Beautiful Lily

Recovery

The sun poked out from behind the clouds revealing the day's morning sky. Mr. Gold drove his car and parked it in front of Granny's Bed and Breakfast. He got out and quickly walked up the stairs into the house like he owned the place because technically, he did. He entered the lobby and was immediately greeted by Granny who descended the stairs to discover Mr. Gold. She peered over her frames and stared suspiciously at him.

"Mr. Gold?" she asked, his presence put her on edge. "Can I assume now that since you're here and the snow's gone, that we have our town back?"

"Things are fine for now. Where is Belle?" he demanded.

"She's resting," she replied simply, not alluding to any more details to her current condition. She felt the need to act on Belle's behalf as the concerned motherly figure, protecting and defending Belle's well-being. As far as she knew, he still wasn't to be trusted. She continued down the stairs and stopped at the bottom blocking his path. He moved slowly as he approached her.

"I'm not here to harm her if that's what you're thinking," he said picking up on her protective stance and disapproving glare. "She's my wife now, and I would like to take her home and care for her."

"Is she now?" she said skeptically still eyeing him suspiciously. She gave him one more speculative and judging stare-down before acquiescing his request. Seeing through his body language that his intentions were honest and non-threatening she said, "Upstairs. Room four."

"Thank you," he said making his way toward the stairs, but before he could proceed any further Granny held up a hand to stop him. "And Gold..." she stared at him, still standing defiantly in his way, "...congratulations."

He nodded and she moved out of the way to allow him passage up the stairs. He approached the door labeled with the number '4' and opened it slowly. He quietly entered the room and saw her lying peacefully in the bed, bundled up in thick blankets and new clothes. Seeing that she was safe and relatively fine he smiled and exhaled, relaxing a little bit. He approached her bedside and sat down next to her. He leaned down, placing a hand on the bed beside her supporting himself while he hovered over her body, and he kissed her gently on the lips.

Belle's eyes fluttered open to a wonderful surprise. She smiled, "You're alright," relieved to see that he came out of the issue with Elsa unscathed. "You were able to help her?" she asked skeptically, hoping for the best and expecting the worse. It wouldn't have been surprising if he did something treacherous, but she still wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and was waiting to hear him out. She struggled trying to sit up in bed to look him better in the eye, her muscles were still stiff from the cold. Rumple immediately grabbed the spare pillow that was beside her and he made his attempt to help make her more comfortable.

"She found a way," he began, placing the pillow behind her back, "and was able to help herself," he said concisely. His reply made her believe that there was more to this tale than what he was leading on to. Never lying to her, but conveniently omitting information to her. It was another issue she and him would have to still work on together.

"And the town... the town is safe?" she squinted in pain from her head throbbing.

"For now it is, but you needn't fear. I'm here with you now," he said reaching over, gently tucking a stray hair that dangled in front of her face behind her ear. She looked up into his warm eyes and was greeted by a comforting smile. She reciprocated the smile, but was half-hearted about it. Her feelings were torn because she was happy to have him alive and by her side, but was still upset about the dagger. He lied, she reminded herself. The dagger was fake. She wanted to resolve the issue right then and there and have peace of mind, but she didn't have the strength to get into that discussion just yet.

"Are you ok?" Rumple asked with a concerned eyebrow raised. Belle tried to hide her discomfort and dissatisfaction with him about the dagger, but her exhaustion made for a poor dam holding in all of her emotions. Before the levee could break, she quickly evaded getting into the topic by replying, "I'm...um... I'll be alright. Can we go home?"

"We can. That is, if you're up to it. Do you need help?"

As much as she wanted to be mad at him, she didn't have the strength to do it today. She felt conflicted. Ambivalent. So many questions and thoughts ran through her mind unanswered. She forced herself to throw those thoughts into the same pool of emotions she was holding back from him. She was afraid to say anything to him that might trigger her questioning so she decided it best to simply remain silent. She needed time to rest and think.

She nodded her head reluctantly and Gold carefully lifted the sheets that covered her. Belle shivered briefly then turned her torso, launching her legs off the side of the bed. Her head spun for second. After seeing her body waver, he quickly extended his hands and reached for hers making sure she didn't lose her balance. She closed her eyes briefly and took in a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, she saw him looking at her with an encouragingly. She couldn't reciprocate the gesture, so instead she focused on her feet that were dangling off the side of the bed.

Belle moved slowly out of bed still wearing the borrowed clothes from Ruby. While Belle slipped into her own shoes that Ruby conveniently placed by the door, Rumplestiltskin grabbed one of the smaller blankets from the room and wrapped it lovingly around her. "Thank you," was all she could mutter to him as they made their way out of the room.

"Of course," he said, moving around her opening the door for her.

Mr. Gold led the way holding Belle's hand as they gingerly descended the stairs and into the lobby. They ran into Ruby who, upon seeing the couple, stood up from behind the front desk. "Is everything ok?" Ruby asked.

"We're fine," Rumple answered on behalf of them. "We're going to head home and finish recuperating."

"Yes," said Belle looking around the room, "Please tell Granny 'thank you' for me," taking note of Granny's absence. Belle assumed that they must have switched shifts while she was resting upstairs. "And thank you for the clothes and everything. I..." she said looking at the blanket she was borrowing as well, "...uh, promise to return these the first chance I get."

"Don't worry about it. Keep them for now. Return them when you can. Get well soon. We'll talk later," Ruby replied with an amicable smile. Rumple opened the door for Belle using his other hand to support her backside. Belle shivered again as a cool breeze from the open door hit her face. Her muscles stiffened slightly and her bones ached as she and Rumple slowly shuffled toward the car.

The ride home from Granny's was a quieter than usual. It wasn't like her to be this reticent and it made him suspicious. Usually she would bombard him with questions, but this time she said nothing. He kept looking over at Belle, constantly gauging her condition. She remained quiet, looking pensively out the passenger window. Neighborhood buildings and houses would pass by them, but she wasn't looking at them; she was looking past them, which only meant that she was in her head space.

"You're awfully quiet," Rumple observed, trying to initiate a conversation. He wanted to know what she was thinking. She didn't flinch at his comment and was still reserved in her own thoughts. She continued staring out the window. She didn't even bother to look at him.

He continued, "You know, I have many abilities, but reading minds is not one of them. A penny for your thoughts?" He waited for her, giving her a chance to contribute to the dialogue, but she remained silent. Her chilly response concerned him, leading him to the next conclusion, "Why am I getting the impression that you're mad at me?"

"I'm not mad, Rumple," she said finally responding. She turned to face him, but was still unable to look him completely in the eye. "Look, I still don't feel well. I feel dizzy. Let me rest and we can talk later, okay?"

Something was wrong and she wasn't going to tell him. Why? He needed to know. He needed find out and he was going to. However, for now, he consented to settle the issue, whatever it was, at a later time. He wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and allow her time to heal. A look of concern twisted his face as he helplessly replied, "Okay, sweetheart."

And they rode the rest of the way home in silence.