A.N: Because so many wanted it, I wrote a multi-chapter Re Beauty fic. Let's all hope I update regularly. "I Let Her Go" serves as a prologue to this, but I wouldn't necessarily say you need to read it to understand this. Might help though. If anyone wants to beta this story, drop me a message and we'll talk.
Ruby tentatively walked into Belle's- or rather, Lacey's, Ruby reminded herself - hospital room. The brunette was asleep in her bed and the only noises were Ruby's light footsteps and the sounds of the medical equipment. Ruby sat herself down in a chair in the room. Displeased with its distance from the bed, she moved closer. The sliding of its wooden legs on the linoleum floor caused Belle - Lacey - to stir, her eyes fluttering awake.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up." Ruby apologized softly with a smile, ceasing her movements.
"Who are you?" Lacey asked, her voice making it plainly obvious that she was not fully awake.
"Right, you probably don't remember me. The doctors said the shock from the gunshot wiped out your memory from the last few months." It was a bit of a lie, but it was the only thing Ruby could think of on the spot. "My name is Ruby, we just met a little while ago, but we got pretty close." If you want to call it that,Ruby added in her mind. "I just wanted to come and check on you, Lacey."
"Well at least you're calling me by my proper name. I hate being called Belle and yet everyone keeps insisting on calling me that." Lacey scoffed.
Ruby chuckled, if only she knew. Ruby reached out for Lacey's hand "So how are you feeling?"
"Like I've been shot." Lacey replied, with a sly smirk on her face. She still had no memory of Ruby, but this felt natural, right down to Ruby's hand on top of her own. Ruby was certainly a lot less creepy than the man who had kept coming to see her.
"Well hang in there, the doc says you've got a few more days and then you're out of here." That one wasn't a lie. Ruby reluctantly pulled her hand away. She suddenly felt like an intruder. She didn't belong here at all. She needed an excuse to leave. "Uh, well, my shift at the diner starts pretty soon so I better get going. Drop by when you're feeling better. Or if you feel more comfortable, when you start to remember things. That is if you want to, of course."
Lacey eyed Ruby, unsure of what to make of her sudden need to leave and her rambling. "Uh, okay. Good bye."
"Bye. Get some rest. I hope you feel better." Ruby said as she exited the room. She forced herself to keep calm as she made her way out of the hospital. Her pace quickened with each step and by time she was in the parking lot, she was practically sprinting to her car. Safe inside her vehicle, Ruby let the tears she had been holding back loose, breaking into sobs.
She didn't know why she thought visiting Belle would be a good idea. Of course she had no idea who she was, what had Ruby been expecting? She felt guilt and shame wash over her. She had let Belle go. She had told Belle to go fight for Gold. She had told her to be safe. And what had all of that gotten Belle? A gunshot and no memory of anyone she cared about. What was worse was that Ruby couldn't help but initially think that this was her second chance. Especially when she had heard about Belle throwing Gold out of her room. She had though she had a shot. Maybe Lacey French had met Ruby in her false memories. Maybe enough of her time with Ruby had been salvaged. Ruby now knew all of that wishful thinking was a damn, dirty lie. She was embarrassed to have believed it. She secretly hoped Lacey wouldn't walk into the diner when she was released from the hospital. Ruby couldn't have her, and she didn't want to risk falling harder for her.
-x-
For once Ruby had gotten something she wanted in regards to Lacey. The next time she saw her wasn't at the diner. It was at the inn. Ruby had been working on the books for Granny when Lacey walked in, toting a suitcase.
"Oh, Ruby, right? I thought you worked over at the dinner. Or at least, that's what you said back at the hospital." Lacey rambled a bit, unknowingly feeling just as awkward as Ruby was.
"Uh yeah. My granny owns the inn as well so I get stuck helping out with both." Ruby chuckled, trying to clear the tension in the room. "Uh, so can I help you?"
"Yeah. They took me to that apartment at the library after I was discharged and it just- it just doesn't feel right, right now, you know? I figured I would rent a room here until I figured everything out."
Ruby could lie to her. Tell her that there was no rooms available and apologize. She could keep all of this from happening all over again, but before she knew it she was handing Lacey a key "Up the stairs and take a right. It's the third door on the left. My room's next door if you need anything, so just let me know."
"Thanks." Lacey said, taking the key and heading up the stairs without another word. Ruby let out a sigh, placing her head in her hands, unsure of what she was feeling.
She was brought back to Earth by her phone belting out her text tone. She gave it a quick glance. Mary Margret: Meeting at the apartment. Concerns Belle.Ruby sighed again, not wanting to deal with a meeting about Belle, and taking slight offense on her behalf. Belle had hated people deciding her future for her, and while she couldn't be positive that Lacey had kept that trait, Ruby had a feeling she did. Nonetheless, Ruby figured there should be someone speaking on Lacey's behalf. Be there in 10.She replied to Snow before grabbing her keys and heading out the door of the inn.
-x-
"So I guess there's no beating around the bush, we need a way to break the memory curse and we need it fast. We can't have Belle wandering around town without knowing who she really is." David stated once Leroy and Ruby had shown up at the Charming's apartment.
"Look no offense, but why is the dame our first concern? Sneezy's memories are gone too and I don't see anyone rushing to save him." Leroy commented, a bit disgruntled.
"Sneezy isn't close to Gold, Sneezy wasn't nearly killed by Hook. Belle's got a lot of powerful people interested in her." David retorted quickly.
"Lacey." Ruby correct under her breath.
"Leroy, we all want Sneezy to remember as well, but I think given the current circumstances, Belle is too much of a risk to the town's safety." Snow added, trying to get Leroy on board. No one had heard Ruby's correction.
"Fine, but once she's all fixed up and back to being Gold's little lap dog," Ruby had to resist the urge to tear his throat out, "Sneezy is the new first priority."
"That's fine, Leroy, now can we focus on this?" Leroy seemed to have no objections.
"It shouldn't take too long for Gold and Emma to get back. They aren't going very far and Gold's using magic to find his kid, so why not just wait for him to ride in and save the day with true love's kiss?" Ruby asked, not even attempting to make her suggestion sound any less bitter than she intended. The other three sat around silently, avoiding eye contact with Ruby. At first she thought what she had said had been too strong, but as time passed and no one said anything, she knew it was not the case. "What?"
"Gold kissed Belle while she was in the hospital and… well it obviously didn't work." Mary Margret answered.
"So that means that either Gold isn't her true love anymore, or that this is the one curse that can't be broken by true love's kiss." David continued, however Ruby had stopped listening after 'Gold isn't her true love anymore.' She physically couldn't listen after that. If it were true, just maybe- No. She wouldn't let herself fall into that sort of thinking again.
"If that didn't work we're going to need magic, and last time I check no one in this room was capable of using it, let alone something powerful enough to break a curse. And unless we want to get on our knees and swear fidelity to Regina, I highly doubt she'd help us out." Leroy stated, forever the optimist.
"What about fairy dust? Could that work?" Snow asked.
"The last of what we found was used up by Gold and Regina to try and stop Cora and Hook from getting to Storybrooke."
"And look how well that turned out." Ruby commented under her breath once again. "Listen," she said so that the other three cold hear her now, "The danger isn't that Lacey doesn't have her memories, it's that Lacey doesn't know she's in danger every time she goes for a walk. What if we just told her the truth rather than trying to break the curse."
"How would we get Belle-" David started.
"Lacey." Ruby corrected. This time firmly and loud enough for the room to hear.
"Uh, Lacey," David continued, "to believe us? Henry went around for months telling everyone that we were fairytale characters and we just laughed and said he had a wild imagination. If one of us does it, she'll think we're crazy."
"I'll do it."
"Ruby-" Snow started, fully aware of Ruby's feelings.
"No. I can do this, Snow. Belle and I were fast friends, I don't see any reason why Lacey and I won't be. I'll gain her trust and when the time is right I'll tell her everything. If that doesn't work… Well we've got Henry's book and I've got the wolf. If that won't convince her, I don't know what will." The others said nothing, no one could argue against Ruby.
"Alright, Ruby," David conceded. "You can try it your way, but if we can find a cure, we're going to use it."
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
The meeting being over, Ruby went to leave, but Snow stopped her at the door while Leroy and David were discussing other town business. "I don't doubt your intentions, but you and I both know what happened the night Be- Lacey was shot. Red, if this is an attempt to win her, you're just going to end up hurting yourself. You're working with a blank slate and that can be more dangerous in the long run."
"I let her go, Snow. She's not mine to win. She was never even mine to lose in the first place. I'm doing this for her, not for me."