Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT and never will blah blah blah you know the drill.

A/N: This little fic is set the day after "The Cricket Game". I felt bad for Regina at the end of the episode, so I decided she needed someone on her side, and naturally I picked Ruby.

Enjoy!

"You're up early."

Jumping slightly at the unexpected voice, Regina turned to see Ruby standing several feet behind her.

They stood in the forest, the morning sun barely making it's way through the trees. If she had to hazard a guess, Regina would say it was approximately 6 AM. Not that she cared. She didn't have anywhere to be.

"I could say the same," the former mayor retorted as she eyed the other woman warily. "How did you find me?"

Ruby responded with a smug smirk. "You think I couldn't sniff you out?"

Eyebrows furrowing, Regina noted, "Well it's not as if I left you a trail to follow."

"True," Ruby conceded before admitting, "I was jogging by, and I heard you."

"You heard me," Regina parroted, internally scolding herself for not anticipating that possibility when she'd been absentmindedly pacing around.

The werewolf nodded. "I'm pretty familiar with the sounds of the forest, and you're not one of them."

As Ruby neared her, Regina asked, "You going to try to bring me in?"

"You have magic. I'm not stupid enough to try," Ruby answered with a shrug.

"Smart girl. You going to tell them you found me?"

"I don't think so."

"Even though you saw me saw me arguing with Archie? Saw me 'go into his office'?" Regina said skeptically.

Rather than answer, Ruby asked a question of her own. "Can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

Ignoring the sassy retort, Ruby continued on. "Usually when you come up with a verbal smack down, you stare that person in the eye, relish their reaction... but when you told me to take myself for a walk, you didn't even look at me. You didn't even look at me once throughout that entire conversation. Why?"

"Wasn't much of a conversation," Regina deflected. Despite everything, Ruby tended to be kind to her, and truthfully she'd felt slightly guilty as she'd made that comment, but the younger woman didn't need to know that.

Ruby persisted. "It was enough of one."

The former mayor sighed. "Is there a point to this?"

"I've been thinking back on things," Ruby said pensively.

"Lovely," Regina muttered.

"And I think I may have been mistaken. You know... about you killing Archie."

"You think?"

At that Ruby paused, raised a single eyebrow, and said, "Are you going to let me talk?"

Regina nodded and waved her hand for Ruby to continue.

"When I was in Archie's office, it didn't smell quite right." The werewolf paused to think then added, "Well, it sort of did, and it sort of didn't."

"And that didn't tip you off?"

"I couldn't be sure. A lot of people go into and out of that office. All I know is when we saw Archie in his office... emotions were running high. I was confused, felt betrayed, and didn't know what to believe."

"I didn't kill Archie," Regina insisted, for once allowing her voice to show the vulnerability that she felt.

"I'm starting to believe that," Ruby said, looking into the former queen's sincere eyes.

"Did you tell them?" Though Regina didn't care so much about what David or Mary Margaret believed, she needed Henry to know she was innocent.

"Not yet," the werewolf hedged.

"But you will?"

"Regina," Ruby sighed. "As much as they trust me, I don't have concrete evidence, and I don't have an alternative to give them."

Regina began to pace as she thought aloud, "It had to be someone with magic. And the smell... what exactly about it was different?"

Ruby's eyes followed the former queen back and forth. "At first I thought someone changed their perfume or something, but the more I thought about it, I realized that wasn't it."

As Ruby went into greater detail and described the scent, Regina shuddered. "Sounds like my mother."

"Let's hope not." Ruby looked up at the sky. "I should go before Granny sends out a search party."

"Yeah, you should get back, or they'll think I killed you too," Regina said, feeling disappointed at losing the other woman's company but not wanting to voice it. She'd shown too much of her vulnerability already.

"Do you need anything?" Ruby asked before setting off.

And though Regina knew the werewolf was referring to food and supplies, she said, "Henry, but I hardly think he wants to see me right now."

With a sympathetic look, Ruby laid a hand on the older woman's shoulder. "We'll set it right, Regina. Good always wins in the end, and you're good now."

"Am I?" Regina asked, voice shaky and uncertain. She'd been trying so hard, but somehow it never seemed to be enough.

"You are," Ruby said resolutely with a reassuring smile. "I'll find you later, okay?"

Regina nodded and watched Ruby's figure disappear through the trees.

Maybe, just maybe, she could be saved.

fin

Thanks for reading!