Regina rubbed her hands together in a futile effort to warn herself up. Even with her coat and scarf, the cold found ways to sneak in. She always had a bit of higher tolerance to the cold, but lately any fluctuation in temperature affected her, and her body seemed to refuse to adjust as easily as it did before.

"You would think that you of all people would be able to handle the cold," Ruby quipped, when Regina shuddered.

Regina narrowed her eyes at her companion, who had the red hood wrapped securely around her, and whose cheeky smile grew at the confusion in the brunette's eyes.

"I'm not the one who turns into a wolf, Ms. Lucas," she reminded her.

"Well, I'm sure this isn't your first night spent out in the cold," Ruby alluded softly, and even though she didn't say his name, Regina knew that Ruby meant the time she spent with Daniel.

"It's been quite some time since those days," Regina retorted.

"That, or the pure malice you had for Snow and her father kept you warm," Ruby quipped.

"I actually never hated Snow. I despised Leopold with every fiber of my being," Regina corrected her in a distant voice, another shudder coursing through her body, only this time it wasn't from the cold. She hadn't talked to anyone about Leopold before, and the memories the mere mention of his name brought, were not very pleasant.

"Then why did you keep going after her for so long?" Ruby asked. And Regina was quite surprised at the lack of venom in her voice, just curiosity.

"I wanted her to apologize." Was the simple answer Regina gave, and Ruby smiled sympathetically at her.

"She always believed that the woman who saved her from that horse was still in there somewhere," she noted.

"I was too afraid to let that girl come back, I had lost so much, and the Evil Queen seemed like my only option to stop getting hurt," Regina explained, rolling her eyes at the 'evil queen' moniker she had gained a long time ago. "I only started to let go a bit when Henry came along," she confessed.

"But when he started to pull away, you went back to being the Evil Queen thinking that it would keep him close, or at least shield you from the pain," Ruby added in understanding.

"I thought that I had seen it all, the pain that I could possibly go through, all the anguish. I thought I had already faced anything that might break me," Regina continued. "But then I became a mother!" she chuckled, and Ruby couldn't help but smile at the love in Regina's voice. "I couldn't lose him too."

"Speaking of loss," Ruby ventured, knowing that she was treading on dangerous territory, but one of them had to be the first to bring it up. "Do you wanna talk about what happened today?" she asked, already suspecting the answer when Regina sighed.

"Not really," Regina answered. "I just have one question," she added after a moment's silence, and when Ruby didn't say a word, she continued. "Why did you hide when you heard the footsteps?" she wondered.

"Because I knew that my presence was going to change her demeanor, and I wanted to see what she had in mind if she thought you were alone," Ruby answered honestly.

Regina opened her mouth to say something, when she saw how Ruby's eyes shot towards the sky.

"What is it?" she asked, but Ruby didn't answer. Instead she angled her head, as she listened for something that was beyond Regina's hearing abilities. And before Regina could say another word, Ruby wordlessly reached for button on the hood.

The first ray of light made its way through the pitch black sky, the moon's silver rays long gone, when Regina and Ruby emerged from the woods, and headed for Regina's parked car. The creature had eluded them once more. Ruby had been able to track his cries through the wood, with Regina barely able to keep up with the wolf. She was fast, often forgetting that Regina was tagging along – or downright ignoring that fact – and the fact that she had black fur was not helping in the least. But it appeared that when the creature realized that she was on its tail, the cries seized. And try as she might, she couldn't pick up another sound at all. She picked up the smell though, following it till it disappeared once more, and the only smells she picked up were those of the Merry Men. Even little Roland's smell was obvious, and when she looked around, she saw the tents set up in the distance, which explained the smell. And even though she knew it was hard for Regina, they stayed the rest of the night there. Robin may have chosen to go back to his recently back from the dead wife, but that didn't mean that Regina was going to let that creature hurt him or Roland, especially Roland. She loved that kid, and her motherly instinct kicked in when it came to him the second she saw him in the Enchanted Forrest. And try as she might, she could not get his reaction this morning out of her head.

But it proved futile, the creature neither appeared, nor did it make another sound. Ruby even went on a few runs around the woods on her own hoping to catch its smell, but came up empty.

So now, they were both exhausted, and knew nothing more than they did that morning.

"Are you sure you're okay to drive? I can walk home, and you can teleport if you want," Ruby yawned as she walked over to the passenger seat, half praying that Regina won't take her up on her offer, because she had no energy left to walk, but she felt like she had to offer anyways.

"This isn't my first rodeo! I've driven on no sleep before," Regina reminded her, although she herself was thinking about teleporting the both of them home. But she was so exhausted that she wasn't sure about how accurate her magic would be.

They continued to talk amicably, laughing softly in the morning breeze as Regina shifted the car into gear, and drove off. Unbeknownst to both of them, a pair of dark brown eyes watched from the distance, envy nearly turning them green, as a sadistic smile graced those soft lips.

Regina pulled over in front of the diner, just as Ruby unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Are you opening up today?" she asked, and Ruby shook her head no, as she yawned for the hundredth time.

"Thankfully, no. I told Granny that I will spend the night in the woods, so she can take the first shift. Don't worry I didn't tell her what we were doing."

"She's a smart woman, she'll know something is up eventually," Regina pointed out, and Ruby nodded.

"Thanks, Regina," Ruby said sincerely, and Regina furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"For what?" she wondered, and Ruby's eyes saddened a bit at the confusion and slight shock on the woman's face. She was not used to people thanking her.

"For believing me," was all she said. Both women smiled at each other, before Ruby opened the door.

"Good night, Regina."

"Good night, Ruby."

She watched as the brunette crossed the street and headed for her apartment, before she shifted the car into gear once more. But before she could drive off, the passenger door opened once more, and other surprise, Henry slid into the seat.

"Henry!" she exclaimed.

Henry smiled cheekily at the shocked expression on his mother's face. "I told you I'd be here first thing in the morning," he reminded her, grinning ruefully at her, and all she could do was smile and shake her head at her son's antiques. She did have to admit, having him in her arms was going to help her sleep better.

The days flew by, and before anyone knew it, it was six weeks later. The town had fallen back to its normal routine, or as normal as it can be in a magical town. After two weeks of staying solely with Regina, Henry finally decided that he can handle a couple of nights with Emma, as long as she promised that neither David nor Snow will bad mouth Regina. He started slow at first, a couple of afternoons after school; a couple of sleepovers; a lunch here and a dinner there. Until two weeks ago when he finally came up with a system that would allow him to spend enough time with each of his mothers. Although the system had only been active for a week, since Henry had gotten sick after he told his mothers about it, and decided to stay with Regina as she nurtured him back to health, but it seemed like it would work out fine. He would go to Emma's after school on Wednesdays, spend two nights with her, and return to Regina's house Saturday night, so he can have his usual Sunday breakfast at home with Regina; have lunch with Emma on Tuesdays,; and lunch with Regina on Wednesdays before he would go to Emma, since Regina had meetings on Tuesdays. She had offered to move them for him, but he told her that it was better that ways, since that way he doesn't really feel like he's leaving anyone behind for almost a week.

Regina's heart still ached every time she saw Marian and Robin in the street, especially at the look Roland used to give her. He would secretly wave at her, making sure his mother won't see him, blew her a few kisses when he got the chance. He even once saw her at Granny's and gave her a quick hug while his mother was in the bathroom. She avoided Robin at all costs, trying her best not to look into his eyes, because she hated the pain and longing she saw in them. It was quite obvious to anyone in town who had eyes that Robin was no longer in love with Marian. But Regina couldn't allow herself to believe them, she couldn't let herself fall harder for him, or even indulge any fantasy that he was going to be with her once more.

The barking frenzy occurred a few times, and Ruby begrudgingly admitted that she heard the shrieks but still could not place the source. That since she can't turn into a wolf unless it's a full moon, she was at a slight disadvantage, and Regina had shot down the idea of going after him when she wasn't a wolf.

As for Regina herself, she had been overly exhausted lately, and no matter how much she slept, she never felt rested. She still hadn't said a word to Emma, and refused to even acknowledge that either she or David existed. It hadn't escaped her how he still viewed her as a mortal enemy, and that he did not see her fit to be in Henry's life. And since she no longer could strangle him, she decided to ignore his presence all together, same strategy she employed with Emma.

She sat at her desk, impatiently shaking her leg as she checked her watch for the umpteenth time in the past thirty seconds. Time always did have a habit of freezing whenever you're waiting for something. The timer she had set on her phone finally went off, and she jumped at the box on her desk, but before she could finally get her answer, the sounds of commotion from outside her office caught her attention. She was about to get up to go see for herself what was causing the noises, when the door to her office burst open, and in came a sobbing Roland.

"Gina!" he exclaimed tearfully, as he flung himself at her.

Regina had barely made managed to comprehend what was happening, when one of the security guards, as well as her secretary both tumbled into her office after the boy, both looking very guilty, and slightly apprehensive of the speech they were about to receive.

"Madame Mayor, I'm so sorry, he just barreled through, and for a little boy he's quite evasive," the guard stumbled over his apology, and he had to admit, it sounded crazy even to him. And he looked helplessly at the wincing secretary, when she shot him a look of 'don't even try'. But to both of their surprise, Regina merely chuckled at the way the guard described Roland. After all, he used to elude her guards and his father's Merry Men back in the Enchanted Forest if he wanted to do something he wasn't allowed to.

"It's alright, Damian, I got it from here," she assured the guard, before she nodded at him to take his leave.

"Hold off any calls, and don't let anyone in," she instructed her secretary, who nodded in affirmation, clearly glad she didn't get her ass handed to her by the strict mayor.

Once they both took their leave, she turned her attention to the now sniffling little boy in her lap.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong? How did you get here?" she cooed gently, as she checked her watch, frowning at the fact that he managed to find his way to her office at nine in the morning.

"Daddy took us to have breakfast at Granny's, he was outside talking with Ruby, and Mama was in the bathroom, so I snuck out and ran," he sniffled into her shoulder. Regina was still perplexed by his behavior, why would he run away from his parents? And why would he come to her?

"Baby, why would you do that?" she asked in worry, his reaction furthering her doubt that he was terrified of something.

Or someone! An unwelcomed voice screamed at her.

For instead of answering the question, the boy tightened his arm even further around her neck, and buried his face deeper into her hair.

"Roland, look at me," she called gently, as she guided the boy away from her so she can look into his eyes. She was quite surprised by the amount of emotions she saw swirling in those beautiful innocent orbs. She saw the confusion, the sadness, the fear. But what surprised her the most, was the guilt!

"You know you can tell me anything right?" she said softly.

It broke his heart to see him so scared and sad like that, his bottom lip stuck out and quivered like a leaf in February wind, and his eyes were blood shot from the tears, and his cheeks were also a dark shade of red, though she wasn't sure if that was the crying or the running. Probably a bit of both, she thought.

Roland seemed to debate his answer for a few moments, but before he could make up his mind, another commotion could be heard from the other side of the door, with one voice being abundantly clear as it was a few pitches higher than the rest. Said voice had caused all the blood to drain from Roland's face, and for his entire body to shake slightly. Regina immediately wrapped her arms around him, and he frightfully balled up against her, just in time for the door to swing open once more, and four new faces come barreling through.

A livid Marian was at the front of the group, with Robin, Little John and Granny following closely behind. The latter with an indecipherable expression on her face.

"How dare you?" Marian growled, as she made a bee line for Regina and Roland.

Regina, though completely surprised by how terrified Roland was, and how tight his fists had gotten around the back of her dress, did not let that affect her demeanor. She immediately raised a finger, and slipped easily into overprotective mother mode.

"That is far enough, Mrs. Locksley," she warned, as she got to her feet with Roland balanced on her hip. Her stomach twisted a bit at the hurt expression Robin had on his face when she addressed Marian as 'Mrs. Locksley', but she chose to ignore it.

"Give me back my son," Marian seethed through gritted teeth.

"Not when you're like this. You're scaring him!" Regina calmly, yet firmly, objected. Her body was now slightly turned away from Marian, as if she was trying to put as much distance between the woman and Roland.

"I beg your pardon!" Marian scoffed, completely ignoring Robin's call. "He's my son, and you have no right to him," she spat through gritted teeth.

"Be that as it may be. Your son came to me, and I will not let him down. He is terrified, and you are making it worse," Regina hissed.

Marian took a threatening step towards the duo. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Regina threatened pointedly.

Robin finally got in between the two women, interrupting the staring match they both seemed to enjoy. It surprised him how Roland clung to Regina and shook his head repeatedly when his mother wanted to take him. And even though it was really not the time, he couldn't help but admire how Regina stood up to Marian for Roland's sake. How she knew exactly what Roland needed, and was wordlessly providing it. It made him miss her even more.

"Marian, you are not helping the situation at all. Why don't you head back to camp with Little John, and I'll bring Roland?" he suggested.

If looks could kill, he would've been ashes from the look she gave him. "You're taking her side?" she accused, her tone slightly softer, and Regina had to admit that she was impressed by the change of attitude.

"No, I'm taking Roland's side. He's terrified, and I understand that you were worried, but you're scaring him. You need to calm down a bit," he said calmly.

Marian sighed, feigning defeat, turned around and stomped out the door, with Little John following, but not before he shrugged in confusion at his friend. Robin looked after the two of them, before his eyes moved to Granny's. He was about to thank her for tracking his son down, but the look on her face stopped him. he was about to open his mouth to talk to her, when the sniffling sounds coming from his son, reminded him that he had to attend to his terrified son, who was using the love of his life as a shield from his own mother. He thought Roland would've warmed up to Marian by now, but it seemed that as time went by, it only got worse.

He turned around, his heart melting at the sight of Regina cradling Roland close to her chest, her mouth berried in his hair as she murmured kisses and soothing words, as she rocked them both from side to side. And to his surprise, it seemed to be working.

"Hey, buddy," Robin called gently, moving a bit closer to the duo, but maintaining a distance so as to not upset Regina.

He waited patiently till his son removed his face from the crook of Regina's neck and looked tearfully at him.

"Why don't you and I go for a walk around town and get some ice cream? Just the two of us?" he suggested softly. His eyes watching intently as his son debated the offer, and also using every ounce of will power he possessed to not look at Regina.

After what seemed like eternity, Roland finally nodded, and offered his father a small smile in return of the reassuring one he gave. He lifted his head off Regina's chest, and turned his attention to her.

"I miss you," he confessed tearfully, and it took everything in her not to sob at his confession.

She smiled at him, already feeling the tears pricking at the back of her eyes. "I miss you too baby."

He leaned forward and planted a lingering kiss on her cheek, one that Regina leaned into, and reciprocated once he pulled away, before she lowered him to the floor. She watched him shuffle his feet over to his father, who gladly took him into his arms, before he looked gratefully at her.

"Thank you," he whispered, and all she could do was nod at him, before he turned around and left without another word.

She saw him look at Granny, about to thank her for tracking Roland down as she suspected, but once again, the look on the older woman's face halted him, and he nodded at her instead, before he finally took his leave.

With no one else around, Regina directed her attention back at Granny, and tried to decipher the look on her face. But before she could get a word out, Granny beat her to the punch.

"We need to talk," she said gravely, and if it wasn't for the seriousness of her tone, and the entire situation, Regina would've laughed at the déjà vu. After all, it had barely been six weeks since Ruby said those exact same words to Regina.

"About what?" Regina asked.

"I think you already know the answer to that!"

So I know that I promised that the updates would be weekly now that I have time off work, but the past few episodes (with the exception of Sympathy for the De Vil) pissed me off to no end, and a pissed off writer is not a good thing. Not to mention that reviews were kind of underwhelming, but I do hope that I am forgiven with this long chapter.

Unless tomorrow's episode pisses me off enough that I cant focus on writing, the next chapter shouldn't take long to upload since it is already half finished.

Thanks to all who read, reviewed and followed.

One of my guest reviewers asked if Regina can turn into a wolf so she can run with Ruby, and sadly it will not fit into this story. But I am working on another storyline, so I will see if I can fit it in.

I will re-read this for grammar errors in the morning, but I do hope that I wake up to many many reviews.