Chapter Thirty-Five: A Deal with the Devil
Bae liked to think that he made pretty solid choices these days. When he was younger it had been about survival and, he had to admit, a little bit of the adrenaline rush. Neverland had certainly left that with him, but after nearly three centuries of running for his life that probably wasn't the worst thing he could have brought with him. He could have turned out a lot worse, and now that he knew that it had been his own grandfather chasing him down all those years, he thought it might have been just shy of a miracle that he hadn't come out of it all entirely screwed up.
Neverland was now in the past - for good, he hoped - and he had a son to think about. Henry had changed a lot - everything - in his world and he was willing to do what needed to be done to make sure he was safe. They couldn't wait until his papa could handle Cora, no matter how tempting it was. Rumplestiltskin might try to downplay the damage done - and now that he wasn't sleeping quite as much he was certainly trying to repair what he thought would be viewed as weakness - but his son knew better. The others seemed to think that he had bottomless reserves and he did nothing to correct that notion. Baelfire knew better. At least in this world, he had limits.
Emma knew the best way to enter the building and Bae found that all if his work dismantling spells was finally paying off. He managed to open a small hole for them to enter through and Cora didn't bother with locked doors past that. Of course she didn't think anyone would break through her wards.
They made their way through familiar hallways, the darkness that Cora brought with her thick in the air. Bae thought it was different than his papa's was, but Rumplestiltskin had reasons to at least try to be better. The Queen of Hearts didn't bother with that.
Senses flared and he reached out, pulling Emma with him until they were both flat against the wall. August crossed by, never seeming to notice them. His eyes were dull and lifeless, as if someone had pulled his very soul from him. They waited until he'd trudged by before risking a move.
"Going somewhere, dears?"
They froze, and Bae knew that voice, but as he spun to face her a very different set of features met his eye. Far less green. "Zelena?"
The woman in question tilted her head to the side. "And who might you be, love?"
Emma had her gun out then. "Don't move."
"Oh? Aren't you a precious little thing? Do you think that frightens me?"
"I don't really care if it frightens you."
The shot went off and as it did Bae knew it was a bad idea. He didn't know how it would be, just that Zelena didn't strike him as the type to worry too much over a flying bullet.
She didn't have to. One wave of her hand sent the bullet off its original path. He let out a startled cry as it skimmed directly past him, burying itself in the wall behind him. The bullet had flown close enough that he could feel the heat off of it. Zelena grinned, confident in her powers, and she caught Emma as she rushed forward, dangling her in the air. Emma struggled, kicking and threatening, but nothing she did could free her from the invisible hand that held her. Bae jolted forward, pulling power to himself, but Zelena saw it coming. A wall of magic slammed into him and he was thrown back, head colliding with the wall the bullet had hit and his world went immediately black.
Hook hadn't liked being her little puppet when he was the only one, but as Cora gathered more and more people to her, he found himself liking it even less. There was the dwarf, that irritating puppet, the knight that had apparently married Midas' daughter, a fairy or two, and a collection of people that she simply referred to as peasants. He was quite sure she wasn't done with her collection, but for now they were roaming the town hall and had been disbursed out into the population. There were times when Cora would take someone and no one would be the wiser. They made perfect little snitches for her as long as she held their hearts. They did her bidding without question and fell straight in line. While they helped to distract her full attentions from the pirate captain, they also highlighted just how much he fought even when she tried to pin him in with commands. They made him look expendable, and that was never a good place to be with a mad woman in charge.
August Booth - the man that had once been a puppet - was the only one that seemed to be giving her quite as much trouble. She'd lost her temper several times on him in the few days since he'd come and had nearly crushed his heart into dust more than once. She had him secured fairly well into place now with her commands, though he did wander the halls as if she'd killed him and merely forgotten to tell him so.
It wasn't August that caught his attention, though, but Cora. He'd done well to steer clear of her in the past few days since delivering her daughter to her. If he'd thought that Cora alone was bad, Cora with Zelena falling over herself to help her mother was terrible. The two had a new toy, he thought as he risked a look into what had once been the town's holding room/ sheriff's office, and found something interesting indeed.
They had not one, but two new toys, in the form of Storybrooke's very own savior and Rumplestiltskin's son. It was in that moment that Hook kicked himself for foolish curiosity. If he'd never known, he could have convinced himself that there was nothing to be done, but Milah's boy stood bravely against Cora, dark eyes fixed in a glare. Emma was fighting against the bars of her cage, but Bae stood facing off with the Queen of Hearts herself. She looked about at her wit's end with him after something that was said and the pirate watched with growing dread as she reached forward, her hand going straight into his chest and plucking his heart from it. Baelfire managed to stay mostly quiet as he struggled to breathe through the pain, but staggered back as she applied pressure.
"You're truly your father's boy," Cora said with a triumphant smirk. "So much potential for power, yet you squander it on petty affections. Did you think you could save your family, Baelfire? I'm looking forward to seeing your father's face when he realizes that he's lost you forever."
"Stop!"
Cora spun and Zelena snarled in frustration. Hook stood completely still, almost as if he didn't realize that it had been his own voice calling out to her. The magical commands given by the woman who held his heart kicked in and he gave a little bow. "My Queen," he addressed her. He was clever, but so was she. He had to think fast or it would be both Milah's boy and his own life that would end that day. "Don't you think you're being a bit hasty?"
"Hardly," the Queen of Hearts answered. "I will see Rumplestiltskin on his knees, and what better way to put him there than to hand him back the lifeless body of his son that tried so very hard to be a hero today?"
Bae was still glaring. "All you're doing is sealing your own fate a little tighter, Cora."
"There are other ways," Hook said quickly. If he wasn't careful, Bae would talk himself and the pretty blonde that he cared so bloody much for into an early grave. Then the thought struck him. "And what better way than to have the Dark One himself doing your bidding?"
Cora was a clever lass, and it was that that Hook was betting on. He saw the thought click behind those calculating eyes and her fingers eased up just a little on the heart in her hand. "There's very little Rumple would trade his dagger for, but for his son he just might."
"I don't think he will," Bae countered, and Hook hoped that the look he shot him was enough to plead with him to shut his trap. The lad really was about to get himself killed.
"Either way, he's worth more to you alive than dead."
The Queen of Hearts thought on that a moment before that terrible smile of hers returned. "I do believe you may be right, captain." Without warning she shoved Baelfire's heart back in his chest and leaned directly into his face. "I'll send a message to your papa, and he'll come. If he wants to live - and he does want you to live - he'll give up the dagger to me."
"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you. He's not a fool."
"That's what I'm counting on, dear."
"And Emma?"
"If your father behaves, you might just both go free. We're about to see how much your father really loves you." She turned back to Hook. "Be a good dear and lock him up with his little love. Don't let them out, do you hear?"
"Of course, My Queen," the pirate ground out.
"That's a good pet."
Zelena tilted her nose up in the air as she strode past him at her mother's heels and Hook sighed, looking towards Bae. "I'm sorry," he answered the look of utter betrayal that he wore. "She'd have killed you."
"And now she'll kill us all and use my father to do it."
"As much as I hate to admit it, your father is a clever man. He'll find a way around handing over his dagger to save you."
"Since when have you had any faith in him?"
"I've been trying to kill him for nearly three centuries now. It doesn't take having any sort of faith in someone to acknowledge a fact that they're a wiley sort."
Baelfire tried for a smile. "Papa is clever."
"I just hope that after this is all said and done you'll remember I saved your life here. I wouldn't mind my heart back in the end."
"Imagine that. He wants something," Emma grumbled from the cell.
"Everyone wants something, love. You just have to be good at what you do to get it."
The fact that Emma and Baelfire had slipped out without a word was brought to her attention by the son that they shared. Henry was not happy with the idea that his other parents hadn't bothered to alert him to the fact that they were going somewhere, especially with Cora lurking about and stealing hearts. "What if she's got them?"
"I'm sure that they're just at the hospital with the others," Regina said sensibly. She'd taken to Belle's small library and was currently reading through one of Rumple's old books on magic. The bookworm always seemed to find just what they needed as soon as she opened one of the old tomes, so she thought she'd give it a shot. It was better than listening to Wendy's questions or dealing with the owner of the house himself who was not happy that everyone insisted that he remain in bed.
"They're not answering their phones," Henry argued. "Either one."
"Have you called David or Mary Margaret?"
"Yeah, and they said they're not there. They're on their way back now. Grandma Snow sounded worried."
Grandma Snow. Regina tried not to laugh. Henry had always had such a way with names, but he had taken his time deciding exactly what he wanted to call each grandparent with the exception of David who had immediately become Gramps. She still had trouble swallowing the Grandpa Gold that Rumple had become, and found it even more strange that he didn't seem to mind it.
With a sigh the Evil Queen closed the book and set it down on the coffee table. "Have you told your grandfather yet?"
"I don't want to worry him. Belle said he was asleep."
"Let's keep it that way, shall we?"
"Regina!" Snow's voice sounded loudly enough from the front door that there was really no hope of Rumplestiltskin remaining asleep upstairs. "Regina, come quick!"
"Stay here," the boy's adopted mother demanded and she didn't even have time to argue with him when she heard him racing up the stairs. Let him tell Gold. They might need him if he was ready or not.
Snow was on the doorstep looking frazzled. Down the steps stood her husband, the wolf girl, and Granny. With them, though, was the cause for all the concern. There was no question that August Booth's heart had been ripped from his chest and that he was under Cora's control, and he stood like the puppet he'd once been, though without the visible wood or strings. He was lifeless, controlled, and had every mark on him of a man that had done his best to resist the Queen of Hearts at all costs. It had done him little good in the end.
"Let me guess," Regina said as she took the stairs with all the grace of the queen she was, "my mother sends a message."
Dulled blue eyes flickered over to her. "She does, but only for Rumplestiltskin. She demands that I give the message directly to him."
"Well it's a good thing you've come to my home then, isn't it?" a surprisingly strong voice asked from the top of the stairs.
Regina looked back to the front door and the Dark One himself stood on the deck just outside of it. He had his old cane clutched in his hand, leaning heavily on it, but though Belle lingered just to his side it didn't look like she was going to need to catch him just yet. Henry hesitated on the other side of the doorframe and looked like a boy that had been told not to cross it for anything. Rumple wasn't stupid and he did seem overly fond of the boy since learning of his family ties with him.
August looked absolutely miserable as he took a step forward. "She has Neal and Emma."
Rumplestiltskin gave no outward reaction, though there was a dangerous glint to his eyes as he steadied himself a little more. "And what does your mistress want from me in return?"
"She wishes to speak with you in person. She says…." He paused, grimacing as if he were trying to fight it, but found that he could not. The words were not his own and they were repeated with no small amount of disgust in his voice. "She says that you've been hiding too long and that it's beneath you."
"So says the woman that must flaunt everything she has to make her power known," Rumplestiltskin answered tightly. He turned, his movements easy and aloof, but Regina knew better. His schooled expression only went so far when it was his son's life that was in danger.
"You're not going alone," David vowed. "If Emma's there-"
"Cora demands only Rumplestiltskin's presence," August cut in dully, his face twisted up in a grimace. "She says that if anyone else comes that they'll both die."
"Understood," Rumple answered from his doorstep. "Anything else the queen would like you to relay?"
"I'm sorry," he whispered, and for a moment he looked like he might have found a way to break free, but as quickly as he managed that, she had him in her grasp and his gaze swept over them. "Queen Cora says that no one will escape her. Any of those that try to resist will find themsleves joining me."
"She'll take their hearts?" Snow asked, her voice pained as only she could manage it.
"In death," August managed, and he must have known it was coming. It would be like Cora to tell him that it was useless. Nothing he did - either to side with her or to try to fight against her - would matter. She owned him and she could shatter him. If he knew, though, Regina had to give him credit that he met his fate with a fair amount of courage.
"August!" Ruby cried as his eyes rolled and his knees gave out. He was dead before he hit the ground and there was nothing any of them could have done to stop it. Behind her shields, behind her wards and all of her protections, Cora had crushed his heart to dust to make her point. No one was safe, and those that tried to help others would eventually meet their end by her hand.
Comfort had never been the dark haired queens forte, at least not in a great many years, so she turned her attentions to what she could do and took the steps two at a time after her former mentor. He was moving slowly, his right leg giving him trouble again by the way he barely left any weight to it, and he looked exhausted just with the exertion of coming to meet the unwilling herald from Cora.
"I knew it was something bad when they didn't answer their phones," Henry said, but Regina couldn't have him underfoot right now. Right now she needed to have a very adult conversation with Rumplestiltskin that her son would never know the details of.
"Henry, why don't you go help Belle."
"Help her with what?"
"We have to find a way to defeat Cora once and for all," Belle said, picking up on the not-so-subtle hint. "I know how much you love books. Will you help me? Even I can't get through them all."
Regina had to give it to the bookworm, she was clever. That caught her son's attention enough that he only shot them a wearying glance. "Tell me when you figure something out?"
"As soon as we know something," Rumplestiltskin promised, and apparently that was enough. The boy was gone with Belle and Rumple turned towards Regina. "Make it quick."
"She wants your dagger."
"You think I don't know that?"
"She'll threaten Bae's life until you give it up."
She saw in his eyes that he knew it was true. "And what are you proposing? That I let my son die for-"
"If you give it to her, she'll have you kill him yourself just to see the look on your face. You know I'm right."
And he did. She knew he did. His shoulders slumped and he leaned heavier on his cane than before. For the first time in all the many, many years that Regina had known him, Rumplestiltskin looked old. It was almost like the three centuries that he'd been bouncing about from deal to deal and working his plan into play had finally caught up with him and now it pushed down against him, threatening to break his thin frame under its weight. She didn't envy him his position. If it had been Henry, if she had been in Rumple's place, she couldn't do what she was asking him to do.
"He'll die," he said again, his voice strained.
"Maybe not." She watched him perk for the briefest of moments before the weight settled again. She hurried to explain. "Leave the dagger with me-"
"With you?" he scoffed and she held up her hand so that he'd let her finish.
"Leave the dagger with me. Anyone else and they'll hand it over, you know they will. They don't understand what it can make you do. They'll think you can fight it."
"But you know better."
"Of course I do. Leave it with me, Rumple, and she'll know she has no chance of winning. She won't risk you killing her then and there. She'll ask for something else."
"That's a very big risk."
"So is handing it to her. The question becomes: who do you trust more? My mother or me?"
She saw him turn the question over in his mind and he sighed. "You're asking a lot of me."
"I'm asking you to trust me."
"With my soul."
"To save your son. To save my son's father and his other mother. You know I'd do anything for Henry's happiness."
"I do know that," he confessed softly. Magic swirled and the dagger appeared in his hand. "The things we do for our children."
"I'll give it back when it's done, Rumple. You have my word."
"Better make good on it," he growled, though she knew was mostly show. He'd always been fond of her, if he admitted it or not. As he placed the dagger in her waiting hand she knew just how far they'd come. Before the Curse to End all Curses had been cast they'd been at constant odds. After it had brought them here - even as Gold that remembered nothing of Rumplestiltskin - he had been manipulating her and using her. If the chance had come up, she might have killed him once or twice in there. But that time had passed. Now they were a part of a strange, dysfunctional little family held together by one little boy with a heart of gold.
"I will," she promised softly and watched him go.
"He'll be back, won't he?" Henry asked, suddenly at her side.
"Of course he will, sweetie," Regina answered and pulled him into a side hug with her free arm. She clutched the dagger until her knuckles turned white, hoping against everything that she wasn't lying to her son. Rumplestiltskin was a stubborn, stubborn man, and it was in that that she'd place her hope. He didn't like to lose and she hadn't seen him lose yet.
Rumplestiltskin was angry. That wasn't the only emotion mixed into the bundled mess that had his chest so tight that he thought it might explode, but it certainly was one of the dominant ones. Anger and fear. They vied for the top position in it all even as his magic put him down just outside of Cora's wards at the Town Hall. He gripped his cane tightly, steadying himself against a brief battle with gravity trying to take him all the way to the ground. After a moment the dizziness wore off and he used that anger to focus. Anger could be strength and right now he needed all the strength he had.
He was angry at Cora, it was true, but he couldn't say he was surprised. The woman had no issue with taking a swing at him in any way possible, and using his son against him was most certainly not below her. What surprised him was the stirring anger that was directed at Baelfire. He'd have thought after everything that Bae would have a free pass to almost anything, make any mistake, but apparently this was his father's limit. He didn't know how he knew it, but Rumplestiltskin knew that Bae and Emma had been playing at being heroes. While he was prouder than he could ever express in the goodness that Bae had somehow held onto in all the darkness of his life, this was too much. He would not lose his boy to a foolish notion that could never truly be reached.
The wards opened up and Rumplestiltskin stepped through without a problem. He held his head high even as he limped along to the center of the building. Moving any further forward would put him into the meeting chambers, to the left was the sheriff's office, and to the right the mayor's. He didn't have the patience for a hide and seek game with Cora. "Come on out, dearie. You wanted to talk. Let's have that chat."
Her laugh filled the open space around him before she materialized in front from him. "Oh Rumple. If I'd known all I needed to do was ask." She reached forward, her fingers touching his face and he jerked back as if he'd been burned.
"I'm not here to play your games," he growled dangerously. "Where is my son?"
"Not too worried about the savior, I see."
"I'll be taking both back with me."
"Will you? And how is that?"
"You wouldn't have asked me here had you not wanted something from me. What's your price?"
"So very to the point today. Aren't you feeling well, Rumple?" She laughed softly at his expression and turned a bit to the side. "Zelena, dear? Won't you bring them in?"
It had been a great many years since Rumplestiltskin had laid eyes on Zelena, but the fact that she'd wormed her way into this mess should have been more surprising than it was. Perhaps it was the fact that Bae had mentioned that he and Belle had run into her while escaping the Dark Castle with the book of spells that had brought him to this time in the first place, or maybe it was just that anything that could go wrong seemed to be doing so. Regina had always longed for her mother's love, but Zelena burned for it, and she would burn the worlds if she thought she'd receive it.
Magic stirred and Zelena appeared with Bae in front of her, a knife to his throat and a terrifyingly wicked grin plastered across her face. Emma appeared as well, but the blonde savior was frozen by Zelena or Cora's spell. Even a gagging spell had been placed on her, and Rumplestiltskin did hope she'd given them an earful of grief before they'd finally done it.
"Papa, don't-" Bae started and Zelena turned the knife so that the sharp edge nicked his skin. He stilled, though his eyes sought his father's and Rumplestiltskin somehow managed to keep his careful mask in place. Cora knew how desperate he was to get to his boy, there was no reason to broadcast the fact.
"Now now," Zelena cooed, "be a good boy and don't interrupt. Your father is bargaining for your life."
"Good to see you too, Zelena," the Dark One grumbled, but turned his attentions back on her mother. She was the real ringleader, after all.
"You know what I want, Rumple," Cora purred, stepping close to him still. Her fingers returned to the side of his face and he resisted the urge to pull away this time, remaining absolutely still and in control of his own movements. Her touch moved as she spoke, playing with his hair and down to his shirt collar and then along to the front of his vest, teasing with buttons. He'd made sure that he at least looked the part when he'd teleported over. "I want you. Mind, body, and soul."
"You had me once," Rumplestiltskin answered, "but you gave that up, or is your memory failing you with age? You tore your heart out to keep from loving me, dearie. That's moving on if I've ever seen it."
"Feisty today, aren't we?" the Queen of Hearts chuckled and her fingers clamped down against his side where a particularly deep wound was still in the last stages of healing. He hissed in pain, barely able to cut off the sound and stay on his feet at the same time. "I'd almost think you were angry with me." Her fingers dug into the material of his vest and he could feel her magic creeping a little deeper and he was all but certain the wound reopened. He didn't have a contract to protect him here as he'd sent with the others before, and he had to be careful how much of his magic he used. It was worn thin, but not so thin that he would just take what she was willing to dish out. He forced her spell back hard enough that he stung her fingers.
"Whatever gave you that idea, m'dear?" he growled through clenched teeth. While her grip had loosened a bit, she still had hold of him. Cora leaned in close enough that he thought she might try to kiss him. If she did, he couldn't be sure that he wouldn't at least give it his best effort to kill her then and there. Anger fueled his curse, and his curse was screaming for her end at the moment. He might just be able to comply, regardless of his physical state.
Her lips never touched his though, and she smiled. "The dagger."
"What?"
"You heard me, Rumple. You asked my price and that's it. The Kris Dagger."
"Papa, don't," Bae pleaded from his place again and Zelena hissed another warning.
"I can't."
"Well, if you want to see your boy's blood spilled out across the floor. Zelena, dear?"
"Stop!" Rumplestiltskin barked with a bit too much desperation making it into his voice. She turned, thinking she had found her victory. "When I say I can't, I mean that I can't. I don't have it. It's not in my possession."
"You expect me to believe you gave your dagger up?"
"I'm no fool, Cora. I know what you'd have me do if you had it. I'll never claim to be a good man, but even I won't willingly go under your control for the destruction of everything."
"Everything's a bit dramatic, don't you think? Who has it then? Your darling Belle? That shouldn't be too difficult. It might even be fun."
The thought had briefly crossed his mind to give it to her, but it'd been crushed just as quickly. He hadn't had it in him to ask Belle to make the choice that Regina was offering to make. This had been the only way. Cora knew her daughter's resolve and she would have killed Belle to get that dagger from her. "Regina," he answered after a moment, the name rolling off his tongue and setting the first bit of satisfaction inside of him at the look it received.
"You gave Regina your dagger?"
"As angry as you are, you won't kill her even to get it. You want her broken. You can't break her if she's dead."
"It doesn't mean I can't take it from her."
"Go ahead and try then, though you'll never make it. I'm willing to die to protect my son. Are you willing to do the same to kill him?"
Cora glanced back at Baelfire but Rumplestiltskin didn't dare. Instead his dark brown eyes remained fixed on her until she snorted out a breath. "Everything comes at a price. You taught me that."
"A price that both parties are willing to accept."
She tilted her head in thought. "Clever Rumple. Always so clever, aren't you?"
"I do my best."
"Fine. New deal."
"And what is that?"
He didn't like the look in her eyes as she stepped close again. "Do you remember what I said all those years ago when you asked me what my darkest moment was? That moment you told me to pull on to find the magic inside of me?"
Rumplestiltskin said nothing. Of course he remembered, and he didn't want to look into the future to see what she was going to ask of him now.
"I want you to bow at my feet, Rumplestiltskin, just as they did. On your knees or your son will die."
"That's it?" Zelena demanded.
"It's more than that, isn't it, Rumple? Go on now."
Bloodlust shone in her eyes and Rumplestiltskin was sure that if she thought she could have fought with him and won in that moment that she would have been thrilled to spill his blood all over the floor then and there. She hadn't completed whatever terrible plan she had in store, though, so he would live. He had no question on that little detail. The one that was up for grabs was Bae's life. She knew where he was in his own mind: that night on the side of the road when Hordor had forced him to kiss his boot. That terrible night that he still went back to even now when he really needed to egg his curse on, to bring forth more power than usual. He didn't have it in him to kill her that day. In fact, if he were to drop to his knees now as she demanded, he might not have the strength to get back up.
"I knew your power meant more," she whispered and started to motion to Zelena.
At that moment Rumplestiltskin dropped, his injured body aching in protest, and he landed hard on one knee.
I want to make them bow. I want their kneecaps to crack and freeze on the stones. I want their necks to break from bending.
That had been her desire so many years before, and now the most powerful man in the Enchanted Forest was on his knees before her. "Is this what you want?" he demanded.
"A little lower would be better." Magic pushed him down and Rumplestiltskin found his face flat against the ground. He didn't dare move, didn't dare stand with Bae's life in the balance, even if he could. Hatred boiled up in him and all he could do was think about the many ways he would eventually end her existence. Everything hurt now and he could feel blood soaking through his clothing from the wound she'd reopened, but none of it compared to the humiliation she knew he was putting him through here.
A dangerous growl left him. "Are we done?"
"Not quite yet," she answered. "Stay there." He saw her shoes move and she was padding over to Bae. She took him by the chin and smiled. "Do you see, dear? You and the others might think that he can save you - and for you he might even try - but in the end that love is his weakness." She chuckled. "Really Rumple, there was a day when nothing would have put you on your knees. Nothing. Alright, Zelena."
Rumplestiltskin didn't dare risk a moment more. As soon as the knife was lowered from Bae's neck magic swirled around both he and Emma, pulling them back through the wards that surrounded his home. All three of them landed hard, his magic bucking them the whole way, strained beyond even its great limits. They were left sprawled out on the wooden flooring of the old home, gasping for breath and Emma gave a struggling cough as she sat up. "Some warning next time?" she growled, finding her voice again.
Bae was at his side instantly, helping his father to his feet. "Papa, I-"
He pulled away and bent for his cane that had slipped from his fingers, gripping the gold handle until his knuckles turned white. He couldn't do this now. He couldn't take it. Belle would want to see him and Bae would want to talk, but all he could think about was finding some lonely little corner - if that even existed in his home anymore - to put back the pieces of himself that were shattered in such a way that they might break across the floor at just the wrong touch. He hurt, both inside and out, and his pride had been utterly damaged. He may have kept the dagger from her hands, but Cora had dealt him a more vicious blow than he'd imagined she would without it.
Baelfire reached out and caught him by the sleeve. "Papa, hey, just wait a minute."
"Not now," Rumplestiltskin cut him off and he tried to ignore the hurt look his son gave him as he released his sleeve, surprised at the tone. He started forward again and Bae seemed to shake it off, following him.
"You're hurt. Don't you need-"
"I said not now," his papa snapped and started up the stairs. His voice was taught, but when he spoke again he couldn't quite keep the pain out of it. "What I need is to be alone right now, Bae."
Slowly, painfully, he made his way up the stairs and to the shower. Even Regina could wait at this point. All he could think of was trying to find a way to scrub away the humiliation that still clung to him like mud. The water was so hot that it burned his skin when he stepped into it, the rush leaving him dizzy. He swayed and caught himself against the tiles. Somehow he needed to find a way to catch ahold of his composure before he stepped back out. If he didn't, she'd won, and if there was one thing Rumplestiltskin was certain of it was that he refused to let Cora win this round.
TBC
A/N: A little bit longer chapter to go into the weekend with. And an angry Rumple. A very angry Rumple. Oh dear.
So I'm working on the last chapter of this story and it's giving me all sorts of hell in ending. Forty-two chapters plus the prologue at the beginning seems to be my number. Robin4 predicted 42 chapters and apparently she was spot on. Go Robin! :)
Next time - Chapter Thirty-Six: This Happy Day, in which Bae pushes his papa, Wendy's brothers come to Storybrooke, and Henry turns twelve.