Chapter 11, here we go! Enjoy, and as always, I own nothing but those pesky mistakes. Thank you again for all of the incredible support and reviews. It's so lovely to hear your thoughts and even your predictions. Some of you have been spot on!


Regina is left spirit free for a few simple minutes, but they feel like hours. She's alone in the doorway where her grandfather had been standing with her, his scent still lingering in the space. His confessions and explanations are echoing around her skull despite the dead silence of the underground.

Cora materialises in the dimly lit hallway of the vault. She looks towards Regina shyly and Regina supposes that it's because Cora doesn't want to overstep or ask any question that she feels she isn't entitled to ask.

"I'm okay," Regina shrugs, opening the gateway for conversation. Cora merely smiles sadly, Regina knows that smile all too well. She's given it to Henry on several occassions when she knew he was lying to her about something, but too afraid to start any confrontation. "I will be okay," she amends.

"Alright, dear," Cora's frown straightens out, "Are you ready to go or would you like another minute?"

Another minute means pondering things she doesn't understand, words that still aren't going to sink in.

"Let's go," she says as she stands herself up tall to walk and begins to follow Cora after a small curt nod. "Where are we going now?"

She asks her question as they are climbing the stairs from the vault. Thank god, being underground was making her feel more uncomfortable that she had anticipated.

"Just follow me," Cora tells her, "I'll show you the way, but ultimately it's up to you."

Some more mystery, great. Regina is too exhausted to question what that means, so she follows as she was told. They walk silently through the cemetery, and the sun that was shining brightly when they emerged from below has since disappeared, clouded over a dark shade of grey and small droplets of rain drip from the clouds above. Typical, Regina thinks. Of course the universe rewards her with rain when her mind is fluttering around thousands of questions and worries. Javier asked her to do something she thought was once impossible. Does she even want to forgive her mother?

"What's wrong?" Cora asks. She's a step in front and hasn't once turned her head back, so why would she think something is wrong?

Regina clears her throat, and lies, "Nothing."

Cora chuckles a chuckle that Regina hasn't heard in years. The last time that sound reached her ears, her parents were happily married, they were together - a family. Her mother hammers the nail in further, saying, "You get that from me."

"I get what from you?" Regina scoffs, "My inability to process my feelings correctly?"

She regrets the words as soon as they are in the open, wishing she had some sort of net to catch them all back. Cora stops walking and turns around looking as guilty as ever, mumbling a genuine, "I'm sorry."

"No," Regina sighs, "I'm sorry. That was rude."

"Something inside made you say it."

True. She erupted, that was it. Cora's face full of guilt is no more, instead she is anxious, waiting for something to happen almost. Regina wonders if this is what she meant before. Her path in this realm is up to her. It's all about her and how she feels and right now those feelings are aimed at Cora.

"Take my hand," Cora offers her hand to Regina, and Regina is eager to take it, to find out what is next. Regina takes the hand and her breath hitches as they are engulfed in a cloud of purple smoke. When it clears away, they are in a new location - a library by the looks of it. Cora pulls out a chair from one of the desks they are stood by and sits down, crossing her legs and gives Regina the upper hand. "I think you have some things you want to say or even ask me."

Standing in front of Cora, especially in a situation where she is eager and willing to let Regina call her out on almost anything makes Regina nervous and scared. The number of times she has practiced what she would say to Cora in the shower or in front of the mirror is borderline embarrassing.

"Grandpa said I should forgive you," Regina tells her, letting her eyes fall to the ground. She isn't sure what else to say and she's far too fidgety to sit quite yet.

Cora laughs softly through her nose and nods, "Yes, well your grandfather is notorious for sticking his nose in places it doesn't belong." Forcing a smile, Regina decides to sit across from Cora. "You have no obligation to forgive me."

"I know," Regina leans forward on the desk, elbows propping up her weight. "But, why do I have the feeling I have to?"

"You don't," Cora promises. "I don't expect anything of you. I only want to help."

Where was she when Regina was seventeen and had to watch all of her friends buy prom dresses with their moms? Or when she graduated high school? When Henry was born? There were so many other times when she needed Cora.

Cora interrupts her inner turmoil, "Ask me," she says, "Ask me the question I know you've wanted to ask me for years."

Here it goes. All those years of practiced speeches and imagined conversations about to be put to good use.

"Were you happier?" Regina asks, "Were you happier without me in your life?"

"At first…" Cora starts, but then sighs heavily, "At first, I thought I was. I thought leaving was better for everyone, and from what I could see, you seemed to be living a great life."

Regina's eyes perk up, "How did you know if I was living a good life?"

"Oh," Cora frowns, "Your father never told you?" Cora bites her lip stressfully and puffs out a breath of air. Regina's neutral face staying that way and waiting for an explanation. "A month after I left, I called and your father answered. Understandably he was furious at me, but he listened. I tried to explain my decision to him and he could see it through my eyes." Regina clasps her hands together and presses her lips to her own knuckles. "However, he told me to leave you alone for a little longer, to wait until you were ready, but that he would keep me updated on everything."

"And he did?" Regina asks, she's not angry but obviously not exactly thrilled.

"He sent me pictures every chance he could," Cora smiles brightly, "I treasured them. You looked so alive and carefree."

Regina scoffs loudly again, leaning back in the chair and then forward again to where she was before, unamused, and mutters, "They were photographs, of course I did. Who hangs hard times on the wall?"

Cora allows her the space to grit out the frustration, but agrees with her in the end, "You're right. I only got to see the picture perfect side to your life."

"You never reached out to me," Regina mutters close to her linked knuckles and drops them down in front of her on the table, only to have them picked up by Cora tightly. Regina considers snatching them away, but Cora's warmth is oddly comforting, so instead she gives her attention and waits.

"The longer I waited, the harder it became to reach back out to you," Cora explains. There's no desperation. Simply a woman talking through her thoughts without the expectation of forgiveness. "One minute, I'm looking at your pictures from graduation, and then pictures of you and Daniel, then pictures of little Henry… And then I died." Regina frowns heavily, unable to keep any eye contact with her, "And that's when I realised I wasn't happier without you in my life."

Now she looks into her mother's eyes and they are brimmed with years of unshed emotion.

"You weren't?" Regina asks, squeezing into the grasp Cora has on her hands.

Cora shakes her head, blinking madly, "I was a coward and I spent years mistaking the easy option for the happier one. I let myself get so consumed by my fear that I forgot to remember all the things behind the spirits that I love about you." Cora brings Regina's hands to her lips and presses a sweet kiss to one of them. "Not a second goes by where I don't wish I remembered the way your smile lights up a room. I wish I had realised how lucky I am to have such a beautiful, intelligent, generous daughter."

"You really think I'm all of those things?" Regina asks, blinking away at her own watering eyes now.

From behind Regina, a very familiar voice chirps through the room and echoes off of the books, "Of course she does."

Regina flips her head quickly to where the voice sounded and she stands just as fast, dropping Cora's hands in the process. The pair before her shouldn't be here, there's no way their spirits can be here and she panics.

"Oh my god, did you both die?" Regina asks, jaw dropping as far as it can as her heart beats so fast, worrying for her friends. Expecting the worst, imagining that Zelena had made her move while she and Robin were deep in this realm.

"What?" Emma laughs, narrowing her brows, then realising, "Oh, no. It appears you value our opinions more than you let on. We are merely projections of your own mind."

"Yeah," Mary Margaret smiles and shrugs, "Think of us as the voices in your head, but we are the ones you ignore."

Regina looks back to Cora. Her face is scrunched up and confused, looking for some reasoning.

Cora tries to contain the bubbling laughter, but it fails, "These women are important to you and know you better than most. You must have some reservations that only they can help you uncover."

Regina rolls her eyes and groans, "Really? Swan and 'Finds Hope at Every Corner' Blanchard are my next challenge?"

"Standing right here, Regina," Emma coughs loudly.

Mary Margaret follows suit, crossing her arms and pouting, "We are only trying to help."

"I know, I'm sorry," Regina sighs, "But I have no idea what it is I need to do for each of you."

Cora stands at Regina's side, "They aren't your challenge, dear. They are here to help you. Cora urges her to think, "What were we talking about when they got here?"

Regina thinks back to the conversation and remembers quickly the final feeling that whisked around in her lungs before Emma's voice interrupted them. Cora had listed off qualities that she has never associated with herself - she's always just been the ghost girl in her head; weird, odd, strange, closed off.

"You don't see the parts of yourself that others do," Emma answers. "You don't see anything beyond what you think defines you."

Then Mary Margaret adds, "And you still can't see the good in your gift."

They truly are projections. Every word that they are saying has come directly from Regina's own headspace, but with Emma and Mary Margaret, her thoughts don't hit the filter that they usually do. The words spill out of their mouths when her own refuses to speak.

"Regina, we love you," Emma says profoundly. "You've given us more than you realise, helped us in ways you refuse to see."

"I can't imagine my life without you in it," Mary Margaret smiles sadly, "And if it weren't for your abilities, you wouldn't be in mine."

"Or mine," Emma throws on the end.

They aren't lying, Regina thinks to when they first met each other. Mary Margaret became one of her first friends after they bumped into each other in the art room in lower school - Regina had a frightening run in with a spirit in the hallway long before she truly understood the ins and outs of what she could do. She seeked a safe place in that art room and in doing so found a life long friend in Mary Margaret.

And Emma… If it weren't for Neal and his insistent pushing to have her pass on a message to Emma, they probably would have never crossed paths, despite studying the same subject.

"Your link to the spirit world may be how we met," Emma smiles brightly, "But it's not why we stayed. You're so much more than that…"

"I am?"

"Without a doubt," Mary Margaret beams.


"I love the forest," Robin sighs as they walk together, "But I am rather sick of this."

Marian chuckles under her breath, "It won't be long," she tells him. "Regina is so close to being ready."

"And am I?" Robin asks, "This is about both of us, is it not?"

"It is," Marian confirms. They are still walking at a steady pace, but she tugs lightly on his arm and asks him to stop walking. "Can we sit for a minute?"

"Of course."

Robin removes his jacket and lies it on the ground so that she has a dry surface to sit on, just another display of his almost infuriating chivalry - one of the many things that she fell in love with. They sit together, only just being able to share his jacket on the ground. Marian looks upon Robin's face, her chest rising and falling nervously.

"What happened to me was not your fault," she tells him again, and his response is the familiar groan that he responded with earlier, so she shushes him. "Listen to me. This is not easy and I can't think of a way to tell you this without having you overreact."

"Marian, you can tell me anything."

"I know that," Marian says, sadly dipping her head away, "But this is delicate." Robin nods his head, mumbling a soft alright letting her know that she has the reigns, she can speak freely. "I only realised recently, but the man who shot me was possessed. He didn't have a clue what he was doing."

"Possessed?" Robin asks, his eyelids closing for two or three seconds to process, "You mean like Henry was?"

"Yes," Marian frowns, "And by the same person. She lets it all sink in, and the moment it does, she knows. The horror and pain that scrunches on his face says it all. He's speechless and heartbroken in an instant, but he'd be lying if he said there isn't a wave of relief in there somewhere. "Zelena targeted me because we were close. It had nothing to do with you or Roland, not even Regina. She's a witch who is overfilled with the want for revenge, there is nothing you could have done."

"Marian," Robin coughs out painfully, the sudden weightlessness left by the lack of looming guilt overwhelming him. But there's still a shred there, "I should never have made you feel like you had to leave that night and even after death, I was doing such a horrible job as a father that you were stuck here in this limbo."

"No," Marian tells him pointedly, "You're wrong. I thought my unfinished business was making sure Roland is okay. But now I know that it was to help you lift away all that weight that has been holding you down...That is all that was clouding your judgement. I have to help you rid of the pain that has been dragging you around."

"I should have tried harder to make you stay," Robin argues one last time only to have the thought rejected again.

"You have always said that life is all about timing," Marian hushes him. "I died when I was destined to."

"That's bullshit," Robin grits through his teeth, even though he knows she is right.

"My death, your pain, Roland getting tonsillitis… It was all timed perfectly so that you would find Regina," Marian tells him through shaky breaths and tightly grasped hands holding his. "You were right. It really is all about the timing."

Robin sighs, a long shuddered sigh, letting his chin hang low, and when he lifts his head back up, he asks, "It wasn't my fault?"

"Not even a tiny bit," Marian promises. She smiles at him with tight lips, practically watching as the last ounce of guilt flies from his shoulders and he finally breathes a simple, relieved breath.

And in an instant, she's at peace. A blinding light explodes from in front of them and she covers her eyes as they adjust to the bright change, but Robin doesn't flinch.

"What's wrong?" Robin asks, reaching up to hold her shoulders supportively.

"You don't see that?" Marian strains, adjusting ever so slowly to the bright light.

Robin looks around, circling his neck around the area, but doesn't see anything out of the ordinary. "I don't see anything."

It's not as blinding anymore and Marian lowers her hand and stares in awe at the white light in the distance. Realising what it is, Marian looks towards Robin with a smile brighter than the brightest star in the night sky.

"You did it," Marian congratulates proudly, her smile shrinks into a tight lipped grin. "You're ready. And so am I."

Marian stands happily, Robin raising with her.

"You can leave now?" He smiles happily, whens he nods. She's nervous, but who wouldn't be. "Well, go," he chuckles, dropping her hands to her sides.

"Promise me something?" She asks, only inches from the light.

"Anything."

"Regina knew about what Zelena did to me. She found out in the hospital after sleeping to find Henry. Zelena taunted her with it and she didn't know how to tell you. Please don't hold it against her."

While it rattles around his mind for a moment, he realises that he can't ever hold something so complicated against her. "Of course," he promises, sympathetically understanding the turmoil Regina has been battling to keep it from him.

To him, Marian only seems to become transcendent in his view, she merely fades away. And it brings him more joy he could have ever imagined.


Emma and Mary Margaret leave happily after Regina meets understanding headspace, finding out things about herself she has been closed off to.

So, she and Cora and back on the familiar street Rosie had first found her, but they walk passed the diner, straight ahead in the other direction.

The entire way, Regina wants to say something. An apology is probably in order for letting her mind interrupt their conversation like that, especially in the form of the two idiots she cares for more than she knew.

But by the time they near the greenest part of town, just the outskirts of the forest, Cora slows their maintained pace.

"What's wrong?" Regina asks, continuing only a bit to stand shoulder to shoulder with Cora. They are almost the same height, she'd never noticed before.

"You're almost ready," Cora grins, smiling to her side so Regina can say. "Just keep walking that way and you'll find him."

"Really?"

Cora nods and pulls her stance away, letting Regina walk forward, but she doesn't. Instead she turns to fully face Cora.

"What about you?" She asks.

"I don't know what you mean," Cora tilts her head.

Regina widens her eyes, "You're stuck here."

"Ah," Cora sighs, "My time to cross will come, until then, I will remain here."

"What can I do?" Regina asks desperately, horrified at the thought of her mother spending one more second in limbo, "What's your unfinished business? I want to help."

"I know you do," Cora brushes her fingertips up the sides of Regina's arms, all the way to her shoulder, "But not today." They embrace each other tightly, Cora having to hush Regina's arguing one more time. "My unfinished business is complicated. When I'm ready to tackle it, you'll know. Now go. Follow your heart and you will not fail."

Turning to face the long road, Regina shrugs her shoulders and high and let's them slump down, a stretch in preparation. She turns back to thank Cora, but her mother is gone. And she laughs again at the disappearing act, but this time it's lighter, softer, filled with less resentment.

Then she walks. A relatively slow pace, but she's being meticulous, making sure to always look left and right, listening for any sound or call of her name if he sees her first. But there's nothing for what feels like miles.

Until she meets an orange line painted across the road. Stopping at it, she wonders why it's there. If her mind truly did create this town, why did it paint this line here. Placing a hand forward, she meets something invisible, solid, and cold to the touch, almost like a window in winter. There's no way she can get through this.

"Seriously?" She groans, smacking a fist into it, gritting her teeth when it collides with the solid nothingness.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes," Daniel chuckles from her side, appearing quickly but not frightening her so much.

She knows his voice so well, she doesn't have to look at him, but she really doesn't want to go through this.

"Just walk this way?" She begins to mock Cora, then sighs, "I should have known it wouldn't be that easy."

"You always seem very upset to see me," Daniel frowns playfully, knowing why she feels the way she does, "Of course you are." Regina looks over at him now. "I am your last wall." She's always known that. Since the moment she lost him, she knew she was going to build an impenetrable wall so high. "Don't you think it's time to break me down?" Daniel asks, taking short simple steps towards her, waiting a second after each one to let her decide her borders.

Her head is screaming for her to back away. But for once, she is going to take Cora's advice and follow her heart.

She stays put, works through everything telling her to run, "Yes."

"Me too," he smiles proudly. "There's nothing wrong with missing me, Regina. It's alright to have bad days where you miss me. And there's nothing at all wrong with storing a love for me deep in your heart, but that doesn't mean you should close yourself from any other type of love. Especially one as strong as the one Robin has for you." She shifts awkwardly at the conversation. "I know you love him."

"How do you possibly know that?" She asks.

He reaches for her, and for what feels like the millionth time, she is transported somewhere new. It's the market. The one she and Henry visit every month, the one she introduced Robin and Roland to this last week.

"When Henry turned eight, you started bringing him here," Daniel tells her, not that she needs the reminder. "Why?" She opens her mouth to speak, but he must catch the slight curve of a grin. "And don't say the peanut brittle."

The slight grin becomes a heavy sigh, and she admits, "On his eighth birthday, I realised how much he looked like you. I missed you."

"But why the market?" He asks. And she's frustrated because she knows he already knows the answer, this is all about having her say it aloud, having it become real and out in the open.

The answer is on the tip of her tongue, dancing around causing tears to gather in her eyes and a lump in her throat. "This is where you told me that you loved me for the first time," she confesses, trying to blink away the tears, but she fails.

"I did." Daniel walks with her deeper into the market, avoiding the people at stalls or maneuverering around. "But that's not the only reason it's special anymore."

Daniel lifts his chin towards a few stalls to their left and they are all standing there, it was their latest visit.

Roland is in Regina's arms, legs wrapped around her waist as they look down at the small accessories on the table, Roland points excitedly at each piece with so much enthusiasm and Regina returns the excitement eagerly. Robin and Henry are behind them, looking carefully at the twist cap of a root beer that Henry had purchased. He couldn't open it, not to save himself. The cap suggested it was a twist off, but that must've been a lie. It frustrated the boys, so Robin pulled out his keys and offered to pop the cap off.

It was the soft sounding pop and sloshing of liquid that caught Regina's attention. Apparently it all fizzed up and exploded over Robin, leaving his shirt and a fair portion of his face dripping with root beer. Regina turned just as Henry starts bubbling with laughter, Roland joining in almost immediately. Robin was embarrassed, his cheeks turned a soft pink and he looked at her sheepish, shrugging his shoulders. Regina brings her hand to her mouth, covering it as her own laughter begins.

The scene freezes suddenly, her mind controlling the pause button.

"This is it," Daniel tells her, and she knows. "Why is this moment so important to you?"

Regina looks at herself, wrapped up in a boy who might as well be her own flesh and blood. Her eyes are glued to Robin as Henry is bent slightly, laughing loudly.

"This is the moment I realised I love him," Regina whispers, almost silently. Despite how silent the confession, it lifts a weight so heavy from her chest, and she can breathe again.

The market fades anyway into small clouds of smoke and they are standing back at the barrier on the edge of town.

"And you felt guilty immediately after," Daniel says, "For absolutely no valid reason."

Regina points her eyes down, "I was scared. And the market is our place. It didn't feel right having that thought there."

"We don't get to choose where we are when we realise we are in love," Daniel soothes, letting her know it's okay to share such a sacred place. "You have to stop running everything by the memory of me."

"Losing you destroyed me," Regina whimpers, "I'm so afraid of losing love again."

Daniel smiles comfortingly, "And there's nothing wrong with being afraid. But don't let the fear of losing something keep you from obtaining it. If you do that, it's as if you lost something without ever experiencing what it is like to have it."

He hits a home run with that one. She is so afraid of losing something that she refuses to let herself have.

"I am in love with him," Regina admits for the first time out loud and it's followed by a toothy smile and a blush that Daniel cannot claim as one of his own doing. "That's the point of this, right? You need me to be honest with myself."

And suddenly it's bright behind her head, a light shining in the distant trees growing closer and closer.

"Wow," he breathes, looking over her head. She turns to see what he is looking at, but alas she sees nothing. However, the look on his face is one that she has seen a number of times and it answers her own question - her final barrier was to be eliminated by admitting her own feelings to herself.

"I've only heard stories of this moment," Daniel tells her.

"You see it, don't you?" She asks, "The light?"

"I think so," Daniel whispers, worried that he may scare it away, but it remains strong and almost blinding.

"I thought Zelena had trapped you here."

"She had," He confirms, "With a heart filled with hate and a lust for revenge. But love is always stronger. It was hard for me to reach out to you when you spent so long trying to ignore spirits. But look at you now. See, you can do this, you're already winning." Her smile cannot be compared to anything, and it's exhilarating. "What do I do?" He asks, looking back to the light behind her head.

"Walk into it," she tells him.

"What's there?"

"I don't know," she tries not to frown, saddened that their time is nearing its end. "But I know it will be peaceful." Daniel grins towards the light, sighing at the prospect of being released from this limbo. "When I cross over, when my time arrives," Regina begins to say with a watery smile, grabbing onto his arms tightly knowing that it will be truly the last time she will touch him, "Your face better be the first face I see."

"You can count on it." Daniel dries her tears, kisses her cheek softly to set aside her fears, and just short of her ear, he whispers, "Getting to love you is what I am most thankful for and being loved back is more than I ever deserved."

Regina shakes her head, eyes watering again, "I'll never stop."

"I know," Daniel smiles, averting his eyes to the bright light that Regina can't see, then looks back into the chocolatey brown of her eyes. "Go and get your soulmate and give him the greatest gift he will ever receive. Love him even only a fraction that your heart is capable of and he will feel like the luckiest man in the world."

"I will."

Daniel embraces her for a final time, and mumbles, "Promise me," into her hair.

"I promise," she breathes through a comforting smile. "What was your unfinished business?"

Daniel chuckles into a soft bite of his bottom lip, "You. It's always been you."

Touched, she closes her eyes and breathes a deep, long breath, then thinking keenly of their son. "What will I tell Henry?"

"That I adore him," Daniel steps away from her, deciding that it's time to let her go, but keeping their hands linked until he absolutely has to let them go as he walks passed her and heads towards the light that will swallow him. Although, he turns back one last time, "And tell him to stop complaining about having to do his homework."

A hearty laugh reaches his ears, a laugh that he used to hear daily, a small part of her that would fill his heart to the brim. Regina is thinking far too fondly of the frustrating moments she and Henry have fought through regarding his homework.

That laugh is music to his ears, and he wants to be the last thing he hears, so he steps forward and allows himself to be engulfed by his new eternity.

He's gone. For good this time. She may not have seen that bright light, but boy did she feel it. She realises how much she did now that it's gone, there's a missing warmth, missing safety in the air. But she sighs happily, over the moon for him.

"You did it," a young voice speaks.

She rolls her eyes, albeit with a grin. Of course there's still more to do. She turns and stares at the young boy on the other side of the barrier that is now depleted, just one step over the painted orange line.

Confused at first, she notes small things about the boy. She would recognise those eyes in a heavy storm and no one has a smile quite like his.

"Robin?" She asks, crossing the painted line and stands in front of him, having to stare down at his shortened height, into his younger, much more innocent eyes.

"Guilty," he shrugs, shining a sheepish grin her way. "You look different."

"So do you," Regina laughs, "Are you in the forest?" She asks, obviously talking about his adult counterpart.

"Yes," he smiles and points in a direction.

She drops a kiss to his head, a sweet one, "Thank you."

She walks in the direction he pointed her in for what feels like miles, but she's anxious so she knows the way time feels is heavily skewed. It's silent for the most part, not without the usual forest sounds; the whistling wind through the trees, soft crunches of leaves under her shoes.

Snapping branches, however? Not normal. When it sounds she freezes and looks around quickly, and she catches the quick passing of a man between the trees on her left.

"Robin?" She calls out and runs towards him, but he gone. She circles around again, then catches a glimpse out of him again out of the corner of her eye. Calling out his name a second time, she runs to that spot.

It's like the forest is spinning. Every time she sees him, the forest flips. It's like as mirror maze that she can't navigate.

"Regina?" She hears from behind her, but he's not there when she looks

It may not work, but she decides to pick a direction and just run. She runs as fast as she can, hopping over decent sized logs and avoiding trees as she zig zags through then. His voice is still calling out to her, and it's getting louder.

Then out of nowhere, she hits a body. She smacks into him with so much force, he buckles backwards to the ground with a loud, painful groan. He has instinctively wraps her close to his chest as he takes most of the hit to forest floor.

Taking a moment, they relax. Neither of them move a muscle. She stays leaning against his warm torso, not making any effort to detangle their legs.

"Are you okay?" She asks into his chest, but the question is short lived when he begins to laugh loudly.

"I've never had a woman fling herself at me before," he huffs through laughter. He squeezes her closer to his chest and it's shaking drastically as he chuckles, then she's laughing too.

Pushing on him, she lifts herself up off the ground, and offers a hand to help him and pulls strongly to lift him to his feet. Their laughter filters off and the space between them changes, becomes more serious. Robin brushes his fingertips over her face, tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear.

"Is it really you? Or is this another trick?" He asks, a completely merited question given the situation.

"It's me," she smiles and grasps onto his forearms for extra measure. "I found you."

There's pride in her voice. She's proud of herself, with every right to be.

"I knew you would," Robin whispers, his hands weaving into her hair and stares at her in awe. "What did you have to do?" He asks and she snorts a laugh through her nose.

An impossible question to answer easily and how can he possibly be asking her anything when there is only one thing on her mind?

"I met Daniel, and Marian was here, but I think she crossed over. Is that even the right thing to say?" His mind is wandering, "Or do you say move on? Which makes more sense?"

He's rambling and she has never loved someone more than she does in this very moment.

"Robin?" She gets his attention, winds her arms tightly around his neck and leans up on her tiptoes. She bites her bottom lip and mumbles playfully, "Shut up."

She claims his lips ferociously and it's magic. Pure magic. One small token of affection renders them into a sweet atmosphere. The connection of their lips melting away any feeling that isn't love, passion or comfort.

Eyes close, hands wander down her back and up again into her hair, holding her closer to him than she has ever been before. He's everywhere - in her mind, her heart, he's flowing around her arteries.

Neither of them notice the change in their surroundings. What was the forest is now a park, a familiar place for them both, all they need to do is part and open their eyes to see it.

But getting lost has never felt so wondrous. They completely lose themselves in each other, their soft kisses becoming heated and involved. She moans into him, pulling her own weight up higher while his arms circle around her waist, then scoot lower, nestling comfortably and lowly on her hips.

He doesn't lift her, but he comes close. She is standing on the very tip of her toes with his help holding her weight up even higher now.

Slowly, they begin to let each other go. His grip drops and her feet flatten. Their lips don't part, not quite yet, Robin lowers his neck to compensate for the height difference. And once their heated encounter becomes a collection of soft kisses and pecks, they catch each other's eyes.

"Where are we?" Robin breathes heavily into their close space, noticing finally that they are not where they were before.

Regina looks around, reaching down for his hand and linking their fingers. In the distance, she can see her younger self with Robin, but they disappear before she can point them out to him.

That's when she realises, "It's the park."

Regina points to the large sign in the distance, decorated with the image of a lion that started it all.

"Oh," Robin smiles, staring at the tattoo on his arm. It's not exactly the same, only a few minor details different. "Close enough," he chuckles.

Then, what was is bright blue, cloud free sky above them suddenly darkens and greys. Thunder clouds roll in fast and rain begins to batter down hard onto the grass and their bodies.

The water falling is loudly so Robin has to shout, "What's going on?"

Thunder cracks, lightning flashes almost instantly, the storm above them raging violently. She hasn't a clue what's going on. But the emergence of fiery hair in front of them makes it all too clear. Zelena is before them, completely dry as opposed to their drenched clothing and dripping wet hair.

Regina turns and stands in front of Robin, reaching behind her, she grips tightly on to his wrists. She will not let Zelena hurt him. Not now, not ever.

It's time to end this.

"What did you do?" Zelena screams angrily through the rain. "I needed those spirits," she yells, gritting her teeth.

Zelena lifts her hands in front of her chest, like she is about to push against something in front of her, then angrily shoves her palms forward. From them, a stream of green light shoots towards Robin and Regina and slams into Regina's chest.

The last thing she remembers is clamping her eyes closed and turning her head away and suddenly she is awake again. Her eyes snap open, she's dry to the bone, encased in warm, loving arms, resting on Jefferson's bed.

Quickly, she sits up, shaking off the jolt that is still lingering in her chest. Then the soft beeping registers and she looks to Robin. He's still sleeping.

He's medicated. And trapped. With Zelena.

"Shit," she clenches through her teeth and shakes him in an effort to wake him.

Nothing.

"Jefferson!" She yells through the apartment to no reply. She leaves Robin for only a second, and finds Jefferson is sleeping on the couch. Groaning and scared, Regina slaps his shoulder angrily, "Jefferson!"

"Jesus," Jefferson sits up, startled and alarmed. "Regina. You're awake?"

"Wake him up," she demands. "Now."

She scatters back to the bedroom, and Robin looks distressed. Jefferson swiftly weasels in and starts unhooking IV lines. Impatiently, she kneels next to Robin on the comforter, placing her palms on his chest while waiting.

"Why isn't he waking up?"

"I drugged him, he won't wake up right away."

Pain rips through her chest. It's unbearable. Sawing pain in her lungs, she clutches her arms around herself and let's her head drop forward in pain and groaning from the back of her throat.

Then Robin's heart monitor goes berserk, his heart beat radically speeding up and slowing down.

The pain in her chest. It's his pain. Zelena is hurting him.

"Jefferson, I swear to God, if you don't wake him up- Argh!" There are painful tears in her eyes, dropping as it worsens and strengthens. "Wake him up!" She begs.

They may have weakened Zelena slightly by helping Marian and Daniel cross over, a few less spirits for her to draw power from, but they sure did piss her off. And it appears that the added anger they've spiralled is more than enough for Zelena to still harbour immense power. By connecting their souls, they've broken Zelena's further, and it doesn't appear to be working in their favour in this instant.


Please don't hate me... I'll fix it! I promise!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the twelfth chapter will come soon. Thank you so much for reading.

Shay xo