Final chapter of my RSS gift - I hope my giftee enjoyed it and I hope some of you do as well! Feedback is welcome! Thank you!

I do not own 'Once Upon a Time.'

Chapter 3

Several months later . . . . .

Rumpelstiltskin sat on the sofa in his house, with Neal and Belle on either side of him, staring at the vial that he held in his hand, and the chipped cup that was sitting on the coffee table in front of him. After months of trying, studying, and practicing, he finally came up with what he believed to be a way to restore his memories.

Rumpelstiltskin was slowly adjusting to his new life in Storybrooke with over three decades of memory lost to him. He was a changed man now, and no longer felt the lust for power and control that he had while under the Dark Curse. The memories that he did have of those centuries while cursed still haunted him, and he looked back on them with pain and regret, especially for all that had happened to hurt Belle and Baelfire.

Most of the people in Storybrooke were wary of him still, and he understood that. It would take quite a bit of time for him to be accepted by them. His grandson, Henry, was the most receptive to him – he was a nice young boy and Rumpelstiltskin had grown quite fond of him in this short amount of time.

What made him the most happy was the rebuilding of his relationship with his son. He truly had been given a second chance with him, and he was not going to take that for granted ever again.

And then there was Belle. Sweet, beautiful Belle, who had endured so much pain because of her love for him, and yet never failed to be his strength when he needed it the most. All he remembered of her were the memories he had of their time in the Dark Castle, and most of the time he recalled himself behaving in a horrible manner. Belle insisted he wasn't that bad, but he had a hard time believing that. But now they were building a life together, and for the first time in his long and hideous existence he understood what true love really meant.

He had taken to spinning once again; it was his trade all those years ago and he thought perhaps, if he was truly a changed man, it should be his trade now. Belle took charge of cataloging and taking inventory of the many things in his shop; most of them acquired through deals, some of which he had no recollection of. He understood that these things didn't truly belong to him, and Belle convinced him that if someone came into the shop looking for something that was rightfully theirs, he should return it. Since he wanted to distance himself from that monster of the Enchanted Forest, and since he had no memory of this possessive "Mister Gold" that he used to be, he took no issue with her suggestion.

Even though his curse was gone, he still had enough knowledge of magic to re-train himself to use it. The fairies still wanted nothing to do with him, and he was anxious to create a potion to restore his memories. Belle was certain that the magic he was practicing now was light magic, but he was unsure.

"You gonna drink it?" Neal asked.

"It's okay." Belle said, putting her hand on top of his and squeezing it.

"What if it doesn't work?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"Then you'll keep trying." Neal said. "Or maybe in time the fairies will trust you again and help you out."

"I don't want any help from those annoying little pests. I don't trust them." Rumpelstiltskin said. Losing the Dark Curse had changed him in many ways, but he was still wary of those who had wronged him in the past. "What if this potion not only restores my memories? What if it restores the dagger again?"

"We destroyed the dagger, Papa, that won't happen." Neal said.

"Magic can't be destroyed. Not completely." Rumpelstiltskin said.

"Rumple – you don't have dark magic anymore. This will work." Belle assured him. Rumpelstiltskin took a deep breath and poured the contents of the vial into the chipped cup. He then picked up the cup, and moved it toward his mouth, but stopped just before he took a drink.

"What's wrong?" Belle asked.

"This. This is wrong." Rumpelstiltskin said, and he set the cup back down. "These last few months – they've been – magical. A better kind of magic than I've ever known in all of my hundreds of years. It's already difficult enough for me to remember all of the vile things I did as the beast I used to be without adding additional memories into the mix. From what you've told me – I'm not sure I want to remember most of those things." he admitted. "Would it bother you if I never remembered?"

"No." Belle said.

"Of course not, Papa." Neal agreed.

"Well, then. Pour it out into the sink." Rumpelstiltskin said. "I don't need those other memories. I've made plenty of new ones in the past few months that are far better, and I'm certain to make more. I don't need to be this "Mister Gold" you tell me about, and I have something better than magic and all of the things that I've accumulated. I have love. All magic comes with a price, you know that. I'm not willing to risk losing all of this just to get a few years of mostly misery back. I am far more content with being nothing more than a simple spinner here in Storybrooke – as long as that means I have both of you."

"You have us, Papa." Neal said.

"Forever." Belle agreed, and Rumpelstiltskin hugged both of them tightly.

THE END.