Hey there! I know it's been a long time since I wrote anything but I decided to join Otlaw Queen Secret Santa for the second time and this came out. I hope my giftee, illseeyouthrough on tumblr, and you guys will like it.

Shout out to my super ninny Geli (reginashappiness on tumblr) for betareading this.

And thanks to starscythe for making the manip which I used as cover for this story.

Enjoy!

The snow was falling heavily. Too heavily. Regina stopped the car abruptly, resulting in it slighlty gliding down the frozen street. She hit the brake again and the car finally stopped with a screech. Huffing in irritation, she looked at the road ahead through the windshield.

She would never get back home to Henry in time for Christmas.

"Damn it!" she swore outloud.

She had promised him. She had promised him they would celebrate Christmas together, for real this time. She was never able to enjoy that time of the year with him because of her job, which often requested her to travel abroad and work hard even during holidays.

But she would not be able to keep her promise and Henry would be disappointed, again.

She glanced at her watch and sighed. She would never catch her flight. But maybe... if she tried hard enough...

She suddenly opened the car door with a boost of optimism, buttoning up her coat and winding her scarf around her neck to keep warm. Groaning, she took her big luggage down from the boot and closed the car with a satisfied smile. Of course she would make it to the airport. She was Regina fucking Mills and to her nothing was impossible. She would make it home to her baby boy.

Five hundred meters and a few slips later, Regina stopped walking to catch her breath. This was proving more difficult than she thought.

Not only did the blizzard become worse, but there was also only a few hours left before the departure of her flight to New York, the last of the day. And she had still to walk for kilometers.

She had to catch that flight.

She had promised Henry.

She started walking again, more determined than ever, but that was when her feet decided to let her down. Literally.

Her high heeled boots slipped on the ice and Regina skidded down the slippery pavement until her legs gave out.

She schreeched in a very unladylike manner and fell to the ground with a dull thud, splashing semi melted snow everywhere, from her brand new coat to her face.

She stayed still for a moment, snow now covering her hair entirely, before erupting a series of profanities that would make her mother cringe.

Regina took off her scarf, overheated and pissed, and moved her now wet hair away from her face.

She had just started to stand when a gust of wind made her slip down the sidewalk again. She thankfully managed to keep her balance however, when she turned to retrieve her luggage, her scarf was gone, swept away by the wind.

"SHIT!" she bellowed in exasperation.

That was the scarf Emma had got her for her last birthday, she loved that scarf... guess she was never going to see it again now.

Robin had just put his son to bed when he heard a screech and loud swearing coming from the road.

Baffled, he moved the curtains aside to peer at the street.

A woman was lying on the sidewalk, her luggage a few meters behind. Her jet black hair was entirely covered in snow, her coat looked wet too.

Regina put her head in her hands, desperation settling in her heart. Now that she had stated the impossible task of walking to the airport in a snow blizzard, she needed to think about getting a room for the night - although on Christmas Eve it would be very difficult, if not impossible.

"Milady! Are you injured? Do you need any help?" a male voice called to her.

"I'm half frozen in the middle of the street on Christmas Eve. No, I'm perfectly fine, thank you," she replied briskly.

"Well then, if you're alright I'm just going to go," he minimised ironically.

She heard the sound of his feet walking away and cursed herself before uttering a feeble, "Wait."

When he didn't stop, she called after him. "Wait!" she repeated, more loudly this time.

He turned around and she could see him clearly for the first time.

He was a good looking man, maybe in his late thirties. He wasn't wearing a coat, only a dark red scarf that he had probably put on in a hurry to go out and help her, since it was all tagled up around his neck.

He raised his eyebrows at her, blue eyes twinkling in satisfaction. "Do you need help?" he repeated slowly in a thick British accent.

"Yes," she rolled her eyes at him. "I need you to take me to the airport."

"Please," she added with emphasis.

"I see that the snow under your feet and over your head is not enough to convince you that it's impossible to get there now. I don't think they even fly in this weather. Did you try to walk to the airport?" he asked, incredulously.

She ignored his question. "Well, if they don't fly, they will."

He scoffed. "Oh, you think they'll fly only to suit her Majesty's schedule?"

"You don't even know me," she spat.

"You're right, I don't. And yet I'm here offering to help you and you're acting like a brat. So you can either come to my house and let me help you or you can stay out here for the rest of the night and freeze to death. The choice is yours."

She considered his offer for a while before scoffing. "Fine."

He showed a hint of a smile. "I hope my house will be agreeable to milady." He moved to take her luggage and started walking back to his apartment.

"Stop calling me that," she protested, raising up and walking after him.

"Calling you what?"

"Milady. Her Majesty."

"Oh, but you are a Queen, aren't you? You're a bit too snobbish for my taste."

"I am not snobbish."

He snorted.

"Well forgive me if I'm not willing to trust the first person I meet on the street!"

"First and only person," he clarified.

"You could be a stalker, a rapist or a thief for all I know."

"Not a drug dealer? You disappoint me."

He put the keys into the hole and opened the door.

She hurried inside after him, closing the door with a thud and almost collapsing against it.

Robin left the luggage in the hall and disappeared in the kitchen, putting a kettle on. "You'd better shed off that damp coat," he suggested.

"I'll bring you some clothes so you can change after you shower."

"I have my own clothes in the luggage," she objected.

"If they're all like that flimsy silky thing you've got on, they're not going to help you much against the cold."

She widened her eyes at him insulting her costly outfit. "This blouse is Valentino's."

"Well then, let's say the bloke is not exactly famous for creating comfy and warm outfits, is he? Flannel will do just fine."

Robin kept busy with the kettle and putting together something one could call dinner until Regina came down from the bathroom.

"Did you find the hairdryer?" he asked her while pottering around. "It's in one of the lower cabinets but it's not so easy to find..." he turned around to face her and breath left him.

She had come down barefoot, wearing one of his pyjama flannels he had laid out for her. She had looked so tall and imposing out in the street, with her high heeled boots and Valentino suit, whereas now she was almost dwarfed by his clothing. She was definitely shorter and with her damp hair, rosy cheeks and face devoid of makeup she looked positively gorgeous.

"Don't worry I think I'll let it dry naturally," was her statement, to which he replied with a strangled moan.

"And thank you," she added in a slow voice.

"What was that? I didn't hear you," he joked, flashing his dimples at her.

"Thank you," she repeated more loudly, hiding a smile.

"I prepared some tea and a few sandwiches, in case you were hungry."

"I am. Thank you."

"Oh, do not lavish me in gratitude."

"I'm sorry for earlier, I guess I was a bit cranky."

"Who wouldn't be, if caught in a snow storm like that?"

She laughed then, but just for a while. Her eyes became serious again.

"I hope I'm not too impertinent if I ask you why were you in such a hurry to get your flight?"

She looked pensive for a while before stating, "I'm not exactly sure if I should share personal information with a stranger."

"Well, since you shared his shower…"

She sighed. "I need to get back home to my son. I promised him we would celebrate Christmas together."

"I'm sure he'll understand."

"No, you see... I'm almost never home for Christmas and he is always so disappointed when I'm not. I don't want him to be sad on Christmas Day. I tried so hard to get back to New York in time!"

"I know how you must feel," he acknowledged, sipping his tea. "I hate when I let my little one down."

"You have a son?" she sounded almost surprised.

"I do. Roland. He's five."

"They're so cute at that age."

"That they are."

"And where's his mother?" she pronounced the words outloud before she could stop herself. "I'm sorry, that was out of place."

"Oh no, it's fine." Sadness clouded his clear eyes. "She died a few years ago, shortly after he was born."

"I'm sorry. Henry's, that is, my son's father died too."

"I'm very sorry for you loss," he commented in a sympathetic tone.

Silence settled between them, each one lost in their own, grim thoughts.

"Henry, how old is he?" he asked her after a while.

"He's ten and it feels like yesterday that he was born."

He laughed in agreement. "They grow up so fast, right?"

"They do!"

"So you live in New York?"

The mere mention of her hometown thickened her accent. "Yeah. We live in a flat with my sister, Emma. She's a cop. She's pigheaded and fiery, a bit of a handful sometimes, but Henry adores her."

"Can't imagine where the similarity lies between the two of you," he joked.

They stayed up until late at night, talking about their children, their jobs and lives.

Robin, the man was called, was a surgeon and worked in a hospital in London. Working shifts, it had happened to him too to be working during Christmas time, so he could very well understand the pain and guilt Regina was feeling at the moment.

Once the clock ticked two in the morning, Regina decided to go to bed, exhausted after the terrible day. She had already called Emma to tell her about the situation.

The woman had reassured her she would explain everything to Henry after dinner and told her not to beat herself up. It wasn't her fault if it had started snowing so heavily.

Regina was walking up the stairs when Robin's voice stopped her. "I told you my name but I believe I haven't had yet the pleasure of knowing yours."

"It's Regina. Regina Mills."

"Well, Regina. Merry Christmas."

She was woken by a pair of curious dark eyes and a mop of brown curls whispering in the doorway.

"Roland! What are you doing here?" a mature voice whispered.

"Can we wake Miss Gina already, Papa?" a childish voice asked.

"Not yet, little guy, let her sleep."

"But it's almost nine o'clock, Santa already came!" the child whined.

She opened her eyes slightly and yawned loudly.

The little boy gasped, afraid of having woken her up. He looked up apprehensively at his father.

"I think I woke Miss Gina, Papa."

He sighed, messing up his curls. "That you did my boy. Go down and see your presents while I talk to Miss Gina."

As the boy run down exitedly, Robin apologised, leaning against the doorframe "I'm sorry Roland woke you, milady. He's just excited for Christmas."

Regina rubbed her eyes. "It's fine. I'm used to it. Henry does the same even if now he knows Santa isn't real."

He chuckled. "I guess my son will be in the dark for a while longer."

"Those times are the best. Enjoy them while they last," she smiled.

"Shall I prepare you breakfast? What would you like?"

"Anything is fine. I don't want to impose."

"No imposition at all," he showed her his best dimpled smile and if she hadn't been in bed, her legs would have turned to jelly.

Once she changed in some of the clothes she had taken from her luggage, she descended the stairs, following the smell of pancakes that was coming from the kitchen.

"Mmm, who knew a thief had cooking skills?"

She could swear she saw him blush. "It's only pancakes," he minimised, but she took none of his shit. "I think there's a certain art to it," she stated with a smile.

"Well in that case, you'll have to judge for yourself," he said, piling some on a plate and placing it on the table in front of her. "Tuck in."

After she helped him with the dishes and they both assisted to Roland finally opening his presents, the boy squealing enthusiastically every time he opened (or better, shred to pieces) a package, Robin disappeared up the stairs, only to return with his laptop.

"I got a surprise for you," he announced with a bright smile.

"Robin, what..."

"Wait a minute and you'll see," he instructed, plopping down on the sofa next to her. He placed the laptop on the coffee table before them and opened Skype.

A few seconds later and Emma's face appeared on the screen.

"Emma!" she exclaimed, shocked. "How did you...?"

"Merry Christmas to you too," the blonde snorted.

Regina rolled her eyes. "How did you manage to contact Robin?"

"I didn't. Robin contacted me through your phone and asked if we could do a Skype videochat for Christmas."

"How are you?" Regina cut short. She was going to deal with him later.

"I'm fine. I just woke up - and it's hella early as well, I did it just for you, lady."

It was Regina's time to snort then.

"Aaand because Henry was excited and wanted to talk to you as soon as possible. So here we are!"

Her son appeared in the camera and Robin noticed how Regina's face brightened all of a sudden.

"Hey Mom, how are you?"

"Henry! I'm fine, thank you for asking. How about you? I'm so sorry for not being there today, baby."

"It's okay. I know you tried, Aunt Emma told me. It's not your fault if there's a snow blizzard."

"How was your morning? Did you get to open your presents?"

"I did! And Mom, that book you bought me on fairytales is sooo cool!"

Regina laughed, basking in her son's attention and excitement. "I'm glad you like it, Henry."

Robin left her to her own devices and decided to help Roland built his newest Lego castle he had got from Santa.

They were almost done building the wall and the first tower when Regina appeared in the doorway.

"Robin can I talk to you for a moment?"

He looked up at her. Her expression didn't look very promising. "Sure."

He stood, leaving Roland under strict instructions not to finish the castle without him and followed her in the kitchen.

"I didn't know you even got tv reception here let alone wifi," she started.

"A simple thank you would suffice, milady" Robin calmly replied.

"You took my phone," she accused.

"I did."

"Who on earth gave you permission to take my phone and call Emma?" she continued, getting angrier by the minute.

"I know it was wrong of me. I only wanted you to see your son and get to talk to him," he apologised poorly.

"I would have called him myself! I knew I shouldn't trust you, but I did and here you are taking my things without permission! You berely know me!"

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"Of course it won't happen again!" she yelled. She was so furious with him and with herself. How could she let herself trust a stranger? Even if he had tried to surprise her she was pissed.

Even if he'd been thoughtful, she was pissed.

She was pissed but he had been thoughtful. And cute.

She was… He was cute.

He had turned his back at her, already walking out of the kitchen, his shoulders slumping. She sighed before stopping him. "Robin, wait."

He slowly turned to face her, apology written all over his face.

"I'm sorry. I just... I just miss my son," she blurted out awkwardly.

He smiled faintly at her. "It's ok. I would act the way you are acting if I didn't get to spend Christmas with my son."

"Robin, I mean it. I'm sorry. I know I am snobbish and stuck up, but I really appreciate what you've done for me. Housing, feeding me and all. You've been very kind to me."

"I'd do it anytime," his smile was genuine and bright now. "Come on, I think a certain gentleman would like you to help him with a Lego castle." He extended his hand towards her and she accepted it with a certain hesistance. Her heart thumped hard when he squeezed it in apology once again and she felt like she was back to high school dealing with a crush.

They went to the living room, where Roland had built a pretty crooked looking tower.

"Papa, look! It's so huge!" he flashed them both a cute smile.

"It is, my boy!" Robin complimented him, ruffling his hair. "Now, how about we let Miss Gina help us building the castle?"

"Yay!" the child exclaimed excitedly, running to hug her legs. "Is Gina gonna stay long Papa? We need a veeery long time to build this castle!" he muttered from between her legs.

Regina laughed out loud and to Robin, it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard in a long time.

How on earth did this amazing creature ended up in England, right before his doorstep of all places? And she wasn't even taken. Or so he supposed.

"I promise you we'll finish it soon enough, my dear," Regina assured him.

Roland seemed content with her answer and settled on the carpet, clashing Legos together with a certain concetration.

The Locksley men spent their Christmas merrily with a very special and unexpected guest. Some friends and coworkers of Robin's joined them for lunch: John Little, Robin's best friend, along with William Scarlett and his girlfriend Anastasia and Alan Dale.

The guys were very excited to see Robin had a female friend as guest but Robin soon dissipated their doubts, telling them what had happened to Regina to avoid any further embarassement.

As it happened, Robin's tale did a very poor job, for John and William kept mocking him and making jokes about Robin finally getting laid.

The poor host, on the one hand, kept giving them sideglances and hissing to change topic, to avoid Roland hearing such lewd language.

Regina, on the other hand, was having the time of her life.

"Did you have fun today?" Robin asked, after his friends finally left late in the evening. He opened the liquor cabinet and offered Regina some tequila, which she gladly accepted, leaning casually against the kitchen counter.

"I did. Your friends are certainly merry and know ow to have a good time. I can see why Roland loves them so much."

"That's why we call ourselves the Merry Men."

Regina nearly choked off her tequila, stifling the laugh that was about to erupt from her. "You gotta be kidding me."

"What?"

"The Merry Men? As in Robin Hood?"

"Let's say is's a recurrent joke in my life, he confessed, before he added, watching Regina's furrowed expression, "My parents didn't name me Robin Locksley for nothing."

"They didn't!" Regina giggled.

At Robin's resigned expression, she lost it and laughed at his face.

"Hey, at least I wasn't cursed with a pompous name like Regina," he defended himself.

"Pompous my ass," she replied in a cheery tone, side-eyeing him.

"It means Queen, of course it's pompous!" He puffed his chest out at her surprised face. "I did my Latin in high school and university, thank you very much."

"Blame my mother for that."

Her tone sounded so bitter. Robin bit his lip, scolding himself for bringing that up.

He opened his mouth to change topic and avoid her heartache but Regina, after taking a long sip of liquor, spoke again.

"It's typical of her. Striving for better, driving you to the point of madness because you are simply not good enough. She has never been a loving, supportive mother, you know."

She sighed heavily. "God, I don't even know why I'm talking to you about this, you're practically a stranger," she lamented, drowning her sorrow in tequila.

As soon as she put the glass down on the counter, Robin's hand was on hers. "I hope that after everything that happened you can call me anything but a stranger," he voiced with a sheepish smile that left her speechless.

"Thank you," she whispered, before laughing brokenly. "Oh my, is there something in British water that makes people polite? I can't seem to stop saying thank you since I came here!"

He chuckled, nearing her "One could call it a good influence, milady."

She snorted, "Or bad luck."

"I've been fortunate, then." She understood he wasn't talking about politeness anymore. He was so near her she could smell his shampoo and notice streaks of lighter blue in his eyes. His proximity inexplicably left her without breath and with her head spinning, even if that might have to do with the amount of tequila she had just downed.

In a boost of courage (blame tequila again) she raised a hand to caress his face, his light stubble grazing her fingertips. A shiver ran down his spine and he sighed. "Your fingers are cold," he whispered huskily, putting his warm hand over hers. She could see his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed.

"They always are," she whispered back, her nose almost bumping with his.

He leaned in slowly and hesitantly, as if Regina could vanish the same way she had appeared on his doorstep. She trembled in his arms as his lips lightly grazed hers, a jolt of electricity shooting through her body. He traced her upper lip with his tongue and she welcomed him in her mouth, eagerly deepening the kiss. He put his arms around her waist, enveloping her in his warmth as she sneaked her fingers in his hair, gently scratching his scalp.

She moaned into the kiss and it sent his blood rushing down parts of his body that weren't so proper. But then, what they were doing was everything but proper.

He had just crashed her to him, feeling the curves of her body mold into his, when they were interrupted.

"Papa…" Roland's childish sleepy voice came from the doorway.

Both adults separated from each other, looking down at the child who came into the kitchen shuffling his little feet and dragging his stuffed monkey with him.

Robin kneeled in front of his son, passing a hand through his curls. "Hey buddy, what happened?"

"I can't sleep," he whined, hugging his father's neck.

Robin looked at Regina, at a loss for what to do, before she kneeled before the child as well, "Why don't we all sit on the sofa while I tell you a story?"

Roland nodded, rubbing his eyes with tiny fists. They settled on the couch, Roland snuggling in Regina's embrace, which surprised Robin since Roland was usually shy around strangers.

The woman pushed the curles away from Roland's forehed and kissed it. "Do you know the story of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?"

Roland shook his head. "Well then, one Christmas not too long ago Rudolph, that's the name of this special deer, was standing alone on the day before Christmas…"

Regina told his child that story and several others. Robin enjoyed watching her cuddling up with Roland, telling him stories in a low and expressive voice while slowly running her fingers through his hair. He knew she was just being nice to his kid, nonetheless, it did things to his heart.

After Roland finally fell asleep, Robin carried him upstairs and found Regina cleaning up the kitchen when he came back.

"You didn't have to do that."

"Do what? Clean up?" she replied with a subtle smile.

"That and cuddling my child to sleep."

"Oh, I'm sorry I hope that wasn't out of place. It's just that storytelling worked when Henry was feeling restless," she explained sheepishly.

He walked closer to her and reached out to touch her face, unable to help himself. "Don't worry, it's fine."

"What are we doing, Robin?" she whispered quietly, leaning into him.

He accepted her in his arms, she was so small without heels he could easily lay his chin on her head and inhale her scent. "What do you mean?"

"This, us kissing before… I mean, I barely know you."

He looked down at her. "Do you regret it? Because I don't, Regina," he said, his tone deadly serious.

"I don't regret it either. But it will never work."

"Because you live in New York and I in London?"

"Well, yes."

"I'm sure we can make it work."

She put her hands on his chest, looking up at him. "Robin, this has been wonderful, I was lucky to have found you to house me, your child is the sweetest thing and I had a wonderful time with your friends but tomorrow I'll catch that flight to home and we'll probably never see each other again," she resoluted, logical to the bone.

"I respect your decision, but I'm not ready to let go of you yet," he said, before crashing her to him and kissing her senseless.

They broke apart after a while, both breathing heavily, Regina still engulfed in Robin's embrace.

"Robin, I really need to go. I need to get up early tomorrow and it seems to me that all I'm doing is digging myself in deeper."

Robin nodded, releasing her reluctantly. Taking pity of him, she leaned in to kiss his cheek and whisper him goodnight before disappearing up the stairs.

The next morning things were hectic. Robin woke Roland early, so they could take Regina to the airport, despite Regina refusing several times. They followed her in Robin's car, Regina driving the one she had rented.

After she had checked in, she treated Robin and Roland to a big breakfast, to thank them for their hospitality. It was the least she could do at the moment.

As Roland eagerly tucked in, Robin and Regina quietly chatted together.

"You didn't even get to open a present for Christmas this year," Robin noticed.

She chuckled. "I'm not a big fan of presents or surprises," she confessed, much to Robin's chagrin. He was one of the Christmas freak kind. "I really do hope Emma has another scarf in store for me, I lost mine trying to get to the airport," she told him, while laughing.

"I will gladly lend you mine if you ask. Anything to keep milady warm," he flirted in that thick British accent of his.

"I would never deprive you of your scarf, I'm no thief," she flirted back.

"You can't steal something that's been given to you," he said, taking his red scarf and wrapping it around her neck, his hands lingering on her skin.

"Thank you," she smiled at him from beneath her lashes and his heart did a double flip.

"Papa gave you his scarf, that means you're his girlfriend now," Roland commented, and only then did they notice he had been privy to all of their conversation.

Regina blushed all of a sudden, lowering her eyes like a six years old dealing with her first crush while Robin chuckled, biting his lip in a way that should have been considered illegal.

"Regina is not my girlfriend, little man," he explained to his five years old.

"But you said that you give gifts to people you love!"

"I do," he agreed sincerely and Regina butterflies fluttering in her belly.

"That's why I gave you presents today, little man," he concluded, rubbing his nose against that of a giggling Roland.

Soon came the moment of her boarding. Before passing security, she stopped to say her goodbyes. She hugged Roland tight and peppered his cheeks in kisses, making him laugh. Her goodbye with Robin was a bit awkward though. Not sure on what to do, she settled on a handshake. Robin quietly shook her hand, his lips tight.

"I… uhm… I thought that you could have this, you know, in case you need anything or you forgot something at my home," he said, giving her a card with his home address and phone number on it.

She smiled shyly at him, nodding. "Yeah, just in case." She turned on her heels, before Robin stopped her.

"I just wanted to give you something to remember me by."

"You already gave me your scarf, what do you…" she was stopped by his lips crashing on hers. It was so unexpected it blew her mind and made her weak in the knees. She held onto the lapels of his jacket, never wanting to let go.

When they broke apart, Robin smiled at her a breathless dimpled grin. "Have a safe flight, love."

It was a month after he first met Regina that Robin received a package from the US.

There was nothing much inside except a blue scarf, very similar to the red one he had recently given away. It was accompanied by a card with a telephone number and a dedication on it, reading:

"A wise person once told me you give presents to the people you love the most.

I guess I'm a bit late for Christmas but it's never too late for trying.

Love,

Regina"

If you liked this, pleeeease leave me a comment! I'd love that!