Ch.3: A Second Chance

        It had been a few months since both Kat and Regina had survived and recovered from the torture, and since Damon had ripped out Ambrose' heart for what he'd done and tried to do to Katherine. Everything had been going great since then. Kat and Damon had gotten closer to each other. Also, a new face had recently appeared in town.

        Kat was seated at a booth with Damon, as she watched Regina and the stranger talking. She was curious as to who he was, since from where they were from, new faces weren't always good to have in a small town. 

        Regina stood in front of the stranger in the diner, having a conversation. He'd introduced himself as Robin, and she immediately knew him as a thief from their world. They got to talking and he offered her a drink. She accepted, but when he held out a glass for her, she stopped, seeing the lion tattoo on his arm. Then a memory came to her. He was the guy Tinkerbelle had found for her, but she'd never walked through that tavern door to meet him. She'd wanted vengeance more than anything back then. 

        "Regina!" he said, as she briskly left the diner. She felt like she couldn't do it right now. She couldn't face the person that she hadn't chosen the first time. 

        As she took a breather on the sidewalk in front of the diner, she heard the front door open and close, and then heard Katherine.

        "Hey. What's going on? First you're happy to see him. Then you're bolting? What happened?"

        "I saw his tattoo. Robin's my true love. I couldn't walk through that door when Tinkerbelle found my true love. I never saw his face, but I saw the lion tattoo. I can't," she explained. 

        "Try. If Robin's indeed supposed to be your true love, then you have to take a chance. Maybe it works. Maybe it doesn't. You just have to take that leap. Take it from me. I've only found epic love twice in my vampire life. Elijah and Damon. If I can take a chance, fail, and still find a way to have their backs, then you can try your best, even if you fail. Who knows. Maybe you two will have an epic love. One much better than I had with Elijah for centuries," she encouraged. 

        She sighed. She knew Katherine was right. She wouldn't know if it would work if she didn't at least try.

        A few days later, after some time together, they were at her place on her couch, making out. Then she pulled away. 

        "What do you see in me?" she wanted to know. 

        He was a little confused about why she'd ask that, but told her, "I think the same thing you see in me. A second chance."

        She gave a smile at that. Then they began to kiss again. 

        That night, they were back at her place. They'd had dinner and were drinking wine on the floor in her living room. 

        They kissed, before she pulled away, and gave a look, a hand on the side of his face. 

        "What is it?" he asked her. 

        "I just never thought I'd have this."

        "After I lost my wife, I thought like that for a long time," he told her. "Her death was my fault."

        "I'm sorry," she replied. 

        "I would've walked through hell to be with my Miriam again. But when I finally admitted to myself that she was gone, and she was never coming back, I had to let that guilt go," he spilled to her. 

        "My first love, Daniel, was killed because of me. Because he loved me," she informed him. 

        "That's why you never wanted to open yourself up again," he realized. 

        "Tinkerbelle told me it was possible. I could love again. She led me to this tavern, to a man who she said I was destined to be with. I never saw his face." She pulled up Robin's sleeve to reveal his tattoo. "But I did see his tattoo."

        "It was me?" Robin inquired. 

        "Yes," she replied with a smile. "I was just too scared to approach you." 

        "Well, maybe things work out when they're supposed to. Maybe it's all about timing," he replied. 

        She gave a smile. Then, after a moment, they began to kiss. 

        It had been about a month, and Robin Hood and Regina had formed their relationship deeply. Damon and Kat had gotten closer almost like they had been centuries ago. Just not quite in love. Kat would always love both him and Elijah, but she knew it wasn't both sided anymore. She was just waiting for the day that he'd hopefully fall back in love with her. Especially, with the craziness that was Storybrooke a lot of times. She never knew when another threat would surface. None of them did.