Chapter Ten: Crimes and Motives
Emma strode into the station feeling tired, but cautiously happy. She'd worked things out with Regina regarding a job and a place to live while she and Henry stayed in Storybrooke. The older woman had also promised to handle the issues with Henry's school in New York, as well as their apartment, to make the transition smoother.
Henry, of course, was thrilled. Thrilled to be reunited with all his friends from the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke, as well as his whole extended family and his adoptive mother. Emma wasn't sure how she felt about it, but she could admit she was looking forward to getting a chance to maybe get to know them. Plus, she had a new younger brother to look out for.
She hung her star on her belt, then turned to see if Zelena wanted anything for breakfast. She disliked the witch, seriously disliked her, but she had a duty to be civil, and she wasn't about to stoop to Zelena's level by shirking it.
It took her a minute to realize what she was seeing, Zelena crumpled along the base of the wall, still and silent. Then all her previous contentment turned to dread. "Shit."
She dashed across, fumbled the key into the lock and yanked the cell open, then darted inside, half hoping it was some ploy for attention, that Zelena was going to jump up and hit her, make an escape attempt, call her some foul names again. Good excuse to deck the woman, and far better than what she feared.
She froze and nearly lost her breakfast and coffee when she saw the truth. Someone had practically eviscerated the witch. The lack of blood hadn't made it obvious, but up close...Emma gagged and turned away. "Son of a..." She didn't need to take a pulse to know there was no way the witch had survived. She was willing to bet even Regina and Gold, superpowers that they were, would have had trouble with that.
Emma backed out of the cell, breathing deep as she fought to control her gag reflex. She'd seen some violence in her time, but there was something about the whole scene that made her want to gag. Perhaps the fact that Zelena had been in jail and helpless, and whoever had attacked her had obviously been one vicious bastard.
Regina and Gold both came to mind as having motive, but she'd need a hell of a lot more evidence before she went after one of them. The practical consideration steadied her, calmed her, turning her mind to proper procedures and responsibilities, rather than the aftermath of violence that she'd just witnessed.
She had to call David. It sucked, dragging him away from his wife and newborn, especially since she'd come in this morning to prevent exactly that, but it was procedure. Then she'd need to call Regina, as the mayor. After consideration, she decided to call Gold and the others as well. They might be able to help her search out Zelena's killer. Or, if one of them was guilty, they might give themselves away. She took a few more steadying breaths, then dragged her phone out of her pocket and started dialing.
An hour later, they were all there. Hook was the last to arrive, bleary-eyed and rumpled, but coherent enough, and bearing coffee from Granny's. At Emma's suggestion, Mary Margaret had stayed home with the baby.
Regina and Belle both gasped in shock at the sight of Zelena's crumpled body. All the men winced. It was Neal who finally voiced the important question. "What happened?"
"I don't know exactly. But it looks like someone stabbed her with a long sharp object, probably a knife, and then tore her up good." Emma flinched. "We'll know more when we get the autopsy."
"Not a lot of blood." Hook was frowning at the scene.
"Yeah. Whoever did it was either an expert killer, knew how to minimize a mess, or had magic to help."
Regina's brow furrowed. "Are you saying we're suspects, Miss Swan?"
Emma looked her in the eyes. "Until I prove otherwise, everyone's a suspect. I know I didn't do it. I'm betting David was home carrying for his kid."
"We were with you." Robin's voice was calm, reasonable, and helped soothe Regina. "You and your lad, Henry."
"Fortunately, there's an easy way to resolve this. Or at least, there should be." David moved over to the side, to a small TV that Emma had noticed earlier but not paid much attention to. It was new, but she'd thought it was for news or entertainment during a boring shift.
David pointed upward. "We installed cameras. Thought it would be a good idea, all things considered. So if we just rewind the recording tape..." He tapped a few buttons, bringing the TV and the old tape player beneath it to life. "We should see her attacker."
Emma looked at the screen. The camera was pointed directly at the cell. As up close and personal as that wound had looked, Zelena's attacker had to have been caught on screen.
David rewound to a point where Zelena was obviously alive, around ten. Then he let it fast forward a little, until they saw the flicker of a shadow. Then he stopped the tape and set it to play.
A figure strode onto the screen, a smooth, predatory gait to their step. His step. The figure was obviously male, slender and relatively slight of stature. Even so, he looked dangerous.
Emma bit her lip. She knew that stride, that build. From the uneasy muttering around her, she wasn't the only one.
They watched the man, his back to the camera, as he stopped outside Zelena's cell. There was no sound, but it was obvious they were talking. Then the man pulled something from his coat, something that flashed and glittered in the low light. Zelena's expression changed.
A little shift, and suddenly the man was in the cell, backing Zelena up against a wall. David hit fast forward as the man lunged at Zelena. Emma swallowed hard against rising nausea as she watched David fast forward through Zelena's death. It was obvious her assailant had taken his time and watched her die. That was sick. Then the man stood, and David hit play again.
The man turned, and Emma saw a familiar face, and a familiar dagger clenched in one fist.
David froze the tape. Emma spun to Gold, who was standing to one side with a look of shock on his face. "You're under arrest, for the murder of Zelena."
Rumplestiltskin reared back as if she'd struck him. "I didn't do this."
"That's your face on the screen. Your dagger." Emma advanced on him, dragging cuffs out of her pocket.
He held up his hands. "I didn't do this. I swear it."
Emma caught his wrist, felt him stiffen. "Right. Your evil twin did."
"Exactly. I'd like to remind you that I do have one."
"Please. Wait. Hear him out." Belle reached out and caught Emma's wrist. "Rumple's right."
Neal blinked. "The Dark One."
Regina frowned, then nodded. "Unfortunately, that is a fairly valid point."
Emma paused, then lowered her hands. "Fine. But we saw you pick up that dagger yesterday. You used it to command the Dark One to stop. We all saw it."
Rumplestiltskin nodded. "I know. But the fact is, I don't have that dagger anymore. I gave it to Belle last night."
Regina's eyebrow rose. "You gave your dagger to Belle?"
"He did. I have it here." Belle opened her purse and extracted a long thin bundle of cloth, which she unwrapped to reveal the blade.
Emma looked at the dagger, then back at Gold. "You could have taken the dagger back, killed Zelena, and replaced it."
"But I didn't. First of all, I didn't know Belle had it in her handbag. Second of all, I do have an alibi for my whereabouts last night." Rumplestiltskin folded his hands in front of him, rather as he would have if he'd still had a cane to lean on. "Last night, I gave Belle my dagger as part of my pledge, when I asked her to marry me."
Belle nodded, pulling off her left glove to reveal an intricate gold ring, set with a sapphire. "This is the ring he gave me."
"Congratulations. Keep talking." Emma folded her arms.
Rumplestiltskin nodded. "I took her out to eat afterward. We left the dagger in my shop, to prevent it from being seen and stolen. We came back after dinner. I got some things from the back, and Belle picked up the dagger. Then we returned to my house and spent the remainder of the evening together, until we retired. We shared a bed, Belle and I, and I only left it once. That was around 2am. Bae came home somewhat worse for the wear and rang the doorbell for me to let him in. I did, and then I helped him get to bed. Then I returned to my own bed, and to sleep, where I remained until shortly before you called me this morning."
Neal nodded. "I remember papa letting me in. I was kinda hammered, but not enough to forget getting home."
"And he's not lying about the time." Hook spoke up. "I know because Baelfire...Neal, I mean, and I were together. We went in for a bit of a drink and a talk after yesterday. I know what time I parted with ways with the lad, and he's right about when."
Emma heaved out a sigh. "Well, if even Hook is standing up for you...I guess it holds. For now." She uncrossed her arms and stuffed her hands in her hip pockets. "Besides, I can tell you aren't lying." Her eyes flicked back to the frozen screen. "But even if we accept that this guy is the Dark One, there's still the dagger. And the fact that you ordered him not to kill her. How's that work?"
Rumplestiltskin frowned. "I...I may have a theory. Belle...may I see that dagger in your hand?" Belle passed it to him. He examined it for several minutes, frowning, then passed it back. "Sweetheart, I know you don't want to, but I need you to use that dagger and give an order. Something you know I wouldn't do. That he wouldn't want to do."
Belle bit her lip, then hefted the dagger. "I order you to...walk into that cell." She pointed to the empty one next to Zelena's.
Nothing happened. Rumplestiltskin paled, and Emma felt a sinking in her gut. "That should have worked, right? He should be in that cell?"
"He should. And I should have felt the pull from the command. Even if the dagger can't control me, I should know when it's being used against me." Rumplestiltskin shivered. "That dagger is a forgery. A good one, so good I didn't even realize..."
"Didn't realize or didn't want to admit to?" David's voice was sharp.
"No." Regina stepped forward and touched a finger to the dagger. "He didn't make this."
"How do you know?" David frowned.
"Because ever since their little adventure in the woods, the Rumplestiltskin we worked with has only used light magic."
Rumplestiltskin nodded. "It's all I can use. The light magic imparted by sacrifice."
"And this dagger is steeped in dark magic. Enough to fool people into thinking it's the real Dark One's dagger. It's not possible for him to have done it. That kind of corruption of Light magic would take years of work." Regina dropped her hand.
"So you're saying the Dark One stole the dagger..."
"Probably while it was at the shop. That would have been the easiest time, and the protections I have on the wouldn't have alerted me to him, for obvious reasons." Rumplestiltskin swallowed hard.
"Yeah. So...he stole the dagger, came here, murdered Zelena, and now he's running around loose and we have no idea where he went." Emma scowled. "And he looks like you, so just issuing a warning bulletin won't do any good. We'll just get everyone in town going after you."
"More or less." Rumplestiltskin's jaw worked. "I can help you find him, but it will take some time. He'll most likely be shielding himself from magical tracking and scrying spells, and possibly from me as well."
"Great. In the meantime..." Emma glanced at the crumpled figure in the cell, then turned to Regina. "I need to call the morgue. And I hate to say this, but as her next-of-kin..."
"I'll make a formal identification, and arrangements for her burial. She doesn't deserve it, but she is my sister." Regina nodded. Robin clasped one hand supportively, and she squeezed it.
"Okay. I need you to stay here for a few minutes until the hospital can come pick her up. The rest of you..." Emma sighed. "Go home for now. But stay in touch. And if anyone gets a lead on the Dark One..."
"We'll let you know." David nodded. He glanced at the cell. "I should..."
"Go home to your wife and son. You're a new father. I can handle this." Emma shoved her father gently on the shoulder."
Regina tilted her head back to look at her outlaw. "You should head home too, take care of Roland and Henry."
"As you wish." He pressed a quick peck to her cheek, then turned and left.
That got the others moving, and the station emptied, leaving Regina and Emma alone with Zelena's body. Emma sighed.
A dead witch, and a homicidal, free-to-roam Dark One who looked exactly like Belle's betrothed. It was going to be a long day.
***WG***
Rumplestiltskin could feel the tension in Belle's silence as they returned to his house. She hadn't said anything in the station, but it was hard to miss the questions in her eyes. Thankfully, she did wait until they were safely inside.
Baelfire followed them in, then turned in the hall. "I'm gonna go take a shower, maybe get a couple more hours sleep." He disappeared up the stairs, leaving Belle and Rumplestiltskin alone in the back sitting room.
He was grateful that his son was leaving them to have this conversation in privacy, but at the same time he wished Bae were there. He could feel the knots in his stomach.
"Rumple..." He couldn't help tensing at her tone. Soft, questioning, a little hesitant. Asking a question she didn't want the answer to and couldn't ignore. "Did you know? About the dagger?"
He relaxed a little. "No sweetheart. I swear it. I didn't know." He reached out, gently laid his hands on her shoulders. "I swear to you Belle, the dagger I gave you was the real one. And I meant every word I said to you when I gave it to you."
"How can you, when your other half clearly does not agree?" There was a tinge of bitterness to her voice, and a spark of hurt in her eyes.
He held her gaze, praying she'd understand him. "Belle...you know my curse...the Dark One...I don't always...my other self...he's the embodiment of all the worst in me." Not all the worst, really, but enough. "I don't know why he took the dagger back. But what he did has nothing to do with my feelings for you. And if, somehow, we wind up becoming one again, I will still love you and trust you, and give you everything I am. If I were the Dark One again tomorrow, I'd give you that dagger again." He sucked in a deep ragged breath.
"Did you know..." Her voice cracked, and she swallowed hard. "Did you know that he would kill Zelena?"
Rumplestiltskin felt his shoulders tense and his stomach clench painfully. He'd hoped she wouldn't ask him that question. The urge to lie was nearly unbearable. He could see in her eyes what she hoped the answer would be, and he wanted so much to reassure her, to tell her that he hadn't known. But he'd sworn to trust her, and if the lie were revealed...he managed another ragged breath, and gave her the answer he didn't want to give. "Yes. I knew that. I didn't know when or how, but I did know he would."
"And you didn't tell anyone. You didn't stop him." The sharpness in her voice cut him.
"No. I didn't." He saw her walls go up as she stepped back from him, breaking his hold. Saw the hurt and the anger and the condemnation in her eyes. He held out his hands, pleading. "Belle, please..."
"You let him murder her. While she was helpless, trapped in that cell." The words were harsh, brittle, and painful as glass raked across his skin, and he flinched.
"Belle, please...let me explain. Please. If you want to leave after, I understand. Just please...let me explain." He was practically begging, and if he could have moved enough to drop to his knees, he would have.
She stopped, but there were tears glittering on her face, and her expression was one of betrayal. "You said you would try to be a better man. I thought, without the curse, that you were."
"I am. I tried even when I was still the Dark One. Belle..." He felt his throat tighten, swallowed hard against the lump in it. "Please..." He clenched his jaw to stop his voice from breaking. "When I looked into the future two nights ago, I looked and I saw only two outcomes. Zelena's death, or her victory. And I saw what she would do, if she succeeded in her plans."
So many things she could have done. Destroyed the fabric of time. Enslaved him. Trapped the whole of the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke under her thrall as she had trapped Oz. The images he'd seen in his trance were the stuff of nightmares. What she would have used him to do...he shuddered. "I couldn't let her succeed. Even if she hadn't managed to attain her full goals, the costs could have been horrendous. She would never have stopped."
"But murder...you knowingly allowed him to kill her...you didn't even warn anyone."
"If I had...he wouldn't have stopped, Belle. If I had warned them, if Emma or the others had tried to stop him, he might have hurt them, even killed them. The bond between us might stop him from killing you, or Bae, or Henry, but Emma and Charming, or Regina...I can't promise that. And he still might have done something terrible to you." He'd seen flickers of that in his trance as well. That was one reason he'd stepped in at the hospital. To prevent those casualties.
He met her eyes, seeing her anger and feeling leaden fear in his stomach. "I didn't want to sacrifice anyone else, Belle. I saw what he'd do to them, if they got in his way. I didn't want that to happen." He could feel tears threatening and swallowed them back, determined to face her with at least a shred of honor and dignity.
She looked just as torn as he felt. But she also looked hurt, and determined. "You could have stopped him."
Rumplestiltskin felt his stomach clench again, and ice in his heart. He didn't want to face this accusation, nor what it would lead to. If he answered her false, she'd leave him. If he answered her true, she'd leave, or he'd have to tell her...he gathered the shredded rags of his courage. "No. I couldn't have."
"You said you were a match for him."
"I am. But I couldn't have stopped him from killing Zelena. Because..." He swallowed hard, feeling as if the world were crashing down around him, heart thudding painfully in his chest. "Because I understand why he did it. Why he had to do it."
"What reason could possibly justify what he did? What you let him do?" Belle was trembling. "Tell me, Rumple. How could you justify this?"
"I..." He felt black despair and panic clawing at his insides. Suddenly, he couldn't face her. He needed to explain, if he wanted to have a chance at ever earning her forgiveness, but he couldn't face her. The memories rose up in a black wave, terrible and suffocating. He turned from her, turned to plant his hands against the mantle and lean against it, head bowed as he struggled to breathe through the blackness washing over his mind. "What she did to him...to me...to us...Belle...you don't understand..."
"I saw the cage. And it was awful, but..."
"The cage was the least of it." His throat closed, locked against the next words.
Silence, and he feared she'd left him. Then he heard her move, light shuffling footsteps. A moment later, a gentle hand touched his shoulder. "Rumple. Look at me, please."
At least some of the anger was gone from her voice. He managed to lift his head and look at her. Her blue eyes were still wary, but some of the hurt and anger had been replaced by concern. The sight of it both broke his heart and gave him the first shred of hope he'd had since they'd started this conversation.
Her voice was soft. "If you want me to understand, you have to tell me. Or show me. I can't understand if you won't let me in."
"I know." And he did. But the idea of telling her, of revealing what had been done to him...he felt sick inside. It was bad enough that Bae knew, that his son had seen and endured as he had. Bad enough that she and the others had seen his cage, the place of his torment.
But he would lose her if he couldn't explain, and that would shatter what little remained of his mind and soul. That thought gave him a little strength back, enough to draw in a slightly deeper breath, restored his equilibrium a little.
He took a moment to try and order things in his mind, then straightened. "I'm not sure I can explain it all. But...what you need to know..." He reached out. "Could I...see the dagger?"
She pulled it from her purse and handed it to him. He unwrapped the blade. The Dark One had done a master job of forging it, even putting some of his own essence into the blade. Small wonder it had fooled him. He turned it in his hands so that the name faced upward.
When he thought his breathing was steady enough, he looked at Belle. "Do you know why my name is on this blade?"
Her brow furrowed, but she answered him. "Because you're the Dark One. Or you were, before Emma accidentally separated you."
"That's true. But do you know why the name of the Dark One is engraved on the blade?"
Her frown deepened. "I thought it was a mark of ownership."
"It is, but not the way you think." He took a breath, trying to still the trembling that threatened to overtake him. "It's meant to name the person whose soul is owned by the curse, not the one who owns the dagger. I don't possess the dagger, Belle, it possesses me." He lifted the blade to the light, feeling his skin crawl at the sight of his name. "Everything I am, everything I could be, is bound to this dagger. To the curse that holds me, that made me the Dark One." He held her gaze, trying not to shake with the enormity of what he was revealing. "Hold this, and you don't just control me. You own me, down to the very core of my essence. At least, that was true before Emma tore us apart. Even now, the dagger effects me, as you saw in my shop."
She nodded. "So...it's like...if someone held your heart..."
"Far worse. Far more...personal." Rumplestiltskin shuddered. He could feel himself perspiring, could feel the fear trying to claw it's way out of him. "A person whose heart is controlled can only be controlled by specific spells and commands, and only for the duration of time that the other person physically holds their heart. And they are capable of resisting. They'll most likely die, and certainly, it will cause them pain to defy their master, but they can resist. When someone holds my dagger…it only has to be in their possession for them to command me. Every command, every whim, is enforced, for as long as they will it to be. It doesn't even have to be a verbal command. And I cannot fight it. To try, even for a minute, even for a moment, is to suffer such excruciating torture that what you witnessed in my shop two days ago would seem mild by comparison."
Belle paled. "But you...you fought back when Zelena commanded you to kill me, at the Vault."
"It was only possible because of Bae." He'd have rather died than admit it, but if he had to tell her the truth, better the whole truth. "He provided a buffer between me and the curse. And the dagger couldn't affect him, because his name isn't on the blade." He kept speaking, determined to get the whole truth out before his fast-waning courage failed him. "Control isn't the only terrible thing about the dagger."
"What could possibly be worse?"
"What I feel, when the dagger is in someone else's hands. When anyone holds the dagger...I can feel it. Their touch, their emotions, their will...every touch, every breath. As they control mine, I am aware of all those things. I have no choice but to know and respond."
He breathed in, then out, but even that could not stop the trembling that overtook him. He forced himself to meet her gaze. "When I gave you my dagger, I willingly surrendered myself to you. And that...it makes it easier. But to have the dagger taken from me, in another's hands...in the hands of someone I didn't permit to take it..."
He shuddered and closed his eyes, turned his face away from her. "To have my mind, my soul, invaded in such a manner...it's a...violation. A violation of who I am, of my very essence."
"A violation. Like...if a man were to...to force a woman..." Belle's voice was soft, and as horrified as he himself felt.
"Yes. But...worse, in some ways, I think. It's not just a violation of the body, or a loss of control for a space of time. It's...it's in my soul, and it's continuous. That feeling..." The memory made him nauseous. "And I have no option to fight back."
"Gods..." He heard Belle swallow. Then the question he'd known she would ask. "Did Zelena...did she know?"
"She discovered it, yes. After she did...the dagger never left her hands. She kept it on her at all times."
"She deliberately...knowingly..."
"Yes." He couldn't face her.
"Oh Rumple." The sorrow and horror in her voice made him want to shrink, want to hide. He flinched when she touched his arm. "Did she...did she make you..."
"I don't know. She didn't when I was conscious. But Bae...he protected me, sent me to sleep at times. And the Dark One tended to take control far more often than I did. When that happened...I don't remember anything that happened if one of the others was in control. She...might have. I can't be sure." The admission made bile rise in his throat. That she might have taken him against his will…
Belle's voice dragged him out of that abyss. "Will you tell me what you do remember? Can you?"
He shuddered. "You know how she punished me, sometimes at least. You saw. It was...believe it or not, it was worse when we were together. What happened in the shop was just the…echoes, felt along my link to the Dark One and the dagger."
If he kept his head down, looking away, he could speak, could almost pretend he was talking to Bae, or to himself. It was the only way he could.
"Zelena was...a cruel mistress. Neglectful at best, vicious when she was in a temper. Or when she wanted to exert her power. Everything she did to me, or with me, was meant to taunt, to torment, to humiliate."
Deep breath. His arms were shaking as he put the dagger down, then turned and leaned against the wall again. "She hardly ever used my name. She preferred...terms like doll, or pet. Derogatory nicknames, meant to humiliate, to make me feel less than human, like less than a man. It was...effective."
Silence from Belle. He was relieved, in a way. It made it easier. If anything could. "She would starve me, at times. I can't starve to death, but I could feel hunger. And thirst. When she did feed me, give me water…often, she made me earn them. Did things that shamed me, or made me beg. When she did...she fed me out of dog bowls, in this world. Most times, she made me eat with my hands, or lick the bowl like an animal. And she'd watch, and laugh at me."
The memories were coming faster, threatening to overwhelm him. He felt as if talking might break him, and as if trying to hold them back surely would.
"She only let me bathe once a week. Sometimes not even that. And when she did...she never gave me privacy. Nor good wash water. Lukewarm water in a basin. Sometimes she'd even make me stand still while she stripped me, peeled my clothes off my body or cut them from me. The look in her eyes..." His voice broke.
He swallowed, found another memory. "When we came here...I had to shave to be presentable. And she...she would make me sit and lean forward. And then she'd use the dagger, my dagger, to shave me. She'd make me sit perfectly still while she slid the blade along my throat, across my face. She knew the dagger was the only thing in the world that could seriously harm me, or kill me. And she did that. She nicked me sometimes. Deliberately, I think, to show her power over me. Like the way she would comb my hair, standing behind me where I couldn't see her. She'd always make sure to run the brush down the back of my neck. Always so slowly. And she wouldn't let me turn, wouldn't let me flinch if she tugged the knots and hurt me."
Another flicker of memory. "She liked to see me on my knees. She'd make me kneel for hours, talking to me, making me converse with her, or just watching me. She enjoyed knowing my madness tormented me. She enjoyed adding to it. Sometimes, she'd make me lie or crawl in the filth in the bottom of my cage."
"She liked to cause me pain. Usually with the dagger, to make it worse. But she did other things, just to see how I would react, if I could withstand them. She liked to hear me scream. To watch me writhe. She..."
His voice broke again, his body wracked now with tremors, like the onset of a seizure. The memories choked him, memories of what she had done, of how Bae had so often pulled him back when she started to abuse him, shielding him from her tortures. "I...I can't...Belle..."
"Enough." That wasn't Belle.
"Bae..." Strong arms wrapped around him, holding him as he shuddered.
"It's okay, papa. I'm here. It's okay. It's all okay. She can't hurt you, hurt us, any more." Bae's voice was soft, rough, soothing, and his arms were warm and supportive.
"I'm sorry." Belle's voice was contrite. "It's just...he said he knew the Dark One would murder Zelena, and he let it happen, and I asked how he could possibly condone murder..."
"Fair enough. But this stops here." Baelfire's tone brooked no contradiction. "You should understand now."
"Yes. I do."
Bae guided him back to the sofa to sit. Someone threw a blanket over him, and he clutched at it gratefully, turning his head into the sofa as he fought to regain his composure.
"I'm gonna get you something to drink. You stay here, papa, and I'll be right back." Bae's hands squeezed him gently, reassuringly, then he felt his son move away.
The couch dipped as someone sat down, and he breathed the scent of roses. Belle. Then a gentle hand covered his own, and he opened his eyes to look at her.
There were tear tracks down her cheeks, and sorrow in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize..."
"I know." He breathed the words out, then closed his eyes. "But that...that's why I couldn't have stopped him. What I told you...it isn't everything..."
"You don't have to tell me anything more. I'm so sorry I didn't understand. And that we didn't rescue you sooner." She squeezed his hand.
He took a deep breath, feeling the trembling start to subside. He forced his eyes to open. "If...if you want to leave, I understand. I won't force you to stay with me..."
"I'm not leaving you. Never again if I can help it." She moved a hand to touch his face. It was only as her thumb brushed his cheek that he realized he had been weeping. "I'm sorry I didn't realize sooner that something horrible happened. I'm sorry I made you relive such terrible things. But the fact that you told me, that you trusted me...I'm glad of that, Rumple. And knowing what I do now...I do understand. About the Dark One, and Zelena. And even if I'm not sure I approve, I won't condemn you for it. And I won't abandon you for it."
She stroked his cheek again. "Right now, you're suffering. I won't leave you to suffer alone. I want to help you. And I believe that together, we can handle the Dark One, and get you through this. Together. You and me, and Baelfire. All right?"
He managed to nod, and she drew him forward into an embrace. He buried his head in her shoulder, relaxing finally as the last of the tension drained from him.
She hadn't left. And Bae was here with him after all.
For the first time since he'd escaped, he could really believe that everything might turn out all right.
Author's Note: So...a few rough patches...
Next: Rumplestiltskin confronts the Dark One