Dagian returned with the herbs that she needed and a box full of gloves so that she didn't get the poison on her skin. When she got back to the apartment, she saw her son hovering over his father.

"Hey," Emma said, "Did you get everything?"

"Yeah," Dagian put the bag on the counter and grabbed a bowl, "Help me."

She instructed Emma on how to make the past they would be putting on Rumpelstiltskin's chest. Emma looked up at her, "Now how exactly do you know how to do this?"

"Long story," Dagian muttered and moved towards her husband when the thick yellow paste was done. She put her hand on her son's shoulder to get him to move and she took his place, "Okay, it's going to be cold."

"I just got a poisoned hook through my chest," Rumpelstiltskin said in a raspy whisper, "Temperature is the last thing I worry about."

"I know," she scooped out some of the paste and rubbed it into the wound. He was struggling to breathe; the poison was taking effect faster than she had anticipated.

Bae pulled out a phone and started texting.

Emma noticed it immediately, "What are you doing?"

"Getting us a car," Bae explained.

Emma scoffed, "I thought you were suddenly a pirate and were going to take a ship."

"Yeah well, we still got to get him to the ship."

Emma stared at all of them, "So you all know Hook?"

"It's a long story," Bae said, "Short version, is this world wasn't my first stop when I left home."

Emma looked confused, "No?"

"If it was, I'd be a couple hundred years old by now."

Emma rubbed her temples as everything she thought she knew continued to crumble around her. Dagian really felt bad for the poor woman, she could identify with her.

The phone rang and Neal looked down at his phone, "That should be our ride. Hang tight."

He left the room and Dagian looked at Rumpelstiltskin and brushed a knuckle down the side of his face. He wasn't losing color so fast, that was a good sign, "How are you feeling?"

"Feeling about the poison or watching our family's dysfunction?"

Dagian tried to smile, "This never would've happened if you hadn't gotten me pregnant."

"I seem to remember you used to nearly tackle me to the bed and now you're blaming me?" he asked with a bit of humor in his voice.

"I don't seem to remember you being unwilling when we first started out and I never got the chance to curse your name when I was giving birth. The midwives wouldn't let you in."

"The one thing you've been waiting to do for four hundred years."

Emma's eyes flickered between both of them as she tried to understand their dark teasing, "Your relationship is weird."

"Well," Dagian whispered, "What fun would it be if we were normal?"

Henry came into the room, "Emma, you need to see this."

"What is it, kid?" Emma asked.

"It's a text from David and Mary Margaret. You need to read it – now."

Dagian turned back to Rumpelstiltskin and applied more of the paste on his chest. What could possibly be an emergency? Were they fighting about house hunting?

"Bad news, Gold."

Rumpelstiltskin scoffed, "What, worse than incurable poison?"

Emma ignored the barb, "I don't know. You tell me. You got a dagger hidden somewhere in Storybrooke that's the source of all your power."

Dagian looked at Rumpelstiltskin in shock. How in the name of the gods did she know about that? Dagian thought that they were trying to keep that a secret. Not even Jefferson knew about it.

"Get to your point," Rumpelstiltskin said impatiently.

"Cora's after it," Emma told them, "The only way to stop her, is to have David and Mary Margaret get to it first."

Dagian tried not to roll her eyes and offend her….son's baby's mother? Daughter in-law-? No wait, they weren't married. She was just going to stick with calling her 'Emma.'

Rumpelstiltskin felt the same way, "Yeah, let Cora try."

Emma looked at both of them in shock, "You can't seriously be willing to risk this. Not with your son coming back with you to Storybrooke."

"Emma, measures were taken to lead the royal queenies on the wrong road in case they went after the weapon," Dagian said. She didn't know where the dagger was either, but she had wanted it that way. She didn't want them torturing it out of her, "If we let your parents go get it then it'll lead Thing 1 and Thing 2 right to where it is."

"Dagian's right, Miss Swan," Rumpelstiltskin rasped, "That dagger has not left my possession for centuries. It's not about to now."

Emma gave them a look of determination and sat next to them on the couch, "Here's the thing. You're dying and right now, we are your best hope. Time's come for you to start trusting someone. And, if I were you, I'd start with family."

Rumpelstiltskin looked at Dagian who shook her head slightly. They'd bungle it up. They'd let Regina and Cora take it.

But Rumpelstiltskin averted his gaze and Dagian knew that he wasn't going to listen to her. And why on earth should she be surprised?

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Dagian didn't know where Bae had come up with a car. She didn't ask. If it was important then there'd be time to get to know her son's friends later.

Although going by Emma's withdrawn despondent look, something hadn't gone right. Dagian wondered if maybe they had a fight or something.

Rumpelstiltskin didn't want Dagian to half carry him to the car. Lily had grown tired of Henry trying to keep her occupied and wanted her mother. Dagian washed her hands thoroughly and handled her daughter.

Luckily, Hook had traced his progress on the map that allowed them to find the ship easily. Bae said he knew the area they were going to and he brought them a rocky area by the water.

"I'll find where it is," Bae said and climbed out of the car. Henry got out to join him. Emma and Dagian stared at the boys for a few second before Emma sighed and climbed out of the car.

Dagian looked down at Lily, who was awake. She smiled at her father and kicked her feet. She tested her freedom much to her father's amusement. He smiled tenderly at his little girl and brushed the back of his knuckle against his daughter's cheek, "We'll need to talk when we're on the ship."

"About what?" Dagian asked, but she knew already.

"About my final requests in case I die."

Dagian froze and her heart started racing, "You're not going to die."

"I might."

"You're not going to die," Dagian said again and looked at him, "After everything you've been through, you can't let a little pirate's hook be something that did you in."

"It'd be fitting almost," he said quietly, "Something that simple kills me."

Dagian felt her breathing hitch, "Rumpelstiltskin-."

"I know you don't want to," he said, "But Belle's gone and Bae hates me. Who else will honor my request? It has to be you."

Dagian bit the inside of her cheek and fought tears as they seemed to have found the ship. They still had time, they could get there before Snow and Charming more than likely lost the dagger, "You're not going to die."

She opened the door and cleared the way for Bae and Emma to help Rumpelstiltskin out of the car. She followed reluctantly behind them. Henry walked silently behind her…they got on the platform and Dagian watched as they disappeared.

She could do this…she could do this…

"Ready Henry?" Dagian asked

"What if we fall in?"

She stared at the small rocks that were gathered at the bottom of the invisible plank, "I really don't think so."

"I'll go first," Henry said, "That way you don't have to worry about falling with the baby."

"Thank you Henry," Dagian put her hand on the boy's shoulder and let him lead her up the plank. She felt odd, like she was stepping through something neither solid nor liquid and then she blinked and the ship was there.

Nothing had changed from her memories.

Her heart started racing when she looked around the old familiar cage. She spent two months here…two months' worth of memory that she never knew about until recently and so the fears and the things she went through…the touches, the remarks, the claustrophobia that she'd developed when she started to remember…the emotional abuse he put her through as well as the physical abuse when he forced her to spar with him; and the man she murdered to protect herself…all that hadn't been worked through yet. She hadn't had time nor did she have to will to after she thought Archie was dead.

Rumpelstiltskin was leaning on some boxes. He must've seen the dread in her face because he said something to Bae. Bae immediately turned around and walked to her. He held his hand out, "Mother?"

He grabbed her hand and tried to help her down. Dagian automatically locked her knees so that she couldn't move. Tears sprang to her eyes, "No, I can't."

"It's either this or driving," he told her gently and squeezed her hand, "Mom…it'll be okay, I promise."

Gods, he almost sounded like the same 14 year old boy all those centuries ago when he screamed that to his father at the vortex that changed everything.

The memory of that made her tighten her grip on her son's hand and…maybe it was an attempt to prove things different from last time, she didn't know. One foot stepped down and she closed her eyes and fought both nausea and hyperventilations.

"Mom?" Bae asked and Dagian realized that she was shaking.

Dagian drew in breath. They didn't have time for this, "Get your father to a bunk below."