"You don't have to be alone tonight." Charming said as he locked her in the jail cell. Red closed her eyes and swallowed hard. She had heard the metal clank of the key in the lock every full moon since magic had arrived in Storybrooke. The sound was becoming comfortable; it meant she was safe.

Tonight wasn't technically the full moon. It was the night before. Red generally transformed on days that the moon appeared full, called wolfstime. In most cases, it was 3 consecutive nights and that is what she expected on this lunar cycle.

Red was well on her way to controlling the wolf, but on the last full moon she had a lapse of memory and broke into a few homes. Charming had responded to the 911 call, luckily. He was able to sedate her and convince her to put on the hood again. She didn't trust herself and even though she was in the metal cell, she felt most comfortable with a set of eyes on her.

"I won't be," Red stated as she glanced past him to Emma. David looked to his daughter who had mastered the art of nonchalant ease dropping.

Emma leaned back in her chair with her heels resting on the edge of her desk. She was pretending to be deeply engrossed in a newspaper. She had taken over as sheriff almost instantly when she and Snow returned. Apparently, this was one of many new duties expected of the sheriff. She could only imagine all the other interesting changes magic had brought to this one horse town.

"You should go be with Snow," Red continued. She hadn't seen much of Snow since her return, or Charming for that matter. The two had been inseparable. If it wasn't for her new friendship with Belle, she would feel very lonely.

"We can meet up at Granny's for brunch," David said. She then slipped off her red hood and handed the cloak to Charming.

Her hood had been a shield for quite some time. Before she even knew what it was, it had been used to keep her safe from herself, but that was no way to live. Red knew that she could control the inner wolf without masking it.

"Henry is staying with you tonight?" Emma asked. She knew the answer. This was her triple (at least) check. He'd been splitting his time between the three houses: Charming's, hers, and Regina's. So far it had been a huge success, though there was no telling of how long that would last.

Charming nodded and handed her Red's riding hood. He placed his hand on her shoulder. There were many fatherly things he could say in this moment, but he didn't need to. She smiled back at him and he left.

Emma walked with her hands in her pocket toward the cell. "So how does this work?"

"The full moon comes out and I transform. When the morning comes I change back," Ruby said as she saw the orange sun in the setting sky in the distance. She didn't need to see it; she could feel it coming. She had half an hour at best.

"No not that," Emma said with a smirk. "I've seen my fair share of horror films to know what a werewolf is. What did David do? To help you get ready to transform"

"He sat there," Ruby pointed to the chair she had just gotten out of.

Emma raised an eyebrow, "That all?"

"To help me kept calm before transforming, he sometimes would…" Ruby started. "No, it's stupid."

"What?" Emma asked curiously.

"We'd trade stories about your mother. And the time we both spent with her."

Emma was confused and intrigued; she opened her mouth to ask a question but was interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind her. She turned around and Belle was standing a few paces behind them with a small picnic basket.

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt," Belle state as she glanced to them. "I won't stay long," She added. She walked over to the cell. She stood as close as physically possible the metal bars and glanced at Ruby for several seconds. She then pulled the cloth off of the picnic basket.

In the basket was an assortment of partially cooked meats and a squeaky toy for dogs. Emma found herself taking a few steps back because of the ripe undercooked smell. "Doesn't appear to be contraband," she stated as she covered her mouth with her sleeve.

"Are those from Granny?" Red asked.

Belle nodded, "I told her I'd bring them. I was going to come and see you either way." She slipped the meats and the chew toy between the bars. Ruby unsure of what to do placed them in a pile on the floor. Belle's hands lingered on the bars of the cell.

Ruby placed her hand on top of Belle's, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Belle said with a slight giggle.

"Visiting hours are almost over," Ruby said with a slight glance to the window. The sun sank a bit lower and the sky was growing dark.

"I could stay," Belle said. "Emma could go home. I could do this for you."

"I'm afraid I can't leave while the cell is occupied," Emma said. She laughed slightly, looking to Belle, "Unless you're looking to be sworn in as a deputy."

Belle shook her head at Emma. She obviously thought it was a very ridiculous preposition. She turned back to Ruby, "Will you come see me tomorrow after you've made it through the night safely?"

Ruby nodded.

As Belle turned to leave, her hand lingered on the bars of the cell as if she didn't want to let go.

Emma gave her a slight nod as she walked by. Belle looked back to Red one last time before she exited. Red parted her lips, about to speak, but then said nothing. There were obviously many things Emma didn't know about the group dynamics of Storybrooke.

Emma sat down at her chair at the sheriff's desk. "I think you owe me a story." She tossed her feet up on the desk.

"And what will you give me in return?" Red said. She sat down on the bed in the cell leaning against the wall. The sun was all but out of the sky but there was no moon in sight. "These stories are only given in trade, Emma. Besides it will have to be a short one. "

"I can tell you of my own adventures with Snow in the enchanted forest," Emma retorted.

Red and Snow had been wondering through the woods for days. For quite some time now they'd been two women on the run: Snow from the Queen's huntsman and Red from her villagers searching for the wolf.

They'd promised to protect one another. They were all each other had. They would find a cabin in the woods and stay there until it was safe for them to leave. Red didn't care if it ever was. She liked the idea of starting over free of Granny's rule, and Snow was just the person to help her.

They were tired and cold. "Are you sure it's this way?" Red said; she'd been following her friend for what seemed like hours.

"It's right around the next bend," Snow said as she gestured forward with her head. The night air was crisp; Red could see Snow's breath as she spoke. Their cheeks were rosy. Snow rubbed her hands together as she kept walking.

"And you're sure it's abandoned?" Red asked.

"It looked that way when I scouted it earlier."

The two approached the small cabin. Red's feet were numb from the cold and Snow's entire face had a rosy glow. The shrubbery surrounded it appeared over grown. Snow walked to the door and turned the knob. The door swung wide open.

There were cobwebs everywhere. Red looked through the house; all the furniture was incredibly small. "It appears dwarves lived here at some point," she said as she examined incredibly small beds. "We won't be able to sleep on those."

Snow was able to make a small fire. "We will have to sleep here then," She gestured to the bearskin rug that lied on the floor next to fireplace.

"Together?" Red asked. She swallowed hard, the idea made her nervous for some reason.

"It's very cold. We can keep each other warm," Snow patted the spot on the rug next to her.

Red walked over; she sat next to her friend and smiled. Snow placed her arm around her and rested her head on Red's shoulder. "We're going to make it, you and I. Out here alone, we'll be fine."

Show then laid down, turning toward the fire and away from Red. The glow from the fire lit up her face and made Red smile. She eased her way down next to her hesitantly. She paused for a moment not knowing if she should lie facing the same direction or with her back to her. She then thought they'd be conduct more heat if they faced the same way.

She moved Snow's hair out of the way as she snuggled in close to her, into the curve of her back. This was the warmest she had felt in weeks. She closed her eyes and seconds later she was asleep.

When morning came they were awoken by sunlight and the sound of several steps of feet rapidly approaching. They quickly armed themselves with daggers and braced for the intruders arrival. Seven small men with miner's picks came through the door. The leader of them looked to snow with a grumpy scowl and asked," Who are you and what are you doing in our home?"

Emma jolted awake in her chair. The dawn was breaking on the harbor. Was that a dream or a story? She couldn't imagine it was either, it felt too real. It felt almost as if Emma was there herself.

Emma had many questions. She glanced to the empty cell, the bottom bars had been torn apart. There was one question that needed answering immediately.

"Where did she go?" Emma said aloud as she slipped her jacket on and ran out the door.