A/N: Hi, this is the first multi-chapter fic I have written in many years, I owe a great deal of gratitude to the wonderful RuffledParasol. She has been nothing short of amazing. This is an AU fic I first began to write in a hospital waiting room, it has grown exponentially since then. This is part one, I have another few parts already written; I would be eternally grateful if you took the time to review, love it or hate it please tell me. Enjoy ~ ID

Soul mate theory

Don't find love, let love find you. That's why they call it falling in love. You don't force yourself to fall, you just fall...

0o0

I have spent my entire life searching for the unattainable, that one thing that unites the human race, that solidifies us together as a species; we all need to feel loved and to love. I am not talking about the kind of love you give and receive from your child, that love is uniquely different, unconditional and powerful. I'm not talking about the love for family and friends, as you have no doubt guessed, I am talking about the deeply passionate love you only find with your true soul mate. That one person that will fill the tiny hole you have in your heart, that person who will catch you when you fall, dry your tears, make you laugh and hold your hand, through the good times and bad.

I thought I had come close to finding it once, oh so long ago back in college, when I was young and naive. It was because of that experience, with Daniel that I am able to distinguish between love and infatuation/lust, the latter of which I experienced more of in recent times, with Graham, being prime example.

I do know that I crave that special love, but doesn't everyone? I want someone to know me better than I know myself, to love me, mind, body and soul, the bad and the good. This magical mythical man also must love my Son, the most important person in my life. That is my secret, the secret that I will never tell anyone, my secret dreams and hopes. I want to trust someone completely, to fall madly, deeply and eternally in love. I cannot voice them, at the end of a long stressful day at work, I come home; kiss my Son, snuggle up in my bed and imagine the kind of man who is going to walk into my life and lift my spirits', to make me whole. (Not logical I know but, emotional).

I awake, far earlier than I needed to; turning to look at my alarm clock. I see I have an hour left before the shrill of the bell punctuates the silence of my bedroom. I decide to put off the inevitable, throwing the covers off of me I slip my feet into my warm fluffy slippers. Opening the curtains I pause, as the view makes my breath catch in my throat, rolling green hills, a fast flowing river and crystal-clear blue sky. The bright vivid colours have been strangers to my eyes these past few months, I love these first days, when winter's drawing to a close; you look out of your window in the morning and see the sun peeking out from the horizon; where the previous day, dark and dreary clouds loomed. The sky is so blue and clear, on a morning like this the realisation hits you like an epiphany; 'you had forgotten how refreshing and beautiful spring was'.

Today, I quickly reach the conclusion that I am in a pensive mood, I sit at my chunky kitchen table with a coffee clasped tightly in my hand. Flicking through the newspaper, nothing is catching my eye; I give up and turn the television on to BBC World News. Sometimes when you turn the television on in an empty house it can make you feel less alone – at this time of the morning the house does feel empty. It isn't it is bursting with life. I hear the clock in the hallway begin to chime, its 7am. Retrieving another mug I place it on the table and wait. Sure enough five minutes later I hear the banging on the floor above, then the tell-tale thumping on the stairs. My Son bursts through the kitchen door, dressing gown flying wildly behind him. My son, the whirlwind.

"Good morning Mom, have you been up long?" he beams.

"No, I woke up an hour ago, I couldn't get back to sleep, why so bright and breezy darling?" I watch him pour coffee into his mug; I bite my tongue as I see him adding three sugars, I know exactly whom he was emulating with his sudden love for coffee, I make a mental note to speak to the man in question as I watch Henry pulling a banana from the fruit bowl. He seems to consider my question thoughtfully as he peels his banana slowly.

"No reason really, I just slept really well." he lies. I have known for a while he's hiding something – he's almost a teenager so that's hardly surprising. I'm not worried. (I tell myself.)

"Hmmm okay, well I have a few meeting's today, so I had better get dressed for work. Do you have plans?" I ask standing.

"Yeah, I do if that's okay with you? I know you like me to come into work with you when I'm off school, but Grace has got an advanced copy of a few movies. We're going to have a movie day if that's okay?" he looks down, staring into his mug.

"That sounds lovely Henry, are you planning on staying here?" he nods and skips off back to his room.

Sometimes it feels like I blinked and the last twelve years have flown by. Slipping my phone out of my pocket I type a quick text to Isabel – 'At work today, Henry staying at home could you keep an eye on him? Thanks R x' my neighbour was a diamond, she loved my little boy and he loved her. – Henry however likes to pretend that he's old enough to be left unsupervised. I disagree, perhaps I'm overprotective.

I should have known that waking up before my alarm this morning wasn't a good omen for the day. When I reversed my car out of the garage, the brakes had felt heavy, I thought I was imagining it, until I got out to close the garage door; I noticed a trail of fluid eminating from a puddle on the floor, I followed it and sure enough it stopped under my car. I called my mechanic and then a taxi.

0o0

I have been in work since 9am, a late start thanks to my car, already I have had a bumbling group of medical students ask the most ridiculous questions I have ever heard. As each new generation comes into my field of view, the niggling feeling of dread becomes more and more prominent. Common-sense seems to be less inherited these days; it is becoming more and more apparent, much to my dismay. It worries me; natural selection is a fine thing indeed.

"Regina, there's someone here to see you." I glance harshly at my assistant; she is one of a rare breed of people who do not believe in calling people by their titles. I have tried more times that I care to remember to get her to call me "Miss Mills" or "Doctor" – she has thus far refused. It amuses me a little and she's is by far the best out there, so I let it slide.

"Who is it Mary-Margaret?" I ask while I replace patient files into the out tray, ready for filing. "I've had the day from hell I really cannot be bothered with banalities."

"This particular 'banality', as you put, it just might sort out the horrific mood you're in. Gosh woman, you have everyone from the Dean of the University to the interns and medical students avoiding coming into contact with you today. Is it your life's mission to scare the shit out of everyone?" she comments.

"Doesn't seem to be affecting you though does it? What makes you so different?" I smile, amused in her direction.

"I know you're really just a big softie under your hard exterior. It's a front and I can see the real you." She quips.

I get up from my desk and walk towards her; "You're a good friend Mary-Margaret." I say as I pat her affectionately on the shoulder and slip on my jacket. "Could you call George and find out if he's figured out the problem with my car, I could really use it this afternoon." I say, she nods, yes.

"Are you going to tell me who is outside?" I prod.

"Nope, but I guarantee it'll turn your frown upside down." She chirps from beside me, she expertly dodges my hand.

Exiting my office I walk through Mary-Margaret's work space, noticing the various files that lay in dissaray, I shake my head, annoyed and turned towards my waiting room. The corridors were silent; the linoleum echoed my footfalls loudly. I notice a nurse out of the corner of my eye briefly, before she vanishes leaving me questioning if I had even seen her at all.

To say I was shocked to see this particular man sitting in this waiting room, after all these years is a gross understatement. My breath catches in my throat and my heart rate accelerates dramatically, as I take in his appearence, his sandy hair is peppered with flecks of grey, his body still lean and fit, his smile still bright and mesmerising. Closing my eyes and inhaling deeply I say, "Come with me," I start walking back towards my office, my mind uncertain if he'd follow, but my heart knowing he would, he always did, from the first time we met in college a lifetime ago. I close the door softly behind him and stand with my back leaning against it, watching him.

0o0

My human anatomy class had run over, apparently when one was dissecting kidneys, time vanished. I pulled at the bottom of my scrubs self-consciously; I hadn't had time to change before my next class. I hated walking around campus in scrubs; it attracted all of the wrong kinds of attention. Today was my first day attending the Psychology elective my advisor had insisted I study. Psychology really wasn't my thing, but I decided the extra credit would look good on my resume.

Pulling my time-table out of the front pocket of my rucksack I headed down the grand marble staircase, my hands skimming the intricately carved banister. The lecture was being given in one of the bigger lecture theatres, one I had never been in before. When I was in my second year at university, the dean decided to run a competition, those who wished to participate would, if selected be given the honour of naming the various lecture halls around campus, it was a stunt to modernise an old institution, and for the most part it succeeded.

I walked along a dark hall-way, picture frames adorned each side of the wall, past graduates, over the last hundred or so years looked down from their portraits, I could feel their eyes watching me as I came to a stop.

The Tavern.

Of course, I had heard rumours of this being one of the names chosen, but I didn't give it much stock. Yet here I was standing in front of two dark oak doors, intricate gold carvings weaved around the wood. I pulled down the handle and pushed on the door.

It squeaked, loudly. Just my luck, all eyes turned towards me as I stood in the middle of the asile, the door banging shut behind me. The professor stood on the stage around 10 feet from me, I recognised him, his tweed jacket, glasses perched impossibly low on his nose; how they didn't slide off I don't know. His eyes locked onto mine and he shook his head.

"I do not tolerate lateness, find a seat" he chirped. Jiminy Cricket I smirked as I began surveying the room.

"A theory on the meaning of soul mates is a philosophical text by the Greek Philosopher Plato, dated circa.385-380 BC. This theory, examines love in a series of speeches by comic playwright Aristophanes. These speeches are made entirely by men, a boys night out if you will."

Various girls around the room began to grumble their displeasure at the obvious sexism a millennia ago. I spotted a free seat at the very end of the last of three rows, a sandy haired man, by the looks of it had commandeered that particular seat for his bag to rest on. Professor Hopper was currently fiddling with the overhead projector as I made my way along the rear wall.

"Excuse me, would you move your bag." I said in a hushed tone. He barely looked at me as he huffed out a sigh, dropping his bag to the floor and shuffling his feet over.

"Well, as you can imagine these boys were deep thinkers, the play itself focuses at one level with the genesis, purpose and nature of love, at another with nature of knowledge. How do we know what we know?" he questioned, looking around at the packed room each student sinking further into their seats.

"Soul mates are a myth!" a girl shouted.

"That may be your interpretation Miss Lucas, but I guarantee you each person within these four walls will have their own unique perspective."

I rolled my eyes, I was with Miss Lucas, whomever she may be, and the notion of soul mates was ludicrous.

"Well, in this soul mate myth," he emphasised myth, staring poignantly at Miss Lucas, "there were three different kinds of human creatures: men, woman and individuals with both sexes-"

"Hermaphrodites," someone interrupted.

"Yes, good observation, take note of that. Humans originally each had four arms, four legs, two faces, four ears and two sets of genitalia."

"Got the visual?" the boy next to me whispered, his breath tickling my ear.

"We as humans became arrogant, thus began to question the will of the Gods, were they really protecting us, and naturally, as with all evolution we wanted to know if we could take their place. The gods of course were completely horrified at that prospect, that we dare to question them or their standing. Finally after some debate between them all Zeus split them (us) in half, rendering them (us) less powerful, condemning them (us) to spend our lives yearning for our other half to complete us, our soul mate."

"Nice guy." He whispered again.

Professor Hopper continued, "To provide comfort, the ever powerful Zeus allowed us to have sexual intercourse with another half. Creatures who had been only male, sought out another male, females sought out females. Those with both sexes sought out the opposite sex-half, the likes of which they had been separated from."

"I think, the thought is intriguing, that this particular soul mate theory encompasses the idea that love is love, regardless of the gender; especially at that time, but don't you agree that these ideas are based on fear?" The boy turned towards me, "I'm Robin by the way." He smiled.

He was looking at me, expecting a reply, I found myself becoming transfixed with his beautiful blue eyes, the colour so bright and vivid, luring me in, his long thick eyelashes teasing me, shielding the windows to his soul. I shook my head, I had a boyfriend, I should not be looking at another like this, snapping myself out of my day dream, I could see he was smiling at me as I began to speak,

"I think we can forgive those ancient writers, whom now have ancient ideas, although some of their thoughts could be considered modern now – an idea that has been etched firmly into our history, yet we have yet to fully embrace it. It is time to wise up; I mean really, some of us think that our parents have outdated ideas, why do we listen to two-thousand year old dead men, which know nothing of modern life instead of ourselves?" I look at him and he's smirking at me.

"Yes, you raise a valid point there, what was your name; I don't believe we have met?" The professor is standing two feet away from me, his glasses perched on his noise still, he startled me, I jumped. My hand that was resting on my lap leaped up to the arm rest of the chair, brushing against the boys, I hadn't realised the professor was prone to wandering – which Robin was obviously fully aware of.

"Regina," I spluttered, "Mills." Robin snickered beside me, I jabbed him with my elbow as inconspicuously as I could.

"Well Miss Mills, you raise a valid point, why do you think it is important that we do not let the views, morals and ideas of the likes of Plato be forgotten? Hmmm, it is important to be reminded, that we as a human race are imperfect, sometimes we completely overlook the simplicity of life, we tend to complicate matters a lot more than they need to be." He speaks answering his own question as he walks back to the front of the class.

"Thanks for the warning," I spit, trying to quell my annoyance, "you could have told me he was there." He shrugs his shoulders, stretching his legs out and crossing them at his ankles. His skin tight jeans emphasise his well-toned muscles, I inwardly groan, guilt bubbling up, I am only looking I reason.

"Now we move on to fantasy, fairy-tale and fables." Professor Hopper says as he pulls up a projection of a Hans Christen Andersen story.

"Throughout our vast history, all over the world humanities search for wholeness has been depicted in the soul mate theory, this search has been delved into, explored, deepened by myth, fairy tale and legends; these are the romantic notions of our time.

It is the story of the prince's search for a woman,to whom the glass slipper belongs to in Cinderella; it is that one perfect kiss that brings Sleeping beauty to life.

It is Belle's love, acceptance and ability to see the man behind the beast that causes the Beast to be transformed to his human form."

"What about Snow White?" another girl questions.

"Well, that is an entirely different tale don't you think," murmurs of agreement sound around the room, "It is the Queen's vanity that pushes poor young Snow White to flee her home into the unknown wilderness."

"How do we really know for sure though, that our modern interpretation of that particular story is accurate, it makes no logical sense for a Queen to be as jealous as the Evil Queen is portrayed. Why would a person's beauty propel such blood lust?" I bit my lip; I hadn't meant to voice my inner thoughts, but I had always felt the Queen had been misunderstood.

"Yet again, you make an excellent point Miss Mills, these fairy tales, and fables we have each grown up hearing; which in turn we each draw our own conclusion on these stories, life lessons and teachings. You may be right; perhaps there is a deeper issue at play with the Queen's quest to rid her kingdom from Snow White. But alas, it is something we will never know for certain; but it is left wide open to our interpretation."

My teeth were firmly attached to my lower lip as I stole a glance at the boy/man beside me, I couldn't quite decide if he were a boy or a man. Looking at the clock I realised that the lecture was almost over, a few people began shuffling impatiently, gathering their belongings.

"Next lesson we shall focus on the religious aspect, I want you to each join with a partner and write a thousand word essay on your own personal interpretation of soul mates, then I want you to both analyse the others work and seek out any similarities, and if they have any common meanings to you both. That's all; I shall see you next week!" The professor gathered his briefcase and made a quick exit.

"So," Robin turned to face me, his knee grazing my thigh lightly, "Miss Mills, would you do me the honour of being my partner for this assignment?" I could listen to his sexy British accent all day.

I took a moment to consider, I must of nodded subconsciously for he said,

"Well then, you've got yourself a partner." he assumed he had my agreement, which he did not.

"I don't remember asking for one." I replied, glaring at him.

"You didn't," he said. I arched my brow at him tilting my head, I felt his gaze glide over me as I stood.

"What are you waiting for?" I questioned as I began to walk away, I could feel him following...

Thank-you so much for reading, I will update soon, please review :) ~ ID