I needed to mend my broken heart.
Roland stiffens immediately as the arms of his father and mother engulf him, both squeezing for dear life.
He wriggles and begins to push away from the strange woman. He doesn't know her and the way she's holding him makes him scared and uncomfortable.
His eyes well with tears as he begins to push away more, finally breaking free from the strangers grip.
He runs towards the woman who's name he called. The woman who he loves and feels safe around.
"Mama" he calls again, tugging on the leather of Regina's sleeve.
"Roland?" He hears the other woman call. His giant chocolate eyes stay firmly fixed on Regina.
From the corner of his eye, he can see the other woman start to cry and reach out for him. Regina is stiff and rigid as he cowers behind her legs.
He clings onto Regina's skirt as though his life depended on it, his tiny fingers trembling in fear.
Regina finally snaps out of it and takes her gaze off the blonde that's just ruined her life. She can feel Robin and Marian's gazes boring into her, burning her flesh. She swallows thickly and her hand immediately searches for the boy cowering behind her.
"Regina... I..." Robin starts to speak, unable to find the words to even say to her.
"Mama, I'm scared" Roland says again, squeezing Regina's legs.
Regina's eyes flick towards Marian's and recognises the look on the other womans face. The pain. She knows that look all too well. After all, she knows how Marian is feeling. She felt that way the moment Emma Swan came into her life, when Henry took her side.
She felt somewhat sorry for the other woman. After all, it wasn't her fault Emma had messed with fate.
"Roland, sweetie, its me" Marian says again, her voice shaky as she crouches down so she's eye level with the boy.
Roland hides even further behind Regina, his finger nails digging into her skin.
Robin seems to have inched closer to Regina subconsciously, the space between him and Marian growing more and more by the second.
"Its okay, Roland" Regina says, trying to keep the devastation out of her voice as she addresses the boy. "Its okay" she looks at him with so much love and sincerity in her eyes that Marian can feel her heart almost breaking.
This woman was evil, wasn't she?
"She's your Mommy, remember?" A solitary tear rolls down Regina's cheek and she can feel her heart break. "Its okay, Roland. Go to her"
Roland doesn't buy it. He shakes his head in protest and wraps his arms around Regina's neck.
"You're my Mama! I want you!" Roland cries, his tears soaking Regina's skin as he buries his face in her neck.
It all happens so quickly that Regina doesn't even remember doing it. She pushes Roland out of her arms and makes a run for freedom.
The second the cool night air hits her, the flood gates open. She feels sick and her knees begin to buckle under her weight.
Why? Why did she have to open up again?
The pain was too much and she couldn't take it. She plunged her hand into her chest and pulled the bruised and broken thing out of her chest.
She held it in the palm of her hand, watching as his glowed and beat. The tears fell from her eyes quicker than she could stop them. She was so focused on the battered heart in her hand that she didn't hear the sound of Granny's front door opening.
Regina squeezed her heart, gasping in pain as she did.
"Regina, no!" She squeezed harder as Robin's voice cut through her. "Regina, stop!"
When she didn't, Robin snatched the heart from her hands, protecting it safely in his own.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Regina growled. "Give me it back!"
"No. I won't let you kill yourself, Regina"
"You have no say in what I do!"
"Yes! I do!" Robin shouted, causing Regina to take a step backward. "I love you, Regina"
"But, Marian..."
"Is back, I know. But that doesn't change anything, Regina. I mean what I said: I love you"
"I won't break up a family, Robin. I-I can't" Regina sobbed, turning to walk away from him.
Robin grabbed Regina's wrist and pulled her back to him.
"You didn't break up a family, Regina" Robin swallowed hard, licking his lips.
"Robin, don't. Just let me go" Regina pleaded, her voice broken and begging.
"No, Regina. No. You're not the one who's broken anything. You're the one who put it together. I love you, Regina. Marian coming back has not changed the way I feel about you... Only that I know that you're the one I love. The one I want to spend the rest of my life with. Please don't leave me, Regina" Robin's eyes were sparkling with unshed tears as he spilled his heart out to Regina.
He couldn't lose her. He would fight till the death if he had to.
He loosened his grip on her wrist before handing her her heart back, her gaze never faltering from his.
She looked so broken and he hated it. He loved her so much that he couldn't think straight. She was the one he wanted to be with.
"Robin, I-"
"-Marry me"
"What?" Regina asked, feeling the wind being knocked from her.
"Marry me, Regina" Robin repeated, taking a step closer to the woman.
"...yes" Regina breathed, her answer barley a whisper.
Robin heard it loud and clear though as a giant grin tugged at the corners of his lips. He placed his hands over Regina's as they plunged her beaten heart back in it's rightful place before he crashes his lips to her, kissing her hard and fast as though he'd never get to do it again. His arms wrapping around her waist as he pulled her closer, hers wrapping around his neck as she smiled into the kiss.
Their lips were salty with tears, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that they had each other.
The door to the diner opened once more as Roland ran towards them, crashing into their legs.
"Mamaaaaa! Pappaaaaa!" He squealed as Regina picked him up, hoisting him on her hip and kissing his cheeks.
As Robin wrapped his arms around the both of them, Henry exited the diner.
"Mom?" His worried voice called out before he too ran towards his mother and soon to be step-father.
The teenager wrapped his arms around Regina and Robin and squeezed them tightly, glad that his mother was now wearing a happy expression instead of the heartbroken one.
As she hugged her boys, a warm, tingling feeling spread through her chest. They felt like home, and that was exactly where she needed to be.