A/N : This story is a gift to my valentine ariestess, for Love From OQ 2020 week. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed writing it for you
I apologize for the mistakes as this isn't betaread. Thank you Nani for the advices and the help with the manip
Warning for mention of physical abuse.
The day begins as usual, with his regular morning clients: Mrs. Lucas, the old lady from across the street who comes, as regular as a clock, every single Monday at 9am; Archie Hopper, the psychologist, who buys the town's newspaper every morning; and Leroy, the grumpy lonely guy who lives next door and buys a pack of six beer every morning.
Robin chats a little with all of them, as it has become his habit.
Today, he learns that Mrs. Lucas' granddaughter is about to come visit her, and that she'll be with her new girlfriend, to the old woman's pleasure, because, like she said 'they've been together for a year now and I haven't even met the girl yet!'.
Archie Hopper tells him about the APA convention he'll be attending this week-end in Washington, about how interesting it is to meet with colleagues from all over the country and even the world, and that Robin shouldn't worry when he won't see him buy his journal on Saturday.
Leroy complains, again, about his upstairs neighbor who turns the music up until 2:00a.m, says that he went to see him and talk, whatever talk might mean to Leroy, but the kid, Peter something, slammed the door in his face.
Robin listens, interested, amused, curious, as his regular clients tell him about their lives, and ask about him and his son, how Roland is doing at school, if they need anything. They know he's a single father after his wife passed away giving birth to Roland, barely five years ago. Not the easiest context to raise a child, especially when your job keeps you away from home 12 to 14h a day 6 days a week. But Robin is resourceful, full of imagination, and his son is his top priority, so he converted the break room into a giant organized and secured playground. When Roland stays at the shop with him, his entire world is made of knights, castles and outlaws protecting princesses.
Robin is also gifted with the best friend anyone could hope for: John Little. The two have been inseparable for as long as they can both remember, and John has been like a second parent to Roland since the day he was born, the little boy considering his "Uncle John" a true member of his small family.
But Robin carries the hope to add one member to this family, to find Roland someone who could love him like a mother, giving him the missing piece of his life. And well, let's say that there is this woman, this Regina Mills, who caught his eye and his heart.
She comes by usually very early or really late, once or twice a week, never the same day, and that has Robin on edge every time the doorbell rings. The woman is everything he loves: Smart, funny, stunning in every way, even after a 24h shift at work, as he knows she's an attending physician in the ER of their town's hospital. Brown eyes that holds a fierceness and a strong temper that makes him shiver every time their gazes lock, the widest smile that has his heart melting, long ebony hair falling over her shoulders. The few times she's met with his son, she's always been the kindest to him, winning his Roland's heart instantly, and the sight had brought tears to Robin's eyes.
She's everything he isn't: successful, always perfectly dressed, with a grace and an education he doesn't possess, and who is he to compete with her? Him! A single father who barely went to college, and owns a small grocery shop in the center of Storybrooke that takes so much of his time he barely gets to see his son growing.
Robin ignores if she likes him the way he likes her, she hasn't let anything slip, but after six months talking to her every week, slowly getting to know her without truly knowing her, Robin can't take it anymore –and to be honest, John can't either, has claimed that he's tired of listening to him babbling about this damn woman, and that he should man up and ask her out. So Robin has to be a grown up, and offer to buy her a drink. It will be awkward as hell if she says no, or worse, if she tells him that she's already seeing someone –she's never mentioned anyone to him but well, it's not as if they tell each other's secrets. But it's worth the shot.
Morning goes by as usual, followed by the afternoon, and as hours pass, and night begins to fall, after John texted him with a picture of Roland eating a slice of pizza bigger than his chubby face, Robin slowly loses the hope to see her show up today.
"Hello!"
Robin's grin is instinctive when he hears the sound of her voice. He looks up from the cash register, and there she is. Wearing the tiredness of a long day at work, but also a deep, bright smile that warms his chest and makes him beam at her like an absolute idiot.
"Regina!" he welcomes her cheerfully. "No night shift today?"
She shakes her head and sighs in relief, her perfect dark hair flying around her shoulders as she leans over the counter. "No. Believe it or not, I am now officially on vacation, and that for the entire week."
Robin's eyes widen. That woman is addicted to work, he's surprised she even knows what a vacation is.
"Did someone force you?" He asks, frowning but raising an eyebrow playfully, Regina catching on his tease when she chuckles and walks to him.
"Yes and no. While making the schedules last month, my head of department realized that I had exploded the time quotas by replacing my colleagues during their holidays, and that I had not taken any in almost a year. So, here I am!"
"Shocking!" Robin teases. "It's nice of her though. Not everyone respects working time."
"She does. She's bossy, not particularly organized," she says with a slight roll of her eyes and a snort. "but at least she's fair to us, and avoids inequalities."
"What will you do with your week then?" Robin asks, suddenly very interested in hearing her answer.
Regina's smile widens. She leans her head to the side, staring at Robin as she thinks of her answer.
She feels reinvigorated every time she comes to this small shop, and today is no different. It's not really the place itself. No. Let's be honest: It's the owner. A charming, handsome British man with blonde hair and stubble and ocean blue eyes, a humor that matches hers, a bright spirit that lights up her days.
Since she first came here for an emergency food purchase six months ago, and she met his adorable dimples and heard this accent, it was over. She couldn't not come back. This place, this man, his adorable little boy that she's met a few times, everything was drawing her here. Soon, it became a routine, for her to stop by after her shift, twice a week, buying whatever she needs to cook herself something to eat, using these moments to chat a little with Robin.
She loves their small talks, the way Robin always checks in. He does that with all his regular clients, she knows that, she's not stupid enough to think she gets a special treatment, but well. She won't complain. It soothes her loneliness a little. Working 50 to 70h a week doesn't leave her much free time for a love live. She has friends, yes, very selected but extremely good friends that she manages to see regularly outside of work. But the last time she's felt a man's warmth wrap around her body was like... ages ago. And she likes Robin. She really, really does. He makes her feel giddy, in a way she hasn't felt in a very long time.
So, as she left work today, she made a resolution: She's going to invite him to dinner. Today.
She glances around, and aside from a kid who's walking around between the shelves that Robin seems to be keeping an eye on, they're alone, and the conversation they're having just gave her the best opportunity.
"Actually," she starts, biting her bottom lip nervously as she looks down for a moment to give herself some courage. Damn, when was the last time she asked someone out? "I had an idea. I was wondering if you were interested in... well, let's say..." she pauses, hides the way her breath shudders. "a dinner? With me?" she finishes when she looks up.
"…"
Nothing.
She was expecting something: A smile, a word, embarrassment, a refusal even. But she wasn't expecting Robin to stare ahead of her, completely ignoring her. Her temper flares, annoyance, but also disappointment growing in her at his lack of interest. So it's with a bit more force than usual than she asks. "Robin?"
But he's still ignoring her, frowning at something behind her, all trace of his teasing and usual cheerful mood gone and replaced by something she can't quite decipher but that doesn't sit well with her. So, she turns around, notices the kid she saw earlier standing in the middle of the room, backpack in hand, which confuses her to the highest.
"Can I help you, young man?"
Robin's voice startles Regina, and when she looks back at him, she realizes something that she hadn't noticed before: Tension. He's tensed, his carotid beating fast in his throat, she can see it now.
His face goes blank suddenly as he steps back, and Regina frowns, dread filling her at the sight of the shock on his face. She warily turns around, and what she sees makes her blood run cold.
The boy Robin was watching is holding a gun in his hand, and is pointing it in their direction.
"Wow, kid! Easy there!" Robin says, attempting to stay calm and overcome the pounding of his heart that's pressing on his chest and making breathing more difficult. He's felt that something was wrong with this boy since he entered his store shortly after Regina, but he never foresaw this turn of events. His hand slowly slides under the desk, his fingers shaking. Bless John for forcing him to have a panic button under the cash register.
"Give me the money!" The boy screams at him, agitated, and well, with shaking hand holding a gun possibly loaded and pointed in his and Regina's direction, this situation could blow up at any moment.
"Relax, alright." Robin says with all the calmness he can muster considering the situation. "There's no need to hurt anyone."
"The money! Now!"
Robin struggles to stay calm, overwhelmed by a sense of powerlessness and fear. Cops must be on their way now, but will they arrive in time? His cash register is full, he will lose a good part of his turnover if this kid leaves with his profits, but does he really have a choice? Is a few hundred dollars worth risking his life for? Orphaning Roland? Put Regina in danger?
Robin glances at Regina, finds her staring at him, the same fear he's full of reflecting in her eyes, and the choice is easy to make.
"Ok, no problem." he relents, looking down at the cash register, starting to type the code to open it. "Let me open the-"
The doorbell ringing followed by a huge noise makes Robin look up from his cashier just in time to see whoever had just entered the shop running away at fast speed and the door slamming shut right after. The sound of the detonation is so deafening that Robin doesn't immediately realize what happened. It is only when he meets Regina's gaze, and the worry on her face, her eyes widen in horror, that he realizes that there's something wrong.
And that a sharp pain is spreading in his shoulder, dizziness crashing down on him all at once.
"Robin!"
Regina rushes behind the counter, catching Robin before he falls backward, shocked. He's not unconscious, but shaken, his body and mind trying to adjust with the situation, the bullet that just pierced his shoulder. She helps him out from behind the counter, then to sit on the ground, her hands cupping his cheeks.
"Robin, hey! Stay with me, okay!"
A loud thud and a scream make her glance behind her. Regina finds the kid standing there, half-stunned, half-panicked, the gun on the ground, holding his arm. Probably the shock of the recoil from the gunshot, but her concern fades when Robin's raspy voice calls her name.
"Regina?" he breathes, blinking repeatedly to keep his eyes open.
"Yes, I'm here." she reassures, pulling on his shirt to get a good look at the wound. "How are you feeling?"
"I've been better. First time I get shot."
"Hopefully the last one." Regina mutters as she makes him lean forward just enough to check his back.
The bullet pierced his shoulder through and ended in the wall, which left Robin profusely bleeding from the entrance and the exit wounds. The only thing she can do from here is to stop the bleeding, and that won't be the easiest thing given the situation they're in.
"First aid kit is under the desk." Robin tells her.
Regina glances carefully at the boy, who's grabbing the gun and looking at them, his face blank as their eyes lock.
"Is he gonna be okay?" He asks with a small voice.
"You should've thought about it before shooting him." Regina replies harshly, not paying attention to the pain written on his face at her words.
She grabs the kit then, opening it, quickly assessing its content and rummaging through it to find what she wants, not paying attention to the boy rushing to the cashier.
"You hang in there, okay!" she tells Robin authoritatively, removing her jacket and covering him with it. "I won't let you bleed out to death."
She pours a good dose of disinfectant on his wounds, then applies a thick layer of gaze, and starts banding his chest the faster she can, despite the blood slipping from the injuries quickly.
"I'll buy you a drink if you keep your word." Robin replies, trying to chuckle, to make it sound as if he is not in a horrible pain that makes him choke on every breath, as if he's not asking her out on a date in the middle of a holdup after he got shot.
"A drink for saving your life?" Regina lifts an eyebrow, smirks at him. There's nothing to laugh about this situation, but hell! She doesn't give a damn about anything but saving his life right now. "I'd more likely deserve a dinner, don't you think? Or do you have such little consideration for your own life?" She smiles at him, hoping that it helps, that it keeps Robin's mind busy thinking about something other than the hemorrhage weakening him by the minute.
It must work, because he laughs, tries to anyway, shakes his head before leaning it against the wall again. "Deal!"
"No! No no no no no no no!"
They're interrupted by the kid's ramble, both turning their heads to find him, staring through the door, face blank. He takes his head between his hands, in total panic mode, the gun still in his hand. When the phone starts ringing, startling the three of them, Regina and Robin understand what he must be staring at: The police. The situation just got even more complicated now.
"Not the police! He said no police!" he babbles, staring at the ceiling, around him, searching for a way out. "He's gonna be so mad."
Regina frowns at his words, his behavior, his fear, takes a better look at him, and what she sees now that she pays more attention to him and not to the gun in his hand, makes a shiver run down her spine. That boy isn't angry. He's desperate. Worse, he's terrified. By what? By whom? Who is this he he seems to be so afraid of?
She glances at Robin, wanting to see if he's noticed it too, but she's stricken by how pale he is now, white as a sheet, his forehead sweating, his breathing labored, and if she doesn't find a way to take him to the hospital soon, he might very well not make it out of here alive. The decision is easy to make, has Regina inhale sharply to give herself confidence, and whispers, catching his eyes to make sure Robin hears her. "Give me a minute." She begins to turn away, but she catches herself at the last minute. "And don't die! I want my dinner."
She barely hears his low chuckle as she gets up, wipes her hands on her pants the best she can to remove the blood, then puts them in the air so she won't frighten the kid, and faces him.
"Hey!" she calls him, trying to be gentle, not to startle him. "Look at me. Look at me!" she insists when he doesn't seem to have heard her. His erratic gaze finally lands on her, and he pauses, stops rambling, confused, so she smiles, hope that it will reassure him a little. "My name is Regina." She fights the hammering beating of her heart in her chest because well, she might be trying to calm things down here, but they're not out of trouble yet, and Robin's still need medical cares that she can't provide in these circumstances, and if she messes up everything they might all end up dead. "What's your name?"
The boy stares at her with incredulous eyes, but relents. "I- I'm Henry." he stutters.
"Hello, Henry. The man over there," she tilts her chin towards Robin, uses this moment to make sure he's still awake, sends him a small smile when he meets her eyes. She's not sure if he's seen what she saw, if he's understood what he realized, but he's letting her take the lead, and hopefully that will lead them somewhere. "is Robin." She turns towards Henry, realizes that his eyes are set on Robin, then move to the blood on her hands, what he did probably hitting him hard. But there's no time for this.
A familiar ring resonates, making Henry jump backward and rising his gun again, eyes wide with fear, hands shaking, and that's not good.
"It's okay!" Regina smiles at him again, praying that he won't freak out. "That's me. Let me check who's calling me, okay?"
Henry stays silent, although he doesn't lower the gun, but Regina takes it as a yes, pulls her phone out of her bag and frowns.
"She's a friend of mine, she works for the police." Henry immediately tenses at her words. "If you let me answer, I can try to find a way for all of us to safely get out of here, okay?" He hesitates, is clearly at a loss regarding what to do, and Regina bites her lower lip, prays that he will believe her, because what she just told him is exactly what she wants to do.
"You tell them to stay away!" Henry replies with a shaking, no matter how he tries to be strong, voice.
Regina nods at him. "I'll do what I can." And then she picks up. "Mal?"
"Regina! Please, tell me I have a sight problem and you're not talking to the kid who took your neighborhood food store hostage!"
Regina winces, looks at Henry with a sympathetic smile in order to reassure him.
"Are you the one in charge?" she asks.
"Damn right I am!" Mal thunders on the phone. "Care to tell me what's going on?"
Regina takes a second to think. Mal –real name Mallorie, but she's always hated it- is her best friend, and she's also one of this town's best police inspectors. Knowing that she's in charge gives Regina a bit more leverage than she had a minute ago.
"I'm... trying to figure it out." Regina replies. "Can you give me time?"
"Are you kidding me?"
"You know me well enough to know that I don't." She takes a deep breath, and lets out the two words she knows will convince her friend. "Trust me."
Mal blows out on the other side of the phone, clearly annoyed, but well, Regina never expected her to take it the nice way. "You'll owe me one." She says firmly. "You have fifteen minutes."
"Thank you."
Regina hangs up, puts her phone back in her bag, and focuses back on Henry.
"Okay, Henry. The cops are going to give us a moment, but I need to understand what's going on here?"
"I told you to tell them to leave!" he orders. "They can't stay here!"
"I can't do that, Henry" she replies sympathetically. "You just shot a man, stole his money, are keeping us hostages with a loaded gun. Your only way out of here is through them."
"No!" Henry shakes his head, his breath erratic, his hands trembling, a frown barring his forehead. "You don't understand! He'll hurt her if I don't give him the money."
It sets an alert in Regina's mind. "Who are you talking about?"
"No one!" Panic flickers in Henry's eyes, as he must be realizing that he's said too much. "Stop asking questions! Help me out of here!" he screams.
Regina inhales sharply, knots of anxiety tearing her stomach, fearing a new accidental shot, and given the short distance between her and Henry, the bullet wouldn't only shot her shoulder.
She decides to try a different tactic, mentally prays that it will work. "Henry, I'm sure that we can find a way for everyone to get out of here safely. That's what you want, right?" He doesn't answer, but his head moves up and down slightly, which Regina takes as a nod. "Why don't you start by telling me who's forcing you to commit a holdup?"
"He told me not to say anything to anyone."
Okay, we're getting here, Regina thinks. Not that Henry gave her more information, but at least, his tone is calmer, less panicked. "Because he'd hurt her?" In front of his nod, she adds. "Who's she? Your mother? Is your father threatening you and your mother?"
Henry's shake of the head is immediate, and he looks down, sniffles and wipes his nose with his sleeve. Regina might not know what's going on, she might still feel insecure by the situation, and worried sick for Robin, but someone is using this boy to commit a crime, and she has to do something to save him.
"If he's not your father, then... darling, who's taking care of you?
Bingo!
His face changes, eyes widening, and Regina knows she put her finger on one of the problems, if not the main problem. She crouches in front of him, hands still in the air, using her kindest and most reassuring voice, because for a reason she completely ignores, her heart squeezes for this child whom she doesn't even know and just shot the man she's a crush on.
"No one." He breathes, his voice so low she has to lend an ear to hear him. "No one cares about me."
The truth in his voice... The acceptation... It hits her like a brick, and fuck! If there's anything she can do to help this boy once they get out, she will. His tone is calmer, arms along his side now, gun pointed at the floor. It's still in his hand, but at least it's not directed at her or Robin anymore.
"But someone is hurting you?" she questions, almost certain of her assumption. "Someone is threatening a person you love?".
From where he is, despite the fog slowly surrounding him, and the weakness seizing him to the guts, Robin watches Regina interact with Henry, the way she's slowly, but surely, gaining his trust.
She's taking his breath away. Her confidence, the way she can be soft but firm, how she managed to calm down Henry and is gathering information unveiling the truth over what appears to be a horrible situation. That woman is incredible.
He knows that she's doing this partly for him, to take him out of here, because he's not blind. The pain in his arm is overwhelming, the bandage she made is already soaked, failing to contain the bleeding, exhaustion is plaguing him and making keeping his eyes open a challenge. The fear to die hasn't faded, because every second that passes takes him closer to that precipice, and even if he trusts Regina to do everything she can to save him, it also depends on a barely 12 or 13 years-old boy who's still holding a gun he doesn't control, while in the middle of a break down.
He adjusts his position against the wall, groans as pain spreads in his entire chest. He's lost count of the hours, but it's dark outside, John and Roland must be freaking out and wondering where he is.
Roland... his beautiful, wonderful boy who means the world to him, and whose future, just like his, depends on an exceptionally brave and determined woman.
Regina catches on Robin's painful breath, quickly glances at him, her heart beat quickening when she realizes that the clock is still ticking, and faster.
"Henry, Robin needs medical attention." she reasons. "I'm sure you didn't want to endanger his life, but you have to let him out of here."
"But if I do, they'll arrest me, and he will be angry." Henry counteracts, with sadness this time. "And he'll punish her because I failed."
The hair on the back of Regina's neck spikes up at his words and tone. "Henry, I swear, if you tell me everything, I'll make sure that he won't. The inspector waiting in the street is my friend. She'll protect you! She'll put you and whoever you want to protect to safety."
He lifts teary eyes at her. "You can do that?" he asks with a shaky voice tainted with the slight disbelief that someone could finally put him out of this hell.
Regina smiles at him. This is going somewhere. "I give you my word. Now, tell me: who is he?"
"My foster dad." he reveals, head down.
"Is he hurting you?" Regina questions, anger flaring inside her. She's dealt with abused foster children before, and it always drives her mad. She's no mother, but she cannot comprehend how some people could be abusive towards... well... anyone.
Henry's face reddens, his lower lip trembles as he explains. "He's only interested in the money he wins by having me. He makes the social services believe that I have my own room, but when they're not here, I sleep in the basement, and sometimes, when he's drank too much, he beats me up."
Slowly, tentatively, he grabs the hem of his shirt, lifts it up, revealing his abdomen. Regina gasps at the sight, her jaw falling open. There's a large, round, blue and green bruise that's covering his belly, and more bruises over his torso, colors ranging from purple to pale yellow, showing differences in the age of the lesions, evidence of repeated and long-standing abuse. Regina takes a long, deep breath to absorb the news.
"And who is she? Who are you trying to protect?"
Henry takes a moment, frowns, but when he looks up, it's with hope-filled brown eyes staring at Regina. "My little sister, Amy. He said that if I didn't come back with the money, he'd make her pay. I always managed to protect her until now, always told him to beat me instead her, but this time he... he refused. He said that if I failed, he'd catch up on all the times he didn't punish her." Regina is silent, listens, keeping all her feelings boiling inside her. She'd better never run into Henry's foster dad, or she might break her oath and make this man pay for harming innocent children. "She's only six!" Henry reveals. "She's still afraid of darkness, and he locks her up in the closet when she doesn't listen."
It takes Regina a moment to process the information, to recover from the shock. She swallows heavily, blinks a couple of time before asking with a raspy voice. "Does the gun belong to him?"
He nods. "Yes. He keeps it locked up in his bedroom. He told me not to mess everything up. But I screwed up everything." Henry admits. "It's like he tells me: I'm a loser, I'm good at nothing."
Regina reacts instinctively then, as she sends her hand forward, and cups Henry's elbow.
"That isn't true." She says, gently, kindly. But the gesture, as soft as it is, has Henry wincing, pulling away from her, which sets an alert in Regina's mind.
"I'm sorry, I-" she starts to apologize, but something catches her eyes. She leans forward, glancing at Henry as if to ask permission, and when he gives it, she carefully takes his arm, and rolls up his sleeve. She closes her eyes as she discovers the bruised skin of his arm that has turned purple.
"Oh my God, Henry..." She breathes, almost a wailing, the sight, the thought, of what this child's been through without anyone noticing making her feel nauseous.
She pauses, breathes deeply through her nose, and when she locks eyes with the boy, it's with determination.
"Henry, listen to me very carefully: I am going to call my friend from earlier, the police inspector, and I am going to tell her to come in." When panic flickers in Henry's eyes and he steps back, she closes her fingers over him, rubbing gently in reassurance. "I promise you, that she'll put your sister out of this. None of you will ever go back there. He will never, ever, lay a hand on either of you. Trust me!" She looks behind her, chest squeezing at the sight of Robin, leaning against the wall, struggling to stay conscious. "But Robin needs help, and Henry, you and your sister do too!" She explains as she looks back into his eyes. "You do! You deserve so much more than this. Please! Let me help you three." she begs, her eyes teary, her mind exhausted because damn, three lives are at stake right now, and they depend on her, and all the recent revelation are weighting on her.
This is her chance to save that boy and his sister, to save Robin. Her heart is beating fast in her chest, her mouth is dry, palms sweating, feeling dizzy and nauseous.
The veil of doubt that was clouding Henry's eyes fades, as he manages, for the very first time, a small and shy smile, falling on his knees, head down, dropping the gun on the floor, and squeezes Regina's hand back.
Robin's last thought before he loses consciousness, as he watches the boy surrender, is that Regina is the most stunning and impressive woman he's ever seen.
Regina takes her phone to her ear. "Mal? You can come in."
It all happens in a blur. Regina holds her hand in front of her when the police comes in, assuring them that it's fine, everything is under control. Henry is hiding behind her, trembling from head to toes, and she kneels to be at eye-level.
"Don't worry, I won't let you down. But I need you to go with my friend-" She grabs Mal's arm and brings her closer, her friend hiding her confusion by pursing her lips. "while I check on Robin. Can you do that?"
He shyly nods at her. "Okay."
Regina begins to walk away, but Mal places a hand on her shoulder, an eyebrow raised in question when Regina meets her eyes. "What's going on?"
Regina nods towards Henry. "I found you a new case to dig in."
And then she rushes to Robin's side.
"Robin! Robin, come on, stay with me!"
He's unresponsive, still bleeding out, and she rips the medical kit from the paramedics, starts setting up an IV while one is prepping the fluid and the other one puts the monitoring in place.
"Gunshot to the shoulder, the bullet is out. I couldn't stop the bleeding, and his state deteriorated quickly. He's in hemorrhagic shock, but still breathing." she sums up quickly as they start placing him on the gurney. "He needs-"
A hand wraps around her arm, interrupting her. Regina finds Mal looking at him with compassion-filled eyes and a small smile. "They know how to do their job, Regina." She's about to argue, but her friend insists. "You've done everything you could. Let them take him to the hospital."
"But I-"
"Hey!" Mal interrupts her, placing her hands on Regina's shoulders, squeezing gently. "Breathe, Regina. He's being taken care of. Now, I need you to explain to me what happened with this one." She tilts her chin towards Henry, who's looking down, sheepish and guilty.
Regina crouches in front of him, and when he looks up at her, she smiles, no matter how tiredly, and wipes his tears with her thumb.
"Is he gonna be okay?"
Regina smiles tiredly at him, trying to be reassuring, but she's freaked out too, and she can't lie to him. "I hope so."
"I'm sorry. I never meant for any of that of happen."
She accepts his hug, closes her arms around his body, careful enough so she won't hurt him, not knowing the extent of his own injuries. She takes a moment, feeling a sudden exhaustion plaguing her, a weight crushing her, and it takes all of her energy to pull back and keep on a reassuring smile as she grabs Henry's chin with her thumb and forefinger tenderly.
"That's okay, Henry. You did the right thing. Doctors are going to take care of him. Now, let's take care of you."
She gets up, faces Mal, and sighs. And then she tells her everything she knows.
xxx
There's an inconstant noise that's pounding in his ears, reaching him despite the fog and darkness surrounding him.
He wants to go back to sleep, wants to rest for a little more, but something is pushing at his arm now, and the noise comes closer, annoying him to the highest level.
Robin groans as he awakes, the sound intensifying immediately, whatever support he's on moving under him.
He opens his eyes, squints against the light, blinking repeatedly to adjust, his head pounding, his hand covering his eyes in a reflex.
"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy wake up!"
Robin's suddenly wide awake when he recognizes the annoying noise as his son's voice, and he forces through his tiredness, through the blinding light, forces his eyes open. He almost chokes on a wave of tears when the knowing curly brown hair appear in his line of sight, and soon, Roland's brown eyes and his dimpled smile.
Robin tries to speak, but it comes out as a raspy wailing, so instead he lets his boy jump in his arms, huffing painfully when it triggers a strong pain in his shoulder, but Robin couldn't care less.
He hugs his son with all the fear he was full of when he thought he'd die, kissing his head, rubbing his back, grinning like an idiot, but at least he's an alive idiot.
"You had a looong nap!" Roland exclaims cheerfully, receding to look at him. "Uncle John say you're sick, and it's why you sleep so much, but you're all better now, right Daddy?"
Robin laughs at his son's comment, shakes his head. He does still feel a little shitty, weak, his arm numb and vaguely sore, his mind foggy, forcing him to push through the tiredness to stay coherent and attentive. But well, this is nothing compared to what he remembers feeling as he was lying on the floor of his shop.
The cold that had seized him then, the way his body was trembling, his strength abandoning him with every drop of blood that seeped out of him, the tiredness crashing on him, the dizziness. He had hold onto the hope that Regina would reason with Henry, that she'd allow him to see his son's face one more time, and she did! She really did.
Thanks to her, Roland hasn't lost his only parent. No words can express the relief filling him right now, as he's blessed with the sight of his adorable and beautiful boy grinning at him, his heart overwhelmed by love for this tiny human being he's so lucky to call his son.
"You scared the hell out of us." A strong voice comes from next to him.
Robin smiles widely at John, their hands clasping in relief.
"You should've known I wouldn't leave you!" Robin answers playfully, because he can now, all the memories he has of the holdup are only that: Memories. He's alive. In a hospital bed, judging by the room, the IV in his arm, the monitor he's linked to. But alive.
Thanks to Regina.
Which makes him realize that she's not here. Robin scans the room, barely hearing John talking to him, but there's no trace of her. She must be home resting, it was emotionally draining, he can't even begin to imagine the state she must be in. It was selfish of him to think that she'd have waited for him to wake up.
"Coffee and hot chocolate delivery has arrived!"
Robin stills, heart leaping in his chest as she enters the room, carrying a four-cup tray, a smile from ear to ear illuminating her face. She pauses when her eyes land on him, but Roland jumping from his bed and running to her, bouncing up and down, forces Regina look away and lowers to her knees in front of his son.
"A hot chocolate for you, Roland!" she says as she hands him his small cup. "And..." she takes a small paper bag that stood balanced on the tray in the middle of the cups. "I managed to find you an apple turnover."
Roland's eyes and mouth widen in surprise and excitement. "Wow! Thank you, Gina!" he exclaims happily.
Regina laughs at his enthusiastic reaction, ruffles his hair tenderly. "You're welcome, honey." She gets up, turns towards John. "And a cappuccino with extra whipped-cream for you."
She gives John his drink, puts the tray on a table nearby, and finally, finally, looks back at him. Robin can't tell how beautiful she looks right now, even more than he remembers. Her eyes are shining, she's radiant, glowing. Stunning. In every way.
"Look who's finally woken up." she teases, wrinkling her nose as she walks closer. "How are you feeling?"
For a moment, Robin stares. He stares at her, beaming, until someone –John, probably- clears his throat, and asks Roland to follow him outside the room, adding on his way out that "these two have a lot to discuss".
Regina's eyebrow raises. "Did I miss something and you lost your tongue when you got shot?"
Robin frowns at her question, shakes his head, coming back to his sense and sheepishly chuckling. "I'm sorry. I must say I was a bit worried when I didn't see you at first." he admits. "Thought you may have already forgotten about me."
Regina's gaze lowers, a giddy smile tugging at her lips as she places a wide lock behind her ear.
"How could I forget about you?" she replies when she looks up again. "You owe me a dinner, remember?"
Inwardly, Robin breathes in relief.
"I owe you two, actually." he corrects.
Regina frowns at him. "What do you mean?"
"Well..." Robin pats the mattress next to him, inviting her to sit, and she hesitates at first, but ends up sitting down. "If I remember correctly, you asked me out before I did."
Regina's eyes widen. "So, you had heard me?"
"Of course, I did. I was just too focused on Henry, felt that something was wrong with him."
Her face falls, and his does, too. He doesn't remember everything that was said, but he does remember the abuse this boy has suffered.
"Where is he, by the way?"
"Here, actually!" In front of his confusion, Regina adds. "I had him hospitalized. It often happens when we discover abuse on children. That way the investigation can happen while they are safe and taken care of. It also allows us to check the extent of their injuries and treat them at the same time."
Robin blows out a relief breath. The boy may have shot him, but the circumstances he was in were worse than he could've imagined.
"My friend Mal went to his foster family's house, she found his sister locked up in a closet, terrified. She's here with Henry, we placed them in the same room."
"And the foster parents?" Robin asks, swallowing hard, shaken by the news of what happened to these two kids hitting him in his core.
"In jail. It's going to be a long road, but hopefully they'll never see the light of day again."
Robin watches her hands resting on her lap, and he can't resist, covers them with his own, letting her open her palm and welcoming him, closing her fingers over his. What she did for these kids is phenomenal, he still has difficulties to grasp how brave she's been during this entire situation. And still is. She's handling this and giving him information calmly, without faltering, and where the hell does she find the strength to be so... resilient?
"Thank you, Regina." he says when their gazes lock. "For saving my life."
She smiles at him, tilting her head to the side, squeezing his hand. She leans forward, Robin's eyes drawn to her lips, unsure of what she's doing, but he certainly won't complain as she slowly closes the gap between them.
Her lips land on his cheek, pressing a soft kiss, lingering slightly longer than a normal kiss to the cheek should.
"Once you'll feel up to it, I'll be ready for those diners you promised." she whispers in his ear, Robin shivering and smugly smirking as she pulls back, biting her bottom lip as she grins at him coyly.
"You can count on me for that!" he assures.
Knock knock knock...
They startle, Regina leaning back to put some more comfortable distance between them.
"Come in!" Robin says, his eyes fixed upon a blushing Regina. She's even cuter when she looks like she's been caught red handed.
A blonde woman peaks inside, as if waiting to answer, a permission Regina gives her immediately, getting up from the bed to join her.
"Robin," she cups the woman's elbow. "This is my friend Mal. She's an inspector, and she's the one who was assigned to the holdup."
"Nice to meet you, Robin."
He shakes the hand she holds out for him. "Nice to meet you too. Thank you, for giving Regina a chance out there."
Mal and Regina exchange a glance that tells Robin that the friendship between these two is long and full of stories.
"She usually gets what she wants." she answers, amused, an eyebrow lifted, a smirk tugging at her lips, glancing pointedly between the two.
"Oh, come on!" Regina exclaims, laughing. "We already agreed to go to diner together once he gets out of here. You can drop the act!"
"Thank God!" Mal says. "At least this won't have been for nothing!" Robin chuckles at her remark. "By the way," she turns towards the door. "Someone else benefited from the situation. Robin, Henry would like to say Hi. Can he come in?"
Robin sits up in the bed. "Of course!"
The boy may have shot him, but it was exceptional circumstances, horrible ones, a dilemma that gave him no other choice but to follow through a plan he didn't choose, and although there's a tiny voice in his head that tells Robin that Henry almost killed him, the father in him screams forgiveness. Henry peaks his head inside tentatively, sheepishly glancing up, only entering the room under Regina and Mal's encouragement.
"Hi, Robin."
"Hello, Henry! How are you doing, mate?"
His kindness must reassure Henry a little, because he walks forward, daring a small and shy smile. He's joined by an adorable little brunette, half his age, who snuggles against his side immediately, Henry wrapping his arm around her shoulders to keep her close.
"I'm good, thank you. Better, thanks to Regina and Mal." He gratefully glances at the two women, squeezes his sister against him, before looking back at him. "I want to apologize. I never planned to hurt you, I was surprised when someone came in and I-"
Robin lifts a hand, cutting Henry off. "I accept your apologies, Henry. On the one condition:" He holds out his hand, lets Henry close the gap between them and take his hand. "that you stop beating yourself up for this, okay? You had no choice, you were trying to protect the most important person for you." he glances at the little girl who's still clutching to her brother, smiles tenderly at the beautiful child who must be totally confused about everything that happened. "I'm glad someone great came out of what happened. I really am."
Henry smiles then, a real one this time, a bit more confident than earlier.
Roland and John joining them helps relaxing the atmosphere immediately, his wonderful son completely oblivious of what had been at stake. Mal goes back to work, John does, too, and for the rest of the afternoon, it's only Roland, Amy, Henry, Regina and Robin.
Robin watches Regina interact with the kids, smiling at him from underneath her lashes whenever the children aren't paying attention, glowing, her laugh warming his heart. He discovers a funny and passionate woman, who clearly has a soft spot for children, handles the three easily, provides reassuring words and cuddles.
And really, he can't wait to share the diner they promised each other. Because something inside him tells him, that their story, could reveal to be epic.