A/N Thought I'd better put a disclaimer in at this point, so here goes:
I do not own Once Upon a Time (obviously, this is a FanFiction upload)
I do not own Mr Gold or Rumple (if I did, they'd never get out of my house, and I - well, there wouldn't be much housework done, let me tell you)
There - happy, lawyers?
So on to more pleasurable things - thank you all so much for the reviews, and keep 'em coming. I'm blown away by your kind words. You will see in the next couple of instalments that there are hints about terrible things Regina and Gold did whilst in Neverland (as well as the hints Emma has already dropped about Regina). I'm pulling together the bones of a Neverland-based story in my head, but I haven't quite decided yet what those terrible things should be, so if you have any ideas, let me know. You all rock!
So, on with the tale...
Gold pushed open the front door; the house was dark and silent but for a light at the end of the hallway. Ruby was in the kitchen, making tea, and she turned to face him with large, frightened eyes as he entered.
"Where is she?" he asked quietly.
"Upstairs." Ruby bit her lip.
"And how is she?"
"She won't eat," said Ruby sadly. "She won't sleep. I don't even think she's cried. I tried to comfort her but she doesn't want me to. She doesn't want to see anyone. I don't know what else to do."
She looked exhausted, close to tears, and he sighed, shaking his head
"Thank you for being with her, Ruby," he said gently. "You can go now, I'll take it from here."
Ruby nodded, and put on her jacket. He went to show her out, and she turned to him in the doorway.
"Mr Gold – what was it?" she asked, fear on her face. "What could do that?"
"I don't know yet," he said truthfully. "But I'll find out, and I'll stop it."
She nodded, looking somewhat reassured, and he shut the door behind her and made his way up the stairs.
Gold pushed open the bedroom door, turning to see Belle sitting on the bed with her knees raised and her arms folded across them, a frightened child.
"Hey," he said gently. Icy fingers clutched at his heart as she raised her head to look at him. Her eyes were enormous in her face, pools of pale blue, full of pain and somehow dulled. There were dark smudges beneath them like bruises, thumb-smears of charcoal on her paper-white skin. Her lips, normally a deep, dusky pink, had faded to a pale rose. She appeared shrunken, lessened; there was a terrible fragility about her appearance; her wrists seemed as thin and hollow as birds' bones. She took a deep breath.
"My f – father is dead." It had the sound of something being said for the first time.
"I know." He didn't say he was sorry. "How do you feel?" She shrugged slightly.
"I feel – like a ghost," she whispered dully. "Numb. Nothing. Like – my soul doesn't fill my skin." She looked down at her fingers, pressing the tips against her thumbs one after the other as though testing her sense of touch.
"It will get better," he said, his voice calm, and she glared at him, eyes glinting, suddenly furious.
"What the hell would you know about it?" she demanded.
"I saw my father killed in front of me when I was a young boy," he said softly, and she looked down again, once more listless, uninterested.
"I didn't know."
"It was a long time ago." He moved closer to her. "How long is it since you slept?"
She rubbed her face distractedly. "I don't want to sleep."
"You must sleep, Belle."
"I told you I don't want to!" she snapped, glaring at him. "And don't you dare use magic to make me!" She slapped his hand away as he reached for her.
"Sweetheart, I'm just trying – "
"Don't you 'sweetheart' me!" She bounced up from the bed, staring him down, her eyes flashing. "Where the hell were you? You were supposed to protect me! I saw him!" She was breathing deeply, her chest heaving and her eyes bright with unshed tears. He tried to touch her again and she shook him off, pacing back and forth and running her fingers through her hair in agitation.
"I didn't know…" he tried again, but she rounded on him.
"Shut up!" she snapped, her eyes blue fire. "Where was your bloody foresight this time? Or did you see this coming and think it didn't matter? Did you think things would be easier with him out of the way? Did you want to hurt me?" She was pacing again. "Did you want him out of my life? Are you so insecure that you need me all to yourself?"
He had never seen her so angry, and his heart lurched. She couldn't seriously think that, could she? He moved towards her slowly, as if she were a wild animal that was easily spooked. He reached for her arm and she wrenched it away, her pacing increasing in speed, her breathing heavy.
"Belle…" he began desperately, as she span to face him, but she put her finger on his lips, silencing him. To his shock, she reached up and kissed him hard, pulling his head down on hers. Before he could react she unbuttoned his jacket and tugged it off, pressing herself against him, shoving him back against the wall as she pulled off his tie. The kiss deepened and became even harder, painful, her mouth pushing his upper lip into his teeth, drawing blood, and she dragged her fingers through his hair, tugging at it and making him wince. He tore his mouth away from hers, trying to push her back.
"Belle, this isn't – ". He broke off at the expression on her face, hard and bright, full of pain and sorrow. She kissed him again, roughly, tugging at the buttons of his shirt.
"I want to forget," she whispered. "Make me forget, damn you!"
Much, much later, Belle tiptoed back into the darkened room, placed two glasses of wine on the bedside table and slipped into bed, snuggling against him. She ran her fingers delicately over the raised reddened lines on his back where her darkly-polished nails had raked him, and he winced slightly. She had poured her anger, fear and pain into him over the past few hours, her love fierce and violent, and he had let her. She had still not cried, nor slept, and he was beginning to wonder if she would let him sleep. Her nails had drawn blood in places; deep crimson beads had formed and now spotted the white sheets beneath them. It was all disturbingly familiar to him, but he knew that it was pain and shock causing the transformation, not the return of her cursed self. This was a transient thing, and he would have her back as soon as her grieving was over. Assuming he survived until then. It was uncomfortable, realising that Lacey would never entirely leave her now. She kissed along his exposed shoulder into his hair, biting the back of his neck playfully and making him shiver.
"Belle," he said wearily. "If I beg you for mercy on bended knee will you let me sleep?"
"Don't be such a cry-baby, it's not even ten-thirty. I can see the clock."
"Then I trust you will be able to accurately record my time of death."
"Hey!" she said sternly, sitting up. "You already played the death card once with me, you can't use it again!" He chuckled softly, and rolled onto his back, wrapping his arm around her as she lay back down with her head on his shoulder.
"We need to protect ourselves from anyone that wants to harm us," she announced. "Regina, for instance. If she comes after us again, we need to be ready." Her fingers walked up over his face, gently tracing the lines around his eyes. "What is she up to now, d'you think?"
"I don't know." He kissed her fingertips as she drew them near his mouth. "But she still blames me for Henry. I doubt she'll rest until she gets her vengeance."
"What will you do?" she asked, sliding her arm back around his waist, and he looked down at her.
"I haven't decided yet." He didn't want her to move; the feel of her skin against his was incredible. He kissed her forehead gently.
"Why don't you just kill her?" she asked mildly, and he pushed himself up on his elbows, making her sit up. He was staring at her incredulously
"What?"
She blinked and shrugged. "She tried to curse Emma, she would have helped her mother kill everyone, she made me into Lacey – why don't you kill her before she hurts anyone else?"
He closed his eyes in pain. There was the final proof. He didn't look at her, but at a spot somewhere off in the distance, his eyes sorrowful.
"As I recall, you made me promise not to."
"Well, I take it back!" she snapped.
"Belle, you don't know what you're saying."
"Yes I do!" She sat up, annoyed. "I am sick of losing everyone I love! I lost my mother to an assassin's crossbow bolt, I lost my brother to the ogres, I lost my father to who-knows-what – I can't lose you as well!" She lay back down. "She won't stop, you know," she pointed out. "She won't stop until one of us is killed. So kill her first."
"Belle…"
"Okay, then what if she comes after me again?" she demanded.
"Then I'll protect you. I promise, she won't lay a finger on you."
"No, she'll do far worse!" she objected. "She made me into a whore!"
"She did that to hurt me," he explained patiently, and she nodded, calming slightly.
"It must have been awful for you, seeing me the opposite of what you loved," she said quietly, and he sighed, squeezing her.
"She thought Lacey would reject me and sleep her way through the town," he said bitterly. "That would have been bad enough, but what was far worse is that I had to be the man you hated, in order to keep Lacey." He kissed her forehead, hesitating before the need to be honest with her forced him to speak. "A part of me enjoyed it," he admitted. "Even though I knew it would hurt you, the real you. And to be that close to you and never truly have you as my own, well…" He left the rest unsaid.
She looked up at him. He was smiling at her, but his smile was desperately sad.
"She really knows how to hurt you," she said softly. His smile was wry.
"I taught her well," he said. "When she told me you were dead I felt that it was my fault, that I had destroyed my darling Belle. That wasn't enough for her. She had to destroy you all over again." He gave another faint, sad smile. Impulsively she touched his cheek and kissed him softly, the kiss deepening as she slid on top of him. This was something she could understand, something that would help them both forget everything else for a while.
Past midnight, after Belle had finally fallen into the dreamless sleep of exhaustion, Gold made his way downstairs with the empty wine glasses, still somewhat shocked by the events of the past few days. Their relationship had been a close one since they had first been reunited in Storybrooke; Belle was very tactile and enjoyed intimacy, but this… He rubbed his eyes tiredly. The grief was no doubt presenting in strange ways. He poured boiling water into the teapot and pondered his options. Belle needed answers, but first she needed to accept what had happened and allow herself to grieve. He carried the tray of tea things back upstairs on one arm and placed them on the dresser, pouring a cup for himself and sipping it slowly as he looked at her. Belle was sleeping on her belly, arms around her pillow, a lock of dark hair curled across her pale cheek. He smiled tenderly and brushed it back behind her ear with his forefinger. She was so beautiful it made his heart ache. He ran his finger gently down the groove of her spine, watching goosebumps run over her as she sighed slightly, the corners of her mouth turning upwards. Watching her sleep, he could pretend for a moment she was his Belle, that nothing had changed for her. He needed to save her, as she had saved him. He needed to find her answers. He drained his cup and made his way downstairs to the library, studying the shelves and rifling through boxes of books until he found the half-dozen or so that he needed to make a start on finding out what had killed her father. He pondered David's words. Seven deaths, all at the same time. This was ringing a bell for him, and he thought of the sacrifice of seven, mentioned in one of his older books. Not a spell he had ever used himself, but still… He pulled out the book in question, and flicked through the pages. Yes. Seven had to die at once, to open a door to the underworld, enough to let something pass through. He drummed his fingers on the desk. Something had been roused by this spell, something dark. That was what had killed Moe in the library. He suddenly had an idea of what he was dealing with, and snapped the book shut, his face grim.
Gold was dozing in a chair in the study, a book open on his lap, when the phone rang shrilly. He awoke fully with a sigh and fumbled the receiver into his hand, noting that it was still dark outside.
"Gold."
"It got another!" Emma's desperate voice chased away the last shreds of his weariness, and he sat up.
"Who was it?"
"Walter." Her voice broke a little. "Leroy and the others found him. Mary Margaret's heart-broken."
"What do you need from me?" he asked quietly.
"We need to find out what the hell this thing is and stop it! Meet us at the library. That's where the first death was."
"On my way."
"Whatever it was came up from beneath the clock tower," David explained to Gold as they strode into the library with Emma. David pointed to the elevator, the floor of which had mostly disappeared.
"It's big," remarked Emma stonily, and her father nodded.
"When I killed the dragon, I didn't see anything else down there," she said thoughtfully.
"Perhaps it's a present from Cora," said David dryly. "Or perhaps…"
"Regina," said Gold softly. David shrugged, and Emma shook her head.
"I don't think she would – what's in it for her? She knows she'd lose Henry for good if we found out. She has too much to lose to risk attacking the town."
Gold raised an eyebrow. "And she has him now, does she? Visiting rights, shared caring responsibilities, et cetera?"
"It's for his own good," said Emma flatly. "I can't let her near him, not after what she did."
Gold showed his teeth. "Then she has nothing to lose." Emma fidgeted uncomfortably, but gave him a challenging stare.
"Any ideas what this is, Gold?" asked David.
"Not yet." He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I suggest we go down and see what we can find out."
David had brought ropes and harnesses to lower them down the elevator shaft, and within a short while they stepped out into the vast cavern beneath the library. Gold could feel the tang of magic in the air, and stiffened.
"Keep your voices low," he whispered. "And stay close. There's danger here."
"The dragon's gone," objected Emma, and he smiled.
"You killed it," he corrected. "Doesn't mean it's not still here in some form."
"What?"
"The dragon was Maleficent, a sorceress, and one-time friend of Regina."
Emma stopped, a shocked look on her face. "I killed a person?"
"A dragon," he corrected. "You weren't to know."
"But you did!" she said accusingly. "And Regina did! She'd let that happen to a friend?"
"To save Henry, yes," he said calmly, and she threw up her hands.
"And you ask me why I won't let her near him!"
"Perhaps we can argue about this later," suggested David. "After we've stopped the mystery terror killing our people."
"A wise suggestion." They spread out, David and Emma flicking on flashlights and Gold creating a ball of light to float above him, casting an eerie, bluish-white glow around the cavern. Gold spotted something strange and bent down, picking up a pile of ash with his gloved hand. There were seven piles, arranged in a circle. He frowned.
"The seven that died suddenly," he said. "Who were they?"
David shrugged as he shone his flashlight over the floor ahead of him. "I have a list - they weren't men I knew, but then this town is bigger than you think. I can get you the list."
"That would be appreciated." Gold let the ash trickle through his fingers.
"Over here," whispered Emma, and he straightened up. She was pointing at the dust on the ground at her feet. Something had been dragged through it; something large.
"Where was the dwarf killed?" asked Gold quietly.
"In the mines," said David, and realised what Gold was thinking. "It's in the tunnels under Storybrooke."
"It'll take more than the three of us to cover that," said Emma flatly.
"I think we should find out what it is we're dealing with first," said Gold. "When did this unfortunate event take place?"
"Whale thinks around five o'clock yesterday evening," said David. "The others had knocked off early – it's Tom's birthday. It was Walter's job to check everything was locked up."
"Five o'clock," mused Gold. "Three days on from the last death."
"Does that mean something?" asked Emma hopefully.
"Perhaps." He looked them both up and down. "I think I'll be more help on the research side of this particular enterprise. I suggest you two go back and start organising search parties. I would also suggest that you do not send out those search parties at present, as we don't know what it is we face."
"But someone else could die!" objected David fiercely.
"I believe the townsfolk have another…" Gold looked at his watch. "…sixty-two hours before this thing feeds again. We should enjoy it while we can."
"Then you do know what it is!" said Emma. He shrugged.
"I have suspicions, nothing more," he said. "I'll have answers before our time runs out."
That evening, the town was subdued. Granny's had been quiet, and once the last customer had gone, Ruby locked the door of the diner and checked her make-up in her handbag mirror, reapplying bright red lipstick and smacking her lips together as she admired the result. Leroy had invited her to the Rabbit Hole to drink to Walter with the other dwarfs. He had not been crying, but she could see the loss and despair on all of their faces, even on Tiny's, the newest member of the crew. She had agreed readily. Mary Margaret had said, somewhat tearfully, that she would be there and Ruby wanted to see how her friend was bearing up. She shoved the mirror back into her bag and trotted down the street towards the Rabbit Hole, looking forward to her first drink of the evening. The inside of the club was warm and humid from the milling bodies of its patrons and redolent of spilt beer and nachos. She sat at the bar to order a drink and heard raucous laughter emanating from one of the booths, a loud repetitive chanting of "down in one!" Grinning, Ruby turned and, to her shock, saw Belle draining a pint of beer to the cheers of numerous onlookers, including Doctor Whale, Mary Margaret, the dwarfs and a handful of others she knew by sight but not by name. Belle turned the empty pint glass upside down on her head and cheered with the others, then fell into Leroy's lap, planting a kiss on his cheek. Leroy looked utterly terrified.
"Now your turn!" Belle shouted, shoving Whale in the chest. Ruby noticed with some amusement that his hand was on her thigh. He winked at her and began drinking as the others chanted, and Ruby slid off her stool and walked over to take Belle's hand.
"Ruby!" Belle grabbed at her. "You have to go next!"
Ruby glanced at Mary Margaret, who shrugged, tossing back her own drink of scotch on the rocks. No help there.
"How about we play a different drinking game?" Ruby suggested.
"She's having fun here," said Whale, catching Belle around the waist so that she giggled and fell against him before pushing herself upright.
Ruby bent to whisper in his ear. "Seriously, Viktor, you want to mess with the Dark One's girlfriend?"
His mouth opened and he paled visibly and sat back, holding up his hands to prove he wasn't touching Belle. Ruby gave him a flat look, and nodded. "Come on," she pulled Belle away to another booth and sat her down. "How about a Cosmo?"
"Sure, it's about the only thing I haven't had." Belle's head lolled back against the seat as Ruby headed for the bar and ordered one Cosmopolitan and one cranberry juice in a Cosmo glass for her inebriated friend.
"Haven't seen you around for a while," she said, as she sat back down. "I thought you would have stopped by – after."
Belle took a slurp of her drink. "I've been in bed the whole time."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Ruby's face was sympathetic.
"No, I mean in a good way! It's been fun," Belle giggled. "Poor Rumple, he's convinced I'm trying to kill him. I thought I should let him sleep." She grinned, taking another drink. "For an hour or two, anyway!"
Ruby grinned, amusement shining in her eyes. "I knew I'd get the details out of you sooner or later. You haven't told me a thing since you hooked up. You know, no-one understands what you two have." She shrugged, lifting her glass to her mouth. "Or, more accurately, what you see in him."
Belle leaned back against the upholstery with a sigh. "Well, he's a demon in the sack," she drawled.
Ruby choked, spraying her drink. "Thanks a lot!" she said crossly, wiping Cosmopolitan from her leather trousers as Belle collapsed into a fit of giggles.
"So, come on, tell!" urged Ruby, grinning back at her. "Is he kinky? The great and powerful Rumplestiltskin has got to be a little bit kinky!" Belle squawked in protest and punched her friend's shoulder as she continued to giggle.
"I have to go to the bathroom," she announced, pushing herself up and still chuckling. "Will you watch my stuff? I'll tell you all about it when I get back." She shoved her bag and jacket at Ruby and made her way gingerly towards the restrooms, wobbling somewhat. Ruby shook her head in amused despair and rummaged in Belle's bag for her phone. She flicked through the call history and pressed redial.
"Mr Gold?" she said. "It's Ruby. I – think you ought to come and collect Belle…"
Ruby managed, with not a little difficulty, to get Belle to put on her jacket and walk out of the club. The chill night air seemed to make Belle drunker than ever, and she leant heavily on Ruby, complaining about the cold as they stood shivering. Moments later, Gold's Cadillac purred into view and slowed to a stop. He got out of the car, taking in the situation in a moment with a sinking feeling of déja vu.
"Time to go home, Belle," he said quietly, and she raised her head to face him, still clinging to Ruby.
"Come and have a drink with me," she countered, her words slurring. Ruby gave him a sympathetic look.
"I think you ought to go now, Belle," she said. "We can pick this up again tomorrow."
"Okay," Belle said meekly. She pushed herself upright, clumsily kissing Ruby's cheek and turning on Gold. "And as for you," she announced, jabbing his chest with her finger. "When we get home it's my turn." She poked him again. "I am gonna do things that'll make your head explode!" Another jab. "What do you think of that?" She aimed another at him, missed, and stumbled against him. Ruby stifled a giggle.
"I think your drunken eloquence knows no bounds," he said dryly, holding her up. "Ruby, would you please open the door?"
Ruby complied, her eyes sparkling with amusement, and together they managed to get Belle into the passenger seat and buckled in with her bag on her lap. Gold shut the door and turned to Ruby with anger in his eyes.
"How on earth could you let her get like this?" he snapped, and Ruby's mouth fell open.
"Me?" she squeaked indignantly. "She was like this when I got here fifteen minutes ago! You're lucky I did get here, or she'd have ended up in an orgy with Dr Frankenstein and a bunch of dwarfs!"
He sighed, pulled a face, and looked at the floor. "My apologies. Has she said anything interesting?"
Ruby grinned mischievously. "Well, apparently you're a demon in the sack!" she said lightly. "And a bit of a kinky bastard. So yeah, thanks for those nightmares!"
He closed his eyes momentarily with a pained expression and shook his head. "Anything else?" he asked waspishly.
Ruby's face became solemn. "She hasn't mentioned her father. Will she be okay?"
He grimaced. "She's blocking it out. She needs to face her grief and deal with it. I'll try again."
He turned to get into the car, and Ruby put her hand on his arm. "I know you love her," she said seriously. "And I know she loves you. Just – please, go easy on her."
"She doesn't need me to be easy on her," he said grimly. "She needs me to be what everyone thinks I am. And once she's sobered up, that's exactly what she'll get."
Belle was silent on the drive home, and subdued as he helped her into the house.
"I have to go to the bathroom," she said thickly, as they entered the hall.
"Let me help you." He tried to take her jacket but she pushed him away.
"I can go to the bathroom on my own!" she snapped belligerently, and headed for the stairs, bouncing from wall to wall on her way up. He sighed, taking off his coat and listening to her footsteps suddenly quicken as she made her way along the landing. The bathroom door banged backwards against the wall and he heard the unmistakable sound of vomiting. He sighed again, making his way slowly up the stairs. When he reached the bathroom Belle was sprawled by the toilet, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and looking very miserable.
"Come on, sweetheart," he said kindly, holding out his hand to help her up. "Why don't you brush your teeth and go to bed?"
She nodded dolefully and set to, splashing her face with water and getting most of it on the floor. He led her to the bedroom when she was done, lying her down and patiently undressing her down to her underwear before pulling the covers over her. He sat on the bed beside her and she looked at him blearily.
"You'll be alright," he said gently. "Alcohol can be a welcome distraction at times. You'll feel better in the morning." He stroked her hair and she sighed, nodded, and mumbled agreement.
In the morning she wished she was dead.
She awoke parched, peeling her tongue from the roof of her mouth and pulling a face at the foul taste. She felt horribly queasy and her body ached all over as she turned, trying to find a cool spot on the pillow. Instantly she groaned as what felt like several hammers smashed into her skull, the blood pounding behind her eyes. The light pressing against her eyelids seemed too harsh to be real, although as she opened one eye gingerly she realised the curtains were still drawn. Slowly, she rolled onto her other side and spotted a tall glass of water on the bedside table, along with – heavens be praised – two white pills. The clock was showing 12:05; it was past midday. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and gulped the tablets, washing them down with water and drinking the remainder of the glass greedily. She fell back with a sigh, waiting for the relentless pounding in her head to ease.
"Good afternoon, sweetheart." He was smiling as he entered, the one who didn't have a headache, whose mouth no doubt didn't taste as though he had been dining in a sewer. She glowered at him for having the audacity to be bringing people breakfast and moving around without pain. He didn't appear to notice her scowl, but sat down beside her, placing a tray containing fresh fruit, warm pastries, orange juice and hot coffee on the bed. Belle grabbed the juice eagerly and drained the glass.
"How are you?" he asked kindly, and she pulled a face.
"I feel like death."
"Did we learn anything last night?"
"Yes!" she snapped. "Don't get into drinking games with dwarfs!"
He nodded, amused. "I have some business to attend to. Will you be alright here for the day?"
"If you go away and leave me alone," she said ungraciously. He appeared to be trying not to laugh, which infuriated her all the more. Despite having no appetite, she poured coffee and took a bite of a pastry so she wouldn't have to look at him.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," he promised, kissing the top of her head.
A/N - next time...Gold confronts Regina, Gold confronts Belle, and insults fly thick and fast