Robin couldn't help smiling as they drove up the driveway toward the cozy stone cottage that his grandparents called home. They had lived here ever since he had started at uni, determined to be not too close to him that he felt like they were suffocating him (which he had frequently assured them would never be the case), but not so far that they couldn't come help him if necessary. It had been a second home to him for decades now (or third, as it were), and he couldn't wait to show his children where he and Regina had spent some of the first days of their friendship, and then their relationship.
As always, no sooner had he stopped the car than Roland and Andrea were out of the car. He could tell that Roland was ready to explore, but Andrea ran right over to where her Gigi was waiting to welcome her with open arms.
"Oh, I'm so happy to see you all!" she exclaimed, hugging each of his children tightly to her, like she never wanted to let them go.
"Let them breathe, love, they'll be here all week. You don't want to scare them away before they've even walked in the door!" his grandfather chastised her.
"But Roland, it's been so long!" she moaned, taking his daughter's cheeks in her hands. "Look how much she's grown in a year! Even with Zoom, we've missed so much, and we have to make up for it!"
"I agree, but we have plenty of time," his grandpa said. He looked around at them all, beaming. "But I must say, it's been a rather long time since we've seen any of you in person, and this is such a nice change."
"For us too," Regina said, setting down suitcases so she could wrap her arms around his grandfather in a way that made his heart soar. "How are you both?"
"Never mind us, how are you?" his grandmother asked. "I want to hear everything I've missed."
His grandfather cleared his throat. "Dear, don't you think it's a better idea to let our guests come inside before we bombard them with questions?" He pointed up at the sky. "It looks like it's about to rain."
"That weather ruins everything around here," his grandma grumbled.
His grandpa laughed. "I'm not goint to argue with you there."
She sighed, then nodded. "All right, then. Let us help you with your things, then while you unpack, I'll prepare nice cups of tea for us all."
"That sounds lovely, thank you," Regina acquiesced.
The next few hours were a flurry of activity as they settled in. They had arrived just in time for dinner, and afterwards, of course, it wasn't long before it was time for Roland and Andrea to go to bed.
"Can we have a story, Mama?" Andrea pleaded, her eyes begging Regina as much as her words.
"Of course," she smiled. "What do you want to hear?"
"More about you and Papa!" she insisted. "Did you sit together on the flight? What was your first date? Did you get to see Grandpa in time?"
"All right, all right, one story at a time," she laughed. "How about we start at the beginning, with the plane ride?"
Andrea nodded eagerly, clearly in agreement, and Regina looked at Roland to make sure he also liked that plan. After all, she didn't want one of their children to feel left out with a story he didn't want.
"Can we have a story about him teaching you archery too someday?" he asked.
She nodded. "Just not tonight, okay?"
"Okay," he agreed, but she could tell it was somewhat reluctantly.
Both of the children snuggled into their beds, and Regina sighed. Where to start? "Well, your papa and I spent the morning in the pool-"
"The same one we swam in?" Roland asked, his eyes wide.
Regina nodded. "The exact same one. Then it was time for us to get ready to go. We had both gotten our backup flights the night before, so we hadn't talked about flight details. Little did we know that we were both in for a surprise…"
Regina hurried through the airport, frantically checking her boarding pass. She had only just gotten it at the check-in kiosk, so she was ready for her flight- if she could get there on time. She cursed Robin for having the idea of going to swim in the pool first thing that morning. They had then had to shower before getting ready to leave, and thanks to that and a long line at security, she was running behind schedule, and she hated it. She much preferred to be very early, especially for a flight. After all, one never knew what would happen. There could be a long line at security, as there had been that day, or there could be a problem with her luggage or switching which gate the flight was set to leave out of… Any number of things could go wrong, and she always liked giving herself ample time to deal with it all, especially for international flights.
Her mind went back to Robin, and she cursed him yet again. Why had he insisted on them "having some fun" before they left? Yes, it had been nice, the entire experience charged with an atmosphere she had never felt before, but still. Now she was running behind, and she was sure she'd pay the price for it. Not finding her seat, gates changing, someone taking her seat and there not being another available on the plane… and that was without even mentioning the chaos her mother could create. The fears she had confessed to Robin the night before were very real ones, imagined scenarios that, if they came to pass, would devastate her. Unless a miracle occurred and they created a cure for cancer that immediately was administered to her father, he wouldn't be alive for much longer, and she didn't dare to even contemplate the possibility (a very small one, some would even say miniscule, but there was still a chance) that he had passed away in the night. She would hope that her mother would have told her, and even if she didn't, that someone would think to contact his youngest daughter, but she didn't know for sure.
She collapsed into an empty chair, checking her watch and the sign above the gate itself, then her boarding pass one more time. She was in the right place. Good. She didn't even want to think about what might happen if she was at the wrong gate.
Announcements started for people to board, and Regina got up, shouldered her carry-on, and walked up to the desk, holding out her boarding pass. The flight attendant looked at her boarding pass, then at the screen in front of him. "I'm sorry, ma'am, your seat was canceled."
Regina could do nothing but stare at him for a minute, mouth agape. "What?! But I checked in online and everything."
The flight attendant, whose nametag read Leroy, shook his head. "I don't know what to tell you, sister. It says here that the ticket holder canceled. There's nothing I can do."
Her mouth opened, then shut again. This was all her mother's doing, she just knew it. Her worst nightmare had come to pass and she wasn't going to see her father over the holidays.
Tears started to well in her eyes, and she swallowed hard. Okay, Regina, keep it together. The last thing she needed was some random flight attendant, let alone her would-be fellow passengers, seeing her fall apart. The time to have done that was in the safety of the hotel bathroom, away from prying eyes.
Or in the room itself, with Robin, a small voice whispered in her ear, but she immediately brushed the thought aside. She had only just known Robin for a day. Even starting to rely on him as she had the night before was foolish to the extreme. Knowing she would never see him again, she hadn't asked for his number, so she had no way of contacting him. There was no way his plan for this exact scenario wouldn't become a reality.
To be honest, even if she had obtained some way to reach out, she probably wouldn't've done it. She had learned from her mother and Daniel that it was best to never rely on anyone. Why would Robin be any different?
She turned and started walking away, only to hear a voice that had become surprisingly familiar given how little she had heard it say her name. It was so concerned that it made her heart clench and she tried not to let that traitorous emotion, hope, fill her heart. Some may have considered this a sign, but she knew better. Nothing ever worked out for her.
Reluctantly, she looked up to see Robin standing in front of her, the duffel he had hastily repacked that morning (how his clothes had managed to get strewn all over the room overnight, she had no idea) slung over his shoulder. "What's wrong?"
She hastily schooled her features into something resembling a more neutral expression. "Why would you think something's wrong?"
He gestured to their surroundings, the numerous rows of chairs and people sitting in them, not to mention those who were walking to and fro. "You're walking in the opposite direction as the majority of these people- towards security, not away from it, toward your gate. What happened?" His eyes widened as realization dawned. "Did your mother-"
"Yes," she whispered, a lump in her throat once more. She swallowed hard and choked out, "But maybe it's for the best. Now I don't have to see her."
"But Regina, then you won't get to see your father either," Robin reminded her, his hands suddenly gripping her shoulders. When had they gotten this close? Surely, this was not the type of scene that should be playing out in the middle of a crowded airport full of bustling people.
She nodded. "I know. But the flight attendant said there was nothing he could do…"
"Nonsense," he claimed. "Come on, let's go."
He put his arm around her shoulders and they started walking to one of the kiosks. To Regina's surprise, she saw the same grumpy man, Leroy, standing in front of them. Although she supposed that did make sense- she and Robin were going to the same destination, after all.
"What's the matter now, sister?" he asked, crossing his arms.
Great. He already didn't want to help her. This was going to be a disaster, she just knew it.
Robin, however, didn't seem to share her concerns. "I would like to buy a boarding pass for my friend here-"
She immediately started shaking her head. He couldn't do that- could he? Spending that much money on a near-stranger was a sign of absolute insanity, and she was determined to tell him so. "Robin, this isn't necessary-"
"Yes, it is," he insisted. "You want to see your father, don't you?"
"More than anything… but I can't let you do this," she insisted. "That's a lot of money, Robin. Weren't you the one who wanted to save money when we went to dinner last night?"
The tapping of fingers against the desk interrupted their debate, and they both looked over, chagrined. "Whether or not the lady is getting a last-minute boarding pass needs to be decided quickly. I don't have all day. There's a whole line of people waiting to board."
Embarrassed, Regina looked behind her. Sure enough, it seemed that while she and Robin were arguing, an announcement had been made for people to start boarding, and people had formed a line behind them.
She sighed and looked at Robin. She could imagine her father's face when her mother told him that she wasn't coming, and the devastation it would no doubt cause him made her path forward clear. She couldn't disappoint him, not with everything he was going through. If that meant swallowing her pride and letting Robin pay for her flight home, so be it. "If you're sure-"
"Positive," he assured her.
She sighed. "All right." But just in case he got any ideas, she quickly added, "But don't think this is a charity case. I have every intention of paying you back every pound."
"I had no doubt of it," he assured her, those dimples flashing as he smiled.
"Now that that's settled, can you two buy her pass and get on the plane already?" Leroy asked.
"Of course," Robin said, getting out his wallet.
Without any further mishaps, they boarded, and as Robin put his luggage in the overhead compartment, she looked down at the slip the grumpy flight attendant had just given her, then at the row of seats in front of her. "We're sitting next to each other?" She hadn't noticed that when Robin was booking the flight. It was hard to believe, too, given that this flight was probably full of people just like them who had had to reschedule their flights due to the weather. How had there just happened to be two seats next to each other that were booked separately? It just didn't seem possible under the circumstances.
He shrugged. "Of course. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get to know you better."
She put her carry-on away, then turned to him. "All right, who wants the window? Do I have to fight you for it?"
"Of course not!" he exclaimed, a hand on his heart. "What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't let the lady have the seat she wants?"
"The kind who has things he wants too," she shrugged. "I might be a feminist, but that doesn't mean I want women to get their way all the time. Men are supposed to be equal to women, not pushovers who just carry their purses around."
He laughed. "I'm pretty sure if I was reduced to someone who just carried your purse around, I'd have something to say about it."
"Exactly," she nodded. "So, which seat would you like?"
He looked at her for a long moment. "Seriously, do you have any preference at all? Most people do."
She sighed. She hadn't wanted to be that person who had to have a certain seat, but if he insisted… "If you must know, I've always liked the window seat. I love watching the ascent into the clouds and seeing the ground when we land."
"Ready to see the place where you'll be reunited with your father?" he asked quietly with a small smile.
Taken aback, she cocked her head to the side. "I'm sure you know the answer to that question is yes."
"I thought as much," he said, gesturing for her to go in before him. "After you."
They sat and buckled, Regina quietly staring out the window as they took off. She loved the thrill of adventure that always came with takeoff, but in this case, there was also the anticipation of seeing her parents again- which wasn't entirely a good thing.
She huffed, annoyed, as the clouds passed by and eventually, clear blue skies were revealed that would eventually be replaced by the ebony night sky and an abundance of stars. Now that he had brought it up, her father's condition- and worse, her mother's overbearing nature- were all she could think about. What would her mother say when she showed up in the hospital to see her father? Not that her mother would be in the hospital, she was sure she had far more important things to do than sit by her husband's bedside, but she would have to go home eventually (unless by some miracle they let her sleep at the hospital), and at that point, her mother would find out that Regina had come home against her wishes. She dreaded to think what she would say, how she would react. There would be consequences, of that, Regina was sure. Just how badly those consequences would affect her, however, remained to be seen.
"I can hear you thinking, love," Robin whispered in her ear. Stroking the back of her hand with the tips of his fingers, he asked, "Penny for your thoughts?"
Her heart stuttered at his use of the endearment. There was a part of her that wanted to call him out on it, remind him that she wasn't his love, or anyone else's, for that matter. At the same time though, with everything going on, she needed someone to lean on. Could Robin possibly be that person? She hesitated to do that, knew that the second she let herself get used to his presence and having his shoulder to lean on, there would be some reason that he would be taken out of her life for good. Either her mother would find a way to make sure she never saw him again, or they would move to different locations after school, or he would think she was too difficult to deal with and not want anything to do with her anymore… The possibilities were endless. Did she dare risk opening up to him, allowing herself to lean on someone for a moment, or did she do what was safe and easy… but hard at the same time? She had always been closed off to others, never wanting to let them in. Mal was the only one at school that she had let get that close, but Mal was an exception to every rule. She had forced her way in with a metaphorical battering ram, and despite the strength of Regina's defenses, she had been powerless to stop her. Robin, however, was more similar to a slithering snake, worming his way into her world without her even realizing it until it was too late. It was like every word he said was a gentle hug encouraging her to trust him, and she fell for it every time. The big question was what would happen if she let him in. Would she fall, or would he be there to catch her?
The safest course of action was not to find out the answer to that question, so in response to his query, she answered, "You already know."
His fingers intertwined with hers. Sighing, because the gesture was just so comforting, and she hadn't had enough of that lately, she smiled. "Thank you."
"You know, if you need to talk about it, I'm always willing to listen," he promised. "And if you need someone to come to the hospital with you…"
"That won't be necessary," she assured him, shuddering at the thought. Did she really appear so weak to him that he thought she needed her hand held every step of the way? The thought was abhorrent, one she could barely even contemplate. She refused to be that person.
"All right," he said, that smile that made her heart melt never wavering. Seeming to change tactics, he asked, "Do you need a distraction?"
She let out a relieved sigh. "Please." That was exactly what she needed: something else to think about that would let her forget everything that was waiting for her at home.
Robin immediately launched into tales of his childhood. His sister Belle featured in many of them, but she also heard about his dog John. He even launched into a series of tales from his escapades in college, his friends Will and Alan, and Tuck, who was the only responsible one of the bunch, and she couldn't help laughing at their various antics. He had definitely had had a more interesting childhood than she'd had. Sure, she had gone to school, but she had gone to a private school, and had detested the "friends" her mother had chosen for her among the girls there. Emma and Mary had been nothing but shallow, immature girls who cared about nothing but frilly dresses and parties, and Regina had despised them for the entirety of their years in school together, and the artificial "friendships" she had had with them. The only people she had ever had in her corner growing up were her father, Granny, and Ruby, her cousin.
College, on the other hand, was much better. Mal and their friends Ursula and Cru had changed Regina's world, giving her people she could be herself around, for the first time in her life. True, only Mal had the privilege (if you could call it that) of seeing her at her worst. Still, Cru and Ursula were always there for Regina when she needed them. She would've loved for her mother to meet her friends, knowing that they each had a backbone that would reduce her mother's manipulative ways to shreds. However, Cora certainly had a will of her own, and connections that made Regina hesitate to invite her friends home with her. If provoked, or if she didn't approve of them (likely both, knowing the four strong-willed women), disaster would strike, and Regina couldn't bear the thought of losing the three women who made college bearable for her.
"Regina? Earth to Regina?" Robin said, waving a hand in front of her face.
She shook her head, hoping that would clear her mind, but knowing that effort would likely be futile. "Sorry, what?"
"I asked if you had any friends like mine growing up," he stated, a repetition of his question, even though it was the first time she had actually heard it. "Was my story about Will's drunken escapades that boring?"
"No, not at all!" she rushed to assure him, horrified at the idea that she had gotten lost in thought around him, especially since he was kindly making the effort to distract her. "I was just thinking about the friends I've had over the years." Not that there were many of them, she added silently.
He smiled. "Want to tell me about them?"
She shook her head. "Not much to tell, there were never many of them."
He looked thoughtful. "Sometimes that's a good thing though. That leaves you with little doubts as to who your real friends are."
She had never thought of it that way. "True…"
"Would you like to tell me about them?" he coaxed.
So she did. She told him about the few people who dared to associate with her, and as she did, she noticed a pattern that wasn't immediately obvious to her before. The few people she was lucky enough to be friends with all had a fiery spirit, a passion for living life to the fullest that helped her get through every day.
Not that she told Robin that, of course. She told him about Cru's ability to easily brush aside anything that was bothering her, Mal's reputation as the Dragon, Ruby's bluntness and free spirit, Ursula's reputation as the best singer among them.
"I doubt that," he refuted when she brought that up. "I'm sure you can carry a tune as well."
She shrugged. "I'm not completely tone deaf, but I'm nothing like her- or you, for that matter," she added, remembering the richness of his voice as he had sung her to sleep the previous night. Ursula was good, yes, but she had never heard a voice quite like Robin's. Paired with the song he had chosen, it had brought her a sense of peace that she rarely found when her mother's presence was imminent. If it was possible to do so, she would've bottled up that feeling so she could take it with her wherever she went- especially home. It was a balm for her soul like nothing else she had ever experienced before. Not that she would ever admit that to him, of course. He would probably think she was crazy and too attached and would never speak to her again. Oddly enough, she couldn't bear the thought of that. Not that she had become dependent on him- far from it. But she realized that she enjoyed his company far too much to lose it, that somehow, in the short span of time that they'd known each other, he'd managed to make his way on to the list of people she counted as her friends.
His eyes brightened. "All right, it's settled. I'm challenging you to a duet."
She shook her head frantically. "I never sing except in the shower. What makes you think I would agree to sing with you, let alone in public?" All she could picture was a karaoke bar, a whole crowd of people with their eyes on her, and she shuddered. She wasn't doing that. No way.
He smirked. "What if I said I would make it worth your while?"
Intrigued, she tilted her head to the side. "What exactly did you have in mind?"
"Well, for one thing, you'd be singing with me-" he began, but he stopped when she swatted his arm. "Hey! What was that for?"
"What makes you think that doing something with you would make me want to do something?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.
He grinned and leaned over to whisper in her ear, "Oh come on. You know you loved sleeping with me last night. I noticed we woke up with you in my arms. You didn't push me away, did you?"
She backed away as much as she could, given that they were sitting beside each other (which, truthfully, amounted to leaning against the other side of the seat) and gave him a look that she hoped communicated her thoughts: Oh, no you didn't. "That was last night. This is today. Right now, you're just the annoying guy who assumes too much."
He smirked. "Are you sure? I'm pretty certain that was just this morning. Besides, it's thanks to me you're here, on your way to see your father. Don't I get something in return?"
She huffed, "I told you I would pay you back. What more do you want?"
He shook his head. "I don't need your money- not desperately, anyway," he added when he saw her skeptical expression. "I just want to spend some time with you, get to know you better. Is that so wrong?"
He looked like a kicked puppy, and she found that she couldn't disappoint him when he had that expression. "No, it's not," she answered quietly.
"Glad to hear it," he happily replied. "So you wouldn't mind going out with me when we're back in Boston, then?"
She laughed. "Nice try. You'll have to do better than that. I'm not going to go out with you just because you con me into doing it." She wasn't going to agree to go out with him that easily, especially with how he was acting right now. She had enough on her plate- and he knew it. She didn't need to deal with obnoxious boys.
He sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. You're right, I know you're going through a lot. Forgive me?"
She smirked. Time for her to have a little fun. "What'll you do for me?"
"Anything," he breathed, his voice and the look in his eyes setting a fire in her that she hadn't felt in a long time- maybe had never felt, in all honesty. She and Daniel had just been kids, novices in the ways of love. There had been no time for learning the ways of love, a fact she regretted more often than she'd like to admit… and as annoying as Robin was being, she hated the thought of putting him in her mother's warpath.
No guy deserved that, a fact that had made her swear off dating after what had happened with Daniel. So no matter how Robin acted, no matter how he made her feel and how many butterflies he put in her stomach, there was no way she would be putting him through that. At the same time though, it was hard to resist him when he was whispering in her ear like that.
Then the image of her beloved father surrounded by a bunch of wires and in a hospital bed came to her mind's eye, and she shuddered. Looking at Robin, she wondered: would the guy who made sure she got home to see her ailing father come with her to see him? She wanted to see him, desperately, but she didn't want to do it alone.
At the same time though, Robin's presence at her daddy's bedside would be making a statement, one that she wasn't sure she wanted him having in his head, given the realities of living in her world. But he had also been such a comfort the night before when she had been simply too tired to rein in her emotions and had lacked the physical space needed to let them out in private. There were two strong opinions warring for dominance in her heart, and as of yet, she had no idea which one would finally win out.
Realizing that Robin was looking at her expectantly, waiting for an answer, she simply said, "I'll let you know." He had already done so much for her. She didn't want the thought of doing even more to scare him off… or did she? One way or another, she needed to make up her mind about him, and he had a point that the only way to do that was to spend time with him, time that wasn't also taken by one or the other of her parents. Finally, she answered, "I'll let you know."
Robin beamed, and before he could get any ideas, she clarified, "Before we get off this plane, I'll let you know." They hadn't exchanged numbers back at the hotel, after all, thinking they wouldn't see each other again, and she knew that exchanging numbers now would only give him ideas that had no business being in his head.
She could tell that that exact thought had entered his brain because the moment she clarified what her intentions were, his face fell, and there was a part of her that hated to see it happen, but she knew if was for the best. His face brightened, though, as he said, "Perfect. I have the whole flight to convince you to cone around. I want to be here for you, Regina, I really do."
She was silent after that, listening despite herself as he told her about the volunteer work he did at a local animal shelter. Though some may have taken that moment to point out their similarities, she remained silent, wishing for something she couldn't have, and as the sky grew dark, her eyelids gradually drifted closed as she settled back in her seat.
Robin stared down at the beautiful brunette beside him. He was positive she was unaware of it, but in her sleep, her whole body had shifted, her head tilting to the side so it was resting against his shoulder. He suspected that she would be furious if she woke up and discovered what she had unknowingly done in her sleep, but he also knew that of anyone he had ever met, she needed someone to lean on the most. If she wanted him to be that person (whether she was willing to admit it or not), he was more than happy to be there for her. In fact, he could imagine no higher honor.
Truthfully, she fascinated him. Most people their age were focused on partying and school, the day-to-day hassle of going to college. While they had lives outside of uni, of course, very few seemed to remember where they grew up unless it was family weekend or they were going home for the holidays- except for her. It was abundantly clear to Robin that given her father's condition, it was incredibly likely that there was a strong possibility that she spent more time checking on him than she spent with the friends she had told him about. Given the care and concern she bestowed upon her father, he also imagined that her studies were important to her. When he had asked, she hadn't really mentioned doing many things with friends, only that she had them. Whether her solitude was by choice or because of the hand life had dealt her, he didn't quite know, but he wanted to find out. In fact, he wanted to know everything there was to know about the woman using him as a pillow at the moment.
The captain's voice came over the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, for your safety, I am turning the seatbelt light on. It appears that what we had previously thought would be a smooth landing was incorrect. There is turbulence-"
As he spoke, Robin gasped with those around him as the plane shook. Luckily, he always kept his seatbelt on at all times on a flight, but not everyone followed the same course of action. He glanced over at Regina and saw to his relief that her seatbelt was fastened over her lap, just as it should be.
Looking up, he saw that the jostling of the airplane had woken her, and she looked at him with fear in those fathomless dark eyes, the hints of caramel he had caught in them before all but gone. "What's going on?" she asked.
"There's just some turbulence, that's all," he informed her.
Her eyes grew wide. "Turbulence?!"
He could see the distress in her eyes, and he could only imagine what was going through her mind in that particular moment. He had to do something to ease her worries, but what? He wanted to help, but he didn't want to be too forward…
Finally, he reached out and put a finger under her chin, turning her head so she was facing him instead of staring straight ahead with such a terrified expression on her face. He was alarmed too, he really was. After all, no one expects to be in a plane crash, which was what this might be turning out to be. However, knowing her need was greater than his, he knew he had to push his fears aside. "Hey, it's okay. Focus on me, nothing else. Everything will be all right."
"Really?" she asked, her eyebrows raised. "We're in the middle of a plane crash. You don't know that."
"True, I don't," he admitted. "I believe it will be, though. And sometimes, that's the most important thing, right?"
She frowned, clearly not buying it. "Robin, if I don't see my father again, if I die before him-" Tears were in her eyes now, the thought a distressing one for obvious reasons that he couldn't even begin to comprehend. To some degree, he knew how she felt. He was trying not to think about the last conversation he had had with his own father, how they had exchanged words full of hurt and anger. While they would never see eye to eye, he vowed that if he survived this, he would make a better effort to find common ground, as impossible as that may seem. And his friends? He was a guy. The closest he and his friends got to public displays of affection- or any display of affection, come to think of it- was clapping each other on the back every now and then.
"Hey, hey, don't talk like that," he soothed her. "Focus on my voice. Everything will be all right."
"You don't know that!" she reminded him, glaring at him.
"Good. Focus on that anger." A strange thing to say, and not what she was expecting, he was sure, but being angry at the world was better than panicking at the reality of their current situation, right? "What else are you angry about?"
She took a deep breath, then opened the floodgates in such a way that he knew he would never see her the same way again. Her eyes were ablaze with her fury, her face alive in a way he had never seen it before. She had been lively the night before, of course, but this was something else entirely, and he loved it. There was such a fire in her that was just longing to be set free, and he was determined to cut it loose. She needed it now more than ever. After all, given the situation, who knew what would happen next? "I'm mad at scientists. How many scientists are there in the world, and we can't manage to figure out a cure for cancer? It affects so many on a yearly basis, Robin, and kills hundreds of thousands every year! How is it that organizations like Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society exist, and we aren't any closer to curing a disease that takes millions of lives? It just doesn't make any sense!"
She paused for a breath, and he waited, wondering if she was finished. However, knowing the little he did about her life, he suspected there was more to come.
Sure enough, she continued, "And don't even get me started about my mother. What gives her the right to control absolutely everything? We're all human beings. She's not better than me just because she's older than me. She needs to butt out of my life, and fast, or I'm going to go insane. What kind of mother controls her daughter as much as she controls me? It's not right, how on earth does she not know that? The things she controls are supposed to be my decisions, no one else's. For crying out loud, I can't even invite anyone home because I'm too afraid she'll destroy them, which basically means I can't have any friends or date-"
She paused for a breath, and it was a good thing. Every time she mentioned her mother, he could see how the mere mention of her name made her more anxious. It made him furious to think that someone who was supposed to love and protect her, want the best for her, was so controlling. Not that he didn't have a parent like that at home, but her mother seemed so much worse. He didn't know if she had divulged that information on purpose or not, but if that was the reason she was reluctant to spend any time with him, it was understandable. Regrettable, yes, but understandable. One of these days, he would convince her that he was willing to fight for what had started to blossom between them the night before, but now clearly was not the time. Her ire was the only reason they were both distracted from the chaos surrounding them, the uncertainty of what was to come. He needed to keep them both preoccupied by other things so they didn't panic.
"Anything else?" he asked quietly.
"You, a little bit," she admitted. "The things you do and say, they're so irritating sometimes, but so sweet in others- and I just don't know what to make of you. But it doesn't matter, because of my mother. No matter what I think, I can't have any type of lasting relationship even if I wanted one. She would just disapprove of whoever I chose- as a friend or more- and make their lives miserable, and mine too. Meanwhile, if we crash in this plane, I'll never see my father again and tell him I love him, and I'll never forgive myself for that, and neither will he, and I can't live with myself if that's the case-"
All right, he needed to comfort her, assure her that wouldn't be what happened, then they needed to find a different topic of conversation. "It won't happen, I'm sure of it. Granted, I haven't met your father, but if he loves you like you say he does- and judging by your conversations last night, I'm sure he does- you don't need to worry about that at all. He knows you love him. While yes, I know it would be nice to tell him again, you don't need to. Besides, I'm sure we'll make it out of this just fine, so you'll get to tell him as often as you like when we land in Boston." He felt that last part was necessary to say for himself as much as her. The shaking of the airplane was getting worse and worse as they talked, the turbulence outside nothing compared to the fear he was feeling. It was dark, so he had no idea how the pilot was going to land, and the little light he could see was obscured by fog. Even worse. How had conditions lined up so that there was fog and wind at the same time? He had no idea, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. As long as the pilot managed to land the plane safely, that was all that mattered. However, the more time went on, the less likely that seemed.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we're-"
Before the pilot could finish, they all suddenly felt the plane tilt so they were hurtling straight toward the ground at lightning speed. Robin cold feel Regina clinging to him tightly, the passengers around them screaming in a way that made Robin wonder for the millionth time if he should've called his dad. He normally interacted with him as little as possible, but this was an exception. After all, who knew what would happen to them?
The next thing he knew, there was an eardrum-shattering crash, and he knew nothing more.
"What happened next, Papa?" Roland asked, his eyes wide. All of his children were enraptured by the story he was telling them.
"Unfortunately, I'll have to leave that for tomorrow night's bedtime story," Robin told him. He hated to leave it on a cliffhanger, but he had just glanced up and seen Regina tap the watch on her wrist. It was the signal that it was time for Roland and Andrea to go to bed- past their bedtime, most likely- so instead of placating his son (like he most likely would if his beautiful wife wasn't around), he stroked the top of Andrea's head, savoring the soft strands beneath his fingers, and kissed it. "It's time for you two to go to sleep."
"Can't we stay up with Henry, just long enough to hear the end of the story?" his daughter pleaded.
Robin shook his head. "I'm afraid not. You need to get your sleep."
"But don't worry, I won't ask Dad to tell the story without you," his oldest promised. "That would be mean, wouldn't it?"
Andrea nodded vigorously and Robin shot Henry a grateful look. Normally they didn't have any trouble getting Andrea and Roland to sleep, but tonight, for whatever reason, was an exception. Maybe the suspense of the story was to blame, but it was also possible that it was just the fact that they hadn't found out anything about his past with Regina before this trip. In fact, he was certain that was the case for Andrea. She loved romance, the Disney classics of the 90's her favorite movies, and apparently she saw them as another fairy tale- which, he supposed, made sense, because it was. Yes, they had certainly faced their trials, but through it all, he and his love had prevailed, just like the heroes and heroines in his daughter's favorite stories.
"All right, princess, let's get you in bed," Regina said, picking their daughter up and relocating her so she was now lying in the bed that had been designated as hers during their stay. They both kissed each of their children's heads in turn, then, Regina putting her arm around their son's shoulders, the three older Locksleys exited the room, cracking the door so neither Roland nor Andrea was afraid of the dark if either one of them woke in the middle of the night.
Once they were back downstairs, Robin looked at his son with one eyebrow raised. "You're really not going to ask what the end of the story is? That doesn't sound like the Henry Mills I know and love."
He shrugged. "I think I already know some of it. After all, we may not know how you and Mom met, but we don't know how she got in her current condition either."
Robin couldn't help grinning. "Very astute, Henry. Yes, the two stories are connected inextricably." Knowing their children were young, they had withheld details about how Regina had obtained her disability, not wanting to scare them. It was another reason they had waited so long to tell their children their story. His wife had come out from the disaster of the plane crash changed beyond recognition, and had suffered the consequences and trials those circumstances had entailed, but he believed she, and their relationship, had come out on the other side stronger than ever. "But don't tell your brother and sister I told you that, yeah?"
"Secret's safe with me!" Henry said, grinning. "Want to tell me more?"
"Nice try, but you'll have to wait to hear more when we tell your brother and sister."
The three of them spent time with Robin's grandparents for another hour before it was time for Henry to go to bed- and even then, knowing their son, he'd spend some time reading before he turned out the light. Robin and Regina didn't mind, though. He was old enough and mature enough now to know when he needed to go to sleep, and they were less strict about bedtime on nights like these, when he didn't have school the next morning.
When they finally turned in for the night, Regina asked Robin fearfully, her fingers trembling as they moved, "Are you sure it was a good idea to leave them in suspense like that? I'm afraid they'll just be more scared, that Roland and Andrea will have nightmares…"
"I'm a bit worried about after they know the full story," he confessed.
"Don't be, they'll be fine," she comforted him. "After all, we're both here now, aren't we?"
"That may be, but-"
"I would worry, given what they know about me," she admitted, her hands moving nervously in her lap. "But you're right. With the one obvious exception, they can see with their own eyes thet I"m fine. That should reassure them. They need to know this part of our past."
He nodded. "You're right."
They went to sleep not long after, Robin fretting about his children's reactions to their story until he at last succumbed to sleep. Hopefully, once they knew the full story, they wouldn't be afraid and would see Regina as he did: as the strongest woman he had ever known.