Final chapter. Henry returns and gives Belle some advice about Rumple. There's a surprise at the end as well :)

As He Lies Sleeping

Part Six: Henry

'Belle?'

She looks up as she hears Henry's voice, and then pats Rumple's hand and tells him she'll be right back before going to greet his grandson.

'Hey, Henry,' she greets. 'What's wrong?' she asks, because she can see that he's not happy about something. Something has upset him. 'What happened?' she asks, going to him and touching his shoulder.

He looks at her and she wonders for a moment if she's done something to upset him.

'Regina told me what she did,' he tells her: 'I'm sorry.'

She's surprised. She hadn't expected Regina to take her advice and come clean. Now she realises that he's not upset with her: he's upset on her behalf.

'Henry, this isn't something you need to apologise for,' she tells him gently.

'She shouldn't have done it,' he tells her, and she can see he's angry with his mother. 'Heroes don't take people's hearts to use as leverage, and Zelena killed my dad: no way would Grandpa work with her. Maybe he let her think he was, but… Sometimes my mom's a real idiot.'

Belle can't say she disagrees with that, but she doesn't want Henry to hate his mother: she's not so angry with Regina that she would ever want that.

'We all do wrong things sometimes,' she says. 'It was wrong of me to banish your grandfather without letting him explain himself. I did that because I was scared and angry, and I'm sure your mother was scared for Robin too. Fear drives people to do terrible things: your mother and I are not so different there.' She can admit that, but she still doesn't understand why Regina couldn't just talk to her, couldn't ask for her help instead of betraying her like she did.

'But Grandpa was hurting people,' Henry says, 'and he hurt you, and he might not have been able to stop doing bad things if you hadn't made him leave. Regina only did that to you because Grandpa loves you. She used you: she had no right to do that. You were innocent. Robin said that: he's really angry with her too.'

'She told Robin too?' Belle asks, surprised.

Henry nods. 'Yeah: she told him first and then me. She was pretty upset,' he says, and Belle can see he feels a little bad for his mother.

'Why do you think she told you, Henry?' she asks.

'I guess maybe she didn't want us to find out from someone else,' he said. Belle actually gives the queen more credit than that, though: Regina telling Henry and Robin the truth shows her that she did listen to what she said. Of course, she'll still have to prove she's changing through her behaviour towards her, and she'll probably never trust the queen completely, but maybe she really can change: Belle hopes so, for Henry and Robin's sake more than anything else.

'Or maybe she really is sorry and she knows she has to face up to the bad things she's done as the first step towards being forgiven,' she says now.

'Do you forgive her?' he asks.

'That's going to take time,' she says honestly: she's not going to pretend it's all ok, not even for Henry. 'I thought we were in a better place after she apologised to me, but then she betrayed that by taking my heart. That betrayal isn't something I can easily forgive. To be honest, I don't know if I can trust her not to do something like that again. I'll have to wait and see if she truly can behave better towards me this time.'

She puts her two hands on his shoulders and smiles at him.

'But Regina telling you the truth means she does want to be better: she's just struggling with it. We all do that. I think that she wants you to be proud of her, and that's why she told you the truth. She wants you to know that she knows it was wrong and she's trying.'

'So, you're you saying I shouldn't be mad at her?'

'No, all I'm saying is maybe don't hold onto your anger for too long. Regina made a terrible choice, but we all do, and you can't let anger rule your heart, because if you do that, you might find it hard to find your way back from it. She loves you, Henry, and she wants you to be proud of her.'

He nods. 'I guess sometimes you have to go back a few steps on the road to redemption.'

'We all have to do that sometimes,' Belle agrees. 'So, do you think you can talk to her now?'

He smiles. 'I guess I can call her and tell her I'll be home after I visit with you and Grandpa for a bit. Is that ok with you?'

She smiles. 'Of course: you know you're always welcome here.'

She leaves him alone to talk to his mother and, a few minutes later, he comes through to the back room and smiles at her.

'All good?' she asks.

'Yeah: I told her I'd be home in a little while. She was happy about that.'

'That's good.'

'So, how's Grandpa doing?' he asks, pulling up a stool and joining her at his grandfather's bedside.

'Still the same,' she tells him. 'I can only hope he's comfortable and peaceful.'

'After Emma woke me up from the sleeping curse, I used to go to a place whenever I went to sleep,' Henry tells her, looking down at his grandfather. 'Grandpa called it a netherworld. I stopped going there after a while, but I was thinking that maybe that's where Grandpa went.'

'He told me about that,' she says, 'but isn't that just for victims of the sleeping curse?'

'I'm not sure,' Henry says. 'Maybe other souls can go there too. Maybe that's where Grandpa's soul is and he's trying to find his way back.'

It makes sense, Belle thinks. She discounted the netherworld because she thought it was just for sleeping curse victims, but perhaps Henry is right and Rumple's soul found its way there. It's the first good lead she's had: nothing else has been any help, not even the books Robin brought her.

'Maybe you're right, Henry,' she says quietly.

'If I am, then it should be easy to wake him up,' Henry says, smiling.

'How?' she wonders.

'True Love's Kiss,' he tells her, looking at her like she should know that.

'True Love's… I didn't think of that.'

'Why not?' Henry asks, surprised.

'Because the last time I tried True Love's Kiss, it didn't go well,' she replies, grimacing at the memory of his anger.

'What happened?'

'He pulled away. He got really angry with me. It was working, but I guess his fear of losing the power and the Darkness inside him made him react badly. Looking back, it's probably a good thing he didn't let it work, because if it had, it would just have released all that Darkness back into the world.'

'And the Darkness might have attacked you like it did the Apprentice.'

Belle shivers a little and looks down at Rumple. Maybe part of his reaction was him trying to protect her from that. Complicated, beautiful, noble man!

'He doesn't have the Darkness in him now,' Henry reminds her: 'I bet it would work.'

Belle looks at him and then back at Rumple. Would it work? Would her love be enough to wake him? She blinks as her eyes well up.

'Are you ok?' Henry asks, alarmed.

She nods and swipes at her tears.

'I'm fine, I just…I've missed him so much, and to think I could wake him up…'

Henry smiles. 'True Love's Kiss is the most powerful magic in all the realms,' he says, and he sounds very like his grandfather suddenly.

'Yes,' Belle says, smiling back. 'Thank you, Henry.'

'I didn't do anything,' he says.

'Yes, you did,' she tells him: 'you're a very smart boy.' She reaches out and rubs his shoulder. She knows his father would be proud of him.

'Well, I guess I'll go home and talk to Mom,' he says, 'but call me when he wakes up, ok?'

She nods and stands with him. 'I will, and thanks again.'

'The kiss will work,' he tells her.

'Well, seems you found your faith again too,' she says, smiling.

He smiles and hugs her.

They walk out to the front of the shop together.

'I'll see you soon,' she says, waving him off.

He nods and waves, smiling.

As soon as he's gone, she hurries back to Rumple, her heart in her mouth. Could this work? Could a kiss really be enough to wake him?

She takes a breath, attempting to calm herself. She needs to think. She can't have any qualms or any doubts about this, because that's the surest way for it not to work. She doesn't, she realises: she has no fears or doubts, not about them, not about their love. She believes in what she told Killian: sometimes you're lucky enough to find your faith again. Well, she's rediscovered hers, and it's made her heart and her love stronger. Whatever happens, this is True Love. Whatever state he's in when he wakes, she'll be here for him. She's had the experience of giving up, of being without him, and she never wants to go through that again.

'My love,' she murmurs, 'I have missed you so much. Is Henry right? Are you wandering in the netherworld, looking for a way back to me? I should've tried this before: I don't know why I didn't. The Darkness is gone now and I think you believed that I love you before you passed out. I think what we need to do is fill your heart back up with love again. I know we can do that. You were so full of love, Rumple, and you will be again. True Love's Kiss is the most powerful magic in all the realms, and I can kiss you as many times as you need to fill your heart again. We've got a journey ahead of us, my darling, but I'll be right here by your side.'

She places her hands on his cheeks, her lips trembling with emotion, her heart swelling with love. She longs to see his beautiful eyes again.

'I miss you,' she whispers. 'Come back to me, my dearest. I love you, Rumple.' And she presses her lips to his tenderly, calling him back, pouring her love into him.

It seems like an eternity passes, but then she feels a gentle pressure against her lips, and then there's a gasp, but it didn't come from her.

She blinks, tears on her lashes, and she's looking into beautiful, soulful brown eyes. She smiles tearfully. It worked!

'Hey.' It's all she can say. She can hardly breathe, hardly speak, and she knows she needs to say something more than that, but words fail her.

He gazes up at her, frowning and silent, and her heart thumps at the thought that he doesn't know her any more. The love in his heart was gone: it's possible that his memories of her are too.

'Rumple,' she murmurs. She's about to ask him if he remembers her, but then his hand is on her cheek, his thumb tracing her lower lip. She gasps and places her hand over his, holding it against her skin. There's recognition in his eyes.

'You remember me,' she breathes.

His eyes are wandering over her face and he smiles softly, and there's such a light in his eyes. Her heart soars to see it.

'Belle,' he says, his voice a little raspy.

She's crying as she nods. 'Yes.'

'You saved me,' he says, awed.

She smiles.

'I love you,' he says, as if it's the most simple and obvious thing in the world.

She laughs a little and nods. 'Yes, and I love you too.'

She touches her forehead to his and they smile at each other. She knows they have a long road ahead. One kiss won't be enough to heal his heart after centuries of the Darkness corrupting it, but she's prepared to spend her life kissing him if that's what it takes. They're together now: everything's going to be fine.

The End

Thank you so much for reading and all the lovely comments. There is a sequel of sorts, though it can also be read independently of this story. It's from Rumple's point of view, set a few weeks after he wakes up. It's coming very soon :)