A/N: Enjoy the second part of this OS as a 4th entry to #OQMonth ! As I edited it one last time before sending it to betareading, I actually decided to split the last part in two because it was too long and I sensed you'd enjoy it more if you had time to digest everything that will happen.

Thanks Morgan for the beta work, and mostly Nani for your advices and the brainstorming! You rock! And thank you to all of you who reviewed the first part! 3

Enjoy! The last part will come before the end of the month, promise :-D

They almost forgot about her. If she hasn't truly left their minds and Regina and Robin stayed on their guards, Marian hasn't reappeared in their lives since she knocked on their door two weeks ago. Meanwhile, Robin has tried to calm his tense nerves, to sleep through the nightmares and the anguish. It wasn't easy, but Regina was there, as promised, supporting him and appeasing his doubts. It helped. Having his wife by his side, being his rock, helped, and he pushed aside that tiny voice in his head telling him that the story wasn't over.

What he didn't anticipate, though, was the moment Marian showed up again. He knew the woman had nerve, and drugs always exacerbated her boldness, but as he plays catch with Henry, Roland and Victor with a baseball at the park, he doesn't miss the familiar frame heading towards them with a firm gait, despite the sun partly blinding him.

"Dad, you missed it!" Roland complains when Robin's eyes are set on her and he completely forgets about the game.

His heartbeat quickens, a cold sweat running down his spine, and his first reflex is to look behind him at Regina. She's not far, she's helping Maddie at the playground, watching her while chatting with Mal, and for a moment Robin is torn between going to her and keeping Roland hidden from Marian.

"Dad?"

"Robin?"

It's only when Victor blocks his view of Marian that Robin comes back to his senses and notices his friend and sons' concern. He and Regina have kept the whole Marian thing a secret for now, so neither their friends nor their children are aware of her presence. But he guesses that after today, that might have to change.

"Victor, take the boys to Mal and Regina and ask my wife to join me, will you?"

"Alright, but-"

"Dad, what is it?"

"We'll discuss this later. Go, please."

He keeps his voice and demeanor as neutral as possible, doing his best not to show his turmoil, and when he walks to meet Marian, his steps are almost steady.

He didn't take the time to truly look at her the first time, but now, as they cross the distance separating them, he does. She's wearing a different style of clothing than she was when they met, even before she became a drug addict. This skirt and suit jacket give her a more grown-up look, more mature than the loose, colorful outfits she was so fond of fifteen years ago. Her hair is slightly shorter, and she has straightened the curls so they fall straight around a thin face with sharp cheekbones. It looks fake, just like the apparent calmness that she's putting on, and the heavy makeup covering her face don't look like her.

A face that is closed, determined, which sends shivers down his spine. He notices that her gaze alternates between him and what is happening behind him - probably looking for Roland - and when he plants himself in front of her, he makes sure to block her view of his family.

"I have a feeling your presence here isn't a coincidence," he snaps immediately, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hello to you too," Marian replies, pushing a strand of wild hair behind her ear. "And no, that's not a coincidence."

"Are you following us?" he growls, fisting his hands to contain his rising anger and anxiety.

She tilts her head in a way that reminds Robin of their past fights and makes him uncomfortable. She always was manipulative, and this is exactly what she's trying to do here.

"Since you refused to let me see my son, what other choice did I have?"

"The one to stay the hell away from him. Roland wants nothing to do with you."

"Oh really? Did you ask him?" She peeks behind him and her face lights up as she stands on her toes and waves happily, as if she was greeting friends or family, as if her presence here was perfectly normal, and in this very moment, Robin needs all of his self-control not to blow up in public and mostly, in front of his children, who might be eyeing the scene with confusion.

"I don't need to. I know him enough to be sure that he doesn't care about you. He already has a mother."

"Right, right, I met her at your house. Oh, there she is!"

Indeed, Robin feels the softness of a hand covering his shoulder, and Regina appears in his line of sight, planting herself next to him, solid and steady in front of Marian.

"So you're the woman who's trying to steal my son from me?"

Regina almost chokes at the accusation. She didn't hear the first part of the woman's conversation with her husband, but one thing is certain: Robin certainly isn't the one who spoke of her in such a way.

"I am the woman he calls his mother, and who's been taking care of him for almost a decade. I didn't steal him. I filled the hole you left when you decided to abandon him after he was born."

Marian cackles, and that sound makes Regina cringe. She can tell Robin is livid and barely holding on, so she discreetly places her hand in his, squeezing back when she feels him close his fingers around hers.

"I see that Robin told you the story, huh?"

"What are you doing here?" Regina cuts her off, annoyed already and not wanting this moment to linger. What she mostly hopes is to keep the woman busy long enough so that Victor and Mal can leave with the kids without her noticing...

"Well, I'm here to see my son."

"That's crap, Marian!" Robin thunders. "You never cared about Roland before, there's no way you'd suddenly buy yourself a conscience thirteen years later."

"What if I did?" she challenges, arching an eyebrow in a way that rubs Regina the wrong way. "You can't stop me from seeing him."

"Can I ask you a question?"

Regina's question, spoken in a calm and neutral voice, draws the attention of Robin and Marian, and seems to appease the tense atmosphere. The woman looks scornfully at her. "Go ahead."

"Why are you here now? What made you change your mind, after all these years?"

There's a silence, Marian's eyes suddenly popping out of their sockets as her eyebrow shoots up.

"Because I want to know my son," she repeats, making Regina feel as if she's lacking arguments, which the next sentence confirms. "I shouldn't even have to justify myself!"

Planting her heels in the ground and clutching Robin's hand when she feels him on the verge of bursting out, she answers firmly, "When you haven't been in your child's life since the day he was born, yes, you should."

"I carried him for months!" Marian's tone rises as she points a finger in Regina's direction. She is losing control, and Regina is waiting for that to destabilize the woman. "I am his mother. I don't owe you any explanation. If anything, the only person I should be talking to is Robin."

"Regina is my wife; she has a right to say something about this as much as I do," Robin growls between gritted teeth. If it wasn't for her keeping him grounded, this fight with Marian would have gotten nastier by now.

"She can't forbid me to see my son."

"I can, and I will," Regina snaps. "We will fight you if needed. So I suggest you get a lawyer, and a very good one, because unless you can prove all you want is Roland's well-being, there is no way you will spend time with him."

Flashing them a smirk that doesn't sit well with Regina, Marian tilts her chin forward. "Right, I'm just going to see him now. We're in a public place, you can't stop me."

Regina senses Robin tensing and going rigid next to her, but with a rub of her thumb against his hand, she lets him understand that things are better than they seem to be. She can feel his gaze land on her as she replies to Marian's smirk with her own. If the woman thought she'd trick them, Regina took the bull by the horns while Robin was already going head-to-head with her.

She steps aside, waving towards the playground, waiting for the other brunette to think she's out of the doghouse before striking the final blow. She holds Robin back when she feels him wanting to step in front of Marian, and winks at him.

"Where is he? Where is my son?"

Turning towards the woman, Regina arches an eyebrow. "Did you really think I'd let you near my son?"

Marian is livid, she can tell. She's boiling inside, her eyes widening, cheeks puffed and red as she bounces on her feet. "You can't keep me away from him!" she thunders, walking up to them until she's right in Regina's face. "You little piece of-"

Robin snaps Regina to the side, pulling her behind him and standing upright in front of Marian. The sudden movement shuts the woman up, and as she looks up at him, it's with heinous eyes and a scowl, which turn her face into a threatening grimace.

"Don't you dare think that you can stop me, Robin! You couldn't fight me then, you won't fight me now. Once a weak man, always a weak man. You're worth nothing, and I'll crush you like the bug that you are!"

"I am not the man you abused anymore, Marian," he replies with a firmness he didn't expect to have. "But you, you haven't changed a bit. You may wear fancy clothes and put on tons of makeup, but underneath, you're still the drug addict who ran out of the maternity ward. Trust me, whatever it is that you want, you won't get it. I'll make sure to stand in your way and protect Roland from you until you show your real face to the world."

Glaring at him as if she had the power to burn him into ashes, Marian spits her last words. "Very well. I'll see you in court."

xxx

It's time.

They discussed it after the last encounter with Marian, as they were driving to Mal's house to pick the kids up. They talked about it with their friends, explaining the situation to them first. Victor was the first one to mention it. It shocked Robin at first, because this wasn't even a possibility in his mind. This would make the problem real, but as Regina and Mal pointed out to him, it is real. Marian is back, she is posing a threat, and she appears to be ready to do anything to jump into Roland's life uninvited, whether they want it or not. And since the cops were of no help, claiming that as long as she wasn't harming anyone they couldn't do a damn thing, they are on their own.

"Mom, Dad?"

Robin looks up from his fidgeting hands and tries to smile at his son as he walks to them with confusion and uncertainty.

"You wanted to talk to me?"

He hates the situation, hates that Roland has to feel insecure because of his junkie of a mother. He hates that he and Regina have to walk on eggshells in order to tell their amazing boy his biological mother is back. Robin only hopes that Roland's big heart won't lead him to want to know Marian and get attached to her, because he's ready to bet that her interest in Roland is just a smoke screen so she can reach a higher goal. A goal he hasn't figured out yet, but he hasn't said his final word.

"Yes," Regina's soft and loving voice answers. "Come here, sweetheart." She pats the back of the chair where Roland sits down, and then she moves behind Robin, placing her hands on his shoulders, squeezing gently in an attempt to help him relax. It's pointless, but feeling her siding with him and supporting him like a rock, remembering her stoicism in front of Marian, is helping nonetheless.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Roland. It has nothing to do with you. But it is about you. There's something we have to tell you."

"It's related to the reason why we left the park in a hurry with Mal and Victor, right?"

Robin inhales sharply, blowing out a long breath to calm his tense nerves, feeling Regina rub his back soothingly and Roland's concerned gaze on him at the same time. That makes him feel worse, actually. It makes him feel weak, exactly as Marian said. He was weak years ago, when he failed to stop her from sinking into addiction, when he received her blows and harsh words without blinking, when he drowned himself in despair, holding on to the one and only hope he had by then: his son who was growing within her.

He never thought he'd ever feel that way again, never thought he'd ever see her again. She brought back so many bad memories, so much self-loathing and anxiety that if it wasn't for his family and the most amazing woman on Earth whom he's so lucky to call his wife, he'd have lost ground already.

"It is," Regina replies when she senses that he's not ready to talk quite yet.

"Who was the woman talking with Dad?"

Regina takes a deep breath, swallowing down her fear and ignoring the pinch of her heart at the revelation they're about to make to Roland. Robin is a mess, she's hardly holding it together herself, and Roland's world is about to be completely turned upside down. With everything they went through over the last two years, after her recent recovery and the fact that she just came off her medication, they really didn't need another blow to fall on them once more.

"She was your mother."

Despite what Regina expected, it's Robin who said the words, and she's proud. It was his revelation to make, even if she wasn't certain that he'd find the strength to get to the bottom of things.

"I-"

Roland freezes in front of them, utterly confused, glancing between the two of them, in search of answers to a question he cannot voice.

"Your biological mother," Regina clarifies.

"What did she want?"

"To know you. Or so she says," Robin mutters.

"You don't believe her?"

"Let's just say she doesn't really have the best track record when it comes to you. I have a hard time believing she bought herself a conscience thirteen years later."

"Robin..." Regina murmurs, closing her eyes. Roland shouldn't know all this. He shouldn't know that she never cared for and about him, although he could guess it just from the fact that she hasn't been there his entire life.

"What? I won't lie to him, Regina! She's a mess, and he should know that."

"Why are you telling me about her now?" Roland intervenes in a perfectly neutral voice, as if his father hadn't almost yelled in the middle of the living room.

"Because she seems determined to be in your life, sweetheart," Regina explains calmly, pressing her front to Robin's back and allowing him to lean against her to calm down and not make their teenage boy freak out. "And if she gets to the bottom of things, there's a tiny risk that you might have to see her."

"What if I don't want to?"

"It would be a judge's order, Roland. If he decides-"

"I don't care what a judge who doesn't know me would decide." Roland cuts her off with a firmness he usually doesn't show, and that throws Regina off. Robin too, apparently, as he stiffens and looks at the boy with a frown. "I don't care who she is, or what she wants. I already have a mother. I don't want another one."

Regina's lips part at his words, at his subtle declaration of his love for her - not that she ever doubted how deeply he loved her. Tilting her head to the side, she smiles at her son, her wonderful boy whom she loves so very much. Pulling back from her husband, she opens her arms wide, and Roland doesn't need to be told twice. He gets up and walks to her, wrapping his arms around her tightly as if he could lose her. She won't let that happen. She will fight tooth and nail if she needs to, to make sure that this disheveled boy who's almost as tall as she is now will never be separated from them, ever. And as she meets Robin's glassy eyes that match her own, she knows for certain that this new ordeal will only strengthen the bond between their family.

xxx

"Hi, mother."

"Regina, Robin. Please, come in."

Regina enters her mother's house with a tiny bit of anxiety knotting her stomach. They warned her mother and stepfather of the Marian issue, knowing that their acquaintances were numerous and they knew who to turn to for this. It's a relief, really, to know that she can count on them, that because her mother is very fond of Robin, she would bend over backwards to do him a favor. And it's fair to say that when she learned that Roland, whom she considers her grandson in the same way that Henry and Maddie are, was concerned by the ongoing issue, she made sure that the best lawyer in their circle of friends was on the case.

"Where are the kids?" she questions as she escorts them through the house in the direction of the patio, where Gold and the lawyer are waiting for them.

"With Dad."

"Are you sure your father's ranch is safe? I hope he won't let anyone-"

"Mother, please." Regina rolls her eyes at her mother's comment. Twenty years divorced and Cora can't seem to give her ex-husband a break. "He knows the story, and cancelled all the lessons for today so it's close to the public. Plus, with all of the ranch employees who can keep an eye on them, the kids are safe. They will spend the day taking care of the horses and riding on a forty-acres property. Even if Marian was stupid enough to trespass on private property, she would have to be pretty damn lucky to find them."

"Ah, there you are!" Gold gets up from his seat, followed by a man whom Regina recognizes from many parties at home when she was younger. "Regina, Robin, this is our friend George Spencer. He's the best lawyer in town."

"Oh, please! You're too kind."

They shake hands before all sitting around the large table, all except Gold.

"Thank you for agreeing to help us," Robin says.

"Please, this is no issue. When Cora told me about the situation, I couldn't refuse."

"Perhaps a drink before we start this?" Gold offers, rubbing his hands together.

"Gladly. Give me a glass of that amazing cognac you keep mentioning to me, will you?"

"White wine for me, please," Regina says.

"Would you happen to have any new whiskey to taste?" Robin asks, his hand naturally finding his wife's back and gently rubbing her neck with his thumb. Damn, he loves her so much, even more when he sees how in this she is, how ready she is to fight for their boy. She's a true mama bear, his Regina. The best mother he could ever hope to have for his children. In his misfortune of having an unworthy person as his biological mother, Roland was lucky enough to at last find the most loving and involved woman to take care of him as he deserves.

"Good thing you asked! I just received a Scottish single malt distilled and aged in bourbon barrels. Peaty and round in mouth. A real delight."

"Let's try it then!"

"Give me a martini with two olives, darling," Cora adds, concluding the orders.

"Coming right up!"

As Gold sets on preparing the glasses, Robin starts explaining the situation in detail. Per George Spencer's request, he admits it all: How Marian fell into addiction, the numerous failed attempts at making her stop using even during her pregnancy, and mostly, how she bailed on him and Roland when the little boy was not even one day old. He even, with his head down but using Regina's strength as she holds his hand tightly, admits the abuse he suffered.

And then, ignoring the shock and contrition in his in-laws' eyes, he tells them all about the two recent encounters with Marian. His voice trembles with anger and fear when he reveals Marian's apparent goal, her supposed interest in a son she abandoned just after delivering him.

"I know she doesn't care about him. Just like I know she's not cured from her addiction. She's faking being clean and interested in Roland to get something. I'm not sure what."

"The answer is simple," Spencer replies as he nonchalantly puts an olive in his mouth. "Money."

"Seriously?" Regina blows out.

Cora leans slightly forward to put her glass on the table. "Don't kid yourself, Regina. Your children are worth more than all the gold in the world to you, but unfortunately many parents wouldn't mind using their children to get money."

Spencer opens his hands and explains, as if what he said was perfectly normal. "If this woman is indeed a drug addict, she must need money to pay for her fix. And who better to take the money from than the father of her child, who is now a doctor and married to a woman who is also a doctor."

"You may not brag about the social class you live in, dear, but you and Robin have more money than many. And Marian, knowing full well that Robin would have refused to give her money directly, found no other way than to use Roland to get what she wants," Cora finishes.

Robin frowns, all the pieces clicking together as he listens to them. It was right in front of him from the beginning, and he missed it. "That would make sense. She was so stoned that she couldn't keep a job when we lived together, so she relied on my money. I even had to block my accounts and change my credit cards several times to keep her from overdrawing me and emptying my accounts."

"It's pretty standard, many before her have thrown themselves into custody wars to get money from their richer ex-partner," Spencer confirms. "She doesn't have the wildest imagination, although she manages to hide it pretty well from what you told us."

"Forgive me for being the devil's advocate," Gold interrupts. "But could she be honest?" In front of the looks he receives, he lifts his hands in the air. "Hey, I'm with you. But you have to think of all the alternatives. Thirteen years is a long time, people can change in less time than that."

"Gold is right, we have to be ready to face all the possibilities."

Regina covers Robin's hand with hers, and nods. "Very well. What are our options?"

"I'll make it simple. Whether she is sincere or not, it will be the same. The first step is to find a compromise: you, me, her and her lawyer trying to discuss the situation in the same room. Be warned: it will be her lawyer and I talking, nothing will be expected from you or Marian. If we can't come to an agreement, then we go to court. It will be long, it will cost money, and it will be exhausting."

"Would Roland have to be involved in this trial?" Regina asks, feeling her stomach knot at the prospect of her boy finding himself headfirst in a battle he never asked to be brought into. "Would he have to testify, or anything?"

"Yes. If we go to court, it's very likely that he'll be interviewed."

"Great…" Regina brings a hand to her eyes, pinching her nose and frowning to try to stay focused and not lose her ground. This is a nightmare, and they are all caught in it, but she can't start panicking now.

Robin uses the moment his wife takes to absorb the news to ask the question that's been on the tip of his tongue since they sat down in his in-laws' patio. He holds his breath as he does, fearing the answer. "Does she have a chance of winning?"

"Well..." Spencer leans back in his seat and tilts his head to the side. "Judges are more inclined to give the child's custody to the mother."

"But she-"

Robin is cut off when the man raises a hand. "However, given the fact that she hasn't shown any interest in Roland for his entire life, and that he's found a mother in Regina and your situation is stable, I'd say that this time, the odds aren't in her favor."

Regina breathes out, finding a bit of relief in these words, even though the fight has just started and nothing can be taken for granted.

"But they aren't zero."

"No, they aren't. A judge who sidelines with mothers' rights and buys her story may not grant her custody, but perhaps will mandate visits." In front of the shock written in Robin's eyes, he adds, "Which is why we need to find out if she's indeed pretending or not. Don't be naïve, these battles are usually nasty. She will do everything she can to discredit you, so you have to do the same with her if you want to put all the chances by your side."

"I don't like this," Regina mutters, shaking her head.

"You don't have a choice, Regina," Cora answers. "You have to do what you have to do to protect your family. We can't let her near Roland and risk ruining that sweet boy."

"I know, Mother."

"Then it starts now," Spencer says. "In order for us to be prepared to counteract every single argument she could have against you, I need to know everything: every fine, every infraction, the use of illegal products, the fights you got in even if they date back to your youth, the health problems you've had. I need to know absolutely every single thing she can use against you, even if you think she doesn't know about it, so we will be prepared if she brings it to the table."

Regina meets Robin's eyes and clutches his hand, sharing the same thought at the reminiscence of the past two years that they've barely put behind them. This will be hard, it will bring back painful memories, but for the sake of their son, they have to do it.

xxx

He's losing it. He's completely losing his mind and freaking out.

"Robin, he said the odds are in our favor," Regina tries to reason with him.

Except he's in no condition to be receptive to her arguments. The more he thinks about the situation, the more anxiety fills him. It's driving him nuts, it's making breathing more difficult, standing still impossible. His nights are filled with nightmares in which Marian takes away Roland, his days a constant fear of being face-to-face with her again. They managed to stop her the previous times, but they aren't with Roland twenty-four hours a day. What if she goes to his school? What if this time she doesn't come to them first, but goes to him? Roland might not want to do anything with her, but Marian rarely does as people want, and if she imposes her presence, there's little his son could do to get rid of her. She could even manage to talk him into believing her, who knows? Roland is smart, but he's also a good kid, he's gullible, and Marian could easily get into his head.

Hell, she even got in his already! Disseminating terror, letting it creep into every space of his brain without giving him a single moment of respite, and at that moment Robin understands what Regina must have gone through after the trauma of her attack.

So to avoid falling in the same pattern, he strives to speak about it, to verbalize his fears, not to let himself be invaded by the anguish even if he knows that he is already not very far from it. And Regina, his beautiful, wonderful Regina, she is there for him, his rock, his soul mate, the backbone of their family who has come out of so many ordeals stronger than ever, and supports him through this one while managing to reassure their boys, both worried about the situation, and to keep Maddison in the dark about the threat to her family.

"I know, but what if she wins?"

"She can't get custody of him," Regina insists. "No sane judge would ever grant her full custody."

"But she could get visits," he counteracts, his hands gripping the back of his neck as he leans his head backward and groans. "Roland could even be forced to spend days, weekends, or holidays with her. Do you really want to force him to go there when he doesn't want to?"

Regina walks to him, placing a hand on his wrists and forcing him to release the pressure on his shoulders and look down at her. "Of course not. You know I don't want her near him as much as you do."

"And once there, no one would be able to control what happens," he rants, gripping her forearms, his mind a rollercoaster of all of the horrible things that could happen to their son. "He could witness her getting high. Hell, she could even offer for him to get high with her! She could take him away, Regina!" he whimpers, overwhelmed. "She could kidnap our son, I know she's capable of such a thing!"

"Robin, please calm down."

"I can't calm down!" he snaps, breaking free and turning his back on her, pacing. "I can't calm down when that freak could take our son away from us!"

"Alright, that's enough!"

The forceful tone Regina just used startles him, because she rarely raises her voice, at least not like this and not with him.

"Look at me, Robin!" she requests.

At this moment, he knows better than to contradict her, and the firmness and confidence that emanate from her tamper for a few seconds the panic that was taking possession of him for a few seconds. As he turns around to meet her eyes, he is stricken by how beautiful she is, even when she's in this authoritative mode she only uses if really necessary. She walks the few steps separating them and takes his hands again.

"Enough of this. I know you're scared, and I am too. But we are the parents here. We are the grownups. We have to be the strong ones. And I know, damn I know how difficult it can be right now, how freaked out you are, but if you let her inside your head, then she wins, at least partially. Trust me, I know." she reminds him with a strong but shaking voice. "So you take a deep breath and you pull yourself together, because Roland needs us to protect him, and so do Henry and Maddie. They can't see you losing ground, Robin, otherwise they'll be scared as well and we both don't want that to happen."

Robin stares deep into her eyes, losing himself in these hazel eyes from which he draws all the strength and energy he needs to face this, to center himself. He closes his eyes, fighting a wave of tears, pursing his lips and inhaling sharply through his nose. He feels Regina's hands leave his to find his cheeks, wrapping around his head like a shield protecting his mind from Marian's poison. When she presses her forehead to his, he exhales slowly, synchronizing his breathing with hers, remembering the breathing exercises she had to do several times a day to fight her demons months ago. He lets her guide him, lets her take the lead, his amazing wife who puts up with him even when he's going crazy. He focuses on her, on the courage she sends him, the confidence that emanates from her, the certainty that they will survive this safe and sound. He closes his own hands around her waist, pulling her to him gently and losing the battle against his tears.

"Cry now," Regina whispers as her thumbs are rubbing his temples tenderly. "Let it all out while it's just the two of us. The kids are waiting for us, they can't see you like this."

She comforts him, presses kiss after kiss against his forehead, his temple, his cheek, kissing his tears away and replacing his fear with her love, making sure to anchor Robin to her, to keep him standing. She gives him everything he gave her when she was the one who was down, and even more than that, because he is her heart, her other half, and seeing him so broken is unbearable. She doesn't know how he was able to keep up appearances when she was the one who needed him, but one thing is certain: he deserves all that she can give him. She's not afraid of weaknesses, she's not afraid of shameful pasts. What Robin admitted about his life with Marian, the state he's in right now, his distress, all of this fuels her resolution to keep this woman away from her family as much as she can.

"Are you feeling better?" she asks kindly when Robin sniffles. She tilts his head up with a finger tucked under his chin, her warmest and most loving smile on display, meant just for him. At his nod, she presses a kiss to each and every trail left by the tears on his face before wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling him to her for an embrace. "I love you, Robin."

"I love you, too," he murmurs against the skin of her neck. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You don't have to think about that, because I'm not going anywhere," she assures when she pulls back. "Come on, the kids are waiting for us."

She drives, because despite the brave face he puts on, she can sense he's still a bit shaken and recovering. But as they face their children, as Maddie runs to him with that beaming smile of hers that they love so much, Regina can tell that Robin has fully returned to his normal self, because he welcomes their little girl into his arms and lifts her in the air as if this is the happiest moment of their lives. And as Henry and Roland climb down from their horses and walk to them, she can read in their faces that the bliss they had with their grandfather isn't tainted by the concern that could have emanated from Robin if they had seen him a bit earlier.

xxx

Robin manages to go back to an almost normal life for the next few days, falling back into his routine: his shifts in the ER, bringing the kids to and picking them up from school, and spending time with his family. Their lawyer is working on their file, and to relieve his mind, Regina is the one discussing it with him. So Robin forces himself to let go, and little by little, to enjoy his life, the time he shares with his children, his wife and his friends, again.

He just finished a twenty-four hour shift in the ER, walks Mal back to her car and waves goodbye to her.

"Drive safe!" he tells his friend.

"You, too! Get some rest. It was a hell of a night."

It was, Robin thinks as he looks at her while she starts her car and drives away. A massive car accident in the middle of the night right before they were about to split what was left of the shift ruined their only chance to get some sleep, which resulted in not one minute of rest in the span of almost thirty hours.

The drive to his house is luckily short, but requires all of his attention as he struggles not to fall asleep. He thinks of his wife, whom he saw this morning as she started her own shift when he was finishing his, thinks of the soft touch of her hand against his neck as she kissed him before he left, of her beautiful face as she smiled at him lovingly. Right now, all he wants is to take a shower and fall asleep to the memory of the woman he loves.

But as he parks his car in his driveway, a cold shudder runs down his spine, seizing him like spikes and waking him up in an instant. He has barely parked his car before she is planting her feet in front of his door, and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Roland is not here, so you can leave," he throws at her as he slams the door of his car shut and walks by her without sparing her a glance.

"It's you I wanted to talk to." Marian follows him as he crosses the yard with long strides.

"Your lawyer can reach out to mine. I have nothing to tell you."

"But I do."

Robin pulls out his keys, ignoring her.

"I'm sure you want to spare Roland a custody battle."

He pauses as he's about to put the key in the lock, frowning and turning to Marian slowly. "Since when do you care about his well-being?"

"Well, he is my son, and I'm his mother."

"Last time I saw you, you were the one who wanted to go to court. Why would you have changed your mind? Are you afraid to lose, maybe?"

"On the contrary, I am certain that I'll win. You see, given your wife's medical condition, I don't think a judge would be very inclined to leave Roland in her care."

Freezing, feeling his inside twist in anxiety and his mouth go dry, Robin opens his eyes wide. "What are you talking about?"

There it is, that smirk and confidence he'd love to smack from her face once and for all, that expression that gives him the creeps. In this instant, he hates the fact that she caught him at the worst moment, as his mind is completely blurred by exhaustion and lack of sleep, because he can't think correctly nor calm himself down as a wave of panic starts rising in him.

"Well, she has psychiatric issues, doesn't she?"

A flashback of the last months, the last year, strikes Robin like a brick to the head, spinning and spinning and making him be still and stay silent for too long, giving Marian the opening she needed as she grins at him in victory.

"She's unstable, and my lawyer will prove it in court."

Walking up to Marian's face faster than he thought his exhaustion would allow him to, Robin growls, "Who told you that?"

Leaning towards him in a seductive way that makes him want to step back to keep some personal space, Marian sneers, "I have my ways. That's how I can tell she's not fit to take care of my son properly."

Shaking his head to push his exhaustion away while struggling not to lose his calm, Robin lifts an eyebrow, his voice low and strong. "Don't you dare bring Regina into this. She's been a better mother to Roland than you ever will be. Before throwing accusations around, you should take a look in the mirror. Need I remind you that you've been a junkie for the past fifteen years? If you think you can win the mother of the year contest, you're kidding yourself."

"Perhaps," she shrugs. "But at least I didn't try to kill myself."

Stiffening, his eyes growing wide and his heartbeat quickening, Robin finds himself lost as panic invades him. Except this time, Regina isn't here to help him, and his mind is so tired that he can't fight it. The realization of the knowledge in Marian's hands and how it could be used to destroy his wife and perhaps even his son becomes omnipresent in his mind, making him lose ground completely.

"What do you really want, Marian?" he mumbles, giving in to her game. All he wants right now is to be rid of her once and for all, to remove the threat she poses to his family, to protect his wife and his children. He could -should- be ashamed, but his ability to reason stopped functioning when he heard her mention something she shouldn't even know about.

Falling back on her heels and looking at him with a satisfied grin that tells Robin he fell into her trap, she crosses her arms over her chest again. "If you know me as well as you pretend to, then you know what I want."

Robin closes his eyes slowly, then opens them again, struggling against the pull of sleep. It becomes obvious then. "How much?"

"It depends: how much do you value your son's life?"

"Roland's worth more than all the gold in the world to me."

"If you want me to leave your perfect little family alone, then you have your amount: as much as you can give me. And I know your and your wife's salaries, Robin. Make it believable."

Needless to say, as Robin enters his house a couple minutes later, he's a mess. Overwhelmed, unable to think straight, staring blankly at the paper with the address of the place where Marian is staying. She cornered him, she used his weakness, and now he has no other choice: If he wants to avoid watching his wife being dragged through the mud for being a victim and his son being thrown in a custody battle, this is the only way.

TBC very soon...