A Thief and a Queen

Finding Robin

Her hand passed through him though and she frowned. "Robin?"

"Regina, you need to save me," he told her. "You don't have much time. Find me. Please."

"Where are you? Robin, tell me," she begged, growing desperate as he grew more and more transparent. How was she supposed to find him when he could be anywhere? "Robin!"

He faded away as a bright light assaulted her senses, forcing Regina back into consciousness.

She gasped as she sat up, her heart beating wildly. Beads of sweat rolled down her face and her pajamas were stuck to her skin. She pushed back the blankets as she reached over, turning on the lamp on her nightstand. It illuminated her room, revealing she was alone. There were no other sounds and for a moment, Regina wondered if she had gone deaf as she couldn't hear a thing. Everything felt weird, as if she were really dreaming now and what she had just experienced was real.

BANG!

Regina jumped as she glanced out the window, her mind processing that it was just a car backfiring. Another car's alarm went off while several dogs started to bark, breaking the silence and proving that she was awake and what she had experienced had been a dream.

Yet it had felt so real.

She stood and walked over to the bathroom. Regina flipped on the light before running the water to splash it on her face, hoping to cool herself down. It dripped down her face as she leaned against the counter, trying to figure out what her dream meant. It had to be her subconscious wishing Robin were still alive. Maybe it had absorbed the plot of some movie or TV show, casting her and Robin into the leads instead. He was gone. She needed to accept that.

But what if he wasn't? What if he really was alive? What if he had reached out to her to find him?

Regina turned off the tap and dried her face, shaking her head. It was just a dream. She had tried to find him and failed. It wasn't healthy to keep hoping he was alive, not if she wanted to keep moving on with her life like he wanted. Robin was gone. She needed to accept that.

The car alarms had stopped and the dogs were soothed, so all was again silent as she climbed into bed. All but the noise in her head as she replayed the dream over and over. Especially the part where Robin pleaded with her to find him.

She pushed the covers back and picked up her phone, hitting one particular contact before she could reconsider. Biting her lip, she listened to it ring and started to compose the message she would leave on his voicemail in her head.

"Regina?" a sleepy voice asked. "What's wrong?"

Fuck. She didn't expect him to pick up. Part of her hoped that by the time he returned her call in the morning, she would've talked herself out of it but that plan went out the window.

"Regina? Are you there?" he asked, now even more concerned.

"Yes, sorry," she replied. "I didn't expect you to answer."

"Neal is teething and not really sleeping during the night. Tonight is my turn," he answered. "What has you up at this time of the night?"

She sighed, running her hand through her hair. "You're going to think I'm crazy, David."

"Nonsense, Regina. Clearly something has you spooked. What is it?"

"It was a dream. At least I think it was," she said, doubting herself now. "It felt so real. And Robin...he was there."

David was silent for a bit before saying: "Dreams can feel real, Regina. It makes sense you would dream about him."

She sighed, letting herself fall back onto her bed. "I know. But this was different. It was more like an out-of-body experience than a dream."