First of all, thanks to all who take the time to review. I've had some really lovely responses and, make no mistake - they do make my day. That said, perhaps I should warn you the next few chapters will continue to be heavy on Regina & Robin interaction. I hope that's a good thing - right? ;)

Feeling Roland's warm little body snuggled into him in the morning was the most wonderful thing in the world. Robin's smile only grew at the sight of the boy hugging the stuffed monkey to him even in his sleep. What a wonderful idea of Regina's that had been.

Regina.

Robin propped himself on his elbow carefully and peered into the near-darkness. He groaned. If she wasn't here, where was she? As worry sank its claws into him, he rubbed his forehead. He needed to stay calm. Perhaps she'd chosen to spend the night at the palace alone rather than here with them. The palace wasn't safe, though. What if the soul-sucker returned? Or the Witch? Who knew what other dangers lurked within the palace walls.

He began to work on pulling his arm from beneath the sleeping Roland's neck inch by inch, his mind plotting out a plan: he'd start at the gazebo, retrace her steps to where she'd run, and try to track her down from there - her chamber first, and then...

The bag. Having finally managed to get up without waking Roland, he crossed the short distance to where it had last sat the previous night. It wasn't there anymore.

Robin cursed under his breath.

Why, why would she do this? And where had she gone? Did she yearn for a hermit's life for a while, or was she plunging into some dangerous mission, some foolish undertaking? He still didn't know what had happened between her and the Witch. Perhaps Regina had decided to go against her alone. Even on her best form, it would be risky. In the shape she was in, it could easily be a suicide mission.

Well, he wasn't going to stand for that.

Robin woke the family of two, shared some of the food he still had left, and saw them off on their way home. The sun was high up in the sky by the time he returned to the sleeping Roland, who hadn't as much as shifted positions since - he had to be absolutely exhausted. Ideally, Robin would let him rest to the fullest, but now he had no choice but to get going - the palace wasn't safe for them anyway. He packed what little they had in moments, then hoisted Roland into his arms complete with the fur he was wrapped in, and set off.

Regina had been too careless or too distraught or too tired to cover up her tracks, so it wasn't hard to see which way she was headed. It was the way they had planned to take after Roland was with them, back to Aurora and Philip's palace to rejoin the others. Roland's head on his shoulder bobbed a little with every step Robin took. A low murmur escaped him once, but it was enough for Robin to rub his back and he went back to sleep. It was easier this way - Roland couldn't walk very fast, and Robin needed to make as much progress as possible.

The solitary journey gave Robin plenty of time for soul-searching.

If he wanted to be honest with himself, there was no denying anymore that he had feelings for Regina that went beyond platonic as well as physical attraction. The ebb and flow of guilt made it all the more difficult to admit. This was the first time since his beloved Marian's death that he'd experienced any kind of romantic stirrings at all. He'd never stop loving his wife, but it seemed his heart had life enough in it, and room enough, for love again.

Could Regina and he eventually fall in love? Robin couldn't be sure. Did Regina even feel the same way? The day before had given him no clear answers. There had been hope, yes, plenty of anticipation, and butterflies he'd never really thought he'd experience at this age. She'd let him closer than ever before, and not just physically. But then she'd pulled away with a force that left little doubt as to whether she was up for this or not.

Yet there had been something in her eyes, in the way she'd touched him, that kept the hope alive. Maybe she did reciprocate. Maybe she just wasn't ready for this so soon after the loss of her child. He could understand that. He could wait. There was no reason for her to flee; of course he'd respect her wish if she said she wanted nothing at present. Perhaps he should have thought about it sooner, before he'd tried anything. But alas, Robin wasn't a mind-reader; he could only go on his best guess.

Right now, his best guess was that they were further away from each other now than ever before.

That was no reason to give up, though.

"Good afternoon, Regina."

Regina winced, and the cool spring water she'd just gathered into her cupped hands sloshed down the front of her dress. He'd approached quietly as a shadow, and even though there had always been a chance of him catching up with her, she hadn't expected it to be so soon. Her stomach jolted at the prospect of facing his prying eyes and intrusive questions.

Robin stepped from between the trees, Roland tucked in the fur asleep in his arms. Regina's eyes flew to Robin's wrist. The sleeve was pulled down, so she couldn't see it, but it was there alright.

"What are you doing here?"

He should never have come after her, looking so endearing with his son slung over his shoulder. There was not a hint of anger in his features. His calm only fuelled the desperate irritation bubbling up inside her. What business did he have following her around? Hadn't her silent departure been statement enough?

"Taking a break on the road, like yourself," he answered simply. "It's our first one, though, so if you don't mind we could make it a little longer."

"Suit yourself. I'll be on my way."

Not that she hadn't only just arrived and settled down on a dried-up stump to rest her aching feet. His coming changed everything, though, for she certainly wasn't staying around him and letting last night's misstep repeat itself. No way.

"Regina, I'm sorry if I did something to upset you last night."

"I'm not upset, I'm...focused." Ugh, even she wouldn't believe that.

Robin eyed her a moment. For the first time, he appeared tense as he licked his lips and spoke quietly.

"Is this about Henry? If you need-"

"Don't bring Henry into this!" The amount of guilt wasn't exactly small - she had almost gone to have a love affair so soon after her son was gone. True, Henry was on her mind every minute of every day, but still, how could she ever have thought of having a place in her heart for someone else? It felt like betrayal.

Robin looked stumped for a moment, and that was her chance. To do what? The thing she did when she was scared of someone getting too close: chase him away.

"Look, Robin," she purred, and coaxed a mocking smile onto her lips. "I don't know what you expected striking a deal with the Evil Queen. I did what I'd promised, you saved my life in return, and now we're even, so-"

But Robin had, apparently, had enough.

"Would you just stop with the Evil Queen nonsense!" he cried in a flurry as his temper flared. Oh yes, he had one, too, she'd known that already - so why did it move her so?

Perhaps it was because it showed he genuinely cared.

She needed to stop.

"Nonsense?" she scoffed. "I am the Evil Queen. Believing otherwise is foolish, as I have told you before." Well, that was true, wasn't it? She was the Evil Queen...

"Every time something scares you," Robin spat, and suddenly cooled down mid-sentence. His eyes acquired a tenderness that only freaked her out. "You use her for cover," he finished softly. That was a far cry, Robin was reaching, he'd seen too little to have noticed the pattern - but he'd hit the nail on the head, and her stunned silence only spurred him on. "Regina, don't hide behind the Queen."

This kindness would be her downfall; she would have preferred a heated argument. She tried to whip up her anger once more, but suddenly she felt limp and empty, and all she could manage was a stuttered response.

"I'm not- I have nothing to say to you."

"Fine," he nodded. "Then listen to me, because I have something to say to you."

"I don't want to hear it."

"Oh, but you will."

How could he be so damn cocksure? But in spite of herself, she was listening. Why didn't she just turn and leave? Did she actually want to know what he could possibly have in mind? Before she had time to confront the question, Robin ploughed on.

"I'm sick of you doing this to yourself." Perhaps his words would aggravate her more if he didn't look so damn careworn. "I'm sick of me-" he went on, and Regina's eyes widened - what could he have done to feel bad about? "I'm sick of me condoning it by just standing around while you brood in your shell just because I worry I might say the wrong thing."

Regina swallowed. She hadn't been expecting this. He'd been trying to help, and he didn't know how. She could relate to that - she'd felt that way with Henry for a while, it had been one of the reasons she'd had him seeing Archie after she'd admitted she had no idea how to make things right with him again.

But Robin wasn't done yet. "I'm sick of us," he said, and she had an urge to cover her ears to shut out the words to come, "running away from each other. As scary as that is, I have feelings for you, and I know you feel something, too."

There seemed to be a giant, gaping hole where her stomach had been just a moment ago. Robin had feelings for her. He'd just admitted to having feelings for her. And she'd worried she might be imagining things.

The tattoo.

No, this wasn't safe, this wasn't what she wanted right now.

"Someone sure is being overly presumptuous." Her voice, would-be-dismissive, sounded artificial to her, but maybe - just maybe - he wouldn't hear that.

"So it's not true?" he challenged with his eyes boring into her. Yet he hadn't taken a single step towards her the entire conversation.

"No," Regina shot back in defence, a sinking sensation in her stomach at the blatant lie. She had feelings for him, yes, and very intense ones at that. But she couldn't tell him that. Heavens, she couldn't even admit it to herself.

A shadow settled on his brow, and the effect of her words astounded her. Was he so serious about this? That crestfallen face wasn't making things any easier.

He turned to Roland and wrapped the fur tighter around him. The gesture was perfectly genuine, yet possibly Robin was using the time to collect himself. Indeed, when he looked up again, his face was straight and his look searching. Once again, she'd have loved to hide from it, but instead worked to arrange her features into a look of contempt her heart was protesting loudly - she'd already seemed to have caused him pain.

"I don't believe you," Robin said at long last, but he looked gloomy all the same. Did this mean he'd...? "But there's not much I can do if you're so intent on denying whatever this connection we have is."

She only knew one way to go about this.

"We don't...have a connection," she forced out, then added almost inaudibly: "We can't."

Robin nodded, and kept his eyes down for a good while. Was this it? Had she succeeded? Was he finally giving up?

"Then I guess that's it," he said simply.

This was her way out. She should be relieved. Why wasn't she relieved? Why did she feel like bursting into tears? Why did she want to forget about the world for just a moment while they embraced?

I've done that already. I can't afford to do it again. It was too much...getting too big, spiralling out of control.

"Why are you following me?" Regina finally turned with her fists clenched.

What was he thinking, walking uphill not far behind her as though he had every right to be there? She'd left the stream without much ado, leaving Robin and Roland behind, but not long afterwards they were at her heels once again. Robin never came too close, but she knew he was constantly behind her by the way the tiny hairs at the back of her neck would stand up, and the knowledge itself was enough to make her uncomfortable. What else did she have to do to finally be rid of his unsettling presence?

Robin didn't answer until he was just steps away from her, and even then he could have done better than: "We have a common way."

"Take another route," she commanded, although that tone had never worked on him before.

"This is the only reasonable one," he shrugged.

"I thought we agreed to split."

"We never agreed on any such thing."

"Fine. Then go ahead. I'll find a way." She'd double back if she had to, go back the way they'd come. It'd take longer, but she could live with that. Or maybe she could rest her magic for a few days and try to poof herself straight to Aurora's Palace, despite the warning Robin had given her at the beginning.

Robin's patience was on the run-out.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Regina's nails dug into her palms. How dare he call her ridiculous? And he went on unashamedly. "There's only woods and marshes and magical traps around here. We need to get to Aurora's Palace, and fast. All of us. What sense does it make to go separately when we know there are dangers on the way?"

"Do you require my protection?" she jeered. "Because I sure don't require yours."

"No, sure as hell not. The wraith could talk."

"You didn't have to save me. I didn't ask for your help."

"No, of course not," Robin threw his one free arm up in the air. "Thankfully, I'm nowhere near as mulish as you, otherwise you'd be dead."

Regina's common sense nodded agreement, but her frame of mind dictated a much meaner response.

"Well, maybe you should have let that happen, at least I wouldn't have to suffer you around now - or you me."

Robin gave her a look of utter disbelief.

"You know, you really are incredible! Do you ever even-"

"Papa?" Roland peeped from beneath the stirring fur.

Robin froze, and Regina's mouth closed again. They'd both forgotten about the little boy asleep in Robin's arms. Had he heard them arguing?

"Roland..." Robin stroked the child's hair now poking out of the fur, "it's alright, buddy, I'm here."

Roland rubbed his eyes with his little fists and looked around behind his father's shoulder. "Where are we? Are we going home?"

"We are," Robin smiled at him.

"Is Regina with us?" he asked, and Regina's breath hitched a little. "She saved me. In the palace."

"That she did." Robin looked at her, his eyes soft and full of gratitude, all irateness gone.

She swallowed and searched for an adequate response but was spared the trouble when Roland twisted in Robin's arms and followed his father's look.

"Regina...hi," he breathed happily.

"Hi, Roland." This little boy had the most amazing ability to make her smile, and he didn't even know how precious that was. "How are you feeling?"

He considered the question for a moment. "Hurts a little."

They exchanged a quick, concerned look.

"Where does it hurt?" Robin asked, forcing his voice into calmness he definitely didn't feel. Regina herself felt a dreadful cold gripping her heart. What if something was wrong with him after all, and she hadn't noticed? She should have - she was the magical one of the two, so if the Witch had done Roland harm, Regina should have seen.

"My tummy," Roland pointed.

Robin set him down on a moss-covered rock and unwrapped the fur. Roland looked on with curiosity, and Regina gave him and encouraging smile before she joined Robin. She squinted in concentration as Robin swiftly exposed Roland's belly, probing gently with his fingers. Roland didn't once flinch in pain. Everything seemed to be alright.

Robin glanced at her over his shoulder, and she shook her head desperately. Was she missing something?

Then a sign of recognition ignited in his eyes, and he turned back to the boy.

"Roland? Could it be that you're hungry?"

Roland considered that for a moment, then nodded. "Maybe."

Robin uttered a relieved chuckle, and Regina closed her eyes briefly, gratefulness washing over her.

"I'll get you something right now, alright?" Robin reached into his cloak and handed the familiar plushie to Roland. "Here's Mr Monkey."

"I want Regina," Roland demanded, but took the monkey just as well.

Regina stepped closer. "I'm here, Roland."

He pointed next to him, and when she sat, he climbed onto her lap immediately. She put her arms around him with the smallest grain of reluctance, the last of which was chased out of her the moment he attempted to link his arms around her, resting even closer to her.

Robin whipped up a bowl of porridge in next to no time, and fed the already drooping Roland, while she still held his limp little figure on her lap. When the last spoonful was cleared, Roland snuggled into Regina, rested his cheek against her, and fell asleep. Soon, she found herself stroking his thin little arms.

Robin stepped to them, and she froze for a second, but he merely leaned to pick up the monkey Roland had in the meantime dropped, and sat back down a little distance away. She let out a small breath.

"We can do this together, you know." Robin kept toying with the monkey in his hands. "We don't have to split."

"We've been through this," she said quietly, resolved to remain uncompromising.

"No. I'm talking about teamwork," he said in a rush. "Nothing else. No connection, no nothing. You've been clear enough about that."

Even if there was a gloomy note in his voice somewhere, clearly he'd tried his best to not make it show. Regina felt a chill all the same. This wasn't a good idea. Agreeing on not acting on these urges was all very well, but would they actually stick to it?

Roland sighed in his sleep and squirmed on her lap, but didn't wake.

If she wanted to be reasonable, she had to agree with Robin. They had a common way, and they were more effective against enemies together than separately. If not for their own protection, they owed that much to Roland.

"Alright. We stick together - as allies. Nothing more, nothing less." A special emphasis lingered on those words - he needed to understand that, or else she'd opt out. "Your word," she asked.

He only took the tiniest moment before complying.

"My word," he said, and added, with a grave face: "I won't mention it again."

Robin rubbed his hands together over the humble fire. The cold drizzle and the sleet had gotten into the very heart of the forest, and the firewood smoked abundantly. At least Roland was warm, with the fur and Robin's own blanket thrown over him. He still spent most of the day asleep - there couldn't have been much sleep happening for the children while they'd been held hostage.

Despite the cold, Regina was sitting further away from the fire, across from them. Robin glanced at her quickly, but the caution was unnecessary - she wasn't looking his way but stared into the flames instead, her face softer than he'd seen it in a while. She was warm enough when Roland happened to be awake, but rather cold and unpleasant when they were on their own.

"So, this Witch," Robin began. Surely that at least was a safe topic - she was the thing that had united them after all. "Did you get to learn something about her back in the palace?" There'd never been time for them to discuss what had gone on in Regina's chamber between the two of them, and frankly, he was curious.

Regina, however, wasn't impressed by his choice of conversational topic - or perhaps it was the idea of conversation in general.

"That's between the two of us," she said dryly, her face set once again. Then she looked up at him across the fire with a challenge in her eyes. Robin became wary - this wasn't going to go well.

"But strange that you should ask," she continued. "If I'm not mistaken, you had promised useful information on her back at Rumpelstiltskin's Castle in exchange for my assistance. Somehow, that part of the deal was never honoured."

The insinuation stung.

"I always honour my word," he retorted. Damn it, he had resolved not to be provoked or otherwise drawn into assuming the same tone with her that she'd been employing on him. But he was stingy about his honour, and the worst thing was she did have a point, although he had his reasons.

"Oh, but of course you do," she smirked. "You're a thief with honour, after all."

So they were back to "thief" again? Robin's stomach sank, and at the same time annoyance crept onto him.

"My word was good enough for you yesterday."

He regretted saying it the moment the words came out. He had no intention of reminding her of that conversation, or thinking about it himself.

Her face was drained of all colour for a moment, then the mask was back on.

"Good night," she said in no uncertain tones, and, turning her back on him, retired for the night.

Before turning in himself, Robin made sure to throw a bunch of firewood on the fire - albeit with completely unnecessary force.