They didn't really have time to spare, but he'd seen the importance of taking time to let Belle calm down. She was his motivation. She was his family. And family had always been his core motivation for everything he'd ever done. It was hard to believe that his original plans had been to make a proposal so that declaration would be recognized by all the world. But it didn't matter. Ring or not, he saw her as so much more than a wife. If today was his last and the prophecy came to pass, the fact that he hadn't gotten to ask her formally would certainly be one of his biggest regrets. But to do it now…

It wasn't the right time because there wasn't any time. Her heart rate had stabilized minutes ago. She was calm, girded, he hoped, for what was to come. What was to come was here, or at least it would be the second they left.

"We can't stay here any longer," he finally suggested sadly.

She gave a small nod before finally picking her head up off of his shoulder. He was nearly pushing himself up when he felt her hand along his cheek, and she drew him close and kissed him. It was deep and enticing. And if he had a choice, he'd seal them off in this room and lay her down and make time for-

"We're going to fix this," she muttered when she broke away all too quickly. "And we're going to come back here, and finish that!"

Gods, yes. That was the motivation he needed.

"I love you," he nodded in acknowledgment before kissing her forehead.

"And I love you, too," she echoed perfectly. And before either could say anything else, they rose from the bed. They each finished their dressing, though he had yet to acknowledge that he'd done it just so that he could keep busy while she did it. Then he took her hand, walked her out of the bedroom, picked up the bag he'd left at the bottom of the stairs, and left the house to drive to the shop. He was vigilant as he drove, checking left and right for any sign of Pan in Henry's body or the Shadow. Nothing appeared in the dead of night, and he parked as close as he could to the Shop instead of his usual spot.

He told himself he'd feel better when he had Belle safe in his shop, and he was serious about it. The shop had every protection he could afford it, more than the house did. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that the shop was safe as it could be. But it was empty. No one was waiting out front for them when they arrived. They weren't the only ones who had taken advantage of some time, it seemed.

"Do you need anything?" Belle asked him as he began to spread the items he'd brought out on the back table.

"No," he sighed, placing the bag under the table. "There are a few things I need to remind myself about concerning the Curse and the Black Fairy's wand."

The moment he mentioned it, there was a palpable pause between them he'd not shared with the others at the grave. They didn't know. They didn't need to know. Dealing with one of his parents was enough for one day. But Belle…Belle knew what it was to him, what it would mean.

"Are you okay with what you have to do?" she finally asked quietly.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"After the last time you met…and your relationship being what it is-"

"I won't be upset if that's what you mean. This is hardly a time for petty childhood grudges."

"It's hardly a grudge, Rumple. She's…she's your mother! And after what she did to you, are you really okay using her wand to-"

"Of course," he interrupted, managing to keep his voice calm. "It's one of the perks of our relationship, why I can use the wand for this spell. Blood recognizes blood."

"No, Rumple…" she gave a frustrated sigh and tugged on his arm, pulling his attention away from the book in front of him. "If you do this, will you be all right?"

He let go of a breath and released the frustration that her interrogating had built up. She wasn't questioning because she doubted his idea. She was questioning it because she was worried about him. Even with her fear of her own sanity at risk, she was worried about him. She was worried what effect this brief interaction between him and his mother, no matter how round about it was, would have on him. Hell, given his feelings on the subject, he understood why she was worried. He was worried. But given the trouble with one of his parents, stopping him using the other was almost too deliciously ironic to pass up.

"I'll be fine once my father is under control. And so long as you remain at my side."

She smiled as she nodded. "I won't leave," she promised, then lifted herself up on her toes to give him a quick kiss. That assurance had him feeling relief.

"You should rest," he urged when she settled back onto the floor, and he noted the way she swayed. It had been a long night. The sun would come up soon. He didn't need sleep, but she did, and she should really get some while she still could before the others showed up. But Belle shook her head.

"I don't know if I can."

"Just try. I'll be here all night, and it's hard to tell when you'll get an opportunity to again."

She considered that. He could see her consider it as she glanced at the cot, but he knew even before she said it, just from the way her eyes roamed over the shop, that she wasn't going to do it.

"I think I'd rather clean something…"

His breath hitched at the notion. It was a silly reaction, especially given their situation and that every time she cleaned, his life did seem to shine a little brighter. But cleaning and busy work from her in a time like this…

"Don't worry," she chuckled, looking back at him. "I won't move anything, and I won't leave the shop. I just need something to do with my hands."

Another involuntary hitching of breath. Despite the emergency at hand, his mind knew exactly what he'd been hoping those hands would be doing tonight, and if he didn't focus his attention on something else immediately, then he'd begin to show it in a very private place that he'd regret if the others came bursting in. It was a good time to get back to work.

"I trust you," he excused before turning to look at the book he'd brought with him.

The spell of the Displaced Soul was not complex. It required the paste, an identifier, and a blocker all at once. In theory, so long as Pan's body contained that paste after Henry's soul left his body, it would draw Pan's soul back to it and prevent Henry's from reentering the body. It was meant to be more of a torturous spell, used to expel a soul from its body and then keep it from returning, but in this case, it worked in their favor. Of course, the second that Pan sensed the paste upon him, he could always wipe it off, but…he had an idea for that too.

Belle was in the outer room when he fetched something he hadn't thought he'd have need of for quite some time. Cora's cuffs. If his ability to scent magic was correct, then Regina had a pair of them used on her not too long ago, and there was a reason for that. They were effective. The vindictive bitch, much to his pride and regret, had been a formidable sorceress. Cora had invented several of these beauties, designed to repel outside magic and keep the magic one possessed trapped in the body. Once Henry was gone from Pan's body, they'd need some way to make sure that he couldn't use his magic. And once it was on, Pan wouldn't be able to remove it himself, which meant that if he put the paste on the underside of it, then that should be all that was necessary to trap him.

They'd get Henry back. Regina would destroy the curse. And they…

They'd go home.

He hadn't thought of that until now, not really. He hadn't perceived it for the imminent event that it was, but if all went according to plan…

He looked around his shop, his warm and cozy little back room. Yes, it was small. Yes, it was filled to the brim with objects both helpful and unhelpful. Compared to his tower in their world, he should be happy to see it go, and yet-

A bang from out in the front of the shop had him jumping and nearly lunging for Belle. But when he heard her steps calm upon the floor, he knew better. The others had arrived. There would be time for wallowing about the destruction of Storybrooke later, preferably when he was back at his castle before a fire in the Great Room with Belle imagining all the wonderful things his son would be doing with Emma and Henry. It wasn't how he'd thought all of this would end, but if that was the image he needed to conjure in order to do what needed to be done, then…so be it.

"Sorry we're late," he heard Emma state as he felt Belle open the door and she rushed into the space. She appeared in the back room only a few seconds later with Henry, still in his father's body, Mary Margaret, and Regina. "Regina thought of something, and we had to check it out. Gold, Felix is gone."

There was some shock with that sentence, but no more than the realization that before the night was up, they'd be back in the Enchanted Forest. When he really stopped to consider all that had happened and all that would need to happen, it was a natural thing that Felix should be missing. After all, nothing meant more to his father than loyalty. And Felix had been the most loyal of them all.

"Well, of course, he is, Miss Swan," he sighed, looking back down at the book and considering how much time it would take him to make the paste; five minutes if he stirred by hand, two if he used magic. "The question is: has her Majesty explained to you why that is?"

He wasn't looking, he was too busy and uninterested, but he did feel the weight of attention in the room shift away from him.

"I assumed it would be you he came for!" Regina stated, sounding almost annoyed that he hadn't. "What with your…history and all…"

"Not likely," he corrected. "Felix was always the far more suitable candidate. Though your concern is touching."

"Wait, what are we talking about?" Emma pressed. "Why is Felix missing?"

Regina sighed. "The Curse requires the heart of the thing the caster loves most," she explained.

He looked up at the small intake of breath that Mary Margaret let out. "That's why your father isn't in Storybrooke!" she exclaimed.

"You killed your own father?!" Emma balked at the news.

He had to admit, he was impressed that they'd put that together as fast as they had.

"I did what I had to do, that is not the point now!" Regina snapped. "The point is what or who Pan used to cast this Curse! I assumed…"

His former pupil made a motion in his direction that made assumptions perfectly clear, not that they hadn't been before, but still, they were irrelevant. He wasn't the one his father would have chosen. He'd been a thorn in his side since he'd been born. The Shadow, in fact, would have been the most likely candidate, but since it didn't have a heart, then Felix or one of the other Lost Boys would have been next on the list.

"Well, Felix is gone," Emma said into the silence. "We've accounted for all the other lost boys…Gold, what do we do."

"There's nothing to be done, Miss Swan!" he pointed out as he fought not to roll his eyes. He knew that she liked to save the day, that her instinct would be to go out there and find Felix, to stop this from happening, but if they could do that, then they wouldn't have opted for the plan they were currently in the middle of carrying out. It had taken him more than a hundred years to get the Curse to align in the Enchanted Forest, and now she was about to learn the hardest part of that plan…waiting. "Felix is gone and there is no chance of stopping Pan from casting the Curse. Our only hope now rests with Regina and Henry. We remain here until the others retrieve the wand, in the meantime, everything that can be done has been done.

"I know your skill in the art of patience is minimal, but I think you'll find now is the perfect time to practice."

For a moment, there was nothing but silence in the shop as they all stared at one another. Then Emma let out a sigh, and sank down onto the cot, holding her head in her hands.

He knew that feeling well.

"Henry!" Regina called, bringing his attention to the boy striding back through the curtain into the shop. To do what he didn't know but Regina followed after him, leaving the pair unsupervised in the shop.

"Let her take care of it," Mary Margaret said to Emma. "You have enough on your mind at the moment."

So did he, not the least of which was Regina in his shop when he had to make this paste-

His eyes fell on Belle, and for one brief moment, he knew that she was entirely aware of every thought that he had. She offered a small smile, then a slight nod, and followed the pair of them out into the shop with her broom. It wasn't ideal, but he trusted her. If he couldn't be in two places at once, he was fine with Belle being his representative. As for him, he had a paste to make and a bracelet to coat.

Again, I really wanted to put a nice little moment in here between Rumple and Belle. Their time alone in their bedroom and the shop afterward afforded the time for that and a little bit of retrospect because Rumple is really the only one that truly knows the kind of destruction that is coming for them even if they succeed. Rumple, always the thinker, isn't able to allow himself much time to grieve, he's very invested in the situation, but I still wanted to give him that opportunity.

Thank you rsbeall for your review on the chapter yesterday, and a big thank you to EmmettMcFly55 for letting me know I'm not crazy and Neal totally could have left Storybrooke. You'll see that thought reiterated here as well. Now, just a bit of housekeeping here. Yes, as someone pointed out yesterday, this should be the last week of this fiction, and we are down to the last few chapters (if that's not entirely obvious). However, I've got a hurricane heading right this way. I'm not on the coast, so I'm not under evacuation, but this is going to be a rough one. If the eye doesn't directly hit us, then it's going to dance around us. Power wise I don't know what to expect. So...in theory, I'm back again on Thursday. But seeing as how Wednesday night through Thursday night is going to be the worst of it, there's a chance I won't have power and when I get it back, if the storm is only ending on Friday is iffy. So, for these last few chapters, if they're not posted when you expect them to be, then be patient with me. Once my power is back on, I'll get them out to you with the same schedule I've been following. Fingers crossed that I keep power, and it won't be that big a deal. Stay safe, everyone! Peace and Happy Reading!