"Regina, are you ready?"

She's finishing to pack her bag when Robin's voice comes from downstairs.

"In a minute."

Regina sighs in relief when she finally manages to lock her suitcase. She starts to climb down the stairs but Robin is here, takes the luggage from her immediately, tells her to go kiss the boy, he'll put it in the car.

She still has some trouble realizing that that's it, they're doing it! They're finally going on this trip they've been talking about for the last two years: Two weeks, out of town, just Robin and her. If someone had told her 4 years ago that one day, she'd be on her way to Tuscany, Italy, with the man she loves, leaving their kids to Snow, Emma, and the Merry men's care, she would have laughed at them and called them fools.

But after everything that happened since Emma arrived in town, after all the fights, the treats, the challenges and Zelena's traumatic experience, after discovering about her light magic and learning to use and control it, to combine it with Emma's, she grew up. They grew up, all of them, together. Snow, David, Henry, Emma, herself. They learned how to work as a team to protect the town from the regular threats. They even developed kind feelings for each other, became a family, mostly for Henry's sake, but also for themselves.

Her relationship with her son has evolved to another level entirely after what happened with her sister. They are closer than they've ever been, and despite the regular teenage crisis, they barely tolerate to be separated from each other.

She found a custody agreement with Emma, so their son alternate between their homes every week. But whoever he's staying with, he manages to find time to see both his mothers almost every day.

He's also grown very fond of Roland and Robin, the three of them spending a lot of time together. Robin has started teaching the boys archery, and though Regina was reluctant at first, she must admit that Henry is a good student, and that he likes it, a lot. It brings up the hero side in him, and she's glad to see him develop this part of his personality. However, she already dreads the moment he will want to use his small knowledge of archery and sword fight to come and help them on the field against the next villain.

Robin is very patient with him, very kind, answers all his questions and doesn't mind sharing his adventures as the famous Robin Hood with him. Mostly, he's the male figure in her son's life, helping him whenever she's not qualified, and Regina couldn't be more grateful that Henry has him in his life.

She loves Robin even more in those moments. Their relationship has its flaws, but they learned to deal with it, together, as a team, as parents, then a couple. Her nightmares, no matter how frustrated and vulnerable they made her feel, played a huge part in bringing the closer. It took her six months after her sister's death to finally be rid of them, but now she's totally free of her past and her fears.

They had to learn to discover each other again, to trust each other, to live together and be coparents. Two years later, she can say without a doubt that she's never loved someone the way she loves Robin. He's her partner, her other half, her best friend, her lover and if there is a God or even several, they have her all gratitude for giving her the opportunity to find that man who understands her better than no other.

Actually, she's grateful for Henry, and Robin, and Roland. The little boy, who is not so little anymore -almost 7-, but who still asks for her to buy him ice creams, push him on the swing, read him bedtime stories and cuddle in her arms when he's tired, sick or sad. He's not her child, not by blood, but in her heart she loves him as deeply as if he was hers. She's only been raising him for two years, but if she was forced to make the same choice today as she had to when Zelena kidnapped her boys, she wouldn't be able to decide anymore.

Speaking of them…

She meets their very serious and pouting faces as she reaches the bottom of the stairs, and Roland jumps in her arms, hugs her tightly, refusing to let her go when she tries to pull back from his hold.

"I don't want you to leave." he whines.

Regina runs an affectionate hand through his hair, kisses his cheek and murmurs in his ear. "We talked about it, Roland. It's only for a couple of weeks. We'll be back soon."

"But I'll miss you!" the boy argues, his dimples making her heart melt.

"I will miss you too. But you'll stay with Henry at the Merry Men's camp, and then with Emma, Mary Margaret and David. You're going to have a lot of fun! You won't even have time to think about us. And I promise an amazing present will be waiting for you in my bags when we come back."

Roland finally pulls back slightly, just enough so his cute pout is facing her, and Regina smiles, kisses his forehead and nuzzles his nose.

"I love you, Roland."

"I love you too, Regina." He answers, but adds sheepishly. "but I still don't want you to go."

Regina chuckles as she puts him down.

"You still don't have a choice, honey."

She stops in front of her grown up son, and tilts her head softly, doesn't even have to speak when she opens her arms and he takes his natural place in her hold, hugging her fiercely, burying his face in her neck and sighing deeply.

"I know, Henry," she murmurs in his ear, rubbing his back, filling her memories with his scent and the wonderful feeling of having him in her arms. "but I'll be back soon."

"I know you will, and I'm happy you finally have some time to focus on you. But it will be hard not to see you every day."

She pulls back and cups his cheek, smiling softly. "Believe me, I think it will be harder on me. You will be too busy learning how to be a proper Merry Men." She winks at him as they share a chuckle that's interrupted by Robin's voice and hand on Regina's shoulder.

"I do hope you'll be busy enjoying this trip, milady." Regina blushes at his words, but Robin doesn't give him time to answer when he announces. "The car is ready."

Regina nods and lets him go to his son, watching them with tenderness as they hug almost desperately. She knows the two have never been separated more than a couple of days, it won't be easy for them either.

Regina turns her attention back to Henry. "I count on you to take care of Roland."

"I will, mom. Don't stress out about us already!"

She chuckles and shakes her head when she takes a step back. "I'm your mother, Henry. I'll never stop worrying about you. I love you."

"Me too."

She exits the house, facing Emma and Mary Margaret, and her expression turns serious and concerned as she frowns at them.

"You call me if there's any problem with the boys or if you need my help for anything."

"Yeah, sure!" the blonde woman answers with a roll of her eyes.

"I mean it, Emma!" Regina insists.

"And I mean it too!" Emma counteracts. "Regina, you're going to the other side of the world, on a romantic trip with your boyfriend. Whatever happens here, we'll deal with it. Just enjoy your trip, and relax! You need it!"

"You earned it!" Snow adds, nodding at her daughter's speech.

Regina knits her brow, but she ends up smiling, shaking her head. "Thank you for taking care of things here. Snow, I made you a list of everything that needs to be done, it's on my desk in the mayor's office, in case you forget something."

The young woman sighs "Regina…"

"And do not give Leroy clearance for his new stupid idea of building a Japanese garden in Storybrooke!" She warns.

Emma almost chokes. "A Japanese garden? Seriously? What was the last thing? An exotic zoo?"

"No, that was last year." Mary Margaret replies. "I think he wanted an ice bar. He saw the picture in a magazine."

"And before that it was a casino…" Regina sighs, shaking her head. "Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't let my evil side out again just to stop him from asking me to raise funds for all those stupid projects." she mutters.

"Well, I'd very much like it if you to leave your evil side in Storybrooke while we're gone, my love." Robin says as he winds his arms around her waist. "I have every intention to see nothing else but a smile on your face for the next couple of weeks. Starting now."

Regina cranes her neck to look at him, and can't help but grin. He pecks her lips before grabbing her hand. She barely has time to bid goodbye to Little John before Robin drags her towards the car, and she happily follows him. He opens the passenger's door for her -he finally got his driving license 6 months ago-, tells her that it's time to go, and she looks over at the people who are waiting for them. She waves a hand at them, and they answer in kind, along with an "We love you" from their boys, a "Everything is under control." from Snow and a "Enjoy your trip!" from Emma and John.

She watches Robin as he looks at them softly, before he turns to her.

"Ready, my love?"

She smiles widely and nods. "Let's go!"

That's it, the final chapter ! This story is officially over. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I liked writing it, and thank you to all for the reviews and fav and follows. You know how much it means for the author, right ? So go ahead, last chapter, last chance, you can unleash everything !

EvilRegalPanda : Thank you for being here since the beginning and reviewing every time ! I hope the end didn't disappoint you. It wasn't at all what I had planned, but it came that way. About Regina being the savior since the S2 finale, I totally agree, BUT ! As I pointed in my fic, she indeed has been the savior for US, but not in the show. They never acknowledged her numerous victories, never thanked her, always took her for granted because they knew she would fight on Henry's side, so their side (by them I mean the supposedly 'heroes'). And I like Henry since he finally recognized Regina's role in his life, and I don't mind seeing him work with Regina to help Emma, but sorry, I don't like Hook. Just the thought of seeing him more and having to bear CS scenes make me sick. Like, no joke ! My brain doesn't process any CS moment or every scene focusing on him, I just forget or don't register them XD And I mean, the guy complained about his fate in the finale but he was the only one comfortably slumped in a chair and not doing anything to help... He's useless for me. I hope I didn't hurt your feelings if you like him, sorry ! I understand some people can like him, but I'm not one of those :-S

Clau23 : I'm so touched by your review ! Thank you so much, it means a lot. I'm sad it's over too, but I really have to let it go and focus on something else now. And truthfully, I make Regina suffer enough in my other fics too XD so I decided I had to stop in this one. Now, she's where I want her to be in the show : Happy, with the people she loves and who love her, she has recognition for the good she's done, an explanation about her light magic, and a well-deserved break. Thank you again for staying with me until the end and all your kind reviews !

For those interested, I have three fics in-progress on my computer. One of them should be posted soon. I just need to decide which one and have it beta-read now that I finally found a beta.

Thanks to everyone again !