Five weeks have passed since Belle made Rumple leave Storybrooke. Being alone was a lot harder than she thought it would be. She had been alone before, even looked away in an asylum in a small room by herself for 28 years, but at least, during that time, she had someone she loved to think about. Now, with her marriage over, she never felt so alone. She couldn't stand being in that large, pink house all by herself. She never understood how Rumple lived here all alone. The silence was more than she could bare. Even her sanctuary, her library, couldn't calm her. However, for some reason, she found comfort in the woods. True, there were no people, but at least the noise from the birds and the animals that made their home there provided some contentment. She was walking along the troll bridge when she spotted Will Scarlet sitting on the ground with his back against the poll at the beginning of the toll bridge. He was drinking whiskey out of the bottle as Belle approached him.

"Ah, Mrs. Gold. What a pleasant surprise to see you. What brings you all the way out here? Did the rest the Merry Men send you to find me?"

"First of all, it's no longer Mrs. Gold. And no, no one sent me to find you. This is the only place where I find comfort anymore."

"I know the feeling. Would you like to join me?"

He moved over and motioned for her to sit beside him. She accepted his request and sat right next to him with her shoulder touching his.

He held up the bottle. "Something to help ease the pain?"

Belle hesitated, but then held up her hand. He handed her the bottle and she took a small swig. "Thank you."

She tried to hand the bottle back to him, but he pushed it back at her. "Come on now, sweetheart. After what you've been through, you need more than that."

Belle smiled and took another drink. This was was longer than the first. She slowly brought the bottle down from her mouth, closed her eyes, and turned her head up towards the sky. "You were right, I did need that."

"Keep the bottle. I already had half." He smiled at her and she smirked back. "Besides, your ex-husband is the Dark One. I feel you need that more than I do right now."

They sat next to each other in silence for awhile. Will watched as Belle continued to drink from the emptying bottle. Slowly, her eyes began glazing over. As the sun began to set, Will could tell that Belle was reaching her limit. He reached for the nearly empty bottle in her hand, but she pulled it away. "You're more like Lacey than you think."

Belle laughed, "And what would you know about that?"

Will slowly took the bottle from her and quickly downed the small amount of whiskey that was remaining. "I've heard stories. Besides, I think you want to let that side of you out. You were only holding back because you were scared that Rumplestiltskin would go back to his beastly self, which he did anyway. You always wanted to go out with the girls, have a few drinks, show off your wild side. But, you always had the old husband of yours waiting for you at home."

She drunkenly responded, "But now, I have no one to go home to."

He wittily responded, "You don't have to."

Stunned, Belled replied, "Are you hitting on me, Mr. Scarlet?"

He turned away from her. "I just know how it feels to be alone."

Belle gently placed her hand on his arm. "You know, it's getting dark, and neither of us should be walking around in the woods by ourselves. Could you walk me back to the library? I think I'll stay in my old apartment tonight."

Will stood up, slightly bowed, and extended his hand to Belle. "Shall we, my lady?"

Belle took his hand as he helped her to her feet. She then put her arm around his to help steady herself as they walked out of the woods.

By the time they arrived at the library, their faces hurt from laughing so much and Will had his arm around Belle. "Well, Mr. Scarlet, I have to admit, I didn't think I would be laughing like that again so soon."

Will smirked. "Thank you for joining me. It's not often that I get a drinking buddy."

Belle forthcomingly asked him, "I've always been curious why, when you're drunk, you always seem to stumble here."

He took a minute to gather his thoughts before answering her question. "Honestly, I was always hoping to see you."

Belle blushed. "Really? You wanted to see me?"

He tied to hide his smile, but he couldn't hold it in. "Belle, you're beautiful. Why wouldn't I want to see you?"

She humbly responded, "You really think so?"

He nodded. "I know it hasn't been that long since you ended things with Gold, but would you like to go out to dinner with me tomorrow?"

Belle was surprised by his request. "Like a date?"

Not trying to sound desperate or too forthcoming, he replied, "A dinner between two people that have a lot in common, a date, whatever you want to call it."

Belle smiled as she answered, "That sounds lovely."

Will grinned. "Great. Then I'll pick you up here are 7." He leaned in slowly and kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, Belle."

"Goodnight, Will."

He turned and began walking away, semi-stumbling as he went. Belle grinned and tried to hide her laugh as she turned her back to him and entered the library.

Will walked Belle back to her apartment after their low-key, but very enjoyable dinner at Granny's. Belle couldn't help herself from smiling. She couldn't remember the last time she had such a grand evening. Though she was once married to the man that she that was the lover of her life, all of those memories felt almost fake. All the feelings she had for Rumple seemed like lies. But, with Will, everything she was feeling was real and true. It was the way she always wanted to feel about someone.

They stopped in front of the library doors before Will spoke. "Well, Miss. French, I believe this your place."

Belle looked at the doors and then back at him. "Yes, I believe it is. Thank you, Will. I had a wonderful evening."

Relieved, Will replied, "I'm glad. I had a wonderful time as well. Would you like to meet me for coffee tomorrow before you open up the shop?"

Daringly, Belle asked, "How would you like to come up for a drink instead?"

Will hesitated. "Are you sure that's not the alcohol talking? It doesn't really seem like something you would do on a first date."

She quickly replied, "First of all, I only had one glass of wine. Secondly, when I was with Rumple, I never really took time to figure out who I was. I was too busy making sure that I was always on my best behavior and that he wasn't going to hurt anyone to take the time and look at myself. But, what I know right now is that I am having a wonderful evening, and I don't want it to end yet. And if you count last night, it's technically our second date."

Will smiled, "If you're sure, love. Then I'd love a drink."

Belle unlocked the door to the library and Will held it open for her as she entered. He looked around behind them to see if anyone was watching before closing the door.
_

As they stood in the living room of the Dark One's apartment, Maleficent, Ursula, and Cruella quickly looked at each other after watching them in the glass globe that Maleficent kept in her staff. Ursula was the first to comment on the occurrence. "The Dark One is not going to be happy when he sees this."

Cruella added, "I don't think there is enough gin this world that could heal that wound."

Rumplestiltksin then joined the ladies when he heard they were talking about him. "So what wound could be so big that there isn't enough gin to heal?"

Maleficent hesitantly responded to his question. "I was unable to locate your wife."

He was shocked. "What do you mean, 'You were unable to locate my wife'? That potion I gave you should have worked."

The three women looked at each other, and he immediately knew they were hiding something. "What are you not telling me?"

Ursula quietly answered, "Your wife...we were able to find her."

Puzzled, he replied, "So, why would you tell me that you didn't?"

Ursula quietly added, "Because she is with someone."

Confused why this was an issue, he responded, "I don't know why you hide that from me. Storybrooke is full of people, of course she would be with someone."

Cruella quickly budded in. "Rumple, she's with a man."

"Just because she's hanging out with the Charmings doesn't mean you should lie to me," he said bitterly.

Maleficent boldly stated, "She's not with the Charmings, Rumple. She's with Will Scarlet."

He was surprised at what these ladies were saying. "Why would she be with Will Scarlet?"

Cruella couldn't believe how ignorant he was being. "For the love of God, Rumple! They were out on a date, and she took him back to her apartment. I really don't think you need us to spell the rest of this out for you."

He was completely taken aback by what he just heard. "Why would she be on a date, if she's married to me?"

Ursula added, "I hate to be the one to break it to you, dear, but I don't think she believes she is married to you anymore."

He aggressively requested, "Let me see her!"

Maleficent pulled the globe back towards her body. "I don't think that is a good idea, Rumple. How is this going to help you get her back?"

Cruella snobbishly cut in, "If the imp wants to see his wife doing another man, who are we to stop him?"

Maleficent slowly held out the crystal ball and poured some of the dark blue potion that he had given her in the Enchanted Forest, long ago, onto it before handing the ball to him. "We should probably leave him alone, ladies." She slowly left the room, followed by Ursula.

Cruella stayed behind for a moment to add insult to injury. "Normally, I'd love to stay and watch you be completely destroyed, but even this is too hard to watch." She left him alone in his living room with nothing but a crystal ball in his hands.

He looked down at the small, mystical ball and watched as everything the Queens of Darkness told him was confirmed. He saw Will sitting on the couch in Belle's library appartment as Belle brought him tea and sat down beside him. The smile on her face was so genuine. He always wished he could have made her that happy. Before he knew it, Will put the cup down on the coffee table and leaned in gently kissed Belle. Anger began to fill him as he not only watched another man kiss his wife, but as his wife kissed him back. The kiss deepened, but he could not tell who was leading. Suddenly, Will picked Belle up from the couch and walked with her in his arms, as a man would carry his new bride, into her bedroom. Complete despair fell across Rumple's face. Not only was his wife seeing another guy, but he couldn't believe that she'd be sleeping with him as well. He continued to watch as Will slowly laid Belle on her bed and took off her heels, letting them drop to the floor. He laid beside her, passionately kissing her, as his hand wandered up and down her leg before narrowing down to her inner thigh. Not only was he trying to watch every move Will made, but was also watching Belle's face. She was thoroughly enjoying everything that he was doing to her. She never looked that way when she was with him. What they were doing seemed to be so heated and filled with passion. He always thought she liked sweet and romantic. But, by the look on her face, that was not the case. It was slowly killing him to watch what was happening. But, a small piece of him continued to hope that she would stop this. That she would realized that she was still married to him, and that she still loved him. However, that little piece of him quickly dissolved as Will made love to Belle. He immediately waved his hand over the ball and his worse nightmare disappeared from his sight, but not his mind. He stood in complete shock for moment as his bottom lip began to tremble as he fought back the tears. After a minute, he collapsed on the couch as the tears began running down his face. He had finally come to the realization that he could no longer have everything. He could possibly, one day, have his power back, if Belle would ever return his dagger. But, at this single moment, he was feeling more regret than he had ever felt before. Because he continued to be a coward, he lost the one thing that he loved the most in life...his precious little Belle.