The Unexpected ~ PG-13 (Chapter 1/?)
Title: The Unexpected
Summary: Several weeks after going home with one of the guys from the bar on Valentine's Day, Ruby realizes she's pregnant. When Mr. Gold realizes this, he takes a particular interest in her.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: 1x19
Pairing/Characters: Eventual Ruby/Gold, Granny, Dr. Whale, Emma, mentions Graham, Ashley, and Sean
A/N: Inspired by at least a few prompts on the ouatkinkmeme, here goes.
Prologue
~~
Chapter 1:
Ruby couldn't remember the last time she had been to Mr. Gold's pawn shop. She knew he had been the one she had bought her crystal wolf from, but exactly when that had been was a blur. Often she only saw him when he came by the bed and breakfast for the rent, and most of the time she never even spoke to him. Truth be told, like most in town, she was a little intimidated by him. However she didn't quite fear him like most did. Instead the sense of danger he seemed to exude almost reminded her of herself in a way, and with that she decided she could handle this. Particularly since she doubted talking to him would be any worse than endearing yet more of Granny's snide comments to her, each one getting more difficult to hear than the last as the days went on.
"Mr. Gold?" she called out as she let the door close behind her.
Looking up from his task of reorganizing a few of the more important items in the back room, Mr. Gold wondered who had come to visit today. Certainly not Regina or Emma, this voice didn't have the same bite when saying his name. Without a word of reply, he took hold of his cane and stood, limping out into the main room of the shop. Admittedly he was a little surprised to see the black and red-haired waitress, but he smiled all the same. "Miss Lucas. What brings you by, a wish to add to your collection?"
Nervously, she took a deep breath before answering. "I came to discuss something, actually. You rent apartments, don't you? Graham mentioned it once." In truth he had let it slip while he had been trying to drink away his issues once again, going on about how if it hadn't been for the mayor he never would have made rent that month. But she knew better than to launch into that.
"I do, yes. I presume you're interested in one?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Any chance you have something available, like, now? It doesn't have to be much, in fact maybe it's better that it isn't. But, anyway, do you?"
"I'm sure I do," he answered, a little more confusion in his voice than he had hoped for her to hear. There had been a few times Granny had asked for an extension on their rent at the inn, and he knew well how difficult it could be some months for them to come up with what they owed. The idea of the woman's grand-daughter wishing for her own apartment was certainly unexpected. Had her tips suddenly improved? Or had she finally grown desperate enough to get out from beneath the old woman's thumb, and roof, that she was willing to offer some sort of trade if need be? Deciding to find out, he asked, "But night I ask why you've chosen to inquire about an apartment of your own now all of a sudden?" Granted he had bared witness to more than a few of their arguments with one another when they hadn't realized he had come into the inn, but something still didn't seem to be adding up.
"I just think I should finally be on my own now. Y'know, I'm in my twenties, I figure now is as good of a time as any."
"And you're not worried about what your granny will say about you renting from me?" he asked, knowing well what Granny thought of him. Not that it ever bothered him, but he didn't want the old woman getting in the way of him making this deal. If her disapproval were to get to Ruby this could be over as soon as it seemed to be beginning.
"Granny can think whatever she wants about it, lord knows she will anyway," Ruby all but spat. "It doesn't matter; I just can't stay with her in that place anymore. It's gotten to be too much and I'm a little scared of how much worse it might get. I'm keeping my job at the diner for as long as I can. I hope the presence of customers can keep her from saying certain things. But I just really need a new place to live. If there's anything you want from me to help prove I'm not as much of a risk as some might think, I'll give it."
Mr. Gold took a moment to process all she had said, picking up mostly on what he deemed most important. She did seem a little desperate and certainly shaken. Finally, he asked, "What is it you're afraid of with your granny? Is it that if you don't move out now, she may put you out?"
"No, I'm not lucky enough for that. I think she'd rather keep me around just to get out some of her frustrations about some of my more recent choices. And while that might be nice for her, it's just putting all this stress on me now that I can't deal with. She can't even seem to look at me anymore. And that's fine, I don't even care about that right now, but I do care that she doesn't seem even fazed by what it could do to me. I mean, it's way too much for even just one person to handle, let alone... more than one."
"I see," he replied, looking her over as casually as he could manage. Well, that was certainly a surprise. Then again everything since the moment she walked in had been. But it only took that for him to make up his mind and scribble something on a card which he soon handed her. "In that case, be at this address tonight after you finish at the diner and I will greet you with your keys and to show you around as you need."
"Just like that? What about a deposit or -"
"We can discuss that another time. For now you need only to be assured you have somewhere safe to sleep tonight, and you shall have it."
"Thanks," she told him, smiling slightly in her relief. She hadn't expected him to go so easy on her, or maybe even help her at all. But now she did feel there was a slight weight off of her shoulders. She was sure there would be some catch for this, but for the moment her tips still seemed to be decent enough, and she did have a little money saved up which originally had been for her share of the rent at the inn, but now she hoped it would be enough to cover her own rent.
It was dark by the time Ruby's shift ended and she made sure to waste no time in heading out the door before Granny could stop her or imply she knew where she was going. She doubted she had ever been so happy with the prospect of seeing Mr. Gold, but tonight she was. What this apartment had in store, she knew she couldn't be sure, but Graham had implied the apartments were good enough and certainly met his basic needs. What exactly that meant, Ruby didn't know, but she guessed she was on her way to finding out.
Mr. Gold watched as she parked her car alongside his several moments later. Easily he had picked up on her meaning back at the shop. Clearly her granny was just as old fashioned in this world as she had been in the last and he was sure that was what had sent Ruby to him with this request. He knew he wasn't known as a sympathetic man, and he was quite alright with that as he often wasn't one. But when it came to young and desperate pregnant women, well, he certainly had a level of experience.
It had taken Ruby a moment to gather both her thoughts and her wits, but finally she emerged from her car and made her way up to the door where Mr. Gold was standing. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," she told him.
"Not at all. I'm glad to see you didn't change your mind."
"It'd take a miracle for that right now," she admitted. She doubted anything less would get Granny to even begin to treat her any better right then.
"Well, here we are," he told her as he opened the door and flicked on the lights to the ground floor apartment for her. "I hope it's to your liking."
Slowly, Ruby stepped inside and glanced around. She hadn't imagined it would be fully furnished, but it certainly seemed to be. There was a nice sofa in the living room as well as a coffee table and even a few chairs. Even a modest dining area had been set up near the kitchen. She knew it hadn't been Graham's, Emma having told her Mr. Gold had cleaned his place out, but this didn't quite make sense.
"As you asked, it isn't much, only a two bedroom and two baths, and only the master bedroom is furnished since some prefer to use the second as an office. Otherwise, what you see is essentially what you get," he stated as he followed her inside.
"Only a two bedroom?" she asked with a slight scoff. She glanced around again, unable to believe all she was seeing. It was a mostly open space, the living room and dining room connected as one, only the countertop bar separating the kitchen from the living room and dining room, but she liked it. "It's great," she told him, "perfect even, but I can't afford this," she told him despite being impressed and possibly even a little in love with the surroundings as she had never had anything like this to herself before.
"There are always deals to be made, dear," he told her with a small smile. "We can discuss the particulars at a later time. For now, you need your rest. I presume you both do."
"And how exactly do you expect me to sleep when I can't begin to imagine how I'll cover this with just my tips from the diner?" she grinned in her nervousness and uncertainty.
"I'll tell you what. If you can agree to pay me half of your granny's monthly rate of the bed and breakfast, then all of this is yours. No need for a deposit, no catch. Simply that."
"Half?" Ruby asked, her eyes going a little wide. She could do that in her sleep inside of a month! Well, as long as her tips continued to roll in as they had been at least. She had slipped up while talking to him earlier, and he of course had caught it, maybe that was why he was willing to give her such a deal.
"Yes. But remember what else I said as well, if for any reason you're unable to do that, there are always deals which can be made. I promise you that you will not find yourself without a home, nor returning to your granny if you do not wish to, even if you are unable to pay me. Which makes these yours as of now," he went on as he finally handed her the keys to the apartment.
"You're really keen on this whole me sleeping thing, aren't you?" she chuckled as she took the keys from his outstretched hand and looked to them.
He smiled in return. "Yes. And that said, I shall leave you to it. But know this as well, if your granny has any choice words to say about this, she can direct them towards me."
"Can I ask why you're so willing to help me? I mean, is it just because of what I didn't mean to admit earlier?"
"That isn't the only reason, no. You asked for something which I can easily provide and have implied you can repay me for. That seems reason enough."
"Okay. You have a deal," she smiled, his answer satisfying her. When he nodded in return, she held her hand out for them to shake on it.
Slowly taking her hand, Mr. Gold added, "And in case there's anything you need, feel free to call me or come to me and I'll be happy to get it sorted for you."
"Thanks, for all of this today. I really appreciate it."
He nodded once, but only told her, "You have a nice night, Ruby," before he left her to her thoughts and to acclimate herself to her new home a few minutes later.
The first thing Ruby decided to do after that was to go get the bag from her car which she had packed during her lunch break. It hadn't been much, certainly nothing Granny would notice missing from her room, but it was plenty for the night; particularly as she had initially imagined she might be sleeping on the floor.
Instead she walked into the bedroom and turned on the light, a sigh of relief escaping her when she saw Mr. Gold had been true to his word. The bed looked nice, clean and she was quite excited to find out for herself just how comfortable it might be. But first she wanted to get changed.
She was sure Granny would accuse her of having spent the night with any of the numerous men she had already accused of her having been with and would likely be even more angry she had decided to move out of the bed and breakfast. Or at the very least she was sure Granny would remind her of her financial state and proclaim she couldn't handle this responsibility, or would accuse Mr. Gold of just waiting for his chance to take advantage of her. She decided time would tell on any of the above, but for the moment she wasn't worried. Really, all she wanted to do was climb into that bed and go to sleep, putting everything else out of her mind for the next six to eight hours.
What she didn't expect however was how busy her next day would be. She was relieved that the seemingly constant flow of customers meant Granny didn't have a spare moment to so much as glare in her direction and that this meant more money, but the weekday afternoons were usually the most dead. Where had all of these people come from?
Summary: Several weeks after going home with one of the guys from the bar on Valentine's Day, Ruby realizes she's pregnant. When Mr. Gold realizes this, he takes a particular interest in her.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: 1x19
Pairing/Characters: Eventual Ruby/Gold, Granny, Dr. Whale, Emma, mentions Graham, Ashley, and Sean
A/N: Inspired by at least a few prompts on the ouatkinkmeme, here goes.
Prologue
~~
Chapter 1:
Ruby couldn't remember the last time she had been to Mr. Gold's pawn shop. She knew he had been the one she had bought her crystal wolf from, but exactly when that had been was a blur. Often she only saw him when he came by the bed and breakfast for the rent, and most of the time she never even spoke to him. Truth be told, like most in town, she was a little intimidated by him. However she didn't quite fear him like most did. Instead the sense of danger he seemed to exude almost reminded her of herself in a way, and with that she decided she could handle this. Particularly since she doubted talking to him would be any worse than endearing yet more of Granny's snide comments to her, each one getting more difficult to hear than the last as the days went on.
"Mr. Gold?" she called out as she let the door close behind her.
Looking up from his task of reorganizing a few of the more important items in the back room, Mr. Gold wondered who had come to visit today. Certainly not Regina or Emma, this voice didn't have the same bite when saying his name. Without a word of reply, he took hold of his cane and stood, limping out into the main room of the shop. Admittedly he was a little surprised to see the black and red-haired waitress, but he smiled all the same. "Miss Lucas. What brings you by, a wish to add to your collection?"
Nervously, she took a deep breath before answering. "I came to discuss something, actually. You rent apartments, don't you? Graham mentioned it once." In truth he had let it slip while he had been trying to drink away his issues once again, going on about how if it hadn't been for the mayor he never would have made rent that month. But she knew better than to launch into that.
"I do, yes. I presume you're interested in one?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Any chance you have something available, like, now? It doesn't have to be much, in fact maybe it's better that it isn't. But, anyway, do you?"
"I'm sure I do," he answered, a little more confusion in his voice than he had hoped for her to hear. There had been a few times Granny had asked for an extension on their rent at the inn, and he knew well how difficult it could be some months for them to come up with what they owed. The idea of the woman's grand-daughter wishing for her own apartment was certainly unexpected. Had her tips suddenly improved? Or had she finally grown desperate enough to get out from beneath the old woman's thumb, and roof, that she was willing to offer some sort of trade if need be? Deciding to find out, he asked, "But night I ask why you've chosen to inquire about an apartment of your own now all of a sudden?" Granted he had bared witness to more than a few of their arguments with one another when they hadn't realized he had come into the inn, but something still didn't seem to be adding up.
"I just think I should finally be on my own now. Y'know, I'm in my twenties, I figure now is as good of a time as any."
"And you're not worried about what your granny will say about you renting from me?" he asked, knowing well what Granny thought of him. Not that it ever bothered him, but he didn't want the old woman getting in the way of him making this deal. If her disapproval were to get to Ruby this could be over as soon as it seemed to be beginning.
"Granny can think whatever she wants about it, lord knows she will anyway," Ruby all but spat. "It doesn't matter; I just can't stay with her in that place anymore. It's gotten to be too much and I'm a little scared of how much worse it might get. I'm keeping my job at the diner for as long as I can. I hope the presence of customers can keep her from saying certain things. But I just really need a new place to live. If there's anything you want from me to help prove I'm not as much of a risk as some might think, I'll give it."
Mr. Gold took a moment to process all she had said, picking up mostly on what he deemed most important. She did seem a little desperate and certainly shaken. Finally, he asked, "What is it you're afraid of with your granny? Is it that if you don't move out now, she may put you out?"
"No, I'm not lucky enough for that. I think she'd rather keep me around just to get out some of her frustrations about some of my more recent choices. And while that might be nice for her, it's just putting all this stress on me now that I can't deal with. She can't even seem to look at me anymore. And that's fine, I don't even care about that right now, but I do care that she doesn't seem even fazed by what it could do to me. I mean, it's way too much for even just one person to handle, let alone... more than one."
"I see," he replied, looking her over as casually as he could manage. Well, that was certainly a surprise. Then again everything since the moment she walked in had been. But it only took that for him to make up his mind and scribble something on a card which he soon handed her. "In that case, be at this address tonight after you finish at the diner and I will greet you with your keys and to show you around as you need."
"Just like that? What about a deposit or -"
"We can discuss that another time. For now you need only to be assured you have somewhere safe to sleep tonight, and you shall have it."
"Thanks," she told him, smiling slightly in her relief. She hadn't expected him to go so easy on her, or maybe even help her at all. But now she did feel there was a slight weight off of her shoulders. She was sure there would be some catch for this, but for the moment her tips still seemed to be decent enough, and she did have a little money saved up which originally had been for her share of the rent at the inn, but now she hoped it would be enough to cover her own rent.
It was dark by the time Ruby's shift ended and she made sure to waste no time in heading out the door before Granny could stop her or imply she knew where she was going. She doubted she had ever been so happy with the prospect of seeing Mr. Gold, but tonight she was. What this apartment had in store, she knew she couldn't be sure, but Graham had implied the apartments were good enough and certainly met his basic needs. What exactly that meant, Ruby didn't know, but she guessed she was on her way to finding out.
Mr. Gold watched as she parked her car alongside his several moments later. Easily he had picked up on her meaning back at the shop. Clearly her granny was just as old fashioned in this world as she had been in the last and he was sure that was what had sent Ruby to him with this request. He knew he wasn't known as a sympathetic man, and he was quite alright with that as he often wasn't one. But when it came to young and desperate pregnant women, well, he certainly had a level of experience.
It had taken Ruby a moment to gather both her thoughts and her wits, but finally she emerged from her car and made her way up to the door where Mr. Gold was standing. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," she told him.
"Not at all. I'm glad to see you didn't change your mind."
"It'd take a miracle for that right now," she admitted. She doubted anything less would get Granny to even begin to treat her any better right then.
"Well, here we are," he told her as he opened the door and flicked on the lights to the ground floor apartment for her. "I hope it's to your liking."
Slowly, Ruby stepped inside and glanced around. She hadn't imagined it would be fully furnished, but it certainly seemed to be. There was a nice sofa in the living room as well as a coffee table and even a few chairs. Even a modest dining area had been set up near the kitchen. She knew it hadn't been Graham's, Emma having told her Mr. Gold had cleaned his place out, but this didn't quite make sense.
"As you asked, it isn't much, only a two bedroom and two baths, and only the master bedroom is furnished since some prefer to use the second as an office. Otherwise, what you see is essentially what you get," he stated as he followed her inside.
"Only a two bedroom?" she asked with a slight scoff. She glanced around again, unable to believe all she was seeing. It was a mostly open space, the living room and dining room connected as one, only the countertop bar separating the kitchen from the living room and dining room, but she liked it. "It's great," she told him, "perfect even, but I can't afford this," she told him despite being impressed and possibly even a little in love with the surroundings as she had never had anything like this to herself before.
"There are always deals to be made, dear," he told her with a small smile. "We can discuss the particulars at a later time. For now, you need your rest. I presume you both do."
"And how exactly do you expect me to sleep when I can't begin to imagine how I'll cover this with just my tips from the diner?" she grinned in her nervousness and uncertainty.
"I'll tell you what. If you can agree to pay me half of your granny's monthly rate of the bed and breakfast, then all of this is yours. No need for a deposit, no catch. Simply that."
"Half?" Ruby asked, her eyes going a little wide. She could do that in her sleep inside of a month! Well, as long as her tips continued to roll in as they had been at least. She had slipped up while talking to him earlier, and he of course had caught it, maybe that was why he was willing to give her such a deal.
"Yes. But remember what else I said as well, if for any reason you're unable to do that, there are always deals which can be made. I promise you that you will not find yourself without a home, nor returning to your granny if you do not wish to, even if you are unable to pay me. Which makes these yours as of now," he went on as he finally handed her the keys to the apartment.
"You're really keen on this whole me sleeping thing, aren't you?" she chuckled as she took the keys from his outstretched hand and looked to them.
He smiled in return. "Yes. And that said, I shall leave you to it. But know this as well, if your granny has any choice words to say about this, she can direct them towards me."
"Can I ask why you're so willing to help me? I mean, is it just because of what I didn't mean to admit earlier?"
"That isn't the only reason, no. You asked for something which I can easily provide and have implied you can repay me for. That seems reason enough."
"Okay. You have a deal," she smiled, his answer satisfying her. When he nodded in return, she held her hand out for them to shake on it.
Slowly taking her hand, Mr. Gold added, "And in case there's anything you need, feel free to call me or come to me and I'll be happy to get it sorted for you."
"Thanks, for all of this today. I really appreciate it."
He nodded once, but only told her, "You have a nice night, Ruby," before he left her to her thoughts and to acclimate herself to her new home a few minutes later.
The first thing Ruby decided to do after that was to go get the bag from her car which she had packed during her lunch break. It hadn't been much, certainly nothing Granny would notice missing from her room, but it was plenty for the night; particularly as she had initially imagined she might be sleeping on the floor.
Instead she walked into the bedroom and turned on the light, a sigh of relief escaping her when she saw Mr. Gold had been true to his word. The bed looked nice, clean and she was quite excited to find out for herself just how comfortable it might be. But first she wanted to get changed.
She was sure Granny would accuse her of having spent the night with any of the numerous men she had already accused of her having been with and would likely be even more angry she had decided to move out of the bed and breakfast. Or at the very least she was sure Granny would remind her of her financial state and proclaim she couldn't handle this responsibility, or would accuse Mr. Gold of just waiting for his chance to take advantage of her. She decided time would tell on any of the above, but for the moment she wasn't worried. Really, all she wanted to do was climb into that bed and go to sleep, putting everything else out of her mind for the next six to eight hours.
What she didn't expect however was how busy her next day would be. She was relieved that the seemingly constant flow of customers meant Granny didn't have a spare moment to so much as glare in her direction and that this meant more money, but the weekday afternoons were usually the most dead. Where had all of these people come from?