Thanks all! It's been a great ride. Hope you enjoy the ending :) Thanks for reading!
Storybrook - Present Day
Regina ran through the thick trees and deep into the forest of Maine. She determined only to slow her pace when the distant sound of buzzing completely faded away.
Her trail came to an abrupt halt when she ran into something solid. Not rough enough to be the trunk of a tree, though it smelled like forest, the object gave way and Regina tumbled on top of it. When she recovered from the fall she looked down into the smirking but handsome face of the thief.
"You always did have a way of knocking me off my feet, my lady."
Regina scoffed and detangled herself from him. He stood and offered his hand but she recoiled. She brushed the dust from her slacks.
"If you're smart, you'll run." She peered through the dark forest but saw no sign of the swarm.
"Are those killer bees I hear?"
Regina snapped her attention back to the thief. A momentary panic settled in her stomach before she convinced herself that the thief was ignorant of all things magic.
"I've been cursed by powerful magic." She saw no reason to tell him more.
He tilted his head to the side.
"And here I thought the bees only attack when curses were performed wrong."
Regina fought the urge to growl. She didn't know why but the idea of appearing incompetent in front of this man got on her last nerve.
"It's all Mrs. Gold's fault. She was determined to get her husband back."
"From the tide?" Robin Hood straightened until his back was as sturdy as one of the wise oaks surrounding them. Regina realized she just opened a subject she was not prepared to deal with.
"You said there was no way."
Before Regina could answer a cloud of bees burst through the overhead branches.
"Look out!" Robin pushed Regina to the ground. Her arm caught on a sharp branch as she fell.
The archer aimed his arrows and several bee's burst into flames. The rest of the swarm broke off the attack and rallied high above in the air.
"Come on," Robin offered his hand again.
Regina looked at it, half tempted to hurl a fireball at him for the deep cut the fall had inflicted. The buzzing grew louder. Eminent danger left Regina no choice but to take his hand.
She hurried to her feet and caught a glimpse of his tattoo. A lion tattoo. For a split second Regina's feet felt too heavy to move. Robin pulled her forward and she stumbled down the path behind him. Her heart pounded. She told herself it was the physical exertion and not the lion tattoo.
Robin helped Regina to a hiding spot behind a large formation of rocks. The Evil Queen gathered her wits about her. She held up her hands and cast a cloaking spell around the two of them. The swarm passed over in a hot rage of buzzing.
Robin stood in front of Regina with his bow and arrow taunt. She knew he would give his life to protect her. From her angle beside the rock, she could see only part of the tattoo beneath the sleeve of his jacket.
"What I don't get," he began as he lowered the bow, "is how an expert like you gets herself cursed."
Regina glared at him.
"Don't pretend you know anything about magic."
He slid the arrow into the leather carrier strapped across his broad shoulders.
"Like you pretended not to know how to get my son back?"
The hurt she saw plainly in his eyes did cause a fleeting pang of guilt.
"Belle is on a suicide mission. She will never succeed."
Regina stood and glance in the direction of the swarm. The buzzing had almost faded away.
"For your sake you better hope she does. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the only way to save you from your pesky flying friends?"
Regina ignored him in favor of examining the gash in the sleeve of her favorite suit coat.
"Follow me. My camp isn't far and we can fix you up."
Regina looked up from the blood stained cloth. She knew her arm needed some attention but spending more time with… what had Tinkerbell called him? Her soul-mate? Regina swallowed. Robin turned his back to her. With a reluctant exhale she followed the thief.
He said nothing but Regina kept her distance just to make sure he didn't try and start up a conversation. Her heart still pounded, and she tried to focus on a solution to the killer bee problem in order to take her mind off the thief's tattoo.
The forest trail opened into a small clearing where Regina saw a campfire encircled by rocks and a tent made of little more than a blanket and a few branches.
"This is where you live?" Regina asked with disgust.
Robin took of the arrow case and set it near the campfire.
"Temporarily. I had some thinking to do, after Marian and Roland were taken. I do my best thinking alone in the woods."
Regina smirked.
"Marian?" She hated that a small part of her was curious about his life.
Robin sat on a log near the fire.
"Come here. I have some bandages and disinfectant."
Regina moved to fold her arms, but the sting along her forearm prevented her from her standoff-ish posture.
"If you come sit by me I'll tell you about Marian." Robin lifted his brow and patted the log next to him.
Regina rolled her eyes and drug her feet as she approached. When she sat down Robin smiled.
"There now. That wasn't so difficult, was it my lady?"
Regina sat still. She stared him down. He waited then looked at her arm.
"May I?"
"I'm not stopping you," she replied. For some reason her words caused him to hide a smile.
He took her arm and gently pushed back the torn sleeve. The gentle touch of his fingers as he cleaned the cut caused Regina a lot of discomfort.
"Was Marian your wife?"
Robin nodded but did not look up from his work.
"I thought you were supposed to be in love with me? You are married? I might be evil, but I'm no man stealer."
Robin poured something out of a bottle onto a clean cloth.
"It was complicated."
"Give me a break. Like I would ever go for you."
Robin touched the cloth to Regina's wound.
"Argh! That hurts!" She pulled her arm away. "With treatment like this I'll take my chances with the bees."
"If you'd hold still it wouldn't hurt as much," Robin countered, his voice held that edge that she rarely heard. It only caused her to get her temper up.
"If you hadn't pushed me out of the way this wouldn't have happened."
"If you hadn't gotten yourself cursed I wouldn't have pushed you out of the way."
"Well, you shouldn't have gotten in my way to begin with!"
"Well, you should learn to control your temper," Robin gently took her arm again. "Now hold still. This might sting a little."
He looked up at her from under his brow.
"And your welcome."
"For what?" Regina snapped.
"Saving your life."
Regina turned away. Her arm stung but she didn't want him to see she was in pain.
"About your wife?" She encouraged, hoping to distract him from seeing her vulnerability.
"My wife died," he began as he wrapped a white bandage around her arm, "She had been gone for years when we met. I don't know if you were in love with me. You never said, but I'd like to think you felt the same way I did."
Regina fell under the spell of his eyes and the gentle sound of his voice.
"So what happened?"
Robin finished wrapping her arm and removed his hands. She felt a bit disappointed at the loss of his touch. The thief's brow wrinkled and she could see the frustration settle into his shoulders.
"There was a time portal and your Ms. Swann brought Marian back."
Regina shrugged.
"Typical."
Robin unexpectedly reached for her hands. He gripped her fingers tightly and caught her gaze. She hated that the simple action could throw her so completely off balance.
"You were mad at me, and with good reason. I had to honor my vow to Marian. I never got the chance to tell you. Leaving you… breaking your heart was like cutting off my own arm." Robin turned his head away. "I've hated myself every day for causing you pain. I never want to hurt you like that again."
Regina inhaled and squeezed his hand. Even now he looked like he was in pain. The depth of his feeling alarmed and touched her.
"I haven't kissed you in a very long time. May I, my lady?"
The question was so unexpected that Regina only blinked. The newness of the feeling she experienced with him seemed to push out any coherent thought. He must have interpreted her silence to mean permission was granted. He leaned forward and Regina's heart pounded so loud she knew he must be able to hear it.
His lips met hers but she was too uptight about the situation to enjoy it. After a few seconds she felt a surge of magic between them. Memories of the last three years flooded back to her. She remembered Owen and being tortured. She remembered saving Henry from Peter Pan and reuniting with Tinkerbell. She remembered Zelena, and the night Snow encouraged her to follow her heart.
Regina responded by deepening the kiss. Robin tensed with surprise and then wrapped his arms around her.
When they finally parted Robin gasped and narrowed his eyes.
"Regina?"
She smiled and laughed with tears in her eyes. She cupped his face in her hands.
"You remember?" Robin asked.
"True love's kiss," she barely managed to choke, "can break any spell."
Robin reached up and took one of her hands. He kissed her fingers.
"I do love you, Regina, but I had to honor my vow. Please, please forgive me."
Before she could answer, she heard a familiar voice in the distance.
"Mom! Are you okay?" Henry nearly tripped over a rock as he rushed toward her. Behind him the Charming's and Emma followed.
Robin stepped back and Regina hugged her son.
"Mom?"
"I remember," she said and received a big smile from the boy. "But I told you to run. I-"
The sound of buzzing filled the forest.
"Oh, no, you didn't," Snow said with a look at Regina.
"What?" Henry looked between the two of them.
The swarm appeared overhead. Regina felt Robin reach for his arrows. She turned in time to see the bee's heading straight for her and Henry.
"No, you don't." Regina conjured her magic, relishing the feeling of once again having full control of her abilities. She created a wall of fire between her son and the oncoming swarm. When the bees flew into it they exploded and vanished. The rest of the swarm changed directions.
Emma appeared next to Henry, as Robin shot several arrows at the retreating swarm.
"How do we stop them?" Emma questioned.
"We can't. Whatever spell Regina cast has to play out before they go away," Prince Charming explained.
"So, basically you're saying-"
"Run!" Regina pushed Henry to spur him on. All of them ran down the path. Mary Margaret handed the baby to Charming.
"Really? You brought the baby?" Regina scolded.
"How was I supposed to know you got yourself cursed?" Snow snapped back.
"This is Storybrooke. You don't take infants into the woods!"
Robin took up the rear, firing arrows ever so often as the attempted to outrun the attackers. Regina saw a fork in the path and decided to travel in the other direction.
"Mom?" Henry stopped.
"She'll be fine. I promise," Robin assured the boy as he followed the same path as the Queen. Henry looked at his mother and then Robin. He nodded and followed his grandparents down the path.
"Be careful," Swan told them.
Regina felt a sense of relief knowing Henry would be safe now. She also felt more than a little boost in mood when Robin took her hand as they ran through the forest together.
"What's that?" He pointed to a sharp beacon of light in the distance.
"Belle." Regina pulled Robin toward the light.
"You mean, that is a portal to the tide?"
They stopped below the light and watched as the tear in time grew larger.
Regina turned to make sure the bees were far enough in the distance that they could wait to see if Belle might emerge from the portal.
Robin put his hand on Regina's arm.
"When that portal opens, I don't ask you come with me, but I have to get Roland back."
The wind picked up and howled through the trees. Robin almost had to yell to be heard over the noise.
"You can't."
Robin smirked and readied himself to jump into the glowing beacon of magic.
Belle emerged from the rip. She rolled across the ground, and Regina went to her to make sure she was uninjured.
"Rumple!" She called. Regina helped her to her feet. "He was right behind me."
Robin ran toward the portal. Regina grabbed his arm before he leapt through.
"Regina! You have to let me go!"
She shook her head.
"He's not there."
"I know you said there was no way to get him back, but I can. If Belle got Rumple back-"
"You don't understand," Regina yelled at him. She did not let go of his arm.
"The tide erased Roland from existence."
Robin frowned. Mr. Gold emerged from the portal and Robin tried to reach forward again.
"I have to try," Robin said.
"She's right," Belle spoke up, as she helped Rumple to his feet. "Trust her, Robin."
"We can get Roland back," Regina put her hand on Robin's shoulder, "but not like this."
The portal closed. Robin cursed.
Regina turned in time to see the swarm headed directly for her. She covered her head, and Robin stepped in front of her.
When she didn't feel the deadly sting she looked up. Robin opened his eyes. There was no sign of the bees. Rumple and Belle hugged. Robin pulled away from Regina's touch and went to the spot where the portal disappeared. He fell to his knees.
Regina walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Why did you stop me?"
Regina knelt next to him.
"I couldn't lose you again."
Robin did not look at her, but kept his gaze forward.
"We will get him back."
Robin pursed his lips together and shook his head.
"You said that he doesn't even exist anymore. How can magic bring him back?"
"We don't need magic, we just need to…" Regina stopped herself. She half laughed and then used her hand to turn Robin to face her.
"Roland is my son, not Marian's."
"What?" Panic, hope, and confusion all washed across Robin's face.
"A good version of me, from another timeline gave Roland to Marian so his father could raise him. I saw how I was in this time, and I didn't trust myself with my own son."
Robin ran a hand through his hair. Regina could see he was having a difficult time absorbing the facts.
"It's true," Belle interrupted. Robin turned to look at the Gold's and Regina followed his gaze.
"It's why Regina tried to stop the tide. She wanted to protect your son."
Robin looked at the ground.
"So, you're saying, to get him back now…" He lifted his eyes to meet Regina's. She smiled brightly at him. He kissed her passionately and without ceremony.
"To get him back now you need to get a room," Mr. Gold said with more than a little annoyance at the public display of affection.
Regina broke of the kiss in order to giggle. The last time she had been this happy had been sitting on the floor of her office having dinner with Robin all those months ago.
"Is this really true?" Robin asked as he brushed his thumb over her cheek.
She took in a deep breath.
"I love you." Her voice was little more than a whisper.
"Mom?" Henry called from the distance.
He and the Charmings came down the hill.
"We saw a flash of light? Is everyone okay?" Snow asked.
The Golds nodded. David shook Mr. Gold's hand and Henry walked to Regina.
"Are you still in danger?"
"Only of becoming a married woman," Robin blurted.
Regina and Henry both gasped.
"Regina? Did I just hear that," Snow questioned.
"You were right, about not giving up," Regina replied.
Snow cuddled her infant close and beamed at Regina.
"Even an Evil Queen can have a happy ending."
Robin put his arm around her waist and Regina touched Henry's cheek.
"So it would seem."
The three of them walked back to the forest path together. For the first time in her life, Regina believed in happy endings.