Rumplestiltskin sat by the hospital bed. The scene of Belle being shot played over in his head.
"Gold?"
Rumplestiltskin sat still, a sad look etched on his slowly hardening face. Emma stepped closer, cleared her throat and tried again.
"May I join you?" she asked.
Rumplestiltskin barely shrugged. Emma pulled up a chair and sat down. Minutes passed in silence. A nurse rolled freshly laundered sheets past where Belle lay and was stripping bedding off the furthest bed when Rumplestiltskin finally spoke.
"This is too much." he said. "She won't remember me or what we have- had -when she wakes. Magic finally found a price too great for me to bear."
"What magic?" Emma asked, hoping that he would shed some light on what happened at the town line with Hook.
"I discovered an enchantment that can protect the wearer from losing their memory when crossing the town line." Rumplestiltskin answered, hardly knowing why he was telling Emma; hardly caring. "I was so excited at the idea of going out to find Bae that I forgot all magic comes with a price."
Emma sat there, stunned. The silent tears rolling down this man's cheek were so unlike the manipulative, domineering Rumplestiltskin she was accustomed too. She refrained form asking who Bae was so as not to get side tracked.
Rumplestiltskin stood up. H was half way to the door before Emma followed him.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
Rumplestiltskin paused, his hand on the door. Turning his head to her, he replied.
"I've lost Bae. Losing Belle once was bad enough. This-" Rumplestiltskin paused. A lump was rising in his throat that he did not like. With a soft a-hem, he cleared it."This is too much."
Emma was barely aware of of the folded cloth Rumplestiltskin pressed into her hands.
"If I cross the town line," he continued, "maybe Belle and I can start over. Maybe we'll fall in love again."
Rumplestiltskin left.
"Gold, wait!" Emma called after him.
She ran outside, but Rumplestiltskin was already gone. Cursing under her breathe, Emma climbed into her yellow Beetle and raced to the town line.
Rumplestiltskin stood in front of the red paint line. Just one step and he would forget this heart crumbling agony. A car door slammed behind him.
"Gold, wait!" Emma callled, running up to him. "We'll find a way to get her memory back.
"You can't bring Belle's memory back. This is permanent." Rumplestiltskin retorted, pain unexpectedly betraying his voice.
"The funny thing about telling me I can't, Mr. Gold," Emma said, "is that I have a habit of proving people wrong."
Rumplestiltskin stopped. He turned to Emma, hope daring to flicker in his eyes. Emma tried to hide how taken aback she was by his appearance. This was a very different man than she was used to. The reserved hope and broken countenance did not look right in her head. Yet, the hope seemed to take many years off his face and soften it in a way that confused her more.
"Is that a deal?" Rumplestiltskin asked. "I step away from the town line and you promise to find a way to bring back Belle's memory?"
Emma stifled a sigh of relief that Rumplestiltskin was still making his characteristic deals.
"It's a deal." she said and handed the enchanted cloth back to him.
Rumplestiltskin stepped away from the town line and gave a weak smile. Emma walked him back to his car. A hopeful tear rolled down Rumplestiltskin's cheek as he started his car and drove into town.