Belle jumped out of David's truck after him and Snow, running towards Rumplestiltskin being helped out of a dingy by Ruby and a man around her age with dark brown hair and a scruffy beard.
"Are you okay?" Snow yelled at her daughter.
"Yeah, yep, I'm alright," Emma said, climbing out of the dingy after Henry.
Belle urged Ruby away from Rumplestiltskin and grabbed his hand, pulling his arm around her shoulders. The other man, who she assumed was his son, gave her an odd look.
"Belle," Rumplestiltskin murmured through heavy breathing, squeezing her hand tightly.
"Hey," she whispered, trying to smile at him even as her eyes fixed on the bloody bandage on his chest.
"I drove a ship!" Henry said to David, smiling proudly.
"Did you now?" David said.
"Yeah," Henry said. "My dad showed me how."
David narrowed his eyes at the other man, who lifted Rumplestiltskin's cane and mumbled, "That's me" awkwardly.
"Thank you," Rumplestiltskin said as Belle and Henry's father managed to get him sitting in the bed of David's truck. She sat next to him and he sighed heavily, leaning into her with his head on her shoulder, pressing into her neck. She stroked his hair, gnawing at her lip as she looked down at him.
"Who are you?" Henry's father said, gesturing to Belle with the cane.
"Belle," Rumplestiltskin said, moving his hand to rest on her thigh. "This is Baelfire. Bae, this is Belle."
She smiled at Baelfire as much as she could manage and held out her hand. "It's lovely to meet you, Baelfire, though the circumstances could be better," she said as he grasped her hand and shook it, looking between her and his father in confusion.
"I prefer Neal," he told her before staring at Rumplestiltskin. "Who is Belle?"
He coughed and Belle stroked his hair again before he answered. "My true love."
"You're… You…" Neal said, his jaw dropping. Rumplestiltskin managed to chuckle before coughing again.
"Is Cora trying to control you with the dagger?" David said, interrupting them and leaning in towards Rumplestiltskin.
"You would know if she was because most of you would be dead by now," he hissed.
"Well then, we'll just have to take the fight to her before that can happen," Snow said, stepping next to her husband.
"We will," David said, helping Belle get Rumplestiltskin comfortable.
"And this time we finish it."
"Mary Margaret," David said sharply, looking at her.
"She needs to be stopped," Snow said, casting David a glare. "She needs to be killed. This is our family. We are going to protect it."
Belle watched as David pulled Snow aside before looking back down at Rumplestiltskin. "I missed you," she murmured, kissing the top of his head.
She heard the smile in his voice. "And I you, love."
"I'm still confused," Neal said, watching them.
"We're—" Belle paused, frowning. "Rumple, what did you say our story is called in this world?"
"Beauty and the Beast," he said and Belle smiled back up at Neal, who blinked with his mouth hanging open.
"It's weird, right?" Emma muttered to him as she walked up to them, watching her parents rejoin the group. She looked at Rumplestiltskin. "You okay?"
"I'm feeling a bit stronger," he said, moving off of Belle's shoulder to try to stand up. She pulled his arm back around her and helped him. "Take me back to my shop. There's magic there. I can protect us." Belle and Neal helped him into the truck as Emma sent Henry off with Ruby.
When they got to the shop and Belle and Neal lowered him onto the bed in the back, Rumplestiltskin groaned. "Emma, did you find the jar?"
"Yeah, there's nothing in it," Emma said, stepping forward with an empty glass jar before shaking it, pausing at a sound of something bouncing around inside. She reached in, pinched her fingers as if there was something in between them, and pulled her hand out again, staring at it.
"Invisible chalk," Rumplestiltskin said, leaning on his cane. "Go to the front doorway. Draw a line. The rest of you… You might want to prepare for battle." David and Neal both followed Emma into the other room. "Oh, oh, wait, wait. Please," he said, gesturing to Snow. "Can you get me a warmer blanket? From the cabinet?" As Snow went where he pointed, he looked at Belle, who was hovering above him. "Sweetheart, would you mind getting me a glass of water?"
Belle smiled and nodded before going into the bathroom to fill a glass of water. When she came back, Rumplestiltskin and Snow were staring at each other, and she could feel the tension in the room as she walked across it to perch herself gingerly on the edge of the bed, handing him the glass. He smiled at her briefly before Emma walked into the room.
"I drew the invisible line," she said, moving to stand next to her mother. "What now? You cast a protection spell?"
"You're gonna do that for me," he said, causing all three women to stare at him in surprise. "I'm relying on you."
"I can't cast a spell," Emma said, watching as Rumplestiltskin leaned over to lay on the pillow, Belle fluttering her hands helplessly over him. "I can spell 'spell.'" Belle snorted and watched as he tried to talk Emma through the magic.
Rumplestiltskin leaned back down on the pillow after Emma cast the spell and closed his eyes. Belle held one of his hands between both of hers in her lap as she sat next to him on the bed, watching him.
"So… how did you meet my dad?" Neal said, watching her.
"I made a deal with him," she said, her lips twitching as Rumplestiltskin's eyelids fluttered. She knew he wasn't asleep and was listening to the conversation.
Neal snorted. "Join the club. What was it?"
Belle looked up at him, eyebrows drawn together. "He saved my people from ogres in exchange for me going with him to his castle as his maid forever." She chuckled at his expression. "There's much more to the story than that, but that's the short version."
He looked like he wanted to ask what the rest of the story was, but then the shop began to shake and David ran into the room. "It's them. Regina and Cora. They're here." Belle stood and took a long dagger like the one she had worn before Regina captured her off of the table as Emma and Neal followed David out of the room. Turning back to Rumplestiltskin, she found him watching her, frowning.
"I'm not leaving you," she said, returning to her seat next to him. Relief spread across his face.
"Good," he murmured, reclaiming her hand. "Good."
They both fell silent and listened to the fighting in the other room, Belle clasping his hand and the dagger in hers. She watched him and knew that she would always stand by this man, this wonderful and horrible man who she loved so much, even if that meant sitting on his deathbed.
"Mother!" Regina yelled and then there was a crash and grunting before Emma yelled for Neal and they both charged into the backroom, looks of fear on their faces.
"What happened?" Belle said.
"Cora and Regina are in the shop," Emma said before answering her phone and talking to David. Rumplestiltskin lifted his head slightly when she asked about Mary Margaret and Belle cast him a glance, though he just shook his head, closed his eyes, and rested his head again.
"It's getting weaker," Neal said, watching the barrier that was keeping Cora out. "She's gonna get through." He glanced back at Rumplestiltskin.
"Maybe it's for the best," Rumplestiltskin said. "At least this curse of power will pass from the world."
Belle took a sharp breath as Neal stepped forward. "No," he said, tossing his sword aside. "You're not dying."
"I am dying," Rumplestiltskin said. "That much is certain."
"No, you're not!" Belle said, staring at him. "You're not leaving me." He looked up at her and lifted his hands, cradling her face in his hands.
"Sweetheart, I'm dying," he said. She shook her head, opening her mouth, and he moved a finger to cover he lips before continuing. "I know that you don't want to admit it to yourself, but before I die, I want you to know… I want you to know that you are a hero who helped your people. You're a beautiful woman who loves an ugly man. Really, really loves me. You find goodness in others and when it's not there, you create it. You create it in me every day I'm with you and you make me want to go back. Back to the best version of me, and that never happened before. So when you miss me, remember that. Remember why I love you."
Belle began to cry and she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. "I love you so much," she whispered and he nodded, tears leaking out of his eyes too.
"Thank you, Belle," Rumplestiltskin said.
"We need to stop dying on each other." He tried to chuckle and coughed instead. She smoothed his hair down, sat up, and wiped her tears away, glancing at Neal, who was sitting stiffly in his chair.
"Didn't know you had that in you," Neal said, staring at his hands. Belle watched him as Rumplestiltskin managed to chuckle.
"I'm full of love," he said, not daring to look at his son. "I spent a lifetime looking for you for a chance to say 'I love you.' I'm sorry."
Neal sniffed and glanced at Rumplestiltskin. "I didn't think you would go back on our deal."
"I just made the wrong choice," Rumplestiltskin said, watching his son. He held out a shaking hand. "May I?"
"I'm still angry," Neal muttered, head bowed.
"I know," Rumplestiltskin said, resigned, and Neal grabbed his hand, spinning around and pressing his forehead to his father's, both of their eyes screwed shut. Belle stood and walked to lean against the table with Emma. They both watched father and son truly reunite for the first time in centuries, all four of them aware of the danger waiting in the other room.
When Neal stood, wiping away his own tears, he nodded to Belle, gesturing for her to return to her post next to Rumplestiltskin. He caught her arm as she passed him, staring into her eyes with brown ones that matched his father's. "I'm glad he found you before—" He swallowed, cutting himself off, and Belle nodded.
"And I'm glad he got to see you again." Neal gave her a small smile before releasing her arm and sitting in his chair again as she lowered herself onto the bed and brushed Rumplestiltskin's hair away from his face as he opened his eyes slightly to watch her.
They all looked up at a crackling sound from behind the curtain and Belle grabbed her dagger again, standing protectively in front of Rumplestiltskin. Neal and Emma moved into the middle of the room, Neal brandishing a sword at Cora as she walked into the room.
She smirked at Neal and Emma. "You two, out of the way," she said, waving her hand, and they disappeared in cloud of purple smoke. Belle held the dagger up as Cora's cold eyes fixed on her. "Ah, the true love."
"You stay away from him," Belle said and Cora laughed, waving her hand again, causing Belle to fly across to room and slam into the opposite wall. When she tried to run back towards Rumplestiltskin, the curtain wrapped around her waist and pinned her against the wall as Cora watched.
"Remind me to tell you all about Rumple and myself after I kill him, girl," Cora said, smiling.
"Release me," Belle hissed, struggling against the curtain. Cora only laughed before turning back towards Rumplestiltskin, who was watching helplessly.
"A vision told me about you," he murmured. "Told me this day would come. Of course, it didn't really tell me anything."
Cora sighed. "You know, you're the only man I ever truly loved," she said, leaning over and stroking his hair. Belle tried to tear the curtains with her hands, her dagger lying useless in the middle of the floor. "You were my weakness and I had to rip my own heart out to protect myself. And now… Now I need to kill you."
Belle screamed "NO!" and tried to pull out of the curtains as Cora straightened up and Regina charged into the room. Rumplestiltskin met Belle's eyes as Cora lifted the dagger, not taking his gaze off her until Cora gasped and arched her back from Regina putting her heart back in her chest.
The curtains released Belle and she sprinted across the room to Rumplestiltskin as he gasped and sat up. He grasped her arms as she stared at him, checking for harm. As Cora spoke to Regina, he fumbled to open his shirt wide enough for Belle to take the bandage away, showing healthy and unscarred skin, before pulling himself up on his cane as Cora collapsed into Regina's arms. Belle scooped the Dark One's dagger off the floor and handed it to Rumplestiltskin, watching as he tucked it into his belt before wrapping the arm not holding his cane around Belle shoulders silently, kissing her forehead as Regina sobbed over her mother's body.