"Esme? Esme!" Henry said, shaking Esme's shoulders, gently at first and then with greater force when she wouldn't wake up. After a few seconds of shaking and shouts, Esme began to wake up and actually felt like she had slept; a sensation she hadn't felt in quite some time which, ironically, worried her. Usually it was her waking up the boys and it was typically still relatively dark in the morning. But today, the birds were chirping, the sun wasn't necessarily out, as it was hidden behind the grey autumn clouds, but it was brighter than usual and Henry was waking her up.

"What? Wait, what time is it?" Esme asked.

"Its 12."

"In the afternoon?! What? Why didn't my alarm go off!" Esme said as she grabbed the clock beside the bed and frantically tried to understand how she had slept for 12 full hours and possibly through her alarm.

"I turned it off," Henry said calmly, placing a plate of toast and a mug of tea on the table beside Roland's bed.

"Wh- I'm sorry what? Why?" Esme said with a slight laugh she couldn't quite conceal, amused that he was so calm about it. She made an effort to get up every morning at stupid o'clock so that she could take the boys to school, practice her magic and occasionally help Granny before collecting the boys from school. She would have loved a day just to relax and rest but that was a luxury she just did not have; she had two parents in hospital, an evil aunt she didn't yet have the power to compel and now she had to learn every protection spell imaginable so that she could protect her brothers from a saviour gone evil.

"Because," Henry said, drinking some of Esme's tea as he sat beside Esme on the bed.

"Henry, that's not an answer," Esme laughed.

"Okay, well last night you nearly died, you've been exhausted for weeks and Roland and I don't really want to go to school today-"

"Oh you don't?" Esme said sarcastically. Henry laughed and handed Esme her tea.

"I made it the way you like it," he said and did a big cheesy grin, hoping to charm Esme if logic failed.

"Well thank you but that's not the point-"

"Yeah it kinda is! You look after us all the time, even though you only met us like 3 or 4 months ago. We wanted to look out for you for a change," Henry explained and he watched Esme soften, albeit slightly. He knew she was a sucker for routine and, to be fair, the routine she had got them into had helped Henry focus on school and caring for his mom and forget, at least a little, about his other mom. But while trying to establish and carry out this routine, he had to watch Esme almost destroy herself; she woke up every morning at 6.30am just to make them breakfast and get them ready, irregardless of what time she got home at, she walked with them to school with or without injury, she practiced magic for at least an hour every day which drained her energy and she was back and forth to the hospital once or twice every single day. She was exhausted and Henry didn't want to wait until she made herself ill to make her rest.

"Sissy! Me, you and Henry are gonna have a movie day!" Roland said, as he came storming up the stairs and lunged onto the bed. Esme lifted her tea and watched as Roland crawled under the covers while she was trying not to spill boiling hot tea over herself.

"Well that sounds awesome, but i promised i would help Granny clean the diner-"

"She already rang this morning. I told her you were resting and she said she would come over later with food,"

"Wh- I appreciate it but i can cook for us by mys-"

"No you can't," Henry said, laughing.

"What! Henry i am an awesome cook!" Esme protested, laughing as her brothers giggled at each other.

"Hey, you love my macaroni and cheese!" she said as she ruffled Henry's hair playfully.

"And you," she said, tickling Roland, "You love my hotdogs."

"That's not cooking!" Henry laughed.

"What? Of course it is! I have to use the oven and everything," Esme said, now laughing as much as her brothers. She had to admit, her culinary skills left a lot to be desired, but in her defence, before now she had no real need of them; she usually barbecued whatever she hunted in the forrest or ocean or 'borrowed' food form the locals. Their laughter was only silenced by the ringing of the house phone, which Henry immediately bolted to answer. While Henry answered the phone, Roland made sure to put pillows under Esme's leg, apparently Granny had told him to, and sat with her to make sure she ate all of the toast he had lovingly made her.

"Are we going to see daddy later?" Roland asked as he went to the shelves below the TV and flicked through the movies he had in his room. Esme had always wondered why the room wasn't more Rolandish; the room had white walls with white trim, a large black framed double bed, a black wardrobe with matching drawers, a row of shelves that were arranged in a pyramid formation along the bottom wall with a TV on the wall above them. Henry's room was clearly designed for Henry - with dark blue walls, stuffed animals occasional poking out of their hiding areas, photos of him and Regina or him and his friends and shelves upon shelves of books and comics - and it was clear that despite their newly discovered history, Regina and Robins relationship was still actually relatively new. It was this fact that humbled Esme, for even though they weren't married, and didn't even really live together, they had a beautifully comfortable relationship; they complimented each other, like their souls weren't complete if they weren't together.

"Umm, yeah sure," she said as he continued his search for the perfect movie, even though Esme knew he would choose one of the minion films.

"Yay!" he screamed and began shouting 'Henry' as he ran out of the room and down the hall. Esme simply laughed and tentatively got up out of bed, with the intention of cleaning up the clothes she had just flung into the corner of the room last night, but she wished that she hadn't bothered when she sat at the edge, aching everywhere. Her head was throbbing, her legs were so painful she couldn't even tell which one was bandaged and her back was worse today than it was yesterday; maybe a lazy day in bed wouldn't be so bad after-all. But that idea was quashed when Henry came walking in, promptly followed by Roland, who had become his shadow, with a worried look on his face.

"Umm, that was the hospital," Henry said.

"Okaaay? Is everyone okay?" Esme asked even though she knew that was a stupid question.

"Umm yeah. Well, sort of. Mom is having another headache and seeing as how you helped her last time-"

"You want me to go and help. Okay, just let me-" Esme said as she struggled to get up. She knew her legs would be sore but she wasn't quite expecting them to give way the way they did, thus making her fall promptly back onto the bed. Henry and Roland came running but she wanted to reassure them there was nothing to worry about so began to get up off the bed again.

"I'm fine! I'm okay! Just a little stiff. I'll head there now and you two can go to-"

"The hospital. We're going to the hospital," Henry said defiantly and Esme knew that whenever he said something like that, there was no way she or anyone else could dissuade him, so Esme just rolled her eyes and just accepted the fact she would have helpers.

"Okay.. well then you two need to get changed," she said. Henry kissed her cheek in agreement and Roland quickly did so too before enveloping her in a bear hug. Esme winced in pain as the hug caused a sharp, searing pain to dart up her back but smiled when Roland ran off to get his stuff out of the drawers.

Esme went to the bathroom to get changed and once everyone was ready, they headed off to the hospital. Thankfully, the journey was uneventful, other than Granny coming out to ensure Esme helped her clean up when they were on their way home. The hospital entrance was quiet and calm, but upon turning the corner to Regina and Robins room, they heard the screams that had become all to familiar. Esme could see Robin holding Regina as one of her hands gripped his and the other was holding her head, and she knew the boys couldn't see this.

"Take Roland for food. I'll come and get you when things have calmed down," Esme told Henry.

"Bu-" he began to protest but Esme put it off.

"No buts Henry. Now," Esme said, trying to ensure Henry understood the urgency, which he did.

Once Esme was sure Henry and Roland were out of sight, she ran into the room.

"Esme! Thank god. Help her!" Robin said, still holding her tight.

"Okay, i need a seat," she said and a nurse promptly placed one behind her. "Thank you."

Esme sat down, took both of Regina's hands and focussed. She focussed on Regina's pain, imagined sharing it and easing the burden and within moments she could feel darkness wash over her.

As she opened her eyes, she saw Regina hunkered down in-front of a rock near the sight of her accident. She looked ill; with dark circles under her eyes, a ghostly white completion and bloodshot eyes. Regina was sobbing, her shoulders heaving up and down, and Esme's heart broke at the sight of her, so she was relieved when Robin appeared, with a handful of cute woodland creatures Esme chose to ignore. He saw the state Regina was in and dropped everything; the rabbits, his bow and arrow, everything. He ran to be beside her but she remained rigid and all he could do was hold her as she gripped his arm and wept.

"Shhhhhhh, shhhhhh. Oh my darling," Robin said, stroking her hair and repeatedly kissing her head. He hated that all he could do was hold her when he really wanted to get rid of her pain, but he knew as well as she did that that would never happen. Today marked the one year anniversary of the death of their son, Henry Robin Hood, and Robin was struggling, because he not only lost Henry that night, he and Regina lost a part of themselves; they lost their ability to be excited or hopeful. He couldn't look forward to anything, or get Regina's hopes up, because he couldn't guarantee it wouldn't be taken away and he wasn't sure they could survive that. The first week was horrific; Regina couldn't stop crying and Robin felt like he was simply functioning, too scared to feel anything. However since then, each day they began to forget little things about him - what he looked like, how small he was, what he smelled like - he couldn't remember and felt disgusted that now time was taking away his son as well.

"I….I'm sorry…" Regina cried, gasping for air as she paused.

"No, no. My love, don't ever think you have to apologise to me… not ever.." Robin said, holding her face to his, so that their noses and foreheads where touching and they could feel each other breathe, and carefully wiped away her tears.

"I know he was your son too…" Regina said, pulling away from him, like she had done many times before; she felt that being close to or happy with Robin meant forgetting her son some more, and she couldn't and wouldn't do that.

"And you have done exactly what i am doing now for you for me. You held me so close, like this," he said as he wrapped his arms around her, but she remained rigid and as he looked at her, he saw the steely expression return to her face, " and told me we would get through this. And we will."

"You should have left me there," Regina said, her face returning to the eery, emotionless expression Robin had grown all too accustomed to. Robin was horrified by Regina's statement.

"Wh- Regina you know I couldn't do that. You would have died!" Robin said, shaking Regina as he tried to make a desperate bid to rid her of this darkness that was consuming her but she didn't waver.

"I would rather be dead. At least then, i'd be with him," Regina said. Her haunted expression remained and all Robin could do was back away in disbelief, trying and failing, to understand how they were going to get through this. Robin slid back so that his back was against a tree, desperately trying to steady himself as his entire world fell apart; he couldn't protect his son and lost him, and now he was going to lose the woman he loved.

Regina watched as Robins eyes widened, as his resolve weakened and knew she had caused it all. She desperately wanted to feel pity, she wanted to feel sorry but she couldn't; she felt nothing. The man she loved was hurting but she couldn't muster enough strength to comfort him because she was cold and empty. She couldn't kiss him, hold him or love him because that meant allowing herself to feel and she just couldn't do that, so the last few months they had become two separate souls that were merely close in proximity. When Henry died, she wouldn't have survived if it hadn't been for Robin, and she knew that, but all she felt was pain. She woke up in pain, she fell asleep in agony and every moment in-between was getting more and more unbearable, so she turned it off. She turned off the emotion, shut out any and all happiness and turned herself into this cold monster that was sitting here, staring at the man she loved and watching him suffer. In that moment, she wished she could feel, if only for a moment, just to take away his pain, but she couldn't because she knew she couldn't endure the agony that came with it. Thus instead of watching Robin stare blankly into the trees, she stared at the stone they had placed where they buried their baby and she closed her eyes, imagining him as a one year old, tottering around the campsite. She was perfectly content doing so when she felt a presence beside her and when she opened her eyes, it was Robin.

"You need to stop this," he said, looking more angry than hurt. He didn't touch her, he just sat beside her and stared at the rock that marked the grave of their son.

"Stop what?" Regina said with a slight laugh that she immediately regretted.

"Pushing me away. Trying to be this cold woman i barely recognise-"

"I lost my son,"

"Our son! He was our son Regina! I feel that pain, your pain, every single day. But every morning i wake up, i make a decision, i make a choice-"

"A choice? And what exactly is that choice? Hmm? You choose to live life? You choose to love? Well i make a choice to and that is to stop feeling. To stop feeling the pain that feels like my heart is breaking, to stop feeling terrified every single moment or every single day that you are going to be taken away-" Regina began to scream. Although it wasn't exactly what Robin had in mind, her words were said in anger and he was just glad that she was feeling something.

"I choose you Regina. I would love to stop feeling the loss and the agony of seeing my son lie motionless in your arms, i would love to stop remembering that night but i can't do that because if i do that, i lose you too. Henry was our son, our little baby boy that we made because we were in love and that love is his legacy. Every single day i choose you, and i will continue to choose you for the rest of my life. I just hope that you choose me," Robin explained. He took Regina's hands and as she turned her face away, he thought that this may actually work. For months, he tried to avoid hurting her by avoiding the subject of their son, but now that she seemed to have put her walls down again, he may actually be able to get through to her.

"Why?" Regina said, still looking away from Robin.

"Why what?"

"Why do you love me? I'm a monster, Robin. I bring death to anyone who gets close-"

"You're not a monster. Difficult and volatile? Yes, on occasion, But you're no monster," he joked.

"You didn't answer my question," Regina said, as she slowly began to look into Robin's eyes.

"I don't have an answer. There is no one reason," Robin said matter-of-factly, but Regina simply stared at him expectantly and so he continued. "It's your eyes. They're not the only reason, but they certainly help,"

"My eyes?" Regina asked with a perplexed expression.

"Yes, your eyes," Robin said, as he wiped away a few strands of her hair that had blown across her face. She flinched slightly at his touch, which sent a stab of pain through his heart, so he simply returned his hands to hers, which she seemed less uncomfortable with. "They say the eyes are the window to the soul which i suppose is true, because when i look into yours i see everything. I see what you want and what you need and i would do anything to give that to you. I always have and i always will. I fell in love with you looking into those eyes because i see your soul shine through them. They are the one thing that betrays you; they show your pain, your happiness , your everything. I was born to look into those eyes of yours, to ease that pain, to cause that happiness and, if you still want it, I would like to continue doing so," Robin explained. He hated seeing this cold Regina but as he began to explain to her how much he loved her, he watched as they eyes he loved so much began to soften. He felt her take her hands from his and his heart sank to the bottom of his stomach; he loved her so much, but if telling her so didn't work, he wasn't sure what else to do. Robin closed his eyes and breathed out, defeated, but as he did so, he felt hands on his cheeks. He slowly opened his eyes and finally saw the woman he loved; she was broken and in pain, with tears in her eyes but she was there. He smiled at the sight of her, silently hoping that Regina had finally broke through her darkness, but waited. In the last few months, Regina couldn't bare to kiss him, lay with him or even touch him and so he was elated when she slowly began to bring her lips to his. As she lent towards his face, she continued to hold his cheeks and carefully kissed him. After once soft, long kiss, Regina separated their lips and rested her forehead on him as a tear ran down her cheek; in that moment she was overwhelmed, because she felt. Yes, she felt the pain, the anger and the uselessness that she remembered from before but she also felt love, and with that notion she began to laugh. Robin brought his head back from hers, worried about what she was doing.

"Wh- Am i really that bad?" Robin said, clearly trying to joke but his attempt at humour failed to hide his concern.

"True love's kiss,"

"What?"

"True love's kiss breaks any spell,"

"But you weren't under a spell?"

"Yes i was. Yours. And i have been for quite some time. I'm sorry i forgot that,"

"Oh, my love i don't blame you. We lost our son-"

"I choose you" she said as she stroked his cheek.

She saw the happiness in Robins eyes and she wanted to see that more. He brought her in for a tentative kiss, however their need for one another deepened and the world faded to black as the two kissed a passionate and hungry kiss.