Throwing the Cadillac into his driveway, Rumald pulled to a stop behind his son's car and put his car into park. He relaxed back into his seat, as he turned off the ignition, killing the engine, and plunged the car into darkness. After a second, the interior light illuminated above Rumald's head, while he lulled his head back against the headrest of his seat. Tired was an understatement. He had been in New York since Thursday morning, and had done a late night with Jefferson, helping him to organise the upstairs space, to be the dressing and viewing area. Why they had chosen, to move the large furniture around after the help had gone, Rumald had no clue. The 'it'll only take five minutes' promise, from Jefferson, had become an hour and a half of lugging things around and holding things up, while Jefferson secured them into place. To then, be back at the new shop for seven o'clock, helping to get the stock out on display and get things ready for the grand opening. All Rumald wanted to do, was sleep. Instead, he had travelled back to Storybrooke, wanting to surprise Belle, whisking her away to join him for the opening in New York.

At the time, when Rumald had conjured up his little plan, he had never imagined, he would have been so tired. He angled his head to see his house, through the front windscreen, picturing his warm, comfortable bed, covers rolled back, patiently waiting for him to crawl into bed. The left side of his mouth curled into a smile, fantasying about dragging Belle into his bed, instead of to New York. Rumald was sure, she would not have minded.

Rumald lifted his head off the headrest, and pulled the key out of the ignition, whilst he pulled at the door handle to open his car door. The cold swarmed into his car, bundling him and the warmth out of his car. Feeling the chill, even in his overcoat, Rumald pushed his car door close and walked to the back to the back of the car, opened the trunk to collect his carryon bag, and traipsed up to the house. As he crossed the front of the house, yawning into the palm of his hand, he could see that Neal had every light on in the house. Rumald shook his head, unable to remember how many times, he had told Neal about leaving all the lights on in the house.

Pushing down the door handle, Rumald walked the door open and closed it, as soon as he was in the house. He dropped his carryon bag by the stairs, while he shook off an arm of his overcoat and then the other, and hung his coat up on the peg. The smell of the food enticed him to look towards the kitchen. As he worked the knot of his tie down from his neck, loosening his tie, Rumald wandered to the archway to the kitchen, finding Neal and Emma sat at the breakfast table, on the furthest side of the room. They looked to be having dinner, with plates in front of the both of them, an open bottle of wine, two large bowls and a plate of bread on the table. Rumald pulled his tie from his shirt collar and undid the button of his collar, as the pair spared a moment and looked across the room to Rumald.

"Hey dad." Neal greeted, while Emma looked sheepish.

"Evening." Rumald said to them, eyeing their dinner, while he continued to unbutton his shirt.

Neal pointed his fork at his father. "I thought you said, you were going to be in New York for Jefferson's opening."

"I will be," Rumald stopped unbuttoning his shirt at the top of his waistcoat. "But I came back to surprise Belle and take her back to New York with me." Pointing his finger at them, he asked. "What's this all about?"

"Emma's parents were able to babysit Henry, so I said I would cook." Neal proclaimed, smiling from ear to ear, as he touched Emma's hand resting on the table.

Emma returned Neal's smile. "Gives us a chance to talk."

"I bet." Rumald said with his eye on Emma.

Slowly, Emma turned her attention to Rumald, as Neal said. "There's plenty of food, dad, if you want some before you go out?"

"No, no. Thank you, son. I ate at the airport." Rumald waved off his son's offer. "I'm going to go up and change.

Neatly folding his tie in his hands, Rumald lingered briefly, observing his son and Emma, whilst they returned to their previous conversation. He vaguely remembered seeing them together, when they were younger. They had been part of the same group – Neal, Regina, Emma, Ruby and various other kids from Storybrooke. But they had been the main culprits of their group, always up to mischief.

Bowing his head, to look at his tie in his hands, Rumald started towards the stairs in the foyer, hearing their happy chatter behind him. He began to unbutton his waistcoat, as he stepped onto the first step of the stairs, his thoughts preoccupied with Neal, knowing exactly what Emma had meant by 'chance to chat'. On the small landing, Rumald stopped, peering back down the stairs, to look in the direction of the kitchen. His son had a right to know, even if it was going to turn his son's world upside down. The news could not come from his father though. Rumald knew, if Neal and Emma stood a chance of being together, the truth had to come from her and no one else.

He pursed his lips into a tight line, and then set up the next set of stairs, heading straight to his bedroom, when he had climbed them. Once inside his room, Rumald stripped off his clothes, laying his suit onto the back of the armchair, in the corner of his room, and threw his shirt and other clothes into the hamper. Putting his thoughts of Neal to one side, he concentrated on his main reason, for coming back to Storybrooke, and went into the bathroom to turn on the shower. While he waited, Rumald studied his beard in the mirror, stroking his fingers down the right side of his face. He toyed with the idea of shaving it off, but instead, due to time constraints, quickly trimmed it with a pair of scissors, and jumped into the shower afterwards.

Rumald fastened the button below his shirt collar, leaving his shirt collar undone, and tucked the tails of his shirt into his jeans. Whilst he crossed to sit on his side of the bed, he slid his belt through the belt buckled and snuggly fixed it into the position. Sat on the bed, he glanced at his bedside table clock, while he bent over to pick up one of his shoes. The clock read twenty to seven, meaning Belle's session with Regina was nearly over. If he timed it right, he could be there to meet her, as she came out of the dance studio. Smirking at his plan, Rumald put on his other shoe and stood up from the bed, and went to the chest of draws, to collect his phone, money clip and wallet.

As he came out of his bedroom, Rumald could hear the music they playing downstairs, and frowned at what they were playing, trying to remember the name of the song. He tugged at the ends of his cuffs, while he descended the stairs, snooping over the banister to the foyer below. Self-conscious, he smoothed his hands down the front of his shirt, already missing the familiar protection of his three-piece suit. At the bottom of the final staircase, Rumald dropped his hands down from his chest, and secretly fought with the urge, to go back upstairs and change. He reached his arm out, collecting his overcoat from its peg, seeing his son and Emma in the kitchen, sharing the chore of cleaning the kitchen and their dishes, both smiling and laughing together. Rumald openly watched them, as he slipped his arms into his overcoat and shrugged himself into the warmth of his coat.

"Neal, I'm going." Rumald called through, straightening his overcoat.

"Oh, okay." Neal leaned over the kitchen island, to see his father in the foyer.

Pointing a finger to the ceiling, as he turned to leave, Rumald reminded his son. "Turn the lights off, son. It's like Blackpool illuminations."

"Blackpool illuminations?" Rumald heard Emma questioned in the kitchen.

"Don't worry about it." Neal said to Emma, while Rumald opened the front door and left.

Closing the flaps of his overcoat, Rumald quickly jogged down the steps of the front porch, across the front lawn, and jumped into his car, checking the time on his wrist. He grimaced at the time, with the hour hand edging closer to the seven. The Cadillac roared to life on the first turn of the engine, and eagerly jumped into gear, allowing Rumald to quickly reverse out of the drive. He shifted the gear lever into drive before accelerating, hastily, away from his house.

The Cadillac lurched to a stop in the parking space, Rumald had driven the car into, before he turned off the engine, exiting the car at the same time. Warding the cold away, by closing the flaps of his overcoat, Rumald dashed from the Cadillac to the front door of the dance studio, and yanked open the door, seeking refuge in the warmth. Regina and Mal were sat on the small couch, positioned near the door, going over some papers, scattered over the floor at their feet. They both raised their gaze to him, while he angled his head to look at the studios above, looking for any other signs of life.

"Belle here?" He asked them, sweeping his gaze over the downstairs studios.

Mal gestured to the door, wafting a piece of paper in her hand. "She left a few minutes ago with Ruby."

"Thank you." Rumald said absently to her, and turned to push the door open, but stopped.

It struck him as odd, that Regina had not said anything to him. Pivoting back to face them, he lowered his gaze to Regina, to see her holding her forehead in her hand, her elbow perched on her knee, holding up her head. She had a piece of paper laid in her lap, which she seemed to be staring at, as Rumald looked at her. Taking a step closer, Rumald scrutinised her further, glimpsing briefly to Mal, who wore a similar look to Regina.

"What's wrong?" Rumald asked, getting straight to the point.

Regina lifted her head from the cradle of her hand, and raised her eyes to meet his gaze. "Nothing. It's not your problem."

"Not my problem?" He repeated coming closer. "That just serves to intrigue me. What's going on?"

"I've got a venue problem." Regina told him, whilst picking up the piece of paper on her lap and flapping it in the air.

"Like what?" Rumald held his hand out to her.

She stood, offering the piece of paper to him, as she said. "I had booked the town hall, paid deposit and had arrangements in place, for lighting and using some rooms as changing rooms." Rumald took the piece of paper and started to read, as Regina continued. "The mayor rung me this morning, to tell me, there had been a clerical mistake and he's got to cancel our booking. I've sold enough tickets to fill the hall. The country club is fully booked." While she went through her list, Regina waved her hands. "The theatre has a play on. The school won't let me use their hall or the gym."

"So, you're running out of options?" Rumald surmised, running down list of venues she had given him, majority of them were crossed out.

"I'll have to cancel." Regina grabbed at her hair, exasperated by the situation.

Holding his hand up to her, Rumald turned his attention to Regina. "Let's not get jumping to conclusions." He folded the piece of paper up and slid it into his pocket. "Go home. Have a large stiff drink and try to relax. I'll call you tomorrow."

"That's easy for you to say." Regina dropped her hand down from her head.

Trying his best to reassure her, he smiled and took a hold of her by her upper arms. "Regina, go home and relax. Give me the night to look into it."

"Okay." She told him before stepping into him, forcing him to embrace her. "Thank you, Rumald."

"Don't hold your breath, dearie." Rumald advised her.

"I just appreciate you offering to help." Regina shared with him, as she leaned back from him and out of his embrace. "It's not like I can go to my mother."

"Don't do that, whatever you do." He insisted, pointing his finger at her.

Mal said, whilst she was picking up some of the papers from the floor. "I've been trying to tell her, that we'll sort something out."

Rumald touched his hand to Regina's face, encouraging her to meet his gaze. "We'll sort this, I promise."

"Okay." Regina let a glimmer of a smile, grace her lips, for a couple of seconds, and then motioned to the door. "I think I heard Ruby saying something about the Rabbit Hole."

"Thank you." He told her, showing her a smile.

Bidding them both a goodnight, Rumald scooted out of the door, and hurried away from the dance studio to the Rabbit Hole. He delved his hands into the pockets of his overcoat, feeling the cold nip at his hands, and held the flaps of his overcoat closed with his hands in his pockets. The evenings were certainly getting colder. Glancing up to the night sky, Rumald could see it was clear night, with the stars twinkling brightly overhead.

The bouncer stood on the door, was wrapped up against the elements, giving everyone who passed him, to enter the bar, a hateful look. Rumald did not envy him, as he ducked through the door, closely following behind a couple, who both glanced round with a look of fright on their faces. His smirk at their reaction, was not something Rumald could control, nor did he want to. It never got old, to see the fear, his presence or his name could invoke in people. They hastily whispered to one another, and hurried deep into the bar, once they were through the door, needing to get as far as they could from Rumald. The door closed behind Rumald, while he watched the couple flee in fear, disappearing into the busy crowd of the bar.

After losing the couple in the crowd, Rumald gazed round the rest of the bar, whilst he moved away from the door and towards the bar. Just like the other occasions, Rumald had visited the loathsome bar, the bar was heaving with people. Parting his overcoat, to slid his hand into the pocket of his jeans, he was bemused as to why any of them would frequent the bar so often. Sure, it had its charm when it first opened, over twenty years ago, but much of the décor was from when it originally opened. The owner, Keith Nottingham, sucked all of the profit out of the place, pocketing the majority of it for himself. The idea of reinvesting in his own bar was a joke to Keith. But, Rumald could not complain, the man paid the rent on time and never quibbled. Probably one of the few, who did not give Rumald problems and had learnt a long time ago, to stay on the good side of Rumald.

Taking out his money clip from his pocket, his gaze wandered the faces in the bar, hoping to spot Belle before she saw him. Rumald pulled a ten-dollar bill from the clip, and returned it to his pocket, while he waited behind a few people at the bar. They were chatting happily in front of him, waiting for the bartender, to bring them their order. Rumald clasped his hands together, in front of him, and rocked slightly on the balls of his feet. One of the group noticed Rumald, evident from their eyes widening and the insistent tug at his other friend's arm.

"Guys, it's Mr Gold." They urgently told their friends, who were now crooking their necks to see, who had startled their friend.

The girl of the three, grabbed her drink and moved aside, dragging her friend, who had originally noticed Rumald, with her. The remaining friend swallowed nervously, edging along the bar, giving Rumald space at the bar. Rumald squinted his gaze at them, turning his attention to each of them, whilst he claimed the space at the bar, they had relinquished to him. Angling his head to see the remaining friend beside him, Rumald placed his hands onto the edge of the bar, and showed the nervous guy, beside him, a sly smile. The nervous guy quickly threw his gaze to the other side of the bar, avoiding Rumald, while the bartender came over to where they stood and placed a glass of beer on the bar, in front of the guy beside Rumald. A quick glance at Rumald, and the guy quickly collected his pint and left. His friends speedily followed him, leaving Rumald at the bar, further amused by people's reaction to him.

"What can I get you, Mr Gold?" The bartender asked.

Rumald held his money out to the bartender, telling him his order. "Bottle of Budweiser."

The bartender took the money, as he asked. "No whiskey?"

"Not that piss water you call whiskey, no." Rumald dismissed the bartender with his hand.

The bartender's brow scrunched up at Rumald, and then his gaze went to the ten-dollar bill in his hand, that he had taken from Rumald. He shrugged his shoulders before he walked away, to collect Rumald's bottle of Budweiser and returned with the bottle and Rumald's change. Taking both from the bartender, Rumald left a tip for the bartender on the bar, and swigged from his beer, as he wandered away from the bar.

Strolling through the occupied tables, Rumald kept an eye out for Belle, heading to a less populated area of the bar, where he had seen an empty booth. When he reached the booth, he spared a moment to glance back over the bar, where he had come from, before he sat down into the booth, taking one of the bench seats. Rumald slipped his hand into his left pocket of his jeans, bringing out his phone to unlock it. With his thumb, he selected his messages, while sipping from his beer, for his messages with Belle to load onto the screen. Their last messages had been while he had been grabbing a quick bite to eat at the airport. A white lie of 'I'll message you, once we're done with dinner', making Belle think, he had gone out for dinner with Jefferson and Grace.

He placed his beer onto the table, and typed out a message to Belle, to send to her. 'I hope you're evening is going better than mine.'

Laying his phone onto the edge of the table, Rumald lifted his gaze, casting his view out over the faces. There were not many places, Belle could have been, but evidently, she was hidden well enough from his view. The urge to find her was starting to win out, over wanting to surprise her.

His phone buzzed and beeped on the table. Picking it up, he swiped the screen to read the message. 'Are you not with Jefferson and his daughter?'.

'No, I left them some time ago. I'm just sitting here on my own in this bar.' He replied, typing his message out with both of his thumbs.

Her reply was nearly instant. 'Well, I'm sat here listening to the girls' moan about their partners.'

Raising a curious eyebrow, Rumald typed back to her. 'Have you had much to moan about?'

'Only that you're not here and you're in New York.' Belle sent back to him, ending her message with a sad emoji face.

'It won't be for long, sweetheart.' He smiled, as he sent back his quick reply.

She instantly replied. 'Sunday is a long time away.'

Rumald glanced up from his phone, a broad smile on his face, but sat up straighter, when his gaze happened upon Ruby and another woman stood at the bar together. The two looked very cosy, with Ruby's arm draped over the other woman's shoulders, whispering into her ear. There was nothing wrong with what he saw, two people who looked to be very interested in one another, or dare he think, infatuated. However, seeing Ruby with the other woman, did make Rumald pause a moment, as he had only ever seen Ruby with men in the past.

Tearing his gaze away from Ruby and her friend, Rumald sent a reply back to Belle. 'It'll fly by, assure you.'

'It better. I had been hoping to spend the weekend with you. But I understand work comes first.' Her reply touched him, swelling his heart.

'Not at all, sweetheart. You are my sole priority.' He typed out slowly, using his right thumb, while he drank from his bottle of beer.

Rumald was returning his bottle to the table, when she replied. 'I love the sentiment, but I understand. I'm used to it.'

After reading her reply, Rumald huffed out a deep breath, while he considered finding Maurice, so he could finish what he had started on Tuesday night. Without thinking about it, his gaze drifted back to where he had seen Ruby and her friend, and smiled broadly at seeing Belle stood beside the other woman, her phone held in her hand, as she leant against the bar, talking to Ruby and the other woman. The three of them were smiling at each other, blissfully unaware of his prying eyes.

Belle was wearing a blue dress, similar to the one she had worn the night she had come over to his house, wanting to apologise for Gaston hitting him. He was thankful that no one was stood next to Belle, blocking the view of her lovely legs. His tongue dipped out of his mouth, licking at his top lip, anticipating she was wearing her high heels. An unsatisfied groan escaped him. He hungered for her in so many ways – to touch, to taste, to feel, to be closer to her, to talk to her. Rumald wanted all of that and more. Though, the sensation did scare him, because he had never wanted a woman as much as he wanted her.

He dropped his gaze to his phone, though peeped up from time to time, checking Belle was still stood with Ruby and her friend. 'I wouldn't be so sure, if I was you.'

Watching her, Belle physically jolted, when her phone vibrated in her hand, and smiled as she read his message. She leaned her elbows onto the bar, typing out her message with both her thumbs. His phone beeped and vibrated in his left hand.

'Well, I guess I'll see then.' She put a smiley emoji and carried on with her message. 'What are you going to do with your evening? Sit in the bar all night?'

'Depends…' He sent back to her, quickly looking over to see a confused look on her face.

'Depends…?' Belle sent back to him, and laid her phone on the bar, so she could retrieve her drink from the collection of drinks, the bartender had delivered to Ruby.

Rumald flexed his shoulders and typed. 'I've been watching this beautiful woman at the bar.'

She was saying something to Ruby and the woman, who both were smiling and looking at Belle's phone, as Belle picked it up off the bar to read his message, while also taking a sip from her drink. At reading his message, Belle spat out her drink, spraying the counter of the bar. Rumald smirked. The woman, beside Belle, was on hand to pat Belle on the back, holding onto Belle's arm to steady her. Ruby was scowling at Belle. Lifting his drink to his lips, he drank from it, while watching Belle pass her phone to Ruby. The bartender came over to them, offering paper towels, whilst he moped up the mess on the counter with the wad of paper towels in his hand. Belle waved off the woman, who was supporting her, and looked to be profusely apologising to the bartender. Swallowing his drink, Rumald squinted his gaze at Ruby, whilst Ruby furiously motioned to Belle's phone, telling her something, as she gave it back to Belle. There was a confident nod of her head, and Belle typed out her reply.

His phone beeped and vibrated seconds later. 'I've just been telling you, how I'd rather be with you right now. And you're looking at another woman?'

'Technically, I'm eyeing three women, but the one with brown hair, beautiful blue eyes, wearing a blue sequin dress, and an accent you soon wouldn't forget, has definitely caught my eye.' He sent his reply, laid his phone on the table, and casted his gaze over to where they were huddled at the bar, looking at Belle's phone.

Ruby was the first to look away from Belle's phone, while the other two studied his message. Angling herself, to see pass the woman, stood between Ruby and Belle, Ruby looked at Belle with a frown on her face. The unknown woman and Belle, both looked at each other before Belle pointed her finger in turn to each of them, and then motioned to her dress. Ruby had already gotten to this reasoning and was scouring the bar with her gaze. Though Belle looked confused, she was grinning, from ear to ear, whilst she hunched over her phone, typing back to him.

A second later, his phone beeped and vibrated on the table. 'OMG, are you here?'

'Would it make your night, if I was there?' Rumald replied to her, aware Ruby's gaze was closing in on him.

As she answered his message, there was a solemn look on her face. 'It would be the highlight of my week.'

Rumald got up from the bench seat, collected his beer, pocketed his phone, and sauntered through crowded tables, to join her at the bar. At about the halfway point, Ruby spotted him and rapidly tapped at Belle shoulder, directing Belle to look where she had seen Rumald. Belle's gaze darted everywhere, but at him at first, blinded to the obvious. Her eyes finally stopped on him and she smiled. Not her usual smile, not even the full blown smile that made Rumald weak at his knees. No, this smile was one, Rumald had never seen before. One, he suspected, was kept in reserve for special occasions.

"I can't believe, you're here!" Belle gushed at him, whilst she darted to greet him, slamming herself into his chest, and threw her arms around his neck.

Rumald smiled at her reaction, and encircled his arms around her, telling her. "I wanted to surprise you."

Her hand touched the back of his head, combing her fingers through his hair, as she said. "You certainly did."

"I especially love it, when you spat your drink everywhere." Rumald teased.

Belle leant back from him, and smack her hand against his chest. "That wasn't funny!"

"It was, from where I was sitting." He informed her, hooking his thumb to where he had come from.

The glare she gave him, made Rumald chuckle, while she told him about it. "I was mortified! Jake came over with all these paper towels. Everyone was looking at me!"

Brushing the backs of his fingers against her cheek, he said to her. "You're so beautiful."

"Don't try and charm your way out this." Belle warned him, pointing her finger in his face.

"Oh, I don't need to charm you, sweetheart." He wrapped his right arm back around her, holding her securely in his embrace. "Not with what I have planned for you this weekend."

"Planned?" She asked.

Rumald licked his lips, squinting his gaze at her, before he revealed his plan to her. "How about being my date to Jefferson's grand opening?"

"In New York?" Belle looked shocked.

His eyebrow lifted at her. "Is he holding one somewhere else?"

"No, I…" She laughed nervously. "I just… It didn't occur to me, that you would want me there, as its business."

"Belle, I want you with me, every minute of every day." Rumald shared with her.

Her expression softened at his omission, and smiled at him, as her hands moved to cup his face. "I love you."

Encouraging his face closer, with her hands holding his face, Rumald titled his head to the side and let her kiss him. He was aware that the nearby chatter had stopped. They probably had an audience of eyes, staring at them, alarmed that Belle French was kissing the notorious Mr Gold. Rumald could not care. He lavished the attention, Belle was giving him, and returned her kiss.

She caressed her thumb across his cheek, as Belle broke their kiss and said to him. "Come on, let's go join the girls."

"Whatever you want." He gestured for her to lead the way.

Grinning at him, Belle took possession of his right hand and towed him by the bar, taking him to where the girls had claimed their table for the night. While they strolled through the bar, hand in hand, Rumald saw all the eyes on them, the questioning looks, with the curious whispers hushed by under the din of the music. He met some of their gazes, forcing them to look away. Belle seemed to be oblivious to the looks they were getting. He was thankful for this, but loathed the fact, that she was getting this undue attention because of him.

Belle looked back at him, still smiling, and tugged him to quicken his step, bringing him side by side with her, as they approached the girls. The group were deep in conversation, unaware of their approach, but Rumald could hear bits of their conversation as they got nearer.

Ariel held her drink up, ready to take a drink from it, while she said. "He doesn't seem too bad. Gave me a nice tip the other day."

"Small gestures of kindness, do not make up for the other things that man has done." Abigail proclaimed to them, tapping her finger on the table.

"Does it matter, how he treats everyone else? As long as he's good to her?" The unknown woman asked the group.

"Apart from the rent being late, I've never had a problem with him." Ruby stated and then added. "And I've never seen Belle happier. So, what does it matter?"

Before announcing their arrival, Belle sheepishly glanced at Rumald, a hint of redness in her cheeks from embarrassment. "Hey girls."

There was a unanimous chorus of "Hey."

They all shared a guilty look with the other occupants of their table. Rumald stood beside Belle, holding onto her hand, while he eyed each of them. What they thought about him, or anyone else for that matter, was of no consequence to him. Their approval was not needed. However, they were friends with Belle, which meant, Rumald had to be on his best behaviour with them.

Ruby waved her hand at Ariel and Abigail. "Move up. Make some room for them."

Ariel happily shifted herself closer to the wall, moving her handbag to sit on the floor, by her feet, while Abigail gave Ruby a look across the table. Gesturing with her hand, Ruby encouraged Abigail to move, as she and woman beside did the same, scooting closer to the wall, making enough space for one person to sit on the end of the bench. Reluctantly, Abigail huffed and bounced herself closer to Ariel, mimicking Ariel, by putting her bag down by her feet. Belle sat down in the space Abigail had made, as Ruby moved a drink from her side of the table, to sit in front of Belle.

"I bought your drink back to the table." Ruby explained, slinging her arm around the woman beside her.

"Oh, thank you." Belle claimed her drink, sliding it closer. "I totally forgot about it."

Rumald remained standing, holding his bottle of beer, feeling uncertain about joining Belle and her friends. Social gatherings had never really been Rumald's strong suit. Because of his father's reputation and his own stigmata, he had not been invited to many parties and such, or socialised much outside of a dance studio. Most of the women, he had dated when he was younger, he had met through his local dance studio. It was how he had met Milah, her class had been using the studio before Rumald and his dance partner at the time had a practise session. Her confidence had captured his attention, though her technique was lacking. After a few weeks of bumping into one another, after her dance class, Rumald had asked her out for a drink and things had snowballed from there. She had been the one, to introduce him to aspect of going out and socialising, even though, it had never really been of interest to Rumald. Socialising had only become useful to Rumald, when he had been wooing clients and prospective buyers.

"You can sit next to Dorothy, Mr Gold." Ruby indicated the spot next to woman beside Ruby. "She doesn't bite… Much."

"Ruby!" Dorothy playfully slapped Ruby's thigh.

Rumald gave Dorothy a weary smile, as he sat down next to her and placed his bottle on the table, saying. "Just as long as your bark, is not as bad as Ruby's, we'll be fine."

Dorothy smirked at Ruby. "No, it's not as bad as hers."

"I don't know what you mean." Ruby feigned her innocence, but the smirk on her face gave her away.

"Your mouth only serves to get you into trouble with Grannie." Belle commented after taking a sip from her drink.

Rumald smiled, reminded of the times he had heard Grannie and Ruby in the kitchen, arguing with a diner full of customers. The pair were like water and oil, but God help anyone, who upset either one of them. As fiercely as they fought with one another, they would be formidable against anyone, who stood against them.

"I can't help it, if I'm right and she's wrong." Ruby defended herself, airily waving her hand as she spoke.

Abigail picked up her drink, and with her hand holding her drink, pointed her finger at Ruby. "I think Grannie wins more than you do."

"I wouldn't want to cross her." Ariel said, playing with the straw in her drink.

"Grannie's a softie really." Belle remarked. "Once you get to know her."

Ruby pointed her finger at Belle. "She's a softie with you."

"Belle does have that effect on people." Rumald injected into their conversation.

"Evidently." Abigail rolled her eyes, whilst she sipped from her glass of wine.

"Oooh." Belle reached across the table and touched Rumald's hand. "I love this song!"

Looking across the table to Belle, Rumald watched Belle begin to rock her shoulders, from side to side, in time with the music. He casted his gaze over to the dancefloor, and then looked back to Belle, as she bobbed her head to the beat of the song. A quick swig of his beer, and Rumald stood, taking off his overcoat. Before folding his coat to put on his seat, he took his keys out and put them in his pocket, not wanting to lose those in the Rabbit Hole. Not when there were skeleton keys to Storybrooke on his keychain.

He offered his hand to Belle, asking her. "Care to dance?"

"Love to!" Belle had taken his hand and bounced to her feet, before she had accepted his offered.

Even though, Rumald had invited Belle to dance, she was the one, leading the way to the dancefloor. She was so eager to get to the dancefloor, Rumald tripped over his own feet, trying to keep up with her. Steadying himself by grabbing her upper arm, he chuckled at her excitement.

At the dancefloor, Belle whipped round and grabbed Rumald's other hand, bringing him closer to her, while grinning at him like a fool. Slightly shaking his head at her, he used their joined hands to tug her to him, bumping her into his chest, whilst he wrapped his arms around her, cupping her behind. They moved together, swaying their hips in time with the music, as Belle lazily latched her arms around Rumald's neck. He loved dancing with Belle. Dancing with her, as always, was effortless. Their bodies were in sync, grinding and swinging as one.

The more they danced, the more aroused Rumald became, and he was sure, Belle was as well, with her grinding herself onto his thigh. Cradling her in his arms, he dipped his face into the crook of her neck, smelling that distinct fragrance of her mixed with her perfume, and lightly kissed at the soft skin of her neck. Her hands clutched at the back of his head, keeping him there, while she lifted her chin to give him more access to her neck. He accepted her invitation by placing a wet kiss on the same spot, and then gently nipped at her neck. A hiss escaped her lips. Her nails dug into the nape of his neck and the back of his head. Suckling the same spot for a second, Rumald repeated his actions, tenderly marking her skin with his teeth. Belle lulled her head against his, moaning her pleasure into his ear.

"Get off of her!" A voice roared at him.

As a strong force snatched Rumald away from Belle, Rumald heard the sound of something ripping, whilst he was yanked further away from Belle. She tried to grab a hold of him. Her arms outstretched, a look of horror on her face. It was the strange. The moment seemed to slow down, as Belle scurried after him, trying to catch him. He could tell from her lips, she was calling his name, but… whoever it was, hauled Rumald further away. Staggered by what was occurring, Rumald had no choice, but to go with what was happening, watching helplessly as Belle struggled to get to him. Her fingertips touched the top of his right hand, drawing all of his attention, while the secret assailant slung Rumald backwards.

Tripping over his own feet, Rumald grabbed for a table and gained his balance. Extra material of his shirt, was loosely hanging down his right arm, exposing his shoulder and the top of his right arm. He quickly scanned his gaze over his arm, his shirt, and then over his hands, before eh whipped round to see who it was.

"Gaston, don't!" Belle cried, grabbing onto Gaston's arm.

"Get off me!" Gaston tried to shrug Belle off of his arm.

Belle fought with Gaston, grabbing at his shirt, his shoulder, struggling to get a hold of her hunky ex-fiancé. Easily, Gaston pushed her away, thwarting her attempts to stop him. She crawled at him, fighting to get a hold of him. The annoyance, of Belle's actions, must have gotten to Gaston, because he swatted her away like an annoying nat. She was knocked back into some bystanders, ogling the scene from a safe distance. Mustering herself together, Belle had a stern look on her face, ready to release her wrath on her ex.

Rumald waved his hand at her, motioning her away. "Stay out of this, Belle!"

All the rage, she had gathered, melted at his command, standing lost, while Gaston trudged his way, fists clenched, to Rumald. Shifting his attention, from Belle to Gaston, welcoming him with a sly smile.

Gaston raised his hand up to point at Rumald. "I'm going to rip that smile off your face."

"Promises, promises." Rumald returned, as Gaston recoiled his fist and took a swing at Rumald.

Timing it just right, Rumald bent his head to the side, missing Gaston's fist by millimetres. Snatching back his first, Gaston swung again. Rumald sidestepped the fist, returning the gesture with one of his own, punching Gaston directly in the face. Covering his face, where Rumald had hit him, Gaston stepped back, shocked the older man had managed to hit him.

Grinning at Gaston, Rumald taunted him. "I'm still smiling, dearie."

"You won't be in a minute." Gaston told him.

Rumald ducked under Gaston's next swing, stepping round his opponent to be behind him. Turning round, Gaston's brow weighed heavily down on his eyes, darkening his eyes. With a single finger, Rumald urged Gaston to come at him again, enjoying the little tussle with the buffoon. The hatred in Gaston's eyes, excited Rumald. His whole body tingled with the rush of adrenaline, singing as it coursed through his veins.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Belle commanded.

He turned his head to look at Belle, his heart clenched. Her finger pointed furiously at something, urging him to look somewhere in front of him. Twisting his head to follow her finger, Rumald came face to face with Gaston, who as their gazes met, grabbed Rumald by his ripped shirt, and hauled him up off of his feet. His first reaction was to grab onto Gaston's wrists. Spying down at his feet, when he felt his weight lifted off his feet, Rumald knew he was in trouble now, especially when he looked at Gaston's face, an evil grin was on his face. He fought, kicking his legs, swinging his arms, whilst Gaston walked them somewhere. Changing tact, Rumald beat his forearms down on top of Gaston's, trying to break the hold before Gaston took them, wherever he was heading.

"I'm going to enjoy this!" Gaston claimed and slammed Rumald down onto a table.

The glasses on the table tipped over and rolled off the table. Rumald pulled a face, at the wetness of his shirt and the pain in his lower back, reawakening his injury from the beginning of the week. At the last second, Rumald snatched his head to the side, dodging the punch Gaston threw at him. Kneeing Gaston in his side, Rumald caught Gaston in his ribs, distracting Gaston enough to remove the hand holding him down onto the table. Gaston launched over fist at Rumald, while Rumald threw one of his own, launching himself up from the table, almost meeting Gaston's fist before he landed his own.

"Enough!" Someone yelled at them.

Suddenly, Gaston was ripped away from standing over Rumald, and a pair of hands grabbed Rumald, hauling him off the table. The momentum, of being snatched up onto his feet, made him unsteady. Rumald grabbed his saviour to steady himself, finding it was the young deputy, Deputy Nolan had taken on in the summer. Roughly, the young deputy directed Rumald to walk, holding him by the scuff of his shirt, following after Deputy Graham, who was escorting Gaston out of the bar.

The crowd of faces watched, as the young deputy escorted Rumald to the door, all whispering and pointing their fingers at him. None of them, made him feel more ashamed, than the look on Belle's face as the young deputy led him by her. He opened his mouth to speak to her, reaching his hand out to catch hers, but the young deputy shoved him forward, telling Rumald to move. Awkwardly, Rumald glared over his shoulder at the young man. The young deputy did not shy away, and was unaffected by Rumald's look. Casting his gaze back to Belle, Rumald's heart clenched at the sight of Ruby reassuring her friend, wrapping her arm around her shoulders. That should have been him. He should be the one consoling her. The old feeling of being a failure swamped him, weighing heavily on his shoulders, causing him to drag his feet as he was marched out of the bar.

Outside in the cold air, Rumald became very aware of the tear in his shirt, allowing the cold night air to caress him in a very unwelcome manner. A shiver ran through his whole body. Hugging his arms around himself, trying to keep some warmth, Rumald came to a stop with the young deputy and glanced at the young man beside him.

"Right, Andrew." Deputy Graham called, adjusting the handcuffs he had put on Gaston. "You take Mr Phipps to the office. I'll handle Mr Gold."

"Yes, sir." The young deputy nodded his head and relinquished his hold on Rumald.

Clutching at his arms, Rumald squeezed up his toes inside of his shoes, bracing himself against the cold, as Deputy Graham wandered over to him and the young deputy grabbed Gaston's elbow, escorting the hulk of a man away. Graham braced his hands on his gun belt, parting his jacket, whilst he came to stop in front of Rumald. Over the deputy's shoulder, Rumald caught the glare Gaston shot back at him.

"To say, Mr Gold, I was astonished, when the call came in, about you brawling in the Rabbit Hole, would've been an understatement." Deputy Graham joked.

"It's not exactly, how I planned to spend my night, Deputy Graham." Rumald stated.

Angling himself, to see the young deputy and Gaston, Graham said. "No, I wouldn't think you would." And turned back to Rumald, to say. "Which is why, I'm telling you to go home, Mr Gold."

"Okay, Deputy, I will as soon as I get my coat and…" Rumald was cut off by Graham holding up his hand, telling him. "Mr Gold, it is the policy of the Rabbit Hole, that once you've been thrown out for brawling or any misdemeanour, you cannot renter the premises until following day."

Rumald held up his arms and then waved his hand at the bar behind him. "But Belle's in there!"

Deputy Graham shrugged his shoulders. "I would advise you call her, because Ron won't be letting you back into the bar."

Stepping back, to see the bouncer on the door, Rumald could not believe what he was being told. He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone, with Deputy Graham standing nearby. Glimpsing from his phone to the Deputy, Rumald quickly got the impression, Graham was not going to leave until he had left. A swipe of his thumb and he entered his password, unlocking his phone, so he could call Belle. Rumald raised the phone to his ear and waited. While it rung, Rumald wrapped his arm around himself, hoping to ward off the cold, even though, he could feel it creep its way through the rip in his shirt.

Belle's voicemail kicked in, as it instructed him what to do, Rumald glanced at Graham and left his message. "Hey, Sweetheart, could you bring my coat out for me? They're refusing to allow me back inside."

Rumald ended the call to slip his phone back into his pocket, and shoved his hands under his arms, protecting his hands from being bitten by the cold. Shifting on the spot, he turned to face the door of the bar, waiting for Belle. From behind him, he could hear the leather of Graham's coat as he moved. A second later, out of the corner of his eye, Rumald saw Deputy Graham was stood beside him, checking the time on his watch.

"I won't be causing any more trouble, Deputy." Rumald tried to convince Graham to leave, giving him the opportunity to bride the bouncer.

Graham shoved his hands into his jacket. "I'm not going anywhere, Mr Gold, until you're on your way home. And seeing how cold it is tonight, I'd advise that be rather sooner than later."

"Let me try her again." Rumald pulled his phone out again and immediately rung Belle.

It rung several times until the voicemail kicked in again. Licking at his lips, Rumald ended the call and shoved his phone into his pocket. He could have understood her reluctance to answer, if it had been him, who had started the fight. But instead, ironically, Rumald was the one left out in the cold. Huffing a breath, a glance to Deputy Graham and the bouncer, Rumald reluctantly started towards his car, trudging the sidewalk back to the dance studio. The cold was relentlessly biting at his bare skin as he walked away. He hugged himself and rubbed his exposed arm, encouraging some warmth back into his arm, while he shook his head at himself.

Song: Why Don't We – Fallin' (Adrenaline)