A/N: This could get emotional, guys, so just… be prepared. It's chapter 25. I've tried to make it as perfect as I possibly can for all you lovely people. So without further introduction, the final chapter of Ever After!
She looked in the full length mirror on her closet door, checking her outfit.
Her shirt was orange, but not like a bleach-job- gone-wrong. Softer than that, like the sunset when it just begins, almost the color of a pumpkin. Her jeans were dark and hugged the shape of her legs, stopping in small cuffs just a few inches above her ankles. She wore black strappy wedges- a soft, stretchy fabric wrapped from either side of her foot around her ankle and tied in a bow just above her heel. Her maroon-painted toenails, which matched her fingers, peeked out of the small space.
She had put on light makeup, but it was still the heaviest she'd worn since she'd given birth. A soft, shimmery brown stretched across her eyelid, her black liner swiping into perfect wings. Mascara swooshed her eyelashes up, making them look considerably longer. She had brushed on a light foundation and a hint of blush, but her lips were a deep burgundy color and she knew they would drive him crazy. She slipped her phone into her back pocket and picked up her black clutch, ready to go.
Until she heard her baby wail a few doors down the hall.
She rushed into the nursery, her ebony waves flying out behind her as she went.
She picked up the crying princess and rocked her in her arms, “Shh, mommy’s here, baby. Mommy's right here.”
Harper quieted slightly, but continued to bawl. Regina checked her diaper, but she wasn't in need of a change. She had just been napping, so she couldn't have been cranky. She sighed, trying to think what the cause of her daughter's tears could be.
Robin came through the door, panting from having sprinted up the stairs, and smiled.
“There's nothing I love more than seeing you be a mother,” he said, kissing her cheek. “Is she okay?”
“Well, I don't know. She doesn't have a dirty diaper and she isn't tired, considering she just woke up. So I'm not sure what's wrong.”
“She could be hungry.”
“That’s true. I guess we can try to feed her, and if that isn't what she wants then I don't know.”
Robin lead Regina back into their bedroom, wanting her to be comfortable- he knew the rocking chair occasionally hurt her back- and wanting to sit with her.
He helped her to get situated on the bed and sat down to her right, facing her on the edge of the bed. As she uncovered her breast and began to feed their daughter, he rubbed his hand up and down her thigh, moving higher each time
She raised an eyebrow at him.
“What're you doing?” she asked, glancing at his hand, then back up to his eyes.
He shrugged.
“Please, not right now. We haven't gone out in probably more than three months. I've been really looking forward to this, Robin.”
“Regina, our sex-life has died. Quite literally. We haven't had sex in over a year. Since Thanksgiving last year, when we conceived Harper. We haven't so much as fooled around since you got pregnant.”
“I know,” she whispered, wincing slightly as the baby sucked a bit too hard.
“I miss you, Regina,” he said softly.
“I miss you too…”
“Then let's get a room at Granny's tonight,or send the kids away for a few days. Let's take a vacation and rekindle that flame that we had between us. I want my wife back, my partner in crime, my person, my soulmate. I want you back.”
“I'm sorry, sweetheart, I just… I don't know. Maybe tomorrow night,” she sighed.
He did as well, and patted her leg with a grim nod.
“I'll be waiting for you downstairs with the kids, my love.” He pressed a kiss to her lips and left the room.
She dropped her head back against the headboard and she groaned. How was she going to right this?
She didn't have long to think, however, as moments later, the baby pulled away from her breast. She grabbed the burp rage they kept by the bed and cleaned herself and Harper, then threw the rag over her shoulder and burped the baby, which didn't take long.
She walked down the stairs, cradling her daughter in her arms. Her kids all squealed and ooh-ed when they saw her. She chuckled a bit before handing Harper over to Evelyn.
She hugged her children, whispering something in both Henry and Emilia’s ears, luckily managing to do so without Robin’s noticing.
She slipped into the jacket he held out for her and linked her fingers with his, and they waved at the children before leaving the house.
- - - - - - - - -
The door slammed behind them as they entered the house. Regina giggled at Robin’s cringe; he thought the kids were sleeping.
He followed her up the stairs, but she let him enter their room first. She closed the door and locked it behind them. She came up behind him as he tossed his jacket on the bed and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his back. His hands dropped to his sides.
“Look, Robin, I know you're pissed with me. You've done a really good job of hiding it all evening, but I know you, and you're upset. And I'm sorry. I'm honestly so sorry, I can't even explain it to you. I feel horrible. Can you forgive me?”
He sighed.
“I forgive you, of course. I just miss you is all.”
She let go of him and took a few steps back.
“Then take me.”
He turned around looking confused.
“But the kids-”
“Are gone. Don't ask, I'll explain later. Right now, we have the house to ourselves, and I think we should take advantage of that.”
“Are you sure?”
She shimmied out of her shirt and tossed it on the ground by her shoes and she began unbuttoning her pants.
“That’s my job,” he exclaimed.
He rushed over to her and removed her jeans while she went to work unbuttoning his shirt and pushing it off her shoulders. As she presses kisses to every inch of his body that was exposed to her, he pulled his own pants off and unclasped her bra. She stepped out of her panties and he his boxers, and then she was on him. Her lips sought his in a passionate embrace and he lifted her into his arms and they collapsed onto the bed.
His lips never left hers as he rubbed his hands sensually over her body. His fingers found her breasts and he squeezed. She broke the kiss, panting, and grabbed his hands.
“Careful! They're sensitive,” she whined.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked, genuinely concerned.
“Yes, a little bit. I’m fine, though, just be careful around them. I'm still breastfeeding, you know?”
“I'm sorry, love, I'll be gentler,” he said kissing her cheek.
She ran her fingers through his hair as his fingers traced her body. As he reached a particular spot that sent tremors through her body, he felt her hand wrap around his member and pump slowly.
He felt himself begin to grow hard. He sucked at a pressure point just below her ear that he knew drove her crazy. She squirmed and pressed her face into his shoulder and wrapped her arms tightly around him.
“Regina,” he groaned. Her hips rocked against him and he shuddered.
“You ready?” he asked, positioning himself at her entrance.
“Robin,” she breathed, “I need you.”
He pressed into her slowly. He paused a moment as she moaned.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug as he lay on top of her.
“I love you so much,” he whispered.
“I love you too, baby, and I'm so sorry for making you wait.”
“You're making up for it now.”
He began to move, but she tightened her grip on him.
“Wait, just a minute. It's been way too long, I-”
“I understand. When you're ready.”
She hugged him closer and whispered her apology over and over, and though he said it was alright, she continued.
Finally, she said, “okay.”
And their love had never been more prominent.
- - - - - - - - -
She stood in the kitchen the next morning, frying bacon. Her older kids had each slowly made their way back into the house, and Granny had dropped off Harper and Roland. Robin was upstairs showering before breakfast.
The kids sat around the table together, waiting, playing with Harper who sat in her highchair by Regina's spot.
After a few minutes, Robin strolled down the stairs. He greeted each of his children with a kiss on the head. He sauntered into the kitchen and wrapped his arm around Regina, kissing the side of her head.
The kids watched as she bumped his hip with hers and smiled up at him. He playfully grabbed her ass and, while she was distracted, took the tongs from her hand. He dipped her unexpectedly and kissed her.
Henry covered Roland's eyes, and the baby in her highchair was luckily just out of eyesight, not that the scene would have made much of an impact on the three month old. But the three older had their eyes glued to the scene before them. They had never seen their parents act this way before, especially since Harper had been born.
Something had happened while they'd been gone, and they all had some idea of what it was.
In the kitchen, Regina giggled and broke the kiss, nuzzling her nose against his. He stood her up right so she could finish the bacon. He rubbed her back and held her close.
“I see you just changed into clean pajamas after your shower,” she chuckled.
“I've decided today is going to be a lazy Saturday. We're going lounge around and watch movies and play games and order pizza. It's going to be fun!”
“Well, it's a good thing I'm still in my pajamas, too, huh?” She looked up at him and puckered her lips, and he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss.
“What do you say we kick the kids out again and go for round four tonight, love?” he said in a low, seductive tone.
“I don't know, baby, I'm still a little sore from round three last night,” she chuckled softly, though he could tell she was serious.
“I suppose I can wait a few days, then. So long as you promise not to hold out on me.”
“I pinky promise,” she held her pinky up to him, “that I will not hold out on you anymore.”
He took her pinky with his and kissed them, and she smiled.
She put the bacon on a plate and shut off the stove, carrying the breakfast she made over to the table.
“Dig in!”
- - - - - - - - -
The kids had overtaken every piece of furniture in the Locksley’s living room, so Robin and Regina laid on the floor while the movie played its course.
All of the kids were asleep now, including baby Harper, who laid peacefully on her mother's chest, her fist curled in a strand of Regina's dark hair.
Regina's head was pillowed on Robin’s arm, her cheek pressed against his chest. His free arm crossed his torso so he could rest his hand on Regina's stomach.
She trailed her fingers soothingly over Harper's back, humming softly.
“D’you want to know what the most beautiful thing I've ever seen is?” Robin whispered.
“Our five amazing babies? Even though, I suppose, three of them aren't really babies,” she whispered back.
“Well, that too, but I was going to say that it's watching you interact with our newest baby. There's just something about watching you hold her or feed her or sing her to sleep that makes my heart go wild.”
“If I could spend my whole life watching you bond with Harper, Robin, I would do it in a heartbeat. Somehow, seeing her in your arms just makes me feel so… right. Like even though it's not me you're holding, I still feel that sense of protection.”
He kissed her hair.
“I thought I knew what love was. I thought I knew how it felt to be so completely enamored with someone that you physically feel like you'll explode. And then we had a baby, and everything changed,” she said softly.
“I know… I thought my heart was already full of as much love as I'd ever feel, but then watching you give birth and seeing her come out… it all multiplied tenfold.”
“I'm so in love, Robin. With our kids. With you. I've never been more full of love than I am right here, in this moment. I wish this feeling could last til forever, that I could just bottle this day up and open it when I get sad. This is my purpose. To be their mother, to love you. To just be here, right now.”
“I'm glad you know that now, my sweet, I hope you can always cling on to that. I know that you are the only woman I have ever truly loved and the only one I will love, besides our daughters. You are it for me, you always have been. I knew from the moment I met you that somehow, some way, we would be together.”
“I felt that pull, too. When I'm with you, everything just seems so right. So in tune. So… perfect.”
He turned his head, nuzzling his nose into her hair. He held her close.
She sniffled, “Ah, I gotta get up. This floor is making my back stiff.”
She put her arm around Harper and used the other to push herself into a sitting position. She tried to wipe her face discreetly, but Robin saw, and he sat up next to her.
“Everything alright, sweetheart?”
“Yeah,” she nodded, “I'm okay.”
Robin took the baby from his wife and laid her gently in the play pen next to the fire place, then sat back down next to her.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and turned toward her with an expectant look.
“I'm just feeling really overwhelmed with love,” she said, starting to cry again.
“Oh, baby girl,” he pulled her into his chest. “I love you so much, Regina.”
He laid them back down and ran his fingers through her hair until her tears stopped, and then he switched to rubbing her back.
“You deserve a nap now, love. Take the opportunity while all five kids are sleeping.”
Sh curled her fingers loosely into his shirt and rested her head on his chest, and as he soothed her, she fell quickly asleep.
He followed soon after.
- - - - - - - - -
The soapy water splashed against her hands as she gently scrubbed the dishes clean. She hummed softly as she did so, some elevator song or something she'd heard in passing- she couldn't quite place the tune.
Her hips pressed into the counter as she placed a plate in the opposite side of the sink to later be rinsed.
“Would you like me to finish that, Mom, so you can rest?” Henry asked.
“That’s okay, baby. I kinda like washing dishes. But you can start rinsing and drying for me, and then you can put them up,” she smiled.
“Absolutely,” he said.
She bumped his hip with hers. They stood together in silence, each doing their half of the work.
Henry, now almost a full head taller than Regina, looked down at her. He couldn't help but notice how young she looked, despite having five children. Being a new mother again brought out a youthful glow in her, a particular happiness he hadn't seen in a long time.
She liked having someone depend on her, he thought. It made her feel needed and wanted and useful. He realized how much she needed that, that sense of purpose she got from caring for people.
He was beginning to understand his mother more and more with each passing day.
“Mom, when I'm finished here, Grace and I were going to take a walk to the park. Would you mind if we took Harper with us? Grace absolutely adores her.”
“Go ahead, I'm sure she could use the fresh air. You might bring a bottle with you, just in case she gets fussy.”
Henry nodded and kissed his mother's cheek as she finished the last of the dishes and drained the sink.
“I'll finish cleaning up in here. Dad's on the couch.”
“Thanks, Hen.”
She traipsed into the living room and plopped onto the couch beside Robin, resting her chin on his shoulder.
“Hey,” she whispered, and he looked at her. “You look like a zombie, honey.”
“I feel like one. I'm sure you do too, though,” he whispered back.
“What do you say we go upstairs and nap for a little while, and then we can fool around later?”
“Hm, that sounds like a good idea,” he said. “But I don't know that we've got the energy to make it up there.”
“Then we'll just stay here.”
He pulled her onto his lap and held her close, and she nuzzled her face into his neck. He held her close and rubbed her back, and she ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.
“Go to sleep, baby. You're exhausted,” she whispered, and he did.
She kissed his neck.
- - - - - - - - -
Through the monitor, she heard the baby cry. She shot up in bed, glancing at the time. Three fifteen in the morning.
As she crawled out of bed, she felt a hand on her arm. She turned her head to see Robin sitting up as well.
“Regina, you know she eats at two and then doesn't need a diaper change til around four thirty.”
“What? Robin, what are you saying?”
“I'm saying, she needs to learn to soothe herself back to sleep. We can't always do it for her.”
“But she's-”
“Regina. I know you want to go to her. But we can't coddle her. We won't always be able to soothe her, so she needs to learn.”
He could see her heart shattering in her eyes, but in the few months since Harper had been born, they'd settled into somewhat of a routine. He knew their little princess was fine, but he also knew that they couldn't do everything for her, no matter how much they loved her.
She nodded and watched him lay back down and roll over, but she didn't move. She sat there and listened to her baby wail.
It was a gut-wrenching, blood-curdling, heart-shattering sound. She knew Harper needed to learn to put herself to sleep, but… this was her baby girl. Every fiber of her being, every maternal instinct she had (and there were quite a few), was pulling her toward the nursery. All she wanted was to cuddle her baby close to her chest and rock her back to sleep. Maybe sing to her or tell her a story, anything. She couldn't stand to hear Harper cry, but she wanted her daughter to be able to help herself, to be a problem solver.
As Regina sat there and listened to her baby through the monitor, she herself began to cry. Hot tears glistened against her skin in the pale moonlight streaming through the window as she tried to silence her sobs, for Robin’s sake. Her hands covered her face, and she curled in on herself.
She felt the bed shift next to her as Robin pulled her into a hug.
“It kills me, Robin!” she bawled. “I feel awful just letting her cry like that. Everything in me is telling me to go to her.”
“Then go to her. I may have my own opinion, but if your heart is telling you to go get our daughter so strongly to the point of tears, then go get her. This may not be my first ball game with an infant, but it is yours. What feels right to me may not to you, and that's okay. We’ll figure it out like we do everything: together.”
She kissed his cheek and got out of bed, practically flying out of the room and into nursery. She picked up Harper and held her close, slowly travelling back into her bedroom. She sat down next to Robin, who wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her head.
Regina sniffled as her daughter began to calm down, curling her fingers into Regina's hair. Robin’s fingers lifted to Regina's cheek as he wiped her tears away.
Harper opened her eyes and gazed up at her mother. Her beautiful blue orbs, which looked exactly like Robin’s, were entrancing. She had already displayed a set of dimples that made her mother's heart melt, but even so, she seemed to have Regina's nose and smile. The soft hair on her head was ebony. She was a perfect mix of the thief and the queen.
“Hey there, my little princess,” Regina cooed.
Harper smiled wide and giggled, and Regina gave a grin of her own.
“Let's go back to sleep, sweetheart.” She began to hum and rock the baby.
For a while, Harper only stared up at her. Any time she was in Regina's arms, she just stared at her. She seemed to be as hypnotized with her mother as Regina was enamored with her.
Robin, on the other hand, was captivated by them both.
Finally, baby Harper drifted back into dreamland, and Regina leaned back against Robin. He lay them down after his wife repositioned their daughter to lay on her chest.
Together, Harper in Regina's arms and Regina in Robin’s, the three slept peacefully together.
- - - - - - - - -
A fire crackled in the fireplace. Four half-drunk mugs of hot chocolate littered the coffee table as the movie came to an end. It was a Disney one Roland had picked out, his favorite, Robin Hood.
Henry lay draped across the loveseat on the opposite side of the living room. Emilia and Evelyn were a mess of tangled limbs spanning all the way across the couch. Roland was curled in a ball on floor, cocooned in a littles nest of pillows and blankets. Harper had been placed next to him in her little bouncer. Half way through the movie, the five children had dozed off, leaving their drinks unfinished.
The rainy October day provided the perfect contrast to warm setting inside.
Regina and Robin shared a chair, the recliner opposite Henry's loveseat. She sat sideways in his lap, curled into him. He had the footrest up and his sock-clad feet peeked out from the bottom hem of the blanket they were sharing.
She drew patterns lazily on his chest and his hand remained stationary on her lower back, his fingers dipped partially into her pants.
They were quiet, but not silent. The conversation came and went in short, whispered spasms.
“We need another date night soon,” she suggested. “Maybe this time we just have an indoor picnic by the fireplace, and then we can lay down and you can take me.”
“You have been all about sex lately, lovely. Not that I don't love it, but it's unlike you. Why?”
“Not sex; making love. Because I want to show you how much I love you. Because I feel awful for having put you off for more than a year.”
“Regina, I told you it's alright. I kind of deserved it, really. Remember, way back before we got married? We were dating; it was essentially the height of our relationship before I proposed, and we were so in love. If you remember, we had talked about having sex. Both of us had consented to it. You wanted to, and now I think about, you kept dropping hints. But I kept putting you off, so much to the point that you actually thought I didn't love you any more. It almost ended our relationship. This was most definitely not that bad. I would not have left you because we hadn't had sex in a bit. I would never leave you.”
“I guess,” she sighed. “I'm still really sorry, though.”
“And I still say you need to stop worrying about it.”
They were silent for a few minutes as she breathed in his sent. She cuddled closer to him and he held her tightly.
“You know what we haven't done in a while?” Robin asked.
“What?”
“Danced.”
He pulled out his phone and searched something on YouTube, and then hit play.
The sweet sounds of The Beatles crooning away to Let It Be came through and Regina smiled as they stood. Robin pulled her close to him and they swayed to the music, turning slowly in circles. His forehead was pressed against hers, and he watched her close her eyes and smile.
“Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness, she is standing right in front of me,
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be,” sang lowly into her ear and she giggled, joining him for the chorus.
“Let it be, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.”
He loved her voice, and he told her so, and she told him she reciprocated feeling for his voice, and they sang the rest of the song together in a sweet, thick duet.
They had a crazy life. They had five children, one of which was an infant, a house to keep clean, and extended family to look after. Life threw them turn after twist after turn. They never knew what would be right around the corner.
Robin and Regina could have spent their days worrying. Instead, the followed the old advice of The Beatles, and they let it be.
- - - - - - - - - -
A/N: So that's it guys! Ever After is over!
Wow. I don't know how to feel. I accomplished something- I wrote a book (sort of). But I'm soo going to miss it.
Y'all are the best readers an author could ever ask for. You're my favorite people. I'm so blessed to have all of you. I love you.
I hope you loved this story while it lasted- I sure did! I had so much fun writing it. “I've had the time of my life” with all of you.
I'm sorry for all the angst this story contains, but I think I've made up for it with the fluff at the end. I hope you are as satisfied with this ending as I am.
Please leave comments, I appreciate them greatly! They encourage me to keep writing! And worry not, I will continue writing.
This story has been my baby for so long. I feel like I'm sending my child off to college or watching them get married, lmao. It's bittersweet, but I'm beyond proud of it. I hope I have provided you all with something you can love and remember for a long a time. You deserve it.
So with that, I dedicate this story you, my readers. All of you. I love you.
This isn't goodbye, not really. It's more of a see you later. So don't get it in your head that I'm leaving for good now. I'll be back with this, that, or the other thing sooner or later.
Did I mention I love you all?
Much love,
Emily Anne