Standard Disclaimer Time! I do not make money off of this story, nor do I make money off of the TV show Once Upon A Time. Nor do I own the TV show, or it's version of the fairy tale characters. I do this merely for entertainment purposes and because I love to write. Plus the show is super inspiring to me! At least where my ships are concerned! XD

-Michelle

It was cold down by the docks, the air holding a near freezing chill to it that was only buffeted by the harsh winds that were a blowing. The waters of Storybrooke's harbor churned almost violently in response, the sea angry with the storm that was approaching. Only a fool or that of the most desperate would have dared ventured out in this, and not for the first time did Belle wonder just which she should be classified as. Not that she let any such thought stop her from stepping forward, from using her feet to tentatively feel out the invisible steps that she knew was there. The wind may have blown the feed she had scattered clean away, but even without it to outline what was hidden, there was no disguising the solid feel of the sturdy wooden planks beneath her feet.

They creaked and they groaned as though in protest, as if they too tried to warn Belle from this adventure. She refused to take heed of it, or of any of the partial misgivings inside her, Belle hardly the type of woman to listen to the voice that said not to do something. Even if that voice came from inside her, Belle knowing she would have missed out on many an adventure and many an experience, if the beauty had been the type to easily shy away. Even the love that she had, Belle had reached for against the advice of all others, the woman falling in love with a man who so many considered a monster.

They didn't know what she knew. They hadn't seen a side to him that was all man, a person with a heart that simply felt too much. Who had been through so much, lost so much of that which he found precious and dear. That same sense of loss would leave Rumpelstiltskin furious if he were to discover just how much Belle was now risking, but she would worry about that fall out later. She wanted, no NEEDED to help him, and Belle would damn well let no one stop her. Not even the Dark One!

That need that she felt went beyond any concern Belle might have had for herself. Yes, there was a part of her that had felt the need to prove to Rumple and to everyone else in this town that she could be more than just a damsel in distress. That she could be more than just the beautiful book keeper. But it was surpassed by the need that she had to spare Rumpelstiltskin from any more hurt, any more loss, and above all, to stop the man from becoming the beast everyone else already feared him as. THAT alone was worth risking her neck for, Belle not wanting Rumpelstiltskin to sink so low as to forever be lost to the darkness inside him. To stop that, Belle was willing to do just about anything, ANYTHING to save Rumpelstiltskin. Even if that anything meant going alone to the pirate Hook's ship in search of the very thing whose loss was sending Rumpelstiltskin hurtling over the edge of his humanity.

She'd find that shawl. And if she couldn't find IT, she'd settle for the next best thing. Reasoning with the pirate. Her chin lifted stubbornly with such thoughts and her determination, Belle certain she could talk things out with the pirate. Hook had already hurt Rumpelstiltskin enough, she wouldn't let the pirate cost Rumple his chance at being reunited with his only son too. And maybe someday, BOTH men would appreciate Belle for what she would do, the woman certain the pirate would prefer living his life to dying over his revenge.

The woman bore a confidence she had no right to, Belle unaware of just how bad the blood was between the two men. Or of what hurts had been done and by WHOM. If she had had any inkling, Belle would have gone running, and it wouldn't be the pirate alone who she'd have now feared.

Not knowing that a monster was considered such for a very good and very real reason, Belle was almost enjoying this little adventure of hers. Her determination and sincere wish to HELP, chased away most of her anxiety, to the point Belle didn't cringe about in response to the noise she was making. Even when the wooden planks seemed their most determined to magnify her every sound, those footsteps of hers echoing loudly again and again. If the pirate was anywhere on the ship, he'd find her in no time, all that noise his guide. It only made Belle stomp louder, almost in challenge, and then she had cleared the top step, and with it, the spell shattered.

The ship came into sudden and startling view, Belle's breath being caught on an admiring gasp. The word magnificent came to mind when getting her first real look at Hook's ship, with it's yards and yards of a wood that was a rich golden color. A wood that had magic sparking off it, certainly more than was responsible for the spell concealing the ship to any outside observer. This was wood from a very enchanted, but also very extinct type of tree, and that alone let Belle know she was dealing with something very old and very magical.

It wasn't just the enchanted wood that had clued her in. It was the make and model of the ship. It was like nothing Belle had ever seen up close, the best she could relate it to was that of some sketches found in a dusty old book of a kingdom long gone from the realm. Her well read and educated mind couldn't place the exact year, but if she were to hazard a guess, Belle would say the ship and by default it's owner, was between three hundred and four hundred years of age.

Hook's true age didn't intimidate her anymore than Rumpelstiltskin's had. It might have made the woman feel even better about her intentions, Belle reasoning a man of Hook's age might be less brash and impulsive than that of any hot blooded, younger pirate. There was wisdom in age, and the fact that Hook had lived this long meant he had to be smart. And to Belle, smart meant being able to see reason in a situation.

More certain than ever that she was doing the right thing, that she would get through to Hook, and by default, stop a cold blooded murder from taking place, Belle had a positive bounce to her next few steps. The ancient wood groaned in protest, but didn't give way under her weight. If anything the sound might be another form of spell, some early warning to alert the pirate of intruders, and if that was the case, let Hook come. She was more than ready for him.

Truly thinking that she was solving EVERYTHING in sneaking on board the pirate Hook's ship, Belle was almost smiling as the woman made her way below deck. She was naive, not knowing the extent of what she was in effect asking of both men by coming here. Belle honestly thought she was saving both lives and souls, but the woman was in fact deluding herself something awful. Deluding herself where Hook AND Rumpelstiltskin both were concerned.

It wasn't that Belle was stupid. No, never that! She was just an eternal optimist, believing in hope and love, and feeling everyone deserved a second, a third, and even a fourth chance at life. Simply put, she saw the good where no one else could. It left her blinded at times, Belle so quick to believe in a person's best, that she ignored their worst. Take the pirate for example. He had threatened her twice, but never truly had he hurt her. Belle was certain he didn't mean to really kill her. Not when he had had ample opportunity back in the queen's prison tower. And even when in her library, Hook had made sure Belle had seen him, rather than lie in wait and strike her dead from behind.

Taking both encounters and what had NOT happened as proof, Belle was certain that the pirate didn't really want to hurt her. It didn't mean he wouldn't try his best to menace her, in order to draw Rumpelstiltskin to him. Or to use her as the diversion that let Hook steal something valuable, something irreplaceable from Rumpelstiltskin. That same something, the lost of it, had set Rumpelstiltskin into a rage like no other, the man having a tantrum, destroying his shop as he tried to expel the worst of his fury. That same something had kept the man from being able to promise Belle he would not kill, and the woman's blood ran cold at the thought of it. There'd be no going back from that. Not for Rumple, and not for Belle. She's tolerated much, but the one thing she would not abide by was Rumple killing in cold blood. No matter the reason.

The ship's lower hall was not nearly as dark a turn as the route her thoughts had just taken. There was plenty of sunlight filtering in through the round portholes that lined the outside wall of the ship. The sun chased away the worst of the shadows, Belle walking forward, peering into the open doors of many an empty room. She didn't find much. Just plenty of supplies, most especially of food, and of more mundane weapons. He had quite the collection, but none of it sparked of magic the way the actual ship had. It left Belle wondering how exactly and with what Hook thought to use against Rumpelstiltskin when the Dark One couldn't die by any normal means.

She quickly shook her head, determined to not think about anyone dying, least of all Rumple. She'd concentrate on the moment, or so Belle would try. Room after room she passed, and found nothing of what she was looking for. She started to wonder if it was even here, if the pirate had hid it elsewhere, or if the woman simply hadn't searched hard enough. There was still quite a few places to be found in the ship, the galley, the hold, the barracks. She'd find what had to be the captain's cabin before any of those three, Belle slowly pushing the unlocked door open. It didn't draw a gasp from her the way the ship's deck had. But it wasn't because it wasn't a sight to be had. Belle was simply used to luxury, having lived in the Dark One's castle, for several years. And even before that, before her kingdom had all but bankrupted itself fighting a war against the Ogres, Belle had been a princess who had once lived among such brilliance and riches.

But still, it was impressive, the rich appointing, and the expensive finery found throughout the room. Everything from the red and black silk sheets of the mahogany bed, to the chests spilling over with treasure, with it's gold and jewels, to the many leather bound first edition books on magic and things. Belle was especially drawn to the books, wishing she had the time to do a leisurely exploration of their pages. She settled for brushing her finger tips over their embossed spines, then moved on to rifle through the pirate's belongings. Not caring of the mess she was about to make, Belle began over turning the chests, dumping them in an attempt to find the coarse fabric that was the missing shawl. When that quest proved empty, she moved on towards a desk that was bolted in place to the floor. There were things atop it's surface, including a ring with ten keys. She pocketed the key ring, and rifled through the pirate's papers, hoping perhaps for a map that would mark where he had hid his most recent treasure.

When that failed, she began searching inside the desk. Drawer after drawer was pulled open, and each time she was disappointed. Finding only trinkets, and a case that upon it's opening, was nothing more than a collection of deadly but elaborate and different looking hooks. All finely polished, all sharpened to a pointed tip, Belle wondered just why the pirate might have so many, and in so varied a style. It almost made her giggle, as she idly wondered if the pirate color coordinated his hook to match his outfits. But it probably wasn't any such reason as silly as that, and Belle's mirth soon sobered, as she moved on with her search. Nothing was discounted, every inch being scoured and examined. Belle would end up inside his closet, and there she would find a whole lot of thick and well worn leather. Softer yet would be the shirts, most of them cotton, though a few of the blouses were made of fine silk, or a good imitation of it. She'd searched the pockets of every article of clothing, and even bend down, so as to stick her hand into his boots. She found nothing, not even when she pressed to the very back of the closet, and began feeling up the paneled wall, searching for a trigger in the hopes she would find a secret compartment with which the pirate could use to hide away his most valuable.

But there was nothing like that and eventually the woman had searched the room of every possible nook and cranny but one. The bed. It's sheets rumpled from where Belle had carelessly tossed them aside, it's many pillows scattered and torn free of their slip covers, and still Belle had not found what she was looking for. But now she eyed the crawl space underneath it's massive frame. Just big enough that she might fit under the bolted wood, there was also more than enough space for that which she was hoping to find.

At first Belle merely got down on her knees, peering into the darkness underneath the bed. An arm of hers stretched out, but whatever was under there was further back than she could reach. She held in her sigh, knowing there was no helping it, and got down on both her hands and her knees. She half crawled under the bed, the very bottom of the frame brushing against the back of her head. It left her feeling cramped and claustrophobic, and she didn't dare go all the way under. Instead, with her body remaining half out, Belle stretched her arms out before her, feeling through the dust until her fingers brush against some coarse fabric. It felt familiar, felt like the one time that Rumple had shown it to her, Belle touching the shawl with her fingertips.

"This is it!" She thought to herself, her excitement making her wiggle just a little more under the bed. The short skirt of her outfit rode up on her behind, but Belle didn't care, intent on her prize. She'd wriggle and reach, and just as Belle thought to close her hand around the object, a sound intruded in on her. Not footsteps but a voice, and very close, the man-the pirate speaking in far too husky and satisfied a tone.

"Well now." He said. "This is as fine and welcoming a sight as ever I have been privileged to see."

Her shock had Belle bumping her head hard against the bed's frame, the woman trying to scramble forward on hands and knees. Something cold curved around one of her ankles, stopping any forward momentum. A hand then gripped Belle by the leg, dragging her back and out from under the bed. She exhaled with a gasp, fought to right herself from that ungainly position, only to freeze when Belle found herself face to belt buckle. That polished metal gleamed, and she could make out her distorted reflection on the buckle. Belle's eyes were wide, her apprehension making her mouth quiver. But most of all, there was a spot of angry and embarrassed color on her cheeks, Belle mortified by more than just being caught by the pirate. She was certain she had given him quite a show, Belle's skirt having ridden up past her thighs as she had crawled around on the floor.

With the blush bringing a fevered heat to her skin, Belle angrily jerked her skirt back down into place. A far too amused laugh was heard, Belle jerking her gaze upwards, and then she was lunging upright. She was too slow, the pirate easily stepping back, and taking the yellow shawl with him. The dark haired pirate gave her a downright smug smile, holding the shawl up and shaking it at her.

"Looking for this?" The pirate Hook asked, as if he hadn't already known. He was smug and smiling, almost laughing again, and the whole effect was transformative, making the pirate appear friendly and approachable. It was quite a stark contrast from the wicked smile he had given her back in the library, the menace then replaced with his sheer pleasure now.

Letting out a deep breath, and once more tugging on her skirt for good measure, Belle tried to resist her first impulse. Which was to forget diplomacy, and lunge for the shawl instead. But she refrained, her fidgety movements making a show of smoothing down her whole outfit. Belle wouldn't speak until she was sure everything was set to right, that not a thread was out of place, and only then with her makeshift armor aligned, did Belle speak.

"You HAVE to give that shawl back." Belle said. One dark eyebrow arched in challenge, a dismissive look in his eyes for the idea of THAT.

"I don't have to be doing anything." He answered. "Least of all giving back my spoils."

"I think that shawl is a bit more than anyone's spoils." She retorted. "Hook PLEASE. Rumple NEEDS it..."

His grin seemed to grow, as though he found too amusing Belle's pet name for Rumpelstiltskin. "Yes I know what Rumple NEEDS." He said to her. His hook caressed the shawl, the sharp tip a silver contrast against the buttery yellow of the wool. "And I know why."

She couldn't help but blink stupidly in shock for one moment. "You know, and you still act against him?"

"Aye lass, that I do." He was still caressing the shawl, but his hook left Belle on edge, the woman aware of how easily it would be to use it's sharpened tip to destroy the shawl. "But I am doing that boy a favor you see."

"That boy?!" She couldn't help but to scoff. "Don't try to play noble and claim there is any good at keeping a father and his son apart."

"Noble is the last thing I'd play at." Hook retorted. "Especially when it's far too late..."

"It's never too late..." Belle said. "Not for you, not for Baelfire, not even for Rumpelstiltskin."

The look on his face was one of searching, Hook staring into Belle's eyes. Her gaze was unwavering, Belle not so much as blinking as she let Hook read the truth as she believed it.

"Ah." Just a syllable of sound, the blue of his eyes taking on a harsher look. "You really do believe that."

"I do." She nodded with her affirmation. "Anyone can be saved...they just have to..."

"To what?" Hook interrupted. "Want it?" He laughed in response to the bobbing nod of her head. "It's not a matter of wanting anything. It's a matter of asking yourself if anyone, if HE, deserves to be saved?"

Belle tried not to frown. "It's not just Rumple I'm concerned about."

His smile suddenly flashed, and it was so easy going and friendly seeming. "Oh?" Hook inquired with another arch of his eyebrows. He really had a way with them, those bits of hair seeming to express so much, and the marvel of them nearly distracted Belle from the fact the pirate had stepped just a little closer to her. "Is the beautiful princess actually worried for a dirty rapscallion like a pirate? What would your father say? What would RUMPLE say?"

She blinked rapidly, but refused to back up. "They both know the kind of person I am. They even accept it."

"Somehow I can't see Rumple forgiving you for showing kindness or mercy to his enemy."

"Enemy? Do you two really need to hate one another?" She asked.

"Well we certainly can't be friends." His chuckle only made her blush, the sound ghosting along her skin, bringing the prickling raising of goose bumps as though Hook had physically touched her.

"I wasn't suggesting that!" Belle quickly protested. "I know you are past that...but..but can't you two at least be civil?"

"Civil?" Again an arch of his eyebrows. "I don't know what is more absurd. You asking that monster to be civil, or that you expect a pirate to be!"

"He's not a monster!" Belle heatedly snapped. A grin was her reward, as though the pirate had liked getting a rise out of her. "I don't believe you are one either."

"Darling..." His voice placed a husky emphasis on the endearment. "You don't know a damn thing about me, to be making such snap judgments."

"I know you didn't kill me when you had the chance." Belle pointed out. "BOTH times."

"Lass, you really are deluding yourself if you think that."

"Maybe." She conceded. "I mean..." She added hastily at his eyebrows questioning raise. "There's always the chance I could be wrong. Maybe you do want to hurt me. And maybe that is why you left that clue in my library."

Hook's expression betrayed nothing at what he was feeling in response to what she was saying.

"Maybe you wanted ME to find you...Maybe this was all an elaborate scheme to try a third time at your revenge...and the shawl was just an added bonus."

"Aye." He said. "It could indeed be as you say."

"And maybe I'd believe it, if you had done more than just stand here talking to me."

"Perhaps I just think it would be all the more satisfying to kill you before Rumple's very eyes." It was a quick answer that Hook gave her, and one Belle didn't believe for a second.

"No. You want no such thing. Whatever your fight is with Rumpelstiltskin, it is not with me. And it is not with his son either." Belle added.

"You think you've examined all the angles, have you?" He asked.

"Not all of them." Belle retorted. "But I am very perceptive."

"And what does your perception tell you about me?"

"That you've been hurt, and that you've been that way for a long time now. But more than that... you..." She stepped real close to him, a hand lifting to touch the wrist of his hook that had stilled on the shawl. "The fact that you haven't destroyed that? It speaks to me of a man who doesn't want to go that far."

"That far?" Hook asked, staring down at her.

"The point of no return." Belle clarified. "You know nothing will stop Rumple from killing you, not even me, if you take away his last chance to find and reunite with his son. You don't really want to cost him that. Not at the price YOU'LL pay. Hook, your soul is crying out for salvation. Give in to what it wants..."

"What it wants..." He muttered, and then his voice was a harsh whisper as he cursed, the man grabbing at her with his good hand. Belle couldn't stop her shocked gasp, finding he was hauling her against him. "My dear Belle, you've no idea how damn wrong you are. About me and about HIM!"

"What? What am I wrong about?!" Belle tried to sound challenging, but her tone was more breathless than anything. Her chin lifted as she stared up at him, and Belle found herself noticing just how beautiful a blue that his eyes were colored. His eyes weren't the only thing she was noticing, this close to him, Belle was feeling every hard line of him, the man all muscle and firm body. It was such a stark contrast to her own soft curves, her body soft and pliant against his. She should have stiffened, but her heart of hearts was still insisting the pirate meant no real harm to her.

"Everything."

"That's not an answer." Belle retorted, while licking her lips. She saw how that nervous flick drew his gaze downwards, Hook's own smile strained.

"It should tell you plenty." He said, and his voice had dropped several octaves lower. Hook was back to staring into her eyes, the blue of his gaze seeming angry now. She didn't understand what was the source of his anger, and Belle wondered if Hook even understood it too. "Belle love, I DON"T want to be saved. Anymore than he does..."

"You're wrong..." She started to say, and then Hook's mouth was on hers. Belle startled in reaction, shocked but certain that the pirate was only kissing her to drown out her protests. The reason didn't make the kiss any less angry, or any less electric, Belle feeling a surge of something go through her. What that something was, she did not know, her every nerve on fire, singing, and then she tried to push Hook away.

He didn't budge nearly far enough, still holding onto her arm. The shawl was all but forgotten on the floor between them, Belle actually glaring at Hook, his kiss still tingling on her lips. His next words spoken, only made Belle's glare deepen, the pirate wondering out loud if he had found something else of Rumple's to steal.

"First of all, NO!" She snapped. "I am not some THING that can be stolen. I belong to no one, but myself." She was relieved he wasn't grinning, for otherwise she would have given in to the temptation to slap him. "Second of all, didn't you learn your lesson the first time around when you tried to steal Rumpelstiltskin's wife?!"

"Apparently not." Hook had muttered it almost too soft for Belle to hear. She again made with that stubborn lift of her chin, glaring at him as she tried to wrench her arm free of his hand. His fingers merely bandied about tighter, surely bruising her in the process.

"What?!" She cried out in a shrill tone of voice.

"Besides." He said in a clearer tone. "You cannot steal someone who refuses to be stolen."

"Right..." She started to say, when Hook again pulled her to him. She still wasn't panicking, even as his hook reached behind her, and pressed into the small of her back. The action pretty much left Belle plastered against him, her squirming attempts to get free tearing a sound from the pirate's throat. THAT made her go still, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Anything she had been about to try to say was lost, Belle's lips parting on a silent sound that turned into a gasp as Hook's mouth crashed onto hers. It still felt angry, but there was passion there also, Hook kissing her with all his three or four hundred years of skill and expertise. She found her mouth thoroughly taken, his lips moving over hers with a fevered urgency that Belle had started to mimic.

For one brief moment in eternity, Belle forgot herself. Forgot why she should be alarmed, her tongue doing a ravenous lap against his. She actually made a sound, a needy little whimper that was so unlike her, Belle's body, her soul, responding. THAT scared her more than anything else, Belle starting to struggle, to squirm and push against Hook in an effort to get away. He growled in response, a feral, lustful sound, and then she found him purposefully thrusting against her, Belle's eyes snapping open at the feel of his arousal.

She didn't so much whimper as she did scream, fighting, struggling, and ultimately being backed towards the bed. When the mattress met the backs of her legs, Belle fell, and with her went the pirate, the man pawing at her. She fought wilder for his weight pinning her down, felt the cold metal around one slim wrist of hers. It was his hook, pinning her hand in place, HIS leaving her body, to do what Belle wasn't sure. Not until long after she heard the rattle of the chain, felt the manacle snap in place around her captured wrist.

Blinking rapidly, she shrieked, trying to twist free. But she couldn't get off her back, Hook's weight holding her down too thoroughly for any real wiggle room. She fought him anyway, and still her other wrist was caught and cuffed. Belle cried out with a mixture of fury and fear, jerking hard on her restraints. Hook was still on top of her, still aroused, and staring down at her with this primal look of hunger. She didn't even register the shaking of his hand, how his fingers trembled as their tips touched her soft cheek. What she did focus on was his aroused state, and how he was doing a blatant grinding against her, Belle's thighs spread around him. For the first time since starting out on this misadventure, did she finally feel fear, Belle inhaling to scream.

To Be Continued...

So...where to begin. Okay this is the revamping of one of my first Once Hook Belle fics, Restraint. Now don't get me wrong I adore the original, and really enjoyed it..at first. But at some point I started being very dissatisfied with like the first five or six chapters. It really showed that I was new to the fandom, and frankly, though I had written for quite a few years in other fandoms, those first chapters read like some newbie to writing wrote them. I don't mean sentence or paragraph structure, so much as how I forgot or ignored cannon, glossed over things. And don't get me started on the pacing. I always felt it was going too fast, that the feelings were developing too quickly. But I had convinced myself it had to be fast, cause Rumple wouldn't not find them, he was too powerful in magic. This time around I am not gonna worry that the Dark One will find them too quickly. I will take the time I need to hopefully properly develop the feelings and relationships.

Now when I started writing later chapters of Restraint, I tried to make it better for me, by reasoning it was a life and death situation, and that is why they fell in love so fast. You know like how in a book or tv show, people get stranded in the cold, and get it on, cause they think they are gonna die anyway? Yeah that is what I tried to tell myself to make myself feel better about my own fic, but soon enough even that wasn't enough.

Then I love the last few chapters, especially the first time love making scene that took two whole chapters to detail. I do not want to change that at all. But every time I tried to reread the original Restraint, I would cringe and hate on myself something fierce for the first couple of chapters. Even though it got better to me in later chapters, I could not get over how crappy I now found the first couple of chapters. But I didn't know how to rework it...I still kinda am struggling with figuring THAT out. What you read tonight, is actually my second attempt. my first attempt while okay for someone who hasn't written in like four months, actually got quite sinister in tone. Which would have been fine, except I want to try and retain the fun, flirty feel of the original Restraint, and the angst too...

I don't know if I quite accomplished that, but at least it doesn't read quite as sinister. Now it is my hope, that I will get to keep some of the later chapters mostly intact. Can you tell I do not want to trash the first time love making scene?! XD I'm also not looking forward to trying to rework the therapy with Archie scenes, cause I remember how hard I struggled on it the first time around. X_X

I don't know how many chapters this version will have before I can hopefully merge the later chapters from the original into this revamp version. I am leaving the original up too, so no worries there for all who liked it. :)

Originally I just wanted to try and flesh out those earlier chapters, but I basically overhauled it word for word. Chapter 2 will def go through some major overhauls, as the other night I tried to reread it and could barely make it to the half way point before I died of disgust and embarrassment. I know I am too hard on myself...but the fic has to make some sense to me, and satisfy me for me to be able to work on it too...So I am trying my best to fix it for me and for YOU the readers.

In other news, I am sorry I have been away from the Once fandom and writing in general for so long. Among other things, I have OCD, and when I get stressed/triggered it can trigger the obsessive compulsions...and I have been obsessing to the point I let it stop me from writing and even to a lesser degree, stop me from doing art. Every time I started to get it under control, something would upset me in real life, that would bring it back stronger than ever. Not sure I have completely shaken free of this particular compulsion, but at least I finally wrote something, and then wrote it to completion!

Thanks for your patience, and please review if you're so inclined! Feedback helps to keep me motivated. And yes, none of my Once fics are abandoned. I am just really slow most of the time. *blushes*

One last thing...I know how it looks at the end, but those of you who read the original Restraint know this ends up a consensual relationship between Hook and Belle. So basically appearances are deceiving if you're hoping for dub con, or outright non con. (Maybe if I ever get to this other fic idea of mine I have yet to write...) I'm hoping no one feels triggered by what Belle thinks is gonna happen. I don't even know what to write for my new summary...X_X Now I got to spell check and proof read...ARGH! I hope I can get this posted by four am...

-Michelle