Disclaimer: Nope, none of this is still mine other than little Rose.

A/N: Hey, I'm back! So sorry this took so long again. I've been busy teaching and haven't had a lot of time, but I've slowly been working on this and it's finally here. Thanks for being so patient with me. I hope you enjoy this chapter that I know you all have been waiting a long time for.

Chapter 24: What Once was Lost

There was an intense energy in the hospital, reminding Emma of when she was in the hospital giving birth. Lots of nurses and interns wanted to see the convict chained to her hospital bed. She had been a spectacle then, but there wasn't anything anyone could do about it then. Now it was Alayna under the scrutiny and interest of every one in this place. Emma could only stay beside her, shooing the onlookers by as they tried to peek into the room. Whale and another nurse were taking her vitals, checking her pupils and blood work. Alayna didn't say a word, just let them do whatever they had to do. It wasn't until Emma noticed the way her foot was rapidly jiggling beneath the bland, pink blanket that she realized that she wasn't as relaxed as she thought.

"Can we do this later?" Emma asked.

Whale put aside his penlight. "We're almost done. Everything looks good, Alayna. I know this is irritating, but it's just something we have to do. Thank you for being patient with us."

Emma could give the doctor credit for having a good beside manner, but Alayna only nodded slightly. The nurse finished up checking her blood pressure and asking her some final questions, while Emma grabbed Whale by the sleeve of his white coat and pulled him out of the room. "Why the hell was she in your psych ward and why doesn't she remember anything about herself?"

"Sheriff," he said calmly, "I would like to know the answer to both of those questions as well."

"You seriously had no idea?"

"Why would I lie to you about this?

"I'm just trying to figure this out."

"Emma," he said, "I run this hospital, but there used to be a doctor exclusively in charge of the psychiatric ward. Unfortunately, he passed away over a year ago and we haven't filled the position. I'm afraid, he would know more about all of this. Psychiatry has never been my specialty. Right now, Hopper has been seeing Sidney, but I don't think he knew about Alayna being here."

Emma had to agree with that. She couldn't imagine the gentle psychiatrist lying to get out a parking ticket, let alone keep this to himself. "How could she have been here for two years without anyone knowing? And why doesn't she remember anything, not even her name?"

"Sheriff, like I said, I know just as much as you do. We are looking into all of this, just give us a chance to try and figure this out. All I can tell you is that physically she's okay."

"Really?" she asked for confirmation.

Whale nodded. "She could gain a few pounds and needs to be outside more, but other than that she is healthy. We are going to take her to the MRI in a few minutes to see if we can determine any brain abnormalities that could account for the memory loss. All the same, I'd like to call Hopper up here to talk with her."

Emma nodded. "Good idea. I have to make a few calls myself."

Whale didn't ask, but she doubted he really had to. Still, the first call probably shocked him since it was to Mary Margaret. Perhaps, she was stalling, but she honestly just didn't know how to say any of this out loud. It was easier telling her friend since she'd been on this roller coaster ride with her from the start. Still, she couldn't put it off forever.

Gold answered on the second ring. "Gold's Antiques."

"Gold, it's me, Emma."

"Sheriff Swann, what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I…I…" damn, how do you say something like this?"

"Have you called to tell me you've gone mute?"

Okay, well now he'd pissed her off. That helped. "Look, something's happened and I need to you come to the hospital."

"Is someone hurt?"

"No, I don't think so anyways, I just need you to come."

"I'd like to know why."

"Just come." She hung up before he could argue with her anymore.

Thankfully, Mary Margaret was the first to arrive and she even brought a bag with some things for Alayna. Why hadn't she thought of that? Oh yeah, because she wasn't half-saint like her roommate.

"Wanna bet Gold will be the first to arrive?" she asked Mary Margaret.

"No bet," she replied, "how are you going to tell them?"

"I honestly have no idea." In person would be harder, but it felt better than just relaying a message over the phone.

Mary Margaret should have taken that bet because Gold and Moe actually arrived at the same time. Apparently it took two seconds for them to find something to argue about.

"Rose doesn't like dresses. You should let her wear her overalls."

"Those are her play clothes," Gold insisted, "And I've seen her wear dresses hundreds of times. Maybe you were just too lazy to actually let her look like a toddler instead of a bumpkin."

Emma closed her eyes and shook her head. Perhaps Rose would be better off raised by wolves. That being said, she did look adorable in the little purple dress Gold had picked out for her. Perhaps that was why he had arrived later than she had expected. Somehow, that made sense. He was always so spiffed up himself; he'd want his daughter to make a good impression as well.

"Hey, thanks for coming," Emma said once they were in earshot.

"Sheriff, why is he here?" Gold nodded his head towards Moe.

"Because this concerns you, all three of you actually."

"What has he done to my granddaughter?" Moe demanded.

Gold shot him a look that would have turned milk sour. "She is right here. You can see for yourself that she's fine." To emphasize his point, he set Rose down onto the ground, proving that she wasn't missing any limbs.

"Why else would we both be here unless it was about Rose?"

"Moe, if it was about Rose, I'm quite certain it would be because you had done something."

"Okay," Emma cut in before any blows could be delivered, "That's enough. This isn't about Rose. Well, not exactly. It's someone else."

"Who?" Gold asked, "Who could you possibly—?" The words cut off as he gasped, his gaze fixed over Emma's shoulder. She turned to look, but she already had a good idea who he was seeing.

Alayna had obviously finished her MRI and was now being wheeled back towards her room. Moe and Gold both had identical expressions, pale, wide-eyed, gaping. It would have been comical if she found any of this funny.

It was Rose who recovered first. "Mama!" she shouted. She wrenched her tiny hand out of her father's grasp who just stood there, unable to blink even. Rose took off, making a beeline for her mother.

Mary Margaret reacted, reaching down and scooping her up before she could get too close. "Mama!" Rose called out again in a near sob, "Want Mama!"

Alayna stared back at them, blinking heavily and creasing her brow. It reminded Emma of when she was in school, trying desperately to remember the equations or whatever the teacher wanted, but her mind was completely blank.

Emma saw Gold leaning heavily on his cane. His face was still paper white. She wondered if he was going to faint, but he seemed to be managing to hold it all together…barely. Moe took his cue from his granddaughter, racing over to Alayna and grabbing her hand from the arm of the wheelchair. "Oh my God, Alayna! You're alive!"

Perhaps the tears in his eyes blinded him, because he didn't appear to notice the way she stared at him like he was speaking a foreign language. He then bent down and pulled her into his arms, squeezing her tight like she was a child again. Emma hurried over there after seeing the panicked look in Alayna's eyes. "Moe, Moe, you need to calm down."

"Don't worry, sweetheart," he said, ignoring Emma, "We'll get you and Rose home and everything will be like it was before."

"I…I don't know," Alayna stammered out, "Who is Rose? Do I know you?"

Moe dropped his arms away from her. Meanwhile, Gold nearly stumbled again. Emma sighed, but looked back at the nurse. "You go ahead and take her back. I'll talk to them."

The nurse nodded and said cheerfully, "How about some lunch, sweetheart? I think they are serving chocolate pudding today."

Alayna didn't say anything, but she kept her eyes on the two men until she was wheeled away and out of sight. Rose was crying into Mary Margaret's neck, just blubbering "Mama, Mama, Mama," over and over.

"I'm going to take her to the cafeteria," Mary Margaret said, "Maybe dessert will cheer her up."

"Good idea, thanks," Emma said, patting Rose's head before she left them too. Gold gave his daughter a glance before she left, but then his gaze fixed back at the spot where he had last seen Alayna.

Moe turned to Gold and took a handful of his sleeve. "You did this! You put her here, admit it!"

The thought had briefly crossed Emma's mind, but if she had any doubts, they evaporated. Gold looked positively gobsmacked first, then his eyes darkened. "I had nothing to do with this! If I'd known she was here, I'd have brought her home."

"Why was she here?" Moe asked.

"I have no idea." Gold looked back at Emma, "Sheriff Swann, do you have a theory?"

She wished she did, but all she could do was shake her head. "No, I don't. As far as I can see, she's not even registered here as a patient."

"How the hell is that possible?"

"I'm still looking into this," Emma assured them.

Gold was looking back at where she had been, his fingers twitching on his cane. "She—she didn't recognize Rose."

Emma nodded once. "She has amnesia. Whale isn't sure why yet. It doesn't appear she remembers any of you at all."

Gold dropped his head down to stare at the floor, rhythmically tapping his cane. Moe shook his head. "I just…I want to take her home."

"She can't leave the hospital yet," Emma said, "And right now I don't think it would be a good idea for her to go home with you, or any of you."

"She's my daughter!"

"But she doesn't remember you," Emma reminded him. "Right now she is scared and confused. The doctors need to figure out why she can't remember and I need to find out how she got here."

"How right you are, Sherriff."

Emma looked past Gold just as he and Moe turned around. Regina calmly walked up behind them, her blood red lips curled up slightly. "What are you doing here?" Emma asked.

"Word travels fast in a small town," Regina said, "And I am the mayor here. Don't you think I have the right to know that someone was being illegally held in our town's asylum?"

Obviously Sidney wasn't her only spy. Emma took a critical look around her, eyeing each nurse or intern. Now that the Mirror's editor was locked away, she was curious who was reporting the stories to the mayor now.

"Sheriff, I expect you to conduct a thorough investigation," Regina said coolly.

"Don't worry about that," Emma said, narrowing her eyes at her, "I intend to get to the bottom of this."

Regina only gave Emma passing glance, then her gaze fixed on Gold. He stared back her with an impassive face, but Emma saw the way his knuckles tightened on the handle of his cane.

"He had to have put her here, I know it," Moe grumbled, glaring at Gold again.

"If he did, then I'll prove it." For once though, Emma didn't see Gold's grubby hands on this. She'd seen the shock on his face, and the pain when Alayna didn't recognize her daughter. Gold was probably guilty of many crimes, but the only thing he was guilty of in this case was falling in love and majorly screwing it up.

"Look," Emma said, making both men look at her, "You two know her better than anyone and right now she is totally lost. She needs help, help from the people who love her. Try to put aside your grievances and work together on this."

It was a good speech, but one look at them both told her that wasn't likely to happen. "Sheriff," Gold said, "Tell the hospital to send Alayna's medical bills to me. I'll take care of everything."

"She's my daughter," Moe insisted, "I should take care of her."

"Moe, it's alright. I think you should let him do this," Emma said. She knew the poor man couldn't afford to pay for Alayna's care, not to mention that Gold would insist on it either way. "He is Rose's father. It's his right."

That didn't appear to sit very well with Moe, but his only option was to glower at the man again. "I'd like to talk to Dr. Whale about my daughter," he said.

Emma nodded in understanding. "I'm going to speak with the people running the asylum."

"I'll join you," Regina said with a smile. Emma rolled her eyes, but knew that arguing would do no good. It appeared the Mayor was assigning herself as her new deputy. Gold didn't say where he was going to go, perhaps to check on Rose with Mary Margaret. So it was a bit of surprise when she heard the tap of his cane behind her.

"Where are you going?" Emma asked.

"With you," he said, "I want to see where she has been all of this time."

She thought about pressuring him to stay, certainly the people working the place would find the fact that he owned their homes as terrifying enough, but right now the way he gripped the handle of his cane made him look like he was prepared to bash some skulls in. Emma thought back to the night when all of this began, when she had found Gold beating Moe within an inch of his life. Yes, if they did find out who did this, she would have to work fast to make sure Gold didn't mete out his own particular brand of justice. As it was though, she also knew she couldn't stop Gold, not with that look in his eyes.

Emma kept one eye on him and the other on Regina as all three of them made their way into the asylum. The scary looking nurse was no longer there. She'd asked Whale to keep the staff from leaving until she could question them, but that nurse had been in charge of the unit, so Emma had already asked for her to be sequestered in a private room at the moment. There was one guy with stringy black hair and a mop bucket. He eyed them with interest but never said a word. She would like to question Sidney later, but for now she wanted to get a better look at the place Alayna had called home for two years.

Now that it was empty, Emma could see just how tiny the place was. There was a thin, little cot tucked against one wall. There was a sheet but no blanket. Hopefully the rest of the bedding was simply in the wash, but she had doubts on that score. There was one bare bulb in the center of the ceiling. Other than that, the only source of light came from one tiny window tucked up against the south-facing wall. There were no pictures, posters, hell, not even a table and chair. It brought back memories to Emma, memories of when her only window had bars on it and her only clothes were an orange jumpsuit.

"I've seen cozier prison cells," Emma said. There was no other way to describe this place. It wasn't a hospital; it was a jail.

"Please," Regina scoffed, "You needn't be so dramatic."

"I'm not. I'm acquainted with prison, as you like to remind me. At least I actually had company and some way to make my room comfortable."

"Well perhaps they were afraid she would hurt herself," Regina said.

"An amnesiac? Not likely."

Emma looked back at Gold. The man was slowly taking in every inch of the room, to the cracked ceiling to the dirty floor. He didn't say anything, but she saw the way his throat bobbed as he saw the pathetic excuse of a bed and the way he strangled his cane with both hands.

"I want to talk to some people. Maybe they can find her file and we can get some answers," Emma said. Whale was supposed to have sent someone to locate the file, but it wouldn't hurt to ask around first.

The guy with the black hair and the mop was a bust. It turned out he was completely mute, and showed no interest in actually giving a written statement. It didn't matter since she doubted she would get much done with Regina and Gold breathing down her neck.

"Look, I have work to do," she told them both once they returned upstairs, "And you two aren't helping any."

"I think I have a right to be concerned about all of this," Regina insisted, "I am the mayor, after all."

"You're still hampering my investigation."

"I highly doubt I'm causing any trouble."

Emma looked back at Gold, but his face was set in stone. "I'm not going anywhere," he told her coolly.

Nope, there was no losing her entourage this time. She rolled her eyes, remembering fond memories of Boston when she didn't have to deal with these two on a daily basis.

Emma made her way to a conference room where Nurse Matilda was being told to wait for her. The nurse's hairstyle was still incredibly scary. She was tempted to ask how long it took for her to make it stay up like that, but doubted her temporary partners would care for that answer.

"Okay, Nurse Matilda, I hope you haven't been waiting long," Emma said, pulling out her notebook and a pen.

"No offense, but how long is this going to take?" the nurse asked, looking back at Regina and Gold.

"I've just got to ask a few things. Now, were you aware that the young woman in the asylum was missing?"

"Of course not," she replied, "Really, my duty is to manage the asylum and monitor visitors. I don't look into the patients' files."

"You didn't know who she was?"

"I was told she was a Jane Doe. I had no reason to think differently."

"Do you know how she came to be there?" Emma asked her.

"I presume she was admitted, but I wasn't present when she was. She has been in the asylum for as long as I have been working there."

Emma jotted down her answers, struggling not to let her derision show on her face. Silently, she made a note to never let this woman be her nurse for even a skinned knee.

"Did you have regular contact with Alayna?"

"I administered her medications," Nurse Matilda said, crossing her arms with a bored expression.

"Did you ever observe her under any distress or expressing any desire to leave?"

Matilda gave her smug look. "Clearly you haven't spent much time in an asylum."

"Just answer the question," before I jab this pen in your eye, she silently added.

"Sometimes she didn't want to take her medication, and she had to be restrained. Usually she was quiet."

"You never asked her about her name or where she came from?"

"She wasn't exactly a stimulating a conversationalist."

Emma gritted her teeth. Behind her, she heard someone's knuckles crack. Her money was on Gold. "Did she ever have any visitors?"

"Not until today."

"So basically, you know nothing."

"Well, I told you before that I didn't really interact with the patients or their files."

Emma clicked her pen closed and slapped her notebook on the table. "Okay, I think we're done. I may have more questions for you later."

"I'll look forward to it," Nurse Matilda said, sliding back to her feet and straightening her uniform as she did. Emma watched her as she walked towards the door, giving Regina a quick side-glance. She wondered over that, but she didn't have much time to figure it out. Gold reached out and took the nurse's arm in a vice grip. "If you hurt her, even just a little, you won't even begin to imagine what I will do to you," he hissed out through his teeth.

As threats went, Emma had to give him a ten. There was some satisfaction in seeing the bitchy woman turn paler than liquid whiteout.

"This is going to take a while," she declared. So far she had absolutely nothing other than a hostile witness and a woman with no memory. As cases went, this was a flimsy as it got.

"How did you even find her?" Regina asked. Gold was looking at her with interest too.

"Sort of an anonymous tip," Emma said, "I got a message saying that I needed to look closer here. I saw someone leaving the asylum, so I got Whale to let me in and take a look around."

"Very astute," Regina said, raising her brows a little, "Did you have a warrant?"

"I didn't need a warrant since I asked for permission and the head of the hospital granted it."

"Do you know who sent you the message?"

"Do you know the definition of anonymous?"

Regina glowered at her for that comment. "Are you saying you don't know who gave it to you or that you just won't tell me?"

"It doesn't really matter since I don't have to tell you anything about an open case." Emma pushed away from the table and gathered up her notebook. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do."

She walked out of the conference room with her head held high, but internally she was completely lost. Where the hell did she go from here? Alayna probably couldn't tell her anything. She'd been through Graham's notes on the case a hundred times so she knew that was a dead end. She could go looking for Jefferson, but she had no idea where he was hiding. He was probably her best lead, but also her most elusive one.

Before Regina and Gold could follow her, Emma took off down the stairwell. She wanted to go through the records of the asylum, maybe try to find out a little more about who worked there, who visited, and just who all knew about the mysterious patient in room eleven.

It was clear that Emma was no longer going to accept an entourage during the rest of her investigation, but that was fine with Gold. He'd seen enough to know exactly what had happened twenty-eight years ago. He kept his eyes on Regina as she moved towards the right on the hall, likely intending to leave the hospital. He wasn't going to give her the chance.

Gold grabbed her arm and shoved her into the nearest empty room. By chance it happened to be a supply closet of sorts. He locked the door behind him. Regina showed now concern, only some mild amusement when she saw what he had done. "Really? You couldn't have simply asked for a private audience?"

"Oh don't you dare try that with me," he hissed at her, "You are an evil bitch!"

"How unoriginal," she scoffed as she tried to move past him towards the door. He smacked one hand on the wall in front of her to pin her in place.

"You took her," Gold said with an impenetrable gaze, "You lied to me and said she died. You stole her away from our daughter! You locked her away in a hole!"

Regina looked at him, still the picture of serenity. "I could have killed her, but I didn't."

"No, you were waiting until it was convenient for you, like now. You stole my gun. You were going to murder her and set me up for the fall."

"Now that's—!" She never got to finish. His free hand shot up and wrapped around her throat, putting just enough pressure on her windpipe that killed anything she intended to say.

"Don't lie to me, majesty," he hissed at her, enjoying the spark of fear in her eyes now, "You wanted revenge because you didn't get to beat me before. You tried to take away my daughter, and now you were going to murder Belle. I'm done hearing any excuses or lies from you, dearie."

He squeezed harder, wanting to just end it all now. If only he could. "You better think of a very good reason why I shouldn't kill you now."

"Killing me…won't break…the curse," Regina gasped out. She was right of course. In fact, it would cause more harm then good. Emma would get Henry, there would be no reason for her to stay in Storybrooke, leaving them all trapped in this miserable existence for eternity.

Reluctantly, he released his grip on her throat. She rubbed at her neck, but knew better than to meet him in the eye just yet. "Do you have any idea what I am going to do to you?" he hissed at her.

"Oh please, enlighten me," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm going to ruin you," he declared. He had never hated anyone more than her now, even himself. If only they were back in their homeland where he could use his magic to torture her properly. "I'll make sure Miss Swann breaks the curse. You'll lose, dearie, once and for all. Worse, I'll make sure she takes Henry away from you."

Regina had mostly been ignoring his dire warnings, but now she snapped her head back around to look at him. "You can't," she insisted.

"Oh I will," he growled, "I'll make sure you never see that boy again. He'll be far better off with his real mother than you."

"I won't let you!" she snapped, a new look appearing in her dark eyes: desperation. My, my, my, had Regina actually come to care for Henry? This was unexpected. He had thought the casting of the curse would make her unable to feel anything really, but apparently a mother's love was stronger than the Dark Curse.

Still, his rage right now was more powerful than any curse or counter-curse. "And how exactly are you going to stop me?" he challenged her.

Regina straightened to her full height and put one hand on her hip. "You forget, Gold, I'm in charge of the curse and everyone who is still under it's thrall."

"Lucky for me, I am not."

"You aren't, but Belle is."

He stopped cold, unable to say another word. Worst of all, Regina knew she had him now. A wicked smile curled her blood red lips. "Right now, Belle is blank. I haven't touched her memories, but I can easily fix that."

He didn't want to know what Regina's idea of "fixing" her memory would be like, but Regina didn't give him a choice in the matter. "I can have her remember something far different from the little love story I'm sure Miss Swann believes in. Perhaps you were a monster to the poor girl, maybe even raped her. What will poor Alayna French do when she remembers how you tormented her? Will she let you keep your daughter?"

Gold could feel his blood boiling in his veins so hot he was certain he was about to have a stroke. He wanted bash in her brains with his cane or at least knock all of her teeth out. His knuckles cracked around the handle of his cane, but he kept it still. "If you do that…"

"You'll what?" she asked dryly, "Face it, Gold, I'm still in charge of this town. Now, I can give her these lovely new memories of you being her jailer and forcing her to get pregnant with your child."

"Or?" he asked, still fantasizing her having to eat everything out of a straw for the rest of her life.

"Or I can let Belle remain as she is, free and empty for you to fill with what ever story you want. You can try and make the girl fall in love with you again, though how you succeeded the first time I truly have no idea."

He ground his teeth together, hating that she could easily tell she'd won this round. She crossed her arms across his chest and gave him the exact same look he'd seen on her mother innumerable times. How he hated that look.

"Fine," he spat out, "But don't think for a moment that I will forget this, Regina."

"As long as you don't forget what I am capable of," she reminded him. She used one perfectly manicured hand to push him aside as she headed for the door. "Pardon me, but it's time I went to pick up my son. You enjoy the rest of your evening."

She waltzed out of the closet, still smiling. He stormed out after her, but didn't bother to try and chase her down again. Damn her! He was powerless here other than his carefully worded "please" loophole, but even that had its limits. He could do nothing until Emma had broken he curse and freed them all.

As much as he wanted to speed things along, he could only do so much. Right now his hands were tied. It was up to Emma really.

He had no choice but to set all of that aside for now. He had to focus on more personal matters: Rose and Belle. This was his chance to fix the mistakes he'd made before. Even better, this was a chance for his daughter to have her mother again. He couldn't fail in that important mission, not for anything.

Gold decided to wait and let all of his rage simmer down before going in search of his daughter. He was trying his best to keep the darker side of his nature away from Rose. So far he'd been successful and he wasn't keen on ruining that streak. Still, he knew one day he would slip up and he was likely to lose her as he lost everyone he loved.

He found Mary Margaret with Rose in the waiting area. The two of them had the room to themselves. He could see a scattering a blocks and a doll on the floor, but Rose was currently curled up on two of the seats fast asleep. Mary Margaret had wrapped her coat around her as a blanket. The former queen smiled at him when she saw him walk up. "Hi, she fell asleep about ten minutes ago."

He nodded. It wasn't too late in the day, but she hadn't had her nap earlier so it was understandable. "How was she?"

She winced and shrugged. "Not great. She enjoyed the pudding, but kept asking to see her mother."

Gods, that ripped through him like a red-hot knife. He knew Rose had remembered Belle, but this…this was a new level of pain. She was too young to understand that her mother didn't remember her. Her little mind must be confused, worried even that her mother didn't want her. Worst of all, he wasn't entirely sure how to fix that notion. Once the curse was lifted, he could hope things would change, but he couldn't be sure when that would be or if the damage would already be done.

Despite all of this, he knew he only had one option now. "Will you watch her a bit longer?" he asked, "There is someone I have to see."

Mary Margaret nodded, a warm smile on her face. "Go see her, Mr. Gold. I'll take care of Rose."

He had dreamed of seeing Belle again ever since she'd left. Sometimes they were wonderful dreams, full of love and joy. More often they were nightmares, seeing her dead, her body broken, or worse, rejecting him and seeing love with someone far better than him. So despite his eagerness to see her again, he couldn't help the way his heart hammered in is breast and the way his palm slipped now on the handle of his cane. He stood outside the door for several minutes trying to get the nerve to actually walk inside. In the end, it was Belle's own words that came to him. Do the brave thing, and bravery will follow.

With his heart in his throat, he knocked on the door. "Come in," someone called from inside but he knew it wasn't Belle.

He opened the door and stepped in, his eyes immediately locking on the woman in the bed. Yes, it was her. She was paler than he remembered, no doubt because of being locked away for so long. Her hair needed a brush and a good washing to restore its usual shine and vitality. Her eyes were the same crystal blue, but they didn't look at him with that mischievous gleam they used to whenever she was prying him for another book or trying to feed him her newest pastry recipe. Now those eyes stared at him like they he was a stranger.

A nurse checking her blood pressure stopped pressing the hand pump and looked over at him. "Oh, hello Mr. Gold."

Moe started in his chair beside his daughter's bed, glowering at him. "What do you want?"

"Do you really need me to answer that?" he replied dryly.

"She's not well. Come back later."

Gold ignored him and turned his attention back to the nurse. "Is Miss French well enough to see visitors? Is she suffering from any contagious diseases or life-threatening disorders?"

"No," the nurse said.

"Well, then I see no reason to come back later."

From her bed, Belle's pale lips curled up into the beginnings of a smile. He remembered in the early days at the Dark Castle when he had quoted from the book she'd been reading and she'd smiled at him then. She was still in there, the woman he loved.

"Would you be willing to talk with me alone?" he asked her.

She looked stunned at first, blinking heavily and then nodded.

Moe had a decidedly different reaction. "She is not!"

"Mr. French, I know you may not be the brightest man here—."

"Why you bastard!" he spat out.

Gold continued like he hadn't spoken. "However, I do believe that in the twenty-first century, a woman doesn't need a man to decide what she wants to do anymore. Now, I am asking your daughter here, not you."

"I…I want to speak to him," Belle spoke up at last. He had thought he would never hear her voice again, but now it rang clearly in his heard just like he had remembered. For a moment, he was back in the Dark Castle, in the beginning when she was crouched on the floor with a chipped teacup in her trembling hands. Then her voice got stronger and she sat up against the pillows supporting her. "I want to talk to him…alone."

Gold met her eyes and smiled. That was his Belle, speaking for herself, not allowing anyone but herself to decide her destiny. "Well, the lady has spoken," he said without taking his eyes off of her.

Moe made a growl but stood up from his chair. He plodded towards the door, his shoulder "accidentally" knocking up against Gold as he passed him. The nurse followed after him. For the first time in thirty years, he was alone with Belle again.

During the brief time after Belle had first left the Dark Castle and before Regina had lied about her death, he had imagined numerous conversations about what he would say if he saw her again. He had thought about falling on his knees begging for forgiveness, acting as if he had hardly missed her, even showering her with jewels and asking for her to marry him. Even after he had been led to believe she was lost to him forever, he had still dreamed up the possibility of seeing her again.

Now that it had finally happened, all of that evaporated like smoke in the wind. He just stood there and stared at her, desperate to say something, anything. Words had escaped him entirely. She blinked back at him with those large, beautiful blue eyes full of infinite patience.

Gold cleared his throat, his mouth dry as an Agraban street. "Hey," he said, the word sounding so ridiculous once it was out.

She blinked at him again and then smiled a little. "Hey," she said back."

"I…I…I suppose…" Gods, he sounded like a moron, "You must be wondering who I am."

"Yes," she admitted with a slight nod.

"I don't know what your father or Sheriff Swan might have told you."

"My…father," she said the word uncertainly, "Said you were a wicked man."

He chuckled and shook his head, "Well, I can't deny that."

Somehow that eased the tension that had been threatening to suffocate them both. He walked further into the room and stood just beside her bed. She didn't flinch or even try and scoot away. His Belle was just was brave as she ever was.

"You don't seem cruel," she said truthfully.

"Oh I can be, but you always insisted otherwise."

"You're very honest," she said.

"Brutally so," he said, "I was never very good at lying to you. You always saw right through me."

She smiled again at him. "The sheriff said we had been close."

"Yes," he said, "Very close. We were…" he swallowed thickly, "We were in love."

Her eyes widened at the words and she licked her lips. "What happened?"

"I ruined it. It's what I always do when something frightens me. This time it happened to be you."

"Oh," she said quietly, looking down at her hands in her lap. "Were we married?"

"No, I was ever too much a coward in that regard."

"I see…and we have a daughter?"

Gold nodded and smiled. "Rose," he told her softly, "She's the most beautiful thing in the world. Would you like to see her?"

Now she tensed, her hands bundling into knots. "I don't know her," she admitted, "I don't know what to do." She sounded frightened now, desperate to understand but unable to tear down that wall that was keeping her from her memories

"It's alright," he told her gently. Instinctively, he reached over and took one of her hands into his. She was warm, full of life. Her hands were soft still, but he nails ragged and short. She didn't pull away like he thought she might. "How about a picture of her?"

She nodded, still looking at their joined hands. He wondered if it felt so right for her to hold it just as it did for him. He took his phone out of his pocket and pulled up the albums so she could look at the pictures.

Belle, or Alayna as she was known here, took the phone gingerly, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. She gasped as she pushed a button and another picture appeared. Rose was in the bathtub, grinning up at the camera with her hair full of bubbles. The next picture was her covered in chocolate syrup and whipped cream after digging into a dishful of ice cream. She paused at the next picture of Rose staring intently at a picture book.

"Books," she said softly, "I…I like books."

Tears shimmered in his eyes and he nodded. "Yes," he whispered back to her, "Yes you did."

It was small, just the whisper of a memory, but it was there. His Belle was still in there, waiting for him and Rose to help her be free.

A/N: Don't you just want to kill Regina? But hey at least there is hope. Still, you can't possibly think Regina would just let Gold be happy, now would you? *laughs evilly* . Stay tuned!