Chapter Eleven: Defeat

There was no time to lose. Belle took Bae from Ashley by herself and set him on a hospital bed where someone immediately hooked him up to an IV. Bae's eyes were peacefully shut, as though he were sleeping. Doc had rushed in behind them, almost thinking he was going to run into the automatic doors, but he never did.

The commotion this caused! Although Belle saw the bright florescent lights shining throughout the room, and all the doctors running back and forth as Bae was rolled down a hallway and into a room, she couldn't help but see it all in silence. Her main attention was on Baelfire, and realizing her heart had taken a beating because of his sudden collapse because of the Evil Queen made her realize that she was ready.

She was ready to let Baelfire into her heart, as he'd always deserved. She'd been weary of him, admittedly so, but she had her reasons, considering he was the Dark One's son. Born to a man consumed by the powers of magic, Belle was surprised to find that Bae was never like that, and though she hadn't the slightest idea what happened between the boy and his father, she found that none of that mattered to her anymore.

Now was right now, and right now, Bae was in rough shape. Doc managed to barge through the bombardment of doctors. Since he was specialized in magical medicine, he knew he was the best qualified for this job. At once, Belle pushed to get into the room where Bae was lying helpless.

"I'm sorry, miss, you have to stay back," one of the doctors ordered her, but Belle merley glared and tried her luck again.

"Make me," she dared, pushing through him, and finding her way to Rumpelstiltskin's son.

It was also then she knew that no one else knew that Bae was Rumpel's son. Emma and Snow stayed back behind the glass, and only Belle bothered to push through the crowd. Concerned that they may look up her sudden action as rather strange, Belle reminded herself how much Bae meant to Rumpelstiltskin, and now he was to choose between his only son and his magic, the two very things that held him together.

Belle thought to stay beside Bae the entire time, knowing it would be best. With Rumpel out by the Evil Queen, she also figured he'd be in here as soon as he could slip away from her.

Doc shooed a bunch of the doctors out of his sight, yelling at them to leave him be with his work.

"I know what I'm doing, and you have to trust me when I say there is nothing you can do. Only I can save this child," Doc explained in a sincere tone, making no one in that room question his authority.

Only keeping two doctors around for assistance, Doc told Belle she could stay as long as she liked while they tried to figure out Bae's condition.

"Thank you," she told him, watching the doctors leave, eyeing the particular one that almost prevented her from entering Bae's room. There was a new emitting resentment coming from inside of her. She found herself to be angered by that doctor.

However much she hated him, Belle shook off the feeling, not finding that doctor worth the trouble.

"It was Regina, she tied Bae and Rumpelstiltskin together. I think whenever he uses magic, Bae's health weakens," Belle warned the dwarf.

"All right, let's see what I can do then," Doc mumbled to himself, holding out his right hand and reaching into his case to pull out a light.

Back on the front, Ruby lunged at Regina again and again, despite the fact that Mr. Gold meant practically nothing to her. She'd never known him long enough to make any judgements but to stay away from him. That look in Belle's eyes as she carried Bae off is what kept her fighting. That child meant nothing to her, besides that fact that she knew that he did nothing to deserve what was becoming of him. No one deserved this. What she wondered was why Rumpelstiltskin was so concerned over this kid.

A few days ago, Ruby tried to get anything she could out of Granny, but with no luck, she thought that maybe it was ancient history, nothing more. Rumpelstiltskin must know this kid at least somewhat to want to defend him from Regina, or at the very least, he was fighting...he was fighting.

There was nothing more he could do. It was his magic killing the kid, so he'd stopped altogether. He took refuge behind Ruby, making her feel a little awkward. The Dark One, oh so powerful, reduced to this helpless man who was uncertain of himself.

"Well, this is boring," Regina taunted with her icicle eyes and frosty stare. She cared about nothing! "Come and fight Gold. What's the matter? Magic got your tongue?"

Rumpel said nothing to her, only giving her this look of pure exasperation. In his mind, she was dead, but here she was very much alive, still soulless, the definition of evil. Slow exhales released themselves in passionate force from his mouth, but then he just turned away, and soon it was clear that Rumpelstiltskin, though enraged as hell, was in fact inclined to start shedding tears.

He stood up, rising to stop all this madness...but he knew that wasn't possible. Not without the price of his son's life. Within his eyes reflected a soul, and Emma turned around to see him like this. She recognized that look: Rumpel was beaten, for some reason that she didn't fully understand. In those amber eyes, Emma saw...hurt. Real hurt.

"All right!" He shouted at her. "You've won! Congratulations, Regina, you've found a way to beat me, and I must say, you've done a damn fine job of it. There. You've found me weakness, and now..."

His head turned away for a brief moment, and he resisted the flow of his own tears, ashamed of everything: Ashamed of letting his son go, creating this curse, and simply allowing for such magic to come out of hand.

"And now you can have what you've always wanted: your bastard lover's memory to live on just because you couldn't get what you wanted! Go ahead, ravish yourself in this while you can...all magic comes with a price, and yours will catch up with you!"

"My step-mother's only reason for hatred was because of what you did to her!" Regina screamed at him, floating up into the air. Emma turned and fired a few shots at her, but although it did nothing, she found that it made her feel better. Regina could destroy even Mr. Gold's emotion, bring out the worst in a seemingly soulless man, then she was the real hell around here.

"I warned her as well!" Rumpelstiltskin replied, widening his eyes to show his rage further. "It was she who didn't listen." Rumpel turned away again. Ruby, who stood beside him, shook off her fur, letting a few sprinkles of dust hit Mr. Gold. He looked down at them, then to Ruby.

"I can't do this," he admitted in a whisper into Ruby's ear. "I have to go back to him. Here's what I want you to do..."

He fastened something around the wolf's neck, giving her his request: I vile, but nothing was in it. Tell her what to do, the wolf nodded once. From that day, Ruby questioned what she really saw in that moment...

Because she swore she saw a tear run down Rumpelstiltskin's face...and that he was in fact, just an ordinary man.