Author's Note: I hope this chapter will alleviate certain fears that some of my readers have. :) It's a bit fluffy, but there's some humor to balance out the heart wrenching scenes that I've been concocting of late. Enjoy! Please read and REVIEW! I love you all, dearies!


Chapter 12: Pain, Hope, Rage

Adam was asleep in Gold's arms by the time Whale came into the boy's hospital room. The doctor looked beyond exhausted. Gold would have stood up, but he didn't want to wake the child. "Doctor." Gold said quietly, not trusting himself to say anything else. Whale eyed the most feared man in town, unable to do anything else but gawk. This man was known for reducing grown men to sniveling masses of bones and yet here he was; holding a child with all the tenderness of a father. The pawnshop owner turned his head and fixed the doctor with his trademark death glare. "Unless you have an update for me; get out." He growled.

Dr. Whale cleared his throat and took a breath. "She's out of surgery, but we will need to send her to Boston for her long term care. Both of her lungs were damaged badly. She won't be able to breathe on her own until they have healed."

Rodric's jaw clenched. "And how long will that take?" He whispered, holding on to Adam a little tighter.

Whale went silent and looked down. "Mr. Gold, I'm still not one hundred percent sure she will make it through the night. If she does then she will go to Massachusetts General." He didn't feel the need to state the obvious alternative.

"Unacceptable." Gold hissed, checking his urge to stand up and make himself more imposing. Adam had seen enough aggression tonight, but the thought of Belle not healing at all made Rodric panic in ways that he had not in a long time. He couldn't lose her.

"If I send her now she could go into cardiac arrest en route and die." Whale said simply. "I have done all I can, Mr. Gold. We'll keep her here until we know she can handle the ride."

The Scotsman looked at Dr. Whale and clenched his jaw even tighter to suppress the growing rage inside him. "May I at least see her?" He growled.

Whale shook his head. "She needs absolute rest right now. Patients have been known to sense when people are in the room. I don't want to risk triggering some sort of episode right now." The doctor looked at the still sleeping Adam and then back to the older man. "I would take him home and get some rest if I were you. I've advised everyone else to do the same."

Ruby tapped on the door, as if on cue, and came into the room. "Hey, uhm, I was just going to see if you wanted me to take Adam back to my place." She whispered to Rodric. "I have some clothes of his there."

Gold was about to tell her that he would take care of Adam, but the little boy started to shift and he tightened his arms around the self proclaimed Monster of Storybrooke. "Wanna stay with you." Adam whimpered, looking up at Mr. Gold. "Can I?"

The grownups traded looks and Ruby smiled some. "I could just bring the clothes by later since he already has pjs." Seeing how much Adam wanted to be with Gold made her back off and not push the issue.

Adam relaxed instantly and Gold looked almost grateful. "Thank you." Rodric said softly. He rubbed Adam's back for a moment before standing up. It was a little difficult to maintain balance, but Rodric was determined to carry Adam out of that hospital. The boy tightened his arms around Gold's neck and even wrapped his legs tightly around the man's middle for good measure. Rodric's arm firmly supported the boy, but mentally he was thanking whatever God was listening that the boy was all of fifty pounds if that. It took a few moments and some halting steps to get a good walking rhythm going, but Rodric managed.

Ruby couldn't help but be amazed at the willpower in that man. She always saw Gold as a heartless monster and yet here he was, all dressed up in one of his black power suits carrying a six year old kid in Superman pajamas in one arm and trying his damndest to keep his balance using his cane in the other hand. Under any other circumstances Ruby would have smirked at the sight. Maybe she would have out right laughed, but in that moment it was just a testament of how much Belle and Adam really meant to Gold. In that moment, she saw the man that Belle always said was inside the cruel and heartless dealmaker. Ruby followed Gold out of the hospital and watched as he gently pried Adam off of him so he could sit in the car.

"I just need a moment to talk to Miss Lucas alright, Adam? Just a moment." Gold said softly before shutting the door and turning to face the young waitress. He fought to put his business face on and bury his emotions, but so much happened and he was exhausted. Bits of agony and terror peaked out from the corner of Gold's carefully put on mask. "We should be awake by 10. Feel free to come by any time after that." He said coldly. It was nothing personal, but with everything else going crazy, he needed some sort of control over himself.

Ruby rolled her eyes some at Gold's tone, but she took a breath and bit down the sarcastic reply bubbling in her throat. "Yeah." She said instead. "I'll do that." The waitress started to turn away, but she stopped herself and faced Gold again. "You know it's okay to be human every once and awhile, Gold. She won't die just because you let your guard down in front of people besides her. We're all worried about her."

Gold's eyes went almost black at the tone in Ruby's voice and he drew himself up to his full height. He wasn't really that tall for a man, a little under six feet really, but the dark air around him made him seem a lot bigger. "I'll thank you to keep your opinions to yourself, Miss Lucas." He warned as his brogue thickened with every word. "You deal with things your way, and I'll deal with them in mine. Good night." He turned on his heel and got into his car before driving home.

Adam was silent the whole ride home. The events of the night seemed to really be hitting the poor kid. His feet were hurting and the one person he wanted to be with was still at the hospital. He tried to hold back the tears, but he couldn't. "It's my fault." The child whispered miserably. "Mama wouldn't be hurt if it wasn't for me…"

Rodric's eyes snapped to the child and he stopped the car a little faster than he intended. "Don't ever say that, Adam." He said firmly. "Your mother loves you more than anything. She'd be mad if she heard you say that."

Something inside of Adam broke in that moment. All of the rage inside of the six year old shown through his bright blue eyes and his face flushed. "WELL SHE CAN'T HEAR ME NOW!" The boy screeched. "SHE'S DYING AND IT'S ALL MY FAULT!"

Shock ran through Gold's body at the raw emotion burning inside that sweet kid. Part of him wondered if the temper came from Belle or the bastard that hurt her. Maybe it was both. Rodric took a deep breath to steady himself and watched the boy as he dissolved into sobs. "Adam it's not your fault." He said softly.

"Yes it is." Adam choked out. "Mama had to marry Daddy because of me. That's what everyone always said. She wouldn't have had to do that if it wasn't for me. I shouldn't be here!" He screamed.

Gold clenched his jaw and unbuckled Adam's seat belt so he could pull the kid into his lap and stare him in the face. "Adam Nathaniel Hayes, don't you ever say that again." There was anger in Rodric's eyes and voice, but it was parental anger. He spoke with the same tone that Belle would have in order to get Adam to behave. He even used Adam's full name for good measure. "You are here for a reason. You are just too young to know it yet. I'm 43 years old and I'm still not entirely sure why I'm here." Gold shook Adam by his shoulders, not to hurt him, but just to get his point across.

Adam froze and watched Rodric with wide eyes. His tiny body was still shaking with sobs, but he was trying to calm down now. "Mama does that." He finally whispered. "She calls me Adam Nathaniel when I'm in trouble."

"Yeah." Rodric said softly. "I know." They stared at each other for about five minutes before Adam threw his arms around Gold's neck again and held on tightly.

"I'm scared." The little boy whimpered. "I don't want her to go hang stars. I want her to stay with me."

"And she will stay with you, Adam." Rodric whispered. "She'll never leave you." He took a deep breath as he held Adam tightly and kissed the top of his head. "I won't either." He mumbled softly. It was like he hadn't even said it out loud. Gold finished the drive home with Adam in his lap and got them back to his house safely. Getting Adam to bed proved to be slightly more difficult than Gold intended, but they made it to the guest room in one piece and Adam was soon tucked in and fast asleep. Rodric sat in a chair by the boy's bed and watched him sleep while holding the letter from Belle tightly in his hands. "You better not make me a liar, Belle." He whispered. "We both need you here."

Gold woke up to Adam tugging on his sleeve. "Mr. Gold?" Adam said quietly. "Mr. Gold you slept in the chair." Rodric winced as he shifted and realized that he was indeed still in the chair.

"I'm too old for this." He mumbled before pulling himself up. Gold hissed in pain as his knee seconded his statement. Adam watched Mr. Gold before he heard the door bell ring.

"I'll get it." Adam said and went to the door so Mr. Gold wouldn't have to. The kid had to stand on his tip toes to see that it was Ruby. He smiled a little and opened the door. "Morning, Aunt Ruby." Adam said, hugging her leg tightly.

Ruby smiled and knelt down to give Adam a proper hug. "Good morning, Adam." She said softly. "I brought you some clothes. Why don't you go change while I talk to Mr. Gold okay?"

The pawnshop owner had just made it into the room and looked imposing like he always did when people other than Belle and Adam were around him. His features did soften as the boy ran passed him to change clothes, but it was back to business when Adam was gone. "Have you heard anything?" Gold asked urgently.

Ruby nodded. "She made it." She said with relief in her tone. "They're moving her as soon as the helicopter gets here. The sooner they put her on a proper breathing machine the better off she'll be."

Gold nodded some and pulled out his phone, dialing a number. "Carter, it's Gold. Set up my apartment by Massachusetts General. Yes, the one with three rooms. I want all of my calls routed through the office. Don't bother me unless it's an emergency, and by emergency I mean the company is about to go into bankruptcy." There was no way that was possible given Gold's way with money so basically he was telling Carter to field everything for him. "Contact Massachusetts General and tell them to put a patient named Belle Hayes in a private room. No she's not there yet, she'll be coming in by chopper within the hour. Her file might say Margret Hayes. No that won't be necessary, I'll be driving myself. Yes, that is all." Gold hung up his phone and gave a slight tilt of his head when he saw Ruby's astonished expression. "Something the matter, dearie?" he asked drily.

"You have an apartment in Boston? And you can make sure Belle gets a private room how? By snapping your fingers? Just how much money do you have, Gold?" Ruby asked incredulously.

Rodric shrugged and moved to the kitchen to make some tea. He still had to pack a few suits and get clothes for Adam; he'd need energy for that. "A fair amount." He said simply. "I don't see how it's any concern of yours." Gold put water on the stove and got a bowl down for Adam to have cereal. He found that he didn't have much of an appetite.

Adam came into the kitchen dressed in an Iron Man shirt and some jeans. "Can we go see Mama?" He asked, not realizing he was interrupting anything.

Ruby smiled some and nodded. "Yeah, we'll see her as soon as we can." She said honestly. They would at least be able to sit with her today.

Rodric poured Adam's cereal and milk for him before moving back to the stove, hoping that the subject of his wealth was forgotten. It wasn't.

"Seriously, Gold, where did all your money come from?" Ruby persisted. "No one is as rich as you are without being involved in something shady."

Gold rolled his eyes. "I'm a lawyer, Miss Lucas." He said drily. "Lots of things are…shady, as you say, about my line of work."

Ruby smirked some. "So a lot of back room deals? That how you make your extra money?"

Adam looked in between the adults, wondering why Ruby was bothering Mr. Gold. The more he thought about it though, the more he remembered that Ruby was always bugging Mr. Gold somehow so he just went back to eating his cereal.

The older man huffed and pinched the bridge of his nose while the tea steeped for a couple of moments. This woman was impossible. "I spin straw into gold in my spare time, dearie. There you know my secret. Now please be quiet."

Adam giggled some, earning a stunned look from Ruby. "What's so funny, huh?" She didn't catch the reference.

The little boy smiled a little and shrugged. "It's a story." He said quietly. "Mama read it to me once. Rumpelstilskin spins straw into gold. Mr. Gold's not him though. Rumpelstilskin isn't real."

Gold gave the boy a gentle, almost tender look that Ruby couldn't see before he turned back around to fix his tea. "Very good, Adam." He murmured.

With breakfast eaten and clothes packed, Gold looked to Ruby. "You'll be needing to get a few things together too, I trust." He said.

"Excuse me?" Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why would I need to?"

Rodric rolled his eyes. "Did you not pay attention? I got my three bedroom apartment ready. That's one room for me, one for Adam and one for you. Unless you don't want to come in which case I can get a smaller apartment for the time being."

"No I do want to come!" Ruby said. "Just. Just give me a second." She dashed up to her room so she could pack her clothes. It freaked her out to have Gold be considerate in any way shape or form to her. Ruby was so used to the monster that it was hard to believe there could be a man underneath all the ice.

Moments later they were on the road to Boston. It took them some time to get there, but once they entered the city, Gold was on his phone barking orders to that Carter guy. Ruby felt a little bad for him, but it was better than Gold yelling at her. Adam was the only one that seemed to be oblivious to the world. He had never been to a big city before so it was a bit of an adventure. All Adam could really think about though was how much he wished his mother was there with him.

The hospital staff was less than helpful when they first got there. The receptionist said that only immediate family was allowed to see patients and that there could be no exceptions made. Ruby jumped in before Gold even had the chance. "Look, lady, the only immediate family Belle has is this kid and the bastard that put her here. Fortunately she got him. Now if you want to send a six year old back there by himself, I would love to talk to your supervisor about your job." Ruby hissed.

"You can't do that." The receptionist said haughtily.

"She may not be able to, but I definitely can." Gold growled. "I can have the director of this hospital on the phone right now. I'm sure he would hate to find out that the top donor for this facility pulled funding because of a smart mouthed seat filler."

Ruby smirked and Adam held onto her hand tightly. Gold could be scary when he wanted to be, but Adam knew that even at his worst he was nothing like Devin.

The receptionist snorted and returned to her work. "Immediate family only, sir. Those are the rules."

Rodric's eyes flashed and he pulled out his cell phone again. He waited while staring daggers at the woman that was about to lose her job. "Lewis. It's Gold, I have a problem with one of your staff. I understand that it's policy to only allow immediate family to see patients, but there are extenuating circumstances in this particular case. My assistant contacted you earlier about a woman named Belle Hayes getting a private room." There was a pause while he listened to something the man on the other end of the line was saying. "Thank you, Lewis." He smirked a little. "Yes. This makes us even." Once the cell phone was away, Gold chuckled rather darkly. "You'll be getting a call in a moment, dearie."

The phone rang about two seconds later and the woman answered it. She gave her name and paled when a male voice started to yell at her from the other end. After the line disconnected, the receptionist quickly pulled up Belle's information. "Room 1015. Sorry about the delay, Mr. Gold." She said quietly, almost near tears.

Gold smirked and turned towards the elevators without another world. Ruby followed with Adam and soon they were in Belle's room. Ruby and Adam looked like they were about to cry. Gold just looked like stone.

Belle's face was swollen and her head was wrapped in gauze. The bruises on her neck were black and Ruby put her hand over her mouth to hold back the cry of disgust when she realized that the bruises looked like hand prints. It was like the bastard's hand was still choking her. There was a tube in Belle's throat to help her breathe and she had a feeding tube going through her nose as well. An IV was in one arm while a blood pressure cuff was on the other. Any other injuries were covered by the sheets and her hospital gown.

Adam put his face in Gold's side and gripped his good leg tightly. "She looks broken." He whispered. "Can they fix her?"

Gold clenched his jaw and cleared his throat softly before moving his fingers through Adam's hair. The boy leaned into the touch as it reminded him of the woman in the hospital bed. "Your Ma will fix herself. She's strong." Rodric whispered.

Ruby nodded in agreement and found herself moving closer to Rodric and Adam. Her eyes closed and she let out a breath before finding chairs for them to sit in. They were going to be there for quite some time.

That first week passed by in a fog. All three of them would sit with Belle until visiting hours were over and then either Ruby or Gold would take turns going back to the apartment with Adam to sleep. Rodric didn't know which he hated more; leaving Belle there, or staying. The woman in the hospital bed wasn't the woman he had come to love, and yet she was. There were a few times when her heart stopped. Each time Rodric prayed that she would pull through, and each time she did. By the end of the week, the doctors said that her lung function was improving. They still wouldn't wean her off the machine just yet, but they were hopeful.

Adam would read to his mother every chance he could. He wanted her to be able to hear the story and come back. The boy even asked the doctor if Belle could hear him. When the doctor said it wouldn't hurt to read anyway, Adam ran to his bag and grabbed his favorite book. He read all of the books about three times before he asked Rodric to take him to the library to get more books. Gold indulged the boy every chance he could. Ruby was seeing more and more of the man Gold tried to hide and she didn't really know what to do with this new side of the most feared man in her town.

It was the middle of the second week when Gold's cell phone rang, causing Adam to pause in his reading of a children's version of one of the 1001 Arabian Nights tales. In that moment Ruby saw the more familiar side of Mr. Gold. The angry business man side. "What?" Gold snapped into the phone without even looking at the caller ID.

"It's Graham." The sheriff said with a touch of triumph in his voice. There was also something dark and sinister in his tone. For the past week he had been going through Devin's things trying to figure out how he was able to find Belle and hurt her. So far he didn't have any luck. That is until he found Devin's cell phone. It was dead, but Graham had a charger that fit the phone. After it had enough juice to power up, Graham went through the phone searching the recent calls log. A number popped out at him and rage burned through him. That slimy little bastard. He would definitely pay for this.

Gold relaxed instantly and he huffed. "Well what is it? Have you found anything of interest?"

Graham smirked on the other end of the line. "Yes I have. I found the bastard that sold Belle out."

Ruby watched as the monster reared his head again and Adam grew a little nervous. He never saw that kind of anger in Mr. Gold's eyes before. It was like there really was a beast inside of him that was threatening to claw its way out and destroy everything in sight. When he spoke, Adam suddenly got the mental image of a lion that was given the gift of speech. "Who did it?" Rodric growled. There was a pause and the monster came out in absolute force. "I'll be there tonight." Gold stood up and looked to Belle and Adam before looking to Ruby and pulling a card out of his pocket. "If you need anything while I'm gone, call him. He'll get you what you need."

Adam watched the older man. "Where are you going?"

Rodric paused. "There's something I need to take care of, Adam." The beast was under control for now. The kid and his mother did that for him. "I'll be back soon." He walked over to Adam and kissed the top of his head before looking over to Belle. The bruises had faded some, but her face was still a little swollen. Gold touched her still bandaged head and let out a breath. "I'll be back soon." He whispered again before leaning down to tenderly kiss Belle's cheek. Rodric's jaw clenched tightly before he turned on his heel and walked quickly out of the room before the anger inside him could burn out. Gold needed that anger, that rage inside him. There was no way that he would get away with causing the woman that Rodric loved to get hurt. No way. No how.


DUN DUN DUN! Who could it be? I will take guesses and give shout outs to those that get it right! :) Next chapter will probably be M for a serious beat down. Still working on that. Hope you liked it!