AN: This story was written for Red Queen Week 2016. Shout out to the organizers for this fantastic event and to every writer who contributes! You all keep the Red Queen dreams alive.

Also, a small but important pre-story warning that this work will contain mentions of and depictions of incredibly sensitive acts and events. Please use caution, and if you are easily triggered by such things, don't read this one. It's not worth getting torn up just to read one piece of fan fiction, so please, please, please use wisdom and take care of yourselves, folks.

That said, I will put warnings in the notes at the beginning of chapters that contain such material. And if you desire more extensive notes and tags and such, they can be found in my posting over on AO3.

Standard Disclaimer: The characters don't belong to me, which is a good thing else I might never get anything done. They are Adam and Eddie's. Please, guys, don't sue me!

"I step out my front door, and it comes back to you / The end of my driveway, it comes back to you" - "Permission" by Sixx A.M.

Prologue

"Regina!"

Ruby breaks into a sprint when she sees her girlfriend crossing the street along with Emma and an older gentleman she doesn't recognize. The small party stops in unison in response to her frantic call, turning in just in time to see her skid to a halt before them. Ruby is suddenly thankful she had the good sense to forgo heels for sneakers this morning.

"Ruby?"

Regina tenses in confusion at Ruby's arrival, but her reaction is softened by an underlying layer of affection which betrays the abatement of her earlier anger. Ruby breathes a sigh of relief at yet another thing to be thankful for.

Not more than an hour ago Regina's recent obsession with cleaving Robin from her crazy sister was the topic of a rather heated exchange between them. After throwing around some hurtful words that for Ruby's part she hadn't meant, Regina stormed out in a rage, leaving Ruby's nerves strained to the limit.

Her concern over Regina's actions of late have not stemmed from any particular dislike of Robin – quite the opposite actually. There are few men Ruby knows of more honor than Robin Hood, and even fewer whose unwavering sincerity proved sufficient to pierce so jaded a heart as Regina's. Robin's many virtues are well documented, and though Regina insists otherwise, Ruby cannot help but analyze herself with respect to them and feel she falls short in comparison.

There is also the additional fact that Regina's continual care for Robin casts a tiny shadow of doubt over the depth of her affections. That there is any doubt at all is no small cause of shame to Ruby. She is being petty, and she knows it, but she can't help fearing she will inevitably do or say something wrong to send Regina running into Robin's waiting arms. Were that to happen, Ruby is not sure she would ever manage to retrieve the shattered remnants of her heart.

Pondering upon Robin invariably leads Ruby's thoughts back to when he had crossed the town line with the woman he thought was his wife all those months ago (six to be exact). As was expected, Regina put on a facade of detachment, but Ruby was not fooled. She'd seen just how deeply Regina felt for him and knew, as well as everyone else did, that the Mayor's stoicism was an attempt to internalize her pain.

In the days and weeks after Robin's departure, Regina increasingly isolated herself from the people that cared about her in order to grieve privately. To Ruby's keen disappointment, Regina's so-called friends seemed to accept the distance, giving her a wide berth she didn't really need. It was easy to see how it might seem Regina wanted to be left alone since the former Queen put up a strong front with the best of them, but Ruby knew from personal experience that such alienation was the worst thing possible for someone caught in the vertigo-inducing undertow of profound grief.

Many years ago Ruby had killed the boy she loved because she hadn't known she harbored a ravenous beast beneath her human skin. If it weren't for Snow's affectionate persistence, she might have succumbed to the temptation to curl in on herself in an effort to remain forever sundered from human interaction. Already mired in the guilty despair that had threatened to suffocate the life out of her, choosing to remove herself from human contact would surely have driven her to the brink of insanity, which only became all too apparent to Ruby upon meeting her hedonistic mother. That encounter reinforced for Ruby just how much she needed to be around the people she loved, and after that, she was never found far from Snow's side again.

In peering through the lens of her own experience, Ruby believed that rather than respectful passivity, Regina had needed active support from those that cared for her most. The proud but hurting Mayor had needed a Snow to lean on just like Ruby did – that is, a persistent friend who wouldn't take no for an answer even under the threat of receiving a fireball to the face. Being aware of this pained Ruby because everyone in Regina's inner circle seemed to be so wrapped up in their own business that they couldn't see her suffering, or if they did, they willfully ignored it whilst sitting idly on their asses.

Ruby was particularly upset with Snow, though she could not really come up with justifications for anyone else either. But because of what she and Snow had lived through together, there was no acceptable excuse in her mind for her best friend to not recognize the signs of Regina's withdrawal, especially when Snow claimed so often and so vehemently to love Regina. And yet the hard truth was that Snow did miss all the signs right along with everyone else.

The same people, Snow included, who should have been there for Regina had their noses stuffed so far up their own asses that they didn't notice the subtle changes in her demeanor. They remained blissfully ignorant as those fiery brown eyes began to dull on a daily basis and they didn't seem to care that more often than not Regina looked like she was slowly folding in on herself almost as if gravity was crushing her into an inescapable singularity one excruciating inch at a time. Finally after a week of watching the older woman look and act so defeated, Ruby grew tired of inaction and decided to do something on her own.

One day when Regina was loitering on her favorite bench in the park, Ruby used the guise of happenstance as an excuse to interact with the ailing Mayor. Truth be told she had caught sight of a downtrodden Regina meandering toward the park after leaving the diner one afternoon and had not-so-subtly arranged a break so she could, "go for a quick run to blow off some steam." Granny's knowing eyebrow raise and look of disapproval had not deterred Ruby one bit as she sped out the door to the harsh jingling of bells and the curious eyes of the customers.

When she approached Regina in the park, the older woman was absently stirring her morning coffee while appearing perpetually on the verge of tears. Seeing that it was a slow day at the diner and they were alone at that point in the park, Ruby sidled over and quite without invitation plopped down next to Regina on the bench.

"Does this look like doggy day at the park, Miss Lucas?" Regina had snarked, sable brows scrunched together in annoyance.

Ruby just grinned back at her. "Nope, but this spot was empty and my legs needed a rest. I hope you don't mind."

"Not that it matters," Regina rolled her eyes. "But I suppose I could have worse company on such a dreary day. A black cat for instance."

Ruby chuckled at the second dig at her affliction. She took Regina's humor being intact as a good sign.

"While that was a backwards compliment if I ever heard one, I'll take it."

"A wise decision." Regina had then turned to stare off into the distance, eyes going dull again.

Silence then descended, and Ruby shuffled in her seat for a few moments before something unexpected happened. Out of the blue words began tumbling out of her as if her brain inexplicably lost its filter. In a stream of consciousness confession fit for only the most patient of priests, she bared her heart to the wounded woman sitting next to her, relating her own story in all its gory details.

At first, Regina had looked stunned beyond the fact she was being engaged by a person she only rarely interacted with outside of a professional setting and whose existence she at best shallowly acknowledged. But Ruby couldn't seem to help herself. She'd prattled on and on about how she understood Regina's pain, attempting to prove her assertions by disclosing the most sensitive part of her tragic past.

As Regina listened, shocked but fascinated, Ruby described Peter, her first love, relaying with a wistful smile her perpetually vivid memories of his charm and wit, of how handsome he was and how patient he had been with her while she was dealing with changes in herself she hadn't understood. She also admitted to Regina that she was so certain of her love for Peter that she gave him her virginity and that it still haunted her to know she was directly responsible for his death.

In a turn of events she hadn't honestly expected, the more Ruby shared the more she felt Regina start to soften. After finishing her tale, much to her pleasant surprise. the battered former Queen opened up to her in return. In muted tones, Regina related the story of her own young love with her precious stable boy, Daniel, and by the time she was done telling her story, they were both were in tears – of course, Ruby had cried far uglier than the ever-elegant Queen.

Ultimately, Ruby's gesture wound up being a cathartic experience for both women, having served as an outlet for them to unburden themselves of pain they had held on to for far too long. That it seemed to help Regina forget about Robin for a moment was an added bonus that gave Ruby an incredible amount of satisfaction.

That day in the park was the beginning of something precious. After that Regina started coming in to the diner more and more frequently just to talk while sipping on a cup of coffee or a specially made milkshake. Eventually they got so comfortable with one another that she even asked for Ruby's phone number so they could continue their conversations in a more private setting. Night after night they held hours long conversations, discussing anything and everything that came to mind. By the time a month passed, Ruby began to anticipate Regina's calls so much that each night at a quarter til 10, she would drop whatever she was doing, scramble to her apartment, and hop into bed to eagerly await the ringing of her phone.

I didn't take very long for her to realize that she was falling in love, and it wasn't just a gradual descent but was precipitous and thrilling and so all-consuming that her entire life began to revolve around Regina. But at the same time, she also knew that Regina did not return that sentiment, having still been – or at least Ruby had thought she was – hung up on Robin. With the revelation of her feelings being ostensibly stymied as they were unrequited, panic set in hard and fast, which in turn triggered Ruby's fight or flight response.

In an unfortunate show of cowardice, she tried to temporarily extricate herself from the budding friendship in order to regroup. But after three days of totally avoiding the unwitting object of her affections, Ruby was surprised to receive a visit at her apartment from an extremely confused Regina.

"Why are you avoiding me? Did I do something wrong?" she'd asked the moment Ruby opened the door, and she had appeared so hurt and vulnerable standing in the doorway that Ruby cursed herself for her utter lack of a spine.

"No, not even close," Ruby had sighed, hating her cowardice but seeing an opportunity to rectify it. It was one she refused to let slip away. "The problem is that you did something right."

Looking up with haunted brown eyes, Regina drew her brows tightly together. "I don't understand."

Averting her eyes, Ruby had considered how transparent she should be. Wrestling that answer out of the titanic struggle between her head and her heart was not easy under the pressure of not wanting to hurt Regina while preserving her own feelings. At first she'd been tempted by logic to simply soothe Regina's fears without revealing too much, not wanting to risk their burgeoning friendship. But her heart had an altogether different purpose, and in the end, as it usually goes with Ruby, the heart got what it wanted.

Scared beyond belief, she'd turned her eyes back to Regina with a hesitant, imploring expression that was an echo of the turmoil she'd felt inside.

"I don't know what to say except to just be honest with you, so here goes" she'd begun. "I'm in love with you. I don't know how it happened, it just did, and I know you don't feel the same way. You love Robin, and I'm okay with that. Really, I am. It's just hard to be your friend right now when I feel this way." Taking a shaky breath, Ruby brushed a nervous hand over her hastily tied back hair. "I need time to get past this, Regina. If you can give me that, I promise things will go back to the way they were. We can still be friends."

Holding a white knuckled grip on the opened door, Regina floored Ruby by responding with the words that changed everything. "And what if I don't want you to get past it? What if friendship is not enough for me anymore?"

Not daring to hope, Ruby had just stared until the earnestness in Regina's eyes convinced her she was not hearing things or that her imagination was not running amok on her. Her breath leaving her in a whoosh, she stumbled back. "I...I..." she stuttered, tripping as clumsily on her words as she was with her feet. "Do you...do you mean that?"

All at once Regina's entire demeanor changed. Her confidence came back along with her swagger, and without hesitation she stepped forward to lean into Ruby's personal space. "Would I do this if I didn't?"

And then their lips were touching, chastely at first, but rapidly shifting into something dangerous when Regina pressed flush against Ruby and tilted her head to deepen the kiss. Ruby can still remember how the whole world faded away as her toes curled up inside her ratty Converse sneakers. For her, that kiss shifted the foundations of the earth itself.

When they parted, she was so ecstatic and overcome by sensation that she blurted out, "Will you go on a date with me?"

She'd been afraid for an irrational moment that Regina would reject the idea, but the blushing Mayor simply nodded and smiled through a mist of tears forming beneath her lids. "Yes," Regina then answered with a breathy whisper. "I would love to go on a date with you."

And that, as they say, was that. A handful of dates later on a very memorable Saturday night, they stumbled into Ruby's apartment, barely making it through the door before clothes were being flung clothes in every direction as they kissed their way to the bed. Once both of them were reduced to boneless but satisfied and very happy heaps, they fell asleep and did not wake until late the next morning.

That was almost six weeks ago now and Ruby had thought their relationship was growing into something that might actually stand the test of time. She was already in love with Regina when they started dating and had thought Regina was slowly beginning to accept that she hadn't really been as in love with Robin as she had thought but rather was enamored with the idea of him. But as usual, Ruby got in her own way.

In a fit of stupidity during their argument, she'd insinuated that because Regina chose to risk herself to help Robin, it meant that she was still clinging to him and, even if just subconsciously, was stringing Ruby along as a temporary replacement. The way Regina reacted to that petty accusation tortured Ruby for hours. It was like she had reached into Regina's chest, ripped her heart out and then callously ground it to dust beneath her heel.

With the parting words of, "Perhaps I would have been better off loving Robin rather than an insecure little girl like yourself," Regina thundered out of the Diner intent on finding Emma to put a stop to whatever machinations Gold and the Author were concocting.

The rest of Ruby's day after that was miserable to say the least, especially since a couple of hours later her wolf senses started going haywire, alerting her to something momentous happening. With her instincts to find Regina kicking in, she'd had to beg out of work early to straighten things out before it was too late. Thankfully, Granny had understood.

"Go get your girl," the elder Lucas had said, smirking annoyingly. "And don't mess it up this time, huh? I can't afford to train a replacement for you."

"Gee, thanks, Granny," Ruby replied, rolling her eyes as she departed the diner and out into the cold Maine air.

Once out of the Diner, Ruby searched most of town for Regina before giving up and deciding to go back to wait at her Regina's place. She'd been about to head towards Mifflin Street when she noticed Regina's black coat and purple dress crossing Main Street, leading to her current position standing hesitantly in front of the woman she loves like a pup about to have her face rubbed in her own mess. It is, Ruby thinks, the least she deserves.

"Hey," she breathes, apology written all over her face. She looks up at Regina through her lashes, feeling suitably chastised by the moderately stern glare being directed her way. "I came to tell you how sorry I am for what I said. I love you and I didn't mean it. I was just..."

Holding up her hand, Regina interrupts the speech. Her stance loses it's hard set as her features relax into a smile that is genuine erring on the side of apologetic. "Say no more. I didn't mean it either, sweetheart. But as much as I'd love to continue this reconciliation, we have bigger problems at hand."

Frowning, Ruby glances over at Emma who ducks her head sheepishly. "Hey, Ruby," the blonde greets weakly. Something, Ruby realizes, is very wrong.

Turning back to Regina, she arches her brow. "What's going on?"

"The Author has gone a bit off script," Regina answers, and although her face is unreadable, her eyes indicate how worried she is. "He's determined to alter everything by abusing his power to write us all new stories."

"New and very bad," Emma adds, seeming just as perturbed by this turn of events. "We need to stop him before he writes something that will make us wish the town was back under the old curse."

Ruby grimaces at the idea of something so horrendous. "Yikes."

"The situation is indeed dire," the old man pipes up, looking for all the world like he is so exhausted as to be ready to take the longest nap in history. "The scenarios Isaac could construct are nearly endless, and with the Quill and ink in his possession, he has the power to enact them."

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Ruby asks, not trying to be impolite. She is simply curious as to who this stranger is who appears to know so much about their current predicament.

"I am the Apprentice," he tells her, laden with regret that then expounds upon. "It is my error that unleashed Isaac on you all, but it is one I also intend to correct."

Ruby looks to Regina, now a little frightened of the 'nearly endless' possibilities this Apprentice made mention of. "Is all of that true?"

Nodding sadly, Regina reaches out to grasp Ruby's hand, seeming to have sensed her upset. "Yes it is, so I'd very much appreciate it if you would find Henry and help Snow, David, and Captain Chest-hair watch over him." To Ruby's left, Emma scoffs at Regina's creative sobriquet for Hook. "Meanwhile, the rest of us will confront Gold and the Author."

Ruby growls at the suggestion that she leave Regina's side and glowers directly at her girlfriend to reinforce her displeasure at being so casually dismissed. "Like hell," she bites out.

"Ruby..." The way Regina's voice inflects her name is a warning, though it is one Ruby has no intention of heeding.

"Don't you dare 'Ruby' me," she interrupts before Regina can spit out demands that Ruby do as she says. "If you think for one minute I'm gonna let you guys do this without me, you've got another thing coming, missy."

What Regina really wants is for Ruby to stay out of the thick of things so that she can concentrate on doing what needs to be done, which is a sensible request were it not for the fact that Ruby is far too stubborn to listen to sense. And then as if to compound Ruby already being on edge, something is nagging persistently at the back of her mind that insists she stay by Regina's side at all costs.

In response to Ruby's declaration, Regina huffs out a breath, her face screwing up with an interesting combination of surprise, annoyance, and amusement. "Is that so?"

Ruby straightens, hands on her hips for emphasis. "Damn straight it is! Gold is dangerous and I'm not about to let my friend and the woman I love face him on their own. I'll be right there beside you, always and forev..."

But before the last words can be spoken, a brilliant blue light bursts forth from the direction of the Pawn Shop and before Ruby can even brace herself, she is swept away from Storybrooke into a world born from the twisted mind of a dying Mr. Gold and the misguided imagination of one Isaac Heller.