A Thief and a Queen

Welcome Home

"Everything went well with the birth, he had a good Apgar score and the doctor at the hospital gave him a clean bill of health." The man looked at a file on his desk. "So the only thing left to know is his name."

Robin stooped to kiss his son's forehead, leaving Regina to answer. "Henry Robin Locksley," she said, voice watery from her unshed tears of joy.

"Henry? That's not a name you hear much anymore," the social worker said.

"It was my father's name." Regina swallowed past the lump in her throat that formed at the thought of her late father.

"Okay. I'll submit the paperwork." He smiled at the two. "Let me just make sure you have the car seat set up right and then I'll let you be on your way."

Regina settled Henry into the carrier they had brought, kissing his forehead as she snapped him in. She picked up the diaper bag as Robin took the carrier, both following the social worker out to the car. He watched as Robin snapped the carrier into the base and gave the set up the seal of approval. After wishing them well, he went back into the office as they got into the car, Regina sitting next to Henry in the back.

Her eyes were glued to the sleeping baby boy, afraid if she looked away he would disappear. "Regina? Is something wrong?" Robin asked from the driver's seat.

"I just never thought I'd have this," she admitted. She thought back to that awful day when the specialist confirmed what two other doctors had told her: she would not be able to have children naturally. Regina had gone back to her parents' house and cried as her father rocked her and her mother made her mac and cheese. She had thought she'd never have a family, never have those dreams come true.

She looked up, meeting Robin's eyes in the rearview mirror. Robin, the man who had stayed with her even after she had told him about her infertility early enough for him to bow out gracefully. The man who only cared about her desire for children rather than her ability to have them. The man who had married her and revived her dreams of having a family. The man who had researched all their options and held her hand the entire way to this moment.

The man who was going to make a great father to Henry.

"I love you," she said.

He smiled. "I love you, too."

Pulling into the driveway, Robin hopped out to undo Henry from his car seat. As the door opened, the baby opened his eyes for the first time and took everything in. Regina and Robin froze, watching him. Henry's eyes settled on Robin, who smiled. "Welcome home, buddy," he said.

By the time they got in the house, he had fallen back asleep. Regina didn't care, realizing there would be plenty more moments like the one in the car. She squeezed Robin's hands after he set the carrier down. "We're parents," she said.

"Yes, we are," he replied with a laugh.