A/N: Now the story is finished. I would like to thank everyone who read, favored, followed and reviewed. This was fun to write and it wouldn't be possible without the people who created of Once Upon A Time and, of course, Robert Carlyle. :)

A/N: The Rumple Belle sees in her dreams is really the Dark One and he chose to look like Rumple because that's how Belle is used to seeing him. As for why he's in her head, it has to do with the kiss and the emotion and mental connection Rumple and Belle share.

Chapter Twenty One

Titania sat down then placed her hands on the arms of the chair. Emma gave her a smile as she barely nodded her head and Oberon placed his hand on Titania's shoulder.

"We will now hear your accusations," Titania said as the others looked at each other then, one by one, they told her about their dealing with the Blue Fairy. "Tell us, Dwarf, do you still love this fairy?"

"Uh," Grumpy said as he removed his hat and held it in his hands. "Yes, I do."

"Does she love you?"

"Yes," he said with a nod is head.

"Then we see no cause for you two to be apart," she said and Grumpy smiled. He looked at the Blue Fairy with a smug look on his face and she pressed her lips together. Titania glanced at Geppetto and she blinked her eyes a few times. "Tell us, Wood Carver, didn't you think it was odd to place such a responsibility on such a young child? We have observed your young and one such as he is prone to lying. We believe that even you, yourself, had lied as a child."

"Yes, I did," Geppetto said as he blushed and softly smiled.

"And the consequences for such a burden led to him running away, correct?" Titania asked.

"Yes," Geppetto said with a nod of his head.

"What happened afterwards?" she asked and Geppetto told her about getting a boat, searching for days on end until being swallowed by a whale then being reunited with his son. "You had to beg her to bring him back?"

"Yes," he said.

"He had to learn his lesson!" the Blue Fairy shouted then looked down from the cold look Oberon glared at her. Snow White thought for a few seconds when her eyes widened and she walked to the chair, placing her hands on the table.

"You know, I often wondered why Geppetto came to me and asked for me to let Pinocchio to take my place when we were sending Emma through the wardrobe," she said then glared at the Blue Fairy. "It was you who told him to do it, wasn't it?!"

"Now that you mention it," Grumpy said. "He would have been with his father when the curse was cast, wouldn't he?"

"Yes, he would have," Geppetto sighed. "Forgive me."

"Of course," Snow said with a smile.

"So," Emma said as she glared at the Blue Fairy and Baelfire held her tightly around the waist to prevent her from leaping across the table and pounding the little bug into paste. He felt like it as well and she placed her hands on top of his. "If she hadn't have done that, I wouldn't have been alone for twenty-eight years?!"

"Yes," Snow said and sighed.

"Now we will deal with your accusations," Titania said as she looked at Rumplestiltskin and he leaned forward, placed his elbows on the table and folded his fingers together.

"You never answered my question, Dearie. How did my father know so much about me? He didn't want anything to do with me yet he knew just what buttons to push," Rumplestiltskin said then sat back in the chair and they looked at the Blue Fairy.

"I have no idea," she growled.

"Yes, you do. That's why she turned Austin back into Pinocchio then erased his memory just before he could tell us about Pan," Emma said.

"I saved his life!" she shouted.

"You know," Bae said as he looked at them and pressed his lips together. "I never figured out why the Dark One picked my father as his successor. Why pick some lame guy when there were tons of other greedy jerks out there?"

Rumplestiltskin gave his son a hurt look and Baelfire shrugged.

"No offense, Papa."

"None taken," he said with a nod of his head.

"It was because he had a good heart. Someone like him could easily be manipulated," Regina said and Rumplestiltskin widened his eyes. "Well, it did work, didn't it?"

"Yes," he said then sighed.

"Answer them," Titania said while glaring at the Blue Fairy and the Blue Fairy wrung her hands together.

"Fine," the Blue Fairy growled. "Yes, I have been manipulating you…all of you!"

"You dirty….," Grumpy growled as he stood up while Granny shook her head and he sat back down.

"As for you," she said as she looked at Rumplestiltskin and he placed his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his hands. "The reason your father knew so much about you was because I told him."

"But why would you do that?" he asked, arching his eyebrows.

"Years ago, he had come to me and demanded I find a way to unlock the magic you inherited from your mother. Your mother told him the only way to do it was the key, but didn't tell him what the key was or where it was. He begged me to find out and I followed you. What I saw was nothing more than a useless coward then a monster. I thought he would be the one to destroy you so we'd be rid of you!"

"Someone hand me a shoe so I can squash this bug," Granny growled.

"Hold," Titania said as she held her hand up then looked at Oberon and the bells hanging from his horns jingled when he tilted his head to one side. He then looked at the Blue Fairy as she saw the anger in his eyes and she slowly floated backwards. With a gentle motion, he raised his hand then wiggled a finger for her to come to him and his eyes turned from yellow to a bright orange.

"No," the Blue Fairy whispered when he wiggled his finger again and she sighed, floating toward him. He looked at her then titled his head side to side and blinked his eyes a few times. Suddenly his mouth opened wide as they looked at the sharp teeth and split tongue and the tongue shot out, wrapping around The Blue. The Blue Fairy screamed when the tongue shot back into Oberon's mouth and he closed his mouth. Emma winced while he swallowed then gave her a smile and nodded his head.

"Ok, didn't expect that," she thought when Titania stood up then took Oberon's hand and they headed for the door. Turning, Titania looked at them then nodded her head and they left the room.

"Well, that was…interesting," Regina said as they looked at her and nodded their heads.

The fire crackled in the fireplace while Belle snuggled next to Rumplestiltskin and placed her hand on his shoulder. She listened to the soft sound of his heartbeat while he stroked her hair and looked at the canopy. His mind tried to come to terms with what had happened as he tried to figure out what he was and sighed.

"Am I a villain? I have been one for so long that the idea of not being one scares me. I'm not the hero type. That's boring. Yet, being a villain means being alone. I don't want that. I love my family. I'd be lost without them. As for friends, I don't mind having a few good ones. The one thing I'm not is a coward. I was ready to fight for the Duke during the Ogre War. But my need to see my son was stronger than my duty. That isn't being a coward. Not really. Why didn't Milah see that? As for the rest, I did what I did for those I love and for my own satisfaction. That is a selfish reason, but that's what happened. I'm human and humans make mistakes and bad decisions. Is that what I meant about feeding the madness? Because trying to figure out who/what I am is maddening," he thought when he looked at Belle and she had drifted off to sleep. "I do know one thing. If I had to live without you, I would have gone mad."

He listened to the room when he gently moved Belle off of him then slid out of bed. The floor felt cold on his bare feet and his fleece nightshirt ended just at his knees. He walked to the light wood cradle when he knelt down and looked at his sleeping son. Duer had his little hands raised on either side of his head and his tiny fingers were balled into fists. He was sleeping on his tummy with his head facing to the left and his lower lip was sticking out.

"Like father like son," Rumplestiltskin thought as he remembered Belle telling him he did the same thing in his sleep and he reached over to move the fleece blanket up. He then noticed the golden light spiraling around his right hand when flashes of Duer's life moved through his mind and he was doing magic. Rumplestiltskin smiled after the golden light faded then moved the fleece blanket up and stood.

"Sweet dreams, Little Wizard," he whispered. Suddenly the sound of low grunts, screeches and yips caught his attention. He walked to the basket near the fireplace when he made a soft grunt and sat on the floor.

Bunfin had kicked the small, sheepskin blanket off as it wriggled and kicked its legs and the sounds he heard was coming from his small friend. Bunfin's eyes were closed tightly as it made soft noises and Rumplestiltskin gently picked the small monkey up, holding it in his arms. He placed the small monkey's head against his chest while making hushing sounds and gently stroked the small monkey's back

"Now, now, it's alright," he whispered when the golden light appeared again and he gently rocked back and forth.

Suddenly he saw a jungle of green leaf trees, thick bushes and a variety of fruits and berries. Small, green fur, green wing squirrel monkeys were in the trees and Bunfin was sitting on one of the branches. The larger squirrel monkeys were screeching at his little friend as Bunfin huddled in fear and lowered its head.

The scene changed to the squirrel monkeys scampering over the ground as the flying monkeys swooped down and picked them off one by one. He winced at the carnage then saw the Wicked Witch walking by the bodies and Bunfin was hiding under a bush. She was smiling when she waved her hand and Bunfin, screeching and pawing at the ground, sailed out from under the bush and she picked his little friend up by the scruff of its neck. She placed Bunfin in a cage then laughed and the flying monkeys jumped up and down, slapping their paws on the ground.

The scene changed to a throne room and Bunfin was sitting on the top of a golden throne. It was wearing a jester's outfit and the Wicked Witch was sitting on the throne. One of the flying monkeys jumped at his little friend as Bunfin screeched and fell off the top of the throne. Reaching out, Bunfin grabbed hold of the Wicked Witch's hair to break its fall and she screamed. Rumplestiltskin's heart slammed in his chest as he watched the Wicked Witch tear off Bunfin's wings and Bunfin screeched.

"If she wasn't dead, I'd kill her," Rumplestiltskin thought when he noticed the lump under the small, fleece nightshirt Bunfin was wearing and he pulled the nightshirt up.

"What?" he whispered when he carefully removed the nightshirt and saw the green feather wings on Bunfin's back. He stroked his fingers over the soft feathers as Bunfin wiggled then made soft noises and scratched its nose.

"I did just grow his wings back?" Rumplestiltskin thought as he looked at his hand then shrugged. He placed the small nightshirt over the side of the basket when he placed Bunfin down and covered the small monkey with the sheepskin blanket. He made a note to make his little friend a new nightshirt when he grunted and stood up. He looked back at the bed then at the dressing gown on the chair when he walked to the chair and placed the dressing gown on.

The water dripped down the walls as a rat sat on a crate and the sound of footsteps filled the air. The torchlight flickered while Belle walked down the hallway and looked at the iron bar covered doorway. She knew she was dreaming, but she had wondered what happened to HIM and stood in front of the iron bars.

"Are you there?" she asked when she slid her fingers over the horizontal iron bar and looked into the darkness.

"No," a voice said behind her when she turned around and Rumplestiltskin was behind her. She finally saw that he was wearing a cream color shirt with long, puffy sleeves, a brown leather vest with a high collar, brown leather trousers and brown leather boots that ended at his knees. He smiled at her when he held his hand out and she took his hand. "Did you need something?"

"He figured it out and has his magic and power back."

"I know."

"How do you know?"

"That's my secret," he said after leaning closer and softly giggled in her ear.

"Then I guess you're leaving," she sighed.

"I told you I wasn't going anywhere," he said and placed his hands behind his back. "You see, even though he is free of the curse, he isn't free of me."

"I don't understand."

"Haven't you ever wondered if the Dark One was a real? I am. Well, I'm a spirit, but I am real. Those who have taken on the curse inherit me along with the curse. Over time, I become the person because there was always someone controlling the one who had taken on the curse. With him, it was different. There was no master. Imagine my surprise when I found that out and found out what he wanted to do with my power. I have never met such a pure soul like his. I tried to take over, but his will was very strong. In the end, I just became that little voice in his head that told him what to do. Most of the time he listened, but then you came along. You challenged both of us and we…"

"You both fell in love with me?" she asked and he made a little cough, looked down and swung his arms back and forth. She noticed a familiar shy look as she took his hands and wrapped their fingers together.

"Anyway," he said as he let go and started pacing. "After he fought his…father, you kissed him. True loves kiss is a very powerful thing. Your souls, hearts and minds became one and I got..stuck."

"You got stuck?"

"Well, yes," he said then giggled. "You two created a bubble around me."

He had folded his fingers together then slammed his hands together with a loud pop and smiled.

"So, when the curse was finally broken, I ended up stuck inside him."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Dearie," he said. "It's better than the alternative."

"The alternative?" she asked and he sighed.

"I would have faded away into oblivion," he said and her eyes widened.

"No."

"Now, don't worry, Dearie," he said with a smile. "It's like he said. I'm right here."

He took her hand when he placed her hand against his chest and placed his hand on top. She watched him fade while his giggle echoed in her ears and she smiled, nodding her head.

The stars twinkled brightly in the night sky while Emma stood by the window and folded her arms over her stomach. She didn't hear the soft click of the door opening as Rumplestiltskin walked to her and noticed she was wearing a gray t-shirt and white silk boxers. She looked cold as he watched the golden light appear around his hand and a coffee mug of hot chocolate with cinnamon sprinkles appeared.

"Cold, Dearie?" he asked when he appeared next to her and she took the coffee mug from him.

"What are you doing up?" she asked, sipping on the hot chocolate.

"I could ask you the same," he said and she looked at his nightshirt.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Neither could I," he said then looked at the stars. "I did figure something out. You and I have something in common."

"We do?" she asked with a confused look on her face.

"Yes," he said when he waved his hand and a fluted glass with white wine appeared in his hand.

"I thought we agreed that you won't use magic until we figure out what your new powers are," she said and he shrugged, sipping on some wine. "So, what do we have in common?"

"You and I never had a real home," he said and she sipped on some of the hot chocolate.

"Well, being a part of the foster system, I never stayed in one place too long. It was either because they ran out of money or they had too many kids. There was one place I left because the guy who owned the house was a pervert."

"We never stayed in one place too long because my father would get into debt or someone found out he was conning them. Once, we lived in a cave," he said and her eyes widened.

"I thought you lived with some women."

"I did. That's where I learned how to spin and weave cloth," he said then sighed. "When he sent me back, I ended up somewhere else. Luckily, with my spinning and weaving experience, I was able to get a job with a tailor. He let me sleep in the stable at the back of the shop."

"Didn't you have a home with Bae's mother?"

"Yes, but it was her house. She gave it to us when she left," he said then sipped on the wine.

"I had to move around because of my job and when I was traveling with Bae. He did promise we'd get a place one day."

"After Bae left, I didn't care where I lived. Eventually, I got this castle. The lord that lived here made me a deal and forfeited the castle when he couldn't live up to his part."

"Then you did have a home."

"No, it wasn't a home until Belle came," he said then sighed. "After she left, it was just a castle. That's why it was so easy to go with your parents and get tossed in that cell."

"What about the house you had in Storybrooke?"

"It was just a house," he said then looked up at the stars. "Though I do admit I miss my shop. I was quite possessive of it."

"I heard that you would smack someone with your cane if they tried to take something," she said and he softly smiled, nodding his head. "Do you think we'll ever find a home?"

"I think we have. Like I said, this castle wasn't a home until Belle came. Now there's Belle, Duer, Bunfin, you, Bae and Henry living here. That makes it a home again," he said, sipping on some wine.

"I believe you're right," she said then looked at the coffee mug. "So about we do a toast?"

"What should we toast?" he asked.

"Here's to going home," she said, raising the coffee mug.

"To going home…together," he said as they touched the coffee mug and glass then drank, smiling at each other. Turning back to the window, they looked at the stars twinkling in the dark sky and she slid her arm around his waist.