Illness sweeps through Marian's body far too quickly despite medicinal and magical attempts to save her life, and by the time that summer settles over Storybrooke, she is barely able to leave her bed. Marian resists at first, but ultimately allows Robin to stay in the small guest bedroom of the house she rented on the edge of the forest. She spent so many years deep in the woods that it felt strange to be far from them for what she had always known would be the final weeks of her life.

"It's beautiful here," Marian comments to Robin as they sit on her porch on a warm, sunny afternoon. "Not exactly like Sherwood, but still a good place to make your home."

Marian smiles at Robin sadly and he knows that she has given up hope completely. "Please Marian. Regina is still working on finding a cure." He thinks of how exhausted Regina had looked when he saw her yesterday, and he knows that she has barely slept since she promised to try to find a way to save Marian.

"It's ok. This time has been more than I expected to have. I was afraid of what would happen to you and Roland after I was gone, and it brings me comfort to know that you were happy before I returned and you will be again."

"Marian," Robin says with a sigh, wanting her to understand that moving on after her death had been no easy task. "I didn't believe that I would survive losing you."

"But you did, and though it brings me sadness that our time together is over, I am so happy that you found love again. I hate the idea of leaving you and Roland behind, but coming here allowed me to know that you were ok without me." Then Marian thinking of her little boy who has become sullen and angry, taken to fits of crying and tantrums in the middle of the night, and she can't stop the tears that come. "I hope I haven't hurt Roland with my return."

"He's a strong boy."

"You raised him well Robin."

"I did my best."

"He's amazing," Marian says, tears falling from her eyes. She had missed so much, will miss so much more. "It will never feel like enough time. No matter how long I have, it will never be enough."

"I'm so sorry I couldn't save you."

"You kept me alive long enough for Roland to be born. My death has always been the way of nature, and you must know that you bear no responsibility for it."

Robin shakes his head, and Marian knows that he never stop thinking that he failed her. Robin takes her hand in both of his. "I've missed you so much Marian."

Marian smiles reassuringly at Robin, her heart full of so many conflicting emotions. "You gave me a good life Robin and a beautiful son. Please just remember that I am grateful for what we had, and now it's time for you to be happy again."

Regina and Roland are half way back to Marian's from the ice cream shop when the little boy stills his movement. His hand is linked with Regina's and he pulls at her as she continues walking, dragging behind her until he finally pulls his hand away and sits down on the sidewalk.

Regina looks down at the little boy with the remnants of his chocolate ice cream around his lips and is overwhelmed by how very young he is. It is simply so unfair that this child should have to lose his mother so soon after she returned to his life.

Regina sits down on the ground next to Roland, earning her a few stares from passers by.

"I don't want to go," Roland tells Regina, kicking his feet at the grass next to the sidewalk.

"Come here, sweetie." Regina pats her lap and Roland climbs on and wraps his little arms around her. "Why don't you want to go home?" she asks, running her fingers through Roland's hair.

"I don't want to," Roland whines against Regina's chest.

Regina kisses Roland's cheek, hugging his tiny body to her.

His next words catch Regina off guard and break her heart. "Are you going to die too Gina?"

"No, Roland. I am not going anywhere, and I am going to help your Papa take care of you." Regina kisses the little boy again, and it is so hard to know what to say to make this better, because he's just so young and not able to tell her what he needs. "Your Mama wishes more than anything that she could stay with you Roland. She loves you so much."

"Is she going away because I've been a bad boy?"

"No Roland. You are a very good boy. Your Mama is very sick and her body isn't working right anymore. That isn't your fault in any way my darling." Roland doesn't say anything more, and Regina waits and snuggles the little boy to her. "Your Mama and your Papa and I, we all love you so much. And you are such a good boy Roland."

Regina has only known Roland as a joyful, adventurous, playful little boy, but he is so different now, so afraid and cautious as he clings to Regina. "Do you want to go see your Papa and Mama now?"

Roland nods but doesn't move from where he is cradled against Regina. "All right. You hold the ice cream for me, and I will hold you," she tells him, handing the bag with ice cream for Robin and Marian to Roland and hoisting him onto her hip.

Roland buries his face in Regina's shoulder, and she hopes that she will be able to keep her promise to Marian and help raise this precious child the way he deserves.

Regina's phone rings startling her from a fitful sleep. She had drifted off surrounded by her mother's magic books, still looking for a cure that she knew would not come.

"Robin?" she answers, her voice heavy still with sleep. The first thing she hears is tears and then her name sobbed out. "I'll be there in a minute," she promises as she jumps from the bed and runs into Henry's room.

"Henry," she whispers, shaking him gently. He mumbles unhappily at being woken in the middle of the night. "I need to go to Marian's. Will you be ok here alone?"

"Of course Mom. I can come if you need me though."

"That's all right, honey. You sleep. Call me if you need anything at all."

"I'm fine. I'm 14. Go."

Regina bends down to kiss her son's forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too," Henry tells Regina before watching her disappear in a flash of white light.

Regina appears next to Robin where he sits on the bed in Marian's guest room with his knees pulled up to his chest. He wastes no time in throwing his arms around her and pulling her body to his like a lifeline.

"I need you," he sobs. "I'm sorry Regina. I can't do this alone."

"Is Marian…"

"No, she's the same. I just wanted you, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Shh, don't be sorry. I want to be here for you Robin."

He takes the permission, though he feels so guilty for making Regina comfort him about Marian, and loses himself to sobs. Regina holds Robin close and it feels so good to have her here. He spends so much time trying to be strong for Marian and Roland, and he just wants to lose himself in the comfort of Regina's embrace.

She lets him. Regina shifts their bodies so that she is resting against the pillows with Robin lying in her arms, and she rubs his back and presses soft kisses to his temple. Robin relaxes into Regina's touch, slow, gentle circles on his back, the steady feeling of her chest rising and falling beneath him, her heart beat ringing in his ears.

"Regina," Robin half cries, feeling like he will lose himself if she isn't there to hold him up now. But she's there, her arms around him, strong and solid. She's touching him with so much love, and he marvels at how much love this woman is capable of. He turns his face to press soft kisses to the bare skin of Regina's neck.

Regina doesn't say anything, because there are no words she can think of to take away his pain at watching Marian grow ever weaker and watching Roland struggle more each day. Regina holds Robin's shaking body to hers, his cries ringing out in the dark of the night. She feels as much as hears the words he speaks with his lips still pressed against her neck: "I love you."

Robin freezes, realizing what he's just said. He had been trying so hard to wait until Regina was ready, to not frighten her away with his feelings. And now he's gone and said it in the middle of sobbing about the death of another woman. He braces himself for Regina's reaction, thinks she will be well justified in any reaction she has to this, because how could he have picked such an awful moment to tell her? He feels her breath hitch, and he looks up at Regina, unsure of what he will see in her eyes.

She's smiling at him with wet eyes and so much feeling for him, and she reaches out and cups his face between her palms. "I love you," she tells him as she runs her fingers along his skin and through his hair, leans down to kiss him gently.

Regina's mouth is on his, their bodies pressed together, and even though there is so much sadness and pain in this house, for this moment Robin feels surrounded by love and joy. Regina giggles and whispers to him again. "I love you."

Robin laughs too, because the day has been filled with Roland screaming and crying, and Marian becoming weaker by the hour, and Robin has been so overwhelmed by sorrow, but this is something beautiful and precious. "I love you so very much Regina," he tell her, thinks he will never tire of saying it or hearing her say it. "I didn't mean to blurt it out like that. I'm sorry. The first time I told you should have been romantic, and instead I'm crying about Marian, and you have been amazing and patient with me."

"That's because I love you," Regina tells him. The words are out now, and she feels so free. This is real, and it isn't easy and simple, but Robin loves her and she loves him. She doesn't need easy and she doesn't need a fairytale as long as she has Robin and he wants her, they can do this together.

It's a terrifying thought, because the last time Regina had believed like this she had been 17, in love with Daniel, and so certain that their love would prove stronger than her mother's magic. It's ridiculous, she thinks, the belief that love is enough, but Robin is looking at Regina like he can hardly believe that he has been given such a wonderful gift.

Robin holds Regina's face in his palms and it's overwhelming the feeling of her skin and the sight of her smile, and Robin thinks that even amongst so much pain there is so much light and goodness. "I love you," he tells her again. "It means everything to me that you're here Regina. You've been so understanding of the fact that Marian is important to me."

"Of course she is. She was your wife, and she's Roland's mother. I know that you will always love her."

"Thank you." Robin pulls Regina's hand to his chest. "Just don't forget that my heart belongs to you."

Regina nods at Robin, her eyes filled with tears. Her voice shakes with emotion when she speaks again. "Have you slept at all tonight?"

"No."

"Lie down and close your eyes. You need rest if you're going to keep taking care of Roland and Marian."

"You'll stay?"

"I'll stay," Regina promises, coaxing Robin to lie down. Robin's mind is spinning. He loves Regina so much and so desperately wants to do right by her, but there is so much that he can't control, so much that overwhelms his every waking moment now, so instead Regina is forced to take care of him. "What are you thinking?" she asks as she brushes soothing fingers through his hair.

Robin settles against Regina's chest. "I was thinking that you deserve better than this. You deserve a proper courtship." He looks up and sees it in Regina's eyes, still, always, the belief that she doesn't deserve his love at all. "One day I will convince you that you deserve all the love and happiness in the world and that I am truly the lucky one for being allowed to try to give that to you."

Regina is smiling tearfully at Robin, and he loves seeing the terribly romantic side of her, the one that melts at his romantic gestures and saccharine comments. "For now let me focus on helping you get through these next few weeks," Regina replies. A sadness falls over Robin with the realization that a few weeks is a generous estimate of Marian's life. Regina sees his expression change, knows immediately what he is thinking, and she leans down to kiss his forehead. "I'm sorry," she whispers.

"As am I."

Regina wants Robin to trust her, to open up to her even about this. "I won't be jealous Robin. I know this hurts. Nearly two years ago, Dr. Whale managed to bring Daniel back."

"He did what?"

"Daniel came back wrong though. He was a monster, and he was in so much pain. He begged me to make it stop."

Regina's voice cracks, and Robin reaches for her hand, cradling it to his chest. "Oh Regina."

"I killed him to take away his pain."

"I'm so sorry."

"It had been almost 50 years since I saw him last, and still losing Daniel again hurt so much."

Robin lifts Regina's hand to his lips and kisses her knuckles. "Thank you for telling me. And thank you for being here. I truly don't know how I would do this without you."

"You don't have to," Regina promises. She promises herself over and over to do right by Robin. She has hurt so many people, but at least she can do right by the people she loves. She promises herself that she will.

"I love you Regina," Robin says with a smile, reaching his free hand up to brush her hair back from her face.

"And I you."

Robin closes his eyes, breathes in Regina's scent, and tries to find enough peace here in her arms to sleep.

Waking up in Regina's embrace feels warm and safe, and Robin desperately wants to stay here cocooned in her arms. He immediately feels guilty for the thought because these moments with Marian are an unexpected gift, but it's also so exhausting and difficult.

"Good morning," Robin whispers. Regina is already awake and staring at him. "Did you sleep?" he asks her with concern.

Regina's fingers begin stroking his scalp. "Don't worry about me. Did you sleep well?" Robin wants to object to the way that Regina is ignoring her own needs, but the fingers in his hair feel too good to think of anything else. He hums and closes his eyes again. "I imagine that Roland will be awake soon," Regina tells Robin, causing him to crack open an eye and glance at the clock.

"10:30! I need to prepare breakfast before Roland and Marian wake and need me to tend to them."

"If it won't bother Marian, I can stay and make breakfast for you."

"You know it won't bother her. And I would love for you to stay. I know I shouldn't ask this of you, but as impossible as watching Marian die again feels, having you here helps."

"Then I'll be here."

"Good morning Regina," Marian says, weakly leaning against the doorway to the kitchen.

"You shouldn't be out of bed," Robin scolds.

Marian tries to protest, but her head is spinning and she slides herself down the wall so that she's sitting on the ground. Robin runs to her. "I'm fine Robin," she insists.

"You aren't fine."

Marian is about to continue arguing when she hears a little voice behind her. "Mama?"

"Hi Roland," she says, hating how weak her voice sounds. The little boy looks terribly afraid, and Marian wonders how bad she looks. "Robin," Marian pleads, needing Robin to take their son somewhere that he won't see her struggling to stand, to take a proper breath when her head is still spinning and her lungs feel tight.

Robin looks reluctant to leave Marian's side, so Regina steps forward. "Why don't you and Roland take a walk. I can help Marian wash up," Regina offers.

Marian nods her permission to Robin who stands, still reluctantly, and goes to his son. "Mama's ok my boy. What do you say that you and I go for a morning walk through the forest?" Roland doesn't say anything, just stares at Marian with fear as Robin swoops the boy up in his arms.

Regina kneels down next to Marian. "Can you stand?"

"I don't think so."

"I can use magic to transport us if you would like, or we can stay here until you're ready."

"Can we rest here for a few minutes?" Marian asks, hating feeling so weak and dependent, needing this woman to help her to the bathroom.

Regina waves her hand producing a small vial. "This will help with the pain," she tells Marian.

"How did you know? Does Robin -"

"You're a good actress. Not good enough to fool me, but good." Regina hands Marian the potion. "It isn't dangerous or dark magic."

Marian considers this for a moment, but the pain is so awful and she is losing her ability to do anything with her son so she drinks the potion. Though she still feels weak and sick, the pain is largely gone. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry I can't do more."

Marian finds herself almost startled by the honestly of Regina's words. It still feels like a shock that the same woman who taunted her and sentenced her to death is helping her now. But Marian finds that increasingly she trusts Regina. And as much as it hurts so much to realize that Robin has moved on, it provides some comfort to know that the man she loves will be well cared for.

"You'll take care of Robin won't you?" Marian asks, before she can think better of it. "He's stubborn and he won't always ask for help when he needs it."

"I will do my best," Regina promises Marian as much as herself. Regina loves Robin, and that acknowledgement to herself frightens her to no end. She may have learned how to love Henry better, but Regina still isn't sure she can trust herself to love Robin as well as he deserves. "Would you like to try to stand?"

Marian allows Regina to help her stand and guide her the short distance to the bathroom, and she hates terribly how difficult the walk is.

"Sit," Regina tells Marian, setting her on the closed toilet seat. "Should I run you a bath?" Regina asks.

"That would be wonderful. Thank you."

Regina begins the water running, adding lavender scented bubbled bath that appear in her hand from out of the ether. "Just bubble bath, I promise."

Marian just smiles at Regina, and Regina wonders at how anyone can trust her, especially this woman. Regina brings Marian a toothbrush and watches as the weakened woman seems to use all her strength on this task. There's such vulnerability that Marian shows her, and Regina cannot imagine being this open and weak with a near stranger. She hands Marian a glass of water and an empty cup to spit into. "Thank you Regina."

"It's nothing."

"You've offered me kindness. I have known many who wouldn't, so I don't take this for granted."

Regina waves the comment of with a flick of her wrist. "Your bath is almost ready. Do you think you can manage on your own?"

Marian shakes her head sadly, and Regina reaches out a comforting hand on Marian's forearm. Regina stares at her hand for a moment like it belongs to someone else. Even small acts of kindness or comfort feel strange to Regina. It feels like a different lifetime that she was a young woman whose instinct was a save a girl on a horse.

"Would you help me to the tub?"

"Of course," Regina says, "or I can find Robin if you prefer."

"No. He's with Roland. If it isn't any trouble I would appreciate your assistance."

Regina helps Marian transfer to sit on the side of the tub and then remove her clothes. Marian is overcome by the reminder of her body's deterioration as Regina helps lift her into the tub. Marian buries her face in her hands, unable to stop the tears or the rush of emotions and fears. "Do you think it's cruel," Marian asks, "that I'm forcing my son to watch me die?"

"I think that Roland will cherish the time that he has with you. Recently Henry has been thinking a lot about his childhood, and there are all these little moments, things that I never thought that he would remember, that he looks back on now and that make him feel loved. I know that even if Roland doesn't understand everything that's happening now, that when he's older he will remember how much love you showed him and be so grateful for this time."

"I hope you're right. I know this is hard for him. I can see how different he is from when I returned."

It's all terribly unfair and awful, and all Regina can think is how desperately she wants to be with Henry right now. She will go to him the moment that Robin returns, will hold Henry to her, and tell him that she loves him over and over until he reminds her that he's a teenager and that all this affection is embarrassing. But for now she stays and reminds Marian that Roland is a resilient little boy who adores his mother, all the while silently hoping that Roland will indeed make it through this all right.

Regina finds her need to see Henry so overwhelming that she decides that walking to Granny's will be too slow. Instead she appears in a flash of white light that still takes her by surprise in the alley behind the restaurant and hurries inside to find her son and Snow sitting together in a booth at the back. Regina slides into the booth next Henry, wraps her arm around him, and kisses him. "Hi sweetheart."

"Hey Mom, is everyone all right?"

"As much as they can be," she replies.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm much better now that I'm here with you." Regina pulls Henry closer, presses a kiss to his forehead. He giggles and smiles at her, and Regina can feel a little of the melancholy darkness of the morning slipping away. "Thank you for picking him up," Regina says to Snow, an arm still wrapped tightly around Henry.

"It wasn't a problem," Snow replies, though Regina is sure Snow already had her hands full with Neal. Regina had been uncertain about how Henry would react to her calling Emma right now, as he still seemed to be renegotiating his relationship with the woman who gave birth to him, and Regina was trying her best to let him work through that at his own pace.

"I can't believe you sent someone to check on me," Henry interjects incredulously.

"Sorry honey. What can I say, you got stuck with an overprotective mother."

Henry rolls his eyes. "It's ok I guess. Snow, Neal, and I had fun this morning."

"I'm glad," she tells him with a gentle squeeze of his arm. He smiles happily, and Regina still marvels that she is responsible for Henry's happiness.

"Are you really ok?" Snow asks Regina when Henry leaves the table to go to the bathroom.

"I just wish there was more I could do for all of them." Snow smiles that infuriating, knowing little smile. "What?"

"It's just so nice to have the woman I used to know back."

Regina laughs bitterly. "Don't fool yourself Snow. I've done far too much evil to ever be that girl again."

Snow reaches out for Regina's hand, and despite what Regina is certain is her better judgement, she allows the touch. Snow holds Regina's hand and tells her, "I think that it's time for you to let the past be the past. The people who care for you already have."

"It's not that simple."

"The best things never are." Snow grins at Regina. Regina's first instinct is to snap at the spoiled princess, because things have always been so easy for her. But Regina makes herself swallow back the old bitterness. "You have so many people who want you in their lives Regina, people who love you and are counting on you. You can't change the past, but you can change your future."

"How profound."

Snow just keeps smiling, though. She's known Regina far too long to be deterred by snakiness.

"You know Regina, all that the people who love you want from you is you. We just want you in our lives."

Regina looks at Snow and finds herself stunned speechless at the truth of these words. Henry, Snow, Robin, Marian, none of them have any business forgiving her. And yet they have. Regina allows herself to wonder fleetingly if she can forgive herself.