Once Upon A Time

Rumpelstiltskin knew that Dagian didn't love him. Not really. She was just trying to survive in this little game of house that they played.

He wasn't quite sure how he felt about her either. He didn't bring up her leaving anymore because she was staying now but it was something that was always on his mind. She left once; if the right button was pressed then she would leave again.

So he did his best to make both her and his son happy. He could give them everything they wanted if they just asked him.

But they didn't so he had to go with his instinct.

The morning things started to really change; he came into the cabin and rested his hands on his wife's hips.

"What do you want?" she asked while kneading bread.

"I have something for you," he whispered and slipped the box into her hands.

She recognized the box from her childhood almost immediately. A small excited gasp escaped her lips and she opened it.

"I didn't save some of your mementos," he told her guiltily, "The Dark One before me had destroyed a couple of them beyond repair but I was able to use my abilities in order to fix the ones I kept."

She picked up her mother's ring with shaking hands, "Why would you save this after I left you?"

"Because I kept praying that one day you'd come back."

The old guilt hit but she pushed it out of her mind and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. He would probably never understand how much this little gesture meant to her. Not really. This was her only link to her past and when the dark one destroyed it she thought it would be gone forever.

Emotions ran through him when he returned the gesture and held her tightly. The first thing that struck him was how she smelled like the warm bread that she'd been cooking all afternoon.

She pulled away slightly, her lips hovered slightly away from his and she looked into his eyes.

He knew immediately what she wanted and placed his hands on either side of her face, "Are you sure?"

She nodded and smiled happy, "Yes."

He mentally locked the doors. Bae would be outside attending to some chores for the day, but it was a just in case measure.

"As you wish dearie," he smiled and kissed her back.


Dagian rested her head on her husband's chest and traced a finger down the scar where he'd been stabbed a month ago, "How badly did it hurt?"

He brushed a knuckle down her side, ""As much as getting stabbed hurts I imagine."

"It healed though," she pressed her lips against the scar, "Almost as soon as you were attacked."

"Having this ability does have its blessings sometimes."

The very idea creeped her out but she couldn't help but find it fascinating as well, "Does this mean there's a part of you that's dead?"

He rolled over on her and she could feel his hammering heart when his chest was pressed against hers, "Does it feel like I'm dead dearie?"

"You were stabbed in the chest," she argued, "Wouldn't that technically mean you were dead?"

"Or ascended," he pointed out and brushed his lips against her jaw, "No steel can hurt me."

She didn't reply. Just the idea was all too surreal. What kind of being wasn't hurt by silver or steel?

He trailed his lips past her ear and up her face but he stopped short of the scar right below her temple. She didn't look at his expression but she could feel his anger radiating off him and his muscles shook, "They didn't suffer like they should have."

She turned her head to block the scar from his sight and felt his hand brush the hair away from her neck. He hadn't done much 'dealing' after they'd been attacked. She didn't understand why he did this dealing business it at all because he could conjure up anything they wanted but he said something about establishing connections and how it was better to have people owing them something so he could keep them under control.

But other than the dealing he tried to pretend that things would settle back down to normal. He wanted to pretend that it could be the way it was had the ogre war never happened and she stayed. He believed that people wouldn't fear him one day and would welcome his family into the village but he was in denial. Both she and Bae knew that it would never happen.

"Are you cold?" he asked and grabbed the blanket that they'd kicked off earlier during their activities.

"I'm fine," she said but she was suddenly aware of a chill in the room and shivered.

He pulled the blanket around his shoulders and wrapped them around her that they were sharing heat.

"It'll be evening soon," he whispered.

She brushed a knuckle down his neck. She knew the implications. Bae would be home and they'd lose this moment that they'd used to bond. Real life would start up again and people would fear him and shun her and her son and this…oddly bizarre beautiful afternoon they'd shared together would feel like it was a dream.

"Well," she whispered and brushed her leg down his hip, "We have some time yet."


Present Day

The more Dagian tried to hide it, the more it confirmed the truth to Mr. Gold that she remembered everything.

Which was odd because he hadn't expected it to be like this. He had expected her to scream at him, to hit him, any other number of violent attempts were all something that he had come to expect and believe he deserved.

But she didn't resort to that, even though he wished that she had. He would've known what to expect that way. He was prepared for it Instead she continued the charade like there was nothing amiss.

But she knew. He could see it in her eyes. This wasn't Dawn who would love him and respect him for rescuing her, this was Dagian. She wasn't so easily impressed.

He would've revealed that he knew she remembered, but why should he? If she wanted to keep up the charade then he was more than willing to play her little game as well. After all, she belonged to him. Not in the truest sense of the world of course, nor was she his true love. He'd found that out the hard way. But fate kept making sure they stayed together and how many times had he saved her? More than enough. In the Realms, she would owe him a life debt and that meant that in this world or the next, she was his.

However, he was far more lenient to her than most men in his position would be. He knew that for certain, he'd seen plenty of them.

Her silence was like a personal challenge to him. For the safety of her and the baby he would play this game of her's. He was worried that if he blew it now then she'd leave and Regina would target her. He would oblige her for now, but Regina knowing who he was certainly complicated everything.

He also took her remembering far better than he thought he would. There was a part of him that expected to panic that his life was now crumbling out from under him but he remained as calm as she did.

When he got home, she was asleep. She'd been released that morning and he had been able to get her home right before having to attend the arraignment. He had been reluctant to leave her alone, especially with Regina lurking around. However, he knew that Dagian wouldn't rest if he was near her and she needed to for the sake of the baby. She would need time to try and process what was happening.

So he made sure she was safe in the bed. And he told her he loved her and wondered if he really did or not. If anything it was interesting to watch her squirm as she repeated the phrase and he kissed her on the cheek and went to work.

She didn't protest that he went to work and left her alone. He didn't expect her to anyway.

The arraignment came and went and he returned home. Dagian was in so deep a sleep that she didn't wake when he changed clothes and slipped into bed next to her.

It'd been a rough night in the hospital for him too. How did people sleep in those beds?

Half an hour passed and he stared at his wife. She was far prettier as "Dawn." The way her eyes lit up almost reminded him of when they were first married and she didn't a care in the world.

As Dagian she was far more world weary and most of that was his fault. He brushed a knuckle against her cheek.

Dagian remembered. How was he supposed to feel about that?

He waited for feelings of anger to come and satisfaction that his plan of revenge was pretty much complete. But he couldn't summon it. All he felt now was guilt for what he'd put her and Baelfire through and how he'd shoved them away until it was too late.

He had to atone for what he'd done to her. For this little revenge scheme that would only benefit him by watching her be humiliated.

Dagian whimpered in her sleep and he put a hand on her arm. She settled down but he saw her face scrunch up from whatever nightmare she was having. His other hand found her stomach and she unconsciously moved closer to him

AS he waited for sleep to take him, he tried to figure out a way to atone for what he'd done.