Stay With Me
Prompt- Problems adjusting after the asylum
Rating: T
A/N: To my darling thedoobly-doo, it is I the great Giglet-the-piglet! I do hope you like your present(s)! I'm sorry it took me so long to post my dear, I was traveling all day and just got home! I am also going to post a playlist that I used to help me with my muse! All for you my love! Merry Christmas!
The room was growing smaller and smaller, the gray walls and ceiling pressing closer causing the pressure to make her ears pop. She wanted to scream for help but it was no use, no one would hear her, no one would come. They never did. Her breathing became rigid, taking shallow, panicked breaths in and out. It hurt but she couldn't stop herself.
Belle tossed and turned in the bed, causing the sheets to tangle around her legs, preventing her from moving. The sheets were enveloped tightly around her, binding her to them. It had been only a few days since her return from the asylum, and Rumple was kind enough to let her stay with him while she adjusted to the change. She had been in the asylum for as long as her Storybrooke memories could remember. It was the only place she felt like she could call home. Mr. Gold had agreed to take her in, and told her that he would protect her by any means. Although when she had first met him no idea who he was, she took an odd comfort in knowing that someone cared enough to ensure her safety. When she regained her memories it came as no surprise that Rumple promised to take care of her.
At this point she felt as though the room couldn't get any smaller, she opened her mouth to let out a scream, hoping that someone would hear her, and rescue her from her cell. Someone had to be nearby; didn't they have guards, or nurses, or someone keeping an eye on the cells to ensure that no one escaped? She screamed as loud as she could, but no sound came out. How was that possible? She was positive that she had screamed, her throat was raw from doing so. How come she made no sound? She tried again, despite her throats protesting but still nothing.
Mr. Gold was in the living room reading a book on psychology, trying to gain some insight on how to care for his beloved Belle. He was outraged that Regina had kept her locked away for so long. The girl that had entered his shop was definitely not okay, she was broken, and Regina was the one who had broken her. He looked up when he heard a soft thump that came from his guest bedroom, the room that Belle was currently occupying.
"Belle!" he gasped, dropping the book haphazardly on the floor.
He quickly made his way up the stairs and to the guest room. Careful not to make a lot of noise he slowly opened the door to find his Belle curled in a cocoon of bed sheets on the floor. Mr. Gold let out a sigh of relief; she had simply fallen out of bed. 'Oh, Belle…' he thought to himself.
He made his way over to where his beauty was balled up on the floor, and kneeled to scoop her up in his arms. A sharp pain shot through his leg when he attempted to lift her, so he repositioned her so that she was in a more comfortable position on the floor, with her head in his lap. She was drenched in a cold sweat, and paler than usual. This alarmed him, from what he had been reading these were symptoms of sleep paralysis. He knew that she was in distress, but he also knew better than to wake her. How he wished that he could use magic on her. With a simple wave of his hand his Belle would feel soothed. But alas, Belle was adamant about not using magic on her, or at all if he could help it.
Belle stirred slightly, but it was not enough to alert her companion as to what was going on in her dream. That was one of the side effects of her sleep paralysis. Her sleep paralysis caused her body to react as though her dreams were normal dreams when in reality she was having the worst nightmare imaginable.
Rumple rubbed her back and arms delicately, so not to wake her. This seemed to help temporarily.
Suddenly the room froze, the walls stood still pressed at a crushing pressure but they had stopped moving, causing her to sigh in relief. 'Thank God!' she breathed. The room seemed to respond to her relief and was expanding allowing her to breathe again. She had thought that the worst part was over, she allowed herself to hope that she could escape this nightmare, but she was dead wrong. When her cell returned to a normal size a shadowed figure entered the room. Belle looked at the shadow with inquisitive eyes, who was this person? Were they the reason her cell returned to normal? Where were they ten minutes ago? Didn't they hear her cries for help? Why didn't they respond? "Hello?" she called out, but there was no reply from the figure. "Who are you?" she tried again, but still there was no response. Belle was becoming worried, who was this person in her cell? She backed up, further and further from the figure until she hit one of the walls. The shadow in return let out a wicked chuckle. Was this amusing? Did they find her terror that humorous? In an instant the shadow waved their arm and the room was instantly filled with water, and they were nowhere to be found. Belle was alone once more in an empty room filled to the rim with water. She panicked. She tried to swim to the top, in hopes of there being a small air pocket where she could breathe, but there was nothing. She tried hitting the ceiling as hard as she could, hoping that maybe if she hit it hard enough she would find a way to break through. Once, twice, three times but no avail. Belle felt a warm tear escape from her eye, at this point she knew she was going to die no matter what she did, so she screamed. The water filled her lungs causing her body to want to cough, but since there was no air underwater she couldn't expel what was in her lungs.
The scream the Belle let out pierced the crisp night air, causing Rumple to jump. "Shh. Shhh, Belle you're alright! I'm here, you're okay." He said comfortingly.
Belle gasped for air, taking in as much oxygen as she could, but that only caused her to cough. She felt a strong arm wrap around her to help hold her up, while another hand rubbed her arm in a soothing manner. 'How did I get on the floor?'she thought as she looked around the room. After doing a once over of the room her eyes locked with Rumple's. His expression was hidden under a relaxed mask. He didn't want her to know how worried he actually was. How long had he been there?
"Shhhh. It's okay sweetheart." His Scottish brogue mused. "It was only a dream."
Belle shut her eyes tight, trying to clear her mind of the dream, but it had felt so real. With both her Storybrooke memories, and her Enchanted Forest memories floating in her head it was hard to tell what was real and what wasn't. Belle took a shallow breath, and tried to slow her heart rate but it was pointless. The fragile girl turned into his shoulder and started to cry. Rumple wrapped her in a tight embrace, and stroked her hair trying to console his Belle.
"I'm here now darling, it's going to be alright, you'll see." He whispered, placing his lips to the top of her head.
"Let's get you back in the bed. I can't imagine the floor being very comfortable." Rumple said, clumsily rising to his feet before offering to help her.
Belle nodded, agreeing that the bed would be a better choice. She knew that she needed rest, but she couldn't bring herself to sleep if that meant having more nightmares.
"Stay with me." She said softly, after climbing back into bed noticing that he was heading towards the door. Maybe having him with her would help keep the bad dreams away. She knew he could always magically make them stop, but she wasn't about to ask him to do that, after all, 'All magic comes with a price.'
Rumple's heart melted. How long he had wanted to hear those words from his Belle, and now she was saying them, but the circumstances were so different than what he had envisioned. Still, he could not deny the pleas of his love, so he nodded and climbed into the bed next to her.
"Rest." He said, kissing her hair softly.
XXXX
The next morning Mr. Gold woke up at 6 o'clock like he did every morning, and kissed Belle's forehead before leaving the room to shower and get dressed. After her nightmare last night she had begged him not to leave her side, and who was he to object. He was hesitant to leave her after such a restless night, but he knew that he'd have to get up sooner or later so that she had a nice breakfast waiting for her when she awoke.
Belle stirred at the smell of eggs and bacon. When had she fallen back asleep? When did Rumple leave? She concluded that it must have been early that morning. The brunette stretched out her stiff muscles, before rolling out of the bed. She slipped on a silky robe over her negligee before making her way to the kitchen.
Mr. Gold was consumed with his task of making breakfast when Belle found him. She smiled to herself and leaned against the kitchen table, watching as he folded an omelet in half to let the other side cook.
"Morning." She yawned.
Her sudden greeting startled him and caused him to jump, which in turn caused the omelet he was working on to slide almost out of the pan, but luckily he was able to recover and slide it back into place without making a mess.
"Belle!" he gasped, "Good morning, Sweetheart. What on Earth are you doing out of bed? I-I thought I'd bring breakfast to you this morning."
Belle grinned, he was so thoughtful, making breakfast and bringing it to her. "Oh, I'm sorry. Here, let me just go back upstairs and. . ."
"No. No it's fine dear, we can eat here." He replied, quickly setting the table for two. He then placed the juice, bacon and eggs on the table.
"I hope everything is to your liking." He said, pulling out a chair for her.
"I'm sure everything will be delicious." Belle beamed.
They ate their breakfast in an uncomfortable silence, neither of them sure what to talk about or what was safe to talk about.
"Are you going to the shop today?" Belle asked, looking up from her half eaten omelet.
Rumple sighed, and rubbed his eyes, "Yes, unfortunately I still have a business to run, and I'm sure the town wouldn't know how to function if I weren't there." He replied.
Belle nodded. "Can I come along?" she asked, "It'll give me something to do instead of being cooped up all alone in here. I can help take inventory, or dust, or sweep? Anything, you name it."
"Belle, I don't think that it would be-"
"Please Rumple?" she pleaded, looking up at him through her big blue eyes.
Rumple ran a hand through his hair. He really didn't think it was a wise idea. There were still several people in Storybrooke who would do anything to hurt him, including harm Belle if they were desperate enough. He couldn't . . . wouldn't endanger Belle like that, but was she much safer here alone at his house? At least if she were with him he could keep an eye on her.
"Oh alright, I suppose if you-"
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Belle interrupted cheerfully, pushing herself away from the table to skip around the table and give Rumple a soft kiss on the cheek.
Rumple raised a hand to where her lips had just touched him and gave her a gentle smile.
"Belle sweetheart, you make it impossible to say no. You know that don't you?" he chuckled.
Belle simply grinned, and gave him quick peck on the lips. "I'd like to think that it's all a part of my charm."
"That it is my dear, that it is." He replied, pushing back his own chair as he started to gather their dishes.
"No, no. You made breakfast, let me clean it up. Go on and get ready for work." She said, attempting to take their dirty dishes from him.
Rumple however refused to allow her to take them.
"Ah-ah-ah. I am already dressed and ready for the day. You on the other hand are still wearing a robe, and I'm assuming your negligee underneath. We can't have you running around Storybrooke in your nighty now can we? Go ahead and get showered and dressed, I will wait for you down here."
Belle pouted and opened her mouth to protest but Rumple cut her off.
"If you wish to accompany me to the store today you need to get ready now. Otherwise I will leave you here at the house."
This seemed to put a skip in her step. Belle was not about to be left alone at the house again.
"I won't be long!" she called out, dashing up the stairs.
XXXX
As promised Belle was back by his side within minutes, her hair was pulled back into a loose braid, and she was wearing a flowing black skirt, royal blue blouse, and simple black wedge ankle boots.
"See, told you I wasn't going to be long." Belle chirped, taking her place next to Rumple.
"You look lovely darling." Gold replied, taking her hand. "All ready to go?"
Belle nodded, and laced her fingers in his, letting him lead her to his Cadillac. The drive to the shop wasn't a long one, but Belle found excitement in everything about this new world. She gazed in awe as they exited the neighborhood and into town, passing a few shops here and there. Her fascination amused Gold, and he simply smirked and continued down the familiar streets.
"Ah, here we are." He said, putting the car in park.
Belle's attention was torn from her window, and she eyed the shop behind Rumple with excitement.
Rumple, sensing her enthusiasm, hurriedly got out of the car, and walked to her side to open the door for her. Belle in turn hopped out of the car, and followed him into the shop.
"There are many, many things in this shop. Some of them can be quite dangerous. I keep most of those in the back, away from the customers." He said, unlocking the door.
Gold flipped the sign to 'OPEN' and lead Belle to the main part of the shop.
"I think I could use your assistance taking inventory of what I have in the front portion of the shop. I'd like to eventually sort through all of this and form some sort of system." He continued giving her a brief tour.
It wasn't Belle's first time in the shop, but the previous times she was there she wasn't going through the merchandise. Most of the things in the shop were a magical artifact of some kind, and Rumple did not want Belle accidently turning herself into a porcelain doll, or worse.
Belle nodded, trailing her hands along the glass counters in a half daze. She couldn't wait to get to work. She started sorting through the artifacts, taking note of what each item was and what condition they were in. Rumple was right, there were several items in his shop, Belle wasn't entirely sure how he kept track of everything.
Gold smiled lovingly as he watched his beloved Belle flutter around his shop. Normally he did not like people in his shop (mainly because they did nothing but make frivolous demands, and pester him for help), but seeing Belle float around his shop in awe filled him with a warm, cozy feeling. He hadn't felt this way since they were in the Dark Castle, before Regina abducted her.
Belle was scribbling more notes into the blank journal she was using to take inventory when she came across a series of dusty looking books.
"Rumple?"
"Yes dear?" he replied.
"What are these?" she asked, holding up one of the books.
Rumple chuckled. Of course she would be the one to find books in his shop.
"They're books of course." He replied flippantly.
"Well I can see that, what are they about? Do these books contain any dark magic that I should be concerned about?"
Gold shook his head, "No my darling, they are perfectly ordinary books. I think you'd actually enjoy that one."
Belle looked at the book in hand, 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' the title read. A smile emerged on the brunettes face, she was always fond of adventure books, and this one had adventure in the title!
Her blue eyes flitted from the book, to the journal, then finally to Rumple, who seemed to know exactly what she was thinking.
"Go ahead dear, there's a small cot in the back, make yourself comfortable and read to your hearts content. I'll finish up the inventory."
"Thank you!" she cheered, giving him a brief kiss on the lips before heading to the back room.
XXXX
Minutes ticked away, becoming hours, and still no still no sound from Belle. Rumple had finished most of the inventory that he had scheduled to do today, and decided that it was about time to check on his love.
He pushed the curtain aside and found himself speechless at the site he had found. Belle was passed out on the little cot, with book in hand. 'She must have fallen asleep reading.' He thought to himself.
Rumple took the book from her hand, marked the place where she had left, and placed the book on the desk nearby. He returned to her with a blanket, and tucked her in. He knew that she didn't get much sleep from the previous night, so he thought it was best to let her sleep.
Belle rolled over once Rumple placed the blanket over her, causing Rumple to shift to avoid her bumping into him. A few moments later Belle shot up like a rocket, "Rumple!" she screamed, pulling her knees to her chest.
"I'm here darling, I'm here!" he cooed, wrapping his arms around her frail body.
"It happened again!" she cried, pulling herself closer to him.
Rumple traced soothing circles on her back, in attempt to help her relax.
"She was there, laughing at my torture. She drowned me, Rum! SHE. DROWNED. ME."
"Shh…" he soothed, "It'll be alright. I'm here now. She can't hurt you."
Rumple didn't even need to ask who the she was that Belle was referring to. It was the evil bitch who kidnapped her, and held her captive for over 28 years. It was only natural that she'd be having night mirrors about her.
"I know that Rum, but it still hurts. It feels so real!" she cried.
Rumple placed a gentle kiss on her shoulder. "I know sweetheart, I know."
Belle ducked her head into his neck, breathing him in. Somehow his scent helped calm her ragged breathing.
"I'm scared." She admitted, in a barely audible whisper.
Rumple cupped her chin, and brought his lips to hers. "I'm right here sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere."
"Make it stop." She pleaded, "Help me forget."
The look in her eyes said it all, she was hurt, and the only way to fix it was to show her as much love and compassion as he possibly could. He wasn't sure how this would end up, but he couldn't stand to see Belle so broken.
He kissed her softly on the forehead, then her nose, and finally her lips. He was gentle, never forcing. He was willing to take this as slow as he needed to. This was about her, making sure that she felt safe, and loved.
Their kiss started as something tender, but quickly grew to something of passion. Belle tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled him closer, parting her lips as she did so. Rumple moaned into her mouth when she pulled his hair, but allowed the kiss to be deepened. He allowed her tongue to explore his mouth, and in turn she allowed his to explore hers. They quickly were mangled in a fight for dominance, but Rumple, ever the gentleman, let her take the lead.
Belle lay back on the cot, bringing Rumple down with her. He knew that things were getting heated and fast, and while they had both admitted their love for one another, they had yet to show it physically. The only other woman Rumple had ever been with was Milah, and that was centuries ago. He wanted to make sure that he wasn't going to mess it up this time. He wanted it to be perfect, Belle deserved nothing less.
Despite Belle's protest Rumple broke the kiss, "Are you sure you want to continue?" he asked, with concern in his eyes.
Belle nodded, "I want you Rumple. I want you to make me forget."
Rumple nodded, and with a flick of his wrist the door to the shop was locked, and the sign was flipped to "CLOSED.'
"Alright." He whispered, "I think I can do that."
His lips once again found hers and the battle for dominance once again continued, this time he took the lead. He toyed with the fabric at the end of her blouse, and pushed it upward revealing her milky white skin. Rumple moved his lips from her lips to her jaw, then nibbled his way down her neck, and then to her shoulder. Belle felt a shiver run down her spine, and grinded her hips against his. She wanted more. She needed to be closer.
"Patience love" he replied, finding his way to her stomach.
Belle's breath hitched when his tongue dipped into her navel. Everywhere he touched felt like it was on fire! Her nerves were on edge, it was like nothing she had ever felt before. He started to kiss up her stomach, and pushed her blouse over her head.
She was stunning. Everything he had dreamed and more. He wanted to take his time, and worship every inch of her perfect body, but she seemed to have other plans.
Before he knew it she was pushing aside his jacket and tugging at his tie. Her eyes were dark, full of lust. She wanted him just as bare as her. She left the tie un-tied dangling around his collar, and started on his buttons. As much as she loved seeing him dressed to the nines, it was rather problematic when trying to undress in a quick manner.
Rumple chuckled at her frustration, and started to pull off his shirt. Satisfied, Belle un-hooked her bra and lay back down. Rumple caressed one breast, teasing her nipple with a pinch, while suckling the other one in his mouth. Belle arched her back, trying to cause more friction around her nipples.
Rumple moaned against her breast, and brought his lips back up to meet hers. She kissed him back as hungry as ever.
"Are you, absolutely one hundred percent sure you want to do this now?" he asked.
Rumple did not want to force Belle into doing anything she wasn't ready for, especially now, in her fragile state.
"Yes Rumple, I am one hundred percent sure." She panted, bucking her hips against his.
With that said Rumple obliged to her request.
XXXX
They spent the rest of the afternoon in the back room, exploring each other in ways they never thought possible in the Enchanted Forest. Rumple did everything he could to make her feel safe and loved, and to help her forget her horrible reoccurring dream.
Night time arrived sooner than expected, and Belle's stomach made a soft gurgling sound.
"Someone sounds hungry." Rumple mused, kissing the back of her shoulder.
Belle giggled, and rolled over. "I guess it's about time to get some food then, seeing how I slept through lunch, and spent the afternoon doing… other enjoyable things."
"Have you ever tried lasagna? There's a diner not far from here that makes excellent pasta." Rumple offered.
"Lasagna sounds delicious." Belle beamed.
Rumple wasn't sure how long her happiness would last, if he were being honest probably until the next time she fell asleep, but he was determined to find a way to end her night terrors once and for all. He'd find a way to rid the Evil Queen from haunting Belle's dreams, no matter how long it took.