Better When I'm Dancing - The Surprise

Respite

A/N: This chapter briefly uses lyrics from Sean Maguire's song "Good Day." 

Regina slept in for the first time in months. Even the baby didn't make her sick, allowing her to get at least eight solid hours of sleep. She woke up feeling more refreshed than she had in weeks.

It was glorious.

Slipping out of bed, Regina put on her robe before padding down to the kitchen. Robin looked up from his newspaper, smiling. "Good morning. How did you sleep?"

"Like a baby," she said, putting the kettle over for tea. "How about you?"

"Same," he replied. "I forgot how tiring the competition can be."

The kettle whistled and she poured herself a cup of tea. "I'm glad to be in the troupe now. The schedule is definitely easier and I'll be home more."

"I like the sound of that," Robin said, pressing his hand to her back. "Why don't you go sit down? I'll get you breakfast."

She picked up her mug, smiling at him. "I'm not going to say no to that."

"I didn't think so," he replied, kissing her. "Do you want anything in particular?"

"No," she said, patting his chest. "Whatever you want to make, I'll eat."

He nodded. "Sounds good. Go sit and I'll have breakfast ready in no time."

"Music to my ears," she teased him, sitting down at the table. "That might be your best song yet."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said, laughing. "I've been meaning to get some time in the recording studio."

She frowned. "I thought you were going to take a break because of the baby?"

"I am," he said, opening the fridge. "But it still doesn't mean I'm not going to write or play anything. You still dance in between seasons, right?"

"Of course. I need to keep my skills..." She trailed off, nodding as she realized why Robin wanted to spend time in his studio. "You need to practice and keep your skills up as well."

He nodded. "Pretty much. And I have a lot of songs in me. I want to get them out and ready for when it's time to put out our next album."

"Fair enough," she said, sipping her tea again.

Robin carried over a bowl of yogurt with some cut up strawberries mixed into it. He set it down in front of her. "There you go," he said.

"Thank you," she replied, eagerly scooping up some yogurt and strawberries. "How did you know?"

He kissed her cheek as he sat down next to her. "I'm your husband. I think I'm an expert on all things Regina Mills."

"So am I an expert on all things Robin Locksley?" she asked before eating another spoonful of yogurt.

"Probably," he said, nodding. "Maybe we should play the Newlywed Game one day with Mary Margaret, David, Emma and Killian."

She raised an eyebrow, intrigued by his suggestion. "That actually might be fun."

"I know," he replied. "We can make a whole night of it. Dinner, music, games, snacks, the whole works."

"Maybe when we celebrate the holidays," Regina said, before pausing as she realized it was now November. "Oh, shit, the holidays are going to be here before we know it. We should probably start planning."

He placed his hand over hers. "We can worry about that later. Today is all about resting and relaxing for you."

"I may not be competing anymore but I'm still on the show," she reminded him as he was talking as if it was the day after the finale. "I still have rehearsals to go to."