Chapter Four

Belle had locked herself away in the library that Rumple had already had in his home long before it had become theirs. It was small compared to the tower he'd given her before the curse, but she was certain most of his and her collections, including his books on magic, had wound up in Storybrooke. For all of his complaints, Rumplestiltskin had kept quite a collection of tomes on magical history, theory, practice, and more. With the new curse, some things had been put back as they'd had them and some had not. Her first day of studying had been more of a scavenger hunt for the materials she needed. She remembered names of books she'd seen, but not always where she'd seen them, so the adventure had begun in the looking. Between their home, the shop, and the library, Belle thought she'd uncovered most of what she needed in the end.

The doorbell rang twice in a row and she stood, nose still buried in a particularly interesting collection of myths about dream meanings and interpretations. She reached for the door handle without bothering to look, blue eyes skimming the words quickly. Belle stepped back, the door opening, but it was as if she'd forgotten that there would be someone on the other side of it and Henry cleared his throat before she looked up, confusion clearly written across her pretty features. "Hello?"

"Hi," her husband's grandson answered with a grin as he stepped inside.

"I just unlocked the door for you," she breathed, the break in reading allowing her to focus in on their young visitor.

"You know, I've heard of sleepwalking, but I think doing things that you don't realize you're doing because you're reading is a whole new thing. You might even get to name that one."

Belle laughed and closed the door. "I've been doing some research for Rumple. Did you know that back in our world there was once a group of people that could actually move within dreams? They could manipulate the very fabric of a person's dream. It's fascinating. There were even whole sects of clerics that were devoted to the art."

"Do you think that's what's happening to Grandpa Gold and me?"

Belle nearly burst into a fit of giggles. She'd never heard the boy refer to him in that way and she'd wager he'd never used the nickname to his grandfather's face. It was cute, though. "No," she said after a moment to regain her composure. There was no reason to make Henry feel silly over it. "I don't think so. These people haven't been seen or documented for centuries, and even then I haven't seen any evidence that they could manipulate a group of people."

"The magic needed would be immense," Rumple's voice sounded from down the hall, not missing a beat in a conversation he hadn't started with. "I doubt it would even be possible in this world. I thought you weren't coming by until later, Henry?"

"Well, I have to be over at Regina's at five."

"What do you two have planned?" Belle asked, glancing towards her love. "More research and brainstorming?"

"We're visiting my dad's grave," Henry answered for him and Belle saw Rumple's expression tighten, that careful mask falling into place so that he wouldn't risk showing the pain even the mention of Bae's name still brought. This was good, though. He'd only been out to the gravesite once and that had been on their way to their honeymoon. She'd watched from the car, heart aching for the man she loved as he said goodbye to his son yet again. There were so many good-byes in his life, so many scars left behind, that she hoped that this Operation Sandman - as Henry called it - would help him focus on those he had left. His grandson had taken a shine to him and they were far more alike than either of them likely realized.

"And where does your mother think you are until five?" Rumple asked as if he knew something that Belle didn't. From the way Henry cringed, apparently he did.

"The arcade?"

"Henry!" Belle admonished and Rumple chuckled. "Why would you need to lie to your mothers?"

"Regina's likely been chirping in Emma's ear," Rumple groused, moving to grab his coat from the hook.

Belle sighed. This again. "Regina's not angry at you, Rumple."

"So you keep saying, but I fear I know her a bit better than you do, my dear." He turned, dark eyes sharp with centuries worth of knowledge. "Regina doesn't trust me. She's perfectly content in her happy little world right now and let her have it as long as she stays the hell away from me."

"Rumple."

"What? She didn't have the spine to return my dagger to me herself. She had to give it to you. She knew exactly what that said when she did it and it was done with full intent."

Belle glanced over to Henry who was looking intently at his shoes as they spoke. "We can talk about all that later. Henry, you should probably let your mother know where you are."

He grinned in response. "I'm with family. It's okay."

Rumple chuckled and patted the boy on the back as he ushered him towards the door. "I'll have him over to Regina's by five and no one will be the wiser."

"That's not the point," she tried to call after him as he and his grinning grandson moved out the front door. Yes, those two were most certainly more alike than they realized, and she thought that if Bae had lived, the three of them together could have caused quite a bit of mischief. With that thought she shook her head and closed the door behind them, returning to her books and her research.

It was chilly outside but the snow had finally stopped falling. It had left Storybrooke buried beneath the white, fluffy blanket, and it was through that snow that they trudged to the center of the graveyard. There had been few deaths since Storybrooke was formed, but the majority of the graves had come over from the Enchanted Forest. Regina's father's tomb - surprisingly more ornate here than it had been back home - stood in the distance above all the rest. Rumplestiltskin didn't know most of them, nor did he care. His eyes were fixated on a relatively small grave. Beloved Son, it read. His son. His Bae.

"You okay, Grandpa?" Henry asked and he tried for a smile.

"As alright as I ever am with this," he admitted softly. It was dangerous how quickly he was willing to tell the truth with this boy. Dangerous to both himself and Henry. He needed to be careful. The lad had already started lying to his mothers to see him, and if Regina caught wind of that she was likely to start trouble. He'd had experience with people that thought he could potentially cause them harm before and, even though he'd planned it all out, it had still landed him in a rather disgusting cell at the bottom of the old mines. He'd prefer not to have them even attempt such a thing here. Or worse.

"Grandpa?"

Rumplestiltskin pulled himself out of the images that had immediately threatened to drown him and one hand went to the place where Charming's sword ripped through him night after night. He hadn't slept well since his return, but he'd slept even worse this past week. Eventually even he needed rest and it was weighing on him. "I'm sorry, Henry. Just a bit distracted."

"I'm tired too," the boy said as if reading his grandfather's mind. "I'm usually too wound up after I wake up to sleep again."

His grandfather offered a thin smile and they moved closer through the snow and the muck to the small stone marking the grave. Neal. The name his son had chosen for himself. Rumplestiltskin felt the world shift under his feet and he gave into it, sinking to the ground. It had been snowing the night that Bae had turned the key to the Vault if the Dark One and cold when Rumplestiltskin had struggled to save him. He'd truly thought he could save his boy. There hadn't been a spell to do what he did, he'd simply willed it. His desperation had fueled the magic to stave off death and had left him more than a little mad with two consciousnesses bouncing around in the same head. For those days, though, those relatively few days in the stretch of three hundred years that he'd searched for him, he and his son had been as close as two people could be. Bae had known that his father loved him before the end, and he loved his father in return.

"I miss him," Henry whispered, kneeling in the snow next to him.

"As do I," Rumplestiltskin murmured. He glanced over at him, eying the muck they were knelt in. "You'll never fool them now with all that snow on your jeans."

"I don't care. I'm not here for them. I'm here for my dad."

They stayed that way for several long minutes, neither saying anything else as they mourned a father and a son. Neither seemed to mind the cold or the wet until Henry gave a small sniffle, trying to hide it. Slowly Rumplestiltskin stood and his grandson followed a moment later.

"Henry?"

Rumplestiltskin knew the voice without having to turn. Henry whirled at the sound of his name, and he stared at the human-sized Blue Fairy with questioning eyes. "Hi, Blue."

Those judgemental eyes flickered to Rumplestiltskin briefly and her lips tugged downward. "Where's your mother this afternoon?"

Henry met her gaze steadily, the initial surprise at the interruption wearing away. "I came with my grandpa."

"I see that," the fairy said tightly and Rumple's eyes narrowed. She'd been the one that ripped his son away from him three centuries before, and that expression she held that afternoon said she was more than willing to pull his grandson away as well. He'd be damned if he let her.

"No harm in visiting a grave of family," Rumplestiltskin answered, his voice low and the unspoken threat was most certainly there. The polite words were for Henry's sake alone. "So unless you have something more, we'd prefer to do so in peace."

Blue stiffened a bit. "If you need anything, Henry, I'm just up the way."

"Okay?" his grandson answered without bothering to hide his confusion. It took the lead fairy a moment more before she turned away and walk slowly away, but when she did the boy turned his gaze back to his grandpa. "What's the matter with her?"

"The same thing that's been wrong with her for centuries," Rumplestiltskin answered with a frown. "She has to be right."

"She's not right about you. Or my mom, either. She thinks you're both evil."

The frown evened out a little. "And you don't?"

"No. You both saved Storybrooke. You saved us from Pan and Mom saved us from Zelena. If that doesn't make you heroes, it definitely doesn't make you villains either."

Rumplestiltskin smiled just a little at the teenage logic. He hardly thought Regina played the part of a hero in the Zelena situation at all, though he supposed that her actions matched well enough with the other heroes of the town. She'd barged in, won the day, and then proceeded to trample over those she didn't believe mattered. She'd been so fixated on what good was suppose to do - laughable, coming from Regina - that she'd utterly destroyed any trust they'd formed up between them. She'd used his dagger on him - well, she thought she had, but he'd always been more clever than those around him and he'd used the distraction of dragging Zelena across the barn floor to the utmost - and then had the gall not to hand it back to him directly. They'd spatted plenty of times over the years, but that had been it. He had forgiven her for making a go at his dagger with her mother pulling her strings, but not this time. Not after what he'd been through. She knew full well how he felt on the subject.

Regardless of how he felt, though, it was between he and Regina. There was no reason to put his grandson in the middle of it. He might know about it, but Belle had been right. It didn't belong around him.

"That and you keep fixing things. You closed Zelena's portal down too."

That brought a small snort from the Dark One. Leave it to Henry to think that had been out of the goodness if his heart. If there was one thing that Rumplestiltskin understood in the worlds it was price. Everything had one. Murder was no exception, and murder by magic often carried a heavier one with it. The price for killing Bae had been Zelena's life. The price for killing Zelena had been loosing her magic to fulfill her last wish. It was his price to pay to close it, but he'd been willing enough to do that for what it had gained him. He just wished Zelena could have seen her hopes crushed a little more.

"Dad would have been proud of you," Henry said, pulling him out of those dark thoughts and the pain of loss spread the ache all over again. It would never go away.

"Not nearly as proud as he would be of you," he returned and ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. Bae knew who he was and by the end there had been no disillusioned either way. His son knew he had every impulse to be a monster and often lost the battle and played that part better than the man he wished that he were. Bae knew and in the end he'd loved him anyway. In the end he used that to at least try to be better. The pain would always be with him, filling the hole that hope had resided in before Bae's death, but he could be better for Henry and for Belle. As they turned to leave he touched his son's headstone and made the silent vow to try.

Emma was certain that she'd been going over some particularly boring paperwork in her office at the last point she could clearly remember. That made the fact that she found herself standing in the town graveyard a little more disconcerting than it might have been otherwise. She looked around, finding herself alone with the exception of the dead that surrounded her. A spooky feeling sent a chill up her spine that had nothing to do with the weather.

"He really did love you," a familiar lilt reached her ears and the savior spun to find Gold standing there. He wasn't dressed in his expensive suit, but like he had been in Neverland with his high-neck leathers and boots up to his knees. Emma had heard enough whispers around Storybrooke to know that others thought that he was dangerous. She'd always thought he simply had the intimidation game down to an art. Then she'd met him under someone else's control. It had still been an intimidation game, for the most part - with the way Zelena had waved the dagger around for all to see and had him trailing behind her like a reluctant puppy on a leash - but he'd barely shown any effort at all to hold Hook down in the water to drown him or when he'd sent them flying in the barn before Regina had stepped up and surprised everyone with her ability to wield light magic. If he had really been fighting her - and there were some that clearly thought he'd been all too willing to help her - then Emma didn't want to know what he could do when he wanted something.

Gold - Rumplestiltskin - stood next to Neal's grave like he'd been guarding it and that condescending smile he usually wore was nowhere in sight. He looked solemn, like he was coming from the funeral he'd been denied access to when his son had passed. He watched her carefully and there was something stirring in those dark eyes that she really didn't like. He'd always seemed strangely fond of her, so how she knew to be afraid Emma couldn't quite put her finger on. Perhaps it was survival instinct. It made her want to step back, even to run, but she stood there as bravely as she could as the savior of Storybrooke. A savior without magic, that was. She hadn't missed it since Zelena stole it away, not really, but as she found herself alone with a man that might have - if things had gone differently - been her father-in-law, she wished she had something to fight back with. She wasn't even armed.

"I know," she answered him carefully.

"So," Rumplestiltskin continued, never stepping forward, but there was something strange about his eyes, "that does make one question it."

"Question what?"

He didn't have to step, she realized. He flickered out of existence and back in, landing directly in front of her and leaning in. Now she stepped back, but found that there was nowhere to go. An invisible wall kept her from running and the smile that twisted his lips was hardly that. This man was dangerous. There was no question, and if she got out of this alive, she swore never to underestimate him again. "Why you killed him," he breathed the answer to her question.

"I didn't. Zelena did," Emma argued and he tutted.

"Now now, you can't lie to me any better than you can lie to yourself, dearie. It was your magic that tore him away and your magic that left him there to die without any way to help him." His voice was snarling by the end and one thin hand wrapped around her throat, pushing her against the invisible wall.

She struggled, her hands coming up to his wrist, but it didn't budge. He was so much stronger than his slight frame gave away. "I loved him."

"Easily replaced, wasn't he?"

When Cora had tried to take her heart in the Enchanted Forest her magic had stopped the witch from succeeding, but without it the Dark One had no trouble. Emma gave a short cry as his free hand plunged into her chest and tore her beating heart from her. He raised it up for her to inspect and she saw a terrible dark spot that had spread, threads of darkness still reaching around like roots digging into the soil. She blinked at it, a strange sort of terror seeping into the hole left behind.

"You're going to kill me," she whispered and watched as his fingers closed in around her heart.

"Swan?"

Emma jerked awake so violently that she nearly tipped her chair backwards. A hand caught her though and hazel eyes blinked the unexpected sleep away as she stared up at Killian Jones who had a worried looked plastered across his handsome features. "Who's going to kill you?" he asked.

"No one," she breathed, trying to pull herself fully out of the nightmare. She had fallen asleep at her desk. She wasn't standing in the graveyard with one of the Dark One's hands wrapped around her throat and the other holding her heart. She was in the sheriff's station and Gold was off... Somewhere. Not here. Not bringing to light all of her secret guilt and the weight that had pulled at her since Neal's death.

"You said someone was going to kill you," the pirate argued and she glared.

"It was a dream. I assume you have those?"

"Not usually bent over a desk," he snarked and she rolled her eyes.

"So sue me," she grumbled and ignored the look of confusion. She'd hit her quota for the week on idioms explained to out-of-place pirate captains. "Did you need something?"

"Does a man need a reason to visit a pretty lady?"

"Preferably. I have a job to do."

"I can see that. You were drooling all over it."

Emma shot him a nasty glare. She didn't have time - or the patience - to handle him right now. She stood without another word, gathered her papers, and started for the door.

"There was a lady looking for you," Hook called after her and she tried to ignore what sounded like genuine hurt in his voice. "Mother something or the other. She was a fairy in our world."

"Mother Superior?"

"That's the one."

"Did she say what she wanted?"

"Just that if I happened to run into you to let you know she needs to speak to you. She said it was about Henry, so I hurried on over."

"Thanks."

"Swan?" She stopped and turned, trying to ignore the look on his face. "I know we've been doing a bit of a dance around since everything quieted down, but I'd like to take you out as they do in this world. What is it? Usually dinner or a drink or-"

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"That's it!"

Emma chewed on her bottom lip. "I… I've got to go see what's going on with Henry."

"Not right this moment. Later. Swan, I know you always think that something's going come crashing down around you, but you can't live your life like that."

"It's just too soon, Killian," she murmured as her fingers fussed over the swan pendant around her neck, her other hand lingering on the doorframe. She could turn the corner and be gone, but it wasn't that easy, was it? She liked Hook. If things had happened differently, she might have really fallen for his slightly arrogant charm that covered up his own insecurities in a world that he was completely lost in.

"Come now, we've known each other for quite a while now. What other man have you fought a giant with, hmm?"

"I meant since Neal died."

That quieted him and to his credit he looked a little embarrassed. "Right. Of course. Take the time you need."

"Thank you." Then she was gone, around the corner and down the hall. She couldn't risk him saying anything else because she knew she might fall for it only to feel guilty later. She had other priorities right now, namely one. Henry was the only guy she needed in her life and as long as he was safe and happy, she was happy. She didn't need an angry Gold infiltrating her dreams to remind her that it was her magic - the same magic that still hadn't come back to her - that had paved the way for Neal's eventual death. The very least she could do was to take time to mourn him.

It was just he and Regina for dinner and she'd gone all out. The loft had descended into baby chaos since Henry's uncle had been born and Mary Margaret had no time to cook. David tried every now and again, but usually it was just easier to either go to Granny's or send someone for takeout. Henry knew from his year in New York that everyone was happier if Emma stayed away from the kitchen for anything beyond the occasional breakfast items.

This wasn't the first time he'd come over of course. Henry bounced between the loft and the house on the hill often enough - nowdays with a stop over at either the pawn shop to his grandpa's three story house he shared with Belle - and usually he shared his adopted mother with Robin Hood. Not that he was complaining. How many thirteen year olds got to hang out with their childhood heroes in the flesh?

Robin and Roland weren't there that evening. Regina had said that she wanted some time with Henry. She'd cooked his favourite meal, he was sure that he saw a chocolate cake in the oven - completely unheard of in his childhood living there - and she'd had a small present waiting for him in the form of some of the latest comics she must have picked up at Mr Clark's. She was either trying to make up for something that Henry didn't even know she'd done yet or was about to try to find something out that she didn't think he would want to share. Either way, her son was into her tricks.

"So," Regina said as she set a piece of chocolate cake down in front of him, "Emma tells me you've been spending some time with Mr Gold?"

There it was. Henry had just shoveled the first bite of cake into his mouth when he looked up to see Regina wearing that all-too-sweet smile she did when she was trying to get information. He knew that look. It didn't work on him, and as he saw the smile slowly fade, he knew she'd figured that out too. Well, as long as they were on the same page at least she wouldn't try to manipulate him.

Henry swallowed the cake. "He's my grandpa. Of course I've been spending time with him."

Regina pulled in a deep breath, lacing her fingers together to rest against the small frown that was forming. "Henry, I know how important family is to you, and I know you want to make sure you don't miss anything-"

"Exactly. If I'd had my memories, at least I could have said goodbye to my dad. I didn't even get that, so I'm not going to risk losing anyone else."

His mother's frown deepened just a little. "Sweetie, nothing is going to happen to Mr Gold."

"You don't know that. Look what happened with Zelena. She got his dagger and-"

"Honey, Zelena was never going to hurt him with it. She wanted to control him and she couldn't have done that if he was dead."

"But she did hurt him!" The statement was out in the open before he'd thought it through. It wasn't like he knew anything for sure. Grandpa Gold played everything so close that even with ultra specific questions he often found a way around the ones he didn't want to answer. He'd spent enough time near him recently - even with Emma's discomfort in it - to see a bunch of little signs that made him think that something more had happened than he was comfortable in letting anyone know. He was tired, of course, as they both were, but the Mr Gold that Henry had known growing up was composed in any situation. Now Belle always announced her present before touching him from behind and he had heard them speak lowly once or twice, Zelena's name one of the only clear whispers to be heard. There was nothing to say that the Wicked Witch had physically injured his grandfather, but if anyone could, it was someone with his dagger.

"Did he say something to you about it?" Regina asked carefully.

Henry grimaced. "Not exactly. I can just tell." It sounded a little silly now that he was saying it out loud. His grandfather was the immortal Dark One.

She pulled in a deep breath. "Trust me, Henry, if your grandfather was hurt, none of us would be any wiser to it," she said as she sat back in her chair. "But I can tell you from experience that it's nearly impossible to hurt him. His magic heals him quicker than a wound can form."

"Why are you and Emma so convinced I shouldn't be around him?"

Regina was tiptoeing around the subject to the point that it was obvious. Henry watched her carefully, not willing to let her slip around it. She and Emma were both against it and he wanted to know why. He trusted them, but he also trusted his grandfather, and Grandpa Gold needed him then. It was going to take both if them for Operation Sandman.

"We just know how manipulative he can be when he wants something, Henry."

"So can you, but I don't love you any less," her son pointed out bluntly and she blinked at him.

"I'm trying to be better."

"And Grandpa isn't? You wouldn't know. You haven't given him the chance. He died to save us and then was handed off to Zelena. People change, Mom. You did."

Regina sat very still, studying him carefully. She couldn't hide what she'd done from him. He'd seen it, he'd lived it, and what he hadn't he had read the documented accounts of the evil she'd been a part of. His mother had been the Evil Queen, hated by all and feared by most. Even so, she had also been the one to stop Zelena using light magic when Emma could not. She'd changed for him so that she could strive to be the mother that he needed. If anyone should understand how a person could change, it was Regina.

"That doesn't give you permission to lie to us though," she said slowly, as if she were trying to find a more gentle approach to it. He knew he'd struck a nerve when he'd pointed out her own past, but to her credit his mother was holding her temper very well in check. They were discussing, not berating, and with that they might actually get somewhere even if it was a subject he'd rather not broach. "Emma called. Apparently you weren't at the arcade afterall."

"We wanted to visit my dad's grave together. We miss him," Henry answered honestly.

"You should have told us."

Henry set his fork down. It wasn't like he was eating anyway. "And you would have said no."

Regina pursed her lips. "Sometimes I forget how much you grew up in the year you were away. I'll tell you what, if you'll promise to be honest with me, I promise that we'll discuss the outcome before decisions are made, okay?"

The teen grinned widely. "Okay," he agreed. "I think I can do that."

His mother smiled. "Anything else you want to add then? Maybe what you and your grandfather have been sneaking around for?"

She knew something was going on, just not what. Henry was well aware that his mother and grandfather were at odds these days and he assumed it had something to do with the whole Zelena and dagger situation. Grandpa Gold had always stopped before saying too much, and Regina certainly wasn't going to divulge anything if she knew, but she was his mother and she was talented in using magic, so maybe she could help. His grandpa would understand in the end. He'd made a deal with her and he needed to uphold his end.

Henry dove into the dreams with details that made his mother cringe. He explained how they'd been keeping him awake and he'd has his grandfather about them only to find out that they'd been sharing the same dream. They'd been looking for answers together so that they could find out who was at the bottom of all of this and what they really wanted. The more he talked, the easier it became to talk about and Regina merely sat and listened. She nodded, keen dark eyes focused on him and a careful smile on her lips. When he finished she stood, rounding the table and Henry was barely on his feet before she pulled him into a full hug, kissing the top of his head. "I wish you'd come to me first."

"I didn't want to worry you. You know how you get."

Regina snorted and tightened her grip. "I'm still your mother, young man," she admonished, though she hardly sounded angry. "I just want you to be safe."

"Grandpa Gold and I are getting closer and closer to it, I know we are. Maybe when we find who's doing it you can help us beat them and you two can be friends again?"

His mother snorted a laugh. "Friends has always been a bit of a stretch for Rumple and I, but if he's being honest about wanting to be there for you… Well, I suppose we'll have to deal with each other, won't we?"

"Yep."

She smiled and kissed him again before sitting back down. They finished their cake, the conversation changing around to school, friends, and subjects that had nothing to do with nightmares and death. Laughter filled the home he'd grown up in and it seemed to stretch out like a protection spell that wrapped its way through the halls and refused to let any danger in through its woven threads. The nightmares would likely wake him as they did most every night, but his mom would be just a couple rooms away and she knew about everything. Henry hadn't realized just how heavy the weight of secrecy had been on him. Regina knew now and she wasn't angry. She might even help. Things were looking up, and if they continued that way Belle might have even found a lead on the spell that whoever was causing this was using. They could handle the threat and maybe then he could enjoy this crazy little family that fate had handed him without fear of losing them all to it.

He was running. It was a little different this time. He'd been able to get to his feet after (somewhat) dodging Snow White's arrow. It had left his shoulder bloody and his arm useless, but at least it hadn't buried itself deep in his back this time.

Rumplestiltskin stumbled around a corner and into an ally. He couldn't teleport. He wasn't sure why, but that was something he'd discovered fairly early on in the repetitive nightmares. He was left to run for his life like anyone else, with only the barest reach for his own magic. It wouldn't come readily to his call and he hadn't quite found out why. It could have been another trick to the spell that he was under or just the utter exhaustion. Either way, it was slow to his call.

He pulled on that thin thread now, feeling it move sluggishly through his fingers. Part of him thought he should just give in. It was a dream, afterall, and the pain would fade as he woke. Let David's blade rip his all-too-human body apart and he'd wake up next to Belle. She would wrap her arms around him and he could try for something akin to sleep while curled into her. He could pretend to be safe. The other part of him - the part he'd grown to listen to over his centuries as the Dark One - reminded him that these dreams had a purpose. If they were to come true, he needed his escape route planned. He wouldn't just lie down and die in reality. He wouldn't do it here.

Magic tried weakly to pull flesh and muscle back together from where the arrow had ripped it apart. Rumplestiltskin closed his eyes against the pain and he leaned back against the brick wall of the store backed up to the alley. He could feel the ache of exhaustion even while within the nightmare and it made him want to give up. Perhaps just this once. It was only a dream...

"Papa?"

Rumplestiltskin's eyes flew open at the familiar voice and he saw him standing in the alleyway with him. His son. His precious boy. He pushed himself from the wall with wide eyes fixated on him. "Bae?"

A smile pulled at his son's lips and he reached forward as if to take his hand and his lips moved as if he might be ready to say something, but just as quickly as he was there he was gone again, the illusion scattering into the air as a sword plunged through it, held by a prince filled with all the fury in the worlds aimed at his daughter's supposed murderer. Rumplestiltskin steeled himself as David's blade bit through him, slamming him hard against the outer wall he'd been leaning against. He didn't even bother to deny the accusations this time. What was the point? Charming would kill him anyway. He did every time.

TBC

Notes: Well this chapter just kept going and going, and then FFN gave me all kinds of trouble uploading it :(

Well, hopefully, if things go as I expect this week, it may be a three updates kind of week. It's crazy logic, but I'm a creature of habit and I always try to edit down the chapter and get it ready to post first thing the next morning. I'll be busy Wednesday night, so I doubt I'll have time to do that. My solution? Update three times this week. I swear it makes sense in my head :P

Next time - Rumple receives more guests than he'd prefer in the shop and Belle comes across a few men very interested in what she's carrying in her purse.