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Chapter 17

When Gold finally took Lacey out to dinner, he was not only worried about keeping an eye on her and restoring her memories. From the passion he saw in Lee's eyes as she interacted with Maleficent's dragon form, he was quite certain that she now was lost to him. Not surprisingly, the dinner at Granny's was a disaster. Finding Lacey in the back alley with Keith Nottingham was the last straw to break the flood of anger that had been building up for days. Lacey's awed, "You are as dark as people say", only added fuel to his rage and all that rage was now directed at the helpless man in front of him.

"Darker dearie, much darker," were the last words Rumplestilskin spoke before taking his cane and continuing to beat the man who had already fallen down on the ground by the side of a parked car.

Only when he felt the cane twist and slide out of his grip did he realize that Lee had come up behind him. He straightened and noticed that she positioned herself in front of the injured man and stretched out her arm to hand the cane back to him.

"That's enough. I'll handle it from here." He was surprised that her voice was calm and quiet and her eyes held only sadness and not a trace of fear.

"Lee, this isn't any of your business." The anger continued to grip his mind and through the haze of darkness he realized that she knew she wasn't talking to Gold, she knew that it was the Dark One she faced.

"I could make it Emma's and Charming's business but I don't think you want that?"

"Get out of my way, dearie" Even he did not recognize the growl that started somewhere deep in his throat.

"I am not going to move, Rum. If you want to get to him, you will have to go through me." And something in her tone of voice told the Dark One that it would not be as easy as he thought to go through her. He waved his hand in a small circle to feel for any enchantments and immediately recognized the energy signatures of some of Renik's finest protection spells.

"I see Renik is making sure his puppets are safe and ready to dance to his bidding," At this point he wanted to lash out and hurt her the same way he hurt the man lying in a heap on the sidewalk.

"You have company. It's not polite to keep a lady waiting. Go on with your evening, I'll take care of this from here," And as the anger and darkness began to loosen its grip on his mind he realized that generations of Farini honor and law would no more allow her to abandon this man than they would allow her to run from battling an ogre. He knew that she would die protecting this man no matter how worthless he may be. He knew in that moment that with all the magic at his disposal he was still a poor spinner and in front of him stood a descendant of kings and this more than anything else made him turn away and take a step back toward Lacey.

A thin, almost invisible column of white smoke transformed into a slightly disheveled Renik by Lee's side.

"I guess I don't have to ask whose handy-work this is", he barely gave either one of them a glance before bending down by the injured man.

"Lee, I need your help," At the sound of his command she finally broke eye contact with Rumplestilskin and bent down by Renik's side. Even Lacey didn't speak as she latched on to Rumplestiltskin's arm and only the fading sound of her heels on the pavement gave any indication that the two of them had walked away.

"I need you to hold his hand and try to keep him talking while I see what needs to be healed." Lee watched as a soft white mist enveloped the man. "Think of that as a magical blanket that's keeping him warm. I want him to see the magic healing him to try and prevent his mind from sending his body into shock. "

The man groaned and briefly opened his eyes.

"It's OK, it's OK, look at me", Lee's voice was soothing and calm as she started to massage the man's hand in her own. "You are going to be OK, my wizard is going to heal you." She saw Renik slide his hands over the man's head and was surprised when his hands lingered over the man's cheeks and chin because she didn't see any injuries on the outside of the man's face.

"Damn it, keep him conscious Lee, he won't be able to answer since he happens to be missing a tongue, but you just keep talking." The surprised look she gave Renik vanished as she began to gently massage the back of the man's head where Renik's hands had already probed and finished the job.

"Look, you see this blanket," she raised his head just a little so he could see the mist like substance wrapped around his body, "that's my wizard's magic keeping you warm. Renik already healed most of your injuries, just a little more and you'll be as good as new." She saw Renik began to slide his hands further down the man's body.

"Thank you", for the first time she heard the man speak. A smile lit up her eyes, prompting the man to whisper a quiet "Who are you?"

"My name is Lee and this is the Wizard Renik. Can you tell me your name?"

"Keith, Keith Nottingham" and this time the man's voice seemed stronger.

"Ok, that should take care of the injuries." Renik spoke to the man for the first time. "Now, very slowly, try to sit up a little."

The man propped himself up against the side of car by which he fell.

"Perhaps a memory wipe is in order?" Lee spoke quietly to Renik.

"No, please, I'll be OK," The man tugged on Renik's sleeve and whispered something in his ear.

"But you've been through such a traumatic experience, are you sure you want to remember?" Lee was surprised at the man's words.

"Now, now," and she didn't understand the look in Renik's eyes as he bent over the man, "that's all right. If Mr. Nottingham should feel any post-traumatic effects, he can always get in touch with me and we'll decide what to do about his memory at that time."

"You have anyone at home who can look after you tonight," Renik began to make plans for transporting the man home.

"My roommate, he should be home by now."

"All right, tell me where you live," A second after the man finished speaking his address all three were transported inside the apartment. Another man in pajamas and bathrobe came out into the living room where they were standing.

"Take care of this man tonight and take him to the hospital if he feels ill. Then call me." Renik handed the bewildered man a business card with the vet clinic and his cell phone numbers on it, waved his hand, and transported himself and Leena to her car.

"Now, you can drive me home and tell me what happened. Then, Marina will put you up for the night at our place in case Rumplestiltskin decides to come after you. " The only response Lee made to that statement was to roll her eyes. "That and we also need to talk. Tonight you saw what he was capable of. I am sorry Lee but if you insist on taking him to the old world with us, this kind of thing is not going to stop. Some of these little incidents we'll be able to take care of like we did tonight but there will be others for which we will not be there. You have to understand what you are getting yourself into if you stay with him."

"I am not with him, Ren, and he is not with me. He will understand that Belle is better for him and stay here with her. No one is talking about him going back to the old-world with us." Lee ran her hand through her hair as she clipped on her seat belt.

A deep sigh escaped Renik at the misery in her voice, "If only it were that easy", he mumbled under his breath but Lee already started to pull away from the curb with her head turned away from him as one lone tear escaped and slid down her cheek.