Day 1

She's out of the bed in an instant, all the breath knocked out of her lungs at the sight of him.

Her reaction causes him to stir beneath the sheets. His eyelids begin to flutter then finally peek open. He squints at the light and his chest begins to heave taking in deep breaths. His gaze finally lands on her. He stares at her, dumbstruck, with those clear blue eyes of his and she feels her nerves begin to fire off, one by one. She stares back at him, stunned into silence.

"Regina?"

The sound of his voice breaks her. She immediately shakes her head, getting more frantic by the second.

"No," she whispers.

No. She won't believe this. She can't believe this. He is not here. This is not real. It's just a dream.

"Regina?" He repeats her name. He's louder this time and she can hear the shock in his tone as he stares at her. He reaches his hand out toward her and she steps back, too afraid to even touch him.

"No," she says again, still shaking her head. "This isn't real. You're not here."

She says the words aloud not sure if she wants them to be true or not. He looks real. His body looks firm. He's shirtless in her bed and every inch of bare skin that she can see appears just as she remembers. His blond his hair is tussled from sleep just like it used to be. Nothing looks off but something must be. She wants him to be real but she doesn't believe that he is. She doesn't believe she's that lucky.

"Regina…"

God she's missed the sound of her name coming from his lips.

"It's me," he desperately assures her, throwing the sheets from his body. "I don't know how but it's me. I promise."

He's out of the bed and walking toward her. She backs away from him, still unwilling to believe. "I saw you die," she grits out. "I saw it!"

"I felt it," he says, his voice breaking. "I remember it. I remember stepping in front of you and feeling my soul ripped away. I remember your face was the last thing I saw."

He steps toward and this time she doesn't step back. She's frozen in place by the memory of his last moments. It flashes behind her eyes. The light of the Olympian crystal, the blue glow of his soul and the thud that echoed in her nightmares as his body hit the ground. The memory of it paralyzes her. It's the only reason he's able to get close.

Before she can run away his hands are on the side of her face, the rough touch of his palms exactly as it once was. He stares into her brown eyes, trapping her gaze in his.

"I was gone," he breathed. "I don't know what happened but I'm here now and I'm real."

He pulls her closer bringing his lips down to hers. She wants to resist. To push him away and prove that his appearance is just someone or something's idea of a cruel joke. But the feel of his scruff against her face and the taste of his lips against her own… it's enough. This connection that she feels can't be faked. It's enough to convince her.

This is Robin.

And he is real.

How?

It's the question on everyone's tongue that morning.

Henry was the first to discover Robin. Knocking on his mother's door hearing after hearing all the noise. He needs no explanation. Asks no questions. He just happily throws his arms around the man his mother had once lost.

"We missed you," he says, his grin wider than the sky itself.

Calls are made, questions are asked and they make their way over to the Charmings loft.

Jaw drop and eyes widen when Robin walks through the door. He's embraced by everyone. It's clear they are thrilled by his appearance but curious to its cause.

Robin has no recollection of what happened to his soul. The showdown with Hades is the last thing he remembers. Nothing more.

As everyone else goes through theories Regina is pulled aside by Snow.

"Are you sure this wasn't you?" she whispers, her green eyes looking desperate for an explanation.

"No," says Regina, shaking her head. She pauses, thinking back for a moment before adding, "I don't think so."

"What do you mean?" asks Snow.

Regina sighs before relaying to her what had happened the night before. Sneaking away from the diner, visiting Robin's grave, the wish she'd made. True she had meant it with all her heart but a simple wish couldn't be enough to revive the dead. It certainly hadn't been in the past.

"I don't know Regina," Snow muses thoughtfully. "Blue once told me that a wish made at the right moment can be a very powerful thing."

Her words make Regina feel uneasy. She remembers her experience with the genie and Emma's time in her own wish realm. Granted or not wishing was always dangerous. And she hated to think that in her moment of weakness she'd put Robin's soul in danger once again.

Her eyes flickered over to him as he sat at the table, catching up with Charming and Emma. She still can't believe he's here. She's almost afraid to take hear eyes off him. It feels like if she looks away for one second he'd disappear like wisp of smoke in the wind.

Snow comfortingly puts a hand on her shoulder. "Regina it's alright. No matter how it happened Robin is back. And that's a good thing."

Her voice holds so much conviction it's almost contagious. Looking at Snow's hopeful round face she almost believes what she's saying.

And then…

"Robin what's that on your arm?"

Her head whips to table at the sound of Emma's voice and she's at Robin's side within seconds. He's staring down at his forearm, his eyes wide in shock as a swirl of black ink appears in the space right above his lion's tattoo.

"What is this?" he breathes.

It's magic. She can feel it. She looks across the table and sees that Emma can feel it to. Everyone at the table stares as the ink swirls faster and faster before settling into place and taking the shape of a number.

365.

"Three-sixty-five?" Emma mumbles. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Regina's hand falls over Robin and they lock eyes, each knowing that the other has come to the same conclusion they have.

It's not hard to figure out.

New Year's Day.

365.

It's not just a tattoo.

It's a countdown.