A/N: Originally planned for day two of Swan Queen Week, that didn't work out for me time wise, but I still wanted to continue the story I began with Rising Waters, so here it is.

Emma's phone rang and she glanced down to see it was her mother.

"Hey."

"I picked up Henry, should I drop him off there?"

Emma looked at the time. She had asked her mother to pick Henry up from Regina so she didn't have to. "Here is good. Thanks."

Her mother hung up and Emma dropped the phone back down to the desk. It had been two days since she had kissed Regina – two days since Robin had returned with trucks full of supplies that made everyone talking about him like he was a savior or something. Last night they had a big community meal at the school which Emma hadn't bothered going to using the excuse that someone needed to patrol, but she had heard about it. She had heard that Regina had given a speech thanking everyone for all the work they had done and she had singled out some people including Emma and Robin.

She also outlined a plan for an orderly return to homes once the waters had receded. That was a slow process as there were more rains over night – nothing major but enough to keep the waters from going away.

She hadn't actually spoken to Regina since that morning they kissed.

That night Regina hadn't returned to the mansion and Emma had slept in her bed alone. She had tried calling Regina to see where she was at but Regina didn't answer. She was getting worried when Regina sent her a text back saying she had made arrangements to sleep elsewhere and Emma could feel free to continue to use the bed as long as needed.

Emma could only guess that those other arrangements were with Robin, which only served to keep her up thinking about it.

When she had woken that next morning she had laid there staring at the ceiling for a long time thinking about what it was like to hold Regina in her arms, to have Regina snuggled against her. It felt natural to want to be with her that way and that kiss – that kiss was unlike any she had ever had before.

Yet here she was alone in Regina's bed.

She had gotten up and gone to work and that is how the last couple of days had been.

Regina was avoiding her, and in turn she was avoiding Regina although she was doing it not because she didn't want to see Regina but because she didn't want to see Robin and Regina.

As much as she had been thinking about it, she still couldn't understand why Regina was trying to work things out with him. He had slept with her sister. Yes, she understood that Robin thought Zelena was his wife Marian at the time, but her problem was how Robin had handled it all in the first place.

His flip-flopping between Regina and Marian bothered her. The fact he would leave Storybrooke, leave Regina behind when she was his supposed soul mate. Yes, it was an understandably difficult situation they were both put in, but it was Regina who had gotten hurt in all of that.

Then Regina had helped her family when she was under the Dark One's curse and that had meant the world to Emma. The aftermath of all of that was a strange time for her. She had broken up with Killian because she realized what she had felt for him was more about the circumstances she was under than real love.

Somewhere along the way she realized that her feelings for Regina were stronger than the patched together friendship they had formed.

She was still thinking about it when Henry came in and plopped down in the chair in front of her desk.

"When are people getting to go back to their homes?" he asked.

"We don't know for sure," Emma said. "The water needs to recede more and even then people will need to clean and disinfect their homes. It's going to take awhile before we fully recover."

"Mom said something like that. She was talking about sending Robin back out to get more supplies – things for cleaning and some more water pumps to help get water out of people's houses."

"Robin is going out side the borders again?" Emma asked. "When?"

"I don't know," Henry replied. "I don't know that they decided yet, but mom seemed to think it was important for him to do it."

Her mind was whirling. If Robin was going outside of Storybrooke again that would give her the chance to talk to Regina. She knew there had to be some feelings there on Regina's part – she had gone on the mission to save Emma when she was the Dark One. She had kissed her back.

"Are you going to be much longer?" Henry asked.

"You know what, I think I have done enough for work for the day, let's go home," Emma said. She was secretly hoping that Regina might be there tonight. If Robin was going out of town then maybe Regina was sending him there to give her some space, give her a chance to talk to Emma.

Regina went over the list again – trying to think of all the items she thought the town would need in the near future. She wanted to make sure that this would be the last time she needed to send someone out of the borders for a while. The magic to take the barrier down enough to let people pass through wasn't difficult but given the magic she had expended lately, she knew she needed to have some sustained rest.

"You are tense," Robins said.

She felt his hands on her shoulders, massaging the strained muscles there.

"I have reason to be tense," she said. "We are going to be months recovering from this flood."

"Yes we are, but we will get through it," he said. "You are doing an amazing job with everything. I think I even heard Dr. Whale giving you credit for something."

She turned slightly to look at him. "That is high praise indeed."

He continued to massage her shoulders but she couldn't seem to relax.

"I was actually thinking that since the next steps in your plan are going to rely heavily on us getting these supplies that maybe instead of you making a list, maybe you could go with me this time that way if you think of something else we can make sure it gets addressed."

This time she turned all the way around to look at him.

"I can't do that. I have to stay here and coordinate things."

"I knew you were going to say that but hear me out," he said. "You have been putting plans into place, you have teams of volunteers taking care of everything and it's working really well. I think Snow could handle things while you were away with the help of others like Emma and that way you could go with me where the chance of something coming up that is unexpected is more likely to happen."

"I am sure Snow and Em … others would be capable of it but I am mayor and I can't just leave when the town is in a state of emergency."

Robin smiled at her and she hated it. She hated it that Robin was so understanding with her. She was beginning to wonder if there was any line she couldn't cross that he wouldn't be there giving her encouragement in someway that she was a good person.

"I understand," he said. "Maybe someone else could do it, go in my place and I could stay here and help you."

She sighed. "I don't trust anyone else to do it. You've been out in the world, others haven't."

"Emma has."

"And she is sheriff."

"Her father could watch things while she is gone. Don't you trust Emma?"

"If you are asking me to choose between you and Emma going, I choose you," she said, standing up. She accepted a hug and a kiss from him, but even as she did so she knew it didn't feel like the kiss she had given Emma. It confused her how Robin could be her soul mate yet his kisses didn't make her feel like the one she shared with Emma.

Emma paced the room for the longest time waiting. It was nearing midnight and while she knew she should be sleeping, she couldn't. She wanted to know where Regina was. The momentary hope she had earlier had fled and she couldn't help but think of Regina being in Robin's arms at this very moment.

Against her better judgment she dialed Regina's number. It rang and rang but there was no answer.

Frustrated she tossed the phone on the bed. An empty bed right now and one she would be spending another lonely night in if she didn't do something.

She concentrated on Regina, concentrated all her thoughts on the other woman and then she let the magic fill her. When she was the Dark One she let the magic consume her, let it fill every cell in her body, but since then she had been more careful even though she knew she was no longer the Dark One. The idea she could still let magic control her like that scared her, so she was careful – Regina had taught her to be careful. But now she let it in, let it enter her in a way she had held back from so she could use it to find Regina wherever she was.

The magic grabbed a hold of her and a moment later she was standing in Regina's office in City Hall.

"Emma!" Regina said, sitting up from the cot she had been lying in. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong? Is the water rising again?"

"No," Emma said looking around. "Where is Robin?"

"He's not here."

"Then why? Why are you here? Why aren't you back home?"

"I have a lot of work to do, it was merely more convenient for me to stay here," she said.

"Yeah convenient," Emma said. "Or maybe you are just avoiding me."

"I have no reason to avoid you," Regina said standing up.

"No why would you?" Emma said. "It wouldn't have anything to do with that kiss from the other morning, would it?"

"What happened the other morning was a mistake," Regina said. "I am sorry for my part in it, but it was a mistake. I am dating Robin, you know this."

"I do know this which is why I shouldn't have kissed you the other morning, but that is the only part I am sorry about. I am sorry I did it when you are dating Robin. But I am not sorry for kissing you. I wanted to kiss you and I think you wanted to kiss me too, or at least you sure seemed like you wanted to."

Regina looked away from her.

"Regina," Emma said, touching her arm. "You can't tell me that you don't feel it."

Regina pulled away clearing her throat. "Um I am going to be leaving your mom in charge for several days so any assistance you could give her would be appreciated."

"Why are you leaving her in charge? Where are you going?"

Regina took several steps away from her. "I think it would be best if I went with the next team that was going out of town to get supplies. Things are well in hand here and out there I could be of more use."

"Out there with Robin?"

"Emma …"

"Yeah, save it," Emma said before disappearing.

The headache that had formed behind Regina's left eye was like a stabbing pain that wouldn't go away. She had woken up with it and with a sore back from sleeping uncomfortably on the cot in her office. She wasn't sure what she did could be defined as sleep as she didn't feel like she had gotten much at all.

She was standing at the border of Storybrooke getting ready to drop the barrier so Robin could lead the small caravan of trucks through it and into the real world to gather supplies. A misty rain had been falling for about 30 minutes and while she carried an umbrella she was ready to toss it to the ground for all the good it was. She was reviewing the list of supplies when she saw the sheriff's car pull up and park off the side of the road. She had seen Emma only once since the other night when she had gotten angry and left. And that was only to tell her that she wouldn't need to watch Henry while she was out of town as she wouldn't be going. Emma had responded with "fine" and that was the end of the conversation.

Now Emma was walking toward them with a determined look on her face which made Regina uneasy.

"Hey Robin," Emma said. "I was wondering if you could add something to your list."

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Fuses," she said, handing him a piece of paper. "The ones at the sheriff's office are apparently different than the ones in houses and we tripped quite a few of them. I can't even use the cameras or anything inside the jail without new fuses for the breaker."

"Will do," he said putting the paper in his pocket.

"Thanks," she said. "Good luck out there."

Emma glanced at Regina before walking away. Regina noticed she went to her car and was sitting in it but made no move to pull away yet. She was concentrating so much on Emma she wasn't paying attention that Robin was talking to her.

"What did you say?"

"I said I wish you were going with me," he said. "But you are probably right, and you should stay here. Just promise me you will try and get some rest."

She gave him a small smile. "I promise I will try."

"Good," he said. "I told Henry to also make sure you did."

He gave a kiss on the lips and then went to the lead truck. Regina moved over to the barrier and used her magic to take it down while the trucks moved through. Once the last one had passed she put the barrier back in place. She stood there, sure that anyone watching her probably thought she was looking at the trucks as they disappeared from sight, but that wasn't why she was there.

A hand on her shoulder had her turning to find Emma was there.

"No more magic," Emma said.

Regina merely nodded. It was why she had been standing there; she was trying to stave off the dizziness and nausea that had threatened to overwhelm her.

"Come on, let me drive you to your house so you can get some sleep," Emma said.

"I have my car here and I still have work to do today."

"I will send a couple of deputies out here to drive your car back, and as for any work, well I think you are done for the day. My mom can handle any pressing matters. You need to sleep," Emma said. "If you won't do it for yourself, do it for the town, or Henry or …"

Regina got the feeling Emma was about to say "or me" but she didn't.

"Ok, but no more than a couple of hours of lying down and resting," Regina said.

"I will take what I can get," Emma said guiding her over to her patrol car. Regina got in and Emma noticed she leaned back against the head rest with her eyes closed.

"Are you feeling ok?"

"I'm fine," she responded. "Just a headache."

Emma decided not to press the issues (yet) and she put the car in gear and drove Regina to the mansion.

"Thank you for the ride," Regina said, as she prepared to get out of the car.

"No problem. Seriously though, get some sleep," Emma said.

"I will."

Regina laid down in her bed after setting her alarm for 1:30 p.m. which would give her a couple of hours of rest. She also had to move pillows as it appeared that Emma had been lying with one of hers. She also noticed Emma hadn't made the bed. If she hadn't been so tired she might have at least sent a snarky text message to the other woman about her lack of courtesy in not taking care of Regina's things. Instead Regina pulled the blankets up and closed her eyes.

It didn't take long for sleep to pull her under and while she slept, she inched closer to the side of the bed Emma had laid on until she was lying more on Emma's pillow than her own.

When she woke she breathed deeply, smelling the scent of Emma's hair products on the pillow. She rolled over to grab her phone and check how much time she had before the alarm went off, but her phone wasn't there where she left it. There was a piece of paper instead and she snagged it and unfolded it.

"Don't be mad, but you needed more than two hours of sleep – Emma."

Regina sat up realizing while she slept Emma must have come in and taken her phone to prevent it from waking her up at the designated time. It begged the question of what time was it?

She had uncharacteristically slept in the clothes she had on that morning, figuring when she woke she would change out of them. Thoughts of changing though went out of her mind as she left the room in search of a clock. Henry's door was open and she peeked in and saw him lying on his bed reading.

"Henry, what time is it?" she asked.

"Oh, you're awake," he said. "Did you sleep good?"

"It's did you sleep well, and yes I did, but what time is it?"

"It's just after 5 p.m. Everyone should be getting here soon. Mom sort spread the word around town that since everyone had been working so hard with the flood that they all needed a rest so they should go home or to the shelter early tonight."

"She did what?"

"Don't you think it's a good idea?"

"Of course. Everyone has been working long hours; I just wish she would have consulted me first."

"She said you needed your sleep more than most. She said you have been using your magic too much and she was worried about you. Is that true, have you been using it too much?"

Regina sighed. "I may have overdone it a bit, yes, but your mother needs to understand that my magic recharges rather quickly too."

"Does this mean you are going to have dinner with us here tonight?" he asked.

"Yes, dinner sounds really good," she said and it did as she had slept through lunch and had toast for breakfast. "I think I will take a shower and change clothes first however."

She went back into her room and sat on the edge of the bed thinking about things. She couldn't say she was entirely surprised that Emma would come in and steal her phone while she slept. Although she was surprised she hadn't woken up. The few times she had spent the night in the same bed with Robin she tended to be a little more restless because she was not used to sleeping in the same room with someone.

She knew it was nothing against Robin, it was just a habit she had gotten from her time being married to the king. Yet, she hadn't been that way with Emma in her bed, and she wasn't sure she was ready to go down that line of thinking.

Robin and Emma both appeared to care for her, but it seemed different somehow – how they both approached it was different. Robin was as concerned for her as Emma was but he expressed it differently. There was almost a hesitation about him, which she figured had more to do with the situation surrounding her sister more than anything else. It was like he was forever looking at her like he needed to make amends, but he wasn't sure how to do it.

With Emma, there was hesitation but it was more like she was going against her own nature. Emma was a free spirit in a lot of ways. She jumped into action without putting a lot of thought into matters. That side of her was magnified at times when she was the Dark One and acted on impulse. Regina could relate to it from her own actions as the Evil Queen where she acted on her emotions more than reason. Now Emma appeared to be more cautious about things, including her interactions with Regina.

She would never admit it but she kind of liked impulsive Emma.

Not that she wasn't impulsive still –the other night when she had gotten angry and poofed away was enough proof of that.

Deciding she had given the matter enough thought for the moment she entered the bathroom for a much needed shower.

Emma stopped in the kitchen to see what was for dinner before taking the steps up two at a time. She paused at Henry's door.

"Has she been up?"

"Yes, she got up maybe 25 to 30 minutes ago," he said. "She said she was staying for dinner."

"Good," Emma smiled. "Is she in her room?"

"Yeah."

"Did she seem mad at all?"

"Nope."

"Good."

Emma knocked on the door to Regina's room but when there was no answer she wondered if Regina hadn't fallen back asleep. She slipped in afraid of waking her if she was asleep. There was no Regina on the bed, but she heard some movement in the bathroom and figured she would be out soon enough. It would give her enough time to straighten up the bed a bit. She got the feeling Regina was a stickler for such things.

She was on her side tucking in the flat sheet when Regina came out of the bathroom. Emma straightened up – her mouth partly open – as she saw Regina was only wearing a towel.

Both women were frozen in place.

"I um … I wasn't expecting you to be in here or I would have brought clothes into the bathroom with me," Regina said hastily.

Emma continued to stand there taking in the sight of Regina's bare legs and letting her eyes travel upwards.

"Miss Swan, perhaps you could be so kind as to step outside while I put some clothes on," Regina said with more than a little tension in her voice.

"Oh, uh sure," Emma said.

She made it to the door, her hand on the doorknob when she quickly turned and advanced on Regina, who took a step backward a moment before Emma wrapped an arm around her, pulled her close and kissed her.

Emma poured every ounce of passion she could into that kiss; hoping that this time Regina wouldn't reject her.

She felt Regina's lips press back against hers and she deepened the kiss.

As much as she didn't want to, she was the one who broke off the kiss. Still she kept her face within inches of Regina's.

"Don't say anything," Emma said. "Just let me say what I need to say; what I should have said when you helped me break the Dark One's curse. There is something here between us, and I know you feel it too. All I am asking for is a chance. Give me a chance to show you that I am the one for you. I am not saying it's going to be easy or that we won't end up trying to kill each other before it's all said and done, but if you can forgive Robin, surely you forgive me for not speaking up sooner. I know I have created a mess for you by not saying something before this. I could say that I didn't because I'm only now feeling comfortable in my own skin once again after carrying around the taint of that dagger. The truth is, I was afraid. I was afraid of what I was feeling and afraid you didn't feel the same way. Please, give me a chance."