"It's snowing!" Roland shouts. He sticks his tongue out to catch the cold flakes that are falling ever faster.

For a second Robin smiles at his son and the way his grief can be momentarily forgotten with the simple pleasure of an afternoon storm. But then Robin sees Regina's face. She's still lying on the grass with him, her body half on top of his, but her face is twisted into an expression of horror as she looks up at the sky.

"Regina?"

"I can feel the magic."

"What is it? Is the snow dangerous?" Robin asks, and then he's running to pull Roland into his arms, checking the boy over for any signs of harm.

"It's ok," Regina tells Robin. "The snow isn't dangerous." She holds out a hand and looks at the pristine flakes. "But it is powerful magic."

"What's causing it?" Robin asks.

"I don't know. But I'll figure it out." Regina promises, a hand landing on Roland's back protectively. Robin watches her face go from afraid to determined. Her eyes gleam as if daring anyone to try to hurt the people she cares about.

Regina hears the backdoor opening and turns to see a confused Henry on the porch. "Mom what's going on?"

"I don't know, but we are going to figure it out."

"Should I start looking through Disney movies for an answer?" Henry teases.

Regina quirks an eyebrow at him. "Not funny dear."

"I think it is," Henry tells her walking out into the rapidly falling snow. "Can I get my hat and gloves or is this evil snow?"

"The snow isn't evil, but there's magic here."

"Magic snow, like in Frozen?" Henry sees Regina's confused expression. "Really Mom, you never saw Frozen?"

"Maybe it's time I start teaching you a little more about what the Enchanted Forest is like. Sadly lacking in movie theaters - or electricity."

Henry looks appalled at the idea, and Robin laughs at the boy and tells him,

"There are other forms of entertainment. It's rather nice actually to just be alone with nature."

Regina rolls her eyes at Robin. "Is that why I found you in the living room at two in the morning watching Food Network?"

"I thought I should start doing some of the cooking if Roland and I are going to spend time here."

Regina looks entirely disbelievingly at Robin.

Roland squirms his way out of Robin's arms. "Come on! We have to play in the snow."

"You're right," Henry agrees. "They're boring. Let's go play."

Roland grabs Regina's hand. "You have to help me make a snowman Gina. You're the best at it."

Robin smiles at his son's enthusiasm and his obvious affection for Regina. Robin runs a hand affectionately through Roland's curls and tells the child, "I don't think there's enough snow yet for that my boy, but I'm sure once there is you and Regina can make one of your renowned snowmen."

Robin watches at Henry's smile disappears and his face darkens in a way that Robin has witnessed in Regina. Robin finds that watching her boy in pain makes his chest ache. Robin thinks he can see Henry's sadness at the time he missed with his mother this last year, can see jealously at the idea that she had shared happy times with Roland instead of him. "You were the one who taught your mother such skills, were you not Henry?"

Henry looks at Regina, smiles tentatively. She grins at him and reaches out to pull him against her side. "Of course he was. Henry and I made the best snow men on the block every year."

Robin watches Henry's smile grow as the boy informs him that, "One year there was two feet of snow and school was canceled, so Mom and I spent the whole day outside and we made all the characters from The Little Prince out of snow."

Roland is bouncing up and down. "Come on. We can all make snowmen together."

His persistence is interrupted by the ringing of Regina's cellphone. Robin can hear a flurry of rapid fire questions on the other end in Snow's voice.

"Snow calm down," Regina says, and Robin wonders for a moment how often a teenage Regina had tried to calm a frightened Snow. He hears Snow launch into another series of frantic question. Robin watches as Regina's spine straightens, as she seems to be readying herself for another fight. "Whatever this is, we will protect our family," Regina promises.

It's enough to calm Snow apparently because a moment later Regina is ending the call. "Snow and David are on their way over," Regina explains. "I need to change my clothes and get my magic books. Perhaps there will be information that will help us. Why don't you three keep playing."

"I can help," Henry insists.

Regina wants to object immediately. He's her little boy, and she wants to protect him from all the danger in the world. And then she thinks selfishly that she can't bear the thought of Henry seeing this part of her life again. Fear washes over her that Henry will look at her and no longer see his mom, but the Evil Queen.

But then she thinks of her promise to be honest with Henry. She remembers that not being honest with Henry was what drove him away from her last time.

"Please Mom. I want to help you."

"You can help us research what's happening, but you are not putting yourself in danger, do you understand? Whatever this is I will fight it and I will protect you."

"That's not fair" Henry insists, and Robin sees the panic in the boy's eyes, knows that this isn't just about Henry wanting to be a man, it's about real fear for his mother.

"Don't worry Henry," Robin says with a light smile that cannot fully hide his shared concern for Regina. "You needn't fear that your mother will be fighting alone. But she is right, as much as you are a young man, to your mom you will always be her little boy, and I know that she will only be able to rest easy if she knows you aren't in danger."

Regina looks close to arguing with Robin, because this isn't his fight, but she seems to think better of it once she realizes that his words have soothed Henry.

"Why don't you play for a little while," Regina says again. "I need to put on dry clothes. As soon as I'm ready to work I'll come get you."


Robin finds Regina in her bedroom, her wet clothes laying in a pile, a terrycloth robe wrapped around her, her still damp hair dripping onto her shoulders. She's staring at a small book in her hands, her face twisted into an expression that Robin can't entirely read.

"Regina?"

She looks up at him, the pain in her eyes evident.

"What is that?" Robin asks.

"A book that belonged to my mother."

Her hands are trembling and Robin reaches out and takes the book from Regina, setting it down on the bureau next to him.

Robin reaches for Regina, a hand on her back, the other curling into her hair as he pulls her close and kisses her. Her hands settle on his waist and his back. Robin kisses her and kisses her until he feels some of the tension leave her body. Kisses her again, feels a smile form on her lips.

Robin opens his eyes to see Regina watching him with a tiny smile. Her hair is wet beneath his hand and curly where it has begun to dry. Her face is bare of makeup - she hadn't bothered to put any on this morning Robin realizes. She's stunning. He wants this every day of his life. This Regina that others aren't allowed to see here in his arms.

Regina smiles at Robin, looks grateful, always so grateful, that he's here. "I don't want magic anywhere near Henry."

"I believe magic has already been near him," Robin says. "You and he broke a curse together. What's that if not magic?"

"It isn't the same," Regina insists, unsure of how to explain that nothing good can possibly come from what's contained in these books. She can practically feel the restraints around her wrists as she glances over the old book, feels her mother's presence heavy in the air, is nauseated by the reminder of fearing that she would become her mother.

Robin brings his hands up to cup Regina's face. "I used to believe that nothing good could come of magic. I had seen it used as an instrument of torture when I was a young man in war, and I saw many use it to gain power. But then a magic wand helped me save Marian's life long enough for Roland to be born, and I at least began to think of magic as a necessary evil. But now Regina, now I have seen your magic. I have seen your body glow with shining light. I can feel it when we're together."

"You can?" Regina asks, surprise written across her face.

"Yes, I can," Robin tells her with a smile, his thumb tracing lines across her cheek bone.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know it was possible to feel magic until you told me today. I didn't know what I was experiencing exactly."

"What does it feel like?"

"It feels like you. It's the most beautiful, powerful, intoxicating feeling. And it is light magic. I know with certainty that what I feel is most assuredly good."

Regina is staring at Robin with wonder.

"What is it?" he asks.

"I've read about the connection between soul mates, but it's mostly speculation."

Robin thinks he understands, because he too had been floored by the connection he shares with Regina. It still catches him off guard some days how deeply he is able to feel her. "Yes, I've been doing some research myself," Robin says, his hands still on Regina's cheeks, and he melts against his palm. "I understand that what you and I share is quite rare," Robin tells Regina, his face breaking into an unstoppable smile at the idea that they are meant for one another, that they fit so perfectly.

Robin is grinning from ear to ear, and Regina can't quite understand how anyone could feel such joy at being connected to her. Before she has too much time to think about it, Robin leans forward and presses a light kiss to Regina's lips again. He doesn't move away, whispers to her softly, the words vibrating against her mouth. "I love that I share this with you. I love you."

"I love you too," Regina whispers back, leaning her forehead against his.

Robin is grinning at Regina when she pulls back a little to look at him, and she can't help but smile back. No matter what is happening around them seeing that expression of his face when he looks at her is enough to make Regina give into the new, struggling hope and belief that she nurtures in her heart.

"Have I told you today how beautiful you are?" Robin asks.

Regina rolls her eyes at him, reaches up to run a hand through her hair. It's wild, waves and curls that fly at odd angles.

Regina waves a hand and in an instant she is immaculately dressed, hair straightened, and makeup perfect.

Robin shakes his head at Regina with a little smile. "I always wondered…"

"It saves time."

"For the record, next time you want to save time and you're with me, I find you just as beautiful with curls and no makeup."

"Sweet talker," Regina teases.

"It's simply the truth. You are always stunning."

He means it, Regina realizes. He is so in love with her, she thinks with awe as he stares at her as if she is precious and perfect exactly how she is. For a minute it takes her breath away, makes her chest ache with the realization of what she has in her life. And just as that wonder begins to turn to fear, Robin kisses her. After that it's hard to remember to be afraid.


Regina is sitting with Henry in the living room explaining spell after spell to him. So many questions, but somehow he keeps looking at her as his mother and nothing else. And it's ok, Regina feels tentatively that this might actually be ok, that he can learn this without them losing the relationship that they've managed to rebuild.

And then Emma walks in. She trails behind David and Snow, who has Neal in her arms. Regina thinks she should have probably asked Snow whether she would be bringing her daughter, because Henry remains uncertain around his birth mother.

It only takes a minute for Emma to see the spell book on Henry's lap. "Regina are you sure Henry should read those books?" Emma asks, arms crossed over her chest.

Regina can't exactly blame Emma for her concern, but Regina sees Henry's anger flare immediately. She remembers how Henry had complained repeatedly about Emma's continued attempts to make decisions for him. Regina manages to plaster a smile on her face before telling Emma, "Henry is old enough to begin to learn about these things, and I will protect him from anything dangerous."

"No offense Regina, but pretty much all the magic I've seen you do is dangerous."

Regina takes a deep breath and tries to be calm. There had been a time when she and Emma had come to something of an understanding, when Regina had trusted Emma to raise Henry. "Perhaps you would understand more about magic if you tried to learn it rather than squander your potential," Regina tells Emma. "Magic is not inherently one thing or another. It's like physical strength or precision with a sword or a bow. It's a skill. The place where you draw that strength from can be one of anger or hate or it can come from love or a desire to protect those you care for. Similarly the actions you perform are no better or worse when accomplished with magic. Surely ending a life with a weapon is no better than crushing a heart to accomplish the same goal."

"I don't want Henry learning magic," Emma insists.

Henry slams the book he's reading down on the table. "Does it look like I'm learning magic? No. And if I wanted to I wouldn't ask for your permission."

"Look kid, I just want what's best for you," Emma tells Henry before turning back towards Regina. "No offense Regina, but I don't want the kid turning out how you did."

"And you think I do?" Regina snaps. "I trust Henry, and I will be there for him in whatever choices he makes. He's growing up Emma, and I won't make his decisions for him anymore, but I will make certain that he is safe and that has the guidance that he needs."

"And I'm supposed to trust you to give Henry guidance about magic? Do you really think you should be giving him guidance at all?"

Henry has finally heard enough. "You're not my mom," he spits angrily at Emma.

"I'm just trying to do what's best for you kid."

"I'm not a kid Emma. And you don't know what's best for me. I already have a mother, and it's her job to be over protective and annoy me about what I'm not allowed to do."

"She wasn't doing her job so well when you showed up in my apartment and asked me to break her curse."

"I was a stupid kid who was upset when I found out I was adopted."

"You weren't stupid Henry," Emma insists. "You were right about the curse, about everything."

Henry reaches out and takes Regina's hand. "Not about everything." Henry feels his mom's hand squeeze his, and he gathers his courage and tells Emma, "I know I told you that you were my real mom, but I was wrong. You said you put me up for adoption because you wanted me to have my best chance, and I got that."

"I should go." Emma whispers, her voice thick and raspy.

"Of course you're leaving!" Henry screams, and his throat feels thick too. He struggles to get the words out without crying, because he doesn't want Emma to know how much she's hurting him. "You always run away when you're scared, and I have to convince you over and over again to stay. But if you don't want to be here then you should just leave already."

Emma turns and leaves, pushes past Snow and Charming, and runs out the front door.

Regina watches all the fight leave Henry when Emma is gone. He looks so young, and Regina reaches for him, gathers her boy in her arms. He slumps against her chest, his arms wrapping around her waist. "I love you so much my little prince," Regina whispers into Henry's hair. She presses a kiss against his head and hears him start to cry. "I love you," she tells him again, her arms holding him tightly to her.

Regina looks up over Henry's head, her eyes meeting Snow's. Henry is sobbing silently against Regina's chest, the force of it shaking her body. It hurts Regina so terribly to see her child so very upset, and she knows that Snow shares that pain right now.

"Give me Neal," Regina tells Snow. "Your daughter needs you."

Regina repositions Henry so that he's tucked against her right side, his face still buried in her chest, and reaches out for Neal. She takes the sleeping baby in her arm, cradling him to her shoulder. "Go," she encourages Snow, as the woman looks back at her baby once more.


Emma almost loses her nerve when she finds Henry in the back yard with his head leaned on Regina's shoulder and her arm around him.

It's Regina who spots Emma before she can turn and leave. "Should I give you two some time to talk?" Regina asks Henry, squeezing his arm gently.

Henry takes a deep breath and sits up straight. "Thanks Mom," he says, unsure exactly what he's thanking her for. His mom kisses presses a kiss to his forehead before walking into the house and leaving him alone with Emma.

Emma sits down next to Henry, and he thinks she looks as awkward and unsure as she had when he first brought her to Storybrooke. "Parents aren't perfect Henry," she tells him. "I'm far from perfect."

Henry chuckles a bit. "My mom just told me the same thing."

"I'm sure she was happy to remind you that I'm not perfect," Emma gripes.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Henry asks, frustration rising within him. "She was talking about herself. I know my mom hurt you, but since the curse broke she's saved your life and she gave you memories of a happy life. Even when she was all alone and hurting, she gave us a good life."

"I know kid. Your mom is trying to change."

Henry shakes his head. "You don't get it. She's been a great mom since I was a baby. Do you know what she told me when you left? She tried to convince me that you love me and that I should give you a chance. I know she did that because she wants me to be happy."

"We were happy in New York weren't we?" Emma asks, and Henry wishes that Emma would let go of that year and let them settle back into their real lives.

"It wasn't real," Henry tells Emma. "I never knew what it was, but I knew something was missing."

"I'm glad you remembered," Emma forces herself to say. She's still not sure she believes it, but she knows she should.

Emma feels terrible when Henry speaks again, apparently intent on comforting her. "You were a good mom Emma," he tells her.

Henry thinks of Emma in the year he spent with her, thinks of the memories that were real memories, and remembers a mother that had made him laugh and smile and feel loved. They had played video games together and cooked breakfast and gone on all the rides at Coney Island.

But she wasn't his mother. When he thinks of New York now, Henry's heart aches for Regina. He longs for the way she tucks him into bed and kisses his forehead and calls him her little prince. He hadn't had that, hadn't even known what he was missing. He wants to run to Regina now and hug her and feel the way that her touch feels like home in a way that no one else's can.

Henry looks over and meets Emma's eyes. "We were happy in New York and you were a good mom when you thought you were my mom. But you aren't," Henry says, and he doesn't mean to hurt Emma this time, but he needs her to know who he is. "Henry Swan isn't real."

"I know," Emma says, and Henry hears nothing but sadness, and he knows that she wishes he had been Henry Swan so badly. "But Henry Mills is an amazing young man."

"I don't want you to leave Emma. Even if you're not my mom, we can still be family right?"

"Of course we can."

"Ok, cool." Henry says, though he wonders how long it will be before Emma runs again.

He wraps his arms around her in an awkward hug, but she pulls him in closer like he remembers her doing in New York, and tells him, "Love you kid."

"I love you too, Emma."

"Come on," Emma says, standing and pulling Henry with her and trying not to let it sting that he no longer calls her Mom. "Let's go figure out what's causing all this snow." She's still uneasy with the idea of Henry and magic, but she knows better than to fight that battle.

"It's just like Frozen, isn't it?" Henry asks.

"What do you think the odds are that this one might not be some sort of fairy tale?"

"Pretty much zero. This is Storybrooke. Everyone except the two of us are fairy tale characters."


Neal become cranky before too long, and Regina eventually insists that Snow takes her family and goes home. Robin has no such luck getting Regina to stop researching the cause of the change in weather. She and Henry look through books well into the evening, while Robin and Roland play outside and practice their cooking skills.

By the time midnight rolls around, Roland is fast asleep and Henry is dozing off on the couch with a book in his hands.

"I think it's time for you to go to bed," Regina tells Henry, running a hand affectionately through his hair.

"I can stay up and help you look."

"You can hardly keep you eyes open. Why don't you get some rest, and you can help in the morning."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to finish looking through this book to see if I can find anything, and then I'll go to bed. But I can come tuck you in first."

"You don't have to," Henry says, closing the book and laying it on the table.

"Is it all right if I want to?" Regina asks.

"Of course Mom."

She smiles at him, so grateful that he still lets her have these moment with him.

"Thanks for letting me help today," Henry says while his mother pulls back the covers to tuck him in.

"Move over," Regina says, nudging Henry so that she can sit next to him on his bed. "I promised not to keep things from you again, and I won't," Regina tells him. "You're old enough to learn about magic. But I need you to make me a promise too."

"What?"

"I want you to promise that if I tell you something is dangerous that you will stay away. I can't have you putting yourself in danger Henry."

"But you put yourself in danger."

"I will try my hardest not to, but you are my son, and I will always protect you no matter what. You need to let me do that. You are the most important thing in the world to me, and I can't think about anything else if I don't know that you are safe."

Henry looks at Regina and thinks of Robin's words earlier. This isn't about Regina denying Henry the chance to be a hero, this is about her being his mother. And right now, that is something that Henry relishes. "I promise."

"Thank you."

"Mom?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you for being ok with Emma being in my life. I know you didn't want her here, but it means a lot to me that you've accepted her for my sake."

"I should have done that a long time ago," Regina tells him, thinking back to how she had driven her son away. "It was unfair to ever try to keep you two apart."

Henry leans against Regina's shoulder, and she wraps her arm around him. "I am so proud of you Henry. You've grown into such a mature, kind, brave young man."

"Thanks Mom. You must have done a good job with me, huh?" Henry teases. Before Regina's mind can turn to the ways that she failed her son in the past, he's grinning widely at her. Somehow Regina thinks that even with her past mistakes, she has a son who loves her, a son who looks perfectly happy and content right now.

She presses a kiss to his forehead. "I love you Henry."

"I love you too."

"Get some rest sweetheart," Regina says, standing from the bed. She brushes the hair from Henry's forehead tenderly, leans down for another kiss. "Good night my little prince."


Regina returns to the living room to find Robin tidying up and turning out the lights.

"I have more work to do," Regina tells him.

"In the morning," Robin replies, turning off the lamp so that the only remaining light in the room streams in from the hallway and from the moonlit, snowy sky outside the window.

"I need to figure out what we're facing."

"We will, and we will fight it together."

"Robin," Regina warns. She hadn't argued with him earlier when Henry had been in earshot, anxious for the reassurance that his mother wouldn't be hurt. But now she needs to make clear that he will not be putting himself in danger for her.

"Regina," Robin replies, his voice teasing. But Regina is glaring at him, obviously in no mood to joke. "You know when the curse broke I got back many memories of you trying to refuse my assistance."

"Yes and I recall that you never listened."

"I didn't, and I won't."

"Please for once Robin, listen to me. Roland just lost Marian. He can't lose you too."

"He won't. Our sons won't lose us. I will be right by your side for whatever is required, and we will both be fine."

Regina shakes her head frantically, tries to think how to convince Robin not to put himself in danger. She can't allow it. She doesn't know if she could survive losing him, and she hates herself for that weakness.

But when Robin grabs her hands and Regina meets his eyes, she sees the same frantic fear on his face. "I cannot bear to lose you," Robin insists, and he feels so frustrated that she obviously believes her own life to be worth less than his.

"Do you know what Henry asked me today? He asked that I keep you safe, because he loves that you're a hero, but he cannot bear to risk losing you. Your boy loves you more than anything, and if you can't do this for me Regina, do it for him. Let me keep you safe."

"I can't let you put yourself in danger for me."

"Then why is it ok for you to put yourself in danger?"

"I have magic and I need to stop whatever this is."

Robin sees Regina's desperate need to protect the people she loves, to protect a town full of people that she's wronged. He wonders if she thinks this is her penance. He wonders whether she will ever be able to stop putting herself in danger to make up for the past. Robin's voice is insistent when he tells Regina, "I need to protect you. I don't wish to argue."

"Then don't," Regina snaps.

"Come to bed."

"I need to figure out what's happening."

"Come read in bed at least. Let me wrap my arms around you."

Regina reluctantly agrees, grabs a few books from the table, and follows Robin up the stairs.

"I meant what I said," Regina insists, when she closes the bedroom door behind her. "I don't want you to put yourself in danger for me."

"I know you don't," Robin tells her, moving so, so close, "but I hope you know me well enough to know that I won't let you fight any battles alone anymore."

Regina feels the fight leaving her. He's inches away from her, and she doesn't want to remember how to close herself off from him, not when he's this close, and looking at her like she is all he could ever want.

"I hope you aren't trying to think up some clever way to push me away," Robin says, his arms wrapping around Regina and holding her waist loosely.

"That wouldn't be necessary if you weren't insisting that you plan to put yourself in danger because of me."

"You won't lose me," Robin promises. "I'm an expert fighter, and whatever it is that is coming, we will fight it and keep our family safe."

Regina gasps in surprise. Robin smiles gently. He hadn't intended to say it, but he certainly doesn't regret the word. "You're my soulmate. Surely that means we're family."

He's got her then, and he knows it. "Come here." Robin's arms draw Regina closer, and he meets no resistance. "I love you."

She smiles. She's always smiling when he hold her like this, when he tells her he loves her.

"Come to bed, Regina."


Neither Robin nor Regina can sleep. The sky is far too bright, the moon lighting up a haze of clouds. A winter sky on a summer night.

"You're thinking about Marian," Regina says, as she takes in the tears in Robin's eyes as he stares out the window from beside her on the bed.

Robin turns to Regina and nods sadly. "I was just thinking of how much Marian loved the snow, and how she would have thought this beautiful."

"I'm sorry she isn't here to see it," Regina tells Robin, and she finds that she truly means those words.

Robin thinks for a moment that this is cruel, pouring his heart out to Regina about Marian. But he wishes to keep nothing from Regina, wishes for the comfort that sharing himself with her brings him. "It hurt so much to watch her die again. Even if our relationship was over, I loved her dearly."

"I know," Regina tells Robin, her hand on his cheeks, fingers touching him, hoping to offer some comfort in his pain. There are no words to make this better.

Her touch feels so right, so so good. Robin closes his eyes and admits, "Part of me still feels guilty for hurting her by choosing you. Marian knew I felt that way, and she would tell me that it brought her peace to know that Roland and I had you."

Robin's eyes are still squeezed shut when he hears Regina's voice. "Marian asked me to promise to take care of you two. She was a remarkable woman."

Robin opens her eyes to look at Regina; he needs her to know how sincere he is. "I'm certain Marian thanked you herself, but I don't think that I've thanked you for how you helped her Regina."

"It was nothing compared to how I hurt her and what I intended to do to her."

"And yet I know you didn't support Marian as a way to pay a debt. You're a kind person, and Marian certainly saw that. She wouldn't have found peace if she didn't believe the woman taking care of Roland was good and kind. You showed her who you truly are, and I cannot thank you enough for what that gave to her."

"She more than returned the favor," Regina whispers, her eyes filling with tears as she thinks of the trust bestowed on her by a woman she wronged. That trust has brought Regina a measure of peace, however undeserved it may be.

"I'm not certain that I believe in fate. I believe in choices and the importance of making our own," Robin says, his hands winding in Regina's hair. "Somehow we all made the best of what has been terribly painful. When I am feeling guilty, I think of that. I hope that Marian didn't lie when she told me that seeing you and I together brought her peace. I hope that Roland will one day be grateful for the fact he had this time with Marian."

"Roland loves his mother very much. He wouldn't be hurting so much if he didn't. It's so unfair that you both lost her."

"It is, but you must understand Regina that Marian's death changed nothing between you and I. I chose to be with you." Robin sees the doubt on Regina's face, knows the fears that she won't say. "And no, I wouldn't have changed my mind or regretted that decision for a moment if she had lived."

"You can't know that."

"Of course I can." Robin pulls Regina closer, and he smiles at her. It's endless patience and love, and he doesn't seem at all put out be her doubts. "You don't understand how much I love you," Robin says. It's a statement of fact, not an accusation.

"You shouldn't."

"Loving you isn't an act of charity Regina. You make me so happy. You make me laugh and you make me smile and you make me feel that there is someone in the universe who understands me and loves me exactly as I am. You changed me, you reminded me of what it means to truly be alive, and I am a better man because of you."

Robin sees the expression of disbelief and wonder on Regina's face, knows it all too well.

"You deserve -" Regina begins, but Robin cuts her off, refuses to hear it.

"I want you and only you. I can't possibly deserve more than I've been given, because it is everything. You are everything. I know you're afraid and that it's difficult to believe in what we have after everything that you've lost. I understand that."

"I'm sorry."

"You needn't apologize for being afraid. We're not children Regina. We both have a past, and it means so much to me that you want to hear about mine and that that you have shared parts of yours. I want to know all of you, including your fears, including the parts of you that you hate."

Regina shakes her head. He will hate her if he knew the things she's done.

"We have all the time in the world. You can tell me anything whenever you so choose. And if you choose not to share parts of the past, I will understand that and I will still love you. I'm here for whatever comes our way. You can argue all you want, but you can't make me stop loving you and you can't push me away. I'm just as stubborn as you are."

"I don't doubt that," Regina teases before becoming serious again. "You are a good man Robin."

"I'm just a man, with a past and with flaws. But I try to be a man that Roland can look up to each day, because I haven't always been. And I try my best to do right by the people I love," Robin says, his fingers running along Regina's cheek and he smiles at her.

Regina presses her lips to Robin's, her arms around his neck, pulling him to her, closer, she needs him closer. He reciprocates in kind, opening his mouth to her, holding her tightly, letting his hands grasp tightly to her waist. There are things that Regina still doesn't have the words for, but it doesn't matter. She opens herself to him like this, her body against his, her hands touching him like he is precious to her, so precious and so loved. He doesn't need words, not when she offers him this.


"Was this your plan?" Regina asks as she tries to stifle a yawn. She's sprawled out loosely against Robin's chest, her fingers drawing patterns on his bare skin. Regina's eyes are drifting shut as Robin's hands rub circles on her back. "Tiring me out so I would go to sleep."

Robin chuckles against Regina's hair. "I'm always glad to be of assistance."

Regina whacks Robin's arm lightly for the comment, but she's smiling.

Her eyes are drifting closed. Robin pulls the blankets up around them, he still sees the sheen of sweat of Regina's body, knows that the new chill in the air will make her shiver soon. "Go to sleep," Robin whispers, his hands running though her hair. "We can wake up early in the morning and continue researching. If there is indeed a threat to our family then we will need sleep to be ready to fight it."

Robin smiles at the tickle of Regina's lips kissing his chest, her hair falling against his skin. "Not yet tuckered out?" he asks.

"Mmm," is Regina's only reply, her lips still lazily trailing along his muscles.

"How did I ever get so lucky?" Robin asks, a hand pushing Regina's hair back so that he can see her eyes properly. Confusion and disbelief remain on her face, and he thinks it will be a glorious day when she expects those words and accepts them. "You aren't the only one who marvels at their second chance Regina." Robin urges Regina towards him, pulling her up so their lips meet and he can kiss her until he feels her melt against him. He opens his eyes and catches the smile on her face.

"Sleep my love," he whispers against Regina's lips.

"You do understand that calling me that outside of this bed will be wholly unacceptable, don't you?"

"Of course darling," Robin teases.

"It's a good thing I love you," Regina tells Robin with a grin.

"Indeed it is. The best thing really."

Regina smiles at Robin, that soft smile that he gets for being sweet and sentimental in a way that he knows only he can get away with. And then she's straddling his lap, a wicked glint back in her eyes, as she leans forward and nips at Robin's neck.

"I still have more work to do in tiring you out then?"

"I wouldn't want to trouble you," Regina teases, beginning to swing her leg back off of Robin.

Robin holds her in place, his arms around her waist, his hands resting on her bottom. She could pull away easily if she wanted, and sometimes the gentleness makes Regina want to yell at him that he doesn't need to treat her as if she could break, as if she's already broken. But she looks at him and doesn't see pity, doesn't see him looking at her with anything but respect and love in his eyes. And she thinks he would treat her like this regardless of her history, he would treat her like this because he treats his partners with respect and with care. This isn't about dominance to him. It is about loving her, about being with her.

Robin sees the pensive expression on Regina's face. She smiles and shakes her head at her own silliness in being so overwhelmed by how much she loves Robin. "I think this is all going to take some time for me to get used to," she admits.

Robin grins and tells Regina, "It will be my utmost pleasure helping you to become accustomed."

Robin's smile turns into a smirk, and it's playful and Regina loves it, loves him. "I'm sure it will," Regina teases. And she's kissing her way down his neck and to his clavicle and making him moan. She could do this forever, love him forever, she thinks.


"Roland what are you doing awake?" Regina asks when she walks downstairs at 5:30 unable to sleep and finds Roland alone on the couch watching the television.

Roland shrugs his little shoulders at the question. He's clutching Matty the Stuffed Monkey tightly (a silly name that had made Regina laugh for the first time since casting the curse that had separated her from Henry) and he's huddled up in a tiny ball.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Regina asks, sitting next to Roland. He shakes his head, but crawls onto Regina's lap. She wraps her arms around him, and kisses his pudgy little cheek. "Are you missing your Mama?"

Roland nods his head and snuggles against Regina.

"Why didn't you come get your papa or me?"

"You were sleeping."

"That doesn't matter sweetheart. Promise me that next time you're sad that you'll come get us. I don't ever want you to be sad all alone, and I know your papa would never want that either."

"Ok, I promise."

"Good. Now what do you say that you come and have a slumber party with your papa and me? It's too early for you or Matty to be awake."

Roland smiles and nods against Regina, and she hoists him on her hip and carries him upstairs.

Robin stirs as Regina climbs back into bed with Roland. "Look who I found downstairs," Regina says.

"Are you ok, my boy?" Robin reaches out for his son, runs a hand through Roland's curls as the boy climbs into the center of the bed.

"I'm sad about Mama."

"Oh Roland," Robin says, pulling his son into his arms. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"I'm sorry Papa. Gina already made me promise that I will always wake you both if I'm sad."

"Well Gina is very smart. You never have to be sad all alone, Roland."

"Ok Papa," Roland says, reaching out to kiss Robin's cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too Roland."

Robin's heart feels so full as he watches his son turn to Regina and wrap his arms around her neck. "I love you Gina."

Robin watches Regina's eyes fill with tears as she kisses his son's forehead and tells him, "I love you too sweetheart." She hugs the boy for a few minutes. "You know that your mama loved you so much, don't you?"

Roland begins sniffling against Regina's chest, and Robin snuggles in close against them, leans his face against his son's hair, wishes he could take Roland's pain away.

"You mama loved you so much Roland," Regina tells him. "I only got to know her for a little while, but do you know what?" Roland shakes his head. "She reminded me a lot of you. She was kind and brave and she showed everyone she met a lot of love."

"Papa says I have her eyes and her heart."

Robin is crying and Regina reaches out and wipes the wetness from his cheeks before taking his hand, interlacing their fingers and laying their joined hands on Roland.

Regina smiles at Roland and tells him, "I think those are both very good things to have. You will always have your Mama right there with you, because she is always going to live in your heart."


Roland's soft snores fill the room soon, and Robin finds himself overcome by how much he loves the two people in his arms.

"Thank you Regina," he whispers, voice wet with the remnants of tears. "It means the world to me that you love Roland so much."

"How could I not love him? He's an amazing boy."

"That he is, but you treat him like your own. I want you to know how much that means to me." Robin lifts a hand to Regina's face, runs his fingers through her hair. She's amazing, and he can't stop smiling at her.

"I never want to replace Marian in Roland's life," Regina promises Robin.

"How could I not know that when you're reminding him of how much she loved him and telling him how special his mother was?"

"After everything that happened with Henry and Emma and myself, I just don't want to hurt Roland the same way I hurt Henry."

"You aren't hurting either of them. Henry is so lucky that you are his mother, and there is no one else I would want in Roland's life. We're yours Regina. Both of us."

Regina leans over Roland and kisses Robin.

Hers, she thinks as his lips press against hers.

Hers, she thinks as she drifts off to sleep with her arms around them.