Chapter Twenty-Three: …There's Trouble

The handcuffs clanged as the Doctor jiggled his wrists, trying to remember the trick that Harry Houdini had taught him about jiggling handcuffs fast enough to make them move through solid objects. Unfortunately, to the Doctor's realization after hours of attempting the maneuver, Houdini had been using trick handcuffs, which David – being Storybrooke's temporary sheriff – obviously didn't carry with him. The Doctor exhausted himself for hours over nothing, and he was left slumping down beside the control console, his cuffed arm dangling.

Why do women always feel the need to handcuff me to places? First River, then Amy, and now Ruby. It's getting real annoying.

In recalling the discomforting times, the Doctor was reminded of one specific key to unlocking the handcuffs that he overlooked, and he was disappointed with himself for having done so. Reaching into his coat pocket, he retrieved the sonic screwdriver and connected its tip to the lock. Whereas the Doctor's wrist remained handcuffed, he was no longer bound to the console, enabling him to move freely in operating the controls.

He had to get a fix on Ruby, who was certain to have reached town just as nightfall came. With the full moon out, he also was certain about her being in wolf form; so he operated the TARDIS to center on a description that matched a werewolf. Once it got the fix, he switched on the monitor to show him where Red was. The image he saw on the monitor sent a shiver down his spine and then made his blood boil. Moving at a more frantic speed around the hexagonal console, the Doctor got the TARDIS out of the forest as soon as possible.

Spencer's mob had turned into a legitimate one with torches and pitchforks as they all cornered the wolf in an alley near the library. Spencer had his revolver trained on the wolf and squeezed the trigger. Before the bullet could have escaped from the revolver, something had knocked against both it and Spencer's hand, causing him to fire upon a nearby gas drum that exploded on impact.

"The next one goes between your eyes!"

All eyes turned to the speaker who made the threat and saw Granny standing atop of the hood of David's squad car. David himself soon pushed through the crowd while met with criticism from the townspeople – some of it very personal:

"Why are you protecting her?"

"We're not sheep, David!"

"We don't need to be led by a shepherd!"

Once he was finally in front of the mob, David yelled to them, "Listen to me! Ruby didn't kill Billy." He then glared to Spencer and said, "He did. He stole her cloak and killed Billy in cold blood to make it look like a wolf all to get you to think I wasn't leading this town as I should." There came a loud growl from behind David, scaring the townsfolk into advancing on the wolf until David stopped them once again. "Hold up! Somebody already died because of what Spencer has done. Let's not spill more blood. She won't hurt…"

He was soon silenced by the sound of the TARDIS approaching. All eyes turned to the spot that it was rematerializing in, watching the familiar shape of the police box separate them from the wolf as it turned solid in a matter of seconds. The door immediately flew open and the Doctor stepped out. He first looked to his left, seeing David, Spencer, Granny, and the mob all looking upon him with mixed emotions – only David and Granny were pleased while Spencer and the mob appeared furious of his arrival. Then he looked to his right after hearing the growls of the wolf…of Ruby.

The Doctor began to approach her, prompting her to recede further into the shadows. As he slowly took another step, David called to him: "Doctor!" He looked back in time to see David toss Ruby's red hood over to him. Catching the hood in his hands, the Doctor nodded his thanks to David and returned to his approach on Ruby.

The closer he got to her, the more she growled viciously at him. He raised a calm, steady hand, showing how fearless he was of her. "It's alright. It's alright, Red. It's me…John. You helped me to remember who I was…when we were together in the old land…when we were married and living happily. I remember who I was during the curse. We were going to be together…but then I left…and I forgot." Ruby's growling had ceased as if she was listening to the Doctor's every word. "You're all that I have left, Red. Amy and Rory are gone…River's…" He stopped, choking on his words while fighting tears. "Just…please…come back to me."

The Doctor's hand was close enough to touch her head, and she allowed it to once she stepped closer to the Doctor. He rubbed his fingers through the black fur upon her head and neck while placing the cloak over her wolf form. Within seconds, the wolf before him had vanished – replaced by the beautiful young woman he fell in love with. Her human eyes connected with his and delight overtook her face. "John!" They embraced each other for what seemed like an eternity – lovers finally reunited both physically and mentally. "You saved me."

"No…you saved yourself." The Doctor whispered back to her. "I just reminded you of what you already knew."

Their peaceful moment was abruptly disrupted as soon as they heard shouting from the nearby crowd. Rushing to them, they found David tending to a fallen Granny and Spencer missing from the group.

"What happened?" The Doctor questioned.

"Spencer's gone." David informed him.

"Go. I'll be alright." Granny urged them.

"I'm not leaving you here alone." Ruby told her.

"I'll be just fine now that I know you're alright." Granny reassured. "Now go."

Accepting Granny's assurance, the Doctor, David, and Ruby rushed to the squad car and took off to find Spencer.

With Ruby's expert tracking skills, the trio was able to find Spencer much sooner than anticipated. They found him at a beach, standing by a fire. As soon as he was in hearing range of her, Ruby mockingly asked him, "You think you can hide from a wolf?"

"I wasn't trying to hide." Spencer remarked.

The Doctor nodded satisfyingly as he, Ruby, and David approached. "Good. That'll make your arrest much easier."

"Arrest for what?" Spencer uttered. "Making a point?"

"You killed an innocent man." David said.

"He was a mouse." Spencer coldly retorted.

"He was better than you'll ever be!" Ruby angrily yelled.

"Make this easier on yourself, Your Highness," suggested the Doctor, addressing his royal title with as much scorn as he showed him earlier. "There's nowhere else to escape in Storybrooke."

Spencer chuckled. "You fool. Escape isn't my plan this time."

"Then what is? Clearly you have one or else we wouldn't have chased you all this way." The Doctor deduced.

Spencer slowly turned and faced them. The Doctor noticed how he was concealing something beneath his dark trench coat, believing it to be a gun. However, Spencer soon revealed the item in his possession: Jefferson's hat. As quickly as he pulled it out of his coat, he threw it into the fire to the horror of the Doctor, Ruby, and especially David, who pushed Spencer aside to reach the hat. Unfortunately, the fire made it unreachable for David.

"It doesn't matter how much fairy dust you gather…or how much you rally the town behind you…your family's gone." Spencer then viciously turned to the Doctor and Ruby and added, "Your friends are gone."

Seeing the smug look on his face as he made that wicked declaration, the Doctor wanted to punch Spencer square in his jaw, even though it was completely against his character. Of course, that opportunity went to David instead, as he had done the deed without the Doctor (or Spencer, for that matter) seeing it come. Unfortunately, matters became more extreme as soon as David drew his gun and pointed it at Spencer's head.

"David! No! Don't do it!" The Doctor exclaimed. "Don't sink to his level! You're better than him!"

Spencer laughing in David's face didn't make the situation any calmer than the Doctor hoped. "I told you," he whispered to David, "you should've killed me when you had the chance."

The Doctor and Ruby both watched nervously as the gun in David's hand shook beneath his grip. After much hesitation, he allowed it to go limp in his hand, which came as a relief to Ruby and the Doctor. David turned his gaze to the fire, watching with teary eyes as the hat succumbed to its fiery fate and vanished into the ashes.