Building a Family

Partnership

Regina's intercom buzzed and she hit the button with one hand while writing with the other. "Yes, Ruby?"

"Storybrooke's future First Gentleman is here," her assistant said. "Shall I send him in?"

"Please," Regina replied, rolling her eyes as she hit the intercom button again to shut it off.

Her door opened as Robin stepped into her office. Smiling, he approached her. "So, First Gentleman?"

Regina shrugged. "I'm Storybrooke's first female mayor. There is no term for the husband of a mayor. So I guess First Gentleman will do."

"Offering me the mayoral spouse parking spot, deciding my title...are you sure you're not proposing, Madam Mayor?" he teased her.

"Very funny," she replied, giving him a look as she stood up. Coming around her desk, she asked: "What brings you to my office?"

He pulled her in for a hug. "I was with Tink and thought I would stop by to see if you wanted to go to lunch."

She leaned back, smiling at him. "I would love to have lunch with you. Do you want to go to Granny's?"

"Can we order in? I'd rather eat and talk with you in private," he told her, rubbing her back.

Regina nodded, releasing him and reaching for her intercom. "Ruby? Can you order us two hamburgers, some fries and two drinks from Granny's?"

"Sure," Ruby replied. "What do you want to drink?"

"Coke and iced tea please. Thank you." Regina waited for her assistant to confirm the order before hanging up. She turned to Robin and motioned to the couch in her office. "Do you want to sit?"

He nodded, following her to the couch. As they sat down, he wrapped his arm around her and held her close. "I love that you have a couch in your office," he said.

She laughed, nodding before leaning her head on his shoulder. "It was a fight to get this. The council didn't know why I needed a couch. But I knew that there would be late nights and wanted Sophie to have a homier place to come to so we could be together while I worked. She's caught a lot of naps and done a lot of homework on this couch."

"I can imagine," he said, running his hand over an empty space next to him. He then looked at her with a cheeky grin. "What do you say we christen this couch one night?"

She gave him a look. "I say you're incorrigible."

"Guilty as charged."

"You're also avoiding talking about how it went with Tink," she continued, not having forgotten that tidbit. Had it gone that badly? What had Tink said?

He chuckled, wrapping his arm around her. "It seems that way, but I swear I'm not. I just have a one-track mind when I'm with you."

She rolled her eyes as she scooted closer to him. "Well, get your mind out of my pants and back on the topic. What did Tink say?"

"Pretty much everything we figured," he said, wrapping his arm around her. "Marian would first have to petition the courts to get her maternal rights restored but that would be an uphill battle at this point, so it'll be difficult for her to pursue custody. Tink agrees that unofficially giving her supervised visitation is a good start and to do that for a few months before deciding our next steps."

"Okay," she said, resting her hand on his lap. "So why did you look so serious when you came in?"

He sighed. "Tink and I talked about a few conditions I could ask Marian to meet before we discuss unsupervised visitation and custody arrangements."