A/N: I know it's been a while since I last updated and I'm really sorry for the long wait. After Robin died on the show I had kind of a bad breakdown and I needed to take some time off from everything, especially the fandom and focus on my real life and things which make me happy. During the time, I wasn't able to write either and it's probably the reason why there's little OQ in this chapter. However, there is a very important scene with Snow, one which I highly enjoyed writing - and one of my guilty pleasures: Hooked Queen!

I told you in the beginning I will explore multiple ships in a way but of course the main focus lies on OQ! So the next chapter will be all heavy on the OQ feels and I can promise you that there will finally - after 15 chapters - be some alone time for Robin and Regina woot woot!

I'd love to hear what you guys think about the chapter and thank you for all the great response this story is receiving here and on twitter (my name is GlindaLoveShoes). So feel free to share your thoughts with me *hands out cookies*.

Thanks for reading and once again sorry for the long wait. I might have given up on the show, but not on OutlawQueen for now.


(15)

After last night's date with David, Regina felt a bit more confident as she woke up in the morning. It was nice to have the pressure off with him, the pressure of being perfect, of flirting all the time - not that she minded a bit of flirting occasionally, but having fifteen guys flirt with you all the time, while at the same time being witness to an ongoing pissing contest was tiring at times. Having something close to a friend in the group of males was a calming thought. While reflecting on the things that had been said, she got dressed and ready for the day. Tonight would mark another milestone for her, she would have to kick out two other men and she had no idea who it should be.

Should she keep David even though he'd confessed of having no romantic feelings for her? Should she kick him out and give one of the other men a chance to prove themselves? What if it was too dangerous, what if David caught on to what was going on between her and Robin? He was suspicious already, that much she knew, but she didn't know how much more he knew. Had Robin talked to him? God, it was all so confusing. Sighing, Regina pulled a thin white tee over her head, momentarily distracted by a familiar noise. A quick look to her blinking phone screen showed a message from Mary Margaret that she read with a roll of her eyes.

How was last night's date? ;)

Of course Mary would want to know, but she still hadn't told her about Robin being here. She bit her lip, deciding whether she should tell her friend what happened with David or not, but this would be a longer conversation for which she didn't have the time or the energy. In the end, she went with a quick reply that it was a 'long story' and that Mary Margaret should call her during her lunch break. The message had just been sent, two little blue check marks indicating her friend had read the message, when her phone started to vibrate and a picture of Mary Margaret hugging Henry flashed up on her screen.

"Seriously?" Regina answered the phone, not bothering to give her friend a 'hello'. She wondered how often she would have to tell her former stepdaughter that curiosity killed the cat.

"Tell me everything," Mary Margaret begged.

"It's just twelve in New York - you're telling me you're having your lunch break now?"

"One of the perks of being your own boss is that you get to decide when to have your lunch break. The store has been busy this morning, but it quieted down and I'm just in the back finishing up the order for the Gaiman's wedding, so you're on speaker. Now, tell me, how was your date? What's the name of the guy again…? Daniel?"

"David. Daniel is one of the others- the one who got the First Impression Rose," Regina clarified. "You wouldn't believe it when I tell you, but do you remember Kathryn Midas's wedding?"

"How could I forget? They're kind of the reason why our business is overflowing with orders. What does this have to do with…? Oh. OH!"

"David Nolan is her ex-husband," Regina grinned, letting the bomb drop.

There was an audible gasp from Mary Margaret, a clonk - she must have dropped something, probably the knife or scissors. "D… David? David Nolan from New York? Are you sure?"

"Do you know David?" Regina asked surprised before she remembered that Mary Margaret must have met him at rehearsal dinner when she set up the flowers. David mentioned something like it last night. "Mary?"

"Uhm… we've met… yeah. At… at the rehearsal dinner. I heard they divorced a while back, but I didn't think he'd do something like… this. Like the Bachelorette I mean."

"You mean make a fool out of himself on TV for all of America to see? Yeah, well a few months back I didn't think I'd be one of these people either. Look where I am now."

"And do you… like him?"

Regina raised an eyebrow at the change of her friend's voice. She suddenly sounded off, distant. Something was going on, and for a mere moment Regina wished she could see her friend's face. Mary Margaret had never been good at hiding things from Regina. "Yeah, I do like him, but I don't think it's in a romantic way. We get along well, but I think that's it for the moment. Are you ok, Mary? You sound a bit off…"

"I'm… I…" She was about to say 'yeah' but Regina cleared her throat, daring her to lie to her friend over the phone. "It's stupid."

"What is?"

"The thing with David. I… he's… nice?"

Regina's eyes widened knowingly as a smug grin spread on her face. "Mary Margaret Blanchard. Are you about to tell me you have a crush on one of my candidates, from seeing him once, at the rehearsal dinner of his own wedding?"

"No… Yes? We met up for coffee twice after his divorce, but he said we should stop seeing each other before it became something more, because he knew what Kathryn could do to our business if she found out. We only started receiving big orders after she recommended us to a few people, I didn't want to ruin anything," she explained sheepishly.

Regina's eyes widened in shock and suddenly she remembered. "Oh Mary… so he was the guy you… Oh you should have told me!"

"You're friends with Kathryn."

"Yes, but I'm also your friend. We would have found a solution somehow," Regina reassured her, now feeling bad for her friend. She remembered how excited Mary Margaret had been when she told her about this 'really cute guy' she would meet for coffee, and how one week later she'd come home devastated, telling her they'd had to call it off for reasons she didn't want to specify. "You should have talked to me. David told me that things between him and Kathryn had been rocky from the start…"

"I didn't want to ruin your life by choosing a guy over our business. Not again."

Regina closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I forgave you for that a long time ago, you know that." There was a familiar ringing from the bell of the shop in the background and Regina knew Mary would have to go to the customers.

"Just because you forgave me, doesn't mean I forgave myself, Regina. There are customers - I should go. I'll call tonight with Henry, so you can tell him a bedtime story, okay? He misses you."

She bit back a comment, knew this was neither the time nor the place to get into the old argument again. "I miss you guys, too. I'll see you tonight?"

"You will. Bye, Regina!"

Xxxxx

Mary Margaret Blanchard was not someone with many friends. She'd grown up in London, Paris, Berlin and L.A., moving every other year to a new place with her mom, her hard-working daddy and her nanny. It was nothing she cared about, she was content, happy even, met up with one or two daughters of daddy's colleagues from time to time, depending on where they were at the time, and got in contact with a few people at the international schools she visited. That was until her mother had fallen sick and they retreated to Boston, where a few of the world's best doctors could take care of her. Her mother hadn't liked the city though, had found it too noisy, too stuffy, too full of people, so they'd retired to a not so far off little town called Storybrooke, where a beautiful estate had been for sale.

Mary Margaret had refused to leave her mother's bedside, had refused to go to school, which lead her father to hire a teacher so she could be home-schooled. When her mother died shortly after she turned ten, the world crashed for the little girl who had never really felt at home anywhere except for when she was with her mother. Her father hadn't taken well to Eva's death, had closed himself off, and had buried himself in his work, completely neglecting her for the first six months. She had never been able to blame him for it, for mourning her mother, his beloved wife, but it had made Mary feel lonely in the great manor with only her maids and teacher for company. She never hated him for it, rather projected her anger toward her mother for leaving them, for making them sad and for making daddy ignore her because he was missing her so, so much.

That was the moment about two years ago, when a woman named Cora Mills and her daughter Regina stepped into their lives. Recently widowed, the woman was a far cry from the wreck her father had been. She was elegant, graceful and omnipresent, with a smile that could melt the greatest iceberg. And she loved her daughter Regina so much. Regina was so lucky, having a mother like Cora, who cared for her, who only always wanted the best for her. Oh, and Mary Margaret wished, she wished she would have someone like Cora as her mother. Sadly, she wasn't. For a moment she was hoping Cora would become her new stepmother, that the grief for their late spouses would have brought her father and Cora together and Regina would become her sister. She'd always wanted a sister, had seen endless movies about sisterly bonds and how honest and true their relationships were. For a while it even seemed like they could have this, like they could be sisters. Regina was sweet - she missed her daddy as much as she missed her mother - and she was so beautiful and educated and genuine and nice to her. Not like her maids, who would always fulfill her every wish, no, with Regina she finally felt like she had a rock she could hold onto when everything got too much, when she felt lonely, when she needed someone to talk to. Regina understood and Mary loved her for it like a sister.

So it felt a bit weird when Regina started accompanying her father to events, when he started smiling at her with this look in his eyes, when her father started holding her closer and shared affectionate touches with her. But who was she to judge? She'd seen the movies; she'd read the novels. People fell in love and that's what was happening in her home with her father and Regina. Mary Margaret was happy, so incredibly happy for both of them; for her father because he finally saw her again, and for Regina, because if things went well, she wouldn't only get the sister she asked for, but a mother! They were supposed to get engaged soon, supposed to get married. Daddy had already shown her the ring but asked her to keep it a secret. It would be a fairytale wedding, and they would be happy. So happy.

Over a few weeks, she'd noticed a change in Regina, how she sometimes seemed scared and at others seemed so ridiculously happy Mary just wanted to hug her. Maybe she suspected something; maybe she knew her father would propose soon. She'd talked about it a few days ago with Cora. Cora, who loved her daughter so much, who wanted the best for her, who wanted her to be happy with Leopold, her father.

That was until she noticed the bruises on her upper arms that one night she crawled into Regina's bed because she had a nightmare. Maybe she was too old for it with having just reached the age of sweet sixteen, but Regina had always given her comfort. She'd asked what happened, who was responsible for the bruises, but Regina just shrugged it off and asked her to tell no one, that she fell, that she ran into something, that she was just clumsy. Regina never seemed to be clumsy, but she didn't question it, just hoped the other woman was all right. She started noticing more of them, started to notice when Regina was trying to hide a black eye with multiple layers of make-up. If Mary Margaret looked back now, she couldn't realize how she could have been so stupid, so blind.

It was one afternoon in the park, one afternoon where she decided to go out shopping, because her father had asked her to accompany her to one of the special meetings in New York. They would fly out the day after tomorrow and she was excited to be in her favorite city and meet up with Ariel, a friend she made a while back when she last accompanied her father. She'd called James to pick her up after her shopping spree at the other side of the park and was just making her way there, when she heard someone shout "Regina!". She turned around, hid behind a bush, surprised to see Regina and a blonde haired man with a scruffy beard only a few yards away from her, fighting.

"Leave me alone!"

"No I won't!" The man grabbed her wrist and she tried to get away from him, but he held on, talking to her. Mary couldn't make out what it was; all she saw was Regina desperately trying to free herself from the man's grip. He… he was hurting her. He was, oh god, she was trying to free herself. Was there nobody who could help her? Now it made sense, all the bruises, all the cuts… this man… he was the one hurting her.

"I can't, Robin!" the brunette shouted angrily, tears welling up in her eyes. They continued talking, the man named Robin holding her wrists, then suddenly he pressed her hand to his lips, wiped away her tears and… he kissed her! Mary Margaret's mouth fell open and she tried to calm her surprised shriek with a hand. How could Regina do this? This man was hurting her, had been hurting her for months and she was kissing him? She was betraying her father, the man who gave Regina everything, she was betraying her mother, who only wanted the best for her, who was so happy she would marry Leopold and worst of all, she was betraying Mary Margaret herself. Never once had she spoken of this man, never once had she mentioned he was abusing her.

Mary Margaret was sick to her stomach, her imagination running wild. How could she be with this man? Was he forcing her? What else did he do to her? She'd read about it, about women who always went back to their abusive boyfriends for some reason. How long had this been going on? Why had Regina never told anyone? She looked up to see the two of them hug, to see the man cupping her cheek and kissing her once again. Suddenly feeling sick to her stomach, Mary Margaret abandoned her post behind the bushes and made her way quickly over to the end of the park where the limousine was waiting for her.

If she looked back now, she hated her sixteen year old self for making assumptions and for jumping too quickly to conclusions. Everything that happened could have been prevented, all the pain could have been avoided, but no. Her mind had been blinded by the picture of a perfect family, of her, Regina and her father - the one who had really been responsible for the bruises. She'd ruined Regina's life, had taken away her only chance at escape, and had resented her for wanting to leave her behind. It was her fault that Henry was growing up without a father and that Regina went through the most horrible divorce she could imagine. It was her own fault that after all those years; she had to realize her father wasn't a knight in shining armor but the devil himself. Even if Regina forgave her, Mary would never forgive herself for ruining her life by going to Cora's room and confessing under tears that Regina was pregnant from her abusive boyfriend. She'd told a secret and promised herself she would owe Regina for the rest of her life.

Xxxxx

Regina busied herself by applying some basic make-up (Ruby would do the rest tonight, that was for sure). It was ten past nine when she stepped into the kitchen, surprised to see Tink sitting on the counter, a cup of tea in front of her. The grin of the blonde was obvious, as she jumped off the bar stool in order to hug her friend good morning. Regina returned the hug, gesturing toward the fridge for some breakfast, but Tink declined politely.

"I have awesome news. I talked to production…"

"Let me first get my coffee in order to make sure I'm not going to murder you because you once again managed to get through with one of your ludicrous ideas." Regina didn't wait for an answer but pressed the macchiato button on the coffee machine while preparing fruits with fresh Greek yoghurt, a half cup of cereal and sprinkles of sugar. Within five minutes she was settled opposite of Tink, having the first sip of coffee, which she really needed after the talk with Mary Margaret.

"Now you may speak."

"Thanks for granting me the audience, your majesty," Tink joked with a roll of her eyes. "Have you ever been to San Diego?"

"No. Why?" Regina asked curiously. She knew they would soon be travelling to great locations, but definitely not in the second week, right?

"Because I talked to productions and suggested you have another group date with a few of the guys today. On such short notice we were able to charter a flight to San Diego for surfing lessons this afternoon! What do you think?"

"Why do I feel someone in the higher ups wants to see me in a bikini?"

"Since when do you complain about hot guys in swimming trunks? We have to give the audience something, Regina. Ruby already talked to me and she has the perfect thing for you."

"What about the Rose Ceremony tonight?"

"Here's the thing, the Rose Ceremony will take place in the Regency ballroom at the San Francisco Opera, so we will go directly from San Diego to San Francisco tonight. What do you think?" Tink asked excitedly.

"Who's going with me?"

"Production was thinking of Sidney, Killian and Keith. Would you like anyone else to join?"

"I think we're good with these guys."

"Great, then let me quickly text Belle to bring the message over to the guys. Ruby will be here in fifteen minutes to get your make-up and everything ready for the flight. We will be leaving for the airport in an hour, so we have to hurry." Tink got up, gulping down the last bit of her tea before placing cup and saucer inside the sink. "I gotta go." She squeezed Regina's shoulder, a smile on her face. "Nice rose, by the way."

Regina watched her friend leave the mansion before her eyes fell on the rose, which rested on the counter next to the bowl with the fruits. Another yellow rose? This was getting weird…

Xxxxx

The flight to San Diego in the private jet didn't take long. Regina was surprised at how easy it was to talk to the men, about their lives, the things they did for fun and how excited they were for the date. While Sidney seemed overly ecstatic, trying to get Regina's attention ninety percent of the time, Regina figured Killian behaved a bit shy at first, while Keith seemed rather intimidated by Sidney. But she didn't mind. Sidney was interesting, a freelancing political journalist with some interesting stories to tell. Educated men were one of her weaknesses. They didn't have to be Harvard graduates, no, but she loved if they were able to hold a conversation that didn't only involve football and the newest way to grill a steak on the barbecue. On the other hand, she remembered how much she despised hearing Leopold talking about finances and politics all the time. No, it was the well- balanced mix that made it and the fact that the conversation was able to continue for a while.

After they landed, they were brought to the beach hotel by a limousine, where they would get ready for their surfing lessons. Regina was under strict instructions not to spoil anything for the guys, since all they knew was to bring their swimming trunks, but they could probably make a good guess.

To her own surprise, Ruby showed up with a bright orange bootie cut long sleeved springsuit to wear over her bikini, which made Regina feel a bit more confident. Her hair was braided back and fixed with wax, so it would stay in place for the time being in the water and Ruby worked her magic with waterproof make-up and the words "We don't want you to look like a panda after five minutes in the water, right?"

As Regina approached the beach, the three men were already waiting for her, each of them struggling to get into the wetsuit they'd been given by the surfing instructor. It was a hilarious picture, really, as Sidney fell head over into the sand, cussing, as the sticky neoprene material wouldn't slip over his legs. Keith was struggling as well, while the only one without a problem seemed to be Killian, who smoothly zipped his wetsuit shut while flashing her a bright grin.

"Hey, Regina."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who was struggling to get this thing on," she joked while pulling at the tight fabric on her skin. "It's like a second skin!"

"It takes a bit of practice, that's for sure," Killian agreed.

"Seems like you know what you're talking about. Have you surfed before?"

The dark haired man eagerly nodded. "I have! I'm not a pro by any means, but I enjoy a good ride - on a wave," he added quickly, making Regina chuckle. "Though to be honest I prefer sailing instead of surfing."

"You do?"

"Yes. I uh… my ship the Jolly Roger lies in Cannes harbor and I like to do a sailing trip a few weeks every year on the Mediterranean Sea or down to the Canary Islands. However it's my dream to sail all the way down to the Cape of Good Hope one day." He blushed as he talked, his hands fidgeting with the zipper of his wetsuit.

"That sounds amazing," Regina smiled. "I've never been to Cannes or Europe in general before and to be honest, I've never been sailing either - but who knows what they have in store for us here, right? I'd love to see your boat. Perhaps we'll be lucky…"

"Ship," he corrected casually, "the Jolly Roger is a ship. Please don't call her a boat, that wouldn't do her justice."

"Ship it is," Regina winked apologetically. "You definitely have to tell me more about your adventures on the sea - I love hearing a good story or two."

"Like that one time I almost got kidnapped by pirates?"

She gasped. "Are you serious?"

"You never know, love," he winked, his head pointing over to Sidney and Keith who finally finished their struggle with the wetsuits and looked less than happy with the prospect of going surfing.

The surfing instructor, a young Hawaiian looking woman named Moana greeted them happily, before explaining the board to them. Since Killian seemed to be the only one with a bit of knowledge to work with, they first did some practice on the sand, for example the paddling motion and then moving on to perfecting their position and balance as well as trying the popping up move. Regina struggled with the latter, but knew she didn't want to look like a fool in front of the men once they were allowed to go into the water. Not that all of them were interested anyway - Keith seemed rather busy flirting with Moana when he thought she wasn't looking and liked to show his muscles to a few giggling female fans who were watching from the promenade, excited to be part of a TV show being filmed. Other than Keith's obvious disinterest, which Killian and Sidney made up for, since the latter was constantly trying to get her attention, Regina enjoyed the lesson immensely. She laughed once when Moana casually kicked against Sidney's board, in order to get him to listen to her and stop making doe-eyes toward Regina, which made him fall over into the sand.

"Balance, Sidney," Moana instructed, receiving a grumpy answer from the man in return.

"It looks easier than it is," Regina said, trying to cheer him up a bit and succeeded as he thankfully smiled at her. Moana showed them both an easier way to get on the board in the water, so instead of jumping up in the way Killian could perfectly do, they were advised to first get up on their knees and then bring one foot up at a time until they were in a standing position.

"It's much harder than it looks and I can promise you none of you will win the Triple Crown Surfing any time soon, but it's gonna be fun," the woman motivated them, knowing exactly how hard it was to learn surfing within a few hours time.

The afternoon sun was burning down on them and after about two hours of practice on the beach, they were finally allowed to take their longboards into the cool water where they practiced more paddling.

"There are no sharks around here, right?" Sidney yelled over, clearly feeling uncomfortable in the water.

"If there are, you'll be the first one they eat, you slow coach!" Keith yelled over before he turned his board around just like Moana had showed them earlier, paddling to catch the wave that was coming his way. It was a desperate move and just as he got up to ride the mighty wave, he lost his balance, crashing into the water, leaving the other surfers dying with laughter.

"He's a bit of a jerk," Killian commented just loud enough for Regina to hear and she agreed silently.

As the afternoon continued, all of them tried to make a good pose on the board with which they succeeded more or less. Sidney was the only one frustrated, since he never seemed to catch a good wave and even though Moana kept on motivating them, at one point he gave up, telling the others he would be waiting at the beach. Regina felt once again sorry for him, considered offering to join him, asking if he was okay, but she'd just managed to successfully ride a wave, she didn't want to stop now.

Killian seemed to enjoy himself immensely, winking and waving at her often while he managed to catch a wave. Of course he was nowhere near a professional, but he managed and made quite the good picture with his defined muscles in the wetsuit.

The late afternoon sun was burning down on them, slowly starting to set. Their time in the water was over and even though it had been a lot of fun, Regina felt rather exhausted and hungry from having spent a whole afternoon out in the water. They didn't have to wait long after they bid goodbye to Moana, since not far from their surfing spot, a picnic had been set up under a white tent, with comfortable blankets and pretty embroidered cushions.

During a moment of privacy when she changed out of her springsuit and Ruby did her hair and make-up for the picnic, Regina managed to call Henry on her phone, apologizing for keeping him up an hour past his bedtime. It wasn't like her little prince minded though, she knew that. But tomorrow was a school day and despite him telling her differently, he needed his sleep.

He excitedly told her about what they did in school today, that they were supposed to hold a short five-minute-presentation about their favorite book next week.

"How am I supposed to talk about all the 'Harry Potter' books in five minutes, mom? That's impossible! I need at least five per book!" She'd laughed at this, told him he should pick his favorite book and concentrate on this one. "But Mom, I can't decide which is my favorite, I love them all!"

Sadly, she didn't get around to telling him a bedtime story; since Ruby told her she was expected outside. Even though she hated her time with Henry being cut short, her grumbling stomach agreed.

"I'm sorry Henry, I have to go. I'll call on Skype tomorrow, I promise. Sleep tight, my little prince, I love you."

"Love you, too, Mommy!" Mommy. Regina closed her eyes, her heart aching to hold her son close to her chest and breathing in his significant scent. She missed him, missed him so much. If she'd known before how much she would miss him, she would have never agreed to this. Ruby gave her a knowing smile, her hand squeezing her shoulder.

"You know, if you want him to come, we can arrange something…"

"I know," Regina sighed, giving herself a moment to indulge in Ruby's comfort. "But I don't want him here in front of the cameras and all these men who I don't know if I can trust yet. I don't want them to try and use Henry to get close to me. If, and I say if any of the men has an honest interest in me, they won't care whether I have a son or not. He's a part of me - the most important part of me - and I will reveal Henry to them sooner or later, but not now."

Ruby nodded, readjusting the red hibiscus flower in her hair. "You're a good mom, Regina." Her stomach made a sound that couldn't be ignored at this moment, causing them both to laugh. "A very hungry mom," Ruby added grinning, dragging Regina up to send her out to the picnic area, where Keith, Sidney and Killian were already waiting. There wouldn't be a rose to give away today, so she could relax tonight and just enjoy another picnic.

She plopped down on a round cushion right next to Killian, accepting the flute of champagne he handed her without any further comment, taking the first sip. As she realized the men's hungry gazes toward the table with the ridiculously few appetizers, she couldn't stop herself from giggling. "Am I the only one who could use an extra cheesy family-sized pepperoni pizza right now?"

"You know the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, love," Killian grinned, playfully bumping his shoulder against hers.

"I was talking about family-sized for each of us," Regina clarified.

"Aye. Told you she was a keeper, lads!" She laughed at the comment, surprised when her heart skipped a light beat when Killian put his arm around her in order to give her a friendly hug. This was getting more and more difficult.

Xxxxx

It was the evening of the Rose Ceremony, but of course once again the production team had thought of something to make it special for the men and Regina. She was sitting at the bar, nursing her drink - whiskey to be exact - waiting for one of the men to find her. It was supposed to be a fun game, really, but her stomach was twisted up in knots which suddenly turned into butterflies as someone touched her shoulder gently from behind.

"Care for a dance, Milady?"

She took a moment to turn around, preparing herself for whomever it was who found her. A smile spread on her face, hidden away by the Venetian mask. Deep down she'd hoped it would be him, deep down she'd hoped he would find her. Robin.