Adding Ivy's blood to the protection spell certainly made Regina feel far better, but it was only ever going to be a stop-gap measure.

In theory, no one could break blood magic, but Zelena had out-manoeuvred Regina at every turn so far, so she was unwilling to rely entirely on that.

The war council agreed, gathering on a weekly basis to discuss the situation.

'Weekly', Regina felt, was overkill in some way, since each week the discussion was more or less the same - no one had any new information.

This morning, however, Grumpy appeared and everyone perked up, knowing that he had been liaising with the fairies, who had left the castle in order to search for a solution.

"Grumpy," David greeted. "Tell me you found something."

Grumpy sighed. "I've been to Blue, Tink, all the fairies. They've been scouring the forest for enchanted items to destroy her, but they got zilch. They say she's just too powerful."

"It's happening again," Snow whispered. "I'm about to give birth and an evil sorceress is threatening the future of my child."

"We've got three months still," Belle said gently.

"And to be fair," Regina said, a little sharply, "the first time, I was threatening you. Everyone else just became collateral damage."

Even as Snow gave her an apologetic smile, Grumpy snorted. "Remind me again why we forgave her?"

"Because I'm helping," Regina said, offended. "Frustrating as it is for me to remember, Snow, you had a head start to defeat me last time. How?"

"We were warned," David said.

"By Rumplestiltskin," Snow added.

Regina thought for a second. She had, in fact, already known that, that Rumple had been playing both sides from the beginning; she just hadn't thought of him as any kind of answer to the problem, given his current situation. "Well, maybe he can warn you again. Zelena strikes me as the kind to brag, especially since one of the reasons she hates me is because Rumple used me to cast his curse instead of her. She wants to impress him."

"Wait!" Grumpy protested. "You want to sneak into Rumple's castle where he's being held captive by the wicked witch? The name's Grumpy, not Stupid."

Robin coughed, covering up a snicker.

"You're right," Snow said slowly, "it is stupid. But for our child …"

"We'll do whatever it takes," David finished.

"Heartwarming," Regina said dryly. Clearly it would be down to her to keep a level head. "He's trapped in his own castle. Belle, you were a prisoner there."

"I was less of a prisoner than you think," Belle said sharply (for her, at least). "You broke in a few times though."

"I didn't break in," Regina said. "He let me think I was, but he wanted me there, so he could guide me towards the curse. The only time that might not have been true was after you left, but he practically left the doors open in case you wanted to come home, even after he thought you were dead."

"After you told him I died, you mean," Belle said.

Regina sighed. "Yes. And I'm sorry, Belle; really I am. But the fact remains that you know that castle better than anyone else here."

"Yes," Belle conceded. "But breaking in? I would have no idea how."

"Luckily," Robin said," I do. I broke in there once before. The castle has a lot of traps, and deadly ones."

"Not more deadly than my magic," Regina said hastily - it was bad enough that Snow was going to insist on coming along; she needed Robin to stay safe.

"They are if you don't see them coming," Robin said.

"Well, maybe I'm okay with taking my chances," Regina retorted.

"Aright," Snow said loudly, "you may be, but we're not. He's coming."

And so Regina - reluctantly - broke into enemy territory with her pregnant stepdaughter, her foolhardy stepson-in-law, and her unknowing soulmate.

And after all that, Rumple wasn't much help at all.

Seeing her former mentor in the state he'd found himself in was unnerving in the least - whether it was the merge with Neal or Zelena's control, he was clearly not in his right mind.

In fact, the only useful information they got was that Zelena could only be stopped by light magic.

Since it was obvious that fairy magic wasn't enough, that still didn't help them.

It also didn't explain why Zelena wanted Snow's baby, aside from the fact that his or her magic could be light, but Regina wasn't convinced that was the reason.

Once she was out of her corset, she dismissed Ivy, not feeling much up for company.

Not even five minutes after Ivy left her, the doors opened again.

"I see you've forgotten how to knock again," Regina said in greeting. "I'm not really dressed for company."

"My apologies, Your Majesty," Robin said, not sounding particularly sorry at all, but at the very least averting his gaze, "but the last time this happened, you told me to tell you to cut it out in future. Where to shove it, I believe were your exact words, but I'm afraid I don't actually know what that means."

Regina pulled a face. "I did say that." She cast a quick glance over her attire - she was wearing her nightgown, but in true Enchanted Forest style, it was hardly immodest.

In fact, she had evening gowns that showed more skin.

Deciding that she didn't need to cover herself up, she rose from her chair. "Is that why you're here then?"

"No," Robin said, "but I would like an explanation."

Regina sighed. "I did it again, didn't I?" She didn't need to ask - she knew that she had been particularly difficult during the trip.

Aside from anything else, she had insulted him for saving her from one of Rumple's traps, rather than thanking him.

"Yes, you did," Robin said, finally at least sounding frustrated with her, "and quite frankly, Regina, it's not fair."

"I know." Regina admitted. "If it weren't for you, we would never have managed to get into that castle, at least not without some serious injuries."

"So what's going on?" Robin asked. "You said yourself that we're friends. Why can't you just tell me what's bothering you, rather than biting my head off and hiding behind your anger?"

Regina winced, once again reminded how he could see straight through her. "It's not that easy."

"Why not?" Robin asked. "It can't all be something that will put me in danger. Don't look at me, if that's easier."

Regina sat down at her dressing table again, half wishing that she hadn't removed her make-up before he arrived.

Bare-faced and dressed-down, her only remaining defence was her hair, still up in its elaborate curls, but it gave her something to do with her hands, so she began to remove the pins.

"I didn't want you to come with us," she admitted. "I was worried about you."

"I can take care of myself," Robin said, his voice a little softer.

"I know." Regina flinched, as one of the pins tangled in her hair and resisted removal. "Dammit."

Robin's hand covered hers, stopping her from blindly tugging. "Allow me."

Reluctantly, Regina lowered her arms, letting him gently disentangle the pins. His fingers scratched tenderly against her scalp, sending frissons of pleasure through her body.

She should tell him to stop, push him away, but she couldn't help melting into his touch.

"Do you know what I think?" Robin murmured.

"What's that?" Regina asked.

"I thought that you were avoiding me because I made you uncomfortable with what I said," Robin said. "But it's not that at all, is it? You've been avoiding me because you feel the same way."

Regina's breath caught, but she still didn't move, allowing him to continue combing his fingers through her hair, even though she was sure there were no more pins. "If you were right," she said slowly, "why would I avoid you?"

"Because it scares you, I assume," Robin said.

Regina tried to scoff, but her heart was racing too fast for it to be particularly effective. "If you were right …"

"I am," Robin said, with a confidence that should get under her skin (and did, but not in the way she expected). "If I wasn't, you'd have said that. Actually, if I wasn't, you'd have set me on fire by now."

"Maybe I'm just too fond of Roland," Regina grumbled, standing up to face him. "Robin, if you were right …"

"Tell me I'm not," Robin challenged. "If I'm wrong, tell me that. Look me in the eye and tell me that I'm wrong. That I've imagined every moment that's passed between us, every time you've let me in, every look you've tried to hide. Tell me I'm wrong and I will walk away and never mention this again."

She should do just that - it might hurt him now, but it was for the best in the long run - but her voice failed her, catching in her throat as she met his eyes, intense blue boring into her soul, reminding her just why she tried not to hold sustained eye contact with this man.

"You are an exceptionally powerful sorceress," he said, brushing his fingers against her cheek. "If you didn't want me here, I wouldn't be."

Her gaze flickered to his mouth, a movement she tried to hide, but his lips quirked in a smirk and she knew he'd seen it.

And then his lips were on hers, soft and warm, tender but firm. For a second, her mind went blank, all concerns vanishing, absorbed into his touch as his arms enveloped her.

His hand flattened against the small of her back, pulling her against his chest. Someone moaned, breaking the silence, and she stiffened, pushing against his shoulders, suddenly brought back to reality.

Robin released her immediately, causing her heart to ache a little. If only …

He cleared his throat. "My apologies," he said, a little stiffly. "I overstepped."

"If you were right," Regina said, before he could say anything else, "it would be a really bad idea. Zelena promised to destroy everything I care about. If you were right, that would put you near the top of that list." She caught his gaze and held it. "So you understand why you can't be right, don't you?"

Robin's eyes softened. "I do. But if I was right, I'd point out that, once again, I can take care of myself."

Regina turned away, closing the drapes with a flick of her hand. If Zelena had a way of watching, it would do nothing to deter her, but it made her feel better. "I was selfish with Daniel. I knew how Mother would react if she found out, but I convinced myself that I could outsmart her and hide it. I wanted to be with him and I told myself that the danger wasn't real. That ended with his dead body in my arms. True love's kiss is useless when the other person's heart has been crushed to dust."

"Regina …" Robin began.

"I couldn't protect Daniel," Regina said softly. "I can protect you."

Robin took a step towards her, reaching out to touch her face again. "Regina …"

"Please," Regina said, not even caring when her voice cracked. "Let me protect you."

"If I was right," Robin said softly, "when Zelena's been dealt with … will you let me in?"

Regina chewed her lower lip. "If you still want me."

Robin's face lit up in a smile that had his dimples on full display and almost had her throwing caution to the wind and throwing herself at him. "Always, milady."

I do have a smutty one-shot set after this chapter in which Regina dreams that their encounter went differently. I just need to tidy it up and then it will be added to Ohana in Private if anyone's interested.