Part 2
A/N: Sorry that this is so short, but it seemed like a good place to break before Part 3.
Regina grinned as she took a sip of her wine and listened to the frantic knocking on her front door. Really, for someone who claimed to be so adept at tracking people down, it had taken Emma Swan a pathetically long time to realize Regina would be in her own home instead of out hiding like a coward.
Still, she wasn't about to make it easy for the Sheriff. Having Emma all but tell her that no matter how hard she tried she'd always be evil and that she'd never see Henry again was very nearly the final straw and Regina had spent the last several hours debating the very tempting merits of giving Emma Swan and the entire town the Evil Queen they believed her to be.
Perversely, the one thing that kept her from leveling the entire damned town wasn't the thought of Henry. Regina had finally forced herself to realize that no matter what she did, he would never truly believe in her. Emma Swan had seen to that. No, It was remembering the show of faith coming from the one person who had every reason to believe she was guilty that had her loosening her grip on the dark magic that flowed so close to the surface.
The loud knocking continued and Regina gritted her teeth and got to her feet, prepared to tell the Sheriff just what she could do with her empty threats of arrest.
"Look Sheriff, I…Ruby?" Regina took in the unusually frazzled young woman who she'd just been thinking about. "Let me guess, the town has formed another lynch mob and you're the sacrificial wolf?" Regina quipped sarcastically.
Ruby's heart hurt as she saw the badly disguised signs that the formidable woman had recently been crying and she silently berated her closest friends. Deciding the best way to distract the former Mayor from her dark thoughts (not to mention the most entertaining) was to shock her out of it, Ruby grinned broadly and knowing she was risking every bone in her body, she pulled the shocked Regina into a crushing hug.
"Miss Lucas…Ruby!" Regina protested awkwardly.
"He's alive," Ruby whispered into Regina's ear, trying not to lose herself in the unique scent that was purely Regina Mills.
"What?" Regina managed to mutter. The shock of being accosted by Ruby Lucas had been quickly brushed aside by the feel of the long slender body holding hers and the hot breath tickling her ear.
"Archie is alive!" Still giddy with relief and joy at knowing her old friend hadn't been killed and that Regina was finally cleared, Ruby tightened her hold.
Regina's struggles stopped as Ruby's words sank in. "What do you mean he's alive? And if you could stop suffocating me, I would quite appreciate it."
Ruby loosened her hold but didn't step away. "I was over at Mary…Snow and David's and telling them what I suspected and Archie just…showed up."
"I don't understand."
Ruby smiled at the befuddled woman and reached up to cup her face. "Archie wasn't killed. Your mother kidnapped him. She was the one behind it all."
"My mother?" Regina's heart stopped knowing that the woman she loved, hated and feared more than any other person in the world had finally found her.
Ruby was startled by the fear that flashed in Regina's eyes. She'd never seen Regina Mills afraid of anything that didn't concern Henry and that alone was enough to worry Ruby. "Yeah."
"You need to tell Emma to get Henry out of Storybrooke. Now." Regina pulled away and headed into the house, her mind working furiously to figure out what to do and how to protect the one thing in the world that mattered to her.
"Regina, wait," Ruby followed Regina into the house, seeing how agitated she was despite the failing attempt at indifference.
"You're still here?" Regina asked coldly. "Forget about me. You need to protect Henry. He's the only thing that matters and if my mother finds him…"
"That won't happen," Ruby said stepping into Regina's face. "Emma, Mary Margaret and David know she's here and they will protect him with their lives. You need someone to protect you."
Regina ran her eyes over the slender girl in front of her and while she couldn't help but be impressed by the determination in the pretty dark eyes, she had to laugh. "Miss Lucas, I assure you that I am able of dealing with my mother on my own."
"I'm sure you are, but you're not going to. No matter how much you make fun of me," Ruby said firmly, crossing her arms trying not to feel hurt as Regina laughed at her.
Regina saw the hurt in Ruby's expression and really wanted to use that to send her away for good. It was for the best, but she simply couldn't find the cutting words to do it.
"I'm not making fun of you Miss…Ruby," She admitted more kindly than she normally would have. "I do appreciate your offer. More than you know, but you forget that I have powers that you don't. And even though you are quite formidable as a wolf, you're no match for my mother."
"So?"
Regina grinned. Yes, she decided she really did like this woman who obviously had more bravado than sense, but then her smile faded. She wasn't going to let someone else pay the price for standing by her.
"So, my mother will turn you into a chew toy before you can so much as blink. That's not much protection," she said bluntly.
"Regina, I know what you're doing and it's not going to work," Ruby stated just as bluntly. "I know that in a fight, I can't really do much against your mother, but that isn't the point. Whether you believe me or not, I want to show you that there is someone who is willing to stand with you, no matter what the evidence says. Someone who isn't trying to manipulate you. I suspect you've never really had that before."
Once again, Regina was struck speechless by the waitress she barely knew. Why this woman, the best friend of the woman who'd played a major role in destroying her world, was willing to risk her own life to support her, Regina would never understand.
"What if I don't want your support?" she asked as haughtily as her weakening pride would allow.
Ruby just offered the cheekiest grin she could manage, trying not to laugh at Regina's frustrated expression. "I've never been one to let a little thing like that stop me."
Against her will, Regina's lips twitched with true amusement. "No, I'm sure you're not."
"I know you're going to do everything in your power, metaphorically I hope, to drive me away, but it's not going to happen. If your mother comes…"
"When," Regina corrected, not quite able to keep the fear from her voice.
"When," Ruby acknowledged, "I know what happened with Emma before and what she said. Please don't give into the distrust I know you're feeling."
"You really presume to know what I'm feeling?" Regina asked tightly. "You don't know me Miss Lucas. You know nothing…"
Before Regina could finish her sentence, Ruby's lips were on hers. Regina's first instinct was to shove the woman away from her and teach the pushy waitress a lesson about respecting boundaries that she would never forget, but then long fingers softly caressed her face and she felt the first crack in her newly rebuilt walls.
The instant her lips touched Regina's, Ruby instantly felt a peace wash over her that she hadn't felt since before learning she was a werewolf. She knew she was risking every bone in her body by her actions, but she didn't care. Sometimes the only thing that could save a person like Regina Mills was the realization that somebody cared and as Regina relaxed just enough to accept her kiss, Ruby was startled to learn that she actually did care. More than she had expected.
Ruby pulled away first, not wanting to push the emotionally skittish woman and braced herself for a slap. "I'm going to go now," Ruby said slowly, her heart racing and her lips tingling and she wanted nothing more than to return to kissing the former Mayor, but she wasn't a stupid woman. She knew it was best to run off while Regina was still dazed and confused. "I'm going to go to Granny's and tell her I won't be working my shift as I'll be staying with you and then I'll be back."
Still bemused by Ruby's surprisingly tender kiss, Regina just nodded numbly. "You don't have…"
"I'll be back," Ruby interrupted firmly, Unable to help herself, Ruby dared to place her hand once more on Regina's face, marveling at the swirl of emotions in her beautiful dark eyes.
"I'll be back," she reiterated firmly. "You're not alone anymore Regina," she added more softly and then grinned. "Whether you like it or not," and before Regina could form a fantastically sarcastic reply, she turned and left, needing to get to Granny's and back as quickly as possible.
Regina had absolutely no idea what to make of what just happened but as she closed the door behind the departing and surprisingly bossy werewolf, she felt her lips lifting in sincere pleasure and her heart fluttering with the beginning of something she hadn't let herself feel in so very long.