Too Much Trouble

Bae followed his unconscious father as far as he was allowed to and even a little further. The people kept trying to tell him to leave, but they didn't udnerstand. He'd been entrusted with his father's life and safety, and he had no idea whether he failed or not. He had to know. He had to. That was his father. No matter what words he used to explain himself, they just wouldn't listen.

Finally the doctor pulled him aside and looked him in the eye. "Your father is in very good hands," he said.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Bae asked. His voice was breaking. "Please. I need to know."

"I understand. He'll be just fine. I swear to you." Bae nodded and finally allowed himself to be guided back into the waiting area, where he sank into a chair, his hands folded in his lap, and sat there.

Whether it was hours or minutes, he couldn't be sure, and he couldn't be bothered with it, but some time later, someone said, "Excuse me?" He looked up at a woman with curly brown hair. She was wearing a brown garment that resembled a tunic, complete with black leggings and strange shoes and over-wear. "Are...are you Baelfire?"

"How do you know?" Bae asked.

"I'm a friend of your father's. He..." Bae bowed his head again. "...told me about you. I'm really sorry."

"I don't want to be fussed over." He moved his arms closer to himself. "I want to know if he's gonna be okay. I need to know if I failed or not."

"Failed?"

"He put his life in my hands. Am I a killer or a savior? I need to know these things."

The woman adopted a more pragmatic tone. "Well," she said, plucking a dead leaf from his hair and flicking it into the wastebasket, "I don't think you're going to find your answers in the middle of the woods, at least, not right away." Again, Bae looked up at her. She reminded him of vague memories he had of his mother, before she left, before Rumpelstiltskin lied to him about her fate. He bit back a sob and pressed a hand to his mouth. "Oh, don't cry," she whispered, touching him on the shoulder. "Wait, I shouldn't have said that. That's a horrible thing to say at a time like this. I'm sorry." He let her take him into her arms, and she whispered, "You cry as much as you need to, and I'll be right here." Bae surrendered and wept into her strange clothing.

OUAT

Had Rumpelstiltskin not produced a drawing of Baelfire, Belle wouldn't have known him from a hole in the wall, but stranger or not, even a blind man could see that he was in great distress and needed someone with him. She even wondered, as he wept and as the settled back so that he slid out of his chair, if he truly had a mother. Certainly Rumpelstiltskin never mentioned such a woman, but who talked of their exes with current girlfriends? That simply wasn't done. But back when she was just the hired, or rather, kidnapped, help, surely he could have said something then, especially when the topic of the missing son was brought up.

Baelfire settled down, sniffled a little, and Belle whispered, "Here." She reached for a tissue and handed it to him.

"Thanks," he whispered, blowing his nose into it and wadding it up into a ball. Then he looked at the mess he made on Belle's jacket. "I'm sorry. This must be terribly expensive-" A stroke of his hair silenced him at once.

"It's okay. I can wash it out."

"You're sure."

She nodded. "My name's Belle."

"Most people call me Bae." He occupied himself by using the ball of tissue to wipe off the stain on Belle's jacket as much as possible.

"Let me take that." She slipped the wad out of his hand and tossed it into the wastebasket.

"I...I didn't mean to..."

She tilted his chin up. "It's okay," she whispered. They stood, and she lowered her hand. "Here, why don't you come home with me. I don't imagine a hospital chair is very comfortable, and I don't think you'll find your answers in the woods. That and I think you could use a shower and some fresh clothes."

"What's a shower?"

She laughed. "You'll see."

Bae allowed himself a smirk, but he quickly regained all seriousness. "Do you have anything for Morraine? She was tied to a tree for three hundred years, and her clothing is in worse shape than mine."

"Actually, I think I do have something. Of course, I have no idea where this Morraine actually is."

"I can find her."

"Alright."

"Thank you. For everything."

"Of course." Belle wrapped an arm around Bae's shoulders and started to lead him out of the hospital. "You know," she said, "your father once told me I might like you."

"When did he tell you that?"

"We're...we're dating. It's nothing official or exclusive yet, but we're going out together and being seen together, usually at the diner. I'll show you where that is tomorrow."

Bae couldn't help what came out of his mouth next. "Is there a chance you'll be my stepmother?"

"I won't be evil, if that's what you're asking." They laughed. "Well, I think it's possible."

Bae nodded and looked up at the street. "Where're we going?"

"I live in the apartment above the library I've been working on opening." She pointed at a spire rising above the rest of the town. "It's right under that clock."

"That must be a bother, with its constant tolling."

"Actually it hasn't moved for quite some time, thirty years, I've been told."

"Oh."

"Now come on. Let's get you settled in."