Rumple was glad that Will had not insisted on staying with Belle once he had unfrozen them. The thief clearly hat not been happy and had muttered something under his breath as he got into his car. But Rumple was completely focused on Belle. The headache seemed to pass slowly but she still seemed pale. Rumple hoped she would close the shop soon, go home and get a rest. Belle had moved back into the small apartment above the library so she did not have far to walk. He could stay all night and watch over her but he also knew that Maleficent might reach out through the magic towards him any time and that he would not necessarily have time to analyze the potion Belle and Will had been given if she was looking over his shoulder.

With a heavy heart, he therefore spirited himself back to the cabin. The author was by now fast asleep in the armchair. Good! The less he talked, the better. Rumple quickly went into his bedroom. He released the residue of the love spell into a cylindrical container and got to work, adding droplets of this and that liquid that he willed to come to him from the shop and that he sent back via magic straight away. Belle may not have her heart at the moment but she would grow suspicious if several of his phials containing magic were to go missing.

An hour into analyzing the spell, Rumple still did not have any clues as to who had brewed the potion. Every kind of magician (fairy, sorcerer, even the Dark One) left a tiny trace in their magic that could give them away if you looked closely enough. But whoever brewed this potion had been very good at hiding their traces. All he knew was that it was indeed a powerful spell. It would take some skill to come up with a counter-potion but he already had a mental list of the most important ingredients he would need.

For the third time in a single day, Rumple dared feel positive and hopeful. The first time had blown up in his face, as it was not really his Belle he had held in his arms after all. The second time was when he realized that she was not truly attracted to that Scarlett guy, that it was because of the potion. And now he felt hopeful again: the strength of the potion suggested that Belle and Will, or at least one of them, was still very much in love with somebody else. Otherwise a much less complicated potion would have done the job just fine. 'If it's just one of them, let it be Belle', he mumbled to himself. Just then, he felt Maleficent approaching. He quickly left his room and put on his usual mask, ready to meet her and to tell her that Cruella was dead. And then the two of them would have to return to working on the plan he had for the author. He knew that he didn't have a lot of time: if the last bit of his heart went black as coal then he would no longer care what happened to Belle and her heart.

The next morning, Rumple awoke with a start. He hadn't been able to analyze the potion any more or start on a counter-potion once he had been done with Maleficent - who was not pleased that someone else had got to Cruella before her - and the extremely annoying chatterbox of the Author who had told him a lot of useless stuff and not what he needed to hear. Because the elixir of the wounded heart was no longer working as well as it had a few weeks ago, Rumple was feeling more tired these days and he noticed that he had fallen asleep in his suit the night before.

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, he decided to forfeit breakfast - he could not deal with either Maleficent or the Author this early in the morning. Instead, he decided to check up on Belle before returning to the potions. He wanted to have the counter-potion ready for when Belle got her heart back so that he could know the truth. How long would Regina be in New York? Had she left yet? He searched for her magical presence: no, she was still in Storybrooke. But probably not for long. He would quickly check on Belle, then work on the counter-potion so he could give it to Will. The idea was that Will would break up with Belle once he realized he was still in love with his own wife - the best way to keep him away from Belle other than killing him (which could very well kill the last bit of humanity off in his own heart).

The shop was still closed although it was 9.45 already. With a flick of his hand, Rumple stood on the top step outside Belle's apartment. He sharpened his hearing with magic but could not hear her inside. Or in the library below, for that matter. Where could she be? Rumple listened out into the everyday noises of Storybrooke, something that he didn't care for. But he needed to know where she was and that she was fine - and he could not simply walk down the main road now shouting her name, could he?

There! He'd found here. She was speaking to someone, a woman. Granny! She was paying for her breakfast (which, according to Granny, she had hardly touched) and was trying to reassure her interlocutor that she was fine. Rumpelstiltskin reappeared in the doorway opposite his shop, the best spot to briefly see Belle as she entered the shop, and then he would return to the cabin to get on with the potion's and his plan for the Author.

He was still listening in on Belle who had just managed to say goodbye to a very nosey Granny and was going to enter his field of vision any minute now. All eager with anticipation, he heard Belle say 'Good morning' to someone - the Charmings, it seemed - and they must have Neil with them as Belle was commenting on how much he had grown since she had last seen him. 'Has his sleeping at night improved?' Belle asked Snow White but then… 'Belle?' Both the Charmings sounded worried as they exclaimed her name. 'Belle! Hey!' David's voice grew louder in Rumple's head. What was going on?

Rumple stepped out of his hiding place and was running towards Granny's without thinking about the consequences. He just caught a glimpse of Belle sinking into David's arms and Snow rushing to the door of the diner.