Tick, tick, tick, tok, tick, tok, tok, tick,

Gold's house was filled with the melodic music of dozens of ticking watches. He sat at his kitchen table, sipping a little Irish coffee while he worked.

He had gotten the fifth watch polished, oiled and fitted with a new band, when there was a knock on his door. He stood up, stretched and walked to the door. Standing there was Emily Swan's boyfriend, Nate.
The young man looked absolutely downcast and Sydney decided he'd let him in and offer him some coffee.

"Well isn't this a surprise." He said, letting Nate in. The young man looked around Sydney's home, obviously struck with it splendor and beauty.
Probably didn't think the town drunk had any money. He thought bitterly to himself while he stirred Nate a cup of coffee. He was about to pour in the alcohol he paused with the bottle over the cup. Turning to Nate he asked, "How old are you, Son?"

Nate jumped out of his chair, nearly having a heart attack before he remembered that Sydney had no idea who he was.

"Tw- Twenty Nine. Sir. I'm twenty nine."

Gold smiled. The boy sounded so nervous.
"Old enough to have alcohol." He commented. Nate shook his head vigorously. "Oh no. I don't drink." He responded. Gold cast a him a sideways look that he didn't catch, and set the bottle down with a thud.
"Here you go." He said handing Nate the red ceramic cup of steaming,
boring, non-alcoholic, coffee.

"What brings you here today. Has everyone in town suddenly lost the ability to speak and you were left with only once choice of a person to talk to?" Gold asked, sipping his drink.

Nate smiled, feeling a bit of the tension leave the air.
"No," he laughed. "I have something I need to talk to you about. Something that's really...sensitive. And I don't really know how to begin. I mean I sort of have an idea and its not like I haven't rehearsed it one thousand times-"

"Oh for heavens sakes! Spit it out boy." Gold interrupted. "If I didn't know any better I'd think you were asking me for my daughters hand or something. The way you're acting. But since I have no daughter, I know that's not the case. So tell me what you must tell me before I make your coffee an Irish one and then kick you out of my house."

Gold ended his outburst with a slurp of his coffee and leaned back in his chair, placing his right ankle on his left knee and supporting it with his hand.

Nate blushed like a school boy and cleared his throat. "Do
You know a woman named Milana?"

Gold stared. "Yes." He replied slowly. "But why is that a concern of yours?"
"She's my Mother".

"Oh so she remarried. Well good for her. I can see why you told me, you don't want things to become awkward if her and your father came in town to visit. I understand." He smiled.

"You don't have to worry about that though. Mil and I were married a long, long time ago. We've both moved on."
Nate but his lip. Why was Sydney making things harder?
"Milana didn't remarry Mr. Gold." He began softly.
"And I'm her only child. My real name is Baily. Baily Gold."

~()~

Belle pushed the grocery cart into the snack aisle, tossing ding dongs and other non- healthy snacks that don't even taste that good, into the cart. Running a bakery she always had delicious home cooked pastries around the house, but sometimes she got tired of those and just wanted some artificial, pre made snacks that came in plastic wrapping, no baking required. When she had thrown four different boxes of snacks into the cart she headed to the produce to put in a few healthier options.

When she was done doing groceries she headed to a coffee shop and got herself a large frozen cappuccino. Sipping it contentedly she stopped at a gas station and filled up her car, and then headed to a local department store and bought herself a pair of plum high heels and a scarf (both half price). Even after that, she still didn't want to go home. She sat in the car on her iPhone texting Ruby. After a few minutes Ruby had to go. She had a date with Whale and didn't want to miss it.

Belle drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. Waiting until she gathered the courage to look at the clock.
The bakery had been closed since four. Emma had called at four fifteen.

She glanced at her clock. It was a little after five thirty.

How is that even possible? It seemed like four hours had passed. She had done so much. Groceries, coffee, shopping, filled her car with gas.
She picked up her sparkly pink iPhone and texted Em.

"Heard anything from Nate?"
Her phone buzzed a few seconds later.

"Not yet. Fingers crossed ;P "

Obviously Miss Emily was more light hearted about this than Belle was feeling at the moment.

"Idk how Syndey's gonna handle a bombshell like this. And it's not like I can go 2 his house and talk about it. We r broken up."

"Don't worry B. If Sydney wants to talk about it U will b the 1st 1 he calls."
Belle sat her phone in the cup holder and started her car, the one she barely ever drove since the places she normally went were within walking distance of each other.

She drove to Ruby's and unloaded all her groceries onto the kitchen counter. When she had put them all away, Ruby texted saying she was on her way home.

Belle put on a pot for tea and waited for it to boil. She sat at the table, drumming her fingers on the table. She missed Sydney. So much. No matter how hard she tried not to think about him, he just kept slipping back into her mind. When she looked forward she couldn't imagine a life without him. She felt a twinge of pain in her chest, and she wondered if it would ever go away.

Ruby came home, took a shower and then drank a cup of tea before heading to bed.

Humming softly to herself Belle hopped in the shower. Letting the warm water cascade down her body, she forgot all her worries for a while and enjoyed her shower.

As she got out and toweled herself off, something in the garbage can caught her eye. Gingerly she lifted out the pink and blue box and read the front. She glanced down in the garbage can and saw the pregnancy test. She took a deep breath before forcing herself to look at it. Sliding her gaze downward slowly she looked. It read positive.

Shocked, she leaned against the wall. She covered her mouth with her hand and tried to make sense of her emotions. Ruby was pregnant.