Author's note: Thank you to all my readers! Please continue to review: all comments and critiques are incredibly helpful and uplifting. I'm sorry this chapter isn't quite as long. I hope you enjoy!


The Mayor was at the end of her wits. Even her dark hair, normally so straight and prim, was showing the strain she was under. The strands of black were sticking out, beginning to fray and frizz, as if the electrical wiring inside her brain was sizzling erratically and sending electric sparks through each string of hair. Staring aggressively into her mirror, she stupidly wished that the Genie was still trapped in there, somewhere where she could confide anything in him without any troubles. This world's version of the Genie, Sidney, was even more of a weakling than he'd been in the other world, and she could hardly tell him about such important matters.

Two weeks had gone by now and Belle still had not been found. Such failure was incomprehensible to Regina, and entirely unacceptable. She gritted her teeth just thinking over her conversation with the town's so-called chief of police earlier that day.

"I'm doing my best Madam Mayor."

"Your best? This is your best? It's been two... weeks... Miss Swan. Two weeks, and you've found nothing."

"What more do you want me to do?"

"Find her! That's what I want you to do! It's clear enough at this point that someone has decided to keep her under their roof. Your job is to find out who."

"Well I could always put out advertisements, or you could ask if anyone has seen her at the next town meeting. That seems to me to be the best way to go about it."

"No. I already told you, Miss Swan: this investigation must be done quietly. If I hear so much as a whisper out of your lips about this matter, to anyone, I'll have you brought up on charges."

"Well what would you like me to do then?"

"Search the whole town if you must. Go door to door. Go inside. Look around. But don't tell anyone why you're doing it."

"It seems to me that if someone's kept her this long without reporting her, they'd have no reason not to hide her if I come knocking."

"Then don't go knocking. Kick down their doors when they're not at home and search each and every house."

"I can't do that!"

"Oh I think you can."

"Absolutely not. Unless I have substantial evidence that a specific person is harboring her, I can't simply break into houses without warrants."

"You're the chief of police. You can write your own warrants."

"I'm not that kind of chief of police."

"... Fine. But when this all ends horribly, don't say I didn't warn you."

Regina tried to ignore the prickling worry in the back of her mind, but the worry grew louder and louder until it was a forceful whisper.

-Gold has her. Gold's the one that has her.-

Her pulse beat erratically at the very thought. If he had her back, Lord knows what would happen. She couldn't risk it. Perhaps Belle was somewhere else. After all, most of the people in the town disliked the Mayor, so it wasn't completely crazy to believe that someone might have pitied the girl and taken her in just to spite Regina.

Breathing deeply, Regina stared at her cold dark eyes in the mirror. She had to remember to stay calm about this. Panicking would do no good at all. And this was a very delicate matter. If Gold was not the one keeping Belle, going to his house to search would only set off alarm bells, and then perhaps he would find out. But then again... what if he did have her?

Regina smoothed down her business suit, trying to look calm. The face snarling back at her from the mirror gave her away. She felt as unsure and anxious as she had when she hadn't known positively whether or not Mr. Gold remembered his life as Rumpelstiltskin. She'd done her best to be subtle about drawing the truth out of him, and finally she'd succeeded. But how could she find out this time? How could she trick him into revealing whether or not he knew that Belle was alive without giving away the game if he didn't?

Shoving the matter briefly from her mind, Regina plastered an empty smile on her face as she heard the front door slamming shut. Henry was home. Belle would have to wait.


They sat at opposite ends of the table, eating dinner in silence. Esme could not control the frequent impulse to glance over at her companion, but apparently he was perfectly content to stare at his plate for the duration of the meal. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, but Esme wished to break it anyways in order to converse with Mr. Gold so as to learn more about him. But she could think of nothing to say. Finally, she remembered something she'd been longing to ask him earlier.

"Mr. Gold?" His head quickly snapped up and he raised his eyebrows attentively. "I've cleaned the house several times during my stay, but I haven't been able to get into the attic. The door seems to be locked."

Gold stiffened momentarily, but the expression disappeared quickly. Flashing her a tight, humorless smile, he said,

"Well then, no need to worry about the attic. I never use it."

"Well that's all the more reason to go in. You know, to see what's stowed away up there," she retaliated, giving him a teasing smile. Setting down his silverware, Gold perched his elbows on the table and leaned forward.

"Don't worry... about the attic... Rooms are usually locked for a reason dearie. Leave it alone." The smile faded slowly from Esme's face as she took in his serious expression. Staring him firmly in the eye, she said,

"Yes sir. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to push." Mr. Gold waved a hand dismissing the matter, smiling again. Neither Esme nor Mr. Gold mentioned the lingering tension in the air. Despite his insistence—or perhaps because of it—Esme was more determined than ever to somehow get into the attic, just to see what was in there. Unfortunately, she had a bad feeling that Gold was not entirely oblivious to this new determination inside of her. But neither of them said anything about it. Instead, Gold changed the topic, attempting to drive the mystery from her mind. He didn't want her poking away up there. He doubted she'd ever find the key to get in, but the girl did have a limitless amount of time stuck in the house, so he'd rather avoid the situation entirely if possible.

"I hope you are finding your stay here to be... moderately comfortable?"

"Absolutely," she confirmed, "It's very kind of you to let me stay, and provide me clothes and food and such. I don't know where I would be right now if it weren't for you."

"Esme," said Gold sharply, quite out the blue. Esme was confused to see that he seemed to be struggling with his next words, as though he were embarrassed or anxious. "I wanted to... apologize for my actions towards you. I understand that I am a hard man to live with, but I never intended to... frighten you."

Esme did not know what to say. It would be a lie to say that he hadn't frightened her or that he wasn't a hard man to live with. Somehow she knew that he wouldn't appreciate polite lies, and she didn't want to give them anyways. After a minute, the appropriate response came to her.

"I forgive you," she replied softly.

If you had asked Esme at that time, she would have said that Mr. Gold was smiling at her, when in reality his serious expression had not shifted. Though she did not realize it fully, she received this impression due not to any upwards turn of his mouth, but to the unusual kindness and tenderness that had gathered in his dark eyes.


Gold was just about to go to bed when Esme rushed over to him, already in her nightgown, clutching a book tightly to her chest. A painful throb echoed through his heart at the sweet and delicate air of the young beauty. There was a brightness shining from her innocent eyes, and her smile was soft, though apprehensive. Her light blue nightgown dusted the floor quietly as she moved, and every movement she made was graceful and dignified. Not for the first time, Gold made a silent promise never to let her leave again.

"Mr. Gold?" The older man snapped to attention, smiling genteelly at the beautiful young woman of his dreams.

"And what can I do for you at this time of night?"

"I was wondering if you would mind terribly if I took this book to my room for the night, so that I may continue reading it."

"You're very fond of this book then?"

"Oh yes," she replied excitedly. "Very much. She's just escaped into the forest, see? And she's left no way for her prince to track her down but... I'm sure he will. But I feel I just may burst if I'm not able to finish the book right away."

"Well I most certainly do not want you to burst," he teased lightly. "However, if you like the book so much, why don't you just keep it?"

Esme was startled, and she stared at her master in amazement.

"What, keep it as my own?" Gold shrugged nonchalantly, but there was a betraying twinkle in his eye.

"Why not? I give it to you freely." Esme remained shocked for a moment, but then a sassy grin slipped onto her face.

"Though in all honesty, it doesn't really change anything—whether you own it or I own it—seeing as we do live together. So it makes no difference at all, really."

Mr. Gold grinned and let out what Esme felt was a rather uncharacteristic giggle. But wait, no, it wasn't uncharacteristic at all. Esme put a hand to her forehead as violent, vivid images flashed through her mind's eye. They appeared and vanished again too quickly for her to process them. All that remained was the assured feeling that Gold often looked like he did at the moment: giddy, grinning, and giggling. But... that was odd, because as she tried to think over the past two weeks, she couldn't think of seeing such an expression on his face before.

"What's the matter?" he demanded immediately, his face molding back into his familiar, serious expression. Gold rushed to her side and looked intensely between her blue eyes. Esme was surprised to see such honest concern in his eyes, and it made her feel strangely warm inside, though she couldn't fathom why.

"It's nothing," she assured him, putting on a smile, "I felt a bit faint for a moment, that's all. I feel fine now."

"Are you certain?" he insisted. Esme laughed gently.

"I promise. If you don't mind Mr. Gold, I think I'll head to bed now."

Gold nodded and she brushed past him, accidentally allowing their hands to brush as she did so. Both man and woman felt an immediate tingling that spread through their fingers, up through their arm, until their entire body had lit up and was tingling warmly. Esme's heart began to beat rapidly, unsure at all what to make of this reaction, and she increased her pace up the stairs. Gold's heart reacted similarly, though he knew exactly why the touch of her hand had sent a wonderful shiver through his body. Spinning around, he watched silently as the woman he loved disappeared around the corner of the upstairs floor.

After taking a moment to calm his raging heartbeat, Gold began to clunk upstairs himself to begin the arduous task of falling asleep. Nowadays, he found it much more difficult to do so than he ever had before Belle's sudden arrival. After all, why would anyone want to fall asleep when their perfect dream existed only when they were awake?