Regina sat at the back of the diner wanting not to be seen by her haters in town. She would have stayed at home to have breakfast, but being alone after her mother's death was just too much for her. Every Saturday and Sunday, she'd have breakfast at the dinner and eat Granny's greatest pancakes with strawberries. Once in a while, Ruby would work the morning shift and Regina would stare at her. She enjoyed the wolf's long legs and how flirty she usually was. But that morning, things were different. When Regina looked at Ruby she saw a huge bruise covering her left eye and a small cut on her upper lip. Something inside told her the wolf was not as tough as she seemed.
"Granny, may I ask you something?" Regina said as she watched Granny set her plate on the table. "It's about Ruby."
"Go ahead."
"What happened to her?"
Granny looked at Ruby and Regina could see the pain in her eyes. "I can't talk to you about it. I'm sorry."
"Granny, I know you hate me as much as everyone else in town, but I can actually help you…help Ruby."
"Why would you want to do that?"
"Because she's been nice to me lately, not barking at me like the rest of them."
"Barking? Nice use of words." She snorted and sat in front of Regina. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone."
"No one talks to me, don't know if you've noticed that."
"I mean, you cannot go to Ruby and tell her you know or show her you want to help."
"It will stay between us, I promise."
"She's dating Whale and he…" Granny's eyes filled with tears and Regina immediately understood what was going on. "He hits her. Apparently, he gets drunk every night and goes back home to smack my granddaughter like a boxing bag."
"Why hasn't she left him?"
"She is afraid of what he can do if she walks away. And I can't help her if she doesn't let me."
"Have you talked to David about it? As much as I hate him, he is good when it comes to protecting people."
"Ruby doesn't want anyone to know."
"And what exactly does she tell people when she has bruises all over her face?"
"That it happened when she last transformed and it takes time for the marks to go away. No one really believes her but they are all too scared to do something." Granny let out a low growl that could prove she had been a tough wolf back in her time.
"Thank you for telling me, Granny."
"Regina, you cannot do anything about it."
"I won't stand around while he smacks her!" Regina got really upset; someone had to do something for Ruby before she ended up dead. "I will find a way to help her."
After her talk with Granny, Regina knew she had to do something for Ruby. Abusive relationships always ended up badly and she didn't want that for Ruby. The wolf had been mean to her before but now she was suffering and no one deserved that. Before she left the diner, she pulled Ruby to the back and decided she was going to show her support, even if that went against what Granny had said.
"Ruby, I can help you."
"You can help me? What are you talking about, Regina?"
"I know what's going on." Without thinking about it, she touched Ruby's bruised eye carefully. "He doesn't have to keep doing this to you."
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
"You know exactly what I mean." They looked at each other for a few seconds. "If you need somewhere to stay, to be away from him, my house is always open for you."
"Why are you trying to help me?"
"Because no one deserves this, Ruby. I am not as bad as you think, I have good in me and that good is telling me the right thing to do is offer my help; you can take it or leave it."
"Thank you, but I'm fine. I don't need your help."
Ruby sat on her couch dreading the moment Whale would come home smelling of tequila. She kept thinking about what Regina said "if you need somewhere to stay, to be away from him, my house is always open for you". Why was Regina trying to help her? She had never before been good to her. Regina walked around town calling her wolf and always making snarky comments about her. In the past, they had fought each other over Snow White and she could have never imagined the Evil Queen would be the one to come forward offering help. All her friends knew what was going on but none of them had the courage to confront Whale and take her out of that messy situation. The only person who wasn't her friend, that could actually be called her enemy, was trying to help.
"I'm coming!" Regina said as she rushed downstairs trying to put her robe on. "Ruby? Oh my god Ruby, are you okay?" She said as she opened the door and saw Ruby's face and arm covered in blood. "Come in."
"You…you said I could come here."
"Of course." Slowly and trying not to harm her, Regina walked Ruby to the couch and made her sit down. "I'm going to get my emergency kit."
Regina ran to her bathroom to get everything she needed to help Ruby. She needed a few seconds to recover from what she had just seen. There was a large cut on Ruby's forehead and another one on her arm, she was sure stitches were needed. All she wanted to do was use all her magic to hurt Whale. How could he do that to his girlfriend? She knew men could be jerks, but she never imagined someone in town would do that.
"Does that hurt?" She asked as she cleaned the forehead cut.
"Nothing hurts anymore."
"Ruby, we have to call Miss Swan and file a report against him."
"No, please no. I came here because you offered your help, but I don't want the rest of them to know what happened."
"Can you at least tell me what happened?"
"I was sitting on the couch watching TV when he walked in. The smell of tequila was stronger than any other night and as soon as he stumbled into the living room I knew I was going to get hit really hard. But…" she started crying, "I didn't expect the bottle he threw against my forehead. It broke in a million pieces and, well you can see the cut. When I started bleeding out, he grabbed me and smacked my face. I started crying and begged him to stop, but he wouldn't listen. He never listens. Not even when I cry or growl. And he saw my tears and that's when he got really mad. He grabbed a piece of glass and did the cut on my arm."
By the time Ruby finished telling the story of what had happened, Regina's eyes were filled with tears. She finished cleaning both her cuts and, gently, pulled Ruby into a hug. It felt awkward at the beginning, but the wolf soon gave in and allowed the Mayor to hug her for the longest two minutes of her life. Regina's arms felt like the only protection she had in her life and she did not want to lose that.
"You will stay here tonight and tomorrow morning I will call Granny. You cannot go to work looking like this and you shouldn't really move your arm. I think you need stitches, but I know you don't want to go to the hospital, so we'll just keep an eye on the cuts and see how they heal."
"Why are you doing this for me? I've been nothing but mean to you."
"On the contrary dear, you've been nice to me. You are the only one who treats me with respect and that's all I need." She flashed her a small smile. "My guest room has been used as my magic room so you can't sleep there and I don't let anyone sleep in Henry's room, so, if it's okay with you, we'll have to share a bed."
"I can sleep on the couch."
"Nonsense. You need a good night sleep. I don't mind sharing my bed, really."
"Thank you."
"You're very welcome. Now let's get you upstairs."
Regina wrapped an arm around Ruby's waist and helped her walk up the stairs. She could see how broken the other woman was and for some weird reason all she wanted to do was help her. Ruby looked so fragile, something that had never happened before. What bothered her the most was that none of Ruby's so called friends had helped her or even tried to stop Whale from hurting her. What kind of friends were they?
Slowly and carefully, trying not to cause any pain, Regina laid Ruby on the bed. She brought more pillows so she could rest her arm and made sure Ruby was comfortable. For a minute, she found herself staring at the younger woman wondering what it would be like to hold her close, to protect her like no one had been able to.
"Do you need anything else?"
"Yes."
"What is it dear?"
"I was wondering if you could lay here with me."
"That was the plan. It's still my bed after all."
Ruby managed to let out a small laugh. "Don't try to take advantage of me, Madame Mayor."
"I would never do that."
Regina got under the covers and she could feel the heat coming out of Ruby's body. She had heard stories about wolf's body heat but she never believed them. Now, as this beautiful wolf rested her body next to hers, Regina knew that wolf body heat was the truest thing she had ever heard about. Ruby's heat was overwhelming, but for some reason she liked it. It felt nice.
"I didn't really expect a wolf's body heat to be so high."
"Does it bother you? Because if it does, I can sleep on the couch."
"No, it doesn't bother me." Regina looked over at her. "I was wondering if I could move closer to you."
"Of course. I don't bite…well, I only bite when I'm my wolf self."
The Evil Queen moved closer to the wolf wrapping an arm around her waist. Ruby's body heat made her feel warm and fuzzy inside and for some reason she didn't want that moment to end. Regina found herself wondering what it would feel like to kiss the young woman.