"So what do we do now that we have them convinced of your loyalty?" Emma asked Regina. "Are you sure that we do?"

"Well, they say that they believe me, but I think it would be foolish to just take their word alone," Regina told her. "We should probably count on them asking me to do some sort of loyalty test."

"And what would they make you do for a loyalty test?" Neal asked. "Probably something really dark, I bet."

"Yes," Rumple smirked. "They would probably ask you to kill me. Unless they want to handle that themselves, which is a real possibility."

"Do you really think they'd kill you?" Neal asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that was on their list," Rumple told him.

"You don't seem very concerned about this," Regina said, arms crossed. "Don't you think you should be? "Especially since you don't have the magic to fight back?"

"But you do," Rumple reminded her. "Can I trust you to use my magic to save me? Cause really, I'm the lesser of two evils here, Regina. Think about where you'll be if I die and you constantly have to be battling with your sister? In a matter of time, you could be dead and buried just like I would be."

"You really think she'll be hurt like that?" Henry asked Rumple. "Even though now they're only mad at you?"

"Yes," Rumple nodded. "Both of them have always wanted power and security above everything else and the most secure place in their minds would be to rule over this place, and have the joy of unseating Regina. Of course they don't realize that rulers always have to look over their shoulders and keep an eye on the competition that wants to take their place, but let's just keep them in the dark about that for now."

"Sydney, I wish you would get over here!" Regina called out.

"Yes, my queen?" Sydney asked, popping in beside her and making everyone jump.

"Have you been watching my sister and her client like you promised me you would?" Regina asked.

"Of course I have," Sydney replied.

"Of course he has," Rumple grumbled irritably. "What else does he have to do with himself?"

"You know," Sydney told him, "I don't know what it is that you have against me. Would you care to share?"

"No, I'm not much for sharing my feelings," Rumple replied. "Let's just say that I find you to be annoying and sycophantic and I don't like you."

"See?" Sydney asked. "Was that so hard?"

"I want to make a wish, Sydney," Regina told him. "It's a bit complicated so you have to listen carefully."

"All right," Sydney nodded and sat very close to her on the sofa. "Just what did you have in mind?"

"I want you to put a spell on my sister so that if she does try and kill Rumple, she'll go into your lamp and you'll be set free," Regina instructed. "Can you do that? I know I probably could with my powers, but it'll be more likely to be done if you don't know I'm doing it."

"Wait!" Belle cried. "That can't be the wish! Erase that wish!"

"Why?" Regina wanted to know.

"Because it requires Rumple to die!" Belle cried. "Call me crazy, but I don't want that! Not when we're just starting our life together. If anyone should be giving themselves up to die to stop Zelena, it's you because she's your sister. And then once you're gone, we can have a mayor who actually cares about the people of this town and not just herself!" She looked around and said, "What? I'm not going to feel shame for saying what everyone is at least thinking."

Rumple looked at Belle in shock. "You…you actually want to start a life with me?" He asked. "You aren't just being kind and spending time with me because it's what a decent person would do?"

"Yes," Belle's jaw dropped a little. She thought about how she'd acted toward him all the time they'd known each other. She'd always been nice, friendly, even flirted. How had he not noticed? "I thought that would be obvious to you. I've wanted to for a long time, and I'm only sorry that it took horrible circumstances like this to give me the courage to say something to you, because apparently, just flirting and being nice to you at every opportunity isn't a big enough hint that I want to be more than friends with you. I'm exasperated, but I guess there's no use dwelling on it now."

"I know it's disappointing that I was so preoccupied with my own thoughts and my own fears that I didn't have the courage to tell you that I wanted to be with you before this entire mess happened," Rumple told her and kissed her hand. "If anyone should be apologizing for the delay in our relationship, it's me."

"Thank you," Belle replied and gave him a kiss, which plunged the room into awkward silence until Regina cleared her throat and spoke.

"You know I'm more than happy to help you, Gold, and I no longer want you dead, but can you repay that kindness by saving any affection you and Miss French give one another for behind closed doors?"

"That would be the decent thing to do," Rumple told her after he and Belle broke apart. "I suppose I could, if you asked nicely."

"What is it with the two of you and making me say 'Please' every time I ask for something?" Regina groaned.

"Well, even though you're the mayor, it wouldn't hurt to show that you have even a rudimentary grasp on courtesy and good manners," Belle told her. "Would it?"

"Fine," Regina told her. "Would you please hold off on showing each other affection because we have more important things to be thinking about at the moment?"

"All right," Belle smiled. "Since you said 'Please'."

They then sat in awkward silence and then Emma told Neal, "You're the one who's guarding the lamp. Any ideas from you about how to get Zelena in there?"

"And Milah too," Rumple added. "Don' forget about her."

"Do you really need to put Mother in the lamp?" Neal asked. "Can't we just get her to say she's sorry and send her away so that she's no longer a bother to you and Belle?"

"If you trust her that much, I suppose we could let her live," Rumple told her. "But we still get to put Zelena in the lamp, right?"

"Yes," Neal nodded. "I won't be upset it Zelena goes into the lamp. That's the whole point of this whole operation, isn't it?"

"All right, good," Rumple said and clapped his hands. "You all work on that then, and Belle and I have other things to do."

"Good, go and do them," Regina huffed. "Just remember: Don't tell us about them."

Because Rumple no longer had his room at Granny's, Belle invited him to stay with her in her apartment over the library.

"I know you probably want something bigger, but…all I've got is my little place," she told him as they looked around her apartment, which was decorated with Rococo-inspired furniture and painted in pastels.

"No," Rumple told her. "It's fine. I think it's lovely." He went to look at her shelf of little shepherdess figurines, handling them gently. "You got these from the shop, didn't you?"

"Yes," Belle confessed. "I'm sorry. You can take them back if you want. They were just sitting there and doing nothing for anyone, and I thought they were so beautiful that I took them to look at."

"No, no, no!" Rumple shook his head. "It's fine. You can keep them if you were enjoying them. Consider them an apology gift for my lack of observation skills."

"All right," Belle smiled as he handed her the figurine to put back on the shelf. "You're so sweet! Can I get you some tea?"

"Yes, thank you," Rumple nodded and sat down. "I would love that."

So Belle got them both some tea and a plate of shortbread cookies and they sat on her couch and talked about what they were going to do next.

"I know we've spent the night together before, so I don't think we need to talk about sleeping arrangements or anything," he said. "Do we?"

"Well, I might need to get a new bed," Belle said. "Mine is a bit small."

"Oh, I'm sure it can't be that bad," Rumple told her. She took his hand and led him to her room. Her bed was a twin bed with a pink comforter and a white pillowcase with a lace border and matching sheets.

"See?" She told him. "It's small."

"Well we can squeeze together until we find something bigger for you," he said. "I won't mind."

"Are you sure?" Belle asked. "Cause I can always take the couch.

"No," Rumple shook his head, although he was thinking about how good their bedroom would look in a much bigger house with a four-poster bed in it. "I wouldn't mind at all. Especially if the alternative is you sleeping on the couch in your own home. I won't have that."

Since he was unmoving on this issue, Belle just nodded, asked him if he needed help unpacking, and then when he told her he was all right, left him to unpack his things and put them wherever he could find room. It wasn't that she was messy, it was that, as he'd already observed, her place was small, and in her desire to keep things up off the floor, they were stacked in every nook and cranny she could find.

When his things were put away, he called Belle back to the bedroom and urged her to sit next to him on the bed. "So what would you like to do now?" He asked. "Should we see if they need our help?"

"Do you really want to put up with them any more today?" Belle asked.

"I would be more than happy to put up with some, but others not so much," Rumple admitted. "If they need us, they'll let me know. My son knows how to reach me."

"All right," Belle nodded and looked down at the bed. "Now, do you think we should pick sides to sleep on and figure out how in the world we'll make ourselves comfortable on so small a bed?"

"Yes," Rumple smiled. "Perhaps we should. It will be an interesting challenge."

And that was an apt description. Despite the fact that neither of them were particularly tall, it took more than one try to even make it so that both of them stayed on the bed at the same time. First, Belle accidentally knocked Rumple on the floor. Then he knocked her on the floor. They thought about lying across the bed horizontally, but realized it would be hard to put the blankets on the bed that way, then at last decided that they should move the bed against the wall. That took some effort, but the results were much better than before: they both stayed on the bed, even though Belle was dismayed when Rumple was squished against the wall so that she could lie comfortably.

"This isn't going to work," she sighed.

"Yes it will," Rumple nodded. "I don't mind. Really."

"Well I do," Belle replied. "We're going to find another way to deal with this. And that's all there is to it."

"Oh?" Rumple asked. "And how will you do that? We can't get a bigger bed. There's no room."

"Maybe not in the bedroom, but just because that's what it's called doesn't mean we have to sleep there," Belle pointed out. "We could probably fit a bigger bed in the living room."

"Well isn't that odd?" Rumple mused. "But like you say, it's the only way to deal with this problem, so we might as well."

"Well, look at that," Milah observed as she and Zelena walked past the furniture store and paused when they noticed that Rumple and Belle were looking at bed. "Isn't this interesting? It's my ex-husband and Regina's maid. I wonder what they're doing buying furniture together?"

"Oh, I think it should be obvious," Zelena told her. "Did you see the way they were looking at one another when we visited Regina's house? It wasn't as if they were subtle about it."

Milah turned and smiled. "Do you really think so? What do you suppose we should do with this information?"

"I don't know," Zelena replied. "But we have to think of something to do to your darling husband. "It's just too good of an opportunity to pass up." They headed away from the store without realizing that Belle had noticed them looking just long enough to tell Rumple.

"Do you think they're up to something?" She asked after they put their order in for their new bed and left.

"They're always up to something," Rumple told her. "And now we just have to figure out what it is before they have a chance to carry it out. Especially since it might involve you, or me, or both of us."