As always, thank you for the kind feedback! (Which might not be so kind at the end of this one. :/) I can't tell you how much it means to me!

I do not own 'Once Upon a Time.'

Chapter 8

Belle entered the dining room the next morning, a huge smile planted across her face as she set Gold's breakfast in front of him. "Good morning, Ian." she said in a happy tone of voice. "How are you feeling today?" Gold glared at her but did not answer. "Did you sleep well?" she asked. He still did not reply. She poured him his coffee and sat down next to him as he ate his breakfast in silence. "Do you have busy day today? I mean, I'm sure you do since you missed an entire day of work yesterday doing whatever it is that you do." Gold continued to ignore her. "You know, the questions don't count if you don't answer them."

"Miss Woods – how much longer are you going to play this game with me?" Gold asked tersely.

"I'm not playing a game, Ian. I'm merely asking you questions." Belle replied.

"Stop calling me that." Gold said. Belle smirked at him.

"I don't think I will. You told me to call you Ian and I prefer that to Mr. Gold, it's so formal. Besides it's a nice name, Ian. By the way – you really don't have to call me Miss Woods. I mean, first of all, that isn't my name, and second I know you don't like it nor do you like the name Lacey. I know I'm in hiding and under protection but – well, when it's just the two of us – I really would rather you call me Belle. If you don't mind." Belle said.

"How do you know I don't like the name Lacey?" Gold asked.

"Well, you told me, of course." Belle said.

"What else did I tell you?" Gold asked.

"Oh – lots of things. But you only get one question per day and they really do need to be more specific than that." Belle said, and she stood up. "Better get going on the laundry – do want me to clean up the mess in your study today, I should have time."

"What mess?" Gold asked.

"You haven't looked? Oh, it's quite a wreck, even worse than your last fit. Do you have things shipped in to have around to break or do you have a stash of them in a hidden room somewhere?" Belle asked. Gold stood up.

"I will take care of the study, Miss Woods. In fact – I'll be in there all day. Please leave my meals at the door and do not bother me." Gold said.

"Whatever you like, Ian. Have a lovely day – I'll see you tomorrow then." Belle said. She picked up his breakfast plate and headed into the kitchen. Gold watched her longingly as she did so, then took a deep breath and headed upstairs.

Gold stood in the middle of his study assessing the damage. He sighed in disgust at himself. He looked over at the nearly empty bottle of whiskey sitting on the table. Good lord, he drank nearly a whole bottle, no wonder he couldn't remember a damn thing. He sat down on the sofa and sighed once again, then heard a noise from behind.

"Jesus Gold, what happened here? Don't tell me you went on another bender, do you remember what happened last time?" Emma said as she entered the room through the hidden door.

"No, actually I don't, although you seem to enjoy reminding me every chance you get." Gold said.

"So what happened this time?" Emma asked, sitting down next to him.

"That, Miss Swan, is what I'd like to know. Unfortunately, my maid seems to want to make a game out of divulging that information." Gold said.

"Oh good god – any idea what you might have said to her?" Emma asked. "Cause the last time you poured out your guts and said stuff to me that I had NO desire to find out."

"I asked her to start calling me Ian. And I told her that I don't like the name Lacey Woods. That's all I've managed to uncover so far." Gold said. "She also mentioned holding my hair back while I vomited into the toilet."

"Oh, great, she and I have something to bond over then." Emma said, and she took out her phone.

"Who are you calling?" Gold asked.

"Dr. Hopper." Emma replied.

"I don't need to talk to Hopper." Gold said, grabbing the phone from her. "What I need is for us to solve this problem so that that girl can leave my house."

"Seriously? I have seen you make the most ruthless criminals almost cry while getting them to reveal secrets, and you can't get some little heiress librarian from New York to tell you what you did when you drunk off your ass? You've got it bad, don't you?" Emma asked.

"We have work to do, Miss Swan." Gold said.

"Yeah, you're damn right we do. And we can't afford this sort of thing. Didn't I tell you what a really bad idea it would be if you and little miss sunshine out there were to -"

"We are doing nothing." Gold said.

"How do you know you didn't?" Emma teased. Gold glared at her.

"Go in the other room, Miss Swan. I'll be right there." he said. Emma exited the room through the hidden door, and Gold began to pace a bit. They couldn't have. Could they?

Belle greeted Gold in the same upbeat manner as the morning before when she brought his breakfast to him. "Good morning, Ian." Belle said. "I trust you had a good day yesterday. Will you be spending the day in your study again?"

"No." Gold replied.

"You look very nice today, by the way. I like that color on you." Belle said. Gold was wearing a bright red shirt under his black suit, with a black tie.

"Miss Woods, I would really appreciate it if you would not do this to me." Gold said.

"I'm not doing anything to you, Ian; I'm just being nice." Belle said. Gold took a deep breath.

"Miss Woods – did I do anything – inappropriate to you the other night?" Gold asked. Belle smiled and sat down. She put her hand on his.

"You didn't do or say anything that offended me, Ian. I promise."

"That's not an answer. You know damn well what I was asking." Gold said, her hand still on his.

"You were very drunk, Ian. That – wasn't even a possibility. You could barely stand up, let alone – that." Belle said. "That's what you've been worried about?" Gold looked down, embarrassed, and he began to eat his breakfast. Belle moved away from him, stood up, and went into the kitchen. She came back out just as Gold was getting up to leave the table. Belle approached him.

"Ian – wait." Belle said. She reached out and grabbed his hand. "I'll stop teasing, I know it's upsetting you and I don't want to be cruel. I like you – very much. You're complicated, but I think you're a very nice man deep down, no matter what you say or how you act to the contrary. But I think you're a very troubled man, and I wish I understood why because I'd like to help. If you ever decide that you want to let me in – all you have to do is ask." Gold stood quiet for a moment, looking down the entire time she was talking. Belle waited for a response from him for several minutes after she finished, and he said nothing, but did not pull away from her touch. Finally, Belle let go of his hand and moved away.

"I don't like the name Lacey." Gold said, and Belle turned around. "You're right."

"I don't either." Belle said.

"I suppose that – in private – calling one another by our given names won't be a bad thing. Belle." Gold said.

"I'd like that. Ian." Belle said.

"I'd – like to show you something. Belle." Gold said. "Come with me." They went into the living room.

"You already showed me the television, Ian." Belle said.

"I know – and I want you to know that you may use it whenever you like, as long as all of your work is done and I'm not watching anything, which I really don't do much." Gold said.

"Thank you. I'm not much of a television person either, I prefer reading, but – it'll be nice to have something to do with my free time." Belle said.

"Yes, well – perhaps this will – make up for the way I've been acting." Gold said. There was a door next to the fireplace, but it was locked. Belle assumed it was decorative and didn't really think much about it. Gold approached the door and pulled out a key, unlocking it, then opened the door. He stepped inside, and Belle followed. Gold reached over to the wall and flipped a light switch. It was an entire library of books, stacked almost to the ceiling. The room was filled with nothing but dust, cobwebs, and books. Hundreds and hundreds of books. Belle gazed around the room in awe.

"It's – it's beautiful." Belle said.

"It's yours." Gold said. He took the key off his ring and handed it to her. "I haven't used it in years, but – I thought you might like it. Now keep in mind, if this room is going to be in use I do expect it to be cleaned, I don't want to see one speck of dust in here. Thursday is your least busy day so you can add that to your tasks. I don't expect it to be cleaned in one day, I know it'll take several weeks, but I do expect it to be spotless eventually." Belle threw her arms around Gold and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you." she said. Gold stood frozen in his place as she hugged him. Belle held onto him for several minutes. Gold mindlessly straightened his jacket and tie once she let him go.

"Alright – you've dilly-dallied enough. Back to work." Gold said, and he left the room. Belle watched him leave, smiling the entire time.

Several days passed and Monday approached. That Monday marked one week since Gold's drunken evening, since his revelation of his feelings to Belle, and since her discovery of the contents of the west wing, which she had said nothing to him about. At Emma's urging, Gold set up another appointment with Dr. Hopper while Belle was out shopping. They sat in the living room talking.

"So you don't have any real memory of what happened that night? No flashes or anything?" Dr. Hopper asked.

"Nothing." Gold replied. "I don't think I've ever been that drunk, to be honest. And I've had some pretty bad benders as you know, but – this was a complete blackout. It's been a week and I have absolutely no memory whatsoever."

"Maybe you don't want to remember. Have you considered that?" Hopper asked.

"I have." Gold replied. "I think that I – may have made advances toward her."

"And she didn't like that?" Hopper asked.

"On the contrary. I think she did. Which I do not understand at all, I mean – look at me. There's not much about me to love, is there?" Gold said.

"Well – maybe Miss Woods sees you differently than you see yourself." Hopper said. "I'd really like to meet her; I only saw her in passing that one time."

"Well she's not here." Gold said. "And I'm not sure that would be a good idea." Gold heard the doorbell ring and he stood up. "Excuse me – I'm expecting a delivery, I'll be right back." Gold went to the door and opened it. Belle was standing there holding several bags. "What are you doing?"

"Couldn't find my key, I'm sorry, I think I dropped it, I'll go look for it." Belle said, setting the bags down in the hallway. "There's more in the car, can you keep the door open, I'll be right back." Dr. Hopper came out into the hallway.

"Need some help?" Hopper asked. "Hi, I'm – Archie Hopper." he said, extending his hands.

"Lacey Woods. Nice to meet you." Belle said. Gold gripped his cane handle nervously.

"Archie is a – business associate of mine." Gold said.

"Right – you were here before, I remember seeing you." Belle said, not letting on that she knew who he was and why he was there. "And I really could use that help if you wouldn't mind."

"Of course." Hopper said, and he went outside to the car with Belle as Gold watched uncomfortably.

"Found my keys." Belle said as they came back in. "You can just set everything down, I'll take care of it. Thank you."

"Not a problem." Hopper said. "So – Gold do you want to get back to our meeting?"

"No, I think we're done." Gold said. "I'll call you if – anything changes."

"Okay. Just keep me posted." Hopper said, and he left. Belle was going back and forth, taking bags into the kitchen. Gold followed her on her last trip.

"Would you like some help unloading these?" he asked.

"If you want." Belle said. Gold helped her open the bags and stock the refrigerator and pantry.

"You're earlier than usual." Gold said.

"I'm getting faster at shopping now that I know the stores. I really don't want to be in town longer than I have to be, those people are awful." Belle said.

"Belle, I know that it's not been easy for you. And I know that you wanted to make friends, but – this is for the best, you understand that, right?" Gold asked.

"I suppose." Belle replied, and she stopped and looked at him. "I just don't think Ruby would the type to – I just think she's a regular person. It would have been nice to have a friend during all of this."

"Belle – regular people are the ones that should be the most suspect. Do you honestly think that no one is out there looking for you? They are. And it's not going to be someone who's obvious that finds you. Like I said – no one is above reproach. You have to be extremely cautious – the most unlikely person could, in fact, be the one person that you should fear." Gold said.

Dr. Archie Hopper sat in his office, talking on the phone. "Yeah – it's definitely her." he said to the person on the other end. Hopper looked down at a photo lying on his desk – it was a photo of Belle as she looked before she went into hiding, with her blonde hair. "They had her hair colored but – there's no doubt that it's her. He has feelings for her – he's in love with her. She's his weakness – I think you may have finally found a way to take him out as well."