"Support his head." After Robin has slightly recuperated from the shock of having a newborn handled to him, the man was sitting on the couch holding the child that was suddenly his to take care of. Regina had taken a quick trip to Robin's house to retrieve the bag with supplies for the newborn that the social worker had luckily handled the baffled new father. She was waiting for the water she'd cooked for the milk to cool off while watching and instructing Robin about holding the newborn. Robin seemed to struggle slightly, but his body seemed to accept his new role as a father much faster than his mind had, already softly, instructively, rocking the child.

Regina prepared the baby's milk with the same ease she'd been able to with Henry. Even after many years, it was still a process that came as easy to her as smearing her bread in the morning or making hot cocoa for her and Henry. She quickly checked the temperature of the milk and, satisfied with the result, quietly moved to the couch. She almost automatically moved to sit across from him, her low coffee table between them, as she had sat across him before, but decided that sitting next to him would make it easier to assist. After all, she did not know how easy or difficult the baby would be with feeding. She quietly lowered herself next to Robin, now taking a good look at the child in his arms for the first time.

He was a tiny thing, though she remembered Henry being as small too. He slept contently in his soft, blue clothes and adorably fuzzy hat. Little hands were clenching now and then and even though the baby was still sleeping contently, she could see a little tongue peek out from between the tiny lips occasionally. She let out a soft breath that morphed into more of a soft chuckle as she saw something so innocent and adorable lying in the arms of het neighbor. She had seen many children who had once been as little and innocent as this child, yet had been ruined by their parents, their peers or just the world itself. She brought a soft hand up to carefully stroke the baby's soft, satiny skin and vowed that she would protect this baby the best she could.

When she tore her eyes away from the baby, Robin's face was close to hers. Too close, almost. She would have thought it was something he did to the girls leaving his house often at morning to lure them into his bed, if it hadn't been filled with amazement and wonder instead of charm and wit. It was a look she'd rarely seen on him and it threw her off. She shook her head and cleared her stomach, holding up the bottle.
"Do you know when she was last fed?' Robin seemed to be shaken from some line of thought by her question and it took him a while to reply.
"I think the lady said he'd last been fed just over an hour before she gave him to me." He looked down at the child in his arms, still bewildered but with a soft smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Regina couldn't help a smile of herself, because her neighbor was definitely falling in love with the newborn, fast.
"He should be due for another feeding then." Regina gave a smile and moved her hand to the baby's stomach, softly ticking in an attempt to wake him up. Robin frowned slightly, but didn't ask and watched instead. It didn't take long for the baby to open his eyes and suddenly two brown orbs were sleepily staring up at them. She heard Robin take in a soft gasp that he quickly masked with a chuckle as he placed his hand on the baby's stomach, following Regina's lead. "Hey there little guy." He whispered, for the first time sounding awesome instead of frightened or confused at the sight of the baby.
Regina smiled and handed Robin the bottle of milk she'd prepared for the baby. She chuckled softly when Robin looked hesitant about how to feed the baby and lifted his hand up, maneuvering the baby into the crook of his arm, leaving the other arm free to hold up the bottle.
"I always considered myself quite good with my hands, but this is like being a contortionist while …" He grunted as he sat up straighter. "I don't know."
Regina raised her eyebrow at his comment, but couldn't help a smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth. She didn't answer and simply instructed Robin on how to get the baby to drink contently from the bottle. Robin managed it with little fuss and Regina chuckled at this proud grin as soon as the baby was suckling happily on the bottle, leaving the two adults sitting next to each other in silence, looking at the little boy.

"He's beautiful, Robin." His name sounded strange coming from her lips, foreign. She had never even thought of the man by his name, much less called him by it. On the rare occasions that she had talked about him with her son or her friend she'd call him 'the neighbor' or names that were not worth repeating. Speaking his name felt odd, as if he'd become a person instead of an annoying factor next door.
Robin grinned at her, briefly lifting his eyes up from the baby to look at her. "Takes after his father." His eyes were twinkling, creased at the edges as he smiled at her and suddenly Regina understood why Red had asked her permission to 'get on that ride' (Regina had not given it).
She pursed her lips. "I certainly hope he will be wiser than his father."
Robin chuckled. "Fair point, milady. I would be lucky to have him turn out like your boy."

Regina frowned and Robin flashed her a smile. "Just because you're not the type of woman that usually graces my presence, does not mean I am not interested in you."
Regina raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms in front of her. He could not possibly be flirting with her while holding his child in his arms. His days old child conceived from what was undoubtedly a one-night affair. She huffed. "Excuse me?"
Robin bit his lip and the corners of his mouth turned up. "Not like that. You're an impressive woman, Regina, you made a life for yourself and your boy. That's admirable, nothing more."
"Oh…" Regina shook her head and smiled softly "Thank you… I suppose."
"And you have a beautiful smile."
Regina whipped up her head, but could tell by the twinkling in Robin's eyes that he was joking. Still, she couldn't help a smirk as she cocked her head.
"Is it pathological, the flirting?"
Robin laughed out loud, the baby making a disgruntled sound at the sudden shaking. Regina quickly steadied the bottle and cooed at the baby, who quickly resumed his suckling.

For a while the pair watched the baby, Regina periodically stole glances at the new father, seeing a calm fall over the man that seemed opposed to everything she'd seen there before. Suddenly she realized that one question had gone unanswered and she laughed internally, because of course she'd forgotten to ask.
"What's his name?"
Robin chuckled. "I suppose I haven't told you. His name is Roland, his mother asked him to be named that, after her father, I think, the social worker said."
"Roland." Regina smiled, softly stroking the plucky brown hairs on the baby's head. "A good name. His mother had good taste, I'd wager." She looked up from the baby towards Robin, hesitating a second. "Do you remember her? His mother."
Robin nodded, his gaze turning serious, for a second almost even dull. "I do." He turned his head away from her, staring past her as if he were looking at something far behind her. "Her name was Marian. She was a … war correspondent, I think. Seen more than a woman should see. I met her in a bar, she was trying to forget and I was looking for a night to remember. We could help each other." He sighed and Regina could hear the slight trembling in his breathing. "I never figured it'd end up like this. Poor girl." He shook his head and Regina quickly took the bottle from his hands, noticing Roland had let it drop from his little mouth.
"I'm sorry."
Robin sighed. "Yeah." He scraped his throat and lifted the baby up in his arms.
"Okay, now you need to burp him."
Robin frowned. "What the bloody hell does that mean?"
"Hey- Language." Regina scolded him, but proceeded to explain how to burp the baby. Part of her hoped that the baby would spit up just a bit on him, just that she was helping her neighbor did not mean she didn't still wish to see him suffer a little bit, after all. After the ordeal was done –with no spitting involved this time- Robin turned to her.
"You want to hold him?"

She had promised herself not to get too attached to the neighbor's adorable child. Telling herself that she was not his mother or his nanny, just simply a woman helping out her neighbor, who has not her friend. Yet it was only seconds later that she was cradling the baby in her arm, staring into those deep brown eyes that were curiously staring up at her.
"Hey Roland." She cooed, smiling at the baby. "I'm Regina, and I'm going to make sure your daddy here doesn't screw you up too much."

She heard Robin chuckle, but couldn't tear her eyes away from the baby in her arms, her heart already adopting the little boy into her life.