Something terribly fishy was going on, just the other night she had been knocking on Elizabeth's door and no one seemed home. Actually she hadn't seen her for a couple of days now since they had that talk.

"You are telling me they eloped to come here? What, maybe they eloped again? You know how young love is", Carmen suggested but Ruby couldn't shake off the queer feeling in her chest.

If they eloped again Elizabeth would have told her, maybe thank her for everything before saying goodbye. Plus, a little prying about the Hendersons from Marcus and she found out Bill Henderson wasn't planning to move anytime soon. His wife had a great job here and so did he so why then would they sell their house?

"Why don't we forget about it. So how was New York?" Ruby asked taking a sip of the coffee infront of her.

"Turns out I'm destined to never find love, be it in New York or here. I hooked up with this guy and after we had done it, he said he wasn't ready for something serious. He was freaking thirty four for crying out loud. Is it hard to find what you and Marcus have? I want a man to love me, a man who's ready to start a family, a man who-I don't mean to sound too proud- is atleast well off. Love never paid the bills after all"

"And I'm certain you'll find him... soon. There are lots of men out there who would be interested in having a woman like you, Carmen. Funny, witty, clever and not forgetting a good aunt", Rue laughed sipping the coffee once more and savoring the taste of the coffee in her mouth.

The last time she had been at Carmen's house and drank coffee she ended up regretting taking it in the first place. It was so strong and by strong she meant bitter so much that it almost choked her. A trip to New York had done Carmen some good, looking around she noticed the few momentos Carmen came back with.

Like her fireplace had these little glass dolls on top and they looked good despite being fragile. She also bought new paintings, some that looked very expensive coupled together with fuzzy woolen rags that simply warmed Ruby's feet.

"I do make a fine aunt, don't I?"she teased and they both chuckled.

Thump. Thump.

The vibrating sound of knuckles hitting against the door startled them. As if the visitor couldn't wait any more, the sound came again,

Thump. Thump.

Followed by Carmen saying,

"I'm not expecting any visitors today, who could that be?"

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Although Ruby didn't have any reason to worry, the fact of the matter was that with every little knock, with Carmen's hesitation to open the door, made her heart beat faster, her palms sweat and her brain like a bomb waiting to detonate.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Except this time, she wasn't inside Carmen's house. She was standing mortified behind Marcus with another guy standing behind her, she couldn't make out why Marcus had a gun in his hands or why the police sirens echoed so harshly in her ears.

"Phill Radoll! LAPD!"Marcus shouted knocking three times and having heard nothing from the other end, he knocked the door down.

"Don't move any further or the kid and I die!"The man standing with a lighter and a soaked kid in his arms warned and at that point, Ruby wanted to do nothing but shout 'don't hurt him. Don't hurt Seth'.

"Rue? Ruby! Ruby!" Carmen brought her back from whatever memory that flashed her mind.

"A kid. I saw a kid, his name is Seth",she said almost out of breath as if she had been drowning in a nightmare.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"Geez, what is wrong with that guy?" Carmen said frustratedly getting off the couch and going to open the door.

Turning the knob, she opened the door and it was like seeing the men in black at your porch coming to wipe your memory clean after witnessing an alien invasion. The men in suits cleared way, and a recognisable face emerged from behind. Roman Cervantes was standing infront of her.

"Where is she?"

Three audible words that reached Ruby where she was seated on the couch. It was the same voice she remembered the other day, the one that said he hated it when she got drunk. On intuition, Ruby stood up and turned around locking eyes with the same grey orbs she had seen in her dreams.

The same alluring grey orbs, only this time he wasn't wearing a hoodie, his face was clear. For a moment, she could read everything in those eyes, recognition, sadness, surprise! And tears? His eyes were watery, like happy tears could at any moment fall from his eyes.

"Mi-Mikaella",he called the tears he had so long tried to hide falling.

Ruby was as dumbfounded as ever, the man looked handsome, intimidating and at the same time vulnerable like he was somehow wounded. It didn't help either when her heart beat uneasily and rapidly. In almost six long strides, the guy had already went around the couch hauling her into his chest.

Her arms stood still cocooned in his embrace. He lay his hand at the back of her head,

"I-I thought I lost you. All those years...I shouldn't-I shouldn't have believed them. I-I shouldn't have believed that you died!" He cried and though it would have been nice to be the woman he was talking about, Ruby had had enough.

She fought his embrace, pushing his chest away from her. She didn't realize tears were falling down her cheek until she started shouted at him,

"Let me go! I'm not the person you think I am. I said let me-let me go!"

He listened to her by removing his hands from his waist only to put them on her cheeks. With his huge hands firm on her cheeks and his gaze boring almost to her soul, he uttered,

"I don't know what lies he's been feeding you but you are not Ruby. You are Mikaella. Mikaella Sandoval Cervantes. My wife, the mother of my child. You have to remember, Mick. You have to remember"

The thing about pain was, it was something intangible, something that couldn't been seen but hurt so much. What he had just said ripped her heart to shreds, rather it was the certainty in his eyes, that affirmed he was telling the truth. Just like that, like taking a second to sip coffee, the life she knew crumbled before her.

She couldn't speak, the man didn't look delirious, he didn't look like a crazy person who would come with bodyguards to say nonsense to a woman he barely knew.

"You had an accident eight years ago. T-they said you were dead, your car exploded, the body was unrecognizable...they d-did tests to confirm it was you but he- Marcus must have falsified the tests. Whatever lies he has been feeding you, they are not true",he paused gesturing to one man to bring a bunch of photos for him.

With shaking hands, he placed the photos in her hands,"This is you, Mikaella. Us. Your son. Your parents. Your brother. Your family"

Uncontrolled tears fell down her cheek seeing herself in those pictures. Seeing herself stand between her parents so happily. Her finger traced the kid in the sailor's uniform. The kid with the grey eyes kissing her cheek. The kid that was in her memory. Her son?

With a whisper, she exclaimed 'Seth?!' before everything blacked out.