Author's Note: I'm not really sure where this idea came from, but once I thought about this, I had to write it.

~

Regina had reluctantly agreed to meet Emma and Snow for lunch in Granny's after David had promised to watch Roland. Regina was hesitant to let Zelena near the little boy because she knew Robin didn't trust her, and Roland was Robin's son, not hers, even if Robin was gone, so David had been the one to volunteer to look after him.

"What happened to your arm?" Snow asked when Regina sat down. Regina glanced down at the bandages wound tightly around her forearm.

"I, uh, burnt myself while cooking the other night," Regina lied. "It's not bad, it just hurt."

"So...when can you take the bandages off?" Emma questioned, very much aware that her friend was lying.

"Dunno," Regina responded quietly. "Why'd you guys want to see me anyways?"

"We wanted to make sure you were feeling okay." Snow was still oblivious to the fact that Regina was lying. "And we wanted to give you a break from Roland. I'm sure it's, uh, not easy raising a six-year-old."

"I've done it on my own before," Regina rolled her eyes. "And Henry's fine. Well, I mean, he might be scared for life, but that's Emma's fault, not mine."

"How is it mine?!" Emma demanded.

"You broke the curse. If the curse had never been broken, none of the magical crap we've been through would have ever happened."

Emma didn't respond.

"So did you get that burn looked at?" Snow was determined to carry on a conversation.

"Yeah."

"What did the doctor say?"

Regina hesitated, "Uh, he...um...said it was nothing to worry about. Look, maybe we should just order food so I can get back to my-- to Roland."

Emma sighed. She vowed she would get the truth about Regina's "burn" someday, but for now, she decided to not pry.

~

Several weeks later, Regina and Roland entered Granny's for lunch. Roland had insisted upon it, and Regina couldn't turn him down. Regina kept her jacket on, despite the fact that she didn't really need it inside, and led Roland to a table.

Halfway through the meal, Emma burst into the restaurant and pulled a chair up to Regina and Roland's table.

"How's your burn?"

"It healed."

"What burn?" Roland asked, his eyebrows scrunching in confusion.

"Can I see it?" Emma asked.

Regina felt a wave of horror wash over her body. "N-no."

"Why can't you just take off your coat?"

"I'm cold."

"No, you're not! Stop lying to me, Regina."

"Look," Regina lowered her voice. "We can't do this right here or right now."

"Then stop by my house later," Emma suggested. "And if you don't, I'll find you at your house."

Regina reluctantly gave in. "Fine. Whatever. Now get out of here."

Emma frowned, but stood up and left.

"Why was Emma yelling?" Roland asked quietly once the blonde was gone.

Regina sighed. "She's just worried."

"About your arm?"

Regina nodded.

"But you said it was all better now," Roland protested.

"It is," Regina assured him, "but Emma doesn't know what I did. I told her I burned myself while cooking."

"Oh," Roland went back to eating.

~

After lunch, Regina drove to Emma's house and rung the doorbell. Killian answered the door, and when he saw Regina, he froze. It was no secret that Regina's annoyance towards the pirate had turned to hatred once she learned that he was alive again while Robin had sacrificed his very existence and could never return.

"I'll, uh, go...go get Emma," he spluttered before rushing off to find his girlfriend.

Emma appeared in the doorway moments later and invited Regina and Roland inside.

"Henry's upstairs in his room," Emma said. Regina turned to Roland.

"Why don't you go find Henry, alright? Emma and I need to talk."

Roland nodded and rushed off to go find Henry.

"Will you tell me why you had that bandage on your arms now?" Emma raised an eyebrow.

"It really doesn't matter," Regina tried to get out of answering Emma's question.

"Did you get hurt?"

"No. Well, I mean, kind of, but no."

"Did someone hurt you?"

"No!"

"Did you hurt yourself?"

"No. Well, I mean, it's just--"

Emma grabbed Regina's arm, which was still covered by the sleeve of Regina's jacket. "Regina--!" Emma pushed Regina's sleeve up to reveal the part of her arms that had been bandaged weeks before. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Oh."

Staring up at Emma from the skin on Regina's forearm was a tattoo of a lion. One that matched Robin's perfectly.

"Why didn't you just tell the truth?" Emma asked softly.

Regina yanked her arm from Emma's grasp and allowed her jacket sleeve to fall so the fabric was covering her tattoo again. "Because you and Snow would start acting like overprotective mothers and telling me I made a rash decision and I should have thought it through."

"Do you regret getting the tattoo?"

"No. Of course not."

Emma broke into a smile. "Then I'm glad you got it."

Regina pressed her lips together. "I just...his tattoo was what I knew him by for a good portion of my life. He was only ever The Man With The Lion Tattoo. And when I realized that he was my soulmate..." Regina felt her eyes start tearing up. "I just miss him. I feel like part of my own soul is gone now too. And I never...I never even got to tell him I loved him."

"Hey, it's okay, Regina--"

"No, it's not. And it won't ever be."

Emma pulled her friend into a hug. "You don't know that. You may have lost Robin, but you still have Roland and Henry, and you still have my parents, Zelena, and I. You have a bigger family than most people could ever hope for, and we're here for you, Regina. To the very end, and even after that."

Regina broke the hug and managed a small smile. "Thank you." She pushed her jacket sleeve up so it revealed part of her tattoo. "Maybe I need to stop being afraid of everyone judging me for this."

"If they do, just tell me. I'll be sure to have a nice chat with them."

~

"Gina?" Roland asked as she tucked him in that night.

"Yes?"

"I like your tattoo." He placed his hand on top of the ink lion that was now a permanent part of Regina's body.

"Thank you," Regina smiled. She pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Goodnight, my little night."

"G'night, Gina."