At his usual window seat of the diner, Knox sat in his full security guard uniform, and though the cheesy fries sat plainly before him…he didn’t budge to eat it. No. Even with how careful he had been, he had allowed himself to become guilty over letting Ruby go off on her own last night, to worry this morning that she didn’t come to serve him as usual. It was…a selfish thing for him to do so, her life, and her choices. She didn’t belong to him, and heck, they were nothing more than acquaintances. The security guard was just as close to Ruby as that Jane Doe, whoever that woman may be.
Yes, he could plainly see that again, seeing her step out of a young bartender’s (he vaguely recalled) car. Without even looking, he lifted his coffee cup…and set it back down again. Empty. It’s been empty for more than twenty minutes now. Cracking his knuckles rather audibly, he spoke up to the serving waitress as she passed by, causing the girl to jump at the suddenness of it, “Get me a takeout box...and tell the owner than her granddaughter has returned safe and sound.”
Ruby hurried inside without even so much as being slowed down by her high-heels. She brushed her shorts to make sure once more that she looked presentable by her standards and then hurried behind the counter to grab her tiny apron that covered up the red shorts. She could feel the hot eyes of Granny staring her down as she tied up the apron but she paid the old woman no heed and got to work; or at least what she called work, and headed over to Knox, shooing away the waitress who had been covering for her the duration of the morning.
"Hey, coffee cup's empty." Ruby observed outloud and reached over to grab it. "I'll just get that refilled for ya-"
“No.” Quick with a short interjection, Knox wasn’t loud, but he was pretty damn clear, “Don’t waste your time on me. You’ve caused your grandmother some trouble; go serve the other customers still awaiting their orders.” Snapping his fingers loudly at the other waitress retreating, the girl jumping up again in yet more suddenness, Knox’s mouth set into a firm line as he called out, “That takeout box.”
Ruby stopped with the empty coffee cup still in her hand and looked back down at Knox. Her face was placid, however there might have been a slight sliver of hurt in her eyes for the briefest of moments. She tilted her head to the side a bit and rested her free hand on her bare hip, fighting the urge to say exactly what was on her mind, so instead she settled on,
"Is something wrong?"
"Ruby." Granny called to Ruby from behind the counter. There was no way the old bat could have heard Knox and Ruby from over there, so Ruby opted to ignore her for the moment; she needed to figure this out...something was eating at Knox, and she had a feeling it was something
she did.
Surprising even to him, Knox had stood up and reached a hand over, setting it on Ruby’s shoulder. His eyes were, not even seeing his own expression but just knowing, sterner than what he’d like. Staring at the younger woman with a hint of melancholy, he couldn’t help but let out the barest hint of a sigh, “Go to your grandmother, she may seem quite angry…but she’s likely that much more worried.”
"Ruby!" Granny called again, this time more urgent. Ruby, who had been holding Knox's gaze rolled her eyes and turned her head over her shoulder to call back to Granny.
"In a minute!" She quickly snapped and turned back to Knox.
Fighting with himself over what to say next, honesty or some restraint, he finally leaned in and spoke quietly. Though most knew of Ruby’s nature (especially the men), he wanted—no, needed to say this
just to her, “I’ll be seeing you…like I always do. In the mornings at this diner…but I won’t give you the sort of entertainment you were looking for with busboy there,” His eye flicked over to the window for a fraction, before he continued, “So you shouldn’t bother asking me out for drinks again...it didn’t go to plan, anyhow. I’m sorry if that upset you."
"RUBY! Close your legs for just one moment and get over here!" Granny shouted, loud enough for everyone in the diner to hear. Ruby was used to Granny's insults, hell she was used to any and all sorts of insults from the people around Storybrooke who didn't quite agree with her reputation...but coming from Knox, someone she never expected something like that to come from; on top of Granny's yelling; on top of her hangover...
Ruby shot the waitress a glaring look as she handed Knox the takeout box, acting as if Ruby wasn't even there and even had the gall to flash Knox a sweet, innocent smile as she walked away.
Finally drawing back from Ruby, Knox gave her one finally look, before going and fixing some of his uniform here and there. Taking the takeout box in his hand, finally, it felt heavier than a too thin cardboard box. Nothing he couldn’t carry in his bare hands. With his fork, he began busying himself with the task of wordlessly scraping the congealed cheesy fries from the plate to the box.
Having nothing more to say to him, about ready to explode, Ruby turned on her heel and quickly approached Granny who she had just realized was looking over the books that held the information of the Bed and Breakfast.
"I can't believe you did that! That was humiliating!" Ruby hushed a whisper to Granny. Granny, however, didn't seem to hear Ruby as she took off her reading glasses to get a better look at her Granddaughter.
"I want you to start working Saturday nights."
Ruby practically felt her jaw hit the floor. She tried leaning in closer, doing her best to keep the conversation between the two of them.
"Oh c'mon we have a deal about Saturday nights!" Ruby hissed in a whisper.
"I wanna start training you to do the books and the pre-orders. Business is booming lately, and with more money comes more paperwork." Granny said, issuing her worn hands towards the large book. Ruby rolled her eyes and stood up straight again, by habit putting her hand on her hip.
"Yeah...none of that sounds good."
"It's gotta be done!" Granny snapped back, no longer giving Ruby the courtesy of keeping the conversation quiet and raised her voice to a normal level. Ruby just stood there, blinking at her grandmother for a few moments.
"Is this a punishment? For coming in late?" Ruby asked with a tinge of attitude playing into her voice. It was now Granny's turn to roll her eyes.
"If I wanted to punish you, I have better reasons. For one thing, you're
always late, and for another thing...
Liza, you dress like a drag queen during fleet week."
Ruby didn't even give Granny the courtesy of dropping her jaw on that one, and instead immediately came back with,
"And you dress like Norman Bates when he dresses like Norman Bates' mother!"
Granny paused, and took the higher road by changing the subject.
"Ruby, you're a grown woman. You can't keep acting like some kid!"
"You just want me to act like you until I turn in to you!" Ruby hissed back. "Well I am not a fossil yet, Granny. I should be out there having adventures with people!"
Granny shook her head and hotly began to fold the book back up and scurried around behind the counter to put it away, knocking over a few things in the process and not bothering to pick them up just yet.
"Well as long as you work here, you are going to listen to me!"
Ruby followed Granny on the opposite side of the counter, keeping it between them.
"I didn't ask to work here!"
"Then what's keeping ya?"
Ruby paused, then,
"Nothing! I QUIT!" Ruby didn't even hesitate her step as she then continued down the side of the counter and walked straight to the door, untying the small apron and threw it on the ground behind her as she stormed out with the bell of the Diner door ringing it's echo behind her.
Having silently just listened to the whole fight, quietly trying to scrape more of his cheesy fries into the cardboard box…by the fight at the counter between Granny and Ruby, Knox was scraping at nothing but an empty, cheese smeared plate. Setting the plate and fork down, shutting the takeout box, he followed Ruby out quickly. Standing at the entrance of the diner, the security guard called out to her, “Are you going to just leave it at that?”
"Yeah, I am." Ruby replied hotly to Knox without even bothering to look at him. She stood there on the curb of the sidewalk, staring blankly at the road's ends to the right and left of her, feeling hot tears stinging the corners of her eyes.
Staring at her blankly, so many conflicting emotions and ideas on how to handle things…just minutes ago, Knox knew his own life was entirely separate from her own. Whatever she chose to do had nothing to do with him. What would happen would happen…regardless of his interference…?
Dammit.
Coming up behind her, Knox checked his watch before setting a hand tentatively on Ruby’s shoulder, “It’ll be within my work hours, but there is someone I want you to meet at the hospital.”
Feeling his broad hand on her shoulder, Ruby quickly blinked away the tears and forced her dry throat to swallow before turning to look at him, pushing aside any hurt in her face to look somewhat normal again.
"The...hospital?" She asked inquisitively, not quite understanding who or what could be there that suddenly became somewhat important sounding to Knox. But maybe it wasn't about that at all, maybe he was just trying to make up for something, which in Ruby's opinion he had nothing to make up for. She was angry with Granny, not him. "You don't have to do this..."
Ignoring her commentary, Knox was already steering her lightly to the parking lot. Letting out a quiet grunt that turned into a frustrated sigh, he pointed at his old Camaro parked in the shade of some trees, in the furthest space of the lot, “I have fifteen minutes to get to work and punch in. Just come with me, see what I have to show you...then I promise to drive you to wherever you want to go afterwards.” ...He'd have to see about asking another security guard to cover for him if Ruby needed to be driven to somewhere as far as the other side of town.
Ruby looked to the car and then to Knox and then back to the car, confusion still written on her face. She wanted to question him but frankly she was just too tired; too tired and still hungover.
"Alright, fine." She gave in with a quiet voice and walked with Knox to his car.
***The hospital was quiet enough in the morning, though the sound of certain staff coming in and patience waking up could be heard. Signing-in appropriately, Knox nodded his head respectively at a fellow officer who he’d be replacing, he stepped away from the security office of the hospital and went back to Ruby in the lobby, “Come. Follow me.”
All business and a half in appearance and stance, motioning for the younger woman to follow him to the elevator, his heart was doing flip-flop palpitations at what was to come. Maybe he was making a terrible mistake, but...it was too late for him to back out, not without openly just wasting more of Ruby's time.
Ruby wordlessly followed him through the hospital, making a mental note at the slight strange fact that Dr. Stevenson wasn't anywhere within the hospital; at least not where Ruby could see. Perhaps she was in surgery? That would explain her strange absence. She just hoped that Mr. Gold wasn't still lingering around here somewhere.
Ruby got into the elevator with Knox and watched as the metal doors sealed shut and did her best to keep her eyes forward, concentrating on the moving numbers as they changed rather than dwell on the awkward silence between the two of them.
They didn’t wait too long to ascend to the right floor, stepping out of the elevator, Knox motioned for Ruby to follow him along again. “…he can’t move much, when he’s awake, but he won’t talk to me…” The ward was quiet, but reaching the door…his hand lingered on the knob of the closed door for more than a minute of mere solemn thought, before Knox finally pushed the door open and does an almost graceful gesture for Ruby to step in,
“Come meet my father, Bruno Kowalski.”
Ruby paused at the doorway, unable to feel her legs move any longer when Knox brought out the word father. Father? Knox had a father? Well of course he did, everyone had a father; Ruby just never really thought about Knox having his own family really. He was always alone, either at work or at Granny's before and after work. It was a bit of a shock really, but even more than the inital realization that Knox was just like everyone else, her shock then transferred to the fact that his father was in the hospital. Turning her confused expression that was caused by so many different things right now, she looked to Knox and whispered quietly,
"...what?"
The security guard ignored Ruby for the nth time, and soundlessly moved closer to the bed. For a moment, Knox looked like he might just reach over and shake the shoulder of the figure near cocooned in the blanket, but he instead seemed to snap his head up in realisation…like he had only just remembered Ruby was present, “He’s asleep.” Turning to her, his gaze flickered to the figure for a moment, before his full attention was on the girl again.
“I can’t remember what he said, back then, but he never gave up on me when many more did…” His memory…didn’t seem clear, for some reason. Then again, is seems like nowadays, the condition was half of his father…consumed the memory of his healthy father was the depressing image of the portly man becoming thinner and thinner in a matter of a few years, “He’s become real enough of a father for me that I’ve given up on the other factors, but…do you even know what sort of relationship we had?”
Ruby folded her arms across her chest and took a few steps inside, shaking her head no lightly.
"No, but it was a good one I imagine." She said quietly, not wanting to wake the man. However, with Knox's brief explanation, she finally figured out why he had brought her here. The fight she had with Granny, he wanted her to understand the importance of family...to cherish what she had before she lost it.
She bit at her lower lip a few times and shuffled her feet awkwardly. As if the guilt that had been welling up in her gut after she had left Granny's could have gotten any more uncomfortable...
The man’s eyes darkened considerably, “And yet, he won’t even speak to me anymore. I don’t know much about the medical condition, but he’s had it for a long time…longer than when I became part of his family. A longer relationship. I can’t hope to drive a wedge between him and his condition…his depression. And believe me when I say ‘I’ve tried.’” There was a long sigh that followed, and quite abruptly, noticing her discomfort…he steered her out of the room again, to the hallway.
Ruby was only too glad to go with him, leaving the ominous air of the hospital room behind them. She learned three things in the last five minutes about Knox. He had a father, it wasn't his biological father, and he loved him very, very much.
“Fights are natural, apologize when you mean it…and more importantly, when you yourself are ready to hear how sorry you can become.”
As if such a depressing and short visit hadn’t just transpired minutes ago, Knox spoke up again, “Do you have anywhere you can stay, for a few days?” Pausing for a moment, a hint of what may possibly have been a laugh left his lips, “Unless your plan was to fight, quit, leave, then go back to stay with your grandmother while looking for that new job…” Or find other places, others beds to rest her head in…
Ruby bit on her lower lip again, shaking her head no.
"I was just thinking of packing up and moving to Boston actually." She admitted, it being the very first thought she had once she told Granny that she quit, but as she thought about it now, with her temper now borderline normal, it seemed like such a stupid idea. She didn't have any money, no contacts, no plan...she'd wind up back in Storybrooke faster than the blink of an eye with nothing to show for it other than an even more damaged ego.
Knox looked away from Ruby, hearing her mention Boston, the security guard hid the barest hint of a bitter-sad smile, “Sounds like something I wanted to do when I was still much younger.” Become a police officer in a big city…but the idea seemed to become more and more impossible with Bruno’s condition worsening. Going from wanting to become a police officer, to settling for security guard to the institute for the infirm, to becoming the security guard for the hospital his father was staying in, “But I couldn’t do that, I have someone I need to take care of.”
A pause, "You, go to Boston? Hmmm...what ever happened to those five facts? That smile?" At the time, it seemed like a childish thing to want or ask for, but at present...the right thing for Knox to be humoring her about.
Ruby feigned a light smile, laughing through her nose slightly and looked down at her feet as she absentmindedly shuffled them again.
"Oh, so I threaten to leave and
now you're interested in my childish games?" She half-teased and half jabbed at him, braving for the moment to look up at him once more. "I still have two more things to learn about you, and get you to smile. So...maybe...so maybe I'll stick around to bug you just a bit longer; it will give me time to look for a job and a place in Boston before I just...show up..."
“I’m not one to leave important business unfinished, even if most of the benefits go to the other person.” With a quiet sniff and a quick glance at his watch, Knox tilted his head slightly and raised a brow at Ruby inquiringly, “At this moment in time, unless you plan to distract people from doing their jobs,” A few staff members here or there were ogling the girl and her outfit, “Is there a place you can stay? The offer to drive you anywhere, within fifteen minutes of the hospital, still stands.”
A place she could stay? Ruby had to think long and hard about that. Really the only place she would be welcome would be the homes of the men she still slept around with, but it wasn't in her heart at that moment to open up those doors again, not even with Jake who she had spent the night with last night.
"Uh, you know what? I hear they have a great newspaper selection here...and internet...I could just, uh, stick around here for a bit and start looking for places and jobs in Boston." She suggested with a shrug. "Don't let me distract you from doing your job Knox, I'll be fine." She gave him a light nod, not really catching on to what he really meant, the looks of the male staff members going completely unnoticed by her until the Janitor, Leroy, gave a sharp whistle to Ruby.
With a snap of his fingers resounding like a thunder strike, his voice was not loud by sharp, “Jenkins, you work on the ground floor. What are you doing here?” As the smarmy janitor slunk away, Knox returned to give Ruby a rather skeptical look, “You can’t stay here, not without causing a problem here or there…dammit…”
Ruby folded her arms even tighter over her chest and shot Knox a 'What's that supposed to mean?' kind of look.
Going over to a bright yellow telephone attached to the nearest wall, Knox spoke to the security office on the other end, finally hanging up after a few minutes. “Ruby…” His expression was largely unreadable, but as usual, the sigh that followed was just plain tired, “…I don’t suppose you have any clothing you can bring with you, but—don’t touch anything that looks delicate, don’t try and unlock the filing cabinets, don’t unpack any of my stuff, clean up after yourself, no unapproved guests, bring the mail inside and leave it on the coffee table…”
Ruby blinked once...twice...three times. Was Knox offering for her to stay with him during this time? She hadn't at all been expecting that, however the offer wasn't unwelcome. Out of anyone in Storybrooke, Knox really was the only person that was unbiased about who she was, literally being the only male his age who
hadn't slept with her. And at that point, to Ruby, that was alright...even better, in fact. Probably the least awkward choice of where to stay while she figured things out actually.
She couldn't stop herself. Her hands dropped to their sides and she closed the distance between herself and Knox, throwing her arms around his neck and gave him a quick hug, her smile never faltering.
Mouth opening as if to speak, shut quickly instead to settle (momentarily) for the action of patting the girl on the back, his other hand hovering awkwardly at her waist not entirely sure what to make of itself. An attractive young woman was pressed up against him, but all he wanted to do was sort this...this out...and get back to work.
"I promise, none of that stuff. I'll even clean...do the dishes, make breakfast...whatever you need." After all, that's all she really knew how to do anyway. She pulled out of her hug and took a few steps back, giving Knox an endearing smile. "Thank you. Really. I promise I won't get in your way."
Honestly…honest to the gods, the powers that be…Knox had no idea how he went from rejecting Ruby for future drinks, to full on inviting her to live in his house. “I had to call the security office, since my place is on the other side of town.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his set of keys, fiddling with them before presenting her with a very new looking house key, “I’ll drive you now. Please try and remember the directions in relation to the rest of town, I don't want you getting lost and causing the rest of town some trouble...”
"I'll be on my best behavior." Ruby promised, still with her genuine smile and then walked with Knox out of the hospital so that he may take her to her new, temporary home.
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Lord Wyron
