She missed him.

As much as every interaction with Robin pained Regina, she still missed him. She missed talking to him. She missed the way he would look at her. And she missed that damn forest smell.

Henry had left after breakfast, with a vague explanation of doing teenage things, promising to return for lunch. So she decided to go for a walk in the forest.

Regina had spent enough time there while they were together to know where Robin might be, and more importantly, where he wouldn't be. She chose a path through the woods far from Robin's camp, in an area she knew he didn't frequent. As she walked, she thought about Henry. She was so proud of her son. And now that she was being good, he could be proud of her, too. Years ago, when he first started to pull away from her (around the time he got that storybook), she had reacted badly. They had been through so much since then. But they had both changed. Regina knew she could never go back to being the person she was. It didn't matter how some might see her - the Evil Queen was gone for good.

Regina slowed her pace as she heard movement up ahead. And talking. She approached slowly, and soon saw several of Robin's men wandering between a small collection of tents. This was strange - had they relocated?

"Hello, Regina. It's nice to see you. It's been a while since you've come to visit us in the forest." Regina clenched her fists as she turned to see who had spotted her. It was Alan, one of the men she had spoken to often when she and Robin were together.

"Alan, I didn't realize the merry men had moved the camp," she said, changing the subject.

Alan smiled, but he seemed bitter. "Oh, this isn't the merry men's camp. We're not merry men anymore. Isn't that right, boys?" Alan said, walking into the center of the circle of tents. There was a chorus of "ayes" and Regina followed him as he threw some more firewood into the campfire.

She frowned. "What all of you?" They nodded. This was strange. She heard one man was kicked out, but there were at least half a dozen there. All this happened since yesterday? Regina turned toward Alan. "Why did he kick you out?" she asked.

Alan had that bitter smile on his face again. "Apparently, taking more than your share of Friar Tuck's stew is an unforgivable offense! I am not to be trusted and no longer welcome among the ranks of the merry men."

Regina tried to hide the panic in her eyes. Robin was getting worse, and quickly. She needed to get out of there. Luckily, another man called Alan away and she was able to leave the mini-camp without being noticed.

…

Regina entered her vault, where the setup to make the memory potion was still laid out. There was some of the final product left, and she poured it into an extra vial before poofing the mess away. She then grabbed the book where she had found the instructions for the potion and picked out some other books with descriptions of the uses of everything that went into the potion. Then there was one more book she needed. She poofed herself back home.

Several hours later, she was sitting at the dining room table with books spread around her. She had a piece of paper on which she had scribbled notes on every ingredient that had gone into the potion. Perhaps the ratios were off. Or maybe it was that it was mixed with whiskey, although there didn't seem to be any indication of that being a problem. Maybe Robin hadn't drunk the entire potion, and that was why he was acting strangely.

She didn't notice Henry until he sat down next to her. "Mom? Are you alright?"

Regina jumped. "Henry, when did you get here?"

He looked concerned. "Just now. I called to you, but you didn't answer. Is everything okay?" He looked at the books spread around her, before reaching out to grab the last one she had gathered.

"Uh, yes. Everything's fine, I was just…"

"Looking into the effects of the memory potion?" Henry asked, looking up from the storybook in his lap. It was open to the page describing Snow White's actions under that exact potion.

Regina's shoulders dropped. "Yes. I think there may be a reason to be concerned with Robin's behavior. He's not acting like himself."

"Tell me about it," Henry mumbled.

Regina looked at him and tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

Henry's eyes widened. "Uh… tell me about it. Tell me what you heard. What changed?"

Regina narrowed her eyes at him, but let it slide (for now). "Robin has now kicked at least six merry men out of his camp, for doing very small things wrong. It seems like he's become unforgiving of everyone's small mistakes." Henry nodded, and she waited for him to say what was on his mind.

Henry said, "Okay, but do you think it might about more than just forgiveness?"

Henry didn't give her enough credit. She knew when he was hiding things. "Henry…" she said, in her most threatening-mom tone. "What aren't you telling me?"

Henry looked guilty. "I… may have gone to see Robin today."

Regina was shocked. "What? Why would you do that? What did you say to him?"

Henry began to speak quickly. "I know there's more to the memory curse than just forgetting you. You wouldn't tell me what, maybe you don't even know, but there is something. So I decided to look into it myself! Please don't be mad. I didn't tell him I was there for you. I pretended he promised me archery lessons. He'll never know I lied. I just wanted to feel him out about the potion, and… some other things." Henry trailed off with the last few words. He didn't think his mom was ready yet to hear what Robin thought about her, and what Henry planned to do about it.

Regina looked at him, considering what he had said. "Was this another undercover mission, part of Operation Mongoose?"

Henry gave her a small smile. "Kind of, but I'm thinking of it as its own mission. I was going to do it on my own, but I wouldn't turn down help." Regina smiled back at him, which encouraged him to ask, "what have you found?"

Regina sighed, looking back at the books spread out in front of her. "Nothing, unfortunately. I can't find any indication that I messed up the potion." Regina lifted the small vial with the remaining potion off the table and stared at it.

Henry noticed, and asked, "is that it?" Regina nodded. Henry's voice grew hesitant. "Is it for… are you going to take it, too?"

Regina whipped her head around. "Henry, no!" Henry looked relieved. "No, of course not. I could never take it, I… I know how it would affect me, and it wouldn't be good." She had thought about it, of course. But as much as being without Robin hurt, she didn't want to forget him. Plus, she knew that a big part of her that fell in love with him was the part that wanted to be good. She wouldn't get rid of that part of herself, no matter the cost.

Regina didn't want to discuss all that with Henry - it seemed too personal. She decided to shift the topic of conversation instead. "The only person who will be affected by this potion is Robin. That's what we need to focus on. Do we need to pick a new name for this mission?"

Henry smiled. He seemed to be quickly reassured. It was nice being trusted again. "I already thought of one," he said proudly. "Operation Outlaw Queen."

Regina thought that over. It took her a minute to realize that Henry had given her and Robin a 'couple name' like celebrities in this world so often got. She thought the idea of couple names was stupid, but she had to admit she liked the idea of her and Robin being established enough as a pair to have one. She smiled at Henry. "Okay. And the goal of this operation is to figure out what went wrong with the potion?"

Henry shook his head. "I don't think anything was wrong with the potion."

Regina gave him a confused look. "There must be. Otherwise why would he be acting this way?"

Now Henry sighed. "Really, mom? You know how this potion works! It erased the part of Robin that fell in love with you." Regina broke eye contact again, looking back down to the potion she held in her lap. "You said it yourself. Robin has become unforgiving. That's why he still sees you as the Evil Queen." Regina shuddered, and Henry reached out and placed his hand on her arm. Regina patted his hand before standing up and walking around the table. "You're not anymore, mom. I know that. And Robin knows it too, somewhere deep inside. He just can't forgive anymore. He lost the part of him that believes in second chances."

Regina turned to look at Henry. "What did you say?"

Henry repeated, "second chances. He told me about the men he kicked out, and I asked him why he didn't give them a second chance. He seemed to think that was a ridiculous idea." Regina felt her legs grow weak and she lowered herself onto a chair on the opposite side of the table. "He said a person's past defines them, and that your character is defined by your actions. He said he doesn't think that people can change."

Regina clasped her hands in her lap so Henry wouldn't notice them shaking. Her mind was racing. Everything she had learned, everything Robin had done was starting to make sense. She had so many questions racing in her mind.

"Mom? Mooooom?" Regina snapped out of her daze and looked up. Henry had his hands on the storybook on the table and was leaning forward in his chair staring at her. "Mom, what is it? Did you figure something out?"

After a moment, Regina nodded. "I think you're right, Henry. The potion wasn't working improperly. But it's done some damage I didn't foresee."

Regina tried to keep her voice steady, but the concern in Henry's eyes told her that she hadn't quite succeeded. "Okay. But we can fix it, right?"

Regina shook her head slowly. She wasn't thinking 'how can I fix this?' Her mind was still stuck on 'what have I done?'

…

A/N: I am so sorry! OUAT's gone on hiatus, and apparently I did, too. This is the longest I've gone without updating, and hopefully it won't happen again. I'm going to really push myself to try to get chapters out more frequently. Please don't give up, and keep reading!