Happy Valentine's Day, Anny! I was so excited to be your secret admirer, and I hope you like this one… I tried to incorporate your answers and little details for ya into this! Enjoy!
And to everyone else reading, Happy Valentine's Day as well! I love all of my OQ ladies, and I hope y'all have a great "holiday" lol... Please leave a review and let me know what you thought! :)
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Faith In Us
Cora Mills slams the door behind her, shouting more words in Regina's direction about "that boy" and how her daughter will not be seen with someone "below her status."
Regina rolls her eyes, the tears welling in her eyes as she turns to face her mother. "He's not below me, Mother!" she shouts, wiping furiously at her tears. In all eighteen years of her life, she's been told that tears are a sign of weakness by her mother, so she blinks them away, wanting to appear strong.
Cora scolded her at her own father's funeral a year ago for her tears, claiming Henry wasn't a man to be missed, that she should have done better in her life and she'd be damned if Regina made the same mistakes.
She'd cried that night in her room, muffling her anguished sobs into her pillow. She'd text her best friend, Robin, early the next morning, just before the sun came up, to see if he could take her away from there. To go somewhere her mother couldn't find her. And he did–she'd crept down the hall and out of the house, hopping into his beat up truck. He'd sped away, taking her to the lake they so often spent time at with their friends. They sat on the dock, feet dangling above the water, watching the sun rise as they talked about life and plans they had for their futures.
That was the day she and Robin decided they no longer could be just friends, their feelings for each other had grown too much despite only being seventeen at the time.
"I love him," she states with as calm of a voice as she could muster.
All Cora could do was scoff and roll her eyes. "Love," she snarls, "please, you foolish child. You're eighteen. You don't know what love is."
"I know it more than you ever have," she spats, her lip curling as she takes a step back. She knows that fighting with her mother will get her nowhere and will accomplish nothing but getting grounded, but this is Robin they're arguing over, and he deserves for her to stand up for him.
"That's enough out of you, young lady."
Regina rolls her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. She's graduating high school in a month, she just has to survive four more weeks of Cora's demanding ways. She's been dreaming of this day since her father died, taking all the happiness this house had left with him.
"Are you done saying Robin isn't worthy of me?" she asks, though she knows the answer.
Cora takes an eerily calming breath, her hands sinking into the pockets of her burgundy Chanel jacket. "He's from the other side of the tracks, Regina. His father is a teacher, for God's sake." The older woman spits the title of Mr. Locksley's profession out like it's poison on her tongue, and Regina bites hers, knowing she wouldn't care for Robin even if his dad was the freakin' mayor of their town.
"The other side of the tracks?" she asks with a scrunched brow. "Mother, we may live in the south, but nobody actually uses that term anymore."
Cora rolls her eyes, shifting from one foot to the other, telling Regina that their conversation is over. "You are not to see him anymore, and that's that."
Anger swirls inside of her again, a fire burning beneath her veins that no one can stir up quite like Cora Mills does. "No, that's not the end of that!" she yells, arms flying into the air before forcefully slamming onto her legs. She grunts, running her hands through her hair, unable to understand why her mother is so hard headed about this. "We've been dating for a year, friends practically our entire lives, why are you so set on us breaking up now?"
"Because you graduate in a month, and I'd hate to see you prance off to a lowly college with that boy because he can't afford the finer universities in this country!" Cora replies back sharply, taking a stack of papers off of her desk. She hands them to Regina, informing her that she was to choose a college from those acceptance letters.
"You applied to these without me even knowing?" she questions indignantly, thumbing through the stack and seeing colleges she never even had a desire to go to. "I've already been accepted at UGA," she informs, "in case you forgot. Robin and I both got accepted months ago."
"Well, pick a different one." Cora turns then, walking sharply on her heels out of the office.
"Are you serious?!" Regina follows behind her, throwing the stack of letters onto the desk as she leaves, the papers fluttering down, a few landing on the floor in a heap. "The University of Georgia is the best college in the entire state. It's where I've always wanted to go, you know that, and that's still not good enough for you?"
Cora turns quickly, stepping closer to Regina as she holds her ground. Her teeth clench, and Regina's eyes focus on the little stain she has on her big tooth, the one she always tried to bleach and whiten away, and the fact that there's still a faint spot of light brown there due to Cora's poor hygiene as a child (something she blames on her parents' lack of wealth), makes Regina smile inside. "It's not good enough if they're letting riff raff like Robin Locksley in their doors."
"Ugh," Regina growls, squeezing her eyes shut as she tries to contain her tears. "You are so oblivious to the world around you!" She tells her mother, once again, for the millionth time in her life, that Robin is a good, smart, well educated boy. He goes to the same high school as her, so he can't be too below their family's status, but Cora refuses to see it that way. She wants Regina to date a man older than her, one already in college, who speaks three languages and has just as many degrees.
"You will end things with Robin before graduation," Cora snarls through her teeth, "and that's final."
Crossing her arms over her chest, Regina pops a hip out, jaw jutting in the same direction as her defiance clouds her judgement full force. She's unable to stop the words, the ones she's been keeping from her mother for weeks now, and she's just as stunned as Cora when they come out. "Well you better get used to him," she states, a defiant lift to her brow, "because I'm pregnant, and Robin is going nowhere."
The slap across her face shouldn't stun her, but it does. The sting of her mother's palm still radiating on her cheek as Cora's eyes fill with angry tears and she storms off, her heels clicking hurriedly down the hallway of their mansion.
Standing there in shock, palm raised to her cheek, Regina finally lets the tears fall from her eyes.
Cora comes back less than five minutes later, screaming nonsense at Regina about going to the doctor first thing in the morning and, "taking care of this mess you've put our family in."
Her eyes grow wide, stunned that her pearl-clutching mother would ever suggest such a thing. A procedure that her and her Bible study group have said for years was a sin. No matter her anger, she has to chuckle darkly, knowing that her mother and those other women aren't actually true Christians, only doing it to look good in the eyes of the other people in their small town. She knows if news of her pregnancy gets out, it'll be the scandal of the year, and all this town talks about for the next decade anytime her name is brought up, but she doesn't care. "I'm not getting rid of this baby."
She wraps her arms protectively around her still-flat stomach, taking a step back when Cora moves closer, her words just above a whisper as she tells Regina that she will get rid of that baby if it's the last thing she does.
In another act of defiance, which seems to be the norm of the night, but never how Regina usually ever acts, she steps to the side, tears freely falling now as she runs out of the office, down the stairs, and into the garage, climbing into her Mercedes as she speeds away, trying her hardest to dry her tears.
She gets to Robin's house in record time, slamming on the breaks and throwing it into park as she gets out, her tears still covering her cheeks. "Robin!" she yells from the driveway, not caring if his neighbors hear.
Robin comes running out of his house, the screen door slamming behind him on its rusty hinges. "Regina?" he asks, eyes wide as he runs to her, wrapping her in his strong arms.
His scent surrounds her, and it's comforting, the smell of pine from his body wash always soothing her. She breathes in deeply, trying to draw solace from his presence. "What is it, love? What's happened?" His british accent washes over her, and she smiles despite the tears, forever thankful his family moved here from England nine years ago. "Is the baby alright?" he questions, hand covering hers on her stomach as a look of horror crosses his face.
Nodding, Regina breathes in deeply, slowly, allowing Robin to lead her to the porch. He sits down on one of the rocking chairs, signaling for her to join him. Instead, she starts pacing, thinking over everything that happened tonight. She knows her mother is mad, but she doesn't think she truly meant what she said about going to the doctors. But then again… maybe she did. Regina can't be certain. She won't let anything happen to her baby, though, but babies are expensive. And her mother is rich. She didn't mean to get pregnant, her and Robin were always so safe. She was on birth control and he used condoms, but… maybe she missed a pill or the condom was bad just one time, she couldn't be sure. All she did know was that she was ten weeks pregnant, freaking out, and now completely unsure of what to do.
"My mother," she huffs, finally looking to Robin as she continues to pace. "She was telling me you weren't good enough for me, and that I should go to a different college, somewhere else in the country, away from you, and, and, and I just blurted it out!" she rambles, hands flying up in the air. "I told her about the baby, I know we said to wait a few more weeks, but it just came out, and she slapped me, and –"
" –she what!?"
Regina looks to Robin, trying to muster a smile to assure him she's fine as he hops out of the chair, coming to wrap his arms around her shoulders. He shushes her ramblings, asking her if she's okay.
Regina nods against his chest, sniffling as she calms down. Looking up at Robin, she smiles sadly, knowing what she needs to do. His hand reaches up, running the pad of his thumb across her cheek. His touch a balm to the sting her mother's hand caused.
Her heart breaks, a thousand thoughts racing through her mind–diapers, formula, clothes, nursery furniture, pacifiers, the list goes on. Not to mention daycare, babysitters on top of college tuition, and books, and housing, and… it was going to be expensive, and she hadn't really thought of all of that over the last three weeks since she found out she was expecting. Now though, now it's all hitting her and she's freaking out.
Robin leans in and presses his lips to her, briefly though, because she pulls away, bringing a hand to her forehead as she begins to pace again. She's breathing deeply, chest heaving as she thinks of everything she'll need, all the money it will cost to bring a baby into this world and everything after the baby is actually born. Maybe she really does need her mother's help after all. Not for an abortion, she could never, but maybe, just maybe, if she goes home now and apologizes, tries to get Cora to see things her way, then Cora will help out, at least financially.
To do that, though... Regina knows what has to happen.
"Robin," she laments, emotion welling up in her throat as she swallows around the lump. She walks over to him, worrying her bottom lip. "We can't… I can't do this."
Robin takes her hand, bringing her closer. "Regina, love, what are you saying?"
She finally looks into his crystal blue eyes and sees his own set of tears forming there. Biting her lip to stop it from trembling, she lets go of his hand, whispering a wet and sorrowful, "I'm so sorry," before turning on her heel and running to her car, not giving him the chance to say anything.
All she can hear through the pounding of her own heartbeat in her eardrums is his painful cry of her name over and over again as she climbs into the car. Her vision is blurred from the tears, and as she pulls away from her love's house, she thinks about how her life is just as unclear as her vision in this moment.
Regina sighs, sitting down at her desk, straightening the papers she'd strewn there after another big meeting this morning, trying to settle the details of a big wedding they were in charge of planning this upcoming summer. She's been working at Pixie Productions for the past nine months, ever since she graduated college in May with her degree in communications and public relations.
She'd met Elizabeth Tinkerton, Tink to her friends, while in college. Tink was a grad student who hung around the coffee shop Regina worked at part time. They'd struck up a friendship, and when Regina needed an internship, Tink was more than willing to help out. Since graduating, she's been able to move into her own little office, helping plan and market different events around town that Pixie Productions was responsible for. It was great, and brought Regina a sense of joy, something she always hoped for in her career.
She looks over the papers, thumbing through a few event files before clicking on her email. It's almost time for her lunch break, and her stomach grumbles, her body already knowing her new schedule with work.
Replying to an email from her co-worker, Mary Margaret, she smiles to herself. She looks around the office, biting her lip to contain her smile as she thinks about her graduation day. Her mother had, unsurprisingly, not been there to support her, but Regina still had the best day. Cora had tried, but failed miserably, to be in Regina's life once she went off to college, but Regina had eventually had to cut her mother off, ceasing all communication for her own state of mine. Despite her mother not being there, Regina was smiling for all the pictures as she stood in her cap and gown, her red and black Cum Laude tassels attached with pride. She stood in front of the Herty Fountain for a lot of them, which was spouting water beautifully that day, the sunlight reflecting in it, causing a faint rainbow to form amongst the spray.
Her favorite part was that her little boy got to play in it, giggling and squealing as the fountain misted against his chubby little hands. She smiles at the memory, her finger grazing over the frame of her family that day.
"Mama!" she hears bellowed from outside her office door, and a huge grin lights up her face. The door swings open, almost slamming against the wall as Roland comes bounding in, two long stemmed roses in his tight grasp. "I brought ya flowers!"
Giggling, Regina stands, smoothing out her black pencil skirt as she meets him halfway, scooping her little boy into her arms and peppering kisses to his cheeks. "Why thank you, my little knight!" she exclaims, taking the flowers from his grip and placing them on her desk.
Roland wraps his little legs around her waist, kissing her cheek gently. "Happy Valentime's Day, Mama!"
Smiling, she leans against her desk, Roland still perched in her arms as she corrects his pronunciation. He tries his hardest to fix it, finally shrugging and laughing, declaring he'll learn to say it better when he's in Kindergarten.
"You look adorable today!" she squeals, leaning back to get a better look at him. It's Valentine's Day, and his wardrobe matches the holiday perfectly. He's in navy blue pants with tiny red Cupid's arrows embroidered on them. They look almost like polka dots until you look closely enough, but when she'd seen them at the store a month ago, they were too cute to pass up. Roland is also in a light pink button up shirt with navy suspenders. The suspenders have big red hearts on them, and his hair is gelled back, making him look older than his cute four years of life.
"Thank you!" he exclaims, bouncing in her arms. "And the roses are for you!" he announces, pointing behind them to the two roses on her desk. "We got you 'nother surprise, too!"
Regina kisses his cheek, blowing a little raspberry there, which makes him squeal. "Well, thank you! And where is–"
"–Daddy!" he yells, cupping his pudgy hands around his mouth to make his voice echo. "Hurry up! Mama's waiting for her Valentime's surprise!"
Grinning, Regina stands carrying Roland closer to the office door. She shushes him, reminding him that he couldn't yell inside her office. His shoulder raise to his ears as he grimaces, apologizing with a sloppy kiss to her cheek.
"Daddy!" he yells again, this time much quieter. He hops down from Regina's arms, walking purposefully toward the door. He looks to the right, then the left, his eyes lighting up as he spins back toward Regina. "Here he comes!"
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"Regina, wait!" Robin calls frantically. "Please!"
He watches her through blurred eyes, screaming her name as she climbs into her car. All he can hear is the thundering of his heartbeat, far louder than the storm he hears rolling in above him. His blood rushes through his body, making his eardrums sound like an ocean crashing against the shore during a hurricane. "Regina!" he shouts again, tears falling from his eyes. "Please!"
She can't leave. He can't live without her, without them. It's not just her anymore, it's that little life they'd created on accident. He knows she must be confused, and worried, part of her rambling just now had been about how expensive everything was going to be, and Lord knows, Cora Mills has a type of money he could only ever dream of acquiring. But still, he thought their love was enough… it is for him. He can't lose her, but he knows going after her now isn't a good idea. Regina needs space when she gets like this, she needs time to think, so as much as it pains him, he watches her drive away, her name echoing from the porch to her car.
As her Mercedes peels out of his driveway, the gravel crunching beneath her tires, he can't help but fear that his future just left with it. He hates himself, hates that the condom broke or whatever may have happened. He loves her, loves her more than anything or anyone in his life. He knows that if they'd gotten pregnant later in life, maybe once they were away at college or even after college, that things would be different. Cora might would have accepted him by then, would be okay with her daughter being pregnant by someone like him, but that's not how things worked out. Life has dealt them a shitty hand, and all he can do is hope that Regina decides to play her cards with him.
He goes to bed that night, unable to sleep as tears continue to fall, his mom having made him some hot tea to try and help. He lies awake that night, daydreaming of a future where Regina didn't have to choose between him and her mom. A future where they could all get along and Cora would be there to help see their child grow up. Fear consumes him as he thinks, now, about how he might not see his child grow up, might not be allowed to be in Regina's life anymore after today. He tosses and turns, dreaming of a future where she isn't forced to choose… especially because it seems like, as of right now, with no texts or calls from her since this afternoon, she's choosing her mother, well, her money at least, over him.
Robin chuckles as he heaves his heavy load into Regina's office, huffing with dramatically widened eyes as he finally makes it inside. Roland had run ahead of him once they made it to her floor, knowing exactly where Mama's office was.
He's got the car seat on one arm, weighed down by their little sleeping angel, and a picnic basket on the other, while trying not to smush the dozen roses he'd brought with them. Well, ten roses now that Roland insisted on giving Regina two of them.
"Hello, gorgeous," he sighs, setting the car seat down to the left of the door. Regina snickers, tapping Roland's nose as she walks over to him. She takes the basket from his arms, pressing a kiss to his lips and smiling a, "Hey, there," before taking the basket to her desk.
Robin picks up the car seat once again, taking it over to Regina's desk as well. "These are for you, my love," he croons, wrapping his arms around her shoulders after showing her the bouquet of red roses. "Happy Valentine's Day." He presses his lips to her, nipping lightly at her bottom lip. She smiles into the kiss, and his heart swells, loving this woman and being so proud of her for already having her own office so soon after getting hired.
As Robin is pulling away, Regina looks down when their little boy tugs on her skirt. "Mama," he whispers, as if he has the biggest secret to tell her. "I got you somethin'." He motions with the crook of his finger for Regina to come closer, and she eyes Robin questioningly. He simply shrugs, holding up his hands in surrender as he steps back, walking over to the car seat.
Regina bends down, smiling when Roland pulls out a folded piece of paper from his back pocket. She looks over her shoulder at Robin, then back to Roland, kissing the tip of his nose. She stands, unfolding the paper to reveal a giant family portrait Roland had drawn. It's him, Robin, Regina, and Madison standing in front of, what he assumes is, their house. There's a yellow blob in the top right corner and a blue swirl on the left. Roland explains who each person is in the portrait, then identifies the blob and swirl as the sun and a cloud, making Robin grin.
"It's your Valentime, Mama," he explains, ordering Regina to read it out loud.
Smiling, Regina's brown eyes connect with his before she looks back to the paper, one hand running over Roland's combed down curls. "Happy Valentine's Day, Mama. I love you! Love, Roland."
He may only be four, but their kid is already a thief, stealing lady's hearts wherever he goes, his mother being no exception. "Thank you, sweetheart," she hums. "I love it… and you!" She peppers kisses to his cheeks, giggling when he squirms, and she has to wipe off her lipstick stains from his chubby cheeks. "Who helped you write the words?"
"Miss Belle!" he declares, his little dimples shining on his cheeks. "She wrote the words for me yesterday at school," he explains, lips twisting as he thinks over it. "It was hard to trace, but I tried real hard!"
Robin watches as his wife giggles, squeezing Roland's hand and assuring him that he did a wonderful job. He peers over her shoulder at the picture, noting the giant circles with lines coming out of them to represent their arms and legs, and he chuckles to himself when he sees the shakily written letters. They've been working on his handwriting at home, teaching him to write his name and other small words before he goes to Kindergarten in August, and he's doing a fine job. Robin couldn't be prouder of their boy if he tried.
When his wife stands, he can see the wetness forming in her eyes, and he gives her a sympathetic look, knowing how emotional she gets when Roland does things like this for her.
Robin pulls the thin blanket from the top of the carseat, revealing their little girl. She's still asleep, thank goodness, knowing he'd taken the kids out right in the middle of her nap time. Robin, thankfully, had the day off today from the hospital, having completed his rotation with his fellow nurses yesterday, so he'd kept both kids home from daycare so they could surprise Regina with a Valentine's Day lunch.
Regina walks over, peeking over his shoulder as her arms wrap around his waist. She nuzzles her nose in between his shoulder blades, and he smiles, looking over his shoulder at her. "Did we surprise you?"
"Definitely," she chuckles, shaking her head. "A nice surprise, too," she reveals, "Tink just assigned Mary Margaret and I a new event this morning, some big conference that's happening in a few months, and I thought I was going to have to skip lunch to start on it."
He turns in her arms, brows scrunching as he says, "We can leave if you need to start it, love, it's no problem. We just wanted to bring you your gifts."
Shaking her head, Regina smiles, promising him it's okay. "I'd rather take a break now with you guys, then work the rest of the afternoon on it with a full belly."
He grins, nodding as he looks back to Maddie. He's dressed her in pink leg warmers adorned with a big red heart on each knee. She was also in a red romper that resembled overalls with frilly sleeves. The overalls had little pink hearts all over them, and her white shirt underneath read "Daddy's Valentine" with an arrow going through a heart.
"She looks adorable," Regina gushes, rubbing the baby's round belly. Her eyes flick to his suspiciously as she says, "I don't recall buying that shirt."
His eyes go wide as he holds a hand to his heart. "Look," he scoffs, "it was adorable and how could I pass that up?" he asks, pointing toward the shirt again.
Regina laughs, shaking her head as she admits that it does look really cute with her romper. "You did a great job dressing them today, babe."
Smirking, he thanks her. "Not too hard when their mum had already bought the cute outfits and laid them out the night before."
She swats his chest with a grin, stepping around him to fix the red headband bow on Madison's head. She runs a finger over the baby's dirty blonde hair that's pulled into short little pigtails today. Her hair is already starting to curl like Regina's, but she still mumbles something again about how she can't believe this one ended up blonde.
"Well, blondes do have more fun," he quips, winking in her direction.
With a roll of her eyes, she walks over to Roland who is dutifully playing on the rug in her office with his Simba toy that he brought with him. "You ready for lunch, bubs?" he asks, stepping over to the picnic basket and opening it.
"Yeah!" Roland cries, standing up excitedly. He takes Regina's hand, leading her back toward the desk. "You're gonna love it, Mama! I helped pack it all up this morning!"
"Oh," she giggles, squeezing his hand. "Then I know I will definitely love it!"
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It's been a week since she left Robin, a week since her mother found out she was pregnant, a week since her life completely fell apart. She'd come home that day, crying to her mother that she was sorry, telling Cora that she'd left Robin and she would do whatever Cora said.
It was the first time in her life that Regina could remember her mother holding her, Cora's arm wrapped around her shoulders while her other hand ran through her hair, shushing her and telling her, "Mother is here."
Cora had gone into action, creating a plan to keep their family's name and reputation in tact. Regina would be graduating in a month anyway, thankfully, so no one would have time to notice a baby bump beginning to grow. She would move to Athens the week after graduation, and Cora would pay for everything–living expenses, doctors visits, anything and everything her baby could need or want–under one condition: Regina never return to their town with a baby on her hip and embarrass Cora.
It had seemed like the best plan at the time–keep her child, get to move away from her mother, but not worry about how she would feed herself or the baby.
In the meantime, Cora has been as nice as she can muster, mainly making sure food is kept in the house by their staff so that Regina doesn't have to leave the grounds of their mansion too often. Her mother doesn't want her anywhere but school and home, giving the residents of the town less time to see her and gossip in case someone happens to notice the tiny pooch beginning to form.
She's barely eaten though, only doing so when Cora brings her food and forces her to eat, reminding her that it isn't just her anymore that she needs to keep healthy. Each time her mother reminds her of the life she is growing, she smiles pitifully, a hand coming to rest on her stomach. She is almost twelve weeks along now and has a doctor's appointment in two days.
She hates herself, hates that she left him on his porch like that. Hates that she hasn't contacted him. He's been trying, bless him, has been calling and texting everyday without fail. It's just another reason she loves him–he won't give up on her no matter what, and that thought alone breaks her heart.
Finally deciding that enough is enough, she grabs her car keys and leaves the house, telling her mother she'll be back later. Driving to his house, her stomach is in knots, nervous of how he'll react, what he'll say…
Stepping out of the car, she's apprehensive, nervous that he'll reject her, turn her away like she did to him last week. It's only been seven days, but it has felt like an eternity. She's had a lot of time to think, secluding herself in her room each day as soon as school ended. She's avoided Robin in the hallways, their friends concerned and questioning what was happening, but she has been unable to explain, didn't want to go through the heartbreak all over again.
She hears his front door open, the screen door whacking back into its place in the doorframe. She looks up, tears already in her eyes, as he stands there, hands in the pockets of his jeans, his dark green t-shirt accentuating those muscles he's gotten from four years on their school's baseball team. God, she loves those muscles.
He takes the four steps down, meeting her on the driveway as she begins to cry. "I'm so–I'm so sorry, Robin," she hiccups, and he instantly wraps her in his arms, giving her that solace that she's been missing for a week, the comfort he always seems to provide… he feels like home, and she realizes just how home sick she's been the past few days. He kisses the top of her head, breathing out a laugh as he begins to cry as well.
"No need to apologize, my love," he whispers, taking her cheeks in his hands. His thumbs graze her jawline, and she looks sadly up at him. "I know you just needed time to work things out."
She nods, letting more tears fall as she sniffles, confused as to why the universe would send such a wonderful guy into her life when she clearly didn't deserve him. He's too good for her, no matter what Cora Mills may think, and she dreads the day that Robin finally realizes that.
"I don't deserve you," she admits tearfully, trying to smile for him.
Robin simply shakes his head, kissing the tip of her nose, saying it's him that doesn't deserve her. "Regina, you are my future," he murmurs, kissing her lips. "I will be with you every step of the way, through all of this," he smiles, placing a hand to her belly. "Through everything life throws at us. I choose you, over anything else in my life."
She beams, biting her lip as she nods in agreement. He takes her hand, leading her up the wooden steps and inside his home. His mom brings them tea and cookies, and she smiles, glad to be surrounded by people that truly support her, that are genuinely there for her with no ulterior motives like her mother is. His parents have been supportive since she and Robin told them of the baby, had promised to help no matter what and however they could, letting them know that mistakes happen, but they would never disown Robin or hate Regina. His mom leaves the room, and the two teenagers discuss their future and what it could possibly look like. They're both still going to Athens in a few months, but will have to call and let the university know that they won't be needing their separate dorms. "We can get a small apartment," he suggests with a shrug. "I know it won't be anything like you're used to…"
She can see the pink tinge in his cheeks as he says it, so she shakes her head, taking his hand in hers. "I don't care how big our apartment is, Robin, as long as you're there with me."
Leaning in, she presses her lips to his, smiling into the embrace. They talk about daycare, Regina revealing that her mom was willing to pay for doctors visits and daycare as long as she stayed in Athens so no one in town knew she ever had a kid, but now she's not so sure what her mom will think when she tells her that she's back with Robin. "There's still so much to think about, though," she sighs. "There's diapers, clothes, a nursery, bath stuff, literally everything! It's going to be so much money. How are we going to afford all of that plus college?" She rambles, saying they'll have to get jobs on top of going to class, and studying, and raising a baby…
"Regina, Regina," he shushes, squeezing her hands. "You're spiraling." She laughs and nods, but knows the fears won't go away any time soon. "We'll make it work, love, just have faith."
"In what?" she scoffs tearfully.
His eyebrows cinch together as he gives her a sympathetic look. "In us, in this," he places a hand to her belly, "to our life and everything it may bring."
He locks eyes with her, making her breathe in and out slowly, nodding together as they agree that things will all work out how they're supposed to.
Regina situates herself on the rug in her office. It's not a big place, by any means, but large enough to house a desk with two chairs in front of it, a rug, and a couch set off to the side for when she's having a more informal meeting with clients. There isn't much wiggle room, especially not with two adults and two kids, but they've survived cramped spaces together, so they make it work.
She sits down, her back against the back of the couch, as Roland settles beside her, his little hand patting her leg and smiling up at her. His dimples melt her heart, and she thinks how lucky she is to have this little guy. He'd been the best baby a new mom could ask for, especially one that was only nineteen and didn't have a clue how to do anything. Luckily, Robin's mom had come to stay with them for the first two weeks, helping Regina figure out how to be a mom. Roland's timing was perfect as well, being born a week before Thanksgiving that year, so she only missed a few classes. It was a challenge, between both of them going to class, working and learning how to be parents, but they made it work.
They'd gotten married when Roland was a year old, both of them almost done with their sophomore year of college. Madison had been an even bigger surprise than Roland had been, shocking Regina to her core when she discovered at the end of her junior year that she was three months pregnant. The little girl had been born six months before she graduated college, and now here she was, nine months after graduation, having a Valentine's Day picnic in her office with her family by her side. When she was a little girl, dreaming of a better life for herself, she never imagined that by the age of twenty-three, she'd have a beautiful family and a husband by her side that showed her a type of love she'd never felt before.
She shakes her head, pulling herself from her thoughts. Chuckling, she listens as Roland rambles on about the other kids in his class and how he didn't have to go to "school" today because they were cooking lunch to bring here.
"You cooked?" she asks, looking to Robin.
He gives her a sheepish look, nodding, and saying, "Well, I tried at least."
Snorting, she peers into the basket, pulling out the plates they'd packed. She gives both of her boys one, Roland whooping in excitement when he realizes Robin packed his favorite Robin Hood plate, adorned with the little cartoon fox with his feathered hat and Little John and his giant bear belly standing beside him. Robin takes out the sandwiches he'd prepared, Regina ribbing him and stating, "Sandwiches aren't cooking, babe."
He laughs, that belly laugh that always makes her smile. It's a laugh that even on their toughest days could make everything seem alright. "I cooked the pasta!" he exclaims in defense, pulling out a container of pasta salad. "And dessert!"
"Yeah, Mama!" Roland adds, hopping up onto his knees. "Daddy baked Grandma's cookies, and let me help put the chocolate chips inside the dough!"
Smirking, she gives a nod of approval knowing Robin's mom's oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe is the absolute best. Regina looks toward Robin with a wink, affirming, "Okay, okay, you cooked! Good job, Daddy!"
"Hey!" Roland squeaks, causing both adults to snicker.
"And good job, Ro!" Regina kisses his cheek, pulling him into her lap. She wraps her arms around his little belly, humming softly to him as Robin dishes out the pasta salad and carrot sticks.
They eat in silence for a few moments, Regina peering over to the car seat that they'd placed on the couch behind them. Madison was still asleep, but she knew their girl would wake up any minute now.
Regina takes a bite of the turkey sandwich, practically moaning when the mixture of turkey, cheese and lettuce hits her tongue. She'd run out of the house late this morning, no thanks to her husband and his skilled tongue, causing her to have to skip breakfast. She'd nibbled on some grapes in her meeting, but never wanted to eat the muffins they provided, knowing how messy they could get. She was still trying to make a good impression on her new co-workers, and didn't want anything to mess that up.
"This is delicious," she tells Robin, smiling around her next bite.
"Way better than what I was gonna eat at school today!" Roland proclaims with all the seriousness a four year old could muster.
Robin chuckles, asking what they were going to have today, and Roland informs him that Tuesdays are pizza day, but he doesn't like their pizza. "It's not yummy like Mommy's!"
She smiles down at her baby boy, tickling his stomach. He slides off her lap, sitting back in his spot to finish his food so that he can get a cookie (which Robin, adorably, attempted to form into the shape of hearts). "Speaking of his school," she says, taking a sip of the water bottle he'd brought for her. "They told me the other day that starting next month, we'd get the graduating discount."
"... The what?" he asks, brows cinching together.
"The graduating discount," she giggles, explaining, "The discount they give parents when their children are almost ready for real school." Roland will start Kindergarten in August, so he only has about five months left at Bookworm Babies.
"I can't believe he's already old enough for big kid school," Robin says, shaking his head.
Regina smiles, her eyes feeling misty as she agrees. "Me neither. Seems like just yesterday we were bringing this little one home from the hospital," she claims, tickling his stomach again.
Roland giggles, head falling back before pushing her hand away with a sweet No, Mama! That tickles!
Just then, Maddie starts to stir, her soft grunts coming from the car seat. Regina sits up on her knees, unbuckling her and lifting the baby out of her confinement. "Hey there, sweet girl," she coos, kissing her chubby pink cheek. "Mama missed you today."
She cuddles Madison into her chest, sitting back down on the ground. Robin grabs her sippy cup from the diaper bag by his leg, popping the top off and handing it to Regina. She smiles, and it hits her how easy this has become. They're a partnership through and through, and it never ceases to amaze her. "We've gotten pretty good at this whole thing," she says, bouncing their daughter in her arm before handing her the cup. She's fifteen months now, and Regina loves how independent she has become. She's able to feed herself, allowing Regina the luxury of eating her food while it was still warm. Something that didn't happen often when either baby was little. She'd gotten so used to Roland feeding himself that when his sister was born, she had to retrain herself how to eat cold food that sat there for too long while the baby fed.
Robin tears up slices of the turkey and cuts up the pasta salad into smaller bites before dumping it all on a tiny plate. He hands it to Regina who sets it in front of her alongside her own plate. She munches on her sandwich while Madison drinks some milk, but the little girl tires of it soon enough, tossing the bottle to the floor and sitting up with a yawn. She grins sleepily over to Robin, then Roland, before turning her head to glance at Regina.
Smiling down at her baby girl, Regina speaks to her softly, asking her if she had a good nap. The baby nods, making Regina smile as she looks to Robin. "Are you hungry?" she asks, pointing to the plate. She sets Madison down beside her, her back against the couch, and her chubby hands reach out, taking a fist full of turkey and shoving it into her mouth.
Roland laughs, saying Maddie is a messy eater, and Regina gently reprimands him, reminding him that his little sister hasn't quite mastered using a fork yet like him.
"Oh, no!" Roland suddenly shouts, stunning everyone in the room.
"Baby, what is it?" Regina asks, placing her hand to his back, worried something might be wrong.
His big, brown eyes fill with tears, and Regina looks to Robin, seeing if he knows what the problem is. He simply shrugs and shakes his head, so she looks back to their son. "What's wrong?"
"I just 'membered my class was having a Valentime's Day party today," he whines, tossing what's left of his sandwich down onto his plate with a huff. He crosses his arms over his chest while his bottom lip pokes out in the most pitiful of pouts.
"Well, that's alright, yeah?" Robin asks, reaching over to pat the boy on his leg. "You got to spend the whole day with me and Maddie, and now we're having lunch with Mummy."
Roland's lips twist, clearly thinking over what Robin just said. He sighs, little shoulders slumping. "I guess…"
Regina smiles, cutting up some more meat for Madison. Looking over to Roland, she counters him with, "Sounds to me like you've had a great day." She recalls all the things he's told her already–watching cartoons, helping Daddy cook, baking cookies, going to the florist to pick up the roses…
"Yeah," Roland says quietly, thinking. His eyes light up then as he sits up, "And I got to finish your drawing!"
Robin and Regina both grin, catching each other's gazes before looking toward their son. "See?" Regina asks, tapping him on his nose. "You've had a great day, and I bet," she adds, eyeing Robin, "Daddy would love to drop you off after you guys leave here. That way you can still join the party before the day ends!"
"Really?!" Roland exclaims, hopping up and down on his knees. "Please, Daddy! Can you please take me to school today?"
Robin chuckles, smirking at Regina. "Drop you two off so I can go home and nap before you lot get home? Sure," he quips, dragging out the "r" dramatically.
Regina laughs, knowing they both love their children more than life itself, but hell, daycare is already paid for, why not have an afternoon free on his day off of work? He has the next three days off, one of the perks of being a nurse (thought working four days straight sucks, too, with the hours they give him). She knows she would take the opportunity in a heartbeat if it presented itself. She'd even schedule something for Robin to do if she had a day off and could spend the entire afternoon at home pampering herself with no husband or toddlers to bother her.
Robin winks at her, and she smiles back, her eyes narrowing at him when Roland leans over and, not so subtly, whispers (a very loud stage whisper, mind you), "You can make Mama's last surprise while we're at school!"
Robin closes his eyes and shakes his head, chuckling as he shushes the boy. "Don't ruin the surprise, my boy."
"Oh!" Roland gasps, sitting back with wide eyes and sliding a piece of pasta into his mouth.
Maddie giggles, smushing the pasta between her fingers, and Roland laughs, leaning over Regina's lap to get closer to the baby's face, cooing at her and asking her if she likes the pasta too.
Their lunch eventually, sadly, ends, when Regina looks at the time on her cell phone, realizing it's already half an hour past when her lunch break is supposed to end. They clean up their area, stuffing plates and sippy cups into the basket, Regina brushing crumbs off all of their clothes and licking her thumb to get the stickiness off her children's faces.
She escorts them all to the door, pressing a kiss to Roland and Madison's cheeks, telling Roland to have fun at daycare. She then stands up, pulling Robin in by his neck and planting a loving kiss to his lips, making Roland eww in response. He leans into his sister's car seat, whispering that Mommy and Daddy are gross, making Regina chuckle. She pulls back, looking into his blue eyes with so much love. She loves this man, and she can't believe that he's still putting up with her and all her craziness after all this time. "Thank you for lunch," she says, pecking his lips once, then twice more.
He smiles, telling her, "The pleasure was all mine."
Regina hands him the car seat, placing a kiss to Madison's cheek once again. Roland tugs on her hand and kisses the top of it, causing her heart to swell. "Why, thank you, kind sir," she says, giving him a curtsey.
Roland giggles, wrapping his arms around her legs and giving her a squeezing hug one more time before they all exit her office.
As she settles back into her desk, checking her email and making phone calls the rest of the afternoon, she lets her mind wander back to how they first began. Their love may have started as highschool sweethearts, and getting pregnant definitely wasn't in the plans, but looking at her family now–Robin, Roland and Madison–she can't feel guilty for cutting ties with her mom when Roland was just two years old, or anything else that's happened to them over the years. This is where she was always meant to be. Graduated with a degree, working at her dream job, with the love of a man and two adorable children waiting for her at home each night. Life isn't always easy, but it sure is a lot more enjoyable with these three by her side.
Their timing may not have been ideal, even for them, but just like Robin said when they were just a pair of terrified teenagers, she simply needed to have faith. And she did, and it was the best decision she has ever made.
Smiling, she sends one more email to Mary Margaret, then clicks over to the document she'd been preparing for her meeting this afternoon. She checks the time, wishing more than anything that she had the day off like Robin so they could spend it together, cuddled on the couch, making love and watching movies before it was time to pick up their babies from school. Giggling, she bites her lip, picking up her phone to text Robin.
You. Me. Couch and cuddles one day soon with no babies.
She laughs when he immediately responds with a gif of an excited boy giving her a thumbs up. His Oh most definitely, my love, making her smile. They spend the next twenty minutes flirting and planning their next day off, and before she knows it, it's time for her meeting. She gathers her documents, takes a deep breath, and finishes the day strong, completely nailing her presentation to a new client.
That night, she spends the rest of Valentine's Day with her three loves, their cozy living room filled with laughter and heart shaped brownies she and Roland had whipped up when she got home (adding to the cookies from earlier, but, hey, it was a special day, they were allowed to eat more sugar than normal). Robin's last surprise had been an actual home cooked meal, not just sandwiches. He'd made her favorite lasagna, seasoned perfectly with her secret ingredient that she'd only ever shared with Robin. The red pepper flakes brought out the most mouth watering flavors and gave it a little kick, and it brought a proud smile to her face that he'd finally mastered the recipe all on his own.
She and Robin tuck the kids into bed later that night, crawling into their own to spend the rest of the night kissing and caressing, limbs tangled together as they came over and over again, their mouths searching and exploring. He may already know each crevice and sweet spot on her body, turning her to wanton goo with his tongue each time, but she lets him roam anyway, nipping and playing with her body. Smirking, Regina flips them over, returning the favor as she brings him to another peak of pleasure.
"I love you," she whispers into the still of the room as they lay there, completely satiated and spent, chests heaving against one another's as their heartbeats slow back down and fall into a synchronized rhythm.
Robin trails a cool finger against her heated flesh, drawing patterns lightly against her stomach and causing goosebumps to flair. "I love you, too," he murmurs, the deep timbre of his voice having a rasp to it that makes her shiver.
They fall asleep together after a quick shower, both snuggling into the warmth of their comforter as Moulin Rouge (her favorite) plays softly on the television, lulling them into slumber. As her eyes grow heavy, her hand resting against Robin's chest, she smiles, knowing that this kind of love isn't just in the movies, it's her reality. And she's so glad it is. So glad that she chose Robin over her mother, or their town's opinion of them. She chose happiness, and honestly, it was the best thing she could have ever done. She's never known a love like this, never had a desire to find out what dating anyone else would be like, because he's it for her. He's her true love, her soulmate, her better half, and she knows life without Robin by her side isn't a life she wants to experience.
Her life is totally different than what she ever thought it would be as a child, but she wouldn't change one single thing about it.
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