Watching him sleep was one thing. It was easy. It was peaceful. It was not this. This was hard and painful. But she had to be strong. There would be a time to let go, a time to let it all out. Now was not that time. Right now Belle had to be strong and make decisions and preparations. But every time she looked at him, she almost lost it. His face was not relaxed and gentle like it was when he was sleeping. It was despairing and agonized. It was the face of a man whose last conscious moments were of pain and suffering.

So right now, she didn't have it in her to be strong. The tears fell as she whispered words to unhearing ears, planting kisses on his cheek, his forehead, the corners of his lips, the tip of his nose. They had been together only a week. After thirty years of separation they were given one week to reconcile and start over, until tragedy struck yet again. She sat up and wiped away her tears, pulling herself together once more, and turned out the light.

The initial bright white light had faded to darkness, and then blasted into an even brighter light. One muffled voice turned into two frantic ones, and then quiet sobbing, and soon many cold harsh voices. After a while all of it dissipated to a warm light, and a single muffled voice. As the voice became clearer so did stiffness and pain. But certainly this was not hell. And there was not a chance that it could be heaven, no way, not for him. The warm light disappeared and all was dark. Only when the warmth beside him returned did he even realize it had left, or been there in the first place. He pulled it closer, lost in the dreams of another life spent in a castle with a beautiful young maiden that was brave enough to love a beast.

The warmth abruptly left and the light clicked back on, startling him into opening his eyes, finding himself face to face with said young maiden. "You're up!" she gasped, smoothing back his hair.

He was completely and entirely confused. "What?" Looking around he realized he was in his bedroom, in his normal house, not a castle, in a normal town, not an enchanted forest. But Belle, his Belle, was still the same, and was here, staring at him like he was the most amazing and wonderful thing she had ever seen.

"You're awake. The doctor said you wouldn't be up until tomorrow afternoon."

"What the hell is going on?" he tried to sit up but she pushed him back down, he followed, especially after feeling the pain that came with moving his waist.

"Woah, easy. You're not supposed to move for several days."

"I don't understand. What happened? Why am I here?" she just giggled in response and lay down next to him, nuzzling against his cheek.

"You are absolutely adorable when you don't know what's going on. I'm not going to answer you, just so I can enjoy this a bit longer." She sighed happily and he closed his eyes as her breath tickled his cheek.

"Please tell me," he whispered.

"Oh alright," she complied, sitting up, "What do you remember? About the night you met August?"

He thought long and hard about it, finally recalling that night, "He told me he didn't want to bargain, he was just going to kill me. And we fought, he stabbed me," remembering that helped everything else click into place, including his current condition, "and at some point for some reason he was forgot about me and was fighting someone else. And then I saw my-" he paled, "My dagger, where is it?" he grabbed her wrist in a panic, bolting straight up in the bed, regardless of how badly it hurt.

She ignored his question and filled him in on what he didn't know, how she had escaped Emma's watch and found him in the woods, and attacked and drove off August herself. Emma had a hunch that if anything bad was going to happen, his cabin in the woods was the place to be, so she had driven out there in the police car, the bright light he saw were the headlights. She drove him and Belle to the hospital where they determined the extent of the damage and stitched him up. Luckily it had missed internal organs and had only destroyed muscle. Belle had tried to explain that he was only stabbed, but the doctor was insistent that he had been burned. Apparently being stabbed with your own magical dagger did a little bit more damage than a stab wound.

"Speaking of which, where is it?" he begged, "I need to know. If Regina finds it-" Belle silenced him with a kiss, reaching over to the nightstand, then taking his hand and pressing the hilt into his palm.

"I took it from you when Emma showed up. Everyone is under the impression that August took the weapon with him. You never told me what exactly this is, but I know it must be important to you. You should keep it in a safe place." She started to rise from the bed but he caught her wrist.

"Belle, this dagger. It… it's my life, in the most literal sense. Whoever has this dagger, when things go back to the way they used to be, they will control me." He turned the blade so that the hilt extended towards her, "I can't think of a safer place than with you."

She rose abruptly and left the room completely, leaving him alone and dumbstruck. He didn't even have time to ponder if he had done something wrong before she returned, holding something in her hands behind her back. She sat back down beside him, smiling wickedly. "I'll make you a deal, Rumplestiltskin." He shivered at the way his name rolled off her tongue, "I will guard that blade with my life, if you guard this with yours." She held out a small drawstring bag to him.

"I can't possibly keep something so precious as that," he shook his head, "that needs to be kept in a very safe place."

"I can't think of a safer place than with you." She pressed the bag with her heart into his hands and took his dagger in hers, "Do we have a deal?" she was grinning insanely.

Because Belle was not sane. She was quirky and spirited and so, so brave. And sometimes he wondered if he would ever be able to tame her. But he wouldn't have her any other way. She was perfect, and she was his. And he would do everything he could to never lose her again. It may not always make sense, and sometimes it may hurt, but love is the most wonderful and amazing thing in the world. Love is hope. It fills our dreams. And if you're in it, you need to enjoy it. You need to be with the person you love.

The End