IT'S A BOMB! you've been adverted.

ps: sorry for the mistakes, I don't have a beta for this story!

When Regina came back home, she knew she was keeping a secret, a huge one, bigger than her own self. Talking to Robin was out of discussion: she didn't want Victor to meet him, it was too dangerous: he wasn't going to stay in prison forever and she was scared of what he could do to them once he was finally free. She didn't want to put the person she loved with all of herself in danger.

And, anyway, she couldn't tell him when Angela was still living with them. She didn't deserve to be involved in all that crap, Regina thought.

She changed herself quickly, putting on the clothes she was wearing when Robin left her, then she took the tests she truly had to check and sat on the couch. Robin and Angela came back only two hours later, holding a thousand colorful shopping bags.

"Regina? Oh, darling we went shopping!" exclaimed Angela, pure excitement still sparkling in her blue eyes.

"I see!" she giggled as Robin, clearly upset and tired as hell, put all the begs on the table, struggling not to let a single one fall.

"This is the last time you're leaving me shopping alone with my mother." he said, pretending to be angry at her. Regina burst into a laughter as Angela sighed:
"I can't believe it, you still complain like a child for a couple of bags."
Robin smiled, approaching Regina to give her a small, chaste kiss on her lips:
"How was your day, my love? You like being a teacher?"

"So much." she bit her tongue and hesitated, hoping that he wouldn't notice the soft shade of red grown on her cheeks. "This is our last evening with my mother, what do you say we take her out tonight?"

"Hmm, sounds like a good plan. I'm just hoping it doesn't end like the last time."

"Oh, actually… I hope so, considering the way it ended." he smirked and his blue eyes sparkled mischievously. She returned his smirk with just the same intentions. She couldn't avoid to blush, though. She took his face in her hands and kissed him, this time languidly, passionately.

God, they missed each other way too much.

Angela had left since five days by then and, that Friday morning, Regina woke up with a very unusual need. She turned in between Robin's arms, until their nose tips were brushing against one another, and that was apparently enough to wake him up, too. It was five in the morning, it was early, they had plenty of time, he thought.

"Good morning, my love." she smiled, kissing his nose and giggling. She was all smiles and cuteness and, even though he didn't understand why she was in such a good mood at 5 am, he didn't ask, he just enjoyed her being her beautiful self.

"Hmm, good morning." he breathed in his sleepy voice. "What happened?" his eyes were still heavy, while hers were wide open and already sparkling in excitement.

"I want cuddles." she giggled, as she buried her head under the blankets. Robin was perplexed cause, really, he thought she was in the mood for something… else. It was typical of her to wake up in the middle of the night with her particular desires, but this time she was just… happy, and she wanted to share that feeling with him.

Robin took his time to fully wake up:
"Regina, what the hell…?"

"Come under the blankets with me." it was a cold morning in Boston, it was raining and the idea of getting under the blankets with her, listening to the sound of the rain as he held her in his arms wasn't that bad. He smiled and did as she asked. "Can you hear it? I love it when it rains. The sound of rain, the smell of it." she whispered against his chest. "When I was a child I used to get under the blankets with a torch and one of my stuffed animals. I pretended it was my refuge from the whole world, my secret space. I cuddled my teddy bear, pretending it was a real person, until I fell asleep." she wrapped her arms tightly around him, then she placed her face, her ear right there, where his heart was beating. Robin's heart broke for how much he loved her, he couldn't help but kiss her head, in her hair, breathe her in and just think of how lucky he was to hold that miracle in his arms:
"So now I am your teddy bear?" he giggled.

"Oh, yes. You are, Mr. Locksley. A handsome and sexy as hell one." he kissed him one more time, "I love you, Robin, you know that, right? I don't say it as often as you, but I love you." she smiled "I'm completely," another soft, delicate kiss "deeply," and another, rising to meet the soft flash of his neck "utterly in love with you." she made him smile as she finally met his lips and took them between hers. They stared into each other's eyes and he caressed her beautiful face.

"And I love hearing you say it." he returned every kiss she gave him, then she raised the blankets and exclaimed:
"Shower. I don't want to be late. Today is gonna be a good day." she didn't even know why, but she just felt it. Robin smiled and, even though he had so many questions, he stayed silent as he watched her picking the underwear from her closet. He got up too and reached for her, wrapping his arms around her waist, feeling her naked body pressing against his. He left a quick kiss on her neck:
"I'll make breakfast." Regina nodded slightly and gave him a beautiful smile, then they parted, each of them walking in a different room.

Angela used to prepare something for breakfast everyday; they still had plenty of food left to eat, so Robin only had to make coffee. He knew Regina needed some good coffee to start the day the right way and smiled as he poured it into her baby pink cup.

Regina walked out of the bathroom, only a couple of minutes later, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around her half-wet body, with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen on her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, giggling. She didn't reply, she just stared right into his eyes, with that beautiful smile, as if she was completely enchanted by him.

There was really something wrong that morning, or… maybe too right.

"Come with me." she whispered, throwing her arms around his neck. He swallowed that wonderful smile as he covered her lips with his, in a sweet kiss that didn't take much to heat up.

"But I made coffee…" he laughed between kisses.

"It'll keep." she left the towel fall at her feet, presenting her naked body to him and watched as his eyes sparkled with sudden desire. Regina smiled, took his hand and walked him to the bathroom, in the shower, where she had left the water fall, warm and welcoming. He quickly slipped out of his trousers as he watched her biting her lip, as if she wanted to devour him.

He walked in with her, without even caring about the temperature of the water, his lips immediately assaulting hers as he trapped her body against the wall, caressing her every curve.

"I love you" she breathed as she finally felt him inside of her, filling her up completely. "I love you." she repeated, wrapping her arms firmly around him, feeling him moving inside and out, slowly driving her over the edge.

Smiling for the next three days, as if nothing had changed, as if she wasn't hiding two of the most important things ever happened to her from the man she loved; going out and coming back home, looking at him, kissing and making love to him as if everything was perfectly normal had been hard, probably the hardest thing she had ever managed to do.

She needed to talk to Robin, tell him everything about Victor, about her. It almost drove her insane, but she had made it.

As she walked into the courthouse, wearing the most professional outfit she owned, she felt as if a huge weight was about to be lifted off her stomach.

"Regina," Linda greeted her with a smile, as she stretched out an arm to hug her and leave a kiss on each of her cheeks.

Linda Rothman was the best lawyer Regina had ever met, not to mention she was one of her closest friends from high school. When she learned about the trial she was about to deal with to obtain the divorce, she immediately called her. She knew Linda, her temper, her determination, she trusted her completely.

"Hi Linda, thanks for coming."

"It's my job, darling. Are you ready?" she gave Regina one more smile, a sympathetic one.

She hesitated, but it only lasted for a moment: "I am." she was firm and sure. She was definitely ready. That horrible nightmare was going to be over soon, once and for all. She would never have to see Victor's horrible face again, and this time for real.

"Let's go, then."

Linda opened the door with the judge's name on it. As Regina took a huge, long breath to prepare herself to walk in, she imagined how it would look like to be in an actual law court for the first time. Was it going to be like in the movies? With horrible attorneys and a jury? The mere thought intimidated her and she had to hesitate a few more moments before finally taking some steps forwards and walk through that door.

It was nothing like it; actually it was just a simple office, with a desk, four chairs in front of it —two of which were already occupied by Victor and a man Regina had never seen, who was clearly his lawyer— and a judge in his early forties behind it. She was not in a court, it was…

"Good morning, love." Victor's cold voice suddenly shook her whole body and brought her back to reality: it didn't matter if it was a court or not, he was going to sit next to her and sign that godforsaken papers. She was finally going to get the freedom that she craved for. The freedom that she deserved.

She shivered as she took her seat next to him: they were so close again after so long and she was genuinely frightened. She suddenly felt better, though, when she saw Linda sitting right next to her and squeezing her hand.

"It's okay." she had whispered.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, took a deep breath and allowed herself to look at the man sitting next to Victor: he was short, grey hair and stubble. He was probably in his fifties. She shivered again at the thought that that man was representing a raper in court. God, she hated lawyers.
"To begin with, I'd like to inform your clients about the deal that has been already signed by both of you." the judge begun to speak, looking at the two lawyers. "In case they accept the terms it'll make things easier for everyone and we won't have to invest a lot of money in a useless trial." Regina listened carefully to each word, and the man seemed to make sure she and Victor did.

The two women looked at one another for a moment, as Regina mentally begged Linda to explain what the hell he was talking about. Nobody told her anything about that deal! And… for Christ's sake, she wanted a trial.

Luckily for her, Linda seemed to read into her mind:
"Regina, dear, Victor will sign the papers," she smiled briefly "on condition that his sentence will be reduced to three years." she looked down, unable to stand Regina's confused and now suddenly angry eyes.

"What?" she exclaimed, so loud that she made the judge jump on his seat. "Three years? Is that what a man gets for abusing his wife, beats her and uses her like an object for almost four fucking years? It that what a raper deserves? Three years?" she was about to burst into tears, there was no way she was holding back. Her heart was beating so fast and no, Mills, that's not good. You have to stay calm.

She turned to face Victor, who was smirking victoriously. The bastard.

"He will have to pay you alimony, you'll get half of the money he—"

"I don't give a shit about his money, I wouldn't touch a penny if my life depended on it! We'll go to court."

"Regina—"

"Miss Mills—"

"Three years. It's a shame. What will happen when he gets out of jail?"

"He'll be subject to a restraining order, he won't be able to get close to you, this is a promise." Linda explained, trying to calm Regina down by gently caressing her arm up and down, slowly. It was useless, though, cause Regina seemed to be on fire.

"And what about Robin? What about our—" she bit her tongue. Shit. "Our future." she corrected herself, hesitantly "The man I love will be constantly exposed to a risk I'm not willing to take. God knows what this crazy psychopath is able to do."

"Please calm down, Miss Mills." That's right, Mills, calm down, there, like that, breathe.

The judge seemed to be quite annoyed as he furiously rubbed his temples in circles. He took a pen and put it down on the papers and presented them to Regina. "Mr. Hadler has already signed the deal, you have two minutes to decide, Miss Mills."

Regina found Linda's eyes, searched for an answer in them, something that told her that she knew what she was doing, but she found nothing. She was panicking almost as much as Regina was. She knew three years for rape and domestic violence were a total shame, but she had no power against it. And she absolutely didn't want Regina to face a trial, not after all she'd been through.

But was it really worse than living with the fear of seeing Victor again after only three years?

"Regina, please, think about it. Are you sure you're ready to go to court? Do you even understand what it means? You'll be forced to testify, to revive every single thing, until the very last day of torture." Rothman spoke quietly, making sure that the rest of the people in the room couldn't hear her. "Goldman —Victor's attorney— is a shark. He's gonna ask you questions about your personal life, you'll have to bring Robin into this, he's a witness. He'll discredit you, your story, what you've been through, he could even ask for probation. Are you sure you're ready for all this?" she looked straight into her dark eyes still filled wth tears.

"Could he really question the fact that I've been raped?" a tear managed to make its way down her cheek and Regina pressed her lips together, to keep herself from letting the others fall.

"Yes. They'll say you were cheating on him, with Robin, that you two wanted to frame Victor so you two could get married and get half of his properties. After all, dear, you were seeing Robin before. And the first thing you did when Victor got arrested was selling your house and moving in with Robin."

"That house was mine, I had every right in the world to sell it! And Robin was… Robin is the love of my life, I needed him everyday just like I need him now, from the beginning… now what? Now even you won't believe me!" there was no chance she was going to hold back her tears, it was far too late.

"Regina, if I didn't believe in you I wouldn't be here to represent you in a possible trial. I'm only saying what every defense attorney would say in court. And we both know how Victor Hadler can be convincing when he wants something." Linda Rothman was truly sorry for her friend, everyone could tell that. She knew she could win the trial if they only tried, but she didn't want Regina to revive it all over again. As a woman and a dear friend, she had to protect Regina.

"Thirty seconds." said Goldman, annoyed. Fuck him. Fuck everything. She quickly wiped away her tears, then turned to face the judge: she took the pen and, with a shaky hand, signed that goddamn deal.

"This is a shame. Everyone here knows that." she said, suffocating a sigh.

"No, this is what you get when you're too stubborn, Regina." she heard Victor saying, between giggles. God, God, she just wanted to turn around and punch him until his nose fell off his face, but she had to calm down once again. Keep yourself together, Mills, you're better than that. "I told you to change your mind, Regina. I offered you a fresh start and you… preferred this."

Regina had to take a deep breath, but she found the strength to smile, anyway:
"Yeah, but guess what? The one who's wearing an orange jumpsuit here… is you. I'll walk out of that door and never see your face again." the mere thought made her smile grow wider. Yes, finally. "And you know who's waiting for me at home? Robin. The love of my life, the man I love with everything that I am, the man I'm about to marry. Oh yes, you heard me, Victor, we're getting married. Next month." just a small, innocent lie. "I'd invite you but I think you'll be kinda… busy." she smirked, and God, she felt so damn powerful. "He loves me, you know? He says that all the time, all nights while we make love." she watched as the smile on Victor's lips suddenly disappeared and got replaced by pure and simple rage, desire to explode or just to scream. "So who wins at the end of the day?" she raised an eyebrow and gave him one of her best grins.

That was the real Regina Mills, the strong, independent, tenacious woman that he had tried to suffocate more than once with every gesture, every word. She had risen from her ashes, just like a phoenix.

"I want to be left alone with my former wife." said Victor, firmly. "Is it possible, sir?" she looked at Regina, his blue eyes piercing into her dark ones, then he looked at the judge.

The man nodded hesitantly, then he faced Regina: "He cannot hurt you in any way. He's handcuffed, don't worry. We'll be right here, behind the door. If you need help, just yell." the man gave Regina an encouraging smile that she promptly returned, even though she was dying in the inside: the last thing she wanted was to be left alone with Victor again.
But she could do that. She was stronger now. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of thinking that she wasn't strong enough to be alone with him.

As everyone left, Victor begun his speech:
"You know, I'm genuinely happy that we both signed that deal." he smiled, "because, unconsciously, you signed your death sentence." he said, his voice low, as if it was a secret between the two of them. Regina shivered, but she didn't allow herself to get scared enough by those words: she was sure he was going to say something like that. Always the same, old bastard. "I swear, Regina, I swear to God, in three years, when I'll be finally out of here, I'll find you. I will find you and your ridiculous boy-toy, Robin. And, oh, I will kill you both, just like I wanted to do to you four months ago, you remember? I should have finished you that night, as I held your fragile neck squeezed tightly in my hands—"

"Ok, that's enough." she shook her head, suddenly feeling the urge to throw up at those memories, at those words. "Enough!" she shouted this time and Linda was the first one to walk in, by her side:
"It's okay. It's over." she whispered in Regina's ear. Yes, it was. At least for then.

"Good luck finding us, you son of a bitch." she spat, before taking her purse. She was ready to leave but… oh, just one more thing. The one she was sure it was going to hurt him more than anything.
He would have been the first to know but, after all, it was worth it. She couldn't wait to see the pure sufferance, the hurt, the pain in his eyes. He deserved to be hurt just like he had hurt her.

"Oh and… Victor?" she made sure his eyes were buried into hers, then she gave into a laugh: "I'm pregnant."

BOOM!