A/N I feel the need to point out this is becoming AU quickly, so if you are not on board, this is probably your exit. I will try to keep events are true to the actual story as I can, but I also don't want to drag this out when we can get things going. I hope everyone understands. :) Also, if you get a moment, let me know what you think about this!

Belle was sitting alone in the park when Emma Swan came to find her.

"I need to ask a favor," Emma got right to the point. Belle set her book down and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?" She asked, unsure what Emma could possibly need from her.

"I need a Deputy Sheriff."

"Excuse me?" Belle asked, thinking Emma must have lost her mind. Belle was less threatening than a frosted cupcake, and now Emma wanted to deputize her?

"I need a Deputy Sheriff," Emma repeated, shifting her weight from one foot to another in clear discomfort.

"Okay...and you...what, want me to find one for you?" Belle asked slowly, giving Emma a look that clearly expressed she did not approve of where this was going.

"No, I want you to be my deputy."

"Why? We don't exactly get along. I'm crazy, remember?" Belle reminded her.

"I don't think you're crazy, I think this whole theory is crazy. I need someone I can trust, and that's you."

"Why?"

"Well, aside from your obvious association with Mr. Gold, you are one of the few people Regina specifically told me not to make a deputy."

"Ah, and you want to piss her off," Belle saw where this was going.

"No, I want someone I know isn't secretly reporting to her when my back is turned. I need help, my search for Kathryn is turning up no leads, I had a man report a theft this morning that I'm supposed to be looking into, then there's the matter of the grave yard fire that I'm not closer to solving..."

"Okay, okay, I understand," Belle put a hand up to stop her. "You are overwhelmed. I'm not a detective though, I'm a librarian."

"Could you try to be a deputy?" Emma looked desperate.

"Okay. I'll be your deputy," Belle reluctantly agreed. She didn't want to leave her job at the library, a job she enjoyed, to play cops with Emma Swan. On the other hand, it would be helpful to be closer to Emma, and it might help her learn who that mysterious piccolo belonged to.

"Great," Emma gave Belle a tentative smile. "You start today."

"What?" Belle looked alarmed as Emma handed her a ring of keys, and the deputy badge.

"Sorry, I need you to go check out a theft," Emma told her, handing her a scrap of paper with an address written on it. "Find out the details, and then come back so I can catch you up on what I know on Kathryn's disappearance and the fire in the grave yard."

"Got it, Chief," Belle said, following Emma out. There was a police car waiting for her, and Belle felt strange behind the wheel. She shook off the feeling and drove to the address Emma had written down. Belle found herself sitting outside of the same house she had been running out of not a week before. Taking a deep breath she walked up to the door and knocked. She had never met the Pied Piper in her actual life, and had no idea what to expect. When the door opened a man was standing behind it, baby faced, blonde haired and blue eyed. He was short and almost appeared child like.

"Um..." she started eloquently, "I am here about a reported theft?"

"Oh, of course, Sheriff Swan said you'd be out. Come in," he opened the door and Belle followed him in.

"She did?" Belle was confused considering she had only agreed to the job five minutes ago.

"Yeah, she told me she'd be sending out Deputy French, I assume that's you?"

"That's me..." Belle said, wondering how Emma could possibly know she'd agree to take the job. "Anyway, what was taken?"

"It seems silly," he admitted, "But it's an old family heirloom." He took her to where the piccolo had been sitting, as she jotted down a few notes. "It's an old piccolo."

"Why would someone steal that?" She asked him, more to herself.

"I don't know," he answered. "I can't think of anyone who would want it."

"Can I get your name?" She asked, planning to leave after this.

"It's Peter Jenkins."

She took one last look at him, and then promised to let him know if she found anything before escaping back out to the police cruiser. She drove down to the station and found Emma sitting in her office.

"I can't do this," she announced.

"Yes you can. Stop over thinking it," Emma told her.

"Surely there is someone more qualified."

"Sure, but I don't trust them."

"Right," Belle gave up her argument for the moment. "Well, it's a missing piccolo," she told her.

"I'll get on that," Emma sighed. "Let me catch you up on what's been going on around here."

Belle listened carefully to everything Emma had found, which wasn't a lot. Belle was grateful to also be helping investigating the fire, which only she and August knew she had started. Emma had zero leads on that, and no evidence. Her evidence for Kathryn's disappearance was just as scant, they couldn't prove she didn't leave willingly since there was no sign of a struggle, but it seemed likely she was taken against her will since she had been determined to go to law school.

"Where do you think she could have gone?" Emma asked wearily, sitting on her desk.

"I have no idea...have you searched the forest?" Belle asked, looking at the pictures hanging on the cork board of the car.

"Yeah, no sign of her."

"Well, we'll find her, but I will tell you one thing," Belle said.

"What's that?"

"Mary Margaret has nothing to do with this."

"I know that," Emma snapped. "But everyone is so sure she's involved, and she does have a motive. It looks bad."

"I would put all my money on Regina," Belle said seriously.

"That is my suspicion, but her alibi is air tight."

"Well we will just have to crack it. No one knows Regina's sneaky motives better than me. I don't think she could handle it if Mary Margaret and David ended up together. Ashley and Sean are already getting married, and Jack and Melody have started dating, and me-"

"And Mr. Gold?" Emma asked. "What is going on there?"

"Nothing sinister," Belle told her.

"You don't owe him anything?"

"No, I don't understand why that is so hard to believe."

"Hey, it's not like I can judge," Emma told her dismissively. They dropped the subject, but Belle's mind was racing. Snow White and Prince James together would be too much for Regina to handle.

"What do you know about August?" Belle asked her suddenly, and was surprised to see a smile creep up on Emma's face.

"Not a lot," she admitted. "We did go on one date."

"What? Where?"

"To a local watering hole," the smile deepened.

"Called...?" Belle prompted.

"No, it was an old wishing well, on the outskirts of town."

"Wishing...well?" Belle, who had possession of all her memories, found this hard to believe. How had she never heard of this before?

"Yeah, it's a well...that grants wishes," Emma stood up. The sun was starting to set in the sky. "Anyway, with the exception of Wednesday nights, I'll never make you work an evening, so if you want to get out of here..."

"Right. So...I'll see you tomorrow?" Belle asked, unsure about this.

"Or I'll hunt you down like a dog."

"Got it."

Belle headed out, fingering the little yellow star absently. She headed by the library and let them know what had happened, and was relieved when they were gracious about it, despite her lack of notice. She then walked straight to Gold's Pawnshop. She smiled when she saw him standing there, waiting for her.

"Deputy French, to what to do I owe the pleasure?"

"You take the fun out of everything," she sighed a little, coming up to him. "Tell me who your sources are."

"For that, you'll have to get a warrant," he smirked a little.

"Is that how it's gonna be now?" She asked him playfully.

"Don't fool yourself my dear, that's how it has always been."

"We'll see about that," she grinned at him. "You going to be late tonight?"

"I may be," he frowned for a moment. "I need to pick something up."

"Well alright," she sighed and turned to leave. "I'll be there."

"I'm counting on it."

She flashed him one last smile before heading out to find this wishing well Emma had told her about. On her way out of town she ran into Melody, looking sad.

"Hey Melody," she greeted, knowing full well Melody could not answer back. Melody offered her a sad smile, and Belle wished she could tell her what was bothering her. "I'm going to look for a wishing well, want to come with me?"

Melody nodded, and Belle was glad to have the company, even if Melody couldn't speak. She had heard Jack was learning sign language so they could communicate together more effectively. Belle walked to the outskirts of town, and was surprised to find a trail, with a wooden sign in front of it, indicating a trail.

"Well, it's not exactly hidden, is it?" She said, noting the wishing well was well marked on the map. Melody offered Belle an encouraging smile, and the girls embarked on their hike. It was longer than she imagined, but thankfully flat. Belle was not the most athletic person that ever lived, and knew a hilly terrain might have been the death of her.

"Wow," she saw it standing there, looking unassuming, off the trail. They two stepped off and walked over towards it, looking at it. Belle was surprised when Melody produced a coin and tossed it in after closing her eyes for a moment. She looked over at Belle, giving her a look as if to say, 'well what do you expect?' Belle smiled and began pulling at the rope until a bucket filled with water came to the top.

"When in Rome, right?" She said, and cupping her hand, took a drink. Melody did the same, and then they both looked at each other.

"Feel any different?" Belle asked her playfully, a little disappointed.

"Nope," Melody said in a horse voice. They both stared at each other in a mixture of confusion and horror as Melody clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Did...did you just speak?" Belle finally asked, incredulously.

Melody nodded her head, her eyes wide with shock.

"Try again!" Belle demanded.

"What...'s going on?" Melody asked, looking terrified.

"Maybe we should go see a doctor?" Belle suggested, and Melody nodded in agreement. The two girls headed back into town, despite the sun having finally set. They didn't speak the rest of the way, both of their minds whirring with the possibility of the well. Belle wondered if it could give Melody her speaking ability back, could it do other things? Was this what she needed to break the spell? How could she tell Emma about it?

When they reached the hospital, Melody hastily filled out her information while Belle explained what had happened to a nurse, who went to get Dr. Whale.

"Now, what exactly is going on here?" He asked when he got them into a room. Belle looked at Melody, who took a deep breath.

"I can talk," she said, and despite sounding as if she had a bad cold, her words were clear. Dr. Whale stared in shock.

"Yes you can." He began running tests on her while Belle waited with her the whole time, but in the end he was unable to explain her new found speech ability. He advised her to take it easy, and not over do it, and to see him again in a week.

"It was the well," she said softly. Belle agreed with her.

"Maybe...call me, if anything changes," she told her, and the two parted ways. Belle was now much later getting home than she had planned on, and wondered if Rumple had gotten whatever he needed to get, and was waiting on her.

"Just the girl I was looking for."

Belle sighed as August began walking towards her. "What do you want?"

"So rude, Deputy," he chided.

"I'm trying to get home. It's been a long day," she confided.

"I'll bet it has," he said, his eye glinting.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She demanded, stopping in her tracks.

"Not everything has a hidden meaning, Miss Isabelle."

"With you, everything has meaning."

"I'm flattered, but you give me more credit than I deserve."

"I doubt that."

"I'll let you get home, but I think we'll be seeing more of each other very soon."

She nodded and let him walk away, secretly hoping that the next time she saw him it was behind bars, but she didn't know why she felt that way. Shaking the feeling off, her thoughts wandered back to Melody and the wishing well.

"Rumple?" She called, setting her keys on the table next to the door. The lights were on, and as she passed the kitchen she saw him sitting there, waiting for her with a cup of tea in front him. "Hey. You're home."

"I am," he agreed.

"Sorry, Melody and I took a detour. You'll never believe what we found," she told him as she sat across from him after pouring her own cup of tea.

"What did you find?"

"A wishing well."

"What?" He leaned forward a little.

"Yeah, and when she took a drink from it, she got her voice back. Isn't that incredible?"

"Sounds like magic," his eyes clouded over for a moment, but it passed before she saw it.

"Did you get what you were looking for?" She asked him, taking a sip.

"I did. May I ask a question?"

"Yes," she agreed.

"You belong to...with me, don't you agree?" He asked softly.

"Yeah, of course! Why?"

He pulled a small box out of his jacket pocket and slid it across the table. She stared at it for a long minute before opening it. An old fashioned ring was sitting in it, the diamond gleaming in the light. She looked up at him, stunned.

"Marry me."