Author's Note: This is just a little oneshot I thought of awhile ago. I know it's pretty short, but I wanted to stick to my original plan, so I just left it at this length.

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Forest was Regina's favorite scent. It had been since that night she had first kissed Robin, which felt so long ago now. The smell of forest helped Regina clear her mind, which was why she often found herself sitting with her back against a tree, breathing in the scent. It was the closest she could get to Robin now.

Robin. Even thinking about him could bring tears to her eyes. The way he held her, the way he could comfort her, the way she could get lost in his beautiful blue eyes...she pushed the thoughts back to keep herself from crying. The only thing keeping her from breaking completely was Henry and the unstable family the Charmings had accepted her into.

Regina was deep in thought, her back resting against a pine tree, when Will sat down. His simple 'hello' was enough to bring her back to reality.

"Why are you here?" Regina asked, filling her voice with fake annoyance.

"I might ask you the same thing," he countered.

"I'm thinking."

"About him?"

Regina looked at Will. She almost replied with an innocent 'who?' but the look in Will's eyes told her he knew she was thinking about Robin. Regina sighed. "Maybe."

"He told me to watch you," Will confessed, "to make sure you didn't do anything reckless. He really loves you, you know."

Regina sighed. "I know," her voice was quiet, "and that's why he had to leave. No one who loves me ever can. Not fully."

"You've got Henry," Will pointed out.

"Henry also has Emma and the Charmings and an entire family he's related to by birth. I only have Henry, once again."

Will reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out what looked like a torn up piece of paper. "I think this is yours. I was with Robin when he found it, you know. He told me maybe it would give you hope." Will placed the pieces of the page twenty-three that never happened in Regina's hand.

Regina could feel the tears threatening to fall again, but she somehow managed to blink them back. "Thank you," her voice cracked.

"No problem." Will turned to walk away, but Regina spoke again.

"Wait."

Will turned back to look at her and raised an eyebrow.

"He told me he was sorry. Robin. Before he left, he told me he was sorry for giving you a hard time for risking everything for someone you loved..." Regina took a deep breath and focused on not crying for a moment before she got the last part out, "because he knows how you felt now."

Will nodded. "When he gets back, make sure he knows I forgive him." He walked away, leaving Regina alone.

When. A word filled with promise and hope and a bunch of other things Regina had spent the last decades without.

And then she broke. The tears started falling, and there was no stopping them this time. Regina slowly took the storybook page pieces from her pocket.

"I love you Robin," she whispered as she pieced the picture together.

She could only hope that somewhere past the town line, he still felt the same.