Regina soaked in the bath for a good half an hour, the warm water and salts helped eased her stiff aching joints. Using her favourite Lavender shampoo, Regina lathered her hair up and washed her body with a matching scented soap. However, even that simple act tired her out. She was having a particularly bad time with fatigue at the moment and even a simple task of washing herself left her wanting a nap. This left Regina feeling frustrated and sad. She was a woman who would work twelve hour days and live off five hours sleep a night (if she was lucky to sleep that long.) She slapped the water in frustration and rang the bell next to her.

As Noodle heard the bell he knew that meant Kathryn or Ruby was coming so he ran off barking to get them. He met Kat halfway on the stairs and led the blonde to a depressed and tired looking Regina. "Are you ready to come out?" She asked and Regina kept her gaze down and nodded. Kathryn removed the plug and let the scented water run away. Grabbing the remote she lifted the bath seat up and helped her out of the bath. She got her dried and dressed, Regina struggling to do most of it with how tired she was.

Noodle sat next to her throughout, giving her hand a nudge and a lick when he could sense Regina was getting stressed and upset. The brunette didn't put up any fight with Kathryn helping her and as usual was her silent self. Once downstairs Regina placed her at the dining table and brought her breakfast of porridge and orange juice out. Regina slowly ate her unappealing breakfast and propped her head up with her hand. Kathryn placed her own breakfast on the table and sat next to her.

"Ruby said you struggled with your food last night? Were you not hungry?" Kathryn asked softly. Regina gave her a shrug. "Are you in more pain than usual?" Regina gave another shrug. She was far too exhausted to make any type of conversation with her life long best friend now carer. "I'm guessing the fatigue is still kicking your ass hard at the moment then?" She asked and Regina looked up to give her a glare that said shut up right now. Kathryn let out a soft chuckle, "Okay, okay, I'll shut up." Nothing about Regina scared her, it never had. As Mayor, Regina could make grown men cower with just a look but it never worked on Kathryn since they have known each other from being babies.

After breakfast she got Regina comfy on the huge black leather L shaped couch and gave Regina the remote for the huge seventy inch 4K smart Tv. Regina had bought it a few months ago to try and make her feel something, but it didn't excite her like it would have a number of years ago. Regina had loved shopping and having all the most up to date gadgets and electronics.

The exhausted woman pulled her legs up and was propped up by pillows as she turned the tv on. She put it on the Food Network channel and closed her eyes so she could rest. She gently patted the couch and Noodle jumped up to sit next to the woman. Noodle placed his head onto her lap and nudged her hand so she could place it on his head. She obliged with a tired smile and even though her hand was still, he was happy with that.

Two hours of dozing for Regina and housekeeping for Kathryn later, the blonde sat next to Noodle on the couch. "I have a date tomorrow night." Kathryn casually mentioned but Regina noticed she was nervous about it.

Regina arched her eyebrow in slight surprise and in a way to ask her to continue.

"Yeah, with Frederick Midas." Kathryn admitted with an unlike her, shy smile. Regina reached out for her Ipad and wrote down on her writing app, "The teacher?"

Kathryn read the note and nodded, "Yeah the primary school teacher. I was having dinner at Granny's and he asked if he could sit with me as there was nowhere else to sit."

"What happened?"

"Well we got talking about what we were eating at first. He seemed really shy but pleasant enough. I did have to lead the conversation quite a bit to begin with though."

"He sounds riveting."She typed with a roll of her eyes. Kathryn laughed as she read that and gave her hand a very gentle and playful swat.

"Fred was a little shy but the longer we talked the more confident he became. He's very sweet and with a great sense of humour." Kathryn smiled fondly as she reminisced about last night.

Regina gave her a small smile as she watched the emotions on Kat's face. She knew Kat had not had a date in well over a year. Regina knew that was her fault, caring for her full time didn't leave much time for dating or socialising. Especially the amount of stress she puts her under.

"I'm happy for you." Regina wrote to her. "Finish early tomorrow. Leave me a sandwich and a drink and ill be fine until Ruby comes. Remember I have my care link pendant if I need help."

Kathryn shook her head, "I will be fine Regina and I don't want to leave you on your own just because I'm going on a date."

Regina gave her a stern look and typed out, "You're going early end of discussion."

Kathryn rolled her eyes at the stubborn brunette. "It's very generous of you. But I will see if Ruby will come early."

Regina huffed at her wishes being ignored and at the reminder that she needed constant support. Her eyes went back to the TV and tried to concentrate on the Chinese food programme. She missed cooking a lot. From the methodical preparations to experimenting with various flavours and techniques, she loved everything about it. However, now she couldn't use the oven safely because of the wheelchair. Then the fatigue can stop her preparing for too long.

Kat saw Regina as she shut down from her and let out a quiet sigh. The blonde put her arm around her shoulders and Regina shrugged her off abruptly not wanting the contact. Kat respected her wishes and removed her arm. Regina put her legs over the edge of the couch and got back into her chair. Regina was feeling angry and frustrated and needed to be away from her. Once Regina got to the patio doors and after a struggle to get them open she pushed her way out to the patio. Noodle followed her obediently and ran out to the grass as Regina threw a ball using the ball chucker. It didn't go very far but the device allowed it to go much further than without using it. Noodle didn't care and he kept running about and barking in excitement. Her therapy dog was pretty much the only thing that made her really smile anymore.

Kathryn stood up and went to make a start on lunch, she was almost used to Regina's moods. But it still hurt to see her best friend so broken. Regina was always a private person, many people viewed her as cold because of it. She was never like that with Kat and Ruby though. The woman was warm, protective and playful with her best friends. The woman she was caring for was a million miles away from the woman she grew up with. Kat had to have faith that she would appear again but the more time passed the less likely it was becoming.