His lips were drawn into a straight line, his annoyance with Sheriff Graham was grating at Rumald. After calling Gladius and Ruby, Rumald had called the Sheriff to report Belle missing, however he had to listen to the Sheriff explain how they could not look for someone until they were missing twenty-four hours. Though, Sheriff Graham had felt he would indulge Rumald, by having his crime scene guy look over the house, while they went to the Sheriff's office for an informal chat. Listening to the younger man explain to Rumald, the probability of Belle being kidnapped was small. More likely, the statistics dictated that Belle had gone off on her own, probably needing time to herself. At this point, Rumald had decided the Sheriff did not know Belle very well at all and wanted to slam the other man's face into his own desk. There were two reasons he had not done this, as yet: one – Rumald would waste time being locked up in the Sheriff's office, two – Belle deserved a better man than the one he used to be. A man who would quite happily take his pain out on others, instead of dealing with it.

Rumald forced a smile at the Sheriff, when the younger man had finally shut up about some study in California, and asked. "So, you just want me to call you tomorrow morning?"

"Like I said, Mr Gold, my hands are tied until the twenty-four hours are up." The Sheriff shrugged his shoulders reminding Rumald of Albert.

"Can I leave now?" Rumald asked standing up from the chair in front of the Sheriff's desk. "Or is there anything else you need from me?"

The Sheriff placed his hands on his hips, slightly parting his leather jacket. "I do have a couple of questions, if you don't mind?"

Staring at the Sheriff, Rumald contemplated whether to grab the name plate off the desk and throw it at the Sheriff. His patience was beginning to wear thin, but letting out a long steady breath, Rumald sat back down into his chair.

"How are things at home?" The Sheriff asked sitting down into his chair behind the desk.

"Things are good." His reply was short, wanting to get through the questions as soon as he could and get out of there.

"Good?" The other man questioned in a sceptical tone. "It's been mentioned a few times around town that you and Belle have been arguing quite a bit."

Rumald squinted his gaze at the Sheriff. "Has it now?"

"So, are you sure that things were good at home? Between you and Belle? It can't be easy for either of you, trying to deal with the fact that you've lost your memory." The Sheriff inquired.

"Things are good." He repeated clenching his fists in his lap, telling himself to behave.

The Sheriff leant back in his chair, making it creak as he went backwards, and poked further at Rumald. "It couldn't have been easy to wake up and find you now had a fiancée, who was pregnant."

Cracking half a smile at the Sheriff, Rumald enjoyed the thought of bludgeoning the Sheriff to death as he said. "I can reassure you, Sheriff Graham, I had gotten over the shock some weeks ago. The status of my relationship with Miss French is really none of your concern. What you should be doing though, is finding out where my father is as I'm sure he's the one that has taken her."

"And why would your father have taken Belle?" The Sheriff sat up and braced himself onto the desk with his elbows.

"Because…" Rumald had to stop and swallow the lump of guilt in his throat. "Because she's something to me."

"Wouldn't that be a reason, why he wouldn't kidnap Belle, if this is a kidnapping?" The Sheriff theorised.

Standing up abruptly from his seat, Rumald snapped the lapels of his overcoat crossing the small office to the closed door. "If there's nothing else, Sheriff, I've got things to attend to."

"I've still got some questions, Mr Gold. Please," The Sheriff gestured to the chair Rumald had vacated. "Sit back down."

"No, dearie." Rumald waved his hand dismissively at the man, snatching open the office door. "You stay sat down and grab some doughnuts from Grannies. I'm going to go and do your job, while you see the needs of our Mayor." The Sheriff's mouth dropped open and he began to stand up, pushing himself up with the desk, when Rumald added. "It stinks of her perfume in here." Rumald took an exaggerated sniff of the air and left slamming the Sheriff's door behind him, causing the door to clatter in its doorframe.

Storming coolly out of the Sheriff's office, Rumald slammed the outside door trying to smash the glass as he left and was disappointed when the door only clashed with the other door. He eyed the door and walked away, heading up the street back to his shop. Rumald shook his head thinking back over the Sheriff's questions. He hated how the other man would not even listen to him. Yes, Rumald had only known Belle for about six weeks and, yes, he could not remember the last nine or ten months they had been together. But Rumald always had a sense about people, so he knew deep in his heart and in his gut, Belle would never just go off, run away from troubles, without telling someone. She would not have disappeared and not told Albert, she was going away for a couple of days. That was not Belle – She was caring, thoughtful and fierce. She was not a coward like Rumald had been, when he had first met Milah. Belle was a fighter.

Rumald looked both ways along the street and crossed the interchange, heading diagonally across it, and headed straight into his shop. The bell rung above his head announcing his entrance. He closed the door and came face to face with six expectant faces. They were all huddled together in the middle of the shop. The shop felt really small with all of them. Rumald was half tempted to throw them all out of the shop, so he could think in peace, but seeing he was out numbered he thought better of it.

"So…?" Gladius was the first to question him.

"Said he can't do anything until she's been missing twenty-four hours." Rumald informed them, strolling from the door of the shop to take his usual spot behind the counter.

Albert pulled a face at his father. "Did you not tell him this is not like Belle?"

"Yes, Bae, I did, several times." Rumald bit back his tone, trying not to take his temper out on his innocent son.

"I'll go and have a word with him." Gladius gathered her coat and handbag off one of the other counters. "And if he won't listen, I'll give him a piece of my mind."

"I'll come with you." Mary-Margaret grabbed her coat as well and jogged after Gladius to catch the older woman as she opened the door to the shop, jiggling the bell above the door.

Ruby placed her hands onto the other side of the counter from him. "I'll take Ashley and we'll go see if anyone saw anything in your neighbourhood."

"That would be extremely helpful. Thank you, Ruby." He smiled genuinely at her. She returned his smile briefly and then waved for Ashley to come with her. They left together, dividing the street between themselves as they closed the door to the shop, the bell jangled again. Rumald eyed the annoying bell and threatened to remove it the next time it rung.

"What about us, dad?" Albert asked waiting expectantly with Emma beside him.

"You and you," Rumald pointed his finger at them in turn. "Can go home."

Albert banged the glass counter. "I want to help! I'm not a kid!" Emma touched Albert's arm, which seemed to calm him. "I just want to help find Belle."

"And right now, what I need you to do, is be at home in case those idiots find something." Rumald eased himself forward over the counter, bringing himself closer to Albert, perching his weight on his elbows. "Also, you know what house better than anyone, even me, so if something's out place or not meant to be there, you'll see it."

"Okay!" Albert bounced between his feet, excited for his assignment. "I'll run home now! Come on, Emma!"

Grabbing their coats from further down the counter and their backpacks from the floor, Albert ushered Emma towards the door of the shop. Rumald straightened himself from the counter and waited until they had opened the shop door, and silently glared at the bell. Albert hurried out of the door, palming off Emma's coat to her as she followed him through the door.

"Emma." Rumald called, catching Emma before she had completely gone through the doorway.

She grabbed hold of the door and peeked around it at Rumald. Gesturing with his finger, he begged her to come back into the shop and over to him with his finger. Emma looked outside, probably at Albert, and then came back into the shop, leaving the door to close itself as she sauntered to the counter putting her coat on.

"I need you to do something for me. A favour, if you will." Rumald proposed, showing her a small smile to reassure her.

"Yes, Mr Gold." She flicked out her long blond hair.

Placing his hands on the edge of the counter, he said. "I need you to keep him safe." Emma frowned at him. "I don't need him running off and getting himself into mischief, while I try and find Belle. I don't need the distraction, right now. So, if you can keep him at the house or at least from getting involved, I will owe you a favour in the future."

"You'll owe me?" Emma questioned, disbelieving her ears.

"I will owe you one, Emma." He softened his features, showing her more of a smile. "As long as you keep him safe, which I'm sure you will."

Emma wrapped her coat around herself. "Okay, Mr Gold."

"Run along then." Rumald dismissed her with a wave of his hand. She quickly went to the door of the shop and yanked open the door, jangling the bell the loudest out of all the other times, and left shutting the door soundly behind her. Rumald quietly seethed at the bell, but relented from removing the bell and choice to ignore it… for now.

"Dove!" Rumald called, his glare still on the innocent bell.

The curtain to the back room swept back and Dove came into the room, carrying an iPad in his left hand. He made his way round the counter Rumald was stood at and came to stand on the other side of the counter. Offering the iPad to Rumald, Dove pointed his finger at something on the screen. He took it and focused his attention to where Dove's finger indicated.

"According to your father's financials, the last four months your father been spending time near Bethel." Dove apprised him, his tone remaining neutral as he spoke. "He bought himself a property there about the same time."

"Has he now?" Rumald ran his finger up the screen, running down the list of transactions in and out of her father's account.

Dove nodded his head towards the iPad. "Looks like he's been supporting her a lot more lately."

"Rather him than me." Rumald commented, stopping the page from scrolling with his finger, he raised his eyebrow at a couple of the transaction. "Ten thousand dollars one week., another five thousand the following week?"

"You stopped giving her money last year, so I guess she's been hitting your father harder for money." Dove suggested, clasping his hands behind his back.

Rumald scratched aimlessly at his right temple, scrolling through more of his father's transactions, as he said. "He only keeps her sweet, because he knows she gets under my skin and" He paused for affect, lifting his gaze to meet Dove's. "He hopes to bed her one day."

"Sir, he's already done it." Dove shared with him.

"When?" He asked lowering the iPad down onto the counter, still holding it in his hands.

"About six years ago. Killian and her had a falling out, and she went and joined your father on his yacht." Dove explained. "She came in the shop one day to… proposition you for sex as she did at times. When you refused, she told you and you threw her out of the shop."

Rumald did not know how to feel about it. Sometimes it was hard to hear about things that had happened and he could not remember. A part of him was still somewhat in love Milah. As far as he was concerned, she had only walked out on them about seven months ago and it was still very raw. Although, somewhere deep inside of him, he knew what Dove was telling him was real. Just like when he had seen Belle for the first time, something about her was so familiar. The way she made his heart flutter when she looked at him, the want he felt when she bit her lip, how at home he felt around her – everything made him feel déjà vu. Hearing his father had finally bedded his wife… ex-wife did not really upset him. If anything, he wanted to laugh at her for being so stupid.

"They deserve each other." Rumald picked up the iPad and scrolled through some more of his father's transactions, asking. "Do I want to know, how you came about having access to my father's bank account?"

"I don't know what you're talking, sir." Dove deflected.

Raising his gaze from the iPad to Dove, he eyed his employee as a slow grin crept over his lips. "Oh, you're such a tease, Dove."

Dove bowed his head respectfully to Rumald. "I've learnt from the master."

"Oh, flattery…"'will get you everywhere' 'One does hope.' Belle said lowering her gaze away from him. He grinned from ear to ear, liking this side of her. How lucky could he be to meet a beautiful, intelligent woman, who seemed genuinely interested in him? As he pondered over it, Rumald knew he was wearing a stupid grin as he forked some of his risotto into his mouth. Glancing up from his meal, their eyes met across the table as she drank from her glass of wine. Rumald could have sworn his heart had stopped in that moment.

Blinking his eyes wide and bearing himself onto the counter, Rumald processed the new information that flooded into his mind. He remembered how beautiful she had looked, even in a simple cotton dress. Every button on her dress, from head to toe, had teased him to undo them all night. She had been so nervous, when they had arrived at the restaurant thinking she would be kicked out because she was under dressed. Rumald chuckled down at the iPad remembering it so vividly.

"You okay, sir?" Dove asked looking concerned on the other side of the counter.

"Yes, Dove." Rumald did his best to remove the smile from his face and tried to bring himself back to the situation at hand. "How far away is the property he's purchased?"

Dove reached across the counter and flicked the page on the iPad to reveal a map with the route marked out in green. "About two hours' drive from here."

"We should probably share this information with the Sheriff." He pondered to Dove, gesturing with the iPad and waving his hand in the direction of the Sheriff's office.

Dove raised a sceptical eyebrow. "He'll only sit on it until tomorrow morning." He shook his head at Rumald. "He's a cross the t's and dot the I's kind of guy. Men like him, never got things done."

Laying the iPad down onto the glass counter, Rumald remarked to Dove. "Isn't that why you were kicked off the police force, Dove?" A corner of Rumald's lips crooked into half a smile. "Taking matters into your own hands?"

"Hence why you appreciate what I do, Mr Gold." Dove returned the smile, clasping his hands behind his back again.

"That I do." Rumald's smile slowly dwindled away with his thoughts focusing on Belle. Whatever was going to happen that night, Rumald knew the only thing he cared about was Belle and the baby. He could accept his father trying to hurt him, had endured many beatings from his father as a young boy and young man. What he would not excuse was anyone hurting Albert and Belle, especially his unborn child, so Rumald promised himself – If there was one mark on Belle, he would kill his father, no matter what the consequences were.

(Rumald's memory excerpt: Chapter 23: First Date)

(Switch to Belle)

Slumped into a dark corner of the basement, Belle sat there with her legs stretched out in front of her, distantly looking pass her bare feet to the basement concrete floor. She closed her eyes wish she was anywhere but there and opened her eyes foolishly hoping she had been teleported somewhere else, or even home. As she breathed out, her disappointment slumped her shoulders. Letting her gaze travel to her stomach, Belle tightened her arms around herself as best as she could, glad the waves of pain had stopped a while ago. She was trying so hard not to dwell on the baby and think positive thoughts, but Belle could not help herself as her thoughts raced away with her, coming up with as many worse case scenarios she possible could.

The stairs leading up from the basement were suddenly flooded with light. Belle instantly looked to the new light source, but then was blinded when the light in the basement was turned on, flooding the room in bright light. There were footsteps travelling down the wooden stairs she had fallen down earlier. Trying to protect her eyes from the light and see whoever was coming down the stairs, Belle raised her joined hands to shadow her eyes. Milah stepped off the last step to the stairs, holding a tray between her hands. The other woman eyed her in the corner before crossing the basement to where Belle had crawled earlier.

"I see he didn't waste any time getting you pregnant too." Milah squatted down near Belle and placed the tray on the floor. There was a sandwich and an apple on a plate, and a bottle of water on the tray. Belle did not wait to be told to eat, she lurched forward and grabbed the sandwich, and began eating it as Milah stood and ambled a couple of steps away.

"This wasn't supposed to go like this." Milah confessed with her back to Belle. Hunger had consumed Belle and all she preoccupied herself with, was eating the food as quick as she could before it was taken away.

Milah airily waved a hand as she carried on talking. "I would strongly urge you to tell him what he wants to know. Malcolm won't think twice about telling Mike to beat it out of you."

"Am I supposed to be touched by your concern?" Belle asked sceptically around a mouthful of food.

"You're pregnant, Belle." Milah flung her hand in Belle's direction. "They won't hesitate."

"I'm not breaking his trust. Never, would I break his trust." Belle said sternly after swallowing her food. Hastily she took another bite out of the sandwich, almost taking good third of the sandwich into her mouth.

Milah shook her head. "He wouldn't hesitate to break yours, you know?" She continued as Belle ate some more of her sandwich. "If he thought, he could get something out of it or could get away with it, Rumald would break your trust without hesitating."

"Is this the plan?" Belle probed. "You come down here to butter me up, woman to woman?"

"You're delusional, if you think he won't." Milah chuckled folding her arms over her chest.

Belle pointed a finger at Milah and then picked up the apple from the plate, saying. "I think you're the one, whose delusional." She bit into her apple and continued to talk as she ate. "You had it all. Yet, you threw it all away for an idiot, who thinks flashing a smile gets him what he wants."

"He does have a very nice smile." Milah remarked, nodding her head in agreement. "I'm not delusional though. I just wanted more and Rumald couldn't give me that… At the time." Her head cocked to the side before she said. "If only I had managed to reconciled with him, things would be a lot different."

"Rumald would never take you back." Belle told her dropping the apple core to the tray and reached for the bottle of water. She struggled to unscrew the lid from the bottle with her hands and also tried to undo the lid with her teeth. Giving up, Belle held the bottle out towards Milah.

"Say please." Milah requested, her nose up in the air.

Belle gritted her teeth and spat the word out of her mouth. "Please."

Smiling at getting her way, Milah came over to Belle and took the bottle from Belle to unscrew the lid, and then gave it back to her. Belle knocked the lid off the top of the bottle and drank greedily from the bottle.

"Belle, it really doesn't need to be like this." Milah squatted down in front of Belle. "Just tell me where he's hidden the photo album and you can go home."

"Never." Belle barked and swallowed some more of her water.

"I'm being totally honest with you about Mike. He will not be put off by the fact your woman and pregnant. He'll beat the answer out of you, Belle." Milah tried to be as frank as she could, stressing what could happen to Belle.

Swigging the last of her water, Belle held it in her mouth for a second and then spat the contents of her mouth towards Milah as hard as she could. The majority of the water sprayed over Milah's face and down the front of her expensive looking top. Milah blinked her eyes and stood up, back up a couple of steps while she looked down at herself. She wiped the remains of the water from her face as her eyes coldly came rest down on Belle. Defiant, Belle met Milah's gaze, unafraid of the woman who stood before her.

"You little… BITCH!" Milah screamed and lunge forward to grab the tray off the floor. Ready to swing the tray at her, Milah stood over Belle with the tray swung back over her shoulder, when there was shout from the stairs. Belle sat looking up at Milah, bold as she made no move to protect herself from the blow Milah was about to deliver. Milah twisted to look back over her shoulder to the stairs, the tray held limply in her hands.

"What?" Milah yelled back.

"It's him, love." Killan called down. "He's on the phone. Wants to talk to you."

Frowning, Milah turned back to face Belle. "That's unexpected." She threw the tray at Belle, narrowly missing her when the corner of the tray hit the wall by Belle's head. "Let's go see what Rum wants."

Milah walked away from Belle and headed up the stairs without glancing back. Belle watched until Milah's body and feet were out of a sight. Suddenly, she was plunged back into the darkness and the light on the stairs went, when they closed the door at the top of the stairs. Letting her head fall back against the wall, Belle closed her eyes to think of Rumald, picturing him riding a white horse, dressed in gold armour, coming to rescue her.