When he left Emma Swan the night before, he was confident that he'd done his job right by only doing part of it. He'd meant to inspire her to go and run for the office of Sheriff, and he felt certain he'd done that, but only by choosing to leave out certain details of the election. Like the debate. After all, Regina had located them in the United States of America. It was a democracy. Candidates weren't supposed to be voted into office just on a technicality or a popularity contest. The people had to know what they were voting for and who. When a Candidate for the position ran in opposition, the charter called for a debate. Somehow, he didn't imagine Mrs. Swan would be too pleased about the idea of debating, in fact he'd been so worried about her reaction to it that he'd left that part out of their conversation. He'd let her put her name in for the position, let her dream about it, decide that she wanted it more than she knew she did…then he'd make sure she knew about the debate. Hopefully, by that point, she'd be so determined to become the Sheriff that having to debate Sidney Glass would seem like a small obstacle to overcome.

But he knew it wasn't.

While he thought the idea of Sidney Glass becoming Sheriff was laughable, and he was somewhat convinced the town would agree, he had to remember that he had the Curse working against him. If they were in the Enchanted Forest and everyone had their memories intact, he had no doubt Emma Swan would win their hearts. But she was a stranger in a small town here. A stranger who made no secret of the fact that she was enemies with the Mayor. And Sidney Glass…he was familiar. He was highly unqualified, but he was friendly. He was gentle, and one might even say he was kind and good so long as his mouth wasn't pressed against his mistress's ass.

In a perfect world, Emma would be the obvious candidate. But in this Curse they were living in, they were in the furthest thing from the perfect world. However, after sleeping on it, after pacing the shop this morning and agonizing over what he was going to do, just when he was tempted to pull out the old spinning wheel instead of just imagining what it would be like to spin wool-he thought he had an idea.

It was risky. It involved several moving parts. It meant putting a lot of trust and faith in the idea that he knew Emma Swan and Regina and how they'd react to certain events that he was about to set in motion and if something went wrong, he knew that it was possible someone could end up dead.

For Baelfire, he was willing to take that risk.

The bad news was that for his plan he needed to work quickly. But the good news was that if his plan didn't work perfectly, and no one ended up dead, of course, he'd have one week to fix it. The Charter called for the election of the Sheriff to be announced one week prior to the event. He supposed that might mean he'd have at least a week, but he knew Regina. She wanted things her way, she was going to do just enough to make this happen but no more. He'd have a week. Would it be enough? There was only one way to find out.

That morning, when Dove sent him a message that Emma was on her way to the Mayor's office, he called his spy away and to him. While he awaited his arrival, he pulled a file he'd brought from home, one that he hadn't seen in more than eleven years and hadn't expected would ever come in handy. It was a copy of the report that he'd received on Emma when Regina had adopted Henry. It was her criminal history. A sealed juvenile record, he'd gotten it only by chance, but he'd kept it all these years. Perhaps Mr. Gold had hoped that one day it might come in handy. He hoped today was that day and, in anticipation, had made a couple of copies so he could keep the original, and as for this copy...he had a good idea where to send it.

In addition to the report he also grabbed the cloth that he'd been covering in lanolin the day before when Emma had first stopped by. It had still been drying but he gave it a fresh coat and then plopped it into a plastic bag. By the time that Dove arrived, everything was prepared.

"I have important work for you and not much time to explain it. Even then, I'm afraid this work is going to fall into the category of 'easier said than done.'"

"I'm listening," Dove announced without even a wince. He wasn't one to back down from challenges, at least not in this life.

So he handed him the file on Emma as well as a $100 bill. "Give this to one of your friends, Scarlet maybe. See that it finds its way to Sidney Glass for the evening addition of the mirror and make sure his sources are kept confidential." Dove nodded as he took the file. No questions. That's what he appreciated about this arrangement. But he wondered, would he feel the same way about the next part.

He handed Dove the bag with yhe lanolin soaked cloth. "This next part is of…let's call it questionable legality."

"It's a good thing my employer is a lawyer, then."

"Good answer, Mr. Dove. I'd like for you to arrange an explosion for me…at the Mayor's office."

He paused, just to look in Dove's eyes and see how he reacted to that bit of news. Nothing. Not even a wince. Nothing until Dove himself seemed to suspect the reason he'd stopped talking and said simply "Do you see me blinking?"

He smiled. "Not one bit, Mr. Dove. That's promising. Tonight, after the Mirror has been published Emma Swan will go to the Mayor's office. That's when you need to set the trap. After the events of today I'm sure the Mayor will be working late. Set up a bomb to go off. Nothing big, just flashy, a bit of fire, a lot of smoke, easily extinguished."

"I understand. But it does seem a bit dark for my usual work."

"Oh, worry not. Emma is fit enough, no matter what she feels about the Mayor she'll get her out in one piece. And if it makes you feel better, before you set the fire, you should call 911 first. I believe there is a payphone nearby, not traceable. Just be sure that before you go inside, you call the Mirror as well."

"The paper, Sir?"

"I give you instructions for a reason, Mr. Dove, I expect they won't be questioned. Unless of course you find yourself unable to-"

"No, Sir," he interrupted. "Scarlet to deliver the file. Then tonight when Emma Swan goes to the the Mayor call the Mirror, set the bombs, leave. That's when I'll call 911."

"Good," he beamed, noticing he'd adjusted the plan to align with his own priorities. "Excellent thinking, Mr. Dove. And of course you can rest assured that you'll be well compensated for this little…errand. I believe your parents just submitted a request for a room with more light. How convenient that one is about to become available."

Any nervous energy or stress that Dove might have been exuding suddenly seemed to vanish. In fact, he let out a sigh that seemed to be one of relief. "Thank you, Mr. Gold. That would be…I'd very much appreciate if they could get to the top of that list."

"And so it shall be, if you do this for me."

"I won't let you down, Sir."

"Good. That's very good, because there is one last thing that I'm going to need you to do. I need you to make this job…sloppy."

Suddenly Dove's confidence seemed to deflate. "Excuse me?" he shouted, going nervous again. "Sloppy? Sir…you…you want me to be caught?"

"Oh, no. No, no, lad, quite the contrary. I want me to be caught. Plant this…" he tapped his cane against the plastic bag the cloth resided in, "somewhere…visible."

"But, Sir-"

"It'll all work out for the best, Dove. Trust me."

But he didn't. And considering their history, not to mention his reputation, he couldn't exactly blame him for that. If it were him, he probably wouldn't trust him either, if only because he knew that if it pointed back to him too much all he had to do was offer up Dove on a silver platter to promote reasonable doubt and he'd be home free. He didn't trust him, but fortunately he watched as Dove took the packages he'd left him and muttered, "if you're sure…I'll take care of it."

So...probably not what you were expecting. But here's the thing, the idea of Rumple being the one actually to set the bomb in the Mayor's office was laughable to me. Don't get me wrong, I think he totally arranged the whole thing, but the idea that he himself did it didn't seem reasonable. The thing is, there's not a lot of time in this episode between Emma arriving, the bomb going off, and then the paper and firetruck arriving to capture the rescue, all before Rumple is back in his shop. And, in case you haven't noticed, Rumple gets along fine with his cane, but he's not that fast. And he's too well known. The more and more I thought about it, the more I felt that for sure, for him to make this happen, someone would have to have seen him, and because he's well known, they'd be able to identify him. So, this is another place where Dove comes in to save the day. Rumple is known, but Dove is just another face in the crowd. And he's young. And he's healthy. Gold getting in and out that quick completely unseen? Unlikely. Dove getting in and out that quick completely unseen? That was a scenario that worked for me. And, asking him to be sloppy about it, the thought that he wants to be caught explains why we see him the way we see him in the next chapter. He may not have done it, but he wants Emma to think he did.

Big thank yous going out to Jennifer Baratta, Grace5231973, and Alarda for continuing to review my chapters. This is the part where I wait anxiously for more of them to come in because I've sort of "changed" something. Even though this still sticks with canon, it's probably not the way most of you pictured this going. I hope you'll feel like this change was appropriate and well thought out. I hope you'll think it doesn't break too much with tradition and the spirit of these fictions. I hope...Peace and Happy Reading!