she could be herself around – and right now, she definitely needed someone to whom she could honestly talk.

Regina made it to the hospital in record time, stalking the halls for her prey. She found him coming out of a patient's room, grabbed his arm, and pulled him into an empty room next door.

"Hello to you too," he said when she finally released him after closing the door. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

She quickly filled him in on what was revealed at the diner, but stopped short of sharing the feelings that raged inside of her. Actually saying them out loud would make her feel a thousand times guiltier. But – and part of her should have already known this – he seemed to already know: "You know, it's only human to feel conflicted about this," he said softly, reaching out to touch her shoulder.

Apparently it took a villain to know a villain... She wondered if someone like David or Mary Margaret would say the same. Would they feel conflicted like this? Or is it something that only would be felt by someone of…dubious honor?

Once again, Whale seemed to read her mind. The hand on her shoulder pulled her toward him, and she found himself in his embrace. Closing her eyes, she breathed in and out slowly. She opened her eyes again, but all she could see was the white of his coat. It was oddly comforting. Who would have ever thought that Whale – the man who had once led a mob against her – would become her friend?

Could he become something more?

Perhaps she should take him up on his original offer. Maybe if they were together, she could eventually move on from Robin … or at least move on enough that it no longer ate at her heart constantly. If she moved on enough, then maybe she would be able to stop having these thoughts about what could happen if Marian was out of the picture. She knew she would never truly love Whale – there was no way that she would be lucky enough to have that kind of love three times in her life. But plenty of couples out there made it work, and true love was rare enough that it couldn't exist for all of those couples. Instead of true love, she and Whale could have companionship and camaraderie against the rest of the world.

Maybe that could be enough…

Before she could talk herself out of it –and before she could acknowledge that part of the reason she was even considering this was that she knew Robin would never look at her the same way again if she was involved with someone like Dr. Whale – Regina pulled back slightly, grabbed the back of his head, and pulled him into a kiss. She put all her mental effort into the kiss, trying desperately to ignore the fact that his taste was wrong, his build was wrong, and the intensity and pace of his kiss was wrong. She pushed all those thoughts out of her mind as she allowed him to push her back toward the patient bed. Within moments, they were both lying on it and his hands were roving over her body. It reminded her of the times she had shared with Graham – she knew that this might physically satisfy her, but that it would never quite reach inside of her heart.

And Regina knew that, no matter what, that wasn't enough for her.

She shoved Whale off of her, sprung to her feet, and straightened her clothes. Throwing out a quick apology, she all but ran from the room.

Robin and Marian sat in front of the fire in silence, a position eerily reminiscent of when he had told her about his relationship with Regina. Roland was playing nearby, blissfully ignorant of the dangers possibly caused by his mother's return.

Possibly… It wasn't possibly. Of course, it was caused by Marian's return. It had to be – when had anything ever gone their way in Storybrooke; it was only natural that this had happened. Robin couldn't help but worry that maybe part of this was his fault – that it was caused by the fact that he had been secretly wishing for some way out of the romantic mess he found himself in.

Marian pulled him out of his thoughts by reaching out and grabbing his hand. The tension sparked by their earlier conversation about Regina was gone now; clearly they had more pressing concerns to worry about now.

She cleared her throat. "Whatever happens, I want you to know how happy I've been being able to see you and Roland again."

Overcome with emotion, Robin pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed it. "It's been like a dream. Even with…everything else, I wouldn't trade having you back for anything."

She smiled softly, sadly. "Well, you don't have to talk like I'm gone already." The words were clearly meant to be a joke, but they were tinged with the sadness of reality.

"We don't know anything yet. We've always beaten the odds before; we'll do it again. I won't let the magic take you away."

"But what if that is the only way to beat the odds? I can't let everyone else be endangered merely for me. You wouldn't do that, so why would you want me to?"

"There's got to be another way."

"I'm not giving up yet. I'm being practical. We may be down to just a short time. I'm not going to waste the time I have with you and Roland trying to stop the inevitable." With that, she stood and walked over to play with the boy.

Robin ran his hands over his face, at a loss of what to do. He was supposed to be a leader, a hero. How could he not save his own wife…again? And why, if he was being honest, was a small, horrible part of him wondering if this was perhaps the solution to a dilemma he dared not acknowledge even to himself?

The next morning found Regina in the mayor's office, ostensibly doing town business while her mind contemplated and discarded potential solutions to the problem of disappearing townspeople. As much as the old Regina would have loved the idea of Marian being out of her way, the new Regina actually wanted to be the one to save her, if anyone could. It was the least she could do for the woman she once killed and for the man she still loved.

Every spell she had ever known or even heard of was considered as an option, but truthfully, she had no idea what to do. Most of the magic she knew was all about cursing people, not about saving them.

Since she was thinking so hard about Marian, Regina at first thought that seeing her walk into the office was merely a figment of her imagination. A split second later, she realized how stupid that thought was. Nervousness fluttered in her stomach. Why on earth was Marian here? The woman had blatantly avoided her since her return, despite what Emma had said about Regina not being evil anymore.

Gesturing toward the chair in front of her desk, Regina cleared her throat but didn't actually say anything. She had no idea what to say. Regina forcefully reminded herself that she had supposedly taken a memory potion – whatever the reason was that Marian had come to see her, Regina couldn't say anything that would jeopardize that secret.

"I apologize if you've come for answers about the threat. I know nothing more than what the others know." Regina was proud of herself for sounding so matter-of-fact despite the fact that her heart was pounding and there was a rushing noise in her ears.

Marian waved her hand dismissively. "I have faith that we'll figure out something sooner or later."

Regina smiled tightly. What was it with these hero types and their constant cheerful confidence? Just once, she wished one of them would break down and have a temper tantrum.

"What can I do for you then?"

Marian wouldn't quite meet her eyes, and she sat quietly for a moment – a moment that stretched uncomfortably long for Regina. Finally she spoke. "I know that you and my husband only met a relatively short time ago…"

Regina squirmed in her seat, causing Marian to hesitate and look at her almost suspiciously. A gleam started to glow in the back of Marian's eyes. Regina dropped her own eyes, discomfort growing inside of her from the way that Marian was looking at her. It was like the other woman could see right through her, and Regina had no idea how to act. All of her defenses were stripped bare.

"But I do know that Robin…respects you." Regina winced, then immediately chided herself for not doing a better job of keeping her feelings to herself. She was not reacting the way she should have if Robin truly meant nothing to her, which the memory potion was supposed to have taken care of. "So…if I… I hope that you will be able to help him and Roland."

Regina's head shot up sharply. Marian's tone of voice was too odd, too…knowing when she said that. The two women made eye contact once again, and Regina knew that Marian could tell that she still remembered, still loved. Regina had no idea whether Marian suspected that when she walked into the mayor's office, but apparently Regina's reactions to her had proven it beyond a doubt. Regina wondered if she should verbally acknowledge what they both knew, or if Marian would prefer it to remain unsaid.

"Of course," she was finally able to choke out, but didn't trust her voice to say anything else. She hoped that was enough to convey how much it meant to her that Marian had come here to see her and, more importantly, had basically given Regina her blessing to be with Robin if it came to that.

Marian smiled sadly, then stood and turned to leave. She hesitated then turned to look back. "Knowing that you are here to help my family makes it easier to face whatever is coming."

Marian walked out of the office, leaving Regina to stare dumbly at the top of her desk. The selfish part of her that couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Marian was no longer around – the part that Dr. Whale had called only human – suddenly vanished. She almost…almost felt like she had what it took to be a hero instead because now, more than ever, she wanted to be the one who saved Marian. For Robin and Roland. For Marian. But also for herself. She wanted to be the kind of woman who deserved the gift Marian had given her today – even if by earning it, she made that gift pointless.