This has been the most fun chapter to write yet! I hope this is the reunion you had all imagined, I can't wait to see how this develops next!

Gaston held onto Belle's unconscious body as he rode to return to the village. He looked down at the woman laying against him, and knew in that moment that he would do anything to protect her. Feeling her get closer to him only made that determination stronger. As the winds began to pick up he wrapped his cloak around her body to keep the warmth around her – propriety can go to hell in that moment. As a content sigh was released from Belle's lips Gaston nodded to himself knowing that he made the right decision. Now, the only thing he was uncertain about was why she was out here at dark to begin with. It was quite unusual for even a skilled hunter such as himself to roam the woods at night, but to have Belle out here? Something was not adding up.

He thought back to those wolves he saw about to kill her, and he remembered the ripping sensation in his heart as he saw the leader clench onto her arm and begin shaking it like a toy. The way Belle screamed at the pain was enough to drive him insane with fury that these animals were hurting her, and that was when he knew that she needed help. After all the wolves had either been shot or scattered away in fear, nothing could have prepared Gaston for the amount of blood he saw surround Belle's arm. Nothing scared him more than watching her skin turn even more pale than it already was and that's when he lost control of himself and began screaming and crying, cursing God for allowing this to happen to such a perfect woman.

Nonetheless, Gaston knew he had to act quickly if they wanted to have any chance at saving Belle's life. He immediately picked her up and raced to his horse telling all the men that came with him to ride ahead and prepare his bedroom for their ailed victim. Gaston knew how improper it was to have this woman in his bedroom since she was not his wife, nor were they even officially courting. Even more so, her father Maurice knew nothing about this and that made the situation even more improper.

In that moment Gaston's trail of mind stopped instantly. He had not seen the old man in over a week now and normally the inventor would be seen several times in the market trying to haggle on spare parts that others did not need any more so he could try to incorporate them into his inventions. This absence become stranger to Gaston since Belle had been out in the forest at this time of night. If her father were at home Belle would have no need to leave the safety of her house, unless her father was sick but even then she could have easily called upon the doctor. Thinking harder to try to find a reasonable situation for why Belle would end up in the forest it finally hit him when he remembered overhearing Maurice talking about an upcoming fair that was around last week, Maurice had been talking about how he was positive he would return with more money than before with the new inventions he had up his sleeve.

So, Gaston concluded, perhaps Maurice did not make it back to the village from his fair and Belle became worried. Gaston knew he would be worried too if Belle was gone for a week and he wasn't sure of her safety. This only made him hold her closer to him as he remembered that her safety was in jeopardy right now. Looking down at her, he saw that her cheeks flaming red and had she been awake he would have teased her for having feelings for him. But her limp body made him more concerned and pressing his lips against her forehead his fears only grew when he realized that she was burning with fever.

Seeing that they were reaching the village Gaston pushed his stallion harder than ever, forcing the pair to reach the village and his tavern within minutes. After finally arriving to the tavern, Gaston gingerly wrapped his arms around Belle's body, cradling her close to him, and slid off his horse. Hearing the laughter and singing in the tavern would have normally cheered Gaston to no end, however, in this moment those people singing, dancing, laughing and having a merry time angered him. Why should they be enjoying themselves so much when this woman's life was on the line? Making his way up the few steps he finally reached the front door and kicked it open. All at once the music and singing died away and everyone's eyes were on Gaston as he made his way into the tavern. He didn't even try to look at anyone because in that moment Belle was the only one who had his entire attention.

Finally making it to his room after several moments of unsettling quiet, Gaston gently laid Belle in his prepared turned down bed. He pulled the blankets up to the top of her chest and placed his hand against her forehead. The fever was still burning was concerned Gaston. Moving his fingers down her cheek and pressing them against her neck he felt a strong pulse beneath the skin. Smiling to himself this good news only reminded him how strong this beautiful woman before him was. But he needed to act fast to make her healthy as quickly as possible.

Gaston got up from the bedside and gently closed the door as he went downstairs to the main room. Everyone was still looking at him when he made it to the bar where Tom was cleaning several glasses. Gaston faced everyone once more, commanding the attention off all in attendance tonight.

"You may all leave now, there will be no more loud singing, music or dancing tonight. Tomorrow will be the same as normal but now leave me alone," Everyone around him groaned in disappointment but followed his directions. Gaston thanked the Lord for his high ranking in the army and his status as head hunter in the village. The admiration he had gained definitely had its uses, this occasion was one of them.

LeFou was the only one who had stayed behind, being the good concerned friend he was, LeFou knew that he couldn't leave Gaston alone especially if he needed help at any point. He made his way over to his friend at the bar and cleared his throat to make his presence known without startling the hunter before him.

"Is there anything you need help with Gaston?" LeFou tested the waters with his old friend.

"Yes, I need a bowl of alcohol prepared, a bowl of cool water and any clean cloths you can find. Also, keep everyone out of the tavern for the night unless I tell you they can be here," LeFou nodded at this, taking the orders just as easily as he did while they were in war. LeFou trusted that Gaston knew what he was doing, his friend was headstrong there was no doubt and when he needed help he would make it known.

LeFou prepared this items that Gaston requested and watched his friend walk back into his bedroom, softly closing the door. LeFou shook his head wondering why his friend had to struggle so much to find happiness, and when he had finally found the girl of his dreams she ended up deadly injured. This amount of stress on Gaston never ended well and LeFou hoped for both of their sakes that Belle came out of this back to normal.

Gaston carefully walked towards the bed again, trying not to make any sounds that could potentially disturb Belle. He pulled a candle out from a drawer from his side table and placed it in the candelabra before lighting it. The single flame lit up the entire room in a calm low light. Gaston was able to see the slow steady rise of Belle's chest and for the first time he took a close look at the gash along her arm. There were several long gashes on both sides of her arm from the beast clamping down and shaking for as long as he did. Taking a closer look it seemed that the bleeding had significantly stopped, and was now going at a much slower pace than before. Unfortunately, Gaston could not tell if there were any signs of infection yet until they gave the wounds more time to heal. The door opened behind him and for a split second Gaston felt the need to grab his gun and protect Belle from the intruder when he remembered that LeFou was helping him tonight. Leaving his pistol in his inner pocket in his red jacket Gaston turned around and thanked his old friend for helping him during a crucial time once again. Simply nodding towards Gaston LeFou made his leave and went to the main room once more guarding the tavern from any unwanted visitors.

Placing everything on the side table Gaston went to work to heal Belle back to her normal self. Beginning with the water, Gaston took a spoon dipping it into the bowl and brought the spoonful of water to Belle's mouth. Pushing the corners of her lips in, he slowly poured the water into the small opening to keep her hydrated. Waiting for something to happen Gaston watched Belle for a few seconds and when nothing changed he gave her more water. After repeating this process for five more times he finally got what he wanted when he heard her begin coughing up some of the water she had swallowed. Given this que, Gaston took a cloth and soaked it in the water before placing it on her head to cool down the fever. At this, Belle groaned at the extreme cold. Gaston hated to put her in unease but he needed to do this for now. Whispering his apologies once more Gaston continued his tasks to make Belle conscious again. As the process continued on for another hour Gaston went to scoop more water into the spoon when he realized that there was no more water left in the bowl. Looking from the bowl to Belle he realized that he had to leave her for a few moments to refill the bowl once more. Determined to make it a quick process he rushed to the main room to refill the container and saw LeFou still dutifully watching the door. Pleased with his friend Gaston ran back to the room. Sighing as he placed the bowl down on the side table he walked to the bathroom and splashed some water on his face from a washbowl that he had prepared that morning.

Walking back to the bedside Gaston began preparing another cloth to replace on Belle's forehead when his heart stopped.

"Gaston? Where am I?" Belle's weak voice spoke from beside him. Gaston quickly turned to see if his mind was playing tricks on him, but he knew that was wrong when he saw the beautiful brown eyes staring back at him. His heart began to race as he realized that Belle was awake again. It took him a few moments to regain his composure and find his voice again.

"You're in the tavern, you were fighting wolves and they began attacking you. You were severely injured and I found you near the end of the battle. Please forgive me for not finding you quicker." Gaston held Belle's hand and lowered his head in shame. He should have been there for her when she needed him. Why didn't he see her leave the village?

"But my father needs my help! I have to leave now!" Belle immediately shot up to return to her journey to save her father from the Beast. She must have wasted so much time already sleeping, who knows what that Beast could have done with him already? As Belle quickly shot up her vision blurred and she began to fall towards the ground, yet there was no strength in her body to stop her. Luckily, she felt arms catch her and soon enough she was facing Gaston once more as he laid her back down.

"You have been injured Belle, you cannot leave just yet. You have lost a significant amount of blood and you've had a fever for several hours now. You need to heal." Gaston spoke as calmly as he could to Belle, he needed her to understand that she was sick and no matter the circumstances that surrounded her father, and if she was not healthy there would be no point in traveling anytime soon.

"But my father –" Belle began to speak again, trying to stake her argument in the ground.

"Will not want you to risk hurting yourself even more. He would want you to be as strong as possible for this journey of yours you insist upon, please trust me on this" Gaston pleaded with Belle.

Belle pondered what Gaston was telling her for a moment. If it was true that she had a fever and a severe injury it would only impede her ability to keep her father as safe as possible. If she wanted to make sure he returned home completely unscathed she would do whatever it takes to make that possible – even if it means staying home for a couple of days to heal her body.

"Very well Gaston, I am at your command captain," Belle laid back down on the pillow giving a little smirk to the man before her. Belle knew that happiness can be found even in the darkest times if one only remembers to turn on the light, therefore she knew that even though her circumstances were the most unpleasant she's been in yet she did have Gaston there to keep her company and teasing the man could do no harm at all.

Gaston caught onto the teasing fast and returned the smile back at Belle. He knew that she must have been feeling better if she had the energy to tease him just like normal. He enjoyed her spitfire attitude and he was more pleased than words could describe that the Belle he knew was slowly, but surely, returning back to him. Before he forgot, he guided Belle's focus to her arm and began informing her about what happened there when he saw her eyes open widely and a gasp fly out of her mouth.

"The leader of the pack grabbed onto your arm, he held on very tight and it seems that he shook you around a little bit. I need to disinfect the area to try to make sure that infection doesn't set in. If we can take care of this together we might not need to call upon the doctor," Gaston informed Belle has he further inspected the area.

Belle nodded in approval and watched Gaston soak a cloth in a strong smelling liquid in a bowl, she knew that smell anywhere and closed her eyes as she prepared for the pain of the alcohol to hit.

"This may hurt a little bit, I am so sorry," Belle heard Gaston whisper in her ear before feeling the pressure of his lips against her temple. For a moment Belle relaxed into his touch surprised at how much she responded to him. But she wasn't able to dwell on the matter for long before a searing pain swept through her arm and she clamped her teeth together from crying out in pain. She knew that this was already hard enough for Gaston to do to her, crying would only make this harder for the both of them. Luckily, after a few minutes of having the alcohol soak into her wounds the pain began to subside and Gaston only removed the clothes when he finally saw Belle begin to relax.

Checking the wounds once more Gaston was more pleased with how they looked now, he was not afraid that Belle wouldn't make it through the night anymore. Throwing all the dirty towels into the bowl Gaston placed them back on the side table and tucked the blanket back in around Belle. Now all she needed to do was rest and let her body heal itself. Standing up after he was pleased with everything Gaston went towards the door to relieve LeFou of his job and take over keeping guard for the rest of the night. His fingers brushed against the doorknob when he heard Belle speak again, once more gaining his complete attention.

"Gaston, thank you for everything," Belle said as she began to try to get up to thank him. Her body was screaming from how sore it was. She exerted herself too much over the past couple of days without allowing herself to rest at all. This was now her punishment for not taking care of herself.

Gaston watched Belle once more try to get up, for reasons unknown. However, Gaston chided and admired her stubborn nature to get something down when it commanded her attention. As he grabbed her gently he was surprised for the first time in his life when he felt Belle press her lips against his. At first he didn't move much from the sheer shock of her actually kissing him, he had dreamed about it countless times but never thought it would actually happen. Finally his brain caught up and he kissed her back, receiving a soft moan from Belle. Gaston knew he would hate himself for the rest of eternity but he carefully pulled himself back, albeit grinning as wide as he could, and laid Belle back down in the bed.

"Please get some rest Belle, for your father and me," Gaston gently begged the beauty that had captured his heart. When Belle finally nodded in defeat she fell asleep within seconds and Gaston sighed as he finally left the room. He walked over to LeFou to let him know that he could leave now and once his friend was gone Gaston sat in his chair before the fire burning in the hearth and wondered what would happen now.

Oh my goodness! I am so thrilled! Thank you for all the feedback so far and I can't wait to hear more from you!