Wow, thank you all so much! My first fanfic to hit 200 replies! REALLY hoping for 300 by the time this entire saga is over. Oh, and yeah - sorry for the angst and pain. :/

But I do thank you so much, all of my readers and all of you who follow and have favorited and commented on this fic. It is much appreciated.

Chapter 21

Emma rushed out of the car, her gun in her hand and pointed at the car that was speeding off. Gold struggled to hold Belle in his arms as her weight collapsed forward. He dropped his cane and they both fell to the ground in the middle of the street, Gold still keeping his arms wrapped tightly around Belle. The car made a sharp u-turn and then sped toward them. Gold saw the car coming toward them. He held onto Belle tightly and rolled her out of the way. The speeding car ran over his cane, which was still lying in the road. Emma fired several shots at the car as it sped away. Emma's phone began to ring and she took it out of her pocket and answered it. "Yeah – I don't know." Emma paused and looked over at Belle, who was lying on the ground, and Gold kneeling beside her. "Okay. Thanks." Emma hung up the phone, and she went to Belle's side. "Security already called an ambulance, they're on their way. How bad is she?" Emma asked.

"She's bleeding." Gold whispered, not taking his eyes off of Belle. He knelt at her side and held her hand.

"Well I know she's bleeding, she got shot." Emma said. "Hey – Belle. Can you hear me?" Emma asked, taking Belle's other hand. Belle's eyes were open but glazed over. Her face was extremely pale.

"It's cold. It's so cold." Belle said quietly. "Ian."

"She's going into shock, Gold take your jacket off and cover her." Emma demanded. Gold didn't move. "Take off your jacket, we need to keep her warm!" Emma screamed. Gold took off his jacket and placed it over Belle. "Belle – you gotta stay with us, okay? You're gonna be fine." Emma took off her own jacket and crumpled it up. She lifted Belle's head up and put it underneath as a pillow of sorts. Emma looked down and saw the pool of blood forming on the ground near Belle's right shoulder. "Looks like a shoulder hit, may have hit an artery, we need to stop the bleeding. Take off your tie." Without saying a word, Gold complied. Emma tied the tie around Belle's upper arm as a tourniquet. "There, that should at least slow it down." Emma looked at Belle again – her eyes were closed. "Belle. Belle!" Emma shouted, but there was no response. Emma checked her for a pulse and breathed a sigh of relief when she found one just as the ambulance arrived. Emma wasted no time when the paramedics emerged. "Gunshot to the right shoulder, I think the bullet is still lodged inside. Looks like an artery was hit, she's in shock, she's lost a lot of blood already." The paramedics quickly checked Belle's vitals and put her on a gurney. Still kneeling on the ground, Gold watched the entire scenario as if in a daze. The paramedics were about to take Belle away in the ambulance just as the police arrived. Emma showed them her ID badge. "I want to get to the hospital with her, we'll take care of the report there." Emma said.

Emma went to Gold's side – he was still kneeling on the ground next to where Belle had been. "Hey – you alright?" Emma asked. Gold didn't respond. "She's gonna be okay, I'm going to the hospital, you coming with me?" Emma asked. Gold still didn't say a word. Emma got up and went into the street. She picked up Gold's cane, which was surprisingly still intact, although it was badly scratched. "Come on, I can't leave you here." Emma offered Gold her hand to help him up. He took her hand mindlessly and followed her into the car, and he and Emma drove off.

Emma put her arm around Gold and led him into the hospital corridor. He hadn't said one word the entire ride there; he just stared silently out the window. Emma led him over to a waiting area. "Here – just sit down and wait here, I'm going to find out what's going on." Before she went over to the window she made a phone call. "Hey, you need to get back here, there's been an incident. Belle was shot. I don't know, this car came out of nowhere. Look, I don't have time to explain it, but Gold is with me at the hospital. No, he's – well, he's not hurt, but – he's – it's like he's just shut down, I don't know how to get through to him. We're at Portland General, it was the closest hospital. Alright – get here as soon as you can." Emma hung up the phone, and went to gather some information on Belle. Emma had her admitted under the name Lacey Woods in order to protect her identity. After about thirty minutes of talking to hospital personnel and the police, Emma went back into the waiting room. Gold was nowhere to be found. "Crap." Emma said to herself. She went up to someone in the waiting room. "Excuse me, did you see a man, early 50's, long graying hair, he walked with a cane, did you see where he went?" Emma asked the stranger, who just shook his head. Suddenly there was a loud commotion coming from the triage area of the ER. "Nevermind. I found him." Emma said, and she rushed through the doors.

"Where is she? Where's Belle?" Gold screamed. He grabbed a man in scrubs violently and threw him against the wall. "What have you done with her?" he screamed at the man.

"Stop it." Emma said, putting her hand on Gold's shoulder. "Let him go, he didn't do anything." Gold released the man just as a police officer came up behind him.

"This man needs to be arrested." a doctor said.

"No – he's – he's my father." Emma said. "Look, his girlfriend was hurt, he was just worried about her. He's on edge and he – I don't think he took his medication today. I can get him to calm down, I just – need somewhere to take him. Somewhere private and – quiet." The police officer ignored her. "I'm with the CIA – special ops." Emma took out her ID and showed it to the officer.

"If he causes another disturbance I'm arresting him." the policeman said.

"Fair enough." Emma replied. She looked at the doctor. "Is there somewhere I can take him?"

"There's a private waiting room down the hall." the doctor said, and Emma and Gold followed him, Emma keeping a tight grip on Gold's arm.

"Thank you." Emma said. "We're here for Lacey Woods, I checked her in at the desk. Have her doctor come and update us." The doctor left the room.

"Come on – sit down." Emma said, and she led Gold to a chair. He was a wreck in his appearance – his collar was still unbuttoned from taking off his tie, his suit jacket was unbuttoned and covered in dirt from rolling Belle out of the way of the oncoming car, as were his pants. His hair was a bit disheveled as well. "You okay?" Emma asked.

"No." Gold replied softly.

"Were you hurt? You need a doctor?" Emma asked. Gold shook his head no.

"Listen, you CANNOT go nuts like that here, because these people will take you up to the psych ward and put you in restraints. You need to calm down and STAY calm, alright?" Emma said. She sat down next to Gold and let out an exasperated sigh.

"What's happening with Belle?" Gold asked.

"I don't know. They'll tell us soon, I'm sure." Emma said. "Hey – she'll be alright."

"I told her about Bae. And she still loves me." Gold said, his voice trembling. "I can't lose her."

"You won't lose her. She'll be alright. Hey – when I get Henry home, and Belle is recovered, and Regina Mills and whoever the hell she's working for are finally behind bars, we'll all go out and celebrate, the four of us, and Gwen. Henry will like that. He'll be so excited that you can finally take him somewhere, he's always talking about wanting to do stuff with 'Grandpa Gold'." A doctor entered the waiting room.

"Hi – I'm Dr. Victor Whale – you're here with the girl who got shot. Lacey Woods, right?" Dr. Whale said as he entered. "Are you family?"

"Is she alright?" Gold asked, standing up.

"We finally got her stabilized. The bullet hit her brachial artery, she lost quite a bit of blood. We had to give her a few transfusions to get her stable again." Dr. Whale said.

"I, um – I'm type O if you need blood." Emma said.

"Thanks, we'd appreciate that." Dr. Whale said. "We're getting her prepped for surgery – the bullet shattered her shoulder blade, we've got our on-call ortho surgeon coming in. It's still lodged in her shoulder. He'll probably have to put a plate in to hold the fragments in place. There's also a possibility of nerve damage but we won't know until a few days into her recovery process. We need someone to sign off on her surgery. Is she your daughter?" he asked Gold.

"She's um – she's his girlfriend." Emma said. Dr. Whale looked at Gold, surprised. "She doesn't have any family, we'll – we'll take responsibility for her." Emma took the form and signed it. "Just take good care of her."

"We'll do our best." Dr. Whale said. "It might be several hours in case you want to get something to eat."

"Thanks." Emma replied, and Dr. Whale left the room. "See – she'll be fine." Emma said to Gold.

"We need to get her out of here." Gold said.

"Um – she's about to have surgery, we can't take her anywhere." Emma replied.

"We need to get her to Boston. It's safer there, we don't know these people." Gold said.

"I know. We'll see how soon after the surgery she can be moved. And don't worry about the staff here, I'll get the background and debriefing process started while we're waiting." Emma told him. "Come on – let's sit back down, you look like hell." Emma led him back to a seat and sat down next to him. "I talked to Gwen – she's on her way here."

"You didn't have to call her." Gold said.

"Well, I'm sorry but you were practically catatonic when we got here, then you went nuts and tried to kill someone, what the hell was I supposed to do?" Emma said. "I told them you were on meds and no one batted an eye, you probably should be." Emma grumbled under her breath. Gold glanced around the room.

"This room is too small, I don't like it here." he said. Emma sighed and took his hand.

"Listen to me. Belle needs you to keep it together right now, and it would sure as hell help me out a lot too." Emma said. "I know it's scary – I know you haven't been out here in all this time and Belle was trying to ease you back into things and this isn't exactly what anyone had in mind for your first outing in twenty years. But it's happening and you're gonna have to find a way to deal with it. Okay?" Gold remained quiet. Emma hesitated for a moment, then reached over and put her arm around Gold. "It's okay. I'm staying right here with you, everything will be alright." Gold put his head on Emma's shoulder and began to sob. "It's okay. Everything will be okay." Emma said, fighting back her own tears.

Over two hours later, Mrs. Potts entered the waiting room. Emma was busy working on her laptop, which Leroy had brought her from the house. Gold was sitting off by himself in a corner, not saying a word. "How is she?" Mrs. Potts asked.

"She's still in surgery. You got here fast." Emma said.

"Hitchhiked on a pedal jumper, had a pilot friend who owed me a ride." Mrs. Potts said. She looked over at Gold. "Has he been like that this whole time?"

"Off and on. He had a bit of a meltdown, they actually wanted to arrest him but I managed to fend them off and got him calmed down. I tried to get him to eat something but he refused." Emma said. Mrs. Potts went to Gold's side and sat down next to him.

"Come here, dear." Mrs. Potts said, opening her arms up to him. Gold moved close to her, and she hugged him tightly. "Oh, my poor boy. It'll be alright." Mrs. Potts said. "Emma said you haven't eaten."

"I'm not hungry." Gold whispered.

"You don't want Belle to think you're not taking care of yourself, do you?" Mrs. Potts asked. Gold shook his head no. Mrs. Potts looked up at Emma. "Can you please go to the cafeteria and get him a sandwich? Turkey, no mayo would be fine."

"Yeah." Emma said, and she got up and left.

"Emma sent me some emails while I was on the plane." Mrs. Potts said. "They're trying to identify the driver of the car from the security footage."

"Why is it taking them so long, Gwen? Something must have gone wrong with the surgery." Gold said worriedly.

"Ian, your first surgery on your leg took over five hours. I'm sure she's fine. She's a strong girl. She'd have to be to put up with you." Mrs. Potts said.

"She knows about Bae." Gold said. "I – I told her. And she still loves me."

"I didn't doubt that she would." Mrs. Potts said. "She's got a good heart, that one. Have you told her the rest?"

"No." Gold said. "I was going to tonight, but -"

"It's okay. You'll tell her eventually." Mrs. Potts said.

"Gwen, I – I froze. She got shot and I just – I shut down. Just like with Bae." Gold said. "I – it was like – things were happening around me and I just – couldn't react. It was like I was in a fog, just like before. If Emma hadn't been there what would have happened to her?"

"Emma said you saved Belle. Got her out of the way of that car." Mrs. Potts said.

"I'm not even sure I remember doing that." Gold said. "Gwen, I'm not ready for this."

"Ian – you have to be. That girl loves you. And she needs you right now. And you're going to do the right thing, and you're going to take care of her and be there for whatever she needs." Mrs. Potts said. "Because she has done and would do the same for you."

"Here." Emma said as she entered the room. She handed the sandwich she had retrieved to Gold.

"You'd best eat, dear. You need to take care of yourself. We need to get you a change of clothes, too." Mrs. Potts said.

"Leroy is bringing me some things, I gave him a list." Gold said.

"I'm going to go over some things with Emma. You just eat your dinner – I'm sure we'll hear something soon." Mrs. Potts said.

The three of them waited for nearly another hour until Dr. Whale came into the waiting room. Gold stood up immediately.

"How is she?" Gold asked.

"She's stable. We're a little concerned about her blood pressure, it's been running low, probably due to the blood loss. We think we have it under control but we have her on a heart monitor for the night just to be safe." Dr. Whale said. "She's in recovery – she's waking up from the surgery fine but we're keeping her on some pretty strong pain control tonight so that she can rest."

"Her arm is alright then?" Gold asked.

"It's still too soon to rule out nerve damage, but – everything seems to be fine. Is she right-handed?" Dr. Whale asked.

"Yeah." Gold replied.

"She won't be able to use that arm for several weeks, she'll probably have to have some occupational therapy to help her adjust to using her left hand, as well as physical therapy. But we'll worry about that later. If we can keep her stable and comfortable for the next few days, she should be just fine." Dr. Whale told them.

"Can I see her?" Gold asked.

"She's been asking for someone named Ian. Is that you?" Dr. Whale asked.

"It is." Gold replied.

"Well, it'll probably be a good thing for her then. She's pretty groggy right now, she might not be too talkative." Dr. Whale said.

"Well that'll be a first." Gold said, smiling a bit in relief.

"She should be settled in her room by now, I'll take you to her." Dr. Whale said. Gold turned and looked at Emma and Mrs. Potts.

"Go on dear – she needs you." Mrs. Potts said. Gold followed Dr. Whale out of the room.

Gold entered the room quietly. Belle was lying in the hospital bed; an IV stood hanging next to her bed, as did a heart monitor, which was beeping softly. Her right arm was in a sling and laying across her chest, and her shoulder was surrounded by pillows for comfort. Her eyes were closed; she looked pale and somehow thinner than usual. Gold approached her bedside nervously. He reached out and touched her cheek softly. "Belle." he whispered, fighting back tears. Gold bent over her and kissed her carefully on the lips. Belle's eyes fluttered open as he pulled away from her. She looked up at him and smiled weakly.

"Ian." she whispered.

"Shhh. You need to rest, sweetheart." Gold said quietly, taking her hand and squeezing it. "You're going to be alright."

"You're out of the house." Belle said softly. Gold smiled at her.

"I am." he agreed.

"They – they gave me some medicine, I -" Belle began, slurring her words.

"Yes, they gave you some pretty good stuff. I don't want you to fight it, I want you to sleep, love." Gold said.

"Please don't leave." Belle said, barely keeping her eyes open.

"I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart. I promise." Gold said. Belle sighed and drifted back off to sleep. Gold took a seat in the chair next to Belle's bed. He kept a tight grip on her hand as he leaned back and sighed. About ten minutes after he sat down, the door to Belle's room opened and Leroy stepped inside, carrying several bags, which he set down next to the chair Gold was sitting in.

"How is she, Mr. G?" Leroy asked in a whisper.

"They said she'll be fine. She just needs to rest." Gold said, still holding Belle's hand. "Did you bring everything?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure I should have gotten that for you, Mr. G. If Mrs. Potts finds out she's gonna be pissed." Leroy said.

"So let's not tell her." Gold said. "I just need something to take the edge off, that's all. Just till I can figure out how to deal with all of this."

"Well I still don't like it." Leroy said.

"I'm not paying you to like it." Gold said. "I'm having her moved to Boston as soon as she's able to be moved; you want to come along and do security? I'll pay all of your expenses and double your salary."

"Sure. Got nothing else to do here." Leroy said.

"Call Nolan – see if he's interested too. I trust the two of you more than any of the idiots that the agency will provide." Gold said.

"I'll check with him." Leroy said. "Let me know if you need anything else."

"Thank you, Leroy." Gold said. Leroy left the room. Gold reached out his hand and gently touched Belle's cheek as she slept. Belle sighed in her sleep as he did so. Gold then picked up one of the bags that Leroy had brought for him. He rummaged through it until he found a small bottle of liquor. Gold opened the bottle and took a long drink.

"What do you mean, she's not dead?" Regina asked angrily, pacing the room.

"You didn't tell me he'd be with her. I thought I could get him too." Jones said.

"Gold? He never leaves the house!" Regina shouted.

"Well, he left this time. I was just driving by to case the area, and there they were, standing by the yellow bug. I figured I could get him, too, but some other girl popped out of nowhere." Jones said.

"What are you talking about? The girl you shot – what did she look like?" Regina asked.

"Short, very pretty, dark hair. She was hugging him. You didn't say that he and this Emma Swan had a thing, he's old enough to be her father." Jones said.

"That wasn't her, you moron! Emma Swan is tall and blonde. I knew I shouldn't have trusted you, I knew you'd screw this up. And you had no business going after Gold – I want to handle him personally." Regina said.

"Miss Mills, I'm sure you realize by now that I was sent here to make sure things were going as planned. I was told to follow orders without question and I did that, it isn't my fault that your assignment lacked some important details. I thought this was part of the entire plan, but – apparently you have your own agenda, which I can assure you will not be appreciated." Jones said. "You walk around barking orders like you're the queen or something. Which I honestly don't mind at all – I find powerful women quite attractive, as you well know. But next time you want a job done – make sure you remember who's really in charge here. Your majesty."