A/N: Just wanted to thank everyone for sticking with me so far! This was a slightly controversial chapter with my beta reader and myself (had to call in another beta reader for a third opinion) so if while reading it you have doubts about what's going on, please feel free to message me if you want any sort of clarification. Chapter 21 will also be set in the same day and will get further into what's going on.

Thanks guys!

Lacey's current plan was to totally ignore Gold. She'd tried affection, she'd tried seduction, and she'd tried anger. Complete apathy wasn't yielding any better results, but at least it took a lot less energy. On this particular morning, she'd considered seeing him off to work – it was Valentine's day, after all – but had decided not to put too much effort into celebrating. He'd already bought her a gift (well, his credit card had) and she didn't expect much more to happen besides that.

So she slept until she heard him leave, at which point she threw on some yoga pants, a maternity shirt, and an oversized sweater and made her way downstairs for breakfast. She had a long day of picking out her own push present and getting lunch from the diner ahead of her, after all. It was probably best to pace herself.

She was just settling in with her waffles and the computer she'd gotten herself for Christmas when she heard someone ring the bell at the front door. It took her a moment to even register what the noise was – she didn't remember anyone ever ringing the bell. Even delivery drivers left their packages on the porch rather than ring, and delivery food wasn't really a thing that happened in Storybrooke.

She got back to her feet just a little more slowly than she used to, making her way to the front door before swinging it open only to come damn close to slamming it right back in Regina Mills' face.

The mayor was quick, though. She had a hand out to block the door before Lacey could even blink.

"Good morning, Miss French," she said with one of her shark smiles that showed all her teeth. "How are you doing?"

"Gold's not here," Lacey replied. Regina had no business being here, this place was still Lacey's domain as long as she remained in residence.

"I know that," Regina said with a little malicious bite to her voice. "Last I saw him, he was in town hashing out a debt payment with your father."

Lacey clenched her hand on the doorknob. She had her issues with her father, but he was still her father. If Gold was hounding him for a collection...

"Is there someplace we can talk privately?" Regina continued when Lacey didn't respond. "I think we may be able to help each other, Miss French."

Lacey hesitated before deciding to let Regina in. What was the other woman going to do, honestly? Refuse to leave? Frankly, Lacey wished her luck if Gold got back while she was still here.

She led Regina into the sitting room, offering her tea. The water she'd boiled earlier for her own cup was still warm and came back to boiling before she had time to prepare two new cups, so she was able to return to Regina soon enough as to be reasonably certain the other woman hadn't had time to cause any mayhem.

"So," Regina said as she flicked a long glance over Lacey. "How are you holding up?"

Lacey felt naked – worse than naked, actually. There was a power in sexuality that she could use, but right now she wasn't wearing a bra and hadn't brushed her hair yet. She looked like a mess and that's what she was: a complete and total mess.

"Never been better," Lacey retorted. "Why don't you just cut to the chase?"

Her best chance at besting Regina at whatever this game was involved refusing to play. Regina was manipulative and cunning and she would dance around and hint until they both went senile if Lacey let her – granted, Lacey could do that with the best of them if she needed to, but she had every disadvantage here. No, her only choice was to refuse to engage Regina on her chosen battlefield.

"Very well," Regina replied, taking a long sip of her tea. "I have a vested interest in you, Miss French. Call me sentimental, but I've always liked you."

Lacey would have laughed at the boldness of the lie in any other circumstance. She and Regina had never gotten along, and neither one had ever had any reason to deny that. Regina was up to something alright, and Lacey needed to suss out what exactly that was pretty fast or she was going to be in a world of trouble.

"Is that so?" Lacey replied coolly. "And I just thought you were here to piss off Gold."

"I won't say the thought hadn't occurred to me," Regina said. "But then, why let me in at all if not for the same reason?"

"It's my house too," Lacey said with a shrug. "And he's not here."

"Let's just say that I have a vested interest in the sanctity of single motherhood right now," Regina continued. "More to the point, your baby's father and I seem to find ourselves on opposite sides of certain legal matters more and more lately."

"You two hate each other," Lacey reminded her. "That's not surprising."

"No, perhaps not," Regina conceded. "But you know the adage, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.'"

"Gold isn't my enemy," Lacey said firmly. She wasn't sure what he was, exactly, but he wasn't her enemy.

"Be that as it may, I think we can still be of some use to each other, Miss French."

"And how would that be?"

"It seems your lover has been under a lot of stress lately," Regina said with what could almost pass for concern from anyone else. "Surely you've noticed his erratic behavior."

Lacey wasn't sure how to respond to that – she most certainly had noticed his strange behavior, but she hadn't quite realized anyone else had. She almost felt a sense of relief, though, knowing that Regina knew something was wrong. It wasn't just Lacey overreacting, something was going on with Gold, not with her! She had to work to keep her face neutral.

"You don't have to answer me," Regina added. "I know you're loyal to him. But think, Lacey, do you really want to bring a child into this situation, with a man who you can't trust?"

"Even if I couldn't trust him," Lacey said slowly. "What other choice would I really have?"

"There's a psychiatric ward," Regina replied. "Underneath the hospital. It's state of the art. How long have you been living with him now, a year? Two?"

Lacey nodded in reply, it had to at least be that long, didn't it?

"Have you ever heard the term 'common law wife?'" Regina asked, but she continued before letting Lacey reply. "You're the closest thing he has to a next of kin...you and the baby, anyway. With a few favors called in to the right people, it wouldn't be too hard for his next of kin to have him admitted for observation – just to make sure he's not a danger to himself or others, of course – and if he had to be kept long term then, well, everything would have to be held in trust and what better trustee than the woman who's lived with him for two years and is carrying his child?"

Lacey felt like the floor had dropped out from under her, her head was reeling and she thought she might be sick. Was Regina really proposing they lock Gold up? This had to be a trick, didn't it? What kind of person did that sort of thing?

Her shock must have shown on her face, because Regina continued.

"Think about this, Lacey," the other woman said as calmly as if she weren't suggesting they commit a human rights violation over tea. "You have a child now, and trust me when I tell you that's not cheap. What happens to your baby when he decides he's not interested in being a parent? What happens to you when he decides some other skirt is shorter? Think about what I'm offering you here."

Which was a valid point. Lacey wasn't sure where she'd live once the baby came, or if Gold would even want her to stay once that happened. She'd have money enough to take care of the baby and to go wherever she wanted, to do whatever she wanted. All she had to do was make this one little deal with the devil, was all.

"What's in it for you?" she asked Regina finally. "It's a very interesting proposition, but I'm not sure I know what you're getting out of it."

She had to play along, now, because she needed the facts and also to remain on Regina's good side (meagre though it may be). This situation had the potential to get very dangerous very quickly.

Regina shrugged.

"Let's just say I'd rather have him put away before he can make any rash choices that I might regret."

This was about Emma Swan, Lacey realized. The entire town knew Regina was coming close to a custody battle with her son's birth mother and if Gold really had been close to siding with Emma, then he would be incredibly dangerous to her.

She had no idea what to do. She hated the idea of all this scheming, and especially hated the idea of owing Regina any favors, but this was the guarantee of security that she'd always wanted. It was the security that she'd thought she was buying with Gold to begin with, before whatever it was that went wrong had gone wrong. It was so tempting to just reach out and take it. He was the father of her child, though. He was jerking her along and had been a complete bastard the last few months, but they'd been happy once, hadn't they? Who knows, maybe he was really going crazy – maybe this would make him better. Or maybe it was a shady idea hand delivered to her by a sociopath, but she couldn't help but be a little tempted anyway. He was the father of her child, but she was its mother and she had to put the baby first. The question was, would this be the right choice?

Fortunately, Lacey was spared answering by the sound of the door opening. Gold was home early.

"I'm sorry," Lacey said loud enough to be heard from the hall. "But you'll just have to talk to Gold when he gets home. Honestly, I have no idea where he keeps his business papers."

He rounded the corner into the sitting room with a suspicious look on his face. It didn't escape Lacey's notice that he was holding a bouquet of roses, which only reminded her that he'd been dealing with her father that day.

"Well, speak of the devil," Regina said coolly.

"Can I help you, Madam Mayor?" he said, glaring at the mayor where she sat on his sofa.

"I was merely hoping to get copies of my adoption documents for Henry," Regina replied as though she hadn't just been discussing locking this man up. "I'm trying to make sure everything is air-tight before Emma Swan gets any ideas."

"Your papers are at the shop with all my other legal documents," Gold said. "If you need them, you can collect them there during normal business hours."

"I'll do that," Regina said with a smirk. "I think I can show myself out."

"Oh, no," Lacey jumped in. "I'll walk you to the door."

They moved past Gold quickly, and Lacey felt him staring at her inquisitively. Regina didn't bring up her deal again, which Lacey had been afraid of. Instead, she simply thanked Lacey for the tea and that was the end of it. Lacey took a deep breath before turning back to the house to face what she may still have to do.

"You let the mayor in," Gold said matter-of-factly as Lacey returned to the sitting room. "Why?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Lacey retorted. "Leave her on the porch? I was with her the entire time."

"What did she say to you?"

"Exactly what she said to you," Lacey said. "She's trying to prepare a court case on the off chance Emma Swan begins a custody battle."

He didn't look like he believed her, but she was a fluent liar and hadn't ever given him a reason to doubt her. She just looked at him for a moment, as though daring him to challenge her story. Instead, he looked away before holding the bouquet out towards her.

"I got you flowers," he said plainly.

"Thank you," she replied as she took them and went to get a vase from one of the shelves. "How is my father, anyway?"

"Late on his repayment," Gold said honestly. "But he thinks he can have the money in a few weeks."

"And you just let him get away with that?"

"Call it an early father's day present," he said with a shrug. "I hardly think bending the rules for my child's grandfather is going to cause too much of a stir. I doubt the townsfolk will be eager to throw their daughters at me for an extension in the rent."

He said the last bit with a small smile, and she recognized it for the attempt at humor that it was.

"Thank you," she said as she set the vase down on an end table. "I do appreciate it."

He looked away from her nervously and she had the strangest sense of deja vue as she watched him, but she shook it off quickly. Instead, she took a moment to try to picture Gold as a father. She'd never seen him with a child, she realized. They'd been together for years and she'd never seen him with anyone he wasn't doing business with. Would he love the baby? Would he ever want to see it? Or was this just something he'd been trapped by? Lacey didn't know what kind of mother she would make, but she knew that she had to be one now regardless of that fact – and she didn't know if she could trust Gold to make that same choice. It wasn't even that she wanted to accept Regina's offer, she just wasn't sure she could afford to burn that bridge yet. In a choice between herself and her child and Gold, she and the baby would win every time.

"It's no matter," he finally said.

For the first time in weeks, Lacey felt a fragile hope begin to spring back to life in her chest. Maybe it wasn't too late to fix this just yet.

"Do you think Emma Swan is really going to try to sue for custody?" she asked him, testing to see how far his good mood would stretch. "Regina seemed fairly worried about it, anyway. She was even polite to me."

"I don't know," he replied. "It's certainly a possibility."

"I thought the adoption was good?"

"It was," he said. "It is. But you never know in these things. There's always that chance."

Lacey hmmed, moving back into the dining room to clean up her forgotten breakfast, though Gold followed her.

"Have you eaten?" he asked.

"No," Lacey admitted. "Not yet."

"Well," he said nervously. "If you didn't already have plans, would you like to eat with me?"

"I'd wanted to go get a burger later," she replied. "I've been craving them constantly."

"I did notice a distinct upswing in the money I was spending at Granny's," he admitted. "But a burger sounds good, if you don't mind me tagging along."

She sized him up. It couldn't be coincidence that he'd had such a change of heart the same day Regina came to her with that proposition, but at the same time there was no way he could have known – he shouldn't even be able to suspect.

"I think I'd like that," she said finally. "But you'll have to let me get dressed first."

"You have a deal," he said with a strange smile.