Chapter 11

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Ruby leaped out of bed the next morning in fear that Rowan had gotten away again. But was relieved to know that this precious who resembled an equal amount of her mother and father had made it through the night. Ruby looked to the left side of the bed and was shocked to see that Graham wasn't there. She looked out the window on that sunny but breezy morning and assumed not a lot of crime was happening in town today. Just as she was about to search for him, Rowan began to stir and wake up from a long night's much deserved rest.

"Good morning, sweet girl" Ruby said as she bent down into the crib, scooped Rowan up into her arms and kissed her blushing cheek.

Mother and daughter carefully made their way down the stairs in search of Graham.  Ruby let out a sigh of relief when she found her husband whistling "my wish" by Rascal Flatts.

"Rowan, lets say good morning to daddy" Ruby said as Graham turned off the stove, kissed him and handed Rowan off to her father so she could make her daughter's breakfast.

"Good morning, angel face. You did so good last night. Daddy is very proud of you" Graham said as he smiled down at the miraculous little girl in his arms. Even though she was a little over a month old, he still could not believe that she was with them.

Just as the family of three was about to enjoy a nice quiet breakfast, an urgent sounding knock ca,e from the door. Graham opened it to reveal a very sweaty Henry Mills hunched over in an attempt to catch his breath. Ruby and Graham briefly exchanged confused glances and wondered what Henry was doing at their house when he should be at school and why he would run since the school was only a five minute walk from their house.

"Henry, shouldn't you be in school?" Graham asked.

"Yeah, but I'd rather help you protect Rowan. You don't know what tricks Zelena could pull if you're not careful" Henry advised in response once he was able to catch his breath.

Graham had been working for Regina long enough to have good sense of when her son was truly serious about something. In that moment during breakfast as Ruby was busy feeding their daughter, he knew that Henry had obtained some knowledge in regards to what Zelena was planning. He looked at his wife with a pleading look at she shrugged in response and mouthed "okay".

"Henry, what do you know?" Graham asked with a stuttered and that same pleading look in his eyes, praying that there would be a solution to saving his daughter from becoming an instrument in Zelena's perhaps deathly plan.

The teenage novelist then went on to explaining that Zelena would have a harder time getting a hold of Rowan if she could never find her. In Ruby's mind, this could only mean one thing: she would have to leave her for a certain amount of hours during the day. As a new mother, she felt extremely uncertain about the separation anxiety that came with this plan. But as a fellow werewolf and someone who knew what is what like to be targeted for being a bit extraordinary, Ruby understood that she had to do what was best for her daughter even if she did not like it.

"Ruby, do you know anyone you could trust Rowan with for a couple hours? Maybe Granny?" Henry asked.

Before Rowan was born, Ruby and Graham had actually discussed who would watch Rowan if they were not around for some reason. Their primary choice would have been Granny if they didn't take into consideration Granny's age and the fact that Rowan was going to grow up to have a lot of energy; which would make it difficult for Granny to keep up with her. The other two options they talked about were the Golds and the Nolans.

"I would want to leave her with Belle but Hazel is only 7 months old and it takes two to tango. So I guess we could leave her with David and Mary Margaret. What do you think, babe?" Ruby asked as she turned to Graham.

"As long as they don't mind, I don't see why not" Graham responded.

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Later on in the afternoon, Ruby decided to test Henry's hypothesis and left Rowan with Mary Margaret and David before she left for work. As she headed out the door, she was thankful that she was leaving her daughter in the hands of one of her best friends. When she asked Mary Margaret  if she really wouldn't mind she responded with a chuckle, "of course not. I forgot what it feels like to have a kid that doesn't run around the house and gets into everything".

As Ruby walked out of the Nolans house and climbed into the driver's seat of her red Chevrolet Camaro, she began to pray that Zelena did not have a session booked for today. The last thing she needed was for the wicked enchantress to ask where Rowan was so she could gather more entail for her plan to take over the town.

When Ruby entered Archie's office, she immediately spotted Oliver playing with a coiple of his toys on the floor, so she expected nothing less than to see his mother accompany him. The sessions were only something she agreed to in order to satisfy Robin Hood and get him to stop nagging her about what was best for their son. But Ruby was shocked and relieved to find that Robin Hood was the one entertaining their son.It was the first time she had ever seen them alone together, and it made her wonder just how much involvement he had.

"Robin, it's great to see you" Ruby said as she made eye contact with the former thief.

"You too, Ruby. I heard about what Zelena's trying to do, and I'm so sorry. That's actually part of the reason Oliver and I are here" Robin Hood replied.

When Archie emerged from the washroom, he noticed that Robin Hood and Ruby were already talking about what was going on, so he thought to just let them be and see how Ruby would do handling this case alone. He thought it would be good practice for those odd times when he wasn't around.

Robin Hood explained that while Oliver seemed to be doing  well at the therapy sessions with Archie, he noticed that the minute Zelena and Oliver came home, the toddler would act up and throw the biggest tantrums; which caused his face to go green and his under developed powers to get wildly out of control; and instead of attempting to calm him down, Zelena would marvel in wonder at her son utilizing his powers and encourage him to keep going.

"I can't take it any more, Ruby. I want Oliver to live a simple life where he won't get into a lot of trouble because of his powers. As long as Zelena is free to take him as she pleases, I don't see it happening. I need a lawyer. Do you know where I could find one?" Robin Hood asked, as he pleaded with a desperate look in his eyes as if he were at his wits end.

"I actually do; and for once, it's not Sidney" Ruby said as she searched through her cell phone contacts and made a call.



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