Rumplestiltskin had been missing for almost two days now.
Ever since his liberation from Zelena and that cage in the cellar, his mind had not been the same. Ever since coming home, he was depressed and confused. Sometimes he barley knew what something as simple as a fork was and it tore Belle apart to see her once sharp witted husband reduced to this broken creature.
"What if something's happened to him? What if he-" She could barley continue, the thought of anything happening to her husband while he was in such a vulnerable state was too much for her to bear.
"They'll find him, Belle." Mary Margret said soothingly, rubbing her back.
Belle didn't know what had happened. She had left the house for just under and hour and when she had returned he was gone. She had locked the doors and the windows so she did not know how he could have got out. She felt horrible for having to keep her own husband locked in his own house but it was for his own protection. Doctor Whale had been called to examine him as soon as he had been brought back to his house, and it was the doctor who had seen the extent of the damage done to the poor man shivering in a pile of blankets before them.
He had been dehydrated and malnourished, his ribs felt through the tattered, soiled remains of his once pristine suit. David and Emma had been the ones to undress him and put him into his large bed while Doctor Whale had spoken with Belle privately outside the room.
"The best thing he needs right now is rest," Doctor Whale told her, Belle nodding in understanding as she looked back at her husband who was trying to sit up despite David's efforts to hold him down, pushing him back against the pillows, urging him to stay down.
"He will be on bed rest for at least a week," the doctor continued over the pained whines of his patient which was becoming even more difficult for Belle to drown out in order to know how to care for him.
"He should be encouraged to drink plenty of fluids, stabilise his diet gradually." Whale advised, writing down notes for Belle to take. "The last thing you want to do is overload his system."
"I understand," Belle replied, focusing on the Doctor. He then handed her a list of medications that he would be prescribing her husband, most of them Belle could barley pronounce. He went through the list stating what they were and what they were for, one of them was for anxiety, two were for depression, another was to help him sleep and there was also one to help with his digestion.
"No!" They both turned in union at the sound of his panicked voice, seeing that David was holding him around the shoulders while Emma was trying to coax him to drink some water. He ducked his head away from her into David's shoulder. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Emma put the glass back on the dresser by his head, irritably brushing hair out of his face.
"Be patient with him," Whale admonished as he approached his patient. It took a short while before Whale had been able to convince him to drink some water, promising that he would feel better afterwards if he did. After a few sips, the weak man soon fell unconscious, David being there to gently lay him down, pulling a thick duvet over him.
"Like I said, the best thing for him right now is rest." Whale reminded, packing away his medical bag.
"Belle, call me immediately if there are any problems." He said before showing himself out, leaving Belle standing over her unconscious husband. Sitting down beside him, she brushed a stray strand of grey hair out of his face, his face peaceful as he slept.
"Do you need us to stay?" Emma asked, concerned. Shaking her head, she assured them that she could handle it, all she would be doing would be watching over him while he slept. David squeezed Emma's shoulder indicating that it was time to go, they would leave her alone.
