Chapter 8

"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even be alive."

- Mr. Gold (5.06 The Bear and the Bow)

A week later, they ran out of time.

Every book in Mr. Gold's shop had been examined at least twice, but there was no mention of Dark One heart attacks or Author-induced hallucinations. Regina had discovered a spell that might be useful for freeing those trapped in the hat, but it was written in a language that defied translation. It was just their luck that the one person most likely to be able to read it was the one person they were trying to wake with the help of those trapped inside the hat.

Henry and Belle visited the hospital every day to check on him. Since the heart attack, Mr. Gold hadn't opened his eyes once, and the petals continued to fall from the enchanted rose. When Henry met Belle after school that day, there were six petals left. An hour later, they were down to three, and they both agreed to stay until the end.

Apart from the pale blue hospital gown in place of his black suits, Mr. Gold looked unchanged. The heart monitor continued to beep regularly, and the rose was the only indication that something was terribly wrong. They were losing him, and Henry feared they wouldn't be able to save him. What miracle could they possibly come up with in less than an hour?

Henry sat with the storybook open on his lap. The first several pages had been ripped out in an attempt to reverse the damage, but when that hadn't worked, Henry had started writing in it again. He wasn't sure what had caused the magic to work the first time, so he just wrote whatever he thought of to try, everything from journal entries and apologies to alternate universes where Mr. Gold had gone to New York or came back unaffected because Henry hadn't written in a storybook. The page he had open now was blank. Every time he thought he knew what he wanted to write, the words slipped away from him.

All he could focus on was how that third petal was perilously close to falling. How Belle sat next to Grandpa Gold's bed, stroking his hair with one hand and holding his left hand to her chest with the other. Wondering if he could hear her whispering to him, if he knew they were there, worried about him. Or was he already halfway to the afterlife? Was Henry's father waiting for him? Or was there a separate place for Dark Ones, one where Rumplestiltskin would never see his son or any of his loved ones ever again?

When that third petal fell, Henry started writing. He had to fix this. It didn't matter how. He just had to write Grandpa Gold out of the mess he had put him in.

Belle's sniffles as the second to last petal fell only distracted Henry for half a moment. He had to keep writing. They could fall apart later, but there was still one petal left, and Henry wasn't about to let it fall.

The sudden, sustained beep of the heart monitor had Henry jumping out of his seat, the book dropping to the floor along with his pen. Belle was leaning over Grandpa Gold as though she had just kissed him. Her panicked expression as she looked from the flat-lining heart monitor to Henry confirmed his fear. True Love's Kiss hadn't worked. Belle's gaze darted towards the glass dome of the enchanted rose where it sat on the nightstand, and Henry's followed. The last petal hung limp on the stem, held on by the barest thread of plant fiber. They still had a chance.

"Rumple!" Belle called, squeezing his hand and shaking his shoulder. "Can you hear me? Please, wake up!"

Nurses flooded the room, surrounding the bed and setting up the crash cart, Dr. Whale not far behind. Someone kicked the storybook under the bed, and Belle and Henry were herded out of the room. Just before he got to the door, Henry saw the last petal fall.

"Grandpa!"

He felt like he was drowning, swept away by a current he had no control over. The nurse getting them out of the room wasn't fast enough. He saw them trying to revive Grandpa Gold, saw his body convulse on the bed as the electricity shot through him. Henry fought to get back in the room, shouting his grandfather's name over the sounds of medical chaos. Dr. Whale was preparing to shock Mr. Gold again, and Henry couldn't let it happen.

At the last moment, the heart monitor stopped its screeching and gave a feeble beep. Everyone stopped and watched the screen. Another beep, followed by two more, stronger now. Dr. Whale put down the paddles as a steady pattern emerged, and Henry squeezed past the nurse blocking the doorway. Once inside, he didn't know what to do anymore, so he sat down out of the way and let the nurses do their job. Belle inched back in, merely nodding in response to Dr. Whale's instructions to notify him of any change. She sat down next to the bed, not once looking away from Mr. Gold.

When the room was quiet again, Henry remembered the rose. He looked, expecting to see... he wasn't sure. A wilted stem? A fresh bud? A couple fallen petals reattaching themselves? Instead, a full bloom greeted him, with only three petals remaining limp on the wooden base.

"Belle..." The hoarse whisper startled Henry.

Grandpa Gold's eyes were open! He stared at Belle like he was still half asleep, but he was awake at last!

"I'm here, Rumple," Belle said, gripping his hand.

Henry got up and stood on the other side of the bed. "I'm here too, Grandpa."

Brown eyes shifted towards him, a hand lifting weakly. Henry caught it and held tight.

"I'm sorry..."

"You're alive now. That's all that matters."

Grandpa Gold's eyes widened, and tears welled up. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He closed his eyes, causing the tears to run down his cheeks. "I'm sorry."

Belle stroked his hair. "Hush, it's all right."

Grandpa Gold just shook his head, more tears leaking from beneath his eyelids. "No," he whispered. "It's not all right. It will never be all right."

Belle looked at Henry and mouthed the words Get Dr. Hopper. Henry nodded. Grandpa Gold had his face turned towards him, away from Belle, but his eyes were closed and his hand limp in Henry's. He didn't even react when Henry carefully released his hand and slipped out of the room.