He'd kept himself busy in the last few days, there was plenty to do.
He kept Dove out and about in Storybrooke, keeping him in the loop on things that were going on, hoping to get some kind of word about Regina, but nothing ever transpired. At least nothing of consequence. His source informed him that she appeared to be spending her time at home and "at the office," which was a shock to him as Regina wasn't supposed to be playing the role of Mayor and yet, she appeared to. Dove informed him that there had been very little movement from her each day aside from sticking to her schedule. She got up in the morning, picked up the paper before going back inside. Then she went to Town Hall and stayed there until evening came when she went back to her empty home, turned the lights on, and wasn't seen again until the next morning. That was good…and it was bad.
All it really meant was that while Regina wasn't causing trouble right now, she could potentially be plotting. He hoped, truly hoped that when David said Henry had gotten to her that he'd really gotten to her. It was his hope that she'd abandon her thirst for revenge and just let life continue to go on. If she could manage that then there might be some kind of redemption for her down the line. He could see Henry and perhaps even Emma learning to trust her again and having a relationship with her. That would be something that would keep her steady and out of the way, at least until his vision came true and Robin Hood became important to her. But if she couldn't manage it...that would mean that no matter how nicely she played now, eventually, she'd be back for her revenge. History taught him that was the most likely scenario, but with Henry around there were new players with the potential to change her. Only time would tell what she would do.
Mary Margaret had been seen out and about almost as little as Regina. David appeared to be working with Emma. Henry had returned to school and Mary Margaret was supposedly taking a sabbatical though he figured she was probably still cooped up in her apartment. And Baelfire…he'd seen neither hide nor hair of him since Cora. He'd had hope that after he'd helped Mary Margaret last week, he'd have approached him but they'd apparently both been busy. Henry had been seen more and more frequently with his father around town. Occasionally Emma accompanied them, like when they'd gone out of town for a day a few days ago. Dove's report as he spied them leaving in Emma's bug was that the three appeared to almost be one big happy family. And then a wrench had been thrown in their direction just this morning.
Dove had called earlier today, apparently, the town was buzzing about a brand-new visitor, one besides the stranger that had nearly run over him and had yet to leave. It was a woman named Tamara. She was Baelfire's fiancé. Oh, he'd wanted so badly to be a fly on the wall for that conversation with Emma, to watch them all; their interactions, their behaviors…but his damn curiosity had always gotten the better of him and these last few days was no different. Instead of being a fly on the wall himself, he'd settled for a bird in the trees while he'd gone off to do his own work. There were magic beans in town, at least that was what Mary Margaret had said. It wasn't like him to let a little detail like that slip. On the contrary, it was like him to obsess over it and hunt those beans down until he found them.
So these last few days while Baelfire and Emma had been rediscovering each other, while Henry and his son had been bonding, and while Tamara had arrived on the scene he'd spent his time hunting. Hours ago, just after lunch, he'd finally found something. Not beans. He wished he'd found beans. No, what he found out in the middle of nowhere was a stretch of land that reeked of Fairy Magic. There was nothing there, as far as his memories could tell him nothing had ever been there. There was no magical signature to indicate the magic beans were there, but the Fairy Magic was so heavy he was almost certain that he could be holding a bean and not sense it over the Fairy Magic.
That was telling enough for him. He hadn't been able to find the beans elsewhere, there was suddenly a stretch of land that was protected by Fairy Magic, and…oh yes, when he'd tried to enter into that land to see if his hunch that it was an illusion was right, he'd been repelled. The Light Magic had prevented his own Dark Magic from entering. A typical Fairy move. And a typical move for the Charmings to seek out the help of the fairies when they were worried about Regina. About the only good thing, he could assure himself of was that being kept out of it himself was likely what they would deem a "happy coincidence". It wasn't that they wouldn't want to keep him out but given the circumstances he felt certain they'd done what they'd done to keep Regina's hands off the beans. It was unfortunate for him, but given the circumstances, he didn't mind it so much. Keeping Dark Magic out meant that the only people capable of using it were people who possessed Light Magic. No, he didn't particularly like that, but he felt confident enough that at least in their hands they would make sure that no one took Belle from him with a bean.
But that was a small comfort given the fact that he hadn't seen her in a week. He sat in the back room on the cot, rubbing his face and staring down at the cell phone in his hand. There was no one on the other end of the line, not anymore, but how he wished there was. And how he wished it wasn't just "anyone" on the other end of the line or the nurse who had called him damn near every day since he'd left, but Belle herself. He wanted to see her. And when the nurse had called just now, she'd finally told him what he'd been longing to hear all week, he should come by. Calling to tell her that he was dying had in fact upset her, but according to the woman she was doing much better the last couple of days. The doctors had found a good combination of medications and while that thought made him cringe, he was happy to hear that she was adjusting. She was calm, the nurse said. In fact, she was hopeful that in the next few days the doctors might even make the decision to discharge her.
"Discharge her where?" he'd growled mostly to himself.
"To you, I would assume," she'd answered. "You are the only one listed on her emergency contact. Widow Lucas' granddaughter was here once but she didn't take well to her, and the doctors won't release her to no one's care and a room at the inn. They'll want her to go home to someone who can watch her and help her."
In other words, him…
He was happy to hear that news initially. For once he agreed wholeheartedly with the doctors, as long as Baelfire and his fiancé and the stranger who'd almost killed her were at the inn, then he didn't really want her there. But taking her back home with him in her state. He was going to need to think about that one.
"Gold!" His name rang out at the same time the bell over his shop chimed. Emma Swan. That was interesting. He wasn't expecting her. Phone in hand he quickly checked for messages from Dove. No text messages, but there was a phone call he'd missed while he'd been on the phone with the nurse. He'd left a voicemail, but with Emma in the front room shrieking his name-
"Gold!"
"You know, hollering at the top of one's lungs doesn't actually make the individual you seek move faster, Miss Swan," he commented as he moved into the front room.
"We've got to talk."
"And coming off as crass doesn't exactly inspire cooperation."
"Oh, I promise, this conversation leads to something you want. Or perhaps I should say 'want back'."
He eyed her carefully. A mysterious offer given with a single tantalizing detail…interesting approach. In fact, it was one that the Dark One's couldn't turn down and something Emma had never done before. Coincidence…he doubted it.
"Someone's been talking to Baelfire."
"He said that might get your attention."
"It's fun, isn't it? The two of you…back together again…tell me, what is the woman meant to be my son's wife like?"
Emma narrowed her gaze in his direction. He'd touched a nerve. That was worth noting.
"You've been working on a memory cure, for Belle…" she prompted ignoring the comment.
"'Working on' being the optimal phrase," he admitted. He felt like he'd been doing nothing but "working on" magic since he returned and Cora died. He'd set out to find the beans and he'd found them. He'd analyzed, deconstructed, amplified, and bottled a bit of the dreamshade poison he'd found on a bloody rag, sensing it was better to keep it for a rainy day than waste it. And throughout all of that, even since he'd left for New York City, yes, he'd been thinking through options for Belle. But nothing had gotten beyond the "Theory Phase". So far, everything he thought of it had a flaw that wouldn't work. But that didn't mean he was giving up. He was determined to find something that would work for her. Keeping busy in these last few days had helped him with that.
"I've got to ask you something. August…he's turned back into Pinocchio."
He let his eyes reflect a bit of the surprise he felt at that comment. "You've found August."
"Mary Margaret did. He was living in an RV in the woods. He was hiding out, turning back to wood."
"Hiding out"…of course, he was "hiding out" but it wasn't because he was turning to wood, it was because he'd been hiding from him.
"He was turning to wood long before he was hiding, Miss Swan."
She really didn't find that significant.
"Puppet then…no moving, no living, just…wood."
"I see. Well then how lucky he's finally turned up…" Just in time for the debt he owed him to be worthless. No wonder he'd continued to die, hiding out in the woods instead of fulfilling his promises wasn't exactly…what were the terms? Selfless, brave, and true? He hadn't cared to follow through on his deals, why should he make one for Booth. "Yes. I've been working on a memory solution for Belle, can I ask what that has to do with August."
"Before he died, he was trying to warn us about something."
This time he appeared stoic before her, despite the shock and confusion that came with the statement she'd just made. Perhaps he should have listened to Dove's voicemail after all.
"August Booth is dead?"
"The curse overtook him; he became wood again."
That wasn't a curse, it was just magic not getting its end of the deal. It wasn't much different than what happened to him physically in the Enchanted Forest when he hadn't extracted payment for his magic.
"Well, I'm afraid Miss Swan that it was Light Magic that turned him into a real boy, it'll take more of it to help him now. You're more likely to be able to help him than I am."
"Actually, the Blue Fairy already helped with that," she corrected quickly. "She turned him back into a boy just now. A human one…a real one…" she finished with a stutter. He couldn't help but smile at the way she said it, at the way she was obviously still feeling awkward saying it all, even after a trip of her own to the Enchanted Forest.
"Worry not Miss Swan, soon you'll become accustomed to magic in your life and making these kinds of requests…deals, if you will, they'll be the most natural thing in the world."
"Deal with the devil, if Mary Margaret is to be believed."
He let out a snort. Naturally, she'd have said that. "Like it or not my plans work, Miss Swan. Which is why you are here. So…as I've said, yes, I've been working on memory solutions for Belle, can I once again ask what this has to do with August."
She didn't like being there, didn't like being sized up or spoken to as she was. But the way that she set her jaw now told him that she was going to bite her tongue about it…at least for now. "When he came out of hiding, he was trying to warn us about something, but he changed into wood. The Blue Fairy helped him, changed him back into a boy, but now he can't remember what he was trying to warn us about."
"And you seek a way to bring back the memory."
She nodded. That was a shame.
"The memory is gone. I'm sorry," he explained without sympathy.
"Gone? You're sure?"
"If she'd simply been able to transform him back into a man then he'd be able to, but to transform the brain like that…tell me, did my Baelfire tell you what I offered him in New York."
"Yeah, take him back to fourteen."
"Well, the pair of you have been chatty, haven't you," he muttered. He'd asked the question, but he was almost disappointed to hear the response. "There was a reason for that offer. To take him back to fourteen is to remove memories he would have had before."
"It would have been a reset."
"He'd have awakened in this world with me, no memories of anything after fourteen."
"And what?" she snarled. "You were just going to keep him ignorant after that? Keep him like Regina kept Henry?"
"I hadn't gotten to that part yet when it was suggested. I made that offer out of emotion and desperation rather than wisdom," he admitted recalling that the offer had been an instinctive one. He hadn't gone to New York with a plan in mind and certainly had not planned for that offer. But now that he thought about it, that wouldn't have been a half-bad thought. Of course, there was no use fretting over that deal now, not when there was an unfinished one on the table.
"And now it is your turn to fulfill your deal to me, Miss Swan. What exactly do you have that I'll want back?"
Finally, a smile spread across the girl's face and she leaned a bit closer over the cabinet. "Your car is parked in the Parking Lot by the Rabbit Hole."
That was…not what he'd expected. His car was…it was in Boston last he'd checked. They'd driven it to the airport when they'd gone to New York, and he'd planned on collecting it when they returned but then they'd taken the ship. He'd been using magic to get around since he returned, aware that somehow, he was going to have to get it back but there had been too much going on to really consider how to do that. Now it was here? Only a block over? Emma knew? Had she…
Suddenly everything fell into place. "That's where you went a few days ago with Bae and Henry."
She shrugged. "We made a day trip out of it. You owe me three hundred dollars in parking fees," she muttered pulling a receipt out of her pocket and setting it before him. It was the parking fee from the airport.
"This says $236, Miss Swan."
"The rest is the tip and gas," she muttered.
Gas…it had been a bit low when they'd parked it. It would have needed a new tank to get home as well as…
"My keys have been on my persons from the moment we left, how did you get it started?"
This time it was Emma that offered an amused snort and turned to leave. "Not the first car Neal and I have hotwired. It's fun, isn't it? The two of us together again."
"Touché…" he muttered as she left the shop.
So many of you wondered what I was going to do to account for 2x18 since Rumple isn't in that episode but a lot of important stuff in Storybrooke starts to happen. Well, here's the answer, a filler chapter of loose ends tied up all prettily. This was actually pretty perfect as the timeline did finally allow for a little bit of time to be added in between the two episodes, not a lot but just enough to do some important things like have Rumple get the car back (because we know that we never saw that happen on the show and yet there it was later in the season!), find the Magic Beans (because you know he wouldn't just let that go), and of course get his hands on Dreamshade and stash it away for a rainy day after analyzing it (wonder when that will be useful again). Is it filler? Yes, but like all filler chapters, it's important in its own way.
Thank you so much for your comments on the last chapter rsbeall, I really hope that this filler chapter meets your satisfaction. I know there's not a lot going on here but...the troubling thing is that there is a lot going on here. Here's the thing, 2x19-2x22 is about to start and we all know that Rumple is kept really busy with Belle during that time, but the main plot is happening away from them, which meant that I had to get creative and find ways to let that bleed through while Rumple is busy. As we journey deeper into the last sections of season two, I hope you'll appreciate some of the setup that had to take place in this filler chapter and others like it. Even something as simple as "hey, Regina was never elected and officially kicked out last time we checked, but for some reason, she's still going to the Town Hall and filling out paperwork and doing her job." I find that if that's not brought up before that moment, then it feels awkward and clumsy. Bring it up in a chapter like this and it's established and makes sense. Peace and Happy Reading!