I have about 2.5k of this. It's set later in the year of the original fic. Belle and Gold and Bae are very happy in their little house when, after having disappeared for 5 years, Milah turns up. Have a snippet:
“Milah,” he said levelly. “It’s been a while.”
She looked a little irritated.
“You don’t seem surprised to see me.”
“Belle called me.” To warn me.
“Oh.” She shrugged. “What is she, the babysitter?”
“No.” He ran a hand through his hair and reached for his cane, pushing to his feet. “She’s my partner.”
“Your partner?” She looked incredulous, and let out a tinkling laugh. “Well. Congratulations. You’re punching well above your weight, it seems. There again I don’t suppose there’s an awful lot for a girl to choose from here in Boringbrooke.”
“What do you want?” he asked coolly, and she rolled her eyes.
“To see Baeden, of course.”
“Of course,” he said, his tone flat. “Because you’ve gone out of your way to see him in the past. Surprised you can remember what he looks like. DId he remember you?”
She sniffed.
“He pretended not to recognise me,” she said. “Hiding behind that woman’s legs like he was scared of me. I suppose you taught him that.”
Gold could feel his anger growing, the bitterness over her abandoning Bae welling up and spilling over.
“Why are you really here?” he demanded.
“I’m his mother!”
“Aye, when it suits you,” he said. “Where the hell have you been?”
Despite how comfy she had found the couch, Belle had to admit that sleeping in a proper bed was better. She stretched her legs out as she woke, enjoying the space around her in the warm sheets, and squinted at her watch. Eight-oh-four. Wow. Guess I needed the sleep.
She lay on her back for a moment, trying to assess how she was feeling. Still no cough, and no tightness in her chest, which was good. She felt a little drained, though, and her limbs ached, so she clearly wasn’t better. Perhaps she simply had a mild case. Lots of people did, after all.
Voices were floating up the stairs: Gold warning Bae to be careful, and not to drop anything. Belle glanced to the side as she heard Bae’s thumping footsteps on the stairs, followed by a knock on the bedroom door.
“Come on in,” she called, and he pushed it open, sidling around the edge of the door with a plate held carefully in his hands.
“I brought you French toast,” he announced. “It has maple syrup on it. We didn’t have fresh berries, but Papa and I went blueberry picking last summer and put them in jars in some sugar syrup, and they’re just as good. And we sliced up a banana from the grocery box.”
Belle sat up with a smile, pushing herself up on the pillows. Her arms wobbled a little, but she managed to get herself into a comfortable position in which to eat. Bae set the plate on the nightstand and stepped back to watch her reaction. Plump, glistening blueberries were scattered across a thick slice of French toast with slices of banana, the whole thing drizzled with amber trails of maple syrup. The toast was golden-coloured, its edges the dark brown of caramel, and she licked her lips.
“It looks delicious,” she said, deciding not to mention that her sense of smell seemed to have abandoned her, and Bae nodded.
“When Papa said you were sick too, I thought maybe you’d want something sweet, like I did,” he explained. “I can’t get apple pie from Granny’s, but maybe this will help.”
“That’s good of you, sweetie,” she said. “I’m okay, really. Just a little tired and achy. I’m sure I’ll feel much better tomorrow. Especially with you taking such good care of me.”
“Papa made the French toast,” said Bae at once. “I just brought it up.”
“Well, it looks yummy.”
She picked up the plate, setting it on her lap, and Bae flopped into the chair, watching as she took a bite. Sweetness burst across her tongue, but she was dismayed that she couldn’t seem to taste much beyond that. I suppose of all the symptoms I could get, loss of taste isn’t too bad in comparison, she thought. Bae was watching her anxiously, and she made noises of enjoyment.
“It’s really good,” she assured him, and he beamed.
“Papa said he’d bring you some tea,” he said. “He says you should stay in bed and let us look after you.”
“And I’m not going to turn him down,” she said. “I’ll do as he suggests. At least for today.”
She cut another piece and popped it in her mouth, and Bae swung his feet restlessly, kicking the chair legs.
“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for school?” she said.
“I’m all set,” he assured her. “Today we find out which dinosaur species we get to read about. I hope I get ankylosaurus. Will you help me do research?”
“Of course I will,” she said. “Do you have any books on dinosaurs?”
“Only one,” he said gloomily. “I wish the library was open now.”
“So do I.” Belle wiped syrup from her plate with a piece of bread. “There’s a ton of information online, though. I’ll help you look.”
“Okay.”
Bae looked more cheerful, and Belle ate another mouthful of toast.
“Do you miss being at school?” she asked. “Playing with your friends?”
“Sometimes.”
“Seeing them on Zoom isn’t the same as playing outside, I guess,” she said, and he shrugged.
“No one’s mean on Zoom, though.”
Belle frowned, chewing a mouthful of French toast.
“Has someone been mean to you?”
Bae shuffled his feet, shrugging again and looking uncomfortable.
“Some of the kids make fun of me because I don’t have a mom,” he said. “They say you can’t have a proper family without a mom and a dad.”
“Well, they’re wrong to say that,” said Belle firmly. “Families come in lots of different shapes and sizes, and there’s nothing to say that you need to have a mom and a dad to be a proper family.”
“That’s what Papa says,” said Bae, looking happier. “They’re just mean. They make fun of Paige, too. She doesn’t have a mom. But she has two dads, so I guess that makes up for it.”
Belle smiled, digging into her toast with a fork.
“I don’t have a mom, either,” she said, and Bae looked interested.
“Did yours leave, like mine did?” he asked, and she shook her head.
“No, she died.”
“Oh.” He looked sad. “Mine just left. She said she’d come back, but she didn’t.”
Belle wanted to hug him.
“Do you remember your mom?” she asked, and he wrinkled his nose.
“Kind of. She had dark hair like you.”
“When did you last see her?”
Bae shrugged, pulling a face.
“She called,” he said. “The Christmas we came to Storybrooke. Papa had put lights up all around the porch, and we just finished decorating the tree, and he was smiling. Then the phone rang and he answered it and he stopped smiling.”
“Did you speak to her?” asked Belle, and he nodded.
“She sounded kind of weird, but she said she’d come visit,” he said. “She said she’d come on Christmas Day and she’d bring me presents, but she never did.”
“I’m sorry, sweetie,” she said gently. “That sounds hard. Maybe she’s sorry for what she did. Maybe she’ll come back one day.”
“I don’t want her to,” he muttered, his feet kicking faster. “She’s a liar.”
Belle tried to think of something to say that would help, but the sound of footsteps on the stairs made them both glance around. Gold put his head around the door, a steaming cup of tea in one hand, and smiled.
“Thought I’d bring you some tea,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m not too bad,” she said. “If I’ve got the virus, it at least seems to be a mild case.”
“Good.” He came into the room, setting the cup down on the nightstand. “Bae, class starts soon, could you go and brush your teeth, please?”
“Okay.”
Bae gave Belle a wan smile and shuffled out of the room. Gold frowned after him for a moment, but turned back to Belle.
“The hospital is sending out nurses to take tests to try to pin this thing down,” he said. “I put a call in this morning to report all three of us feeling sick. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” she said. “It makes sense, if we’re to beat this virus.”
“Positive results might result in longer periods of isolation, that’s all,” he said. “I’m hoping not too long; a lot of people in this town will suffer if they can’t work. But at least it means we won’t infect anyone else.”
“Any word on how the rest of the town’s doing?” she asked, and he eased himself into the chair that Bae had vacated, resting the cane between his legs.
“The Mayor is giving a briefing at six today,” he said. “Should be an update then.”
“Okay.” She put her head to the side. “How are you doing?”
“Still not back to running on all four cylinders, if I’m honest,” he admitted, running a hand through his hair. “Still, no rest for the wicked. I thought I’d finish Granny’s books today, as soon as Bae’s done with school. Can’t get them back to her, but at least it’ll be done for when I can.”
“Don’t exhaust yourself,” she warned. “You look tired. You’re getting over a serious illness, you need to make sure you rest.”
“I will.” He smiled briefly. “The couch isn’t too bad, is it?”
“Not as comfortable as this,” she said, patting the bed beside her. “You could always take a nap, you know. I don’t mind.”
Gold’s tiny smile widened a little, his eyes twinkling.
“What would the neighbours say?”
“Well, I won’t tell them if you won’t,” she said bluntly. “Come on, it’s your bed.”
“Yes, and you’re in it.”
“I don’t mind moving,” she said. “Which side of the bed do you usually sleep on?”
The smile became a grin.
“If I lie down next to you, I won’t get up again.”
“Isn’t that the point?”
Gold shook his head, looking amused, and pushed to his feet.
“Don’t tempt me,” he said, taking her empty plate. “There’s too much to do.”
“Okay, but at least promise me you’ll get some rest later,” she called, as he left the room.
“I promise! Now take your own advice!”
His voice drifted in through the door, and Belle grinned, wriggling down in the bed a little to drink her tea. Gold needed someone to look after him, if he wouldn’t do it himself. The role might as well fall to her, for as long as she was staying with him. Though she suspected he’d want his bed back at some point.
x
She stayed in bed for most of the day, only getting up when it was time for dinner. Nurses from the hospital had attended, covered from head to toe in protective clothing as they used swabs to take samples from all three in the house. The results were confirmed quickly: three positive tests. Gold answered their questions on the dates when symptoms had first appeared, and on that basis he and Bae were told to observe quarantine for a further seven days, and Belle for fourteen. Gold nodded agreement, looking a little anguished, if not surprised.
Mayor Mills appeared on TV just as they finished dinner, looking poised and sombre in her two-piece suit. She read out the latest figures: two hundred and eighteen cases, twenty-seven residents in a serious condition in hospital, thirteen deaths. After a moment of remembrance for each of the victims, she ran through the latest medical evidence, and what the anticipated numbers would be as the effects of lockdown were assessed.
“Storybrooke has always been a strong community, and this time of crisis is no exception,” she said. “I know the residents of this town will do everything in their power to help keep their neighbours safe and well. If you have been told to extend the quarantine due to positive tests, please do so. I realise that people are concerned about their jobs, and the effect that lockdown is having on their ability to feed their families, but we must all do our part to defeat this virus.”
She looked around, dark eyes flashing, expression one of firm resolve.
“As Mayor, I promise you that I will do all I can to ensure no one goes hungry, and that jobs and businesses recover from this,” she said. “The deliveries of groceries will continue until lockdown ends. I’m meeting virtually with local business owners and medical experts to discuss what needs to be put in place to allow the town to open up safely, and I hope to have some news on that next week.”
The briefing ended, and Gold turned off the TV, leaning back on the couch with a heavy sigh.
“What does it mean?” asked Bae.
“It means you’re probably having Zoom classes for at least another three weeks,” said Gold.
“I don’t mind that too much,” said Bae. “Can I watch TV now?”
Gold passed him the remote, getting up and heading for the kitchen to clean up, and Belle went back upstairs to lie down for ten minutes. She was still aching a little, as though she had been doing hard physical work that day, but she hadn’t developed a fever, and she was hoping that meant that her symptoms were as bad as things would get.
x
She woke with a start to find that it was almost eleven at night.
Rubbing her eyes, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, yawning widely as she pulled her slippers back on to head to the bathroom. When she had finished washing her hands and had splashed a little water on her face to revive herself, she headed downstairs. Lights were still on in the lower floor of the house, and she was thirsty. Perhaps Gold would join her in a cup of something before turning in.
She found him in the kitchen, seated at the kitchen table with an empty cup beside him. He was tapping away at the laptop, occasionally checking the pad of paper to his right. His brows were lowered, a faint look of desperation on his face.
“Hey,” she said, and he started, looking around.
“Belle.” He smiled, but there was only a weary resignation in it. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay,” she said. “I feel much better. You?”
“Fine, fine,” he said vaguely, running a hand through his hair.
“Doesn’t sound like it.”
Gold sighed, slumping back in the chair a little.
“Just going through the budget,” he said quietly. “God, I hope the Mayor finds a way to open things up in this town. If she doesn’t, things are gonna be extremely tight around here.”
Belle moved a little closer.
“When you say ‘tight’...”
Gold looked up at her, his expression steady and grim.
“I mean there won’t be a cent to spare,” he said. “It’s gonna eat up everything I managed to put aside against emergencies, and even then I’m gonna have to be very, very creative.”
He shook his head, turning back to the laptop, and Belle wanted to put a hand on his shoulder, to send him some comfort. Her fingers seemed to hesitate, hanging in the air as she watched the light shine on his hair, and eventually she let her hand drop to her side again.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I guess with the town closed up for weeks, you won’t get many requests for bookkeeping.”
“Not for another few months, I reckon,” he said grimly, looking around. “Those businesses that do manage to open up again, they won’t be in a position to pay me. Things are going to be - stretched.”
“Does this call for more foraging in the woods?” she asked, and he nodded.
“Once we’re allowed out of the house, yes. Can’t pass up free food.”
“At least you know what you’re looking for,” she said. “Maybe you could teach me. I’ll help you pick berries and mushrooms and maybe I won’t poison us all.”
Gold grinned, but there was a weariness to his face, and he ran a hand through his hair with a sigh.
“You may think it’s pleasant, Bae and I growing our own food and foraging in the woods, ” he said. “And it is, don’t get me wrong. I love him and we’re happy in our little house in this little town. But it’s - it’s hard, Belle. Being poor, especially when you’re a single parent, is hard. It’s constant. You can’t take a day off and just - just be. You’re always planning, always thinking. Budgeting down to the last penny, hoarding and making do and cutting coupons or bartering with the neighbours. Hoping and praying that nothing breaks, that you won’t get sick, that you won’t lose work. It’s - it’s a never-ending project that you can’t hand off to anyone else.”
The smile fell from her face at the look in his eyes, an expression that was almost pleading.
“I didn’t mean to make light of it—” she began, and Gold shook his head.
“No, please, that wasn’t a criticism,” he said. “I - well, to be honest, I just wanted to rant for a moment. I can’t do it in front of Bae, you see. I don’t want him to worry.”
“I know you do whatever it takes to make sure Bae doesn’t want for anything,” she said quietly. “You’re a good father. A good man.”
Gold smiled, looking grateful, and eyed the computer screen again.
“Is there anything I can do?” she asked. “It - it probably isn’t the best time to have an extra mouth to feed, is it?”
Gold looked around.
“I’m not blaming you, please don’t think that,” he said quickly. “I’m so grateful you stayed with us, Belle, I truly am. It’s just - well…” He gestured helplessly at the spreadsheet on the screen in front of him.
“I can contribute,” she said.
“That’s not necessary…”
“No, please!” she insisted. “You’ve been providing for me since I moved in, and - and I haven’t had to buy any of my own food since I did, and out of the two of us I’m the one still getting paid, so it makes sense I give a little back.”
“You’ve already given us so much,” he said, and she gave him a level look.
“Yeah, but none of that keeps the lights on, does it?” she said. “If you won’t take money, sell me something.”
Gold blinked at her.
“What?”
“Sell me something,” she repeated, and hurried to the larder. “Like… I don’t know, some of that really delicious cherry jam you made. I’d love to eat that in the mornings when I finally head back to my own apartment. How much?”
“Belle…”
“Or - or maybe you could make me something,” she said. “You knit, right? I could use a new sweater.”
Gold fixed her with a flat stare.
“Belle,” he said. “I’m not taking your money. You’ve more than earned a place here. All you’ve done for us - it wouldn’t be right.”
“But—”
“I mean it,” he said firmly. “Please, don’t distress yourself. I’ll find a way. I always do.”
She put her hands on her hips, shaking her head.
“God, you’re stubborn.”
Gold sent her a brief, slanting grin.
“As I recall, you said it was adorable.”
“Almost adorable,” she corrected, and his grin widened.
“I stand corrected.”
Belle sighed, leaning back against the kitchen table, feeling an odd mix of amusement and frustration.
“Don’t suppose there was any wine in that grocery box, was there?” she asked, and he chuckled.
“I’m afraid orange juice was as exciting as it got,” he said, and hesitated. “Actually - I do have a bottle somewhere.”
“Really?”
“Was gonna save it for - well, who knows? Christmas, maybe?”
“Oh, in that case we don’t need to open it,” she said hastily, and he shook his head.
“It’s not as though it’s an expensive bottle,” he said. “Just that I don’t drink a lot, so there seemed little point in opening it just for me. But - well, maybe it would be nice. If you and I had a drink together.”
He looked hesitant, uncertain, and Belle smiled warmly.
First off, Tumblr just almost tried to make me unfollow you and I WOULD NEVER. Second, Desperation!Rumbelle - what's the first thing you're going to do as a family once quarantine ends? And how long until Rum puts a ring on that finger? ;)
*hugs* tumblr is being a butt head at the moment. Anyway...
We’re going on a socially-distant picnic with the Nolans this weekend before we pick up the kittens. Should be fun.
Uh - well, we’re getting to know each other. I don’t want to rush her into anything. However tempting it might be.
Desperation!Belle and Gold, I am sure you guys are looking forward to Bae’s sleepover with Neal, but do you guys ever get any alone time now? How is that going now that everyone is healthy again?
We manage to snatch the odd moment, but mostly our alone time is after Bae goes to bed
