A whole day had passed. 24 hours and Robin was still nowhere to be found. She would start panicking if they didn't find him any time soon.
She'd spent most of the day with Roland, who kept asking about his papa and when he'd be back.
And all she could say was "Soon, sweetheart" and caress his cheek. She didn't let herself think anything else.
They would find him. She would find him. She'd go to the end of the world to get to him and she would kill that green toad for taking him.
The little kid with the short curly hair and the dimples that appeared in his cheeks every time he smiled would not lose his father.
It was early that morning when she heard a small voice calling to her.
She was too sleepy to realize what was going on so she got up from her bed and started walking around the house to find the voice.
When she reached Henry's old room, the voice of a child shook her down to the land of the living.
It was Roland who was calling.
"Papa? Gina?" she heard him call.
Regina opened the door slowly and looked inside.
Roland was awake, but he hadn't got up from his bed. He was just sitting in the corner of the bed and looked scared. As soon as Regina saw the fright in his eyes, she ran to him and sat at the floor to be on his level.
"What's going on, sweetie?" she asked as she moved closer to him.
"How did I get here? Where am I?" the little boy asked with a bit more reassurance now that she was there.
"Don't worry. You are in my house. You couldn't stay at the diner, now could you?" she said smiling a little with low voice as if she spoke more loudly, she would scare him off.
"Oh…" Roland said, looking around. "Where is papa?" he asked then and she could see he wanted to make sure everything he remembered from yesterday wasn't a bad dream.
"Your papa is… lost" she said. "But we'll find him, so don't worry, okay?" she continued and put her hand in his hair, his beautiful curly locks of hair falling in his eyes.
"Okay" he said and nodded.
They stood like that for a few minutes.
"So Roland, are you hungry?" she asked as she remembered the boy was living with the Merry Men so he must be always up early.
Roland nodded and gave her a small smile, when his belly made a protest for food.
"Come on, then" she said and helped him out of his bed.
The boy put his hand in hers as they walked side by side to the down floor. When Roland saw the living room, his mouth opened wide at awe. Regina assumed he'd never been in a house before, let alone a modern house with various comforts.
Regina led Roland to the couch across the TV and helped him to sit.
"Have you ever watched TV?" she asked and when his eyes light for excitement, she knew he was amazed by it. Just like everything else that didn't exist in the Enchanted Forest.
"Okay, let's see what's on" Regina said and sat beside him.
To her surprise, Roland moved closer to her and held her arm as he adjusted next to her body. She smiled as the old feeling of a little body giving her warmth and relaxation came crashing back.
She took the remote control and clicked the On button.
The moment the black screen light up with color and people talking in the screen, Roland let out a small exclamation of amazement.
Regina found a channel with animation and sat with him for a little while, before she went to the kitchen to make them Roland's new favorite breakfast, pancakes with a lot of chocolate syrup. While she was mixing the ingredients in the mixer, she enjoyed Roland's giggles at anything the grey cat said and his every sob when he wouldn't catch the little smart mouse.
She felt so… happy. And she could be this happy, she knew it. She just had to fight for it.
Roland and Robin made her happy the way only her beloved son could make her and she knew that was the reason she couldn't let go of them. She couldn't lose anyone else she cared about.
She wouldn't let her happiness slip away from her again.
And with that thought, she promised herself to tell Robin the way she felt for him the moment she saw him.
Because she would find him. She would always find him.
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The rest of the morning passed by with nothing as to where Zelena was hiding and that irritated Regina to no ends.
She'd left Roland in Granny's with Tinkerbell.
Once the fairy spotted her in the diner, sadness passed through her face.
Regina avoided it and chose to look at Roland who was staring at the group of dwarves that sat in the nearest table.
"Come on Roland, I want you to meet a… friend" she said but she didn't know exactly how true that was. Tinkerbell was surely the closest person she had to consider a friend and had told her everything about her and Robin. But it was very strange for her as she'd never had a friend before.
"Good morning, Regina" Tink said with a wide smile. Her eyes went from Regina to Roland.
"Hello" the fairy said to him and lowered to be in his height. "My name is Tink" she said sweetly.
"Hi, I'm Roland" he said politely but shyly too.
Regina lowered as well and turned to Roland. "I have some things I got to do now, but I'll be back before you know it. Tink is really fun." she said.
Roland's face turned concerned and he started shaking his head.
"No, please" he pleaded. "What if you don't come back like papa?" he asked with doubt.
He was afraid he'd lose her.
Her heart ached at the thought of leaving him but she had to. She had to help in the search.
"Of course I'll come back" she said and laid forward to place a kiss in his forehead. "And your papa will come back too, I promise" she added and held him in her arms.
When she gently pushed him out of her embrace, the little boy nodded.
"Now, go with Tink and do something fun, okay? And I'll be back in a few hours" she told him and gave him a small kiss in his cheeks before she got up and walked away.
Before exiting the diner, she turned around and looked back at the little boy that was now talking to Tinkerbell as she smiled at him.
.
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.
.
Even after hours of searching using magic, three groups of armed men and looking through every book they could find, Regina could not figure out a way to locate or vanquish her cold hearted sister.
She'd spent hours at the library along with Emma, Hook and Belle, looking for anything useful.
But they didn't find a thing.
She spent the evening at home with Roland, playing board games and solving puzzles but her mind was constantly at Robin and where he might be.
Or if he's even still alive…
How could she even sit there and wait without doing something, she didn't know. But she wanted to be there for Roland even if she had no lead on his beloved father.
Regina shook her head to push the terrible thought out of her head and smiled at Roland who was telling her about the time he saved the Enchanted Forest from the ogres that threatened the land.
When the clock struck 9 'o clock, she decided that Roland should sleep.
They were sitting on the floor of the living room, beside the fireplace that kept them warm and they were drawing.
Roland had scattered the pencils and crayons all around and was now drawing a black and purple dragon that was spitting fire.
He had talent, she thought. And the way he was so focused on the lines he made with the colors was adorable.
"Roland, isn't it time for bed?" she asked him and sat next to him.
"But I'm not tired…" he answered as he yarned tiredly.
Regina smiled at him and took him in her arms. "Oh, I think you are" she said while caressing his hair. He closed him eyes and leaned at her touch, almost falling asleep in her arms.
"Let's get you to bed" she told him and carried him to his bedroom.
Regina gave him a pair of Henry's old pajamas and put him in the bed.
"Gina, will you tell me a story?" Roland asked with an innocent smile. He yarned once again but didn't close his eyes.
"Okay" Regina replied and sat more comfortably in the edge of the bed. "Once Upon a Time there was a little boy, a boy that lived in the Enchanted Forest" she said, while holding his hand.
"He was a member of the notorious band of Robin Hood, the Merry Men" she said and a sleepy smile appeared in Roland's face as he heard his papa's name. He didn't interrupt her, though.
"He had several adventures with them in the forests, taking money from the rich and giving it to the poor. He was a hero, like his dad" she continued. "But then, he and the rest of his friends travelled to another realm, one called Earth. And there, he found a woman, that loved his father and him so dearly and protected them from harm forever" she finished the tale and kissed him goodnight.
His eyes were closed now and his small body was curled up in a ball under the covers.
She thought he had fallen asleep before the story ended and moved to the door to let his sleep, but before she opened the door to go, the boy asked "Do you love me and papa?"
"Of course I do" Regina said without fear and after Roland nodded and closed his eyes, she closed the lights and left.
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Regina opened her eyes and sat up in her bed, trying to figure out what had woken her.
She looked at the small clock in her bedside table.
4:03 in the morning.
She groaned.
But before she could close her eyes again, she heard a ringing.
My cellphone, she thought.
She got up and started looking for her phone in the bedroom. But she couldn't find it. And the ringtone would not stop playing.
She searched in every pocket of her clothes in the room and finally found it in her black coat.
Who the hell could be calling at this hour?
"Hello?" she answered it, heavily breathing, still not fully awake.
"Regina" Whale to her surprise was in the other line. What could he want at 4 in the morning or any hour for that matter.
"You have to come to the hospital immediately" he said breathless and she could tell he was running.
"Why? What happened?" she asked, concerned now.
Had the Witch attack?
Was anyone hurt?
Her mind shifted from Robin who was still missing to Henry who was at Granny's under a protection spell to… Roland.
She started running in the house, trying to find Henry's bedroom. She slightly opened the door and let out a sigh of relief when she saw Roland's sleeping form.
After a long pause from the other line and some voice from the background of Whale's position, the doctor said "They found Robin" and after a few more seconds of silence he added "It's bad. You should come as soon as possible".
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After Whale's call, Regina ran to her bedroom to put on the first pair of clothes she saw on her closet.
Then, she woke up Roland, not even letting him change and they both left for the hospital.
She was panicking.
Her mind flashed to the picture of a wounded Robin, his clothes painted red from his own blood.
She didn't even reply to Whale after he'd said those terribly horrifying word "It's bad".
She just threw her phone on the floor and ran.
She had to get to him.
Roland was still sleepy, but he knew something bad had happened to his dad so he didn't dare close his tired eyes.
When they got to the hospital, she pulled over with her car and grabbed Roland, taking him in her arms and run to the emergency section.
Once she entered the hospital, she spotted Emma and Hook, along with Charming and Snow waiting for her.
"What's going on? Where is he?" Regina asked almost in panic.
"He's in surgery" Emma said, worried. "The groups that were searching in the woods found him at the edge of the forest. He must have faced flying monkeys because he's full of scratches and bites" she explained. "The doctors are trying their best to stop the bleeding but we have to heal him before he turns into a flying monkey" she added and pointed at the direction they had to go to find him.
Regina nodded and at that moment she noticed she was shaking. She tried her best to calm down and took a deep breath.
She put down Roland and put her hands on his shoulders.
"Sweetie, you have to stay here, but I'll come get you to see your papa as soon as I can, alright?" she asked him, smiling at him to reassure him.
"Okay" the boy said and nodded. He hugged her tightly and she felt a rash of strength from his touch. He was such a brave boy.
She stood up and followed Emma, who led her to a long hall with doors to various rooms, some of them filled with doctors and some empty.
At the end of the hall, was the surgery and Emma stopped before entering and looked at Regina. And there was not pity in her eyes but something different… sorrow.
She must have thought he wouldn't make it. But Regian would never give up so easily. Now that he was here, he wasn't going anywhere.
He had to stay.
For his son.
For her.
"Let's go" Regina said and taking another deep breath, she and Emma walked in.
The moment her eyes fell to Robin, who was lying in the surgical bed at the center of the room, she froze.
This horribly terrifying feeling she felt was so familiar.
Her thoughts went to the time Henry had eaten the apple pie and was under a sleeping curse. And just like Robin, he was lying in a bed completely still, with lights on top of him and surrounded by nurses and doctors that no matter what they did, the machine next to the bed kept beeping, signing her loved one's death.
And she was beyond terrified. She watched as the doctors around him put bandages and some kind of medicine around his wounds, but there was still blood everywhere.
And the machine next to him kept making this sound.
This constant sound she could only relate to one thing.
Bipppppppp.
"Regina, come on, snap out of it" she heard Emma shout at her, shaking her by her shoulders.
But she didn't feel a thing. It felt like she was out of time and space and she was watching everything, without the ability to help.
Then, she heard Emma say a single word that woke her from the shock.
She said Robin.
"What?" Regina asked confused and looked at Emma with curiosity until she realized what was going on.
She looked at Robin, who let out a sob of pain. She couldn't let him like this.
She moved closer to him and Emma followed behind her.
"We have to heal him" she said and turned to Emma, whose eyes were already closed and her hands were almost touching his stomach. She placed her hands in his chest and immediately felt the warm thick blood in her fingers.
She felt her magic grow and after what seemed like an eternity, the glowing of their magic disappeared and the red liquid slowly disappear from Robin's body.
The machine's sound changed from the constant bip to repeated slower ones.
Thank God.
Suddenly, he opened his wide eyes and looked around in panic, not knowing where he was and the blinding light above his head, blurring his sight.
"Robin!" Regina said in relief, cupping his face in her hands and moved closer to him.
"Regina?" Robin croaked, half-closing his eyes to see more clearly.
"Hey, it's me" she said and smiled at him, holding him in as tight as she dared to not hurt him.
She heard the doctors move away from the bed and turned to see Emma smile at them and walking away from them as well.
Robin tried to sat up on the bed and hug her, but she kept him lying in fear he might hurt himself in the effort. Nonetheless he took her in his arms and held her tightly, burying his face in her shoulder.
Then, he gently pushed her backwards to face her and kissed her. There was no passion or lust in that kiss, though. It was tender and he only broke it to take a breath.
"Are you okay?" Regina asked out of concern as she looked at his tired and pained eyes.
He nodded, laid back in the bed and fell asleep as the morphine the doctors had induced him with took over his body.
Regina stayed with him until Roland came with the Charmings and even after they left, she and the little boy stayed at the hospital with him for the night.