"It was an accident!" Aurora wailed, putting her head on the counter. "I don't know what came over me, but I didn't mean to, I just—"

"Awesome," Ruby said, not looking up from her game. The Level Failed graphic popped up on screen, the little purple squirrel-thing admonishing her for not clearing the board."Ugh! Stupid chocolate bars!"

"What?" Aurora sniffed, wiping her eyes.

"Nothing," Ruby sighed, sliding her phone back into her apron. She glanced at the clock: 12:15. Ruby took in a deep breath: he should be here by now, where was he? This was the highlight of her day, he couldn't be—

The bell tinkled as the door open and Graham walked in, immediately sending a smile her way. Ruby waved back, a feeling of relief flooding through her.

It was only Wednesday, only four days since he'd come back, but already he had settled back into his old routine and it just felt right. Graham took his morning coffee at the little corner table, just as before, and he spent his lunch break in the same spot. Ruby usually ended up joining him for a few minutes—just to ensure his dining experience was satisfactory, nothing more. After all, she was on the clock, so she was working—engaging in small talk was just an extra service she provided to her customers (provided those customers were impossibly attractive men with swoon-worthy accents who wore the hell out of those skinny jeans).

Ruby beamed at him as she walked over with the coffee pot, abandoning Aurora to wallow alone in her misery of whatever she had been talking about.

"Coffee?"

"Of course."

Ruby poured a stream of coffee into Graham's cup. "There you go."

"Thanks, Ruby," he smiled, hooking his finger around the handle.

She shrugged and slid into the seat across from him, studiously ignoring Leroy holding out his empty coffee cup from the table over "So," she said, tracing her finger along the table. "How's the adjustment phase going?"

"Uh…" Graham chuckled uneasily, scratching his head. "Well, to be honest, it's still a bit overwhelming. You know, I'm going to be shredding again pretty soon, so I've spent these last couple days reviewing all the files from the past few years I was… absent." He took a sip of coffee. "The files are pretty incomplete, though, so that's worrying. And then Neal and Hook don't seem to like me very much."

"Oh?" Ruby folded her hands, ignoring the little flutter in her stomach. "What happened?"

"No, nothing happened," he shrugged, tapping the cup with his finger. "But sometimes I catch them, like, glaring at me randomly. And then they'll notice me looking, and they'll go back to… whatever it is they do, it doesn't seem to be paperwork."

Ruby smiled sympathetically. "It's not your fault, I wouldn't worry about it."

"I am worrying about it, though," he sighed. "I feel like I've caused a lot of damage just by being here." He hesitated. "I think I really messed things up between Henry's parents."

"Emma and Neal?" Ruby frowned. "Why, what'd you do?"

Graham shifted uncomfortably. "Well, from what Henry's been telling me over the last couple weeks, his parents were getting back together. And then I showed up, and now there's this tension between them every time they're in the same room. And Henry's been acting off these last few days—"

"It's not your fault," Ruby said soothingly, reaching forward to put her hand on his. "I'm serious, Graham. Henry's like any other kid, of course he wants his parents back together. He's just upset because things aren't happening the way he wants them to. But it's not your fault what happens between Emma and Neal. They've got their own issues, it's not you."

Graham looked unconvinced. "And then you and Hook…" He rubbed his eyes, shaking his head. "I definitely had a hand in that."

Ruby rolled her eyes, scoffing. "We would have broken up anyway, sooner or later. Trust me, there's always something."

"Always?" Graham raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, we have—had, sorry—a complicated relationship." Ruby smiled, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Every time we got back together, we broke up in a matter of days. And then by the end of the night, we'd be back together."

Graham tilted his head. "Why did you keep getting back together if you kept breaking up?"

Ruby blinked a few times. "Just…'cause." She cleared her throat, standing up suddenly. "So, do you need a room or anything? I could get the book for you."

"Oh—" Graham batted his hand, shrugging. "Thank you, but I'm all 's letting me stay with him until I find an apartment."

Ruby frowned. "Victor?" she repeated in confusion. "Victor who?"

"Victor Whale, of course," he laughed.

"Oh…" Ruby nodded slowly, then gave her head a little shake. "Eww, but why?"

Graham gave her a strange look. "Not the biggest fan of the good doctor, I take it?"

Ruby opened her mouth to answer, but that was the moment Granny chose to rap her knuckles on the counter.

"Ruby! Leroy's been waiting for his coffee for ten minutes now!"

"Oh, my God," she muttered, rolling her eyes as she snatched the pot up. "Sorry, Graham, I have to go—Leroy requires coffee. Apparently, it's a big deal."

Graham waved a farewell as Ruby spun around and stalked toward Leroy's table, giving him a withering look. He scowled at her while she poured him his coffee, grunting a "thanks" when she was done.

"And I'd like to talk to you a moment," Granny said, peering up from her small stack of papers over the top of her spectacles. Ruby didn't move.

"Why?"

"Because I need to talk to you." Granny gave her a stern look, and beckoned for her to follow. Ruby felt a sense of impending doom: private conversations with Granny never ended well.

Sighing resignedly, she followed Granny into the back, nodding a "hey" at Tony as he lugged a box out of the pantry. Granny held the door open, nodding for Ruby to go inside. Ruby threw her head back, groaning.

"Granny…"

"Inside, Ruby."

"Gross, no."

"I'm doing this out of respect for you. I'm trying to give you some privacy, so unless you'd like to hash this out in front of the whole diner—"

"Oh, my God, you suck!" Ruby pushed past her into the diner, kicking a box to the side so she could lean against the wall. She folded her arms tightly, glaring at Granny as the old woman shut the door behind them.

"Okay, Ruby," she sighed, walking toward her slowly. "Let's talk."

"Oh, goody, girl talk with Granny," she said sarcastically.

Granny frowned at her. "I've been getting some complaints."

"You should be. That sweater is hideous."

Granny went on as if she hadn't spoken. "You've been slacking off around here. People aren't getting their orders. Guests aren't getting their housekeeping services. Even the sugar containers are—"

"Oh, God, not the sugar containers!" Ruby gasped mockingly.

"Ruby!" Granny snapped. "I'm serious!" Her expression softened into one of concern. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on. And clearly something's going on because you're acting like…" She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Do you need a break from this?"

Ruby's eyes widened. "Oh, my God, are you firing me because of the sugar containers?"

"No, honey, that's not what I meant," Granny said, uncharacteristically soothing. Ruby raised an eyebrow as she put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Okay, you're freaking me out now," she said, taking a step back. "You're all…not-bitchy and stuff. It's creepy. Unnatural." She pulled a face. "Oh, God, am I dying or something? Is that what this is? Am I dying?"

"Ruby, I'm just worried about you," Granny said, shaking her head. "You've been so distracted lately, I don't know if you're burnt out from work, or if it's…" She grimaced. "You know, if it's boy trouble—"

"Boy trouble? Really?" Ruby raised her eyebrows, looking at her dryly. "Do I look like I'm in eighth grade?"

Granny glanced at her skimpy uniform. "I wouldn't say that."

"Then what are you saying?" Ruby said exasperatedly. "Are you asking me to resign? Or are you firing me?"

"I'm just offering you a break for a few days," Granny said tiredly. "Just take some time, pull yourself together a little… I know it's been an emotional week for you, with everything that's been going on."

Ruby frowned. The words coming out of Granny's mouth were English, but she wasn't understanding. Was this woman—the woman she referred to in her head as "The Slavemaster"—actually suggesting she take a break from work? A break?

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "This is a trick, isn't it? You're trying to see how quick I jump on this, so you can hold it over my head for the rest of my life, aren't you?" Ooh, she was a devious one, that Granny!

"Look, Ruby," Granny said testily, clearing running low on her grandmotherly concern. "You're not working anyway while you're here, anyway, you might as well take the break. Just take a week off, get your head screwed back on, and come back with a better work ethic."

"Did Ashley put you up to this?" Ruby demanded. "She wants my tables, doesn't she? That slut," she muttered darkly, shaking her head. "This has Ashley written all over it."

"It's not Ashley," Granny said through clenched teeth. "It's you. You're not doing your job, and I think it's because you're dealing with too many things at once." She took a deep breath, steeling herself for her next words. "Much as it pains me to admit it, I have a tendency to overwork you. I think it's starting to show, so…" She flopped her hand. "No guilt, no penalties, no working overtime to make up for it…Just take a break."

"But…but what am I going to do all day?" Ruby asked, suddenly feeling extremely lost. What did people do when they weren't pouring coffee and fetching sandwiches? All she'd ever done was work at the diner; what was the outside world like?

Granny shrugged. "Up to you."

Ruby looked at her with wide eyes. "Seriously?"

"You'll be back next week, so don't get too comfortable," was all Granny said as she walked out of the pantry.

For a few minutes, Ruby could only stare after her, her mouth falling open. Her brain tried to absorb the concept of freedom from Granny's reign, but it seemed like a myth, like a story village children would tell each other to explain things like volcanoes and thunderstorms.

Somewhere, it seemed to click in her numb mind that she had just been given the greatest gift Granny could ever give her (besides Bradley Cooper). Thoughts whirled in her hand, juggling all the possibilities her newfound freedom offered her. She could go to medical school! She could go to France! She could traverse the jungles of Africa, or learn to speak Flemish, or invent something really smart-sounding, so that she could get paid a lot of money and have her picture in history books!

Yeah, OR I could hang out at the police station and flirt with Graham all day! she though excitedly, banishing all other thoughts. Yes. Yes, that would be a valuable use of her time. Graham was far too beautiful to not be flirted, it was just a waste having him cooped up in that station with no one to admire his beauty. Ruby could take care of that. She could help him go through the files that Emma probably screwed up, and keep his spirits up with a few girlish giggles and compliments (guys ate that right up, she knew from experience); and then…well, whatever else happened, happened.

Actually, if she left right now, she could get it happening sooner, so—

"Yeah, okay, I'm out of here," she said to the empty pantry, tugging off her apron. She tossed it over her shoulder as she pounded up the stairs to her room, looking for something tastefully slutty to wear.

Still setting up all my players. I needed Ruby out of the diner, because they can't spend ALL their time at the diner. I'm kind of going for a vague Ruby/ Emma/ Graham triangle, with our jealous boys watching from the side. Probably next chapter is going to be an episode at the station, so it's going to be full of shipping feels.

also, keep in mind, this is the day before thanksgiving, so there's going to be some more craziness going down in the near future. archie is going to make an appearance eventually (i think they need him). just throwing that out there for you to chew on. if you have thoughts, send 'em my way! i love you guys, stay awesome.