It was a long, quiet walk back to the shop. She hadn't said a word to him since they'd left the ship, but he tried to think positively…she also hadn't stopped touching him since they left the ship. He dared to hope, to deduce that was a sign of some kind.

He also took it as a sign that she didn't leave his side once they'd arrived back at the shop. When they returned, they'd both gone inside, looked at the damage that the pirate had done, and sighed. He'd deal with that in a moment, for now, the shawl was the critical thing, and for that, he immediately wandered out of her grasp, across the room, and placed it safely back in his vault. The safe was damaged, unable to lock, but just having it in its place was a relief. Only once he was done did he allow himself to look back at her across the room. She avoided his gaze, cast her eyes to the ground and around the damage, and then he snapped his fingers so that magic filled the shop, and just like that, all was well. Only not. The shop was repaired, he was able to turn and lock the shawl away in his safe again, everything physically between them was in order, but everything between them…

It felt like there was an ocean of space between them. It was hard to believe that only hours ago, he'd had her in this room and felt closer to her than he ever had, and yet now he felt distant, not just physically. There was space between them, a crevice of silence where there hadn't been one before. Not because of secrets…but because of truth.

"I'm uh…going to lay down for a bit," she muttered, motioning toward the curtain. He meant to give a slight nod, but the gesture never came, and the sound of her heels on the floor, the sole noise in the room, threatened to undo him. He was happy that she wanted to stay, glad that she was going to stay, but the fact of the matter was he suspected it was far more a sign of distrust than affection or even fear as it had been when Archie had died.

When Archie had died…

He waited until he heard the cot groan under her weight before he sighed under the weight of it all.

Archie was alive. Where? He didn't know. He didn't rightly care. He'd probably gone right for Emma, or Mary Margaret and David, knowing him. They'd figure out about Hook, decipher whatever the fuck he'd been babbling about an older woman while Belle had been at his mercy. They'd probably come to find him before the day was out for details he wasn't entirely sure he was ready to give to them, but it wouldn't matter.

She already had the truth.

He replayed the day over again in his head, recalled what he'd said to her before they'd come back to the shop earlier, remembered what he'd refused to tell her about how Milah had died, stating that it didn't matter. And he remembered what Hook had shared on the deck of his ship, right in front of her. "Rip my heart out. Kill me like you killed Milah." Any other average woman might not have caught that, given the situation. But Belle was more intelligent than that. She'd heard. She'd know what it meant. And any other ordinary woman might have been easy to persuade that it was a lie, that he hadn't done anything even if he had. Any other woman would trust him. She wouldn't. She would see straight through it and into the truth. She knew that he'd been the one who killed Milah. She knew that he'd crushed her heart. Hell, she was so bright she'd probably even deduce that he'd done it in front of Hook.

He'd listened to her in the end, obeyed her command instead of the Dark Ones', but was it enough to salvage what was between them? He'd stopped listening to Zoso for her. Because he wanted her more than he wanted to kill Hook. But listening to the silence between them, he wasn't sure it would do any good. They might have broken anyway.

But it was the fact that he wasn't sure that she was still here, that they might still have a chance to put this together that he didn't leave the shop, give in to his desires, and kill Hook now that kept him there. That was probably part of why she stayed. To make sure that he did.

They had to talk about this…

He'd come this far. They'd come this far. He couldn't lose her now to his base nature, to his utter stupidity, to Hook!

He moved and, in the back, he caught a sound that suggested movement from the cot. When he moved through the curtain, he saw that she was settled into the cot, eyes closed, body relaxed, as if in sleep.

But she wasn't asleep.

No…he knew her too well, watched her sleep enough to know what she looked like when she was truly at rest. That wasn't it. Aside from all that, her heart was racing, and she smelled not just of salt and sea and brine but anger and sadness as well.

He swallowed hard as he looked her over. They'd been in this place before. They'd been to a place where they'd been angry at one another because he hadn't shared information, and she'd gone to bed, and he'd stayed away until he decided it was the right time to talk. She'd pretended to be asleep, but he'd insisted and…

Problems. The conversation that followed had been fine, but the false deal that ensued because he'd pushed had only created problems. And now it felt like history was repeating itself, and he knew the solution for it. The solution was to change. The solution was to be different. They were both so much different than when they'd had that first fight, unbeknownst to her, about the curse at the town line. He'd changed. She'd changed him. And she wasn't the same person that she'd been then either. She was still brave and fearless, just as she'd always been at his castle, it was that same bravery and fearlessness that made him want to kill her on days like today for getting herself into trouble on his behalf, but now she was also wise. She knew this world, knew enough to survive today when he was sure she wouldn't have weeks ago. She wasn't innocent or virginal anymore; she was his anchor when he was adrift, the one thing in this world that kept him going when the voices inside threatened to overwhelm him, and he was damn sure that if he was to find Baelfire and bring him back here, he was going to need her. He was going to need her guidance and wisdom, her body and her soul. So, he was going to change.

He wanted to talk to her. But he knew the route that they might take if he forced it. So he'd wait for her. He'd wait for her to decide she was ready to talk. He'd give her the first word. And until then…

He summoned his wheel down to him with his magic, sat down before it, and began his work. It was a ridiculous habit to have at a time like this. He'd nearly killed a man, lost his son, lost his love, all barely an hour ago, and yet now he sat and, instead of destruction, chose creation. Wool into thread; not gold. He breathed deep as he monitored her, waiting for her body to show signs she had actually dropped off to sleep instead of pretending. It never did. And so, he sat and spun and waited. Waited for her to say something. Waited for Emma and her parents to storm in. Waited for someone to demand answers there were no use in hiding. He waited for what would come next, realizing too late that it was surely not what he'd had in mind when Belle had suggested they test the potion and then go back to his house for the night. Yes, that was certainly no longer a-

"What time is it?"

He reached out to still the wheel at her voice behind him. He wanted to cry out for joy that she'd spoken to him. He wanted to take her in his arms and apologize. He wanted to talk. It took every bit of control he had to simply turn his head in her direction and not his body.

"Nearly sundown," he whispered, his heart suddenly slamming against his breastbone so he was confident she could hear it from there, even with her human ears.

Suddenly she rose from the cot, straightened her clothes, wiped at her face, and took a step closer to him. She laid a hand against his shoulder. "We should probably head out to the town line."

There was a lump in his throat, something hallow that wouldn't allow him to speak. Head out to the town line…as they'd planned, as if nothing had changed?

He couldn't stop himself from turning his body to look at her, to search her face as if anticipating a trick. He expected it even at the same time that his head told him she wouldn't do such a thing, that she was incapable. She didn't fool or trick; she never lied or cheated. With Belle, she said what she meant. It was what he loved about her more than anything in the world.

She sighed then, and he watched a shiver pass over her body as she leaned down and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You need to find your son."

He sat up taller, leaned his head over so that he could press himself into her touch, suddenly overwhelmed beyond words at how much he loved her and adored her. Oh, he didn't care what Baelfire thought, when he got home, when all was finally settled, he was going to marry her. Or, at the very least, he was going to ask her to marry him. After Milah, he would never have thought there would be another person in the world he wanted that with. And yet, after a day like today, her still here; if they could conquer this, then they could conquer anything. Baelfire, the boy who would undo him, maybe even his curse. If it meant an eternity at her side…that was what he wanted.

I know it seems like this chapter is filler, but really, this chapter is the one that brings us full circle, and the next one is really just sort of "extra." The theme for this fiction was the relationship between Rumple and Belle. Yes, he does other things throughout this fiction, and getting out to find Baelfire is undoubtedly a theme. Still, at the end of the day, Rumple and Belle developing their relationship was always what it was about. And this chapter, this chapter where he is again determined to marry her and do what he can to keep her had his side, determined to figure a way out of their future and maybe even out of his curse, this chapter is...well...pardon the expression, but it's golden!

Thank you, Grace5231973, for your review of the last chapter. There's only one chapter left here, and I think that we all know where that is going. If you are ready, then let's conclude our tale, sad as that conclusion may be. Peace and Happy Reading!