She Needs Help

(Friday Afternoon, August 2nd)

"I still recommend that you let me contact someone more experienced in this area," Officer Kolinski comments.

Belle moves up the staircase, "We have history of government officials overreacting to the way we live. I'm not letting an officer in my home if he's trained to shoot first."

"What do I need to know?" he inquires.

Belle stops at the top of the stairs and turns to him, "If anything goes wrong, let me handle him. Adam's emotional intelligence isn't the best. You can't corner him every time he's having a hard time. If you do, it will make things worse."

Kolinski nods, "I'll do my best."

Belle turns down the hall, and Kolinski follows her into the dining room. Adam takes a drink from the chalice, "Talking about me?"

"Just informing Officer Kolinski of some house rules," Belle reassures.

"Ah. Yes." He recounts, "It's a beast. He's got fangs, massive paws, and razor claws. Bring your guns, bring your knives, to save your children and your wives."

"Adam," Belle softly speaks.

"Isn't that why he's here?" he disrupts. "To save you and Ben? Isn't that why he has that gun?" Adam spats.

"It's just part of the uniform," he reassures.

"Good," Adam erupts, "then I can express my limited emotions without being a dead man." He eyes to Belle, "Come on. Sit. Have a drink."

Belle laughs, "It's a little early, don't you think?"

"Not at all," Adam answers. "I'm still up from last night. Maybe a little wine is just what I need to get in a little daylight."

Belle sits across from him, "I suppose it has been a long morning."

Adam pours her a glass, "You better enjoy it. That dragon is hoarding the rest."

"Mal's drinking again?" she disbelieves.

"She relapsed last month," he reminds her. "You weren't expecting her to just get better, did you?"

"She was trying to." Belle touches the wine glass, before she stands from her seat. "Have you checked on her?"

"She doesn't like me," Adam inputs.

"It's alright," Belle turns from him. "I can do it." She passes Officer Kolinski, he follows her down the hall, and she knocks on the door. "Mal? It's me."

"She doesn't answer, either?" Kolinski notices.

Belle cracks open the door, "Mal?" before she sees the littered wine bottles. She opens the door wider, strides over to the bathroom, and gapes, "Mal." She finds a towel presses it to the cuts on Mal's stomach, "What are you thinking?"

"Can't be any worse than what Ben's feeling," she grins.

Belle sees the blood on her nails and commands, "Lay down on the bed."

"Not a fan of blood?" Mal notices.

"Not a fan of my son's girlfriend dying," she retorts.

Mal slowly shakes her head, "Not his girlfriend."

"Whatever the situation," Belle bypasses, "you need to lay down."

She nods to the officer, "And he gets to see me half naked."

Belle glances at him before sighing, "Where's your swimming shirt?"

"Top drawer."

Belle moves past the officer, before she opens the dresser. He follows her, "Should I call Emergency Services?"

Belle takes out the tie-dyed t-shirt and lifts a hand, "Just don't." before moving back to the bathroom. She pulls the shirt over Mal's head, taking her hair out, as Mal moves her arms through the holes. "Okay. Now, you can lay down." Mal moves past them, and Belle takes a bucket from underneath the sink.

Kolinski steps behind her, "She clearly isn't okay. Let me call ES."

"No," Belle stands and widens her eyes at him. "We just called ES on her last month, and guess what she did? She breathed fire and melted through her room. The only people who can't be hypnotized by her are witches."

"She needs help," he persists.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Belle whispers, before she fills the bucket with hot water and gets a cloth. "Grab the emergency kit for me, please." She walks into the bedroom, sits on the edge of the bed, and uses the damp cloth to wipe the blood from her stomach. She squeezes out the damp side, wets it again, and cleans the rest of Mal's cuts; however, a deeper cut continues to bleed.

"She needs stitches," Kolinski comments.

"Set the kit down," Belle requests.

He complies, watching her open it, "You're not doing it yourself."

"I've had to do it before," she informs, before she finds the needle and thread. "And scars are the least of her worries."

"The wonders of healing cream," Mal advertises.

Belle dips the needle in rubbing alcohol, before she cleans the area, "Ready?"

Mal stares at the ceiling, "Ready as ever."

Belle makes the first stitch, and Mal's eyes glow bright green. She commands, "Kolinski. Take her hand, please."

"Is that safe?"

"What about your job is safe?" she points out, before she looks at him. "You're welcome to give her a stress ball instead, if you have one." The officer moves to Mal's other side, offers his hand, and with the next stitch, Mal grips his hand.

When the officer cringes, Belle encourages, "Hang in there."

After a few more stitches, Adam peaks through the door, "Belle?" He steps inside, "What's going on?"

"She cut herself," Belle explains. She stops herself from making another stitch, cleans up the seeping blood, and examines Adam's uncomfortableness. "Can you go to the kitchen, see if you can get Mal a glass of milk and one of her pre-cooked bones?"

"Uh, yeah," he steps back. "Of course."

After he leaves, Kolinski questions, "You're having him get her a snack?"

"He needed permission to leave," Belle answers, before she continues stitching.

When Mal squeezes his hand, he takes a deep breath before asking, "Permission?"

Belle takes a moment, "I need to talk to him about that." before she makes the final stitch. "Okay. That should be good." Mal tries to sit up, but Belle presses on her shoulder, "Not yet. It will be easier for you to heal if you rest."

"I can't drink milk lying down," Mal mentions, before she takes the bottle of wine from the beside table.

"Mal," Belle frowns. "You can't drink that."

"Don't worry." She takes a sip, "It has a low water percentage."

Belle places the bucket between them, "Can you clean your nails for me?" Mal sets the bottle down, places her fingers into the water, and uses the rag to take the red from her nails. "Good. Your nail kit's in the bathroom, right?"

Mal murmurs, "When they cut my nails last time, it hurt a lot."

"You can do it yourself, if that makes you more comfortable," she suggests.

"It's in the small, purple bag," she confirms. Belle goes over to the bathroom, retrieves the bag, and goes back to hand it to Mal. She opens the bag, "If I stop cutting myself with my nails, will I stop losing my nail privileges?"

"You know," Belle sits back down, "Ben really didn't like it when your nails had been cut last time. He compared it to declawing a cat."

"Well, I would like to keep my nails," Mal opinionates.

"Are you worried Ben could hurt you again?"

Mal takes a moment, "It's not Ben. It's… I mean…"

"What Ben did reminded you of the what happened on the Isle," she understands.

"Yes," she whispers.

"What did Ben do?" the officer inquires.

Belle frowns at him, "You don't watch the news?"

"The news has a lot to say," he defends.

"Ben's admitted to his actions himself," Belle informs. "You could at least watch that."

"I've seen some of those." He explains, "A reminder would just be nice."

"It's why ES picked me up last time," Mal evenly expresses. "Ben had broken up with me, but then he like… I made him attack me somehow, but I clawed him so he wouldn't."

When Mal silences, Belle places a hand to her arm, "That was not your fault, just like this wasn't your fault."

"All I had to do was tell the truth," Mal stares at her. "I deserve to feel just as much pain as he is. It's because of me that he almost died."

"He almost died," Belle emphasizes, "because Adam can't express himself with words. You hear me? You did not put him in the hospital. He did. This is not your fault."

Adam softly speaks, "I got the milk." and Belle sadly looks at him. "The only bones left aren't cooked yet, but, uh, I think I remember her liking strawberries."

"Thank you, Adam," Belle replies.

He takes a moment, "Do you want to take it?"

Belle walks over to him and takes the items, "I'm sorry."

He frowns, "An officer isn't the first person I would tell our family problems to."

"I know," she acknowledges. "I wasn't thinking."

He eyes over her, "Take care of Mal. We can discuss everything at dinner."

"What do you mean, everything?" she notices.

"Well, you and Charming, of course."

Her jaw drops, eyes widened, "Adam."

"I'm too tired," he lifts a hand. "We'll discuss this later."

When Belle sits down at the dinner table, Adam fills his plate. She watches him take the roast beef, scalloped potatoes, and green beans. "Adam," she addresses.

"I know I haven't been the best man." He faces her, "But Charming?"

"There's nothing going on with Charming," she disbelieves.

"But what?" He counters, "Charming's Ben's emergency contact now? Because, I know I never got a call when he took Ben to the doctor."

"Ben made Charming his primary contact," Belle discloses. "I had nothing to do with it."

"And, I suppose, you've just been sitting with Ben the entire day?"

"Yes, actually," she grins.

"When he sleeps," Adam points out.

"Well, they have visiting hours," she informs. "What would you have me do, not see Ben at all?"

"If you weren't talking with Ben, then what were you doing?"

"Talking with Charming." Adam eyes away, and she finishes, "About Ben and his health. Adam. The only thing between Charming and me is the love we have for Ben."

He faces her, "You're saying I don't?"

"What I'm saying," Belle reinforces, "is that Charming has been there for Ben when we weren't, and if it weren't for him, Ben may very well be dead right now."

He shakes his head, "I want you out."

"Adam," she tries to reason.

"I said get out," he yells, before he stands and points to the staircase. "Now!"

Belle nods, before she moves her chair out and heads for the hall. She sees Kolinski, and he frowns, "He can't just kick you out."

"The castle is in his name," she whispers. "He can do what he pleases." She strides past him, and he follows her down the stairs.

"You're not even going to get a bag together?" he questions.

"He said 'leave now'," she evenly expresses, before she opens the cedar chest by the coat rack. "Which is why I'm prepared to leave now."

He watches her take the suitcase out, "How often does this happen?"

"Oh," she takes a deep breath. "Once in a blue moon." She takes a moment, "I normally stay at a hotel for a night or two, until he changes his mind, but he hasn't offered me any allowance recently."

"Do you have anyone you can call?"

"There's someone," she eyes down, "but it won't be easy."

"You should call," he recommends.

She takes a moment, "Can you just take me back to the hospital. I'd like to get an hour in with Ben before visiting hours end."

He nods, "I can do that."

When Belle makes it to the hospital, she sees Charming and Chad sitting on a bench in the hall. Charming sees her walk up to them and smiles, "How was dinner with Adam?"

She eyes down, "Well, uh."

Chad spots the suitcase, "He kicked her out again."

Charming frowns from the suitcase to her, "Belle?" She fails to respond, and he turns to Chad, "Wait. What do you mean, again?" Chad shrugs, and Charming sighs, "Did he kick you out before or after dinner?" She still doesn't speak, and he digs into the takeout bag, "Here." He hands her a sandwich, "It's chicken with mayo and lettuce."

"I asked for them to grill the chicken," Chad smiles, "but they gave me this look like 'you posh ass, we're deep-frying this shit'."

"The closest restaurant is across the street," Charming comments. "I honestly don't understand how the nurses here can actually recommend that place."

"Well, at least it's cooked," Belle settles.

Charming glances at the suitcase, "Do you have a place to stay for the night?"

"Dad," Chad complains.

"I'm just asking," he reassures.

Belle answers, "Lucinda's always said that I'm welcome to go to her, but I've barely even spoken to her in years."

"She would still help you," Charming reassures. "It's Fairy Godmother's job to help."

"I know," she acknowledges, "but I'm not ready to call her, yet."

He takes a moment, "Do you mind, why did Adam make you leave?" Belle glances at Chad, and Charming turns to him. "Are you done?"

"I probably should be," Chad agrees. "Yeah."

"Go keep Ben company," he suggests.

Chad eyes between them, "What? You have to be alone?"

"Chad," he sternly remarks, before Chad stands from his seat.

"Fine." He walks back to Ben's room, and Charming offers Belle a seat.

She sits next to him and hesitates, "Adam's been a bit jealous."

"How so?"

"Well," she folds her hands, "he's insecure about the way he's behaved, and he's become jealous of how close you've been to Ben and me." She pauses, "He kicked me out, because he assumes if Ben sleeps during the day, I must have been at the hospital to see you."

"He thinks you're having an affair with me?" Charming clarifies.

She nods, "You're a much better man than him, so I must have moved on to you."

"But I'm a married man," he reminds her.

"I don't think that matters," she dismisses. "Adam doesn't think that far ahead, and even if he has, it wouldn't be the first time two people cheated on their partners."

He sighs, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," she reassures. "It's mine for leaving the castle."

"Your son's in the hospital," he points out. "You had to come here."

"You know," she sadly laughs, "I bet if it wasn't you, it would be Ben." She shakes her head, "If Ben came here on his own, I bet I would still get in trouble for checking on him."

"Why don't you just stay the night with us?" Charming offers.

Belle cautiously examines him, "You're serious."

"I'll be visiting Ben tomorrow," Charming comments. "If Adam changes his mind by then, you can go home. If not, we have until Ben's released to figure it out."

"And Ella?" she reminds him.

He takes a moment, "Your husband made you leave. She should be sympathetic to that."

"And if she's not?"

He hesitates, "The castle—sorry, palace—is a big place. I'm offering you a room, until she has a decent reason to say otherwise."

Posted: 03/18/2020