Aww, I know the last chapter made you feel sorry for Robin but it was necessary. Things will brighten up soon I promise. Anyway, in this chapter Robin gets some advice from the family about Regina. Enjoy!

Once the boys came back Robin chose not to go back into the room. Instead he went back to the waiting room and went over every word of the conversation he'd just had with his wife. He'd seen many different sides of Regina in their time together but nothing like that. She wasn't cruel and she wasn't lashing out at him… she was emotionless. She was cold. There was no spark in her eye when she looked at him. Not like there used to be. This… person who he'd spoken with… he didn't know her.

The boys stayed with her for a few more hours until the moon was high in the sky. When he saw Will enter the hospital and Much make his way around the perimeter that he decided it was time to leave. When he returned to her room to gather the boys he saw them all, Henry, Roland and Regina, gathered on or next to her bed looking through the photo book. She had her arm around Roland as he pointed out something and explained excitedly. Henry smiled at them as he interrupted Roland probably to correct him. Regina pressed a kiss to Roland's forehead and smiled up at Henry as he leaned over her. A real smile. The one he remembered. The elusive, bright smile that he dreamed of every time he closed his eyes.

She's still there, he thought to himself. His wife was still there. He could see it in the way she looked at their boys. He just couldn't see it when she looked at him.

He cleared his throat when he walked in the room and they all looked up at him. "Boys it's getting rather late, we should head out. Give your mother a kiss goodbye."

Henry nodded his head and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back to visit tomorrow after school."

"You know I'd love that Henry but make sure you're still getting everything done for school, okay?" she said patting him on the shoulder.

Roland wrapped his arms around her neck. "Can't I stay here with you?"

She soothingly rubbed his back. "Oh I'm so sorry sweetheart but hospitals aren't a place for children. Especially not at night. Now you have a warm bed at home and that's where you belong tonight. And the day after tomorrow I will join you back home."

"You promise?" he asked softly.

"I promise," she said earnestly. She kissed him on the forehead before nudging him off the bed. "Sleep tight, sweetheart."

Roland reluctantly headed over to the door with his brother. Robin watched them as they both headed into the hall before turning back to Regina. "I was hoping I could bring Roland to visit tomorrow, as well."

Regina nodded automatically. "Of course. I would love to see him."

The happy flash of his wife who he'd seen just minutes before had vanished as soon as the boys left the room. A stranger took her place. Still he forced a smile to his face. "Goodnight Regina," he said before turning away.

"Goodnight Mr. Locksley."

It made him pause. Mr. Locksley. Not Robin. He recovered quickly and caught up with the boys down the halls. He picked up Roland and settled him on his hip. His son tiredly laid his head on his shoulder. "Are we going back to the loft now Papa?"

"No my boy we're going home."

XXXXXXX

It'd been four days since any of them had slept in their beds. After Regina's accident Henry and Roland had basically moved into the loft. With all the adults going to and from the hospital everyone just found it easier to take care of them from there. Robin had spent every waking minute in the hospital with Regina. Tonight would be their first night back in the mansion.

Robin could see the lights were already up as he pulled into the driveway. As he shuffled through the door, with Henry at his side and a sleeping Roland in his arms, he saw the Charming clan waiting for him in the kitchen. They all looked up anxiously as he and Henry walked in.

"I texted them," admitted Henry sheepishly.

"Of course you did," sighed Robin. In all his concern for the boys and himself he could sometimes forget that the Charmings cared just as much for Regina as he did.

"Here," he said passing Roland off to him, "put your brother in his bed. Don't bother with pajamas. He's far too tired."

"Alright," said Henry. He gave Emma a quick nod of acknowledgement before heading up the stairs. She returned it with a tight-lipped smile. She still needed to have a conversation with him about how things were going to go when Regina returned home.

Snow looked at Robin with apprehensive eyes. "So… how did it go?"

Robin sighed as he sat down at the table. "Well the good news is that she's had her first memory reappear. It was one with Roland. The first time he called her mommy."

A smile grew on Snow's face. She remembered how excited and nervous Regina was when she realized that Roland had accepted her as his mother. "She was so happy after that."

"So does that mean that she remembers him?" asked Emma hopefully.

"No," said Robin shaking his head sadly. "She only remembers that night, not anything else. She remembers how she felt that night and how much she loved him and how he loved her."

"Well that's good," said David nodding his head. "If she remembers that night it means her memories aren't completely lost. They can be triggered and brought back."

"Right," said Snow. "It's all just a matter of finding the right trigger."

"How did things go with you?" asked Emma. "Henry said that you finally got to see her today."

"It went… not like I expected it to," answered Robin.

"What did you expect?" asked David.

"I don't know," replied Robin honestly. "I suppose I expected her to be more… curious or open to meeting me. But instead she was just…"

"Cold," Emma supplied sadly. She nodded her head with an understanding grimace. "I remember that."

"She shut me out," said Robin shaking his head. "I mean she's never been the most open person but both of the times we've met I've always been able to break through. This time I couldn't. It was like she was determined to keep me out."

"That's because she is," said Snow. "When you met her in the forest, the first time… well… you know what she was going to do that night."

Robin frowned as he thought back to when they broke into the castle. When she'd told him she planned to curse herself. He'd never forget the look in her eyes as she walked off to her eternal middle. So tired.

"She had no reason to fear letting you in then because she didn't think anything would come from it," continued Snow. "It's why she let her walls down so easy. She wasn't protecting herself anymore."

"Well she's protecting herself in full force now," declared Emma sullenly.

"I just don't understand why she's so adamant on protecting herself from me," said Robin, his voice dripping with frustration. "I mean I've proved that we're married, she's seen photographs of us together and even Henry has vouched for me! And she's still blocking me out."

"That's because you have all the power now," David pointed out.

Robin gave him a quizzical look. "What?"

"Memories or not Regina has never been a fan of someone having the upper hand on her," he elaborated. "And now you might just have the biggest advantage she's ever faced before."

"Robin as far as Regina knows you have five years of memories in your head that she doesn't have access to," said Snow. "In actuality you have far more but that's not the point. The point is you know a hell of a lot more about her than she knows about you. All her strengths and weaknesses, her fears. I imagine being around you makes her feel completely vulnerable."

"Not exactly a feeling she's fond of," mumbled David.

"I know," said Robin. "So how do I make her feel invulnerable? It's not like I was exactly threatening to her."

"That's not what you have to do." They all looked up as Henry walked into the kitchen. He stood next to Emma and placed his hands on the back of her chair. "You need to make sure she knows she can't run from you."

Snow sighed at her grandson sympathetically. "Henry I know you want things to go back to normal as quickly as possible but Robin forcing the life you have on Regina might get her to react badly. She's been through a traumatic accident. It might be better if he gave her a little space right now."

"No he should make himself part of the space," insisted Henry. He turned to his stepfather. "You know what mom told me she loved about you? I mean really loved. It was that in your own way you forced her to be open with you. Now I don't think she meant that you were rude or anything like that. It's more like you refused to back off even when she lashed out. You let her know that you wouldn't accept anything less than the upmost sincerity from her. You didn't run from her anger or harshness. You withstood it."

"Henry's right," said Emma. "You've never let her push you away before. Don't let her do it now."

"Well it was different before," argued Robin. "She wasn't lying in a hospital bed then. Or lacking nearly all her memories and identity. I can't exactly push back. I don't know if this Regina can take what I can throw at her."

"She can," said everyone at the table at unison.

"Don't let the scars and hospital setting fool you," said Henry with a smirk. "Even without her memories Mom is still a force to be reckoned with. She's strong and she knows it. This problem isn't avoiding making her feel vulnerable it's about letting her know that she can be. And you've always been able to do that."

"Just be the man she fell in love with Robin," said Snow earnestly. "That's who she needs to see you as. Not as a husband but as a soulmate."

"She's getting out of the hospital on Wednesday," said Emma. "It'll be her first day home. You should try laying on some of that outlaw charm she's always talking about. She's never been able to resist it. Just treat her like you normally would. Not like she's so fragile."

It was a lot of advice coming from all sides but Robin had to admit that they all had good points. She had hurt him with her harshness and aloofness but honestly he should've expected it. Cursed or not Regina always preferred to armor herself when it came to others. He just had to remind her that he was the exception.

"Well I know one thing that won't help me gain her favor," said Robin. "And that is if I let you"-he pointed at Henry-"fall behind on your studies. Did you finish the outline for your English project?"

Henry looked away guiltily. "No but my teacher gave me a deadline extension because of Mom's accident."

"Well then you should use your borrowed time wisely," said Robin sternly. "Head upstairs and get started on it."

Henry gave him an incredulous look. "Now? But-"

"Go," said Emma firmly as she stood from her chair. "I'll come with you. We need to have a talk anyway."

Robin watch the son and mother head upstairs with a grimace. He knew the talk they were having wouldn't be a pleasant one for Henry. Emma had wanted to be the one to tell Henry that she would be keeping her distance once Regina left the hospital. Snow watched them with the same amount of trepidation in her eyes. She let out a soft groan and David grabbed her hand comfortingly.

"Emma's been dreading this all day," said David sorrowfully. "She knows it's going to kill Henry."

"Well Henry's not the only one who's disappointed," groaned Snow. "Without her memories of the past few years we're all going to have to keep our distance. I'm not even Henry's teacher anymore and David you were a coma patient as far as she remembers."

"Hey now where's that hope you were so quick to force on me?" said Robin with a smirk.

Snow let out a soft chuckle. "I know it's hypocritical but… we were all a family. All of us. And right now knowing what Emma is going tell Henry it just… it reminds me of how far we've come with her. And how much I don't want it to go back to how it was."

"We're still a family," said Robin firmly. "Just because she doesn't remember it doesn't make it any less true. We've just got to prove it to her."

XXXXXXXX

As she sat on the bed in Henry's room Emma was very aware of how much had changed for her in the past five years. Before Henry had found her she never thought that she would get to see her son's room. Where he lived. Where he went to school. She'd signed away those experiences when she gave him up for adoption. If you had told her five years ago that she would be able to be so involved in his life, to be a part of his family she would've punched you in the face for giving her such false hope. She'd gotten really lucky that he'd chosen to find her. But while she knew it was a blessing she was had such a role in his life she also knew it came with certain unpleasant responsibilities. Like being the bearer of bad news.

"So we're not allowed to tell mom anything about magic or the enchanted forest?" asked Henry incredulously, from his seat next to her. "How are we supposed to get her to remember her life if we leave out the biggest parts of it?!"

"I know it seems difficult but it's necessary if we want her to trust us," she explained. "Henry without her memories of the enchanted forest everything that's happened these past few years will sound like a fantasy coming from you and insanity coming from adults."

"But it's the truth and she deserves to know it!" he responded fiercely. It was still hard for him to accept that his mother had no idea how much of a hero she was or how powerful she could be.

"Yes she deserves to know it but that doesn't mean she'll believe it," said Emma sadly. She still remembered how she'd felt when Henry had first told her that she was the savior. She hadn't believed him for a second. Not until his life was on the line. "We can try other ways to trigger her memories but right now I need you to promise me that you won't try to make her believe on your own."

Henry crossed his arms and let out an angry sigh. "Fine. I won't tell her about magic."

"That's good but there's more." Emma pressed her lips together nervously. "We need to talk about me."

"What about you?" asked Henry shrugging his shoulders.

She hesitated before speaking. "Henry five years ago you didn't know that you were adopted and you had a closed adoption. That means that I was never supposed to show up here. So until we figure out a way to explain my appearance… I'm going to have keep my distance… from you."

Henry's arms dropped to his sides as hurt flashed behind his eyes. "What?"

"I know it's not something we want but we have to do this for your mom," said Emma tearfully. "I know we've come a long way but she's forgotten all of it. And now I don't think she'd be too pleased to know that I have been such a big part of your life for so long. I don't think she's ready for it. Not so soon after discovering that you know you're adopted and not while she's still getting used to the idea of Robin and Roland too."

Henry shook his head softly. "But I can help her understand. I can make her realize how important you are to me."

Emma felt her heart break at his attempts to reason with her. God, she didn't want to do this to him but it was necessary. "Henry what is important is making sure that Regina feels as comfortable as possible these while she's still getting used to the changes around here. This will just be one less thing for her to adjust to."

He just gave her a disbelieving look. "There's more to it than that isn't there?"

She tilted her head at him, a bit of guilt settling into her heart. "When you talked with her when she first woke up and you had to tell her that you knew you were adopted was it different than the first time you had that conversation with her?"

Henry nodded his head. "Yeah. I felt better because this time I knew that she loved me and I could tell her that she still mattered. It was like a second chance."

Emma nodded her head understandingly. "Well, Henry, I feel like this is my second chance. My second chance to treat your mother with the respect I should've shown her the first time I came to town."

Knowing all that she knew of Regina now and looking back on how she'd acted when Henry first found her, Emma couldn't help but feel ashamed. She was drowning in her own guilt and loneliness when he first knocked on her door. She wanted so badly to be a part of his life that she'd let him look at his Regina as a villain if it meant she could be his hero.

"I know we were curse breaking at the time but the way I let you sneak around her back to see me and the things I encouraged you to do with her they weren't okay," said Emma shaking her head. Hell if it weren't for the curse she knew Regina would've been well within her rights to send her to prison. "I did it because I thought you needed me but she was still your mother. And I didn't respect her or everything that she'd done for you like I should have. I'd like things to be different this time around. So until she is ready to deem me fit enough to be back in your life I'm going to have to keep my distance. Okay?"

"Okay," mumbled Henry.

She wrapped her arms around her son and he returned her hug. "If you need me you can always call. It's not forever. Just until she remembers."

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