10 Years Before…

"You can't be serious."

Mal sat on the edge of her bed, her blue eyes wide with disbelief as she watched Regina dig through her closet.

Regina sighed, still not turning around, unable to look her best friend in the eye. She knew that Mal would be disappointed. Harvard had been their plan, their dream for years, ever since they were kids. They were always supposed to get the best grades, earn the best scholarships and ride off to Cambridge where Regina's manipulative mother and Mal's abusive stepfather couldn't reach them anymore. Freedom through intellect. That had always been the plan… and now she was bailing.

Gathering her courage she finally turned around. "I'm sorry Mal… but his father's dying. What else am I supposed to do?"

"Tell him to wait!" Mal's blonde hair fell past her ear, as she desperately through her hands in the air. "Come to Harvard, visit on weekends, call him every day and check up…"

"It's not the same as being here Mal and you know it." Regina tiredly shook her head. "I can't leave him. Not now."

The anger and indignation was clear on Mal's face as she crossed her arms and looked away. There was no point in arguing, she'd realized that. And years of planning had gone down the drain. Regina bit her lips before moving to sit next to her best friend. She stays silent for a moment, staring down towards the floor at her bare feet next to Mal's weathered tennis shoes.

"Please don't be mad at me," she whispered.

"I'm not mad," Mal replied, shaking her head. Worry was clear in her eyes as she looked over at Regina. "But what are you gonna do? Are you gonna stay in this house with your mother?"

"Of course not," said Regina, her eyes glancing toward the door, silently worried that her mother might be listening through the wood. "I have money saved, two grand. I'll get a place in town or stay with Robin."

Mal rolled her eyes. "And do what? Go to community college and waitress on the side?"

"A lot of people go to community college."

"Not people as smart as you," Mal reminded her. "Not people who can have Harvard."

Regina sighed, unable to come up with a reply. Going to that two building community college up the road had been her biggest fear for so long, it actually haunted her nightmares but now she had something scarier to worry about. Not being there for Robin when his father died.

"You're actually gonna do this… for him?"

"Yeah," she breathed. "I love him. And this is what you do for people you love. You sacrifice."

Mal nodded in acceptance, sighing as she leaned over to rest her chin on Regina's shoulder. "You won't leave me up there by myself for long, will you?"

"Of course not, we have plans," whispered Regina, leaning her head against her friend's. "I may love Robin but you and I gonna rule the world one day, and there's no one I'd rather do that with."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Regina adjusted her baseball cap as she stood on the bleacher, cheering for Ursula as she ran up to bat. Next to her, Mal had her hands cupped around her mouth as she shouted, encouraging the women to destroy the men on the field. The game had just entered its third inning with the boys ahead and the two of them sat in the front row of the bleachers, just like they had in high school.

Despite her reluctance to even attend this weekend, Regina had to admit that it was easier than she thought to get wrapped up in the nostalgia of it all. Especially when she heard Mal yelling with same unnecessary ferocity as she did in high school. Regina chuckled, sitting back down as her old friend ordered the women to rip the men apart before she hopped onto the diamond to do it herself.

Not many people could say they'd been friends with someone their whole life, but she and Mal were they exception. They'd met on the first day of kindergarten. A group of kids had cornered Mal, teasing her about her old, beaten clothes and cheap shoes. Regina had told them off and she and Mal had friends ever since. They were always each other's first call. When Mal realized that she was a lesbian in the eighth grade Regina had been the first one she told. And when Regina had gotten her heart broken, it was Mal who'd convinced her that she'd get past it. They'd gotten each other through everything. And they would get each other through this weekend.

Mal plopped into the seat next to her, still giggling with glee. "God, I missed going to softball games!"

"I can see that." Regina shook her head, amused. "You know I truly fear what will happen if one of your future kids is an athlete."

Grinning wickedly, Mal tilted her head in thought. "Yeah, they'll be far less embarrassed if they pick up an instrument instead."

Regina smirked at the thought of Mal whooping it up as some junior cello competition. She knew Mal had been looking into becoming a mother for a while now and personally, she couldn't be more thrilled. It was something Mal had wanted since she'd made partner at her law firm and she'd always been so good with Henry. Regina had no doubt that Mal would make an excellent mother.

"Speaking of children," said Mal. "Where's yours?"

Regina gestured toward the edge of the outfield where her son was playing catch. "He's over there. I think he's teaching Roland how to throw."

Mal narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better look at her godson and the little boy he was playing catch with. She took one look at the smaller boy's curly hair and raised her eyebrows, intrigued. "Oh… That's Robin's son?"

Regina licked her lips before nodding. "Yes. He's six."

"Cute," replied Mal. She paused before asking, "And does that mean his father is nearby?"

"No," Regina swiftly answered. "He came with David and Mary-Margaret, who are just as sickeningly in love as they were in high school, just so you know."

"Unsurprising," said Mal, with a smirk. "But it's unfortunate Robin isn't here. I thought you'd be itching to see him again after last night."

Regina bristled at her assumption. "Now why would I want to do that?"

"Because you still want to talk to him," she replied. "You still need to talk to him."

"There's nothing left to say," she mumbled, shaking her head. "It's been ten years, we have both moved on."

"Have you now?" Mal rested her chin in her hand, staring at her with inquiring blue eyes. "There's no reason to talk to him at all?"

Regina glared at her but remained silent. Over the years, Mal had always insisted that what happened between her and Robin still haunted her, that she needed to confront him, let everything out, the whole truth. Until she did she'd never be able to let it go.

"What's the point, Mal?" she said, shrugging her shoulder. "Do you think after ten years, we'll just have one talk and everything will be forgiven? That all the pain from the past will wash away and I'll just fall into his arms again? I don't want to be with him anymore, Mal. And even if I did, I have a son to consider. The whole scenario isn't even worth the energy it takes to fantasize about it."

Mal sighed, straightening her back. She'd driven Regina into a rant and knew well enough not to push further. "Fine don't talk to him but for the record, I don't buy for a second that he wasn't part of the reason you came back to town."

"He wasn't," Regina said, trying to put as much conviction in her voice as possible. "I came to meet up with old friends and visit with my father. I will be perfectly happy if I go this whole weekend without seeing Robin Locksely again."

Still looking towards the outfield, a grin broke out on Mal's face as she started to laugh. Regina narrowed her eyes. "Why are you laughing?"

"Because nothing ever works out for you," she replied, pointing toward the field.

Regina followed her finger, her eyes widening when she saw Robin Locksely shaking hands with her son.

"Oh… damn it."