Chapter Six

There are thoughts tumbling through Kris' mind. He has an idea. One he's been turning over and over in his mind since his conversation with Mr. Lock… with Robin. He knows what he must do, though it might take a bit of scheming on his part. He's so engrossed in his thoughts he doesn't hear a man calling after him until he's directly behind him.

Kris looks back. It's the man from the store. The man who had taunted him is back and following him. How he ever found him he didn't know…

The man jogs up and steps in front of him. "Hey, Santa!"

Kris stops.

He's intent on confronting the man, civilly, but soon the man is stepping up to him. Kris can smell the alcohol on his breath. "What is a guy your age playing this game with kids for, huh? Are you just a lonely, pathetic man or is there a darker thing to this?"

Kris knows talking will not help whatever this man has against him and tries to walk around him, but the man is moving in his way, preventing him from leaving.

"You got a thing for the little ones?" the man taunts, and Kris' eyes widen. How… that's… anger erupts in his belly, and his grip tightens on his cane. "Well, do ya old man? Huh? Huh!"

The strike comes before Kris knows what he's doing. Kris strikes the man without thinking. The next thing he knows, he's looking down at the man who is now lying seemingly unconscious on the ground at his feet.

There are people around coming to help.

"I… I didn't mean to," he tells them. "I was provoked."

"Save it for the police. Sir," a man says.

Then a woman's voice, "Wait a minute, you're Macy's Santa Claus!"

#

When Regina woke the next morning, her eyes are still red-rimmed and burning from crying. She hadn't wanted to turn him down like that. She's mad at herself, mad at him for asking her now, for not giving her enough time.

If it were just her, she knows her answer would have been different. She loves Robin. Loves him more than she ever thought she would love anyone again.

But Henry…

If something were to happen, she would never be able to forgive herself if Henry got hurt because he would. He's so attached to Robin. He already looks up to him. If he were to leave as a friend, it would be one thing but to leave as a father… She can't risk his heart like that.

She showers and cries a bit more, but then she dries herself along with her tears. This doesn't have to be the end for them. Maybe she can talk to him and apologize. Hopefully he'll understand why.

She planned to go over and talk to him, but he's already gone to work by the time she knocks and his response to her Can we talk later? text is short and lacking it's usual warmth.

Alright.

Her day doesn't get any better from there. It just gets worse.

She walks into her office and is then pulled by a panic-stricken looking Ruby to her desk where she tells Regina to sit and then pushes play on her computer screen.

It's the morning news flashing a picture of Kris.

"All right, folks, you might want to clear the kids out of the room before we read this next story. It appears that new york's most famous Santa Claus has a mean streak."

What? She presses a key, turning the volume up.

"The centerpiece of Macy's big holiday ad push is behind bars this morning... plans regarding a replacement for Mr. Kringle. The spokesperson did say, however, that for at least the remainder of today, there will be no Santa Claus at the 34th street store. ...without any apparent provocation... struck him repeatedly with a walking stick. Police arrived within moments and arrested Mr. Kringle-"

Her eyes snap onto Ruby. "Why didn't someone call me?"

Ruby's hands twist together. "We thought you would have known. It's all over the place. Mal wants to see you... The bigs guys upstairs already made a decision on how to handle it."

God, she would have known if she bothered to see past her own problems but she hadn't.

"If you're planning to take your children to the store today, take note. There will be no Santa Claus at the 34th street store. Macy's competitors are having the last laugh this morning."

Taking her phone from her pocket, Regina calls the one person she trusts more than anyone. He answers on the second ring, and his soft voice brings tears to her eyes. "Robin?

She hears his heavy sigh before he says, "I know. I saw it all over social media and then the papers."

"I want you to help him." Tears make her eyes burn, but she forces them away and focuses on the task at hand. "He's at Bellevue, and I don't know what's happening, but he's alone, and he shouldn't be."

"What's Macy's lawyer's say about it? Do they have a position?" he asks.

Regina scoffs. Ignores the looks from customers and employees as she marches to her office. "They're in meetings all day. Mal told me they're thinking of distancing themselves away from him. We can't let him fight this alone, Robin."

"No, we certainly cannot."

"Someone needs to believe in him, and you do, I know you do," she says, unsure why she's getting so emotional over this but she is. The very idea of him sitting in that hospital for another minute threatens to overwhelm her. The unfairness of it all...

"Don't worry, love. I'm on my way to him now. I'll call you soon."

The tightness in her middle loosens, and she takes a deep breath. Kris has Robin now. He's going to be okay, she tells herself. "Thank you."

#

Robin spends the majority of his time from his office to the court house on the phone with his assistant. She's preparing document after document, call after call for him, and he thanks God for Ingrid because while she may be light spoken, she's quick and can be a fierce thing to behold when she wants something done. It's part of the reason he has such a success rate. She has people in places he'd rather not wonder the hows and whys behind it, only that he would hate to be on her bad side.

By the time he steps out of the cab, all the paperwork has been sent in. All he needs to do is walk in and shake up the place a bit before he goes and sees his client.

The walk to Judge Perez's office is a short one, and he tells his secretary he needs a moment, to which she raises a brow but nods, gets up from her chair and knocks lightly on the door.

He waits while she announces him, and he suppresses his smile at the confusion in the judge's tone. He wasn't expecting someone to come to Kris' defense. The woman holds the door open, and Robin steps in, undaunted by the other man in the room.

"Your honor, there seems to be some undue haste in this case," he begins, "I wish to protect my client's rights, as I'm sure you do."

The judge is looking at him with his mouth slack, then seems to recover and says, "Mr. Prosecutor, this is…"

Robin looks over to the other man in the room. He recognizes him as one of the best prosecution attorneys in New York City. He holds out his hand for him to take. "Robin Locksley," he supplies.

The other man takes his hand. It's a firm shake. A shake between soon-to-be opposing attorneys."Kieran Gold."

The corner of Robin's mouth lifts into a sideways smirk before he lets his hand go, and gives his attention to the judge. "If your honor pleases, I request a formal hearing. Sign the commitment papers now if you like, but you'll soon see my assistant has already sent habeas corpus this afternoon."

The judge's shoulders slump. Robin gets it. It's almost Christmas and he was probably looking forward to a quiet time before. Too bad that. The judge looks between them. "Looks like we're having a hearing. Monday morning at nine am."

"Thank you, sir." Inclining his head, Robin sends the prosecutor a smirk. "Mr. Gold."

There is no smile on the prosecutor's face when he returns, "Mr. Locksley."

#

Robin's led down the near silent halls of Bellevue to Kris' room. The hospital smell is pungent in the air, more so than a normal hospital. He's only been to this place twice before. He tries to avoid it when all possible. A mental facility isn't exactly what one would call homey.

When the employee lets him into the locked room, Robin pauses just inside the door at the heartbreaking scene before him. Kris is sitting with his back to him, looking out the small window. "Hello, Kris."

"Hello, Mr. Locksley." His tone sounds unsurprised to hear from him as he turns away from the only light in the room. "What brings you out on a miserable day like this?"

His lips pull up. He hasn't lost his sense of humor. Taking a seat on the bed across from the old man, Robin gives him a small smile. "I have a friend who needs my help."

Kris' eyes pull away from his, back to the window. "Hmm."

Robin studies him. The defeat pulling his shoulders down, the twinkle gone from his eyes. "You failed your mental exam on purpose, didn't you?"

A soft chuckle leaves him. "Why would I... do a thing like that?"

Robin gives a noncommittal shrug. "I don't know. Maybe you're tired of being the person everyone looks to? Maybe after all this time, you've given all you have to give?"

His eyes hold his and then Kris is shaking his head. "No."

"Then why, Kris?" Robin asks. "The charges against you were dropped. The man you hit suffered no injury. You could've been out of here had you passed your exam."

"I disgraced myself."

It's Robin who's shaking his head now. "I read your transcript, Kris. The only thing you're guilty of is defending your honor, and standing up for the dignity of every child. That's not a disgrace. That's decency."

Kris leans forward and explains, "But if I'm dismissed as a crazy old man then the good name of Santa Claus is spared."

"No, if not for you, there is no Santa Claus. You are him." Robin tells him because, magic aside, Regina was right about something. Robin did believe in Kris. "Crazy or not, here or gone, you're Santa Claus."

"And what kind of Santa Claus were they believing in, anyway? They can't look to me anymore, not after knowing what happened the other night," Kris argues.

"Think about that night Kris," Robin tells him knowing it was a setup right from the start. A setup from a jealous store rival hell-bent on taking out the competition. "A man was there to photograph the incident. The man you hit was the man you replaced at the parade. The police told me this, Kris. The police believe in you. A lot of people do, and more will when we're finished."

Kris sits up, his look is curious. "Finished with what?"

Robin smiles. "There's a hearing Thursday to decide if you're to be committed. I'm going to defend you. We'll prove that there is Santa Claus and that you're him."

"I'm ready, counselor."

Determination is back in Kris's tone which makes Robin get to his feet. He's got work to do.

#

Tapping his pen on the legal notepad in front of him, Robin sips on his third cup of coffee in as many hours. His defense is sound. He's sure his plan will work, but he's still going over every possible outcome when he hears a knock on his door.

He's sure he knows who it is as he sets down his mug and walks to the door. When he pulls open the door his lips lift. Regina's standing there in her robe, her arms are crossed around her, and her look is guarded when she tells him, "I'm sorry."

Robin reaches out and her arms drop, one hand takes his and he pulls her inside. "I know." Because he does. He knows she cares for him as much as he for her. It was his ill-timed question that cocked everything up, not her answer.

She's in his arms before the door closes. They breath each other in for long moments, holding the other close before she's telling him, "I don't want this distance over the last couple days between us anymore…" Drawing away, she looks up at him. Her dark eyes are wet and they tear him apart. "I know I hurt you, but you took me completely by surprise. We're weren't even dating…"

He tilts his head at that. Is that really how she saw it? What she thinks of all their time together? It's something he needs to know, and asks, "Then what have we been doing, Regina? We spend time together, we share dinners, we take care of each other's children… we sleep together. If that's something else, please tell me because it sure feels a hell of a lot like dating."

She frowns at him. "You know what I mean."

Robin shakes his head and drops his arms from around her middle to step away. "If you're referring to your refusal to acknowledge the relationship we have, yes, I do know what you mean."

"That's not fair," she returns and maybe she's right, but if she's going to continue to deny what they have after everything, he's going to point out when she's being daft no matter how much he loves her.

"Not fair? You wanna know what's not fair? Paying for the sins of the man before me. For being here wanting nothing more than to love you only to be shut out from you. I understand he hurt you, but I'm not Daniel. I'm not going to run off and leave you and Henry."

Tears fall from her eyes. "How am I supposed to know that for sure?"

He takes that step back toward her and lifts his hands to cup her face gently in them. "You say you can only believe in what you see and feel… Believe in me, Regina. Believe in us."

"Don't think I don't want to, Robin…"

"I know that you do," he tells her then exhales and with it all of his frustration. He leans down and he watches her eyes flutter closed right before he presses his lips to hers. Their kiss is soft and it lingers as it heals. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have sprung that on you like I did."

"It's alright." Her arms wrap back around him and he pulls her close as their foreheads meet. "Are we okay?"

"We're okay."