I do not own Once Upon a Time. I hope you enjoy. Reviews are appreciated.

Chapter 4

Rumplestiltskin released Belle, stunned, flabbergasted. "What?" he asked. "What did you say?"

Suddenly, two men in uniforms burst into the house and ran up the stairs. Snow, having opened the door, was standing next to a tall young man, trying to talk to him, but he wouldn't answer. Clearly agitated, he was bouncing up and down on his toes, shaking his head. "Not 'sposed to talk to strangers," he kept repeating.

Rumple grabbed Belle by the arm and dragged her to the foyer. "Jack," he called out, "what's wrong?"

"Jill!" he sobbed. "Jill got hurt. I don't know." Tears and snot slid down his face. "Jill!"

"Jack," Gold barked, "this is my wife, Belle." Grabbing the young man by the arm, he shoved them together. "She'll take care of you while I check on your sister." Without another word, he dashed up the stairs.

"Belle?" the tall young man asked. He was far from calm, but the novelty of meeting someone had sidetracked his fears for a moment.

"Yes, she is," Snow told him, leading him by the arm into the sitting room. "And she has prepared a lovely tea. Look, there on the table." She seated him on the sofa and sat beside him. "Belle," she asked, "would you pour your guest a cup of tea?"

"Of course," Belle muttered. As if she were on automatic pilot, the young mother-to-be drifted into the sitting room and prepared tea for her guests.

Snow waited until Jack had taken a bite of a sandwich before she spoke again. "Would you tell us about your sister?" she asked slowly.

Jack nodded, spilling some tea on his leg. "Jill, Jill," he said, "she got hurt." He took big gulping breaths. "I cut the yard real nice. I went to tell her. Then she said to put away the tools then come help her so I did, but -" He stopped, looking ready to cry again, but he took in another great breath, spilling more tea. Gently, Snow took the cup from him and set it down.

"But what, Jack?" Belle asked gently.

He looked up at her with great, big blue eyes. "She was on the floor in the bathroom in a puddle of water, and she wouldn't wake up, so I tried and tried to wake her up, but she wouldn't get up, and I got scared, but I didn't yell 'cause she told me not to yell unless I was hurt."

"You did the right thing, I'm sure," Snow reassured him with a motherly pat on the shoulder.

The paramedics came down the stairs then. The older of the men stop and stood just inside the foyer. "Jack, your sister must have slipped on the wet bathroom floor. She hit her head very hard," he explained slowly. "She's still -" he paused, searching for just the right word "- sleeping. We need to take her to the hospital in the ambulance, okay?"

Eyes wide with fear, Jack nodded convulsively and began chewing his shirt again. Snow rubbed his back comfortingly. "Don't be afraid, Jack," she told him. "The paramedics will take good care of her." Snow deftly removed the shirt from his mouth.

There was quiet again in the room after the man left. The three of them sat in silence until the EMT's returned with the stretcher.

"How," Belle, red faced, asked curiously, "how did she wind up in the bed?"

Snow frowned, cutting furrows into her forehead. "In the bed?" she mouthed.

Jack reached for a cookie and stuffed it into his mouth. He chewed for a moment, just long enough to shove the partially chewed sweet to the side of his mouth. He mumbled around the cookie, "Couldn't leave her on the floor all wet and cold, so I picked her up and put her on the bed, but she was still wet, so I covered her up, but then I thought her legs might get hot like mine do at night, so I uncovered some of her."

Belle suddenly became engrossed in her cold tea. Neither Snow's questions nor Jack's answers could pull her out of her intense soul searching. Only the loud clattering of the EMT's carrying the stretcher and patient jarred her from her reverie.

Leaping up, Jack spilled more tea, which Snow carefully wiped away. "Jill?" he cried, rushing to the door.

Gold, frowning, took the fellow by the arms. "Jack," he told the young man gently firmly, "settle down, Jack. You're getting too wound up. Remember what Jill told you." Instantly he calmed down. "Good," Gold told him as he patted his arm. "Now, Jack, these men will take Jill to the hospital. I've explained to them how things are, and they're going to see that both you and your sister are taken care of."

"I'll go with him," Snow volunteered. She turned for a moment to Gold and Belle. "I think you two can get along without me for the rest of the afternoon. Jack here seems to need me more."

"Of course," Gold agreed instantly. "I've made arrangements to cover Miss Hillyard's medical expenses." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys to his Cadillac. "Take the car," he told her. "When Belle is ready to leave, I'll call her a cab."

"Thank you, Mr. Gold," Snow told him, as she took the proffered keys. "You've been a grand gentleman today." She hooked an arm through Jack's. "Come on, Jack, let's go."

Gold faithfully watched the paramedics load Jill Hillyard into the back of the ambulance. He continued to watch until they left the driveway, sirens blaring, with Snow and Jack in the caddie following closely behind. Slowly, then he closed the front door.

"Would you like to stay a while longer, Belle," he asked with a bone weary sigh, "or are you ready to leave now?'

Head tilted to the right, she examined him closely. His appearance hadn't changed one iota save for the bright red imprint of her hand on his cheek. But somehow, he seemed different to her.

"I owe you another apology," she said shortly. "I struck you, and I shouldn't have."

He rubbed at his reddened cheek. "Aye, well, you thought I was cheating on you, and you were jealous, which means that - admit it or not - you still love me." He grinned. "So, I'll accept the blow as well worth it."

"I was not jealous."

He laughed outright at her. "You most certainly were," he retorted, good humouredly. He walked slowly towards her. "You slipped up too, you know. You said 'our' bed." His unhurried steps continued. "You still think of things as ours."

She furrowed her brow, desperately trying to remember what exactly she had said. He was right, and she knew it. She was jealous, but she didn't like it that he knew. "I wasn't either," she said a bit sullenly, "I was merely concerned that -"

"Fraud," he whispered. He stopped within kissing distance, but he made no effort to touch her. "You were jealous. You thought I had another woman in the same bed where we made that wee babe."

Blood rushed to her cheeks, declaring the truth of his words, and she was unable to prevent it. "Rumple," she told him, "I don't know if we can solve our problems entirely, but I will admit that some small part of me still cares about you."

"Stay tonight, Belle," he urged her. "I'll order dinner, and we can talk." Noting her look of skepticisms, he added. "I mean just that - talk. You can stay in the bedroom, and I'll sleep here on the couch. I'll even leave and go sleep in the shop if you want."

She stared at him with a myriad of emotions mingling within her thoughts. "I don't know, Rumple," she said sadly.

Now he dared touch her, taking her tenderly by the arms. "I'll do whatever you ask, Belle. I only want what's best for you, you know that." He cupped her face. "But I simply cannot change who I am. You married me for better or worse, you know, and if truth be told, I don't think you want a mere man. I think you need a man who's part beast."

They locked eyes. "I'll think about what you said, Rumple," she told him. "That's all I'm willing to promise at this point." Backing away out of his arms, she added, "I'll call Archie first thing in the morning and make an appointment."

He let her go, disappointment etched in his face. "All right, Belle," he said grimly. "It's an improvement, though, don't you think? Not to be at open war with one another?"

"Yes," she said with a small laugh, "but I don't want us to push our luck tonight. If you don't mind calling that cab for me, then I'll just go."

He was disappointed, but he kept his word and made the call. A long awkward silence surrounded them, so he filled it with small talk. "I'll have to find another cleaning crew for your apartment," he told her. "Maybe Ruby?"

"I think that's a good idea, Rumple," she replied politely. "I know she's looking for something part time."

He nodded. "Would you allow me to take you to lunch tomorrow?" he asked. "We could talk."

Belle hesitated. "I want to talk to Archie first," she told him. "I've got some troublesome thoughts to work out." She paused, considering. "Maybe we could meet for dinner, though."

"I'd like that," he answered immediately. "We have a lot to talk out, Belle."

"No pressure, Rumple," she warned him. "It might be that we aren't really suited for one another. It might be that a divorce would be best."

He clenched his hands. "In which case," he pointed out, "we still need to talk. We need to make legal arrangements for joint custody."

That shook her. Outside a horn honked. "That," she said with the jerk of her thumb towards the door, "should be my ride."

"Please allow me to help you." Inclining his head, he took her arm and lead her to the waiting cab. He helped her into the vehicle and made sure that she was buckled in safely.

"Rumple," she protested, "I'm not an invalid. I'm perfectly capable to buckling myself in!"

"Your safety," he responded firmly, "and that of our child is paramount. Belle, I only want to protect you." He could read the signs. Anger was clouding her features. He sighed. "Yes, yes, yes," he added before she could explode. "You don't need my protection. Really, Belle, is it so unreasonable that a man should do everything he can in order to protect the ones he loves?" He closed the door and stepped back from the curb.

Slowly the window rolled down, and Belle's face appeared. "Tony's? 7:00?"

"I'll be there," he said with a smile.