Regina settled into the passenger seat and buckled her seat belt. Robin was talking to Roland behind her, telling him stories about Sherwood Forest and his escapades with the Merry Men.
Emma started the van, checking the mirrors almost as carefully as she was checking Regina. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly.
Regina stared straight ahead. "I'm fine. Just drive."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Okay, Madam Mayor. Get comfortable because it's a long drive."
"Can you drive the whole way?"
Emma shook her head. "Probably not the whole way. Why don't you try to get some sleep, and we'll switch off in a few hours."
"I'm not tired," Regina said.
"You barely slept last night." Emma said, and Regina shot her a look. "I'm just saying. I could have packed the entire apartment in those bags under your eyes."
Regina closed her eyes. Yes, this was exactly what she needed to hear. "Thank you, Swan. You always know how to make me feel better."
"Please, Regina," Emma said, her voice tinged with impatience. "Just get some sleep. I'll wake you up once we're past Boston."
Regina nodded, knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to sleep with both Robin and Zelena in the car. She leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes.
The next thing she knew, Emma was shaking her awake. "Regina," she said, and then a little more forcefully, "Regina!"
Regina shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "All right," she said. "I'm awake."
"Switch seats with me," Emma said. She pushed open the passenger door, and heard the rear door slide open behind her. Robin's head popped out of the van as she rounded the front of the car..
"What are you doing?" Regina asked.
"Emma needs to sleep, and I'm wide awake. I'm going to keep you company while you drive."
"No." Regina said flatly.
"Regina, please." Emma said quietly, coming up behind her. "Just be cool."
Be cool, Regina thought. She was the Evil Queen. She was the epitome of being cool.
"Fine," she said. "Get in."
Robin had the decency to remain quiet for the first fifteen minutes. Regina would have appreciated his reticence, but she was too busy being tense waiting for him to start talking. When he did, it was almost a relief. Almost.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I know I hurt you."
Regina pressed her lips together.
"I hope you know this was never what I wanted. When I said I chose you, Regina, I meant it."
Regina laughed. "Yes," she said, jerking her head to the back of the van, "I can see that."
"That's not fair," he said. "You sent me over that line. You told me it was a one-way trip."
"So it's my fault?" she snapped. "Oh, that's rich."
"That's not what I meant," he said. "None of this is your fault."
She didn't say anything. She had nothing to say.
Robin took a breath and tried again. "I really didn't think I would see you again. I'm sorry."
"You gave up," Regina said matter-of-factly.
"I didn't give up on you."
She shot him a look. "The woman you thought was your wife is pregnant. What do you call that?"
"Regina," he said. "I never gave up on you. I never stopped thinking about you, or missing you. It was a mistake thinking that I could just slip back into my relationship with Marian, and I know that now, but it had nothing to do with how I felt about you."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" she asked. "Because it doesn't."
"I thought I'd never see you again. I thought I should do what was best for Roland."
"Yeah, well, I thought what was best for Roland was following your heart." She could tell by the sharp intake of breath that she'd hit a nerve. Still, she kept pushing. "How far along is she?"
"What?"
"How far along is she?"
She could tell by the silence that he didn't want to answer, but she wasn't going to give him an out. She waited for his answer.
"Seven weeks," he said quietly.
Regina nodded. Seven weeks. Not even two weeks after he left her, he'd fallen back into Marian's arms.
"Regina-" he said, but she cut him off by switching on the radio.
He reached over and turned down the volume. "You can't drown me out, you know."
"I can try," she said steadily.
She could feel his gaze on her face. "You can try," he agreed, "but I won't let you."
Regina was done with the conversation. She fiddled with the volume controls on the steering wheel, trying to tune out both the thoughts swirling in her head and Robin's presence in the seat next to her.
She lasted for about half an hour before her conscience got the better of her. Robin sat in stony silence next to her, staring out the window.
"I'm sorry about Marian," she said gently.
"Thank you."
"And I'm sorry about all this," she said, waving her hand toward the back of the van. "I know this can't be easy for you, finding out that Marian is Zelena."
"None of this has been easy, Regina," he said.
"I know," she replied. "I really do know that."
"I just wish I knew what to tell Roland. He's going to want to know why his mother left him again."
Regina turned to him and gave him a brief smile. "We'll figure something out."
"We?" he asked.
"We," she answered. "Zelena caused all of this because of me, so I'm going to help clean it up."
He reached over and stroked her hand. "Again, Regina. Thank you."
The silence grew heavy, so she punched up the volume on the radio.
"Dear God," he said, "What is this garbage?"
"It's music," she replied.
"This is not music," he said with a sneer.
She laughed. John Lennon would roll over in his grave if he had heard that. "It's the Beatles," she said softly. "Let it be. I used to sing this to Henry when he was a baby and he wouldn't go to sleep."
She hummed along to the melody. "Whisper words of wisdom, let it be," she sung softly. She could feel Robin's eyes on her, but she kept singing, letting the memories of rocking Henry to sleep soothe her wounded heart.
"I sing to Roland, too," Robin said softly. "Every night before bed. I sing him songs about brave knights and damsels in distress. Now THAT is music."
She just laughed. "Agree to disagree, then," she said lightly.
She felt a hand reach up on her left, where Robin couldn't see, and again Emma was rubbing her shoulder comfortingly. Regina took a deep breath and focused on the road in front of her.