Hello again :) As usual, I'd just like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this and comment, it means a lot. Also, all mistakes are mine, and all comments and ideas are welcomed.
Ruby dropped the phone. Her mind was racing but simultaneously blank. Snow was looking at her with obvious concern from across the diner counter. Ruby's face had frozen rigidly in shock, Snow desperately reaching across her plate to tug Ruby back into reality.
"It's…" started Ruby. "It's…" She kept stuttering, her eyes unfocused, staring out of the window, through the darkness and across the road to the library.
"Ruby, what is it?" asked Snow, increasingly anxious about her friend's distress.
"Belle," Ruby breathed, barely even whispered. Snow had barely heard it, but she had seen that word form on Ruby's lips too many times not to recognise it. The name seemed to be Ruby's trigger, and the poor girl suddenly burst into tears, scrambling into the kitchen without a second glance. Snow – not one to back down – jumped up and followed her friend through the door, pushing it open just after it had slammed shut. Granny whirled round, looking momentarily angry; mouth open to yell at Ruby for slamming doors, when she caught sight of her granddaughter's distraught face as the girl slipped past and headed for the back door. Hearing the door open again, she turned back to see Snow hurrying after her. They shared an identical look of confusion and concern before Snow continued her chase.
"Ruby!" yelled Snow as Ruby reached the bottom step of the porch. She froze, her shoulders visibly shaking, her long, dark hair rippling down her back. Snow approached slowly, as she would if Ruby were in her wolf form, but before she could speak, Ruby collapsed on the step, sitting with her head in her hands and sobbing. Snow was immediately at her side, wrapping her arms around her friend. They sat like that for a while, Snow's heart breaking every time Ruby shook with sobs, until the wolf-girl eventually calmed down.
"It's Belle," she repeated, her voice thick with emotion. Snow handed her a tissue from her bag which Ruby accepted gratefully. Ruby gazed up at the dark sky, willing herself not to cry again. Tears still fell down her face. "The… hospital called. She was out with Gold. She… she was shot." Snow's grip on Ruby's arm tightened gently as her voice began to crack at the end of the sentence. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "I have to go." Ruby said the latter rather more firmly, getting to her feet and walking towards the road, leaving Snow a little more than confused. Getting up, she followed her friend.
"Ruby!" she shouted after the figure walking determinedly in the direction of the hospital. "It's pitch dark!" But Ruby didn't listen. As Snow stumbled after her, she blinked and Ruby's figure blurred. All she could see was the pair of dark skinny jeans, black boots and red shirt disappear into the darkness, faster than a human should be able to move.
Ruby knew she should feel bad about just leaving Snow, but she couldn't. All she could think about was Belle. She wanted to find Gold. She wanted to find the person who shot Belle. But not until she had seen the curly haired librarian. Her sprinting ability was being tested to the limit; she had never had to run for this long before. But she kept going, the burning in her legs being completely ignored. She hadn't been happy recently. Belle had been getting close to Gold again, and though the librarian insisted that they were just friends and she just wanted to make sure he was alright; Ruby didn't trust the slippery man. Every time they met, they would exchange equally menacing glares over Belle's head. Belle, for her credit, knew this; but neglected to say anything about it, knowing that Ruby would just get upset.
Ruby stopped sprinting just outside the hospital doors, not halting for even a second as she strode inside, jaw clenched. People in the atrium seemed to part in front of her, as she would have just walked right into them and continued on her way. After obtaining Belle's room number from a slightly apprehensive nurse, she climbed the stairs and stormed down the corridor. Her stare was as cold as ice as she immediately zeroed in on Mr Gold, standing with his damn cane outside of Belle's room. As if sensing her presence, he turned to face the oncoming storm.
"Gold," she growled as she drew closer, never breaking pace.
"Miss Lucas," he replied in his smooth, calm voice. He saw Ruby's eyes shining gold and knew this was not the time to antagonise her. Ruby never stopped, just glared at Gold before throwing the door wide open, slamming it into the wall. Inside, Dr Whale whipped around, startled. The room was small, and Ruby's eyes were met by Belle's unconscious form lying on the bed, her head propped up by pillows. She looked so different to all the other times Ruby had seen her asleep; whiter, more vulnerable. Somehow smaller.
"Ruby! You can't be in here-" he started, as Ruby stalked inside and closed the door with her foot as Gold was about to enter himself, effectively closing the door in his face.
"I'll be wherever I damn well please," she growled in response, her eyes flashing yellow as she took the unconscious Belle's hand and glared across at Whale. Whale was amazed that he had managed to keep Gold out, but he knew he couldn't win against Ruby, not when she was like this. "Is she alright?" she asked, absent-mindedly rubbing her thumb in circles on the back of Belle's hand.
"She's stable," reported Whale after a moment. "She was shot –" Ruby's eyes flashed golden again as her gaze snapped up from Belle to Whale, her expression making Whale consciously hold his chart across his chest as a small means of protection. "But she's fine, she didn't lose that much blood, and the bullet went right through." The doctor paused after his hurried explanation.
"What is it?" she asked in a way that made it clear it was imperative that he answer her immediately.
"She crossed the line…" the doctor said quietly, his eyes on the floor.
"What?" she said, her mind going completely blank. She knew what it meant. She knew. She had seen Sneezy after he crossed the town line. But her mind refused to process it. She couldn't handle it.
"Miss Lucas, I think you know what that means-"
"No, she can't!" yelled Ruby, unintentionally squeezing Belle's hand tighter as more tears threatened to spill over.
"I'll… give you a moment…" Whale tailed off, taking a second to give Ruby's shaking shoulder a comforting squeeze before leaving through the door, taking a deep breath as it shut behind him, knowing Gold would be on his case next.
Ruby stood stock still, her whole body shaking. Closing her eyes tightly, she let two tears fall, one from each eye. Pulling up a chair, she sat, burrowing her head into the covers as she gripped Belle's hand tightly. She remained there for a long, long while, until she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. Startled and defensive, Ruby jumped up so fast the chair shot across the room, and she backed away several steps from the figure.
"Ruby, it's me, Snow," came the soft voice of her friend. Ruby then threw herself into Snow's arms and began to cry again. "Shhh, Ruby, it'll be okay," she said, as the woman could think of nothing better to comfort her friend. There they stood for several minutes, until they heard a loud crash. Ruby and Snow broke apart. The taller girl strode across the room in three long strides; walking around the bed and wrenching open the door. Outside, she saw Gold pressing Dr Whale up against the wall, his hand around the doctor's throat, his beloved cane pressed against his chin. Dr Whale spluttered a cry of help as Gold barely glanced at the intrusion.
"There must be something you can do," he hissed menacingly to the doctor, who could barely breathe, let alone reply.
"Let him down, Gold," said Snow, stepping up beside Ruby. Gold glared at Whale before releasing him. Snow helped the man stay on his feet as he coughed and gasped, Gold calmly flicking the hair out of his face before turning to Ruby.
"What are you doing here, Gold?" she asked, as intimidating a tone as she could muster. Her amber glowing eyes probably helped a little. Gold was visibly unperturbed.
"I came here with Belle. I wanted to make sure she was alright. I'm just as concerned about her as you are, Miss Lucas," he replied, as if commenting on the weather. Ruby clenched her fists at the mention of Belle's name.
"What happened, Gold?" she demanded, taking a step towards the man, who stood, his suit nearly impeccably neat, bar a small patch of dark red on his sleeve where he must have caught Belle.
"Mr Hook, it would seem, has a grudge against me. Belle was unfortunately caught in the middle."
"What were you even doing with her? Why did you involve her in your schemes? People around you always get hurt Gold," Ruby's voice was steadily rising as she slowly stepped closer to Gold, who could see the wolf in Ruby's human eyes for the first time. He was losing his cool, just a little. "And if she can't be healed properly, if she's harmed again, I will not hesitate to rip your head from your shoulders. And the only reason I haven't killed you yet, is because I know that you'll do whatever you can to bring her memories back." Ruby felt a shiver run through her as the wolf begged for Gold's head to be separated from his body.
"Miss Lucas, believe me, the last thing I wanted was for Belle to be involved in this-" the man said, attempting to keep his cool.
"Well she is! And it's your fault!"
"Don't you think I know that?" he exploded, in such a simultaneously pained and angry tone that even Ruby was a little taken aback by. "Don't you think I'd give anything to get her back? That I wished I'd killed that damn pirate when I had the chance?"
"IT WAS YOUR FAULT HE WAS AFTER YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE!" shouted Ruby in reply. "IF YOU HADN'T-"
"ENOUGH!" roared Snow, leaving Whale – who was sitting on the floor, his breathing now steady – and getting in between the two, who had been edging closer and closer together so now barely a step was between them. "Fighting will get you nowhere! Focus on what's really important; finding a way to help Belle. Working together will be faster than separately." She glared at Gold, and then looked to Ruby. Gold looked deep into Ruby's eyes, both of them looking as though they were trying to explode the other's brain with their mind, but then they looked away simultaneously.
"Since Belle has her personal guard dog," he spat as Ruby bristled. "…to look after her, I shall take my leave. I'll make a start on finding a cure for her memories." Mr Gold then turned and walked away down the corridor, his cane clacking against the shiny clean floor.
"Oh, and Gold?" called Ruby. Gold stopped and turned. "Guards dogs bite, if you're not careful."
"I can't wait for Belle to be back just so she can put your leash back on," he spat in reply.
Ruby made a move towards him, but Snow held out a hand to stop her.
"Don't, he's just trying to wind you up," she hissed in Ruby's ear. Ruby knew this, of course, but nothing would give her greater pleasure than to sink her teeth into the former imp's flesh.
Once Gold had left their immediate vicinity, Snow turned to Ruby. Whale had gotten up and escaped the scene so subtly that they neither noticed nor cared that he was gone. Ruby returned to the room with Snow, sitting by the bed until she dozed off, at which point Snow covered her friend with a blanket and ran her hand on Belle's arm. She had grown fond of the librarian. She was a lovely girl, and she made Ruby happy. So she too, though unbeknownst to Ruby or Gold, she too wanted her to get better as fast as possible.