A/N: Okay, we're almost done with this advanture. I know I could've gone on and on and on, but it's just all sort of coming to a natural close, which I hope you reader & reviewer types will all understand. In the meantime, here's what happens next...

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 38

Robert Gold had been a coward once. It was a long time ago, a time he wished never to recall, but it had been many years now since he declared he would never again cower before anyone. He had made that promise to himself and kept it solemnly all these years, until this moment. To be afraid was one thing, but to be so scared of facing the woman he loved most in the world, Robert could not allow himself to be so foolish. Baelfire had convinced him he must not turn his back on Belle now, and Robert knew his son to be perfectly right, of course, but he felt like such a fool. He had already lied by telling the hospital he was Belle's husband. That might've been fine if she had woken as herself. She would've understood the necessity of his deception. As it was, she had no memory but those given to her. The doctor insisted she was not told too much, and Robert was okay with that, since he wouldn't know where to begin in explaining in any case. He knew not what was true and what was a lie anymore anyway. All he knew for sure was that he loved Belle like no other, and he was fairly certain after all that had happened that she must indeed love him too. That seemed like the one thing he might cling to without fear, Robert thought, as he took a deep breath and pushed on through the door to Belle's private room.

She was lying perfectly still in the bed, facing away from the door when he entered. He wondered at first if she was sleeping and felt bad when he realised he was right. Belle turned over, disturbed from her slumber, eyes flickering as she made a small sound of annoyance at having to wake. Suddenly she sat bolt upright, eyes scanning the room. Robert suspected her memory loss had hit her anew when she woke to an unfamiliar world, and it was taking longer than usual to get her bearings.

"Belle?" he said carefully as he approached the bed one tentative step at a time.

"Oh, it's you," she replied with as bright a smile as Robert had ever seen adorn her face.

That was a good sign, more than he had ever hoped for, but just when he was enjoying the genuinely happy expression aimed his way, it began to fade too soon.

"I'm sorry, I should have come back sooner, but... well, I wasn't sure if I would be welcome," he told her honestly.

"Of course you're welcome," she told him, gesturing that he should take the seat beside her bed. "Apparently we're married so..."

The sentence trailed off as she blushed a pretty pink shade. Robert tried not to smirk at the way she suddenly looked so coy and shy. Belle could be that way, he had seen it, but for the most part she was the strong confident type, and he loved her for both those sides of her character, and so much more besides. She believed he was her husband, because that was what the hospital believed. To tell her anything else right now would just lead to further confusion and require Robert to explain things that he knew he couldn't right now. Better to let her believe the truth of their marriage for now at least.

"I'm so happy to see you smile, Belle," he told her, considering reaching for her hand, but changing his mind quickly, not wishing to make her any more uncomfortable than was necessary. "There was a time when I feared I should never see such an expression from you again."

She looked upon him with an expression of fondness that Robert could not quite decipher. Belle did not know him, and though she was being told they were in love, she could not feel any evidence of it in her heart, he was sure. Still the softness of her eyes and smile were so warm and hopeful, he just wanted to bask in their glow forever.

"I dreamt about you," she admitted then, ducking her face behind her hair the moment the words were spoken. "I, er... I don't remember every detail now, but you were there with me, and we were... we were dancing, I think," she tried hard to recall. "Was it a dream or a memory?" she checked then.

Robert smiled widely.

"I took you to a ball," he told her, his voice too soft to his own ears, but in this moment he couldn't have cared for anything in the world. "Several months ago now, but you were radiant, Belle, and I was the proudest man at the event to have you in my arms."

She smiled too at the pretty words. He seemed so kind and sweet. It was clear enough to Belle that her husband loved her. She just felt so foolish not being able to feel the same, because she simply remembered nothing about him, except perhaps a brief moment of dancing at a ball some months ago.

"I feel so bad," he shook her head then. "It's frightening enough to have forgotten everything about myself, my life, but to forget you?" she said sadly. "Why would my mind blank you out? Of all things and people that I might want to repress, I can't understand why I would ever want to forget you."

Robert felt nauseous, even as her hand landed on his own and squeezed. She thought him so wonderful, her doting husband. Even that was a lie, as much of their courtship had been. It wasn't all his fault but he certainly wasn't as perfect and wonderful as Belle would believe. He ought to tell her, and yet everything that came to mind to explain himself, to explain everything, it just felt wrong. The doctor warned him not to give away too much, to allow Belle to try and remember for herself. Besides, so much of what they knew of each other before had been fabricated, especially details he thought he knew of her life. Belinda French was mostly a mystery to him, not a person he could wax lyrical on if he even wanted to. Isabelle Hart was another story. He knew so much of her, but how much of that connected back to Belle's true identity was anyone's guess.

"Robert?" she prompted him to speak when he had been quiet too long, just staring into space. "Is something wrong? Apart from the obvious," she added with a wry smile, since of course she knew her memory loss was a problem in and of itself.

"I was only thinking, dearie," he sighed, trying to find a smile for her but failing badly. "The way you describe the man I must be... I am no saint, Belle. Far from it," he told her.

"But you are my husband," she repeated what she was sure to be true, wondering at the way he seemed to wince at those words. "I do love you, don't I?"

"You did," he admitted, nodding his head. "Oh, Belle, you have no idea how I wish I could remind you of what we were to each other," he said desperately, gripping her hands inside of his own.

She was just as beautiful and special as she ever had been. If she had woken in the same state as before, everything would have been fine, he would've made sure of it. As it was, with her memory gone, he had to wonder if they would ever get a semblance of a happy ending. Right now, he would just settle for Belle knowing who he was and looking upon him with her genuine kindness, the like of which he had hardly ever known before.

"The doctor said anything might trigger a memory," she told him, "and yet he insists I shouldn't be told anything of my past or my life because I have to recall it for myself."

"I will help you, Belle," her so-called husband swore to her, kissing one of the hands he held. "In any way I can. We shall overcome this together."

She was so touched by his words and actions both. He held her hands so tight but at the same time with such a gentleness. He truly loved her, of that much Belle was sure. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that Robert Gold was her ever-loving husband, and even if she never got her memories back, she was fully willing to give her all to this marriage, to find a way to fall in love with him all over again. She did not think for a moment it would be difficult to do.

The truth was, when she first saw the man they called her husband, she was a little surprised. He was several years older than her, she could tell, and his eyes were dark and troubled. He had led a life with many trials, she was certain, though Belle could never explain how she knew. Meeting his gaze, she swore she could see deep down into his heart and soul. It was warm and inviting in those dark eyes of his, and Belle could happily sink into that place and live there forever. A part of her felt that she had quite fallen in love with him on sight, however foolish that may seem. Perhaps it was not so very strange, that on instinct alone she should know him, love him in some way. Her memories were gone, but feelings were so much stronger than mere thought sometimes. The heart could overrule the mind so easily, however dangerous that could be.

"Perhaps it's like a fairytale," she said, releasing one of her hands from his grasp and moving to push his hair back from his forehead. "Perhaps true love's kiss can break the curse?"

"Belle..." he said too softly, all other words abandoning him at her soft touch.

"What harm can it do?" she asked, albeit shyly. "You're my husband. You have every right to kiss me, and... and I want you to, please?"

It was such a strange request, to beg a simple kiss of the man that ought to want nothing more than to please her. Gold hated knowing that their marriage was a lie, that he was getting the chance to be this close to her on the strength of an untruth. Yet, he could deny her nothing, or himself the chance to sate the yearning stirring inside.

Robert moved from the chair to the edge of the bed, his face so close to Belle's by now that he could feel her soft breath against his lips. She was shaking, perhaps as much with anticipation as nerves, and honestly, he wouldn't be surprised to realise he was doing the same. It was so strange. He loved her so much and she said before she felt the same. They had shared kisses before now, and in his dreams, so very much more.

Belle took a breath, let her tongue run over her lips and waited for the moment that she ached to arrive. Just when she thought the anticipation of this kiss was going to be the death of her, she felt the soft touch of Robert's lips against her own. Her eyes fell shut at the contact as she savoured the moment.

Robert had intended only one brief sweet moment before he pulled away, however much he was tempted to press his luck. The moment that he tried to move, Belle's arms wrapped around his neck and back, keeping him close. When she tried to deepen their kiss, there was no will in him to deny her. He gave into the moment for as long as it lasted, not understanding her passion, but desperate to take whatever was given to him, for it may be all he ever had of her love. It was only when he tasted the salt of her tears that he knew the truth.

When they parted for air a moment later, arms still around each other, faces so close each other's expression was but a blur, he already knew what had happened. Her sparkling eyes came into focus, a bright smile confirming what he hardly dare let himself believe. She had been right. As crazy as it sounded, they really had just broken a curse with the magic of their love.

"Belle?"

"Yes," she answered with a gasp of laughter that couldn't be helped. "I remember."

She moved in to kiss him again, and he was happy to let her. Roberts' tears mixed with Belle's own as they fell into each other's arms, all desperate kisses and loving promises.

"Robert, I'm so sorry, I love you."

"I love you, Belle. I'm sorry, my darling."

They spoke over each other, but it didn't matter. By now they both knew how they felt, what they meant to each other. They had to have proved it by now in various ways. Over and over they made their vows, as solemn and true as at any wedding. The irony was lost on them in this moment of love and passion.

"I never thought you'd forgive me," she said eventually, as they parted at last, both gasping for air.

"Belle, my dearest one, how could I not?" he asked her, his hand at her cheek, in her hair as he kept her as close as possible, their foreheads touching still. "For all that there were lies in the beginning, you... your heart was true. I should've known that."

"I wanted to tell you," she told him, crying hard by now. "So many times I thought if I just told you about Regina and what she was trying to make me do, I... I would have, but I was afraid. She had so much power, she knew where my father was and... and then the team..."

"Doesn't matter now," he promised her, kissing her lips again. "Regina is gone, for good with any luck. I already have men hunting down her cohorts that sent that device to my house, the one that..."

"Don't, Robert," she urged him when his voice broke with emotion.

Belle knew very well now what had happened. All her memories came back in such a tidal wave when he kissed her. She knew all that had occurred, from her childhood through the years she had grifted her way across the country, to these last few months of knowing Robert Gold and falling in love with him. She recalled the moment she had realised the danger he would be in and hurried to his home. The explosion was blurry, but that was when she hit her head, Belle was sure. None of it mattered now, she had saved Robert's life, and he seemed eager to share however long they both had left together.

"Can it be this simple?" she asked then, wondering at the way he could look at her with such love in his eyes after everything. "I can't deserve you. You don't even know the real me!"

"I know enough," he insisted. "I know your heart, Belle. Your good, kind heart, that learnt to love a man who could never deserve such devotion."

They were both crying, laughing, wondering if this was all a dream, because it certainly seemed that way. In the space of ten minutes, they had come to realise they were both still as much in love as ever, and that none of the problems they had faced could come between them anymore. At last they were free to be who they truly were, no fear of what might happen to them, absolutely nothing to stand in their way.

"I want you in my life, Belle," said Robert solemnly. "I can't imagine being without you. Whatever name you had, whatever things you did that you're not proud of, it doesn't matter to me. You saved my life, you brought my son back to me, and above all this you loved me when I thought no-one ever could," he told her. "To me you will always be my Belle, my precious, darling, Belle"

"I love you, Robert," she cried as they fell into another kiss, followed by a tight hug from with neither ever wanted to let go.

It seemed that after everything, maybe they didn't have to worry about letting go anymore. They had found each other, against all odds, and overcome every obstacle put into their path. Belle and Robert were as in love as ever they had been, and in this moment their true love was the only thing in the whole world that mattered.

To Be Continued...