Ok, I know I said I wouldn't leave it this long again, but this chapter did not want to be written. Firstly, my brain didn't want to work on this chapter because it was looking forward to the next one. And secondly, my laptop has been having a few problems and I ended up losing around 2,500 words so I had to rewrite lots – and I always think the second time round is not as good as the first. And thirdly, this chapter is a long one, so I'm hoping between this long one and the next one that I'll have made it up to you somewhat ;)

Again, cheers to my friends for putting up with me

And please review or drop me a PM telling me what you think or whatever because it really makes me smile and more motivated to write quicker

The meeting that dragged Regina away from Robin was wrapped up fairly quickly. They discussed the general rules of setting times for meals for the inhabitants, what information the group would share with the kingdom and determined which rooms or hallways would be out of bounds to whom. It had only taken around an hour. It was the quickest meeting the Queen had attended in the time they had been at the castle, which was a relief; the sooner Regina had time to spare, the sooner she could get back to the thief.

Unfortunately, Snow and Charming had insisted that Regina come with them for breakfast, so the outlaw was going to have to wait just a bit longer.

"Robin?" Snow said the thief's name and Regina panicked, thinking she had voiced her thoughts aloud. However, when she looked up and saw the outlaw walking towards them, her alarmed expression turned into a mischievous smirk.

However, the closer Robin got to them, the more obvious it was that something was not right; his shoulders were tense, his eyes were cast downwards and his arms were folded in front of him. When he looked up, he seemed almost irritated.

Snow didn't seem to notice the outlaw's sour mood and continued, "We're going for breakfast. Have you already been?"

"No," came Robin's curt reply.

"Would you like to join us?" asked Snow sweetly.

The outlaw paused for a moment before replying, "No, thank you."

The Charmings misinterpreted Robin's hesitation for reluctance to dine with the Queen. "We'll keep Regina in check," Snow promised, "Sit with us."

"Yeah, you'll behave, right Regina?" Charming asked, attempting to have fellow male company.

"Of course, I don't bite," Regina smiled, lowering her voice, "Much."

"I said no," Robin snapped, the smile on Regina's face disappeared. "I don't need a verbal sparring match from you," he pointed a finger at the Queen, "or endless optimism from you," his gaze turned to the Charmings. "So, please, leave me be," before he stormed past them, brushing shoulders with Regina.

Snow and Charming walked ahead. "Somebody got up on the wrong side of bed this morning," muttered David. They both paused when they realised that Regina was no longer with them. The couple looked back to see where the Queen was and saw her heading in the direction the outlaw had left in.

"Regina… is that really wise?" Snow called after her.

"He seems pretty riled up Regina, don't make it worse," said David in agreement.

Regina turned to see both Charmings looking at her with pleading eyes, hoping to avoid any potential argument between the Queen and the outlaw. Although, the job was practically impossible regardless of their…arrangement.

"Don't worry, I won't try to kill him," said Regina. She turned and, without looking back, called, "Go to breakfast, I'll join you afterward."

The couple looked at each other, bottom lips sticking out in identical expressions as they shrugged their shoulders. And with the rumbling of Charming's stomach, they laughed and headed down to the main hall for food.

"Robin?" Regina shouted as she caught up with him, grabbing his elbow, "what was that about?"

Robin pulled his arm out of her grasp and carried on walking without even glancing at her.

Something was wrong. Regina knew it; he was tense, he wouldn't look at her and he had snapped at both her and Snow. Over the past few months, Regina had come to expect his sharp tongue, had even come to enjoy it somewhat; it made a refreshing change from the Charmings' softly-softly approach. But he had never snapped at Snow before, and that was just unlike him.

Determined to get to the bottom of it, Regina grabbed at his elbow, her grip a little firmer and she tugged him down the next corridor on the right, away from prying eyes. She turned and backed him into the wall, putting a firm hand on his shoulder.

"What's going on?" Regina asked, her tone softer than he had ever heard it.

"Nothing," Robin replied.

The Queen hardened her tone in warning, "Robin. Something's wrong."

Robin sighed, and as he exhaled all the tension he had held dissipated. "My friend is ill. Very ill. We're all worried about him. The healer said…" When his voice trailed off, unable to continue, Regina felt a small ache within her, wanting to offer some kind of comfort but not knowing where to start.

Robin brought his hand up to rub at his forehead and a pained expression crossed his face. He couldn't say anything else.

It was a few seconds before Regina made any movement. Robin was obviously hurting, and Regina didn't want to push any further; it was clear the state of his friend had him and his men worked up to the point that they couldn't focus on anything else.

She couldn't really do much for the Merry Men, but Robin? She could at least try and help take his mind off things. So she wrapped her fingers around the hand rubbing his forehead and lowered it from his face. Before Robin could raise his eyes to look at her, she had risen onto her toes and gently pressed her lips to his.

The Queen was not expecting Robin to ravage her against the wall, but perhaps something a little more than a slight increase in pressure against her lips would have been nice. She took their joined hands and trailed them down her side before letting his hand rest on her hip, encouraging him to pull her closer.

Aside from the slight clenching of his fingers at her side and pressing a little harder against her, he didn't respond. Beginning to feel like she had made a mistake in attempting to distract him, Regina started to pull away. But the second their lips parted, Robin's other hand came up to her neck and held her in place. Regina placed her left hand over the one Robin had on her neck and her right trailed up his chest to lie over his heart as she sighed against his lips. For a few moments, the outlaw drew strength from the Queen's kiss, the mere press of their lips, before he finally let her pull back.

"You know, this 'distraction' is a two-way street," Regina breathed. "If you want to take your mind off of something...seek me out." She placed a kiss against the corner of his mouth with a grin, "I don't mind."

When Robin opened his eyes and saw the Queen looking at him with a gentle smile, he wondered why he hadn't sought her out in the first place. The worry for his friend William was still there, and it was not likely to go any time soon. But somehow, the Queen had a way of calming him, of soothing his rough edges until he could actually feel something other than unease or apprehension.

In a split second, Robin had taken the Queen's head in his hands and had his lips crushed onto hers, pressing her into the opposite wall. Once she had gotten over the shock, Regina untucked Robin's shirt and leisurely trailed her fingers across the skin she could reach, before grasping the waistband of his trousers and pulling his hips into hers. Teeth nipped at her lower lip and Regina let out a moan before taking his top lip between both of hers and gently sucking. And then it was Robin who was letting out a moan. Grabbing Regina's thigh, he roughly hiked it up around his waist before he ground his hips into hers. Regina grasped his shoulders, holding on for fear of falling; the burn from lack of oxygen and the taste of his kiss made her head spin and her knees weak.

But she could not pull away. Part of the reason was both of his hands were back in her hair and showed no signs of releasing any time soon. The other part was that, whenever she even thought about pausing for breath, his teeth would cling onto her lips or his tongue would tangle with hers and any thoughts other than how good it felt disappeared. Besides, she didn't really want to stop now, anyway.

And when Robin moved a hand from her hair and trailed it down her spine until he was cupping her backside, Regina had half a mind to cancel breakfast with the Charmings altogether and just lose herself in the outlaw.

Despite her wishes, Robin pulled away, and from the laboured heaving of his chest it was clear he was as out of breath as Regina was. Leaning his forehead against hers, he let go of her ass and Regina unhooked her leg from around his waist. She straightened out her cloak before fixing Robin's shirt.

"I'm sorry about your friend." Regina's voice was so quiet Robin almost didn't hear it, "Do they know what's wrong with him?"

"It's a very rare illness. We don't know how he contracted it." Robin went quiet for a few seconds before; "The healer gave him a few weeks at best."

A few weeks? It was no wonder why Robin was not acting like himself. Knowing that your friend is dying and being unable to change it…it would make the best of men snap eventually. Regina searched her mind for anything that could possibly help besides… this. The only thing she could come up with was her magic, and there were numerous problems with that. Firstly, Robin had made his dislike of magic very public, and secondly, so had his Merry Men. Then of course there was the fact that healing magic had never been Regina's forte, so she'd have to spend a short while in the library.

But if magic saved the life of a good man, then surely Robin and his men would accept it, and if there was a price to be paid then Regina would pay it herself. She had to do something other than distract Robin, and this was her way of honouring her son's memory; helping others. She said with a sigh, "If you give me a couple of hours, then I'll see what I can do."

Robin's face lit up, "You can save him?"

"I can try. I'm not making any promises," said the Queen.

Robin placed a hand on her neck and stroked her cheek with his thumb. The intensity of his gaze took her breath away. It was a look that said he could love her and the mere thought had Regina lowering her eyes and worrying her lower lip with her teeth.

"I suppose I should apologise to Snow," the outlaw said, his hand returning to the Queen's hip.

"What about me?" asked Regina with faux innocence.

"Well, I'm sure I'll be punished accordingly," Robin teased before he nipped the tip of her nose, causing her to lean back and laugh. Her features scrunched as she looked up at him; her smile made her look years younger. "Come on then, let's go to breakfast. It would be nice to take a break for a short while."

"Are you sure? You know Snow and Charming will have 'endless optimism' and that can be difficult when you have something like this to deal with," said Regina.

Robin sighs, "Perhaps, but I owe her an apology."

Regina placed a hand on his cheek, "You don't owe anyone anything. You know what? I'll make your excuses. Go on to your friend. I'll join you later."

Robin was a bit taken aback. "Are you sure?" he asked incredulously.

"I'm saving you from Snow's continuous wave of questions, and this offer does expire. Take advantage of it."

"Alright." Robin tightened his hold on her, "But might I take advantage of you later?"

Robin heard her mischievous laugh before she leaned up to whisper in his ear, "I'm counting on it." She pulled back after a kiss to his jawline, "I'm not doing this out of the kindness of my heart."

It was Robin's turn to chuckle as he watched her leave to find the Charmings.

"Regina?" He called to her. She spun back around to face him. Robin smiled, "Thank you."

"It's my pleasure," she drawled with a wink, and then walked away. His mood was somewhat lifted as he headed back to his son and his men, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Regina searched for an hour and a half, sifting through every healing spell she could find, brushing up on her knowledge of the art of mending injuries. Rumple hadn't taught her much on that particular subject. The thought of her wanting to heal anyone probably never even occurred to him. And he only taught what he thought she would need; the extent of her medicinal training was receiving a sword through the stomach and the choice to either heal herself or die. For an illness such as this, it was doubtful that her one short lesson – however successful – would have been enough.

So, after a great deal of reading and a numbing headache, Regina asked around for the man's location. She made her way to the chamber, where Robin and his men were looking after their friend.

Apparently his name was William Stutely, but other than the fact that he was severely ill and the healer had done all he could, Regina knew nothing.

Reaching the door to William's chambers, the Queen lifted her hand and knocked, waiting patiently for one of the men inside to open the door. It was a dishevelled looking Friar Tuck who greeted her—if staring could be classified as a greeting—with crumpled clothing and a bottle in his hand. Taking a deep breath, Regina asked for entry, which he warily granted.

She had not taken four steps when she heard a man's voice disdainfully ask, "What is she doing here?"

Looking around at the group of men, it was not difficult to discern which one had spoken. He had black, slicked back hair and stood with a hand clutching the knife sheathed at his waist. He looked at the Queen with fury in his eyes, like he wanted nothing more than to slit her throat. Regina, though not scared, felt slightly uneasy when his grip on his dagger tightened. "Well?"

"'She' is here to help." Regina looked over to where William laid, unmoving. "Although, if none of you want me here, I'll gladly leave."

There was a second where the Merry Men contemplated what to do, sharing glances between themselves and the Queen.

"Regina," said Robin's voice. The whole team turned to see their leader entering with his son, looking slightly nervous at the Queen's glare. "Your majesty," he amended. "You made it."

"Obviously," the Queen muttered as she gestured to herself with her hands.

Robin picked up Roland and moved to sit down in the chair beside the bed. He beckoned her over, "Come on."

"Wait, Robin," interrupted Little John as he stepped in front of his leader, "what are you doing?"

"She can help," Robin protested. "We've got to let her try, for Will."

"Robin, she's the Evil Queen," argued John, "not a healer!"

Having had enough of the judgemental looks from Robin's men,—while he himself tried to plead a case for her presence—Regina spoke up. "Whoever I may or may not be, the question you need to ask yourselves is this; would you rather let your friend die than accept my help? Because that is what it will come down to."

Once again, the Merry Men looked between each other before a young lad stepped forward. He couldn't have been more than twenty and his voice shook when he spoke. "You can heal him?" he asked hesitantly.

Regina tried to soften her gaze, "I can't make any promises, but I can try if you'll let me."

"We'll let you." Another man stepped forward, a middle-aged man who—despite his rugged appearance—had kind eyes. "If it saves our Will, we'll let you."

The majority of men nodded, but the man with his hand on his dagger refused to show any sign of agreement. That is, until another man standing next to him nudged him sharply with his elbow. The bitter one rolled his eyes and scoffed but gave a curt nod before sitting back down. The man who had elbowed him looked at Regina and offered a genuine smile, something Regina was not used to receiving. The man himself seemed nice; there was no sign of his friend's disdain in his green eyes and, despite his ill-fitting clothes, he was not unattractive.

Regina snapped back out of her reverie. What was it with her and admiring the Merry Men? First Robin, now this one…whoever he was. She needed to regain control of herself.

"Milady?" came Robin's voice, "Are you coming?"

Taking one last glance around at the Merry Men, Regina walked toward the bed where the ill man resided and took a seat on the edge.

William had to have been the oldest of the Merry Men; he appeared to be around his mid to late fifties. But there was no doubt in Regina's mind that he was not one to mess around with—when he was well, of course. But at the moment his short, silver hair was matted to his forehead, his skin was a deathly shade of yellow and sweat beaded along his hairline and upper lip.

Shifting to get slightly more comfortable, Regina placed her hands on the man's chest, letting her magic flow freely to assess the damage.

It was a mess. Everything was wrong at once; his lungs were weak, his kidneys were failing, his heart was slowing and despite the man's stubborn will to keep fighting—which Regina strongly admired—if left to his own devices, he would surely die. Possibly sooner than the two weeks predicted. He was quite fortunate that Regina had vowed to try and save him, even if her reasoning behind it was simply to make his leader smile again.

Closing her eyes, Regina focussed her energy into repairing the man's body, imagining it healthy and fully functioning; the lungs fully inflating, the heart beating strongly, his muscles working without aching. Despite the warnings in her books—which described how healing magic used up a majority of the caster's energy—Regina did not stop until she had restored everything she could, feeling the man's life-force grow brighter every second.

When the Queen opened her eyes, the man in front of her was dramatically different; he looked like he could be merely sleeping, rather than like a dying man barely clinging onto life. There was colour in his cheeks, his chest was rising and falling without wheezing and his heart beat in a steady thumping rhythm that Regina could feel from where her hands rested on his torso.

Lifting her head to look at Robin she gave a tired smile before placing her hands in her lap and sitting upright. "He'll be okay, give him a few days of rest and he'll be right as rain."

"Thank you." Gratitude shone out of Robin's eyes and if they were not surrounded by his Merry Men, Regina would have given in to the urge to kiss him. Instead, she simply smiled and stood, taking a moment to let the dizziness left over from the healing spell fade away, before she turned to everyone else in the room.

Robin's Merry Men looked at Regina in a new light; she had saved their friend. Their dear William was going to live, and the Evil Queen hadn't asked for anything in return for saving him. All eyes followed her as she left the room with a quick smile in the Merry Men's direction, not caring who saw it or not.

She had done it. The Evil Queen had saved a life. With a slight sense of pride, Regina closed the door behind her as she left to return to her chambers. The door didn't stay shut for long though, and there was the unmistakable sound of footsteps behind her. Regina assumed they were Robin's. When she turned around at the call of "your majesty", she was surprised to find that it was, in fact, another man, the one who had smiled at her earlier.

"Hello," he said, "the name's George."

Regina looked at him in slight confusion, her "hello" coming out as more of a question than a greeting.

"About Dave," George started, elaborating upon seeing her confused expression, "the fellow who was reluctant to let you help—he's, well—" he sighed lightly, rubbing his neck, "you had a price out for our heads for years, I suppose we all have a right to be a bit wary of you being near us."

"You do," Regina agreed. "However, you are in my castle. You're bound to run into me at some point."

He stepped toward her in a way that vaguely reminded her of Robin. "Well, I don't think I bump into you as often as I'd like to, your majesty."

Regina let out a slight laugh, "Well, I don't usually have a reason to be around here."

"Perhaps you should find one," said George with a wink.

The Queen spent a moment observing this strange man. Why was he being nice? People weren't usually nice to her unless they wanted something, and even then it was obviously forced. But the way he smiled and ran a hand through his sandy blond hair, as if he was slightly nervous, seemed anything but fake.

"Regina, I just wanted to—" Robin's voice trailed off as he saw the way his friend and Regina were looking at each other. His smile slowly dissipated as he addressed the other man. "George, Dave wanted to speak to you."

"Oh, of course," said George as he turned back to the Queen and took her left hand in his right, her eyebrows rising in surprise as he lifted the back of her hand to his lips. "Find a reason, your majesty."

"I'll look into it." Regina's gaze didn't leave his until he'd disappeared into the other room and left the Queen and the outlaw alone.

When her attention turned back to Robin, Regina noticed the scowl on his face as he glared at the closed door before turning that same glare to her. "What?" she asked innocently.

Robin pointed to the door as he asked, "What's going on between you two?"

Letting out a short laugh, Regina folded her arms. "Nothing," she said.

"It didn't look like nothing," accused Robin.

"Well, he was only…" Regina paused as the reason behind the outlaw's odd demeanour suddenly occurred to her. "Are you jealous?"

"No," he denied immediately, "Why would I be jealous?"

He's definitely jealous, Regina thought with a smile. "Why indeed? You know, we never said we'd be exclusive."

"I know," said Robin, putting his hands in his pockets, "But…honestly? George?"

The Queen gave him a curious look, "What's wrong with George?"

"What's right with him?" he countered.

"I haven't found out," she answered. Seeing Robin's irritation at the situation, she couldn't help but tease him a bit. "Yet."

Robin ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and he turned away from her, groaning. Taking pity on him, Regina stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his middle, resting her chin on his shoulder. "You know," she said, "if you wanted me all to yourself, you could have just told me."

Turning in her arms, Robin looked at her as he stated without preamble, "I want you all to myself." When Regina's smile turned into a grin, Robin raised his hand to her cheek and trailed his thumb along her lower lip. "Mine," he whispered.

Regina was firm in her reply; "I don't belong to anyone."

Robin smirked, leaning forward and stealing a kiss, repeating the word over and over, "mine". Just as Regina went to kiss him again, they were knocked slightly off balance by a little boy crashing into their legs. They both chuckled before Robin bent down and scooped his son up into his arms.

"Papa!" the boy's excitement left him unable to remain still, swinging his legs and putting both his hands on his father's cheeks. "Papa! Will's not asleep anymore."

Noticing that the woman standing with his father was the Queen, Roland suddenly calmed down, muttering a shy hello and tucking his head in his father's shoulder. Robin chuckled before turning back to Regina, thanking her.

"You're welcome," she said.

Robin turned back to his son. "Are you going to say thank you Roland? Her majesty is the one who saved Will."

The little boy looked to Regina with wonder in his eyes, "You did?"

"Yes," Regina nodded with a smile.

"With magic?" He turned to his father, who nodded. Roland's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "But you said magic was bad," he whispered, as if he were trying to hide a secret. But Roland was not very skilled at whispering, and he said it loud enough for the Queen to hear.

Robin suddenly looked uncomfortable, his gaze falling to the floor at his son's words. True as they were, magic had just saved Robin's oldest friend, someone he grew up knowing, and that was a good thing. Maybe he should try to revise his opinion on the matter.

"Roland, magic itself isn't bad," Regina explained, "but sometimes the people using it want to do bad things."

"Oh." Roland looked to his father, then back to the Queen.

Regina gave the most reassuring smile she could muster. "The magic that saved your friend wasn't bad, I promise."

"Okay." The adults looked between each other; they had forgotten how easily a child can accept new concepts. Roland turned to Regina, "Thank you for helping Will with good magic."

"You're welcome," she said once again, with a laugh.

She watched Roland place his hands back on his father's cheeks. "Papa, can we see Will now?"

Watching Robin hoisting Roland higher and tickling his stomach until he giggled, Regina smiled at father and son before she decided that it was time to leave. She had only taken five steps before she heard Roland shout behind her, "Goodbye majesty!"

Turning back around, she gave Roland a little wave, "Goodbye Roland."

Robin smiled, "I'll see you later?" he asked.

Regina didn't want to push anymore, so she made it clear that it was up to Robin when he would next see her. "Whenever you like."

She smiled at them both before she left, turning down the corridor, feeling decidedly light and content.

She didn't hear Roland say "she's pretty, Papa."

Nor did she hear his father reply with "that she is, my boy, that she is."

Two days later, Robin felt a lot happier; between his friend being up and about, his son being as happy and healthy as usual and finally making his way to see Regina again, he was practically humming as he strolled down the corridor on his way to the Queen's chamber.

He didn't need to walk very far; halfway there, he walked past a conference room and saw Regina standing at a table, thoroughly focussed on a few books. He watched her lift a hand over one of the pages, and when she slowly raised her hand whilst slightly waving her fingers there was a blue shimmer that turned into a translucent sheet between her hand and the paper. Regina observed her magic with a frown before closing her hand into a fist, the blue magic fizzling out, mixing with purple smoke.

After the healing of his friend and now this little display, Robin could now see the beauty of the Queen's magic. Whilst he would never use it personally, he could admit that some was truly spectacular, much like the sorceress he was watching use it.

As Regina turned the page, Robin stepped over the threshold, checking that nobody else was in the room before sticking his head back out into the corridor to ensure that no one was there, either. Once he had fully entered, he closed the door by leaning on it, folding his arms and crossing one ankle over the other. He tilted his head and admired the Queen's profile, imagining her slim figure with perfect curvature without her troublesome clothing, her long, toned legs wrapping around his waist and her dainty hands clawing at his back. His thoughts led to him taking stealthy footsteps until he was directly behind the Queen, and he could not stop himself from snaking his hands over her sides, to her front, until his arms were wrapped around her and he was nuzzling into her neck.

He felt her whole body tense and her head turn from one side to the other, looking for potential witnesses.

"We're fine, your majesty," Robin assured her, "it's just us – I checked."

As soon as she turned in his arms, Robin had his lips pressed to hers. With hands framing her face, he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. The outlaw then moved forward until Regina was leaning back over the table and she sat up on the edge to escape a strained back. Robin pushed the books away so that they slid over to the opposite side of the table, and then continued to press forward until the Queen was reclining on her elbows to keep herself upright. Pulling away, Robin smirked as he unfastened the lacing at the front of Regina's dress with sure movements.

"Here? Really?" Regina asked Robin, sounding more breathless than she would've liked as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

It was not the most secluded of places, the outlaw was either being incredibly stupid and trying to out them or he was so desperate for her that he couldn't wait long enough to move them to a more private location. The Queen preferred the idea of the latter and, as much as she loathed admitting it, her thoughts were heading in the same direction as the thief's.

"Why not?" He whispered into her neck. Regina let out a whimper as Robin bit at her collar bone and trailed a single finger along the new, plunging neckline he had just made. The Queen tensed, hiking up her thighs and digging a heel into his rear, bringing him even closer to her.

At that moment, the doors opened. In a matter of seconds and with the release of a sharp gasp, Regina scrambled off the table, put some distance between Robin and herself and turned to face the opposite wall, hoping to lace up her dress with a semblance of privacy.

"That's why," she ground out through gritted teeth. The Queen sent him a glare that would intimidate even the bravest of foes, but the outlaw merely smirked and chuckled. Regina found herself releasing a small laugh which brightened her face and, in Robin's opinion, made her look stunning. If he could only ever accomplish one thing in his life, Robin wanted to make her laugh like that.

He stepped closer and spoke breathy words against her ear. "The next time we meet like this… I'm going to take you, all of you," he said.

Regina's breath caught in her throat, but she managed a mocking sneer of "promises, promises."

Robin had the gall to act offended. "I'll have you know that I am a man of my word, milady."

Looking straight into his eyes, Regina responded with an evil smirk and said "You had better be, outlaw."

He leaned forward to whisper, "Oh, I am, your majesty." Robin pulled back when he saw the Queen biting her lower lip, "as I'm sure you'll enjoy finding out."

Mindful of their audience, the outlaw gave Regina a subtle wink and then left, the way he deliberately brushed up against her as he did so drew a sigh from her lips.

A movement in Regina's peripheral vision made her small smile fade and she lifted her chin. The Queen looked to her right and saw David leaning on the edge of the table.

Typical, Regina thought, if it's not one Charming, it's the other.

Or, in this case, both. Snow walked up to her husband and they both looked to Regina with unbridled joy in their eyes. How could they be so happy, given the current situation with Zelena?

"What?" Regina snapped, her patience already wearing thin at the hopeful light in their eyes. She had seen that look before, every time the couple had received news of something hopeful. And whilst their hope may have been of service to them, it did not help Regina. If they discovered something that could assist her in her mission to stop her sister, she needed to know as soon as possible. If it could not aid her, she couldn't care less; hopeful Charmings were insufferable Charmings.

And if she had to endure one more "just have hope, Regina", she could not be held responsible for muting them, permanently.

Charming wrapped an arm around his wife's waist, his smile wide and lighting his whole face. Regina wondered what the hell had changed between them, what had the pair acting like they were on their honeymoon again. If they started giving each other longing looks, or anything remotely lovey-dovey, she was leaving.

Snow looked to her other half, took a deep breath and announced, "I'm pregnant."

Well, Regina certainly hadn't seen that coming.