A/N: This comes from a prompt sent by a friend. Prompt: "Regina is having trouble dealing with her period and Emma comes to help her." Mostly just fluff but there is some plot hidden somewhere in all the sappiness. Rated T for some language, though, honestly if you've read anything else by me this is pretty mild in comparison. Just a short story for fun. As always, let me know what you think of it.
"Yes, I understand, Mrs. Howard," Emma Swan sighed into her phone, forehead resting in the palm of her hand. "I understand that you're upset, but there's not a lot I can do here. Just because there are some teenagers hanging around on the sidewalk in front of her house it doesn't mean they're planning a break-in."
"You haven't seen these boys," the old woman on the other end of the line harrumphed. Emma had grown used to the woman's complaints-she called usually once a day to whine. "They're very shifty. One of them is wearing a hoodie."
"A telltale sign of delinquency," the Sheriff answered in a voice that practically dripped with sarcasm. "Look, Mrs. Howard, they're probably just playing. You know, like kids do sometimes. I can't exactly arrest them for standing on the sidewalk since that's kind of why it's there. If they end up on your property, that's another story. Until then, though, my hands are tied, and you can't keep calling me every ten minutes over them. This is an emergency line, and, unless it's an emergency, you cannot call it. Thank you, have a wonderful day. Goodbye."
"But, Sheriff Swan-"
Emma slammed the phone down on the hook and massaged her temple.
"I swear to God, if that woman calls me one more time," she mumbled to herself. It had been a hell of a day. First, she'd had to go drag Leroy out of Granny's where he was still drunk from the previous night and causing a serious disturbance. Which always meant a tussle with the angry dwarf to get him into the holding cell to sleep it off. Her jaw was still a little sore from where he'd managed to get in a good shot. There had been some traffic violations later on, which translated to endless amounts of mind-numbing paperwork for the young Sheriff. A fight between a pair of pirates near the docks. Some kids busted for truancy. Nothing major, but it still exhausted her. It seemed the minor, petty things drained her the most. While she didn't miss fighting demon lost boys and ice queens and Dark Ones-both Gold and herself-she had to admit that the normal town issues she faced as Sheriff felt like a colossal waste of time in comparison. After everything those people had been through, you'd think they'd learn to deal with their stupid problems on their own.
There was a light at the end of the tunnel, however. As soon as she got off from work, she was on her way to 108 Mifflin Street where she would spend the night with her girlfriend and son. The thought alone of seeing her two favorite people brought a smile to her lips. Most days, she drifted between sleeping at the loft with her parents and baby brother and at the Mills' residence, although she greatly preferred sleeping over at the mayor's. Not that she didn't love her parents and Neal-she'd spent well over half of her life hoping to find her family one day, and now she finally had them. It was just that sleeping over at Regina's place had so many more benefits than scrunching up in the twin bed at the loft. For one, she knew she wouldn't be woken up three hours by her brother's crying. Two, Regina would cook dinner, and that was a delicious plus. And, of course, there were the bedtime perks. Super sexy bedtime perks. Those were her favorite.
Emma glanced over at the clock on her desk. Five-fifty-four. Six more minutes and then her dad would show up to to take over her shift at the station. Sighing, she sat back and fished her cell phone out her skin-tight jeans. Unlocking the screen, she typed out a text message to her girlfriend of one year.
Hey, babe. Almost off from work. What's for dinner tonight?
She sent it and started on a new game of Angry Birds to help pass the time. A few minutes later, Regina's response came.
I'm afraid I won't be cooking tonight, Emma.
Emma's face fell slightly. Something felt strange about the message. Sinking her teeth into her bottom lip, she typed out another text. Okay, that's fine. I could pick up our usual from Granny's on the way over. Or you, me, and Henry could go out to eat, if you'd like. Family night?
This time, she didn't turn to games as she waited. Something wasn't right. Emma couldn't shake the feeling. Along with her lie-detector super power, she also possessed an affinity for reading people. Even over text.
The vibration and ring from the phone in her palm captured her attention, and she looked down eagerly.
I think it would be better if perhaps you would spend tonight with your parents, Emma. I'm not really feeling up to company or going out.
Emma frowned. Didn't feel up to company? Since when did Regina not feel up to company? Or, more specifically, her company. Typing in the all-too familiar number, she pressed send and put the phone to her ear. Five rings, and then an answer.
"Hello?" Regina's voice sounded heavy with fatigue on the line.
"Hey," Emma said. "Are you feeling okay? You aren't sick, are you?"
"No, I'm not sick," the brunette answered with a sigh. "Just feeling a bit under the weather right now."
"That's kind of the definition of sick, Regina," Emma chuckled lowly. "Let me come by. I'll rent a bunch of lousy movies and make you soup."
"That's sweet, Emma, but it's not necessary," Regina insisted. "I'd hate to put you out."
"It's no problem, Gina-I want to do it."
"Emma-"
"Maybe I could pick you up some meds, too? Is it like a stomach thing or headache or-"
"Emma!" Regina's sharp, angry tone silenced the blonde. "I don't want soup or movies or medication, do you understand? Do not come over here tonight. I don't want to see you right now." Before Emma could fumble out a response, the line went dead. For a moment, the Sheriff sat there, wide-eyed with her mouth hanging open.
"What?" She finally said to herself, dropping her phone on the desk. "Wait, what the hell just happened?" She was no stranger to Regina's anger, but she almost always knew why her girlfriend was pissed at her. Usually, it was because of something stupid Emma said or did. What exactly had she said to get on Regina's bad side this time? She'd offered to take care of her for the entire evening. How was that a bad thing? If anything, Emma had expected some brownie points from the gesture.
"Hey, Em." David walked briskly into the station, tossing his jacket on the back of his chair. "Sorry I'm a little late. Your mother and I got into an argument, and I couldn't just leave without settling it."
"Uh-huh," Emma nodded absently, her mind still stuck on Regina.
"Nothing major," he continued just as inattentively as his daughter. "In fact, it was probably the dumbest argument we've ever had."
The Sheriff turned her phone over and over in her hand. "You don't say."
"I don't even know where it came from. One second, we were all fine, and then-BOOM! She's screaming at me. Honestly, who gets that mad over whether the toilet paper rolls under or over." He shook his head exasperatedly. "I don't know. She's been on-edge for the past few days, snapping off over the least things. Maybe it's hormonal."
"Maybe." Then, Emma's eyes widened. Hormonal. That explained it all. Regina's sickness. Her crabby mood. She was totally PMS-ing. "That's it!" The blonde jumped to her feet and threw her arms around her father's neck. "Dad, you're a genius!"
"I am?" He questioned in a very not-genius manner. "What are you talking about? Emma?"
The Savior wasn't listening to him. She paced the floor ahead of him a moment. What should she do? She knew how vicious she could get whenever that time of the month rolled around, but this was Regina. The ex-Evil Queen. She might have been reformed, but Emma knew that sometimes Her Royal Majesty still made an appearace whenever her girlfriend got angry enough. And if anything could make Regina pulled a Hulk-transformation, it was PMS. Maybe she should just let her have her time alone...
No. No way was she going to let Regina push her out this time. If being the Savior had taught Emma one thing, it was there was a time to fight, and there was a time to run away. And when it came to Regina, she'd always fight for her.
"Emma, are you okay?" David asked, furrowing his brow at his spaced-out daughter. First Snow and now Emma. Were all the women in his life going nuts at once?
"I'm fine," she said, grabbing her things from her desk. "I have to go, Dad. I'll talk to you later. Call me if you have any emergencies."
"Um... okay?" David said as Emma headed out the door. "Have a nice night." He decided against asking any questions. While he and Emma were very much alike and had a great relationship, she was still a member of the opposite sex, and if there was one thing that David knew he'd never understand, it was women. Best to just keep his mouth shut and play dumb most of the time.
Emma made a mad dash through town to get to all the places she needed before they closed for the evening. First, she hit the drugstore and picked up a few vital items. Then, she ran into the movie rental store before finally making a stop by the florist. After that, she sped towards the mayor's home in VW Bug, jaw squared and fingers coiled tightly around her steering wheel in determination.
"Regina Mills," she muttered to herself. "Prepare to get the shit loved out of you."