A/N: Sorry for the really long wait on this one! I can't promise another chapter soon, but just know that I do plan on finishing this fic if you guys are still interested? Let me know in the comments!

Robin used to hate sitting on the side-lines. She made sure that she was the fastest, the most popular, the smartest and all because she hated being left out. She knew it stemmed from her childhood and especially from her time spent visiting Regina in the Enchanted Forest, thinking back on how the local village children had treated her, often resulting in endless sleepless night during her teenage years and she vowed to never allow herself to be treated as such every again. When she started High School, Robin jumped at every opportunity that was presented to her, and by her Sophomore year, she was Captain of the women's soccer team, debate club, and the track team. But somehow, it still wasn't enough to fight off the looming doubt over her acceptance amongst her peers. It drove her crazy when she'd hear about a sleepover, or party that she wasn't invited too, and she nearly flipped out every time the track coach had given starting place to Heather instead of her. Her competitive edge had been a burden at times and more than once it had landed her in the red zone, but all that seemed to change when she reunited with Alice. The blonde was unlike any other girl their age, and for the first time, Robin didn't feel like she had to compete with anyone. The effect Alice seemed to have on her was constantly expanding and morphing Robin into the best version of herself that she could be. She happily found her role in the small group and didn't feel the need to boast about her hunting skills or show off her perfect aim. She wasn't trying to one-up everyone like she had been doing when she had first reconnected with Alice. She wasn't competing for first place or yearning for everyone's attention. She was just being herself, and for once that was enough for the young archer.

Robin was perfectly content to spend every moment she could with Alice. Holding her, kissing her, protecting her…just being near her filled her with joy. Robin had found herself volunteering for the smaller, close to home missions. Like right now, research duty for anyone else would have been a pain, but with Alice's head in her lap and a book to pretend to read, Robin could simply relax, she didn't have a legacy to uphold or image to maintain and couldn't be happier…at least that was until the second biggest cock-block appeared, with his usual devilish grin.

"I do hope I'm not interrupting," Rumple coughed, causing Alice to shoot up so fast that she banged her head on the edge of Robin's book.

"Actually-" Robin hissed through gritted teeth as she tried to get a look at the reddish mark forming on Alice's fair skin.

"Of course you aren't! What can we do for you?" Alice quickly pushed Robin's hands away and turned her full attention to her mentor and friend.

"I was wondering if you two would like to go on a little trip for me?" Rumple twiddled his fingers together, as he watched the look of excitement flood onto Alice's face.

"I thought we weren't allowed to go relic hunting without 'an adult' present." Robin jumped in, demonizing Alice's excitement and causing the blonde to lean back in the chair and pout.

"Well, the so-called adults are off on their own little hunt and I need you two." The ever-hyper man glared sternly at the brunette he had watched grow up. He'd seen the torment that she had endured and knew from his own experience with Gideon and the children of Storybrooke, just how cruel some residents had been. But he'd also knew how hard she'd worked to overcome all of that, and how Alice had played an indescribable role in her transformation from overachieving outcast to this Enchanted Forests Robin Hood. Or, at least that's what she used to be. And he wasn't the only one to notice Robin's sudden withdrawal, and while Zelena had put it down to young love, Rumple was determined to get the young woman back on track before it was too late. "So, whatcha say? A little trip down the rabbit hole sound good?" He challenged the archer, trying to see if he could get a rise out of her and drag her Robin Hood spirit back to the surface.

"Wonderland? Hard pass." Robin jumped in, once again, before Alice had a chance to accept her mentor's mission.

"But Robin…" Alice whined as she gingerly laced their fingers together. Alice had spent heaps of time in Wonderland, happily traveling back and forth since being freed from her tower and she's always wanted to bring her archer along for the journey.

"No." The brunette stood her ground – at least she tried – until Alice turned all pouty and promised the archer the 'bestest time ever'. "Alice, our parents will kill us if they find out," Robin warned, but they both knew that if anyone would be in trouble it was going to be Robin, so her argument was shot down and sank quickly.

"Surely, the greatest archer in all the realms isn't afraid of a former Wicked Witch." Rumple poked further, a small wave of satisfaction falling over him as Robin glared back with nothing but pure anger and annoyance in her eyes.

"What is it you want exactly?" She asked through gritted teeth. Taking this as a yes, Alice excitedly threw her arms around the taller woman and placed a rather loud kiss on her cheek.

"Oh, just a little advice from an old friend. I'd go myself, but I'd quite like to keep my head." He clapped his hands, quickly changing the two women's outfits from their causal wear to their signature hunting and traveling gear. "Give my regards to the Queen." The Dark One chuckled as a cloud of black smoke quickly engulfed the couple, transporting them to Robin's room where two large backpacks sat waiting on the archer's bed, already full of items the Dark One deemed as necessary.

"He can't be serious?" Robin muttered under her breath as Alice excitedly dug through the two backpacks. Of course, Robin had heard tales of her Grandmother, each one laced with nothing but hate. She knew how she had abandoned her mother, and how she had killed Regina's, first love. She had set both of her daughters on a path of evilness, and a small part of Robin worried that if this Queen she was tasked to meet with was the same as the one from the stories, she might do the same with her, or worse, she worried that the power that Alice possessed would catch her eye and put the blonde in harms way.

"This is brilliant Robin! I've been dying to show you Wonderland!" The blonde sang out as the backpack was quickly flung on and secured. "Oh, the things we'll see!"

Robin, on the other hand, took time in carefully studying the contents of her own bag, trying her best to stall the mission for as long as she could. "I'm sure about this Al...Wonderland is a tricky place." She nervously rubbed a small spot behind her ear, her short fingernails moving at a sharp speed that was beginning to cause a red mark to form.

"And who better to go than the person who spent years exploring in it?" Alice soothed as she reached over to take both of Robin's hands in her own, cutting the archer's involuntary scratching short before she broke the skin – a habit that the blonde had noticed becoming very common – and placed a small kiss on her knuckles, one by one. "I promise that nothing bad is going to happen, it will be as easy as pie."

"Yeah..." Robin let the air fill her lungs as she rested her forehead against her loves. "Easy as pie."

The air around them felt different on the trek through the forest. Alice's mindless chatter about all the amazing things they were about to see, seemed to only dampen Robin's mood and cause her body to ache with anxiety and the healing scars under her vest burn with fear. She hated feeling this way. She hated Gothel for making her feel this weak and helpless. She hated that instead of enjoying this adventure with Alice, she was jumping at the sound of a twig snapping in the distance, or the pitter-patter of the woodland animals scattering about.

"If memory serves, this should bring us right to Mr. Rabbit's burrow!" Alice skipped over to a small tree stump. "All we need now is one magic bean!" She held out her hand excitedly, before realizing that Robin wasn't by her side and instead was gripping onto her bow for dear life as she scanned the empty forest. "Robin?" Gently, Alice walked back over to her love, and slowly raised her hand to touch the stiff archer.

The feeling of warmth on Robin's shoulder caused her to jump into action, arrow notched, bow raised and taking aim at her target. Images of Gothel and the cave she'd been kept in blurred her vision, and instead of Alice's sweet voice trying to snap Robin out of her haze, all she heard was the witch's snarl and harsh words she'd whispered in her ear over and over. Robin drew back her bowstring, her arrow pointed right in-between the witch's eyes, this was it, this was her moment to end everything. She was about to release her arrow when the wind was suddenly knocked out of her and she landed on the ground with a thud, the arrowing shooting up into the air and landing in the grass nearby.

"What the bloody hell has gotten into you?" Gothel's voice had faded and in its place was Alice's, only instead of the bubbly, sweet voice Robin had fallen in love with, all she heard was fear. "You could have killed me!"

"I-I..." Robin sat up, her head pounding and heart racing. It was Gothel, she was there, taunting her. Robin would never dream of hurting Alice, ever. "I saw her...she was there and...I just wanted to end this."

"It's only you and me out here...Robin, you had an arrow pointed at my face. I thought – I thought that you were going to...if I hadn't of pushed you."

"No!" Robin shot up off the ground and quickly scooped her bow up, securing it carefully onto her back. "I – I'm sorry Alice...I really thought that...fuck!" She cursed as she kicked up the earth around her.

"Robin, it's alright to be feeling this way...after everything. You know, you've never really talked about what happened...we could, you know, talk. If you wanted to." Alice spoke softly as she waited for Robin to calm down, a part of her slightly afraid to approach the brunette after what had just happened.

"Hard pass." The archer hissed in response, her anger coursing through her. She couldn't stand the hold Gothel still managed to have on her, and how it caused her to lash out, especially at Alice. "Can we just get the stupid mission over with already?" Robin muttered as she dug through her pocket, before placing the magic bean in Alice's hand.

"As you wish..." Alice mumbled back, her excitement for their adventure dwindling as she threw the bean onto the tree stump. As they stepped through the glowing wheel of fire, Alice couldn't take her eyes off of the brunette. It was clear that Robin was hurting, and Alice hated herself for not picking up on it sooner. But the archer could be as hard as stone at times, and the blonde knew that there was no talking to her while she was in a mood like this. So, as much as it killed her, what had happened moments before, was forced to be forgotten for the meantime, but not forever. 'Not my Robin, not ever.'