again, thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! i appreciate each and every one of them! ereshkigalgirl and guest, you both made wonderful points about soul mates and i understand where both of you are coming from. ereshkigalgirl, i was actually thinking about that memory potion... but i haven't decided if it will come into play in this story :)

enjoy this chapter!

Regina supposed she wasn't really lying when she told Snow that she had a lot of work to do. She needed to fix all the damage her sister had caused to the town, starting with the the clock tower. She stood below it, staring at the broken window she had been thrown through not that long ago. Contractors were currently fixing it and she was waiting for their boss to show up so she could pay them and start the next task on her checklist. She wondered if she should bother doing anything with the barn Zelena had opened the time portal in. Or if she should pack up her sister's things and try to sell her house. Perhaps she would deal with that later. Who knows what she would find? Regina didn't want to deal with any more family secrets.

Truthfully, she didn't want to deal with much at all. If Henry wasn't keeping a careful eye on her, she was sure she wouldn't leave her bed. Despite her attempts to keep busy, Robin's words kept running through her mind. She didn't think twice when she saved Marian from Elsa. It was true she was putting her own happiness aside so Robin and Roland could be happy, but wasn't that what heroes did? She had felt so delighted when Henry called her a hero and when she used white magic to defeat her sister, but now she felt the struggle to remain good. It reminded her of the last time she tried to be good, which was quickly stopped when her mother appeared in Storybrooke. It was far easier to fall back into the darkness than it was to be heroic.

She was balancing the pros and cons of returning to her old ways when the contractors' boss returned. She made some halfhearted snark about being on time and paid him quickly before heading back to her office. She carefully documented all the funds she was using to repair the town in case Emma Swan decided to try and damage her reputation as she had when she first moved to Storybrooke. She knew it was unlikely the blonde would challenge her again, especially since she felt guilty over ruining her happy ending and hurting Regina would hurt their son as well. But in the off chance their relationship deteriorated any further, Emma wouldn't have any ridiculous evidence to try to bring against her.

Regina glanced at her phone when it beeped and she saw a text from Henry. He wanted her to know he was spending the day with Roland because the boy had begged him to but he promised to be home in time for dinner. She felt her heart melt at the thought. She was happy her son had gotten along with the young boy so well and he didn't punish him for all of his father's stupidity. Those were Henry's words, spoken to make her laugh, which they certainly had.

"He is an idiot, Mom. Sooner or later he will realize that." He had said when he returned home to find her trying to hide evidence of her tears. He begged her to tell him what happened, so she did.

"Henry." She scolded lightly.

"He is! Honestly, I'm just disappointed that the great and mighty Prince of Thieves from all the stories is kind of a whimp. He's choosing the past over a really awesome future with you. That's pretty pathetic."

"He's not a wimp, Henry. He's a good man."

Henry didn't bother to respond to that, so the subject was dropped. Her son was the biggest con of her returning to her old ways. Knowing how disappointed and hurt he would be was the main reason she was still fighting to remain good.

Regina sighed as she finished her paperwork. She didn't want to return to an empty house just yet, so she decided to go to the stables. The freedom of riding always made her feel better and it had been so long since she had mounted a horse.

Henry spent a few hours with Roland at the park, showing him the best ways to go down the slide and climb the monkey bars. Then they sword fought for a bit before heading to get ice cream at Granny's. The boy's endless enthusiasm was more exhausting than Henry realized, so he was bringing him back to his parents much sooner than he planned. He remembered being the same way when he was younger and he wondered how his mother could deal with him all the time and on her own. At least Robin had the Merry Men to play with Roland when he was too tired to.

He knocked on the door to Robin's room, an ice cream covered Roland bouncing around next to him.

The older man answered, grinning when he saw the tired look on Henry's face.

"Daddy!" Roland shouted as he threw himself onto his father's legs. Robin laughed and picked him up.

"Hello, my boy. How was your day with Henry?"

As Roland burst into a long tale of the adventures they had, Robin invited Henry into the room and started to clean off Roland's face. Henry interjected his own thoughts into the boy's narrative and by the time Roland finished, he was sleepily rubbing at his eyes. Robin smiled and helped him to the bed for a nap. Within minutes, he was asleep and Henry was left with the man that broke his mom's heart.

"Where is Marian?"

"She is at the hospital. Someone suggested that she look into getting a job there to keep busy. She has always liked to help people."

"That's a good idea. I'm sure Dr. Whale could use the help." Henry caught the uneasy look that crossed Robin's face at the mention of the doctor, but he didn't comment. "I want to talk to you about my mom. Well, about both of them."

Robin frowned, wondering what Emma Swan had to do with him. Despite the fact it was at her hand that Marian returned, he hadn't had much contact with her. "I'm always here to listen to you, Henry."

"Emma chose Killian over my real dad. I'm not mad at her for that. Not at all."

"Henry-" Robin started, suddenly understanding exactly where this was going.

"I'm not done." Henry said in a way that made it clear which mother had raised him. His firm confidence demanded Robin's attention and made clear that he was in charge of the conversation. He saw Regina do the same thing many times before. "I wasn't mad at her for not choosing my dad because I knew she was happy. That's the most important part for me. Someday, it will be for Roland too. If you're worried about him hating you for leaving his mom, he won't be. Not if you're happy and I know you will be with my mom. He already knows that you aren't happy now, even if you think you are hiding it. He hears you guys fight all the time. You can't raise him like that."

"How do you-"

"He told me about you guys fighting today. But it wasn't the first time he has told me that. Why do you think he ran away to my mom's house? He's a smart kid, Robin. I'm assuming that his happiness is what is keeping you from choosing my mom, so I just wanted to tell you that you don't have to worry about him. He loves my mom and I know that she loves him too."

Robin studied the boy for a moment, trying to grasp the right words to say. He knew from the stories he heard in the Enchanted Forest that the boy was smart, but he hadnt realized just how smart. Clearly, he understood how to read people. "I appreciate that, Henry. You must know that this has been incredibly difficult for me."

"Not as difficult as it has been for my mom." Henry replied with as much attitude as he could muster. "I don't really like how you've hurt her since Marian's return, but I know you make her happy so I guess I could overlook that."

Robin opened and closed his mouth in shock, suddenly feeling like a teenage boy being intimidated by his girlfriend's father. Clearly, Henry had also learned intimidation from the best - his mother. "It has been difficult because I feel so horrible about hurting your mother. I promise you that I do care deeply for her. But I also made a vow to be with Marian and I feel guilty about leaving her, not just because she is Roland's mother, but because I love her and she is my wife. This is a difficult decision because I am trying to do the honorable thing, but I know I am only hurting them."

"Forget the honorable thing. I know that being a gentleman is a big part of who you are, but sometimes you just have to do what makes you happiest."

"You're a smart boy, Henry."

"I know." He said with a smile. "I also know that you and my mom are Soul Mates. Tinkerbell told me. You are destined to be with my mom so dragging it out is only gonna hurt everyone more. And it might even prevent Marian from finding her own Soul Mate or True Love."

"I am her True Love." Robin argued weakly, knowing that everything Henry said was true.

"Sometimes people have more than one True Love. My mom did. So do you." Henry sensed that Robin was thinking over everything he said so he stood with a smile. He held out his hand for the older man to shake. "I'll leave you to think. Whatever you choose, just know that if you hurt my mom any more I will make you regret it. Okay?"

Robin smiled at the boy's threat. He knew Regina would be honored that Henry loved her enough to be so protective over her. "Regina is lucky to have you, my boy."

Henry tried to hide the delight that covered his face, but unlike his mother, he wasn't very good about hiding his feelings. "Thanks Robin. Tell Roland I'll see him again soon."

The outlaw nodded and watched the boy turn and leave the room. Marian joined him a moment later, finally back from the hospital.

"Was that the Queen's son I saw leaving?"

He nodded absentmindedly.

"What did he want? Was he carrying a message from his mother? I was under the impression that she wasn't going to fight for you."

Robin eyed his wife's eager face. "Why were you under that impression?"

"Well she hasn't bothered to come see you and the townspeople are aways talking about how she barely leaves her home or office. I assumed she decided to leave our marriage alone."

"Did you know that Roland is unhappy because he hears us fighting all the time?"

"No, I doubt that's the reason. He's probably just upset by all the recent changes in his life. He's in a totally different land, surrounded by different people. It's a lot to deal with for anyone."

He knew she was insinuating that Regina's new presence in Roland's life was the reason he wasn't his usually bubbly self. But he was more bubbly when he was around her. It was Marian's presence that was making him more reserved, but Robin wasn't cruel enough to point that out. "It is the reason. He told Henry."

Marian started to argue, but Robin cut her off by standing. "Where are you going?"

"I need some time to think about everything."

"So you're going to make your decision?"

"I think it's about time I do."