The Enchanted Forest, two weeks pre-curse

Belle had known intellectually that Robin was a thief. She'd met him, after all, because he'd been breaking into Rumpelstiltskin's castle to steal something. Regardless of whether she felt he was justified in that particular instance, he had definitely been comfortable enough with his skills as a burglar to risk breaking into arguably the single most well protected building in the entire Enchanted Forest. Still, knowing something and knowing something were very different things.

She'd thought that being with the Merry Men would be a great adventure, but within a week, the life of crime became more than she could handle. The breaking point had been the day that she had been asked to pose as Roland's distressed mother and beg for help from a passing carriage while the rest of the Merry Men looted it. Belle, it turned out, was not born for the life of a bandit.

It didn't matter what platitudes they said about stealing from the rich to feed the poor. In her old life, Belle had had enough to share without petty theft.

She was sitting a little away from the rest of the group as they drank and laughed about this latest victory. Roland was with her and she was showing him how to weave daisy chains to make flower crowns.

Her attention was drawn back towards the group when they erupted in a cheer and she saw Little John entering the clearing with the bags of gold he'd lifted. She sighed and went back to weaving Roland a crown fit for the king of the forest. He had already proclaimed Belle as his queen, though that was likely because she was the only woman he knew.

"Halt!" Roland exclaimed loudly, jumping to his feet.

Belle glanced up from her pile of flowers to see the boy holding his little wooden sword towards his approaching father. Robin smiled indulgently at his son and put his hands in the air.

"I come on a mission of peace, my liege," Robin said, offering Roland a courtly bow. "I seek an audience with the queen, if I may."

Roland glanced back to Belle with an uncertain look on his face.

"And what is the purpose of this visit, good sir?" she called to Robin.

"Very boring adult business, my lady," he replied.

"In that case," she said, setting her pile of flowers onto the forest floor and brushing out her skirts. "You can accompany me on a quest to gather more flowers. We're running low."

Robin nodded and whispered something to Roland who immediately dashed off to join the men around the campfire.

"So," she said once they were alone. "What was so important?"

"You and Roland did well today," Robin said simply as Belle led him away from the clearing towards where she and Roland had found flowers earlier. "Have you given any more thought to what we discussed?"

He'd asked her if she wanted to stay in a more permanent capacity, and Belle had put him off. She hadn't truly decided yet where she wanted to go and where would be the safest place for her. If she managed to get to Midas' kingdom, she could take shelter inside the castle walls and in Abigail's good graces. She didn't believe that she was important enough to Regina for the queen to come fetch her personally - at least not with the threat of Snow White and her new husband still looming - but it was a distinct possibility. With the Merry Men, she had the safety of anonymity. Nobody they encountered knew her name or where she had come from, and no one would know to look for her here in the forest (aside from possibly Rumpelstiltskin, but she'd long ago given up thinking he might come for her).

"I still haven't made up my mind," Belle replied. "I can't ask you all to keep me here when I'm such a liability."

"No more of a liability than the rest of us," he said simply, stooping to pluck a few blossoms. "We're all wanted, after all, and no one more than me."

He said it so simply, like he hadn't been tortured within an inch of his life. Like he hadn't only barely escaped because Rumpelstiltskin had wanted her to think well of him.

He could still come looking for her, Belle realized. She'd heard rumors he was being kept prisoner but Belle was no fool - there was no cage that could contain the Dark One. If Rumpelstiltskin decided to come looking for her, he would know how to find her here, and Robin's life could very well be forfeit if Rumple truly had no further feelings for her.

She didn't really believe he would come for her, or that he would hurt Robin, but the possibility still remained and in the end, that had to be enough to make her mind up for her. Abigail would be safer with her around than Robin was - whether he knew it or not.

Storybrooke, three days after the curse break

He traded a tracking potion for a phone number. Of all the deals Rumpelstiltskin had ever made with the Charmings, this was probably the worst (although the look on the prince's face when Rumpelstiltskin's price ended up being Princess Abigail's phone number had almost been worth the cost of the magic itself). Whatever Charming needed with a tracking potion, though, it paled in comparison to the importance of the hopeful little smile on Belle's face when he presented her with a way to contact her friend - or the hug she'd given him immediately after that and before she bounded off to find her phone.

It was nice being friends with Belle again, he decided. It didn't really matter so much if she ever loved him again as long as she was still here. Even if 'here' was sometimes Granny's diner where she was sitting across from the blonde princess and talking in low tones with an occasionally guarded look on her face while he sat a few booths away and watched her in between examining the atlas he'd brought with him.

Charming had said that the town borders were closed to them. Should any of them cross the town line, all their memories would be forfeit. It had been a blow, and his shop still bore signs of his frustration, if you knew where to look. He'd cleaned it up as much as possible once he'd come back to himself, but as soon as Belle came into the room, she'd recognized something had happened. Belle always knew when he was upset, but thankfully she didn't push him for details and he wasn't going to offer any. She'd learn about how trapped they were soon enough.

He'd promised her an adventure - a real one this time. He had no idea where in this world Baelfire might be, and while they searched, they would see everything that the Land Without Magic had to offer. He had asked Regina for enough money to allow him to find his son, but he could spare some of it for making things up to Belle.

Giggling from the other table caught his attention and he glanced up to see Belle and Abigail leaning over the table conspiratorially. He was going to have to find a workaround to get them out of this town, but the seer had said he would be reunited with his son again. Rumpelstiltskin would simply have to trust in that, and in the meantime he would do whatever it took to make Belle happy.

Rumpelstiltskin was startled out of what was most certainly not a daydream about Belle and the baby and Bae all sitting together in an apartment in Paris and reading a novel when Jefferson slid into the booth across from him.

"What do you want?" he snapped, largely because he strongly suspected that the hatter had seen the look on his face.

"Regina survived," Jefferson said. "I used the wraith like you told me and she survived!"

"I didn't tell you to do anything," Rumpelstiltskin replied. "I simply provided you with the means to do what you'd requested."

"Don't pretend that you were doing me a favor," Jefferson shot back. "You don't do favors and we both know it. You wanted her gone just as much as I did."

"Perhaps," Rumpelstiltskin said. "But I have other things to worry about besides Regina. She doesn't have her magic here. She's of little concern."

As if on cue, there was a small stampede of people down the street in front of the diner. Belle and Abigail both looked concerned, but Rumpelstiltskin was instantly on edge.

"That sounds like it's probably my hint to leave," Jefferson said as he slid out of the booth. "But don't think I've forgotten about this, Gold."

"The thought never crossed my mind."

Jefferson let himself out of the diner and into the throng of people and Rumpelstiltskin decided to take his lead, getting to his feet and collecting his papers. Whatever was going on, it was bad and they were vulnerable here. He itched to get Belle back to the safety of their house and away from whatever else was going on.

She seemed almost surprised when he approached their table, but she didn't protest when he offered his hand to help her up.

"This has been fun," Abigail said, glancing suspiciously at Rumpelstiltskin. "We should do it again sometime."

"Definitely," Belle agreed. "I'm so glad we got to catch up."

The women hugged quickly and then he had Belle on the street and headed towards his car.

"Thank you," she said once they were safely on their way home. "For getting me her number. And taking me to see her."

"You don't have to thank me for that," he said instantly. "You're a grown woman, and you're not my maid."

"Still," she replied. "I know you've been worried about me being out with people right now. Thank you for coming with me."

Belle smiled at him and put her hand on his and for a second it felt like he was floating, but he had to focus because failure to do so would result in running over pedestrians. Seriously, what was going on? Charming had scheduled a town hall meeting, but for the life of him Rumpelstiltskin couldn't figure out how that possibly could have led to this sort of hysteria. The boy wasn't the most charismatic prince he'd ever seen, but this was overkill even for that.

Speaking of Charming, he was actually waiting on the porch when Rumpelstiltskin and Belle returned. How they'd been beaten home he couldn't begin to guess, but from the agitation on Charming's face Rumpelstiltskin strongly suspected he may soon have his answer about the mob.

Charming leapt to his feet as soon as the Cadillac pulled into the driveway and was approaching the car before it was even parked.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Rumpelstiltskin said as soon as he was out of the vehicle.

He heard Belle letting herself out of the car as well and he glanced over his shoulder to make sure she wasn't disturbed by this intrusion. She looked curious, and he had to squash the urge to smile. Belle always looked curious.

"Regina has magic back," Charming blurted out. "She interrupted the town meeting and stole Henry."

This elicited a gasp from Belle, who came around the side of the car to stand with Rumpelstiltskin.

"What happened?" she asked curiously before turning to Rumpelstiltskin. "I thought she couldn't access magic here."

"She couldn't," Rumple said with a grimace. "At least, she couldn't the day before yesterday."

"So you didn't make a deal with her?" Charming asked pointedly.

"Why would I make a deal with Regina?" Rumpelstiltskin replied with his own question. "What could she possibly have to offer me?"

"You have to do something," Charming said. "We can't let her keep Henry."

"I'm sorry," Rumpelstiltskin shot back. "What do you expect me to do to stop her? Kill her for you?"

This brought Charming up short and even Belle seemed to pause.

"That's what I thought," Rumple continued. "Even if I did steal the boy back for you, she's not going to stop coming after him as long as she's alive."

"Can't you bind her magic?" Charming asked. "Or put a protection spell on him? Something?"

"Magic isn't the same here," Rumpelstiltskin replied. "And besides, to bind someone as powerful as Regina would require at least three witches and a sample of her blood - neither of which you have."

"So what am I supposed to do, then?" Charming said. "Just let her keep my grandson?"

Rumpelstiltskin took a deep breath and looked over at Belle. She was watching him and he knew this was a test that he couldn't afford to fail in front of her. She had to know he wouldn't side with Regina and that he was capable of protecting her.

"Give me until tomorrow," he finally sighed.

"I can't wait that long," Charming replied instantly. "I can't abandon Henry."

"Everybody knows that she won't hurt Henry," Rumpelstiltskin said. "Anyway, it takes that long to make the potion."

"And your price?"

"We can discuss that in the morning," Rumpelstiltskin replied. "either way, it seems you have a town to calm and I'd suggest you do better than a speech this time."

Charming's jaw was working as he stared at Rumpelstiltskin, but finally he nodded and relaxed.

"Tomorrow," Charming agreed, turning towards his truck. "I'll be by first thing in the morning."

"Bring your sword," Rumpelstiltskin called to the other man's back. "You may need it."