Chapter Nine
New York City, New York
Emma hummed along with the song on the radio as she made breakfast for her and her Henry and licked some jam off her fingers. She still mentally kicked herself for almost giving him up for adoption when she was in prison, but she had gotten an early release just before he was born and decided to start over by moving to New York. She did admit being a single mother was hard, but she wasn't one to shy away from challenges. She also knew what it was like to be abandoned, seeing that her own parents had left her in a basket on the side of the road.
"What kind of a monster would do something like that?" she had often thought and she sighed, shaking her head.
"Ok, Kiddo, breakfast is ready," she called out as Henry came out of his room and sat down at the table. "Did you do your homework?"
"Yeah," he said as he sipped on his milk and she gave him a questioning look. "I did."
"Ok," she said then sat down and started eating. A few minutes later they finished eating as she placed the dishes in the dishwasher and Henry went into his room to get his backpack. Emma walked to the wooden stand where the umbrellas were stored when she picked up a long, black umbrella then looked at the black wood cane with the gold handle. She wasn't sure where Henry had gotten the black wood cane, but he insisted on keeping it and she noticed how the gold handle seemed to shimmer in the light.
Whoever it belonged to must have had money to own a gold handled cane and she wondered who it belonged to. She reached out and placed her hand on one end of the gold handle when a purple light moved over her hand then up her arm and she gasped.
"Mom, you ok?" Henry asked when he ran to her and placed his hand on the other end of the gold handle. The purple light moved over his hand then up his arm and his eyes widened as something moved through his mind. A few seconds later they let go of the gold handle as Emma lifted the black wood cane out of the wooden stand and looked at the gold handle.
"Gold," she whispered then frowned and pressed her lips together. "No, that's not right."
"Yes, it is," Henry said and she looked at him. "His name was Gold."
"No, it was something else," Emma said then thought for a few seconds. "His name was..."
A knock on the door broke her train of thought as she walked to the door and looked through the peephole. Her heart slammed in her chest when she unchained the lock on the door then opened the door, looking at the man standing in the hallway.
He was wearing a black Armani suit with a maroon shirt and a maroon pocket handkerchief tucked in the jacket breast pocket, a dusty purple tie with gold swirls, black shoes and socks and a black coat.
"Hello, Dearie," Rumplestiltskin said with his hands folded in front of him and he softly smiled. Regina had used a location spell to locate Emma and Henry and, after Hook used the magic bean to bring them to New York, they voted that Rumplestiltskin would be the one to go see them. It didn't take long for Regina to pinpoint where Emma lived and Rumplestiltskin used his charm on the security guard downstairs to allow him to come up to her apartment.
"Rumplestiltskin," she said in a cool tone and he pressed his lips together.
"How did she know my name?" he thought when Henry appeared next to Emma and smiled at him.
"Hi, Grandpa," he said and Rumplestiltskin felt his heart leap in his chest.
"He remembers, too?" he thought and blinked his eyes a few times.
"Are you coming in or do I close the door?" Emma asked as he walked by her and looked at the apartment. It was a living room/kitchen combination and was nicely decorated and he noticed the two doors that led to the bedrooms. He walked to the center of the room when he turned and she folded her arms over her chest, giving him a cold look. "Right, what's going on?"
"Didn't Regina break the curse?" Henry asked.
"Yes, she did," Rumplestiltskin said. "When did you first start remembering things?"
"It was just a few seconds ago," Emma said as she looked at the black wood cane and he looked at it as well. "Right after we touched that."
"Give me my cane," he said and Emma gave him the black wood cane. He looked at the gold handle as the last bits of purple light shimmered on the gold handle and he sighed. "I thought so."
"What?" Emma asked, walking closer and looked at the black wood cane.
"I had enchanted this cane a long time ago. I didn't want to forget everything when the curse was first cast so I put a memory spell on it," he said. "That's why I was never without it. Once I remembered everything, I used it as a prop."
"So when we touched it, we remembered," Henry said and Rumplestiltskin smiled at his grandson.
"Yes."
"Ok, if that's true. What are you doing here? How did you get here?" Emma asked.
"If you'll make me some coffee, Dearie, I'll tell you," Rumplestiltskin said as he thumped the black wood cane on the floor and placed his hands on the gold handle.
Hook had anchored the Jolly Roger in an unused section of the dock as he stood at the top of the gangplank and the wind blew through his black hair.
"Do you think he can do it?" Baelfire asked. He knew that Hook and Emma had started a relationship when she had thought Baelfire had died and Hook sighed, blinking his eyes a few times.
"Aye, I think so," he said then looked at Baelfire. "If she does come with us, are you going to start over with her?"
"I want to," Bae said then looked at the man who was like a father to him at one time. "Do you still want her?"
"Aye," Hook said then sighed. "I guess we'll have to wait and see which one she picks."
"Yeah, but only if…," Bae said when he saw Henry running down the dock and was heading for the Jolly Roger. His heart pounding, Baelfire ran down the gangplank when he headed for Henry and they hugged each other. He never thought he would hold his son again as tears rolled down his face and Henry smiled up at him.
"Hi, Dad," he said and Baelfire ruffled his hair.
"Where is…?" he asked when he saw Emma and Rumplestiltskin coming toward them and he wondered why Rumplestiltskin was using his cane. He seemed to be limping a bit when they stopped in front of him and Baelfire frowned. "Are you ok, Papa?"
"What?" he asked then looked down at the black wood cane, placed it over his shoulder and crossed one ankle over the other. "Yes, I'm fine."
"Hello, Neal," Emma said as she walked closer and Baelfire coughed, giving her a shy look.
"I've gone back to using Baelfire," he said and she nodded her head.
"Shall we be going?" Rumplestiltskin asked as they headed down the dock and Rumplestiltskin twirled the black wood cane in small circles.
"Ok, how did you find us?" Emma asked after the Jolly Roger set sail and Hook gave her a small smile. He wanted so much to kiss her, but knew that Rumplestiltskin or Baelfire would deck him and she crossed her arms over her chest.
"It's simple," a voice said when Emma turned around and saw Regina standing near one of the cannons. "I told them."
"And how did you know where we were?"
"I used a location spell," Regina said when Henry, who was talking with Baelfire and Rumplestiltskin, ran to Regina and hugged her. "Hello, Darling."
"This doesn't change anything," Emma said, glaring at her.
"Yes, I know," she said as she walked to Emma and sighed. "He's yours."
"Why the sudden change of heart?" Emma said and Regina smiled.
"Let's go for a walk around the deck and I'll tell you," she said as they started walking and Regina told her all about Robin and Roland. Emma's eyes widened then she smiled and Regina smiled back.
The wind moved the sails while Rumplestiltskin stood by the railing and looked out at the water. He didn't hear Emma walk up beside him when he glanced at her and tilted his head to one side.
"Was Pan really your father?" she finally asked.
"Yes," he said, folding his hands in front of him.
"So you were setting us up."
"No."
"But you…," she said when he gently turned her to him and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"It is true that he was my father, but I could never hurt Henry…even if he wasn't my grandson. You have to understand, Miss Swan, I have been fighting prophecies for a very long time. I told you what that seer saw. Her prophecy was I was supposed to die. I changed that."
"And you paid the price for it," she said, looking at his leg.
"Yes, the other prophecy was a boy was to be my undoing. I don't know where she got that drawing of Henry, and I did vow to kill him, but watching him grow day after day changed how I felt. I couldn't do it."
"That's why you helped rescue him."
"Yes," he said with sad eyes. He knew she could tell when someone was lying and she smiled.
"Not sure when it happened, but I think you've become a good guy," she said and his eyes widened.
"I have not," he said then shrugged and she laughed. He watched her walk away when he turned to look at the water and the wind blew softly through his hair.
The soft sound of wood creaking filled the small room as Belle and Rumplestiltskin snuggled on the small bunk and she pulled the blanket up. Tinker Bell had removed the leather wristband, but nothing had happened and Belle gently stroked his left wrist.
"I still don't understand why I can't use magic," Rumplestiltskin sighed and flexed his fingers.
"I talked it over with Emma and…"
"You told her?" he asked with a shocked look on his face.
"I…um…Did I do it again?" she asked with a frown and he sighed, pulling her closer so her head was under his chin.
"Well, at least this time, Dearie, you talked to someone I trust," he said and she laughed. "So, what did she say?"
"She said you need magic therapy," she said and he frowned, scrunching his nose.
"And what, exactly, is magic therapy?"
"She said it's like something someone would do if they had badly injured themselves," she said and looked at him. "Like when you hurt your leg. You couldn't walk on it right away, could you?"
"After all the pulling, twisting and splinting, no, I couldn't," he said as she thought about him smashing his leg with a hammer and she gently rubbed his right leg with hers, A small shiver moved through him as he smiled and half closed his eyes.
"Well, she said what you should do is try using just a tiny bit of magic at first."
"That does sound like a good idea," he said then sighed and rubbed his chin on her hair. "I'm just worried that it will come back."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm talking about my crocodile skin," he said as she stroked a finger along his collarbone and his skin tingled.
"You had it when we first met," she said and stroked the side of his neck.
"It grew thicker and harder after you left," he said then sighed. "And my heart grew darker."
"I'm sorry," she said as her hand slid down and pressed it against the spot over his heart.
"That was a long time ago, Dearie," he said as he held her and she closed her eyes. The gentle rocking of the ship lured him into sleep as he slowly closed his eyes and smiled, drifting off into darkness.
Rumplestiltskin was surprised to find that Regina used her magic to repair his castle as he sat at the head of the dining table and Emma sat to his right.
"Let me see," Rumplestiltskin said when Emma placed the shoebox on the dining table and he looked at the shoebox. She did admit finding a silver blade dagger with RUMPLESTILTSKIN etched on it in her purse frightened her, but something prevented her from getting rid of it. She ended up placing the dagger in a shoebox then placed the shoebox in the closet. When Rumplestiltskin explained what was going on, she and Henry had gone to pack a few things and she had taken the shoebox with her.
"It's a good thing I didn't chuck it in the trash after finding it in my purse," she said and he gave her an angry look.
"Yes, it was," he said then opened the shoebox and removed the dagger. The light shimmered on the silver blade as he tightened his fingers around the handle and his stomach grew into a big knot. His mind replayed the last time he held the dagger in his hand as Emma saw the dagger shaking and she placed her hand on top of his wrist.
"He's gone," she whispered as he looked at her and sighed, placing the dagger back in the shoebox.
"We never saw the body," he whispered then was surprised when she got up, walked closer then hugged him and he slid his arms around her. She moved back as they looked at each other and he softly smiled at her.
"Bae is right. You have changed."
"For the better?" he asked.
"Not sure yet," she said and he giggled as she walked back to the high back chair and sat down. "So, what do we do now?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out," he said as he walked to the spinning wheel and spun the wheel with his hand. He was glad that it wasn't damaged after the flying monkeys broke into his castle and he sat down. He looked at the straw on the floor when he picked some straw up and held the straw in his hand.
"You know, I've never seen you do it," she said and he gave her a puzzled look. "I mean, I've never seen anyone spin straw into gold."
"Watch and learn, Dearie," he said when he moved the spinning wheel then took hold of the thin strands of straw and closed his eyes. He cleared his mind as he felt the magic flowing through him and he remembered to tap into just a fraction of it. Emma stood behind him as the spinning wheel moved and his fingers gentle fed the thin strands of straw into the spinning wheel. The straw seemed to glow as it moved around the spinning wheel then came out the other end and he opened his eyes.
"Easy," she said when he began to lean to the right and with a small grunt they slowly slid to the floor after she caught him. She held him as he leaned against her and placed his head on her shoulder. He felt a little dizzy and tired as he sighed and looked at her with a small smile on his face. "I think you over did it with the magic."
"I think you're right," he said as she helped him to his feet then Emma picked up a thin strand of straw and it sparkled in her hands.
"You did it," she said with a grin as she showed him the thin stand of gold and he giggled.
"He did what?" Henry said as he and Belle came in the room and Belle noticed Rumplestiltskin was swaying side to side.
"Are you alright?" she asked as she came closer and slid her arm around his waist.
"I'm a little tired," he said while she sat him down and he leaned against her.
"He spun straw into gold," Emma said as Henry came closer and stood next to her.
"Cool!" Henry said with a smile.
"You used magic?" Belle asked as she looked at Rumplestiltskin with a slightly angry look in her eyes and he sighed, nodding his head.
"Don't be angry with him," Emma said. "I asked him to show me how he uses magic to spin straw into gold. I guess he used too much."
"I don't understand. Why shouldn't he be able to use magic?" Henry asked.
"When Tinker Bell removed the bloody wristband…," Rumplestiltskin said then coughed at the look Belle gave him and sighed. "When she took it off, I found out that using too much magic makes me ill."
"So you can't use magic at all?"
"He can, but only a little at a time," Belle said.
"Where's your dad?" Emma asked when Baelfire, Snow White and Charming came in the room and Snow White carried a basket in her hands.
"Oh…," Snow said as she held a hand to her mouth and Charming smiled.
"You're really here," Charming said as Emma walked to them and hugged Charming. Snow White placed the basket on the floor when she hugged Emma and Emma felt the tears rolling down her cheeks. Henry ran over as he hugged Charming then Snow White and Rumplestiltskin smiled at Belle. She smiled back as she sat down next to him and he held her to his side. Seeing his family together in one place made any ill feeling he had vanish and he gently kissed Belle's lips.