A/N We're getting close to the ending here. I'm actually very sad. This story has been my baby. but all good things must come to an end. Please take the time to Review, it means a lot.

Xoxo, Moxie

"Ruby!" Belle yelled, not thinking before she spoke. Her best friend was pregnant and she hadn't even told her. Ruby came running in.

"What's wrong B?" She said, looking panicked for a second.
Belle held out the pregnancy test and Ruby's jaw went slack.

"You. You're pregnant?! Belle! Did you tell Sydney?" Before Belle could speak she added, "The baby is Sydney's, right?"

"Stop it Ruby!" Belle exclaimed, blushing a deep scarlet red.
"This test isn't mine. I thought it was yours. I found it in the trash can."
Ruby smiled, relieved. "Oh no. It's not mine. It's Ella's. From across the street. She asked if she could take it here. Her and her husband have fallen on some hard times. She didn't want him to think she was pregnant if she wasn't."

Belle hugged Ruby. "I'm glad you aren't pregnant. Babies are blessings, but you and the Doctor aren't ready for a baby."
"You can call him Victor you know." Ruby said, nudging Belle with her elbow.

"That might take some getting used to."

~()~

"You're my son?" Gold stared at Nate, not believing what the boy had just said.

"But. That's impossible. I mean Milana. She. I-"

Nate stood up and moved closer to Sydney.

"I know this is shocking, strange and uncomfortable all wrapped into one."
"You have no idea." Sydney muttered, thinking about how his son was older than Belle. The thought disturbed him.

Nate rubbed his temples and continued " I had to tell you before mom came into town and you found out the hard way."
Sydney didn't seem to be hearing a word Nate said. There was a period of silence before Gold said, "Your mother is coming...here?"
"Yeah. She wants to meet Emily. We haven't told anyone yet, but we're engaged." He smiled.

"I see." Gold replied. He leaned heavily on his cane and stared at Nate.
"How long have you known?"

"A while."

"Why didn't you come to me?"

"I was afraid."

Gold closed his eyes. His son, the son he thought he had lost forever, was standing right in front of him.

"I hope you understand." Nate muttered. "And, I'm sorry."

Gold opened his eyes. "My son." He said, not able to control the emotion in his voice.

"I have searched for you for so long. I hope you don't think that I didn't care about you. I loved you. So much. And I'm sorry that you had to grow up without me. But I am very proud of the man you grew up to be. You have a beautiful fiancé, an amazing son. You've created a wonderful life for yourself."

"So have you Dad." Nate said, placing a hand on his father's shoulder.
"Belle is a wonderful girl."

He patted him on the back before placing his cup in the sink and letting himself out.

Gold sat at the table with his head in his hands.
In the next hour he drank two glasses of whiskey. Then he sat on his couch and fell asleep.

He slept for a while, until he heard a knock on his door.
He was rather intoxicated, and stumbled to the door. He opened it only to find a stunning Regina Hills standing there. He was disheveled and smelled of alcohol and Regina decided she would take advantage.

"Let me in?" She asked.
He opened the door and she stepped in.
When he closed the door and turned around to face her, she kissed his cheek and made an attempt at his lips. He pushed her away and stared at her.

"This isn't right Miss Hills. I don't love you."

"Who said anything about love?" She asked, pulling him by his rumpled dress shirt and trying to kiss him again.

"But...but, Belle." He managed to mutter in his rather cloudy state of mind.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her. And you two aren't together anyway." She said.

With that Sydney dropped his resolve and let Regina kiss him, getting her red lipstick all over his face.

He and Belle weren't together anymore, so what did it matter? He would never deserve Belle.
Returning her kisses with vigor, he no longer was innocent. Before she had kissed him, but now he willingly had kissed her. There was no turning back.

He looked up into Regina's dark brown eyes. They didn't compare to Belle's gorgeous blue ones.
"Regina." He said, touching her elbow. She continued to kiss him.
He pulled away.

"Reggie. I'm completely and utterly intoxicated. I have a headache that you wouldn't believe. I just need to go to bed."
She rolled her eyes. "You are the most idiotic man I have ever met." She said. "Many men would die to kiss me."

"Kissing can't be much fun when your dead." He replied.

She sighed. "Fine. Go on to bed." She said, but before she let him go she kissed the Palm of her hand and pressed it on the collar of his shirt.
He left the kitchen and went to his bedroom where he flopped onto the bed and was asleep within minutes.

~()~

Sunlight streamed through the windows of the church as Belle
sat next to her mother and grandparents, and listened to her fathers sermon. After church everyone filed out. Before Belle left the church, a woman in her late forties grabbed a hold of Belles hand.
She tucked a strand of her short blonde hair behind her ear.

"Miss French?"

Belle smiled warmly at the blonde.
"That's me."

The woman looked from side to side and lowered her voice.
"I know that you and Sydney were together, and I realized how everyone in the town treated you, was wrong. My heart breaks to think that you two sacrificed a wonderful love just because of the awful things people here were saying."

Belle squeezed the woman's hand and smiled sadly.
"Sydney and I had issues of our own. That's why we decided not to be together anymore." She couldn't help the tear that slipped down her cheek.

"You love him Belle. You can't let him go so easily." With that the woman patted Belle's hand and left her speechless in the church parking lot.
How could a stranger touch her heart so? She had this ache to see Sydney everyday since they had broken up. But today for the first time, she actually thought she might follow through. She had walked past his house countless times, but never actually went to see him.

She hoisted her purse up onto her shoulder and started walking towards Sydney's home. It was late morning, and she assumed he would e awake.
She walked up his front steps and knocked on the door. When it opened, Belles heart completely shattered in her chest.

Standing next to a disheveled, alcohol reeking Sydney, was an equally disheveled Mayor Regina, her lipstick smeared all over her face and Sydney's. Belle placed a hand over her mouth in shock and stumbled backward down his stairs.

She turned around and started walking away.
"Belle! Wait!" Sydney called. "Belle! You don't understand!" She ignored him and went from walking to running.

All the way home she cried.
Regina and Sydney... Were together. Again. She couldn't believe it. She should have known the minute Regina had brought up their "history" at lunch that one day.

She ran hard all the way to Ruby's, realizing now that Sydney would never be the man she thought he could be.
He was a drunk. A drunk who let whatever woman who came to him fall into his arms.

She wiped away her tears. Realizing all of these things was the first step of completely moving on.