Fairy-Tale Land
"Father!" I called throughout our tiny cottage. "Father, I'm home from the forest!" I couldn't hear anything, so I went into his room. Father was passed out on his bed. I walked up to him and shook him awake. When he woke up, he started to cough up blood. Again. "Papa, I thought the doctor said that you'd be better by now!" I said, in pure shock.
"Well Caroline, he lied." After that, I let him fall back asleep. I started to pace soon after. Worry washed all over me. If my Papa didn't get better and return to work as the Village's butcher, we would soon lose everything. In that instant, I knew exactly what I need to do. I found some parchment, a quill and some ink, and I left a note by my father's bed, letting him know that I should be back in a couple days, and he shall not worry about me. I grabbed my cloak and started the long walk to the Dwarf's Mine.
It was nighttime by the time I arrived at my destination. The guards stopped me from going in and asked me what my business was. "I'm here to speak with the prisoner. It's a matter of life or death." The guards nodded as they let me in, and I started the walk into the darkness. I knew that I've arrived when I saw a cell with spikes as bars. As I grew closer, I saw the eyes that I've fallen helplessly for. His gold eyes sparkled when he saw me approach. He reached his gold-tinted hand out to me, and I grabbed it, intertwining our fingers together.
"Caroline." He breathed out in disbelief.
"Rumple." I smiled at him. It's been so long since I've seen him last. Tears started going down my cheeks and he quickly used his thumbs to wipe them away. With his hands still on my face, he brought me closer to the cell, capturing my lips with his. I kissed him back with as much energy as I could muster. My fingers went through his long hair. He broke the kiss off my smiling against my lips.
"I've missed this." Rumple muttered against my lips. "And you." I smiled against his lips.
"I've missed you, too." I pressed our lips together again and he moved his hands from my face, down to my hips and pulled me closer to the bars, if that was possible. I opened my mouth a little bit more and Rumple took that opportunity to sneak his tongue into my mouth. I happily let him. Our tongues wrestled for a bit and then I put his bottom lip between my teeth and bit down gently. He moaned and stopped kissing me, looking dead into my eyes.
"Don't start something you can't finish." He warned in his low voice, trying to sound intimidating, but it was just downright sexy. I pulled away from him, much to his despair. I back up a little and grabbed his hands, my green eyes boring into his gold ones.
"I need your help. A deal more like it." Worry spread all over his face. "My father is sick, coughing up blood. I don't think he has much longer. I need your help in healing him." Rumple flashed his genuine smile, the real one that only I have seen before.
"Of course, love. What do I get out of it?" He teased me, trying to make light of the situation.
"Anything you want." He thought for a second, another smile spreading across his face.
"You. I want you."
"Me? You already have me." I said, confused.
"No, dearie. I want you forever. I want you to be mine, and only mine. For the rest of our lives." I grabbed his face and started kissing him.
"I love you, Rumplestiltskin."
"I love you too, Caroline. Does that mean a yes?" He smirked at me. I nodded my head as fast as I could. Little did I know that this would be the last time I'd see him in this land and remember him.
Storybrooke
I sat at the dining room table, head in my hands, trying not to cry. My dad's hospital bills are piling up, and I'm finding that I will never be able to afford to pay them all off. I looked at my watch and realized that I was going to be late for work if I didn't leave now. I left my small apartment and started the short, 5 minute walk, to work. I opened up the shop door and stepped in, hearing the familiar chime of the bell over the door. "Mr. Gold! I'm here for work." I called out to the back of the shop. I soon heard the familiar pat of Mr. Gold's cane on the hardwood.
"Good morning, Ms. Silver." His smile faltered when he saw my face. "What's wrong?" Was it that easy to read my face right now?
"Not really. I actually need a favor from you." I told him. He nodded his head as he leaned against his cane. "Is there any way that I can get more hours, so that I can make some more money each month?" I asked my friend.
"Of course, you know that you don't need to ask me Lana. I hope you don't mind me asking, why do you need more hours? I'm asking this simply as your friend and not your boss." I took a deep breath, worried that he would ask me that.
"It's my dad. His brain tumors have stared growing again, he's been in the hospital for the past week, and I was just looking at the bills before I came into work." I looked down, trying to not let him see the tears that were building up in my eyes.
"Why didn't you tell me this?" Gold asked me, choosing his words carefully.
"I-I don't know. I was still in shock I guess." I shrugged my shoulders. I felt Mr. Gold come closer to me and pull me into his arms. As I hugged him back, I knew that things would be alright for right now.