Here is the second and final part of Let Down Your Hair! For all who haven't read the previous chapter, GO BACK! This is the follow up part.

I do hope you enjoy this installment. This story has taken me the longest to write and I really have enjoyed every minute of it. While I was going I finished little snippets along the way so there are some lighter and fluffier tales to come in the next few updates! A very happy birthday again to EvilQueensDaughterRapunzel. Enjoy!

prompt: continued...

This land was cold, Regina thought.

She still wasn't over the initial shock. When she had awoken that morning her world had been turned upside down. Well, it wasn't even her world anymore! She was no where close to anywhere that she recognized and she was very, very alone.

The road she was on was slick with fresh rain as she waddled her way down to the diner on the end of the street. She needed to find food and find it fast. She had no idea where she was, nor how she had gotten there, but she knew she was starving.

Pushing her way through the glass door of the diner, she entered into what looked like an other worldly version of a pub. The smell of sizzling bacon and cooked potatoes instantly hit her. The colors of the place seemed to clash but somehow they made for a homey feel. There were people scattered about, some sitting at the tall counter, others gathered around the darts board in the back. Regina had no idea where to go but then she saw someone she recognized out of the corner of her eye. Without a second thought she made her way over to the pixie haired woman.

That morning, there had been nothing in the small white room that gave her any clue as to how or why she was there.

Feeling helpless, she had stood up, instantly tumbling back down onto the hard mattress. Oh yes, and she was pregnant..

She needed some comfort. She reached up, looking to run her fingers through her hair as she always did to calm herself when suddenly there was nothing. She found nothing!

Her hands shot up to her head, the place where her long locks had always been to comfort her. Nothing!

She could feel the coldness of her bare skin through the small dusting of baby hair on her head Bald. She was bald.

The craziness of her situation overwhelmed her and suddenly she felt another kick low in her stomach, this one stronger and harder than before.

Regina let out one sob and then the tears started to flow.

She had no idea what she had done to deserve this. She had no idea how he had gotten to this room in this new world. She had no idea how she had gotten pregnant and worse, no idea whose child she was carrying! Everything about her past seemed to be a blur.

The brightness of the white room began to swirl in her mind, mixing with her tears as her eyes closed.

When she awoke again she was starving.

Her whole body seemed to ache like she had been laying in that bed for months. She sat up slowly, attempting to stand again. This time she did it slower and with more ease. An annoying beeping rang in the back of her head but she paid no mind. Once her balance was gained, she took a hesitant step forward, not wanting to press her luck and come crashing down.

But she didn't. She held upright, and step after step she became more confident in her abilities.

She made her way to the large armoire in the corner of the room. Reaching her hands out she made the final steps gripping into its doors to stabilize herself. She was nearly out of breath once she reached it.

The distance between the armoire and the bed was no more than a few feet. She huffed, the new weight of the infant inside her must have taken up a lot of her energy or she had been in that bed longer than she had originally thought.

She shook her head, turning back to the chest of drawers. Inside she found a plethora of strange looking clothing and attire in her size. She pulled out one of the unusually tailored jackets,the hanger including a blouse and was that pants?!

Regina nearly let out an audible sound of displeasure at the horrid mistake of her closet being filled with men's attire. She sorted through the remaining articles of clothes only to find more pants, an array of what she considered to be dresses that were either to short for any respectable lady to wear or to tight to fit over her enlarged stomach.

In the end she went with the black wide legged pants and white stretchy blouse that she had pulled out originally. Everything fit snugly, the shirt stretching over her inflated belly. As she eyed herself in the mirror across the room she would have sworn that her stomach had doubled in size from the last time she had checked.

She ran her eyes over the ensemble. She wouldn't admit it but the pants did fit her nicely, making her look slightly thinner. Her eyes scrolled up, documenting the fit of the short tailored jacket and then she gasped. Her hair.

She hadn't looked in a mirror since she had mysteriously arrived in the small white room. But seeing herself now she was extremely confused. Before she had gone to sleep she had felt her shaved head. There had been nothing there but baby hairs. She had been absolutely sure as she had run her hands over the bare skin of her scalp multiple times in pure shock. But now, staring into the long mirror, it was there. Her hair! Short as it was, she had hair. The raven locks were cut short, barely reaching her ears, but they were there.

She nearly cried again, out of excitement, a sob catching in her throat. She ran her fingers through her short hair, feeling as the ends flicking through her fingers quickly.

Despite her situation, in that moment she couldn't have been more happy! It was back!

She had smiled in spite of everything.

Now standing in the small diner she was nearing the pixie cut woman. Just as she was about to reach out and touch her, the woman turned on her stool, gasping.

"Regina!"

Regina blinked, flabbergasted! How was it that Snow knew her name?

That morning when she had been in the white room she had remembered nothing until she came across a book by her bedside.

Her instincts had told her to pick it up, and she did reading it cover to cover. Every page that she turned, a piece of her memory returned, stitching themselves together like a intricate quilt.

She could remember! The Enchanted Forest, home. She was the Queen! A Queen that got locked up every fortnight as her husband abandoned the kingdom to fight another battle.

She remembered her mother, her father, her sister... her sister! Zelena! That was why she was here! She flipped through the pages of the magical book. Her sister had cast an evil curse causing her to appear in a foreign land with any memories of her life before! Of her, of herself, of Robin. Robin!

With the thought of Robin in mind Regina ran from the small white room. She had believed that everyone else that had been brought to the strange land would have had their memories wiped as well, but Snow seemed to recognize her.

Shaking her out of her reverie, Snow spoke again, "Regina, what are you doing out of the hospital? How did you get out?!" She said rapid fire.

Regina's mind spun, hospital?

"Did Whale release you? Oh my goodness, I'm going to have a talk with him! Letting coma patients out into the world right when they wake! It's just not right! Regina, did anyone come with you? Regina? Regina! Are you alright sweetheart?"

Regina felt Snows hands wrap around her arms, keeping her steady as she swayed on her feet.

A coma? She had been in a coma?

But it felt like only yesterday that she had woken up in the odd town, right after her sister had cast the curse.

She could hear, Snow White's voice in her ear, murmuring things about, her mental state and the health of the baby. It was only then that she realized that Snow did not look much like the little girl she had seen only a week ago, in her mind, in the Enchanted Forest. She was older, for lack of a better term. Still as beautiful and still as fair as she had been in her youth. But the chubby face of a child was replaced by the curves and angles of a woman. She had grown up from the last time Regina had seen her, stealing sweets from the dinner tables.

"Sn-snow?" Regina spoke, her voice cracking from the cold.

The woman stopped babbling and looked at Regina like she had grown two heads.

"Who? I'm Mary Margret?"

Regina's mind spun again. How was it that she knew who she was, but Snow had no idea?

As if she could read her mind however, the woman responded.

"My names Mary Margret," she said slowly as if talking to a child and Regina scowled at her tone, "And your's is Regina. Or at least that's what it said on your medical file. Heck, maybe we have been calling you the wrong name for the past few months!"

Months?

Regina could feel the world spinning around her as if she were on a perpetual merry-go-round.

The curse! It must have been the curse which aged them!

"Did you need something sweetheart?" The woman name Mary Margret, who was Snow in her time, continued. "Oh my goodness, you must be starving after all that time in the hospital! Come on, I'll order something for you and the baby!"

Regina accepted the food graciously. The moment she had finished however the door to the diner named, Grannys, opened, letting a freezing gust of wind travel through the small place. She turned to face the newcomer and her breath stopped.

Robin.

She nearly spat out her overly large slab or circular cow meat and cheese, called a burger.

It was Robin! He was older too. There was an aged look about him, starting with the slight peppering of grays throughout his golden stubble and the lines on his face. But he looked every part the man she had met, and same, just older. And she realized that she must than too.

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She wanted to stand and run and fling herself at him, but she realized that he would think it strange as he didn't know her. So she sat at the stool, watching as he strode over to his men in the corner, not knowing how to approach him.

It was only then that she remembered what had happened last between them.

The dungeons, Zelena, Zelena revealing the true nature of her to Robin and Robin to her.

She couldn't approach him. Not knowing what she knew. Ha had lied to her. He was a thief.

Her memory's continued to play, of Zelena choking Robin and then coming in to cut of her hair. Subconsciously she ran her hands through her locks and nearly gasped.

They were longer!

She probably looked every bit the crazed woman that the people in the diner must think she was but she couldn't help herself. She ran her hands through her shoulder length hair, over and over, releasing sounds of excitement and joy.

"Regina! Your hair!" Mary Margret said from beside her. She too took part in running a hand through the thick raven locks. They both looked at each other in awe mixed with confusion.

As Regina looked up for the first time since the phenomenon, she spotted the thief walking towards where she and Mary Margret currently sat at the bar.

"Hello Milady." He spoke and Regina's heart stopped.

"Regina, this is Robin Locksley. He's been at your side most nights watching your vitals, making sure you were okay. Part of your miraculous return is all thanks to him!" Mary Margret spoke, looking up at Robin in admiration.

"It was nothing as honorable as she makes it sound, I swear." He spoke with a wink, "How could I not help a beautiful lady."

Regina did a double take. Beautiful? She had been bald throughout her coma. If he had truly been there through that time, he would have known that.

"Oh, my gosh." Robin said again, setting down the drink he had grabbed, his arm shooting out towards her, "Your hair!"

He was about to touch it when she backed away. In his sudden movement he had shifted fast, causing his shirt to rise up, revealing the tattooed flesh of his forearm. Soulmate.

Regina blinked and Robin apologized, "I am sorry Milady. I didn't mean to be forward, it's just that the last time I saw you, you had none."

Regina had a suspicious feeling as she questioned him, "And when was the last time you saw me?"

"Last night." He said with a shrug.

She could remember. She could remember the feel of him hovering over her. His warmth radiating through his hands on her hands. He had been there, every night, and every morning. Siting with her, being with her, reading to her.

Reading.

Suddenly her eyes shot straight up to his!

"Where did we meet first?" She said so quickly that it shocked her.

From the look on his face Robin was stunned by her question, "Uh- why here of course?" He said, looking back to Mary Margret behind her as if pleading for help.

"You came here straight to the hospital," Mary Margret said from behind her, putting what was supposed to be a calming hand on her shoulder. "We both found you there."

"No." Regina said. She stared straight at Robin. "Where did we meet, before that. Before this town. Before this pregnancy. Where did you and I meet?"

She held his gaze, forcing him to look at her. She knew he knew. If he had been reading to her from that storybook that she had found that morning, he must. Robin gulped.

"In a pub, down by the market place on the outskirts of town in the Enchanted Forest." He whispered.

Regina felt her breath catch in her throat.

It was moments before she could speak again. The pair of them stared at each other as if there was no one else in the room. The world could have burned and they wouldn't have noticed.

Suddenly, her voice went dry and she whispered, "Robin?"

He closed the distance between them, picking her up gentle and crashing his lips to hers with a passion so strong she was swept off her feet.

They kissed like they had such a long time ago, in the cave somewhere deep in the Enchanted Forest. Passionately, intensely, lovingly. Regina felt every stroke of his tongue on hers as her hands wrapped around him, bringing him unbelievably close. His strong hands, ran through her much shorter hair, getting caught in the curls. When they had no more room for air between them, there was a kick that they both felt low at the base of her stomach that jolted them apart.

"Regina," Robin said, out of breath. He stared down at where he had felt the flutter from her, placing his hands on her belly. "Regina is this-"

She shook her head as all of the emotions that were inside her, happiness, sadness, joy and regret overwhelmed her. His eyes found hers and she used them for comfort. When she had regained her voice she spoke again, this time nodding with a tear in her eye.

"You're the only one." She said hoping he would understand, and he did.

He kissed her again, this time a bit lighter in the hopes not to put any pressure on the baby growing inside her.

In all her happiness, she suddenly remembered how they had gotten there in the first place and she broke the kiss.

A thief, Zelena had called him, a man without honor. A man who couldn't love.

She felt the tears sting at the backs of her eyes and willed them away as she had already cried to much that day.

"Regina, what is it love?"

She let go of a shaky breath as a few loose droplets escaped, rolling down her cheeks.

"You-you lied to me." She said.

The look of sorrow and guilt that crossed Robin's face was enough to overcome her with emotions again, so she stared at her hands, choosing not to look at him.

"Yes, I did." He said in a small voice. The pain that it caused him, echoed in every word, making her insides turn. "Probably for the same reasons that you kept your being the Queen from me."

She looked at him, expecting to see anger marring his beautiful face, but instead she saw understanding.

He continued. "I didn't want you to know who I was or what I did because I thought if you did, you would never be able to love such a man like me. And I assume that was why you never told me that you were the Queen in our time together. We both wanted a relationship that was untainted by what society looked at us as. A Queen and a thief. No one would have ever deemed it okay for us to love each other. But if we didn't tell, then maybe, just maybe we could skip all of the formalities and etiquette and code and love truly for who we are."

Regina's heart stopped for the second time that day.

"Yes. I am a thief, but an honorable one at that. A thief that steals from the poor to give to the rich, and one that is madly in love with you. Regina Mills you have become the Queen of my heart."

She blinked, touched at his words. She felt her heart soar at the look in his eyes, but everything that her life so far had taught her made her doubt his sincerity. She could feel the insecurities that she held rush in like waves crashing over her.

"But-" She said, her hands raising up self consciously to her hair.

He grabbed her hands, holding them all tangled up in short the locks, cupping her face.

"I love you Regina Mills. With all of my heart. You have made me a better person, Short hair or none I will be with you till the end of my days."

She felt the tears come rolling out, and this time there was no stopping them.

He held her close, the pressure of his hands running through her hair and down her back was enough to calm her and when she was through she whispered a choked, "I love you too," into his ear.

As they broke apart he inhaled sharply. Her hair had grown another few inches, now draping beautifully over her collar bones and past her shoulders.

He ran his hand through it, tucking a strand behind her ear.

"You know, I think I actually liked it shorter more."

She smiled, staring into his loving eyes. There was so much for them to do. So much that had to be taken care of. So much new to get used to. But for a moment she didn't care. He was there, he remembered her, he loved her. And with his hands wrapped in her hair, the threats of Zelena and all the world could wait.

She was content.

oh my goodness that was a beast! if you enjoyed do leave a comment! taking a few burning requests as well! x