Regina woke to her bed bouncing and Henry's childish laughter. "What did I tell you about jumping on the bed?" she asked him, keeping her eyes closed.
"You said I couldn't jump on the couch."
She cursed child logic. "That also applied to the bed and you know that, Henry Daniel."
The use of his full name had him landing on the bed, still at last. He laid next to her before using his fingers to open one of her eyes. His hazel eyes met her brown ones as he grinned. "Can we invite Roland to go to the pool with us?"
Her heart sped up at the thought of Roland's father, Bobby, who had been confirmed the night before to be the man she had run from a tavern so many years ago. The man with the lion tattoo who was supposed to be her soul mate. She was both excited and terrified to spend time with him.
"Mom?" Henry asked, confused. She had obviously been quiet far too long.
"If Mr. Locke says it's okay, then Roland can come with us to the pool," she said. Over Henry's cheers, she added: "Once we have breakfast."
"Can we have pancakes?"
Regina smiled, nodding. "I think pancakes will be perfect."
She climbed out of bed and held out her hand for Henry to take. He clasped it, heading out to their temporary kitchen. Regina had given Mr. Gull a long list the day before that she now figured he had Bobby go out and get, making sure to include everything she would need for pancakes. As she located all the items she would need, Henry pushed over a chair to stand on so he could reach the counter.
As she helped Henry mix the pancake batter, Regina felt nervous about her impending call to Bobby Locke. She practiced what she was going to say in her mind and figured she wouldn't have to spend much time with him. It felt dangerous to do so. After all, Mother had always told her love was weakness.
But looking down at Henry, she was starting to doubt that.
*****
The phone conversation with Bobby ended up being brief. Regina asked if Roland would like to go swimming with her and Henry. He said his son would love to go and arranged a meeting time and place. It probably took less than five minutes but her heart was still beating fast as she boarded the elevator, Henry's hand in hers.
Bobby stood outside the pool area, holding Roland's hand. The boy wore dark green swim trunks and held a towel in his hand as he bounced up and down. Henry let go of Regina's hand, running toward his friend for a hug.
Their parents stood awkwardly to the side until Bobby broke the silence. "When do you want me to pick him up?"
"I can call you. Pool time can turn into so much more." A thought crossed her mind and she hastily added: "Unless you have something else to do with him later."
"No, no. In fact, I'm glad you called. My babysitter flaked on me and I was scared I would have to take Roland with me on my errands. So thank you." He smiled, flashing those damn dimples at her.
Taking a calming breath, she smiled at him. "Glad to help. And feel free to join us if you can."
Why did you say that? Why torture yourself?
"I'd love to," he said, his dimples deepening. He then wandered over to the boys, crouching down next to his son. After whispering something to him, Bobby hugged Roland and kissed him. He rose and approached Regina again. "Thank you again. I'll see you later."
She smiled, watching as he walked away. The man even made plaid look good. He ought to be arrested for crimes against her heart and libido.
"Mom? Are we going in?" Henry asked, startling her.
"Yes, of course," she said, taking each boy's hand and leading them into the pool area.
*****
A few hours later, Roland and Henry slept on the couch in her suite as the TV played cartoons. It had gotten dark outside and rain pelted the glass of her windows as she covered them with a blanket from Henry's bed. She smiled at them before moving to make herself a quick sandwich for lunch.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened to reveal Bobby. His blond hair was dark with rain and he was definitely wearing a different shirt. She smiled at him. "Get caught in the downpour?"
"Yeah," he said, chuckling softly. "Don't worry, I changed before coming up here so I won't drip all over the place."
"You must still be chilled. How about some hot chocolate?"
His grin grew. "That sounds amazing."
"I also have a secret ingredient I like to add to my hot chocolate."
He raised an eyebrow. "Which is?"
"For children, miniature marshmallows. For adults--brandy," she said, pulling a bottle from the cabinet. "Really warms you up."
"I imagine." He smiled as she added generous portions to both their mugs.
They carried them over to the table, sitting there as they watched their children sleep on the couch. Bobby broke the silence first. "How was Roland?"
"Good as gold," Regina told him, smiling. "Very well-behaved and very knowledgeable about water safety. He even taught Henry a few things. Though I think your son might be half fish."
He chuckled. "Roland's loved the water since the first moment I put him in it. He was so thrilled when you invited him to the pool today."
"Henry's only recently gotten comfortable around the water. Perhaps Roland will continue to encourage him to like swimming."
"I'm sure. I'm hoping Henry continues to encourage Roland to read."
Regina raised an eyebrow. "Roland's not a big reader?"
"He likes to be read to," Bobby said. "But when I try to get him to read on his own, he has none of it. He struggles with the words and gives up."
"You just have to be patient. And don't force him. If he starts to think reading is a chore, he'll never warm up to it."
He nodded, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."
"Need any other parenting advice?" she teased.
"Not right now," he replied, leaning forward. "Tell me more about you instead."
Regina's cheeks heated up as she tapped her fingers against her mug. "I told you, there isn't much to talk about."
He leaned forward. "I don't believe that. So what do you do when you're not our mayor?"
"I'm Henry's mother," she replied.
"And that's important. But there must be more."
She chewed the inside of her cheek before replying: "I tend a small orchard of apple trees. They're right outside my house."
"That sounds lovely," he said. "I'd love to see them one day."
"I think that might be possible." Her heart beat faster at the thought of Bobby coming over to her house and spending time there. "So what about you? What do you do for fun?"
"When I can get a sitter for Roland, I like to go to the archery range."
That stirred something in the back of her mind but she ignored it. "Well, if you ever want to go, Roland has a standing playdate with Henry," she offered.
He smiled. "Thank you. Maybe you two could come see me at my next competition?"
"You compete?" she asked, surprised. She didn't even know such competitions happened in Storybrooke. What kind of mayor didn't know that?
He nodded. "It's nothing official. A bunch of us get together, challenge each other and then the losers buy the winner a dinner at Granny's."
Regina chuckled. "But it still sounds nice. So, yes, Henry and I would love to come see you compete."
"Great," he said, eyes lighting up. "I'll let you know when our next one is."
She nodded and leaned forward, his fingers almost brushing her hand. "So, besides apples and cooking, what else do you like to do for fun?"
"Why do you keep coming back to me and my interests? I told you, I don't have many."
He bit his lip before taking her hand. "I hope I don't scare you off, but I'm intrigued by you Regina. I feel drawn to you and I want to know everything about you."
She licked her lips as her heart beat faster. "You do?"
"Yes," he breathed, leaning so close their lips were only inches apart. Did she want to do this, though? Was she ready to chance a relationship like this?
As her eyes began to flutter closed, a little voice yelled out: "Papa!"
She opened her eyes as something shot past her. Roland climbed into his father's lap, hugging him as Henry came up to her. His brown hair was sticking up in every direction and she brushed it down. "Did you have a good nap?"
"Uh huh," he said, rubbing his eyes. "But now I'm hungry."
"Me too," Roland added, rubbing his stomach.
Bobby chuckled, bouncing his son a bit. "I think it's only fair that we make dinner for Regina and Henry this time, don't you think?"
"Oh no," Regina said. "You don't have to feel obligated..."
"I don't. I just want to spend more time with you but don't want you to do all the work. So what do you say?" Bobby smiled, deepening his dimples.
They did her in and Regina smiled softly. "Then we'd love to have dinner with you."
*****
Bobby was a very good cook. He could almost rival her, she believed as she laid down her fork. There was still some pasta left on her plate, but the eggplant parm was completely gone.
"Well?" he asked, looking a bit unsure.
She smiled. "That was delicious. Where did you learn to cook like that?"
"I kinda had to," he said. "Losing my wife and having a son to take care of...It forced me to learn a lot of things. How to do laundry, how to sew, how to get juice stains out of things..."
"A man of many talents," she replied before growing serious. His answer required a certain follow up question, but she was scared to answer it. She knew she wouldn't get the truth, just whatever story the curse had created for him. Which then raised another worry for her--what if his wife was really alive but had forgotten them due to the curse? They wouldn't be the first family she had separated in this world.
He took her hand, concern filling his blue eyes. "Regina? Is something wrong?"
"Sorry," she replied. "Your wife...What happened, if I might ask?"
"Complications during Roland's birth," he replied, eyes misting over. "Melynda bled out despite the doctors' best attempts to save her. All I could do was stand in the corner of the delivery room clutching the son she didn't even get to hold."
She squeezed his hand. "I'm so sorry."
And she was. She had crafted that backstory for him, given him those horrible images. If his wife was really still alive...Well, that was something she didn't have to really worry about.
Bobby rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. "Thank you, but I've made peace with her loss. And I have Roland. He's my world."
"Henry's mine," she said, glancing to where their sons played with Roland's toys with a smile.
"If you don't mind me asking, what about Henry's father?"
Regina bit her lip before spying a notepad and pen. She picked it up and wrote He's adopted before sliding the pad toward Bobby to read.
He read it, eyes widening a bit before he picked up the pen as well. After jotting something down, he pushed the pad back to her. I find that admirable, sharing the love in your heart with someone who needed it. Amazing.
They shared a smile before he pushed the pad away. "Enough about that. I feel I've brought down the mood. Is there anyway to bring it up again?"
"Let's play a game!" Henry yelled, barreling into her. Roland was right behind him, jumping onto his father's lap with a grin.
Regina picked her son up and put him on her lap. "You don't have to scream. We're right here."
"Sorry," he said before repeating: "Can we play a game? Roland has a bunch of board games."
"I think a board game sounds good. But one. It is getting late," she said.
Henry and Roland cheered, going to find the perfect game. Bobby stood and started to clear the table, despite her protests. "You are a guest, Regina. I'm not going to make you clean."
"Nonsense," she replied, grabbing their dirty glasses. "You helped last night, I help tonight. It's only fair."
Unable to argue her point, Bobby relented and they quickly cleaned the dishes while Roland and Henry set up the game on the table. It required teams, so Regina paired up with her son against Bobby and Roland. "You are going down," she said, starting the friendly trash talking.
"I do believe we have been challenged, my boy," Bobby said, settling Roland on his lap. "But I also believe they are the ones going down. Right?"
Roland nodded, dark curls bouncing. "Yep!"
"Nah uh," Henry retorted. "Mom and me are the bestest team there is!"
"He is correct." Regina nodded, looking solemn. Or at least attempting to. She had to fight the urge to smile.
Bobby didn't even try to fight his. "Big words, Mills. Can you live up to it?"
"Try us, Locke," she challenged, reaching for the dice.
*****
In the end, Regina and Henry won. Roland pouted until she gave him a kiss on his cheek and praised him for being a great player. "You and your father certainly gave us a run for our money," she told him.
He chuckled. "What about Papa? Aren't you going to give him a kiss too?"
She hesitated, meeting Bobby's eyes. His smile fell and he looked ready to crouch down to talk to his son. But she felt bold, darting forward to kiss his cheek. "Good game," she murmured.
"Thank you," he whispered back. He cleared his throat and picked up Roland. "I think it's bedtime for these two scamps. What do you say?"
"I agree." She picked up Henry, who was yawning. "What do you say to Mr. Locke?"
He rubbed his eye as he said: "Thank you for dinner and the game."
"You're very welcome," Bobby replied, guiding mother and son to the door. He paused there before lowering his voice. "Good night. Pleasant dreams, you two."
"Thank you." Regina hesitated, not sure what to do next. He saved her, kissing her cheek.
She wished him a good night and carried a sleepy Henry to the elevator, her heart pounding in her chest. Her feelings for Bobby Locke were starting to get dangerous and for the first time since she was a silly young woman, she welcomed them.