He was learning to take the good with the bad, or perhaps he was learning to take the bad with the good. It depended on the situation.

He'd spent an amazing thirty-six hours with Belle, though he hadn't planned on it. He'd come home from work on Saturday evening with every intention of going back to work on Sunday. But then Sunday morning had come and gone, the afternoon had come and gone, the evening had arrived again, and they'd been unable to tear themselves away from each other even if they'd wanted to. It was, by far, the longest amount of time they'd spent together since the Winter days in the Dark Castle, and though he knew he probably should regret it to a certain extent, there were other things he could have been doing with that time, he couldn't bring himself to feel shame for it. They'd spent their time resting in one another just as much as they'd spent it loving one another. They'd talked. About how she'd apparently taught herself to use the washer and dryer, about the Curse, even Emma Swan and his history with her parents. Yes, there were certainly plenty of other things he could have done, but when he thought about the way she'd kissed him last night and told him she loved him and never wanted him to leave her side...it had been a perfect day.

Until Belle had awakened in the early hours of the morning, screaming and screeching out of the dead sleep he held her in. The Nightmares…they'd finally begun to take their toll. The drugs she'd been given at the hospital to keep her calm and complacent were finally making their way completely out of her body, and it was those nightmares that now succeeded in summoning her from sleep. "I know my name," she'd mumbled as she cried while he'd held her. "I know my name, I know your name, I know where I am, I know my name." Those sentences were all it took to confirm his suspicions about her "alternate Storybrooke Persona." She hadn't had one. No memories, no name, no understanding of where she was or who she was, or even where she was from. She'd been a blank slate, a fate nearly as bad as Regina keeping her alive to kill her any time she'd please. If it weren't for their deal, he'd have left then and there to kill the witch for that. But instead, he'd stayed up with her. It had taken nearly an hour to relax her enough that she went back to sleep after that. He'd stayed up guarding her slumber in case the nightmares came back, but they never did.

In the early morning hours, he determined with much sadness and regret that he needed to go to work. This time in Storybrooke, the fires and riots and questions…it was getting old. He was getting tired of waiting for things to cool down, tired of waiting for Emma and Mary Margaret. Yes, he was certain they'd come back, but it had taken him centuries to get from the Enchanted Forest to this world. He wanted Emma and Mary Margaret to return so that the Savior could fulfill her end of the bargain and take him to his son, but with no other hints other than "they'd gone through a portal," he needed to start thinking through some alternatives. He'd never traveled outside of Storybrooke so long as he'd been here, but he had memories of doing just that. Perhaps he didn't need the Savior. Perhaps he just needed to take Belle with him and go. But of course, that required knowing where Baelfire was, and for that, he needed Booth.

And yet, when he arrived at work and used his magic to take himself to him, the exact same thing that had happened before happened again. It was, once more, a different section of the forest, but it was enough to confirm his suspicion. Booth was hiding from him on purpose. He didn't know where he got the magic or how to break it yet, but he knew it wouldn't hold forever.

"I'll find you one of these days, dearie!" he called out into what appeared to be nothing. "You owe me a debt, and you can't hide forever! The Dark One always gets what he wants!"

Bad with good, good with bad.

Lunch was another reminder of this. Though he may have failed to find Booth in the morning, coming in to see Belle that afternoon was a bright spot in his day. Until he walked in the front door and smelled something strange in his house: lemons, cleanser, roses, and bleach. The scents clung to her when she put her arms around him in welcome and when he looked over her shoulders, and around his house, he could see why he smelled them easily. She'd been cleaning. Clutter was organized into small, sorted piles, piles that had been there the day before had suddenly vanished, the banister gleamed as it never had, and the floors damn near sparkled. His house had always smelled dusty and old. Suddenly it smelled new and vibrant, and it bothered him.

If it was vibrant because she was there, that was one thing, but having her clean and organize, coming home to find she already had lunch prepared like she'd had nothing better to do than wait on him hand and foot…it wasn't what he wanted.

"You know, you don't have to do these things, Belle!" he pressed as they sat down with their lunch. "You are free to go about your day and do as you like. You aren't a maid anymore."

"Caretaker," she'd snapped almost defensively. "And until the town is safe for me to visit, it's not as though there is much else for me to do with my time. I tried to turn on the picture box. It was dull."

"Television," he corrected.

"I enjoy keeping busy; this kind of work keeps my mind busy. And obviously, you haven't had time for it while you've been here, so I may as well."

"But there are other things-"

"Even if there were other things for me to do, where would you propose I do them? Other than the bedroom, there's not a chair in this house that isn't covered in clutter or dust. I need to get to know this world, Rumple. This is what I know, so I'll continue with my work while you continue with yours. Unless, of course…unless I can go to town with you after lunch then, maybe…"

He held in his shudder as she looked at him eagerly. She wanted to go to town. He knew she wanted to go to town. She asked about it every damn day. Truthfully, if she was going to go with him and sit in his shop all day, he probably would have taken her by now. But he had work to do, work that involved Baelfire and Booth and magic, and he suspected that she wouldn't like any of that one bit. They hadn't broached the topic of his son since they'd been back together yet, and he didn't intend to bring it up until it was absolutely necessary, until he was ready to leave to find him, and he had a plan for her.

"The town is healing, but still not safe. I haven't laid eyes on Regina in days, and trust me, being stuck in the shop all day is far worse than being here. It's safe here, Belle. The town just needs more time."

He didn't lie to her entirely. From a matter of perspective, being at the shop all day, knowing that she was at home cleaning was a terrible fate considering all he ached to do was spend that time with her. And for her, it would be more of the same. What was there to do at the shop except perhaps clean, and if the way she was overturning his home with it was any indication, the last place he wanted her was in the shop.

In truth, his own options for his day were nearly as limited as Belle's were. He was certain, almost positive, that Regina and David would come to him at some point. Regina, because with David taking care of Henry, she'd be miserable and have nothing to do with her life but to fall into old habits, and those old habits meant complaining to him. He'd have a few choice words for her when he saw her again, given what had happened last night with Belle, but as much as he hated it, she was still a player in this until he got his son back and if he needed to bargain with her for Belle's safety while he was away, he would do it. David, on the other hand, he was certain would visit because he had nothing else to do, nothing left to do. Not only were Mary Margaret and Emma going to try and make their way back to this realm, but he did not doubt that David and Henry would do what they could to assist them, if not go to that realm themselves. He was the only one David knew, besides Regina, that had magical insight. It was only a matter of time until he showed up at the shop. Which begged the question, why hadn't he shown up already. It had been days since the Curse was broken, and Mary Margaret and Emma disappeared. What the hell was taking so long?

Unable to get to Booth or come up with anything productive to do. He'd taken a walk about the town, thinking he might hear some gossip or offer a glimpse of himself for David, to tempt him into talking so that he might gain insight into what was happening. What he saw was not only eye-opening, but it was also shocking.

When he'd told Belle the town was healing but still not safe, he'd been speaking from what he'd seen on his commute. There were fewer people crowded in the streets. Fires appeared to be put out, even a few of the powerlines had been restored, probably by the dwarves. But as his feet guided him around, he found that it wasn't entirely untrue. Not really.

On the street, he saw a piece of paper, a flyer that matched several he'd seen on lampposts and the sides of buildings he was certain hadn't been there before. Curious as to what he'd missed the day before, he picked it up and found that it was a flyer for a Town Meeting being called by Prince Charming himself. That was an interesting development. David was trying to organize the town while Emma and Mary Margaret were still missing?! That was…not exactly like the prince he'd once known. But all around him, as he walked, he began to see more and more signs of organization.

Others were directing people to go to the town hall and "register." He walked by, saw long lines of people standing in the front, all waiting for their opportunity to get to a table where David, Ruby, and Granny sat with books and pens, frantically writing away. Dwarves walked the lines, handing out the flyers he'd seen. Archie and Pongo were scouting, walking through the lines where occasionally he pulled someone out of line, exchanging the individual with Pongo as they stepped aside to talk. The conversation usually ended in Archie giving them a card and then jotting something down in a notebook before he walked them back to the line and took Pongo again.

It appeared to be a well-oiled machine. There were tears and people were crying, the lines were longer than a DMV, but it was organized and fluid and-

Ah…perhaps it wasn't what it seemed. On the outside, it looked like organization. It appeared as though the once Royal Court was trying its hardest to connect people with their loved ones and get everyone back home. All but one of that court appeared to be happy doing their job.

David. The King, himself.

A sudden movement at the tables up front caught his eye, David angrily moving away from the table. To a casual observer, it would appear he wanted nothing more than to use the bathroom inside Town Hall, but the way he grabbed the door and flung it open like that…something was bothering him. And he wasn't the only one to sense it. Half a second later, Ruby got up from her place, smiling, looking apologetically at the people in front of her and Granny as she followed after him. Henry appeared from somewhere before she made it to the door, but she only gestured for Henry to go to Granny, and the boy wandered down to the table and sat down where David had been only a moment ago.

He wondered…

He used his magic and let himself into the second-floor atrium of the Town Hall, oddly quiet and empty considering the crowd outside. Well, quiet, if not for the voices of Ruby and David floating up to him.

"It's not enough!" David yelled. "I can be doing more; I should be doing more."

"David, I know it feels that way, but there might not be anything that we can do for them now. And this town, this town is on the brink of falling apart completely if they don't have a good role model to keep them calm and tell them-"

"You do it! You can do it, Ruby. You can tell them everything is going to be okay!"

"I can't, David! You are what they know, not me! As far as they are concerned, you are their Prince, their King, and they need guidance from you, not from a wolf!

"I'm about as much a King as you are a wolf."

"David…I know this is hard-"

"You don't have any idea how hard this is, how much time we wasted…and then we get her back and now they're both just gone?! Mary Margaret is the one they need, not me! They need Emma. She's the Savior. I need to get them back, and then I can help the people. That is how I help them, by making sure my family does what they do best."

"You don't have time!" Ruby hollered at him with all the insistence that a mother might have with a child. "Everyone outside that door is in crisis, David, everyone! We are barely keeping them together as it is. They're not going to sit around and wait for you or for Mary Margaret or for Emma. They need us now."

"Mary Margaret and Emma-"

"Will be fine! They have each other. And you and I both know that Mary Margaret won't stop until she's back at your side. They'll make it back, David…let's make sure there's a town for them to come back to."

There was silence. A long silence. And when he looked over the railing to try and spot the two, he saw David storm out of the Town Hall. Ruby took a breath and crossed her arms angrily over her chest before she wiped her eyes, then followed after him.

Back outside, standing by a bulletin board of people who were marked as "Missing" he watched the pair sit back down at the table with smiles on their face as if nothing bad had happened. So…it was Ruby who was the ringleader in this, Ruby who was keeping David on track, Ruby who was making sure the King did his job. Good for her. Not so good for him. But fortunately, the conversation told him that David was itching to do something, that he was struggling with his title and the lack of involvement. He wasn't going to stay restrained for too much longer. Eventually, he would break free, and that was when he would come to him. What answers he had, he didn't know yet, but he'd give what he could to make the Seer's prophecy come true. And for that, he was going to need David to stand aside. If what he'd seen told him anything, it was that David would not allow Emma to go with him quietly or accept the deal he'd made. But David Nolan and Mary Margaret Blanchard were not part of the Seer's Prophecy regarding how he'd find his son. Emma would be his guide, and a boy would lead him there. A boy that could be August Booth or perhaps David's own grandson. Either way, he needed David's assurance he wouldn't interfere. The magic would take care of the rest.

And as for Regina-

As he turned to leave, a familiar face stared out at him from the bulletin board and stopped him dead in his tracks. It was a crude drawing, one without details, but he knew those cheekbones, just as he knew that hair, and best of all, knew that mouth. It was a drawing of Belle. The eyes gave him pause only for a moment. The drawing depicted her with green eyes, several shades off from the blue ones he'd spent all day yesterday and last night staring into. The eyes were wrong, but he'd spent nearly all his time yesterday admiring that skin not to recognize the face, and it chilled him to his blood. "Missing," the poster said at the top in big black letters. "Please contact Moe at Game of Thorns."

After looking this way and that to be sure no one was watching him, he reached out and tore the picture down from its place on the bulletin board, one of many people that others were searching for. He could leave it. He was confident in that. No one in this town knew Belle, knew that she was alive or where she was, except maybe Regina. But after the conversations he'd had with Belle regarding her childhood, her history, how her father had been so willing to just hand her over to a monster of a fiancé to do as he saw fit with her…

He folded the paper up in a flash of anger and slipped it into his pocket before leaving for the shop.

The damn man couldn't even get the color of his own daughter's eyes right! No one, not even her own father, knew his Belle. And he'd be damned if he ever let a man like her father tear her from his side again.

Welcome to the 2x02 chapters. It should feel like a small eternity at this point, but hopefully, this will at least help us feel like things are moving again. This chapter might seem like it's filler, but it's actually essential to the plot in many ways. First, we continue to see Rumple accepting that August is hiding from him and even starting to question if Booth is the boy or if it's Henry. We see the town getting sorted out, led mostly by Ruby because David is starting to lose his cool about sitting around and just taking names. And as for Belle and Rumple, their relationship advances, but we can start to see some cracks in the foundation. She's starting to get a little more impatient being kept in the house, and, of course, her nightmares have begun. And Rumple isn't thrilled that she's cleaning and acting as a maid but also doesn't want to take her to town. I really enjoyed letting him discover the drawing her father did. We know that he has it later, so it was fun finding a moment when he could discover it and take it for himself.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Alarda and Grace5231973, for your reviews on the last chapter. As we move forward, I'm hoping that you'll like what I've got in store for Rumple; it's sort of starting to show itself in this chapter. Aside from Rumple getting across the town line, this fiction is really about Rumple bringing two parts of himself, and maybe even three, together. He's been only a father for so long, now with Belle in his life, he has to be a boyfriend, for lack of a better term, and I enjoyed writing the struggle of being both at the same time, with him. Here, we're at the beginning, and we can really see a lot of compartmentalization. When he's with Belle, he's the boyfriend. When he's at work, he's a father. He's trying really hard to keep those two separate but balanced. "I just spent time with Belle, and now I need to go work on Baelfire." "I've been working on getting back to Bae all day, and now I can go home and be with Belle, guilt-free." This fiction is really about breaking that compartmentalizing apart. It's not just about sharing Bae with Belle, it's also about sharing Belle with Bae. Peace and Happy Reading!