Rum opened his eyes to find Belle drawing soft patterns on his chest with her finger, a smile decorating her face.

"Good morning."

"Morning Rum."

Belle tilted her head and pressed a kiss to his lips. She tasted sweet like honey, her naked body warm against his own. She looked wonderful in the morning light, her auburn hair in perfect curls and her smile delicate and soul full; Rum envied that considering he thought he looked like he had been dragged through a tree. With another kiss he sat up and stretched.

"I'll check on Thera and Kasper."

"They're not here Rum."

She told him, pulling herself up on her knees and pressing her naked chest to his back.

"Oh yeah."

With not having to think about the twins Rum and Belle had a slow morning, filled with kisses and much to his surprise a blow-job. Belle made blueberry pancakes for breakfast while Rum made tea and the two ate in a peaceful silence; Gold's eyes locked on how Belle's thighs peaked from her navy a-line skirt.

"You know." She began. "I still have the key to the library."

"You want to open it?" He set his fork down.

"Not yet I have to take care of the twins, but, I have looked into it and was thinking I could at least tidy the place up."

"Belle, darling. You don't have to take care of the twins, I am here I can help. If you want to open the library you go right a head and do it, that is why I gave you the key."

"I know but I don't want you to think I have just dumped them on you."

"And I you. My shop is warm and quiet, I can keep an eye on them and if they need you then, you are only a few buildings away. That and I am sure Ruby would love more time alone with them."

"You sure?" Belle looked hopeful.

"Of course." He stood and pulled his wife into a hug. "I love being with them and this way you are never far from them. You are Kasper and Thera's world."

"Okay then." She nodded into Rum's chest. "Okay, I'll open it."

XXXX

On her way to Ruby's to get her beautiful children Belle stopped off at the library. The windows where all boarded up but she could soon do something about that, the door creaked as she pulled it open; it was clear the door hadn't been opened in years. Inside Belle found a paradise all be it a dusty one, shelved stacked with book after book, everything from Charles Dickens to Patrick Rothfuss. Belle couldn't help the smile that grew on her pale red lips.

There was a large desk, she couldn't decide if it was cream or a very pale green Belle decided not to dwell on it. She made her way through the stacks her soft hands ghosting over the spines. She listed some of them off as she went.

"J.R.R Tolkin, Arthur Conan Doyle, Sergei Lukyanenko, Scott Lynch, Stieg Larsson, Nikola Tesla. Wait, what is Nikola Tesla doing in the fiction section?"

Belle couldn't stand for that, she liked Nikola Tesla. At school she had been taught about Tesla coils and how thay could make music when at different frequencies; she liked that. Belle also felt that Thomas Edison had indeed stolen a lot of his ideas and inventions. There was one guy she knew, Lewis, who had taken to calling him 'bastard Edison' for...well as far as she knew he still did.

Just as Belle turned to move the biography to its rightful place Ruby entered with the twins in their push chair. Belle lit up the moment she saw them, they had only been parted for a few hours but she felt like it had been a hundred years. She practically ran to the two of them.

"Hi." She said to the two babies. "Did you miss Mommy?"

"Of course they did Bells." Ruby smiled softly. "I was just taking them for one last walk before you came to pick them up when I saw you come in here, what you up to?"

"I was just going to give the place the quick once over, see what I need to do before I open it."

"Wait, wait, wait." Ruby gestured with both hands for her to slow down. "How did you get the library?"

Belle smiled and pulled Kasper into her arms, she just needed to hug him and Thera was asleep.

"Rum gave me the key." She spoke so nonchalantly.

"He gave you a library." It wasn't a question, more of a statement.

"Yeah, I guess he did."

Until then with how Ruby worded it Belle had only seen it as Rum giving her a job in something she enjoyed but now she saw it for what it really was, he had given her a library, her own little sanctum. She didn't have a boss, she wasn't employed, no, he had given her a library and Belle loved him even more now she realized it.

XXXX

Belle had given him such a passion filled kiss when she dropped of the twins that it had practically left his legs as jelly, his leg was already bad he didn't need it getting worse. 'I love you' she had said but it was not like she normally said it this was filled with something more, something he couldn't quite describe. Gold decided not to think about it, he was with his children and he wanted to spend time with them. Kasper had other ideas and passed out almost the second Belle had settled him in his pop up crib, hands clinging onto Snapper. Thera being a Daddy's girl stayed awake and looked up at him with those big blue eyes that came straight from her mother, Gold pulled Thera into his arms and carried her off to look at an antique wind chime that he had found in storage. It had small sky blue and white unicorns hanging from the bottom, Thera giggled and Gold couldn't help but smile; she had the same laugh as Bae, a little higher pitched but it was his.

Thera gripped his cerulean tie while Rum admired her small hands, it had always amazed him at how tiny a baby was. Rum leaned his cane against one of the glass counters and bounced her a little against his hip making her laugh again, he would have laughed too, if not for the bell chiming and Regina entering. It was like There could sense that Regina was bad news because she gripped her father's tie even tighter; for a baby she was incredibly strong.

"Mayor Mills to what do I owe the pleasure?"

He turned slightly holding his daughter away from the black haired woman. She could do whatever she liked to him but she would never, ever touch his son or daughter.

"Oh nothing really, I just saw your pretty little wife over at the library and thought I would come and say hi to the little ones."

She looked at Thera with a witch-like smile. In a way Gold felt sorry for Regina, Emma had taken Henry back; rightly so in his opinion but he could see that she truly did love Henry. Losing a child was the most painful thing in the world of that he was certain.

"What is her name? I've just realized I don't know."

A name was a powerful thing, but Thera had a powerful father and so he chose to answer.

"Thera, her name is Thera."

"Unusual, but lovely."

He could see how much she wanted to reach out and touch his daughter, all evil had drained from her face and replaced with nothing but love and need. She would never touch them though.

"I thought so. Don't you Thera."

Regina smiled seeing him talk to the baby in his arms, she had never seen that side of Gold, she didn't realize just how loving he could be.

"And the other one, your son."

"Kasper."

"Like the cartoon ghost?"

"No with a K. It means treasure, and Belle does treasure him."

"That's sweet."

It was strange but he could see that Regina really meant it. His feeling sorry for her changed then, what he felt for her became...pity.