Author's note 1:Warning! an assault occurs, nothing happens, and it's not graphic, however, the warning is here.

Also! You'll notice that Gold refers to himself as 'Gold', as it's such a habit for him. Again, the references to names are all purposeful :)

Chapter 26 Out of the Frying Pan

Gold had taken Neal to the movies that afternoon. Gold had never liked the cinema. Actually, he could count on one hand how many times he had stepped foot in there, and two of those times was to show the building to the people who leased it and then again to give them the contract. As soon as he entered the building, he remembered why he never frequented the place. They were noisy, smelled like overcooked popcorn, and had kids running here and there with questionable supervision. He was bumped more than once, though his glare had sent the children running. He smirked at his success until Neal looked over at him with a less than satisfactory glance. That sobered him enough to try to at least look pleasant. The looks from the adults were more severe than normal, and he heard his name mentioned more than once-he even thought he heard 'the little French girl' from someone's mouth. He turned around sharply in the popcorn line at that and tried to ascertain who had dared mention his Belle in such derogatory tones. He had no idea what the other words were, but it being put anywhere near his own name couldn't be good. The entire line behind him fell silent and all eyes went down, so he couldn't figure it out. He noted a handful of his tenants in the line and glared at each one when their eyes finally started to rise, daring them to continue spewing any filth they were doing before.

He knew he was snapping at the young man at the register, but he was peeved. The whole movie was a blur of cringy superhero antics where the good guy did twelve different stupid things and still saved the day and got the girl. What a joke. Neal seemed into it, that was why he was there-it certainly wasn't for the less than comfortable chairs with bits of popcorn on the floors from the last showing of the movie. He would need a shower when he got back. His leg throbbed, and he snarled at anyone who dared go to the bathroom in the middle of the show and made him pull his leg in. It was for Neal, he repeated to himself again when the movie was over and he had to limp down each step. He had refused to sit in the chairs positioned for the handicapped, so part of this was his fault, but who wants to sit beside the crippled guy in the middle of the theater? He allowed Neal to lead the way, and of course, he wanted to be towards the top with the best view of the screen.

'Do you want ice cream after this or anything?' He made himself smile at Neal after he had winced trying to get back behind the steering wheel.

'Popcorn, coke and now ice cream? Don't you think we had better pick up something more substantial?' He grinned. 'If only all those people giving us those horrible stares at the movies knew that I was the serious and responsible one.'

Gold chuckled in response. 'Oh how right you are. Pick up something from the diner then? Or were you thinking something like steak and green beans as the responsible youth you are?'

'The diner.' He said haltingly, yet his eyes still were laughing.

'I'm sorry about the stares, Neal-you don't deserve to be treated that way.'

'And you do? Although maybe you do a little. Why do you have to glare at everybody?'

That stung a little. 'I heard Belle's name among their whispers. I don't know what they were saying, but I don't like it.'

'Oh…' He said as if now the glares made sense.

The rest of the drive was silent. When they got to the Victorian, Dove's vehicle was just leaving.

'What on earth? Ahhh, Belle.' Belle entered the house before they made it into the driveway.

'Does this mean her dad was unreasonable?' Neal muttered, he looked over at Gold in concern.

'That's what I mean to find out.' Gold bellowed as he limped as quickly as he could out of the car, slamming the door behind him. He assumed Neal was following him, but he could only focus on one thing at the moment.

'Belle?' He called as soon as he entered the Victorian. Belle hadn't reached the stairs yet, thankfully heard him and turned to walk towards him. As soon as she did, he could see that her eyes were puffy and her face was splotchy from past tears. It was in the past, as her eyes were presently dry, her lips pulled back in a thin line, as if focusing all her attention on keeping her eyes dry.

'Hey, I hope you don't mind that I came back early.' Her voice only wavered a moment, the rest was quiet and reserved.

'Of course, I told you it was fine-you, you are welcome anytime. Neal and I just got back from the diner, have you eaten anything for lunch?' food. That was something good to focus on, better than focusing on the way she looked like that the slightest thing might cause her to break down.

'Oh, um, no, you know, I don't think I've eaten anything since last night.' She tried to smile.

'Come then, you can share with me, I am still fairly full of movie popcorn anyway.'

'You went to the movies?' She tilted her head, and looked confused, which was far and away an improvement that he decided to lean into it, hoping beyond hope that he would coax a smile before having to hear whatever difficult conversation would be had-for something had happened, and he desperately hoped she would allow him to share in her burden.

'Does that seem so far-fetched, you think?' giving a smirk and leaning casually on his cane.

There it was. It was weak for a Belle smile, but it was there nonetheless.

'Normally I would say yes, but I think at this point you would do just about anything for Neal.' She smiled, but the words she spoke seemed to steal it away and she became wistful instead.

They went into the kitchen where Neal had set down the two bags. He looked at Belle and then at him, his eyes showed that the cogs in his brain were running at full speed.

'Hey, do you mind if I take my lunch upstairs? I'll be carefull, I promise.' Gold saw it for what it was. Giving him a chance to speak to Belle alone. He smiled.

'That will be fine, just be sure and throw away the trash when you're done.' Before Neal left, Gold mouthed a 'thank you' and Neal smiled and left them.

'Are you sure you don't mind sharing? I can make myself a sandwich or something.'

'Nonsense, there is more than enough here.' Gold pulled out a couple of plates and set to halving everything.

'Do you-' For a moment he thought his nerve would fizzle out. Emotions, personal issues, comfort. He was no good at any of these things. However, if Belle's red rimmed eyes were any indication of her inward emotions, then he needed to get rid of the cowardice that had plagued him for far longer than he cared to remember and be brave, for Belle. 'Do you want to talk about it?' He released a breath. However she took it, whatever she said, he had at least asked. And he would be there for her, no matter how little comfort he could manage to provide. She deserved more than he could give, but he would give all that he had.

She quietly nodded her head, sighing. 'I suppose I had better, some of it involves you anyway.'

After hearing her father's loud outburst only a few days ago, he tensed, willing himself not to just immediately go off and take one good swing at the man with his cane. Probably not something Belle would appreciate.

'I just don't know what to do anymore.' She ran her hands over her face, he didn't quite know what to do with himself. She breathed in heavily.

'Daddy was in a bad state when I went over this morning…' And with that she told him of her father's night of heavy drinking and gambling. Of finding the cash box empty, worrying that her father wouldn't be able to pay important bills, that it would take weeks to try to catch up, after finally feeling like they were doing alright with money.

'And he believed such horrid things about me-and about you too. Apparently he heard some rumors in town and instead of realizing I wouldn't do any of the things they were saying, believed them outright because he had seen me going with you and Neal.'

She shook her head, and a tear escaped her attempted steeled gaze. It looked like she didn't want to cry any more, but her father's unbelief in his own daughter's good character had broken her more than him using money from the business to supply his gambling habit. He squeezed his fingers tighter as they balled into fists. He could feel his nails dig into his own skin, but he hardly let it register, as his only focus was not to punch a hole into one of the walls to ease his frustration.

'I'm sorry, Belle.' He said in an almost whisper. Guilt gnawed at his heart. Had he not told Neal of his reputation? Was he not aware of the whispers that followed him wherever he went? What did he think was going to happen when he asked Belle to join him? Well, he didn't think they would think that about him,that he would stoop to such barbaric behavior, he supposed. He assumed they would feel sorry for her. That he would be the dark soul, forcing a beautiful lady to work for the town monster to pay off her father's debts. Who could know Belle a fraction of a minute and think that she would be capable of the things Belle said her father believed.

'No reason for you to be sorry.' She took another heavy breath. 'Now to figure out what to do now. I wish there was something I could do, but it seems that anything that I have done, has made no impact. You won't, you won't throw him out yet, will you-for the smoking?'

'I'll make you a deal.'

She stiffened and squared her shoulders. No doubt ready for the Mr. Gold, overbearing landlord to drag more months of her life out of her. Neal was wrong, surely, he had no chance with her, if she believed he would do it to her.

'Don't tell any of my other tenants and I'll let it go this one time.' He attempted a smile, and thankfully she echoed one back to him. They both let out breaths they didn't know they were holding on to.

'And I don't think this is your battle to fight, Belle. You've taken so much of his burdens on yourself, perhaps it's time to allow him to feel the brunt of his own mistakes.'

Belle's lip quivered and he wanted to kick himself for being the cause of it. He knew he could say nothing right.

'I know you're right. I do. I don't even know if I know how to let him fight his own battles.' She had been looking down at her plate, a fry or two was pushed around the plate before she looked up at him, her face softer and a sad sort of smile played at her lips.

'Thank you for listening to me. I'm sorry to have complained so much to you.'

'Any time, Belle. Anytime you need a friendly ear, I'm here.' And I love you, and wish I could be the arms that you let hold you any time you need them. She smiled a little brighter after that and at first , in a bit of panic, he worried his thoughts had been spoken out loud, but then he remembered that he had spoken the first little bit. She squeezed his hand and he realized that he should be squeezing her hand. He took his bony thumb and ran it up and down the tiny hand in his. She did not pull her hand away and her eyes went glassy, so he supposed he was doing alright.

…

Belle was exhausted, and not in the same sense that she normally was on Saturdays. The headache that had begun at her father's house was pounding at this point. She had tried to take a nap, but found that her brain was too full to allow her to sleep. She tried reading, but found that she had the same problem. Neal had asked her if she wanted to play a game with him and Alex, but even Uno couldn't take the thoughts away. She knew she was not good company, so she finally let them play by themselves, and went out to her garden.

The summer sun was finally lowering and scattering pinks and purples closing the horrible day in such beauty. The garden was a soothing distraction. She listened to the bugs humming their summer song, picked some lavender and held it under her nose to soak in the relaxing scent, as it mixed with all the other green ,earthy smells that came from the more woodsy area behind the Victorian.

A motor sound startled her out of her relaxing reverie. A sports car pulled erratically into the driveway, completely missing the cement path and running off into the grass before suddenly stopping. The door opened and Belle's blood froze in her veins.

Tony.

He swayed on his feet as he slammed the car door behind him. Belle could not get her body and her mind to do things in unison, making her retreat towards the house much slower than needed. She also wanted to keep a glance towards the drunken oaf to make sure there was still space between them. His eyes were dark, his face looked angry, she was scared.

'Beauty.'

She shivered. She hated that nickname. Somehow, a name that should be somewhat of a compliment, sounded like someone calling a dog instead.

She turned around, her brain screaming to get inside the house, and her feet were finally waking up to listen. Before she reached the side door, however, she felt a firm grip on her arm and the smell of whiskey met her nose as she was jerked around to face the towering man.

'Na, uh, uh. You've gotten away from me one too many times.' His words were slurred, his face still dark and menacing. She needed to get away!

His grip tightened on her as she tried to pull free.

'Mr. Gold!' She screamed with all her might, though doubting very much that he would hear her, and even in her terrified state, she wouldn't use the dearest name to her soul, Tony didn't deserve to know that he was Alex to her. A large, smelly, disgusting hand went over mouth and she had never been so scared in her life.

…

'I won again!' Neal smirked, but Gold was well aware that Neal was aware that his mind was not there, it was on the person that was presently outside near her garden. His mind had gone around fifty different paths to try and figure out what to do for Belle that would also not bail out her lousy excuse for a father. It was really hard to play card games and think. Thankfully, Neal seemed to understand and eventually acted like he would rather go up and play video games. Gold momentarily felt bad that he was wasting precious time with his son, and they had been making such great strides too!

'How did you hurt your leg?' The question had come a few minutes before, as he had saddled Neal with a draw 4 card, and he stiffened at the frankness of it. It was another question that very few people had ever known, and again-those people were dead. Having knowledge of others' personal information had always given him the edge over them-power. He didn't like granting that to others. However, he was once again faced with giving a frank answer if he wanted to hold to his promise of being honest with his son.

'I-uh, fell out of a tree when I was about six. Pretty high branch for a six year old, I must admit.' He said with a sly smile. 'But it turns out that six year olds probably ought not to climb tall trees, no matter if their older brothers dare them to or not. I said once before that my father considered me a runt.' Neal nodded as he put down a reverse card and declared Uno once more.

'It was a bad, bad break, but my father considered himself a jack of all trades, especially if he thought it saved him money. Why take the runt to the hospital where he would have to pay a considerable sum, when he could just patch it up himself.'

Neal scrunched his face in sympathetic pain as he heard the story. 'Ouch'

'Yes, ouch, indeed. It never healed correctly, and I became Hobblefoot on occasion instead only of Reggie the runt. Once I obtained enough money that I could afford surgery, the doctor told me that it would not only have to be rebroken, which I had assumed, but that there was very little chance that I would come out without still needing a cane. I figured that I would save myself the extra pain and deal with the pain I already knew.'

Gold shrugged as Neal laid down his last card, again…and gave Gold a look.

'Y'know, you and Belle had the worst luck with fathers.'

'I'm sorry yours didn't win any awards either.' Gold didn't even want to look to see what reaction Neal would give.

'Eh, he's not so bad.' Neal laughed-probably at him, thinking he was fishing for a complement. He wasn't, but it made him happy to hear it anyway. 'Anyway, you and George look like Father of the Year compared to how you've described your dad and what I've seen of Belle's.' Neal shrugged. It was then that Neal noticed Gold look off towards the area that led out to the garden and did the gracious thing and bow out.

Again, Gold felt bad that he was missing out on time with his son, but he couldn't help but be drawn to Belle, wishing he could somehow make things better for her. He decided just to check on her, see if she needed anything. As he got closer to the side door he heard a male voice, he couldn't hear the words, just knew they sounded angry and slurred. He heard Belle scream his name. Fear pulsed in his chest and he hurriedly limped out the door.

In a moment, he took in what was in front of him. A large, muscular man held Belle by her arms with one hand, pinning her to the side of the house, the other hand he had placed over her mouth
Belle's eyes were wide with fear. No one should ever make her feel that way. The man was telling her disgusting things-angry that she had rejected him and given herself to the town monster. Gold gripped his cane tighter and lunged at the man, his cane ready to strike.

Author's Note 2: The idea for Tony coming and being a horrible person so Gold could give another 'cane of feels'was something I planned in the earliest stages of the story. I worried, after putting the problems Belle is facing at her father's right before it, that it would be too much drama in a row, but I had it in the plan, so I decided to let it stay.

If it does feel like to much, I'll just say in my defense, this story is a non-magic, 'real world', modern version of both Skin Deep, and a lot of other iconic Rumbelle moments in the show. The Keith situation with the tongue removal, and then cane of feels in the real world, was one such moment, and I created Tony to fill both Gaston and Keith roles.

Belle's life may get a bit worse before it gets better, but a HEA is sooooooo close for them!