Unconditional

(AU ending to Heroes and Villains)

Henry Mills was on the verge of exploding. He tucked Rumple's seeing globe, which his grandfather had given him before everything went down with the Snow Queen for safekeeping, into his backpack along with the Once Upon a Time Book and left his bedroom in the loft and headed over to the Mills mansion. He knew from a recent viewing that Belle, Regina, and Emma were there discussing what to do with Rumple's dagger and the hat, and it was the perfect time to confront them. He was a maelstrom of conflicting emotions, all the feelings he had locked down and locked away since having his memories altered and then getting them restored and learning he had again lost his father . . .and now his grandfather as well. For Rumple's banishment was the catalyst and he was sick of being lied to, ignored, pushed aside, and betrayed by his moms and grandma.

True, Snow and David hadn't betrayed him, but they were also too wrapped up with their new baby to have much time for him at all, and while Henry understood that, it still stung. There had only been one relative since the whole Wicked Witch plot had played out that had actually taken the time to be concerned with him and that had been Rumple, whom he had bonded with while working in his shop and over stories of his dad as a boy, whom he had visited Bae's grave with, and bawled all over Rumple's suit jacket because he hadn't been "woken up" so he could say goodbye. Because Emma hadn't wanted him to know the truth . . .and deal with the fact that her "protecting" Henry had stripped him of his father and then attempted to put some dirty pirate in his place, and not just any pirate, but the one who had humiliated and tried to kill his grandpa and nearly succeeded, hurt and tried to kill Belle four times, slept with Henry's grandma, and the last straw—betrayed his dad to Peter Pan. He had seen it all in the globe, and then read about it in the Once Upon a Time book.

He sensed the book and the globe only showed what was and had been and they did not lie to him, or cover things up for their own best interests. His eyes burned with angry tears and his throat tightened with bile that surged up from his stomach. Both Emma and Regina had lied to him, betrayed him. And Belle had betrayed and lied to Rumple after promising him she would never use his dagger on him and always love him despite his curse. His gut churning with all his myriad emotions, Henry pedaled like a dervish down the street till he reached 108 and parked his bike and entered the place he used to call home for eleven years with a bang.

Regina looked up from her discussion with Belle and Emma to see her son standing there, his hair wind tossed and looking at her accusingly. She blinked. "Henry! We were just—"

"Just discussing what to do with Grandpa's dagger now that you've banished him right?" the boy demanded sharply. His eyes suddenly became hard and sharp, penetrating, like another's eyes she'd known so well. "What happened, Mom, to "all villains deserve happy endings" huh? Or did you mean only ones like you?"

Regina flinched back from him. "I—"

"Kid, what's up with you? Regina's changed—" Emma began.

"No. You're wrong. She hasn't. None of you have. You're all lying and deluding yourselves." He pulled the seeing globe out of his backpack. "You wanna know what I've been doing for the past twenty-four hours? Looking into this! This globe shows me exactly what's been going on in your pasts—everyone's pasts—even the things you try to hide! And unlike all of you—it tells me the truth, along with this!" He pulled out the Once Upon a Time Book. "They both record and show past events and why people did what they did, and I found out things I'd never known before—things all of you tried to hide, from me and from each other!"

"Henry, you know that I want to find the book's author so I can get back my happy ending—all our happy endings," she swiftly corrected herself.

"Mom, you only think there's an author of the book, because I don't believe that anymore. The only one who can change the ending of your story is you. And even if you did find the author, you'd have to erase everything and start over, and that's not a good thing, you know!"

"How do you know that for certain, Henry?" the former queen quizzed.

After all, hadn't Emma and Hook gone back in time and changed things? Marian was still alive and Robin would never know she was the one who ordered his wife's death. And he would never know about the fact that she had considered it again.

"Because of the ripple effect," her son replied, in a voice eerily like a certain imp's. "You change one thing about the past and it affects everything. Like it did when Emma and Hook went back in time. So in order for you to have your happy ending, you'd have to erase our entire past." He crossed his arms over his chest and glared. "Unless that IS what you want, Mom? So nobody ever found out the truth-that you wanted to kill Marian to get her out of the way so you could have Robin all to yourself!"

"I...I..." she began nervously.

If the globe had indeed shown her son the truth, denying it was no longer possible. He'd seen it all and now she would lose him, the person she cursed an entire population and killed many for.

"Henry..."

He pointed to the globe. "I know! I saw it in there! When you left everyone . . .after you told Emma to go away, you got Sidney from the asylum, because you were still keeping him locked up, you never let him go, because you wanted to use him again, and then you decided to plot to kill Marian with his help! You didn't even care you killed an innocent woman the first time around-Marian was going to be executed the next day if Emma hadn't saved her . . .but what you never told anyone was how she picked up some disease in that cell and when you found out, you let her go in time to die in Robin's arms. So you were gonna kill an innocent woman twice!"

He was her judge and jury and there was no defense she could give that would justify her actions.

"Is that true, Regina?" Emma demanded coldly.

"Yes," the other woman whimpered. "I never wanted you to know . . .especially not . . .him."

"How could you!" Belle cried.

"So when you saved Marian that day from the snow monster, you did it to hide your true intentions . . .you wanted to make Robin think you cared about her! You lied to him and to yourself!" Henry accused.

"I...I love him," she sobbed. "I didn't want him to think the worst of me..."

The other women glared at her. "So if Robin hadn't come along you would have let that monster kill Marian and leave her son without a mother...again!" Belle said angrily.

"I wanted to be a family with him!" Regina cried angrily. "I wanted what everyone else has! Why is that wrong?"

"It's wrong when you go about it like that, Regina! Did it ever occur to you that Robin might have chosen you after he sorted things out with Marian...gave her time to make a life for herself in this world?"

"You HAD a family, Mom! You had me! Only you didn't think I was enough, did you? You pushed me away . . . shut me out . . .and there was only one person I could go to and talk to . . .Rumple. I went to him the night everything froze and the power went out . . .to get him to take away my memories and make me forget . . .because I couldn't stand knowing that you didn't want me, and Emma lied to me about my dad and he was dead. Only Grandpa said-he said he couldn't, because all the memories, good and bad, make up who you are, and he couldn't take that away from me. He said we all carry a cloak of regrets for what we've done, and learning how to bear it makes us stronger."

On Neverland, Regina had been confronted with her crimes by Pan and admitted that she regretted nothing because it had gotten her Henry, never realizing her precious son was now fading into the background as she spent most of her time now with Robin and Roland.

"He was the reason I came and knocked on your door that night, Mom. Because I didn't want to lose you . . .Grandpa said I should give you another chance, so that's what I did. Because I believed you really wanted to change your ways . . .until I found out why . . .and how. And then . . .then you couldn't even do the right thing when Robin kept asking you what he should do. You said he should go . . but when he didn't you went right into his arms and you . . .you had an affair with him while Marian was still frozen! With a married man! How could you do that?"

"Oh my God!" Emma almost fell over.

"It . . .it just happened . . ." Regina stammered, her face now bright red thinking she had scarred her son for life.

Belle's eyes widened with shock. "Regina!"

"Yeah, like Milah's affair with Hook just happened?" Henry shot back. "Cause I know about that too. Grandpa told me all about how she cheated on him . . .and he didn't know till she ran off with that dirty pirate." The boy pointed an accusing finger at her. "Only this time you were the "other woman", Mom! And Grandpa told me it was the worst thing Milah could have ever done to him, because it made him feel lower than a worm!"

He was also furious with Emma for even thinking about getting involved with the man when she knew Hook had an affair with her own son's grandmother.

And now it was time she knew it.

He spun on her next, his eyes burning. "And that's the kind of man you wanna go out with, Emma? The kind who has affairs with other men's wives and challenges crippled husbands to duels and calls them coward because they can't fight? Over here we call them bullies."

He was tired of hiding his true feelings behind a mask. Being honest with himself and with others...it was one lesson Archie taught him well during his therapy sessions.

"He's not like that anymore!" Emma protested. "He's changed. You see that, don't you?"

"Has he?" Henry countered. "The only reason why he even went to Neverland was for you. Not me!"

"You know that's not true..."

"It's true, Mom! He was gonna take off and let you all die when the trigger was activated but he only came back because he knew it would upset you. He told you it was because of my dad, but he never told you why he felt guilty . . . It was all just to impress you! And it worked!"

"Henry, he cares about you..."

"Like he cared about my dad? He sold him out, Emma! He gave Dad to Pan all those years ago to save his own butt!"

"What...?"

"He didn't tell you that did he? Pan's Lost Boys went to his ship looking for Dad and he didn't turn him over the first time but the second time he did just so he could have a free ride in Neverland, and cause he was mad at Dad for not hating Rumple for Milah's death. And did he also tell you he WORKED for Pan?"

"Worked for him...?"

"Yeah and it doesn't take a genius to figure out WHAT he was doing, Mom. He was probably bringing other kids to Neverland, kids that would have DIED if they had the Heart of the Truest Believer. Congratulations, Mom! Your boyfriend can add child abduction to his list of crimes."

"Henry, there's no proof of..."

"I SAW IT!" her son shouted.

The globe flared to life then . . .showing her what it had him.

Emma was stunned. Hook did tell her he had run-ins with Pan while on Neverland but not that he worked for him. Why had he kept such a secret from her if it was the truth?

"And Belle, did you ever wonder how Hook found you in Storybrooke? I'll tell you how...he was gonna kill Archie, threatened to dissect him unless he talked! And now you want to trust him? How many times did he threaten YOU and try to kill YOU!?"

"Twice..."

"Try FOUR!"

The globe showed her all four times, including one she had never known about until now.

They were burying their heads in the sand when it came to the pirate and other things but he would not stand for it any longer. He was once accused of living in a fantasy world but they were the ones living in a fantasy. He would drag them kicking and screaming back to reality if it killed him.

"Has he really expressed any remorse for any of those things he's done? No!"

And I thought you had, Mom, he thought sadly, glancing over at Regina. I believed in you so much and you let me down again.

He continued. "And not only has Hook not cared about what he's done in the past, he's also never really cared about not hurting anyone except you, Emma. Did you know the real story of how he got his hand back on that date he took you out on? Did he tell you?"

"No..."

"Well, I know how. He went and blackmailed Rumplestitskin to get his hand back! And when Rumple told him to be careful what he wished for, he laughed at him and said he would never go back to the man he'd been even with his old hand . . .but guess what? I saw what he did to Will on your date . .and what he did to Will AFTER it too at the library!"

"What do you mean what he did to Will?" Emma repeated blankly. She was still reeling from all the revelations thrown at her. "I arrested Will for breaking into the library and being drunk and trying to steal a book."

"This was before that. Hook was going past the library and caught Will trying to get in there, maybe because it was freezing or whatever, and he-he attacked him, beat him up and then he threatened to kill him if he said anything about it to anyone. Then he went back to Rumple and asked him to take the hand off, that it was cursed, and Grandpa said the hand was never cursed, it was just a hand, and all the things Hook did were his own doing. The bullying, the violence, everything! It was all HIM! Still think he's changed, Emma? I don't! He wanted to break up Grandpa's marriage to Belle-why? Because he still wants his revenge on Rumple. Revenge for something Hook started and kept on with. Or didn't you know the real reason Grandpa even found out about Hook and Milah was because Hook tried to bully who he thought was a lame beggar in town one night, and found out the "crocodile" was actually the Dark One! Yeah, and that was when he had his OTHER true love, Milah, with him. So if he couldn't change with her, why would you ever think he'd change for you? Don't you see? He wanted you because you weren't interested in him. You were the one he couldn't have . . .and so he wanted you more than anything. You loved my dad-or at least I thought you did! Until he came along! Oh and by the way, Dad gave Hook the potion to give to you in New York, Dad was the one who really wanted US back! Hook came for you. Not for me. And you didn't even let me say goodbye to my dad when he was here."

As he spoke the scenes in the globe flickered, showing everything from Hook's past.

"I...I was trying to protect you..."

"From my own father? Why? You knew then who he really was!" he shouted at her angrily. "You KNEW! I saw what he said to you! He said all he wanted was to see me again . . .and he was dying! And you never even let him say goodbye! Dammit, you could have let him see me! Just once! But no, you cared more about that pirate dick than him . . .or me!"

"You didn't remember him...all the memories you had of him were bad ones..."

That was what cut him the worst, and left the deepest scars. That she had let his father go to his death without being able to say goodbye to the one he'd loved most. "That doesn't matter. Don't you see-it wouldn't have been for me, but for him. It would have meant so much to him . . .and to me once I remembered. Now what do I have? Nothing!" he raged.

He gestured and the globe changed, showing Neal talking to Emma in the hospital.

"You couldn't see him like that...I wanted you to remember him for the hero he was..."

"Emma, listen to me! I loved my dad . . .because he was my dad, a PERSON, who was both good and bad, like all of us, not because he was a hero. I didn't want a hero for a dad-all I wanted, all I ever wanted-was a father."

Then he coughed sharply and said, "And I already thought my dad was a hero-because he admitted his faults and he came back for you and for me. He didn't need to die to be my hero. He just needed to LIVE."

"Th...There was nothing that could've been done. I wanted to save him...I did!" Emma sobbed.

Once saying those words would have made him tear up. They didn't now because he was letting his anger drive him, riding it to the crest and letting it block out the softer emotions for now. "But you didn't . . .and then when he was gone . . .you didn't even mourn him for a week . . .you let Hook squirm his way into dating you-while my dad wasn't even cold in his grave!"

"He...he wanted me to move on..." she cried. "He...told me to find Tallahassee."

His fists clenched. "Yeah because maybe he saw that you'd already moved on . . and he didn't want you to feel guilty . . .for loving a dirty pirate! Because he really cared about your happiness, Emma, not whether or not your heart was broken because that meant it still worked!" he threw Hook's words about her broken engagement to Walsh back in her face.

"I hadn't made up my mind then..."

Or had she?

Henry felt the anger still coiling inside of him, like a serpent baring its fangs and waiting to strike. Then he said coldly, "But then, I guess heroes are what all of you care about-you don't want men who've made mistakes and regretted what they've done, men who are flawed, cursed, chipped . . ." he turned to Belle now. "Like my grandpa. Why did you banish him, Grandma? Why didn't you let him explain what was happening to him? You never even gave him a chance. Why?"

"He was going to kill Hook, he trapped the fairies in the hat...he only cares about his power more than he does about anyone...even me," Belle said brokenly. "When I held that gauntlet...I saw it."

Henry shook his head. "And you believed that-a magical object over everything he's ever done for you? He told you that the gauntlet was supposed to show you someone's greatest weakness-which might also be the thing you loved most. Might. And what is he? He's the Dark One-whose greatest weakness is the dagger . . ."

"He switched daggers with me...refusing to be honest with me when it was all I wanted."

His fists clenched. "If he didn't love you-why would True Love's Kiss work on him the first time? And ask yourself why did he switch the daggers on you? What did you do, Mom, but control him when Zelena dropped the dagger? What did YOU do, Belle, before you gave the dagger back to him? Did you give it back and say "You're free now take your life back?" No. You made conditions."

"I didn't want him to take revenge...I thought he was better than that."

I thought he'd changed, she thought.

"Better than what? Being a human being? Zelena killed my dad! In front of him-twice! She tricked him into opening the vault . . .and paying the price to resurrect the Dark One! And you too! How could you not want her dead-after that? After torturing my grandpa! And she regretted none of it! All she cared about-was killing you, Mom, and getting what she felt was owed her! She tried to kill me, kill Roland, even kill baby Neal . . .and that's who you think deserves forgiveness? Instead of your own husband, who died to save you, me, and everyone?"

He gestured, and Rumple sacrifice was replayed in the globe.

"Because a hero doesn't kill…"

And enough blood had been shed.

Henry snorted. "That's bull and you all know it. My mom has killed, my grandpa Charming killed her guards and trolls, even Snow White killed Cora. Are they still heroes? According to you they are! So what's with the double standard? Huh? Heroes do what they have to . . .what's necessary . . .look at all the soldiers who have killed their enemies in battle . . .you going to tell me they're not heroes? Don't patronize me!"

Then his eyes narrowed. "And you have blood on your hands too . . .and you know exactly what I mean!"

"What? No! I…I've never done anything like that..."

"Think! Think really hard . . .about after you all were sent back to Fairy Tale Land with the second curse . . .and who persuaded my dad to resurrect Rumplestiltskin . . .without finding out the cost beforehand."

"I...I thought we could get him back..."

"But you never found out the price required . . .until it was too late. You knew Lumiere lied . . .but you went along with him anyway . . .you played right into Zelena's hands . . .and my dad paid the price . . .Grandpa never wanted that! He told me he'd rather have stayed dead than my dad die for him! He said no son should ever sacrifice his life for a parent, that wasn't how it was supposed to be! But he never once blamed you, did he? If he only loved power, why didn't he hate you for costing him his son?"

"I...I didn't know...we didn't know what would happen and I tried to tell your father to stop….he wanted to do it."

"My dad was desperate to find me. And desperate souls do desperate things. Like Grandpa did when he took the power of the dagger. Out of love, Belle. LOVE." He continued softly, "Why did he let you have the dagger at all? Because he wanted to trust you. Only he couldn't . . .after what Zelena did, no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't. He switched them back, you know . . .on your honeymoon . . .he wanted to do it right . . .but he was afraid that even you would be tempted to use it against him . . .and when he found that hat . . .he switched them back again thinking he could remove the curse with it. Only he made a mistake. Because he believed the lies Zoso told him."

Henry gestured, and the globe showed them Rumple putting the real dagger in Belle's bag.

"And he thought-he thought you wouldn't love him anymore if you thought he wasn't perfect-wasn't the hero you wanted." The boy continued.

"He was afraid-afraid you would leave him like Milah did. And he was right to be afraid, wasn't he? Because you did leave him . . .you left him alone in the dark, without a coat, or a blanket, or a cane . . .I saw what you did . . ."

"What are you talking about...?"

The globe flickered again and showed the final scene between Belle and Rumple at the town line.

"THAT's what I'm talking about." He said implacably. "Look . . .he can't even walk!" He glared at her. "You promised to love ALL of him-even his faults. You promised there was no more monster, just a man flawed like we all were-remember? You broke your promise!"

The globe now showed the wedding vows.

"He was being a monster!" she sobbed. "He wanted all that power...I wasn't enough for him but he was enough for me without magic. I told him that."

"You wanted him to change . . .but you still don't get it, do you? None of you do. He's cursed . . .cursed to crave dark magic, cursed to be an evil sorcerer . . .cursed by the dagger. He cannot change, no matter how much he wants to . . .and he DID try-he's tried more than any other Dark One ever . . .what other Dark One has sacrificed himself for anyone, who dared to love anyone save himself . . . but he's always failed. Not because he doesn't want it enough . . .but because he needs help. He needs someone to break his curse. If you love him, Belle, if you love him-why have you let him live so long with that burden? You tried once to break his curse. Why didn't you try again?"

"If you want his dark magic gone . . .then you need to do what needs to be done-and break his curse!" Henry insisted. "You told him once-when you find something worth fighting for, you never give up. But you did! Don't you see? By banishing him you've given him up to the darkness! You didn't banish my mom when she tortured you and almost killed you. Or Hook when he attempted to kill you four times! Why banish my grandpa? You called him a beast-well, who's the beast now?"

He gestured and the globe changed to show Belle commanding Rumple with the dagger. "When you thought you had the real dagger-you controlled him . . .but he forgave you for that . . .even though you betrayed him with your intentions and acted just like Zelena, controlling him for his "own good". He forgave YOU for keeping secrets from him . . .about Anna. yet you couldn't forgive him. Why? Was it too hard? What happened to believing that "the best teacups are chipped"?"

She sank to the floor as she collapsed to the ground on the day he died in tears. "He...he was turning back into the person he was when I met him...I was just trying to save him from himself..."

"There's only one way to do that. And you've known how since the day you met him," her grandson said. "But you've never tried again. You called him a coward when you left him the first time. But who's the coward now? Ask yourself that." He picked up the globe and the book and shoved them into his backpack. "I spent all day and night watching this and then reading what the book said about everything. And I've come to this conclusion. All of you have lied to yourselves, have ignored things, and have had secrets from each other and from yourselves. But now it's time to take off your masks and take a good hard look at what you've done and become. They've called me the Heart of the Truest Believer. But they should have also called me the Heart of the Truth. Because the truth has set me free. And I've realized the only way you'll ever get your happy ending is by realizing the truth about those you love-and the truth about yourselves. I've shown you the way-now it's up to you to walk down it . . .or not. Your choice."

He left them there, staring into the mirrors of their own souls, the reflections in them the darkest parts of themselves that they'd hidden for so long staring back at them.

He had already made his choice; he had done so before ever coming to confront them. As he hopped on his bike again, he cradled the seeing globe briefly in his hands and murmured, "Show me." He needed to find something before continuing on his mission.

Once the globe had done so, he rode off in the direction of Gold's pawnshop.

He regretted the necessity of having to hurt these three women, whom he loved, but something Rumple had told him had spurred him on. His grandfather had told him, "The truth always hurts . . .but sometimes you need to hurt and see your own darkness before you can comprehend the darkness in another and empathize with them."

The globe had shown him the truth about those he loved and himself as well . . .and he finally comprehended something very important. And it was that which led him to do what he was going to do now.

Because like his dad and grandpa before him, he would do whatever he had to regain the family he had lost.

He reached the pawnshop and let himself inside with the spare key Rumple had given him.

The shop had become another home to him in the brief time he spent there and he now knew every nook and cranny almost as good as its owner.

He walked straight to the cabinet with the chipped cup inside it, and tapped it three times and whispered, "Mellin!" which meant "friend" Tolkien's Elvish, a password that had tickled Rumple's fancy to install, since that had been the password needed to open the Mines of Moria in the Lord of the Rings.

Rumple did not let just anyone into his shop and become familiar with the contents...it had taken a great deal of trust and there was no one Rumple trusted more than his own flesh and blood.

And that trust Henry had repaid by confessing all to his grandfather that day at Bae's grave together. He had expected his grandfather to order him away after revealing he had taken the job to try and weasel information out of him about the book's author for Regina . . .but Rumple hadn't.

Instead, his grandfather had forgiven him and from that day on a bond formed between them, one that was long overdue and the man that brought them together would at last be able to rest.

Henry took the chipped cup from the cabinet and set it down on the counter, letting the light shine down upon it . . . and the light overflowed and revealed the secret floorboard where something only Rumple and Henry knew was kept. The key was the location the cup was placed in . . and the time of day the sun shone in upon it.

Set in a certain spot, it would reveal the location of Pandora's Box. But in this location it revealed something else.

Something that Rumple could trust no one but family with.

Something that he knew family would protect at all costs.

Henry knelt and pried up the floorboard and removed the case containing the dagger of the Dark One. Rumple had hidden it here and told only one other living soul about it. Because he knew the boy, like Bae wouldn't betray him.

Belle didn't know the gauntlet had led her not to the real dagger, but one of the TWO fake ones, for Rumple trusted no one with the location of the real one after being controlled by both Zelena and Regina and finding out Belle would have controlled him also with it. Except Henry.

Only Henry knew that Rumple had been banished not by the power of the dagger that day . . .but by the power of true love rejected.

He would not reject his flesh and blood.

He would do what others could not. He would be what he was born to be.

He would show them what true love was...HE would free his grandfather from his curse.

He cradled the dagger in his hands and murmured two words in the language of magic-one to reverse the magic of the hat and free those inside . . .but on the condition they never harm Rumple ever. The other was to banish the hat forever into the Void, so it could never be used again by anyone, for any reason.

He had been taught those two words by the man who was the dagger's slave . . . because Rumple had recognized that something was not quite right with what he was doing . . .and had left himself the only loophole he could . . .his grandson.

For that was what his son had called him. The king of loopholes.

The dagger glowed a sullen red, then it became cool again. Henry tucked it back into its case and tucked it into his backpack.

He rose to his feet, and put the floorboard back into place and restored the cup to its cabinet. Then he left the shop exactly as he had found it.

He removed the globe again and whispered, "Show me Rumplestiltskin."

The globe glowed again . . .and showed him an elderly man limping along with a stick through the woods . . .Henry put the globe away and then began to pedal hard out of Storybrooke.

"I'm coming, Grandpa."

This time, he thought, panting a bit as he pedaled uphill to the town line, I'm going to do what's right, not what's easy. I'm going to do what no one else ever has . . .and break the curse of the Dark One . . .

Belle was still sitting on the floor all of the conversations she ever had with Rumplestiltskin replaying in her mind, all the times he HAD been honest with her...all the times he never spoke of losing power...only losing HER...

She went back to that day in the library where he confessed why he brought magic back to Storybrooke...so that his memories were intact when he crossed the town line to find Bae.

"I can't bear to lose another whom I care about . . . the magic has become a crutch I cannot walk without . . ."

While he was in Neverland he'd believed in her, in their love enough to ask her to find Pandora's Box so that they could trap Pan and bring Henry home.

"I love you Belle...you made me stronger..."

Those were his final words to her the day he died. He believed she made him strong enough to defeat Pan without magic.

Now the vows she spoke the day they were married sounded less like a pledge of love than a reminder to him that he'd been a disappointment to her.

That he hadn't lived up to her expectations

"I'm a difficult man to love," he had admitted that to her long ago back in the Dark Castle. And she had walked back into his life knowing full well he was a cursed sorcerer. His vows to her that day had been "How you can still love a monster, I will never know."

"The man may be flawed...but we all are..."

Yet somehow she'd forgotten that about herself.

Henry's words echoed in her head. "If you hated his dark magic so much why didn't you break his curse? Why didn't you try again? How could you show compassion to a murderer like Zelena, or Regina, or even Hook, yet none towards the one who held your heart?"

The answers were right in front of her-but they were ones she didn't want to see.

She hadn't broken his curse because she had been afraid-afraid to try again, afraid to fail, afraid she would not be the hero she wanted to be. Afraid that her love wasn't strong enough. And most of all-afraid to admit that fact to herself.

She had called her husband a coward, but really who was she fooling?

"I'll never stop fighting for him," she'd screamed to Regina when she was taken prisoner all those years ago and now she'd broken her word.

She had also forgotten one of the maxims of this world-"if at first you don't succeed-try try again."

"This is more powerful than your true love..." Zelena's voice taunted.

But for whose? Hers or his?

He could have resisted the dagger's command...she'd seen him do it before.

He could have fought her with all he had. Instead he surrendered.

She also recalled Rumple admitting to her that on Neverland he had nearly been the victim of a self-fulfilling prophecy about Henry. Had she also been the victim of one with Zelena? The witch had planted the seeds of doubt with in her that day. But she had watered them and allowed them to grow.

And the beautiful garden she built was now overrun with weeds.

When she had faced the Snow Queen's mirror that day . . .and it had taunted her about her true love . . .why had the thing she had reached for then been the dagger? The dagger had never been the symbol of their love. It had always been the cup.

He'd offered it to her the day he proposed as a token of trust...not as the symbol of their love. He was trusting her not to use it against him.

And with it she committed the ultimate betrayal...cast him out of her life as if he meant nothing to her, making him believe as he had for centuries...he was unworthy of being loved.

She had sworn to never be like Milah and Cora-women who had taken his love and cast in aside. Yet she had followed right in their footsteps-for "nobler" reasons perhaps, but in the end the result was the same.

She tried to forget her own monstrous form; that of an alcoholic loose woman named Lacey who stood him up on their date to cavort with the Sheriff of Notttingham in the alley behind Granny's when years before he'd protected her from the very same man.

And before that she had flirted and played with the other men who had come to the Rabbit Hole to drink and play pool . . .one of them being Dr. Whale. She had encouraged him to seek her out that morning, playing the femme fatale . . .and trying to make Gold jealous, to bring out his dark side.

When he struck out at the sheriff, what had he been striking out for...jealousy or revulsion? She had, after all been intoxicated and it was possible he was striking out knowing the sheriff would have taken advantage of her.

When she had encouraged him to "go dark" why had he done so? Because that was what he thought she wanted . . .the man he thought she wished him to be.

Always trying to live up to her expectations.

He had never reproached her for any of that . . .not ever . . .while many times she had done so to him . . and so had others.

And some of those others had done far worse to her than Rumple. Why had she forgiven them? Because it had been the "heroic" thing to do . . .and she had wanted again to be the hero. To prove she was better than they were . . .and better than her husband, who struggled with forgiving those who had no regrets about what they had done to him or those he cared about.

She remained with her head bowed, tears sparkling in her eyes . . .for what she had done . . .and for what she now lacked the courage to do.

After seeing things from an outside perspective, Emma realized she didn't know Hook was well as she thought and some things she had seen but never understood made sense.

The man had seemed awfully quick to want her to forget Neal on Neverland, and had offered her no real explanation about some of the things he knew about Pan, the Lost Boys, or even Bae.

He never really spoke about Rumple either-except to call him "crocodile" and accuse him of never changing, and she was reminded of one of the lessons she had learned as a bailbondsperson when analyzing criminals. Sometimes a criminal gave a victim a nickname-usually a derogatory one-to avoid looking at them as a person with feelings, and often the crime they accused others of the most was one they themselves committed frequently. It was called projection and misdirection, and she feared Hook was guilty of it in spades.

One of the most damning things was that he had never confessed to her about his role in Bae's capture . . .and what he had really been doing with Pan. The other was the fact that he had blackmailed Rumple for his hand . ..and done things with his hand that were very questionable and then tried to hide it. He had lied to her those times . . .and how many other times had there been?

And now the blinders were off.

She realized now that Henry was correct. She had been so concerned with finding her "hero" that she lost sight of the fact that Hook was basically pushing her into a relationship she wasn't ready for. She had been desperate for someone to love her . . .and she had overlooked the fact that since Neal had died, she had pushed away the one person who needed her most—her son.

Because of her he had lost his father twice . . .and instead of being there for him, she had gone off chasing a pirate . . .and letting her job take precedence over the person who should have come first in her life.

"My God, what have I done?" she whispered, guilt strangling her.

"What have we all done?" Regina cried bitterly. "We've all acted exactly like he said . . .we've all lied to ourselves and each other. He was right . . .my looking for this author was nothing more than grasping at straws. Once again I was doing what I knew was wrong . . . putting the blame for my own decisions and actions on someone else—on you, Emma, for bringing Marian back, and on Marian for being Robin's wife. Even on Sidney . . .I used him too . . .and Robin and I both were a party to adultery . . .both of us only thinking of ourselves . . .not our children."

"So what do we do?" Emma asked, looking lost.

Belle took a deep breath and climbed up from the floor. "We pick ourselves up and acknowledge we were wrong. Emma, you need to talk with Hook. And Regina and I . . .need to talk to Henry and Rumple . . . but we can't go to them. We need to wait for them to come back to us. We chose to push them away . . .now they need to choose whether or not to return."

"Are you sure that's the wise choice?" Regina cried.

"No. I'm not sure of anything. Except that we need to let them choose for once. And I'm afraid . . .that Rumple won't choose to come back . . ."

Regina nodded slowly. "I'm afraid of that too."

"So am I." Emma cried.

Then all three women clung to each other and cried, for choices made and lost, and for regrets and knowledge come perhaps too late.

Page~*~*~Break

When Rumple had planned to leave Storybrooke with Belle and Henry, he had made sure that a small cabin close to the outskirts of the town had been rented in his name and paid for. He had gotten the key to it just before the Shattered Sight curse had been cast. It was a mere fifteen minutes outside the town line and he had driven there once to stock it with food and other amenities. He had planned to stay there a day or two before continuing on, just long enough to explain to Belle and Henry what he was doing and why. Now he was here because it was the only place he could go for food and shelter when Belle had banished him.

He was still numb from that meeting . . .it had only been three days . . .and he was still reeling from the shock . . .not of her being angry with him, that he could have handled . . .but from the shock of her rejection and declaration that he loved his power more than her.

It was true he was cursed to love the dark magic . . .that he had made it, or it had made him, dependant upon it. But he loved Belle more than anything. He always had. He had thought she knew that . . .but he had been wrong. As wrong as he had been about Milah. Or Cora. Wrong to think that anyone would find him worthy of being loved.

He was cursed . . .cursed to be forever alone and unloved . . .with this hollow power as his only companion . . .and now he didn't even have that. He felt empty and hollow inside . . .and now he understood at last why Zoso had resorted to trickery to end his miserable cursed existence.

But he lacked the courage to even do that.

Or did he?

All he would need to do was go outside into the subzero chilly Maine winter . . .and just lie down and go to sleep . . .for all eternity.

Then his torment would end at last.

After all, what did he have left? He had lost his son . . .and Belle . . . his family . . .who would mourn him?

He sat there in a stupor . . .numb and falling into a black hole of depression . . .until the crunch of tires on the gravel drive woke him. The noise made him glance at the clock in the kitchen . . .it was almost five o'clock, and dusk was falling in a dark curtain across the land.

Then he heard a sudden pounding on the door.

Startled, Rumple got to his feet, clutching the walking stick he had made out of an old tree branch tightly. "Who's there?"

"Grandpa? It's me, Henry! Open up!"

Rumple nearly fell over in shock. "Henry?" he limpd quickly towards the door and opened it to admit his grandson.

The boy was covered with snow, as it had begun snowing recently. "I . . .I came as fast as I could . . ."

"Come inside!" Rumple said. "Before you freeze to death."

Henry gratefully came inside, shivering violently.

"How did you find me?" asked his grandfather once he had shut and locked the door. Then he shook his head. "Never mind that. Let's get you warmed up, okay?"

Henry found himself ushered upstairs, and urged to take a hot bath, then given some of his own clothes to wear and after that given a cup of hot chocolate with cinnamon. He wondered briefly how his clothes had gotten here, then decided he could ask about that later. What was important now was why he was here.

"Henry, how did you find me?" Rumple asked once he was sure the boy wasn't going to go into shock or whatever.

"I used this," he pulled the seeing globe from his backpack. "You told me I could use it if I needed to. So I did . . to find you . . .and to find out some other things I never knew . . ." he told his grandfather exactly what he had seen in the globe, and how he had confronted Regina, Emma, and Belle over what he saw.

The boy was shaking as he finished his recitation. "I had to do it . . .I had to . . . they needed to see the truth . . ."

"Hey, Henry . . . what you did was . . .it was very brave . . . but you shouldn't have come out here alone . . .anything could have happened . . .and your mothers are probably frantic . . ." Rumple began.

"I had to . . .so I could prove something . . .and to bring you this . . ." Henry grabbed his backpack again and ripped it open. He took out the dagger from its case and held it out to Rumple. "Here. This is yours. It belongs to you and nobody else. I give it you freely, no strings attached." He pressed the dagger into Rumple's hands.

Rumple gaped at him. "Henry . . .the dagger . . .this is the real one . . ."

"I know. That's why I'm giving it to you. Because only you have the right to decide your own life." Then he threw his arms around his grandfather. "One other thing. I know you may not believe anyone can ever love you, not since my dad died. But you're wrong. Because I do. I love you, Grandpa. Just the way you are."

Then he did something no one had ever done before.

He gave Rumplestiltskin the kiss of unconditional true love.

And a golden glow spread from him to his grandfather . . .and then to the dagger held in Rumple's hands.

The glow seared his eyes and Rumple turned his head away. When he looked back the name on the dagger was erased . . .and he could feel the weight on his soul was lifted.

"Henry! My . . .my curse . . .is gone!"

No sooner were the words out of his mouth, then the dagger itself vanished.

"Where did it go?" Henry stammered, still hugging his grandfather.

"Back to the Void that spawned it . . .and the demon that lives within it," Rumple replied. He tilted Henry's face up to look into his eyes. "So the seer was right . . .but not the way any of us expected. You were my undoing. The undoing of my curse."

"No, Grandpa. I just gave you your life back," Henry refuted, smiling through his tears.

A smiling Rumple hugged him and murmured, "I love you too, Henry."

They clung together, wearing identical grins, while tears dampened their cheeks.

His life wasn't perfect, not by a long shot. But at least he had his family back. And that was all that mattered for now. Miracles happen, once in awhile. If you believed.

Page~*~*~*~Break

A week later:

Storybrooke had been under attack from three villainesses for a week now . . . .they had arrived a week ago, right after Henry had sent the postcard to Regina telling her not to worry, he was with his grandfather, and both were fine.

Maleficent, Ursula, and Cruella DeVille. All of them old enemies of hers. All of them bent on revenge on her and the people of Storybrooke.

But none of them had been able to get close to the town. At first she thought it was because of the combined efforts of herself, the fairies, and the Apprentice, who had all been miraculously released from the hat on the day Henry had confronted them with the seeing globe. At first, Emma had been frantic to go and get Henry, but Regina, Belle, and her parents had persuaded her to leave the boy alone.

If Henry wanted to return to Storybrooke and them, he must do so on his own.

And so must Rumple. Given what was happening now—every night the sky in Storybrooke was lit up with lights like the Aurora Borealis—from the attempts of all three sorceresses to get into the town with their magic, Regina was glad her son wasn't here.

Now she went to visit the Apprentice . . .and ask him what it is he was doing to keep the three witches out of the town.

Because she knew it had to be the Apprentice as he was the only other magic worker in town beside herself and the fairies. She knew her own spells couldn't hold all that well, because she wasn't that good at shielding spells or misdirection spells. As for the fairies . . .their magic was . . .not quite up to handling the likes of Maleficient and Ursula and Cruella, and she would leave it at that.

When she finally found where the Apprentice was holed up, and knocked on the door, she discovered he was in the middle of making a pot of tea. "Ahh, Mayor Mills. Come in. I wasn't exactly expecting you, but . . ." He spread his hands.

"Well, I'm not exactly here for a social call . . .uh, what do they call you anyway?" she asked, realizing no one had ever told her his name.

He shrugged. "Do you know . . .I have gone by the name Apprentice for so long . . . as well as Shabti—it means servant in Ancient Egyptian—that I've quite forgotten the name I was born with."

Regina raised her eyebrow. "You've been alive that long? And . . .wait a minute . . .you know about ancient Egypt? How? If you come from our realm?"

Shabti smiled. "Don't you know? This is the birthplace of all legends and tales . . .and magic . . .even our own . . .and long and long ago, the Egyptians were the foremost practitioners of magic in the world. Until their conquerors drove them into hiding, and a few to a new realm . . .the realm we now call Fairy Tale Land. And it was there that something terrible was born . . .and I was there to witness it."

"What?" Regina gaped at him. The man looked old . . .about seventy or late sixties . . .but that old. "How is that possible? That you're that old?"

"Why, my dear mayor . . .anything is possible with magic," the Apprentice smirked. "Even if the magic is cast upon you. My masters of the Temple of Set, god of the underworld, wished me to always guard something, so they granted me almost an immortal life. But as I was saying . . .I was witness to the birth of something terrible—the birth of the Dark One."

"You? You were there when the first Dark One was created?"

"Yes. The first Dark One was created by placing a portion of our god, Set the Undying, the Lord of the Underworld, and Dark Magic, into the dagger, and then using one of our strongest priests to be its sacrifice. That one became the first Dark One—the first repository of Set's partial consciousness."

Regina gaped. "What was his name?"

"He was called Sukteh."

"And let me guess—you were his Apprentice. The one who used the hat."

"Well, I was the servant—shabti—of all the masters of magic in the temple," the Apprentice corrected. "And I never used the hat. I could not. After Sukteh became the Dark One, and it was seen that he was so powerful, his brother masters feared he would take over all the realms, so in order to prevent that, they sent the hat, which was an object of great evil magic, made by Set long ago, away along with me . . .since I had no magic, I could not be tempted by the hat's siren call."

Regina held up her hand. "Wait. So you were chosen to guard the hat because you had no magic?"

He nodded. "Even so. And it's also why all the Dark Ones wanted the hat so badly. Because with it they could circumvent the control of the dagger and still retain their dark powers. If they could figure out how to do so. But no Dark One ever did . . .until Rumplestiltskin, who had enough brains to figure out you needed light magic to open the hat, and could wield enough light magic to make him able to handle it without harm."

"But he's the Dark One! How could someone dark wield light magic?"

The Apprentice shrugged again. "Perhaps because he was the only Dark One to take the curse for someone he loved and not himself. Love is the most powerful magic of all, Mayor Mills. You should know that. In fact, love is the only way the dagger curse can be broken without killing the current Dark One and transferring the spirit and power. It has to be broken by one who truly believes that the Dark One can be redeemed-by the power of unconditional love, and accepts him."

"So then only Belle can break his curse?" Regina repeated.

"Perhaps."

Then a new thought occurred to her. "But . . if it's not you protecting the town from those three witches . . .then who is? It's not me! Or Emma . . . she doesn't have the knowledge or the strength to do it."

"It's not me. I have no ability to wield magic," Shabti said simply. "I fear you shall have to search elsewhere to solve this mystery. Perhaps it's not someone in this town."

"Then why were you trapped in the hat?" Regina demanded.

"Because, like you, Rumplestiltskin assumed I had power . . .but he was mistaken. I had only the power granted to me of longevity by my masters . . . . and certain objects given to me to safeguard the hat. You do know, don't you, that apprentice only means student, do you not? And not necessarily student of magic?"

Regina threw up her hands. "I don't believe this! Fine! I guess I'll have to figure it out on my own."

She stormed out of the house, supremely annoyed. She knew the magical zone extended briefly beyond Storybrooke's town line, it was how she was able to cloak the town from ordinary people . . .and she thought it was how some magical objects still functioned beyond the town itself.

It was probably why the three witches could use magic to assault the barrier or whatever it was that kept them from invading . . . frowning, she walked through the barrier of the town line and stood on the other side, scanning the road and the woods.

Somewhere out there was Henry, Rumplestiltskin, and Robin as well.

The three most important men in her life.

Somewhere.

Suddenly there was a soft rustle in the undergrowth. Regina, whirled, calling fire to her hand. "Show yourself!"

"Or what? Are you going to light us on fire, dearie?"

From out of the trees walked two familiar figures.

"Hello, Mom."

"Henry! Rumple!"

She stared at her son and his grandfather. Both looked a little leaner and wearier . . .but both were alive and well . . .and unsurprised to see her.

"You knew it was me?"

"Yeah." Henry held up the seeing globe. "It showed you in here."

"I thought it couldn't show you the future, only the past."

"The globe can show you glimpses of possible futures," Rumple corrected. "But only possibilities."

"Then you've been here all this time?"

Henry nodded. "I've been helping Grandpa defend Storybrooke."

"How? Henry . . . do you have magic?"

"Uh . . . not the way you think. I'm a . . .conduit . . .I can store magic within me . . .and give it to mages. So I've been doing that with Grandpa."

Regina looked as if she was going to faint. "But that . . .would mean you have your dagger back . . ." she looked at Henry. "You didn't!"

"Of course I did. Because the dagger belonged to him and he had the right to choose . . .so I gave it back and then I broke his curse."

"You what?"

"Regina, are you sure you haven't gone deaf from all the pyrotechnics our mistresses of disaster have been launching?" Rumple queried. "My curse is broken, dearie. By the unconditional love of a grandson for his grandparent. It's the truest form of love there is."

Regina looked from one to the other. "I . . .guess I shouldn't be surprised. Henry does have the Heart of the Truest Believer."

Except she wondered if he still believed in her.

"That he does," Rumple agreed.

Then she asked, "If your curse is broken . . .why do you still have magic?"

"I have no idea, Regina. How is it you—the former Evil Queen—can wield light magic? I just do . . .but not what I used to have. My magic is white now—healing magic, protective magic, that kind of thing."

"So you are the one who's been keeping the wicked trio off our backs! Why?"

"Glutton for punishment?" Rumple asked sarcastically. "Actually, Henry pointed out that there are many innocent children in Storybrooke. And I have always had a soft spot for children, you know. And animals. And my wife is there also."

"You . . .still care for her then?"

"I never stopped. Ever. Despite what she thinks." Rumple fixed his former student with a glare. "My marriage vows were forever, dearie."

"Just like I never stopped loving you, Mom," put in Henry. "I just wanted you to see the truth . . .and admit to it too. Same thing with Emma and Belle."

"Then . . . you want to come back?"

"Is my shop still there? And my house? Or has it been sold off?" asked Rumple tartly.

"No. They're both there. Belle . . .she lives in the apartment above the library since . . ."

"I see." Rumple looked sad for a moment.

"And Emma? Is she still with Hook?" Henry wanted to know.

"They're . . .separated right now, while she . . .thinks about things." Regina swallowed hard. "Like I've had to think about things. A lot. What you said . . . it was all true . . . I can say that now . . . when you come back . . .will you still be living with the Nolans?"

Henry shook his head. "No. The loft was getting too crowded with me, baby Neal, and everyone. I'll be staying with Grandpa. But I'll still come and see you."

"Henry . . .I promise . . .this time to really change . . .I've been seeing Archie again. And so have Emma and Belle. Because we all were wrong . . . and we want to do better and to heal."

"Good. Because you can, you know. If you believe . . .and you face the truth." Then he ran and hugged her.

"Welcome back," Regina said, and hugged her son. Then she hugged Rumple also.

Page~*~*~*~*~Break

A month later:

Henry was sweeping the front of Gold's pawnshop, thinking that finally things were looking up now that the three angry villainesses had given up and left Storybrooke alone, since Rumple's protective magic, bolstered by his own talent, layered in triple shields that drew strength from the earth and the magic the town itself was created from, proved impossible for them to break.

During that time, Henry had bonded even more with Rumple, and had mended his fences with Regina and Emma, who realized their true love wasn't the men they had lost, but the one who had been there all along—their son. He also was now on speaking terms again with Belle, and occasionally spent a night or two over his other grandparents' loft, playing with his baby uncle.

He worked in the shop on the weekends, like today, and assisted his grandfather with cleaning, organizing, and placing antiques on the shelves. As he swept the dust into a pile to pick up with the dustpan, he heard the shop bell tinkle.

Henry looked up . . .and saw Belle. "Hi."

"Hi. Henry . . .is Rumple here?"

Henry nodded, his heart leaping in his chest. "In the back room."

"I . . .I need to talk to him."

"Go ahead," the boy gestured and watched Belle walk around the counter to the back room. This was the first time since they had returned to Storybrooke that she had come to see Rumple. Henry hoped it was because she was trying to meet him halfway.

He heard his grandfather's voice say her name, with that soft burr he had, and then heard her say his name in return, almost choking on it.

The boy almost pressed his ear to the door . . .then recalled it was bad manners to eavesdrop . . .and also foolish because Rumple would know what he'd been up to the moment he saw him. His grandpa always did, and Henry had learned after the first time he'd lied to Rumple that such a thing was always a mistake. Besides, he'd had enough of lying to last him a lifetime.

So he drew away and continued his task, though at times he caught snatches of conversation as they drifted from beneath the door and into his too-keen ears.

" . . .I was wrong . . ."

" . . .I was also . . .thought you would understand . . ."

"I was afraid . . .you weren't the only one . . ."

" . . .surely that's not what you came here to tell me . . .?"

" . . .no . . .I realize that it wasn't just you who had problems . . .and that you weren't the cause of all of our problems either, Rumple. I was too. I've been seeing Archie . . ."

"Belle, you needn't confess to me . . ."

"Rumple, please! I was angry and wasn't thinking clearly that night . . ."

The voices grew even lower, so Henry couldn't make out what was said. Though once or twice he caught an angry tone, and once the sound of what he thought was crying.

Sighing, he went and dusted the glass case.

A few moments later he heard Rumple say audibly, " . . .most of our problems have been communication ones, dearie . . .we were apart so much that when we were together . . . we forgot to really talk to each other, and just jumped to conclusions and assumptions. But now things are different, and we have time to get to know each other again. As real people this time, not as ideals. Both of us are our own person, flawed and imperfect, with our own identities outside of our marriage. I'm not the same person you knew back in the Dark Castle . . .or even before I was resurrected . . .and you've changed too."

"But one thing hasn't changed, Rumple. I still love you."

"And I never stopped loving you."

"Can we start again, Rumple?"

"When I made you that deal, it was forever, dearie. With an infinite number of second chances."

Henry grinned.

The door to the back room opened, and Belle and Rumple stepped out of it into the main room of the shop.

Henry pretended to industriously dust the objects on the back counter, when he heard Belle ask, "You know, we never did get to finish our hamburger date, Rumple."

Rumple raised an eyebrow. "Are you—asking me out?"

Belle gulped, then tilted her head up and said softly, "Yes. I am. Would you like to get a hamburger with me, Mr. Gold?"

Rumple's eyes twinkled. "I would be delighted, Mrs. Gold."

He held out his arm and she placed her hand on it.

As they walked towards the door of the pawnshop, Henry coughed slightly.

Rumple glanced back at his grandson.

Henry smiled and gave him two thumbs up, thinking that true love wasn't perfect, true love was unconditional, and when you found something worth fighting for, you never gave up.

A/N: The scene between Rumple and Henry with the "cloak of regrets" statement was cut from the original show but I felt it needed to be included here. Also thanks to my BFF CJ for helping me to write a few scenes in here.