Stretching out her legs, she arches her back, taking a breath as her eyes flutter open. From the window she can see the sky has taken on a pinkish hue. She could hear birds chirping outside her window and beside her, she could feel Robin. A smile slowly worked its way onto her lips as she rolled onto her slide, tucking her hands underneath her cheek as she watched him sleep.

She'd gotten used to having him with her–to falling asleep with him at her side. But she wasn't used to waking up with him–or at least, not like this. Usually, she found herself awake in the middle of the night, staring up at the dark ceiling and letting what ever troubles plagued her roll around in her head as she passed judgement on herself. He'd usually wake up–almost as if he could sense it–and he'd make her tea. They'd talk for awhile before he'd coax her back to bed and then, the whole thing would repeat. Sometimes, Henry woke up first and she'd get up with him, and by the time he was settled and tucked back into bed, she was always a little reluctant to leave him. So, she'd stay up–watching over him and dozing for a few minutes here and there. Robin usually came to find her, bringing her blanket and offering his company.

But this was different. This was nicer, she thought, and it was something she could get used to.

A little laugh escapes her as she watches him sleep–his mouth open and his head tipped to the side, his beard seeming scruffier than usual as a light snore escaped him.

She's never known anyone quite like him, never had anyone in her life who treated the way that he did. He was kind and attentive, thoughtful and empathetic and he had a way of making her feel like everything would be okay, that world would just work itself out as it was meant to. In a lot of ways, he'd kept her sane–making sure she never got too caught up in her worrying, that she had a sounding board to prevent her from getting lost in her own head, and most importantly, he'd ensured she had support. He loved her without condition, accepted her as she was, never asking her to apologize for things she couldn't change.

And she loved him for it.

She loved him more than she knew she could, and she couldn't imagine having gone through any of this without him. She wouldn't have survived it…

"Please tell me," he begins in a groggy voice as he turns on his head on his pillow, a slow smile stretching across his lips, "That you haven't already been awake for hours."

"No," she says as a little chuckle rises into her voice. "I only woke up a few minutes ago."

"Good," he says as he rolls onto his side. "Glad to know that I'm not falling down on the job."

"You could never…"

"You slept through the night," he says quietly. "You got a full night's sleep. What does that feel like?"

She laughs a little as her lip catches between her teeth. "I don't know exactly… but in the last two days, I think I've gotten more sleep than I have in the last two months."

"You deserve it."

"Well," she sighs, "I don't know about that, but right now, I feel like I could take on the world."

Robin's brow furrows. "Hopefully not right this minute, though," he sighs as he slides toward her." She grins as his arm slides beneath the blanket and over her hip, his head bending so that his forehead rests against hers. "Because, if I'm not mistaken, there's about forty minutes before your alarm goes off and that means there is more than an hour before Henry gets up and, well, Roland would sleep forever, if we let him…"

"So, what did you have in mind?"

"Ohh," he breathes out, rolling onto his back and pulling her to his chest as his arms situate around her. "I was thinking we could… just lay here, really still and quiet and…"

She laughs out, her laugh louder than it should be as he presses a kiss to her hair. "You want to go back to sleep. We have forty minutes until the boys are up and you want to sleep."

"Yes," he breathes out. "Some people really enjoy doing that."

"I wouldn't know,'" she tells him, pressing a kiss to his chest.

"You know," he says, chuckling softly as he rubs his hand over her back. "Sometimes, I wake up extra early like this just so I can go back to sleep."

"That… does sound nice."

"I assure you, love, it is."

She can't help but smile as she nuzzles against him, letting her eyes close again. She listens to his heart beating as she feels his chest rise and fall, and she finds herself thinking that this must be what normal feels like–and that it's something she could get used to.

And maybe, in the not so distant future, they can be normal.

"Robin?" She asks in a tentative voice, not expecting him to answer.

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," he replies groggily.

"Why did you go to Mr. Zinnia's?"

"What?" He asks, suddenly more awake. She grins as she feels his heart beating a little faster as he tilts his head to peer down at her. "How did you know that I'd gone to see Mr. Zinnia."

"Henry told me…"

"Tattletale," he murmurs, laughing softly as he presses a light kiss atop her head. "That was… awhile ago."

"Henry said it was last week."

Robin sighs. "And… last week was awhile ago."

"He wouldn't tell me much, just that you'd taken him and Roland…" A little grin edges onto her lip. "And that things didn't quite go as planned."

"No, things… didn't exactly go as planned." Groaning a little, he hugs her tighter and she feels his arms tense. "And, maybe it was… for the better."

"Oh?"

"I just… had this idea. You were working and I had the boys and I kept thinking that… I couldn't wait for you to come home and I kept thinking about how much better everything is when it's the four us and… I just got a little ahead of myself."

Her breath catches in her throat. "You… got ahead of yourself."

"Yeah…"

"But you… came to your senses."

"Well, no, not exactly," he says, laughing a little as he presses a kiss to her hair. "It was just one idea that didn't quite pan out, I didn't–"

"What idea?" She cuts in, rolling onto her stomach and resting her chin on his chest. "What exactly were you planning?"

His eyes narrow and he hesitates for a moment–and then, she feels his body relax beneath her. "I think you know…"

"I want to hear it."

"Okay," he says softly as he takes a breath, reaching out and tucking a few straying strands of hair behind her ear. "I was going to get your favorite flowers and fill the living room with them, so we went to the florist and soon as I got there I realized I had no idea what your favorite flowers were." A lopsided grin tugs up at his lips. "Henry thought apple blossoms, but…"

"He's right. I'm that cliche."

Chuckling softly, he nods. "Well Mr. Zinnia didn't have any."

"He never does…"

"Well, we looked at roses and daisies and nothing seemed right, and so we left and on the way back home, we stopped in at my shop, just to check on things and I told John that I wanted to propose and he pointed out that we'd known each other less than…"

"You were going to propose…" She says slowly, as if it wasn't obvious. "As in… propose marriage."

Robin laughs a little and nods, "I was just… things didn't work out that day and I figured maybe Mr. Zinnia didn't have those apple blossoms for a reason." She feels her smile fade a little as his fingers touch to her chin. "The timing was just… off."

"The timing…"

"Yeah, I didn't even have a ring and the more I thought about it the more I realized you've got a lot on your plate with Henry and the curse and…" He sighs. "I realized we hadn't even talked about it."

"No, we haven't," she murmurs as her stomach flutters–and she can't quite tell if it's nervousness or excitement. "So, that's the reason you decided not to…

"Regina," he cuts in. "I didn't decide not to do it. I just… decided to wait to do it." He takes a breath, suddenly sounding a bit nervous. "We are… headed in that direction, though, aren't we?"

"Yeah," she says as smile draws back onto her lips as her cheeks flush and again, her stomach flutters. "I'd definitely say that we are."

A soft grin stretches over his lips. "So, if I'd done that night with the wrong flowers and no ring at time that was less than ideal… you… would have…"

"Said yes," she supplies as that anxious fluttering that she can't quite figure out returns.

She watches as a smile twists into his lips as his head fall back against the pillow, and she feel a laugh bubbling up from his chest. "I feel like I just ruined… something," he says, shaking his head as he looks back to her. "Like I just took away some sort of romantic moment we were meant to have in the future."

"No," she's quick to say. "You didn't do that and…" She sighs and shrugs her shoulders. "It's nice having something to look forward to, something to daydream about when I… need a break from all of the chaos and worrying and–" Her voice trails off and she feels her cheeks flush–and then as she takes a breath, she pushes herself up so that she's hovering over his chest. Her lips gently graze over his. She smiles as his lips seek hers, pulling back slightly as a soft laugh escapes her. "I love you," she breathes out as she leans in the rest of the way, her lips finding him his as she kisses him sweetly, smiling against his lips as his arms come up around her.

By the time the sun is fully up, they're out of bed and showered. She offers to wake up the boys if Robin will make them all breakfast, and he eagerly agrees, teasing that he got the better end the of deal. She rolls her eyes at him as she pads barefoot down the hall to the room Roland selected–a room he was very excited to call his own– and she peeks inside. The covers are bunched at his feet and he's sprawled out on the bed in his Superman pajamas, taking up more space than she ever realized a child his size could occupy. Laughing softly, she pushes herself into the room and sits down at the edge of the bed.

"Roland," she calls softly, reaching out and rubbing her hand against his arm. "Sweetheart, it's time to wake up," she tells him, rubbing his arm until he starts to stir. "Roland?"

"Mm, is it morning?"

"It is."

"Oh," he sighs, scrunching his face as his bats his hand over his eyes. "Already?"

"Yeah, sweetie, already."

Roland sighs again–and this time, it's much louder–as he pulls himself up and his shoulders slump forward. "I was having a really cool dream," he tells her in a groggy voice. "I didn't want to wake up."

"Oh, well, I'm sorry I had to wake you," she says, reaching out and adjusting his pajama top. "But your dad's downstairs making breakfast and I'm pretty sure he said something about pancakes." She laughs softly as Roland's eyes widen. "So, why don't we go wake up Henry, and then you can tell us all about your dream over breakfast."

"Okay…" Rising from the the edge of the bed, Regina reaches for him, pulling him out of bed and settling him on her hip. From the corner of her eye, she can see Roland grin as his head falls to her shoulder and he nuzzles against her. "You're comfy," he tells her as they make their way down the hall to Henry's room.

For a moment, she just stands there, watching Henry sleep–amazed by the fact that he's still sound asleep. It's a rare occasion that he isn't already awake when she comes in to get up for school, and if he is still asleep, he wakes before she even reaches the bed. But on this particular morning, he doesn't seem to notice her presence. His eyes are pressed tightly shut and his lips are slightly parted as his chest rises and falls evenly with each breath that he takes–and just can't seem to find it in herself to wake him.

"Hey," Robin murmurs, coming up behind her and pressing a kiss to the top of Roland's head. "I've got a stack of pancakes ready to be eaten.

"Okay… we'll be down in a second." She sighs. "I just… don't want to wake him just yet."

"He's really out…"

"Yeah, and that's not like him. He's usually not a good sleeper."

"Well, he probably needs it," Robin says. "You know better than anyone how a lack of sleep just sort of… catches up with you." He sighs as his hand slides around her waist, pulling her back against him. "And you know, there's nothing wrong with letting him sleep. You two have been through a lot in past few days and… maybe he just needs some time to rest and process and…" Momentarily Robin's voice trails off as he presses a kiss to her temple. "You could have a mental health day."

"But I kept him home yesterday and…"

"So that he could see Archie," Robin cuts in. "And he went for the afternoon."

"That's true. That wasn't really resting."

"No, it wasn't," he says easily, sighs as he takes a step back. "Now what you say we let him sleep and the three of us go have some pancakes?"

"I'd like pancakes," Roland murmurs as he turns his head on Regina's shoulder. "Is there powdered sugar, too?"

Regina laughs a little as she sighs and turns away from Henry's door. "Of course there is," she says, pressing a fluttery kiss to Roland cheek. "And I've got that good syrup you like."

"The kind that comes in the leaf shaped bottle?" Roland asks, his eyes widening as he lifts his head. "That kind is the best."

Robin and Regina both laugh as they go down to the kitchen. Robin slides plates in front of them and serves the pancakes, then plates a few for himself before joining them at the end of the counter. For a few minutes, Roland talks about the pancakes–going on and on about how fluffy they are and how he can't decide is the powdered sugar or the syrup tastes better and how he's glad he doesn't have to choose. Robin makes a joke about sending him to school on a sugar high and he giggles as he admits they'll be having cupcakes for a classamates birthday and Robin groans, muttering a comment about how he'll also be returning home on a sugar high.

And then Roland's eyes widen as he looks between them. "I had a really good dream last night," he says.

"Oh, yeah. You said that when I woke you up."

"What was it about?"

Roland grins. "I was laying in this big field," he begins looking very serious as he looks between them. "The grass was really, really tall and there were all sorts of flowers mixed into it. They were dandelions or those kinda spikey purple things that grow on the grass sometimes, but real flowers. And we were laying there–you and me, daddy–watching the clouds."

"Well, that sounds nice," Regina murmurs, grinning as her eyes shift from Roland to Robin–and she's surprised to see that his smile has faded away.

"What… else do you remember about the dream?"

Roland thinks for a moment, taking the time to shove a too-big piece of pancake into his mouth. "Well, some of the clouds were shaped like frogs and some were shaped like turtles and some were shaped like…um…well, just like regular clouds." He giggles as he cuts his fork into another piece of pancake and shoved it in his mouth. "Daddy, you were there, too. You found a cloud that looked like a teepee."

Regina smiles as her eyes shift to Robin–and to her surprise, he isn't smiling at the sweet recounting of Roladn's dream. Her brow furrows as Roland chatters on between bites, and slowly, she reaches out, touching her fingers to his forearm. He turns slowly to look at her and for a moment, he looks like he's a thousand miles away.

"Roland," he says, clearing his throat as he looks from Regina to his son. "Why don't you go upstairs and get dressed for school."

"But… I'm still eating."

"I know, but I need to make a stop at the shop before I take you to school and…." His voice trails off as Roland groans. "Go on…"

"How about I wrap up an extra pancake?" Regina suggests. "You can eat in in the truck."

Chewing at his bottom lip for a moment, Roland sighs and nods. "Can I have two? One for in the truck and the other for snack time?"

"Sure."

"Fine," he sighs, slowly sliding down from his stool. "I'll go get dressed."

Regina watches as Robin's eyes roll, his head falling back as he takes in a deep breath. "That… wasn't a dream," he says, closing his eyes. "That was a memory."

Her chest tightens as she looks to Robin. "What?"

"Roland is remembering," Robin says, his voice even as he swallows hard before tipping his head back up to face her. "Laying the grass and looking at the clouds, that actually happened."

"It was a sweet memory," Regina says, sensing an odd sort of agitation in his voice as guilt begins to bubble up. "At least he remembered something happy."

"Except it wasn't," Robin tells her sighs as he shakes his head. "That morning, Roland asked me why he didn't have mother and I told him that she'd gone to heaven." He scoffs a little as she slowly reaches out, pressing her hand tentatively to his arm in a way she hopes is comforting. "I don't really know if I believe in any of that–in heaven or hell, an afterlife or an underworld… but it seemed better than just telling him she was gone."

"I'm sorry," she murmurs in a voice that's barely audible. "I'm…"

"It's okay," he cuts, sighing as his arm forms around her waist and he hugs her to him. "It's just… hard…remembering."

"I know…"

"So, Roland asked me where heaven was and I…." He sighs, "I pointed up to the sky and told him that it was in the clouds and so he spent the rest of the afternoon trying to see if he could see her."

"Oh, god… that's…"

"Heartbreaking."

"Yeah."

Robin sighs and presses a soft kiss to her cheek–and she finds herself wishing that none of this had to be happening. She wishes they wouldn't have to relive such painful memories, that they wouldn't have to discover such heartbreaking truths, and she wishes she could keep them all cocooned in the happy little bubble they'd created together.

But she was well aware that it was nothing more than a facade, and that keeping them there would only be hurting them in the long run.

It's just past nine-thirty when Henry comes down the stairs to find her in the living room, her feet up on the coffee table and a blanket over her lap as she goes over the city's monthly expense reports. He bats at his eyes as he trudges toward her and she can't help but smile as he climbs up onto the couch with her and cuddles into her side, pulling a knit blanket off the back of the couch and wrapping it around himself.

She puts aside the spread sheets and wraps her arm around him, pressing a kiss to his hair. "You hungry?"

"Kinda," he says in a groggy voice as he yawns. "What time is it?"

"After nine…"

"What?!" He asks, pushing away from her. "I'm la–"

"You're not late. I decided you could stay home today." She grins as she reaches out to stroke the back of her hand against his cheek. "You were sound asleep when I came in to wake you and I figured you could use it."

"Yeah, I guess that's true," he murmurs as he leans back into her. "Does this mean we have the whole day to just… do whatever together."

"I guess it does," she says, chuckling softly. "I was sort of hoping you'd want to have a lazy day."

"We could read in our pajamas!" He says, again pulling away from her. "After breakfast."

"I wouldn't say no to that…" A grin pulls onto her lips and she nods. "Robin made pancakes earlier, and there are still some left. I know they're not great rewarmed, but we could pop them in the toaster oven and smother them with jam and…"

"Nutella?"

"I was going to say fruit."

Henry grins. "Nutella goes with fruit."

Sighing, she presses a kiss to his forehead and swings her feet down from the table. "I can't say no to you."

"That's not a bad thing," Henry says as he pulls back. "I'm going to go upstairs for something to read."

She nods and watches him go, laughing softly to herself as his socked-feet slide on the wood floor. Letting out a long breath, her eyes close momentarily, listening as Henry runs down the hallway to his room as if today were any normal day, as if their lives were just the typical, average life–as if he hadn't just found out the night before that his mother way some larger than life legendary villain who was meant to be feared. And in the back of her head, she there's a nagging feeling that makes her wonder how truly bad things were for him in his foster home that he would be comforted by knowing his new mother was the Evil Queen.

Getting up, she makes her way to kitchen and flicks on the toaster oven. Reaching for the foil, she wraps up the remaining pancakes and by the time she sets them in the toaster oven, Henry's padding into the kitchen–with the storybook tucked beneath his arm.

Her stomach jumps as he sets it on the counter, but nonetheless, she carries on, gathering the fruit and jams and nutella. She watches carefully as Henry opens the book and looks down at the title page–and she holds her breath, waiting for him to open up to one of the stories.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she murmurs, trying her best to keep her voice even while her chest and stomach tighten. "Anything."

"How… did… everyone get here?"

"What do you mean?" She asks, swallowing hard slices a knife through an apple.

Henry takes a breath. "From… the place that book is… to here… to Storybrooke."

"Oh," she murmurs, as she continues to slice the apple. "I… cast a curse." She watches as Henry's eyes widen a little as he looks up at her. "It was called the Dark Curse, and it sent everyone from the Enchanted Forest to… here."

"And… no one remembers that?"

"No," she says quietly. "That was part of the curse. Everyone got a new life."

"Like a fresh start."

She nods and takes a breath as she pushes the apple wedges aside. "You could say that." Henry nods again and she watches as he chew at his lip, trying to process it. "I'm the… only one who knows," she adds. "Well, Robin knows, too."

"How does Robin know, but no one else does."

She blinks as she reaches for a container of strawberries. "I… let him have his memories back."

"How?"

"A potion…"

"Potion!?" Henry repeats, again, his eyes growing wide. "You made a potion?" Regina nods as her breath catches in her chest. "That's… so cool."

"Is it?"

He nods. "That's like… something from Harry Potter!"

"I… guess it is," she tells him, laughing nervously as she cuts through another strawberry. "But it's not–"

"So, you have magic," he cuts in. "Like, you know spells and curses and…" He laughs a little, shaking his head in disbelief. "That's so cool." Again his eyes widen. "You're… a witch?"

"Some people might say that."

"Wow…"

"But, I don't… have magic here," she says slowly. "Not like I did in the Enchanted Forest, at least." Henry nods as she round the counter and pulls herself up onto the stool beside, taking a deep breath as she reaches for his hand. "But it wasn't all just… excitement and fun. I did a lot of really, really terrible things with that power, and I… I hurt a lot of people."

"Why?"

"Because I was…" She sighs. "I felt alone and afraid and, I thought the world owed me something."

"Robin said your story is sad…"

"It was," she admits softly. "I don't think it is now, but…"

"Robin said that, too."

A grin pulls onto her lips. "I made a lot of mistakes, Henry."

For a moment, Henry doesn't respond and she watches as he chews at his lip. "Do you regret them?" He asks. "Did you apologize? Because that's im…"

"I'm trying," she cuts in. "I don't know that apologizing is enough, though." Taking in a short breath, she quickly exhales it. "I've been trying to figure out how to break the curse, and… give everyone their lives back."

Henry blinks. "That sounds complicated."

"It is," she admits with a nod. "And so far, I haven't quite been able to figure it out."

"Couldn't you just… give everyone the same thing you gave Robin?"

She sighs. "I wish it were that easy, but that potion wasn't a permanent fix."

"Oh," he murmurs, his brow furrowing as he considers what that means. "Well, you'll figure it out."

A grin tugs up at the corner of her mouth. "You seem awfully sure."

"I am," he says easily. "I believe in you."

Her chest tightens as she her eyes fill with tears, and suddenly, she can't quite find her voice. Taking a shaky breath she leans forward, pulling him into a hug and holding him against her. He giggles a little and squirms as she presses a kiss to his cheek and it's only when the timer on the toaster oven dings that she pulls away, still teary-eyed and speechless.

She pulls the pancakes from the toaster oven and then reaches for two plates, keeping a careful eye on Henry as she prepares their breakfast and he opens up the storybook.

Henry opens to a random page, looking down at it–and her chest clenches, remembering the way she mercilessly mocked a group of peasants. Her eyes close and she takes a breath as she hears a little gasp escape Henry, and she knows he's reached the part of the story where she reached into a man's chest and crushed his heart, simply to prove a point.

"Two nutella pancakes with strawberries," she says in a hushed voice as she pushes a plate toward him. "Do you want milk?"

"Y-yes, please."

"Okay," she murmurs, her chest clenching as she hears Henry turn to another page, and this time a louder, shakier gasp escapes him. She grabs the carton of milk and a glass and quickly turns back to him, reaching out and closing the book. "How about we chat after breakfast, okay?" Henry nods and reaches for his fork as she pours him some milk and then reaches for her own plate. Her stomach is churning and her heart is racing, and it takes everything in her to keep her hands steady–and then, a soft giggle escapes Henry. "What?"

"You put nutella on yours, too."

"Oh," she breathes out, feeling herself relax a little and she smiles back, watching as he shoves particularly gooey piece of pancake into his mouth, then reaches for his milk, gulping it down. "Yeah, it… it goes better with apples."

Again, Henry giggles. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything," she says as she cuts her fork into a pancake.

"How did you… cast the curse?" He blinks up at her. "I just mean…" He stops and his lip catches between teeth. "I don't actually know what I mean."

Taking a breath she nods, and the perpetual knot in her stomach begins to tighten. "Do you mean… logistically? As in, what did I have to do?"

"Yeah, like, the magic part of it."

"Well," she begins, taking in a breath. "I had to find it first."

"So, you didn't write it?"

"No, but an old friend of mine–her name was Maleficent–had it and I had to–"

"Maleficent? Like, from Sleeping Beauty?" She nods. "That's… so cool." Again, his lip catches between his teeth and she chews at his lip for a moment as he process it. "So, if you're the Evil Queen from Snow White and you were friends with Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty…does that mean Robin is really… Robin Hood…like the guy who shoots arrows and steals from the rich to give to the poor, that Robin Hood?"

She nods, "He is that Robin Hood."

"This is so cool."

A grin pulls out her lips and she nods, remembering that night in New York when they'd watched the cartoon and Henry told her that it'd always been a favorite of his.

"Okay, so back to the curse. What happened after you got it from Maleficent?"

"I had to get everything together and follow the instructions and do everything just right and…" She takes a breath, suddenly thinking of her father. "And then I had to sacrifice the thing I loved the most." She watches as Henry's smile fades. "I had to… use my father's heart to cast the curse."

"His heart…"

"Yes."

"And, that… worked?"

"It did," she says as her jaw suddenly tightens. "I had to…"

"Kill your own father," he murmurs, letting out a breath as his lungs deflate and his shoulders slump forward. "Wow."

"It wasn't easy," she says, swallowing lump at the back of her throat. "And, um, you know how you asked if I had regrets?" Henry nods, focusing down on his pancakes. "That's one of the things I regret."

"So, you regret casting the curse?"

She hesitates for a moment, then shakes her head. "Not exactly." Henry turns to face her and she feels her stomach flop. "I just… wish I'd been able to figure out another way to do it."

"Oh…"

"Henry, I can't fully regret what I did when I cast the curse because…"

"Neither can I," he admits in a small voice as he turns to face her. "Because if you hadn't done it you wouldn't have been my mom and I…" He stops, his voice catching in his throat as he looks up at her with teary eyes.

"So, you… don't hate me for… doing all of those terrible things and being a villain who–"

"You're not a villain," Henry says, suddenly finding his voice. "You're my mom." He takes a breath. "You're not perfect and you've made mistakes, but… I love you and…" He shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders. "I could never hate you."

She feels a rush of emotion as a smile tugs across her lips and the tears that had been welling in her eyes spill down her cheeks. In the times she'd thought about what this moment would be like, she never quite imagined it like this and she never quite imagined Henry being so accepting. She thought he'd struggle and want distance, she thought he'd push away, and though she never thought those things would last for too long, she'd expected to have to work at regaining his trust and proving to him that she'd changed.

Reaching out, she brushes the back of her fingers over his cheek, and he grins a little, turning his head and nuzzling a little against her hand. She pushes herself forward and pulls him into a hug, feeling an overwhelming surge of emotion and feeling so grateful he was the boy he was and that he had the heart that he had. She holds him tight against her chest and cups the back of his head, and when she tells him that she loves him he breathes out a muffled yet confident I knowinto her neck that makes her chest clench in the best possible way.

Regina leans against the counter, watching as Robin works a sponge over a particularly sticky spot on the pan. Her eyes close momentarily as she waits, unable to believe how tired she is after a day of doing practically nothing.

"Hey," Robin murmurs. "Why don't you go sit down and I'll finish up in here?"

"No," she says, shaking her head. "I'm fine, just… a little tired." She grins as he hands her the pan and she grabs the dishcloth to dry it. "Besides, I'm not really interested in watching the boys narrate their way through playing Mario Kart."

"Fair enough," Robin says, chuckling softly as he nods. "So, how was the day off, other than being inexplicably tiring."

"Oh, it was… fine," she tell him. "Henry and I had quite few little chats about the book and my past and…" Her voice trails off. "I am waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he's taking all of this so well, I'm just… waiting for the thing that sets him over the edge."

"I don't think there's going to be a thing that sets him over the edge," Robin says as he adds more soap to the water. "He loves you and I think it's difficult for him to see you in anyway other than the mother he's come to love. That doesn't mean he has blinders on or he doesn't understand. I think it just means that… he's able to separate it all. He can look at your past and who you were and see that's not who you are now."

"That's a lot for an eight year old."

"He isn't just any eight year old, though, is it?" She grins a little and shakes her head. "This is the first stable home he's ever had, and you gave it to him. He's not going to give that up because of some storybook that…"

"Tells him what an awful person his mother is?"

"Tells him about the mistakes his mother made."

Regina sighs and nods, and she knows that he's right. If Henry were to have been upset about something in the book, it'd have already happened. She could tell that it'd been difficult for him to process, that he really didn't fully understand any of it–from her being the Evil Queen to the casting of the curse to her being directly responsible for the deaths of innocent people, including her own father. But just because he didn't quite understand it, didn't mean he couldn't accept it or move past it–and if that afternoon was any indication, that's exactly what he was doing.

After breakfast, they'd put the storybook aside and decided not to talk about it any more. They'd watched a couple of movies and played a couple of his games, and it was like nothing had change. He was the same Henry he'd been before he knew the truth about her. He smiled and he laughed and was confident. Once the morning passed, they'd made quesadillas for lunch and he'd grabbed his copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and they'd ate their lunch on the back porch, snuggled up together in a lawn as they finished the book.

"It's just… been too easy."

"Or you built it up into something it wasn't."

"Maybe," sighs as he hands her another dish. "I just… can't help but worry."

"Maybe you don't have to," he says. "Maybe, for once in your life, something is just going to work out the way that you want it to." A grin tugs up at the corner of her mouth. "Not to change the subject, but I can't even explain to you how excited Roland is about having a room here. When I picked him up, that's all he could talk about."

"Aw, really? We should… decorate it a little bit and make it feel a little more… personal."

"He would love that."

"Maybe this weekend we could take him shopping and he could pick out some things." Handing her the last dish, Robin laughs out and shakes his head and her eyes widen at the unexpected response. "What? What's so funny about that?"

"That's just it, nothing. There's nothing funny about it."

"So, you're just… laughing for the sake of laughing."

Robin's eyes roll. "No, I'm laughing because this is just so normal."

"It is."

"It's nice."

She nods, "Yeah."

Then, his face changes. His smile faces and he leans back against the sink, taking a breath. "Not that I want to change the subject again," he begins as she sets the plate down into the drying rack. "But I did a little sleuthing today and I discovered a little something about Storybrooke newest visitors."

"Henry's foster parents," she says, her heart suddenly sinking as she nods. "I learned a couple of things, too."

"Oh?"

"Henry pointed them out in the storybook," she says, releasing a breath as she shakes her head. "Mrs. Tremaine–Madonna Tremaine–was an acquaintance of my mother's." Shifting on her feet, she turns to wipe down the ledge of the sink. "They were friends sometimes, rivals other times and… one day, she and her family just disappeared."

"Disappeared to… where?"

"I never knew, but apparently to here… or, well, to New York."

"Why?'

"I don't know," she says uneasily. "I just remember that she practiced Dark Magic, too, and was jealous of my mother's relationship with Rumplestiltskin and… wanted to one-up her." She shrugs her shoulders. "I'm not sure how you can one-up the Dark One or if she succeeded, but…"

"Well, that's not good," Robin murmurs as her voice trails off. "I, um, I saw them going into the Pawn Shop and I followed them." He shrugs, "I pretended I was looking for a door knocker or maybe a bell for the shop and…" He sighs, "They seemed to be talking in code with Gold."

"Talking in code…" she repeats, her stomach dropping. "What you do mean?"

"Well, I couldn't tell, exactly, but they seemed to be looking for something very specific, some sort of relic, it seemed, or maybe some sort of herb with magical properties." Her chest tightens as she draws in a breath. "I don't know much about magic, but it seemed they were…"

"Collecting things."

"Or trying to."

Letting out a breath, she swallows and leans back against the sink beside him. "What the hell are they planning?"

"I… don't know," Robin murmurs as he nudges her arm, waiting for her to look at him before letting a smile tug across his lips. "But I do know that they've taken a room at Granny's and are planning to go back to the Pawn Shop tomorrow to see what Gold can dig up for them…at around ten."

"Oh, well, that's… quite useful."

He nods. "Perhaps we could have a look around."

"You think you can get it?"

His smile fades a little and his brows arch. "You don't think I can pick a lock?"

A lopsided grin pulls onto her lips. "I would never doubt that."

"Good," he says, turning and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "We'll go tomorrow. Perhaps we can do breakfast at Granny's after dropping off the boys and maybe… get lost on our way to the bathroom."

Regina laughs and nods as his hand slides around her waist. "That sounds like the beginnings of a wonderful plan."

"We'll figure this out, Regina. Don't worry." Nodding, she smiles and she feels herself relaxing, and she feels herself actually believing that they will and that everything will be okay. "Come on," he says, tugging her away from the counter. "Let's go see if we can't tear the boys away from Mario Kart… or at least convince them to let us play, too."

Regina laughs and shakes her head, and tries with everything in her to hold onto hopeful feeling she has in that moment, to keep her fears and sense of impending dread at bay, and enjoy the evening as if everything were completely fine and normal.