Daughter of the Moon

Chapter 4

It took Ruby a couple days to process the fact that her children would be born werewolves. But once she learned that there was a lot she could do to help them using her experiences, she was back on her feet and ready to carry on with her life; which meant finding the right job to help her better support her family. She remember her intention to talk to Archie about working with him, so she checked the calendar on her phone to ensure that she had no other commitments going on and walked straight down to Archie's clinic for the second time that week.

The minute she arrived and prepared to knock on Archie's door, Ruby was greeted by his Dalmatian companion, Pongo. He leaped up on his hind legs and placed his front paws on Ruby's stomach. She warned him to be careful because she was providing shelter for two people. Pongo got back on all fours and started to bark wildly; indicating that there was something wrong.

"What is it, boy?" Ruby asked as she looked down at the concerned and protective Dalmatian.

Pongo pointed one paw at the door and demanded that Ruby press her ear up against it. As she did so, all she could hear was the pattering of little feet followed by a series of screams. Ruby wondered what could be going on in there. She knew that it wouldn't be right of her to intrude. But at the same time, she felt as if her desire to find a more appropriate way to make a living could not wait. So, she decided to sneak in and slowly make her way to asking the former cricket conscience for a job.

As it turns out, the front door was unlocked, so Pongo just let Ruby right in. She thanked him with a playful rub on his spotted head. As they walked into the office, Ruby was shocked to discover Zelena running after her and Robin Hood's two year old son, Oliver.

"Oh, hi, Ruby. What can I do for you?" Archie asked as he adjusted his bifocals up against the bridge of his nose and wiped his perspiring forehead with a maroon colored face cloth.

Once Ruby had told Archie the great news and the reason for her visit, he was overjoyed for her and more than happy to have her work for him.

"When can I start?" she asked.

"If you want, you could observe this session right now" Archie said as he gestured towards Zelena and Oliver once she finally got a hold of him.

"I would love to" Ruby smiled as she got comfortable on the far right of Archie's brown leather couch. She thought that it would be a good opportunity to get a glimpse into the future of what life would be like when her babies grew up to be toddlers.

Archie handed Ruby the file with Oliver's name and information in it and let her look through it so that she could understand what they would be dealing with.

As Ruby read through the documents, she was shocked to find out that since the little red headed toddler had half of Zelena's DNA, he inherited some of her magic at birth; and since he was so young, there was hope to control it with something called early intervention behavioral therapies. As the son of the Wicked Witch of the West, people would be right to expect poor behavior such as biting, screaming, and kicking; which was also typical for any child his age when throwing a temper tantrum. But for Oliver Locksley, it was the only way for him to express his frustration with his powers; one of which was telekinesis.

For as long as Zelena and Robin Hood could remember, during the earliest day of Oliver's life, he would always be fixated or obsessed with something. He would never respond when his name was called and he would rarely make eye contact with anyone. Zelena shrugged it off and thought that there was nothing to be worried about. But Robin Hood had other suspicions.

Not long after Oliver's first birthday, Zelena and Robin Hood took him to get assessed by Archie. Robin was worried that he might have a form of autism, but Archie diagnosed him as having inherited some of Zelena's powers. It turned out to be Oliver practicing telekinesis when he was fixated on something as an infant. Zelena was relieved and proud that her son would dabble in the art of magic, but Robin was concerned about what this could mean for their son in the future. Archie advised them that as long as they worked with him, everything would be under control eventually.

As much as Zelena despised the idea of not allowing her son to utilize his powers freely, she knew that in order to keep Robin Hood satisfied and make him feel as if he was being heard, she had to do as he asked and take into consideration what he thought was best for their child.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ruby was touched by how far Oliver had come in his two years of existence and began to wonder if the same kind of treatment would work for her children if they were indeed granted with strong wolf genes. Once she finished reading the file, Archie suggested that she get to know Oliver for the remainder of the session. When she approached him and his mother, he was distracted by his book about monkeys; which was one of the strategies Archie had suggested in order to take control of his magical abilities.

"Hey, buddy" Ruby said meekly as she looked at the busy toddler.

Zelena ignored Ruby's presence in the hopes that her son would do the same. In her eyes, there was no sense in talking to someone who could afford to be so nauseatingly upbeat; which is why she couldn't stand being around her stepson, Roland. The day she gave birth to Oliver, people told her that one day he would grow up to be as cheerful and upbeat as his older half brother. Zelena was determined not to let that happen.

Ruby sat patiently behind Oliver and stared at his luscious curls of red hair; which he inherited from his mother. Two minutes later, Oliver turned around to leave his book of monkeys behind and walked over to Ruby. He place a gentle tiny hand on her cheek and looked deeply into her eyes. As Ruby looked into the precocious toddler's sparkling blue eyes, she swore that the second she blinked they turned bright red for a millisecond. Once Oliver blinked he fell over as if a pushed by a magical force field and starting to cry. Zelena looked up from her issue of People Magazine and rushed over to her son.

"What did you do to him, wolf girl?" Zelena sneered.

"Nothing. I swear. He just looked into my eyes and blinked" Ruby stuttered. She couldn't comprehend why she wasn't at least a little more confident sounding. After all, that is what happened. But then again, it she was talking to Zelena. Who could blame her for feeling a little threatened?

Zelena picked Oliver off the ground, kissed his head of curly red hair and told him that everything would be alright.

"Well, I think we're done for the day and for the rest of his life. Thank you, Dr. Hopper" Zelena said.

"Hold on, Zelena. Is there a problem? Why don't you want to continue the therapy sessions? Oliver seems to be doing so well" Archie responded as he caught up with her to escort her out of the office like a gentleman.

"We'll be back as long as that mutt isn't here... and I don't mean Pongo" Zelena replied with another one of her signature sneers.

Just as Zelena and Oliver walked away, Oliver turned his head to face Ruby and yelled "Bye bye, baby". A statement that stuck with Ruby all night and for the next few weeks that followed.