Major Ursa

Once Upon a Time...

(Collaboration Post Featuring YoshiSkittlez's Ruby, and Major Ursa's Knox Kowalski)

Ruby paused on the porch connected to the front door of Knox's place. She couldn't help but to shift her weight awkwardly as she stared down the doorknob, debating whether or not she should actually be there. On one hand, Ruby hadn't ever really been invited over since he had offered her a place to stay during her fight with Granny, on the other hand, he had never asked for his key back. He could also be sleeping, and then what would she do?

Stop thinking and just go! She tried telling herself and slipped the key into the hole, turning it and then allowing herself in.

"Knox?" She called, not sure if she would prefer if he answered or not.

Knox almost didn’t catch Ruby calling out to him, as he stood in the steaming hot shower with his head down, letting (hoping) the water drown out the migraine raging though his head…as well as rinsing out the soap. Raising his head slowly, and blinking a little bit in exhaustion, he shut off the water and stepped to the steamy air.

Grabbing a white fluffy towel and drying himself off, Knox got his black boxer briefs and uniform pants (loosely) on. As he dried his hair, he stepped out into the hall to finally return the waitress’s call, “Ruby, are you still there?”

Ruby poked her head from around the wall that lead into the kitchen, nibbling on a vanilla wafer. She had heard the shower running during her search for Knox, and figured she'd raid his kitchen a little bit while she waited. What she didn't count on, however, was a shirtless Knox looking for her.

"Hey..." She said with a slight blush hinting at her cheeks, unable to take her eyes off of his exposed body for a few moments. "We found her, Jane Doe. She's going to be fine though she's suffering a pretty severe case of amnesia."

Nodding at the mention of Jane Doe, there was a tiny voice in the back of his head nagging something about the woman, but he largely ignored it. And then there was this migraine. Peering over at Ruby, who was returning with an interesting look to hi--"Hey, are those my vanilla wafers?"

"Relax; I'll replace the box later today. I haven't eaten since..." Ruby's mind wandered back to the security room where she was practically force-fed a cookie, the blush on her cheeks only getting darker. Did that count as eating?

Trying to recall the last time Knox personally saw the waitress eat something, he remembered the cookie from last night a well, and let out a few chuckles, "Replace them, and maybe we could eat an actual meal together." That last part came out off-handily, and the memory of steaks going cold came to mind.

"More importantly, neither of us have proper sleep...I'm sorry to have gotten you caught up in patrolling the hospital, since the blackout." Pausing for a moment to think, "You did well, and then you went above and beyond with finding that missing Jane Doe."

Ruby shook her head, popping what was left of the vanilla wafer into her mouth before closing the awkward distance between the two of them, letting her arms wrap around his waist loosely and put her forehead onto his chest tiredly. She got a good whiff of his soap and shampoo before she answered; making her voice even sound like it was smiling.

"You didn't force me to stay, I wanted to." She responded, deciding to hold back the facts about her finding Jane Doe at the Toll Bridge by hearing things no one else could hear...again.

Blinking when Ruby rested her head on his chest, Knox smiled tiredly, and patted her on the back, “Don’t stand too close, or I’m going to get you wet.” Realising that the statement sounded funny, he quickly added, “I still have some towel drying to do.” Still, he let the towel hang loosely around his shoulders.

Ruby made a point of nuzzling her head into his still damp chest, wordlessly telling him that she didn't care.

“It’s quite evident you’ve been working harder, longer, and to better effect than I have, recently. You really should catch some much deserved sleep.” Doing his best to convince the waitress to get some rest, he thought for a long moment, before gesturing to the living room, “I would suggest the bedroom, but I’m afraid if we both go, neither of us would be getting the rest we need.”

It was then that Ruby pulled back just enough to tilt her chin up and look at his face, a playful smirk on her lips.

"You're over-confident. What makes you think I'd be interested?" She inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Shaking his head, Knox leaned his face close into Ruby’s, so close that his wet hair was grazing the side of her cheeks. A faint smile played on his lips, but from this close, his exhaustion was that much more evident…as was the waitress’s, “That train of thought is rather unimportant, at the moment…I fully intend for you to get some sleep.”

"You're no fun." Ruby frowned, but didn't seem too bothered by it evident by the playful shove she gave him on his chest.

Raising his face, Knox kissed into the girl’s hair, before fully drawing away…he let out that tired sigh, running a hand through his hair and quirking an eyebrow at Ruby, “Am I the only one getting a headache from lack of sleep?”

Ruby put her hand to his head, running her fingers through his hair delicately as if that would ease the pain he was experiencing. She couldn't say that she had a headache exactly. She was tired and her eyes hurt a bit, but that was as far as it went.

"Go get some sleep you big meanie. I'll talk to Granny about making up another pie for later."

Giving Ruby a glare, Knox towel dried his hair for a moment…then tossed the fluffy towel aside, going over to pull her to him, holding her face to his chest, “Come on, time to sleep.” Sighing through his nose, he pulled the waitress along to the couch with him.

Soon he was laid out on the couch on his back, with Ruby pulled on top of him, her head still rested on his chest. “You should,” A pause for a short yawn, “Did you call your grandmother last night, after the blackout…I’m sure she’s worried?”

Ruby nodded into his chest, letting her eyelids flutter closed after letting out a quiet yawn.

"Called her as soon as the power came back on. She wasn't too happy with me waking her up in the middle of the night but whatever. And she's just going to have to get over me taking today off, there's no way in hell I would have been able to do the morning shift today...at least...not with my neck still smelling like strawberry rhubarb pie..."

“…when you see your grandmother, later, give her my thanks for the pie.” With the memory of the sweet, sweet strawberry rhubarb pie filling, and now at present the soft skin of Ruby’s face resting on his bare chest…Knox squeezed his eyes shut, and thought about anything but the girl pressed more than just close to him. The man needed to get over this headache, the man needed his sleep. Ruby really did smell like strawberry rhubarb.

"Okay, but I chose to not tell her what we did with it." Ruby smirked in between two yawns and nuzzled her face into his chest even further before drifting off to sleep.

---

“They’re cute, aren’t they?”

Recoiling from the glass display case at the sound of this melodic voice breaking through the otherwise hypnotic rhythmic pitter-patter of the rain, Knox turned to come face to face with a young woman. Her skin was pale as bone, lips as red as blood, hair as dark as the deepest waters. Eyes darting between the display case with the rabbits, and the girl his age, he furrowed his eyebrows and tried to play it off with a nonchalant tone, “Just rabbits...”

Her giggle caught his ear, smile was brilliant, eyes glittered with mirth, and “Your cheek was pressed against the glass!”

With his eyes widening a fraction, in the corner of his vision, Knox caught sight of the smudge on glass…and realised one cheek did in fact feel a temperature colder than the other, but yet again, the man tried to play it off. This time, he hastily put together his excuse, quite obviously, “I, ah...was just waiting inside for the rain to stop.” The store owner turned to give him cut-eye, but he paid no mind to this.

With a tilt of her head, her hair fell a certain way along her shoulders, “A big strong man like you, afraid of a little rain? If anything…there is a bar right next door, wouldn’t you have had a drink or two while waiting for the rain to let up?”

With a frown and narrowed eyes, Knox thumbed to the direction of the bar, “Yes, I was just about to head ther—”

“Good! I planned on going myself, but a girl like me needs a big strong man to keep her company!" With this cheery exclamation, the young woman linked arms with him and...Off they went. Shanghaied into spending the afternoon in a bar with...Mary Margaret, and from what he remembered feeling, he didn't particularly mind.

-----

Laying in the shade, Knox felt the comfortable warmth of the sun beaming onto his pant leg. There was a light sensation, touching along his chest, up his neck. His first inclination was Mary Margaret, but...it started chirping, hopping onto his chin. With a hand reaching up, trying to swipe the bird off, he missed just a few inches and the bird flew off and up onto a high tree branch.

Blinking some sleep from his eyes, fingers of light poked through the leafy trees, gently touching his body with its warmth. Sitting up on the picnic blanket, and looking up blankly at the bird that had just narrowly escaped his grasp, Knox finally noticed another little bird hopping up and down. Mary, hopping up and down trying to reach for a balloon stuck among the leaves of the tree, an unfamiliar child crying beside her.

Getting up from where he sat, brushing out some grass that had mysteriously found its way into his hair, Knox tried to make sense of an already pretty obvious scene. The helium filled balloon was pretty high up in the tree, the child was making grabby hands at it, and Mary was trying to catch a string far out of reach...and from his estimation, just out of his own reach.

Thinking, smirking, and going over to Mary and--with careful strength, much to her surprise, Knox pulled her up and onto his shoulder. Adding his height onto hers, and supporting her on his shoulder, the balloon itself was just an arm's length away from her. The string was practically resting against her shirt. Quickly grasping the sudden situation, Mary Margaret grabbed onto the balloon string, and Knox was relieved that he could finally let her down.

Rolling his shoulder as Mary tied the balloon string onto the child's wrist, she still didn't face him, even as Knox wrapped his arms around her from behind, "We make a good team." His comment, met with her silence. Planting a kiss into her short cut hair, speaking quietly, "Are you still upset that I asked you to--"

"You're asking me to uproot my life, forget about my friends, and move away with you to some town I haven't heard of...I can understand your father wanting to return to his childhood home, but why do we--"

---

Eyes blinking, Knox didn't know the exact moment when he awoken in his living room, how long he stared up at the ceiling. For a moment, he tried to remember what he had dreamt...but there was a sinking feeling in his stomach, and the shadows of the now darker room seemed to flicker alive. The sinking feeling that, despite the happiness or whatever he felt for a moment in his dream, he was losing something more important...but the security guard brushed it off, though a restlessness stayed with him.

Still without a shirt and Ruby warm, resting her head against his chest--Knox raised himself on his arms, and gently shook the unconscious girl, "Come on, I need to get up..." Peering over her, his eyes caught her soft lips. Licking his own, he leaned uncomfortably down to give her the barest peck just beside her mouth...when his entire dream, his memories came flooding in.

Trying to push away from the girl in a panic, the man landed on the cold hard floor, scrambling back and hitting the coffee table while Ruby flopped onto her side on the couch. Blinking, suddenly breaking into cold sweat...with his memories back, this whole living space, even Ruby seemed different.

"Shit, shit, shit...I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry..." Muttering this, cursing under his breath, feeling sweat dripping down the side of his face...Knox patted down the side of his pants like they too were unfamiliar, before fishing out his cellphone and calling the hospital, ".........hello, yes. Can you get Dr Stevenson on the line?"

Ruby couldn't wipe the surprise off of her face. One minute she had been sleeping (quite comfortably), woken with a sweet kiss and the next thing she knew Knox was freaking out.

"Knox! What's wrong? Is everything okay?" Ruby pushed herself off of the couch and rested her hand on his arm as he waited for Dr. Stevenson to pick up the phone. She had never seen him like this; Knox was always so...neutral; even in the face of an emergency (such as last night's power outage) he remained perfectly vigil.

Knox's breath hitched in his throat as Ruby touched him, eyes widening as he scooted away and spoke into the phone in an even more panicked manner, "Get Dr Stevenson on the line........." Gritting his teeth, eyes shaking as he breathed harshly...closing his eyes and shaking his head, he continued, "I'm not having a panic attack, I'm fin--GET Dr Stevenson on the DAMNED line! I know who our Jane Doe is!"

Once Upon a Time...

(Collaboration Post Featuring YoshiSkittlez's Ruby and Major Ursa's Knox Kowalski)

Ruby drummed her red painted nails on the table of the booth, her other hand holding her head upright as she watched the people of Storybrooke walk around on the streets as the lights began to illuminate the dark sky. More particularly, she found, her attention had been on the couples of Storybrooke, watching their hands intertwined with one another, stealing a quick peck on the cheek before hurrying over to meet up with some friends...it all made Ruby feel kind of...jealous.

Ruby straightened up a bit. Jealous? Since when did she start feeling jealous about anything. She could literally have any guy in Storybrooke, hell she could call over David Nolan right now and-

Ruby put her head back down on the desk, flicking an invisible speck of dust with her fingers and sighed. She missed Knox, there was no way around it. Granny heard an audible sigh coming from Ruby that she didn't even know she let out, and the older woman peered over at her granddaughter over the top of her glasses.

"You know...we sold a lot today..." Granny started, making Ruby look up at her granny lazily without even so much as moving her head. "-but, those poor men at the hospital that had to work all day, they never got a chance to-"

Ruby bounded up, nearly tripping over her own two lanky legs.

"I'll do it! I'll run them over some stuff." She eagerly volunteered, practically bouncing up and down on her heels. Granny smiled with a firm hold on her lips; really the only person that could really tell was a smile was Ruby. Granny then handed over a basket, already filled with a few boxes of Granny's famous chocolate chip cookies, some wrapped taffy, a small box of peanut brittle and then a box of a strawberry rhubarb pie. Ruby snatched up the basket and practically ran all the way to the hospital, not even noticing the point where the square lights no longer illuminated her path.

Ruby had been in the hospital enough lately that she knew the very room Knox would be in. She honestly didn't know how he did it, sitting at a desk for hours upon hours watching recorded footage where ninety-nine percent of the time, nothing happened. She quietly slipped into the surveillance room, spotting Knox immediately given his tall frame and set the basket of goodies down on the ground before sneaking up on him and putting her fingers over his eyes.

"You sir...need a break!"

Stiffening in his chair, Knox frowned in confusion, before raising a gloved hand and coughing into it. For a moment, the security guard was going to lecture her on the proper procedure—going to the front desk and calling him down to meet her—but he decided against it, since Ruby wouldn’t likely follow it either way. And, though he didn't want to admit it, the job recently started to feel…empty? It seemed dull, and the relief of the spontaneous, beautiful girl’s presence was what Knox couldn't outright admit to himself that he craved.

Now…now Know had her soft hands touching his face, covering his eyes. What to say? How to respond…? “………yes………” Saying the one word slowly, carefully, tasting the admitted defeat of boredom…he wondered what sort of expression she had on her face, from his answer. Lifting his hands up, Knox held onto Ruby's hands with his, which were still covering his eyes, “I’m not going to ask why…” Though he couldn't find a voice to say it, he was just glad to have her company.

Ruby breathed out a light chuckle as she bent forward and kissed his stubbly cheek before dropping her hands from his eyes. She then made a point of reaching over his shoulder, finding the pause button on the computer and halted the tape.

"You hungry?" She asked briefly pulling herself away from him, letting her once extended arm run up his chest and through his hair until it was forced to go away entirely with the rest of her body as she walked over to the basket she had set onto the floor. "We had some left-overs from Miners Day." She thought a moment about adding on that Granny had sent them over, but felt like Knox might find the taste of Granny's infamous chocolate chip cookies to taste just a bit...differently after that, and so she remained silent.

The security guard shivered lightly as the girl’s touch, that she felt cheeky enough to just up and do what she wanted. That was the sum of her character, a girl who knew what she wanted and went for it…frustrating, and brilliant. Almost forgetting that Ruby had just mentioned her reason for being here, the leftover baked goods from Miner’s day…Miner’s day. Knox cleared his throat and nodded quickly to Ruby…keeping his focused eyes on her face, “And how was your Miner’s day?”

Ruby shrugged, thumbing through the boxes; taking some cookies out of one to put some taffy and brittle into it instead and then carried the box back over to him, setting it on the desk in front of him.

"Same as every year, although Granny did try to set me up with a very wet Henry Carlyle a few times." She blinked, realizing that Knox had no idea what she was talking about. "He volunteered for Dr. Stevenson's dunk tank thing, really gave people a reason to want to spend their money...dunking the town creep." She quickly explained. She looked around the small room without much interest, though seeing no other chair available, Ruby promptly sat down on his lap and let her arms wrap around his neck loosely as if they had done it hundreds of times before.

"She thinks you're broody and doesn't like that you never smile, so naturally Henry was the next choice." She added on with a roll in her eyes.

With the box of sweets set before him, Knox’s eyes almost went as big as saucers…then Ruby sat on his lap. Wrapping arms around his neck, the security guard hastily set a hand on her waist, to bring what he felt was more balance to their sitting position. “Ruby.” Somehow managing a stern tone, “I’m not a chair. I can take these,” Rapping the side of the box with the knuckle of his gloved hand, “But what am I going to do with you?” The man was just about to lean down to Ruby, a little bit closer…when he finally caught what she had said about Henry.

Letting out a groan and sitting up a little better, leaning the side of his body against the desk, he reached over to turn the security television back on, mood considerably soured in the past few seconds. Knox knew exactly how he felt about Granny willing to pass him up for the newcomer and ‘town creep’, as a particular newspaper he didn't care much for had aptly put it…why? Her logic escaped him as to why she chose now of all times to have an opinion on whom Ruby spent time with…? Still, the louder nagging voice was telling him that the old woman was indeed right.

Ruby pressed her lips into a thin line and knitted her eyebrows together, removing one loose hand around his neck to push the pause button on the computer once more, slightly irritated that he had even turned it back on to begin with and then sternly shook her head no at him, as if scolding a child for playing with things he shouldn't be.

Reaching his free hand up, Knox rubbed the back of his neck, “Your grandmother has a point…I…am the brooding sort, aren’t I?” Letting out a self-deprecating chuckle…with a tight lipped smile, “You never did tell me…why do you like me?” Neither one of them said it, or claimed it...but they pretty much straddled the line between 'friend', and that much more.

"That's because I didn't say." Ruby responded, her face letting up a little from its once stern hold and let her hand move back to its loose position of being wrapped around him, letting her thumb find a bundle of tight nerves and stiff muscles and slowly started to rub it out of his neck.

With his work in surveillance during the day, his neck met with Ruby’s deep massaging was like a magical switch had been flicked on. His stiff disposition once again loosened up as he made a particularly happy sound, his eyes closing in a very relieved expression, “…forget I asked. Just…continue that, please…” His voice was not more than a quiet purr…

Ruby couldn't help but to let out a light chuckle as she hopped off of Knox's lap, grabbing a cookie from the box she had put out in front of him and stuck it into his mouth while she circled around him and let her hands fall on his shoulders again. Now behind him, she could really start digging her thumbs into the knots he had been building up in his neck for who knows how long. She did bend over at the waist slightly; just enough to let her chin rest on his shoulder as she continued to work her fingers on his tight muscles and just relaxed herself against him. She would take this over poor conversation over cheesy fries and coffee any day.

"You helped me discover who I really am." Ruby then said, cutting the silence after a while in answering his previous question.

The delicious cookie in his mouth did well to stifle a pleased groan that came with the massaging, but it was a strange thing eating something good while getting a particularly pleasing massage. Stimulation of the senses, indeed. Sitting in his chair, his eyes slowly opening (one at a time)…turning his face to stare at Ruby, her chin resting on his shoulder, “I see, so this wasn't a ploy to get into my pants?” His voice had a surprisingly playful tone to it, as he teased her.

"That depends, did it work?" Ruby asked with a quick wink.

There was only a short moment of silence, before the security guard reached over to the box on the table, pulling another cookie out and sticking it into his mouth. Setting his other free hand on the girl’s shoulder, Knox brought Ruby better levelled to him, and pushed the cookie passed her lips with his.

Ruby laughed as her teeth accepted the cookie offering from his mouth. The display had to have been very strange to anyone that might have popped into the security room right then, but she didn't care. He was playing, and so she would play back. She chewed up her portion of the cookie as best as she could, playfully let her teeth nip at his ear since they were so close.

"Sorry..." She apologized without much sincerity as she chewed up the rest of the cookie. "I thought you were the cookie." She grinned and let her body move back around so she was sitting back on his lap, her hands holding onto his shoulders once more. "Man what I would do for some whipped cream right now." She said looking down at Knox, awaiting his reaction before she went on, "Granny put a pie in the basket too, can't have pie without whipped cream."

Narrowing his eyes at the girl, though the corner of his mouth twitched up ever so slowly… “Whipped cream? Hmmm…” With no more attention on his neck, Knox rolled it back and forth, before settling and peering up into Ruby’s face, “…too bad. I would have bent the rules and allowed for a messy food product here or there, the surveillance room has been in dire need of a good cleaning either way.”

A white smile flashed across her thin face, her brow quirked as mischievous thoughts entered her mind, enough to make her cheeks flush a pleasant shade of pink as she bent down to let her teeth graze over his neck, then using her tongue to slide up and catching what crumbs might have been left-over from their cookie exchange.

“Mmmm…good girl.” Making another happy sound, and growling a little bit soon after, he didn’t like the idea of Ruby taking all of the control. With both hands on her shoulder, Knox pulled her off of him after a moment…reaching a hand out blindly, the security guard messily stab his fingers into one half of the pie...before going and smearing the sticky strawberry rhubarb pie filler along Ruby’s neck, and almost touching them to her lips in a teasing manner.

Instead, the man sucked the sweet substance off of his fingers, smacking his lips once his digits were clean, “The baker has my compliments, I’m much obliged.” With a rather devious smile, Knox leaned down to lick at Ruby’s sweet, sweetened neck…licking, sucking, and making nips of his own at her throat; up her chin…he was practically outside of himself in this situation. The greater part of him was confused as to why he’d do this, and in a hospital of all places, though the smaller part of him won out in asking a simple single question: why not?

Ruby let out a small gasp of surprise, but shut her mouth instantly when she felt Knox's lips on her neck as the tide had turned in the blink of an eye. Her own eyes rolled back a bit as she closed them, bracing her hands on his chest to keep her weakening knees from collapsing her body to the floor. A couple of growl sounds came from her throat in relation to the electrical shocks he was sending through her body, her hands moving to his shoulders to hold onto him tighter still, breathing out a quiet,

"Knox..."

Pulling away momentarily, Knox shared with the girl what he could only describe as a meaningful gaze, before planting a quick peck at the side of her mouth…then a proper kiss to her mouth. Then a deeper one…

Returning the kiss with a new-found sense of passion, Ruby almost didn't notice the lights flickering in the small room until the sound of all the computers in the room suddenly powering off caught her attention enough to open her eyes and pull her lips from Knox's for just a brief moment, though keeping her lips just mere centimeters from his own as she looked around at the now completely black room.

"I swear I didn't do it!" She felt the need to say, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness and found that she could find Knox's silhouette rather easily, even being able to make out his facial expressions, just a bit. Was that...normal?

The security guard didn't realise that the lights had flickered out till Ruby pulled away, and he had realised that nothing was putting anymore strain on his eyes. The previously dominant part of him, the part that told him to just continue with the waitress girl, was squashed in a near instant, “It’s a blackout, and the generators have probably kicked in already…” Knox couldn’t help it, and his thoughts were dragged to his father, then…

Giving the girl a worried look, seeing the confused look on her face was plain as day…but in the dark, “What sharp eyes you have…I need to do a quick sweep, there aren't many security staff today. Are you coming with me?”

Feeling somewhat deflated that the one moment they had together after a week-long of doing nothing but working left a bitter feeling in her stomach, but Ruby nodded, more than willing to help wherever she could.

"I'll go check the upstairs." She volunteered, pulling herself away from Knox but not before planting a gentle kiss on his cheek and headed to the door, second nature to her really despite the room being pitch black.

Once Upon a Time...

Midnight Gigolo: Knox X Everyone

---

Mark turned to glare at the security guard, ""What are you doing?" Knox shook his head, and returned the look with a cold one of his own, "I believe you know, why should I have to spend time explain--!" "Uhhmmm...dad, why are you and Mr Kowalski naked...?" "Oh gods, Mason, go back to your room!"

---

Knox pushed the shorter man to the wall, glaring him in the eye angrily, "You're disgusting, kissing comatose Jane Doe like that..." The security guard cursed under his breath, while Henry finally interjected, "I was kissing her, but I was thinking of you!" Just as he said that, Ruby walked in with the biggest 'what the actual fuck' expression on her face.

---

"My granddaughter isn't in at this time, you know." The older woman had a curious look in her eye, watching the tall security guard drink his glass of cold water at the counter seat before her. Quirking an eyebrow up, Knox got out of his seat and leaned over the surface with a curious look of his own, "Yes, I know." Catching the grandmother's chin in his hand, he pulled forward to plant a gentle kiss onto her lips.

---

Mr Gold ran a hand through his hair, before looking over at Knox with a bitter smile, "Heh, and what can I offer to the man who has everything?" The security guard frowned, and shook his head, before stepping up to the man face to face, "I don't have everything, but this will be enough..." Leaning down, the older man had anticipated the action, and their lips met...

---

Knox nodded over at Faye, giving her his best smile, "I can really respect you for this decision." He was surprised when his comment was met with a frown from the doctor, "All this talk of respect and understanding...here, there, everywhere!" "...?" Tearfully, doctor Faye Stevenson cried up at him, "Knox! Knox, all I want is your love (and babies)!"

---

To be continued...?

Once Upon a Time...

(Collaboration Post Featuring Ghost Shadow's Henry Carlyle and Major Ursa's Sherry Attar)

Henry eventually got out of the booth after he began to think even his bones were getting soggy. It seemed people were becoming more and more accurate, and he'd catch hypothermia soon if he didn't at least dry off a bit.

He went behind one of the nearby stalls, ensuring himself at least a bit or privacy as he began to dry himself off fervently, sighing as he knew he must look absolutely dreadful at the moment.

Of course, Sherry didn’t blame the waitress for spilling the mug of hot water onto her notebook...easily replaceable, and most of the important notes were memorised to every word. The journalist did end up paying and rushed home to get the biggest, fluffiest towel to fold the book into…dumb idea, there wasn’t much to be saved.

Childish, really, trying to save something that could be easily moved on from. Just about folding the big, hardly used towel into her tote bag, she tenderly peeled through the pages. Sad, she could see where she originally wrote word after word, and then where the ink ran. Well, there wasn’t much use dwelling on wet paper.

Walking in front of the stalls, Sherry looked around for a garbage bin. Swivelling her head right, then left, she caught sight of a bin just behind a stall. Lightly treading on over, she tentatively peered down at the notebook…before dropping it in. Well, at least it was still sunny. Turning to get back—ah! Just one stall away from the one she stood behind, wasn’t that…?

Weaving past the bin, she made her way to the man dripping with water. Tentatively, she gave her sunniest smile, “Hello, aren’t you that Mr Carlyle?”

Henry turned at the strange voice that called to him, his mouth twitching slightly. "It appears my reputation precedes me. If you have any questions, you'll have no luck getting an answer from me." He said almost coldly, immediately becoming defensive.

The journalist didn’t seem at all phased by his coldness, instead seemed to pause to herself for a moment to consider the idea, before reaching into the tote back to bring out the dry, folded towel, “Say, do you like Jane Austen?” Unfolding the big, fluffy towel… ‘If a book is well written, I always find it too short.’ was printed along the length of it in big black font, Sherry’s arms were spread out wide to show him the quote on her custom towel…before she bunched the whole thing up, and tossed it to him.

Her smile was a little bit wider, and that much cheekier, “I’ll have you know, you very much look the part of a wet cat right now!”

Henry nodded in thanks as he took the towel, raising his eyebrows slightly, quite impressed by the quote. When she compared him to a wet cat, he stopped, seeming to tense up sharply. "A...wet cat, you say? Why on earth would I look like that?" He asked with a slightly nervous chuckle, masking it with feigned amusement

“Well, you are sopping wet. As well, moments ago, you had the ‘fuck the world’ sort of expression on your face, when you looked over at me…it’s pretty popular with wet cats.” Sherry giggled, with an easy smile on her face as she crossed her arms, her tote bag swaying at the motion, “When, if I were you, I’d just be glad that the weather is better today. If it were cooler, cold water would be a death sentence upon you, and a towel couldn’t save you.” The presence of her smile confirmed the obvious, she was only joking.

Tilting her head, “Do well to dry yourself, you wouldn’t want to catch a cold…you need the strength to hold your head up high when others see you.” She gestured to the towel, now in his hands, "Go on."

"Oh...thank you." He said courteously. This woman was nice...almost too nice. Most people would have simply sneered or whispered something venomous before walking off. But this woman had approached him with benevolent intention. It couldn't be that simple, people were cruel...

With a mental shrug, he got to work drying himself off more, the towel the woman provided being much more useful in its job than the previous one. "Well, you know who I am...but what do I call you?" He asked affably enough.

Fidgeting a little bit, somehow her smile hadn’t worn down even a little, as Sherry turned around to leave…giving Henry one last look over her shoulder, “Sorry…you can call me very, very sorry.” And she left without another word.

Henry could only stare at the woman as she left, perplexed. Why was she sorry? What had she done? Henry couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in his heart, as if he was empathizing...but for someone he never knew...Henry could only shake his head, as if to clear his thoughts before returning to the dunk tank.

Once Upon a Time...

Sherry Attar

Pages, light like feathers of a wing…this was her heaven, flipping through to the next page of the novel for what was literally the nth time. All books were the escape from the mundane, and at the same time, a prison that enchanted her to return time and time again into its feather clutches. A good book knew how to pace its developments. What most would think as boring drivel, and lengthy descriptive filler…was a creeping fuse. And boom, the story exploded most spectacularly.

To be honest, Mr Carlyle’s little kiss scene was a dull affair at best…but like it or not, a job from the bossiest bitch of the crew was still a job. It did have some interests tied to it, such as the involvement of Mr Gold. Why take care of the newcomer, when he didn’t even care for the plight of the quaint little nuns and their church? Mr Carlyle didn’t look like he came from a whole lot of money…if he could afford Mr Gold, surely, he could afford a proper apartment or house.

Some of the best stories came in purely picture form, and what Sherry wove was a mental tapestry of a scene most foul. Omit a detail here, imply a detail there, and interview a confused nurse way over there…and you had the story of a prowler from out of town coming into the hospitals trying unsavoury things on the innocent, vulnerable Jane Doe. If a certain nurse (who remains unnamed) hadn’t seen what happened, my, what might that villain have done?!

And this continued on, and on, article after article.

Of course, she did spend an equal amount of time making some side articles on the efforts of the mayor. Being all over town after the earthquake, to personally see to the disaster relief, taking care of the small orphan boy…Regina never looked so good.

Sitting cross-legged in Granny’s diner, Sherry smiled brightly and waved at the attending waitress, Ashley. “Can I get some hot water, please?” The waitress waited a little bit for the rest of the order. Sherry gave her a smile. The waitress gave her an imploring look. “That’s it for now.” A sour sort of look the waitress’s face, but she forced a smile and left to get the hot water. The Miner’s day was today, the could only mean a newsprint article covering the event…that’d be Sherry’s break from all this Mr Carlyle business.

Vampiric Masters

My character is in a situations where he's between either sleeping, or being half-conscious...maybe have a time skip?

Once Upon a Time...

Knox Kowalski

And life continued on, as normal. Sure, the town newcomer had been arrested for kissing the comatose Jane Doe, there was much to be done during the week about the earthquake related damages, and Mr Gold was out free walking the streets…but there was also days of rest, peaceful mornings with Ruby at the diner.

Mornings with Ruby at the diner, new moments in life to fill his head with confusion.

Previously, there was Ruby running around the diner with little reservations on her choice of dress, heavier make up and clothing...Knox supposed the switch up was what caught his attention, and not in a cautious or disturbed way, per se. Longer material uniform, instead of short shorts, no makeup…the security guard caught himself staring and trying to remember what she looked like with shorts, essentially imagining the waitress with less clothing. Gods, was he finally seeing her for what she was? At one point, he almost choked when Ruby bent over a table wearing skinny jeans…much to the confusion of the good people sitting in the booth over.

Feeling none too pleased with himself over his new found morning distractedness, the man could only force himself to stare into the girl’s face when she got close enough and make on topic conversation, remember that the fries were for eating. Ruby herself, the memory of their...time together, the 'small' interactions...were what kept his attention, among the other things. Catching her eye, staring at her soft lips, exchanging an apologetic look (both had busy schedules), occasional physical contact that Knox otherwise previously never noticed (hands touching, shoulder pat, poke)………aaaaaand, on the other end of things, there was the usual morning to noon activity of watching security footage or checking the sign-in logs, and night shift as an actual patrol around the hospital.

Not much would change in schedule, with it being Miner’s day, only that Knox would be needed in the hospital more than ever. Quite a number of regular security staff was off to enjoy the activity, so Knox felt compelled to stay to make sure nothing went wrong with the decrease in their regular numbers. With Jane Doe being kissed inappropriately on a regular, full staff day, you can never be too careful…or paranoid.

Once Upon a Time...

(Collaboration Post Featuring YoshiSkittlez's Mayor Regina Mills and Major Ursa's Sherry Attar)

Regina stood in the alleyway between her office and a separate building that had been empty for as long as anyone could remember. Truly it was the best place for Regina to conduct her business without any fear of anyone coming across her. She checked her cellphone one last time, growing impatient with the response time. Usually she was here by now...

Humming a certain melody, the woman continued to unhurriedly to her destination…stopping when she caught sight of the rose bush, Sherry smiled down at a particularly beautiful flower, humming the particularly relevant folksong. It was…well, a really good day—well, not for most, the earthquake wasn’t generally celebrated anywhere. But, such an event gave her plenty to write about; an ambitious journalist’s dream. And while she wasn’t ambitious in the least, in a long run, the activity was good. The earthquake may have happened, but the roses still smelled sweet, and that was good enough for her.

Continuing along the side walk, past the alley…back pedalling and heading down the alley way…Shoureh mimed the action of checking her watch (she wasn’t wearing one, and it was quite obvious due to her lack of sleeves), her canvas bag swaying a bit, before humming pleasantly as she stepped up to the mayor of this fair town. Nodding politely, one hand held in the other, “Oh, it seems I’m wearing ‘Late’ as my fashion…now, I must tell you, I’ve been quite busy. As you’d expect, I’ve been sorting through more flattering photos of you at the scene of the mine’s collapse—by the way, taking in the rescued child was a stroke of brilliance, I did not see such a twist coming…” And the woman went on and on…

Regina was about to abruptly cut the woman off but stopped when she mentioned the boy...Mason. She couldn't keep this meeting very long, he was at her home, sleeping but alone and that didn't set well with her gut.

"If that's the best you've got for tomorrow, then I suppose you haven't heard what our visitor did to get himself arrested this evening?" Regina said, making her sentence and to the point, the best way, she learned by experience, of getting to her.

Raising an eyebrow at the mention, and then snapping her fingers as the memory resurface, “Oh, lover boy? Yes, kissed the girl, but she was unable to wake from her coma to cry? Strange in the head…I wonder if he thought her sleeping beauty, and himself the charming prince? I suppose…this story is the one you want me to cover, above all, yes?” Humming her distracting folksong…

Regina gave a simple nod yes, tolerant of this woman's ramblings...for now...

Leaning forward, cupping a hand to the side of her mouth for dramatics, a pantomime of secrecy-whispering, “I suppose it best for the written piece that I don’t mention your involvement with this charming Mr Carlyle, am I right?”

"It never happened." Regina replied, her eyes narrowing, growing darker in the shadows of the night, leaving it to no longer be discussed.

Drawing back with only a slight frown, “Pardon me…but this is your mistake, not mine. And…very well, all public, commonly known associates with the man will be marked down as our fair mayor welcoming this newcomer. Now, you couldn’t have come here just to tell me about what I already know…surely?” Rubbing her smooth hands together, only the lightest sound barely coming from the friction, Sherry tilted her head and gave the mayor an imploring look.

"In regards to your article..." Regina began, her once ill-tempered voice slowly melding into...tolerance. "I want you to humiliate him, make it so that he can never show his face in Storybrooke again. I don't care what you have to put in there, and I don't care how you get your pictures to do so. I want. Him. Gone." She hissed but then quickly withdrew, not wanting to give into her anger, not now. "Gold isn't going to make it easy on you, I'm sure. Still, you do this for me and you'll never want for anything again."

Sherry couldn’t hide her confused expression, blinking a little bit before staring down at her feet, rubbing her bottom lips in nervous though, “Mr Gold and Mr Carlyle—why would the newcomer be protected by Gold? The newcomer went into that shop once before, but…”

Pondering to herself for a while, almost forgetting Regina’s presence, she held a hand up to the mayor with a determined, possibly fired up expression on her face, “I could drag him through the mud, but with Mr Gold involved in this…I’ll have to drag the poor man through the cow dung, too, for good measure. Gold won’t make it easy for me, but I plan on making his own task harder as well. Anyone affiliated with Mr Carlyle, well, I’ll have to get someone to report on some about them too…getting a hand on some genuine pictures would be good, and then photos can be enhanced to suit your needs…”

“As for payment…hmmm…HMMM…” The journalist already had a good job, her pursuit of knowledge, more to write about. Now, what could she possibly want? “How about…the meaning of life? A book of all the world's knowledge? The world’s most perfect man? Any man who can make tea the way I like, I may just settle for that kind of guy…” Tapping her chin, she gave the mayor a playful smile…knowing that this cunty woman wouldn’t play, “How about you tell me how on earth I got started working for you?”

Regina stifled a haughty laugh, considering the description of the things she would want; the woman had no idea that each of those, except for maybe 'the world's most perfect man' was probably locking up his Pawn Shop right now, but the second request kept her mind from such thoughts.

"You came to me. Penniless, jobless, reputation less..." Regina started, repeating the lie that she had implanted into her head long, long ago. "I simply gave you a chance, one chance, and you have yet to disappoint me."

Nodding her head at Regina’s reminder of the sort of life she lived…the woman in her memory seemed a fraction less…Regina-like, in her mind, “You have my gratitude, you always will. Since you seem to know me better than I know myself, tell me…what do I want?”

"You want to do as I say, because if you don't, you will be ruined." Regina replied immediately in a cold threat, her eyes once again narrowing in the dark. "But..." She added on, letting her eyes soften up again. "...you've never given me reason before to doubt you before."

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Sherry gave the mayor one last smile, though she obviously didn’t seem happy… “You don’t have to make me sound like a slave, sheesh…hmmm…hey; maybe you can do like people of the past do, give me your first born child as payment?” With her tease, she took a step back and gave a sort of sarcastic salute…before turning and making her way out.

Regina couldn't help her reaction, her jaw hung open in complete shock. Not her too! But then, then she realized that the woman was only joking and Regina exhaled a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. Shaking her head, trying to force herself to calm down, she reached into her pocket and dialled Robert's number.

"Hey." She said once he answered. "That wine is getting warm..."

Once Upon a Time...

(Collaboration Post Featuring Guardian Angel Haruki's Dr Faye Stevenson, Ghost Shadow's Henry Carlyle, Tanderbolt's Robert Leland, and Major Ursa's Knox Kowalski)

Faye returned to the hospital immediately, glad that the appointment with Dr. Hopper was over, and ready to work. However, she was still worried about the fact that Regina had her files, and she knew that she would have to confront the mayor about it when she comes to check on the patient, but that wouldn't be for another four days.

She entered the sterile hospital, and headed down the halls to check on the patients.

Slamming the stairway door, Knox cursed lightly under his breath as he made his way down the hall…looking both surprised, relieved, and unsure when he caught sight of Dr Stevenson. Holding a hand up to catch her attention, “Dr Stevenson, I was just looking for you…something…something has happened to your coma patient…”

Something…! That something stirred certain anger in him, what sort of sick—a patient at a hospital! What sort of twisted pervert…the security guard couldn’t help it, but he was letting this stress him out more than he’d like, “Damn it, I wasn’t in surveillance at the time, but I just saw footage and picked up the tape…we—damn, we need to start screening the people we let in he—“

Faye looked to Knox when he waved to her, and she widened her eyes when he said that something happened to the coma patient. She listened as he spoke, he was clearly frazzled. She raised her hands up in a gesture that told him to try and calm him down, she said to him seriously and in a concerned tone, "Knox, please calm down. What happened?" She wasn't sure if he was able to tell her, and she was hesitant about asking him to show her the security footage.

Taking in a deep breath, ‘calming down’, cracking his knuckles in the moment of silence…Knox stared down at Dr Stevenson with a grim expression, “No time. I think you need to come with me to confront that damned newcomer.” With two gloved fingers, he beckoned her to follow him, making their way to Jane Doe’s hospital room.

Faye swallowed hard when he said that there was no time and that she needed to follow him. Newcomer...did he mean Henry? What did Henry do?! She nodded, and she said "Very well then," She followed him after he beckoned her with his fingers.

Travelling down the hall, passing room after room, calmer…Knox stared at Dr Stevenson over his shoulder, letting out a deep sigh, slowing down to fall into step rather than to lead her, speaking quietly so only she could properly hear him, “From the audio recording, you’ve made your call on what happened the other night…”

Faye soon caught up with him, and she walked beside him as he started talking to her about what happened. She knew right away that he was talking about Mr. Gold. She spoke in an equally low tone, "I can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped,"

“You say this, but you are helping him evade battery charges by keeping quiet.” Turning to look at her, Knox’s expression was just asking Dr Stevenson what she wanted to do…though he knew what protocol for this hospital would normally demand done. Mouth over turned into a deep frown, “After every tape of surveillance footage has been watched and reviewed, I submit a report as well as a relevant audio transcript, though I have fallen a little bit behind...give me a reason to lose this tape…”

Dr. Stevenson looked at him conflicted when he made his point. She knew what the right choice was, but she had to admit that she was a little scared that he may come after her, and that she may hurt the dying man in return. She sighed through her nose, and coming to a decision she answered in a low tone "Follow protocol. Do what you have to do,"

Eyes widening a fraction too much, the light glare of the overhead lights hurt them more than he’d like, “I ask you because I respect your decision in this…but, good. To be honest, I didn’t want to destroy the audio transcript I typed up…” The whole report would be submitted to the sheriff’s office as soon as possible, but now they had another situation to deal with…though he was glad to have that issue covered properly, it gave him time to calm down.

Going over to the door of the patient’s room, Knox turned and gave Dr Stevenson a careful nod, “We are going in to confront the…offending party, before Sheriff Leland comes in to make the arrest.” There was a pause as he gripped the doorknob, turning it slowly, “I did not know what to make of the newcomer...”

Dr. Stevenson commented, "You still haven't told me what Mr. Carlyle has done. Unless...you expect him to confess to whatever he's done?" She knew Knox wasn't one to falsely accuse someone. But how could she confront someone if she doesn't know what has happened?

Ignoring the doctor’s question, for the moment, Knox deemed it best to handcuff the man first. Another security guard came over with a tape, as Knox immediately took Mr Carlyle into his sights. The man was still huddled on the floor, crying the security guard went over and grabbed his arms—slapping the handcuffs on with little to no problems, Henry merely remained still - like a ragdoll, his expression devoid of all emotion, though tears still streamed down his face; he looked hollow, like a husk.

Grabbing the tape and dismissing the other guard, Knox crossed over to the television. Budget cuts. This television was one of old clunky ones, with a built in VCR…but that suited his needs just fine. Holding the tape up, looking over to the doctor, the grim expression from earlier returning, “This man was forcing himself on your patient.”

With one final cold glare and frown at the pitiable disposition of this...crook...Knox turned on the TV and pushed the tape into the VCR. Automatically, the weather channel switched to the black and white snow of the tape, before showing the copied footage of Henry first entering into the hospital room…

The doctor entered the room to see Henry in a broken state. She watched Knox as he entered the room and arrested the crying newcomer. She noticed how his expression was similar to Knox's father.

She watched as the video tape as it played from the very start, and she gasped at the sight of Henry leaning over Jane Doe repeatedly. She looked to Henry once again, this time with disbelief and slight disgust.

Henry didn't resist at the handcuffs, but his head looked between Faye and the television screen. "Heather, this isn't what it looks like." He said, his voice somewhat more composed. "I was trying to wake her..." He said cryptically, sounding as though he wanted to say more, but was holding back.

Faye crossed her arms; her facial expression still showed disgust, but her disbelief quickly became anger, scepticism, and disappointment. Who the hell was Heather? To her, it seemed Henry was suffering from a mental disturbance.

Narrowing his eyes coldly at Henry scrambling to explain himself, Knox leaned against the closest wall and crossed his arms, glancing at Dr Faye Stevenson, “Yes, Heather, I’m quite sure our friend here has a lucid enough explanation as to why he was kissing an unconscious coma patient…!” Sarcasm dripping from his words like the tasteless, yet painful venom of a snake.

"Listen to me!" Henry snapped before calming down again, "I would love to explain myself. But I can't. There are secrets that I can't tell you yet, all I ask Faye is that you trust me, *please*." He pleaded, locking his eyes with hers.

The security guard spared a short, almost apologetic glance to the Jane Doe…before breathing out a hot, angry sigh…“If you have problems with Dr Stevenson’s method of treating a patient, perhaps submit a suggestion into the front desk, instead of taking things into your own hands…?” Saying this rather dryly, Knox took a moment to pause…and scold himself for joking, making light of a serious situation.

Faye said seriously and sceptically, her tone had become cold like ice, "Oh, really, Mr. Carlyle?" She then said to him shaking her head at him, "Regardless of explanation or not, I cannot overlook this," She then said "In accordance to the rules, Mr. Carlyle, you will not be allowed back in the hospital. If you ever become a patient here, you will be restrained and supervised,"

She then looked to Knox and she spoke to him, "Mr. Kowalski, would you please call Dr. Hopper? I want him to speak with Mr. Carlyle...during his time in jail,"

Not batting an eyelash and still leaning against the wall, Knox uncrossed his arms to pull his walkie talkie from his belt, speaking briefly to another security guard before returning it back to his belt and crossing his arms again, “Will that be all, Dr Stevenson?” His voice and expression were blank, and expectant. It was quite evident he didn‘t plan on leaving anytime soon.

Dr. Stevenson answered, "Can you wait right outside of the door? I don't want anyone else to come in here, unless they're a security guard or Sheriff Leland. I'll keep an eye on him in here," There was no other exit for Henry to leave; there wasn't even a window for him to jump out of.

Knox raised a brow at her request, pushing off of the wall he leaned against moments ago, “I hope you have a good reason to go against—“ Pausing for a moment, the security guard sighed his long sigh and wordlessly left the room, but left the door open just a crack for a few moments, “Do not, under any circumstances, lock the door. Don't take more than ten.” With that, the door mad a small click as he pulled it closed.

She stopped Knox mid-sentence with a meaningful look that said that she could fight him off he tried anything. After he gave in and went to stand outside, she nodded at his warning, showing that she won't lock the door, and she would certainly stop Henry if he tried.

After he went outside, Dr. Stevenson looked to Henry and she said coldly, "Well? You have an explanation. Don't you?"

Henry's eyes followed Knox out the door, finally landing on Faye again. "My coming here wasn't a coincidence." He began carefully, shifting his weight to get more comfortable, especially given the circumstances.

"There's a dark secret surrounding this town, a secret that very few people know. And I've come here to save you, save the town. I know I sound crazy, and I know your first instinct is to shut me up and toss me in a cell, but please[i], Faye. Everything I've done here was planned and coordinated by forces that go beyond either of us." He finished, keeping his voice low and calm. He wanted to tell her of magic, tell her of the Dark Curse that surrounded the town, how the grouchy pawnbroker was in reality the most powerful being in all the realms...but he couldn't, she'd only think him crazier than he had already implied.

Faye's facial features were now no more than a mask, remaining the same as Henry spoke, never changing to show what the head doctor was really thinking. For a brief moment, there was a flicker of black among the blue irises, but it disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. She knew very well that Knox could record this. She said, making sure that her scepticism was shown loud and clear in her tone, "Fine, I'll play along. What are these 'forces' that you are talking about?"

Henry exhaled sharply, obviously struggling with what words to devise. "I...I wish I could tell you, Faye, I honestly do. You just need to trust me is all I can ask. Give me a few more days and I [i]promise with all my heart that it will be made clear to you." He finished almost meekly.

Faye was quiet. She mouthed a silent 'Fine,' to him, her eyes making contact with his but the mask never disappeared for a second. She then spoke out loud, keeping the cold sceptical look looking away from him, her tone still icy, "I think what you really need, Mr. Carlyle, is to speak with Dr. Hopper. You're clearly not feeling well,"

Henry kept his own face of despair and dismay, but his eyes - if only for a moment, lit up. "Why won't you listen to me? You know I'm not crazy, Faye!" He pleaded once again, his tone rising just slightly in volume; not enough to be inappropriate, but enough to add emphasis to his statement.

Faye remained distant and cold to Henry, as she responded just like any other doctor would, "I know you're not," Where was Sheriff Leland? What was taking him so long? Soon it had been ten minutes, and she said to Henry Carlyle, "Now, if you'll excuse me, Mr. Carlyle," She then headed out of the door, and closed it behind her to make sure he didn't leave, and she met up with Knox.

“Tell me why I needed to leave.” The security guard was standing just beside the door with his arms crossed, that expectant look about him.

Faye looked to him and she answered, "I didn't want anyone else who wanted to visit Jane Doe to endanger them by entering the same room as the newcomer, and I wanted to gauge how he was mentally, myself."

Looking up at a ceiling light vaguely, Knox’s eyes were soon shut…dumb idea, “You know by now that the front desk will inform visitors when some patients cannot be visited, that there would be more security guards stationed on this floor at this present time…that there should be one inside with you. So…why?”

Looking over at another guard turning down a different side of the hall, Knox leaned closer, “I respected your choices, and all I ask in return is that if your actions are unclear to me, that you give me some sort of explanation.” Holding still, though after a moment, the man started drumming his fingers on his crossed arm...looking flustered, “Do you trust him?”

Faye bit her bottom lip when he pointed out the flaw, and she nodded. When he told her that he just wanted to understand why in return for respecting her choices, her face turned red. She answered him in a low tone, "To be honest, I don't even know myself,"

When he asked if she trusted him, she answered in a low and quiet tone, "No. But it feels like there is at least a grain of truth in his madness. I still don't approve of his earlier behaviour shown on the security tape, you know,"

Leaning even closer, Knox softened his gaze for only a moment…“Then trust me when I say…don’t hold the guy to an unrealistic promise, don’t hold it against him when he can’t deliver.” His expression turned sterner, reminding himself that they weren’t even remotely talking about his own father, “Mr Carlyle isn’t in the right, mad or no…and you’re no Polonius.” Staying in place for only a moment, the security guard straightened out, blinking more light out of his eyes now that he had more space before him.

After a moment of silence, “Fine, I’ll let you see this through to the end…but, careful. If this takes a turn for the worse at this hospital due to Mr Carlyle, and it’s still up in the air at this point to decide if it will—it’d be easier to scrap a security guard, even the most trusted and dependable one, for a breach in security…you are taking my fate in your hands when you decide to trust him.”

Faye nodded at his warning, and she said to him, "I'll be careful. And I'll be sure not to give you a terrible fate," She then looked to Robert as he appeared and she watched as he arrested Henry. She didn't say anything as he did.

It was then that Robert had finally arrived at the hospital, and seeing both Dr. Stevenson and Knox standing outside a patient room, he gathered that Henry was still inside. Robert then entered the room to find Henry standing there. He gave him a stern look, and approached slowly and calmly. He said "Sir, I'm sorry but you're gonna have to leave the building and come with me." He made sure to keep his hands free, just in case he had to use a bit of force while removing Henry from the premises.

"Of course...Sheriff." Henry replied calmly, using Robert's title almost as if he was disgusted to use the man's proper name. "Please be gentle with my Walkman, would you?" He requested, bowing his head down to the music player at his belt.

Robert removed Henry's Walkman from his possession and took hold of Henry's wrists that were bound together by the cuffs and walked him out, stopping for a moment to nod towards Dr. Stevenson and Knox before walking again with Henry to leave the building to the patrol car that was waiting just outside, amber lights flashing.

Vampiric Masters

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