As soon as Robin opened the door, Regina heard a squeal and the sound of little feet running on the hardwood floor. They both paused in the doorway, sharing knowing smiles right before Madelyn rounded the corner. Their little girl came to a halt, her long blonde hair fell down her shoulders in waves, most likely from the braids she wore the day before, and still clad in her blue star and moon pajamas. When she saw them, her eyes lit up, and with arms held out, she cried, "Mommy! Daddy!"
Thinking of her daughter's recent attachment to her father, Regina was unprepared for Maddie to run to her first. So when she came in her direction instead of Robin, it wasn't any real surprise to her when her eyes filled with tears and blurred her vision as she lifted her daughter up into her arms.
"Mommy, I missed you!" Maddie's soft, sweet voice told her, as she wrapped her arms around her shoulders, her head tucked into her neck, holding onto her tight as if she might leave again.
Closing her eyes, Regina hugged her tightly. Taking a deep breath, she rubbed her back all the while trying desperately to get a hold of herself. The last thing she needed was Maddie thinking she'd somehow made her mother sad when it was very much the opposite.
The feel of Robin's hand on her back made her smile and turn to him. He had this gentle look on his face, a look that was knowing and understanding, and it just made her want to cry even more.
With another deep breath, she kissed Madelyn on top of the head and whispered, "I missed you too, baby girl." The little girl clung to her another minute, but all too soon Maddie pulled away from her and reached for Robin, but Regina twisted away playfully. Her daughter wasn't getting away that easily. She bounced Madelyn in her arms and asked, "Where's my kisses first?"
Maddie giggled, and her hands came up, placing them on Regina's cheeks. Their noses bumped and rubbed against each other's, giving Eskimo kisses until they were both giggling. Maddie leaned forward and kissed Regina's lips with a light smack making her smile even more.
Handing their daughter to her father, Robin took her and tossed her into the air, asking, "How's my little darling?"
A squeal of laughter left her and once back in his arms again, said, "Good, Daddy! Know what? I held Charlie and she smiled at me!"
Robin's eyes widened, and his voice rose to match her excitement. "Well, of course she did. She loves you!"
Regina leaned in and kissed her daughter's cheek while Maddie told Robin all about her night with her grandma and her brother and sisters. She wanted to stay and listen, wanted to hear about everything they did, but she was anxious to see how everyone else was doing, and to have her other baby girl back in her arms. As she made her way down the hall, Robin and Maddie's voices faded, and before stepping into the living room, she stopped to wipe away the tears that escaped onto her cheeks.
The sight that greeted her when she did step around the corner brought an instant smile to her face. Roland was cuddled beside Olivia on the couch watching TV and rubbing his eyes looking very much like he just woke up not long ago. His hair, a wild mop of curls, fell into his eyes. Regina frowned; maybe it was getting time for a trim.
"Hey, Mom," Olivia called out with a smile.
Making her way across the room, Regina bent and kissed Roland's brow, then Olivia's, and when they both yawned in unison, she laughed and asked, "How late did you both stay up?"
Roland gave her his best sheepish smile. "Not too late."
She hummed. She didn't believe a word of it after having talked to Olivia not so long ago. "Your sister already ratted you out."
Roland sent a side eyed glare at Olivia, whose mouth dropped open. A small sound of surprise left her lips, but any response Regina may have been given from her was cut off by Roland.
"She was still watching something on her phone when I went to sleep!" he said and stuck out his tongue at Olivia.
Regina gave her daughter a look.
Olivia rolled her eyes. "I finished one episode of The 100 and then went to bed."
With a chuckle, Regina's voice rose over the sound of Roland's mock noise of disbelief. "Okay, you know what, I don't care that you both stayed up," she trailed off as her children looked up at her, then pointing a finger at them both added, "but if you're extra tired today because of it, I don't want to hear any complaining."
Roland elbowed Olivia, who returned the action. Regina sighed and turned away. For all the glares and the thrown elbows, they loved each other and neither of them really put any strength behind their squabbles.
Just then, Eleanor stepped into the room, holding the very one Regina was after next. With a smile, Eleanor told her, "I think someone heard you."
Tucking her hair behind her ears, Regina tilted her head and smiled down at her daughter. "Hey, beautiful girl."
Maybe it was her night without her, maybe it was because it was the longest she'd spent away from her daughter since she'd been born, but she was sure Charlotte's lips spread into the biggest smile Regina had seen thus far. She kicked her legs and let out a sound that was all excitement and happiness rolled into one little noise.
Unable to wait another moment, Regina took her from her mother-in-law and brought her up so she could look into those happy eyes, kiss her rosy cheeks, and tell her how much she loved and missed her. Holding her close, she breathed her in again and again, the smell of her daughter familiar and locked into her heart.
Cradling the baby in her arms, Regina looked over when Robin came into the room. He let Maddie down, and she ran over to the couch to join her brother and sister. He went over to Regina and smiled at his mom as she passed by, telling them she was going to get dressed. She felt his hand on her back and then watched as he dropped a kiss to the baby's brow before he murmured, "Hello, sweetheart."
She took in her husband as his eyes held their daughter's. She wasn't the only one to miss their baby girl. It was clear in the way he spoke to her, the way he kissed her tiny hand as she held his finger and cooed back at him. She didn't know why this surprised her so much, his love for her. He was a wonderful, loving father. Did he want time for them together alone? Yes. But he felt the same when they were away; he missed their children just as much as she did, and God, she loved him so much for it.
He looked over at her, and she didn't wait for him this time, she just kissed him. He made a noise, a little 'hmm' of surprise but caught on quick, and with lips softening, he kissed her back with a gentleness that was achingly intimate given it's spontaneity.
She eased away from him a moment later and asked, "Did you want to take her?"
He shook his head, murmured, "No, it's all right. I think she's just fine with you."
"I'm going to go feed her." With a tilt of her head, she motioned toward the others. "Why don't you try and get everyone ready to go?"
"I can do that."
They drifted toward each other, foreheads met, and for long moments they just stood there until their lips drifted back in a kiss that lingered longer than the last. When they parted, it was with content sighs.
"Thank you for last night. I wasn't so sure at first, but we needed it." She paused and swallowed back the emotions threatening to spill tears from her eyes. She didn't remember being this emotional after having Madelyn, at least not for this long. She would have apologized for it, but he just seemed to know and it spoke of their connection, their love.
"You're welcome, my love."
By the time Regina was back with Charlotte, and the kids were dressed and ready to go, it was nearly ten. Robin had been as patient as he could, but if they wanted to see all the things, they needed to get a move on. They were just waiting on his mum now.
His head rose from where he'd been looking down at the time on his phone at Roland's excited, "Mom! Dad! You're on TV!"
Getting to his feet, he went to stand beside Regina. She was standing in the living room, Charlotte held against her chest while watching some footage of the awards from the night before, and sure enough, there they were. He smiled at the image of them. "Look at that."
Regina bumped her shoulder against his. "We make a good looking couple."
The look in her eyes took him back to the night before. How gorgeous she was and how amazing she looked when he finally got her out of that dress… He bit his lip to hide his grin then said, "That we do."
They drifted toward one another, but just before their lips met, they were startled away from one another by Roland's, "Ew, why do you guys always have to kiss?"
Robin looked over at his son with a half smile and said, "Because I fancy your mum. And one day you'll fancy someone just as much and want to kiss them all the time, too."
Roland made a face. "No way. Kissing is gross!"
Robin chuckled. He could remember a time long long ago when he was a young lad and thought girls were just as annoying as his sister, but then puberty hit, and all those lovely hormones kicked in, and it wasn't long before he and his friend, James, were spying on the girls at the local pool.
"I give you three years and you'll change your mind," he told his son, thinking twelve or thirteen should be about the right age.
"But you can wait a lot longer than that," his wife added while giving them both a look that made him shake his head. And she thought he was protective of their girls.
Maddie, who must have overheard them, came running down the hall ahead of her grandmother, and with arms out wide, she cried out, "I'll kiss you, Ro!"
Roland jumped to his feet and with wide eyes, he hopped onto the couch and leapt over the back. "No! Dad!"
Robin frowned at his son's actions, and he had the good sense to look somewhat guilty for jumping on other people's furniture when he knew he wouldn't get away with that at home. Robin kneeled and held out his arms to his daughter. "Come here, darling. I'll take your kisses."
Maddie giggled as she ran over to him, then placed a quick kiss to his left cheek and then the right.
Just then his mother's laughter filled the room. "All right, enough with the kissing; let's go!"
They stopped for a late lunch after a morning filled with sightseeing everything from Buckingham Palace and The British Museum, to Hyde Park and the London Bridge. The weather had been on their side; bright, sunny skies and mild temperatures made it a great day for them all.
Regina held Maddie and Roland's hands through the museum, while Robin held Charlotte and set a slow pace behind them with Olivia and his mum. Half way through the park, it occured to Regina how quiet Eleanor had been and she made a mental note to catch her alone later that day to see if she might want to talk about what happened between her and Jack the other day - about their argument Regina wasn't supposed to see.
Though, it wasn't until after their lunch when she got her opportunity to get her alone. It was only when Robin took Olivia, Maddie, and Roland across the street to look at the Thames (a river Olivia just had to go see because it had been a prominent setting in a few of her favorite book series), Regina shooed them off without her, hoping Eleanor would stay with her, and smiled when she did.
They sipped tea, Regina caffeine-free chai with steamed milk and Eleanor a cup of Earl Grey while Charlotte slept in her stroller, having gone to sleep just before lunch. Regina took a deep breath before breaking the silence then asked, "Do you want to talk about it? About the other day?"
Her mother-in-law blinked at her over her cup for a moment before her eyes grew wide and she sat up, saying, "Oh, no, that's all right. It's nothing…" Regina's eyebrows rose, and she opened her mouth to say something, but Eleanor continued on, "All right it's something. You heard us arguing that day, no doubt..."
Regina sat forward, crossed her arms on the table in front of her. "I did."
"You see, Jack and I…" Eleanor trailed off and placed her tea down on the table. Mirroring Regina's actions, she shook her head back and forth slowly, then said, "No, I can't begin there. In order for you to understand, I have to start at the beginning." She took a deep breath and looked away. Her gaze drawn across the street. Robin and the kids somewhere amongst the tourists and Londoners. "Quite a few years ago I went through the change. It's a horrible thing, dear, never go through it," the older woman trailed off, and their eyes met. Regina's lips tipped up into a smile, was about to tell her it definitely wasn't something she was looking forward to, but then Eleanor was going on, "but my symptoms were quite harsh and along with the hot flashes and the hormones, sex became painful and more and more I found I was losing the urge for it. I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable…"
Regina shook her head, reached her hand out and placed it on top of Eleanor's arm, insisting, "No, you're fine."
"Jack had been very understanding, and in the beginning, we tried a lot of things. Different medications and methods of making the act enjoyable again but nothing much worked, and I did try, for a few years, but things... things that I loved, didn't feel like they once did."
"Eleanor, I'm sorry that's… that's horrible."
The pain was obvious in her eyes, and the disappointment as clear as day in her sad smile.
"It was. I tried hard for Jack, he's always had a healthy libido, but I started making excuses. A month went by, then two, and so on, until we just stopped."
Everything suddenly made sense. Why things had been tense between them. Not just for what they weren't doing, but also her moods. Why she didn't want to talk about how things were at home. Regina empathized with her. The change for her own mother had been a mess of hot flashes and an even hotter tempers. Had her father coming coming over to visit from Staten Island more often than he ever had.
Still she felt compelled to ask, "Is that why things have been unsettled between you both?"
"It's… a part of it," Eleanor murmured then looked away. Regina waited while his mother took a few sips of tea until she seemed to decide she wanted to continue and turned her attention back on her. "You see, about two years ago now, I told Jack if he wanted to find someone who could fulfill the part I was no longer able to give him that he could."
Oh.
Oh, God.
She didn't.
Regina felt sick, and though she was pretty sure she already knew how this ended, she asked, "But he didn't, right?"
"No, he did," Eleanor said, and Regina pressed her lips together hard. Her mother-in-law cleared her throat. "He did and afterwards I regretted it. I still regret it."
Finding it hard to process everything, Regina settled her gaze down on her cup. She couldn't imagine… No, she didn't even want to begin to think of something like that happening. It was heartbreaking, and God, how dare he!
Taking her mother-in-law's hand she told her, "Eleanor, I'm so sorry."
The older woman's other hand fell over hers and squeezed. "Yes, well, thank you. Jack and I have always, before anything, been the best of friends. I tried to get passed it because, after all, I had given him permission..."
A thought came to Regina just then, and with something akin to anger in her tone, asked, "He's not still, is he?"
"No, in fact, he claims it only happened the one time."
"Oh." That was something, she guessed. Then she thought about Robin, and if something were to happen like that between them, what he would do, but she knew he would never. There weren't any if's, and's or but's about it. Robin would refuse.
But just when Regina thought she understood all that had been going, thought she heard everything, Eleanor pulled the carpet out from under her feet.
"And then I asked him for a divorce."
Her eyes grew wide as she realized what Eleanor had said. "What?"
"I blame the unreasonable hormones and his poor lack of judgement, but yes."
Oh my God... She was serious.
"But you never…" Regina trailed off, speechless. To say she was floored would be putting it mildly. She was confused and angry and hurt, not just for her but for her gaze tore from the older woman to across the street where her husband was. Wait, did he... "Does Robin know?"
"No one knows." Her eyes held Regina's, and there was a resigned sadness there that broke her heart. She lived with this alone all this time, and Regina couldn't imagine going through something like that with Robin and not having anyone to talk to about it. "We still live together, we love one another, that's never changed and never will. Neither of us wants to move on, and yet we're stuck in place."
That explained a lot. The shortness, but also the moments where they were perfectly normal, loving even. "Are you trying to work things out?"
"We have been." Eleanor sighed, something long and deep. "When Robin rang and told us you'd be coming, we truly started to try. And we have been ever since."
"Eleanor, I feel for you both, I do, but you have to tell Robin," Regina insisted. How they thought it was okay to keep this from him was… God, she didn't want to be around for this conversation.
"You know, I was hoping… I could… leave that to you."
Her eyes widened. "Me?"
"Yes, because I know if I tell him, I won't be able to do it without the tears," she began and sniffed, wiping away tears that made Regina's heart clench before continuing, "and you know Robin, he'll blame it all on Jack when I share some of that responsibility."
While Regina agreed Robin would blame his father, this needed to be a conversation had between them not her. Honesty and family were two of the things her husband valued over everything and this… she really really didn't want to be the one to tell him.
Suddenly, Eleanor straightened in her chair. Regina could hear Maddie's excited voice and Olivia's laughter and looked over to see them all returning from their walk.
Maybe it was the older woman's tears or maybe the little voice inside her that told her she could break it to him better than his parents could, but before he was in ear shot, she caught her mother-in-law's gaze and said, "Okay, I'll talk to him."
Eleanor took her hand in hers and gripped it tightly right before Robin came up to the table. He was holding Maddie, his sunglasses pulled up on top of his head, looking curiously between them both with a slight frown. "What's wrong?"
His mom waved her hand in the air as if to wave away his concern. "Oh, just me thinking about you all leaving."
His brow furrowed, and with a soft chuckle and a hand to her shoulder said, "Mum, we only just got here…"
"I know, I'm being ridiculous." Eleanor laughed it off and sniffled. "Where to next?"
"The kids want to go to Foyles and then King's Cross."
His mom nodded and reached out for Maddie's hand. "Let's go then, shall we?"
Robin's eyes slid back on her and Regina got to her feet. She found it hard to hold his gaze, knowing what she did. She wouldn't be able to keep it from him for long, but she couldn't tell him here. Tonight, maybe, when it was just them and he could be pissed without the kids seeing him and he had all night to calm down before he confronted his parents, because he would. They weren't getting out of this easily.
She had a feeling none of them were.
Robin held her hand as they strode behind their son as he packed his arms full of books. Eleanor had taken Maddie upstairs to the children's section where they had a little puppet show going on for the kids. Olivia disappeared somewhere in the young adult section; if she knew her daughter, she had most likely found a book and was reading somewhere in a cozy corner until everyone was ready to leave.
She held her youngest daughter close, while her mind reeled from earlier that day. How was she going to tell him? Divorced. His parents were divorced.
She couldn't wrap her mind around how they didn't tell him, how they kept this all to themselves for so long. No wonder they couldn't move forward.
Her husband's chuckle pulled her from her thoughts.
"We're going to have to buy an extra bag to pack his books."
Her brow furrowed, and she looked from him to Roland and back and it struck her. Roland had ten new books stacked in his hands. "We might."
He obviously meant it as a joke because her seriousness made him stop in his tracks and turn to look at her. "What's wrong?"
Damnit. She needed to snap out of it. There was no way she was going to have this conversation here.
Shaking her head, she said, "Nothing, I'm just tired. It's been a long day," and just to convince him further, she dropped her voice with a sexy edge and added, "and it was a long night."
"But a good night, yeah?" He bit his lower lip, pulling her into his arms, and she melted into him.
Regina held his gaze. God, he was in such a good mood, and she wanted to cry at the unfairness of it all. Pushing her emotions back, she brought up a hand and brushed her thumb over his cheek, feeling the scruff of his beard. "Yes, a very good night."
"Glad to hear it." His eyes slid from her to where Roland was scanning the shelves a couple rows away and then back on her. He lowered his voice and said, "And I was thinking, it's been a long day for them as well. All this running around, they're all bound to go to sleep a bit earlier..."
She laughed a genuine, breathy chuckle. "They might, but you will behave yourself for a night."
His lips tipped down into a frown. "Must I?"
No, you know what, he didn't. If he wanted her, she was going to let him have her. Let him enjoy them one more time before… she didn't know what would happen. All day she went through the gamut of what his emotions might be. "Well, if the kids go to sleep, and if you feel like giving your tired wife a back rub that happens to lead somewhere else, we will see."
"Deal."
She shook her head at him, chuckling. "I make no promises I won't fall asleep."
"Oh, I have ways to keep you… uh, awake."
She arched a brow but didn't disagree. He was very good at keeping her attention on him, but more than that, until she told him about his parents, she didn't think she'd sleep much if she tried.
Dark, gray clouds started to fill in the gaps of blue sky as the day wore on. A slight chill had them tugging on jackets and changing their plans from staying in town for dinner to grabbing a quick bite at the next stop before heading back to his parents'.
But they had one more stop to make. Maddie was asleep in her car seat along with the baby, Regina had been dosing since King's Cross, and Olivia and his mum chose to stay with them in the car while he and Roland went for a quick stroll closer to the clock.
He stood with his son, looking up at Big Ben.
With a hand on Roland's shoulder, he told him. "I'm sorry it's not quite what you wanted. I'd forgotten about the renovations."
"It's okay." Roland shrugged and flashed him a smile. "It's still awesome. Thanks, Dad."
"We'll come back again soon and I'll take you up there."
"For my birthday?" the boy asked, hopefully.
Robin lips lifted into a sideways smirk. "If that's what you want."
Roland grinned. Dimples popping as he asked, "Promise?"
Robin laughed and clapped his son on the back. He'd give his son the moon if he could. A trip back to England for his birthday was the least he could do. They stood there for another few minutes. Roland read from his travel books quick little facts, and even though Robin knew most of them, he listened and acted like it was brand new information. It was a nice father and son moment for Robin, and he made a mental note to do more of these kinds of things with Roland when they got home. They lived within driving distance to so much American history, it could be their thing - something just for them to geek out together over because Lord knows Robin would never understand anime.
"I promise." With one last took at the clock, he clapped his son on the shoulder. "Come on."
