Aftermath – Chapter Two
AN:
I apologise in advance for making you wait for Rumbelle…
It took the team of doctors nearly two hours to get Belle stable, and every second seemed to Rumplestiltskin to last a thousand years. To her credit, Emma stayed in the observation room with him the whole time. She was silent for the most part, for even after everything they'd been through these past few days, they would never claim to be friends. Still, she stayed. And he was glad not to be left entirely alone with his empty heart.
At past one in the morning, an exhausted looking doctor held up his hands at last, and stepped back to let a nurse remove his mask. Emma and Rumplestiltskin stood abruptly, the latter moving toward the glass as though pulled by an unseen force. There followed a horrible moment of nothingness, until the doctor – he was certain that man was a dwarf, and really didn't think he should be allowed in an operating theatre – spied them and gave the pair a quick nod, and a small, tight-lipped smile. Emma knew how to read that smile – it meant Belle was safe, for now, but it didn't mean she was out of the woods yet.
'Gold?' Emma approached him, hesitantly. 'You alright?'
He didn't turn from the window, but watched with hawk eyes as the nurses tidied around his love, making sure she was covered and clean and hooked up to whatever machines they needed to keep her living and breathing and just right there. He was breathed deeply through his nose, and let out a great sigh. It felt like the first time he'd breathed properly since they'd entered the hospital.
'She's okay,' he said, as though he needed to say it aloud to ensure it stayed true. 'She's okay.'
'Yeah, she's okay,' Emma agreed, with the same smile the doctor had given them. If Rumplestiltskin had been more himself, he might have picked up on her concern, but he wasn't, and he didn't.
'It appears I owe you a new scarf,' he commented, unwinding the stained accessory from around his hands.
'Forget that favour I owe you and call it even?' Emma suggested, and was rewarded with a disbelieving eyebrow raise, as she knew she would be. 'Alright, fine. Well you can't blame a girl for trying, can you?'
'I suppose not,' he agreed. For a moment, it was almost like the events of the last few weeks hadn't even happened. It was as though they were just Emma Swan and Mr Gold again, quipping at each other through the bars of a prison holding cell, talking of favours and pastrami. Then the nurses began to slowly wheel Belle out of the operating room, in the direction of the nearby ward of private rooms, and those few weeks caught up with them in a split second. Suddenly, Gold was Rumplestiltskin again, and Emma was the girl who had just called him on his cowardice, and held his hands while he cried.
'Keep the scarf,' Emma said. 'And go to Belle. But first, I want to make a deal.'
'A deal, dearie?' Rumplestiltskin's ears pricked up, though his heart was drifting out the door, already half way to Belle. 'Didn't your mother ever tell you not to make deals with me?'
'She did actually – but that's beside the point. It's a simple one, I just want to make sure you don't go anywhere. I want your word that you will stay here, or tell me if you're going anywhere – and tell me where – and in return I'll keep the royal rents off your back. Until Belle is better, anyway.'
'Until Belle is better,' Rumplestiltskin repeated, his eyes darting to the door at the very mention of her name. Emma couldn't hide the smirk that tugged at the corner of her mouth; the man had it bad.
'So… deal?' She held out her hand, and he eyed it carefully, then shook it once.
'Deal,' he agreed. Emma grinned, and moved to the door, holding it open while he retrieved his precious dagger, wrapping it in her scarf and hiding it safely under his suit jacket. They left the room together, he turning to the private ward, her to the reception hall to face Snow and Charming, but the sound of her name stopped her momentarily in her tracks.
'Emma,' he rarely used it – called her Sheriff for the most part, Miss Swan for the rest, but just then she suddenly knew that it was true what they said about the power of a name. She half turned back toward him, an enquiring eyebrow raised. 'Thank you,' he said. And she had not expected that.
'You're welcome,' she had a hundred retorts flying around her head, but in that moment, she hadn't the heart to use them. He bowed his head at her one last time, and turned, making his way to Belle's side, where he intended to stay.
'Emma!' Henry's excited greeting rung out through the near silent reception hall. David – Charming – her father (that one was weird) stood as if on ceremony on her arrival, and Mary – no, Snow – sat up a little straighter.
'Everything okay?' Snow asked, still a little uncertain how to act around her daughter. Still, she couldn't help but smile at the way Emma absorbed the impact of Henry colliding with her legs, clamping his arms around her waist. The pair of them were just so good at being mother and son. She wished she and Emma could fit together as well, but even after everything that had happened, she knew Emma didn't view her as her mother. She was her flatmate and friend, but mother? Not yet. Maybe not ever.
'Yeah, sort of,' Emma replied, sounding a little distracted.
'Ew,' Henry grimaced, pulling away from her slightly and looking a little freaked out. 'You've got blood all on you. It's not yours is it?'
'No, it's Gold's,' Emma wrinkled her nose too, more out of disappointment than anything – she really liked that shirt. 'Rumplestiltskin's, I mean.'
'Is he okay?' Henry looked worried, and Emma didn't miss James' unsubtle eye roll.
'He's fine,' Emma assured her son, ignoring her father. 'Just a little… self destructive. And on that subject,' she raised her gaze to her parents, 'I sort of promised that you guys would leave him alone for the time being.'
'What?' James stared at her in disbelief. 'Emma, Rumplestiltskin is the reason we're all here in the first place. He's the reason you grew up without parents – '
'Regina is the reason I grew up without parents,' Emma corrected. 'Look, you know there's no going back on a deal with him, so we can argue about this later. I don't know about you, but I could seriously do with a stiff drink and a very hot bath. I think we should get out of here – until tomorrow at least.'
James looked as though he was about to object, but he was silenced by a pointed look from his wife, and the wide-eyed stare of his grandson. Sometimes he wondered if Henry didn't know exactly how effective those puppy dog eyes of his could be.
'Alright, until tomorrow,' James conceded. Emma nodded once, and picked up her jacket, folding it over her arm. The moment she did so, her cell phone began to ring shrilly from her inner pocket. She groaned, and dug around until she found it. She recognised the number as Granny's Diner, which didn't exactly fill her with confidence, at 2 o'clock in the morning.
'Hello?'
'Emma, hey!' the hushed voice on the other end buzzed with nervous excitement.
'Ruby? Is everything okay?'
'It's Red – remember? And I'm not sure. There's a guy here, he's been here for hours…'
'Is he giving you guys trouble?' Emma couldn't quite get her head around the call – it was after 2am, she was exhausted, and she was covered in the blood of Rumplestiltskin. A drunken guy in a diner didn't exactly figure high on her list of priorities.
'No, not exactly,' Red wasn't exactly being forthcoming. 'He came in earlier, asking all these questions, about the town and the curse and asking for everyone's true names… and Granny basically told him where to go, but he stuck around anyway. In the end, I told him if he really wanted answers, he should talk to you, seeing as you're the Sheriff and Snow White and Prince James are your parents, and then he got really interested and now I get the feeling I might have said too much, you know?'
'Red, calm down for a second, okay? Look, I've got to come past the diner on my way back anyway. I'll stick my head in, check out Storybrooke's latest stranger, and be on my merry way. One thing – he doesn't have like a hook for a hand or, I don't know, snake-like slits instead of a nose or anything, does he?'
'Uh… no,' it sounded like Red genuinely checked for both, while Henry smirked at Emma's side.
'Okay, I'll be there in like – fifteen minutes,' Emma said, checking her watch and grimacing when she saw it was now closer to 2.30am. She had a feeling that hot bath wasn't going to show up in her life any time soon.
'Great! But hurry – I think Granny's on the verge of getting her old cross bow out…' Red warned, as Emma hung up the phone.
'What's wrong?' Snow asked. 'Was that Red?'
'Yeah,' Emma answered. 'Something about a stranger at Granny's, wanting answers about the town. I should go check it out – can you guys take Henry home with you?'
'What? Emma, I want to come!' Henry objected. 'It could be important for Operation Cobra!'
Emma shook her head and looked to her mother imploringly, but Snow White seemed to be allied with her grandson. Emma hated it when that happened.
'You shouldn't go on your own, not after everything that's happened tonight. Besides, Red's my friend – I want to make sure she and Granny are okay too.'
'They'll be fine, they can take care of themselves,' but Emma knew there was little point in trying to deter Snow White once her mind was made up.
'Emma, last time I left Red alone with a guy, she ate him. Humour me?' Snow had that look on her face that said she wasn't taking no for an answer. Emma sighed and stuffed her cell phone back into her pocket.
'Fine.' She muttered. 'Family outing at 2.30am, awesome.'
The steady rise and fall of her chest should have been reassuring, but all the tubes and beeping machines detracted from that miracle somewhat. Rumplestiltskin lingered in the doorway at first, waiting patiently for the nurses fussing with her to finish. He considered turning them into something unpleasant, just to get them out of the way, but Belle probably wouldn't approve of that.
At last they were alone, silent, save for the gentle sounds of the medical equipment ensuring her continued existence. Rumplestiltskin pulled up a chair to the side of her bed and settled himself in it, setting the bloodied bundle of the Dark One's dagger on the bedside unit beside them. He took her hand in his and held it as though it was made of glass, bowing his head to place a gentle kiss on each of her fingers.
'Oh my Belle,' he sighed, chancing a glance at her face. Her brow was ever so slightly furrowed, like she was puzzling through a problem in her sleep. Still holding her hands in his, he leaned forward and pressed another kiss to her forehead, in an attempt to smooth away her troubles. Perhaps it was his imagination, but he thought she looked a little more peaceful after he pulled away.
And now, there was nothing for it, but to wait.
