Today was the day. Fourteen days since Graham died. Fourteen days since the office of "Sheriff" had been vacated. Fourteen days that "Deputy Swan" had been acting as "Sheriff Swan." If he had his way, that wouldn't continue for a fifteenth.

Today was the day. When he'd left the night before, he'd laid two things out on his table as his project for the day. The first was a cloth, an old rag he'd detached from a garden ornament; originally meant to be used outside, it's waterproofing had since worn away and he wanted to use some lanolin to get the ornament ready for sale. The second was the number for the direct line to the Sheriff's station, a reminder to himself to call first thing. And so he'd gotten into the office this morning, called the Deputy to request she stop by at her earliest possible convenience, and set to work on his waterproofing. An hour or so later, just as he was nearly done with his work and considering lunch at Granny's, he heard the door to his shop ring before the voice of Emma Swan called out "Gold?!"

He smirked. Fourteen days. That law degree he'd never earned sometimes came in awfully handy.

"Gold, you in here?" he heard her call out again.

"Well, it is my shop," he muttered to himself. Though he did have to admit, the action reminded him a bit of when her father was in here just a few weeks ago. Honestly, was the entire Charming family destine to just assume he kept the door to one of the most valuable places in Storybrooke unlocked and the place unsupervised all the time?

Suddenly the curtain that divided his private space from the public space was shoved open, an action that Emma Swan seemed to regret immediately as her nose wrinkled and she took in the smell of his work for the day.

"Whoa!" she cried, taking a step back. "What is that?"

"Oh, this is lanolin–used for waterproofing."

"It smells like livestock."

"Well, it is the reason why sheep's wool repels water."

"It stinks."

Yes. Yes, it did. How odd. He knew that lanolin smelled to other people. It just never seemed to bother him, not even when he was Mr. Gold. Now that he had his memories back, now that he was himself…it didn't bother him one bit. In fact, he'd say it was almost a pleasant aroma for him. It reminded him of freshly shorn wool just waiting to be spun into thread, afternoons in his aunt's home, days in Mr. Oak's field, and all those times that Baelfire had sat on his lap as he'd taught him how to spin. It didn't bother him. It just made him homesick. It made his fingers itch to sit in front of a wheel and spin, something he now knew he hadn't done for decades, a fact that seemed impossible even though he knew it was true. For the first time since Emma Swan had arrived, he realized just how desperately he wanted to spin in the midst of all this. Spinning was what so many of the plans he'd come up with required, they always had. But with Regina potentially watching and all the trouble he'd gone through to hide the dagger during the Sheriff's funeral, there wasn't a chance he was going to start now and give her the opportunity to suspect any more than she already did. So instead, he sat in his shop, he tinkered with whatever was available for the day, he smelled the lanolin and convinced himself that it was almost like the same thing. Almost. Suddenly he knew the first thing he was going to do when the Curse was broken, and everything was out in the open.

"Um, if there was a reason you called the Sheriff's Department…if you want to talk about that quickly-"

"Yes."

"Or outside…"

"I just wanted to, uh, express my condolences, really. The Sheriff was a good man." She seemed stunned by the words. Obviously, she hadn't expected them. He couldn't really blame her; two weeks probably seemed too long to wait to give condolences. But as with most things, for him, it was just right. Two weeks…he glanced down at the badge on her belt and found exactly what he expected he'd find. "You're still wearing the Deputy's badge."

Emma followed his gaze. But she didn't say anything. In fact, she seemed confused by it. Had Regina forgotten to tell her…what an unfortunate oversight on the part of their Mayor.

"Well, he's been gone two weeks, now, and I believe that after two weeks of acting as Sheriff, the job becomes yours. You'll have to wear the real badge."

"Yeah, I guess. I'm just not in a hurry. So, um, thank you for the kind words," she dismissed before practically running out the door to the front room. He'd hit on a nerve. Good. He liked his victims a bit nervous. They were easy to manipulate that way.

"I have his things," he called before Emma could get to the front door to leave for good.

"What?"

He moved to the counter where this morning he'd purposefully set the small box that contained the Sheriff's meager belongings. Not much…but just enough. Perhaps something that she might use or need to help her, and himself, in oh so many ways.

"The Sheriff. He rented an apartment that I own. Another reason for my call, really. I wanted to offer you a keepsake."

"I don't need anything."

He smirked as she tried to depart again. He'd planned for that response.

"As you wish. Well, I'll give them to Mayor Mills," he stated purposefully. "Seems like she was the closest thing he had to family."

That comment got the Swan's attention. Without doubt. One second she was heading for the door; the next, she'd stopped in her tracks and looked at the box with new eyes. He believed the phrase in this land was "hook, line, and sinker.

"I'm not sure about that," she muttered, crossing the room and suddenly looking at the box with curiosity.

"No love lost there, I see. Look…" he grinned, removing the top of the box. He'd given away the dartboard, but the jacket, a few other newspaper clippings, the two-way radios…everything else was still inside. "I feel that all of this stuff is headed for the trash bin. You really should take something. Look…his jacket?"

She looked at the article of clothing for half a second before muttering, "No."

A surprise. With her penchant for leather jackets, he'd thought that might have been a winner. But not "the winner," not for him. He wanted her to take something else. Something that would help her. He just had to sell it right, and fortunately…well…he was a fair salesman. In some ways.

"Well, look. Your boy might like these, don't you think?" he urged, holding out the old radios for her. "You could play together."

"I don't-"

"No, please," he insisted, setting them on the counter for her. "They…they grow up so fast."

"Thanks," she whispered, reaching out to take them. Excellent. That was just excellent.

"You enjoy these with your boy. Your time together is precious, you know?" he pressed, one last blow, parent to parent, to ensure they ended up in the right hands for the right purposes. Henry believed. He was valuable. Just as Baelfire was valuable. She'd already missed the first ten years of his life; if Henry was the boy that the Seer had referenced…she needed to take as much time with her son as possible. "That's the thing about children," he added before she could leave. "Before you know it, you lose them…"

Parental advice, from one parent to another. Even if she didn't yet know it.

1x08 is a fairly significant episode for Rumple, especially in this fiction. I did warn you that 1x01-1x11 would go fairly quickly with a pitstop in 1x08 that would take some time. Welcome to that pitstop, where I feel like we get a taste of what Rumple will do a little later in the season. It's really good to preview exactly what he is capable of when he wants to be.

Thank you, Jennifer Baratta, Grace5231973, and Alarda, for your reviews on the last chapter. This is a short chapter, I know, but I felt like it translated well from screen to page. And of course, sometimes it's the shortest chapters that have the most to say. A lot of the chapters for 1x08 divided out a bit odd. That's just what happens when there are a lot of little things happening and a lot of go-between in the episode from Storybrooke to the Enchanted Forest. And hey, the good news about it is that after 1x08 is done, we're just a hop, skip, and a jump from the really good stuff! Peace and Happy Reading!