The phone ringing at 2 AM was never a good thing. Her phone hardly rang at such an hour except for the time Graham had discovered Prince Charming—John Doe—by the side of the road. Regina had thought he had died back in the Enchanted Forest but there he was-alive if unconscious-on the side of the road leading into Storybrooke. She had him taken to the hospital and made herself his emergency contact. If anything changed, she would be the first to know.

So as she groggily reached for the phone, she wondered if something had changed with Charming. "Hello?"

"Regina?" It was Sidney Glass, not Victor Whale, on the other end. Why would the editor of the town newspaper be calling her at this hour? "Sorry to bother you but we have a situation down at the Rabbit Hole."

She groaned, remembering that Sidney was also the closest thing the town had to a deputy. But she didn't know why he was bothering her with another drunken scene probably caused by Leroy. "And why are you calling me and not Graham?"

Sidney hesitated. "Because he's involved. And I'm just the unofficial deputy, Regina. I don't really have any authority."

Regina sighed, knowing he was right. "Okay, okay. Let me get someone over here to watch Henry and I'll be there as soon as possible."

"Then it'll probably be best if you meet me at the hospital," he said. "EMTs are transporting Graham and Bobby Locke there now."

Her heart stopped. "Bobby Locke?"

"Yes. He was the one Graham was fighting. Both are pretty banged up but nothing major."

She breathed out in relief. "Okay. I'll see you at the hospital soon enough."

After waking her assistant and demanding the she come over to watch Henry, Regina hurried to dress. Even though it was a late night (or early morning?) call, she was not going to shop up in casual clothes. She was still mayor and had to dress the part.

While Regina dressed, Graham and Bobby consumed her thoughts. She realized with a growing dread that, as far as she knew, the two men only had one thing to fight over. Well, one person:

Her.

Regina's heels clicked as she stormed down the hospital hallway, the smell of antiseptic almost overwhelming. She remained focused on finding Sidney, Graham and Bobby in order to get to the bottom of this whole affair.

She spotted Sidney, dressed in a suit himself, and he nodded as she approached. "Sorry to wake you at such an hour. But as I said, I really had no choice."

"I understand," she said, leaning against the nurse's station. "Where are Graham and Bobby?"

"Getting patched up. Graham's are most superficial but Bobby needed stitches."

Regina felt like she had been punched in the gut. "Stitches?"

"Nothing too serious, the doctor assured me. He should be able to answer my questions soon." Sidney pulled out his reporter's pad.

A desire to protect Bobby flared up in her. "Is that necessary? Can't you wait until he has had time to rest?"

"His recollection will be best now," Sidney pointed out.

Regina knew that he had a point, yet she also wanted to protect Bobby and make sure he got plenty of rest. "Have you spoken to anyone else?" she asked, hoping to divert Sidney for as long as possible.

"Yes," he said. "I've managed to put together a timeline."

"Okay. What is it?" Regina asked, ready to hear what had brought Graham and Bobby to the emergency room.

Graham clocked out at midnight, which was when he switched over the phone at the station to Sidney's house. He mentioned that he was going to the Rabbit Hole for a nightcap should Sidney need him for anything, but both had doubted it would happen. "Storybrooke is pretty quiet," Sidney said.

"True," Regina conceded. "Proceed."

Bobby was also at the Rabbit Hole for a guys' night out with his friends. They often went once a week, but none were fathers like Bobby. So he only joined them every once in a while, when he could get a sitter for Roland. "Ruby Lucas is still watching the boy," Sidney added.

"How did Graham and Bobby end up fighting?" she asked, growing impatient.

"Right, well, it seems all was calm for the first hour. But by then, Graham had had a few drinks and Bobby was on his third beer, according to the bartender..."

All seemed to be usual for a Thursday. There was a bit of a younger crowd enjoying Thirsty Thursday with lots of shots and music. Graham chose to stay at the bar while Bobby played pool with his friends. They were ribbing him about going on a date the day before.

"About time you got your groove back, Locke," one friend, Ian Little, teased. "Who is the lucky lady?"

Another one, Al, chuckled. "How much did you have to pay her, Bobby? Or is she plastic?"

Bobby shook his head. "Very funny. I can assure you Regina is very real."

"So you and the Mayor finally did something," Ian said. "Good for you. We thought you were going to dance around each other for another year."

"A year? Really?"

"It's how long it took you to finally make a move on Melynda," Al pointed out.

Bobby rubbed the back of his neck. "True. But I didn't have those nerves with Regina. Everything seems so natural with her."

"Did you two...you know?" Al elbowed his friend as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"I don't kiss and tell, you know that. I respect Regina too much to do that." Bobby racked up the balls. "Are we playing or not?"

"Sounds pretty boring," Regina said. "How did Graham end up fighting with Bobby?"

Sidney nodded. "I'm getting there. It seems Bobby's friends weren't done ribbing him..."

Ian took another swig of his beer. "Come on. At least tell us how the date went. Where did you take her? Did you bring her flowers?"

"Of course he brought her flowers. He's an old romantic like that," Al said.

"I brought her a rose and took her to Tony's," Bobby replied. "We ate, we talked and then I brought her home. It was an enjoyable evening and we have plans to do it again over the weekend."

Ian smiled. "You deserve to be happy, Bobby."

"But the mayor deserves better than a handyman who lives in a hotel room and can barely afford to take care of his son," Graham said, swaggering up to the pool table with his own beer in hand. "What do you have to offer her?"

Bobby frowned. "I may not have much to offer her materially, but I have so much more to offer her-love, friendship, affection, someone she can rely on, someone who will take care of her and Henry even when she doesn't think she needs it...A person has more needs than just food and shelter."

"Why do you care?" Ian asked Graham, eyes narrowed.

"I care about the mayor. We're friends." His lips then curled into a smirk as he looked Bobby dead in the eyes. "With benefits."

Bobby put down his cue. "Really? She's never mentioned you before. And when I once asked her about her friends, she replied she didn't have any."

Graham frowned. "Liar."

"How do we know you're not the liar?" Al challenged, crossing his arms.

As Graham charged toward him, Bobby stepped between the sheriff and his friend. He pushed the man back. "Enough! I don't know what existed between you and Regina, but I do know she's never mentioned you. So I have to assume it ended. Accept it and leave us alone. Please."

"Get your hands off me!" Graham shoved Bobby back and he held up his hands in a placating manner. "You're a fool if you think she wants anything long term with you. That's not Regina's deal."

"Look, I don't know what your deal is. I'm just trying to have a good time with my mates. Just...go somewhere else." Bobby turned around, readying his cue to break.

Graham grabbed his shoulder and swung him back around, getting right up in Bobby's face. "Leave Regina alone."

"Bugger off!" Bobby replied, trying to shove him off.

The sheriff had a good grip on Bobby's shirt, though, and was able to land a punch to his face. It spurned Al and Ian to jump in and they tried to pry Graham off as he landed two more punches to Bobby's face.

Bobby recovered his senses and kneed Graham before throwing a right hook of his own. It sent the sheriff sprawling on the floor, allowing Bobby to stagger to his feet. "You got that out of your system?" he asked, wiping some blood from his lip.

"You going to leave Regina alone?" Graham asked, sitting up with a groan.

"If she wants it, yes," Bobby replied. "If not, then no. You don't get a say in this."

Graham growled, rising to his feet and punching Bobby again.

"We'll have to wait for the pictures and the doctor's official ruling, but from what I can tell, Graham was clearly the aggressor and Bobby was defending himself. Though he did land a few good blows himself," Sidney replied, snapping his pad shut.

Regina sighed. "Thank you, Sidney. Why don't you go home? We probably won't get much else done tonight."

"What about Graham and Bobby?" he asked.

"It seems Graham was the aggressor, right?" Regina asked. When Sidney nodded, she sighed. "Then take him back to the station and let him sleep it off in a cell. I'll deal with him when he's sober."

"And Bobby?"

She paused before saying softly: "I'll take care of him."

"So there is a relationship between you and Mr. Locke?" Sidney asked, sounding more like a reporter looking for a front page scoop. As if the sheriff pounding a man in a bar into a pulp wasn't enough of one.

Regina scowled at him. "If there is, it won't be announced on the front page of The Mirror. Do I make myself clear, Sidney?"

"Crystal, Madam Mayor." Sidney tucked his pad into his jacket pocket. "Good night."

Once he was gone, Regina turned to the nurse behind the desk. "Where is Mr. Locke?"

"He's down in emergency getting stitched up," the nurse replied. "I can take you to him, if you want."

Regina nodded, thanking her. As she followed the nurse, she already figured she could get Bobby released to her and she could make up one of the guest rooms for him. Roland could bunk with Henry for the time being. She was certain the boys would love that.

"This is it," the nurse said, coming to a stop. She hesitated a moment before squeezing Regina's shoulder and then leaving her alone.

Taking a deep breath, Regina reached a shaky hand out to move the curtain separating her from Bobby. As he came into view, she let out a startled gasp and tears sprang to her eyes.

He sat on the examination bed, his hands bound in gauze. One eye-his right-was already swollen shut and a nasty purple color. His lips were swollen and bloody, with dried blood matting his hairline. There was some on his shirt as well, which was also covered in dirt and grime as well as tears in the fabric.

He had one good eye, though it was red-rimmed, and he saw her. "Don't worry, Regina. I look worse than I feel," he mumbled.

"He's also not feeling much right now," Dr. Whale said, pulling latex gloves off his hands. "I have him on the very good stuff."

"Can I take him home?" Regina asked, trying not to cry. Especially in front of Whale.

The doctor nodded. "I'll go get the discharge process started and we'll get him out of here as soon as possible. He's probably going to be sore for several days and should get plenty of rest, no matter what that old miser who runs the hotel says."

"I'll make sure he gets plenty of rest and that Mr. Gull doesn't bother him," she said, going to stand by Bobby as Whale left the room. She swallowed down a sob. "I can call Ruby and ask her to drop Roland off at my house. Do you trust her to pack you an overnight bag or do you want me to do that?"

He shook his head. "Ian went to pack me a bag and to pick Roland up. I was going to stay with him so as not to be a bother..."

"Oh," she replied, disappointed. "I would never consider you a bother, but if you'd rather stay at Ian's, I understand."

"I'd rather stay with you. You're a prettier nurse than Ian." He tried to smile but his lip was too swollen to do so.

Regina let out a weak chuckle, feeling a little relieved that his sense of humor was still intact. "Yes, I suppose so."

Dr. Whale returned, handing her a plastic bag and some paperwork. "These are his pain meds, some gauze, some medical tape and our 'how to take care of your injured boyfriend' instructional guide."

"Thank you," she said, not even caring to snap at him. She needed everything possible in order to make sure Bobby made a full recovery.

She listened as Dr. Whale explained everything to her and her mind was already creating schedules for Bobby for the next couple days. "We'll reevaluate him then," Dr. Whale finished.

"So can I take him home now?" she asked.

Dr. Whale nodded. "I just need you to sign a few forms and then he's all yours."

Regina followed him out to the nurse's station and signed every form put in front of her. She slammed down the pen just as Ian returned, carrying a sleepy Roland in one arm and Bobby's bag on the other. His eyes widened when he saw her. "Madam Mayor."

"Ian," she said, feeling awkward around the larger man Bobby called a friend. "I'm...I'm going to take Bobby and Roland."

He smiled, nodding. "Of course. I'm sure they both rather be with you than me. Bobby's a great guy, but if I had a girlfriend myself..."

Relief swept through her. Ian was understanding and didn't see her as encroaching on his space. "Would you mind helping me get him to my car?"

"Of course," Ian said. "I won't leave until you do."

As she thanked him, Roland stirred in his arms. He lifted his head and rubbed his eye before frowning. "Regina? Uncle Ian? Where are we?"

"We're in the hospital," Ian said. "Papa was hurt and so you two will be staying with Regina."

Roland's lower lip began to quiver. "Papa's hurt? Bad?"

"Yes, Papa's hurt," Regina answered, running her fingers through his thick dark curls. "But the doctors have patched him up and with all our love and care, he's going to be better in no time."

That seemed to appease him but she knew she did have to prepare him for how Bobby looked. "Right now, though, Papa is very bruised and cut up. I want you to remember that it looks worse than it is and that he's fine. Can you do that?"

"I can," he said, though his voice shook. "Can I see him?"

Regina glanced back at Bobby, who nodded. He tried to stand but she was at his side in a few strides, gently pushing him back down. "Stay there and rest. They'll bring a wheelchair for us to use to get you to the car."

"Papa?" Roland's voice shook and when Regina turned her head, she saw his eyes had grown wide. He clung to Ian's hand, tears threatening to spill from his brown eyes.

Bobby once again tried to smile and his good eye had a soft look in it. He reached one of his bandaged hands out to his son. "It's okay, my boy. Papa's okay."

Roland let go of Ian's hand and took a few tentative steps toward his father. He stopped, though, and looked up with fear still in his eyes. "Will it hurt if I hug you?"

"Not if you're really gentle," Regina said, holding out her hand. Roland took it and let her lead him the rest of the way to his father. She helped him climb up until he was kneeling next to Bobby.

Bobby wrapped one of his arms around his son and pulled him close. "You know what would help?"

"What?" Roland asked.

"Kisses," his father stage-whispered. The boy chuckled and peppered Bobby's face with kisses.

Dr. Whale returned with a wheelchair. "Okay, everything is all set. Hop in the wheelchair, Mr. Locke, and we'll get you out of here."

Ian helped Bobby into the wheelchair and Roland climbed onto his lap. Regina hurried ahead of them so she could pull the car around, helping get the Lockes into it so she could take them home.

Once the door was closed, Ian held out his hand to her. "Take care of them," he said.

"I will," she promised. "I care about them too."

He nodded, standing there as she climbed into the car and waiting for her to pull out. She smiled at how loyal he was to Bobby and then glanced at her boyfriend, who was now dozing in her front seat. Regina took a deep breath and headed home.

When she returned home, her assistant and Ian helped her get Bobby upstairs to the guest room after Regina put Roland to bed in Henry's room. It would be a great surprise for her son, she knew.

Ian left the room, smiling at Regina. "I helped him change into his pajamas. Do you need anything else?"

"No," she replied. "Thank you. I'll…I'll call you later to update you."

He thanked her before following her assistant out of the house. Regina took a deep breath and entered the bedroom she had given to Bobby. As she entered, he groaned as he laid down on the bed. "Oh, I think the pain medication is starting to wear off."

"I'll get you another dose right after we get you settled and I can read all the instructions," she said, helping him put his legs on the bed. Regina pulled the blankets around him, tucking him in like he was Roland or Henry.

"I'm sure you have plenty of better things to do than take care of me," he said. "Like actually getting some sleep."

She smiled. "While sleep sounds wonderful, I wasn't going to let anyone else take care of you."

Finding satisfaction with her handiwork, Regina straightened up. "Now, you try to get some rest. I'll be right back with everything Doctor Whale gave us."

As Bobby closed his eyes, she left the room and retrieved the bag she took from the hospital. She returned to the room and read everything, trying to figure out if she could give him something for the pain. It seemed she could and quickly got everything ready.

"Bobby," she whispered, shaking him gently so as not to hurt him. He opened his good eye and she held out two small white pills. "This should help with the pain."

He took the pills and then the glass she offered him, taking a few gulps to get the medication down. Robin placed the glass by the bedside in case as she leaned down to kiss his forehead. "Good night, Bobby. Get plenty of rest."

"Stay," he pleaded, catching her hand. "Please?"

Even though they had just started dating, she knew she couldn't refuse him. She nodded, smiling. "Let me just change into my pajamas, okay?"

"Of course," he said, already sounding drowsy.

Regina hurried down the hall and pulled off her suit, not caring to hang it back up. She just left it on her bed while she pulled on her pajamas. The soft cotton felt good against her skin and she could feel her exhaustion starting to catch up to her. Padding back down the hall, she wasn't surprised to see that Bobby was already asleep.

Smiling, she climbed into bed beside him. Lying down, on her side, she watched him sleep as her eyes grew heavy. Regina sighed as she drifted off.

"Regina? Papa?" Roland's soft voice woke her the next morning. Regina opened her eyes to find him and Henry standing in the doorway, both still in their pajamas and looking hesitant.

She sat up, careful of Bobby as he was still sleeping. "Good morning," she whispered. "You two hungry?"

Henry nodded but Roland hesitated. "How's my papa?" he asked.

"He's sleeping, which is good. It will help his body heal," she told him, climbing out of bed. "Why don't I make you two breakfast and we'll check on Papa after we eat?"

"Okay. Can we have pancakes?" Roland asked, brightening up a bit.

She smiled, taking both boys' hands. "Yes, we can. Come on."

Roland hesitated for a moment, glancing back at his father's sleeping form. "Can I kiss my papa first?"

"Of course," she replied, helping him onto the bed. He crawled over and kissed Bobby's cheek tenderly to avoid his bruises.

Henry tugged on her shirt. "What happened to Mr. Bobby?"

"I'll tell you downstairs, okay?" Regina said, running her fingers through his hair as she tried to tame some of his bedhead.

Roland hopped off the bed and took her hand, letting her lead the two boys from the room. They headed downstairs to the kitchen, where Regina set them up to help her make pancakes for their breakfast.

When they all had plates full of fluffy pancakes in front of them, Regina turned to the boys. "Mr. Bobby was hurt last night. Sheriff Graham got into a fight with him and hurt him."

"Sheriff Graham?" Henry frowned. "Why?"

She toyed with her lip, unsure how to explain it to the boys-especially Henry. Regina's relationship with Graham had cooled when she became a mother, with her schedule rather unpredictable. He also seemed to change his view of her once he saw her as a mother, distancing himself even more. It was surprising that he would fight Bobby for her after all this time.

"I don't know," she replied, honestly. "Hopefully I can get some answers from him later. For now, let's focus on getting Bobby better again."

"How?" Roland asked.

Regina smiled. "With lots of loving, tender care. And making sure he takes all his medicine. And changing his bandages."

Henry and Roland made faces. "Maybe you should do that," Roland said. "We can do the loving and caring!"

She laughed, ruffling their hair. "Sounds like a plan. Now eat up."

Regina carried up a tray of oatmeal and orange juice to Bobby. She opened the door quietly, tiptoeing into the room. But he was sitting up, smiling at her. "It's okay, Regina. I'm up."

"How are you feeling? Do you need any more medication?" She set the tray down before going to open the blinds to let in some more sunlight. It let her study him a bit more. The swelling had gone down and he was able to open both eyes, though the right still had a dark ring around it. His lips weren't as swollen either though she could still see nasty gashes on them. And the bruises on his cheeks were starting to fade into a sickly green color, which she knew was a good sign.

"I should probably get something in my stomach before then," he said, reaching for the spoon. She watched him struggle, grimacing with each movement.

Regina hurried over to him. "Are you sure? It seems like you might need the medicine to move."

Bobby sighed. "It seems to be a catch twenty-two. I need the medicine to eat but I need to eat to take the medicine."

"If you're okay with it, I can feed you," she said, not wanting to insult him.

"I prefer train noises to airplane ones," he joked, eyes lighting up as he smiled at her. "Just so you know."

She chuckled, scooping up a good helping of oatmeal. As she fed him spoonful after spoonful, her smile softened. "The boys are worried about you. Especially Roland."

"I've probably scared him half to death." He sighed. "I don't usually get into bar fights, Regina. I promise you that. I usually go, have a few drinks, play some pool and joke around with my friends. And then I relieve whoever is watching Roland and go to sleep."

"I believe you, Bobby. I can't believe Graham did this to you." Regina sighed as she dropped the spoon into the empty bowl.

Bobby shrugged. "I think I share some of the blame. I kinda riled him up."

"From what I was told, you were trying not to engage with him."

"At the end. But I fear I may have provoked him. I shouldn't have made him feel like he was a nobody."

She shook her head. "I doubt you made him feel like that."

Bobby sighed before grimacing. "Regina...not that it matters...but..."

"Yes," she said, knowing his question. "Graham and I used to have a sexual relationship. It was just sex, two people scratching an itch. I mean, I cared for him as a friend, but nothing more. And I didn't even think he cared about me that way, especially once he made himself scarce after I adopted Henry. I guess I owe him an explanation."

"If he ended it, I don't think you owe him anything," he replied, taking her hand in one of his bandaged ones.

She shrugged. "I guess, but I still feel I should talk to him."

"You do what you think is best," he told her. "Just be careful."

Regina rubbed the back of his hands. When he winced, she remembered that she was supposed to be nursing him back to health and jumped up. "Well, let's get you the next dose of painkillers and then you can get some rest."

"I guess I'm just staying in this room all day, huh?" His tone was light but she could see the annoyance in his eyes.

"I don't think you'll be able to make it downstairs, do you?" Regina handed him a couple pills and a glass of water. "I can bring in a TV for you to watch. And I'm sure the boys will want to keep you company for a bit."

His smile softened into something more genuine. "I'd love to spend some time with the boys. We'll have some manly bonding."

Regina smiled as well. "I think both will like that. So let me go get that TV and we'll get you all set up in here."

For the rest of the morning, Regina started on the chores that had built up over the week. She did a few loads of laundry and enlisted the boys to help her sort and fold. They worked diligently until they dissolved into giggles and started tossing socks at each other. Not wanting to see her clean laundry scattered on the floor, she sent the boys to play while she finished in the living room.

After the laundry was put away, she decided it was time for lunch. Heading down to Bobby's room, she heard the TV playing at a low volume. She opened the door and stopped, her heart melting at the sight before her.

Bobby was sound asleep in bed, his mouth partially open as he snored softly. Roland was curled up against one of his sides while Henry was curled up against the other, Bobby's arms wrapped around them. The boys slept on, safe and content. And together like that, they almost looked like a father with both his sons.

She closed the door again, deciding she would make lunch for herself now and then make something for them later. It was just too sweet a scene for her to interrupt and she smiled as she realized that her men weren't going anywhere.

They belonged together and nothing would keep them apart.

Nothing.

A/N: Thanks to glindalovesshoes for this prompt! She also left me a lot of prompts, so you'll be seeing her name a lot more! But I'm grateful for every one of them, trust me! Also, I forgot to thank my anonymous prompter for the last chapter's prompt. So thank you, anonymous on tumblr!

Since a couple people asked me, I will still be posting many of the newer entries to the hotel verse on tumblr first—mostly because a lot of them will be answers to prompts—and then posting them here. The only exception so far will be Christmas. I'm aiming to post that across all the platforms at the same time.

And in case you're wondering, yes I'm still taking prompts.

-Mac