The trip that he made to find Hook and then take him to the Apprentice had been only about an hour. All that worrying and planning and preparation and in the end the Apprentice was no more in less than sixty minutes. That was rewarding in a way. And watching the hat gleam as it continued to harvest the power that he had inside of him was equally rewarding. The Apprentice had threatened that he'd never collect all the power he needed. From where he stood, he doubted that. He doubted that very much. A lesser being would have been threatened by the amount of power needed. The Dark One, on the other hand...it only made him laugh. For the Dark One, gleaning power was as easy as taking sixty minutes out of his day. As for the rest of it…
He could focus on his next target tomorrow. Now that Hook was handled and, he assumed, Elsa and Ingrid were keeping Emma and her parents plenty busy, he needed to work on something else. No, today wasn't a day for him to be a pawnbroker, even if he was working out of the shop. Today was the day for him to put on his old hat of lawyer. Today, he needed to take care of his wife the way a husband should.
Dove popped in right before lunch. It was almost startling to see him, and not just because the hat was still out in plain view. The two communicated frequently, but ever since the curse had broken and he'd given him the ability to deposit the rent directly into his bank instead of bringing it to him first, he could count on one hand the number of times they'd been in a room alone together. Certainly not since he'd come back from the Underworld, not since Neverland, maybe not even since Belle.
But it didn't feel odd looking up to see Dove standing in his office doorway, and the man certainly didn't act like it was odd. He moved back into the space like he always did when he collected the rent from him. But this time, instead of a duffle bag of money, there was a green folder in his hand.
"Boss," he nodded in greeting. "I got the forms you wanted, including the one that's not going to be helpful, which is why I also got the form you'll actually need as well. Cute…" he mentioned stoically, gesturing toward the hat.
"Which one isn't going to be helpful?" he asked, ignoring his question and opening the folder. He looked the paperwork he brought back over quickly. The marriage certificate was on top, and it was already signed by Maurice and Archie, as instructed. Beneath was a form for a name change, but beneath that…an application?
"The name change. Turns out, you have to have a name in order to change it. Given her situation, and in the interest of saving myself a trip when things didn't go the way you expected, when I went to the Town Hall, I asked around a bit and the town officially has no record of your girl."
"Still?" he balked. "Even now?"
Dove offered a shrug in response.
Belle, not having a name or identification in the last curse, he'd understood, but now? He supposed he hadn't thought to ask, especially since she'd been driving his car, but then again, she'd driven his car without a license or identification before this curse had been cast as well. Not having a license had never stopped her before, so why would it now? But that still begged the question in his mind as to why, if she hadn't gone back to the asylum, why she wasn't given identification?
"Well…" he sighed. "I suppose if whoever cast the curse cast it with the intention to recreate Regina's curse-"
"Snow White."
"Excuse me?"
"Snow White…she cast the curse."
He looked Dove over as though he was insane. Snow White hadn't cast this Curse. She wasn't magical, it wasn't possible!
"That's not possible," he corrected.
"Boss, haven't you noticed she's the mayor?"
Yes, actually. Now that he thought of it, he knew Mary Margaret was the Mayor. Emma had mentioned it the other day when she first brought Else by. Now that he thought of it, he thought she might have mentioned something about Mary Margaret casting the curse, but it was only just dawning on him and…how?!
"The Curse requires the heart of the thing one loves the most. If Snow White cast the Curse, David Nolan would be a dead man."
"Look, I can't argue the validity of magic, that's your department, all I can tell you is what I hear. And what I hear is that Snow white cast the Curse, and that's why she's the mayor. Regardless, your girl, once again, doesn't exist…I picked up the paperwork she'll need to fill out to correct that, get a birth certificate and a social security number…all the joys that come from existing in this realm, in this country. I did pick up the name change form if she wants it for later, but I figured that she could just send the application in with the name she wants. According to friends of mine who have gotten married, that sounds a whole hell of a lot easier than changing the name."
Even if Dove had not offered that plan with those insights, he would have encouraged Belle to follow it simply out of convenience.
"Thank you, Mr. Dove," he concluded, closing the folder and putting it down in the drawer he was already beginning to gather papers in. There was still more to gather, but he was confident that when the time came to go home, he'd have the paperwork settled for Belle.
"No problem. Easier than half the other assignments you give me," the bird said as they moved back to the front room. "Are you keeping up with everything happening with the Ice Queen?"
"Well enough. My wife keeps me well informed. She's friends with the Charming family, so that makes it easier."
"Lucky you."
"I am a very lucky man indeed."
"So you've heard about the-"
The bell over the shop's door chimed, and they both looked up to find Henry standing there.
"Oh, sorry, I…didn't mean to interrupt."
"No, that's alright, Henry…my friend was just leaving."
Dove nodded once but didn't even utter a goodbye before he turned to leave out the way he'd come in, leaving whatever had been on his mind unsaid. Dove knew better than to say anything to anyone while he was in the shop. And certainly, knew better than to even try and introduce himself to Henry. Dove knew well enough that the best part of their relationship was anonymity. The last thing he was going to do was introduce Dove to his family. Everything with Zelena and the dagger, even the hat, he had plans to tell Belle about one day. But Dove…Dove, he'd forever keep off the books.
"Henry, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he smiled, coming around the glass case as Dove left.
"Who was that?"
"Oh, just an associate who helps me collect the rent every month," he dismissed. "How can I help you? I hope you haven't returned to ask for your memories again. My answer will be the same as before."
"What? Oh, no, nothing like that. Things with my mom have been…better."
Just as he'd predicted. Next week, he'd return to cursing one of their names, and a minute after that, his mothers would be angels again. Thus, the life of a teenager.
"So, what brings you into my shop then today?"
"I had an idea while I was at school, a proposal."
"A deal?" he translated.
"Kinda, but not a magic one, an economic one."
An economic deal…color him intrigued.
"I'm listening."
"I was wondering if, maybe since Belle is back at the library, you might want to give me a job."
He'd give his Grandson credit, of all the things he expected that Henry might say, asking for a job was not one of them. He was smart enough to see through it. He was smart enough to know there was something going on. Henry had never come into his shop for something like this. The previous night was an anomaly, there was almost always snooping involved.
"A job?" he questioned.
"You know, after school and weekends. Now that my father's gone, I realized that you're the closest thing I've got to him, but i-if you don't want me around…"
"No, well…."
He'd never said that. And if Henry was up to something he'd much rather him be here where he could keep an eye on him.
It was only that he'd just gotten his privacy back from Belle. Now, to have Henry here would be to take some of that privacy away all over again.
But…
Henry was different than Belle. He was younger, he was his grandson, not his wife, and there was less expectation of equality. Not to mention, he was more trusting. He could set boundaries. He could work around him easier than Belle. And it wasn't as if he wanted a full-time position. He'd said only after school and on the weekends. Once all this was over and he had more time to spend with Belle, the idea of having someone around who was reliable held a lot of appeal. Assuming, of course, Henry didn't find what he was looking for and abandon him long before that day arrived.
"All right. A few days a week. But, uh…" he glanced into the back room where the hat sat on the counter, still out in the open. That was handleable, preferably before someone who might know what it was walked in. "Stay out of the back room, and don't touch anything without asking. You can be my apprentice," he smiled to himself at that comment.
"What does an apprentice do?" Henry questioned, following him to the end of the glass case.
"Many, many things," he answered as he arrived at the place where he'd set the broom when he first walked in with Hook. Oh, he did so love irony. "First, you can start by sweeping the floor." Henry looked the broom over, and then he took it. He left him there in the front room to clean up, pleased when he heard the strokes.
Filler, but still lots of fun things in this chapter. This is, if memory serves, the last appearance of Dove for a few fictions, so now you can officially wave goodbye to him until probably 6B. (I never say never, but I'm feeling fairly confident on that one.) I also really enjoyed writing this interaction with Henry. I liked showing first that Rumple has good instincts. He doesn't think anything of stumbling into the store in the middle of the night and seeing Henry sitting there, but Henry coming in and asking for a job immediately raises warning bells. Second, I also thought it was sad, but important and in character, for him to specifically mention Henry abandoning him when he had what he needed. It sort of just goes to show that on the outside, Rumple can play it all smooth, but on the inside, the guy's got some baggage.
Thank you, Rsbeall12 and Grace5231973, for your ongoing reviews! I love seeing them, no matter how short and sweet or long they are. They let me know there are still people out there reading, and that's a good feeling. Only one more chapter left in the 4x04 chapters and then we're moving on. Peace and Happy Reading!