15.

"It was the weirdest thing. She thought she saw him move, but by the time that Belle and I got there it was like nothing had happened," Emma said as they walked into Granny's for breakfast the next morning. It had been Bae's request, since he pointed out that Belle hadn't actually been to the diner yet and it might be a good change of scenery for her. Rumplestiltskin hadn't been able to hold the argument up long - he seemed to be the only one that thought it was a bad idea to introduce her to the cursed town while she was without her own memories - when Bae had none-too-gently reminded him that Belle was not his prisoner and might like some fresh air with at least semi normal people. His papa had flushed and sputtered and every argument he made at that point sounded silly, so there they were at Granny's for breakfast. Well, at least Bae and Belle were happy.

"Mary Margaret said that he was a John Doe that's been there for years," Belle chimed in. "The doctor said nothing had changed and that she must have imagined it."

"Yeah, well, that doctor is super shady if you ask me," Emma grumbled and they took their seats at a booth. She turned back to Belle who was sitting next to her. "He wouldn't stop staring at you. Or Mary Margaret. It was creepy."

"Give yourself a couple years and he'll start flirting with you too," Ruby said as she came up to take their order and Rumplestiltskin was surprisingly happy that he'd been shuffled in against the wall and Bae was blocking his exit. Whale had proven himself a letch under the curse time and again, but the thought of him looking at Belle like that made his blood boil. His son likely wouldn't be pleased if he beat a healthy bit of respect into the doctor, so best that he didn't even have the option.

Emma made a face. "Creep."

Ruby shrugged. "Sometimes. So was that you at the hospital with Mary Margaret last night?"

"Yeah. Belle and I were there."

"Hey," Ruby greeted the newcomer. "So I guess you heard what happened after you left, right?"

Rumplestiltskin tried not to groan and failed miserably. "Could we not put our order in before the lot of you start on the town gossip?"

"Papa," Bae groused and shot him a meaningful glare before leaning in so close that neither of the three young women would be able to hear. "John Doe is David."

Well, that was interesting. "Are you certain?"

He nodded and Emma reached over to tap the table between them. "Secrets aren't any fun if you aren't willing to share," she teased before turning back the the waitress. "What happened?"

Ruby flashed a smile that somehow got a preemptive elbow to Rumplestiltskin's ribs to keep him quiet. "Well, apparently when the nurse went in for his rounds this morning he found the coma patient's bed empty."

"So what? He got up and walked out?" Emma asked skeptically and Ruby shrugged.

"No one knows. Apparently the guard on duty says he didn't see anything, but he's notorious for falling asleep on the job. Whatever the case, he's missing and Graham's trying to round people up to form a search party."

"We should go help," Belle said immediately.

"Yeah, if Mary Margaret was right and he was waking up he could be really confused," Emma agreed. "You guys want to grab breakfast to go and meet us?"

Rumplestiltskin sighed. It wasn't like they had much of a choice in the matter, but saying so would likely land him with another jab to the ribs. He was tempted to remind Bae that it hadn't been that long since his run in with Soren and Silas and that hurt.

"Yeah, we can do that," Bae answered for them.

Emma and Belle left their orders and scurried off, allowing Bae to shift over into the other half of the booth after they had ordered as well to wait.

"Planning to kick me under the table now?" his papa groused before he could stop himself.

"You're in a sour mood this morning. What gives? Isn't it good if he woke up?"

"As long as he doesn't get himself killed before they find him, sure, it's grande." At Bae's confused look Rumplestiltskin sighed. "Time may be creeping along, but the curse isn't broken. There's no telling how this will work itself out. I just..." He pulled in a deep breath to steady himself. He didn't want to let him down. That was the truth, but it stuck in his throat.

"Hey," Bae said softly from across the table, "you didn't hurt him. Between us, we might be able to save him."

There was something shining in his son's eyes that he hadn't seen on centuries. It was that same faith that his papa could make anything happen. Rumplestiltskin wasn't entirely sure where that faith came from, but somehow it had worked its way back into Baelfire's gaze and all he could think was that to let him down this time might destroy everything they were trying to rebuild. "Bae," he said very softly, "I'm no hero. I'm not here to save everyone. Just you."

"You saved Belle," he pointed out.

"That was a happy surprise, but I only came here for you."

"Yeah, well, you've found me, and it's your curse as much as Regina's. Seems like putting as much back in order as possible is kind of something you should do." He shrugged, slouching a little into his seat. "It doesn't mean you have to be a hero. It just means you're trying to do the right thing."

"That's not something I'm very good at," Rumplestiltskin whispered as if the words alone might drive his son away.

"Sure you are. My papa always tried to do what he thought was best, even if he had kind of a funny way of going about it. You just have to remember that." He waited until his father hesitantly met his gaze and offered a lopsided grin. "For me?"

Rumplestiltskin sighed as Ruby set their order on the table and he handed her payment. His son gathered everything up and stood. "I'll try," he promised carefully.

"That's all I'm asking," Bae said with a grin. "Let's go save Emma's dad."

The call had come in very late or very early, depending on how she wanted to look at it. Her first thought was that the doctor had somehow managed to drunk dial her. Regina had received a call the evening before to alert her that the John Doe that she'd signed on as the medical contact for - she wasn't fool enough to leave Charming's coma to chance - had shown slight brainwave fluctuations and that Mary Margaret Blanchard had claimed that he reached out and touched her. The mayor had brushed it off, neck deep in issues concerning an impatient Dark One, two sets of memories to return, and a very troublesome cleric in disguise. Those were the things that deserved her attention, not some sleeping prince whose wife didn't even know who he was.

She hadn't expected him to get up and go for a stroll, of course.

Regina pulled her jacket up around her face, the cold wind cutting through even now that the sun was up. They'd finally harassed that sleepy little dwarf of Snow's into admitting that he's fallen asleep on the job - again! - and he'd produced the real video that showed that damn prince getting up and stumbling out the back door. Now she had to pull herself away from the work she would have gotten back to that morning to organise a search party and they still hadn't found any leads.

"Regina! What are you doing out here?"

The Evil Queen turned, finding a waving, blonde teen coming her way. She thought her mood might improve until she saw Rumple's little amnesiac bookworm on her heels and it soured all over again. "I'm the missing gentleman's medical contact," Regina answered and Belle watched her warily.

"Do you know him?"

"I found him on the side of the road years ago," the dark haired woman explained with a shrug, though she hardly needed to. What was Belle doing there without Rumple? Shouldn't he be keeping her on a short leash until the girl got her memories back? What was he thinking?

"Well he couldn't have just disappeared," Emma said practically, "and if what you guys keep saying about the town is true, he can't leave."

"No," Regina murmured. "He can't."

"The boys are bringing breakfast. If we'd known you were here we would have brought you something too," the teen continued, walking forward like she belonged in the search party. Well, no one had told her she didn't, and if there was one thing that Regina had noticed about Neal's girlfriend it was that she had spunk. The queen was quite certain that she wouldn't like it nearly as much if they were pitted against each other.

"You put Rumple on a breakfast run?"

Emma grinned and damn it all, that girl knew exactly what she'd done. Regina chuckled. She knew there was a reason she liked her.

"Can you use a couple extra sets of eyes until then? We may not know woods like you, but I'm pretty good at finding people," the blonde offered.

"We can use all the help we can get," Graham called from a few yards away. He pointed out in a couple different directions as he spoke. "We have a team over that way, that way, and over there. Did you happen to bring anyone else?"

"Mr Gold and Neal are on their way in a second," Emma answered. "Belle and I are happy to help."

"Great. Mary Margaret's up that path there. Maybe you can help her?"

"Regina, are you coming too?"

The dark haired woman sighed and tightened her coat. "Sure," she answered, though joining up with Snow to look for her would-be-comatose husband was not something that she was looking forward to. She was all for keeping them apart and making them suffer, but she knew that their love was strong. It was possible that if he were to wake up that he would be drawn to her and wouldn't that be irritating? Regina didn't have time to add a mix of fake memories onto her to-do list. He really had found a very inconvenient time to wake up and when they finally caught up with Magnus she was going to make him suffer terribly.

She trudged behind Emma and Belle up an icy hill and her thoughts turned back to the cleric in question. Regina had thought about trying to use the curse to replace what he knew with a life of her choosing, but filling in a blank slate was so much simpler than overriding a powerful sorcerer who had the protection of an original power to back him. As much as she wanted to give Jacob Dawson the most miserable existence that anyone could ever create it would likely prove a futile endeavour. They would have a better chance using the Land Without Magic against Magnus. She just had to prove more clever than he was, and as long as she could keep Rumple on her side there was no issue with that. They were clever enough separately, but together they could stop anything that Magnus and that damn sparkling bug he kept on a leash were planning. Her revenge would not be thwarted.

"Regina!"

Brown eyes blinked, their owner pulled from her thoughts by the scream. She was darting forward before she knew that she was moving and she nearly flattened herself as her designer boots hit a patch of ice. She topped the hill and saw where Emma and Belle had disappeared to, the blonde nearly colliding with her. "Mary Margaret found him. He's unconscious. Do you have cell service? I can't get anything and-"

"Graham! Get the medics up here!" Regina called over her shoulder. "It's fine, we're not far. Where are they?"

She followed the nervous teen to where Mary Margaret Blanchard was bent over Prince Charming's still form. He was laid out on the cold ground, his skin too pale and his lips tinged blue. Belle was already had one of his hands in her own, her jacket spread out over him, and was trying to work the blood through it by rubbing it between her own hands. Emma was peeling her jacket off as well and looked on worriedly as Mary Margaret counted and forced air down his throat.

He could die there, Regina knew. He could die and even if the curse broke someday Snow would feel that same pain that she had caused Regina to feel. Her love would be stolen from her and she would have been powerless to stop it. The thought made her giddy.

"Regina?" Emma's voice broke through. "What can we do?"

"Exactly what Miss Blanchard is doing now," a voice said from behind and Regina turned to see Rumple trudging his way up the side of his hill, his son ready to take hold of his arm should his cane slip out from under him. His gaze was steady, his expression unreadable as he looked at his pet prince and princess that he'd watched out for as much as he'd double crossed.

"He's breathing!" Mary Margaret announced and Regina grabbed hold of Rumplestiltskin's coat sleeve, pulling him off to the side. Best not to waste this opportunity now that it wasn't entirely obvious that it wouldn't be the end of Mayor Mills' world if the man died.

"A word, while I have you?"

Rumple quirked an eyebrow and followed her, carefully picking his way around roots reaching up from the dirt and fallen branches. "Not the best timing, your majesty," he grumbled and she rolled her eyes.

"It never is with you. You're either playing the loving father or you're getting your ass handed to you by Magnus. I think this is the best time yet."

The Dark One stiffened and Regina tried not visibly wince. It was probably a bit too soon after the whole Belle fiasco to start falling back into their usual snark. She offered him a nod of acknowledgement. "Listen, I'll make it quick. Everything should be set for Jefferson to get his daughter back. I went over and beyond what you asked. Not only am I giving her her memories back, but I'm wiping her family here's memories of her."

Rumple nodded. "Good."

"And difficult. You're welcome."

"Is that your way to say you haven't even started on Belle?"

Regina did her best to look offended. "I'm almost done, but I need something from you." He shot her a skeptical look and she raised her hands in defence. "Something special to pour the potion on or into. A talisman."

He seemed to think for a second on that and nodded. "I have something. Bring the potion to the shop when it's done and I'll have it there."

"I can come by this evening."

"Then do."

He turned to rejoin the others, but Regina caught his sleeve again. "Rumple?"

"What is it now?"

She pursed her lips together thoughtfully. This was a delicate subject and, truth be told, she really wasn't trying to get under his skin with this. "I know that things didn't… end well with Belle," she murmured carefully and received a glare for her efforts.

"I hardly think that's any of your concern."

"I just think…. All joking aside, Rumple, Magnus is a formidable foe. We need to be focused on this if we hope to come out of it alive and… Well, you already have one person he can use against you."

"You're asking if I'm willing to add another?" he asked icily.

"I'm asking if you really want her to remember whatever happened before she left."

Apparently that wasn't what he'd been expecting. He blinked at her owlishly, large dark eyes full of calculation. He inhaled as if he were going to speak, stopped, and glanced back over to where Belle had stood away with Mary Margaret, Neal, and Emma to let the paramedics work on Charming. Finally he loosed the breath. "Yes. I'm certain."

Regina nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll be by this evening and we'll be set, right? Same side again?"

"Yes yes. That was the deal."

She found herself chuckling at that. "And you never go back on a deal."

"No, I don't. Just see to it that you abide by your end." With that he turned and moved towards Neal who spoke lowly with him. Regina watched as Emma looped an arm around her young lover's waist and Belle joined them. Wouldn't they make the lovely little family? It was yet another place where she didn't belong. Her own love was dead, the only marriage she'd known had soured before it was ever formed, and any hopes for another love had washed away with that stupid little fairy. All she had was the darkness. Rumple had taught her that, even if he seemed to forget that now.

He was going to be alright. Emma wasn't quite sure why she was as relieved as she was, but Whale had said that they had just barely gotten to him in time. A few minutes longer and there could have been irreversible damage done. An hour or more longer out there and he might not have woken up at all.

As it stood their John Doe had woken up, though they didn't seem any closer to finding out who he was once he was awake than when he'd slept. Much like Belle, he wasn't sure of who he was or how he'd gotten there. He did, however, ask about the dark haired woman that might have been from a dream. Dr Whale assured him that Mary Margaret was very real and had been partially responsible for saving his life.

It was late afternoon by the time everything settled down and Emma was starving. The food Neal and Gold had brought from the diner had been forgotten when they found their missing person. Now, though, she thought that she might wake the whole hospital with the way her stomach was growling and she glared at it as if it would do any good.

Like magic, a bag appeared in front of her face and she blinked at it. One sniff and her mouth began to water and she took in, finding her boyfriend circling around the set of chairs she had settled herself into in the waiting room. "You are amazing," she breathed as she unfolded the paper bag and found one of Granny's burgers waiting for her.

"I do what I can," Neal answered with a grin. "How's he doing?"

"Better. He still doesn't remember anything, but that seems to be going around this place." She took a big bite of the hamburger and glanced over to him, speaking around it. "Must be the curse," she teased.

Neal frowned a little. "I wish you believed that when you say it. This is serious."

"Well, when I see Belle's memories magically come back then I won't have any choice, right?" she asked with a grin and kissed his cheek.

He snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and then we might be stuck here, you know."

"Might not be so bad," Emma said quietly, taking another bite of her burger. "It's kind of nice, you know, being a part of something?"

"You done running?"

She looked at him and felt her chest clench a little. She'd spent more of her life running than not. She wasn't sure what she'd do with something like family - well, Neal's family, but she was starting to like Mr Gold now that she was getting a feel for how to get past that smooth protection he kept up - or a home. She and Neal could stay here, make a life here. They could belong here. It had felt good to help a person she had never met and join together with the people around to do it. She had always been wary about forming bonds before, but here it felt right.

"Maybe," she answered after some thought. "You?"

Neal offered her a crooked smile and stole a french fry. "I think maybe so."

Emma smiled and leaned in, feeling Neal's arm go around her. She could get used to a little stability. There was a first time for everything.

"What are you two still doing here?"

The blonde perked and found Mary Margaret looking very tired, but happy. "Just wanted to make sure everything was okay before heading out," she answered the older woman.

Mary Margaret smiled. "Dr Whale says its a miracle. He may remember his life before, he may not, but Whale's hopeful that he'll make a physical recovery at least." She paused, glancing around the waiting room. "Have you seen Mayor Mills? She's his medical contact."

"She had something she had to work on," Neal answered. "We'll probably see her this afternoon."

The dark haired woman nodded, but she looked hesitant to say anything. Emma knew that Regina could be a bit prickly, but people that spent their lives alone were like that sometimes. Not everyone could be as friendly as Mary Margaret. "Could you just let her know what I told you? I'm sure she's very busy, but she is his contact. We're hoping maybe we can find a link to who he is now that he's awake."

"Sure," Emma promised. "And you'll call if you need anything? You have my number, right?"

"Yes, I do," Mary Margaret answered with a smile. Without warning she stepped forward and pulled Emma into a hug. "We don't get a lot of visitors here, Emma, but if they're all like you I wouldn't mind a few more."

The teen froze at the sudden contact, but slowly managed to remind herself that normal people hugged back. "Just...ah... trying to help," she managed.

"Thank you," Mary Margaret beamed with the most real-looking ear-to-ear smile Emma was sure she'd ever seen.

"No problem, I guess."

"Hey, Papa and Belle need us over at the shop pretty quick," Neal said easily. "We should probably get going."

Emma resisted the urge to loose a relieved sigh. "Sure. Just give me a call if you need anything, Mary Margaret." She ducked after Neal down the hall and waited until they were out the front door before glancing over at him. "Did your dad really need us over there or was it that obvious I had no clue what to do?"

"He doesn't need us over there, but I have something I want you to see." He offered her a lopsided grin. "And you were pretty obvious."

"Shut up," she grumbled and balled up her fist to hit him in the shoulder. Not that he felt it between her gloves and his jacket. Even so he made a show of falling to the side.

"Seriously, why do I put up with this abuse?"

Emma stuck her tongue out at him. "Because you love me."

"Okay, well there is that," her boyfriend answered with a grin and she took another swing that missed by a good foot when he dodged. The grin that broke out on his face made her laugh and she wasted no time taking off after him when he took off in a full sprint down the snowy road and towards his father's shop.

Regina was ahead of schedule, which should have been a good sign. When she became determined to do something, there was little outside of the strictest laws of nature and magic that could stop her. Even so, Rumplestiltskin found himself glancing at the clock on the wall in a nervous fashion. They hadn't settled on a specific time, just that she would come by, and he'd managed to pry Belle away from the hospital perhaps two hours before without being able to tell her why. He'd told her that he had a surprise for her, something that would add to the excitement of find their supposed John Doe alive that morning, but Regina had yet to show. In the meantime he had treated her to a burger at Granny's - to make up for the missed breakfast, he'd explained - and had brought her back to the shop to give her a few books that he'd found amongst the clutter that must have come over from her library in the Dark Castle. She'd found a place to sit in the back and was currently lost in one of the lengthy books on adventure as Rumplestiltskin tried to busy himself in the front.

Bae had gone to fetch Emma - convinced that if this didn't prove what he'd been saying that nothing would - so when the bell chimed he assumed it was his son and the young savior returning. Rumplestiltskin was crouched down behind a counter, looking through a dusty old compartment there for something to take his mind off the absurd waiting. When he didn't hear their usual chatter, he peeked up and over the countertop to find Regina standing with a small scroll clutched in her gloved hand. Even without access to his magic, Rumplestiltskin could almost feel the potion it had been soaked in and the queen looked impatient as she held it out. "I assume you have what I need?"

"I do," he answered and finished standing, limping to the far end of the counter to open it up. Inside was a small, chipped tea cup. He pulled it out carefully, though it hardly looked to be worth anything compared to some of the other trinkets he kept in his shop. It was one of the most valuable possessions he owned, and he wouldn't have sold it for anything. Even Gold had known better.

Regina quirked an eyebrow. "Really? Are we going to have a tea party? I just came from Jefferson's, I really would prefer not."

Rumplestiltskin snorted. "I take it that's in order now?"

"It is," his former student answered with a shrug. "It was a lovely little family reunion. So much so that it just about made me sick. I expect this to give me much the same reaction." She reached for the cup with a grabby motion. "If you don't mind? I have a rather irritating prince to deal with. He may not have any memories now, but I've seen the way that Snow's been all but drooling over him. That is something I simply won't allow."

The shop owner rolled his eyes. "Keep your priorities straight, Regina. We have bigger problems to deal with than your petty revenge. Once Magnus is dealt with, you can always rewrite anything that goes awry."

She glared. "Easy for you to say. Do you know how difficult that is to do here? It's much easier with someone that doesn't have any memories. If he happens to regain them somehow-"

"And how would he do that?"

"The curse is weakening."

"So shouldn't you like to focus on Magnus?" he pointed out. The fact that Magnus likely wasn't why her curse was weakening really didn't matter. She didn't know that, and he needed her to focus on the priorities that she should be focusing on. Snow and Charming could wait. Anyway, the prince wouldn't receive his originally memories back unless the curse broke, and he still wasn't sure that was even possible for another eleven years. Even if Emma stayed, even if she believed in everything, the prophecy had been fairly specific in the fact that she would be twenty-eight.

"Shouldn't you?" she pointed out and snatched the tea cup from him. "Is she here?"

"In the back. Rather absorbed in a book."

"Good. Do you have a lighter or a match?"

He nodded, shuffling over to a drawer and tossing a matchbook towards her as the front door of the shop came crashing open, Bae running through it with Emma on his heels. They both froze just inside, wet and covered with snow and ice and looking very young in that moment. Bae offered him a sheepish grin. "Sorry."

"Lock the door behind you and switch the sign over, if you please," his papa answered. "Best not to be interrupted. Emma, quiet through this."

"Why me?"

Bae did as Rumplestiltskin had instructed and turned an almost excited look back to him. "Have you started?"

"Not yet," Regina answered snappishly and turned back the her task. She unrolled the short scroll and Rumplestiltskin could smell the oils off of it as she struck the match and it caught quickly. The smell was pleasant and he'd forgotten from time to time just how much he missed magic. It had been a comfort to him in his years of searching and solitude, and now it filled his shop, even if it was just for a moment.

Flames devoured the scroll quickly and it burnt to ash. Those ashes landed in the bottom of the tea cup and Emma crept a little closer to look as they vanished without a trace. Her eyes widened at the sight that she couldn't unsee now and Rumplestiltskin smirked a bit.

"I've done my part," Regina offered. "Your turn, if you still want to do this."

"I do," he answered immediately. He had to. Even if Belle hated him for what he'd done, he couldn't let her continue to wander around with nothing but questions bouncing around in her head. It was crueler than he knew how to be to the woman that he did truly love. "Belle, could you come in here a moment?" he called over his shoulder.

They waited. A moment ticked by, then another, and then another before the curtains finally parted as she peeked through. "Oh. Is there news from the hospital? I was so caught up in my book I didn't even hear everyone come in. How's he feeling?"

"Better," Emma said tightly. "Dr Whale's optimistic. Well…. about his physical recovery, anyway."

"He still can't remember anything?" Belle asked softly and her own pain was clearly expressed in those blue eyes.

"He's lucky to be alive," Regina pointed out sharply. "Rumple?"

Rumplestiltskin shot her a withering look. She was always in such a rush. Belle's attention had been turned back to him, though, and he sighed. "I have something that I wanted you to take a look at if you have a moment," he said and picked the tea cup up off the counter. It showed no signs of the scroll or the ashes it should have left behind. "Do you mind?"

"Oh it's pretty," Belle said with a bright smile, reaching for it. "It's chipped."

"It is. Take a close look."

She did as instructed and Rumplestiltskin was half sure that no one in the room was actually breathing. Bae was doing his best not to lean forward, but Emma made no such attempts. She watched with wide, curious eyes as Belle turned the little cup over in her hands, inspecting it closely. Blue eyes softened as she looked at it and her touch became more gentle, almost as if she feared she might drop it and send the pieces shattering against the hard, wooden floors of the shop. Her lips thinned out and her brows drew together. Finally, after several long, painful moments, she swallowed hard and looked up to meet his gaze.

Rumplestiltskin felt like he was on the edge of the world, waiting to see if he'd be shoved off into the abyss or not. The wait was excruciating, and he tried not to shrink back when that clear gaze fell on him. She knew. She had to know.

"I know you," she said, her voice soft and a little wobbly. "I know you, Rumplestiltskin."

"Yes," he answered tightly, unsure of what would come next. He hardly wanted to be made a spectacle of whatever it was that he might deserve at her hands. She'd told him that he was going to regret choosing power of her, and she'd been right. He'd known it even as she had stormed out of his castle, angry and hurt and everything in between. He'd done what he felt like he must to find his son. He'd promised himself when he lost Bae that he would love no one else until he found him. He'd made a mistake with Cora, and he was desperate not to repeat it lest he lose his chance. Belle had been an innocent victim of his tunnel vision, and he knew that now. She didn't deserve that.

It wasn't anger that shone in her eyes, though. Tears gathered there and she set the cup down as gently as her trembling hands would allow. He didn't have time to process it as she launched herself forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder and let out a sob. "I remember. I love you."

He didn't care that Regina was there and he didn't care if it might appear weakness. Rumplestiltskin wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "And I love you," he answered.

Belle pulled back, tears streaming down her cheeks, but at least she was smiling. "I was coming back to you. You stubborn, stubborn man. I was going to fight for you, but… You." She turned an accusing glare on Regina. "You stopped me."

Regina stiffened. "And I just helped return your memories. You're welcome."

"Things are a bit complicated," Rumplestiltskin explained. "We're in a land without magic, but someone came through with the curse that wasn't meant to. An old enemy of mine."

Belle's eyes widened a little. "And she'll help us?"

"She will. He'd happily kill her as well. Regina knows she's safer with me than Magnus."

His former maid nodded, taking it all in. Her gaze swept out and fell on Bae and a smile took hold. "Your son," she said fondly. "You found him."

"There's much I need to tell you."

"Well that'll be a start," she answered without losing her smile and Baelfire chuckled.

"I knew I liked her, Papa," he teased.

It was Emma's face that caught his attention once he looked that direction, though, and all eyes turned on the blonde teen as she stood gaping. "You remember? Everything?"

"I do," Belle answered.

"Then magic… is real? Just like that?"

"Just like that," Regina said softly.

"Well now," Rumplestiltskin said and offered Belle his arm. She smiled up at him and he thought he might melt into a puddle then and there. Thankfully, though, his voice gave no such indication. "I do believe we have some explaining to do. What do you ladies say to dinner?" He glanced over at Regina, the silent invitation extended. If they were going to start playing nice, he might as well begin now. She had come through and their deal stood.

"You have fun playing house, Rumple," the Evil Queen said flippantly. "I have some things to deal with. Messes to clean up and the like."

"Priorities," he reminded her and she glared. "Don't lose your focus."

"You either," she answered and motioned towards the others. "You have the most to lose out of any of us now."

He watched her walk out and he couldn't bring himself to argue with her. For a man that had nothing to lose for so long, he now seemed to be stacking up the ways that Magnus could hurt him, but he couldn't find it in himself to push them away. No, he reminded himself firmly, he'd been down that road, and he'd never make that mistake again. He would fight for those he loved, no matter the cost.

Reul Ghorm had found David when they first landed in Storybrooke. She had expected the prince to be separated from Snow, but she hadn't expected him to be quite so unreachable. He must have been injured on the way out. That was the only way to account for his state when they arrived, but she had never hoped that he would actually wake before the curse was lifted.

She had been surprised when she'd made her daily visit to the hospital and found that he had not only woken, but has gone for an impromptu walk in the woods. How he had managed it she had no idea. The prophecy had been quite clear: there was only one way to break the curse and it could not be broken until Snow's daughter's twenty-eighth birthday. Of all the things that she hated about the Dark One, his predictions that he shared were always spot on.

There was no way to argue with what she saw though. David - Snow's own Prince Charming - was awake in his hospital bed when she had arrived that morning.

"Tremors have swept through the curse since Baelfire's arrival," Magnus said that evening after she arrived back from her time at the hospital. His voice was thoughtful as he lifted a cup of tea to his lips. "Perhaps the Dark One's son weakened it more than we anticipated."

"It's more than that," Blue answered and glanced behind her. They were in her convent, but she often felt like his clerics moved with more freedom in that place than her fairies did. It was like her every move was being watched and judged for the meaning behind it.

"And what makes you say that?"

Magnus was sensitive to the curse in a way that few were. The Dark One and the Evil Queen had written and cast the curse respectively, and it was no wonder if they had a bit more feel to its deeper workings, but Magnus had relied on magic for his ability to see before he had come to the Land Without Magic, and he had once described the curse's subtle movements as ripples that allowed him glimpses of everything around him. It was impressive, she knew, for a man that had nothing to do with either the writing or the casting of the magic to have such a hold on it. She didn't know what kind of mortal could posses such a power, though he'd hardly been mortal in years.

"Do you believe Rumplestiltskin's prophecy has come to pass early?"

Blue froze, tea cup halfway to her lips and her back terribly straight. "Impossible."

"That he lied? Hardly."

"He rarely lies," she pointed out. "Even if he stretches and manipulates the truth. Snow said he was very clear on the matter."

The blind cleric snorted, setting his own cup down with a clatter. "You put far too much faith in that little princess of yours, Reul Ghorm. She is fallible."

"As are you." The words left her lips before she thought them through and she froze in place, watching his expression carefully.

Magnus chuckled. "I am careful and everything I do has a purpose. You know this." He shifted his weight in his chair and if Blue didn't know better she would think that he was looking directly at her. "Don't worry so much, Reul Ghorm. Everything is falling into place as it should. The little savior's presence would help us greatly."

"Breaking the curse could be useful," Blue agreed softly. It would allow them to move and to build alliances that they could not currently build. If Snow's daughter truly had arrived early, perhaps they really could work that to their advantage. "It would be nice not to have to work around our allies as well as our enemies."

The old cleric gave a small shrug. "They are inconsequential."

Blue blinked, confused. "I hardly believe that."

"Believe as you wish, though the girl is all that matters. It's possible that she would not break the curse at her age now, though she can end it and send us all home when the Dark One is dealt with."

The fairy sighed. "That is still years away, old friend."

A slow, broad smile tilted his lips and it sent an unexpected shiver down her spine. "She needn't break it to send us home, only to cease to exist."

He didn't wait for her response, even if she had had one to give. Blue found herself frozen in place and staring straight ahead as he stood, muttering his excuses as he left her to her terror. He had always told her that he had a way to send them home once the Dark One had been dealt with in this strange and distant land, though he'd asked for her trust. She had given it to him for the sake of their long and admittedly complicated history. Now she knew, though. He meant to kill Emma, Snow's little girl that Blue had helped to shuffle through to this world to escape the oncoming curse. Her death would shatter the curse and send them all spiraling back to whatever was left of their world, and he would use her as a means to get home as surely as Rumplestiltskin had used Regina to cast his curse to get to there in the first place.

TBC

Notes: Hey guys! I'm so sorry for dropping off of the face of the planet last week. I've been distracted by a variety of different things lately and it's been a little crazy. I will likely be going down to one update a week for a bit. Not sure how long yet, but the goal is to update on Wednesdays.

Next time - Rumple and Belle have a heart to heart, Bae finds out that Emma might be in danger, and Rumplestiltskin confronts Magnus at the convent.