Got one more done - this story is eating my life, I swear! But in a good way. :)

Thank you for the feedback and to all of you who are reading - I am truly overwhelmed and humbled by your response! Things are about to get pretty intense as the story proceeds - hope you like the journey I'm about to embark on here!

I do not own 'Once Upon a Time.'

Chapter 10

Belle leaned back against the headboard of her bed downstairs and sighed. She thought she was getting through to him. She was certain that she was. They had kissed, and it wasn't a drunken kiss nor a kiss demonstrating his foolish behavior. It was real, and tender, and loving. And he didn't pull away, and he didn't react in anger. She thought perhaps he needed some time to process his feelings, but – it was working. She was convinced it was just a matter of time before he opened up to her. Something happened, and she didn't understand what. And now he was demanding that she be relegated to living in the basement for a week? Not bloody likely if she had anything to say about it. Maybe he would cool off by tomorrow, and then she'd talk to him.

After sulking for a bit of time, Belle ventured upstairs into the kitchen to get something to drink. Once she got to the top of the stairs, she could hear him. Things smashing upstairs in his study. That temper of his was something to behold, and not in a good way. Belle thought it was likely due to his isolation for so long. She tried to ignore the noise, but her concern for him got the better of her. She knew what happened the last time he was like that, and she didn't want him to harm himself. His rules be damned; she was going up there to have it out with the beast once and for all.

Gold raged as he swung his cane around. He slammed it across the fireplace mantle, knocking every little knick knack that sat upon it to the ground. He picked up random items off of the tables and threw them down, shattering anything that was breakable. He erupted until there was nothing in the room left to break; the only item remaining was the little chipped cup. Gold picked it up and looked at it. He stared at it for a moment, then put it back down on the table. He picked up the bottle of whiskey, which was almost halfway gone, and took a drink, just as Belle entered the room. "I thought I told you to STAY DOWNSTAIRS!" Gold shouted as he turned to face her. He moved toward her, his cane in one hand and the bottle of whiskey in the other. He picked up his cane and waved it near her face. "Get. Out." he said angrily. Belle looked down at the bottle in his hand.

"Well at least you haven't drunk the entire bottle like you did the last time." Belle said.

"I'm working on it." Gold said, and he took another drink. Belle lunged at him and put her hand on the bottle. Gold fought with her for it, and in their struggle the bottle crashed to the floor and shattered into pieces, alcohol spilling everywhere. "That – was imported Scottish whiskey. Do you know how much that cost me?"

"Do you know how much it would have cost you if you'd finished it tonight? You can't keep drinking like that, you're playing Russian roulette with your life. It's going to kill you one of these days, Ian." Belle said.

"Maybe that's what I want, did you ever think of that, Princess?" Gold asked.

"Well it's not going to happen tonight." Belle said.

"I have more." Gold replied, and he started to walk toward the painting where he kept his alcohol. Belle followed him and grabbed his arm as he opened the hidden wall compartment.

"Don't push me. You have no idea what I'm capable of." Gold said furiously.

"You won't hurt me. You don't have it in you." Belle told him. Gold got in her face; Belle could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Why did you come up here?" he asked.

"I wasn't going to. But I heard you downstairs – and I wasn't going to let you hurt yourself, either. I care too much about you to let that happen." Belle said.

"Stop saying that!" Gold shouted at her.

"Why?" Belle asked.

"Because no one – no one could ever love me!" he screamed as he shoved her back into the wall. He pushed her back and held her there, fuming and breathing heavily as he trembled.

"What would Bae think, if he could see you like this?" Belle asked, looking him directly in the eye. "Would he be proud of his father?"

"How do know about Bae? Who told you about him!?" Gold screamed, holding her back against the wall.

"You did." Belle replied. Gold gasped and backed away from her. "You said you were afraid you were going to lose me – just like you lost Bae." Belle said. Gold moved away from her and began to pace, looking down at the ground. "I was in the west wing. I saw his room." Gold turned around and moved back toward her.

"You what? You were told NEVER to go in there!" he screamed.

"The light was on, the door was open, and you were passed out drunk and I just wanted to turn off the lights!" Belle screamed back at him. A pained look came over Gold's face; he turned and moved away from her. Gold sat down on the sofa, put his face in his hands, and softly began to sob. Belle watched him for several minutes. She took a deep breath, and then went to sit next to him. She reached out her hand and put it on his leg.

"You lost your son, didn't you?" she asked in a whisper of a voice. Gold nodded.

"My Bae. My beautiful boy." Gold whimpered, and he sat up and looked at Belle, tears streaming down his face. Belle reached her arms out to him and he melted into her arms as he continued to sob. Belle held him close and soothingly ran her fingers through his hair.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Belle asked. Gold sniffled a bit, and tried his best to pull himself together as he sat up to look at her.

"I didn't protect him. I protected everyone else – but I didn't protect him." Gold said. "And now he's gone. Belle simply looked at him with nothing but love and empathy across her face. "And now I didn't protect you. I failed, Belle. I failed." He began to sob again, and she pulled him into another hug.

"What do you mean? I'm here; I'm fine." Belle said.

"No. You don't understand." Gold said, pulling away from her. "You've been compromised. And it's my fault. I let my feelings for you get the better of me. I let them distract me. And you're no longer safe here."

"You do love me then?" Belle asked. Gold reached out and touched her cheek.

"Yes. I love you. And that's why you must go." Gold said. "I thought if you were angry at me – it would be easier."

"For whom? Not for me. Obviously not for you." Belle said. "You're drunk again, aren't you?"

"Yeah." Gold replied.

"Well you're not slurring your words that much yet; let's try and get you sobered up, okay?" Belle asked. Gold nodded in agreement. "Come on – let's get you to your room, you'll be more comfortable there than in this mess." Gold and Belle both stood up and Belle put her arm around him. He wasn't staggering this time, but she could tell that he was feeling the effects of the whiskey just the same. They reached the bedroom and approached his bed, and sat down on the edge of it.

"I'm going to go downstairs and get you some water and something to settle your stomach so that you don't get sick. Do you think you can manage getting dressed for bed while I do that?" Belle asked.

"Why? Was I unable to do that last time?" Gold asked. Belle smirked at him.

"You couldn't even sit up on the bed without me holding you up." Belle told him.

"Well I'm drunk but not that far gone this time." Gold said. "Might even remember tonight's events."

"I hope so. I'll be back." Belle said, and she left the room. When she came back upstairs, Gold was sitting on the edge of his bed, dressed in his pajamas, his forehead resting in his hands. "Here." Belle said, offering him a bottle of water. "This will help dilute the alcohol, your headache won't be as bad tomorrow."

"Thank you." Gold said, and he drank the water.

"I've got some pepto for you as well – do you feel sick at all?" Belle asked.

"No. Not yet." Gold replied.

"Well this should settle your stomach, might even help avoid that happening." Belle said, and she gave him a dose of the pink medicine, which he took without argument.

"Did you try to get me to take this that night?" Gold asked.

"Well I got you to drink a bit of water before you passed out but not much. And it was a bit too late for the medicine by the time I came up here." Belle said. She stood up and pulled the covers back on his bed. "Come on – lie down." Belle said. Gold lay back in the bed.

"Stay with me?" he asked, squeezing her hand.

"Okay." Belle said. "But you better remember in the morning that you asked me to."

"You'll just have to remind me if I don't." Gold said. Belle climbed into bed with him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I spent the night with you that night." Belle said. Gold started to sit up a bit.

"I thought you said that we didn't -"

"Not like that. I just – slept in the bed with you, you had already passed out. I just wanted to make sure that you didn't get sick, and I couldn't very well do that from the basement. You, um – you rolled on top of me in your sleep. You were drooling on my shirt when I woke up." Belle said.

"Well I'll try not to do that tonight." Gold said. He reached around and put his arm around her, then sighed. "I'm not used to this – phase of things."

"What phase?" Belle asked.

"The point in the evening where I'm drunk enough to feel drunk but not – numb. I usually try to get past that pretty quick." Gold said.

"Is that why you drink? To be numb? To forget?" Belle asked.

"That – and to – not have to deal with things that I'm too cowardly to deal with. Like beautiful girls doing nice things for me or kissing me or – telling me they love me." Gold said.

"Is it so bad to deal with, now?" Belle asked.

"I'm still afraid." Gold admitted. "Because you have to leave. You're not safe here anymore."

"Come with me then." Belle said.

"I can't do that." Gold told her.

"Why not?" Belle asked.

"Belle, please – let's not do this right now, alright? Let's just – enjoy the moment. However many of them we have." Gold said. He sighed and moaned a bit.

"You're getting tired, aren't you?" Belle asked.

"Mmmm." Gold mumbled. Belle sat up.

"Come on – let's get you on your side before you fall asleep."

"I'll be fine." Gold mumbled.

"I don't want you getting sick lying on your back. On your side, Ian, please." Belle said. Gold grumbled as he rolled onto his side.

"Are you always going to be ordering me about now?" Gold asked.

"When I need to, yes." Belle replied, and she lay back down next to him. Belle began to run her fingers through his hair.

"That's nice. I like that." Gold said, and he snuggled up close to her. "I'll try not to drool on you tonight, I promise."

"It's okay. You promise me you're going to remember this, right?" Belle asked.

"I'll remember. I promise." Gold said. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Belle awoke the next morning with Gold snuggled next to her. Belle looked over at the clock – it was almost nine in the morning. Belle began to run her fingers through his hair, and Gold stirred, moaning a bit. "Ian." Belle whispered.

"Hmmm?" Gold responded softly.

"Are you alright?" Belle asked.

"My head hurts." Gold mumbled, and he moved closer to her, resting his head on her shoulder and clinging to her tightly. Belle reached down and kissed his forehead softly. "Do you think you can make me some of that lovely magic potion you gave me the other time?"

"I can do that." Belle said. "You're going to have to let go of me though so I can get up."

"I don't want to." Gold whined.

"Well, you can either let me go and I'll bring you the drink so that you'll feel better, or you can just lie here in my arms and suffer." Belle said.

"Lying in your arms is not suffering, dear." Gold said. Belle smiled.

"You remember what happened last night then." Belle said.

"Mostly." Gold said. "Some of it's fuzzy but – I think that's from the headache. I know what we said to one another."

"I'll go make you that drink and get you some water. My arms will gladly take you back once you've had that." Belle said. Gold grumbled as he pulled away from her. Belle got up and left the room, then came back upstairs with her hangover remedy and a bottle of water. Gold had begun to doze off again while Belle was out of the room. Belle climbed back onto the bed with him and ran her hand across his cheek. "Ian. Let's get you sitting up a bit, alright?" Belle helped him sit up and offered him the drink. Gold took the drink from her and sat back against the headboard. He drank about half of the glass, then turned to look at Belle.

"How do you do that?" Gold asked.

"Do what?" Belle asked.

"Look so beautiful in the morning. I'm sure I don't look anywhere near as good." Gold said.

"Well, for one thing, I wasn't drunk last night, so that really isn't a fair comparison. And second of all, I don't think you look that bad. You certainly don't look as bad as you did last time." Belle said. Gold quietly drank the rest of the glass. "You were planning on getting that drunk again last night, weren't you?"

"Probably." Gold said.

"You have to stop this, Ian. This has to be the last time. Promise me. No more drinking." Belle said.

"I don't know if I can do that, Belle." Gold said.

"Yes you can." Belle said. "You don't need that. You have me now."

"For how long?" Gold asked.

"Forever." Belle said quietly. She kissed him softly on the lips, and he kissed her back.

"Can your arms take me back now? Please?" Gold asked.

"Drink some water first." Gold drank about half of the bottle of water, then put it aside and snuggled back into Belle's arms, sighing with content. "Do you want to go back to sleep for a bit?" Belle asked.

"No. I just want to be with you. My Belle." Gold whispered. He moved his head up a bit until his lips met hers, and he began to kiss her. He reached up and ran his fingers through her hair, and he looked at her and smiled after he pulled his lips away from hers. "You're just so beautiful." Belle smiled back at him, and he snuggled back into her arms quietly.

"We should probably get something to eat. Are you hungry? Is your stomach upset at all?" Belle asked.

"It's fine." Gold said. "I'm not that hungry though. And you don't have to cook for me anymore."

"Why not?" Belle asked.

"Well I did fire you." Gold said. "I don't recall hiring you back last night, either."

"Well I wouldn't want to work for you anymore anyway, you're a horrible boss. Mean, always yelling, and you have these ridiculous routines. Why are you like that, anyway?" Belle asked.

"It was – Mrs. Potts' idea. The routine. It helped me to – cope with things." Gold said.

"When all of this is over, we need to work on getting you back into the world, okay? You're not living, you're existing. I want you to live. Will you try, Ian? I'll be with you, and we'll do this together, okay?" Gold nodded.

"Okay." he replied. He sighed and closed his eyes, and they held one another quietly for some time. After a bit of time had passed, Gold nuzzled Belle and opened his eyes again. "What time is it?" he asked. Belle glanced over at the clock.

"A little past ten." Belle said. "You want to get up now?" Gold quickly sat upright.

"Ten? Oh bloody hell." he said, running his fingers through his hair. "Miss Swan is supposed to meet me at ten."

"I didn't hear the doorbell, she's probably not here yet." Belle said.

"You don't understand, when we have meetings Miss Swan doesn't use the -"

"Gold! I swear if you're passed out from another bender I'm dragging your ass into the shower and turning ice cold water on you!" Emma screamed, her voice getting closer to the bedroom as Gold sat up in bed. "I am not going through this crap with you again and – really?" Emma said, and she stared in shock at Belle sitting up in bed next to Gold, who was sitting up on the edge by the time she got to the room.

"Hi." Belle said quietly.

"You said you were handling this." Emma said.

"I did." Gold said.

"Maybe I wasn't clear enough on the definition of HANDLING." Emma said.

"Miss Swan – I apologize for my tardiness, please go wait for me in the other room." Gold said. Emma just glowered at him angrily. "Now – would a good time for you to go there." Emma skulked out of the room angrily. Belle sat up next to Gold and took his hand.

"You sure you don't want something to eat?" she asked.

"In a bit." Gold replied. "Maybe lunch."

"Do you want your usual meal for today?" Belle asked.

"Yeah." Gold said quietly. Belle kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll bring it up to your study then." Belle said.

"Thank you." he replied.

"I know you're busy – we'll talk more tonight." Belle told him. Gold just nodded. Belle left the room without saying another word.

Gold got up and took a quick showered and dressed, then went into the study, where Emma was waiting. She was sitting on the sofa, holding the chipped cup in her hands. "Looks like this is the only thing you didn't finish off." Emma said.

"Put that down." Gold said, gritting his teeth. Emma set the cup back down on the table.

"You want to explain what the hell you were doing in there?" Emma asked.

"Not particularly." Gold replied. "We have work to do, Miss Swan."

"Did you tell her?" Emma asked.

"Yes." Gold replied, and he sat down next to Emma. "How much longer will she be here?"

"I've got some feelers out there right now. Maybe a few more days; a week at most." Gold remained quiet. "I called Gwen." Gold looked up at her and sighed.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because you're gonna need her after Belle is gone." Emma said.

"I've been her problem long enough." Gold said. "She should be enjoying her retirement, not worrying about the likes of me."

"Well you can tell her that when she gets here." Emma said. Gold glared at Emma angrily.

"You should have minded your own business." Gold said.

"Well excuse me for giving a crap about you. That woman should be canonized a saint after all she's had to put up with, and she'd have been mad as hell if I didn't let her know what was going on." Emma said. "Are you up for getting some work done or are you too hung over to even try?"

"I'm fine." Gold said. "Let's do this." Emma and Gold both got up and went through the hidden door together.

That evening at 6:30 p.m., Belle entered the study. Gold was sitting on the sofa, his elbows on his knees and his face buried in his hands. Belle sat down next to him. "Your dinner's ready." Belle said, and she touched him on the shoulder. "You want me to bring it up here?" Gold looked up at her and nodded. "Okay." Belle whispered, and she left the room, then came back with his dinner and set it on the coffee table. Gold sat up and sighed, and began to pick at his food, eating a bit but very hesitantly. "I was supposed to clean in here today but I didn't want to bother you. I'll have time tomorrow."

"You don't have to clean for me anymore. Didn't I fire you?" Gold asked.

"Well, I'm still cooking for you, I might as well clean, at least it's something to do." Belle said. Gold continued to pick at his dinner. "You work with Emma, don't you?" she asked. Gold nodded. "With the FBI?" Gold shook his head.

"Emma's not a fed. We just told you that – thought it would be less – overwhelming." Gold said.

"What is she then?" Belle asked.

"CIA." Gold whispered.

"You work for the CIA?" Belle asked. Gold nodded.

"And MI6. And several other international agencies that no one has ever heard of except for people who work for them."

"So you're what, like – James Bond then?" Belle asked.

"I'm afraid I don't see as much excitement as he does – at least not anymore." Gold said. He set his plate down on the coffee table, having eaten as much as he intended to.

"Something wrong with your dinner?" Belle asked.

"Just not particularly hungry today." he replied. Gold looked up at her. "You don't seem all that surprised by what I just told you."

"Well I knew it had to be something like that. I kind of figured that one out by the end of my first week here, I just didn't say anything." Belle said. Gold chuckled a bit.

"You should be working for the bloody CIA, you're smarter than half of the dimwits I've had to contend with over the years." Gold said.

"So if you're stuck here in this house, and you work from here – where is all your spy gear? I mean – you don't even have a computer. Or a push-button phone, for god's sake." Belle said. Gold looked back at the wall with the hidden door.

"Back there." he said.

"That's a wall, Ian. You're not drinking again, are you?" Belle asked. Gold stood up and ambled over to the wall, then pushed it in.

"Come here." Gold said, and Belle's eyes widened as she followed him into the hidden room.

"Oh my god." Belle said as she looked around. The room was filled with computers and other gadgetry too numerous to count. "So those days that you were shut up here working you were -"

"I do surveillance – on a national and international level. I speak seven languages fluently – French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish and Japanese. I have a higher security clearance than some heads of state." Gold said. "The woman you saw, Regina Mills – the syndicate she works for isn't some little mob operation centered here in the states. It's a whole international criminal consortium. I've been closing in on discovering their leadership for some time now, but it's just never come to fruition. They're always two steps ahead of me somehow. It's like they know my every move, and I can't figure out why. It's driving me mad. And to top it all off – there was a plant, a snitch right under my nose. And I didn't figure it out – because I was distracted by a pretty girl with blue eyes, a curious nature, and an accent that I won't soon forget." Gold turned to leave the room, and Belle followed him. He closed the hidden door after they both entered the study. Gold sat back down on the sofa, and Belle joined him. She put her hand on his leg.

"You look tired." Belle said. Gold nodded in agreement with her statement. "Why don't you, um – go get yourself ready for bed? I'll take your plate down and clean up, then I'll change for bed and – I'll come back upstairs. If – if that's alright with you."

"That's probably best. For your safety." Gold said. "You still have that phone that Miss Swan gave you, right?"

"Yes." Belle said.

"Bring that up as well. You need to have that on you at all times, and keep it charged." Gold said. "If you need to reach her urgently, it'll be important."

"Okay." Belle said. She took his dinner plate and went downstairs. She got herself ready for bed; she found the phone that Emma gave her sitting on a nightstand and she picked it up and carried it upstairs with her. Gold was lying in his bed, wearing his pajamas, when Belle arrived. He was staring up at the ceiling, wide awake. Belle climbed into bed with him, setting her phone down on the nightstand.

"There's a plug on the wall there; make sure it's charging." Gold said, and Belle did as he asked. "There's also a pistol in the nightstand. In case it becomes necessary for you to have it."

"Am I safe here, Ian?" Belle asked, and she snuggled up to him. He wrapped his arms around her.

"There is extra security surrounding the estate; they're very discreet, you wouldn't even know they're there." Gold said. "They'll remain until another safe haven is found for you. But I don't want to take any chances; I want you to be prepared for anything."

"How much more can you tell me? About yourself, your work?" Belle asked.

"Some. Not all. Not because I don't want to, but – for your safety, you understand that, right?" Gold said. Belle nodded. "Can we maybe have that conversation tomorrow? I'm – tired."

"You were a bit restless last night." Belle said.

"I haven't slept well all week." Gold said.

"Keeping things bottled up inside will do that to you." Belle said. Gold kissed her on the forehead and sighed.

"This was supposed to be a simple witness protection situation. All I was supposed to do was keep an eye out for some little librarian who needed to be kept safe, I figured I could handle that much, how much trouble could a mousy little girl be? It's not like I planned to forge a friendship or any relationship. I assumed if I was enough of a bastard she would simply do as she was told and leave me alone." Gold said.

"I think I mentioned before what happens when you assume." Belle teased.

"Indeed you did." Gold said. Belle sat up a bit and gave him several soft kisses on the lips, which he returned. Belle then laid her head back on the pillow, and Gold rolled onto his side, resting his head on her shoulder. Belle put her arms around him.

"You have my arms back again." Belle said.

"Can I have them all night please?" Gold asked.

"Of course you can. Get some sleep, alright?" Belle said.

"I think – I think I'll sleep quite well tonight." Gold said. He closed his eyes and sighed contentedly, and fell into a deep sleep while Belle held him in her arms, never once letting go.