(late) Day 15 of OQ Prompt Party.

#45: Person A doesn't have a stable family and have no support. Family of person B kind of adopt person A in their family, #115: Panic attack, #131: Robin comes back to life, #175: Amnesia & #281: Unlucky

Based on the movie "A Stranger To Love"

Regina resists the urge to roll her eyes as she sends yet another "per my last email" to her supplier. They were supposed to get the advanced copies of the latest August Booth novel a week ago, so they'd be at the signing. There was a huge mix up and had Regina not channeled her mother, they very well could've been screwed. She will not let "Colette's Books" fail. They're one of the few book chains still standing in the wake of Amazon and eReaders.

When Regina first met her late husband, the bookstore was on the brink of death. It had been family run for years by Robin and Belle's mother, who then turned it over to her kids when the day to day got to be too much. Try as they might, and even with it being the only bookstore in their small town, the doors were threatening to close. Regina took the jump and quit her great job at a marketing firm in the city, to help save the store. Within a few years not only was the Kent chapter doing better, they had expanded to a few more cities. In the nearly 20 years since Regina met the Locksleys, it's since expanded across the country.

Regina swivels in her chair and her eyes land on the large collection of pictures that take over her desk. So many parties with the Locksley family, who took her under their wing once she started dating Robin. She hasn't spoken to her mother in nearly 15 year. After years of cruelty and judgement, she couldn't subject her own son to it. The Locksleys were kind people with weird senses of humor. She didn't just marry Robin, she married them.

Her late husband makes up the bulk of the photos. From him dancing with Belle at her wedding, to holding Henry in his arms for the first time. Anniversaries, special events, she had 15 great years with that man before someone decided to steal it from her.

The police have given up looking for the perpetrator. They tell her it was probably a mugging gone wrong, considering his wallet was never found.

"At least you have closure," Detective Jefferson Chapuex tried to assure her. "It's more than most."

Closure. Her husband is six feet under, her son hasn't had a father in 5 years. But hey, at least she has "closure".

A knock to her open office door pulls her out of her depressing thoughts. She looks up to find Mary Margaret standing there. Regina wasn't the only misfit the Locksleys had adopted. After Belle married James, he and his brother became apart of their crazy family. A little while later, David met Mary Margaret. From the outside, none of them should get along. Mary Margaret is a dreamer, speaking in motivational posters. Regina is a realist. And yet, somehow, they built a bond. Ever since Belle and James decided to head up the Hyperion office, Mary Margaret and Regina have only grown closer. Without her or Regina's former college roommate, Mal, Regina's not sure how she would've gotten by.

"Busy?" Mary Margaret asks.

Regina shakes her head. "I think I got the Booth situation under control."

"Great. Think you could break for lunch? I don't have any more classes for another couple of hours and the kids are in daycare til 5."

"I've got a mountain of a to-do list…"

"That'll be here when you get back." Mary Margaret fixes her with a Look . Regina frowns. Despite her sweet nature, Mary Margaret can turn on a person in a second. "Come on. That place with the monster salads is calling my name."

Regina's stomach grumbles. She downed some coffee this morning after dropping Henry at the bus, but that's the extent of her meal.

"Alright, fine. But just a half hour."

A huge smile breaks across Mary Margaret's face again. Regina gathers her belongings and follows her beaming friend out of the office.


Regina didn't realize how much she needed that kale salad until she took the first bite. It's devoured within 10 minutes, her ice tea drained in the next 2 and she places an order for an apple cinnamon muffin soon after.

Mary Margaret smiles behind her own Cobb salad. "Knew you were hungry."

Regina rolls her eyes. "Things have just been crazy with August coming to the store. I know we're doing well at our other locations but Kent was where it all began. It was Colette's dream."

"You've done everything you can to keep it running," Mary Margaret assures her. "And even if something did happen, it's not an insult to Colette or Robin."

"Easy for you to say," Regina mumbles around her straw.

"Maybe, but I also know how proud they were of you."

Heat raises to Regina's cheeks. After her father died, she barely had anything she'd consider family. She had wanted so badly to impress them. Sometimes she forgets their love is unconditional, even if they're not with her anymore.

"How are things going with the new sales guy," Mary Margaret slyly changes the subject.

Regina blinks. "Samdi is great at his job."

"Is that all he's great at?"

Regina rolls her eyes, stabbing at her empty salad bowl. It was a mistake to tell anyone about Samdi asking her on a date. He had been kind, wonderful, just like the other two men she had gone out with in the past 5 years.

"There's no spark," Regina says. "And maybe that's childish, chasing that after all these years. But with Robin, I just knew. There was no guessing or doubt. Not love at first sight, but I could tell he was special."

"I don't know what you're going through," Mary Margaret says, solemnly. "And I don't want to be a cliche that tells you to move on without thinking. But I also don't want you to miss out on anything."

"I don't think I am. I have an amazing son, our family, the business. It's hectic but maybe I'm not meant to find someone new. Maybe I can be happy with just those things."

"So long as it's what you want."

"It is."


Regina's gotten used to the quiet over the years, and she knows she needs to embrace it with the future. Henry's 15, heading to college in just a few years. Already her son spends most of his time with friends. She's happy for that. For so long after Robin died, he refused to leave her side. He was afraid she'd be lonely. It took nearly two years and lots of sessions with Dr. Hopper to convince him to be a kid again.

It doesn't mean Regina totally enjoys the quiet. It's nice to be able to watch what she wants and eat the Thai takeout her son loathes. But there are times she misses some noise. Sure, she could go to Mary Margaret and David's, chase around her niece and nephew. She could invite Mal and Ursula over for wine. All of that requires being around couples and she's not totally in the mood.

Her cell phone comes to life, breaking through the dreadful so called comedy on her TV. Regina nearly hits ignore. It's after 9 and she doesn't recognize the number. Then she realizes Henry could be trying to reach her from a friend's phone, and gives in.

"Hello?"

"I'm looking for Regina Locksley," an accented voice informs her.

"This is she."

"Ma'am, this is Detective Rogers of the Greenwich Police Department . I need you to come down to the station."

A sinking feeling drops to the pit of her stomach. She's only gotten a call like this once before. "Is my son okay?"

"It's regarding your husband, ma'am."


Regina sits nervously in a tiny room of the police station. She arrived over an hour ago and was ushered in by an unfamiliar officer, with no one answering her questions. Regina's texted Henry to stay with Jack for tonight, she has a feeling she won't be home anytime soon.

The door pushes open and the same unfamiliar officer walks in followed by a mysterious man. He's shorter, grayer hair and wrinkles lining his face. His brows draw inward, lips frowning.

"Mrs. Locksley?" The older man asks.

Regina nods, her leg fidgeting. "Yes. What's all this about? Did you finally find who killed my husband?"

The man lets out a long sigh. "Mrs. Locksley, my name is Captain Weaver. I took over the duty a few years back so I wasn't with the team when your husband disappeared."

"Okay?"

"I understand you identified his body."

"Barely," Regina says.

It was nearly 6 months after Robin disappeared. After weeks of being told to accept the love of her life probably walked out on her, Chapeaux had dragged her to the coroner's office. The coroner showed her a body so badly beaten, his face could barely be made out. He had dark blonde hair. His arms had been cut off, leaving her no way of using Robin's telltale tattoo as ID. She wasn't sure if it was her husband, but Chapeaux kept telling her it had to be. He claimed the DNA matched the sample Belle had offered."

So, Regina uttered the words "it's him" and had nightmares about that desecrated corpse for months.

"I understand you were told the body you saw matched the DNA of your husband's sister."

"I was."

"Detective Chapeaux was let go several months ago for tainting evidence. Not just with your husband's case, but several. He and Victor Whale are facing charges."

Regina's brows furrow. "I don't understand."

"Earlier this week, we received a call from the Hartford PD. They had a man in there who claimed he thought he may be Robin Locksley. We ran the DNA and it's confirmed."

Regina's heart begins to pound heavily in her chest. This isn't possible. Her husband is dead. She buried him. For the past 5 years, Regina has been a widow.

"Mrs. Locksley, your husband is very much alive."

Her breathing quickens as the background turns to static. The officers are talking but she can't hear or even see them. Dots flicker before her eyes. Her throat is closing.

"I can't...I can't breathe!"

A plastic cup is thrust into her hand but it just as quickly falls to the floor. Regina goes along with it, clamping her eyes shut. There's anvil on her chest and she can't get it off.

When her breathing finally returns to normal, she finds herself back in the chair. The younger officer has his hand on her shoulder. She gazes up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Mrs. Locksley, I know this is a lot right now, but your husband is in this building." Regina lets out a sob. "There's more you should know."

"What else could there be," she mutters.

"Mr. Locksley...well, he sought out the Hartford police. He's been living there the past 5 years. However, he has no memory of any part of his life."

Regina tilts her head. "That's impossible. That...that kind of stuff only happens in the movies."

"I'm afraid it doesn't. Your husband received terrible trauma to his head."

Regina's mouth opens but before she can say anything more, the door opens and another officer enters. Weaver barks something about not being ready but then he walks in.

Robin's hair has flecks of grey now and a few wrinkles line his face. A large scar goes from the left side of his head to the center. The last time she saw him, he was in a button down and slacks. Tonight, he wears a t-shirt advertising a bar called "Sherwood's". Despite the weak kneee, Regina rises to her feet, her lips parted to say something, anything. Her first words to her husband in five years...they should be perfect.

And then she also sees her . A woman on Robin's arm, with a tumble of dark curls and kind brown eyes. She holds onto Robin with one hand, the other clutching her gray cardigan closer to her.

Regina's been alone 5 years, but it doesn't appear he has.