Thanks to who have read the chapter and had left a review. The reviews always make me happy.

While I was rereading the story I realized that in all the chapters I wrote the name 'Neal' in the wrong way: instead of 'Neal' I wrote ''Neil'. I don't know when because I'm lazy but I'm going to correct it sooner or later.

A HUGE thank you to LaNaniuska who always does the betareading work on my chapters.

As always I own nothing but Alyson.

Chapter 6

"Will you ever tell us why you went away and where were you?"

Regina just stared. She didn't know what to answer or how to answer that question. On one side it was simple, she left to protect them, but on the other hand, it wasn't that simple; they could have done something different, try to find another solution. But no, her boss took the easy way out, if you can call 'faking someone's death' easy.

She locked eyes with Robin but he looked at her, as if to say 'told you they would ask you that'.

Regina hugged Alyson a bit tighter after that; the girl has been sitting on her mother's lap since they got up from the bed so that Henry could eat.

"Will you mommy? Please?" Alyson said to emphasize her brother's request.

Regina looked at Henry, then at Aly and then finally at Roland, who was still in his father's arms. Then she looked again at Robin who nodded, encouraging her. She closed her eyes before answering with a quiet "Okay."

Alyson moved herself so that she could look at her mother in the eyes; Henry, who had finished eating, sat straight on the bed and locks hand with his sister; even Roland moved himself so he could look better at his mother.

"Okay" she repeated again. "Do you remember that before I went away I had to work so much? That I would go out of the house really early and come back very late?" She waited for the kids to answer, she knew it was almost impossible for Roland to remember that but he nodded anyway and after their nods she continued to talk. "I had to work so much because there was a man who was hurting a lot of women and there were a lot of kids like you who were left without a mommy. Graham, Mulan, Kristoff, Philip, John, Ingrid and I were working to stop him. But then he got really angry because we found out who he was and we were really close to capture him. So he tried to hurt me to discourage us to go after him. The first time he tried to hurt me he failed, but not the second time."

All the three kids stared at her until one of them talked. It was almost a whisper but it was enough to be heard and it was enough to break Regina's heart.

"So you were really hurt. It wasn't all fake?" Henry whispered.

"Yes, I was really hurt." Regina felt Aly tighten her arm around her while she answered.

"What did he do to you? How did he hurt you?" this time was Alyson who asked.

Regina looked at Robin who nodded, encouraging her once again. There were things that were better they didn't know, but both parents thought that maybe the kids should know that their mother was really in danger, that she had to go away to protect also herself. "He shot me. And he shot Philip too." She said.

"Where?" It was the first time Roland had spoked after asking for a hug.

"What sweetheart?" Regina was too stunned from the fact that Roland had spoken to her to really understand the question.

"Where did he shot you?" Roland clarified.

Both parents looked at him with widen eyes. Their six years old asked where she was shot. What the hell? She expected that question from the older kids, but not from little Roland. She took a deep breath and the she answered. "I was hit in different parts. Here," she said touching a part of her chest that was just above the bulletproof vest, "the bulletproof vest didn't cover up all my neck and this is what created more problems. Here in my arm and in my shoulder." She said pointing at scar that would make sure she never forget what she had lived.

After that there was a long moment of silence, a really long moment of silence. No one spoke, no one moved, just silence.

The kids were staring at her with wide eyes and Henry moved to be close to his mother. Even Robin was staring at her with widen eyes; he obviously knew that Regina was shot but he didn't know how many times and where.

The silence was interrupted by Dr. Whale how needed to visit Henry one last time before discharging him.

Regina made the move to get up from the bed but Henry look at her like she would disappeared while Alyson clung at her like a koala. She reassured both of them that she was just getting up from the bed so the doctor could work, before actually getting up and moving to stand next to Robin, Aly still glued to her. The girl was heavy in her arms, but Regina didn't care.

"Well everything is fine so I'm going to get the papers ready, then I only need your father to sign them before letting you go out of here." The doctor said with a small smile.

"Yesterday mom come back and today I can go home! This is awesome!" Henry said without realizing that maybe the fact that his mother was back wasn't to shout out.

The doctor eyed Regina, Robin, Henry and then Regina again before leaving the room without a word.

Robin was the first to break the silence: "Well, how about I go and sign those papers while mom helps get Henry ready so we can go home?"

"Okay." He answered quietly. But that 'okay' was so quiet that it was like it hid something; in fact not two second later Henry added: "Are you coming home with us mom?" He asked even if he already knew the answer. But the silence that came after his question was an answer itself for him.

"I don't know sweetheart, for now let's get you ready so you can go home." Regina answered him even if she perfectly knew that she wasn't going home with them.

"Why don't the two of you come with me while mom helps Henry get ready?" Robin asked the other two children. But while Roland had no problem saying yes, Aly was torn. She didn't want to leave her mom, but the way her dad asked that they go with him made her think that maybe that was a rhetorical questions and the only possible answer was yes.

Her mother solved the problem. "I won't go anywhere butterfly, you can go with your dad. I'll be here when you come back." And so she did after hugging her mother one more time before leaving the room.

It took a while to Robin to complete all the paperwork and not just a signature as Dr. Whale had said, so when he and the kids went back into the room, they found Regina and Henry snuggling together in the bed.

"Everything is fine, we can go home." He said.

Robin held Henry's bag in one hand while in the other he held Roland's hand and Regina held Henry and Aly's hand and together they walked out of the Hospital towards Robin's car.

"Come on you three, into the car." Robin said.

Aly and Henry looked at their mother "I'll talk to you later okay, you need to go now." she said kissing their cheeks.

"Aren't you coming with us mommy?" Alyson asked.

"No butterfly. I have to go and get my things and bring them to my apartment."

"Your apartment? Why an apartment and not at home with us?" Aly said with her eyes full of tears.

"Because a lot happened, I can't just come back and start over living my life like I was gone for day. But you don't have to worry, I won't go away like before. I'll be here, a phone call away." Regina said swiping away the tears from Aly's cheeks.

"And you can talk and see her whenever you want. You just have to tell me." Robin added, he still wasn't sure how it will work now that Regina was back but he needed to trying to calm his daughter.

"Okay sweetheart?" Regina said and Aly nodded. "Now give me a kiss,butterfly, and hop into the car. You too my little prince." She bent down kissing their cheeks before looking into the car for Roland. "Can I give you a kiss my little knight?" She asked Roland. She didn't want to force him so before doing anything she was going to ask him.

"Okay." He answered quietly. It wasn't like he didn't want a kiss or a hug from his mother, he always dreamt about that, but it was strange. For half of his life he didn't have a mommy and then one day she come back. It was a lot to adjust.

Regina bent down into the car to kiss his cheek and after that she pulled back, staring at him with an hand on his cheek. Of all three of his children, Roland was the one who changed the most and it was logical, he was just a toddler back then but at least his curls were still there despite some haircut.

"Okay, I have to go and you have to go. If they want I'll talk to them later. And we need to talk seriously, in particular about the kids. This is my address, I don't think you'll need it but anyway..." She said to Robin; then she turned one last time towards the kids. "I love you. Bye."

After that she left, because if she had waited one more second she would have burst into tears and begged them to take her home with them. While she walked to her car she turn around in time to see Robin's car leave and she left the tears come down freely.

After the hospital, Regina went to her hotel room to grab her things before going into her new house. It wasn't big but it wasn't too small. It had two bedrooms, a bathroom, a study that could become another bedroom and then another area with the kitchen, the living room and the entrance of the house. She tried to make this more hers by putting in the living room the picture her boss was able to give her three years prior, by putting some of her things, not that she has a lot, but it was all useless. There were something, someone, missing and she couldn't do a damn thing about it. She sat on the couch and started to cry again.

In another part of the town, Zelena was out with her mother and she couldn't understand the strange behavior of the older woman. Cora was so tempted to tell Zelena the truth, to put partially a stop to her oldest daughter's suffering, but she couldn't, it wasn't her place. Yes, she promised Regina to help her with that but it was Regina who needed to talk with her sister, not her mother. So Cora went on, trying to act like nothing changed.

Robin arrived home and told Henry to take it easy, so the three siblings decided to watch a film, because if one of them couldn't play, then neither the other two would: Locksley's siblings forever, it was their motto.

Not even an hour later, Will and his girlfriend Ruby arrived at their home to see Henry. Ruby went immediately to the kids while Will went to Robin.

"So how did it go with Regina?" Will asked after he took a beer from the fridge.

"Oh suit yourself, would you." Robin said but Will only shook his shoulders. "It went… I don't know how it went. We didn't really talk, the twins did most of the talk. She tried to explain why she went away, the twins cuddled a lot with her…"

"Then what it's bothering you? Do you want one?" Will said pointing at the beer.

Robin took the beer before answering "It's not bothering me, it's just make me think. Roland almost didn't want to talk or see her. I mean I understand, no I know, it's really difficult for him but she is his mother. You have no idea how many times he asked about her and now… I don't know…" Robin said taking a sip of his beer.

"Give the lad time Robin. He only knows life without her. It's normal that for him it's more difficult than for the twins."

"When did you become so wise?" Robin asked only to earn a dirty look from Will.

They continue to talk and so happened in the other room between Ruby and the kids.

"I bet you're really happy to be home, don't you, Henry?" Ruby asked with a cheerful voice and a big smile on her face.

"Oh yes! I'm so happy, I was tired of hospital food and that uncomfortable bed. And you what it's even better?" Henry said trying to not bounce too much on the couch.

"No, what?" the woman answered with the same energy. Of all the thing she could think about certain, she didn't expect what Henry said.

"Mom come back! Our mommy come back!" Henry almost shouted!

"What?" For all the things he could say, Ruby didn't expect that at all.

"Yes! She had to go away because we were in danger or something like that, but now we're not in danger anymore so she come back!" Ruby watched dumbfounded two smiling kids and an emotionless one.

"Isn't that amazing aunt Ruby? That mommy in back?" This time, it was Aly the one who spoke, her big, bright eyes looking at her aunt.

"Yeah, it's amazing. Excuse me for a moment." It was all Ruby could say in that moment before leaving to reach Robin and Will in the kitchen. The kids stared at her for a moment before going back to their film.

As soon as she arrived there, she took Will's beer without caring about his 'Hey' and took a big gulp. Will and Robin just stared at her, waiting for her to speak.

"You know, I was talking to your twins and then one of them said something that didn't make sense. So I thought it was because of the medicine they gave him but then the other one confirmed what the first one said. So now I'm gonna ask you: Is it true? She's back?"

"Why didn't you just ask instead of saying all the other things that got me confused?" Will said taking back his beer.

"You got confused because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon sometimes, and I'm asking. Is it true? Is it true that Regina is back?"

Robin hesitated a bit before answering, "Yes, she back. She's been back for a couple of days."

"Just like that? 'She's been back for a couple of days'" Ruby said mocking Robin, then she adds "Robin she is dead, well was dead, you can't just say that she's back like it's normal!"

"It's what I said last night." Will murmured, but it was soon followed by a 'Shut up Will' from Robin and Will took this as his cue to go to the kids.

"What the hell happened Robin? Why she faked her death? Because she did that, right?"

"Do you remember The Hatter, right?"

"If I remember the psychopath that 'killed' Regina? Yes, I remember him. What about him?"

Robin cleared is voice: "He tried to kill her, twice. The first time, she was unharmed, but not the second. They faked her death when she was in the hospital. She wasn't going to come back but then she heard that Henry was in hospital and she came back."

"Like that?"

"Like that."

"And you are okay with that?"

"I'm not okay with that. I mean I'm happy she's actually fine, of course. I am extremely happy that the kids have their mother back but I'm not okay with the whole situation."

"Where is she?"

"Here, actually. She doesn't live far from here."

"She's really back? For real?" Ruby knew she sounded like a little girl, but since she knew Regina, she always saw her as her sister, so even if she was angry, she was extremely happy she was fine and alive.

"Watch yourself if you don't believe me." Robin took his phone out of his pocket and showed her the picture he took a couple of hours prior of the twins and Regina.

"Oh my God!" Ruby said with tears in her eyes.

Robin hugged her before speaking "Give her a couple of days before going to visit her, would you?" Ruby nodded before putting her head against Robin's shoulder. They both lifted their head when they heard laughing from the other room.

"Wanna go to see what they are up to?"

They went into the living room with the others, where they stayed until they finished the pizza they order for dinner and it was bedtime for the kids.

As promised, Regina called the kids before bed, but only Henry and Alyson talked to her; Roland only said to his father to say goodnight for him. Regina said she understood, but that doesn't mean it hurts any less.

Regina woke up to a message from her mother 'When are you going to talk to your sister?' God, she was back for less than three days. She picked up her phone and dialect her mother's number.

"When are you are you going to talk to your sister?"

"Good morning to you. Yes I slept well, thank you and you?"

"Don't tell me you slept well because I won't believe it even if you told me straight to my face. You need to talk to your sister. I was with her yesterday and you have no idea how difficult it was keep my mouth shout about it. I want celebrate my daughter's return, not hide it." Regina rolled her eyes at this.

"Is she working today? If so, when does her shift end?"

"Yes and I think in the afternoon. Why?"

"I can meet her this afternoon at your home if that's okay with you." Regina said but she was meet with silence from the other side of the line. "Mom? … Mom? … Mother?" She knew Cora despite the word 'mother', too formal, she said, but that did the trick to get her attention.

"Don't call me 'mother'." Cora replied and it was follow by a 'sorry' from Regina. "I was asking to your sister if she could come here this afternoon. She said she'll be here around 2PM. How do you want to manage it?"

"I don't know. I could already be there when she arrives and then we move from there."

"Whatever you what Regina. We can always think of something else."

"It's not what I want, it's what I have to do. I'll see you later."

"I'll see you later. I love you, earthquake."

"Love you too, mom."

When the call ended, she fell back into the pillow. This was going to be a long day and she almost didn't sleep. She needed coffee, a lot of coffee.

Robin almost didn't sleep all night. After putting the kids to bed, he spent the majority of the night walking between their rooms. There wasn't a real explanation why, he just feel the needed to check in them.

When they woke up, they wanted to talk to Regina immediately and his eyes widened when he put the speaker on so they could talk with her all together, and Roland spoke a bit with Regina; not much, just 'good morning and yes, I slept well. Bye' but at least he talked to her.

After breakfast Robin made sure that Alyson and Roland got into the school bus, then he went to check on Henry who was settled on the couch, before going to his study to get some work done.

After an hour of just staring at the screen of the computer, he opened a folder where he kept some of his more precious pictures and while he was watching them, he started to cry. It was then that he decided he needed to talk with Dr. Hopper again. And the kids too.

The third call Regina made that morning was to the big boss. She needed to know if she could go back to work and if she could talk with her ex colleagues. Naturally there was someone else how took her place in the three years she was gone, but the big boss said that if she wanted to go back, there would be a place for her, after she took all the requalification's she needed, of course. She accepted and that meant she also needed to talk to her, now-not-so-ex, colleagues, or at least to Graham.

Graham… Just another person to add at the list of people who would hate her. Tomorrow, she decided. Today she would see her sister and tomorrow, her colleagues.

Meanwhile, the big boss spoke with Ingrid, Regina's boss, and he explained her the situation. She wasn't happy. She understood why they did it, but it wasn't fair. She promised to talk with her agents. It didn't matter if Regina came back to work with them or not, but they needed to know. The agents weren't happy, that was an understatement and everyone reacted in a different ways, but the one who took the news worsw was Graham.

That morning at the hospital, Zelena was thinking at the odd behaviors of her mother the day before, and after her text she was worried. What was it that her mother wasn't telling her?

While she sat at the cafeteria during her break, she came out of her thoughts when she heard someone talking about a woman who come back from the dead after years because her kid was in the hospital. How can someone do something like that? It was so cruel making the people you love going through something like your own death and then you are alive. It was selfish, she thought. Her first thought was to her sister, but Regina wouldn't do something like this, right? She didn't know how she would react if someone would tell her that her sister was alive. She would be happy? Angry? Maybe a bit of both? But it was useless speculating on something like that. Her sister was dead and she wouldn't come back.

Cora called Regina around 11AM to know if she wanted have lunch with her. Cora was ready to bribe her if needed and to do that, she had made paella, since it was one of Regina's favorite foods from her mother.

"I'll be there around noon." Regina said "And there better really be paella."

"There will be don't worry. I'll see you soon." And so she did, because not even an hour later, Regina was asking for her paella even if it wasn't really lunch time.

"Wow, I don't even remember the last time I ate this. It's amazing."

Cora didn't say anything, she just stared at Regina. It was still difficult to believe that she was really here.

"Your sister will be here soon. You want to wash your face, you have food everywhere. I swear you are worse than your kids." Her mother said laughing, tucking a lock of hair behind Regina's ear.

"Really? I'm not so bad, or am I?" Regina asked. She had tears in the eyes, she had missed so much and she wanted to know everything, even if it was about the kids, even if it was about food.

"Yes, you definitely are. Last time I made paella, Roland managed to get rice in his hair and in his underwear. We still can't understand how he did that though. Maybe you can enlighten us on that since it seem he took that from you." But Cora stopped a moment when she saw her daughter's eyes fill with tears. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry." Cora said when she realized that her little story made Regina cry.

"I'm okay, it's okay. I want to know everything and every stupid little thing even if it could seem insignificant. But now I need to go to the bathroom, I feel like I have rice down my shirt." She said with a little laugh.

Once in the bathroom she cleaned herself up, but when she met her eyes in the mirror, she broke down crying. Not even a second later Cora was there hugging her and telling her that with time everything would be alright. Yes, she was still angry but she was just too happy that her daughter was back.

After the event in the bathroom they settled back onto the couch with iced tea in front of them, waiting for Zelena. They didn't have to wait too long because her, like her sister, was early.

Cora went to open the door while Regina stayed on the couch. She couldn't hear their whole conversation but only some part.

"Of course I'm fine, why wouldn't I?" Cora said answering something Zelena asked.

"Maybe because the other day you behaved in a strange way and today you send me a cryptic message asking me if I could come here? What's going on? Someone is sick? Are you sick?" But Cora just shook her head. Zelena was losing her patience, she was worried but her mother wouldn't give her the information she needed.

"Then what's going on? What happened?" Zelena almost pleaded, she needed the answers.

"It's better if I show you." She started moving toward the living room, followed by Zelena.

"Show me what?"

"Her."

Cora moved aside, revealing Regina who has gotten up while the pair was talking.

"Hi, sis."

"Is this some sort of cruel joke? Because it's not funny at all."

"It's not a joke Zel." But Zelena wasn't listening.

"Where did you find her mom? Where did you find someone who look exactly like Regina? How can you believe this is Regina?"

But Cora wasn't answering, she just watched her daughters finally together again. It was like a dream come true to see them together again.

"She could say a stork brought me here but you're a doctor, you know where babies come from." Regina said trying to break the tension. But the only thing she did was earning a stern 'Regina!' from their mother.

"You think this is funny? Who are you?"

"You know who I am Zel."

"No, my sister is dead."

"You have a tattoo," Regina said, trying to convince her, this was a story that only three people knew. "a little cupcake with green frosting. You did it when you were sixteen, but you didn't say anything to mom and Robert until you were eighteen and asked for one for your birthday. You said you couldn't show them because it had to stay covered so the skin would heal perfectly, then you showed them, but by then it was already almost three weeks later so they didn't question the fact that the skin wasn't red. You and Neal made a deal with me because I heard the two of you talking about it. You said…" But Regina was interrupted by a now crying Zelena.

"We said that if you kept your mouth shut then we would have take you and we would have pay a tattoo for you. We took you for your seventeenth birthday and you decide for some kind of strange bird on the back of your neck, and your wore your hair down for almost a year around other people before asking for a tattoo and used my technique… No one knows about this story… Regina." Regina didn't say anything, she just hugged Zelena tightly when she went towards her almost running.

"It's really you!" But then Zelena pull back from the hug and her eyes were full of anger. "But how! How could you do something like this! Do you even know how much we suffered! The hell you put mum and your family through?" Zelena was angry, and she has every right to be, Regina thought. Zelena stepped even more away from her and looked at her sister angrily.

"Zelena calm down. Let your sister explain."

"Calm down!? Calm down!? 'Let your sister explain.' Do you realize how absurd all of this is?"

"Yes I do, but if you listened to her, you might be a little less angry towards her."

And so she did. They sat down on the couch, Cora next to Regina and Zelena on the armchair. She listened to her sister, she listened the explanation she was giving, she tried to be understanding. What Regina was saying made sense; yes it was crazy, but it made sense. She knew Regina would have never left her family willingly.

"So you came back? Just like that?" The fact that she understood didn't mean she wasn't angry anymore.

"It's not ' just like that', like it's easy. And if Henry hadn't been in the hospital, I wouldn't be back. I knew it would have been better if I had stayed away, so you didn't have to suffer through all of this again. I'm sorry, this was a terrible idea. I'm going to go." Regina said trying to not cry while getting up from the couch, but she was stopped by her mother.

"No, you're staying right here. Zelena, I understand that you're angry, I am too, but you need to understand that it's not your sister's fault. I'm not saying you can't be angry but maybe you should be angry toward someone else." Cora said.

"It's not easy when you wake up and you expect your family to be with you but instead you have someone telling you that you are dead for the world and you're going to the witness protection. The only thing that made me go on during these three years, was knowing that all of you were safe. Because with me out of the way, The Hatter wouldn't be coming after you. But knowing that I couldn't see my family anymore? That wasn't easy." She said before wiping away the tears from her checks. "Excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom. I can only imagine how my face looks like right now." The younger woman said.

"You look like shit, but that's okay. I saw you in worst conditions." The redhead said, making all the three of them laugh.

"So about those tattoos…" Cora said when Regina came back, making the sisters look at each other with a look that meant, 'we're screwed even if we are adults'.

The three women spent the afternoon and part of the evening like that, talking about those tattoos, talking about their lives, talking about their kids and what Zelena's daughters and husband were up these days and trying to reconnect. Zelena and Regina always had a strong bond, they were going to get through this too.

That afternoon, when two kids out of three were still out and the third was napping, Robin called his parents. It was better if they heard the news from him rather than the kids. At least he could explain something.

"Hey ma, it's me."

"I know that dear. I can still read a name on my phone. How are you? How's Henry? We haven't talked to you in days." His mother said and it was enough to make Robin feel a little guilty.

"I know I'm sorry. It's just that a lot of things happening. But going back to your questions, I'm fine and Henry's fine too. He's home actually but he's sleeping now. How's dad? How are you? "

"Well, that's good. We're good as we can be at our age. So what happened?"

"What I'm about to tell you sound crazy but it's real so bear with me."

"Okay, let me just grab your father so he can hear too." His mother said calling for his father.

"Okay now you can talk."

"Okay, here we go. Regina is alive and she's back." Robin said but his mother, after a moment of silence, laughed while his father didn't say a word.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, I'm so sorry. But you're right it sound crazy. Robin, I understand that you miss her, but it's been more than three years now and the fact that you still see her in other women it's not good. You need to speak with someone, you need to move on."

Robin took a deep breath. His mother wasn't entirely wrong. Right after Regina's death, he could swear to see her everywhere, but this wasn't the case. She was alive and he wasn't crazy.

"I'm not just seeing her mom, she really is alive. I'm going to send you a picture so you can see yourself." So Robin sent his mother the picture he showed Ruby the day before and he waited for her reaction.

"Oh my God. But where was she?" This time, it was his father the one who spoke.

"Long story short: she was sent into witness protection by her boss because of the psychopath they were looking for. But since Henry was in hospital and it was safe, she did everything she could in order to come back." He really needed to get the full version from Regina.

"And now she's going to stay or she's going to disappear again?" She asked cautiously, she was worried about the answer.

"She's going to stay. She go-" But Robin was interrupted by his mother.

"Good. I need to see her with my eyes. Not that I don't believe you but…"

"No, mom wait. I think it's bett-"

"Get the room ready, we're going to visit soon."

"Mom she's not-"

"Made sure my grandkid calls me when he wakes up and I want to talk with all of them. I'll tell you when we're coming. I love you all." And with that she closed the call without letting him really talk. Typically of his mother always doing the things racing.

When the kids got home and Henry woke up, he made them call their grandparents and later before bed, he asked them if they wanted to talk to Regina. They eagerly agreed to that, even little Roland.

For Robin and the kids, the following day was like the previous one: Alyson and Roland at school, Henry doing the homework he hasn't done while he was in the hospital and Robin working; he really needed to look at those projects before going back to the office to see the client. He's an architect and that make it easy for him to work from home, at least until Henry can go back to school.

Today was the day. If she was going back to work, she needed to talk with her colleagues and she perfectly knew who start with. This was going to be a long day; actually she hadn't had a normal day since that damn day three years before.

But how her day was it didn't matter, she needed to talk with Graham, she knew he took her 'death' the worst, they were partners after all and more than that, they were friends, and knowing him as she did, she was sure he was blaming himself for her 'death'.

She knew that someone already informed her team about her situation and she also knew they have been asked to not go to her, even if she didn't know why they had done this courtesy to her instead of jumping on her throat. After talking to the kids, she got ready and went to Graham's house. During that period, she thought about how Robin was practically ignoring her and how he barely talked to her, not that she could blame him.

When Regina arrived in front of Graham's house, she remained in the car, trying to find the courage to knock at that door and face him. She knew he had spent days and nights trying to find that bastard, so even if she knew he was going to hate her, she needed to tell him the truth. She needed to tell him that the fact that she was still alive and that she was able to come back was all on him because he hadn't give up and he had found the bastard. She had to thank him.

Gathering up the courage, she got out of the car and went to his door. She knew he was home because they were given a couple of days off. Taking a deep breath, she knocked at his door and waited.

Graham and his colleagues still couldn't believe what they have been told. Regina, their colleague and friend, the one they believed dead was alive. They have been lied for three years. But what made him angrier was that they had lied to her family too, to her husband and to those three sweet children he considered his niece and nephews. He could forgive her without a problem, from what they were told, it wasn't her choice, but he couldn't forgive the big boss. He understood why they did that, but it wasn't fair what they put her family and her through.

Graham was drinking coffee and eating some leftover pizza for breakfast when someone knocked on the door. He went to the door, still eating, but when it opened, the slice of pizza fell on the floor because in front of him, at the other side of the door there was Regina Mill in flesh and blood. Knowing she was alive was one thing but seeing her was another.

"Hi, I know I'm probably the last person you wanna see so I'll be fast. I just wanted to thank you for never give up on the case. It's only thanks to you that I was able to come back to be with my son while he was in hospital. So thank you and I'm sorry for everything. I'm so sorry."

Graham just stared at her, with his mouth open and without saying a word and listening to her. The thanks made sense but why she was sorry?

"Anyway I'm going to go now."

Graham shock his head as to wake himself.

"No Regina wait! Why you don't come in?"

"What?"

"Come in, so we can talk. I made coffee. I swear I got better at doing it."

"Are you sure about that? Because your coffee was absolutely shit." The brunette said with a serious face that made Graham burst laughing.

"Yes yes, come on in."

They spent hours talking about what happened in those three years, what Regina did in Portland and what happened at the police station. They ordered hamburgers for lunch and they continue to talk.

"They choose a blondie to "replace" you. Not that is possible replace you. No one can stand her. And she has this complex that she has to save everyone."

"What? Like some kind of savior?

"She has an ego the size of Texas. Also, she was the last one to arrive and she pretends to boss us around."

"I did boss people around too." She pointed out.

"Yes, you did but it was different."

"How?"

"You weren't like 'everything I say is right. We need to do that because I say so. I'm right and you're wrong. And don't let me start talking about-"

"No stop!"

"What? Why?"

"You asked me to not let you talk about whatever you were about to talk."

"Funny, very funny."

"I do what I can." Regina said, taking another bite of her hamburger.

Graham gave her a dirty look, took a bite of his own hamburger and then he start talking again.

"Anyway, as I was saying, when she arrived, she started all this speech of how she could understand us because she also lost colleagues and she pretend to know and understand us."

"I understand how you must feel. I lost colleagues too before and-"

But the blonde detective was interrupted by Graham "And this is where you are wrong. You can understand how can be losing a colleague but we didn't lost only a colleague. We lost a friend, a sister, someone we could always count on and never expected anything in return. Never try to understand us again because there's no way you can." Graham said before going away and leaving the blonde detective with an open mouth. She looked at the other member of the team for support, but she only received dirty looks before being left alone.

"But everything will be okay now because you're back. You'll be back to work too, right?" Graham asked, now worried about the answer.

"The big boss asked me, he said there's a place for me if I want."

"And you want it?"

Regina took a moment before answering. "I want it and I've already said yes, but I don't know if I should. I mean a lot has changed."

"If you're worried about you still fitting in the team you can stop. You have no idea how much we hoped you could come back to us."

"Hoping for a thing that could never have happened is one thing, actually seeing that thing realized is another."

"Everyone will be ecstatically knowing you're back. Trust me." Graham said with a welcoming smile.

"Thank you, really."

"You know we were destroyed whey they told us you were dead. I broke my hand punching a wall in the hospital. We spent the next year and half looking for that bastard. I don't like killing if it's not necessary, but I really wish I had put a bullet between his eyes. Someone killed him in prison, and I can't say I was sad about it. That night was the night I broke down. After two years I cried for the first time because he was finally dead, you were dead too and there was no way you could come back to us. Then the other day they told us everything, how you were still alive and how they faked everything. We were so angry at them, all of us were. But you were alive and even if it still seems impossible, we were so fucking happy. I almost punched Blanchard in the face, if it wasn't for Mulan, I would be suspended right now."

Regina was crying, she didn't exactly know why but she was. Graham used his hand to swipe some tears from her face before continuing to talk.

"It was hard, but we agreed on giving you a couple of days before coming to you. If you hadn't come by today, tomorrow evening you would have the house full of your team plus Ingrid with beer and food."

"Well, my apartment isn't that big and John would have occupied half of it himself, so I believe you when you say full of team members. You are always welcome." Regina said but then she become serious "But if you bring the blondie, we're over."

"Duly noted. Beer, food and friend yes, blondie no." he agreed laughing.

"Speaking of friends, I have to go and talk to them too." Regina stood from her seat and started looking for a piece of paper, then she wrote something. "This is my number and my address, just in case you wanna bring some beer." She said smirking.

"Don't worry I will." He said while they reached the door. "I'll see you soon?"

"You'll see me soon. And I have a thing to ask."

"Shoot."

"I need to do some requalification's, like shooting and physical fight. Would you like to be my trainer?"

"Of course! Count on me!"

"Thanks. I have to go to the others now. Thanks for the lunch and for being understanding." The woman said, then she left in order to go and talk with her other colleagues.

None of the other visits lasted as long as the one to Graham, but at least Regina had a good chat with her old colleagues so she could understand where she was with them. One thing all the visits had in common beside the fact that the day after they would all have been on her doorstep with beer and food, was that no one could stand the blondie. Regina really need to figure out what her name was because everyone referred o her as blondie, but no one would say her name. A person can't be that terrible, right?

When Regina arrived home that night she was exhausted. She talked with the kids and then she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. For the first time in the last three years, Regina was able to sleep almost through the night without having too many nightmares.

At the other side of the city, Robin was staring at his wedding photo and to a little frame of pictures that contained images of his kids the day they were born. He wondered if he and Regina could fix their relationship. She was his first for everything, his rock in the worse moments, a force of nature as a mother and cop, his soulmate…

But before even thinking about trying to fix their relationship, they needed to have a serious conversation. He decided that the next day he would have to find someone who could watch Henry while the other two kids where at school and he would have go to Regina's so they could talk without being interrupted.

When Robin get up from bed, it was after a restless night. At first, what kept him awake were the thoughts about what he would say to Regina, about everything he and the kids went through after her 'death', about this new situation, how they would move with the kids. The kids would need to split their time between them, like they were a divorced couple. God, he didn't like that one bit. He wished thing was still like before, before the witness protection, before the long hunt for The Hatter, before her death…

Regina woke up later than usual, if you consider 7AM late. Despite a couple of nightmares, she was able to at least rest a little. Today she needed to talk to Robin, so she decided that after breakfast she would call him.

She was ready to make the call when someone knocked at the door. Regina frowned. Almost no one knew her address.

It was difficult for Regina hide the surprise when she opened the door. "Robin?! What are you doing here? Is everything okay?"

"Yes, everything is okay. But I think we need to talk."

"I know." She said inviting him in, "I was about to call you. I woke up later than usual and I'm running a bit behind."

"Oh, how long ago? Did already have breakfast? Because I can wait if-" But Robin was interrupted.

"I already had breakfast and there's some fresh coffee if you'd like. I woke up around seven, so plenty of time to get ready, but I have no idea how I manage to run late anyway."

Robin looked at his watch, it was barely nine. The time she was able to sleep in she wouldn't get up before ten. "Since when seven in the morning is waking up late?"

"When you normally wake up in the middle of the night and rarely are able to go back to sleep, seven in the morning seem very late." What Regina said was followed by an awkward silence.

"Coffee? It's still warm." Robin nodded, still unable to talk.

"So where do you want to start with? My fake death? The time I was away? The kids? Us? I know there isn't an 'us' anymore but I think we should talk about it anyway." Robin still wasn't talking so Regina snapped her fingers in front of him.

"Robin! I know you came in for a reason and it was not just to drink coffee and stare at me."

"Sorry, it's just… It's just that it's still hard to believe that you're actually here."

"I can understand that."

"I think we can start with the kids. I think we need a lawyer to make an official schedule for the time the kids will spend with me and you and thing like this. They can see you whenever they want, but I think we need something more regular."

"Agreed. I think we can work something out but making it official is better."

"Monday, I'm going to call the school to let them know that you can pick them up too. And I'll ask Aly to make you a calendar with all their activities. She's quite good with planning."

"Thank you." Regina said with a grateful smile.

"I spoke with my parents yesterday," Robin said and Regina's eyes widened, "they said they want come visit. My mother wants to see you. But-" Robin hurried to add when he saw her worried face, "if you're not up to it I can find an excuse about why they can't see you yet. I tried to tell her to wait but she didn't let me talk…"

"It's okay. I can't avoid everyone forever. Just tell me when and where at least a day early."

"Of course."

They fall again in an awkward silence during which Regina kept looking at Robin. But after a while Robin couldn't take the staring anymore.

"What?"

"What, what?"

"You keep staring at me without saying a word. Why?"

"I'm just waiting."

"Waiting for what?" he snapped.

"For you to start yelling at me, get angry at me, tell me I should have stayed where I was, that I shouldn't have come back. You said you understood and that might be true, but that doesn't mean you can't be angry about that, that you can't be angry at me, at the situation. In these last few days, you've been so understanding. You just let me walk back into the kids' life. But how can you be so calm? When the big boss told me what he had done, I freaked out, literally. They had to sedate me to prevent that I hurt myself. But you haven't even raise your voice to me once. You must have a turmoil of emotion inside of you and I can't understand why you won't let them out! You were the one who taught me that letting our emotions out and talk about them wasn't a sign of weakness but one of strength!" Regina almost yell the last part. She tried, really, but she couldn't understand Robin.

"What do you want me to say?!" He answered snapping.

"Anything!"

"Fine! You want to know something? Here you go!" Robin yelled. "You want to know how your death almost killed me too!? How I thought that I could never move on because I had lost my everything, my wife, the mother of my children, my soulmate! How the only thing that made me go on was the kids, their sweet little faces, that even if it was hell it brought out light! How I wish I could kill the son of a bitch that had kill you! How I saw your face in every woman with black hair only to remember it couldn't be you because you were dead!" Robin took a pause and then he started talk, more like yelling again. "It was pure hell Regina! Every time the kids asked for you… You have no idea how hard it was! When they were sick, when they were overtired, when they had a nightmare, when they just wanted to cuddle they asked about you! For three years I had to read Christmas letter where the twins asked Santa to bring you back. And you know what Roland asked last year?" Regina was crying but Robin was unstoppable. "He asked Santa to bring you back because he could barely remember you!" Robin was crying too but not as much as Regina. "And maybe yes! Maybe it would have been better if you had stay where you where. The kids just started to have something similar to a normal life, I was starting to have a sort of normal life. And the you come back. You have no idea how hard it was Regina…" He said panting and collapsing on the couch. Saying all of that had dried all his energy.

After a while Regina spoke quietly "You're right. I have no idea how it was for you. And I know I should have stayed where I was and I was going to, you know that, but when I heard that Henry was in hospital. It wasn't an easy decision the one I took, coming back. I had a list of pro and cons, but the only thing I could see in that letter was 'Henry is in the hospital'. I just wanted to see him and then I would have disappeared again. I didn't plan for you to see me. It should have been just in and out."

The two of them stared at each other for a while, both silent. The tension could be cut with a knife.

"But you have no idea how hard it was for me. Knowing that the chance to see you all again were so little, knowing that my kids had to live what I had lived with my father." Regina replied, swiping away the tears from her eyes.

And yes, Robin thought, it couldn't have been easy for her either.

"You know, in some aspects, you were lucky. And let me finish before you start to insult me." Regina said after she saw that Robin was ready to say something. "I know losing me was terrible, you told me and I saw on my mother what losing your other half does. But we made a promise to each other when we got married: if something happened to one of us, the other should tried to move on for his or her sake and of the children. Do you remember that?" Robin only nodded. "You were here with our children, living the life I should have been living with you. Do you think I could ever move on? You on the other hand, had the possibility to move on, because for you I was dead. And I wanted and still want for you to move on. I want you to be happy Robin, and if in those three years you had found another woman that made you happy, I would have been happy for you because I want you to be happy."

"Regina…"

"No, I haven't finished. When they told me that I could never see you and the kids, I know how it must sound, a part of me really died. You don't know how it is to be forced away from your family, even if it's to protect them. You don't know how it is knowing your kids will grown up without you. You don't know how it is knowing that your husband will eventually move on because it's what he promised you. Every time I saw kids with their parent in that damn diner, I had to force myself to not cry in front of the customers. I only had a friend during all of this, this sweet and innocent redhead who tried her best to cheer me up a bit even if she didn't know why I was feeling like that and everything I told her was a lie. More nights than not I cried myself to sleep and then I would woke up in the middle of the night with nightmares. I know it was extremely hard for you Robin, but it wasn't a walk by the park for me either."

Robin couldn't argue about that. Yes, what he had to live was hell, but he had his family. Regina was alone.

"Tell me everything."

"Everything?"

"From the moment you woke up in the hospital to the moment you came back. I want to know everything; the good, the bad. Everything."

"It might take a while."

"I have nowhere to be until this afternoon."

"Okay."

Before they started talking, Regina went to splash some water on her face; all the tears had made her skin feel strange. While she was in the bathroom, Robin went to the kitchen and poured some water for both of them, then he went back on the couch.

Robin was deep in thought and he hadn't realized Regina was back until she spoke.

"I woke up a couple of days after my funeral, of which I didn't know a thing, and I was alone in the room. At the beginning, I thought it was because it was late, but then I saw two men in suit outside my door. A nurse come in and left without saying a word. Then Blanchard came in with the two men." The woman took a deep breath and then she started to talk again.

"He told me I was out for four days, that Philip had been shot but he was fine and then he told me I was dead."

"He told you what he had done like that? He didn't even give you a choice?" Robin was incredulous. The lack of sensibility of that man…

"Yes, he just told me I was dead to the word and he had already done anything even if I had told him I wasn't okay with that. I freaked out, they sedated me and when I woke up again he told me I was in the witness protection and the two men were two marshalls who would take me to Portland and show me my new life."

Regina then proceeded to tell everything the big boss and her talked about, from the pictures she asked for to her new life.

"In Portland I lived in this small apartment near the diner where I worked. I had a new identity, new name, new background, different look."

"What they were?"

"My name was Roni Garcia, I was alone in the world because my parents abandoned me which was so difficult to tell because my parents loved me and they would never do something like this. The look was the one I had in high school: dark clothes, dark shoes, my hair were shorter, I started to let it grow longer in the past six month. I was always alone except for when Ariel, the redhead, pull me out of my apartment to go somewhere, but usually, there were only two places where she was able to bring me: her apartment ,where she lived with her husband, or a little bar not too far from there. My life was getting up, go to work, go to sleep, wake up in the middle of the night with a nightmare and wait the right time to go to work. Every six months or so someone would update me about you and the kids; the days of the updates were the happiest days. Everything else was just surviving with the hope that one day I could see you again." Regina was crying again but she preferred to finish her story without stopping. "Then one day I received a call that told me my son was in hospital. The marshalls didn't want let me come back but I didn't care. They were able to stop me before but not this time. I was determined to see Henry at least once before going into hiding again. But you saw me and now we are here."

"You said they stopped you before, when was that?"

"When The Hatter was captured. If Jefferson was in jail, I didn't see why I couldn't come back. They said it was too dangerous. And then when Jefferson was killed. They just said I couldn't come back." She spat out the words like they were poisoned.

How could he blame her? They keep her away from her family even when it wasn't necessary anymore after all.

They fell in silence again, but this time it wasn't awkward; they were both thinking what the other had lived during the hellish period.

"I think we have a lot to talk and to work about, together, alone and with the kids. I'm not saying we can go back together like before, like nothing had happened, but if you are, I'm willing to work on find a way to heal ourself from everything we were put through. I want a new 'us'." Robin said locking a lock of hair behind Regina's ear.

"I'd like that." Regina said with a shy smile.

Let me know what do you think, good or bad. Constructive criticisms are always welcome.