Hi guys. First of all I want to say sorry that this took so long only excuse is i'm a busy girl I have work and I have a seven year old son so writing unfortunately sometimes has to take a back seat no matter how much I don't want it to. Also my beta Geli is a busy girl and I won't send out unbeted stories because id rather wait until I can give you a good one then release crap just because its quicker. These stories have not been abandoned and they won't be but you guys may have to bare with us sometimes I hope you can understand. I am still working on prompts and if you have sent me one I will get to it I promise.

Big shout out to Geli my beta, she has barely had time to sleep this week but has managed to beta this story love ya sweetie.

This prompt is from aixula on Twitter, hope you enjoy xxx

Not mine, never mine.

Eight months. He has been gone eight months and not one word, not even a phone call or a text. She knew their parting at the town line was goodbye but a part of her hoped that it wouldn't be so final.

Since he has been gone Regina's life could be divided up into two different sections: good days and bad days.

During good days she could smile, though it never really reached her eyes. She could spend time with people: Snow, David and Emma, make jokes and even laugh and almost make it look convincing. She could play with baby Neil, delighting in her step grandson's giggles and feel a pang of warmth as she remembered Henry at this age.

Henry.

He was the driving force of these good days, when she remembered that she still had some good in her life despite what she had lost, days when she didn't dwell on what could have been and that she could have had so much more. After all she should be grateful that the author hadn't taken him from her too. In hind side she should be grateful, the love and understanding of her son even after all she has done was more than she deserved.

Yes, she still had a lot to be thankful for she often thought as Henry snuggled up in bed at night and whispered `Love you mom.' Before drifting to sleep.

On good days she had a burning sense of determination that she would find the author and find a way to bring Robin and Roland back to Storybrooke. She has hope she would get her happy ending and she knew down to her bones that Robin was a huge part of that happy ending for her along with Henry and Roland.

Then there were the bad days. Days when the endless dead ends at locating the author would make hope seem like a pointless thing. Days when her happy ending seemed so unreachable that she felt like a fool for even believing it to be possible. Days that she felt she had no other choice but to just accept the life she had as being it for her.

Days when she woke and knew straight away it was one of those days. Days when the hole in her chest seemed to gape and tug at her threatening to swallow her whole, just a big empty space that was bigger than Henry could fill no matter how he tried. These days she couldn't eat or sleep, could barely function and well meaning friends had realised fast that they couldn't help, on these days it was best to just leave her alone to just sit at home and just try and exist.

On these days Henry would come down stairs taking one look at her distant expression and shaking hands and he would know straight away. He would get a sad look on his face and wrap his arms around her before whispering.

"I'll be at Grandma and Grandpa's, take your time and call me when you feel better. I love you mom."

Once he was gone Regina would let the tears fall, tears for the loss of her soulmate and tears of guilt because she didn't want Henry to think that he wasn't enough for her. On one of her better days she had confided in Snow about her guilt for hurting Henry and her stepdaughter had just grasped her hand and told her she understood. After all she said if she lost David that pain wouldn't just not be because of Emma and Neil, she had lost someone she loved and that pain was real, Henry understood that. Regina had felt so much love and gratitude for her stepdaughter in that moment that she didn't even protest when Snow pulled her into her arms and patted her back as she allowed a few tears to escape.

Today was a bad day.

It had hit her as soon as she had woke up in the early hours of the morning, crying, sweating and her hoarse voice calling Robin's name. Sleep wasn't an option after that so she had retreated downstairs to the sofa and that was where she remained eight hours later, staring into space with drying tears on her face. She hadn't dressed, hadn't ate, just allowed the loneliness and sadness swallow her whole, at least for the day, although it seemed the bad days were getting more frequent.

Emma had tried to speak to her after her last bad day, when she had finally emerged from her house feeling strong enough to face the world, she had tried her version of an intervention. She knew Emma and the rest of her mixed up family felt hurt that she wouldn't accept their help on these days, they wanted to be with her to make her smile and give her comfort but she knew that her mind was too dark on these days, she was best on her own. Emma had suggested a doctor, told her maybe therapy or medication was the way to go, she had said it carefully like she had expected Regina to go insane at the suggestion but she hadn't. She knew Emma was just trying to help she was just at a loss and didn't know how to. Regina had an answer to that.

She couldn't. She just couldn't.

Nobody could, no amount of professional help or pills could fill the void left by an absent lover, the issue wasn't with her brain or a chemical imbalance in her body, she just ached for the man she loved.

She looked down at the framed photo she had clutched tightly in her hands and traced her finger over the image of Robin over the cool glass. A tear fell down her cheek and splashed onto the glass as she focused blurry eyes on the expression of love on Robin's face as he gazed at her. She missed those eyes, missed feeling as completely cherished as he made her feel. She closed her eyes and imagined his hand threaded in her hair like he was doing on the photo.

Her eyes flew open as she heard the buzz of her phone and she weakly groaned and lifted her hand to massage her temples as she ignored her phone, she had a headache. It had been the seventh time her phone had rung in the last hour and she was getting more stressed with it by the minute. The idiots knew from experience she wouldn't answer today, Henry would have told them it was a bad day so why wouldn't they just leave her alone?

She relaxed slightly when her phone went silent only to let out a growl moments later when it began to buzz again. Clearly they weren't going to leave her alone and the content noise from her phone was putting more stain on her fast slipping sanity. She snatched up her phone and vaguely thought about throwing it at the wall before she remembered the texts from Robin and Henry and photos of Roland she had in there so she angrily swiped the touch screen to answer the call instead.

"Was seven missed calls not enough of a clue for you Snow? I want to be left alone." Her voice was weak and barely concealed her tears, which just made her angrier.

"Regina."

Time stood still and all she was aware of was her rapidly beating heart as it refused to believe what her ears had heard.

The voice spoke her name again and she slammed her eyes shut as her breath left her in harsh pants before she chocked out the word in question.

"R-Robin?"

"It's me sweetheart." He whispered back with a catch in his voice.

Her eyes slammed shut and she let a sob escape her as her hands shook so hard she almost dropped her phone. The irony wasn't lost on her that she had spent months wanting nothing more than to speak to him and now that she had the chance words escaped her. All she could do was sob on the phone. He gently shushed her from the other end but the smooth sound of his voice just made her cry harder.

He let her cry, giving her soft words of comfort until her sobs lessened to small whimpers and she was able to talk.

"Lose my number did you?" She tried to make her voice sound teasing but it just came out as a broken rasp.

He let out a small chuckle but it didn't have much humor in it, there was a question hanging in the air between them. As much as she was so happy to hear from him, it has been eight months and she needed to know why he hasn't contacted her sooner. Why only call her now?

"I wanted to call you sweetheart. Pretty much the moment I left but I ran into some trouble and I couldn't."

She was instantly on alert and her heart began to thump painfully in her chest. Her voice was full of fear as she spoke.

"Robin what happened? Are you ok, is Roland ok?"

He gently shushed her again and his voice was gentle and soothing as he reassured her.

"We are both fine my love I promise. As for what happened, now's not the time for that. Now I just want to hear your voice and tell you how much I miss you."

Her protest died on her lips at his last words and her need to find out what had happened to him lost out to the joy of just being able to speak to him and hear his voice.

"I miss you too." She whispered while she clutched her phone tighter to her ear as if trying to get closer to him.

She heard him let out a breath of relief and both of them paused trying to work out what to say next, there was too much to say and neither knew where to start. Robin broke the silence first as his soft voice asked her seriously.

"How's my Love?''her

Regina bit her lip as she tried to stop the sob that was bubbling in her throat. Her throat felt tight and sore from tears as she answered weakly.

"I'm ok."

Silence greeted her for a beat and she began to think he was gone, panic began to twist in her gut which was quickly snubbed out when she heard him sigh deeply before speaking in a gentle voice.

"That may work on everyone else Regina but I'm your soulmate remember? Tell me the truth sweetheart, please."

She felt the tear slip down her cheek as her eyes slammed shut. She didn't know why she even bothered trying to lie to him. She has never been able to even in the beginning. When she had first heard the word soulmate she hadn't known the full meaning of it but she was learning, It meant that they were literally two halves of one whole. Connected. That's why being apart was so hard, he was a part of her and you couldn't hide from your other half, even through the phone apparently.

"I'm not doing that well." She whispered with a catch in his voice.

"I know baby." He whispered.

The tears were coming thick and fast now as she listened to the sound of his voice, the soothing quality making her feel safe enough to let it all go like she hadn't allowed herself to for the past few weeks. She choked her words out between heavy sobs and she didn't even know if he would understand them or not.

"I miss you so much, I ache for you every second of every day and I'm giving up hope that we will ever be together again, and it hurts so much Robin. It feels like a part of me is gone and after searching for ways to get you back and the author and finding nothing but dead ends I don't think I'll ever get it back again, if I'll ever get you back again."

By the time she had finished she was practically hysterical. Her breath was coming out in short pants, her voice was hoarse and her cheeks stung from how wet they were from her tears. Robin's voice sounded heartbroken as he spoke softly to her.

"Please my love calm down, you will make yourself ill. Take deep breaths, concentrate on my breathing."

She did as he asked and matched her breathing with his, that along with his voice whispering softly to her gave her a anchor and with a last shuddering breath she had calmed enough to stop sobbing.

She was now focused enough to listen beyond his voice to the background noises, trying to find a clue to where he was. She heard footsteps and heard his breathing was now slightly ragged like he was walking briskly. She listened harder and could make out sounds of the outdoors, the tweet of birds and the whoosh of wind through the phone. Curiosity got the best of her and she had the need to know where he was, hoping to know a location to tether him to. She asked the same question she had asked earlier in the hopes he would answer her this time.

"Robin, where are-''

She was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell, she swore lightly under her breath and went on to continue her question until the sound of the doorbell cut through her words again. She growled in frustration and Robin chuckled lightly before telling her softly.

"Go answer the door Regina."

She scoffed in irritation before answering him firmly.

"I think this is more important, they can wait."

As if on cue the doorbell's harsh sound rung throughout her house again and she felt like screaming.

"Doesn't sound like they can." He answered her.

She sighed deeply and brought up her hand to massage her temples, trying to ward off the sudden stress headache she felt returning from earlier. She pushed herself off the sofa and marched to the front door, the phone still clutched to her ear. She was frustrated and scared, scared that this interruption would mean their moment would be over, that he would put the phone down and she wouldn't hear from him again. Her voice was small as she begged him.

"Please don't go, I'll get rid of them. Just stay on the line."

She didn't wait for his answer, too anxious to get rid of whoever it was spoiling her moment with her soulmate and go back to just pretending that they were fine and he wasn't miles away from her, even if just for a while longer.

She threw open the door, about to give whoever was on the other side the wrath of The Evil Queen but it died on her lips and all that came out was a rush of air and a tiny squeak as the phone slipped from her hand and crashed to the hardwood floor of the hallway.

She must be dreaming, or her eyes were just playing tricks on her. Or she had finally gone insane, either way what she thought she was seeing could not be true. She screwed her eyes shut and willed her racing heart to slow, her eyes flew open again and she flinched in shock when she felt the soft brush of fingers on her cheek. Her eyes flew to familiar blue ones and she let out a sob before throwing herself into her soulmate's waiting arms.

He wrapped his arms tightly round her waist as she clung to his neck. He lifted her off her feet, bringing them both inside the house and kicking the door shut behind them. She sobbed against his shoulder, breathing the familiar smell of pine and campfire smoke as he weaved one hand through her hair and whispered words of comfort in her ear.

"It's ok sweetheart. I'm here, I've got you."

She pulled back to look greedily at him before frantically pressing kisses to every inch of his face she could reach: his cheeks, forehead, nose, eyelids before capturing his lips in a hungry kiss, pouring all the frustration and longing of the last few months into it. She knew there were so many questions hanging between them right now and she would ask them soon but right now she didn't care about the why's or the how's just that he was here, she was in his arms and he was kissing her with just as much passion as she was kissing him. And that was all that mattered.

Their tongues tangled and she gasped into his mouth as she relished the familiar taste of him on her tongue before they both broke apart breathlessly and pressed their foreheads together.

"You're here." She whispered breathlessly while tracing her fingers over his stubbled cheek. "I cant believe that you are really here."

"I shouldn't be here." He answered her hoarsely. "It's not safe. I'm putting both of us in danger being here but hearing how sad you were, I couldn't stay away. I knew just by the tone of your voice you were struggling just as much as I was and I needed to make sure you were ok."

She frowned deeply at him as panic set hard and heavy in her chest. Her mind raced a mile a minute as she went over all the terrible things his words could mean. Her voice shook as she asked him fearfully.

"What's happened? Robin what does that mean? Why are you in danger?"

He stroked her hair in comfort and gently shushed her before shaking his head and speaking soothingly.

"It's ok sweetheart, it will be fine I promise."

His words did nothing to calm her and she gripped tightly to his forearm, her nails digging into his jacket, her voice was frantic as she spoke to him.

"Robin you're scaring me, what's going on?"

He gently placed her back on her feet before taking her shoulders firmly to ground her.

"I'm handling it Regina, I promise. But I can't tell you what's going on right now because its not safe. Just know that it will be over soon and we will be free to be together."

Her head was spinning and she was so on edge, wondering what he couldn't tell her. He never kept things from her yet the desperation in his eyes for her to accept his words told her that he was trying to do what was right for her. It didn't make her any happier about the situation though. If he was going through something, if he was in danger she wanted to help him. Her voice was strong despite her fear as she mirrored his words from the morning in her vault when she had shown him the storybook.

"Robin, let me help."

He just shook his head as he lifted his hand to gently stroke his thumb over her cheekbone. She sighed in frustration at his lack of satisfactory answers. Something all of a sudden occurred to her and she felt an idiot for not asking him sooner, must be the shock of seeing him followed by all the confusion.

"Robin, where's Roland?"

"He's fine." Robin rushed to assure her, his hand coasting soothingly through her hair "Will has him, he will keep him safe."

His words did nothing to calm her, they only added to her confusion and fear. What was going on?

"Safe? Robin why would he need to be kept safe, what danger are you in and where's Marian?" She asked him frantically.

At the mention of his wife's name his eyes clouded over with an emotion she didn't understand, there was fear and was that anger? He closed his eyes stopping her from reading them any more and when he opened them again they were much calmer, he took a deep breath and spoke again with forced calmness.

"I promise Regina all will become clear soon. I can't tell you much right now because I don't want you involved, for your safety and Henry's. But I can promise you I have it under control and it will be over soon and I'll be back for good. Hold on to that when I go again, sweetheart. We won't be apart for much longer."

She took in his words and they gave her a small amount of reassurance even though her lack of knowledge in what was going on unnerved her to no end. She clung on to the words `I'll be back for good' like they were a life preserver, though she still didn't know how he expected her to let this go and she rushed to tell him so.

"Robin how can you expect me to stand by and do nothing when I know you and Roland are in danger? How am I meant to just let all this go? I don't even understand how you're back in Storybrooke. You're not meant to be able to return but you're here and I'm so so happy about that, but you tell me it's not safe for you to be here but that it will be ok and we will be together soon and you looked angry when I mentioned Marian and you haven't spoke of her. I'm so scared and I'm confus-''

He stopped her words by crashing his mouth to hers in a hungry kiss. A whine of protest weakly left her mouth before she got swept away in the feeling of his mouth on hers. He kissed her almost desperately, molding his lips to hers and grasping up hands full of her hair. She kept up with his pace though, her own hand clutching the short hairs at the back of his neck and standing up on her toes to get closer to his mouth. They broke apart breathlessly and he placed one last kiss to her forehead before trailing his hand down her heated cheek. She was breathless as she spoke her tone slightly lighter.

"Is that your way of shutting me up?"

He chuckled lightly before lifting her hand to his lips and brushing a kiss to her fingers.

"Never. I missed the sound of your voice. I just want this moment, however brief it is for now, to be about us not arguing and you being scared." He told her seriously before gripping her chin and tilting her head to look into his eyes before continuing. "It's all going to be fine, I swear to you. Now I'm going to kiss you one last time then I have to go because the sooner I do what I need to do, the sooner I can come back to you."

She shook her head in denial and gripped his forearms as if she could stop him from going. Her voice was a broken whisper as she begged him.

"Robin please don't go, don't leave me again."

She saw the pain in his eyes and she knew hers mirrored the same but he just cupped both her cheeks in his palms and brought his face close to hers before whispering.

"Close your eyes Regina and keep them closed."

She let out a sob but did as he asked knowing that she couldn't stop the inevitable. Tears slid down her cheeks and he quickly wiped them away with his thumbs before she felt his lips on her trembling ones, feather light but she felt it all the way to her soul.

His lips left hers and she felt him lean close to her ear, the vibration of his voice tickling as he whispered.

"I love you."

She took a deep breath to return his words as his hands left her cheeks. Instead her eyes flew open as she heard the soft click of the door and a rush of air, all she saw through her tear-blurred eyes was the door softly closing and she found herself alone in her hallway.

She felt her back hit her wall and she slid to the floor, her whisper loud in the quiet hallway.

"I love you too."