Marian looked around as she stepped into Granny's.

"See?" Robin said.

Marian nodded. "You were right, it looks perfect."

Ruby walked up to them. "Hello Robin, Marian." She crouched down. "And how are you today Roland?"

"I'm having lunch at Granny's!" He said enthusiastically. Robin smiled. They had lunch at Granny's more often than not, but still Roland thought it was an adventure every time.

Ruby laughed. "Yes, I can see that. Do you want to sit in our super special booth?" Roland nodded enthusiastically and Ruby took his hand, leading them to the furthest booth. Roland climbed onto the bench, and Marian followed him. Robin sat opposite them, on the side at the back wall so he could see the entire diner. Ruby placed three menus in front of them (Roland grabbed one and looked intently at it) and promised to be back soon for their orders.

"What's good here?" Marian asked Robin.

"Granny makes the best hamburgers," Roland said. "Henry says so." Robin watched affectionately as Marian smoothed their son's hair.

Marian said, "well, if Henry says so it must be true."

The bell over the front door rang and Robin looked up. Robin said, "Speaking of whom... Roland, look who just walked in."

Roland stood on the seat. He spotted Henry walking in with Emma and started waving enthusiastically with both arms. "Henry! Hi Henry! Look, we're having lunch at Granny's!"

Emma had her hand on Henry's shoulder as they both walked over.

"Hi Roland," Henry said. "You're getting a hamburger with fries, right? Like we talked about."

"With extra ketchup on the side," Roland said, nodding seriously.

Henry said, "Hello Marian. I'm glad to see you're awake again. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you, I'm perfectly fine. I have your mother to thank for that." Marian smiled up at Emma, who shifted uncomfortably.

Henry nodded. "Yeah, she worked really hard to save you. I'm glad it worked out."

Robin smiled at Henry, then said to Emma. "I wanted to thank you as well. When I woke Marian, I think I was still in a state of shock. I really appreciate your help in bringing my family back together." The look Henry gave him moved slowly from confusion to disappointment.

"Daddy, can I have french fries?" Roland said.

Marian said, "you have to wash your hands before you eat anything. Come on, I'll take you."

"No, I want Henry to take me!" Roland said.

Robin shook his head. "Roland, leave Henry alone." He had no idea where Roland's fondness came from - he couldn't recall the boys spending much time together.

Henry said, "I don't mind. I have to wash my hands, too, Roland. Come on."

Roland smiled widely and scrambled over Marian. He grabbed Henry's hand and practically dragged him away.

Marian smiled after them. "Henry is such a nice boy."

Robin nodded in agreement. "He was in here earlier talking to Granny. He's so polite, and respectful."

Marian turned to Emma. "You must be very proud of your son."

Emma nodded. "I am. Roland's a good kid, too. Henry seems to like him a lot."

"Yes, I wish I could take more credit for Roland. I really think it's a testament to how he was raised." Marian smiled at Robin before turning back to Emma. "You both did a great job, raising those boys."

Emma said, "uh, actually I can't take much credit for Henry. I didn't meet him until a few years ago." Robin was startled, and Emma looked at him, confused. "Regina adopted him as a baby. She raised him alone until he was 10. Now, we kind of share him."

Robin was shocked, and didn't hide it. "Someone gave that monster a baby?"

"Robin!" Marian said.

Emma was glaring at him. "She is not a monster. How can you say that? Henry said you wanted to see her at lunch to thank her for saving Marian!"

Robin remembered the conversation from that morning. Henry had been talking about having lunch with his mother. It never occurred to Robin that the boy might have more than one. Suddenly, Henry's behavior around him made sense.

"I thought he meant you," Robin said. "I didn't know Henry had two mothers. Why would I thank the Evil Queen?"

Emma said, "well, maybe because she gave up everything to do what was right, and to save you both!" Robin looked incredulously at her, as she seemed to immediately regret her outburst. "I mean, you know about the potion, right? Well, without it, Marian never would have been saved."

"I don't see how that suddenly makes her a hero," Robin said. "She was merely undoing the harm she did in the first place. She tried to kill my wife. Saving Marian barely balances the scales. Especially since she's at fault for my being unable to rescue Marian in the first place."

Emma shook her head at Robin. "Listen, whatever your issues are, you better watch what you say in front of Henry about his mother."

The air in the diner suddenly seemed to grow thicker as Robin became aware of a strong presence. Emma must have noticed it, too. She looked behind her, and there was the Evil Queen. She was staring right at him. Their eyes locked for a moment, but then Emma was standing in front of the queen, blocking Robin from her view.

Robin turned his attention back to Marian, who was looking at him strangely.

"What?" Robin asked.

"Is it true? The potion that helped you wake me came from Regina?" Marian asked. Reluctantly, Robin nodded. "Then that's twice she's saved me. The first time was when the snow monster attacked, before I was frozen. She hated me, I know she did. Everyone was unconscious, and the beast almost killed me. She saw it. She could have just let it happen. Nobody would have known. But she saved my life. If our roles were reversed, I don't know if I would have done the same."

Robin shook his head. "You would never have done the wrong thing. But if you did let her die, nobody would blame you. She is a monster."

"She's not," Maran said, but was cut off when Henry brought Roland back from the bathroom. Roland sat back down next to Marian, who pulled him closer to her as he reached for the menu again.

Henry walked over to his mothers without another word. Emma walked away and the other two sat in the booth farthest from Robin and his family. They sat so Robin could only see the back of the queen's head.

Ruby came over to ask for their orders. "Three burgers, please," Robin said.

"And fries!" Roland added. "With ketchup on the side."

Robin nodded at Ruby, who wrote down the order and went over to the other booth. Robin turned his attention back to Marian, who was still glaring at him. Marian turned to Roland and said, "Roland, Henry is your friend, right?"

Roland nodded. "Henry is my best friend."

Marian kept talking to Roland, but faced Robin. "Henry is a very nice boy. I'm glad you're friends with him. We should all be very nice to him."

Robin got the message. She didn't want him to say anything bad to Henry about his mother, the Evil Queen. He couldn't understand how everyone seemed so tolerant of that vile woman's presence, but he supposed a child was innocent, and so he would restrain himself around her son.

When Ruby brought over their food, Roland attacked it enthusiastically. Marian became preoccupied with ensuring that more food ended up in his stomach than on his clothes. Robin allowed his attention to drift from one mother-son pair to another, sitting two booths away.

Henry was talking continuously. He seemed comfortable around the queen. And sitting opposite her son, she seemed harmless. He imagined they had shared many one-on-one meals. Robin knew what it was like to raise a son alone. He had his men, but Robin had been Roland's only parent for most of his life. It was a struggle now, Roland having a new mother. It was strange to think that he and the Evil Queen had something in common. But watching her so engaged with her son's conversation, he felt strangely connected to her.

"Robin?" Marian's voiced drew Robin's attention back to his own table. "Aren't you going to eat your meal?"

"Daddy, it's good," Roland said, demonstrating helpfully by taking a bite of his own burger. Robin nodded, and began eating.

Roland finished eating first and quickly grew impatient. He stood on the seat and looked around the diner. He turned back to his father. "Daddy, look, Henry's with Regina! We should say hi!"

Marian frowned, and Robin said, "no, Roland, we're not speaking to her."

Roland's small face scrunched, and he looked confused. "Why not?"

Robin looked at Marian, trying not to disappoint her as he answered Roland. "Because… Regina is not nice."

"Yes she is, Daddy, she's your friend. And she's Henry's mommy. And Henry's my friend, remember?"

Marian said, "Roland, Regina is eating with her son right now. Maybe you can say hi to her another day."

Roland seemed satisfied and plopped back down on the bench. Robin frowned at Marian. Exactly when did she think it would be alright to let their son speak to the Evil Queen?

Robin said, "Roland, you're five years old now, right?" Roland nodded. "That means you're a very big boy. I think you're old enough that you can try washing your hands by yourself. Why don't you go give it a try?"

Roland's eyes grew wide at the chance to prove his independence and he bolted out of the booth before his father could reconsider.

Marian raised her eyebrows at Robin's blatant attempt to get a moment alone. Robin said, "you don't really expect me to allow Roland around her."

Marian pulled back at this surprising reversal. It hadn't been long ago that she was questioning Robin's decision to allow Roland around Regina. "I understand where you're coming from, believe me. But she's a good mother. And I don't want to traumatize Roland."

"So you trust her now?" Robin said, incredulous.

"Well, I don't trust her exactly. But I think I'm starting to forgive her."

Robin stared wordlessly for a moment. He was in shock. "Marian, she tried to kill you. She took you from us. How can you forgive her?"

Marian said, "because I don't want to hate her forever!" She looked into his eyes. "She's not evil. I realize that now. I know she's done terrible things. But she's not the Evil Queen. She just isn't. Everyone in this town has moved beyond their past. Why not her? Why not me?" Robin shook his head. "I'm not planning on being friends with her. But we have to coexist in this town. You need to accept that."

Robin frowned at her. Fine. If that's what Marian wanted, he could pretend. He would go thank Regina, as Henry thought he meant to do. She had, he supposed, helped reunite him with Marian.

Roland came back to the booth and climbed up, showing his parents his still-wet (and not quite clean) hands. Marian laughed and grabbed a napkin to wipe them off. Robin reached over to help them. Out of the corner of his eye, Robin caught the queen turn her head toward them for a moment, but then her attention was back on her son. He looked over, curious. Robin called Ruby over to take their plates away. He gave Marian the money to pay for the meal, to help her become familiar with this land's currency.

He stood by the booth for a moment, trying to hear what the queen was discussing. His thieving had given him excellent hearing.

The queen was saying, "No, Henry, I don't hate him. And I don't want you to, either." Was she talking about Robin? "You shouldn't hate anyone. He's doing the right thing, and it's what he wants." She was. She was telling her son to be understanding and respectful and polite. It was strange, hearing this woman being a mother. What was she trying to pull? Robin walked over to them.

Henry noticed his approach first, eyes drifting to the approaching man. Robin could see the moment the queen became aware of him. "I've been told I owe you a debt of gratitude."

The queen sent her son away, despite his hesitation. She looked up at Robin. Her eyes were an enigma. He couldn't tell if she was trying to tell him something or hide something from him. Her eyes were so expressive, but he couldn't read them at all. He found himself wishing he could.

"I don't know what you heard," she said, "but you owe me nothing." Robin felt relieved. Finally, someone agreed with him. But Robin had promised Henry he would thank his mother. Despite the misunderstanding, Robin would never go back on his word.

"I was unable to revive my wife until you gave me that potion. So, thank you for allowing me to forget you."

Regina tore her eyes away from him and her entire body grew rigid. She spoke without raising her eyes. "The potion was made to separate us. There's really no need for you to talk to me anymore." Again, she was the only one agreeing with him.

But wait. Why was she agreeing with him? If anyone thought he should thank her for what she'd done, it should be the queen. She made the potion, after all. They had cared for each other, John had said as much. But she made the potion and now she wanted nothing to do with him.

An idea struck Robin. The potion had erased his feelings. Perhaps it had erased hers as well, and she didn't care for him now any more than he cared for her. But then she looked up at her with those deep brown eyes of hers. He felt he could see into her soul. "You have your family back. Go to them," she said, her voice shaky, "and leave me alone."

No, it wasn't possible. Her eyes, and her voice, held so much emotion. He didn't understand it. The Evil Queen could not possibly have the feelings John said she had. The Evil Queen he had heard of tore families apart, but the woman in front of him was pushing his family together. Perhaps Marian, and Emma, and John, and Snow White, and everyone else in this town was right. Perhaps the evil queen was evil no more.

Robin nodded to her, and returned to his family.

…

A/N: Whew! This was a tough chapter to write, but I think it's my favorite so far!

Hey reviewers: which chapter is your favorite, and why? Do you have a favorite moment? Favorite POV? Favorite line?