A/N: I know we've all miss him so I decided it was time for our favorite cricket to make a guest appearance as Archie comes to help Belle and Rumple save their marriage. When Mary Margaret tells Rumple she was never afraid of him, that came from an interview where Ginny/Snow said she had to remember to be afraid of Rumple, but wasn't because Robert Carlyle is a nice guy. :)

Chapter Nine

The car stopped at the curb in front of the coral pink Victorian while Belle, Henry and Regina got out of the car and Regina looked at Rumplestiltskin. He looked up at his house when he slowly opened the door and Regina helped him out of the car. The tip of the black wood cane clicked on the ground as he held onto the gold handle of the black wood cane and sighed.

"Are you alright?" Belle asked. Doctor Whale was reluctant in releasing Rumplestiltskin, but finally signed him out. Belle noticed how pale her husband looked at he placed both hands on the gold handle of the black wood cane and looked at her.

"I'm fine," he said. They slowly headed down the front walk when a cold wind blew through them and Rumplestiltskin looked up at the windows. He could just see Emma looking down at him as their eyes met and his heart slammed in his chest. "Emma."

'Emma?" Regina said and he pointed up at the window. They looked at her when Emma walked away and Rumplestiltskin slowly started backing up.

"We have to get out of here," he said and they headed for the car. Emma opened the door to see the car moving down the street then smiled, slowly closing the door.

Rumplestiltskin's room

Mary helped him stand while Belle moved the blankets and sheet back then helped Mary get him dressed in his pajamas. Mary moved the blankets and the sheet up after he got into bed as Belle brushed the hair out of his eyes and Rumplestiltskin looked up at the ceiling. Nodding, Mary left the room and Belle sat on the edge of the bed, taking his hand and wrapped their fingers together.

"Talk to me," Belle said, softly. He looked at her then he looked at their hands and blinked his eyes a few times. He was surprised Doctor Whale hadn't given his room to someone else, but he did feel safer being back in his room.

"What would you say if I asked you to leave?" he asked and she frowned.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"Yes," he said and she saw the sadness in his eyes. The same sadness he had in his eyes since she caught him standing in front of the mirror in the pawnshop. Her lost and lonely husband was calling out to her and she just badgered him into not taking revenge on his son's killer. She had taken the dagger and not immediately given it back. Her first thought when Zelena had vanished was he had killed her instead of being surprised by her sudden disappearance. She knew the others had suspected him, but she should have told them he had nothing to do with what happened to Zelena.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I'm not leaving."

"Get out," he growled and gave her the same angry look he used to give her when she didn't do what he said.

"No. You see, this when you go and do something that will end up backfiring. We are a team, remember? True, we haven't been one in a long time, but we are and I want to help you through this. So, please, don't shut me out. Talk to me," she said and he gently squeezed her hand. She watched as his lower lip quivered and she saw the tears in his eyes.

"I'm afraid," he said. Getting up and moving around to the other side of the bed, she removed her shoes then sat on the bed and he snuggled closer. She wrapped her arms around her husband as he buried his face in her chest and sobbed. Hushing him, she stroked his hair as she looked at the door and placed her chin on the top of his head.

Regina's office

The door opened while Robin, Mary Margaret and David walked in the room and Regina leaned against the desk. She felt anger and frustration moving through her as she looked at David and Mary Margaret and she crossed her arms under her breasts.

"Did you find Henry?" David asked.

"Yes, he's at the hospital," Regina said.

"What happened? Did Gold…?" Mary Margaret asked then stopped talking when she saw the anger in Regina's eyes.

"We're the reason why Henry is in the hospital."

"I don't understand."

"That's an understatement," Regina said, sneering at her. "Henry went there to warn him."

"Henry told Gold about what we were talking about last night?" David asked.

"Yes."

"How did Gold react?"

"How do you think he reacted? Anyway, he doesn't want to leave. This is where Belle and Henry are and his son is buried here."

"What does he want to do?" Mary Margaret asked.

"He wants to go home," Regina said and Mary Margaret looked down at her feet. Mary Margaret thought for a few seconds then headed for the door and they looked at her. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see Gold," she said then opened the door and left the room.

Storybrooke General Hospital

The doors hissed open as Archie walked in and headed for the doors to the elevator. He was surprised when Belle called and asked him to come to the hospital and wondered if Rumplestiltskin had done something to her. Archie pushed the button when the elevator doors opened and he walked inside. A few minutes later he walked down the hallway when he stood in front of the door to the room Belle said she was in and he gently knocked on the door. The door opened as Belle looked at him then smiled and Archie gave her a puzzled look.

"You're ok?" he asked.

"Yes, why would you think I wasn't?" Belle asked.

"When you called and said you were in the hospital…."

"You thought my husband had hurt me?" she asked, glaring at him.

"Uh….," Archie said and scratched the back of his head.

"This was a mistake."

"No," Rumplestiltskin said while she started closing the door and she looked back at him. "Let him come in."

"Are you sure?" she asked and he nodded. Archie walked by her while Belle closed the door and watched Archie walk to the bed. He hadn't seen Rumplestiltskin in months so looking at the tired, lost and beaten man lying in the bed made him stop. Rumplestiltskin brushed some hair out of his eyes as he sighed and Archie blinked his eyes a few times.

"Um, how are you?" Archie finally asked and Rumplestiltskin arched his eyebrows up.

"How am I?" he asked then snorted a laugh while shaking his head. "I died after sacrificing myself for a town filled with people who don't give a damn about me, was brought back from the dead, but at the expense of my only child, spent a year imprisoned by a psychotic woman, spent most of that time in the dark in a small cage, had to watch my son die, was banished because I tried to break the hold my dagger had on me, came back to find my wife had gotten involved with another man, had to rewrite history in a book so I could be reunited with her and have a wonderful life, but my grandson destroyed that world, was dying because my heart was turning dark, then I had the darkness torn out of me and have spent the last few weeks in a coma. Finally, I find out that my home has been taken over by the new Dark One. How do you think I am?"

"At first guess, I would go with totally pissed off," Archie said and was surprised when Rumplestiltskin laughed.

"Very good, Doctor," he said and Archie looked at Belle.

"So why am I here?"

"You're here to help us repair the damage done to our marriage," Belle said, walking to the bed and took her husband's hand, wrapping their fingers together.

"You really want to do this?" Archie asked, directing the question more to Belle then at the both of them. Like most of the people in town, he was one of the ones who were happy that she had finally broken free from Rumplestiltskin and Rumplestiltskin saw the doubt in his eyes.

"Yes," Belle said with a nod. "We also want to help Rumple be the man he used to be."

"The trouble is I don't really know who that man is or how to find him. The walls I have built are too high and too strong. I am also afraid of what I'll find if I do find him," Rumplestiltskin said.

"Well, you took the first step if you're asking me to help you," Archie said with a smile and walked to the foot of the bed.

"So what do we do first?" Belle asked.

"Well," Archie said as he pushed his glasses up with his index finger. "The first thing we need to do is start your relationship over again."

"I don't understand."

"You want us to get a divorce?" Rumplestiltskin asked.

"I thought Belle already did that," Archie said. "I mean that's the rumor."

"I never filed for one," Belle said, looking at her husband.

"I believe you, Dearie," Rumplestiltskin said.

"Well, if you are serious about this, maybe you need to prove to her that this marriage is worth saving. That you are worthy of her," Archie said and Belle glared at him.

"There is no need to get angry, Dearie," Rumplestiltskin said. "If you must know, I am not worthy of her. I have hurt her more times than I can count. I am not talking physically, mentally or sexually. I am talking emotionally. I do not find any pleasure in doing so. I only wanted her to be happy, but my quest for power stood in the way. I told her I need power, but not as much as I need her. With her, I find the strength to try to be a good man. The trouble is I am not strong. I make mistakes and make bad decisions. But unlike so many in this town, I do admit to my mistakes and try to atone for them. I tell her I am sorry, but what I have done this time was the final straw. I went too far. She had all right to be angry and send me away. It was hard, but it showed me what matters most and that is her."

"I told you that you are worthy of me. I'm not the one who isn't worthy," Belle said. "I am the one who ran. I am the one who tried to change you. I am the one who made you feel worthless and tore your self-esteem to shreds. I couldn't even tell you I was sorry."

"But you finally did tell me and that was more than I deserve."

Archie noticed the looks they were giving each other as he folded his arms over his chest and pressed his lips together. He had wondered if Belle was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome after being with Rumplestiltskin for so long, but what he saw was a couple who really loved each other and wanted to fix what was wrong with their marriage.

"Well, if we're going to do this, I suggest we start at the beginning," Archie said with a small smile and they gave him a puzzled look.

"You want to help us?" Belle asked.

"Sure," Archie said, nodding his head as the door opened and Mary Margaret walked in the room. She held Neal in her arms as she looked at them and the door closed behind her.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know you had visitors," she said and looked at Archie. "Hello, Archie."

"Hello," Archie said with a nod.

"Is there something you want, Dearie?" Rumplestiltskin asked and she walked to the bed. She could see how tired and hurt he looked and memories of all the times he had helped her and David moved through her head.

"I just want to talk," Mary Margaret said and he saw the look in her eyes. He recognized it as the same look he saw in his own eyes when he thought about his son.

"Belle, will you and Doctor Hopper please leave?" he asked and Belle looked from her husband to Mary Margaret then sighed.

"Of course," she said then gently squeezed his hand and Archie followed her out of the room. Mary Margaret watched the door close then looked at Rumplestiltskin and adjusted her hold on her son.

"May I…? May I hold him?" Rumplestiltskin asked softly and Mary Margaret looked down at her son. Mary Margaret handed her son to him as he held the small boy in his arms and looked into Neal's eyes. Mary Margaret noticed the sweet look in his eyes as he smiled and gently took hold of Neal's small hand. "He looks like you."

"Ruby says he looks like David," she said then looked down at the bed. Nodding his head, Rumplestiltskin watched her sit down on the edge of the bed and she smiled. "So, how are you?"

"Doctor Hopper asked me the same question. If I am to be honest, I am angry, confused and tired. I have had my life turned upside down so much over the last few months I'm dizzy. I wanted to be free of the hold of my dagger, but I am banished because of the way I went about it. My marriage is in tatters and I have just spent weeks in a coma after having the darkness inside me torn out," he said while Neal wrapped a tiny finger around his index finger. Rumplestiltskin studied Mary Margaret for a few minutes then sighed and adjusted his hold on Neal.

"May I ask you something?" he asked and she looked at him. "Have you ever been afraid of me?"

"Well, you used to just appear out of nowhere, but, no, I wasn't afraid."

"How could you not be? I am… I was the Dark One," he said and she saw the sadness in his eyes.

"I think it's because no matter how hard you tried to be scary, you're not," she said with a small smile and he looked at the baby. Neal looked up at him while making small gurgling sounds and Rumplestiltskin rubbed the tiny fingers with the pad of his thumb. "Here's a good example. Neal gets very fussy when someone other than me, David, Henry, Ruby, Belle or Granny tries to hold him, but he's completely comfortable with you."

"How is he with Emma?"

"He gets very fussy. I don't understand why. She's his sister."

"He knows she doesn't like him," he said and she looked at Neal. Her mind drifted back to the day Emma's powers were out of control and she had boiled the milk in the baby bottle. Rumplestiltskin noticed the look in her eyes as he arched his eyebrows up and she sighed. "She doesn't like him, does she?"

"No," Mary Margaret sighed. "When we were in Neverland and talking about David and I having a baby, she was furious. She thought we were trying to replace her. It wasn't true, but we thought she was ok about it."

"Apparently she wasn't," he said and Neal blinked his eyes, looking up at him. Rumplestiltskin looked down while holding him up a little more and Neal reached up, folding his fingers over the bridge of Rumplestiltskin's nose. Mary Margaret noticed the shocked look in his face when she took the baby out of his arms and he cupped his nose with his hands.

"Are you alright?" she asked and he blinked the tears from his eyes before lowering his hands.

"I…," he said then sighed and shook his head. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not," she said and he looked at Neal, who looked rather upset from being removed from his arms. Mary Margaret handed him the baby then he held him against his chest and leaned the back of his head against the pillows. She waited for him to look at her as he looked at the ceiling and half closed his eyes. "I remember during the naming ceremony you rubbed your finger over the bridge of your nose after I said his name. Did your son grabbed onto your nose when he was a baby?"

"Yes, he did," he said with a small nod. She gently patted his leg as he smiled then looked at the baby and Neal blew a few bubbles. Rumplestiltskin softly laughed then sighed and Mary Margaret smiled. The door opened when Belle and Archie walked in the room and Belle walked to the bed.

"Is everything alright in here?" Belle asked, placing her hand on her husband's shoulder.

"Neal grabbed my nose," Rumplestiltskin said then smiled at the baby. "Didn't you, Dearie?"

Neal made a soft gurgling sound as Belle smiled and gently kissed the top of her husband's head. She thought back to the book and how he looked at their son and Rumplestiltskin gave her a small smile.

"Well, I better let you get back to what you were doing," Mary Margaret said as she tried to pick up Neal, but the baby started fussing and she frowned.

"I guess he doesn't like the idea of being parted from him," Belle said and Rumplestiltskin looked at the baby.

"It's alright, Dearie. Mama will bring you to see me again," he said softly then handed Neal to Mary Margaret. She nodded as she headed for the door then stopped after remembering the reason she had come to see him.

"Do you want to go home?" she asked, turning to look at him.

"I would love to, but I have nowhere to go," he said and she gave him a small smile.

"Yes, you do," she said and they gave her a puzzled look.

Mary Margaret and David's apartment

"Are you serious?" was what David had asked after Mary Margaret told him she had moved Rumplestiltskin into their bedroom and they were sleeping up in the loft. Henry had gone back to Regina's and Belle was a little hurt when Rumplestiltskin had told her to go home. She agreed to come with Archie in the morning to do their sessions and he had given her a small kiss before she left.

Something woke him as David carefully got up and went downstairs. He stopped as he looked at Rumplestiltskin sitting on the rocking chair and was moving the rocking chair back and forth. Neal was in his arms while he held onto the bottle and Neal made a soft slurping noise. The black wood cane was on the floor near the rocking chair and Rumplestiltskin smiled down at Neal. A dark blue slipper was on Rumplestiltskin's left foot and a brown leather shoe with a leg brace which ended at his knee was on his right foot. Doctor Whale said the leg brace would help him stand or walk, but Rumplestiltskin didn't like wearing it.

"Now where was I?" Rumplestiltskin asked while removing the bottle and held Neal against his shoulder. He gently rubbed Neal's back when Neal made a little burp and Rumplestiltskin smiled down at him. He placed the bottle on the floor when he held Neal in his arms then moved the rocking chair back and forth. "Yes, I remember. Your father was soaking wet when he came out of the water, but he had gotten the golden egg. I knew he would. He is a hero after all."

"And you were the proper villain," David said. Rumplestiltskin looked at him while David walked closer then looked down at Neal. "Or you were."

"What makes you think I'm not? Just because the darkness is gone doesn't mean I'm like you."

"I hope not," David sighed and Rumplestiltskin gave him a blank look.

"Being a hero isn't easy, is it, Dearie?" he asked, adjusting his hold on the baby. "You have to be perfect and a shining example to those who depend on you. But that is impossible. No one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes and has to live with the circumstances of their actions. Good or bad."

"You're right," David said with a nod. "How do you do it? How do you live with all the things you've done?"

"I take it one day at a time and try not to repeat them. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I make things worse. The thing is I try," he said with a serious look on his face and David nodded. "When you give up trying is when you truly fail."

"The trouble is how do we break the curse and free Emma?"

"Do you think she wants to be free?" he asked and David glared at him. "Belle told me Emma took the curse so Regina could have her happy ending. Just like I took the curse so my son wouldn't have to die in the Children's War."

"You took the curse to save your child?"

"Yes."

"I always thought you did it for the power."

"It is true I wanted the power, but the reasoning behind everything I did was to keep my son safe, end the war and bring the children the Duke had sent to be slaughter home," he said and saw the stunned look on David's face. "Imagine if you had been me. Imagine being the town's crippled coward who was about to lose the only thing that made his life worth living. Would you do it?"

"If it meant keeping my family safe, yeah, I would."

"So does that make me a hero or a villain?"" Rumplestiltskin asked then placed the burp cloth over his shoulder and held Neal against him. He gently patted Neal's back until the baby burped and Rumplestiltskin moved him back, smiling. David noticed how happy Neal was in Rumplestiltskin's arm as Rumplestiltskin held the baby against his chest and rocked him.

"Did Belle tell you about the Sorcerer?"

"She told me he's Merlin."

"Did she tell you what he did?"

"Yes, and I am not happy being something's meal."

"If we had known what was going to happen, we would have done something else to help you."

"No, you wouldn't. You all have this notion of what I was and didn't care about how much I was suffering. What happened while I was Zelena's prisoner in Regina's castle is proof of that."

"We didn't know."

"That is your excuse for everything when it concerns me," he said and David saw the anger in his eyes. Rumplestiltskin moved the rocking chair for a few minutes then looked down at the baby and sighed. Neal looked up at him then made a small smile and Rumplestiltskin looked at David. "I asked Henry and Regina this. How did you feel when I died?"

"I wasn't sure how I felt. One minute you were there then you were gone."

"Is it true no one said anything to my son or Belle afterwards?"

"No, we were…."

"You were more concerned with the curse Pan released," he said. David looked at him for a few moments while the rocking chair moved back and forth and pressed his lips together. "After you returned to our world, would you have gone with my son and Belle if they had told you they wanted to look for me?"

"We thought you were dead."

"So that would be no," he said then sighed. "Why didn't you get me out of the cage when you came to Regina's castle? I know you were afraid of what Zelena would have done or if she was going to show up or where to put me, but you should have tried."

"You were insane," David said and Rumplestiltskin arched his eyebrows up.

"You have no idea," he sighed then looked at the ceiling. He thought for a few seconds when he looked at David and titled his head to one side. "What about when we were at the barn? Would you have let me kill Zelena?"

"If I am going to be honest, yes, I would have," David said, looking at Neal. Neal was asleep with a content look on his little face and holding onto Rumplestiltskin's index finger. "Want me to take him?"

"No, we're fine. Go back to bed," he said softly. Nodding, David walked away then went back up the stairs and Rumplestiltskin carefully reached down for the black wood cane. Carefully getting up, he headed for the crib when he placed Neal down onto mattress and placed the blanket over Neal's legs. Smiling, Rumplestiltskin headed for the bedroom when he stopped inside the doorway, looked back at the crib then walked inside, closing the door behind him.

The Rabbit Hole

Marc watched Will sling back the whiskey then Marc sighed, shaking his head. He remembered what happened between Will and the Red Queen, but seeing Will drinking himself into oblivion was concerning.

"Give me another," Will said, tapping the bottom of the glass against the top of the bar.

"Sorry, Pal, but I have to cut you off," Marc said.

"I said give me another," Will growled and Marc shook his head.

"Look, don't make me call the cops," Marc said then walked away and Will glared at him. He looked at the glass in his hand when he felt like someone was watching him and turned, seeing Killian standing there.

"What do you want?" Will growled and Killian sat on the barstool next to him.

"You look like crap," Killian said. "Let me guess. Belle dropped you for the old crocodile?"

"Yeah," Will said then sighed. "I don't get it. She was over him. She told me she was. She was tired of him lying to her, was tired of him treating her like garbage and was tired of him not making her his number one priority. But as soon as he goes and gives her her heart back then gets sick, she goes back to him."

"He's got her brainwashed, Mate," Killian said. "Lucky for me his first wife saw through him and left."

"You were involved with his first wife?"

"Aye," Killian said then balled his hand into a fist. "But the Old Cur killed her."

"Someone should do something about him," Will said and Killian smiled.

"Well, if you come with me, I know someone who'd might be able to get rid of him," Killian said and Will smiled, nodding his head.