Regina wasn't fully awake when she first heard him. She was somewhere in between, her mind lost in that pleasant land between being submerged in a good dream, but being on the verge of waking up. She was tangled in a limbo, not quite here nor there and maybe, that was why she didn't make much of it… why she didn't fight it.

It wasn't a big deal anyway, this was not the first time she had him in her dreams, and given the fact that it was the only moment she gave her subconscious permission of seeing him as something more than what he was: her boss, her friend… her impossible, she often let these dreams carry on.

In this one, she couldn't see him, but she could definitely listen to him. He was laughing, the sound traveling in the air without hurries, reaching her… drilling into her brain with the same easiness as always, and then, making her smile.

At first, she was a bit confused because yeah, once upon a time, this man had been a constant in her dreams, but it had been quite long since this happened, since he sneaked into her dreams to do as he pleased. That she was back at it… at dreaming of him, threw her a bit off.

She didn't want to think much of it though, she didn't want to try to decipher why he crawled out of the corner she had set for him inside her mind. No, it was too early, besides, it was just a dream, harmless and without repercussions. It wasn't like she was being stupid enough to let whatever she had harbored for him over the years come to the surface, so why freak out?

She wasn't trespassing any boundaries, she was just dreaming…

Or at least that was what she thought at first. But then, the sound of Robin's laughter mingled with a delighted yelp from Henry, and her senses started to pick on other sounds: small bare feet running somewhere down the corridor, the TV on and loud, her daughter chatting nonstop… and yes, the unmistakable sound of her boss' voice.

That's when her body jerked up and her head started to function, running a thousand miles per second while she remained frozen in bed.

No… there was no way he was actually there. It didn't make any kind of sense. Yes, he had numerous times given her a ride and dropped her off by the entrance, but he had never gone as far as setting foot inside her house. So why now? What was going on? and more importantly, why did her kids let him in without letting her know?

Blinking rapidly, Regina got out of bed, her feet automatically carrying her towards the sounds coming from the kitchen. It was there that she saw them…

For a confusing second, she was sure she was still asleep and imagining things, because the scene unfolding right in front of her eyes seemed unreal. Robin was there alright, an easy smile on his face as he poured milk into a bowl Lucy was holding for him. The girl was giggling, while Henry, still in his pajamas, sat on one of the stools of her kitchen counter. He was smiling and not sulking like he had been as of late, and despite the confusion, she pressed a hand to her chest.

"What is going on here?" She asked from the corridor, only her head peeking in. She wasn't sure yet if this was a product of her imagination, but if it wasn't, there was no way she was going to let Robin Locksley see her like she was.

She was a mess. She hadn't taken a look in the mirror, but she could visualize her hair being all over the place and her face looking too pale. Then there was what she was wearing: an old Beatles' shirt that barely covered her midtigh. Other than that, she was wearing nothing else besides her underwear, and even though she was sure the shirt was long enough to cover what needed to be covered, she was not presentable… like at all.

Too late, she realized she shouldn't have spoken before at least changing, because at the sound of her voice, the three of them looked at her. For some reason, her skin burned with their eyes on her… or to be more precise, with the intensity of Robin's blue stare set in her.

"Mom, we're making pancakes!" Henry beamed, his legs kicking in excitement.

"Aww no, we were supposed to surprise you! We even made coffee. Well, Robin did." Throwing her hands up, Lucy complained, but not even for a second did her smile fade.

"That I did, the best coffee you will find in town." Robin flashed his dimple smile at her, his accent coming off as too sweet and his eyes sparkling with something she couldn't quite decipher.

For what felt like an eternity, Regina zoned out… her still sleepy eyes getting lost in the depths of his blue ones. What could she say? Her mind was still having a hard time registering what was going on, so all she could focus was in how good he looked there… in her kitchen, with her children.

But no, no… that right there was a rabbit hole she wasn't going to fall in again, so shaking her head as a way to come back to the harsh reality of the situation, Regina looked away from him and narrowed her eyes at her children.

"Is that what we are doing now? Letting people in while I'm sleeping."

"Ouch." Robin snorted, placing a hand to his chest as if she had hurt him there.

On her part, Lucy giggled. "Mom, this is not any person, this is Robin."

Yes, he was, and maybe that was the problem. Not only that he was there, but that he was now walking to her and she was just letting him come over. It was almost like she had done back in those first years when she started to work with him. She had been in the middle of a divorce and in search of a fresh start and there was this man making her feel all sorts of things.

He was charming and he looked good, there was no way to deny it and as a fool, she let herself be dragged into the inexplicable pull he had on her. It had felt nice and new, and that feeling of being on the edge of a clift and about to tip over had been with her for a long time… until she started to see that Robin was not the kind of man she should fall for.

First because he was her boss and she needed to hold onto her job no matter what, but there were other things as well that made her cut her feelings off. To start, he was a womanizer and definitely not the man for her. He wasn't the kind to do relationships, and she was not the type who would throw herself into something that would only stay as a one night stand. Yes, he smelled good and he talked smooth, but he was also a bit of an immature asshole, and that never settled well with her.

There was all that, but also, she never fully gave herself permission to fall even harder, because he had never tried anything with her. Yes, he flirted and threw all kinds of comments her way, but at the end of the day, she was not exactly his type. She was a single mother that edged in being too boring for his lifestyle, and thus he has never tried to get any further with her. Not that she would let him anyway… or would she?

She liked to think that no, that she wouldn't… hell, she liked to think that her crazy infatuation was long forgotten and buried in the past, but sometimes, she wondered if that was true.

"What are you doing here?" She said at last. By then he was in front of her, the corner of his lips turning into the shadow of his infamous smile and his blue orbs set in hers. It made her feel way too self-conscious.

"Why, I came to drop your car by. You left it at the hotel last night."

Slapping her face because damn it, she had forgotten about that, Regina groaned. "Yeah… I… you're right. Thank you."

Robin took another step towards her, almost invading her personal space. "I thought you were going to be awake, but when these little monkeys told me you were still asleep, I decided to do a little work. I know you need your dose of caffeine to function in the mornings, so I stepped in to provide. So, come and sit."

Scoffing because there was no way she was going to stay a minute longer with him until she at least put something more presentable on and brushed her teeth, Regina shook her head no. But before she could say or even do anything, Robin grabbed her hand and pulled her into the kitchen.

Despite herself she followed him, and when he showed her to the stool next to Henry and then leaned against her to whisper in her ear, she couldn't help but to swallow hard down. "You know what? I like your voice when you are still half asleep." His own voice was low and throaty as he said that, making Regina's spine straighten. "The visuals are not bad either, so maybe I'll have to come by more often in the mornings."

There he was, being all flirty. If it wasn't because she knew he was like this with everyone, her heart would have probably beaten a little louder by his words. It didn't, because by then she knew him too well to know he didn't mean half the things he said.

"Hmm, I'm more prone to murder someone when half asleep, so maybe you'll have to rethink that."

"I'll take my chances." Puffing out a breath that brushed against the back of her neck and that sent a shiver down her spine, Robin moved away. Right after, he walked around the counter. "Besides, coffee and breakfast will make you feel a little less murderous."

"I'm adding chocolate chips to the batter." Lucy announced. Soon after, Henry jumped out of the stool to say that he wanted blueberries instead.

Robin calmed them down by letting them both have their way and sipping on her coffee, Regina just watched them, oddly enjoying the easiness in which he handled both kids without breaking a sweat.

It was only after the pancakes were ready and the kids were finishing their plates, that Robin was back at putting all his attention to her again.

"So, I was thinking that on this beautiful Saturday, I could treat you and the kids with I don't know… let's say, taking you anywhere you wanted?"

"Puerto Rico!" Henry yelled, his eyes wide and bright, his smile big.

"Well, I was thinking somewhere a little bit near and that wouldn't require us flying overseas."

"Oh, I know, we can go to Disney!" Lucy blurted out, her eyes going as wide as her brother's.

Robin cringed, Regina arched an eyebrow, wondering what was this man planning now.

"Alright, how about we stop thinking big and stay in the area. There's a bouncy park by the mall. We can go there… have a good time… and just you know, chill..."

"Yes, yes! I'm going to go and change, the last one to be ready is a rotten egg!"

Before Regina could react, Lucy and Henry raced down the corridor. When she heard the doors of their rooms slamming shut, she bit the inside of her cheek hard. Her motherly instinct was itching to call out the kids for it, but instead, she turned to Robin and narrowed her eyes.

"Spit it. What are you planning now?"

Doing a dramatic double take, Robin snorted. "I'm not planning anything. I just thought it was a good idea for us to do something fun. I mean, that's what friends do, right? They hang, and they help each other all the time-"

"Okay, stop it there. I know you, Robin Locksley, and I know the last thing in your mind after hooking up with Belle would be to spend the day with me and the kids, so stop beating around the bush and just say what is in that wretched mind of yours."

Robin looked taken aback by her words, his mouth even opened up to refute her. But then, his shoulders dropped and he drew in a deep breath. "She wants to meet the kids, she thinks they are mine and she wants to make sure they are alright with me and her becoming a thing."

Tensing her jaw, Regina felt something in her chest constrict. She brushed it away immediately, locking everything that yearned for him in a small compartment inside her psyche. "No." She said once her feelings were back in place, getting to her feet and turning her back on him.

She didn't make it too far though, because in a matter of nothing, Robin was grabbing her shoulders and making her swirl back around.

"Come on Regina, you can't abandon me in this now. You know this is my only chance at having something real going on for me. I'm this close, I just need a little push and then I swear I won't ask anything more."

"No, Robin. I'm not involving my kids in this, besides… how can you think this thing with Belle is real when it's based on so many lies? I'm sorry… but no…"

Closing his eyes, Robin's hands moved from her shoulders to her back. Regina wasn't sure he knew what he was doing, because making a move he had never done before, he grabbed her hips and brought her a little closer.

The movement took her aback because their friendship was not characterized by being touchy feely… and that he was touching her in that moment screamed of desperation for this Belle. She was about to push his hands off of her and tell him that, but then he opened his eyes and set the intensity of his gaze on her, and she was suddenly lost.

"I won't let them get too involved, okay? I'll talk to them and-"

"And what, Robin? Tell them you want them to lie so you can hook up with Belle and then make a farce out of a happily ever after?" And shit, all that for a woman he barely knew, she wanted to add, but she bit her tongue and kept it there.

"Who is Belle?" Lucy asked. Somehow, she had come unannounced and was now there, standing with Henry a few paces away from them.

As if realizing he was grabbing her, Robin let go of Regina and took a step back, his hand lifting up so he could scratch the underside of his jaw hard.

"Go back to your room, Lucy."

"But-"

"No buts, go. Both of you."

Too focused to notice the kids sneaked together into Henry's room and stoob by the door, listening and making their own plans, Regina shook her head.

"I can't believe you are asking me to do this. I mean… wasn't it enough with last night?" And yes, she had done her best to excel at her performance and even have fun with it at the hotel bar, but deep inside there was a part of her that was mad that she went for it. She ignored it… for his sake… because despite whatever she once felt for him and knowing it was never going to be reciprocated, she wanted the best for him. He needed a good woman and Belle was a good candidate. But involding her kids and making them lie was too much.

"Last night was perfect, Regina, you were perfect. But things went downhill when you mentioned the kids. I freaked out and I didn't know what to do. You left me there with the problem, so somehow I started talking and I kind of messed up."

Letting out a bitter chuckle roll out of her tongue, Regina arched an eyebrow. "Robin, you started to mess up the moment you tried to make her believe we were divorced. You should have come straight with her back then, or even last night. But no, you decided to keep lying in the most… stupid way. I mean, if you wanted to keep the lies going, you could have told her the kids were not yours, you know?"

"I know, but like I said, I freaked out."

Softening a little with the way his face fell, Regina licked her lips. "You really like her, don't you?"

"I think so… I mean I do, I think she can be the one. That's why I don't want to lose this chance."

Regina sighed. In that moment, she wanted to tell him that he could do better than having to lie to find the right person for him. He was handsome, smart, driven and yeah, when he was not being an idiot, he could also be charming. So it wasn't like there was going to be a shortage of prospects anytime soon. He could pick any woman he wanted without lying his face off. That was why she didn't get him, why she couldn't understand why he wasn't giving up on this to try to do things the right way for once.

But before she could gather all the words, a sound came from the end of the corridor. The two of them looked at once, seeing that it was Lucy clearing her throat.

"We can do it, we can lie for Robin if he so needs it. But… it won't come free for him."

"Lucy." Regina hissed, her eyes wide and shooting daggers. To whom? She wasn't sure.

"Before you get mad, let me explain. We know lying is wrong, but you told us we should always help our friends when they needed us, no matter what. Robin is your friend, isn't him?"

"Yeah, but that little speech of helping your friends doesn't apply when your friends are wrong, and lying."

"Regina-" Robin was back at grabbing her, this time his hands settled on her waist. "I swear I'll make it up to you and the kids, and that this will be the last thing I ask of you regarding this. If at the end of the day it doesn't work, then I will stop trying."

"And if it works? Will you tell her I am not actually your ex-wife, but your assistant?"

Sucking in a breath, Robin nodded. "I will figure that one out, yeah… I promise."

Regina wanted to say no, that she wasn't going to keep with the farce. But there was something in the way his eyes were digging deep into hers that wasn't letting her think straight. Then it was his hands on her, the smell of his cologne dancing around her and the sound of her kids giggling… of Henry being all happy, that made the foundation of her resolution tremble.

She wanted to say no, like she should… but as it always happened with this man, she ended up agreeing...