Guess what! This girl is officially graduated and on her way to college in a couple months. Oh my goodness. Can it really be true? I'm still reeling from it all. Just. Wow. Anyways, in case you are wondering, that is why I haven't updated this story in over a month (sorry). Things have just been super duper crazy. Hopefully, I'll have a month or two before classes start up to try and finish this story :)

You, honestly, are the most patient readers, and I appreciate it. So, I hope this chapter makes it all worth it.

ALSO. IMPORTANT. I MADE A TRAILER FOR THE 'ALMOST LOVER TRILOGY'. IT'S SOMETHING I'VE REALLY BEEN WANTING TO DO FOR A LONG TIME, AND NOW I HAVE, AND YOU NED TO CHECK IT OUT. THE LINK IS IN MY PROFILE. (And why the caps? I just wanted to grab your attention. Seriously, go watch it. Before you even read this chapter. Go on. Yes, you. GO!)

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"Miss Swan, I think you're making a grave mistake in doing this." Mr. Gold said as Emma removed the cold steel from his wrists and then walked out of the cell, locking the door once she was on the outside. She gave him a look that told him her mind was made up.

"Look, Gold, the facts are really simple. I get a call from the hospital late yesterday afternoon. A nurse had found Mr. Stone on the ground, his wheelchair pushed off to the side. He was bleeding from several cuts along his face and hands, and his arms were bruised. When I arrived, Mr. Stone was in pain, but he was conscious. He was adamant that you were the one who did that to him. Now, quite frankly, I don't understand why you would go and beat a defenseless man in a wheelchair, but I do understand one thing: and that's that you can't be trusted. Your motives are your own, but I am confident that I can get down to the bottom of them."

He smirked. "You seem to have everything planned out, Sheriff. So what punishment would doing something like this get me?"

"Are you confessing to the crime?"

"Oh, I'm not confessing to anything, dearie." Mr. Gold eyed her once and then he sat down on the small cot in the corner. He brushed his hair away from his face and returned his gaze to Emma. "But I would like to know what I'm facing should I be found guilty."

She shrugged. "It all depends on what the jury says, but, honestly, Gold, I think you hold so much power in this town, that you won't be walking off with more than a week or two in this cell." She sounded so nonchalant, but he could see the slight tense in her stance.

"And that irks you, doesn't it, Emma?"

She blinked but refused to answer his question."I hope you like microwaved dinners because that's what's for dinner." Before he could say anything else, she turned to walk back to her desk.

He grimaced the moment her back turned to him, but his voice remained neutral. "Sounds delightful, dearie." Emma pocketed some loose change and then she grabbed some papers and her jacket. "Going out?"

"I have some business to tend to." She mumbled as she grabbed her keys. Then, Emma turned to walk out the door at the exact moment it decided to open. "Regina? What brings you here?"

The Mayor smirked. "I heard our illustrious pawn broker was spending a couple nights behind bars. You didn't think I would come to see for myself, Miss Swan?"

"I'm just about to step outside for a bit-" Emma began, but Regina interrupted.

"Oh, well, even better. There are some things that I wish to speak to Mr. Gold about in private, actually."

Emma looked skeptical, and her eyes traveled between Mr. Gold and Regina Mills. Finally, she just seemed to give up and nodded her head. "Fine. I doubt he could cause anymore trouble from within that cell. And you..."

"Yes, Miss Swan?"

"Just don't do anything that'll make me regret wearing this badge."

Regina smiled a sickly sweet smile and folded her hands in front of her. "Yes, that's the last thing we want, isn't it? You have my word, Sheriff."

Both Gold and Regina watched as Emma left the building and then Regina dropped the friendly facade and her face became hard and stony. There was an edge to her walk, but her eyes gleamed with a victorious light. Gold couldn't help but feel like she was triumphing in seeing him behind bars, which she no doubt was. She pulled a chair up close to the bars of his cell and then she sat down and crossed her legs.

"My, how the tables have turned. Am I right, Gold?"

"If you're referring to me being locked in a cage, dearie, I can assure you that this is a mere inconvenience. I'll be out of here before you know it."

Regina nodded. "Then I'll have to be brief."

Mr. Gold's cool facade slipped for just a second and genuine curiosity crossed his face. "What on earth are you talking about, Regina?"

She laughed in mockery. "You think that you're here because of some scuffle you had with Mr. Stone?"

"Well, I did beat him half to death."

"Yes, but only because I told him that he should go and see Miss French."

He frowned. "Why would you tell him that?"
Shrugging, she replied, "Well, I didn't tell him that directly. I merely said that if I really loved someone then I would go to any and all lengths to get them back, and that no one, not even the most feared man in town, would stop me."

"You little devil. You wanted Garrett Stone to be there. You wanted me to find him and do what I did to him. You wanted me to end up in this cell." Mr. Gold gritted his teeth in anger at being played. "Why?"

"I think this chat is long overdue, don't you? And seeing how you're so busy with your little maid these days, I figured that this was the best way I could get you alone. Because I really doubt you would want to have this conversation in public, Gold. I really do."

He was starting to feel uncomfortable, but he was working his very hardest not to show it. He shifted so that he was closer to Regina. "What conversation would that be, dearie?"

"I think you know," she replied cryptically and then laughed. "Did you really think I wouldn't figure it out?"

Mr. Gold's mouth became dry as sand but he managed to croak out, "Figure what out?"

"What you've been hiding from me for God knows how long. Don't play dumb with me, Gold." Regina smirked and leaned towards the bars. "I happen to know that Belinda is about to be discharged from the hospital. I also know that she plans on seeing you. Do you really want her to know that you are in prison? For beating her ex-boyfriend to the brink of unconsciousness? Is that the kind of monster that you want her to know you are?"
He gritted his teeth. She'd caught him. She had him right where she wanted and he was trapped like a bug under a microscope, open for full inspection. "I'm sure Belinda knows I'm already here. The gossip in Storybrooke is next to none."

"I made sure that Miss Swan took extra precautions to keep your lock-up quiet, and I don't think Mr. Stone will be speaking any time soon. You're free to tell Miss French about this on your own time. That is, if you decide to be honest with her." Regina seemed so very pleased with herself, as if she enjoyed seeing him wriggle to get free from underneath her thumb. "If you do one thing for me, then I will see to it that you are let out within the hour, your slate wiped clean, and you and Belinda can be reunited without bars standing in your way."

Mr. Gold didn't so much as blink. He knew that taking this deal was his only way out. It was his only choice. "What is it you want?"

Regina smiled and pointed a finger into the air. "I want you to answer one question. And answer it simply. What is your name?"

"It's Mr. Gold," he said with a slight chuckle, as if the question was absurd. But it wasn't an absurd question, and his suspicions were confirmed. She had finally figured out that he remembered everything.

"Your real name," she battled as she leaned closer to the bars so that she could hear every single word that came from his mouth.

"For as long as I've lived on this earth, that's been my name." He was inwardly panicking. If Regina knew, then that meant very bad things for him and Belinda. He had to try and dissuade her from the truth. He just had to.

She shook her head. "But what about times you've spent elsewhere?" Regina pressed.

"What are you asking me?"

"I think you know," she said as she sighed in annoyance. "Answer the question, and you and Belinda can be happy. You don't want her to find out about what you did to Garrett, do you? So...answer my question. Tell. Me. Your. Name."

The game was up. He had been beaten. The last of his cards had been played, and the Evil Queen held a higher hand. Mr. Gold's poker face fell and he smirked. He leaned forward, grit his teeth in anger at being played, and whispered one fateful word. "Rumpelstiltskin. Now get me out of this cell." He bared his teeth and stood up. His hands wrapped around the bars so that he could get as close to Regina as he physically could.

"Such hostility...tell me, does Belinda know who you really are?"

"Not yet. But I can assure you, your Majesty. She'll know soon enough."

Regina's eyes became tiny slits. "What are you planning, Dark One?"

"I'm planning to have this curse broken, so I can have Belle back, and find my boy."
For a moment, she actually looked concerned, concerned that her happy ending would be taken away, but then she just smirked. "You're forgetting one thing. Miss Swan doesn't know who she is, and if she won't even believe her own son, then how in the hell are you going to get her to believe you?"

"You would do well not to underestimate, dearie. You do remember who I am."

"And you would do well not to interfere with my happy ending," the Evil Queen retorted angrily. "Remember, you don't have any magic here, Rumpelstiltskin. Here, you're just a crippled coward, like you always were before you became the Dark One. And unless you can get our stubborn Emma Swan to believe that Snow White and Prince Charming actually do exist, magic is one thing you will not be able to get your hands on. And even if you do, it still won't work."

Mr. Gold shook his head. "I don't need magic, your Majesty. Even without it, I am still the most powerful man in Storybrooke, crippled or not. And if you weren't so afraid of what I could do, you wouldn't be trying to talk me out of what I'm planning. Now, get me out of here."

She clucked her tongue in annoyance. "Did you leave your manners behind in the Enchanted Forest, along with your powers?"

"Please, your Majesty."

"You've got to admit that has a ring to it."

"I don't have to admit anything."

Boots sounded from behind them and then the door opened. "Well, you two haven't killed each other, so that's something."

Regina shot one more evil glare at Rumpelstiltskin before turning around and approaching Emma. "Relax, Sheriff. We can be civil."

She scoffed. "Civil? Is that what they're calling cold, icy, and downright spiteful these days?"

"Anyways-" Regina said while rolling her eyes. "You can let Mr. Gold go now."

"What? No, I can't."

"Yes, you can."

"No, I can't. With all due respect, Madame Mayor, Mr. Gold is still under arrest, and I just spoke to Mr. Stone. He's pressing charges. A trial needs to go on."

Regina reached inside her purse, pulled out a large wad of cash, and walked up to Emma's desk. "And I'm telling you to drop the charges against Mr. Gold and let him go."

Emma shook her head. "That's not how it works. I'm not going to just let a man go because you decide to bribe me. And honestly, Regina, I thought you had more in you than that."

"I'm not bribing you, Miss Swan. I'm paying his bail. You have to release him."

"Why would you do that?" Emma asked as she curiously picked up the bundle of money and counted it.

Regina sighed in exasperation. "My reasons are my own, and they are none of your concern. Now-" she breathed as she pulled down the ends of her jacket. "Are we done here?"

Emma seemed reluctant, but there was nothing she could do. She took the keys out of her pocket and unlocked Gold's cell. "You can't buy your way out of every messy situation you get yourself in," she whispered as he walked past her.

"The fact that I'm walking out of here without so much as a warning says otherwise." His smirk made Emma's blood boil.

The Evil Queen and the Dark One nodded their head once at the Sheriff, and then they exited the building.

0o0

Belinda was released from the hospital. Jefferson was kind enough to offer to drive her home. When she said that would prefer to stop by Granny's Diner for a few minutes and pick up Rose, he was only too happy to comply.

Like Gold, he had taken to calling her 'Belle', a moniker which made her increasingly more uncomfortable since she had discovered that her supposed true self was indeed Belle, the beauty from the classic Disney tale. It still made her uneasy, but she knew Jefferson meant nothing by it, so she decided not to say anything about it.

The minute Rose was back safe and sound in her arms, Belinda didn't think that she would be able to let go of her baby ever again. Ruby and Granny asked so many questions about her health and how her healing was going, and they gave indiscreet glances towards Jefferson, none of which were too friendly, until her head hurt and she felt exhausted all over again. It was Jefferson who saw her lack of concentration, and it was he who grabbed her by her shoulders, said goodbye to an offended Ruby and Granny, and led Belinda out the door. She sat in the back of the vehicle so that she could be next to her daughter.

"Belle, are you sure you don't want me to drive you home? You're dead on your feet. You can talk to Gold tomorrow." He looked at her through the rear-view mirror. True to his word, her eyelids were already drooping, but she fought back a yawn, and shook her head.

"No, I need to do this tonight," she replied, and so he just nodded and he drove her to Mr. Gold's home.

When they finally arrived, the moon had risen high in the sky and the stars were out. Belinda fought to keep her eyes open as she lifted Rose, carrier and all, out of the back seat of Jefferson's car and then walked up the stairs to the porch. Jefferson surprised her when he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a tight hug. Then, he leaned over and kissed a sleeping Rose on the forehead.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Jefferson whispered to her before he left her alone on the porch of Mr. Gold's home. She took a deep breath before she opened the door. Belinda didn't even bother to knock. She knew she didn't have to, and at that moment, she was far too exhausted to really even think straight.

She walked into the living room and saw that he was sitting on the sofa in front of the fire place. She couldn't shake the feeling that he had been waiting for her to come home to him. He grimaced at the stiff pain in his leg as he stood up and then he limped over to her. Belinda barely had time to set Rose's carrier on the floor before she walked up to him and practically collapsed into his arms. Mr. Gold was almost thrown over by the force as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. She drank in the smell of his expensive cologne and she just sighed in contentment. She felt at home in his arms.

Suddenly, all words of apology left Belinda's mind and she found that she couldn't speak. The silence said everything that needed to be said. Mr. Gold pulled her back so that he could look at her. She could see that there was so much that he wanted to say to her, and he opened his mouth to begin to explain, but she pressed her lips against his and silenced him with a warm and tender kiss.

"You don't need to say anything," she murmured against his mouth. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did."

He sighed and rested his forehead against hers. "I know I sound crazy."

"Jefferson told me that if I truly loved you that I could look past your beliefs and just be happy with who you are. I am happy, Robert." She looked up at him and smiled. "And I trust you. I'm not saying I believe you, but if you tell me that we're all characters from children's fairytales, I promise to never think that you're crazy. I trust that you know what you're talking about. I just wish I could remember."

"I'm going to find out how to revive your memories, Belle. That's a promise," he breathed out as he cupped her cheeks. Her skin was soft and smooth underneath the gentle caress of his fingertips. "And when you do, everything will make sense."

Belinda nodded her head. "I know, Robert. I trust you."

In that one single moment, he felt more love for her than he ever had in the past, and he placed one hand in between her shoulder blades and pressed her towards him until she was as close as she physically could be. He kissed her then. He kissed her with all of the love that he possibly could. His heart soared with the feeling until he felt that it might explode. As one of his hands moved to her neck, he could feel her rapid and fiery pulse beating underneath his fingertips. Suddenly, a kiss wasn't enough, and he knew that Belle felt the same. That's why he stopped. Because he knew that if he didn't right then and there, he wouldn't be able to. He pulled away and she groaned and bit her lip in disappointment.

"Not tonight, sweetheart. You've had one hell of a week. You need to sleep."

"Can I sleep in your room?" She asked, and her voice was so sweet and her drowsy eyes were so irresistible that he nodded his head. He leaned over and picked up Rose's carrier. Belinda led the way up the stairs and into his room. While she changed into a pair of his silk pajamas, which were far too big on her, Mr. Gold went into the room across the hall and retrieved the small crib that he had bought when Belinda had worked for him and had had to bring Rose along with her.

He helped her to transfer the still-sleeping child from the carrier to the crib. He kissed her forehead after Belinda did, and for the first time since the curse had separated them, Rumpelstiltskin felt as if they were a true family.

Then, they both climbed into his massive bed and snuggled into each other for comfort and warmth. Mr. Gold wrapped his arms around her because he dared not let her go, and Belinda laid her head on his shoulder.

"You know, in the Enchanted Forest, after you had Rose, this was how we slept." He didn't know if it was too soon to be discussing about their previous life, or if Belinda found it strange or uncomfortable. If she did, she didn't say so. She just sighed pleasantly from beside him.

"Then I can understand why it feels so right, as if it's a familiar thing. What else happened between us in the Enchanted Forest?" He doubted she was asking him because she believed. She was probably asking more out of curiosity than anything else.

Mr. Gold smiled at the fond memory. "The day the curse took you away from me, I had actually asked you to marry me."

He felt her smile into his shoulder. "And what did I say?"

"You said yes."

Belinda nodded her head. "Then...yes." That very second, the minute Gold's heart felt like it was going to explode with so many different emotions, shock being the main one, Belinda fell asleep, and her breathing became heavy.

Needless to say, even with her finally laying beside him, Mr. Gold barely slept at all that night.

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AGAIN. THE CAPS. HOPE YOU GUYS LIKED THE CHAPTER. REVIEW PLEASE. AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DIDNT WATCH THE TRAILER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHAPTER, GO VISIT MY PROFILE, FIND THE LINK, AND WATCH NOW!

Hope you all have a great weekend! (Emma, I can't wait to see you in less than 24 hours! Love you, my friend!)