+ + ++ + Gold gives his approval

It was what happened right before The Wedding that got Gold's attention. As her financial mentor, Mary Margaret had come by the shop late one afternoon to talk with him about an article that had appeared in The Daily Mirror. It was actually one of a series of articles extolling Regina's exemplary service to the community and going on about , not only what a wonderful mayor she was, but what an extraordinary person she was.

"I gagged," Mary Margaret told him. "I actually gagged. Half of what she was supposed to have done in this article, she didn't do And the other half was done only under duress or she did it with the express purpose of making herself look good." She paced as she talked and Gold could not help but appreciate her trim form, bright eyes and luscious lipse real

Gold raised an eyebrow. "You have any proof or is this just people coming to you anonymously and telling you their side of the story?"

She frowned and stopped pacing, "Just people telling me their side. No real evidence." She signed and pointed to a part of the article. "Just look at this. This part is about her building the children's playground. You know that she actually took money away from the Toll Bridge repair and put it into the playground. She didn't get Council approval or anything. She just did it. And now, this article is wanting to name the freakin' playground in her honor, like it was her money."

"Uh hum," Gold was not sure where this was going. Looking at her lips, he recalled the time he had thoroughly kissed her at her own wedding, pressing her taut little figure into himself. He blinked, reminding himself of his marriage to Emma. This woman was his mother-in-law.

She was continuing to talk. "I think that it would be good, good for Emma and the election, if I could write about somebody who actually was doing good things for this community."

Gold pulled himself back into what she was saying and managed to comment, "I know Emma feels strongly against running a negative campaign. What I'm hearing is that you are trying to discredit Regina by building up somebody else?"

"Exactly. I don't want to sink to her level." She took a deep breath. "What do you think?" she asked.

He shrugged, "That sounds nice," he said neutrally.

She sighed, as in relief, "Well I thought so too, but wanted to get your approval, first." She leaned forward and, unexpectedly, kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks, you've been so helpful,"

He was stunned, to say the least. He didn't feel this was some type of suggestion or proposition from her, just her way of thanking him. The fairest in the land. Had she not been so necessary to produce Emma, he would have considered her for himself. She left out of his shop, taking abit of sunshine with her.

He thought nothing more about the incident.

+ + + + + What Came Next

Then the latest edition of Storybrooke News, formerly known as the Storybrooke Weekly News, came out.

+ + + + + Ruined!

Emma was now back at work. She had hired Ashley to watch the baby during the day, primarily because Ashley was willing to bring the baby by to see her on a regular basis. It allowed Emma to continue nursing the baby.

It was afternoon when Gold stormed into the Sheriff's office. Emma could tell when he came in, that Gold was furious. His limp was pronounced as he all but ran into the office.

"Have you seen this?" he was holding up a sheet of paper.

"I can't tell what you are holding up, dear," Emma responded calmly. David was sitting at his desk and was witnessing the rant.

"This," he thrust the paper in front of her nose.

It was the latest edition of Mary Margaret's Storybrooke News.

Emma read the headline, "The Secret Philanthropist," she looked up at her husband and read on, "Many of Storybrooke's people have their own story of how they were helped out of a desperate situation by a kind fellow citizen who sent them money or anonymously paid an unexpected bill, but most don't know who this kind fellow citizen is. Most don't know just how many of our town's residents that this citizen has helped out, but the stories keep pouring in to this reporter. Many who do know the identity of their benefactor are reporting that they were sworn to secrecy.

But the news is out. One citizen has given more, more often, and to more people than everyone else put together. You may know him as a clever, principled business man, an attorney who knows exactly how to spell out a deal. Our Mr. Gold." Emma stopped reading.

Emma thought Gold was going to stroke. "She has ruined me! Ruined me! I tell you. This woman is your best friend, Did she not tell you what she was up to? So you could stop her, talk her out of it?" Gold turned on David, "And this is your woman! Do you not have any control over her?"

David smiled and shook his head, "Not a bit, sir. Mary Margaret is a law unto herself."

Gold was fuming. "After all I have done for that woman. She does this to me."

Emma was reading the rest of the article. "You sound like a saint, a real sweetheart. The town's benefactor. A really nice guy."

"Exactly. You see my point." He was pacing. It had to be costing him something to move like he was. "Can we recall this paper? I want a retraction. How will I be able to continue doing business here? Collect my rents? People will be expecting me to let them make late payments with no penalty fee, to . . . to. . . to make them low-interest loans! Why did she do this to me? I thought she was a friend."

"I don't think you can recall the paper. It's already all over town," David observed.

Gold stood still. "Maybe if I drag her out to the center square and slap her around? Are there some kittens I can put in a blender? Are there any puppies I can roast alive? Children I can skin?"

David echoed from his desk, "Any first born you can steal?"

Gold gave him a quelling glare before continuing, "There has got to be something, anything, I can do to restore my image."

Emma shook her head and put her hand in front of her mouth to hide her smile. "Sorry, dear, I don't think you will ever be known as a hard-ass again."

Gold sat down, rested his cane by the desk and put his head in his hands. "This is a nightmare. A fucking nightmare."

By now David had ducked under the desk; he was laughing so hard. Emma admonished him, "Now David, Gold is genuinely upset about this. You don't help things when you treat this like a joke." She went over and patted her spouse on the shoulder. "I think Mary Margaret did it to help with the election. Regina's has The Mirror come out with a series of articles trying to make it look like she's been the one helping people out, but this type of article makes anything she's done look minor and petty."

She heard Gold murmur, "To think I approved of you running for mayor. Little did I realize that it would ruin me." He suddenly sat up and looked right at Emma. "This is all your fault."

"Any how do you figure that?" she asked him blandly.

"If you hadn't been so delicious I would never have married you. I should never have done that. If I just kept you on as my mistress, people would have thought that I was taking advantage of you, that I knocked you up and then wouldn't make an honest woman of you. They would totally think that I was a bastard." He thought awhile longer. "Maybe I could go out and have an affair. Maybe I could have an affair with Mary Margaret."

That got David's attention. "You'll have to take me out, Gold."

Gold waved him off. "In a heartbeat, Nolen. I could that in a heartbeat." He considered the matter further, "I've always thought that Mary Margaret had a little tendré for me. But," he considered it another moment and shook his head, "maybe she wouldn't have me."

Emma reassured him, "Oh I'm sure she'd have you, dear. I've told her all about your sexual prowess."

This caught Gold's attention, distracting him from his primary focus, "What?"

Emma continued as if she was talking about the weather. "Oh, I've told her how often we do it, how long you can go, which way you point me and so forth." Emma thought the man was going to blush.

"Emma, that's between a man and his wife. That's private." He was scandalized.

David had been listening, "Uh, Emma, has Mary Margaret talked about us? me?"

"Oh yes, after all, we are best friends." At David's horrified look, Emma reassured him, "Nothing to be embarrassed about, David. If you weren't my best friend's beau, and if I wasn't married to Gold here and if Henry wasn't always telling me that you are my father, I'd seriously consider making a play for you."

Gold was shaking his head. "How did we get on this? We were talking about how Mary Margaret has ruined my reputation."

"Oh yeah," Emma sat back down. "You'll survive, dearie," she said, unsympathetically, and went back to her paperwork.

Gold sat in silence and stared at her. After awhile he said, "You realize, madam, that you share my bed."

"I'm well aware of that, my dear."

"I'm still blaming you for this. And as I told you once before, there are many ways a man can punish a woman without beating her. It will take several hours and involve begging."

Emma looked up and made eye contact, "You or me?"

He sat and continued staring at her a moment and then just smiled.

+ + + + + Reflections

Gold stood at the head of the room, flanked by his son, waiting to see his bride. He looked around the room and was struck by the number of people she and he had counted as close friends. Well, most of them, hell, all of them, were actually Emma's friends that had now become his friends. He looked at stupid, little Ashley and slutty, slender Ruby as they come up the aisle. He would have never counted these women as friends before Emma.

And Mary Margaret. For all that he wanted to strangle her for the newspaper article, this beautiful woman, that he had kissed so thoroughly so long ago on her own wedding day, now was to stand by his wife as he and she renewed their vows. As odd as it was, he was her son-in-law and she was the grandmother of two of his children.

And then there was David. He knew David very well, had watched the young man grow up, had guided him and steered him along. He had turned out, mostly well, although it was taking him awhile to rediscover his confidence in this world.

His daughter was quietly watching everything, resting in Granny's arms. Paige sat next to Granny. Gold glanced at his son. Handsome, clever, reminding him so much of his oldest child.

His heart tightened. So long ago, the madness had taken over. He couldn't relinquish the power and it had cost him his first born. He spent the next however many years it had been, working, preparing the way of regaining his oldest son, taking everyone to this land with no magic, subjecting them to year after year of Regina's stupid miserable rule.

And she had thought she was in charge. She was officiating at the wedding, at his request. She had not wanted to come, but he had insisted, adding "please" to his request, making it impossible for her to refuse. She had begun to suspect that he had used her, used her as part of a larger plan and her anger was ever increasing.

He heard the crowd murmuring and through the harp and flute music that Zurie had arranged, he looked up and saw his bride, leaning on young Nolen. She was stunning in her very expensive, pearl and crystal encrusted dress. Her hair had been curled into golden ringlets and trailed down her shoulders. She wore a pearl and crystal necklace that he had brought her as a wedding gift. She looked every inch the fairyland princess. He had never seen her more beautiful, and for this moment, thought that she was surely the fairest in the land. This was the one woman who had not tried to change him, who had accepted him for what he was, was beginning to accept his alter ego for what he was. He did not have to fear that her kiss would break his spell, because she didn't want it broken. With her in his life the Dark One continued to grow quieter.

Emma was about to vomit.

She hated being the center of attention. She felt that she had been squeezed into the dress and trussed up like a sausage. She was afraid she was going to trip and fall or, worse, start lactating and wet the front of the dress. She glanced down. Good God, she was about to fall out of the dress the way it pushed her boobs up and together. She looked up and found Gold, dressed as always in an immaculate suit with a white rose in his lapel. He was watching her with an expression she had never quite seen on his face. She saw, she was sure she saw, well maybe she saw, him mouth the words, "I love you," as she began down the aisle.

The ceremony was short and simple. He and Emma had worked on their vows together both wanting to avoid the "L" word.

Emma thanked the man for bringing stability, comfort and security into her life and promised him that she would cherish, appreciate, and tolerate him, adding this last with a smile. She added she would honor him and think of him in all things.

Gold thanked Emma from making his life brighter and exciting and for bringing back magic into his life (he gave Regina an almost imperceptible side glance at this point). He promised to cherish, appreciate and remain faithful to Emma. He would honor her and think of her in all things.

Gold did take advantage of the permission to kiss the bride at the end of the ceremony, pulling her into him, taking his time, sending shivers down her spine. Their guests broke into applause when he reluctantly pulled away from her. They walked down the aisle arm in arm, with Gold leaning on her more than his cane. He stopped her before they left the room and had her stand by him as he turned to address his guests.

"This day is very special to me, to stand with the woman I have come to care about above all others, the mother of my children and a woman who has brought friends and some semblance of sanity into my life. I want to thank all of you for sharing this day, this moment, with me, with us." He smiled at the gathering. "I have sent food and drink and music into the town square for everyone to enjoy. Please go on and enjoy yourself."

He and Emma stood and greeted each guest as they filed out, saying pleasantries and accepting best wishes. Mary Margaret and David were the last two to go, Granny had taken Ysbael on to the town square and Henry and Paige had gone off together to the same destination. Mary Margaret hugged Emma, assuring her for the umpteenth time that she was the most beautiful bride, ever. David shook hands with Gold, congratulating him on his bride. There was an awkward moment when the couples switched. Although David was quite comfortable with hugging Emma, Mary Margaret was less at ease coming into actual physical contact with Gold. What had possessed her to give him that little kiss on the cheek? After some hesitancy, Gold pulled her into his body and wrapped his arms around her. He said in an audible whisper, "You know, I do plan to take revenge on you for that newspaper article. Someday, you won't know when, I will make you pay."

She protested, "But I checked it out with you first. You gave me your approval."

"But I thought you were going to be writing about somebody else, anybody else. Not me," he was still holding her.

The situation hit her squarely, "Oh," was all she said. "Oops," and then she gave him her brightest smile.

"Someday," he promised her and released her.

Shooing these last two guests out the front door, Gold said, "We'll be along in fif. . , twen. . . maybe, thirty minutes." Emma turned to follow them, but he stopped her.

"No dear. I paid over fifty thousand dollars for this dress and I'm going to start enjoying it."

Emma smiled, "Good, that means you want to wear it now?"

He smiled and shook his head, shutting the door behind their last departing guests. "Not exactly. I just want to see what it's like to make love to a woman wearing a fifty thousand dollar dress." He traced his finger along the low cut bodice. "While I like this, you actually look fantastic, I'm not sure I like other men being able to ogle my wife's. . . attributes."

She leaned back and closed her eyes, enjoying his warm hands drifting over her displayed skin.

He continued, "I am most curious about what undergarments you may be wearing underneath this. I am well acquainted with your trashy underwear habit."

She smiled at him. "I don't think you'll be disappointed. But I'm telling you, once I'm out of this dress, I'm not putting it back on. And I'm not laying down in this thing, I'll end up scraping off some of the crystals and pearls."

"Well, we still have so much of the celebration left and everyone in town wants to see you in this dress. I guess, I'll just have to come up with something we can do, with you keeping the dress on. . . ." He thought a moment, "And with you standing up" He considered several possibilities. "Here," he said, taking her into his study. He leaned her forward across his desk and, from behind, lifted her the volume of her dress up, bunching it on top of her back..

"I don't like this," she protested, "I can't see your face. I want to see you."

"You like it. I've heard you before, when I've taken you this way." He leaned forward to kiss her on the back of the neck, then pulled down her lacy thong, leaving it to puddle at her feet. He dropped his pants and, pleased to find that, despite her whining and objections, she was quite ready for him, he eased into her.

"Next time, you promise me, I can be on top."

NEXT: Well I know there's going to be the celebration in the town's square and Regina's going to speak her piece and, well, maybe Rumple will make an appearance again, if I can get to it. txm