#bellecourageuse

Neal laughed. With a shake of the head, he also shrugged his shoulders. "We go way back. She stole a stolen car from me. I was napping and she broke in and the rest is history. We kind of bid the Bonnie and Clyde thing for awhile. Then I broke her heart and trust," he said. " We didn't see each other for over a decade. And I'm pretty sure she hates my guts. I don't blame her. I left her. She went to jail for something I did and she thinks I called the cops on her but I didn't. But I guess that doesn't matter. Not after all this time. So I don't know.:

"I'm not? I tend to deal with insomnia and I like to take a walk," he admitted. " Why are you sneaking around? Why are you in the park right now? I thought you and my dad had something going on."

"Yeah, I'm awake... are you okay? David's covering the station, do you need me to send him out to your place?"

❛   you look a little worse for wear , @bellecourageuse. rough night ? ❜ a brow arches as emma slides into the booth across from the brunette.

He knows he should be more open and vulnerable with others, but after living the opposite for so long--along with losing those he cared and getting hurt in return-- he isn't sure if he has the strength to do so. But he wants to try--for Belle. Her belief in him is giving him that strength. "I want you too, Belle. You know, this isn't easy for me to do. I really am a difficult man...but for you...I would do anything."

Emma was still new to this whole mom thing. She wondered if she would ever be able to get it down.

When he emerged from the shower, he found a delicious meal prepared by Belle, and they sat down to eat together.

As Lacey carefully patched up Detective Weaver's wounds, the dim light in the cramped room flickered, which cast dancing shadows on the worn-out furniture and the walls around them. He winced from a deep cut on his arm, but he welcomed the pain as a reminder of the harrowing chase they had just survived. "Thanks, Lacey," Detective Weaver muttered, his voice still filled with adrenaline. "I couldn't have done it without you."