Evermore ~ Rumplestiltskin

Chapter Twenty-One

Rumple's POV|

I sat there on the bed in the back of my shop along with my son Baelfire who sat next to me and Emma who had Henry by her side. I could feel my bones getting weaker. I was dying. And there was no running away from it this time.

"It's getting weaker. She's gonna get through," said Bae.

"No, no, you're not dying," said Bae.

"I am dying," I said, sternly, my breath getting slower by the minute. "That much is certain." And all I could think about in this moment was my poor Liana. "I need to talk to Liana. Emma, please."

"Who's Liana?" asked Bae.

"Your Dad's girlfriend," Emma replied.

Emma gave me her phone and I dialed Liana's number. I put the phone against my ear. "Hi Liana," I said. "It's Robert Gold."

"Mr. Gold, I... I told you before, I...I don't remember you," she said. My heart broke.

"I...I...I...know, I know. It's just, uh, sweetheart, I'm dying."

"Oh. I'm, uh...I'm I'm so sorry," she said. I could tell she didn't know what to say, which is fine.

"I know that you're confused about who you are. So I'm going to tell you. You are a hero who helped your people. You're a beautiful woman who loved an ugly man. Really, really loved me. You find goodness in others, and when it's not there, you create it. You make me wanna go back. Back to the best version of me. That never happened before. So when you look in the mirror and you don't know who you are... that's who you are." I then let out a sob, and I can hear that she starts to cry too on the other end of the line. What I would give to have her in my arms right now... "I love you, sweetheart. I love you so much Liana."

I then hung up the phone and looked at my son who was still sitting on the edge of my bed, not looking at me, his head down. "Didn't know you had that in you."

"Oh I'm full of love," I said. "I've spent a lifetime looking for you. For a chance to say I love you. And I'm sorry."

"I didn't think you'd go back on our deal," he said. My mind travelled to the one memory of Bae going through the portal without me.

"I just made the wrong choice," I replied. I then held out my hand, reaching for his. "May I?"

"I'm still angry," he said.

"I know," I said. Bae then grabbed my hand. I grabbed a hold of his hand so tight that I didn't want to let go.

                                   +++

The next thing I know, Cora and Regina are trying to break through. "You two, Out of the way," I heard Cora say. Great. Just fucking great. I watched as Cora magically transported Emma and Bae somewhere. She then got through the magical barrier.

"A vision told me about you," I started. My breathing started to get weaker. "Told me this day would come. But it didn't tell me everything. Didn't tell me what I really wanted to know."

"And what's that?" she asked, coming closer to me.

"Did you ever love me?" I asked, afraid to see what she would say next.

"Why did you think I had to rip my own heart out?" she said, stroking my face with her hand. "You were my weakness. You were the only man I ever truly loved." I watched as she lifts her dagger to stab me. I close my eyes for a brief second. But then I jolt forward, dropping the blade. My eyes widened as I saw Regina behind Cora. Regina had indeed placed Cora's heart back where it belonged.

The two smiled at each other. "Mother," Regina said.

                                   +++

Cora, for some strange reason, begins to laugh. I decide to check my wound on my chest, and saw that it began to heal. My plan had worked. I watched as Regina catched her as she collapsed into her arms. "Mother? Oh!" Regina cried. I got up out of the bed and picked up my dagger that was on the floor.

"This would have been enough. You... you would have been enough." Cora doesn't say anything else. Her eyes shut close.

"Mother? What's going on? Mother. Don't leave me, please. What am I going to do?"

"Your mother did you no favors," I say, standing in a straight posture.

"Shut up!" Regina screamed. "You stole her life! You cast some spell."

Well, she wasn't wrong about that. But I didn't do it directly. "I did nothing," I said.

Then all of the sudden, I hear a frantic Mary Margaret, running through the shop. "Regina! Stop!" Mary Margaret was out of breath, like she had just run a mile.

Regina gritted her teeth. "You did this."