A/N: So, the final installment is here. I want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far, and everyone that might review in the future. You don't understand how much they mean to me! This part kind of went in it's own direction, but ended the same way that I had intended. I hope you guys enjoy. The song lyrics at the top are what helped me come up with the idea for this story, they come from the song Savior by Rage Against. It is a simply fantastic song that practically screams Red Hook.

That's when she said 'I don't hate you, boy

I just want to save you while there's still something left to save'

That's when I told her 'I love you, girl

But I'm not the answer for the questions that you still have'

It had been a few days since her last visit with Hook, and though she still had questions, she had been unable to force herself back into that hospital room. The feelings that he arose in her, ones that had long since been forgotten, were poking at her heart. Without her really wanting it, Hook had weaseled himself into her heart. It was like broken souls attracted each other, no matter how annoying that other broken soul might be. It made sense in a way. If you shared something so deep as the loss of a love, you were bound to feel connected. However, there was a fine line between connection and attraction, much like there is fine line between lust and love. Ruby was in no way ready to think about the differences about her nonexistent relationship with Hook.

She hadn't gone there to end up feeling this confused. She had simply wanted him to apologize for what he had done to her friend, and she hadn't even gotten that much. Instead she had let him suck her in with his very own sob story. No matter how true it was, and a few talks with Emma had all but confirmed that it was the truth, it didn't change the fact that he shot an innocent woman just to hurt his enemy. He crossed a line.

That was where Ruby found herself stuck. Yes, Hook had crossed a line. He had shot Belle, in the sheer hope that she would fall across the town line and lose her memory. It was despicable, and yet, she wasn't much different. Granted, she did it to save her best friend... her family, but that didn't change the fact that she had knowingly killed her own mother. So did that make her any different than Hook? How could she hold her head high and look down on him, when she had done something so much worse.

"Long time no talk, love." Ruby's insides clenched up at the sound of his voice, and suddenly her head snapped around. He was walking, albeit with a limp and an arm draped loosely over his midsection, but he was indeed walking.

"How are you not in jail?"

Hook chuckled as he came to stop behind her. With his free hand, he cupped it over his eyes as he stared out at the ocean. He was a pirate at heart, and his heart officially belonged to the ocean waters. While he had his revenge on Rumpelstiltskin, he found himself anchored to the small, foreign town. It had taken him almost the entire four days that Ruby had not visited him for him to realize that it was her keeping him here. He didn't know why, he knew next to nothing about her and no one in town was willing to tell him anything. Granted, he had earned the distrust, aligning himself with Cora. However, he found himself wanting to change, to be better. Though he had never been the good guy, he had never been this guy, and if he was truthful, Hook did not like the guy that the cold-hearted revenge had turned him into. Willing to do whatever was necessary to hurt the one man that had hurt him.

It took him a minute to understand why Ruby was starting at him so intently, she had asked him a question. Right, why hadn't Swan locked him up. He smiled at her, "Pretty sure it was my charm that won the fair sheriff over."

Ruby rolled her eyes, before grabbing a handful of sand in her hand and letting it flow through her fingers. "Yeah, well that charm doesn't work on me."

Hook sighed, he had screwed up again. He had gotten fairly good at telling when the women in town were annoyed with him, and Ruby was practically radiating annoyance. "Can I sit down?" Hook nodded at the space beside her, when she peered up at him.

With a sigh, she merely nodded. "Answer me truthfully, please." Ruby finally spoke, after a moment of fairly uncomfortable silence.

Hook stared out into the waves of the ocean as he spoke, "She didn't have much of any proof that I shot Belle. It was the crocodile's word against mine, and Belle isn't able to press charges since she has no memory of the shooting. So, Sheriff Swan had no choice but to let me go."

Ruby scoffed at him, "Figures."

He eyed her wearily, "What's that?"

"You could have confessed and took responsibility for what you did. Instead you let a technicality grant you freedom that you don't deserve."

Hook sighed, "I thought you understood..."

Ruby laughed mirthlessly, "I understand why you wanted revenge. I get that, but what I don't get is taking that revenge out on an innocent person!" Ruby shouted. She didn't even know why she was getting so upset. She was so confused by everything. The way that Hook made her feel and the fact that she felt betrayed that he didn't even seem to understand. That he didn't seem to get why she was upset.

"I explained that to you!" He shouted back, as the darkness inside of him reared its ugly head and took over. He hated the words the moment they left his mouth, but he couldn't take them back.

"I thought that I could help you. That I could save you from what you've become...I wanted to save you, not because I think you deserve it so much as the fact that we have so much in common. The darkness alone is a staggering similarity, but if you can't admit that what you did was wrong..." she paused, breathing deeply, "then there is nothing I can do to help you. You have to want it, Killian."

Hook stared ahead, as her words sank in. She wanted to help him? She wanted to make him a better person? For a reason beyond his understanding tears pressed against his eyes, he stared down at his hand, the hook still missing from his other. "I want your help, Ruby. Please."

She peered up at him, and sighed, "Prove it."

Hook nodded, "I never thought what I did was right. I knew it was wrong. I just made myself feel better by saying that it had to be done. That I had to effectively rip out Rumpelstiltskin's heart, and once I realized that he kept his heart with Belle, metaphorically speaking, I had to hurt her to hurt him. Once the relief of actually gaining my revenge left, I realized that what I did was wrong. I couldn't admit it, but I knew it."

Ruby nodded, "Okay, that counts I suppose. Look, it is going to take a really long time before anyone around here believes you. I won't promise that they'll ever trust you, because you burned a lot of bridges in the short time you've been here. We are talking about people that keep grudges for a really long time. I mean, Regina enacted the curse to get revenge on Snow White for something that happened when Snow was merely a child. So, I need you to promise that you are done with Cora."

Hook placed his hand over his heart, "Cross my heart." The edge of his lips quirked slightly at the chuckle that came from Ruby. "On one condition, love."

Ruby eyed him wearily for a moment, "What condition?"

"Why do you think that we are so similar? You mentioned something about the darkness..."

She sighed, figuring it was one fair. He had told her his story, and Ruby could tell that it hadn't been an easy task for him. "Fine. Let me start by introducing my Enchanted Forest counterpart," Ruby snickered at the look on Hook's face, "My grandma always called me Red, but most know me by my more color moniker; Little Red Riding Hood."

Hook just stared at her for a moment, "Okay, is that supposed to have some kind of importance?" His eyebrow raised at the smile of her face.

"I'm a werewolf, Killian." He gasped, and she chuckled, "Don't worry. I have control over that side of myself, most of the time. There was a time when I didn't even know. My grandmother, she hid the truth for me in a way to save me. That's where the Little Red Riding Hood came into play, she had a red cloak that a wizard had enchanted. As long as I wore it, I wouldn't transform. However, because she never told me the true importance behind the cloak, I rarely wore it all the time. I killed so many people, it still makes me sick when I think about it. Part of me is still angry with my grandmother for keeping the truth from me, because if she had just told me the truth then maybe Peter would still be alive."

Hook glanced at her, he noticed the tears in her eyes. "I'm assuming that Peter meant a great deal to you?"

Ruby nodded, a watery smile on her lips. "I loved him so much. Snow and I, we had found tracks of the wolf, they led to the cabin that I lived in. Directly to my bedroom window, and they slowly turned human. I thought that it was Peter, that he was the wolf. When I shared my fear with him, he shackled himself to a tree. He was completely defenseless when I turned, and my grandmother found me too late. I had already killed Peter when she found me. I went to a very dark place for a while. I hated myself and what I was. I ended up finding myself with a pack of werewolves, much like myself. I found out that the pack was ran by my mother, I had thought she was dead. I was so happy..." Ruby trailed off, not many people knew the next part of her story.

Hook reached across and gently let his fingers graze her shoulder. She looked up at him, and her heart clenched. She fought against the feeling, because she could not fall in love with Captain Hook, no matter how charming and handsome he was.

Swallowing thickly, she forged on. "Snow found the packs hiding spot, and Regina's army followed her. One of the pack members died when they stormed the hide out, and my mother wanted Snow's life for the life of our fallen member. I couldn't stand by and let my mother kill Snow. Not when Snow was the only person that didn't tell me how to live my life. She was the only person that cared about me and not what I was. She was my family, and I couldn't stand there and watch her die. So I took my mother down, I hadn't meant to kill her, it was an accident."

"Hey," his voice was soft, warm. So unlike himself that he wasn't even entirely sure that the word came from his own mouth. "You said it yourself. It was an accident. Peter's death, it wasn't your fault either. You blame yourself for things that were out of your control."

She smiled at him, "Thank you." She sighed, "It's so hard sometimes. To control that side of myself. I had gotten so good at it in the Enchanted Forest, that it was simple. Twenty-eight years without changing, without needing to control a part of myself that had gone dormant, it is really hard."

Hook nodded, "Is it worth it?"

Ruby chuckled lightly, "Every single day." She looked at him, "Thank you, Killian. Not just for your willingness to change, but for listening. It was nice to share that side of myself with someone that understands." Without a second thought, Ruby leaned in and pressed a kiss to Hook's cheek.

Hook felt an explosion of electricity on his cheek as he simply stared at her. Ruby was right about one thing, it was going to be hard to put everything behind him. To change who he is, but one look in her eyes made him realize that it would be worth it.