A/N: Yikes, finally another chapter here. Ngl it's not the greatest. I'm not 100% pleased with it, but I'm sort of losing steam for this tbh but i've spent so much time on it at this point that I really want to continue. I just have to power through s2, which is hard bc that season was so very poor for golden swan interaction. So i don't forsee spending a whole lot of time on the episodes between where this one ends and when Emma comes back from the Enchanted Forest. Only a little here and there to move the story along and show sorta how Gold handles Emma getting sent there? I don't really know tbh. But yeah sorry this is rambly and sorry this chapter doesn't have a whole lot going on. I swear I have things planned for further down the line a bit, okay. As always, read, review and most importantly enjoy...

"Emma!" Mary Margaret shouted in shock and rushed over to her, David on her heels still looking confused but ready for action. Her hands were outstretched towards Emma, prepared to pull her away from Gold if necessary.

"No, it's fine. I'm fine. I feel better now," Emma said, moving out of Mary Margaret's reach, holding her hands up in surrender.

Gold was still on the floor, just now starting to stir and try to stand back up. Purely on instinct, David moved to help him off the floor. Given he had no idea what exactly was going on here or why Emma had hit him, he didn't think it would be a big deal to assist him. The look he got from Emma, however, sang a different tune.

"Don't you help him."

David froze mid-step, casting a sidelong glance at Mary Margaret, who gave the tiniest shrug of her shoulders indicating she didn't know what he should do either. Though her face was clearly saying it was probably a good idea if he left the older man on the floor.

All the while, Gold was becoming increasingly frustrated with both being a disheveled heap on the floor of his own shop, and at the fact that the three of them were all standing around talking about him as though he weren't even there. Though the fact that he knew he had deserved that kept him quiet, and with a few groans and huffs in annoyance and quite a bit of strain on his leg, he finally stood back up.

"Emma—"

"Don't. You. Dare."

"Let me explain—"

"Oh I will, because you bet your ass you're going to explain to me why you double crossed me and put my son's life on the line-"

"But he lived did he not?"

"That's not the point! You almost killed my son."

"I saved your son—"

"NO! I did. I saved him after you ran off with that potion and left him to die. If this is how you treat kids, it's no wonder you lost your own."

Gold's blood ran cold at her words, face going pale. That was a low blow even for her. It was true, of course, but he'd never have thought she would sink so low no matter what he had done to her. Perhaps he thought her more resilient than she was, an oversight he regretted immensely. He should have known she could only be so strong. But what he'd done to her was more than anyone should rightly be able to handle.

"Emma—" Mary Margaret said in shock once more with the tone of a mother chastising her child for saying something inappropriate. Strange how quickly her motherly instincts kicked in.

David continued to stand by and watch everything unfold not having a clue what the hell was going on. There was so much he didn't understand. He knew at least partially why Emma was so mad at Mr. Gold, but even he could tell there was something that he was missing, something Mary Margaret knew by the looks of it. And the fact that Mr. Gold apparently had a kid…or did have one was news to him as well.

"Wait, what is going on here-?" David finally chimed in.

"Nothing," Emma and Mary Margaret replied in unison. His continued look of confusion prompted Mary Margaret elaborate.

"I'll tell you later," she whispered, eyeing Gold out of the corner of her eye.

Throughout the whole exchange Emma's eyes hadn't left Gold's and she was glaring daggers at him. And the longer she did the angrier he got. At first he had been shocked at her gall to say what she had but then it started to piss him off.

This was all just as much her fault as it was his. She had come to him that night, she had started all this. He had told her…too late, of course, that it was not a good idea and that it shouldn't have happened because he knew this day would come and just as predicted she hated him now that she knew the truth and knew just what he was.

His eyes hardened and he began to glare back at her. Two could play that game. Of course to her, it wasn't a game, not anymore. But that made no difference to him. He had tried to explain to her before in his own way before she believed and she had written him off but she didn't listen. That was her own fault.

Mary Margaret, noticing the way Gold and Emma were looking at one another knew that if she didn't step in and say something and break whatever trance they were both in that it wouldn't end well. And awkwardly, she cleared her throat in a poor attempt to lessen some of the tension in the room. Her efforts were fruitless, of course.

"Look, just-what was that purple haze," she broke in, trying to distract Emma and Gold knowing that their little staring contest could have gone on for quite some time if she didn't.

"Magic."

"Why?" She fired back, head tilted to the side, genuinely curious.

"Not telling."

His lip was curled in somewhat of a snarl now that he'd let his anger to the surface. Though admittedly he was thankful for the distraction because he knew how stubborn he was and he knew how stubborn Emma was and he was aware that had they gone on glaring at one another there was every likelihood one of them would have said or done something else they regretted. It didn't relieve his anger entirely but it certainly held it back for the time being.

But before Mary Margaret could continue questioning him, there was a strange roar from outside the shop and the whole building shook. Outside, she could hear car alarms start to go off and the lights around them began to flicker.

"What the hell was that?" Emma asked to no one in particular, turning towards the door her angry trance momentarily forgotten.

"That is my gift to you." Gold was speaking to the group at large, but his tone was slightly sarcastic. With his anger building he was beginning to wonder if he should have let Regina be and leave them to deal with her. But at the same time, he had his own reasons for wanting Regina gone and he wanted the satisfaction of causing her demise even if not entirely at his own hand. "That is going to take care of Regina."

Once more the building shook, lights continuing to flicker as transformers just outside the shop blew. Mary Margaret and David stood together at the door hand in hand trying to see just what was going on outside.

"Emma, come on," Mary Margaret ordered, still looking out the window as David took a few steps away from the door and towards Emma.

"We need to go take care of this," he said, eyeing Emma and Gold curiously, both who had gone back to glaring at one another.

"We're not done," she whispered to Gold dangerously, shaking her head at him just slightly.

"Oh I know, you still owe me a favor," he nearly growled back at her.

A terse smile was all she offered him in return before she turned her back on him. She actually would have loved the opportunity to stick around and question him more, ask him just why he had done what he had…and possibly hit him again, but she was far too angry right then. She knew that if she talked to him now she wouldn't really listen. If she really wanted answers from him, she'd have to let herself calm down some, but that was going to have to wait apparently, at least until they took care of whatever the hell was out there.

He watched her go his anger turning into smug satisfaction knowing that despite her anger she still needed him. And for a moment he even forgot that there Belle had been in his back room that entire time. As he turned to pick up the fallen globe and see if it could be salvaged, she stepped out from the back.

Immediately that smug angry look on his face faded away as he tried to look as normal as possible wondering just how much she had heard. But he didn't have to wonder for long, the look on her face said it all.

"Hey…"

"You lied to me."

It wasn't a question, but a statement. She had heard it all. Some of it was confusing, of course, with her not knowing who 'Emma' was, only that she was angry with Rumpel. That was a feeling she could relate to at the moment, though what she felt was more disappointment than anger.

"No, no, I kept my word," he replied quickly as though he'd had this all prepared. It was likely that he did, in fact. "I would not kill her."

She shook her head sadly. Belle didn't know what was worse, the fact that he had gone back on his word already, that his excuse fell so quickly and easily from his lips, or that he believed finding a loophole in their agreement made any of this any better. When it came right down to it though, he had done exactly what she had hoped he wouldn't.

"You toy with words like you do people. You're still a man who makes wrong choices."

At her words, at least he had the good graces to look ashamed of himself. And he tore his eyes away from her, unable to look her in the eyes and see her disappointment.

"I thought you'd changed."

"What, in the hour you've known me?" He fired back, immediately regretting the slip of his tongue. Between her and Emma, his anger and frustration at himself, at Emma and even at Belle herself, it was too difficult to hold back his first thoughts.

Belle reeled back slightly as if he had struck her, his words cutting her deep. He had always been so closed off with her back in the Enchanted Forest. If she didn't truly know him, that was his own fault, not hers. She had tried to, desperately because she cared about him…and even loved him and she'd been foolish enough to think he loved her too.

And before she let him see her cry and see just how much his words had hurt her, with a sniffle she stormed out of his shop, not even caring as he called after shouting his apologies. She didn't believe a word of them. Who was to say that his apologies weren't just more lies? With a final huff at him saying he was sorry, she slammed the door behind her.

Meanwhile, Emma, Mary Margaret and David were on their way back to the police station before whatever it was that Gold had planned for Regina could happen. She might not like Regina, but she wasn't about to let her die either. That was still Henry's mom. And she stomped her way down the street, Mary Margaret and David on her heels.

Mary Margaret kept looking shiftily at Emma, biting her bottom lip nervously and shooting sidelong glances at David. He still had no idea what was going on or why his wife and daughter were acting so weird and he decided it was time for an explanation. Clearly there was more going on than he was aware of and he wanted to know what it was so he stopped abruptly.

"Wait," he called after Emma who stopped and whirled around to face him, a still furious look in her eyes. "I need to know what is going on here."

"We're going to save Regina from whatever the hell Gold sent after her."

"That's not what I meant."

Once more Mary Margaret's eyes flickered back and forth between David and Emma almost a little frightened, possibly expecting to blow up, given what she knew.

"Then what?"

"You and Gold. There's something more going on here. Whatever the hell was going on back there was about more than just him going behind your back and stealing that potion."

"I can't just be pissed at him for almost killing my kid?"

"No, you can, but that's not all there is to it, I can tell. What happened?"

"Nothing," she said again, huffing and turning around again intent to continue towards the station.

David reached out and grabbed her lightly by the elbow, halting her attempts to leave the conversation.

"Look, I'm not an idiot, something else is going on here and I wanna know what it is? I don't blame you for being mad at him, not at all, but I need to know the whole story."

"I don't want to talk about it, especially not with you," she retorted.

David did his best to not look offended, but he could tell by the way Emma sighed and he shoulders relaxed that his attempts had failed.

"Look, it's not—I just—" She took a deep steadying breath. "It's kind of a long story and Regina—"

"Regina can wait. Give me the short version."

"It's not that I—Okay, this is not easy to explain—"

"They slept together," Mary Margaret blurted out, then realizing what she did, clasped her hands over her mouth. She hadn't actually meant to say that out loud, but time really was of the essence and this at least informed David what was going on and saved Emma the embarrassment of actually having to say it out loud to her father.

"What?!"

Emma looked down and away, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Look I don't want to talk about it, okay? Can we please just go get this over with?"

"Wait, you slept with Gold…you mean…?"

"Is there another meaning it could be?"

There was a long pause and David said nothing.

"Exactly. So there, now you know. Can we just drop it for now and get on with it?"

"I—" He blinked and looked at Mary Margaret who was staring pointedly at the ground as though she found something down there completely fascinating. "Fine, yeah…let's, uh, let's go."

"Right. Good." And she turned around once more, storming off again towards the police station, Mary Margret and David following silently.

When they got to the station, it was just in time. Whatever it was that Gold had sent after Regina was attacking her. David was the first to spring into action, shouting at it while grabbing a chair to try and fend it off.

The thing rounded on him immediately, forgetting Regina for the moment and striking David, sending him and the chair flying. Emma ducked behind one of the spare desks and Mary Margaret ran off to the side ducking off into one of the storeroom. And with the three of them out of the way once more, the creature turned once more to Regina.

A moment later, Mary Margaret came back out with a lighter and a spray canister in her hand. Emma peeked out over the desk and watched as she drew the things attention, lighting the lighter and spraying the canister in the direction of whatever it was exactly, Emma didn't know.

And whatever Mary Margaret had was apparently highly flammable because a giant burst of flames sprouted when it hit the small flame from the lighter as she aimed it at the creature. She hit her target dead on and within seconds the thing was fleeing, shattering one of the station windows as it went.

Slowly, Emma stood up from behind the desk and upon hearing Regina cough and sputter, rushed over to her..

"What the hell was that thing?" She asked, helping Regina stand back up.

"A wraith," she chocked out weakly. "A soul sucker."

"Did I-?" Mary Margaret began to ask.

"Kill it? No. It's regenerating. It'll be back. It doesn't stop until it devours its prey, me."

She held up her hand for the three of them to see where she had been branded by Gold, targeting her for the wraith.

"So how do we kill it?" Emma asked.

"There's no way. You can't kill something that's already dead."

"Then we have a problem," Emma replied, hands on her hips and brows furrowed as she tried to think of something that they could do.

"No, we don't," David chimed in, glaring at Regina. "Regina does."

Regina's head whipped up to look at him, brows furrowed in surprise and possibly a touch of fear.

"What?"

Emma, too, turned to look at him, not sure she understood him…or well, hoping she wasn't right in what she thought he meant.

"You wanna let her die?"

"Why not? That thing goes away and we're safe."

"That's quite the example you're setting for your daughter," Regina fired back with a snarl.

"No, you don't get to judge us," he said, stepping towards her and pointing his finger at her in anger. After all she had done to their family, why shouldn't they let the wraith kill her. She would if the roles were reversed.

"Let me ask you something, where do you think that thing came from?" Regina asked angrily. Whether it was a serious question or a way to stall, Emma wasn't sure, but she definitely wanted to know the answer.

"Gold," she said, answering her own question.

We already know that, Emma thought to herself.

David still didn't look convinced, but Emma knew they couldn't just let that thing kill Regina, so she spoke up.

"I made a promise to Henry. She's not dying."

Her words were stated plainly and firmly. It wasn't up for debate. Whatever Regina had done in the past, she didn't deserve to die like this and even if she thought she did, she had made a promise to Henry and she wasn't going to break it.

Regina looked at her in surprise, not really believing that Emma wouldn't also want her dead. But then again, Emma wasn't like Regina. Snow, too, looked at her, but her expression was one of fondness and pride in her daughter. It appeared that even without her influence all her life, he daughter had turned out something like her anyway.

"If it can't be killed, what do you suggest?" Mary Margaret asked, going along with the plan of not letting it kill Regina. They had to do something about it, Emma was right.

"Send it somewhere it can't hurt anyone."

SHOUT OUTS:

twyla mercedes: nah, no memory swipe. the belle/rum and emma/rum thing will come up. i generally hate love triangles but it is sort of unavoidable here. i can say it won't be the stereotypical fighting over rum thing or anything like that but that will be an issue that comes up...once belle finds out that something happened...if she does even. we will see.

Lokithedarkone: Hmm. well, honestly, given how upset Emma is and how emotional she is, I really do think she would swear that much. (tho honestly, i'm not 100% sure of like how often it is. i obviously read it differently than other people when i re-read it to edit so it's not with fresh eyes and is kinda hard to see that sort of thing). but i mean, i feel like with her background and past it's kind of likely that she would swear a lot and i just think that because it's a family show on basic cable, obviously they can't have that on the show so it's sort of hard to imagine how much she would or wouldn't. i'm not saying you're right or wrong or that i'm right or wrong, but just trying to explain why it is i have her do that, is all. but i will definitely keep an eye on it.