A/N: Wow. It's been almost 8 months since the last update. I can't believe it! So much has happened. But my muse is back guys, at least for the next 3 chapters and the outline is standing up until the end. Thanks for sticking around with me and a huge thanks to my lovely beta waterbaby who basically put her vacation on hold for this. Also thanks to Miles for her input plot wise! This is basically your belated birthday present


(18)

There was a soft knock on the door before it was slowly pushed open by a concerned looking Ruby. She paused, raising an eyebrow in their direction, but neither Regina nor Robin felt the need to let go of each other's embrace. Regina had bedded her head on Robin's shoulder, while he had an arm slung around her, rubbing her back absently, his lips caressing her hairline. Old times, it felt just like old times when things had been good. Maybe they could be again. They should feel like they had been caught red-handed, but when Regina realized it was Ruby, she just lifted her head, throwing her a questioning look.

"Uh… Leroy," the make-up artist started, gesturing behind her. "They wanted me to check up on you. Maybe you should…"

Of course they did. The show must go on. It was TV after all and what was better for ratings than emotional drama on a reality TV show? Regina took a deep breath, squeezing Robin's leg with one hand. "It's fine. I'm fine. We're fine." Were they? For now maybe. Hopefully.

Robin retracted his arm, pressing one last affectionate kiss onto her forehead, before he rose. She missed his warmth and comfort immediately, but there was nothing she could do, right? They wanted her back in front of the camera, had sent Ruby to fix her appearance.

"I should get going then."

Panic bubbled up inside of Regina, her hand reaching out to his. Protest, she should protest, should ask him to stay, but then maybe that was it? Was it all over now? They'd talked and he still wanted to leave? The way her hand squeezed his so tightly must have caught his attention.

Feeling her distressed body language, Robin pressed a reassuring kiss onto the back of her hand. "By 'get going' I meant go downstairs to the others, love." Oh. Oh. Thank God.

"About that…" Ruby started, stepping fully inside and closing the door. "Production wants to know what the hell is going on. All I heard was that Robin left and now… I'm a bit confused to be honest. I have no idea what is going on and it's not my obligation to tell anyone, but I need to tell them something."

"Tell them I changed my mind," Robin answered simply, making Ruby laugh.

"I don't know if it's that simple. When you're out, you're out, usually."

"Tell them I was too overwhelmed by the situation? I'll do whatever they want. We can redo the scene, if you want some drama for the show and I'll tell them I changed my mind."

And that's what they did. Two calls later as well as after a quick makeover of Regina's and his appearance (Robin despised the makeup, but oh well), they were back on the couch and Regina offered him the rose. He walked out, told her he couldn't do it, needed time to think. This time however, Regina knew he was coming back, which after a mere five minutes, he did. He apologized, babbled something about missing Roland after their phone call - which was actually true - and accepted the rose. If she would still have him, of course.

To Regina, the whole situation seemed ridiculous and posed, but she didn't care, not when Robin pressed his lips onto hers for a short peck after he fastened the rose to his suit. They'd kissed on camera already after all, so it wouldn't look weird to the people involved. The smile he gave her in return was honest and happy and he only reluctantly let go of her, when he was asked to make his way downstairs for the upcoming rose ceremony.

While Regina was lead away in order to change into a different dress, trying desperately to avoid Ruby's curious and well-depicted questions, Robin made his way down to the ballroom where the other men were waiting. The rose she'd given him was carefully tucked into his chest pocket for everyone to see.

Lights were being set up, cameras positioned, and the make-up team fixed appearances. Suspicious and dissatisfied eyes followed him as he made his way through the crowd to where David and Killian were waiting. He owed David for distracting Daniel after all. The man had reacted so quickly back then, Robin was sure he must have either figured out what was going on or be close to figuring it out.

"You got yourself a rose, mate!" Killian cheered, patting him on the back. "But well, after picking her out of all those women it seems like you deserve nothing less. That was a challenge indeed. How'd you do it? I couldn't have picked her out even if they'd given me ten tries."

"I think it was pure luck," David answered for him, throwing Robin

(who'd just shrugged) a quick wink. Fuck.

Killian didn't seem too satisfied with the answer but let it go, turning his attention toward the make-up artist who offered to retouch his eyeliner.

David turned toward Robin, nodding with his head toward the bar. "Care for a drink?"

It was now or never. There was a moment of hesitation, but after two hours of raw emotions and feelings, Robin finally decided: "I could really use a drink right now."

"Thought so." They made their way over to the bar in silence, David ordering two glasses of whiskey for them both. Once the bartender went back to cleaning the flutes, he finally spoke. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I think I am… or I will be. Uh… thanks by the way, for - you know what."

"Daniel was pretty pissed," David grinned, sipping his whiskey. "And I'm a bit annoyed I walked past her like three times and didn't recognize her. You must know her well, this challenge was nearly impossible."

Robin didn't answer at first, didn't know how much he could or should tell David, but the knowing smile from the other man made him finally give in. "I do… did."

Past tense, because yes, he'd known Regina once upon a time, but she had been different back then. He'd known her ten years ago and that was a long time. People changed - he definitely had - and even though it seemed like things between the two of them hadn't really when it came to attraction and dynamic, they were different people now than they were when they were young and inexperienced.

David let out a long hum, twirling the ice in his glass before taking another sip. "Seems like we're both in a bit of a fucked up position here."

That comment made Robin pause. Why would David be in a delicate position? Right before his mind could wander to disturbing scenarios, the blond clarified. "She's friends with my ex-wife."

"Fuck. Seriously?"

"Yup. We never met before the show actually. Remember when I won the silly cooking contest and we went out on a beach date? We found out back then about it and I offered her my friendship. I don't want anything from her, Robin. Yes, I like her, but… I can see she's hung up on you even though she's trying to hide it. The two of you aren't doing the best of jobs here." David chuckles. "Sorry if that was insulting."

Robin should be offended since he thought they'd done pretty well so far, but thinking about it… all the looks, the touches, the scene upstairs just now…

"I feel like it's just a matter of time before it gets out that we knew each other beforehand. I don't exactly know how much you know, but… we have quite a bit of… history together. This is not the place or the time to discuss this though," Robin mumbled before taking another sip of his beverage. It wasn't, not with all the other candidates running around and crewmembers preparing the stage for the rose ceremony. Just talking about it, one of the PAs approached them and told them to gather on the stage in order to line up, while the crew adjusted the lightning.

"I hope you'll get a rose tonight, David."

"Me, too."

It didn't take long for Regina to come back out. She'd changed into another dress, which looked similar to the one she'd been wearing before, but not quite. The hem was just falling above her knees and the fabric was a bit shinier. Gorgeous, she looked simply gorgeous, and Robin couldn't keep his eyes off her. Well, when had he ever been able to?

"Today has been quite the challenge," Regina started, her eyes fixed on the men who were desperately trying to keep their cool. "I admit it wasn't easy to make me out between all the gorgeous ladies, almost impossible, but one of you did. Robin. Thank you again for that." She cracked a shining smile and there was a slight pause while her eyes wandered over to him, followed by a soft blush grazing her cheeks. Robin returned the smile; happy everything was finally out in the open between the two of them. Or so he thought.

There was another dramatic pause, clearly for the audience's sake. Slowly she stepped forward and took one of the roses from the silver plate, twirling it between her fingers. "Now, just so you know, the decision hasn't been easy for me as always, but I've had to pick. This one here felt quite easy to give away. David, will you accept this rose from me?"

To Robin it wasn't a surprise, especially not after his short talk with David at the bar. For once he enjoyed being part of the rose ceremony without having to worry about whether he received one in the end or not. So he watched how the tension grew when Regina gave out more roses to Daniel, Killian, Graham, Sidney, Lancelot, Victor, and to Robin's surprise, Keith, while Arthur and August got eliminated. Robin didn't really mind the loss of Arthur, especially not after some of the man's comments toward her, but he was sad to see August had to go.

Xxxxx

The next morning came with a slight hangover for some men and a video message from Regina in the afternoon. She was wearing the same dress from the rose ceremony, holding a glass of wine in her hand which she playfully swirled around, as she told them their next stop would be the enchanting Napa Valley where she was looking forward to "wine, food and love". Robin grimaced as he heard these words coming out of her mouth because they didn't sound like her. Thinking of it, nothing she's ever said in these video messages truly sounded like his Regina, but this couldn't get cheesier, could it? Well, they needed to give the audience what they wanted and what was more romantic than a romantic vineyard? Nevertheless, many of the men, including him, were looking forward to their trip to Napa Valley, which was only a short three-hour drive away from San Francisco.

After a short stop at their hotel in the town of St. Helena, two little coaches took them further up North to the winery where they'd be shooting for the rest of the day. Sitting at the window, Robin enjoyed the view of the mountains and beautiful landscape with the blooming fields full of grapevines.

The coach took them up a small road where they soon passed the iron-gated entranceway to Arendelle. It was another fifteen minutes until it pulled up in front of a grand building in Mediterranean style. Slowly, they all got out, taking in the area with great interest. An elaborate bubbling fountain graced the foreyard of the winery and the vine branches covering part of the mansion's entrance gave it all an elegant flair. When the door opened, most men had expected Regina to step out, however they were met with a couple, smiling genuinely at them. The woman's red hair was pulled into two braids. Combined with the green flowery dress and sparkling eyes, she looked excited in comparison to her companion who seemed to regard the men a little skeptically.

"We are so happy to welcome you here to Arendelle!", the woman started once all men were lined up outside. It was quite an interesting picture with all of them wearing jeans as well as a white shirt. "I'm Anna and this is my husband Kristoff, owners in third generation."

Anna stepped forward to shake their hands enthusiastically, something Robin couldn't help but smile at. It was a nice change to have someone so cheerful and apparently happy to host them here. Kristoff seemed a bit more reserved but nonetheless friendly, shaking each of the men's hands before he gestured toward the house, mumbling something about work he had to do. Anna just laughed it off.

"Excuse my husband, he always needs to warm up a little to new people. He doesn't mean to come off as rude."

"It's fine," David smiled reassuringly, "We are the intruders after all."

Her cheeks started to blush slightly as she waved him off. "That's very kind, but it's an honor to have you all here. I'm… I'm a huge fan of the show, so when I heard they were looking for wineries here in Napa Valley I just had to apply."

"Thanks for having us," Killian nodded. "You haven't met Regina yet by any chance, have you?" Robin had to bite his lip to hide a grin. Of course. Straight to business as always.

"Oh I have!", Anna explained excitedly, "She's just upstairs with her team in order to get ready. She was very friendly but seemed a bit exhausted."

"It was Night of the Roses yesterday," David explained and Anna's eyes widened.

"No way! Then congratulations to all of you who have made it. That's so exciting and you're only…" She started quickly counting before she looked back up at David. "Nine guys left! Woah! Is there a favorite so far? Oh my… Sorry! I shouldn't have asked. Am I being too much of a fangirl right now?" Turning to the cameraman she asked: "Can you cut that out later? Oh God, this is getting really embarrassing…"

"Not at all," Robin reassured her, for which he earned a thankful smile.

Anna asked them to come inside to have a few refreshments and snacks before the challenge would start later on. The men were thankful, most of them still a bit hungoverish without any breakfast and lunch. They were led into the entrance hall straight over to the patio, which was a few steps above the backyard. On the left hand side on the elaborate green meadow was a white clothed table with refreshments. A few bottles of iced white wine, sparkling wine, water and little glasses with cake pieces and white wine cream filling. Next to a moist looking chocolate cake, decorated with red sugar roses, there was also a jar of cookies and a plate with sandwiches. A path with white pebbles lead further down the way to a picture perfect wooden yellow and pink rose pavilion whose distinctive smell was all over the place. Further down the meadow were large wooden tubs on a pedestal filled right to the top with grapes, little buckets sitting right in front of them.

While most of the men went over to grab a glass of water - some brave spirits even tasted the wine - Robin decided to wander around the area for a bit, feeling it was a waste not to cherish the beautiful garden. Roses were present almost everywhere, which made him wonder if it was because Anna was such a fan of the show or rather because she just liked roses that much.

He stepped inside the rose pavilion, which was furnished with an iron pair of vintage chairs and a matching table, as well as a cushioned iron loveseat on the side.

"Kristoff and I got married here last summer." Smiling, Robin turned around to see Anna standing behind him who was nervously fidgeting with her hands on her dress.

"It's beautiful, really. I'm Robin by the way." He held out his hand to shake.

"I'm Anna, it's so nice to meet you. Welcome to Arendelle, Robin. But I said that before, right? Oh God. I'm sorry. I'm just so…"

"Nervous," Robin finished and she nodded. "There's no need to be nervous, Anna. I promise, we are all just normal human beings. We don't bite."

"Yeah if you did, that would be weird. You'd have to be vampires or something." She hit her forehead with her hand when the confusion on his face became clear. "Can you please just ignore me?"

Chuckling, Robin shook his head. "It's fine. We are all nervous. Today's a new challenge for a date."

"Yeah, you'll have to squish the grapes with your feet. Spoiler alert!"

"I figured as much when I saw the tubs. I've never done it. Is it fun?" He thought about Roland and how much his little boy would love to try it.

"Oh yes! My sister and I always used to do it when we were younger. But mostly we'd end up only smashing each other with the mush. You should roll up your trouser legs and stomp as fast as you can. Oh, and use your toes to squish them, too. I really shouldn't be giving you all these tips, should I?" Anna asked exasperated with herself.

"I won't say I'm not thankful for them," he admits. "I had a one-on-one-date with her yesterday, but I wouldn't say no to another one."

"Do you like her? Regina, I mean?"

Robin paused. How was he supposed to answer? He did more than like her, but he wasn't sure if he could describe the confusing tangle of feeling inside his stomach as love yet. "It's difficult, Anna. We are under constant surveillance, there's never a moment without cameras." Apart from yesterday of course. "It's hard to bare your soul when you know there are others. I don't want to get hurt… but I don't want to hurt her either. Regina… she's wonderful. It's not just her physical appearance that's attractive, it's her character. She can be bold and audacious but she's so caring, too. She's a fighter; she's strong, independent. Her smile can light up the world in a heartbeat."

"Seems like you like her a lot," Anna mumbled, a wide smile on her face.

"I do." Silence wrapped around them, only disturbed through the crew, which started to set up the cameras and everything they needed for the shot. David waved them over, gesturing toward the crowd. It seemed Belle had arrived, too, so it wouldn't take long for Regina to make an appearance.

"I think you're needed. Good luck! And remember, squish with the toes," Anna laughed as she patted him on the shoulder and watched him walk away with a sincere 'thank you' in her direction.

Xxxxx

Regina waited for Ruby to finish the last touches of her hair and make-up before she was instructed what to say and do outside. She was a little nervous today; her long conversation with Robin yesterday had been present in her head the whole night. He'd asked her for no more lies. There was still one thing he didn't know of. Henry. Her son wasn't a lie exactly, more some kind of a withheld truth. For her, Henry's and Robin's own protection that was.

Keep telling yourself that, she told herself, lifting her head so Ruby could touch up the bronzer. She needed to see him alone somehow, but while she knew the men's hotel was down in St. Helena, she was staying up here in the mansion with Anna and Kristoff for the rest of the week.

"You're so quiet today, Regina. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah… I just have a lot on my mind."

Ruby nodded, putting the brush aside and turning the chair toward her. "You're doing great, Regina. You've made good decisions so far if I may say so."

"I just have a lot to consider."

They were interrupted by a PA giving them the heads up that they were ready for the shot. Regina looked up, really seeing herself in the mirror for the first time. She looked pretty with her white flower patterned dress and nude lipstick, the only thing missing on her face, was a smile, which she immediately put on.

"That's better," Ruby winked at her. "Now go and let them make a mess out of themselves."

The men greeted her with gentle hugs and kisses on the cheek, all of them excited to see her. Regina could feel how a weight was lifted off some of their shoulders after the rose ceremony yesterday. Sidney met her with a glass of white wine, which she accepted thankfully. It was sweet, maybe a little too sweet for her taste, but she wouldn't complain, not when she was a wreck of nerves today.

Once it was Robin's turn to greet her, his lips lingered just a tad longer on her cheek than she would usually deem appropriate, but the shining smile she was greeted with when he pulled back and looked her in the eyes was worth it.

"It's good to see you again," he said, his hand resting a little bit above her hip.

"It is. Ready for some grape stomping?"

"Ready when you are."

Stomping grapes as it turned out was a very splashy affair. All men were lined up on the pedestal, holding onto some kind of railing, knee deep in red grapes. Their white crisp shirts and light blue jeans would probably be ruined. It was a silly competition but she was almost jealous she didn't get a bucket to try and win herself.

While Belle was explaining the challenge to the audience, Regina swirled her glass of wine, carefully watching the men and their behavior. She hadn't given them the signal to start just yet; instead she had to bite back laughter at how serious and determined some of the men were looking. Killian gave her a quick wink, so did Robin and David, but Sidney and Graham as well as Daniel, seemed more than ready to take on the challenge.

Once Belle finished explaining the challenge, she turned over to the candidates who were all filmed in a quick close up, before Regina was given a bottle of sparkling wine.

"Ready?" She asked the men who all nodded while she slowly started shaking the bottle. "Set." She shook harder, finally coming to a stop and pointing the bottle in a direction where it was most likely she wouldn't hurt anyone. Her thumb lingered on the cork which she applied pressure on. "Go!" Regina yelled in just the right moment when the cork popped open, flying somewhere far off course and landing behind a few rose bushes.

The men began to stomp the grapes, the squishing and squashing audible as well as the cheers from Anna, Belle and her. It was a messy affair since little drops of grape juice were splattered everywhere, covering the men's feet and legs as well as their crisp white shirts in a shade of dark red, almost violet. They were holding onto the railing with determination, faces focused on their feet while the juice dropped into the buckets outside.

"Keep your grapes in your barrel, man!" Sidney chided David, who for a second looked confused over to the man, which caused Robin to laugh.

"Yeah man, keep your grapes where they belong." David's answer came promptly. He reached down; grabbing a handful of partly smashed grapes and threw them right at Robin, leaving a large red spot on his shirt. Robin stopped stomping for a moment while looking at his friend, taken aback.

"You did not."

David's grin very well said 'yes I did' and all of a sudden, the competition was forgotten and a battle between the two men began, which was soon joined in by a few others, completely abandoning the challenge. It seemed everyone was involved except for Sidney and Graham, who were apparently determined to not get into such childish games.

"You're such children," Regina yelled but couldn't hide away her laughter at the scene in front of her. Then something hit her in the chest. What had happened? The answer came quickly. She didn't know who it was, but someone - and judging from the grin on his face probably Robin – had thrown a whole bunch of juicy grapes at her.

Belle and Anna shrieked, jumping aside quickly while Regina stared disbelievingly down at her chest. Her dress was ruined, Ruby would be mad, but Regina didn't care. Instead, she was happy to see Anna handing her a bottle of sparkling wine, a knowing grin on her face.

"Let's give them a shower!" Anna began shaking the bottle, but in her excitement forgot to turn away from the nine men. The cork popped out with a loud pang, hitting Killian straight onto the shoulder. "I'm sorry! Are accidents covered by the show's insurance…?"

A bunch of mashed grapes right onto her face and chest and her pointing the bottle with the sloshing sparkling wine right at him, was the answer.

It was a big, sticky mess, but the most fun Regina had in weeks. None of them were left dry, or clean. It was only when the bottles of sparkling wine were gone and both men and women were exhausted from throwing partly smashed grapes around that they decided to stop.

Anna brought a garden hose, offering everyone to get a little bit cleaned up out there since there weren't enough bathrooms for everyone to take a shower at the same time. It wasn't like any of the women minded to see the guys get rid of their shirts and wet jeans, getting a quick shower under the gardenhose in just their shorts, before they were given a few towels to dry off for the time being. While half of the group went with Anna who showed them the different bathrooms in the house, Regina had to stay back in order to examine the buckets. It was silly to still determine who won the challenge in her opinion, but in order to keep today's schedule running, she apparently had to.

"That was fun, huh?" Robin asked, in the moment the camera team was busy interviewing David about him starting the fight. Luckily microphones had been taken off them before the garden hose shower, in order to damage them not any further.

Regina turned toward him and couldn't help but to let her eyes wander over Robin's neatly toned body. He looked good, very much in shape. His arm muscles were defined as ever and for a moment she wondered whether he was still doing archery as much as back in the day.

"Like what you see?" He asked grinning, making her eyes flick back up to his face.

"What if I do?"

"Then it's all yours."

She didn't know what to say, just grinned stupidly at him, while chewing on her lower lip.

"It reminded me of the time when we…" Robin began but stopped, knowing that under any circumstance nobody was to hear about their shared past. She stepped one step closer, closing her eyes when one of his strong hands touched her elbow while the other one lingered on her hip.

"Me, too."

Fragments of long gone memories flash through her head, of the summer day they spent at the Wrecked Beach, all by themselves, all naked, where she'd surprised him by emptying a bottle of water on his dozing form. He'd chased her down to the water, had scooped her up and thrown her right into the waves, submersing her for a few good seconds before he pulled her gasping body back up in order to kiss her senseless. It had been a good day. Almost every day together with him had been a good day.

"There's… no chance I won the One on One, right?" There was a hopeful shimmer in his eyes and she wished, she really wished she could say yes and spend more time with him, but Regina had to shake her head with a sigh. Sidney had won and considering how competitive he'd been, how easily he'd dismissed the fun part of the challenge, Regina felt a bit thrown off about him. From the corner of her eye, she could see how the camera crew was done with David and made their way over to her and Robin.

"I'm sorry, I wish…" What did she wish? Yes, she wished she could spend more time with him, to talk to him, to see if they could repair the past and both move on, maybe even together. She wished she'd told him about Henry sooner, wished she...

"I know." And that was all she needed to hear. He was standing close, closer than normal. It would be so easy to just catch his lips with hers, to feel him pull her against his chest, but they couldn't. Regina could see he felt exactly the same, the look in his eyes said it, was almost screaming, but instead he let go of her, taking a step back.

"I should go and take a shower. They're probably waiting for you, too."

She blinked at him, a hint of confusion on her face, but when he nodded to the right, she could see how the camera was now focused on them. He was right. They should get going.

Xxxxx

It was in the afternoon when everyone was finally clad in new clothes, freshly showered with impeccable hair and make-up. Once again everyone was lined up outside, this time in the large driveway, to wait eagerly for the declaration of who'd won the challenge. Even though they figured it was Sidney who'd probably won the challenge, it was different to hear it coming from Regina herself.

While most of the men seemed to bear their defeat with dignity and a shrug of their shoulders, Robin now wished he'd have gotten the chance to spend the evening with Regina. Just when she'd announced it, Victor spotted the slowly approaching hot air balloon, whose fabric looked like a patchwork of a thousand colorful little balloons.

"It's coming down!" Someone shouted and when the balloon set down on the meadow, jumping two more times before it finally came to a halt, everyone was surprised to see a small old man climbing out. He looked friendly, his smile very dimpled and eyes surrounded by laugh lines.

"I'm supposed to pick two lovebirds up for a ride with my balloon?"

Regina stepped forward, shaking the man's hand. She'd met him this morning already, talking everything through. He was a sweet old man, excited at the prospect of how she was trying to find someone to love under all these men and how much he wished his late wife, Ellie would be here with them to see this. The balloon had been her favorite thing and when she died, he'd sworn to her he would use it to make people just as happy with it as she'd been whenever they were riding together. Ever since then, his balloon was booked for proposals and other joyous occasions.

"It's so nice to see you again, Mr. Fredericksen. We are very excited and can't thank you enough for taking us up."

"Please, Regina. It's Carl. And it's my pleasure. This balloon is my home. Who's this gentleman?" Mr. Fredericksen turned toward Sidney who was staring at the balloon wide eyed, obviously sweating.

"Sidney Glass, Sir. Uh… Are you sure that thing is… safe?"

"Oh, believe me, it has carried me far distances and never let me down. I can assure you, it's a safe way of travel. Now what do you say? Should we go?"

"We'd love to," Regina said, stepping closer to the balloon. Mr. Fredricksen's assistant, Russel, helped her to climb inside. Sidney hesitated.

"Regina, I'm not sure…"

"Are you chicken, Sidney?" Killian yelled over, earning a glare from the man in question. He took a deep breath and climbed inside, angrily swatting away the helping hand of Russel. Mr. Fredericksen explained to them what they could and shouldn't do while up in the air and while Regina listened intently, besides hearing everything for the second time today, Sidney seemed more than distracted.

"Are you okay, Sidney?" She asked, concerned, as she saw how his hands were clawing around the railing.

"Fine," was all he hissed.

Regina just shrugged, before she leaned over the railing to look down at the slowly minimizing ground. Her eyes spotted Robin, who was looking up at the balloon, a wistful expression on his face. Without thinking about it she smiled and waved down at him, happy to see him reply instantly, just like some of the other men. Only when he turned into a tiny, tiny spot she stopped, listening eagerly to Mr. Fredricksen's adventures with the balloon, while Sidney, so it at least appeared, seemed fully focused on not throwing up.