Operation Mongoose (S4 finale) missing scenes. RSS asked for a rewrite with more Belle.

Operation Teacup

Enough was enough. Belle couldn't get him out of her head. How he'd apologized with words that meant more than a simple, "I'm sorry." How he'd pushed her heart into her chest so carefully. How he'd looked at her for the last time with such sadness and regret before walking out the door of his shop without turning back once. The heavy slowness of those steps promising to take him out of her life forever. Most of all, the way he'd entrusted her to Will without a fight because he believed himself unworthy. With her heart back in her chest, she couldn't stop worrying about what this unexpected change in him meant. So when word got around Granny's that Mr. Gold had abruptly abandoned his breakfast bagel and magicked himself away because he was about to collapse, Belle knew what she had to do.

Enough was enough.

The door to the shop was locked when she got there, and her key wouldn't turn, so he had to be there. She squinted through the windows, between the gaps in the blinds, trying to see inside the darkened shop. It was difficult, but she thought she saw movement, and shadows where there shouldn't be any. She knocked on the window.

"Rumple?" she called. "Rumple, I know you're in there!" She jiggled the key in the lock again. "Let me in. Whatever you're doing in there, just please, let me in! Stop shutting me out."

The lock clicked, and the door swung open. Belle stumbled inside, eyes adjusting to the dark.

"Belle."

Rumple was slumped on the floor, his back to a display case and his legs stretched out in front of him. His head rested back against the glass, his eyes fixed on her. He reached a hand towards her. "You came," he breathed, before doubling up in pain, the outstretched hand dropping to the floor.

"Rumple!"

Horrified, she rushed to his side. She knelt beside him, one hand going to his shoulder even as her other hand was caught by Rumple's sudden death-grip on her sleeve. He gasped in pain and fell against her.

"Don't worry, Dark One," the Author said from where he stood behind a counter, writing. "It will all be over soon."

Rumple went slack in her arms, panting. Belle wrapped her arm around his shoulders and held him tight.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "What's going on? What's happening to him?"

"Doesn't matter," Rumple groaned, still clinging to her coat sleeve as though it was the only thing keeping him conscious.

Belle looked back up at the Author in time to see his raised eyebrow drop. He met her gaze and gave her a reassuring smile. "The darkness is consuming his heart, but I've written it out of the story." With that, he touched pen to paper for the final time.

Belle had just put the baby down for its nap when she heard a rapid knock at the door followed by two slower ones. Outside stood a man in strange clothes, claiming to be a traveler and asking for a sip of water before continuing his journey. Her husband arrived shortly after, and Belle left them to chat while she fetched some fresh water from the well.

She had just filled the cup and was turning back to the house when someone called her name.

"Belle? You're Belle, right?" The boy was nearly grown, and dressed in the same strange clothes as the traveler.

"Yes," she said. "This is turning out to be quite the day for visitors. Did you get separated from your companion?"

The boy blinked, and stopped. "Wait. You mean, he's here? Already?" He looked around.

"Dark hair, clothes like yours, a bag he carries on a strap over his shoulder?" Belle smiled. "Yes, he's just inside talking to Rumple. Is he your father? Or an uncle, perhaps?" Truth be told, the boy didn't look much like the traveler apart from his coloring and attire.

Oddly, the boy didn't look relieved. He stared at the house like an ogre was about to come charging through the door, and crept closer to the well. "This is bad. This is really, really bad. He is not my father. Or my uncle. He's a villain." His hands fluttered along the edge of the well, ready to duck behind it at any moment. "He's a villain and if he gets through to Rumplestiltskin, he'll make him a villain too."

Belle almost laughed. "But that's impossible. Rumple's the Light One. He's a hero."

The boy looked away from the door and met her gaze. "I know. I met him. He saved me from an ogre." He glanced back at the door before turning his full attention to her. "But it's not real. None of this is real."

Belle shook her head. "Are you sure you're alright? Ogres can be pretty nasty." Surely the boy must have hit his head or something during the attack.

"I'm not insane! I know how it sounds, but it's all here, in this book." He pulled a battered volume from his bag, flipping the pages to the last chapter. "See? This is where the Knight Rumplestiltskin saves a village from an ogre and asks for nothing in return. I was there. He asked me if I had any family nearby. But I'm not in the book, because that man in your house right now is the one who wrote it." He turned to the back of the book and showed her the picture. "That's him, right?"

It was the traveler. Belle took the book and skimmed the pages, searching. At any mention of her name, or Rumple's, she stopped and read a bit. Private conversations that nobody could know about, written out for all to read. Not every moment was captured, but every one that was, read true. The villages her husband had saved, the people who came to offer their thanks, the children who liked to race alongside Rumple's horse when he came home. Even the quiet moments of joy they shared with their newborn son.

She shut the book and handed it back. "No, this can't be right."

"Please, Belle! I need your help to fix this. That man took away my family's happy endings by trapping them in this book. If we can get Rumplestiltskin to help us stop the ending from coming true, you'll both be heroes!"

The door opened, and the boy ducked down behind the well. "He can't know I'm here," he hissed.

What a strange day this was turning out to be.

The traveler made his goodbyes to Rumple from the doorway, then turned and saw Belle by the well. She smiled and held out the cup of water.

"Leaving so soon?" she asked. "You're welcome to rest here for a while. Maybe even stay for dinner?"

He accepted the water, but didn't drink. "You are too kind. But no, I really must be going." He took a quick sip, and handed the cup back. "It's been a pleasure."

"If you ever come back this way, do stop by and tell us of your adventure."

The traveler nodded. "Farewell."

She watched him cross the village until he was out of sight, then turned back to the well. The boy was standing next to it, glowering at the point where the man had disappeared.

"So, do you want to speak to Rumple, or not?" she asked, then winked at the boy's shocked expression. "I'm sure he'll be happy to help."

In the end, all it took was one word to convince Rumple to do the right thing: Grandpa.

Finding a way to save Rumple after he saved them? Well, that's another story.