Regina extended her hand again, and noted with pleasure that despite the near-certainty of rejection, her fingers didn't tremble. She lay it in front of him, palm up and left the choice to him.

"You will always wait. You can't not. Some days its tolerable. Some days you forget for awhile. You learn to be as happy as you can, but you will never stop hoping the next face through the door is hers. And on the day that it is..." Her voice did tremble at the memory of Robin's arrival and then of finding Snow here. "Every second that you waited is instantly worth it and no number of months or years between you will matter. After comes the catching-up, the pouring out of hurt and the efforts to soothe, and the arguments, and you'll cherish it all."

By the time she'd finished speaking, tears glistened like jewels on her long black lashes but she didn't cry. Not today.