Author's Note: Some people have asked me if this was my first story, or the first Once Upon a Time fan fiction story. It is my first Once Upon a Time story, but it is also the first story I have put online for others to read. I have written other things before, but no one outside of my family has read them. Also, I will try to update at least once a week, if not more often. I hope you enjoy chapter two!

Mrs. Lucas was surprised when she heard the familiar tap of Mr. Gold's cane one hour before he usually arrived for work. As his secretary, she noticed when he entered every day, and he never came in before 8:30. He came into view, and walked up to her desk.

"Good morning, Mr. Gold," she greeted. "Is someone else going to drop Baden off at kindergarten today?"

Mr. Gold visibly flinched. "Cancel all appointments I have for today, and do not disturb me unless the police contact you or the building is on fire." Then, he went into his office, and slammed the door instead of answering his secretary's innocent question.

He leaned against the wall for a second to catch his breath. He knew he would eventually have to tell Mrs. Lucas that his son had been kidnapped, but he was nowhere near ready for that, especially when she mentioned him unexpectedly. Mr. Gold did a sweeping glance around his seemingly cluttered office. To the casual observer, it would seem like a random assortment of knick-knacks, but he knew where every object was, and could easily tell when something had been moved by a janitor, and he would notice instantly if anything was out of place.

Which was why, in one sweeping glance, he immediately noticed the folded piece of paper on his desk. He limped over and plucked it from the many other documents scattered across his desk. He unfolded it, and immediately recognized the handwriting.

He let out a cry of anger and grabbed the closest thing, which happened to be a ceramic doll that Bae thought creepy. He threw it with all of his might, and it crashed into the door, breaking into a million pieces. He picked up the only other doll in the room, and sent it to follow its partner. It smashed into the door as it swung open.

"Mr. Gold, you need to calm down," Mrs. Lucas yelled as she took refuge behind the partially opened door. She had seen her employer angry before, but this was even worse than the night of his divorce.

"You know, you're right dearie," he informed her, and she relaxed slightly. "I have no time to be angry." He pocketed the piece of paper and brushed past her out the door.

"Mr. Gold, where are you going?" Mrs. Lucas questioned as he made his way to the elevator.

"I'll be gone for a while, and I have no idea when I'll be back. If I don't show up in the morning, just cancel my appointments for the day. Oh, and when the police come looking for me, please give them this along with my sincere apology." At the end of his instructions, he handed Mrs. Lucas his cell phone.

"Sir, what is going on?" she asked as she stepped in front of him. She wasn't about to let her employer go up against the police when he had no track record, and it would ruin the business as well as his relationship with Baden.

"My son's been kidnapped and I am getting him back," Mr. Gold said, which shocked her enough to let him push past her onto the elevator. As the door closed off her view of him, she wondered what she was going to tell her granddaughter, Ruby, who was Baden's friend; and who would kidnap such a sweet little boy.

Belle's eyes flew open as soon as the truck came to a stop. Something about the engine turning off could always wake Belle up when she slept in a car. However, Baden was still fast asleep in her lap. She decided to wake him up before the kidnapper did, so he would at least be greeted by a friendly face.

"Baden, time to wake up," she said at a conversational volume.

"Five more minutes Papa," he muttered, and snuggled in closer to her.

"Baden, you have to wake up now," she said, a little louder this time. He rubbed his eyes and looked up at her, the grouchy look changing to shock when he saw her face. Baden sat up quickly, and looked around the empty truck.

"You're not Papa. Where am I?" he asked, obviously forgetting the events of last night.

"Remember me? I'm Miss Belle. We were kidnapped together," she informed him gently.

"Oh yeah, and my papa is going to come and find us soon." Baden's head was starting to dispel the fog of sleep, and he remembered Belle telling him that last night. He smiled up at her, sure that they would be rescued any second now and he would be able to tell his Papa about her.

She smiled back at the young boy, much less optimistic about being found, but feigning it for his sake. "Yes, and then I can meet your father and tell him how brave you've been." Baden beamed at her praise, but before he could tell her anything else, the door was opened by the kidnapper, who was holding a gun.

"If I were you, I would come without putting up a fight. You'll just make things worse for yourselves." Baden started to shake with fear from seeing their kidnapper. Belle scooped him up into her arms, and ignoring her own wobbly legs, got out of the truck. Due to her skinned knees, she almost collapsed when she got out, but was able to catch herself before she did. For whatever reason, he let her hold Baden as he lead her to their destination.

At least she got a good look around before she was forced inside, but it didn't do her much good. Judging by the position of the sun, it was about 7:00 am, so they had been in the truck for roughly 10 hours. However, it did nothing to indicate the direction they had gone or how far they were from home. She also noticed that they were in a wooden cabin in the middle of the woods. It would be unlikely that anyone would find them in the middle of nowhere, and trying to escape would be more dangerous than it was worth. Not only would their captor try and kill them, but even if they made it, there was no guarantee that they would survive for long in the wilderness, especially since winter was almost there. Belle would have to be extremely clever to escape.

The truck driver forced them into the cabin, and opened up a trapdoor to a basement with one hand. His other hand held the gun, which was aimed at Belle. "Get in," he ordered. Belle set Baden down and asked him to go down the ladder first, since she couldn't climb while carrying him. Baden obliged, while keeping his distance from the man. Belle followed right after him, and the kidnapper slammed the trapdoor as soon as she was in. She heard the click as he locked them in.

"Don't worry, the man who paid me to kidnap the boy should be here soon, and he'll bring you food." Then, he left the cabin and headed back to his truck, smiling to himself at the thought of the money that would be added to his bank account as soon as his employer saw he had delivered the boy.

Meanwhile, down in the basement, Baden was freaking out. It was dark and creepy down there, and he was scared that monsters would jump out and eat them any second. Not only that, but he was afraid that if he confided his fears in Miss Belle, she would no longer think he was brave, and he wanted her to think the best of him. So, Baden tried to keep his fears to himself, until he felt something brush against his arm.

The little boy screamed and jumped backward away from the monster. "Baden, it's okay, it's just me," Belle told him. She gently reached out, and this time when she found him, he hugged her and started crying. Some of his salty tears hit her forearms, and the pain she had been trying to ignore was forced to the forefront of her mind. She hugged him closer, to comfort him and keep the salty tears away from her tender arms.

"Miss Belle, I'm scared," he sobbed into her shirt. "I want to be brave, but I'm just too scared."

Belle rocked him back and forth. She knew the motion calmed down young children, and she hoped it still worked on Baden. "It's okay Baden. Everyone gets scared, but if you do the brave thing, bravery will follow."

"Really?" he questioned. "But how does that work?"

"Do you think I was brave with the kidnapper?"

"Of course! You were amazing. I wish I could be that brave." He started to sniff, and the tears started to come out faster.

"Well, I was terrified." Belle heard the sniffling stop.

"You were?"

"Yes, but I did the brave thing. I didn't let my fear show. And maybe, eventually, I'll be brave enough to not be scared of him."

"Well then, I'll try to be brave too!" Baden said, determination in his voice. He would be brave for Miss Belle, to make things easier on her and so his papa would be proud when he rescued them.

"I'm sure you'll become one of the bravest people ever, Baden," Belle encouraged.

Up until that moment, Baden's papa had been the only one aloud to call him Bae, but right then, he really needed to hear the term of endearment to help him be brave. So, he requested something from Belle that he had never asked anyone else to do before. "Miss Belle, you can call me Bae."

"Alright, Bae. Since we are now on first name basis, will you please call me Belle, without the miss?"

"Okay, I can do that."

Before Bae could ask her if there was a story about people who defeated monsters that dwelt in the dark, they heard the creak of floorboards above them.

"Hello, Baden," a stranger's voice penetrated into the basement. "I'm so glad to finally meet you. We are going to have so much fun." Sarcasm dripped from his voice, and it sent a chill up Belle's spine. Whatever was going to happen next, she had a feeling it would be anything but fun, for herself or Baden.