Gold

Belle was still laying there next to me sleeping peacefully, I wouldn't disturb her and end this moment too soon. Instead I watched her and moved the fallen strands of hair from her beautiful sleeping face. I had to relieve myself so badly, but I couldn't bring myself to move suddenly and risk waking her up. I wished I could see what she was dreaming about. Was it about books, about her family, me or Will? What could she be dreaming about that could keep a soft smile on her lips as she slept? I suppose whatever she was dreaming about I was happy it was a good dream. I used to tell Belle when she was a little girl that dreams were glimpses into the future, and the minds way of preparing us for it, its the reason why we feel deja vu.

Belle's eyes slowly began to shift open and then she did the most adorable thing, she yawned making little squeaky noises as she did. It was the way she would do it when she was a baby. She was still a baby. My babygirl. I may have become more than just a father to her at one point, but she would always remain my little girl.

"Morning dad." She said shifting in the bed in order to face me. "We haven't done this before, waking up to one another."

"You've never had breakfast in bed either." I said while getting up from our cozy nest. "You stay here where it's warm and I'll go make you something."

xox0xox

I opened the door to my over stocked refrigerator. Regina did the shopping now and the pantry and fridge were filled with unhealthy food with high fructose corn syrup. A dream for my 7 year old grandson and a nightmare for my irregularity. But the essentials were there for breakfast, Egg-o Waffles and heat and eat sausage patties. I did however freshly squeeze some orange juice for her. After the waffles popped up from the toaster, I heard someone shuffling by my front door.

"Who's there?" I called out to the intruder. "Cora! What the hell are u doing breaking into my house?"

"Well hello to you too Rumple," She said mockingly with a coy smile. My ex-wife then begins walking around, almost like she was reacquainting herself or trying to find something. "No live-in girlfriend yet?"

"What are you talking about?"

She paused her wandering. "I made a promise to someone that I'd find a way to leave you." She mocked me sarcastically like she was a child.

I chuckled. Even after all of the cheating she did while she was married to me, she had the nerve to be jealous of a promise. "It wasn't another woman I made that promise to."

"Really, then who could elicit such a promise from you?"

"Belle." I said simply.

Cora's nose wrinkled. "Belle wanted you to divorce me?"

"Yes and I didn't because I was trying to be a good husband and father, but she saw you for what you really are. A mean spiteful harlot with a lust for doctors and florists." I turned back to head to the kitchen. I could hear the sizzle of my daughter's food being cooked in the oven and I wouldn't let it be ruined all because of Cora. When I took the sausage out of the oven I could hear her heels clicking as she followed me into the kitchen.

"How could Belle know I was cheating, you didn't even know." Cora asked standing behind me while I began to plate my daughter's food.

"She didn't have to know, but she did know that you weren't right for me."

"Funny talks you have with Belle, glad to hear you take advice from a 16 year old." She said apathetically.

"The smartest 16 year old I've ever known." I smiled but made sure Cora couldn't see it. Not only was Belle wise, she was loving, brave, and passionate. Belle loved with her whole heart, unlike her mother I had the displeasure of marrying. "So is that why you stopped by, to see if I had a girlfriend?"

She took a sigh before crossing her arms at her chest. "I just wanted to check on everyone, nobody is answering their phones and Zelena has been in town for a week and she hasn't even seen her mother."

Cora became bitter. She was always a selfish woman, but I suppose being cast out of the family made her resentful, and now she was here wanting to lash out her frustrations. The frustrations she brought onto herself.

"Have you ever considered the reason my daughters haven't called you is because they don't want to talk to you?" I proposed.

"Your daughters?" She scoffed with a smirk. "That certainly is cute that you still see them that way."

"Because they are." I said quickly, I knew what she was trying to do, she was trying to hurt me so I would do something stupid and ruin my chances for the custody hearing.

"Not by blood." She whispered underneath her breath, but still loud enough for me to hear. I took a threatening step closer to her. I wasn't going to stand for her gloating about my children not being mine when it was her fault they weren't."Oh calm down Rumple, you're not going to hurt me. Where's my Zelena? I want to see her."

"And what about Belle, or Regina or even Henry?" I shook my head at her, she was a terrible mother, she tricked me for so long, thank God my son and daughters finally opened my eyes in order for me to see the person she really was. "Why don't they get the same attention as Zelena? They may not be related to me but they're your flesh and blood."

"Because Zelena's pregnant." She explained. I shrugged at her excuse, if it was one at all. She didn't want to see them because she didn't care. "Fine can I see them?" she asked halfheartedly and rolled her eyes.

"Our agreement states that you can see them when, and if they want to see you."

"And do they? I'm sure Belle misses me, I'm still her mother."

"Dearie, I doubt you have even crossed her mind."

Why couldn't Cora understand that they didn't want to see her because she lied to them, for their entire life? A mother, a good mother would never have done that. If I didn't matter to her, they still could have, but they didn't, not to her, the only thing that mattered to Cora was Zelena and power.

She let out a frustrated groan. "This was all your fault Rumple." She said while pointing a finger at me.

"My fault, you cheated on me!"

"Because you were pathetic, all the power in Storybrooke and you did nothing with it." She snapped angrily. "We could have ran this town together, but you chose to be a family man instead."

"Because that's what a father does, he puts his children first." She remained quiet, Cora knew I was right, even if I was offered all of the power in the world, I would still choose my children. "Look I don't want to call the police on you for breaking and entering, so just leave, I'll mention to them that you stopped by."

"Fine, I'll go." she said and I walked her out.

"Oh and dearie," I said opening the door for her to leave. "The next time you break into my house, I'll get a retraining order and you'll never get to see Belle ever again."

Once she was gone I went back to the kitchen and regained my composure and made a mental note to change the locks. Belle's food was no longer warm and I cursed under my breath for entertaining my ex-wife long enough for that to happen. I reheated Belle's food and even placed some parsley on the plate for garnish. It definitely made the meal look more appetizing and appealing. Belle was going to enjoy it. She always cooked breakfast for me so I was more then happy to return the favor and if it brings us closer together as father and daughter, what did I have to lose?

"What took you so long? I was getting ready to come looking for you." Belle said sweetly as I was entering my bedroom.

"I'm glad you didn't," I said handing her the breakfast I prepared and getting back in bed beside her. "Your mother came to visit."

"You mean my egg donor, she's not a mother." She said with a mouthful of waffles. "What did she want?"

"I'm not sure, she could have been here for many reasons, but I'm sure she was looking for something that would null the contract I have with her, so she could get custody of you."

"Like what?"

"Like another woman perhaps."

"Another woman. She was the other woman."

"Indeed she was." I said before chuckling, it reminded me of all those times she use to call Cora the other woman, and Belle insisted that she was technically my wife. Now that I think about it, Belle was. She did everything a wife would do and she was even great with helping with Henry, she would make a great mother too.

"You know dad, if you were to date another woman, I wouldn't hold you back. I mean I couldn't, I'm with Will, it's only right you find someone to make you happy as well."

Is that what she thought, that I wanted to find someone else to fill her place? "Belle the only person I want is you." I told her and placed my hand on her thigh affectionately. Causing her to stop eating and met my emphatic gaze. "I know you're with Will, but that won't push me into wanting to be in a relationship with a woman that isn't you."

"You're really choosing me, aren't you?" Belle asked with a smile.

"I've chosen you since the beginning, I've only now wanted to prove it, because I don't care anymore about what people will think of us, rather it be father daughter or as lovers, as long as we're together that's all that really matters."

Our eyes were locked on each other. Her blue eyes so bright, yet so soft and loving, and it reflected her nature, a compassionate little girl who always found the good in people and if it wasn't there, she created it. We were too caught up in the moment to notice we were leaning into each other slowly, perhaps for a kiss, but we didn't know for sure because it was interrupted by her cell phone blaring an annoying ringing for a text notification.

She reaches over to the nightstand for her phone."Oh- uh- It's Ruby she said its an emergency. She wants me to meet her at Granny's in an hour."

"Well finish your breakfast first. I didn't slave over that stove for nothing." I mentioned as a joke.

"Stove? Dad all you did was put the waffles in the toaster."

"Well yeah, but I still could of burnt myself." I quipped and we shared a laugh. I was so happy that we were becoming what we used to be.

Xox0xox

Around noon I went to my shop, My son was doing a fine job of running it, but he had other things to focus on like his up coming wedding. I was so proud of him for finding his soulmate, even though it was an arrangement. Emma was a nice young lady, the mayor's daughter, and the sheriff. Bae's mother, My first wife was no worse then Cora, she abandoned me and our son, leaving not so much as a note or a goodbye kiss on my son's forehead. I reported her missing, but the police never found her, I extended my search outside of Maine and found out she was in Boston living with a cruise ship captain, by the name of Killian Jones. I couldn't believe the lengths she went through just to be with him. Nobody's done that for me, not her, not Cora, not until Belle. A 13 year old risked everything for me, she risked us being caught together, she risked going behind our family's back just to be with me. While I was too selfish to see that all she wanted was to be chosen and valued by me, by her father.

While in my shop, I received a call from the Storybrooke Correctional Facilities. I flipped open my phone to answer the urgent call. "This is Gold."

An automatic voice began to speak. "You have a collect call from inmate Victor Whale. Would you like to accept the charges?"

"Yes." The automated system transferred my call.

"Hello?" Doctor Whale's voice said over the phone.

"Yes, this is Gold."

"I need your help." his voice was trembling like he had been crying. I could even hear what sounded like him sniffling. "I need a lawyer. I don't want to go to prison Mr. Gold please help me.

"You're going to have to calm down Dr. Whale." I explained. "Don't answer any of the police questions until I get there. Just stay quiet and stay calm. Don't let them see you crying, they will play on that emotion to try and get information out of you."

"Okay I'll try but its not my fault, Mr. Gold, I-"

I had to cut him off or risk him further incriminating himself. "Don't say anything over the phone, they're tapped, just remain calm. I'll be there in 20 minutes."

The snow was at least 5 inches thick on the ground, but I still had to get there before Dr. Whale did anything stupid like giving into the police interrogation techniques. He sounded close to caving in, and I couldn't help but wonder what happened. Whale was a nice man, a womanizer turned doctor. He seemed to have his priorities in order, what could drive him to commit a crime?

"Mr. Gold? What are you doing here." My soon- to- be daughter-in-law asked as I was walking into the sheriff's station. It was a rude question and I gave her a condescending glare. "I mean it's good to see you."

"Likewise Emma." I said ignoring her rudeness. "I'm here for Doctor Whale."

"Please tell me you're not representing that monster."

"He asked for my help, it's my job to see if I can."

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." Emma said before turning on her heels to lead me to the interrogation room.

Before I entered, I peeked in the small window of the interrogation room door. His head was placed in his arms, crying on the table in front of him, he was sobbing loudly and uncontrollably.

"Don't let those crocodile tears fool you, this man is a creep." Emma warned.

"What are the charges?" I finally asked, what could he have done that would cause him to have such an emotional effect.

"Child molestation and sexual assault." Emma said, which made all my muscles tense up and I felt my stomach cringe on the inside. It almost felt like she was reading my charges.

"Who was the victim?" I asked.

"A 16 year old girl, Ruby Lucas."

My daughter's friend, Dr. Whale and I may done the same crime, but Ruby was my daughter's best friend. Whale was too close for comfort. What if this man had chosen Belle instead? This was probably the emergency Ruby needed to talk to Belle about this morning.

"I'd like to speak to him alone." Emma unlocked the interrogation room to let me inside. I took my seat on the other side of the table in front of Doctor Whale and pulled out my note pad to jot down some notes. "Okay Whale start from the beginning."

He sniffed and wiped the fallen tears from his flamed eyes and began to explain. "Ruby and her grandmother came to a doctor's appointment. It was just a routine check up. I had to ask her grandmother to step out of the room because due to HIPAA's law I can't ask if she's pregnant while a guardian is in the room."

"I understand. Continue." I said while taking detailed notes.

"I continued the physical, and she told me she was sexually active but she was practicing safely. To which I amended her on being responsible but I wasn't expecting her to admit that she thinks about me, and she even thought about me sexually."

"And what did you tell her." Ruby was a very sweet but promiscuous teenager. I didn't expect her to actually take a serious interest in an older men.

"I told her that she was too young, and she wouldn't want an old man like me and sent her on her way. But she was so...persistent. I mean, really determined. She seduced me. I'll admit I didn't put up much of a fight. But we had sex."

"How many times did you have sex with the victim?" I didn't like calling Ruby that, but I had to remain impartial.

"Three, twice in my examination room and once at her house where we were caught." He admitted with some remorse.

His story moved me. It was like Dr. Whale was basically me and I was trying to defend and justify my actions to myself. It was sort of an out of body experience while he was explaining himself. But what I did to Belle was much worse. I had a moment of weakness, and caved into my most carnal desire. I violated her first, then she became persistent, and with lack of better judgment, I took my daughter's virginity. Whale on the other hand did the right thing, when Ruby admitted that she liked him, Whale sent her home. I didn't do anything of the sort and yet he was the one in trouble.

"I'll be honest with you Dr. Whale. I don't know if I can take this case. They can charge you with a number of things. Molestation, sexual assault, abuse, rape, not to mention you're a doctor and you violated the patient doctors relationship which is a medical negligence lawsuit. And another thing, Ruby Lucas is my daughter's friend, I don't know how I feel about helping the rapist of Belle's friend."

Victor scoffed and shook his head in contemplation. "You know what, I don't even care what happens to me. I love Ruby and I just don't want her to be scared."

"You love her?"

"I do, I don't know how or when it happened, but I fell in love with her." He began to cry again. "I'll admit to my crimes. And do my time."

"Let's not get too hasty Dr. Whale, give me a day to think about it and I'll get back to you."

xox0xox

By the time I made it home, it was all over the news. Regina and Belle were even watching the news report on the television. Sidney's news headline read Scandalous doctor seduces his 16 year old mistress. That damn Sidney always had a way of twisting the story around to get more viewers. Sidney went over details to the point of even graphically describing the scene of the crime. Belle couldn't listen or watch anymore. She turned and left the den and headed upstairs to her room. I quickly followed her to see if she was okay.

She was sitting on her bed sniffling on the verge of tears when I knocked on her door frame. "Uh- Belle, are you going to be alright sweetheart?"

She nodded while sniffling trying her best to hold fast to her tears that were ready to fall any second. I nervously took my spot next to her on the bed, fearing the nature of this matter would make it hard for both of us to talk about.

"What about Ruby, is she going to be okay?" I asked and Belle completely broke down, I hated seeing how much this situation was hurting her, hell it was bothering me too.

"Oh daddy, it's all my fault." She said curling herself tightly into my chest, her tears leaving their wet marks on my suit. "Ruby says it's not but I know it is. I didn't mean to get her into trouble."

"It's okay Belle," I cooed soothingly rocking her. Belle was hysterical about what happened to her friend and I hated seeing my daughter like this. "Stop crying and tell me what happened."

"It was at the girl's night. We were all drunk and I was the one who told Ruby she should make the first move with Dr. Whale." She said loudly through her tears.

"Shh calm down Belle, you girls were drinking and having a good time. You weren't thinking straight and neither was Ruby, this wasn't your mistake." I told her. Belle has never been drunk before meaning her words were irrational and couldn't have made any sense, Ruby took it upon herself to take matters into her own hands and sleep with Whale, although like Whale said, he wanted her too. This wasn't on Belle. But something else was bothering me. Something that could mess up my chances of gaining custody of Belle. "You need to tell me if you said anything about us while you were drunk?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Belle are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure, I didn't say anything." She took a short moment to think to herself. "Well-"

"Well what? What did you tell your friends?" I asked quickly, I needed to know. This whole situation was becoming more and more terrifying to me.

"Nothing about us, I just mentioned that I was 13 when I lost my virginity."

I sighed and shook my head, fearing that what she told her friends would come back to haunt me. My mind begin to run to the worst possible things. Like what if they called Belle to the stand as a witness to testify? What if they questioned her to the point that she had no choice but to tell the courts everything? I'm an attorney, I know how lawyers like playing on the naivety of teenagers. But that didn't matter right now, all that mattered was consoling my daughter.

"It's okay Belle we can put this all behind us. I'm not taking the case."

"No dad you have to, Whale can't go to jail, Ruby loves him," Belle Implored, but how could I? I would be representing the rapist of my daughter's friend, I needed to keep at least an ounce of the morals I had left.

"Sweetheart I can't help out a sex offender, what would that say about my character?"

"That you're pretty open to it, seeing as you did the same." She was right, only, what I did was much worse. Belle was only 13 and I thought she was my biological daughter.

"Exactly, people may start suspecting some foul play about me." I tried to clarify to my daughter. She didn't understand how this would make me look. I had my own hearing coming up. What if me representing a sex offender jeopardized my chances of gaining custody of Belle?

"So, a week ago you were ready to tell our family about us."

"Yes, our family," I explained. "Not Storybrooke."

"Dad, please he doesn't deserve this, I don't want my best friend to be hurt and blaming herself." She pleaded with those deserving blue eyes.

"And she shouldn't Belle, it's these laws. They're supposed to protect us, but sometimes they don't." I couldn't help but think back to when I was so worried that I would get caught with Belle, and my biggest fear was her blaming herself for what happened. I couldn't let that happen to Belle's best friend. "You're right, Ruby shouldn't blame herself. I believe you once said you cant help who you fall in love with. I'll help him."

"Thank you dad." she said giving me the warmest hug. It felt so good to have her back in my arms, I almost didn't want to let her go. But I did and wiped her tears and reminded her that daddy was going to take care of everything.

Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews.
-RL