Ruby awoke to the sound of beeping. Steady and rhythmic. Punctuated by a louder sound when she jerked her arm, inadvertently tugging on the I.V. she didn't know was there. Hazel eyes cracked open and Ruby looked down at her arm, trying to figure out just what was holding her back, and how. She moved again, tugging at the unfamiliar clear tubes and grimacing when sharp pain shot through her arm.
"Hey, take it easy. You'll yank out your I.V.."
The Sheriff's voice filtered into Ruby's ears, slightly distorted by the high-pitched ringing and the rush that was still pulsating between them. Ruby snapped her head up, eyes opening wide in fear and confusion, and Emma was at her side in a second, wrapping her hands around Ruby's wrists and pinning them to the bed at her sides to keep the other woman from freaking out and ripping out the I.V. that was deep-seated in her vein.
"Hey, whoa, calm down. Ruby, calm down. You're okay," Emma said, concern etching itself onto her tired features. "You're okay," she repeated as Ruby continued to squirm, clearly scared and disoriented, "you're at the hospital. You're safe. There was a fire, remember? You inhaled a lot of smoke and passed out, and you were brought here to recover. You're okay. Everything's okay. Just calm down."
The words didn't make sense at first, and Ruby's head ached as she tried to wrap her mind around them. She slowly relaxed, finally stopping her struggle in Emma's grasp while the sheriff continued to whisper reassuring words. Ruby sagged back against the bed, letting out a little huff of breath. Her lungs ached with the effort it took to draw in a deep breath to calm herself, and she frowned when she found that the burning had taken over her throat again.
"Em—" Ruby tried to get the words out, but her voice was just a squeak that quickly dwindled into nothing, and she ended up mouthing her words instead, much to her dismay. She tried again, and again, and cursed internally when no words would come out.
"Hey, it's all right. Here, have some water," Emma said, reaching around to the small cup sitting on the bedside table. She handed it to Ruby, who drained its contents greedily, never mind the pain as it went down. "Better?" the blonde asked, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.
Ruby opened her mouth to attempt to speak again, and when nothing came out, she shook her head, face falling in disappointment.
"Don't worry about it, okay? Doc said with the amount of smoke you inhaled, you'll be more likely to get your voice back in a couple days. And there might be a lot of coughing and stuff as your body tries to purge itself of the smoke," Emma explained, giving Ruby a sympathetic smile.
Ruby's frown deepened.
"How's your head?" Emma asked a moment later.
Ruby just shrugged.
"Not that great, huh?"
Ruby shook her head, defeated and annoyed that she'd been reduced to simple gestures.
"Hey, maybe I'll find you a notepad or something at the nurse's station, that way we can communicate better," Emma said, smiling as if that had been the brightest idea she'd gotten all night.
Ruby wanted to tell her that she was tired and that writing down paragraphs to express her feelings was the last thing she felt like doing, but she couldn't, and so she just nodded, offering the sheriff a tired, forced smile.
"Cool. I'll be right back, okay?" Emma said as she patted Ruby's knee and scooted off the bed.
Ruby watched as Emma wandered out of the room and disappeared down the hall, and silently prayed that she wouldn't come back.