Sweet Doves, I am overwhelmed by your response and support. Thank you so much. In honor of that and because I almost feel slightly bad but mostly satisfied about scaring some of you, I've given you a 95% Ruby/Regina-centered installment.
Also, I know you have no clue who they are, but I would like to give a shout out to my wonderful chefs. They are amazing, and they graciously made me spicy cajun pulled pork baked beans and a fresh Ciabatta roll before they left. It made my night. Love my guys!
That said, enjoy Lovelies!
Songs: Fix Me by Icon for Hire
The giant raged through Storybrooke, destroying cars and shops and houses. David regretted his less than gentle treatment of the giant back in their realm, wishing he'd been more gentle with the taking of the compass. Luckily, Granny and Belle had moved Henry and Emma to safety when the funeral had been busted up by the large angry man. He seemed rather disinterested in them anyway, focusing instead on David and Snow. They hadn't a clue the torment Regina faced in the hull of Hook's ship.
"Ruby?" Regina repeated, and the unrecognizable face looked towards her. She hung by her wrists, too weak to stand. Her knees brushed the floor as she swayed back and forth with the rocking of the ship but not enough to afford relief to her wrists and shoulders.
"Re-gin," she coughed for her effort. Her throat was raw and damaged. She calmed after a moment, and Regina summoned a bottle of water as she crossed the floor quickly.
"No…more… Re-gina," the wolf woman gasped, nearly passing out from the effort of speaking.
"No more?" Regina halted just before touching the woman. "Oh Sweetheart, I'm not going to hurt you," Regina comforted the tortured woman in a hushed tone.
Ruby jerked against her chains. She barely had the strength to stand, but she flung herself at the other woman who stilled hadn't quite come into her vision yet.
"Ruby, stop. Stop! You're going to hurt yourself more," Regina moved in a semi-circle in front of her, finally finding a slit in her eye. "I'm not going to hurt you, Ruby Red Wolf Pup Lucas," Regina soothed, desperately controlling her hands before she touched the injured woman prematurely. She used all of her names like Belle had when she'd tamed her wolf, hoping it broke through to her. It did.
Ruby calmed slightly and dropped back to her knees, allowing her wrists to take the weight of her body. Regina knelt and offered the water to the captive. Ruby tipped her head up, barely but it was enough. Regina poured some water between her lips. Ruby swallowed half, the other dribbled down her chest. The liquid caused a small coughing fit, and Regina gave her another sip when it calmed.
"I'm going to release you, Ruby. Please don't fight me. I don't want to use magic against you," the older woman informed her.
When she received no response, she slipped one arm around Ruby's back and waved the other over the shackles. The entire weight of the wolf slumped onto Regina's chest, and she fell onto her butt under the pressure. Ruby's torso lay in her lap, held upright by only her arm. She spread her legs to better accommodate the girl's maltreated body and wrapped her other arm around her hot skin. She burned hotly with fever and infection. Given how dirty the hull was, Regina wasn't surprised.
"Wasn't you," Ruby mumbled into her shoulder, and Regina pulled back enough to look at her swollen eyes.
"What?" She wondered aloud, not understanding Ruby's broken babble.
"She wasn't you," Ruby tried again, wincing with the effort. A spasm shook her body; from pain or fever, Regina hadn't a clue.
"The woman who did this to you. Did she look like me?" Regina asked. She couldn't see it, but she felt Ruby's nod against her chest.
"Cora," Regina whispered and held Ruby a bit tighter. "It was Cora, Ruby, not me," Regina explained, desperately hoping her friend understood.
"My heart," Ruby muttered and then quaked again.
"She took your heart?" Regina's mind struggled to keep up as her emotions threatened to overwhelm her. She wasn't going to question why Cora hadn't killed her friend or how she'd faked her death. She was relieved and happy and refreshed with the knowledge that Ruby lived and breathed in her arms. She wasn't gone.
"Ruby, this is going to hurt a little, and I'm so sorry. I'll be as gentle as possible, but it will hurt. I'm going to make sure you still have your heart," Regina coddled the young woman and steeled her nerves for what must be done.
"Please," Ruby whispered.
She wanted Regina to check. Regina pressed her hand flat against Ruby's chest and closed her eyes. She didn't want to see the added pain on Ruby's face. The wolf whimpered when the hand sank beneath her skin and touched that most precious life-giving organ. Regina slumped in relief and took a moment to simply feel that strong, beautiful organ pulse against her fingers. She pulled back quickly and shook her tingling hand. She ached to stick it back inside Ruby just assure herself of her friend's life force but quickly removed the consideration of such a violation from her mind.
"It's there, Ruby. She didn't take it," Regina pressed her forehead into Ruby's temple and held the back of the girl's head gently. "It's there, Ruby," she repeated, her emotions spilling in the form of tears and reassurances as she repeated the words over and over.
When her tears subsided, she pulled back. Ruby's face was wet with tears of her own, but her face was too ruined to discern pain from joy.
"I'm going to poof you to the hospital, as you call it," Regina smiled.
She held her breath, preparing for the trip but stopped. She shrugged out of her blazer one arm at a time, struggling to break free from the fabric. Shaking hands tucked it around Ruby's torso, covering her stomach and breasts while leaving her arms free lest the entrapment set Ruby off again. Satisfied that it stayed in place, she wrapped her arms securely around Ruby's back and shoulders.
"Hold your breath, okay? It's a little chalky," Regina informed and then held her own as she summoned her magic and imagined the hall just outside Emma's room.
The walls shimmered and then appeared, and Regina squinted under the harsh fluorescent light. People jumped back. They'd become accustomed to Regina's sudden appearances, but they all thought she'd become The Evil Queen again.
"Regina?" Emma's voice called from above her, and she tipped her head to find Emma looking down at her. She'd obviously been up walking around to strengthen her muscles and lungs.
"Ruby," Emma breathed. The nurse at her side squawked when Emma jerked the IV from her arm and dropped to her knees beside Regina. It hurt like a bitch, but she helped Regina lower Ruby's body across Emma's thighs, cradling her head in one hand.
"Someone get some help!" The savior shouted, and people started moving finally. "How?" She asked Regina much more quietly.
"I don't know," Regina answered honestly. "Cora's here. She faked her death, but I don't know how," she explained quietly, shock making her mind fuzzy.
Zambrano ran beside a gurney and dropped to her knees across from Regina and Emma. She assessed the damage quietly and then nodded to Captain and a few other nurses slipping into latex gloves. They moved forward as one unit and lifted Ruby out of Regina's arms. She stood immediately.
"Captain, call Granny and please come get me when she is assigned a room," Regina implored, hoping she afforded one more act of kindness.
"Okay. What happened?" Captain asked, and the rest of the team paused, needing to hear the situation.
"She was held captive and tortured. If she should lash out, do not restrain her or I will fillet all of you. Understand?" They nodded anxiously. "Good," Regina turned from them and moved back to Emma still on the floor.
She squatted and helped Emma to her feet. She may have been walking, but her muscles and organs still healed from their trauma. Emma stared at her, an odd expression on her face. Her eyes flicked to Snow and Henry standing at the door to Emma's room and then back to Regina's.
"I told you," she breathed. "I told all of you!" Emma whirled on crowd that had gathered during the excitement. She lost her balance, and Regina caught her instinctively with a hand on her back but made no move to thwart the pissed off savior's rant.
"All of you owe this woman an apology!" She flung a shaking hand in Regina's general direction. "I told you that she was not capable of killing someone she cared about, you fucking idiots!" She lost her anger as relief swept over her. She covered her face with her hands.
Regina wanted to leave, but something pulled her forward. She placed her hands on Emma's shoulders, squeezing gently. The touch brought the sheriff back to her senses, and her head snapped towards Henry. She took two steps forward and grabbed his shoulder, forcing herself not to squeeze too tightly in her anger.
"Apologize to your mother. Right now," she demanded, uncaring if her son pulled against her grip in fear of her anger. "And you are never to bring up The Evil Queen ever again, not when speaking about your mother."
"I'm sorry, Mom," Henry said sincerely with tears in his voice.
He sounded ashamed of his actions and broke free from Emma's hold, running towards his mother. He stopped two steps from her, unsure if she'd accept him back into her arms. Regina's face fell at her son's perceived rejection. Regina waved her hand over her clothes, removing Ruby's blood and then pulled the boy against her chest. A tear slipped out when he hugged her around the waist.
"Oh Henry. I'll never abandon you because you made a mistake. I promise," she whispered into her son's hair and squeezed him tightly. Emma nodded, apparently satisfied with Henry's behavior.
"And you," Emma pointed her gaze at her mother. "Go get Belle and make sure Granny has a ride here, and pray to whatever god you fairy tale folks believe in that I let you see my son again after the swaddle you've filled his head with these past three days."
Snow opened her mouth and sucked in a harsh breath, preparing to defend herself. Emma held up a hand.
"Shut. Up. You sentenced an innocent woman to death, despite the fact that the evidence was shaky as hell. You want me to be your fucking savior and do the right thing? The right thing would be to throw you and David in jail for attempted murder. The next time I tell you that I believe in someone's innocence you'd better listen, or believe me, I don't care how injured I am, I will stop you. Now go get Belle and Granny," she ordered and then hobbled into her room, her pain overcoming her anger and adrenaline. "And someone put my damn IV back in!"
"Regina," a mousey voice called from behind her. "A lot of us told them it couldn't have been you. They didn't listen. Someone else maybe, but not Ruby. If it had been Leroy, I would have thought it possible, but not Ruby," Lauren, the shy pretty nurse said quietly and then scurried into Emma's room to help her back into bed and reinsert her IV needle.
"Regina, Captain just called," an office assistant said from behind the desk. Apparently, the name caught on in her absence. "She says that Miss Lucas is, umm, freaking the fuck out and refusing treatment until you or Belle accompany her," the woman stuttered with the exact phrasing used by her former captain.
"Where is she?" Regina asked, ignoring the woman's awkwardness.
"In triage in the emergency room," the woman answered swiftly, her confidence gaining.
"Henry, go sit with Emma. Do not leave her side under any circumstance, understand?" Regina commanded gently. Her son nodded, wiped his nose on his sleeve and trudged into the room.
Regina smiled, and then allowed her magic to wash over her as she poofed to the triage area of the hospital. She liked the idea that perhaps she practiced magic in the open without fear but pushed it down the second she materialized. Ruby needed her, and she'd never put herself before the younger woman, not right now. People filled the emergency room, holding rags to bloody wounds or cradling broken bones. The giant must have wrought an appropriate amount of destruction. Captain greeted her immediately and steered her towards the back triage room, and she ignored the slight pull of guilt over the amount of injured people behind her.
Ruby pressed into a corner, hands braced on either wall. She looked ready to fall over, but the staff still obviously feared being set upon by her wolf strength. Regina rolled her eyes, knowing how it felt to have those eyes pointed in her direction.
"Ruby Lucas, can I not send you anywhere without trouble following?" Regina asked lightly and crossed directly to the scared woman. Ruby sagged against the wall when she heard her voice, but said nothing.
"What upset you?" Regina asked gently and touched Ruby's bicep, hoping it was an area that wouldn't cause more pain.
"Undress me," Ruby answered and then coughed.
"That's a bit premature, Dear, but perhaps if things don't work out with Belle," Regina quipped and gently pulled Ruby from the wall.
"Come on. That's it, in the bed." She held Ruby's hand as she turned to address the staff. "Clean and dress what you can see right now. We'll work out the rest as we go," Regina ordered and then pointed to the chair on its side across the room.
Captain moved first, grabbing the chair and settling it beneath Regina. The other five people moved forward as a unit, but Regina held up her free hand as she sat.
"Perhaps only two at a time? Hm? Captain, you may work beside me, and Dr. Zambrano on the other side?" Regina suggested, wanting desperately for them not to spook a half-aware werewolf.
They moved as instructed. Three of the nurses left quietly, and one stayed behind to hand Captain and Eva fresh gauze as needed. She stared at Dr. Zambrano for a moment. She retained the quiet strength that she's always had. Her brow still furrowed in concentration, but the harsh edge in her eyes had dissipated. She no longer felt the pain of a thousands lives. She was just a deeply sensitive woman doing her job with the utmost care for her patient. Regina was happy for her.
She pulled her focus to the injured woman that she cradled in her hands and smoothed her hand over Ruby's hair, studying her friend for a moment before speaking. She leaned close, though she knew everyone in the room overheard what she said.
"Emma believed in me, Wolf Pup. You should have seen her upstairs a moment ago," Regina grinned and cleared her throat. "She sent Snow after Granny and Belle. Your family will arrive soon. You're safe now." Regina cooed next to her ear, hoping she broke down some of Ruby's paranoia.
"Miss Lucas, this needs stitches. I need to numb the area," Eva said without preamble as she pointed to a deep gash across Ruby's chest. "What caused this?" She asked, cocking her head to one side as if trying to remember why she felt a strange connection with the former mayor and her charge.
Ruby tensed. Regina shushed her. "Knife," Ruby mumbled and made a slicing motion with one shaking finger. Regina's blood ran cold. It hadn't been a knife, but it had felt like one. Her mother used magic to inflict the wounds.
"Miss Lucas, you're going to feel a pinch and some burning. I'm sorry to cause you more pain, but this will make you feel better in a few minutes," Eva explained, but Ruby shook her head, tensing again as if to strike the woman. Captain stepped back and waited.
"Ruby, you were sedated with a needle, correct?" She needn't have elaborated more. Ruby nodded and leaned towards Regina.
"It's okay. You trust me?" Ruby nodded. "Okay, I trust Dr. Zambrano. She only has local anesthetic. She's going to numb this area," Regina informed Ruby by pressing a fingertip beside the deep gash.
"Do you feel my finger?" Ruby nodded. "She's going to stitch this for you. I won't let her put the needle anywhere else. I promise," Regina's voice broke as her emotions swelled, and she nodded once to the doctor and then pressed her forehead to Ruby's.
"Just a little pinch," Eva murmured. The pressure of Ruby's hand tightened momentarily and then relaxed.
"Not too bad?" Eva asked Ruby. When she received no response, she hummed softly. It was a slow, haunting tune, the same one she'd hummed the night she stitched Regina's leg. It sounded beautiful even without the words.
Tears leaked from behind Ruby's swollen eyes, and Regina pulled back slowly, prepared to stop everyone. She realized, however, that Ruby recognized the melody that Eva hummed. It soothed her. Regina nodded once at Eva, and she resumed the song. When it ended, she started over, and Regina joined her. And then Captain caught on and added her deep alto. The nurse at the counter of medical supplies also joined in. Regina grinned up at all of them and then smoothed Ruby's hair again.
"We'll get through this, Wolf Pup. I will not abandon you, my sister," she whispered, and Ruby probably would have missed the soft words if not for her wolf hearing.
"Came for me," Ruby rasped, trying to express the emotions welling inside of her now that she no longer focused on simply surviving.
"I'll always come for you," Regina promised reverently, uncaring who heard the vow.
"Ruby!" Granny's gruff voice called from the door, and the humming ceased.
"Easy, Granny," Regina cautioned, and the elder Lucas toned her emotions to a simmer.
Captain abandoned her work and stepped aside, allowing Granny her place beside Regina. Normally, they frowned upon such an intrusion, but the circumstances were unique. People didn't return from the dead everyday. Granny placed one hand on Regina's shoulder and covered their joined hands with the other.
"I'm here, Ruby," she assured her granddaughter quietly. More tears slipped from Ruby's eyes. "I'm here, Girl," she repeated, but Regina heard the exact opposite. Granny reassured herself that Ruby was here.
"Oh Regina, dear girl. I'm so sorry. I never thought Snow and David would try to execute you. I thought they'd at least find the truth first. I'm so sorry I doubted you," Granny whispered. "Can you forgive me?" Granny Lucas never apologized, rarely had a reason to, and Regina had never heard her beg forgiveness before.
"Granny, I… I will, but right now my focus needs to be on Ruby. I cannot even consider my own feelings or I will break from the betrayal of everyone I care for. Please accept this as an olive branch for the moment with the understanding that I will eventually revoke it when everyone I love is safe from Cora," Regina babbled, devoid of emotion without ever looking at the older woman.
"I'll take it," Granny clipped, not judging Regina for rejecting her request of forgiveness. She was right. Their focus should be solely on Ruby right now.
"Ms. Mills, I need to numb another area," Zambrano jumped in at the first possible opening and then cleared her throat. Regina disentangled her hand from Granny's firm grip.
"Ruby, you're going to feel a pinch here," she set her fingers next to a gash on Ruby's ribs. "She's going to numb it with a needle, just like before," she helped the girl understand and traced Ruby's temple with her thumb over and over, comforting the girl as best she could. How was it possible to comfort someone when you barely had enough clear skin to touch?
"Gran?" Ruby called for her grandmother.
"I'm here, Ruby," Granny reassured and squeezed her hand lightly.
"Belle?" Ruby grunted, wanting to hear that soothing accent now that her mind cleared of the haze of her situation. Reality settled into her, and her shock wore off. She was exhausted, but safe and loved and surrounded by people who protected her no matter the cost.
"Snow's looking for her, Honey. I'm sure she'll be here soon," Granny answered quickly, and Regina knew she'd left something out in regards to the librarian. She tucked it away and determined to ask later.
When no more questions followed, Dr. Zambrano began humming again. Granny stared at her with soft eyes. "I used to sing that to her when she was a child," Granny commented absently, her eyes turning to Ruby's busted face. Eva nodded and continued humming; Captain joined her again.
"She grew up strong, didn't she?" Granny said to no one, but Regina hummed an affirmative anyway. They fell into silence save the gentle sounds coming from Captain and Eva.
"Done," Eva said gently. "I really need to look at her face and get a full body X-Ray to check for broken bones and a CT to check for internal bleeding in her brain and abdominal area," she explained efficiently, and Regina scrunched her forehead. She was so much like the Eva Zambrano that she'd come to respect and love, but she wasn't her, not quite.
"Ruby," the doctor called her attention in a soothing voice. "We need to get you into a hospital gown so we can see what's going on inside your body. If you'd rather be sedated for this, I can make that happen. If not, I need you to let us help you change. Do you understand?" Eva's voice was firm but compassionate.
Ruby nodded. "Change," she said simply and then rolled her head towards Regina. "You. Not Granny. Not anyone," she pleaded in broken sentences, but everyone understood and silently cleared out of the room. Granny paused for a long moment.
"Take care of our girl," she commanded Regina who nodded without looking away from Ruby.
"I'm going to let go of you, Ruby. I have to go get the gown. It's just across the room," Regina informed her, unsure if Ruby needed the constant reassurance, but it made her feel better.
"I knew you couldn't wait for me to get your pants off. Don't worry, I won't tell Belle if you don't," Regina joked as she quickly crossed the room and then returned to Ruby's side. If she couldn't feel her touch at least she heard her voice, Regina thought.
"Ready to sit up?" Regina asked, not actually expecting or waiting for an answer. She slid her hands beneath Ruby's shoulders and helped her sit up and swing her legs over the side of the bed. Ruby's shoulders sagged with the weight she carried, and Regina faltered as she wished that she could have taken it from the girl.
She knelt and removed Ruby's combat boots and then stood. "Ruby, I'm going to take your bra off. Is that okay?" Regina asked carefully, unsure of everything the younger woman had gone through. Ruby nodded.
Regina reached around her and unhooked the black stretchy material. She held it in place, however, when Ruby's arms slipped around her waist. She slid the clasp into place and splayed her hands over the girl's upper and lower back, fighting the urge to press the other woman tightly against her. As much as Ruby needed constant confirmation of her presence, she needed the affirmation that she was alive and breathing after mourning her for what felt like weeks.
Ruby's body shook silently, and the hot wetness of tears leaked through the material of her shirt and soaked her chest where Ruby rested her face.
"Let it out, Wolf Pup," Regina encouraged, knowing all too well the dangers of keeping such anguish and anger trapped inside. "I've got you," she confirmed and then fell silent. She rubbed slow circles on Ruby's shoulder blades and waited for the storm within her friend's mind to blow through.
Finally, Ruby shifted and pulled back.
"Better?" Regina asked as she brushed one hand over Ruby's tangled mane and held her lower back with the other. Ruby nodded. "Bra?" Ruby nodded.
Regina removed the material and quickly slid the gown up Ruby's arms, exposing her for the least amount of time possible. Regina pulled her onto her feet with firm hands on her shoulders, holding her until certain she'd found her equilibrium. She leaned over Ruby's shoulders to tie the flimsy strings, and the wolf wrapped her arms around Regina's waist again. She hadn't broken down a second time, just confirmed to her tortured mind once more that she was safe and secure and protected by the powerful sorceress now gently undressing her.
When the strings were secured, Regina hiked the gown up and tentatively reached for the buttons of Ruby's ruined dress slacks. Sensing no objection, she unbuttoned and unzipped the pants and then hooked her thumbs into Ruby's panties and removed them both with one swipe, the gown falling with Regina's hands, preserving her dignity in an undignified situation. She felt safe with Regina, though. She knew the dark woman held no judgment and wouldn't see her as weak once she'd healed. She wasn't sure she'd even allow Belle to see her in this position, not yet.
Regina sensed the reverence of the moment, nestling it close to her heart to hold forever, and held her words. They stood in silence until Ruby wavered on her feet. Regina urged her back onto the bed with gentle hands and then moved to the door and retrieved Eva and Captain. She needn't have spoken when she moved from Ruby this time. They both knew that Regina wasn't leaving her side until Ruby decided it was okay.
She stood outside the door of the X-Ray room and talked to Ruby about nothing and everything until it was time to start taking the pictures and repeated the motions in the CT room. She pulled Captain aside while Ruby received the scan.
"Can you assign her to Emma's room? I know that wing is reserved for post-op patients, but given the circumstances and the influx from the giant fiasco, can you make an exception?"
"Do you think it best?" Captain asked honestly and endeared herself to Regina further by not simply rolling over and giving in to her request.
"I do. My mother is loose in Storybrooke and aiming at the people I care about most. I can't be at two places at once, no matter how much magic I possess, and I'm the only one besides maybe Rumpelstiltskin to protect them if she makes an appearance. Not to mention, Emma and Ruby both need me right now," Regina explained as logically as possible, not wanting the fact that she needed both of them near her as well to be a factor in the decision.
"We'll have to move Miss Swan down a couple rooms. We put her in a single because of, well, your insistence that you be with her. But we'll make it work," Captain answered clinically and nodded.
"Wonderful. Thank you, Captain," Regina offered, but the woman had already moved to the phone. She spoke to one of her nurses quietly, efficiently explaining the situation and ordering Emma to be moved to another room.
"They're moving her to 203 now. She should be settled by the time we finish with Miss Lucas," Captain reported after she hung up the phone.
Regina knew that Captain had already bent the rules by being here and leaving her floor unattended. As head nurse on the surgical floor, she needn't have dealt with an emergent patient, but she stayed because she felt an obligation to Regina. The former queen was grateful, and so she remained silent. Her soldiers didn't need platitudes or coddling encouragements. Her approval was enough, and so she allowed it to be.
They moved again, returning to the triage unit. They switched Ruby to a fresh bed now that most of her blood and dirt had been cleaned or wiped onto the emergency gurney. Granny followed silently as they rolled her granddaughter to Emma's room. Lauren waited in the empty space with tubes and wires. She hooked Ruby up and inserted the IV needle silently. She squinted at Ruby's chart and then opened the saline drip as wide as possible.
"You're dehydrated, Ruby. This should help you feel better soon. I don't have an order for pain medication. Would you like me to call Dr. Zambrano or get you some Ibuprofen?" She asked quietly, never one to raise her voice. The surgical floor suited her, Regina decided. She probably performed wonderfully with scared family members and distraught patients. It dawned on her that she'd done exactly that with her when Emma's condition seemed grim. She smiled.
"Ibuprofen," Ruby responded after a moment.
Emma and Henry waited patiently for their friend to be settled. Regina dropped a kiss onto her son's head and then slipped an arm around his thin shoulders. Emma looked up expectantly, clearly disappointed that Regina hadn't repeated the gesture on her head. Regina met her eyes a moment and then looked away, watching Ruby's reactions to the different wires being attached to her.
Granny hovered by the door, not quite sure what to do with her hands. She wrung them, fiddled with things on the wheeled tray filled with Emma's basic necessities, and settled for crossing her arms over her chest. The nervous ticks struck Regina as odd because Granny Lucas was not a woman who fiddled or wrung her hands, but her helplessness manifested the same for her as everyone else who ever had a loved one gravely injured.
"Okay, all done," Lauren told Ruby as she taped the IV tube against her forearm. "I need to get some blood to run labs," she explained and inserted the tube into the plastic-covered hole with a small needle sticking out.
"Doc says if your labs and scans come back clean, then we can give you some soft foods, so think about what you want while we figure out what's going on in there," Lauren nodded towards Ruby's stomach, and then slipped out the door silently. She'd definitely worked closely with Zambrano for a long time. She behaved almost identically, caring but not doting, close by if needed but not intrusive. Regina liked the girl.
"Granny? Regina?" Ruby asked and turned her face towards the door. Regina wondered how much she actually saw and if that played a part in her earlier panic.
"We're here, Girl. Don't you worry about that," Granny puffed and moved to the chair beside the bed. She sat and then slowly took her granddaughter's hand as though Ruby might have broken or disappeared if she touched her.
"Regina?" Ruby squeezed her granny's calloused hand, thankful that she had never abandoned her like her mother had.
"Yes?" Regina cleared her throat and then mimicked Granny's actions, dragging the chair near the door to Ruby's other side and settling herself between Ruby and Emma. She took Ruby's other hand.
"Where's Belle?" Ruby asked again, and Regina squinted in concern.
"Ruby, do you remember asking us that question twice already?" Regina queried tenderly, not wanting to frighten the girl.
"Yes," Ruby answered quietly. "I just want her," she admitted honestly. A sob bubbling in her chest tightened her voice and sent it into a high-pitched whine.
"Do you want me check with Mary Margaret and see if she's found her yet?" Emma asked, saving Regina from the task. Ruby nodded, tears slipping down her face again. Emma snagged her phone from the table, tapped out a text to her mother, and then returned it.
Granny produced a tissue from her pocket and dabbed gently at Ruby's swollen face. "We've got you, Girl. Don't you worry. I'm not letting you out of my sight," Granny swore, and everyone in the room knew it to be true.
"Is Henry here?" Ruby wheezed and hiccupped.
"Hi Ruby," the boy said unobtrusively, glancing between his mothers before moving to Ruby's side.
"Hi Kiddo," Ruby tried to smile, but it came out a mangled expression. "Got that book Belle gave you?" She asked suddenly.
"Yes. Do you want me to read to you?" he asked in hushed excitement, wanting desperately to be useful in the quest to help Ruby feel better. Ruby nodded as tears welled again.
"Yeah, Kiddo. I do," she whined again, exerting a modicum of control over her tears.
Henry rushed to his bag and found Treasure Island and returned to Ruby's side. Regina scooted back in the chair and offered him her lap, knowing he was far too old to sit in his mother's lap. He smiled up at her with surprised eyes and climbed up, wiggling until his weight distributed evenly over her legs. Regina glanced over at Emma as Henry inquired where Ruby had left off and then began reading emphatically.
Emma grinned as her son suddenly seemed as young as he actually was. Regina felt it, too. They'd made him a kid again today, and that was something to be proud of as a parent. Emma's mouth parted when Regina reached her free hand towards her, palm up. Green eyes slipped shut at the contact and shimmered as they reopened to watch the scene beside her. Regina hadn't shut her out, even though she'd have understood if she had. She had turned away when Regina needed her the most, considered her own pain above Regina's, above Regina's life.
Yet, Regina quietly invited her back into that life, perhaps even her heart. Emma knew she needed forgiveness, but she'd not shun the second chance. The pain would come when it came. Right now, she simply enjoyed the feel of Regina's warm hand in her larger colder one and the sound of her son happily reading aloud. If she burned Regina twice, she'd never get another shot. Regina offered her a Hail Mary pass, and Emma cradled it next to her heart humbly where it would be most protected and cherished.
