A/N: This was such a popular request that I had to do this first. Thank you so much for reading and enjoy!

One Night Stand

Grace5231973, Luna Myth 11, and Rosefairy15 prompted: Ryan and Belle talk. *At last.* (Rated M)

Ever since that fateful day when Ryan and Belle unexpectedly returned in each other's lives, both couldn't stop thinking about the other. One had thoughts of bittersweet joy; the other was full of anxiety. One wanted to see the other again; the other wanted to curl into a ball and disappear forever.

Ryan had been thinking of reasons to see Belle again. (Belle… He couldn't get enough of her name. It was so lovely, so real. Not the figment of his imagination like Rose had been.) Of course he felt they were lame excuses and made him come off as desperate and maybe even a little bit creepy. He didn't want to use his son to get to know the pretty librarian. The pretty pregnant librarian.

For all he knew the father of her child could be very much in the picture. He didn't want to ruin any domestic bliss and make anything awkward for her. In his self-deprecating mind, he could see how it would look—a middle-aged male with a limp, gray hairs and everything, chasing after a young beautiful woman.

He was kidding himself, plain and simple. Though he couldn't stop thinking about her. Perhaps if he had the chance to talk to her, to get some things out of the open, then… maybe… he could feel better. Maybe he could put this phantom to rest at last.

As for Belle, she was a tangling mess of knots. Never had she thought she would see him again.

See Rum.

But he wasn't Rum.

He was Ryan Gold. Father of Bae Gold the cute little boy who visited her children's section all the time. She had a one night stand with his father who made this wonderful blanket for her baby.

His baby.

She really wanted to crawl into a corner and beat her head against the wall. She could have told him right there, but with Bae standing there, she didn't want to bring it up. How could she explain that she only meant to have no strings attached sex? Or his father having to tell him he spent the night with the nice lady and whoopsie you're a big brother!

Not to mention… Since Ryan already had a child—who's to say he would want another one? And with a total stranger?

Never had she felt so screwed. Quite literally.

Part of her knew he might want to talk, especially if he suspected he could be the father. It was one thing when she thought she would never see him again. It was a whole other ball of wax to see he was part of the neighborhood.

True… there was a time long ago that Belle wanted to find him. She had every intention if they crossed paths, then she would tell him she was pregnant and if he wanted to be involved then that was fine with her. If not… she could live with it. Over time, however, her resolve had dissipated as the reality of her situation became more apparent. She was going to do this alone; she didn't need anyone to support her.

But now things have changed. He was back. He was living in Storybrooke and there was the possibility they would see more of each other.

Was it so bad she didn't want to see him with that fear he wanted to talk? She already accepted her world was going to change, and she didn't want anything else to mess it up.

Then again, why not get it out in the open? At least she wouldn't have to worry or fret or stress out about it. Whatever Ryan chooses to do, she wouldn't be cruel and deny him seeing his child if he wished it.

But the real reason she was concerned: what if he wanted to take the child?

He owned his own business, knew how to raise a child… He was more put together than she was. What qualifications does she have to be a mom? It didn't matter she came from a single parent household. She had her own insecurities and seeing Ryan increased them tenfold.

Despite her misgivings, one thing she knew with absolute certainty: she loved this baby. Once the shock was over, Belle fell in love with the future and what this little life would be like. She already could not imagine life without this child. But the dream was threatened with the risk that Ryan would find out and she didn't want to lose this baby.

She could only pray that it was the last she saw of Ryan Gold.

xxXXxx

However, fate had other plans.

One morning Belle was feeling restless and decided to go on a stroll. Walking always seemed to be the best medicine, and she had a favorite trail that usually would put her in a good mood. Plus it was the best kept secret for her since hardly anyone used the trail to the Wishing Well.

Belle took the familiar path and wasn't long before she was approaching the stone well. It was an old relic, well-preserved, and it had a story. Supposedly if a person threw in a coin they would meet their True Loves. Typically teenage girls would take part in such childish romantic fantasies but in the early dawn Belle had it all to herself.

Many years ago she had participated in the same rite of passage, but the idea of True Love no longer existed. Yet it was a wishing well and she had a wish to make.

She tossed a quarter inside and closed her eyes, silently moving her lips her wish.

"It's pretty."

Her back went rigid when she heard a Scottish accent. And there was only one person in this whole town that had one…

Turning around, Belle concealed her surprise and inner panic because this was the thing she wished wouldn't happen. "Come again?" she asked.

Ryan motioned behind her. "The well. It's pretty."

"Yeah." Her mind was officially blank. What should she say? Right now, her vocal chords were only capable of monosyllabic responses. "Yeah," she said again.

The whole scene was awkward. She was barely looking at him, electing to look away, with her hands in her pockets. He was standing there quietly, probably trying to think of something to say, his weight shifting as he, too, wasn't looking at her but at the ground. Belle would have laughed if there was something funny to laugh at, but she suppose the real humor was the fact they were able to make the sex arrangement without any problems but the aftermath was difficult.

Finally, Ryan cleared his throat.

"I had no idea… Well, I hope you were, but not to say I tried looking I did almost every day. No that came out wrong. What I mean to say is that—fuck." He was royally messing this up and he didn't know how to fix it. Running a nervous hand through his hair, he tried again. "Belle. Can I call you Belle?"

"Sure."

"Belle," he sighed in relief. "Do you mind if I start from the beginning?"

She shrugged. "Go right ahead."

"Hello. I'm Ryan Gold." He held out his hand.

Whatever she expected him to do, she didn't expect another introduction. Taking his hand, she gave it a firm shake. "Belle French. Now that we got that over… again…"

That earned her a chuckle. "I want you to know that I did try to look for you. That night was one of the best nights of my life."

She looked at him sharply. "It was?"

He nodded. "As you know, I was in a bad place and you helped me."

"Yeah… So was I. In a bad place too," she clarified.

"This may sound forward but I hoped to find you again."

Belle didn't know how that made her feel, but she found herself grinning in spite of herself. Ryan was actually sweet and awfully terrible at expressing himself, which wasn't off-putting or weird or anything. There was something genuine about him, trustworthy. She felt safe around him. Of course this shouldn't come to her as a surprise. She felt that way when she first met him in the bar so many months ago. It was why she readily accepted his proposal in the first place.

She kicked at a tiny stone. "I hoped the same thing too," she admitted shyly. "It was a great night. Probably the best one for me too."

That perked him up. He has a nice smile, she thought. Makes him handsome. Really handsome.

Not liking where her train of thought was leading, Belle lowered her gaze. "But now…"

"Yes, of course," he said quickly. "You're a beautiful woman. There weren't any expectations so I shouldn't have thought… Anyways, he is a lucky man."

At first his mention of a "he" threw Belle off until she realized he was referring to her baby's father. He didn't know. She didn't know if she should count her lucky stars or what, but Ryan didn't suspect he was the father so that left her with a huge decision to make.

Despite how nice he seemed or how she felt around him, Belle didn't know him. She didn't know how he would react to the news or if he would take a drastic recourse of action. Truthfully, Belle didn't want to know. So she did what she thought was best in that moment.

"He's… not in the picture," Belle said. At his look of astonishment, she continued. "Don't feel bad. He wasn't… father material. In fact, this works out for the best."

"How?" Ryan questioned. "A man should—a real man should take responsibility."

It was amazing how easy the lies came, but Belle was able to inject some truth to it. After all, if Gary had been the father… it wouldn't have been a total lie. He would have done exactly what Belle told Ryan.

"My boyfriend had these grandiose ideas. Honestly, I sometimes wonder why I stuck with him as long as I did, but we were high school sweethearts and I don't know... Everyone had this faith in us and I guess I thought so too. Anyways, Gary had this dream of becoming this world-class hunter. He competed and won a lot of awards and he was pretty good. I'm not much of a hunter. I don't see the thrill in it like he does, but that was his dream. I supported him as a dutiful girlfriend is supposed to do. He wanted to travel the world and so did I. Kids… they didn't factor in yet. At least not for another five or ten years.

"So Gary had this opportunity of a lifetime. He was going to hunt big and exotic game in a series of competitions across the world. Then I found out I was pregnant. He wasn't happy; he went as far to blame me for ruining this for him. We got into a huge fight and I told him that giving up this baby wasn't an option. I told him if he didn't want it, then he didn't have to be in its life. He could live his dream without having to worry about me or the baby dragging him down.

"This was my decision too. I realized that we were growing apart. We had different interests and we were together just to be together. Gary saw this too. So we decided to end things. He's living his life, and so am I."

The breaking up part was true. Gary did receive this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He wanted Belle to tag along but at that point she knew she had to come clean. The whole time she was keeping her pregnancy a secret, going to doctor visits out of town, just to avoid the hassle until she was ready. And like she told Ryan, Gary and she were drifting apart way before she chose to go with Ryan to that motel. They were together, to be together. The Homecoming and Prom King and Queen… sweethearts forever. But there was trouble in paradise. Belle knew Gary was cheating on her, and while two wrongs didn't make a right, she wasn't heartbroken over it.

So when he told her about this competition, Belle knew it was right to tell him the truth. To say Gary was upset was an understatement but as soon as the initial shock wore off… he was pretty calm. He was honest with her and how things between them weren't what he wanted either. So they made the mutual agreement to end their relationship and go their separate ways.

Before Gary left, he did admit he was relieved to hear he wasn't the father. "You know I'm not ready for that," he told her. And she did.

But Ryan didn't feel it was the right thing.

"I'm sorry Belle but your boyfriend is a bastard," he said. "Dream or no dream, you don't abandon your child. He should have stepped up and offered to help."

"It's okay Ryan. Really." She hadn't counted on him being so angry, but Ryan was downright furious.

"No it's not." He shook his head. Outrage, contempt filled his facial features. "He should have stayed at your side and be the father. Nothing in this world matters except the little boy or girl that is going to come into this world. He should have stayed."

Ryan couldn't believe how nonchalant she was or how disinterested she was in that the father of her child refused to take responsibility. Then again, he had no right to tell her what to do or how to live her life. They were strangers after all.

But Belle did seem content. He didn't know this Gary so maybe she was right in saying that it was for the best for the father not to be in the picture. But his sensibilities and own sense of righteousness told him this wasn't fair. She should have someone to rely on during this time. He knew how pregnancies could go what with Milah and Bae. So even Ryan surprised himself with what he said next:

"If you need anything Belle, and I mean anything, I hope you can count me as a friend to help you."

She didn't want him to do anything, but maybe it was guilt that had her replying, "I'll do that. Thank you."

Oh Belle… Why did you have to do that? Well, I have a few more prompts for this couple so the next one should give you a lot of fluffy feels.