14th February 2014

Regina readjusted Henry on her lap, catching his hands, which were grabbing for the chocolate muffin in front of her. She smiled and pressed a quick kiss down on his head before she pushed the plate away a little further.

"We have to wait for your Uncle David first, honey. They you can have your muffin." Henry started up at her before he squealed and his hands dashed for the muffin once again. Regina chuckled. Her son was one year old but he'd already developed such a sweet tooth for everything fruity and cakey. Henry loved his apple sauce and strawberries - and the first time Mary had teased him with a spoon full of chocolate ice-cream, she'd never seen the baby's eyes grow so big with excitement. God, he was just like his father.

Sighing, she bit her lip, her heart aching for the man her son would never get to meet. Over fourteen months had passed since the day she'd gotten the devastating news about her husband's death. It wasn't fair, not to them and least of all to Henry. Their love had been special. Quick, maybe a little rushed considering they'd gotten married less than a year after meeting each other again. Never mind Henry, who'd come as a surprise to both of them. Unexpected but nonetheless something they'd both realized they'd wanted. She missed him. Missed him more for Henry's sake than hers because her boy deserved a father.

Yes, he was loved - she tried to give her best for him every day - and her friends and little of what was left of her family supported her where and whenever they could, but it wasn't the same. Not when she looked into Henry's eyes and saw Daniel. Not when she knew they'd never get to meet each other.

Regina pressed another kiss against Henry's head, nuzzling his neck and making the little boy squeal in delight. She was so absorbed in her thoughts she didn't see the man who entered the café searching for a free spot before he stopped dead in his tracks as his eyes caught her sitting at her table with the little boy in her lap. She didn't see his surprised face, the moment he considered leaving the café before she saw him, the step he took backward and then forward before throwing caution into the wind and headed over to her table.

"Re… Regina?"

Her eyes shot up at the familiar voice in front of her. Robin was standing right in front of her table, fingers nervously playing with the button on his jacket. He looked good, she had to admit that. The sides of his head were spotted with grey, his scruff looked inviting as ever, but it was his eyes which captured her, brought her back to Battery Park two years ago when she'd told him she was getting married. She'd been so happy back then.

"Robin? That's a… surprise."

"Yeah, you're telling me." Robin stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do. He didn't want to sit down uninvited and he didn't want to bother her either. For all he knew she'd be meeting up with her husband, never forgetting the fact she had a baby on her lap.

Luckily Regina was the one to pull the diaper bag away from its place on the booth, gesturing at him. "Please. Sit. Uh - If you want that is."

"I… uh. My break is almost over. I work down the road but I'd love to," Robin smiled relieved, his attention wandering over to the baby. "Hello there. Who's this little fella?"

His smile threw Regina off guard and her eyes dropped to Henry who was staring at Robin intently. What the hell was going on? How did his smile still make her feel so warm and… excited? "Robin, meet Henry, my son. It's his first birthday today."

His eyes widened in surprise as if he realized something before he tipped on Henry's little nose. "Well happy birthday to you, Henry."

Henry squealed happily, moving in his mother's lap in order to get closer to the stranger but Regina held him in place. She wasn't sure Robin would appreciate drool on his suit, much less Henry throwing up on him, which he seemed to do whenever David held him.

"It's good to see you, Regina. I didn't think… You look fantastic."

"Yeah, it took a while to get rid of the extra weight this one made me gain," she joked only half serious. Getting rid of the fifteen pounds she'd gained during her pregnancy had been hard but she'd pulled through. "So how have you been?"

It was a loaded question, an open question that would take more than five minutes to answer. "I've been… okay. Busy. A lot has happened since…"

"Yeah," she agreed. They sat in silence for a moment before she took a leap of faith. "Daniel died shortly after we got married."

"I'm sorry," Robin whispered sincerely. "So Henry…"

"Never got to meet his father."

Robin looked at the little boy and she could see his heart ache. He was a good man, a really good man and perhaps, if things had been different, they'd have worked out in one way or the other. Slowly, Regina's eyes wandered down to his bare hands. There was no ring, but it didn't… Okay, what the hell was she doing?! Their conversation was awkward at best. She'd dumped him two years ago and so much had happened in between. Her head was still hung up on Daniel and her heart… She really didn't need her heart to start beating like crazy now.

Robin reached out to touch her but then thought better of it and pulled his hand back. Disappointment shot through her like a knife. Her body yearned for his touch, for his comfort, to just talk to him.

"I really am sorry things turned out that way for you, Regina. For both of you. I… I know what it's like to have your world turned upside down all of a sudden." Robin took a deep breath, his hand reaching out to absently play with Henry's foot as he told her about that night in the pub when he'd gotten the message about Marian and Roland. How he suddenly went from eligible bachelor to father of a traumatized son who'd just lost his mother.

Regina sat with him quietly and listened to everything he had to say. Her heart ached as she realized why Robin had behaved so crazy that evening after receiving the message of Marian's death and Roland's existence. Hell, she remembered how she'd reacted when she'd gotten the news about Daniel and the fact she was going to have to raise her son alone.

"I wish you'd told me, Robin."

"I regret that I didn't." He finally reached out for her hand and squeezed it, a silent understanding passing between them. Suddenly his eyes locked on his watch. "Ah sh…oot. I really have to go back to work if I don't want to be late picking Roland up from soccer practice later."

Regina swallowed, her arms pressing Henry tighter against her chest. She didn't want him to leave.

"It was really good to see you, Regina. Maybe we could meet up for coffee some time? Only if you want to, of course."

"I'd like that very much." The smile that covered her face was enchanting. She held her hand out to type her number into his phone and called herself one time so she would have his in return. "Just don't let me wait another year."

"I won't. Bye, you two." Robin grinned and then did the unthinkable: He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek before he scrambled out of the booth and walked out of the café.

Holy shit. A whirlwind of emotions flooded her, left her giddy, yearning for more, if not a tiny bit guilty. Regina's head was so foggy for a moment that she didn't realize David had slipped into the booth beside her.

"Now when the hell did you get to third base with Robin Locksley?" David reached for Henry and cuddled him against his chest, mumbling sweet birthday wishes to his favorite - and only - godson. "Your mommy seems smitten, Henry."

A blush crept over her cheeks as she cleared her throat and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm not smitten! How do you know Robin anyway?"

"He's my boss," David stated, lifting Henry into the air with a smile.

"Your boss?!"

"Yeah. He's a good guy; really good dad considering he only found out he had a son a few years ago. Turned his whole life upside down. I thought I told you guys the story back when it happened. Now how do you know him?"

Oh God. David had told them about his boss - Robin - when it happened. Damn, if she'd known… Suddenly, Regina started laughing at how crazy things had been and about how it all came together just now after all these years, on the date nonetheless.

"I met him four years ago. At a bench in Battery Park."

David gaped at her. "Wait - so he was the guy?!"

"Crazy, huh?"

Henry used this moment to spit up on David's shoulder, covering his light grey suit in white spit.

"Yeah," David mumbled, handing the baby back to Regina. "Crazy indeed."