I just wanted to thank you for the readers for the favs, follows and the reviews I appreciate them very much!
A special thank you to jokerssmile for keeping me on track and making sure the chapters are ready for reading.

Before leaving the quaint little house to go to Regina's, Rumple checked on Emma to see if she was awake. He bent over and reached to check for a pulse.

"I'm not dead yet, Rumple. You don't have to check to see if I'm still breathing." Emma groaned and startled him for a moment.

"Ah but I must, Miss Swan because if you are too far gone the spell will not work." Rumple replied with a titter.

"I will be leaving you shortly to obtain the potion and then you will be out of yours and my misery soon enough, Miss Swan." Rumple told her as he gathered his overcoat and put it on.

"Also, I will need a little assistance in concealing my location so Regina won't be able to detect my presence."

"No!" Emma said, defiantly not wanting Rumple anywhere near Regina, "I won't help you."

"Ah but you will." Rumple said as he pulled a gun out from the pocket of his coat. "I may not have magic, but I can still harm the ones you love. So you will put a concealment spell over me or I will simply kill your family." Rumple sneered then put the gun back into his coat pocket.

Emma slowly tried to sit up and look at Rumple with pleading eyes, "Please do what you want with me but leave them alone. I'll do as you ask."

"Until I get the potion back, all bets are off Miss Swan, no one will stop me from becoming the Dark One again. Whoever stands in my way of retrieving the potion will be disposed of." Rumple insisted as he walked over to Emma.

"Now put the spell on me and you can lie back down and wait for my return." Rumple turned towards the door then back facing Emma. "And don't even think about trying to get away or contacting anyone. It will be your demise as well as the others. If I cannot retrieve the potion or if my plan fails, know this; I have nothing to lose."

Emma nodded that she understood. She took a moment, gathered her strength then cast the cloaking spell over Rumple before lying back down on the dusty sofa.

After Rumple left the house she heard a car start then drive away. She silently prayed that Regina would somehow know that Rumple was near even with the spell.

After a few minutes, Emma slowly sat up then with a deep breath she went to stand but the pain was too much and she collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

Appearing in the rec room of Regina's house instead of the secret room in the vault, Henry looked at his mother confused, "Um Mom this isn't your vault."

Regina walked around the downstairs game room and started to recite a spell. When she finished she turned to Henry, "I know dear, but Rumple would know that I would take you to my vault as it is my go-to for hiding precious things. So he could be waiting for us there. I've put a protection spell on this room and no one but your grandparents or I can come in. You and Belle are safe here I promise."

"What are you going to do, Mom?" Henry asked looking fearful.

"I'm going to go to my vault as planned. Not to worry Henry, I'll be fine." Regina walked over to Henry and gave him a hug, "I'll be back soon."

Then with a wave of her hand Regina disappeared in a cloud of light purple smoke.

Outside and undetected, Rumple was crouched down by the opened dining room window. He quietly listened as the Charming's talked about Regina taking Henry and Belle to the vault to hide them as well as the potion.

Rumple grinned at the fact of how predictable Regina was. He snuck away from the house and got into the old car and made his way to the cemetery.

Scouring the map of Storybrooke, Snow and David had marked off all the homes and apartments they could think of that were no longer inhabited.

"We've heard from Grumpy and his group at the Lakeside Mansion and nothing. There aren't many places to search." David said to Snow hoping they would soon hear from the groups who left earlier in search of Rumple and Emma.

"Ruby and Granny said the farmhouse was clear and they were going to look into the storm cellar where Rumple was held hostage though I doubt he would go there." Snow relayed the information while tapping her chin with a marker.

"This doesn't make sense, David. I wonder if Regina is sure about it being a house and not a building. They could be anywhere even another cave." Snow said with concern then started looking for more homes on the map.

"I know Snow and I have sent some people over to the cannery and other buildings along the waterfront. We'll find them I know we will." David said as he consoled and kissed Snow's forehead.

"There are a couple of places you and I can check out but we'll wait for Regina to get back first." David told her, then looked at his watch, "Speaking of which, how long has she been gone?"

Appearing outside of her vault, Regina glanced around the cemetery looking for anything out of place. Not seeing anything amiss she went inside and made her way down to her secret room.

Within minutes Rumple also arrived at the cemetery. Parking the car out of sight he made his way to the Mills family mausoleum.

Going inside the vault, Rumple saw that the coffin has been pushed to the side unveiling the staircase that led down to Regina's vault. He slowly pulled the gun from his coat pocket but a commotion outside startled him and he quickly slipped in behind Cora's coffin. Even with the cloaking spell he wasn't going to take the chance of getting caught.

"Regina? REGINA!?" Snow hollered from outside the mausoleum. "David, we need to check inside she's been gone too long."

"Stay behind me and we'll go in slow and steady." David said to Snow as he guided her behind him.

Seeing the coffin moved to its side as Rumple did, they slowly took a step down towards the vault looking for Regina.

"Regina?" David called out, "Regina, are you down here?"

"Snow, David?" Regina asked as she walked toward the staircase. "What are you two doing here? And who is keeping watch at the house?"

"You were gone for so long we got worried about you." David told her, "And Sneezy is at the house."

"You both need to go back now!" Regina chided. "Rumple could be there doing God knows what. He can't be in my house and the protection spell is only good as long as you are in there. Snow, please go back."

"We were just worried about you. We have no idea what Rumple is capable of." Snow said to her, displeased about being scolded like a child. "And I said not to waste your magic on me."

"Fine and I thank you for your concern but please get back there now." Regina said feeling uneasy with Henry and Belle in the house with no surveillance. She thought maybe she should have mentioned to David and Snow that she had hidden Henry and Belle there.

They turned around to go back up the stairs but were stopped by a gun pointed at Snow's head.

"No need to go any further Dearie." Rumple giggled, "And don't try anything Regina or these two will perish by this gun."

Regina lowered her hand and stepped back from the staircase, "What do you want, Rumple?"

Rumple let out a throaty sarcastic chuckle, "Do you really need to ask, Regina? You know what I want and you had best give it to me now or these two will die as will Miss Swan."

"I know what you have done, and it's not going to work. Mother wasn't able to make the spell and potion work all those years ago, what makes you think you can make it work now?" Regina defied him, trying to gain the upper hand.

"Where is she Rumple? Where is Emma? You are not going to get away with this I will not allow it." Regina demanded and she began to raise her arm.

Rumple gently pulled his finger back a tiny bit on the trigger of the .22 caliber gun that was pressed into Snow's head, daring Regina to try her magic.

"Now let's get this over with. Give me the potion and I'll be out of here!" He demanded of her.

"I…I don't have it." Regina lied as she looked at Snow with sympathetic eyes.

"You do, I know you do, Regina so do not waste my time or Emma's. She's not going to live much longer. Give me the potion, now!" Rumple bellowed making David and Snow jump with fright.

"She's not going to live if you get the potion either. At least this way you won't become the Dark One again." Regina stated with an indignant expression on her face.

"Regina!" Snow implored, "What are you doing? Are you trying to get Emma killed? Give it to him!"

Rumple tilted his head and smirk, "She's right. You are killing Emma as we speak and causing her more pain with every minute that goes by. Is that what you want? For her to suffer?"

"I know she wouldn't want you to be the Dark One again, she wouldn't want me to do this." Regina said with tearful eyes.

She knew Emma wouldn't want her to give Rumple the potion but right now the thought of her suffering and the gun at Snow's head overruled anything she thought Emma would want.

She knew she had to give it to him but not without her own twist.

Feeling defeat, Regina handed him the potion.