Heart of Gold

Summary: Mr. Gold pulls strings to free Belle from the psychiatric ward on the condition that she receive regular counseling and be provided a caretaker. Mr. Gold offers to keep her in his home. Gold/Belle

Disclosure: Once Upon a Time and its characters belong to ABC, the plot I have created belongs to me as well any additional characters.

"If people are supposed to be together, they find a way." – Mary Margaret

Prologue

"I'm going to need to ask you for that favor, Miss Swan."

Emma sat back in her chair at the sheriff's desk and steeled herself, "Alright, what is it?"

Gold dropped a file on her desk. "A woman named Rose Marie French is being held in a psych ward here in Storybrooke. I need you to do an investigation."

He was met with a questionable look, "How did you get ahold of this?"

"I was inspired to do a bit of research on Mo French when I acquired it, I'm afraid I cannot say from whom."

Emma furrowed her brows as she thumbed through the papers, "Huh, I didn't know Mr. French had a daughter."

"Neither do most people. He disowned her and placed her in a psychiatric unit, technically making her ward of the state. I have reason to believe she was unjustly placed there and demand an investigation. More than that, I want her free, Miss Swan." There was a tenseness to his words, he was clearly holding back anger.

"Woah, hold on a second. I'll do what I can, but I can't guarantee her freedom."

"Oh, you will do everything you can. We had an agreement, if you can remember."

"Yes, I know, but you can't expect me to perform miracles."

"I doubt you'll need to. I will, of course, be behind you throughout the process. I'm sure you'll be quite surprised how many strings can be pulled if you know where to look."

"Knowing you? I won't be."

Gold smirked and tapped his cane against the ground, "I have a feeling Regina is involved."

"I'm not surprised by that either. What would her motive be though?"

"Regina doesn't need much of a motive to make people miserable."

Emma gave a dry laugh, "I'll give you that one." She flipped through the papers and stopped. "You know, I think the better question is, what is your motive?"

"Ah," he said, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. Swan was relentlessly nosy, he would have to give her something. "Let's just say I knew her at one point."

Emma gave him a look and sighed. She thought for a second to question him further, but decided against it. She could tell she wasn't going to get much else out of him. Not right now at least. She sat back in her seat. "You know I need a reason to warrant a search, right?"

"Reasons are pretty easy to come by. Say, you happen to hear from an anonymous source that she was being mistreated."

"And I'm guessing that 'anonymous source' is you?"

"No, but the janitor agrees full heartedly. But we can't say that of course, not if we want to protect our source."

Emma gave a suspicious glance, "So… the janitor did say something? Or are you bribing him?"

Gold's eyes crinkled in a knowing fashion. "We can count on his testimony, if necessary." He pulled out a folded sheet of paper from his jacket and handed it to her. "These are the points on which the investigation is taking place. Complaints, if you will. While you're there, I want you to interrogate everyone. Does she get exercise? Go outside? Have regular therapy sessions? Human contact? Is she on any medications? Take a look at her file, under what pretenses is she insane? Gather as much information as you can."

Emma took a deep breath as she processed the notes on the page. She didn't want to say it, but she had to ask. "And what if, by some chance, she is actually crazy?"

"I am certain you will find that she is not. Find a way to talk to her, that's the key. It is likely her supervisors will lie to you. I'm sure you know I'm not the only one with good connections around here."

Emma rested her head on her hand and rubbed her temples. "Alright, fine. I'll have a search warrant on the place tomorrow, I'll see what I can dig up."

A/N: Alright, so this first chapter is a little short, but intentionally. While I want the story to focus mostly on how things pan out after she is released, I'm going to spend the first handful of chapters on the investigation and trial. I just feel like it's necessary to give some background. I've been kind of on the fence about just how much background to give though. I also figured Rose was an appropriate name. ;) Let me know what you think! Suggestions are much appreciated!