When Rumpelstiltskin put Emma in high school, he sometimes went to bed with a headache because he banged his head into the wall at least every other day.
Emma discovered her feminine side. She stopped with the really athletic games and wore makeup and extremely tight jeans. Rumpelstiltskin wasn't exactly sure how she could move in those things. She looked like a stork with casts on both legs.
But other than her choice of makeup, extremely heavy false eyelashes and her choice of apparel. Emma was not a bad kid. She still made her B's in school and she listened to him and her riding lessons and self-defense lessons (the latter of which he supervised CLOSELY. It was more for Jefferson's protection than it was for Emma's. Emma was more subtle about her attraction to him, but she enjoyed wrestling around with him FAR more than she should.) were coming along nicely.
Everything was running smoothly….
Except for Algebra.
"Emma," he said with frustration in his voice, "It's rise over run, that's how you figure out the slope of this line of the graph."
"Can't I just figure out the equation? Do I honestly have to count little lines?"
He looked at the people that glanced at him around the diner. She had an hour for lunch and the test was today apparently and of course she hadn't told him anything about it until last minute which meant an hour long cramming session while she also tried to shove one of granny's hamburgers down her esophagus."
This was much easier when she was younger. She usually connected the dots by herself and only some prodding from him. He wasn't good at explaining these things…it wasn't in his nature to explain. He usually benefitted because of his clients lack of knowledge.
"Alright Emma," he said. This world's math was primitive to him anyway, as was its more advanced courses. What constituted as facts here were nothing more than theories over in his world that men thought about late at night when they were half asleep. He'd learned algebra, calculus, and physics half a dozen times in the 300 years that he'd been the Dark One, "You know that you're getting your answer, but tell me why."
Emma just stared at him like a sheep looking at an oncoming Ogre, "What?"
"Why is this important?
"Because I want to advance to Geometry?"
He put his palms over his eyes, "Emma, explain to me why this world does the equation like it does."
She shrugged, "I never asked why, I just put the numbers in the equation and hoped for the best."
"Emma Gold, what have I spent the past 14 years of your life teaching you to do?"
"Be a leader."
He was grateful that she didn't say 'be a buzz kill,' this time. He wasn't even certain he knew what that was, "Being a leader means that you question everything, you don't ask why. Because sometimes the information you get is faulty or misguided and the only way that you'll find that out is if you know how to ask questions for yourself."
"I don't even need algebra!" she protested with a mouth full of hamburger meat. Oh, it appeared everything he had taught her HAD been forgotten. If Snow White saw her acting like this then she would forget her fear of him and lead him out of the diner by his ear when she woke up.
"You don't need algebra?" he asked in amusement, "And how is that?"
"Because!" she finally swallowed, "Eventually we're going back to the Enchanted Forest, right? Well that land uses magic and not technology. And what do all these numbers and equations really do? They help scientists and engineers with their machines, right? And so there's no point in me learning something that I'll never use."
Oh, he knew excuses when he heard them, "Emma, there are scientists in the Enchanted Forest. I myself am a scientist."
"No, you're a chemist," her eyebrows knitted together like she was trying to think of something quickly, "Which is something FAR different!"
"I don't-," he laughed, "I don't think so."
"And really, what kind of equations do you have to do? You just mix, measure, and match potions. You don't need equations for that."
"You'd be shocked by how much of my work required I know this," he held up her text book.
"Well then YOU explain why the world does these equations the way they do," she said, "And I'll listen to what you say. Every word. I mean, that should thrill you, shouldn't it? I just said what every father in existence has ever said."
He shook his head at her proud look, "Hey, don't be a brat."
"And you should know from first-hand experience how this stuff works; I mean you're old enough to-."
"Are you implying that I actually knew the men and women that came up with this stuff?"
She shrugged, "Maybe? You like knowledge and they have knowledge."
"Alright, well Emma…first of all…I was never in this world until Regina cast the curse. Now, you know that," he'd made sure to keep his part in creating the curse quiet. Emma didn't need to know that he had a plan in ruining her family's life, "And the people that came up with all this in our land well…I didn't know them. I know this shocks you but there is such a thing as 'before my time'."
Emma smiled happily and took a drink from her soda.
"Hi Emma."
Rumpelstiltskin looked to his right and frowned in annoyance as the boy who cried wolf had snuck up on him. He was a bit older in reality than he was in the old tales…and he was Emma's age.
Emma smiled and blushed, "Hi Tommy!"
No! No, no, no, no, no.
The boy looked a bit nervously towards him, "Hi Mr. Gold."
"Hm," He gave a patronizing smile and didn't take his eyes off Emma as she shifted nervously and looked embarrassed.
"Are you ready for the algebra quiz today?"
"Sort of," she said awkwardly, "My dad's helping me."
"Yes, and we're quite busy now…so if you could just have the last ten minutes of your lunch hour somewhere else, we'd be much obliged," he said and Emma continued to fidget under his gaze.
When the boy practically ran across the diner to get away from him, Emma looked humiliated but it didn't little to make Rumpelstiltskin feel bad, "And who was your friend?"
"No one that you don't know about already," she said, "He likes me."
"And do you like him?" when she didn't answer, he continued taunting her, "What happened to poor Jefferson? He's going to cry in his pillow tonight now."
Emma blushed brighter, "Dad!
"He's no longer your endgame!"
"He's still my endgame," she protested, "But until he realizes that I'm going to be a woman one day…with needs-"
Rumpelstiltskin didn't know whether to lock her up or burst out laughing and humiliate her in front of everyone at the overly eager way she said 'needs'. Where did she get this stuff?
"-then I have no choice but to date within my own class. And Tommy's cute…and unlike the rest of you, I only get one chance to do this so I'm making high school memorable."
"Emma," he said and thought of a new way to tease her, "I don't think that you fully understand the hormones your age has, am I going to have to give you 'the talk'?"
Emma blushed brighter, "Dad!"
"Because I don't think I like this 'making high school memorable' and 'having needs' nonsense that you're telling me," he leaned forward.
"Dad!" he was certain that she was going to turn into a tomato because of how red her face was, "I know that stuff already! You're too late!"
His gaze darkened, his teasing gone, "What do you mean too late?"
Her eyes grew in dread, "Not THAT kind of too late! The other kind!"
"I'm not sure I like where this conversation is going Emma."
"Dad!" she said in melodramatic exasperation that only teenagers found dramatic, "I know all that stuff already because you sent me to a public school and everyone here likes to pretend they're actually experts in…stuff like that."
He sat back with his cane in hand, "Ah."
"I hate it when you tease me and embarrass me in front of boys."
"No you don't," he said, "I'm doing you a favor."
Emma pouted, "I have a test to go do."
He was aware that she hadn't really studied due to his sudden interest in her love life. That was fine. Now she would learn to study so that she didn't have to endure this again and she wouldn't talk about who she considered dating in front of him. Either way, he won.
"Say hello to Tommy for me," he said in a singsong voice and Emma cringed as it carried across the diner for everyone to hear.
Oh, she wasn't going to talk to him for the rest of the day but that was worth it.
A/N: Well, so lots of people believe that Rumpel loves his daughter. Got some nice feedback for that question. And while I do agree that he does, I don't think it's the selfless sacrificial love that other parents have demonstrated on this show. But I do think it's rather close.