Her foot was killing her.
But she paid it no mind as Regina ran as fast as she could towards Ruby. Emma ran right past her and reached Ruby first, Regina falling on her knees next to the hurt werewolf a second later.
Regina was crying, she was crying harder then she's ever cried before. Now that she saw the girl up close she saw how injured she really was, there was so much blood everywhere.
There was a deep stab wound on her right shoulder that penetrated all the way out the other side, there were three deep gashes on her left cheek and on her stomach. Judging by the way her body was laid down she surely had a couple broken bones, maybe even more.
Regina carefully reached down and cupped her face, tears streaming down her face none stop and landing on Rubys face. Emma quickly put two fingers on the girls neck, checking her pulse point. She was also crying, seeing her best friend like this broke her heart. Her heart lifted slightly as she felt a small pulse, she was alive.
" She's still alive!", Declared Emma.
Regina let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding, Ruby was alive. " Lets get her home, we'll call Granny. I don't trust anyone with her". She stated strongly. Now that she knew that Ruby was at least alive, rage slowly started to consume her. Who ever did this was going to pay dearly, they were going to wish she killed them after she was done with them.
Emma quickly nodded, and together they held on to Ruby as they vanished in a burst of magic.
When they reappeared in their bedroom, Emma quickly and carefully scooped the hurt girl in her arms and walked over to lay her down on the bed. Regina quickly pulled out her phone and dialed Eugenias number, quickly explaining the situation. Granny told them not to bring Ruby to the hospital, that they wouldn't know what to do since Ruby was a wolf and her body healed differently. Granny hung up after informing that she would be there as fast as she could.
Regina quickly tossed her phone on the floor and rushed to Rubys side, once again cupping the girls face. " Oh pup, who did this to you?", she asked gently, a few tears leaking from her eyes. Regina knew she shouldn't have let her go, she should have trusted her gut and kept the girl with her. Now here Ruby laid, beaten to a pulp. When she got her hands on who ever was responsible for this…
Emma had left the room and returned a minute later with the first aid kit. Her eyes were red from crying so much, Regina knew she was just as devastated as her.
They opened the kit up and started working. Emma took care of the shoulder, which seemed to be the worst injury. She started pressing on the wound, trying to get the bleeding to stop as much as she could. Regina started cleaning the slashes on her stomach, cleaning the dirt and blood around the wound while also applying disinfectant to avoid infection. To her utter shock and surprise she noticed the wound started slowly but surely healing, it was slow but there. Regina felt a weight lift off her heart, she should of known Rubys wolf genes wouldn't let her die.
Emma must of noticed the same thing, as she was looking at the slashes on Rubys face slowly start to close up. Her shoulders sagged in relief, her best friend was going to be alright.
The bedroom door was thrown open, startling both women. In came granny, marching in like she owned the place and a look of pure worry and rage on her face. She was carrying a large sack over her shoulder, which she promptly tossed on the bed next to Emma and went straight to her granddaughter.
Emma gave her room to take over as she moved out of the way, Granny taking her place. The older Lucas pressed down on the shoulder wound with one hand just as Emma had been, while her other hand started examining the rest of the injuries.
She started informing them, " She has two broken ribs, her left shoulder is dislocated. Her right knee is fractured, along with some internal bleeding ", she said. Her hand running along every body part she mentioned, Regina was impressed.
Emma spoke up, " How do you know all that?", she asked curiously.
Granny spared her a quick glance before going back to what she was doing, " I'm old but my senses are better then Rubys, I can tell what's wrong with my own blood", she said. She gestured for Emma to hand her the sack she brought with her, when the blonde handed it to her the old wolf gestured for Regina to take over putting pressure on the shoulder wound, the mayor quickly doing as instructed.
Granny then dug around for a few seconds before pulling out a few bottles filled of what seemed to be a navy blue liquid, as she uncapped one of them the room filled with a pleasant aroma. She put the bottle to Rubys lips and poured the contents down the girl's throat, all of it until the bottle was empty.
Regina was dying to know what it was, is not that she didn't trust Granny, especially with her own granddaughter, but she couldn't help but be overprotective over Ruby.
Granny must of sensed her feelings, because after putting down the empty bottle she looked up to meet Reginas eyes. " It's a special serum that I created in the enchanted forest that speeds up a wolfs healing abilities, we naturally heal faster then humans but sometimes we need a little boost, especially with severe injuries like these", she explained. Regina nodded her head, feeling better after hearing the explanation.
Granny's expression then turned even more serious, " Unfortunately if we don't set her ribs and shoulder they'll heal wrong, it's going to hurt her but it has to be done", she stated.
Regina and Emma looked at each other for a second before nodding simultaneously, they didn't want Ruby to be in any more pain but this was a necessary evil.
Regina locked eyes with Granny then, something passing between them. Then Regina stood up while Granny and Emma slowly pulled Ruby up so that Regina could easily slide behind the girl on the bed, then they laid her back with Regina placing Rubys sweaty head on her shoulder and wrapping her arms around the taller girl.
Granny then instructed Emma to hold both of Rubys arms down, since they didn't want the girl to accidentally hurt herself more. Granny then got into position beside the bed, ready to push down on Rubys shoulder and set it back in place. After counting to three, she pushed down and a sickening crack was heard. Rubys reaction was instant, she let out a loud scream in her unconscious state and struggled in Reginas arms and against Emma. The two women struggled briefly with the wolf before the girl settled once more, Regina stroking her sweat covered hair to help calm her down.
Then came the ribs, those ones must of hurt Ruby more because as soon as Granny set them back in place Emma, who was holding Rubys arms down was sent flying across the room and into the wall from being tossed by the unconscious girl.
Regina looked alarmingly towards her true love, " Emma!, are you okay darling?", she asked. She heard a small moan and grunt before Emma got to her feet, dusting herself off.
She gave Regina a nod of her head, " Yeah I'm fine, should of seen that coming", she mumbled as she made her way back to the bed.
Granny gave the savior a small pat on the back, " Well that takes care of that, now we just wrap up her shoulder and clean her up as best we can. Her healing should take care of everything else, I give it two or three days until she's fully healed", she said. Before Regina and Emma could say anything else, Granny glared at them in turn which killed anything they might have been about to say. " While we clean her up, your going to tell me exactly what happened and why my granddaughter was almost beaten to death", she declared, her voice low and threateningly. Regina and Emma gulped, but nodded nonetheless.
They worked together to get Ruby cleaned up, Emma and Granny did most of the work. Because as soon as Regina had tried to get out of the bed to help, Ruby had grabbed onto her in an iron grip and didn't want to let her go, mumbling as she did so in her unconscious state. So Granny and Emma worked together as they removed Rubys dirty clothing, stripping her down to her underwear. Then Emma went and grabbed a towel and a bucket of warm water, they had decided that getting Ruby in the tub was going to put too much strain on her injuries so they chose to wipe her down instead. Granny grabbed the towel and dipped it in the water, then she started rubbing it all across Rubys body, getting as much of the dirt on her skin off as she could.
While she did so Regina, who was still in bed with the wolf holding on to her, explained to Granny everything. She told the old wolf everything from her accident, to Ruby saving her, to their suspicions, to Ruby suggesting her idea, and last to how they ended up here.
Granny grunted as she continued to wipe down Ruby. " Stubborn girl, she shouldn't have gone alone", she complained.
Emma, who was standing at the foot of the bed with her arms crossed, nodded her head in agreement." I tried to go with her, but she changed my mind. She convinced me to stay with Regina in case anything else happened ", she said.
Granny nodded, " Her plan made sense, but it was still stupid", she said back.
Regina had been silent, half listening and half making sure Ruby slept alright. " I'm more interested in getting my hands on whoever's responsible for this", she said after a minute. Her voice took on some of her old evil queen tone, proof of how angry she was.
Emma frowned at that, " Get in line babe", she said seriously. She wanted to find the bastards and make them pay.
Granny got up off the bed and tossed the dirty towel in the bucket, " Well, there isn't going to be anything left for you two if me and my crossbow find them first", she said.
Emma looked contemplated for a minute, then she spoke up. " You know what this means right?, this just confirms that someone is after you Regina. The fact that they attacked Ruby also means that they didn't appreciate her snooping around", she said, her face twisted with rage.
Regina nodded, unconsciously running her hand through Rubys long hair. " It would seem so", she said. She wasn't even that angry at the fact someone was trying to kill her, most of her anger was due to that someone hurting Ruby.
Granny looked between the two, " What's the plan then?", she asked.
Emma spoke, " We find them and beat the living shit out of them", she declared, cracking her knuckles.
Regina looked at her true love with affection clear in her eyes, she loved her so very much. " As lovely as that sounds my love, we still have to find out who they are first. Which hasn't been very easy", she said.
Granny rubbed her chin slightly, " I can almost guarantee that Ruby might of found something out at the accident site, she wouldn't have gotten attacked if she didn't. If this person or persons is trying to hurt Regina then there's no reason to go after Ruby unless they felt they needed to", she stated.
Emma nodded her head in agreement, " We'll just have to wait until Ruby wakes then, she can tell us what she found", she said. She walked over and sat next to Regina on the bed, taking a hold of one of Rubys hand.
Regina took a hold of one of Emmas hands, while she used the other to continue to stroke Rubys hair.
Granny stared at them for a second, holding back a smile. Then she coughed a little, " I don't think we should move her for the night, she needs all the rest she can get. If I can just borrow one of your spare rooms we can camp out here until she wakes up", she said.
Regina nodded, " There's a spare bedroom down the hall to your right, make yourself at home", she said while smiling to the older woman, she's never felt so appreciative of her then at this moment.
Granny nodded, gave her thanks and left the room.
Regina and Emma stayed in silence for a while, each in there own thoughts.
Then Emma spoke up, " There's something going on between you and Ruby isn't there?", she asked.
Regina looked over at her, Emma didn't seem to be angry. She didn't even say it as an accusation, it was more of a curious statement then anything else. When her true love turned and looked at her, there was nothing but curiosity in her eyes.
Regina then caught on to something, " How long have you thought this?", she asked. The way Emma had said it was as if she wasn't surprised at all, which shouldn't surprise Regina since her blonde lover was very intelligent when she wanted to be.
Emma gave a shrug of her shoulder, " I picked up on something when she had breakfast with us, there was this energy between you two. I also noticed the way you guys looked at each other, it was like a bubble formed every time you did. Honestly babe, I'm surprised Henry didn't catch on to anything with how obvious it was", she said, a small chuckle leaving her.
Regina expected to feel bad, to feel like she had betrayed Emma. Even though Ruby and her never crossed that line, it would still constitute as emotional cheating. But she didn't feel like denying it, denying Ruby, she also didn't feel like she had to reassure Emma of her love for her. She had a feeling in her heart that Emma would never doubt her feelings for her, not when they share true love.
Regina then glanced down at the sleeping girl in her arms, coming to a decision. " I can't say I know for sure what's happening between us, all I know is that it's the closest feeling to what I feel for you. It all started when I found her in the backyard, all these strange feelings attacked me that I've never felt before in regards to Ruby. It caught me off guard, how could I be feeling something this strongly for someone who isn't my true love?. Then as she spent the day with us they just kept getting stronger and more intense, it was like she was the missing piece in our family. I came to the conclusion that this had something to do with Ruby being a child of the moon, I know very little about werewolf's so I was going to do some research. But as you can see, with everything happening I haven't had the time.", she said. She feels relieved to finally be having this conversation with her true love, keeping Emma out of the loop was something she never liked.
Emma looked at her for a moment, then she asked. " What's it like?, your connection with Ruby?", she said.
Regina smiled a little as she glanced down at the sleeping woman, she looked so peaceful despite her injuries. " It's similar to ours, but at the same time different. I can sometimes feel her presence even when she's not physically there, and I also seem to be able to sense her emotions. I still don't know how that's possible ", she said.
Regina saw a flash of emotion in Emmas eyes, she had known her true love would feel something despite her trying to hide it, Regina knows her better then that. " You can say whats on your mind my love, I've been meaning to speak with you about all this. But I wanted to have some type of explanation before I did", she said. She reached across and took a hold of Emmas hand, squeezing in a reassuring way.
Emma gulped slightly, seemingly fighting with herself about what she wanted to say. Then after a minute she spoke, " What does that mean for us?", she asked tentatively, as if afraid of the answer.
Regina knew this question was coming, she already had an answer ready. " I wasn't and still am not sure about what's going on between me and Ruby, but if there's one thing I've been sure of since the beginning is that I wasn't going to risk losing you. No matter what this connection between me and Ruby is, I love you Emma. I love you so much that i can't be without you, you are my light", she finished strongly, looking deep into Emmas eyes.
Emma felt her eyes getting watery, god how could she be so stupid?. How could she doubt her true love?. They wouldn't be true loves if Regina didn't truly love her. But she couldn't help but feel a little threaten by her connection with Ruby, as much as she tried not to be. But she trusted Regina, she's always been honest with Emma since the very start. Plus, their own true love connection confirmed that Regina loved her just as much as Emma loved her.
Emma leaned in and shared a loving kiss with Regina, making sure the other woman knew how much she loved her. Pulling back, Emma gave Regina a loving smile. " Thank you babe, I really needed to hear that", she confessed, giving Regina another quick peck on the lips.
Regina smiled lovingly at her true love, she leaned in and rested her head on Emmas shoulder, setting Rubys head down on her lap. " I understand my love, but you shouldn't worry yourself", she said.
Emma bit her lip slightly, then she asked. " How do you feel about her?".
Regina had also known this question was coming, unfortunately this one was a little harder to answer then the previous one. " I can't say for certain, I've known Ruby for many years and never have I had any sort of special feelings towards her, both here in Storrybrook and back in the Enchanted forest. But, I cant deny the pull I feel towards her. I've been noticing things about her that I hadn't before, and the thought of her has caused feelings in me that weren't there a couple months ago. It scares me and excites me at the same time, but I can tell you for certain that she's become very important to me recently. I'm not sure if it's because of this mysterious connection we've some how developed, or if it's been there all this time and I just hadn't noticed", she finished, running her fingers through long brown hair.
Emma nodded her head slowly, glancing down to look at her sleeping best friend. Even though she was feeling jealous, she didn't hate Ruby. She didn't know why but she felt that this whole situation also took Ruby by surprise, so she couldn't blame her. But she couldn't help to feel a little insecure, she felt like she JUST got her true love and now this was happening. " What are you planning on doing?", she asked in a low voice.
Regina thought about her answer for a second, then she spoke. " I want to research this connection, I want to find out why is happening now. I want to know why me and Ruby, I want to know everything", she said. Then she hesitated for a second before speaking again, " and I want to explore these new feelings with Ruby, if your okay with it that is. I don't want to do anything that will jeopardize our relationship, but I can't ignore these feelings Emma. But I promise that if your not okay with this, and I'll completely understand if your not, that I'll respect it and I'll give up on it all", she said. No matter what she wouldn't risk Emma, she couldn't stress that enough.
Emma stared at Regina unblinkingly, she knew Regina wouldn't risk their true love. " Could I have some time to get used to it?, I'm not asking you to let everything go for me, just maybe not jump into it with Ruby off the bat. I just have to really accept it, you know what I mean?", she said in a shy voice.
Regina smiled lovingly at her true love, this was the best outcome she could ask for. She nodded her head in agreement and settled deeper into her lovers shoulder, she really did love Emma dearly.
They fell asleep just like that, Regina and Emma resting against the headboard while Ruby laid on Reginas lap.
Regina opened her eyes a couple hours later, it was 7am Sunday morning. Emma had shifted to lay down completely next to Ruby, snoring softly. The wolf girl was still unconscious, sleeping soundly. Regina smiled lovingly at the sight of the two of them, it was adorable. Then the smell of coffee and breakfast greeted her a second later, her stomach rumbling a little as she realized how hungry she was.
She carefully extracted herself from under Ruby, then she made sure both her and Emma were comfortable before making her way into the bathroom, limping a little because of her sprained foot. She showered quickly and put on some comfy clothing consisting of black and grey leggings, and a black v-neck t-shirt, she left her black hair down. She walked quietly out of her room, checked on her sleeping son, and headed down the stairs towards the heavenly smell.
When she walked in she saw granny cooking up a storm, there was food everywhere. From bacon and sausages, to hash browns and eggs, to pancakes and waffles. Everything looked delicious, and the coffee smelled like heaven. Regina hobbled over to the coffee as fast as she could, " Good morning ", she said to Granny with a smile as she poured herself some and taking a quick sip.
Granny glanced up from the stove and returned her smile, " Good morning Regina, how was your sleep?", she asked as she turned back to continue cooking.
Regina took another sip of coffee as she slid into one of the kitchen island chairs, " It wasn't bad, I was so relieved that Ruby is okay that I just fell into a dreamless sleep", she stated back.
She saw Granny give a small smile, " I'm relieved too, she's the only family I have left", she said back.
Regina nodded, she couldn't even imagine what Granny must of felt when Regina had informed her of Rubys condition. She decided to lighten up the mood, " The food looks delicious, but it looks like your trying to feed an army", she said with a small chuckle.
Granny chuckled as well, " Rubys going to be up soon, and she's going to be starving. The last time she got injured bad enough that I had to give her the serum, she almost ate me out of house and home", she said with a small laugh, Regina could see the clear affection for her granddaughter.
Regina laughed along with her.
They talked a little about random things, Regina really enjoyed her company.
Not soon after, Emma joined them, freshly showered and hungry by the looks of it. After saying good morning and sharing a kiss with Regina she wasted no time in digging right in, she was always a sucker for Granny's cooking.
Not soon after that, they all heard the front door being slammed opened and closed. Before they could even move to see who it could possibly be, a worried looking Snow White came running into the kitchen, the spare key clutched in her hand.
As soon as her eyes landed on Regina, Snow gave a sigh of relief before walking over and hugging the older woman. Regina hugged back, she had a feeling Snow would hear about her accident sooner or later. They're relationship had transformed into something beautiful, they had finally managed to move on after so many years of pain, mostly Reginas doing. But they had sat down shortly after her and Emma were confirmed true loves, and they had helped each other heal. Snow had even taken to calling her "mom" on occasion, which was a bit weird at first since Regina was in a relationship with her daughter, but nothing could be weirder then a town full of story book characters.
Snow let out a small relieved sigh, " Oh thank god your okay mom, how could you guys not call me immediately!?", she asked as she pulled back a little to look at Regina.
Regina gave a small laugh as she ran a hand through Snows shoulder length hair, " I obviously couldn't call you for obvious reasons honey, that's something your going to have to take up with your daughter ", she said, she felt a little sorry for throwing Emma under the bus, but her true love should have known how Snow would have reacted.
Regina saw Snows right eye twitch a little, then she glanced back to give her daughter a dirty glare, Emma promptly stuffing her mouth and looking down at her plate like a scolded child.
Then Snow glanced back down at Regina, " Before I go and rip her a new one, tell me. How are you feeling mom?", she asked, she ran one of her hands over the bruise on Reginas face, her frown deepening.
Regina smiled reassuringly, " I'm okay honey, just a small concussion and a sprained ankle. Nothing serious, I promise", she said.
Snow gave another sigh of relief, then she glanced over at Granny. " Oh, hey Granny", she said distractedly. Then as if doing a double take, Snow glanced at Regina and then whipped her head back to look at the old wolf in complete surprise. Regina would have been worried that she broke her neck if she didn't find the look on her face priceless, her stepdaughter was completely taken aback.
" Granny?!, what are you doing here?", she asked surprised.
Before anyone could say anything, one Ruby Lucas came rushing into the room, surprising everybody as she basically materialized out of thin air. She paid nobody any mind as she took a seat next to Emma and started digging into the food as if her life depended on it, Emma looked over at her best friend for a second before shrugging her shoulders and going back to eating. Granny gave an amused chuckle and went back to cooking, Regina gave a wide smile as she was about to get up and give the girl a big hug and scolding too but was stopped by Snow.
" Ruby?!!, you too?! can someone explain to me what in heavens name is going on here!", she demanded, crossing her arms and staring at Regina.
Regina took a deep breath, she knew Snow wouldn't stop until she got her answers. There was only one thing to do, tell her the truth.
" Have a seat Snow, it's a long story", she started.