Author's Note: Hello, all! This is my second official Fic for OUAT! I'm pretty excited. Before I begin though, I'd like to say that this is sort of playing off of my last fic Running From Devils. This is what I think would have happened had Belle's brother Danny not been killed in action (hence the title). If you've read it then you'll know what I'm talking about. If not then that's okay too. You don't have to read one to understand the other. In any case I hope you all enjoy this! Please R/R. Thank you!

The Road Not Taken

Chapter 1: The Favor

Bellamy Hayes sighed deeply as she waited in the Boston traffic. It wasn't that she was running late or anything, she was just ready to get to work. Today was going to be busy and she was hoping to get a head start on things. No such luck it seemed. The thirty-five year old lawyer sipped her coffee and started to drive again when her phone rang. She tapped the button on her Bluetooth. "Bellamy Hayes." She said briskly. It was habit by now. On the other end of the line was a rather needy client that Belle kind of detested. Sadly he was also one of the major reasons the firm she worked for got off the ground so she had to play nice. "Yes, Mr. Rodson, your file has been reviewed and it will be discussed at today's meeting." There was a pause as the man quizzed her about everything he wanted done. Belle had to force her voice to stay pleasant. As a lawyer she had tons of practice calming down irate clients. "I'll tell you what." Belle said, turning on her southern charm. "I'll have my assistant put your file on my desk, review it again, call you back and we can go back over it together. How's that?" The lawyer let out a silent breath of relief when Mr. Rodson agreed to her terms. "Okay then, I'll call you back as soon as I get everything prepared for you. Thank you, sir. Uh huh, bye bye."

Belle put in a quick call to her assistant, Ruby Lucas before leaning back in the seat of her car and waiting at another red light. She was able to get in another sip of her coffee before her phone rang again. She huffed a little. "Bellamy Hayes." Belle said lightly.

There was a familiar giggle on the other end of the line. "Have I told you how unbelievably adorable you sound when you're all businesslike?" Donovan Carter asked his best friend. They came up through law school together and proceeded to go through hell and back. No matter what was going on, Belle had his back and he had hers. It would have been a love story for the ages, except for the fact that Donny was regrettably gay.

"Carter, what do you want? I'm on my way to work." Belle said with mock severity. "I'm a very busy woman."

Carter snorted and gave another laugh. "Too busy for coffee at 1:30?" He asked.

"I'll have to check. Why?" There was something in his tone that made her suspicious. If Carter wanted to have coffee with her then all he had to do was sneak away from work and show up at her office. He knew that.

"Well…" Carter started out slowly, already knowing this probably wasn't going to go over well. "I need a favor. Just a small one!"

Belle groaned. "Carter you already owe me three dinners and a movie night. What else do you need me to do for you?" she asked. "Seriously, man, what the hell?"

Carter let out a deep breath. "Okay, here's the thing, my boss's boss wants him to go to that stuffy charity event next week and he needs a…date. So I thought of you." He said lightly.

This was not the first time Carter tried to set her up, nor was it the first time Belle wished she could reach through the phone and strangle him. "You want me to go to the biggest charity event of the year with your boss." Belle deadpanned. "A man you won't even mention by name to me, and you really thought I'd be okay with that?"

"Oh no, I knew you would hate it, but I really really need this to happen, Belle. His job is kind of on the line which means mine is too." Carter said. "I really think you two would get along. You're both hard working intelligent people and you both hate parties. You can bond over your misery. What do you say?"

Bellamy pulled into her firm's parking garage and had to resist the urge to mention shoving something up his ass. It was too early for her to be dealing with this mess. "I say you owe me another movie night and it's going to be musicals."

Carter's face went white. Yeah he was gay, but he absolutely hated musicals. "Oh come on, Belle! That's not okay!"

"Take it or leave it, Carter, you're the one that needs this deal." Belle said simply as she gathered her briefcase, purse, and coffee before getting out of her car. "I'm fine either way you spin it." She smiled to the security guard for her building and nodded as he buzzed her in. "So. What do you say?" Belle asked, throwing his words back at him.

"I say you suck." Carter grumbled as he wrote down the appointment in his date book for his employer. "Fine, you've got a deal. So what does that bring me up to? Three dinners and two movie nights?"

"Yup." Belle said easily. "I'll be collecting on the musical one this weekend. See you Saturday, darlin'."

Carter huffed again and rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah, I'll see you Saturday. Bye, Bells."

The two friends hung up and Belle continued on her way to her office. She needed to get started on that file as soon as possible. Ruby greeted her and gave her the messages that she had taken already before Belle locked herself in her office and started reviewing the Rodson file.

Across town, Carter was getting his boss's tea ready and organizing some more files. It was a hard job, but he enjoyed it a lot. Sure Carter could have been a lawyer, and was actually more than qualified to be one, but he found that being an assistant suited him a lot better. Of course with his degree he was a valuable asset to his employer. Carter could answer any legal questions that he didn't feel like dealing with. In a way, Carter's decision to not practice law was a blessing for a lot of people. "Good morning, Mr. Gold." Carter said easily, handing the man his tea as he passed by and began following him to his office. "The files you requested on are your desk and you have an appointment at 1:30 for coffee with a Miss Bellamy Hayes."

Rodric Gold nodded for a moment, listening to his assistant before he paused and turned to face him. "Bellamy Hayes? I don't recall making an appointment with someone by that name, Carter."

"You didn't, Mr. Gold. I took the liberty. It's about the charity event that Miss Mills wants you to attend. I thought I would help you with an escort." Carter explained calmly. He was one of the few people that was not intimidated by the severe man with a harsh temper. Gold was notorious for sending coworkers back to their desks in tears. Most of them preferred to deal with Carter rather than his boss.

Gold narrowed his eyes rather dangerously. "And what makes you think I was even going to go along with Miss Mills' request?" He sneered.

Carter shrugged. "I didn't think you would, but I thought that I should make a few calls just in case you did. Honestly, Mr. Gold, I think you'll like her. We went to law school together so it's not like she's some woman I picked out at a bar."

"I thought you didn't pick up women at bars, Mr. Carter." Gold said with a smirk as he sat at his desk, already starting to go through his papers for the day.

"I don't." Carter confirmed with a light laugh. "Either way, I called her and she said she would join you for coffee at 1:30. I just have to confirm the place. Would Marco's work for you?"

Gold sighed deeply. "I suppose I don't really have a choice do I? Regina's going to make my life even more hellish if something goes wrong at that event." He rolled his eyes some and waved Carter off. "Alright alright. I'll meet your lady friend at Marco's at 1:30. Let's just hope she still considers you a friend after this is said and done."

Carter laughed. "Oh she will. No worries about that, Mr. Gold. I'll let her know." With that, he left Mr. Gold to his work and sent Belle a text: Marco's at 1:30. Look for R Gold.

Belle looked at her cell phone and blinked when she read the text. R Gold? As in Rodric Gold? That's who Carter had been working for for all this time? Oh, that prick. Hairspray was definitely being put on the list for this one. How could he not tell her that his boss was the biggest shark in all of Boston? Belle let out a breath and shook her head. Oh well. She was in it all the way now. All she agreed to was coffee; nothing was set in stone about the charity event yet. The lawyer pushed the intercom button and waited for her assistant to respond.

"Yes, Miss Hayes?" Ruby asked brightly.

"Make sure I don't have any appointments between 1:15 and 2:15 please, Ruby. I'm going out for coffee then." Belle said, sounding a little surprised that she was even saying that.

"Sure thing, is that all?"

"Yeah, that's all. Thanks, Ruby." Belle said before disconnecting. That could wait until later. Right now she had to focus on this file or Rodson was going to have her ass. Even as she worked though, her mind wandered to the thought of having coffee with Rodric Gold. It seemed pretty unreal. By all accounts he was a loner that fed on the souls of children when he wasn't making grown men cry. This was definitely going to be interesting…