Ship: Rumbelle

Contest: Cover Bunnies

Beta: AquaJasmine23

Never Smile at a Crocodile

Three years had passed since Isabelle French last saw the town of Storybrooke, Maine. Three years since she ran away from the town she grew up in. Three years since her love had broken her heart.

And now she was back, because her father had gotten in an accident. Being the only relative who'd ever been willing to take care of Moe French, Belle had decided to return to her hometown at her brother's request.

Graham and their father had never gotten along, not since their mother had ended her life years ago. Graham felt there was more to the death of Giselle French than suicide, and he had suspected that their father was behind it. She remembered nights from when she was younger when she would hear their parents- mostly Moe- shouting at each other behind closed doors. She had clung to Graham during those nights, and he had warned her to never ever be alone with him while he was drinking and that Moe French was not to be trusted. Belle had always listened to her older brother and done exactly what he told her. To be honest, she'd been frightened of her father even then. He had always made her uneasy.

Isabelle drove up the long driveway of the Mayor's home. She parked at the front of the house and shut her car off, unbuckled her seat belt, got out, and exited the car. She shut her door silently behind her and went to get Odette out of the back seat.

Leaning in, Isabelle couldn't help but smile at her sleeping daughter. Odette looked so much like her father. When awake, she had his gorgeous chocolate brown eyes and his nose, and there were things she did that reminded her so much of Lachlan.

Except for the hair. She had Isabelle's hair.

Unbuckling Odette from her car seat with ease, Isabelle lifted her sleeping child up in her arms, wrapped her up in her blankie and made sure Odette was holding on to her baby - a little orange Monstaz named Chester. Once Odette was situated in her mother's arms, Isabelle grabbed the diaper bag from the floorboard and closed the car door, locking it and setting the car alarm. She walked up the steps to the house, feeling her little Odette stir in her arms as she rang the doorbell.

"Shhh, baby. Go back to sleep. Mama's here. Once you're all rested, you'll get to see your Uncle Graham, Aunt Regina, and little Cousin Henry. They've all been waiting to meet you in person. Uncle Graham is my older brother and Aunt Regina's my sister-in-law and Uncle Graham's wife. Cousin Henry's their son and he's only about a year or two older than you. You'll love him." Rocking her back and forth, Isabelle waited patiently for the door to be answered. Hearing someone running down the stairs from inside the house, she smiled.

"Who is it?" she heard her brother ask from the other side of the door.

"It's your sister and niece, Sheriff. Care to let us into your humble abode?" Grinning when the door opened to the smiling face of her brother, Isabelle couldn't help but giggle when Graham pulled her and Odette into a tight hug.

"Oh Belle. I've missed you so much. Come on in. Regina is putting Henry down for the night." Pulling his sister further into the house, he shut the door behind them. Graham led her to the den and gestured for her to sit down on the couch, taking a now awake Odette from her and looking at his niece with a loving smile full of awe. "Oh, Belle. She's gorgeous."

Graham sat down on a brown recliner, settling his niece on his lap. Uncle and niece locked eyes, staring at the other in wonder. Odette snuggled against her Uncle with a sigh and closed her eyes, falling into slumber once more.

"She's going to be an Uncle's girl, that's for sure. She's never been so content with someone she's never met before. I think she's taken with her Uncle Graham." Getting up from her spot on the sofa, Belle walked to the fireplace her brother's pet wolf Daniel Neal was lying in front of, his eyes closed and his snout resting on the front of his paws. Belle sat down on the floor and reached over to pet the wolf; he lifted his head to meet her eyes as he nuzzled her.

"She'll be an amazing Uncle's girl," Graham said. "I practically raised you and you've turned out alright. We've all missed you- even Daniel Neal. He's practically in your lap now. He thinks he's sneaking his way closer to you but we all know he's not so sneaky in his old age anymore." Laughing at her brother's rambling, Belle looked down; sure enough, the Wolf was snuggling in her lap. Bringing her hand up, she stroked the soft fur of the animal.

"I've missed you guys as well… you more than others. There's not a day that's gone by when I didn't think about you. There were so many days I wanted to come here- back to Storybrooke- just to visit you." Belle took a deep breath. "Odette would have loved to meet her Uncle sooner." Leaning back against the side of the fireplace, she closed her eyes and relaxed.

Graham watched his sister with sad eyes and held his niece closer, kissing her forehead. He would not reply back to that; she'd had many opportunities to come back home to Storybrooke sooner if she had wanted to. The truth of the matter was that she really hadn't. She had been afraid. She had chosen to run and hurt many people in the process, but she was back now, and that was what mattered.

Hearing the click of heels on the steps, Graham turned to see Regina coming down the stairs. Getting up from his spot on the recliner, he went to greet his wife.

"Graham, sweetheart. What's wrong?" Regina asked, placing a hand on his arm.

"I'm worried about Belle," he confided in a murmur. "She's here now, in the den with Daniel Neal." He handed Odette to his wife, asking her to put her in Henry's old crib that they'd set up for his sister's arrival. Regina walked up the stairs with her sleeping niece in her arms.

Graham went back to his sister, who by now looked to be asleep against the wolf. Bending down, he lifted his sister up bridal style in his arms and went to put her in the guest room.

He whistled for Daniel Neal and the wolf followed his master up the stairs. Once the trio had entered the room Graham, still holding his sister, pulled back the covers of the bed and gently lay her down on it. He took her socks and shoes off and carefully removed her jacket. Once he had her situated comfortably, he covered her and kissed her forehead.

Daniel Neal jumped on the bed and curled up against his former master. Graham stood in the doorframe and stared at the two momentarily before shutting off the light and exiting the room, leaving the door open.

Belle was here to take care of their father- a father who had done nothing but abuse and ridicule him his entire childhood. Moe needed no sympathy, but someone had to take care of him. When Graham called his sister to see if she was able to come and take care of their father, he had really hoped she wouldn't. Not because he didn't want her back home, of course- he did- but he wanted her to choose Storybrooke without being influenced by their father.

Moe had no one to blame but himself for the accident that had landed him in Storybrooke General Hospital and almost ended his life.

Witnesses had said that he was speeding and hit black ice; his car had rolled a few times and hit a tree. He was rushed to the hospital once he was rescued and had undergone extreme surgery. His spine was broken and he might never be able to walk again. Along with that major injury, he had a few broken ribs and a bad concussion.

Graham had visited family members to see if anyone would be able to take care of him, but everyone said no. All his relatives knew what kind of a man Moe French was. Belle had been his last option because he had known that the second he asked her to come, she would agree because she was a good person inside and out and would do anything for family. Even for Moe.

But he had been out of other choices, and now she was here. In the morning, he would take his sister to see their no-good father. He didn't like it, of course, but he had to do it, or he would be threatening his father's life. His father had always abused him when he was younger until Graham had finally had enough of it and thrown him to the floor. Moe had tried to get back up and beat him into submission, but Graham hadn't let him. Moe had ended up with multiple bruises, and he never touched his son again after that.

When he was told that his- their- mother had killed herself, he hadn't believed it for one moment. And to this day, he was convinced that his father had done it.

It was one of the reasons he became Sheriff: to try to prove all his father's wrongdoings. Soon enough the abusive man Moe French truly was would come to light, and when that day came, justice would reign over him.

"Graham?" He looked up and met his wife's eyes. Regina had laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, watching him with a worried look in her dark eyes.

"I'm all right, Regina. Just lost in thought." He pulled her close, kissing her lightly on the lips and wrapping his arms around her.

He lay in bed thinking for a while after that. Yes, he was most definitely lost in thought. He didn't even recall entering the room, let alone changing or anything else. He really needed to stop letting his mind wander.

Waking up to the chirping of the birds outside the bedroom, Belle turned over and looked at the digital clock on the nightstand. It was seven o'clock in the morning- time for her to get up and take care of her daughter.

She felt the weight of Daniel Neal on her feet and sat up, petting his head and kissing him on the snout before a knock at the door disturbed her. Looking up, she saw Graham in the doorway holding Odette, both of them eating what appeared to be toast. Chester was squished in between them.

"Morning, sis. Breakfast has been made and Odette has been bathed and everything. She's almost ready for the day. She and Henry had quite an adventure this morning battling werewolves and fairies. Even picked a fight with a couple of ogres."

"Did they now?" They must have had a lot of fun then," Belle said, getting up and walking towards them. "Did you have fun playing with Uncle Graham and Cousin Henry, Odette?" Belle said, tickling her daughter.

Odette starting laughing that adorable baby laughter and nodding her head excitedly. She offered her toast to her mother and Belle leaned forward obligingly to take a bite of it. "Mm, yummy." Her daughter struggled in Graham's arms, trying to jump into her mama's. Belle gathered her child into her arms and held her rocking back and forth. "Oh, how I love you."

"Aunt Belle!" a high pitched squeal came from behind Graham. Henry came running in the room and attacked Belle's legs in a tight hug. The five year old looked up to his aunt with a smile. "I've missed you. I haven't seen you since you were here a long time ago. Where you been?"

Belle bent down and carefully set Odette on the floor. Then she looked directly into Henry's brown eyes. "I've missed you too, Henry. It's been so long since we last saw each other," she said truthfully. "I've been out and about. Travelling mostly. I saw lots of wonderful things on my travels- I have pictures for you to see! I even got you and your dad stuff." Pulling him towards her, Belle hugged her nephew as tightly as she could, hiding her face in his fluffy brown hair and concealing the tears as she did. "I love you, Henry."

"I love you too." Out of the corner of her eye, Belle saw Graham leaving the room with Odette. Belle only tightened her arms more around her nephew, holding him to her as she stood up. With him in her arms, she walked out of the room, the pitter patter of paws on the floor telling her that Daniel Neal was right behind them.

As Belle walked down the spiral staircase, she thought of the last time she'd seen her brother and his family. It had been the night of her departure from Storybrooke.

She had gone to Graham and told him that she was thinking about leaving. He hadn't wanted to hear it, and had told her to just stay with them for a few days and figure everything out. After a while, she had relented and decided to stay that night just to shut him up.

Later, when everyone was asleep, she'd snuck off in the middle of the night, leaving them letters to explain her sudden disappearance. Then she had driven over to Lachlan's house and used her key to get in. She'd left her letter and her key waiting for him on his coffee table. That was the night she swore she'd never come back to Storybrooke.

Pushing her thoughts aside, she entered the kitchen and sat Henry down in his chair. Her nephew grabbed an orange slice from the bowl of fruit in the middle of the table, sticking it into his mouth. Odette was in a booster seat eating peaches. Regina was at the head of the table eating what looked like scrambled eggs and toast, smiling at everyone. Graham was leaning against the counter, drinking his typical morning coffee.

"Good morning, Ms. French. I hope you slept well," Regina said coolly.

"I did, Madame Mayor. Daniel Neal kept me warm and comfy last night. He's a great animal." Belle settled down in a chair, grabbing some fruit out of the bowl and popping it in her mouth, eyeing her in-law. Regina just glared at her. The ring of the doorbell brought the conversation to a stop.

"Graham, would you be a dear and answer the door? I forgot to tell you we were having company. Mr. Gold's bringing over a contract for me. Please bring him in here."

"Of course." Graham exited the kitchen and answered the door. No one but Regina noticed the terrified look on Belle's face at the mention of Mr. Gold.

"Belle, dear. What's the matter?" Regina asked, hiding a smirk behind her toast.

"N-nothing- nothing's the matter, Regina. I think Odette and I should be going to see my father in the hospital now." Belle made to get up but Regina grabbed her arm,

"Nonsense. We're family, and I'm sure your old employer will be glad to see you. After all, you are his son's former babysitter."

Yanking her arm from Regina's grasp Belle glared at her. "Enough. Don't think I don't know what you're trying to do. I'm sick and tired of you-"

"Is everything alright in here?" Graham asked, entering the room. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to calm herself, Belle turned to tell her brother that everything was fine.

But when she turned around, her eyes locked onto those of her former lover- Odette's father, who had no idea his daughter existed.

Before her stood none other than Lachlan Gold.