It was five days until he heard from August Booth again. And that was just fine with him.

He'd needed time to cool down after their encounter that night…among other things.

The day after Booth had pretended to be his son, he'd gotten a call from Sidney Glass. He'd confessed to the kidnapping of Kathryn Nolan and needed a lawyer to help him with his deal. Shocking. It had only taken a couple of days to get Sidney settled. Confessing to kidnapping was a lot simpler than fighting a murder charge. One session with Archie had proved that Glass wasn't in his right mind or competent to stand trial. It happened just as he thought it would. Glass was to be confined to a psychiatric ward until he was no longer a danger to himself or others. Regina smiled like Christmas had just come early. Sidney's release could be seven months from now or seven days from now. He imagined that worked just fine for this former pupil. After his part was done he didn't particularly care. But he was grateful for the distraction that Sidney had given him from Booth so that he could focus a bit more on Booth's counterpart…Pinocchio.

He didn't know much about Pinocchio in their land. His "father" was Geppetto. He'd been created from the wood of an enchanted tree that brought him to life, and at some point, the Blue Fairy had turned him into a human boy. It wasn't a lot of information, but fortunately, being cursed in this land had its benefits. Rumpelstiltskin didn't know much about him, but Mr. Gold, on the other hand…he knew Pinocchio's story. He knew how he'd been charged to be good; selfless, brave, and true. After he'd come to life, he'd done the opposite. He'd lied and run away from his father, going to an island of pleasures, and nearly turned into a donkey thanks to the magic of that island. Fortunately for the boy, he'd come to his senses. He'd tried to escape, to get back to his father…and found that his father had come after him. After saving his father from being eaten by a whale, he'd been turned into a boy by the Blue Fairy because he'd finally mastered the art of being selfless, brave, and true. Their stories were not always accurate in this world. Hell, in his own story, his counterpart had torn himself in two when a princess successfully guessed his name. However, if being Mr. Gold and Rumpelstiltskin had taught him anything, it was that these stories always had a grain of truth to them. He couldn't be sure what was truth and what was fact, but he was certain the information would come in handy…as long as he could confirm that Booth was, in fact, the wooden puppet boy.

Fortunately, by the time he finally contacted him a few days later, he knew how he would do it.

"Mr. Gold?"

"Mr. Booth, I was just thinking about you," he smiled when he answered the phone to find that voice.

"We need to meet. It's about Emma," he explained with an eerie calmness to his voice. "There's a…problem."

Well, he should think so. For someone who claimed he was the only one who could make her believe before he died, he was taking his good sweet time with it. So, he figured, what was another hour to set up his brilliant plan.

"Excellent timing. Why don't you come down to the shop in an hour or so."

"Mmhmm."

Neither said goodbye, which was a good thing because he had another call to make and didn't want to spend time on niceties. He looked at a clock on his shelf; one Gold had been meaning to fix for a good long time. If he was right, father wouldn't recognize son. But there was a chance that the puppet might recognize his creator.

When Marco arrived almost exactly five minutes before Booth was due to show up, he nodded to him and brought out the clock. He had hazy memories of doing work with Marco during the years of the Curse. If someone brought in a wood piece that needed restoration or a clock that needed fixing and he couldn't do it himself, then he called Marco. Of course, he was quite the handyman himself after being a broker for all these years. In fact, if he'd taken the time, he probably could have figured out the clock himself. But he'd rather it be used this way.

He was in the middle of looking over his ledger and appraisal of the clock while Marco inspected it to identify the problem when Booth walked into the shop. Right on time.

"Ah, Mr. Booth. I'll be with you in a moment. On second thought, tell me, as one admirer of antiquities to another, do you think it's worth my while having this clock repaired?"

The look August gave when Marco turned to look at him…priceless. And just as perfect as his timing. Now that was all the confirmation that he needed. August Wayne Booth was indeed a son missing his father. It just wasn't him he was missing. It was his creator. Always good to have these little facts straight. Leverage was a beautiful thing. And revenge wasn't half bad either. He'd had to let him live, but there was no reason he couldn't enjoy watching the man suffer in turmoil. Man…perhaps puppet was a better word for it. How ironic after he'd tried to make him a puppet with the dagger.

"I'll take your silence as a yes, then."

"You know, I'm very busy right now. And, uh, I'm just a one-man shop. But, uh, I'll get to the clock as fast as I can," Marco agreed, unknowing that the son he always longed for was only a few steps away.

"I wouldn't ask for anything more."

And with nothing else necessary, Marco scooped up the clock and walked right past his greatest creation without even knowing it. "Good day," he muttered.

August mumbled something, but it was unrecognizable through his shock. He only smiled. Though he longed for the day the Curse would be broken; sometimes, he had to admit…it was a thing of poetry.

"First time seeing dear old dad since you arrived at Storybrooke?"

"I'm so-so-sorry…" August stuttered, clearly still overwhelmed by the experience. But he'd find no pity or grace from him, not after the trick he'd pulled. In fact, he rather enjoyed watching his pain after all that.

"You know, what surprises me is why a man who claims to be at death's door can't even bring himself to say hello to his father. What are you afraid of?" he asked, continuing the torture.

But Booth seemed to be getting control of himself again finally. He smirked almost proudly at him and sighed. "That's, uh…that's my business."

"Oh!" Now he knew the value of privacy. People in glass houses…

He would have been happy to point that out to him, but he knew how to work a situation and work a plan. He prided himself on it. He wouldn't stoop to his level when there were important matters to be discussed. When he'd called, he'd said there was a problem with Emma. What, he wondered, was that?

"Fair enough. Let's talk about ours. You claim to be the only person who can make Miss Swan believe. That you could get her to do exactly what she was brought here to do. And yet, for a man who's running out of time, you don't seem to be in much of a hurry."

"It's not me slowing us down. It's her. All she can think about right now is getting custody of her kid." Emma taking custody of Henry…now that certainly sounded like something that might piss Regina off. That solved part of his problem but not all of it. He needed her focused not on Henry but Regina. He needed them to be angry at each other!

"Sounds like Sheriff Swan needs a course correction," he muttered.

"She's coming to you for legal advice."

"And you want me to steer her toward you?"

"I can get her there, to believing, trust me."

He laughed. "Ah. I'm sorry. It's just that, knowing who you are and your nature, trust is a big ask," he smiled as Booth's faded. That little comment had certainly been worth its weight in…well…for lack of better terms, gold. It sounded as though the stories Gold had read might have more than a kernel of truth to them after all. "Fear not," he muttered, collecting his ledger. "A gentle nudge I shall provide."

Welcome to 1x20 and the start of the last three episodes of this fiction! I must confess, I love everything from here on out. Seriously, I know 1x20 is a lot less involved than the 1x21/1x22 for Rumple, but these three episodes are really where everything comes together, and I love it! I hope that if you've joined me for the journey this long, you'll hang in there with me for just a bit longer as we finally bring this thing home!

Thank you, Alarda and Grace5231973, for your reviews on the last chapter! I know this one is short, and so is the next, but I feel like they are worth it. They may be short chapters, but it's all going to culminate at the end of the 1x20 episode to something very unexpected that will have repercussions on the next fiction and even the one after that! I can't wait for you to read it! Peace and Happy Reading!