Chapter XIV
The next morning Rumple took Emma to Dr. Hopper for her first appointment. She waited in front of the door and turned around. ''Could you come with me?'' she asked uncertain. ''I'm just not very comfortable with being alone anymore,'' she admitted. Rumple smiled. ''Of course I'll come,'' he said joining her on the pavement.
Dr. Hopper shook hands with Emma and greeted Mr. Gold. ''So, Emma,'' Dr. Hopper said, sitting down in his chair. ''Mr. Gold had already told me what had happened, but I would like to hear your view on the experience,'' he said. ''Take your time,'' he smiled as he saw her struggle to find the right words to start.
''I had an argument with my boyfriend at the edge of the forest, and I walked away trying to find my way back home. I didn't recognize any of my surroundings and decided to keep walking. At some point the houses and streets grew abandoned and neglected. Then suddenly someone put a sack over my head and pulled me into a van. When it stopped I was knocked out.'' She fixed her gaze on a spot on the ground.
''When I woke, I was in a stone room with Regina. She was talking about magic and that it existed. I wasn't afraid, until she showed me a heart. A heart in a wooden box. A still beating heart. She used it to call a man or something, I don't know what it was, but she commanded him to kill me.'' She swallowed and hesitated if she should tell him about her parents, but decided not to.
''Then Mr. Gold showed up, and Regina dashed toward me pushing a sharp knife against my throat. With every passing second I felt the knife push against my throat and I felt a drop of blood slide down. Regina and Mr. Gold had been talking, and he had managed to distract her; she had removed the knife and he had used that small moment to knock her out and free me,'' she finished.
She stretched her neck and showed him the small wound. ''Is that the wound Regina caused?'' Dr. Hopper asked softly. Emma nodded and felt a lump forming in her throat. The fear of the experience returned and she had a flashback. Her eyes grew fearful and her breath sped up. ''Emma,'' Rumple said leaning toward her. ''Take a deep breath,'' he advised. She did as he told her and calmed down a little.
''As Mr. Gold might've already told you, you've had a traumatizing experience, and these are normal symptoms. They are disturbing but I might be able to help you to control them so you won't have these sudden flashbacks and the nightmares,'' he said. Emma nodded. ''Thank you,'' she said, blinking her tears away.
After the session Emma was troubled, but also relieved that someone was able to help her. The thought of her parents death also didn't help, despite the fact that she hadn't known them, it still hurt. She looked at Mr. Gold next to her and realized that he, Belle and Neal were her family now. ''Thank you for staying with me,'' she murmured. Rumple smiled. ''No matter, it is my duty to do so,'' he said solemnly. Emma chuckled.
He drove back home so Emma wouldn't have to go alone, when she had entered the house he finally went to his shop.
The house was quiet. Belle had already left for the library and Neal was upstairs. Emma slowly entered the house, looking around cautiously. She felt really uncomfortable to be by herself. When she passed a room, she saw a figure from the corner of her eye. She yelped and turned, her heart beating like mad. But she was surprised to see no one was there.
She checked the room one more time, then turned around. She ran up the stairs calling for Neal. ''Emma, what happened?'' he asked, rushing toward her. ''I-I don't know, I was just walking past an open door, and I saw someone standing there,'' she said sobbing. ''No one's here,'' he said reassuringly. He hugged her. ''There's nothing to be afraid of, I'm here now,'' he said.
He took her downstairs and made her a cup of tea. ''Drink this, it'll calm your nerves,'' he said, handing her the cup. ''Thank you,'' she said gratefully. He watched her concerned. ''Do you want me to send my father a text?'' he asked. Emma nodded.
Rumple was busy trying to repair a broken watch. When he read Neal's text, he send one to Belle to let her know what happened.
When he entered the house he heard Emma and Neal talking. ''Who did you see?'' Neal asked carefully. Emma shrugged. ''It was just a dark figure, standing in the corner of the room. It wore a dark cloak I think,'' she said. Tears returned to her eyes. ''I was so afraid,'' she said leaning against him.
Rumple slowly entered the room, trying not to startle them. ''Hey,'' he said, making sure they'd noticed him. ''Hey,'' Neal responded. Rumple sat down next to them on the couch. ''Would you like to tell me what happened?'' he asked Emma. Emma sighed and looked up at Neal, who explained in her place. ''She saw a shape in the corner of the room. I think she was hallucinating,'' he explained.
Before Rumple could respond, someone suddenly banged against the door. Rumple stood up and opened it, quite annoyed by their timing. In front of him stood a crowd of furious people. ''Tell us what you did!'' someone yelled. ''What did I do?'' he asked mockingly. He was trying to scare them away, by making them believe he still was the Dark One who was known for his danger and trickery, but he knew he wouldn't really use magic on them to make them go away. ''The purple haze, what did you do!'' a man said. Rumple shook his head. ''I didn't do it,'' he said truthfully. ''It was Regina,'' he said. ''No she didn't. The sheriff went to her and told us she didn't do it,'' the man shouted. He felt a breeze behind him and heard Zoso's voice in his ear. ''Do it,'' he hissed. ''Do it now, or everything you love will break!'' he yelled.
Rumple raised his hand, as if to use magic and conjured a fireball in his hand. Some people yelped and ran away, yelling, 'He has his magic back!' but there was also a group of them who stayed. ''This won't be working,'' someone yelled angrily. ''Tell us what you did to our town!''
Rumple didn't want to give in to Zoso's temptations and forced him away. He swallowed and felt powerless. He threw the door shut and returned to Emma and Neal. ''We have to go,'' he said urgently. They could already hear the people banging against the door, ready to break through it. ''Now?'' Neal asked. ''Now,'' Rumple said seriously. ''I will teleport us, don't be afraid just hold on to each other,'' he said.
They were surrounded by red smoke, when it dissolved they were in the library. ''Rumple?'' Belle asked surprised. ''What are you doing here?''
Rumple quickly approached her with fear all over his face. ''Belle, we have to go,'' he said urgently. ''They've turned on me, they came to our house and forced themselves inside,'' he explained anxiously. ''Belle, we have to go, you're not safe anymore.''
Belle's eyes filled with tears as the realization hit her. ''Where will we go?'' she asked taking his hand. Rumple didn't reply he just watched her with fear. He waved his hand and they disappeared in red whirls of smoke.
''Could you please tell me what I'm supposed to find?'' Jefferson asked for the millionth time. Regina didn't want to tell him until he was going through the portal. She was afraid he would start asking questions and that, was something she hated. Everything I do has its purposes, and those are none of your business, she would always think, while in reality she just stared at the person. If she would say it to Jefferson, he would turn away and leave.
''Hello,'' he said impatiently. Regina focused on him and sighed exaggerated. ''My apologies if I have annoyed you, your majesty, but usually I would like to know what I'm looking for. It's rather hard to find something you don't even know you're supposed to find,'' he said matter of factly. ''Will you just stop it?'' she asked rolling her eyes. ''Jefferson, you're the worst,'' she stated. He smiled and took his hat from the leather box.
''Now, are you going to tell me or,'' he started again. ''Alright!'' Regina said. ''A man.''
Jefferson snorted. ''A man,'' he repeated. ''Do you know how many men there are on this world, and in other realms?'' he asked mockingly. ''A pirate,'' she added. ''With one hand and one hook, his name is Killian Jones, but nowadays he's known as Captain Hook,'' she explained. ''Tell him you've found his archenemy and that he's here. Also tell him I've sent you to fetch him,'' she added thoughtfully.
He raised an eyebrow. ''Who's his enemy?'' he asked curiously. ''None of your business,'' Regina snapped. ''Now get that portal open and bring me that damn pirate,'' she demanded. Jefferson bowed graciously then opened the portal and jumped through it.
Regina smirked as he disappeared and knew her revenge would be the sweetest of all.
The red smoke dissolved once again, to reveal a new area. They were in an enormous house, more like a mansion. It was completely made of wood and the interior almost existed of only antique. ''Rumple, where are we?'' Belle asked, looking around curiously. She approached one of the cabinets and examined it. ''This is a place where no one ever comes,'' he said. ''We're safe here.''
Emma and Neal sat down on the couch and closed their eyes. ''Can someone explain what happened?'' Neal asked turning to his father. Rumple hesitated and asked, ''Do you remember that purple haze?'' Neal nodded. ''Well they think I've conjured it, and they think it's my fault,'' he explained. ''Nevertheless I think they already know what it meant,'' he mumbled.
''What do you mean?'' Belle asked approaching him. Rumple looked around guiltily. ''I might've used magic in front of them,'' he admitted. ''I only did it in the hope to scare them away, I didn't use it on anyone,'' he added quickly.
Belle smiled. ''You had no choice, it wasn't your fault. It was theirs,'' she said. Rumple sighed relieved. He didn't want Belle to be angry at him, not for this. And especially because they would be together in the mansion for quite some time, and he didn't want a fight after the curse had finally broken and they were together, after sixteen years.
The word sixteen reminded him of something. ''Bae,'' he said. ''Could you come with me for a second?'' he asked. Neal stood up from the couch and followed his father to the hallway. ''What's up,'' he asked. ''Emma's birthday, when is it?'' he asked silently. ''I think next month,'' he replied softly. ''Why?''
Rumple watched him unbelievably. ''She isn't fourteen is she?'' he asked looking at her through the gap of the door. ''No, she's fifteen almost sixteen,'' Neal replied. ''I didn't knew her birthday was coming up so soon,'' Rumple said. ''What does she like,'' he asked urgently. Neal raised an eyebrow. ''What are you up to?'' he asked. Rumple grinned. ''I'm going to give her the best birthday she'd ever had,'' he said.
''That's going to be easy, her birthdays has never been celebrated, like the rest of the kids and people who live in the streets,'' he said. ''I hope we're out of this place before next week,'' Rumple mumbled as he entered the room.
Belle had joined Emma on the couch and was talking about what she had seen. Belle really seemed to know what she was doing, she even managed to get Emma smiling. Rumple and Neal watched them silently and grinned at each other. ''You know,'' Neal whispered suddenly. ''I wouldn't even imagine it would be like this a few weeks ago,'' he said truthfully.
Rumple shook his head. ''Me neither,'' he replied.
They had an unexpectedly good time locked up in the mansion. It wasn't boring because the house was big enough to explore for days, and Neal and Emma could trick Rumple and Belle the entire day.
A few days later Neal and Emma sat on the couch together, reading a book. The mansion had an enormous library which was filled with stories that even Belle hadn't read yet. Rumple sat at the table in the kitchen and could see them through the gap of the door. He smiled when Neal laughed about a joke Emma made.
Belle joined him and sat down on a chair next to him. ''They grow up so fast,'' she said, taking his hand. Rumple sighed. ''They sure do,'' he admitted. He turned to Belle. Something had been bothering him for some time, something Zoso had told him and he wanted to know if he was right. ''Belle,'' he asked softly. ''Hm?''
He swallowed. ''Do you feel obligated to stay here, with me?'' he asked softly. Belle watched him surprised. ''Why do you think that?'' she asked. ''I don't know,'' he said. He wasn't ready yet to tell her about Zoso. ''It's just I've been tempted to use dark magic, and I keep thinking negative about everything,'' he explained. ''And one day I came to think that you only stayed because you felt obligated to,'' he whispered as tears struck his eyes.
It hurt Belle that he was so negative about himself. She gently squeezed his hand. ''Rumple,'' she said. ''Look at me,'' she whispered. ''I don't feel obligated to stay. I love you, and I always will. You understand that, don't you?'' she asked. ''I do, but I can't help but think bad about myself.'' A tear trickled down his cheek. Belle wiped it away and kissed him. ''Rumplestiltskin, I love you. Your son loves you, Emma loves you,'' she said. ''You're not alone anymore, we're here for you, as you are here for us. That's how a family works,'' she said smiling.
Rumple stroked her cheek and smiled. ''That's what I love about you,'' he said. ''Your good view at everything, your never ending amount of hope and faith, your ability to see the good in everyone, even monsters like me,'' he said.
''Rumple, you're not a monster. If you were, you wouldn't have loved, and others wouldn't have loved you. And they do,'' she said. ''Repeat after me,'' she demanded. ''I am not a monster,'' she said. Rumple hesitated and swallowed. ''I'm not a monster,'' he mumbled.
Belle held a hand to her ear. ''I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you,'' she joked. ''I'm not a monster,'' Rumple repeated grinning. ''And you know it,'' she said, leaning in for another kiss.
Neal and Emma heard them talk and watched them through the gap of the door instead of the other way around. Neal smirked at Emma. ''I don't think it's as poisonous as I thought,'' he whispered grinning. He put an arm around her and returned to the book.
A/N: Hi. I'm sorry if you were against Captain Hook, but I want to assure you that he won't be a good guy. I'm thinking about how to end the story with him dead or something, and I think I have a good option. Anyways I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I really appreciate all the follows, favorites and reviews so far. So, thank you everyone, for supporting me in writing this story.