The Hole in Our Hearts

Heart-to-Heart

Robin opened the curtains to his bedroom and looked out on Storybrooke. The sun shone brightly and he could feel the warmth through the glass. It had been a week since his trip to New York to stop Henry and bring him back to Storybrooke along with Violet but he still felt as if his lungs were filled with the stale, dirty air of the city. It had been too long since he gone outside and breathed the fresh air while enjoying the sunshine.

Today seemed like the perfect day to do just that.

After changing, he woke Henry and Roland up before returning to his room to see if Margot was awake. She was and she reached out her little hands to him as he picked her up, kissing her cheek. "Good morning, sweetheart," he cooed.

She cuddled against him and he felt his spirits soar. Margot had certainly been a bright spot since losing Regina. He kissed the top of her head as he carried her to the changing table in the nursery. "Let's check your diaper and then get you ready for the day," he said.

"Can I help?" Roland asked, coming into the nursery. He hopped up onto the stool Regina had placed in the room before they had gone to the Underworld and waved at Margot. "Good morning."

"Of course you can help," Roland said, again so proud of Roland for how well he was adapting to being a big brother and how much he loved his sister. "And Margot says good morning back."

Roland chuckled, watching as Robin took off Margot's pajamas and unsnapped her onesie to get to her diaper. He took a deep breath before undoing the diaper. The smell still greeted him before the sight and Roland held his nose. "Eww," he said.

"I know," Robin said, removing his daughter's dirty diaper. "Just hold your breath a bit longer and it'll be gone soon."

"Okay," Roland replied, his voice sounding weird as he pinched his nose closed with his fingers. "But it's really smelly."

Robin nodded, wrapping up the diaper before dumping it into the garbage can right next to the changing table. He quickly sanitized his hands before saying: "Okay, the smell is gone."

"Good," Roland said, releasing his nose. "It was really bad."

"I know," Robin replied, cleaning Margot's bottom before grabbing a clean diaper. "Though your diapers didn't smell much better when you were your sister's age."

Roland shrugged. "I guess diapers are just meant to be smelly."

Chuckling, Robin nodded as he finished putting on Margot's clean diaper. "I think that's a good way to look at it."

"Are we going to put her outfit on her?" Roland asked.

"Not yet," Robin said, just dressing Margot in a clean onesie. "I'll dress her after breakfast."

Roland nodded. "I guess that makes sense. She can't get the outfit dirty."

"Pretty much," Robin said, picking Margot up. "But maybe you can help me pick out the perfect outfit for her after breakfast."

"Okay," Roland replied, taking Robin's hand. "What are we having for breakfast?"

That was a good question. Robin hadn't thought about it yet and so he asked: "What do you want?"

"Can we have pancakes?" Roland asked, looking up at Robin with hope in his eyes. "With chocolate chips? Like Regina used to make?"

"I can try," Robin said, his heart skipping a beat as grief hit him again. "But they won't taste the same."

Roland sighed. "I know. I miss Regina."

"I do too," Robin replied, entering the kitchen with Roland. "But we can try to make her pancakes and share memories of her. It will almost be like having her with us. How does that sound?"