Author's Note: Here it is, the end. Thank you all for following along in my little alternate universe. Big hugs and thanks to Kara and Michelle for their wonderful beta work. Hopefully soon I can continue this into the following seasons but I'm currently writing another novel and won't be getting to more fanfiction till perhaps the spring. Again, thank you all and enjoy! ~T
Home
The diner was cozy and filled with the scent of warm, freshly baked bread and heavenly pastries. They all sat around the large table, everyone helped themselves to croissants, muffins, and turnovers, except for Regina and Robin who'd already eaten with their family.
"Look, she has your hair, Regina," Snow cooed beside the new mother. "And she has Robin's eyes. Isn't that amazing?"
Regina smiled at her husband who met her gaze. "You're going to spoil her, holding her so much."
Robin smiled down at his little girl, her firm grip on his little finger. "Then spoiled, she shall be." Robin smirked and kissed her hand. "I have no intention of putting her down anytime soon."
Regina smiled and shook her head.
Emma looked up expectantly at the new parents. "You guys gonna finally tell us her name, or should I just keep calling her, "hey, there?"
"You know, there's sort of this... tradition," Snow began. "Back in the Enchanted Forest when any royal is born, you usually announce the name at a coronation ceremony. We would have done it with you if we could have." Snow's gaze directed at Emma.
The Savior grimaced at her mother and shifted her attention to Regina and Robin. "You're not gonna hold her out in front of the clock tower and present her like 'Lion King,' are you?"
"Excuse me? No." Regina scoffed.
Snow took Regina's hand in hers. "The important thing is that after all we've been through, we're still together... as a family."
Regina looked up at Snow, the princess's grin so wide Regina thought her cheeks might crack under pressure.
Everyone was silent a moment, and then Emma spoke up. "So, don't keep everyone waiting," She said, sipping her coffee.
"Actually, I already know," David said.
"Me too," supplied Tinker Bell.
Red, who was in the booth beside them, held up a hand. "Me as well."
"Who told you?" Emma turned around to face her.
Red reached up and tapped little Roland on the head, chocolate syrup from his ice cream sundae dripping down his chin.
He looked back at Red giggling, trying to reach up and grab her finger.
Snow looked back at her husband who stood behind her. "How do you know?" She asked.
"Well," David rubbed the back of his neck. "Robin kinda let it slip yesterday when he broke down our door." He chuckled.
Regina looked over at Robin. "You what?"
Robin bit the inside of his cheek. "I did not break it down," he said. Looking back, he thought about the amount of force he had used, and the sound the door made as it bounced off the wall. "Though, I may have opened it a bit forcefully," Robin amended.
David interjected, looking around at the curious sets of eyes. "It was barely hanging by the hinges."
"I was going mad out of my mind with worry at the time," Robin told Regina, she was far too amused for his liking. "The witch had taken you and Willow. I was in a state. What was I supposed to do? Politely knock and wait for a response?" Robin glanced at David. "Sorry about that, mate."
"So that's how it slipped out." David laughed and waved it off.
Robin met Regina's eyes, she was smiling beside him, before looking around at the mirrored images on everyone's faces. "Ahh, so yes, Willow. Her name is Willow." Robin realized he'd done it again and cleared his throat.
A sniff beside Regina caused her to turn and look at Snow who was sitting beside her with tears in her eyes.
"Are you alright?" Regina said, leaning away from her a bit.
Snow waved a hand in front of her face. "I'm sorry. It's just such a pretty name."
Regina narrowed her eyes at her stepdaughter, trying very hard to read her, and then glanced up at David who was rubbing her back. Hmm. Something was a bit off.
"Willow, I like it." Emma nodded.
"So now for the bigger bombshell…" David nodded at Robin. "Is it time for that pint yet, Robin?"
"What is he talking about?" Regina turned to Robin, and again he looked down guiltily.
"I may have let the other thing slip as well." Robin blew out a breath between his pursed lips.
Regina shook her head in exasperation.
Hook took a drink from his beverage. "Like father, like son."
"Well, now that it's mostly out." Regina took a deep breath. "Do you want to tell them?"
Robin shook his head. "Oh no… my love, you may have the honor."
Snow gasped and hit the table in front of her with her hand. "I knew it!"
Emma straightened up. "Knew what?"
Snow pointed a finger at Regina. "That night… that night in the Enchanted Forest. You and Robin said you'd gone to see a 'soothsayer.'" Snow used her fingers to make air quotes. "But, you never came back that night. In fact, you didn't come back until late the next night." Snow narrowed her eyes at them. "I knew you both looked different."
"Well aren't we perceptive?" Regina arched an eyebrow at Snow.
"Wait, what's going on?" Emma asked, leaning forward.
Regina and Robin all looked at one another. Robin smiled. The long awaited secret was about to be out.
Snow crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair triumphantly and waited.
Regina felt Robin's hand, the hand that wasn't holding Willow, thread through hers under the table. She looked at him, smiled, and smirked at everyone else. "Robin and I are married," Regina revealed.
"Aha!" Snow grinned and thumped the table in front of them.
Tinker Bell looked on smugly.
Henry crawled into the booth behind Regina and Robin and asked, "So how did it happen? Was it love at first sight?"
Robin scoffed.
"What? Do you have something to say?" Regina glared at him.
"Not a thing, my love." He brought her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles, before focusing on Henry.
"She found me completely delightful and captivating. When I met your mother, well, let's just say she intrigued me the first moment I laid eyes on her."
Regina rolled her eyes.
"I don't quite remember it like that." Snow gave a very unlady like snort.
"This will be so cool." Henry excitedly kneeled in his seat. "Hey Robin, do you think you can teach me how to shoot a bow and arrow this summer?"
"Of course." Robin nodded.
Hook took a sip from his flask. "Hard to do that from New York." the pirated nodded, wiping the golden liquid from his wet lips.
"Uh." Emma deflected and gestured down at the book in Henry's hand. "Should we see if your guy's story is in here?"
"Actually, I'd like to know what the pirate is talking about." Regina frowned.
"It's nothing," Emma stated, not meeting Regina's eyes.
"Are you planning on going back to New York?" Snow asked as she looked to Hook and then up at her daughter.
"Why would we go back to New York?" Henry asked.
"You're not." Regina took Willow out of Robin's arms. "Right, Ms. Swan?" she said steadily.
Emma huffed a breath. "Actually, it's complicated."
"Why would we leave?" Henry asked confused, glancing at Emma, and then turning his gaze to Regina and Robin. "This is our home, this is our family."
"Henry, this isn't the time or place." Emma shook her head tiredly.
"I think it is." Regina's jaw clenched, and she looked up at Emma. Her emotions were very close to the surface.
"No, it's not." Emma turned and walked out of the diner. The bell rang loudly as the door slammed behind her.
Snow stood to go after her daughter, but Hook stepped in front of her. "I'll talk to her." he sighed. Snow nodded, and he turned to follow Emma.
"Wait," Henry called. He ran up to Hook and gave him the story book. "Take this. It might help her remember where she belongs."
Regina watched the scene unfold with a touch of resentment and fear in her eyes. She felt Robin's arm come around her, pulling her into his side. "It's gonna be alright, you'll see," he said, his mouth brushing up against her ear before placing a tender kiss on her temple.
David assured. "She's just stubborn like her..." Snow looked up sharply at David. "Uh, like all of our family."
"Uh, grandpa?" Henry asked quietly.
David looked over at him. "Hmm?"
"Look." Henry pointed out the window, and everyone's gaze automatically followed. "What is that?"
Rumple, who just walked into the diner, spoke up. "That is a problem. That light is from Zelena's time portal." He glanced at Regina. "It's open."
Thankfully, Snow agreed to stay behind with Willow and Roland as they all made their way to the jail. Fear raced through Regina's veins, as she pictured her sister escaping, making her way to Regina's vault somehow and opening that portal to the past.
Walking quickly into the jail, Regina rushed over to the Zelena's cell.
She turned her head to Robin, David, Belle, and Rumple who followed behind her.
"She's gone. No." Regina shook her head adamantly. "She was here when I left her."
"But if she escaped, that would explain the time portal," David said.
"Impossible. Without her pendant, she's powerless. How could she have escaped, let alone open a time portal without magic?" Regina said.
Then her gaze shifted to Rumple as he stood awkwardly behind a chair, his beady eyes shifting between her and Belle uncomfortably. He was obviously attuned to her thinly disguised animosity.
"Unless you did something to her." Regina narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint, but no. Even if I wanted to, Belle has my dagger. She would certainly curb any homicidal tendencies."
"It's true." Belle nodded.
Regina stared at him a long moment, and from behind her, Robin stood, dubious of the imp's actions. The only thing stopping him from completely mistrusting the Dark One was the Lady Belle at his side.
David jumped in, moving over to a video recorder near the back wall of the room. "Well, if she escaped, let's find out how."
"Wonderful," Rumple muttered under his breath, but Regina heard him still.
She and Belle sat down and waited as David played back the tapes from last night. They watched as the video became a screen of static.
"What?" Regina sat forward in her chair. "What... what was that? What just happened?"
"Yeah, we could use an upgrade. Ah, stupid Betamax." David adjusted the controls on the recorder. "Oh. Here we go."
Soon David fast-forward the tape until an image of Zelena came up. She stood against the wall of the jail cell, waved her hand over herself, and turned into porcelain before shattering into a pile of dust on the floor. David was about to turn off the monitor when the chipped pieces coalesced into smoke and disappeared into nothing.
Regina sat back heavily in her chair, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
Rumple quipped, "Well, it seems her great escape was of a more permanent nature. I won't ask for an apology."
Regina gave him a withering glare, before shifting in her chair. She stared blankly at the now empty cell, her thoughts turning over everything in her mind.
"She must have had just enough residual magic to do herself in. When she did, when she was gone, the magic in her pendant had no tether. It was set free. Her last wish fulfilled."
Robin spoke up, not liking the sound of that at all, "So, how do we un-fulfill it?"
"Excellent question." Rumple raised an eyebrow. "But until we figure it out, no one should go near it. A trip to the past could have catastrophic repercussions."
The portal finally closed. Emma had run back into the diner, rushed over to her parents, and hugged them. She'd explained most of what had happened, about messing up the timeline, and then fixing it. She'd wanted to stay longer at the diner, but she said there was one more thing she had to take care of, so she kissed them both, called them "mom" and "dad" and exited Granny's.
Regina sat in a corner booth, completely entranced by her daughter tucked safely in her arms. Snow slide in across from her.
"I'm so glad you found him, Regina. I can't imagine a more perfect ending, nor someone more deserving of happiness."
Regina smiled sadly at Snow. After all this time, their story had come full circle. They'd finally managed to arrive at where their relationship first started - as friends. "It's not without its challenges," Regina said, looking back down at Willow. "You know, Robin and I are so similar, our stories so alike. He lost someone, too. The way I lost Daniel."
Snow listened intently, reaching out to let Willow wrap her hand around her finger.
"Snow, I owe him everything, my heart, my life, our daughter. I will spend a lifetime trying to pay him back for all of it."
"I can't believe how far we've come," the princess said, smiling.
"Congratulations, everyone is so happy for you both. She's a beautiful girl." David held out his hand to Robin.
Hook, always the one with the smart quip, piped up, "And the baby is cute too, mate."
Robin blushed slightly but shook both their hands. "Thank you. So, I take it the word is out? For you and Snow White, and for Regina and me?"
"You could say that. Everyone is celebrating," David said, a dopey grin on his face. "The future has been saved, and Storybrooke is ready to welcome the new, little Princess.
"I think he's referring to the seed you've planted in Snow, mate," Hook said and smirked at the look of surprise on David's face. "If that's the word, then it's definitely out. Congratulations, to both of you."
David looked awkwardly at the pirate and the outlaw. He grinned, and then he and Robin slapped each other on their backs in congratulations.
"So, mate, married to the Queen, eh?" The corner of Hook's mouth went up in a smirk.
David looked on curiously. "Yeah, how did you pull that off anyway? There wasn't a ceremony. I mean, we knew you were together. It was pretty obvious." David formed an invisible bump over his stomach with his hands.
"Well, we are quite good actors." Robin grinned. "There was a ceremony; it was just in secret."
David raised his eyebrows. "I'll say."
"Well mates, I believe this calls for a drink," Hook said, passing glasses around. "To our female companions, may they continue to befuddle and enchant us, and may we be lucky enough to keep them away from bloody time traps and curses."
"Here, here," Robin and David coursed readily.
They all clinked glasses together and gulped down large portions of their respective drinks.
David slapped Robin on the back one more time and excused himself to find his wife. Snow would kill him if she found out people were already talking about their pregnancy. She wanted to tell everyone at the right moment, and, according to her, now was not that moment.
"So how was that?" Robin bit the inside of his lip and a creased line formed between his brows.
"The past?" Hook clarified. "Nerve-wracking would be putting it mildly. I've never thought I'd have to punch myself in the face."
"Well, at least you managed to get out of it unscathed, and you didn't end up messing up our futures." Robin pointed out.
"Aye, cheers on that." The pirate raised his glass to the outlaw. "Though, it was rather amusing when Swan got an up close and personal look at the Evil Queen."
"Oh dear." Robin grimaced, trying not to laugh.
Turning toward his new mate, Hook bowed his head. "Indeed. You're a brave man Robin of Locksley. However, I dare say sometime in the queen's dungeons and a glance at her younger parents did Emma some good."
Robin chuckled lightly. "For that, I am very thankful. I wouldn't have wanted to see how Regina and Ms. Swan got along if she were to take Henry back to New York."
"It's a barbaric city anyway." Hook shook his head and set his empty glass on the counter, before excusing himself. "I better go check on Swan."
Suddenly, the door to Granny's burst open. Henry and Roland came walking in. Robin heaved Roland up into the air before catching him in his arms. Roland laughed, his papa swinging him back and forth. The little boy's nose and cheeks were bright red from the chill outside. Worry lines formed on Robin's face.
"Has it gotten that cold out?" he said, blowing hot air on Roland's hands.
Henry looked over at his stepfather. "Yeah. It's freezing out all of a sudden."
Regina stood in the doorway of their bedroom for a moment and looked at Robin as he slept in their bed, the one they'd shared the night before, and the one they'd share for all nights to come. Regina sighed and walked over to the bassinette, her daughter sleeping peacefully. She gazed down at the baby lovingly and stroked her soft cheek, careful not to wake her.
Taking a deep breath, she straightened and took the last few steps to her bed, she gently pulled the covers back and slid in beside Robin.
Lying on her side with her head propped in her hand, she watched him sleep in the silvery light cast from the bright moon. He'd stirred slightly when she'd eased her way under their sheets, but after a brief murmur and toss, he'd settled back into sleep again. She wanted to laugh but smiled instead, beginning to follow the edges of his tattoo with her finger. He was such a handsome man. Strong featured but with a gentleness about his eyes and mouth. He twitched, and she pulled her hand back.
This time Regina did let out a quiet laugh, and one of Robin's eyes opened sleepily. He didn't move, just stared at her.
Regina lifted her hand and lightly traced the lines around his eyes. He blinked twice and, in a voice rough with drowsiness, pointed out the obvious.
"My lady does not sleep." Robin yawned.
Regina continued with her feather like touches around his eyes, her finger traveled across his brow, down his nose, and along the curve of his lips.
A few weeks ago, she'd woken in her bed, alone and pregnant. The last thing she'd remembered was Emma's yellow bug driving away as her magic mixed with Pan's. She had no memory of how she'd become pregnant, no memory of who the father could be, whether he was a lover or something deeper, something more. The thought had never really even crossed her mind. She hadn't hoped for such a possibility. After all, who could fall in love with the Evil Queen. But then, this very charming outlaw had helped her one day in the park, carried her to the hospital, and brought her flowers.
When Regina had run away from fate all those years ago, she never would've believed they'd eventually find each other. Circumstances and her decisions following her first encounter with Tinker Bell had almost made it impossible, but it seemed fate was on her side. There was no point dwelling on the past now, no point in mulling over mistakes she'd made, not when there was far too much life to be lived here in their present, far too much to look forward to in their future. The past was what it was, and there it would stay.
"Where are you?" Robin's said gruffly.
Regina smiled and met his gaze, letting her head fall into his hand as he stroked his fingers through her hair and caressed her cheek.
"Just thinking," Regina said. "Pixie dust really doesn't lie."
"Hmm, indeed. I consider myself the luckiest chap alive," Robin told her as he pulled her to him.
"I hope you realize that it's not always going to be rainbows, moonbeams, and unicorn stickers." She grinned at his bewildered expression. "There will be times when I'll be stubborn, and we'll have differences of opinion and arguments. As much as I love you, I'm still me – with my dark past – and as you know, I'm no bed of roses."
"Oh, I'm quite counting on it," Robin said playfully.
"You're not." Regina glowered.
"No, not the arguments." Robin's hand caressed her cheek. "I'm just looking forward to the making up."
She cuddled closer and pressed herself against him, moving her hips suggestively, one eyebrow raised as an evil grin lit her face.
He laughed deeply and moved one of his legs between the apex of her thighs. He kissed her neck and shoulder, his hot breath whispering past her ear. "If I'd known rescuing you from a kidnapping and letting you to my bed would mean that you'd fall for me, marry me, and then have my child, I'd have done it much sooner."
Regina wriggled closer still. Her hands stroked over his chest and her leg draped over his hip. She pressed herself against him, grinding their hips together. "You let me sleep in your bed, huh?"
He pulled away gently and nibbled along her lips and with that he was above her.
Regina felt his hands, lips and fingers begin their exploration. She arched up against him, feeling evidence of his arousal pulse between her legs. A soft moan escaped her lips as his fingers delved and teased, his kisses traveling lower, and lower, and lower until he slid the hem of her lacy nightgown up above her hips.
One thought shot through Regina's mind as she looked up at the ceiling and gasped in ecstasy. Thank god for pixie dust, for the healing powers of magic, and the skilled tongue of her husband. Writhing under the touch of Robin's strong, steady fingers and glorious mouth, Regina couldn't have been more grateful for saying yes to hope, second chances, and creating her own destiny. Whatever fate had in store for them, they would face together. Regina and Robin both knew that now, and it made everything so much better. It made each victory of the past so much sweeter – here began their new life.
The end