Ordinarily, he would have dismissed Regina's ramblings as the whinings of a girl about to lose everything. But something about her behavior left him unsettled for the day. He knew Regina. He knew that this part would be a risk. When Regina was under pressure, she did stupid things. Hell, the last time she'd been this upset at her step-daughter and he'd given her the Curse, she'd gone out and settled for a poison apple. That had ultimately been fine, he supposed. It was a delay, but all had turned out okay in the end. This time, however, he didn't have the patience for stupidity anymore. And he didn't want it to be like last time where he had to wait for her to come and brag to him about a stupid idea she'd put into place. He wanted as much information as he could get.

He didn't like not having eyes on Emma throughout the day, but Dove hadn't called back regarding his parents, and he wasn't too terribly worried about her at the moment. Fortunately, he was happy to still have eyes on Regina. One of Dove's cousins was still watching the woman, and he was all too eager to call the bird and order him to pay close attention to the Evil Queen. He wanted to know what she was doing, where she was going, and what she was thinking; though in this world, knowing what she was thinking was only something he was going to get to the bottom of if he knew the first two. He didn't know how to prepare himself for what he found out throughout the day.

Regina hadn't gone to her office after he'd spoken with her. Instead, she'd gone home to fetch something. Mark couldn't tell what it was, but she'd put it in her car and then driven to the school. It was the strangest thing. Mark said that Regina had gotten out of her car, walked around a bit, and then gotten right back into her car. When she'd first pulled up, Mark had expected Henry forgot something, and she was there to drop it off, or perhaps she was planning on picking him up early from school. But as far as he noticed, she hadn't seen or spoken to anyone, not even her son, even though school let out only thirty minutes later. According to Mark, she'd been there all of five minutes before she'd gone back to her office.

It was nerve-racking. That visit looked like nothing. That was how he knew it couldn't actually be nothing. But he was helpless to do anything except wait at the store for more information, more clues to help him put this together.

The next clue came maybe an hour later in the form of a text message. Just left her office with a man, they got into a car, following."

He didn't bother to send a return message. He wanted Mark's eyes on Regina, not his phone. So he waited. He went into the back, sat at his wheel, and spun for a time to relieve some of the tension he felt. He wanted to know everything. Where they were going, what they were doing, who the stranger she was with could possibly be…

When the call finally came, the information made him sick to his stomach. The man who couldn't be identified was none other than Jefferson. Mark had been able to get a better look at him and properly identify him when they'd arrived at their destination, the Storybrooke cemetery. Specifically, the Mills family crypt. Mark reported that they'd both gone in together, spent perhaps twenty minutes total inside, and then come out again and gone their separate ways. Regina had been carrying something in her hand that she hadn't been carrying when she'd gone in.

Fuck.

He couldn't see Jefferson because of the deal they'd made. He'd promised he'd never see his face on his doorstep ever again. But he could call him, get him to tell him what he knew.

"Why on earth would you work with the Evil Queen, and what did she want from you?" he demanded in as smooth a way as possible.

"What everyone wants from me, a ticket into other worlds. I'm tired of waiting. I want my daughter back!"

"Regina will betray you."

"If she can get me my daughter, then that's what I'll do, damn the risks. I've taken risks in the past, and you better believe I'm going to take one to get my daughter back."

"You think this is what your daughter wants? That she'll be proud?"

"I don't care, and I know you don't either, so don't pretend like you do. Regina can do what you can't. I've waited long enough."

And then he heard a click, and the line went dead.

He swore loudly at that reaction. His old friend didn't sound well. He sounded crazed and frenzied, angry in a way that he hadn't ever known him to be. He wanted to go over there himself and get his answers, but he felt certain that it would break their deal, and if the Curse did break, he wasn't about to suffer those consequences. He could send some of his thugs out after Jefferson, but when he thought of all they'd been, he couldn't stomach it. Besides, it wouldn't work. Jefferson knew how he worked, what steps he'd take. He knew not to go home for fear of all that. His next play, whatever it was, would be unpredictable as Regina's. Oddly enough, he was fine with that.

Jefferson hadn't dealt well with the loss of his child, at least not the way that he had. And he couldn't really blame him. All these years, he'd had the reassurance of a Seer that he'd be reunited. Jefferson had…what…his word? Regina's word? What was that worth to a man missing his child? No, Jefferson was beyond his help now unless he was able to break the fucking Curse! And right now, all hope on that rested with a puppet who hadn't told him what was going on.

At sunset, he got another call from Regina's guard. Something odd had happened, odd enough that Mark felt the need to call while he drove. After Jefferson, Regina had gone back to her house. And who had shown up? None other than Emma Swan.

Why had she arrived? He hadn't a clue, only told him that the women seemed fairly cordial as they spoke. Regina invited Emma in. The visit was two, three, maybe five minutes tops, and then Emma Swan left the premises carrying something with her. What was it? He didn't know that either. It was a plastic container of something.

Roughly five minutes after Emma left, so did Regina. She was on her way back into town. He assumed it had been for her office, perhaps to do some of the work that was surely piling up while she ran around doing whatever in the fuck she thought she was doing. But she didn't.

He hid it well, barely glancing up from his ledger when the bell to his store went off again, but the truth was that he nearly sighed in relief. Finally, a conversation with the Queen, herself. He could get things out of her that his men couldn't. And he was more determined than ever to get to the bottom of whatever game she was playing.

Regina came sauntering into the place, looking like a woman pleased with herself. That excited him…a proud Regina meant she'd want to do some gloating, and gloating meant that her tongue would be loose enough to reveal more than a couple of facts he was dying to know.

"I hope you bought travel insurance because no one's going anywhere," she stated with the arrogance of a child in her voice.

"Oh, really?" he questioned, feigning a lack of true interest. "And why's that?"

"Because I found a solution to my Emma Swan problem."

"Oh, yes?" he prompted, continuing to work even as she bragged. She wanted to act like a child. He'd treat her as one…one throwing a temper tantrum that didn't deserve recognition. She'd be so irritated he didn't care more that she'd make his job a lot easier.

"An old, reliable solution."

He froze, unable to hide his shock at what she'd just said. . "Old and reliable"…where had he heard those words before. Regina might be a child having a tantrum, but she was a child that potentially had magic. Suddenly he recalled the plastic container that Mark had seen Emma leaving Regina's property with. Food was kept in containers like that. It was impossible, given that they were in the middle of a Curse, but…if he was right, and she'd done what she was hinting at, then she really had gone with an old plan, hadn't she?

"A Sleeping Curse," he assumed, watching her expression for confirmation. Her gaze said it all, and it took every fiber in his being not to swear out loud at her. How the hell had she managed that?! "Might I ask how you managed to obtain one here in Storybrooke?"

"By sacrificing the last bit of magic I had left."

He nearly laughed. For one so bright as she was, sometimes she could also be utterly stupid. Magic wasn't just about mastering the trickier spells; it was also about remembering the basics. Perhaps she'd forgotten in her years here.

"So, you made magic from magic. Well, I'm sure I don't have to remind you that, uh, all magic comes with a price."

Regina leaned forward. "Then you can pay it. Because now, the Curse is going to be stronger than ever. And you will be right here where you belong."

He had to walk away from her. He had to keep thinking, to keep busy, anything but let a single hint of expression show on his face. "Stronger than ever"…he had hope in the fact that he knew this Curse didn't work like that. It had a weakness, and the weakness was here, closer than she'd ever been. She was angry at Regina, and Regina was angry at her. Didn't she see? All this did was have the opposite effect. It was making the Curse weaker. And as for "old reliable"…how quickly she'd forgotten just how unreliable that plan of hers had been. He hadn't. But he also hadn't forgotten how much of a hand he'd played on making sure "old reliable" hadn't worked. He'd done it once; he could do it again.

"Don't you understand?" Regina shouted at him as he moved around the table, following after him, acting like some kind of puppy dog seeking gratification. Sometimes she really did remind him of her mother and sister. "I won! So, whatever plan you had, whatever reason you wanted the curse broken…too bad. Because it's never going to happen."

She placed her hand on the globe in front of her and gave it a spin before exiting dramatically. He wished he could state that an exit like that was unnecessary. Given the situation he suddenly found himself confronted with, he couldn't say that.

I love this chapter because it is really the perfect chapter to usher us into these last six chapters. I love the building sense of tension and trouble for Rumple throughout this chapter. He was so sure that he had everything down to the last detail, and now one wild card from Regina throws everything into disarray. The ending leads us into what he's going to do in the next chapter to stop Regina and that will usher in the finale chapters, which include, of course, a surprise for our Rumple along the way. Are you ready? Because I can't wait!

Thank you, Grace5231973, for your review of the previous chapter. I hope that you enjoy this one as much as I do, even if it's a predictable "seen scene." And I really do hope that you are looking forward to these last few chapters. Rumple gets to be smart and happy, and it's just so, so wonderful! Peace and Happy Reading!