She's My Daughter

Reunited

Regina POV

"Shut up." I groaned as I threw my head back onto the head rest for the fifth time as Emma started singing the most annoying bloody song in the world again. And not even singing it, just singing da da da's with a couple of words thrown in for fun. She grinned at me from my left, her green eyes sparkling with amusement.
"Selena did order me to annoy you." Emma said solemnly as she placed a hand on her heart.
"And so did Henry." I muttered as I recalled the quick goodbye with my son.
"Exactly!" She smirked, taking a deep breath before plunging back into her rhyming nonsense.
"Kill me." I grumbled, throwing my head in my hands.
She laughed before playfully nudging me with her shoulder as I rolled my eyes and  opened the window, the wind caressing my hair as we drove down the busy motorway, the sounds of car horns and engines filling the smokey air. I inhaled deeply, the wind  scratching my throat and the dark clouds beginning to tremble.
"Do you think he's alright?" I asked quietly, my voice rippling through the air.
Emma immediately stopped singing and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "He's tough, Regina. He'll be okay."
I nodded but didn't turn to face her despite the tentative wind beginning to bite at my flushed cheeks.
"And Rowland?" I asked with a tremble in my voice, the thought that anything could have happened to him already beginning to crack my dark heart.
"Robin would never let any harm come to Rowland, Regina. You know that. And I don't think even Zelena would stoop that low."
"You never know." I muttered, anger beginning to creep into my voice as I thought about my jealous sister and all she had done to ensure my despair. But this, this was the worst of the lot.
"Why don't you call him?" Emma asked suddenly. "Just to make sure he's alright."
"And if Zelena's still there?"
"Then he'll lie. She still has to pretend she's Marian and he still thinks she is in her eyes. That means she'll have to respond like Marian would."
"I suppose." I groaned, my nerves beginning to quake as I pulled at my phone and dialled his number.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked again, my finger hovering over the call button. Rolling her eyes, Emma reached over and pushed my finger down, the familiar dialling noise filling the air.
"Emma!" I exclaimed. She just shrugged and gave me a cheeky grin before leaning across me so she could roll the window back up.
"We can't let Zelena know we're in a car, can we?" She said knowingly as she met my questioning gaze.
"And here I thought I hadn't taught you anything."
She stuck her tongue out at me and returned to the wheel. I turned away from her and focused on my breathing as the phone continued to ring. At last, it went to voicemail.
"No answer." I trembled as I lowered my phone, thousands of ideas of what could have happened to him flooding my mind.
"He may just be in the bathroom?" Emma offered reassuringly. I glared realistically at her, my chocolate eyes ablaze with terror. Just then, however, my phone let out a cascade of musical notes and the name "Robin Hood" flashed onto the screen. Without even a millisecond of hesitation, I answered his call and pressed the phone to my ear, my heartbeat getting faster and faster with every second I wasted being away from him.
"Regina?" Came his husky voice from across the line.
"Oh, thank goodness." I muttered, relief filling my fearful voice.
"Is everything alright?" He asked.
"Yes. How's things with Marian?" I asked subtly, knowing Zelena could be behind him at this exact second.
"She's okay, thanks. She's just in the kitchen cooking some of her delicious casserole." He replied just as smoothly, and I knew he was also fearful that Zelena could hear every word he was saying.
"And do you know what else she is doing today?" I replied shortly, not trusting myself to say anything else in case I gave away the plan.
"I think she may be going grocery shopping a bit later on, but other than that, we're going to spend today as a family." He said without feeling. I knew he was lying to save himself, Rowland and our plan, but it still hurt. Just him uttering that word when I wasn't a part of it seemed to tear away a bit of my soul.
"Anyway, how's things with you?" He asked casually and I knew we would have to keep this charade up if he was going to convince Zelena (if she was overhearing this) that it was just a normal conversation.
"Good, good. Nothing's changed in Storybrooke, really." I said blandly and conversational, not trusting myself to express my true feelings over the phone.
"Anyway, Robin, send my love to Rowland and Marian. Goodbye." And with that I hung up, my hands shaking as my phone fell into my lap.

*****

Emma pulled up outside Neal's old apartment with a screech, her tyres leaving behind a spray of water as she did so.
"Let's go." She said hastily as she pushed open the door and slammed it behind her, already heading to the door. I followed just as quickly, snatching the keys out of Emma's hand as I turned to lock the car.
"I would have done it, Regina." She grumbled. I frowned at her. Since when did she get so bloody childish? Shaking it off, I stalked into the shabby foyer as I took in the peeling grey walls and the stained stone floor, the gate leading to the staircase looking almost as if this place was a jail. Not wanting to make a sarcastic remark about Emma's dead lover's apartment, I satisfied myself by unlocking the gate with magic as the purple glow surrounding my palm transferred to the lock. Instantly, I heard the click that told me I had succeeded and so, leaning against it, I pushed open the gate and onto the dreary staircase. I ran up the stairs as fast as I could, knowing we didn't have long, and then I realised I had been so worried about getting here in time, that I hadn't even bothered to check if Zelena had left. I fumbled in my pocket for my phone and found it empty. Damn it! I had left it in the bug.
"Crap." I muttered as I grabbed Emma's wrist and pulled her into an alcove in a random corridor.
"What -" she began, before my glare shut her up. Trying to steady my breathing, I heard the distant sound of heels on the stone floors and so, with an anxious look from Emma, I pushed my head forward ever so slightly so I could see the stranger and, low and behold, there was Marian. I growled low in my throat, my eyes ablaze with fury and the need to incinerate my sister on the spot pumped through my veins but Emma's hand on my shoulder and the thought of Robin and Rowland waiting upstairs were the only things that stopped me from doing so as her infuriating smirk flashed across my eyelids. We waited another few minutes wanting to make sure Marian was definitely gone before we slipped out of the darkness and ran up the other two flights of stairs, drawing to stop outside the room.
Taking a deep breath to muster up my courage to see the man I loved, I thrust out my fist and gave the door three harsh raps with my knuckles.
"Marian? Have you forgotten something?" His voice called from inside, the pleasant tone marred by a hint of fear.
"No." I barely whispered but I knew he had heard and, in a flash, the lock clicked out of place, the door pulled open and I was face to face with Robin Hood.
"Regina." He whispered, his dark blue eyes gazing into mine. I couldn't bring myself to speak, couldn't trust myself not to breakdown. I just looked at him, my lips forming a smile as my eyes began to water.
"Hey." I whispered.
"Come-come in." He gestured. I nodded and stepped inside his apartment, inhaling deeply.
"You still smell like forest." I chuckled, before I spotted a little curly haired boy wandering in from the other room and dropping his chocolate bar in shock as he registered who I was.
"Regina!" He squealed as he hurried over to me. Robin smiled fondly at him as I took Rowland into my arms, his small little hands playing with my hair as I held him on my hip.
"Hey, Robin." Emma grinned as she strolled into the apartment and gently closed the door behind her.
"We need to go." I said quickly as I glanced at Emma. She nodded and took Rowland from me, telling him they were going on an adventure and he had to pack some of things. I stared at their retreating figures and got one last reassuring look from Emma before I was left alone in a room with the man I loved.
"You came for me." He whispered as his blue eyes bore into mine.
"Of course." I said a little shakily, the extent of how much I had missed him finally beginning to hit home. He grinned at me and my heart rate increased rapidly.
"We need to go." I repeated quickly.
"Come and help me pack then."
I laughed as I followed him into his room where he began throwing clothes into a small backpack he had pulled out from under his bed.
"How long does Marian - Zelena - usually spend shopping?" I asked as I packed his toiletries neatly into a small bag.
"I dunno, like an hour?" He shrugged again as he yanked open drawers and shoved more possessions into his bag. I rolled my eyes. Typical.
"Well, hurry up anyway. I want to be long gone by the time she's back."
"Yes ma'am." Robin fake saluted. I shook my head with a laugh. I finally had my thief back.