The following day, Mr Gold opened the French doors to the kitchen and was amazed to see Belle sitting in one of the living room chairs. "Hey," he said.

Turning her head around, Belle got up and walked over towards him. She was still dressed in her nightclothes from the previous night. She was still horrified from her dream – and what she had seen. "Hey. What are you doing?" Belle asked.

"I was, uh, gonna make you breakfast," Mr Gold answered.

"No. In... in the basement. I saw you practising magic," Belle corrected herself. "With the Professor."

Just as she said his name, the Professor entered the room via the French Doors. He looked around at the other two. "Are we having breakfast together?"

Belle shook her head. "No. I was talking to Rumple about something. Something that I saw last night. In the basement."

The Professor nodded slowly. "Oh, I see."

Shutting the fridge door, Mr Gold brought over a jug of orange juice to the counter. "Let's have breakfast."

"No, we need to talk about this."

"It was just a couple of spells. Nothing to be concerned about."

"Exactly," the Professor said with a nod. "He's helping me practise my own magic."

"Well, okay, then be honest with me. Why did you bring magic here?" Belle asked.

"I've told you. Magic is power," Mr Gold answered.

"Why do you need it? Tell me," Belle asked.

Mr Gold stayed silent. He didn't want to tell Belle the real reason. The important reason. At least, what he thought was the critical reason.

Belle took a sigh. "You don't need power, Rumple. You need courage... to let me in," she told him as she turned around and walked back upstairs.


Hours later, Mr Gold was looking for Belle. To try to make it up to her. Approaching her room, he knocked on the door. "Belle? Come on. At least come and eat something," he said through the door. "Belle?" he asked again. And, still, there was no answer. Opening the bedroom door, he entered and looked around the vast room. Only to find that it was empty and the window wide open. He exited the room, with a horrified look on his face, where he bumped into the Professor.

"What's wrong?" the Professor asked.

"Belle. She's gone..."

"Come on. I'll help you look," the Professor said. "She can't have gone far."


Poofing themselves down to the main street of Storybrooke, their first stop was Moe French, in his flower shop, Game of Thorns. The father of Belle, they were sure that he would know. Maybe Belle had wanted to visit her father?

The Professor pulled down a flower hanging on a street light outside of the flower shop before joining Mr Gold inside.

"I was wondering if you'd heard from your daughter," Mr Gold asked while the Professor held up the flier. One that was a Missing person notice about Belle.

"Is this a cruel joke?" Moe asked, snatching the flier from the Time Lord. "Would I have made this flyer if I knew where she was? The only reason she's missing is because of the deal I made with you, Rumplestiltskin, but I'd held out hope she might have survived such a wicked trade."

"And she has," Mr Gold stated.

"Why hasn't she come looking for me?" Moe asked.

"She has begun so, Moe. I should know, too, because I helped her make flyers of her own," the Professor answered.

"And let me guess," Moe began, glaring over at Mr Gold. "You took care of it by throwing it in the trash," Moe said.

Mr Gold stepped closer, his cane thumping on the wooden floor with every step. "I don't expect you to help me," he said through gritted teeth and snatched the flyer back from Moe. "I just want to know if she's safe."

"And now, thanks to you, neither one of us knows where she is. You're a monster, Rumplestiltskin," Moe said before turning back to his own work.