There are some words you never expect to hear in life and you don't really know that you weren't expecting them, until they happen.

Regina had been babysitting her godson when she received those such words. Henry had gone down easily, just as he always seemed to for her. She was eating the Chinese takeout she ordered, going through Emma and Neal's DVR selections when her cell phone rang. She didn't recognize the number and nearly didn't pick up, but something in her told her to.

"Ms. Mills, this is Dr. Whale calling from Storybrooke General. You were the next of kin listed for Emma Swan-Cassidy."

That got her attention almost immediately. Emma's parents had died when she was young and she had spent most of her life in the foster care system. Until she met Regina and Neal in high school, she had been all alone. After seeing Lilo and Stitch, they had dubbed themselves "Ohana". They were family, none of them were going to be left behind. Even after Emma and Neal began dating, Regina never felt like less of their friend.

"Is she alright?" Regina asked.

"I'm afraid she was in a car accident with her husband. Things are pretty critical right now."

Regina knew better than to wake a sleeping baby, but she practically flew up the stairs and grabbed Henry before rushing out to the car. She bounced him lightly as she tried to figure out the car seat one handed. Eventually, it snapped into place and she settled him in, double checking the chest strap.

"It's gonna be okay," Regina promised. "We're just going to check on Mommy and Daddy."

Regina was torn between speeding and also knowing that Emma would kill her if she got into an accident with her kid. She was the town sheriff after all, car safety was in her blood. So how had she ended up in an accident? Regina tried not to picture the hunk of yellow metal that was their precious Volkswagen bug crushed to a heap. Whale had said that they were critical, but that things were looking up. There was hope.

Once she reached the hospital, Regina powered through the double doors, Henry still in her arms. He had lulled himself back to sleep, thank goodness. Regina came to a halt at the desk, not noticing that someone else had ran up at the same time.

"I got a call about Emma Swan-Cassidy," she said at the same time the person next to her said "I'm here for Neal Cassidy."

She looked over and realized that it was Robin Locksley. She stiffened a bit, adjusting the 10-month-old in her arms. Regina hadn't seen Robin since the Christening, as it should've been. The two had a disastrous first date before Henry was born. Robin had attended community college with Neal and the two became best buds. For some reason, Emma and Neal assumed they'd be a perfect match, but they had absolutely zero in common. The entire night they argued over every little thing. Regina had made Emma vow to never have her be in the same room as him. She wouldn't have been surprised if Robin had done the same with Neal.

So, naturally, Emma and Neal had made them maid of honor and best man, respectively at their wedding. Then they had both been named Henry's godparents. Even so, Regina had sucked it up. Seeing him a couple of times a year at events for Henry would be fine for her. In that moment, none of that really mattered anyway. Emma was hurt and Regina had to focus on her.

"What are you doing here?" Robin asked.

"I'm Emma's next of kin. What about you?"

"They couldn't reach Neal's dad, I was the next on the list."

"Oh."

"Why do you have Henry?"

"I was babysitting when I got the call."

"So, you brought him to the hospital…"

"What would you have like to me do? Hm?" Regina arched an eyebrow, doing her best to keep her voice calm. "Leave him by himself?"

The nurse interrupted their conversation. "The doctor will be out in a minute to speak with you both."

Regina swiftly walked away, cuddling Henry closer to her. She couldn't help but notice Robin hovering and she wanted to snap again, but another part of her couldn't blame him. In her arms was the one thing that Emma and Neal loved more than anything in the world. As much as Robina and Regina disagreed on everything, at least they shared love for that little boy.

"Do you know details about the accident?" She asked, her voice growing soft.

Robin shook his head. "Probably as much as you."

"God, I just don't get it. Emma was the master at car safety. Sure, that bug was a piece of junk, but she was always lecturing me about safe driving."

"I guarantee you, it wasn't on either of them."

A tired looking doctor with blonde hair approached the two of them. "Are you here for Mr. and Mrs. Cassidy?"

Regina nodded. "Yes. What happened?"

"Going off the police report, someone ran a red light and collided with them. It was a hit and run, they're still unsure of who did it but they're on the lookout."

Regina wrapped Henry's blanket further around him out of protection, as though the person who hurt his parents would suddenly come out and hurt him. "Oh my God."

"But…Emma and Neal?" Robin saying their names came out more of a question than anything. "Are they okay?"

Dr. Whale frowned. "I'm sorry to report that Mr. Cassidy died on impact. We did all we could with Mrs. Swan-Cassidy but she had lost too much blood. We had to pronounce her dead not long after arrival."

Regina would've dropped Henry, had Robin not rushed to her side. Their first and only date hadn't ended in so much as a kiss, but suddenly his arms were around her and he was holding her up right. Henry was awake and crying again, but Regina didn't even notice. She held tightly to him with one arm, her other hand clutching to Robin's shirt as she sobbed. It wasn't until she felt her hair growing wet that she realized he was crying too.

The next few hours passed in a blur for Robin. He remembered driving Regina back to Emma and Neal's, watching her tuck Henry back into bed. A part of him could recall dialing Logan Gold's number so he could be made aware of his son's passing. He assured him that Henry would be alright until his arrival to Storybrooke. Regina had arranged with CPS to let Henry stay with her, as she was what was most familiar.

He didn't sleep. He sat next to Regina on the couch, both of them crying but not touching one another. Robin had only ever seen Regina cry once before and those were tears of joy the day Henry had been born. He had also never seen her so relaxed, normally she wore pantsuits or dresses. To babysit, she had been in comfy jeans and a Ramones t-shirt. Those were the things he'd remember. They didn't say a word until the sun started to rise over the house and Henry's cries could be heard from upstairs.

"I'll get him," Robin said groggily.

"I'll start on breakfast."

"I'm not hungry."

"Maybe not, but he needs to eat." Regina pushed herself up and rubbed at her swollen eyes. "I'm also going to call Kathryn Gilda. She was a friend of Emma's dad, their lawyer."

"I didn't even know they had a lawyer."

"Only got one after Henry."

Regina walked into the kitchen and Robin headed up the stairs. The home was cozy, inviting. Neal and Emma had always fantasized about living by the beach, and they were only a 5 minute walk. They talked about how they'd take Henry there and push him on the swings, they couldn't wait to teach him how to swim. Their dream had always been to buy a vacation home in Florida, Tallahassee to specific, but it wasn't about to come to fruition.

Robin went into the nursery and found Henry trying to pull himself up on the bars. He lifted him out, taking in the room. It was car themed, license plates from every state that Neal had traveled to-almost had all 50, only Hawaii and Texas remained. The sheets were yellow, the walls a light grey. That had been Emma's doing, the color scheme picked out long before they found out they were having a boy.

Looking down at Henry, he could instantly see the bits of Emma and Neal in there. He had green eyes like his mom. He didn't have much hair yet, but wisps of brown like his dad were evident. He even had Neal's smile, minus the teeth. God, how had he never noticed just how much this little boy resembled his parents?

"Hey bub," he whispered. "I know all of this is confusing, but we'll make sure you're taken care of."

Robin got Henry ready, changing his diaper and putting him in what appeared to be the easiest thing to change him in and out of. He wondered if Mr. Gold would bring him to visit. Losing Neal would be hard enough, but Henry being all the way out in Scotland would be a lot harder.

Despite him and Regina not getting along, they managed to get through the morning okay. Neither said what was on their mind, they just went through the motions. Regina didn't eat and neither did he, but Henry did a good job of getting down his oatmeal. They half-heartedly played with him, trying to keep their spirits up for his sake. By the time they put him down for his morning nap, Kathryn had arrived.

"So, I spoke with Logan Gold again this morning," Robin said. "He's asked us to put together the funeral arrangements, but he'll be here in time for that."

"I'm assuming it'd be okay if I looked after Henry in the meantime?" Regina asked.

Kathryn tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"I figured that Mr. Gold would be taking Henry with him back to Scotland."

Kathryn's mouth opened, then closed again. Finally after a few moments, she found her words. "Did Emma and Neal discuss with you the plans they had for Henry in the event of their death?"

Regina looked over at Robin, who shook his head. She glanced back at Kathryn. "No."

"Well, they named both of you."

"Both of us?" Regina asked right away.

"Yes."

Robin and Regina looked between one another, shocked. Neal had never brought this up, ever. Neither had Emma for that matter. There had been a few times where they started talking about death, but Robin always shrugged that off. Death made him uncomfortable, as it did most people. He had lost both of his parents by the time he was 18. That didn't mean that they couldn't have just come out and said it, though.

He barely knew Regina. They had been one date, one. Outside that, all of their conversations had revolved around Neal, Emma and Henry. They spoke politely, just barely, at gatherings for their friends. They posed for pictures, but that was it. If he had been told that Emma and Neal had left Henry to just him, he would find a way to handle it. He loved the kid. But raising a baby with Regina? How did they expect him to do that? She hated his guts.

"I'm sure this isn't how you two pictured starting a family," Kathryn continued when neither of them spoke.

"There has to have been a misunderstanding," Regina said. "We're not married."

"They tried setting us up once," Robin clarified. "But it didn't take. We barely even know each other…"

Kathryn held up a hand as if to tell him to shut up. "I understand all of this. When they told me that you two weren't so much as dating, I tried to advise them to go with someone else but they insisted."

"I don't understand. Why wouldn't Neal want his son to go with Logan?"

"Neal's father is disabled. He's not incapable of caring for Henry. As I recall, he said he'd hire a nanny and send him to the best schools." She folded her hands. "But it's not what they wanted. Neal wanted his son to have hands on parents, ones that were there for him. While Mr. Gold is now married and is very happy with his new wife, Neal and Emma just didn't feel they'd raise him the way they wanted."

"Are Belle and Mr. Gold aware of this?" Regina asked.

"They are. I advised them to talk this over with family, so there would be no issue with the will being contested. They told me that Mr. and Mrs. Gold understood."

Robin had a hard time believing that Logan Gold would take such a thing well, but also didn't doubt that Neal would lie about him being okay with it. Belle had seemed to soften his best friend's father, the last Robin had seen. Maybe he was willing to do what was best for Henry.

Was that really Robin and Regina raising him, though? And if Neal could discuss this with his father, why not the two of them?

"You two could say no," Kathryn continued. "While Neal and Emma did not want Henry moving to Scotland, they didn't forbid it either. The two of you were their first choice. This is a big responsibility and I'm sure you're aware of that. You two would have to live here, under one roof, raising this child together. It's not impossible, but it's not for everyone."

"What if…only one of us wanted to do it?" Regina spoke up. "Would that…be okay?"

Robin shot her a look. "Why do you assume only you would want to do it?"

"Well, I didn't see you volunteering."

"It's a lot to take in at once. That doesn't mean I don't want to."

"Well, I'm not backing down from Henry just because you want him too."

"I didn't ask you too."

"So, you want us both to do this?"

"You're not exactly my top pick to raise a kid with, but I'm saying we can work it out. For Henry's sake."

Regina stared at him for a moment, before looking back at Kathryn.

"We'd both have to live here together?" She asked.

"For now. The life insurance policies would cover the mortgage, but outside that they didn't have a lot of savings. I don't think that Emma and Neal expected you to live here, together, full time, but just enough to adapt Henry to the situation. He's young, but not young enough that he wasn't aware who his parents are. In time, if you two so desired, you could start splitting custody and move out. If you really have his best interest at heart, this would be my suggestion."

Robin and Regina were silent for a bit longer. It was clear that if they had a choice, neither would wish to be put in such a situation. Yet, there they were. Neal and Emma had left Henry to them. They would have to figure it out…together.

"How soon could we file for guardianship?" Regina asked, softly.

"The sooner the better. I can get you both as his temporary guardians as soon as tomorrow, in six months-time, if all goes well, you'll be able to adopt."

Just like that, Robin Locksley had become a father. When he pictured this moment, he saw himself married, getting a newborn. He saw himself in love.

He definitely didn't see himself going into it with a woman that hated every fiber of his being.