12. Attack

Ruby had her head resting on Victor's shoulder, a hand on his chest to feel his steady breaths. It was wonderful to just lay in bed like this with their legs tangled together and the sheets haphazardly thrown on their bodies. Ruby slid her hand up Victor's side and along his arm, stopping at the scar that marked where his arm had been torn off. She traced the line with her finger first and then with her mouth. He heard his sigh of contentment and felt his fingers as they curled into her hair.

When the curse first broke, Ruby suffered from bouts of insomnia. Her heightened senses and energy made sleep evasive. It hadn't surprised her to learn that Victor also had insomnia, mostly because of his restless thoughts and schedule as a doctor. Their first few times sleeping together resulted in them keeping each other company while they waited out the hours before work. But soon they were experiencing actual sleep. One reason they kept their working schedules in sync was because they couldn't manage to fully relax long enough for sleep without the other present.

Ruby's heightened senses were still a problem, though. Like now, when she could hear someone walking toward the door. Reluctantly she pulled her mouth away from Victor's skin. "We have a visitor," she told him moments before the knock.

"Ruby?" It was Emma's voice. Ruby wanted to ignore it and pretend she wasn't home, but then Victor's pager started buzzing. He rolled toward it and Ruby sighed, sliding out of bed and grabbing a shirt before heading to the door.

"What is it, Emma?"

"Uh..." Emma's eyebrow lifted and Ruby realized too late that it was Victor's shirt she had thrown on. "Sorry if I'm interrupting, but this is important. Cora attacked the fields and it looks like all the beanstalks are destroyed."

Ruby gripped the door frame for support. While admittedly a part of her had been reluctant to leave Storybrooke, it was still devastating to hear that they lost their guaranteed way back to the Enchanted Forest. Ruby took in a slow breath. "Okay. What do you need me to do?"

"See if you can track down Cora. Regina thinks she might've kept some of the beanstalk as a bargaining tool."

"Oh." Her spirits fell a little. Bloodhound duty again. "Sure. Just give me a minute to get dressed." She closed the door and headed back to where she left Victor.

He was already dressing for work. He turned at her approach. "Hey. I heard, and it lines up with the page I got from the hospital. Anton and the dwarfs were injured in the attack." He turned to her, tie still waiting to be knotted, and gave her a light kiss. "Never a dull moment around here." Victor paused as his eyes traveled her body. "You going to keep that on?"

"I wish, but no. Your scent would just distract me." She gave him another kiss before slipping away and finding her own clothes. And then they exchanged yet another kiss as they headed out the door.

Ruby couldn't help but wonder if David and Snow White felt this torn every time they needed to separate for a mission. "So." Emma's voice broke through that thought. "You and Doctor Whale, huh? That seems to be going really well."

"His name's Victor, and yeah. It is."

"That's good."

"What about you and Neal?" Ruby countered.

"It's... a little more complicated. I'm just glad Henry gets to spend time with him."

The two fell silent as they drew closer to the beanstalk field. Sure enough, the area was devastated and the scent of burnt plants was strong in Ruby's nostrils. She carefully picked her way through the rows, scanning the footprints and examining the broken poles that once held the growing stalks. There was too much foot traffic to distinguish one print from another, but Ruby was hoping she would find a scrap of cloth caught on the poles to help her track Cora.

No doubt this attack was her retaliation for Regina being swayed back to the good side. It wasn't an easy fight to win but Victor and Ruby both stubbornly campaigned in her favor. The biggest plus side of having Regina on their side was the memory potion she brewed for Greg Mendel and the spell she crafted to protect the town from future unwanted visitors. She was just barely on their side, though, so they had to tread carefully in dealing with her mother.

"Nothing," Ruby declared, making her way back over to Emma. "Cora didn't leave anything behind, and I need something of hers to help me track her. You think Regina has anything?"

"I can ask her. And I'll see if Neal can convince Hook to help us, too."

"I'm going to check in with Victor." They both whipped out their phones to start making calls. Ruby wasn't too surprised that Victor didn't answer right away; he was probably busy with the victims of Cora's attack.

Meanwhile the two women headed over to Granny's Diner to discuss the next step with David and Snow White. All of this felt so familiar to Ruby. Sure they were in another land but it boiled down to the same thing: fighting for their lives against a dark force. Just a few hours ago she was cuddled up in bed with Victor. When would they get to enjoy that all the time?

"This is exactly what Cora wants," Snow was saying. "For us to feel helpless and defeated. We all need to stay strong and keep fighting."

"Okay, but how do we fight?" Emma wondered. "We'd lose Regina forever if we kill her mother, no matter how evil Cora is."

"Couldn't we just get her over the town line?" Granny suggested. "Then the spell would prevent her from coming back."

"Yes," Snow agreed, "but we don't know what crossing the line would do to Cora. Would she keep her magic? We can't unleash that on this world."

"Unless we dampen her magic," Emma suggested. "Some kind of magic inhibitor."

"Victor might know how to make something like that," Ruby noted. "I'll call him and ask." She called the hospital but it just kept ringing. The hospital couldn't be that busy, could it? Unless there was a reason no one was answering... Cold dread sank down into her stomach. She took off at a run, heedless of her friends calling after her.

The hospital looked undisturbed from the outside, but one step beyond the doors introduced her to chaos. None of them even considered Cora would attack the hospital. But Belle volunteered here and Cora would go after her in an attempt to control Rumplestiltskin. Ruby weaved her way around the strewn chairs with rising panic. She grabbed the first nurse she could find.

"Where's Vic- Doctor Whale?" His cursed name felt weird on her tongue, but his staff still insisted on using it.

"Room B." The dread turned hard as stone inside her; that was a room reserved for patients. She managed to thank the nurse and headed into the room.

Victor was lying on the bed shirtless with bandages wrapped around his middle. He gave her a weak smile and a wave as she approached. Her hand shook as she rested it on his chest. Victor's hand slid out to rest over hers.

"Concussion, minor abrasions and bruises. I'll be fine."

"You really need to stop getting injured in your own hospital," she choked out. He laughed, wincing as the movement aggravated his injuries. "Seriously, Victor. You need to be careful."

"Storybrooke is my home," he argued. "And they're my people. I'm going to do all I can to protect them." Ruby didn't know what to say, so she just squeezed his hand tighter. Victor tugged on her. "Get up here."

She knew she should argue, but she didn't really want to. So she obediently climbed onto the bed and nestled her body next to his, taking comfort in his scent. This was how their day started. And somehow, in spite of everything, it was how they were ending it.

Ruby could live with that.