Daughter of the Moon

Chapter 14

Later on in the night as Graham slept soundly as usual, Ruby was wide awake and overcome with fear and concern. She anticipated the next morning when she and Graham would hopefully receive some answers in regards to Rowan's behavior.

Ruby woke Graham up and expressed her concerns but he assured her that everything would be fine. He also reminded her that when they got home from the sheriff station earlier they gave her a bath and got her dressed in a red sleeper with a little wolf on the chest, as well as her red blanket from Belle.

"You're right. I guess I'm just being paranoid" Ruby shrugged.

"Hey, you're not paranoid. You're a loving mother who is concerned for her daughter's health and safety. It's okay. She'll be fine" Graham said as he leaned over and kissed Ruby's forehead.

However, truthfully, he was just as scared as she was. But he knew he couldn't show it.

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The next morning, Ruby wasted no time in getting everything prepared so that she and Graham could take Rowan to see Dr. Whale and hopefully get some answers as to why the werewolf infant was acting so peculiar. Not unlike any other occasion since Zelena got a hold of Rowan, getting the baby dressed and ready to go was a struggle. She fought with her parents and resisted any form of physical contact from them by screaming, crying and scratching them if she was able to.

Eventually, Ruby and Graham were able to achieve what felt like the impossible and got Rowan dressed, into the car and straight to Dr. Whale's office.

Nurse Ratchet greeted the distressed parents with the raise of an eyebrow and a dismissive wave of her hand so as not to show the terrified look on her face that followed. Luckily, Ruby and Graham didn't have long to wait for Dr. Whale to show up and lead them to the nearest examination room. It took Dr. Whale approximately 20 minutes before he reached a verdict and reported that he found nothing wrong with Rowan except for a slight fever.

"A fever? That's it?! Are you kidding me right now, Franken-free willy? There is something seriously wrong with my daughter. She's defiant towards me and Graham, she constantly disappears at night despite us dressing her in all the red clothing in her closet; as well as wrapping her in her red blanket from Belle" Ruby began as her heart started to fill with despair and worry.

Everyone in town was more than well aware of the strength of Ruby's werewolf genes; which meant that they knew better than to argue with her when she had her mind set on something. So, Dr. Whale advised that Ruby take Rowan to see Dr. Hopper.

"We already did and he doesn't have an answer for us either" Ruby said.

"I'm sorry, Ruby. I don't know what to say" Dr. Whale responded.

"Thank you, Dr. Whale. Let's go, Ruby" Graham said as he placed a gentle hand on his wife's shoulder and ushered her out of the clinic.

Just as husband, wife and baby were about to head home, Ruby had an epiphany in regards to a possible solution Rowan's issues. If there was anyone who knew anything about odd behavior, it was the man of the magic himself... Mr. Gold.
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As the family of three arrived at the infamous pawn shop, Graham banged on the door with such strength, fury and urgency.

"Gold! You better bloody open this door right now; unless you wanna spend time behind bars just like old times" Graham yelled as the door remained closed and he continued to knock vigorously.

"I heard you the first time, sheriff. I would prefer that next time you knock a little quieter for the sake of my young daughter who, unlike your daughter, cherishes her sleep" Mr. Gold responded but nonetheless, he let them in.

Just as Ruby and Graham stepped into the shop with their screaming, defiant werewolf infant, Belle came descending the stairs with a restless Hazel in tow. As exhausted as Belle was, she was always in the mood to be paid a visit by her crimson wearing best friend and her family.

"Ruby, Graham. Is something wrong?" Belle asked as she took notice of the look of desperation and plea on their faces. Even though they thought they could hide it, Belle always knew just how to read what people really thought.

"I don't know if you've heard, but Rowan's been acting really strange. It's as if she doesn't recognize us anymore" Ruby began.

"We've sought help from Dr. Whale and Dr. Hopper. Unfortunately, they don't have an answer for us" Graham continued.

"So, Gold is our only hope" Ruby concluded.

Belle then promised that she and Gold would do whatever they could to help their friends during this dark time in their lives; for which Ruby and Graham were eternally grateful.

Eventually Hazel did fall back to sleep and Belle returned to the main floor of the shop with a stack of books in her hands. It almost seemed a load too much for her to bear. However, despite Graham and Gold's offer to help her off load the books, she said she was fine.

"If anything is going to help us get Rowan back to herself, it's bound to be in one of these books" Belle said confidently as she passed them out to those around her.

Ruby gave Belle and Gold a brief explanation as to what they had noticed regarding Rowan's behavior, as well as the opinions of Storybrooke's medical and psychological professionals. Belle and Gold took their time analyzing the facts and helping the Humberts search through the books at their disposal late into the night.

As the clock struck midnight, Ruby and Graham were quick to realize that their daughter had run off whilst leaving tiny werewolf footprints on the laminated hardwood floor of the pawn shop.

"Well, that's odd. Rowan was just in here wearing red. I thought that was supposed to prevent her from turning" Belle said with a perplexed look plastered on her face.

"That's what we thought too, but lately nothing has stopped her from turning and we fear for her safety" Ruby responded.

As Belle placed a gentle hand on top of Ruby's as reassurance that everything would be fine, the librarian's attention was suddenly caught by a dog-eared page in one of Gold's dusty brown leather bound sorcery books. The page was marked mind control potions and elixirs.

Belle thought it was completely out of the ordinary that the mind control page was dog-eared. Gold had informed her more than a dozen times that he had never used such a risky spell on anyone before; no matter how obsessed he was with making anyone suffer.

"Who on Earth or all the realms would use such a dastardly spell?" Graham wondered as he looked over Belle's shoulder alongside his wife with thick furrowed brows.