A/N: Thank you syed and Kelaine729 for your reviews and to everyone who followed and favorited.

Complications

Chapter 21: Turbulence

~Catspook

"There you are!" Bae said as soon as Rumplestiltskin opened the door. He sounded annoyed.

"Yes," Rumplestiltskin said cautiously. "I had to stay to ensure that the stranger left town. I'm sorry if I kept you waiting, Bae."

"Did you make him leave town?"

"I planted a suggestion that he do so. It did him no harm, Bae, I promise. Sheriff Swan oversaw the entire process."

Bae's shoulders relaxed marginally. Of course he had every reason to trust Emma more than his father at this point, but it still stung. "Belle said that you turned Regina into a snail," he said, and Rumplestiltskin could not tell if he was upset or not. He erred on the side of caution.

"A distraction only; to keep her and Cora busy while I dealt with the giant."

"His name is Anton," Belle said, "And we are joining everyone for a welcome dinner at Granny's tonight."

Rumplestiltskin frowned. "Are you sure that's wise? An event like that would be sure to catch Cora's attention."

"Which is why it is important that you come; you can protect everyone if she shows up," Belle said with an impish smile, and Rumplestiltskin knew that he had no defense.

He sighed. "What time?"

"Six."

"Very well." Belle smiled at him. He smiled back.

"And what else did you do to them?" Bae asked, his voice guarded.

Rumplestiltskin brow furrowed in confusion; Bae was upset with him, and he did not know why. "Nothing, Bae."

"Yes, you did," he said accusingly. "They couldn't touch me; you did something to them, some kind of spell."

"Oh, that, yes; a precaution, and a necessary one. Cora and Regina cannot harm you or Belle within the borders of Storybrooke. It's exactly what you asked for Bae; it prevents them from harming you, but does not harm them. They were not even aware of it until today."

"And why didn't you tell me?" Bae snapped.

Rumplestiltskin frowned; Bae had plenty of reasons to be angry with him, but this was not one. Any decent parent would have done the same. "Because I did not want you to take unnecessary risks; what were you doing that close to Regina's home anyway?"

"Is that the only reason you let me out of the house?"

"Yes. I knew you would not be happy confined here. I found a way to keep you safe and give you your freedom without hurting anyone; that is what you wanted! Why are you angry with me?"

"Because you didn't tell me the truth! When did you even have a chance to put that on Cora anyway? Did you go see her? Is that how you knew she was hiding with Regina?"

"Because she is watching you, us; it was best if she didn't know. I told you I would protect you, both of you. This was the best way."

"You didn't answer my question," Bae said, "Is this how you knew where Cora was?"

"I knew there were only a few places she would be; that I found her there only confirmed what I already suspected."

"And why didn't you tell Emma?"

"Because she would have tried to confront them directly. Or asked me to expand the spell; there are limits, Bae."

"So you confronted Cora alone, without telling anyone?" Belle asked sharply. Rumplestiltskin was getting angry. Since the curse had been broken, he had done everything they had asked, even when it was contrary to his own desires or best judgment. Belle had told the giant that she did not control him, but then why did she need to know every detail of his plans?

"Cora is no danger to me."

"You don't know that!" Belle snapped.

"Yes, I do!"

"How?" Bae asked, "How do you know that? You said you knew her before; what did you do to her?"

"Nothing!" After what she'd done, he'd been merciful with Cora. Wonderland was annoying, but she'd been a Queen there, just like she had always wanted. And he had not pushed her though the mirror, anyway; that had been Regina's choice.

Belle grit her teeth and took a deep breath. "Rumple, you should have told us."

"Why? I did exactly what you asked; neither Regina nor Cora came to any harm. And you never answered my question either, Bae; what were you doing that close to Regina's home?"

"Why should I tell you?" Bae asked haughtily, "You never told me not to go there."

"Yes, I did! I've told you to stay away from Regina. You are a child, Bae, this is not your fight!"

"No! No, you don't get to call me that; not after everything I've seen!"

Rumplestiltskin gasped like he'd been struck. He knew what Bae had seen, and he knew it was his fault. But Bae was still a child, even if he had lived many more years than most people ever would. "Let's just calm down and talk about this," Belle said, "We're all angry-"

"I'm going to the shop," Rumplestiltskin said. Nothing he could do or say would improve the situation; if he stayed, he would only make matters were. Like you always do.

"Don't-"

He did.

"Rumple!" Belle shouted angrily, the smoke from his teleportation (a word she'd learned from August) lingering briefly.

"Let him go," Bae said. "He'll never admit he was wrong."

"That's not true." He apologized profusely and often. He constantly implied he wasn't worthy of her, and was so utterly devoted to Bae that Belle had truly feared for him if he and Bae had been unable to reconcile. He'd been so terrified of upsetting either of them that it sometimes felt like he'd spent the last four months walking on eggshells. Suddenly, she started laughing.

"What?" Bae asked, "What's funny?"

"Let's go get your father," she said.

"Why?" Bae asked peevishly.

"Because this was progress, and I'm not going to let either of you stop half way through. Come on." She took his arm and pulled him towards the door. He dug his heels in. Like father, like son. "Bae…"

"Why can't he just tell me the truth?" Bae asked. "He's always hiding things from me, and now from you too. How can I trust him if he does that?"

"He thought he was protecting us; we just need to explain why that's wrong. He's been trying so hard, Bae."

"So have I!"

Belle turned, putting a hand on his other arm. "I know; I know you are, Bae. But look how far you've come; will running away really help either of you? Besides," she said, smiling slightly, "If we let him get away with this, he'll just keep doing it."

He was still upset, and she knew Rumple would be kicking himself for it once he calmed down. She hugged him. "He loves you so much. Talk to him; he'll listen."

"Will he?"

Belle pulled back. "Yes. He'd do anything for you. He'll listen." I'll make sure of it.

The sign was flipped to 'closed', but the door wasn't locked. It was never locked anymore; the blood wards kept out anyone except Papa, Belle, and Bae unless they specifically invited someone in. The spell was far more effective than any lock. Will it break after Belle breaks Papa's curse? Will he even let her?

Bae wished that he didn't doubt him. His father had already tried to give up magic twice since finding him. After that, it wasn't unreasonable to trust that he would do it again. Bae wanted to have faith that he would; Belle did.

But it was so hard. He'd had faith before, and Papa had shattered it. He could believe that without the magic, they could start over - really start over - but not with it. Bae could never really trust his father again as long as he had magic.

Glass was scattered across the floor; one of the display cases was broken. "Rumple?" Belle called. He must be in the back. Hiding.

He was. "You didn't-" He swept aside the curtain. "Oh. Mind the broken glass," he said, looking down.

"You smashed it," Bae said tonelessly.

"I was angry. I can fix it."

And pretend you never broke it. But that wasn't fair. Papa had never denied what he'd done. Even when Bae couldn't remember, Papa had never pretended it hadn't happened. Even when Bae hadn't wanted to remember. But this was just too familiar; too much like what had happened with Pan. How can I trust you if you hide things from me?

"Rumple," Belle said, "We need to discuss this."

"I don't want to discuss it."

Too damn bad. "You told me to tell you if you do something wrong," Bae said. "I suppose you never promised that you wouldn't throw a fit and run away if I did, but I thought it was implied. But I guess that's what I get for taking things for granted with you. Don't worry; I won't do it again."

Papa's jaw dropped and he looked at Bae in shock. "Bae…"

"What?" he snapped.

"I'm sorry."

"For what? Be specific."

"I didn't mean for you to think that. I lost my temper; I'm sorry."

"And hiding things from me? And Belle?"

He frowned, "I was protecting you; both of you."

"You lied to us."

"I did not."

"No," Belle said, "Technically, you didn't; but you weren't truthful either, Rumple. Why didn't you tell me you'd been to see Cora?"

"Because, I…"

"Because why?"

He tightened his jaw. "Because… I knew you would ask about her."

Belle frowned, and Bae asked, "What about her? You said you had dealings with her before; what are you hiding?"

Belle inhaled sharply, suddenly understanding. "She was your lover, wasn't she?"

Papa shook his head, but admitted, "It was a long time ago. Before Regina was born; it doesn't matter."

"Why couldn't you just tell me that?" Belle asked, hurt.

"Because he hides things," Bae said, crossing his arms. "And he can't even blame his curse for that."

Papa looked like Bae had slapped him. But it was true; he'd never been honest about his past, even before. Belle walked towards him. "Why, Rumple? Why do you do that? Don't you trust me?" she pleaded.

"Of course I do."

"Then why?"

Because he's a coward. But Archie said that wasn't a useful word. Blaming it on something he was, rather than something he did, gave him no incentive to change his behavior. At least, that was what Archie had said. "Because he's scared," Bae said instead. "I'm scared too, Papa. It scares me when you hide things." His hiding things had never helped; they always came back to bite them in the end. Hadn't Papa even said that? "They hurt you anyway."

Papa's mouth opened. "Oh," he said eventually. "I'm sorry, Bae."

You get it now? Bae was still mad. But Belle had been right; letting him run away wouldn't have helped. "Rumple," Belle said, now standing in front of him. She took his hand. "You don't have to be afraid. I won't leave you."

"Oh, Belle…" He was tearing up. Bae wanted to resent him for that (what right did he have to be upset when he was the one who'd screwed up?) but he was surprised to find that he didn't. Because he'd been afraid too. Mama had left them; why shouldn't Belle? But she said she wouldn't. And he believed her.

He didn't know if his father did. But they kissed and held each other. Bae leaned against a display case, his arms crossed. "Bae?" Papa asked, holding a hand out to him. Bae almost didn't take it. He was still mad. But he was scared too. Eventually, he took it, and Papa and Belle both wrapped their arms around him.

Maybe he could have faith, just a little bit.

Anton's welcome party hit a little hiccup right at the beginning. "I'm better off alone," he told Dreamy, "I'm not very good a fitting in."

"Well, you're in the right place," Dreamy said. "Storybrooke's got all kinds. Dwarves." he shared a grin with Nova as he said, "Fairies. Werewolves. Whatever the hell Booth is…"

"I'm human," August said, adding with a grin, "Today. Can't make any promises about tomorrow."

"What do you mean?" Anton asked.

"Ah, I started out as a puppet, animated with magic. When I… misbehave, I turn back into wood," August explained.

"Didn't you almost turn into a donkey at one point too?" Emma asked jokingly.

"Define 'almost'."

"Wait, seriously?"

"The island exists, and I was there briefly, but Jiminy is a lot more on the ball than his Disney counterpart. He got me out of there before I sprouted ears."

"And what about the tail?"

"No tail either."

"Aw," Henry said. August made a face at him, and they both laughed.

"What happened to your arm?" Anton asked, nodding towards August's sling.

"I was mauled by a pirate," August said with a rueful smile.

"Hook?" Anton asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"Yeah. But don't worry; he's in jail now. I broke his nose!" August said proudly.

"Sure that was you and not Gold?" Emma asked. "He got a few good hits in."

"Gold said it was me. It was the price he asked for taking care of the poison," he said, gesturing at his arm, "And you know Gold would never say a price was paid if it wasn't. Then again, if it wasn't me, I would have to break into his cell and do it again…"

"Oh, now that is tempting," Rumplestiltskin said, having arrived with Belle and Bae as August was talking. "Suppose I told you I was mistaken, and it was not your blow that did it after all?"

"I would believe you without question," August replied, jokingly fervent.

"All right, stop there. If you two are going to plot to assault my prisoner, at least don't do it in front of me," Emma said, "I'm legally obligated to act if I know about it."

"And if you don't?" the Dark One asked, smirking.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it then, is there? I can't be everywhere at once," she said, shrugging and taking a sip of her hot chocolate. "On a totally unrelated topic, Friday is my movie night with Henry."

"Emma," Mary Margaret scolded, but she did not look terribly sincere. Emma had already mentioned that Hook insisted on flirting with her "like a creep", and David had nodded, scowling, as she had said that.

"Sorry we're late," Belle said, "I got a late start on the cookies."

"Not a problem. Put 'em down over here," Granny said, gesturing to where the desserts were set up.

"What kind did you make?" Henry asked.

"Gingerbread and chocolate-chocolate chip."

"Nice!"

"Dinner first, kid," Emma said, not getting up.

"Yes, Mom."

It was a good party. August was at the center of the crowd, energetic in a way that Nova had never seen him before. Belle split her time between talking to people and sitting in a quiet booth with Rumplestiltskin. Mr. Dove and Marco, sometimes joined by Archie, stood off to the side, watching everything but saying little. Bae and Henry showed Anton the jukebox, and Eric and Ariel started dancing, followed quickly by David and Mary Margaret and then Belle and Rumplestiltskin (after some persuasion on Belle's part), and then, eventually, Ruby and Anton.

Nova turned to Dreamy. "Will you dance with me?"

"Oh," Dreamy looked away, "I don't really know how to dance."

"Neither do I, but it doesn't look hard." Especially the way Ruby and Anton were doing it; they were basically just swaying side to side. It looked nice.

"I know how to dance," August volunteered.

Dreamy glared at him. "Back off, Booth," he growled. Dreamy grabbed Nova's hand and pulled her towards the dancers; August grinned and winked at her as they walked away.

It was nice.

The door to Hook's cell opened; it was Cora and Regina. "Ladies! To what do I owe this pleasurable visit?" Hook asked.

"Oh, poor Hook," Cora said, "Look what they've done to your pretty face."

"Yes, well, the crocodile's not exactly known for his restraint." He was honestly surprised that the boy had been able to call him off at all. And that the Dark One hadn't come back later to finish the job.

Like Cora and the cricket had said, the crocodile seemed to have that pretty sheriff utterly convinced he'd turned over a new leaf. Hook was sure that the Dart One was just letting him sweat; he did like to play with his prey. You should have killed me when you had the chance, crocodile.

Cora smiled. "Yes, dear Rumple has a bit of a temper. Not to worry, I have a plan."

"And a job for me, I gather?" Cora was not the sentimental sort; if she didn't need him for something, she would have left him to rot - and laughed about it.

"Oh, yes. But not to worry, Captain; you'll like this. It seems Rumple has placed a spell on both me and Regina, preventing us from harming his son or that little tart. They're the leverage we need, and you Captain, will be obtaining them for us."

Hook frowned. "I'll get you the girl; she'll be enough. You saw how he reacted-" He owed it to Balefire to keep him out of this if he could. Not just for the business with Pan, but for calling the Dark One off. He hadn't much appreciated the punch in the gut, but then he had trained the lad to be a pirate after all.

"You're still alive," Cora interrupted, "So obviously, she is not enough. Besides; I want the boy."

"I'll help you with the girl; it will be a pleasure. But I will not harm Milah's son."

Cora immediately plunged her hand into his chest and ripped out his heart. "Yes, Captain, you will," she said, still smiling.

He sighed. Well, I bloody well should have seen that coming.

"So what do you want to do?" Tamara asked. She'd been able to convince Greg that his memories had been tampered with by showing him the photos and communications he'd sent her from Storybrooke. Now that they knew exactly what kind of magic this place had, but they needed a new plan of attack. Greg had obviously been made, or they wouldn't have bothered with the memory wipe. And that guy from Hong Kong was there, so Tamara couldn't just take his place. They'd discussed contacting the Home Office for help, but they were not tolerant of failure; the two of them had to complete the mission or Greg would be 'disciplined'. Plus, this place was theirs; it was where everything had started for Greg, and Tamara was going to help him finish it.

"We need to go shopping," Greg said, starting to sort equipment.

"What for?"

"We're going camping."

Rumplestiltskin's phone rang, and he sighed. After the events of the day, he'd been quite looking forward to his bed - with Belle in it, of course. Naturally, that meant some other crisis would manifest. "What can I do for you Sherriff?"

"This is just a heads up, actually. Hook escaped. Smee too."

Rumplestiltskin growled. "I don't suppose their effects are still at the Sherriff's station?"

"Nope. I already checked; he cleaned me out. The guy's thorough, even left me a note."

"What does it say?"

"Nothing I want to repeat," she replied, annoyed.

"That bad?" he asked, his eyebrows raised. He knew that Hook was an incorrigible letch, and seemed to have set his sights on Emma. He hoped that if the pirate ever did try to force the issue, that he would be there to witness it when the Savior put the wretch in the ground.

"I'm going to burn it before David sees it."

Rumplestiltskin chuckled. "It's a father's prerogative to be protective of his child," he said.

"Yeah, well, it's my prerogative to keep my deputy from murdering someone," she huffed. "Any ideas where Hook has gone? We already checked the ship."

"I imagine he is with Cora, safe behind Regina's blood wards. If he'd fled Storybrooke, he'd have taken his ship with him. If you like, I can try a tracking spell. He must be attached to some of the objects on the ship itself."

"Worth a shot. If he is at Regina's, are you sure there's no way past those wards?"

"I'm afraid not; not without leveling everything in the surrounding area, at least." Do it. Kill them. Make these people fear you again. "Unfortunately, we may just have to wait until Cora makes her next move. I'll be there shortly."

Emma sighed. "Thanks, Gold."

The tracking spell didn't lead them to Regina's; it didn't lead them anywhere. "She's warded him against it," Gold said, frowning.

They raided Smee's storage unit (Gold had evicted him from his apartment after the thing with Belle) and got the same results. "Damn. What do you think she's planning?" Emma asked. "You know her, right?"

"I do. Cora has always had a singular goal: to rule. How she intends to use the pirates to accomplish that, I cannot say. Perhaps she intends them to steal magic beans for her? I'd hardly expect her to be satisfied with Storybrooke, after all."

"All right. You'll call me if you have any more ideas, right?"

"Of course, Sherriff."

"'Night, Gold."

"Goodnight, Emma," he said with a slight bow, then vanished.

Maybe I should learn to do that.

Then she remembered that bit in Harry Potter where they talked about leaving pieces of yourself behind.

Yeah, no.