Once Upon a Time

These long days that they were in port, Dagian entertained herself either by sleeping or reading while the good captain and most of his crew stole and plundered and drank and occupied themselves in the brothels.

Dagian didn't mind it. As long as the captain was busy elsewhere, he couldn't be there to paw her.

Ugh, he was so slimy.

They didn't stay for long though. They set sail by that evening and the captain entered her quarters about an hour after that. With his unlocking the door, she knew her chance of escape was gone, "That didn't take long."

"Unfortunately I was recognized."

"Not surprising," she said hoping to insult him, "…you have one of those faces."

"Aw," he said in a way that would almost make him sound humble if she didn't know better, "Thanks love."

She really had to do better at insulting him.

He moved into her room and she glared at the intrusion, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes," he put several small bags on the table, "I need to teach you something."

"Can't it wait? I'm in the middle of this riveting book for the eighth time."

"Being a pirate is a very dangerous professon-."

Dagian rolled her eyes, not this speech again….

"Having the better weapon could mean the difference between life and death." He opened several of the bags, "There is a poison that I have perfected. I made it when I was twelve and I'm going to teach you how to make the antidote."

She flipped the page. All she had to do was wait for it…

"I suppose you're wondering why I'm going to teach this to you. There are far too many sharp things on this boat, sweetheart," he let the tip of his tongue trail his lips as he slowly looked her over, "Quite easy to get poked."

And there it was

"I'm sure you have plenty of experience with that," Dagian muttered.

He frowned, "Someone decided to be extra sassy today."

"I suppose the company I keep is influencing me," she threw the book to the side and stood, "Just teach me how to do this."

He looked her over again, "You're not wearing the necklace I gave you."

Dagian didn't even bother to feel guilty for what she did to his gift. When they were docked and he felt some sort of guilt for holding her hostage (which wasn't often) he bought her something. Twice it was a ring. Twice it was a necklace. Usually he bought her books that he thought could entertain her. He'd been a lot more eager to keep her occupied after she tried to escape, "Yeah it sort of slipped from my neck and landed in the sea. Horrible clasp I suppose."

He gave her an amused look and put a small clay bowl on the table, "Not everything can be found in this realm. So first I shall teach you how to slow it down."

Wait for it…

He gave her another flirting look, "I'm quite a fan of going slow."

Gods, it was like clockwork.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Present Day

Rumpelstiltskin knew he couldn't panic. The more his heart raced, the faster it would be pumped to his heart. He was already looking at an agonizing painful death. He didn't want to speed that up.

He grunted as Bae helped him on the couch. He was getting hot…he felt like he was going to throw up.

He looked at Dagian as she frantically wrote something on a piece of paper. Gods, what was she doing? Writing out her grocery list?

He had to calm down. He had to breathe. Bae unbuttoned helped his father unbutton his shirt and Rumpelstiltskin pulled off his tie.

Emma came in, "Found a storage room and locked our stab-happy pirate in there. Shouldn't be causing anyone else any problems. And get this- he had a map on him. It looks like he sailed his ship here."

Rumpelstiltskin fought the rising nausea. Not now. Gods, please not now. He just reunited with his son….Gods, please let him at least make up for what he did before he died. All this would've been for nothing.

Bae rushed to his side with a folded rag. He looked terrified for Rumpelstiltskin. For some, seeing Bae worried about them would be enough to know that he loved them but it wasn't enough for him. Rumpelstiltskin still had so much that he needed to atone for. He had so much that he needed to tell him.

"How'd he get a pirate ship into New York?" Bae demanded.

"It's cloaked," Emma said over her shoulder. Hard to believe a year ago, she would've scoffed at even considering that. She turned her attention to her son, "Don't worry. He's not going to hurt any of us."

"But is Mr. Gold going to be okay?" Henry gave him a concerned look. The child, his undoing, was worried about him. It filled him with guilt…and then with the guilt came shame at what he actually considered doing to the child and it…combined with everything Hook had tried to take from him and being open and vulnerable and Bae's rejection and now the attack and him being poisoned…it just gave way to anger. This wouldn't have happened if Henry had gone for Emma. This wouldn't have happened if Henry had allowed them to destroy the portal…which would've rendered the water at Lake Nostos depowered and the pirate would've never gotten home.

It was illogical but he was too tired and terrified at what he was about to face.

"Mr. Gold, are you alright?"

Henry came up to him and he lost what little of his sanity that he had left. He reached out and grabbed Henry's coat, "You stay away from me. You caused this. You brought us back here. You did this!"

He shoved Henry away and didn't look at either the boy's horrified and confused look. He did meet Dagian's eyes. He saw her shock and confusion. She looked to their grandson to make sure he was alright and then gave him a furious glare.

"We gotta get him to the ER, fast," Bae said.

Rumpelstiltskin summoned the bravery to look down. The poison had mixed with his blood. It had turned an oozing yellowish green color which meant that it was probably in his bloodstream.

"What is that?" Emma asked.

"It's poison. IT's one of Hook's own making. There's no antidote in this world," he explained…he felt like he was tripping over is own words. He was going to die. There was no cure. He was leaving his family alone...and who was going to keep them safe? The Charming family? They'd be dead within minutes. He felt the panic take ahold of him, "It's not from here."

No, he needed to calm down. Once the poison reached his heart...it would be slow and agonizing and he really didn't want to speed that process up.

"There's got to be some way we can save you," Bae said and Rumpelstiltskin nearly started losing it when he saw his son's own fear.

"There is," he tried to assure them, "There is."

"Storybrooke," Emma put the pieces together, "There's magic there now. We need to get him back."

That wouldn't do it though. Not completely. Not with his magic. He sustained injuries in the mortal world, he would die from them even with his magic…but there was a way he could save himself and it was most definitely in Storybrooke.

And like always, his mind started working on how he could fit that to his advantage. It wasn't manipulation, it was survival. His family needed him. The Charmings needed him, "There's not enough time. We need something faster. The Captain's ship…"

"The Jolly Roger instead of a car?" Emma asked incredulously.

Rumpelstiltskin looked to Dagian again and saw the terror in her eyes. She was still working through the memories and trauma of being trapped on that boat and wondering every day if she would be killed or worse. Gods, he didn't want to have to put her back through that, "IT's the fastest vessel in all the realms."

He said it more to her than to them. Her eyes filled with tears and she shook her head slowly. She knew they wouldn't have time to get him home by driving. He supposed that she could stay behind and drive back, but with what car? She wouldn't leave his side anyway, not with him dying.

"Well that's great," Emma said, But who's going to captain it, since the only guy qualified wants you dead?"

Rumpelstiltskin looked at Dagian and he saw the blood drain from. She spent two months on that ship, she was better qualified than anyone here. She opened her mouth to volunteer.

"I can do it," Bae whispered.

Rumpelstiltskin gave him a confused look. Gods, they had so much to talk about when they got home, "Bae?"

"Yeah," he swallowed and averted all their looks, "I can do it."

Emma gave him a confused look, "You know how to sail a pirate ship?"

"Yeah, I do."

They all stared at him for a few moments. Rumpelstiltskin's mind was reeling. How in the name of the gods would he know how to pirate Hook's ship unless he'd spent time on it? He was supposed to go to a land without magic but maybe that wasn't his first stop…what if he had somehow been transported to Neverland? That would make sense, when Rumpelstiltskin let him go, he may have become a lost boy.

For more years than you could ever know…all I saw when I went to sleep…

Oh gods, Bae…what had he done? He had always believed that Bae was dropped in this world immediately. He had designed his curse to take them to the same period Bae was at. He never even considered that for years…maybe even centuries, Bae was trapped in his own nightmare like Rumpelstiltskin was thanks to Rumpelstiltskin's actions

And if he knew Hook then Hook might've known who he was. Did that mean that Hook tried to hunt him for the sins of his father?

"He won't survive," Dagian whispered.

"We just need to get to Storybrooke," Emma said in determination, "He can heal there."

"Even with the Jolly Roger, he might not make it," Dagian whispered. He heard her voice break but she didn't cry, "Is there a herb shop nearby?"

"Yeah, a couple of miles away," Bae said.

Dagian nodded, "I'll need a taxi. Hook once taught me once how to slow down the poison. If we hurry then we can get him some relief and put it off long enough to get him to Storybrooke"

"You were with Hook once?" Emma asked.

"It's a very long story and we don't have time," she reached for her purse, "Which way do I instruct the taxi to go?"