Gideon fidgeted as he and his parents waited for Sheriff Swan to respond to their call. Right after Gideon returned, his parents insisted that they go to the Sheriff's Station, that Emma could help them connect some of the dots to the Roderick mystery.
Gideon had his doubts that Emma could—or even would—help them. Though most of his actions had been the result of the Black Fairy's control, Emma was still weary and distrustful of him. Gideon couldn't really blame her, but he couldn't quite understand how children who had feared him their entire lives were able to forgive him, but the savior—whose child he never even touch—still held him in low regard.
"Everything is going to be okay sweetheart." His mother assured him, rubbing his back comfortingly.
Gideon nodded, but he seriously doubted her words. Something was wrong about all of this. Roderick couldn't be alive.
He had watched the Black Fairy kill him. Watched her crush him.
He'd even tried to gather his remains after she had left him to grieve, but to no avail. There had been nothing left of him, nothing to save.
Nothing that could have been used to bring him back to life.
He looked up at his father who, despite his mother's insistence, hadn't stopped pacing. He seemed more nervous about this meeting with Emma than Gideon was.
"Maybe we should call her again." Rumplestiltskin sighed impatiently.
"She said she'd be right over." Belle assured.
"Well she's taking her sweet time." Rumplestiltskin returned, fighting the urge to magic Emma into the station himself.
Just as Belle was about to list off excuses, Emma came bounding into the station, her mother brisling in behind her.
"What's this about, Gold?" Emma inquired aggravatedly.
"Oh, I just thought of all the times you would come after me demanding assistance and thought I'd return the favor." Gold snarked.
"We were making honeymoon plans." Snow White shot back, her frown matching her daughter's.
"Didn't realize newlyweds took their parents on their honeymoons nowadays." Gold smirked.
"Enough!" Belle yelled, stepping between the Charmings and her husband. She gave him a warning look that had him holding his tongue and take a cautious step towards their son.
"We're sorry to get in the way of your plans, Emma." Belle apologized. "But Gideon saw someone today and we need your help finding out who it is."
"Did you try following and asking him?" Emma inquired with a bite of sarcasm.
"Yes, actually I did." Gideon's voice broke through the tense air. "He…he doesn't remember me, or anything from the Dark Realm, it would seem."
"I fail to see why that concerns me." Emma sighed.
"It concerns you because you're the savior." Rumplestiltskin argued. "This is your job."
"I didn't ask for this job!" Emma fought back. "And I'm done putting my life on hold to fix your problems!"
"I think you have the roles mixed up on this one, dearie!" Rumplestiltskin yelled back, causing Belle to grab his elbow to keep him at bay.
"He died!" Gideon yelled over the saviors, earning their attention at last. "I saw it. She…the Black Fairy…turned him into a bug, and crushed him…right in front of me." He swallowed. "Because of me."
Rumplestiltskin felt Belle flinch beside him. Though they had healed from the miscommunication before and after Gideon's birth, Gideon hadn't. The few days that they had spent worrying about his existence had been an entire lifetime for him, filled with pain, anger, and heartbreak. Neither of them new much about this Roderick that Gideon had spoke about only once, but he had apparently meant the world to their son. His demise was what motivated Gideon to defeat the Black Fairy, to go against everything he had been raised to do.
Now that Roderick—or at least someone who looked indescribable similar to him—was alive, Gideon was back to where he started, and three months of healing had crumpled before them.
"But somehow he's back." Gideon told the savior wetly. "He's alive, but…he's someone else. He calls himself Kevin and he was with…someone else."
"Pinocchio." Rumplestiltskin relayed.
"August?" Emma mused. "I didn't realize he was dating."
"They're not…" Gideon began to snip. He stopped however when he recalled how he saw them together. They were something, even if he wasn't ready to admit it. "It doesn't matter. Will you help me?"
"Look, Gideon," Emma sighed. "Was he in any danger? Did he seem like he was being abused or anything?"
"I…no but—"
"Then what's the problem?" She asked. "If he's happy then why make him remember who he was? It wasn't like he had it good to begin with."
"That's not the point!" Gideon exclaimed. "He had hope! We all did thanks to him! He needs to remember that."
"Remember how he was imprisoned and abused?" Emma deadpanned. "It seems to me like you're the one who wants to remember all of it. That's pretty selfish if you ask me."
Her comment was a low blow, and it hit Gideon so hard that all at once the hurt he had been pushing back for so long slammed into him full force. Through the hurt and the agony of it all, there was something else stirring through his chest. That little dark flame the Black Fairy had ignited in him all those years ago. There was a time when Gideon didn't mind being the evil little slave she had created—and at that time he actually liked it. It was easier. Pushing people far away, making them fear him, it kept them safe. It should have kept Roderick safe.
"You know what Emma?" Gideon responded with a small, dark smile. "Enjoy your honeymoon."
Emma blinked, barely flinching when he brushed past her to exit the sheriff station.
"I hope you both fall off the edge of the world." He muttered.
"Gideon." Rumplestiltskin called after his son, earning only the slam of the sheriff station door.
The savior nor her mother said anything regarding Gideon's remark, but the annoyance was clear on their faces.
"If there's nothing else…" Emma exasperated.
"Oh, there's plenty else." Rumplestiltskin growled, stalking past her to go after his son.
With the Dark One gone, Emma and Snow White were able to exchange aggravated shrugs in peace, barely noticing the gaping woman glaring at them.
"I can't believe you." Belle spoke, earning their attention. "We come for you for help, not just for Gideon but for Roderick too, and you just dismiss them?"
"Belle…" Snow sighed with a tip of her chin, as if she were addressing one of her young students.
"Don't." Belle stopped her, crossing her arms tightly over herself. "It's my turn. Since the moment you asked me to, I have sacrificed sleep, and time, and precious moments with my husband. I was so consumed with helping you that I didn't recognize that he was going dark again. That he needed help."
"You're not responsible for his mistakes." Emma said.
"I may not be responsible for his sins, Emma, but I am responsible for his well-being." Belle scoffed. "When I married him, he became a part of me, and me him. I should have helped him cope with his trauma but instead I tried to turn him into someone he wasn't ready to be."
"And you think he's any different now?" Snow inquired stiffly.
"I think he's who he's always been," Belle retorted. "A dark man who loves his family with his entire being." She stepped closer, eyeing the savior dead-on. "And right now, his child is hurting, and he came to you, the savior, a fellow parent, expecting help, but instead all he received is scorn."
Emma's mouth opened for a response, but Belle cut her off quickly. It was still her turn.
"And let me just remind you that Gideon is my son as well. I thought after everything I've done for you that you would help me. But it would seem your honeymoon plans are more important than the well-being of one of your citizens."
"Belle it's not—"
Belle grabbed her purse and stomped around her, heading after her husband and son.
"The next time you need a free babysitter or someone to fix your problems, call someone else. My husband nor I are no longer at your service."
She closed the door as they called after her, caring little for any apology or excuse they would gift her.
She was done. She had her say, and now she could focus on helping her son.
She only hoped that she and her husband could still direct him away from a path of darkness.
-,-,-,-,-
He was with that man again. The one who had walked him into the hospital hours ago. The one who his father called Pinocchio, but the savior called August.
Gideon watched as Roderick…Kevin…and August strolled casually to his loud traveling bike, a motorcycle, he believed it was called.
He held his breath for a moment when he saw how casually Roderick was dressed. Gone was the starchy white lab coat that made him look twice as pale than he was. Now he had on a pair of light jeans and a long-sleeved shirt that kept him protected from the cooling weather. His bright smile could match the sun. He looked so happy, laughing at something August was saying. Gideon's heart soared for him.
But through the overwhelming happiness there was this deep resentment he couldn't place and shouldn't have felt.
It was the same feeling he used to have in the mines, when the Dark Fairy took an interest in him. He had dark spells pumped into his mind and every move he made was monitored and critiqued to the cruelest extent. Sure, he was fed and clothes better than the other children, but it was at a cost. If they had their work done, they had their freedom, restricted as it was. Gideon never earned his.
But this feeling he had wasn't quite the same childhood resentment he had had for his peers. It was deeper. More primal. That August man shouldn't be by Roderick's side. That wasn't the way things were supposed to be.
Gideon took a deep breath to control himself. He couldn't worry about such a trivial matter right now. He needed to focus on bringing Roderick's memory back. Then he would take care of the rest.
He watched with concern as Roderick boarded the loud contraption and wrapped his arms around August. His stomach lurched when they drove off at a sickeningly fast speed, Roderick's chin nestled into the other man's shoulder.
"He looks healthy."
Gideon glanced around to see his father standing just behind him, fingers intertwined as his sharp eyes followed the motorcycle down the street.
"He is." Gideon added. "He's a lot of things."
Rumplestiltskin nodded, taking his place beside his son. They both stared at the hospital, a mass building that was filled with uncomfortable memories for them both.
"What are you planning?" Rumplestiltskin inquired, watching Gideon tense from the corner of his eye.
"Why on earth are you asking me that?" Gideon scoffed.
"Because I saw the look on your face when you let the sheriff's station." Rumplestiltskin said. "You're about to do something careless, and possibly dangerous."
"I can handle it." Gideon said, stepping over the curb towards the hospital.
"You think causing chaos is going to earn you Roderick's favor?"
Gideon stopped on the yellow line of the road, turning back to his father with a frown. "I'm more concerned with earning his trust and forgiveness than his favor, father."
"You will." Rumplestiltskin promised. "But you need to be careful or you'll push him away."
"He doesn't even know who I am!" Gideon shouted in frustration. "Roderick, Kevin, whoever he is now. I'm nothing to him! And if I just stand around I never will be. I have to try something." With a flick of his wrist he vanished is a cloud of gold.
"Gideon don't!" Rumple called after him, cursing when he disappeared. Through the aggravation and concern, he felt just a hint of relief when he sensed Belle's presence.
"Where did he go?" Belle inquired.
"I'm not sure" Rumple admitted. "He's going to do something brash."
Belle nodded, the concern for her son clear on her entire face. "What do we do, Rumple? How do we help him?"
Rumple placed an arm around his wife's shoulders. Rarely was she ever uncertain, but when it came to her son, she was all over the place.
"We keep going." He decided. "We'll start with the hospital, find out how long Roderick has been here, then we'll go to the mines where the Black Fairy kept her things."
"You think she's behind this?" Belle gasped.
"It's the only way this makes sense." Rumplestiltskin said. "She may have tricked Gideon somehow into seeing Roderick's death. It's certainly not below her."
Belle nodded, rubbing his back in slow comforting circles.
"Let's start with Dr. Whale, create a timeline." Belle suggested. "It will give Gideon some time to calm down and us to help him find what he needs."
"If he doesn't find it first." Rumple muttered as he led his wife across the street to the hospital.
Just on the edge of Storybrooke, Gideon stood in a small forested area outside a small but homey house.
Inside the house was August and Roderick. They were sitting at a table, smiling and taking sips from beer bottles and bites from plates as they laughed over some tale the elderly man at the end of the table was telling.
They looked so happy, like a small quaint family. Gideon couldn't help but smile at the image and imagine if it were him in August's place and his parents in the elderly man's.
His smile faded when he realized what such a fantasy would entitle. Waking Roderick up, taking him away from this peaceful existence he had found. Could Gideon really do that? Could he take away such happiness from his former friend?
Gideon continued to watch them as he mused on the question. The elderly man had excused himself, leaving Roderick and August alone. They talked for a while more, finishing the mean and drinks set before them, relaxed in their chairs with a sizable distance between them.
Then, suddenly Roderick leaned over the table and kissed August on the lips. Slow and loving, and quickly retuned.
Gideon looked away and held back a bark of protest.
Maybe the savior was right, maybe he was being selfish by trying to wake Roderick up.
Maybe this life that he had somehow found himself in was better than the one he had left. Maybe making him remember was just cruel.
Gideon didn't want to hurt him again. He'd failed him twice already, failed him to the point that his life had become unbearable. Who knows the kind of danger he would experience now.
Gideon found the courage to look up once more and found the space they had been in empty. The same void was swallowing his heart.
He decided as he made his half-hearted retreat that he would find a way to wake his friend.
Maybe it was selfish, and maybe even cruel. But he needed the same closure the other children had gotten. He needed Roderick to know his death had not been in vain, that the had become the hero he had wanted him to be.
That in their last moments, Roderick had awoken feelings in him that he had never know where possible. Hope, bravery…love?
He spared a final glance at the cozy home where Roderick was laying his head for the night. Yes, love too.
However, to find out why Roderick couldn't remember him, he would have to first find out how this August fellow played into all of this.
That would be the morning's mission, when Roderick was safe in his gray morgue and August's throat was firmly in Gideon's hands.
