The next day, Belle woke up to her phone ringing. She groaned and grabbed it. She looked at the caller id then answered after seeing it was Emma.

"Who's dead?"

"What?"

"Well, you're calling me at seven o'clock in the morning on a Saturday so I can only assume someone's dead." She felt the chuckle in Adam's chest under her head.

"Well Bae might be. He was supposed to come here twenty minutes ago and he never showed up." Belle groaned and threw the blankets off her.

"Hold on I'll go get him up." Belle got up and dragged herself out of the room. She went down the hall and knocked on Bae's closed door. "Bae, let's go. You were supposed to be at Emma's house twenty minutes ago." She opened the door after getting no reply. "Bae. Bae, where are you?" She looked around the room and saw that his cell phone was on his bed and his window was open. She also saw the sheet rope and ran over to the window. "Emma, call that husband of yours and have meet me at my house. Bae's missing. He ran away." Belle hung up and ran into the bedroom she shared with her husband. She jumped on the bed and started shaking Adam. "Adam, Adam, wake up. Wake up we have a probably. Bae ran away." Adam woke up and grabbed his cane. He limped down to his son's room. He saw the sheet rope and looked out the window. He looked over to Belle and saw her crying. He went over and embraced her.

"We'll find him. Don't worry we'll find our son."

"I think I know where he went. He was really upset last night. What if he went to the jail to talk to Miranda?" Adam took a deep breath and went over to the phone calling Graham who was still the Sheriff and Emma's husband. For hours Graham was at their house looking through Bae's computer, phone, e-mails, etc. Graham had sent Emma and another deputy over to the jail that holding Miranda to see if Bae was there. Hannah watched from behind a corner the whole day.

"Daddy, do you think Bae's okay?" Adam turned around and saw Hannah standing in the doorway fighting to not let the tears fall.

"He's fine. I know that. I promise we'll find your brother." Hannah nodded and wiped her eyes not wanted to appear weak in front of her father. He looked at his daughter and sighed. "Do you remember what I told you about asking for help?" He asked remembering asking the same thing to Bae twelve years ago.

"That we shouldn't be ashamed to ask for it." Adam nodded.

"Well, I need your help. I need your help with your brother and sister. Do you think you can help me?" Hannah nodded.

"I can help you. Do you think there will be a story tonight?"

"Well see, sweetheart." Adam went back over to Belle and tried to calm her down again. Hannah turned around started to walk away until she heard her mother explode.

"How can you be so calm?! Bae isn't even my own son I'm still more distraught then you."

"One of us needs to be calm Belle. If both of us are distraught that won't accomplish anything. You don't think I'm not worried. Inside I'm freaking out. I'm going over every possible outcome of this and none of them are good. I'm seeing Bae in a ditch somewhere, dead, I'm seeing him in someone's basement, I'm seeing him in the woods somewhere, he ran away but that doesn't mean he wasn't abducted once he left. He is everything to me and all I want is him back!"

"Then why aren't you out there looking for him?! You're his father and you're supposed to protect him!"

"And what about you? You're his mother! You're supposed to protect him as well, be the one person he could talk to about anything, what happened to that?"

"If you're trying to say that I don't care about Bae, take it back because you know I love him and have for the past twelve years. Even that week that you didn't let me see him and Hannah I still loved them. What's your excuse? Are you just taking any action cause you're the coward my sister always thought you." Hannah, who had been distracting her sister and brother from the first argument their parents ever had, stopped what she was doing when she the very distinct sound of skin meeting skin… hard. She knew what that meant and she had never been more scared of her father then that moment. Downstairs, Adam was staring at his now stinging hand in shock then looked at Belle. She was holding a hand to her cheek with her head down.

"Belle…" He didn't even know what to say. There was nothing he could ever say that would ever erase the fact that he had just hit a woman. He swore that he would never do that after seeing his father beat his mother when he was a young boy. Of all the people he had that would have deserved a good slap, he hit his wife, Belle, the kindest person in the world. "Belle, I," Belle didn't even give him time to gather his thoughts before she too had a sting in her hand and he had a handprint on his cheek. She ran past him and into the dark night. Adam knew for sure he would be looking at divorce papers and in his mind that was what he deserved most. He sat down and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe he had just hit his wife. The phone rang and he picked it up.

"Adam, we found him. Belle was right. He went to the jail to ask Miranda some questions. He won't tell me what those questions were he just said that he got the answers he wanted and he's ready to come home." Emma told him. Adam sighed in relief.

"Thank you Emma. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. I'll be back in a few hours with him. See you then." They hung up and no sooner did he put the phone down, it rang again.

"I'll be over there in ten minutes and you can tell me why Belle is in my diner crying her eyes and mumbling something about you hitting her!" That was the only sentence that was heard before the phone was hung up. Adam knew he was in for it. Ten minutes later, his door was kicked in. He never knew his mother was that strong even in her older years. "Well, start talking!"

"Things got out of control. She started yelling that I didn't care about Bae because I wasn't a bubbling mess. She started yelling that I was his father and I should have protected him. We both exchanged some hurtful words and then she said that I was a coward just like Miranda had always thought and I snapped. Before I even knew what was happening, my hand was stinging and she was holding her cheek."

"So you hit that sweet girl over an argument?"

"In a nutshell, I guess. Mom, I don't know what to do. I swore I would never hurt a woman not after I saw my father beat my mother every day of my life."

"You need to grovel at her feet and beg for forgiveness. Swallow your damn pride show some weakness for once. Whether you want to admit it or not, Belle is your weakness. She's the only woman you've ever truly loved." Granny left the house without another word and left Adam thinking over everything. He looked at the time and saw that he still had three hours until Emma would return with Bae. He grabbed his cane and called up to his children that he was leaving and left the house. He drove to the diner and saw Belle and Ruby through the window. He parked and went inside. He stopped at the door when Ruby turned her head and saw his face. She turned back to Belle and whispered something to her. Belle just shrugged and Ruby left her side. Adam slowly walked over and Belle turned her body to face him. He walked the rest of the way to her then promptly fell to his knees at her feet with his arms around her waist. Belle fell silent and still, shocked. She had never seen her husband in such a state.

"Belle, my sweet sweet loving Belle. I'm so so extremely sorry. I never meant to her hurt you. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness but I'm asking no begging you to give me another chance because I love you so so much. To know that I hurt you makes me sick and want to die. No one deserves to be hit and least of all you. You're my one true love and I'm begging you to give me one more chance. I'll make it worth it. If you chose not then I'll back away gracefully and give you whatever you want. I beg you though to think it over before saying no." He said all this with his forehead on her stomach. She took a deep shuddering breath before placing a hand on his head. She moved her hand to his cheek and made him look up.

"Stand up Adam. Your knee has to be killing you."

"It is but I won't make you look up at me while you tell me no. You have every right to look down at her."

"Will you please stand up Adam?" She helped him stand up and sit on a stool. "What brought this on?"

"I feel terrible for what I did Belle. I really truly do. I would rather die than live with the fact that I was the one who put that mark on her cheek."

"You're not the first man who's raised a hand to me and I'm sure you won't be the last."

"That doesn't mean I was right, Belle. Just tell what I can do and I'll do it. As much as it pains me, if you want a divorce I can call my lawyer right now and have the papers drawn up."

"As much as you did hurt me, you can't get rid of me that easily. We were both in the wrong. I never should have called you a coward for brought Miranda up. I'm sorry for that and for hitting you as well."

"Nothing you could have said or did justifies what I did to you."

"Adam will you stop it. You acting like did something completely unforgiveable. You just hit me and I'm fine. I'm not bleeding or dying. I forgive you because I love you so much." She took his face in her hands and kissed him. He pulled her close to him and kissed her with all the passion he had in his body. She had forgiven him. He would make sure that nothing ever happened like to her again and especially not by his hand.

So I know that everyone was not expecting this but I had to put this in here because I personally have wanted to see a fight between Belle and Rumple. Before people starting throwing stones at me no I don't actually believe that Rumple would ever hit Belle. I just put that in there for dramatic effect. Next chapter will be Bae coming home and talking to Belle and Adam and then we're back to the flashbacks. Don't give up on me :(