Bigby held in a groan of pain as some Mundies walked by him, the fight with the Woodsman had taken a lot out of him and all he wanted was a drink and his bed and he hoped the other Fables would behave just for tonight to give him peace. Getting out his cigarettes, he stopped to light one and gratefully blew out the smoke, the smells of the city not as pungent as they were and for that he was thankful.

The air was cool as he continued his walk to the Woodlands and he stopped and frowned at the gate, there was a strange smell and he looked around; it wasn't anyone he recognized and he knew most of the other Fables smells. The door opened and he looked up to see Beauty give him a surprised look, "Oh Bigby, hello, you're out late."

"So are you," he said, dropping his cigarette and putting it out on the ground; ignoring Beauty's annoyed look, "where are you heading too, so late?"

Beauty shook her head, "I…I can't say right now," she said averting her eyes but then she looked up at him beseechingly "if you see Beast, please don't say anything, please? He worries too much and…I'm not ready to talk to him yet."

Bigby rolled his eyes, "I'm not getting involved in your marriage Beauty, and I won't say anything to Beast."

"Thank you," she shot him a small smile, "when I can, I'll tell you what's going on."

As she walked by him, Bigby got a whiff of her scent and realised that it wasn't Beauty who he had smelt and wondered who else was wandering around Fable town at this time of night. He heard rustling in the bushes and he folded his arms and looked into the darkness. "Don't make me come back there," he warned "come on out now."

There was a soft sigh and then the sound of movement and as the figure of someone walked towards him, his eyes widened as he realised who it was. A young woman with red hair and matching red lips, smaller than himself and wearing a purple lace top with a black leather jacket and jeans with red high heels and matching bag, but the only difference was her eyes. Once green as the forest, they were now an unnatural yellow, much like his when he slipped into his….other form.

"Bigby, it's been a while," she said smiling nervously as she walked in front of him. Her heels echoing in the night.

He nodded and his eyes softened as he took in the light bruising under her eye and a cut on her neck, "What's happened?"

Swallowing hard, she looked behind her and tightened the hold on her bag. "I…I'm in some real trouble Bigby…something bad has happened and-"she pleaded with her eyes "can we talk inside? It's not safe."

"Come on, we can talk in my apartment," the prostitute was meant to be coming around but this was more important, "no one else will be there."

Putting a hand lightly on her back, he walked her inside the building and directed her over to the elevator. "Nice security you have here," she said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at the sleeping guard.

Bigby snorted "Yeah, he's a real vigilante," he glanced over at the mail boxes and felt a little down heartened as he realised he hadn't had any mail for a week, he then looked at the list with all the names of who lived in the building and sighed as he seen his name tag had fallen off. Not a proper one, just a scrap of paper he had put up himself.

"What's wrong?" she asked watching as he bent down to pick up the nametag.

"Damn nametag fell off again," he muttered, sticking it back on, "they haven't given me a proper one yet."

The elevator doors opened and they both stepped in and Bigby hit his floor button, "When did you get into town?" he asked her, "last I heard you were staying away from Fabletown."

"I just got the bus in tonight," she answered him looking terrified and he wondered what had brought her back after all these years, "I was staying away but…." She trailed off and shook her head, not saying anything until they were outside of Bigby's apartment, "I'm sorry for being so cryptic," she said as he unlocked the door "but it's….dangerous for me to talk about it in public."

"Let's just get inside and we can talk," he said gruffly, wanting to know what had happened. His apartment was small, smaller than any other Fables and he was slightly pissed off but he hardly spent any time here at all and he knew Crane would never upgrade him to a bigger place.

"Jeez, and I thought my old place was bad," she said looking around, taking a seat at the small table, "I thought you were the Sheriff?"

"I am," he said opening the cupboard and getting out the bottle of Midas Gold and two glasses, "I just don't get the big fancy apartment like the others." He sat opposite her and poured some into her glass, she smiled her thanks and took a sip of it. "So what's wrong?" he asked her, noticing her tired expression "I don't hear from you in years and you show up like this in the middle of the night."

Sighing she shrugged off her jacket and he saw some deep scratches on her arm, "Even though the Business Office wanted all the Fables in one place, I never felt like this city was home. Everyone keeps thinking of me as a little girl and never took me seriously and it just got to me. After the whole mess with Rapunzel…well, I wanted out so I left. I got a job and an apartment and thought I was happy but…that's when it all fell apart."

Bigby lit another cigarette but said nothing, not wanting to interrupt her, "Grams got in touch with me, said it was an emergency and she needed to talk to me right away and when she got there, she started freaking out about this package left on my doorstep. I brought it in and ignored her and opened it and-and…" she let out a shaky breath and looked close to tears, "inside was this… this potion and Grams tried to tear the box off of me and I fought back and it broke and… and…"

Now they were in his apartment, with no other smells, Bigby realised what the smell was and why her eyes were a different colour. "What happened next?" he asked slowly.

"The stuff inside sort of gave out this mist and I breathed it in, and next thing I know I'm lying on the floor and there's these person standing over…Gram's body and laughing and I got up but there wasn't anyone in the room and…and I looked in the mirror and saw I was…a wolf," she met his eyes and looked scared.

"I'm sorry Red," he said sadly.

She shrugged, "It isn't your fault," she said softly "I just freaked out, whoever did this wanted to frame me for Grams murder and I know I didn't do it, there was no blood on me and she…" her voice wobbled "she had been ripped to shreds."

Red stopped talking and began to cry as she relived that horrible moment, Bigby not knowing what to do put his hand over hers. "That explains your eye colour," he said gently "did you scratch your arms while you were…."

Nodding, she looked at him again. "I didn't know who else to go to. I need help Bigby and you… you seemed like the only one who would understand my…condition. I don't have anyone else to turn too."

"We'll figure this out," he assured her and she smiled weakly at him, "you should get some sleep. You take the bed and I'll sleep on the chair."

"I don't want to kick you out of your bed-"

"Don't be stupid, you need sleep and it won't be the first time I've slept out here," he pointed to the bedroom door, "make yourself comfortable and get some sleep."

Red squeezed his hand and nodded "You're a good guy Bigby, thank you."

He watched her get up and a hundred questions ran through his head. Who would kill Ruby? Who would want to frame Red for killing her? And more importantly, who would want her to become a wolf? She came out of the bedroom with an amused smile and she tilted her head "Thought you said there wouldn't be anyone here?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Nobody is here," he said frowning at her.

Red laughed, "Then care to explain the pig starfished out on your bed?"

It took him a moment to process what she said before he sighed and shook his head, "Fuckin' Colin," he muttered.