Chapter Ten

Storybrooke, Maine

"What do you mean this is all you found?" Regina shouted as she tossed Mister Gold's shoe on the desk and the shoe bounced off the desk, hitting the floor.

"Um….," one of the men said as she walked around the desk and stood in front of the men with her arms folded under her breasts.

"And why does it have blood on it?" Sydney Glass asked as he picked up the shoe and held the shoe in his hands.

"What did you do to him?" Regina asked with a cold tone in her voice and the men winced, backing toward the door. "All you had to do was keep Gold out of the way so Sydney could place listening devices in his house and the pawnshop!"

"He was trying to escape," one of the men said and her eyes went into tight slits.

"He's lame, you idiots! He can't get far without his cane!"

"Well, he deserved it after what he did to French," the other man said as she walked closer and locked eyes with him.

"I will deal with you later," she said as the men nodded then ran out of the office and nearly crashed into Regina's assistant. Getting his composure back, he walked into the office and held the small package wrapped in brown paper in his hands. "What do you want?"

"Uh, this was left on my desk," he said then handed the small package to her and backed out of the office, closing the door behind him. Regina looked at the small package when she walked around the desk and sat down. Opening the small package, she dumped the listening devices on the desk while Sydney closer and she looked from the listening devices to Sydney.

"Doctor," she growled as she swept the listening devices off the desk and balled her hands into fists.

He didn't know why, but he had taken the curtains down in the dining hall and was wearing his finest clothes. His leather boots were polished to a high gloss while the white, riffled shirt was tucked into his leather pants and his dark blue velvet waist coat had been neatly pressed. Suddenly the soft wheezing and grinding sound filled air as the TARDIS appeared and the doors opened. His heart slammed in his chest when Belle walked out and was wearing the same blue dress and white apron she wore when she left. Nodding his head, the Doctor smiled as he closed the doors and the TARDIS vanished.

"Belle," he said with a slight bow as she looked at him with fierce anger in her eyes and he coughed, placing his hands behind his back. "Please come here."

"No!" Belle said as his face fell and he blinked his eyes a few times.

"May I explain my bad behavior then?" he asked and slowly moved closer.

"I guess," she said as he held his hand out and she took his hand, following him to the high back chair. He sat her down when he sat on the table and swung his legs back and forth.

"You are right. I am a coward. I always have been. It was through cowardice that I lost my wife and daughter and it was through my power that I lost my son. I like the power. It makes me feel strong! It makes me feel free! If I give up the power then I would have to go back to being a coward."

"No, you wouldn't," she said then got up and placed her hand on his cheek. "I don't care if you have power or not. I care about you."

"But which me do you care about the most? If I went back to being what I was, you would have to live in a small, one room house and scrape and save for things. With my power, I can get us anything we desire!"

"I was a princess, remember? All I wanted was to go on adventures and be a hero! I can do that without wealth or power…." she said then lifted his chin up and looked deeply into his eyes. "…as long as I have you beside me."

"I…am...so…sorry," he sobbed when she kissed his lips and he felt the power leaving him. When they parted, he smiled at her then softly giggled, stood up and wrapped his arms around her. "Don't ever leave me."

"I won't," she said with a smile as he kissed her and the sunlight flared in the room.

The inside of his eyelids turned a light brown color as Mister Gold opened his eyes and blinked until his vision cleared. He looked at the ceiling when he realized he was no longer in the TARDIS and sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. His face was wet from tears and his eyes felt raw and red.

"Oh, good, you're awake," a voice said when Mister Gold turned his head to the left and saw Emma standing in front of the bars. She had heard sobbing coming from the cell, but didn't want to disturb him and she gave him a soft smile.

"Sheriff, this might sound odd, but what am I doing in here?" he asked when he slowly sat up and placed his hands on the edge of the bed. He wasn't sure if she even knew about the TARDIS as she gave him a blank look and he tilted his head to one side.

"Well, I went to the hospital and had a little talk with Mister French. It turns out he is pressing assault charges," she said as he nodded and she folded her fingers around the bars. "How are you feeling?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Gee, the Doctor didn't say anything about you suffering from memory lose," she said as his eyes slightly widened and gave him a blank look.

"So you have met," he said softly and Emma nodded her head. "I still feel a little tired, but, other than that, I'm alright."

"I hope so after spending the last four months lying on your back in the TARDIS' medical bay," she said and his eyes went wide. "Oh, don't look at me like that. The Doctor returned us two hours after we left. To be honest, I'm just grateful that you're awake. I've seen people who have been beaten. You're lucky to be alive."

"Yes," he said with a nod of his head and she gave him a sly grin. "Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"No reason," she said as he thought for a few moments when he remembered something and blushed. Emma had been the one giving him sponge baths and he coughed, looking at the floor.

"Well, that doesn't count as you repaying me for that favor," he said while wagging a finger at her and she nodded her head. "I will admit that I did enjoy it."

It was Emma's turn to blush as he reached over for his cane then stood up and wobbled a bit as he got his balance.

"The Doctor told me to tell you that he fixed your leg to a point. He didn't think you wanted it totally healed," she said as Mister Gold nodded and limped toward the bars.

"No, I didn't," he said then looked at the cell door and blinked his eyes a few times. "Is there any chance you letting me go home?"

"Well, I don't know," she said with a smile. "You are a flight risk."

"How far do you think I can get?" he said leaning on the cane and locked eyes with her. Both of them laughed as she rolled her eyes and walked to her office, going inside. He adjusted his weight from one leg to the other as she came back out and had something in her hand. Kneeling down, she looked up at him as he gave her a confused look and she smiled up at him.

"Stick your foot out," she said as he slid his left foot between the bars and she slid something around his ankle then stood up. "THAT is something someone wears while they're under house arrest."

"I've seen it before," he said. "If I go out of the preset limits, an alarm sounds and you'll come to find me then put me back in here."

"Exactly," she said while gently poking him in the chest and he gave her a slightly stunned look.

"And how far can I travel before the alarm sounds?"

"You can go anywhere in town, BUT not in the forest! Go in there and you will find your butt back in jail!" she said while wagging a finger at him then used the key to open the cell door. He slowly limped by her as he headed for the door when he looked down at his feet and blinked his eyes a few times.

"Um, where is my shoe?" he asked, looking at her.

"I don't know," she said as he leaned against the desk and took the other shoe off, placing the shoe on the desk. "Oh, hold on!"

Emma ran into the office then came back as she placed a key ring with a gold bell connected to the ring and looked at the three keys then at Emma.

"The Doctor changed the locks on your house and the pawnshop," she said then looked at the odd shaped key and frowned. "I don't know what the other key is for."

Nodding his head, Mister Gold left the room as he limped down the hallway and placed the key ring in his pocket. The sky was clear as he carefully moved down the stairs and limped down the pavement. He stopped when he removed the key ring from his pocket and looked at the odd shaped key.

"I know what it's for," he said softly then smiled, placed the key ring back in his pocket and slowly limped down the pavement.

"So, Spaceman, are you going to tell me?" Donna asked while carrying the silver tray with a silver tea set and a china plate with chocolate biscuits to the high back chairs and placed the silver tray on the wooden table.

"Tell you what?" the Doctor asked as she poured him a cup of tea and handed the cup to him.

"Are you going to tell me who that young woman was?" she asked as she sat down then sipped on the tea. After dropping Emma and Mister Gold back at Storybrooke, the Doctor had retired to the library and he sipped on the tea and looked at the book sitting on his lap.

"She was a fairy tale character," he said and she gave him a frustrated look.

"But which one was she?"

"This one," he said as he handed her the book and she saw BEAUTY AND THE BEAST on the front cover.

"She was Belle?"

"Yep," he said while popping the "p".

"I don't remember meeting any beast while we were in Storybrooke."

"Yes, you did. In fact, he was a guest in the medical bay," he said and Donna's eyes went wide.

"You're joking! The beast in the story was Mister Gold? That can't be right. The beast was really a prince who was under a curse!"

"Ah, the story doesn't say that! The man in the story lives in a castle and is under a curse! In other words, Mister Gold," he said as he reached over for a chocolate biscuit and nibbled on the chocolate biscuit.

"But why is Belle in the hospital?"

"She's being held prisoner," the Doctor said and she saw the anger in his eyes.

"Why would Mister Gold do that?"

"He didn't. Regina did."

"Why would she do that?"

"I'm not entirely sure. As for Mister Gold, he thinks Belle is dead."

"Who would tell him something like that? No. Wait. Regina told him."

"Yep," the Doctor said with a nod of his head.

"Why didn't you tell him Belle is still alive?"

"Because I have seen his timeline," the Doctor said with a sigh. "Things are going to get worse before they have their happily ever after."

"I wouldn't want to be Regina when he finds out that Belle's alive."

"Neither would I."

Sighing, Donna looked at the illustration on the front cover then placed the book on the wooden table and looked at the Doctor.

"How did the two of you meet?" she asked and he sat back in the high back chair and placed his feet on the footstool.

"Well, like all great stories, this one goes 'Once Upon A Time….'," he said and the fire crackled softly in the fireplace.

The End