Disclaimer: Not my characters but they sure are fun to write.

A/N: Thank you for all the comments/reviews, kudos/faves, and follows. They are much appreciated.

A/N 2: The first half of this chapter is mostly Ruby meddling but don't despair - the second half of the chapter is mostly SQ. :)

Chapter 10: Hour of the Wolf

Ruby approached Snow, still debating with herself over what to say to her. She was torn between loyalty to her best friend and knowing how much Snow had hurt Emma. She had never expected to witness Emma unravel in front of her eyes, and she fervently hoped that Emma had managed to find Regina. Ruby wondered at the irony of that ... Snow's arch-nemesis being the one able to put her daughter back together again. Snow was not going to like that, no matter how much better they all seemed to get along after Neverland.

Ruby's own relationship with Regina was complicated. Her friendship with Snow meant that she had always stood against Regina but she had also felt a certain grudging respect for the other woman. Regina had outlawed the killing of werewolves in her kingdom and had protected wolves in general. She had been relentless in her quest for revenge but she had also often shown kindness to the people she ruled over. The tax system had been fair, fairer than that of King Leopold, and the economy had been working for almost everybody. Plus, Ruby's own monstrous side had given her some insight into Regina that she had decided not to share with anyone. It had only been her and Granny who had talked about the murky waters between right and wrong, good and evil sometimes late into the night by the warm fire of their hearth. God, she really didn't miss the conditions back home.

Maybe Granny would have some insight into Snow's current behavior which was so far over the line of reason that it was only a barely visible speck in the rearview mirror.

"Did you want something, Ruby?" Snow's question interrupted Ruby's musings and she realized that she had actually walked all the way over to Snow's table while she had been thinking. "You know I always have time for my best and most loyal friend," Snow added.

Instead of making her feel good, Ruby felt those words like a vise around her chest. Up until now she hadn't even noticed how much pressure Snow could put on people by subtly hinting at their position in her life, their loyalty to her. Ruby swallowed. "Not really," she replied quickly. "Just wanted to see if you needed more cocoa. It looks like you'll be here a while longer."

"Oh, that would be lovely, thanks." Snow dropped her pen and stretched her shoulders. "I know the words should come easy to me but writing these proclamations is harder than I thought."

Having trouble doing the wrong thing? Ruby was glad that Snow seemed to at least struggle a little. "Maybe you should let the old council help you," she suggested. "That's how it used to be done back in the Enchanted Forest ..."

Snow gave her a curious look. "David and I can't rule by committee, Ruby," she declared softly. "At least not until we're all back home. Somebody has to make all the hard decisions until then, and that person is me."

"You sound as if you're not going to give people a say in whether or not they want to go back," Ruby pointed out. That couldn't be right, could it?

Snow tensed a little. "Are you okay, Ruby?" she asked. "What kind of question is that? I have always made the decisions for my people ... that's the way things are and always have been."

"But ..."

"But what?"

"But not everyone might want to go back," Ruby replied, feeling a little overwhelmed by Snow's behavior. "Emma definitely doesn't want to go back," she reminded Snow. "Plus, not everyone here is from your kingdom, Snow."

"They are now," Snow said categorically. "And I'm sure Emma will change her mind once I finally manage to reunite her with her true love. She's just so stubborn sometimes."

Regina? Ruby almost couldn't stop herself from uttering that name but fortunately her mind and mouth cooperated for once and she managed to bite her tongue in time. "Emma's true love?" she asked instead.

Now Snow looked excited. "Yes, Neal of course."

"Neal? Are you sure about that?"

"As sure as I can be without having seen true love's kiss at work," Snow replied with a smile. "Fortunately, we're fresh out of curses right now."

Ruby shook her head. Looking at Snow, she wasn't so sure about that. What if this was some kind of curse? Snow hadn't always been like this, had she? She had always been selfish, but it had been for the greater good. But now? The woman sitting before her was almost callous in her dealings with her people, and more importantly her daughter.

Ruby tried not to sigh out loud. There was no way that Neal was Emma's true love, not with the frantic way Emma had been looking for Regina. And especially not with the way Regina's scent had been all over Emma. No, Ruby thought, if Emma had a true love, it definitely wasn't Neal. She just wasn't sure what she could do to make Snow see that without spilling Emma's secret love for Regina.

Ruby decided she needed to get away from Snow before she said something they all might regret later, Emma and Regina in particular. Her eyes fell on Emma's badge still sitting on the table. "I'll just get you your cocoa and let you get back to work," Ruby said casually. "And if you want, I can drop the sheriff's badge at the station. I wanted to ask David about something anyway."

Snow was already focusing on her proclamation again and simply waved her hand in acceptance. Ruby grabbed the badge, not willing to wait around until Snow realized she probably hadn't listened to a word Ruby had said.

o o o

Ruby prepared a sandwich and a bear claw for David and put it on Snow's tab before she told Granny that she had something important to take care of. Unfortunately, Granny had been too busy for Ruby to ask her opinion on Snow's plans, which was why she figured it was a good idea to go see the other half of the royal couple.

If he was going to steal his daughter's job, Ruby was at least going to let him know how she felt about it.

David was sitting behind his desk, working on some files with a bored and somewhat vacant expression on his face. Ruby bit back snort. The Charmings really weren't much for paperwork, which was just one of the reasons why Snow and David might not be the perfect people to lead this community.

"Paperwork?" she asked with a grin as she stopped in front of his desk.

David dropped his pen with a look of immense relief on his face and looked up to Ruby. "I hate it," he said sheepishly. "What are you doing here, Red?"

"Bringing you food," Ruby said simply, dropping the baggie on the desk in front of him.

David tore into it immediately with a wide grin. "Thanks," he mumbled around a bite of the sandwich. "I didn't notice how hungry I was."

"I also came over to drop this off," Ruby continued, tossing Emma's badge across the desk and into David's lap.

David scrambled to catch the badge while not dropping the sandwich. "What the hell, Red?" he shouted, reminding Ruby of his daughter. "What is this?" He held up the badge with a confused look on his face. "Is this Emma's? How come you have it? What's going on?"

Ruby wondered if David really had no idea. "You don't know?" she asked, eyes wide. "Yes, it's Emma's badge, and Snow pretty much just forced her to give it up because she felt that as her husband you should be the sheriff. She wants Emma to be her assistant."

David's jaw dropped. "What? I have no idea what … Are you serious? Snow's assistant?"

"Dead serious," Ruby replied. "Snow is at the diner drafting a proclamation declaring herself mayor right now, establishing you two as the rulers of Storybrooke."

David slumped back in his chair, sandwich forgotten. "I had no idea, Red," he said after a moment. "I agree that Snow should run this town until we get back—"

"Gods, not you too," Ruby groaned.

" … but I don't want to take Emma's job," David finished. "What do you mean, not me too?"

"I mean that not everyone wants to go back, David," Ruby explained patiently. "Emma for one and I'm not too keen on the idea either. And I don't think you and Snow should make the decision for everyone. This is a democracy, David." Maybe she could get through to him when she and Emma hadn't managed to get through to Snow. "Snow can't just proclaim herself mayor by royal decree. If Snow wants the job, we need to have an election and then everyone who wants to be mayor can run for office."

"Everyone?" David looked confused. "Snow is the rightful queen, so she's the logical choice."

"But we have a mayor."

"You mean Regina?" David asked. "You can't seriously want the Evil Queen as the leader of this town!"

"She's done a pretty good job the first 28 years and she's the only one who has any idea how things are run. She knows how to do all the paperwork." Ruby sighed. "And maybe there are other people who'd like to try their hand at the job. Belle did a really good job of leading the town while you were all gone."

David looked unconvinced. "The people are used to Snow leading them," he pointed out. "They won't accept anybody else."

"If you're sure about that, you shouldn't have a problem persuading Snow to call for an election then," Ruby replied casually. "Since you're convinced she'd win anyway."

David looked like he wanted to argue but he couldn't find anything to say. "I'll talk to Snow," he finally said with a reluctant sigh. "But Regina can never be mayor."

"But according to what you just said, she wouldn't win anyway, so what's the harm in doing things by the rules of this land?" Ruby smiled winningly. "You know it's the right thing to do."

Having said her piece Ruby turned to go but she didn't get far. "Wait!" David stopped her. "Here, take this," he tossed Ruby Emma's badge, "and return it to its rightful owner. I'll talk to Snow."

o o o

"It's a good thing you've grown on me, love," Hook told Tink with a mostly charming grin.

"You got it?" Tink asked. "You got the dust?"

When he nodded and held up a small vial with fairy dust, Tink jumped into his arms and gave him a full-body hug, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist. Hook stumbled backwards a couple of steps until he stopped against the main mast of the Jolly Roger.

"For this reaction, I'd break into that Blue Fairy's office any day of the week, love." He had the wherewithal to put the vial safely into his coat pocket before Tink kissed him and made him forget about almost everything else. The small twinge he felt at the thought that this was the wrong blonde to kiss had lessened in intensity over the past days, after all.

If only he knew what Tink wanted with the fairy dust she had him steal.

o o o

Ruby returned to the diner for the early afternoon rush as Granny grumpily called the five or six customers who lingered after lunch. Snow was still sitting in the corner but Ruby couldn't bring herself to talk to her again. She had stuffed Emma's badge into one of her pockets and she feared it would burn a hole through her shorts if she got too close to Snow.

Once Granny had deemed it okay, Ruby ran out of the diner, determined to talk to one more person before she took the promised run in the woods to go look for Regina, somehow quite certain that Emma had found her first. If she hadn't, she just assumed Emma would have shown up again at some point.

Ruby walked into the library and found Belle sitting on the floor, surrounded by stacks of books. "Hey."

Belle looked up, surprised at the visitor. Most people had been giving her a wide berth after the group had returned from Neverland without Rumplestiltskin. "Hey yourself." She stood and bid Ruby over to one of the chairs at a nearby table. "What can I do for you?"

Ruby wasn't quite sure how to start but then decided to just give Belle the short version. "Snow wants to take over as mayor."

Belle's eyebrows wandered to her hairline. "Just like that?"

"Via royal proclamation actually," Ruby amended dryly. "I really don't know what's gotten into her." She paused. "I just think it's wrong, you know. They're also planning on finding a way back home and making everyone go with them back to the middle ages."

"I have no interest in ever going back to that place," Belle whispered. "Too many memories. I want to stay here and explore the world. And even if none of us can ever leave Storybrooke …" she trailed off.

"At least we still have the internet," Ruby continued for her. "Yeah, I hear you. Not to mention several other modern amenities …"

"So why are you telling me this?"

"Well, I talked to David and he's going to try and persuade Snow to do this the right way and have an election … and since you did such a great job as interim mayor, I thought you might want to run for office."

To Ruby's surprise, Belle burst out laughing. "Oh no," she chortled.

"Why not?" Ruby was genuinely confused. "You did such a great job."

"Let me tell you something, Ruby," Belle started. "The only reason I was able to do a somewhat decent job was that Regina was such a fantastic mayor before all hell broke loose. I know we all condemn her for being the Evil Queen and for being single-minded in her pursuit of revenge, but when she applied that focus on her job as mayor? She was brilliant and a really good administrator." She smiled a little. "I think she's the only one who has the experience necessary for the position, especially if we manage to open the town to the outside world at some point in the future, and have to deal with state and federal agencies and institutions."

"You sound as if you've thought about the issue quite a lot," Ruby said with a smile. It was good to see Belle engaging in a conversation, even showing her beautiful smile.

"I have, and I have to tell you that I don't think that Snow is the right person for the job."

"Are you saying that you would actually vote for Regina? But she locked you up for 28 years!"

Belle turned serious. "Absolutely," she confirmed. "I know she locked me up and we'll have to talk about that, but if it comes to an election, I'll do everything I can to help her win."

Ruby just gaped at her. "I don't know what to say."

"I will have to talk to Regina first, though," Belle continued, a thoughtful look on her face as her eyes went over the library and its sorry state. "I want her to promise me the budget to expand the library. I think we can turn it into a really good place for this town."

"I like that you're thinking long-term," Ruby smiled.

"Yeah, well," Belle sighed. "I don't have much left now that Rumple is … gone." Her eyes teared up immediately at the thought and Ruby's heart clenched painfully in her chest.

She put a comforting hand on Belle's arm. "I'll let Regina know that you want to talk to her," she promised. "I'm going to see her later anyway." At least I'm going to look for her …

Ruby looked up at the sky once she was outside. The sun was getting lower, indicating that the afternoon was slowly moving towards evening. If she wanted to go find Regina, she had to do it now.

With a grin, she broke into a run, her long legs carrying her swiftly and effortlessly into the woods.

o o o

The first thing Regina saw when she opened her eyes was a mane of blonde hair falling into her face from above, making her let out a small, girlish yelp that had Emma laughing out loud. "Christ, Regina, I had no idea the Evil Queen could make such a sound," she got out around chuckles and giggles.

Regina wrapped her arms around herself and huffed. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Ms. Swan."

The tone in her voice and the defensive posture sobered Emma up immediately. You idiot, she admonished herself. Kid gloves, remember? Kid gloves. She pulled a reluctant Regina closer and hugged her firmly. "Please don't be like that, Regina," she pleaded softly. "You were just so adorable and—"

"I am no such thing," Regina denied but her voice wasn't quite as cold and her body not quite as stiff and tense. "What were you trying to accomplish anyway with your hair all over my face? That was not an ideal sight to wake up to, I'll have you know."

Emma grinned. This she could deal with, this snippy side of Regina that she had always found so strangely attractive, and now that she knew that she loved this woman it was even more stimulating. Emma leaned up on one elbow, pushing her hair behind her ears before she leaned over Regina again. "That's because you woke up a second too soon," she explained, her voice a low, soft breath across Regina's face. "I was just about to wake you up with a kiss."

Emma leaned in but Regina stopped her with a hand on her chest. "I wasn't aware I was under a sleeping curse," she said softly, one eyebrow raised.

There it was, the issue they had so assiduously avoided when Emma had caught Regina earlier. Emma had little to no experience with the topic of true love, apart from having the words thrown at her from every side since the curse had ended. She didn't even know for sure if she had a true love or even if everyone got one … but if the way she was feeling was any indication, if the way her body reacted to Regina's presence and even absence was a sign of anything more than magic, then maybe she did have a true love.

She smiled softly at Regina, unable to keep her feelings from showing on her face, but still decided not to be the first one to say it out loud. She might be the Savior of all fairy tale people but inside she was still insecure enough to doubt that anybody could love her to such an extent. "I never said anything about true love's kiss," she finally whispered with a cheeky grin, making light of the topic.

"Oh." From the look on Regina's face that was exactly the wrong thing to say. "Well th—"

Emma pressed her thumb against Regina's lips. "But it was implied," she said with a soft smile, then got distracted by the silky feel of Regina's lips against her finger. She moved it softly from left to right, along the bottom lip, then the upper lip, lingering on the scar she had always found immeasurably sexy. The smile slowly slid off her face, replaced by a look of such open desire that Regina gasped out loud.

Emma's eyes went rapidly from Regina's mouth to her increasingly darkening eyes, thumb teasing the plump lips, opening them slightly. She reached her breaking point when Regina ran the tip of her tongue along her thumb, and she crashed her mouth against Regina's with a low moan, kissing her hungrily, deeply, exploring and tasting with a craving she had never before felt, not even the first time she had kissed those lips.

Regina kissed back with equal fervor, wrapping her hands in Emma's locks, pulling her as close as possible, pulling her over her body as she pressed herself up to get even closer. She wrenched her mouth from Emma's with a gasp when a thigh slipped between her legs, putting pressure on her center. She opened her eyes to look at Emma, to make sure this was actually happening and not one of her dreams.

That was when she saw the soft, golden glow that surrounded them, and she gasped for a different reason. "Emma," she breathed. "Magic."

Emma's eyes opened slowly. "Is that …?"

Regina nodded, speechless for once. There was a shimmer in her eyes, a look of wonder, of relief, but Emma could also see a glimmer of doubt. "Don't question it," Emma whispered. "Just accept it, please. You deserve this, and so do I." She kissed Regina's eyes, her nose, and her lips before continuing. "Henry is going to be happy," she said confidently.

Regina snorted darkly. "Henry's going to hate me if I take away his dream of the perfect family." Her voice was like sandpaper. "That's why I left, Emma, to give him that, to make him happy. And now—" Her voice broke.

"Now he's going to see that we are that family," Emma replied calmly, wiping the tears from Regina's cheeks with her thumb. "We may not be perfect, but we love each other and we love him. There's no better foundation for a family."

Regina looked at her strangely, a new tear falling from her eye. "Did you just … Can you say that again, please?"

Emma was confused. "That we're not perfect? I thought that was pretty damn clear."

Regina shook her head. "No … what you said about …" She hesitated. What if Emma hadn't been ready for that? It had clearly been an accident.

Emma ran her own words back through her head to figure out what Regina meant. Oh. "You mean …?" The look on her face must have given away that she had figured it out because Regina simply smiled and nodded.

"I thought that was a given after the magic show just now," Emma went on, a soft, teasing smile on her face, "but I guess hearing it could be nice."

Regina growled and rolled her eyes. "Will you just say it, Ms. Swan! Why must you always make everything so diffi—"

"I love you," Emma said sincerely, the brightest smile on her face. "And if once wasn't enough, Your Majesty: I love you." She realized that it got easier with every time she said it. "I lo—"

Regina's index finger against her lips stopped her. "That's quite enough, Ms. Swan." She ran her finger across Emma's lips, suddenly knowing exactly why Emma had been so focused on her mouth earlier. "At least for now, I mean."

She saw that Emma looked at her expectantly. "Oh, were you waiting for something?" She figured it was her turn to tease now. Emma just growled but before she could say anything Regina stopped the game. "I love you too."

They kissed again, softer and sweeter this time but Regina pulled back after a while, something niggling at the back of her mind. She cleared her throat, trying to get herself under control. "I think you should go home to Henry," she finally said, still a little breathless. "He must wonder where you are."

God, Henry. Emma could have smacked herself. She had promised Henry she'd let him know if she found Regina but she also really didn't want to leave this place. "Can't I just call him?" she wondered aloud. "Tell him I found you and to spend the night with my par— … with Neal?"

"You can't," Regina replied sadly. "The protection I put up around the cabin won't let you get a signal on your phone."

"Ah, that explains why you never said anything about the message I left you." Emma thought for a moment. "I should be able to make a call outside the protective border though, right?"

Regina nodded. "You left me a message?"

Emma sat up, slowly disentangling her own body from Regina's. "Yep, when I started looking for you." She stood and held a hand out for Regina. "Would you care for an early evening stroll in the woods, milady?"

Regina took the offered hand with a laugh and let herself be pulled to her feet.

o o o

Ruby ran through the woods in a wide circle around the town, following no particular path except for the one her instincts pointed out. She knew she couldn't follow Emma's or Regina's scent because they transported but there was a feeling in her gut that sometimes pulled her in a certain direction.

She had learned early on to trust her wolf instincts, so she changed course here and there whenever she was pulled a certain way until she ended up in a remote part of the forest, quite a ways from the town. She stopped and looked around but all she could see were trees and more trees. Still, there was something here, something she could feel.

And then suddenly there was a hint of a familiar scent in the air. Regina, she identified. And Emma, she added with a smile.

She couldn't see them which meant that Regina had put up some sort of magical protection, but Ruby decided to trust her other senses. "Hey, Emma," she called out. "I have your badge here. David didn't want your job after all."

Even though she had known they were somewhere close by, she gasped when the two women were standing in front of her all of a sudden, appearing from nothing. "Nifty trick," she breathed, pulling Emma into a hug. "I'm glad you found her," she whispered.

"Me too," Emma whispered back. "But thank you for finding her as well."

Ruby pulled back, shooting Regina a nervous glance. "Relax, Ms. Lucas," Regina said with a smirk, and strangely enough Ruby did.

"You talked to David?" Emma went back to the important part.

Ruby nodded. "He had no idea …" She stopped and looked over to where Regina was standing two feet away.

"She knows," Emma told her and took Regina's hand, intertwining her fingers.

"David had no idea what Snow was planning," Ruby continued. "He really doesn't want your job." She handed over the badge. "But …"

"But he doesn't have a problem with Snow declaring herself mayor," Regina stated derisively.

"True," Ruby confirmed. "But I talked to him and he agreed to talk to Snow about having an actual election."

"He agreed to that?" Emma asked, eyes wide.

"Of course he did," Regina muttered beside her. "He doesn't believe anyone would vote against her, let alone run against her."

"You're going to run though, aren't you?" Ruby asked. "I … well, Belle and I were sort of hoping you would. Belle even said she would help you, but she wants to talk to you first." She spoke quickly, nervously moving back and forth on the balls of her feet. "Well, I did what I came here to do, so … I should go," she said with a grin. "Granny will skin me alive if I'm not back for the dinner rush." She pulled Emma into another quick hug. "Come see me, I want details," she whispered before pulling back. Then she turned and ran off.

Emma turned to Regina, perfectly aware that she had been surprised by Ruby's words. "Are you going to run in the election?"

Regina snorted. "Why should I?" she asked. "Just so I can be humiliated by not getting a single vote? I'm really not into that."

Emma pulled her close by their linked hands. "You'd have my vote," she stated against Regina's hair. "And apparently Belle's too. And then there's Ruby … that sounds like three votes already, and who know who else we could convince."

"You actually want me to run against your mother?" Regina asked, sounding surprised. "If there's even an election."

Emma nodded. "Yes, I do." She pressed a kiss to Regina's temple. "Now let's call our son."

They caught Henry on his way home from the park where he had hung out with a few of the Lost Boys. Emma talked to him for a few moments, telling him that she was with Regina and that she wanted him to go stay with his dad for the night, before Henry asked to talk to his mother.

"You left," he said immediately but it sounded a lot more sad than accusatory. "Why didn't you tell me you were going away?"

Regina almost broke. "I couldn't, honey," she said around a soft sob. "I would never have been able to leave you if I had to say goodbye to you in person, Henry." She held on tightly to Emma's hand, drawing strength from her. "I thought it was the right thing to do at the time."

"And now?"

Regina shared a look with Emma who was listening in. "Now I'm re-evaluating my position on that."

"What …?"

Emma chuckled. "She's changing her mind, kid," she said loudly so he could hear.

"That's what I said," Regina huffed. "I love you, Henry."

"I know, mom," Henry replied and his mothers could practically feel how he got uncomfortable, which made his mumbled "Love you too" so much more important.

"Will you be okay with your father tonight?" Regina asked, a blinding smile on her face from his words.

"I'll be fine, mom," he said with an audible eye roll. "It's cool, and I guess you and Emma have some stuff to talk about."

"That we do, kid," Emma replied with a grin. "Tell Neal I have some things to take care of, okay? Remember to keep this on the down-low. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember, it's still our secret mission. I'll be fine," He said and ended the call.

"Another secret mission?" Regina asked with a smirk.

"Yep, Operation Hide and Seek," Emma told her, smiling proudly. "The mission is mine, the name is his."

"And what does this mission entail?"

"Finding you," Emma replied softly. "And it was a full-on success."

"Indeed." Regina gave Emma a long look. "Whatever will you do with me now that you found me?"

"Well, like the kid said we do have a lot to talk about," Emma said thoughtfully as she pocketed her cell phone. "But I'd much rather just get back to what we were doing before." She moved in to kiss Regina but the other woman moved a step back, then dragged Emma back across the magical border. Only then was Emma allowed to kiss Regina, and she made full use of the opportunity until they were both breathless and wanting.

"Take me to bed, Regina," Emma demanded.

"It will be my pleasure," Regina replied with a grin. "And yours."

"You bet."

They ran back to the cabin, smiling and laughing, with a few stops for some much-needed kissing along the way.