It had been so long since Belle had been this happy for such an extended period of time. Sure, she was an optimistic woman and always had been, but just because she put on a brave face and made the best of things, it didn't mean she was happy. Even as much as she liked Ruby, and now Mary Margaret, she found that she put up much more resistance to being dragged out by them than she did to being taken out by Dr. Gold—that didn't even take her any self-convincing. After the first day, she'd found herself inviting him with hardly a thought, and then floating through the rest of her day as though she wasn't doing enough work to kill her.

Her overarching good mood was probably what led her to agreeing to Ruby and Mary Margaret coming over for breakfast when Ruby called and woke her at nine that Saturday morning. It had sounded urgent, and Belle couldn't find it in her heart to be annoyed—which was weird, because Saturday was the only day she slept, and she hoarded that morning unconsciousness like a mouse hoarded its cheese.

She hummed while she showered, and continued to hum while she was putting the coffee on. She was still humming when there was a knock on the door and she had to undo all of the bolts, and stopped only when Ruby shoved past her, leading a distraught looking Mary Margaret.

"What's wrong?" Belle asked, bolting the door before running to get mugs.

"Oh, nothing," Mary Margaret said, her voice too high and her eyes too watery. "How are you?"

Belle and Ruby exchanged looks. Mary Margaret tried to join in, but both women busied themselves with preparing things—Belle the dishes, and Ruby the bagels.

"Do you want cream cheese, Mary Margaret?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, please. Thank you. Belle, do you have a cutting board and a knife? I'll cut the tomato."

Belle wasn't sure this was the best idea with Mary Margaret looking like she'd seen a ghost, but she didn't want to insult her, and so she set about finding the requested utensils. The knife in her hand seemed to make Mary Margaret feel better, though, and she almost didn't notice that Belle and Ruby had stopped what they were doing to stare at her like concerned, gawky parents.

"You guys, I'm fine. I appreciate this, but really, I'm fine." She forced a smile, tossing her bangs out of her forehead so that she wouldn't have to meet their eyes.

"So you woke me up because you're fine?" Belle asked, pouring some cinnamon creamer into her coffee mug before topping it off with coffee.

Mary Margaret's eyes widened, and she pointed the knife at her as an extension of her finger. "No, Ruby woke you up. Not me. It wasn't me."

Ruby folded her arms, jutting her hip out to rest against Belle's counter. "Well, I wouldn't have had to wake her up if I hadn't found you at Granny's, crying into your tea."

Mary Margaret squeaked. "I was not crying into my tea!"

Instead of acknowledging this, Ruby turned to Belle, who was stirring her cup slowly while she watched the back and forth. "I would have taken her back to my place, but Granny is so judgmental."

"I understand." Belle shrugged, a smile flitting across the corners of her mouth without her consent at the thought of the diner.

"Belle, what are you—"

Belle cut Ruby off, hurrying to school her face into an appropriate expression. "Oh, Mary Margaret, would you like some coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate?"

"Coffee's fine." Mary Margaret set the tomato knife down, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. "Yours smells good. However you did it is fine with me."

Belle nodded and hurried to start fixing her a cup while Ruby watched with annoying shrewdness. She knew there would be questions, but for now, Mary Margaret needed them and she was going to be a good friend. Besides, she had nothing to hide. She just knew that, as active members of the English department, both women were going to think she was insane for enjoying eating meals with Dr. Gold, the beast of UMS, and even more for planning to do just that as soon as they left, whether she was hungry or not.

Once they were all sitting around the table, and Ruby and Belle had lulled Mary Margaret into a false sense of security by chatting about television while they prepared their bagels, Ruby pounced again.

"So tell us what happened."

Mary Margaret jumped, nearly dropping her bagel. "It's nothing. Really."

"Mary Margaret." Belle laid a hand on her arm, and the woman looked at her. "You can tell us. If it's a problem, we can help."

"Is this about David?" Ruby asked, and Mary Margaret squeaked.

"David?" Belle repeated, eyebrows knit together.

Mary Margaret sighed and set her bagel down to fiddle with the handle of her coffee mug, running her finger along the curve of porcelain as though trying to hold its hand.

"I left him this morning."

Ruby gasped, but since Belle had no idea what was going on, she just took a sip of coffee.

"Who?"

"David. He's a biology professor—he teaches a class on animal development—and he's—"

Mary Margaret said the last word so quietly, Belle couldn't quite make it out. She leaned toward her.

"What was that?"

"Married," she whispered.

If it had been anyone else, even anyone else in the room, Belle would have been scandalized, and maybe a little judgmental. Mary Margaret, however, was anything but a home wrecker, and she figured there had to be some sort of story—childhood sweethearts, she had just found out about his wife, it was a green card marriage, etc.

"Is that why you left him?" Belle asked, laying a hand on her arm. "Because you just found out?"

Mary Margaret looked like she wished the answer was yes, but after a few seconds, rocked her head back and forth.

"I thought he and his wife were separated, but it turns out that she was just on Sabbatical. She came back last night. He told me at breakfast."

Belle and Ruby both made sympathetic noises, each reaching forward to squeeze her somewhere on the arm. She gave them a watery smile.

"At least he told you?" Belle offered. "At least he's not trying to have an affair."

"He could have told me before," Mary Margaret whispered to her mug. "Then this never would have started."

"He sounds like a dick," Ruby said, stuffing the bagel in her mouth. "How could he think you would be okay with this?"

"He said that he thought she was leaving him, and that he was sure she was having an affair. And then he said he would tell her about us, but—" She looked up at them. "—I did the right thing, right?"

"Absolutely." Ruby nodded. "He was a liar and a cheat. He doesn't deserve you."

"And," Belle added, because she knew from experience that things like that were rarely as comforting as they were meant to be, "if it turns out that he does tell her, because he does want to be with you, you can always go back to him. There's no shame in being with a man who makes a hard choice."

For the first time, Mary Margaret gave them a real smile. "You think so? It's okay, as long as he makes the choice?"

"Yeah, but can you really be sure of that?" Ruby asked, rolling her eyes. "I mean, he's already lied."

"If he thought they were separated, then he wasn't technically lying," Belle said, taking a sip of coffee. "Besides, if he loves her, then he'll make the right choice."

Mary Margaret's cheeks pinked. "If he loves me." She rubbed the mug with less aggression now, and Belle was glad to have helped her feel better—and it was only partially because this meant that they would leave sooner and she would be able to go to lunch.

"Oh, Belle." Mary Margaret, spirits brightened, snapped her fingers and turned to her. "We've been meaning to ask you, where have you been all week? We've been trying to track you down every day."

Years of practiced composure kept Belle from blushing herself, and she shrugged. "Oh, sorry, I've been having lunch with Dr. Gold."

Both women dropped their bagels. Belle looked up, glancing between the two of them. They were more shocked than she'd been expecting, which made her feel a spark of self-consciousness.

"Please say something," she said.

"Dr. Gold?" Ruby picked her bagel back up, but did not take a bite. "You've been willingly spending time with him?"

"Belle, I know you're very tolerant, but I still find it hard to believe that you could tolerate him for five whole days." Mary Margaret did not look as horrified as Ruby, but she did look to be working hard at her neutral expression.

Belle pressed her lips together. "Actually, it's been seven. And he's not so bad, once you get to know him."

"'Not so bad?'" Ruby repeated, pointing a red talon at her. "Are you saying that you actually like his company?"

"I do! He's so interesting once you get him to stop being petulant. And he knows all the best places in town, I think we've been everywhere. And besides, he's a gentleman. He's paid for every meal." Belle took a bite of her bagel with enough vehemence to suggest it had wronged her.

"Wait." Ruby held up a hand, and even Mary Margaret looked surprised at this. "You've been going on dates with him?"

Belle's eyes widened. "What? No. We've just been having lunch. I mean, they've been nice lunches, and yesterday, we did go to Sakura, and—" She cut herself off with a strangled gasp.

"You went to Sakura?" Mary Margaret asked, while Belle looked like she was trying to do complicated math in her head.

"Oh my god," she said, turning to Ruby as though just seeing her for the first time. "Oh my god, we've been going on dates. Oh my god, what do I do? I need to fix this. I didn't mean for him to think we were—that I was—oh god."

"It's okay." Mary Margaret laid a hand on her arm. "Don't worry. This is an easy fix."

"It's illegal for me to date him!"

Ruby snorted with laughter. "God, Belle. You're, what, forty-five? Not seventeen. It might be frowned on, but it's definitely not illegal."

Belle's nostrils flared. "I am twenty-eight, thank you very much."

Mary Margaret laughed. "Really, Belle. Don't worry. You just have to un-date him."

Belle pursed her lips. "Well, I can't exactly take last week back. It already happened."

"No, you just have to start making it clear that these aren't dates. It'll be easy, because he's probably planning your death anyway, so he won't be disappointed," Ruby said.

"He is not planning my death," she said, but this reminded her of the way he had 'kidnapped' her, and she had to force herself not to grin like a schoolgirl.

"Well, maybe you should go on a date with someone else. What about that guy from the bar? Greg? Gary?"

"Gaston?" Belle wrinkled her nose. "I don't know, Ruby. He called yesterday and left a message, but I don't think I'll call him back."

"Belle, you have to!"

Belle was surprised that it was Mary Margaret to say that—she had thought she'd be able to count on the more sensible woman to back her up in not contacting the oaf from last weekend.

"Why? He was an idiot."

"But did you see his biceps? Date him, and Gold will never get the wrong impression from you again." Ruby tapped a finger against her forehead, as if to show that her brain was working in all the right ways.

This was a convincing argument. Belle knew this, in her mind, and yet she was not convinced by it.

"Fine. I'll call him after lunch."

"Belle!" It was both of them this time, and they each folded their arms, mirroring the other's glare.

Belle was trying to be nonchalant about it, hoping they wouldn't look too far into this excuse, but she had the decency to look sheepish when they pounced.

"Well, I can't just cancel on Dr. Gold. I don't have his number."

"How did you find him last Saturday?" Mary Margaret asked.

Belle hesitated. "I went to his shop?" Two pairs of eyes widened. "But I didn't know it was his, I swear! And I promise today, I'll tell him no more lunches. And then I'll go on a date with Gaston and everything will be back to normal."

"Why don't we go to the shop and tell him you can't make it?" Ruby asked. "You can just tell him that we're kidnapping you."

Belle bit her lip to keep from smiling again, and instead tried to think about this from a logical standpoint. She wished she wasn't so adamant about spending time with Dr. Gold, because she knew he didn't care about her any more than her other professors did, but she couldn't help it. When he wasn't pretending to be an ogre, he was interesting and funny and knew more things than Belle thought possible for any one person to know. Anyone would want to have lunch with him, if only they knew.

"Belle?" Mary Margaret prompted.

"Oh, yes." She had almost forgotten what she'd agreed to, but once she agreed, she knew it was for the best. "That sounds like a good idea."

Which was how she found herself standing in Dr. Gold's shop, rubbing her toes along her calf to give herself something to do while she waited for him to come out of the back room. She knew he was there, because he had shouted that he was on his way, but he didn't know that it was her, and she made no move to speak.

Ruby and Mary Margaret were waiting outside in Mary Margaret's station wagon, to ensure that Belle went through with the plan—which she most definitely would, unless Dr. Gold mentioned lunch before she had the chance to cancel it, in which case, she was going to have to sneak out the back with him and pretend that she'd been kidnapped for real.

Dr. Gold limped out, clad in his usual impractical three-piece suit. "Belle," he said, and for a second, he looked surprised and genuinely happy to see her. It was gone and replaced by his blank professor look so fast, though, that Belle was sure she'd imagined it.

"Morning, Dr. Gold." It was earlier than usual for lunch, only about eleven, but Ruby had been insistent that they get this over with.

"Morning." He regarded her with his hands folded, as he regarded everyone, and Belle was quiet for as long as she felt was normal and polite, to try and give him time to say something about lunch. He opened his mouth, and she was hopeful, but then all he said was, "What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I won't be able to get lunch today."

The look he gave her made her wish she had just stood him up—it was like she was a student who'd raised her hand the say the most stupidly obvious thing in the world.

"You're here to tell me that you can't be here?" He leaned back in his chair, not meeting her eyes in that way he had of not meeting people's eyes, the way that suggested private amusement at her expense.

"I'm being polite. I didn't want you to worry." She folded her arms, refusing to be intimidated by this tiny man behind his desk, doing nothing but moving his eyes around in ways that the world found terrifying.

"How very kind of you, Miss Blue."

She froze, and then tried to pretend that she hadn't by running a hand through her hair. He hadn't called her 'Miss Blue' since Tuesday. What the hell? She looked at his face, trying to find some clue there on how to interpret this situation. What she saw was Dr. Gold, the same one everyone else saw, and though this made her feel hopeless at first, it also reminded her that she knew how to deal with him when no one else did. She was going to do as she always did, and soldier through the conversation until he went back to normal. It had yet to fail her.

"I was also coming to exchange phone numbers." She strode toward the desk, phrasing with care so as to give him no room to argue.

"Phone numbers?" he repeated, leaning back like he was trying to get away from her. "Why?"

After fishing a pen out of her purse, she plucked one of his business cards off of his desk and flipped it over.

"Yes. You know, the number at which we can call each other on the phone." She looked up, giving him a bland smile in response to his suspicious, stunned gaze, and started scribbling her cell number on the back of the card.

"I am aware of the concept, yes. But again—why?"

She pushed the card toward him, staring him down until he settled his fingers over it. "In case one of us needs to cancel, or there's something you need to tell me, and you're not close enough to your computer to send an email. Or, if you get lonely, you can text me."

She didn't know why she had added the last part, and it was obvious from the way that Dr. Gold's throat convulsed and he refused to look up that this had been a mistake. It may have been the truth—that sometimes, he got lonely, and it might help to text her—but she could tell that he did not want to hear it.

"Right." He pulled another business card out and started to write his own number on the back. His handwriting was, to her surprise, much nicer than her own, and he took care to make everything neat and pretty, even though they were just numbers. She found herself drawn to watching his hand move, like she was watching a master craftsman. "I don't text often, but I suppose this will be good practice." He pushed it toward her and she took it.

"Great. I'll add you now."

She pulled out her smart phone, scrolling through until she could add his number. His phone did have a keypad, but he was still much slower at this whole typing thing than she was. It reminded her of her father when he had added texting to his plan to better keep in touch, but she squashed that notion.

"So what's taking you away from me today?" His sudden, quiet voice startled her, but she tried not to jump. She felt a small curl of pleasure in her cheeks at his possessiveness, but that was ridiculous, and that notion was also squashed as soon as it arrived.

"Mary Margaret needed a girls' day, so Ruby and I are taking her out."

"Ah. Her beau's wife is back, I take it?"

She looked up, eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come now, dearie. She's a love-struck teacher. Not exactly subtle. I've known for weeks."

"Did you know they weren't separated?" She wasn't sure how Mary Margaret would feel about them discussing her love life, but she also wanted to know what he knew. It could be important.

"Of course."

Belle's mouth formed a little 'o.' "Why didn't you tell her?"

He looked at her as though she'd just suggested he pelt her with anchovies. "Why would I have any reason to have a conversation about Miss Blanchard's love life with Miss Blanchard?"

"Oh, gee, I don't know, maybe because you know more than she does about it?" She folded her arms.

"I don't converse with people about their personal lives, unless they need my services."

"Sometimes, Dr. Gold, your people skills concern me."

"They've served me this long." He shrugged, and she could tell that he was trying to be nonchalant, but his lips were twitching with amusement.

"I guess I'll just add 'keeping you civil' to my list of duties."

"You overwork yourself, dearie. You should let me buy you lunch sometime." His eyes were narrowed, lips pursed with mirth. "How about this afternoon? My schedule is free."

He started to stand up, so she fled backwards toward the door, brandishing her cell phone at him like this would ward him off.

"I'm too clever for your tricks, beast. You can't coerce me out of ladies' night." She stopped at the door, hand resting on the handle. There was a temptation to agree with him lurking in the back of her mind, but if she glanced out the window, she could see Ruby's car, and this strengthened her resolve.

"'Ladies' night?'" He was now standing behind his desk, both hands resting on his cane. He took one off to gesture toward the windows. "Seems like morning to me."

"Good day, Dr. Gold," she said, trying to make her voice firm. Her attempt only deepened the amusement etched around the jaunty curve of his mouth.

"Good day, Miss Blue."

This time, instead of bothering her, it felt like it sent a fleet of ants crawling up her spine—and then a surge of competitiveness. He was not allowed to have the last word. She was the one standing by the door—it was her job to have the last word, and then run.

"Text me when you get lonely."

She knew, from the second she allowed herself to glance over at him before rushing out the door, that saying 'when' instead of 'if' had been the right move. It wasn't like his expression changed much, but she saw the rapid blinking that usually meant he was pretending to laugh so that he would have time to school his face.

She was in the car before he could retort.

"Oh my god, Belle, what took you so long?" Ruby twisted around in the front seat. "Did you have lunch in there or something?"

"Oh, no, we were just—" No excuse popped into her mind, still a little too giddy. "—exchanging information."

There were loud groans from both parties in the front seat. Ruby turned again, jabbing a red claw toward her.

"Call Gaston. Right now."

Belle wanted to make a face, but Ruby's flashing eyes stopped her. So instead, she forced a smile, because this was an important thing for her to want to do.

"Right. Of course. Calling him back right now."

She took her phone out of her pocket and unlocked the screen. There, having waited for her for the past two minutes, was an unread text. Since the only people who routinely texted her were in the car, she frowned.

"What?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, I just have a text I wasn't expecting." She clicked to open it, and for a second, sat in stunned stillness. Then, her lips started to curve into a smile.

No.

"What is it?" Ruby fidgeted to try and get a better look at Belle's screen, but she had exited the message by the time she succeeded, not wanting the other woman to see Dr. Gold's name flashing across her screen.

"Nothing, just an old friend."

"Well, whatever." Ruby poked her fingers. "Call Gaston."

"Yeah," Mary Margaret said. "You need to get out there."

Belle forced herself not to heave a sigh, but at least she was smiling now. Gaston would never know that she would rather be returning a text volley, getting her last word in, instead of calling him—and neither would Ruby or Mary Margaret.