Regina stared down at the itinerary in front of her. Were they on item 6 or 7? God knows why she thought a 10 item itinerary on a Friday afternoon was a good idea. She pressed on the pressure intensifying and pulsing through her head. What had begun as a headache was turning into a full-fledged migraine, and the sound of Snow's incessant chirping about the schools' technological grants was becoming tiresome. With Emma absent, likely out on patrol, Regina looked at her watch as opposed to making secret eye-contact with the blonde like they had been doing over the last few weeks though neither had admitted to it yet. Regina couldn't tell if they were looking at each other on purpose or if Emma could just feel her eyes on her and as a result looked back, though in her current state she couldn't bring herself to care about whether or not she and Emma were sharing glances. 4:43. She could call the meeting to a close at 5, right? Yes, she would do that. The rising volume from the boardroom table caused her to bring her attention back to the debate at hand.

The council members seemed to all have taken sides, though she couldn't actually decipher what the argument was about. Is the room spinning? When did we decide this industrial lighting was appropriate? She wondered idly, as she placed her hands on the table and closed her eyes momentarily to center herself. 4:45. I don't know if I can do this, she admitted to herself. Maybe some water will help, she thought, as she eyed the jug of water and multiple glasses across the room. As she rose to stand she realized someone was looking at her expectantly though the others argued on. Charming repeated his question.

"Regina? Can you weigh in on this? No one can seem to agree."

"No…stop it." The voice that left her body was soft and weak, unrecognizable when compared to the usual voice and persona she carried during any town affairs. She held the table for stability, realizing the world was spinning much more forcefully now that she stood. She took another deep and calming breath.

Emma put the cruiser in park and grabbed the take out container she had picked up from Granny's that was sitting on her passenger's side door. She exited her vehicle and made her way through Town Hall, smiling and greeting those not in the weekly meeting. As she approached Regina's secretary, she realized she could hear whatever was being discussed through the closed solid oak door as many voices were shouting incoherently.

"Sounds productive," she joked as Regina's secretary Zoe typed on, seemingly able to ignore the noise.

"Well, if nothing else it should be over pretty soon," Zoe smiled back.

Emma continued on, knowing that the frequency of her visits lately meant she didn't need to ask permission to slip in to catch the tail end of the meeting, and for her own benefit, to see Regina even if only for ten minutes before she went back to the loft and Regina and Henry went to Mifflin Street.

Emma slowly cracked open the door to be greeted with hot air, loud voices, and chairs abandoned as many members shouted at each other. Her eyes immediately sought out Regina's only to discover that the brown eyes she had come to memorize were closing quickly. As she took in Regina's appearance, her feet moved across the room toward the woman and thankfully, she was there the moment Regina's body gave in and collapsed, though no one even seemed to be aware. At some point she had ridded her hands of the take-out container which sat carelessly on top of some strewn official documents.

As Emma lifted a limp Regina into her arms, her confusion and frustration set in as she shouted, "What the hell is going on here?!"

Immediately her attention shifted back to Regina whose eyes seemed to be fluttering back open. "That's it sweetheart, I've got you," she whispered for Regina's ears only. The room having been shocked into submission stood silently as the Savior carried Regina bridal-style out of the boardroom shaking her head. Snow and Charming shared a look. The comment meant only for Regina had been heard loud and clear.

Emma easily carried Regina's lax body as gently as she could to the brunette's office and onto the couch in it. She placed her down as gently as she could and turned on the lamp next to the plush furniture. As she knelt beside the former queen, she stroked the hair off of her forehead and spoke softly, continuing to encourage her.

"It's alright, Regina. Just take your time, everything it going to be okay. Take it easy." Emma's heart pounded but her voice stayed calm as she watched Regina's eyes flutter open once again, and watched as the realization and panic began to set in.

"Emma? Ugh, my head. What happened? Where am I? The meeting-" Regina said with as much force as she could, though her voice remained weak and soft. Emma looked down at Regina, coming to, relatively defensless, with a furrowed brow and fire in her eyes and felt a familiar jolt in her stomach. There she is.

"Shhh. It's alright Regina. You fainted. What have you eaten today?" Emma asked quietly.

Regina attempted to sit up but thought about it again and remained laying down as Emma had placed her. She did not need another spell of nauseous dizziness and Emma's hand had yet to leave her face.

"Um.. well, I had coffee this morning before I arrived…"

Regina knew by the look on Emma's face that she didn't need to finish. They both knew that was all she had had. "What are you doing here? I thought you had patrol." Regina asked, redirecting.

Emma sighed. "I finished patrol and figured that delivering the mayor an afternoon snack was probably still town business as I knew she probably hadn't eaten very much today." She looked down at the woman, a hint of annoyance was taken over by concern and a level of professionalism in Emma's eyes. Part of her job, Regina assumed.

Emma continued, "You said your head…migraine?" Regina frowned as Emma rose and the comforting hand was removed from her cheek. Without waiting for a response, Emma quietly and quickly left the room to get Regina a glass of water and when she returned, accessed the extra strength ibuprofen she knew the woman kept at the back of the top left drawer of her desk. She shut off lights as she went, leaving the low glow of the side lamp and a few candles she had lit on the mantle as the sole sources of light.

"Take this," Emma said, holding out the medicine and water to Regina who had slowly brought herself to a seated position and was taking slow deep breaths.

"Thank you," Regina said easily. She was relieved she didn't need to explain herself more. She never seemed to need to with Emma. As she downed the water and placed the cool glass on her forehead, it dawned on her. "Henry?"

"I sent my parents to get him. Once I've determined you're alright, I'm going to drive you home. If you need some food and some sleep, they can keep him tonight. If you're up to it, I'll bring him by later." Emma responded.

"Emma," Regina hesitated as she reached for the blonde's hand. Though her migraine pounded on, the way the last ten minutes had unfolded, Emma's care and consideration, her defensiveness and protection, had left Regina with a spark of hope in the pit of her stomach. She deemed it a good sign when Regina's slight tug brought Emma gently sitting down next to her. "Why are you doing all of this for me?"

Emma stared into her brown eyes and knew she wouldn't be getting away with her, "Well, I'm just doing my job as the sheriff" excuse this time. It was too close, too intimate. They were too alone, everyone in Town Hall having gone home after the scene and Emma's reassurances that she had it taken care of, and there were too many unspoken moments all coming to the surface, threatening to flood out at any moment. The candlelight flickered in Regina's eyes as the question hung in the air. Emma's heart continued to pound as she broke eye contact with Regina. Knowing what she was gearing up to say, she knew she needed to collect herself, prepare herself for an unfavorable response. She took a deep breath as she tried to disguise her shaking hands from Regina's steady ones. "Emma?" Regina pressed lightly.

"Because you deserve to be someone's priority. You deserve to be the first person someone thinks about every day and the last thing before they go to sleep at night. You deserve to have lunch brought to you because you forget to eat, which is insane to me, by the way. You deserve to be sent flowers just because, and told you're wonderful every day, and appreciated for everything you do. And you deserve to feel beautiful because God damn it Regina you are, and your heart is. You deserve to be with someone who takes care of you and Henry, and I'm sorry Regina but I know that Robin has never been all of those things to you and …" She stopped. Though she had said it a thousand times in her head, it sounded different out loud, and she was past the point of no return. She held her breath.

"Do I deserve someone who calls me 'sweetheart'?" Regina's mouth held a tiny smile, though Emma's intense staring at her hands prevented her from noticing. Eventually she looked up once she realized the response.

"You heard that?"

"I did, Miss Swan, as did Snow and Charming." She smirked. Her heart was pounding, her migraine nearly forgotten all together. This was not the way she expected today to go but she was willing to go with it.

"Well, it kind of just slipped out, you know? It was kind of, like, an accident. You scared me and well I-" Emma was silenced by Regina's finger on her lips.

"Thank you for what you said. Thank you for getting me out of there, taking care of me today, well… every day, and Henry. It might surprise you to know, Emma, but I actually liked the sound of that colloquial pet-name coming from you. And maybe you haven't noticed, but I haven't been thinking about Robin lately." Regina mustered up all the courage she could and placed her hand on Emma's cheek. Before she could rethink it, she leaned in and closed the distance between the two of them for the first time.

Emma's brain went into overdrive. Is this actually happening? Regina kissed me. Regina is currently kissing me. This is actually happening! In about two seconds, Emma sank into the kiss and found her hands threading in to Regina's hair.

They broke apart, foreheads remaining close, both women taking in what had just occurred, what couldn't be changed. No matter what happened next, it weighed heavily on both of them that this was a huge game-changer. But at the same time, neither woman could wipe the ridiculous twin smiles they supported off of their faces. For both of them, the kiss had solidified their desire for the other, had ridden them of their anxiety about their feelings. Emma broke the silence first.

"Wow."

Regina laughed, feeling lighter than she had in such a long time, and she pulled a smiling and willing Emma back to her lips.

"Are we insane?" Regina asked, once they had parted the second time.

"Maybe," Emma responded, "but I've wanted that to happen for a long time."

"Me too," Regina responded quickly as they shared a laugh again. She continued, "I don't know what is going to happen when we leave this office, though at this moment I kind of just want to stay here with you for a bit longer before we re-enter the real world. This feels…it just feels right."

Emma's smile was radiant and the women were even more closely intertwined. "I feel the same way. But I also know I don't want you passing out on me again, so let's feed you."

"You're just saying that because you're hungry, aren't you?" Regina smiled as she looked into green eyes.

Emma winked along with what Regina considered her 'Regina smile'. "No, just taking care of you, sweetheart."