A/N: Two updates in two days! I'm even surprising myself!
10 years before…
Regina crept up the stairs of her front porch, trying to keep them from creaking. Their appointment with the doctors had run longer than expected so now she was late. It was barely after six but she knew if her mother caught her sneaking in late she'd be pissed - and drunk. God she didn't want to deal with that. Still, it was good that she went - even if Robin had been quieter than usual on the way back. He was probably just worried about his dad though. She couldn't blame him for that. What he'd heard at the doctor's office hadn't been pleasant.
Softly shutting the door behind her, she rushed past the living room, toward the stairs hoping she wouldn't be seen. Her foot was on the bottom step when she heard her mother's voice.
"Well, look who finally made it home."
Regina scrunched her eyes closed. Judging by the lisp in her mother's words she was in for a rough ride. Turning around, she found her mother, Cora Mills, come around the corner with disdain in her eyes and a drink in her hand. Just like always.
Cora placed her hand on her hip. "You said you'd be home five."
"Things ran late," Regina replied. "Where's Daddy?"
"Working late as always. So don't expect him to rescue you," snapped Cora. She eyed Regina suspiciously. "What took so long?"
"Mal and I took crack at calc again. There was stuff we didn't grasp."
"Don't lie to me."
"I'm not lying."
"You're lying through your goddamn teeth!" said Cora, raising her voice. "You were with that boy again! Just admit it!"
"So what if I was!" cried Regina, in frustration. "What is so bad about that?!"
Cora groaned, shaking her head. "You're so stupid," she muttered. "You've always been so stupid." Gritting her teeth, she glared at her daughter. "Regina, what is it gonna take to knock those foolish fantasies out of your head?"
"They're not fantasies," she whispered, trying not to let her mother see just how much her words hurt. "Robin loves me."
Cora scoffed. "Why? Because you opened your legs for him one warm summer night?" She stepped closer to her. "Listen to your mother, dear. Robin does not love you. You are just his high school girlfriend and when the time comes… he will move on. So should you."
Clenching her jaw to keep her chin from trembling, Regina took a deep breath. She tried to remind herself that harsh words were Cora's specialty. They weren't real and they didn't mean anything. Robin did love her. And they had a future together, no matter what her mother said.
Sticking out her chin, she defiantly replied, "You're wrong."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Walking down the trail, Regina tried to keep her eyes forward, focused on Henry and the curves and turns of the path. As if she didn't already know it by heart. She watched Henry run ahead of her, hemming and hawing at all the nature and she smiled. It'd been kind of nice seeing him discover her home time. He'd been so excited to see where she'd grown up, even if she hadn't exactly been eager to return. So she kept her eyes on him… rather than on the man beside her.
She didn't even have the words to describe how it felt to see Robin Locksely again. It'd been ten years since he broke her heart. She'd gone to college, gotten a degree, had tons of relationships and experiences that had nothing at all to do with him. She had a son now, for god's sake. She should be over it, she should be over him…
… but if that was true, why was it so damn hard to be near him again?
He walked beside her just as silent as she was. From the corner of her eye she took him in. He'd looked so good in the bar the night before but, god, he looked even better now. His blue eyes were sparkling and the short locks of his blonde hair were even lighter in the sun. It brought her back to those days before he'd had the truck and they'd been stuck trekking through the forest on foot.
She shook her head, trying not to dwell in the memory.
Halfway through, Robin set Roland down on his feet and the boy took off running in Henry's direction. A chuckle fell from her lips as she watched him wince at his son flying down the trail and called after him, warningly.
He looked at her, surprised. "What?"
"Nothing." She shrugged. "It's just… you're a dad." Again, she laughs. "It's kinda surreal, considering I used to watch you cry over pokemon cards."
A blush rises in his cheeks and he chuckles to hide his embarrassment. "Only when I made a bad trade," he reminded her, thinking back to their middle school days. He'd been obsessed with those cards.
Walking along, he asked, "So… how do you like Boston?"
"It's great," she replied, nodding her head. "The city is thriving and vibrant. It's a great place to raise a kid, too."
"I bet," he mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. That single action sent her heart thumping. He used to do the exact same thing when he was apprehensive in high school.
"How was Harvard?" he suddenly asked, with a nervous look in his eye. "Tough as you thought?"
"Tougher," she said. "My first year was… hell, seemed like I was leagues behind everybody. Struggling to catch up."
"But you powered through?"
"I did," she said, a proud smile appearing on her face. "And it was one of the most rewarding things I've ever done."
Transferring from Storybrooke High to an Ivy League school had been a jarring transition to say the least. In her hometown she'd been valedictorian, easily the smartest kid in every class but at Harvard she was an average fish in a big stream and she'd nearly gotten overtaken by the current. Both she and Mal had experienced their fair share of breakdowns that first year - and not just due to classwork - but once they found their rhythm things had fallen into place. She'd learned more than she ever had before, become someone she hadn't thought she could be. Going to Harvard was the second best thing she'd ever done.
"I'm glad you went," said Robin. "I know it was your dream for a long time."
"It was," she softly replied, thinking of another dream. One that had fallen through around the same time. Crossing her arms, she sighed before asking, "What about you? Did you end up going to school?"
"Eh…" Robin shrugged his shoulders. "Not four-year like I'd planned. After dad died I ended up taking some classes at the community college and I got an associate's degree in business. Not exactly a diploma but I have a framed certificate that hangs over my desk."
"That's great," she says, a genuine smile appearing on her face. She always knew he'd do well in school if he chose to.
"It's nice," he agrees, "but I'm really shooting for Roland to go further." He nods towards his son, who's pointing out his favorite spots on the trail. "School was so important to his mother, Marian."
It doesn't sting hearing Robin refer to another woman, another love even but something inside her flinches at the sound of her name. Not jealousy, exactly. An old disappointment or rejection, perhaps. She tries to push past it.
"Marian?" She tries saying the name for the first time. It feels awkward coming from her mouth. "I haven't heard much about her."
He glances at her, a mischievous look in his eye. "Oh, yeah? What have you heard?"
A blush rises in her cheeks as she averts her eyes. She hadn't wanted to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she kept even minimal tabs on him but she supposed that cat was out of the bag.
Her shoulders rose, nonchalantly. "Like I said not much. Just that she was a school teacher, around our age, with dark hair." Glancing at him she hesitated before adding, "I heard that she was really pretty… and you had a beautiful wedding."
Robin scoffed, shaking his head. "Not a word about the shotgun?"
A snort comes from her before she can stop it. "There were some mentions of it but I chalked it up to small town embellishment."
"Well, this time it was the cold truth," he sheepishly mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.
Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Really?"
Robin nodded. "There was no actual shotgun but she was pregnant with Roland at the time. We'd only been together a few weeks when she found out."
"Wow," she whispered, her lips parting in shock. Thinking back to their short conversation in the bar, she remembers that he is decidedly no longer married. "So… where is she now?"
Wringing his hands, Robin paused before answering her. "Well, she died right before Roland turned two."
Her heart clenches inside her image of Robin with a two year old in his arms, standing in front of a casket enters her brain and she instantly regrets asking about Marian at all. Not married but still wearing a wedding ring? Of course, she'd died. She should've been smart enough to figure it out on her own.
"I'm so sorry," she whispers.
Robin shrugs, trying to brush off her condolences but she can see the pain in his eyes. She always could.
"It's okay," he sighs. "You know, counting the day I met her and the day she died I only had 1055 days with her. I counted. It wasn't really a long time but it was a really good one. Wouldn't take back a single day if I could."
There was pain in his smile as he spoke about her but there was love too. And surprisingly, she didn't begrudge him an ounce of it. She glad that he'd found happiness, no matter how brief. Even with everything that happened between them, she knew he deserved it.
"Wow!"
Henry's voice breaks through their conversation as they finally reach the lake.
Regina's heart stutters at the sight of it. Excluding a bush or two, it was exactly as she remembered. Sunlight was reflected in the crystal water, smooth, grey stones were scattered across the edge of the sandy banks, just before the grass started. It felt like no time had passed here at all.
But of course, that wasn't true.
"What about you?" asked Robin.
She turned to him, caught off guard. "What?"
"Do you have… a person?" he cautiously asked.
She let out a nervous breath before shaking her head. "No," she said, shaking her head. "I don't have anybody."
"You don't?" he said, sounding surprised.
"Nope," she sighed, feeling her heart go heavy. After a moment's hesitation she goes further. "Well...there was somebody…"
Robin raises his eyebrows, intrigued. "Somebody?"
"A little while back," she elaborated. "I liked him, he liked me but… I hesitated, and held back… and by the time I found the courage to be all in it was too late. He was gone."
She forces the explanation out, trying to ignore just how thick her throat feels as pushes out word after word, the dull ache of her high school heartbreak overwhelmed by the sting of her new one.
"Do you mean Henry's father?"
Her eyes immediately flicker up to his. "No," she says, swiftly shaking her head. Glancing back toward her son, she adds, "Henry doesn't exactly have one of those."
His arms go across his chest then, and he stares her down, pressing his lips together. Oh, she knows that look. He always gave it to her when he thought she was holding back, or lying. Dropping her hands to her hips, she narrows her eyes at him "What, Robin?"
He shrugged his shoulders, hesitant. "Nothing, it's just… the timing." He nervously swallows, still staring her down. "He's nine, right?"
She crosses her arms, defensively before mumbling, "Yes."
"And well… we were together around ten years ago so... I just can't help but wonder…"
He trailed off and she knew he was hoping that she would follow and not force him to say the words. Unfortunately, for him she couldn't find it in her to be that merciful.
"Wondering what, Robin?"
He took a deep breath.
"Regina, is Henry my son?"
NEXT CHAPTER: Robin learns whether or not Henry is his son? While Regina meets someone important in the past.
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