OUT OF THE ASHES
CHAPTER 36
Common Ground
Emma had talked Bae into accompanying her back to her apartment. It was not a hard sell. He had managed to awaken first and was now reclined in the bed simply looking at the beautiful woman who was lying next to him.
She had agreed to allow him to take the lead for part of the previous evening's entertainment; he had indulged himself with a leisurely, but thorough exploration of every curve, every dimple, every bit of softness that she possessed to their mutual satisfaction.
She stirred and he delicately began to kiss her shoulder. "Good morning," he whispered.
"Is it already?" she asked. She opened her eyes. "That was a great evening. . . and an even better night."
"Thank you. I would return the compliment."
She began to kiss him back, adding little nips to her actions.
"Do you? Do you think?" she asked between kisses, "Do you think we have anything in common besides really great sex?"
God, I hope so. "I guess we'll have to talk to find out."
"Later," she instructed him and pushed him over onto his back.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Gold had sent Hopper onto a hotel room at the Bohemian, just down the road from the hospital (the same facility hosting Milah and many of the wedding guests that were beginning to arrive). Emma had not returned and Gold hoped that Bae had convinced the little hellion to spend the night with him – again.
He showered and shaved and dressed in the second of three suits the concierge service had delivered. He had a couple of calls to make and had an appointment at the local affiliate to go ahead with his official announcement. He had originally planned to fly back to New York for the day but Belle's injury had put a stop to that.
He got breakfast by himself, fending off cute little nurses and miscellaneous adorable respiratory, physical and occupational therapists who all smiled and waved at him. When you had a lot of money you didn't have to eat by yourself unless you wanted to. He had wanted to.
He got into the ICU to see Belle after breakfast. She was clearly more alert and responsive. There was almost a twinkle in her cornflower eyes.
"I love you, Bobby," she told him, first thing, smiling.
"And I love you, too," he answered, glad that today she seemed to be about a fourteen on the Glasgow Coma Scale.
"Dr. Whale tells me I'll be moving out into a regular room later today. He's very pleased with my progress and wants me to start exercising, which means I get to walk maybe up to ten paces. I'm still sleeping a lot but I think that's the medication," she was still smiling and her speech was slightly slurred. Gold quickly surmised that she had likely been popped something like lorazepam or even alprazolam to up her mood.
"Yeah, probably so," Gold agreed and then he hesitated. "Belle, I couldn't be happier to hear this news. To know that you're going to be all right. It's the best news we could have."
"But?" even doped up, mellowed out, and all copasetic, Belle could tell he was holding back something.
Gold took her hand, "You know I'm not supposed to say anything that might upset you, but I think it's better that you hear this from me."
Belle didn't respond, just waited expectantly. She'd been through these soul-searing confessions from Gold before. She had begun to conceptualize these as tests of their love for each other, it was like peeling back another layer - you never knew what you would find.
Gold began "I've been telling everyone that you're my fiancée. I just wanted to be sure that they would let me in to see you and I was afraid since I wasn't family that they might not."
"I don't see a problem with that," Belle told him.
"Well, it's kinda gotten out," he confessed. "The hospital staff all think we're engaged and they've told everyone they know. It's become pretty common knowledge. Well, they all know who you are and they. . . uh. . . they. . . uh. . . they know who I am."
Belle looked at him questioningly.
"It came out when I was helping with the financial end right after you were admitted. I signed to be responsible for all your bills." At Belle's beginning protest, he quickly added, "I just wanted to be sure that you were getting the very best possible care."
Belle closed her eyes. She understood.
Gold continued, "And I decided," he hesitated here before just jumping in, "that we should probably just go ahead and . . . uh. . . follow-up. We have a couple of options here. I could get a judge up here today or, if you want to do a whole wedding thing we could go ahead and set a date. If you want all that sort of ceremonial stuff I was thinking something in the fall should give us time to make whatever plans."
Belle swallowed and closed her eyes again, obviously trying to process what he had just told her. "Are you planning a wedding for us?"
Gratified that she had picked up so quickly on the issue, Gold continued, "Well, when you're better, I certainly would prefer that you pick up on the details," then he added, "That is, if you want something more than a judge or justice of the peace and a couple of friends. I'll be happy going along with whatever you want. These affairs definitely seem to be more for the female than the male, I think."
"So you've decided all this?" Belle spoke softly.
"Well, I think it's inevitable," he shrugged, so relieved that Belle had understood but missing that she had not agreed to his proposed decision.
"Bobby, I love you very much," Belle began.
"And I love you." Where was she going with this?
"Darling, understand, please, I'm not ready for marriage with you."
Gold was stunned. "You don't want to get married?"
"Not under these circumstances. I'm not saying no, never. But I don't think that now . . . while I'm lying in an ICU bed . . . that it's a good time for me to make any important decisions. And marriage is such an important decision."
"So," he spoke slowly, "you don't want to get married," he repeated himself.
"Of course I want to get married – and to you. But the time has to be right."
"So are we even engaged?" he asked.
Belle closed her eyes one more time. "Bobby, I really don't have the strength to discuss this right now. But no, I don't think you telling people we're engaged makes us engaged."
Gold felt poleaxed. "All right," he managed to reply. He didn't want to press her. "All right," he repeated. He didn't want to risk losing what he had with her. "All right." If she was content with them just living together, he could be too. "All right," he said one more time.
But this wasn't what he wanted.
But now, he didn't know what to do next.
OooooooooooooO
Bae had received a phone invitation from his father for lunch. When he came into the hospital room that had been given over for his father's use, Gold had set up what amounted to an office at the table by the window, complete with a computer and a mass of reports that one of his own people had brought in, reports from Lawrence. Reports that detailed where Facilier held his money, who Facilier had contact with, what property the man held, what debts he owed, what debts were owed to him.
Gold was methodically going through them.
When Bae came in the room, his father was on the phone.
"Mal, yes, dear, good of you to call me back. . . yes, it's been a bit difficult but it's getting better. . . yes. . . she's doing well. Thank you for asking. . . right. . . right. . . this afternoon at three. . . that's right. . . right. . . Well, what I was calling about was to see if you might be available for lunch tomorrow. . . I can meet you at Razazz's. . . yes . . . yes. . . yes, well, I knew you would be in town for the wedding coverage and I thought we could take care of another issue. . . No, I'd rather not, not on the phone. . . this is something rather delicate. . . no, I will tell you it's not an announcement regarding my engagement. . . promise, dear. . . Good. . . see you at one then, at the restaurant. . . excellent. . . bye, dear."
Bae listened to his father's end of the conversation and waited until his father hung up the phone.
"Were you talking with Malinda Scentz?" he asked.
"Yes, Mal and I have developed a . . . working relationship," his father told him.
Bae considered. He knew this woman had been merciless in her pursuit to vilify his father during the divorce, all to boost ratings. What on earth could his father be working on with her now?
Gold got up, collecting his phone, to accompany his son to lunch. "They have my number if anything changes with Belle."
"Dad, are you all right?" Bae immediately sensed that something was off with his dad. He'd seen his father focused on business before, but there was something else. It seemed like his father was a bead off center.
Gold hesitated. "I proposed to Belle."
Bae was surprised, considering the woman was lying in an ICU bed and the two had known each other for only a little over a month. He waited.
"She declined my offer."
Bae remained surprised. Not many women would turn down one of the richest men in the world, especially when that man was his father, his very persuasive father. "Dad I'm sorry. I . . . did she give you a reason?"
"Just that lying in ICU wasn't a good place to make such an important decision."
Bae considered but had to agree with the little shopkeeper. "Dad, I think she really cares about you but maybe, she's right and right now. . ."
"Yes, yes, she made perfectly good sense. But I just wasn't expecting it. Emma and Mary Margaret had both tried to tell me that it wasn't a good time, but I wouldn't listen to them."
"I think dad, that you should let her get out of ICU and try again. You two seem to be in love with each other. It's a matter of finding the right time and place," Bae advised.
Gold was shaking his head. As the two cleared the hospital and made their way to Gold's new Cadillac, Gold's phone rang. He looked at his son and mouthed, "Sorry," and answered it.
"Yes, Regina. Thanks for calling me back. . . You will think about it then? Excellent. I thought the offer might appeal to you. . . I can't promise you the salary you're making now, what do you charge 500 hundred an hour?. . . 600 hundred, definitely can't give you the salary, but it will probably be close. . . There's going to be more job security, shorter hours and you'll get stock options which will almost certainly make up the difference and probably push it over. . . uh huh, the new battery. . . Yeah, and you'll get to live here in Asheville if that holds any allure for you. . . Of course, think about it and get back to me when you decide."
He clicked the phone off.
"I'm going to suggest Fig Bistro," Gold told his son. "It's in the Village just down the road. I've not been there but I understand they have a pork schnitzel. Pig meat would hit the spot right now."
As they neared the car, Gold's phone rang again. He glanced at the number. A 504 area code. "I need to take this," he apologized again.
Bae thought how much like old times this was – when his dad had a business deal going, something coming together, something going down – it was one phone call after another.
Bae overheard his dad's side of the conversation, "Yes, Mama Odie, so good of you to call me back. Please tell me you are doing well. . . Yes. . . yes. . . yes. . . I was actually involved. . . Just by chance I promise you. . ." he laughed. "Very well, I know you don't believe in chance, perhaps you're right. . . Yes. . . yes. . . yes. . . I did think you would want to know. . . Of course. . . of course. . . No, you will not be having any interference from any of my people. You will have complete free range, and I'm hoping you'll be able to stop anyone else from coming in, get some real healing done for your people, clean up that community. . . Right. . . I just thought you'd appreciate knowing that I'm not playing in this game and that I wanted to send you a little check that might help things along for your side. . . Uh hum, should be enough to help out with that new facility. . . No ma'am, actually I don't play that game at all, any more. . . No, not at all. I'm in a much rougher game. Right. . . Real estate, stock market. . ." he laughed again. "Yes I should take care with whom I chose to associate . . . Yes, I will do that. . . Goodbye, dearie."
He shut his phone off and pocketed it.
"You seem busy," Bae observed. "Did I hear a job offer to Ms. Mills?
"You did?"
"Belle knows about your history with her and is ok with you making a job offer to the woman?"
"Belle knows . . . about the history. The job offer, well, she doesn't know about that, not yet." Gold paused, then added, "It wouldn't be like we'd be working together . . . often . . . and Belle knows that Regina and I don't have anything between us. Regina's too busy getting busy with Daniel."
"If you say so, dad. And that other call? To Mama Odie?"
"She's an amazing social worker who runs several drug treatment centers and half-way houses down in New Orleans. I own a couple of the buildings she uses. I thought this would be a good time for her to establish more of a presence in some of that territory. I know a little financial boost would really help her out. She's a good person, Belle would like her."
The two men got in the car and Gold drove on to the restaurant.
"How'd it go with Emma," Gold asked.
Bae thought back. He and Emma had started talking. . . finally.
"What do we have in common?" he had asked.
"Dogs or cats?" she'd asked him.
"Cats rule, dogs drool," he'd answered.
"I like dogs," she'd told him.
"Read a lot?" he'd asked her.
"Weather alerts that scroll across the tv screen, and you?"
"Anything I can get my hands on."
"Automatic or stick?" she'd asked him, then.
"Automatic," he'd told her.
"I like stick," she'd responded and grinned, catching the double entendre.
"Fried rice or steamed?" he'd asked her.
"Fried," she'd answered.
"Steamed," he told her.
"Coke or Pepsi?"
"Coke."
"Pepsi."
"Beer or wine?"
"Beer."
"Wine."
"Sock and a sock and shoe and a shoe or sock and a shoe and sock and a shoe?"
"What?"
"Sock and a sock and shoe and a shoe or sock and a shoe and sock and a shoe?"
"Uh. . . sock and a sock."
"Sock and a shoe."
They lay together, dejected.
"Ok and this can be a relationship killer, should the toilet paper go off the back of the roll or hang down in front?" Emma asked him.
"Front," he'd said.
"Front!" she'd said.
Finally.
Bae changed tactics "Where'd you go to school?"
"I ended up at Quantico," she told him.
"The FBI Academy? Why aren't you FBI? How did you end up in ATF?"
"Wanted more field work, more police action."
"Have you always wanted to be in law enforcement?"
"Yup, now, how about you?"
"Well" he had begun. "And I am answering where I went to school. This is the long answer. As you know, I grew up with my parents."
Emma winced.
"Yeah, it was pretty bad," he'd had to agree. "They had some epic fights. My dad could get pretty mean and my mom, well, she was able to dish it out as well as he could. When I was younger, I think they would mostly fight and screw, but later all they did was fight. I kinda threw myself into my books and my studies. When I had an opportunity to move out at fourteen, I jumped for it."
"Where'd you go at fourteen?"
"I got accepted at Cal Tech."
"At fourteen?!"
"Sounds good, but I assure you, I wasn't the youngest or the smartest kid there."
"So after you graduated?"
"I worked for a few computer companies and then started my own little company."
"Is it a company I might have heard of?" Emma pursued warily.
"Maybe. I own Vortex Manhattan."
"Vortex?! The company that does all kinds of computer programs, games and stuff?" Emma asked. "That's a huge company!" Emma was impressed.
"Not as big as anything of my dad's and not ever likely to be. Of course, now he's pulling me back into his businesses. It's a lot of real estate and investments. I was the one that found Cricket and I sent them to my dad to get some real funding for their battery. Now, you tell me about your family."
Emma became very serious, "I don't have a family. I grew up a ward of the state."
"Really, so there's no family?" Bae was saddened by this news and hurt for her.
"Nope. Haven't been able to find any and, after a while, I quit looking," Emma was cavalier and shrugged after relaying the information.
"Wow, Emma, that's serious."
"Yeah." They had lain a little while longer together before Bae observed, "That toilet paper thing – I think that clinches it. We're totally compatible."
"Yeah¸it looks like we just might be," Emma had agreed.
"Nice, it went nicely," Bae answered his dad's question about how things had gone with Emma.
Gold then dropped a bomb on Bae, "You were planning on going to your mother's wedding Wednesday?"
"Oh yeah," Bae admitted.
"Good. I need you to walk her down the aisle," his dad gave him a slight smile.
"Dad?!"
"She'd asked me to and I really, really didn't want to. For so many reasons, I really, really didn't want to. Now with Belle being in the hospital I have an unassailable reason not to be at the damned affair. Your mother will need you to take my place."
Bae sighed. He loved his parents, as difficult and as demanding as they both were. He didn't see anyway out of this. By walking his mother down the aisle, he would be doing both of them a favor. He looked his father in the eye, "Ok, dad, I'll do this, but I think you will owe me."
"Done," his father agreed. Then Gold looked at him. "And thank you."
Bae opted to stay with his father while they went to the news affiliate and with a mutual feed from New York and Leroy representing Cricket, the two made a short announcement of the merger of the Cricket with Rumii. (Gold felt his phone vibrate right before he started talking but wasn't in a position to check for the message.) Gold and Leroy shared that they had elected to change the name of the newly merged subsidiary from Cricket to Magicell and the new super battery for cell phones was expected to be on the market within six months, perhaps earlier. A single factory had already been started up and there were plans for several more on the drawing board. There was active research for a variety of other batteries being developed. There were a few questions regarding costs and then more questions as to how people could get on the list to get one of the batteries as soon as possible.
There, thought Gold, that should result in a thirty second piece on CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, John Stewart, and, if it were a slow news night, perhaps even on the major networks. He knew the news was hitting the internet, the tweeter thingy and whatever else that Bae had helped develop for his generation of people that didn't watch the nightly news.
Gold checked the text that had come in right after the broadcast taping. He looked up at Bae.
"What is it, dad? Is something wrong with Belle?"
"No, they are moving her out of ICU into the regular room. I'm heading back to the hospital.
0o0oo00oo000oo00oo0o0
Emma had prepared to go right in to see Belle but when she got to ICU she was told that Belle had been moved to the room Gold was using. She vaulted up the stairs and found Belle, sitting with the hospital bed raised up and relaxing, watching television.
"Do you know I'm not finding anything on tv that I'm interested in watching, except maybe this shopping channel," she told Emma as she came into the room. "They got some cool dishes that you can cook in, and serve in and store in the fridge. And they're pretty."
"You think daytime tv is a wasteland?" Emma asked, "Wait, if you're up passed prime time. Late night tv is even worse."
Belle managed a weak laugh and turned off the set. "Emma! You look. . . refreshed. Something different happening?"
"Bae's in town," Emma told her. "We're back keeping company."
"I wonder if we want to compare notes, father and son," Belle then shook her head. "Probably not. Eeuu, I'm sorry, that's the medication. I have no filters."
"Eeuu, is right. I'm really not interested in finding out how Bobby is in the sack," Emma confirmed for her. Emma sat down and took out a small top-bound notebook. "Belle, now that you're out of ICU, I am interested in getting your version of what happened after Facilier took you away from us. Do you feel up for telling me about it?"
"Sure," Belle seemed very relaxed and she began, "I told him we needed to get gas and he asked where a station was. I asked what direction we were going and he said the Blue Ridge Parkway. I don't think he had any idea of what the Parkway is. I think he was thinking it was a super-highway, not a scenic highway. Anyway, I took him down to that little station on the Brevard Road right before the entrance ramp. . . "
"Yeah, then what happened?"
"I knew I needed to play for time. I still don't understand how you found us so fast."
"Bobby had put a GPS tracking device in the Saturn. He'd been afraid it would break down in the boonies and whoever was driving it wouldn't be able to let help know where they were."
"I didn't know about that," Belle was surprised. "I would have been a lot calmer if I'd known."
"I didn't know about it either until you had pulled out of the garage."
Belle shook her head, "Well, anyway, my thought was trying to slow us down so people would have a better chance of finding us. The only idea I could come up with was having him put the fuel injector stuff into the car."
"But most of those had water in them!" Emma was confused. "You always had us clean them out and leave some water in. I know that later, when we had enough, we'd take 'em and dump the water at the we-recycle-water car wash place and then we'd recycle the plastic containers."
"Right, as you said, those containers were filled with mostly water and an internal combustion engine won't run on water," Belle gave her a smug smile. "Water's heavier than gas and enough water will completely choke a car down. I got him to put about one and half gallons of water into the gas tank. I was surprised we made it as far as the rest area."
"Water into the gas tank! Damn, that was smart. I'd've been be trying to put sugar into the gas tank."
Belle shook her head, "You know that won't work. It's a myth."
"And you had the presence of mind to remember that. Girl, you're impressive."
"I was ascared," Belle told her. "But I was trying to do the brave thing."
"You weren't too scared to think. Then what happened?"
"He got on his phone and started making calls. He didn't connect with the first person he'd tried to reach and, I know he made several calls before he did get somebody and then he asked me where we were. He hadn't been paying attention and it was really dark. I figured he was getting another car from some of his people, so I told him the wrong overlook and sent them to the Folk Art Center down the road. More delaying tactics." Belle took a deep breath and winced as it seemed to hurt her chest. "When Daniel drove up, I was so relieved and figured this would be my best chance to get away with Daniel distracting him." Belle looked very sad, as if she might cry. "I guess I was wrong."
Emma took her friend's hand. "No Belle, you were incredibly brave and incredibly smart. Facilier's a criminal. You're not responsible for his behavior. You got away from him alive, a bit scathed, maybe, but alive. And he's going to jail. . . for a long, long time."
"I'll have to testify, won't I?"
"Probably, the attempted murder charge is one of the big ones against him right now."
Belle leaned back. "Emma, please tell me. How is Bobby handling this? He keeps telling me that he's not going to raise a hand against Facilier, but that doesn't sound like him. I mean, if he's not going to do it, he's going to get someone else to go after him."
Emma considered, "Belle, as long as Bobby isn't trying to have the man dismembered or killed, as long as he isn't making up stuff about the man, would it be so wrong to have him try to help the judicial system put Facilier away?"
Belle sat for a moment. "Emma, I know I'm on a lot of medication, but it sounds like you're ok with what he's up to?"
Emma was careful in answering, "I think, Belle, that Bobby is really trying to use every bit of leverage he can against the man, without crossing the line between legal and not-legal."
Belle leaned back again and closed her eyes. "Emma, I'm not naïve. I know that Bobby has been involved in some seriously illegal stuff, but. . . and here's where I may be trusting too much. . . he keeps assuring me that all this was a long time ago, a very long time ago. But I know he pushes the limit. I confess I did go and check him out when we first started seeing each other. He was so dark. . . and exciting. I'd never met anyone like him. I felt like I was the brainy girl with glasses who was suddenly dating the leader of a motorcycle gang. I was so flattered that he would pay attention to me."
"He tells me that he can't wrap his head around anyone as beautiful as you being attracted to him," Emma told her.
Belle laughed, "I guess we're both a little bit damaged. But I was telling you, I did look him up. There was all that publicity from the divorce trial, and wow, there was some nasty stuff out there. There were these implications of strong arm tactics, extortion, bribery, but there was nothing in the way of proof."
Belle continued, "I did see a pattern in his behavior. Bobby would buy an under-performing factory and then shut it down or buy a run-down slum building and demolish it or buy a failing business and fire everybody. He did that often and it angered a lot of people. But when I would read on, he would also rebuild the factory and rehire the people into a safe environment, and rebuild the apartment building and make it affordable for low-income families who were trying to work and put a roof over the heads of their children and food on the table and take that failing business and restructure it and re-hire the dedicated employees, this time with benefits and dignity. It's like he's made his reputation on the bad things he's done but the good things he's done have remained a secret and all people know about him is his bad, cut-throat reputation. But I know, he's stood up to bullies, to gangsters, to crime lords and came out on top. He has come up against rough people and he's had to be rough too."
Emma asked her, "Do you think it's a matter of him having to fight fire with fire or does he just fight with fire?"
Belle smiled, "I guess I'm in love enough to believe he is fighting fire with fire and gives as good as he takes. Not a bad man, but a survivor who may have had to do things that he would never be proud of or even admit to."
Emma nodded with understanding, "And he is kinda hot?"
Belle actually blushed. "Is he ever. I'm not sure I like suit-Bobby or jeans-Bobby best. Both have their merits."
"Yeah, the suit gives him class and the jeans give him. . . well he looks good walking away in those jeans."
"Now, enough about my man. Tell me about you and Bae," Belle instructed.
"He looks good walking away too," Emma replied quickly then added, "We're seeing each other, trying to find what we have in common besides having the flaming pee-purple hots for each other. You know me, Belle. I don't like to get involved with the guys I'm sleeping with, not that I sleep with all that many guys, hardly any, in fact. But I don't like to get involved."
"And you are getting involved?"
"Maybe," Emma admitted.
"And you're nervous?"
"Maybe," Emma again admitted.
"And maybe a little excited?"
"Oh the man gets me more than a little excited," Emma told her.
"Do you think that Bobby is ok with you and his son?" Belle thought she knew the answer to this one.
"He seems ok with it," Emma said thoughtfully. "He's never said one way or another, at least to me."
"I know Bobby likes you. . ." Belle told her. "A lot. He respects you. You're one of the few people who will stand up to him."
"I must be crazy. I keep forgetting how powerful he is because mostly I just find him aggravating." Emma might have said more, but at that moment, Gold and Bae entered the room.
"Darling," Belle greeted Gold with a big smile. "I'm out now."
He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, "Let's hope you stay out." He glanced up at the ever-present IV lines. Yes, she was still on saline, antibiotic and, yes, there it was, oxycontin and generic Xanax – mainlined. She was going to be quite the happy camper maybe now would be a good time to ask her to marry him again.
"Let me show you what I have learned," Belle announced to him. "I can make the bed go up and down . . . and raise the back . . . and raise my knees." She demonstrated each task. "I can dim the lights . . . and make all these lights go on and off. I can change channels on the television. All from this handy portable device," she held up her remote. "It will make phone calls. It will call the nurse."
"Excellent. You seem to have mastered the remote," Gold responded quietly with a hint of a smile. "Is there anything, anything I can get for you?"
"They keep feeding me crackers."
"Do you want some crackers?"
"No. I'm tired of crackers," Belle told him. "I'm glad you're here. I was afraid you might be mad at me," she confessed.
"No. You were right. It wasn't the time or the place. I'll pick another time and another place and try again," he told her.
"Thank you."
Emma had listened in and followed the conversation up until this last bit, "What wasn't the time or place?"
"I'll fill you in," Bae told her taking her by the elbow. "Dad, will you two be ok?"
"We will," Gold had not taken his eyes off of Belle. Her color was rosier. Her energy seemed up. There was more of the twinkle in her blue eyes. She looked better.
"Then I'm going to take Emma back to my place," Bae told him.
Emma nearly pulled away from Bae. "What?! What if I don't want to go? You didn't ask or anything. I might have other plans."
Bae stopped at the door of the room and turned her to face him. "Do you have other plans?"
"No, but that's not the point," Emma began.
Bae pulled her in closer. "I want to spend time with you. We've got to see if there is anything else besides toilet paper that we have in common." He pulled her on out the door.
"Toilet paper?" Belle asked Gold.
"I have no idea," he told her.
"You like them together, don't you?" Belle asked him.
"I do," he admitted. He turned his attention back to Belle. "Bae did not have good relationship models growing up. Milah and I both messed up, royally. She was over-involved in herself and I was over-involved in my work. We spend so much time fighting that I think it must have scared Bae off of being in serious relationships or even non-serious relationships." He considered a moment and added, "Scared me off relationships," then he smiled at her his eyes crinkling in the corners, "until I met the right woman."
Belle smiled back at him and asked in a small voice, "Do you know what you did wrong?"
Gold knew what she was referring to. He nodded, "I made a decision, an important decision about us, without involving you. I tried to dictate, tried to control, tried to decide what you were to do with your life."
She finished for him, "and no one decides about my life, my fate, but me."
"I apologize," he said the words slowly as if they were difficult to say, foreign to him. "I'm very sorry. Please forgive me."
"Of course. We love each other. We understand when we make mistakes. We talk about it. We try to find common ground. We forgive each other and we move on," she shared her feelings with him.
"Thank you," Gold told her. "Understand, I've never been with anyone like you, with someone who appreciates honesty over deception. Please, please be patient with me, please, please be understanding."
Belle squeezed his hand in response and Gold stood beside her for a while, just enjoying being close to her.
"Can I brush your hair?" he asked suddenly.
"But it's awful right now. I haven't been able to wash it. . ." she stopped herself. This was a gesture on his part, his way of further apologizing and making amends. She nodded.
Later different members of the hospital staff would stop by and catch the older man carefully, gently brushing through the tangled locks of the pretty blue-eyed woman who was still bedridden and healing. It was hard to miss in his gestures his depth of caring and concern. Several times, he would stop and the couple would lean towards each other and plant soft kisses on cheeks, lips, even fingers. The two only had eyes for each other.
Thirty-six days down, six to go.
As always, thanks to my awesome reviewers: jewel415, cheesyteal'c, thedoctorsgirl42, RoxyMoron, ctdg, MyraValhallah, guest ( as in LMAO), RaFire, The Prince's Phoenix, juju0268, Grace5231973, Just 2 Dream of You, EevyLynn, DruidKitty, Aletta-Feather, AnEloquentFacade, Vinaplains and LoveIsLayered (Walmart)
And thanks to all of you who have recently added this to your list of Follows and Favorites. txm
Next: Bae and Emma continue to search for their common ground
Gold continues his campaign against Facilier
Gold makes another decision (without talking with Belle)