Baby Gold

One

June 12

The brilliant moonlight streamed through the windows of Granny's diner, negating the need for the florescent lights. It was a beautiful, soft summer night. The tinkling of the bell over the door announced the arrival of a customer, and Ruby exited the office, wiping her hands on a dishcloth as she came.

"I thought I locked that door," she muttered to herself. It was well after closing time, after midnight, and she was in the back completing some school work. Since Ruby had learned to accept her inner wolf, she had made a decided effort towards self-improvement. Encouraged by her best friend, Belle, Ruby had enrolled online with Boston University, working on a degree in business. Granny had approved whole-heartedly.

She needed a solid education now that Granny was allowing her to take over more and more of the financial end of the business. This was why, on this night of the full moon, she was studying for an upcoming English exam. "I'm sorry," she said, as she rounded the corner. "We're closed."

Stopping dead in her tracks, Ruby froze at the sight before her. For a moment, the late night visitor looked like a ghostly apparition. He stood inside the diner, the door still locked behind. Moonlight bathed the phantom in a soft glow, creating an ethereal halo surrounding the huddled figure in gray. The shoulders of his dark overcoat were slumped; his hands lay lifelessly atop his cane. A great, brooding sadness haunted his face, as if a single word would completely shatter him. He looked like a fallen angel.

"Mr. Gold?" she breathed the words quietly. "What's happened? Is Belle - " She stopped, fearing the worst, for only a tragedy could have brought him to her at this time of night.

"Belle is safe. She's at home asleep," he told her. His voice was like the whispering scratch of sandpaper on mahogany. "I," he wavered for a moment, "I know you're her friend, and I didn't know where else to go."

Ruby advanced without hesitation and took the older man by the arm. Amazed that he allowed her to touch him, she guided him to a booth and helped him sit down. Once she sat opposite, she asked, "What's wrong? What can I do to help?"

Gold's eyes flickered up to hers, assessing, gauging. He smiled thinly. It was more a grimace than a true smile. "Belle chose wisely when she selected you as her friend." There was no doubting the sincerity of his words. "Tonight," he told her gravely, "Belle cooked a lovely and delicious dinner, over which she gave me her big news." He cocked an eyebrow and looked at her questioningly.

Ruby bit her bottom lip, shook her head, and frowned.

"I didn't know if she'd shared it with you yet," he said softly. Taking an enormous breath and expelling in slow degrees, he told her. "She's with child."

Ruby jumped in her seat. She smiled widely, her perfect teeth gleaming whitely in the moonlight. "But that's wonderful!" Then she frowned, a line forming between her brows. "Isn't it?"

Concern pulled his lips into a tight line. "It is, of course," Gold answered at once. "It's just that - " His voice faltered. He couldn't go on.

Taking his hands gingerly- were they trembling or was it a trick of the moonlight? - Ruby spoke sympathetically to him. "But you're worried about her, aren't you?" She patted his hands.

He dropped his face. His words were barely audible, but her keen hearing understood it all. "She's so small, and she's been through so very much. She was tortured in Regina's castle, and here in Storybrooke, she was kept locked away in an asylum, drugged and abused. I just don't know how much more she can take."

Ruby pulled sharply on his hands forcing him to look up. "Now, you hear me, Gold," she used her toughest voice. "Belle is a lot stronger than you think. She's my best friend, and she's confided in me about the abuse she's been through." Her eyes hardened. "I've seen the scars on her back, too." She shook her head. "But, you know, after all she went through, she's managed to forgive Regina."

"I know," he replied. "She's too trusting of everyone," he snorted softly, "even me. I can't see her hurt again. If she's chosen to forgive Regina, I suppose I can too if only for Belle's sake. I love her so much. I'm just afraid that a baby - "

"But don't you see? This baby is her way of showing you just how much she loves you. Besides if you are still so worried about her, it will just make her worry that much more over you, and that can't be good for the baby."

The contract lawyer and notorious maker of deals scrunched up his forehead, trying to follow her argument. "Emotional blackmail?" he querried.

"Feminine logic," she replied. She gave him a motherly smile. Patting his hands again, she told him, "Don't worry. I'll always keep an eye on her. Between the two of us, we'll take good care of her and the baby."

"Thank you, Ruby, I may need you for that," he told her. "We had an argument earlier. Belle doesn't want to have the baby at the hospital. She wants to have the baby at home, and I - "

"Not have the baby at a hospital? Ruby interrupted. "Why ever not?"

He sighed. "She is terrified of the place."

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, I can see why," she agreed. "Every time she's been there it was traumatic. I can sympathize."

"But, Ruby," Gold insisted, "I want her and the baby to have the best medical care. I want everything for them."

"But that doesn't mean she has to go to the hospital," Ruby explained. "There are lots of options open to women in this world. She can see a midwife."

Gold frowned. "Like from our world?"

"In a way," Ruby replied, "but here the midwives are all medically trained. They often work in conjunction with a doctor, so Belle and baby would have the best medicine has to offer as well as a home environment."

Nodding to himself, Gold began thinking. He raised a cynical eyebrow to Ruby. "And how is it that you know so much about this, Miss Lucas?"

"You'd better not be suggesting what I think you are," Ruby shot back. "It just so happens I did a lot of research to help Ashley Boyd when she found out she was pregnant."

Gold looked down at the table momentarily before raising his eyes to her. "I apologize, Miss Lucas. I meant no disrespect. And I thank you for your advice. Is there a midwife that you would recommend?"

Ruby accepted his apology. "Dr. MaGoose is my OB-GYN. Belle should see her, definitely, and she'll be able to help with finding a good midwife."

Abruptly he stood, and he held himself straighter and taller. Fatherly pride was evident in his bearing now. "If you'll stay by her side, be there for her no matter what, you'll have my eternal gratitude."

Ruby's smile lit up her face. "I'll be there for both of you," she replied. She laughed at the perplexed look on his pale face. "Yes, for you too," she told him. "You love Belle, and she loves you. I figure that makes you a sort of protected species."

Mr. Gold smiled and snorted a laugh at her word choice. "Well, I suppose that's damning with faint praise, but as long as you'll help me support Belle emotionally, I'll be satisfied." He walked towards the locked door, paused, and turned back. "Oh, and please don't let Belle know that I gave out her secret. I'm sure she would want to be the one to tell you."

She smiled. "Sure."

Ruby followed him to the door, unlocked it to let him out, and relocked it behind him.

The poor man, thought Ruby as she returned to the back and her textbook, so rich in money but so poor in spirit. She shook her head. I can see why Belle loves him, though. He's like one of those dark and brooding anti-heroes from a novel. Ruby sighed and opened her literature book and stared blankly at the page. She had to write an essay on a poem by sighed. Why can't I find a man like that?

A/N: Another old book I decided to republish! Enjoy!

Word Count: 1417