The Big Bad Wolf and the Rabbit

Chapter 2 : Comfort

In Bigby's office, he had locked the door so that she wouldn't be able to just bolt out of the room. Though the door being locked really just made the poor little rabbit even more nervous than she already was. He gently set her down on the chair in front of his desk, removing the coat that was concealing her. He sat down in his chair and pulled out a piece of paper that the rabbit couldn't get a good look at...mostly cause she was curled up into a ball against the chair so she couldn't see over the desk. But she could see Bigby's face just fine.

Bigny cleared his throat, making her jump just a little. "Sorry. I just need to ask you a few questions alright?" He wasn't going to dive too deeply into her father's murder right now. Anyone could see that's the last thing she would be able to handle talking about right now. She just gave a slow nod. She was always a respectful child when it came to adults, she just had hears far more scary stories about Bigby than she had positive ones.

"Okay...first. What's you're name?" He asked in a gentle tone. She was quiet for a moment, just trying to build up the courage to use her voice. When she did speak, her voice was soft and sweet, though shaky like the rest of her,  "Lulu." She said. Bigby gave a nod and a gentle smile, desperate to make her relax. "That's a lovely name." He complimented, writing it down. "...Thanks." Was all she said, not sure how she felt about the compliment. Bigby moved his gaze back to the tiny rabbit. "How old are you Lulu?" Again, it took her a few moments to answer. "8." Bigby nodded and wrote it down. He rubbed his face, really not wanting to have to ask her. He looked back at her, his gentle smile gone and now replaced with an apologetic frown. "Did you see who was in your home? Who...attacked your father?" He asked her hesitantly. As much as he didn't want to, he needed to know this information if she had it. The little rabbit looked down and shook her head solemnly. "N-no...I left my room to get a snack...I heard a crashing sound and then saw my dad being tossed across the room." She said, beginning to shake again. Bigby nodded. It made sense. As he thought back to the crime scene he did notice the place was a total mess. "So then you ran away and called Miss Snow right?" He asked, receiving a nod in confirmation. 

Bigby got up and began walking over to her, she curled in a tighter ball. She let out a small squeak. "That's all I know I promise please don't eat me, Mr. Wolf!" She yelped. The sheriff rose an eyebrow and crouched down to look at her properly. "I'm not going to eat you. You're not in any trouble. Why would you-" He cut himself off and rubbed his face. "Damn I thought that after my last case at least this extreme of fear would be gone..." He grumbled. "I promise I won't hurt you okay? Come on. We're going to go see if Miss Snow is back yet. I need to talk to her." He said, holding his hand out to her, keeping it far enough away so that it shouldn't make her totally nervous. Lulu eyed his hand with her big green eyes carefully before she slowly uncurled and placed her little hand into his. Bigby backed up a little so she could slide off the chair and walk next to him. He led her out of the office, unlocking the door and walking to the business office where Snow hopefully was...he needed someone to watch her. As they walked though, he had to be hunched a bit to the side in order to continue holding her hand. While she was still in her true form she was standing just below his knee.

Luckily Snow was in fact back. Bigby walked over to her with Lulu, who quickly let go of his hand and ran and hid behind Snow's legs, who gasped a little in surprise. "Oh! Well hello there Lulu." She looked up at Bigby. "Well...you got her to hold your hand." She said with a small smile. Bigby groaned in response. "Yeah. After I promised that I wasn't going to eat her. I thought after everything that happened Fabletown would be over my past." He said. Snow placed a hand on his arm. "Most of them are. She's just a child though Bigby. Most parents use you as a way to make sure they behave." She explained, causing him to just roll his eyes. "Whatever. Well, she's going to need to stay with someone until we can solve this. I don't want to risk her getting caught in this even more than she already is." He said. "I couldn't agree more, but I think she will be the safest with you, Bigby." Snow said, getting prepared for an argument. "What? Oh no. I'm not babysitting." He argued. "Well when you go on investigations have someone else watch her, but I do believe she will be the safest with you. If something happens you can keep her safe." Snow countered, placing her hands on her hips. "You're taking care of her until this is resolved."

Bigby moved his gaze to the little rabbit and then back to Snow. He grabbed her arm and pulled her away. "Snow, I don't know the first thing about kids." He said. "Look, I'm hesitant about it too Bigby," Snow started as she followed him away. "but you are the best person for this. I truly believe that." He said, being met with a still unsure gaze from Bigby. "Look I'll help you get the stuff you need in order to actually take care of her, but she's going to be under your care until this is solved, which then she will be either put into foster care or sent to the farm, but until the threat is gone I can't think of anywhere safer." Bigby groaned, seeing there was no way out of this. Knowing Snow she wouldn't change her mind easily. "Fine. Fine! But you get to convince her. He looked up and glanced around the room for the little rabbit, and she was no longer standing where they had left her. "Shit."