A/N: Reviving this once again! I will be doing my best to update this fic weekly if not more often. Life has been kind enough to bless me with more writing time. So without further ado, Chapter 4! ~ Love Kat
"Natalie!" Grace shouted as she followed after the four year old. She groaned when Natalie seemed more delighted with their impromptu game of tag than actually obeying her babysitter. Why did this always happen on her watch? Natalie was always good for Henry.
Natalie laughed and picked up speed as she stayed on the sidewalk. A race seemed like the perfectly logical thing when the day was so pretty and nothing was really going on. Granny L said something about a guy named Gold, but Natalie was way more interested in her breakfast. She saved her breath for running and darted around the corner.
"Natalie!" Grace shrieked again. She picked up speed now. The library was on the other side of the street and if something happened to that kid, Belle would never ever forgive her.
Gold stayed in the shop last night because he couldn't really bear to face anyone else after his little talk with Regina. Yes, she had been friendly and more than understanding, but his reputation with the town probably hadn't changed much. Once a monster always a monster even after he had married Belle and did his best to change. He wrinkled his nose. Now that he thought about it, it probably had. They probably pitied him now. The Scotsman shuttered; he didn't know which was worse. He sighed and looked at the small mirror he kept in his back room to make sure he at least looked decent enough to go out and get something to eat. That was one of the many things his sponsor and his wife (ex-wife) agreed on; he needed to eat better on top of getting clean.
He kept looking in the mirror and tried to make it seem as though nothing had changed with him; that he was still the same monster he had always been to the people who weren't Belle, but he didn't have the desire to keep up the ruse. It was too much and he felt too kicked down. Too hopeless. No, not hopeless. Helpless. Gold swallowed hard and closed his eyes. "I am stronger than I was yesterday. My demons no longer control me," he whispered. "I am my own man." He had to believe that. His sponsor would have been proud of him. Normally he'd have been half way to his dealer by now. He briefly wondered what happened to that old codger. Probably died or something. He fell off the face of the earth as soon as Gold was a few months sober the second go round.
Rodric straightened out his suit and walked out of his (Belle's) shop. A panicked voice alerted him to the fact someone was close by, but it wasn't until he felt the thump against his leg and looked down that he realized who it could have been.
Natalie 'oofed' and fell backwards right onto her butt. She just looked up at Gold and laughed.
Gold couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Well, hello there," he said and knelt down. "You should be more careful, miss. You alright?" He reached out a hand to help her back to her feet.
Natalie ignored it in favor of getting up herself. "Hi!" she said brightly. She looked over her shoulder to see Grace coming up behind her and darted behind Gold. "Can't get me!"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Gold, right? She got away from me." Grace shuffled her feet and kept her distance when the pawnbroker stood. She heard the stories about him, but seeing him in person made her wonder how true they were. He didn't seem so bad, and thankfully Natalie was clinging to his pants leg so she didn't seem inclined to run away anymore.
Rodric nodded to the young girl and then glanced behind him to see Natalie peeking out at her baby sitter. "You have to be careful with them at this age," he said. "They will definitely use any distraction to their advantage.
Grace nodded her agreement and her shoulders slumped a little. "I think she just does it to me. Henry can get her to behave."
Natalie giggled. "Gracie likes Henry. She wants to kiss him." The five year old started making kissy noises and laughed as Grace's face took on an unnatural shade of red.
Gold chuckled and glanced over at the library. "Is Miss French at the library today?" he asked feigning disinterest. It might have been a little underhanded to try and get information from a child, but right now she was the only one he knew of who didn't know him from before. That could work to his advantage later.
"Miss – Oh, you mean Belle. Yeah," Grace said, wishing she could shove Natalie down a rabbit hole since the child seemed intent on exposing her crush on Henry. "My dad is there helping her. They're doing something for the kids later this week so they're both pretty busy."
His eye twitched at the mention of the other man who seemed to have swooped in and taken his place. It would be unfair to blame Grace for that though. Children were too often punished for the sins of their fathers. "Hm," Gold mumbled and quickly looked down when he felt Natalie's grip release from his pants leg. "And where are you going, little lass?" he asked.
Natalie skipped around until she was facing Gold and looked up at him with her mother's big blue eyes. "Are you a friend of Mommy's?" she asked.
Gold's eyes flicked to Grace before he looked down at Natalie. "I hope so," he said honestly. "I haven't seen her for a very long time."
"Do you miss her?"
There was a brief moment of hesitation, and then another spurt of bravery. "Yes. Very much."
Natalie nodded and kept peering up at Gold before she looked back towards the library and beamed. "Mommy!" And then she was moving towards the street.
Time stopped when Gold saw Belle's eyes widen in panic. He could feel Grace tense up beside him. Hell even that infernal Jefferson man looked concerned. There might not have been any cars coming, but he didn't want to take the risk of Natalie tripping and hurting herself. He still remembered a few things about being a decent father. In two quick steps Gold scooped up the little girl in one arm and tickled her sides.
"Now now, little lass," he said over her giggles. "Ladies don't run into traffic like that."
Grace deflated and watched as Belle jogged to the sidewalk. Jefferson kept following but allowed some distance to build between them.
Natalie squirmed and tried to get out of Rodric's grip, but he was surprisingly strong for someone his age. She shrieked and giggled until she turned her head and saw her mom get closer. "Mama, help!" she called out. "Tickle monster is gonna eat me up!"
Belle's mouth forced itself up at the corners. "Well then you should remember not to try and cross the street without a grown up."
Gold stopped his tickle attack when he noticed Belle's eyes refused to crinkle at the corners. Right then. He released Natalie and straightened slowly. "Using monsters to get her to behave? A little medieval don't you think?" He put on his mask of smug indifference. It was a good enough defense in the past.
"Whatever gets the job done," Belle said as she stroked her fingers through Natalie's hair. "Nice reflexes."
"I have done this before."
Grace cleared her throat. "I was just on my way to take her to the park."
Jefferson had just gotten to his daughter's side when Natalie noticed his presence.
"Up, Jeffy, up!" Natalie reached up to him while standing on her tiptoes and smiled brightly when the taller man obliged her.
Gold's eyes flashed while his fingers tapped a rhythm into the air where his cane would have been. Sometimes he really missed being crippled. The cane was useful for intimidation.
Belle narrowed her eyes and looked over at Jefferson. "I'll catch up with you at the park and then we can go shopping for tonight."
Jefferson took the hint and tugged on Grace so they could leave them alone.
Gold clenched his jaw as the other man walked away with his daughter, but wisely said nothing. Tonight!? Oh that mother—
"You don't get to do that anymore," Belle said simply.
He turned his attention back to Belle. "Do what? Be angry at the fact my daughter prefers another man's company to my own?"
Belle rolled her eyes. "She doesn't know you."
"Yeah, and whose—" Gold closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I am stronger than I was yesterday. My demons no longer control me. I am my own man. When he opened his eyes, his fingers stopped tapping the air and his forced the tension from his shoulders. "You're right. It's unfair for me to expect an instant connection with her just because she shares my blood. My mistake."
Belle arched an eyebrow and faltered for a split second. "Is it awful for me to want to hear you say that again so I can get a recording of it?" she asked.
Gold chuckled and shook his head. "I wouldn't hold it against you," he said and ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "Have fun with your man friend and Natalie, Belle. I'm going to get breakfast." Being this close and wanting to touch her was just proving too much for him. Natalie was okay, Belle still didn't seem so sure if she wanted him around or not so he didn't feel the need to burden her with his presence any longer. "Oh, I did stay here last night. Better than that Bed and Breakfast. I'll pay you rent if you want."
"No," Belle said quietly. "You… It's okay if you stay there. I haven't really gone in there much anyway except to maintain it." She looked at her ex-husband and chewed on her bottom lip before looking away. "I'll see you around town, Rodric."
"I expect you will. Good day, Miss French." It was easier to slip back into the days before they started their courtship. Formality built a wall and he was more than okay with keeping that wall solid. Gold bobbed his head in a half nod half bow and turned to go towards the diner that used to be the bane of his existence. He shoved thoughts about how far he had fallen away. No need to go down that path when he had fought so hard to get off of it.
Gold didn't see Belle tugging at her left ring finger and worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.
Kind of turning into a slow burn thing. Next chapter features some Grandpa Gold and Henry time, and Chapter 6 is when things will get fun. Don't forget to R/R! ~ Kat