Title: Together When It Hurts the Most

Author: OpheliacAngel

Pairings: Sarah/Ruby/Bela

Genres: Romance/Family

Rating: Teen

Summary: She somehow gets it out without air in her lungs, "I'm coming."

A/N: Written for femslashficlets for prompt #050 remainder (#014 xena episode titles - "coming home").

Sarah's at the gallery when she gets the call.

That call where Ruby has found Bela physically intact and Sarah knows what Ruby will say: 'Not like it matters. That day will come where she won't be.' Sarah will want to slap her if the tension is high enough to make her say it, even though she knows Ruby is as distraught as she is whenever's Bela's compromised (which isn't often, but still) and only hides that emotion behind crass comments.

There's also the fact that Ruby's still getting used to Sarah, even though Sarah's already all too used to Ruby.

Bela was the one to bring them together. Sarah has a lot in common with the thief, and she uses the term loosely even though Bela doesn't mind (probably would go so far as to pride herself on it). Just because Bela isn't much into art doesn't mean that Sarah can't stand her like everyone else who doesn't have that appreciation. Bela's fascinated by her work (not so much by the paintings themselves) and Sarah's fascinated by the artifacts and strange tokens Bela brings home, even when Bela slaps her hands away to prevent her from touching them, claiming they often have: 'bloody nasty side effects.'

Proof of Bela's love comes with not wanting Sarah in that world, and Sarah wonders what had led Bela to choose it in the first place. She knows about Bela's deal, about hell, but if anything it makes her want to be a part of Bela's little loner life.

She had to clear it with Ruby first, because apparently (so Ruby claims) Bela pressured the demon into meeting Ruby. Apparently (or so Ruby claims again) Bela had fallen head over heels in love with "the art dealer," which was both flattering and convenient, given Sarah had fallen head over heels in love with her too.

Ruby was skeptical when they first met but gentle and sweet, too (which seems odd now). She shared her fries (which Bela had mentioned she could get possessive of) and listened (with interest) to Sarah when she talked about the latest piece she had acquired. A week later and Ruby had roughed up someone at the gallery who had been giving Sarah a hard time, and then she told Sarah that she thought the threesome would work.

Ruby can be blunt like that. Sarah kinda likes it at times.

At the gallery everyone tiptoes around one another. Sure, there's the haggling of prices and the hustle and bustle of a gala, yet mostly Sarah treads carefully, bringing people out of their shells to determine what they really want. She prides herself on being good at that, which is probably why she set herself to the task of cracking open one Bela Talbot, who was guarded on her best days and stupidly strong-willed on her worst.

Ruby whole-heartedly agreed with that, so they went to work on it (her) together.

It's nice because Sarah usually works nights, which means Ruby preoccupies Bela while the months tick down. Sarah gets time with Ruby in the mornings (the demon's nice enough to hang around) since Bela is definitely not a morning person, and Sarah and Bela keep each other company while Ruby runs around doing whatever it is she does. Sarah meant to ask her if she knows a way out of Bela's deal, but she has a feeling that's what she's trying to find.

Sarah ducks into the empty women's bathroom before she answers.

"Hey, short fry," Ruby's voice echoes on the other end, proceeded with a long, tired sigh. Sarah's usually miffed at the nickname, considering she's the same height as Bela, but she's more hung up on that sigh. Most people would take it to mean that the demon has come up with nothing, but Ruby has strange ways of showing any emotion (most of the time she just doesn't show them at all) and her exhaustion coming from the other end of line means that Bela's turned up after all.

Sarah reminds herself not to be pissed that Bela just up and left, no note, no voice mail, nothing to go on. Bela knows how to aggravate, Sarah will give her that.

She somehow gets it out without air in her lungs, "I'm coming."

Whoever said you can't run fast in heels clearly never had anything important to run toward.

Ruby greets her at the door to Sarah's apartment, arms crossed, eyes straying to the heels of Sarah's feet as if she can feel the ache there. With the way Ruby undresses her with her gaze alone, it's not difficult to forget about whatever it is you were supposed to be doing (and in record time too). Ruby doesn't touch her, merely a motion of the head in the direction of the living room and Sarah goes, at a much slower pace now, already devastated about what she'll find.

Bela's curled up on the couch in front of the fireplace, hair matted but not bloody (like last time), eyes sunken yet not hollow. Sarah drops her purse on the ground and moves to scold her because Bela's still tough enough to handle it, she's not too far gone yet, but instead Sarah sits beside her, lifting up Bela's feet and placing them gently in her lap.

The fire seems to know what they need better than they do: the second Sarah sits down the flames die down to a crackling in the background. The silence feels easy.

Ruby brings them both glasses of milk and perches on the glass table in front of the couch, dunking Oreos into Sarah's glass.

Bela's cracked one more inch (and some would call it broken) but she is aware and devious enough to steal one of Ruby's cookies off the napkin, to massage Sarah's feet and to make them both feel like they're not misplaced in her life.

They don't talk about the days left, not yet anyway.

FIN