David opened the door to the loft, thankful to see that Snow and Henry were safe.

"What happened? Did you find my mom?" Henry asked. He seemed both curious and nervous about the situation, but like the rest of his family he was ready to jump into action and help anyway he could.

"Uh, yeah."

"What? Where is she?" Snow asked. David knew what she was really asking. Did he put her back in jail. He didn't bother answering, however, because even if he could throw the Evil Queen back in jail, now that she had her magic she could just as easily leave again.

"Henry, why don't you go upstairs and let us talk?"

"But I want to help!"

"Henry, please."

He looked at his grandparents before sighing and going up the stairs.

"David, what happened?"

David waited to make sure that Henry wasn't listening when he pulled his wife to the couch, explaining everything Regina had told him.

(Flashback):

"What do you mean?"

Regina smiled. "Hasn't it occurred to you who the girl might be?"

"It doesn't matter. You don't have the right to do that to someone. Locking them up in an asylum."

The mayor scoffed. "You really are just a brainless shepherd, aren't you? It's not about 'right' in this game. It's about power. I saw an opportunity, and I took it. Like you should if you want your family safe from me."

"I'm not afraid of you." David looked her square in the eyes.

"That doesn't matter. Have you ever known me to back off just because you showed a little bravery?"

She was right David realized. No matter how hard they fought back, the Evil Queen just kept on attacking. And the more they fought back, the worse her attacks got. Perhaps it was time to put an end to this. After all, they each had one common enemy. Gold.

"You want to get rid of Gold?"

"Now we're talking."

Regina was relieved to see that he relaxed. She laughed in her head. Perhaps this would be easier than she thought.

"So who exactly is this girl?"

"His True Love?!" Snow exclaimed.

David shook his head. "Yeah."

"But how? He's...he's the Dark One! Does Gold even know how to love anyone but himself? I mean I know what we saw at his house, but to actually believe he cares about her?"

"I don't know, but Snow."

He paused until he was sure he had her attention.

"I think it's time we started listening to our daughter."

"I am listening!"

"Are we? Every time she tries to explain something we keep stopping her, saying how we know Gold better than her."

"We do David. Emma may have broken the curse, but I won't let her fight either Regina and especially not Gold alone."

"Snow, do you remember when I asked you who called in the news that Regina was missing?"

Snow gasped. "You don't think someone saw her, do you? David, if people realize we lost Regina-"

"I know, it won't be pretty. We have the town's trust, but not for long if we don't start playing our cards better."

"What do you mean?"

"Regina told me who called Emma. It was a guy named Jefferson."

"Jefferson? Who mean the one who locked me and Emma in his house?"

"Yes. He also knew about Belle. He let her out to get her to Gold."

"Do you think he's working for him?"

"I'm not sure, but Regina did say how he worked for Rumplestiltskin back in our world."

"Well that and the fact that he held me and my daughter hostage proves that we can't trust him."

They remained quiet for a few minutes, thinking, and not realizing someone was listening in on their conversation.

"David, what do we do? I just want our family safe, but I want to help that girl. If she's in danger-"

"If. I'm going to go talk to Archie. He should be done talking to the girl."

"Do you think he will tell you. Isn't that like, doctor and client privacy or something?"

"Right now, that doesn't matter."

David grabbed his jacket and left the loft. Snow went upstairs to check on Henry only to find the room empty.

"Henry?"

Jefferson sighed. He never had this many visitors when the curse was intact, but he reluctantly made his way to the door and opened it to see Emma.

"Yes?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Emma noticed he still had the scarf around his neck and when she stepped into his living room she could see that he had been drinking.

"I assume this isn't a social visit?"

"No." She turned towards him. "I know it was you who called in about Regina missing. How did you know?"

He simply pointed to the telescope he still had viewing the window.

"I know a few things."

"Like the girl?"

Jefferson remained quiet. And than he smiled. "You've been reading?"

Emma really wasn't liking him. "Yeah. I read Gold's story. You knew him, didn't you? Back...in wherever?"

He chuckled, taking his glass off the table. "Yeah. I worked for him."

"Doing what?"

"Oh, not much. Retrieving rare and valuable objects. Anything that he thought could help him on his 'mission'." He used his fingers to emphasize the air quotes.

"What mission did he have?"

"To get here. To a land without magic."

"Why?"

The Mad Man shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know. He never told me."

"Than how do you now about the girl?"

"I saw her a few times before whenever I would drop by. And than one day, she was just gone. He acted like she never existed, but I could tell better. He liked her. A lot."

"The book says they're True Love."

"Maybe. I don't know. But I do know that somehow she left the castle and than Regina caught her. She came to me for some help once. Portal jumping is a pretty high demand trade."

"Portal jumping?"

"Yeah. Though not like the one that brought you here, to Maine."

"Right." Emma realized that if ever she decided to stay for good, she had a lot to learn about magic. Such as portal jumping.

"So did you let her out of the hospital as well?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Jefferson plopped himself onto the couch, glass still in his hand, and Emma could tell that despite still have a very comfortable lifestyle, he was miserable. Didn't he have a daughter?

"Regina took my daughter away from me. As she did to many people with the curse. She promised me she would make Grace, my daughter, remember if I helped her...kill you."

"What?!"

"Don't worry, this was after your friend escaped her jail cell. I helped her retrieve an object from the past, in a sense, to help put you to sleep."

The pieces were starting to make sense. "The apple? That killed Snow?"

"Well it didn't kill her. It just put her in a Sleeping Curse. They're pretty nasty I hear. Anyways, you were suppose to eat the apple and I get my daughter back."

"But it was Henry who ate it."

Jefferson pursed his lips. "Exactly. Meaning whatever deal Regina made with me was void. I was upset and so I went off and made her lose her trump card. Belle."

Emma sat down, trying to gather everything she was learning and trying to make sense of it all. She thought she was getting the hang of it, but the headache she had for a while now proved wrong.

She looked up at him.

"So who are you working for?"

"What do you mean?"

"My...parents and Regina, and even Henry, all agree that Gold is worse than the mayor. Yet you worked for them both-"

"Emma," he leaned forward in his seat. "know this. If I had to pick which villain to side with, if I had no other choice...I'd pick Gold."

"Why?"

"I worked for him first. He never breaks his deals, even if he wants to, and though he will deny it...I'm his only friend." He smiled at the last part. "Plus, he's very loyal, unlike the Queen. A loyal villain is better than a selfish villain. Look at Dove."

"His manservant?"

That made Jefferson laugh. "Yeah. Dove is loyal to the Dark One for saving his life. That's a story for another time," he added when he saw Emma's confused face. "but the point is, Dove is loyal to Gold so Gold treats him well. Also meaning that Dove doesn't trust anyone else to do his dirty work. Except for me. And if you don't cross him, he's fair."

"I don't know Rumplestiltskin, but I know a little about Gold. And from what I read...and what from I saw, he would never hurt Belle."

"Never."

"But I can't get David and Mary Margaret to see that."

"Does that matter right now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I hear Belle has been talking to the 'cricket'?"

Emma eyed him. "What?"

"Regina stopped by for a visit. Don't worry, I didn't give her anything, meaning she left kind of upset. However, if you want more information on the Gold, you might want to try talking to Archie."

"Archie's a good man. I don't think he will tell me everything about her. Isn't that breaking confidentiality?"

"Yes, but right now, you're going to want to protect Belle from Regina. Meaning for a moment, you might have to side with Gold."

"I'm not siding with him, but I don't believe he's the villain right now."

"No, that's Regina. And from what it sounds like, your parents are going to want and try to get a hand on Belle as well."

"They don't want to hurt her."

"Perhaps not." Jefferson stood up, stepping closer to her. "But their 'help' might make things worse."

It was almost dinner and Belle was hungry. Her talk with the man named Archie went well and she actually liked him. He was kind and sweet and did a great job listening and not judging her. She was most nervous about that because she was led to believe that she was crazy, but it sounded like it wasn't just her Regina made feel that way. Gold hadn't talked much about Henry except that he brought the Savior to town and helped her break the curse. Archie had mentioned how it might help for her to talk to Henry. Perhaps she could meet him when Rumple took her out to supper.

"Are you ready?"

She turned to see Rumple dressed in his suit and holding no to his cane.

"Yep." She smiled bright, making Rumple smile.

They headed to the door but Rumple's hand froze on the handle.

"Are you sure about this?" He looked to her.

Belle sighed playfully. "Yes. Besides, Archie said it would help me get use to the town if I'm actually in it." She smiled. "Plus, you promised."

"Very well, but tell me immediately if you're not feeling well."

"Promise."

They headed to the car and drove into town. Belle was excited to finally be out of the house while Gold was a nervous wreck inside. He knew how the town hated him and if they saw Belle with him, it was a one hundred percent chance that everyone would react the same way Snow and Charming did. Oh how he hated those two. So he got them together, it didn't mean he had to be involved with everything in their life.

After some driving, Gold parked at the shop, which was just across the street from the diner and the library. He helped her out of the car and held her hand as they made their way across the road.

"There's a library here?!"

Gold smiled. "Yes. In fact, it's yours."

"You mean, the one you gave me as a present back home?"

Gold stopped once they got safely on the sidewalk.

"It wasn't a present. It was another room to clean. One you did a poor job on."

They laughed and without thinking but simply enjoying her presence, Gold gave a kiss on her head.

He opened the door for her and they walked in. Perhaps it was because she was super excited, or didn't believe that the whole town could hate Rumple, but Belle didn't notice all the automatic stares they were receiving. As well as a glare from the two Lucas women. Gold led her to a booth and they sat down. Ruby walked up and acted as polite as ever, or at least to Belle, who did notice that bit.

She took down their order and then left into the back room, picking up the phone.

"David? You need to get to the diner. It's about Gold."

Next time: Regina runs into Henry, Emma talks to Archie, and Snow and David deal with some issues at the diner.