There was a light knock on the door. The girls separated, sharing a glance, before Evelyn stood to answer the door. She opened it to find her mother standing there, looking somewhat sheepish. Evelyn broke into a huge grin and opened the door wider, Emilia coming up to stand behind her, also smiling.
Regina looked at her two beautiful girls standing in the doorway. A soft smile spread across her lips, and she tilted her head slightly.
"Dinner is ready if you're hungry," she said. "I made lasagna."
Regina turned to leave but stopped when Emilia grabbed her arm. She turned and looked at her daughter, her eyes silently questioning her.
"I need to talk to you," Emilia said. Turning to look at Evelyn, she added, "We'll be down in a sec. You go on. Go talk to Dad."
Evelyn nodded and left the room. Emilia immediately pulled Regina into their shared bedroom, closing the door behind her.
"This may come across as disrespectful and I am so completely sorry for that, but Evelyn... She doesn't trust easily. Lucky for you and dad, she does trust you. She loves you. But her trust is very easily broken. She's been through a lot of shit. I'm sure she'll open up about that to you when she's ready; it's not my place to tell you that. But what I'm saying is, she puts up this façade so she seems strong and intimidating, but she's really fragile. She feels things really deeply. She's taking a huge leap of faith by allowing herself to open up and trust you. She's my sister; she's the only family I've had for the last sixteen years and she means the world to me. Please do not break her trust. Please don't hurt her," Emilia said, concern written across her face.
Regina was taken aback. Here was this sweet girl who seemed so much like Robin, yet giving her a look that reminded her of herself; fire in her eyes, a small blush rising in her cheeks, jaw set. She was protecting her sister, and in doing so, her whole demeanor changed; she had her hands on her hips, feet planted firmly on the ground, and her facial expression was one that might have given the Evil Queen a run for her money. Regina was impressed.
"I would never do anything to hurt you or your sister. I know we only just met today, but from the moment I found out about you, I loved you with all my heart. Nothing could ever change that," Regina said, and Emilia could see the honesty in her eyes, hear how genuine she was being in her voice.
The younger brunette nodded, replacing her menacing stance with a soft smile.
"I'm glad we found each other, Mom. It really sucked not having you growing up...," Emilia trailed off.
"It really sucked not being able to raise you while you were growing up," Regina smiled.
Emilia hugged her mother, finally feeling at home in the arms of the parent she'd never had.
She stood behind the bar, watching her children in the dining room getting to know one another. Robin stood directly to her right, his left hand rubbing her side. His right hand was place gently on her hip, her delicate hands resting lightly on his forearm. She tilted her head just slightly, a soft smile spreading across her luscious lips. Robin leaned down and kissed the top of her head and she hummed happily.
"They're beautiful," she whispered.
"Even more so than I imagined," Robin replied.
"Emilia is so much like you, babe. She's always so full of light and hope, always smiling... Except earlier, before dinner. She had said she needed to talk to me before we came downstairs. She was telling me not to break Evelyn's trust-it sounds disrespectful, but she was protecting the only family she's ever known. She gave me a look that could have gone up against the Evil Queen," Regina laughed.
"Well, Evelyn is exactly like you. Her attitude and snarky remarks, the sarcasm... Even the facial expressions she makes towards Emilia. It's all exactly like you."
He kissed her head again, turning her until she was facing him, and then pulling her into a hug. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, burying her face in his chest. He kept one hand on her lower back, the other on the back of her head, holding her into him and breathing in her scent. He felt her breathing change, speed up a bit.
"Regina, love, what's wrong?" He asked quietly.
"Robin, what if... What if I do get pregnant again? What if that hurts the girls? What if they think we're trying to replace them? I mean, we have to think about this. We just found them. Do we really want to push them away?"
"Regina listen to me," Robin said, pulling a stool out from under the bar and helping her sit on it. "Do you want to have a baby?"
"Yes, more than anything."
"Do you love our daughters?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then if you get pregnant again, they will understand. They know you love them, Regina. They've had to mature quicker than most children; they can see things from two points of view. They'll understand that, while we are beyond ecstatic that we've finally found them, we missed out on raising them together. They'll understand that a baby won't make us love them any less," Robin said, looking deep into her chocolatey brown irises.
She nodded once, looking down at her hands in her lap.
"I'm just... I'm just scared, I suppose, about all of the things that could go wrong if we have a baby. I mean, I've had my children taken from me, I've miscarried... I've had a child to grow up and hate me for a few years... I'm afraid that if we do this again, something else will go wrong."
"Regina, you are a wonderful mother, okay? Nothing like that is going to happen. And if you do miscarry again, then that's something we'll deal with together. Everything will be fine," Robin comforted.
She nodded again, leaning up to kiss him softly.
In the dining room, the girls sat listening to something Roland was saying. Henry sat at the other end of the table, playing with the food left on his plate. Every so often, he'd glance up at his siblings and sigh before shooting a glare at his parents. Finally, he stood and gathered his plate and napkin and headed to the kitchen to put it in the sink.
The boy walked in to find his mother's arms around Robin's neck. Robin's hands were on her waist, his forehead leaned against hers. He cleared his throat loudly, stomping through the kitchen and making quite the ruckus as he placed his plate in the sink.
"Hey, Henry. Are you and your sisters getting along well?" Regina asked.
'Hey Henry?' He thought. How can she be so nonchalant like everything is okay?!
"Just dandy," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Henry, what's wrong?" His mother questioned, concern laced through her voice.
"Oh, nothing. I'm absolutely wonderful," he replied, his mouth curling into a sarcastic smirk.
"Henry Daniel Mills. Do not take that tone of voice with me," Regina said sternly.
Henry huffed and rolled his eyes, muttering something about "just leave me alone, it's not like you care about me anyway."
"Hey! Get your ass back here, young man," Regina commanded.
He turned.
"Tell me what's wrong."
"Mom, I said I'm fine. Just leave me alone."
"Fine. You go sulk in your room about whatever's bothering you. But we are not done here. We'll talk later."
Henry sighed and went upstairs. Seconds later they heard a door slam, alerting them that Henry had made it to his bedroom.
She slowly reached her hand over to his side of the bed. It was empty. Still a bit warm, but empty nonetheless. She finally opened her eyes and sat up. His robe was gone from its hook and the door was slightly ajar. He must have gone downstairs for something. She stood from the bed and slipped into her own robe, walking down the stairs to look for her husband.
She found him sitting on the counter of the bar, shoulders hunched and slumped forward, head in his hands. He hadn't even bothered to put his arms in the sleeves of his robe. The sight of him broke her heart. She shuffled into the kitchen to talk to him.
She gently pushed his knees apart so she could lean against the counted between his legs. She took his face in her hands and lifted his chin.
"Robin. Look at me," she said.
He slowly lifted his eyes to her face.
"What's wrong, baby?"
He sighed.
"I was just thinking about what we were talking about earlier. If-no-when you get pregnant again, when we have another baby... What if it does upset the girls? What if it upsets Henry and Roland, too? I mean, you saw the way the lad acted this evening. He was obviously upset about something. And what if you do miscarry again? I don't think either of us could handle going through that a second time. And then there's the fact that we don't have any extra rooms to turn into a nursery. I mean, we just don't have the space for another child with four kids already in the house. And what if Cora or someone else decides to take the baby and we lose him or her again? Can we do this, Regina? Is another child something our family can handle?"
"Babe, listen to me. The girls won't be upset. You know how I know? Because they're a hell of a lot like us. That means they have the capacity to see things from different perspectives, to be understanding, to feel things deeply. They will be happy for us if-when-I get pregnant again. Same thing goes for the boys. And Henry? He's not upset about a baby-I'm not even pregnant yet. It's most likely something with Grace or one of his friends. I'll talk to him tomorrow. If I miscarry, that's something we will deal with. Together. And we'll handle it better than we did the first time. We'll just keep trying, okay? And we can put the boys in the same room, or turn my office into a bedroom. And Robin, I will not let anyone take our child, okay? That will not happen. We can do this. We're ready for this. Another child will be a blessing to our family," Regina said, her thumb caressing his cheekbone.
Robin nodded slowly, placing his calloused hand over her soft one.
"Thank you, Regina," he whispered. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
Robin placed his forehead on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rubbed his back.
"Let's go back to bed, okay?"
Robin nodded and the couple made their way back upstairs to their bed.
Her alarm went off at six thirty that morning. She groaned and slapped at the snooze button, rolling over to face Robin. Still half asleep, she wrapped her arms around his waist and burrowed into his chest, throwing her leg over his.
Robin had awoken at the sound of her alarm clock and chuckled when he felt her snuggling up against him for extra warmth. Unlike himself, Regina had never been a morning person. Robin loved rising early and watching the sunrise in the brisk morning air. Regina, on the other hand, preferred to sleep in late in the warmth of her bed, and settled for watching the sunset in the evening, as it was just as beautiful.
However, he knew that today was her first day back at work since Snow resigned from her mayoral duties and returned the job to its rightful owner. She couldn't sleep in today. He hated to wake her; she was cute when she was asleep. But he knew she wouldn't want to be late for work.
"Regina, my love," he said gently. "You have to wake up. You've got work."
"Screw work," she groaned into his chest.
"Regina," he said. "You're going to be late."
"Fine," she whined, rolling onto her back and rubbing her eyes.
He leaned up on his elbow watching her stretch and finally crack open her beautiful brown eyes.
"There's my love," he whispered, placing a gentle kiss against her forehead.
She smiled softly, reaching her arms up to wrap around his neck and pulling him into a hug.
"I don't wanna leave you today," she whispered.
"I know, my love. I wish you could stay, too. But you've got a town run. I could bring you lunch if you like, though," he offered.
"That sounds wonderful," she smiled.
"Alright," he said, tangling his fingers in her growing raven locks. "But now you really need to get up and get ready for work."
She sighed, knowing he was right and slowly crawled out of bed. She shuffled into her closet, pulling on a pair of black slacks, then buttoning up a white blouse and tucking it in. She slipped into her black stilettos and headed to the bathroom to put in her contacts and apply her makeup. First concealer, then powder and a light blush. Then moved on to her eyes, where she applied a natural smoky-eye, black eyeliner, and mascara. Finally, she applied a nude pink lipstick to her luscious lips and straightened her hair, ridding it of its beautiful Puerto Rican curls. She walked out of the bathroom feeling like a new person.
Robin sat on the edge of the bed awaiting the return of his lovely wife. She walked over to him and he took her by the waist, pulling her into his lap.
"You'll be okay?" He asked, eyes full of worry.
"Robin, I will be fine. I'm just going to the office," she reassured.
"I know, but... I haven't been without you since before we got married."
"I know, baby. But I'll be fine, and I'll see you for lunch."
He nodded, offering a small smile. Regina wrapped her arms around him in a comforting hug. He returned the gesture, placing a small kiss on her jawline just below her ear.
She pulled back and placed a loving kiss to his lips before standing up.
"I'm gonna go tell the boys goodbye. Make sure they get to school on time?"
"Yeah. I'll see you at lunch, sweetheart. I love you," Robin replied.
"I love you, too."
She left the room and walked down the hall. She walked into each of her boys' rooms in turn, kissing both on the forehead and telling them goodbye and that she would see them after school. Then, she went downstairs, poured herself a cup of coffee, and left the house.
Regina sat behind her desk in her office.
When she had arrived that morning, a quick wave of her hand had her office redecorated, ridding it of the paintings of birds and replacing them with more chic and modern décor. The office had retained its black and white color scheme, with the addition of a splash of red. "A hint of red is always deadlier," as Regina so often said. The walls were a stark white with a large, black-framed mirror on one. There were black file cabinets lining one wall, and a large mahogany bookshelf on the other. The back wall was a wall of windows. Her mahogany desk sat directly in front of it, facing the door in the very center of the room. She had black and white photos framed in red on her desk, which was mostly covered in paper work.
Her laptop was open and she was typing away, composing an e-mail that would later be sent. She glanced at the paperwork directly to her left, referring to her source to support her position on the topic. She had a pen in her mouth and would, every so often, cease her typing to sign a document, adding it to the stack of finished paperwork on her right.
Her phone rang and she sighed, reaching over to pick it up.
"Good afternoon, Mayor Locksley speaking. How may I help you?" She answered, resuming her typing.
A normal person would have their receptionist answer the phone, but Regina had asked the young lady at the front desk to forward all phone calls directly to her office.
The reply came a moment later.
"Yes, Madam Mayor, this is Robin Locksley."
Regina smiled when she heard his voice.
"And what can I do for you today, Mr. Locksley?"
He chuckled.
"Well, I am right outside your door with lunch, but I didn't want to interrupt. You aren't busy, are you?"
"As a matter of fact, I'm not. Lunch sounds wonderful right about now," she said.
After a quick goodbye, they hung up. Regina stood from her chair and walked around to the front of her desk just as Robin opened the door and let himself in.
Her eyes lit up when she saw him. She'd grown used to spending every moment of every day by his side. Now, even spending a few hours away from him was hard. He gently shut the door behind him and turned, finally letting his gaze fall on her. They were still for a moment, just drinking the sight of each other in. Then Regina, barefoot by this time, rushed into her husband's arms as he wrapped them around her small waist. He lifted her and spun her in the air before returning her to the ground in front of him.
"Hello, my love," he said.
"Hey, hon. I missed you," she smiled.
"And I you," he said, placing a quick kiss on her lips.
Then he moved swiftly around his wife and sat on the floor, back leaning up against the desk.
"Robin, dear, you know I have chairs, right?" Regina asked.
"Yes. But I wanted to sit on the floor," was his explanation.
She scoffed and rolled her eyes before joining him on the floor, leaning into his side as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He set the bag on the ground and began pulling their food out-a Caesar salad, dressing on the side, for Regina; and fish with a side of chips, or fries, for Robin. He placed a tender kiss on the side of her head as she opened the to-go box containing her lunch and began to dress the salad.
They talked about nothing in particular, albeit Regina loved their conversations full of nothing more than their conversations filled with somethings. It was the little things that made all the more difference in life. This was something Regina was slowly but surely learning through her relationship with Robin and their four beautiful children-the big moments are only big for a little while; it's the little things that will be remembered at the next family gathering years from now.
They spoke of what was to come for their future, of their girls whom they couldn't wait to get to know, of Roland's progress in school, Henry and his relationship with Grace; they even flirted a bit. But mostly they just cherished one another and the short period of time they had together before Madam Mayor had to return to her endless piles of paperwork.
When the time finally came for Robin to leave and Regina to return to her desk, he stood and outstretched his arm, taking Regina by the hand and helping her up. He pulled her into a long embrace, relishing this last moment with her before he left the office. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest, listening to the steady sound of his strong heart beating through his forest-scented shirt. Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, he slowly pulled away and walked backwards out of the room in order to keep his brilliant blue eyes trained on her warm brown ones. As the door shut, Regina let out a small sigh and returned to her desk. She opened her laptop and resumed her e-mail, faithfully referencing the paperwork on her left side, already wishing the day was done so she could return home to her soulmate and her children.
He sat at the kitchen table, nursing a glass of iced tea. It hadn't been introduced to him until he had first entered this realm, but one thing he knew right from the beginning was that he loved it. Thoughts swam through his mind, his vision focusing and unfocusing, barely noticing anything that was going on around him. What mainly weighed on his heart, though, was how Henry had acted upon arriving home from school. The boy had hardly acknowledged him, grunting something unintelligible and shuffling up to his room, slamming the door behind him. Not only that, but his adopted son had kept his head down, eyes trained on the floor or the wall directly in front of him. His shoulders had been hunched and his feet dragged on the floor. When Robin caught a glimpse of the teen's face, there were dark circles under his eyes. All of this lead him to wonder what was wrong. Could Grace have broken up with him? Could something have happened with one of his friends at school? Robin pondered the possibilities while awaiting the arrival of his wife...
The door slammed in the front entryway, pulling him from his reverie. He immediately stood, abandoning his tea, and walked swiftly to the front corridor. He turned the corner just as Regina was setting her purse and keys on the hall table and beginning to step out of her black pumps. Taking long strides, he quickly made his way down the hall and over to the love of his life. Before she could even look up at him, he was lifting her off the ground and spinning her around, her legs wrapped around his hips, his hands on her thighs holding her place. He stopped moving and placed a languid kiss to her lips. This wasn't a kiss of desires and wants, needs to be met. No, this was a kiss of feeling cherished and loved, of contentment and bliss. This said, "Welcome home, my love. I've missed you." He didn't try to deepen the kiss. Their tongues did not dance; there was no battle for dominance. This was simply lips moving in time with one another, a small action to show their love for each other. They slowly pulled back and she removed her legs from his hips. He set her carefully on the ground but kept her wrapped in his arms in an embrace.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest. Once again, his strong and steady heart beat in his chest against her ear, relaxing her immediately. The scent of forest wafted up from his clothing and into her nose, her eyes drifting closed as she melted into him. He buried his nose in her hair, breathing in her apple-scented shampoo, placing a small kiss atop her head. He rested his chin on her head, swaying them back and forth a bit, closing his eyes and relishing this moment being close to her-close to the only woman who ever truly gave him butterflies, the only one to ever truly see and understand his heart, the only woman who ever truly meant the world to him, who he would do anything for, the woman who singlehandedly won his heart while simultaneously giving him her own.
"Mommy! You're home!"
They parted as Roland ran down the hall and into Regina's open arms. She lifted him onto her hip and stood up, placing a kiss to his forehead.
"How was your day, baby?" She asked.
"It was so fun! We finger painted and played outside and I got to be at the front of the line!"
"That's great, Ro!"
"But, Mommy," the little boy said I a serious tone, "Henry is sad. He wouldn't play with me when we got home from school."
Regina looked from her son to her husband, confusion and worry in her eyes. The look Robin gave her told her that they needed to talk. Alone.
"Roland, baby, why don't you go play in the living room? Daddy and I need to talk, okay?" Regina said, eyes trained on her soulmate.
He nodded as she placed him on the ground.
Regina felt her chest tighten, a knot forming at the base of her stomach. She could tell from the look on Robin's face that something was really wrong. Her heart rate picked up and her palms began to get sweaty as panic rose from deep within her gut. Robin could see the fear in her eyes and knew his actions and expressions had worried her more than what was intended. He could see her muscles starting to tighten and knew she was close to having a panic attack.
"Hey," he said, placing his hands on her hips. "Nothing is seriously wrong, okay? No one is injured. Henry just came home looking a bit upset today and it worried me. Nothing bad happened."
She lifted her hands to grip his forearms as he spoke. His words slowed her racing heart and she was able to calm her breathing. She nodded, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to panic. Just... He's my son, my first son. Even if I didn't actually give birth to him, he will always be my baby boy. I'm just worried," she explained quietly.
"No, it's alright. It's just, you remember last night when he copped an attitude after dinner?"
"Yes."
"Well, he came home and hardly acknowledged me before shuffling up to his room and slamming the door. He look really depressed, and I'm not sure why. I was just concerned. I'd have talked to him, but I feel that since you're his mother, he may be more prone to open up to you rather than me," Robin explained.
Regina nodded.
"Well, I suppose I should go talk to our son, then," she stated steadily, but Robin could see the nerves in her eyes.
He placed a soft kiss on her lips.
"Everything will be fine, my love," he reassured.
She offered a small, unconvincing smile as she headed up the stairs to Henry's bedroom.