Title: Poison and Hallelujahs

Author: robinsparkles14

Rating: NC-17

Summary: Sequel to "Poison and Wine". It has been nearly a month since she walked out of his life completely, and that should be the end of it. However, sometimes your fate finds you no matter how you try and fight it. AU with stripper!Belle and doctor!Gold.

A/N: I hope you all enjoy this. If you have not read "Poison and Wine", you should be okay for the most part. However, if you feel like you need to read it, all three parts are on my masterlist.

~xx~

This situation is beyond awkward.

And that is most definitely understating things.

Dr. Gold has not been in the same room with his ex-wife and his son together since he proposed they separate, a little over a month ago. And though he would like to say they were handling it splendidly, that would be some certifiable bullshit.

Lilac Milah, Gold's ex-wife and now archenemy by the looks of things, had proposed this family outing. That had been last week, when Gold had asked her quite politely if he could take their son, Baelfire off her hands for tonight. Lilac's answer had been quick and, like most everything she said, utterly rude. She had said he could only see Bae if she could see him at the same time because she could not risk having him fuck another stripper with their son around. Gold had felt the ping in his chest he always felt when that stripper was mentioned. Belle had been a mistake, and he knew that, but getting her out of his head had been a problem for the past month. And perhaps those thoughts were what clouded his judgment, because somehow he has found himself sitting in a diner with his son and ex-wife, staring at the wall.

However he can tell Bae is a million times more uncomfortable than he is. Though the boy says nothing, he knows the nature of his parent's relationship. And being that it is extremely unhealthy, this dinner is far easier with all of them sitting, looking at anything but each other.

Of course, that is only Gold's opinion. It is not his son's.

"So," Bae says to the silence, "Mom, I invited Henry over tomorrow. He was having some issues with kids at school...they're mean to him about having two mothers and all that so I-"

Lilac glowers at her son. "We've been over this, Baelfire. We can't have that boy around anymore. He's strange. A bad influence on you, as are his mothers."

Dr. Gold rolls his eyes. He has never met Emma, nor Regina, but somehow he doubts either of them are bad influences on Bae. And Henry is utterly harmless. Strange to an extent, but certainly not any child to be worried about. But in Lilac's eyes, anyone who is not completely accepted socially should be below their standards. "Bae," Gold says, "You can invite Henry over to my house tomorrow if your mother does not approve of him. I do not judge people quite as easily as she does."

Hiding his glare is impossible, and he can see that Bae knows what was just said and the effect it will have on his mother. "No. You will not be at your father's house tomorrow." Lilac counters.

Gold feels the anger bubbling inside him but tries to ignore it as much as possible. He needs to be rational here. "You may not realize this, Miss Milah," he drawls out her name, knowing just how much she hates it, "but he is my son too."

Bae becomes remarkably interested in the design on the tablecloth.

Lilac narrows her eyes and growls, "Oh, I realize that all too well. However, tomorrow just isn't going to work."

"Bae," Gold says.

Bae looks up. "Hm?"

"Do what you'd like tomorrow afternoon. The choice is entirely yours."

Lilac grits her teeth together. "No, it's not! I am your mother, Bae, and you will do what I-"

She stops mid-sentence and her jaw drops as she stares at the door. Curious, both Gold and Bae turn their heads in the same direction.

Good luck has never exactly followed Dr. Gold in anything he has done. Lilac got pregnant after one night stupidity, and their marriage had been the most torturous experience imaginable (not that the separation is really any better). So he should not have been as surprised as he is that the stripper he had slept with and neglected to try getting in touch with again has just walked into the diner. In the middle of his dysfunctional family outing.

Luck. That is all it is. Just really bad fucking luck.

~xx~

"I thought I'd never see you again," the words roll off her tongue and her eyes glisten with tears, "I thought you had forgotten."

He gives her a sad look and reaches out, his fingers grazing her cheek ever so slightly, yet she had never felt more loved in her life. "Oh, sweetheart," he murmurs, "I could never forget you."

She has been here a million times before. In the library, surrounded by all the things she loves while he reassures her that she means something to him. This is not a new situation, but she hopes that perhaps it could have a different ending. Because she craves this so desperately, and she cannot survive so much longer without his touch. And in this moment she is so close to all of that. So close to what she desires. She can feel everything just out of her reach and it is all she can do not to simply reach out and take it.

He holds her face in his hand and starts to lean down, wanting his lips on hers as much as she does. And she can feel his breath in her face and it is warm and familliar and she has never wanted anything so badly.

And then it is gone.

Belle's eyes flutter open and she swallows hard. She had done it again. She had dreamed of him again. This has been an extremely common occurrence for the past month, perhaps because thoughts of hin refuse to leave her. It is pathetic, since he had obviously long forgotten her, but Belle is locked up in this feelings for him, and constantly angry at herself for not simply letting it go. It should be easy to forget, but the other things in her life are not particularly perfect, and so she clings onto that bit of hope he left her.

For the past month, life has passed in such a nonsensical blur. She had returned to the Storybrooke Showclub and Regina had welcomed her back with open, if not slightly passive-aggressive arms. Luckily, Belle would not be having to deal with Regina much anymore. She and her girlfriend, Emma had decided to take a long break from the strip club for their son Henry's sake. The boy had enough issues and they both thought it best to put at least this one to bed.

Belle could tell Regina did not really want to leave. Despite being a filthy strip club, the place held a lot of precious things for her. It was the place she had met Emma, and the place they had been through all the rocky steps in their relationship. And though Belle always used to find their love for each other odd, she recently has found herself understanding it

Belle's ex-boyfriend, Greg, had called her up recently after she sent him a breakup text. He wanted to know what her problem was, and not having the energy or patience to explain that she did not approve of him fucking another girl, she had told him to jump off a balcony and hung up. He has not tried to contact her since.

Belle is okay with that, honestly. Her relationship with Greg had not only been a lie, but also something she was never content with. Still, she feels lonely all the time. Sure, she has Ruby, who she has been staying with for the time being, but beyond that she is completely alone. And besides, Ruby is hardly ever around. She prefers to spend her days with the local shrink, Archie Hopper, who funny enough, she had quit stripping for. That makes Belle the only veteran at the Storybrooke Showclub, since everyone else has moved on with their lives.

Every day is much the same. Her life passes so slowly and so drearily. She hates it. True, she has always hated it, but now it is worse.

It is worse because for one night it had been better.

Belle had gotten off work early today. Usually, she found that dancing naked in front of people helped take her mind off of stupid things like doctors she'd fucked who were twice her age. Usually she could just focus on the horndog guys like Dr. Whale who showed up nearly every day demanding more from her than she was willing to give. Usually fighting off their advances would clear her head of anything else.

But today it was not working. She could not help wondering what he would think if he saw her like this, being completely put to shame. She thinks of what would happen if he walked in right now. Would he rescue her? Save her from this wretched life that has befallen her? Perhaps. Perhaps if he saw her again, he would not let his cowardice get the best of him.

And normally she would have been able to just deal with her stupid brain and continue what she was supposed to be doing, but today she has had enough. Regina and Emma are not around, and no one else is going to yell at her for leaving.

Belle wishes she could go talk to Ruby, since she was the only living soul on this earth who know about Belle's little one night stand. But Ruby is out with that shrink for the umpteenth time this week, so she chooses the next best thing. Alcohol.

Storybrooke does not exactly have a bar, it has a diner that serves booze. It is not so much for the convenience of getting food and alcohol at the same place. It is more that no one has the time or money to open a bar. Also, Storybrooke basically has a law stating if it is fun and exciting, it is not allowed. With the exception of the showclub, Belle supposes.

But the nice thing about Granny's is that EVERYONE goes there. Mostly because there is nowhere else to go. This meant that if you were going to find your destiny anywhere in Storybrooke, the diner should be the first place you look.

Because sometimes the thing you want the most ends up sitting at a table in back with the woman who called you a worthless fucking whore and a young boy. Sometimes, something so camouflaged by the crowded room sticks out for you simply because you are the reason it is there.

And sometimes, just as your eyes lock with the person you have been dreaming of for the past month, a warmth wells up inside you and it starts to rain.

~xx~

She is exactly how he remembers her. Small, thin-figured, with beautiful chestnut curls and lips so soft and pink he wishes nothing more than to have them pressed against every part of him.

Her eyes are glistening, and she is smiling so slightly, yet so genuinely that he knows she is truly happy. Why, he cannot imagine, since obviously nothing too earth-shattering has happened.

And yet...that look she has...he swears that he wearing the very same one. Though he is trapped here with his awful ex-wife and his son...now he is also trapped here with her, which he perhaps enjoys a bit too much. It is just that ever since he had watched her leave, there has been a certain emptiness. Now, with her here, the emptiness is gone and has been replaced with something extraordinary.

Neither one of them is brave enough to speak with the other. Or perhaps looking is just less complicated. Either way, it is still obvious to bystanders that there is a sort of amazing electricity between the two of them. Not that they would know that, seeing as how the people in the diner have seised to exist. There is only Belle and Gold, staring across a crowded room into one another's eyes as if nothing else has ever mattered.

It is a quiet moment, but one that neither of them could ever ignore or forget.

Lilac's scowl does not fade from her face, and in the back of his mind, Gold hears her say, "You planned this, didn't you? You planned this to humiliate me in front of my son!" But the words are a distant echo of what really matters, which is Belle's glowing face and the tears he can,see glistening in her eyes.

"I planned no such thing, dearie. It is only a sort of bad luck that has befallen us." Gold says, his words soft and calm amidst the ocean of negativity at the table.

"Us?" Lilac scoffs, "More like befallen ME. Get up, Bae, we are leaving."

Those are probably the only words that could have snapped him from his daze. She is demanding his son leave him with her, a situation that is all too familliar. Gold looks up at his son with almost pleading eyes. Begging him not to fall prey to his mother's deceptions this time. Perhaps because he has an unexplainable to be here with both his son and Belle, without Lilac.

Bae looks up at his mother, "No," he says flatly, "I would rather stay with Papa tonight."

Gold's eyes meet with Belle's again on their journey to Lilac, and it is all he can do not to just stare at the brunette beauty at the bar. But when he finally is able to, he sees something he never had flicker across Lilac's stunning features. Hurt. It hurts her that her son wants to be with his father for one evening. Gold wants to find that pathetic, but he cannot. Instead, he makes a sympathetic face at her.

"Fine." She says, so softly it is hardly there, "Go with your father, Bae. But I am always here if you need me."

She tosses her long, brown hair over her shoulder as she goes, giving her son one last hopeful glance.

The second she is gone, Bae turns on his father. "So. Who is she?"

Gold is not even looking at his son. He is still staring at Belle. "Who?" He asks.

Baelfire points obviously and Gold smacks his arm down. Belle giggles from across the room. Bae chortles as well. "The girl who's laughing at you," he says.

Gold sighs and runs his hand through his hair. "I met her about a month ago. Her name is Belle."

"Why didn't you tell me about her?"

"I didn't think it was important."

Bae rolls his eyes. "Oh, that makes sense. Well, when I get a girlfriend I won't tell you either."

"She isn't my girlfriend, son."

Baelfire winks at his dad. "Sure she's not. Well, in that case I guess we should just leave. No reason to stick around here."

It is a test, and Gold knows it. He also knows that he can pass it. He can prove to his boy that Belle is just some girl he knows. It is just going to take a lot of effort to get up and leave her here. He wants to stay. He wants to stay so he can protect her. "We can't go now, Bae. It's raining out. Can't have you getting sick "

Bae narrows his eyes. "The car is four seconds away and I have a jacket."

After a brief staring contest he knows Belle is watching, Gold grabs his cane and stands up. "Fine. Lets go then."

Baelfire walks around the table and over to his father. "If you leave without talking to her you will regret it," he informs Gold.

"Hush, boy," Gold says, limping toward the door while giving Belle one final glance.

~xx~

Belle watches Gold walk out of the diner, open mouthed. After all that silence, she refuses to believe that he can just walk out. He is thinking of her. He wanted to say something. And from the looks of it, the child he was with wanted him to say something too. Belle was not about to let him leave her this way. Did he not understand that this happened for a reason? They have something special. It is not every day you run into the person you have been thinking of for the past month at Granny's. This is meant to happen.

Belle snatches her purse off the counter and races out into the rain. Her jacket does not have a hood, and her hair starts sticking to her face but she can still see him. He and the boy are climbing to a black Cadillac. Belle tries to walk faster to catch up to them (running is not an option since that would most likely result in falling). The car pulls out of the parking space and begins making it's way down the street. Belle follows behind on the sidewalk. She is too close to this. Letting it go now is not an option.

The car comes to a stop at a red light and Belle races up to the passenger window, banging on it like a madwoman. The boy there looks alarmed at first, but then grins at Gold, who is looking at Belle with a shocked expression. He rolls down the window and Belle grins at him hugely.

"You're going to be soaked out there, dearie!" Gold scolds her, almost yelling over the pitter-patter of the rain.

"Pull over!" Belle instructs rather forcefully.

"Why!?"

"Because I want to talk to you!"

"I-" Gold starts to protest, but the kid between them yanks the steering wheel to the side.

"Pull over, Papa! Let the lady have a few words!"

Gold looks at his son like he is going to kill him but obeys, pulling over and stepping out into the rain. "You followed me here," he says to Belle.

She nods. "I wanted to talk to you again."

"Why?"

She stares at him like he's crazy and throws her hands up in the air. "What do you mean, why!? You don't think this is destiny!? This was supposed to happen, Rum!"

He smiles. He had forgotten about telling her it was alright to call him that. "What do you know of destiny, love?"

She looks straight up at him. "I can see how you looked at me! I know you want me too! Can't you just...take a leap of faith!? Believe me!"

Gold tries to speak again, but his son covers for him. "Hey!" He says out the window of the car, "Belle! Get in, you're coming home with us!"

Gold looks from his kid to Belle and back again. Belle shrugs and smiles. "You should not deprive the child of what he wants," she advises.

Gold sighs and looks to the sky for guidance. "Fine. But, Bae, get in back."

Bae grins and steps out of the car, walking between Gold and Belle as he reaches for the door to the backseat.