A banging shook the loft's door. Regina started and paused in her nerve-induced pacing of the apartment. She hated waiting aimlessly for someone to come and give her the okay. She arrived just in time for Emma and that pirate of hers to rush out, yelling something about flying monkeys swarming on Main Street.

"Stay put, you're better off here" the savior had hollered. She tried not to take offense seeing as she was right. Didn't mean it didn't hurt. Here she was, the Evil Queen, one of the most magically powerful people in the Enchanted Forest, sucked clean of her actual powers and forced to sit the biggest battle of her life out. Fucking long-lost half-sister.

The noise persisted. She sighed dramatically and, flipping her hair over her shoulder, crossed the room and opened the door.

A frantic Robin stood on the other side, little Roland hitched up on his hip asleep.

"M'lady," he greeted her with a slight incline of his head. "I'm sorry to trouble you at a time like this, but I was hoping you could care for Roland."

Taken aback at the request, Regina scoffed. "I'm not a nanny. Isn't that why you have your men? Have one of them do it for you."

Robin implored her with kind, pleading eyes. "Please Regina. This is the safest place in all of town and all of my men need to be out helping against the attack." He paused to give the child a once-over before looking back at her. "I can't lose him."

Regina glanced at the sleeping boy, with his head cradled in between his father's shoulder and neck. If it were Henry instead of Roland, she'd hope he would have already accepted the terms. Anything to keep her son safe from the ruckus and melee of the battle outside.

She sighed and held out her arms. "Give him here, thief," she said. When Regina met the archer's stunned eyes, her expression softened and she just beckoned to hand over the child with her fingers. "I'll make sure this little bandit stays safe."

Robin smiled then, and shifted the weight of his son gently into Regina's grasp

"Thank you so much, your majesty," he said. "I'll return once the battle is won." She gave him a small smile as he hesitated for a moment, knocking his fist against the wall, before turning and running down the stairs. Regina spun to close the door, but whirled around quickly to shout "Be careful!" down the stairwell.

Why, she asked herself. Why was that absolutely necessary?

Closing the front door, she chided herself for even accepting the care of this child, let alone hoping (dear god, praying) that his father actually returned. She could pretend it was because she didn't want Roland, like Henry, to lose his father to that witch bitch of a sister of hers. She could pretend that being an orphan like Emma would be worse for him in the long run.

She could pretend there wasn't a blaringly obvious other reason she sent her best wishes with Robin of Locksley.

Yeah. That's what she'd do. Just make sure Roland stayed safe so that he could go back to the forests with his father and the Merry Men.

The boy in question stirred on her hip, nuzzling his nose further into her shoulder before stilling once more. She smiled unconsciously. He was pretty cute, she had to admit. The thief's done well.

Regina carried him into the bedroom, reminiscent of the nights when Henry strived to match her circadian rhythm, only to ultimately fail. She'd tuck him into bed gently, much like she now did with Roland, and brush away the shaggy hair to see his serene and youthful face. Roland had dimples, something she was coming to learn was a family trait, which made him seem younger than Henry ever did. Someone who hadn't even started kindergarten yet shouldn't have gone through as many traumatic experiences as he had.

She bent over the side of the bed and gave him a peck on the forehead. He sighed and murmured incoherencies. She drew back, confused by the action she'd taken, but too tired and unwilling to look into it further.

After drawing the curtains on the gloomy sky outside, she left the bedroom and settled on the couch.

She was just beginning to nod off when she heard stirrings from the bedroom. He's just probably rolling over in his sleep, Regina thought idly. She squirmed further into the couch for a more comfortable position, uncraning her neck and sinking into the cushions.

Just as she felt herself slipping off into unconsciousness again, the fussing increased so the creaking of the bedsprings could be heard out in the living room. Her eyes opened the barest hint. Really? she thought. This kid could not be real. He probably hasn't slept on a real bed in the longest time and he's rolling around trying to get comfortable.

And then the screaming started.

"PAPA!" he yelled. Any and all thought left her mind as she shot upright on the couch. "PAPA, PAPA!"

It'd been years since pleas like that resonated through her ears. Henry had been about eight, and something about furious boars had shocked him from his sleep and into her bed. But this… This wasn't Henry. This wasn't even her child, or any sort of relation to her for that matter.

Although he very easily could be, a small voice spoke in her head. She shook those thoughts away. Not now.

Mother's instinct, though lain dormant for far too long, kicked in. Regina bounded off the couch and was in the door frame of the bedroom in an instant. Little Roland thrashed around in the sheets, twisting about and still calling out for Robin.

But Robin wasn't anywhere close, nor would he be any time soon, she assumed. A glance out the curtained window proved that, in the time she had dozed, the sky had darkened ominously, warning of the malice of battle either already in progress or just about to start. And she wouldn't risk her life or the chance of leaving Roland unprotected just to get out of playing the parent. Besides, she'd missed it.

Quietly approaching the side of the bed, Regina began rubbing Roland's back as she took a seat next to him. His calls subsided into whimpered Papas.

"Roland sweetheart," she whispered. "Roland."

Slowly, he roused himself, eyes puffed and red from distress that quickly changed to confusion.

"Gina?" he asked. He took in the unfamiliar surroundings before turning to the Evil Queen. "Where are we? Where's Papa?"

Regina tried to give him a reassuring smile. "You remember David and Mary Margaret?" He nodded. "This is their home. Your father brought you here because he and his men have to go…" She paused. How much had the thief told his son?

"Are they fighting the witch?" Roland asked quietly, looking to the window. A bolt of colored light illuminated the darkened sky.

So battle begins, she thought. Sighing in almost defeat, Regina rested her hand on the back of his head. "Yes. You're very clever."

A moment of hesitation led to Roland disentangling his small body from the sheets. "And just where do you think you're going?" she asked as he hopped from his perch. He looked at her like she'd just asked a question with the most obvious answer.

"I'm gonna go help Papa," he answered. He made it all the way to the front door before Regina scooped him up into her arms. He fought with her, wriggling about and declaring he had to help his family, as she carried him back to bed. Once he settled down with an adorable pout on his lips, three more attempts to leave and numerous pounding fists later, Regina kneeled in front of him, her elbows on either side of his legs, locking him to the bed.

"The best way to help your papa is to be safe," she explained. "And the best way to do that is to stay here with me." She brushed the hair from his face and rested her hands on his shoulders. "It's too dangerous out there for brave little bandits like you."

Roland's face squished together in confusion. "Is that why you're here?" he asked. "Did Papa wanna keep you safe too?"

A shock of surprise traveled through Regina's body, but she covered it up with a hesitant smile. "Not that I know of, sweetheart. I'm… sick and can't fight properly." That was about as simple and vague of an explanation for his sake. He didn't need to know that Zelena's curse-casting and heart-stealing had severely depleted her magical abilities, making even those small fireballs an effort to produce. "That's why I'm here," she concluded, tapping his nose with her pointer finger.

The boy nodded, realization slowly dawning on his young face. Then, looking straight into her eyes, he said confidently, "So Papa left me to protect you."

Regina's eyebrows drew together and she was about to deny it, but the look on his face spoke of all the innocence, hope, and truth children have. The thief may not have been lying when he said the loft was the safest place in town, but there were other places. Henry was safely staying with the rest of the town children at her house and Snow and the baby were still in the hospital. And yet Robin brought his son here.

"I guess he did," she admonished. "I just wished he hadn't tricked me into it."

The grin Roland gave her in response was endearingly brilliant. He took her hand in both his and pulled her until she sat on the bed with him. Directing her attention to the simple headboard with a point of his finger, he demanded, "Sit back there."

Regina followed her orders and scooted back. Roland patiently waited as she settled herself, occasionally flicking his gaze to the on-and-off brightness outside. When she was comfortable, she looked expectantly at him. He grabbed the sheet and crawled up the bed and in between her legs. Confusion colored Regina's expression as he made himself comfy in her lap.

"What are you doing, Roland?" she asked curiously.

A surprisingly exasperated sigh came from the child in front of her. He turned and met her gaze.

"Gina, Papa wants me to keep you safe. Go 'head and go sleep. I'll keep watch." He turned back around and laid his head on her chest. After a moment of contemplating what to with her awkwardly placed arms, she wrapped them around him.

And while the war raged on a few blocks away, causing bolts of white and green to flash across the sky and in through the window panes, Roland snuggled into Regina's chest and, try as he may to keep watch, fell asleep with a muttered "night Mama" that would've made her heart swell had it been with her.

It'd been a long time since she'd been called, let alone acted, as a mother like this: catering to demands just to keep them happy, comforting after nightmares, being so innocently adored, and treasuring someone so trusting and unadulteratedly loving. And, despite her misgivings toward his father, Regina felt herself slowly growing to love this boy just as she did Henry.

She didn't fare any better, and quickly faded into unconsciousness with her back against the headboard and Roland's warm little body against her empty chest, leaving them totally unprotected.

But Robin didn't mind their disregard for his wishes when he quietly came in once the battle ended. He just stood in the door frame, thanking every deity and strand of fate that had been against them for giving the people he loved most a well-deserved reprieve.

a/n: outlaw queen fluff? why, yes, i believe so. hope you like it :)