A/N: The end! Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed this story!

The grand re-opening of the rebranded Colette's Pie Shop was the talk of the town for more reasons than one.

First off, Granny's Diner had been closed for months leaving the only places to eat out in town either the pricey Tony's or the fish and chips stand by the wharf. The second reason was the pie. Belle hadn't realized just how deep Storybrooke's sweet tooth ran until Granny's closed two months ago when renovations could no longer be done with the business operating as usual. Over that time, in addition to overseeing things at Colette's, she'd been baking pies at home and delivering them all across town. Birthdays, holidays, or just a random Tuesday, Storybrooke wanted their pie, and Belle wouldn't sniff at the extra income now that she technically didn't have a job.

It had been a lot of work over the past year. Belle had to draw up a business plan to present to the bank to secure a sizeable loan for the remodel and rebranding. Max had offered to loan her the money, of course, but she'd preferred to do things on her own. For the first time ever she was truly independent and she was loath to part from that independence no matter how well intentioned the help offered.

She had accepted Max's help in another area, however. He'd recommended an excellent divorce attorney who'd managed to secure a restraining order against Gary and collected on the ten thousand dollars Gary owed him. Without a job, a a wife, or a penny to his name, Gary had been forced to move in with his parents who lived a blissfully long three hours away. She'd seen neither hide nor hair of him since the divorce finalized six months ago and Belle had high hopes of never seeing him again.

The soft opening for the pie shop was scheduled for a Friday night in July, smack in the middle of summer vacation, and a line was already queuing up a half hour before they were due to open.

Belle darted around doing last minute cleanup, Gideon balanced on one hip as he clapped his hands and giggled.

"Belle," Ruby said, grabbing her by the shoulder. "Everything is perfect. Stop worrying."

Ruby held her hands out for Gideon who went to her willingly and Belle heaved a sigh, wiping a hand across her brow.

"I just can't help but feel like there's something left to do," she said, casting an eye around the diner. The counter had been completely replaced, all the décor done up in shades of pink and mint green. The black and white tiled floor was spotless. The brand new tables and vinyl covered retro chairs scrubbed until they gleamed. Each table had a shiny new napkin dispenser and kitschy salt and pepper shakers shaped like coffee cups. The refrigerated glass display case was filled to bursting with all of Belle's most popular pies.

Glancing back at Ruby, Belle shrugged. "I guess we did think of everything."

"Told you," she said with a wink.

Belle bit her lip, the nagging feeling continuing despite Ruby's words. She'd been going non stop for so long now that she couldn't quite believe this was really it, the calm before the storm of opening.

"Do you think this new uniform clashes with my hair?" Ariel asked, coming through from the kitchen and pulling at the full, pink skirt of her dress before smoothing down the matching gingham apron.

"You could wear the green one," Belle pointed out. "No one said you have to wear pink."

Ariel cocked her head at Ruby's uniform, eyes narrowed, before giving a decisive nod.

"Trade with me," she said, starting to pull at the zipper at her back.

Ruby rolled her eyes, setting Gideon in his high chair before starting to pull off her own uniform.

"Can you guys do that in the bathroom?" Belle asked. "The doors are going to open any minute and I don't want my waitstaff naked in the dining room."

"Might increase business," Ruby quipped as she grabbed Ariel's hand and headed to the back of the diner.

Gideon let out a loud squeal and Belle handed him his teething giraffe from inside her own apron pocket. He was cutting his top two teeth which had led to a few sleepless nights lately, on top of her already stressful days. After the opening she could use a nice, long vacation. Belle snorted a laugh. That wasn't likely.

The bell on the door jingled merrily as someone entered the diner and Belle spun to tell them they weren't open yet before breathing a sigh of relief.

"It's just me," Max said, anticipating her. "I thought I'd come by and take the little one off your hands before things get too crazy."

"Dada!" Gideon babbled happily, reaching his pudgy arms out toward his father. Max ruffled his hair, but instead of picking up Gideon he turned back toward Belle.

"You look anxious," he said.

Belle realized how tense she was holding her shoulders, her hands fisting the fabric of her yellow uniform skirt. It took effort to unclench her jaw and try to relax.

"Well wouldn't you be?" she snapped, then sighed. "I'm sorry. I know I've been a bear to live with these past few weeks."

"Belle," he said, taking her by the hand. "Breathe."

She did as he instructed, taking a deep breath through her nose and exhaling through her mouth.

"You did it," he said, tugging on her hand so she stepped closer to him. "You succeeded."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Not quite yet," she said. "I could still fall flat on my face."

"You won't," he said with an assuredness she wished she felt.

"This shop is my baby," she said. "Born the same day as my actual baby. And it's not just my dream, it's my mother's dream too. I can't fail."

Max glanced out the wide front windows where the line down the street was clearly visible.

"I'd say that failure is nigh on impossible. Look at that crowd! Neal said the entirety of Storybrooke High would be here tonight."

"Well it'll only be a success if they keep coming back."

"And they will," he said with a nod, pulling her close so he could kiss her gently on the lips. "You're brilliant."

Gideon chose that moment to throw his toy giraffe on the floor and Belle stooped down to retrieve it, handing it back to him and planting a kiss on his round cheek. When she turned back to Max he was sitting in one of the mint green cushioned chairs, his cane balanced across his knees and a very conspicuous looking box held in his hand.

"Oh," she gasped, her heart lodging in her throat until intelligible speech seemed all but impossible. "Oh, please no!"

Belle gasped again, slapping a hand across her mouth.

"God, I don't mean no no. Obviously, yes, I'll marry you. But please, please don't do this right now. I'm so stressed out I can't even function and I don't want to not remember this moment because it was smack in the middle of another big moment just…"

"Belle," Max cut her off with a bemused smile. "Open the box."

"What?" she asked.

He held the box aloft in one hand and Belle took it numbly. But when she popped it open there was no diamond solitaire like she'd expected.

"A key," she said dumbly, pulling it from the satin cushioning of the box. "Are we moving?" She loved the old pink Victorian and in any case, she didn't feel up for packing up boxes any time soon.

Max snorted, standing up with the help of his cane.

"No," he said. "Milah agreed to give me the house and she can't go back on that now. This is a key to the library."

Belle raised an eyebrow. "My mum's library?"

Max nodded, reaching to take the key from her hands.

"The mayor has agreed to reopen once a suitable librarian is found. And there's been a memorial fund set up in your mother's name to pay for repairs."

Belle just blinked. This was all so unexpected. She'd been focused on achieving one of her mother's dreams that she hadn't even thought of Colette's other legacy, the boarded up building under the clock tower across the street.

"Mama would like that," she said with a nod.

"Well it just makes sense," Max said. "The library is directly across from the diner and nothing goes better with a new book than a slice of pie and a cup of coffee. It's a symbiotic relationship. The library will benefit from the diner and vice versa."

Belle nodded, a small smile playing across her lips at the idea of her mother's library, the scene of her few happy childhood memories, restored to its former glory. Until she realized what she'd just done.

"You weren't proposing," she said flatly.

Max gave her a wry smile.

"I'm proposing we go over to the library later tonight and take a look at what we have to work with."

Belle felt like she'd just swallowed a brick. She'd rejected, then accepted, an unintentional marriage proposal from the love of her life. It was a ridiculous thought in hindsight. They were both so recently divorced. She wouldn't be surprised if Milah had soured Max on the entire experience. He may never want to be married again, no matter that they had a child together and had lived together for the past few months and were as committed as they could possibly be without a wedding.

"Oh, God," Belle covered her face with her hands. "Pretend I didn't say any of that. Of course it's too soon and we're both so busy and it wouldn't make a lick of sense, not to mention Neal is still getting used to all of this. I'm such an idiot."

"Hey, none of that," Max said, pulling her hands away from her face and meeting her eyes. "You said yes."

Belle rolled her eyes. "But you weren't proposing so it doesn't matter."

Max shrugged. "It's useful information to have in any case."

Belle narrowed her eyes at him. "What does that mean?"

"It's just nice to know you'd marry me if I ever thought to ask," he said with a smirk "I'm not, by the way. Asking."

Belle shoved Max by the shoulder.

"If you ever ask me for real, I promise to say no on principle," she joked.

Max snorted a laugh, going to retrieve Gideon from the highchair.

"Mummy is a dirty liar," he whispered against the little boy's ear. Gideon giggled, grabbing at Max's tie as he shifted him to his hip.

"Get out of here before I throw a pie at you!" Belle called after them as Max headed for the door with Gideon.

"Don't waste the pie," he called back. "By the looks of that crowd, you'll need it!"

Belle smiled, feeling much lighter than she had a few minutes ago. Ruby and Ariel returned in their swapped out uniforms and the three friends linked hands.

"Ready for this?" Ruby asked with a glance at the clock.

Belle nodded. "Colette's is open for business."

Later that night, after the rousing success of Colette's Pie Shop's soft open, Mr. Gold led Belle across the street to her mother's library only to find it full to bursting with flowers, soft candlelight and music. And there in the middle of the New Fiction section, he got down on one knee and proposed.

And Belle went back on her promise and said yes for a second time.