doesn't have a good way to note series, and I'm probably going to be writing this out of order. The order will be labeled in the summaries, and I will keep the order on my bio page.

Life in Storybrooke was… consistent. The most exciting thing that happened in Mr. Gold's life was rent day, and most days he was happy with the stability that came from an unchanging life.

Some days, however, he would get a feeling in the back of his mind, that he was just waiting for change. And that when it came, he'd be able to do… something. It was a ridiculous feeling, but one that was poking at the back of his head that day. Something felt different.

And then, perhaps five minutes after he opened the shop, something was different.

The bell rang from the front room, and Mr. Gold frowned. He hardly ever had customers, and never ones so early.

"Hello?" a female voice called, and his eyebrows raised. He didn't recognize that voice.

His curiosity peaked, he made his way out of the back room and saw two people who looked to be in their late twenties or early thirties. The girl who had spoken was blonde, but her dark haired companion was the first to notice him.

"Em," he said quietly, and the girl turned away from the merchandise to look at him.

"Hello," Mr. Gold said cautiously. "I don't believe we've met."

"Yeah," the man said. "Um. Do the names… Baelfire and Emma mean anything to you?"

The world spun, and Rumplestilskin's heart was stuck in his throat.

"Bae?" he whispered, gripping his cane tightly.

Bae gave a hesitant smile. "Hey Papa."

He stepped forward, unsure how to react. Never, not in a million years… He had daydreamed that Bae might have accidentally found his way to the cursed town, or that, after he'd tracked him down, he might miss him as well and be willing to listen to his apology. Never had he entertained the thought that Bae might seek him out.

"You're really here," he breathed, and Bae shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah," he said. "Kind of. It's complicated."

"We need your help," the girl said, and–

"Emma," he said. He glanced between the two of them. "I must admit I wasn't expecting… It's your 28th birthday, then?"

Bae shook his head. "Yeah, that's actually–"

"We fell through a time vortex," Emma said.

Rumplestilskin blinked. "Time travel?"

Bae nodded. "There was this w–"

He held up his hand. "Don't tell me. If you've truly time traveled, we must do what we can to preserve the timeline. I trust you haven't changed anything."

"We didn't change anything," Emma said, and Rumple caught the loophole immediately.

"A time loop then. Good."

"Good?" Bae asked.

"That type of time travel is theoretically possible," he said. "As for how to get you back… Well, that depends on how magic works in a land without it."

"Wait," Bae said. "But if–"

Emma shushed him. "Timeline, Ne–Bae." She looked at Rumple. "I had magic, before it was… taken I guess. But the person who took it is dead, so I'm not sure if it's back yet."

He looked at her curiously. "You are a child of True Love, so even though I don't know what you mean by 'taken', you most certainly have some sort of magic in you." He contemplated for a moment, before he moved to the cupboards along the shop's walls. He leaned down best he could, startling slightly when Bae grabbed him to keep him steady, but found the wand easily enough.

"This is the Black Fairy's wand," he said, passing it to Emma carefully. "It can recreate any magic ever done."

She nodded, looking at it curiously. "You think it'll work here."

He shrugged. "Worst case, you look slightly foolish for a few minutes."

She grinned. "Not going to explode or anything?"

"We should do it in an empty field, though," Bae said. "The first portal was… pretty big. And I don't think it'd be good if Regina came sniffing around."

Rumple nodded. "We should wait for the nighttime as well."

The two of them nodded.

"Mind if we invade your house?" Bae asked, and Rumple's heart felt ready to burst.

"Of course. Feel free to use the kitchen, bedrooms, whatever you need."

"Shower," Emma said, and Bae snorted.

"Yeah. I'd rather not go home smelling like a three day road trip."

Rumple frowned. "Road trip?"

Emma waved him off. "Had a thing to do in Oregon."

He shook his head. "No matter. Just be careful to avoid being seen in town."

"Of course, Papa," Bae said, before grabbing Emma's hand as the two of them made their way to the back room and through the back door.

Rumple stared after them, shock finally fading as he stood alone in his shop.

His son was here. Yes, it was his future son, but that only meant that not only would he find his son, Bae would forgive him enough to ask for help. A smile fought its way onto his face. He found his son.

Unfortunately, Mr. Gold had a habit of staying late in his shop, and this was one occasion where he could not afford Regina to take an interest.

It also meant that he came home to a not-quite-cold grilled cheese sandwich.

"We raided your fridge pretty hard," Bae said, cleaning the plates while Emma sat with him at the table.

"No matter," Rumple said. "I told you to help yourself."

"And we made him the grilled cheese," Emma pointed out, and Bae laughed.

"Yeah, we did do that."

The three of them made idle small talk about what they did that day, before Rumple had finished eating and everything was cleaned up.

"I… suppose you're ready to go then?" he asked.

They nodded immediately, and he tried to put his jealousy aside. He would see Bae again soon enough.

While Emma went to grab the Black Fairy's wand, Rumple was left alone with Baelfire.

"Bae," he started. "I… I know I can never make up for what I–"

"Papa," he interrupted, a gentle smile on his face. "Save it for when I haven't already heard it."

Rumplestiltskin shrugged, his face heating up slightly. "Ah. Right."

"I will forgive you," Bae said.

"I figured that," he replied, even as doubt furrowed in his chest.

"Don't get me wrong, it'll take a while. Like, past-me's pissed right now. Super pissed. There's some yelling involved."

Rumple resisted the urge to flinch. He knew he deserved it. He deserved worse.

"But," Bae emphasized. "I forgive you eventually. Just… I don't know. Timeline stuff. But you'll figure it out."

Rumplestiltskin gave his son a smile. "Thank you, Bae."

He shrugged, looking a bit sheepish. "You're my dad. I love you."

It was a good thing Emma came back in, because he couldn't guarantee he wouldn't have ended up crying if she took any longer.

"Do you know how to use magic?" Rumple asked as the three of them stood in an abandoned field.

Emma nodded. "Think about the people I love, right?"

He nodded. "For this, however, make sure you're thinking about the time and place those loved ones are at. And try to remember what the original spell felt like.

"Okay," Emma murmured, before closing her eyes and twirling the wand a bit. She peaked an eye open, and shook off any annoyance at the lack of success.

"Let's try again," she said, her face scrunching up as she continued to wave the wand around.

A moment passed.

"It's not working!"

"Well, with that attitude," Rumple started to mutter, but Emma ignored him in favor of Bae.

"Hey, you just need a second to figure it out, that's all." He placed a hand on her arm and smiled. "I know you– Crap!"

The two of them jumped back when an orange-yellow portal began to form.

As soon as the two of them separated, the portal dispersed, leaving the two of them wide-eyed.

"Did you see that?" Emma turned to Rumple, and Bae said, "I told you!"

"I–I don't know what I did differently," she said. "I was hardly even focusing."

"Yes," he murmured as his thoughts whirled rapidly. The portal had started when Bae touched Emma's arm. That should have distracted her, made the portal less likely to form. Unless–

He began to chuckle, and the two of them turned to him with matching frowns.

"What's so funny, Gold?" Emma asked, crossing her arms.

"I don't know exactly how you broke the curse," he said, and her eyes widened. "But I do believe that magic is what's going to help you get home now."

"Wait," Bae said, turning to Emma. "You broke the curse with–

She nodded, silent.

"True Love is the most powerful form of magic," Rumple said, a smile still on his face.

It was ironic. The boy he had created the curse for, and the girl he had chosen to break it.

The two of them were silent for a moment, before Emma began to laugh.

"Henry's going to be ecstatic."

Bae snorted. "And here I was still stuck on your mom."

She groaned fondly. "I hope you're ready for bridal magazines to start popping up all over the place."

They chuckled, before turning back to Rumple.

"So I just… hold his hand and wave the wand?" Emma asked.

"I imagine that would do it. I probably wouldn't go for a kiss with the curse still intact."

They nodded.

"Yeah," Emma said. "And… Thanks. For everything."

He smiled. "It was no trouble at all."

She grabbed Bae's hand, and began to twirl the wand. As the portal formed, Baelfire glanced back one more time, giving him a cheeky smile.

"See you in a minute, Papa."

Rumplestiltskin's smile was bittersweet, but he managed one "Good-bye Bae" before he watched his son disappear into a portal once more.

He would find his son again.