Ruby walked across the street, tossing her apron over her shoulder. It was a long day. She just wanted to take a shower and crawl into bed with Belle. A small smile formed on her lips at the thought of resting her head on Belle's stomach as she read to her and stroked her hair. It would be the perfect end to such a long, trying day.

She stopped at the front door for a moment, rolling her neck to release the tension. With a long sigh, she unlocked the door and walked inside. "Belle. I'm home!" she called out, closing and locking the door behind her. She hung her apron on the coat rack.

"Ruby!" Belle's voice sounded pained. "Oh, thank heavens you're home!"

Ruby's brow furrowed at her tone. "Babe? Are you okay?" She started walking toward the sound of Belle's voice. "Where are you?"

"I'm in the fiction section! Come quickly!"

Ruby picked up her pace. Her hand gripped the shelf of books and she skidded into the fiction section. Her eyes widened at the sight of Belle lying on the floor, her foot hooked on the bottom rung of the ladder. "What the hell happened!?"

"I was stepping down from organizing the shelf and I missed the last rung." Belle watched as Ruby removed her foot from the ladder. She took in a sharp breath when her hands wrapped around her ankle.

Ruby released her quickly hands, holding them up. "I'm sorry!"

"It's fine." Belle's brow furrowed in pain as she attempted to move her foot.

Ruby frowned, hesitating for a moment before gently taking her ankle again. Once she was free from the ladder, she pushed the ladder back giving Belle more room. "How long have you been down here? And where the hell is our daughter? Why didn't she come help you?"

Belle sat up fully, pressing her back against the adjacent shelf. "Calm down, sweetheart. She's with Eva." Her face winced as Ruby inspected her ankle. "I told her she could spend the night. I wanted us to have a evening alone, but now-" She sighed as she waved her hand over her injury.

"Now we get to spend the night together in the hospital." Ruby wrapped Belle's arm around her shoulder and lifted her from the ground.

"I'm not going to the hospital." Belle protested, doing her best to keep her weight off of her injury. "I just need to soak it for a bit and it'll be fine."

"No. We are going to the hospital." Ruby reached into her pocket and pulled out her cellphone. "I'm calling Emma."

Belle exhaled heavily. "Don't call Emma."

Ruby ignored her and pressed the button before bringing the phone to her ear. "Emma? Hey, can you come over here? We need to take Belle to the hospital."

"What!? Why? Is she okay? What happened!?"

Belle took the phone from Ruby's hand. "Emma, it's me. I'm fine. Don't listen to Ruby." She shot her wife a look. "She's unnecessarily panicking."

"Are you sure? Cause I can be over in like two minutes."

"Yes, I'm sure." Belle brushed her fingers through Ruby's hair. "She just worries too much. Oh, Ariel is spending the night at your place, if that's alright?"

"Of course it is. Well, if you change your mind, call me back."

"Thank you, Emma. Good bye." Belle hung up and held the phone out to Ruby. She smiled softly at her. "You might have to carry me upstairs."

Without hesitation, Ruby lifted her from the ground. "I should just carry you to-"

Belle pressed her lips to Ruby's to silence her. Her fingertips brushed lightly against her jawline and she slowly pulled back. Her lips hovered closely to her wives as she smiled. "If you say hospital one more time, you're going to be the one who needs a doctor."

Ruby stared into her bright blue eyes. She could see Belle was not going to waver. "Fine.." she muttered as she shifted the librarian in her arms so she was more comfortable and carried her up the stairs...

Belle sat on the edge of the tub, soaking her foot in the warm water. She raised her arm and made a face at the dark bruise that was becoming more and more visible. Her head turned at the sound of the door opening and she smiled as her wife carried in a cup of tea.

"Thank you, sweetheart." she greeted, reaching out to take the cup from her.

Ruby pulled it back with a teasing expression. "This isn't for you. It's for me." she joked, waving her free hand. "You have my nerves all frazzled and stuff. I need to relax."

Belle pouted, batting her gorgeous blue eyes. Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes as she handed Belle the tea. Her smile brightened quickly as she expected the offered cup. "Thank you."

Ruby sat down on the floor of the bathroom next to Belle. She inched back, pressing her back against the porcelain tub. Her hazel eyes focused on her hands as her fidgeted together. "Are you sure you're okay?" she inquired, her hazel eyes shifting upward to look at her wife.

Belle took a final sip and placed the cup down on the edge of the tub. She smiled down at her wife. "Yes, I'm sure." She reached down and ran her fingers through her hair. "I appreciate your concern but you needn't worry so much."

"I'll never stop worrying about you." Ruby closed her eyes for a moment to enjoy the feel of her wive's fingers caressing her scalp. "I don't know what I would do if anything damaging happened to you."

Belle felt her heart swell at her words. She nudged Ruby in a silent request for her to inch over. The brunette took the hint and slid a bit to the left so Belle could take her feet out of the water. She joined Ruby on the floor and pressed the side of her body close to the taller woman's.

"I love you." Belle looked at her with a warm smile.

Ruby's brow twitched with amusement and she smiled. "I love you." She leaned in and kissed her softly. When Belle's hand rested on her cheek, she smiled through the kiss.

"Mom!" the sound of Ariel's voice carried through the door.

The kiss broke abruptly with Belle's hand still cupping Ruby's cheek. A confused expression crossed both of their faces. "Ariel?" she called back as the door flew open.

Ariel entered, her eyes and face filled with panic. "Oh my God, Mom, are you okay?" she asked, taking a step further into the bathroom. Her hand was pressed over her heart. "Emma told me something happened and you almost ended up in the hospital so I rushed right over and-"

Belle raised her hands toward her daughter. "Ariel, Ariel, calm down." she requested, moving her hands in a calming motion. "I'm fine. I just twisted my ankle. Everything is fine."

Ariel breathed out dramatically. "Geez us, I was so scared." She leaned against the bathroom wall.

Belle raised an eyebrow and looked at her wife. "I wonder where she gets the over reaction gene from."

"Shut up." Ruby growled, narrowing her eyes at her wife. She returned her attention to her daughter. "Ari, everything is fine. Why don't you go back to Eva's."

"Are you sure?" Ariel pushed herself away from the wall. "Because I can totally stay home and help."

Ruby and Belle exchanged a glance, sending a silent message to one another. They looked back at their daughter. "Go." they told her in unison.

Ariel stared at her parents for a moment. Her face scrunched at their tone. "Fine. I'm going." She walked toward the door. "I'll see you in the morning."

"We love you!"

"Yeah, right!" Ariel shouted back, jokingly. After she was halfway down the stairs, she called back to them "I love you too!". The sound of the door opening and closing signaled her departure.

Ruby pushed herself to her feet and looked down at Belle. "Can you stand?"

Belle placed her hands behind her and tried to push herself up on her feet. She took in a sharp breath, wincing at the pain. "Not quite yet."

"That's fine." Ruby leaned down and picked her up from the floor. She smiled brightly when Belle wrapped her arms around her neck. "This is more romantic anyway."

Belle smiled back as her hands caressed the back of Ruby's hair. "Agreed." she replied, pressing her lips to her loves again as Ruby carried her off to the bedroom...