Hi, so here is another chapter and this is the penultimate chapter of this story. I wish to thank you so much for your reviews and your kind words.

Please Let me know what you think and i will do my best to update whenever i can.

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And also i want to state that several things in this chapter have changed including dialogue and things planned in this chapter. Either way i hope you enjoy.

Old Scars, Future Hearts.

Chapter 14-The Winner Takes It All

Regina realises the depth of her mothers hatred for Snow White as she makes the decision to take a chance on her future. Henry is free from the curse. Penultimate Chapter of this story. Several jumping around events in the episodes. Some events missed. Part One of a Two Part Chapter. Some changes from previous chapter notes.

She had gone to breakfast that morning out of curiosity and out of a sense of desire if she was being true to herself. Regina did not know what she was doing and it was strange being on such uneven ground. She had always been the one in control of her emotions and always had had a plan even though it seemed like she had hit the rockiest of the rock bottoms.

And if she took time in her appearance—if she took time to make sure that her hair was fluffy in a way that made it gleam—if she made sure that she was perfectly well dressed in a dress that she knew would make every man in the room (if they were that way that way inclined) to look at her, then that was entirely between herself and her mirror which was thankfully just this one Sidney free.

She sat down at the dinner but she barely had time to do anything other than order a coffee before Roland came crashing through the door. He was wearing boots that were caked in mud and Regina had a moment of nostalgia with her other son as she knew that had it been Henry (and once upon a time long ago, it had been Henry) coming through her door like that she would have insisted that he take off his shoes and clean his hands.

Roland scrambled onto the seat opposite her and began to babble about everything and anything from the fact that his Papa had not known what ice cream was, to the fact that he was now no longer aloud to prowl the forest alone. He carried on talking throughout his breakfast which consisted of chocolate chip pancakes with what Regina thought was a rather alarming amount of whipped cream.

It made the whole thing easier she thought as she ate her own eggs. Robin was sat next to her and she could feel the warmth of his clothes and his skin soaking into her like a drug. To anyone who did not know them she knew that they looked like two parents having breakfast with their son and she laughed and chatted through the hole in her heart as she thought of the boy who was lost to her. It was she realised as she took a sip of her coffee, easy.

So, so easy.

It was like Daniel, easy like breathing but without the fear of her mother swooping down on her like an angry dragon.

Carefully they parted ways and she walked back to her car.

"I hope" Robin had said with that slow smile that despite her efforts to remain Queenly and dignified made her toes curl a little in the boots that she was wearing. "That we can do this again my lady. And that I can continue to be off any service to you that I can"

Regina did not swoon. She did not.

Swooning was undignified and was for people like Snow White.

If she got back to her car and giggled then that was firmly between herself and her Sidney free rear view mirror.

As it turns out she would need him.

Turns out he would need her.

And it turned out that her sister was waiting to pay her a visit.

He was still clutching his son. Despite it all, despite the genuine remorse on the Dark One's face he was sure that he was never going to let his son go. Both the Dark One and his son had caused him to be separate from his boy and now his…now…Regina's heart was in the hands of the one woman who could do God only knows what to it.

And then just as Roland had burrowed his head in his neck the woman herself had appeared and the feelings that Robin had been battling plunged into free fold.

She had trusted him, she had trusted him. And what had he done? Like so many others he had let her down. The one thing she had asked him to keep safe and he had let the Dark One take it back to the Wicked Witch.

He passed Roland to Little John and Friar Tuck who had been watching and then turned. The loss of his boy from his arms was as such that he ached. There was no way that he could have Roland in his arms when he told Regina what had happened.

"I am sorry" he said. He could tell by the set of her jaw and her mouth that she knew exactly what had happened to her heart. Come to think of it he wouldn't have put it past Zelena to have given her fair warning this was coming. All in all did not do much to distract from his feelings of utter failure.

"Was anyone hurt?" she asked cutting across whatever apologises however feeble they were that were going to attempt to make it past his lips. He could not help however at her words looking towards his son and she followed his gaze as she always did seeing the look in his eyes and putting together the pieces of the puzzle with her incredibly quick mind.

"No" he said shortly but he thought that perhaps Regina understood because her eyes flickered to Roland. He could not help himself from checking his son was alright, his heart was still beating outside of his chest and he was still dizzy with both relief and fear. She wasn't a stupid woman, far from it but he found himself scared that she was going to blame him. While he hated himself for letting her down he knew that if she did the same thing then he was going to feel if at all possible even worse than he did now.

She looked at Roland and then Robin knew from the widening of her eyes that she understood just what had taken place here. She understood what had sacrificed her heart for. What he could have gotten her killed for.

And though it might be the cowards way out he really did not want to be here when Zelena crushed her heart and the fight and the fire went out of the woman that he was…

Well…

You know…

"Don't be stupid" Regina said shaking her head. "Nothing is worth the loss of a child"

Robin wanted to say something more, some grand and rather declaratory but he couldn't. He couldn't think of it. He couldn't think of anything really. God he was pathetic.

"There's one problem" she said staring at Roland her hands shoved in her pocket. She seemed almost curious which was not what Robin would have chosen for the first emotion when learning about something like this.

"I'm still alive"

There was a pause as Robin tried to comprehend that sentence.

"Okay" he said spelling it out because he really did not understand.

"I'm not dead. She has my heart and I'm not dead. So what does she want with it?"

And Robin understood.

And he could not think of what the witch wanted with it either.

Of course she had to rehash her shit with her mother in front of a public audience.

Regina had asked for Emma to help her with the communication with the spirt world. Rightly she had been thinking that they would be able to do it. Dark magic like it was summoning the dead needed light magic to counteract it.

What Regina had not wanted (though she should have suspected it) was the entire Charming's clan and the Pirate coming with them. As much as it still annoyed her she had to admit however that it had come with some benefits. Perhaps it had been the very presence of Snow White in the room that had set her mother off. The thought of Queen Ava…well…Regina could understand the urge to throttle both women. It seemed telling secrets unaware of the consequences was passed down from Ava to Snow and also to Emma. She hoped Henry was free of that particular trait. Otherwise he too might but an event in motion that would inspire nearly three generations of utter hatred and a single bloody desire to win your heart's desire.

After finding out that her half sister wanted her baby, that she wanted to kill Snow's mother (and she could admit to herself that had Henry not been a consideration then she would have been sorely tempted to let nature play out it's merry course) and do the impossible by travelling through time (something neither her mother, Rumple or Regina had ever managed to do) she was more than prepared to sink back into a warm bath with a glass or two of wine and then try and sleep. The next few days would be filled with conflict and utter insanity as they tried to combat a plan that not even their enemy would be sure if it worked. From a magical, clinical point of view Regina almost wished it would. She had made history with her curse, perhaps her sister would make history with hers.

She rubbed her hands over her eyes.

Her house was now mercifully silent. The Charming's had gone for some big family dinner and even if Regina had wanted to come she was not sure how she could sit in a room with Henry and not tell him who she was, she had not been asked. Hook had not been asked either and he had gone into the dark night with an expression on his face that Regina did not want to think about because quite frankly she had time for nobody's misery but her own.

Henry.

God it was a wound beyond healing.

And she did not even have Roland under her roof, the boy had come to mean so much to her in the short time that she'd had with him. She assumed she had to have met Robin in the Enchanted Forest but she had no memories of it.

And…and she liked him. Soulmate thing aside she liked him, she liked him.

She thought about what Snow had told her. Once upon a time she would have thought hell would freeze over and become a skating rink for the children of Storybrooke before she would ever take Snow's advice but there you were.

Regina thought about if for a split second longer and then she was standing up and reaching for her coat.

It took a second to reach her destination.

Robin Hood met her halfway looking confused and like he was itching to sleep. He started to say something but Regina didn't want to hear it. She couldn't hear it over the beating of her own heart either. So many things she had under her belt and yet it was this that was tripping her up.

She didn't give way to the thoughts in her head. Instead she leaned forwards and kissed him.

It had progressed delightfully.

Kisses, small, soft, long, passionate, hard and meaningful. It had spelled out the relationship from that day until now and Robin loved it.

He had never been one for beating around the bush and while he understood the urge that she was battling he wanted to shout it out loud.

He had been alone to long.

And that was the reality of the situation.

He had loved Marian. He had adored Marian with all that he had within him. She had been the mother of his son and the woman he had thought about constantly. And when her death had happened he had been distraught by it.

But it had not destroyed him. And now, only now with the benefit of time and the sacrifice of youth he could understand that he had gotten to the point where he could love another.

And though he was with her when she got the message on that bleepy phone thing that her boy was in danger then he got to his feet and followed her as she ran towards the docks.

He was still not sure what was going on when Regina reached for her son and kissed him love in every pore in her face and in every inch of her body. He could understand it of course but the whole monkeys and Hook and the curse he could not. Nor could he fully accept what was happening when the boy Henry looked at him with eyes that were older than his.

And then there had been a gust of wind that had hit him rocking him backwards on his heels and he paused taking in stock.

The Enchanted Forest. The Wicked Witch. David and his courage and the drinking in the stables and Roland, finding Roland, the utter relief when he had seen his son, when he had held him in his arms and watched the eyelashes flutter in sleep. The terror when he had realised that there was a monkey heading this way (and now he wanted to burn that stuffed animal Roland liked so much) and above all of that, alongside all of that was Regina, the woman who had looked after and loved his son, who had taken on the Witch more than once. Who had been ready to end it all just for some peace and who had given up that peace just so she could help them fight.

Yeah Robin was in deep trouble here.

Regina did not spare him a glance however her eyes were firmly fixed on her son and Robin took a step backwards waiting for the moment that he would meet the man who held Regina's heart in his hands. Soon they would defeat the Wicked Witch and Roland and he would find a place to live in this town that was not a tent in a corner of the woods or a mattress that had most certainly seen better days. Soon they would have peace and though Robin acknowledged that it was optimistic he was not without hope, the Evil Queen after all had just broken a curse with True Love's Kiss.

And when she turned to him with her wide eyes and her son beaming in her arms, she would see him waiting here, heart beating in his chest but firmly and he suspected undoubtedly hers.

And there you are, I hope you enjoy this chapter and the final chapter will be up as soon as i have written it.

Next Chapter-Regina and her sister come face to face. Roland, Regina and Rumple become a family. There is a happy ending despite all of it and a Regina reunites with both of her sons.