Running Out Of Time
Chapter 7
Storybrooke – Snow POV
Charming had sent Snow to sleep in Emma's old room for a couple of hours whilst he had sat in the living area in case Henry woke up. At about five in the morning she had woken up and swapped with him so he could also get some rest. Gold and Belle had collected the potion from his shop and returned whilst she had been sleeping and the two were now asleep in two armchairs by the bed Regina lay in. Every now and again Rumpelstiltkin would wake up and check on the brunette before returning to the armchair to rest again.
It was about seven in the morning when Henry finally stirred and as he sat up on the sofa and stretched Snow moved from her armchair to sit with him.
"Where is my mom?" he asked as he glanced towards the light streaming in through the window. He was a clever boy and even is his sleepy state he could tell it had been hours since Emma had gone out.
Snow took a deep breath, building up the courage to explain it all to her grandson. There could be no hiding anything from him even though it would probably terrify him that his mother was no longer in the only world he remembered.
"Henry I need you to listen carefully to me and I need you to try not to panic" Snow spoke softly. "Last night you mom went to try and stop a very bad person, a Wicked Witch called Zelena, opening a portal. She didn't succeed in stopping her so Emma and Hook went through the portal after her."
The boys brow knitted in confusion as and worry as he listened and processed what she was trying to tell him.
"Through a portal? Like a portal to another place?" he asked; his voice high and laced with fear.
"That's right" Snow replied as calmly as she could muster. She had to try and stay optimistic so he didn't worry too much. "It was a portal to this world except it was a special type of portal that has taken them back in time."
"Back in time? Why? ...How is my mom going to get back?" Henry flustered, the fleece blanket slid off him and onto the floor as he swivelled around on the sofa so he was sat upright. Snow reached out and grasped his hand, giving it a tight and comforting squeeze.
"Your mom is very resourceful Henry and she is a great hero" Snow encouraged him with the most optimistic tone she could muster. "I know she will stop Zelena and find her way back to us as soon as she can."
Her words and confident manner seemed to calm the boy slightly. Henry had always been an eternal optimist like his grandparents. He had believed that good would triumph against evil no matter what evil tried to do. He believed in people who others could not bring themselves to believe him. Henry may not remember these things but it was in his genetics to trust that all would be well. He was a Charming through and through in that respect.
"As for your other question" Snow continued. "Apparently Zelena wants to take her half-sister's place and be the person who cast the curse that brought us all here in the first place."
"The Evil Queen cast the curse" Henry stated as he began to put the pieces together very quickly for a boy of only twelve.
"Regina is Zelena's half-sister yes" Snow clarified. "Regina's mother Cora gave Zelena up and that has made her very jealous of Regina."
Henry stood up and stretched again, his eyes falling upon the open 'Once Upon a Time' book as he finished. He moved closer to the book and looked between the picture of Snow White in the book and the women herself.
"This is a lot to take in" Henry admitted. "I mean…my mom said you are my grandma but you are like the same age as her."
She had expected him to start asking questions sooner rather than later as he was naturally inquisitive. Virtually the entire story was fantastical and unbelievable but having grandparents in their late twenties was probably right up there with magic being real and Archie once being a cricket.
"Actually physically I'm a couple of years younger" Snow explained. "When the curse brought us hear it froze us in time. So whilst Emma aged for twenty eight years we did not. It made our reunion when she broke the curse a little weird especially as she had been living as my room-mate."
Henry opened his mouth to ask something else but then movement behind them distracted him and he turned to see Rumpelstiltskin walking to Regina's bed to check on her again. As Rumpel had been held in captivity for the entire time Henry had been back in Storybrooke the two hadn't met and the boy looked surprised to see a stranger in the apartment with them.
Snow got to her feet too and lead Henry toward the back of the apartment were Regina laid unconscious her and Charming's bed. The older man noticed their arrival and greeted them by bowing his head as he continued to check Regina's temperature with a thermometer. He looked surprised to see them both awake.
"Henry this is Mr Gold" Snow introduced her grandson to a slightly startled looking Rumpel. "He's helping care for Regina…he's also your other granddad."
Storybrooke – Gold POV
Rumpel blinked awake and checked his watch. It was seven fifteen in the morning, nearly an hour since he had checked on the once Evil Queen last. He was a light sleeper and always woke several times during the night especially when circumstances forced him to sleep in a wooden armchair padded only by a couple of cushions and a thin blanket. Every time he had awoken he had checked of Regina's condition. So far the brunette had remained stable but it was only early days, soon her condition would begin to decline.
Since Belle had come in to his life and taught him the value of true love he had found himself more reflective over his past actions. He had used the woman lying unconscious before him rather appallingly. Every person has the potential to go dark but as the daughter of a woman such as Cora then Regina had been a soft target especially after her mother killer the man she loved and forced her into an advantageous but loveless marriage. The brunette had been ripe for the picking and he had twisted her into what he needed...a person desperate enough for a new start to cast a devastating curse.
He didn't regret his actions exactly as they had led him to this land like he had planned and allowed him to reunite with his son. Even after losing Bae for good only days ago he didn't regret the chance to make amends with his son. He did feel sorry though that he had caused Regina so much pain just to meet his own needs. Nursing her now seemed the only way for him to make any amends. It was what Belle would tell him was the right thing to do and it is what Bae would want him to do too especially as Regina was the adoptive mother of Bae's son.
Rumpel was checking Regina's temperature, as she started to feel the effects of the drain on her absent heart it was bound to make her body fever. He became aware of someone approaching and glanced towards the right to see Snow White and Henry by the staircase. Seeing Henry awake caused a wave of sadness over the loss of his son as he could see some of Neal's features in Henry's face.
"Henry this is Mr Gold" the princess began to introduce Henry to him. "He's helping care for Regina…he's also your other granddad."
Rumpel was slightly taken back by the introduction. He was aware that Henry now knew he was missing memories and that they were all from another land but he didn't expect Snow White to be so open about his own relationship to the boy.
"You're my dad's dad?" Henry asked with curiosity and a little bit of excitement bubbling in his voice.
"Yes that's right Henry" he replied. This was a little out of Rumpel's comfort zone so he did the first thing which came to his head. He reached out and offered his grandson his hand to shake. Henry did not seem fazed by such a greeting and reached out and shook the offered hand.
"I…I didn't see you at the funeral" Henry half stated and half asked as he dropped his hand away. The boy glanced between him and Snow White as he tried to understand if it was an appropriate question for him to ask or if his curiosity had gone a little too far too quickly.
"Mr Gold was being held captive by the Witch" Snow answered before Rumpel had the chance. "Emma rescued him last night."
The boy looked sad for him because he had missed his own son's funeral. It made Rumpel even more flustered so he returned his focus to Regina. It had been well over a minute since he put the thermometer in her mouth so he removed it and checked were the red line was. The woman's temperature was still stable and at a normal level. He used a sterile wipe to clean the instrument and placed it back in its clear tube.
"Wait is you are Baelfire's dad then that makes you Rumpelstiltskin?" Henry suddenly chirped up.
"You've been reading the book" Rumpel stated, glancing up at the boy and nodding as he spoke. He had seen the fairy tales draped over the sleeping form of the boy when he had entered for the first time last night.
Henry went quiet again as Rumpel continued his check-up of the Mayor. This time Rumpel used magic to scan over her body and check for any fluctuations in her health both physical and magical. For the moment Regina seemed in good general health and there were no signs of her magic being bled away.
"Can you wake the Mayor up?" Henry asked as he continued to watch from by the staircase.
Snow had wandered away and was not clattering around the kitchen. Rumpel hoped that it was a sign she was about to feed them all breakfast because he had been fed gruel for days. The only proper meal he had been given came in the form of a 'celebratory meal' with Zelena that had been set up more like a date. Unlike a date he hadn't been free to leave when he wasn't enjoying it.
"Only true love's kiss can wake your mother up from the sleeping curse" Rumpel returned his attention to Henry's question. "However the curse is the least of her worries."
"What do you mean?" Henry asked instantly.
Rumpel realised that the boy didn't know what exactly had happened to his adoptive mother. It was too late to try and hide it from him now and as he was technically family he felt within his rights to tell Henry what was going on. He had been a poor father to Bae but he could try to be a good granddad to Henry. He took a seat at the end of the bed so he was facing Henry and only a couple of foot away.
"Well the magic the Witch used to take her and your mother back in time draws its energy from three magical items…one of which is Regina's heart" he explained as delicately as possible. "Unless Emma succeeds in stopping Zelena it will continue to draw that energy until there is none left."
All in all he felt it was quite tactful explanation. He could have just gone with 'if the mum you remember fails then the mum you don't remember is going to die'. Belle would be proud.
"It's killing her" Henry stated sadly. Apparently you could sugar coat the explanation as much as you liked but it didn't chase away the reality.
"Yes Henry" Rumpel admitted. "I have given her something to help but apart from that all we can do is watch over her and treat any symptoms that may arise. The rest is up to Emma."
Henry nodded and smiled weakly before heading back towards the sofa. Rumpel remained seated as he watched the boy pick up the book again and continue to read. He had made Henry even more worried and sad. Suddenly a small and elegant hand pressed against his shoulder and squeezed affectionately. He hadn't even realised Belle was awake or for how long she had been listening for.
"You handled that well" Belle encouraged as she sat next to him at the foot of the bed.
"Did I?" he asked disbelievingly. "I think Snow White or Prince Charming may have been able to make it all sound a little more positive."
Belle grasped his hand and pulled him into her, pecking his lips a couple of times before letting him sit straight again. Her actions surprised him slightly but he didn't put up a protest even if they were technically in public. Henry was fully focused on his book and Snow was cooking something delicious smelling so it wasn't like anyone was paying them much attention.
"He needs their optimism yes but he also needs balance" Belle tried to encourage him again. "Henry asked the question because he wanted to know the answer and you gave him an honest answer. It may not be the answer he wished for but he will still appreciate the fact you told him the truth."
Just as Belle was leaning in for another kiss the stairs started to creak and she pulled away again. Charming emerged at the bottom in jeans and a chequered shirt looking rather exhausted after only a couple of hours asleep.
"Hey I smelt pancakes" the Prince greeted, "my body decided food was more important than sleep."
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The Enchanted Forest - Hook POV
Riding may be quicker than walking but after two hours in the saddle Hook was starting to recall how much sitting astride a horse could ache after a while. It was one of the reasons he had preferred the sea to the land as a young man looking to make his fortune.
If Hook was feeling a dull ache then Emma was probably very sore considering she had never even been in the saddle before. Not that she would complain about it as she was too pig headed to tell someone she was struggling. The only sign of her discomfort was the fact she kept removing her feet from the stirrups and stretching her legs down. Occasionally when she had her feet back in the stirrups she would stand up slightly when she thought he wasn't looking.
He had been quietly impressed by her adaptability as she had taken to riding quickly and easily. They had even achieved a slow canter a couple of times when the road lent itself to moving at speed. A lot of the time the road was stony or uneven so they had kept to a walk. Horses covered the ground a lot quicker in walk than people did though so they were still progressing quickly.
They were currently passing through quite a dense part of the forest and Hook was starting to get the feeling that they were being watched. He had kept his eyes peeled for several minutes but seen nothing. However the feeling did not go and as they approached a large group of tall rocks that stood to the right of the road and several yards off it he understood why. A very familiar figure lay upon the tallest of the rocks with chin propped up on his arm and his beady eyes firmly fixed upon them.
"I think we are stopping here Swan" Hook spoke up, eyeing the man he used to refer to as 'the crocodile' wearily. He may have made peace with the Rumpelstiltskin of their time but this was the imp of the pas and was a different kettle of fish.
"I haven't got time for you to re-do your make up Hook we need to keep moving" Emma snapped at him. She was still oblivious to the man sat on the rocks watching them but it didn't give her an excuse to keep talking to him like that. It was starting to really grate on him.
"That's just rude love" he protested, "but it's not me who wants you to stop."
The blond just continued to look at him like he had grown two heads even though he was blatantly staring past her and at something else. They were virtually next to the rocks by this point.
"You should listen to him dearie" the imp spoke up.
Hook wished he had one of those strange camera devices from Emma's world that took pictures because the look of realisation and fear that suddenly replaced her previous sneer was worth capturing. It was almost comical how fast her expression had switched if it wasn't for the potential seriousness of the conversation.
"Oh" Emma muttered, turning her attention to the familiar man sat just a few yards away from her.
"Rumpelstiltskin" she greeted the man calmly even though they had technically not met yet.
"Emma Swan" the imp greeted back.
Hook's own gasp matched the one the blond let out alongside him. How the hell did the Rumpelstiltskin of the past recognise her and know her name?
