A certain little boy wiggles his way into Regina's heart - and his father doesn't seem to be far behind.

The number of people in the castle had decreased.

Neal and Belle had left early on, heading for the Dark Castle to grieve in private and, Regina wouldn't be surprised, to see if there was anything that could be done to bring Rumple back.

But it wasn't just them.

Once Regina had ensured the protection spell and where the boundary line was, many of the townspeople and villagers had left in favour of their own homes and farms, as long as they were within the spell.

Robin and his men went out on regular patrols, checking up on them, assisting with any repairs that needed to be carried out, and generally just keeping an eye out for flying monkeys.

On this day, however, the patrol appeared to have been delayed in its departure, and Regina didn't need magic to know why.

Roland had apparently finally become comfortable in the castle and, as is the way with young children, was no longer afraid to make his feelings known.

At four years old (and a half; nobody was allowed to forget the half), Roland was, in Regina's opinion, exceptionally well-adjusted, considering the fact that he had spent twenty-eight years as a two-year-old, without the benefit of a memory reset every year.

Then again, maybe that was why he had adjusted so well - when Henry was that age, everything felt like 'forever' to him.

Maybe, as far as Roland was concerned, it was just a really, really long year.

He was certainly acting like a typical four (and a half) year old today, and Regina made her way down to the entrance hall, following the sound of a screaming child.

She knew a tantrum when she heard one.

When she arrived, Robin was on his knees, trying to reason with his son, who was not having any of it.

As her heels clicked against the stone, he glanced up, looking oddly relieved at her appearance.

"Look at that, Roland. All this noise has interrupted the Queen from her very important work."

"I'll thank you not to use me as a parenting threat," Regina said sharply, kneeling beside him. "Now then, what's all this noise about?"

Roland sniffled. "P-P-Papa's l-leaving and I d-don't want him to."

"Roland, I have to go," Robin said gently. "I have a job to do. We need to make sure that everyone's safe. You need to stay here with Tuck."

"I don't wanna!"

Regina winced, the cry reaching an even higher pitch, her eyes darting to the assigned babysitter, who was already looking exhausted just at the thought. "Roland, are you upset because Papa's leaving or because you don't want to stay here?"

"Don't wanna," Roland repeated, his little body shaking with sobs.

Regina sighed, shifting to sit on the floor, ignoring the fact that getting up was going to be supremely undignified. "Come here, sweetheart."

Roland crawled onto her lap and she took a moment to adjust to the familiar weight of a child in her arms.

"There, there," she cooed, running her fingers through his hair. "Take some breaths for me, Roland. We can't understand you if you're crying that hard. Let's just be calm for a minute, alright?"

Roland sniffled, resting his little head against her heart, and she waited for his breathing to calm, for the little hiccupped sobs to subside.

"That's better," she said quietly. "Now are you upset because Papa has to go, or because you don't want to stay here?"

"I wanna go with him," Roland muttered. "I wanna help."

Regina smiled. That she could cope with. "Well, thank goodness for that."

Roland looked up at her. "Why?"

"Well, what your papa is doing is very important," Regina said, "but there's an even more important job back here in the castle."

"There is?" Roland asked.

Regina nodded. "There is. And I need the very strongest and bravest to help me."

"I'm strong and brave, my majesty," Roland said eagerly.

"Yes, you are," Regina said, helping him to his feet. She twirled her fingers and a handkerchief appeared in a puff of purple smoke. "Now let's dry those tears and let me see that smile."

Roland beamed at her. "I can help?"

"You can absolutely help," Regina said. "That is, if Papa doesn't mind you staying with me today," she added, suddenly realising that his father might not want his son spending extra time with the Evil Queen.

But, if Robin had any doubts whatsoever, they didn't show in his face. "Not at all, milady. Thank you."

Regina got to her feet, pointedly ignoring his offered hand. "It's no trouble." As Roland trotted over to say goodbye to his uncles, she lowered her voice. "I'm only doing research at the moment. I'm sure I can come up with some jobs in the library." She hesitated. "Are you sure you're okay with leaving your son with the Evil Queen?"

"Forgive me, milady, but I'm not leaving my son with the Evil Queen," Robin said. "I'm leaving him with the Queen, who also happens to be a mother. And an excellent one at that, from where I'm standing."

Regina faltered, taken aback by the compliment. By the time she had recovered herself, Roland was back in her arms and Robin and his men had set out, with the exception of Friar Tuck, who was still observing her like she was some kind of rare bird.

"What job is it, my majesty?" Roland asked.

"I'll tell you in a minute," Regina said, with one more glance at his 'uncle'. "We'll be in the east library, if you want to check on him."

The older man gave her a smile. "No need, Your Majesty. I trust Robin's judgement. Be good, Roland."

"I will," Roland said, all traces of his earlier tantrum now hidden by dimples he had definitely inherited from his father.

"Right, come on then, young man," Regina said, carrying him up the stairs.

Thankfully, the library she had been working in was not the one that held her spell-books and grimoires, so there was nothing dangerous.

So she just needed to come up with something for Roland to do that would keep him occupied.

"Am I a knight?" Roland asked as they walked. "Papa says only knights do important jobs for the queen, so am I a knight?"

Regina couldn't help the way her heart melted, nor the way she held the boy a little tighter. "Of course you are. My littlest knight."

"Do I gets a sword and a shield and a armour?" Roland asked excitedly.

Regina chuckled. "Well, I think everything we have is a bit too big." An idea struck her. "But I tell you what - we can make you a shield."

Roland gasped. "We can?"

"Absolutely," Regina said, setting him down as they entered the library. "Just one moment." She thought for a second about what they could use.

In Storybrooke, she would have given Henry some cardboard to use, but there wasn't any here in the Enchanted Forest.

Still, they had parchment here - maybe she could create cardboard.

So she found a spare piece of parchment and focused.

"Are you doing magic?" Roland asked in an awed voice.

Regina smiled. "I am. But it's good magic, I promise." When she lifted her hands, the parchment was thicker and in the shape of a shield, just big enough for Roland, with a handle on the back. "There."

"Is that my shield?" Roland asked.

"It is," Regina said. "But it's missing something."

Roland frowned. "It is?"

Regina nodded. "Knights' shields have a standard on them. Do you know what a standard is?"

Roland shook his head.

"It's a picture," Regina explained. "And different families have different pictures. And different kings and queens have different pictures. Mine is …"

"A apple tree!" Roland crowed. "Like the one in the dining hall!"

"That's right," Regina said with a smile. "So your shield needs a standard." She wiggled her fingers and some crayons appeared on the table. "Why don't you draw your own?"

"What about my job?" Roland asked.

"Well, the job of the bravest, strongest knight is to protect the queen," Regina said, "so you can do that at the same time."

Roland nodded seriously. "Can I practice first?"

Regina chuckled, getting him some extra parchment. "Of course you can. I'm going to be just here; I need to do a bit of reading to find out more about the witch. If you need me, make sure you tell me, okay? I can't read minds."

Roland giggled. "Yes my majesty."

Regina kissed his forehead - she couldn't help it.

By lunchtime, Roland's shield had been decorated with various pictures of arrows and bows and - much to Regina's amusement - apple trees.

"Because I'm your knight," he told her seriously, "so it should be there too."

Regina had agreed, smiling when his stomach grumbled, laughing aloud when he frowned at the offending body part as though it had insulted him.

"Come along, Sir Roland," Regina said. "I think we might need some lunch and I think Granny served it half an hour ago."

To Roland's excitement, rather than the dining hall, Regina took him directly to the kitchens, bypassing the maids to make them both a sandwich.

Tuck poked his head in around then, apologising the intrusion.

"I remembered to feed him," Regina said.

"I can see that," Tuck said. "I just wanted to warn you, he normally takes a nap around mid-afternoon. He'll tell you he's not tired."

"I'm not tired," Roland protested.

Regina's heart clenched. Roland reminded her so much of Henry at this age that it was almost painful. "I'm sure we'll be fine. Thanks for letting me know."

"I don't want to take a nap," Roland said, whining a little.

"Okay," Regina said easily. "Then we won't."

She had learned with Henry that there were some fights it was better to concede.

Roland would, inevitably, crash mid-afternoon on his own, so arguing with him about it now would be pointless and upsetting.

When they had finished their lunch, Regina took him back up to the library.

"How about a story?" She suggested.

"Not for nap-time?" Roland asked, a little suspiciously.

"Not for nap-time," Regina said. "I like stories, don't you?"

"Uh huh," Roland said, happier now. "Papa tells good stories."

"I'm sure he does," Regina said, scanning the shelves. "I'm not very good at making stories up though, so I thought I'd read one from here." She found the book she was looking for and sat down on the window seat, Roland scrambling up beside her. "My daddy used to read this book to me."

"He did?" Roland asked. "Where's your daddy now?"

Regina hesitated, unsure how to explain death to a child, even one who had lost a parent. "He … went away."

"Like Mama?" Roland asked. "Papa says she's in the stars."

"Yes," Regina said, relieved that Roland had answered her question for her. "My daddy's in the stars too."

"Maybe they're friends," Roland said, snuggling up to her.

"Maybe," Regina said softly. And then, to avoid thinking about Daddy any further, she opened the book to her favourite story and began to read.

Like Henry, Roland was a wonderful audience for a story. He looked at the pictures (although they were not quite as whimsical as those in Henry's picture books), asked her questions, and generally enjoyed himself.

As she read, his weight gradually became heavier and heavier against her side, and his questions became fewer and fewer.

She smiled to herself, glancing at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room.

Nap-time, right on schedule.

"My majesty," Roland said sleepily. "If Mama's in the stars, why did Papa say you were Mama?"

Regina froze mid-way through closing the book. "When did he say that, Roland?"

"This morning." Roland yawned. "He said you were a mother."

"Oh, he did, didn't he," Regina murmured. She hadn't realised Roland had been close enough to hear them.

At least he hadn't asked about the Evil Queen.

"I am a mother," Regina said gently. "But I'm not your mama."

"Whose mama are you?" Roland asked.

"Well, Princess Snow's for a start," Regina said.

Roland giggled, a little more alert again. "No, Princess Snow's as old as you. You can't be her mama."

Regina smiled sadly. "Well, I'm not that much older than Princess Snow, you're right. But I'm her stepmother. That means that her mama went to live in the stars and I married her father. He wasn't very kind to me though."

Roland pulled a face. "That's sad."

"And I have a little boy," Regina said softly. "His name is Henry. But he lived in the other realm with us, and when I did the magic to bring us back here, he had to stay behind because magic wouldn't let him come."

"Do you miss him?" Roland asked.

"Very much," Regina whispered. "He loved story time as well."

Roland let out another yawn, snuggling a little closer to her. "Can you marry my papa so you can be my mama too?"

Regina's heart stopped.

Thankfully, in the next second, Roland's breathing had evened out and he was very clearly fast asleep, so she didn't need to think about an answer.

When Robin returned twenty minutes later, Regina still had Roland fast asleep in her arms, stroking his hair absently as she gazed out of the window, humming under her breath.

She glanced up as he approached, pressing a needless finger to her lips.

"It's okay," Robin said softly. "Once he's out, he's out. Thank you."

Regina shook her head, handing the sleeping boy over to his father. "It was nothing, really. He's been an angel."

"Maybe I left you with the wrong child," Robin said.

Regina found herself chuckling. "I had moments like that. People would tell me how well-behaved Henry was and I'd think, 'alright, where were you this morning?'. Everything quiet out there?"

To her concern, Robin hesitated, glancing down at his son.

Clearly, whatever had happened, he didn't want to say anything in front of Roland, asleep or not.

And, well, she had been meaning to get Robin alone for a discussion.

"Put him down for his nap," Regina said, "and meet my in my chambers. We can discuss it there."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Your chambers, milady?"

His tone was perfectly measured, but his gaze flickered over her. Brief as his perusal was, it still sent a shot of heat through her, one that startled her into movement.

"Get your mind out of the forest, thief."

His tone was completely amused as she strode out. "As you wish, milady."

Thankfully, the time it took Robin to put his son to bed, with his men watching over him, afforded Regina enough time to pull herself together.

She hadn't responded to a man in that way for years, not since Graham and - if she was honest with herself - even he had needed to do a bit more than a vague innuendo and a brief heated look.

It was just because it had been a while, she told herself, and Robin - loathed though she was to admit it - was a good looking man.

She was only human after all.

She was not surprised when he let himself in.

"Don't you know how to knock?" Regina asked.

"Well, you did invite me here," Robin said.

"That's not the point," Regina said primly. "I could have been changing."

He faltered, clearing his throat and she turned away with a smirk.

Two could play at that game.

"I take it," she continued, "that everything is not quiet out there."

"No, it is," Robin said, recovering himself. "That's the problem. Four separate families reported missing members. Six people in all. None of them have anything in common with each other. None of them said anything about leaving or going on any kind of trip. They just … vanished."

The blood froze in Regina's veins, all thoughts of flirtation gone in an instant. "Did they cross the protective boundary?"

"I don't know," Robin admitted. "If it was the witch, they must have done. We checked the boundary of the spell. It's definitely still in one piece. And … we did see one of her beasts and it got blasted away by the shield."

Regina relaxed a little; she already knew that the protective spell was in tact, but having it confirmed didn't hurt. "Okay. I assume you reminded them all of the boundary line and to stay away from it?"

"Actually, we told them that you were going to decrease the perimeter by fifty yards," Robin said.

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Am I now?"

Robin shrugged. "Not that I'm aware of. But at least then people will be staying away from the actual edge of the spell."

It was a smart move, Regina had to admit, one that might buy them time to figure out what Zelena was up to.

But then what did she want with peasants?

"If that's all, milady, I should probably go and fill in the prince," Robin said.

"Actually, it's not all," Regina said, retrieving the quiver from her balcony. "These are for you."

"For me," Robin repeated. "Whatever for?"

"You helped me break into the castle," Regina said, aware that the reasoning sounded weak, even to her own ears.

Robin's face told her that he wasn't convinced. "Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful; these are …" he withdrew one of the arrows and hesitated. "Golden."

"Obviously," Regina said dryly. "Not much of a gift otherwise."

"You didn't need my help," Robin said. "And I was repaying a debt."

Regina sighed. "It's a thank you. For your … discretion."

"My discretion?" Robin asked.

"I have not had my stepdaughter fretting around me because I almost took my own sleeping curse," Regina said. "Clearly you didn't tell her."

Robin's brow creased in confusion. "Well, of course I didn't tell her, milady. I haven't told anyone. I doubt you wanted me to see that, it doesn't take a genius to guess that you don't want anyone else knowing."

"Still," Regina said, crossing her arms and wishing that he would just take them and go. "Thank you."

Robin shouldered the quiver, still eyeing her curiously. "Anytime, milady. I can assure you that you can always count on my discretion. With or without a thank you."

Regina nodded, not trusting her voice.

Only when Robin was almost at the door, did she find it again, realising that she should probably warn him …

"Just so you know …" she hesitated.

"Yes?" Robin prompted.

"Roland wanted to know if we could get married so I could be his mama," Regina said.

Robin raised an eyebrow. "I hope that wasn't your idea of a proposal, milady."

Regina rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. I just figured I should tell you in case he brings it up again. I don't want people thinking that I'm trying to … replace her."

"Replace her?" Robin repeated. "Or replace Henry?"

Regina glared at him. "Both."

Robin nodded. "I understand, milady. If he brings it up, I'll explain the ways of the world to him. You may have noticed that Merry Women are few and far between. Mulan is the only one who has stayed with us for any period of time since Marian, and she's not exactly the maternal sort, for all her other attributes. Today is the first time in his memory that he's known what it's like to have a mother around, even if not his mother. I suppose it's natural. If it causes you pain …"

"It doesn't," Regina said hastily. It was a lie, of course; the little reminders of Henry hurt more than she wanted to admit.

But the thought of not having those at all, that this precious child would be taken from her as well …

Well, that was unbearable.

"It doesn't cause me pain," she repeated, trying to keep her voice steady. "But I don't want him to be confused."

"He won't be," Robin said. "He knows his mama's in the stars and that she can't come back. I'll speak to him, Your Majesty, but I know my son. He'll want to stay with you every time we go out now."

Regina couldn't help the soft smile that spread across her face. "Well … I certainly won't argue with him."