An: Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it!

Belle crawled into her bedroom window at Jefferson's manor and collapsed on to the floor. She was exhausted, extremely sore, and incredibly stiff. She had left the house in the wee hours of the morning, before Jefferson had even woke up and headed out on her self-imposed mission to learn more about the two people she had heard Regina and Jones discussing. After leaving Gaston to sleep off his hangover she had come over to the manor and spent the night scouring Jefferson's collection of maps and found only one cabin that had matched Gaston's description.

Setting out before the sun had even risen, dressed in all black, Belle had hiked the five miles from the manor to the well hidden cabin. She had scattered a few listening devices amongst the foliage, making sure to stay out of sight in the cabin in case someone was there. Right as the sun was rising she climbed the tallest tree surrounding the clearing. She found herself a sturdy branch where she was completely hidden but could still see the clearing. Once she found her spot she tied herself down so not to slip or fall from the tree. Then came the waiting.

Sixteen hours. For sixteen hours she remained as still as possible It was a drop in the bucket compared to some of her training but it was still far from fun. For sixteen hours she had nothing but the few birds and squirrels amongst the branches to keep her company. She didn't trust trying to sleep so she started going over the CIA handbook to keep awake. When she had made it through that she moved on to the proper way to assemble and disassemble various weapons. It wasn't entertaining but it kept her mind alert. She was working on the cleaning process of a Walther PPK when she finally heard a car approaching.

Focusing on the front of the cabin she watched as Killian Jones emerged and behind him limped out a slightly older man. She couldn't get a great look at him in the dim evening light but even from this distance she could tell he was extremely bruised. It looked like he had recently endured a torture session. But despite his injuries he positively lit up with joy when a young boy, no more like a teenager, jumped out of the car and ran towards him. From her listening devices she picked up the father and son's declarations and couldn't help but smile. If she had any doubts that this Gold was being used as forced labor they flew out the window. This was obviously not someone who chose to be separated from their child.

When her mics picked up Regina's comment about being exposed, Belle's blood ran cold. Every pair of eyes scanned the area, sweeping over her hidden form. Fear filled her as she imagined Regina shooting her down or Jones using that lethal hook of his on her. Neither was a pleasant thought. A moment passed and the group turned away and entered the lodging. With Regina closing them in Belle took a chance to unearth her binoculars from the pack on her lap. Pushing aside a branch Belle locked eyes with the boy Bae for one heart stopping moment. She quickly shifted back before he could look more close but it was a close call.

For the next hour and a half she used her binoculars to watch the interaction between the four occupants. Gold kept his son close, hardly letting him go, while Regina and Jones were more interested in something on a table. She couldn't really see what it was through the window but it looked like something on draft paper. It had to be weapon plans.

Regina allowed father and son an hour and a half of bonding time before she was dragging Bae back out of the cabin by the shirt. The boy was crying and fighting to get back to his father who was being held back by Jones. Belle didn't think she'd ever forget the sound of Bae's cries for his papa. They were going to haunt her dreams for weeks, if not months, to come. She waited another hour after Regina left before she slowly climbed down the tree and retreating the way she had come early this morning. After almost nineteen hours in a tree it took almost another hour to get back home.

Hauling herself off the floor Belle forced her weary body down the stairs to the kitchen. Nearly twenty hours with no food did not do a body good. When she flipped on the kitchen light she nearly had a heart attack. Jefferson was sitting on the counter, top hat and all, eyes locked on her as he peeled an apple. "Good evening Bluebelle. How have you been this fine day?"

"Jesus Christ Jefferson! Are you trying to kill me?"

"No, apparently you're trying to do yourself in. Where the hell were you Belle? I wake up to find you gone, no note, David had no clue where you were, I even had Mary Margaret call Gaston to see if you had gone back there. You were off the grid for nearly twenty hours! We didn't know if you were hurt, had been kidnapped,or even dead! You just fucking disappeared! You can't just run off like that!"

Jefferson looked manic, more upset than she'd ever seen him before and that included right after Alice had been killed. She had known he wasn't going to be happy to discover her gone, but she hadn't expected this. "I'm sorry Jeff. I didn't think that you'd worry so much."

"Didn't think I would worry? Belle I am responsible for you! When my charge drops off the map of course I'm going to worry! Now where the hell were you?"

Heaving a sigh Belle clambered up onto the counter-top next to Jefferson, no easy task with how stiff she was. He was right. He was responsible for her and she had ignored that though. She knew she should have told him what she was going to do but to be honest she knew that if she had he would have stopped her, or at least tried to, so she had gone with out his approval. He had all the right to be upset with her. She took the peeled apple he offered and began explaining everything she had seen and heard in the last few days. He remained silent when she explained about Gold and Bae though he looked pensive. "I think I want to help them."

That definitely got his attention. "Belle you can't focus on these people."

"But-"

"No buts Belle! Remember you have a mission. You are to siphon information and secrets from inside The Heart, not play hero to someone you don't even know."

"I know what my mission is Jeff."

"Good, focus on that and forget about this Gold. Getting distracted is only going to get you hurt."

"Fine whatever. I'm going to go to bed Jeff."

"Good, and take a shower, you smell like a forest."

Belle flipped him the bird as she left the kitchen. She could hear him laughing as she made her way back upstairs, at least it didn't seem like he was too mad at her anymore. She took Jefferson's advice and took a shower, she really did stink of forest, and the hot water did wonders for her aching muscles. Afterwards when she was laying in bed trying to sleep she found it near impossible. Every time she shut her eyes she saw Bae being dragged away by Regina and Gold's heartbroken face as he had to watch his son be shoved in a car and taken from him. She couldn't forget Bae's screams of "Papa!" even as the car drove away. Despite what Jefferson wanted she just couldn't forget about Gold and Bae. She couldn't just leave them to their fates. She had to help them. She would get them free. She promised.