Author's Note: Okay so I was really excited to get this chapter written! Be warned though it is a bit graphic so it is going to be a strong T. I did say it was about to get real.

Chapter 10: The Devil Came up to Storybrooke

Devin's mood matched his eyes in that moment. He was burning with bright green jealousy. Why should that bitch be happy when she left him for dead? Devin gripped the steering wheel tightly; bracing himself for what he knew was coming. For an instant he saw himself putting that brat's arm on the stove, laughing as he screamed for his mother. He passed out after that but was brought to his senses by a loud noise and searing pain in his chest. His brain took a second to process what just happened. That bitch shot him! Later he found out she actually shot him twice. His eyes opened just long enough to watch her leave the room. Devin thought he was going to die that night, but someone heard the shots and called an ambulance. He tried to tell people it was Peggy that did this to him. No one believed him. They all thought she was too afraid of guns to ever use one. She might be crazy, but she was also a coward. The sheriff even said she raised hell at the hospital about how his hurting Adam was the last straw so she was leaving him. Devin growled some. Peggy was smarter than he gave her credit for. With her stuff gone and the place trashed, it just looked like she left him and someone else came, robbed the place and shot him.

Devin spent a month in the hospital getting his strength back and planning how he would find his wife and make her pay for what she did to him. The only problem was finding her. Peggy always talked about going north for a vacation or whatever so he figured that's where she'd go. Mostly likely she was going by her maiden name again: Hayes. She also hated her first name and any variation of it which meant she was calling herself Belle again. Belle Hayes, back to who she used to be before they were married. The man snorted and looked down at a picture he had of her. She just had Adam and was holding the baby in her hospital bed. It was one of the few things she left behind; of course she had numerous copies of this particular photo.

Months went by before he found anything of use. He knew a few people that owed him favors. Well they owed his father favors, but that hardly mattered. Either way, Belle went completely off the grid, but then about a week ago Devin got a call from some guy. He said he knew where Belle was and for a price he would tell him. Cost him a couple of grand, but he was soon on his way to Storybrooke, Maine. What a dumb name for a town, but it didn't surprise him that she would find herself in a place like this. The mysterious voice went on to say that she was the librarian and seeing someone. That infuriated Devin so he packed up a bag and was on his way before the hour was out.

Finding the library was no big deal in such a small town. The shock came from seeing Belle with some old guy with a cane. "Gold digging slut." He muttered to himself. "Knew she was trouble." It bothered him that she was happy, but more than anything it bothered him that the man actually seemed interested in her. Peggy was worthless and no good at anything she did. She couldn't cook, her cleaning was terrible and he didn't even want to remember how she had been in bed. So stiff. It was like screwing a log. Devin wrinkled his nose and shook his head to clear it before watching the old man get into his car and leave. Finally.

Belle was sitting in her room brushing her hair and smiling softly. She could not stop thinking about how Gold's lips felt on hers. They really and truly kissed! She giggled softly to herself and thought about calling Ruby to tell her but it was late and she would just see her best friend tomorrow. Things were going so well that the sense of foreboding she had only two weeks ago seemed so far away and beyond silly. The letters in her dresser were probably pointless now, but all the same, they eased her mind to write them. She dressed in a black cami and red gym shorts before going to check on Adam.

Adam was sleeping soundly in his bed, wrapped tightly around the stuffed dinosaur that Rodric got him for Christmas. It was his favorite toy now. Belle walked into his room and kissed his forehead one more time before making sure the covers were secure around him and going back to her room.

She slid into the covers and closed her eyes, falling asleep and dreaming about Rodric's lips on hers and his arms holding her. There was little doubt in her mind now about how she felt about Gold. Belle's happy sleep was short lived however. After years of dealing with a man that would come home at all hours of the night and most of the time in a bad temper, she became quite a light sleeper.

Devin put his elbow through the glass window of the library door before reaching inside to unlock it and let himself in. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of books. Why the hell did any one like spending time in places like this? The man let his eyes adjust to the dark before he started forward. Too bad he missed the chair that was just a little too far into the aisle. "Damnit!" He growled probably a little too loudly.

Belle was out of bed with her .380 revolver in her hand heading towards Adam's room. At first she just thought it was a thief that assumed for some unknown reason she would be an easy mark. Then she heard the voice and her heart stopped. "Oh God." She whispered. She was in Adam's room and shaking him awake seconds later. That voice haunted her darkest nightmares. How in the hell did he find them?

Adam groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Mama, what's wrong?" he mumbled. It was easy for him to sleep now that he knew he was safe. "Mama."

"He's here, Adam. He found us. You have to hide." Belle whispered frantically. "Hide in your closet until I tell you. You're going to have to run and get help, okay? I need you to be brave for me, baby. I need you to be a big boy."

Adam was instantly awake and terrified. "Daddy found us?" He said in a small voice before tears started to run down his face. "I don't want to go back there."

"You're not going to." Belle said firmly. "You're not. Now hide okay? Hide. Mama's going to make everything better. I love you baby." She kissed his forehead and all but shoved him into his closet so he would be safe. Belle left the room and took a defensive stance in front of her son's door. There was no way in hell that man was going to take her baby boy from her. No way, no how.

Devin burst through the door seconds later and smirked at Belle's thin petite form holding the baby revolver in her hands. "Hello, Peggy." He drawled. "Long time no see. I was worried that something happened to you."

"Devin." Belle responded evenly. "Guess I wasn't that good of a shot then. I hoped you were dead."

"Oh I almost was, darlin'. Almost. But see I lived, and I figure there must be a reason for it. So I decided to track you down and take back what's rightfully mine." Devin growled, moving towards her.

Belle's jaw clenched and she tightened her hand around the gun, but for some reason she wasn't able to fire it. It was different now that he was awake and staring at her with those green eyes so full of hatred. Fear coursed through Belle's veins and for a few moments too long she was Peggy Kingston all over again. "You're not taking my son." She whispered.

Devin smirked and kept moving slowly closer. "See that's where you're wrong, Peggy. Because I am taking Adam. He's mine."

"Over my dead body."

"That can be arranged." Suddenly Devin lunged at Belle and knocked the gun from her hand before slamming her against the wall. His hands were around her throat and he was squeezing tightly.

Belle gasped and struggled against Devin, but her vision was already starting to go black around the edges. She scratched his arms as hard as she could and drew blood from him, but that only made him squeeze tighter. Belle started to panic and switched to clawing at his face, hoping to find some soft spot that would make him let go. No such luck.

Devin cussed at how hard Belle was fighting and soon just opted to throw her to the ground and pinned her beneath his much larger frame. He slapped her repeatedly, busting open her lip and causing both eyes to blacken and swell. Her nose was soon broken as well and when she started to go limp, Devin got off of her and started to viciously kick her. "He's my son! You hear me!? He's mine you bitch!"

Belle knew she had to act quickly before he actually did kill her. Gathering the last reserves of her strength, she reared back and punched Devin as hard as she could just below his belt. It had the desired effect since he buckled and fell to the ground beside her. As fast as she could, Belle moved to pin him and kneed him hard between the legs again. This was going to be her only chance to have Adam get out of there alive. She took a shaky breath and coughed up some blood for her trouble. Shit. This was worse than she thought. "Run, Adam! Run!" Belle called out as loud as she could. "Run!"

Adam darted out of the room and gasped at what he saw. Belle's face was covered in blood and he could see the now black bruises covering her arms and neck. "Mama!"

"Get out of here, Adam!" Belle screamed, already getting thrown off by Devin. "GO!"

Adam ran before Devin got a chance to stop him. He ran like the devil himself was chasing him.

"Fucking bitch!" Devin snarled, punching her in the face with all his strength, knocking her off of him but closer to her gun. "I'm going to kill you!" He took out his .40 caliber pistol and pointed it right at Belle just as she turned back to face him with her own revolver.

"I'll take you to hell with me you bastard!" Belle rasped. She was laying on her back with a perfect shot of his head. If she was going to die, then she was damn sure going to take Devin with her.

Archie Hopper liked to take Pongo for walks at night to clear his head. After a day of listening to people complain about their lives it was nice to get away for some time to himself. Like always, he took a route that led him passed the library. Something was different though. That blue car didn't belong to Belle or anyone else in town. A sudden sense of dread washed over Hopper and he walked across the street so he could get a closer look.

Adam burst out of the library in his Superman pajamas and ran right into Archie. "Dr. Hopper!" Adam cried. "You have to help me! He's in there! He's hurting my mom! You have to call Sheriff Graham, please!" The boy was in hysterics, clinging to Archie and seemingly unaware of the fact his feet were bleeding because of the broken glass.

"Adam, calm down, you're hurt. What is it? Who's in there?" Hopper asked gently, holding the boy by his shoulders to keep him steady. "Adam, you have to calm down."

"My dad! He's going to kill Mama! He's mean and he's bad! Dr. Hopper call the Sheriff, please!"

Hopper quickly got out his phone and had Graham on the line. "Sheriff get to the library quickly. Something is wrong. Adam says his dad is in there and Belle…" Hopper was cut off abruptly by loud popping sounds from the library. It took a second for him to realize what they were, but by then Adam was screaming in terror. "Oh God." Archie said quietly.

"What!? What!?" Graham snapped from the other end of the line. "What's wrong with Belle!?"

"I just heard gunfire Sheriff. Call Dr. Whale and tell him to get an ambulance here too." Hopper said quietly.

Adam was clinging to Hopper when Graham got there. "You keep him here!" He shouted at the therapist before going upstairs. What he saw shocked and sickened him. There was a strange man with a bullet in his head, and then there was Belle, raggedly breathing. "Belle!"

Belle could barely breathe, and she knew she was in trouble because the pain in her body was starting to subside. "Graham. Adam. Is he safe?" She rasped out.

"He's with Archie." Graham started to try and stop the bleeding. "Just hang on, Belle, okay? The ambulance is on the way. Help is coming, just hold on."

"Dresser. On my dresser. There's some letters. Make sure… Make sure that you all read them." Belle coughed up blood and cried out in pain.

Graham cussed and kept trying to do what he could, but there was some part of him that knew she was dying. It would be a miracle if she even got to the hospital. "Yeah yeah." He muttered. "Just keep breathing."

The dying woman gripped Graham's arm with shocking strength and pinned him with her dulling blue eyes. "Promise me. Promise me Graham that you'll get them to who they're meant for. Promise me!" She rasped out.

Graham looked into her eyes and finally nodded. "I promise." He said quietly. "I promise." No sooner than the words were out of his mouth, two paramedics came in and took over trying to keep Belle alive. They didn't worry with the corpse next to her. By the time they got her downstairs, Ruby showed up and was holding Adam to keep him as calm as possible. She didn't notice the glass in his feet until Hopper mentioned it.

"We'll get you to the hospital too, Adam." Ruby promised as she went to Graham's squad car. "Graham we have to go!"

He was in the doorway of the library holding a medium sized manila envelope filled with a couple of letters for some members of the town. "Yeah, let's go." Graham said, running to the car. "Call Gold while we're on the way. He needs to know."

Ruby grimaced some but Adam perked up at that. "Please, Ruby. Please call Mr. Gold." The kid sounded so pitiful and he had been crying so hard; how could she say no to that. She pulled out her phone and dialed Gold's number. It was almost eleven so she knew he was going to be asleep and mad as hell.

The fact he was being pulled from a rather nice dream involving Belle already put Gold in a foul mood. The fact that the call was from Ruby Lucas only made matters worse. "What in the bloody hell do you want?" He snapped.

Ruby clenched her jaw and had to hold her tongue in check for Adam's sake. "Gold it's Belle. Something's happened. She's hurt really bad and the ambulance is taking her to the hospital. I have Adam, he's safe, but I really don't know about Belle…" She watched Adam's scared face and put on a brave smile for him.

Gold's world stopped in that moment. No. No no no no NO! This wasn't happening again! He couldn't lose Belle! "What do you mean you don't know about her!? Is she at least alive!?" He roared.

The red head flinched at the volume of his voice and had to hold Adam close to her to shield his ears from what she was about to say. "I don't know." She whispered. "The paramedics said she wasn't breathing when they put her in the ambulance…"

I love you guys! Please don't kill me!