Sorry for the wait, folks. I was having a hard time figuring out what to write and I've been excessively focusing on my Under the Veil story. The story is a bit slow, but I promise it will get there.

As much as Gold wished to be at Belle's bedside twenty-four-seven it began to freak the poor girl out. He'd attempt to get close to her, even tried to press a kiss to her cheek, but received a slap to the face instead. Just like everyone else in town, he was no more than a stranger with a name. Not to mention the utter creepiness of have a man double your age pressing his crusty lips against your skin.

On one occasion, Gold was so sure that true love's kiss would play a role in reviving her memory, but the effort was futile. Just as he pressed his lips to the sleeping woman, her eyes popped open and she let out a scream, managing to invite every nurse in ear range into the room. Her eyes were wide in horror as a nurse made great effort to calm her down.

"Mister Gold," the nurse said, "I believe it is time for you to go."

She watched the old, heartbroken man limp out of the room, failing to notice the other brunette woman who was walking by him, a bag in her hand. Belle's breathing began to slow as she took notice of the wolf-girl sheepishly standing in the doorway, unsure of whether to come in or not.

"Oh, I'm sorry, miss," the nurse spoke as she turned around to meet her, "but I think visitations for today are over for Miss French."

Ruby's face dropped with sadness and she nodded.

"Wait," both the nurse and Ruby looked at Belle who had spoken, "no she can stay."

"Are you sure? If you're not feeling well—"

"I'm fine, really," she glanced over at the wolf-girl who was faltering between a frown and a smile.

The nurse nodded and disappeared from the room while Ruby strode in and sat by the girl's bed.

"Hey," Belle grinned at her, though she wasn't so sure why she wanted her company.

"Hey," Ruby smiled shyly back, "I brought you something from the diner." She held up a paper bag along with a Styrofoam cup.

Ruby, compared to Gold, was calmer and less confrontational in her visitations knowing that any wrong move might cost her any chance she had of reviving their friendship. Whenever the wolf-girl would come around, all of Belle's loneliness would fade away when she came to visit. All she had known were walls of imprisonment for twenty-eight years; she really was afraid of the world she had no clue about, but looking at the smile on Ruby's face brought her some sort of feeling that she had a protector, even though she barely knew the girl. Belle looked at the object being held out in front of her and scrunched up her face.

"It's iced tea," Ruby told her softly, "I think you'll really like it." Belle took hold of the Styrofoam cup and looked at it warily. The waitress thought maybe it would be nice to start reintroducing her to the things of this world. Maybe it would help her memory, but that was highly unlikely. Finally, after a minute of staring at the drink, she took a slow sip of it. One sip. Two sips. Three…her eyes lit up and a big smile broke out across her face.

"Wow! This is…amazing!"

"Just wait," the wolf smirked as her hand disappeared inside of the paper bag. Belle eyed her curiously in anticipation of what was coming next. A pale hand pulled out a greasy paper wrapped thing. As it was unwrapped a pleasant smell hit her nose. "These things are awesome. It's a hamburger."

"It's smells delightful, but," she bit her lip, "the doctor has me eating only—"

"Oh screw what the doctor says," Red laughed and pushed the burger at the girl. "It won't hurt you. I promise."

"Well okay," Belle replied and took it from her, sniffing it, "but if I get in trouble…"

"I'll say I forced it down your throat."

Both of their giggles filled the air, warming their hearts in a way they didn't think possible. Belle bit into the burger and let out a sound of contentment.

"You're going to make me have a heart attack if you keep introducing me to all of these wonderful things!"

"You have no idea what you've missed."

After a few moments, Belle's smile faltered at a thought. She let out an involuntarily sigh that accompanied her thoughts and looked over to find Ruby looking at her peculiarly. Red had taken notice of the sudden change in the atmosphere.

"Are you alright?" she asked Belle.

"I…yea, I'm fine. Don't worry," she gave her new friend a soft smile, but it was easy to see through that.

Ruby pushed herself up from her chair and carefully edged closer to Belle, not wanting to invade her space. Seeing that there was no sudden reaction, she sat down on the edge of the bed and placed her hand on top of Belle's, but not before taking the half eaten burger and setting it aside.

"You can tell me," she whispered gently. Belle felt the natural urge to pull back from contact, but she remained still. She wanted to trust someone more than anything and as she gazed into Ruby's green eyes she felt safe. Safer than any walls could make her feel.

"Everything is so confusing," she admitted while she shifted her eyes down, "for twenty-eight years, all I've known is solitude. The only person I was partially acquainted to was some ward-nurse that brought me food each and every day." She squeezed her eyes shut and felt the wolf-girl squeeze her hand.

"I can't imagine how hard that must have been. Having nothing, but your own company…locked away in silence."

Ruby knew only slightly how it felt to be locked up. Granny would lock her up inside of her room, demand that she wear the red cloak and not come out till she said so. What a life that was, but she always found ways to sneak out. Belle on the other hand, had absolutely no way out.

"The doctor said I hit my head really hard, giving me a concussion, and consequentially forgetting the most recent parts of my life. It's so hard to believe I had a life because I can't remember a thing."

Both of their eyes met again. Ruby thought back to their first encounter again along with several others. How she was the one who introduced her to the library in Storybrooke, which was once again shut down without anyone to run it. What was she to tell her? That they used to be really close? What would that do? To makes things even worse, Belle had no idea about magic and that her new friend was a werewolf. That was a huge obstacle standing in the way. Clearly, if those little things were revealed at the wrong moment, she'd go crazy and end right back up in the ward again. Ruby only gave her a reassuring look.

"So…if I did have a life that I can't remember, what was it like?"

"You were the librarian."

Belle let out a heartfelt laugh, "Me? A librarian?"

"Ha, yea. You were crazy about books."

"You're kidding! That's…so odd."

Ruby squeezed her friend's hand once again. "Hey, don't worry. I'll help you get back into things, alright?" She gazed into Belle's deep brown eyes which seemed to sparkle every time she laughed. "I promise." She glanced over at the clock on the wall. Shit, already? She thought. When she stood, Belle gave her a look. "I wish I could stay longer, but I have to head back to the diner."

"Oh, okay." Ruby leaned over and gave Belle a hug, which was a first since the accident. It was a sad feeling as she pulled away from the warming embrace. Just as the waitress began to turn away after saying goodbye, she felt a hand reach out and touch hers. "Ruby?"

"Yea?"

"Will you come back tomorrow?"

Her cheeks pulled up and a huge, full teethed smile spread across the wolf's face. "Of course!"