I don't own Once Upon A Time and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
After being stranded in the Enchanted Forest, Belle had nowhere to go. With so many places destroyed, she ended up moving in with Snow White and Prince Charming since Rumplestiltskin's castle held too many memories. Neal had never lived there and thought about it, but decided it was too big and moved into the castle with them. They tried to rebuild the castle as quickly as possible and so it was loud, but it was still quiet. They all mourned the people they lost (and Belle wouldn't admit it, but she also missed burgers) and couldn't move past what had happened because of Peter Pan.
When Belle first started to get sick, she blamed it on the stress of the curse and losing the man she loved. She was determined to get him back, however, and looked into ways to do so (this was when the Internet could come in handy and she cursed the lack of it here) because she refused to give up. Snow actually persuaded Belle to go to bed most nights because she refused to sleep, and was the first one to say something. When Snow cocked her head and looked at her curiously, Belle squinted her eyes at her friend. "What is it?"
"I'm trying to put this in a delicate way, but there really isn't an easy way to say this. Have you gained weight?" Snow already knew what was wrong with her and just hoped Belle figured it out on her own.
Belle glared at her. "No, I haven't. Why are you asking me?"
Snow sat down and encouraged her friend to sit down next to her. When Belle complied, she smiled. "You've been sick lately, haven't you?"
"Yes, but that's because I lost the man I love." She couldn't be pregnant, not now. It wasn't a good time to have a baby. And Belle couldn't do this without Rumplestiltskin.
"Or because you're suffering from morning sickness. I really wish we had a pregnancy test right now because it would be so much easier to determine for sure. Why don't you let Doc take a look at you? He can help." Snow just wanted to make sure that Belle and the baby were healthy.
Belle went through the past month or so in her mind. Now that she thought about it, she had been feeling a little off before Rumplestiltskin died, but thought nothing of it because of the chaos of their lives. And she hadn't had her period either, which she blamed on the stress. She had definitely gained weight. There was no doubt about it now – she was pregnant. Her eyes filled up with tears. "What am I supposed to do? Rumple's dead. He's not here with me to help."
Snow pulled her for a hug. "You have Neal, and Charming and I won't let you do this by yourself. And I know you want him back, but you need to slow down. You're running yourself ragged and that's not good for either of you."
Belle sniffled. "I can't slow down. He needs to be here for my pregnancy. Neal and I need him badly."
Snow grabbed her hand. "You may have to accept the fact that he may never come back. And try to think of it this way – you have something that is a part of both of you inside you at this very moment. He'd want you to be happy, right?"
She nodded. "Yes." But she wasn't sure she could do this alone. How could she raise a baby by herself? Belle didn't know the first thing about children. She hadn't even been near them for long periods of time.
"Okay, good. Now let's go find Doc so he can check you over and then you can rest." Snow pulled Belle away from the couch and they headed to find the dwarf that would take care of Belle during the pregnancy. And sure enough, he confirmed that she was pregnant less than twenty minutes later.
Belle slowed down a little in her quest to get Rumplestiltskin back, but she continued to look for ways to resurrect him (without using dark magic). Neal actually confronted her about this a few weeks later. "You need to stop this. There's no way to bring Papa back."
"How can you just give up like this? He's your father!" she cried.
He sighed. "You're not doing yourself or that kid any favors. You're pregnant, Belle. My little brother or sister needs you to be healthy, but you're running yourself into the ground. I'm worried about you, and I know I'm not the only one." Neal missed his father (and ex-girlfriend and son) but he was trying to figure out a way to restore Storybrooke with everyone else.
"I miss him, Neal. I'm so grateful we created this tiny person together, but I can't give up. I can't."
He resisted the urge to slam his head against the wall before he came up with a solution. "Okay, how about this? I'll look for a way while you focus only on the baby. Promise me you won't even look at a book for the next few months?"
She eyed him warily before reluctantly agreeing. "I'll be looking into it again a few weeks after the little one is born."
"Deal." He hugged her and then laughed when the baby kicked pretty hard. It wasn't particularly comfortable for Belle and she winced.
Unfortunately, conditions in the Enchanted Forest only worsened – the castle was rebuilt, but multiple kingdoms were paid visits by the Wicked Witch. She was determined to ruin them all and was willing to do anything to achieve her goal. The royals – brought together by their time in Storybrooke – banded together and fought her off, but it didn't keep her away for long.
Belle was eight months pregnant when the Wicked Witch casted a spell that somehow revived Storybrooke. While some stayed in the world they came from, many returned to Storybrooke – Belle included. Unfortunately, the Wicked Witch followed them and wreaked a lot of havoc. It was David who suggested sending someone to find Emma and Henry and restore their memories so she could help with this situation.
"I'll go," Hook volunteered. Needless to say, no one was surprised. But they weren't sure where to look for her so they continued to fend off the attacks.
Belle missed Rumplestiltskin so much she could barely stand it. She cried herself to sleep every night and tried to console herself with the fact that she wasn't alone and never would be. When she went into labor, Snow and David took her to the hospital – in fact Snow was in the delivery room with her.
It took seventeen hours of labor, but Belle delivered a healthy daughter in the middle of the night. "You look like your papa," she murmured to the cooing newborn.
"She have a name yet?" Neal adored his little sister, but he couldn't believe she was younger than his own son (then again, Belle was nearly age his age so it wasn't all that shocking).
She grinned. "Yes, she does. Meet Elyse Charlotte Gold." She had chosen to use Rumple's Storybrooke last name because it made more sense, especially in this world.
"It definitely suits her. Congratulations, Belle." He kissed her forehead – and then the baby's – and then departed the hospital.
"I love you, Elyse. I'm going to get you your papa back, so don't worry." Belle gently rocked the baby back and forth before the motion lulled her to sleep.
Two weeks later, Belle delved deep into the research again. It was hard to focus considering her lack of sleep, but she didn't let it deter her. She was just as determined as ever to resurrect Rumpelstiltskin.
Nearly a year after the curse was cast; Belle finally found a solution, one that didn't use dark magic. She shrieked in delight and went to see Regina. The former queen confirmed the plan would work, but refused to have anything to do with it. She reluctantly accepted it and found someone else to help her.
Belle gasped as a cloud started to form (fortunately, Elyse was sleeping peacefully in the back and was missing this entire thing) and once it was gone, Rumplestiltskin was deposited on the floor. She laughed and rushed to his side. "Rumple?"
He stared at her through blurred eyes. "Belle?"
She nodded. "You're back. I found a way."
He pulled her in for a kiss. "I love you, dearie."
"I love you, too," she murmured when they reluctantly pulled away from each other. She took a deep breath when Elyse started to cry.
"Why is there a baby crying?" he questioned.
She beamed at him. "There's something I'd like you to meet." She scooped Elyse out of the carrier and deposited their daughter in her father's arms. "This is Elyse. Your daughter."
He stared at the baby in astonishment. "Our daughter?"
Belle nodded. "I would have gotten you back sooner, but being pregnant prevented me from doing much of anything. She likes to keep me awake at night, but I promised her that she'd get to meet her papa."
Rumplestiltskin hugged her, careful not to jostle the baby too much. "I love you both. Where is Bae?"
"He's staying at Granny's. We can go see him if you'd like."
"I'd like to have my family all in one house. I'm not losing any of you again." He laughed when Elyse gurgled. "I see you agree with that plan. Come on and let's go see your brother."
A few months after that, Hook finally located Emma and Henry, but ran into some problems after that with them. The residents of Storybrooke continued to fight off the Wicked Witch, but they were losing. They won a lot of battles, but she was winning the war.
All of them were determined to get Storybrooke back for good and live happily ever after. That's all they wanted. But Belle and Rumplestiltskin (sort of) had their happy ending already. Their family would be complete once Emma and Henry returned and remembered everything, however (David and a pregnant Snow felt the same way).
So much had changed in the year since Pan's curse took ahold of everyone in Storybrooke, however. It wasn't going to be easy to regain control of anything.