For OQ Prompt Party #30. Robin isn't really dead, he's caught in the book of the "Adventures of Robin Hood" and tried to get (a message) back to Regina

"Okay, we've had bath time, you have a clean diaper, are in your sleeper and have had your night time bottle," Regina cooed to the baby girl in her arms. She sat down in the wooden rocking chair, pulling out a well-worn book. "Now it's time for your story."

The little child gurgled as she waved her arms, giving Regina a little smile. Regina smiled as well. "I see someone is excited."

It had been the adjustment to having a baby in the house again. Zelena had struggled after losing her magic and needed to find out who she was without it, much like Regina had had to do after first casting the curse. There had been a lot of back and forth between the two sisters but after much discussion, Zelena agreed to leave Robyn in the care of Regina until she was able to determine what she was going to do with her life. She still visited the girl every chance she got but for all intents and purposes, Regina was the girl's mother.

She knew it would've been what Robin wanted.

Regina then did everything to give the little girl she nicknamed Poppy, due to her red hair, a place of her own. She decorated the nursery with a forest scenery and painted little lions amongst the bushes as well as engraved the same lion Robin had had tattooed on his arm on the crib. Regina had also set up what little pictures she had of Robin so that Poppy would always know what her father looked like.

Poppy would also know about how brave and noble her father had been. Henry was working on a book detailing Robin's adventures in Storybrooke, Camelot and the Underworld to add to the adventures already in the storybook. And despite all the inaccuracies Robin had found in it, Regina found herself reading The Adventures of Robin Hood to Poppy after taking the book home with her from New York. She made a point of telling the little girl about all the inaccuracies though she doubted the baby cared.

"Now, where were we?" she asked in a sing-song voice. She opened the book, removing the bookmark. "Ahh, yes. Papa and Little John had just escaped the Sheriff of Nottingham and were on their way to rescue Maid Marian. Now, your Papa would've insisted that the Sheriff never got that close to him but I think your father's ego might've made him remember things a bit differently."

The baby didn't seem to care about that, hitting the book with her hand. Regina chuckled. "Okay, okay. I recognize those impatient Mills' genes."

Adjusting her grip on the book, Regina began to read. "Robin and Little John rode hard toward the tower where the evil Prince John had locked up Maid Marian. They knew it would be heavily guarded but Robin was clever. He would find a way to sneak in and rescue his beloved."

Robin and Little John dismounted some ways from the tower so they could hide their horses. It would be better for them to sneak in on foot, eliminating the chance of them being heard. Now, they had to find a way into the tower without being seen—especially with several guards standing around it.

"Ho, Robin, I think nasty Prince John finally has you beat," Little John said. "There is no way we can get past those guards. There are no shadows."

"It will take more to beat me, dear Little John. I will not give up—even though I am trapped in this book…"

Regina paused, blinking a few times. Yet the words never changed. Even though I am trapped in this book.

What the hell?

Glancing down, she found that Poppy's eyes were closed and her breathing was evening out. Regina placed the bookmark back in and set the book aside. She rocked Poppy gently, patting her bottom before kissing the girl's feathery hair. "Good night, sweetheart. I love you."

She laid Poppy down before turning on the nightlight in the room. After switching off the lamp, she took one last look at the book. Her fingers itched to grab it, to see if those strange words were still there or if there were any more but she resisted. It was late and she was no doubt tired. She would check again in the morning when everything was clearer, she decided as she closed the door behind her.

Emma walked down the stairs to Regina's vault, entering cautiously. Since the final battle with the Black Fairy, things had finally quieted down in Storybrooke and it was almost like it had been before the curse was broken. Regina's urgent summons must've been concerning to the Savior. "What's wrong? Someone else crawling out of the abyss to threaten us now?"

"No," Regina said, staring down at the book. She had taken it from Poppy's room after confirming she hadn't imagined the strange dialogue. Poppy didn't mind—she was just as happy with Dr. Seuss as she was with the stories about her father for the moment.

Regina had carefully combed through the book and found snippets here or there—dialogue or narration that didn't fit in with the rest of the story. She wrote them all down in order and results were so surprising, she needed to share it with someone else. While Snow had been the first to pop into her mind, Regina worried that the other woman would think Regina was chasing ghosts again. Zelena had been next but even with the progress the two had made in their relationship, her relationship with Robin was still a point of contention between them as Zelena still had not shown any remorse for what she had done to Robin.

So that left Emma, who Regina knew still felt guilty for her role in Robin's death and would therefore be more willing to help Regina in this case. Emma looked confused and concerned as she got closer. "Okay, then what is it?"

"It's Robin," Regina replied.

Her friend looked sympathetic and almost had a pitying look in her eyes as she sighed: "Oh, Regina. He's gone. And if we could go back to the Underworld to try and get him back like we did Hook, I'd go with you in a heartbeat. But you said yourself that Hades' said the crystal obliterated a person, including their soul."

"Hades was also deceptive," Regina pointed out. "Robin's soul wasn't obliterated. It's trapped in this book."

She held up her worn copy and Emma's eyebrows went up. The pity in her eyes turned back to concern but there was also surprise in them. "Robin's soul is trapped in a book?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "I know how it sounds but I've gone through it and wrote down passages that don't make sense. Read the results for yourself."

Emma took the paper from her and read it over to herself. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she frowned as she looked up at Regina. "Are you sure about this? That you haven't seen something that isn't really there?"

"Yes. You can check the book yourself," Regina offered, holding it out to her friend.

As Emma perused the book, Regina once again read the message Robin was trying to send to her from wherever he was.

I don't know how this has happened, my love, but I assure you that I appear to be trapped in the book. It is strange. I can look up and see the words in the sky. It takes a lot of energy but I am able to rearrange them every so often. I know you are smart enough to pick it up and can put together my message to you.

First, I love you. And I have no regrets about taking that blast for you. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Second, I can hear you, though I can't see you. Whenever you open the book, your voice then enters this realm. I love hearing it again and how it changes when you are talking to my daughter. I'm sorry…our daughter. I never got to tell you, Regina, but I wanted you to be her mother. I wanted to raise her with you and be a proper family—you, me, Henry, Roland and my daughter. I hope we can still be one.

I know if anyone can get me out of this book, it's you. I can't wait to see you, our family and our friends again.

Love always,

Robin

Emma placed the book down, her eyes wide now. "That's weird. Why do you think he ended up trapped in a book?"

"I don't know," Regina replied. "And I'm trying to figure out how it fits with the fact that Robin was there in the Wish Realm, having not aged and able to come back to our realm though the wardrobe. Maybe it was because part of Robin's soul lived on."

"So, how do we get him out?"

Regina picked up one of her small tomes, holding up the dusty book. "I think I found something. But I'm going to need your help to pull it off. Will you help?"

Emma nodded. "I'll do whatever it takes."

"Good," Regina smiled, opening the book. "Take this down…"

Zelena agreed to watch Poppy for Regina that night, though she had some concerns about her sister's plans. "You're playing with some dangerous forces, Regina. Magic was never really meant to bring back the dead," she warned.

"I know," Regina replied. "But if Robin never truly died, are we really messing with the natural order?"

"I don't want you to have all this hope and then for it to fall through," Zelena argued.

Regina frowned, feeling her defenses go up. "You just don't want Robin back because then you might have to finally deal with what you did."

"I thought we were past that."

"Really? We're not. We keep arguing about it but you want to believe we're past it, that I've forgiven you without you having to actually apologize or acknowledge that what you did was horrible," Regina argued, feeling her face heat up as she glared at her sister.

Zelena sighed, looking down at Poppy. "And how will this affect my daughter?"

"She'll get her father back," Regina replied, playing with Poppy's hand. "Beyond that, that's something the three of us are going to have to decide for our daughter's sake."

Kissing Poppy's cheek, Regina told her to be a good girl and that she would see her in the morning. And she might have a surprise for her. She then straightened up and nodded at Zelena with a solemn expression. "I'll see you later."

"Yes," her sister said. She then sighed. "Regina…I hope this works for you."

Pausing as she acknowledged silently that that had been a big step for Zelena, Regina then nodded. "Thank you."

Regina raised her hand, disappearing in a cloud of smoke. She felt the familiar tug associated with traveling using magic before she landed in the middle of her vault. As the cloud of magic died down, she found herself staring at Emma, Hook, Henry, Snow and Charming. "I didn't realize this was going to be a family affair," she said.

"We didn't want you to do this alone," Henry said, approaching her. She noticed there was dirt on his pants and shirt as she hugged him. He grimaced before saying: "Well, that's why I'm here."

"I'm here to help with the grunt work," Hook replied, motioning with his one hand toward the dirt-encrusted shovels resting in the corner.

Charming nodded. "I just want to make sure this isn't a repeat of the last time you tried to bring the man you loved back to life."

Thoughts of Daniel rampaging through town and having to kill him again had crossed her mind so Regina nodded. She wrapped her arm around Henry, holding him close. "I understand your concern, but I think this time will be different."

"I hope so, Regina," Snow said, reaching for her hand to give it a squeeze. "For your sake. Just…be careful."

"I will be," Regina promised, stepping closer to the wooden coffin resting in the middle of the room. She ran a hand over it lovingly, eyes tearing up as she remembered picking it out and then having left the cemetery as she was unable to watch it be lowered into the ground.

Everyone gathered around and Hook grimaced before asking: "I hate to be blunt here, but Robin's been in the ground for quite some time. Do we really want to open that?"

"Killian," Emma warned.

Her husband frowned. "I'm just pointing out the obvious."

Regina glared at the pirate, even though she knew he had point. "I put a preservation spell on Robin's body. I just…I couldn't bear the thought of him…well…"

Everyone nodded, understanding, and they all looked relieved as Regina undid the clasps keeping the lid closed. She raised it and glanced down at Robin's body inside.

There had been some debate between her and Little John over what to bury him in. Robin's friend had wanted her to conjure up one of the outfits he had worn in the Enchanted Forest, feeling it was better to bury him in the clothing he had worn for most of his life. She though had wanted to bury him in the outfit he had worn during their picnic in her office after he had returned her heart to her chest. He had looked so handsome and they had been so happy then…

She had won.

Robin laid in the velvet lined coffin in his dark pants, light green shirt and dark sweater. His blond hair had been brushed until it glowed like gold and was styled just so. With her protection spell, he looked like he was just sleeping rather than had been dead for a few months now.

"Regina, we don't have much time," Emma reminded her. "The moon will only be at its peak for a few minutes."

She nodded, stepping away from her soulmate's body. If all went well, soon it wouldn't just be an empty shell.

Regina approached a table she had set up and saw that Emma had laid out the items she had requested—the book, two white candles, a knife and one of Robin's arrows. She waved her hands over the candles and little flames danced to life. Regina placed the book between them, opening it to the middle.

"What is the knife for?" Charming asked, sounding concerned.

She didn't look at him as she picked it up. "This is a spell that was created by powerful sorcerers who wanted to cheat death. However, there were only limited ways it could work. They would first have to separate their soul and put it in a receptacle, much like a horcrux from Harry Potter. In this case, we have the book. Most could do that. Where they often failed, though, was not having someone with whom they shared a powerful enough connection to help release the soul."

"But since you and Robin are soulmates, you should be able to do it," Henry realized with a grin.

Regina smiled at him, nodding. "I just need to prick my finger and place a few drops of my blood on one of Robin's arrows, which should have some of his essence. Then I'll place it in the book, recite the spell and hopefully it will work. I'd stand back, though, if I were you."

Everyone nodded and Emma pulled their son back, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. They watched as Regina pricked her finger, wincing at the short burst of pain. She took a deep breath, reminding herself it was worth it as she squeezed a few drops of blood over the shaft of the arrow. Once it was nestled in the middle of the book, Regina took a deep breath and recited the ancient words.

The flames grew longer, stretching until they were almost towering above her. Gray smoke curled over her head as the table began to shake. Regina watched the arrow, wanting to make sure it stayed in the book as she continued to chant.

When the ground beneath their feet began to tremble, she gripped the table to steady herself. Nothing was going to deter her, not when she was so close to the end of the spell. She ignored Snow's startled cry and Hook's pleas for her to stop, reciting the last few words.

Regina's vault was plunged into darkness as the flames went out and the shaking stopped. Her body still trembled and she held onto the table, unable to do anything. She closed her eyes and prayed it had worked.

When she opened them again, Emma had relit the candles in her vault. The two candles on the table were burnt down to the holders but the arrow was still resting in the book. She took a deep breath as she slowly turned to Robin's coffin.

Her heart plummeted as she saw his closed eyes and unmoving chest. Tears pricked her eyes as she approached it, a lump forming in her throat. It appeared she had once again gotten her hopes up for nothing. Her only connection to her soulmate was going to be through a book it seemed.

Life wasn't fair.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, leaning over to press a kiss to his cold lips. A tear ran down her cheek and she felt it run off her chin, no doubt landing on Robin's face.

A gust of wind blew past her and she felt the familiar pulse of magic she had only experienced with Henry. It was True Love's Kiss and she pulled back, amazed as she watched Robin's chest begin to rise and fall. She pressed a hand to his chest, choking back a sob when she felt his heart beating beneath her palm.

Robin's eyes fluttered open and his blue eyes focused on her face. He smiled, raising his hand to her cheek. "I knew you could do it," he whispered, voice hoarse from months of nonuse.

"Robin!" Henry exclaimed, coming to her side as the man sat up. He hugged his mother. "Mom, you did it."

"And I see I'm not the only one back from the dead," Robin said, motioning to Hook.

The pirate nodded. "Aye. I'll tell you that story over a pint soon."

"Sounds like a plan." Robin then accepted Charming's hand, letting the man help him out of the coffin.

Once he was on his own two feet, he pulled Regina in for a hug. She started to cry again, fingers curling around his sweater as he peppered her face with kisses. "You're back. You're really back," she sobbed.

"I am," he assured her. "And I promise that I'm going to do everything I can to never leave you again."

"I'm so glad you're back," she heard Henry say. She felt Robin hold out his arm and then felt Henry pressed against her side. He held the two of them close. They were almost a complete family again.

Regina knew there was a lot of them to discuss. They would need to find a way to the Enchanted Forest to get Roland and she would have to figure out how Zelena fitted into their lives now that Robin was back. Robin would need to adjust to being alive again and to being a father again, but she knew he would make it.

She also knew there was plenty of time to tell him everything that he had missed. Regina didn't know how he would react to her splitting herself, to hearing about his Wish Realm doppelganger or about the final battle but she couldn't wait to tell him all about it. She also couldn't wait to hear about his time in the book. Then they would be able to plan their future, just like they had planned to do once they got back from the Underworld.

Hope flared up inside her and she smiled as she laid her head on his shoulder, just enjoying having him back for now. There was a long road ahead of them and tt was going to take a lot of work but she knew they were going to make it.