12.
Rumplestiltskin felt his world rock dangerously beneath him. Bae stepped closer, as if ready to catch him if he fell, but he managed to stay on his feet somehow. "Tread carefully, Jefferson," he growled lowly. "Desperation for a child makes a father do things we might not ordinarily do, but don't think for an instant you can fool me."
"I don't want to fool you," Jefferson said quickly. "I want to help you so that you'll help me. It's no different than back home."
"Belle is dead." His voice was low, but the threat couldn't be missed. He'd always liked Jefferson, and he hoped to everything that the man didn't make him kill him, but he was treading a dangerous line right then and there. He was desperate, and desperation made even clever people do stupid things. Things like taunting the Dark One with his lost love.
The hatter nearly back peddled out of the house in haste. "No she's not. Not unless she's killed her in the last few days."
"She? Who's she?"
"The queen."
A surprising defense for his former student bubbled up in him, but Rumplestiltskin cut it off before it could escape. She had been the one to deliver the news of Belle's death. She had been the one to tell him. He'd been too heartbroken to follow up on what she'd said, but had thrown himself into the curse preparations and had left no room for anything other than the thought of his son in his mind.
"Show me."
"If I deliver, can you restore Grace's memories?"
"Yes yes," he said automatically, and he would find a way. He'd make Regina do it. If this were true, if he found out that she was responsible for this, he'd need something from her to remind him not to kill her in his blinding rage. Until then, he simply needed to act cautiously.
"Papa?" Bae said carefully from his side.
"I'll be back in a bit," he started, but his son caught hold of his arm and worry shone in his eyes. Rumplestiltskin pursed his lips together and glanced back at Jefferson. "A moment?"
The portal jumper nodded and he stepped to the side with his son. "Bae-"
"I get this is important, Papa. Is this her?"
"It's a trick."
"How do you know? Did you see her die?"
"No, but I'm not sure I can take the hope," he whispered in a moment of naked honesty.
"And that's why I'm going with you. You care about her. You're not thinking straight. Someone needs to watch your back."
Rumplestiltskin found himself staring at his son. That wasn't how this was supposed to work. He was suppose to protect Bae. But there was his boy, all grown up and still so much braver than his papa could ever hope to be. "Alright," he managed.
"Where are we going?"
All three men turned to see Emma toweling off her long blonde hair. She shot them a look that very clearly said she expected an answer and Rumplestiltskin sighed and shrugged a little. Bae followed suit. "Grab a jacket and a scarf if you want to come. I'm going to go make sure Papa doesn't do something stupid."
Neal's rundown of what was going on wasn't very helpful. He had followed Emma upstairs to explain after pulling a rather reluctant promise from his dad that he wouldn't leave without him. The guy downstairs was named Jefferson. No, Neal had never met him before, but his dad seemed to know him. He'd shown up on the doorstep saying something about a daughter and memories and it all seemed to have to do with the curse - the curse that Emma most certainly did not believe in, but hey, she let Neal go on with his explanation anyway as she hopped a little into her jeans - and that he knew where Gold's lost love was. That had been where Emma had told him to stop and rewind, even more disappointed that that was about where his information stopped as well.
"Sorry," he muttered as he tied a scarf around his neck and shoved his foot into his right sneaker, "Papa didn't want to talk about it."
"But this is the lady that he thought was dead? Don't you people have - I don't know? - death certificates or something like that where you're from?"
Her boyfriend snorted. "No, and I kind of get the impression that Papa's life got weirder after I left than it was even before. If this is her, I'm sure we'll get the story eventually."
Emma pursed her lips together and grabbed her jacket from the bed. "So, how likely is this that it's that Magnus guy setting him up and using this against him?"
"Got to admit that was my first thought. He said this guy is good at corrupting people. Just because he knows Jefferson doesn't mean that he knows what side he's on. It's been nearly twenty years since the curse was cast, I guess."
"Yeah? It's older than me. I guess that makes sense if he cast it to find you." She grinned as she started for the door. "Old man."
Neal gave her a slightly exasperated look, but didn't bother with whatever was knocking around his head. He grabbed his coat off the wrack and tossed her the skullcap she'd left there. His dad was standing by the front door with the visitor, looking highly impatient. He was ready with his gloves and his jacket, though Emma was about certain that he was always ready for something. She hadn't been there long, but she was yet to see the man walk around in anything less than slacks and a button up, and even then it had been tucked in and he looked like he was just missing another layer or two of protection that must have been the norm.
"Emma, Jefferson," the quick introductions were made, but only by Neal. Gold was stony silent and fixed on whatever they were about to encounter.
"Are you sure it's okay for me to go?" she whispered when she and Neal slipped into the backseat.
"I'm watching his back. I need someone to watch mine."
Well that seemed fair enough.
"Where are we going, Jefferson?" Gold as curtly, and for the first time since she'd met him, Emma thought she could see how this small man might be dangerous. Not physically, she didn't think, but he certainly had the power backing his voice of someone that knew they could wreak havoc on someone's life if they wanted to.
"The hospital."
Neal's dad snorted from the driver's seat. "Funny thing is that I've recently been through quite a few hours reading through the records at the hospital recently. She's not there."
"She's not recorded," Jefferson answered. "Why would the queen leave a trail?"
"The queen?" Emma echoed and Jefferson turned wild blue eyes on her.
"Who are you anyway?"
The blonde scrunched her nose up and glared. "Who are you?"
That pulled a very small smirk from him. "The Hatter."
"What? Like Alice in Wonderland?"
Jefferson tensed in his place and gave a slight shudder. Emma looked to Neal who shrugged in return. If either of them were waiting for an explanation, it didn't sound like it was coming soon. Instead Gold put the cadillac into gear and started backing out of the long, slippery driveway.
Not for the first time, Emma wondered if Neal's family - or his dad and everyone that his dad surrounded himself with - were nuts. He'd run for some reason before, but in the same way something had brought him back.
A hand reached over, taking hers, and she blinked at him. "You okay?" he mouthed and she nodded. She'd made her decision.
He shouldn't give into the possibility of this being real. He knew that. He was only going so that he could know for certain if Jefferson was working against him. They had too much of a history - the Hatter was one of the few people that blurred the lines of those that Rumplestiltskin worked with and someone that might have been something of a friend to the Dark One - to simply assume that Magnus had gotten ahold of him. It was possible. He did have Grace, and Grace was a weak point. That might be the one reason that he could find to forgive the portal jumper, if the cleric were threatening his daughter to use him.
Rumplestiltskin kept his expression unreadable, a talent that Gold had gotten down to an art. In the Enchanted Forest he'd hidden behind flamboyant gestures and high-pitched giggles. Here that wouldn't have gotten his alternate persona anywhere. Here he had a much quieter type of power, and that worked well for him. It was a power he'd turn against even his old friend if he had chosen to betray him - using his love for someone as pure as Belle was - for any reason with the exception of the man's child.
"Where?" he asked as he pulled the car up in front of the hospital.
"Not here. Around back. We don't want anyone to see us."
"Because that's not sketchy at all," Emma grumbled from the backseat, and Rumplestiltskin couldn't find it in him to disagree. He could feel Bae's eyes on him from behind and could almost hear the worry in the gaze. This was a trap. They both thought it was, but in the same way he couldn't have just left it without seeing it for himself. He should have, in hindsight, left Bae and Emma, though. He was kicking himself for bringing them along now.
Jefferson snorted. "Did you think this would be easy? The queen has her minions all through here. Even you have to play it careful if we're going to get her out." The last bit was directed at Rumplestiltskin and he frowned, pulling the car around.
"The threats aren't needed, are they?"
"I know how this works," the hatter answered slowly. He tried for a smile, hand on the door and he opened it once they were fully stopped. "You may look like a man here, but that's just another one of her tricks."
"Papa?"
"Stay in the car," he said as he began to follow. "Move around to the front. If anything happens, go. Don't worry about me. You and Emma get out."
Emma leaned up and almost over the seat. "I know I'm new here and all, but can I just say that this is really stupid?" The girl's voice quaked a bit under what sounded like it was meant to be a nonchalant sort of tone, and Rumplestiltskin thought she sounded almost worried for his safety. Maybe, if she were smart, she was worried for hers and Bae's.
"You're not going in there alone," Bae said firmly, climbing out of the car.
"Bae, please, son-"
"No." He pulled himself up to his full height and for the first time Rumplestiltskin noticed that his boy had outgrown him by an inch or two. It wasn't much, but he squared his shoulders and tilted his chin, spine straight and his expression was so very, very determined. "I came with you to help you." He reached forward and grabbed his hand. "I'm not leaving you to whatever is in there."
Rumplestiltskin's free hand came up to his son's face in a gesture of affection he'd used when he had been a boy. He took a steadying breath as his lips thinned out and Bae leaned in, hand in his and their foreheads bumped together. A sigh escaped him. "I'm not a little boy anymore. I know you want to protect me, Papa, but I want to protect you too."
The elder man felt the breath leave his lungs and he swallowed hard. "I'm afraid it might take some time for me to remember that, Bae. I missed so much."
"No more," Bae said firmly. "If this is a trap, I want to be there for you. Neither of us are missing anything more."
How could he argue that? He squeezed his son's hand and offered a strained smile. "Alright."
"Alright?"
"Don't make me question it," Rumplestiltskin huffed and his son smiled at him. It was a light in his dark life. It was different than the one Belle had cast for such a short time, but no less as bright. There was nothing quite like a child's love.
"We need to hurry," Jefferson pressed. "There won't be as many people here because it's Christmas Eve, so it may be our one chance."
Rumplestiltskin nodded and he followed the man that he'd made countless deals with before. He tried to place his cane down as softly as he could on the hard floors and he could feel Bae hovering just over his left shoulder as they walked.
At first he thought Jefferson was leading them to the main desk, as if he was going to show him paperwork and call that proof. He was just shy of arguing with him when he passed it completely and went to a keypad on the wall. He paused, eyeing him carefully, as the hatter looked closely at it, turned to look down either end of the hall, and then pulled a piece of paper from his coat and punched in numbers. The keypad sounded the alert that it accepted the code and the door with exit written across it buzzed open. Jefferson turned back and motioned for them to follow.
Bae and Emma exchanged looks and she watched the halls. "Do you need a lookout?"
Jefferson seemed to consider this for a moment. "If you're caught up here, we can't help you."
He wasn't wrong. Rumplestiltskin frowned. "You'll simply look out of place standing up here."
She shrugged and Jefferson walked through the open door, holding it open for the others to follow. They descended the stairs into what could have easily been something out of an old horror movie - something that Gold had logged back in his memories but Rumplestiltskin was fairly certain that he hadn't actually watched - and one light was even starting to flicker a little. They hit the bottom and there was a nurse sitting at the desk, head tilted a bit and she shot them a questioning look. "You shouldn't be down here," she said sternly.
"That's nice," Jefferson said, entirely unworried by the way she stood up. "Come with us please? Don't forget the keys."
"You can't just-"
"Ms. Fletcher?" Rumplestiltskin asked, pulling the name from his long list of tenants he kept mentally stored away. "I believe you rent the unit just below Ms. Blanchard in my apartments, don't you?"
She froze, eyes focused in on him. "I do," she said slowly.
"Oh good. Glad you recognize me. If you don't mind helping us with just a quick visit, I'm sure we can work something out."
"I'm sorry… but are you trying to bribe me, sir?"
"Oh no. I apologize," Rumplestiltskin chuckled. "I'm threatening you. See, I'm not unaware of your elderly mother that you haven't ever bothered to put on the lease, though I do get quite a few complaints of the smoke that she produces that bleeds through the walls."
"I see," the nurse said, going a little pale at the insinuation. "Who were you hoping to see, Mr Gold?"
"Miss French, if you would," Jefferson said, motioning and the nurse nodded and grabbed the keys.
"Well you're kind of a bastard when you want to be, aren't you?" Emma muttered very lowly as they followed behind the nurse.
Rumplestiltskin shrugged. "A contract is a contract, Miss Swan. I suggest you learn that at an early age."
They followed behind Nurse Fletcher and she wound around the lower halls that, if he'd been forced to be honest, Rumplestiltskin didn't even know existed. He wondered what other little nooks and crannies Regina had hidden away under the town his curse had created for her.
The nurse was nervous, that much was obvious, and she stopped next to a door and motioned to it. "You can speak through that window there…. if you know Miss French."
"Take a look,"Jefferson prompted.
Bae squeezed his shoulder and Rumplestiltskin knew his son's encouragement for what it was. He would have to have his back to the others to look in, but Baelfire would watch it for him. He leaned in, finger slowly reaching through the hole to pry the little window open. It let out a terrible squeaking sound that almost made the shop owner cringe, but he pulled it all the way up anyway and peered inside.
The room was mostly dark with only white, padded walls and a single bed from what he could see. Though on that bed sat a figure and he felt his breath catch. She looked up at the sound, those clear and blue eyes wide. She blinked at him and even in her rags, her hair tangled and unwashed, Belle was beautiful.
"The mayor is her contact. No one else would claim her," Nurse Fletcher said in a stuttering voice. "She'll want to know someone came to see her."
"Yes," Rumplestiltskin answered in a low, dangerous voice. "Call the mayor. Call her right now." He heard her start back down the hall and he reached his hand out, palm open. "Leave the keys and don't tell her who came in."
She didn't argue and they landed in his waiting grasp.
"That's her, right?" Jefferson asked tightly, as if he'd feared that it wasn't. He'd barely seen her when she worked for him, afterall. It was likely he was only mostly sure and banking on that hope.
"Yes."
"Then our deal stands."
"I'll have you out in a moment," he promised Belle and shut the window even as she unfolded herself from her place on the bed. He turned his dark gaze on Jefferson and saw the hope in his eyes that could only belong to a father. "I can't return her memories to her."
"Rumple, you said-"
Rumplestiltskin lifted a hand to him. "When have I ever broken my word to you?"
"Never."
A ghost of a smile tilted his lips. "This won't be the first. Regina can return her memories. I'll make sure it's done."
A breath escaped the younger man and he looked like he might wrap his arms around the Dark One in relief. "Thank you," he gasped with none of his usual suave.
"Papa, it's her?" Bae whispered, almost as if he were afraid to believe it as well.
"I'd know her anywhere," his papa answered, fiddling with the keys to find the one with her cell number on it. "I suppose there's a story to tell you, isn't there?"
"I don't have a stepmom that I don't know about, do I?"
The question had been an attempt at a tease and his lips twitched. "No," he said softly and fit the key into place. The lock was heavy and it turned, swinging the door open. Belle was standing halfway to it, looking as if she were both confused and afraid. The expression was so foreign to her face that for a moment, Rumplestiltskin wasn't sure what to make of it. "Belle?"
She blinked, taking a hesitant step forward. "Do I… know you?" she managed.
Dread set deeply inside of him and he felt slightly nauseous. "Do you not?"
Belle shook her head. "I'm sorry. I don't…. I don't know you. I don't think I do."
She was under the curse, he realized all at once. Just like Jefferson's little girl. Just like he had been. That could be fixed. When he was done with Regina, she'd be begging to fix it. He tried for a smile for now and reached a hand out to her. "What's your name, dear?"
"I don't know." She was getting worked up now that the questions were posed and a fear shone in her eyes as her hands went to the side of her head and she buried her fingers in her thick locks. "I don't know. There's only the emptiness of what they don't tell me. There's nothing before that. I don't know!"
Rumplestiltskin stepped immediately forward, his tone gentle as he reached out to her. "It's okay. Don't worry. It's okay."
She looked like she might hyperventilate with the way she was dragging terrified breaths into her lungs and forcing them back out, but as soon as he reached a hand out to her she dove for it, clinging to him like he might save her life. She dug her nails into the palm of his hand when she grabbed it and her other arm went around his neck in a hug that seemed to try to cut off his own air supply.
He shifted his weight a little to the left and wrapped his right arm around her as well, hoping against hope that she wouldn't knock him off balance lest they both go tumbling to the ground. "Shh," he hushed her and she cried into his chest. "It's alright. No one's going to hurt you now."
"She comes and I don't know her," Belle said softly. "I should. I feel like I should." She turned her tear-filled blue eyes up to him. "Do you know me?"
"I did once," he said quietly.
"What's my name? They won't tell me my name."
"Belle. Your name is Belle."
She quieted a bit at this and no one around them said a word. He let her cling to him and revelled in the fact that even though she didn't remember him - even though she didn't remember herself - Belle was alive. He loosed a trembling breath and kissed the top of her head, her hair tickling his nose.
"Who are you?"
"Gold," he lied to her when the truth failed him. "My name is Mr Gold."
"I'm sorry. I don't remember you."
He found himself chuckling softly. "That's alright, my dear. Apparently you don't remember you, and in the grand scheme of things, that's a bit more important right now."
Belle gave a short, snorting sort of laugh with him and looked around. "Do I get to leave here? Who are these people?"
Rumplestiltskin followed her gaze and his son's eyes were trained on him, his expression worried. He tried to give him a reassuring smile. He could fix this. Death was beyond even him, but a few lost memories he could at least bully Regina into mending.
Speak of the devil and she appeared.
"I told you not to let anyone down here!" the mayor of Storybrooke raged from somewhere down the hall. "And you don't-"
Belle clung hard to him again and gave a soft whimper. He had to pull himself away, though, and lean against his cane. "Stay behind me," he whispered. "I'll protect you." This time, he swore to himself, he would make good on that promise.
Regina stood in the entrance of the hallway with eyes wide. Everyone had seen her and she knew as well as Rumplestiltskin did that, in the end, there was nowhere to run. So she did what she always did and shoved her fear down beneath her layers of pride, tilted her chin up, and approached the situation as a queen would. "Rumple."
"Regina," he greeted back. "Because we have a truce between us currently, I'll give you a chance to explain."
"I could have killed her, you know," the Evil Queen said as if that might save her, "but I didn't."
"No," he answered dangerously and motioned to Bae to step closer to Belle to make sure she felt safe, "you did much worse. You kept her alive so you could kill her when convenient."
It must have been a strange sight to have a woman in perfect health frozen in fear of a cripple slowly making his way towards her, but Regina didn't move, and, to her credit, gave no further argument. She had always been clever. He'd always appreciated that. "She doesn't remember you, does she? I can return her memories."
The words were quick, but there was no mistaking them. Rumplestiltskin smiled a predator's smile. "Yes, I imagine you can."
"Gold," Emma said quietly from behind and took a step forward. Bae caught her, though, and Rumplestiltskin was fairly certain he heard his son whisper for her to stop. The girl had a spine, he'd give her that. He would remember to be impressed later when she wasn't likely to hop in the middle of the brewing battle.
"I take it you want to live?" Rumplestiltskin asked as if he were making an inquiry about the menu at Granny's.
"Of course I do."
Every instinct screamed to make a deal for Belle's memories then and there, but Rumplestiltskin was a man of his word, and he'd promised Jefferson something already. "You're immediate welfare in exchange for Jefferson's daughter's memories of him."
Regina blinked, as if the demand confused her, but she didn't waste a great deal of time worrying on it. "It will take a bit of time, but it can be done. What about my…. continual welfare?"
"Belle's memories."
She nodded. "The same will go for that. I assume you would like the girl's first, since you asked for it first?"
"There was no asking there, dearie," he snarled and she flinched. Good. She knew her place. That meant that she knew what was at stake here. She knew what she'd done.
"Our truce-"
"Will remain intact as long as you live up to your end of the bargain."
"I will."
"One week for both?"
She looked nervous at a number being put on it, but nodded. "As it stands, that should be enough time. I'll let you know if anything changes."
He pulled in a breath, trying to steady himself and shove down the demands in his mind for her rather bloody and painful death. His curse didn't reach through this Land Without Magic often, but when it did, it brought out the worst in him. "Very well."
It was as if he'd had ahold of her throat and released her. Regina sagged a little and leaned against the wall. The nurse was long gone by this point. "Rumple-"
"Unless it is of immediate importance, I suggest it wait until I don't wish to paint the streets with your blood, your majesty," he growled dangerously.
She nodded, wisely keeping her mouth shut and after a moment of silence between them she was gone. He watched her go, her footsteps echoing down the hall and he felt the murderous rage dissipate just a little as he turned towards Belle. The poor girl looked terrified, unsure of who was the hero and who was the villain in the little scene, but he could hardly blame her. She had the lesser of two evils - and possibly only when it came to her - to choose from between he and Regina and for someone who didn't understand their combined pasts, that must have looked very strange indeed.
Bae was standing rather close to her, watching his papa carefully as he brought himself down from the bloodlust. Slowly the world came appropriately back into focus and he loosed a breath.
"Rumple?" Belle asked, as if tasting the name. "Is that what they call you?"
"It is. Some do, anyway."
She pulled herself away from Baelfire, clear blue eyes fixed on Rumplestiltskin in a way that made his breath catch dangerously. She reached forward, her thin fingers touching his face and he leaned into them. He'd missed her touch and Belle's fingers were warm against his skin. "I know you," she whispered. "Don't I?"
"Once," he repeated again.
"You can help me remember who I am?"
"I believe I can. It'll take some time, but not too much. How about we get you out of those rags and into something a bit better?" He shrugged his own overcoat off so that he was left only in the jacket he'd been wearing beneath and the button up shirt beneath that. It was freezing outside and she was wearing what looked like a long nightgown and a pair of stockings. She didn't shy away when he fit the overcoat across her thin shoulders and buttoned it up for her gently, but instead continued to watch him like she wanted very desperately to remember his face, but the memory kept slipping away.
Rumplestiltskin turned back to Jefferson. "Regina will contact me as soon as that's ready."
"Thank you."
He pulled in a trembling breath, risking a glance back to Belle just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. "No, I should be thanking you."
Jefferson declined a ride back to his own home, but he'd always been a man willing and able to make his own way. Belle sat quietly in the front, watching the street fly by as they drove, and she never said a word about it. Rumplestiltskin had no way to know what was going on inside her mind, but he was just grateful that she seemed to be a little less panicked than when they found her. If her memories were all that was damaged, that could be easily fixed. He could handle that. He just hoped that whatever revenge Regina had been using her for against him was well and truly put away and that they'd find no further surprises down the road from it.
"Papa?"
He perked, realizing that he'd pulled into the driveway on auto-pilot and that Emma was helping Belle out of the car now and Bae stood at his own door. "Lost in thought," he murmured.
"Once we get her settled, I think it's time for the full story."
Rumplestiltskin pulled himself out of the car, his ankle aching terribly with the cold as he stepped onto the driveway. "Yes," he said slowly, watching Belle look up at the house in amazement. It wasn't a castle, but this could be her home if she'd let it. He looked back to his son who was watching his expression very carefully. "Yes, I do believe you deserve that."
A small smile made its way to Bae's lips and he flung an arm around his father's shoulders. He didn't say anything as they walked inside and out of the cold. There'd be enough time for that and it was looking to be a very long night.
TBC
Notes: So, the history fangirl in me really hopes that a bunch of Oncers watched the Sons of Liberty that was on this past week for Michael Raymond-James, if nothing else. It was littered with historical inaccuracies, but they fessed up to that beforehand so it's not as bad. My roommate and I are slowly making our way through the recorded last episode and even though we knew what was coming at the end of that first hour... Ugh. So much wailing. Joseph Warren is one of my heroes. Kind of a historical fangirl of his.
Ahem. Anyway. If you have not watched it, go check it out on the history channel's website. They have the episodes there to stream. Michael Raymond-James plays Paul Revere. My roommate has taken to calling him Neal Revere :D
Also, I have been nominated for Best Fic over on the Espenson Awards on Tumblr for Courage of the Stars! Very excited! Thank you to anyone who nominated me :D
Next time - Belle struggles to understand the strange world around her without her memories.