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For a moment, Robin was content to sink into her. He was afraid to let her go and this would all be a dream. For months, he'd been haunted by her scent, the way she felt.

He slid his arms around her waist and up until they rested over her shoulders, pulling her as close as he could. Her lips brushed his neck and his bellyached. "Robin—"

"Shh…I just want to hold you a minute." She clung to him as hard as he did. Her heart was pressed to his and he could feel it thumping erratically. Her trembling slowly ceased as his warmth spread through her.

He closed his eyes and buried his face in her hair, he wondered how long she'd be here. If she planned to leave as quickly as she'd appeared. "How long can you stay?" He kissed her temple and pulled back to look in her eyes.

Wearily, she licked her lips and darted her eyes behind him. "We need to talk," she said. It didn't escape him that she swallowed and couldn't look him in the eye. Her hands were slowly sliding down and in front to push him back a step.

"Alright," he said. "Come on, you look like you need to sit down." He led them to the living room and turned on a lamp. The room illuminated in a soft pink and yellow glow against the curtains. Robin sat next to her on the long tan sofa. "What's going on?"

Deciding to keep his distance, he put an arm behind her on the couch and turned toward her but didn't touch. Her hands clenched together, twisting nervously. "I went home," she began.

"Home?"

"Where Simon and Sammy and I lived before. Sidney told me that Rick, someone Simon knows would be there and that he knows where Simon is." He started to look at her without the complication of his feelings. Her face was pale, and her eyes were shadowed. It looked like she hadn't slept in days. "I found him, and I followed him for a few days."

"How did you manage to follow someone and not be seen? I thought there were people looking for you. Are you stupid?" The harshness didn't seem to faze her, but it itched on his skin.

"I wore makeup, a wig, and contacts. I didn't look like myself. I was sitting in Betty's Diner like I had a hundred times before. It felt odd to be there and not be noticed. I was watching him—"

"Hey," he took her shaking hand. "Take a breath, you're gonna hyperventilate. In," he instructed. She simply followed. "Out. Again." It caught in her throat when she inhaled too quickly. "Slower. Damnit, Regina. I said slower."

His patience was wearing thin, he'd never been this forceful with her, but he was on edge and felt she was about to tell him something that would make things worse. It irritated him that he was being a jerk. "I'm okay," she said.

Taking another breath, she relayed the story of her following Rick, running into Kelly and sneaking into a warehouse. "Are you out of your mind? Why the hell would you follow him in? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" His face felt hot, his breath was coming out in puffs.

"Let me finish before you punish me," she said through gritted teeth. It didn't occur to either of them that they were nearly fighting. "When I got inside, I hid in a corner behind some pallets. They didn't know that I was there, and I was careful," she said for his benefit.

Her body started to shake again, he simply put a hand on her shoulder to try and steady her, but it did no good. "Take it easy," he whispered.

Nodding, she looked down at her hands. "I heard him talking to someone and I couldn't place the voice. I knew that I'd heard it before but until I peeked through and saw, I didn't know."

"Who was this Rick guy talking to?"

"Robbie, Simon's brother. They were talking about—" She closed her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut. "They were watching you and Henry. They knew where you were and that I wasn't around. They knew your routine."

That egging feeling in the pit of his gut wasn't just his imagination, he thought. He'd felt like he was being watched, but he didn't want to tell her that.

"Robbie was going on about you and how they were going to—" She swallowed and lifted her head to meet his eyes. "Rick said Simon was paying Robbie to kill you and take Sammy," she finished with dread.

His throat was dry, and he thought of the boys. Taking her hand, he squeezed, "When was this?"

"A few days ago, I'm not finished," she said when he opened his mouth to interrupt again. He sat back, and she tangled her fingers in his and gripped. Hard. "They were talking about money and timeframes. I didn't catch some of it, or I didn't care."

Robin watched her face turn white again, her eyes darken. "Robbie told him he had two days to get the money and Rick started walking away." She whimpered and shut her eyes again. "Robbie lifted the gun and shot it without a blink. Just like that."

Robin gritted his teeth and watched the dread on her face. Tears were in her eyes and one slid down her cheek. Her lips trembling.

"Rick's head snapped back as the bullet went through the back of his neck. That sound—" Her throat caught, and a breath shuddered out as she squeezed her eyes shut. "It sounded like he was chocking for a second and when his body hit the floor, the blood flowed out of him like a spilled glass of milk. I can't stop seeing it," she said and buried her face in her hands.

He drew her to him and wrapped his arms around her shoulders as she sobbed. Feeling gutted, he just held her.

When she was cried out and hollow, he kissed her hair. "Come on, you need to get some sleep. We'll deal with this in the morning."

"Wait," she said. Her head lifted until their eyes met. "I…I couldn't let anything happen to you." Her fingers rested on his cheek. "I had to come back to Sammy and to you."

His throat felt tight, "Come on," he managed and drew her to her feet. He turned out the lamp and led her down the hall to his room. She stood staring at the bed as he closed the door. When he turned, she'd taken off her sweater.

He'd been right about the running outfit, she wore a halter exercise shirt that crossed at her back. He went to her and wrapped his arms around her. He bent his head to kiss her bare shoulder.

Her head tilted back and relaxed against him as his lips brushed her skin. "I've missed you more than I can say," he whispered when his lips brushed her ear. Tingles were spreading down her neck.

His hands slid around her waist and up to cup her breasts, her breath stumbled. "To feel you like this," he hummed.

"Wait," she said weakly. Her hands reached up to take him but rested on them instead.

"No," he said. "I've waited long enough." His thumbs brushed over her breasts and her back arched into them feeling a jolt of pleasure. His mouth clung to her neck as he molded his hands to her hips.

Slowly, his fingers inched under her shirt and peeled it up inch by inch. His fingers brushed lightly along the journey causing her to jerk and tremble. Her arms lifted as he peeled the shirt over her head. He took the tie from her hair and raked his fingers through it loosening it to cascade to her shoulders.

She tried to turn around to face him, but he wrapped an arm around her and held her in place. "Robin," she protested.

"You stay put, I want to touch you until you crumble with need. I want you wanting and weak as I slip into you." His low voice rumbled at the back of her neck. Her stomach tightened, and her legs went weak.

"But, I…" His hands traveled over her, slowly raking his nails up her stomach and under her breasts. His thumbs brushed the curve of her and slid over hardened peaks. Her body jolted and trembled over and over until her weight was against his back.

"Wanting," he repeated. "Shh," he instructed when she tried to protest again. He hooked a thumb into his sweats and shoved them down using his legs and feet to toss them away. He lifted his shirt up and over and tossed it in the same direction. Skin against skin, he walked her forward.

He hooked his thumbs into her leggings and pushed them off her hips, he put a hand on her back to lean her forward as her stomach rested on the bed. He struggled for a beat to get the tight material loose around her thighs and lost a bit of that control.

With impatient hands, he took her shoes and threw them down, ripped off her socks, and finally peeled the leggings away. Looking down at her naked on his bed, made him hot and hard as granite. How had he held on this long? He wondered.

Shedding the last of his layers, he threw his briefs down and mounted her. He closed his mouth over her back and rocked himself against her. The friction was enough to boil his blood and have her writhing. "Turn over," he said. She rolled over and he rolled with her capturing her mouth and ravishing. There was no more patience in him, he needed her. Now.

Her arms came around him and into his hair. His fingers found her wet and plunged. The orgasm flooded her moments later and her body simply went limp. With as much control as he could muster, he gentled the kiss.

His hands gripped her hips and when he slowly sunk his mouth to hers, she wrapped her legs around him. Not yet, he told himself. He drowned in her first. Simply surfacing and sinking with her until he was full of her. "I love you," he murmured against her lips.

Eyes wide and fearful, they filled as he softened the kiss further. Barely a touch against hers, "Don't be scared," he whispered. A tear slid down her cheek as his lips kissed the next away. His fingers linked with hers and he finally slipped into her.

"I love you," he said again and rocked into her.

Robin laid on his stomach and twitched when he felt Regina's body slam into his. In a daze, his memories of her coming back in the night flooded him. Then he heard her moaning and mumbling.

Simply turning his head, he glimpsed out of his tired eyes at her rolling back and forth. Rubbing the tiredness from his eyes, he glanced at the clock and read 3:45 am. With a sigh, he flipped over and grabbed the blanket to cover himself.

He turned to his side and took her shoulder to stop her from rolling off the bed. "Regina," he said to her in a sleeping state. It didn't seem to do much as she continued to moan and mumble. He couldn't tell what her words were, but she was distressed.

"Easy," he said and got a firm grip around her waist. "Wake up," he said. "Come on," he shook her lightly. In her sleep, she jerked her knee up and he barely dodged her before impact. Her knee connected with his thigh and he grunted.

Cursing, he put a hand on her face, "Regina, wake up." Her eyes fluttered open and she jerked awake.

"Oh, God," she said with wide eyes. The fear he'd seen in them hours ago was back. Her eyes squeezed shut and she shuddered out a few breaths.

"Come here," he said and turned her head onto his shoulder. "It was a dream, it's okay."

It took her a moment to wrap around him. "I can't stop seeing it."

"I know, it's okay. I'm here." His hands cascaded up and down her back to soothe. "Let it out," he said.

She put her head down and wept. Her body clung to him and he waited until she was all cried out before he pulled back and took her face in his hand. With the pad of his thumb, he wiped the tears away.

His lips laid softly on hers, once, twice, and lingered on the third. His finger reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm here," he said.

"Robin—" she started to speak and closed her mouth unable to get to words out. "Thank you," she said instead.

Taking her in his arms, he snuggled close, "It's going to be okay. We'll get through this together."

"I don't know where he is, I wanted to find out, but I failed." His eyes rested on the wallpaper lit by the moon filtering through the curtains. "I couldn't find out where he is."

"Shh, calm down. You're trembling." He tucked her closer and wrapped around her. "We'll be careful, and we'll keep an eye out. Would you feel better to go back to your house? I had the window's fixed," he said absently.

"I can't ask you to uproot Roland that way, I've already done that to Henry. I can't do it again," she said and pulled back face him. Robin turned on his side as she shimmied away.

"So, what do you want to do? How long can you stay?" He couldn't stop touching her, so he linked his fingers with hers. Fidgeted with hers as she looked at him with haunted eyes.

"I don't know, when I was in California I ran into an old friend. She knows that I was there and saw me right before I found Rick." Her throat closed, and she closed her eyes to gather her wits.

"Who is this old friend? Can they help?"

"No. Kelly was someone from my past who blames me for her ex, Michael, running out on her. He was in love with me, but I never did anything she accuses me of."

"Which is?"

She tilted her chin up, "Kelly thinks we had an affair, but the truth is I never went near him. Simon would've had my skin."

His teeth gritted at the thought of the scars on her skin and the fact that he'd never forget who put them there.

"I knew he was seeing our neighbor and l let her believe it was me because I couldn't prove it. Kelly has always been the jealous type and she hated me on principle. I didn't care much but when I saw her she brought it up again out of spite."

He tightened his grip on her fingers, "So, what's next?"

"That's the thing, I don't know. Sidney can't help me anymore. He was questioned about a break-in at his place and they found some of my old identities. I found out this morning."

"You're on your own," he said. It was obvious that she was at a loss. "Stay here and let me help."

"It's not that simple," she said and met his eyes. "I've never been in a position where I didn't know how to run. Now, I'm stuck, and it terrifies me."

"Lean on me, Regina. We have the boys and we have each other. If Simon shows up, we'll deal with it. You have friends here. You have me," he said and kissed her temple.

Tears came to her eyes again, "Robin, I—" Her voice caught, and she buried her face into his shoulder. "I didn't want this," she sobbed. "I just wanted to protect Henry and to get away and now—" The tears came more freely.

"Shh, it's gonna be okay," he soothed. "We'll get through this and I'll do my best to shield the boys from anything that would hurt them. Hey," he took her face to meet his eyes.

"You'll go back to work, and I'll keep you close. It'll be okay, and we'll do our best not to let people know where Sabrina is. I promise."

"If they searched for Sidney's place, they may know where I am. They'll arrest me, and I'll never get out. Simon did his best to implicate me. They'll never believe me."

"How do you know that? You never gave them a chance to question you. You ran, and you kept running. No, listen to me," he interrupted her. "You didn't do anything and him using your credit cards and the car doesn't prove you did a damn thing. Do you hear me?"

Nodding, "I'm scared."

"I know that, but you have to use that tough skin I know you have. You have to use that anger I see in your eyes and push it to the surface. Get mad. Use it to your advantage. Don't let him corner you. Do the right thing and turn yourself in, if you have to."

"I can't do that. What about Henry? What about—"

"What about me? Don't be stupid. I love you, but I'll be damned if you use me as an excuse. Let's do this the right way. I'll be there to support you along the way. I'll take care of Henry."

She met his eyes, "It's still not that simple."

"Why do you keep saying that? What aren't you telling me? You said you'd be upfront and honest with me. So, tell me whatever it is that has that look in your eyes."

"I'm scared," she began.

"Get over it," he said. Her eyes shot to his and he saw the anger building. "That's right. Get mad, Regina. Stop swallowing it. It's there, now let it out. Stop being so damn polite. We're past that."

"Fine. You want me to get mad? I'll get mad," she said and pushed herself up to sit. "I'm pissed that I'm hiding out like an animal. I resent that I've had to hide my son from a man who gets his thrills by killing women."

"What else? Keep going," he said in a low and growling tone. "You're not done. Keep going," he said and shoved her side to instigate that anger bubbling. He tried to ignore the fact that she was sitting there naked as a jaybird and unaware of how attractive she was. It irritated him.

That shove pushed her over the edge and she shot up from the bed and threw her pillow and knocked over the clock and lamp on the floor. It clattered but only thudded on the thick carpet. Robin was glad it wouldn't wake up the boys.

"I can't be myself when I all I want is my life back. I want to have my son be comfortable, not fearful of every goddamn thing that's around every corner. I can't stand that I'm scared of everything. I can't stand it."

Her hands were gripped on the edge of the footboard rail and her eyes met his. "More than anything else, I'm pissed that I'm in love with you."

"Why?"

"Because you deserve better than this."

"Bullshit." He stormed up and around the bed to take her arms in his grip. "That's a stupid thing to say. I deserve you and I know who really are. I don't need fake names and fake hair to see who you are in here." He put his hand to her heart.

Closing her eyes, she rested her head on his chest. "How did this happen?"

"I don't ask those questions, I just know what is and what is, is that I love you."

Her head lifted and there were tears on her lashes, "I'm pregnant."

His eyes widened, and his mouth gaped open. His mind simply went blank.