The next morning, later than planned, Walt and Vic woke up. They were limbs akimbo, cozy and happy to be together in Vic's bed. Walt didn't know it, but Vic had bought the bed a few weeks before, wanting to move away from memories of Sean. She hoped that Walt would be part of her new beginning. Both had slept well and woke up feeling refreshed. Unfortunately there wasn't time to lie about. Walt had to head home again to feed 'Horse' and grab a shower. Vic followed her usual morning routine and had been at her desk for about 20 minutes before Walt came in. They exchanged discrete smiles as Walt walked into the bullpen.
"Hi Vic. How are you feeling today?" Walt asked as casually as possible. "Hey Ferg," he said, quickly turning his head towards Ferg, trying to smother the smile that was trying to break out on his face.
Vic refrained from letting out a snort. She said she was fine and mentioned that she was helping Ferg put more information together about Barry for his arrest. They had not been successful at locating Barry's current location. The address given to them by Don was not helpful at all.
"Well, guys, please keep looking. We want to get Barry into custody. He's dangerous."
For the next few hours, Walt, Vic and Ferg worked away at their own desks. Each of them was feeling the absence of Ruby. It was late in the morning when Walt received a frantic call from Don, saying that he had just spotted Barry lurking around the dumpster at the back door of the old folks' home.
Walt jumped into action hollering for Ferg to join him. Walt insisted that Vic remain at the station to monitor the radio. She was still recovering from her injuries and Walt was worried that Barry might go after her again. She was annoyed but she complied. Walt grabbed his hat and jacket and ran to the door. He shouted to Vic to warn Ruby and to get her to lock herself in her room. And to make sure that Sheriff Dalton was called – he was much closer to the home than Walt was.
Even though he drove at top speed, it still took Walt 20 minutes to reach Sheridan. He and Ferg checked the front of the building and seeing no sign of Barry or any danger, they entered the front door. It was in the lobby that Walt found a chaotic scene. Dalton had what looked like a battered and bewildered Barry in handcuffs. Barry was mumbling incoherently, "the old lady hit me – she beat me with a broom. Get me out of here."
Don was standing off to one side of the room, his arm around Ruby.
"Is everything ok here?" Walt asked gruffly of Dalton. "What happened?" Walt called out to Ruby, "Are you ok?"
Ruby nodded from across the room and said she was fine. Dalton explained that the situation was under control. Before the police had arrived, Barry had gone prowling about. As usual, he was in a drug-altered, sleep deprived state. He went looking to steal another wallet. As he looked down the hall past the front desk, he spotted Ruby. He was reminded of seeing her the other day with Vic and thus thought Ruby must also be with the Sheriff's Department. He decided to target her next.
Don, peeking out of his office doorway, had seen Barry heading down the hallway after Ruby. Walt was irritated at Don as the story was retold, wondering why Don didn't stop Barry.
Dalton continued recounting the story for Walt. Before being stopped, Barry, oblivious to anyone or anything, followed Ruby. Thankfully when she enter her room she had her wits about her. She had sensed that she was being followed. So when Barry stuck his foot inside her door, which had not closed yet, Ruby was on high alert. Ruby had been warned about the impending danger by Vic, and was ready to defend herself. She grabbed her broom from the small closet and waited until she saw enough to confirm that it was Barry entering her suite.
It WAS Barry. He entered her room and Ruby shouted for help. She swung her broom with all her might, cracking Barry across one of his shins. He howled in pain and sunk to the floor, holding his leg. Ruby, thinking that he still might attack, gave him a vicious karate chop with her dominant hand to his trapezius muscle above his collar bone. She'd been told that it was a sensitive area. Barry collapsed on Ruby's kitchen floor. He was crippled by pain in his leg and now his neck.
Ruby ran out into the hallway where she met Don. "Ruby, are you ok?" Don asked. Seeing that Ruby appeared to be ok, he sent her to the office area for her own safety.
Moments later, the Sheridan police arrived, and were sent down the hallway to collect Barry. They were cuffing Barry and starting to interview Don and other witnesses, when a very worried Walt and Ferg arrived.
Walt could see that Dalton and his deputies had the situation under control. He moved towards Ruby, who held her arms out to him. Walt enveloped his dear Ruby in a comforting bear hug. "Ruby," Walt asked again. "Are you sure you're ok? Did he hurt you?" Walt was again reminded of how tiny and vulnerable Ruby seemed to be at times.
"I'm fine, Walter. I got a couple of really good licks in with my broom," Ruby said with pride in her voice. "It's terribly sad, the state Barry is in. But he needs help. He's dangerous." Walt agreed with her.
After Barry had been taken away to jail and all seemed under control, it appeared to Walt as though their work was done. Ruby was feeling particularly pleased with herself. She was proud of her detective work, and her physical prowess. Later on, Walt had mentioned to Don that he would help him look for a drug rehab program for Barry. It would be helpful at sentencing time if Barry had already been enrolled in a program.
A short time later, Don was arrested and charged with being an accessory to Barry's crimes. Both Walt and Sheriff Dalton recommended a conditional sentence for him. Walt personally thought that Don's only real crime was being a sympathetic uncle to a drug-addicted nephew. Barry was the son of Don's sister and had grown up without a father. Don had been trying to help Barry for years. He'd been making excuses about the severity of Barry's addiction problems, which hadn't helped.
Walt and Ferg had looked deeper into the financial standing of the old folks' home. They discovered that over the past five years, Don had brought it back from the brink of financial failure. He had also reduced the fees for a few residents who were too poor to be able to afford that level of care.
Walt was greatly relieved that Ruby wasn't hurt. He was astounded that she was able to 'take down the perp' (as she put it), all by herself. He had no idea that she had any sense of how to apply a karate chop to the neck or anywhere else on the body for that matter. And the way she finished him off with her broom was amazing. He was still shaking his head over that. He laughed when she said that she'd seen it in a movie. He was also impressed by her investigative skills. Maybe she would be interested in more undercover work in the future?
Late that same day, Ruby had been 'paroled' from the home and was happily reunited with her husband Bill and cat Fuzzy Wuzzy. She declined the extra day of rest offered by Walt and was at her desk by 8 am the next day, ready for whatever might come her way.
Vic and Ferg were delighted to see Ruby at work again. She greeted them with hugs and kisses. She was glad to see that most of Vic's bruises had faded and that she appeared well. Ferg gave Ruby's bicep a gentle squeeze and said with admiration "Gee Ruby. The bad guys better stay away from you," he said with laughter.
Walt was honoured to be greeted with a warm hug from Ruby as he entered the office a short time later. With a grin on his face, he requested that everyone gather in his office for a brief meeting. With relief, pride and delight, he presented two gifts to Ruby.
The first was a colourful new hoodie in a camouflage pattern, selected carefully with advice on colour and size from Ruby's husband Bill. "Oh, Walter. It's delightful. My other one was getting very worn, you know. This is VERY nice. A very modern pattern…Maybe I can wear it when I go hunting for perps," she laughed.
"Well, Ruby. I still feel bad about making you wear that old purple cardigan. I know you didn't like it," Walt apologized.
"That thing was NASTY," Ruby said with gusto. "It's been washed and is already back at the Thrift Shop for someone else to wear," she added. "This hoodie is awesome, thank-you." Ruby took off her fleece vest and proudly put on her new hoodie.
"And, Ruby. It is with great pleasure that I bestow this upon you. We're so glad to have you safe and sound and back with us. You excelled at your undercover job and brought the perp to his knees. You truly are a treasure to us and a valued member of our department."
Walt handed Ruby a small velvet-covered box. Walt winked at Vic and Ferg, who stood there beaming. Ruby opened the box and found an official Absaroka Sheriff's Department badge inside. "Oh, Walter," Ruby said, with tears falling down her face. "It's beautiful." She ran her finger across the top of the badge. "Does this mean that I can park wherever I want to now?" she asked. Her eyes twinkled with mischievous delight.
"Sure, Ruby. Just watch your speeding though," Walt replied with a grin, giving Ruby a huge hug.
After a bit of chatter, everyone returned to their desks, eager to get back to work on less dramatic cases. Walt sat down at his desk in a reflective mood, happy to have everyone safely back together again. He took a moment for himself before he sorted through the pile of mail that Ruby had left for him. He looked out the window and then almost choked on his coffee when he looked at his desk. There, sitting next to his favourite photo of Cady, was a framed photo of himself sporting the moustache.
He smiled to himself at the thought that maybe things were going to work out. He was also comforted by the thought that Martha would probably be pleased that he was finally able to move forward with his life, particularly with Vic by his side.
