A/N: In honour of today being Ethereal Wishes twenty-sixth birthday I have dedicated this to her. Happy Birthday my Love! I look forward to more and more birthdays of yours and fun times in time and space, lol

A Taste of Christmas

Emilie Brown

Belle French pulled the last tray of Gingerbread Cookies from the oven and set them on the stove top. Looking over at the clock on the stove she saw the time to be five in the morning. She had been up for over twenty-four hours and was in need of some rest. Grabbing a plate from the cabinet, she set it on the counter by the stove and proceeded to put the cookies on the plate. Once all the cookies were on the plate, she set them in the microwave. After cleaning up the mess she'd made of the kitchen, Belle went to go shower. Goodness knows she was in need of one. After her shower she went to her room to sleep. She smiled at the sight before her. Nicholas was in the bed asleep, and watching him sleep was sometimes one of her favourite pastimes. He always had a relaxed face compared to his normal stern and cold visage that he tended to give to the town folk. Walking over to the bed, Belle got in and snuggled up to him. He turned in his sleep and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him and nuzzling her ear. Closing her eyes Belle smiled and fell into a long needed sleep.

It was seven o'clock and the few birds that were out this winter were singing the song of their species. Nicholas Gold looked out the window at the snowy landscape that surrounded the town and became lost in the beauty of the snow. It was a beautiful sight to see that's for sure but not as beautiful as the sleeping body beside him. Turning to look at his lover he leaned over and caressed her cheek before getting up for the day. He had to be at the shop before anyone realized he wasn't on time or that he stayed the night with the kind little librarian in her apartment. Grabbing his clothes from the floor, he donned them, looking a bit ruffled but good thing he always kept a spare suit at his shop. Walking to where Belle was he leaned down and kissed her forehead and then her lips. Getting up from his spot beside her on the mattress, Belle reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Wait, Nick. Are you going to work now?" Belle asked pulling him back down to her. His arms were on either side of her waist and he pressed his brow to hers.

"I am. I have lots to do. I'll come by and see you at the Library." Leaning down he captured Belle's lips with his own and gave her a long kiss."

Pulling away from the kiss Belle looked up through half lidded eyes and gave him a sultry smile. "Goodbye, enjoy work." Leaning in Belle gave him a quick peck on his lips. Once he left the room and Belle heard the click on the apartment door she got up out of bed realizing she would not be able to get back to sleep. She had gotten a mere two hours of sleep but she could make it. Getting dressed in a stylish red silk dress with a sheer gauzy overlay, tiny round appliques dotting the material over her bodice and skirt. The tiny green belt cinched in her waist and the lack of sleeves accentuated her slender arms. Walking to her closet she grabbed her green open toed pumps that matched the belt and put them on. Walking towards the kitchen she grabbed an apple from the fridge and left her apartment, descending the steps to the Library. Walking over to the desktop computer, Belle turned it on. She started getting everything ready for the day. Mary Margaret's fourth grade class was coming over for a Christmas Book Club Party.

Belle would be reading The Elves and the Shoemaker, one of her favourite Christmas stories. Young Henry Mills had come by the Library the day before and requested it. She of course was in full agreement of that. Putting the book on her desk, she smiled looking around at the library and the very Christmas-y feel of it. It had been years since she'd seen this much snow at once. This part of Maine hit some sort of drought and stopped snowing for years and years. This was the first time Storybrooke had seen snow in quite a long time, the last time being when she was a little girl, about five years of age. Looking at the time, Belle realized it was five to ten so she ran up the stairs to her apartment and grabbed the Gingerbread Cookies out of the microwave. She iced them and made it back to the library in time for the students and their teacher to come in.

"Hello everyone, good morning. I hope you are having a most wondrous day today. It's quite the snowy day afterall," Belle said, bringing the plate of cookies to the Children's Center where they were now at sitting in a circle. Mary Margaret merged into the circle as well.

"Good morning Miss French." A chorus of voices said together, Belle walked over and sat down beside Henry who had the book they'd be reading in his hands.

"I have made Gingerbread cookies for everyone. Miss Blanchard said it's your favourite. You each get two cookies. Here Henry, please pass them out to all your friends." Henry stood up from his spot and took the plate of cookies with a smile. He handed Belle the book and then he passed out the delicious treats to all his classmates. Once Henry was sitting back down and everyone got their cookies, Belle started to read The Elves and the Shoemaker. She was halfway through the story when Mayor Mill's assistant Kathryn Nolan entered the library.

"Miss Blanchard, Miss French. Mayor Mills has me going around to schools and businesses with this sign up sheet. It's for the annual cookie contest bake-off. Are any of you interested?"

"Ooh, I'm very interested, Mrs. Nolan." Belle said, carefully standing up and walking over to Kathryn. She grabbed the roster and signed her name right beside it. She was going to show Mayor Mills up, that's for sure. Anything to upset the Mayor she'd do so willingly. Mayor Mills seems to have it out for Belle and she hadn't a clue why. Ever since she discovered the hate aimed at her she had done nothing but try to intentionally irritate Regina Mills. Apparently she had been hanging out with her boyfriend too much because his misgivings have been rubbing off on her. Mary Margaret moved in to sign the roster as well, giving Kathryn a small smile of thanks. The blonde woman smiled at them, giving her thanks and nodding as she left. Belle continued to read to the students. They all asked lots of questions that Belle was more than willing to answer.

Once noon rolled around Belle found herself in an empty library. She sat down, going through the returned books, making sure they were all in pristine shape. Satisfied that no one had ruined the books, she shelved them and made her way around the library looking for anything out of place. Seeing nothing amiss, she made her way back to the front to her desk. Nicholas was waiting for, a smile of greeting upon his lips.

"Mr. Gold. What brings you here?" Belle asked, smiling sweetly at him.

"Miss French. If memory serves, I do believe this is a library. I have come to check out a library book. A specific one." Gold said, smugly smirking at her. He let his eyes travel the length of her from tip to toe, his heated gaze warming her.

"And what is the book you have in mind?" Belle questioned him, trying to keep the blush off her face.

"It was suggested by Mr. Madden that A Christmas Carol by a Charles Dickens is a good read and he highly recommends it. Do you have it?"

"Let me check if it's available." Checking the computer's file system, she saw that two of the three copies were checked out. "It show's here that we have one still available to be checked out. Come with me and I'll show you to it." Belle left her work area and proceeded to go down a few aisles, Nicholas not far behind. The occasional tap of his cane let her know he was still behind her. Once she was at the correct shelf she searched for the book she was looking for. Finding it with an a-ha, she grabbed it. Turning, book in hand, she stopped short finding him right up against her, a mere hare's breath between them. Nicholas took it from her with a thank you and set it on the edge of the shelf. He leaned his cane against the shelf and brought his hands up to cup her face, pulling her face towards his, closing the distance and capturing her lips between his own. Belle wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning in towards him and eagerly accepting his kiss. Nicholas removed one hand from her face and brought it to her back to bring her flush up against him.

She moaned softly as his lips released hers in order to trail a fiery path along her jaw. "Nicholas, we can't do this here. What if someone comes in? We can't afford to be caught like this," she whispered urgently.

"Just what are we doing?" he teased, nipping softly at her rapidly beating pulse just beneath her jaw. "Can't I steal a kiss or two? Consider it an early Christmas present."

She glanced over his shoulder down the empty aisle, praying her father didn't choose that moment to decide he liked reading. Moe seemed increasingly suspicious of Belle's relationship with Gold. He didn't trust the man one bit. Since Belle had become Nicholas's assistant, helping around the shop after her job was done in the late afternoons.

Belle slid her arms from around his waist, her palms gliding upwards over his chest and around his neck to delve into his thick locks, the strands wrapping around her fingers in a sensuous caress. His lips returned to hers as she tightened her grip, his hips pressing into hers, the shelf behind her digging into her lower back. She couldn't describe the sound rumbling low in his throat, but it was caught somewhere between a whimper and a growl as she sucked his lower lip into her mouth and bit gently.

"Belle!"

She grinned mischievously at him, leaning her head back against the shelf as she tried to catch her breath. She wrapped her arms around his waist, curling into his chest.

"I love you, Nicholas. Forever and always." Belle whispered against his neck, giving him a few pecks. Nicholas tightened his arms around her, sighing in contentment.

"And I you, Belle. I you." Pulling away from Belle ,Nicholas planted a kiss on her brow, grabbing the book from the shelf and smirking down into her lovely face. "I'll see you at the shop, love." With that he turned around and left, Belle watched him as he left, a small smile playing on her lips.

Standing in her kitchen surrounded by batter and eggs and various cookie ingredients, Belle was attempting to make a cookie that would rival that of Regina's. Every year Regina won the annual cookie contest, but not this year, oh no. Belle would make the best cookie the judges had or would ever taste. Grabbing the bottle of lemon extract she opened it and added a few drops in the dough, stirring until it was all mixed together, once it was the consistency that she wanted, she set the bowl to the side, grabbed some flour, and tossed some on the countertop. Grabbing the bowl she walked to the fridge and put it in, taking the first batch of dough out of the fridge and setting it on the counter. Taking the dough out of the bowl she rolled it in a ball and laid it on the countertop, taking her roller and rolling it over the dough until it was all flat and smooth. Grabbing a star shaped cookie cutter she pressed it into the dough, coming up with continuous stars cutouts. Putting the stars on a pre sprayed pan she admired them and made sure they were a few inches apart. After all was done she put the pan in the oven and set her timer for fifteen minutes. Hearing the click of her door opening, she ran to the hallway to block Nicholas's path towards the kitchen.

"Nicholas!" Belle exclaimed, standing in front of him and grasping his upper arms. "You can't go into the kitchen. I'm making cookies for the Annual Storybrooke Christmas Cookie Cutter Contest. As one of the judges it would be unfair for you to know what I'm making. Now scat." Belle said, leaning up and giving him a peck on the lips before shooing him away from the kitchen. Nicholas gave her a smirk and a wink as he left. Sighing to herself, Belle went back to her baking.

Later that night, exhausted from a full day at the library, then part time at Gold's shop and the frenzied baking she'd done, Belle snuggled up against her love in the center of his big bed. He was looking through a contract his was working on while she tried to relax with a good book, The Elves and the Shoemaker. The wind pounded against the windows of the pink Victorian. Glancing up from her book, she looked outside to notice the snow was growing fierce. She closed her book and moved out from the security of Nicholas's grasp and walked towards the window to get a better view. The clock tower in the center of town, which could be seen from pretty much every home in town, read seven p.m.

"It's getting bad outside. The wind is picking up and the snow if thick. The town is blanketed in a sheet of white, like a winter wonderland. I hope the activities will still be able to continue for the children. They have Christmas plays coming up and pageants. It would be tragic if they were unable to perform. I know they're looking forward to it so much," Belle said, pressing her face towards the window. She was so wrapped up in the goings on outside and the children she didn't hear Nicholas come up behind her until he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder, rocking side to side with her.

"I'm sure it will go away soon, love. Don't worry," he murmured, dropping a light kiss to her temple. "Come to bed, sweetheart."

"Yeah, it probably will." Belle agreed as she turned to follow Nicholas to bed for more pleasurable activities. Before she turned, she could have sworn she saw someone hiding behind the tree that blocked most of the window. Looking back she saw nothing and blew it off to maybe being a deer. She giggled as Nicholas puller her into a deep kiss, and Belle couldn't help but think that she was happy, very happy. She had everything she wanted.

To Be Continued

Beta-ed by: Charlotte Ashmore

A/N: I'd like to give Charlotte Ashmore a big thanks because without her this story probably wouldn't be published, don't know what I'd do without her! Thankies Mama. I love you!