Chapter Seventeen

He was under no false impressions that Emma had come barreling out to see him. The woman he loved had nearly hauled their son off his feet, arms wrapped tightly around him and kissing his head. Henry had returned the embrace with more enthusiasm than most teenagers did when their parents smothered them in love and Bae couldn't help but smile. They had a remarkable kid.

Emma finally stepped back when Regina met them in the foyer and she shot him an interesting look. "Quite an adventure."

He chuckled. Most of them had missed the heavy beating that his father had taken in the blast, but none of them had come out completely unscathed. He had a nice line of bruising along his right cheekbone, barely missing a black eye from it, and a knot that had finally gone down some on the back of his head. The others had various visible and not-so-visible injuries, but Emma would have known something was up even if Henry said nothing about it. "You have no idea. What about you? Were you about bored out of your mind while we were gone?" Bae teased.

"Actually, Regina, Belle, and I recruited the sorceress that was just harassing your dad on the way in."

"Maleficent?"

"Did you know her?"

"Well, I've seen the movie," Bae smirked, his hands going to his head as he spoke. "She's missing the hornes."

"She's not when she's full sized."

"Hell," he chuckled, glancing towards the staircase that led to the room his father had disappeared into at first chance. "Well that's going to keep me up at night."

"I think we're okay on that. Unless she decides you're her type, but she seems fixated on Robin lately."

Bae grinned and ran a hand through his hair, glancing past Emma to where Henry was telling Regina a story in wild motions.

"So what happened? Your dad looks like he caught the worst of it, but you're all a little banged up."

"Huh? Oh. We might have run into some trouble where Zelena attacked us and the roof caved in. Don't worry, Pop got Henry out of there."

"The… what?" Emma managed, and he didn't have any warning before she slapped him hard on the arm. "Seriously? What's with you people? Do you give off some sort of signal that attracts danger or something?"

Bae rubbed at the spot on his arm. "Maybe?"

"Are you okay?"

"Well, I was… Until you decided to try to break my arm."

Emma rolled her eyes and hit him again when a small smile started to break through the feigned hurt. "You big baby."

"Nah. I'm good. Henry's good. Papa… will be."

"Not sure we'll know the difference in him locking himself away in his room."

"He's never really been the social sort. Listen, I should probably-"

"Yeah, of course," she answered immediately and he caught the look. It was quick and it was guarded almost immediately, but he knew he'd seen it. It brought a smile to his face and she glared at him again. "Get going. Don't make Belle do all the work with him."

"He can be a lot of work," Bae agreed. "I'll be down for dinner."

There was that look again. "Counting on it."

If she hadn't turned, Bae might not have been able to convince himself to start for the stairs. She did though, so he did, and started up. His dark eyes followed the staircase up the floors and he let out a long sigh. It had been a hellishly long few days and he really wished someone would come up with elevators for these sorts of places. He didn't have magic to teleport him to the top like his dad did.

As if on cue, a door seemed to appear out of nowhere - and likely it did - and Bae shot it a distrustful look. The castle had a personality, he was certain, and sometimes it seemed rather fond of him, shortening distances between places, delivering Emma directly into his path, and that sort of thing. That was on a good day. On the days other than good days, Bae had found himself down in the dungeons, sometimes in the work tower, and often in halls that hadn't seen a single soul since they'd been constructed.

I could build you a palace so magnificent that its shadow would blanket the countryside.

That had been the offer his father had made to him once when he'd still been a teenage boy. All he'd wanted was to see the world - or perhaps just two doors down would have been nice - and to have his papa back. He wondered, as he pushed the door open and stepped through, what had been going through Rumplestiltskin's mind when he built the place. Had be been lonely or just bored? Had this been the castle he had promised to build him if he wanted it? The idea was silly, Baelfire knew, but it was also just a little bit endearing. His papa had always had trouble expressing emotions like normal people did. He felt like he had to make grand gestures to prove his love, when really Bae knew it all along. Well, perhaps not all along, but for the days before the curse and the days since Neverland. He knew, Belle knew, and Henry knew. Really, he was sure that's all that mattered to him.

The castle emptied him out in the hall that both Rumplestiltskin's and his own rooms were located on. Apparently this was a good day.

He started for the door just as it opened, Belle slipping out in a quiet fashion and she turned blue eyes on him, a smile tugging into place. She looked tired and he was sure that his papa hadn't alleviated her worries as much as she probably needed him to. Bae offered her a crooked smile of her own. "Let me guess, he crashed out and didn't bother to tell you a thing?"

"You know your father well. He did manage to tell me that the roof came crashing in on all of you. Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah. I'm good. Of course that'd be the thing he'd mention before passing out."

Belle gave a short, humourless laugh and they took a seat on the top step of the staircase. "So what happened?"

"Zelena attacked, we got suckered into drinking a potion that had it chasing most of us, Papa saved us and the roof collapsed. He got caught under the wreckage and it tore his ankle up pretty bad. Same one as before."

His dad's girlfriend looked a bit sick at that. "I should make sure that he gets that boot off and gets it propped up…"

"If it bothers him, he'll just use his magic to get rid of it. It'll be easier that way."

Her shoulders sagged and Bae could see the helpless sort of look that flickered through her eyes. She wanted to be doing something. Belle was a fixer and when someone was hurting and she couldn't fix them, she felt as if she'd somehow failed them. "Hey," he murmured, "has Pop ever told you how he busted his ankle the first time?"

"He did tell me that story. It took some time to coax it out of him, but we finally got around to it."

"Could you tell me?"

Belle stopped, blinking at him. "You don't know it?"

Bae shrugged. "He'd never say. He had the limp as long as I can remember and I finally got him to say that it happened during the Ogre War he fought in, but he wouldn't go into detail. Anything else I heard was strictly rumour."

"What did you hear?" Belle asked slowly.

He pressed his lips together to stretch back in his memories. It had been so long ago. "Nothing was ever directed at me, just around me growing up. My mom, from what I remember of her, spent a lot of time down at the bar. When we'd go get her the men that she'd be drinking with would say things about Papa." He stopped leaning his head back against the wall behind him and tried to shift through centuries' old memories. He hadn't thought on those particular years in a long time. "I was just a kid. I don't remember them all and I didn't get much of it at the time, but they thought he was a coward. Mom used to say that he did it to himself, whenever his ankle would start acting up."

Belle pulled in a long breath and her sharp eyes were focused on a point behind him as she sorted through the words before speaking them. "He would never tell you this. I probably shouldn't tell you this, but…" She sighed again, closing her eyes this time. "Your father has a terrible habit of underestimating himself. I know that you know that, but you're one of the few that probably does. I know… I know that he spent three hundred years regretting his moment of weakness and that sometimes a mistake will taint his other memories. Ones that proved just how much he loves you."

"I'm not following," Bae managed. "I don't think I was even born when he broke it."

She smiled at him, sad and distant. "Rumple told me that a seer predicted his death. Well, she predicted what he thought was going to be his death. She said that you would be born and that his actions would leave you fatherless."

"That's why he's so stuck on prophecies. Has he told you what he Saw? Why he shoved me down in the basement a few weeks ago?"

"Yes." Belle nodded slowly, lips pursed together as she thought. "Bae, he loves you. He found a way home for you."

The words sunk in after a moment and the truth that Bae had never really been willing to look at in the face sprang up from it. It was true. His mother had always said he'd done it to himself. She'd called him a coward and a deserter when she thought Bae had been asleep or when she'd had too many ales to remember that her little boy was listening. He'd just stood there and took it from her. From everyone. The whispers had never stopped and more than once Bae had watched as he stood quietly back when a merchant at Longbourne let him have it over the fact that her son had died in that same war. He'd never said a word against their accusations, neither confirming or denying it. It was hard to think back on now with the way his father held himself with such pride, but then he'd only looked down and accepted his shame. For him. All for him. "Are you saying he broke his own leg to come home to me?"

"Yes. He wanted to make sure that you didn't grow up like he did."

Bae nodded his understanding, barely able to catch his breath. "I.. um… I'm going to go sit with him for a bit, if you don't mind."

Belle smiled, reaching out to cover his hand with her smaller one. "He loves you," she repeated.

"I know, and I love him."

He watched her go, taking the steps down in her graceful way and leaving him alone on the top where he still sat. Her footsteps had faded by the time he finally rallied himself to stand and move towards his papa's door. Blood magic allowed it to click open softly and he stepped in. Rumplestiltskin was laid out on the bed, wrappings around his ankle peeking out from beneath his pants and his boots were in the corner, likely magicked away to keep from tugging on the injury. He looked so peaceful there, like on the rare occasions that Bae would wake before he would when he was a boy. His papa had worked his fingers raw to take care of him and would have given him the world if he could have.

How about a castle?

Bae snorted softly and thought of grand gestures. You didn't get much grander than shattering your leg to make sure your son didn't grow up without a father.

He moved around the bed, sitting as gently as he could on the empty side and his papa stirred a little, grimacing as he did. Dark eyes blinked open and a smile immediately touched his lips. "Bae."

"Hey there. How're you feeling?"

"A bit worn, but it'll pass."

"Yeah."

His gaze didn't appear nearly as sharp as it usually did, but Rumplestiltskin studied him carefully, brows pulling together in worry. "What's wrong, Bae?"

The younger man blinked and the words caught in his throat. "Nothing," he said tightly. "Everything's great. I just… needed to check on you."

His father chuckled, reaching a hand up in a gesture that had quickly become theirs. Bae caught it and squeezed his fingers tightly. "I'm alright, Bae," he promised.

"I know, Papa. You mind if I stay?"

The smile returned and he settled back in. "I'd like nothing better."

The longer he kept it to himself, the more it felt like lying. The more it felt like lying, the more it ate at him, and that, in turn, reminded him of all the things that could go wrong if he told them. It was a vicious cycle, and while he thought that discussing it with Grandpa Gold again might be the best option, his dad had been with him regularly since they'd come back to the castle, and really he'd just say the same thing he'd said since it happened. Henry needed to tell Neal and his moms. His grandpa had assured him that it was his responsibility and that he wouldn't speak to Neal on it until Henry had. Of course, he'd said all of that not long after it happened and had expected his grandson to get on that. That had been over a week ago now.

"We did it, Henry!"

Henry turned at the small chirp of a voice that had come from behind. Roland stood grinning. "They didn't see me. I was sneaky like you taught me!"

"What happened?" Henry asked, trying to force his mind back to the present. It wasn't like it had happened again after all. Maybe Grandpa Gold would just forget and everything could stay the way it was.

"My papa kissed your mama!"

That brought Henry fully into the conversation. "What? When?"

"Right now!"

Henry took off in a flash, Roland behind him and the two boys went tearing through the Dark Castle. They'd been back for nearly a full day now and between Regina and Emma - and Maleficent, who seemed to have taken a shine to him - he'd barely gotten a breath since he'd come home. He wasn't even sure when this could have started, unless it just had. They'd only been gone a week or so.

"Look," Roland hissed and pulled Henry by the sleeve.

Regina and Robin weren't kissing anymore, but they were standing awful close. Henry felt a grin take over as he watched them and he knew his childhood hero had somehow worked his way around his mom's walls. She was smiling at him, a little shy and a little afraid, and as he lifted a hand up to brush a stray bit of hair back, Henry saw it. "The lion tattoo," he whispered.

Roland looked over, confused, but Henry waves him off. Robin Hood was his mom's True Love and she'd been brave enough to take that step. After so many years of holding onto Daniel, she could finally be happy.

If she could be brave enough to step out and trust someone with her heart, Henry was certain he could be brave enough to tell his dad about the magic.

"Where're you going?" Roland asked as the elder boy slipped out of their hidaway.

"I have to talk to my dad. Good job, Roland."

The little boy grinned brightly and Henry turned to look for his father.

The week that they'd spent at Thomas' castle had felt longer. David supposed that that's what happened when one went from long, terrible meetings with a man that hated you, to being terribly betrayed, nearly dying, and then back to the meetings. He hadn't come away with quite the injuries as Rumplestiltskin had, being right at the center on the blast, but he hadn't gotten entirely away from the falling debris either. He hadn't noticed the gash in his arm until Thomas had pointed it out and it had gotten wrapped up fairly quickly. The adrenaline rush kept him from paying too much attention to it, but as it gradually wore off while speaking to his friend and his father about the betrayal that the king had allowed under his roof - David liked to think he was a fair man, but there were points that needed to be made in that conversation and he hadn't budged an inch on it - he'd thought the other aches were simply from the jolt. It hadn't been until the next morning that he'd noticed the deep bruising setting in along the right side of his ribcage. He'd had it checked and the healers had given him a tea to drink for the pain - which he'd avoided once he realized how much it dulled everything else as well - and had told him to take it easy. Thankfully, there had been no long ride back to the Dark Castle to jar his bruised ribs.

"You know Doc can give you something for the pain now that you're back," Snow said from behind. She carefully wrapped her arms around his middle, linking her fingers loosely and pressing her cheek against his back. Her presence was comforting, something that he always missed when they were apart, and it did seem like that was far too often for either of their tastes.

David turned in her embrace, pressing a kiss to her forehead and wrapping his arms around her. She squeezed a little too hard, but he didn't care. They were there in that moment and that's really what it came down to. "There's still a lot to do," he murmured into her dark hair. "Thomas is on our side and Philip, but it'll still be a war. Rumplestiltskin will need to be back on his feet before we can move forward."

"Do you you trust him?"

The blond prince thought about that for a moment and finally loosed a breath through his nose. "Yes, I think so. He could have left us all to get hit by that surge of power Zelena sent, but he didn't. He did everything he could to protect us."

"Do you think he'll help us take back our home?"

"Snow, I don't think anyone's too worried about holding our castle. It's in ruins right?"

"No," she murmured and turned her determined gaze up to him, but she knew that he knew exactly what she was talking about. This was not the first time she'd brought it up. "My parents' castle. Regina's castle. We should take it back. We can raise our baby there, just like I was raised there."

David grimaced as he thought of a conversation he'd had with a fairly lucid Rumplestiltskin not long after Henry was attacked. Zelena had been after him specifically, not just swiping at anyone she could hurt. She'd told him, the boy himself had confessed, that she thought she could use him rather than Snow White's baby. Rumplestiltskin was certain that the child - and Henry - were the final ingredient of innocence needed for a complicated spell that was meant to defy the laws of magic. He was still trying to find a way to broach the subject with Snow without sending her into full on protective mode of both their unborn child and their grandson.

"Snow, attacking the castle that Zelena and Pan have made their stronghold isn't something we could even look at until we knew we had Thomas' support. We'd have to have just the right set of circumstances to march in there even now though."

"I think we have to try. Otherwise, what are we doing? We're just hiding away in Rumplestiltskin's castle. Family or not, he's going to get tired of us sooner or later and rightfully so. We need to have a home, David. We need to help our people, and we can't do that from here."

David nodded. She had a point. "I'll speak to Philip and Thomas," he promised. "If we have a plan set up by the time that Gold is back to his usual self, he should be willing to lend us a hand."

Snow smiled and kissed him. "We'll be home before you know it."

The first place that Henry looked for his dad was with his grandpa. He'd been in there regularly since they'd come back and he was certain he'd find him there before he managed to talk himself out of it. The door opened for him with a simple touch and Henry could feel the magic working. It was strange, not the same warmth, particularly, that had rushed through him when the magic had lept out at Zelena, but it was still familiar. The magic was tinged with darkness, but it didn't hurt, instead it brought images to his mind and he could almost imagine he were about to step into Mr Gold's pawn shop if he closed his eyes. The feeling, the smell, every part of it. It felt like Grandpa Gold. He needed to remember to ask him if all magic was that unique, or if it was just because his grandpa's was so strong.

Rumplestiltskin was sitting up on his bed, right leg propped up and a book in hand. He looked up immediately, probably sensing Henry's entrance before seeing him, but a fond sort of smile crossed his features when he spotted him. It was the kind that Henry was very sure he reserved for only a very select handful of people and he was more than happy to have made it onto the list. "Hello, Henry," he greeted and laid the book aside. "What can I do for you?"

Henry grinned, taking the invitation and stepping all the way in. "How're you feeling?"

"Oh, better. It'll take some time yet."

"I still don't get why you couldn't have just healed it instantly. I mean.. you could have, right?"

"I'm capable of doing it, yes, but it wouldn't have healed correctly. There would have been more complications than it's worth. The bones were broken in several places," he said, hands dancing as he explained, "and while magic can do much, the body itself does have limitations. The price for a quick fix of a broken bone is a badly mended one. I'd likely be back on the cane for the rest of my days with that, and while limping around Storybrooke wasn't too bad, the Enchanted Forest is something else entirely. Saying that, though, it won't take nearly as long to heal with the spells I have working on it as it would had I simply let it heal naturally."

Henry nodded, soaking the information in. Grandpa Gold had told Neal that he wouldn't teach him without his permission, and while he seemed inclined to want to teach him after the event at Thomas' castle, he'd been very clear that Henry needed to bring it up to his father first.

"Speaking of magic," Rumplestiltskin said in a voice that told Henry what was coming before the words ever left his mouth. He was looking at him with one quirked eyebrow and an expectant expression firmly in place. "Being that your papa hasn't come barging in demanding answers yet, I'd wager you haven't spoken to him about it."

"I was on my way to do that now."

"Mm-hmm."

"Really! I thought he'd be in here with you!"

His grandpa gave him a look that said he didn't entirely believe him on that. "I think he went down to the kitchens, if you're looking for him."

"You haven't mentioned anything right?"

"I said I wouldn't, and I haven't."

"You really don't think he'll be angry?"

A small, short laugh left the elder man. "Being on the receiving end of your father's anger and irritation over the years, I'd still advise you to be truthful to him above all. If he finds out - and if you continue to delay, he will find out - without your being the one he hears it from… Well, then he might be angry."

Henry nodded. "Okay. Wish me luck."

Grandpa Gold reached out to him, hand coming up to the side of his face in an affectionate gesture. "All the luck in the world, but you won't need it, lad. Your father loves you very dearly."

He felt a little better, he had to admit, so his steps down the stairs weren't too slow, nor did he have to push himself too hard once he found his dad rummaging for something that would work for dinner. He'd barely managed a greeting before the story started tumbling out. It felt good and his hands flew in animated gestures - hardly watching his father's expression - as he described the way Zelena had barged in and the fear he'd felt for his family and his desperation to get to them to help after the tower had fallen in on them. He hadn't known he could put into words how those feelings had risen up inside of him, obeying commands he didn't even know that he'd given, and Zelena had been forced back by it. "Grandpa Gold said it was light magic. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner.I thought you'd be mad," he finally finished, letting the words ride out on a breath. When Neal didn't respond instantly he looked up to him. "You're not, right?"

His dad was staring at him, plate of half collected dinner in his hand and looking like he'd just been tossed through a looking glass into Wonderland. He didn't look like he'd slept much, Henry thought as he watched for any change in the horribly blank expression, and there were dark circles under his eyes to prove it. Finally, with what appeared to be a great deal of effort, he swallowed and offered a very strained smile as he put his plate down. "'course not. I'm just glad you're okay, buddy," he said. He reached out and gathered his son into his arms, holding on tight and Henry returned the hug.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," he said too quick.

Grandpa Gold had been right. He should have told him sooner. "I'm sorry, Dad…"

"Don't worry about it. We'll… we'll figure it out." Neal released him and Henry didn't like the confused and worried sort of look he hid right behind his eyes. "Love you, buddy."

"Love you too, Dad."

"Listen… I have to go take dinner up to your grandpa. We'll talk about it some more later okay?"

Even as Henry agreed all of the relief washed right out of him and even though it had been his grandfather that had encouraged him into this, his words from months before were the ones that made it to the forefront of his thoughts.

I have the benefit of a little more... life experience. I know that things don't always happen the way we want them to.

Henry watched his dad pick up the plate and watched him until he was gone and down the hall, adding to his own life experience bucket that certainly wasn't turning out the way he thought it would.

TBC

Notes:

Next time - Rumple, Bae, and Henry have a conversation about magic, Blue tries to undermine Rumplestiltskin, and Hook finds himself in trouble.