Hellllllooooo! Thanks guys for reading & reviewing, truly you guys just rock! And can I say I'm so glad you all liked Granny?! I really liked her too, I think she'll be coming up more in this story :) To those that suggested YouTube, I am scouring now, if I find any particularly good ones I'll be sure and share :D

So, without further ado, I give you chapter 4 dearies, happy reading!

Chapter 4: Expectations

Story time was coming to an end, much to Mr. Gold's relief and also a bit to his woeful regret, as his leg was aching and begging for relief but he was loathe to leave his hiding place and her voice.

"Alright guys, tomorrow we'll read more okay?" A laugh born of music filled Mr. Gold's ears and he blinked briefly to savor it. Her's was voice he could almost swear he knew. It was like a little scratching at the back of the most recessed memories in the cloudy fringe of his mind. He felt like he might have known her, once upon a time. He gave himself a hard internal shake at that, he was losing his mind. Your mind is going daft, Gold, he chided himself again.

There was a small whirlwind of chaos as kids and parents dispersed and clattered through the small shop, the high tinkling of the shop bell announcing their exit.

Mr. Gold held back, waiting to be sure Ms. French was alone. When finally there weren't any more voices and the last bell chime had faded he gingerly, straight backed stepped into the children's area where Ms. French was just putting up her book and stool.

"Ms. French," Mr. Gold was surprised his voice was softer than he intended. She was truly breathtaking.

Ms. French startled, looked up, blue meeting dark coffee brown. "Oh! You startled me, can I…."

"I know who you are… What do you want?"

Mr. Gold pulled up as another person was suddenly standing directly in front him, blocking his view of Ms. French.

"Granny said to expect you."

She was tall, slender, dark haired and mad as a hornet Mr. Gold observed. He had a sneaking suspicion that this person was Ruby, Mrs. Granny's granddaughter. He didn't need the red of her fingernails, the scarlet of her button down shirt or the bright streak of crimson in her dark locks to tell him so.

"Ms. Ruby I presume? We haven't actually met," he stepped to the side to bring Ms. French into view before continuing, "my business is actually with Ms. French but since my reputation appears to have preceded me we might as while make introductions." His voice had hardened, taken on a sneer. "I am Mr. Gold of Baelfire Consulting." In an act of old world charm he wasn't completely conscious of doing he gave a small half bow to both women, inclining his head slightly.

Ruby grunted folded her arms over her chest clearly showing what she thought of his demonstration. Ms. French clutched the book of fairy tales to her body, brow furrowing slightly as she looked from him to Ruby and gave a timid hesitant smile. "It's a pleasure Mr. Gold, I am Belle French…and my friend Ruby Hopper. How can I be of help to you sir?"

Mr. Gold continued to ignore Ms. Hopper's grunt of disapproval and focused on Ms. French. Her smile was genuine and warm, it shown brilliant and sparkling in her vibrant eyes.

"Don't be nice to this…miscreant! Do you even know what he's here for?!" Ruby nearly growled. "He's here for Gaston to kick you out of here and sell this place!" Ruby waved her hands wildly stomping her foot.

Mr. Gold stood straighter and donned a completely blank look.

Ms. French looked between the two people not betraying much her self. Her gaze faltered once, she bit her lip and still held the book like a shield.

"Ruby I appreciate your outrage on my behalf, you're a good friend," she smiled again putting her hand on her friends shoulder, "but while I hadn't met Mr. Gold until now, I knew someone was coming…" she trailed for a moment blinking, Mr. Gold would have sworn she was blinking back tears but rejected the thought. "Rupert called me last night…" she shrugged.

Mr. Gold was completely caught off guard. He was not expecting that in the slightest.

"You knew?! He called you?! You spoke to him?!" Ruby gasped.

Ms. French nodded and sighed, "Mr. Gold I believe we have much to discuss, would you care to join me for tea?"

Rube was outraged, "You're going to me make him tea?! If you knew he was coming you must know how vile he is! He is the Crocodile! He's not someone to be nice to Belle…" Ruby had the decency to blush slightly, "No offense Mr. Gold."

Mr. Gold was entirely composed and wasn't in fact offended in the slightest and inclined his head to indicate so with a shrug, both hands on his cane in front of him. He was kind of enjoying this; it wasn't at all what he had been expecting. At all.

"Ruby, I appreciate your concern I do…but this is my business. Now I know you've got to get to the diner so if you would, please hang up my 'out' sign as you leave?" Ms. French's tone brooked no argument though she was still all smiles and kindness.

Lord, Mr. Gold was intrigued.

He watched Ruby looked again between him and her friend clearly wanting to argue. "Fine…" she turned to him, "You be mean to her and I'll make myself a pair of crocodile heels and matching purse from your scaly hide!" She then stormed off in a mess of red and fury.

Ms. French turned back to him with an embarrassed smile, tucking wayward curls behind her ear. "I am sorry about that Mr. Gold, Ruby is entirely too overprotective…and far too dramatic for her own good. If you'll follow me I'll get tea started."

Mr. Gold couldn't really think of what to say. He wasn't entirely sure what he was expecting but this certainly wasn't it.

He nodded and followed her to the back of the store. The back corner of the store was a cluttered, but tasteful, living room type space. A Victorian settee, two wing-backed chairs flanking a fireplace, various ottomans, tables and mismatched chairs of all kinds were grouped about the area intimately. The only other windows he had seen in the place, aside from the entry windows, had curtains of heavy blue velvet which were open and letting in the muted sunlight. Along one wall were several electric teakettles and coffee pots with tea sets and coffee mugs to the side. There was an impressive selection of tea bags, loose tea and coffee along with a variable cornucopia of additives and accompaniments. Perhaps though the most impressive part of the room were the antique tea sets all displayed about on shelves. Perhaps forty, they were all beautiful and unique.

He lastly noticed that a small bookshelf in the corner had several sets carefully packaged tea sets for sale. Perhaps there was a bit of an entrepreneur in her after all.

"Please, make yourself comfortable, I'll be just a moment."

He did, selecting a sturdy looking craftsman style chair with a leather cushion. It was positioned so that he could easily watch her graceful movements as she went about scooping out tealeaves and warming a porcelain teapot.

He was completely engrossed in watching her, absently toying with the antique spinning wheel that was sitting ornamentally next to his chair. He jerked his hand back soon as he realized what he was doing. He wasn't one for idle movement.

"You're not what I expected Mr. Gold," she finally said quietly as she brought the tray of tea things to the round table before him.

She wasn't looking at him, busy pouring tea.

"Well, if it makes you feel better you aren't what I was expecting either… You do know what I'm here to do aye?" he couldn't believe that she truly did as kindly as she was treating him.

She sighed just a bit, "I do. You're here to liquidate this," she gestured to the shop around her, "mar on my ex-fiancés financial books."

She lifted the cream and looked at him questioningly. He nodded for the cream, declined the sugar then accepted the small cup and saucer with the stirring spoon in it.

"And you realize that liquidating means I will be facilitating the selling of everything in this building, the building it's self…the business entity if I can get a dollar for it, right?" He was harsher than probably strictly required but she was making strange …things, flutter about in the vicinity of his heart.

It was probably just indigestion.

"Ruby's grandmother isn't the only one that knows how to use the Internet Mr. Gold," she quirked a smile.

Mr. Gold raised an eyebrow, "Then you know I'm ruthless and begging and crying and any other attempts to change things would be moot, aye?"

She took her time in answering, sipping her tea "Why do you think I'm not doing any of those things? You have a job to do, I would be rather…unreasonable to blame you for my plight and attempt to sway you since really you're just doing a job."

You could have knocked him over with a piece of straw.

He mulled her words over, thought about her demeanor. She was being kind, but there was something she was hiding.

"I have a great suspicion that you are being very kind to me on the surface but are plotting how to slit my throat in that pretty head of yours, aren't you dearie?"

Her lips twitched and her eyes danced, "I'm very sure I don't know what you're talking about Mr. Gold."

Mr. Gold found himself smiling also though he had no idea why.

"I'll be brining in an auction company to load up any remaining contents at the end of the month. I'll be shopping the building space starting tomorrow, I've already interesting parties scheduled to tour the property." He reached to refill his cup but first gestured the teapot at her cup. She nodded and he refilled hers then his own. He was trying to watch her reaction covertly, she was giving nothing away, appearing to be nothing but calm and collected. She did have a tell though, small thought it was. The grip she had on the delicate white and blue cup, which he noted absently, had a superficial chip along the rim, so tight her fingers were strained white. She perhaps wasn't at all as together as she seemed.

"I happen to be something of a rare book connoisseur and would like to start going through your collections to separate out the more valuable volumes before selling off larger lots. I see you have a few antiques – I'll be bringing in experts on those as well."

"And if I am able to bring my debt up to date before the month is out will I be able to retain the business?"

Mr. Gold was just reaching to put the cup on the table but the question catching him off guard caused him to drop the cup. There was a moment of slow motion as the cup fell to the hardwood and there was a sharp resonate breaking sound.

Quicker than breath Belle was scooping up the fragmented pieces from the floor and into a small garbage can.

"I am quite sorry Ms. French, I will of course pay for it." He couldn't remember the last time he had dropped something. He was a careful, precise and methodical man. There were no wasted action or hasty ones. In everything he was a deliberate man. He did not tolerate errors that were resulted from impulsive behavior. He was never caught off guard.

Until today.

"Mr. Gold don't fash yourself, it is only just a cup."

He smiled broadly unable to help it, "I have'na heard 'fash' since I was back home a great many years ago." Whether he did it consciously or no his brogue thickened and crowded out his more refined speech.

Ms. French smiled, "My mother was Scottish, from Glasgow. I studied Scottish history in college… I haven't heard a Scottish accent since my senior year…" she returned to her chair and smiled warmly at him. "It's nice, you have a wonderful Highland brogue."

He was sure he saw a blush on her cheeks and it caused a funny clutching feeling in his stomach. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but it also wasn't unpleasant. He was also surprised she was able to tell his accent was from the Highlands; most people couldn't have, or would have cared.

What in the bloody hell was going on!

"But to answer your question, even if you were bring your debts to date Mr. Gaston has already started proceedings and all notices have been issued, there is no legal requirement that he stop the sale of this business."

She nodded appearing to have anticipated this.

"If I come up with the money to buy whatever remains before the end of the month would I be allowed to purchase what remained?"

"Ms. French, these are questions for your attorney to inquire of my company, not of me in this instance." He was cold, detaching himself again.

"Why do I get the feeling there isn't a chance in hell that I can save my business and my home?"

There was no desperation in her voice, no pleading or agony, just simple resignation.

"Dearie I am, as your friend Ms. Hopper warned you, a cruel man. I've no use for sugar coating things. No, there isn't a chance in hell you will be saving your business. My company is very good at what we do, we cover our proverbial bases and cross our t's and dot our i's. We have a duty to our client, which is larger than this business. This business will be sold and assets liquidated to bring the most cash as quickly as possible. "

"There are no more avenues for you. I would assume also that if you had some cash reserve you would have used that already to prevent you getting to this place in the first place. There is no getting out this."

Ms. French flinched like she had been slapped. Mr. Gold almost felt regret for the way he had spoken. Almost. Everything he said was truth. They didn't leave room for 'what if's' in his business. He ran it just like he did his life. Everything methodically planned and every possibility foreseen.

Except Ms. Belle French, he had not foreseen her. He did think it a terrible pity that her face was now creased with worry lines and sadness had taken hold, dulling her beautiful eyes. She was struggling to conceal it, but he saw it. Someone so beautiful should never look so sad. Not that he regretted it. No, this was his job, this was just another deal to follow through on and fulfill. There was no such thing as something for nothing after all.

"Well then Mr. Gold, it would seem we will be seeing much of each other over the next few weeks what say we try and make the best of it, hm?"

Again the woman threw him off kilter. His face must have finally betrayed him too as her smile turned a bit wicked, "What? I'm a practical woman Mr. Gold. I would give anything to keep this business and I'm not yet ready to give up hope, but in the mean while it would do me no good to fight against a very real possible inevitability. So, I chose to make the infamous Crocodile if not an ally, at least not an enemy lest he decided to bite."

"A wise choice to not poke the beast dearie, but my company deals in absolutes. I could make your life particularly…difficult, more so than you can imagine. Trust though when I say everything has been written in stone concerning this liquidation."

She shrugged, "We'll see."

Mr. Gold decided then that for as beautiful as she was, she was also insufferable. "So be it. I thank you for the tea Ms. French but I do believe that its time I should be going."

"It was kind of you to bring me this news yourself Mr. Gold, mister Big Wig that you are, I hardly thought my little shop would warrant a second look from a man such as you… Let alone a personal visit."

She was following him toward the door; he stopped and turned to look at her with an appreciative gleam in his eye. She was a sly devil. "Sometimes even beasts need a change of scenery, especially when the scenery is as lovely…and as perilous as you. Good day Ms. French." He let his gaze burn predatory for a moment and trail up her body from the soles of her shoes to the top of her shiny hair. She needed to remember whom she was dealing with. She would be wise not to bait him he only needed but a reason.

"Indeed, well every rose has its thorn they say, try and grasp me and we'll see if Crocodiles bleed. Good day Mr. Gold."

Oh indeed they would he thought, indeed they would.

Well truth? This chapter went NOTHING how I was first thinking it would, even as I was writing it I was like 'damn! Really?! Really this is what we are going to do?!' …but sometimes stories just get all bossy and do what they want…and lets be honest this IS Mr. Gold we're dealing with, nobody tells him what to do.

Also… Belle was very hard to write. I think that next chapter I will be writing from her POV and it'll get easier…but…*shrug*, this chapter was hard!

And do you hate me for changing up the cup scene? I hated myself a little bit as it is one of my most favorite bits of theirs…but again, it just sort of happened!

Can't wait for the episode tonight! Doesn't look like we'll see /Belle but still looks good!