Chapter 2

Belle awoke with a start, finding herself alone in the bed. She looked toward the doors that lead to the balcony of their room, finding them open. No wonder it was so cold in the room, fall was setting in and the doors had let in a crisp morning breeze.

Belle lay back down, not yet ready to leave the warmth of her bed to start the day. Then she remembered something Rumple had said to her last night, you have work in the morning. She could hear his voice in her head, and smiled at herself.

Had he actually said that, or had she dreamt it? As she pondered that, she recalled all that had been said between them as they lay awake last night. Surely that hadn't been a dream? It seemed real enough.

Belle began to drift back to sleep, but then she realized what she had thought. You have work in the morning. Crap, the library! Today was the opening day, and she was still in bed! She started to throw the covers off, and jumped when she heard a laugh coming from the window.

When she looked up, she saw her husband walking in the doors, holding a tray of food and smiling at her. "Good morning Mrs. Gold," he said politely, and, as he expected, she blushed.

"I'm going to be late for work!" she exclaimed, and frowned at him when he simply laughed.

"You didn't think I'd let you sleep in did you?"

She glanced at the clock next to her bed, it was only 7:10. She didn't have to be at the library until 9. Sighing with relief, she sat back against her pillows, and stared questioningly at the man standing in the doorway.

Rumple smiled, and said "why do you think I opened the doors? You wouldn't sleep through that breeze, no one would."

"Kind of a rude awakening, don't you think?" she retorted, slightly annoyed that he was enjoying this so much.

"Maybe, so I made you breakfast to make up for it. Can't have Storybrooke's new librarian going hungry on the first day on the job now can we?"

"Oh, look at you," she smirked, "the Dark One being domestic. I'd laugh if I wasn't so tired."

"Well, you bring me breakfast in bed every morning, so I thought I'd repay the favor this morning, in honor of your first day at work."

Though she tried to hide it, a smile managed to peak its way to the corners of her mouth, and soon they were both laughing. Sitting the tray beside her on the bed, Rumple sat down and took his wife in his arms.

"Belle, about last night…" he wanted to say something, but he didn't know what.

Sensing his discomfort, she said simply, "I'm glad you told me."

They sat in silence for a while, neither one wanting to break the momentary peace between them. Finally, knowing this moment couldn't last forever, Rumple said "you best start eating. You don't want to be late for work."

Belle sighed into his shoulder, and then reluctantly withdrew herself from his embrace. Picking up the tray he had set on the bed, she began to eat.

After getting dressed and doing her makeup, Belle walked out of the bathroom and headed downstairs. She went into the pawn shop to look for her husband and say goodbye before she headed to the library.

Hoping to find Rumple alone, she was disappointed when she walked in and David Nolan was at the counter. The two appeared to be in the middle of a heated conversation, so she considered just leaving, but she'd already been seen.

"Hey Belle," David said, "shouldn't you be at the library?"

"I'm on my way out," she began, not knowing how to finish her sentence. What could she say, I walked in here to say goodbye to my husband? She didn't want to embarrass herself, but it was too late to just turn and walk out.

Thankfully, Rumple saved her by saying "I have some work to do at the shop this morning, Belle, but I'll come visit you at the library around lunch."

Surprised, and momentarily forgetting about David, Belle said "You're coming by the library?"

Rumple smiled at her, one of his rare, true smiles that he reserved just for her. "Of course, I wouldn't miss the grand opening. Now, hurry up and get there, it's already 8:45."

Not knowing what to say, Belle held his gaze for a while. Then, remembering David was there, she glanced at him, blushed, muttered a hurried "see you later," and rushed out the door.

The walk to the library wasn't a long one, and Belle rounded the corner toward the door at exactly 8:52. Putting the key in the lock and ready to open up, she turned around in surprise when she heard someone call her name.

"Belle!" The voice she knew well, and smiled as Henry hurried up toward the door. "It's almost 9, am I late?"

"Late for what, Henry?" She asked, smiling, "We'll be open all day."

"I know, I know," he panted. "But I wanted to be your first customer."

"Oh! No, you're just on time then. Come on in!" Turing back toward the door, she pushed it open and smiled at the familiar creak of the door. She walked over to the circulation desk and turned on all the lights, watching with amusement as Henry browsed through the books on the shelves.

"The library was quite a mess when I got here," Belle confided, "and after the mess with Hook I had some serious reorganizing to do. If you're looking for a particular book, I put them in alphabetical order by author last name."

"Do you have them sorted by genre?" Henry asked as he stared up at the mountain of books in front of him. "How did you manage to sort them all?"

He sounded so amazed, and Belle couldn't help but laugh. "I had a lot of free time."

"Oh, congrats on the wedding by the way."

Henry's comment was so unexpected and nonchalant that Belle was momentarily caught off guard. "Why… why thank you, Henry," she stammered, not really sure what else to say.

Amazingly, the kid had a gift for conversation. Walking up to the desk with a confused look on his face, he said, "so, does that make you, what, my step-grandmother?"

"You're…. well, yes, I guess it does," Belle wasn't exactly sure how she felt about that.

"Cool," Henry said with a grin. "Well, I gotta go, but I'll come back here often, promise! Have a good opening day!" And with that he was rushing out the door, and Belle couldn't help but remember how it felt to be so young, to have so much energy.

Trying to put her past behind her, she began to clean off the desk and await the next of her visitors to the newly opened Storybrooke library.

The library had a steady stream of guests come in and out throughout the morning, both customers who wanted books and familiar faces who had come in to wish Belle good luck and see the library themselves.

Of the latter group, the person she was most pleased to see that morning was Ruby. Her old friend had helped her on many occasions before, most memorably when she and Rumple had been going through a tough time. It was Red who first thought of the library as a possible place of employment for Belle, and she owed her a lot.

"The place looks amazing Belle, how did you do it?"

Deciding to use the same explanation she gave Henry, Belle shrugged, "I had a lot of free time."

"Well, you were certainly meant to be a librarian, that's for sure!"

"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, Ruby," Belle said truthfully, hoping her friend knew how much this place meant to her.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Ruby laughed, and then winked, "but you're welcome."

"No, I mean it," Belle protested. "I owe you one."

Ruby shook her head. "I just mentioned it. Mr. Gold was the one who gave you the key."

Belle couldn't argue with that, so she just let it drop. The two of them continued their idle small talk for a while as people strolled in and out of the library, checking out books and wishing Belle the best.

After a time, Ruby sighed, "well, I have to go. It's almost lunch hour, and Granny will kill me if I'm not back by then."

"I doubt she'd kill you," Belle teased, and then laughed as her friend hugged her before making her way out of the library.

With a sigh, Belle remembered Rumple's promise from that morning. I'll come visit you at the library around lunch. So where was he?

As if on cue, the door to the library creaked open and Rumple made his way into the library and up to the circulation desk.

"You came!" Belle exclaimed.

"Well don't sound so surprised," he muttered in mock offense. "I said I would be here, and I always keep my word."

"Do you?" she teased, and smiled at the fake horror on his face.

"Of course I do! Anyway, I thought you might be hungry, so I brought some lunch. I thought maybe we could have lunch together before you go back to work?

Belle couldn't keep herself from grinning, and pulled a stool up to the desk so he could sit. As they ate, people continued to come in and check out books, and occasionally Belle had to get up and show people where a particular book was located.

"You seem to keep busy," Rumple noted.

"Well," she said, "it is the first day. People are coming in to check out books just because they never could before. Not that I'm complaining," she added with a grin. "Anyway, what did David want this morning?"

"Oh that? It was nothing," Rumple said, brushing it off and not expecting her to notice.

She noticed. "That look, I know that look," she said, not pleased. "It wasn't nothing." It wasn't a question. She was good at that. Lowering her voice so only he could hear her, she murmured, "Rumple, I thought we went over this last night. You can tell me anything."

In the dim lighting of the library, she thought his face got a little bit darker. "I will tell you, Belle. But not here. Not now." He glanced around nervously, looking at a few library patrons who were engrossed in their search for a book. "It's for your ears only. I'll tell you tonight."

"You promise?"

"I promise," he said, as he took her hand in his, "no more secrets between us."

Belle began to smile, and then jumped when someone coughed behind Rumple. He quickly dropped her hand and moved out of the way, and Belle saw there were three people in line behind him waiting to check out books.

Hoping they hadn't heard that, Rumple looked at Belle and said "I have to get back to the shop now, Belle. But I'll see you this evening."

"Goodbye," she said, wanting to say more, wishing fervently that the other people weren't there.

Rumple smiled at her, and with that he was gone. With a sigh, Belle turned to face her next customer and resigned herself to waiting for the evening to get her answer.

When evening finally came and Belle's stream of visitors thinned to none, she decided it was time to head home. She desperately wanted to get back to the shop, for she wanted to know what Rumple and David had been talking about, but she was scared, too. The look he had in his eyes when she had asked him earlier made her uncomfortable, and she wasn't sure she was ready to end the seeming peace they'd had between them since the wedding.

Preoccupied by her thoughts, Belle methodically went about closing up the library and putting things away. When she had finished, she turned off the lights, walked outside, and locked the door behind her as she started to make her way home.

As she walked, the autumn leaves crunched under her feet, and she hugged her jacket closer to her chest. Fall was setting over Storybrooke, and soon it would be winter. The Maine winter was not something she looked forward to, but what other choice did she have?

The more Belle walked the more she thought, and each thought turned into a worry, each darker than its predecessor. By the time she reached the shop, she was half way convinced that her world was going to end, but she realized how futile it was to worry. Nonetheless, she stopped outside the door, trying to prepare herself for whatever was coming. Might as well go in and face it, she thought to herself, worrying isn't going to fix anything. And with that, she took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Breathing in the familiarly musty air of the pawn shop, Belle tried to calm herself down while also preparing herself for the worst.

"You're back!" Rumple exclaimed, a smile creeping on to his face. "How did the rest of the day go at the library?" He asked out of courtesy, but he could tell by the look on Belle's face that her day was not what she wanted to talk about.

Without saying a word, Belle walked up to the counter, looked Rumple in the eyes, and waited for him to tell her what had happened that morning.

"You want to know about my talk with Mr. Nolan this morning, don't you?" Not expecting a response, for he already knew the answer, Rumple decided to give her the truth. "Mr. Nolan came in seeking a job for Henry. He said Henry is interested in spending time with me, now that we know we are family. Mr. Nolan, however, didn't want Henry to come here himself, and he also mentioned that Henry wanted to be the first person at the library this morning, so he came instead."

Belle laughed, "yeah, he did. He was my first customer, and he was very excited about it, too. But you two seemed unhappy this morning, that doesn't make any sense. And why couldn't you have told me that at the library?"

"You're right. Mr. Nolan was not happy with me this morning because I told him I would love to have Henry come help at the shop from time to time, but that is going to have to wait."

"Wait? For what?"

"I'm leaving Storybrooke for a while, Belle."

For a moment, all Belle could do was stare at him, thinking she heard wrong. "You're what? You can't be serious-"

"Belle, let me explain. I'm leaving Storybrooke because I think I may have found a way to bring Baelfire back."

Belle was shocked. She just stood there, staring at him in stunned silence, then said, "And you're telling me this why? Bring him back, Rumple don't you know how he died? He died to bring you back to life, you can't bring someone back from the dead without giving a life in return. You don't seriously think I'll let you do that do you?"

As she talked, Rumple was shaking his head, and when she finished he said, "No, you're right, I can't bring someone back from the dead. But there is someone who can." Seeing she still didn't understand, he continued. "He's back in our land. He's a very powerful wizard, and I think he may have the key to bringing Bae. Belle, I can't just give up. I've spent my whole life searching for Baelfire, and if there is a way to bring him back, I'm going to find it."

"There isn't a way, Rumple. When Neal and I tried to bring you back, the only possible way was to sacrifice Neal's life. Of course he didn't know that's what he was doing, but it's the only way."

"No, that's just what you were told. Zelena wanted you to bring me back for her, and didn't want to sacrifice her own life. So she told you that was the only way to bring someone back from the dead, but it isn't."

"And how exactly did you find out about this wizard? You lived in the Enchanted Forest for years, and you're only finding out about him now?"

Quite pleased with himself, Rumple smiled mischievously. "Things have changed a lot in the Enchanted Forest, with the myriad of curses over the past three decades. This wizard didn't live in the Enchanted Forest before, or I would have known. I was the most powerful wizard there at the time, but things have changed. As to how I found out about him, well, I took a lesson from you."

Belle's questioning look made Rumple even more excited, and he said, "I read Henry's book. It tells the story of the Enchanted Forest, and so I read what happened there after the curse and after Ms. Swan and that pirate returned from the past. The curses and their little trip back in time changed things. Henry's book now tells of a very powerful magician, and I believe he can help bring my boy back to me."

It took a while for Belle to absorb everything she had just heard. Go back to their land? Bring Baelfire back from the dead? Is such a thing even possible? She had so many questions, but she didn't know what to say, so she just stared at him.

When the silence got awkward, Rumple felt the need to say something. He walked around the counter, put his hands around her waist, and said, "Belle, I know this is a lot, but I have to do this. Bae gave his life for me, and if I have a chance to bring him back, I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't try."

That got through to her, and Belle put her arms on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. He looked so desperate, but so excited. Like a kid on Christmas, she thought, sure that was the only time someone had ever thought that about Rumpelstiltskin.

"Are you going to say something?" He asked finally, hoping she wasn't going to be upset.

"I… I don't know what to say, Rumple," she confessed.

He surprised her, then, by saying, "then say you'll come with me."

Belle's jaw dropped, and again she stared at him in stunned silence. After a few seconds, she shook her head slightly, and he smiled at the way her hair fell off her shoulders. She said, "You want me to come with you? By the way you were talking I thought…"

"You thought I was going to leave you here." He said, the smile slowly fading from his face.

She nodded. "Every other time you've gone off on some mission or other, I've had to stay behind. But of course I'll come with you!"

That brought his smile back, and he said, "I hope you understand why I couldn't let you come with me to Neverland. But as you said last night, we are family now, Belle, and I could really use your help. I have to do this, I have to do my best for my boy. But I want to do right by you too, Belle. I thought about leaving you here, for you would be a lot safer here than with me. But I owe it to you to honor your wish, and I knew you'd want to come with me."

Belle didn't know what to say, and she blinked back tears as she tried to collect her thoughts.

Deciding to be entirely honest with his newlywed wife, Rumple continued. "I'll need you in the Enchanted Forest, Belle. I needed you in Neverland too, but I couldn't put you through that. But… You're the only one who can keep me from returning to the man I used to be, and I can't risk becoming that man again. The Enchanted Forest will certainly hold many challenges and temptations for me, and if you don't come with me…"

Belle finished his sentence for him. "You're afraid you'll give up the search for the wizard out of self-interest. Well, you don't have to worry about that, because I am coming with you, and I know who you truly are. I know who you can be, and I'll be right there with you the whole way."

Wondering how he got lucky enough to have a girl like this, Rumple blinked back tears of his own and smiled at his wife. "Thank you, Belle."

Deciding she'd said all that needed to be said, Belle smiled and kissed her husband, looking forward for a chance to go on an adventure with the man she loved. She was excited, but she was scared, too. But no matter what they had been through together, their love had always prevailed, and she had to believe that it would prevail this time, too.