Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters except Rose and Mason, though I wish I owned a certain pirate whose name started with Kil and ends with lian.

A/N: This one was a pretty tough chapter. It's hard to get into Rumplestiltskin's mindset, so forgive me if I completely butcher him. Also, I estimate about two more chapters and then I am done. Review please.

Chapter 24

Rumplestiltskin

I slowly tilted the vial of potion into the cauldron, mixing slowly. The curse Rose was asking for was simple enough, but messing it up would be disastrous.

I turned and held up a hand towards the vials. It drifted, almost as if it had its own mind, towards the green vial, but I pushed the urge away and grabbed the needed red one instead.

Dark Magic swelled inside of me, whispering encouragements, trying to make me grab the green vial. It was so tempting, tempting enough to make my hands shake.

But no.

I would not let myself be a monster, not when I had Rose, my daughter, depending on me. I had learned my lesson about letting magic get between me and my children and I would not do it again, no matter how much the magic was begging for me to do. I would let the curse affect me as much as everyone else, and I would forget Rose and Mason and the future they represented with the rest of them.

But it would be so easy. The magic taunted. I ignored it, though it was right. It would be so, so easy, to make myself the loophole of this curse, to allow myself to remember Rose and Mason.

Remembering them, however, could have been what I needed to remain a changed man, I argued. The knowledge that things were going to be that great could perhaps be the restraint I needed for my dark magic. It would make it easier to control myself, if I knew that I would have my future with Belle and Rose and Mason.

Stop. I commanded myself. I would not allow myself to convince myself not to curse myself. I needed to do as Rose asked, to make sure that the future they were going back to would not be changed beyond recognition. Rose had asked of me one thing, and I would follow through.

I poured the red vial in and mixed, staring pensively at my hand. It was astonishingly human, the way it had once been. The fingers were the same shape, slender, the palm slightly curved, but the clear color of it was always astonishing. After accepting the curse I had hated to look at myself. Belle had been partly right, when she had said I had all of the mirrors covered because I hated to look at myself. It was mostly because I didn't want anyone watching us in my castle, but it was also because I couldn't look at myself without shuddering in horror. Seeing my reflection made the truth unarguable. No one had loved me when I was a fair looking man, there was no way that anyone would seek my company when my skin was mottled greenish, my nails permanently long and sharp, no matter how many times I trimmed them.

I wondered how I looked in the future suddenly. Rose had said that I still had my magic, but I wondered if I looked like the Dark One or like I did now. They had both recognized me as this person, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Obviously my children were geniuses.

I snapped my fingers, summoning Mason. He landed in the middle of the room, looking cheerily up at me. He didn't look startled, which meant that this had happened many times before. Or I supposed later.

"Hi Papa!" He said, scrambling towards me in the way that only little boys could. He went around the counter I was working on and wrapped his arms around my leg. "What're you doing?"

"Making a potion," I said, dropping a hand to pet his dark hair, the exact same shade as Belle's. My heart panged with missing her and I vowed that I would go and see her soon. I hadn't been there as much as I had wished, because after bring Rose and Mason that one time, it was clear that they only confused my poor Belle even more.

"Do you need my help?" Mason asked, his big blue eyes excited as he stared up at me. His gaze was adoring, filled with hero-worship. It was the kind of look I had always strived to see on Bae's face.

"In fact I do," I said. I lifted him up, setting his butt on the counter away from the cauldron. I handed him a pinch of dust. "Could you please put that in for me?"

"Sure!" He said, carefully dropping it in. He stared at the liquid in the cauldron pensively.

"Mason?" I asked. He turned to look at me, grinning. "Do I look like this in your world?"

"Kind of," He said, closing one eye and squinting at me. "Your eyes are the same, but your hair and skin is different."

"It is?" I said startled. If I still looked so hideous, how did I manage to get anyone to love me, never mind these beautiful kids?

"Yep," Mason said cheerfully. "But don't worry, because Mama says that True Love is more than just how someone looks."

"Sounds like something she would say," I agreed numbly. I still looked the same, in the other world.

And Belle loved me anyway?

I grabbed the green vial and cradled it in my palm for a brief second.

And then I disintegrated it.