Elevator door opened to the Bigby's floor. The sheriff stepped out, still carrying Nerissa with him. He heard shouting and screaming coming from the first floor, however he was too tired to pay any real attention to it. After all, what's it matter? He was the Big Bad Wolf, he heard his share of screams already.
Bigby approached his apartment's door, where he stopped. 'Nerissa, I hope you can stand. I need to get my keys from the pocket.' he said, putting her down on her feet. She was visibly shaking but she stood on her feet surely enough. Bigby searched his pocket for a bit before fishing the keys in there, pulling them out and unlocking the door before him. Stepping in, he invited Nerissa 'Come inside, it's ok.' She hesitated a bit before taking a step inside.
'It's not Swineheart's office, but it'll do.' said Bigby, closing the door. 'Will do for w-what?' asked Nerissa, starting to shake more. 'Don't worry, I'll just take a look at your wounds if you have any. Also, I have a few questions. But we'll talk about it later. Sit.'
Nerissa remained standing, looking around shyly but with some curiosity too. 'You really have the smallest apartment in the Woodlands.' she even managed a little smile before taking a seat on the edge of Bigby's chair. 'Yeah, seems like everyone notices it first when they visit.' Bigby said while searching the cabinet in his bathroom. He found some bandages and plaster, but nothing else. 'Damn it.' Bigby silently cursed. Whether he uses it often or not, he should keep some more medical supplies in here.
Bigby returned from the bathroom to find Nerissa sitting and still throwing glances around his apartment. It caused Bigby to feel a bit uncomfortable. 'Look, I know it's not much, but…' he didn't even get to finish when Nerissa interrupted him hastily 'Oh no, no. It's perfectly good. It's just that… uhh, nevermind.' She seemed like she was a bit embarrassed by the unfinished thought.
Bigby decided to pay it no mind and pulled another chair in front of her. 'Did that asshole hurt you?' he asked quietly. That question seemed to bring out this very fresh experience for her outside again. She started trembling again, and it took some time for her to answer. 'I-I think he left me some bruises on my arm wh-when he was dragging me here…' 'Which arm?' 'The l-left one.'
Bigby didn't hesitate for a moment – he took Nerissa's hand into hers, stretched it and checked it for the damage. Surely enough, he found it – just above the elbow Dee's fingers had left the mark. 'Is there anything else?' Again, it took some time for her to answer it. 'No, no… I don't think so.'
Bigby stood up and went to the bathroom again. He put the bandages and plaster back into the cabinet where they belonged, then he went to the sink, took an empty glass and filled it with the coldest water he could produce of that tap. He walked back and handed the cup to Nerissa. 'Keep it on the bruises, it should help. Not much else we can do about it.'
Nerissa pressed the cup to the bruises on her arm and sighed with relief. 'Yes, it's really helping. Thanks Bigby.' she cracked an unexpected little smile towards him. Bigby felt a surge of heat in his chest, which surprised him greatly. 'You're welcome.' he didn't think of anything else to say.
A few minutes passed in silence. Seemed like both of them grew accustomed to it. Finally Nerissa broke the silence. 'Umm, you mentioned… some questions earlier?' Bigby snapped out of it too. 'Yes, I have. You don't mind if I give them to you now?' Nerissa shaked her head slightly. 'Ok then, first – how did he get a hold of you?'
Nerissa sighed before answering. 'I was just walking down the street when he grabbed me out of nowhere. Yesterday, when we said our goodbyes, I decided to stay here for one more day. Visit all the places I've had fond memories of, even though there wasn't a lot of them. However, the evening took me by surprise, and I decided to head to my apartment. I felt somewhat… somewhat disappointed that I haven't left this place already. There was nothing else for me here, and I knew it. Despite that, I still stayed.' She took a deep breath before continuing.
'He snatched me right in the middle of the street. It was empty, I was walking to the station, and out of nowhere he jumped out. He rammed the barrel of his gun into my back and told me to walk to the Woodlands. All the way, he was… saying things…lots of them…' Nerissa stopped and started sobbing.
Bigby felt very uncomfortable again. He didn't have a napkin or anything like that, so all he thought of was pulling out a cigarette and offering it to Nerissa. She had her face in her palms, however when Bigby offered her a cigarette, she raised her eyes a bit and took it.
'Thank you.' she muttered quietly. Bigby didn't answer, all he did was pull out a lighter and light her cigarette. She inhaled deeply and seemed to calm down a bit. 'Thanks.' she said again. 'It's nothing. Do you mind if we continue?' Nerissa waited a bit and then nodded, still holding the cigarette. 'Let's finish it.'
'So, secondly – I get that you probably don't have any ideas about it, but maybe you know where can I find Jersey Devil? He is the last untied knot in this pile of shit.' Nerissa's eyes widened a bit before answering. 'The one with glasses?' Bigby nodded. 'Yes, I know where to find him – Dee mentioned something about him while walking! I think it was something about unsold goods or something like that.'
Bigby started to think actively. Unsold goods? About what was he talking about… 'The Lucky Pawn!' he said loudky, startling Nerissa a bit. 'Sorry. It's just that I know where that place is. Thank you, Nerissa. You made finding him a lot easier for me.' Bigby managed to crack a little smile and felt happy when he received an answer. 'I'm very happy to help you, Bigby. It's the least I can do after all you've done for me.' They shared a moment. However…
'Bigby…' Nerissa said, while looking at him. 'You… seriously need to take a shower.' She smiled a bigger smile, and Bigby was so surprised by the joke that he even chuckled. He looked down at his clothes, which were all soaked in blood. All the fun seeped out.
'Nerissa, I know you saw what I did. I'm sorry. I lost control.' Bigby apologized, realizing he will repeat these words to all the other Fables atleast a thousand times. 'I-I shouldn't have done that…' Bigby fell silent as he watched Nerissa's reaction to it. To his another big surprise, she wasn't shocked or terrified at him. 'Bigby, I'll be honest with you. It was horrible to watch, but Dee… Sometimes he used Pudding & Pie's services. I am lucky that he never chose me to please him. All the girls which had 'an appointment' with him came back beaten and bruised.' Nerissa took a deep breath. 'He was a complete asshole and so was his brother. He deserved what came to him as much as the Crooked Man.'
Bigby sat in silence, contemplating what he just heard. He never thought Nerissa could carry so much bitterness and fury inside her. However, he figured that he shouldn't be surprised – after going such things as Nerissa did anyone can become filled with anger. 'Thanks Nerissa. I think you're probably the only one who doesn't judge me for what I did.' Nerissa smiled. 'They don't know anything Bigby. You're doing a great job as a sheriff.' Bigby smiled right back at her, but then he realized he was tired as a dog and he still needed to take a shower.
'Hey, if you want you can stay the night. You went through lots of shit today and you can leave in the morning. After all, I'll probably spend my night in the office.' Bigby offered. Nerissa was taken aback by the words Bigby said, but then managed to get a hold of herself. 'I guess I can. My apartment is quite far away from here, and I don't have a lot of money to spare for the taxi. Thank you Bigby.' She flashed him another quick smile which made Bigby feel something strange in his chest again. 'I hope you don't mind if I use the shower first? I need to get out of my now ruined clothes.' 'No, it's okay Bigby. I'll wait.'
Bigby dove straight into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. There he threw all of his clothes off and stepped into the shower. He needed to be quick about this…
'That… that animal must be tamed!' Bluebeard shouted. 'Look at what he's done, for fuck's sake! He is a savage beast!' He started walking around Business Office, muttering to himself about Bigby's insanity.
Snow was sitting in a chair. Just a minute ago she was standing, but she couldn't take any more of Bluebeard's hysterical screams. She had to take a seat to calm herself down a bit. 'Please, Bluebear, listen…' 'A FUCKING savage, that's what he is!' Snow was interrupted once again and this time she just snapped. 'BLUEBEARD!' Snow screamed at him, causing him to stop dead in his tracks. 'Could you stop. Just for a minute. Stop. And. Shut up.' Snow said through clenched teeth. 'Oh, I'm sorry, am I making this harder for you? Well then I might as well leave.' Bluebeard was furious beyond measures. After all, it was his party that Bigby crashed, so to say. However, Snow really wasn't in the mood for this.
'I guess you can.' And before Bluebeard could answer her, she added. 'Good night.' The man was speechless. Nevertheless, he managed to fumble out a few words. 'I'll see in the morning, MISS White.' And then finally he stormed out.
Snow didn't like how he put the emphasis on the word Miss. She didn't like how he couldn't control his temper. She didn't like him one bit. Too bad she was forced to deal with many things that she didn't like since she became the head of this Office. And now…
Now she had one more concern – Bigby Wolf. She thought the time when people were terrified of him was over, but she was so, so wrong. After this lash-out, Bigby was THE danger again. People would again run from him, hide from him, avoid him. It made Snow so desperate she almost started crying.
At the last second though, she stopped herself. 'No, I can't be weak. Not now.' she said to herself. She needed a plan, a plan of how to handle things now. But as she sat there, no clever mind came to her head, except one – visit Bigby. Even if he was a monster again, she needed to speak with him, and most urgently, before anything else happened.
Snow stood up, stretched and looked around. Suddenly, she heard a flapping of wings. Few seconds passed and Bufkin landed on the table in front of her. She could clearly see that he was quite drunk, but she didn't say anything to him about it. It was a celebration night, after all. Until it wasn't anymore…
'Miss Snow, may I ask?' Bufkin addressed Snow. 'Yes, Bufkin, what is it?' Snow was tired, but she couldn't just deny the little flying monkey without a good reason. 'Will Mr. Bigby will be thrown in jail now?' Bufkin hiccupped right after he finished his sentence. Snow could clearly see that he will pass out any moment now. 'I don't know, Bufkin. I don't know. We shall see.' It was all Snow could say at that moment. 'Well, I-I hope he won't go to jail… Jail is for baddies, and Mr… Mr. Bigby isn't a baddie… I think. Maybe.'
Those were the last words Bufkin said before passing out right there on the table. Snow just sighed before wishing good night to now fast-asleep Bufkin and leaving Business Office. She still needed to visit Bigby and talk to him. The sooner the better.
Walking in a fast pace, she quickly approached the elevator, pushed the button to open the door and entered it. She ascended to Bigby's floor quickly enough, but as she got closer to it, she felt more and more nervous. So many ifs floating… But she had to talk to him, now. About this evening. About the future.
An unexpected thought popped into her head – she cared for him. However, she pushed it aside without giving it much attention – she had more important matters right now.
Snow approached the door to Bigby's apartment, took a deep breath, silently knocked and opened the door.
The first thing that greeted her was Nerissa, sleeping in Bigby's chair. The first thing she heard was shower noise from the bathroom. The first thing she felt was her heart falling to her heels.
Snow didn't even bother. She closed the door and turned around to the elevator. She practically ran to it, and while going to her own apartment, she was trying to calm her racing mind.
'Did Bigby sleep with her?' 'What is she doing there?' 'Why is she there?' 'What's going on there?' such questions were flying through Snow's mind. She felt so confused. Bigby, the lone wolf, always working by himself, never looking for company. However, now she finds a whore in his room, sleeping, and him in the shower?
As crazy as that sounded, she felt betrayed. They never were anything more than friends and co-workers. Why did it feel like a betrayal? Is it because it was so utterly unexpected? Or is it because she just witnessed Bigby tear Dee apart like a true savage and now she found a scene like this?
The only thing Snow knew for sure, was that they needed to talk about a lot of things. And as of now, she needed to think about a lot of things.
The shower was one of the best Bigby has ever had. It felt so good to feel the water running down his body, washing away all the blood. Too bad he couldn't continue it for long.
Stepping out of it, Bigby felt like a new person. The shower helped him relax, washed away his tiredness and made him ready for what was coming.
He quickly found another set of his typical clothes – white shirt with black pants. While putting them on, he was thinking of Nerissa – how close she came to dying today. That fat fuck, Dee, would've shot her. She meant nothing to him. It's good that he was so revenge-driven that he didn't even think of using her as a human shield.
Bigby realized he felt no remorse for killing Dee. The man did nothing good for the world or Fabletown, and Nerissa just confirmed his suspicions that it was always like that. He couldn't help but feel optimistic – Crooked Man's empire is in ruins, now there's only one man left to hunt down. And he knew exactly where to look for him.
Walking out of the bathroom to the door, he noticed the mermaid was already sleeping. He smiled to himself and quietly exited the apartment, closing the door as silently as possible. However, while heading to the elevators, he caught a scent of Snow. She was here? How comes he didn't hear her? Why didn't she call for him?
All those thoughts were circling in Bigby's head as he was descending into the first floor. There, he went out to the night and disregarded all of them. He had another purpose for the night.
Jersey Devil. He knew where to find him, and there was no time to waste. The bastard could've escaped already, however, knowing his nature, it made more sense that he would stay the night in the Lucky Pawn. If he was doing that, then it was an unlucky night for him.
Bigby smelled the air. The scent of Dee's blood has reached him even there, standing outside. He quickly took out a cigarette and lit it.
This night hasn't seen the last murder yet.