"We have to find her." Granny said as she sat down trying to pull herself together. "God knows what he'll do to her."
"Granny, I promise you I will make him pay for what he's done." Regina said as she walked back and forth through the diner.
"On my way here, I stopped at his house but they weren't there." David looked at both women and could feel how desperate they were. "I have no idea where Whale could take Ruby."
"He's probably drunk as hell so he shouldn't be thinking straight, that should be easier for us to find where he has my granddaughter."
For a minute David got lost in his thoughts. He remembered a few months back when Whale had brought Daniel back to life. He didn't really know where it had happened, since it was Regina the one who found Whale bleeding out. For some reason, he had the feeling Whale would go back there. If he had felt safe enough to bring someone back to life there, he sure as hell felt sure enough to try and kill someone there as well. He didn't want to tell Granny or Regina, but he knew if they didn't find Ruby soon, he would end up killing her.
"Regina where did Daniel attack Whale?"
"Watch it Charming! Daniel didn't attack Whale, he couldn't control his actions. And now that I think about it, he should have killed the bastard." Regina said trying to protect the only person that had truly loved her.
"I really don't give a damn whether Daniel attacked him or not, I just want to know where it happened."
"Why?"
"Because I have the feeling he took Ruby there." He looked at both women. "Look, back then he felt that place was secure enough to try and bring Daniel to life. That means he feels safe in that place and that he is the boss. That place gives him some sort of power. Which means that if he wants to show Ruby the kind of man that he is, he will take her there because that's his place. Back at his home, Ruby can find ways to escape or even try to talk him out of hurting her. But if he takes her somewhere she's never been, he will be the one with the power and she won't be able to find ways to escape him."
"He took Daniel's body to the east area of the hospital. There are a few abandoned rooms there and he uses that place for his "experiments". So, maybe that's where he took Ruby."
"Okay, let's go find her."
"I'm coming with you!" Granny exclaimed.
"Granny it could be dangerous."
"David, I don't care. She's my granddaughter and I am going to protect her, or at least try to save her from him."
"She's right David, she should come with us. We could use her wolf nose to track Ruby down."
"Fine, let's go."
All three of them got into David's truck. He was the one driving, Regina was right next to him and Granny was looking out the window. They were all worried about Ruby, but Regina felt guilty about what was going on. She believed she could have been able to stop Whale, had she been there with Ruby at the diner. If Ruby died, it would be on her. Earlier that morning, when they've discussed about her going back to work, Regina knew it wasn't the best idea. She could hear Ruby's phone every time Whale called her and every time the younger woman pressed ignore, Regina knew Whale got angrier and angrier. Now he was, sure drunk as hell, in some random place beating the hell out of Ruby. All she wanted to do was find the young woman and take her home. She would deal with Whale another day.
"Regina, she will be okay." David squeezed the Mayor's hand, something that took her off guard and surprised her. "We won't let anything bad happen to her."
"I am pretty sure he has already hurt her. We don't know how long she's been missing and for how long has he had her trapped." She moved her hand away to regain her confidence. "All I want to do is find Ruby and make sure she gets medical treatment."
"Maybe that's not necessary."
"I doubt that. He's been using her as a punching bag for the last month and now Ruby has totally ignored him. So yes, I'm sure she will need to go to the hospital." Regina looked at Granny and then whispered to David. "I just hope she's alive."
Granny looked at her. "I have wolf hearing; I can hear you even if you are miles away. I know Ruby is alive, I can feel it in me. She is strong and she won't give up."
"Women, let's just hope for the best, okay? We will find Ruby and make sure she's okay."
"I will deal with Whale another day." Regina said looking straight on to the road. "You leave him to me and I will make him pay."
Granny knew, with each word Regina pronounced, that Ruby was lucky to have the older woman in her life. Since the first time she had told Regina about Whale's abuse towards Ruby, she knew the Mayor wouldn't leave her granddaughter alone. It felt weird to know that The Evil Queen was the one fighting to save the wolf's life; no one would have ever thought this time in their lives would come. Back at home, this would have never happened. Something told Granny that Regina had feelings for Ruby and, after everything that had happened in the last days, she would never be against the two of them dating. On the contrary, she would encourage Ruby to try and gain the Queen's love.
As he drove to the hospital, David had a lot of things in his mind. First of all, he couldn't believe he was on the same side as Regina. He would have never thought he was going to team up with The Evil Queen to try and save one of his friends. Shame took over him as he thought the coward he had been the last month not standing up to defend Ruby. But, his wolf friend was lucky enough to have someone that cared about her so much. Secondly, he felt proud of Regina. He didn't really know this woman but now he saw a side of her that he had never seen before. He couldn't wait to share with Henry all the amazing things his mom had done in the last few days. Last but not least, he just wanted to find Ruby alive. Most abusive relationships ended up badly and he couldn't imagine what would happen to Granny if that was the case with Ruby…what would happen to Regina if they found out Ruby was dead.
She felt the hard grip of her own hands against her arms. She had her arms wrapped around herself and all he could think about was Ruby. Regina found herself praying, something she had never done before, for the younger woman to be okay. God help Whale if he had killed Ruby, no one would be able to stop her if something like that happened. She would kill Whale. As a matter of fact, she already wanted to kill the bastard. As soon as she made sure Ruby was okay, she would go after him and make him suffer the same way he had made her wolf suffer. Her wolf. That was the first time she thought about Ruby as her own. As the minutes went by, Regina found herself wanting to be in a relationship with Ruby. She wanted to protect this woman with her life and wanted to make sure she would never suffer again.
"We are here." David said as he parked outside. "Maybe you two should stay here and I will go get Ruby."
"Over my dead body! I am going there to get my granddaughter, David."
"I agree with Granny. We are all going in. She is in there because none of us was able to protect her and I won't sit in your truck waiting for you to get her."
"I just think that maybe you shouldn't see her if she's too hurt."
"David, she is my blood and I won't leave her alone."
In the meantime, Whale sat in the corner of the room drinking his third bottle of vodka. After the second bottle, he wasn't worried about Ruby anymore. He could see her weak body tied up to the chair in an unconscious state. She hadn't moved after he punched her repeatedly and at the beginning he was worried he might have killed her. But when he felt her breathing, the worried disappeared and all he cared about was finishing his vodka. There was blood all over her clothes and he knew, as a doctor, that she needed medical attention, but he wouldn't take her to the hospital. If he did, he would have to explain what had happened and he knew they would all blame him, even if he lied about it.
Slowly, the three of them walked through the dark hallways to the further area of the hospital. Granny used her wolf nose to track Ruby's smell. She could smell blood and knew that it belonged to her granddaughter. None of them spoke as they walked; they just followed Granny as she led the way. They were trying to picture what they would see once they finally found Ruby. Knowing she wouldn't look okay, the three of them tried to imagine the worst case scenario, just to be ready for reality.
"Whale move away from her!" David said as they found the room. "Get away NOW!"
"What the hell are you doing here?! This is my girlfriend and I can do whatever!"
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Granny said as she pushed Whale away. "This is the last time you hurt my granddaughter."
David grabbed Whale's arm as he was about to hit Granny. The doctor was panicking and all he could think about was hitting more people. Regina didn't pay attention to them, she ran directly to Ruby. She freaked out the minute she saw the younger woman. Ruby's face was covered in blood and she could see a few cuts along her cheeks and forehead. As fast as she could, she untied the wolf and pulled her into a big hug. She had to make sure Ruby was still alive.
"Ruby open your eyes for me." She looked at the unconscious woman. "Please wolfy, open your eyes and show me you are okay." Regina started crying as she saw Ruby didn't wake up. "Come on Ruby! Open your damn eyes and show me you are okay!"
Slowly Ruby opened her eyes and her blurry vision allowed her to see part of Regina's face. She had come to save her. The voice in her head had been a sign that Regina was actually on her way to save her. With strength she didn't have in her weak body, Ruby moved her face a bit so she could take in all of Regina. Between sobs of pain she was able to say "you came". With those two words, Regina felt life taking back control of her body. Now she knew that Ruby wasn't dead and she felt as happy as she could be at a moment like that.
David handcuffed Whale to a pole in the room and promised he'd come get him later. Carefully, and trying not to hurt her, he picked Ruby up and carried her back to the hospital. Granny and Regina followed him as he walked down the hallways. They were all happy they had found Ruby, but they knew she still had a long recovery ahead of her. She would probably need stitches and maybe surgery to reconstruct her broken cheekbones. But all in all, they had been able to save Ruby and that's what mattered.
"Doctor said after surgery she will be fine. She has to stay in here for a week, give or take, but she will be just fine." Granny said as she sat between David and Regina. "Thank you, both of you, for saving my baby."
"No thanks needed, Granny, it was something we all had to do." Regina said and then looked at David. "I know I was a bitch to you earlier this morning but I'm really grateful you came to help us."
"Like you said, it was something we all had to do. I failed Ruby and you gave me the chance to right my mistakes. And from now on, you are not alone. You are not alone to protect Ruby. And you are not alone in this life."
"Thank you, David."
Regina leaned back on the chair and closed her eyes. Who would have ever thought that she was going to team up with prince Charming to save the little wolf? She felt proud of herself because she had come so far from The Evil Queen she used to be back at home. Maybe now that she had been able to prove that she was in fact a good person, the Charmings would let her spend some time with Henry and allow her to prove him that she could be the good mother that he wanted her to be. Regina felt she was beginning to live again and she had Ruby to thank for that.