A/N: Hello all! School is finally out, but that means work has begun. I can promise that I'll try to give you a chapter every week, but of course that depends on my work schedule. I hope you enjoy this chapter and appreciate everything I have put into it.
After all, it is prettyyyyy long.
Enjoy reading it.
Four: Clueless
"Robin, calm down, would you?" Regina said, grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly. She pulled him towards her and put a hand to his cheek, rubbing it softly.
Robin stared down at her, letting out a deep sigh, "It's been four weeks and I haven't heard from Marian. Doesn't that scare you just a little bit? She comes and makes this big threat and then doesn't contact us for the next four weeks? Roland probably thinks she wants nothing to do with him."
"Isn't that what you want?" She replied, "You want Roland for yourself?"
Robin nodded, "I know it's selfish, but I feel like he needs me."
"He does," Regina sighed and patted his chest, "But he needs his mother, too."
"I know, but-"
The doorbell rang.
Regina pushed off of him and made her way to the front door, opened it and revealed the mailman, "Hello."
"Sign here."
She did and was immediately handed a thick envelope addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Robin Locksley. She eyed it down, before tearing a hole at the top of it, slowly sliding her finger across its length to opened the entire thing. When she pulled out its contents, her mouth dropped, and Robin joined her in the hallway, staring at its glory. It was a stack of paperwork, all of which were topped off by a letter that stated a few things:
Name and Issue: Robin Locksley and Marian Maiden - Custody Battle
Child's Name: Roland Locksley
Trial date: June 28th
Robin gulped and stared at Regina, taking the papers into his own hands so that he could feel that they were real, "That's next week."
She nodded and reached to his shoulder for comfort, but he inched away, not making eye contact and shoving the paperwork back into the envelope.
His face filled with red and she could feel his anger coming on; she continued to reach for him, him still inching away from her touch until his back was flat against the wall behind him. She urged him to look into her eyes - because she knew that their gazes could heal with one look. When their gazes met, his tone fell soft and he suddenly felt calm. He let the corners of his mouth form a small smile as he caressed her cheek and rubbed it.
"We're going to win this," she said, "Together."
"What are we going to tell Roland?" Robin said.
She shrugged, "Right now, we need to figure out our first move. Leroy can be our lawyer; he went to law school for a while."
Robin nodded and pulled her into a hug, "Thank you."
She kissed his head and pulled away, "I better go pick up Roland."
He just nodded and watched her slip from his grasp and out of his vision. Then she was gone.
It wasn't long until she reached the elementary school. The parking lot was filled with big, yellow buses that were lined up across the front one after the other. Some teachers were already standing outside at their post, ready for kids to come out as the last bell rang. Regina parked and stood from the car, throwing her sunglasses on and making her way to the front door, where kids had already started to file out of. She waited patiently for Roland's group of friends to stride up, but they were missing Roland. She walked down the hall to Roland's last class, softly knocking on the door and stepping inside to meet Roland alone with his things. He was sitting at his desk and drawing something. She came to his side and bent down to her knees, so that their eye level was equal. He didn't acknowledge her presence until she nudged him and said, "What are you doing?"
"Drawing."
"I see that," she laughed, "But what are you drawing?"
He quickly folded up his paper and shoved it in his bag, turning to Regina and shrugging, "It's not done yet."
Regina nodded and stood, grabbing his hand and making their way down the hallway and to her car. They drove home and went inside the house. She went to fetch Roland a snack from the kitchen, opening the fridge and revealing the emptiness of it. She sighed and rubbed her head, yelling up to Robin, "I'm going to pick some things up from the store. Watch your son."
Then she was out the door.
Regina stored the last of her bags in the trunk before returning the cart to its home. She came around the bend and unlocked her car, dropping her keys in the process. When she bent down to grab them, she was accompanied by Gold.
"Miss Mills, how wonderful it is to see you here on such a beautiful day," he said as he picked up her keys, "Here you are."
She stood with him, taking the keys quickly and crossing her arms, "Mrs. Locksley."
"Right, you're married now."
"Have been for five years, Gold." She rolled her eyes and tried to walk past him but he stopped her.
His hand found her arm as he pulled her out of the middle of the street and leaned on her car, "Listen. We need to chat."
She shook her head, "I don't want to chat with you."
Gold squeezed her arm, "I know about your current situation. Well, Robin's current situation."
"There's no situation."
"The boy. Roland, is it? I know about him." Gold stated.
Regina shook her head hurriedly and avoided his eye contact, "There's no child."
Gold nudged her and laughed, "So you're buying baby carrots and apple dippers for Robin, I assume?"
Regina eyed the ground and took her arm away from him.
"Right, so I can help you guys out. I can help you win the custody battle," Gold said, "I know some people."
"How do you even know about it at all?"
"That doesn't matter," Gold said, making her look up at him, "I am prepared to make a deal."
Regina stared at him intensely and quieted her voice, "I'm not making any deals with you. They never turn out good."
Gold shrugged, "I've been keeping my contact away from you for a while now, but he's reachable and can be here with one click of a call button."
"Daniel?" She scoffed in his face, "Daniel is your 'contact', the one who's supposed to help me?"
Gold stayed quiet.
She laughed again, "Never. Over my dead body."
Gold smirked as her phone rang. She dug it out of her pocket as he eyed her down, staring at the screen, which it up and said, 'blocked caller'. Shivers went down her spine as she looked up at him, fear in her eyes, "Gold."
"Hello?"
Regina, my love.
"Daniel, what do you want from me? What is Gold giving you? What are you getting out of scaring me?"
All questions that will be answered soon enough.
"Daniel, answer me now."
Then, she heard the silence of the phone hanging up. She stuffed her phone in her pocket and pushed Gold against her car, "I swear."
"He's already got your phone number," Gold smirked, "What would happen if I gave him your address?"
She pushed him off of her car and into the middle of the parking lot, "Stay away from me."
"And why would I do that? This is much more fun." He laughed.
"I know Belle left you for someone else and had your kid with him but-"
His mouth dropped, "I have a kid?"
Regina was at a loss of words. Did Belle not tell him? Did she ever visit him in jail? Was she ever actually in love with him?
She backed up into her car as he came towards her; his face was red and smoke was fuming from his ears. He was pissed.
"She never saw me. She never told me," he spit out, "How could she not tell me that I have a son?"
Regina spotted Will across the parking lot, waving towards her with a big smile. Her eyes stayed on him as she tried to wave back, pushing Gold away. When she returned her attention to him, he was nowhere to be seen. She clicked her keys to lock the car, rushing across the parking lot and over to Will. She crashed into him, hugging him tightly and closing her eyes, hoping that she would just forget about Gold and Daniel and the entire child custody trial. But it didn't work. She tore away from Will, smiling awkwardly and flipping her hair, "How are you?"
He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, "Fine, and you?"
She nodded, "How is Belle? Alice?"
"Both are wonderful," he laughed, "Robin? Roland?"
She smiled, "Amazing, but Roland has been asking to hang out with Alice."
He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his calendar app, "How's tomorrow around 3? I'll be there. Belle is working late."
She nodded again and plugged it into her phone, "That sounds good; I'm sure the kids will be very excited."
As Will nodded, she smiled and backed away to her car, unlocking it and driving home. As she drove, she stared at the sky, which was slowly forming a storm. The clouds were growing grey and the sun was going to rest. With a sigh, she turned into her street and pulled into the driveway of the large home. As she put the car in park, she smiled at the sight of Robin and Roland playing basketball. She cocked her head to the side as she got out of the car, grabbing some groceries from her trunk and making her way to the front door. Robin didn't notice her at first until she called for him to open the front door for her. He was hot and sweaty, his face bright red, and his muscles more toned than ever. She couldn't help but let her eyes scan his body and send him a sultry smile. He raised an eyebrow at her, then pointed towards the child waiting for him to come back. She rolled her eyes playfully and brought the groceries in the house.
Regina came back outside a few minutes later, changed into a pair of black shorts, a purple tank top, and black Nike sneakers. Her hair was up in a high ponytail, and her smile was bigger than ever. She placed her hands on her waist and came over to the two boys, with a competitive look on her face.
Robin paused and scoffed at her, "You're going to play with us?"
"Why?" Regina said, "You afraid I'll beat you again?"
He laughed and then looked at Roland, "Puh-lease. I was a star back in high school. Number two in the entire state."
Regina stole the ball from his grasp, "And who was number one?"
He shrugged, "Don't know; didn't matter to me. Apparently they weren't part of my league."
"Or your gender." She muttered as she dribbled the ball.
He grabbed the ball and pulled her towards him, a dark look in his eyes, "What did you just say?"
She quickly made him do a double take as she took the ball, dribbled around him, and shot a three pointer, "I was the number one in the state."
"You were number one in the state?" He laughed and then stared at her, "A girl?"
She nodded, grabbing the rebound and dribbling around his body, "Does that surprise you?"
He scoffed and blocked her from moving forward, "Why didn't you tell me?"
She shoved him and snuck out of his defense, shooting the ball and gaining another three points, "Well, as we both discovered by watching you play soccer, you really aren't the sporty type."
Robin grabbed her waist, swinging her around his body and putting her down behind him, before rushing towards the ball. He grabbed it and made an effort to fake her out, but it didn't work. He dribbled the ball up the court and did some fancy footwork, which seemed to confuse her a bit. Then, he stopped dribbling, took a deep breath, and made a shot from the half line, nothing but net. Her mouth dropped as she stared at him, all lucky and cocky with the points he had just scored. She shoved him playfully and bumped his side with her butt, nudging his body away from her vision of the net and shooting the rebounded ball. She then gained the same amount of points he had just gained. His stared at her, wide eyed and with an open mouth, "You really are good."
"You too," she shrugged, "Just not as good as me."
Then she shot the ball again and brushed the nonexistent dust off her shoulders.
Roland laughed and ran towards them, grabbing the rebound and bouncing it with both of his hands, before laughing and running with it towards the net, "I'm gonna get it."
They both watched as Roland jumped and threw the ball right through the hoop, Robin saying, "Nothing but net."
Roland jumped up and down and smiled at them both, saying, "I did it!"
Regina nodded and high fived the boy, before taking him into her arms and spinning him around in the air. Robin joined them in a hug, before Regina spoke, "Let's get you cleaned up before dinner."
She placed him back on the ground, his fingers interlacing with hers, and they walked to the front door. Robin traveled behind them, grabbing the ball and shooting one last time before going inside. Regina brought Roland upstairs while Robin started to make some pasta. She quickly undressed him and threw him in the bath, to which she also got wet since they had a water war. In the fifteen minutes Roland was using to get clean, Robin had set the table and spread out the dinner for them.
Regina dressed Roland in his pajamas and brought him back downstairs, meeting Robin and the sweet scent of thick Italian sauce in the dining room. The three of them sat down, silently eating their meals. Roland finished first and cleaned up his area, before stopping and standing between Robin and Regina. He nodded and said, "I'm going to go do homework now."
Before either of them could respond, Roland was already out of the dining room and running up the stairs. They continued to eat in silence.
Robin went to grab her hand, but she flinched away at his touch. He raised an eyebrow and stared at her, "You okay, Regina?"
"Yeah, fine." She said as she quickly took her hand and hid it under the table.
He leaned towards her and stopped eating, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," she said, before he sent her a look, then she sighed, "Something happened today."
He turned towards her, "What happened, Regina? What aren't you telling me?"
She bit her lip and looked to the floor, before turning towards him and sighing, "I saw Gold again today. He proposed a deal."
"Tell me you didn't fall for his trap."
"Let me explain."
She stood and emptied her plate, cleaning her area in the process. She ran her fingers through her hair and turned to him, crossing her arms, "He knows about everything and he told me he could help us win the custody battle."
Robin immediately stood and shook his head.
She patted his chest and tried to calm him down, "Robin, what if we can't win?"
He cocked his head to the side, "You were the one who said we could win this together, not with anyone else, nevertheless Gold!"
"I've been thinking about the possibilities," she sighed, "What if they prove you to be a bad home for Roland? I mean with your past, the business's past, and now my past, Roland may be sent to live with Marian, and you'll never be able to see him."
She stepped back, her back now against the wall, as he walked towards her, "Regina, I am proud of all of it. My past, though it may be rough and harsh, got me to be successful and happy, the man I am today. My business is the thing that I built up myself, without my parents, without my friends, without anyone else in my life to help me. Nothing that's ever happened in either of those will diminish the chances I have of taking Roland in."
She stayed silent.
"And you," he smiled and brushed her cheek, "You're my most successful achievement. Everything we've built together and everything I hope to build with you is something I will always be proud of. That boy would be lucky to call you his mother, hell, any boy would be damn lucky to call you his mother. We will win this."
"I'm worried that Leroy won't be able to pull it off."
He sighed and shook his head, "And you think Gold would do a better job?"
"I know from personal experience that Gold's lawyers are the best lawyers." She muttered.
He shook his head, "Not another word on this matter. Regina, we can win this and we will win this. Alone."
"But Robin-"
They heard a doorbell ring through the hallway. Regina slipped past him and unlocked the door, Robin following after her. Both of their mouths dropped.
Daniel?
"Daniel?" She whispered.
He stood still in front of them both. A smile on his face, his hands in his pockets, his hair combed to the side and gelled back, and dressed in blue jeans and a white t-shirt. He looked like a reformed person. But was he?
"What are you doing here?" Robin said, pulling Regina towards him.
Daniel nodded his head towards Robin, "Can I please speak to Regina? Alone."
"Over my dead body." Robin said.
Just then, Roland's voice rung through the air, coming from upstairs. Robin looked up the stairway, noticing the small boy staring at him with big brown eyes. Daniel's head turned slightly at Roland's voice. Robin sighed and nodded towards the boy, not turning back to Daniel, because now he knew that Roland existed.
And that was not something good.
"Robin, give us a minute," Regina said, rubbing his shoulder, "Go help your son."
"Regina, I don't think that's such a good-"
"Go." She said, squeezing his shoulder and pushing him towards the staircase. Robin sent Daniel a death glare before leaving them.
When Robin was completely out of sight, Regina stepped outside and shut the door quietly behind her. She pushed Daniel back a few steps, his hands never moving from his pockets and his smile never escaping his face. He obliged her demands.
"So, what now, Daniel?"
Daniel used the opportunity he had to scan her body with his eyes. She had lost a couple of pounds since he had last seen her. Her face seemed slimmer. Her eyes, brighter and more aware. Her hands, now nicely manicured. Her lips, plump and rosy. And her body, toned and sexy. He licked his lips before meeting her gaze, raising an eyebrow, and smirking. Then, he stepped towards her and brushed a lonely piece of hair behind her ear, "You haven't aged a bit, still beautiful as ever."
She didn't inch.
His fingertips brushed down her toned arms, which were just as exposed as her cleavage, thanks to the loose purple tank top she still had on from basketball. She saw goosebumps from under his touch, her mouth opening ever so slightly. Then, he paused, his fingers wrapping over her wrist and turning her arm around so that he could see the scars that were no longer there.
"They're gone," he said, brushing the long lost scar with his thumb gently, "And you're still married."
She nodded reluctantly, taking her wrist from his grasp, "That's enough, Daniel."
"Feisty, I like it." He let out a low laugh.
She crossed her arms. They stood in silence for a good minute until she caught his gaze again and said, "So, how good are your lawyers?"
"Why do you ask?"
She sighed. She knew it wasn't a good idea to tell him what she needed a lawyer for, especially because it involved her spouse and his son. It wasn't her place. Yet, she did, because she felt deep inside that Leroy wouldn't win the case for them. And that was hell on it's own. With another sigh, she bit her lip and began to explain, "I need to win a custody battle, and I know that your lawyers are the best to do it."
"You want my help?"
"I want your lawyer's help," she said, "Not yours."
He put a finger to his chin, pretending to think, and then looked at her, "You help me, I'll help you."
In another second, Daniel stepped closer to her - their faces were inches away. He took a breath and cocked his head to the side very slightly, before shifting his gaze to her lips and then back to her eyes.
She stepped back, so that her body was fully against the front door, "No."
He stepped closer. Now she had nowhere to go. He smirked and said, "Come on a date with me."
"I'm married."
He shrugged, "You can take the ring off for one night, Regina."
She contemplated it for a second. This could just be a one time thing that no one would ever find out about. It could help Robin. But was she going to risk everything to help Robin? Was Roland's custody battle worth her possibly losing everything?
She shook her head, "No, I can't do that to Robin. He's my husband."
He shook his head then, "He won't have to find out. For the kid, right?"
Regina froze. She knew this was the wrong decision, but something inside of her told her it was going to be alright. She didn't expect any of this to go down right, but she knew that some way, she'd end up happy. So, she said, "What would I tell Robin?"
"You wouldn't tell him anything." Daniel quickly snapped back.
Just then, at those words, a flashback appeared in her head.
"You won't tell anyone anything, right?" Daniel smirked.
Regina nodded and grabbed his hand, soon being pulled into his embrace. Their lips latched onto each other for a long minute. His hands rustled in her hair.
In the next second, they separated and looked at eachother, desirably and temptingly. Daniel reached into his pocket and took out a small pistol gun.
"You're playing with BB guns again?" She laughed, "You're 19."
He shook his head and snickered, "Oh, this isn't a BB gun, Regina."
He loaded real bullets inside of it and continued to talk, "It's a real gun."
"Why do you have that?" She exclaimed, "What are you going to do with it?"
She knew Daniel was getting a little off edge lately, but she didn't expect him to go that far.
He shrugged and aimed the gun over Regina's shoulder and towards the wall, "I'm gonna get Paul back for what he did to you."
She shook her head, "Violence isn't the answer. Plus, it's in the past. It's forgotten, Daniel. Really."
He clicked his tongue to create a sound like the one that would come out of the gun if he actually shot it, "He deserves punishment."
"No. Return that shit now," she said, standing up and backing away from him, "You can't shoot the guy."
"Why not?"
Her eyes grew wide as he swung the gun around in the air, "Because it's illegal to kill someone, idiot!"
"Regina, calm down. All I'm going to do is scare him a bit."
"Promise me you'll return it." She said as she opened the door to his bedroom.
He stared at her angrily, tightening his grip on the gun and making his free hand into a first, "Or what?"
"Or we're done." She said before leaving the room and stopping at the front door. He ran up behind her, the gun still in his hand, and grabbed her arm, pulling her towards him.
"Don't go," Daniel pleaded, "I'll return it."
"Promise?"
He nodded. She tore her body from his grip and left his house.
The next day at school, Paul was shot not once, not twice, but three times. She broke up with Daniel that day.
"I can't trust you," she said to him, "I never could."
He leaned into her space just enough so that he could whisper into her ear, "I'll give you two options here: A - you come with me on the date and I'll help you, or B - we can have fun like old times and you can come back to my place, perhaps tied up?"
"Daniel, stop it!" She said as she pushed him away from her. His hand found his chest as he pretended to be hurt.
He went to grab her arm, but just as he did, the door swung open and Robin grabbed her hand, pulling her towards him. His arm wrapped around her waist and he kissed her temple, his grip tightening as they stood there. Robin whispered something that Daniel couldn't quite make out, to which Regina replied, "I'm fine, I'm fine."
Daniel cleared his throat and sent a glare towards Regina, which somehow made her think he'd be back again. Robin took her inside and shut the door in Daniel's face. In a matter of seconds, Robin was checking her body for any wounds and then her eyes for any hurt. When he didn't find any, he let out a sigh of relief and brushed his fingers through her hair, before pulling her into a warm hug. They collapsed onto the couch before he placed a light kiss on her temple again and said, "You can't do that again. You can't trust that man."
"He didn't do anything to me."
"You don't understand, Gina," he sighed, "You're a strong woman and you're tough when you need to be, but that man, Daniel, he's too much for you. You know how violent he can get."
She raised an eyebrow as he continued, "You can't take on someone like him."
Regina, slightly annoyed at the fact that Robin is basically calling her weak and strong at the same time, instinctively rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Don't be mad, I'm just looking out for you."
"Yep."
Then, the two made their way up to bed to sleep. No talking allowed.
The next day, Regina was excited to bring Roland to Will's house. She had tossed and turned all night, contemplating Daniel's offer. She wanted to help Robin in any way she could - and Daniel might be the only effective way. She shrugged off the idea as she finished packing a snack tray for Roland's play date with Alice and called him downstairs, "Come on sweetie, we're going to see Alice."
Roland ran down the stairs jubilantly with a big smile on his face, before he zippered his jacket and headed outside to the car, waiting for Regina to join him. She didn't acknowledge Robin's existence as he came down the stairs to bid her farewell - she just sighed and left. They drove the few minutes it took to Will's house and arrived just on time. Roland ran out of the car first, an act that received a laugh from Regina, and rang the doorbell a couple of times. Regina joined him on the front porch as Will opened the door and revealed himself and Alice, both with big smiles.
"Please, do come in." Will said as he ruffled with Roland's lively curls and smiled generously towards Regina.
She nodded towards him, "Good afternoon, Will. How is everything?"
"Very good, and you?" He replied.
She shrugged, "Could be doing better."
She stepped inside as Roland ran to the backyard with Alice, taking in the amazing decor of the home. She was impressed by how the colors molded together perfectly and how the furniture topped off the color scheme. Amazed by what she was seeing, she let out a quiet gasp and giggle, "You have a beautiful home."
"Belle decorated it. She said she has some background in decor and such." Will laughed.
A few hours passed, the clock rang 6. Regina yawned as she realized the time. Just then, the door swung open, revealing a disheveled and unorganized Belle. She flipped her hair twice and then ran her fingers through her long brunette locks, before turning and immediately connecting gazes with Regina. Regina stood with Will, who was already by his wife's side and kissing her on the cheek.
"Belle?" Regina said.
"Regina." Belle snapped back. They stared at each other, each of their eyes getting thinner by the second.
Will shifted his gaze from one to the other and said, "So, you two know each other?"
Regina sighed and nodded, sticking her hands in the pockets of her jeans and staring at Belle. Belle gave her a look that warned Regina not to say anything further, but she wasn't going to ignore Will. She turned towards Will and held her hand out, inviting him to sit down as if she was going to be talking for days. She began from the top; she told him about how her and Gold met, not all the details obviously, but with the details that included Belle and her meeting as well. Then, she slowed into meeting Robin, bumping into Gold and Belle again, and the whole situation with Gold and Cora. Without letting out what they did to her and what Gold continues to plan, she told Will very vaguely what has been happening. And then, she let out, "I saw Gold yesterday actually."
"You did?" Belle said, "He's out?"
Regina nodded and raised an eyebrow, "You didn't know?"
Belle stood and shook her head, quickly bringing her hand to her mouth and concealing what-looked-like a scream before running up the stairs. Will ran after her, turning towards Regina and saying, "One minute."
Regina sat patiently for a few minutes. She checked her watch and saw that it was almost 7. The clicking of heels rang through the air before Belle appeared in the doorway.
"Where's Will?" Regina asked.
Belle shrugged, "Upstairs. What did you say to Gold?"
Regina looked away and crossed her arms, "That's none of your business considering what you did to him."
"What I did to him?" She said, coming closer to her, "What about what you did to him? What you did to me? What you did to us?"
Regina stayed silent.
Belle came over to her, "You left me alone with the child. I had no choice but to move on. I had to do something with myself; I had to make something of myself for the child."
"For Alice." Regina said.
Belle cleared her throat and began to speak, but Regina cut her off and said, "Does Will know?"
"That's none of your business."
"Right, so my conversation with Gold today is none of yours."
Belle grew red, "Did you tell him about Alice?"
Regina stood and stuck her hands in her pockets, "I told him he had a kid, assuming you already had. But then I found out you left him alone to rot in jail and didn't even tell him you were pregnant."
She flinched, "He knows. Shit."
Will came down the stairs and flew into Regina's vision.
Belle instinctively stepped closer to Regina and whispered, "That was not right of you."
"What wasn't right is that you didn't tell him in the first place that he's her father."
"He isn't her father!" Belle snapped and slapped Regina, before quickly covering her mouth, "I'm so sorry."
Will ran up behind Belle and pulled her off of Regina, "What the hell, Belle?"
"I'm sorry, I just, I have to go-"
Regina brought her hand up to her cheek, which was now beating red, and rubbed it before looking up at a worried Will.
"Are you alright?" He said, reaching for her cheek.
She flinched away from him and immediately looked to the floor, "Fine. I need to get out of here. Can you watch Roland for a half hour or so? I'll be back to pick him up later, I just need a break."
Will nodded, "Of course, take all the time you need."
Then, Regina was out the door, running to her car and holding back what she thought were tears of sadness, but were really tears of anger.
She drove crazily down the streets, above the speed limit and through red lights. She passed slow cars and honked at them. She even gave one driver the finger because she was so angry. Eventually, she found herself in the parking lot of The Rabbit Hole, the city's most famous and crazy bar. Within a second, her car was parked and she was out, walking towards the door and hurrying to shove her keys in her purse. Then, she was inside and taking in every single sensation she was experiencing.
Regina went straight to the bar and sat down in the stool, dropping her purse to her feet and knocking on the wood, "I'd like a bourbon, neat."
In seconds, the bartender brought over her drink, sending her a little wink with it. She smiled at him and took her drink, sipping it down until it was completely gone. She placed the empty glass on the counter and slid it towards him, "Fill it up."
It was slid back to her, before she took it in her hand and brought it to her lips. She turned on the stool and looked around the bar. It was filled with hunks, beautiful men who spent all their time there, drinking like there's no tomorrow, playing many games of pool and darts, and hooking up with girls in the back hallway. There was a thick cloud of smoke filling the air, making the entire building smell like a cigarette. Men eyed her down as she made eye contact with them, one actually coming over to her and sitting next to her on the stool to her right. Just as she finished her drink, she slid it towards the bartender and ordered another one, but the guy said, "It's on me."
She met the dark grey eyes of a familiar face. She had seen him in newspapers and magazine, and was pretty sure she was one of Robin's business partners, but she couldn't recall his name. Another drink was slid over to her as she raised an eyebrow, "Thanks for the drink."
The man leaned on his elbow and stared at her like she was a trophy made of gold, "Name is Keith, Keith Nottingham."
She nodded and sipped her drink, playing with her hair as he continued to speak, "Why you here alone?"
"I'm having a rough night and I needed a distraction."
"Regina Locksley needed a distraction?" Keith said.
She finished her third drink, raising her hand to let the bartender know she wanted a refill and then leaned towards him, "How do you know my name, Keith?"
She was given another drink as he leaned even closer to her, pushing a piece of hair behind her ear and smiling with a perfectly straight and white smile, "I know all the beautiful woman in this city."
"Beautiful?"
"And sexy." He added.
She gulped her fourth drink down. Suddenly she felt light headed. Her head began to spin and her vision became a little unclear. She felt her phone buzzing from her pocket, but she didn't care to look at it. She let it buzz for the past ten minutes.
Keith stared at her and watched as she then finished her fifth drink, smirking and skimming his fingers down her forearm, "Why don't we go someplace?"
Just then, the front door of the bar swung open, and someone came rushing to Regina's side. She couldn't quite make out who it was until she felt his hands on her arm and heard his voice, "We're going."
She snapped back into reality and shook her head, clearing her vision enough to see that it was indeed her husband yanking her towards him. He leaned into Keith's personal space and said, "Why the hell are you talking to my wife?"
"She's famous."
"What do you mean 'she's famous'?" Robin raised an eyebrow.
Keith shrugged and said, "She's in that magazine I was reading. Sorry man, didn't mean any trouble."
"Right." Robin said before raising his hand and punching Keith square in the face, "Never touch my wife again."
Robin turned around and picked up the magazine from the coffee table, reading the headline which said, 'NOT HIS MOTHER', with a picture of Regina holding Roland. His heart sunk as he read the small captions on the picture, which included things like, 'Snake steals child', 'Mills thinks she can become Locksley and instantly have child?', and 'Bitch steals boy'. She crumpled it up and looked at Regina, who seemed hopeless and defeated. Then, he grabbed her hand, threw the magazine to the floor, and lead her out of The Rabbit Hole.
A/N: What a chapter and what a cliffhanger. Got some good things and some bad things coming your way. You know how I like my drama (wink).
Kisses and review please!