"Yes… yes… I'm about to go get them as we speak… Gold… G-O-L-D…"

Regina paced restlessly in front of her desk in the mayor's office, phone to ear and heels clicking furiously. Emma and David watched her tirelessly, whilst Mary Margaret had taken a seat on a couch, trying to keep baby Neal asleep.

"Go get what?" Emma asked once Regina had gotten off the phone.

Regina looked at her, and Emma couldn't help but notice that the former Evil Queen seemed to have been chewing on the inside of her cheek. "Gold's files," she said in a slightly snappy tone. "They need them."

"For what?" David asked, uncrossing his arms. He pushed himself out from the wall he'd been leaning against, and he and Emma gathered around Regina, almost as if their conversation was meant to be very secret. Regina, in turn, gave him a rather unimpressed or perhaps exasperated look.

"He's a John Doe," Regina said slowly. "Apparently, they couldn't find any ID on him, and they haven't been able to ask him. Makes it a bit hard for some people to get a hold of his medical info." She left their little huddle and grabbed her jacket from the high-backed chair behind the desk.

"Regina," David said quickly, "there has to be something we can do, as well."

The mayor continued towards the door. "I will get the files from Whale and fax them, and I will go see what Gold's problem is." She exited the room, leaving a feeling of getting physically pushed in her wake. David couldn't help but hear the slight emphasis on the word 'I'. Regina was obviously in business mode, and people could risk getting trampled, if they got in her way.

"Do people even fax anymore?" Emma asked, trying to hide her annoyance at being completely disregarded. "I can't stand just waiting around like this. We need to find that dagger."

"I know," David said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "But no one has any idea of who could have taken it, and the one they would suspect has been in Boston for at least three weeks."

"It just doesn't add up," Mary Margaret mumbled, careful not to wake her son. "Everyone should know by now that Gold's not in town and can't return. Why would they want the dagger? It doesn't work on him without magic, right?"

Emma nodded. "Like the time we were in New York and Cora had the dagger here in Storybrooke."

"Maybe whoever has it wants to use it for something else," David suggested. "I mean, we wanted to use it to free Blue and the fairies."

"That would have to be some spell," Emma considered aloud. "And that doesn't sound good either."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"What spells do we know that uses the Dark One's dagger?" David asked with a sigh. Magic wasn't his strong suit, and it probably never would be. Aside from Rumplestiltskin taking him to King George to replace his apparently dead twin brother, James, and chasing his True Love, David had had a rather simple life – watching the sheep and taking care of his mother.

"We'll ask Regina if she knows something about that," Emma nodded to herself.

"Actually," Mary Margaret said, cringing a bit, "you probably should just let her work her things out. You should know how she gets when she's like that."

Emma looked like she was about to retort, but a look from her mother stopped her. "I'll go ask Belle if she knows something," she concluded.

"Well…" David cut in, also cringing visibly. "Probably not the best idea, what with all that happened."

Emma sighed loudly. "Really? You two are impossible."

"Emma," Mary Margaret said in that calm yet stern voice that she would sometimes use in delicate matters. "I'm not stopping you, just… just show a little consideration, okay?"

"You know me," Emma almost sing-songed, marching towards the door, "always the considerate one." She was gone without another word.

"I wonder where the painting I hung there went," Mary Margaret remarked, staring at the wall in confusion.

Oddly enough, Archie was still there when Emma entered the pawnshop. Emma thought nothing of it – they merely seemed to be talking, and, boy, did Belle need someone to talk with.

"Emma," Belle greeted, a bit startled by the sheriff's sudden entrance.

Mary Margaret had told her to be considerate, Emma remembered, but she decided that dancing around the subject wasn't being considerate.

"It's about the dagger," she blurted out, noticing the slight jump in the two of them. "We think that whoever stole it might want to use it in some spell."

"A spell?" Archie said in slight fascination. "Could anyone in town really be knowledgeable, let alone powerful enough, to use the Dark One's dagger like that?"

"We're trying to find out," Emma said, shrugging. She looked at Belle. "So we need to know of any spell that could use the dagger like that."

To Emma's surprise, there was no refusal. Belle nodded, a determined look in her eyes. "I'll see if there are any books on the matter, here or at… at the house." She went to the back room, her heels not clicking nearly as furiously as Regina's.

Archie's eyes followed her before he smiled at Emma. "Thank you," he said quietly. "Giving her a purpose like that, if only temporarily, could really help take her mind off things."

"You really think so?" Emma asked, also lowering her voice. "Because asking her to study something that's clearly more worth to Gold than her doesn't really sound like taking her mind off of things, if you ask me…"

Archie opened his mouth to answer, but the door was pushed open, bell chiming, letting Regina enter, Henry following close behind. She looked up from a small stack of papers in her arms. "Oh," she deadpanned, looking at Archie, "you're still here, Hopper."

"I am," Archie said politely. "How are you today, Henry?" he said a bit warmer.

"Fine, I guess," Henry shrugged, unwinding his scarf.

'Unlike everyone else, apparently,' Emma deadpanned silently.

Belle emerged from the back room, probably alerted by the sound of the bell. Almost like Regina, she had a stack of books and papers in her arms, but she quickly sat them down on one of the many glass counters.

The former Evil Queen and the Dark One's wife eyed each other warily, until Regina took the stage.

"I've got almost everything ready," she purred quietly, giving everything in the shop a thorough look.

"For what?" Emma said, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"For the trip," Regina answered simply.

"Wait," Emma said, realization hitting her. "That's what you meant when you said you were gonna go see what Gold's problem is?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," Regina snapped. "And I'm bringing him back with me."

"No, you're not," Emma snapped back at Regina. "Belle had to throw him out for a reason, remember? He's too dangerous." She gestured towards the librarian in question, who was already looking more than uncomfortable with the subject.

"That may be," Regina said slowly and dangerously, "but he's still the one who probably knows everything there is to know about the dagger, and what else it could be used for!"

"So ask him when he wakes up," Emma said, matching Regina's tone perfectly.

"Stop!" Henry suddenly shouted, silencing everyone else in the room. "None of that's actually helping anyone."

Both of his mothers seemed to take a deep breath before reeling themselves back in. Archie, who had looked ready to interfere, settled down and gave Henry an approving nod.

"You don't seem to understand…" Regina started calmly, looking at Emma, but the vicious undertone was still there. "There's no knowing when he'll wake up, so there's no telling if I can just ask him when I get there. The one who stole the dagger might already be coming for him, too. I'm bringing him back here."

"With all due respect, Madame Mayor," Emma said quietly, "but I think it's her choice." She pointed at Belle.

Regina folded her arms, looking expectantly at Belle, who looked like somebody had dumped a bucket of water over her head.

"And you're sure… about this...?" Belle stammered.

"I am."

"Then it isn't my decision," she said sadly. "It's a matter of keeping the town safe."

Regina nodded, looking at Emma. There was no look of victory, no gloating. "I'm leaving at noon," she said.

"You're not going alone," Emma said. "It's like you said. The culprit is out there somewhere."

"Well, you're welcome to join me," Regina deadpanned once again.

"But Emma's the sheriff," Archie argued. "If the town's in danger, we can't afford to send both the Savior and Regina away."

"I'll go," Henry said loudly, a determined look on his face.

"Henry…" Regina started.

"Please don't try and stop me," Henry interrupted. "You can't go alone. If you won't take me with you, I'll find a way to go there anyway. I've done it before."

"Henry Daniel Mills!" Regina exclaimed in surprise. "I am not taking you to Gold. Emma's still right when she says he might be dangerous. What if he tries to use you against us?"

"I'm not that gullible," Henry argued. "I know I can do this. I brought Emma here – "

"And we would all still be miserable if it hadn't been for you," Regina interrupted, leaning down to look him in the eye. "You don't need to prove yourself a hero, Henry. You are one. If something happens to you, I'm sure you could handle it, but I'm not sure I could. So do me this favor and stay here, okay?"

Henry looked at her, silently biting the inside of his cheek.

"She's right, kid," Emma mumbled.

"Alright," Henry said quietly. "I'll stay here, for you." He earned a squeeze on the shoulder from his adoptive mother, before the woman in question looked over at Belle.

"What?" Belle asked, already suspecting what she was going to say.

"I don't suppose you're tagging along?"

Even though she knew what Regina was going to ask, it still hit her. It was as if reality slipped for a second or two, and everything felt slightly askew, until she returned to her own body. "I don't know," she finally whispered.

"Well, you have to know soon," Regina retorted.

"Would you be quiet for a second or two?" Belle suddenly said, and her eyes, now fixed on Regina, had a fierceness that none of them were used to. She stepped around the counter. "First of all, I've been asked to find material on a matter of the dagger. Secondly, no, I don't know if I want to see him. I'm not sure I want to see him ever again, because wounds take time to heal. If you've never suffered a broken heart, Regina, then I have no sympathy for the Evil Queen, but you should know how it feels!"

"I do," Regina started, "but – "

"I need to do this at my own pace," Belle continued, catching an approving nod from Archie, "and you can't force me to do so faster. After all, no one decides my fate but me."

There was a tense silence, one out of many that day, and Arche cleared his throat. "Belle is right," he said simply.

"Fine," the mayor finally sighed, slowly making towards the door, which was still open after her entering. "I'll go ask someone else, but I might as well go alone at this point."

"I could go," Archie suddenly called after her, and everyone turned to look at him. Regina's one eyebrow couldn't arch higher.

"Why would you go?" Regina asked quietly, scrutinizing him.

"You need someone to go with you. And," he turned to look at Belle, "you don't have to admit it, but I know you're worried. I am, too."

"You?" Belle breathed.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Archie continued. "It's a very, very grim situation."

'Leave it to Archie to tell it how it is,' Henry thought, noticing that he himself was smiling slightly. Archie had always just wanted to help anyone he could, any way he could.

"You'll do," Regina said, lifting her chin ever so slightly. "Pack your stuff. Noon. Don't be late." She disappeared out the door, Emma and Henry following her close. Belle heard her remarking something about camping with the Charmings on her way out.

When Archie went to leave as well, Belle tugged at his sleeve. "Why are you really doing this?" She asked.

The former cricket looked at her. "It's as I said, Belle," he said simply. "Let me take this burden off your shoulders, please. You've more than enough on your mind. I also feel guilty."

"Guilty?" Belle asked curiously.

"I hardly ever talked to any of you after your wedding," he admitted. "Perhaps if I had, I could've… seen it coming… and stopped it."

"Oh, Archie," Belle said, squeezing his arm. "Our marriage wasn't yours to look after. I know you wished us the best, but in the end, Rumplestiltskin made his own choices. He's accountable for that, and so am I. Not you."

"I know, Belle, I know," he muttered, putting a gently hand on her shoulder. "I just wish… I don't know… that the two of you could have been happier."

"So!" Regina said loudly, effectively bringing Archie out of his own thoughts. He had been watching the scenery through the car window, seeing how it would glide by but stretch on forever. "Why are you really tagging along?"

Archie sighed. "Why does everyone keep asking that? It's like I said."

"Right," Regina drawled, tightening her fingers around the wheel for a few seconds. "You sure that's quite it?"

"What else could it be?" Archie said innocently, not quite able to take his eyes off the horizon. "Well, it's my first time leaving town, too, if that's it."

Regina sighed. This was going to be a long trip, and she wasn't up for idle conversation. It was a four-hour ride to Boston by car, who knows how many hours in Boston, and a four-hour ride back again.

"And this has nothing to do with Belle?" she suddenly blurted out.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm just saying," Regina started, glancing between him and the road, "that you seem to have spent a lot of time with her after she threw her husband out."

Archie looked ready to respond until realization hit him. "Oh, dear," he muttered, and he even blushed a bit. "Do you really think…? I-I mean do people really think that's what it is?"

Regina shrugged, but her face said it all.

"I would never," Archie said incredulously. He took a deep breath to shake off the initial shock. Then he let out a mild chuckle. "The irony. My parents might not have been the most honest people, but at least my mother taught me not to mess with a married woman."

Regina frowned. She didn't know anything about the cricket's past, and he had certainly never mentioned his parents before. If his story was ever in Henry's storybook, she had never bothered reading it. So much for idle conversation.

"Better dishonest than manipulative," Regina grumbled, not realizing at first that she had spoken out loud.

Archie fell silent for a while, seemingly contemplating what she had said. "Is it really, though?" he asked.

"Well, I didn't have the pleasure of only one, seeing as my mother was both," she deadpanned.

Archie decided to look out the window again, a small smile playing on his lips for a while. The rest of the trip, they talked about Henry, how he was doing in school and socially. They talked about the Snow Queen's scroll, which had originally led her to Storybrooke, and how it should be able to let them cross the town line. They talked about the gun that Emma had insisted they bring in case of an emergency, and they talked about mothers and fathers. Sometimes, they would just let the radio fill the silence, and before they knew it, Regina had parked the car in a lot near Harrison Avenue.

The hospital was nothing like the one in Storybrooke, Regina immediately noticed. Even the halls were bigger, not to mention full of strangers. 28 years in the same, quaint town did make you used to the same faces again and again, Regina considered.

"Hi," she greeted the receptionist, putting her handbag on the desk while putting on a professional smile. Archie came to a halt next to her, nearly bumping into her instead because of his fascination with the surroundings. "I'm Regina Mills. I spoke earlier today with a Nurse Lynch."

"She said so, yes," the receptionist said, seating herself in the chair. "About that patient right? Let me get a hold of her." She picked up a phone and started dialing without waiting for Regina to respond. Archie stepped back from the desk, Regina following, handbag fastened over shoulder, and the two of them mumbled back and forward for a while, before Nurse Lynch finally came to greet them. She was a sweet-looking, middle-aged blonde with brown eyes – everything Regina had expected.

"These are the files," Regina informed after they had greeted each other. She dug up the papers from her bag, and Nurse Lynch accepted them gratefully, before they all started walking.

"I'm so glad you decided to call him," Nurse Lynch said. "We had just about given up on trying to ID him when your call came in."

"Did no one try to call any of the contacts on his phone?" Regina asked.

"There were no contacts," Nurse Lynch answered, taking a right-turn down to the ICU. "Everything in the phone had been deleted. Contacts, messages. A complete reboot. It's not the first time it's happened. Luckily, Nurse Jackson came up with the brilliant idea to collect chargers for any kind of phone so we could keep them charged. You know, in case someone tried to contact the patient."

"Lucky us," Archie agreed.

Regina didn't say anything in particular. She noticed how they had stopped in front of a room, and she instinctively knew that he was in there. "What about his condition?" She asked. "What exactly happened?"

Nurse Lynch's face fell ever so slightly. "It seems to have been a string of heart failures," she said grimly.

"A string of?" Regina and Archie chorused.

Lynch nodded. "We got him off the streets when someone called an ambulance. He was stabilized, but he didn't wake up. Over these past weeks, he flatlined a couple of times, but we managed to bring him back. We were able to get him off the ventilator last week, but I'm sure you understand the state his heart, not to mention the rest of his body, must be in right now."

They both nodded in understanding. After giving them both a good look to make sure they'd absorbed the news, Nurse Lynch continued. "He's in there," she said, gesturing towards the door they were standing in front of. "I'll go take these files to the doctor, see if we can find something to give us a clue." She simply turned on her heel and walked back down the hall, leaving the two of them alone in the distant sound of machines whirring and beeping.

"Are you ready for this?" Archie asked, giving Regina a concerned look.

"Well I won't get any readier," Regina simply said. She quietly pushed the door open, noticing how dimly lit the room was, even though the light from the hallway was spilling in. The beeping grew louder as she stepped inside. Steeling herself, she looked at the eerily faded blue and green light dancing across the walls from different monitors, before her eyes glided over to Gold himself lying quietly in the bed.

Regina herself had no idea what to expect. Some part of her had expected him to be awake and well, that this entire situation was a clever ruse to lure her there – it was Rumplestiltskin, after all. What she hadn't expected was the silence. She and Gold in the same room was not usually equal to silence. His eyes where closed and sunken, with a faint furrow to his brow. A thick blanket covered his legs, but the hospital gown gave a good look at his narrow chest, which was rising and falling on its own. He had always been thin, but now he was just gaunt.

The man lying on front of her was nothing that resembled the Rumplestiltskin that Regina knew, and it made her uncomfortable. Even when he was merely Mr. Gold, pawnbroker and limp, he'd never seemed to… human.

The sound of Archie clearing his throat behind her made her visibly jump, and she mentally slapped herself for forgetting he was there.

"I'll, uh… I'll give you a minute or two," he said before quietly stepping out. What was with this man and always knowing exactly what people needed? When she heard the door close, she grabbed a chair by the wall and seated herself next to the bed.

"You son of a bitch," she said in a hushed voice, leaning closer to him. "You always had me jumping through hoops for you, even now. And you're not even awake!"

She remembered how eager she was to learn from him once. When she met him, he'd frightened her. Not with his scaly look and odd behavior, no, but because she knew a dangerous person when she saw one, and Rumplestiltskin was more than dangerous. However, she wanted to learn, wanted any possibility of getting Daniel back, wanted the same power as her mother, if not more, so no one could ever try to control her life again.

And he was a strict teacher, and impatient as well. If there was something he couldn't take, it was incompetence. He would make her work and study harder than no one had ever made her before, and it had paid off in the end.

"I'm certain you can't hear me," she almost whispered. "Look at you. Life sure has a funny way of hitting suddenly and hard, huh? Even for the king of loopholes."

Regina paused, almost expecting him to open his eyes and answer her, but nothing happened. The chair scraped loudly against the floor as she got up. "Well, I've got news for you, Rumplestiltskin. Life's knocked us down in the past, and it sure as hell hasn't stopped us before. You and I both know that a little heartache isn't going to stop the Dark One. I need to know who took the dagger and why, and I need you for that, so don't think you can sleep your way out of this, because he entire town might be in danger, including your wife and grandson…" She trailed off, already heading towards the door.

Archie and Nurse Lynch were talking in the hallway. Their conversation died down once Regina had closed the door after herself. When she didn't say anything, Nurse Lynch spoke up.

"Quick question, and I'm just being curious here, but what was Mr. Gold even doing in Boston? You all live in Maine, right?"

'Oh, his crazy quest for power had him thrown out of our magical town,' Regina thought before she realized that no one had answered Lynch's question yet.

"Heartbreak," Archie said quickly. When both women looked at him in question, he awkwardly continued. "There was a… bad breakup with the wife. Guess he needed to get away for a while."

"Oh, I see," Nurse Lynch said, a bit taken aback. "That would explain a lot, though."

"What do you mean?" Regina asked.

"Any of you ever hear of Broken Heart Syndrome? He fits a good amount of the symptoms. The doctors were suspecting it, but I think you just confirmed it with what you told me."

"But what does it mean?" Regina inquired harshly, leading Arche to flinch discreetly.

"It means," Nurse Lynch started patiently, "that we could start him on a more efficient treatment once he gets better. When he wakes up, we could – "

"Can we transport him home once he wakes up?" Regina interrupted. "We have a hospital and a… capable doctor. They should be able to treat him since we know the problem."

"I wouldn't recommend it," Nurse Lynch said stiffly. "Waking up and being in flawless condition are two very different things. It would be better if he stayed until he could be discharged. And that's if he wakes up."

"I see," Regina deadpanned. "Then we'll just have to make sure he gets better, then."

Nurse Lynch nodded and then cleared her throat. "About the treatment costs – "

"Oh, don't worry," Regina said, suddenly smiling. "Bill the patient. He's more than capable of paying down to the last cent."

The coffee machine rattled and complained, forcing Regina to take a few steps back to be able to hear Emma over the phone. "I'm telling you, it doesn't add up," Regina explained. "Broken Heart Syndrome? The Dark One can't die, not like that."

"But there's not magic over there," she heard Emma's voice argue over the phone. "Out there, he has a real life possibility of dying, like when we were in New York."

"I know, but it has to be something else," Regina answered, grabbing the plastic cup from the machine. "Something we're missing."

"How long until you guys are back?" Emma asked after a moment of silence. "Henry's getting restless and so am I."

"They're really trying to keep him here," Regina explained, looking out the window. It had started snowing again, and the daylight was already fading. She didn't like being there any more than any other human being. Hospitals had made her uncomfortable ever since she almost lost Henry. That is, until Emma managed to break the Dark Curse. Looking at Gold reminded her of seeing her son lifeless and unresponsive. She shuddered. "I may have to speed up his recovery a little bit."

"With magic?" Emma said disbelievingly. "Is that necessary?"

"I'm not staying here anymore than I have to," Regina retorted. After all, Gold was stable enough to wake up, she gathered. If she could just get to the trunk of her car and grab the small, ornate case of different potions she had brought with her, her old teacher could be woken up right away. She even had one that could strengthen him for the trip home, and one that could erase memories – in case something unexplainable happened with a stranger or two to bear witness.

Regina's high heels echoed down the hallway as she started walking back towards the room. Archie would still be in there, she expected, and only now, she wondered if she should have gotten him a cup of coffee, as well. Emma was still talking, telling Regina how her super power was telling her that something felt off about the entire situation, and perhaps they should wait and see what happened, but Regina had stopped listening. The sound of a high-pitched tune drowned out every other sound, and Regina stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed the group of doctors and nurses racing in and out of Gold's room from which the sound was coming.

The former Evil Queen felt her stomach churn, felt the color leave her face. She spotted Archie being led out of the room in a hurry, heard the staff call and order.

"Regina?" Emma's voice sounded over the phone. "You there?"

"I gotta go," Regina found herself stammering numbly. She hung up on the phone without giving Emma a chance to respond. The plastic cup had hit the floor long ago, spilling its now lukewarm content all around her feet. She marched towards Archie, occasionally having to dodge busy nurses.

"What's going on?" She demanded from the psychiatrist, who looked at her in surprise.

"I-I don't know," he muttered uncertainly. "He just… flatlined."

Regina pushed past him, allowing herself to linger in a spot that allowed her a better look into the room. She could see nurses applying the chest compressions, see a flurry of hands working with needles and tubes. The nasal cannula was promptly removed in favor of someone pressing a mask down on his face instead.

"Come on…" Regina heard herself repeating. When was he stabilized? She waited for the high-pitched tune to die down and fade into repetitive beeps instead.

But it never happened…

Lots of dialogue and a tiny bit of character development in this chapter. Hope it was worth it! Some of you might recognize several things from the 4th and 5th seasons of the show, and that is entirely on purpose! *cough*