Chapter Twenty-two.

If there was one truth he'd always known, it was that there was a price to every action under the sun. The price for using Glinda's death to his advantage, though, seemed rather steep. He'd used a death that was out of his control and had turned it so that it could stop the deaths of half a dozen people that he knew specifically and likely many more that were fighting that he didn't know. He wasn't sure why that warranted such a terrible price. It had been four days since the decision had been made and they were set to leave on the next morning and he still couldn't See a damned thing about the journey.

You don't have to, the seer's voice seemed to whisper in his mind. You know what will come to pass.

"I can count the number of times I've seen you drink on one hand, Papa."

Rumplestiltskin turned around, the motion making his head spin a little and Baelfire stood at the door that led from the balcony back into his and Belle's room. His son would be going with them in the morning and he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd never see him again if he left. Fate was a terrible thing and it was time to face theirs. That didn't mean he had to face it with any sort of dignity. No, he'd already been dragged into it kicking and screaming. Now, on the eve of it all, he didn't have anything left to fight with and he'd found himself shutting everyone that he could out so that he could at least be miserable in quiet, if not in peace.

"Your mother drank enough for both of us," Rumple answered without meaning to, mentally kicking himself for it as soon as the words had left his mouth. He really didn't drink often and certainly not since his curse had been broken. It had barely had an effect on him as the Dark One, but now… Well, it would appear that he'd either consumed more than he'd thought or that his very human body had a very low tolerance.

Bae, though, only chuckled and moved out onto the ledge. "You mind?" he asked and plopped into the chair next to him, reclining back and bracing the heels of his boots against the banister in a lazy sort of manner, as if nothing out of the ordinary were happening. Another glass appeared in a flash of magic and he took it nodding his thanks and poured himself a drink. "This," he said as he took a long sip, "may be the most honest I'll ever see you."

"I'm honest with you, Bae," his father said immediately.

"Most of the time. If you're honest with yourself first."

Rumplestiltskin snorted at the grin his son wore, but he didn't bother arguing the point. "What is it you want to know?" he asked after a moment. If these truly wore his last moments with his son, he'd be damned if he'd hide a thing from him.

"Well that's an opening few get," Baelfire teased.

"That one gets," Rumple corrected and unfolded himself from the chair.

Bae's expression softened. "You know this isn't forever, right, Papa? I'm not... We're not abandoning you." His son had chosen that word carefully, Rumplestiltskin knew, as they both were fully aware of the depth it held. Bae was looking at him now and the teasing tone had faded away, his eyes trying to catch his papa's. "You do know that, right?"

"Of course, Bae."

The younger man shifted and his feet were flat against the ground again. The chair made a small sound as he turned, elbows leaned against his knees and he watched his father carefully. "I'm not leaving you, Papa. I'm coming back. I just have to make sure my son makes it there safely."

He knew that, really he did, but Rumplestiltskin didn't want his son and grandson to face this alone. If he could control the situation, if he could just be there to make sure they were safe, he could have slept for the nights between when Charming had delivered the news and now. Instead he'd been left with his own fears and his own dread without even his visions to help balance it out and provide reassurances that he so desperately needed right now. He couldn't go with them - the Blue Fairy had seen quite well to that - and he couldn't find any steady images to cling to.

"You're still thinking about what you Saw, aren't you?" Bae asked softly. "About me dying."

"Of course I am."

"And you still can't See anything about tomorrow?"

Rumplestiltskin shook his head, taking another sip from his drink and feeling it burn down his throat. He'd always hated the taste of liquor, but by this point he just didn't care. "No. It's all a jumble."

"Belle thinks you might have stretched yourself too far."

"It's possible. I'm still not entirely sure of every limit I have."

"Exactly."

The sorcerer tilted his head in question and his son shot him a grin. It was bright, and the utter optimism in his voice made his heart ache just a little. "You don't know your limits, so you have no way to be certain this is what you saw. Anyway, you said your visions have been telling you that you screwed with fate, right? That means fate can be changed, Papa. Henry and I will be fine and I'll be back before you know it. Might even be able to convince David that he's making a mistake."

Rumplestiltskin offered his son a strained smile. "Thank you, Bae," he managed, taking the hand that was offered to him. He spoke slowly and carefully, making sure to meet his son's eyes as fingers tightened around his own. "I know you're not abandoning me, Bae. I know... I know you need to protect Henry. I can understand that, at least, and if you don't come back -"

"Nothing's going to happen to us, Papa."

"If you choose to stay with your son," his father amended, "I could hardly blame you."

"I'm coming back to you, Papa," Bae swore and Rumple wondered if he looked as miserable as he felt. Bae leaned in, their foreheads touching and they remained there for a moment, the stress of everything that was happening around them barreling in and threatening to crush them.

"I know," came the whispered response.

His son straightened, his eyes fixed on Rumple. "Why don't you give me something to take with me so that I can just pop right back. Like the necklace of Belle's that you charmed so that she could get back here quickly when she's out looking for her dad."

Rumplestiltskin straightened a bit, never letting go of his son's hand as he met his gaze.

"That way you don't have to worry about me walking back. You can cut down the panic at least by half," Bae continued, his tone light and teasing, but he certainly wasn't wrong in the idea.

"Do you have anything on you that's special to you?"

"Right now?"

"Well, you are leaving the in morning," his father pointed out and Bae rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. This." He pulled a chain from his pocket and Rumplestiltskin watched it shake loose, the swan pendant at the end pulling the kinks out as it fell. "It's Emma's. Well, it was. She pretty much threw it at me in New York when you guys came to find me. I just hadn't had a chance to get it back to her yet… Right moments are hard to come by here."

"Indeed they are," his papa chuckled and took the necklace from him. "This will do nicely."

"It's not going to toss her to some random place when I give it back to her, will it?'

"No. I'll tie it through blood magic so that it won't affect her." The necklace shimmered in his palm and he offered it back. "Now you may return when you wish."

"Thanks, Pop," Bae said as he took it and put it carefully back into his pocket. Without warning he shifted he stood and Rumple had barely made his way to his feet as well before the younger man wrapped his arms around his father.

"Bae?"

Baelfire clung hard and Rumplestiltskin carefully returned the embrace. He felt as if one wrong move might shatter it, but wanted nothing more than to hold him close. His son inhaled shaily in his ear. "We'll be okay, Papa."

"Of course, Bae."

"All of us. You too. I'm not letting you go."

Rumplestiltskin didn't dare trust his own voice in that moment, so he tightened his grip and smiled into his son's shoulder. If fate could be changed, they would change it. They had to. They'd come too far not to.

Belle had received an urgent message that evening via dove that had alerted her that the search party had finally found a lead through Rumplestiltskin's tracking spell. She'd used it on a ring that her father had given her - a family heirloom that he'd worn all the days of her life - as they set out for battle. When he'd given it to her, he had looked ready to beg her one more time to stay behind, but she'd kissed him on the cheek and wished him luck, telling him that nothing bad could happen to him. He had to be there to give her away at her wedding. She would accept nothing less from her papa.

She'd been torn when the message arrived, scribbled in Ruby's hand and telling her she was needed. The others were leaving out at first light the next day, but Rumple had urged her to go. He didn't want her to, she knew, but he'd encouraged her with a strained smile and so much love in his eyes that she'd kissed him and promised to be there to see the others off. She wouldn't leave him alone in that castle. She couldn't.

Thin fingers played with the necklace that had transported her to the little town that had taken the search party days to get to. She'd arrived in a matter of seconds, her fiance's magic whisking her away and redepositing her where she needed to be. Ruby looked up from where she'd been speaking with Grumpy and offered her a bright smile. "Hey, you made it. They're leaving out tomorrow, right?"

"They are."

"I'm surprised Rumplestiltskin let you come," Grumpy groused and Belle offered him a smile.

"He told me I should. He knows how important my father is to me. Speaking of…"

"It was good news. Sorry to be so cryptic. I wanted to let you know as soon as possible, but we have some others that didn't get off as easily as he did."

"Do they need anything? Rumple has potions for nearly every kind of hurt or ill…"

"We might. Not sure yet."

"Not sure we can afford it," the dwarf at her side muttered, but was thoroughly ignored..

"We're still taking inventory here, but we'll let you know." Ruby offered her a smile and a quick hug that Belle readily returned. "He's in here."

The fact that her father had not been there to greet her told Belle that he likely hadn't gotten away completely unscathed by the battle so she wasn't too surprised when she found him lying in a bed. He was sitting up, though, arm bandaged and in a sling close to his body and he smiled when she entered. "Belle."

"Papa," she greeted back as she carefully wrapped her arms around his neck. "We've been looking everywhere for you. Rumple's visions have been difficult to see after the battle and he hasn't been able to See what happened to you. Are you alright?"

"Oh, I've had much worse, my dear," her father chuckled, lifting his arm a bit and she could see the burns peeking out from under the wrappings. "Caught the wrong end of a ball of fire and stumbled into some sort of trap that witch had laid."

"I don't think there is a good end of a fireball, Papa," Belle teased gently. "And you weren't the only one to stumble into one of her traps. Ruby and the others have been finding people scattered in all parts. Mulan found others as well and Robin sent word that a few had even been deposited into the dungeons in the castle."

"Then we won it, at least?"

"We did."

"You don't sound as pleased with that as you should, my girl," her father said warily, shifting so that she had room to take a seat on the bed next to him.

Belle did so without delay and she took hold of Maurice's free hand, all the raging emotions of the last few days suddenly boiling up and pouring out like a pot of water on the stove with a lid keeping the steam in. She'd struggled so hard to be strong for Rumple the last few days since they'd found out that everyone was leaving - something that would have thrilled him to no end with the exception of the fact that it would take his family with them as well, putting Bae and Henry in the line of danger - and when she hadn't been there, she'd been focused on finding her father. Now, though, his question brought the tears that she hadn't let come before and they spilled down her cheeks. "Oh Papa, I don't know what to do."

Maurice gripped his daughter's hand and let her cry for several long moments before he gave it a gentle squeeze. "Tell me what's wrong, Belle."

"David's decided to split the alliance with Rumple. He… Rumple manipulated the situation to make sure that we came out of this battle alive, but it cost Glinda the Good Witch her life. He says that she was fated to die anyway and there was nothing he could do to stop it, but the Blue Fairy has been spreading discourse through the alliance for weeks now. She used it, Papa, and now his family's leaving and they're in danger and I don't know what to do to help him."

Her father opened his mouth and promptly closed it, opting to think his next words through very carefully before speaking. Several long moments ticked by as he seemed to restructure his thoughts before releasing them, but finally he loosed a long breath in the form of a sigh, words following after it. "Belle, my dear girl, you know how I feel about him-"

"Papa-"

"Hear me out. You know how I feel about him. He's twisted and he's evil, a true monster if there ever was one, and he darkens everything that he touches." Maurice sighed again, eyes coming to rest on his daughter. "Except you. You haven't faded a bit since being with him. In fact, I think you've shed some light in on him. I know you love him, Belle, so you do for him what your mother did for me when I'd managed to work my way into a corner: you stand by his side and you brighten those dark moments as only you can do."

Belle had felt the dread welling up in her when he'd begun, but by the time her father finished - his little speech coming out in fits and stammers of a man that hoped what he was saying would truly help her - her heart was warmed and she leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Papa."

"I suppose you should hurry back to him, now that you know I'm alive."

"Bae actually mentioned that he was hoping to spend some time with him this evening before he has to leave in the morning. I'll have to go back before dawn, but that gives us a few hours." She stopped, smiling through the tears that had begun to escape again. "I missed you, Papa."

"I missed you too, my girl, but you shouldn't have worried so much." He offered her a smile. "I have to give you away at your wedding."

"Yes," she agreed with a laugh. "Yes you do."

"I don't want to go."

It wasn't the first time he said it, and by this point he was pretty sure that unless he found a way to duck away from the protective watch of two parents, a set of grandparents, two women with wolf hearing and smell, and a set of particularly loyal dwarves on his way to the castle he'd have no chance of getting back for some time. He might have been twelve (almost thirteen!) but he wasn't a fool. While retaking Regina and Grandma Snow's castle had been a major point in their favour, Zelena and Pan - especially Pan - weren't fighting a war as Gramps would. They were sneaky and they were hiding. It was nearly impossible to find them when they didn't want to be found, and he'd heard his parents talking about the fact that they hadn't captured one this last time meant that it would be that much harder next time.

The grownups might not know how Pan worked, but Henry did. So did his dad and his Grandpa Gold, but no one was listening to them. They all thought Zelena was the real threat, and while Henry knew she wasn't to be taken lightly, neither was his great-grandfather. They needed all the help that they could get in the fight ahead and splitting up seemed like the dumbest thing they could do.

"You'll be able to come back and visit once everything's done," Grandma Snow promised.

"We shouldn't be leaving at all. Grandpa Gold can help."

"We'd asked Mr Gold for help and he was... Less than honest with us," Mary Margaret said carefully.

Henry snorted, his grandfathers' conversation coming to mind. Oh, he'd been awake, but he'd learned long ago that people are more honest when they think you can't hear them. Another argument that he'd been holding back pushed to the front of his thoughts. "But who is going to cast the spell to take Pan's powers away? Wasn't Grandpa Gold supposed to do that?"

His grandmother frowned. "Henry, we don't even know if he's capable of casting that anymore. We'll find a way of defeating Pan. You don't need to worry. We won't let either of them get to you. Good always wins over evil."

"That doesn't mean we need to leave," the almost-teen pressed.

"I know you don't want to leave, but it really is for the best."

"Is that what the Blue Fairy says?"

He hadn't meant for it to come out quite as harshly as it did, but the look on his grandmother's face said that he hadn't curbed it as much as he'd meant to. Grandma Snow stared at him with her green eyes wide and her mouth dropped open a little. "Henry, Blue is… Well the relationship between Blue and your grandpa is very-"

"I know they don't like each other and I know it's mutual. She's been looking for a way to drive us away since we got here. Even Mom and Dad see it and if you talk with Regina, I know she'll see it too. She won't be happy we're doing this either."

"She'll understand, just as we all do," Snow White huffed. "Now, it's time to go grab your things. You're packed, right?"

"Yeah," Henry agreed, wrinkling his nose and turning towards the stairs that led up to his room. Emma had refused to talk about it over the last several days. She wouldn't take sides between what her son knew that she knew was wrong and what her parents thought was right. Neal had been resigned, though never pretended to be happy about it. Blue, though, had been smug, even if she hadn't gotten everything she wanted. Henry didn't know why the lead fairy would want to separate his grandfather from the rest of his family, but she seemed bent on doing so and had managed to turn things in her favour. Sometimes he really thought that she played at being good more than she actually managed it.

"Getting ready to go, are we?"

Henry stopped, the voice unexpected and he hadn't realized that he'd made it up to the hall yet. He'd been so lost in thought that his grandfather's presence hadn't even registered until his words did. He turned, a small hope fluttering. "Don't guess you've figured out a way to make them stay, huh?"

His grandfather shook his head slowly. "No, I'm afraid they'll hear none of it."

"It's not fair," he whispered and felt the crushing wave of helplessness come down around him. He didn't want to go. He didn't want his family to split and fracture. He'd wanted to know them for far too long and now he had them and he wasn't willing to give even one of them up. He'd tried for every possible loophole he could think of. Maybe his grandfather could come with them? No, that wouldn't work, he'd been told, as the whole point was that he should no longer have a key role in the battles ahead. Maybe Henry could go back and forth like Belle had been doing? That was also a bad idea too, he was informed, in that Zelena might be able to hijack the charm. The Blue Fairy had even taken that moment to remind him that she still believed his grandfather to have taken his own father's side in this whole affair, and if that were true then it would simply open the boy up to far too many dangers at their hands. Rumplestiltskin wasn't on Pan's side though, and Henry knew it. Without warning he launched forward, wrapping his arms around his grandfather's middle. "I'll miss you."

Rumplestiltskin stiffened at the sudden contact, but eased after a moment and Henry felt him wrap one arm around him, the other coming to the top of his head in an affectionate gesture. "I know, lad," he whispered. "I'll miss you too. You remember what I've been teaching you though, don't you?"

"Yeah," Henry sniffed, not sure when the his eyes had become damp. He was almost thirteen. Almost thirteen-year-olds did not cry.

"And the book I gave you? You'll need to keep on with your studies. Your mother can answer many of your questions. Listen to her, do you hear?"

"You promised to teach me."

"I know, but do you remember what I told you in New York when we went to find your father?"

"Things don't always work out the way you want them to," Henry said dejectedly.

"That doesn't mean they don't work out. I'll teach you, Henry. On that you have my word."

The boy pulled in a deep breath, forcing himself to release his grandfather and look him in the eye. It was strange to think that he'd been so afraid of this man as a child, but he'd never been anything but kind to him, even when he played the rest of the town like his personal chess pieces. A small smile finally tugged his lips. "And Rumplestiltskin never breaks a deal," he murmured.

"That's right. Ask your father about that. Sometimes it takes a bit longer than anticipated, but I make good on my deals."

"I love you, Grandpa."

Rumplestiltskin's expression tightened as if he were trying to hold something back. It seemed to be a losing battle, though, and he bent forward, placing a kiss on Henry's head. "I love you too," he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion.

Belle had returned as dawn broke with the only good news of the day. Her father was alive and resting in a little village. She'd come to be with him, though, as his son and grandson left, pulled away by his own actions that he still wasn't sure he could have avoided. She gripped his hand, fingers wrapped around his and held on tight. Rumplestiltskin didn't dare look at her, but instead stood looking straight ahead to the gate that was closing behind the crowd of travelers, Bae and Henry among them.

There was a loud clang as the gate shut entirely and the wards that had shifted to let them through fell back into place. Rumple's expression was steeled, not risking any of the fear and anxiety that was threatening to drag him under to show.

He felt Belle squeeze his hand a little tighter and then she let go, only to wrap her arms around his neck and rest her head against his chest. "I'm sorry, Rumple."

"Nothing to be done for it now," he answered tightly.

"Bae mentioned that you gave him a charm to transport him back when he wishes. He'll be back as soon as they get there and you'll know that everyone made it safe."

He did love her optimism, he just couldn't find it in himself to echo it. So instead he tried for a smile that might have just been a thinning of his lips and he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Thank you, my dear."

"I love you."

"And I love you."

The castle was terribly quiet in that moment and he hadn't realized just how deafening the silence of it was. It hadn't been this empty since before they'd returned. The halls had been filled with Henry's laugh or the endless talk of royals on how to best face the situation. There had been so much chatter, but now that it was gone, Rumplestiltskin though that it might not have been as bad as all of that. Certainly not if it meant his family was safe.

The quiet seemed to follow him, almost like a dark cloud as he searched for some way to fill it. Belle found a book, as she so often did, and he sat with her for as long as he could manage, trying to focus the fact that she, at least, was still near. Finally, though, his body seemed to reflect the same nervousness as his mind and could sit still no longer, pressing a kiss to her lips and telling her he needed some time. She let him go with a promise that he'd let her know if he changed his mind.

Surprisingly enough his magic didn't pull him to his tower, but to his room instead, and to the balcony that he and Bae had sat on the night before. When he'd first lost Bae all he'd known was that he would find him if out of sheer determination, if nothing else. When the seer had said that he would design a curse to take him to the Land Without Magic, it was a fourteen-year-old Bae that he'd held in his thoughts. Centuries had passed and he hadn't known what to expect, other than to cling to the hopes that he would find him. He'd certainly never imagined being able to sit and share a drink with his grown son, speaking openly and honestly about so much.

As the night had worn on he and Bae and talked about many things. They'd discussed Milah and Hook, Bae's time in with the Darlings and then in Neverland. Rumple had wanted to know everything that he hadn't wanted to touch when he'd reunited with Bae in Manhattan. Then he'd been too afraid, too sure that he needed to take control of the situation and manipulate it into what he wanted it to be. He'd needed to fix it. Now they both knew that fixing it meant working at it and there was no changing the past. Erasing memories did nothing but ensure that you'd repeat the same mistakes again and again. His son loved him and knew he was loved in return. Now, Rumplestiltskin thought as he picked up the mostly finished bottle of liquor that Bae had so graciously helped him with the night before, he had to put his trust in his son that he'd come back.

"Hard letting him go, isn't it laddie?"

His wards hadn't given off any warnings and Rumplestiltskin dropped the bottle in his surprise, the glass shattering on the balcony as he whirled around and found his father standing on the ledge. Pan wore a grin that stretched nearly across his face, his eyes shining with mischief. "Afraid he might choose not to come back when he starts to remember exactly who you are and what you did?"

"How did you get through…?"

"Oh, those?" Pan asked, waving back to the wards that all seemed to be in place. "I've never had a problem with them. Not even the new ones you set up. I just haven't had a reason to pop by. Thought I'd see how you were doing."

Rumplestiltskin prior to his curse breaking wouldn't have needed someone to hold Pan down as he wrapped the spell around him to strip him of his powers, but with his powers diminished he did. Regina had been the clear choice in the matter, but she wasn't there. None of them were, so the former Dark One did the next best thing. He went for Pandora's Box, summoning it up from his personal vault, but the magic had only begun to tug on it when the boy that had once been his father tutted, striking out with his own spell that slammed Rumple into the wall hard, holding him there and cutting his summoning spell short. "Not so fast, laddie."

"What the hell do you want?" Rumple growled, immediately beginning to unravel Pan's spell.

"I came to see your face when you realize that the one time you let him go is the one time you should have held on like your own life depended on it. Seems I'm here a bit early, but I'm willing to wait if you are."

Rumple stopped cold, the spell hanging in the air between them that was half undone, half still holding him. He gaped at the child demon and tried to reach for the future again but found it just as clouded as it had been.

"Oh, I thought you'd Seen it," Pan taunted. "Maybe not. Zelena's after your little boy and then she's going to deliver the Heart of the Truest Believer to me. She doesn't know it yet, of course, but that's all part of the game."

"I hardly think you came here to warn me."

"Oh I didn't. I just needed to make sure you knew that I won, Rumple. You dug your own grave on this. You tossed your lot in with those that you thought you loved and that you would swear loved you back and all it's done is gotten them killed. I think I might take a trip downstairs to see that pretty little-"

Pan never saw the attack coming and, truth be told, Rumplestiltskin hadn't felt it building within himself either. He lashed out though, the raw power that he so rarely wielded in such an unrefined form playing the part of a weapon well enough. His father stumbled back, hand pressed against the wound and it came back bloodied. His face scrunched up into a strained snarl. "All you've done is delayed her death, not his," he growled and lifted into the air.

He was gone, leaving Rumplestiltskin on the balcony alone, his mind spinning wildly. Then he saw it. He finally Saw it and it left him feeling physically ill.

Zelena stood facing Bae and she radiated dark power. He'd been split apart from Emma who might have stood a chance at helping him, but he didn't back down. Instead he readied his blade for whatever came and she smirked at him, her red lips quirking like one that knew she'd already won. Then she released it, a ball of pure darkness that Baelfire had no chance of escaping. He tried to counter it with his sword, but it didn't stand a chance, cracking and disintegrating into nothing before the magic hit him square in the chest, pulling a terrible scream from him as he fell back against the ground, dark eyes wide and convulsing wildly as the curse continued to rip through him, killing him bit by bit. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, it stopped and he lay still on the ground, his eyes wide and lifeless, staring up at the sky.

Rumplestiltskin felt his breath catch as he came out of the vision and terror took hold. It hadn't happened yet. He could stop it. He could fix this.

He didn't think about anything but his son as his magic pulled him to Bae.

TBC

Next time - Rumplestiltskin rushes to save his son