After returning from Neverland, Pan's shadow manages to escape and steal Storybrooke's magic. Since Rumplestiltskin is now powerless, Hook decides to play some harmless pranks on him :)
Emma and the others had convinced him not to kill the man, but that didn't mean he couldn't have some fun with him, now that he was a mere mortal. And as a pirate, he was good at playing tricks.
The first thing he noticed in the weeks that followed was that Gold didn't have the magic to heal his leg and so was forced to use his cane again. Hook grinned as he saw the older man make his way into his shop. How was he going to distract him long enough? He decided he needed Henry. Henry was to be the distraction while he did his thing. He didn't tell the boy of his real plan, because he didn't think he'd go along with it. So when Henry entered Gold's shop, he went around the back and snuck into the back room.
"Hey Mr. Gold," said Henry.
Gold looked up from the watch he was working on repairing. "Henry. What are you doing here?"
"Well I never got a chance to thank you for what you did in Neverland. You saved me and everyone."
Gold looked surprised and was silent for a few moments. "You're quite welcome boy," he replied at last.
Hook tiptoed through the back room and saw Gold's cane leaning against the wall, just inside the curtain. Since Gold was sitting, he had left it here. Hook grinned mischievously, pulled a small saw out of his pocket and started cutting the cane in half. He made the cut about halfway through and since he was rather skilled at this, it was just a barely visible line. He didn't think Gold would notice.
He peaked through the curtain and caught Henry's eye, giving him a thumbs up and left.
"Gotta go," said Henry. "Are you coming to the party at Mary Margaret's tonight?" He asked hopefully.
"I don't know," said Rumple. Things had just gotten back to normal and he wanted to have a quiet night in with Belle after everything that had happened.
"Please?" Begged Henry. "It'll be fun! You can bring Belle and I know Neal would want you there." He looked up at his grandpa with puppy dog eyes.
Gold begrudgingly gave in. "Oh alright then."
Henry grinned. "Ok see you there!" he shouted and ran off.
Later that day Belle came into the shop so they could walk to the party together. He leaned in to kiss her, grabbed his jacket and cane and locked up the store. On the street they met Emma and Neal, who were also making their way to the party.
"Hey Dad, Belle," Bae said. "I didn't think you guys were gonna come."
"Henry convinced me," said Gold.
Emma chuckled. "Lemme guess, he used his puppy dog eyes on you?"
Gold scowled. His leg hurt. Thank god they were almost at the house.
Just then, as he took another step, his cane snapped clean in half, forcing all of his weight onto his bad leg, which gave out and he fell painfully on it, landing in a sprawled heap on the cold ground.
On the other side on the street Hook stood in the shadows laughing. His plan had played out perfectly. Gold hadn't suspected anything. The shocked expression that crossed his face as he fell was priceless.
Belle, Emma and Neal quickly knelt by his side. Belle had her hand on his arm.
"What happened, are you alright?" She asked worriedly, just as Neal said, "Papa?"
Rumple propped himself up on his elbows, pulling his broken cane out from underneath him. Emma took the pieces from him. "It looks like it's been cut in half."
Just then Hook walked by. "Alright down there, mate?" He smirked at Rumple, who seethed at him. "You did this, you bastard." Hook just grinned and kept walking.
"Hey wait," called Emma and went after him.
Meanwhile Neal grabbed his father's arm and helped him into a standing position. "You okay, Papa?"
"I'm fine." Rumple was rather embarrassed and didn't like all the attention. He started limping towards the doorstep, but his bad leg soon buckled and he would've fallen again if his son hadn't caught him.
"Come on, let's get you inside," said Neal, slinging his father's arm across his shoulders to support most of his weight. Belle was on the other side, her hand around Rumple's waist.
"This is really not necessary," Rumple started, but his leg hurt so bad he didn't have it in him to put up a fight right now. Not if he was going to get up the flight of stairs to the apartment.
Halfway up the stairs he was a sweaty mess, his face pale and drawn in agony.
Belle and Neal exchanged a worried glance. "Only a few more steps, come on," said Neal, practically carrying Gold up the last steps to the door. Mary Margaret was in the doorway.
"What happened?"
"Someone sawed his cane in half and he fell. Just need to get him to a couch." Neal replied.
They sat him down on the couch, Belle sitting next to him holding his hand. Mary Margaret insisted on getting an ice pack.
"Really I'm fine," Gold repeated.
"You're in pain," said Snow. "Maybe we should have Doctor Whale take a look at him."
"No," said Rumple, exasperated now. "It's just my leg. It'll be fine in a few hours. Please."
Neal could see his father was feeling overwhelmed by all the attention. He squeezed his hand. "You heard the man, he'll be fine. Let's give him some space."
Rumple gave him a small thankful smile.