Finding You Was Fate

Chapter 11

The text came in at about 1 o'clock on Tuesday. I was doing inventory at The Lion's Den and she was at school.

RM: Hey, babe.

RL: Hello, my sweet. How has your day been?

RM: It's been good. Just watching my students finish an in-class assignment.

RL: Sounds exciting.

RM: Not really. Hahaha

RL: Well, your day is almost over.

RM: I have off last period, so it will end sooner than normal.

RL: Well, that's good.

RM: Yes, it is. What are you doing tonight?

RL: Nothing as far as I know.

RM: Would you like to come over tonight and stay at my place for a few days?

RL: Of course! I would love to see you! I still want to make it up to you after what happened at my dad's house on Saturday.

RM: Robin, I promise I am fine. Marian called on Sunday and we had a nice conversion. She apologized numerous times. We are okay now and I told her that we should have a double-date soon.

RL: Well, I'm still going to feel bad because she did upset you.

RM: I know and I love you for it.

RL: I love you, too, beautiful.

RM: You're too sweet to me!

RL: Did I make you smile?

RM: You did!

RL: Good because I love when you smile.

RM: I love when you smile because of those adorable dimples.

RL: Is that so?

RM: It is. So, what time can you come?
RL: I have maybe about 15 to 20 more minutes of inventory and then I will go home, pack some clothes and I will be on my way to your house.

RM: Oh good. I'm going to leave the door locked. I will have the gate unlocked and the back door unlocked, if you don't mind coming through there.

RL: Sure, babe. I will meet you at your house. Maybe I'll cook dinner for you;)

RM: It doesn't matter. I just want you to come over. I need some cuddling.

RL: I can definitely do that. I'll be over in about 45 minutes.

RM: Thank you!

RL: You are very welcome, my love.

            Immediately after I finished with the inventory, I headed home to pack some clothes. That took about 10 minutes and I was in the car headed to her house at around 2:15, but not before I stopped at the store to pick up some sunflowers for her. I parked in her driveway and went through the back gate just like she said. I went to the French doors in her backyard and I saw her lying on her couch. I opened the door softly and noticed she was in fact sleeping. She was covered up to her neck with a blanket. I set the flowers on the table in front of the sofa and went put my bag in her room. I came back downstairs and kneeled down next to her. I rub the back of my hand down her cheek and she was burning up. This explains why she was covered up to her neck with a blanket. I kissed her cheek and it must have jostled her awake.

            "Hi." I say smiling.

            "Hi." She says sleepily.

            "You have a fever. How are you feeling?" I ask caressing her cheek.

            "I feel like death." She says sighing. She scoots back a little and pats the spot on the sofa in front of her.

            "Did you take anything?" I ask sitting on the edge of the sofa.

            "No, I don't think I have anything. I have a thermometer in the cabinet in the downstairs bathroom. I was going to go get it after I changed, but I had already laid down and I was not getting back up." She says closing her eyes again.

            "I'll go get it for you." I say kissing her head and heading into the bathroom. I grab it out of the cabinet and sit back on the sofa. "Alright let's see what your temperature is." I say turning it on. "Okay, it's ready." She nods and I put it in her ear and wait for the beep. "102.3. I think it is safe to say you have a fever."

            "This sucks." She says grabbing my hand and holding it against her chest.

            "I'm sorry." I say lifting her hand and kissing the back of it. "Did you eat today?"
            "No, I had brought some leftover grilled chicken for lunch, but I had no appetite." She says looking down. "Are those for me?" She asks with the smallest smiling gracing her lips.

            "Is what...oh the flowers. Yes, they are for you." I say grabbing them. She sits up on her elbow and puts them to her nose.

            "If only I could smell them." She says sadly.

            "That's okay. At least they will be here to brighten your day." I say smiling.

            "You're right." She says smiling. "Thank you that was very sweet after this shitty day."

            "You're welcome." I say smiling. "Do you want me to move you to your bed?"

            "No, I'm okay right now." She says snuggling back into the blanket.

            "Can you tell me what hurts so I can look to see if you have medicine?" I ask running my hand through her hair.

            "Ummm, my head, my throat, my nose is running, I can't really breathe, and I'm just achy." She says softly.

            "Alright, I will be right back." I say kissing her head again. I walk back into her bathroom and look through the cabinet. I found a box of Dayquil and Nyquil Cold & Flu. "Perfect." I say smiling. I go to the kitchen and grab Regina a glass of water. "Alright, my love, I found some medicine for you."

            "What is it?" She asks sitting up a little.

            "Dayquil." I say handing her two of them.

            "Thank you." She says taking them with a quick sip of water. I set the glass on the table and sit on the edge of the sofa.

            "Do you need anything else before you nap?" I ask caressing her cheek.

            "Just a cuddle." She says yawning.

            "That I can handle." I say smiling. I take off my shoes and go to lay down.

            "Wait." She says holding her hand up. "You can get comfortable."

            "You want me to take my shirt off, don't you?" I ask smirking.

            "It would make me feel better." She says sighing contently. I chuckle and pull my shirt off over my head and lay down next to her. For me to fit on the sofa and not roll off, I had to pull her against my chest, wrap both arms around her, and put one leg over hers.

            "Is this comfortable for you?" I ask curiously.
            "Yes, I'm warm." She says smiling and snuggling into me a little more. "Here, take some blanket." She says covering both of us.

            "Thank you, sweetheart; please get some rest." I say kissing her head.

            "I am." She says finally relaxing.

            She fell asleep soon after and I just ran my fingers through her hair while she slept. I watched her sleep for a little while then ended up dozing off too. When I woke up, I grabbed my phone and saw that I had been sleeping for a little over an hour. I look at Regina and she is still sleeping soundly. She had been sleeping for about 2 hours and I wasn't sure if she would want to eat something or maybe go lay in bed. I guess I would just let her wake up on her own. I pulled her a little closer and closed my eyes just relaxing.

            "Robin." I hear her say groggily.

            "Yeah, babe?" I ask pulling away a little.

            "It's freezing." She says softly.

            "The air isn't on. Do you want me to get you another blanket?" I ask kissing her head. "Or how about I move you to your bed?"

            "It doesn't matter." She says snuggling her head against my chest.

            "Well, I am going to move you to your bed so you have more room." I say sitting up.

            "Okay." She says yawning. She sits up and then stands.

            "I can carry you." I say wrapping her in a hug.

            She smiles and puts her arms around my back. "No, it's okay. I can walk."

            "Well, okay, but if you don't want to walk I am always here." I say kissing her head.

            "I know; you are so sweet." She says smiling.

            "Are you hungry? I was thinking I could make you some soup and we could relax and watch a movie until you fell asleep again." I say smiling.

            "Soup sounds good." She says smiling. "I made soup a few weeks ago and froze it. It should be in the freezer."

            "Okay, well you go lay in bed and I will bring it to you when it is finished." I say kissing her cheek a few times.

            "Thank you." She says smiling. "Do you mind if I take a shower?"

            "It's your house, babe. You can shower if you want." I say chuckling.
            She chuckled and dropped her head to my shoulder. "Well, when you put it that way. I am going take a shower and you can meet me in my room when you are done cooking." She says looking up at me.

You can tell she was definitely sick because she was talking through her nose and constantly sniffling. It was slightly adorable. I lean down and kiss her nose. She scrunched her face like she always does when I kiss her nose.

"What was that for?" She asks smiling.

"You are just really adorable." I say smiling.  

"Stop." She says whining and burying her face in my neck.

"You are definitely sick, my baby." I say chuckling.

"I am not a baby." She whines.

"I didn't say you were." I say chuckling. "Come see love." I say picking her up. I pick her up and she wraps both her legs around my waist and both her arms around my neck. "Let's get you into the shower."

"Now, I feel like a baby." She says with a chuckle.

"Nah, I just need to take care of you." I say carrying her up the stairs.

"I feel like crap." She says dropping her head onto my shoulder.

"I know. Your fever is still really high too." I say setting her on the bed.

"Ugh, I'm going to have to call in sick tomorrow." She says falling back on the mattress.

"Yes, you are because I am not letting you leave this house until your fever drops." I say crawling on top of her.

"Fine, I will call my dad later." She says sighing. "I'm still so tired too."

"Well, just take a quick shower and lay back down. I will wake you up when your soup is ready." I say smiling.

"Okay, thank you." She says sighing.

"You are very welcome my love." I say smiling. I stand and pull her to her feet. She walks away and I slap her butt. She jumps and turns around.

"What was that for?" She asks chuckling which turned into a coughing fit.

"No laughing." I say kissing her forehead. "Go take a shower."

She smiles and walks into the bathroom. I walk downstairs and find the potato soup in the freezer. I put it in the microwave and let it defrost. After letting it defrost, I put it on the stove just to heat it up. It took about 30 minutes to cook it completely. I put it in two bowls and put some cheese in it. I grab them and put them on a TV table to bring upstairs. I walk into her room and she is laying down, but I'm not sure if she was asleep.

"Regina." I say softly.

"Yeah?" She asks opening her eyes.

"Dinner is ready." I say smiling.

"Good, I was getting hungry." She says sitting up. She leans back against the headboard and I hand her a bowl. "Thank you."

"You are welcome. Hopefully that will warm your bones and I have your medicine you can take after you eat that should help you get to sleep." I say smiling.

"Thank you for coming today." She says smiling. "I just didn't want to be alone."

"Regina, anytime you call and ask me to come over, I will be here. I also knew something was wrong because I was flirting and you were not flirting back." I say chuckling.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to think I was forcing you to be here." She says taking a bite of soup.

"My poor, baby, you are so sick." I say chuckling. "Regina, I love you. When I said I saw a future with you, I meant it. I plan on being in your life for a very long time."

"I know, I just feel like crap and my head feels like it weighs a thousand pounds. I'm just not thinking straight." She says sighing.

"I know and that is why I am here. So, finish eating and then you are taking this medicine and heading back to sleep." I say smiling.

"Sounds good to me and I don't think I'll be able to go to the Halloween party this weekend." She whines.

"Only if you are feeling better. Otherwise, no you are not going." I say kissing her cheek.

"You mean." She says pouting.

"Only because I love you and I care about you." I say smiling.

She ended up being sick the rest of the week and finally began to recover a few days later. She missed that entire rest of the week of work and had to send work in with her father every morning for her classes. On Friday morning, I was woken up by her tossing and turning. It was about 4:30 that morning. I turn the bedside lamp on and she is sweating.

"Regina." I say softly. "Babe, wake up. Regina!" I say a little louder.
"What?" She asks opening her eyes.

"How are you feeling?" I ask turning on my side.

"I'm okay. It's really hot in here, though. Can you turn the fan on?" She asks kicking off the covers.

"Yeah." I say kneeling up on the bed and pulling the switch. "I think your fever broke. Do you want me to get you a cool rag to put on your head?"

"Yes, if you don't mind." She says turning on her side getting comfortable again. I smile and head to the bathroom to grab a rag. I put cool water on it and rung it out so it wasn't dripping wet. I walk back to the bed and lay down next to her.

"This might be a little cold." I say dabbing her head with the rag.

"No, it feels good." She says moving to lie on her back. I lean up on my elbow and continue dabbing her face with the rag. After about 5 minutes her head fell to the side and she was fast asleep again. I smiled and kissed her cheek. I went back to the bathroom and draped the rag over the sink to dry. I headed back to the room and lay down next to her. I was exhausted from being up with her the night before with her coughing, so as soon as I closed my eyes I was fast asleep. We spent the rest of Friday just relaxing and I left her to go to work that night. When I got home that night, she said all she did was take a shower and relax on the sofa. We went straight to bed after I took a shower.

I woke up Saturday morning to something heavy on top of me. I open my eyes and Regina is sitting on my stomach.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." She says smiling.

"Good morning. Someone must be feeling better." I say smiling.

"I feel great." She says happily. "I have already taken a shower too. I let you sleep in since you have been ever so nice and taken care of me."

"Only for you, love." I say smiling. "Come see."

"What?" She asks lying on top of me. She puts her elbows on either side of my face and smiles at me.
I smile back then wrap my arms around her and flip her onto her back. She screams and then starts laughing. "I have missed my bubbly Regina. It is so nice to have her back." I say kissing her lips.

"I've missed that." She says against my lips. "Can we go to lunch?"

"Sure." I say smiling. "Then we need to come home and disinfect the house of all your germs."

"Sounds good to me." She says smiling.

"Then let's go." I say happily.
           
            After lunch, we got home and started cleaning the house. She turned her stereo on and turned the music up really loud and we got to work. We started upstairs in her room. She stripped the bed while I volunteered to clean the bathroom for her. I started with the shower and just worked my way around her huge bathroom. The shower, her tub, and the toilet were easy to clean. The sink was more difficult because I had to clean everything off the counter before actually cleaning it. She has her makeup in one area and her perfume in another, which she has a lot of.

            "Babe!" I call from the bathroom.

"Yeah?" She asks walking in.

"Do you want to put your makeup and stuff back? I don't wanna mess it up." I say chuckling.

"You can just put in back. I'll fix it later." She says waving me off. "Thanks for offering to clean the bathroom. I'm picky about how I clean my room." She says smiling.

"You're welcome." I say as she heads back to her room.

I put her makeup back in the corner of the sink and clean the mirrors. I wipe them down with Windex and head into her room. "Alright, babe. Bathroom is done."

"Great." She says smiling. "I just have my dresser to finish and then I need to vacuum and make the bed."

"Okay, I will go get you the vacuum and do you want me to bring anything else down into the laundry room with the sheets?" I ask picking them up off the ground.

"Umm, let me look. Cause I may wash towels, but I think washing the clothes first would be better." She says walking into her closet. "Yeah, babe, just bring these down there and I will start them when we go downstairs to clean."

"You got it. I'll be back with the vacuum cleaner." I say grabbing the basket and heading downstairs. I drop off the basket in the laundry room and I grab the vacuum cleaner to bring it up stairs. I walk into her room and she is making her bed. "Got everything done?" I ask leaving the vacuum cleaner by the door.

"Yeah, just have to finish making the bed then I will vacuum." She says grabbing the flat sheet.

"Well, I can vacuum while you do that." I say grabbing the vacuum cleaner.

"Thank you." She says smiling.

I plug in the vacuum cleaner and start at the far side of the room. I go through the whole room while she headed into the bathroom to mop which I forgot to do. We finished around the same time and headed downstairs into the laundry room.

"Okay, so how do you clean your clothes because I am sure we do things so differently." I ask chuckling.

"You probably just throw all of your clothes into one batch and wash it together." She says rolling her eyes.
"You...are right." I say chuckling. "Do you separate by colors?"

"Yes, and I am washing darks because I wear a lot more dark than white. Plus, I have some of your clothes in here from this week obviously." She says unloading the clothes and placing them in the washer.

"Then while you do this, I am going to start cleaning your living room." I say going to walk out.

"Oh wait, babe." She says quickly.

"There is a bottle of Fabreeze in the downstairs bathroom cabinet if you can get it for me."

"Yeah, babe. You need it in here?"

'No, just bring it in the living room with you." She says turning the washer on. "I use it on the sofa."

"Okay." I say smiling.

We both began cleaning the living room, which I didn't think would take long, but we were singing and dancing to the music. She was definitely in better spirits. After cleaning and dancing for a good two to three hours, we finally completely finished. I ended up going take a shower while she vacuumed. I actually asked if she wanted to go to that Halloween party tonight, but she said she would rather just stay home. So that is when we decided that she was going to cook dinner for me as a thank you for nursing her back to health.

"Babe." I heard from inside the shower.

"Yes, love." I say opening the shower door.

"I hope you aren't busy tomorrow." She says.

"Nope, I was spending the night here so I just assumed we would hang out." I say reaching for her hand. "Is that the plan?" I ask pulling her closer. She smirks when I push her shorts to the ground.

"Yeah, but my mother and father invited us to their house tomorrow for lunch and to go swimming since it still feels like summer." She says pulling her shirt off over her head.

"That sounds like fun." I say pushing her panties to the ground. I pull her into the shower and kiss her, but she pulls away.

'Sorry, one more thing." She says holding her finger up. "I invited your father and your sister and her husband."

"Okay. Is that it because I am dying to go back to kissing you." I say chuckling.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure that was okay because I didn't ask." She says chuckling.

"Yes, it is fine. I think it is very sweet that you invited my family." I say placing my hands on her cheeks. "Now can we stop talking about them because I haven't been able to ravish you in a while and I want to do it now." She laughs as I push her up against the shower wall. "So, not a peep from you unless you are moaning my name." She smirks and nods her head as I place my lips on hers again.



"Good morning." Cora says opening the door.

"Morning mother." Regina says smiling and walking inside.

"Good morning, Cora." I say following Regina inside.

"Glad you two could come and so glad you are feeling better Regina." Cora says leading us into the kitchen.

"Yes, I feel so much better. Robin took great care of me." Regina says happily.

"I was also happy to invite your family Robin. I'm excited to meet them."

"Thank you for inviting them. My nephew is excited to come swim and see Regina again." I say chuckling.

"Good, can't wait to meet him. Burgers are about to be placed on the pit so you both can get in the pool if you would like." Her father says grabbing the burgers and heading outside.

"Yes, let's go." Regina says grabbing my hand and pulling me outside.

When we get outside, I place our bag on one of the chairs then pull my shirt over my head. Regina and I came prepared with already having our swim suits on. Regina pulled her shirt over her head and I definitely will never get tired of the view. She opted for a strapless bikini today. A black one. When she took her shorts off, the bottoms left nothing to the imagination. It covered everything that needed to be covered perfectly and it was going to be difficult to make through today with her looking the way she does in that bathing suit.

"Ready?" She asks reaching for my hand.

"Yeah." I say slipping my flip flops off.

"I think I should have worn a different swim suit." She says walking us to the steps on the shallow end of the pool.

"Why? What's wrong with the one you're wearing?" I ask stepping in.

She steps in and sits down on the first step. "It's a little revealing. Your nephew is going to be here, I should have worn something that covered more."

"Regina, he is not even going to notice what your wearing." I say grabbing her hand and pulling her to stand in front of me.

"Yeah, but what about your sister?" She asks looking up at me.

"Well, she can shove it. I don't care what she thinks about what you're wearing." I say lifting her into my arms. "I think you look hot, but that's just me being biased." I say chuckling.

She laughs and kisses me sweetly. "Still, I should have been more aware that we were going to be with other people and not just the two of us."

"If it were just the two of us, you probably wouldn't be wearing that swim suit at all." I say smirking.

"You are so bad." She says pulling away from me. "Do you want something to float on? I'm going get a chair."

"Um, no I'm good." I say going under water. When I came back up, she was walking towards her parents shed in the corner of the yard. She walks in and comes back out with a raft; one she can sit up on. "Clearly someone wants to tan today."

"Yep, it's the perfect time for that too." She says stepping back into the pool. She puts the chair down and hops up onto it and immediately gets comfortable.

"Are you going to actually go under the water or do you still feel tired after this week?" I ask curiously.

"I'll probably swim when Roland gets here because I know I won't be able to just relax when he is here."

"I could occupy him if you want to relax while he is here." I say leaning on her raft.

"True, but I'm sure it will be fun to play with him." She says smiling. "Plus, I wanna swim a little with you."

I smiled and leaned up to kiss her which proved to be a bad idea because I ended up flipping her off the raft and into the pool. I grabbed her and made sure she wasn't choking. "Oh god, I'm so sorry." I say as she wipes her face.

She chuckles and pushes her hair out of her face. "It's okay. I'm fine. Just wasn't expecting to be dunked into the pool." She says laughing.

"I'm really sorry." I say chuckling.

"I'm good, but since I am assuming you were trying to give me a kiss, I will totally take that now." She says smiling.

"I was trying to kiss you. I had no intention of flipping you into the water." I say leaning in and kissing her lips.

She smiles and pulls away. "All is forgiven. Would you like to race?"

"Oh yeah. First one to that end of the pool." I say pointing to the deep end.

"You're on." She says as we swim to the shallow end of the pool. "Nothing fancy and no pushing or splashing."
"Deal." I say smiling. "Ready. Set. Go." I say as we both take off. I know how to swim, but I didn't want to hit her. So, I dove under the water and just used my arms and to moved my forward and kicked my legs just enough to not splash. Well, I open my eyes under water and she is beating me. So, I I reach forward and grab her foot. She yanked it away and came up for air with me.

"Cheater." She says chuckling.

"How am I the cheater if you were winning?" I ask pulling her against my chest.

"Cause you tried to stop me from winning." She says matter of factly.

"Well, you definitely won, but I like you close to me." I say smiling. "Let's go sit." I say pulling her to the bench on the deep end. I sit down and she just floats in front of me. I smile, but pull her to sit in my lap. "That's better."

She laughs and relaxes her head against my shoulder. "You miss me huh?" She asks smiling.

"Yes, you were so sick and I didn't have my super bubbly Regina. Plus, I know I was with you all week, but it was like you were only half there." I say kissing her cheek.

"I agree. I definitely didn't feel like myself." She says sighing. "I'm really glad you stayed with me though."

"Me too." I say smiling. "And even though you were sick, I still loved spending time with you."

"You are too sweet to me." She says happily.

"Regina!"

We both look up and see Roland waving to us from the deck. "Hey buddy." I say smiling.

"Hi sweetheart." Regina says waving.

"Can I come swim?" He asks.

"Absolutely." I say smiling. He takes his backpack off his back and pulls his shirt over his head for Marian to come up behind him and pick him up.

"Not so fast little man." She says putting him on her hip. "What were you supposed to ask Regina."

"Oh yeah." He says sighing. "Do you have a floatie I can use?"

"He took swimming lessons, but I prefer for him to have something and I forgot his at the house." She says sighing.

"Not a problem. We have noodles and inner tubes in the shed." Regina says pulling from my grasp and swimming to the shallow end of the pool. She brings out a couple of noodles and 2 inner tubes. "Alright here we go." She says walking back to the pool.

"Yay." Roland says running to Regina.
"Roland, what are the rules?" Marian asks.

"No running by the pool, I cannot be in the pool by myself, and use a floaty unless I'm being held by an adult." He says softly.

"Very good." Marian says smiling. "Stay with Uncle Robin and Regina until I change." She says walking into the house.

"Gimmie a hug." Regina says holding her arms out. He leaps into her arms and he hugs her so tight. "Would you like an inner tube?" She asks placing him back on his feet.

"Yes, please. The green one." He says pointing to the lime green tube. She hands him the tube and he steps into it then lifts it up around his waist. He walks away from the steps and jumps into the pool throwing water everywhere.



Regina was playing with Roland while Marian was sitting with me on the bench in the deep end.

"So, how is the dating life treating you?" She asks.

"Amazing. I fall more in love with her every day." I say smiling.

"I'm happy for you." She says smiling.

"Thank you. Regina was excited to see him today too." I say chuckling.

"So was Roland. Did not stop talking about it all day yesterday after Regina called." She says chuckling. I laughed and looked back at Regina who was spinning Roland in circles. "Not trying to be rude here, honestly, but do you think she could have worn a bathing suit that covered a little more?"

I looked at her and rolled my eyes. "You know, Regina was afraid you would say something about her bathing suit and I honestly didn't think you would. Regina is a grown woman and can wear what she wants. I'm really tired of you picking on her. She has not done anything to you and has been like a best friend to Roland and you continue to pick on her. It's really annoying. She is my girlfriend and you are going to have to get used to the fact that she is going to be around. Also, she invited you here today, the least you could do is keep your mouth shut about what she is wearing." I say swimming away from her and to the steps. I get out of the pool and grab a towel to just dry off a little before we eat and to cool off because I just don't understand why Marian is picking on Regina.

"Hey, you okay?"

I open my eyes and Regina is sitting on the chair next to my legs. "Yeah, babe. Just taking a break."

"Mind if I sit with you?" She asks.

"Of course not." I say smiling. She smiles and she sits in between my legs and leans back against my chest placing her head on my shoulder.

After a few minutes, she breaks the silence between us. "Thank you." She says softly.
"For what?" I ask.

"For loving me." She says looking up at me. "And for sticking up for me."

"You heard what she said?" I ask already getting annoyed again.

"No, but I did hear my name get thrown around and I heard you say that I was an adult." She says shrugging. "I just assumed she said something about me." When I didn't answer, she placed her hand on my cheek making me look at her. "I'm starting to get the feeling your sister doesn't like me and I'm just learning to get used to it. I'm not going to let her get to me. I'm not a 12-year-old. Just like you said, I'm an adult and I'm not going to give into her childish comments."

"I just don't understand what her problem is." I say sighing.

"If I had to guess, she probably had a comment about my bathing suit." She says looking back at the pool. "You think she is jealous of me?" She asks looking up at me.

I look up at Marian then back at Regina. "That would explain a lot."

"She should just talk to me." Regina says shrugging. "Cause I'm in love with her brother and I don't plan on going anywhere." She says smiling at me.

"I love you, too." I say kissing her cheek. "But now I kind of wish you didn't invite my sister."

"Well, I was trying to be nice. Like what if we get married one day? We will be family." She says sighing.

"Well, then I guess she will have to get used to it." I say hugging her tight. "Don't let her ruin today for you. You look beautiful today."

"Shut up." She says laughing. She crosses her arms over her chest and I see goosebumps appear on her skin.

"Here, babe." I say reaching for the towel on the other chair next to me. "Lean up."

"Oh, thank you." She says smiling. I wrap it around her shoulders and she leans back against me pulling the towel around her arms. "Just a little chilly."

We stayed on the chair for about 10 minutes when her dad said the burgers were ready. "Let's go eat." I say tapping her leg.

"Awe, I don't want to move." She says chuckling.

"Well, I would carry you, but I'm really tired of my sister talking about you behind your back." I say sitting up.

"You have point." She says sighing and standing up. "I'm going to put my shorts back on."

"Wait." I say grabbing her arm. "Don't do anything to appease her. Your swim suit is still wet too. Just ignore her. I will talk to her again."

"Actually babe, if you don't mind. I am going to talk to her." She says looking up at me.

"Yeah, if you want too." I say nodding.

"I'm going to talk to her before they leave." She says nodding.

"Okay, well let's enjoy lunch." I say grabbing her hand. We walk to the table and Roland insists that Regina sit next to him. So, her father sits at the head of the table, with Cora to his left, I am sitting to his right while Regina sits between Roland and I. Neal is sitting next to Cora while Marian sits across from Roland. We enjoyed our lunch and talked about random things. Her father and I were the first to finish, but we stayed at the table while everyone finished. Regina actually excused herself first and headed inside. Everyone finished and Roland immediately got back in the pool with Neal, Marian, Henry and Cora following them. I went inside to check on Regina.

I found her in the kitchen. "Hey, babe. Everything okay?" I ask walking up to her.

"Yeah, just answering some text messages and telling my friends that your sister is still being herself." She says waving her hand toward the back door.

"Do you want to talk to her now?"

"No, because I don't want to ruin the rest of the day for Roland." She says sighing. "I'll be alright until later. I just want to have all of my thoughts straight when I talk to her."

"Just tell her the truth." I say smiling. "I love you and I don't plan on letting you go either."

She smiles and wraps her arms around my neck pulling me into a hug. "Thank you, for like the 100thtime today."

"I'm with you, always." I say smiling and pulling back enough to kiss her cheek.

"Okay, let's go swim." She says pulling away.

The rest of the afternoon was really fun. We were playing games and splashing the water at each other. After about 2 hours in the pool, Roland was falling asleep while floating in his inner tube. Marian suggested it was time for them to leave and I offered to get Roland dried off. She thanked me and headed inside to get changes herself while I got Roland out of the pool. Regina took that as her cue and headed inside after Marian. I don't know how it went by Regina came back outside looking very relaxed.

"Marian said she would call you later." She says walking back to the pool. "My mom is walking them out."

"How did it go?" I ask grabbing her hand and helping her step back into the pool.

"It went well." She says wrapping her arms around my neck. "I was actually a little surprised. She claimed I'm really intimidating."

"What?" I ask chuckling.

"That's exactly what I said. I explained to her that I was very confused by that, because it has never been said about me. And she apologized and explained that she just isn't used to you having someone and that she is very happy for you, but she liked having you always be around for Roland. Which I went to say something about and she continued by saying that she knows you would never do that. She is just being paranoid about us and that she has just been acting like a controlling overbearing sister. She also said that she knows we talked already and that she promises this will never happen again and she would like to get to know me." Regina says smiling. "So, we are going over to their house one day this week. Whenever you aren't working."

"What about today?" I ask curiously. "Did she bring up what she said to me earlier about you?"

"She did and she said she was just jealous that I could wear something like this because ever since she had Roland, she hasn't been able to wear anything close to this. She also asked for my fitness routine." She says chuckling.

"I'm glad you talked to her." I say smiling.

"Me too. I feel a lot better." She says happily.

"Good." I say leaning in and kissing her lips. We were kissing for a few minutes and it wasn't anything I would consider inappropriate. The next thing we hear is her mother's voice.

"Mr. Locksley, your hands better not be where I think they are." She says walking to the pool.

Regina and I both chuckle and pull apart. "They were on her back, I promise." I say pulling Regina into a hug. She smiles and wraps her legs around my waist.

"Did you have fun today, mother?" Regina asks.

"I did. Roland is so precious." She says from where she is now floating on a raft.

"Isn't he just the cutest?" Regina says smiling. "I miss having babies around. Henry is 17 now and it blows my mind. Plus, I was young when he was born, but I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday."

"How old where you?" I ask curiously.

"13, and Emma was 16." She says smiling. "She was scared shitless, but with Killian being 18 they decided to just go for it. Her mom was pissed, but once the baby came she was thrilled to have a grandchild."

"I hadn't realized you would have been that young considering Henry is in your class." I say chuckling.

"Yeah, it's hard to believe." She says smiling. "But I love him so much and I'm his godmother so I got to spoil him like he was my own. Well, when I got older and made my own money to buy him stuff." She says chuckling.

I smile and kiss her cheek. The only thing I could think of at this moment was how good of a godmother she is and how great of a mom she would be one day.