She's ready.

Her car is packed with all of her things, and Henry's with enough water and food for the road, even if they'll take regular breaks. She gives a last glance to the mansion that has been her refuge and healing place for the past two years, her heart heavy. She will miss them dearly, that much is a certainty. But as arms loop around her waist from behind, a head resting on her shoulder as this strong scent that always accompanies him envelops her, she can't find it in herself to regret her decision.

Her hands cover his on her stomach, and she smiles as his thumb immediately finds the ring on her left-hand ring finger, rubbing there. Regina lets her head fall backward so she can deepen the contact between them, and sighs happily.

FLASHBACK

"Regina, I remember! The past two years, when you were seeing me even though I was dead, when you left Storybrooke, your grief... I... I remember everything."

She freezes on the spot, unsure about what he is saying. "What? Robin, what are you talking about?"

"It all came back to me at once! I don't know why, I don't know how, but now I remember that moment, after I was killed, when you came back from my funeral and I was in front of you at home. I remember how you ran up to me and... and you walked right through me. I remember your tears, all those nights you spent crying in your bed, the meals you refused to eat, the weight you lost because you couldn't accept my death. I remember the long talks we had, when I was trying to comfort you the best I could, but my presence only made my absence worse. I remember when you made the decision to leave Storybrooke, how much you blamed yourself for it, how difficult it was to announce it to your son. And then, the time you spent in this town. Regina, I think I understand where my soul was all that time, why Henry's spell didn't work at first: I was with you. You must have clung to me or I clung to you or both, it doesn't matter, but I know now that I never left you since the moment I was dead until your son brought me back to life."

She listens to his speech with wide eyes but attentive ears, gaze fixed blankly ahead of her, putting together the puzzle like he is, except for one missing piece: The reason why he was able to come back, and then to remember. Henry said that Robin's soul took refuge somewhere when Hades used the crystal, and it could've been her, but as she recalls everything that she did before she went to Andrew half an hour ago, she puts her finger on the one element Robin is missing.

It's in awe that she lifts her left hand, and stares deeply at the lapis lazuli and silver ring that she just put back on. Frowning, she observes it, turning her hand so it catches the light and she can examine it under all perspectives, and she knows then. She knows the one place where Robin's soul was trapped in during those two years.

"Your ring," she says simply.

"What?"

"Your engagement ring, Robin," she repeats. "It must be the object your soul hid in when the spell struck. I stopped seeing you, and Henry's spell worked, after I removed it. And you just remembered everything, while I put it back on less than an hour ago, barely minutes before your first call. It must be it."

There's a silence across the phone, a ruffle that tells Regina that he must be raking his hand through his hair in realization, probably trying to assess this news.

"You must be right. Wait, you put it back on? Does that mean-?"

"Yes, Robin. Andrew knows that I'm coming back home with you."

END OF FLASHBACK

"You're ready?"

She smiles, turns in his arms and wraps her hands around his neck.

"I am. Are you sure that you don't mind?"

"That you won't cut off all contact with the family who saved you from despair? Regina, I would be pretty selfish if I did."

She looks down, pressing her forehead to his as she breathes in deeply.

"Are we all set, Mom?"

She startles at the excited voice of her son, pulls back from Robin chuckling softly and looks at Henry.

"Yes, Henry," she confirms, patting his cheek. "You're okay with driving alone for the first two hours?"

"Yup! You and Robin need to spend some time together," he says with a mischievous smile that screams how grownup he has become. Before she gets to answer, he pulls away from her, holding out his phone. "I called them, they know we're about to come back."

Regina swallows heavily, a sudden anxiety knotting her stomach at the prospect of facing them all. She didn't exactly leave them in high spirits, and even though she knows they worked together for her and Robin, she can't deny the fact that she hasn't really felt at home with the heroes when Robin was taken away from her.

She feels the warmth of a hand find the hollow of her back, Robin's thumb soothingly rubbing there in support. Drawing her courage from him, she takes a sharp breath and smiles at her son.

"Good, sweetheart. Are you happy?"

"You're kidding me?" He beams at her, bouncing from one foot to the other. "I can't wait to finally have my whole family reunited!"

Moving away from Robin and stepping closer to her son, Regina wraps an arm around his neck and brings him closer, hugging him tightly and kissing his temple. "I love you, Henry."

"I love you too, Mom. By the way, are you two going to get married now that Robin is back? After all, it's thanks to his ring that he's still alive."

Regina stills at her son's words, perceiving Robin's small laugh in her back, throwing him a desperate look, but all this idiot does is grin back at her. When she explained the whole story to her boy after she and Robin figured it out, she also had to admit the significance behind the ring, the reason why Robin had offered it to her, and why it mattered so much. Needless to say that Henry was more than receptive to the news, and thrilled about the prospect of his mother finally being able to marry the person she wants.

"Give us some time to get our lives back on track," Robin replies confidently. "And leave the job up to me. I'm pretty sure I'll manage to convince your mom to discuss the subject."

Relaxing between the two men of her life, Regina smirks mischievously. "Who says I need convincing?" Facing Henry's hopeful eyes, she resumes before he gets to answer, "Come on. Let's go home."

A/N: In front of the lack of response to the updates here and since the fandom has mostly left ffnet, this is the last chapter that I will post on this website. For any new or ongoing stories from me, you can find me on Ao3 under the same username :-)