When Belle awoke early the next morning, she was surprised to find that Rumplestiltskin was still asleep. He rarely slept and when he did it was mostly for her sake. She knew he had to be tired to find she had awoken before him. The last thing she wanted to do was wake him. Belle quietly slid out from underneath Rumplestiltskin's arm so as not to disturb him. She tiptoed out of the barn door and heading into the cottage.

There was no one to be found when Belle stepped into the kitchen. Peering out the window to see where the sun stood in the sky, she realized she had slept much later than she intended. The dwarfs would already be off working in the mines and she wasn't sure where Snow was. She walked about the house calling for her, but there was no reply. She was about to give up and go back out to the barn when she heard Snow's voice coming from the farthest room.

Belle, assuming Snow was cleaning, walked to the back to get her. The door was open, so she walked in never thinking to knock. She gasped when she saw Snow and Charming standing there engaged in a rather intimate lover's embrace. She was certain things were moving pretty far, but luckily she had arrived early enough to avoid total embarrassment.

"Belle! I didn't hear you come in," Snow exclaimed as she swiftly separated herself from Charming, "Charming and I…we were just…"

Belle nodded, "I'll uh, just come back in a little while. I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt," Belle said trying to hold back a giggle. She turned to walk away, but she peeked her head back in the doorway, "Oh and you might want to close the door next time."

Snow flushed and buried her face in her hands, while Charming couldn't help but laugh.

Belle smiled to herself as she headed back to the barn. She was so glad her best friend had found true love. There was nothing like it. Her smile grew as she thought of her love still sleeping peacefully in the barn.

As the sun moved up further in the sky, more and more of it filled the barn rousing Rumplestiltskin from his slumber. Groggily he turned over and grabbed for Belle only to find an empty straw pile next to him. He sat up intending to go look for her, but the conversation from the night before came rushing back. 'She doesn't want to see me,' he thought, 'I could tell by the look in her eyes that having children is very important to her. I know she's changed her mind about marrying me. Perhaps I could convince her otherwise...'

Rumplestiltskin pondered long and hard about what he could say to Belle to keep her from leaving him, but no matter what he could come up with he couldn't convince himself that she would ever stay. 'It's for the best,' he told himself.

He stepped out of the barn and glanced down at the cottage. 'If I'm going to leave, at least she would want me to say goodbye?' He took one step toward the little house and then stopped, 'No, it will only make things harder…'

Having made up his mind he headed toward the forest but was halted as he heard the sweet familiar voice he knew so well call out to him, "Rum, where are you going?"

Rumplestiltskin turned to see Belle approaching him. His face brightened at the sight of her, but his frown didn't disappear, "I didn't think you wanted to see me."

Belle could tell immediately that he was upset about something. She grabbed his hands, pulled them to her chest, and leaned in so she could look in his eyes, "What would give you that idea?"

"You were gone when I woke up this morning. I know you're upset with me about never having children, but hear me out...

Belle lifted her hand and put her finger over his mouth, "Shh, Rum, I told you that I'm not upset with you. I love you and I plan to marry you. There's nothing that's going to change my mind."

Rumplestiltskin reached up and pushed a strand of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. He gave her an understanding smile while doing so, and she knew he wasn't going anywhere either. Losing herself in the moment, she almost forgot about her encounter with the Blue Fairy the night before. She knew she needed to tell him about it. 'He would be madder if I try to keep it from him, now is a better time than any.' The Blue Fairy's words about Rum's son had also been on her mind. She had tried not let the fairy get to her, but she could not brush away the comment about Rumplestiltskin letting his son go to another world alone. Belle's smile faltered a bit as she thought about it.

Rumplestiltskin immediately picked up on the change in her appearance. "What is it?" he asked worriedly.

Belle paused before she asked, "Rum, is it true you could have gone with your son through the portal you talked about, the one created from the magic bean?"

Rumplestiltskin furrowed his brow. "Wha..Who told you that?" He was taken aback by her question and his tone was harsh as a result.

Belle panicked for a moment when she heard the snippyness behind his words and saw the darkness flare up in his eyes. She looked him straight in the eye and didn't flinch as he inched toward her, "I uh, when I went off alone last night I was visited by the Blue Fairy..."

The words had barely left Belle's lips when she was cut off by Rum, "THE BLUE FAIRY?! With his fists balled at his sides, He took a step forward to peer down at her, "YOU'VE BEEN TALKING TO HER?!"

"Yes but..."

"NO! SHE'S TRYING TO TURN YOU AGAINST ME JUST LIKE SHE DID MY SON! I BET YOU BELIEVED HER, WHATEVER SHE TOLD YOU! WHAT ELSE DID SHE SAY ABOUT MY SON?"

"Nothing, Rum...I swear, I didn't know it was her...I just wanted to be left alone, and then she showed up..."

"Let me guess, she convinced you that marrying me was a bad idea, that you would be better off if we never met!"

Belle's temper began to flare up, "As I've said before, no one decides my fate but me. She told me things, even offered me a bag of fairy dust..."

"Fairy dust? And you took it I'm sure!"

"No, I didn't!"

"No one turns down fairy dust dearie! No one, I don't see why you would be any different!" Rumplestiltskin turned his back to her and took a few steps away. Knowing Belle had been offered fairy dust had unnerved him more than anything. Fairy magic and his did not mix well, and if Belle had any, the consequences would not be very pleasant. He was convinced she had taken it. He whirled back around to face her. She had not moved from her original position. "You and her, have a plan don't you dearie? To try and destroy me? That's why she gave you the fairy dust."

"Rum? What!? NO!" now she approached him unwilling to back down, "I would never try to hurt you, I love you."

He barely looked at her. "Or steal my power…" he said more to himself than her.

"No!"

"Yes that must be it…no wonder you were asking about the curse…you want me to be weak and powerless…"

"Rum…"

" SHUT UP!"

"Please just listen to me!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Rumplestiltskin lunged inches from her face as he shouted.

Belle looked up into his eyes and knew there was no getting him to see reason in the state he was in. She could see his deep brown eyes were glazed over looking more reptilian than ever as they bore down into her own blue orbs. At that moment the Dark One had taken over and her Rum was buried deep inside.

It occurred to her that a gentle touch had calmed him down in the past when the darkness was controlling him. It had brought her Rum back to the surface. She reached up and stroked his cheek as tears welled up in her eyes hoping to talk to the more reasonable side of him, "Rum, please know I love you and I would never do anything to harm you…"

However, her assumption was wrong. He was too far gone, too angry to be calmed by only one of her soft touches. He shrugged away from her hand. Hurt that Rumplestiltskin had so easily dismissed her, the welled up tears began to stream down her face.

"Oh with the crying! It must stop! I do my best thinking then when you seem to be crying all the time about something!" Rumplestiltskin immediately regretted the words as soon as he said them. The crying only bothered him because he didn't want to see her unhappy and he had made it seem like it angered him every time she did it. Still, he was Rumplestiltskin the Dark One, and he was not going to admit he was wrong, even to Belle.

More tears welled up in Belle's eyes, but this time she stood strong and didn't let them fall. She gave him one last angry glare and retreated to the cottage leaving an angry Rumplestiltskin standing alone. He had the urge to call after her, to tell her he meant nothing he said and believed every word she said, but he held his tongue, snapped his fingers and disappeared leaving only a puff of purple smoke behind.

The disheveled Belle burst in through the front door startling Snow White and Charming, who were conversing in the kitchen. Snow instantly jumped up from her chair and ran to her friend's side, "Belle, what's wrong?" she asked as she placed her hands on Belle's shoulders.

"I'd rather not discuss it," Belle managed through her tears that she couldn't hold back any longer. Rumplestiltskin wasn't there, so she could cry all she wanted. She looked over at Charming, then averted her eyes back to the floor.

Snow glanced back and forth between Belle and Charming understanding what Belle meant. She turned to Charming, "James? Would you mind waiting in the other room while I talk to Belle?"

Charming gave a curtsey nod and retreated leaving the two women alone to discuss recent occurrences. With some reluctance, Belle relayed the fight that had transpired between her and Rum to Snow White leaving out only a few details.

Snow White gently stroked Belle's back. "So, does then mean the wedding is off?" she asked with caution.

Belle sniffled, "I don't know...I...I hope not…maybe."

There was a moment of silence before Belle spoke up again. She dried a few tears and spoke with a less shaky voice, "You know I didn't see much of this side of him when we were living in my father's castle."

"What was he like then?"

"Depressed mostly, but I could bring out the sweet, playful side in him, the caring, loving Rumplestiltskin. Don't get me wrong I knew he was called the Dark One, and he tried to warn me that he could be this way."

"Are you having doubts now?"

Belle managed a weak smile, "No, not at all. I love him with all my heart and soul, darkness and light. There's good in him. I've always seen it, and I'll never give up on him. This side of him is just new to me that's all. I know it's not really him when he acts this way. It's the curse."

"Well don't worry. Give him some time to cool off, and then he'll see reason. Don't worry, everything will turn out right in the end."

Belle brightened, "Snow, I'm so glad to have you as a friend."

Snow reached over and wrapped her arms around Belle, "I'm glad to have you as a friend too."

After Belle was calmer, Snow went in the other room to talk to Charming. She briefly filled him in on what had happened, "Charming, will you talk to him?"

Charming's eyes went wide, "Me?! Why me? Why can't Grumpy do it?"

Snow White smiled and placed her hands on his chest, "They call him Grumpy for a reason you know."

Charming sighed and glanced away then back, "Are you sure this must be done?"

"Yes. Belle is my best friend and I don't want to see her unhappy. As much as I don't like it, Rumplestiltskin makes her happy. If she sees some good in him, then it must be there."

Charming released a hesitant sigh, but eventually agreed.

Charming left a relieved Snow to search for Rumplestiltskin. He went to the barn and looked around the surrounding area, but there was no sign of him. Charming knew with magic, the imp could be anywhere, and he honestly had no idea where to look for him. He thought about calling for him but he highly doubted Rumplestiltskin would come. He decided to venture to the nearby town and inquire with some of the locals. It was the best he could do. 'If I can't find him, then I'll just have to wait until he returns, if he returns.'

Charming spent a couple hours venturing about the town, but had no luck. Giving up completely, he wandered into a local bar to have an beer before he returned to relay the bad news to Snow. He had just ordered his drink when he glanced over to one of the corners and caught a glimpse of a familiar face. Thinking he had gotten out of discussing the situation with the Dark One, dread welled up in Charming now knowing he had no excuse.

He took his drink from the bartender, passed over a silver coin, and made his way to the table in the corner.

Rumplestiltskin glanced up from his half empty mug, "Your majesty," Rumplestiltskin said with a mocking sneer, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Charming sat down across from him, "You can knock off the sarcasm, I'm here to help you."

"Help me? What on earth could I possibly need help with, let alone yours?" Rum waved his hand through the air as if he had no cares or worries.

"I know about your fight with Belle."

"Do you now?"

"Yes, and you should apologize."

"Apologize? She was conspiring against me with one of my enemies." Rumplestiltskin was serious now.

Charming shook his head, "That's not the case and you know it. Don't let this mask you hide behind keep you from seeing what's really there. She's not out to get you. Now that woman loves you and gods only knows why, but she truly does. Are you really going to let her slip away because you refuse to see the truth?"

Rumplestiltskin averted his eyes to his drink. He couldn't think of a comeback.

There was awkward silence for a few minutes until Charming spoke up, "What've you got against the Blue Fairy anyways?"

Rumplestiltskin's head shot up, "That's really none of your concern now is it dearie?"

Charming backed off, "No, I guess not." He finished the last sips of his beer and stood to leave. As he began to walk away, he stopped in his tracks. He turned to Rumplestiltskin to say one last thing, "Look, I know you and I don't see eye to eye...frankly I don't know anyone who sees eye to eye with you..."

"Get to the point dearie!" Rumplestiltskin was growing impatient.

"If you've found true love, and I think you have and you know it, then you need to do everything you can to hold onto it. Don't let something as silly as this come between you two. You'll come to regret it."

Rumplestiltskin tried hard to let the expression on his face to remain cold and neutral, but he was struggling. He decided to return to his impish sarcasm, "I suppose you think I owe you a favor in return for this little bit of advice?"

"No. It never occurred to me. I came here for Snow. That's what love is, being there for one another. Remember that." With that Charming left.

Rumplestiltskin watched as Charming exited the tavern all the while trying to decide what he was going to do about Belle.

a/n Sorry for the length between update, I've been busy trying to get baby on a schedule and writing my thesis so I can graduate this summer. I promise I won't abandon these stories.