The evening was crisp and the clear skies allowed the stars to shine brightly. They pulled in front of Tony's Restaurant and got out of the car. The valet stood idly by his post outside the restaurant until he saw Mr. Gold pull up and exit his vehicle. The valet immediately straightened his posture and hurriedly ran to greet Mr. Gold. Gold handed the gentleman his keys to park and walked around the front of the car to receive Belle. Another valet went to approach Belle's side of the door to open it when Gold stopped him, "Thank you, but I'll get it."

The valet looked scared and unsure what to do and simply stood there stunned. Gold reached into his pocket and pulled out a large bill handing it to the man. "I appreciate the effort, but for this, I insist."

"Of course sir," replied the valet. Gold then turned to his wife's door and opened it for her. He extended his hand and reached for hers. She couldn't help but smile as she laid her hand in his, accepting his assistance in getting out of the car.

"Thank you," she said blushing. Gold took Belle's hand and kissed it sincerely, "Always."

They entered the restaurant arm in arm and approached the Host together.

"Mr. Gold… uh…," the Host looked nervously down at his papers searching for his name, "do you… um, have a reservation?"

Just then the restaurant owner, Tony, intervened. "Mr. Gold," Tony said with a thick Italian accent, "I have a table for you. Please," he gestured, directing the couple with his hands, "right this way."

"Thank you Tony," replied Gold.

Tony guided Belle and Gold toward the back of the restaurant to a secluded area. Tony directed the couple to an open patio outside the restaurant. Belle marveled over how quaint and intimate the nook was and was genuinely surprised to see just the one table set for them. Green vines draped over the brick wall that surrounded the perimeter of the patio. And with the water fountain just a few feet from their table she could hear the peaceful sounds of the water collecting and dripping into the fountain's basin. The sight and sounds were so wonderful that it took her breath away; it was absolutely picturesque. Tony pulled out Belle's chair for her and she graciously took the seat, "Tony, this area is beautiful. Thank you so much for letting us sit here."

Gold took up the opposite seat and sat down with her. Tony smiled nervously back and forth between the two and replied, "Yes, well I owed Mr. Gold… a favor, to which I assume we're…"

"All set. Thank you Tony."

"Of course. Well, here are your menus," Tony said handing the pair the restaurant's menu's, "I'll give you two a few moments to look over it and your waiter will be with you shortly."

"Thank you," said Belle gratefully as Tony anxiously and eagerly left their table. Belle perused through the menu taking note of the cute logo in front; two dogs sharing a bowl of pasta and a moon hanging between their heads. They were barely through reading the appetizers list when a man appeared with a pitcher of water.

"Might I suggest the Linguine Alla Marinara," said Hook pouring water into the glasses before them, "I hear it's the restaurants' finest."

"Belle, I'm beginning to think you were right about staying home this evening," remarked Gold recognizing the intruder. "What on Earth are you doing here?" Mr. Gold questioned irritatedly. Belle sat there just as surprised as her husband. She was beginning to feel slightly put off from dinner by Hook's presence.

"I wanted to congratulate you on your nuptials. Tell me love," he said turning to Belle, "was it a beautifully intimate ceremony?"

"I think…" Gold said angrily through his teeth, "that if you want to keep your other hand, you'd be wise to leave now."

"Ah yes, the Crocodile returns," setting the pitcher down and bringing his hook closer to his body, "Actually, I've come to make a deal with you," Hook said, the point of his presence finally made.

"Couldn't you just visit him during his business hours?" suggested Belle. Belle and Gold were both getting put off from dinner with the pirate's presence. Gold lashed out, "Yes, you can just wait in line like the rest of this town… tomorrow."

"But you see," Hook began, scratching his upper lip, "the information I have to barter with is sensitive... which…" Hook chuckled, emphasizing on the word 'which'. "…which I think you'd prefer to not let fall on such," the pirate turned looking at Belle, "sensitive ears."

Gold paused at his last statement staring wearily at Hook, reading deeply into his last statement. It had to be important. Why else would the pirate risk losing another limb to warn him? "Besides," the pirate continued, "I haven't seen either one of you since Prince Neal's coronation ceremony… and after Queen Elsa defrosted the town I assumed you both had gone off to your honeymoon."

Belle twisted her face in confusion, but before Belle could figure out what the pirate wanted or meant by his weirdly articulated statement, Gold quickly replied, "Let's go outside. You have five minutes pirate." Gold immediately got up from his seat and turned to Belle, "Belle, I'm sorry. I know you said 'No Business', but the sooner I take care of this, the sooner he'll leave and the sooner we can resume our dinner," Gold turned his head giving Hook a scowl, "in peace."

Hook led the way to the back of the courtyard and opened the gate. The gate swung out of the courtyard and the two gentlemen found themselves just beside the restaurant. When they were just out of earshot from Belle, Rumple asked, "Now what's so important that you couldn't wait 'till morning?"

"The witch, Zelena." Hook said more seriously and in a hushed tone, "I know it was you who killed her."

"And what makes you so sure that it was me?"

"Because I was going to go kill Zelena."

Rumple's ears perked at Hook's declaration. Killian Jones had Rumplestiltskin's full attention. "I had seen Regina walk into the Sheriff's station to talk her sister. So I hung just outside the building waiting for Regina to leave the premises. When she did finally leave, I was about to go in and do the deed myself, but then I saw you enter the building. So I waited some more. Waited for you to leave. You did eventually leave and I entered the building only to discover that you had already beaten me to the punch. You see," Killian said looking somberly down at his feet. He was trying to put on a brave face in front of the Dark One as he reflected on a memory, "I got to spend some time with Baelfire in Neverland… and he meant a lot to me, to both of us." Hook paused to gauge Gold's reaction. Gold simply looked at him stone-faced. Hook reasoned, "Sure, everyone loved him, but we're the only ones in this town that not only loved the boy, but had the motivation to kill Zelena and the fortitude to actually follow through on a murder."

It's not that Rumplestiltskin didn't want Belle to know he killed Zelena, it's just that he didn't want her to know right now. It would be another disappointment and another argument he was unwilling to be confronted with on this gorgeous night. Rumple would have to tell her in his own time in his own way, but not tonight. And if Hook told Regina, then that was a headache that could wait for later as well. "What do you want?" he asked, cutting straight to the chase.

"Well… some time ago you did take off my hand," Killian said waving his hook at Gold, "I'd like to have a functional left hand again."

"Now what will the town say if they see you with two functional hands again?"

"That you righted a wrong… that you did it out of altruism because you're now a… changed man. If anyone asks how I was able to convince you of this good deed, I'll just say that I caught you in a happy disposition in light of your recent matrimony."

"Fine. Deal," Rumplestiltskin said extending his left hand. Killian thought it odd of Gold to offer his left hand instead of his right to confirm a deal, but when he looked down at his hook it was gone! Gold had already magically replaced his hook with a moving hand. Killian's mouth fell open in shock as he stretched and tested the dexterity of his new left hand. The moment was surreal as he had never felt anything in that stump for centuries. Gold coughed at Killian, breaking his trance.

"Oh, yes… deal," Killian said shaking Gold with his left hand. Gold left Killian awestruck as he headed back to the dinner table he and Belle were sharing. Killian turned around and followed after Gold into the courtyard once more. Belle could see Killian just over Gold's shoulders when he shouted at the couple. "Hanno una…" he began to say with a smile, waving with his new left hand, "…bella notte."

Killian left the courtyard and closed the gate behind him, leaving them to their solitude. Gold sat back down in his chair when Belle observed out loud, "He doesn't have a hook anymore. You gave him his hand back." The tone of her voice was out of surprise. "What was that all about?" she asked curiously.

Gold held up his menu and looked at it for a moment. He looked up over the parchment and replied with a smile, "He gave me some insight on something we had in common. And since it is such a beautiful night, he caught me feeling… altruistic."

I hope everyone had/is having a lovely Labor Day weekend. Went mountain climbing. It was a beautiful hike. Go to do some thinking for my story, and guess what? I got my second wind! Like, I know how to end my story! Woohoo! I'm sooooooo excited to tell it, but there just aren't enough hours in the day to spend to it. However, I will do my best to share it in time.

Thank you to BreathingintheSun, Montreat11 and Grace5231973 for your loyal reviewing. All reviews I get are like little gold nuggets of happiness. All lovely! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Also, I hope you enjoyed reading my Lady and the Tramp chapter.