ATTENTION: THE AUTHOR IS POSTING THE LAST CHAPTER ON MAY 5. TO THANK ALL THOSE WHO HAVE READ HER STORY, SHE IS ALLOWING THE ENTIRE STORY TO BE PUBLISHED UNTIL MAY 22.

THIS BOOK OR ANY PORTION THEREOF MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM WITHOUT PERMISSION. THE SCANNING, UPLOADING, AND DISTRIBUTION OF THIS BOOK VIA THE INTERNET OR VIA ANY OTHER MEANS WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER IS ILLEGAL AND PUNISHABLE BY LAW.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN LONGER than she could remember, Regina entered her apartment without having to sit down and work. A smile lit her face as she plugged in her Christmas tree, the lights in the window, and the snowman family near the door. The room smelt like cinnamon, honey, apples, and pine. All her decorations brought a calmness to her. Feeling the holiday spirit only made her vacation that much more enjoyable.

She'd given Gold one day of the week before she left the office. For three weeks, she thought with nerves dancing under her skin, she was on vacation. There were no meetings, no conference calls, no court dates, no negotiations, no work. Most importantly, she thought, no late-night preparation.

Hanging her coat, she toed her heels off, placed them on the shoe rack, turned on the lamps in her apartment. To fill the silence, she took the remote and tuned into the local radio station. For the month of December, they would play only Christmas music. While it would annoy some people, it only solidified the holiday spirit she was carting around.

Taking a vacation hadn't ever been on her list, until now. Luckily, she'd stored up enough vacation days to receive payment for her visit to London. The visit was going to bring mixed results, she knew. In the kitchen, she put a kettle of water on, thumbed through the mail she'd brought in. Opening the freezer, she pulled out the meat for dinner.

Her mind wandered, worried, contemplated the visit to London. Robin and she would be staying in a hotel, the reservation had already been placed. They would support one another in their respective visits. Robin needed her when he visited his father, she needed him when she visited her mother. It was a test, she knew. A test of mixing their emotional trauma.

Pulling out the vegetables, potatoes, and pasta for the meal, she set to work chopping. Robin was coming over for dinner, she mused. It was the first time that he was prepared to stay the night. He had before, in moments of exhaustion, of trauma. But, she'd yet to invite him with full knowledge of what it meant.

Their relationship had started off rocky, a bit unsteady, and was budding. It was developing nicely, she smiled. They'd just said the big L to each other, she recalled. The first major step and fear of a relationship. Her heart expanded, beat erratically, and she felt nervy when she was near him. Like touching him could heat her blood and turn her body to buzz.

It was all new and she'd finally opened herself to all the feelings she was having rather than keeping them locked inside. It took a lot, she thought setting aside her chopped vegetables. Starting on cubing the potatoes, she hummed along with the music. Her excitement and nerves were a little hard to handle.

In the morning, she was prepared to watch the parade alongside Katherine and Roland. Seeing him for the first time in months, filled her with anticipation. It also made her realize that she needed to steel herself from getting her hopes up. He'd been what she wanted, what she had planned. The blow of knowing she'd been denied had been the biggest disappointment since Daniel's death.

Over the years, she thought putting the potatoes aside, there were many defining moments in her life. Many times, in her life when she'd had to be strong, pick herself up off the floor, and move forward. Her mother leaving, the death of Daniel, the death of her father, and the hope of being Roland's mother being yanked away.

Now, she had a chance to be in Roland's life, she had a hopeful and budding romance, she was going to attempt to fix her family, and she was, with fingers crossed, going to advance in her career. It took many defining and hard moments in her life to get to where she was now.

Right now, she was putting vegetables in a steamer, potatoes on the small grill on the counter, and humming to Christmas music. All in preparation for a man she loved to walk through the door and share a meal with her. There wasn't any better than it could be, she mused. Despite the pending hardships Robin and she faced, they'd face it together.

THE BAKERY SMELLED HEAVENLY, Robin thought as he entered. Picking up a loaf of French bread and a bottle of chardonnay was on his list before heading to Regina's. Standing in line, he browsed the menu written in chalk covering the forward wall. He'd picked up several pounds of Menudo for clients over the last year.

When he stepped up to the register, Gino, the owner greeted him, "Robin. What will it be?"

"Hey, Gino. Give me a French loaf, a dozen fudge bars, and some of those apple fritters," he said pointing through the glass dome. Apple fritters, he thought, were Regina's favorite treat.

"You got it, how's the job?" As Gino turned to wrap up the food, he stepped aside to wait.

"It's good. I'm taking a little vacation. Going back to London for Christmas. Any plans?"

Gino turned and held out the bags, "Sounds like fun, I'm here with family. We'll be open in the morning," he beamed. Like always, Robin thought.

"Merry Christmas, Gino. Tell Maria, I said so."

Gino tipped his chef's hat, "Will do."

Robin smiled as he walked out into the chilled air. The wind, thankfully, had died down in the last two days. Walking down to the liquor store, he walked into the small intimate, Celebrate. The lights were dim, shelves held product, coolers with pained glass lined the walls. Bottles of wine were stacked on a rack in the corner.

Taking his pick, he paid and smiled at the woman behind the counter. "Hey, Ash. How's business?"

With her blonde curls pinned up, her smile bright, she said, "It's been pretty great. Hot date?"

Robin grinned, "You bet. Merry Christmas."

"You too," she called. "Tell David to call me."

He waved on the way out, "I'll do that," he said with a wink. Ashley had a harmless crush on his friend. He tried to avoid giving a committal answer each time he saw her.

As a last-minute decision, he stopped into a flower shop and picked up a bouquet of a mixture of red and white roses wrapped in Christmas ribbon and baby's breath.

Armed, he gathered all his goods after parking and knocked on the door to Regina's apartment. He only waited a minute before she appeared with a smile. Stepping back, she let him in. "Hi."

"Sorry, I'm late," he said walking into the kitchen and setting down the food and wine. "I'll be right back," he said before leaning down and kissing her lips.

When he returned with his overnight bag and the flowers, she had her back to him while something sizzled on the skillet. "Regina," he said softly.

She turned and her eyes went dewy, her smile turned to a grin, "They're gorgeous, thank you." Rewarding him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her head to sink into a warm kiss. "Hungry?"

"In more ways than one," he laid his mouth back to hers. "I think we can prepare for one, wait on the other," he said squeezing her sides and walking to the counter. He opened the wine to breathe, took out the bread. "Fresh from the bakery," he announced.

"Perfect. Dinner is nearly ready," she stirred the pasta.

"I got a few treats," he said behind her. "I figured you could take them for Roland."

Turning, she glanced at the fudge and fritters, "You got fritters."

"Yea, I may have had you in mind. Still, boys like chocolate, right?"

He took out a knife and cut the loaf into even slices. The steam from the bread filled the air, the aroma made his stomach growl.

"Good idea. Gold pulled me into his office before I left," she said.

Putting the slices on a plate, he set them on the table draped in white. A candle in the center made him smile. "About?"

When she turned, he watched her face and tried to figure her mood. Her eyes were bright, her lips were curved and ready for a smile. Glancing down, he saw her feet were bare, her jeans loose. He narrowed his eyes when he realized she was wearing one of his t-shirts. A t-shirt he'd specifically looked for when packing for London, he noted.

"Well," she said putting spices on the table. "Peter Mueller called," she began. He watched the grin spread over her face, "I got it."

"You got it?" Pride fisted into his gut, he watched her beautiful face bloom.

"I got it," she said leaping into his arms. He lifted her, twirled her in a circle as she laughed.

"I'm so proud of you," he said putting her on her feet. Taking her face in his hands, he kissed her. "I knew you could do it. This is big, Regina. God, this is great."

"I'm so happy. I almost passed out when he told me," she admitted. "I wanted to know, and the waiting was killing me. If I'd had to go to London and not know, I wouldn't be able to relax. Now that I know, I can enjoy myself. I'm so happy about this."

"You should be. You did it," he said kissing her nose. "How are you going to start?"

Shaking her head, she kissed him silently. "I just want to enjoy these three weeks, then I'll think about it. Can we put work away? It's big for me, Robin. I've never taken a vacation. Let's enjoy ours."

Nodding, he smiled, "I can do that. I can't wait for you to meet my parents. To see you in the same room with them." He nuzzled his face into her hair, "I want to show you my stomping grounds, tell you my story."

"I can't wait to hear it," she kissed his cheek, his lips. "Let's eat, I'm starving."

LATER WHEN DINNER WAS eaten, the dishes were washed, and they were laying in bed, she felt content. They'd shared a meal, enjoyed each other's company. They didn't talk about work, for once. Instead, they'd talked about Roland.

With the white lights lining the window, a small Santa Clause lamp in the corner, and the muted television, lights illuminated around them in a soft glow. Tucked under the duvet, they leaned back against the pillows, fingers linked, and bodies close.

"Tell me about him," he said softly.

"He's amazing," she said wistfully. "He'll be five soon, he has the deepest brown eyes, dimples that make his smile so much deeper. He likes robin hood," she laughed. "I bought him a cape, he wore it everywhere. I found this bow and arrow costume piece."

"That was my favorite fairy tale," he said. "I dressed up as him for Halloween more times than I can count when I was ten. My buddies ragged on me hard for it," he remembered.

"Really? How cute," she teased.

"Not at ten," he argued. "I went around with the power rangers, they kept telling me to look for Maid Marian," he laughed. "That was the last time I dressed like him."

"A shame did you ever find her," she raised a brow with a teasing smile.

"I did," he smirked. "Our neighbor at the time. I wasn't into girls then, but I had to buck up, so I kissed her."

Laughing, she asked, "How long did your buddies hound you for it?"

Shaking his head, he squeezed her hand, "Too long. It's still a running joke. Especially when I called her milady," he rolled his eyes. "They call me 'hood' and it annoys me," he admitted. "Anyway, tell me more about Roland."

Turning, she kissed him, "Nice dodge," she said against his lips. Pressing her lips to his again, she lingered. Resting her head on the pillow facing him, she continued. "I took him to the park around the corner, he loved climbing trees. The jungle gym was his favorite place to go. He loved comic books, s' mores, and camping."

"Typical boy," he said.

"Yea," she said as she relaxed under his touch. His arm draped over her, caressed her back lightly under her shirt along her skin. "I never got to take him camping, but he talked about it. He wanted to go fishing. I planned on it," she said getting choked up. Clearing her throat, she said, "There's a river west of Austin. Perfect spot for him. They even had a playground."

"Tough on you to talk about him," he said.

Regina curved her lips into a fake smile, "A little. Until I was denied for the adoption, I didn't know how much I'd wanted it. I knew it would hurt, but until then, I didn't know how much."

"I'm really sorry," he soothed.

Knuckling a tear away, she shrugged, "I'm really looking forward to seeing him in the morning. If I can see him now and again, I think it'll be enough."

"No," he said. Her eyes met his. He understood and a little too clearly. "It won't," he finished. "Did you and Daniel plan on having children?"

Her eyes dropped to his chest, "Once," she said somberly. "It ended in a fight," she recalled. When he only stared, she explained. "A few months before his heart attack, we talked about it. Obviously later down the road. We'd just gotten engaged, it was a conversation we needed to have."

"Naturally," he said.

"At the time, I wasn't sure if I wanted to have children. I was young, hadn't finished college, and I wasn't sure where we'd be. So, I said no."

"Wrong answer for him," he guessed.

"Exactly," she said feeling relieved that he seemed to understand. "He said that he wanted to start as soon as we married. I told him that I wanted to wait. To see how it went." The memory wasn't as painful as she remembered.

"Did it come up again?"

"Yea, but we ended up avoiding the conversation because it usually circled around the same thing. I wasn't sure I wanted it to change. I didn't really think I was cut out to be a mother. Then, Roland."

He soothed her by rubbing her back, "So, you changed your mind."

"It looks like it," she shrugged. "Roland is a sweetheart. He made me happy and I know he will. Katherine is my friend and if I can put up some boundaries, I hope it'll stay that way."

"Do you really want to live like that? Peripheral mother?"

"I'm not his mother," she argued.

"But you want to be, I can see it. Every time you say his name, I an see the pain mixed in with the joy," he said. "I'm sorry you have to feel that."

Shrugging, she said, "I plan on making the time we have worth it and memorable."

"I'll help make sure it is," he smiled. "So, I guess I have my answer to that question."

"What question?" She met his eyes.

"The kids' question, we'll get to some other need to know questions. Later," he said kissing her softly. He lifted his head, lowered into another. A deeper and longer kiss rolled her heart and tightened her core. "I figure we could practice," he said teasingly biting into her lower lip. Rolling atop her, he grinned down at her.

"Excuse me?" Her heart pounded in her chest. "That's hilarious," she said feeling panicked.

His hands cascaded down her arms, up her back, down to her hips, down her legs peeling away her jeans. "Oh, I don't know about funny," he began when her breath shuddered. "This is a serious matter." He tossed the material to the floor. "Sex is always a serious matter," he continued to undress her.

"Stop it," she said pushing at his hands. "Robin," she chastised.

Taking her hands, he pinned them above her head, lowered his head to sink into a kiss. As he pulled back, his teeth grazed her lower lip, she felt dizzy with arousal. "I said practice," he said with an unsteady voice. Lowering his head, he drowned her in another kiss. "I intend to practice, a lot," he whispered against her lips.

Regina saw something in his eyes change, between arousal and teasing, she wasn't sure which. Wrapping her legs around him, she shifted under him, plunged her hands into his hair bringing his mouth back to hers. In between kisses, she punctuated her words. "I…think…we…can…do…that," she clung to him in a deep kiss.

"You drive me insane," he said closing his mouth over her neck biting down. She moaned and bucked her hips. "I'll give you anything you want," he said sinking into a kiss.

In a shocking wave of lust, she hooked her legs with his, rolled them so she could straddle his lap, and leaned down fusing her lips to his. "Touch me," she sighed. He shoved up to a seated position, yanked her shirt up and over her head, crushing his mouth to hers. She felt his fingers unsnap her bra, the fabric slid from her in a fast jerk.

His rough hands grabbed her, ran over her body leaving tingles, tangled in her hair. He took the kiss from sensual to needy and head fast into frantic. He possessed her body, undressed them in less than two minutes. His hand slid between her thighs, he took her up roughly and quickly, she could barely catch her breath.

When she could breathe again, he slid his fingers along her, sunk into her, and took her up again. Her breath whooshed out of her lungs, her core tightened and released, her head spun. When her back hit the mattress, he shoved her knees back and drove into her. Her body trembled, she closed around him, and he started to move.

Slow and steady at first, long languid strokes, he lost patience quickly, she noted. He crushed his mouth to hers, she wrapped around him as he moved into her. When he lifted his head, he pulled back, "Let's try something new," he said. He gripped her hips, turned her over.

Regina's hands fisted on the sheets, her breath gasped when felt his knees straddle her hips before plunging into her from behind. As he moved into her, he bent down, and she felt his teeth close over her shoulder. "Do that again," she moaned.

He did and slid his fingers into hers, she fisted their fingers to the bed. When he rocked into her, she buried her face into the pillow to muffle her cries. As he moved, she shivered. Her body shook, quaked, and as she peaked, he released one of her hands, ripped the pillow from under her, and tossed it.

"I wanna hear you," his breath shuddered. He moved into her over and over, when she began to shake and sob, he shoved his hand under her, hooked around her hip, and slid his fingers along her and in rough circular friction, drove her to the peak. Then took his own fall into bliss.

They lay weak and sated when she turned her head to look at him, his hands were rested on his chest, he was looking up at the ceiling. His chest rising and falling trying to calm his breath. He turned his head to meet her eyes, "What do you say we take a bath, come back to bed, do that again?"

Laughing, she closed her eyes, tried to clear her frazzled brain, "I think you're nuts."

She felt his body shift, his warmth surrounded her, "I'm nuts about you."

"Mmm," she said feeling the fatigue fill her body.

"We'll nap, we'll take that bath, and we'll do it again," he said into her hair. "I can't get enough."

She heard him through the fog, the sleepy fog of her brain. "'kay," she mumbled.

"I love you, baby."

Her lips curved in sleep.