Ch. 11

After what had happened, Emma took it upon herself to talk to Mary Margaret. Rumple apparently still had some serious trust issues and she didn't want Belle getting hurt.

After hearing all that happened, Mary Margaret contacted Belle. She invited her to meet for coffee at Granny's. Belle showed up on her lunch break.

"Sit down," Mary Margaret told her, pulling a seat out. Neal was again left with David, so it was just the two of them.

"Thank you," Belle sat down. "I suppose that I ought to apologize to you. Whatever my husband did to upset you, he doesn't mean it -"

Mary Margaret shook her head, and Belle stopped talking.

"He didn't upset me. And you shouldn't think the worst of him. I know he can be… difficult… to say the least, but lately he's been treating me kindly, and I wanted to talk to you about him. About some of the things he's told me."

"...Oh."

Now Belle felt nervous more than anything. Had Rumple kept some secret from her? Why was Mary Margaret coming forward to speak to her?

"I'll be honest. Emma told me what happened a few days ago with you and Mr. Gold and him reporting you missing, and I felt like it would be wrong of me not to contact you."

"Go on," Belle urged.

"He's terrified of you leaving him. He has nightmares about it. He thinks about what happened with Milah and he's afraid that you'll leave him as well."

"Well the shattering all the glass in the kitchen isn't exactly a good way to keep a woman around."

"I agree. And I think he knows he was wrong. But…" Mary searched for the right words, "You know how a cat or a dog, or any animal really, if it gets beaten, hurt, it won't trust others?"

"Yes."

"And if a person is nice to it, is patient with it, it might come to trust them but in the back of its mind there is still a fear of being hurt, and if it thinks it might get hurt, it growls or cowers?"

"I understand, but what -"

"Mr. Gold - Rumple - is kind of like an animal that's been hurt. His father abandoned him. His wife, Milah, left as well. Before gaining the power of the Dark One, he had no friends, no one to confide in. He had his son but even that relationship soured. And that's not to say that he wasn't at fault with that - he was, but still. He's been hurt a lot. He trusts you because you've been kind and truthful with him, but he's afraid to get hurt again and he gets defensive if he feels like things are changing."

"I'd hardly call me making him an appointment 'things changing'."

"It's a loss of control thing. He's complex. I don't know how to describe it any further. My main point is that he's truly afraid to lose you so you may want to be careful with how you deal with him, especially now. God knows I was a wreck when I was pregnant with Emma, I can't imagine how it feels for a man."
Belle sighed.

"You're right. You're also strong to come forward like this. Most people would not defend him. He's… He's not the most liked person. Thank you, for caring enough to do this."

"Like I said, I felt obligated. He called Emma because he was scared. I think he is still scared. He lost you once, because of his actions. He doesn't want it to happen again."

Belle frowned at the thought of her husband being so upset.

"I'd give my life for him."

"I believe you." She placed her hand on top of Belle's and squeezed it, "I really do."

00

Belle never mentioned her conversation with Mary Margaret to Rumple and from what she could gather, Mary never mentioned it to him either.

But from that point on, Belle began a concerted effort to treat Rumple better.

She had always tried hard before. No one could dispute that. She just made it a point to try even harder.

Sometimes she would catch him in the mornings, looking himself over in the mirror, observing himself from the side. She could tell what he was thinking - that he was unattractive, fat, or something to that extent.

During such times she would make her way over and wrap her arms around him, kiss him on the neck and tell him how much she loved him, how gorgeous he was. At first he didn't seem to believe her, but then she would kiss him again, nibble on his ear and reach around to his front.

Sometimes things would go further. She would get him hard and they would fuck before going to work. Sometimes they ended with more simple kisses and 'I-love-you's'.

When Rumple's fourth month checkup came around, Belle took off of work to be there. She held his hand while Lucia did the ultrasound. Belle could tell that he was trying to hide how nervous he was.

It wasn't long before Lucia got a clear image. The picture on the screen caused both Belle and Rumple to nearly cry. It was then that they learned the sex of their child.

A boy.

They were going to have a son.

Belle would've been happy with a child of either gender but Rumple seemed particularly happy. She wondered if he viewed it as a second chance, a chance to do right as a father this time around.