Rumpelstiltskin was in a panic when he pulled up to the school.

Emma was missing, Emma was missing…

Regina had something to do with this. He knew she did. HE knew that she had taken his daughter and when he was done with the school then he was going to go down to the mayor's office, hold a knife to her throat until she talked and then slit it right there.

But he needed to get Mary Margaret's story that way he knew who else was responsible so that he could make them pay too. Regina never did things like this herself; she had someone else do them so that she could pretend she wasn't responsible.

Oh, he was going to make her pay. She wasn't going to get away with hurting his daughter; he'd gut her and save their world a lot of trouble.

Mary Margaret met him outside when he pulled up on the sidewalk, he was at a bit of a distance but he could see her red rimmed eyes before she made it out the door.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"We were in the hall," she said, "And I turned my back to talk to one of the other teachers and then I turned around and she got down the hall. I've looked everywhere, I called Graham-."

Stupid, stupid, woman. The Huntsman was on Regina's payroll. Of course he would look the other way if she had her, "You've searched the school?"

"I had the other teachers look but we can't find her."

I gave her to you to watch over, not to lose.

Instead he turned, "Search this area; I'm going to look on the streets.

"Mr. Gold," Mary Margaret looked like she was going to have a nervous breakdown, "I'm sorry."

"Just find her," he snapped. And say goodbye to your chances of seeing her again if Regina permanently hurt her.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm going to look for my daughter," he said and climbed in the car.

When he got in the car, his hands were shaking so hard that he dropped his keys. He reached down in the floorboard to pick them up and when he grabbed him he rested forehead against the wheel for just a second and gathered his emotions.

Emma was gone, here he was entrusted with the savior and we went and lost her.

She could be hurt, she could be scared and the idea of her crying for him in a place where he couldn't reach her sent waves of anger and fear through him as he jerked the key to the right in the ignition and started the car.

0000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000000

Rumpelstiltskin got in about three car accidents while he frantically drove around trying to find his daughter. He figured that he could look around for a brief second before he went and tortured Emma's location out of Regina. He wasn't looking forward to revealing that Emma was important and he wasn't ready to give her the satisfaction of knowing that he was awake.

A flash of blonde hair got his attention and he jerked his head to the left to see Emma standing there…happily chatting with Jefferson

He slammed on the brakes and rushed out of the car. Jefferson was nearly as bad as Regina and he was going to make him pay dearly for touching Emma.

Emma turned and beamed when she saw him, "Daddy!"

Jefferson was temporarily forgotten about when she ran towards him. He dropped his cane and embraced her tightly against his chest. When she squirmed, he pulled back and covered her small face in kisses and looked her over, "Are you alright? Are you okay?"

She nodded and he embraced her again, "Don't do that. Don't wonder off like that, do you know what you did to Mary Margaret? Do you know what you did to me? You could've gotten hurt!"

Emma's eyes filled with tears, "I'm sorry daddy."

He carried her to the car and put her in the seat. When his back was turned to Jefferson, and Emma was buckled up he gripped her hands and buried his face in them. He drew a few breaths to calm himself down. Emma was safe, she wasn't hurt. Regina wasn't responsible. He could take Emma home and deal with her wondering off a lot better now that she wasn't hurt.

He turned to Jefferson who was clutching one of the ugliest hats that Rumpelstiltskin had ever seen, "Why are you here?"

"I saw her wandering around," Jefferson said, "I came to get her before someone on Regina's payroll did. She was terrified and lost and she was upset so I figured that I'd calm her down and we'd wait for someone to come by."

"Well thank you," he snapped and shut the back door.

Emma waved and Jefferson and he smiled, "She's so happy, I'm trying to figure out how she got that way with you as her father. I suppose even irredeemable men like you and I did something right with our kids though."

Rumpelstiltskin saw Emma clutching a hat similar to the one that the hatter was holding. She tried to put it on and giggled when it slipped over her head and on landed on her shoulders. He realized what the madman was trying to do, "You were trying to get her to give that hat magic."

"Yes well….," Jefferson shrugged, "We were here and I didn't think it would hurt."

Rumpelstiltskin could kill him right here. The only reason that he didn't was because Emma was watching, "You took my daughter aside and you waited here not because you knew we'd find her eventually but because you wanted to get a link back to the old world."

"I just want to go back home."

"There's no home left to go back to!" Rumpelstiltskin snapped, "Besides, her magic won't occur yet."

"Then when will it?"

Rumpelstiltskin chose not to answer that, "You come near my daughter again, you will pay the price. If sometime happens to her I will assume that you are responsible. I'm feeling generous because you kept her safe but after this, that feeling will be gone. Stay away from my family."

"She's not really your family though, is she?"

Oh he walked right into that one, "She's more family to me right now than your daughter is to you currently."

He left Jefferson to stand there and fume while he climbed in the car and drove to the school.

He was still on the fence with what he was going to do with Mary Margaret and her visitation rights but the least he could do was ease her fears and call off the search.

"Daddy, I love you," Emma said when they were pulling away from the madman.

The words filled him with relief that she was safe and guilt for taking her away from her real family, "I love you too Emma, but you were bad for running off."

She looked hurt, "I'm sorry."

"From now on, you stay with me or you stay with Ms. Blanchard. And you don't talk to people you don't know," he gripped the wheel tightly at the next words, "Something could've happened."

"What?" Emma asked curiously.

He didn't have the heart to answer her question; instead he pressed on the gas and drove back to the school.