Day Four: Uses prompt 13. OQ are in holiday with their children and Roland gets lost.
Regina comes to appreciate their new dog.
The boys spent most of their time on the beach, Roland playing in the sand or swimming and Henry joining him or napping. And normally they were accompanied by at least one of their parents, but Peanut was cranky all last night, barely slept and as a consequence neither did Robin or Regina. So when she fell asleep for her afternoon nap both wanted to join her. Robin suggested Henry could watch Roland while they napped and he had readily agreed.
Still, it made Regina nervous and if she wasn't so tired she would have joined them outside. Roland was an adventurous child, always getting himself into trouble and then worming his way out it with those dimples. It wasn't that she didn't trust Henry with Roland, she does, and it's not like Henry hasn't watched him before without issue, she just... for some reason she just had a bad feeling about today.
Still, she manages to fall asleep snuggled up in Robin's arms fairly quickly. But then is woken up by frantic, "Mom, mom, wake up mom."
She groans as she opens her eyes, and tries not to look annoyed at Henry for waking her up, "What is it sweetheart?"
"I can't find Roland."
With that she shoots out of bed, heart racing, she nudges Robin awake tells him Roland is missing and gestures at Peanut Robin nods, understanding that she wants him to grab her. Regina heads outside with Henry, firing off questions, "How did this happen, where did you last see him?"
Henry looks ashamed as he explains, "Ro wanted to play hide and seek so he hid and I found him and then when I hid, I waited and waited and I was right by the towels just behind the tree so I peeked my head out and he was gone. I ran up and down the beach yelling his name but he didn't come out. I'm sorry mom, it seemed like a good idea I didn't know he would run off."
She takes a second to soothe her son, as Robin approaches with a grumpy Peanut, "It's okay Henry you did the right thing finding us, let Robin and I check the beach again, maybe he came back."
But she and Robin circle the beach, Henry staying at the towels with Peanut in case Roland wanders back, and he is nowhere to be found. Robin is much more calm that Regina, or at least pretending to be, as he reassures her they will find him.
Eliza runs up to them, barking loudly, in her panic Regina had forgotten they had a dog to take care of too, "Not now Eliza, we need to find Roland."
She keeps barking insistently, trying to get them to follow her into the bushes and Robin wonders aloud "Maybe she knows where he is."
Regina can't keep the skepticism off of her face but Eliza does stop barking when they follow her. When they clear the bushes they find a trail and Eliza breaks out into a run, with Robin and Regina following behind her. They reach the top of an uphill slope and Regina is sweating buckets, doesn't think she can run anymore, when Eliza stops and whimpers looking over the right edge. She follows her gaze and there is Roland, clutching his ankle and crying softly, about five feet down. Relief washes over her as Robin rushes down and scoops a no longer crying Roland into his arms.
She hears him whisper "It's okay, you're okay" before climbing back up to meet her.
Robin sets Roland down and Regina makes quick work of healing his ankle. He winces at first then relaxes as her magic heals him.
"You scared us baby." Regina tells him and his eyes water.
Robin tells his strictly 'You can't just run off like that Roland."
"I'm sorry, Henry was hiding but I saw a toad and I wanted to catch it so I followed it, but then I fell. And I was scared until Eliza found me and I told her to go get you and she did, she's the bestest dog ever."
Eliza lets out a proud bark and then nudges Roland, begging for attention. Eliza and Roland have been inseparable since they took her home two days ago. Regina has to admit she's very glad they took in the puppy, but that doesn't stop her from brewing some locator potions that night, just to be safe.