Storybrooke, 2002

Lacey liked rent day. Gold always took her with him if she wanted to go, and there was something incredibly satisfying about putting on something expensive and traipsing about town while he took money from people who used to look down on her. Now that she was with him, nobody dared to try anything with her.

She wasn't sure what it said about her, but something about watching people cower in fear of him got her going. He was powerful and merciless and she could have him do whatever she wanted. It was a heady little power trip to traipse up and down the street in her nice shoes with her boyfriend. The one thing she skipped was usually her dad's shop. It was way too awkward for everyone when she was there, so she leaned up against the side of the building and waited while Gold went in. She liked to watch people coming and going sometimes and wonder what they were doing. Her life was so different now than it had been; sometimes she liked to remember it a little bit.

Of course, that was when Regina Mills decided to wander by with her toddler in tow. Lacey rolled her eyes preemptively as the mayor spotted her and made a beeline over. Fucking perfect.

"Aren't there city ordinances against loitering?" the mayor said pointedly. "Or at the very least solicitation?"

Lacey narrowed her eyes at the woman, sizing her up before attacking back. Of course, there was really only one thing Lacey had that she thought Regina might envy: a man. Not that she thought Regina was particularly interested in Gold, but Lacey was sure the mayor was lonely or else she never would have adopted the kid.

"Why?" Lacey replied with a careful nonchalance and a mean smirk. "Looking for pointers on how to attract a guy? Or are you interested? Because unfortunately I do have some standards these days."

Regina flushed bright red and sputtered, and Lacey half expected her to give a shrill I never! before storming off, but instead the mayor stepped forward, into Lacey's personal space, and leaned over her as menacingly as possible with a toddler on her hip - which was still pretty menacing. Lacey had to brace herself not to pull back in spite of the fact that she was sure Regina wouldn't physically attack her in public with a baby.

"You listen to me, you little bitch," Regina hissed. "You may parade up and down these streets like you own the place, but don't mistake yourself for important. I am the queen here – you're nothing to me. Gold may have some fascination with you, but you're a plaything in the end. Power – real power – isn't in men, it's the ability to take and to destroy whatever is in your way. So you enjoy your little affair while it lasts and when it's over just remember that when it all comes crashing down around you that, man or no man, I will always have the power here."

Lacey was so angry that she couldn't breathe. She'd never liked Regina Mills anyway, but she didn't have a retort for that. She wished Gold was here, because he would have had some cutting remark for the mayor, but Lacey had nothing to say. Her cheeks were burning red, and she couldn't even slap her because of the baby in her arms.

"You're really overestimating how much I think of you," Lacey said at last, leaning back against the wall of the flower shop and holding Regina's glare. "When I finally get the hell out of this little shit hole of a town you're so proud to lord over, I doubt I'll remember you at all. Enjoy the rest of your lonely life, Regina. Maybe if you'd get laid once in awhile you wouldn't be such a heinous bitch."

"Well, that's where you're wrong," Regina replied. "But maybe you should ask the sheriff about that."

She said the last in a taunting little sing-song that meant she'd scored a blow, but now Lacey had ammo and she meant to use it.

"You're taking your toddler with you on a date?" Lacey asked her, looking from Regina to Henry and then back out into the crowd because Regina was officially not worth her attention anymore. "Sounds hot. Tell Graham he's a lucky man."

Regina growled something, but Lacey had no desire to engage with her again. She'd scored her point, and anything else would just be losing ground. Sure enough, Regina stalked off down the street angrily, though she only got about half a block before she crossed the street because she'd found someone else to scream at. Whatever - that wasn't Lacey's problem to deal with.

She stood back up when the door to the flower shop opened and Gold walked out, tucking some money into his pocket and walking over to her. Whatever Regina wanted to say, Lacey could tell she'd hit a nerve with her and she wasn't going to stop needling it. She wasn't going to sit back and let someone walk all over her while she could do anything about it. Besides, Regina Mills deserved whatever misery could be brought to her, that fucking bitch.

Lacey made a show of throwing herself at Gold as soon as he was within reach, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a hard kiss. He was barely startled, and soon enough she was pinned against the wall of her father's shop. She hoped Regina saw – she hoped everybody saw. Fuck the mayor for ruining her good mood, and fuck her for making this all feel cheap.

Gold didn't push her for why her mood was so weird, which was good. Lacey didn't want to have to admit what had happened or how Regina had pushed all her buttons, or even that she did worry sometimes about what would happen if everything went tits up for her. She didn't have a safety net – she had a box of expensive jewelry she could pawn.

The mayor's house was on Mifflin street, a few blocks away from the center of downtown (absolutely nothing was too far away from town in Storybrooke, though) and when they walked past it, Lacey felt a particularly naughty imp on her shoulder pushing her into mischief. The mayor's car was gone, and if Regina wasn't completely lying through her teeth then there was no reason to think she'd be back any time soon. So all Lacey had to do was convince Gold it was a good idea, and somehow she didn't think that would be much of a problem.

"You know what would be really sexy?" she asked, pressing her breasts into his arm provocatively as they walked.

"What?"

"You wanna have sex someplace a little dangerous?"

He stopped walking and looked at her like he was trying to decide if she was serious, so she just smiled and nodded towards the mayor's house.

"You're crazy," he replied as soon as he caught her meaning.

"Oh come on, Gold," she said, licking her lips and stroking her fingers across the back of his neck. "I know where she keeps the spare key and she won't be back for hours. It'll be fun."

"It'll be illegal."

"That's what makes it fun," she replied coyly, turning and walking slowly towards the front door. She was halfway up the drive before she glanced over her shoulder and winked at him. "Come on," she continued. "You're not afraid of Regina Mills, are you?"

She turned back towards the house and by the time she was on the porch she heard the familiar tapping sound of his cane behind her. It was the work of a few seconds to locate the spare key in its hiding place in one of the planters (Regina never had moved it after Lacey quit being her maid) and to get the door unlocked before she returned it to its rightful home. They didn't turn the lights on or speak, but Lacey led him quietly to the office. There were some papers on the desk, and Lacey didn't bother moving them before hopping up onto it and spreading her legs for him to step in between them.

Let Regina think what she wanted about Lacey. The difference between them was that Regina was satisfied with what she had and Lacey wanted more. She wanted bigger things and better places, and she wouldn't stop fighting until she had it. For right now, though, she had enough – she had Gold and he would do whatever she wanted, even if what she wanted was to have sex on this desk and leave her panties in a drawer, and that was good enough. Lacey wasn't one to be trifled with, and she would be damned if she ever let anyone look down on her again.

Storybrooke, 2011

Belle was jealous of his past with Cora. Rumplestiltskin wasn't sure how or why that could possibly have happened, but somehow she was. Of course, he had no idea what to do about that, or even if he should do anything. She was jealous. She was upset by the idea of his ex showing up. There was no way to phrase this that wasn't unbelievable and a little bit flattering. It was a good sign, though, wasn't it? It had to be.

It wasn't really a good time for Cora to appear (not that there was ever a good time to run into a seriously unhinged ex-lover). His relationship with Belle was in a delicate place, and beyond that, the baby was coming in less than two months. They both wanted baby Colette born out in the world somewhere and not in Storybrooke, and Bae was so close. Ideally, he wanted to make amends with Bae before the baby arrived – that would be perfect, absolutely perfect. But achieving that required him to find a way to get them both across the town line and there was no way he could do that before Cora arrived.

He had some ideas of how to keep Cora out of the town, but he didn't think that Belle would approve of demolishing the town well and trapping Emma and Snow White in the Enchanted Forest forever. No matter what he'd told Regina about being able to defeat her mother, Rumplestiltskin still didn't want to have to face her at all. He knew he could defeat her, but he didn't know what kind of carnage she might cause before he could manage that. If there was one thing he knew about Cora, it was that she wouldn't let anything stand in her way of getting what she wanted - and he didn't know what she wanted.

If Belle wouldn't understand what he had to do (and he wasn't sure she would), then somehow he was going to have to do it without her knowledge, which meant that he was going to have to find something to distract her with. Fortunately, there was at least one thing he knew could usually distract her.

She was in the nursery when he found her, sitting in the rocking chair and looking out the window dreamily. There was a little stuffed bear in her lap and she looked so content that he almost forgot what he'd come for in his desire to just watch her. She looked up after a few seconds and smiled at him sweetly.

"I got you something," he said. "For the baby."

"Yeah?"

"It's downstairs," he said, walking forward and offering her a hand getting out of the rocking chair. She could still get up and down by herself, but he could tell it was getting harder, and he liked taking care of her.

Belle followed him down to the living room where he'd had the deliveryman leave the box of books. It was mostly children's books for the baby, but there were a few that he'd thought she'd enjoy for herself and that he knew Lacey hadn't read. For some reason, it was important to Belle to have the nursery ready for the baby whether she'd be born there or not, and he wanted her to have whatever she wanted. Besides, it did feel nice to have a place for their daughter.

"Oh, Rumple!" she exclaimed happily, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied, trying not to feel so satisfied as she started looking through the books. He liked making her happy, even if it was a cold-blooded ploy to get her to stay home without asking any questions.

"Where did you get these?" she asked. "The bookstore has the worst selection I've ever seen."

"I have my ways," he replied, because I stole them from the library wasn't going to impress her too much. "Do you mind if I step out for a bit? I'm supposed to go meet with Regina to deal with her mother, and I don't want you being around her."

"Yeah, that's fine," Belle replied with a distracted smile. "I'll stay here."

She'd be safe, and that was all he could hope for anymore.