This is part 17 of my "Gone to the Dogs" series. Please note that there will be only THREE more entries, and then I will be closing out this series as complete. If there is something you'd like to see happen, please leave me a reply and I will do my best. Thanks for reading!
Runaway
The muffled sound of a ring tone woke Belle from her sound sleep, and she moaned sleepily as she stretched a bit, loosening herself from Gold's tight grip. "Ronan," Belle mumbled, "I think your phone is ringing."
"Mmmm-hmmm," Gold muttered, and he pulled Belle back into his arms.
"You're not going to answer it then?"
"It'll go to voicemail," he whispered in reply. Gold sighed as he nuzzled his face in Belle's hair, then kissed the top of her head. He then opened his eyes and immediately squinted them shut again. "Why are the lights on?" Belle opened her eyes and blinked as she adjusted to the light.
"The power must have come back on during the night. Can't believe we didn't notice. I guess we tired each other out."
"Aye, that we did," Gold agreed, his Scottish accent thickening a bit.
"Your accent is stronger when you're half asleep. Also when you're – you know."
"Is that right?" Belle sat up a bit and kissed him on the lips.
"I love your accent. I love you." They kissed for a few moments, then pulled apart. Belle turned around and looked at the clock. "Oh, it's almost eight-thirty, why haven't the dogs been in here to wake us up?"
"Maybe they're trying to be nice. Or they're tearing up your living room, could go either way."
"Sophie! What are you doing?" Belle called out, and immediately both dogs came tearing into the bedroom.
"Did you have to do that?" Gold asked as Stewart flew onto the bed and Sophie looked like she was about to do the same. "Off. I'm not having another injury because of you," Gold said to Sophie sternly. The large dog let out a small whine, then plopped onto the floor next to the bed.
"I'm gonna go feed them and let them out. Be right back." Belle stood up, completely naked, and Gold grinned as he watched her walk over to her closet, take out a blue satin robe, and put it on. The dogs dutifully followed her out of the room, and she returned several minutes later with a paper plate filled with several small, plain donuts. Gold was stretched out on the bed, his fingers laced behind his head, his eyes closed. Belle hopped onto her side of the bed. "Hungry?" she asked.
"You know, I never even had dinner last night, now that I think about it," Gold replied as he opened his eyes.
"Want one? I was planning to do my grocery shopping this morning so I don't have a whole lot here." Gold sat up, and Belle broke off a piece of a donut and fed it to him. "The storm is over – we can go out for breakfast if you like."
"I would prefer, if possible, to not have to see people today."
"I'm people," Belle teased as she fed him another donut.
"You – are the exception. Do you have any eggs here?"
"I think I have a few left."
"Any bread?"
"A little bit. Might be a day or two expired though."
"That's the best kind. I think I can make us a quick breakfast, how does that sound?"
"Okay," Belle replied. "You um – you gonna do that naked or are you going to put the suit back on?"
"You have something for me to wear?"
"You want one of my nighties?" Belle teased. Gold wrinkled his nose and rolled his eyes at her.
"I was thinking more along the lines of an oversized t-shirt or something. You're not THAT much smaller than me."
"Oh, I've got something – it'll be perfect." Belle set the now empty plate on the nightstand and popped out of bed, as Gold sat up, picked up his boxer shorts from the floor, and put them on. "Here – it might be a tiny bit snug but it should work." Belle handed him a fuzzy pink bathrobe.
"Pink? Really, Belle?"
"What, you like pink! Your house is pink!"
"It's SALMON, not pink." Gold grabbed the robe, and put it on. It didn't close all the way, and Belle giggled at the sight of him as he stood up.
"You are too adorable," she said, and she jumped in front of him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Gold kissed the top of her head.
"Can you hand me my cane, please?"
"I want one more kiss," Belle demanded. Gold gently placed his lips on hers, and they kissed for a bit.
"I take it you don't have to work today then?" Gold asked.
"Nope. You?"
"Well, I do have my own shop so – it's my prerogative if I choose to keep it closed for the day. How about we have that breakfast, I'll go home and change, you go do your shopping, and then I'll come back here for the day."
"And night?"
"That would be lovely. Or you can come to my place. Bae will be gone until tomorrow and we do need to christen those new sheets of mine."
"Let's do that then. Come on, I'm hungry – I didn't really eat much yesterday either." Belle handed Gold his cane and they walked hand in hand into the kitchen. The dogs, who were sitting quietly in the living room, got up and followed them the moment they passed by.
"You are getting nothing, you little voyeurs. Out," Gold snarled at them.
"At least they were quiet and didn't jump on the bed," Belle commented.
"Hope they enjoyed the show."
"I know I did," Belle teased, and she kissed him on the cheek. "So – what will you be making?"
"You ever have eggs in a basket?"
"I don't think I have," Belle replied as she let go of his hand and moved to the counter. She started to make some coffee as Gold rifled through her refrigerator. He took out what he needed, then found what was left of a loaf of bread and grabbed that as well.
"This is my favorite breakfast – my father used to make it all the time."
"You don't talk about your father much. Or your mother."
"Well, my mother left us when I was a boy so – not much to talk about there. And my father – he was – difficult. Did his best. Probably not the best parent material in hindsight, but – he kept food in my stomach and clothes on my back and he let me have a dog."
"I just feel like there's still so much we don't know about each other."
"Well – we have a lot to talk about then. There'll be time for that. There'll be time for everything."
"I want to know everything about you, Ronan," Belle said as she put her arms around him from behind while the coffee brewed and he prepared breakfast.
"You already know more than most. And you know the worst and you haven't shown me the door, so – I think we'll be okay. Now I just have to get my son to talk to me again – I think the fact that you and I are on the mend will help with that matter, at least." Gold finished making breakfast and Belle poured the coffee, and they sat down at the table to eat. The dogs parked themselves under the table. "You can sit there all you like, you're not getting any," Gold remarked.
"Oh, they can have a little piece," Belle argued.
"No. No table scraps, I will not have spoiled dogs."
"But they're so cute! And they were really good last night. Just one little piece." Gold sighed.
"Fine," he reluctantly agreed. Belle handed each dog a small piece of bread. "I do get to win an argument sometimes with you, don't I?"
"If you can prove you're right – sure," Belle answered.
"I see. Is – pretending I'm right an option on occasion then?" Belle smiled at him.
"I suppose that's a possibility. Alright."
"Well, at least I get that much. How do you like it? Your breakfast."
"It's good. Thank you. You know – I think you should wear pink more often, it's a very flattering color on you."
"Very funny. Alright, I am going to go change and head home and get ready for the rest of our day – and night."
"I'll clean up. Don't forget to check your voicemail."
"What?"
"Your phone rang, that's what woke us up. Well, that's what woke ME up – you sleep like a rock."
"Not when you kick me in the middle of the night, I don't."
"When have I kicked you?"
"You fidget in your sleep. Why do you think I have to grab onto you so tight, it's to keep you still."
"Of course. That's why." Belle stood up and kissed him on the neck, then Gold stood up, gave her a quick kiss on the lips, and left the room.
After cleaning up the kitchen, Belle made her way to the bedroom. The dogs followed, as they had remained in the kitchen with Belle, hoping to find a few more table scraps. Gold was sitting on the edge of the bed, still in the pink bathrobe, his suit jacket lying next to him. He was talking on his cell phone. "Yes – thank you," Gold said into the phone, then he set it aside.
"Is something wrong?" Belle asked.
"Bae and Emma – they're gone," Gold replied, a nervous look on his face.
"Gone? What are you talking about?"
"That message – it was from David Nolan. Emma wasn't in her room this morning. She left them a note – said she and Bae wanted to be together and they were leaving. Snuck out the window."
"I thought Bae was spending the weekend at his friend's house."
"Yes, so did I. I just spoke to August's grandfather – they're still out of town. My boy lied to me. Lied straight to my face and didn't bat an eye."
"But it – it was storming last night."
"I know – David said that Emma went to bed early, they thought nothing of it. She must have snuck out before the storm started. I tried calling Bae's phone – he's not answering. Emma isn't either." Belle sat down next to him and took his hand. "David called the police – they're out looking for them. I need to go home and change and – go with them."
"I'll – I'll go too," Belle said.
"You don't have to do that, Belle. This isn't your problem."
"Ronan – your son is in trouble. You're worried. Of course it's my problem." Gold laid his head on Belle's shoulder and she wrapped her arms around him.
"Belle, this is all my fault. If I had just listened to my boy, listened to what he wanted – it was a bad storm out there last night Belle, it came out of nowhere, where could they have gone?"
"We'll find them, alright? We'll bring them home," Belle assured him as she ran her fingers through his hair.
The night before . . . . . . .
"Emma, maybe we should go back, it's getting kind of dark," Bae said as he looked up at the sky nervously. Both of them were wearing backpacks as they walked down the road. They had made it several miles out of Storybrooke.
"They're not gonna listen to us if we go back. I'm tired of their stupid rules, Bae – it's not fair. We didn't do anything wrong."
"Emma – what about Zoey? She'll miss you. And your baby brother."
"Well, yeah I miss them, but our parents, they're never gonna listen to us, Bae. My parents want to control everything I do and your dad will never fight for you to come back. I just want to be with you. We'll find jobs, and when we prove to them that we don't need them, we'll go back." Emma gave Bae a kiss on the cheek. "I love you." A loud clap of thunder boomed, and both of them jumped.
"How many miles is it to the first town?" Bae asked. Emma took out her phone and looked at it the GPS.
"Little over two. We can make it before the rain starts. Come on, I'll race you!" Emma began to run, and Bae darted after her.
"You know I can't run as fast as you!" Bae called out.
"Not my problem!" Emma shouted as she looked back at him and laughed, then continued to run. She laughed as she ran, and when she looked back at Bae, who was still lagging behind, she lost her footing and tripped.
"Emma! You okay?" Bae called out. As Emma fell, her phone fell out of her pocket and landed on the edge of a steep hill.
"Yeah, I'm good. Lost my phone, I need to get it." Emma crawled over to the edge. The ground at the edge of the hill was not as solid as it appeared. While reaching for her phone, Emma lost her balance and slid down the edge of the very steep hill, screaming the entire way down.
"EMMA!" Bae screamed as he ran to the edge. Bae carefully and nervously crawled down the hill, slipping a few times. When he neared the bottom, he spotted Emma lying on the ground. "Emma!" Bae called out again.
"Bae? I think I broke my leg, it hurts," Emma whimpered. Bae reached the bottom of the hill and rushed to Emma's side. He helped her sit up and hugged her tightly.
"Where's your phone?" Bae asked.
"I don't know, I lost it," Emma told him, and she started to cry.
"It's okay. We'll be okay."
"How? Bae, I'm sorry – this was a stupid idea, I'm sorry. You didn't want to do this anyway."
"I just wanted to be with you and I wanted my father to listen to me." The thunder boomed and a downpour of rain began to fall on them. Emma clung to Bae tightly. "Hey – there's a little cavern over there, let's see if we can get over there."
"There's probably bears in it."
"Well, they'll have to move over, we have nowhere else to go. Come on." Bae helped Emma stand up and led her to the cavern, where they huddled together for the night.
Gold pulled up in his Cadillac where David told him they were searching. He and Belle got out of the car, and Belle grabbed the leashes of Stewart and Sophie and led them out. David was calling out Emma's name, and Officer Graham Humbert and his beagle, Riley, was doing the same.
"You didn't need to bring your dog, Gold – I have my Wilby looking, if Emma is out there, he'll find her, he's basically a bloodhound in a sweater." David said.
"Stewart will know if Bae is nearby. How far have you looked?"
"The last signal that was picked up from Emma's phone was somewhere around here," David said. "You know, this is all your son's fault. I've always liked Bae, but if this is what he's going to be tricking my daughter into doing, they are DONE."
"Can we just find the kids and get them home safely and argue about whose fault this is later? Isn't that what's important?" Belle interjected. David's dog, Wilby, came running up to them, barking.
"Hey Wilby – did you find anything, boy?" The herding dog mix let out a loud bark. Graham and his beagle started to walk toward them. Stewart began to growl the moment he spotted Riley.
"Alright, that's enough, this isn't the time to be showing your teeth at arrogant Irishmen," Gold chided the little dog. "Have you found anything, or are my tax dollars wasted as usual?" he asked, completely missing the point of his prior comment.
"This isn't even my territory, we're out city limits. I'm here as a courtesy to Dr. Nolan. Listen – odds are they ditched the phone at some point, lots of runaways do that, this is probably where that happened, they probably tossed it down that hill. There aren't any tracks to indicate they were even here, obviously they made it out before the storm hit." Graham said. Suddenly Sophie let out a loud bark.
"Sophie, what is it?" Belle asked. Sophie tugged on her leash hard enough that Belle was unable to maintain her grip on the large dog. "Sophie! Sophie stop!" Belle shouted as Sophie went charging down the steep hill. Wilby followed Sophie, and stood at the edge of the hill and barked. Sophie continued to bark loudly from the bottom of the hill, her bark sounding more and more distant. Graham carefully peered down the hill.
"Looks pretty muddy – if they were down there we'd see markings," Graham said.
"Not if they ended up down there before the rain hit. Emma! Bae!" David shouted. "It's too far down, they wouldn't hear us anyway."
"Sophie is part Bernese Mountain dog. Bernies are rescue dogs, I think Sophie knows something," Belle said.
"I'm going down there," David demanded, but Graham held him back.
"No, it's not safe right now - I'll call for a crew to get down there," Graham said, and he picked up Riley and walked over to his car.
Sophie continued to bark frantically as she ran over to the cave where Bae and Emma were huddled together, shivering and exhausted. "Sophie!" Bae said as he looked up at the frantic dog. Sophie walked over to them and began licking Bae's face. "Emma, they found us. I told you they'd find us."
"My leg hurts so much, Bae. And I feel sick," Emma whimpered.
"It's okay – it's okay, we're gonna get out of here."
"We're gonna be in so much trouble, aren't we? I'm sorry, Bae."
"It's okay – I didn't have to go along with you, it's my fault, too." After about fifteen minutes of waiting, with Sophie dutifully watching over them, they heard a great deal of commotion above, including the sound of a helicopter, which landed carefully near the cavern. As soon as the helicopter landed, Sophie began barking frantically.
"Emma!" David called out as he stepped off the helicopter. He saw Sophie and immediately ran toward the small cave.
"Daddy!" Emma cried out as soon as she saw David.
"Oh, honey – are you okay?" David asked as he pulled her into a hug.
"My leg – I think it's broken. I'm sorry, this is my fault, this is all my fault."
"Here, I have some blankets – how are they doing?" Graham asked as he made his way into the cave with two blankets, and he handed one to Emma and one to Bae. David helped Emma wrap herself in a blanket, and he shot an angry glare at Bae.
"Is my Papa here?" Bae asked.
"He's up at the top waiting, we're going to lift you two up there."
"What about Sophie?" Bae asked.
"She can come too," Graham replied. "We've got a couple ambulances waiting, you should both get checked out at the hospital."
"Emma's hurt; I'm okay," Bae insisted.
"I don't think your father will be satisfied with your self-diagnosis. It was quite cold out here last night, it's best if you go to the hospital," Graham insisted.
"Come on honey – let's get you out of here and call your mom, she's at home with Neal and she's worried sick," David said. He scooped Emma up and carried her to the helicopter. Bae stood up, grabbed Sophie's leash, and followed behind.
"So he'll be okay then?" Gold asked the doctor. Bae was sitting up in a hospital bed, covered in a warm blanket, and Gold sat next to the bed in a chair, listening to the doctor with deep concern for his son.
"It was just very mild hypothermia, too early to cause any permanent issues. None of his cuts are very deep, and the IV should take care of the dehydration. He should probably be able to go home in a couple hours. He'll probably be pretty sore and tired for a day or two. I would just recommend taking it easy for a couple days – stay home, play some video games, watch TV," the doctor replied.
"Oh, don't worry, he's not going anywhere," Gold said.
"How is Emma? Is she okay?" Bae asked.
"The other girl? I'm sorry kid, I can't give out patient information to non-family members," the doctor replied. "I'm gonna let you get some rest here – I'll have the nurse bring by something for you to eat, and as long as your vitals are good in about two or three hours, I'll let you out of here." The doctor left the room. Gold turned and looked at Bae.
"You need anything?" Gold asked.
"I want to know if Emma's okay," Bae replied.
"I'm sure she's fine; we'll go find out on our way out. Bae – what on earth were you thinking?"
"Emma was tired of being grounded, and I was tired of you not listening to me. I was gonna talk her into coming back in a few days, Papa. I just thought that – maybe this would make you hear me."
"Bae, I heard you loud and clear, this was completely unnecessary." Gold took a deep breath. "I'll fight."
"You – you will?" Bae asked, his eyes widening.
"I want you to stay just as much as you do. And you are right – I was a coward for not fighting for you to begin with. I am sorry."
"Did you tell Belle the truth?"
"Yes I did," Gold answered.
"Told you she wouldn't hate you. So you guys are – back together then?"
"Very much," Gold replied. Bae smiled at Gold for the first time in over a week.
"I like Belle. She's pretty, and she's smart – and she's one of the nicest people I've ever met."
"Yes, she's – all of those things," Gold agreed.
"Is she gonna live with us now?"
"Belle has her own house, Bae."
"She doesn't have to. I mean – when you guys get married, she's not gonna live there anymore."
"You seem to have our entire future planned out, don't you?"
"Well – it's kinda obvious. You'll get married, and she'll move in with Sophie, and then maybe I can have a baby brother or sister."
"Oh for god's sake, Bae – would you like to name the child as well?" Gold remarked sarcastically.
"Can I?" Bae asked, and Gold rolled his eyes at the boy.
"Papa – you took way longer than most people to admit your feelings for Belle, I could tell the first time I met her. So could the dogs. So could EVERYONE. How long are you gonna drag this out? Haven't you wasted enough time?"
"You really think I'm going to sit here and take relationship advice from a fourteen-year-old runaway?"
"Papa – please just don't mess this up. You're better than that. If you weren't, Belle would have left you a long time ago."
"How can you be so bloody smart and yet do something so stupid at the same time?"
"I think I get that from my father," Bae joked. Gold laughed a bit, then stood up and gave Bae a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"You know how much I love you, son, don't you?"
"I know," Bae said, and Gold sat back down in the chair.
"This doesn't change the fact that you're still in a load of trouble with me, I want you to know that as well."
"That's okay – I guess I deserve it," Bae agreed, just as Belle strolled into the room carrying several bags.
"Hey – the nurse said you're going home in a few hours. I wasn't sure so I brought some pajamas with a change of clothes, just in case." Belle set one of the bags, a small suitcase, on the floor, and the other bags, which were paper bags, she set on the food tray near Bae's bed. "Sophie was covered in mud – my friend Ruby is at my place with the dogs, she's giving Sophie a bath for me. Stewart got a bit dirty as well after jumping all over Sophie, so – she cleaning him up as well. Your car is kind of covered in mud too, Ronan – the back seat, at least. I'll have it cleaned."
"Don't worry about it, I'll have it detailed Monday," Gold replied.
"Sophie's a hero," Bae said. "You never would have found us if it wasn't for her."
"Yes, I believe I owe my son's life to your canine pony," Gold remarked.
"Well, I'm sure some nice treats will be all that she wants. Speaking of treats – I stopped at Granny's and got us all something to eat. Granny new exactly what you like, Bae, and – well, I already know what you like, Ronan." Belle smirked at bit at Gold, who did the same in return.
"Thanks Belle! I'm starving!" Bae said excitedly. Belle handed Bae a small bag that was in one of the larger bags, and he tore into it.
"Bae, don't be wolfing that down, eat slowly, I don't need you making yourself sick," Gold reminded him.
"Well, I'm in a hospital – they'd fix me," Bae joked.
"You're not funny," Gold responded. Belle pulled up a chair next to Gold, and took out the rest of the food.
"Belle, I'm really glad that you got back together with Papa," Bae said between bites of his hamburger.
"I am too," Belle said, and she turned to Gold and smiled at him.
"Sorry he was such an idiot," Bae said.
"It's okay – I've gotten used to it, actually," Belle replied.
"You know, I'm sitting right here," Gold said. After several minutes of sitting in silence as the three of them ate, a knock came on the door.
"Can we come in?" Mary Margaret Nolan asked as she poked her head around the corner. She then opened the door and pushed Emma into the room in a wheelchair.
"Emma!" Bae shouted, and he moved to jump out of bed.
"You stay put," Gold scolded him, and he gently pushed the boy back onto the bed.
"She's been driving David and I crazy and I figured, I know my daughter, she won't stop until she sees Bae," Mary Margaret said.
"Is your leg hurt bad?" Bae asked.
"It's just a bad sprain – have to stay off it for about a week," Emma said. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I get to go home in a little bit," Bae told her.
"Me too," Emma said.
"Does it hurt?" Bae asked.
"It's okay," Emma replied.
"Look – I know what the kids did was stupid, and David is pretty angry right now but I'll talk to him. I know our kids and – I don't think we should keep them apart just because they made one dumb choice," Mary Margaret said calmly.
"Well – Bae will be staying home for a few days, per doctor's orders," Gold told her.
"So will Emma – but I think they can at least – Skype and talk on the phone. Don't you?" Mary Margaret asked.
"Do you we get a vote?" Bae asked.
"No," Gold said firmly.
"Mr. Gold, it was my fault – I'm the one who wanted to run off, Bae just went along with it. I'm sorry," Emma said with sincerity.
"If this friendship of yours is going to continue – there will be parameters and expectations going forward, that your parents and I will sit down to discuss and set into place, and you WILL follow them. Isn't that right, Mrs. Nolan?"
"Oh – oh, of course," Mary Margaret agreed. "When we go on our annual camping trip this year – you and Bae are NOT sharing a tent; Emma, you'll be bunking with me and Bae with David."
"I'm sorry – do you mean to tell me they WERE sharing a tent on all those prior camping trips?" Gold asked.
"Well – they were kids," Mary Margaret said meekly.
"Listen – I know this is none of my business, but – I'm pretty sure they've learned their lesson and will follow whatever rules you put into place for them. They're both going to be fine – isn't that what matters?" Belle chimed in and asked.
"David is probably done with all of the paperwork he was filling out, so we need to get back to Emma's room. I'll give you a call tomorrow so that we can talk about all of this," Mary Margaret said.
"Bye Bae – I'm sorry for all of this," Emma said.
"It's both of our faults. I'm just glad you're okay," Bae said.
"I'll talk to you later," Emma said, and Mary Margaret wheeled her out of the room.
"I'm sorry – I probably shouldn't have said anything," Belle apologized.
"No – you're right, Belle. I think we've all learned some lessons here. Bae and Emma are safe – and we'll be going home. We'll deal with the rest later," Gold said. He reached out to Belle and took her hand, and Bae smiled at him.
Later that evening, Gold came down the stairs, a look of utter fatigue on his face. Belle was waiting on the sofa reading a book, which she set aside the moment he entered the room. On the coffee table was a bottle of scotch and a glass. "Thought you'd want that," Belle said. Gold sat down next to Belle, grabbed the bottle and poured himself a drink.
"Very much, thank you," Gold said, and he gulped down the drink, then sank down into the sofa.
"Is Bae settled in for the night?" Belle asked.
"I think so. He's exhausted – was already half asleep before I left the room. The dogs are both curled up in bed with him, I think they're in there for the night as well." Belle nestled into Gold's arms.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Not particularly, no."
"Is – is it okay if I stay on the sofa tonight then?" Belle asked.
"Why would you do that?"
"Well – Bae is home and – I don't want to do anything that -"
"Belle, the lad isn't a fool, he knows we're sleeping together. Lord knows his mother and her lover have been carrying on around him for years. Look, we talked about it and – it's fine. As long as you're comfortable with spending the night here when Bae is home – it's okay. It's not like we're going to be doing anything this evening anyhow. But I would like your company tonight."
"Okay," Belle agreed.
"Belle – are you alright with all of this?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"I'm going to be pursuing full custody of my son. That means he'll be here all the time for at least the next four years. If you – if we – continue with the trajectory that this relationship is on, then -"
"Ronan – Bae is a very sweet young man. I will gladly take on with him whatever relationship needs to be taken on. He's your son, and he comes first and I understand that. And I love you, and I'll be whatever you need me to be for him."
"You mean that?" Gold asked.
"Of course I do." Gold stroked her cheek softly, and she looked up at him. They moved in to kiss one another. Gold spoke up after they shared several soft kisses.
"How long are you planning to stay here?"
"Well – tonight and – I don't know. How long do you want me to stay?" Gold took a deep breath as he thought about everything he and Bae had discussed.
"I'd like you to move in with us, Belle. You and Sophie."
"M-move in? Ronan, we just -"
"Yes, I know. But I also wasted months avoiding what was right in front of my face, because I was afraid. I told my son I'm not going to be a coward any longer. I'm going to fight for him – and I want you by my side. It doesn't have to be today, or next week, or even next month. I know you have your house, but I'd be more than happy to help you find a new owner or even rent it if you prefer. Or you can handle matters however you like. Belle, I love you. I'm a damn fool for not admitting that sooner, but we've already established that I am, in actual fact, an idiot. I'm not asking for an answer right now – you waited long enough for me, far longer than you should have had to. The least I can do is offer you the same courtesy."
"Ronan, if – if I move in, does that mean that we would eventually -"
"That would be the plan, yes. Belle, this is all on your timeline, not mine. Obviously, I'm quite inept at planning things in in a reasonable manner. I just – I don't want you to wonder where this is going any longer. I'm very clear on where this is going. The pace, from here on – that's all up to you. I will go along with whatever you wish in that respect." Belle grinned at him.
"How about we fly to Vegas and elope next weekend?" Belle asked, and Gold eyes widened in shock.
"I – I wasn't expecting -"
"I'm kidding – just wanted to see what you'd do, my god, you're gullible. As if I'd get married without Stewart and Sophie there."
"Belle, dogs are not allowed to legally be witnesses to a wedding ceremony." Belle laughed and kissed him.
"Come on – let's go to bed." Belle stood up and offered her hand to him, and he took it without question, allowing her to lead him upstairs.