Rumplestiltskin did not see Belle on Thursday.

There was no reason he should see her. They had no plans, no pressing obligations. He tried to tell that to the crushing disappointment that weighed on him. It didn't work. With Belle not around and no idea of when he would see her again, Rumplestiltskin felt as though a limb had gone missing.

Baelfire seemed to feel it, too. The two of them barely spoke over dinner, both picking at their frozen meals in silence. Finally, as Rumplestiltskin moved to clear the table, Baelfire said, "You should call her, Papa."

He hadn't said her name, but there was no question who he was talking about. "What for?"

"You're her Watcher. You must have some kind of Watcher-y business to discuss."

"Don't you have homework to do?"

Baelfire sighed elaborately. "All right. Fine." He picked up his backpack from the floor, where he'd dropped it earlier, then turned back. "Call her," he mouthed, before retreating to his bedroom.

Rumplestiltskin dropped the empty frozen dinner containers into the garbage can. Of course he wasn't going to call her. He was a grown man. He could function on his own for one day. He didn't need to talk to Belle.

His fingers were dialing her number almost before he knew what he was doing.

Belle picked up on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Er. Hi." Oh, god. What had he been thinking? Why did he call her? "It's, ah, Rumplestiltskin."

"Hello, Rumplestiltskin." A pause. "How are you?"

"Oh, fine. I'm fine. Ah, how are you?" Rumplestiltskin wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

"I'm fine."

"That's good." Desperately, Rumplestiltskin grasped for something to say. "I - Baelfire was missing you today."

"Was he?" Belle's voice sounded warmer.

"Yes. I think he'd like it if you'd come for dinner tomorrow."

"Oh." Rumplestiltskin could tell immediately that this wasn't a good "oh". "I'm sorry, Rumplestiltskin, but I can't tomorrow. I have something I need to do."

"Oh. Yes. Yes, of course." Rumplestiltskin felt as though all the air had been let out of him like a balloon. So it wasn't just one date. She had Friday night plans as well. "Will you check in with me after your patrol tonight?"

"Yes. Yes, I'll call you."

Just a phone call. Well, of course she wouldn't come by in person every night. That would be ridiculous.

"All right, then. I'll, ah, I'll go now. Have a good night."

"Rumplestiltskin?"

Rumplestiltskin's heart thumped. "Yes?"

A pause. "Nothing. Sorry. Have a good night."

His stomach felt like it was suddenly full of lead. "Good night, Belle."

A click told him he was disconnected.

Belle stood in the basement of the abandoned library with her phone in her hand, feeling worse than she had in a long time.

"Everything okay?" Ruby asked, examining a large metal padlock.

Belle put her phone in her pocket. "Yeah."

Ruby looked at her friend and set down the lock. "What is it? We don't have trouble, do we?"

"No, nothing like that."

Ruby waited for an explanation.

Belle sighed. Fine. Better to get this out in the open, anyway. "It's just... don't you think I could tell him what's going on?"

"No. Absolutely not."

"Wait, hear me out. He's not like Gaston, Ruby. He won't hurt you. I'm sure of it."

"You can't know that." Ruby crossed her arms. "You've only known him, what, three days?"

"Five days."

Ruby gave her a look.

"I know it's not very long, but - I'm asking you to trust me on this. Rumplestiltskin is a good man. He wouldn't let an innocent human being be harmed. We've got three nights of this ahead, and he can help us."

Ruby looked away, shaking her head slowly. "I trust you, Belle. But I don't trust the Watchers, and I don't trust him. It's my life on the line, and my secret to keep." Ruby looked back at Belle. "He hasn't earned it."

Belle understood the way her friend felt. It was true. Ruby was the one at risk if Rumplestiltskin were to decide that she was too dangerous to be ignored.

The door from the outside opened, and they heard Granny's footsteps coming down the stairs. "Moon's almost up," Granny said, tapping her tranquilizer gun. "Best get into position."

Ruby bit her lip and handed Belle the padlock. Slowly, she turned and walked into the caged-off part of the basement, closing the door behind her.

Belle put the lock on the door and shut it.

When the screams started, Belle and Granny both turned their backs.

"Do you want to take first or second shift?" Granny asked Belle.

"I can start."

"All right then." Granny handed Belle the tranq gun and moved over to the mattress they'd left on the floor. Granny's crossbow lay right next to it. "I'll get some rest now, then. Wake me up a little early so you can do your patrol before you sleep."

"I will, Granny."

Belle sat down on the floor and reached for her book, trying to ignore the cries that were quickly becoming inhuman.

"The next attack will be at the library. In the basement. See to it. And make sure they break the windows."

"No."

Zoso gave the vampire queen a chilling look. "No?"

Regina folded her arms. "You've had me at your beck and call since we made our deal, and you've done nothing to further your part of it. I'm done. Either you start showing me some progress, or you can play with your little Watcher all by yourself."

Zoso put down the book he'd been writing in and stood, taking a step towards Regina. "Do you think my price was arbitrary? Do you think the pieces of this world just float about, separate from each other, unconnected? Are you that much of a child?"

Regina's face was like steel, and she did not respond.

Zoso raised a finger to lift Regina's chin. "If you want your stable boy, then I need the Watcher. It's not negotiable."

With that, the Dark One swept past her, leaving her standing alone in her office.

All day Friday, Belle missed Rumplestiltskin terribly. At lunchtime she battled with the idea of turning up on his doorstep during her lunch break with a couple of sandwiches. She didn't do it. She couldn't have him, and she was only torturing herself to pretend like she could.

Still, avoiding him was a different kind of torture.

By Friday night, Belle was going crazy with the loneliness. She sat in the library basement turning her stake over and over in her hands while Granny snored softly and Ruby's wolf form prowled behind her fence. She couldn't stop thinking about him. Her mind kept coming back to him no matter how hard she tried to force it away. She found herself inventing excuses to seek him out, and when she reminded herself she wasn't allowed to do that, her imagination began to come up with scenarios where Rumplestiltskin would come to her.

Perhaps a shy, older gentleman with a limp and a teenage son wasn't most girls' ideal fantasy, but to Belle, their little family was perfect. She wanted to be a part of it more than anything.

The sound of crashing glass interrupted her reverie. "She's in here!" a voice cried.

Suddenly the basement windows were shattering all around her, and black-clad vampires were pouring in.

Belle was on her feet in an instant, stake in hand. "Granny!" she called in warning.

"I see them!" A crossbow bolt whizzed passed her, piercing a vamp in the chest and disintegrating it into dust. Belle grinned. Good old Granny.

And then the vampires were on her, and there was no more time to think.

It was midnight, and Rumplestiltskin still wasn't sleeping. He was sitting in the kitchen, pouring through his books, looking for some clue as to how to defeat the owner of the gem of Amara. Unfortunately, the information he had was vague and contradictory, as most legends were. There was no way even to know what the gem looked like.

"Papa. Go to sleep."

Rumplestiltskin stiffened at the voice, and turned to see Bae standing in the doorway in his pajamas.

"I will. Soon. And you should take your own advice, young man."

"I was sleeping. I'm getting a glass of water, and then I'll go back to sleep. And you should, too."

Rumplestiltskin said nothing as his son crossed to the refrigerater and filled a cup from the water filter. He should go to bed. His body needed sleep badly. But he was forcing himself to stay awake because every time he closed his eyes, the nightmares returned.

Bae paused in the doorway. "I miss her, too, papa," he said. "But she'll be back."

And then he left.

Rumplestiltskin sighed and closed his book. Bae was right. It was time he slept.

Belle spun around, looking for the next enemy to drop down through the windows, but none came. They were alone. "Granny, are you okay?"

"It's not me you need to worry about." Granny's eyes were narrowed, and Belle followed her gaze to the fenced-off section of the basement. "We've got a problem."

A cold feeling washed over Belle. The windows on that side of the basement were broken like the rest of them.

And Ruby was gone.

Granny dropped her crossbow and picked up the tranq gun. "Come on, girl. We've got to get out there before someone gets hurt."

But Belle had her cell phone out and was dialing Rumplestiltskin.

"What are you doing? You can't tell him."

"I have to. He can help us, and besides, he has a right to know." Belle was furious with herself for not telling him sooner. Rumplestiltskin would never hurt Ruby, and Belle knew that. Now a werewolf was loose in the town, and everyone was in danger. "He has a thirteen-year-old son, Granny. He deserves the chance to protect his family. That's the very least I can do for him."

Granny looked upset, but she didn't say anything else as Rumplestiltskin's phone began to ring.

The wolf stared up at the hooded creature before her, a growl escaping her throat. Unnatural. Wrong. It didn't belong. It was speaking to her, grinning, but the words were meaningless. The wolf only knew that it needed to be destroyed. It should not exist.

The wolf lunged, but it was too late. The thing dodged sideways and bolted down an alleyway. Howling, the wolf took off in pursuit.

Rumplestiltskin had barely dropped into the blackness of sleep, not even enough time for a dream to begin to form, when the chirp of his mobile wakened him. He fumbled for it in the dark, squinting at the display. Belle. His heart stopped.

"Hello?"

"Rumplestiltskin." Had it only been a day since he heard her voice? It felt like years.

"What is it?"

"I have a problem. It's Ruby. She's – she's a werewolf."

It took a moment for the words to register. When they did, Rumplestiltskin sat straight up in bed. Whatever he was expecting her to say, it wasn't that.

"We lock her up every full moon under the abandoned library, and she's always been fine, but tonight – Rumplestiltskin, there was an attack, and they broke the windows, and now I don't know where she is."

Oh, god. It was a full moon. And a werewolf was roaming free.

Rumplestiltskin was already pulling on his trousers. "I'm on my way."

"You can't. It's not safe out there."

"I can't leave you to fight a werewolf by yourself."

"I have Granny."

Granny? Mrs. Lucas, who owned the diner?

"She has a tranq gun and a crossbow."

Rumplestiltskin was not about to be shown up by a little old lady. "I'm coming to help. I have my share of weapons, too."

"You can't hurt Ruby. Rumplestiltskin, it's not her fault she's a werewolf. She would never hurt a fly."

"Of course." Rumplestiltskin was insulted that she felt she had to tell him. "I wouldn't kill a werewolf. I know how to handle weres."

"I knew you would." Belle sounded relieved. "But we don't know where she is. Can you turn on the news or something and see if anything has been reported?"

"I can do better than that." Rumplestiltskin stumbled into his workroom and found the police scanner he kept there. He flipped it on.

And froze.

"Rumple? Did you hear something? Do you know where she is?"

"Yes." His voice was barely a whisper. "She's been spotted coming up Forest Lane. She's coming this way."

Baelfire was awoken by a loud bang. It took him a moment to realize that something had hit his window. He sat up in bed, his heart hammering, wondering if someone was out there.

Nothing happened.

He was ready to lie down and go back to sleep when he became aware of a low growl.

Slowly, quietly, he slipped out of bed and peered out the window.

At first he didn't see anything. Then light flashed in a pair of animal eyes, and he realized they were attached to a large, hulking, furry shadow.

He took a step backward, then another, hardly daring to breathe. "Papa," he whispered, knowing his father would never hear him. "Papa."

Those glowing eyes fixed on him.

"Papa." Baelfire tried to make his voice louder, but he couldn't seem to get air into his lungs.

The monster began to stalk towards him.

Baelfire's back hit the wall.

The monster broke into a run.

"Papa!" Bae screamed as the beast hurled itself through the window, shattering the glass. It landed in a heap on his bedroom floor.

Baelfire reached a hand out sideways, trying to find the handle to his bedroom door without taking his eyes off the creature. It was almost like a wolf, but larger and more human-like in its proportions. Good god, what was it?

The monster regained its footing and fixed its eyes on Bae. He barely had time to scream before it launched itself towards him.

There was a loud pop to his right, and the beast collapsed with a roar.

Baelfire turned to see his papa standing in the doorway, holding some kind of giant gun, and looking like the greatest hero Bae had ever seen.

The creature got back to its feet, growling, and Papa shot it again. The thing swayed, shaking its head–

–and fell over on its side.

Slowly, with shaking arms, Papa lowered the gun, not taking his wide eyes off the creature on the floor.

"Papa," Baelfire choked.

Papa looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. "Bae." He dropped the gun. Baelfire reached out for him like a child, and Papa pulled him into his arms, squeezing him tight. Bae could feel that Papa was trembling all over, but he'd never felt safer. His Papa had saved him. Nothing could hurt him while his Papa was here.

"Are you all right?" Papa pulled back, holding Bae at arm's length as his eyes searched frantically for any sign of injury. "Oh, my boy, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Papa, I'm fine." Baelfire reached for him again, and Papa crushed him to his chest. "It never touched me. You saved me, Papa. You're a hero."

Belle's reaction to seeing Baelfire was almost the same as Papa's. She hugged him so tight and so long that he wondered if she was ever going to let him go again.

Not that he minded.

When she did let him go, it was to hug Papa just as long. Obviously, she had been scared to death for both of them. But there was something different in Papa's hug. Papa cradled the back of her head in his hand, resting his cheek against the top of her head, and Belle pressed her hands against Papa's back, and both of them closed their eyes. Bae tried not to seem like he was obviously watching them, but he couldn't help but think that the two of them ought to just kiss and get it over with. He never saw a couple so desperately in need of help.

While they were hugging, an old lady with a crossbow slipped past them and headed down the hallway towards the bedroom. Baelfire wondered if he should say something but decided that Belle must know about the lady if she had brought her here.

A few minutes later, Belle, Papa, and Bae were sitting in the living room, and Belle was explaining everything.

"That thing in my room was the pretty waitress from the diner?"

Belle looked as though she were trying not to laugh. "She can't help it, Baelfire. She was a victim, too."

Baelfire knew that, of course. He knew that lycanthropy was inflicted by bite. It was just that the beautiful lady who served them french toast and hamburgers would not mesh in his mind with the horrible monster that had tried to kill him.

"Then Ruby was attacked?" Papa's question was soft.

Belle hesitated. "Not the way you're thinking. She met a guy, went out with him a few times. He bit her while they were-" Belle looked at Baelfire and cleared her throat. "While he was human."

Bae didn't know why Belle was trying to cover up what happened. It wasn't as though he didn't know what sex was. But then he had a mental image of Ruby with some faceless guy, and his cheeks began to burn.

"Did he know?" Papa asked. "What he was?"

"We don't know. He left town the next day, and we haven't been able to find him since. It's been two years."

"That's awful," Bae said.

Papa leaned forward. "How did you find out what had happened?"

"Three days before the next full moon came around, people started finding slaughtered animals. Mrs. Pott's golden retriever was found torn apart and half-eaten, as was Mr. Cogsworth's cat. That morning, Ruby woke up naked in the alley behind the diner. She was scared and embarrassed, and she didn't tell anyone.

"The second night was worse. Ruby had just started going out with Peter Smith, and she was absolutely crazy about him. They had a date that night. In the morning, they found what was left of Peter's body, and Ruby woke up in the woods outside of Storybrooke."

Bae fought not to shudder, but it was hard not to. He'd looked into the eyes of the same monster that had killed Peter. If his father had been a second later, that could have been his fate.

He felt Papa's fingers wrap around his and squeeze. On any other day, he would have been mortified by the gesture, but right now, it was the most comforting thing in the world. Baelfire squeezed back.

"Granny realized Ruby was missing that morning, and she called me to help search for her. She and Ruby didn't know what I was back then, but I was Ruby's best friend, and she knew I'd want to help. Gaston and I had already started researching what might have caused the animal deaths, and we suspected a werewolf, so when I found Ruby in the woods, naked and alone... well. I knew what had happened, and I was able to help them learn how to deal with Ruby's condition. Nothing like that has ever happened since then." Belle stopped and bit her lip. "Until tonight."

"I can help you reinforce the protections you have in place so that she won't get out again," Papa said, and hesitated, looking away. "You could have told me. I wouldn't have hurt her. That's not how the Watchers do things."

"It's how Gaston wanted to do things."

Both Baelfire and Papa gaped at her. Even Baelfire, as sheltered as he was against anything he didn't need to know for his own protection, knew that Watcher policy was capture werewolves alive, then cage them during the three nights of the change.

"When we figured out that a werewolf was on the loose," Belle said, "Gaston wanted to kill it. He said that the Order was too soft on werewolves, that they were too dangerous to leave alive."

Papa looked appalled. "Gaston Gray told you this?"

Belle nodded. "It's why I never told him about Ruby. And why Ruby didn't want me to tell you." Belle bit her lip again, looking as if she might cry. "I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you. I knew I could trust you, but Ruby - it was her secret, so I thought it should be her decision."

A thousand emotions played across Papa's face, and Baelfire wondered what he was thinking. Personally, he thought that Belle had done the right thing. As terrifying as it was to face down a werewolf, you didn't betray your friends. And there was no way Belle could have known what would happen.

Papa's expression turned to steel, and Bae's heart thumped. He hoped Papa wasn't going to say anything that might ruin things with Belle. Not when things were going so well between them.

"You made the choice you had to make," Papa said. "And now it's out in the open, and it won't happen again."

"No," Belle said, and now a tear did slide down her face. "It won't happen again. I'll tell you everything you need to know from now on. I promise."

Belle was crying. This was not okay. Baelfire slipped his hand from his Papa's and threw his arms around Belle. Immediately, Belle wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips to the top of his head.

"I'm so sorry, Bae. I never meant to put you in danger."

"I'm fine," Bae said. "It never touched me. My papa kept me safe. You don't need to feel bad."

A moment later, Bae felt Papa's arm reach around him, enveloping both him and Belle in a hug. Bae hid his smile against Belle's shoulder. The three of them sat there, holding each other, until Granny's voice interrupted them.

"She'll be fine, I think." They looked up to see Granny standing in the hallway. "Probably sleep away half the day, but no harm done." She smiled a tired smile. "Lucky for us that she ran to the one person in town who had a tranquilizer gun on hand."

"Lucky," Papa echoed.

Because there was a werewolf passed out on Baelfire's floor, Rumplestiltskin tucked Bae into his own bed and lay next to him, stroking his hair until he fell asleep. It was only when Bae's breathing became slow and even, and Rumplestiltskin was sure he was sleeping, that he slipped out of bed, closed himself in the bathroom, and allowed himself to break down.

Author's note: I used Buffy!verse werewolf lore in this rather than OUaT werewolf lore. Also, both Buffy and Once seem to think that libraries are the place to lock up werewolves, so who am I to argue?