"Can't…move…" Belle uttered the words as she tried to get out of bed the next morning. No one was there to hear them of course, but it didn't stop her from groaning loudly as she attempted to roll over and put her feet on the ground.

She ached absolutely everywhere. For all her insistence that she was prepared for a job of tough manual labor, she was absolutely and completely wrong. I mean, who was she kidding anyway? She was a bookworm, a woman who had gone to school for library science. She was not a farm worker. She didn't muck out kennels and get down heavy bales of hay.

There was a reason, after all, that Gold had simply scoffed at her when she had arrived on his doorstep. Not that the infuriating man was much bigger than she was. And she had complete use of both legs currently, an advantage she would happily stick to him when he complained about the speed at which she did the chores and her abilities. He could mock her all he liked but he was the one on crutches not she. And he needed her help whether or not he liked it.

It gave her an advantage.

But a small one.

She finally managed to get to her feet and make her way slowly to the bathroom. Every step was agony. The muscles of her upper arms burned when she even tried to do something simple like open the bathroom door. The shower felt heavenly though, especially as she had simply fallen into bed the night before, still smelling of the stables and wearing the pajamas she had borrowed from Gold.

She had gone home in the damned things and she was happy no one had seen her come in. She could only imagine the wild stories they would tell about the mysterious stranger who was staying in Granny's Bed and Breakfast and, apparently, playing house with Mr. Gold. Oh yes, that would go over quite well.

After her shower, she stumbled down the stairs and into Granny's Diner to find the place already mostly packed with people. She managed to make her way to one of the open booths and fell into it with a groan.

"You ok?" Ruby asked.

Belle would have startled at the voice if she had had the energy to do so. But she didn't, so she only groaned again, putting her head down on the table as she spoke. "I ache in places I didn't even know existed."

Ruby patted her on the back and even that was almost too much for her. "Sorry," she said. "Gold didn't try anything funny, did he?"

Belle looked up at the waitress. "Why does everyone think he would?"

"He does have a reputation…"

"For taking advantage of women?" She had heard much about Gold but he was so incredibly solitary that she couldn't really imagine him playing Don Juan at the local bar.

"Well, no. Thank God I suppose. But he takes advantage of people in a lot of ways…" Her voice trailed off and Belle grimaced slightly.

"He was a perfect gentleman with me."

"Really?"

"Well, he spent most of the time insulting my work and popping up at random times to mock me," Belle said and really the truth was Gold was a difficult man to be around. She had spent most of her time there angry at him for some slight, some insult, some mocking smile or tone. He was a bastard. But he seemed to be a pretty normal one.

"Ha!"

"It's not like that Ruby. I think he's lonely." And that was the heart of the matter, really. He had invited her in for tea and had spoken, if not kindly, at least decently to her. He had sent her home wearing comfortable and warm clothes. He hadn't yelled at her when she had destroyed one of his teacups and spilled tea all over his carpet. He wasn't all bad. Just maybe mostly bad?

"Well, he should be. No one wants anything to do with him."

Belle just shook her head. "So I'm off today..."

"You don't have to go up every day?" Ruby seemed surprised at that.

"I think he'd like me to," she admitted. "But he gave me today off to recover from my first day. See I told you he's not that bad."

"Probably just trying to save money," Ruby muttered darkly and Belle couldn't help but smile.

"Is there any place to go in town that doesn't require much energy?" She had barely gotten a chance to explore the place before getting hired at Clark's and then at Gold's.

"The library?"

"Oh!" Belle couldn't help the exclamation that escaped her and when she attempted to clap her hands over her mouth, winced with the pain of the sudden moment. "I do love books."

"Well, it opens in a couple hours and isn't open for terribly long. It's run by this crazy old bat of a lady, but she keeps it well-stocked. Plenty of romance novels and erotica." Belle almost shuddered at the happy look on Ruby's face about that last one.

"I'm actually more into historical fiction."

"Well, I'm sure they have that too," Ruby said with an almost too-bright smile. "Check with Ariel."

"Ariel? Like The Little Mermaid?"

Ruby laughed. "Her parents were huge fans, apparently. She volunteers at the library. Sweet girl. I think you and she would get along."

Belle smiled and thanked her and then was left in peace to contemplate just how many muscles could ache in a body at the same time.

The library had been easy enough to find, but by the time Belle got there she had to sit down again. This simply wouldn't do. She supposed there was the whole "no pain, no gain" thing to contemplate but even that didn't make her feel better. Hopefully she would get used to this as she got stronger. But it sure didn't make it any easier that morning.

She had found several books that interested her, though she opted for one and one only. She could handle carrying one small paperback book of twisted fairytales. She had also met Ariel and Ruby had been right. They had hit it off instantly, their love for books and their insatiable curiosity making the conversation flow easily.

They had plans to meet later that afternoon. A nice lunch at Granny's Diner with someone who actually hadn't flinched when she said she was working for Mr. Gold would be refreshing. She saw the way people looked at her. Rumors spread quickly in small towns and this one was no different. Already the whispers had started. What kind of girl worked for the monster on the hill, after all? Not the kind of girl they wanted to get to know.

She wouldn't say she'd been shunned in the past few hours, but people had been giving her looks, shaking their heads. One woman had gone so far as to ask if she might like a job watching her children, that surely she could find something else to do.

But a hundred dollars an hour? No. She had taken on the job and she would see it through to the end. Or to when Gold fired her. Either way, she was going nowhere.

He wouldn't exactly say he was drunk, but…well…maybe he was just a little bit drunk. Or maybe it was the Vicodin he had taken for the pain in his knee. He had tried to go out and muck the damned stalls on his own but the fall from the other day was affecting him more than he'd like to admit.

And he'd given the girl the day off.

One day after she started working.

She looked exhausted the night before, shaking and cold. He wasn't sure that once she settled in for the night if she would actually get back up. There was no sense in working her to death. She wouldn't keep working for him if it was too much for her.

And she must keep working for him. He didn't know why, couldn't even begin to analyze why, but something had shifted him inside him as he watched her kneeling on the carpet, her blue eyes wide with worry, a crease between her brows. She was feisty, but he could see the fear in her in that moment. He was sure she knew his reputation and he was sure she was waiting for him to simply be done with her.

But he hadn't. He had sent her home and told her to rest up and not come back until the day after this one.

So he was left to his own devices and Vicodin and a little whisky seemed like a good idea. Oh, his doctor wouldn't think it was. Don't mix this with alcohol. He was quite clear on that one, but what harm did a little bit of the two do? He felt mellow, more relaxed than he had in awhile.

Which was why when the knock came at the door, he simply shouted at whomever it was to come in. He knew who it would be. Or well, he suspected. It wouldn't be the girl…Miss French. She was no doubt flat on her back at home cursing his existence and the job she had fought so hard to take. So that left only one person. No one else would invade his inner sanctum.

His eyes opened as he heard the heavy fall of boots. "If you track anything into here, I'm going to kill you." His words were slightly slurred, the intent behind them a bit blurred with his inability to enunciate properly.

"Are you drunk?" David asked and Gold met his eyes, smirked.

"Never."

"You're drinking…"

"This is my first one." He paused there, picked up the glass. "Well, the first one this hour at least."

"Gold…"

"Oh, don't you take that threatening voice with me, boy." He pointed a finger at him. "I'm in pain."

"You have medication for that," David pointed out and wasn't he just the father figure? He supposed he was getting ready for the birth of his first child, a daughter apparently.

"I'm not your child." And if the words were a bit sullen, he couldn't quite help it. He was sick of the medication, of the pain, of the inability to move about without the aids of his crutches. And a cane. The doctors said soon he would be off the crutches all together but he would need a bloody cane to walk with, as if he were a decrepit ninety-year-old instead of merely a hair over fifty.

"Still…"

"I took Vicodin," he pointed out.

"With whisky?"

"Aye." He took another sip. Single-malt, a beautiful 25-year-old Talisker. Glancing back up at David he gave him a slight sneer. "Don't tell me I can't, Mr. Nolan. I'm old enough to be your father."

The other man just shook his head.

"That's not what you came here for though, is it?" He knew. David Nolan was a nosy one at times and his wife even nosier. He wouldn't call them gossips per se, and in fact they were a good sight better than the rest of the town in that regard. But when it came to him, they were always there, always wanting to check in on him.

He suspected that it was because they were good people. And he tended to detest good people.

"No," David finally managed to say. "Where's Belle?"

"Ah yes, the little flower you made me hire." He waved a hand in the air.

"I didn't make you…"

"She's fine," he cut him off with. "I gave her the day off."

"You…"

Gold raised one eyebrow. "I am sometimes a decent human being." There was a sardonic twist to the words.

"I never said you weren't."

He just gave him a look. He knew better. He knew what David Nolan thought of him. Though why the man continued to show up, help him, was somewhat beyond him. He had a good heart, he supposed, one that hadn't been beaten and crushed into a blackened mess like his own.

A strange look crossed David's face, something between fascination and horror. "You like her, don't you?"

"What?" Gold was quick to respond. Perhaps a little too quick.

"You do." David crossed his arms over his chest. "That's why you hired her."

"There may be a certain allure to Miss French," he admitted. "She's a beautiful woman…" His voice trailed off. Let Nolan think he was a superficial clod. Sometimes it was easier that way. Easier than admitting he had any sort of heart.

David shook his head. "There's more there than that." He stepped forward. "Just don't hurt her."

Gold scoffed. "Now you're her father?"

"I just don't want you doing anything horrible to her. I told her about you…"

"Apparently you didn't tell her enough because it appears she plans to come back," Gold pointed out.

"I brought her here and insisted you consider her for this job," David continued like he hadn't just been interrupted. Gold supposed he was used to it after all this time.

"Fine," he muttered. David just smiled and didn't say another word. "Did you want something else, Mr. Nolan, besides badgering me about Miss French?"

"Do you need me to muck out the stalls?"

"No. More work for Miss French tomorrow." Gold smirked.

David shook his head. "Fine. I'll feed them though." He held up a hand when Gold started to protest. "I saw what happened the last time you attempted it on your own. Better safe than sorry."

Gold inclined his head. "Thank you."

Nolan left then and Gold breathed a sigh of relief. Just what was it with that man? Sometimes he was far too perceptive for his own good and sometimes he just refused to see the obvious. Gold was a loner, a shark amongst the fishes. He wasn't one meant for relationships of any sort, romantic or otherwise. Nolan's less than subtle attempts at dipping his toe in that water were really not appreciated.

Then why do you take it from him?

Very good question. Leaning back, he knocked back the rest of the shot of whisky, choosing to let it trace a path of fire down his throat than properly sip the expensive liquor. Drunk. That seemed like a good idea.

"So what's it like working for Gold?"

Belle shouldn't have been surprised by the first question out of Ariel's mouth and yet she was. They had taken up residence at Granny's during a quiet time. Ruby was wiping down the corner and giving them curious looks once in awhile. Granny was setting out the pies and occasionally whispering something to Ruby.

"Well," Belle started with but hesitated. "It's only been one day." One day of hell, if she was honest.

"Right." Ariel's voice trailed off and she pursed her lips.

"I don't think it's going to be easy."

"No?"

Belle shook her head. Easy was definitely not the word she was looking for when it came to the job she had taken on. "Well, it's a lot of work. Hauling stuff around and whatnot."

"Yes, but what is it like working for Gold?" Ariel gave her a look. That look. The one that said you know exactly what I mean so stop pretending you don't. "I mean, no one really knows him. We all have this image of him in our head but it's all just rumors and speculation. He rarely comes down off that hill, you know."

"It must be lonely," Belle said. "Living up there all by himself." He holed himself up in his house, surrounded by his antiques and fancy teas and dogs.

"He has no friends?" She was almost sure she heard a sad note to Ariel's voice as she spoke.

"Well, there's David Nolan. But I don't think they're friends really. Mr. Gold seems more annoyed by him than anything." She suspected they were friendly more out of necessity than anything else, two shepherds living in the hills surrounding the little town. They had a fair bit in common, it seemed, and perhaps that was why Gold tolerated the younger man.

"Mary Margaret's husband?"

"You seem surprised at that."

"Well…I guess?" Ariel shrugged her shoulders. "Mary Margaret's such a sweet woman. She comes into the library frequently to find books to read to the children in her classes. She's expecting her own, you know. Soon I think. She looks pretty big."

"David seems like a good man. He helped me get the job, though I suspect he's probably regretting that." She said the last with a somewhat amused smirk. "But Gold? He's not so bad." She stretched, feeling the sore muscles all the way down her body, feeling the pop and crack of tendons and ligaments. "A little sarcastic, but not so bad."

In all honesty she wasn't sure she'd hate working for the man. He was certainly difficult, contrary and disagreeable as he was. But there was something about him, something lurking below the surface. She had seen the way he looked at those dogs, the way he spoke to them. His voice had softened and there had been real affection there. She had found that strangely attractive, a side of him that she suspected he hid from the world.

She had, really, only known him a couple days. But she sensed that what was on the surface was not the real Gold. Not who he was deep down. Layers upon layers, she suspected. More than enough for her to peel back.

They ended their lunch shortly and Belle saw Ariel off. She had to get back to the library after all. They vowed to meet soon and with a hug, they parted. Belle stepped up to the counter and flagged down Ruby. She had been staying at the inn since she had first arrived in town, but now that she was stepping into a stable job, making a decent amount of money, she really needed to get out, stop taking advantage of their generosity.

"Gold owns most of this town, " Ruby responded with a delicate shudder. "Why don't you ask him?"

"He owns the town?"

"Pretty much," her grandmother said, stepping closer. "Even this diner."

"Is that why everyone hates him?"

Granny scoffed. "Everyone hates him because he's a bastard."

"Oh…" Belle wasn't sure how to respond to that. People in this town didn't do things in halves, that was for sure.

"Look, we have plenty of room at here for you. It's not like Storybrooke is a big tourist trap or anything." The last was said with a bit of humor but Belle could also hear the edge to it. What use was a bed and breakfast with no one to enjoy either?

"I can't keep taking advantage of your generosity," Belle started with. "Surely you can get more than fifty dollars a week for that room…"

"Fine," Granny cut her off with. "We need a little more help around here. You help out on the second shift. Do a bit of waitressing and clearing tables and you can stay at the inn for free."

Belle blinked. It would mean more money for her father, more money to set aside for herself. She looked from Granny, with her face set in a slight scowl, to Ruby who looked pleased as punch. "Ok," she finally said. "You have a deal."