He was furious. He could have killed her. Them! The union between Prince Charming, David, and the Bandit Snow White was possibly the most important part of this plot. Getting Regina ready, getting his collection in order, stealing the Curse, none of that mattered if Snow and David never met or fell in love because then he wouldn't have the Swan, the Savior, to break his Curse and take him to Baelfire!

Oh, he hoped, hoped with all his might, as he whisked them away to his castle that this was all a mistake. Perhaps the girl wasn't the Swan. Perhaps she was the daughter of some other random couple he'd brought together and simply thought too highly of herself. He had no proof that she belonged to Snow or to David. Blonde hair like that? Not in either family, not as far as he knew. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that she looked like the Swan. And she was with the pirate. This could be a plot. Probably Jones was using the poor girl for revenge! He'd sailed the seas, Ursula could have told him about the Curse if they'd ever come across one another in their travels.

He'd nearly convinced himself it was a lie! Until the visions he'd had sitting at the table came back to him. How could the future change that drastically all at once unless it was so? And then there was the idea of the product of True Love. No one, not Belle or Cora or the Blue Fairy, could have told her that information. A lucky guess? Oh, how he hoped it was.

One thing was abundantly clear, he had to get to the bottom of this. He had to see if she was telling the truth, if they were both telling the truth. If they weren't, he had to protect himself. He'd kill them, happily and without doubt for such a deception. If they were, he had to protect everyone and everything he'd worked for all these years. He needed to set history back on track. And he wasn't going to do it in the forest.

"This way…" he growled, leading them from the foyer into the Great Room. Belle's heartbeat was somewhere upstairs and out of the way. The Great Room was the best choice considering he wasn't about to let Jones into his tower lest he really want something from him. He needed to approach this carefully, to see what they wouldn't reveal to see how much they knew before he could help them. If he could help them. When he'd brought them back to the castle, he'd purposefully lowered the hood on the girl's cloak. She did bear a striking resemblance to the Swan, but so could half a dozen women he could find right now. It proved nothing. Not until they proved beyond a shadow of a doubt they were who they said they were, or rather she was who she said she was.

"Thank you, Mr. Gol-Rumpelstiltskin, for believing us," the girl breathed, accepting his hospitality falsely as help. "I know that time travel is hard to swallow."

"Not as hard as the other mystery you've presented me," he stopped mid-room, noting happily what he already knew. It was set up as he'd left it for Belle, but she wasn't here. Close by, yes, a floor above, perhaps but not here. Saddened as he was that she hadn't taken the day to relax as he'd hoped he was also quite happy about that. He wanted to keep her away from all of this if she could manage it.

"Why haven't I killed him?" he questioned first, pointing at Killian Jones. It seemed a safe question. They were from the future, a future where he would need the Swan desperately to find his son. If the Swan was here now with Hook and the Swan had already confessed that he'd found his son in their time, then one might easily conclude he knew Hook in this other time as well. So, if he'd vowed to kill the pirate, how was it he was still alive?

"If it makes you feel any better, it wasn't for lack of effort," Killian shrugged. "Let's just say we bury the hatchet."

"Yes," he laughed as he pirate looked around. "But why not in your skull?" He wanted details. There wasn't a single scenario in his head where he would allow the wife-stealing slug to live. That on its own was just as suspicious as his interest in the décor! Until he heard all too late what held the pirate's attention.

Footsteps…Belle.

"Oh! Rumpelstiltskin you're…you're back!" she smiled, looking between the pair of them and at him again, a feather duster in her hand. He let himself take a couple of steps back as he considered her intrusion. He wanted her nowhere near any of this, least of all near Jones, not until he had every confidence he knew what the pirate wanted here. "Do you, uh, do you need anything?"

"Belle!" the blonde-haired woman gasped, turning to look at her. He took a gulp of air in an effort to relieve the sudden tension he felt at her appearance and recognition. Belle noticed. The woman seemed shocked to see Belle. Belle seemed shocked that someone had known her name. He was shocked that Belle was a familiar face to the pair of them. Why, he wondered, was he feeling suddenly nervous? If they were who they said they were, then one might deduce that they knew her from the future, but if they were lying and they were from this time and carrying out some plot then Belle might betray them and put herself in danger. That was the last thing he wanted. Why hadn't he suggested she take the day off and read up in the library!

"So…do we know each other?"

He let his breath out at her response. Not a familiar face to her then. There was no danger unless she was in on the plan and just going along with it, and he'd known her long enough by now to know that she was incapable of doing such a task as well as this. Lying was not his maid's forte. That would suggest then that their story was true. They knew Belle from the future, just as they knew him…did that make things better or worse?

"Oh…sorry…no," the girl stuttered awkwardly, suddenly looking down and away as if to hide her face. "Um…Mister…Rumple…The Dark One, um, told me about you."

Oh, that was certainly not the right thing to say to get her to leave the room! He knew that even before he saw her face light up at such a suggestion.

"Did he?" she questioned with a smile in his direction.

"No!" he denied, stepping in between them so he could get rid of her properly and without causing a problem. "Go away and read a book, or whatever it is you like to do," he ordered, shooing his hands at her and opening she'd get the message to leave them be.

He knew she would. She was a smart woman and had learned much in her time here. She knew better than to interrupt his business meetings. At least he hoped she did.

"Come back and clean later."

"You could ask nicely," she pointed out in a teasing manner.

"I could also turn you into a toad!" he remarked. He smiled as he pointed, despite telling himself not to. She gave him a look, one that knew he wasn't serious before she finally turned to leave, and he let out a sigh of relief. One problem handled, back to the bigger one.

"It's a miracle you two fall for each other."

He let out a laugh to cover the choke that had nearly made him break into a cough. The Alleged Swan Girl hadn't just said what he thought she'd said…had she?

"What?!" he questioned, making sure that Belle was well out of the room, checking her heartbeat to be sure she was far enough away that she couldn't hear anymore or stumble upon them again. It was one thing for him to get ideas, it was another thing for her to get crazy thoughts. The way she read books, she would fall in love with a story like what this girl was presenting and if she made an effort to make it come true…she was the last thing he needed right now. "I mean, first you tell me I let the Pirate live. Now you're telling me I fall for the help."

"Yes. She has a strange sense of humor. But let's get back to her parents," Hook interrupted awkwardly, with a false laugh and smile that reminded him of something. Where had he seen a look like that before?

"Yes." Better yet, when it came to the Pirate, why did he care? The girl's parents were the key here; the parents she claimed to have interrupted but hadn't actually proved she belonged to. She hadn't spoken a single name since she'd been here, not even her own. "Who are they?" he questioned, turning to sit down in Belle's seat at the end of the table; hoping, praying that she would give him any answer besides the one he wanted to hear.

"Snow White and Prince Charming."

Damn.

"Prince Charming?" he repeated the name as if he thought it was precious, but in reality, he was trying to keep his temper cool. Up until now, there was only one person to use that name, and it was the Seer. That did not bode well for his future.

"His real name is Prince James."

Was it now?

"King George's son, whose wedding I've just arranged?"

"See, that's what I'm trying to tell you. This marriage isn't supposed to happen because the ring he was going to give her gets stolen by Snow."

The vision he'd seen of the royal pouch with a ring in it. He'd seen Snow White attack the caravan before it had faded and what actually had played out also played in his mind.

Damn it all…she knew everything. She hadn't given any indication that she knew that James was actually David, but that was easily explained away by assuming he never told anyone; like mother like son. Dammit! He'd just seen David go tell his mother good-bye. And he'd just had the thought a few days ago that the power was with the right people that it might be a secret that remained that way for the rest of his life. Perhaps that was what had happened. Still, this was very bad news.

"It's quite a tale you're spinning," he muttered, trying to cover his fear.

They were supposed to meet. She was supposed to steal a ring he was to give to her. A ring...the same damn ring he'd seen Ruth give to David when she'd gone to him. Fuck. It was true. How was he supposed to fix this?

"Here, let me show you. It's in the book," the Swan exclaimed. He watched as Hook made himself busy with the bag that was slung over his shoulder. From within it, he pulled out what appeared to be a thick book, and though the Swan grabbed it from him quickly, he caught a glimpse of the title "Once Upon a Time…" on its cover. From the depths inside his mind, Nimue jumped to attention. He kept a gentle smile on his face as the girl quickly rushed forward to show him the object. She opened it before him to the back of the book where there were nothing but blank pages and-

"Wait. What?" she gasped. At first, he couldn't guess at what had her so distressed, and then, for the first time in well over a hundred years, without the command of the dagger, Nimue started whispering. Suddenly he knew what he was looking at. And suddenly he knew what he wasn't looking at. It was the proof he needed.

"It's all gone. Anything that was supposed to happen after they met has disappeared."

"The Ripple Effect," he announced, feeling glad he was sitting down and was still capable of putting on a show. He felt light-headed as he understood. He understood everything they were saying, and he wished he didn't. He was going to be sick. Worse, if he didn't fix this, if Snow White and David didn't meet, if they never had the girl before him, if Merlin's author never finished the pages of his book, then the Swan's words were true. He'd never see Baelfire again.

No. No, he refused to give into that kind of thinking. He'd come this far, too far to let the little girl that was supposed to be his salvation be his destruction. He had to fix this and quickly. Every day that the Prince and Princess didn't know each other was one day less to conception. It was one more day away from Baelfire.

"Once you change something in the past, anything from that point forward becomes uncertain. The future, as you can see..." he explained, turning a page to one that was fully written out and illustrated, "is a blank page."

All our lives are stories Rumpelstiltskin, stories that other realms will tell one day. The Red Fairy had said that to him in his youth, when she'd first told him about who his mother was and wanted him to move on. Nimue whispered words of an author's pen, and now this…they'd both been telling the truth.

"We need to get Snow to steal that ring, so we can put their story back on track."

"You're in luck," he informed her, feeling glad he'd been watching the journey from George's Kingdom to Midas'. They'd arrived just this morning. George and Midas both wanted the union sealed quickly, and that left them with little time, but just enough opportunity to get things to work again. The Engagement Party. "There's a ball tonight at King Midas' castle. Prince James will be there, and so will his ring."

"So, we just need to get Snow there," the Swan realized.

"How? We don't even know where she is," Jones muttered.

Now that was a problem all too easy to solve, and this was two so long as he had two individuals willing to do the grunt work. They could get the lovers to meet, and he could figure out what to do with them when they were done.

He cleared his throat and drew their attention back to him. "Allow me," he stated before walking over to the table he'd left his crystal ball on. He waved his hand over it, and what greeted them was a soundless image of a cloak he knew belonged to dear Snow White and another pirate in a tavern. Small world.

"There she is," the Swan breathed.

"She's with Black Beard. She's trying to secure passage on his ship."

He hated to admit it, but it seemed that the Pirate's conclusion was an accurate one. Right up until the pirate in the ball stood up and walked away, leaving a shadow of a money bag behind. That was easy enough for him to read: no deal. "And, it appears failing."

"She can't escape the Queen without the money she's supposed to get for the ring," the Swan realized, her eyes going wide as she glanced over at Jones. "Can you help us?" she asked again.

"Help you?" he questioned. He had little choice in the matter if he wanted to see Bae again, but that didn't mean he was going to let them know that. "I can work on getting your portal to the future open again, but getting your parents together? You made that mess, dearie. Only you know what you did. Now go, undo it."

He left the pair of them there to discuss their options. The truth was, he would have loved to help a bit more than just on figuring out the next steps, but he also believed in not overwhelming himself and stepping where he shouldn't. The girl had a story in her head. One that she knew and not he, one that, if she was successful tonight, she and she alone would know forever and for all time for according to the book in front of him, it was being rewritten right now. And he wondered, as he sat down, what did she know? About him? About Hook? About Baelfire? All our lives are stories Rumpelstiltskin, stories that other realms will tell one day. If they were from the future, the future where everything worked the way he wanted it to, then that meant that they would be in another realm where their lives were stories. Could it all be that simple? All written down and recorded and open to him if he simply flipped a few pages.

"Thanks for your help!" Emma exclaimed suddenly, returning to the table to scoop the book, and temptation, away from him. His fingers twitched even as she did it, but he had to reluctantly agree that it was probably for the best.

"Swan, we've got to go!"

"We'll be in touch," she cried over her shoulder as Hook hurried her along.

"Journey safely," he called as they practically sprinted out of the room. Once they were gone and he heard the echo of the door, he shivered. Not for what was going on or what had happened, but because of Jones, because of one little word that he'd said that confirmed everything, leaving no doubts in his mind, not that he'd had many by the time all was done.

He'd called her Swan.

Pretty straightforward chapter, again. There was just one little thing that I had to fix because...it was stupid. So stupid. In this chapter/scene, for some reason, A&E have Rumple acting all shocked about Snow White and Prince Charming getting together, despite the fact that in chronologically past episodes he's shown that he already knows it. Furthermore, at the end of this episode, he takes his memories away, and in episodes that come chronologically later he's shown that he also knows they're going to end up together. So why all of a sudden they write him as being completely clueless was just stupid. I went with the idea that he's testing Emma out of disbelief and maybe even hope that the situation isn't as bad as it appears. After a while it does start to seem like he's interrogating her. And there is some info she has that he does not understand and now never will, so...I'm hoping it works; the before, the present, the after.

Thank you Alarda, Jennifer Baratta, and Grace5231973 for your reviews on the last chapter. As always, they're very much appreciated. I hope you'll like this chapter. There was a lot to put together in it, a lot of emotions to go through, even some hints to drop...but I hope it all comes together smoothly. The next chapter features a lot of discovery and reflection, but I actually really like it, even if it is slow. There's some good Rumbelle stuff coming up in it, trust me! So, without further ado, let's move! Peace and Happy Reading!