True Love's Proof

Chapter Five

Nick spent the early morning hours sitting on the floor, holding a limp Belle as tight as possible and watching the sun creep its way across the floor of her apartment. He wasn't sure if he believed in true love but he knew what it felt like when a significant other was lost. Her happy ending had slipped through her fingers and life, even here in this time and space bubble, was cruel.

He distracted himself with mundane facts. It was Monday. He would need to call the school for substitutes. He had thought about going in himself but there was another place he needed to be this morning. The mundane started to give way to less boring subject matter. He had only spoken to Bae Spinner for a couple hours before rushing over to check on Belle, but the prodigal son had a lot of interesting things to say in that time.

He checked his watch and when seven o'clock came around, he finally shifted from his position off the floor. Belle was light enough for him to pick up and put her back down on the couch. He thought about returning her to her bed but didn't want to leave her alone while he had a couple phone calls to make. Waking up alone would only make matters worse. He had promised to take care of her and he was going to make good on that promise.

He pulled a blanket off the back of a chair and draped it over her before going into the kitchen to use her phone. He could still watch her in case she woke. It was easy to find her father's phone number which was clipped on her refrigerator. He hoped he wasn't waking up Maurice French but when the upbeat voice came across the line, it sounded like French had drank an entire pot of coffee already.

"Good morning, sweet!"

"Morning, Mr. French."

There was a beat of silence. "Dr. Rush?"

"Yes, I was-"

"Belle?"

"She's fine. She's...sleeping. I was wondering if you could come over and be with her this morning."

"What's happened?"

Nick glanced into the living room and Belle was still curled on the couch. "Rumpelstiltskin passed away last night."

"Oh. I see." Maurice cleared his throat. "I'll be right there."

Nick hung up the phone, took a steadying breath and picked it up again. He pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket and dialed the number that was written on it. The voice that answered was rough and weary.

"How is she?"

Nick glanced into the living room again. "She's...I don't know. How are you?"

Bae managed a grunt. "Same."

"Her father is coming over to stay with her and I'll meet you at the Sheriff's office at nine."

"Thanks. I don't know if Emma will even believe me."

"You made a good case last night. She'll have to at least listen to you."

"Yeah, well," Bae sighed. "Bad blood tends to blind some people."

Nick leaned against the doorway of the kitchen. "That is does." How many times had squabbles between him and Young endangered the entire crew? How many times had he lied to the man because he knew that bad blood wouldn't have allowed Young to accept the truth from him? How many times had Young lied to him for the same reason?

"I better get cleaned up. I'll see you at the Sheriff's office at nine."

"Alright."

"And thanks, Nick."

Nick couldn't bring himself to respond before the line disconnected. Quietly, he hung up and went back to his mental checklist. By the time Maurice arrived at the apartment, Nick has substitutes in for the entire week for Belle and two days for himself. Her father had let himself into the apartment and was grim faced as he set about making some coffee.

"How did he die?"

Nick pulled out three mugs. "They're saying heart attack."

Maurice grunted.

"You're not convinced?"

"Well," Maurice looked into the living room where Belle slept on. "He didn't exactly endear himself to many people. But Belle, my brave girl, she loved him. But she was most likely the only one to do so."

Nick poured himself a cup of coffee. "True love, she called it."

"Aye. True love it was." Maurice rallied himself. "Back to your question, if it was a heart attack, fine but if it came out that someone killed him, I wouldn't raise my eyebrows over it. There would be a hell of a lot of suspects though so don't be surprised if it's all swept under the carpet."

Nick nodded slowly, the caffeine chasing away the lack of the sleep. Maurice French was someone who didn't like the idea of who his daughter had given her heart to but wasn't about to step between her and her love. If anyone wanted Rumplestiltskin out of the picture and want it forgotten about, Maurice would be a good place to start. But the concern that was etched on his face as he watched his sleeping daughter spoke to him not doing anything to cause her grief.

As he sat and kept vigil with Maurice, Nick wondered if Emma's attitude towards Bae would cause her to see a tragic death as nothing more or if she would be able to see come inconsistencies in the situation. Bae thought the former while Nick held out hope in the latter.

Nick was shocked that Bae's assessment of the Sheriff was correct, right down to the length of time she tried to stare them down. Bae had said his piece, stated his belief that his father had been poisoned and begged Emma to request an autopsy. Vomiting, shortness of breath and stupor were all signs of a heart attack but a seizure was not. It sounded logical to Nick, who had an entire night to mull it over, but Emma looked unconvinced. Bad blood blindness indeed.

"Bae, why don't you wait outside for a minute," Nick suggested. Perhaps if he removed the source of the negative feelings, Emma might see things a little more clearly. It could explain why Camille was always speaking to Young and him separately when a rift was evident. Bae agreed and quietly left the private office. Nick waited until the door clicked before he leaned back in his chair and shrugged. "What's going on?"

Emma narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"A man comes in here asking you to investigate his father's death as a possible homicide and you seem more than reluctant."

"It's not uncommon for a man Gold's age to have a heart attack."

"Or a brain anerysm, stroke or even get hit by a car. What's your point?"

"Dr. Whale called it a heart attack."

"Mr. Spinner is calling it something else."

"Mr. Spinner is not a doctor."

"No," Nick agreed, "however, he is a professional firefighter, trained to respond to emergency situations, heart attacks being one of them. If this had been a heart attack, he would have been able to help his father."

Emma crossed her arms. "Maybe he didn't want to help his father. First time in town, first time seeing his father in I don't know how long and oddly enough, his father is dead before the sun rises."

"If that were case, Sheriff, he wouldn't be in here asking you to for an autopsy and investigation."

"Not unless he thought he could get away with it."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Now you're just be willingly obstinate."

"Fine." Emma leaned forward in her chair. "What has you so convinced this isn't a natural causes death?"

"What has you convinced that it is?"

Emma frowned deeply, casting a dark look out into the station. "Fine. I'll ask Dr. Whale for an autopsy. Any idea where the poison was placed in the house?"

"Bae said his father was drinking a tumbler of scotch before he collapsed."

"Scotch. Got it. I'll go over there right now and get it."

Nick raised his hand. "There's one more matter that needs to be discussed."

"What's that?"

"Henry needs to know his father is here."

Emma's mood flared from uncomfortable to furious. "That situation is none of your business."

"I have a feeling it's going to become my business since Bae and I are the only residents at Granny's. He confided in me about his suspicions of his father's death. It's only time before he starts getting me involved in the real reason why he came to Storybrooke."

Emma was staring at him wide eyed and pale. "His real reason?"

"Henry wrote him that letter."

"I told Henry that his father died fighting a fire."

Nick shrugged and stood up. "Well, take heart. You're not the first parent to lie to their child thinking it's in their best interest."

After the meeting with Emma, Nick and Bae spent the rest of the day back at Belle's apartment. There were a few people who came and went throughout the day. He recognized only a handful of them, Granny and Red, of course, being two of them. He was introduced to Dr. Hopper, who spent a good amount of time speaking to Belle in quiet tones over cups of hot tea. He was able to meet Snow White and Prince Charming and somehow kept a straight face. He had no idea how to explain this experience when he returned to Destiny.

But when evening came, the guests had dwindled down to Maurice, Bae and Nick. Every face held their own personal grief and weariness. Maurice was pained for his daughter, Bae was facing wasted years both before and after a brief reunion with a lost father and Belle, she was facing the expanse of a lost happily ever after. As for him personally, he was just tired of seeing death and its repercussions.

When eight o'clock came around, Belle cleared her throat and sat up straight on the couch. She tucked her feet underneath of her and turned to Bae. "Tell me about your reunion with your father."

"Are you sure you want to hear about that? Right now?"

She folded her hands primly on her lap. "Yes. I want to know he had some happiness last night."

Bae was quiet for a moment before a small smile appeared. "Well, you were right. He did welcome me. He was very...relieved." Bae's voice broke on the word.

Belle nodded slowly. "He was very concerned about the experiences you had to endure on your own."

"He obsessively worried, you mean."

Belle smiled slowly and sadly. "Always thought the worst of every situation."

Bae chuckled. "Yeah, that's him. But I assured him that I was placed with a nice family who took care of me. That I didn't have any horrific trials or situations that I needed to overcome. That seemed to calm him. I told him about my job and," Bae looked down at his hands, "and Henry."

"I bet he liked the idea of you having a son. And that he knew your son."

"Yeah, he did."

"You're not going to leave Storybrooke now, are you?"

Bae shook his head. "No. I came to get to know my son. I'm going to continue to try. My father never stopped looking for me. I need to follow his example and just endure."

Belle patted his hand but her momentary strength was slipping away. Exhaustion pulled down her shoulders and she seemed to melt into the cushions on the couch. Bae seemed to feel the same way but stood up instead.

"I should get back to Granny's. We all need some sleep."

Maurice spoke up for the first time in hours. "I'll stay here tonight with Belle."

She nodded tiredly.

Nick promised to stop by tomorrow morning and she gave him a flicker of a smile before he left with Bae. The two of them walked slowly to Granny's in silence until Bae's cell phone buzzed. He pulled the phone out and checked the text message before handing it over to Nick to read for himself. It was from Emma and as always, it was straight to the point.

Anti-freeze in the scotch.