Disclaimer: You know the drill – I don't own anything, not stealing anything, just for fun, yada yada …

Summary: Spoilers for 05x17 (Her Handsome Hero). Rumpel and Belle have a talk after returning to the shop about what happened.

Tags: Belle/Rumpelstiltskin, *just a little angsty, *what could have happened, *spoilers for 05x17

A/N: Two very sweet friends (Ethereal Wishes and Melstrife) demanded I write something to give them a little closure for the episode. Ladies, I really hope this comes close to easing your pain. I love y'all.

A Real Fine Place to Start

By:

CharlotteAshmore

Rumpelstiltskin held his weeping wife tightly against his side, his arms little comfort as he led her away from the docks. The walk back to his father's shop would do her good, give her a respite from talking to him as she tried to gather her thoughts. It was taking every bit of his will power to hold off the urge to scoop her up into his arms and magic them there. As she gave a little sniff and leaned heavily against his shoulder, he supposed he should be happy his father hadn't plagued them constantly with his presence, allowing Rumpel the use of his shop. He truly didn't need Pan lurking in the shadows when he already had so much on his plate.

His lips brushed tenderly over her brow as they stopped before the shop door. and he led her inside. "Come, Belle. You can lie down in the back while I make you some tea," he said gently.

Belle did as he instructed, numb with the myriad thoughts whirling through her mind. Her fingers twisted in his silk handkerchief as she watched him take off his coat and hang it next to hers on the coat rack. She was comfortable and safe … for the moment at least. How long would it be before Hades came with another deal he wouldn't care to honor? Another deal to twist to his own purposes? Sooner or later, either she or Rumpelstiltskin would fail, and then who would there be to protect their child from the true monster?

Her watery azure gaze followed him as he set out the tea service and waited for the water to boil. He poured himself a scotch – several, in fact – before deigning to look at her over his shoulder. She guiltily dropped her gaze, burying her face in his handkerchief. Just yesterday, she'd learned she was pregnant, finally blessed with an issue of their love. It was a time for them to rejoice, to celebrate, yet as it always was with them, hand in hand with the joy was an equal amount of sorrow.

Belle peeked at him through her lashes as he busied himself. He'd been so honest with her. Without fear, without it having to be forced out of him … he'd told her the truth, and laid his heart bare before her. This is who I am … take me or leave me. The news about the baby hadn't been nearly as shocking as the revelation of him being the Dark One again. The man and the beast, he'd said. Yes, he was the man, the beast, who held her heart securely in his grasp. But why must they always suffer from so much conflict?!

Then with her stubborn black and white view of the world, she'd gone to him today with yet another ultimatum … literally her way or the highway if he wanted to be with her. A broken sob escaped the painful burning constriction of her throat. Her face was awash with tears as the guilt pressed in on her. In her single-minded purpose to help her former betrothed, she'd betrayed her husband once again, taking advantage of his weakness for the dagger which controlled him. And after what had happened the last time … and he'd thanked her for it, for saving his life when she'd lashed out, and did what she'd had to do, her hand forced by fate. Without a thought, she'd put the life of her husband above her former betrothed. She'd tried to control Rumpelstiltskin once more, and he'd thanked her for it. The thought twisted her stomach, making her want to retch.

"Shh, Belle, love … don't cry, dearest …" he soothed, kneeling before her, and slowly removing the fine leather gloves from her hands. His thumbs smoothed over her palms, the trim manicured nails delicately tracing the lines. He took the handkerchief, and dried her tears as they finally slowed, her gaze following his every movement. Reaching for the teacup, he set it in her hands and offered her a sad smile. "See, all better."

"N-No … it's not," she cried, setting the tea down on the table next to the cot. "I find it hard to believe anything will ever be better again."

He stared at her levelly, his gaze open and honest, hiding nothing from her … no matter how much he wished to do so. "Belle – "

"I'm sorry," she said, cutting him off. "I tried so hard today to make things right, and help Gaston, and … I hurt you."

"You saved me. Ultimately, it was me you chose."

"I should have chosen you first." She reached for him, taking his hands, and drawing him up to sit next to her on the cot. "I let myself see only the darkness. I forgot to look deeper, and didn't see that you were suffering just as much as I was."

"What do you mean?"

Belle pulled the hat from her head and tossed it aside, giving herself time to measure her words. "I was so happy when you told me about our baby." She remembered the joy she'd heard in his voice, and a bitter smile played at her lips. "But then, as it always is with us, bad news always follows the good."

Her husband sighed. "I was honest, though … about being the Dark One again. I didn't lie to you, or try to manipulate you in order to secure your protection. Belle, I love you. I've grown, and can see I can't keep repeating past mistakes."

Her left hand settled over his, the diamond of her engagement ring a stark contrast with the moonstone in his wedding ring. Symbols of their love, a reminder of what they'd overcome to be together. "If you've grown, it seems I must have regressed." She looked up at him through her tear-stained lashes. "I promised I'd never stop fighting for you, but at the first sign of adversity, I abandoned you. I left you to die, Rumpel … alone in the wilderness, mortal, powerless. How you could ever forgive me …"

"It wasn't your fault," he whispered, his chest constricting painfully. "You didn't understand about the gauntlet. You –"

"I wouldn't even let you explain! How could you ever –"

"Stop!" he barked roughly. He could feel her pain as if it were his own, and he couldn't bear it. "We've both made mistakes."

"But we're still making them!" she wailed. "You brought me here by accident, but even here in the underworld … I'm still running from you. I can't do it anymore. What you said yesterday … you were right. I fell in love with the man and the beast. I loved all of you, even the parts which belonged to the darkness. Yet, somewhere along the way, I lost sight of that. You were right again today, and I refused to listen. It was only when you were threatened, and I reacted, that I saw you were right."

He pressed a kiss to her temple, his arms slipping about her in a comforting embrace, lending her strength. "I didn't want to be right. I really wanted for you to prove me wrong. I didn't want you to become disillusioned, and lose your faith."

Her fingers rose to twist in his lapels. "I was desperate. I thought I was doing the right thing … and I betrayed you. Please, forgive me."

"Did you?" he asked, one sardonic brow lifted in askance.

"I manipulated you and stole your dagger," she argued, her face screwed into a puzzled frown.

Those thin lips of his curved into a smirk as he removed the kris dagger from his coat and pressed it into her hands. "I don't understand," she murmured, shaking her head in confusion.

"Command me, Belle." His hands settled at her waist, drawing her closer and burying his face against the smooth ivory column of her throat.

Her breath hitched as the familiar fire which existed between them quickly sprang to life. Of all the times for her husband to feel libidinous … "Rumpelstiltskin! This is no t-time … oh, bless me, right there! … No!," she cried, pushing against his shoulder with the hand not holding the dagger.

His teeth worried at the lobe of her ear, his warm breath sending a jolt of pure sensation to her womb. "Command me, dearie," he growled. She whimpered as his spell clever hands curled around her hips and drew her onto his lap to straddle him. "Do it! Just be careful not to stab me with the damn thing."

"We're supposed to be having a conversation, Rumpel."

He sucked at the tender flesh along her collarbone as his hands roughly jerked her hips forward against his hardening length. "Oh, sweetheart, believe me … we're definitely communicating."

"I really don't want to do this!"

"You've never complained before," he argued, ceasing his teasing for a moment to cast her a smoldering glance.

"Not that! I don't want to command you."

He flicked a finger over the pearl button of her blouse just beneath the hollow of her throat, a little magic sending it flying. "You didn't have any qualms about doing it before." Another button went flying as her hand raised to cover herself. Her eyes were flinty and hard as she met his gaze, his last barb scoring a direct hit.

The Dark One's twitchy fingers disappeared beneath her skirt and she bit back a moan, refusing to let his touch arouse her any further. She held the dagger before her. "I command you to stop, Dark One," she said succinctly, praying her voice wouldn't waver. She gaped at the filthy grin he cast her before his hands curved over the sweet swell of her behind, his eyes holding hers as he dipped his head and bit the next button off of her blouse. "Oh gods!" she whimpered as he spat the little pearl accoutrement across the room. "You didn't stop! Why didn't you … " She gasped, staring briefly down at the kris. "It doesn't control you."

Rumpelstiltskin reluctantly removed his hands from her, fisting them at his sides. "No, not this time. The rules are different, Belle. I have all the power of every Dark One who came before me. Do you really think I could be so easily controlled? I control the blade; it doesn't control me."

She glanced over her shoulder at the curtain separating the back from the front of the shop. "But at the docks – "

He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, unable to resist touching her again. "Belle, you gave me hope for us. Even as a voice whispered not to trust you, even as it warned you were playing me false … I still had a thin ray of hope you still wanted to be with me. I put what little faith I could muster – because you know it's never easy for me to trust – in you and prayed you would choose me. I let him go for you."

Belle trembled, realizing how close she'd come to losing him forever. If she hadn't come between them … hadn't pushed Gaston into the river … She could feel the tears welling in her eyes once more. "You could have died!"

"It would have been a noble sacrifice. Hades would have removed the mark from our child and Emma would have ensured you returned home. You would have been safe … free to raise our child in Storybrooke."

"And you would have had to stay," she ground out angrily, her eyes flashing hotly as she wrapped a hand around his tie and jerked him forward. The gleam of stubbornness in his eyes didn't change a bit, but they did darken a bit more from the arousal still burning in his veins. "All to protect us."

"Of course. I would do anything for you, Belle. I've lied, manipulated, cheated and schemed. Why? To ensure our future, your future … even if it doesn't include me. But there will never be a moment where I will not protect you … and now our child. I will not allow Hades to take her from us."

She pulled him closer, her fingers wrapping around the length of silk in her hand. Her lips brushed over his mouth, his heated gaze never leaving hers as he watched her through hooded eyes. "These misunderstandings have to stop, Rumpel. I'm as much to blame as you are, but I want them to stop. I love you, and I want a fresh start for us."

Rumpelstiltskin let his head fall forward on her shoulder as he lost himself in her arms. "You don't know how I've longed to hear you say that."

"Together, Rumpel," she breathed, overwhelmed with emotion … love for her beast, her husband. "No more running."

His lips danced sweetly along her jaw, words of love and praise falling deftly from his clever tongue. "No more running … I think that's a real fine place to start …."