Traces of Gold
Chapter 1
1.0
Warnings: None
Characters: Emma, Mr Gold, Regina
Being locked behind bars wasn't new to him. Ironically it seemed that in every phase of his life he would end up trapped one way or another. His only hope was the girl who was seated behind the desk, dozing off with her feet on the paperwork in front of her. Her lunch was only half eaten and her eyes closed. Mr Gold took great delight in studying the way her lashes touched her cheeks as she breathed slowly. Sometimes her eyes would squeeze. He supposed it were bad dreams haunting her or bad memories.
There was a cone on the bench next to him, uneaten. His appetite had left, probably taken by Regina. The woman loved to play dirty, as Gold was well aware.
The chipped teacup was in his hands. He was studying it, turning it over. He didn't need to close his eyes to see her in front of him again. True love's kiss could break any curse. His hand tightened around the cup.
Belle was there, scolding him, telling him he would have nothing left and leaving. And Regina was there too, teasing him to take a new maid.
"Gold, would you cut that out?"
He snapped out of his thoughts and raised his head to look at Emma. She looked sleepy but her eyes were open again and her jaw set. "What's the matter with you as of late?" Emma despite sounding annoyed couldn't hide her worry. It almost made Mr Gold smile.
"Oh, just having a bad day."
Emma huffed, not buying his excuses. "Apart from that, why's the cup so important to you."
Mr Gold shifted uncomfortably on his seat. He didn't feel like answering. Behind Emma the clock chimed and he grunted. "Shouldn't you be off duty by now." It was already late and he figured she would need to eat, go home, have some sleep and all of that. Go back to her mother, he thought with a small smile. At least the two were reunited, even if they didn't know.
"I can stay." Emma said, arms folded boldly in front of her. "I'm working extra hours." Mr Gold interjected here, "Without getting paid." Emma rolled her eyes. "Sure. But if it means I can keep the town save from you and your errands it'll be worth it."
She took up what used to be half of her lunch and started munching away. Mr Gold merely smirked at her. At was at this point that the heels of none other than the Mayor could be heard, strutting into the sheriff's office. She came to a sharp halt in front of the cell that held Mr Gold, completely ignoring Emma who had jumped up from her chair with her fist held high while shouting 'hey'. Regina's face was like a brick, all set, all contorted and one-hundred percent displeased. In her hand she held a certificate and raised it so the man behind the bars could see.
"You will have a hell lot of explaining to do." She said through gritted teeth. Emma had come to stand by her side with that ever worried expression on her face. "What's going on?" She asked, but Regina was unaware of the blonde by her side. Her attention was fully on the man who tried to sit up straight on his bench in the prison cell. He had put the chipped cup aside but Regina wasn't even bothered to ask him about it. Clearly what she had come for was of more importance.
With one hand she gripped a bar as she leaned closer and held the paper in front of the man's nose. "This time," She said, each word heavily punctuated and dripping with poison, "You've gone too far."
Mr Gold had to squint his eyes as he tried to read the document she was holding. The dull form, the dull certificate, suddenly started to make sense to him in the way he had figured out what it was and what it wanted from him. But as to why Regina had come to him about it he was still at a loss. He could only read the first few lines and concluded this must be another of the Mayor's tricks. Being more laid back at this thought, he looked up at her. "That's from the hospital."
"Dr Whale signed it." Regina retorted.
"Not me, so why come to me about it?"
"It's about your son."
Regina inched closer, peeking her head between the bars of his jail. Mr Gold had frozen, his eyes wide and pupils dilated as Regina's words shocked him. How had she found out about him? He'd done everything he could to keep the boy's heritage a secret. As his eyes locked with those of the Evil Queen he felt the world breaking apart. This wasn't how he had planned for it to go, for it to happen. Everything he had worked towards, everything he had plotted, had been in vain. If she knew then they had lost their advantage. His eyes darted to Emma who could only watch as the scene in front of her evolved. He parted his lips but Regina cut him short. "Don't bother coming up with a lie or an excuse for this, Mr Gold." She bit sharply. His eyes drifted back to the paper.
That's when it dawned on him and he frowned.
From /when/ exactly was that form? "You said Dr Whale signed it?" He asked, sounding more uncertain then he had wanted to. Regina let out a small irritated laughing sound but it lasted no more than a second or two.
"Yes, of course. He was there when the child was delivered."
Mr Gold's eyes found Emma again who was watching with her mouth agape and her chest heaving. The poor woman had no idea what was going on, and to be frank, neither had he. Mr Gold felt a weight fall off of him, yet the eerie feeling in the pit of his stomach hadn't left yet. Confused, he looked up at her and reached out for the document but she held it back, away from him.
"When was this?" He asked.
"This evening." Regina rasped at him. Her dark eyes burnt into his soul, sending shivers down his spine. He suppressed a shiver. Why was the woman so difficult? And for that matter, why did she have to have so much power for one so determined and treacherous? Would the fates never favor him?
"I have no idea what you're talking about." He admitted, not lying for lying was a thing he could not do. He blamed the fairy godmother for that, but he had taken his revenge long ago. His left hand formed a fist.
Regina came closer again with her teeth gritted but finally Emma stepped in between and pulled the mayor away from him. "Madam mayor, you'd better calm down and tell me what's going on." She said, but Regina was still staring daggers at Mr Gold. "I have you now." She growled at him. "And there's nothing you can do to stop me."
