Title: But You Can Save Me From Madness, Epilogue
Pairing: Regina/Ruby
Rating: R
Length: 8, 250
Summary: Ruby needs an escape and Regina's house has been empty for a long time.

It's hard to believe it when there's actually peace. It doesn't hit Ruby until one day when Effy is three, running around on chubby toddler legs and trying to keep up with Adam as Henry and Paige chase them around the large backyard of the Charming residence. Five years ago she never would have been able to imagine witnessing the sight of Mary Margaret and Regina literally breaking bread on the patio, with Kathryn of all people, home for a visit from Boston, helping them set out the plates. Belle disengages from Whale's side for the first time that day to assist Granny with the drinks, leaving the blonde man to pretend to be even partially interested in steaks and burgers as he stands at the grill with David and Jim. Emma and a very much lovesick Jefferson stand with Ruby as they watch the kids race through the yard in the bright July afternoon.

And all Ruby can do is smile.

"Something's happened. Come home when you get this."

Ruby's already tearing through the forest before the voicemail can finish, wide-awake despite only having awoken a minute ago in the dirt. She crashes into a few trees and falls down a hill but she doesn't slow, not even when her feet hit the polished hardwood in her entryway. She's at the threshold of Effy's room before the front door that she's slammed can close downstairs, stomach dropping as she takes in the sight of her daughter wrapped in her old cloak, Regina curled beside her on the bed.

"Take it off her."

"It's already morning," Regina replies quietly as she eases herself off the mattress, her voice thick with sleep and eyes squinting to make out the clock on Effy's bedside table.

"It's three."

"Three-fifteen."

"Regina."

She sighs and reaches down to pull back one end of the cloak, dropping it down on the bedspread. The change is immediate and before Ruby can blink there's a wolf pup in the place where her daughter had been, its jet-black fur darker than the shadows in the room.

"She's only seven," Ruby whispers, falling back against the wall and sinking to the floor as Regina adjusts the red hood again until their daughter appears, her long brown hair shielding her face from Ruby's gaze. Regina steps around the bed and helps her back to her feet, holding her up like a child.

"It'll be fine," she soothes as they make their way through the hall, passing Henry's long-unoccupied room and leading Ruby to their own, pushing her on the bed when they arrive. "She doesn't know. I just went in to check on her."

"Seven, Regina. She just turned seven and she's already changing." Ruby's face remains distraught even as her body pliantly obeys Regina's silent commands as she strips her of her dirt-ridden clothes. "We weren't even supposed to find out until she was a teenager."

"Well, we figured it could be different with the magic," Regina says tiredly though she takes a seat next to Ruby on the bed with a sigh. "I'll speak to Gold about making her something like your cloak. But there's a silver lining. She'll be able to control it with you around to teach her."

Ruby groans and falls back on the bed, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. "I thought I had at least five years to plan an escape."

"Ha ha," Regina slaps her hip and sits up to move to the other side of the mattress, climbing under the comforter and Ruby joins her after a moment, throwing what remains of her clothes into the pile on the floor. Regina speaks again when Ruby's forehead is pressed against her neck. "She's a good looking wolf at least."

"And that makes it better?"

"Doesn't it?"

The days are getting longer, the sun already high and bright by the time Ruby's on her second cup of coffee. Effy's already dressed in her school uniform when she appears, running to hug Ruby when she sees her.

"Were you the wolf last night?" She asks, her warm brown eyes the same captivating color as Regina's.

"I was," Ruby replies as she leans down to lift the young girl for a hug. She was Ruby's mirror image save for her eyes, though Ruby was certainly not her favorite amongst her two parents. "You're getting too big."

"I'm the smallest kid in my class," Effy complains as she wriggles out of Ruby's hold and heads to her seat.

"Well, there are only ten of you."

Regina places a plate in front of the both of them, her own breakfast already done away with. She was overlooking finance sheets but she met Ruby's eyes across the counter before running her hand down Effy's back.

"Honey, do you feel okay?"

"Yeeep."

"What about last night? Did you sleep alright?" She nods with a mouth full of waffles and Regina shrugs when she meets Ruby's gaze again. "Well, I'll see you when I get home from work, okay?"

"Okay, love you, bye."

Regina smiles and kisses Ruby's cheek, only making it a step away before the brunette casually tells her, "I'll run that errand. At the pawn shop." Regina pivots on spot, face twisted in concern but Ruby stops her before she can speak. "It's fine. I have the whole day free."

"If you're sure," Regina says slowly waiting for Ruby's confirmation nod before leaning in to kiss her on the lips and then continuing on to her car.

"Wanna walk to school today?" Ruby asks, smiling and taking another sip of her coffee as her daughter's head bobs up and down.

"You certainly look well-rested."

"Long night."

"I don't need details."

Ruby rolls her eyes as she watches Adam and Effy ascend the staircase and head toward their shared classroom, being two of the small handful of first generation Storybrooke children now in the system. She turns to Mary Margaret, glancing around to ensure no one was within hearing distance of them.

"It's already started. The transformations."

Mary Margaret's eyebrows furrow as she glances at the young girl's retreating form. "But Granny said–"

"I know," Ruby sighs.

"If you're still trying to scare me into not pushing my son to marry your daughter this isn't a very good tactic. We'll still take her."

"Thank god, we were running out of things to add to her dowry. This is serious, you know. She could wolf out the next time soccer practice goes past sunset."

"You used to get mad at us when we called it that." Mary Margaret smiles that reassuring smile that always has Ruby taking a breath and relaxing. "Take her out tonight. Or Friday if you want to wait until the weekend. She's not going to be a lone wolf like you were, Ruby. She'll have her mother with her."

The warning bell rings and Mary Margaret stands from the bench, collecting her things before she squeezes Ruby's forearm.

"Just keep an eye on her today."

"I will."

"And get a haircut, you look like Snow White."

"Well you're a picnic basket away from a fairytale stereotype yourself, so I wouldn't be talking."

Ruby stalls for the rest of the morning, stopping by the diner to lament to Granny, who tells her the exact thing Mary Margaret had said before shooing her away so she could deal with the customers. So she continues her walk through the town, desperately trying to come up with detours on her way to the pawn shop, going out of her way to Whale's practice just before it closes for lunch.

She smiles greets Ashley at the front desk, leaning across the counter to rub her third-time protruding belly as they make idle small until the phone rings, leaving Ruby to duck into the hallway towards the examination rooms. She passes each one until she finds Whale's office in the back, the brushed steel fixtures and furniture blinding in the bright sun the large windows let in. She briefly wonders how he can stand such a display with his particular level of functioning-alcoholism, but she supposes that's why Belle had fought so hard for the open feel. She was very clever when she needed to be.

Try as she might, Ruby can't help but take a particular interest in the conversation the good doctor was having with his current patient. She attempts to hide the smile from her face when he enters but Ruby can tell that he's on to her as soon as he spots her sitting in his large leather chair.

"Not a word."

"Of course not."

"Ruby."

"I swear," she laughs as he sighs and tosses his jacket on the back of one of the chairs set up in front of his desk. Normally he looks very sharp in the particular shade of red he's wearing but today it washes him out. "You look rather exhausted, Dr. Whale."

"Twin gene. When you start living with someone, the fact that your mother was a twin should be the first thing you mention." Whale pours them each a drink (only two fingers like the good kept boy he now was) before collapsing back on the cushioned visitors seat, raising his feet to prop them up on the glass countertop of the desk and taking a sip of his drink. "The absolute second Tweedledum falls asleep, Dee is up. You'd think her sister crying would bother her in some way, but nope. She's patient. She waits her turn."

"Well, at least there's that." Ruby leans forward to grasp the framed photo of the family. "You don't mind them though."

"For the most part."

"Maybe God's punishing you for having children out of wedlock."

"You're one to talk. And, just so you know, that's on your pal, Rubes. Apparently having a name that means "beautiful whale" is not appealing to all young ladies." She laughs loudly and it earns her a smile. "She doesn't care, I don't care, there's babies that can cement the cracks of our undoubtedly shaky relationship – who needs anymore validation than that?"

"You love her," Ruby accuses and Whale makes a noise of agreement into his glass. Rather than savor, like Whale most definitely is, Ruby drowns her drink in one fell swoop, shaking her head a little at the bite. The blonde man across from her raises an eyebrow and for the third time that day she's telling the story of her daughter's predicament.

"Sounds like fun," he comments eventually and she rolls her eyes. "Mother-daughter wolf bonding time, it'll be a more enjoyable than reading Pride and Prejudice and eating chocolate all day, or whatever the hell pre-baby Belle would do all day when we weren't discussing Mozart or going at it."

"How did she resist you for so long is the real question." They share a smile that only two friends who have had sex and lived through it can before Ruby mirrors his position, resting her feet on the desk and leaning back in her chair. "Still want me to come with you tomorrow?"

"I do need a woman's eye."

"I still can't believe you're going through with this."

"I think it's romantic."

"Well, let's hope Belle feels the same way." She swivels the plush chair slightly back and forth. "Emma though."

Whale laughs a little and nods. "Should have seen her face."

The bell chimes above her head, the smell of wood, dust, and magic greeting her before the owner makes his way to the front room, stopping when he spots her in his shop. Gold takes a few more steps as the initial shock wears off, walking out from behind register to meet her.

"Miss Lucas. You haven't stepped foot in my shop in eight years."

"I don't recall visiting your shop all too often before that."

He smiles that fake smile and looks down, speaking half of his sentence to the floor before meeting her gaze again. "No, I suppose that's true. How may I be of service to you?"

"No demands this time?" Another fake smile that fails to put Ruby at ease is given as a memory hits her like a truck, the putrid smell of the– "I need something," she manages as quickly as she can, shaking her head to rid herself of thoughts about black poisons that she has long since blocked out, "I need something for my daughter. To stop her from transforming."

"Regina's magic genes have kick started your wolf ones then?" When she nods he turns his back on her, clearly needing to lean on his cane more as he walks these days than he used to. "A cloak seems a rather impractical thing this day and age. Not quite the fashion statement here as they were in our land."

"But you can make something?"

"I may not need to," he replies as he pulls out three jewelry boxes and sets them on the counter. He opens the lids, revealing a myriad of different gems and jewels that shine even in the dank, curtained shop. Ruby steps towards the counter and eyes him cautiously as she watches him sort through the boxes. Eventually he tugs on a long silver chain until the pendent breaks free from the bracelet that it was caught on. It's a thin flat pearl that's morphed almost perfectly, as if by magic, into the shape of a crescent moon, the iridescent coating glowing purple when it catches the light. "I came across a few of these baubles – jewelry and other such items that one could wear when I stumbled across a great den of werewolves deep in the Enchanted Forest."

The brunette eyes him for a moment reaching out to touch the necklace before realizing her mistake, the silver chain burning the tips of her fingers. She reels her hand back immediately and in an instant he's undoing the clasp and sliding the pendant off. "I'm sorry, I nearly forgot."

"What do you want?" His brown eyes remain down as he searches for a replacement, swapping out the silver for white gold instead. "Gold. What is this going to cost me?"

"I feel as if I am the one who is indebted to you." The older man meets her gaze when he finishes, holding the piece out to her with a sincere look. "You could have made me an even bigger pariah in this town than I am. You probably could have killed me and it would have been well-deserved."

"It would have been," she agrees, squeezing the pearl in her hand and relaxing as she feels the familiar tingle that meant safety so long as you held on. "It's Regina you should thank, really. She's the one who agreed to keep quiet about it; I only did it for Belle's sake."

"Well, you have my gratitude nonetheless. As does your–"

"Regina. Just Regina." She furrows her eyebrows as the tense atmosphere leaves her for a moment. "It's almost been a decade, why are people still not clear on that?"

"Well, it's pretty."

"Does that make it better?"

"Doesn't it?"

Ruby laughs and sets the necklace down on Regina's desk, crossing one leg over the other as she watches Regina move back and forth between file cabinets until she returns to her throne, eyes scanning the pages she brought with her. Ruby nudges her hip with the tip of her boot, repeating the movement until Regina relents and looks at her.

"Do you want a treat for doing your trick?"

"If you're going to pull a Milk-Bone out again, you can save it." The corner of Regina's lip curls up into a maddeningly smug smirk, so much so that Ruby plants her feet on either side of Regina's thighs, pulling the rolling chair over until Regina is seated between her legs, leaning back in her chair though with her hands wrapped around Ruby's calves. "It's pretty easy to change your tune, you know."

"I'm humoring you in hopes that I can offer you a rain check in," she checks her watch, "maybe four hours."

"Hm, doesn't work for me. I have a meeting." She adjusts her position carefully until she's straddling Regina's lap in the chair, an awkward arrangement with the uneasy balance of the swiveling seat. Still, Ruby makes the best of it, barely grazing Regina's upper lip with her lower, laughing quietly as Regina reaches for kisses she's unwilling to give. "I smell like… pawn shop."

"Can't say I noticed," Regina murmurs as Ruby's mouth moves slowly across her jaw, leaving a trail of warm kisses in her wake. Nails are dragging slowly across Ruby's lower back sending shivers up her spine and she's about to return the favor when footsteps echoing in the hall have her lips faltering. "Who is it?"

"Sherriff Swan." As if on cue there's a knocking on the door. A wide grin breaks out on Ruby's face and before Regina can so much as laugh the brunette silences her with the long awaited kiss.

"I can see you, Ruby. I can see your whole upper body. This glass is barely tempered."

"Maybe if we stay quiet–"

"Ruby."

Regina pats her hip and Ruby slides off her lap, stopping briefly to give her another kiss and snatch the necklace before she speeds across the room, the door wide open before Emma can say anything else. She smiles at the sheriff.

"Mrs. Hatter."

The blonde smiles sardonically. "Well, I'd say that makes you Mrs. Queen-Hood, but you are living in sin, so I guess you're still just Miss Hood."

"Oooh, you're lucky I'm a nice person." She taps her index finger against Emma's abdomen discreetly, her back to Regina. The moment passes, but not before a pink flush can spread across the shorter woman's cheeks, prompting Ruby to kiss one and wink at Regina as she left, laughing to herself at the glare she receives in return. It's been seven years of teasing and it has yet to get old.

Her list of friends, sadly, is already starting to dwindle, so she calls Henry as she wanders towards Belle and Whale's condo, stalling on a park bench outside the building until the sounds of crying a baby died down a little.

"Is mom worried?"

"Please. She's her weird calm self. You and your mothers are all the same." She bites her cheek to keep from spilling Emma's news, though the temptation is nearly irresistible. "Have you seen Ava lately?"

"Just in class. I think we're gonna come down this weekend. I wanna see the pup."

"Please don't refer to your sister like that." Ruby's head drops back and she stares up at the large expanse of never-ending blue. "Do you think it's weird that your mom and I never got married? I mean Emma and Jefferson tied the knot a year after they started dating."

"Nothing about you and my mom has ever been normal, and that's not even a jab at the lesbian thing."

"Ass." Henry laughs on the other end and she briefly hears the sounds of a group of students passing him. "Thought about what you're going to do this summer?"

"I'm really thinking about that internship in Baltimore, especially if Ava already has a job and a room rented."

"Rooms."

"Right, rooms. Plural."

"You are a terrible liar, you know. Your mother is going to eat you alive one day if you don't watch out." She can hear that Charlotte is already asleep – another black-haired beauty from the Charming household – but one of the twins refuses to go down while the other is being fed.

"Do you want to get married?"

"Good diversionary tactic."

"You brought it up for a reason."

"I don't know. I think about your grandparents and Emma and Ashley, but then there's Belle and Kathryn… they don't care about rings."

"I've never really seen the importance. We don't really come from traditional backgrounds though. Not that anyone there did…"

"Make it down here this weekend. Effy misses Ava and that boy she's dating."

"Goodbye, Ruby."

"Goodbye, Henry."

Anne (or Emily (really, Belle seems to be the only one who can really tell the difference)) is tiny and perfect, already boasting Belle's arched eyebrows and full lips. If she had to spot Whale in the girls, it would be the ears as well as the possibility of the strawberry hair on their heads turning flaxen. Belle is a natural with children, especially her own, so much so that Charlotte and Alexandra often spend the day with her.

"I swear they're giants compared to when they were born," Ruby notes as Emily (or Anne) presses her face into her shirt.

"Well, I'll spare you the jokes about how they've developed their father's fondness for the bottle." Belle adjusts Anne (or Emily) in her bassinette before she collapses back into the rocker, her eyes closed. "I think he already wants to have more. I never thought that would be an issue, especially when we found out about the girls."

"Men and their constant search for a male heir."

"See, that's normally where I'd go, but I don't think that's it. He's just secretly a great dad." She sighs but smiles as Charlotte stands in one of the cribs set up in the twins' room, hands outstretched. "Her highness is awake."

"I'll get her," Ruby says as she stands and places the now sleeping Emily (or Anne) in the matching bassinet next to her sister's before she walks into the bright yellow room, lifting the two year-old into her arms and smiling. "Charlie Charming."

"Ruby," she states, tangling her hands in Ruby's hair and pressing her face into her neck. The child loves hair and has thankfully grown out of the phase of loving it and trying to claim it as her own. Ruby is pretty sure the reason why Mary Margaret grew her own hair back out is because she was starting to get jealous of Charlotte's growing fondness of Emma and Ruby's locks.

"I can't believe you're still watching her with the twins. You know they'd never be mad at you if you said you couldn't handle it."

"She's the only one I actually like spending time with at the moment, to be honest."

"Well, this one was an absolute monster the first year, if you recall." The girl in question is practically Mary Margaret's miniature doppelganger, though she has a temperament and personality all of her own. "Hungry, princess?"

Charlotte shakes her head, her attention turning from Ruby to the myriad of toys strewn across the floor, attempting to dive out of Ruby's arms to get what she wants. Sometimes she was exactly like Mary Margaret.

"You never wanted kids."

"I don't remember you going on about them either."

"No," Belle smiles, "but I always assumed I would have a few. Not with Dr. Frankenstein, mind you, but some little ladies and lords nonetheless."

Ruby falls back on the couch after setting Charlotte down in front of a tub of building blocks, watching the toddler as she sorts through the different colors and shapes. "I never thought about it back home, I guess it was just expected there. Nothing about my current family is what is to be expected though. We can't all have little Stepford lives like yours."

"Had I this family back home, we would probably be shunned for our out-of-wedlock children and our fondness for reason and science." Ruby laughs and stretches out, eyes drooping as she reaches out her hand to brush back Charlotte's hair. "You look exhausted."

"That trip to the pawn shop just kind of…"

"Brought back old memories?"

"I couldn't shake the smell of that poison."

"Ruby, that was almost eight years ago. You didn't take it; you don't have to feel guilty about anything." Belle's beautiful blue eyes are somewhat transfixing when they narrow in like they are now. "I can't believe you accepted help from Gold, I don't think you've even said his name in the last two years."

"Well, he was the only one who could help. And out of consideration to you, I didn't murder him after I dropped the baby weight way back when. And you know I'd never hold it against you, but I've never been happier to be the cause a rift in the relationship of a dear friend." Charlotte looks behind her shoulder and places a yellow rectangle in Ruby's outturned hand before she continues on ignoring the women in the room. "I just can't imagine not having Effy now."

"I can't imagine you without her. Or Regina for that matter. I didn't get to see her with Henry when he was young, she's like another person… and then exactly like the same Regina I've always known at the same time."

"How often do you talk to Gold?"

"I see him around town sometimes. Victor's never had a problem with it." Belle looks down at her hands. "If you did, I would understand–"

"I have a child with the woman who devoted her life to trying to kill my best friend, I'm not sure I'm in any position to be throwing stones."

Belle sighs and leans back. "Seems a little different when those attempted murders happened in this land."

"You tried to see the best in him, and it was probably there… I don't know. Having that kind of power and then losing it might just be too much for some people." Belle nods noncommittally, but Ruby knows it's as useless as when Snow would try to comfort her about Peter. "Well, you can wallow in the past about how you used to date The Dark One, or you can live in the present where you have two beautiful girls with a handsome doctor who owns his own practice."

"If it didn't mean that he would get more regular hours then I never would have let him buy that land for a practice. Homeowner seems far more attractive when you have two small children." The blue-eyed girl closes her eyes and smiles. "One day."

"One day," Ruby agrees with her own knowing grin.

"How was work?" Ruby asks from the counter as Regina enters the kitchen, draping her blazer over the back of one of the stools before sliding onto it to sit next to Effy who reaches over for a hug.

"Exhausting," she replies over their daughter's head after she kisses the mass of thick, dark hair. She pulls back to look over the miniature version of Ruby's self, smiling a little as her thumb runs over the pendant hanging from the white gold chain. "Well, doesn't this look pretty on you?"

"Mama gave it to me," she states. "I have to wear it every day or she'll stop loving me."

"That's not funny," Regina says drolly in Ruby's direction, though the brunette remains smiling with her back to the other woman.

"It's okay, Henry says she has to." Ruby turns to watch them again, smile growing as she watches Regina's unmasked face as she stares at her daughter with a look of immense fondness – looking exactly the same as she did thirteen years ago with Henry on their many trips to the diner. "When's it going to snow again?"

"Probably not for quite a few months."

"But I miss it."

Regina squints and leans back in her chair, inspecting Effy for a moment before she raises her empty palm and blows, a flurry of soft snowflakes billowing around the child in an instant and earning Regina a laugh. She slides from her stool and kisses the crown of her daughter's head again before patting her shoulders. "Go wash up for dinner."

She does, promptly because she never makes Regina repeat herself (while Ruby can go ignored for hours), leaving the two alone. The mayor walks up to the counter to stand with her, grabbing the head of romaine and twisting it apart to throw it into a bowl while Ruby continues to do the dishes she's dirtied for their meal.

"How was your day?"

"Made it through in one piece."

"Well, that's always a bonus." It frightens Ruby when she really looks at Regina and sees how little she's changed in all the years she's known the woman. She can remember brief glimpses of her twenty-eight years in Storybrooke, and in all of them Regina looks just as she does now. "What do we owe him?"

"He seemed to think he owed us."

"Well, considering he's not ripped into pieces and six feet under at the moment, I'd say that's a pretty fair statement. You're lucky I'd warmed to your friend or I'm not sure that would have been the case." Lettuce torn, she reaches for the cutting board and the other vegetables laid out for the salad. "Miserable little imp."

Ruby tosses the dishcloth she's holding down and steps over to stand behind Regina, wrapping her arms around her slim waist and watching her carefully dice a tomato. "Not everyone gets to go home with Little Red Riding Hood. Can't blame the rest of the world when they don't have the amazing advantages you do."

"If they did they'd see what an ego she has on her."

Effy's warm brown eyes can barely stay open by the time Ruby has carried her up the stairs, arms loosely wrapped around her mother's neck. She awkwardly pulls back the blankets with the girl in her arms before she sets her down on the mattress and resituates them, running her hands through Effy's hair.

"How would you like to come out with me this weekend and hang out with the wolves in the forest?" Ruby asks as her daughter's eyes close.

"Mom too?"

"Your mother does not much care for sitting around in the dirt and cooking things over a fire. Queens can be picky like that."

"If mommy's a queen then what am I?"

"A princess."

"Well, what are you?"

"The royal lapdog." Ruby leans down to kiss Effy's forehead and adjust the thin chain on her neck. "Goodnight, Elizabeth."

"Goodnight, mama."

The bathroom is hazy with steam – the warm weather does nothing for Regina's appetite for scalding her skin – so Ruby takes the initiative and rids herself of her clothes before she walks over to the large porcelain tub and lowers herself in, leaning back against Regina's chest.

"So rude."

"I believe I'm legally entitled to half of everything in this house, that includes the bathtub." Regina's arms lower from the lip of the tub to wrap around her. "Besides, I've had a long day, I think I'm more in need of a–"

They've been together for almost a decade – a decade of fights and magic and love and sex, and yet Regina finds ways to keep Ruby on her toes, like with unsolicited advancements in the bathtub. Ruby flails a little when two of Regina's fingers all but drive into her, her other hand occupied with forcefully grabbing Ruby's chin to hold her head still, perfectly rounded nails digging into her skin just enough.

"Regina," she gasps as a small wave of the already dangerously high water spills over the edge and onto the floor.

Her voice is low and cool in Ruby's ear despite the rough and speedy movements of her hand. "I can't remember just how many times I've told you that I don't think your flirting with Emma Swan is funny."

"Got a thing for Henry's moms, I guess." She's never been more proud of herself for speaking a legible sentence than she is now, with her hands clench the lip and her feet slide against the porcelain underneath her. Ruby doesn't particularly like using this adjective when she's describing the woman she's chosen to spend her life with, but Regina is ruthless to the core when she wants to be.

"It was different today, wasn't it?" Regina asks against the lobe of her ear before her mouth moves down to leave a bruising mark on her neck.

"No."

"Liar," the accusation is practically a hiss in her ear, almost unheard over the sound of the ever-moving water. Ruby's careful of her voice, of the echoing sounds, but Regina doesn't seem to care. She cranes Ruby's chin back forcefully against her shoulder, earning her a keening whimper. "I don't like being kept in the dark, Ruby."

"She's pregnant." Say what you want about Regina Mills, but as ruthless as she could be, she never left Ruby hanging. At least, not after she got what she wanted.

It's hours later (or maybe only one, Ruby isn't good at keeping track of time when Regina's naked) when she finally speaks again, fingers dancing along the raven-haired woman's bare back.

"Do you want another baby?" Regina is quiet and facing away form her, but her breathing gives her away. "I know you're awake."

Taking a breath she turns to squint at Ruby with tired eyes, a small smile on her face. "Every year."

"What?"

"Every year within a month of Effy's birthday you ask if I want more kids."

"I do not."

"Yes, you most certainly do."

Ruby's eyebrows furrow as she tries to think back on previous years. "Well… what do you always say?"

Regina's smile grows as her eyes close once more. "You generally forget about it by the next day, so usually I just kiss you or fuck you and wait to see if you remember. You never have, apparently."

"You're the worst." Regina laughs quietly in response, face serene in the pale light from the large, full moon. "Answer me, mother of my child."

"Do you want more children, Ruby?"

"Sometimes."

Once again Regina's eyes open and her smile grows. "Oh?"

Ruby shifts closer to the middle of the bed, pressing herself against Regina's side. "I always felt bad that you weren't the one who–"

"Got knocked up?"

"Was privileged enough to carry our daughter," she throws back as she pinches Regina's hip. "You actually wanted kids. It didn't seem fair that you didn't get to actually have one."

"I have two children whom I love more than anything, Ruby. I can't imagine getting any luckier than I am now." She leans forward and gives Ruby a leading kiss that has the brunette following her as she tries to pull away, pushing Regina on her back and climbing over. "You and babies…"

"Some things just don't change."

The house is large but the design makes it seem cozier than she could have imagined, the rustic look giving the home the feel of a European cabin more than a mid-century American house like most in Storybrooke. Large exposed beams cut across the ceiling, the warm tone of the wood a stark contrast against the white walls, reflected by the matching hardwood floors.

"A little more her style than yours."

Whale nods and continues on into the dining room that steps down into the lowered living room. Large windows meet at the corner and extend up to the vaulted ceilings, flooding the space with light and giving her a view of the expansive backyard.

"I was thinking about installing floor to ceiling bookcases on the back wall after we sign the papers." He shoves his hands into his pockets and looks around the room. "Think she'll like it?"

"I can't imagine her not being in love with every square inch." Ruby stands next to him and slips her arm around his as they look out one of the generous windows. "You definitely are waiting for her before you buy it though, right?"

"I'm going to bring her around when I get off work and the broker is going to meet up with us soon after." Ruby drops her head to his shoulder, laughing a little when he leans his own on top of hers. "If I don't get laid for the first time in almost a year, I will give up on sex completely."

"Really?"

"No, I'll just start drinking more and hope for the best."

"Is that a hickey? God, how old are you?"

"I'm trying to work, Mary Margaret."

"Yes, you're so busy rolling cutlery."

Ruby gives her a look that her best friend promptly returns, making her laugh despite herself. She shoves half her workload over and the other woman begins helping her with her task.

"It's fine to want my fantastic sex life," Mary Margaret scoffs at the remark, "but green doesn't suit you, your highness. How's Emma?"

"She has been pretty absent these last few days, so your guess is as good as mine. I don't think she's been feeling well lately."

"Well," Ruby begins as she tries to keep her smile under control, "hopefully she feels better soon."

Granny walks back into the front of the diner, both Effy and Adam hot on her tail until they spot their mothers again. Ruby lifts her daughter up onto the counter as Adam climbs onto the seat next to Mary Margaret.

"Adam says we have to get married."

"No, my mom says that, I just told you," the black-haired boy responds as he takes a sip of his now lukewarm iced tea.

Ruby presses a kiss to Effy's forehead and pats her kicking legs. "You don't have to marry anyone if you don't want to."

"Except Adam."

"Don't mind her."

"Listen to your aunt, Effy."

"Mary Margaret."

"Look, Ruby, you can fight this all you want, but this is happening. Charlotte or Adam is marrying into the Mills family, and you're gonna have to live with it." Mary Margaret smiles brightly as she finishes her allotment of silverware and slides the pile back across the counter. "Isn't it so nice to have helpful in-laws, Ruby?"

"Ha ha, Mary Margaret."

"Ha ha, Ruby."

"Mommy!" Charlotte exclaims as Belle pushes through the front door of the diner, setting the small girl down as she holds it open for Whale and the stroller following closely behind.

"There she is," Mary Margaret greets warmly as she hoists her daughter into her lap. "And the new homeowners."

"And here she was so excited to tell all her friends the news and Ruby has to go an ruin it," Whale comments as they settle into the seat in the corner, the twins sleeping contently in their carrier.

"I didn't ruin it, I only told loudmouth."

"Well, as fun as being abused all day by a snappy waitress sounds, I'm taking my children and my future daughter-in-law to the stables to visit my loving husband instead." She steps off her stool with Charlotte and hugs Belle quickly. "Congratulations, both of you."

Ruby kisses her daughter one last time, takes Belle and Whale's orders, and then switches out with Granny when the buzzer for the dryer signals its finish. She spends the rest of the evening sorting clothes, changing sheets, and serving meals until Granny finally tells her she's free to go.

When she arrives home Regina is up and waiting for her, an open bottle of wine and an empty glass set out for Ruby before she enters the living room. She takes a seat next to Regina after she pours herself a drink, waiting until she's halfway through it before she speaks.

"I take it horseback riding wore her out."

"Barely kept her eyes open when Mary Margaret dropped her off." Her own glass is low and she finishes off. "She says you're stepping on her wedding plans."

Ruby licks her lips at the dry flavor of the wine, her foot bouncing on spot. "I don't want my seven year-old daughter to get a complex about marriage because a family friend already wants grandchildren. Hopefully that blows over in a few months."

"You know it won't." Regina smiles as the brunette sighs into her wine glass. "If you feel like you're going to climb up the walls, please don't let my keep you from going on a run."

"I will when you turn in."

"Don't bother waiting up, I was going to go downstairs to make a few things." Ruby shifts so her knees are tucked under her, facing Regina with her arm stretched over the back of the couch, fingers brushing over the ends of her dark hair.

"So, you don't want another baby but–"

Regina cuts her off as she reaches over to set her empty wine glass down. "I didn't say that."

"So you do want more kids?"

"I didn't say that," she parrots, a faint hint of a grin on her lips. "I didn't say anything either way, if you recall. And I don't like being misquoted."

"You're possibly one of the most frustrating people on the planet. I'm trying to ask you if you ever wanted to get married."

"No."

Ruby blinks and nods. "Well, there's that then."

"Unless you want to. Not everything has to be on my terms, Ruby. That's not how relationships work. You didn't want kids, you knew I did, we had Effy. Just because I'm adverse to getting married again doesn't mean it's off the table."

Regina doesn't like to talk about her marriage; mass murders and recounts of loves and family who were no longer with her were up for grabs – even the death of her husband could be discussed without much prodding, but the years of being his wife had left her with a chapter she didn't care to re-read, let alone out loud.

"Sometimes I just feel like we should do something to… I don't know."

"Validate our relationship? Beyond that of breaking the rules of nature to make a magic wolf baby?" Ruby laughs and steals a kiss from her, feeling the weight of the conversation dissipate. "Are you worried about this weekend?"

"No. Yes. I don't know. Aren't you worried about this at all?"

"I have more than enough confidence in your pup-rearing abilities, Ruby. I can't imagine she won't be able to control it within the evening – if anything, I think you two will have fun." Regina leans back over on the couch, hovering close to Ruby's face before she pulls back unexpectedly, plucking a stray hair from her shirt. "You're shedding."

"And you think my jokes are getting old?"

They have dinner at their house when Henry arrives home, the large extended group of friends and family filling the manor as if it were a one-bedroom apartment. Ruby never tires of these get-togethers, the sounds of voices filling her home and the various smells of her loved ones that will stay in the air for days.

Effy clings to Henry like she'll never see him again and Adam does much of the same, save for the actual physical act, while he follows the older boy around the house. He's always the center of attraction, whether amongst the kids or the adults, though some of his thunder has been stolen by Emma's news.

"Do you think she's getting tired of them asking about it yet?" Jefferson asks from his spot next to her against the wall of the living room as they watch the scene around them. She has felt a small affinity to the man since Emma first brought him around, his quiet demeanor turning out to be a nice break from the loud personalities she has known for two lifetimes.

"It's her own fault for getting knocked up." Jefferson laughs and reaches up to tug on the paisley print scarf he has wrapped around his neck. "How's Paige doing?"

"She loves the West Coast. We told her the news last night so she wouldn't feel left out."

Ruby smiles as she watches Mary Margaret dote on Emma, constantly reaching out to press a hand against her still very-flat stomach, despite both Charming and Granny's insistence that she's definitely not going to be feeling anything. The blonde manages to make a break from it, weaving through the other people until she's standing at her husband's side.

"I think I've broken Mary Margaret."

Ruby laughs and looks at her best friend once again; the barely restrained tears, the babbling, and the constant smile – Emma wasn't far off. "Caused a short-circuit at the very least."

Regina slips back into the room, one of the two in the room without a glass of something in their hand along with Belle, and meets up with the trio against the wall.

"Any more children in here and I think we can file as a daycare center on our taxes."

"Not too long now," Ruby reminds as her free hand slides up to rest between her shoulder blades. "You left your phone in here, Kathryn called. She says if we don't go somewhere with a beach with them this time, they're planning their own getaway."

Ruby's favorite addition to the house in recent years, one that was her own, was the myriad of pictures now placed around the home, not just of their kids and their growing extended family, but of their time away with their friends. Every few years they went on trips ranging from New York to Paris with different assortments of the people in this room. Their last had been to Santa Barbara with the Charming brood when Paige had moved into her dorm, the only trip Kathryn has missed – the result of a large case at her firm.

"Jamaica," Jefferson suggests.

Regina shakes her head. "Monaco."

"I don't like beaches," Emma adds.

"Nepal."

"Does Nepal have beaches?" Jefferson asks.

Ruby shrugs and finishes off her brandy. "It must have at least one."

The night eventually ends, leaving the actual residences of the home in peace. Ruby helps Regina clean up the house, leaving her to the dishes to check on Henry and Effy. When she arrives at the door he's untangling himself from his sleeping sister, glancing over at Ruby when she arrives and setting down the book he had been reading out loud to Effy.

"I'm not leaving this room until I see."

"It's the necklace."

"I figured." He leans over the best and undoes the clasp, causing Effy to change the moment the pearl leaves her skin. He lets out a low whistle as a small black pup appears. "Well, she's pretty."

"Why do you and your mother say that like it makes your sister turning into a canine any better?"

Henry shrugs and returns the necklace to Effy's neck, adjusting the blankets around her when she changes back. "It doesn't make it worse at any rate. You still haven't told her?"

"There was too much going on today. She already knows it could happen, so hopefully it doesn't traumatize her."

"It won't," he replies as they step out into the hall, closing the door behind him. "The full moon must almost be over though."

"Tomorrow's the last night. I figure she'll pass out for a bit after her soccer game and we can go out." She leans against his doorjamb as he enters his old room, collapsing on the bed. "Homework?"

"What are you? My mom?"

"Shut up."

Henry laughs and picks up a heavy Physics textbook from the pile he brought with him and she leaves him to study, heading back down the stairs to help Regina finish cleaning up.

"Are you excited?" Ruby asks as they head deeper into the forest, Effy's arms wrapped tightly around her neck as she stares out in mistrust at the darkness surrounding them.

"I don't know."

"Are you scared?"

"I don't know."

Ruby laughs and presses a kiss to her forehead, stopping in a clearing when she hears the not-so-distant sounds of wolves howling. She sets Effy down on the ground and kneels down in front of her, brushing her hair back from her shoulders.

"Children of the moon. That's what my mom called us."

"I didn't know you had a mom."

Ruby laughs and takes hold of her hands, running her thumbs over Effy's knuckles. "Are you ready?" Effy nods. "And you remember everything I told you about turning into the wolf?"

With another nod Ruby reaches up to unclasp the necklace, slipping it into her pocket as the black pup appears before her. Effy stares back at her with golden eyes, whimpering at the sounds of the enclosing pack that was coming to greet them until Ruby appears before her in the same form.

By the time dawn breaks Ruby is carrying her home through the morning fog, greeted at home by Henry and Regina who demand a full report.

During the next full moon she takes Effy out every night and by the end of the week she's confident that her daughter no longer needs the charm around her neck, though it remains there just in case. She wakes up in the forest curled around Effy, feeling happier than she ever could have imagined. By the time she returns home with a sleeping werewolf in her arms, the day has already begun and Regina has already left for work.

She almost misses it when she enters the house but her mind seems to catch up with her before she ascends the staircase, causing her to backtrack into the kitchen. Ruby hugs Effy a little tighter and has to keep herself from either screaming in joy or waking her daughter up to share the news when she sees the empty box that had contained a pregnancy test Regina has left on the counter.