A/N: So here is One-Shot number three! This is Storybrooke too, as my muse for Enchanted Forest One-Shots come and go with the days. I hope you continue to like these! Don't forget to follow the story, as these One-Shots are far from over, dearies!

Disclaimer: If the owners of Once Upon a Time happened to come across this… wouldn't they be smart enough to realize I'm posting it on a website named "fanfiction"? I don't see the logical point behind these things…

Mister Gold stood in the doorway, watching his employee from across the backroom of the pawnshop. She was sitting on her heels, making the hem of her navy blue, flowered-patterned skirt brush the floor. Her eyes darted to and fro across the low shelf, while her fingers brushed across the spines of the countless books. She bit her lip in concentration before moving on to the shelf above it, slightly leaning her head back to get a more comfortable view.

She tucked the curls of her auburn hair behind her left ear before continuing, her ever-ready patience bidding her to press on. Mister Gold was amazed by how readily she took on challenges such as these. He had never seen such persistence, not even in himself.

"Found it!" Lacey cried, pulling a singular volume out from amongst the hundreds lining the walls. She stood up with a small huff before taking the few, small steps toward her boss. "Once Upon a Time by—" the employee paused, flipping back through the first few pages once more. Her eyes scanned every line of the title page before her eyebrows knitted in confusion. "There's no author, publication, or even copyright date!" she declared, handing her employer the volume, her free hand gesturing wildly to the bare opening page.

Mister Gold took the book from her, reading the title page with distant intrigue. He looked up at her with a knowing expression. "It's a very old book, dear. Back when this was written, they were more concerned with the story than with who made it."

Lacey frowned down at the book, tilting her head in intrigue. "So when was it written?" she asked, standing right next to him so she could peer over his forearm at the volume's gold-scripted cover.

For a small moment, Mister Gold let his mind return to the Enchanted Forest in order to retrieve the memory. He remembered sitting for long hours in the Dark Castle, using the power he gained from the Seer to gaze upon the future. He remembered writing story after story, penning in the parts of the future that were anything but changeable. He remembered the pain and agony of writing his own story, of remembering all that he had done, of all that he had lost. He remembered the tears splashing on the pages while magically forging the illustration of his only son, his tainted heart splitting in two once more.

"It was written in the darkest time and forged by the vilest hands. It is a time and story best left forgotten, dear. These stories are the only thing that survived a particularly gruesome battle." His hands were shaking as he grasped the book. He had come too far to return to those memories. He had his Belle, and he was a mere nine years from finding his Bae. 'Just relax, Rumpelstiltskin. It's over' he told himself. He closed his eyes and dropped his right hand to his side, clenching it in a fist. His fingernails dug crescents into his palm, the pain seeming to clear the dark fog in his mind.

A soft, prying brush against his clenched hand brought him back to reality with a start. He looked down to see a soft, elegant hand gripping his own. He followed it up to meet his Belle's swirling blue eyes, peering at him concernedly. "Are you okay?" was her simple interrogation.

Are you okay: three simple words that held a multitude of answers for Mister Gold. He was anything but 'okay' in all honesty. Mister Gold and Rumpelstiltskin constantly battled for the control of his mind, the weight of the curse being broken continuously clawed at him, and the blasted curse took away all of one type of responsibility just to replace it with a whole different kind. He was an aged man in this world, and his fretting was doing anything but helping his nerves.

But Lacey (his Belle) didn't need to know this. She was the only thing keeping him sane, and she didn't even know it. He needed this to remain constant. She was the anchor, keeping him steeled against the crashing waves. "I'll be alright, dear. Now, where were we?" he asked, giving her his best smile.

Lacey looked down at their entwined hands, biting her lip in indecision. She had never held his hand before, yet it felt so… natural. She felt butterflies, but they weren't from anxiety or giddiness, they were the kind of butterflies that—

That you had from pure joy.

They were the kind of butterflies that you had on Christmas morning as a young child. They were the kind of butterflies that you had on the first day of summer. They were the kind of butterflies that you had when you held hands with the person that you had loved for your whole life.

Why, then, was Lacey feeling them now?

"Dear, now are you okay?"

Lacey jumped before looking at the floor with a guilty smile. A faint blush was rising before she managed to tackle it down. She took a deep, preparing breath before meeting her employer's piercing gaze. "Lost in thought," she mumbled, that ever persistent blush threatening to rise once more.

Mister Gold grew a smirk, knowing quite well what was happening. His Belle had never been one for hiding her feelings well. She felt something while holding his hand, and she was trying to figure it out. "I noticed. Now why don't we go get this book cleaned up before Mary Margaret comes to pick it up, shall we?"

Lacey nodding quickly, being more than willing to escape the sight of Mister Gold before the blush returned. She reached up and took the book from Mister Gold before starting toward the front of the shop.

Gold watched her go with a distant smile. Nine years. She had nine years to figure it out, and he was more than willing to give her that time. Nine years, and she would wake up. Nine years, and the savior would enter Storybrooke. No matter what happened until that point, he would have her back then.

He wouldn't lose her this time...

Big thanks to myself for looking this one over for me (my betas still haven't returned…)!