Author's Note: Well, this, my friends, should be the last chapter in the story. It involves some law-related things, and court, and such, so please forgive me if I get something wrong.
-X-X-X-
I'm inspired to find the liar
I never noticed until I focused
On everything you did, you said
You lit the fuse inside my head.Shinedown - "Sin With A Grin"-X-X-X-
Mr. Gold awoke the next morning to a painful kink in his neck from sleeping in the chair all night long.
Belle wasn't in the room, but he noted that she had put an old quilt over him before she left. Gold smiled slightly to himself, then stood up and carefully draped the blanket over the back of the chair.
When he walked out into the store, he was surprised to find that Belle was, in fact, still there. She was busy dusting all of the knick-knacks on his shelves.
"Belle?" Gold said, more to announce his presence than anything. He did not want to startle her.
She turned her head and smiled that smile that always made him melt inside. "Good morning."
"Good morning, dearie," he responded. "May I ask what you're doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm cleaning up your shop," Belle answered brightly. "It was in need of some tidying up."
"Well..." Gold was about to say that she should have gone back to the sheriff's office and gotten some sleep, but he decided against it. "Thank you very much."
"You're welcome." Belle continued dusting, humming a lighthearted tune to herself.
Mr. Gold watched her for a minute, then went through his office and opened the door that led to his small living quarters. It would not do to wear a wrinkled suit and bloodstained shirt to work.
After getting dressed up in more appropriate attire-a clean white shirt, navy-blue jacket and trousers, and a silk necktie-he returned to the shop to find Belle helping a young child who was looking for a gift to get their friend.
Gold couldn't keep from smiling as he watched Belle speak to the child in soft tones, taking first a rag doll off of one of the shelves, then a toy teapot.
Suddenly, Emma burst in. "Gold."
"You really must learn to stop barging into my shop as though you were on fire, dearie," Mr. Gold declared, fixing her with an annoyed stare.
"Whatever. Look, Regina has somehow figured out that I have Henry, and she's already filed a suit against me. There's supposed to be a court meeting later today, at, like, 5:00."
Another smile played across Gold's lips. "Excellent. I'll be there, don't you worry, dearie."
"Will you quit calling me that?" Emma snapped.
"Sorry, old habits and all," Gold replied placidly. "Now, I suggest you go and make sure Henry isn't stolen away. No need to find a lawyer; I'll serve in that position."
Emma muttered something about 'crazy' and 'delusions of grandeur' as she left the store.
Belle came over. The little girl was close behind her, clutching the rag doll in one hand. "What's going on?" Belle asked him.
"Ah, nothing, my dear. Simply my plan being put into motion." Gold glanced down at the little girl.
Realizing that he was waiting for her to say something, the little girl put five dollars-the price for the doll-on the counter. "I'm getting it for Jenny," she explained.
Jenny, Mr. Gold assumed, was her friend. "I'm sure she'll enjoy it." He put the money safely into the cash register, and the little girl raced away.
The rest of the day was uneventful, and 5:00 rolled around rather quickly. When it did, Mr. Gold and Belle (she had insisted on coming along) made their way down to the courthouse.
It was just starting as they entered. Ignoring the stares he received, Gold made his way to his seat next to Emma. Belle sat down near the eastern corner of the room.
Judge Williams was not a fairy tale character, at least as far as anyone else could tell.
"Right, let's get started, shall we?" Judge Williams said. He continued on to explain to the crowd of people in the room about why they were here-because Mayor Mills and Sheriff Emma Swan were arguing over who would gain custody of Henry.
At least, that was the basic gist of what he said, only with fancier words.
"Mayor Mills, exactly how did Sheriff Swan get a hold of Henry, if you tried your very best to keep him away from her?
"Mr. Gold kidnapped him," the mayor growled, glaring daggers at Gold.
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "I'm afraid you must be mistaken, Mayor Mills," he said smoothly. "I was at my shop the whole time last night. I never left."
"Then how do you explain the injury in your shoulder?" asked Regina.
"I was cleaning the guns in my pawn shop last night, and had an unfortunate accident. I was holding it the wrong way, and it went off, the bullet passing through my shoulder. I'm quite all right now, though." Mr. Gold kept eye contact with the mayor.
"And how do I know that you have an injury in the first place if I wasn't the one to put it there?" Regina snapped.
"It's quite obvious that my shoulder was injured, dear," Gold replied. "I'm being very careful not to jostle it, because of the pain it would cause. And there's more than likely a few specks of blood I didn't manage to get off of my neck before leaving to come here. I've had a very busy day." In actuality, it had been a very slow day, and while taking a shower, he had left a few spots of blood on his neck purposefully, to give him an excuse for this very discussion.
"I know for a fact that you were at my-" Regina started, leaping from her chair.
Judge Williams banged his gavel on the table. "Order, order."
Gold smirked as Regina sat back down, her face going red.
"Mr. Gold, do you have any proof that you were at your shop last night and that the wound you received did in fact come from one of the guns in your store?" Judge Williams inquired.
"Of course. All the guns in my shop are newly oiled and cleaned," Mr. Gold responded without skipping a beat. He hadn't really cleaned them the night before; but he had the day before that. "You'll see that clearly enough if you send someone to my store."
"And if you want an eyewitness, I stopped by his store last night, rather late, and he was there," Belle cut in, standing up from where she sat. "I saw him working on the guns."
Gold felt torn between feeling glad that he had her support, and worried that it would ruin his plans.
"And why did you come there so late?" inquired the judge.
"I have insomnia, and I couldn't sleep," she replied. "I was talking a midnight walk to calm my nerves, and saw the light on in his store. I know Mr. Gold quite well, and stopped by to talk."
Gold resisted the urge to smile to himself. She was as good a liar as he was.
"What-you can't trust her word, she was just recently released from the mentally insane section of the hospital!" spat Regina.
"She seems quite sane now, in my opinion," Emma snapped. Gold nodded his agreement.
"I must agree with Sheriff Swan, Mayor Mills." Judge Williams peered at Belle for a moment before saying, "Sit down now, young lady."
She obliged, casting a glance at Gold. He gave her a slight, almost imperceptible nod, indicating that he had appreciated the help.
The discussions went on for quite some time. At one point, Mr. Gold's turn came to stand up and speak on behalf of Emma. He was all too happy to oblige.
"Many people tend to argue that Henry is rightfully Mayor Mills' son," he said. "And while she very well did adopt him, that doesn't make her his real mother. That position goes to Miss-I'm sorry, Sheriff Swan."
"She gave him up!" Regina was getting worried now; Gold could tell.
"Because she didn't have the skills and amount of time necessary to take care of a wee lad then. But she does now, and if things were to be legal, the court would grant her custody of him and be done with it." Mr. Gold watched Judge Williams, waiting for a reaction.
The judge frowned; it was quite clear he was about to disagree. But then a strange expression came across his face, and he nodded slowly. "That's right..."
Regina barely managed to stifle a scream of anger.
"All right, there will be a fifteen-minute recess while the jury makes their decision," the judge said abruptly.
People began to file out of the room. Gold spent his time loitering out in the hallway, waiting for the court to adjourn again. Belle had gone off someplace; more than likely to chat with Henry and Emma.
Fifteen and a half minutes later, Gold was back in his seat next to Emma, in the courtroom.
"We have made our final decision," the judge said. "Despite the fact that little Henry has been living with Regina for yours, the right thing to do is to send him back to his real mother."
Regina began screaming things that made even Gold grimace. She attempted to attack the judge, and had to be dragged out by several security guards. It was plain by the looks on their faces that she was too infuriated to think of using magic; otherwise, they would all have been doomed.
Emma pulled Henry into a hug. Gold allowed a small smile to appear on his face, and then left the courtroom. Just as he left, he saw Belle walk up to Emma.
Mr. Gold waited outside on the sidewalk for Belle. It was just then that Regina came stalking up to him, eyes blazing with fury.
"You will pay for this, Rumpelstiltskin," she spat. Her hand lashed out and seized his wrist with such force, Gold was surprised he didn't let a grunt of pain escape his lips.
But then he yanked his hand back. "In case you don't remember, Your Majesty," he whispered. "I've already paid. You killed my son, and it's only fair that you lose your child as well. You're a ruthless, deceitful witch, and I'm surprised I never noticed before. But now I have, and needless to say I won't ever do a deal with you again."
"Don't think you'll get away with this!" Regina hissed. "Watch your back, or you might find a dagger in it."
Before Gold could come up with a retort, she added, "And keep an eye on that beautiful little lady of yours."
Gold went rigid, knowing just what Regina was implying. "If you lay a hand on her, I will not hesitate to kill you and everyone you hold dear. Yes, that even means your precious son." He watched her eyes for a reaction. He found only rage. "Oh, that's right, I forgot. You don't have a son anymore."
Apparently, words were not enough to express her deeply profound rage. And so she backhanded Mr. Gold across the face.
His head snapped back with the force. He licked his lips and tasted blood. Instead of fighting back-which was no doubt what she wanted-he began to laugh. The same high-pitched, insane laugh of Rumpelstiltskin, with no hint of his normal tones to it.
Regina began calling him names that, though they would have made anybody else furious, only made him laugh harder.
Finally, he pulled away from her and walked away without looking back, still giggling under his breath, mostly because he knew it would enrage her even further.
An hour and a half later, Belle returned to the shop, Emma and Henry close behind her.
Gold leapt up from where he had been sitting, polishing a few brass figurines. "Belle! Where have you been, I was..." He hesitated. Oh, who cares what Emma and Henry think. "I was terrified."
He had been. He had regretted leaving so abruptly, and worried that Regina had gotten hold of Belle. His only consolation was that she had been with the sheriff, and therefore would be more safe. That is, if she had stayed with Emma, which she fortunately seemed to have done.
"I'm sorry," Belle said, gently placing her hand over his. "I meant to come right back here, but Henry wanted to go out for ice cream and I decided to tag along with them. I hope I didn't frighten you too badly."
He shook his head. "No, no."
"Thank you, Gold," Emma added. "I really appreciate everything you did. What I don't understand is why the judge gave in so easily."
And for very likely the first time since he had left his own world, Gold had a grin on his face. "Let's just say that magic is a very useful tool, dearie."
Emma's mouth opened and closed several times, before quickly snapping shut. "Right, okay. Come on, Henry. Let's go back to my office." She left.
Henry glanced back at Gold, who was still grinning. "Thank you, Mr. Gold."
"You're welcome, lad," he replied, watching as Henry darted outside to follow the sheriff-his mother.
Gold watched them go, and then stood up.
"I'm glad you didn't use violence to win this fight," Belle said suddenly. She was behind the counter now, tidying things up.
"Well, this way is better. It hurts Regina much more," Gold responded idly. He ran a hand along the brass figurine in his hand-a dragon.
At first, foreboding made his stomach twist into knots. Regina would get her revege; she always did. And he didn't want to lose Belle again.
On an impulse, he went behind the counter and pulled Belle into a tight embrace. She seemed surprise, but then returned it.
As he stood there, Gold vowed that he would not let Regina hurt Belle. If he had to give his own life to save Belle's, then so be it. He would not back down.
He would not lose someone else he loved.
Never again.