A little bit of fluff, a little bit of kitchen smut, a little bit of humor, and a little bit of drama . . . just a mix of a bunch of things in this chapter. I am continually appreciative of your kind feedback - please do keep it coming!

I do not own "Once Upon a Time."

Chapter 15

It was nearly eleven o'clock before Nick awoke the next morning. Belle was not in bed with him, but he heard footsteps coming down the hall and sat up. "Good morning, my handsome beast." Belle said as she set the tray she was carrying down on the bed and scooted back into bed with him. Belle gave Nick a quick kiss once the tray was situated in front of them.

"You been up long?" Nick asked.

"Long enough to get this ready for us, thought we should have breakfast before it's lunchtime." Belle said. "Is your leg feeling better today?"

"Very much. That hot tub works wonders, do you think we can get one installed in New York?" Nick asked.

"I thought you didn't like me spending my money on you for extravagant things." Belle said.

"For that I'll make an exception." Nick said.

"Is this specifically for your leg or are there other reasons you want one?" Belle asked.

"Is it alright to say both?" Nick asked with a smile on his face.

"Absolutely." Belle said. She kissed him again and they quietly ate breakfast.

"So when will this earth-shattering photo shoot of ours come out on the magazine stands?" Nick asked.

"This afternoon. That should make tomorrow night quite interesting." Belle said.

"What's going on tomorrow night?" Nick asked.

"I have this charity event to attend – it's something I do every year. I was hoping you'd go with me." Belle said. "It's formal – you'll need a tux, we can go to my tailor this afternoon and have you fitted."

"I suppose I'll have to get used to attending things like this with you, won't I?" Nick said.

"This one is for charity, it's a cancer foundation that I formed in honor of my mother. It's really important to me." Belle said. "Also, I'll be gone tomorrow morning, whenever I'm in town on Saturdays I usually visit some of the area hospices and cancer treatment centers in the morning, I don't expect you to do that. It's not something I publicize and I've never had a problem with the press showing up because I go very early and they've never known. It's one of the few ways my celebrity status can actually do something nice. I'll have to find some places to visit in New York once we go back there, I like doing that." Belle said.

"Well, that's a lovely thing to do, Belle. And of course I'll be glad to go with you tomorrow evening." Nick said.

"There'll be a lot of pretty famous people there. And lots of press. You'll be a bit of a novelty so they may bother you a bit." Belle said.

"I'll get used to it, I suppose." Nick said.

"Philip will be there, so if I get dragged away for photo ops at least you'll have him to talk to. In fact you might want to stick by him if I have to step away, the paparazzi hate him, he talks back to them and really likes to fuck with them to the point of annoyance, asks them personal questions. It's really quite funny but they hate it – they can dish it out but when he starts asking THEM about who they're shagging and won't let it go they get annoyed." Nick laughed a bit.

"Why don't you try that?" Nick asked.

"I'm afraid I don't have the comic timing Philip does. My acting is pretty limited to drama; Philip has done both drama and comedy and he's brilliant at both, and he's really good at talking off the cuff with people. Just watch tomorrow how fast the press clears the room when he shows up." Belle said. Nick pulled Belle into his arms.

"Speaking of Philip – have you looked at his script yet?" Nick asked.

"When have I had the time?" Belle said. "Nick, I don't really want to do a movie when we go back, I was thinking about – I was thinking about going to school." she admitted.

"You mean college?" Nick asked.

"Yeah. I told you before I always regretted not going, and I thought maybe I'd take a general class or two, maybe some literature classes, just to see if I can do it. You – wouldn't mind that would you?"

"Belle, you're free to do whatever you like. I thought you were coming to New York to stay with me because you wanted to, it's not like I'm holding you captive." Nick said. "Besides – dating a college girl at my age – I kind of like that idea." he teased. Belle giggled. "But to be fair I think you should give a look at Philip's script. You don't want him to get stuck having to work with Ashley Boyd, do you?"

"Oh bullshit, I'm not stupid, he told you to say that, he'd drop the whole project before he'd work with her." Belle said. "I'll read it, and it'll probably be brilliant and then I'll have to do it, I suppose. Nick, have you seen any of the films I did with Philip?"

"No." he replied.

"You haven't? Have you watched any of my movies aside from fucking November Rain?" she asked.

"Other than a glance here and there of something while flipping channels? No." he said. "What, did you think I'd buy up your entire collection and watch them and cry after you left? Why would I need to pine over a fantasy when I was pining for the real thing?"

"You haven't seen any of my work aside from the worst movie I've ever done – Nick, you're not in love with Belle French, you're in love with Martha Francis." Belle said.

"I thought you were the same person." Nick said.

"What I mean is, you wouldn't care what I did for a living. I could be a housekeeper for all you would care, and you'd still love me." Belle said, stunned and yet pleased at this realization.

"Well, I don't know about that. Especially if you were MY housekeeper, I mean – you'd probably do a very shitty job of keeping the kitchen clean, and you're not very good and picking up after yourself in the bathroom either." Nick teased. "I don't need to see you in the movies, Belle – I have you here, the real thing. If you wanted to leave all of this behind tomorrow and become a librarian I wouldn't give a shit because you'd still be you. This beautiful, smart, funny, incredible woman that I am madly in love with." Nick said. Belle smiled and pulled him into a kiss.

"Well, I want you to watch one of my films. It's the one I did for Philip – next to my last project this is the one I'm most proud of." Belle said. She reached for her remote and turned on the television. "It should be On Demand." she said, and began to scroll for it. "Yes, here it is." Belle clicked on the title and the movie began. Several minutes in, Belle appeared on the screen, looking quite different.

"Is that you?" Nick asked, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"Yes. That's me." Belle said.

"Good god you're – blonde. You dye your hair for that role?" Nick asked.

"Actually, I um – I stripped my color for that role. That's – my natural color." Nick took the remote from Belle and paused the movie, then turned to her.

"Hold on. You're NOT a natural brunette?" Nick asked.

"I get my roots done every three or four weeks. When I started modeling, my manager in Australia suggested I try dying my hair. You don't see too many models that have dark hair with deep blue eyes, he thought it would make me stand out more. The look worked and – well, I kind of liked it so I kept it. Philip wanted me blonde in that film so I went back to my natural color for it. I think that might be why I didn't get much attention for the role, I don't think anyone knew it was me." Belle joked.

"So this – isn't really how you look?" Nick asked. He paused for a moment. "Well, that changes everything, I really don't care what you do for a living Belle but I'm not into blondes so – sorry." Nick started to move to get out of bed. Belle looked genuinely upset. "I'm kidding, good god – come here." Nick said, and he pounced on her, pinned her to the bed and kissed her. "Sweetheart, you could dye your hair purple and I wouldn't give a shit."

"Are you going to watch my movie or are we going to do this?" Belle asked.

"Why would I want to watch you on the telly when I have you right here under me?" Nick asked.

"I want you to be interested in what I do." Belle whined.

"Love, I'm extremely interested in what you do, I promise." Belle gave him a pouty look, and Nick gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Alright – we'll watch your movie if it means that much to you. See, this is how much I love you, I'm choosing a movie over sex, how many other men would do that?"

"You're choosing the movie because you know you'll GET sex afterward – any man would do that." Belle commented.

"Well let's watch your whole fucking library of work then." Nick said, and Belle smiled and snuggled up close to him as he released the pause button and the film continued.

Belle got home at about noon on Saturday. She could smell something very delicious coming from the kitchen. Nick told her that he would make lunch for them while she was out. Belle was carrying Nick's tuxedo that she had picked up from the tailor. She took it upstairs and hung it in the closet, then went back downstairs and made her way into the kitchen. Nick was in the kitchen setting some dough into a pan on the large counter that was in the center of her kitchen. "What are you making?" Belle asked. Nick was wearing jeans, a button down shirt, and an apron.

"Well, I made a margherita pizza for us, had some dough left over so I thought I'd make some bread. I also have a salad in the refrigerator and for dessert – well I thought we could have that upstairs." Nick said, and he grabbed Belle and kissed her. Belle reached for the dough that was pressed into the loaf pan, scooped up a bit of it, then licked it off her fingers. "Hey – keep your hands off, now I have to fix that corner." Nick adjusted the bread, put it in the oven, and set the timer.

"Did you do all of this from scratch?" Belle asked.

"Well, you had everything I needed, I figured why not." Nick said.

"I didn't know you could cook like that." Belle said.

"I don't get to do it too often – when I was in rehab, that was one of the activities they offered was cooking classes. I really enjoyed that." Nick said.

"You made quite a mess here. You um – you have flour on your nose." Belle said. Nick looked over at the empty counter in the center, which was covered in flour, baking powder, and all of the other ingredients that went into the dough he made. He scraped his finger along the counter and touched Belle on the nose with it.

"Well, now so do you." Nick said. Belle laughed. She ran her hands across the counter and smeared the flour on Nick's face as she giggled. "Oh, you are in so much trouble now." Nick said playfully. He grabbed her waist with his left hand and pulled her close. He pushed her toward the counter with his body, and Belle jumped up and sat on the edge, her legs dangling off of it. She reached behind him and untied his apron, pulled it over his head and tossed it onto the floor. She then began to unbutton his shirt as he continued to kiss her. "I think this will be easier for me if we switch places, love."

"You actually want to do this. Here?" Belle asked.

"Well, it'll be another twenty minutes before the bread is done." Nick said. Belle hopped off the counter, and Nick turned around, this time with his back facing the counter. He carefully braced his hands against it, dropping his cane to the floor, and sat on it in the same position Belle had previously been. He scooted back, and Belle then began to undo the fly on his jeans. She pulled them down to his ankles, then climbed onto the counter. She took off her blouse and tossed it onto the floor, then she knelt over him and kissed him. Nick reached his hands down toward her pants, which were slip-on, and started to maneuver them down her waist. Belle stopped kissing him for a moment to help him. She kicked off her shoes and together they pushed her slacks down until Belle was able to kick them off as well. Nick's shirt remained on but completely unbuttoned. Both of them were now covered in flour as they kissed. Belle began to kiss Nick up and down his chest, and she licked the flour off of him at times. He was now fully erect, and she let her mouth move down toward his cock. She pulled his underwear down and began to lick him, first with quick flicks of her tongue, then more intensely. After several minutes of teasing she took his cock in her mouth as he trembled and panted. "Oh, Belle!" he screamed in complete bliss. He reached down and tugged on her panties until they were pulled down below her knees. Belle then took his cock and maneuvered it inside of her. She pushed her upper body down on top of him. Nick thrust himself inside of her as they kissed open mouthed until they were both ready to climax. Belle squealed as Nick grabbed her hair in his arms and began to tug on it. Belle buried her face in the nape of his neck and moaned as they were both brought to the point of satisfaction.

Belle collapsed on top of him for several minutes afterward, then carefully rolled onto her side. Both of them had disheveled hair that was covered in flour. "We probably shouldn't leave this particular mess for the cleaning crew that comes on Monday." she joked as she turned to look at him.

"Probably not." Nick said.

"Oh my god, I can't believe we just did this. In my kitchen." Belle said, and she started to laugh. "What was that you were saying the other day about you not being able to be playful?"

"I suppose that running and chasing isn't a necessity for that, it is?" Nick said, and he smiled at her and kissed her on the lips. "I love you, Belle."

"I love you." Belle said in reply, and she kissed him back. The oven timer dinged. "Bread's done. I'll get it." Still giggling, Belle stood up, pulled up her panties, washed her hands, and grabbed a couple of potholders and took the bread out of the oven. "I thought you made a pizza, too." she said.

"It's warming in the other oven." Nick said. "Can um – you help me up here, love?" he asked.

"Well, I don't know, I might want to leave you like this." Belle teased. Nick made a face at her. "Come on – up you go." Belle said as she took both of his hands and pulled him into a sitting position. She picked his cane up off the floor and handed it to him.

"Let me hang on to you, love." Nick said. He put his cane in his right hand and wrapped his left arm around her shoulder as she helped him ease off of the counter. Belle grabbed the apron that he had been wearing and put it on herself. Nick gave her another quick kiss. "Let me clean up a bit, you go wait in the dining room for me and I'll bring out our lunch."

"We'll track flour all over it." Belle said.

"Sweetheart, unless we shower in the kitchen sink we're going to track flour all the way through the living room and up the stairs. What's one more room?" he said.

"Okay. I hope you don't mind Spanish curse words because you'll be hearing plenty of them on Monday from my housekeepers." Belle said.

"I'm Glaswegian love, we invented cursing." Nick teased. "Go on – go wait, I'll be right out."

"Do we still get dessert afterward?" Belle asked.

"I believe we just had it, my dear." Nick said.

"Well, I might want seconds in the shower." Belle said.

"You know what, I think I will as well." Nick said. Belle smiled at him as she made her way into the dining room. Her computer was sitting on the dining room table. There was an excel file open on it. Belle glanced at it for a bit – it must be something Nick had been doing. It looked like a budget for something. She nosily scrolled through it when her computer beeped at her. Belle glanced at the time.

"Oh, crap." she said to herself, and clicked on one of the icons on her computer. She logged onto Skype, reluctantly turned her camera on, and found herself face to face with her father. She tried to duck down in her chair a bit. "Papa! Hi, I'm sorry – I forgot we said we'd do this." Belle suddenly realized that, on top of wearing nothing from the waist up but her bra and the apron she put on, she was still covered in flour.

"Marty, what on earth have you been doing to yourself, you look like the Bride of Frankenstein!" Moe said.

"Oh, I um – I was baking, I was making lunch." Belle said sheepishly.

"Did something in the kitchen explode?" Moe asked. Belle tried her best to hide herself from the neck down, but it was difficult and Moe could clearly see that she wasn't wearing a shirt. "So where is this beast that you want me to meet so badly?"

"He's um – actually, he's busy right now papa, maybe tomorrow we could -" Belle began.

"Here is your salad to start off and I will get your – tea." Nick said, stopping on the last word. He walked behind Belle as he spoke, covered in flour, his shirt wide open, and wearing nothing but his underwear from the waist down. Belle's father got a full view of him from his camera. "Hi." Nick said awkwardly, and he pulled up a chair and sat down next to Belle. Belle's face turned beet red in embarrassment.

"Um – papa – this is Nick. Nick – this is my papa, Maurice Francis. His friends call him Moe."

"Hello." Nick said awkwardly. Moe glared at both of them, not saying a word.

"So you were helping her in the kitchen, were you?" Moe asked. Neither of them said a word.

"I'll, um – I'll get the pizza." Nick said, and he got up as quickly as he could and moved out of view.

"Martha Rose Francis." Moe said as he glared at her. "What on earth does that maniac have you doing?"

"We were just – cooking, papa." Belle said.

"Oh, I can see that." Moe said.

"Can I um – can we do this tomorrow at the same time. I won't forget this time and um – perhaps we could – have a better start then." Belle said.

"I think that's best." Moe said.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow then, papa. I love you." she said, and she quickly closed the computer and pushed it aside. "We're done." she called out to Nick, who entered the room carrying a glass of tea for her. He set it down on the table. "I forgot that we were supposed to do that today. Shit." Belle said.

"You think he knows what were –"

"Oh, I'm sure he's playing out a variety of scenarios in his mind, none of which look good for either of us." Belle said.

"He's going to punch me when he actually meets me, isn't he?" Nick asked. "I mean, because – if that were Ruby I know that's what my first instinct would be."

"Well, if you take him down to the pub and have a few beers with him, you might be alright, the worst you might get then will be a stern glare and a lecture on how you're expected to treat his daughter." Belle said.

"I don't drink." Nick said.

"Oh, that's right. Well, you're fucked then, my advice when you meet him would be to duck." Belle said, and she giggled a bit. Nick finished bringing their lunch in and then he sat down at the table with her. "Were you working on something in here earlier?" Belle asked as they ate lunch.

"What?" Nick replied.

"There was an excel file open. It wasn't mine." Belle said.

"Oh, that. I used your computer to look over a file Bae sent me, I hope you don't mind. It's a budget report." Nick said.

"For your business? Those looked like pretty large numbers, Nick. I know you do well but I didn't think your shop was that profitable." Belle said.

"Oh, it's – not my budget it's – it's Regina's." Nick admitted, knowing that he had to tell her eventually.

"Regina's? Nick, why are you working for that woman, I thought you walked away from all of that." Belle said.

"I did. I just – Belle, we just had a lovely little encounter and we're having a nice lunch, do we really have to talk about this right now?" Nick asked.

"Nick, we agreed no secrets when we talked before. Why do you have Regina's financial report?" Belle asked. Nick sighed.

"I'm trying to find a way to bring her down, Belle. And the best way I can think of is through her business. A friend of Bae's hacked into her accounts and he sent me the files." Nick then began to tell her everything he learned about Regina's shady dealings with Leroy, her stockbroker status in the film company that Belle did most of her work for, and Regina's financial plight and her attempts to lure him back to work for her. He admitted to his near slip-up and then waited for a response from Belle, who quietly listened to him. Belle picked up her empty plate and took it into the kitchen. Nick followed.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Nick asked. Belle turned to him and faced him.

"Is any of this legal, Nick?" Belle asked.

"Define legal." Nick replied.

"Can you go to jail for what you are doing, or trying to do?" Belle asked.

"Depends how you do it." Nick replied.

"You mean it depends on whether or not you get caught." Belle said. She stomped out of the room and up the stairs. Nick followed. He entered her room.

"Belle – she and Leroy – they tried to hurt you. They used you, for profit, you were nothing but a pawn to them. And then when Regina found out that you and I were together, she preyed on that. She preyed on our vulnerabilities and she cannot get away with that. Belle - I spent my entire career raiding companies, I know how to play this game and I've never lost. I can destroy Regal with the information that I've obtained."

"Why? For what, revenge? Nick – you told me how hard you worked to leave that part of you behind, I won't have you going back to that, it's not worth it." Belle said. "Nick, it's been my experience, and yours as well, that people who do bad things have bad things happen to them eventually. Regina will destroy herself in time, but I don't want you to be a part of that. Promise me that you won't do this."

"Belle – all the time we lost because of Regina -"

"Promise me." Belle said. She looked into his eyes and he knew he couldn't say no to her.

"Oh sweetheart – I promise." Nick said, and he pulled her into a hug. He would just have to think of another way.

Nick and Belle spent the following week in California doing a variety of things: aside from the time they spent together, they went to several celebrity fundraisers together, did a bit of sightseeing at Belle's urging, and Nick had watched half of Belle's films by the time they were ready to leave for New York, and he was in agreement that the films she did with Philip were by far her best work. He endured the paparazzi following them whenever they were spotted together and a variety of stares and glares from fans who stopped Belle for her autograph. Belle's life was not a life he would want for himself, nor would he wish on anyone. He started to realize what a challenge this relationship was truly going to be. But it would be worth it. It would be worth all of the gossip, and the press, and the parties where he clearly did not fit in. Because he loved the girl so very much. He couldn't stop thinking about Regina though. It wasn't his nature to just let something go like that. It was Belle's. Even as much as Ashley Boyd had hurt her, she may harbor ill will against the girl but she never once acted on it. And she was right – Ashley was a victim of her own choices. Nick just didn't have the confidence that the same would be true for Regina.

They arrived at Nick's apartment at 11 p.m. – they were due to arrive the following day but decided to leave a day early and avoid any run-ins with the press. Belle brought one suitcase with her and had several other items of clothing – far too many as far as Nick was concerned – shipped to New York rather than try to haul everything on the plane. Nick opened the door to his apartment, turned on the light, and was shocked at what he saw when they entered the living room. Ruby and Graham were on his sofa – Graham was position on top of Ruby. He wasn't wearing a shirt. Neither was Ruby, although she still had her bra on. Both Ruby and Graham gasped when they were seen. Ruby reached toward the floor for her blouse and quickly put it on, and Graham grabbed his shirt and did the same.

"Daddy! What are you doing here?" Ruby said nervously.

"I live here." Nick said.

"M – Mr. Gold, I'm really sorry, I can explain -" Graham said, stammering as he stood up. Nick picked up his cane and shoved it into Graham's chest.

"You fucking Mick. Putting your hands all over my little girl in MY home." Nick said angrily, and he pushed Graham backward with his cane.

"Nick, stop it!" Belle said. She pulled Nick away from Graham. Nick backed off of him, but continued to glare at him with anger.

"Daddy you – you weren't supposed to be home till tomorrow." Ruby said.

"We wanted to avoid the press, so we came in early. Hi Ruby." Belle said.

"Hi Belle." Ruby said in return. "Did you have fun, daddy?"

"Yes. I did. Apparently so did you." Nick said, still glaring at Graham.

"I – I should probably go I'll – I'll call you later, Ruby." Graham said nervously, and he quickly darted for the door and left.

"See, this is what he does. He scares every one of my boyfriends away." Ruby said to Belle.

"Why are you here?" Nick asked. "Not that I'm not glad to see you sweetheart but – you have an apartment."

"I want to decorate your place, kind of as a welcome home surprise – we kind of got distracted. And Graham and I don't have any privacy anymore at my place with Bae there." Ruby said.

"Bae? Why is Bae at your apartment?" Nick asked.

"He didn't tell you?" Ruby asked.

"Aside from a couple of business conversations I really haven't spoken to your brother. He's not very happy with me right now." Nick said.

"Yeah, he's not very happy with a lot of people right now. Bae is staying with me. Emma kicked him out." Ruby said.

"What? When?" Nick asked.

"After you left. They got into a big fight and – she told him to leave. Actually, she kind of just threw his clothes out into the hallway." Ruby admitted. "I should go – you're probably tired and everything. I'll see you tomorrow, Daddy." Ruby said. She gave Nick a hug. "Bye Belle – I'm really happy for you guys." Ruby left. Nick sat down in a chair and sighed.

"Fuck." he said, and he ran his fingers through his hair. Belle sat down on the edge of the chair and put her hands on his shoulders.

"They'll work it out. We did. And they've been together quite a bit of time, and they have their son." Belle said.

"So were Milah and I. That didn't end well." Nick said.

"That was different. You said yourself you never loved Milah. Bae loves Emma. Love always wins in the end." Belle said. "I believe that."

"I suppose." Nick said. "Why don't we get to bed. I um – I have some things to take care of tomorrow – some business to attend to, I'll probably be leaving early, I'll let you sleep. There's probably not much here in the way of food so you may have to run down to the coffee shop, you know where it is." Nick said.

"What business do you have tomorrow? You're not doing something about this whole Regina mess, are you?" Belle asked.

"Belle, I made a promise to you and I intend to keep it. I won't do anything to bring Regina down." Nick said.

"Okay." Belle said, and she gave him a quick kiss. "Come on, let's go to bed."

The next morning, dressed in a business suit, Nick entered the building in Manhattan at about 8:30 a.m. He got on the elevator and went up to the twelfth floor, got off the elevator, and made his way down the hall. He carried a manila envelope with him. He entered the office and approached the secretary. "Yes – I'm here to see Albert Spencer. He has an appointment with me – Nick Gold."

"Of course – he's expecting you. Go on back." the girl said. Nick made his way back to Albert's office.

"Gold – I was kind of surprised to hear from you after Regina's last failed attempt to lure you back." Albert said as he shook Nick's hand. "And what's this bullshit I hear about you taking up with some famous actress?"

"Oh, it's not bullshit, I assure you. And neither is this." Nick said. He tossed the envelope he was carrying onto Albert's desk, then sat down in a chair. Albert picked up the envelope and opened it, then looked through its contents.

"Holy shit. Where did you get this?" Albert asked.

"Does that really matter?" Nick asked.

"Why are you giving this to me?" Albert asked.

"Well, I know there's no love lost between you and Regina. I made a promise to someone that I would not pursue this personally. However – if someone else were to choose to do so – well, there's not much I can do about that, is there? You have a good day, Mr. Spencer." Nick said, and he got up and left.

So I was watching Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School last weekend and yeah . . . . I kinda got inspired. Hence the kitchen smut. :)

I know there was lots going on this chapter, I hope everyone enjoyed it, I'm anxious to hear what you think! Thank you for reading!