Aftermath and Repercussions
"What are you doing here?"
"Since we have two unconscious men and a young woman shot tonight, I think I'm exactly in the right place," David answered as he stood next to Mr. Gold, a Styrofoam cup in one hand and a deputy badge pinned to his belt.
It was a odd sight to see a distraught Mr. Gold staring intently through the hospital room window. Not many people in either world got to see Rumplestiltskin display any form of vulnerability. Even the man himself believed himself indestructible. Yet here he was, in turmoil over a tiny slip of a girl.
This was the third time David had witnessed the imp's devotion to the young woman who lay sleeping in the next room. He'd scoffed at the notion of Rumplestiltskin knowing anything about love back in the Enchanted Forest all those years ago. But as he had begun to talk about lights and oceans, David realized this man, or being or whatever he was, had once had love in his life. Real love, maybe even true love. And despite all his reservations about helping the infamous Mr. Gold when he came to him for assistance nearly a month ago, David agreed after seeing the anguish Gold tried to keep hidden underneath his cool demeanor.
"Come to interrogate me, Mr. Nolan?" Gold asked as he held his vigilant stance outside Belle's room.
"No," David answered. "Your story checks out. Although why you were at the town line is still a mystery."
"I broke the border curse," Gold said with a unusual straightforwardness and a lack of emotion.
"That's great. Belle will be able to get her memories back," David exclaimed.
Gold shook his head as he continued to stare through the window. "No, it only works if you enchant an object most dear to the person beforehand. We weren't there for Belle. I was testing it out on myself. She was there for support. I only had enough potion for one object."
"And then our infamous Captain Hook showed up to interrupt your experiment," David surmised.
"I was going to kill him." Gold confessed, his eyes still focused on the girl laying in the room beyond the window. "He shot Belle and planned it so that at just the right point so she'd fall over the line. He was begging me to kill him and I was going to."
"But then the car struck him before you could," David continued, piecing together the clues of what actually went down tonight.
"I heard the car and rolled Belle the side of the road. Mr. Jones was standing in the middle."
"After what Emma's told me about their little adventure in the Enchanted Forest with him and Cora, I'm sad to say that he's going to live," David informed the man. "But I suggest you stay away from him."
Gold was about to tell Charming just exactly what he could do with his suggestions when Dr. Whale interrupted the two men standing before the window.
"Mr. Gold, can I have a moment of your time?" Dr. Whale asked softly and walked toward a bank of chairs on the far side of the room to afford them some bit of privacy.
What could Whale possibly have to say to him? What if the bullet had strayed and he didn't realize it? Or infection had set in already at the wound site and went septic. Every possible outcome seemed to race through his head in the five second it took to walk to where Whale was waiting. It was only as he stood before the doctor and stared at his arm that he realized he could heal what Dr. Whale couldn't. That thought brought a small measure of peace. But he still couldn't return Belle's memories to her.
"What is wrong, Whale?" Gold asked impatiently, all the while trying to hide the terror eating inside of him.
"Nothing life threatening," Whale answered immediately, knowing from experience not to antagonize the Dark One. "The bullet just caused a flesh wound in the shoulder. It didn't hit any organs or major arteries. The only thing we really are looking at is to make sure infection doesn't set in."
"Then why did you call me over to tell me what I already know," Gold responded, his tolerance for the doctor receding rapidly by the second.
Sensing he better get on with the news, Dr. Whale said hurriedly, "We did the standard blood tests to make sure infection wasn't setting in, but something was a bit off, so we ran a full panel."
"Get on with hit Whale," Gold demanded, his voice rising along with the fear he was trying to hide. "What did you find?"
"I think you'd better sit down first," the doctor advised.
"Just tell me," and irritated Mr. Gold said menacingly. "Before I rip off what I once fixed."
Collecting himself and taking a deep breath, Dr. Whale said the one thing that hadn't run through Gold's mind in the few minutes they stood discussing Belle's condition, "She's pregnant."
All blood drained from Gold's face as he collapsed in the chair behind him. It wasn't often that Rumplestiltskin was at a loss for words. In fact, in was only with regards to Bae or Belle that he ever was reduced to a state of incoherence since becoming the Dark One.
However, at the moment, Gold sat in shock as the doctor continued on with his diagnosis. "She's only about six weeks along. She probably didn't even know she was pregnant yet. From all the tests, though, she seems to be healthy with no complications."
"The gunshot wound?" Gold asked, finally able to get a form of intelligible thought out of his lips.
"Won't affect her," Dr. Whale answered. "The medicine she's being give is safe for her and the baby."
"You haven't told her yet," Gold remarked. It wasn't a question of inquiry, just a statement of fact.
"No," he answered. "With her loss of memory and the injury, I didn't want her to have a setback right now. She still believes she escaped from the mental ward. But she's going to have to be told. Soon."
"I'll tell her. She might not have her memories, but she trusts me," Gold declared. Looking up at the doctor, he added, "And I trust you news of this will not leak to anyone at the moment."
"Whatever you think of me, I won't disregard my patient's right to privacy," Whale replied. "I'll leave you to tell her the happy news."
As Whale moved to walk away, he stopped and turned around to stare once more at the imp sitting alone. "Mr. Gold," he said. "Congratulations. It's not often in this line of work that I get to offer good news."
Gold was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear the sound of heavy footsteps reaching him once again. "Is Belle alright?" David asked cautiously as he moved without invitation to sit next to Gold.
"Yes, it's just a shallow wound," Gold answered. "She will survive."
"Here," David said, holding out the cup he had been clutching when he first approached Gold a few minutes ago. "I think you need this more that I do."
Gold uncharacteristically accepted the Styrofoam cup from the man who had often been his nemesis in the past. Taking a sip, his eyes widened and asked, "You're not trying to poison me, are you? I'll inform you right now that it's not going to work."
Chuckling softly at Gold's inquiry, David answered, "It's brandy masquerading as tea. I picked back up the habit from home of carrying around a small flask in case of emergencies. This seemed like a fitting circumstance to use it."
"Thank you," Gold said as he took another sip of the hot beverage.
"What did Whale mean when he called back congratulations to you? Is Belle regaining her memories?" David asked.
"No," the older man answered. "There is no sign that she's remembering anything."
"What was the good news that Whale was talking about then?" David inquired cautiously, wondering how much the private man would reveal.
"I'm going to be a father," Gold answered succinctly. "He was offering me congratulations. Belle is pregnant."
"What the hell is going on?" Emma asked her mother, her gaze falling on the two unlikely men engaged in deep conversation at the other end of the hallway outside of Belle's hospital room.
"You mean besides the fact that we have three unconscious people lying in hospital beds because of tonight's events?" Mary Margaret answered sarcastically, not yet noticing the scene unfolding before them.
"No, I mean that," Emma clarified as she pointed to the two men seated a good distance away.
"Oh, my," Mary Margaret replied. "Come on, lets leave them alone for right now."
"What could they possibly be talking about so civilly?" Emma asked.
"Emma," Mary Margaret admonished, pulling her daughter into a small unoccupied waiting room. "He almost lost the love of his life tonight. Yeah, she's going to be physically okay, but she has no memories of anything now. I feel so bad for Belle. At least Sneezy had his memories of being a pharmacist to remember. From what David's told me, Belle doesn't remember anything other than being confined in a small white room."
"And here I thought Regina hated you," Emma responded. "It seems like being put under a sleeping curse was almost a better alternative to being in an asylum with no memories."
"I don't think her problem was with Belle," Mary Margaret answered. "I think her real revenge was against Rumplestiltskin."
"As with Hook," Emma replied. "That poor girl really entangled herself in a mess when she got herself mixed up with Rumplestiltskin."
"I feel so bad for her and Mr. Gold," Mary Margaret lamented.
"You feel bad for Gold?" Emma asked incredulously. "Are you sure that sleeping curse didn't affect your brain?"
"Emma, you don't quite understand our history with Rumplestilstkin," Mary Margaret explained. "I hate to admit it, but I've always had a soft spot for the imp. If it wasn't for him, Charming and I would never have been together."
"If it wasn't for him, we'd all never have been sent to Storybrooke." Emma answered, anger simmering beneath her comment.
"That's true," conceded Mary Margaret. "But you have to have some empathy for the man. His true love just lost all memory she ever had of him. I think David might feel a kinship with him."
"What do you mean by that?" Emma asked her mother.
"Haven't you memorized our story by now?" Mary Margaret asked jokingly. "After I took the potion to stop my feelings for Charming…"
"Given to you by Rumplestiltskin, I might add," Emma interrupted.
"Yes, well…after I took the potion, my memory was wiped completely of anything regarding him. It was as if all the goodness was washed away and filled with this intense rage against Regina. I was consumed with killing her as I known she'd killed my father. When Charming caught up with me, I had no idea who he was. I didn't care. He was trying to stop me from my goal and I wasn't going to let it happen. And then he kissed me."
"And your memories came rushing back to you," Emma finished.
"Oh, no," Mary Margaret laughed. "I yelled at him and pushed him away. He was spouting nonsense about True Love's Kiss and I was having none of it. He was this insane man distracting me from my mission. It was only after he jumped in front of me and took the arrow meant for Regina that I realized this handsome man babbling about True Love might be worth listening to. This total stranger was willing to sacrifice himself so my heart wouldn't be tainted by the Evil Queen's murder even though I had no memories of our love. Only someone who truly loved me would do that. So I kissed him, and then my memories came rushing back to me."
"Evidently, True Love's Kiss isn't working in this circumstance," Emma remarked.
"Belle doesn't know who she is right now. She doesn't realize the depth of her love for Rumplestiltskin," Mary Margaret commented. "I think True Love's Kiss has to be reciprocal. Right now it's just not possible for that to happen. Even then, it might not work."
"Maybe she's better off not remembering him after all," Emma remarked offhandedly.
"Oh, Emma," exclaimed Mary Margaret, grabbing hold of her daughter's hand. "Don't say that. I know despite your not telling me that you've been hurt tremendously in the past, but please don't close your heart off to love. True love isn't smooth and it isn't pretty. It's a roller coaster ride that can bring you the greatest heartache, but it also brings you the greatest joy. Remember, anything worth having is worth fighting for. Those two have a tough road ahead of them. Who knows if they'll even make it, but it's worth the fight."
"Should we go rescue David?" Emma asked, trying to avoid the topic of True Love and all of its repercussions.
"No," Mary Margaret responded.. "Let's leave them alone right now. Your father can take care of himself at the moment."
"I've shocked you into speechlessness, I see," Gold declared as he looked at the man sitting next to him. "It isn't often you don't have something self-righteous to say."
"I guess I'll offer my congratulations, also," David responded, shaking his head as if to wrap his mind around the piece of information Gold just unveiled. "It's just…I thought you two were taking it slow?"
"We were," Gold answered. "But do you remember what it was like after you were finally reunited with Mary Margaret? Did you wait for the cleric to bless your vows?"
David laughed as he remembered the aftermath of Snow's resurrection from the sleeping curse. "We didn't even wait for that evening."
David looked up, Gold's expression silently answering as if saying, "Exactly."
"Whale said Belle probably didn't know herself that she was pregnant. She's only about six weeks along," Gold said, taking a sip once again from the cup in his hands. "I'd appreciate it if you'd keep this information quiet for awhile. For numerous reasons."
"Of course," David responded. "Are you going to give her the news?"
"Not right now," Gold answered. "She's scared enough as it is. All she knows right now is that Jefferson released her and told her to find me. That I'd keep her safe. Exactly the same thing she revealed the day the curse was broken and she was walked into my shop. A phantasm come back to life. I'll tell her soon, though."
"I know we've had our differences," David said. "But I wish you luck. If there is every anything I can do…"
"Is that a deal I hear wanting to be made?" Gold replied, a bit of his trademark snark returning to his voice.
"No, it's what…," but David was at a loss for words. With anyone else, he would have used the word friends, but with Gold, it just didn't seem appropriate. At least, not right now. "It's what people do for one another. Offer help and assistance when needed."
"I might just take you up on that offer," Gold responded. "I'm leaving town shortly. Just for a few days. I don't want to leave Belle alone, but it's something that needs to be done."
"It appears I'm deputy sheriff in this town now," David supplied. "It's my job to make sure everyone is safe. I'll do my best to keep Belle safe."
"Ever the Prince Charming," Gold snorted. "So, any chance of the Charmings adding to their brood in the near future?"
David choked, once again speechless in the presence of Rumplestiltskin. It wasn't something he and Mary Margaret had even discussed. With just being reunited with his wife and daughter and trying to achieve some sort of normalcy, David realized he might be in a similar predicament as Gold. He suddenly had an urge to talk to Mary Margaret. Immediately.
Standing up suddenly, David turned to Gold and said, "Once again, congratulations. I promise to keep it quiet. I wish you luck on the journey ahead for you.
"Thank you," Gold murmured as he watched the prince walk hurriedly away. He'd never had much faith in luck or blessings in the past, but Gold realized that sometimes even the dark has to embrace the light.
Just a short ficlet that popped into my head. With the thought of Belle, Gold and a hospital, I just couldn't resist adding a pregnancy into the mix. I know this is never going to happen, but darn those plot bunnies when they take hold of you. They make you stop every other thing you're writing and demand attention, like spoiled little children. Hope you like it.