The Golden Rule

by LizzeXX

Gold/OC - Emma's actions in the past have put the Pied Piper and the Dark One ill at ease. As they both work to free him from the Dagger's control, they may encounter obstacles they never expected and face the worst betrayals imaginable. When the bonds of family and ties of loyalty are strained, will it only be a matter of time before they're severed? Fourth in the Bedtime Stories.

32. Heart of Gold

Heart of Gold

Gold didn't even flinch as Piper's grip on his arm tightened, the girl half panting as they walked up the stairs towards Baelfire's apartment in the middle of New York. It was the first place they had thought to go, to recuperate. There were many reasons to stop there first, to get Bae's things, to rest, to see if he might have accumulated any other magical items. It was near enough to a small shop that Zelena had set up for her monkey man Walsh that one of them could go investigate it for something they needed while the other rested.

It was why, despite his leg hurting and needing to lean on his cane, Gold said not a word as he helped support Piper towards the apartment. He silently cursed Snow White for her actions. The girl should have known that Piper would leave Storybrooke with him, and the petty princess had no idea, none at all, just how detrimental that would be. The way Piper was panting and clutching at her chest with her free hand was evidence enough that things were going wrong, just as he had feared they would, just as they had taken precautions to prevent…had it not been for Snow White.

"Almost there Pip," he murmured to her as they walked slowly down the hall, "Once you're resting, I'll get the potion."

She couldn't come with him, not on this endeavor, she could hardly walk without holding his arm for support and stability, taking her to that shop, not knowing what magical protections might be on it, not knowing if she might need to run or move quickly…he couldn't do that to her. No, he would get her settled and get that blasted potion himself. He knew it had to be at Walsh's shop, Zelena wouldn't have sent the monkey there without precautions and an ample set of potions to use. The one he was thinking of HAD to be among those possessions, it had to be, the alternative was something he didn't even want to consider.

It was a true testament to how poorly Piper felt that she didn't even argue wanting to go with him but nodded shakily in agreement.

They reached the door, Gold pulling out a small key, an object he had kept in his pocket since he had lost his son, just needing something to remind him that his son had had a way to support himself, a home, somewhere safe to go to, that he had made a life for himself and lived it. He slid it into the lock and pushed the door open…but stopped short when he saw that the apartment was not as empty as he expected it to be.

No, instead Robin Hood and his child, the forest maid as well, were standing within. He knew that Marian had been sent over the line, something about the Snow Queen's spell activating again and Robin going with his wife to support her. He had NOT known Regina would send them there, all the way to New York. What was the logic in that? To send a man that had no idea how to operate in the modern world across three states just to get to this apartment? What reason was there to not set him up in the next town over, or in the forests just outside the town, somewhere the man was USED to living and surviving in?

There was no rhyme or reason to it, so he was truly shocked to see the trio inside his son's home, "What the hell are you doing here?!" he demanded.

"What are you doing here?" Robin countered.

Gold tensed, feeling Piper's breath hitch beside him, her grip on his arm tightening, "That's none of your concern," he sneered at the man, "Your concern is removing yourself from the premises. This…this is my son's home!" he shouted, "You're trespassing!"

"No," Robin shook his head, "This is our home now, and we're not going anywhere."

"How honorable of you," Piper muttered, "Taking a dead man's home and claiming it for yourself instead of allowing it to the man's father."

That…didn't quite sound like something Robin Hood would do. Well, steal a home, perhaps, he was a thief, but to demand that THEY leave? When Baelfire was GOLD's son? When this apartment should, by rights, be turned over to his family instead of strangers?

She drew in a sharp breath as a tightness began to form in her chest, something Gold seemed aware of, "Look," the man turned to Robin, speaking quicker, "I really don't have time for this. I've got business to attend to."

"What business could you possibly have in a world without magic?" Robin scoffed, moving to stand in front of his wife and child.

"The business of my happiness," Gold's eyes narrowed at that, "Now get out!"

"Oh, you're here to find the Author, aren't you?" Robin frowned at that.

Piper nearly scoffed at that herself, she and Gold had been happy in Storybrooke, they'd had no need to find the Author outside of helping Henry with his quest with Regina. And why would they look for him in New York? What possible reason could he have to think the Author was HERE? In a world without magic? In a land that was so far away from the characters of his book?

Did leaving a realm of magic affect one's mind?

It made no sense at all to her that Robin would think that they would come to this town, to this location, of all places in the world, to look for the Author.

Because, clearly, there was NO other reason for them to want to stop in that apartment, the one that belonged to Gold's son, the one that contained his possessions. Yes, there was absolutely no reason to come to New York unless it was a search for the Author.

Idiot.

Gold, however, just eyed Robin, "So Regina told you. Of course she did. Well, then you'll also know that if the Author isn't found, Regina won't get her happy ending," he reminded the man, neither confirming nor denying Robin's assumption about why they were there or what their 'happiness' meant, let the man assume all he wanted, more often than not the assumptions of others were what gave them an advantage over their enemies. He didn't need to know that Gold's 'happiness' was HER, her welfare, her health, and not some mysterious Author.

Piper winced as a pain shot through her chest, her left arm starting to tingle as she tried to grab Gold's arm more firmly.

"I'm sorry," Robin shook his head, "But I will not succumb to your games. I know better than to trust you. I have a wife and child. We need this home, and we're keeping it!"

"Rummy…" Piper gasped, hunching forward, her hand clutching at her chest more than before.

"No…" Gold dropped his walking cane to reach for her as she nearly fell to her knees, "Pip!"

Piper could hardly breathe as Gold lowered her to the floor, the pain radiating in her chest spreading and worsening. She barely managed to look up at him before it became too much and her world went black, Gold shouting 'Piper!' being the last thing she heard.

~8~

Gold didn't even look up from the hospital bed Piper was lying in, not taking his eyes off her even as Robin Hood stepped into the room. He didn't care if the man saw him sitting at her bedside, gripping one of her hands in his own, Piper looking over at him with a tired, pained smile while her other hand rested over her heart, the heart monitor beeping a steady rhythm for the moment…though they both knew it wouldn't last.

"What did the doctors say?" Robin asked quietly, seeming to not want to interrupt their moment, but…fearful for the woman.

He might be a thief and hero, and this might be the Dark One and Pied Piper and villains, but Piper was Snow White's cousin, and she…she was kind to the children, back in the Enchanted Forest. He was one of the very few people that would allow Roland to be near the woman, he couldn't very well pull the villain card for keeping his son away from her, not when he allowed Roland near the Evil Queen. Piper had been kind to his son, and for that alone he would have checked on her.

He…had also been a bit useless.

Piper had just collapsed in front of them in the apartment, Gold had caught her and was shouting at them to 'call 911' and he honestly hadn't thought to call on a phone. He didn't know what this 911 thing was, he didn't know if there was something in the apartment that was meant to be labeled 911, or what the 911 would do. Gold had cursed and pulled out a cell phone to call, emergency services he'd been informed was what 911 was. For medical and life threatening situations, something he would remember for his son's sake. He had helped Gold lift Piper onto the small couch in the apartment, Marian keeping Roland back and away from the sight of Piper growing unnaturally pail, from Gold growing angrier the longer it took the 911 to get there.

He hadn't known what to do and he felt a little guilty for it, that he had been no help at all in getting an ill woman help. He needed to be sure she was alright at the very least.

"Well, only what their small minds can comprehend," Gold muttered, "Prattling on about diets and exercise," he scoffed.

"A heart attack," Piper sighed, absently rubbing the area over her heart, "Fitting."

"How so?" Robin frowned.

Piper pulled her gaze away from Gold to look over at Robin, "His heart," she nodded at Gold, "Is in MY chest. And this is a world without magic, which means here, in this world, it beats and affects me as though it were my own heart."

"My heart," Gold swallowed hard at that, sounding very angry with himself over the situation, and Robin assumed he did feel that anger and guilt, because it was HIS heart in his true love's chest, and it was clearly affecting her, "All the dark deeds I've done in my considerably long life, they've taken their toll and poisoned my heart, thickened the blood. Back in Storybrooke, I used the Dark One's magic to protect myself. And we were too late to keep the poison from reaching my heart."

Piper closed her eyes at that, letting out a deep breath, an unsettled one. To free Gold from the dagger, it meant cutting him from not just the limitations of the blade, but the protections it offered as well. He had had to make himself entirely vulnerable to the Sorcerer's Hat, to open himself up as wide as possible for the ties of the dagger to be severed.

It meant that all the protections, all the magic he had used as the Dark One to keep the dark deeds from affecting his heart were removed. The Dark One's power allowed for the Dark One to commit the crimes and other doings he might choose in his life, it was what darkened the heart. But because the dagger was meant to be the only thing that could kill the Dark One, it implied that all the darkness would not touch the heart itself in such a way that it would start to wither and die, as it would with anyone else. Had Regina continued on her dark path, done more and more dark deeds, eventually her heart wouldn't have been able to handle it and would have died. The Dark One could ONLY be killed by his dagger, the darkness infecting his heart would not kill him.

When they had freed him of the dagger's control, it removed that failsafe. The darkness had truly started to infect and affect his heart.

There was a spell, one that he had been preparing, one that was meant to take part in the light of the first dawn after a darkness settled in someone's heart, one that would protect the heart from the darkness, cleanse it in a way, fortify it, make it impossible for the darkness to kill the heart.

They had completed the ritual to cleave him from the dagger, a secondary one was set to be performed in the first light of dawn, one meant to use light to counter the darkness, to nullify its effect on the heart.

But they hadn't been able to even begin to perform it, Snow White had seen to that, banishing him over the townline to a land without the magic to perform the spell. And without HIM in Storybrooke, Piper wouldn't have been able to cast the spell either. Now all that darkness was crippling his heart, poisoning it.

It shouldn't have. He should have been safe, Piper should have been safe. They had it all planned. He had researched what would happen if he did free himself from the dagger and had taken precautions to ensure nothing truly dangerous would happen, that he would be well in the end. He had prepared for it, was ready to cast the spell, had finally been freed…

Only for Snow White to throw not just a wrench into his plans…but condemn her cousin to the agony of suffering a failing heart.

Oh the woman had no idea what she had done in banishing them when she had. The heart was in Piper's chest, he couldn't switch the hearts in a land without magic. And because the magic didn't work quite the same in this realm as in Storybrooke, it seemed that his heart was affecting HER. She was suffering the consequences of her cousin getting in the way.

"And without magic, there's no way to prevent it," Gold finished quietly, squeezing Piper's hand, making her look at him, at the regret and pain in his eyes that she was suffering this because of his heart.

"There is no magic in this world," Robin frowned, understanding that it meant…if nothing was done and done soon, Piper was well and truly going to die.

"True," Gold agreed, "We can't create magic here. But we can use magical items if they were brought from elsewhere," he looked at Robin and stood, staring the man down from the other side of Piper's bed, "Remember something from our past?" he eyed the man, "The Elixir of the Wounded Heart? Something I asked you to steal."

From how Robin's lips pursed at that, he DID remember it. It had been in the Enchanted Forest. He had gone to Robin, the Dark One with a request, a deal that he would save the man's tavern that he owned in exchange for him stealing something from the Wicked Witch. A potion that could mend hearts. He had sent Robin for it, and heard nothing back. Robin had failed and so he had not needed to keep his end of the bargain and save the tavern. He may have been quite a good deal harsher to the man when he'd tried to break into his castle later, just after Piper had joined him, due to that lingering anger at the failed deal.

But he had gotten his revenge in torturing the man, in changing his appearance to the man before him. Gone was the brown haired, brown eyed man that he had dealt with, and in his place was the blonde haired, blue eyed hero. Oh there were charms that could do the same, a particular 6-leaf clover from Oz would do the trick as well, make someone appear as another, he'd found that exact charm on Robin's person when he'd captured him breaking in, had crushed it so Robin would never be able to use it on his deals again…though it had given him the thought to make Robin change permanently, an amusing trick to watch as he tried to explain to his wife and men that he was really HIM.

"Well, I think I might know where some of it exists," Gold continued, "Right here in New York City. And I need you to get it for me."

"And why would I help you?" Robin narrowed his eyes.

"For the same reason you left the woman you love," Gold sneered, "You left Regina because you're a man with a code, a man of honor. And that, despite everything, is the reason why you will save MY true love," he smirked, "You would never allow a woman to die if you could help it."

Robin was silent, but they all knew he was caught.

~8~

Piper grimaced as she looked at the small tray of food that had been brought to her room, a rather plain ham sandwich, a pudding cup, juice, and a rather dry looking brownie. Just the smell of the ham was making her stomach turn.

Gold just squeezed her hand, his phone to his ear as he spoke with Robin, the man having, of course, agreed to go and retrieve the desired potion. HE could have gone and gotten it, he was sure…but after what happened to Piper, he was not going to leave her side, not now, not when there was another gullible hero that could go retrieve the potion for them.

"The Wizard of Oak?" Robin was saying, "That was his cover while in our world?"

"Well, apparently being great and powerful did not mean witty," Gold nearly rolled his eyes, not having time for this, wanting that potion here five minutes ago, "But he was effective. Zelena sent him to New York to keep an eye on Emma. She would have been a fool to send him without precautions, magical charms, potions…"

"And Zelena's no fool."

"No, she wasn't," Gold hated to admit it, "Just find the potion, and bring it back here."

Piper sighed as he ended the call, "Hot chocolate?" she nearly begged him to get her it from the small cafeteria.

He gave her a gentle smile and shook his head, "If that is awful," he nodded at the food, "I can only imagine what their beverages are like."

Piper nodded at that, "I would hate to ruin my taste for it with the hospital version."

Gold chuckled at that, squeezing her hand, seeing her smile didn't match her light tone, "Everything will be fine, Pip," he promised her, lifting her hand to kiss the back of it, "The thief will find the potion, and it will work."

"Will it?" she wondered, expressing her concern, "You said yourself, Rummy, you have lived a considerably long life, and it has been…mere days since we left Storybrooke. If the heart is already reacting like this, will the potion, in a land without magic, truly be able to nullify the effects completely?"

"No," he sighed, hating to admit it, "But it will buy us time."

"Time?"

"To find a way back to Storybrooke."

Her expression darkened, "I do not want to be anywhere near my traitor of a cousin."

"I know," he nodded, "If I could, Pip, I'd whisk you away anywhere you want to go, we could start a life together, I would be happy to. YOU are enough for me," he told her, "You will always be enough. But the only way to stop the darkness overwhelming my heart is magic, and that can only be found…"

"In Storybrooke," she let out a breath, "I do not like this."

"Nor do I," though his pointed look spoke more of how he loathed THIS, being here, in this hospital, with her hurting and in danger because of him, "I WILL find a way to stop this Pip. But everything I had that could help is in my shop."

"And Henry would not be able to send anything to us without crossing the line," Piper rubbed her head at that, thinking of the boy that had called them only hours after they'd left the town, wanting to know that they were ok. They had promised to call him once they were settled somewhere…it seemed that was on hold for the moment, she didn't want to worry him by telling him she was in hospital. If they were going to return back to the town, she would tell him when she saw him, so he might see she was alright…and she would be alright.

Robin would get the potion, she would drink it, and they would have the time they needed to fix his heart.

~8~

Piper blinked her eyes open from where she had been drifting asleep to the feel of Gold gently stroking her hair when his caress suddenly stopped and he stood, "You found it."

She turned her head to see Robin step into the room, a small bottle of a red liquid held up in his hand, "Indeed," he quickly stepped back as Gold held out his hand for it, "I've made good on my promise, we need to strike a deal."

"Well, make it quick," Gold nearly growled. He had been trying to keep Piper calm and relaxed, but he had noticed, despite her drifting off, that the heart rate on the monitor had remained at the same speed.

"Before this potion heals her," he glanced at Piper and back, "You will both move on. Your son's apartment belongs to me now, and I never want to see either of you there again."

Gold nearly glowered at that, but he didn't even need to glance at the state Piper was in before he said, "It's yours."

"Rummy," Piper reached out for his arm, "Do not become a desperate on," she warned him quietly, knowing how much they had both favored those sorts in their deals. The ones willing to do absolutely anything to get what they wanted. She knew how much the apartment, his son's possessions, meant to him, and she was loathe to let him pass the opportunity of reclaiming it away just for her.

"I am not Pip," he promised her, putting his hand over hers on his arm, "I assure you," he gave her a small smile before nodding at Robin, "Take it. Now give me what's mine," he held his hand out again.

Robin stepped forward and pressed the bottle into Gold's hand, "Good riddance, Rumpelstiltskin," he glanced between the two of them, "Our dealings are done."

"Goodbye, thief," Gold muttered, waving the man off and out of the room before he turned to Piper, uncorking the bottle and handing it to her.

Piper downed the contents, before starting to cough, "This…this is not a potion," she nearly gagged.

"What?!" Gold stared at her.

"I have spent much time in this world," she wheezed, the coughing making her heart rate speed up, "That is no potion. It is cough syrup," she would know, she had had to buy the cherry flavored ones for August, he wouldn't take any other flavor…and she'd had to demonstrate it wasn't poison by taking the medicine first before he would accept it.

It tasted exactly like that.

"I don't understand…" Gold looked at the door and back at Piper, his mind racing at the possibility that Robin Hood, a hero, may have just double crossed them.

"It's simple really," a voice said a moment before Marian walked into the room, "I tried to convince Robin to let you die, but he just wouldn't listen to reason. So I simply switched the vials," she grinned, seeming far too pleased at the state of things before her, the Pied Piper lying helpless in a bed, suffering, while the Dark One was powerless to help her, "Cough syrup, just as she said."

"Why are you doing this?" Gold nearly growled at her, "We've done you no harm!"

"That's not exactly true," Marian tugged lightly at a necklace around her neck on a long chain, holding up the trinket on the end and twisting it…

And before their eyes, her entire form shimmered, leaving none other than Zelena standing in her place.

"Zelena…" Piper gasped, wincing as a pain shot through her heart, making her grip at her chest.

"How is this possible?" Gold stared at her, seeming genuinely shocked that the woman was alive before them.

"Imported magic, dear," Zelena shrugged, "Never travel between realms without it. You remember the six-leaf clover from Oz, don't you?" she waved it before Gold's face, "It's quite the effective glamour spell."

"No, no," he shook his head, "We killed you!"

"Mmm," she hummed, taking a step or two closer to the bed, "You tried. When you stabbed me in that jail cell, I didn't die," she nearly laughed as Gold grabbed his cane and held it before him as though to keep her away from Piper with it, she stopped, but more out of amusement than threat, "My life force simply fled my body before it shattered. I had somewhere to go. Or should I say some time?"

"You went through the time portal with Emma," Piper wheezed, before letting out a pained cry that had Gold gripping her hand, torn between trying to find a way to comfort her and keeping Zelena back.

"That I did," Zelena sighed in memory, "And when I realized what Emma had planned for Marian, well, I knew I had to get in while the getting was good. So I bided my time, watching Emma and her one-handed lover scurrying about, trying to right their mistakes, and when I saw they planned on bringing Robin's wife back, I mean," she started laughing, ignoring how the heart monitor started to pick up, too excited to reveal the genius of her plan, "Inspiration struck! And then I struck. For a few careless moments, they left her unattended…and that was all I needed. I killed her. And then I became her," she gestured at herself, "I took her form. Do you know, it wasn't easy not being me, but knowing that it would ruin Regina's happiness? Oh," she inhaled deeply, proud, "I mean, that made it worth every dull moment in her body…"

"Marian never made the trip to Storybrooke," Gold realized, lowering his cane as Piper started to gasp for breath, leaving him on choice but to turn to her.

"No," Zelena laughed, completely at ease, despite the heart monitor starting to go crazy, "No, dear. It was me all along. And, you know, no one's been the wiser. Not her husband, not even her child. I mean, she's as dead as, well your son."

"Pip?" Gold reached for Piper, looking between her and the monitor as it sped up to a startling speed, "Help!" he shouted, trying to get attention of the nurses, "Help!"

Zelena though, just continued to stand there and smirk at his plight, "Oh, that's right. I suppose that means you never avenged his death. That you failed him…" she eyed Piper as the rate started to drop quickly, "Much like you failed HER too. Oops," she smirked, just as a PA system started to call out for a Code Blue.

"HELP!" Gold cried as the rate suddenly stopped to a single, deadly note, just as the nurses and doctors ran in.

"Oh!" Zelena cried out mockingly, stepping back so she would be out of the way yet in full view of the Pied Piper's life ending, the Dark One's heart breaking, "Oh, please! Help her!"

"I need the crash cart!" one of the doctors shouted, a nurse trying to pull Gold away as he saw them pulling her shirt open, sticking electrical pads to her chest and side and charging the defibrillator controls.

And he knew what that meant, they were trying to start her heart once more.

"Pip…" he shook his head at the horror of the situation.

"Clear!" the doctor quickly pressed the controls to the pads, Piper's back arching up slightly.

But the flatline remained.

"NO!"

~8~

"Get out."

The two words were spoken with a deadly intent, the grip Gold had on his cane left no room to the imagination that he wouldn't rise from where he was sitting and beat the person intruding on him and Piper to death with it.

Zelena just laughed and stepped further into the room, a coffee in her hand, "Ooh, would you look at the magic in this world, Rumple," she nodded at Piper's prone form, "A tube that breathes for you. Well, her predicament does look painful."

Gold's grip on his cane tightened at her words. Piper was lying in the hospital bed, unconscious from the latest 'heart attack,' a tube down her throat that was helping to keep her alive. Her heart was beating again after three shocks of the defibrillator, she hadn't woken since the event…but she was alive. He hadn't left her side, hadn't even realized Zelena had left till the woman was back.

"I am in NO mood Zelena," he sneered at her, "Remove yourself from this room…"

"Or what?" she smirked, "What are you gonna do, Dark One? Tell me, really do tell me, what could you possibly do against me in a world without magic?"

Before she could even blink, Gold was out of his chair, shoving her against the wall of the room, the door thankfully closed after she walked in, pressing his cane against her neck, "Don't test me," he glared at her.

Zelena narrowed her eyes and reached up to push the cane back just enough to breathe, Gold might have surprised her, but here he was a weak old man and she was a fit woman in her prime, "Do that and you won't hear how I can save your precious little fish."

Gold's lip curled up in a snarl, but he stepped back, his cane tip on the ground once more, but he stood protectively before Piper, keeping himself between her and Zelena, "What?" he demanded.

She hummed, sipping her coffee that had somehow not spilled from the force of the shove, "Ooh do let me take my time telling you, dearie," she mocked, "There's a time I would have relished in this, you know. And with your vendetta against me for the death of your son? Wow. This is…this is true irony. She kills your son, your heart kills her…"

"Zelena!" he snapped.

Zelena rolled her eyes, "Yes, yes," she huffed, "My clever little plan…"

"I don't care what your plan is," he cut in.

"Ooh but you should," she grinned, "Because my plan will give your fish the relief she needs…IF you assist me in seeing it through."

Gold glowered at her, "What is it?" he bit out, wanting nothing more than to impale her with his cane. But he had enough soundness of mind left to know that the only thing that could help Piper now was the potion, one that Zelena had swapped out for cough syrup, one that she likely still had possession of.

"Well, it's changed a bit now that I know why you two came to New York," she laughed, "I was going to use my little Marian-glamour to steal Robin's heart, to make him fall in love with me, to steal Regina's fated true love," she rolled her eyes at the notion of it, "How ultimate, you know?" she considered, "I think that loss could finally be a wound that doesn't heal," she sighed, "Sadly, it didn't take. I can't win his heart. Something is standing in the way like a like a stone wall. Could be fate. Could be true love or some other bias in the universe towards those who deserve happiness. But whatever it is, I am certain that there is an author who can simply force a happy ending for me," she took another sip of coffee, making him wait on her words, "And if there's anyone that could find him and bend him to their will, well, my money's on the Dark One. Or, if he fails, his little fish has a history of swaying people to do her bidding," she eyed Piper, "Poor little fish, dying on dry land…"

"You want us to force the Author to give you a happy ending," Gold stated, cutting through her long winded speech.

"Well, you'd also have to stop trying killing me, of course," Zelena added, smirking as she adopted his voice to mock him, "But, dearie, what does old Rumple get out of it?" she chuckled, resuming her normal voice, "I mean, you are aware I have a certain potion that fixes hearts," she reached into her pocket with her free hand and pulled it out, "I don't know if it could cure that little lump of coal you've got stashed away in your little fish's chest though. Might get you back home," she lifted her eyebrows quickly, "Shall we find out?"

Gold held out his hand for the potion.

But Zelena tutted him, "Your fish's life for mine," she affirmed, "That seems rather fair. Do we have a deal?"

Gold's jaw clenched at the very thought of it, of having to join sides with the woman that was truly responsible for his son's death, for the torment she had caused him, for the torture…

But he could hear it, the steady beeping of the heart monitor.

His true love's life was in danger, and he would do anything for her.

"Deal."

Zelena grinned and plopped the little bottle into his hand, "Best of luck to you, dearie," she taunted, taking one final sip of her coffee and sauntering out of the room, no doubt in her mind that he would do exactly as she wanted and secure her her happy ending in payment for his fishy love surviving to see another day.

Gold glared at her till she was out of the room before he quickly moved to Piper's side, uncorking the bottle. He hesitated removing the breathing tube, but knew he had to do it, she had to drink the potion for it to work.

And if it didn't, if Zelena double crossed him again…there would be no power on this earth that would keep him from ending her miserable life once and for all.

~8~

Piper was leaning heavily on Gold as they stepped out of the hospital that very night. Her chest didn't burn as much or tug as much, she didn't feel much pain there, more a twinge of tenderness, and she was exhausted from the ordeal. But Gold had administered the potion to her, she had recovered quickly and she hadn't wanted to spend another moment in the hospital if she could help it. So they had checked her out and were ready to find a hotel to stay in when they spotted Robin Hood waiting by the hospital's main sign, the man seeming to see how tired Piper was for he walked over to them, a box in hand, instead of making them walk to him.

"I thought you never wanted to see us again," Gold eyed the man, winding his arm around Piper more as she trembled against him slightly, still very weak from the entire situation.

"Well, after all the trouble I went to," Robin started speaking to Gold, but looked at Piper in the end, "I wanted to make sure you were well."

"Define 'well,'" she muttered.

Robin nodded, seeing how pale and worn she looked, "I um…I wanted to give you something," he added, focusing on Gold once more, holding the box before him, "It's from the apartment, your son Baelfire's things. There wasn't much left. I thought you might want to have it."

Gold nodded but seemed unsure of how to take the box. He had his cane, his arm was around Piper, neither of which he was or could let go of and Piper was still very weak, "Would it be agreeable if I picked this up at a later date?" he inquired of Robin, "We just want to find a place to rest."

Robin seemed to understand his veiled words, that they were in no condition to be lugging around a box after all of this, "Yes, of course," he nodded, "But just this ONCE."

Gold nodded, "You have our number, call us when your wife isn't around and we shall take the box then. I doubt she'd want the 'monsters' stepping foot in your apartment again."

Piper frowned as she saw a shadow of an odd emotion drift past Robin's face at the mention of his wife, "Problem?"

"No," Robin shook his head, "No, not with the arrangement," he reassured them.

"Your wife then," Piper wondered idly just how much the man realized was wrong with the woman, that she truly wasn't his wife, how much they could get away with hinting at without breaking the deal Gold had made with Zelena. Right now she was too weak and tired to care if Robin was in Zelena's clutches, he wasn't HER true love. Though you would expect a man to be able to tell his wife wasn't his wife.

She could guess why SHE hadn't known, whey she hadn't realized. Gold had explained the 6-leaf clover of Oz to her, had mentioned that he'd seen it in Zelena's possession in Storybrooke when she still had a hold on his dagger. She had likely used the dagger as a totem to bespell the charm to also glamour her song to replicate Marian's. It made somewhat sense, the heart that Regina had ripped out of the frozen woman, according to Henry, had been glowing a bright red, not the dark heart Zelena would have had. If the glamour could hold with an object removed from a person and separated from her, it wasn't a far cry to believe it could glamour a spell as well, especially if the Dark One's dagger had been used to do it.

Robin sighed, "I wished for my Marian to come back every day," he spoke, not sure who else he could really express his concerns to, tell anyone else that he was Robin Hood and his wife, Maid Marian, had come back from the dead via a time travel portal to the Enchanted Forest and…well, he'd be thought mad. Right now, he supposed, the two villains before him owed him enough to listen for getting them the potion and returning Baelfire's possessions, "And then when she did…"

"You were in love with another woman," Gold cut in.

"It's more than just that," he argued, "She's…she's like a stranger to me now."

"Why did you marry her in the first place?" Gold asked, hoping that the man would think on what that Marian was like, and realize the woman before him was nothing like the one in his memory. If he could remember why he married her, he would remember the marriage, how it was like, how it was different now…

"Cos I loved her," Robin said simply.

"And you thought she was gonna be your happy ending."

"Yes."

"Is she?" Piper eyed him, noting how he hadn't said 'truly loved her' or that Marian was his 'true love.' She didn't particularly care what Marian was, but…soulmates, from what she knew, were far more profound a bond. She would think that Regina was more likely to be his happy ending than Marian…and if they could remind him of the woman, perhaps he could get out of Zelena's clutches and find himself and Roland another place to be.

She didn't particularly care what happened to Robin or not…but anything that would put a damper in Zelena's plans would be something they very much wanted. Zelena had only said that she wanted them to get the Author to write her a happy ending. She said nothing about Robin being there during it or being a part of it or them needing to help her with her revenge against Regina. Anything to hinder those plans they would take.

"I don't know," Robin admitted quietly.

"Well," Gold sighed, "Maybe you should take a piece of advice from a man who has pushed away more than his fair share at happiness because it never used to be enough," he glanced at Piper at that, the soft smile on his face as he looked at her telling them both that Piper was the exception, she and Baelfire, they would have been more than enough, he had learned from his mistakes and when his latest chance at happiness came around in the form of a half-siren on the run from the Evil Queen…he took it, "If it's within your grasp, if you know where it is and who it's with," he gave Piper a light squeeze, "Then you should run to it, grasp it, and never let it go."

Piper gave him a gentle smile and rested her head half on his shoulder, half on his chest for a moment.

Robin nodded at that, seeming deep in thought before he turned to walk back to the apartment.

Gold let out a long breath, "Come on Pip," he murmured, "Let's get you out of the cold…"

They had taken barely three steps away from the hospital when a voice called out behind them, "Ms. Lynn!" the doctor that had been assigned to Piper ran out of the sliding doors and over to them, "Ms. Lynn, what are you doing?"

"Leaving," she stated bluntly, having no more patience and just wanting to get somewhere warm, somewhere that didn't smell like sterility and bleach, to sleep.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that, Ms. Lynn," the doctor, an older man with thinning, graying hair and a small mustache, shook his head.

"Look," Gold huffed, "We're all checked out, she has every right to leave if she wants to. And she does."

"I understand that," the man sighed, "But I would not recommend it. You've suffered two major heart attacks," he turned back to Piper, "The last one was nearly fatal. You should stay overnight for observations. It really would be in your best interest to remain here, we received your test results back, Ms. Lynn," he pulled a clip board he'd been holding under his arm up to flip through the papers, "Your bloodwork…another attack like the last one could be…severe and cause much more damage than I think you realize…"

Gold frowned, "What is it?" he shook his head, "Is there something else wrong?" there shouldn't be, he might have said it was thickening his blood, but it was more metaphoric, the heart was just that and it was failing, but it was safe for now.

"No, no, nothing's wrong," the doctor corrected quickly.

"Then why are you insisting I stay another night?" Piper demanded, shifting in place.

"Ms. Lynn…" the doctor looked at her, serious and concerned, "You're pregnant."

A/N: AHHHHH! Dark Rose baby! ^-^ I kind of want to call it the Little Golden Rosebud lol :)

...oh dear god though, the heart attacks, the strain and stress...her heart failing...Snow...what did you DO!? O.O

And now, some things about the chapter...

Small change to the events of the show. I had established that in the Forest Gold, as punishment for Robin breaking into his castle, changed his appearance from the Tom Ellis to our current Robin Hood. Here, Robin DID manage to steal the charm, but he was caught breaking into the Dark Castle before he could activate it, having thought, from staking out the castle, that Gold and Piper weren't there. Gold found it and destroyed it, but the charm sparked his thought to punish Robin with a new face later ;) I sort of feel like the writers took an easy way out in adding the charm in just to explain Zelena, there are probably WAY more charms and spells that would do the exact same thing, but they just wanted a way to explain why Robin looked different and stuck the charm in to also explain Zelena as Marian. So I wanted to make it a little more detailed than in the show, less of a way out ;)

Also, the dagger and Gold's failing heart. In the show it was implied it was a culmination of all his dark deeds, the loss of Baelfire, and the loss of Belle and her sending him over the line that caused his heart to start to fail him. Here, he's handling his loss of Baelfire a little healthier, talking about it more, he hasn't lost Piper, and a few of his dark deeds she helped him with, sharing the burden and the darkness of them. My twist for that was the dagger. I felt like if the Dagger is what makes the Dark One the Dark One then maybe the dagger is also what sort of keeps the person that takes the power from being taken over by the 'darkness' itself as Gold implied in the show, with him dying, the darkness would do just that. In cleaving himself from the dagger, Gold lost that protection the dagger would have given him and his heart started to fail because of the darkness trying to take over.

I took the idea that the Sorcerer's Apprentice and what he did with Emma's darkness as inspiration. If there's a spell that can pull the darkness out of someone, and there are various forms of protective spells that can keep dark magic out and protect hearts in general (like Regina protecting Henry's from being removed), then perhaps there would be a spell that could protect a heart from darkness poisoning it. With Piper having his heart in her chest, I could see him being far more serious about finding a way to keep his heart safe before he went through with freeing himself from the dagger. What would be best to counter the dark but the light? The first light of the day I felt would be something needed in a spell like that, a spell that would have protected Gold's heart and held the darkness at bay. Snow sending him over the line before he could accomplish that meant that his heart had missed its chance at being protected :(

Even without my twist/explanation for Gold's heart failing, even if it was the same reason as in the show and not Snow's timing...in the story someone would have still banished him (probably Snow), and Piper still would have gone with him, and Piper still would be suffering the 'heart attacks.' So even if Snow's timing wasn't the issue, Snow still would have been the reason for Gold's banishment and Piper's pain and the danger to the baby...if the baby's still there after 2 severe heart attacks :'(

Virtual cookies to those of you that were suspicious of Piper's tiredness and being out of breath, of her little mood swings, of her being a little more weepy than normal, her appetite, and sense of smell and other things, she WAS pregnant! I feel like a lot of it is something that, if you don't know you're pregnant, you COULD come up with excuses and justifications for why it's happening. Like for Gold it didn't even register that Piper was pregnant when she had a harder time keeping up with David and Emma going after Hook in the woods with the Snow Queen, if they didn't know she was pregnant or even suspect it, they would find other reasons to explain things and yet all the while she was pregnant ;)

Slight rant to follow about Robin Hood, with spoilers for the rest of the season (show-wise, not story-wise):

I'll be the first to say that I absolutely hate and am disgusted by the plot twist the writers decided to take with Zelena and Robin :( Like it makes me SO uncomfortable I was actually dreading Season 5, but I'm trying to trust the writers and hope they have something planned, some twist or something, to deal with that little plot :(

I fully understand that Robin is a victim of Zelena's manipulations, that he thought it was 'forever' that he'd be away from Regina, and he was trying to do right by the person he thought was his wife. I, in no way, am blaming Robin for the trauma that happened to him when the 'shock value' twist was revealed. He consented to be with his wife, NOT Zelena, and that is Rape by Deception. He is a victim in that sense.

That said, he did choose to sleep with Marian. He did choose to have sex with Marian just days after telling Regina he chose her, and I'm not ok with that either. I do fully understand a man wanting to try and make a marriage work, but I do not understand how it goes right to sex (or how it was necessary to go straight to sex) so quickly after telling both women that he picked Regina. Which leads me to think there HAS to be something else going on, that Zelena did something to him, either in NY or Storybrooke, a potion or a charm or a spell or took his heart or something. Because there are SO many inconsistencies and reasons for that twist to NOT have happened if Robin was in his right mind or in control of himself and his heart.

1. How did Marian know that Baelfire was the name of the Dark One's son? In the episode, Robin remarked they were going to the Dark One's son's apartment, and 'Marian' knew instantly it was Baelfire and knew the story of his banishment? Not even Robin knew who Baelfire was in the Forest. For that matter, not even Belle knew till she wore Gold down into telling her. No one seemed to know who Baelfire was to the Dark One, only very few people knew, and I doubt it was Marian or Robin being privy to those facts.

2. Robin himself said that Marian telling him to let Gold die was NOT his Marian.

3. Robin seemed to be testing her with asking her, repeatedly, to tell him what he told her in the Forest when they became outlaws, which makes me think he might be a little suspicious. The last time he asked, it seemed clear that Marian was trying to cover up that she didn't know by telling him to say it first.

4. How, in the middle of sleeping with Marian, did he NOT see the 6-leaf clover charm? She HAD to wear it or else the glamour wore off. If she took it off, now he knows she's Zelena. If she wore it, he'd see it and know she wasn't Marian. Unless she used another magic object or something which just gets a little more like back tracking to cover a mistake :/

5. Robin had to have already spoken to Marian before they left, made it clear he was picking Regina as a courtesy to his (ex)wife to talk to her about what he was going to do before talking to Regina, and that being with her would have been a lie. If he was trying to do right by his (ex)wife, being with her after he already told her it would be a lie to do it was not the way to go about it.

6. If he was sticking to his honor, sleeping with a woman he was not IN love with, regardless if she was his (ex)wife, was NOT honorable.

7. He told Regina that to be with Marian would be NOT be something he wanted to set as an example for his son, that the best thing to do was follow his heart, so why go back on it now?

8. There were other ways to support and be there for his (ex)wife that did NOT involve sleeping with her. He saw Emma and Regina co-parenting Henry, he knew how it worked, that you don't have to be married to be good parents.

9. If we take the scenes as a literal sequence, it was just about 3 days since Robin left Storybrooke, since he told Regina he picked her...and he fell into bed with another woman? Robin is too honorable to sleep with a woman he didn't have a genuine and deep and IN love love for. (and on that note, in a later episode he claims that he and Regina talked about him trying to move on and focus on his family...I highly, highly doubt that Regina told him to have sex with his (ex)wife days later. I could see her trying to push him to give his marriage another try, but I can't see Robin actually AGREEING to it, especially not when, as his (ex)wife was literally dying, he still couldn't bring himself to give his 'love' for Marian another try. If he couldn't make himself love his (ex)wife when her life depended on it, why would he make himself sleep with her when her life did NOT depend on it? For that matter, it could have been a test of faith in Regina as well for him to NOT try to rekindle the marriage, to show that he trusted she'd be able to find a way to break the curse around the townline, to prove that he would wait for her and hold onto hope, to prove that, even apart, his heart only belonged to her.)

10. It made 0 sense to me that an honorable man that picked his dead (ex)wife over his soulmate would fall into bed with HER while his (ex)wife was frozen...unless there was something going on. If 'Marian' took Robin's heart, let's say after the diner, she would have been able to control him to break it off with Regina, under the guise of his honor. If she was frozen, she couldn't control his heart any longer, which explains why he went back to Regina when she was frozen. His heart was truly able to lead him there because it was free of control for the moment.

11. IF the heart theory was right...Zelena would STILL be able to use it in NY, because, as Gold said, so long as it was taken in a world with magic, it could be used outside that world as well. Zelena could have resorted to using the heart in NY too, which explains him hopping into bed with her days after leaving Regina. She only said she hadn't been able to WIN his heart, not that she hadn't already taken it by force.

12. Belle has shown, in the show, that you could be without your heart and not realize a thing is off, that it's possible to not even remember it being taken. Maybe Robin's questionable actions were done because he didn't have his heart in him, so it was easier to fall into bed with his (ex)wife than hold onto hope without a heart. Like Regina said, you can feel just not fully, maybe that 'not fully' was enough for Robin to break his code to be with Regina and then break his choice to be with Marian. A man like Robin wouldn't flip flop, I think, if he had a sure heart in his chest and felt fully, some things that seemed to happen too quickly could be explained in that he didn't feel the effects fully, making it easier for him to do those things.

13. Why wouldn't he wait? The curse that brought everyone back to the Forest was meant to last 'forever.' He saw Regina suffer with the knowledge she would be parted from her son forever...and that forever lasted a year. Why would he think, even for a second, that this 'forever' would actually last forever-forever? Why wouldn't he think that all the heroes in the town would find a way to break it at some point? Why would he think it was forever when every other time something was 'forever' it never lasted? He had SO much faith in Regina to save Marian even when Regina told him it was impossible, he never lost faith in her...but NOW he does? (for that matter, why New York? I never understood going there instead of just one town over where it was simple and likely cheaper and closer incase the curse did break).

Sorry for the little rant, there were just so many, SO MANY, things that were huge red flags to me that I just can't help but think that something had to be going on with Robin to explain why he didn't notice these things and why he seemed to flip-flop between Regina and Marian as much as he did. The Robin we see in Season 4, to me, was not the same Robin that had been written and portrayed in Season 3 at all. And there HAS to be a reason behind it. Or I'm hoping there is. If the writers can truly mess up a character THAT badly...I'm really scared for Season 5 then :(

Some notes on reviews...

That's understandable :) I've had quite a few conversations with my parents where we're both very vocal about exactly how my brother is screwing up in his life, so the conversation about Snow felt natural to me lol :) My brother's now engaged to a lying harpy that literally is sucking his happiness out of him but he thinks they're 'meant to be together' despite the fact she loathes our family and would like nothing more than for us to either die or him to cut all ties with us...we discuss how he's screwing up quite a lot. When Henry's mind was wiped, he also had no idea why Walsh disappeared or that the man was using him or Emma, now that he has his memories back, I feel like he'd naturally be a little wary of men around Emma especially ;) We'll have to see about the finale ;) I think that for Snow and David, they'd be a little safer about the reverting, Hook and Regina were villains actively trying to be heroes, David and Snow never actively tried to be villains so I don't think the others would be against them for not reverting to heroism in the finale as much as they'd never really been converting before then, they didn't really have the dual natures that Hook and Regina did where they could go either way, I think :) I think Blue's done some fairly suspicious things, for a beacon of good to lie to the beloved Snow White about the wardrobe was pretty shady, not helping Regina when she was still innocent and good just because of who her mother was and because Gold was targeting her was pretty cruel of her, in a way she almost helped create the Evil Queen as much as Rumpelstiltskin did. I think a lot of Blue's actions, in what she doesn't say, or how she treats others can make her seem shady. If we don't get an explanation in the show, I do have an idea for an original sequel to this story that would explain it once the show is over ;)

I actually think Blue doesn't realize how her speech means she's a villain too, or if she does she's rationalizing that SHE is a hero and she's hurting someone for 'the greater good' :( Much like Snowing tried to justify and rationalize what they did to Maleficent and her child, what they did was horrible and evil, but they tried to say that the baby was never going to be 'good' because it was in a dragon egg and had Maleficent as a mother, that their 'harming' the child was to protect Emma and Emma would be a great hero because of it, so it was 'the greater good' :(

I hope they look more into the fairies too, there's a lot that needs to be explained about them lol :) I agree, the adults seem to think that certain deals, like the ones with 'good' magical beings are never going to hurt people or turn out the way they don't want it. Like they probably hear about how cunning and deceptive the Dark One is in his deals but think 'oh this is a fairy god mother! She's here to help me not hurt me!' not realizing magic of any kind requires a price :( I don't understand why it's so hard for them to change opinions too, I guess it's like the medieval theme in general, back then things were so focused on religion and what was good and evil was so clear cut, who had power and right over people and who didn't :( I fully agree about Henry. If my brother acted like he did to my mother, she would have laid down the law and put the fear of god in him for his attitude. One of my friends who is adopted, absolutely refused to watch OUAT after the first few episodes because of how Henry treated his adoptive mother, how he kept calling her evil and not his 'real' mother, she was so completely disgusted with how the writers portrayed the adoption situation and how they basically had Regina say flat out Emma signed away her rights to Henry...yet Emma was still able to have a say in Henry's life, and come in and be the parent without anyone actually legally forcing her away. I mentioned the start of season 2 to her and she FLIPPED about how Henry's biological family thought they had any right at all to pull Henry away from his adoptive mother and keep her from being around HER son. Like I have never seen her that mad as when she actually looked up the episodes to see what I was talking about, she was just furious that they would give the bio-family that much power after Regina was legally his mother for years and they had no legal right at all to do what they did :( She still refuses even now to watch the show because of how Henry treated his real mother in favor of Emma :( I had an issue also with how, in the show, Henry will find out that 'good' did something evil (like with Snow tricking Regina into murdering Cora or Snow and what she and David did to Lily and Emma) and he'll be upset for like half an episode, or not even shown his reaction, and then forgive and forget. He finds out his mother, the woman that raised him his entire life and showed him nothing but love did something bad in her past 28 years ago...and suddenly the last 10 years of his life are out the window and she's evil and has to be defeated? The curse was meant to take away happy endings, ok...but does he SEE the world they're living in? The modern conveniences, the healthcare, the education, the technology, yes the curse condemned them to SUCH a bad life that it really holds up the name of 'curse,' like it's ironic that a curse meant to harm everyone gave them a better quality of life in our world. I wonder if it might have been a hidden nod to Regina not being quite a true villain all along that all the improvements came from her curse, in which case, shame on Henry too. He can forgive the heroes that had no say in his life for 10 years, because they're heroes, but not the woman that raised him get's no sympathy for like 4 seasons? I really feel, as the show goes on, that the writers are losing control of their characters and making changes or inconsistencies with them that just hurt the story :(

I hated that about Blue too, just because of who Cora was she turned down the chance to save her daughter? :( If she'd helped Regina then, maybe she wouldn't have become the Evil Queen. Which makes me wonder, if Blue knew about Regina's fate...wouldn't she have tried to stop it for the sake of good, unless she WANTED Regina to be evil...but why? Shady, shady blue. I have a theory about it, and if the show doesn't touch on Blue before it officially ends, I might just do an original sequel to this story to explore my theory ;)

I think Blue, in her good and evil are black and white mentality she seems to have, doesn't think the Dark One has the capacity to be human anymore, which is wrong of her to assume, but she probably thought Rose would just make him darker and worse :( We'll find out in the next chapter if Rose's parents found out what Blue was truly intending to do or not or why ;) Yup, that's why she didn't defend herself, she's had Blue's voice in the back of her head telling her if she hurts anyone, even if they're hurting her, in a conscious choice to do it, she'll be a villain, not a healthy thing to make a child think that they can't fight back if someone's hurting them :( I'm going to rewrite a bit of that chapter yup, just have to find time to do it ;) It's definitely not fun, because I'm sure, especially for OUAT after the season 3 finale that there were SO many stories about how they'd deal with the Marian situation before season 4 started that I'd die to read but had to hold off so that it wouldn't affect my stories :( OMG thank you! I was channel surfing yesterday and saw I missed the Tut marathon of it, I'm so glad it's airing again, I really want to watch it, thanks! :)