Belle checked the mirror one last time before she headed toward the door. Gold had given her the night off. Not that she generally did much in the evening, but she had been cooking their meals, cleaning up after them, making sure he was settled. He was able to get upstairs on his own now, had been able to since…well…there was no use thinking about their one kiss. It had gone nowhere and she suspected from his lack of response and his clear lack of interest in pushing things further, that he felt it was a mistake.

She wasn't quite sure what she thought just yet.

Mistake? Maybe.

Or maybe something she had just really wanted.

She wasn't exactly lonely up there on the hill, but she did crave some sort of connection. But she wasn't sure she wanted that with just anyone. Maybe it was just Gold that she wanted to connect with? He drew her in. Sarcastic commentary, morning crankiness, his insistence on fine teas and not coffee. He was an endearing pain in the ass, if she did say so herself. And one she had come to genuinely like, despite his rather forceful insistence that no one could like him.

She stepped into the living room to find Gold in his recliner, tumbler of Scotch already in hand and a newspaper spread out across his lap. He seemed so focused on it that she simply watched for a moment, hating to disturb him.

"Yes, Miss French?" he finally asked, not even bothering to look up from his paper.

"I'm going out…"

"I know," he responded with quickly.

"Did you need anything before I go?" She bit her lip and scrunched up her nose a bit with the words. She wasn't even sure she really did want to go. She was happy enough to go out with Ruby and Ariel. She had been enjoying getting to know them so when Ruby found out she had the night off, well, hitting her favorite bar was rather high on her list of things she must get Belle to do.

She suspected it was not her sort of place, really. Belle preferred quiet coffee shops if she were to go out with people. But it was Ruby's call. She almost hoped Gold changed his mind and decided he needed her after all.

"I'm not an invalid," he shot back and finally looked up at her.

"I know," she answered softly.

And waited for him to say something.

For what felt like forever.

He watched her and she was almost sure the hand that reached for his tumbler trembled slightly.

"Tavish?" she said and he almost knocked the tumbler over.

"Just go," he snarled at her and she stepped back at the harsh words. "Go and have fun with your friends." He hissed the last word at her. "I'll be here." He waved a hand around himself. "Right here, I'm sure…when you get back."

She inclined her head, watched him for a moment longer. "I'll just…be at The Rabbit Hole…if you need anything."

He didn't respond and so she turned, disappeared out the door. She knew it was the coward's way out, really. She wanted to confront him, bring up their kiss, shout at him about his avoiding any mention of it. He wanted to go back to Miss French and forget that anything had ever happened. That much was obvious. But he couldn't. He had initiated it. Even if she had been the one to hug him, he had been the one who pulled her in for a kiss.

And now he was the one pretending it had never happened.

Well, for that night she could pretend it never happened. Pretend he never happened. Ruby was sure to see to that.

"Another?" Ruby asked her. Belle glanced down at her glass. She wasn't drunk. Not yet. Though she felt a little tipsy from the few drinks Ruby had plied her with so far.

You need to forget about him, Ruby had said and Belle had wondered how on Earth Ruby could be perceptive enough to know there was something even going on there.

A girl knows, she had said and Belle had been content to leave it at that. She didn't want to discuss her…well…whatever life it was. Love life certainly wasn't the correct term. She didn't love him. He didn't love her. But attraction? That was there in spades, deny it though he may want to.

"No, I don't think so," Belle finally managed to say. "I do have to drive home later. I should probably cut myself off."

Ruby nodded. "You can always stay at the inn," she pointed out. "Drink whatever you want, stumble back. Granny'll take good care of you."

Belle shook her head. "Gold would worry."

Ruby just raised one eyebrow. "Really, then."

"Well, I do live with the guy."

"What is that all about anyway?" Ruby suddenly asked. "I mean, the guy is a miser. He likes no one. Yet out of nowhere he asks you to live with him. You're not…"

"No!" Belle said and the word was a bit more forceful than she intended. "It's not like that."

"Hmmm…"

"What is that for?"

"The lady doth protest too much?" Ruby asked and her grin said it all.

"It's not, Ruby. I swear. I think he's lonely…" Her voice trailed off on the last. Even now he was holed up alone in his house, probably on his second or third glass of Scotch, reading a newspaper or a book on history. He didn't even put the television on very often, as if the voices were too much for him. No, he was alone in the silence of his house. And he was lonely, even if he didn't quite realize it.

"You're falling in love with him," Ruby said on a gasp.

"Ruby," Belle warned.

"You are. That's the only explanation."

"For?"

"Belle, you have turned down four guys who have come over here tonight. Four. Now look, I don't know what your dating life was like before you popped up in our little town, but that was four very eligible and very handsome men…"

"Did I hear something about being eligible and handsome?" The voice that came from behind the two surprised them and together they turned to face the man standing there. Belle almost groaned. It was a near-exact repeat of the other guys who had stopped by. He was tall, handsome in a sort of rugged way that screamed gym junkie. The exact kind of guy Belle avoided at all costs. Gaston, the guy she had dated so very briefly during college, was one of those. She had quickly learned that while he had clearly exercised the muscles of his body, he had not bothered exercising his brain. Dumb as a box of rocks was the phrase that came to mind.

"Why hello there, sailor," Ruby said, red lips pulling upward in a seductive smile.

The man scratched his head. "I'm a personal trainer."

"Close enough," Ruby said brightly.

But the man barely gave Ruby a glance. His attention was focused solely on Belle. "I'm Keith. Eligible and handsome."

Belle fought hard not to roll her eyes. "Good for you."

The dismissive tone, the sarcasm, seemed to fly right over his head. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"No, sorry," Belle said, though she wasn't sorry at all and she was fairly certain that was obvious in her voice. "I'm done for the night."

Keith pressed in closer to her. "How about a dance then? I bet you bump and grind real good."

"Seriously?" The word slipped out before she could even stop it. She glanced at Ruby and her friend quickly came to the rescue.

"Another time, tiger," she said as she rose and used her body to block the man and force him to back away a bit. "Belle's a bit tired."

"Belle?" he said. "That's your name?" He leaned around Ruby to stare at her. "I'll find you later." He winked at her, leering grin in place. And then he walked off. Well, stumbled off might be the better term. Keith was obviously a few sheets to the wind, something that made him even less appealing than his apparent love for himself.

"Number five!" Ruby said and took another sip of her cocktail.

"Did you see him?" Belle hissed at her friend.

"Oh did I ever." Ruby gave a slight laugh. "Especially those biceps. Personal trainer." She fanned herself with her hand and gave a huge sigh.

"Not my type," Belle muttered.

"What is your type then, Belle? Short, old, and cranky?"

The words stung. She wouldn't pretend they didn't. "Smart," Belle responded with. "Smart and well-read." She wanted to add that he wasn't old, but she knew that Ruby would pick up her rather mixed feelings for her boss and housemate.

"I'm sure one of those men might have been." Belle wasn't so sure of that. "I mean, look at Ariel." Belle turned to follow the direction of Ruby's pointing. Ariel had started talking to a guy almost as soon as the trio had set foot in the bar. And even though he worked at the fish cannery and Ariel was a vegetarian, they seemed to be hitting it off. Currently the two were cozying it up together at a corner booth.

"Yes, well…" What else could she say to that, really? "Maybe I'm just not ready for someone, Ruby."

Ruby shook her head and the two fell into silence for a moment. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Keith hitting on some other woman who turned him down and his eyes strayed back to her.

"I think I'm just going to go," Belle finally said.

"Aww Belle…"

"You'll have better luck without me dragging you down." New friends and she still couldn't handle being out with them for more than a couple hours at a time. All she wanted at that moment was peace, quiet, and a good book. The pounding music, the crowded bar, it was all getting to her.

"Are you sure? The offer of the inn still stands."

"I'm sure. You go have fun. We'll catch up later." She reached out and squeezed her friend's shoulder and, slinging her purse over her shoulder, slipped out the door.

"You just can't leave well enough alone, can you?" Gold glared at the other man. It was his evening alone and David Nolan was sure to see that was ruined.

"So you're just going to drink yourself into a stupor?" Nolan sounded incredulous, which might have been amusing if he didn't sound that way at least ninety percent of the time he spoke to him. It seemed that everything surprised the younger man.

"That was the plan, dearie." He reached for the tumbler only to find Nolan had pulled it away from him.

"Why?"

Gold's brow creased. "Why what?"

"Why do you need to get drunk?"

Gold narrowed his eyes on him. "What are you, Mormon?"

"What…"

"They don't drink, dearie. Oh nevermind. What is it you want, Mr. Nolan? You're sorely trying my patience." He made another attempt at grabbing the tumbler and was confronted instead with Nolan's grinning face.

"Where's Belle?"

"You're here for her?" He hated the way his voice sounded so grumpy at that, as if he would have been happy for Nolan to come see him.

"Mary Margaret wanted to see if she might be up for some babysitting sometime…"

"Hard up, are we?" He said the last with a light laugh.

"Well…no?"

"You must be. The girl is as likely to drop the babe as she is take care of him." There was one thing that Belle French was good at and that was making a disaster of things. Everything really. She had come into his life all sweetness and light and had taken a bloody wrecking ball to it. He had landed back in the hospital, had kissed the infernal girl, and now couldn't bloody well stop thinking about her.

At David's confused look, Gold let out a snort and tapped his injured foot with his cane.

"Oh…right…" He stared at Gold for a moment before, head slightly cocked. "How was that her fault again?"

"Oh, she hasn't told you the story?" His time in the hospital was a bit of a haze, but he thought that David knew.

"You were the one who chose to catch her," Nolan pointed out.

"Indeed I was. But she was the one who chose to do something stupid."

"Only because you didn't tell her there was an easier way."

Gold crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine." Another pause, his anger simmering just below the surface. "As Belle is not here, it seems your visit is not needed."

"So where is she?"

"Really, now…"

"Where…"

"I believe she went to some place called 'The Rabbit Hole' with her friends." He waved a hand dismissively in the air. "Perhaps you can find her there."

Nolan cursed.

Gold couldn't remember the last time that Nolan had ever cursed in front of him. It was fascinating, really. Nolan was nice. He was mild-mannered. Nothing ruffled his feathers, not even Gold's sarcastic comments and sometimes downright nastiness.

"Is there something wrong, Mr. Nolan?"

"You've never heard of the place?" He watched as the other man shook his head, ran his fingers through his hair.

"Clearly not."

"It's some sort of dive bar. Pretty rough place. Why would she go there?"

Gold shrugged. "Her friends wanted to, I suppose?"

"You do know she's not from around here, right?" The man was starting to sound exasperated.

"Of course. She's from Australia." He cocked his head slight to the side. "What exactly are you getting at?" And then a pause. "Should I be worried?" He tried to sound nonchalant with those last words but the grin on Nolan's face told him he knew otherwise.

"Now we're talking. I knew you cared about her, old man."

"Watch who you're calling old, Mr. Nolan," he growled back at him.

"You're not denying it."

"I have nothing to deny," he said with a slight wave of his hand.

"Then you know you care for her." Another grin. He was afraid if he didn't say anything else, Nolan would clap him on the back and tell him Go get her tiger.

"That is neither here nor there." Gold managed to draw himself to his feet, leaned heavily on his cane. "It seems we have a damsel to rescue…again."

She hadn't gotten more than about ten feet out of the bar when she heard a small scuffling noise come from behind her. Turning quickly, she peered into the shadows and finally saw Keith standing there.

When she noticed him, he stepped out of the shadows, closer to her. She wanted to back up a pace, put more distance between them, but she didn't want to show any fear. She wasn't afraid of him, exactly. Though he did make her very nervous. At only five foot two, the large man simply dwarfed her. "I thought maybe we could get a chance to talk without your friend around."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I'm actually headed home." She tried to at least look apologetic, even if she didn't feel that way.

"Oh come now," Keith said and took another step toward her. "It's still early yet. Surely you won't turn into a pumpkin if you don't get home by midnight?"

"The carriage," she muttered.

"What?"

"The carriage turns into a pumpkin. Not Cinderella." She looked away on the last words. She was even more sure now than before that he wasn't her type. Such as simple thing, really. Gold would have known it was the carriage.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Keith sounded angry and Belle felt a small flutter somewhere inside her. Fear, she realized. She was alone outside the business, in the alley that led to the parking lot. Alone with a man who was over a foot taller than her and probably had at least a hundred pounds of weight on her. Alone with a man who had had far too much to drink and thought far too highly of himself to think someone could actually turn him down.

"Nothing. I'm just tired." She tried to step around him, but he blocked her path. "Will you please just let me get to my car?"

"Nah," he answered with, putting one hand on the wall and leaning closer to her. Belle did take a step back this time. Then another. "Why don't you come back inside and have a drink with me?" His breath smelled like stale liquor, like he had been drinking for hours before this moment.

"Thank you, but no," she reiterated. "Now will you let me get to my car?" She should turn and run, go back into the bar, get Ruby. Something. Anything.

She took yet another step back.

Keith closed the space between them and his hand came up to touch her hair.

"Please stop," Belle muttered and flinched away. "I just need to get home." Need, want. It didn't matter anymore. She had to get away, anywhere really. Back into The Rabbit Hole perhaps, to the safety of her car. Belle gripped her purse hard as Keith yanked at her hair to pull her closer to him. Without even thinking what she was doing, she hauled off and hit him hard in the side of the face with it.

Stunned, Keith let go of her and stepped back. Belle burst past him. Her car. If she could just reach her car.

Her keys were in her hand.

She could see the car up ahead.

She swore to never ever go out alone and never ever wear heels again if she could just get to that car and get to safety.

"You bitch!" She heard the words before she felt the hand that grabbed her hair and jerked her back. "Did you think you could just do that and run?" Keith pulled her around forcefully, using all of his body weight to slam her hard into the wall of the alley.

Her breath left her in a startled gasp.

The keys and the purse hit the ground as her hands came up to fend him off.

"You just gotta give me a chance." He reached around, grabbed her neck, pulled her close to him. "I'll make it good for you, baby. I swear."

Belle tried to pull back, but the grip of his hand on the back of her neck was too strong. She pushed at his chest. "No. Please no. Just leave me alone." She couldn't move him though and his lips came down on hers, messy and wet and absolutely reeking of alcohol and garlic.

She tried to pull away.

But he was too big.

Too frightening.

Too…

"I believe the lady said no." She barely registered the voice, calm and cool and collected, before she heard the sharp sound of something colliding with something much larger and Keith let out a shout before shoving her away and backing up.

"This is none of your damned business," he said as he turned to face the person who had spoken.

Belle stood slightly bent over, hand to her mouth, trying not to vomit, as Gold stepped out of the shadows. "I believe that it is, dearie."

He sounded dangerous, his voice low and silky.

"She ain't your girlfriend," Keith said and Belle wanted to kick him. Hard.

"Perhaps not," Gold answered, still with that deadly calm tone. "But that doesn't matter. No does, after all, mean no. Or has no one ever taught you that?"

Keith took a step toward him. "Back off old man." He took a couple more steps toward Gold. He was standing close in front of him when he next spoke. "If you want a piece of her, you're going to have to wait your turn."

Belle was frozen to the spot as she watched Keith raise his hand, the intention to strike his much smaller opponent clear.

But he had no time to do that. Gold swung his cane in a fast arc and hit Keith hard on the hand. The bigger man let out a hiss of pain and clutched his hand close to his body as he rushed Gold. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Keith was huge, well over six feet and built like a linebacker. Gold was small, slight, and still injured.

Gold picked up his cane again and this time when he hit Keith with it, a direct blow to the side of the man's head, he felled him like the big ox he was. Keith landed hard on his knees and Gold was on him in a second.

Another blow landed on his back, a second one quickly following. Keith howled in pain, bent over, face to the ground with his arms up protecting his head and neck.

And still the blows continued. Gold's face had gone from calm and collected to fierce. His teeth were bared in a snarl and he was shouting words that were entirely incoherent.

After two more blows, Belle finally found herself unfreezing. "Stop!" she shouted and grabbed Gold's right wrist, pulled it back. In the silence that followed that moment, she could hear Gold's harsh breathing, Keith's moans, her own heartbeat loud in her ears. "You're going to kill him."

"He deserves that much." Gold's voice was laced with darkness, his arm strained against the hold she had on him.

"Tavish…please." He tried to pull forward once more, hit the resistance of her hand with its tight grip. "He's not worth it." And then the fight went out of him. She felt him slump forward, like a doll whose strings had been cut.

Belle shuddered as she released him, wrapping her arms around herself. She felt cold, shivering, her heart was racing and her whole body felt heavy. Gold stood, using the cane to leverage himself to his feet, and turned to her. "Belle," he whispered and she was sure it was the first time he had voluntarily used her name. He reached out, pulled her to him, wrapped his arms around her.

But she couldn't bring herself to do the same and he finally backed off. Her arms wrapped tighter around herself. "Are you alright?" Gold managed to ask and his voice was tight.

"I…I think so. I'm not hurt. He didn't hurt me." She glanced down at Keith, who was trying to slink away from them. Gold followed her gaze and set his cane down in front of him.

"Not so fast, dearie. I do believe you'll need to be having a conversation with the police on this little…situation." He sneered the last at him as he leaned down.

"Tavish," she murmured.

He watched her for a moment. "I should get you home."

"No," she said and held her hand up in front of her, stopping him before he could get any closer. He had saved her. That much she was sure of. If he hadn't shown up she could well imagine what would have happened to her at Keith's hands. Gold's showing up, and she didn't even know why he was there and wasn't that just something she needed to talk to him about, had stopped Keith.

But he had almost killed him.

Almost taken the life of a man who probably had a good eighty pounds on him. He was small and fierce and he had frightened her.

"Belle?"

"I need Ruby," she said and hated the way her voice shook.

"Where is she?"

"Bar..." She felt faint, leaned up against the wall. She had to get away. From Keith. From Gold. From the whole damned thing.

Gold stepped closer and held out an arm. "Come on…I'll get you to her…"

"No," Belle said. "No just…leave me alone. Take care of…this…" She waved a hand at Keith and then stepped back from him, turned to walk away.

"Are you coming home?" His voice sounded small, especially after the snarling incoherency of minutes ago, but she couldn't make herself turn to look at him at that moment.

"No," she whispered. "No I don't think so." And then she disappeared back into the noisy crowd of the bar to find Ruby.