Chapter 4

Unexpected

Bigby had just turned his back ready to walk away until the sound of a crunch was heard followed by the sound of something dropping to the floor, a thump. Bigby rushed into the apartment remembering the door being locked he swiftly kicked it open to see Irina on the floor, a hand to her head as the shadow figure escaped out the window. Bigby lost it his eyes turning a deep golden color and the hair on his forearms and face increasing from a light stubble to a full grown beard, he quickly ran towards the window only to be stopped by the sound of Irina's voice calling out to him

"Bigby DON'T!" She yelled

That's what made him stop suddenly; his hands remained on the windowsill, his adrenaline still pumping

"He's a Mundy" She informed him placing a hand on the gaping wound on her head as she stood with large amount of effort

"How do you know that?" He asked turning slowly as he noticed she had been injured, in less than a second he was standing by her side one hand holding her raised arm, and the other found its way around her waist helping her sit on the couch. Despite the pain she felt she lifted her head making Bigby look where she was gesturing only to see drops of crimson blood from where the plant had cut him. Bigby looked back at her, he slowly returned to normal yet he still didn't understand what she meant by the blood trail.

"Dex-...That plant doesn't touch Fables… That's why I placed it here otherwise I would have left it in the wilds"

"Stay here! I'm going to get Doctor Swineheart!" He said rushing towards the door only to have it slam right in front of him

"There's no need for that Bigby" She said mumbling some words then sprinkling that green glitter she used to heal the guard, in no time the wound disappeared "See? This is me, handling myself" She said self-righteously, her smug look faded as it met with Bigby's angry one

"You should have let me catch him"

"Yes, let the human meet the Wolfman, hey that's a great idea go chase the Mundy until you catch him or her I didn't get a chance to see as I was smacked in the head with my own statue, but anyways yes chase them with your super speed and then let them see the gold eyes and excessive facial hair, of course, great plan Sheriff… Just brilliant" She said lifting her thumbs in the air

"How the hell did a Mundy get past security?"

"Oh you mean the heavy sleeper out front? A true mystery that one" She replied sarcastically

He wanted to, he wanted to laugh or smile, but the fear in him was still there, he couldn't help it, seeing her tossed to the ground was one of the most horrific things he's ever seen, and Bigby has seen some shit. She looked up at him and noticed his gaze heavy on her; it was like anchoring her to the bottom of the ocean with his deep brown eyes.

"I'm fine Bigby, truly" She offered a smile but received nothing as his face had not changed.

"You need sleep" He finally said breaking the silence

"Yeah I do… Good night Bigby" She said gesturing towards the door as he stood there looking at it, not moving. "Okay" Irina said extending the word, "Lets try this again" she began another grand gesture towards the door only to have Bigby fold his arms with a raised eyebrow.

"Get some sleep, I'll be here when you wake" He said turning to the couch sitting down, his legs crossed as he rested them on her wooden coffee table, making himself right at home.

"You're joking right?"She replied in disbelief as he did not reply, the look on his face gave it away as he lifted both brows tilting his head sideways "Of course you're not" she said to herself, she sighed gripping the bridge of her nose then turned to Bigby who seemed determined not to leave. "Bigby break in's happen...Nothing was stolen, all is well..."

"You were bashed in the head..." he said quite matter of factly, if she wasn't mistaken it had a bit of a joking sense to it. His words were one thing but even saying it, she didn't realize his hands grabbing fists of the couch's fabric, his outer composure flipping out on the inside, all he wanted to do was chase the man down and tear him to shreds. "And this all just so happens at the time two men came in asking after you" He said piecing the events of that day together.

"Yes well... " She knew she didn't have any explanation or possible answer she could give that will put Bigby at ease, or at least get him to leave. "Fine... make yourself comfortable... whatever" She said raising her hands in surrender as she turned around making her way to the bedroom, swinging the two doors belonging to her bedroom open. Bigby heard her mumbling words as she was fumbling about her room, he heard some of it however, he heard the words stubborn, fuzzy and bastard being spoken causing him to lower his head to hide is laughter

Bigby was just starting to get comfortable, he began by loosening his tie and unbuttoning his sleeves to push them up. Just as sat up folding his jacket to use it as a head rest, there came Irina holding two pillows to her chest while holding a blanket underneath her arm.

Bigby quickly stood to help her carry them.

"Here... If you have to stay here at least you won't wake up with a crick in your neck, i don't want anyone to blame me for harming the sheriff" She said handing him the pillows and blanket.

"I don't think that's what will happen, they might even reward you for it" He said smiling lightly at her which she returned with a smile of her own, seeing her smile, she truly was one of the most beautiful women he has ever seen.

"I wish you told me sooner, I wouldn't have gone through the effort of finding the extra pillows and blanket" She said, fake sincerity coating her voice as she smiled and turned back to the bedroom closing the first door, before she closed the second she saw Bigby preparing for bed... or couch in this case.

"If you need to eat something, the kitchen is at your disposal" She said as she slowly started closing the door. Bigby turned to adjust the pillow yet jumped quickly when the door swung back open. "Just... Don't burn down my apartment please? It took me a really long time to find it" She said with worry covering her face

"Still haven't forgotten have you?"

"Some things are difficult to forget" At this the smile that made its way up his face faded quickly as did hers when she realized what her comment caused, she didn't mean it that way but now that she thought of it, it wasn't any less true. No words were said afterwards, she simply turned around closing the door behind her as he laid on the pillows covering himself falling asleep.

Bigby woke to the feeling of something tugging on his ear, he began swatting it away as if he was swatting away a fly falling back asleep when the pulling ceased. A few seconds later there it was again, the tugging on his ear this time whatever it was that was harassing the sleeping wolf was not ready to give up, the next thing Bigby knew if the wet cold feeling of something invading his ear. Bigby quickly opened his eyes sliding off the couch banging his elbow on the nearby table as he now laid on the floor.

"Dobly!" He heard Irina speak, unsure of what she just said as he was too busy rubbing the liquid from his ear standing to see what on earth just touched him.

"What was that?!" Bigby asked stunned as he looked around the 'crime scene' only to see what looked like a puppy, a green corgi puppy but this one wasn't normal... It was covered in vines and leaves. It resembled a puppy in shape, but the fur was more like extremely fine grass, the ears were small perfectly shaped leaves, its eyes were the same as any dog big and round, but it glowed green... Meh Bigby was used to seeing weird things by now.

"Dobly is... My dog? I suppose thats what you can call it"

"Irina, you know you can't have pets in here..."

"I don't think he counts as a pet... you're not a pet are you huh... are you boy" She said kneeling down running her fingers through its 'fur' causing it to bark slightly wiggling its little tail.

"Yeah, not a pet at all" Bigby scoffed finally noticing what Irina was wearing. Her hair fell in deep red fiery waves all swept to one side revealing her long neck, bare shoulders, her simple gown was held by two straps that have dropped from her shoulders hardly holding up the short navy silk gown worn by the witch. The low V neck laced with gold revealing her cleavage more than what was comfortable for Bigby as he couldn't tear his eyes away from it. Irina looked up to meet Bigby's eyes noticing where they lingered, a smirk played on her face as Bigby mumbled trying to remember how to speak. "I uh... I still don't think it should stay here"

"Oh relax big boy... He can pass as a plant, he knows better if mundys were to ever visit or break in... he didn't attack or reveal himself. Pweeez Bigby just this once... let him stay" She asked pulling the creature up both staring at Bigby with wide eyes while Irinas lips pouted exaggeratedly.

"Fine... I suppose it won't hurt having it here. Just keep him quiet. I don't want anyone to think i did you any special favors..."

"Don't worry i do not intend on ruining your bad man reputation" She said nuzzling the dog as it barked happily rubbing its face with hers.

Bigby stood there as his eyes dropped back to the witch's body, he tried looking away he tried everything to divert his attention away but it always ended up back at the same place. His eyes traveled from the top of her head lower and lower until he finally reached her legs. 'That's it!' He though to himself 'I have to stop...' Before he could continue his train of through was cut off, he noticed something on her legs, something flawed their beauty, a deep gash that had long been healed. There is was... His nightmares returned to haunt him, it was his doing, he remembered exactly where it was as he was the one who put it there, it was deep and long and traced all the way past her leg, he couldn't see where it ended as her gown covered the rest he assumed was beneath it. He began squinting his eyes as the thoughts of what had happened rushed through his mind.

At first Irina didn't noticing him staring at her, it seems she had forgot herself, she forgot who was there with her. She looked up trying to match where his eyes were traveling until she noticed his gaze glued to the scar on her leg,.

"Go back to bed..." She said quickly pushing past him to get back to her room closing the door behind her. The puppy was placed on the ground as she leaned against the door covering her mouth, tears began to gather in her eyes as she recalled the way he looked at her 'Disgust' is what she saw in his eyes.

"Dammit" She whispered under her breath as she gracefully rose from the floor to the end table that sat by her bed. In her hand was a weird bullett shaped wood with a strange puzzle on it, also known as a 'glamor', the one thing that possesses enough magical power to hide the scars that even her own magic was unable to conceal, she clutched it in her hand for a moment before placing it back on the table, in an instance the scars disappeared.

"Wake up sunshine" She said cheerfully from the kitchen, as Bigby struggled to open his sleep heavy lids in an instance his senses were overwhelmed by the smell of... hmmm bacon.

"You uh.. made breakfast" Bigby sniffed the surrounding smell, his stomach began to growl with hunger as he remembered he had literally nothing to eat the day before.

"Yep, Couldn't let my house guest starve, especially the sheriff of this grand town" She said with exaggeration as she continued preparing the meal. Bigby could see her cooking as the living room in her apartment overlooked the kitchen, beside it a small dining table with laced place-mats, that was decorated with a miniature flower vase. "Take a seat at the table.. I'll be right there" She said over her shoulder as she began to crack eggs into the pan. Her hair was in a messy bun and she has changed out of her previous robes into pajama pants and a plain white shirt, even then Bigby continued slapping himself mentally to stop him from staring at her.

"You didn't have to-" Bigby began before he was cut off by the redhead

"It was no trouble, I was already making some for myself, it's not like I went out of my way to make it for you or anything" She said with arrogance, 'She hasn't changed a bit' Bigby though looking at her approach with a plate of extra crispy bacon and two eggs before she headed back to the kitchen.

"Let me help you, it's the least I can do" Bigby said about to get up only to be pushed down by an unexpected hand on his shoulder, the woman was quick as she placed another plate of toast in front of him.

"Not necessary, I'm almost done" She finally said placing another plate of toast by her side. The last thing she brought was a cup of coffee, black with no sugar. "Just how you like it" She said handing him the cup. A smile rose to his face at the gesture, a smile that was soon returned by Irina as she finally sat after bringing two empty glasses and a pitcher of orange juice.

"Is this-" Bigby questioned poking around his plate

"Pork bacon? No... I serve you that who knows what you could do to poor Collin down there"

"You know about-?"

"Everybody knows about..." She said smirking before taking a sip of Orange Juice that she has poured.

The wolf began digging into his food, it was delicious as he expected 'is there anything this woman can't do?' He thought to himself

"Are we going to talk about last night?" Bigby asked causing her to pause abruptly, she couldn't take him mentioning the scars, not now, not ever.

"A lot of things happened last night, you should be more specific" She toyed hoping to lighten the mood and derail him but alas her attempts failed.

"The mundy that broke in here..." His words caused her to sigh deeply in relief. "Why of all apartments did he choose yours?"

"Things like this happen all the time Bigby. It could be for a number of reasons. Treat this as any other case if you have to keep investigating, but for now the rules are no business talk while at the table"

"Iri-"

"Aa-, Not another word Bigby Wolf"

"Fine..." He said in defeat knowing she wouldn't talk about it even if he did continue, unlike most people in Fabletown she neither feared or was intimidated by him and he knew it

"This is good coffee..." He said taking a sip out of his mug

"Thank you. I added a touch of cinnamon to the mix to give it that 'Liquid Christmas' feel'"

"Liquid Christmas" He said more as a statement than a question, he couldn't help but smile and shake his head at how ridiculous it sounded.

"Yes Liquid Christmas" She replied with fake superiority as she lifted her head high, looking away as if she had invented something extraordinary. She stared at him the moment she charade was over only to see him smirking at her before lifting the mug to his lips taking a sip of coffee. 'Why do you have to be so handsome?' she thought to herself.

The next 30 minutes was a mixture of witty banter and eating as they both sat there enjoying each others company.

Knock Knock... the sound of someone knocking on the door was heard by the two. The person knocking seemed to be running out of patience as the knocking increased until whoever was at the door was practically banging.

"You expecting anyone?" Bigby asked suspiciously as his eyes were now fixated on both her and the door

"N-No" She responded, her eyes wide with what looked like fear, but not of him then who else could it be?

Bigby growled slightly heading towards the door only he made sure she was clear out of the way first as he grabbed her hand placing her behind him shielding her.

"Bigby..."

Her calling went unheard, or ignored by the wolf as he approached the loud door slowly, Irina following closely behind.

Bigby quickly swung open the surprisingly unlocked door only to stun the kid standing at the other side.

"Oh shit!" The teen boy said, the kid was wearing a delivery uniform holding in his hand what looked like something dangling from a hanger

"Rodney, you know better than to bang on people's doors, you scared us" Irina appeared from behind Bigby scolding the young boy.

"I-Im sorry Ms. Valcourt" The boy said still startled by the Wolf, the boy was practically shaking in fear "I was told you needed this immediately and I wasn't going to disappoint you" He said lowering his head in shame

"Everything is fine" She said moving past Bigby to lift the boy's chin offering him a reassuring smile. The boy's smile was practically from ear to ear showing his gaped teeth. "So what do you have for me?"

The boy offered her the plastic case with the hanger but before she could grab it Bigby snatched it from the boy. "I'll take that" He said almost slamming the door shut in the boy's face

"That was rude" Irina was obviously angered by Bigby's actions

"What is this?"

"Well I don't know seeing as you're the one holding it" She said reaching for what was in Bigby's hand, but Bigby quickly turned his back to her preventing her from doing so.

"It could be dangerous"

"It's on a hanger for god sake"

"Stand back" Bigby said moving furthest he could from her before unzipping the bag slowly only to reveal an extremely short, tight black dress.

"Better get the squad for this one in Sheriff" She commented sarcastically moving closer to him snatching away the dress.

"I had to be sure" He justified

"Riiight" She said before turning her back to him reading the card that was tagged on the bag. Little did she know he was reading the message over her shoulder as well.

I have set up an appointment with a clearly interested Client that has offered financial assistance.

Mr. C has asked for you personally and you know how important customer satisfaction is to us.

I do not need to remind you of the importance of this business deal.

Please see you dress accordingly

You will be picked up personally by Mr. C at 8 o'clock pm tonight

Do not be late,

CM.

"What did you do again?" His voice startled her as she didn't realize his closeness and therefore had no idea he was reading it as well. She turned to face him only to see his confused and angry facial expression, and hurt of she was not mistaken

"Well lets see, I made breakfast, I did the laundry-..."

"What do you do for a living?" It was his turn to cut her off, the threatening glares he gave her were enough to scare anyone into confessing, even if they didn't commit the crime.

"I am a business woman. That's all you need to know"

"Are you a working girl?" It may have been in question form but it was more of an accusation

"You're asking if I'm a prostitute?" She spoke defensively. "Wow Bigby" Just as she was about to storm her way to her bedroom, she was stopped by Bigby who grabbed her wrists tightly.

"Are you?" He insisted, anger was seeping out with every word he spoke and every breath he took

"You have no right!" She pushing his chest aggressively, Bigby stumbled backwards almost tumbling but at the last moment he was able to balance himself, he was taken aback by her reaction and strength that he stood there with his mouth wide open not knowing what to do or say "You think I would whore myself out to men?!"

"Strange gifts from men, other men coming to threaten you and another one wanting to rob you. It makes sense Irina"

"Get out Bigby" She said as she quickly passed him opening the front door.

"Irina"

"Get... Out" she spat venomously at him.

There was nothing left to be said, Even if he tried he knew Irina would hear nothing of it. With that he walked away down the elevator, off to his apartment.

"8 o'clock whoever you are, We'll meet then" He said to himself as he entered his apartment.

A/N:

there are two things i would like to apologize for

The first thing is how long it took to come out! With college and summer courses i didn't have time to FINISH it, i started a long time ago actually

The second thing is I'm sorry for the way it was written, i wrote it over a period of time and i think i forgot how to write stories, i hope it's not too bad

Thats it! I hope you enjoyed, Leave a comment and please tell me how I'm doing so far.

More info about Irina is to come, i mean in terms of who she is as a fable as requested ;)

other than that i have no more to say! suggestions are appreciated deeply!