Somewhere around one in the morning found Emma Swan with her half open eyes glued to the ceiling of the police station, completely and utterly bored out of her mind. She tipped her chair back and rested her feet atop her desk with her eyes on the ceiling as she allowed thoughts to come and go without holding any long enough to make anything of them. Every once in a while, she had to pull an all-nighter at the station. If she had to stay awake, it was far easier to do so outside the apartment she shared with Mary Margaret, as that space allowed her to feel comfortable enough to doze off. The station, however, meant mind-numbing nothingness for hours on end if she forgot to bring a book or a crossword puzzle. Like a proper elementary school teacher, the dark haired woman even suggested a coloring book to help her waste some time, and Emma had scoffed at the idea. Now, though, doing something so childish would be better than inspecting the blank ceiling. Sometimes on these evenings, Ruby visited. Or, she used to until Regina walked in on them doing a little more than talking. They hadn't gotten far, thankfully, but the embarrassment was enough to keep the tall brunette from visiting frequently for fear of rumors. The blonde exhaled a noisy sigh and closed her eyes.
"Emma!"
The blonde snapped her head up and blinked blearily into the face of Mary Margaret, who stood over her with an expression of distraught written across her face. Apparently, the police station didn't prevent Emma from taking a nap. Damn.
"…Mary Margaret," the blonde managed with a hard blink. Already, the shorter woman tugged on Emma's arm, urging her to stand and follow.
"Come on, it's important," she said, voice hushed and strained. The blonde pried her hands off her arm.
"Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Emma's brows knit as she watched her friend dance in front of her in panic. Mary Margaret grabbed the other's wrist and practically dragged her out of the station.
"Mary Marg-"
"It's Ruby, Emma," the brunette hissed without looking back. Emma's mouth closed and she felt her chest tighten. Judging by the way Mary Margaret acted, this wasn't good. A hundred scenarios involving the tall waitress raced through her mind in that instant, each more worrisome than the last. Now the sheriff wanted nothing more than to find Ruby and keep her safe. Emma pulled her wrist away and followed her friend, digging the keys of the cruiser out of her pocket as they walked.
"No, please, take your car and not the station's," the brunette pleaded as Emma headed towards the black and white car. Confused but unable to argue, Emma nodded and fished her other set out of her pocket as the pair headed towards the bug. Emma unlocked it and the two dropped into the front seats.
"Out to the woods," Mary Margaret instructed, and Emma obeyed wordlessly. A few times on the drive to the edge of town, the blonde tried to coax the nature of the problem out of her friend, but the petite woman refused with a nervous noise or a wave of her hand every time. Mary Margaret wasn't exactly the greatest under pressure, but Emma had to admit only something truly awful could provoke this variety of silence from the other woman.
After a ten minute drive under the direction of the schoolteacher, Emma stopped the car and the two stepped out into the early-spring cold. With the headlights off, the trees looked eerie, Emma thought. They only made the anxiety that roiled in her stomach worse, and when Mary Margaret asked if she still kept blankets in her trunk, the feeling only intensified. The blonde answered in the affirmative, now glad she forgot to empty winter-survival items out of her trunk after the first spring thaw. With a large brown and red plaid blanket in hand, Emma tailed the little brunette as she practically sprinted through the trees. After what seemed like endless aimless wandering, Emma opened her mouth to ask if Mary Margaret actually knew to where she headed, but the sight of Ruby curled up against a tree strangled the words in her throat. The sheriff stopped dead, unable to process the sight before her.
Blood covered Ruby's arms all the way up to her elbows, and from what Emma could tell in the pale moonlight, it smeared across her face, across her lips, and down her neck. That was what had Mary Margaret so shaken. After a few seconds, the blonde regained control of her limbs and stepped forward.
"Ruby…" she breathed, and the woman in question simply moved her lips, but made no sound.
"I think she's in shock," Mary Margaret suggested softly, and Emma nodded. In attempt to calm the woman, the blonde placed a hand on top of her thigh, just above her knee, and it took all the willpower she possessed to not recoil when she felt more warm, sticky blood. How was she even alive, covered head-to-toe like this? After some physical negotiating, Emma and Mary Margaret managed to wrap the waitress in the blanket and they hauled her to her feet. Supported between the two women, they all made their way back to the sheriff's little yellow car. More difficulty came when they tried to put Ruby in the back seat, but they managed, and the small brunette opted to sit there with her for the duration of the ride back to Storybrooke.
The three burst into Mary Margaret's apartment clumsily. The task of moving Ruby became somewhat more difficult when she seemed to return to herself, but in the worst way possible. Somewhere near the apartment, the tall brunette had started to whimper, a sound that suddenly crescendoed into an outright, bone-shaking scream that nearly caused Emma to jerk the car off the road. She babbled nonsense for a while to the woman in the back seat with her until the slurred words dissolved into numb silence. Emma watched her in the rearview mirror for the remainder of the ride home, but it didn't happen again. Ruby's green eyes stared forward, cold and unblinking. She thought perhaps the screaming meant the end of the difficulties with her for the evening, but trying to remove her from the car presented another problem. Ruby fought the two of them, however weakly, the entire way from the car to the apartment, repeating something about hurting them unless they let her go. Judging by her tone, however, it wasn't a threat. She was terrified of herself.
"Rubes, it's okay," Emma said in attempt to calm her as Mary Margaret closed the door. The small brunette stooped and helped the tall woman with her bloodied shoes and placed them near the door. Both she and Emma knew whatever happened this evening needed to be kept a secret, and so while Ruby's health and safety was foremost, they needed to keep clean up minimal.
"Bathroom, I'll get the first aid kit," she said quickly. She vanished before Emma could protest. Shouldn't they go to the hospital? Logically, someone awash in blood needed some serious medical treatment. This whole town was backwards. The blonde sighed and wrapped an arm around Ruby's blanketed form as they headed towards the bathroom. Once inside, Emma turned on the water and set the temperature to something comfortably hot before she turned her attention to Ruby.
The woman stood facing Emma with her head tilted down, shoulders rounded, and arms wrapped tightly around her torso. Blood matted her hair and covered her clothing, and by now it had dried on her hands and arms and face. Emma would probably have to get rid of the blanket, too. It laid on the tile floor, pooled around Ruby like… well. The waitress looked like she wanted the bathroom floor to swallow her whole, and the sheriff couldn't stand it.
With a shuddering sigh, Emma took her girlfriend's wrists and pried her arms away from her body with the greatest care. The screaming, terrified actions from earlier had subsided into full-body shakes and silent tears that ran tracks in the blood on her face, which hurt even more to watch than louder outbursts. While the water warmed, the blonde helped Ruby out of most of her soaked clothing and into the shower. Just as she tried to step away, the tall brunette grabbed a fistful of Emma's shirt and yanked her into the shower as well, which nearly caused the sheriff to trip over the edge of the bathtub and collide with the wall. She kept her balance in the end and stood still, arms hovering over the other woman, unsure what the waitress wanted just then. Ruby stood under the stream of hot water with her back to it and wrapped her arms around Emma's torso and then face buried in her hair at the side of her neck. At first, part of Emma wanted to be annoyed with the fact that her clothes were going to be drenched within a few seconds, but she instantly crushed the thought. There were far more important things that required her attention. Emma's heart twisted itself in knots and she bit her lip to keep herself from crying, too. Ruby didn't need her to be a mess right now. Who would do this? Why would anyone hurt her?
But they hadn't.
The hot water ran trails of red down the woman's bare back, leaving clean, unmarred skin in its wake. Hope surged through the blonde's veins and she traced her fingertips down the younger woman's back in a comforting gesture.
"Rubes, it's okay. You're fine," she said softly, smiling as she tilted her head just enough to see if the other woman looked up at her. "It's not yours, babe."
It was like the words flipped a switch. A howl of a wail erupted from the brunette's lips and her arms tightened around Emma's body like a vice grip. When Mary Margaret appeared in the doorway of the bathroom, her lips parted and she nearly dropped the first aid kit. Emma opened her mouth to explain, but all she couldn't do it. Her lips moved for a moment, but then formed a line and Emma shook her head. There were no words in any language for this