A/N: Thank you for everyone sticking with me. Finishing this is taking longer than I anticipated but the Muse calls when it calls. I am drawing a little bit of inspiration from the real-life case of the Oakland County Child Killer aka The Babysitter Killer, but a lot of it is made up.

Ghost Whisperer Inspired

Prompt: Medium Belle French is working with Mr. Gold's ghost to solve his unfinished business with his son. What she uncovers is a horror story and the unexpected happens. (Rated M for violence, child abuse, implied rape, and character death)

Belle had to admit that she and Gold made a pretty good team. Well, as good of a team as one can be when one of them was dead. Not to mention they had gotten off on the wrong foot. Belle was investigating the haunting of Storybrooke's library in the hopes she could bring peace to the restless spirit of Mr. Gold. Instead, she met her match in the cankerous ghost and while he made it perfectly clear he didn't want her services, she was not going to give up.

She felt his pain and knew something was keeping him from crossing over, and she was determined to find out. What Belle had not expected, though, was the extent of Mr. Gold's unfinished business. As it turned out, Mr. Gold had a son—Bailey—and he was taken when he was six by the notorious child kidnapper Pied Piper and was never seen or heard from again. By all accounts, Bailey was presumably dead but a body was never found.

The same went with the rest of the Pied Piper's victims: all young boys, age five to eight-years-old, and no bodies were ever recovered.

This case was familiar to Belle. In fact, she doubted if there was a single person who hadn't heard about the Pied Piper. The disappearances took place in the late seventies and the early eighties, around the same time as another nationwide case that took place in Michigan. The only difference was that the bodies were found, but the Pied Piper hid his victims so well that the police had no leads, nothing to help the families find closure. It remained unsolved and was still opened as far as Belle knew.

Not all of the victims' names were known to the public. Some families chose to keep it private for the sake of their sanities, and it was obvious Mr. Gold had been one of them. The moment she discovered the headline and article in the library, Belle's heart immediately leapt to her throat. She could only imagine the depth of that anguish and sorrow of losing a child in such a manner… never to find the truth, always wondering and always imagining the most horrific things. It made perfect sense what Mr. Gold was doing and why he would frighten away guests from this spot.

"What the Hell are you doing?!"

She should have known he wouldn't take her meddling kindly, and in that heat of the moment, she could see how truly menacing he had been in life too. But she stood her ground and told him with a steely grit in her voice:

"We're going to find Bailey and bring him home."

That caught Gold off-guard. Usually after only one encounter from him, no one would be stupid or brave enough to return. The fact she came back proved she was incredibly stupid or idiotically brave—which one, he could not decide; however, this medium had guts and she wasn't going to back down. He begrudgingly had to admire her gumption but he had to know what did she think she could find when he had spent close to thirty years trying to find his son?

Belle smirked, her blue eyes glittering at the prospect of a challenge. "For starters, I wasn't here but I am good at uncovering the truth."

Thus started the unlikely partnership and Gold had to admit she was quick and sharp as a whip. It didn't take her long to update herself on all the case file notes he had and she also organized all the information too, which Gold's order was a haphazard mess. At least with Belle's record keeping it was easy to see and trace the events for each victim.

Bae was not the only child to go missing after going to get ice cream. There was at least two other reports where the parents said they gave their sons money, but they didn't watch them, assuming the transaction would only be a couple minutes. Yet the Pied Piper's cunning did not stop with ice cream as a lure. There were a dozen or so reports of strange music late at night that sounded like a flute playing. Not that anyone witnessed the mysterious flute player but usually a child would wind up missing. Then there were reports of someone dressing up as a clown and offering balloon animals as well.

The clown lead did not prove to be a strong one as the appearance of one brought too much attention to the individual. No, the Pied Piper preferred tricks. Belle found one story where the parents of a five-year-old boy, Michael Darling, had spoken about his new friend Peter before he vanished. They had assumed Peter was an imaginary friend of their son's, never suspecting that he was real.

There were at least ten confirmed reports where the Pied Piper was the suspect, but Belle found other possible ties that could be linked, which would bring the total number to twenty-five. Of course, this spanned about fifteen years and several different states before the kidnappings suddenly stopped.

"Police had a couple suspects that they were investigating, but there wasn't enough evidence to say for certain who was responsible. Even with the name of 'Peter' as a possible lead did not help much. But I did find something interesting," Belle told Gold one evening.

She showed him a mugshot of a known pedophile that was arrested for child pornography in 1955. His name was Malcolm Spinner and Belle also found out that he had a fetish about being young. At the time of his arrest, Malcolm told police that it was okay for him to possess such photos as he was a child himself. A psychiatrist did evaluate him but did not see him as a threat to himself or the public. He had no interest in touching children. He wanted to be like them, envying their youthfulness.

During the time of the Pied Piper, Malcolm Spinner was a name that popped up, but nothing was found to link him to the kidnappings.

"Why do you think he might be the one?" Gold asked her. "The police had no proof."

"No but he, too, also disappeared right around the time the kidnappings stopped. Sometimes a coincidence like that shouldn't be ignored."

Belle found an address for Malcolm Spinner and was going to go there but Gold insisted he go with her too. At this, she raised her brow and asked him how was he going to do that? Gold's spirit was attached to the library and there was no way he could walk out the door.

It was Gold's turn to smirk. "For your information, I'm tethered to an object that I hid in this library before I died."

"But you died from a heart attack. How could you have…?"

"I was diagnosed with heart disease so there was always the possibility that cardiac arrest would take me. I was advised to stop my search for Bae as it was putting too much stress on my heart, but I ignored the doctor and continued. I was here when I began to feel an attack coming so I did some quick thinking." Gold bent down and pointed to the leg of one of the tables.

Belle kneeled beside him as he instructed her to lift the leg and unscrewed the bottom part where she hadn't noticed until then that it was partially loose. Inside was a tiny ripped handkerchief folded over. Belle pulled it out and opened the cloth to find a ring. It was a silver setting with a round and smooth blue gem for a head.

"I was able to hide it before I was found. By then it was too late and I woke up at this very spot as they were taking my body away," he explained.

"You died here?" Belle repeated. That was a factoid Mrs. Lucas failed to mention. Gold chuckled at the expression on her face.

"She never forgave me for dying in her library. It kept people from visiting lest they should also die from exposure to books."

Belle snorted as she rolled her eyes. "I guess you can come with me after all." She slipped the ring on her ring finger and it was his turn to have a strange look overcome his features.

She realized what she had done, and shrugged nonchalantly. "It's the only finger that would fit it."

Gold nodded but didn't say a word. The truth was… during this time working together they developed a friendship and if he was being perfectly honest with himself he was becoming fond of her. Really fond in fact. But Gold knew she would never look at him in such a way. Not because he was a ghost but even in life Belle would not have given him the time of day. He wouldn't blame her. He became unbearable after losing Bae. Perhaps it was a blessing their paths hadn't crossed when he was alive. And yet, Gold felt himself longing to be able to touch her. Just once… Even if it was a simple caress. That comfort would suffice.

Likewise, Belle was also struggling with her feelings too. She knew getting close to him would not be in her best interest. She was here to do one thing, and one thing alone: help Gold solve his unfinished business so he could pass over. But she found herself enjoying his company and wished she had the chance to know him when he was alive. Then again, he was such a miser and would be undoubtedly infuriating. Nevertheless, Belle saw the good in him and how devoted of a father he was. After learning more about Bailey Gold, she found herself falling in love with the little boy and the hope and joy he brought to his father.

And it made her want to find him desperately as much as Gold wanted.

With Gold's ring in her possession, Belle was able to transport Gold as she drove across state lines to Malcolm Spinner's home in New Hampshire. The house was dilapidated and surrounded by open fields. It was truly a place in the middle of nowhere and it gave Belle the creeps just by looking at it.

Mustering her courage, she faced Gold and took a deep breath. "Ready?"

He nodded once. "As I will ever be."

As they approached the building, Belle was instantly swarmed with emotions so intense that she physically had a reaction as she quickly turned and vomited into the weeds and tall grass. She closed her eyes to gain some control but she was already getting flashes of the agony that was inflicted.

The smell of terror was high as a child was being dragged across the field, tears falling down as he tried to grip the railing to keep from being pulled into the house. A sharp, ripping pain shot through his arm as splinters from the wood jammed into his palm. Then darkness as another pain, this one tearing him in half, overcame him as he cried out for help.

There had been a tree and he was suspended in the air, floating practically flying, and he was being pushed around to pretend he was soaring. He begged for mercy, for it to stop, but he was forced to stay outside like that. When he refused to play, the mean man would loop a lasso around his neck and choked him until he agreed. But it was the rain that made it worse. He would be stripped in order for the rain to clean him and he was cold… So cold…

She saw their faces. They were glimpses but she saw each boy being brought to this Hell and the fear in their eyes when they realized they had nowhere to escape, no one to turn too to help them.

Worse of all, she saw Bailey.

Wiping her mouth, Belle clenched her fist as she rose on shaky legs. She wasn't going to tell Gold what she saw done to his son. She would spare him that horror.

"It is him," Gold murmured after watching her. "He was responsible."

"Yes," Belle answered. "Let's go inside."

The torment didn't end as they entered the house. Belle felt the presences at once as tears gathered. They were all here. Every single boy that had gone missing. They were trapped and terrified and she had to bite her tongue from losing her composure.

"I don't see him. Belle… Why can't I see him?" Gold demanded, the urgency in his tone betrayed his own fear that Bailey may not be here after all. That maybe it was someone else who had his son.

"They're hiding," she whispered. "Come on."

Relying on her senses, Belle followed the trail to the basement. Gold was not far behind her and when she flinched he held out his arms to catch her, but Belle kept her balance though a hardened look crossed her countenance. She seized a shovel that was propped against the wall and began digging like a madwoman.

"Shh… Do not cry. Don't you see? We will be young forever!"

"It won't hurt. Just a little sting and it will be all better."

"My children… My own Lost Boys. We will have so much fun together."

Gold watched her as a woman possessed and perhaps she was… Her fury aided her as she began to dig up the remains, only stopping long enough to change her direction as she resumed her gruesome task. Then Gold saw the children appearing one by one as they all watched Belle find them. Among the throng, Gold looked for one familiar face.

Belle knew she was reaching the end. She was close to finding the last boy and she dropped the shovel, falling to her hands and knees as she began to push the dirt aside, scrambling to see his face. When she was brushing the earth away from his skull, Belle froze as a new vision gripped her.

Bailey was the last boy; his sobs had stopped when he realized this was it. There was no use in fighting as Malcolm knelt in front of him. One hand covered in blood from holding a knife, the other held a gun. He was making them choose, and in return, he promised it would be painless.

"Are you excited?" Malcolm asked. "Soon we will get to play with each other forever. No rules, no adults. And no growing up. It will be Paradise. Now, Bailey, what would you like?"

He made up his mind. As his life was slowly seeping out, Bailey could only watch above as Malcolm threw dirt over him, covering all of them up, as he talked to himself about wanting to keep his friends warm. Then as his vision began to blur and become hazy, Bailey saw the glint of the gun as Malcolm lifted it to his temple…

Belle barely felt a thing as the shovel hit the back of her head, a deafening crack resounded in the empty basement.

A small smile played on her lips as the last thing she saw was young Bailey Gold running into the arms of his father.

xxXXxx

There he was! Bae! His sweet, precious Bae!

Gold practically cried out with happiness as Bae ran to him, and he felt his son as if he was solid and real, and in that moment, he was alive to him. He held Bae tight, never letting go, as his son also squeezed him back in return, weeping loudly, "Papa! Papa! Papa! You came! You came!"

He didn't know until afterwards, after hearing a horrible crack that Gold looked and what he saw curdled his nonexistent blood…

Malcolm stood over Belle with the shovel in his hands, anger lit in his eyes, as he began cursing her for ruining everything. He never noticed Gold, which was just fine, as the father tackled him, pummeling his fists at any spot he could reach. Gold howled and screamed for all the lives this monster took. Killing him would bring a small dose of pleasure but since he was already dead… Gold would settle for choking him for all eternity.

He took his son, took all these innocent boys, and Belle.

He would never see her again. Never get the chance to thank her, to tell her how he really felt…

Then, he felt something pressing on his shoulder. It was gentle, and soft, and warm.

"It's over now," Belle whispered, touching his back and nodding to Malcolm who was beginning to fade. Of course, the last part of him that disappeared was his eyes, which were widening in panic and fear, the only indicator where he was now.

"But… he… How?" Gold sputtered.

She lifted her shoulders. "I don't know. I'm just as astonished as you are."

"Papa, who is she?" Bailey asked shyly. Then, he added, "Are you an angel?"

The other children were murmuring at once, running up to Belle and taking turns in hugging her. She was too stunned to speak but Gold grinned as he ruffled his son's hair.

"Yes she is Bae. Yes she is."

xxXXxx

Fortunately, they were discovered. Or, Belle's body was discovered. The police tracked the GPS on her phone, and to their surprise, they found not only one body but all the missing children too.

DNA tests would confirm each boy's identity and their families were notified so they could give their loved ones the proper burials they deserved.

Indeed, each ghostly child began to cross over as soon as they were reunited with their families. All that was left was Belle, Mr. Gold, and Bailey.

"You have no more unfinished business," Belle told him. "I promised you we would bring your son home."

"That you did," Gold conceded. "Belle, you risked your life for us. I don't know what to say."

Looking over his shoulder, she saw something that brought a huge smile on her face. "Maybe you can buy me a drink at whatever bar they serve up there."

"What?"

He turned around to see a tunnel of light and his lips curved. "You got yourself a deal."

Okay, I figured this is the best conclusion for these prompts. I hope you all liked it, and I know it had to have been tough to read… It was hard to write! But it was a fitting way to give Gold his happy ending in finding his son, and for him and Belle to be together. Spoiler alert… they became a family in Heaven. You know the drill! Please leave a review.