Once Upon a Time does not belong to me. This has not been beta-read, and I really need a reviewer. Any critiques or comments are welcomed!

CHAPTER 7

Belle smiled a little unsteadily, but she pressed into the room. "I brought lunch," she said, holding aloft a take-out carrier from Granny's.

Regina calmly reached for her purse, using it as an excuse to turn away from Belle and compose her face. Then she handed Gold a box of tissue. "Has Whale released him?" she asked Belle as she turned around.

"Um, not yet, but I feel sure he will in the morning if not this afternoon," Belle replied as she set the food on the table. She wheeled it over her husband, pretending to be unconcerned. "Are you bringing Henry over after school?"

Regina opened her purse and pulled out her car keys. "Yes," she told them both. She smiled at Gold and patted his hand. "I'll bring Henry to see you around 3:30, okay?"

Rumplestiltskin nodded and smiled gratefully. "I'll look forward to it, Regina, thank you." He sniffed appreciatively at the bags that Belle had set down. "That smells very good," he told her, trying to peek inside the bags. "What is it?"

Belle watched Regina leave with a suspicious eye. Then, she turned to see her husband watching her expectantly. Frowning, she continued to set out the food. "I got a couple of Granny's hamburgers. I thought you'd like them better than the hospital food."

Rumplestiltskin didn't wait. He grabbed one of the thick, luscious burgers and bit into it. He moaned with delight and began to chew with relish. Pointing to a helping of fries, Rumplestiltskin mumbled around the food in his mouth, "And those? What are they?"

"French fries," she replied with a grin, "and you have to try them with catsup. Condiments are this world's most powerful magic." She tossed him a packet of catsup.

He paused in mid-bite to stare at her. Blinking rapidly, Rumpletiltskin began chewing more slowly. Finally, when he was able to swallow, he smiled at her. "I remember now," he told her. "I remember many things." He lowered his half-eaten burger to the table. Reaching for the cola, he took a long drink and waited for Belle to set her meal aside.

"I suppose we need to finish our discussion." He straightened his shoulders and leaned back against the bed. "I do love you, Belle, and I want us to be together - "

"Oh, so do I, Rumple," Belle cried. She reached out to clasp his hand.

"But," he continued slowly, "you'll have to understand that I'm not perfect. I'll always feel inadequate without my power, unable to protect us. I'll always crave the power and the control that it gives me."

"I understand now, Rumple," she told him sincerely. "I just need to know that I'm number one in your life."

"And you are!" he exclaimed. He shifted on the bed and reached to hold her other hand as well. "And I've forgiven you, Belle. But, what's more important, I've realized that you aren't perfect." He chuckled at her frown. "No, I've always put you on a pedestal, believing you to be an angel, nearly perfect."

"Oh, Rumple, I've never pretended to be perfect - far from it."

He gazed deeply into her eyes. "But in my eyes, you were, Belle. That's why it was so hard to accept that you truly loved me for me. That's why I could never believe you'd love me without my power."

"Thank you for forgiving me," she told him softly. Demurely she lowered her eyes.

"Belle -" He hesitated.

"What is it, Rumple?" She looked up at him and released his hands in order to climb onto the bed to sit nearer.

"You aren't perfect, you know. You can't judge me by your standards of what is noble or kind." He held out his hands, gripping her shoulders. "Before you ask, let me explain. Just like with the misunderstanding about the Gauntlet. You were my self-appointed judge, jury, and executioner without giving me a chance to explain or defend myself."

Seeing the angry red creeping up her neck, he rushed ahead, his words pouring forth. "I was wrong to forcibly abduct those people, and I was wrong to attempt to kill Hook." He took a deep breath. "But if you had taken a moment, just one small moment, to see things from my perspective. Belle, you would have understood how terrified I was that someone would use the dagger to reduce me to a slave again. I found a way to break free of it, and if that meant I had to sacrifice others, well, then, that's what I felt I had to do -"

"It was wrong," she insisted.

"Seeing it from your perspective, I'd agree," he concurred. "But, Belle, at the time you exiled me from town, you didn't know that I had trapped those people. You were simply pissed because you thought I valued the dagger more than you."

Her face paled as she realized the truth of his words.

He released her shoulders and nodded. "Aye, you're seeing it now. Belle, if you'd truly known about the magical people in the hat and were honestly concerned about my using them, you would have acted differently. Oh, you would still have stopped me from killing Hook, but you would have forced me to release those I had trapped. Then you would have put me on a very short husband leash."

Tears puddled up in her clear blue eyes and streamed down her face. She pressed her hands against her cheeks in shocked acknowledgement of the truth of his words. "I was so hurt, so angry, that I only wanted to hurt you back. So I intended to take from you the things I thought you loved the most - your power and your money." Belle's hands slid up to cover her eyes as she wept bitter tears.

"Revenge tastes very sweet when you first bite into it," he told her softly, "but it quickly becomes bitter."

At a four o'clock, the door to Rumplestiltskin's room opened, and Henry came in smiling. He pulled off his book bag and swung it up onto the table. "Hi, Grandpa Gold," he said with a grin. His brown eyes danced like sunlight sparkling on tea. "Where's Belle? I hope you're ready to help me with my math."

"Of course, I am Henry, lad," Rumplestiltskin replied. "Belle went with Dr. Whale to complete the paperwork for my release. Where's Regina?"

"Oh, she just dropped me off." Henry dug through his bag, pulling out a large text book and a notebook. He set them on the table along with a pencil and dropped the bag onto the floor. With his foot, he shoved the bag under the bed and began flipping open the book. "Grandma Snow is going to pick me up around 5:00 to take me home."

A worry furrow began to creep across Rumplestiltskin's forehead. "If Grandma Snow is picking you up at 5:00, we'd best begin with the math," he stated, baiting the boy for more information.

"Yeah, I need help with this section. I missed it one like it on the test, but Mr. Phillips said that I can get extra points if I complete this section correctly." Henry twisted the book around for his grandfather and flipped open the notebook. He tapped one particular problem with his pencil. "This is the one I missed."

Rumplestiltskin read the question. He paused and glanced back up at Henry. Then he read it aloud. " 'Cindy bakes a cake 8 inches in diameter. If one container of icing covers 36 square inches, will she have enough icing?' Did I read this correctly?"

'Uh, huh." Henry leaned over and pointed with the eraser. "I think I'm supposed to find the diameter - "

"What the hell kind of question is this?" Rumplestiltskin exploded. "If you were asked to find the diameter of a circle measuring 8 inches across, you could solve it easily, but this, this - " He glared at the offending question. If he'd still had his powers, the text would have gone up in flames. " - this is stupid! Will this be a single layer cake? Most cakes have more than one layer, you know. And certainly this Cindy would need to frost between the layers. And what of the sides? Hey?" He shook the book as if to choke it. "Wouldn't a proper baker frost the sides as well?" He slammed the book down in disgust. "Not to mention how thick would you want the icing to be?"

Henry began to laugh. The anger drained away from the older man as the boy laughed, and soon he was laughing as well. "That was exactly what I asked the teacher!" Henry exclaimed.

"Well, that's that, then." Rumplestiltskin set the book on the table. "Just write 50.24 inches for the answer." He held out his hands when he saw Henry's stricken face. "Don't worry with all that icing on the cake bullshit," he told Henry with a grin. "I'll be released from here later this evening, and I'll come to the school tomorrow to take care of any hassle about the math work."

Henry grinned and quickly wrote down what his grandfather had told him. Then, he packed up his school work, placed it in the book bag, and shoved it under the bed. "Thanks, Grandpa Gold."

Rumplestiltskin waited patiently while Henry arranged his school bag, but once the boy's things were safely stowed out of the way, the called out. "Come here, Henry, lad." He held out a hand to the boy. "It's time you explained some things to me."

Wetting his lips nervously, Henry nodded in agreement. He took his grandfather's hand and stepped closer to the bed. 'Yeah," he said quietly as he scrunched up his face. "What do you want to know?"

"How about we start with the reason why my grandson is living with Cora's daughter?"

Again the boy nodded. "Okay, see, - and I don't know all the adult details - but mom, Regina, she adopted me when I was just a baby."

Rumplestiltskin inhaled sharply and gripped the boy's hands. A frown was growing on his features like a thunderstorm. He cleared his throat. "Go on," he commanded roughly.

Henry blinked thoughtfully. "Grandpa," he answered slowly, "please don't get all upset, okay? Just listen. I'll tell you everything I know, then you can ask later."

Puppy dog brown eyes glistening with tears melted the old man's anger. "All right, Henry, I won't interrupt your story," he promised with a slight smile.

Taking a deep breath, Henry launched into an rushed explanation. "My birth mom, Emma Swann, wasn't married when I was born. In fact, she was in jail and didn't know where my dad was. Emma was an orphan and didn't have any family, so she knew she couldn't keep me. That's when she decided to give me up for adoption. She knew whoever adopted me would be able to provide a better, more stable home for me."

He took a deep breath. His grandfather's face remained impassive. Henry knew Grandpa Gold would keep his word and not interrupt. "My mom, Regina, went to you 'cause you're a lawyer, and you set up the adoption."

Shocked to the core, Rumplestiltskin's eyebrows rocketed skyward, and his mouth dropped open. Henry snickered a bit. "Yeah, ironic, isn't it? You arranged the adoption of your own grandson and didn't even know it." Then he sobered, knowing what was coming next. True to his word, the old man didn't interrupt Henry's story, but a single, slow nod bade the boy continue the tale.

Licking his lips, Henry started. "Emma Swann, my birth mom, is the daughter of Snow White - she's a teacher at the school - and Prince Charming - he's a deputy sheriff." No, this wasn't coming out right. Henry started over.

"Everyone in town was under a curse. I guess you'd know about that, huh?" He shot his grandfather an angry glance, but Rumplestiltskin didn't flinch. Henry sighed. "Before the curse hit, Snow White and Prince Charming sent their daughter ahead to the land without magic because she was destined to be the savior and end the curse, which, of course, she did and - "

"Snow White and Charming sent her on ahead?" he muttered in a puzzled tone. A line of puzzlement gouged more deeply between his eyes. "Where did she go?"

"Grandpa Gold," Henry chastised the old man gently.

"Sorry, Henry," he replied with a sincere smile. "Please go on."

Nodding, the stripling youth forged ahead. "I'm not really sure where she was sent. Emma lived in a lot of foster homes all over the country. I know she met my dad in Portland, but they found each other again in New York. I met him for the first time there, too. It was when we found out that he was really your lost son, Baelfire, and we -"

Henry skidded to a verbal stop. His grandfather's eyes had lost focus, and he swayed alarmingly. Quickly, Henry moved forward and pressed the older man back against the bed. "Grandpa Gold! Grandpa Gold!" Henry exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

Rumplestiltskin collapsed backward, his whole body sagging. "Bae," he whispered, "Oh, my boy, my beautiful boy." He closed his eyes and wilted like a funereal rose. His breaths came in small shuddering waves. No tears came this time. It was as if the ocean of his tears was dried up, parched, desolate - only emptiness remained.

"Rumple?" Belle cried out. She had opened the door just in time to see her husband fall back against the bed. "Rumple, are you all right?" Rushing into the room, she grasped him by the shoulders. "Rumple?"

Mary Margaret, carrying Neal on her hip, walked in on Belle's heels. "What?" She hurried to Henry's side and with her free hand spun him around to face her. "Henry," she blurted out. Mary Margaret paused only long enough to dart a quick, worried glance at Belle shaking a seemingly lifeless Gold. "Henry," she repeated with lowered voice, "what's happening?"

Henry squared his shoulder, and although his young man's voice was rough with emotion, he did not cry. "He's remembering, Grandma Snow. He's remembering my dad."

"Oh, honey," Mary Margaret whispered. She pulled Henry into a long, one-handed hug. When she released him, she moved to the side of the bed. "Gold," she called out as she gently moved Belle out of the way. The younger woman was weeping inconsolably and was less than useless. Mary Margaret pushed little Neal into Belle's arms, knowing the baby would force her to reign in the near panic.

"Gold," she reiterated, a bit more forcefully this time. "Gold, open your eyes. You're frightening us."

Slowly, Rumplestiltskin shook his head from side to side. " 's no use," he muttered. "My whole life, it seems - spent trying to find my Bae, my boy." He chuffed out a shuddering breath of despair. He cracked his eyelids, squinting up at the woman now called Mary Margaret Nolan. "All I ever wanted," he confided to her in whisper as thin as an onion-skin, "was to be loved. I had no mother, no father, so I took a wife, had a son." He shook his head hopelessly. "Lost. All is gone. Again, I'm all alone."

"No, you're not, Gold," Mary Margaret insisted, shaking him slightly. "Listen - "

He interrupted her. "Was it too much to ask?" he begged. "To have a little love in my life?"

His pleading brown eyes brought a lump of sympathy to her throat, but helpless capitulation wasn't what this man needed. "Now, you sit up and listen to me right now," she ordered him loudly in her best teacher's voice. "Sit up, open your eyes, and stop feeling sorry for yourself!" She pulled him forward and turned his head until he could see Belle, holding Neal, and Henry standing behind her. "You have a wife and a grandson who loves you."

Gold's eyes widened in surprise as he surveyed the loving tableau before him. Henry stood resolute, determined to act the part of the man he was becoming. Belle, tears rolling down her cheeks, faced him with utter adoration.

She moved towards the bed. "Oh, Rumple, we can't bring Bae back, but, you and I, we can be a family."

"Henry and I'll just be going," Mary Margaret spoke softly. "You two can have some time alone." She reached for the baby. "I'll take Neal."

As Belle moved to hand the baby back, Gold spoke quickly. "Neal? That's right! You named him for my boy. May I?" He gestured to the baby. "May I hold him? It's been a very long time since I held a child, but I'm sure I can remember."

"Of course," Mary Margaret agreed with a smile.

Belle settled the child into her husband's arms. A whole host of promises were alight in her vivid blue eyes, and she nodded, hinting at future possibilities.

Profound tears of joy filled his eyes as he held the little boy in his arms. When Neal cooed in delight and grabbed his nose, Gold laughed aloud. Slowly, his eyes traveled around the members of his small family. "I think," he told them, "no, I know that everything will be well with us. For the first time ever, my life is awake with the prospect of happiness."