All at once her legs seemed to unfreeze and the night was so quiet it felt eerie. Nights shouldn't be peaceful and silent after...well…she was still working on putting together what had happened exactly. But her shock would have to wait. She did her best to gulp down breath as she ran for the other side of the clearing toward her husband. On her way she stepped around Merida. The girl was either dead or knocked out.

Knocked out.

It was difficult to tell from a distance but from up close she saw the slightest of movements as she drifted in her wonderful state of unconsciousness. After everything that had happened she felt bad for the girl, truly she knew that she hadn't wanted to do what Emma had been forcing her to do and she was almost glad that she was on the ground asleep instead of a bear again, but….

How on earth had he done that? It was hard to tell from where she was standing and then her mind had been going a mile a minute and her thoughts were a blur. It was hard to remember what had really happened. But he'd thrown something, she could remember that. He'd thrown something the size of a large stone but with force like it was light. And there was no way that a stone would have transformed-

Transformed. Dark One magic for Dark One magic.

Suddenly it was all very clear. The size and shape of the object were consistent with a pouch. Rumple had used the transformation powder on Merida.

Rumpelstiltskin!

All at once she remembered that he was still on the ground and when she looked up she saw that he was moving on the other side of the clearing. He was working on standing up and it was the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen because he was alive and still standing meant that he was fine. Perhaps a little shaken but otherwise he didn't appear to have a scratch on him.

"How…how did you know that would transform her back?" she asked as she approached.

Oh yes, he certainly did look shaken. He looked scared, but it was a different type of scared than she'd seen only a minute ago at the town line, a different kind of scared than she'd seen months ago at that same town line. It wasn't fear or even the look someone had when they were shaken after a situation like this. It was shock. It was the look of someone who had just been shaken to their very core, deep down into their soul. And suddenly she knew the answer he was going to give before he could even give it.

"I didn't," he confirmed with a shake of his head.

Predictable as they were the words were a relief. He hadn't known and he'd done it anyway. He'd come after her without a plan, been brave, tried something to preserve his life and her own without running away. He'd weighed the costs knowing that it might not work and came out better on the other side.

She felt a smile spread across her face as tears threatened to overwhelm her. That was the man that she'd always seen. The man who had gone off to Neverland, the man who had chased Lacey away and given her back her memories, the man that had fought tooth and nail to get back to her after Zelena. That was the man that had just disposed of a bear to save her life. How could he not see that he was so much more dashing, so much more heroic this way than he'd ever been in that storybook even with all that glowing armor?

"I knew you had it in you," she muttered as her hands reached out and curled over his lapels. Still he looked unimpressed with it all, unconvinced as he glanced away. "You saved me!" she insisted.

"Actually," he smirked before finally looking up at her again. "I think you saved me."

Tears were inevitable now because she'd always known that they were capable of this, for years she'd known they were capable of saving each other if only they'd let themselves. This was the opportunity that she'd felt she'd waited a lifetime for! And she wasn't disappointed.

She took a step forward and glanced at him. From his eyes to his mouth and her heart pounded in her chest that same way it once had in his castle at the thought of possibly kissing him.

And then the feeling changed again. And she remembered standing alone on a street, walking home after his banishment, and thinking of all the kisses they'd shared through his lies.

She wasn't ready to kiss him. Not yet. Her head screamed at her that she wasn't even ready to be this close to him! But her head finally lost a battle to her heart. He'd done a good thing and the first since…since she couldn't remember! Everything before this was tainted in some way after his deceit. Maybe now, if she let herself, they could start somewhere new and build on truths instead of lies.

She reached out and drew him against her. She fit her head against his shoulder, the spot that it fit so well and always had since she first arrived here, and allowed his arms to close over her. Their bodies were stiff for a few seconds, as if they needed to relearn the art of touching, but then they began to sway, their limbs tightened, and before she really knew it she felt him nuzzle the crook of her neck as he sighed out his anxiety.

And it felt odd, her skin tingled, and she shivered at the touch but she allowed it. They had to relearn the art of touching…they had to relearn a lot of things in the days to come. But if they did it like they'd done this…she had no doubt that they could.

She pulled away from him and pushed the hair back off his face before touching her forehead to his and sniffling tears away. She debated again, the idea of closing the distance and seeing what it would be like to kiss him again, but rejected the idea. Baby steps might be in order. They never really took that with one another. They had two speeds, nothing at all or everything all at once. Maybe a little bit of time and distance would be helpful. A little bit. Not a lot. Besides, she couldn't lose herself to him just yet; Emma was still out there and Rumple was right, she was ruthless. If they didn't figure a way out of this quickly then they'd be in the same spot with the same problem in a couple of hours.

A sound from behind broke their small quiet bubbled and forced her to glance over her shoulder at the girl lying on the ground. She'd groaned and moved her head back and forth as if she was beginning to wake up again. They couldn't let that happen. "We should leave before she wakes up," she pointed out grabbing his hand to urge him away.

Bur Rumpelstiltskin didn't move the way she'd hoped. He stayed frozen to the ground just as she once had and his eyes gazed down at the woman on the ground with sympathy that she'd never seen him have for someone who wasn't herself or Neal. Not even Henry had warranted such an expression from him. And yet Merida…

"Rumple?"

"No," he muttered glancing down at her. "She's as much a victim as I am. I can't leave her here like this. And who knows what the Dark One will do to her if she returns empty handed."

For a moment she was breathless. Not just speechless, outright breathless from whiplash. Was this her husband? The one that never wanted to help if there wasn't something in it for him, the one that never took pity on strangers and wouldn't even let his own teenage grandson come to work in jeans? It was difficult to believe! And yet the moment he looked back at her with desperate eyes, begging her not to take him away from the red-head she had to believe it. Yes, this was certainly her husband. Just a newer, different version. One uninfected with darkness. It was remarkable! But also disappointing. Not him of course. Her. She didn't want him to be disappointed with what she was about to say.

"Well…we can't take her with us, Emma will just use her to try and kill us again. She'll order her to and she won't have a choice."

Rumple nodded but then glanced back as the girl moaned again, louder and with more substance. She was waking up. They really had to go.

"Rumple-"

"I parked the car at the top of the hill…I believe there is some rope in the back. We'll bind her hands, and her feet if we must. Emma may have her heart but she's limited by her puppets abilities. Merida is not super human. If she wakes up, the rope should prevent her from causing too much trouble. My leg…will you fetch it for me."

Well, that…that might actually work. For a limited time only she was sure but for now…it would at least let them see if the girl was alright. "Okay," she sighed as she turned to walk up the mountain. Her foot slipped on something. She gasped and-

She didn't hit the ground because there were hands at her waist keeping her on her feet. Rumpelstiltskin. She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as he helped her right herself and asked if she was alright. "Fine just…just not in the best shoes for hiking."

"Can you get back to the top or do you need me to-"

"No, it's fine," she assured him. "I'm just…Rumple…I'm just really glad your back." Her voice was nothing but a breath of air because she couldn't believe that thought had come out of her mouth the way it had. She hadn't meant for it to, and she found herself blushing.

When she finally managed the courage to look up at him, she found his gaze trained on hers and one corner of his mouth lifted up in a smirk. "I'm glad you helped me stay," he confirmed. Again the urge was strong, to just reach over and give him a kiss in a situation like this would have been natural for both of them. But she managed once more to resist.

"I'll uh…I'll go get the rope," she insisted instead and began to slow climb up the hill she'd tumbled down.

The place that we all could have ended 5x06 on and still been happy. I was happy that there was enough open-endedness in this episode that I could add a little bit more on to the end of this scene. I hope that you'll think it works well enough.

Thank you, Grace5231973, Fox24, NejiHina100, Ladybugsmomma, Matty, and Kathryn Claire O'Connor, for the reviews you've left and really just for all your loyalty throughout this fiction. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support and encouragement throughout it all. And now I really hope that you'll like the chapters that follow! I hope they are touching and tense and a whole lot of what we could have had but didn't. Peace and Happy Reading!