Belle:
Belle didn't clean her up. Lacey didn't let her. Belle sighed as she escorted Lacey home, slowly but surely. Her ankle really did hurt. And it looked like Lacey's did as well. So much that, after awhile, Lacey asked to be carried.
What ten year old needed carrying?
Still, Belle let the girl climb onto her back and carried her to the mayor's house.
Belle hated the mayor. And the mayor hated her. Always had. There was no reason behind it, just mutual hatred. It was the main reason no one would hire Belle except the bar. No one wanted to anger Mal.
At the front of the driveway, Belle sat her down on her feet, grabbing her hand to drag her along. She knocked on the door, startled when it was jerked open before she could even knock a second time.
Mal glared hatefully at her. She took one look at Lacey and her glare intensified.
"Graham! Lacey's here. And you need to arrest Belle French for kidnapping," Mal stated.
"She didn't kidnap me!" Lacey protested. Mal eyed the child.
"Not only did she kidnap her, but look at the state she returned her in. Graham, arrest her," Mal repeated forcefully. Graham sighed and pulled handcuffs from his hip. Belle couldn't believe it.
And she wasn't about to get arrested.
She spun around, taking off running as fast as she could with a slightly bum ankle. She barely made it past the mayor's driveway before Graham had her in handcuffs and in the back of his car.
Of bloody course. She was sat in the back of the car and given an apologetic look from him. He drove straight through town and people ogled the sight of her in the backseat of a policecar. Again. She couldn't even count all of the times she had been arrested on suspicion of prostitution. Each time she was released, but still.
Graham thankfully cut through an alley instead of driving in front of Granny's Diner. He must've decided she'd had enough mortification thrown at her. As they cut through the alley, she noticed Emma talking with Ashley Boyd. Ashley used to work with Belle at the bar, despite being so young. Her apartment was next to Belle's as well. The girl was the closest thing Belle had to a friend.
Graham got her to the station and booked her.
"Do you really have to take my picture? Again? You just took it last week," Belle asked sarcastically. Graham sighed and took the pictures anyway. He locked her in the cell.
"You know, with how often Mal has me thrown in here, you might as well label this as my cell," Belle spat out. Graham sighed once more.
"Belle, I know you're mad. Just give it time. She doesn't have a legitimate case against you," Graham told her.
"Then let me go," Belle insisted.
"Can't. If I do, she'll just create a legitimate case against you. I will either leave you in here for twenty-four hours, or you can leave with bail. Do you have anyone you can call?" he asked gently. Belle shook her head. She never did. Even if she did, she didn't have the money for bail. Especially not when she was missing a night of work.
The phone rang. Graham stood quickly, picking it up. His expression grew grave as he listened. He hung up, glancing up at her.
"I have to go. The John Doe at the hospital is missing. Will you be alright here alone?" Graham asked. Belle gave him a humorless smile.
"I'm not going anywhere," she said. He smiled at her fake humor before rushing out of the place. Leaving Belle alone. She sighed and laid down.
"Looks like I get to go back to sleep tonight after all," she muttered to herself.
When she woke up the next morning, Graham was there eating breakfast. There was a bag sitting on the ground inside of her cell.
The only thing she didn't mind about being in prison was the food. She got better food in prison than she did at home. And it was warmer in prison.
"I might as well move in here. The food's great," Belle said sarcastically. Graham rolled his eyes at her as she started eating. Was it pathetic that the Sheriff knew exactly what she liked to eat, she'd been his meal companion so often?
Oh yeah. It was pathetic.
"Did you find your John Doe?" Belle asked in between bites. Graham nodded.
"The newcomer, Emma, found him," Graham said. Belle was impressed. She really needed to meet this Emma.
"Do you want me to go find Ashley and have her bring you some clothes over?" Graham asked. Belle shrugged.
"Do I not look attractive enough in this?" she asked, standing up and spinning around. Graham shook his head.
"You look a bit rumpled," he said with a laugh.
The words shot straight through her. Like she had heard that phrase before, or something similar. She shook her head, trying to get rid of that eerie sense of déjà vu.
"Sure. Ashley has the spare key to my apartment," Belle said absently. Graham was gone by the time she looked up. She finished her breakfast, wishing he had given her the chance to use the restroom before he had left.
She sighed, returning to the bed. She straightened it up before sitting back down. She had just sat down when the doors opened.
"Sheriff, I have a report to make," a voice called out.
Mr. Gold.
Shit.
The man appeared, dragging a child behind him. Belle hadn't seen the child before. When Mr. Gold's eyes landed on her, he stiffened.
"Miss French, I take it this is the reason you were unable to report to me this morning?" Mr. Gold asked. Belle stood, making her way to the bars. She grabbed them lazily.
"I was obviously detained," she said, feeling a smirk come to her lips.
"And what did you do after breaking and entering yesterday to get you thrown in jail?" Mr. Gold asked.
"Apparently I kidnapped Lacey, according to Mal," Belle said, irritated once more at the charges.
"I take it she wasn't too pleased with the way you returned her," Mr. Gold said drily. Belle nodded.
"Where is the Sheriff?" Mr. Gold asked.
"He went to find Ashley Boyd to get some clothes for me. He told me I look rumpled," Belle said with a snort. Her words had an effect on him like they had her. He looked shell shocked at the words. After a moment, he recovered, offering no reasoning behind his reaction.
"I have a feeling he will be gone awhile, if that's the case. Ashley Boyd is missing," Mr. Gold said. Belle cursed, covering her mouth instantly as she looked down at the child who was watching her with wide eyes.
"Who are you?" Belle asked, sliding down to her knees. The child gripped Mr. Gold's pants tightly. Belle reached out, tickling the girl's side slightly. The girl erupted in a fit of giggles.
"I'm Ali Swan!" she cried in between giggles. Belle smiled at her and stopped tickling her. Ali separated herself from Mr. Gold, walking up to the bars.
"Why are you in bars?" Ali asked her, brown eyes wide in innocence. Belle shrugged.
"I'm always behind bars," Belle told her.
"Are you now?" Mr. Gold asked, his voice low.
"I'm arrested at least once a week," Belle said. For some reason, this seemed to infuriate him.
"When is that blasted Sheriff getting back?" he cursed. Belle shrugged.
"Once he finds Ashley," Belle said.
Mr. Gold lowered himself onto the couch next to the cell Belle was in and Ali started bouncing around. The first thing the girl tried doing was crawling through the bars to Belle. Mr. Gold grabbed the back of her shirt before she could succeed.
"Why do you have Emma's daughter?" Belle finally asked him when the silence became too much. At least, she assumed the child was this Emma's child. She hadn't seen Ali before and the name matched.
"I paid Miss Swan to find Miss Boyd for me. Since it is a Friday and Mary Margaret, her new roommate, had to work, I offered to babysit under conditions that I would stick to the police station and Granny's with her. As if I couldn't watch the child at my shop," Mr. Gold scoffed.
"The police station?" Belle asked, curious.
"Why of course. I had to report you, now didn't I?" he asked, and she could detect the slightest bit of a tease in his tone.
"What happened that made Ashley go missing?" Belle asked, feeling as if she had missed a vital part of the story.
"Last night, she broke into my shop to steal a contract. Knocked me out. And then ran," Mr. Gold said, brushing his hair aside to reveal a nasty looking cut on her forehead.
"Did you have that looked at?" Belle asked worriedly before she could stop herself. When she realized what she had said, she mentally slapped herself. Mr. Gold was watching her with a guarded expression and, to her relief, chose not to answer her.
"What was the contract for?" Belle asked, once more feeling as if she was missing something.
"Miss Boyd agreed to give up her child," Mr. Gold said. Belle instantly wanted to protest the idea, but stopped.
She had been the one to suggest it to Ashley.
Her face lost color. She'd given Ashley the idea and the push, and Ashley had wanted to keep the baby. This was her fault.
"I'm hungry," Ali piped up, interrupting Belle's internal berating.
"Go get her some food. I'll be here when you get back," Belle said jokingly. Mr. Gold stood, only after Ali began poking his sides.
"We will be back soon," he promised. Belle nodded. It didn't matter anyway. She still had another twelve hours to be locked up, she assumed.
It was another four hours before the Sheriff came back. By this time, her bladder was about to explode. The moment Graham entered the place, Belle threw herself against the bars.
"Graham. Please let me out. I have to pee so bad!" Belle cried pathetically.
Graham wasn't alone. The stranger, Emma, was with him.
"I would have taken you to go this morning if you had woken earlier," Graham teased, but opened her cell. His arms were tightly on her shoulders as he led her to the bathroom. He locked her in from the outside.
It was the procedure he had with her. Usually, a woman had to accompany her in, but since Graham had no women working there, he did this for her.
It helped that she was there so often and she wasn't a murder suspect.
When she was finished, he led her back to the cell, locking her back in.
"Emma, this is Belle French. She's a regular. Belle, meet the new deputy," Graham said as he handed Emma the badge. Belle eyed her.
"Deputy? You've been in town how many days?" Belle asked. Emma eyed her right back.
"How exactly are you a regular?" Emma asked.
"Suspicion of prostitution usually lands her here. This time it's suspicion of kidnapping," Graham mutters as he searches absently for something on his desk.
"Check the middle drawer," Belle called out. She had no clue what he was looking for. But she knew his office better than him. He opened the door and offered her a smile.
"Here's the paperwork you can take home and check out," Graham said, handing the paperwork to Emma. She nodded, taking it.
"Suspicion of prostitution?" Emma asked, shooting Belle a curious look. Belle turned around so Emma could see her outfit.
"Isn't it lovely? When I wake up every evening, my first thought is which outfit can I choose that will piss Mal off the most? And that's the outfit I chose. It's usually rather slutty," Belle said with a laugh. Emma, surprising Belle, laughed as well.
"I like you. Why do we lock her up so often?" Emma asked, turning to Graham.
"Because people call her in. She's never charged so we let her go in twenty-four hours. Sorry about your clothes, Belle. Ashley was missing. She's in labor right now," Graham said.
"Labor?" Belle asked, pressing herself against the bars. Emma nodded.
"Found her trying to leave town, water broke. Graham made me come back here to get the badge before I go back to the hospital," Emma explained.
"Mr. Gold was in here, looking for you," Belle told Graham. He nodded.
"I heard something about the threat of charges against you and Lacey? What was that about?" Graham asked, dropping himself into his chair. Belle laughed roughly, tilting her head.
"Are you asking me as a friend or as the sheriff?" Belle asked playfully.
"A friend. He said there were no charges to be given," Graham said. Belle all but sighed in relief.
"Lacey convinced me to help her con Mr. Gold out of his ice cream shop key and we broke in and ate ice cream. He caught us," Belle explained. Graham had a look of incredulity on his face.
"Belle, that man can singlehandedly ruin you with the flick of his wrist," Graham protested worriedly.
"It was Lacey's idea. He said he wouldn't press charges if I came and worked for him," Belle told him. And promptly saw what Graham thought she meant.
"NO! I'm not a prostitute!" Belle cried out, frustrated. Graham held up his hands in defeat.
"I never said you were. But Mr. Gold…" Graham drifted off.
"He wants a maid and shopkeeper," Belle told him. Emma snorted.
"That's not one hundred percent reassuring. He'll probably have some perverted maid costume for you to wear so he can fulfill any of his kinky desires on you," Emma said.
"He isn't going to touch me," Belle retorted.
"Well, speaking of the devil, I need to find him and get my child back. It was nice meeting you, Belle, although I can't say that I didn't wish it was under better circumstances," Emma said as she took off.
As soon as she was gone, Graham pulled some clothes from his bag. He tossed them in the cell to her. A pair of his pants and shirt. Belle stared at them.
"I couldn't get you any of your clothes, so I figured you could wear some of mine. They'll be warmer in that cell, and the temperature dropped twenty degrees today from yesterday," Graham said. He turned around, giving her a chance to change in a semblance of privacy. Belle peeled the skintight clothes from her body and slid Graham's oversized clothes onto her.
"You know, this outfit might take the cake," Belle said when she finished. Graham turned around, smiling to see her in real clothes.
"Oh?" Graham asked, a smile appearing on his face to mask his confusion.
"Yeah. This outfit is probably the best outfit I could find to piss Mal off the most," Belle said. Graham's face darkened slightly at her words.
"Belle…" Graham said, his tone warning. Belle shook her head.
"Can you think of another man that would make her half as jealous as you?" Belle asked. Graham smirked at her.
"Yeah. Mr. Gold," he told her.
"Yes, but it's so much easier to get your clothes as opposed to his," Belle said teasingly. Graham made his way to her cell.
"Is it now? Maybe I should take them back now," he playfully flirted. Belle playfully flirted her eyelashes at him, exaggerated.
"Why officer, are you propositioning me?" Belle asked, making her voice lower.
His response was cut off by someone clearing their throat behind them. Belle's eyes shot up as Graham spun around.
Mr. Gold was standing in the doorway, looking none too happy with the conversation he had walked in on. It sent a pang through Belle. Why? Why did she care what he thought? She didn't. She couldn't. She shouldn't. And she wouldn't.
Graham, however, did. He backed away from the cell quickly.
"Mr. Gold. How may I help you?" Graham asked nervously. Mr. Gold took a few steps into the place, holding out an envelope. Graham took it dubiously.
"It's her bail. Release her," Mr. Gold ordered. Graham opened the envelope and his mouth dropped.
"Mr. Gold, this is three times the bail amount for her," Graham tried protesting.
"Is it?" Mr. Gold asked lightly. Belle's eyes narrowed. He knew what he was doing. He knew exactly what her bail was. She was betting on it.
"Keep the extra for the next two times that bitch has her thrown in jail," Mr. Gold responded before Graham could even get any words out of his mouth. Graham dropped the envelope on the desk and hurriedly unlocked Belle's cell. Belle went to pick her clothes but was interrupted.
"You won't be needing those," Mr. Gold said. Belle didn't like his words. Not what was obviously implied, whether it be for Graham's ears or her own, nor did she like how disdainful he was of her clothing. She picked the clothes up anyway before turning to face him defiantly.
"Well, thank you, Mr. Gold, but I must be getting some rest before I go to work tonight," Belle said, trying to walk past him. His cane cut her off.
"Miss French, we did have an agreement, did we not?" Mr. Gold asked.
"I'm sorry. I've been previously detained," Belle shot right back.
"Well then, you'll have to make up your hours now. After all, I'm sure I'll be paying you more than that shit hole in the wall," Mr. Gold said offhandedly.
Belle opened her mouth but before she could respond, Lacey had run in the doors and jumped into her arms.
"Belle! I'm so sorry! I tried and tried but couldn't get away so I snuck out when Mom told me to go to sleep! I made Mary Margaret call Mr. Gold so he could bail you out!" Lacey said excitedly as Belle struggled to adjust the ten year old in her arms. Lacey was practically bouncing. Mr. Gold reached out to steady Belle as she swayed at Lacey's movements.
"Lacey, your mother's going to kill me," Graham said. Belle and Lacey both looked up at Graham, as did Mr. Gold.
Graham's eyes widened and he was momentarily speechless. His eyes darted from Belle to Lacey to Mr. Gold and back again. As if seeing a ghost.
"Graham?" Belle asked, confused.
"Lacey's adopted, right?" Graham asked, his voice strangled.
"Yeah. I'm adopted," Lacey said, her voice adding the obvious duh to the end of it.
"What were you doing ten years ago Belle?" Graham asked, eyes still as wide as before. Belle stiffened. Her hands involuntarily tightened around Lacey. So did Mr. Gold's grip on Belle's arm.
"Ten years ago I was locked in a hidden mental asylum on so many drugs I didn't know who I was," Belle spat. Graham was taken aback by her answer.
"We have a mental asylum?" Graham asked, emotions switching instantly.
"Oh yeah. We have one. I spent six years there," Belle said angrily.
"Belle, I'm sorry. It's just that…Lacey looks so much like you. You and Mr. Gold," Graham said.
"Not her hair. Her hair looks like gold," Belle said, trying to laugh it off. She smiled at Lacey, releasing one of her hands to muss Lacey's hair. Lacey jumped down so fast it caused Belle to stumble.
"Well, I need to go before the evil witch finds out I'm gone," Lacey said, running off quickly. She stopped in the doorway, turning around.
"Belle? How old were you? Ten years ago," Lacey asked, sounding hesitant.
"Twelve. I was twelve," Belle told the girl. Lacey nodded thoughtfully before leaving.
Mr. Gold still hadn't released Belle's arm.
"Come on. Time for work," he said, tugging her out of the sheriff's office.
Emma:
The last twenty-four hours had been a whirlwind. She had agreed to move in with Mary Margaret, just in time to learn that a man she was currently reading to in a coma in the hospital had disappeared.
She had assisted the sheriff in finding and rescuing the John Doe, who turned out to be an amnesiac named David Nolan. The appearance of a wife did a number on Mary Margaret, who Emma could see was already infatuated by David.
Then, the next morning she'd received a visit from Mr. Gold, asking her to find the pregnant girl she'd talked to the previous evening. Of course. Somewhere in the midst of that, she'd left her girl with Mr. Gold (after Mary Margaret left for school), found Ashley Boyd (the pregnant girl), agreed to owe the infamous Mr. Gold a favor, been offered a job as deputy, and accepted it.
All in a day's work.
Then she'd met Belle. Something seemed off about her, and Emma wasn't sure just what that was. Belle reminded Emma of someone, but she couldn't place who. It irked her to no end.
She was at the diner with Ali, trying to talk the five year old into eating some of Granny's lasagna instead of the chicken fingers she'd been eating nonstop when Lacey ran in, a familiar book in her hands. The same book she'd tried to convince Emma was all real.
"Emma! I think I found out who my mother is!" Lacey said excitedly as she slid in the booth next to Ali. She swiped Ali's fork and took a bite of the lasagna. Instantly, Ali was fighting for the fork and decided she wanted to eat the lasagna. Emma frowned at the child.
"Hey, I spent twenty minutes trying to convince her to eat that," Emma complained. Lacey waved her off.
"I think Belle's my mother. Graham thinks so! He thinks Belle's my mother and Mr. Gold's my father, but he wouldn't dare say that out loud!" Lacey whispered. Emma jerked back, staring at Lacey.
"Look kid, how old is Belle? There's no way she could be your mother, especially if you share a mother with your older sister and brother," Emma said reasonably. Lacey didn't seem to deflate at the words.
"She still could be! It's the curse! She's been frozen in time!" Lacey said excitedly.
"For how long? How many years?" Emma asked, instantly regretting it. Was she really going to give the girl hope that the story was reality? That wasn't a smart idea.
"I don't know. But it could be true!" Lacey said.
"Let's just pretend, for a moment, that Belle is your mother. Not Rose or Neal's mother, just yours. How old is she?" Emma asked. Lacey tilted her head for a moment.
"Twenty-two. She's twenty-two," Lacey said proudly.
"Kid, that means she was eleven when she got pregnant and had you when she was twelve. That could be possible, but it isn't likely. And Mr. Gold? He's what, fifty? If he's your father, then he had to have raped Belle. And I don't think that's possible. Plus, your brother is four years older than Belle," Emma tried reasoning. Lacey sighed.
"I still think she's my mom. I don't know about Mr. Gold though," Lacey admitted before standing. Emma sighed, watching the girl go. Ali looked sad too.
As soon as Ali was finished eating, Emma hurried the girl to the door. Ali needed to get to bed early after the late night she had had the night before.
She was about to her car when she saw Lacey standing there.
Lacey should have left ten minutes ago.
"Lacey, why aren't you home yet?" Emma lectured, coming up to her. Lacey pointed at a Harley parked outside of Granny's Bed and Breakfast.
"No one ever comes to Storybrooke. You're the first visitor we've had since I've been here," Lacey whispered.
"Maybe he's a tourist?" Emma offered. Lacey shook her head.
"Tourists never come here either. Because of the curse," Lacey said.
"You need to run home, unless you want your mom arresting me for suspicion of kidnapping also," Emma said. Lacey reluctantly ran along. Emma glanced back at the bike in time to see a man with a boy heading towards it.
The man looked up and recognition filled his eyes.
"You wouldn't know where the grocery store was, would you?" he asked Emma hopefully. Emma pointed down the street a ways. It was pretty easy to see. He smiled and nodded down at Ali.
"Wait. You didn't say what your name was," Emma said. The man turned and lifted an eyebrow at her.
"You didn't ask," he said with a smile before tugging the boy – probably his child – onto the bike behind him and peeling out. The boy waved gleefully at her and Ali as they sped by.
"Who was that, Mommy?" Ali asked, intrigued. Emma shook her head.
"I have no idea, kid."
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How was that? I know there was nothing about Rose here, but I got carried away with this. What do y'all think?
I'm sorry if there is any discrepancies from what I've written earlier. It's hard to keep up with what's been written already and what hasn't. If anyone is interested in being a beta for me, let me know!
Review, s'il vous plait!
Andi