this story takes place at the end of season 4 when Rumple gets the darkness removed from his heart and he slips into that coma.
after slipping into a coma Rumpelstiltskin finds himself a state between life and death. Through the help of a mysterious figure taking on the shape of Belle he learns what the world would be like if he had never existed.
" A coma is defined as a state of unconsciousness of which the person is in a deep sleep and unaware of what is going on around them. But the brain continues to show some signs of electric activity. But does that activity mean that the person in the coma is still thinking. There are reports of people in comas being able to see and hear people around them. can they be consciousness in a way that we don't understand? Do they know they're lying in a bed or do they think they're somewhere else. and if so. where.
"What If"
A Rumbelle fanfic
"Rumple" said Belle in a panic as he slumps down and collapses into her arms. "Rumple" Belle said again. Even though he could not answer her he could hear her and he could feel her hands touching touching his face. "I love you" Belle whispered. Oh no. Rumple thought to himself. Even though Belle had told him that she didn't love Will that she still loved him. He knew that he should be happy about it but he was also unhappy. Because with the darkness consuming his heart he knew that he was going to be dead soon. And he knew what that would do to her, the pain that it would cause her. "Now matter what I do all I do is cause her pain" he thought to himself. ever since the day he met her all he did was cause her pain. From the moment he sent her away from his palace making her think that he didn't love her to Regina abducting her and locking her up in an asylum for 28 years to now with him dying that too would cause her pain. "What was the point of us ever meeting if all I was going to do was cause her pain" Rumple thought to himself as he slipped further and further away. "Maybe it would have been better if she and I had never met" Rumple thought as the last moment.
Rumple opened his eyes and he saw nothing but complete darkness around him. no trees, no buildings no scenery nothing but complete and total darkness. "Am I dead"? Rumple thought to himself. Then suddenly in front of him he saw a light and for a moment he could hardly see. Then the light died down and he looked again and before him he saw a woman dressed in white robes and with a familiar set of blue eyes and brown hair that he knew all too well. "Belle" said Rumple.
No, replied the woman. "I am the guardian of space and time I have taken the form of the person that you love the most. Your wife Belle because she represents the light in your human life.
the spirit then lifted her hand and then waved her hand and then they were in another place Rumple knew the place they were back in his castle in the enchanted forest and he looked and he saw himself as the dark one talking to Belle and he saw her giving him a ring and he saw a ring the same blue ring that he always wears on his finger "I want you to have this said Belle. "Why?, said Dark one rumple. "Well you see this ring was supposed to be the wedding ring I was to give to Gaston on our wedding day but since it looks like that day will never take place and since I will be here with you forever it seems only right for you to take it" said Belle then she took the ring and then placed it in his hand and then closed his hand" Then the image faded into the darkness
As Rumple watched the memory of the 2 of them fade he reached down to touch his hand where he always wore his ring but he did not feel it and when he looked down at his hand where he always wore his ring he saw that it was gone". "My ring " said Rumple as he frantically tried to figured out what happened to his ring. "It's not there" said the spirit as she appeared next to Rumple again. "It's not there because she never gave it to you" Because she never met you, so she never knew you" said the spirit
"I'm dead" asked Rumple. "No", replied the Guardian". You are not dead but right now you are in a world where you do do not exist. "What do you mean?" said Rumple.
Do you not remember what you were thinking at your last moments" said the Guardian. "I remember thinking of all of the pain the people I love have experienced simply because the loved me so I thought there would have been less pain for them if I had never existed." said Rumple.
I can show you said the Guardian. then the guardian waved her hand and then a tunnel of light appeared and the two of them started to walk down the tunnel of light. when they reached the end of the tunnel.
Rumple recognised the place right away it was the village home he lived in with milliah and bae when bae was growing up. do you know this place said the guardian he ran to the spot where his hut had been. but it was no longer there. it was just an empty spot. where is said rumple."it's not there" replied the spirit you never lived here so after the spinsters who raised you died the house was burned down. in their mind you had always been their child and as such they left you everything that they owned including their love. I had no idea replied rumple. but what of Bae asked rumple. he still lives said the spirit but he is not the brave child that you knew. what do you mean ?asked rumple. he was still born from milliah but she ran away with another man and because the man wanted no children she left baelfire behind to defend for himself". rumple turned and walked into the hut looking around he heard the faint whimpering of a child. rumple followed the sounds to a closet and saw bae inside the closet with tears running down his face. "Bae" said rumple as he gazed on the child that he had not seen in so long his son was alive again and right in front of him as he reached out to touch his face Baelfire screamed and ran away. "Bae" rumple called. he started to run after him. But then all of a sudden he was back in the dark again. rumple turned around and once again saw the spirit. "whats wrong with him" asked rumple. he's afraid she replied. of what asked rumple. everything replied the spirit. because his mother abandoned him he grew up all alone in the village with the other orphans in the village when the ogre wars came there was no one to defend him when the army dragged him and he other children into war there was no one there to defend him or the other children he was already in a fragile state from being abandoned by his mother and was always a frightful child and being exposed to the ogre wars even the slightest window blow caused him to runaway with fright said the spirit. but that can't be said rumple. "Bae was always a brave child". "That was only because of you" said the spirit. "What, said Rumple. "I was the village coward always hiding in the shadows how would having me for a father encouraged him to be brave " said Rumple. "Because of Love" said the spirit Because you loved him and he loved you back that love made him want to protect you and stand up for you, In the village anytime that anyone called you a coward he would stand up to them and tell them not to call you that and that is how he found his courage " said the spirit. Like with that guard that was trying to take him away to serve in the ogre wars said Rumple. "Yes replied the spirit.
As Rumple watched everything around him he could not understand how a coward like him could have had such an impact on the people around him. As he watched what he saw of Bae he suddenly remembered the woman that he loved. "Belle" he whispered what happened to Belle she was certainly better off she probably got a chance to see the world like she dreamed." Belle" Rumple finally said out loud. "Would you like to see her?" asked the spirit think carefully about it just like with your son you might not like what you see said the spirit. I'm sure replied rumple take me to Storybrooke.
The spirit waved her hand and then all of a sudden they were in Storybrook and as Rumple started looking around he out of the corner of his eye spotted the Storybrook Library he went up to the Library but he saw that it was boarded up he peeked inside of the window and it was nothing but dust and cobwebs. Rumple turned to the spirit "what happened" he asked the spirit. Belle is always at the library at this time of the day". "don't you remember said the spirit you are the one that gave it to her But, you weren't here to give it to her so she never started working at the library so it was never opened or run by her said the spirit". "
Thats right said Rumple because she never met me she probably never got swept up in the curse either so she must not be here she is probably off seeing the world, right? said rumple. No replied the spirit "as you can see regina still cased her curse to get revenge on snow white, there was a different Dark one that helped her and taught her magic but belle like so many others in the kingdom were still swept up in the curse and Belle was one of them because she was in the kingdom at the time"
So where is she asked rumple. Because she was engaged to Gaston she lives in this world believing that she is engaged to him in this world as well and because she was never in love with him she wasn't separated from him because being with him was not her happy ending said the spirit. "Right" said Rumple "her happy ending was to travel the world and be a hero, so that must have had to do with Regina's curse. "Sadly no" replied the spirit she gave up on her dream before Regina even cast her curse". "what, why"? asked Rumple. "Because" said the spirit " since you never appeared to save her castle and her Kingdom Belle and her family had to flee the castle and live in the wilderness and Gaston destroyed the few books that Belle had managed to bring with her and he convinced her that women should not read that women were not meant to read and were meant to marry and serve their husband and eventually he broke her".
"No, that can't be" said Rumple Belle, would never let anyone break her she is strong she is a hero she would never let anyone tell her what to think or how to feel".
The spirit then waved her hand and then a window appeared and then he saw Belle inside of the window. Belle was entering the bedroom and cleaning. "Belle", whispered Rumple as he placed his hand on the window tracing around her face. Then Rumple heard the door from inside open and he saw a man walk in. Rumple recognized him from the first time he met him in Belle's castle it was the knight Sir Gaston. "Emily, are you ready to go" he called out.
Belle turned around as he walked in. Gaston was wearing a Black suit while Belle was dressed up in a house cleaning dress with an apron around her waist. Rumple was outraged by what she was wearing she looked like she was someone's servant. He had never seen her wear something like that and the Belle that he knew would never wear something like that. "What is this"? said Gaston "what on earth are you wearing said Gaston "why aren't you ready to go"? "Oh, I'm sorry Fredric replied Emily "I must have lost track of the time" she said". "Unbelievable, replied Fredric "Other than cleaning a house you are completely useless" said Fredric. "I'm sorry", said Emily.
As Rumple watched from the outside window he was shocked at what he was seeing. Why was she apologizing to this horrible man and why was she acting like this the Belle that he knew would never allow anyone to speak to her like that. "I'm not going to miss this dinner Emily "I'm the guest of honor, The mayor herself is representing me with the key to the city for all of the work of done and money I have donated to the city". "Your right" Fredric said Emily. "I'll be ready right away". "what so you can rush getting ready and arrive at the party looking the absolute worst you can, I will not be seen on the best night of my life with an escort that looks her absolute worst I'm going without you said Fredric and then he turned to leave". "Wait please, Emily called as she followed after him "I can be ready please, just give me a few moments to get ready". Fredric sighed "All right he said "The truth is I've met someone else". "I can't marry you", said Fredric. "What" said Emily. "we met on my recent project she's going to be there at the dinner tonight she and I have fallen in love she is beautiful and she comes from a wealthy family" I need more than just a housemaid for my wife I need someone that I can have a connection with and that most certainly is not you, it's over emily"
Rumple watched as Gaston dumped Belle and then left the room. Belle watched as he left the room she then walked back into her room and sat down on her bed and put her head in her hands and began to rolled down Rumple's face as he watched Belle sit in her room and wept then suddenly her image faded away into the dark and then the spirit appeared by Rumple's side again.
"She's all alone" said Rumple. "Because you were not there" replied the spirit. "But why"? "Because you never came to her castle and asked for her as payment she never found her courage to speak up and go with you or her courage to speak up to you when she was her servant in your castle, You always valued her intelligence no one else in her life ever did. "Yes but she already had the courage it was already in her like when her father tied her up in the cart to send her across the town lines to have her memories erased and he told her she had to stay away from me and she told him no one told her what to do or how to feel" said Rumple. "That was because she fell in love with you" said the spirit. "It was because she fell in love with you that she had the courage to speak up to her father like that she had never defend herself to her father before said the spirit. "I had all of that influence on her " said Rumple.
"Yet I ended up betraying her and breaking her heart, and now I will never see her again, it's too late. " No" said the spirit as she placed her hand on his face "It is never too late to correct the mistakes we make with our loved ones. "How"? asked Rumple. "close your eyes", said the spirit. Rumple closed his eyes and he could feel the spirit moving toward him. Then he slowly opened his eyes and he saw Belle looking at him.
"Belle", said Rumple as he placed his hand on her face he then looked around at where he was he was in a hospital bed at the Storybrook hospital. he looked up at Belle again. she was smiling but she also had tears in her eyes. "Belle, I had a horrible nightmare" said Rumple. "Well it's all over now" said Belle "I'm here". Rumple looked down at his hand and he saw that his ring was back on his hand the same one she had given him then he looked up and Belle and whipped the tears from her face. "Yes, she is here " Rumple thought to himself. even after everything he had done to her all of the pain that he had caused her she was still here with him when he needed her the most.
"Do you want to tell me what you dreamt"? asked Belle. "I saw a different world said Rumple "I saw what the world would have been like if I had never been born, I saw what Bae would have been like if I was never born and what you would have been like, You were a completely different person a worse person someone that could not speak up for herself said Rumple in a panic. Belle then grabbed his hand in one of her hands and then used the other to place it on his face". "It's normal to wonder from time to time what our life would have been if we were never born or if someone else was never born said Belle. But I know what I would be like if I had never met you, you were the only man I ever met that made me feel like it was all right for me to be myself that it was all right for me to be myself and because of that I became who I am today and you had never let me down in that aspect, thank you Rumple" said Belle and then she placed her head down on his chest. "You know what else I dreamed" said Rumple. "I dreamed that the curse to storybrook was still cast but that a different Dark One provided the curse to Regina I can't help but wonder who that Dark One could have been" said Rumple. Belle paused for a moment. Rumple didn't know yet that he was no longer the Dark One and That the darkness that now left him and now took control of Emma and that Emma was now the Dark One and Belle did not want to tell him just yet for now she just wanted to enjoy their quiet moment together.
Meanwhile in the enchanted forest at the Dark One's well a new Dark one started rising up from the well a woman with a hood on her head with long blonde hair and she began to look around. A new Dark One had been Born.