Emma took a look around the asylum that screamed fishy and really more like prison. Apparently, someone had broken in and helped a patient escape. She looked at the nurse in the white uniform.

"Do you remember anything about the man that gave you the coffee?"

"He was tall but things right before and after I woke up are pretty fuzzy. I couldn't pick him out on the street." Emma sighed. Well that meant they had no suspect. Regina, who for some reason had decided to make this her business glared.

"You'd better find the culprit but more importantly Miss Swan we need to find the escaped patient."

"Who exactly are we looking for and why was she in here?" asked Emma. "And more importantly Madam Mayor why are you so interested in involving yourself in the case?"

"I should be aware of any possible threat to the town. Lacey French is a delusional woman I want her back where she belongs for her own safety and that of the town's." said Regina setting of Emma's superpower. The woman was hiding something that was for sure.

"Well, I'll look into it and see what I can find."

"You might want to try Mr. Gold's house." said Regina. That stopped Emma in her tracks.

"Why would the escaped patient be at the pawnbroker's house?" she asked. "He's hardly the most welcoming man."

"Mr. Gold will do anything to manipulate anyone. Trust me Miss Swan he's involved."

"Sadly, Madam Mayor your word isn't enough for a warrant but I'll take the tip under advisement." Emma shook her head and walked away in wonderment. Suddenly a thought hit her.

Could Lacey French be the "her" from Gold's story? But he'd said he'd lost her. Emma pursed her lips. Gold had seemed quite genuine when he'd spoken to her. If Lacey was the woman and he did care for her like he said he did then it made it quite sketchy that Regina was so keen on getting the girl locked up again.

Of course it was also all conjecture. She needed more evidence before she did anything. Idly she wondered if the case were seriously going to lead to her investigating Gold's love life. That was a place she didn't want to go with a ten foot pole.

OUAT

She was running the nurses were closing in on her with their needles and drugs. They grasped at her dragging her down a dark corridor while a woman's laughter echoed. In the distance she saw a figure she couldn't make out but she fought to reach it some part of her thinking if she could she would be safe.

"NO! NO! STOP! LET ME GO!" she screamed.

"Lacey! Lacey!" Lacey sat up sharply gasping a hand was on her arm she looked over to see Robert in a burgundy dressing gown sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Deep breaths," he said gently.

"In and out. In and out." Lacey closed her eyes listening to the sound of his voice and tried to time her breathing with his. After a while her heart slowed back to a normal pace and she opened her eyes to see Robert staring at her with a very concerned expression.

"You're safe," he said very gently and Lacey realized that he was right she wasn't in the hospital she was in Robert's home and he had promised he wouldn't let anything happen to her. He continued to speak in his smooth voice.

"Nobody can hurt you now."

"I'm sorry," she finally whispered. She'd clearly woken him and it must be a terrible inconvenience with his leg.

"It's nothing," he responded waving away the apology. "You've been through a terrible ordeal. It's only natural to expect there to be some side effects."

"Still. You're already letting me stay. I don't want to be a bother."

"Lacey, believe me. You could never be a bother." he said softly. This only minimally reassured Lacey but she was too exhausted to argue. She bit her lip nervously scared to ask her next question but needing to all the same.

"Would you mind terribly staying here just until I get back to sleep?" she asked quietly. Robert looked surprised but shook his head.

"Of course not." Lacey lay back down closing her eyes her breathing starting to slow as Robert moved to sit in the chair by the bed. His presence alone made her feel safe and sooner than she expected she fell back asleep.

OUAT

Rumple was up and out of his bed as soon as he heard the screaming. He had grabbed his cane cursing his damn leg and hurried to Belle's room where she had been thrashing around. It was not an entirely unfamiliar sight. In the first months after her return Belle had suffered from nightmares of her capture. Now it appeared history was repeating itself.

So he did what he would do with Belle. He awoke her and spoke softly and steadily. Giving her something to focus on as her mind cleared of the sleep and fear and reiterating phrases he'd said many a time before. No none of this was a surprise.

What was a shock however was the fact that Belle had miraculously asked him to stay with him despite the fact that "Lacey" barely knew him. Of course, he wouldn't and couldn't deny her, so as she lay back down he settled in the chair next to the bed watching over her.

Her sleeping state gave him a chance to stare at her without pause. She appeared somewhat malnourished though not as bad as after her first captivity. Likely because of time only starting a few months ago meaning only then would a toll actually really be taken on her body. One more lucky thing he supposed.

He'd speak with Regina as soon as they had confirmed the Sheriff wasn't going to toss Belle back in the asylum. That was a task he'd need Pip's help on for the persuasion. Rumple sighed beginning to fully appreciate what the Hatter must have been going through for the past 28 years. He only hoped they could break the curse soon and he could get his wife back. In the meantime, he'd continue to protect her.

OUAT

When Lacey awoke the next day Robert was gone. However she had not had any further nightmares. In fact she had a rather good dream if a strange one about a man with sparkling skin with a spinning wheel who looked a little bit like Robert. Dreams were strange.

She headed downstairs after dressing to find Robert making dinner again.

"Hello," she said.

"Good morning," he replied.

"About last night. I'm sorr..." Robert cut her off.

"You have nothing to apologize for Lacey." Unable to think of a way to properly word her thanks Lacey took a step forward and hugged Robert who froze for a moment before returning the embrace. It didn't last long as she didn't want to make him uncomfortable but it felt right.

"Right now," Robert said as she pulled back. "Let's get some breakfast. Fae will be over in about an hour to help plan things out." Lacey nodded in agreement and began to set the table for breakfast.

OUAT

Sure enough Fae arrived at the house on time Lacey looked up as the blonde entered the living room.

"Hello Lacey. Settling in?" she asked.

"Well enough. Robert's been quite kind." Fae smiled.

"Excellent. In that place we should get down to planning then." She took a seat on the couch next to Lacey while Robert occupied an armchair.

"As I mentioned previously, we are planning on telling the Sheriff where you are. Eventually. Miss Swan isn't fond of Regina so as long as she's assured you don't need to go back to the asylum, she won't put you there. She doesn't bend to the mayor's will."

"And proving you don't need to go to the asylum shouldn't be too hard. I mean one conversation with you shows you aren't delusional or dangerous," chipped in Fae.

"Alright. Then how are we handling this?" said Lacey nervously. Robert leaned forward and she could practically hear the gears turning in his head as he layed out the plan.

"I'll alert Sheriff Swan, exclusively that you are here, we'll have her come over and speak with you, Fae will be right with you to help vouch for you."

"But we can't tell her who let me go. He could get in trouble." said Lacey.

"True. Which was why he was wearing the mask and didn't give his name. When you think about it you don't really know anything all that identifiable about him. All you need say is that someone broke you out and brought you here because they said you'd be safe here. Don't mention I was here when you got here." instructed Fae.

Now that Lacey thought about it they were correct. She couldn't rightly tell who specifically had drugged the nurse and rescued her. Ergo even if the sheriff asked she couldn't be accused of trying to obstruct justice. Robert really thought of everything.

"I can do that," Lacey took a deep breath. "You'll both be there?"

"Yes, we will," Robert assured her.

"Then I suppose the sooner we secure my freedom the better." said Lacey.

"Brave as ever," said Fae which made Lacey wonder if previous her had been brave. In fact, she wondered a great deal about her previous life. Hopefully time would give her answers.

OUAT

They continued to meticulously go over all the details regarding what would happen for the following day and then Fae stayed for a while longer chatting with Lacey. Robert left them to their own devices and headed to his study until Fae left. It was impressive how well the two had seemed to work off each other.

Scheming wasn't quite the right word but both Fae and Robert had a sharpness to them as they planned which made Lacey quite glad, she was on their side and not against it. Although she didn't detect even a hint of romance between Fae and Robert. A fact that made her oddly grateful.

Lacey and Robert had dinner and then once again retired to the library with their books. Lacey tried to focus on her novel but kept finding her gaze drawn to Robert. It went both ways. She could practically feel his eyes on her when she wasn't looking. Though it didn't feel unpleasant.

Questions burned within her and at last Lacey gave up and set down her novel drawing Robert's attention.

"Is something the matter?" he asked.

"May I ask you something?" Robert nodded.

"Of course."

"What were we to each other? If I'm going to talk to the Sheriff, I should know everything including what went on between us before." Robert appeared conflicted.

"I told you before I don't want to pressure you by the past."

"But that doesn't mean I don't deserve to know it. And I'd rather find out from you than anyone else." she countered. Robert gave a sigh and Lacey shook her head.

"How about a deal, I'll tell you what I think is the truth and you confirm if I'm correct. You needn't give me more information." Robert raised an eyebrow a wry smile on his face.

"Alright." Lacey took a deep breath.

"I think we were together. The way you look at me. That's not the way you look at a friend. You don't act that way around Fae. With me it's as if you've lost something. Like you are longing for it but holding back. You also say you don't want to pressure me which leads me to the romance conclusion because what else would I feel pressured about? Do I hit near the mark." Robert gave a soft but humorless laugh.

"Right in the gold. Pun unintended." Lacey gave a small smile as Robert shifted.

"We were indeed in a relationship. Though you may find it hard to believe one we were both happy with even if the town wasn't. It crushed me to think you were dead and the moment I learnt the truth I did all I could to get you out."

"You helped me because you love me." said Belle simply.

"Yes," said Robert looking a little pained. "But I don't expect that in return especially with your memories gone like this. It's enough for me to have you alive and well."

Lacey wasn't sure how to feel exactly about this. She supposed she did appreciate Robert's gentlemanly attempt not to push her despite their past actions together. Plenty of other men probably would have demanded things to go back to the way they were before. Yet she didn't believe him entirely when he said her being alive was enough.

Not that she thought he was going to change his mind or actions now that what they had been was out in the open, but it was evident that it hurt him somewhat that she didn't remember him. She supposed their past relationship explained why he didn't ask for anything in return when Fae had said he wasn't normally altruistic, and why he'd been so comforting regarding her nightmares.

"I can't say how I feel about you Robert other than that I trust you at the moment and that you make me feel safe. But I don't have a difficult time believing that the relationship was mutual." she replied carefully.

"That means a great deal. But right now, I think we should focus on getting you back to a normal life before we confront anything from the past." said Robert softly. Lacey nodded. She hadn't been lying but she certainly didn't feel up to exploring romance two days after getting out of the asylum. She sat back in her chair and returned to her book deciding she'd probed for enough answers for one night. After a moment Robert did the same.

Author's Note: So, the FORMER relationship is in the open. But we're still taking baby steps here. We're also getting a bit more Emma because I'm going to start exploring her relationship with Gold a bit. Also, no way Belle went through all of that didn't have nightmares about what she went through. Hope everyone is still enjoying the story. If you like it please take a moment to leave your thoughts in the comments below! Until next time!