Ruby Redfort: try not to scream

Chapter 27- Dead or Alive?

Hitch knew it was too late for Ruby. After what he had seen, she was probably already gone. They all shifted in anticipation, waiting to see if she would come out. Clancy had sunk to the floor with his head in his hands. There was nothing he could do this time. It was likely that only one of the two people in that building would come out alive and, by the look on Hitch's face, it probably wasn't going to be Ruby.

From the window there emerged a figure. Distant and small, jumping down from the ledge. Was it Ruby or was it The Count? One person. The other still inside, maybe dead, maybe alive. As they jumped, their outfit became more visible. Blue jeans and a T-shirt. It was Ruby. She was alive.

"Rube?" shouted Clancy. Could it really be her?
"Kid?" called Hitch, starting to walk towards the figure.
A feeble whisper traveled across the downtown street.
"Hitch. Help," came the cracking gasp of Ruby's voice. Her hand clutched the side where the knife had been. As the words left her mouth, the lack of blood became a big problem. Her vision went fuzzy and her legs gave way. Hitch reached her side just in time to catch her as she fell to the floor. As she left her conscious state she heard his voice circle her mind.
"Stay with me Ruby. Hold on."

Instead of a hospital, they took Ruby into Spectrum. SJ took one look at her and rushed her into the operating room, leaving the others in LB's office, worried sick. Clancy had never been inside Spectrum before and he never thought he would be allowed to come in. They sat in silence, surrounded by white. The only sound was the muffled breathing of the boss, the butler, the boyfriend, the brit, Blacker and the potato head. About an hour later, SJ entered the room with a solemn expression. Hitch rose from his chair and walked over to her.
"So?" he asked, his voice shaking.
"Hitch, you have to understand that she lost a lot of blood on the way here," said SJ, quietly.
Hitch sighed and walked back over to the desk.
"Is she alive?" asked LB.
SJ hesitated, not wanting to give false hope.
"She's breathing by herself but with the gunshot and now this, she's not very stable,"
"Can we see her, please?" asked Clancy, standing up.
"If you want. Just so you know... it's not a pretty sight," SJ's face said it all. Ruby was hurt. She was hurt badly and there was a chance she wouldn't make it through. Hitch led the way through Spectrum to the Orange ward where Ruby was. As they entered they saw what SJ had meant. Ruby was ghostly pale and covered in blood. She was still out cold and if you weren't close enough, you would think she was dead. Clancy ran over to her side, traumatised to see Ruby this way. He carefully moved the hair from her face to see her closed eyes. Hitch stood back in shock. He had always seen Ruby as a bright and happy kid who, no matter the circumstance, managed to stay calm. But now she was lying there, half dead, and it was all because she had gone back to save him.
LB just stared at her. The last time she had seen an agent look this terrible was three years ago, on the ice lake. Ruby reminded her of Bradley Baker in many ways but now she looked like him when he died.
After a while, they all couldn't bear to look at her anymore, so they turned away. They talked for a while, staring at the wall. When the topic of conversation turned back to Ruby they discussed all of the good times. To them, it was like she was already gone. SJ had made the point that if she didn't wake up soon then she probably never would. As they talked, they started to laugh at all of the nicknames Ruby had for them all.
"You know, I never could find the snooze button for her calling me a potato head," laughed Froghorn, rolling his eyes.
"Correction. There never was a snooze button for you being a potato head," sighed Ruby. Everyone spun around to see her eyes open and a slight smile on her face. Clancy and Hitch ran over to her.
"Rube, you're alive?" cried Clancy, pulling her into a hug. She winced slightly and he let go.
"It would seem so," said Ruby, sarcastically looking at her hands.
"You know, for someone described as the smart kid's smart kid, you sure can be an idiot sometimes, kid," smirked Hitch. Ruby pulled a face.
"Oh yeah? Maybe next time I won't save you from that psychopath,"
"You're right, I'm sorry. Thank you, kid," he said, smiling.
"Hey, I'll die for you anytime. Although, I'm starting to think that I need a pay rise,"
Hitch laughed. She was ok. Yes, she was in a lot of pain but she was alive and that was all that mattered.

SJ decided that Ruby was alright to go home as long as she rested for a week. As Hitch drove her, Dan and Clancy back to Greenwood House, Ruby started to wonder how they were going to justify her injury to her parents.
"Don't worry, kid. Your parents flew out to Italy, yesterday," Hitch said.
"Of course they did," said Ruby. "How could I forget,"
When they got to the house, the door was flung open by a very worried Mrs Digby. The housekeeper was aware of Ruby's job because it was her who had saved Ruby from Casey Morgan. It was times like these that Mrs Digby wondered why she had not forbidden Ruby to work for Spectrum.
"Child, are you alright?" she asked, running over to help Ruby out of the car.
"Yeah. I mean, other than the fact that I've just been stabbed, I'm doing great,"
Mrs Digby and Hitch helped Ruby up the stairs and went grocery shopping. They would be needing lots of banana milk in the next week. Clancy and Dan were left alone in the kitchen. The tension was high and neither of them spoke. Ruby was sleeping but Clancy wanted to be there when she woke up. Dan knew that he was mad. In all fairness he had a right to be mad. Dan wanted to speak but he really didn't know what to say. In the end, it was Clancy who spoke first."So... you tried to kiss her," he said, looking up to face him. Dan nodded, awkwardly. "Why?" asked Clancy, trying not to show the anger in his eyes. Dan hesitated.
"I don't know. I mean, I... like her," he couldn't quite find the words. Clancy stayed quiet.
"But I want you to know that I'm not going to do anything about it,"
Clancy nodded appreciatively.  Dan stood up to leave.
"Just so you know, she really loves you, Clancy. And if I were you, I would never take that for granted,"