A/N- Hey guys! So this amazing author, Alaska829Snow author of The Last Resort has allowed me to use her main character Charlotte as part of this story! You pretty much have to read TLR to understand exactly what's going on. In TLR, Regina and Emma's daughters are from the future, and they somehow make their way to the past. This is the RedBeauty version. Also, it has its own separate storyline where the son of Ruby and Belle travel back in time to cause some havoc. With cameos by Regina and Emma, so I'm adding them in the character list. I hope you enjoy this as much as I like writing it. All mistakes are mine! Please R&R, and don't forget to check out The Last Resort!

Stop. Take a step. 1, 2, 3.

Breathe.

Something so simplistic and so natural was extremely difficult to process at the moment as the boy stood there, frozen in time.

His inherited blue eyes bore into dark irises of someone who had meant the world to him since they were practically children. His heart stopped, and his brain was unable to comprehend what his mouth wanted to say.

Palms were suddenly sweaty as he urgently pulled them behind his back, clearing his throat softly.

And finally, when he was able to voice exactly what he wanted to say, it came out in a simple syllable; shaky and whispered.

"Hey."

"Oh, hey Lucas, what's up?"

He didn't even seem to hear the sentence.

All that processed through his brain was her smile. The way the corners of her lips slightly spread when she saw him. The way she held her books close to her chest in that cute manner (something he'd never admit out loud).

They had been friends for so long he wondered when he had started falling for her. For sixteen years of his life their parents had them visiting each other since they were first born.

It was practically inevitable.

"I uh...I wanted to uh...ask you something if that's ok?"

As if her smile couldn't stretch any wider, it did, and it only made Lucas' stutter more prominent, his gaze quickly throwing itself towards the floor.

"I was wondering if uh...If you wanted to go to the dance with me?"

When his eyes shot back up from the floor, his fear evident in his face, he was quick to feel arms wrap around him for a tight hug.

"Of course I'll go with you! I mean...Yeah, that sounds cool."

When he watched her turn away, probably to walk towards her last class, his fist pumped in the air and he practically jumped, ecstatic the rest of the day.

Storybrooke High wasn't that far from his house, so walking wasn't ever a problem.

This time, however, he had arrived home in record time, dashing through the alleyways and streets in order to tell his mother what had happened that day.

He had taken her advice, and had all the while thought that it might fail, that the girl he had fallen for would reject him for someone else.

"Mom!" Dropping his bag onto the floor, he peeked into every room in the house, but frowned when his mother was nowhere to be found.

It was not that long after that he had found someone sleeping in bed, their arms draped around air as the partner they shared it with was long gone for the day.

But as he was going to leave, to close the door, the inhabitant supposedly sleeping quickly sat up, yawning.

Long dark brown hair was pushed out of green eyes, limbs cracking as she stretched her arms in the air. Ruby Lucas-now French, was finally relaxing from her day off.

Being the owner and proprietor of a diner that housed many guests each day had started to get tiring. She wondered how in the world Granny managed to keep up all those years ago. And for a slight moment in time, her face scrunched in sadness at the memory of the only family she had truly known. The elder woman had passed away after Lucas was only a year old, straining her lifeline to see her great-grandchild be brought into the world.

"Ma, where's Mom?" The boy asked, trying to refrain from laughing at her disheveled form.

"At work. You know your mother can't separate herself from that Library. Even during my day off," she chuckled, knowing how important books were to her wife. Sometimes she even housed the feeling that they were more important than spending a day in, playing hooky.

Things, however, did manage to become busier at the Library now that they added computers and had extended the building for an Adult Education center.

"Anyways, what in blazes has you all riled up today, boy?"

Standing up to place a hand on her son's shoulder, Ruby had barely seen the kid this excited before. Especially over school.

"Make the honor roll or something? I swear you'd probably be the first on this side of your family tree," she grinned, but it softly faded when she saw the shaking of Lucas' head.

"Actually, Ma, I asked a girl to the dance today."

"Really now? Is she pretty? Please tell me you've made mom proud. I've met her before, haven't I?" She grabbed the glass of water from her nightstand, listening intently as she raised the cup to her lips.

"Well...Yes. It's um...It's Charlotte."

Ruby quickly spit out the water that she had started to drink, erupting into a coughing fit.

"Woah! Ma, calm down!"

"Charlotte?! As in, Charlotte Swan-Mills? As in the girl who has Regina Mills as her mother?! You asked that Charlotte to the dance? What the hell were you thinking? She could blast you into a billion pieces with her magic! Not to mention her mother would probably kill you when you came to pick her up for the dance! I mean, yeah Emma and I are friends, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind having you arrested if anything went wrong! I'm sure you could take Henry, he's a softie, but c'mon Lucas! Charlotte Swan-Mills?!"

"Well...yeah. I mean...We've been friends since we were kids, and I really like her and..." He stopped as he heard the front door close, a groan falling to his lips as he realized the exact direction this conversation was going to go.

"Hey there, how's my Wolf Clan doing today?" Belle placed a kiss upon Lucas' and Ruby's cheek, having to stand on her toes to accomplish the task for both of them. They were taller than her, and Lucas was still a growing boy.

"Belle...why must you insist on calling us that?" Ruby had a glint in her eye, a soft playful frown upon her lips.

"Because it's cute. Now why were you yelling? I swear I don't have wolf hearing but I could tell it was you from a mile away."

"Our son has something he wants to tell you."

Embarrassed by being put on the spot, Lucas sheepishly stared at the ground for a moment.

When he raised his head, a smile formed on his face, his deep blue eyes gazing into his mother's matching pair. "She said yes."

Belle quickly wrapped her arms around her son, a squeal escaping her lips so loudly it made both children of the Moon flinch.

"I am so proud of you! You're going to have a great time! And I can take lots of pictures, and your mother will give you dating tips, and-"

"And, no."

"What? Ruby what the hell are you talking about?"

"No. As in, it's Charlotte Swan-Mills. The girl whose mother could turn our son into stone, the girl who..."

"Who as I recall always wanted to come over to play with our son when they were little. C'mon Ruby. It's the same Charlotte. She's not a little girl anymore. She's fifteen. And Lucas is sixteen. You'll have a great time..."

But when Belle turned around, her son wasn't standing beside them anymore.

"See what you did, Ruby? You're always too hard on him! You're like Emma sometimes, I swear it! All he wanted was our approval in asking the girl to the dance! They're not going to get married! Why are you so content with denying him the things he wants to do?! Every time that boy tries to do something on his own, you stop him! You should be encouraging him! He wanted to play football, and you deliberately put your foot down on that one. Well why not? The kid runs faster than the whole damn team! You're so scared of losing him that you deny him the chance to grow up on his own! Why are you so afraid of losing your son, Ruby?"

The werewolf didn't want to have an argument with her wife, but it seemed unavoidable at the moment.

"Because you two are all I have left! Granny died, and ever since then it was a battle to see where the hell you'd end up next! You stayed with me, and I'm happy for that, but then you let Rumplestilskin back into our lives! You became friends with him again, and then there were nights I didn't see you, and what the hell was I supposed to think, Belle? You picked me. You picked me and I am so grateful for that. I am so happy that you stayed, that Lucas is our son. But if I lost him...If I lost you again...I couldn't even begin to think what would happen. I want him to succeed. I want him to excel...But I can't let go of that fear, because he's my son. He's part of me. He shares my blood, just as he shares yours."

A pause.

"Belle..."

The shorter woman pushed her wife's hands away, tears evident in her eyes as she refused to say anything.

When she finally opened her mouth to speak, it was eerily calm, but Ruby could tell there was a powerful anger behind it.

"Since you don't trust me just being friends with someone, I could leave him for good, if that would make your overly jealous side happy? Mind you that he has no one. That his own son won't even talk to him, nor acknowledge him. But I'm sure pretty soon you're about to realize what that's like. Don't worry. It won't hurt as badly as you think. You're stubborn, so it will take a while for you to realize what you're about to lose. As for Charlotte? She's an amazing young woman and I have seen how happy she makes Lucas. I have also seen how happy Lucas seems to make her. And to be perfectly honest, I don't have a problem with Regina. Lock me away for 28 more years, I still wouldn't have a problem with Regina because I know she wouldn't be the one to do it. She's changed. But you apparently have yet to even notice that. Snow noticed it. Hell even Charming did, which is a shocker. But you can't let go of it. And until you do, my love, you will just be another Rumplestilskin."

And with those words, Belle walked up the stairs, towards an angrily closed door to console her son.

When Ruby slowly opened the door to her son's bedroom, she peeked her head in to see him sitting on his bed, Belle's hand rubbing his back with encouragement.

To say she felt like shit was an understatement.

For years the werewolf was unable to trust anyone, including Belle.

But when she let her walls down and opened her heart, the Librarian continued to show a swaying interest towards her ex-True Love.

There was a sense of abandonment, of true disdain knowing that the woman she loved more than anyone in the world, the person she had declared her mate, would rather be with scum.

And so, her jealous side started to show the more Belle would become closer with the imp. This put a strain on their relationship. And when Lucas was born, he had only managed to make things better, for Rumplestilskin to stay away. But as the boy started becoming older, the man started getting closer again, looming like a dangerous shark.

"I don't want to talk to you," her son muttered from across the room as the door was pushed open.

"Ok, ok. Don't talk. Just listen. Lucas, you're my son. I love you, and nothing will change that. And to be honest? What I said about Charlotte and her mother? I was wrong to say things like that. Regina has changed. But..."

she sighed deeply,

"...I wish you were close to me like Charlotte is with her mother. I envy it so much that you're not attached at the hip. I know you want to go into the world and experience life for yourself. I want you to succeed and excel in life. But I fear what could happen. And if I ever lost you? I could never live with myself. So maybe I'm a little overprotective..." with that came a chuckle. "Ok, extremely overprotective. But it's only because I love you."

"I love you too Ma. But you have to trust me. I know what I'm doing. Mom gets it. She understands. Hell, she even helped me to gather the courage to ask Charlotte to the dance! And I did, and she said yes! You should be happy for me. I feel like I scored the winning touchdown on the football team. If I were on the team..."

Ruby playfully glared at her son, "don't push it, boy."

"...but seriously? I'll be ok. Let me go. You always told me stories about Granny, and how she'd keep you inside to protect you when all you wanted to do was explore the world...She's probably laughing at how much you remind her of herself at that point in time."

Ruby wondered how in the world she and Belle managed to raise such an intelligent and great kid.

He was wise beyond his years, and he knew how to talk his mother down when they were in a situation like the current one.

"Ok, fine. You have my approval. Take the girl to the dance, have a great time. I'll still wait up for you though."

She laughed when a groan made its way through the air.

When she walked over to the boy who looked so much like her, her arms pulled him in for a hug as she ruffled his hair. "You better stop letting Emma feed you. You're growing quicker than I expected. You might even tower over Henry."

With that, she walked out, Belle following close behind.

"You might think this solved everything, Ruby. But it doesn't solve our problem. You're jealous. You become a madwoman when it comes to the friendship of Rumple and I. And though I like that side of you sometimes, it scares me how controlling you can be."

"Belle...When you're with him...I feel...I feel like someone has taken my heart and ripped it to shreds. I know you don't love him like you love me, that you have a family, but please...Please so that we all can move on, cut ties with him. I know he has no one. I know it's terrifying to live in this world knowing that everyone has turned their back on you, but he doesn't deserve your love. He doesn't deserve your kindness, because if he did then he would've tried to preserve the love you both had at one point. And that's what True Love does. I'm not going to give you an ultimatum on this. I want you to choose for yourself...But please know I hate him for what he's done. And I don't think he deserves this chance. If you let him go, and truly let him know that he can't use you anymore, then I feel like we'll be ok. I feel like we can move on from this, and I don't have to feel the way I feel anymore. He's practically saying that he still has ties with the woman I love. How could I ever let that go?"

Belle pressed her head to her wife's chest, listening to her heartbeat; something that always picked up speed when the Librarian was near.

"I will think about it, Ruby. I will talk to him, but I don't know where it will go. I just wish you trusted me more."

"It's not you I don't trust. It's him..."

Belle made her way out of the shop, tears leaking down her cheeks as she listened to the words her now ex-lover and friend said about her.

Degrading phrases slipped from his lips as she told him her final goodbyes, and how she was unable to take his abuse anymore.

It was enough for her to realize he would probably try to somehow enact a revenge upon her, or upon the people she loved. Ruby...Lucas...they'd both be in danger, and she couldn't let that happen.

I will make you love me. The way his eyes narrowed into a glare that had frozen her still, his lips pulled back into a snarl. True Love has a way of working, my dear.

It was when she had been deep in thought that her body collided with none other than Snow White. Fear struck her at first, but when her brain coherently reminded her who she was facing, she calmed down for a moment.

"Belle, I'm really sorry, I-What's wrong, dear? You look terrible," and it was then that Belle broke down, revealing everything about Rumple to Snow, her eyes misting in between retelling, sobs escaping her lips.

"True Love...he made it seem like a potion, or something...But where could you get that from?"

She noticed as Snow's face went ghost white and she excused herself, only to run to her car and dash off to what would later be revealed as Emma and Regina's home.

Belle, on the other hand, continued on her way to her own home, hoping to be comforted by her son and wife. Though she knew it wouldn't last long. This peace; it was only a break before the shortcoming of a true tragedy.