Ruby made it to the Mayoral Mansion at around half-past three. She looked and felt a little better, more like her old self, after showering and changing into fresh clothes, but she was still tired. She slowly made her way up the stone path that lead to the mayor's front door and raised a finger to press against the doorbell. It only took a minute before the maid pulled open the door. She was an older woman with graying hair and soft brown eyes, reminiscent of Ruby's own grandmother, and she smiled at Ruby, warm and kind.

"May I help you?" she asked.

Ruby faltered for a second, then said, "Uh, yeah. Yes, ma'am. I'm here to see Mayor Mills, if she's in."

The woman's eyes traveled over Ruby, taking her in, and paused over the gun and badge holstered at her hip. "Oh, you're the deputy," she said, realization dawning over her face. Her smile widened. "The one who saved Mayor Mills' life. Please, come inside.

Ruby felt a hint of a blush creeping up onto her cheeks and she hoped the other woman didn't notice. She smiled politely and ducked her head as she stepped into the house. It was warm and inviting, more so than Ruby had expected, especially given who lived there. It wasn't a secret that Regina Mills wasn't exactly the nicest person. She was as stubborn and arrogant as she was beautiful, and she made a fierce and fearsome leader, governing over the citizens of Storybrooke with an iron fist that didn't let up, not even for the most trivial of things. But here now, Ruby thought she might get a sense of who the woman was behind the cold, hard facade. If nothing else, at least she felt somewhat welcome here, even though she hadn't even met with Regina yet. Hell, she wasn't even sure if the woman would want to see her. After all, she had just showed up unannounced.

"She's just in her office going over some files, since she can't be at City Hall right now," the maid informed as she headed toward the short corridor just off the entry hall. "I'll go and tell her you're here."

Ruby just nodded and stood awkwardly between the front door and the stairway. She stuffed her hands into her pockets and let her eyes roam over the room, taking in the art work and the soft, muted colors; the sculptures scattered around and what looked to be family photos spread out on the side table. Ruby made her way over to get a closer look. She had just lifted one of the smaller frames from its resting place and began to study the face of the man in the picture when the maid came back.

"Oh, that's Mayor Mills' father," the old woman said softly, when Ruby glanced up at her. "He passed away some years ago, but she likes to keep a few things of his around. She doesn't speak about him much though."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ruby said, as she placed the photo back in its rightful place and stuffed her hands back into her pockets.

The maid smiled. "Don't be, child. It's quite all right. The mayor says she can see you now though, so maybe save the browsing for another time," she said, motioning for Ruby to follow her as she turned and made her way back down the hall.

When they reached one of the dark wooden doors, the maid raised her hand and rapped gently three times. Ruby heard the mayor's voice sound from within, giving them permission to enter. The maid opened the door and ushered Ruby into the office, and then left, pulling the door closed behind her.

"Deputy Lucas," Regina greeted, looking up from the papers spread out on her desk. She removed her reading glasses and folded them, setting them neatly on the desk, and then gave Ruby a small smile. "Please, come in. Have a seat," she said, clasping her hands in front of her on top of the desk.

Ruby slowly made her way forward and took a seat in one of the empty chairs in front of the desk. She crossed her legs, and then uncrossed them, and then crossed them again nervously.

"It's good to see you were well enough to leave the hospital," Regina said. "You certainly look much better than you did last time I saw you."

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, I, uh, I feel quite a bit better now. Just a little leftover cough and some fatigue to deal with," she said, trying to keep the anxiety out of her voice.

"Good, good," Regina said, nodding. "So, I take it you needed to speak to me about something?"

"Yes, ma'am. I wanted to, uh-I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Ah, well, I can assure you that I am fine, thanks to you. It would seem I didn't inhale as much smoke as one might have thought."

"That's good."

Regina hummed in agreement. "You know, Deputy, I owe you my life," she said, after a moment. Her voice was low and somber. "If you hadn't rushed in to help me, I might not have made it out of that fire."

"I was just doing my job, ma'am," Ruby said, feeling that familiar warmth rising in her cheeks again.

"Still, I am very grateful," Regina said softly.

Ruby swallowed against the lump that had unexpectedly formed in her throat. "Emma and Graham told me," she blurted, immediately wishing she could take the words back because the look that passed over Regina's face then-it was a little bit terrifying. The woman looked like she had been caught, like a deer in headlights.

"What do you mean?" the older woman asked, sitting up a little straighter in her chair.

"Uh, just that-well, they told me you went by the station a few times, to check up on me," Ruby clarified, shifting nervously in her chair.

She shouldn't have been the anxious one. She was the one with authority here; she carried the gun and the badge, ran into burning buildings to save people, fought tooth and nail to protect the town. But Regina was the one who truly held all the power, and she could have easily used that power to bring Ruby to her knees should the young deputy say anything out of line. She was already treading dangerously close to doing just that, but something about Regina's face in that moment told Ruby she hadn't quite crossed that line just yet.

"Oh. I see," Regina said, lips pulling into a tight line. "Well, that's true."

It sounded almost as if she had just admitted defeat, and naturally, she was loathe to do so.

"You could have come to see me," Ruby told her.

Regina said nothing to that.

Instead of back-pedaling like she should have though, Ruby pushed forward. "I mean, it would have been okay. I'd have been okay with it," she said. "If you were worried, you could have-"

"Worried?" Regina interjected, raising a single eyebrow up at Ruby.

"You weren't?" Ruby asked, eyeing the other woman carefully. "I mean, Emma said you seemed pretty concerned when you asked about me. Was she wrong?"

The mayor bristled slightly at that, mostly at the mention of the sheriff's name, but then her features softened and she let out a sigh. "No. No, she wasn't wrong. I was worried about you. I just-well, I didn't know if it was appropriate for me to visit you at the hospital," she admitted. "I didn't want to impose or intrude."

"You wouldn't have been," Ruby assured, giving the mayor a small smile. "I'd have appreciated it, actually. I mean, not that you're obligated to visit me or even to thank me. Like I said, I was just doing my job. But... it would have been nice to have someone other than Graham and Emma there to check on me."

Regina nodded her understanding. "I apologize if I seemed ungrateful. I'll be honest and tell you that I wasn't quite sure how to react when I heard that you needed medical care. I was a bit too caught up in myself, I suppose. I felt guilty for a time, as well, and I didn't know how to deal with that either."

"I guess guilt's not something you do, huh?" Ruby asked lightly.

Regina shook her head. "It's not. Neither is concern for others, to be frank, but you saved my life, Deputy. I at least owe you some sort of thanks for that. I'm not completely cold and callous, in spite of that being the popular belief around this town."

Ruby didn't know what to say to that, so she opted to just keep her mouth shut for the time being.

"I'd like to make you an offer," Regina continued.

"Wait... you're not talking about money or something, are you?" Ruby cut in.

"No, no. Though, that could be arranged, if you would like."

"No, I don't-I can't take your money, Mayor Mills."

"Very well, then. What I was going to say was, if there is anything I can do to thank you, if there is ever anything you need or if there's something I can help you with, I'd like you to let me know. Don't hesitate to call me or to come by my office. Will you at least do that?"

Ruby nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good," Regina said.

"I should get going," Ruby said, pushing herself up onto her feet. "I've got to get to the station and catch up on what I missed, so maybe I can get back to work tomorrow."

"Back to the grind so soon?" Regina asked.

"Yep, I can't really afford the time off, so," Ruby said, trailing off as she turned to leave.

"Deputy," Regina called out, effectively halting Ruby and causing the other woman to turn and face her again. "Please, remember what I said. If I can do anything, anything at all. Don't hesitate," she said.

Ruby smiled. "I'll remember," she said, as she turned on her heel and headed for the door.