So, after being a little hurt and upset Saturday after the mess at ComicCon, I finally finished this little chapter for the next part of the Holiday Series. I was in need of some fluff. And not just any fluff: SwanQueen fluff! Woot!
So, this is dedicated to all the SQ shippers out there! We are strong. We will prevail. Even if they stick Emma with Hook or Neal in the show, we will always have our little piece of heaven right here online! And to take from a wonderful fic titled "Adventures with Cora Mills" "Viva La Swan Queen!"
Thanks to Laura, as per usual. Duh!
I don't own Once Upon a Time…again, duh.
Also, this story isn't going to be like my past few in the Holiday Series. It will be snippets of Regina and Emma slowly getting to know different sides of each other. That happens in every relationship…and I think it's time for our girls.
She woke with a pounding headache. The kind that seemed to spread from behind her eyes, to her temples, then engulfs the back of her skull. She gave a soft groan and slowly opened her eyes. The morning light filtering through the bedroom seemed too harsh for her eyes and she quickly shut them again. Why did it feel like she had a hangover?
"Emma," a voice said from the bathroom. "Are you getting up today?"
Emma groaned and rolled over.
"Don't groan at me, Ms. Swan," Regina said, sticking her head out the bathroom door. "It's 7:30. If you want breakfast, you need to get up."
"Not hungry," Emma muttered into her pillow.
"Get up, Emma," Regina stated with a roll of her eyes. She left the bathroom, already dressed and ready for the day.
"Kay," Emma said hoarsely as she pulled herself out of bed. Regina grinned as the blonde shuffled into the bathroom, her blonde hair adorably ruffled.
"I'll get Henry up," Regina stated. Emma gave a quick wave as she closed the door.
The warm water beat down on Emma's lean body. And she just stood there. Her thighs hurt, her shoulders hurt, her back hurt…she just hurt. All she wanted to do was go back to bed.
She wasn't sick often. But when she was, she was miserable. For most of her life she had to take care of herself when she was sick. So, she usually just sucked it up and kept doing her usual routine. And nothing was going to change today.
So, with a pounding head, aching body, and sore throat she dressed in the loosest jeans she could find, tennis shoes, and a sweatshirt. The way she was feeling, she just didn't care.
She slowly made her way down the stairs, each step making her head pound even more.
"Hey, Emma!" Henry said from the table. He was quickly eating his breakfast of waffles and eggs.
"Hey, kid," she said with a small grin, trying to sound as normal as possible.
"Breakfast, Emma?" Regina said from the stove where she was fixing her own plate.
"I'm not hungry," she said after kissing the brunette's cheek. She reached into her lover's purse and pulled out the bottle of Tylenol she always kept there.
Regina watched her take the pills with concerned eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.
Emma shrugged. "Headache," she said simply. She gave her another kiss on the cheek before making her way to the front door. "Bye, kid," she said as she passed. "You two have a good day."
"Bye, Emma!" Henry said, barely pausing in his eating.
"Henry," Emma heard Regina said as she left. "Swallow first!"
The headache was still making her miserable. She had been at the Sheriff's office for about an hour and a half now and that Tylenol hadn't made a difference at all. And to top it off, she was nauseous as well as achy, cold, and irritable. But the nausea was at the forefront of her mind for the time being.
And that stupid ringing of the phone was not helping.
"Yes?" she said, forcing herself to be polite as she answered the office phone.
"That is no way to answer the phone, Ms. Swan."
If it hadn't been for the teasing Emma heard in Regina's voice, she would have snapped at her. Thankfully, she knew her lover well enough at this point.
"Next time, I'll answer with a sexy 'hello' for your benefit," Emma retorted, making her tone as light as possible.
"You still have a headache, don't you?" Regina asked.
"No."
"Yes, you do. And don't try to deny it again."
Emma huffed but couldn't find it in herself to be annoyed. "Fine. I still have a headache."
"Have you eaten anything yet?"
"I grabbed a bear claw on the way in and ate it about thirty minutes ago."
"A bear claw? Really, Emma?"
"I wasn't hungry but knew I needed to eat something," Emma whined.
"So, you ate a bear claw."
"Sorry," Emma said sheepishly.
"What's wrong, Emma?" Regina asked suddenly. "Are you okay?"
"I think I'm sick."
"You think you're sick?" Regina asked incredulously.
Silence.
"Emma," Regina sighed. "Do you need to go home?"
"No."
"Emma Swan," this was said as if Emma was in trouble.
"No. I don't need to leave. I'll be fine."
"Sheriff Swan, seriously-"
"No, Madam Mayor," Emma said harshly. "I do not need to go home."
"You sound like a cranky child."
"I do not!" Emma argued. "And stop mothering me!"
"Fine," Regina said loudly. "Be miserable! See if I care!" And with that she hung up, exasperated with her lover.
Thirty minutes later, Regina's cell phone rang. After seeing Emma's picture flash on the screen, the mayor almost didn't answer it. But remembering the blonde's admission to having a headache prompted Regina to finally slide the answer prompt.
"Yes, Emma?"
"Gina, I think I need to go home."
The weak, hoarse voice and sniffles coming through the phone startled Regina so much, she immediately stood up and started gathering her purse and keys. "I'll come and get you," she said quickly.
"No, don't do that," Emma said weakly. "I can drive home."
"No, I'm coming to get you."
"No-" An audible swallow came through the phone. "I can-" Silence. A deep breath was heard. "I can-" The phone sounded like it fell to the floor and loud retching could be heard.
Regina didn't hesitate, she was out of her office in no time, giving her secretary a quick explanation of "Emma's sick. I'm going home."
She entered the Sheriff's office in no time, her brown eyes searching frantically for the blonde. But she wasn't at her desk or anywhere it seemed. Then she heard a groan coming from the small bathroom. And the sight the greeted her made her heart stop.
Emma was curled on the floor on her side, her breath heavy and her face pale and sweaty.
"Oh, God, Emma," Regina breathed before kneeling at her lover's side.
"Gina," Emma muttered. "I threw up." Green eyes looked up into a worried face. "I don't feel good."
The vulnerability covering Emma's face broke Regina's heart. She softly ran a hand over Emma's hair and tried to comfort her as best she could. "I'll take you home. Can you stand?"
Emma gave a weak nod and pulled herself into a sitting position.
"Emma, you're burning up!" Regina exclaimed after doing a cursory fever check. Emma just stared at her with glassy eyes. The mayor sighed and helped her lover up, watching with worry as Emma leaned heavily against the small sink.
"Are you still nauseous?"
Emma slowly shook her head.
"How's your head?"
"Hurts."
Regina gently put her arm around Emma's waist and started walking her out of the office. "I'll drive you home."
"Lucy."
"What?"
Emma swallowed. "Gotta call Lucy or Dad to cover for me."
Regina rolled her eyes but quickly pulled Lucy's name up on her phone. The tall raven-haired woman would be much easier to deal with than James.
"She'll be fine, Lucy," Regina helped Emma into the backseat of her car and walked around to the driver's side as she continued to update her lover's adopted mom on Emma's condition.
"I know she will," Lucy said over the phone. "Doesn't mean we can't worry. But we know you'll take good care of her." Some shuffling could be heard on her end as she threw on a coat and made her way out of their apartment. "I'll have Renee call you later today."
Regina nodded as she started her car. "Okay. I may need some help in dealing with a sick Savior. It may be more than I can handle."
Lucy chuckled. "And I can't give you any idea how she'll be. She wasn't sick in the time we had her. She had nightmares though. She had a lot of those." The last part was muttered, as if Lucy was just remembering that small fact.
Regina's stomach twisted at hearing that small tidbit about her lover. She didn't bother to add that the blonde still suffered from nightmares.
"If I can handle a sick little boy for 10 years, I think I can handle a stubborn 29 year old blonde."
"Who is still here," was mumbled from the back seat.
Regina smirked and just shook her head.
"Tell her we love her," Lucy said with a laugh. "And to get better."
"I will. And I'll talk to you later," Regina said. "Oh," she added as an afterthought. "Will you call her parents and tell them? They would take the news better from you."
"Still having trouble with the in-laws?"
"Just the usual," Regina answered. "At some point I'm bound to go all 'Evil Queen' on their daughter."
"And I may like it," came from the sick blonde.
Regina burst out laughing while Lucy just smirked.
"I'll let you go," Lucy said. "Take care of our girl."
As Regina hung up, Emma gave a huge, dramatic sigh. "Don't talk about me like I'm not here."
Regina rolled her eyes as she pulled into the driveway. "Don't make me answer with a 'Drink your juice, Shelby'," she answered with a smirk.
Emma opened one eye to look at the brunette. "You know Steel Magnolias?"
Regina raised an eyebrow as she looked over the seat at her lover. "A movie about strong women? Of course. It's one of my favorites."
A dopey smile graced Emma's face. "You are perfect," she whispered before closing her eyes again.
Regina gave a soft smile and started out of the car. "I know, Ms. Swan. And it's about time you knew that as well."
"Where is she now?"
Regina held the phone between her ear and shoulder as she stirred the soup on the stove.
"Upstairs in bed. I'm cooking her some soup."
Renee sighed into the phone. "You better keep an eye on her, Regina. If she's anything like Lucy, it will be a chore to keep her in bed. She is probably stubborn enough to try to sneak downstairs."
That made Regina pause. She quickly turned off the burner, moved the pot, and left the kitchen, still holding the phone. And sure enough, there was Emma, lying on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, curled into a ball and shivering.
"Emma Swan!" she scolded.
She heard Renee start laughing over the phone while Emma jerked awake.
"Gina?" the blonde muttered, her green eyes bloodshot and at half-mast.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Regina demanded. "You are supposed to be in bed."
Emma pouted. Actually pouted. "I wanted to be downstairs with you. I missed you."
Regina's eyes softened at her lover's face and shook her head. "Go lay on the sofa, Emma. I'll be in the kitchen for just a little longer."
"She came downstairs, didn't she?" Renee asked as Regina watched Emma shuffle to the sofa.
"Yes," was the exasperated answer.
"She did that as a child," Renee said with a smile. "When she was scared or even just woke up in the middle of the night, she would want to be around me or Lucy. And with her feeling bad, I'm sure that feeling is even worse."
Regina paused and watched as Emma curled up on the sofa, burying her head into the decorative pillow positioned there. Since they had gotten home, the blonde had seemed a little clingy. But Regina hadn't thought much about it, intent on getting her to bed and trying to make her feel better. But what she may need more of was a little comfort.
"I've got to go, Renee," Regina said into the phone. "I'll call you later."
"Okay. Take care."
Emma gave a start as her feet were suddenly shifted and placed into someone's lap. Cracking open her eyes, she was shocked to see her lover sitting at the other end of the sofa, a soft loving look in her eyes.
"Regina?" she asked softly.
"How are you feeling?" she asked softly, rubbing Emma's leg through her pajama pants.
"Bad," was the muttered reply. "Head hurts. Body hurts."
"Come here," Regina said, motioning.
Emma didn't hesitate. She slowly turned her body around so that her head was in her lover's lap. And she quickly fell asleep to soft fingers running through her hair.
And when Henry came home that afternoon, he was greeted with the cute sight of his birth mother asleep in his adoptive mother's lap, while the brunette slept with her head resting on the back of the sofa.
The picture he took of them was given a loving place on both women's desks at work.
Please Review! Pretty please! It would make my very painful sunburn feel better!