XXXVI

"You would think these people had never seen a woman stroll down the sidewalk with her husband before," Belle huffed in irritation as Gold held the door open for her to precede him into the diner. "Can't we just get something to go and take it back to the shop with us?"

Gold's brows drew together, frowning at her distress, but knowing it was something she was just going to have to get used to. The stares, the pitying looks for her, the abject fear, was all something he'd lived with for centuries and if he could have spared his darling wife, he would have. It was just one of the downsides of being with him. It was something she had accepted long ago when she'd married him. "Of course, but don't let them bother you, sweetheart. It's not so much the fact you are taking a stroll with your husband, but your choice of husband."

She humphed and looked the menu over, smiling at the scantily clad waitress behind the counter and giving her order. It would have been easier to have made breakfast at home and enjoyed their meal in private, but he had been adamant to get her out of the house. He was nervous and jumpy, and she knew he hadn't been sleeping well, but he wouldn't open up to her and tell her what was wrong. She had a feeling it didn't have anything to do with the obscene amount of chocolate he'd consumed last night.

Belle turned to take in the little diner, liking what she saw. It was quaint, but the open stares of the few patrons and the quiet whispers put her off. Thankfully, it didn't take long for the waitress to hand over their order, and she and Gold were back on the sidewalk to make their way to his pawn shop. She tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow and smiled, trying to distract herself from her agitation. Perhaps they would be able to have a nice quiet breakfast together without too many interruptions. She had to admit to some curiosity about what he did for a living, and she couldn't wait to see the treasures he had stored in the shop.

Gold was quiet as he watched her move around the shop, nibbling on her breakfast sandwich as she looked over the many antiques, her eyes alight with fascination. She was inspecting the unicorn mobile hanging over one of the display cases when he slipped into the back room to make tea. He sat down at his desk, waiting for the water to boil, closing his eyes briefly in the rare moment of quiet. He was not expecting her to silently enter the room and sit down on his lap.

His deep sable eyes were wide as they met hers. "Um … Belle … what are … tea's almost …"

Belle slipped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his, cutting off what he'd been trying to say. She melted into him, pouring every ounce of pent up desire into exploring his mouth, running her tongue along his lower lip until he granted her entrance. She was tired of him holding her at arm's length. She was tired of him refusing to let her touch him in this way.

Every night she would curl up against him and he would hold her, but never let her hands wander over him, never let her take that next step. He was her husband, for god's sake! And never in all the time she'd been with him after her release from the hospital had he ever kissed her, really kissed her. Sure, he kissed her hair, her temple, her brow, her nose and her cheek, but never her lips. And now she had him and she'd be damned if she'd let him go.

Gold's fingers dug into the arms of the chair as he fought to keep himself from being lost to the feel of her tongue in his mouth. Dear Gods, how had he let this happen? Her sweet little tongue tasted of honey and french toast and everything Belle. She tasted so good, so right, he wanted to cry in frustration. He grabbed her upper arms to push her away, but she held on tighter, brushing her nails against his scalp and gripping his hair to hold him in place as she plundered his mouth. How was he supposed to resist? Truth be told, he didn't want to resist any longer. She was his wife, his love, his Belle, and he wanted her so much it was painful.

Belle smiled against his mouth as she felt him yield to her, his arms wrapping about her and tightening possessively, crushing her to his chest. His hand delved into her hair, dislodging the pins and sending them to scatter across the floor as he held her to him and took command of the kiss, using teeth, tongue and lips to show her just how much he had been denying them both. She was ready to scream in outrage when she heard the faint tinkle of the bell on the front door of the shop. No! No, no, no, no!

"Gold? You here?"

"Fuck!" he hissed, ending the kiss and meeting Belle's eyes. They were dark with desire and need, her lips swollen from his kisses, and her breath coming in short little pants. She'd never been more desirable. "I'll get rid of her, my Belle. I promise."

Belle smoothed his hair down and straightened his tie before she moved off his lap. She was really beginning to not like this Emma person. She flopped into the chair and huffed out a great puff of air, closing her eyes and counting to ten, willing her heart to slow its rapid beat. Her body was still thrumming with desire and she squirmed, trying to find a more comfortable position. She removed the whistling kettle from the hot plate and tried to distract herself by looking at the different objects on the many shelves of his office, but it was little consolation when the sound of his voice coming from the front of the shop was doing very naughty things to her nerve endings.

She rose to run her hands along the different things she'd spied, only to stop, her eyes landing on something covered by a dust cloth. It was shoved against the wall, partway towards the very back and hidden by numerous packing crates, but it intrigued her. What could that possibly be? She moved the packing crates aside and noticed it was tall, nearly six feet and very flat as it rested innocently there against the wall.

Gold ran his hand through his hair as he brushed past the curtain and into the back room where his wife was waiting for him. Damn Emma Swan and her petty investigations. He couldn't have cared less about the broken compass she'd brought in, looking for the previous owner. Yes, dearie, it belongs to Hansel and Gretel. That would've gone over quite well.

His body was still inflamed from Belle's hot little mouth and he had no desire to bandy words with the savior unless she was there shouting at the top of her lungs that she was a believer and ready to break the curse. He was surprised to find Belle off in a corner staring at something covered in a cloth, her head tilted to the side, a sure sign she was thinking hard about something.

"What are you looking at, dearest?" he asked, slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her back against him. He buried his face in her hair and breathed her in, suppressing a shiver as her scent wrapped about him like a cloak.

She reached her hand out to the cloth and pulled, gasping softly as she uncovered a very old, antique mirror. "Nicholas, this … where did … No, it's not possible …"

Her voice trailed off, her body stiffening as a voice filtered through her head like pinpricks.

Say it!

Say his name!

Say my name, love!

Say it!

Say my name and come home to me, love!

Gold tightened his arms around her as he felt her slipping, her legs giving out under her. "Belle, what is it? What's wrong?"

Her hands went to her temples as pain shot across her skull. She could hear Gold asking what was wrong, his voice worried and concerned, but she couldn't answer, her attention focused on the mirror. She cried out sharply as the pain in her head increased and she fell to her knees before the beveled glass. His cane clattered to the floor as he dropped down behind her, cradling her in his arms as she threatened to shake to pieces.

"Belle, please!"

Her face twisted into a mask of pain and she pitched forward, her face inches from the glass. Her hands flew out to brace against the mirror and her eyes flew open wide as she breathed, "Show me …"

"Show you? Show you what, my love? Tell me, Belle, so I can help you," he cried against her shoulder, trying to hold her back, trying to keep her from breaking the glass and cutting herself.

"Show me Rumpelstillttsskkiinn," she wailed, her voice shrill with pain, sobs wracking her small frame. Her hands clutched her hair in a tight grip, threatening to rip it from her scalp as the images flitted across her mind in colors too bright, sounds too loud, smells too pungent. What was happening to her?

Why do you spin so much?

It helps me forget.

Leave it. I'll get used to it.

Are we talking deals, dearie?

I'm not foolish enough to make another deal with you, Rumpel.

I can give you anything, Belle. What do you want?

You.

Gold took her face between his hands, staring at her incredulously. Had she? "Belle, sweetheart, open your eyes. Please, Belle," he begged, desperation in his voice. His heart was breaking as he listened to her moans and whimpers of pain. He knew what she was going through, he'd been through it himself. It was the price to be paid for regaining her memories before the curse could be broken.

Belle pried her eyes open to meet his panicked gaze, her hand lifting to cup his cheek. "Rumpelstiltskin …" she moaned softly, trying to smile up at him but not quite managing through the red haze of pain.

His heart skipped, and he forgot how to breathe as he crushed her to him. She remembered. Thank the Gods! "Belle, sweetheart … I love you," he whispered against the shell of her ear. But she didn't hear him. She'd finally fainted from exhaustion, the memories flooding her and the migraine.

And just how was he supposed to get her to the hospital with a bum leg? He wasn't going to let her suffer the way he had for two days writhing in pain. Jefferson! He dug in his pocket for his cellphone and sent a text.

Pawn shop, NOW! Belle. Memory. Need hospital.

He didn't care that it was nearly illegible as long as Jefferson responded.

*.*.*

Belle was screaming by the time they reached the emergency room. Jefferson sat in the backseat with her cradled in his arms as Gold drove. Gold was nearly hysterical because he couldn't seem to get her there fast enough and he'd run every red light and stop sign on the way. The only reason he knew this was because Emma pulled up behind them at the ER entrance and told him. He ignored her and pulled the door open, helping Belle out of the car. Jefferson got out the other side and ran around the car, scooping her into his arms and taking her inside, leaving Gold to follow.

Jefferson brought her straight to the back and laid her on a bed in an open room, pressing the nurse call button. "Who's on call?" he asked when the nurse answered.

"Dr. Whale. Is that you Madden?" the nurse asked.

"THAT QUACK IS NOT TOUCHING MY WIFE. GET HOWARD OR BRYAN IN HERE," Gold yelled into the intercom.

"Gold, what is going on? You …" Emma asked, coming around the curtain to face him. Her voice trailed off as Belle let out another piercing scream and nearly fell off the bed. Jefferson put the rails up and laid his hand to the center of her chest to hold her still.

Gold rounded on Emma. "Not now, Miss Swan!"

"What's wrong with her?" she asked, clearly alarmed. Emma had already heard about Belle Gold being released from the mental ward and wondered if maybe she was suffering a setback or worse … a psychotic episode.

"Severe migraine," Jefferson answered, his undivided attention focused on Belle.

"Rumpel …"

Not good! So not good! "I'm here, my Belle," Gold said, stepping next to the bed and placing his hand on her brow, brushing the hair away from her face. "Shh. It'll be alright, love. They're going to help you."

Jefferson pushed the intercom button again. "GET THE DOCTOR IN HERE NOW," he ordered. He rolled Belle over in time for her to lose the contents of her stomach.

Emma scrunched up her nose in distaste. "I've never seen a migraine effect anyone like that before."

Dr. Whale came around the corner and took in the scene. "There are entirely too many people in here. Madden, you shouldn't even be here since you're assigned …" Gold turned on him and backed him into the wall, his cane at the doctor's throat. He barely registered Emma trying to pull him back. This was the same doctor who was under Regina's rather heavy thumb and he wanted the man nowhere near Belle.

"Rumpel …" Belle called again, her hand reaching for him. It was his name, once again weakly uttered, which drew him away from Whale. He moved back to her side and leaned close to her ear, muttering nonsense just to calm her. "Where are we?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"I brought you to the hospital, love. It's alright," he crooned softly to her.

She grabbed the lapel of his suit jacket, her eyes wide with fear. "No! No hospital. They're going to throw me back in that cell. You promised! Please don't let them take me. Don't let them separate us again." She was crying now.

Tears were gathering in his own eyes. "Belle, I promise no one is fool enough to take you from me. Do you hear me? I'm not going to leave your side." He glanced over at the doctor, his lips drawn back in a snarl. "Well, are you just going to stand there or are you going to give her something?"

Jefferson filled Whale in on what was happening and watched closely as he began to examine Belle. He ordered an IV and intravenous drugs. Demerol for the pain and Phenergan for the nausea. Gold warned Jefferson to make sure the prescribed drugs were correct and that he double and triple checked that it was all they gave her. He wouldn't put it past Whale to try to pull a fast one.

Emma came back into the room and Gold looked up at her, surprised she was still there. "Here's your keys," she said, dropping them in his outstretched hand. "I moved your car out of the unloading zone. And here is your ticket."

Gold glared at her, but she merely smiled. He looked at the ticket. "Seven red lights and two stop signs? I had my emergency blinkers on."

"You could always use your favor and I'll tear it up right now," she offered reasonably.

"Forget it, dearie. I'll pay the bloody fine," he grumbled and turned back to Belle. The drugs were finally taking effect, her eyes slightly glazed and glassy.

"Fine." She glanced at Jefferson who looked like he was holding the wall up and then back at Gold who was lowering the bed rail, so Belle could scoot closer to him. Emma turned and left, shaking her head at the threesome, and making a mental note to keep an eye on them in the future. Something was just off where Gold and his odd little wife were concerned. She'd have to be odd to be married to Gold.

Jefferson pushed off the wall and sighed, delving his hands into his pockets. "You gonna be alright, Nick? I left Paige with Ruby and I need to go pick her up."

"Yes, I believe so. Thank you, hatter," Gold murmured quietly, his eyes never leaving Belle's ashen face.

"Call if you need me," Jefferson said, turning on a secondary light and switching off the bright overhead as he left.

Belle's hand felt like it was attached with lead weights as she lifted it to brush the hair from Gold's eyes. "You're hiding from me again," she giggled. Wow! What are they giving me in this little tube? She felt as though she could sleep for a week, but there was so much she wanted to tell him, so much she had remembered through the haze of pain. "Rumpel …"

"Yes, dear one. I'm here. I'm not going to leave you for a moment," he crooned softly, brushing her hair back and kissing her brow. His name, shortened on her lips was like a soft caress to his bruised emotions. How long had he waited to hear her say it? He laid his head beside hers on the pillow, their noses touching, sharing the same air and he felt as though she'd finally come home to him. The spark had come back to her eyes and he could see her love for him there.

"I love you, my Rumpel." Her voice was slurred from the medication being pumped into her, but her words were no less heartfelt.

"And I love you, too, my Belle." He pressed his lips to hers and he could feel the tingle of electricity shock his lips. He could feel her, her true self shining through, his true love. "Gods, how I've missed you."

Belle wiped away his tears with her fingertips and curled her fingers into the hair at his nape, holding him close to her, never wanting to let him go. "I remember, Rumpel. I remember the night you brought me home to the Dark Castle and how frightened I was of you. I remember your chipped cup. I didn't know what you were going to do to me, and then you looked at me so oddly as though you didn't know what to think of me."

He noticed that her voice was so sleepy, her eyes drooping with weariness. "Hush, love. You can tell me later." It was so quiet in the borrowed room save for the whisper of their voices, he could simply continue to rest his head next to hers and sleep in their light embrace. "Try to rest, my Belle."

"No, I want to tell you, Rumpel. I think I loved you even then. It took so long for you to show me your heart and who you truly were. It was much too late for me by then." She smiled and kissed him softly. "My heart was a gooey mess beneath your boot." He laughed with her then before she continued with her trip through the garden of her memories. "The day I fell, and you caught me … that was when I realized how much I wanted you, that I was completely in love with you."

"You scared the hell out of me that day. I turned that ladder into kindling, I hope you know," he said in all seriousness.

She carded her hand through his hair, scraping her nails along his nape. "Rumpel, is this how you looked before your curse?"

Gold could feel his old insecurities begin to well up in his chest. "Yes." He lowered his eyes, not wanting to see revulsion in her eyes.

"Look at me, darling," she commanded firmly, tipping his chin up. "I love the way you look; very handsome. But I miss the amber of your eyes and the gold tone of your skin. I love both versions of you, Rumpelstiltskin."

He snorted, uncomfortable under her close scrutiny. "Belle, you have to call me Nicholas for the time being. I don't want anyone to overhear and think you've taken leave of your senses."

"I'm sorry. I promise I will be careful."

"Belle, can you tell me what happened to you? The night of Snow and Charming's wedding?" he asked, the subject a painful one, but needing to be broached. "Belle?" But she had already drifted into sleep, a peaceful smile upon her rosebud mouth.

Gold stayed where he was, his brow pressed to hers, and closed his eyes. He wouldn't sleep, determined to make sure no one harmed her while she slept. She had returned to him, mind, body and soul and she wouldn't be taken from him ever again. He would take her home and, no doubt, take a few days off so they could plot and plan and scheme and love and pick up where they had left off by each other's side. Hopefully, they could work on Emma and help her believe in her destiny. But what weighed most heavily on his mind was the identity of her captors and the revenge he had in store for them.

A/n: FINALLY!