A/N: It's BACK! I'm VERY sorry it's taken me so long to update this, I just couldn't get my muse to cooperate with this chapter, which is really a transitional chapter leading into the final phase of the story. Anyhow - I'm all recovered from my surgery and I'm back to writing this and now that I've made it past this hump I should be able to update more often. Thank you very much for your patience and enjoy!

I do not own 'Once Upon a Time.'

Chapter 28

"Surprise!" Several voices shouted as Gold and Belle entered the house. Waiting in the living room were Mrs. Potts, Ruby, Emma and Henry. Gold carefully removed the jacket that was wrapped around Belle's shoulder. Belle still had her right arm in a sling.

"Thank you." Belle said, smiling as she looked at everyone. Sitting on the coffee table was a cake that read 'Welcome Home, Belle'.

"Come on sweetheart, let's sit down." Gold said, and he led her to the sofa. Belle sat down and Gold deposited himself next to her.

"You didn't have to do this, really." Belle said.

"Oh, it was no trouble, dear." Mrs. Potts said. "We're just glad that you're well enough to be home now."

"Hi. I'm Henry." Henry said, sitting himself down on the other side of Belle.

"I figured that's who you were. I'm so glad to finally meet you, Henry. Ian talks about you all the time." Belle said.

"Grandpa Gold was right – you are really pretty." Henry said, and Belle blushed a bit as she looked up at Gold and smiled. "I got you something – my mom helped me go online and pick it out." Henry handed her a small package. "Grandpa Gold said you like books. So do I – I thought you might like this one." Henry said as Belle opened the package. She smiled as she looked at the book.

"Beauty and the Beast." Belle said. "Oh, I love this story. Thank you, Henry."

"I picked it cause your name is Belle. Just like the girl in the story." Henry said.

"Yeah, it had nothing to do with your taste in men." Emma joked, and Gold shot her a glare.

"Belle, are you gonna need me to stay around now that you're out of the hospital? I mean – I don't mind. I kind of like being out on my own, my granny can be really overbearing sometimes, she treats me like I'm a kid." Ruby said.

"Well, I'd love for you to stay of course – but that's up to you." Belle said.

"I guess I'll need to find a real job then here in Boston." Ruby said.

"Miss Lucas, if Belle wants you to stay in town, I can take care of your expenses." Gold said.

"Yeah – I'd feel kind of weird about that. I'll find a job." Ruby said.

"Well, how about we have some of this cake, then?" Mrs. Potts asked.

"Oh, that sounds wonderful! And thank you all so much. I wouldn't have been able to get through all of this without you." Belle said.

"We just want you to feel at home here." Mrs. Potts said.

"Oh, I do. But then – my home is wherever Ian is." Belle said. She turned and smiled at Ian, who noticed Emma rolling her eyes at the comment.

"Miss Swan, can I see you in private, please?" Gold asked. "I'll be right back, darling." Gold said to Belle. He gave Belle a kiss on the cheek and left the room, with Emma following behind. They went into the study together. "Please tell me you have an update for me on Jones's whereabouts." Gold said.

"Sorry – nothing." Emma said. "If you'll just let me go out there and do some snooping -"

"You're not leaving this house until Jones is found. He already tried to kill you once, I won't let it happen again." Gold said.

"I can't take this much longer, being all cooped up here – this isn't how I work. And if that's not bad enough, now I have sit and watch you and your girlfriend make googly eyes at each other." Emma said.

"Do you have a problem with Belle?" Gold asked.

"No – I like her. I just – don't get it. I mean, you guys don't – what do you even talk about with her?" Emma asked.

"Lots of things. At least what I'm able to." Gold said. "This is about him, isn't it? Henry's father."

"No." Emma said.

"You're lying." Gold said. "What I have with Belle – you wanted that with Henry's father. And you're angry that it didn't happen."

"You know what I'm angry at? This conversation. I don't need you to use your superspy skills to psychoanalyze me." Emma snapped.

"So I'm right then." Gold said.

"I already told you – I don't want anything to do with that Henry's father. You know what I want? I want this whole damn case over and done with so that I can take my son and get the hell out of here."

"Out of where? This house? Boston? Your job?" Gold asked.

"All of the above sound pretty good to me." Emma replied.

"First of all, if you think you can just quit the CIA with all of your knowledge and clearance you're kidding yourself. And second – what on earth would you do to support yourself?" Gold asked. Emma shrugged.

"I don't know. I could be a bounty hunter, I'd be good at that." Emma said.

"So you're seriously going to lie to the boy about his father for the rest of his life?" Gold asked.

"Have you told Belle the truth about Gwen?" Emma asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Gold said.

"Oh please – I know she's your mother." Emma said. Gold looked away. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"It's not safe to tell her that." Gold said.

"Just like it's not safe for me to tell Henry about his father." Emma said.

"It's not the same." Gold said.

"No, it's not. Gwen is a good person." Emma said.

"And he wasn't?" Gold asked.

"I thought he was. I was wrong." Emma said.

"You're never wrong about people Emma, you can read them better than anyone I've seen, including myself, and if you ever tell anyone I said that I'll deny it up and down. Maybe you were right about him. And maybe there was more to the whole big picture than you realized." Gold suggested.

"I don't know. I've been slipping lately with my instincts about people. For a minute I actually thought I could get through to Regina, how stupid was that?" Emma asked. "Henry still asks about her, you know. He knows what she did – well, some, not all of it – but he still cares about her. I don't know where he gets that from."

"Henry's a good lad. He has a good heart. I told you many times how much he reminds me of Bae. Bae was the same – with his mother. She did nothing to earn his love – but he was always willing to give it. And always willing to forgive. Whether that forgiveness was deserved or not." Gold told her.

"This is all your fault, you know that, right? You weren't supposed to get attached to the kid, Regina." Milah said as she paced the room.

"I'm not attached. I just don't see why we had to use an innocent child as leverage." Regina told her.

"You didn't seem to have a problem with it when I first presented the idea to you." Milah said. "But then you got sloppy. You actually started to form a relationship with the boy."

"Yeah, you really don't understand much about kids, do you? You never liked them much – not even your own." Regina said, sneering at her.

"Don't you dare bring up my son." Milah said. "You know, you've just made one mistake after another. This was supposed to be a simple trade off – the boy for the information I need. Then that idiot fed Humbert came into the picture and you had to get caught in the act of getting rid of him."

"I didn't know the girl was there." Regina told her.

"Like I said – sloppy. And instead of having Killian go after the girl, you tell him to target Emma Swan. Of course, the girl took the hit anyway but – unfortunately she survived. So now I have them gunning for Killian, you still have a witness that can ID you, and because of your soft spot for that stupid child, our only leverage is gone. You've become more trouble than you're worth, Regina." Milah said.

"What about your boyfriend? I told him to find a way in through that Ruby girl. I guess not every woman out there finds him as appealing as you do." Regina remarked. "Has that progressed any further?"

"You let me worry about Killian." Milah said. "Right now my concern is you. You have exactly seven days to figure out a way to get what I want."

"And if I don't?" Regina asked.

"Well – accidents do happen all the time." Milah said.

"You really think I didn't prepare for that? You need me more than you realize, Milah. If anything happens to me – I have arrangements made that will crumble this empire that you've built over the last two decades." Regina said.

"You're bluffing." Milah said.

"Am I? Is that a risk you really want to take?" Regina asked. "Besides – I'm not the only one that knows all of your secrets."

"I'm not worried about Killian." Milah said.

"I wasn't talking about Killian." Regina said. "I hold a lot more power over you than you realize. Don't forget that."

"And don't you forget what happens to people who cross me. Why don't ask our friend Mr. Smee about that?" Milah taunted.

Belle was sitting up in bed reading the book that Henry gave her when Gold entered the room, dressed in his pajamas. "Good book?" he asked. Belle set the book aside.

"It's always been one of my favorites." Belle replied. She snuggled up to Gold and he carefully took her in his arms and kissed her several times on the forehead and cheek.

"You've had a busy day, sweetheart. You should probably get some sleep. Miss Blanchard is coming over tomorrow to do some therapy with you." Gold said.

"I'm really not tired." Belle said. "Ian, are you ever going to – talk about that thing with me?"

"What thing?" Gold asked.

"Whatever it is that you say you need to tell me about Killian Jones that you keep putting off. It can't be any worse than what you've already told me, Ian. And I'm still here." Belle said. Gold was quiet. "I can always ask Gwen or Emma, I'm sure they know, and at this point I think they'd tell me."

"Emma doesn't know. Not this." Gold said.

"But Gwen does." Belle said. "Ian, please – tell me." Gold sighed, then began to tell the rest of his story.

"I went out a few times. After everything happened. Gwen wanted me to start getting out of the house. We went to Granny's – it was – it just didn't seem right being there without Bae. Gwen meant well – she was just trying to find a way to get me to let go, but – I wasn't ready. We didn't expect him to be there."

"Who?" Belle asked.

"Jones." Gold replied. "He was lurking around the place with his foul lot of hanger-ons. Gwen told me to ignore him, but – he wouldn't be ignored. He was being his usual obnoxious self – kept harassing me, and Gwen. Several people asked him to leave, but he wasn't listening. Gwen didn't want a scene so she asked Mrs. Lucas, Ruby's grandmother, to quietly call the police. I was barely holding it together at that point, and – I had ordered a steak. When my order came – the police hadn't arrived yet and he was still at it. So I took my steak knife and – I went after him. I fully intended to kill him, Belle. But I didn't. We did get into quite a scuffle, and – I cut his left hand. I cut it badly enough that – well, it couldn't be saved. It had to be amputated." Belle was quiet. "Belle, the only reason that I cut his hand up was because people were trying to hold me back and I couldn't reach his neck, because I would have preferred to slit the bastard's throat. The police arrested me. Mrs. Lucas' daughter and son-in-law – Ruby's parents – they stood up for me in court. They were in the restaurant the entire time, said that he was harassing me and it was self-defense - apparently I wasn't the only one who'd had enough of him terrorizing the town. I pleaded no contest and – I ended up plea bargaining. Jones and I were both ordered to stay away from one another, and I was put on probation. It wasn't self-defense, Belle. I wanted to hurt him, I wanted to KILL him. I still wish I had. Things would have been very different if I had – especially for Ruby."

"Ruby? What does Ruby have to do with anything?" Belle asked.

"She was just a little girl when all of this happened. Her parents were very kind to me. They didn't deserve what happened to them." Gold said.

"What happened?" Belle asked.

"Jones was always sketchy at best, I did plenty of background checks on him while Milah was carrying on with him, but somehow I missed something because – Ruby's parents, they were targeted. For helping to keep me out of prison. Jones must have had some criminal connections that I didn't know about. They were leaving Granny's diner one night – thankfully Ruby was staying with her grandmother – and – someone had – well, someone had done to them what I did to Milah. They were both killed instantly." Gold said. "It wasn't a shoddy, desperate job like I pulled off. It was a professional hit. They died because of me, Belle. Because they dared to stand up for me."

"It wasn't your fault, Ian." Belle said.

"Try telling that to Ruby's grandmother. She still blames me. And I understand that." Gold said. "After that I – well, I thought it would be best if I just – not go anywhere. Ever. And I didn't until you came along. And the minute I did -"

"Ian – please don't blame yourself for what happened to me." Belle said.

"But I do, Belle. Jones is the one who shot you." Gold said.

"I know." Belle whispered.

"How do you know that?"

"Emma told me." Belle replied.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Belle. I didn't want you to be afraid." Gold said.

"Ian, I witnessed a murder, I had to go into hiding, and I got shot. Why would you think that news would be any more frightening than anything else that's happened to me?" Belle asked. Gold kissed her softly on the lips.

"You are so brave, sweetheart. My brave Belle. I'll never understand what you see in a coward like me." Gold said.

"You're not a coward, Ian, I wish you would stop calling yourself that." Belle told him. "I mean, look at you, you're making so many positive changes in your life. You left Storybrooke, you're getting help – and I know you're going to stop Killian Jones and Regina Mills and whoever it is they're working for."

"You have far more faith in me than I deserve." Gold said, and he and Belle snuggled up together. "You're not mad then? About what I did to Jones?"

"Ian, you weren't in your right mind, it wasn't you." Belle said. "Is that why he's back?"

"I don't know. Less than a year after my incident with him, he got caught in some sort of criminal activity and he was deported – he's not even supposed to be in the country. And I can't imagine why he'd team up with Regina. Jones is an arrogant bastard, I can't fathom him being the type to take orders, especially from a woman." Gold said.

"Is it possible that he knows? About what you did and what you planned with that – what was his name?" Belle asked.

"William Smee. I paid Smee off well enough so that he'd keep his mouth shut, but – he was a shady type, so I'm not sure, really. Then again – if Mr. Smee talked it had to have been very early on – he disappeared quite some time ago." Gold told her. "Smee was always into some sort of trouble or another – my guess is he tangled with the wrong person one too many times. Listen, I don't want you to worry about any of this, alright? Our top priority is catching Jones, as well as Regina."

"You will. I believe in you, Ian." Belle told him. Gold moved his lips toward hers, and they kissed for several minutes.

"Gwen is leaving tomorrow for a few days, she has some leads to follow up on." Gold said after they stopped kissing. "Emma and will be quite busy tomorrow, we'll probably be holed up in the surveillance room all day trying to analyze and make sense of the data we have, so – after your therapy session tomorrow, perhaps you could spend some time with Henry? He's a very good lad, he won't be any trouble. He'd probably be happy if the two of you just sat in the room and read books all day."

"That'd be fine. I love kids – I used to run several of the children's programs at the library." Belle said. "You wish he really was your grandson, don't you?"

"Yeah. I do. Emma wants to take him away. After all of this is over – she wants to leave." Gold told her.

"And go where?" Belle asked.

"I don't know. She wants to quit the agency, I don't know what she's thinking of doing. I understand where she's coming from, she just wants to protect her son. I just don't want to lose her, or Henry. Aside from you and Gwen, they're – they're the only family I have." Gold said. "She just doesn't see it that way."

"I think she does. She just doesn't want to admit it, she's as stubborn as you." Belle said.

"She's afraid to let anyone in. Same as I was before you." Gold said. "We talked about him again today – about Henry's father. Maybe it's for the best that she won't tell me who he was, I'd likely track him down and strangle him with my bare hands."

The next morning, Belle was on the phone with Ruby. "Ruby, that's wonderful, I'm so happy for you!" Belle said into the phone.

"It's not the greatest job, I'm just waitressing again, but – at least it's something, right? You know, I really like it here in Boston, I'm actually kind of glad that your crazy boyfriend cornered me that day, I don't know if I'd have ever had the guts to leave Storybrooke if he hadn't." Ruby said as she walked to her car. "Yeah, I'll be over in a bit, I just need to make a couple of stops. Okay, see you then." Ruby hung up the phone and got in her car.

"That's her, is it? The girl that wouldn't give you the time of day?" Milah asked Killian. They were sitting in the parking lot in a car with tinted windows, watching her.

"Some women just have no taste." Jones said. "Not that it bothered me – I'm only interested in one woman, love." He reached over and kissed Milah on the lips.

"I think we just found our new leverage." Milah said.

"You know, she um – you know whose daughter she is, right?" Jones asked.

"Of course I do. Bailey used to play with her when she was just a little girl. Never much cared for her family anyway, a bunch of busybodies, especially her grandmother. I think that just – adds a nice little ironic twist to the situation. I'll make the arrangements for tonight." Milah told him.

"Is Regina in on this?" Jones asked.

"No, I've decided to keep Regina in the dark about this maneuver. She's becoming more trouble than she's worth, I'm afraid I may have to get rid of her." Milah said.